THE EY Me SS SSeS gzos—It GOMW4{0 ONILININd LNSANUAAOD YRIORIOAI AVA NESE SENZA ENE NANI, @ & AUVUAEIT] OIAILNAIOS ASAMMMAM AA Pine aie = Sones ~ a WA me a Wie ee i i Dat THE TECHNOLOGIST. A MONTHLY RECORD OF Science Applied to Art, Manufacture, and Culture. EDITED BY PETER LUND SIMMONDS, FSS., Author of ‘‘The Commercial Products of the Vegetable Kingdom,” ‘‘A Dictionary of Trade Products,” ‘‘ The Cwriosities of Food,” ‘Waste Products, and Undeveloped Substances,” de. do. ke. VoLuME JV, LONDON : KEN & CO PAT hyn N OS: ER ORO WwW. MDCCCLXV. % LONDON : M‘GOWAN AND DANKS, PRINTERS, GREAT WINDMILL STREET, HAYMARKET, Juty 1, 1865.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. CON a NS: =O PAGE / THE PHYSICAL SCIENCES WHICH FORM THE BASIS OF ‘TECHNOLOGY. By the late George Wilson, M.D.,: F.R.S.E., Regius Professor of Technology, University of Edinburgh . 5 : : . ; 1, 74 CHEMISTRY APPLIED To THE ARTs. By Dr. F. Crace Calvert, F.RB.S., ICH; 6 4 : ‘ ‘ ; ; a 14, 97, 153, 197, 276, 343 NatTaL FIBRES . y é 2 : ;: : ‘ : EE ee Syn 25) JHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF COFFEE : ; 4 i ‘ 0 SS NEw MATERIALS FOR PAPER-MAKING . . : : MiNi fs é 2) 32 USES OF THE HORSE-CHESTNUT : é 3 5 Ara . . 4 Wuat PRECIOUS STONES ARE MADE OF . : ‘ ss . ls Bs} Woops oF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. By Professor Pe tialdia. “No. Il. 48 THE MeEcHANICAL NATURE AND Uist or GuNn-Corton. By John Scott Russell, C.E., F.R.S. . 5 : 5 . 49 THE noe ene or Formosa. ie Ronen Syintn. HLM. Consul at Formosa , 9 0 : 0 : 5 6 gu Ne MACHINERY FOR THE Nee OF pee GLASS. “By George H. Daglish, St. Helen’s : : : é j : ; : 5 DS ON MyroxyLon TOLUIFERUM, AND THE Monn OF PROCURING THE BALSAM oF Tou. By John Weir . : ; é : ; 3 5 OY DEVELOPMENT OF COLONIAL RESOURCES— Senne MACHINERY 3 71 THE ‘“‘Narpoo” PLANT OF HASTERN AUSTRALIA. By David Meee M.R.1.A., Curator of tlie Royal Dublin Society’s Botanical Garden . 90 MusreuM ARRANGEMENTS AND ACCLIMATISATION. By Dr. J. E. Gray, Iles 6 6 6 0 . : ; : : : : 5 LS PRODUCTS OF THE MONTANA OF pean By Mr. Consul Cocks . SOUS CHEMISTRY. . By Campbell Morfit, M.D., F.C.S., late Professor of Analytical : and Applied Chemistry in the University of Maryland . . : . 123 PHORMIUM: TENAX, OR NEW ZEALAND Fuax. By Charles Craik . 5) 2S SILKWORM CULTURE . . - . 5 . 128 ON THE PosrITIOoN AND MODE OF Won THE Bara RESTA, By J. Randall .. : 5 6 : é : : : : 5 . 132 PHOTO-SCULPTURE. By A. Claudet, F.R.S. , : : : 3 Salto WOOLLEN MANUFACTURERS IN AUSTRALIA 5 BEG) THE PETROLEUM TRADE OF PENNSYLVANIA. By Mr, Conca Kortright . 166 _THE TECHNOLOGIST. [JuLy 1, 1865. iv CONTENTS. QUICKSILVER Mines OF NEW ALMADEN, CALIFORNIA. By, B. Silliman, jun. ON THE REVERSION AND RESTORATION OF THE SILKWORM. By Captain Thomas Hutton, F.G.S., of Mussooree, N.W. India . : 5 7, CoRK AND IT8 UsEs. By John R. Jackson FrencH Macaroni. By J. Bernis : MANUFACTURE OF GLOVES IN THE UNITED STATES Tue RESINS, GUMS, AND GUM-RESINS OF VICTORIA THE CIRCULATION OF SAP IN TREES, AND THE Poumon OF Mien SUGAR : 5 a 0 5 5 6 ; 0 2 0 On THE NEW CHINESE SILKWORM LATELY INTRODUCED INTO EUROPE. By Lady Mary Thompson é THE Cotton PuLant. By Major Trevor Clarke, F. R. H. g. 3 Tae GOLD MINES OF CANADA, AND THE MANNER OF WORKING THEM. By T. Sterry Hunt, F.R.S. . : . 3 sae PROPERTIES AND USES OF GuN-CoTTON. By W. Procter, M.D. FURS AND THEIR PREPARATIONS. By Dr. Parmelee 5 - PasST AND PRESENT STATE OF THE SILK INDUSTRY OF BaLE. By Mr. Burnley, Her Majesty’s Secretary of Legation ELECTRO-PLATING : : A VISIT TO THE COSSIPORE Siem Wouns, BENGAy On THE USH OF THE DENTALIUM SHELL BY THE NATIVES OF VaNcouvEr IsLAND AND BRITISH COLUMBIA THE CrncHoNA BARK OF BRITISH INDIA. By Dr. a . E. De Tee THE TINNEVELLY PrARL-BANKS. By Clements R. Markham, F.8.A., F.R.G.S. : : : 4 : THE Cocoa-NUT OF THE SrerareL TAS Tse OR neaee: DE-MER. By George Clark . P 3 CoLONIAL TWEED AND CLOTH Manor Acton? AT SYDNEY ON THE BOTANICAL ORIGIN OF GAMBOGE. - By Daniel Hanbury, F. L. 5. 2 THE CULTIVATION OF MEDICINAL PLANTS AT MitcHamM. By Thomas .. : P. Bruce Warren Iron Minium : : ; : : . : . THE SPONGE FISHERY OF THE Crone Teter By M. Biliotti, British Vice-Consul at Rhodes : ; ; : FiSsENTIAL OILS FROM INDIGENOUS PLANTS OF Chana ADAPTED FOR UsE IN MEDICINE, PERFUMERY, ETC. TIN AND ITs USES : THE GOLD FIELDS oF IRELAND Wood FoR RAILWAY SLEEPERS . ; : - : : ON THE DENTALIUM SHELL AND SHELL- Monee By Edward T. Stevens . TrisH BoG-Oak ORNAMENTS < FOREIGR AND Home FISHING veers AND SEowne THe OAK-FEEDING SILKWORM OF CHINA. By T. T. Maadoue THE SUPPLY OF TURPENTINE AND RESIN. By the Editor OSTRICH BREEDING : 2 . - THE COMMERCIAL USES OF AL ATEES AND Pease, Nee Eugene Rimmel. (Tllustrated.) : : : - : : . - : o PAGE 170 216 193 209 - 212 227 230 JuLy 1, 1865.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. CONTENTS. v re BAGE INFLUENCE OF TERMINAL AND AXILLARY BUDS ON THE QUALITY or TimBer. By Alfred Grugeon . é ; : ; 2 . AOL ON THE INDIGENOUS VEGETATION OF NORTHERN PERU. By Richard Spruce, Ph.D. : : : : é 4 ; : F : . 404 CAMBRIDGE COPROLITES. By George Sandys. : : é : . 422 On THE FooD-VALUE OF THE KoLa-Nut—A Nirw Sourcr or THEINE. By John Attfield, Ph.D., F.C.S.. 4 k ; : : : . 424 OBITUARY: Sir R. H. ScHOMBURGK ; ; j ; i ; . 428 THE CULTURE OF CoTTON IN NorTHERN Pru. By Richard Spruce, Aa IDS : s : 5 : 4 2 ; ; : a epi THE EUROPEAN aera By M. C. Caoke, (Lllustrated.) : ; . 445 THE CANNEL COAL OF FLINTSHIRE . 3 3 F ; ; : . 448 GOLD AND ITs ALLOYS : : ‘ : 4 : j ; ; 6 ADI ON THE RAVAGES OF ANTS. By the Rev. M. J. Berkeley . . d . 453 KASHMIR SHAWLS FROM THE Hast aND IMITATIONS THEREOF j . 455 MatTerta MeEpIcA OF BAGHDAD AND THE PungaB. By M. C. Cooke 5 akeil THE FORESTS OF SEQUOIA (WELLINGTONIA GIGANTHA) OF CALIFORNIA. By Professor W. H. Brewer . ; A ‘ 5 : 4 : . 463 Om FoR WatTcHES. By David Meek . ; : ; i de . 464 On THE UsE oF Coca Lraves. By Dr. Abl, of es : . 467 ON THE COMPOSITION AND NUTRITIVE VALUE OF PALM-NUT ee “MEAL AND Cake. By Dr. Augustus Voelcker . p i : 9 Ako: TEA CULTIVATION IN INDIA : F : ‘ tae : : wee ATE THe ComMB MANUFACTURE . : : : ; Ii o : : AUS USEFUL PLants OF NEW ZEALAND . 6 : : g : : . 479 SUGAR FROM THE ARENGA PsuM : ; : : ; ; ; . 483 ON MAGNESIUM . : ‘ i : : j } F ; ; . 488 A New OIL-SEED FOR THE COLONIES ; F F ; : : . 497 NotvES ON EGYPTIAN AGRICULTURE, ; ; ‘ : ‘ : 3 . 498 MINERAL SUBSTANCES FOR Warrina ON. : 3 : seOUS THE Koua-Not oF TRopIcAL West AFRICA.—(THE Gurv. Nor OF SOUDAN.) By W. F. Daniel, M.D., F.L.8. . t ; : ; moe 3) OU, SRY REVIEWS E 3 ‘ é : : : 5 : . 46, 140, 191, 380 CORRESPONDENCE i : : ; ; ; : : 3 Ape THE PROGRESS OF THE ee By the late Professor Geo. Wilson . 527 On Dyrine. By W. Edmunds . : : ‘ P ; : : . 542 METALLIC COINS TO SUPERSEDE COWRIEs IN AFRICA : ‘ : . 545 PROGRESS IN SILK CULTURE : ‘ ; ; : : : . 546 NoTES ON THE CANTHARIDES OF THE ARGENTINE anor Rt By Dr. Herrmann Burmeister . ; F : ; : : ; 5 , 648 PEPPER. By John R. Jackson . , : 5 = 550 LisaL Hemp. By Wm. C. Dennis, of Key, West Florida : 2 3 5 EEE Ot OF CALOPHYLLUM INOPHYLLUM. By Dr. Seemann . ; ae ScrenTIFIC NOTES ; : i ; 47, 94, 42, 236, 378, 438, 524, any ILLUSTRATIONS IN THIS VOLUME. DISTILLING-ROOM FOR ESSENCES, Ec. O1L AND PoMADE FRAMES VIEW OF GRASSE Virw or NIcE MUSK-DEER 5 3 : Musk-DFER HUNTING (FROM A CHINESE DRAWING) Musk Pop (NATURAL SIZE) Crvrr Cat TUBEROSE CASSIE THE EUROPEAN Si_unus. Juny 1, 1865.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. TIN 1D) 3D; OS Acchinatisation Acre wood Agave sisalana Alintatao wood Alupag wood . Ambergris Ambogues wood Auimal black . Aninabla wood Anonang wood Auntipola wood Ants, ravages of Apatite : Arenga palm stigar . Arrowroot fibre : Artificial fuel. : a Asarum . : Attacus polyphemus 19, Baking powder Balibago wood Baliti wood Balsam of Tolu Banaba wood . Bancal wood . Bariingtonia speciosa Baticulin wood 5 Bees’ wax ; : : Beet sugar in Germany Bengal sugar . ; Birds’ nests, esculent Bitoe wood Black sait Bleaching skins Blistering flies Bog-oak ornaments . Bone-black or char. Bones, composition of Brocade . : : Bunslockur 142, Cabcok, a stone of Ceylon Calophyllam inophytiiin Cambridge coprolites Candle making Cannel coal. Cantharides of River Blige 142, Cantharis adspersa . Cantharis plant Cantharis punctata. Cantharis villigera . Cantharis viridipennis Caseine . Chamois leather Char 2 Ciiemical matches ‘ China grass : Chinese silk worm . Chinese wax . Caondrine é Cixchona bark in finda 5 Cinnabar of California Civet Cloth manufacture at Sydney, the : z Coal-tar colours Coca, culture of Coca: leaves Cocos-de-mer . Coffee, analysis of . Coleoptera Heteromera Colonial gold fields. Colonial tweeds Comb manufacture . Conditioning silk Conrolites ‘ F Cork and its uses. 3 Cotton cultivation in Peru Cotton plant . Cowries . Currying Vill Date sugar Dentalium shell Dialysis . Dilo oil . Dulloah . Dyeing . Dysodile Egyptian agriculture Hlectro-plating Enamel leather Esparto grass for paper Essential oils of Australia Fancy leathers Fibres of Natal Fishing vessels and bo: its Flesh, “composition of THE TECHNOLOGIST. 290, Flowers and plants, uses of Freestone of Bath . Fur gloves Furs, preparation of Gamboge, origin of Gelatine i Gilding leather Glove-making Glycerine Gold and its a loys. Goldfields of Ireland Gold mines of Canada Grains of Paradise . Gun-cotton Gurpatta Hair, composition of Hasheesh Heria Maculata Horns s ; Horse chestnut, uses of . India-rubber gloves Insect products, value of [ron minium . Tron paper Tsinglass ivory Kashmir shawls Kid gloves Kid leather Kola nut Lauan wood Leather, uses of Leather trade . Lucifer matches Macearoni, French . Madia oil Magnesiun 157, 49, 424, [JuLy 1, 1865. INDEX. PAGE PAGE 287 Malabar pepper 553 355 Malagatlun wood 45 158 Malacintud wood 45 557 Malarujat wood 45 288 Malatalisay wood 45 542 Malavidondas wood 45 558 Manna of Asia 379 Mapan wood. .. : 497 498 Materia medica of India . 462 286 | Medicinal plants, culture of 311 Melagneta pepper . 550 33 Metoé Prosearabceus 548 322 Mezquit tree 48 Milk ; 276 154 | Mineral substances for ees 26 505 361 Theres of Ceylon 47 343 Minute life, utilisation of 190 383 Museum arrangements 105 132 Musk 390 215 263 | Nardoo plant of Australia 70, 143 Neat’s-foot oil 5) OS 310 Nemognatha . 549 97 Nephrite of New Zealand 379 158 New Orleans cotton . 246 212 New Zealand flax 125, 481 199 New Zealand Plants 479 451 Nitre in Ecuador 334 335 252 Oak-feeding silkworm 368 524 Oijed leather . 156 257 Oil for watches 464 288 Oil of Mehudee 143 Okkro 27 159 Osselne . 97 503 Ostrich breeding 376 548 25 Palm-nut meal 469 34 Palinyra sugar 483 Paper in California 430 215 Paper materials 32 190 Parchment. 158 316 Pearl bauks of Tinney elly 295 508 | Pepper . 550 99 Perfumes, Rimmel « on, 382 24 | Petroleum of Pennsyly ania 166 Phosphorus 21 455 Photo-sculpture 145 212 Piper negruin . 551 155 Plantain . : 26 515 Plate glass manufacture . 58 Plumbago of Ceylon 47 45 142 Quicksilver of California . 170 154 3 23 Resins. of Victoria 227 Rice paper 56 209 Ribbon wood . 479 497 Rusot . : 48 488 | Russia leather 154 JuLY 1, 1865.] Sandana wood Sap in trees Sawing machinery . Schomburgk, Sir R., notice of, Sea- island « cotton Seaweed for upholstery Seychelles cocoa-nut Silk y . Silk culture in America ; Silk culture in Canada Silk culture in India Silk culture in Java Silk culture in Victoria . Silk industry of Bale Silkworm in India . : Silkworm culture in Persia Silkworm, new 5 Silurus fish 5 Sisalhemp . 2 Skins : ; Slate ; Soap making . Spermaceti Sponge fishery at Rhodes Starch sugar . Star candles Strass Z Suint, detinition of. Superphosphate of lime . Tanning. Tasmanite INDEX. PAGE 45 | Tawed leather 230 Teasels é j 71 Technology, basis of 428 Telegraph, progress of 246 Tetraonyx 95 Theine in Kola-nut 802 Tin and its uses 163 Tolu balsam . ao 546 Totara wood 236 Turpentine and resin 216 Tutu 130 | Tyrian purple 547 267 Uplands cotton 175 | Urea 6 128 430 Van, the 445 Vegetable ivory 555 Vesi timber 101 Vibrios . 510 | Vine cotton 204 208 | Wash leather . 317 | Wellingtonia Bigities 48 Whey . 205 White ants 39 | Wood, analyses of . 161 Wood for sleepers . : 18 Wool, description of és Woollen manufactur e, Aus tralia 102 558 ' Zafaran . THE TECHNOLOGIST. Avousr 1, 1864.) | THE TECHNOLOGIST, ok TECHNOLOGIST ON THE PHYSICAL SCIENCES WHICH FORM THE BASIS OF TECHNOLOGY. s BY THE LATE GEORGE WILSON, M.D., F.R.S.E., REGIUS. PROFESSOR OF TECHNOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH. ' | Have endeayoured to define the objects of Technology. I propose, on this occasion, to consider the physical sciences on which it is based. - Yet at the outset I cannot but ask myself, which of these sciences does not lend support to Technology, and on what plea shall any be omitted from the list of its ministers? In reality, none can be. Technology is the sum or complement of all the sciences, which either are, or may be made, applicable to the industrial labours or utilitarian necessities of man. But though this be the case, certain departments of knowledge stand so much more closely related than others to the recurring urgen- cies of daily labour, that to them a pre-eminent importance must be assigned in any endeavour to number the scientific pillars on which Technology rests. And, in the first place, to narrow our horizon within limits that can be compassed, let me remind you that our science minis- ters only to the physical necessities of man. It does not acknowledge his imagination, or directly concern itself with his ascription of beauty to some things, and of ugliness to others. It does not acknowledge his heart, or take heed of his loves and his hates, his exultations and despairs. It does not acknowledge his conscience, or care about right or wrong, or affect any interest in his moral welfare. It does not even pay court to his intellect, or profess sympathy with his cravings after know- ledge for its own sake, his impatience of ignorance, and longings for perfection. It knows him only as the paragon of animals, the most helpless, though most gifted of them all; and seeks only to meet his fleshly wants ; to enlarge the practical empire of his senses; to make his arms stronger, his fingers nimbler, his feet swifter, and with help from Hygienics, his frame more stalwart, himself a more smoothly moving, well-ordered, living machine. SOE) Vs > ‘ B. THE TECHNOLOGISF, [Avevsr I, 1864. 2 ON THE PHYSICAL SCIENCES WHICH FORM Putting aside, then, all questions of Beauty, Morality, or Philosophy, we are to consider where man can acquire the knowledge which will give his body the victory in the daily battle of life. The problem which he has to solve is a vast one; so vast, indeed, that instead of attempting to enumerate the items which make it up, I will say, m one word, that his capital to begin with is one wise head and ten skilful fiugers ; and with these he must build such a Crystal Palace as the world saw in 1851, and stock it with all its wondrous contents. To solve this preblem, he must fall back upon the sciences which reveal the properties of matter, and the modes of altering it, The scienees in question are familiarly divided into Natural History, on the one hand, and Experimental Physics, including Chemistry, on the other. Natural History, on this view, is the science of all these objects, phenomena, and laws, which physical nature spontaneously presents to our view ; whilst Experimental Physics is the seience of all the addi- Honal objects, phenomena, and laws, which our interference with nature enables us to bring ander our scrutiny. Such a twofold division, hawever, is not sufficient for us. All the sciences observe and revister the phenomena and laws which nature presents within the circle allotted to each; and are therefore portions of Natural History, or Naturalistic. All the scienees, also, but Astronomy, experiment upon, or subject to trial, the objects presented by nature to each ; and are therefore Experimental. he difference, accordingly, between the majority of the sciences which are observational, and those which are experimental, is one only of degree. A distinction of a much deeper kind lies in the fact, that the experiments which the one charac- teristically makes are simply more precise observations of what nature presents; whilst those which the other characteristically makes, imply the transformation or transmutation of natural objects, and the study thereafter of the results of such transformations. In addition, however, there is a third class of experiments, neither simply observational nor transformational, but registrative and directive, im modes which I shall presently consider. And, further, Biology, the science of Plant-Life and Animul-Life, must have a place to itself, from the peculiarity of the subject-matter with which it deals. I would arrange the physical sciences, accordingly, as related to Technology, m three groups. I. Naturalistic, Observational, and Registrative sciences, of which the ebief are Astronomy and Geology, including Meteorology, Hydrology, Physical Geography, and Mineralogy, as well as descriptive Botany and Zoology. Il. Experimental, Transformational, and Directive sciences, of which the chief are Chemistry and Mechanics, as well as Heat, Optics, Elec- tricity, and Magnetism. III. Organic sciences: namely, Functional or Physiological Botany, which treats of the plant-life of non-sentient organisms ; and Functional Avevst 1, 1864] THE TECHNOLOGIST. THE BASIS GF TECHNOLGGY. 3 er Physiological Zoclogy, which treats of the animal life of sentient erganisms. This complex, nominally triple arrangement, is essentially twofoll, in its relation te Technology. The industrialist must study one class of the physical sciences, or rather one side of all physical science, tu con-~ sider what gifts Nature offers him with her liberal hand. He must study another class of these sciences, or rather another side of all physical science, to discover hew to turn those gifts te account. There is always, on the one hand, something te be had for the taking, a raw material, a physical pkenemenon, a physical force. Tere is always a necessity, on the ether hand, fer expenditure of skill to effect the transformation of the raw material, the registration of the phenomenon, the direction of the force. To render this clear, I must enter a little mere fully into details; and these may be discussed under three heads, One of the greatest services which observational science is centi- nually rendering to Industrialism, is the discovery ef natural substances, mineral, vegetable, and animal, pessessed ef useful but latent properties. A service net less great is, then, rendered by transformational science pointing out how to modify this gift of nature, so as to call into active existence hidden, precious qualities. Thus, to take a complex but striking example, Through observational science we may discover a soil more or less fertile, all the world over; but transformational science must show us how to fence and till it, how to drain or irrigate, and manure it, before it can be made a fruitful field. Geology, striving ever to reach nearer to the centre of the earth, finds coal for us. Chemistry teaches us hew to coke, z.¢., literally to cook, this raw material, and how to distil it into naphtha and gas. Mineialogy selects iron-ores for us ; Chemistry converts them into steel ; and Mechanics forges that into bars. Descriptive Botany plucksa wild currant ; Physiclogical Botany changes it into a sweet grape ; Chemistry ferments it into wine, and transforms that into ether. Descriptive Zoology lays its hands on a caterpillar; Physiological Zoology nurses it intoastrong silkworm; Chemistry bleaches and dyes the silk which it spins; and Mechanics weaves it into velvet. A second most important service which observational science renders to Industrialism, is by discovering striking natural phenomena, such, for example, as the eclipses of the heavenly bodies, the alterations in the pressure and temperature of the atmesphere, the motions of a loadstone suspended freely, and the like; which experimental science can sa register as to make them guides of the greatest value in a niultitude of practical labours, Thus, there is perhaps no more familiar natural phenomenon than that the sun leaves in shadow that side of a body which is turned from him, and that this shadow changes its place in obedience to the apparent motion of the sun. And with no more than this fact of nature made over to him, even the barbaric mechanician constructs his useful sun- dial, and the day measures itself into hours. So also the bar of steel, ‘ THE TECHNOLOGIST. —[Aveusr J, 1864. 4 ON THE PHYSICAL SCIENCES WHICH FORM which the experimenter has rubbed with a natural loadstone, becomes a compass-needle, and deserves its name, by threading the mariner’s way through all the labyrinths of the sea. “ The wind,” said King Solomon, the greatest naturalist of his time, “ goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north: it whirleth about continually: and the wind returneth according to his circuits.” And the sailors of the ships of Tarshish had, like our sailors, their wind-vane and streamers, their anemoscopes and anemometers, though they did not so name them, to tell from what quarter, and with what force the wind blew. The com- plex and beautiful art of navigation abounds in examples of what I have called Registrative Science. The night-class, the sextant, the thermo- meter, the barometer, the sympiesometer, as well as the compass-needle and the simple wind-vane, by the indications of which the sailor makes his ship go straight, as if on a railway, to the desired haven, are indus- trial instruments of the highest value. No one will doubt this who visits any of our fishing towns during the herring season, when the boats are at sea, and observes how the straining eyes of loving mothers and wives are fixed on the weathercock, and those of faithful fathers and brothers on the doubtful barometer. Here natural phenomena are not merely analysed into greater simplicity, which is the function of obser- vational science ; neither are they interfered with, which is the function of transformational science ; but they are made, as it were, to prolong their existence till not merely the speculative philosopher, but also the busy workman, has been roused to their presence, and has had opportu- nity to profit by their warning. We hold, as we may say, the key down, and let the steam-whistle scream till all have heard the ominous note ; we keep the signal flying that all may see that the wind has changed, and the fleet is weighing anchor. This cannot be done without instru- ments, which, if possible, should be automatic or self-acting ; and such instruments are the fruit only of much and varied experimental trial ; yet the experiments, as something more than observational, and as in no respect transformational, stand apart, and may, till a more distinctive place is found for them, be ranged under Registrative Science. A third most important service which observational science renders Industrialism, is by discovering natural powers, forces, or energies, which in their spontaneous action work both good and ill to man; but when disciplined and controlled by what I have proposed to call directive science, become his unreluctant slaves and willing workmen. Thus, meteorology reveals to us the laws according to which great currents are occasioned in the atmosphere ; and then mechanics builds its windmill, and the most impatient breeze that tries to hurry past must stop, and, like a chained slave, take its turn at grinding corn or drawing water. “The wind,” said He who spake as never man spake, “ bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth ;’ but provided only it do not cease to blow, the mariner can turn his sail one way, and set his rudder ri Aveust 1, 1864.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. THE BASIS OF TECHNOLOGY. 5 the other, and make the wind carry him round and round the globe, whithersocver he will. These are achievements of Directive Science ; multitudes more might be named. The clock, for example, moved by the falling weight ; the hour-glass, with its noiseless shower of sand ; the wheel turned by the stream of water, the mill wrought by the ebb and flow of the tide, the sea-salt crystallized by the heat of the sun, the boracic acid of the voleanic lagoon evaporated by the heat of the volcano ; the direction and force of the wind noted down on paper by the anemo- meter, 7. €., by a pen put between the fingers of the wind itself; the photographic pictures which we compel the sun to draw with a chemical pencil of his own providing, as often as we choose to spread a tablet before him: those are but a few familiar examples of the office of Direc- tive Science. Between it and Registrative Science it is impossible to* draw a sharp line of demarcation, A balance or steelyard, for example, falls as much within the one category as the other; so do all kinds of chronometers. But where we avail ourselves of a natural agency, like the winds, as a mechanical motive power, or like solar heat, to induce chemical change, we may conveniently refer it to Directive Science; whilst where we employ such agency simply to signal to us a change in events, as when the sun-dial marks the passage of time, the compass- needle altered direction in space, or the thermometer altered tempe- rature of the atmosphere, we may with equal propriety refer it to Registrative Science. Again, as Registration is but carefully made, fully registered, or pro- longed Observation, they must shade into each other. It is important, however, to keep them as distinct as we can in reference to Technology ; and the essence of this distinction lies mainly in the different nature of the instruments which they severally employ. The object of the natu- ralist, using that term in its widest sense, is to separate the complex wholes which on every side Nature presents, into their simplest com- ponents. His chief implements, accordingly, are analytical, and are repre- sented by such instruments as the telescope of the astronomer, the microscope of the botanist, the mining axe of the geologist, the hammer of the mineralogist, the scalpel of the anatomist, and the voltaic battery of the chemist. The instruments of Registrative Science, on the other hand, are, in the simplest sense of the word, ségnificant and metrical. They signal the occurrence of a phenomenon ; they note the presence of a force, in- dicate the line of its action, and often also measure its intensity and quantity. Such instruments are the wind-vane, compass-needle, ther- mometer, barometer, chronometer, voltameter, and many more. These instruments are part of the armament of the Naturalist, who is free to use them all; but the disciple of Registrative Science is not equally free to use the analytical implements of the observer. I may compare the difference between the function of the registrars and the observers in science to that which subsists between the musicians of an army and its THE TECHNOLOGIST. —_[Avevsr 1, 1864. 6 ON THE PHYSICAL SCIENCES WHICH FORM fighting men. The drums and trumpets of the band are at the disposal of any combatant officer who has lawful occasion to give a signal to the troops ; but the bandmaster himself never meddles with those exceed- ingly analytical instruments, the guns and swords of the active com- batants. Thus, then, in all its departments, and at all times, Technology stretches forth both hands: with the one, receiving from the Observa- tional Registrative Naturalist an organic or inorganic substance, a phy- sical phenomenon, or a physical force ; and with the other, receiving from the Directive, Transforming Experimentalist the means of changing that rude material into many a precious product; that terrestrial, or sidereal, or cosmical phenomenon, into a faithful watcher and measurer, ‘that wild force into a patient, docile servant. After this explanation, I shall fall back upon the familiar division of all the physical sciences, whether dealing with dead or living matter, into two groups, viz. :— I. The Observational and Recgistrative, Natural History Sciences. II. The Directive and Tranformational, Experimental Sciences. Let us look more particularly at these contrasted groups. The sciences which illustrate the contrast best are astronomy on the one hand, and chemistry on the other. I shall commence with them. — - Astronomy, the oldest, the grandest, and the ripest of the sciences, is, in relation to the physical objects which it considers, almost purely observational. When we study it, we are like men reading a book under a glass case, the leaves of which are slowly turned over by a self-acting mechanism, so that two pages only can be studied at a time. If we quickly exhaust the meaning of these pages, or tire of their perusal, we cannot hasten the period when the leaf will turn over ; and if we miss their meaning, or wish to dwell upon it, we cannot arrest or delay the turning of the leaf, but must wait, it may be for a lifetime, till the cycle is complete, and these pages are opened again. The magnificent clockwork of the heavens, with all its fiery glories, its stately movements, and faultless machinery, is far beyond and above our slightest interference. We cannot reach it, nor, if we could, dare we approach to touch it. The humiliating contrast which any compa- rison of the two brings to light, between the immensity and majesty of the heavens and the littleness and impotence of man, presses too heavily on the heart to allow us easily to contemplate with merely intellectual eyes the unapproachableness of the objects of astronomy. The greatest of modern astronomers have often with their lips, and always, I believe, with their hearts, uttered their amen to the star-loving king of Israel’s confession, “ When I consider Thy heavens, the work of Thy fingers, the moon and the stars which Thou hast ordained ; what is man, that Thou art mindful of him ? and the son of man, that Thou visitest him ?” But upon this moral aspect of the peculiarity of astronomy under consideration I have no desire at present to dwell. I would rather on oe eee Avausr 1, 1864] THE TECHNOLOGIST. ; TIE BASIS OF TECHNOLOGY. % this occasion forget it; for, in truths if man has reason to feel proud of any one of his achievements, it is of his science of astronomy ; and the linitations which restrict its study justify his pride the more. Those limitations are great. Ages before the existence of scientific astronomy the question was put to the patriarch Job, “ Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion ; canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth in his season ? or canst thou guide Arcturus with his sons?” And when Job in his heart, if not with his lips, answered the Almighty, No, he answered for all his successors as well as for him- self. Astronomical problems accumulate unsolved on our hands, because we cannot as mechanicians, chemists, or physiologists, experiment upon the stars. Are they built of the same ma erials as our planet ? Are they inhabited ? Are Saturn’s rings solid or liquid? Has the moon an atmo- sphere? Are the atmospheres of the planets like ours? Are the light and heat of the sun begotten of combustion ? and what is the fucl which feeds his unquenchable fires? These are but a few of the questions which we ask, and variously answer, but leave in reality unanswered, after all. A war of words regarding the revolution of the moon round her axis may go on to the end of time, because we cannot throw our satellite out of gearing, or bring her toa momentary stand-still ; and the problem of the habitability of the stars awaits in vain an experimen- tum crucis. ‘The only exceptions which may be made to the essentially non-experimental character of astronomy are furnished by the opportu- nity granted us to modify to the extent of onr power the sidereal influ- ences, such as heat, light, and actinism, and the sidereal bodies, such as the meteoric stones which reach our globe. The sidereal influences, how- ever, have passed from the domain of Astronomy into that of Physics, before they come under our examination ; and the meteoric stones are terrestrial minerals before we analyse them. Optics and Chemistry claim them from Astronomy. The astronomer, accordingly, must be content to be the chronicler of a spectacle, in which, except as an onlooker, he takes no part. Like the sailor at the mast-head in his solitary night-watch, he must see, as he sails through space in his small earthly bark, that nothing escapes his view within the vast, visible firmament. But he stands, as it were, with folded arms, occupied solely in wistfully gazing over the illimitable ocean, where the nearest vessel, like his own, is far beyond summons or signal, and the greatest appears but as a speck on the distant horizon. His course lies out of the track of every other vessel ; and year atter year he repeats the same voyage, without ever practically altering his relation to the innumerable fleets which navigate those seas. Astronomy is thus pre-eminently the Observational Science ; and represents in its greatest purity that function of the physical sciences which consists in the investigation of the works of God, as untouched by man. Such investigation is the basis of all our knowledge and all our industry. And if our human pride ever tempts us to undervalue 4 THE TECHNOLOGIST. [AucustT 1, 1864. oe ON THE PHYSICAL SCIENCES WHICH FORM the astronomer as compared with his brother philosophers, because he is only a spectator, and not an actor, on the field which he cultivates, let us remember that the ever-changing spectacle which he witnesses is one which not only demands for its full appreciation the whole intellect of man, but far surpasses in grandeur the sights which open to the eyes of other students, even though they are free to add to the glories which God has made to shine forth from all His works, every hidden grace which human weakness can bring to view. This superhuman character of astronomy was recognised from the first. As a bare scientific truth, it was implied in the declaration of the great Greek mechanician Archimedes, that if he had a place whereon to stand he could move the world. The 70d or@, the whereon to stand, has not been found. ‘The greatest practical mathematician of antiquity incidentally proclaimed that, though man is free elsewhere to compel Nature to teach him the mysteries she seeks to conceal, and to submit to his interference with her, there is one territory of hers, and that her vastest, where she brooks no interference, and he cannot stretch her on the rack, or torture her secrets from her. We have no standing-place among the stars, no liberty to lay finger on them. What we know of them they have told us, spontaneously revealing at all epochs more than we are able or willing to receive. This'thought, which was latent in the Greek philosopher’s utterance, and in part proclaimed in the question already quoted as addressed to Job, was announced in all its fulness by the inspired Hebrew king—“ The heavens declare the glory of God: and the firmament sheweth His handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge.” Unconstrained and spontaneous though the revelations of astronomy thus are, their value to industrial science cannot easily be overrated. Our modes of measuring space and time, and in connection with both the art of navigation, are applications to the most useful purposes of truths which astronomy offers freely to all who have capacity enough to receive them. The phenomena, in truth, of which Registrative Science takes cognizance, are in great part furnished by this liberal giver, who has also taught us laws regulating many of the forces with which Direc- tive Science deals. It is sufficient on this head to refer to the laws of gravitation. Astronomy, further, is related to the Experimental Transformational Sciences in a very curious way. If imaginative men, needlessly fearing that the progress of physical science will prove fatal to poetry, rejoice that the sun is as dazzling to us as to our forefathers, and that we no more than they can wreathe our hands in the golden manes of his fiery coursers ; at least we can watch with more exulting delight the sparks which their pawing feet strike out of the starry pavement, and can see other than romantic reasons why they rejoice to run their race. Daily the conviction deepens among those who have studied the matter, that with a few exceptions all the physical powers which man Aveust 1,.1864.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. THE BASIS OF TECHNOLOGY. § wields as movers or transformers of matter are modifications of sun- force. It was bestowed upon antediluvian plants, and they locked it up for a season in The woody tissue which it enabled them to weave, and afterwards time changed that into coal; and the steam-engine, which we complacently call ours, and claim patents for, burns that coal into lever-force and steam-hammer power, and is, in truth, a sun-engine. And the plants of our own day receive as liberally from the sun, and condense his force into the charcoal which we extract from them, and expend in smelting metallic ores. With the smelted metals we make voltaic batteries, and magnets, and telegraph wires ; and call the modified. sun-force electricity and magnetism, and say it is ours, and ask if we may not do what we like with our own. And again, the plants which we cultivate concentrate sun-force in grass, hay, oats, wheat, and other grains and fibres, which seem only suitable to feed cattle and beasts of burden with. But by-and-by a Spanish bull-fighter is transfixed by this force, through the horns of a bull, and dies unaware of his classical fate, pierced to the heart by an arrow from Apollo, the Sun-God’s bow. -On English commons prizes are run for, by steeds which are truly coursers of the sun, for his force is swelling in their muscles and throbbing in their veins, and horse-power is but another name for sun-power. Nor is it otherwise with their riders ; for they, too, have been fed upon light, and made strong with fruits and flesh which have been nourished by the sun. His heat warms their blood, his light shines in their eyes ; they cannot deal a blow which is not a coup de soleil, a veritable sun-stroke; nor express a thought without help from him. In grave earnestness, let me remind you, that as force cannot be annihilated any more than matter, but can only be changed in its mode of manifestation, so it appears beyond doubt that the force generated by the sun, and conveyed by his rays in the guise of heat, light, and chemical power, to the earth, is not extinguished there, but only changes its form. It apparently disappears when it falls upon plants, which never grow without it; but we cannot doubt that it is working in a new shape in their organs and tissues, and reappears in the heat and light which they give out when they are burned. This heat, which is sun-heat at second hand, we again seem to lose when we use plants as fuel in our boiler- furnaces ; but it has only disguised itself, without loss of power, in the elasticity of the steam, and will again seem lost, when it is translated into the momentum of the heavy piston, and the whirling power of a million of wheels. The second-hand heat of the sun appears equally lost when vegetable fuel is expended in reducing metals; but oxidize these metals in a galvanic battery, and it will reappear as chemical force, as electricity, as magnetism, as heat the most intense ; and, in the electro-carbon light, will return almost to the condition of sunshine again. This second-hand plant-heat appears equally lost when vegetables VOL. V. Cc THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Aveusr 1, 1864 16 ON THE PHYSICAL SCIENCES WHICH FORM are eaten Dy animals, but in reality reappears m their so-called animal heat, and in the chemical, electrical, and other forces which act upon and within them. It reappears, also, | de not doubt, in their vegetable life, and changes into what we call vital foree. Do not, however, mis- understand me, as going beyond physical force. Life, remember, is not mind. The immaterial spirit, the immortal soul, is far above the Sun. We know him, and we know ourselves, but he knows neither himself nor us. : Astronomy thus stands much nearer industrialism, in all its depart- ments, than perhaps any of us fully realize. J cannut wonder that men, even practical men, were once astrologers. A dim sense of obligation to the heavenly bodies for something more than starlight was. obseurely felt perhaps by all, and rested, as the stable foundation-stone of a worthless building, at the bottom of the fantastic erection which formed the astrology of the middle ages. And still more intelligible is sun- worship. Only by a fallen and a rebel ange! could such words be uttered as “ I add thy name, Osun ! to tell thee how I hate thy beams.” The worst of men would recall that God “ maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good;” and across the chasm of centuries I own toa sympathy with the pagan who worshipped as a god the bountiful Sun. If now we turn to Chemistry, as pre-eminently the Experimental Science, we shall fd everything reversed. Were we to personify ancient chemistry, we should represent her as a speechless priestess of nature, sworn to silence, loving concealment, and the most grudging of givers. She persuaded mankind for centuries that there were but four elements, Air, Earth, Fire, and Water; and so cunning a conjurer was she, that though in open day she was continually taking them to pieces before the eyes of all, they did not detect the trick, but pronouneed each fancied element one and indivisible. She still stretches forth her hands, filled with truths the most wonderful; bet those hands are clenched, and you must borrow her strength before you ean open them. Every substance under her control is a locked casket, with a concealed key-hole, and no key. You must first, if you ean, fmd the key-hole, which a search for ages has often failed to find ; and then study as best you may the hidden wards of the lock ; and thereafter forge not a pick- lock, but a perfect key, which in a multitude of cases will open the lock for which it was made. The characteristic attitude, accordingly, of the chemist is very different from that of the astronomer. It is true that the former, like the latter, and like all the students of nature, must deal much in simple observation. The colours, the odours, the tastes, the crystalline shapes, the densities, the melting and boiling points, and many analogous pro- perties or phenomena presented by bodies, are carefully noticed and registered by him. In observing these, however, he is not doing his own work, but that of the physicist : his proper work hegins where that of the latter ends. Whatever is brought him, whether meteoric stone Avéust 1, 1864] THE TECHNOLOGIST. Bue BASIS OF TECHNOLOGY. tli! from the realms of space, or mineral from the bowels of the earth, or essence of plant, or secretion of animal, crystal or liquid, or vapour or gas, he regards as ceming in “a questionable shape.” Is it a corapound ; and if se, what are its ingredients? Ave they compound in a less degree, or in essence simple? Are there any bodies truly simple; and if so, how many! What new compounds is it possible to produce by uniting in ways which Nature has not followed the simple aud complex substances which she supplies ? To act out in practice those queries and others, the chemist at all times must keep both hands busy. His arms may never be fulded. No mighty panorama unrolls itself before his eyes, requiring only that he fix upon if an unwavering gaze. No mysterious strangers longing to unburden their bosems of truths known only to themselves, seek his cell as a confessional, and whisper revelations into his ear. He must be likened to one of those grim inyuisitors of the middle ages, whem no man willingly answered, and who believed in no man’s answer unless he wrung it from him by torture. In truth, there is a wonderful simi- larity between the old drawings of the inquisitors putting their victims to the question, and the old drawings of the alchemists testing the ebjects of their suspicions. In both cases there is a dark subterranean chamber, with ominous fires lighting up the gloom. In both the pre- siding genius is a wasted old man, with a haggard lock, and the pitiless, unsatisfied eye of a bird of prey which has often missed its quarry. In both, obsequious familiars stand ready to do the bilding of the senior, and strange machines and implements hang upon the walls and burden the floor. In both, to complete the picture, all eyes are fixed upon the doomed object of suspicion in the centre, from which, whatever truths mechanical] pressure can crush, or fire and water melt or dissolve, wilt presently be gathered. The analogy is not a fanciful one, for unless history has wronged the medieval Inquisition, it reversed the rule of English jurisprudence, and counted every object of its notice guilty, till he proved himself innocent: and such is certainly the law of the chemist, who, like the French terrorist, regards every substance as “ suspect” of being something else than it seems, and puts a mark even: upon those against whom nothing has been proved before his searching tribunal. But this comparison illustrates only one-half, and that the less important half, of what distinguishes chemistry from the other sciences. It is not that it experiments, for all the sciences, excepting astronomy, experiment. Nor that it tries to analyse everything, for every science is analytical, none more than astronomy ; and all to the extent of their power treat nature inquisitorially. Chemistry differs only in degree from the other sciences in this respect, although the degree of that difference is immense. But it may be said to differ in kind from the other sciences, in its power to modify or transform matter, and to effect the creation of new bodies. That it can separate substances into their “ SS THE TECHNOLOGIST. [August 1, 1864. 12 ON THE PHYSICAL SCIENCES WHICH FORM simpler ingredients, perhaps into their veritable elements, is a legitimate source of pride; but in relation, at least, to the arts of life, a greater ground of exultation is, that it can unite those elements or ingredients so as not only to reproduce the compound from which they were taken, but to bring into being, for the first time, compounds new to man. No wonder, then, that Nature is jealous of her chemical secrets. She knows that we shall never try to rival her in lighting up suns and stars, in building granite mountains and digging volcanic craters, or in shaping blades of grass, and manufacturing from it fleeces of wool. For- the making of these she has the patent which we cannot infringe. But from the moment that chalk was proved to consist of carbonic acid and lime, the patent for making it expired; and we can not only produce chalk at will, out of its components, carbonic acid and lime, but out of their elements, carbon, oxygen, and calcium, we can make novel compounds, and forestal Nature in her own market. The chemist is thus pre-eminently a transformer, a transmuter, a maker ; in one word, a creator, to the full extent a mortal can be. God has given him one world ; and, in addition, has permitted him*to make as many worlds from it as he can. And every day he is making a new, and still a newer globe, new metals, new earths, new alkalies, new acids, new foods, new drinks, new airs to breathe. Alexander the Great wept because he had not another world to conquer; but no chemist needs weep on that account, for he may be first creator, and then conqueror of world upon world. Since the century began, Davy gave us one new world ; Berzelius gave us another ; Liebig a third: many more are in store for us. ; The ancient Chemistry, a mute priestess, has long confessed that her oracles are dumb, and herself listens to the revelations of her unresem- bling successor. Modern chemistry is an active, full-voiced workman, a daimonic blacksmith, like the Scandinavian Thor or the classical Vulcan ; only I do not know that it is essential to our conception of personified chemistry that he should be represented lame. This black- smuith’s chief tools are two hammers. The one of them he calls analysis ; it is a crushing hammer. If you bring him anything, no matter how rare and costly, he begs you to lay it on his anvil and let him try it with his tool. There are not many things in the world that can bear uninjured its stroke. The few that can, he sets great store upon, puts aside with a certain reverence, calls elements, and distinguishes by names. Some sixty such elements are all that he has yet encountered ; and, with an improved hammer, he hopes to break down many of these. The multitude of bodies that give way before his blows he continues to smite till they will break no smaller, and the grains that remain he separates according to their kinds, and puts into that parcel of the sixty invincibles to which each belongs. His other hammer he calls synthesis ; it is a forging hammer. Be- neath its strokes any two or more of the sixty unbroken residues of his iy * we a Aveust 1, 1864.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. THE BASIS OF TECHNOLOGY. 13 erushing work can be welded together, made to incorporate into new substances, and assume new forms. Two, ten, twenty, the whole sixty simplest bodies may be taken, in equal or unequal quantities, and from each of the endless mixtures a new wonder will take shape under the hammer. So he stands with a weapon in each hand, for he is ambidextrous ; and moreover, he can wield both weapons at once. Neither are these his only tools. Equipped with them and with others, the chemist is pre-eminently a transformer, from the fourfold force which he can bring to bear upon material things. First : He can analyse or decompose them into their last elements, and avail himself of these, as he does, for example, when he extracts the sulphur and the metal of an ore, and uses both; or when he takes out of salt the chlorine, and bleaches with it; and the sodium, and makes soap with it. Or he can partially analyse them, reducing them from their native great complexity to perfect simplicity, step by step ; doing this by steps of different length, and obtaining something useful at each stage. Thus, instead of at once decomposing sugar into carbon, hydro- gen, and oxygen, he can stop short of this, and decompose it into char- coal and water; or into alcohol and carbonic acid; or into oxalic acid and carbonic acid; or into the acid of milk (lactic. acid) ; or into the acid of butter (butyric acid) ; or mto manna and gum ; or into mixtures of various of these, and of other peculiar and highly-prized products. Secondly : He can unite bodies, so as to obtain artificially compounds which are rare in nature or difficult to procure. Thus, instead of dig- ging in Illyria for cinnabar, he heats together sulphur and quicksilver, and makes vermilion in England ; instead of sending to the Italian vol- canoes for alum, he makes it at home from clay and oil of vitriol ; instead of burning sea-weeds in Shetland to get carbonate of soda, or sailing to India for saltpetre, he produces these at his own door, by uniting their constituent acids and bases. Further, out of the sixty elements he manufactures compounds of the greatest value to the industrialist, which are not to be found in nature at all, such as brass, gun-metal, cast iron, steel, percussion powder, bleaching powder, chloroform. Thirdly : He can take certain constituents from a compound whilst he adds in their place others, so that analysis and synthesis proceed side by side. Thus he removes oxygen from iron ore, and replaces it by carbon, converting thereby the iron into steel. He begins with a car- bonate, and replaces the carbonic acid in it by sulphuric, nitric, acetic, or other acids, so as to convert it into a sulphate, nitrate, or acetate. He takes carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen from alcohol, and adds chlorine, transmuting the spirit into chloroform. Such processes of substitution are perhaps the most common of all the transformative methods of the chemist, and they often imply complete exchange among all the elements of very complex compounds. erie and lastly : He can transform bodies, without taking ingre- THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Avcust 1, 1864. 14 ON CHEMISTRY APPLIED TO THE ARTS. dients from them or adding ingredients to them. By a new arrange- ment of particles, implying neither loss nor gain of weight or substance, one body may be converted into another of properties wholly different. Thus starch can be changed into gum, and guin into sugar, and sugar into wood-fibre. A neutral salt may become a powerful base; a vola- tile odorous liquid an indifferent crystalline solid. Chemistry looks in no direction more hopeiully than in this for new triumphs over matter. (To be continued.) * ON CHEMISTRY APPLIED TO THE ARTS. BY DR. F. CRACE CALVERT, F.R.S., F.C.S. A CouRSE OF LECTURES DELIVERED BEFORE THE MEMBERS OF THE SocrETY OF ARTS. Lecture I. Bones.—Composition of Raw and Boiled Bones. The Manufacture of Superphos- phate of Lime. Application to Agriculture. Bone-black or Char, and its Use in Sugar-refining. Phosphorus, its Properties; Extraction and Employment in Manufacture of Matches. Lorn and Zvory, their Composition and Application. I SHALL not take up your time by making many preliminary remarks, but merely state that, though the heads of the subject on which I intend to speak are not inviting ones, still we shall find as we progress that the study of the various matters which [ shall bring before you is full of interest and instruction. Further, it would be difficult to name sub- jects which better illustrate the ability of man to turn to profitable account the various materials placed in his hands, or to mention sub- stances which have received more complete and skilful applications than those we shall treat of this evening. Bonres.—The composition of ‘green bones,” or bones in their natural state, may be considered under two general heads, viz.:—the animal matters, consisting of a substance called osséine, and a few blood-vessels, and the mineral matters, chiefly represented by phosphate of lime and a few other mineral salts. The composition of bones has been examined by many eminent chemists, but the most complete researches are those published in 1855 by M. Fremy, who examined bones, not only from various classes of vertebrated animals, but also from different parts of the same animal; and to enable you to appre- ciate some of his conclusions, allow me to draw your attention to the following table* :— : * Annales de Chimie et Physique. Vol. xliii., pp. 79, 83, 84. - Avaust 1, 1864.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. ON CHEMISTRY APPLIED TO THE ARTS. 15 Composition or Bonzs. | Mineral | Phosphate Phosphate |Carbonate Name of Bone. Matter. of Laie of Mauncsuy of Lime. Femur—Fetus 6 months 63:0 58'9 5:8 eBoy BS PERS 580 0:5 25 os Woman 22 years..., 60°] 59-4 13 77 a Man i SUlieatiaain Ooo 57:7 12 93 - ee AQ ie Gag 563 13 10-2 ee Womans80) 5 0.219 64:6 57'1 12 75 i 7 eral st 60,8 519 1:3 9:3 of Lion (young) ...... 647 60:0 15 6:3 35 STAVE) Man oman cen SA 70:0 62:9 1.5 77 perma VW, bal@ie ee cca ces 62:9 519 0°5 10°6 OSbrr chi vcs) 5 AE in Reon SA 70:0 Carapace of Turtle ......... 64:3 58:0 1.2 (COG IFS! Te aca Gao eRmanar a anaes 61:3 taes MOM och ct«: goin 61:9 58°1 traces 3°8 Cow's tooth Bone......... 67:1 60:7 1-2 29 o a Enamel..... 96:9 90°5 traces 2:2, 9 ¥ ivory-..%).« Son Gas) 70°3 13 2-2 Scales of the Carp ........ 34:2 33°7 traces el The first conclusion drawn by M. Fremy from these researches is, that he found a larger proportion of mineral matter than is generally admitted by chemists. Secondly, that there is no material difference in the composition of various bones taken from different parts of man, or of any one animal, but that age has a very marked influence on com- position. Thus, in the bones of infants there is more animal and less mineral matter than in the adult, whilst in old age there is more mineral and less animal matter than in the middle-aged man. The mineral substance which chiefly increases in old age is carbonate of lime. Lastly, he could find no marked difference between the bones of man, the ox, calf, elephant, and whale; whilst in the bones of carnivorous animals and those of birds there is a slight increase in the amount of mineral matter. Allow me now to call your attention to a most. inte- resting query. I hold in one hand the mineral matter only of a bone, which you can see retains perfectly its original form, and in the other hand I have the animal matter only of a similar bone, which also retains the form in which it previously existed, but is flexible instead of rigid. The question, therefore, arises whether the hardness of bones proceeds from these two kinds of matter being combined together, or are their respective molecules merely juxtaposed? The answer is, the latter; for, as you see by this specimen, the mineral matter has been entirely removed without deforming the animal texture. Further, in the foetus it is found that the bones contain nearly the same proportions of animal and mineral matters as those of the adult. Also, it has been observed by: Mr. Flourence and other eminent physiologists, that the wear and tear of bones during lite is repaired by THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Aveusr 1, 1864. 16 ON CHEMISTRY APPLIED TO THE ARTS. the formation of new bone on the exterior surface of the bone, while the old substance is removed through the interior duct, and that the composition of the new layer is the same as that of the original bone. Let us now proceed to examine the chemical properties of the various substances composing bones, and some of the various applications which they receive in arts and manufactures. The general composition of bones may be considered to be as follows :— BONES. Organic Blood- -vessels ae aie Hts 1 ib ceanines Osséine g ace aoe aie 32 F Fatty Matters. ee As oe 9 Water.. . bee =e 8 Bias > Phosphate of Lime .. aus Bro ae: aia Phosphate of Magnesia see S60 2 i ; Carbonate of Lime... : ee 8 | Divers Salts ... aoe 545 ont 2 The above-named animal matter, osséine, C 50°4, H 65, N 169, O 26:2, and which has been erroneously called gelatine, is insoluble in water, weak acids, and alkalies, whilst gelatine presents properties directly the reverse. But what has led to this popular error is, that osséine, when boiled in water, becomes converted into the isomeric substance commonly called gelatine. As I shall have to dwell upon this substance at some length in my next two lectures, I will not detain you now further than to state that osséine is obtained from bones by placing them in weak hydrochloric acid, which dissolves the phosphate of lime and other mineral salts, washing the animal substance, osséine, until all aeid is removed, drying it, and treating it with ether to remove fatty matters. I cannot leave this subject without remarking on the extraordinary stability of this animal substance, for it has been found in the bones of man and animals after many centuries, and even in small quantities in fossil bones. The fatty matter of bones is made useful in the manufacture of soap, railway grease, and other purposes ; it is obtained by taking fresh bones (as bones which have been kept a long time will not yield their grease easily) and placing the spongy parts, or ends of the bones (where most of the fatty matter exists), in large boilers filled with water, which is then carried to the boil, when a part of the osseine is converted into gelatine, and the fatty matter liberated rises to the surface, and is easily removed. The bones thus treated are called boiled bones, and ~ receive many important applications. Benzine and bisulphuret of carbon have been used as substitutes for water in the above operation, but the advantages do not seem to have been sufficient to lead to their general adoption. Mineral Matter of Bones.—These, as the foregoing tables show, are chiefly represented by phosphate and carbonate of lime. The immortal kt 2 aay F Aveust 1, 1864.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. ON CHEMISTRY APPLIED TO THE ARTS. 17 Berzelius was the first to establish the fact that phosphate of lime was the only substance possessing the properties necessary for the formation of bone, owing to the extremely simple chemical reactions which cause the soluble phosphates to become insoluble. Let us trace shortly the sources from whence we derive the large proportion of phosphate of lime which exists in our frames. Several of our most eminent chemists have proved the existence of phosphorus in sedimentary and igneous rocks, and the important part played by phosphorus in nature cannot be better conveyed to your minds than by this extract from Dr. Hof- mann’s learned and valuable ‘ Report on the Chemical Products in the Exhibition of 1862 :’ —“ Large masses of phosphorus are, in the course of geological revolutions, extending over vast periods of time, restored from the organic reigns of nature to the mineral kingdom by the slow process of fossilization ; whereby vegetable tissues are gradually trans- formed into peat, lignite, and coal, and animal tissues are petrified into coprolites, which, in course of time, yield crystalline apatite. After lying locked up and motionless in these forms for indefinite periods, phosphorus, by further geological movements, becomes again exposed to the action of its natural solvents, water and carbonic acid, and is thus restored to active service in the organisms of plants and lower animals, through which it passes, to complete the mighty cycle of its movements into the blood and tissues of the human frame. While circulating thus, age after age, through the three kingdoms of nature, phosphorus is never for a moment free. It is throughout retained in combination with oxygen, and with the earthy or alkaline metals, for which its attraction isintense.’ After these eminently philosophical views by Dr. Hofmann, I will proceed to call your attention to the appli- cation of bones to agriculture. Bones are generally used for manuring in one of these three forms :—Ist. As ground green bones; 2nd. As ground boiled bones (that is, bones nearly deprived of their osseine by boiling under pressure, as I shall describe in my next lecture) ; 3rd. Superphosphate of lime. Green or raw bones have been used on grass land for a long period, but their action is exceedingly slow and progressive, owing to the resistance of the organic matter to decomposition and the consequently slow solubility of the phosphate of lime in carbonic acid dissolved in water. What substantiates this view is, that boiled bones are far more active than the above. It is found that from 30 to 35 cwts. per acre of these will increase the crops on pasture land from 10 to 20 per cent. in the second year of their application. But the great advantage which agriculture has derived from the application of bones as a manure has arisen from their transformation into superphosphate of lime, especially applicable to root and cereal crops. To Baron Liebig is due the honour of having first called the attention of farmers (in 1840) to the import- ance of transforming the insoluble phosphate of lime of bones into the soluble superphosphate, rendering it susceptible of immediate absorp- VOL. Vv. D og PRESSES ON Ae ene ET THE TECHNOLOGIST, [Aucusr 3, 1864, 1s ON CHEMISTRY APPLIED TO THE ARTS. tion by the roots of plants, and of becoming at once available for their growth. These suggestions of Liebig were rapidly carried out on @ practical scale by Messrs. Muspratt, ef Laneashire, and J. B. Lawes, of Middlesex ; in consequence of the valuable results obtained by them, the manufacture of artificial manures has gradually grown imto an im- portant branch of manufacture in this country. The manufacture of superphosphate of lime is so simple that any farmer possessing a know- ledge of the mere rudiments of chemistry can make it for himself, by which he will not only effect great economy, but also secure genuineness of product. All he requires is a wooden vessel lined with lead, into which can be placed 1,000 lbs. of ground boiled bones, 1,00C1bs. of water, and 500lbs. of sulphuric acid, sp. gr. 1.845 (or concentrated vitriol), mixing the whole, and stirring well for about twelve hours. After two or three days a dry mass remains, which only requires to be taken out and placed on the land by means of the drill, or to be mixed with water and sprinkled on the land. When very large quantities of this manure are required, the plan devised by Mr. Lawes appears to me to be the best. It consists in introducing into the upper end of a slightly- inclined revolving cylinder a quantity of finely-ground boiled bones, together with a known proportion of sulphuric acid of sp. gr. 168. As the materials slowly descend by the revolution of the eylinder they become thoroughly mixed, and leave it im the form of a thick pasty mass, which is conducted into a large cistern capable of containing 100 tons, or a day’s work. ‘This is allowed to remain for twelve hours, when it is removed, and is ready for use. Most manufacturers find it neces- sary to add to the phosphate of lime of bones other sources of phos- phates, such as coprolites, or the fossil dung of antediluvian animals, which have been found in large quantities in Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, and elsewhere, and contain from 36 to 62 per cent. of phosphate of lime, and from 7 to 38 per cent. of organic matter. Others employ a mineral substance called apatite, containing about 92 per cent. of phosphate of lime, and found also in large quantities in Spain, Norway, France, &e. Others, agiin, employ guanos rich in phosphate of lime, such as those of Kooria Mooria Islands, and Sombrero phosphates. The following is the average composition of the superphosphate of lime of commerce :— Soluble Phosphate ............+0 22 to 25 per cent. Tnsoluble: %),,0) tees 8, OF Si Wistior 5 3ccvc. ecb eee LO Wipes ibs Baas Sulphate of Lime ..... seer OP Vinits ie eles Oroamie Water -eeccs eenteee Ripe eee aT agen Nitrogen 8°75 to 1'5 per cent. The valuable and extensive researches of Messrs. Lawes and Gilbert, and Messrs. Boussingault and Ville, have not only demonstrated the import- ance of phosphates to the growth of cereal and root crops, but also that phosphates determine in a great measure during vegetation the absorp- Aveust 1, 1864.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. ON CHEMISTRY APPLIED TO THE ARTS. 19 tion of nitrogen from the nitrates or from ammonia, as will be seen by the follewing table :— Amount oF NITROGEN FLXED BY WHEAT UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF EGLLOWING SALTS :-— Without With Nitrogenated Nitrogenated Compounds. Compounds. Phosphate of Lime and Alkaline Silicate... 8.15 20,08 Phosphate of Lime ............. wopiscaseeaae ss 1. 025 19°17 Earths and Alkaline Silicates......... Hamano 11:16 Hartin..:: Benoscteen Moneidaaetvspamcesdusces anna sae, ONO 9.50: Bone-black or Char.—In 1800, Léwitz made the interestimg obser- vation that wood charcoal possesses the remarkable property of removing colouring matters from their solutions. In 1811, Figuier also observed that animal black has far greater decolorating power than wood charcoal, and bene-black has consequently become one of the principal agents in sugar-refining, and has been the means, more than any other substance, of producing good and cheap white sugars. To give you an idea of the extent to which bone-black is used at the present day for decolorating purposes in the refining of sugar, I may state that in Paris alone it is estimated that about 11 million kilogrammes of bones are used annually for that purpose. ‘The preparation of bone-black is simple in principle. It consists in placing in cast-iron pots about 50 pounds of broken boiled bones, that is, bones which have been de- prived of their fat—of most aft their osséine, and piling these pots in a furnace, where they are submitted to a gradually rising temperature, during twenty-four hours, such as will completely decompose the organic matter, but not so high as to partly fuse the bones and thus render them unfit for their applications. Buta more economical process. is generally adopted. It consists in introducing the crushed bones into. horizontal retorts, which are themselves in connection with condensers; the ends of which are brought under the retorts to assist by their com- bustion in the distillation of the animal matter. By this arrangement not only is char obtained, but oily matters which are used by curriers, and also ammoniacal salts employed in agriculture and manufactures, The extraordinary decolorating action of animal blacks may be con- sidered as partly chemical and partly mechanical—mechanical because it is proved, by some interesting researches of Dr. Stenhouse, to which I shall refer further on, that the action is due to the minute division of the carbon and the immense surtace offered by its particles to the colouring matter, char being composed of ninety parts of mineral salts to 10 per cent. of carbon. On the other hand, the action is pruved also to be chemical, by the fact that water will not remove the colouring matter, whilst a weak solution of alkali will dissolve it. Dr. Stenhouse’s valuable researches not only illustrate fully this fact, but also prove the possibility of producing artificially substitutes for bone-black. In 1857 he published a paper describing the production of an artificial black, ON Se age THE TECHNOLOGIST. ([Aveusr 1, 1864. 20 ON CHEMISTRY APPLIED TO THE ARTS. called by him aluminized charcoal. This he obtained by mixing inti- mately, and heating, finely pulverized charcoal and sulphate of alumina, when he obtained a powerful decolorating agent containing 7 per cent. of alumina, and well adapted for decolorating acid solutions, such as those of tartaric and citric acids, in chemical works. He also prepared what he called coal-tar charcoal, by melting one pound of pitch in a cast-iron pot, adding-to it two pounds of coal-tar, and mixing intimately with it. seven pounds of hydrate of lime, then carrying the whole to a high temperature, allowing it to cool, removing the lime by washing the mass with hydrochloric acid, and then with water, when carbun in a high state of division was obtained, possessing powerful decolorating properties. The following series of experiments by Dr. Stenhouse perfectly illustrate the chemico-physical action of animal black as a decolorating agent. He boiled a certain amount of char and’ his two charcoals, with a solution of logwood, then treated each black separately with ammonia, when the following results were obtained : Aluminized charcoal yielded no colour. Bone-black-but a slight amount. Coal-tar charcoal, large quantities. But it would be wrong in me to leave you under the impression that animal black can only remove colours from solutions. Purified animal black, that is to say, animal black deprived of its mineral matters by the action of muriatic acid and subsequent washing, has the power of removing certain bitters from their solutions. Thus Dr. Hofmann and Professor Redwood applied this property with great skill, some years ago, to the detection of strychnine in beer. Again, Mr. Thos. Graham, Master of the Mint, published a most interesting series of researches, in which he established the fact that purified animal black had the power to remove a great number of saline matters from their- solutions, such as the salts of lime, lead, copper, &c. Revivication of Bone Black.—After a certain quantity of syrup sugar has percolated through the cylinders containing bone black, the inter- stices become so clogged with impurities, that it loses its power of decolorating the syrup. Sugar refiners are therefore in the habit of re- storing the power of their bone black, generally speaking, by submitting it to a process of calcination, which volatilizes or destroys the organic smatter fixed by the char. It has been proved by experience that char may undergo this operation about twenty times before its pores become so clogged with dirt as to render it useless. [Here the lecturer described, with the aid of drawings, several of the various apparatus used in sugar refineries for the above process, alluding particularly to that of Messrs. Pontifex and Wood, by which a ton of char is revivified every twenty- four hours.] A new process, however, has been devised by Messrs. Leplay and Cuisinier, which as a whole deserves the attention of refiners, though I am aware that several of the details of their process have been used for some time. The char which has served its purpose in the cylinders, instead of being removed, is treated at once by the following Aveust 1, 1864.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. ON CHEMISTRY APPLIED TO THE ARTS, 21 processes. It is first thoroughly washed, treated by steam to remove all viscous substances, then a weak solution of alkali is allowed to percolate through the char, which removes saline matters and a certain amount of colouring matter, when it is further acted upon by weak hydrochloric acid, which in removing a certain amount of the lime salts liberates the colouring matters ; the char is again washed with weak alkali to remove the remaining colouring matter, and lastly the decolorating power of the black is restored by passing through it a solution of bi-phosphate of lime. It is to be hoped that the high praise bestowed upon this process on the Continent may induce our manufacturers to try it, as they would obtain two strict advantages by its use. First, the economy of operating at once upon the black and restoring its properties without removing it from the cylinders. Secondly, the prevention of the noxious odours given off during the revivification of char by the ordinary methods. It is interesting to note one of the results of the different employment of char in this country and on the continent. In England the wear and tear in sugar refinery is constantly repaired by the introduction of fresh char, and there is no spent or old char for sale. In France, on the con- trary, owing to the great impurities in their beet-root sugar syrups, and to the use of blood in refinery, the char becomes rapidly clogged with organic matter, and is so completely animalised, that its value as a manure exceeds what the char originally cost the refiner. The result is that French “ spent’ char is annually exported to the French colonies to the amount of 120,000 tons, and is there used as a manure to promote the growth of the sugar cane. So important is this article of commerce considered, that the French Government have appointed special analy- tical chemists to determine its value for the trade. Phosphorus.—I am now about to call your attention to one of the most marvellous and valuable substances ever discovered by chemists. In 1660, Brandt, a merchant of Hamburgh, discovered a process for ob- taining phosphorus from putrid urine ; but though he kept his secret, a chemist named Kiinckel published the mode of obtaining it from this fluid. A hundred years later, Gahn discovered the presence of phos- phorus in bones; and Scheele shortly afterwards gave a process to obtain it therefrom. The process devised by this eminent chemist was shortly afterwards improved upon by Nicolas and Pelletier, and their, method was so completely worked out by Fourcroy and Vauquelin, that it is still the process used in the present day. The preparation of phos- phorus consists of four distinct operations—I1st, 80 parts of thoroughly calcined and pulverised bones are mixed with 80 parts of sulphuric acid, sp. gr. 1:52, to which is then added 400 parts of boiling water; 2ndly, after a few days the clear liquor, containing bi-phosphate of lime, is re- moved from the insoluble sulphate, and evaporated until it has the specific gravity of 15; 3rdly, this liquor is mixed with 20 per cent. of finely pulverised charcoal, and the whole is dried at a moderately high heat, when, 4thly, it is introduced into an earthenware retort, placed in THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Avausr 1, 1864. _ 22 ON CHEMISTRY APPLIED TO THE ARTS. the galley furnace, and on heat being slowly applied phosphorus distils, and the operation is continued at a high heat for two or three days. It is, however, necessary that the phosphorus thus obtained should be purified, and this is effected by melting the phosphorus under water, and pressing it through a chamois skin. It is then boiled with caustic alkali to remove other impurities : but what is still better is to heat the phos- phorus with a mixture of bichromate of potash and sulphuric acid. The phosphorus thus purified is drawn through slightly conical glass tubes by the suction of a caoutchoue pouch, or is allowed to run by an inge- nious contrivance into tin boxes. As will be seen by the following for- mula, the manufacturer only odtained from the bones one-half of the phosphorus they contain : 2 (PO,, 3 Va 0)+4 SO, HO=2 (PO, Ca O, 2 HO)-+4 (SO, Ca 0) Bone phosphate Sulphuric Acid phosphate Sulphate of lime. acid. of lime. of lime. DiPOnOa\O). == 15 C. (=: PON2 0210 1h nb CO eee Bi-phosphate Carbon. Pyrophosphate Oxide of Phosphorus. of lime, of lime. Carbon. Consequently many attempts have been made to devise a chemical reac- tion by which the whole of the phosphorus might be secured. The most successful attempt of late years is that made by Mr. Cary-Mon- trand, whose process is based on the following chemical reaction : ACTION OF HYDROCHLORIC ACID ON BONE PHOSPHATE, 2(PO;,Ca0) + 4HCl = 2(PO,,Ca0,2HO) + 4CaCl Bone-Phosphate of © Hydrochloric Acid Phosphate Chloride of Lime. Acid, of Lime. Calciuth. 5 ACTION OF HYDROCHLORIC ACID ON BI-PHOSPHATE, 2(PO,,Ca0) + -2HCl + 12C = 2CaCl + 12CO + 2H Bi-phosphate Hydrochloric Carbon. Chloride of Oxide of Hydrogen. of Lime. Acid. Calcium. Carbon. Phosphorus. He arrives at this result by treating calcined bones with hydrochloric acid ; the liquor is then mixed with charcoal, and the whole dried at a moderate heat. The prepared mass is then introduced into cylinders through which a stream of hydrochloric acid is made to percolate, and, as shown above, chloride of calcium, hydrogen, carbonic oxide, and two proportions of phosphorus are produced. (The process of Fleck was also described.) Phosphorus prepared and purified by the above pro- cesses is a solid, semi-transparent body, having a sp. gr. 1°83, fusing at 110°5° F., and boiling at 550°. Itis so inflammable that it ignites in the open air at several degrees below its fusing point ; but Professor Graham made, some years ago, the interesting observation that this slow combustion of phosphorus could be entirely checked by the pre- sence of certain combustible vapours. Thus he found that one volume of vapour of naphtha in 1,820 of air, or one volume of vapour of oil of Baia’ Aveust 1, 1864] THE TECHNOLOGIST. ON CHEMISTRY APPLIED TO THE ARTS. 23 turpentine in 4,444 of air, completely prevented the spontaneous com- bustion of phosphorus. Further, phosphorus presents the curious pro- perty, that if heated to 160° F. and suddenly cooled, it becomes black, and if heated to 450° or 460° for several hours, it becomes amorphous, and of a dark brown colour. This allotropic state of phosphorus, first noticed by Schrotter, has enabled it to render great service to society, owing to its not being spontaneously inflammable (as in fact it only be- comes so at a temperature approaching its point of fusion), and also to its not being poisonous, so that it can be substituted for common phos- phorus in the manufacture of matches with great advantage. Lastly, owing to this brown amorphous phosphorus not emitting any vapours, those employed in the manufacture of chemical matches now avoid the risk of the dreadful disease of the jaw-bone, called phospho-necrosis. Notwithstanding the great difficulties attending the manufacture of this valuable product, Mr. Albright, of Birmingham, has, with praiseworthy perseverance and great skill, succeeded in obtaining it perfectly pure on a large scale, and at such a price as to bring it within the scope of com- mercial transactions. Chemical Matches——Although I do not intend to enter at great length upon this subject, yet as itis a highly important one, I deem it my duty to lay a few facts before you. The first application of chemistry to the discovery of a substitute for the old tinder-box of our fathers was made in 1820, when the sulphuretted ends of matches were covered with a mixture of chlorate of potash, lycopodium, and red lead, and the matches so prepared were dipped into asbestos moistened with sulphuric acid. In 1836, lucifer matches were first introduced, and the explosive matches were soon followed by the non-explosive ones. The composi- tion of these matches is as follows : Non-explosive. Explosive. PROSDMOLUS aceeuecatceseect 25 or 30 ae 9or 4 edmbcAd i ac.s.scrncsmeses a By PAO ae 165,,;°°.3 Mitree ee Oe TORK Gl ae ao SS 2000 a aaa Rear ae Ae ee 20) 558520 Mermiiliom: iji23 saszsielaascaes esas 2O nm or Chie ew coe e ccscse as 20 ,, 25 re LGR i. The danger as well as the disease attendant on this manufacture was greatly mitigated by Professor Graham’s discovery of the property of turpentine vapour already alluded to. Until lately the only successful application of amorphous phosphorus to lucifer matches was that of Messrs Coignet, Fréres, of Paris, who caused a rough surface to be covered with it, and so prepared their matches that they would not ignite except when rubbed upon the prepared surface. Similar matches, under the name of “special safety matches,” have also been introduced into this country of late by Messrs. R. Letchford and Co., who have also effected several important improvements in this branch of manufacture, in one of which paraffin is made use of to carry combustion to the wood instead of sulphur, which gives rise to the noxious fumes of sulphurous THE TECHNOLOGIST. _[Avsust 1, 1864, 24 ON CHEMISTRY APPLIED TO THE ARTS. acid, and as the substitution is made by Messrs. Letchford without any increase of cost, the price of these matches is as low as that of the com- mon ones. These gentlemen have also found the means of diminishing the amount of phosphorus used to a very considerable extent, so that the disagreeable smell of this substance is also avoided. But the greatest improvement that Messrs. Letchford have made is in what they call their hygienic matches, or lights, in which for the first time amorphous phosphorus is substituted for ordinary phosphorus, and in small quanti- ties. The advantage of these matches cannot be overrated, for children can eat them with impunity, as amorphous phosphorus is not poisonous ; they are not nearly so combustible, and therefore not so likely to cause accidental fires ; and lastly, all source of injury to the health of those employed in the manufacture is removed. I cannot leave this subject without still drawing your attention to one or two important facts. Messrs. Hochstetter and Canouil, besides others, have lately introduced chemical matches free from phosphorus, which are stated to have the following composition : Chlorate of Potash ......... 10 10 10 Hyposulphite of Lead ... 26 26 20 Peroxide of Lead ......... Bee 98 Ree Peroxide of Manganese... ... Se SB) Chromate of Lead ......... 17 4 88 GamyAralorcs tee eee eeeeeee 4 4 4 An important improvement in the manufacture of chemical matches is the reduction of the proportion of phosphorus toa minimum. This is effected by reducing the phosphorus to an infinitesimally minute divi- sion, by which the manufacture is rendered more economical, and the matches, when ignited, have less of the unpleasant odour of phosphorus. This division is accomplished by using a solution of phosphorus in bi- sulphuret of carbon, by which a saving of 19-20ths of the phosphorus is obtained. Another invention is that of Messrs. Puscher and Reinsch, who have proposed the employment of sulphide of phosphorus. Ivory—tThe lecturer having given some details respecting the pro- perties of ivory, said : I will now call your attention to the substitution of the following mixture for ivory tablets as applied in photography. Finely-pulverised sulphate of baryta is mixed with gelatine or albumen, compressed into sheets, dried, and polished; these sheets are ready for use in the same way as ivory plates. You are all doubtless aware that the nut of the Phytelephas macrocarpa, of the palm-tree tribe, has for many years been used in this country as a substitute for ivory for small articles, and it may be interesting to you to be made acquainted with the two following facts, viz., that the nut is composed of— Pure'cel mlese’ mi * % ‘ Av@ust 1, 1864.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. NATAL FIBRGS. 25 and Dr. Phipson has recently published a method of distinguishing this vegetable ivory from the animal one by means of sulphuric acid, which gives a beautiful purple colour with the vegetable ivory, but none with the animal ivory. Horn.—Horns of the best quality, and especially the beautiful ones obtained from the buffaloes in India and America, receive a great variety of applications at the present day, owing to their toughness and elasti- city, as well as to their remarkable property of softening under heat, of welding, and of being moulded into various forms under pressure. To apply horns to manufactures they are treated as follows: They are first thrown into water, and slight putrefaction commences, by which am- monia is produced, when the horn begins to soften. To carry this action further the horns are transferred into a slightly acid bath, com- posed of nitric and acetic acids, with a small quantity of various salts. When the horns are sufficiently softened, which requires about two weeks, they are cleaned and split into two parts by means of a circular saw, and these are introduced between heated plates, and the whole sub- jected to an intense pressure of several tons to the square inch. The plates may be moulds, and thus the horn may be compressed into any required shape. A great improvement has recently been effected in this branch of manufacture, which consists in dyeing the horn various colours. To accomplish this the horn is first dipped into a bath, con- taining a weak solution of salts of lead or mercury, and when the horns have been thus impregnated with metallic salts, a solution of hydro- sulphate of ammonia is rubbed on them, when a black or brown dye is produced. Another method consists in mordanting the horn with a salt of iron, and dipping it in a solution of logwood. Of late, very beau- tiful white fancy articles have been produced from horn by dipping it first into a salt of lead, and then into hydrochloric acid, when white chloride of lead is fixed in the interstices of the horn, which then simply requires polishing. This lecture, as well as those which followed, were illustrated by numerous specimens and experiments. NATAL FIBRES. Iy a late number you call attention to Fibre Staples, and justly re- mark that they ought to take a high place amongst the future exports of the colony. A short notice, therefore, of the nature and peculiarities of a few of the fibrous plants indigenous to or introduced into Natal may be of interest to some of your readers, and perhaps may lead some of them to bring others into notice which may have escaped my own observa- tion. Ifso, I am sure you will gladly aid us in our endeavours to gain VOL. V. ig THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Aveusr 1, 1864. 26 NATAL FIBRES. a knowledge of these productions, as no doubt we shall profit by the in- formation likely to be adduced. _. Lam, &., Botanic Gardens, Durban, April, 10, 1864. M. J. M‘Ken. FIBROUS PLANTS OF NATAL. Hibiscus Cannabinus—Amarce, or hemp-like Hibiscus.—This plant is much cultivated in India for its leaves, which are used as a vege- table, and for its fibre, from which a kind of hemp is prepared. Mibiscus Furcatus—The bark yields abundance of strong white flaxen fibres. Paritium Tiliaceum—Maho tree.—Produces a valuable fibre much used for ropes. It is little affected by moisture, and hence is chosen for measuring-lines, &. The wood is white and light, useful for small cabinet work. Sida.—There are three species of this genus common here, the bark of which yields abundance of delicate flaxy fibres. Crotalaria Capensis.—Yields a strong and tolerably soft fibre, but much inferior to hemp. Sanseviera sp—bowstring hemp.—The leaves of this plant abound in fibre, remarkable for fineness and tenacity. Gomphocarpus and others belonging to the milkweed family, yield a large quantity of fine silky fibre. In addition to the above, there are many others which yield fibrous material, as the Grewia, Corchorus, Triumfetta, Urtica, Ficus, Hyphene, Phenix, §c. &c. CULTIVATED FIBRE-YIELDING PLANTS. Agave Americana— American aloe.—The fibres from the leaves of this plant closely resemble those of Maguey, which is used in the manu- facture of paper. Mayer, in his work on Mexico, observes: ‘‘ The best coarse wrapping or envelope paper I have ever seen is made from the leaves of Agave Americana; it has almost the toughness and tenacity of iron. Fourcroya gigantea.—Abounds in excellent fibre suitable for ropes, lines, or paper. Pandanus sp. Vacoa—or screw pines.—The common sugar bags are made from the leaves of this plant. The leaves are composed of tough longitudinal fibres, white and glossy, and make excellent cordage. Bromelia Pinguin—yYields a strong fibre which is twisted into ropes, and manufactured by the Spaniards ito cloth, of which they make hammocks, &c. Ananassa sativa—or pine apple—The fibre of this plant is extensively used in manufacturing the delicate fibre known to commerce as Pina, _ Yucca Aloifolia—or Adam’s needle.—Abounds. in fibre of fine quality and strong in nature ; it is known as silk grass. Phormium tenaz.—New Zealand flax. - Plantain and banana.—Both the stems and leaves of these plants abound 7 Aveust 1, 1864.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. - NATAL FIBRES. 27 in fibre useful for textile or cordage purposes, while the tow which is separated in preparing the fibres forms an excellent material for the finest or toughest kinds of paper. Humboldt calculated. that the same extent of ground, when planted with the banana, will support a far greater number of people than when planted with wheat. The productiveness has been found to differ with the mean temperature of the place. Boussingault has given the following as the produce per imperial acre of the raw fruit in three places : Temp. Produce per Dry food per imp. acre. acre. Warm regions ......... 814 72 tons. 193 tons. Nts Camieas rch Sosncih «sett: 78.4/5 59 ,, LG hpi: PAR SEV AOULC a ctecrt cha ce aa 71.2/5 Dae 62 ,, —Professor Johnston is the authority for the last column, or that of dry food per acre, as he had, from his analysis, obtained 27 per cent. of nutritive matter from the banana. Corchorus capsularis.—Jute hemp is produced from the bark of this plant ; a kind of cloth called chatee is made from the same material, and-gunny bags are made from it. The leaves are used in the East as pot-herbs. Hibiscus esculentus, the Okkro, and Hibiscus Sabdariffa, the sorrel plant —abound in fibre of fine quality. The fruit of the first is used, when cooked, as a vegetable, as also to thicken soups. The seeds may also be added, like barley to soups, and have been recommended to be roasted as a substitute for coffee. The sorrel plant is cultivated in most gardens because its calices,as they ripen, become fleshy, are of a pleasant acid taste, and are much employed for making tarts, as well as an excellent jelly. Behmeria nivera—China grass or grass-linen, sometimes called Rheea.— Hemp is prepared from this plant. The rheea is a perennial, and abounds in splendid fibre. Of the value of this fibre, no better evidence can be given than that of Dr. Royle, who states that, as imported into England, it has sold at from $300 to $400, and even $600 a ton. In respect of strength, it has been proved by numerous experiments that it sustains a weight always much greater than the best Russian hemp. The cloth made from the fibre known as “erass cloth” is not unlike silk in appearance, and has a softness and strength distinct from that of the fabric of any other fibre. Besides the above plants in cultivation here, there are numerous others which produce fibres, but which it would occupy too much space to notice in detail. Among them may be mentioned flax, hemp, Jerusalem artichoke, oleander, bauhinia, common sun-flower, parkinsonia, the mul- berry, &c. &c. Ihave added the dietetical uses of some of the plants, in order to show that if cultivated on account of their fibre, they would also be useful for other purposes. THE TECHNOLOGIST. ([Aveusr 1, 1864. 28 CHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF COFFEE. CorFEE has been analysed by several chemists, and though the results obtained differ in some slight degree, yet it seems pretty clear that the principal constituents to which its hygienic and medicinal properties are due are caffeine, a peculiar volatile oil generated in the roasting, and a kind of tannic acid. The alkaloid caffeine, or theine, is found in one or two other plants besides tea and coffee. It occurs in the seeds of Paullinia sorbilis, a native of Brazil, and in the leaves of several species of holly, natives of South America, which furnish the Paraguay tea, or Yerba mate, so large an article of consumption in several of the South American republics. The leaves and young shoots, dried, parched, and pulverised, are used for a hot infusion. A kind of cake, called Guarana bread, is made from the seeds of the Paullinia, which is highly esteemed in Brazil and other countries when infused, like chocolate, for its nutritive and febrifuge properties, and is sold generally as a necessary for travellers, and asa cure for many diseases. The nutritive and medicinal virtues of all these plants must cer- tainly be attributed in a great degree to the presence of this chemical principle, and to the tannic acid which they also contain. The use of coffee as a beverage has been considered in a chemical and physiological point of view by Professor Lehmann. The general results of his investigations are : 1. That a decoction of coffee exercises two principal actions upon the organism, which are very diverse in character, viz., increasing the as- tivity of the vascular and nervous system, while at the same time it retards the metamorphosis of plastic constituents. 2. That the influence of coffee upon the vascular and nervous system, its reinvigorating action, and the production of a general sense of cheer- fulness and animation, is attributable solely to the mutual modification of the specific action of the empyreumatic oil and the caffeine contained in it. 3. That the retardation of the assimilative process brought about by the use of coffee is owing chiefly to the empyreumatic oil, and is caused by caffeine when taken only in large quantities. 4, That increased action of the heart, trembling, headache, &c., are effects of the caffeine. 5. That the increased activity of the kidneys, relaxation of the bowels, and an increased vigour of mental faculties, passing into conges- tion, restlessness, and inability to sleep, are effects of the empyreumatic oil. Professor Lehmann considers it, therefore, necessary to regard the action of coffee, and, in a less degree, that of tea, cocoa, alcohol, &c., upon the organism, as constituting an exception to the general law, that Aveust 1, 1864.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. > CHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF COFFEE. 29 increased bodily and mental activity involves increased consumption of plastic material. Caffeine, on careful analysis, has been found to contain in 100 parts, 49°80 of carbon, 5:08 of hydrogen, 28°83 of nitrogen, and 16°29 of oxy- gen. It is inodorous, but has a slightly bitter taste. The proportion in which this principle is found to be present in coffee varies between #lb. and 13lbs. in 100lbs. of berries. The peculiar essential oil which is generated in coffee in the pro- cess of roasting, by the action of heat upon some yet unascertained prin- ciple contained in the berry, is also very similar to the volatile oil in tea; but the quantity of it in coffee appears to be comparatively very small ; for whilst 100lbs. of tea-leaves contain 1lb. of volatile oil, it takes 500 ewts. of roasted coffee to give a similar quantity ; and yet it is upon the presence of this oil that the flavour and value of the several varieties of coffee mainly depend. The tannic acid is, by some chemists, also said to be generated only in the process of roasting ; others maintain that it is present in the raw bean. : The chemical properties of the coffee-berry are altered by roasting, and it loses about twenty per cent. of weight, but increases in bulk one- third or one-half. Its peculiar aroma, and some of its other properties, are due to a small quantity of essential oil, only one five-thousandth part of its weight, which would be worth about 100/. an ounce in a sepa- rate state. Coffee is less rich in theine than tea, but contains more sugar and a good deal of cheese (casein). Schrader has analysed raw and roasted coffee, with the following result :— Raw. Roasted. Peculiar coffee principle. . 17:58 12°50 Gum and mucilage . 6 . 364 10°42 Extractive . : : : 2 0:62 4:80 Resin . : . 6 ; . O41 Fatty oil =tgj. : pete b . 052 208 Solid residue : 6 . . 66°66 68°75 WOsS4). 3 : : : . 10°57 1°45 et on ee SY 100 “The examination of coffee” observes Dr. F. Knapp, “has led to interesting results, although they are still defective in pointing out the quantitative composition of the berry.” The following is the composition of the ash according to Live :— Potash : ; : : . 50°94 Soda. ‘ “ F . . 1476 lime. , , 5 r a GSE Magnesia . : , ; - 10:90 ott tS THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Avaust 1, 1864. 30: CHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF COFFEE. Oxide ofiron . : < . 066 Phosphoric acid : perk a lsve) Sulphuric acid . : - . trace Chlorine . : - : beter Silicie acid : . . SOO —_-— 99:98 According to the analysis of Payen, the unroasted coffee-berry has the following composition : Moisture. : : : - 120 Glucose and dextrine . 3 . 155 Nitrogenous matters . : - 130 Chlorogenate of caffeine, &c. 35 to 58 Fatty substances a - 10 to 13°0 Cellulose and woody fibre . . 340 Mineral substances in ash . sj ed Essential oil e A OOS —_-— 100-0 Or to define the percentage more closely, we may put it thus : Water . - ; - . 12°000 Caffeine, or theine . ; ERO Casein . : : : - 13000 ’ Aromatie oil . : - . 0:002 Sugar - : : : . 6500 Gum. - - ‘ a kOUU Fat . . 4 : : . 12000 Potash, with a peculiar acid . 4000 Woody fibre . . : . 35°048 Mineral matter F F --- 265700 100:000 Tn another form this shows us: Water 3 3 5 A . 12:00 Flesh-formers . F F a 4-755 Heat-givers : : : - 66:25 Mineral matter A : oe a de00 100°00 As gluten is only very sparingly soluble in boiling water, in the usual way of making coffee the flesh-formers are thrown away with the dregs ; the addition of a little soda to the water partly prevents this waste. Avaeust 1, 1864.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. CHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF COFFEE, ol _ The various components in one pound of coffee will be— Oz. Grs. Water . : ; ‘ wel 407; Caffeine, or theine 6 5 122 Casein, or cheese . : SQ 31a Aromatic oil 5 ; : 1$- Gum - é ; : Sel Oe Sugar. : : ‘ a ae 2 LF Fat : : c 5 - 1 402 Potash : P ; . 080 Woody fibre . ; : . 5 262 Mineral matter : é So The part roasted is the albumen, which is of a hard, horny con- sistence ; and Lindley remarks that it is probable that the seeds of other plants of this or the stellate order, whose albumen is of the same texture, would serve as a substitute. This would not be the case with those with fleshy albumen. : Coffee loses in weight by washing, but gains in bulk in proportion to the heat applied. Payen found the following amount of nitrogen in 100 parts :— Nitrogen. Ash. Martinique coffee : . 2.46 5:00 Bourbon é : : ~ 154 4°66 Mocha . : : . 2:49 7°84 The coffee from Martinique lost 11°58 per cent. of its weight by drying. This description of coffee also afforded the following results : Slightly Chestnut- Dnroasied: Reddened. Brown. ee Loss in washing...... — 15 per cent.|20 per cent. |25 pe cent. Increase in bulk... — 13 times [1°53 times. RGLACHG ose. sasesce esse 40 per cent.|37 per cent.|37°1 per ct./39° 25 p pen els Insoluble residue... |48°5 per ct. — Coffee, as ordinarily prepared for beverage, contains only two- sevenths of the nitrogenous or nutritive matter of the fresh bean, but two-thirds of the washed, and the mineral ingredients are all present. M. Lebreton (“ Agriculteur praticien”) has estimated the loss of weight of coffee in roasting at 18 to 20 per cent., in Porto Rico, Rio, and Martinique coffee ; and at 16 to 18 per cent., in Malabar, Bourbon, Ceylon, and Guadaloupe coffees ; while in Mocha coffee it amounts to only 14 or 16. The loss of weight depends upon the time of roasting and the degree of heat. Damp or damaged coffee loses more than dry sound coffee. He considers that these substances have the capability of S a i) en, nee THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Avcusr 1, 1864. 32 NEW MATERIALS FOR PAPER-MAKING. rendering the individual insensible of a certain deficiency of food, in virtue of their retardation of the assimilative process. He thinks it probable, likewise, that these substances have a direct nutritive value, especially coffee as drank by the Turks and Arabs with the grounds. Professor Lehmann considers that the singular preference of one or other of these beverages by particular nations, as well as the Eastern custom of drinking coffee with the grounds, are not accidental, but have some deeper reason. This reason, he thinks, is to be found in the different effects of the coffee, tea, &c., and the various requirements of the nations by whom they are used, and instances the use of tea by the English, and of coffee by the Germans and French, as in accordance with this view. The diet of the former affords a larger supply of plastic material than that of the latter people ; and while, consequently, the retardation of the assimilative process is an important influence for the German, the proportionately greater nervous stimulus caused by tea is more desirable for the former. The use of coffee with its grounds has its analogue in the use of tea mixed with meal, milk, and butter among the Mongols, and other inhabitants of the Central Asiatic steppes. M. Payen, from elaborate experiments, shows that coffee slightly roasted is that which contains the maximum of aroma, weight, and nutrition. He declares coffee to be very nourishing, as it contains a large quantity of nitrogen, three times as much nutriment as tea, and more than twice the nourishment of soup. Chicory contains half the nutriment of coffee. NEW MATERIALS FOR PAPER-MAKING. At the general meeting of the Paper-Makers’ Association of Great Britain and Ireland, held at the Bridge House Hotel, London Bridge, on the 14th June, John Evans, F.R.S.,in the chair, one of the speakers, Mr. Scott, of Sunnydale, thus spoke: “Tt seems to me that if the paper trade is to expand as other trades do, and to become a great trade, we must either have full access to rags. or we must find a new material: now there is a new material ; but it really appears to some not a very practical suggestion to talk about it, because of the time and money expended in finding out the proper materials. In experiments a great deal of time is lost one way or an- other before we can find a substitute ; but I beg to remind you to look at the progress which the Esparto fibre has made within the last two years. I know the Esparto fibre was tried about ten or fifteen years ago, and was found perfectly unfit for making paper that was market- Aveust |, 1864.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. NEW MATERIALS FOR PAPER-MAKING. 33 able. I do not say that is the only fibre, for I cannot conceive that in all the resources of Nature there is not some fibre such as Esparto, and far more suitable if we could only get it. JI should like to see the trade addressing theniselves to some such expedient of getting out of the aif- ficulty, because I am perfectly certain that Government will never do it for us ; and my suggestion is that a fund be set up for makiug in- quiries, instead of spending our money in parliamentary expenses on one thing or another, to send a practical man abroad, to India or some other tropical climate, where fibre is in abundance, to find some new material.” The Chairman, John Evans, Esq., F.R.S., thus replied to these re- marks : “ As to Esparto, to which Mr. Scott has alluded, the importations have increased from a very small quantity to something like 20,000 tons per annum, and even more than that ; and there is no doubt that to some extent the importation of Esparto has made up for the loss of materials which we have sustained in consequence of the failure of the cotton trade (hear, hear); but it must be borne in mind by this meeting, and by the trade generally, that any question as to new materials is, as it were, beside the question of free trade in rags. (Hear, hear.) You will bear in mind that it is only when rags are at acertain price that you can use those new materials at all, and if by the introduction of this new material to any great extent there is a fall in the price of rags in this country, a corresponding fall will take place in those countries where the export duties are levied. The result will then be that the foreign makers, instead of having an advantage, it may be of a percent- age of twenty per cent. in the shape of export duties on their raw mate- rial, may have it to the amount of thirty per cent. For instance, if you have an export duty as now of 5/. upon rags costing 201, you have the present percentage; but if rags go down to 151., it comes to thirty-three per cent. upon the value of the rags ; therefore the introduction of this new material, though extremely desirable in every possible point of view, does not bear immediately upon the question of the grievance under which we are suffering. It is not a question as to the quantity of materials we can command, but a question of the relative prices at which we can procure them, compared with our foreign competitors. “While Mr. Wrigley also opposed new materials, it ought to be re- membered as a fact, and one which we should never lose sight of, that this new material in question has been the great bugbear—the thing which we have been taunted with constantly. We have been told to go and get new material. Now, in the first place it ought to be quite suf- ficient to consider that the trader has to buy the material offered. I admit tine necessity and desirability of a new material to the fullest ex- tent, in order to increase the hase from which we have to work; but then people talk about a new material, and always talk as though we were to have the exclusive advantage of that material. They speak of VOL, V. ‘ EF \ Oe eee THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Avevsr 1, 1864 34 USES OF THE HORSE-CHESTNUT. it as though we could go and get a lot of something or other and confine it to our own use; as though we could have the exclusive patent or power of getting it ; as though the only possible operaticn of the inten- tion which we have in getting new material should have the effect of reducing the price of rags. But nobody dreams or ever supposed that any new material that can be brought will exclude rags from use, or form a substitute for them. It may be very well to supplement them, but rags for all time to come will ever remain the sheet-anchor of the paper maker, simply becanse rags are refuse, costing nobedy anything to produce, and without reference to the purpose to which they are ‘applied, and are altogether irrespective of the law of supply and de- mand ; therefore the only effect of introducing new material, whatever it be, is to operate upcn the price of rags; but the unfortunate part of it is this, that in the introduction of a new material we do as much good to the foreigner as we do to ourselves, and still we shall always remain in the same relative position as we do now. If we bring m a material and reduce rags 2/. per ton, it ought always to be borne in mind that it is not the actual price of rags or the materials of which we complain, but the relative price as between ourselves and those we have to com- pete with abroad. (Loud cheers.) This is simply the plam mode of reasoning upon the question which I thought it necessary to put forth to supplement the statement made with regard to new material.” USES OF THE HORSE-CHESTNOUT. Or all the waste substances which might be profitably employed in domestic economy, there is none which has given rise to more discussion or on which so many attempts have been made as the fruit of the horse- chestnut, which contains a large quantity of starch. At various periods the utilization of this product has attracted public attention, and many speculators have essayed to make it an object of commerce. When first introduced from Constantinople, the fruit of the horse- chestnut was considered edible; and Parkinson, writing in 1629, in- cluded it among his fruit-trees, and described the nut as of “a sweet taste and agreeable to eat when roasted.” Very little use has ever been made of the nuts in thiscountry ; though in Turkey they are mixed with horse food, and are considered guod for horses which are broken- winded. When ground into flour, they are used in some places to whiten linen cloth, and are said to add to the strength of bookbinders’ paste. They contain, moreover, so large a quantity of potash, as to be a usefal substitute for soap, and on the latter account they were formerly exten- sively employed in the process of bleaching. The nuts contain a great deal of starch. Aveusr 1, 1864.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. USES OF THE HORSE-CHESINUT. 39 In March, 1776, Lord Wm. Murray obtained a patent for extracting starch from horse-chestnuts, which was merely by peeling them, grating the nuts, washing the pulp several times, and baking it or drving it. Various attempts have been made to utilize them by producing sugar and spirit from them ; and on removal of the bitter principle, excellent edible fecula and maccaroni have been made from horse-chestnuts in France. “‘Fecule de marrons d’Inde” is now made by H. de Callias, sold at twenty-two francs the kilo, 18 Rue de Bellevue, Passy, near Paris. The process adopted by this maker permits the purifying of the fecula without having recourse to the peeling which was formerly considered _ indispensable, and hence the extraction of the starch is as easy and cheap as that from the potato. The following is given as the cost :— Francs. Collection of 20,000 kilogrammes of horse- chestnuts in the park of St. Cloud . ~ 400 Conveyance to the factory of the Abbey de Val (Seine et Oise), belonging to Mr. Becappe . 5 : . : : ccnp esol) Manufacture and total other charges. 2 = 200 880 Horse-chestnuts are much used on the Continent, especially in the Rhine districts, for fattening cattle and for feeding milch cows. Herm- stadt gives the following analysis of a sainple dried in the air, and with 21°8 per cent. of the shell removed :— Starch 3 4 F a ; : 5 ay Flour fibre . ‘ 5 ‘ ‘ : lO Albumen . : ; F . ; seed f2k9 Bitter extract ‘ : : i : . 11°45 Oil i : : ; ; ‘ ; SOR Gum , : : 4 ; A ; . 13°54 Total . - ; : 3 a GSN Pabet estimates that 100 1b. of dried horse-chestnuts are equal in nutritive value to 150 lb. of average hay. Another authority, Petri, makes them equal, weight for weight, to oatmeal. The starch obtained from the horse-chestnut is white, and when thoroughly washed, perfectly free from any bitterness. They yield 29 to 30 per cent., and sometimes nearly 35 per cent., and contain besides a glutinous matter which, according to Liebig, possesses emi- nently nutritive properties, but, which experience proves, very inferior to the gluten of cereals. Adopting the analysis of M. Chevallier and M. Lefrage, 17 per cent. may be taken as the mean yield of starch with 1 MOO one “ Eoae a. THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Aueusr 1, 1864. 36 USES OF THE HORSE-CHESTNUT. operations conducted on a large scale. And therefore in its starch produce the horse-chestnut may be taken to be equivalent to the potato, which root contains about 25 per cent. in the solid state, but after deducting the pulp rarely yields more than 18 per cent. of starch. M. Mercandier, in the ‘ Journal Economique’ for December, 1757, stated that horse-chestnuts furnish a soapy water, proper for bleaching linen. The same observer remarks that the pulp or residue of the starch furnishes an excellent food for the poultry of the Hits and which can be employed as a fuel. ’ In 1780 M. Bon, President of the Royal Society of Montpellier, pub- lished a process founded on the use of alkaline leys “ for softening horse-chestnuts and rendering them fit for fattening cattle in countries where acorns and pulse are not used for that purpose.” About the same period an abbot of Anchin, in French Flanders, discovered a means of extracting from horse-chestnuts a good oil for burning, and obtained from their flour a weaver’s starch, which was used subsequently by the weavers of Geneva. In 1783 the ‘ Bibliothéque Physico-Economique’ (p. 412) mentioned a means of thoroughly depriving the fruit of the horse-chestnut, by grafting and transplanting, of their natural bitterness, and thus obtaining from this tree chestnuts as sweet and palatable as those of Lyons. At the same time the ‘ Decade Philosophique,’ t. vill., p. 454, made known a prozess for removing, by simple washing in water, the bitter- ness and acidity of the flour of the horse-chestnut. We find also in the ‘ Dictionary of Agriculture of Abbe Rogier, t. vi. p. 442 (1785), that a M. du Francheville obtained from the horse- chestnut the farinaceous and nutritive part which the fruit contains, by applying the process used by the South Americans for making manioc or cassava. “In August, 1794,” observes M. Chevallier, “the Lyceum of Arts in- formed the National Convention that among the means of supplying the place of flour for the manufacture of paste, the Lyceum had found in the horse-chestnut materials admirably fitted for making the best pasteboard.” In another memoir the same Institution demonstrated that in burn- ing the horse-chestnut potash could be obtained, and that 124 ounces of ashes yielded 9 ounces of fixed alkali (potash) of the first quality. In a publication issued in Silesia, ‘ Biblioth. Physico-Econom.,’ 1806, p. 150, it was shown that it is possible to obtain from the fruit of the horse-chestnut oil, flour or meal for paste, and a black colour result- ing from the carbonisation of the husk or envelope. These numerous citations are sufficient to prove that the idea of utilizing these fruits is by no means new. It is stated by those well-informed, that a horse-chestnut tree of twenty years old will yield an hectolitre of fruit, and an adult tree three hectolitres. But this estimate is necessarily subject to variations Avueust 1, 1864.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. USES OF THE HORSE-CHESTNUT. 37 according to local and climative circumstances. In France there are a large number of these trees, and in Belgium and other European countries it is quite possible to extend them where land is not valuable, or more profitably occupied. In 1778, Parmentier, in the investigation which he set on foot at the request of the States of Languedoc, on the alimentary resources of France, placed the horse-chestnut at the head of the list of vegetable products capable of being utilized for the support of man. Somewhat later, in 1795, Baumé directed also prominent attention to this fruit ; and in the complete treatise which he published on the horse-chestnut, and its use as food, he proposed, for depriving it of its bitterness, first to peel them, and subsequently to treat the pulp by repeated washings in alcohol. But this could scarcely be employed profitably on a large scale and at the same time. Parmentier (‘ Cours d Agriculture,’ t. viii, p. 202) pointed out that water could be em- ployed with equal advantage in the place of spirits. The experience of M. Calmus, in a memoir presented to the Societe d’Encouragement of Paris, also fully demonstrated that it was quite superfluous to seek to deprive the chestnuts of their bitterness by means of agents more or less costly than simple washing in water. M. Calmus, in the memoir alluded to, proposed to utilize the water in which the fruit had been washed for lixiviating and bleaching linen, the husk or perisperm for tanning, and the marc or residue for fattening poultry and domestic animals. Notwithstanding these well-known facts, M. Flandin pointed out in 1849 (‘ Comptes-rendus,’ tom. xxvil., p. 349) a method of removing the bitterness from horse-chestnut starch, by mixing with 100 kilogrammes of pulp one or two kilogrammes of carbonate of soda ; then washing in several waters, and afterwards straining. The product thus obtained was mixed with other farinaceous substances, and constituted, according to M. Flandin, another food resource. It is probable that the employ- ment of the soda was recommended by Hischermist, because in sum- mer the washing water of the fecula acidifies very quickly, and leads to the formation of a certain quantity of dextrine, which involves a notable loss of starch. But although the removal of this bitter principle is indispensable when the starch is intended for alimentation, it is quite unnecessary if the starch is to be used for industrial or manufacturing purposes. Par- mentier, in proposing to employ horse-chestnut starch to supply the place of paste made with food grains, very justly remarks that it has the ad- vantage of not being attacked by insects on account of its bitterness. And bookbinders and makers of pasteboard frequently mix in their paste some aloes, with the object of keeping off insects and mould. It has been suggested by Parmentier and others that the fruit might also be utilized for its potash. The chestnuts are dried and burnt, and the salt obtained by lixiviating the ashes. Or, if preferred, the ashes may 38 WHAT PRECIOUS STONES ARE MADE OF. be employed direct in bleaching linen. Mercandier, in his ‘ Treatise on Hemp,’ states that in Switzerland, and in some parts of France, they employ the water in which horse-chesnuts have been boiled for bleach- ing hemp, flax, and other fabrics, and it also supplies the place of soap. For a great number of years M. Klose, of Berlin, has operated on a large scale on the horse-chestnut, and obtained the following products : 1, From the burnt pericarp an alkaline ley. 2. From the skin or husk of the peach the episperm, a very fine charcoal, which forms the base of different printing inks. 3. Fiom the amylacious pulp is extracted the fecula, which can be transformed into dextrine, glucose, aeeee or vinegar, and which are all adapted to industrial use. 4. The fatty matter extracted serves to make a kind of soap, and to. render certain mineral colours more fixed and solid. 5, A yellow colouring matter which serves for different purposes. In 1833, M. Vergnaud, of Romagnesi, contributed a very interesting paper on the horse-chestnuts and its products to the 28th volume of the ‘ Recueil Industriel’ of Paris. Twenty-seven essays on the horse-chestnut were sent into the Belgian Commission in 1856, in competition for the premium for the best substi- tute for edible substances for starch for industrial purposes, but they contained very little new matter, and were for the most part a repeti- tion of previous information and experiments. The use of the horse-chestnut was commenced on a large scale in France in 1855 by M. de Callias, and is still continued. He operated, as we have seen, on more than twenty million kilogrammes annually. WHAT PRECIOUS STONES ARE MADE OF. Factitious AND Reat Diamonps.—The popular taste runs in grooves or channels sometimes, and fixes itself upon objects as diverse in character and nature as it is possible for any two things to be. In one period, not very long ago, Europeans ran mad upon tulips ; at another, respectable old housekeepers prided themselves upon rare china ; mahogany has had its day, and still later postage stamps, coins, and meerschaum pipes, have in turn occupied public curiosity for a brief hour. Just now all these favourites are deposed, and the diamond has obtained such a hold upon the purses and thoughts of a large portion of the public that lesser objects have no chance. It is not strange that such should be the case, for a real colourless diamond of large size is such a magnificent object that the eye never tires of gazing upon it. “ All is not gold that glitters,’ neither is every white and sparkling SEN Bm aN a ly THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Aveusr 1, 1864 Av@ust 1, 1864.] THE TECHNOLOGIST, WHAT PRECIOUS STONES ARE MADE“OF. 39 stone a diamond, as too many have found to their cost. Yet these pre- cious stones are now apparently as common as garnets or cornelians. They may be seen sparkling upon the unwashed fingers of some sturdy Bridget, or blazing upon the breast of Patrick, attired fur a holiday stroll. The shop boys and girls have them, and it seems almost as if some benevolent society had been formed for the purpose of “ supplying every man with his own diamond.” Let not the reader with exclusive tastes, who is, perhaps, the possessor of a genuine stone, mourn over this parade. In the days when his jewel shall gleam untarnished and with renewed splendour, Patrick’s shall fade away into a dull gleam. The spirit of his “stone” shall depart, aud humbled, robbed of its glitter, the light plucked out, and the flame with whieh it once glowed quenched for ever ; it shall be cast aside as useless, and be without its place among men. ““ Gew-gaws” correctly express the value which attaches to these paste imitations of the precious diamond—a stone which is the first among jewels, which has never been deposed, and it is safe to say never will be, whose fire rages within, and increases until the eye is dazzled almost beyond endurance ; whose gleam is hard, cold, and unsubdued. It fairly revels in its vicious glitter and seems to send out rays that pierce like the arrows shot from Diana’s bow. Old as it is, its value is always great, and at the present time beyond the reach of persons of ordinary means. It is in some countries a standard of value, like gold, and it is said that persons in the United States are now purchasing them as investments which cannot depreciate or lose, except in the interest. The paste imitations of the diamond are known by different titles ; sometimes as the “ California diamond,” “ Australian pebble diamond,” &c. ; but the basis of all of them is quartz or rock-crystal, pulverized and fused in combination with the oxides of certain metals. The paste is technically known as sérass, after the discoverer, Strass, of Strasburgh, who, by a sefies of experiments in the seventeenth century, was very successful in making imitations of precious stones. Strass is composed of silex, potash, borax, red lead, and sometimes arsenic, in the following proportions : 300 parts silex (quartz, flint, or pure sand); 96 parts of potash ; 27 parts of borax (prepared from the boracic acid) ; 514 parts of : white lead; 1 part of arsenic. This mixture is put into a covered Hessian crucible and kept at a great heat in a pottery furnace for twenty-four hours. The longer the mass is kept, the clearer it will be when turned out. Strass of this kind is used for imitating the diamond, rock crystal, and white topaz. There are many signs, however, by which this strass, or Californian diamond, can be detected by the experienced eye. These signs are its inferior specific gravity, its want of hardness, and the absence of coldness to the tongue-test, or when it is applied to that organ. Good strass is so hard that fire flies when it is rubbed on a file, but it is readily attacked by fine quartz-sand on a grinding plate. The THE TECHNOLOGIST. ‘[{Avaust 1, 1864, 40 WHAT PRECIOUS ‘STONES ARE MADE OF, small air-bubbles in the strass may be readily detected with a good magnifying glass, and the breath remains much longer upon it on account of its bad conducting power, than upon real gems. The electrical power of jewels is also another test, for it is stated that genuine stones retain their electricity from six to thirty hours, whereas the false stones retain it scarcely as many minutes. ‘The ap- pearance of some “ California diamonds” will deceive many persons, for they have a lustre and evanescent fire which is extremely beautiful. This is soon lost, however, by wearing ; perspiration, moisture, and dirt, washing the hands, &c., soon destroy the appearance of this paste, and in a few days it becomes as dull and lack-lustreless as the eyes of a dead fish.* The diamond is the ultimate effort, the idealization, the spiritual evolution of coai—the butterfly escaped from its antenatal tomb, the realization of the coal’s highest being. Then the ruby, the flaming red oriental ruby, side by side with the sapphire and the oriental topaz— both rubies of different colours—what are they? Crystals of our argil- laceous earth, the earth which makes our potter’s clay, our pipe clay, and common roofing slate—mere bits of alumina. Yet these are among our best gems, the idealizations of common potter’s clay. In every 100 grains of beautiful blue sapphire, 92 are pure alumina, with one grain of iron to make that glorious blue light within. The ruby is coloured with chromic acid. The amethyst is only silica, or flint. In 100 grains of amethyst 98 are simple pure flint—the same substance as that which made the old flint in the tinder-box, used before our phosphorus and sulphur-headed matches, and which, ground up and prepared, makes now the vehicle of artist’s colours. Of this same silica are also corne- lian, cat’s-eye, rock crystal, Egyptian jasper, and opal. In 100 grains of opai 90 are pure silica, and 10 water. It is the water, then, which gives the gem that peculiar changeable and iridescent colouring which is so beautiful, and which renders the opal the moonlight” queen of the kingly diamond. ‘The garnet, the Brazilian—not the oriental—topaz, the occidental emerald, which is of the same species as the beryl, all these are compounds of silica and alumina. But the beryl and emerald are not composed exclusively of silica and alumina; they contain another earth called glucina—from glukos, sweet, because its salts are sweet to the taste. Ihe hyacinth gem is composed of the earth, not so long discovered, called zirconia—first discovered in that species of hyacinth stone known as zircon. The zircon is found in Scotland. To every 100 parts of hyacinth 70 are pure zirconia. A chrysolite is a portion of pure silicate of magnesia. Without carbonate of copper there would be no malachite in Russia or at the Burra Burra mines ; without carbonate of lime there would be no Carrara marble; the turquoise is nothing but a phosphate of alumina coloured blue by ° © Scientific American.’ Aveust 1, 1864.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. WHAT PRECIOUS STONES ARE MADE OF, Al copper ; and lapis lazuli is only a bit of earth painted throughout with sulphuret of sodium. The sapphire is one of the most precious stones, and inferior only to the diamond in hardness, the diamond being the hardest substance in nature. It is of a very extensive suite of colours, passing from pure white to deep blue, to red, to yellow. Each variety bears a different name ; thus the blue variety is called sapphire, the crimson-red variety is ruby, the yellow oriental topaz. The foregoing colours occur from the palest to the deepest hue. The pure white is called Lux Sapphire. The violet- blue variety is occasioned by the blending of the red and blue colours in the same stone: it is generally called violet ruby. The sapphire is sometimes met with of a green colour and of a bluish grey, and of every modification of these principal colours pure and mixed, transparent and opalescent. In some specimens two colours occur in the same stone, as blue and red, white and blue. The finest specimens of these stones are procured from Pegu, in Asia. From Ceylon the sapphire is very inferior in colour, being pale or streaked, the ruby being of a port-wine tint, whereas from Pegu the colour is of crimson or blood-red. It is also found in various parts of Europe, but of a very inferior quality. It is generally found in alluvial soil in the vicinity of the secondary or trap formation, also imbedded in gneiss, and in iron sand, with fragments of pirope and zircon. Its primitive form is a six-sided pyramid, or a short six-sided prism ; the red or ruby occurs generally in blunt-edged, rounded, or rhomboidal grains ; the blue or true sapphire is much oftener of the regular form of the pyramid and prism. Its specific gravity is from 4. to 42. It is composed chiefly of crystallized alumina (7. ¢., pure clay), its component parts being alumina, 92. ; silex, 5°5 ; oxide of iron, lime, &c., 2°5. The value of these stones depends entirely upon the depth of colour and size. The ruby is very highly prized when of a fine colour, but it is never found of a large size. The sapphire is often found very large, but fine colour is very rare. There is also another description of sapphire and ruby having an opalescence at one end; these stones, when cut elliptical in form, keeping the opalescence over the apex, produce the appearance of a star with six rays : these are called asteria or star stones, and are highly prized. Many of this description have been found in Australia, as well as several specimens of transparent sapphires of good quality ; it is therefore probable that specimens of all the varieties of colour abound in the colony, and might be discovered by any com- petent person acquainted with this gem, and prove to be highly remunerative. If any doubt existed on the subject of Australia being a diamond- producing country, it is now removed. A successful digger named Williams, from the Yackandandah district, submitted to Mr. Crisp, jeweller, Queen Street, a collection of small stones which he had picked VOL, VY. G THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Avevsr 1, 1864, 42 WHAT PRECIOUS STONES ARE MADE OF. up while washing out gold. Amongst which was a diamond, the largest yet found in the colony, so far as is known, and the purest of water. Its natural facets are perfect ; its colour is a pale green, but approaching much more nearly to the pure water of the East Indian diamond than the stone, was the subject of a conversation not long ago in the Legisla- tive Assembly. The diamond weighs 2? 1:32 carats, or nearly three carats. It was found at Wooragdy, near the Magpie, Yackandandah, in auriferous earth taken, about four feet deep, from a hill-side.* Let us now turn, in conclusion, to the great diamond-producing country, Brazil. To give an accurate account of the value of this pre- cious stone, exported thence to Europe, is a work of impossibility. Being essentially a secret trade, when once they reach Bahia, means are at hand not only to evade the export duty of one per cent., but also to ship them clandestinely. The traffic with the diamond mines is, however, becoming daily of more importance, and is the one upon which now mainly depends the important import trade of the city of Bahia. From trustworthy infor- mation from the inland Drabre, Mr. Morgan, British Consul there, estimated the value of diamonds exported from Bahia in 1858 at 750,000/., and the foreign merchandise sent up to the diamond mines at 800,000/. sterling. This traffic is but an imperfect idea of what it may yet become, were it possible to instil into the minds of the governing powers the necessity of opening proper roads with facilities for transit and transport of both men and merchandise, in order to reach the inex- haustible riches of that rich mineral region and its surrounding munici- palities, bordering on that magnificent internal tributary the River St. Francisco. The diamond district is known by the name of Serro do Frio ; it extends sixteen leagues from north to south, and eight from east to west. It is surrounded by craggy mountains, as if Nature had been at some pains to conceal her treasures from man. Every possible precaution is taken to prevent the inhabitants from carrying the diamonds, which are found in the auriferous sands beyond this natural wall; all the outlets are strictly guarded, and any person detected breaking the law is most severely punished. Offenders were formerly sent to the coast of Angola, which punishment was looked upon by many as severe as death itself. It must not be supposed that diamonds are procured without great labour. They are sometimes found on the surface of the earth; but it is not unfrequently necessary to turn the course of rivers to obtain even a small quantity. Until the present period the river Jiquitihonha has furnished most of this kind of wealth. Large masses of that species of flint known in the country by the name of “Cascalhao” are found in * For further information on the diamonds and other gems of Australia, see an article by Dr. Bleasdale—TECHNOLOGIST, vol. iv., p. 372. eee Auaust 1, 1864.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. WOODS OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 43 it, which are submitted to a lavatory process in such a way as to pre- vent every opportunity of fraud. The diamond is almost always enveloped in a ferruginous crust ; therefore long practice is necessary to enable persons to distinguish them from the flints among which they are imbedded. Nor are they procured without expense. It is calculated that every diamond obtained by the Government costs about eight dollars the carat! Though more than a thousand ounces have crossed the Atlantic since the discovery of the mines, the whole produce of Tejuco has not been put in circulation ; because this would be a sure means of reducing the value of a precious stone, which, unlike others, has only an arbitrary price. The same policy has forbidden the opening of the mines of Goius and Matto Grosso, which are guarded by the Government from the incursions of adventurers. At the time of the discovery of the famous diamond of the Portu- guese Crown, South America was so tranquil, that it is looked upon as an important event. It was found in the brook of Abayti by three malefactors who had been banished, and carried to the governor of mines by an ecclesiastic. Its size was so enormous, that repeated assays were made before they were convinced of its being in reality a diamond. It was then sent to Lisbon, where it excited universal astonishment, and procured the pardon of the criminals. Afterwards an exploring station was fixed on the banks of the Abayti, but without success ; the diamonds found were of little value, and scarcely defrayed the expense of search.* WOODS OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. BY PROFESSOR BERNARDIN. No. II. AcgE (Mimosa acre), Legum.—Tree of first rank, the wood of which, dark reddish, is of a solid texture, waved fibre, no sensible smell, breaks in long branches, shavings rude and somewhat twisted. Leaves twice alated, and the folioles eight by twenty centimetres. The branches have no spines. Employed for construction and boat-building. Abounds in all the islands. ALINTATAO (Diospyros piloshantera ?), Guyacan, or Ebenac.—Several varieties, among them the tugon or ébano, the zapote negro, and the camagon. Tree of about 20m., stem of 8m. by 0.6 or 0.8 diameter. Wood reddish with black spots, easily receiving a beautiful polish ; tex- ture even and smooth ; fibres compressed ; pores small and nearly in- * Dennis, ‘Histoire du Brésil. THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Avaver 1, 1864. 44 WOODS OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. visible ; leaves alternate ; breaks short ; shaving fine, somewhat twisted and even. The principal employment is for fine furniture. Abounds in Luzon and Visayas. AuupaG ALopPal (£uphoria litcht), Sapindac.—Tree which arrives to be of second rank ; wood yellowish, strong and fine texture; fibres somewhat waved ; pores hardly sensible; splits in large pieces ; shavings fine and twisted. Employed for posts. . Abundant. AMBOGUES, or AMociIUS (Cyrtocarpa quinquestila), Terebinthac.—Tree of second rank ; stem large ; leaves alated with impair; wood dark red- dish ; fibre long, compact, having pores and crevices of different sizes ; texture solid; splits from the trunk; shavings rather fine, smooth, and twisted ; suffers much from the anay or comegén (termites Neoropterz). _ Nevertheless, this wood is much used for planking. Rather abundant. ANINABLA, or ANINAPLA (Mimosa coriaria), Legum.—Tree of second rank, 10 4 12m. high. Wood reddish, fibre longitudinal ; weak, and tex- ture somewhat rough ; splits from the trunk ; shaving rough and much twisted. Whenthis wood grows old, it becomes black. Employed in construction of houses, and particularly for its light weight and great durability in that of boats. ANONANG (Cordia sebestenac), Borragin—Tree of 10 211m. The leaves are filled with caterpillars, and seem at first sight to have the same properties as the mulberry-trees. Wood clear red; breaks in short aud clean splinters. Serves for drums and musical instruments. AntTIPOLA (Artocarpus incisa), Urtic.-artocarp.—Tree of first rank, rising to more than 20m. Wood yellow, light, somewhat spongious ; precious for shipbuilding, particularly for canoes. Also used for plank- ing and for machines ; from the back of the trunk issues a kind of milky sap, from which is made glue; splits in short splinters; shavings fine, compact, and twisted. BaiBaGo (Hibiscus tiliaceus), Malvac—Tree of 2m. in height, the leaves of which are one decimétre large ; its bark, which is very strong, is good for making rope and paper; also employed for tanning leather ; wood used for machinery ; charcoal for making gunpowder. Bauiti (Ficus indica), Urtic.—Tree arrives to be of first rank. The wood is of little use; the extremities of the branches extend in such manner that they touch the earth and take root, thus forming new trees. Gnarled roots are said to cure all kinds of wounds. BaTICcULIN (Millingtonia quadripinnata), Bignoniac.—Tree of 6 4 8m. and 4 decimétres diameter. Wood whitish yellow, very clear, odorife- rous, and soft ; fibre amidst cellular tissue, long, and waved ; is worked easily, and serves specially for moulds of castings and for sculpture ; lasts long without damaging ; rather abundant ; splits in short splinters ; shaving rough, porous, and less twisted. BanaBa (Munchaustia speciosa), Lythrariac..—Tree of 10 4 12m. in the forests, and smaller out of them, with beautiful red flowers. The wood is much esteemed in every kind of work for its tenacity ; it resists Aveust 1, 1864] THE TECHNOLOGIST. WOODS OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 45 very well to the action of air and of water; dark red, with longitudinal compressed fibres ; large wide pores and crevices ; splits short ; shaving rough ; a little twisted and porous. BancoaL (Nauclea glaberrima), Rubiac.—Tree of a fine aspect, with oval leaves of 0.06 by 0.12, and flowers in capitule ; rises to 8 4 10m. and 0.7 diameter. Wood golden yellow and greenish yellow ; longitu- dinal fibre, and texture somewhat like tow; esteemed for its tenacity and durability in construction of planking and carpentry ; it is also used by shipbuilders, coopers, and even for making quays. Abundant ; shaving somewhat tough, twisted, and strong. Bitoc (Myrtica ?).—Clear, rosy wood ; texture solid, compact ; pores less visible; splits from the trunk and breaks in the splinter ; shaving fine, strong, and less twisted ; can be well employed for pieces that have to resist to tension. Lavan oR SanDANA (Dipterocarpus sandana), Guttif—Tree 12 to 30m. high, and trunk of 1m. or more diameter. Yields by incision a white, fragrant, hard resin, that is used as incense. Wood ashy colour ; weak texture ; longitudinal flat fibres ; large pores. Abounds in Cavite, Bataan, Nueva Ecija, Bulacan, Mindoro, &c. Splits in long splinters ; shaving rather fine and twisted ; formerly much employed for sheathing of ships, because the balls do not break it in splinters. MALAcATLUN (Tetracera sarmentosa ?), Dilleniac.—Shrub with ash- colour wood; texture towy and rough; fibres longitudinal, amidst a white marrow ; not regularly employed ; splits at the trunk, and shav- ing rough and disunited. Matacintup.— Red wood, of solid texture; fibres longitudinal, waved, compressed ; pores more or less large ; splits short ; shaving fine, twisted, and compact ; can be used in every kind of construction, par- ticularly when resistance to tension is wanted. MALAVIDONDAS (Mavindato? niota), Terebinthac—Wood yellowish white ; texture fine and longitudinal ; less compact ; pores impercep- tible ; splits at the trunk; shaving rough, not much twisted; used for assembling, and for every work that has to resist tension, MauaTalisay (Terminalia mauritiana), Halorag-combretac. — Tree with horizontal verticillated oranches ; excellent for public walks ; 15m. high ; trunk 3m. and Om. diameter. Wood weak, white, or yellowish ; rough ; fibres flattened amidst a pithy centre; great elasticity and flexibility ; of good use for assemblings of ships, &c. Splits at the trunk ; shaving leathery, rough, and little twisted. Maarvuat, or Manapusat .(Myrtac ?),—Wood red, dark brownish, or sometimes ashy ;, solid texture; fibres compressed, waved; pores puncturated and oblong. Abounds in Cavite, La Laguna, and other pro- vinces. Splits in large splinters, and shavings somewhat rough, com- pact, and waved. Melle, near Ghent. THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Avausr 1, 1864 ~ 46 Levies, CoFFEE AND CHICORY: THEIR CULTURE, CHEMICAL COMPOSITION, PREPARATION, AND Consumption, &. By P. L. Simmonds. E. and F. N. Spon. In this little handbook, by the Editor of the TEcHNOLOGIST, is compressed a large amount of practical information on the culture and consumption of coffee and its adjunct, chicory. It contains numerous practical hints, useful both to the producer and consumer. We have republished in the present number the chapter on the “Chemical Analysis of Coffee.” The book, we may further observe, is profusely illustrated with well-executed woodcuts. eee MemMOoIRS OF THE DISTINGUISHED MEN OF SCIENCE OF GREAT BRITAIN LiviINnG IN THE YEARS 1807-8. Compiled by Wm. Walker, jun. Secoad Edition. EH. and F. N. Spon. Tue following extract from the introduction, by Robert Hunt, F.RS., &c., conveys the best idea of the contents of this interesting little volume :— “We have advanced to our present position in the scale of nations by the efforts of a few chosen minds. Every branch of human industry has been benefited by the discoveries of science. The discoverers are therefore deserving of that hero-worship which sooner or later they receive from all. “The following pages are intended to convey to the general reader a brief but correct account of the illustrious dead, whose names are for ever associated with one of the most brilliant eras in British science. It will be remembered that, in the earliest years of the present century, the world witnessed the control and application of steam by Watt, Symington, and Trevithick; the great discoveries in physics and chemistry by Dalton, Cavendish, Wollaston, and Davy,—in astronomy by Herschel, Maskelyne, and Baily; the inventions of the spinning- mule and power-loom by Crompton and Cartwright; the introduction of machinery into the manufacture of paper, by Bryan Donkin and others ; the improvements in the printing-press, and invention of stereo- type printing, by Charles Earl Stanhope ; the discovery of vaccination by Jenner ; the introduction of gas into general use by Murdock ; and the construction (in a great measure) of the present system of canal communication by Jessop, Chapman, Telford, and-Rennie. During the same period of time were likewise living Count Rumford; Robert Brown, the botanist; William Smith, ‘The Father of English Geology ;’ Thomas Young, the natural philosopher; Brunel ; Bentham; Mauds- lay ; and Francis Ronalds, who, by securing perfect insulation, was the first to demonstrate the practicability of passing an electric message Avausr 1, 1864.) THE TECHNOLOGIST. SCIENTIFIC NOTES. 47 through a lengthened space ; together with many others, the fruits of whose labours we are now reaping. “The following pages briefly record the births, deaths, and more striking incidents in the lives of those benefactors to mankind. “¢Tives of great men all remind us we may make our lives sub- lime.’—The truth of this is strongly enforced in the brief memoirs which are included in this volume. They, teach us that mental power, used judiciously and applied with industry, is capable of producing vast changes in the crude productions of Nature. Beyond this, they instruct us that men, who fulfil the commands of the Creator and employ their minds, in unwearying efforts to subdue the Harth, are rarely unre- warded. They aid in the march of civilization, and they ameliorate the conditions of humanity. They win a place amongst the great names which we reverence, and each one ‘6 ¢ becomes like a star From the abodes where the Eternals are.’ ” Stivutific Mates. MINERALS OF CEYLON.—Plumbago is the only mineral of import- ance. In 1860 (an exceptional year in regard to this article), the export rose to 75,660 cwts., from 23,823 cwts. in 1850; but in 1861 it fell to 38,345 cwts., the average of the past seven years being 29,594 cwt.: but the export fluctuates exceedingly. It is generally of a coarse quality, fitted for the lubrication of machinery, and for use in the arts in the shape of crucibles for melting copper and the more precious metals. Some is fine enough to be compressed into parcels, but for this purpose the Ceylon plumbago is greatly inferior to that of the Somerset and Cumberland hills. Itis found generally pretty near the surface. In the Western Province a royalty is charged by Government for plumbago digging at 7s. 6d. per ton. In the Southern Proyince a duty of one- tenth on the value of the article (usually reckoned at 4/. per ton) is levied, which is equal to 8/. per ton. These two provinces are the only two in the island which contribute any revenue on account of plumbago. The amount received in 1861 was 3831. Although occasionally a blue sapphire or a ruby of some value turns up in the zygnamies or localities worked, plumbago is the only mineral of any commercial importance. There are about forty-two localities where iron-stone is dug for native use. Most of the lime used is procured from coral and shells. The gneiss of Ceylon is seldom used for building purposes, cabook (latirite) being so mush easier worked. Sandstone is found on the sea-shore not THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Aveusr 1, 1864. ; 48 SCIENTIFIC NOTES, far from Colombo. In the Northern Province coral lime-stone is the universal building material, and the roads are made with a species of lime-stone gravel. In other parts of the island the roads are metalled with a species of broken gneiss. Cabook is very common near Colombo, and is found valuable for building purposes. It is easily cut into blocks, and when well protected from the weather by lime or cement will last a long time. In house-building it is generally used for walls, with brick pillars between for the support of heavy roofs, &. Cabook is paid for at the rate of 4s. a thousand when cut on crown lands, but little revenue is received from this source, as it is principatly obtained on private property. SrarcH Suear has been converted into a sweet, hard, granular con- dition, in which it resembles ordinary sugars, by Mr. F. Anthon. He first treats the starch with sulphuric acid in the usual manner. The neutralized solution is then evaporated in a wooden vessel, allowed to rest and to solidify gradually. The mass of raw sugar is then removed and strongly pressed in a cloth, the syrup which is pressed out being reserved and boiled down in a fresh operation. After pressing, the sugar is melted and further concentrated in a water bath until the liquor reaches 43° or 35° Baumé. When this point is arrived at, the melted sugar is allowed to cool, with an occasional stirring. If it is desired to obtain the sugar in small granules, the stirring is continued. When this mass has cooled to 25° or 30° Reaum., it is removed and dried in a gently heated drying-room. THE Merzquit-tReE (Algaroba glandulosa) belongs to the family of the Acacias. The leaves are delicate, the wood of a hardness that, did the tree attain a large size, would render it admirably adapted for turnery. The long narrow seed-pods are a favourite kind of food with horses and mules, and the beans are ground by the natives and made into cakes, either alone or with maize or wheaten flour. The name Algaroba is used by Decandolle for one division of the species Prosopis, but by George Bentham for a species belonging to the tribe Purkie of the natural order. The Algaroba glandulosa was first mentioned by Toney, and drawn and described in the ‘Annals of the Lyceum of New York,’ vol. ii., p. 192. Buack Satt.—The black salt of Madagascar is extracted from the ashes of the reed mace (Typha communis), called “ Vundra,” and which they have a habit of licking frequently. Rusor.—The yellow aqueous extract of the Berberis lycium of India is used as a substitute for bark. PERIODICALS RECEIVED. Paper Trade Review—The Paper-Makers’ Monthly Journal—Journal des Fabricants de Papier—Le Technolvgiste (Paris)—Memoir upon the Improvement of the Sheep and Goats of Italy, by Saxe Bannister. Serr, 1, 1864.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. et it CN Ob OG Lol 2) ON THE MECHANICAL NATURE AND USES OF GUN-COTTON. BY JOHN SCOTT RUSSELL, C.E., ¥.R.S. GuUN-COTTON is a new power coming under the same category as steam and gunpowder. It is highly dangerous to those who do not possess the necessary knowledge and skill ; but, like them, it enormously extends human power, and like them, the skill to use it can be rightly and certainly acquired. I. Is gun-cotton stronger than gunpowder? The answer to this is, Yes, sixfold stronger. By this we mean that a given weight of gun-cotton, say four ounces, if we bore 14 inch in diameter and 3 feet deep, into hard rock or slate, in a quarry, and put four ounces of gun-cotton into it, it will occupy about 1 foot of its length, and the aperture being closed in the usual manner, and a match-line led from the charge to the proper distance from which to fire it ; and if we next take 24 ounces of best gunpowder, bore a similar hole, and charge it similarly with gunpowder, and close it in the same way; it has been found that, on these being exploded, the 4 ounces of gun-cotton have produced greater effect in separating the rock into pieces than the 24 ounces of gunpowder. The answer is, therefore, that in disruptive explosion the strength of gun-cotton is six- fold that of good gunpowder. But the disrupting or bursting power of gunpowder is not always the quality for which we value it most, nor the service we require of it. In mining rocks, in exploding shells, in blowing up fortresses, this property is what we value, and this work is what we require. But we do not want to burst our fowling-pieces, our rifles, our cannon. On the contrary, we want to use a force that shall project the projectile out of the gun without bursting the gun, without straining the gun beyond moderate given limit, which it shall be able to endure. We want, VOL, V. H THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Sepr. 1, 1864. 50 ON THE MECHANICAL NATURE AND therefore, a service from gun-cotton which shall be the contrary of destructive to, or disruptive of, the chamber in which it does the work of giving motion to the projectile. This moderated and modified work gun-cotton can also perform ; and it is the modern discovery of General Lenk which has enabled us to moderate and modify gun-cotton to this gentler service. He dis- covered how to organise, arrange, and dispose mechanically of gun-cotton in such a way that it should be three times stronger than gunpowder. Accordingly, one of his charges of gun-cotton, weighing 16 ounces, pro- jected a 12-pound solid round shot with a speed of 1,426 feet a second, while a charge of gunpowder of 49 ounces gave the same shot a speed of 1,400 feet a second. One-third of the weight of gun-cotton exceeded, therefore, the threefold weight of gunpowder in useful effect. II. Is gun-cotton more convenient than gunpowder ? This isa larger and more various question than the former, and divides itself into various subdivisions. It is well known to sportsmen, to soldiers, to artillerymen, that gunpowder fouls a gun. A foul residue of soot, sulphur, and potash soils the inside of the gun after every charge. The gun must, somehow, be cleaned after a discharge; if not it fires worse, recoils more, and ceases to do its best. If the gun be a breech-loading gun, its mechanism is dirtied, and works less easily. Gun-cotton deposits no residue, leaves the gun clean and clear, and the utmost it does is to leave a gentle dew of clear water on the inside of the bore, this water being the condensed steam which forms one of the products of its decomposition. Gun-cotton is, therefore, superior to gunpowder in not fouling the gun, a result favourable both to quicker and more accurate firing. It is further a matter of no slight convenience that gun-cotton makes no smoke. In mines the smoke of gunpowder makes the air unbreath- able, and for some time after explosion the miners cannot return to their work. In boring the great tunnel of Mont Cenis through the Alps, the delay from smoke of powder alone will postpone the opening of the line for many months. After a properly-conducted explosion of gun-cotton, the workmen may proceed in their work at once without inconvenience. In casemates of fortresses, gunpowder fills the casemates with foul smoke, and the men speedily sink under the exertion of quick firing. By using gun-cotton it was ascertained that the men could continue their work unharmed for double the quantity of firing. This is partly attributed to the greater heat, and partly to the foulness of the air pro- duced by gunpowder. But it is under the decks of our men-of-war that the greatest benefit is likely to arise from gun-cotton. Not only does the smoke of a broad- side fill the between decks with hot and foul air, but the smoke of the windward guns blinds the sight, and hinders the aim of the leeward. Sup. 1, 1864.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. USES OF GUN-COTTON. 5L When there is no smoke, as with gun-cotton, the aim of every gun may be precise and deliberate. The diminished heat between decks will also tell powerfully in favour of gun-cotton. In our armour-plated ships also there is more value in breech-loading guns than in any other use of artillery. It is one of the necessities of breech-loading mecha- nism that it be kept clean, and nothing tends more to derange its perfect action than the great heat which gunpowder imparts to the gun from which it is fired. That gun-cotton has the convenience of not heating the gun has been thus proved. One hundred rounds were fired in thirty-four minutes with gun-cotton, and the temperature of the gun was raised 90 degrees. One hundred rounds were fired with gunpowder, and triple the time allowed to cool the gun, which, nevertheless, was heated so much as to evaporate water with a hissing sound, which indicated that its temperature was much above 212 degrees. Under these circumstances the firing with gunpowder had to be stopped, while that with gun-cotton was comfortably continued to 180 rounds. It is also a matter of practical convenience that gun-cotton, insomuch as it is lighter, can be carried more easily and farther than gunpowder ; and it may be wetted without danger, so that when dried in the open air, it is as good for use as before. III. We have now to ask—Is it cheaper? The answer to this ques- tion must be qualified—pound for pound, it is dearer; we must, there- fore, judge of its cheapness by its effect, not by weight merely. But where it does six times as much work, it can then be used at six times the price per pound, and still be as cheap as gunpowder. As far as we yet know, the prices of gun-cotton and gunpowder are nearly equal, and it is only therefore where the one has advantages and conveniences beyond the other, and is more especially suited for some specific purpose, that it will have the preference. Effective cheapness will, therefore, depend mainly on which of the two does best the particular kind of duty required of it. To illustrate how curiously these two powers, gun-cotton and gun- powder, differ in their nature, and how the action of gun-cotton may be changed by mechanical arrangements, we may take one kind of work that is required of both :—If a general want to blow open the gates of a city, he orders an enterprising party to steal up to the gate with a bag containing 100 lbs. of gunpowder, which he nails to the gate, and by a proper match-line he fires the gunpowder and bursts open the gate. If he nailed a bag of gun-cotton of equal weight in the same place and fired it, the gun-cotton wonld fail, and the gate would be uninjured, although the 100 lbs. of gun-cotton is sixfold more powerful than the gunpowder. Here, then, gunpowder has the advantage—both weight and effect considered. But the fault here lies not in the gun-cotton, but the way of using it. If, instead of 100 lbs. of gun-cotton in a bag, 25 lbs, had been taken H 2 THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Szpt. 1, 1864. 52 ON THE MECHANICAL NATURE AND in a proper box made for the purpose, and simply laid down near the gate, and not even nailed to it, this 25 lbs. would shiver the gate into splinters. The bag which suits the powder happens not to suit the gun-cotton. Gun-cotton is, therefore, a power of a totally different nature from gunpowder, and requires complete study to know its nature and under- stand its use. It appears that both gunpowder and gun-cotton have special qualities, and may be peculiarly suited for peculiar uses. It is the duty of a wise people to make use of both to the ends they each suit best, without prejudice arising from the accident of novelty or antiquity. The nature of gun-cotton requires a double study, chemical and mechanical. It is not like steam, the same substance, whether in the form of ice, or water, or steam. It is one substance when as gun-cotton _ it enters the gun, and quite a different one when it explodes and leaves the gun. Not only are the solids which enter converted into gas, but they form totally new combinations and substances. So that the mar- vellous changes which the chemist effects by the magic of his art take place in an instant of time, and during that almost inconceivably minute period of time, in a laboratory intensely heated, old substances are dissolved, their material atoms are redistributed, each atom released selects by affinity a new partner, these new unions are cemented, and at the end of this prolific instant totally new combinations of matter, forming what we call new substances, issue from the gun. It so happens that of these new substances, formed out of gun-cotton, all are pure transparent gases, while in the case of gunpowder there remain 68 per cent. of solid residue, and only 32 per cent. are pure gases. The mechanical application of gun-cotton may be considered to be due exclusively to Major-General Lenk, of the Austrian service. Pure gun-cotton becomes either a powerful explosive agent, or a2 docile per- former of mechanical duty, not according to any change in its compo- sition, or variations in its elements or their proportions, but according to the mechanical structure which is given to it, or the mechanical arrangements of which it is made a part. It was General Lenk who discovered that structure was quality, and mechanical arrangement the measure of power, in gun-cotton ; and in his hands, a given quan- tity of the same cotton becomes a mild, harmless, ineffectual firework, a terrible, irresistible, explosive agent, or a pliable, powerful, obedient workman. The first form which General Lenk bestowed on gun-cotton was that of a continuous yarn or spun thread. Gunpowder is carefully made into round grains of a specific size. Gun-cotton is simply a long thread of cotton fibre, systematically spun into a yarn of given weight per yard, of given tension, of given specific weight. A hank of a given weight is reeled, just like a hank of cotton yarn to be made into cloth, and in this state gun-cotton yarn is bought and sold like any other article of commerce. Serr. 1, 1864.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. USES OF GUN-COTTON. 53 This cotton yarn converted into gun-cotton may be called, therefore, the raw material of commerce. In this form it is not at all explosive in the common sense of the word. You may set fire to a hank of it, and it will burn rapidly with a large flame ; but if you yourself keep out of reach of the flame, and keep other combustibles beyond reach, no harm will happen, and no explosion or concussion will result. If you lay a long thread of it round your garden walk at night, disposing it in a waving line with large balls of gun-cotton thread at intervals, and light one end of the thread, it will form a beautiful firework, the slow lambent flame creeping along with a will-o’-th’-wisp-looking light, only with a measured speed of six inches per second, or 30 feet a minute ; the wind hastening it or retarding it as it blows with or against the line of the thread. This is the best way to commence an acquaintance with this interesting agent. Care must be taken not to become too familiar with gun-cotton even in this harmless and playful guise ; cotton dresses will readily catch fire from it, and it should not be treated with less care to keep fire from it than gunpowder. In one respect it is less liable to cause danger than gunpowder. Grains of powder are easily dropped through a crevice, and may be sprinkled about in a scarcely noticeable form, but a hank of gun-cotton is a unit, which hangs together and cannot strew itself about by accident. The second form of gun-cotton is an arrangement compounded out of the elementary yarn. It resembles the plaited cover of a riding whip : it is plaited round a core or centre which is hollow. In this form it is match-line, and, although formed merely of the yarn plaited into a round hollow cord, this mechanical arrangement has at once conferred on it the quality of speed. Instead of travelling as before only 6 inches a second, it now travels 6 feet a second. The third step in mechanical arrangement is to enclose this cord in a close outer skin or coating, made generally of india-rubber cloth, and in this shape it forms a kind of match-line, that will carry fire at a speed of from 20 to 30 feet per second. It is not easy to gather from these changes what is the cause which so completely changes the nature of the raw cotton by mechanical arrangement alone. Why a straight cotton thread should burn with a slow creeping motion when laid out straight, and with a rapid one when wound round in a cord, and again much faster when closed in from the air, is far from obvious at first sight ; but the facts being so, deserve mature consideration. The cartridge of a common rifle in gun-cotton is nothing more than a piece of match-line in the second form enclosed in a stout paper-tube, to prevent it being rammed down like powder. The ramming down, which is essential to the effective action of gunpowder, is fatal to that of gun-cotton. To get useful work out of a gun-cotton rifle, the shot must on no account be rammed down, but simply transferred to Hs THE TECHNOLOGIST. (Serr. 1, 1864, 54 ON THE MEQHANICAL NATURE AND place. Air left in a gunpowder barrel is often supposed to burst the gun; in a gun-cotton barrel, it only mitigates the effect of the charge. The object of enclosing the gun-cotton charge in a hard strong paste- board cartridge, is to keep the cotton from compression and give it room to do its work. It is a fourth discovery of General Lenk, that to enable gun-cotton to perform its work in artillery practice, the one thing to be done is to “give it room.” Don’t press it together—don’t cram it into small bulk ; give it at least as much room as gunpowder in the gun, even though there be only one-third or one-fourth of the quantity (measured by weight). One pound of gun-cotton will carry a shot as far as 3 or 4 lbs. of gunpowder ; but that pound should have at least a space of 160 cubic inches in which to work. - This law rules the practical application of gun-cotton to artillery. A cartridge must not be compact, it must be spread out or expanded to the full room it requires. For this purpose, a hollow space is preserved in the centre of the cartridge by some means or other. The best means is to use a hollow thin wooden tube to form a core ; this tube should be as long as to leave a sufficient space behind the shot for the gun-cotton. On this long core the simple cotton yarn is wound round like thread on a bobbin, and sufficiently thick to fill the chamber of the gun; indeed, a lady’s bobbin of cotton thread is the innocent type of the most destructive power of modern times—only the wood in the bobbin must be small in quantity in proportion to the gun-cotton in the charge. There is no other precaution requisite except to enclose the whole in the usual flannel bag. The artillerist who uses gun-cotton has, therefore, a tolerably simple task to perform if he merely wants gun-cotton to do the duty of gun- powder. He has only to occupy the same space as the gunpowder with one-fourth of the weight of gun-cotton made up in the bobbin as described, and he will fire the same shot at the same speed. This is speaking in a general way, for it may require in some guns as much as one-third of the weight of gunpowder and seven-tenths the bulk of charge to do the same work; a little experience will settle the exact point, and greater experience may enable the gun-cotton to exceed the performance of the gunpowder in every way. The jifth princtple in the use of gun-cotton is that involved in its application to bursting uses. The miner wants the stratum of coal torn from its bed, or the fragment of ore riven from its lair; the ciyil engineer wishes to remove a mountain of stone out of the way ofa locomotive engine; and the military engineer to drive his way into the fortress of an enemy, or to destroy the obstacles purposely laid in his way. This is a new phase of duty for gun-cotton—it is the work of direct destruction. In artillery you do not want to destroy directly, but indirectly. You don’t want to burst your gun, nor even to injure it ; and we have seen, in order to secure this, you have only to give it room. Smpr. 1, 1864.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. USES OF GUN-COTTON. 55 The fifth principle, therefore, is, to make it destructive—to cause it to shatter everything to pieces which it touches, and for this purpose you have only to deprive it of room, Give it room and it is obedient ; imprison it, and it rebels. Shut up without room, there is nothing tough enough or strong enough to stand against it. To carry this into effect, the densest kind of gun-cotton must be used. It must no longer consist of fine threads or hollow textures wound on roomy cores. All you have to do is to make it dense, solid, hard. Twist it, squeeze it, ram it, compress it; and insert this hard, dense cotton rope, or cylinder, or cake ina hole in a rock, or the drift of a tunnel, or the bore of amine ; close it up,and it will shatter it to pieces. In a recent experiment, 6 ounces of this material set to work in a tunnel not only brought down masses which powder had failed to work, but shook the ground under the feet of the engineers in a way never done by the heaviest charges of powder. To make gun-cotton formidable and destructive, squeeze it and close it up; to make it gentle, slow, and manageable, ease it and give it room. To make gunpowder slow and gentle, you do just the contrary ; you cake, condense, and harden it to make it slow, safe for guns, and effective. To carry out this principle successfully, you have to carry it even to the extreme. Ask gun-cotton to separate a rock already half- separated, it will refuse to comply with your request. Give it a light burden of earth and open rock to lift, it will fail. If you want it to do the work, you must invent a ruse—you must make believe that the work is hard, and it will be done. Invent a difficulty and put it between the cotton and its too easy work, and it will doit. The device is amazingly successful. If the cotton have work to do that is light and easy, you provide it with a strong box, which is hard to burst, a box of iron for example; close a small charge, that would be harmless, in a little iron box, and then place that box in the hole where formerly the charge exploded harmless, and in the effort it makes to burst that box, the whole of the light work will disappear before it. The first trial of English-made gun-cotton was made at Stowmarket in the spring of 1861. A charge of 25 Ibs. not only destroyed a tree- stockade, but shattered it into matchwood. It is, therefore, the nature of gun-cotten to rise to the occasion and to exert force exactly in proportion to the obstacles it encounters. For destructive shells this quality is of the highest value. You can make your shell so strong that nothing can resist its entrance, and when arrived at its destination no shell can prevent its gun-cotton charge from shivering it to fragments. These are the main principles in the mechanical manipulation of gun-cotton which will probably render it for the future so formidable an instrument of war. Resistances too great for gunpowder only suffice to THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Sepr. 1, 1864. 56 THE RICEH-PAPER OF FORMOSA. elicit the powers of gun-cotton. On the other hand, in its elementary state as the open cotton yarn, it is playful, slow, gentle, and obedient ; there is scarcely any mechanical drudgery you can require of it that it is not as ready and fit to do as steam, or gas, or water, or other elemen- tary power. ; In conclusion, I may be asked to say as a mechanic what I think can be the nature and source of this amazing power of gun-cotton. In reply let me ask, Who shall say what takes place in that pregnant instant of time when a spark of fire enters the charge, and one-hundredth part of a second of time suffices to set millions of material atoms loose from fast ties of former affinity, and leaves them free every one to elect his mate, and uniting in a new bond of affinity, to come out of that chamber a series of new-born substances? Who shall tell me all that happens then? I will not dare to describe the phenomena of that pregnant instant. But I will say this, that it is an instant of intense heat—one ofits new-born children is a large volume of steam and water. When that in- tense heat and that red-hot steam were united in the chamber of that gun and that mine, two powers were met whose union no matter yet contrived has been strong enough to compress and confine. When I say that a gun-cotton gunis a steam gun, and when I say that at that instant of intense heat, the atoms of water and the atoms of fire are in contact atom to atom, it is hard to believe that it should not give rise to an explosion infinitely stronger than any case of the generation of steam by filtering the heat leisurely through the metal skins of any high- pressure boiler. THE RICE-PAPER OF FORMOSA. BY ROBERT SWINHOE, H.M. CONSUL AT FORMOSA. THE plant that produces the so-called rice-paper is the Arabia papyri- Jera of botanists, a low shrub with large leaves, in form not unlike those of the castor-oil plant (Ricinus communis). This plant has as yet only been procured from the northern end of Formosa, where it grows wild in great abundance on the hills. It is of very_quick growth, and the trunk and branches, which are lopped for use, are not unlike those of an old alder in appearance. The cellular tissue or pith attains its full size the first year. The trunks and branches are mostly procured from the aborigines of the inner moun- tains in barter for Chinese produce. They are rarely straight throughout their length, and are usually cut into pieces of about nine inches long, and with a straight stick inserted at one end and hammered on the ground the pith is forced out with a jump at the otherend. The pith is then inserted into straight hollow bamhoos, where it swells and Sept. 1, 1864.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. THE RICE-PAPER OF FORMOSA, 5i7/ dries straight. If too short to form the required breadth of paper, several bits are inserted into a hollow bamboo, and, by rods inserted at both ends of the bamboo, pressed together until dry. By this process the short bits are forced to adhere together and form one long straight piece of the required length. Thus paper of almost any size may be procured. The knife used in paring the pith into paper is in shape not unlike a butcher’s chopper. It is well sharpened on a stone, and, when not used, kept with the edge in a wooden groove held firm to it by two strings round the wood and the knife. Before using it, the edge receives a fresh touch upon a small block of wood, usually a piece of the timber of Machilus ramosa, shaped like a large hone. The block on which the pith is cut consists of a smooth brick or burnt clay tile, with a narrow piece of brass or a rim of paper pasted at each edge, on which the knife is laid, and is consequently a little raised above the tile itself. The block is laid flat on a table, and the dried pith rolled on it with the fingers of the left hand, and then the knife laid on the brass rims with its edge towards the pith, its handle being held by the right hand. As the knife is advanced leftwards by the right hand, the pith is rolled in the same direction, but more slowly, by the fingers of the left. The paring thus goes on continuously until the inner pith, about a quarter of an inch in diameter, is left, resembling somewhat the vertebral column of a very small shark, and breaking into similar con- cave-sided joints. This is used by the Chinese as an aperient medicine. The paring produces a smooth continuous scroll about four feet long, the first six inches of which are transversely grooved and cut off as useless. The rest shows a fine white sheet. The sheets as they are cut are placed one upon another, and pressed for some time, and then cut into squares of the required size. The small squares made here are usually dyed different colours, and manufactured into artificial flowers for the adornment of the hair of the native ladies, and very excellent imitations of flowers they make. The sheets most usually offered for sale, plain and undyed, are about three inches and a quarter square, and are sold in packets of one hundred each, at rather less than one penny the packet, or a bundle of five packets for fourpence. The large-sized paper is made to order, and is usually exported to Canton, whence the grotesque but richly tinted rice-paintings have long attracted the curiosity of the Europeans. Some of us tried our hands at paring, but made most abortive attempts, producing only chips, though the opera- tion looked so easy in the hands of the apprentice. The term of apprenticeship to the trade is three years, during which time the man receives no pay, but only board and lodging, from his master, aad has to give his services as general attendant besides to his employer. When the three years are completed, the apprentice is required to work other four months in place of paying premium. He then receives a certificate of capability, and can either set up on his own account or demand wages for hire. THE TECHNOLOGIST. (Serr. 1, 1864. 58 ON THE MACHINERY FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF PLATE . GLASS* - BY GEORGE H. DAGLISH, ST. HELEN’S. WirHin the last ten years the production of plate glass in England has been quadrupled, whilst in the same time the price has been diminished fully one-half. The present extent of the manufacture in this country is about 85,000 square feet per week, whilst about 12,000 square feet per week of foreign plate glass is imported. The foreign glass has ob- — tained a preference from its superior lightness of colour, which arises from the greater purity of the materials that it is made of, particularly with regard to the sand, of which the foreign makers have an abundant supply, of great purity and light colour, as seen from the specimens now exhibited of English and foreign sand. Under the influence of competition, the English manufacturers have lately commenced an extensive course of experiments with the view of improving the quality of the plate glass made in this country, and also reducing the cost of manufacture; and in some instances very decided success has thus far been the result. In order to accomplish these objects, the sand employed at the British Plate Glass Works, at Ravenhead, near St. Helen’s, is now imported from France ; and every precaution is adopted to insure as far as possible the chemical purity of the other ingredients of the glass. At these works also two of Mr. Siemens’ regenerative gas furnaces have been erected for melting the materials for the plate glass; and from the absence of smoke and dust in them, and the facilities they afford for regulating the heat, these fur- naces have contributed greatly to the desired results. Under these altered circumstances, the glass now manufactured is fully equal in every respect to the best samples of the French production. As time is money, any improvement which tends to expedite the manufacture of glass is of importance. This is strongly exemplified in the process of annealing. After the materials have undergone the pro- cess of melting in the furnace, and are considered in a fit state for casting, the pot containing the melted mass is taken to the casting table, and its contents are poured out on one end of the table in front of a large cast- iron roller ; the material is then spread out over the surface of the table by passing the roller over it, the thickness of the plate of glass being regulated by strips of iron placed along each side of the table, on which the ends of the roller run. As soon as the plate of glass is sufficiently solidified to bear removal, it is introduced into an annealing oven, there to be gradually reduced in temperature or “annealed,” until it is fit to be exposed to the atmosphere without risk of fracture. This pro- cess of annealing used formerly to occupy upwards of a fortnight, but from the improved arrangement and construction of the annealing oven it is now completed in four days; thus three times the quantity of * Read before the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Birmingham. Sept. 1, 1864.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. MACHINERY FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF PLATE GLASS. 59 glass can now be annealed in each oven, compared with what was formerly considered possible; and consequently a large outlay in building and in space has been saved, since only one layer of plates can be placed in the oven at one time, no method of piling the plates being consi- dered practical, or even safe. The chemical difficulties and manipula- tion in producing the raw material have thus been very satisfactorily overcome ; but the problem of carrying out the necessary improve- ments in the subsequent mechanical operations has not, perhaps, been so completely solved, though considerable strides have been made in that direction also. The plates of glass, when taken from the annealing ovens, are exceedingly irregular, particularly on the surface which has been upper- most in the process of casting, that surface being undulated or wavy after the passage of the roller over it whilst in a semi-fluid state; the lower side, too, is affected by any irregularities on the surface of the casting table, and also to some extent by the floor of the annealing oven ; and both sides of the plates are also covered with a hard skin, semi- opaque. The plates vary in size, the largest being about 17 ft. long by 94 ft. wide; and the thickness varies according to the size from 3-8ths to 5-8ths in. The first process to which the plates are submitted is that of grinding, to take off the hard skin and reduce the surface to a uniform plane, which is performed by the application of sand and water. The second process is that of smoothing, which is a continua- tion of the first process, but performed with emery of seven different degrees of fineness, so as to prepare the surface of the glass for the final process of polishing. This last process is affected by the use of oxide of iron employed in a moist state. The machine in general use for grinding is that which was originally employed at the commencement of the glass manufacture, and is be- lieved to have been designed by James Watt. It is known by the name of the “fly frame” machine. It consists of two benches of stone, suf- ficiently large to hold a plate of glass,and placed about 12 ft. apart ; on these benches the plates of glass are fixed by plaster of Paris. Each bench has a runner frame made of wood, about 8ft. long by 4$ft. wide, shod on the underside with plates of iron about 4 in. broad and jin. thick, and provided with a strong wrought-iron stud on the upper side, by which it is moved about over the surface of the glass. The gear- ing for driving these two runner frames is placed between the two benches, and consist of the square cast-iron fly frame, with two flat bars hinged to it on opposite sides, extending over each bench, and sus- pended from the roof by long chains, so as to allow them to radiate freely in every direction; this is called the “ fly frame,” from the pecu- liar motion given to it, and each of the runner frames is connected to it by a central stud, working loosely in the slot between the bars. The fly frame receives its motion from an upright spindle, which is driven from the main line of shafting by a pair of level wheels with a fric- THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Sepr. 1, 1864. 60 ON THE MACHINERY FOR tion clutch for throwing in and out of gear. On the top of the spindle is a wrought-iron arm or crank carrying a movable stud, which works with a bush in the centre of the fly frame. Round the centre spindle are also four other spindles equidistant from the centre spindle, and from one another, each carrying on the top a wrought-iron arm or crank with movable stud, similar to the centre one; these studs severally work in bushes at each corner of the fly frame. Hence, when motion is given to the centre spindle, the fly frame is carried round by the stud on the crank arm, while its sides are always kept parallel to their original position by the four corner cranks. The two runner frames being connected by their central stud to the arms of the fly frame, receive the same circular motion as the fly frame ; but at the same time they are left free to revolve round their own centres, which they do in a greater or less degree, according to the varying friction of the grind- ing surfaces. The grinding motion being thus obtained, sand and water are constantly applied, until the surface of the glass is found upon examination to be free from all defects; the sand is then washed off the glass, and the first stage of the smoothing process is commenced on the same machine by substituting the coarser qualities of emery in place of the sand. The plate of glass is then removed from the bench, turned over and replaced on the bench, and submitted to the same process on the otherside. The speed at which the fly frame is driven is about forty revolutions per minute. As the runner frame is not suf- ficiently large to act upon the entire surface of a large plate of glass at one time, it is therefore necessary to divide the operation, and shift the position of the runner frame as the work requires it, by inserting the centre stud of the runner frame into a different portion of the slot between the fly frame bars. Until the last few years the principal part of the operation of smoothing was effected by manual labour, the operation being per- formed by rubbing two pieces of glass together, and applying emery powder between them. Great care is requisite as the work approaches completion, that no scratching shall take place; and it is on this account that hand labour is considered absolutely necessary for finish- ing the process, the slightest scratch being immediately felt by a prac- tised hand, whilst a single stray particle of grit on a machine would spoil the whole surface before it was perceived. About 1857 Mr. Cross- ley introduced a machine for smoothing the plates of glass, which so far succeeded that the nicety of the hand touch is only required for the final part of the operation. This smoothing machine is exceedingly simple and inexpensive, consisting of a long wooden bar connected at one end to a crank, or an upright spindle, and extending over the stone bench on which the plate of glass is laid: two runner frames of wood are attached to the bar, and on the underside of each frame is fixed another plate of glass ; these are then laid upon the glass on the bench. In this case the runner frames are only allowed to partake of the ' Sept. 1, 1864.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. THE MANUFACTURE OF PLATE GLASS. 61 motion given to them by the bar, and are not left free to revolve round their own centres as in the grinding operation previously de- scribed. The centre of the bar between the two runner frames is kept in position by a radius rod secured to a fixed bracket on one side of the bench, at right angles to the direction of the bar. The crank being set in motion, the bar and runner frames receive a movement somewhat similar to the figure 8, which is very similar to the motion given in manual labour. One advantage of this machine is that two surfaces of glass are finished at one operation. The space between the two runner frames is found very convenient for applying the emery, and also ascertaining the progress of the work, without having to stop the -machine. The machinery used in the polishing process remains the same in principle as that originally constructed for the purpose. Each machine consists of a strong cast-iron frame, about 18 ft. long by 10 ft. wide, con- taining a series of small rollers, upon which is placed a wooden table with two racks on the underside; suitable gearing is connected to these racks, to give the table a slow alternate lateral motion so as to bring every part of the plate of glass under the action of the rubbers. The plates of glass are fixed upon the table by plaster of Paris, and the ends of the table move between side blocks secured to the main frame, so as to prevent the action of the rubbers from displacing it. The rubber blocks are pieces of wood covered with felt, and provided with a central spindle and adjustable weights to regulate the amount of friction ; a number of these blocks are secured to two movable bars running on rollers at each end of the table, and driven by a short shaft with cranks at the ends set at right angles to each other. The rubber blocks are thus worked transversely to the motion of the table; and by applying the polishing powder in a liquid state, the surface of the glass is gra- dually brought up to the requisite degree of polish, both sides of the plate successively being subjected to the same operation. About 1857 experiments were commenced at the British Plate Glass Works, at Ravenhead, with an entirely different class of machinery for grinding and smoothing plate glass, with the object of increasing the production, reducing the cost, and also completing the process of smoothing upon the same machine on which the glass is ground, so as to obviate the necessity of a separate machine for smoothing, and also save the expense and loss of time in removing and refixing the plates of glass. The new grinding and smoothing machine consists of a revolving table 20 ft. diameter, fixed upon a strong cast-iron spindle, and running at an average speed of twenty-five revolutions per minute, driven through an intermediate upright shaft from the main line of shafting by a pair of bevel wheels, and friction cone for throwing in and out of gear. This arrangement of gearing for driving the table was made by Mr. Daglish, and was adopted in order to obtain a long spindle for the table, of a length equal to the semi-diameter of the table, and at the same time to THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Szpr. 1, 1864. 62 ON THE MACHINERY FOR keep the main line of shafting continuous, for driving a series of tables in one room. Over the top of the table a strong timber bar is fixed, about 10 in. from its surface ; and on the two opposite sides of this bar are bolted two notched plates of cast-iron, one on each side of the centre of the table. The notches are for receiving the centre studs of the runner frames, which are very similar to those used on the old class of ma- chinery ; and the runners can thus readily be moved nearer to or fur- ther from the centre of the table, as circumstances require, by shifting the stud into a different notch. The only motion which these runner frames have is round their own centres, and this is given to them by the excess of friction on the side furthest from the centre of the table over that on the side nearest to the centre, this excess being caused by the greater velocity of the portion of the table further from the centre. It is evident that the amount of grinding action is considerably greater on this machine than upon the old one, both from the increased velocity of the runner frames themselves, and also from the double amount of movement obtained by the revolution of the table and the runner frames. The idea of driving the runner frames theniselves, as well as the table, was conceived at an early stage of the experiments ;. but on being put to the test, it was found that the unaided movement of the runner frames adapted itself to the work to be performed far better than any compulsory motion could do. It has also the advantage of leaving the surface free and unencumbered with any machinery, and consequently facilitates the operation of laying and removing the plates of glass ; the whole of the driving machinery is also covered over, and thus protected from the injurious effects of the sand and water thrown off from the edge of the table in working. This machine has been found to answer equally well for smoothing as for grinding; and this is perhaps its most successful feature in a commercial and economical point of view. Both these processes are now completed on it at the Ravenhead Glass Works, the finishing portion of the smoothing operation alone being effected by manual labour for the reasons before stated. The plates of glass being generally oblong in form, it was found that the machine in its original shape, having a cir- cular table for carrying the glass, entailed considerable waste in filling up the area of each table for grinding; and it was then determined to alter the shape to that of an unequal-sized octagon, or square with the corners taken off. No difficulty has been experienced in the process of grinding from this alteration in form, whilst the amount of waste in making up the tables has been considerably reduced, and greater facili- ties are obtained for grinding large plates. The amount of wear and tear on this machine has been found to be very small in comparison with the old machines, owing to the small number of working parts, the large extent of bearing surface, the smoothness of the motion, and the com- plete balancing of the table. The quantity of glass finished upon one of these machines per week is 1,200 to 1,500 square feet, which is about Serr. 1, 1864. THE TECHNOLOGIST. THE MANUFACTURE OF PLATE GLASS. 63 one-third more than the old machines are capable of doing, due allow- ance being made for the difference of area in them. The first point to which attention should be directed for working out further improvement is the method adopted in casting the plates of glass, and the machinery employed to carry out the process. It has been stated that the plates of glass in their rough state are very irregu- lar, so much so that about forty per cent. of the glass is ground away in the subsequent processes, which is a serious waste of material, and entails a great expenditure of time and material in the process of grinding ; it is therefore worthy of consideration, whether some improvement may not be carried out in this direction by obtaining the plates of glass smoother in the first instance. The grinding and smoothing operations are believed to be now improved upon the previous practice, though there is no doubt room for further practical suggestions and appliances. The polishing process has been tried to a limited extent on the revolving table last described, but without any practical advantage: the present system is no doubt theoretically correct, as the action of the rubbers is regular and uniform over the whole surface of the glass, thus keeping up a uniform temperature ; but some motion producing a continuous movement of the rubbers, instead of the present alternate movement, would no doubt reduce the wear and tear and require less power, and would probably also be found capable of a higher velocity, resulting in an increase of production, provided the other requisite conditions of the process were complied with. In the course of the discussion which followed, Mr. F. J. Bramwell observed that reference had been made in the paper to the highly satis- factory working of Mr. Siemens’ regenerative gas furnace as applied for melting the materials to make the glass at the Ravenhead Works: he had, as engineer to the company, recommended the adoption of that furnace for the purpose, being convinced of the great advantages that would be found to attend its use, and the first furnace on that construc- tion had now been in constant work for fifteen months, and a second and larger furnace had been erected in May last, which had also been in constant work since that time. ‘These furnaces he believed left nothing to be desired as far as regarded the melting ; but in other respects he thought the process of making plate glass was at present in a most un- satisfactory position, and some improvements seemed to be much wanted in the mechanical contrivances used in the manufacture, though he must admit it was more easy to make that assertion than to show how the improvements were to be effected. A serious objection to the pre- sent arrangements was the great amount of handling that the plates of glass had to undergo in the several processes, which was evidently an important point when it was considered that the large plates fetched a higher price per square foot than smaller ones, and therefore it was de- sirable to avoid the risk of having to cut up large plates into smaller sizes on account of fractures. Under the present methods, however, the THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Szpr. 1, 1864. 64 ON THE MACHINERY FOR risk of fracture was great, from the number of times the plates were handled. On leaving the annealing oven the plate was handled once in conveying it to the grinding machine and bedding it there, and after- wards a second time in turning it over for grinding the second side ; and similarly it had to be twice handled for each of the subsequent pro- cesses of smoothing and polishing, making six times of handling altoge- ther before the plate of glass was finished on the machines, after which it had still to be twice handled in the final operation of hand cleaning. All these processes, he considered, ought to be effected without more than twice laying the plate at all, by working on both sides of it simul- taneously ; and in this respect, therefore, he thought there was a wide field open for improvements in the plate glass manufacture. The revolving grinding table that had- been described was a decided improvement upon the old fly-frame grinding machine, since in all mechanical operations it was better to get rid of a reciprocating action, wherever practicable, and replace it by a continuous circular motion. The new construction of grinding table was preferable to the old grinding benches, on account of its protecting all the machinery below it, so that the working parts and bearings are not exposed to injury from the grit thrown off profusely from the grinding table. A further advantage was the large size of the table, 20 ft. diameter, which afforded room for working on the whole surface of a large plate of glass at once. A serious cause of loss at present in the manufacture was the very large proportion of the glass that had to be removed in the process of grinding in order to obtain a level surface of the glass. The undulations on the surface of the plates before grinding could not, he considered, be produced by the roller on the casting table, as had been suggested, because the roller was of great weight and was moved forwards steadily, running at each end on a smooth strip of iron laid along each side of the casting table, by which the thickness of the plate of glass was determined ; the surface of the glass appeared level before the plate was put into the annealing oven. The undulations after annealing were not in parallel furrows across the plates, but were in the form of hills and hollows ; altogether irregular in size and position. It therefore ap- peared that the glass in annealing must contract irregularly, causing this unevenness of the surface, particularly on the side which had lain uppermost in the annealing oven, in consequence of which so large a proportion of the glass had to be ground away as waste in order to. obtain a level surface. In the old annealing ovens the plates had to be left a long time till the oven had cooled down of itself; but the ovens were now built with air channels under the bed, through which a cur- rent of cold air passed, so that the heat was reduced as quickly as practicable without injury to the glass, whereby a great saving of time was effected. No method, however, had yet been devised for laying the plates one on another in the annealing oven, and consequently a large Sepr. 1, 1864.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. THE MANUFACTURE OF PLATE QLASS. 65 area of surface was required in the ovens in order to lay them all sepa- rately, some of the ovens being as much as 50 ft. long for the purpose of annealing six large plates of glass at a time; the ovens were well designed for uniformity of heat in all parts, notwithstanding their great size. Mr. R. Pilkington observed that the great cost of importing foreign sand for making plate glass was a heavy expense in the manvfacture. The French sand cost about 21s. per ton, as compared with only 3s. per ton for English sand, including cleansing by washing; but the latter when washed clean of impurities was good enough for the manufacture of sheet glass. Mr. J. Silvester inquired whether the use of iron plates laid upon the upper surface of the glass had been tried for flattening the glass in the annealing oven: these were used successfully for flattening sheet steel, which was rendered necessary by the tendency of the sheet to buckle in hardening, but if made perfectly flat during the process of tempering it remained so afterwards, and he thought the same plan might answer for flattening plates of glass. Mr. F. J. Bramwell thought there would be a good deal of difficulty in employing iron plates as covers for keeping the plates of glass flat in the annealing oven, on account of the large size of plates that would be required, 180 in. long, by 80 to 100 in. wide. He remarked that in grinding the emery that was used for smoothing and polishing the plates of glass, it had formerly been customary to grind it dry under edye runners; but recently a valuable improvement had been made by grinding it in a stream of water, the whole apparatus being otherwise the same. Mr. W. E. Newton remarked that for separating substances having different sizes of particles there were two methods that might be em- ployed, the wet and the dry. The former had already been described in the case of separating the particles of emery by streams of water running at different velocities ; in the dry method the separation was effected by a blast of air. The latter plan was devised and employed by Mr. Bentall, of Weybridge, for separating into different degrees of fineness the coal dust which he used in his foundry for making castings, whereby he obtained castings much superior to those generally produced for agricultural purposes. The coal was crushed by edge runners to a great degree of fineness, and an air blast from a fan blew the dust into a long covered box or chamber about 30 ft. long, the bottom of which was divided into four lengths or compartments: the finest dust was carried to the extreme end of the chamber and deposited in the furthest compartment, while the coarser and heavier particles fell into the nearer compartments, according to their respective sizes, the coarsest falling nearest to the grinding apparatus. The process was found most satis- factory in producing a distinct and accurate separation of the different sorts of coal dust ; and he had himself examined with a microscope the VOL. V. THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Sepr. 1, 1864. 66 MACHINERY FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF PLATE GLASS. particles of dust deposited, and found them very uniform in size at any one part of the long chamber. In this process also the ground coal dust was removed immediately from the grinding apparatus by the air blast, instead of remaining there to clog the grinding. The same method would, he thought, be applicable for separating emery into its different degrees of fineness for polishing glass, if it were preferred to separate it dry instead of employing water for the purpose. The Chairman thought it was matter of regret that no means had yet been arrived at for making the best plate glass from home sand, instead of foreign sand : and he suggested that some mechanical mode of bleaching the sand might be discovered, to render the English sand as good for the purpose as the foreign sand: the application of heat might perhaps be tried, as that was known to produce a great difference in the colour of many materials, such as clays and other earths, With regard to the origin of the waviness on the surface of the glass plates after leaving the annealing oven, it had been stated that this unevenness did not exist when the roller left the surface of the glass on the casting table, but that it became developed during the gradual cooling of the plate in the annealing oven ; and it occurred to him that possibly the glass at the time of casting might be in a viscid or plastic state, like gutta-percha, instead of being completely and uniformly liquified throughout the entire mass, the result of which would be that it would yield under the roller, but the rolled plate would be irregular in density and would thus become uneven during annealing by swelling up again at various parts. If, however, the unevenness could be pre- vented by packing the plates of glass between iron plates in the annealing oven, as had been suggested, he thought the saving effected by the smoother surface in the subsequent grinding process might make up for the additional expense of the iron plates in the first instance: and the number of iron plates required would be only one more than the number of glass plates to be laid between them, if they were laid in a continuous pile. The particulars given in the paper regarding the increase in the manufacture of plate glass during the last few years afford another and a very clear illustration of the effect of cheapening any article in causing a great extension of its use. Serr, 1, 1864.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. 67 ON MYROXYLON TOLUIFERUM, AND THE MODE OF PROCURING THE BALSAM OF TOLU.* BY JOHN WEIR. [Previous to his departure for New Granada, Mr. Weir received instructions to make inquiries respecting certain interesting medicinal plants growing in that country, especially the Balsam of Tolu tree and Sarsaparilla, and to obtain, if possible, seeds and specimens. In accord- ance with these instructions, Mr. Weir has communicated the following interesting notice of his proceedings. ] From inquiries made during the voyage out, and immediately on landing in this country, I learnt that a good deal of the Balsam of Tolu was brought down the river Magdalena annually to Barranquilla, whence it is exported to Europe. I therefore thought that the best way of reaching the country where the tree grows, was to go up the river to one of the ports I was informed the drug came from, where I hoped to be able to procure specimens and collect the desired information con- cerning it. At all events, I was told that by going to one of the ports on the lower Magdalena, I could cross the country to the valley of the Zin quite as easily as I could reach the mouth of that river from Car- tagena by sea. Following up this plan, 1 took a passage to Mompox by the first steamer up the river after my arrival at Barranquilla. On arriving at Mompox, I found that no balsam was gathered there (although I had been assured to the contrary in Barranquilla), and that the people gene- rally did not know the tree; a negro was recommended to me, however, as having a wonderful knowledge of all kinds of “hervas y remedios,” and who said he knew where some of the balsam-trees grew. With this man I started in a canoe fora place called Espino, about three leagues distant from Mompox, and situated on the margin of one of the large swamps called “ ceinigas,’ 80 common on the lower part of the river. On reaching this place we entered the forest ; and after having toiled through it for a couple of hours, during which I was gradually losing faith in the probity of my guide, he suddenly pointed out a tree which he assured me was the balsam-tree. This confirmed the opinion I had been forming—that he knew nothing about it, for the tree was certainly not a Myroxylon, nor anything like one. I returned to Mompox in disgust. The gentleman who recommended the black was much disappointed on learning the result of our excur- sion, but said he had found another man, who would undertake to guide me to a place where the tree was to be found. I went with him a few days afterwards, but with no better success. I have no doubt that the tree occurs within perhaps a day’ § journey * From the Proceedings of the Royal Horticultural Society. THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Supr. 1, 1864, 68 ON MYROXYLON TOLUIFERUM, AND of Mompox, but not in its immediate vicinity ; for the ground for leagues around that place is low and swampy ; indeed, it was nearly all under water when I arrived there, and I afterwards found that the tree is never found in the low tracks adjoining the river, but in the higher rolling ground beyond, where the soil is dry. Finding that the tree was not known in Mompox, I left for Plato on the 17th December. Taking the steamer to Las Mercedes, I went from thence to Platoin a canoe. Las Mercedes is the port of El Carmen, and it consists only of a large storehouse for the tobacco brought from the interior, and the imported goods received in exchange. It was here I first saw the balsam. In the store were upwards of thirty tins full of it, ready for exportation ; most of the tins contained ten pounds of the balsam, but there were also a few of a larger size, each containing an arroba of twenty-five pounds. The storekeeper told me that that lot of balsam had come from Plato only a day or two before, and that he ex- pected some more that evening from the same place. The drug, he fur- ther informed me, was also exported from Teneriffe, Pinto, and Santa Anna, all small ports on the right bank of the river, but that most came from Plato. At Corozhl, he said, none was now gathered, although the tree exists there, as also at El Carmen. Iwas glad to find that I had got on the right track at last, and waited patiently for the canoe from Plato, by which I hoped to get a passage to that place. It arrived about six o’clock in the evening, started on its return an hour later, and by nine of the same day that I left Mompos, we were in Plato. This place is about a league further down the river than Las Mercedes, and on its opposite side, near the outlet of one of the numerous branch streams the river forms in its course. Luckily for me, the “Jefe Municipale” of Plato, Frederico Alfaro by name, came in the canoe with me, and this man showed me much disinterested kindness during my stay there. Thad great difficulty in getting animals for the journey into the Montana,—not a horse nor a mule was to be had, and it was only after waiting two days that : was able to hire two doneye one for my guide and the other for myself; a third for baggage I could not get,—and in- deed it was considered quite unnecessary, as it is the usual custom here to travel on donkeys loaded with eighty or ninety pounds of cargo be- sides the rider. During the two days I had to wait at Plato, 1 found a species of Myrospermum growing plentifully in the neighbourhood of the village, and gathered specimens of it both in flower and fruit. This I take to be M. frutescens, Jacq. : it grows to a height of about fifteen to twenty feet. Some trees are now in flower, while on others the fruit is already of a good size. The trees bearing flowers or fruit are generally destitute of foliage, and it is only barren individuals that are in full leaf. On the morning of the 21st, having got the donkeys and guide assem- bled and everything ready, we started for the Montana. On one side of Sepr. 1, 1864.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. THE MODE OF PROCURING THE BALSAM OF TOLU. 69 my own donkey was hung a bundle of paper and boards for drying specimens, and on the other my “estéra” (nat for sleeping on), blankets, mosquito net, and a change of clothes; that of the guide car- ried some provisions for the journey and his own things. I started on foot, feeling almost ashamed to mount an animal not much bigger than myself, which seemed to be already well loaded ; but, before the day’s journey was done, I had been glad to take occasional lifts on the poor donkey. We made about eighteen miles before we halted for the night, and my guide, a man twice my weight, rode every foot of the way. What with the burning sun, the thermometer at 89° in the shade, and the heavy lead, I did not much envy his poor “ burro.” We passed some balsam-trees in the afternoon, each with a lot of calabashes stuck on its trunk to catch the drug which trickled from the wounds in its bark. I picked up a few of the fruit under one of these trees, and on asking him what they were, he said they were “ojos de algo palo de la Montana.” He did not know them, although he told me he had been accustomed to gather balsam since his boyhood. Our second day’s journey was not so long as the first,—I think not more than about twelve miles. The balsam-trees occurred occasionally during the whole way. We stopped at a hut in the forest surrounded by a small clearing, the owner of which, like all the inhabitants of the Montana, makes part of his living by gathering balsam. The trees were very plentiful here, and generally of a large size. Their average height is about seventy feet, and the trunk is sometimes upwards of two feet in diameter a yard from the ground, and generally rises to a height of forty feet without branching, so that it is impossible to get at either foliage or fruit without cutting down the tree. On the day after our arrival, I got the man’s permission to have a tree felled; he did not charge me anything for the tree, but stipulated that I should pay two of his sons a dollar each for felling it. I selected an old tree, nearly two feet in dia- meter. There was a sprinkling of pods upon it, but it was not by any means loaded. The pods are so loosely attached to the branches and so brittle in themselves, that nearly all of them were shaken from the tree and many broken to pieces by the shock of the fall. I found them to be approaching maturity, the seeds being fully developed, but, I am afraid, not ripe enough to grow. I had another smaller and more vigo- rous tree cut ; the foliage of this was much larger than that of the older tree, and also a little different in form, but it bore no fruit. The speci- mens I send will sufficiently show the difference in the foliage of the two trees, and it is also sufficiently explained by the greater luxuriance of the younger. As I have already said, it is impossible to reach the foliage of any of the trees unless by felling them ; but I examined the leaflets of many trees from specimens picked up from the ground, but saw nothing to induce me to believe that the balsam is produced here by more than one species. The young trees have always larger foliage than the old ones ; THE TECHNOLOGIST. (Sept. 1, 1864. 70 ON MYROXYLON TOLUIFERUM, wiv. but the difference was constantly the same as it was in the individuals I had felled. The trees never make a very dense head of branches and foliage; but in the old ones, which have been much bled, it is very thin. Many of the small twigs are dead, and the living ones are covered with lichens. When a tree is about to be bled, two sloping notches are made in its trunk quite through the bark, and meeting in a sharp angle at their lower ends, leaving thus a point of bark between them untouched. The bark and wood is hollowed out a little immediately under this point, and the calabash cup is inserted under it. The process is re- peated all over the trunk at close intervals, up as high as a man can reach ; I have seen as many as twenty cups on a tree. The piece of bark and the cups I have sent will show the process better than I can describe it. When the lower part of the trunk ofa tree is too full of scars and wounds for any fresh cuts to be made, a rude scaffold is sometimes made round the tree, and a new series of notches made higher up. From time to time, as may be necessary, the balsam-gatherer goes round the trees with a pair of flask-shaped bags made of raw hide, slung over the back of a donkey. Into these bags the contents of the cala- bash cups are successively poured, and the cups are re-inserted under the point of bark and left to be again filled. The balsam is sent down to the ports on the river in these hide bags, where it is transferred to the tins. I could not learn which were the best months for the flowing of the balsam,—one person saying that it was in July, another in March, and so on, scarcely two agreeing ; but the bleeding goes on during at least eight months of the year, from July to March or April. When the balsam is flowing well, I was told that “one moon” sufficed to fill the cups. Respecting the time of the flowering of the tree, individuals differed as widely as they did about the best time for the production of the bal- sam. I think I was told that it flowed in every month of the year, each person asked giving a different month ; and several asserted that it did not flower at all. I could not get any one to recognise the name “‘ Balsamo de conco- lito.” I tried individuals with it at Cartagena, Barranquilla, Mompox, Las Mercedes, Plato, and the Montana, but none of them knew what Imeant. The balsam is certainly not known by that name at any of these places, but is always called Balsamo de Tolu.* I remained a couple of days in the Montana, and returned to Plato. We travelled part of the way with a man going down to the port with a * “The balsam is not distinguished in this region [Carthagena] by the name of Tolu, but is known by the name of Balsamo de concolito,—concolito being the native name of the small calabash used for collecting it.”— Letter from the late Sutton Hayes to D. Hanbury, April 23, 1862, Serr. 1, 1864.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. DEVELOPMENT OF COLONIAL RESOURCES. 71 quantity of balsam. He had three donkzys loaded with it, each carry- ing four arrobas, or 100 lbs. weight. The quantities of the drug I saw on its way for exportation at Las Mercedes, Plato, and on the road from the Montana, must have amounted to at least 1,500 lbs., which proves that the tree must be very plentifully scattered through the forest. I returned to Mompox in a canoe, and arrived there on the 29th ult. On the 4th of the present month I left Mompox by the steamer up the river, and landed here on the 7th. This place is called Bar- ranca Vermeija, and is situated on the river side, about two leagues further up than the place where the village of Bojorques formerly stood, for it is not now in existence, the river having carried all the houses away. This being the nearest point to Bojorques I could land at, I came here hoping to find Smilax officinalis, H.B.K., but after several days’ unsuccessful searching for it, | am afraid I must conclude it is not here ; but I will go to Bojorques in another day or two, and perhaps I may find it there. The Rhatany, I was told at Barranquilla, came from the neighbour- hood of Bucaramanga, and as I intend to go up the river Sogamoza to that place when J leave Bojorques, I hope to be able to procure speci- mens of the plant that produces it there. Barranca Vermeija, on the River Magdalena, New Granada, January ldth, 1864. DEVELOPMENT OF COLONIAL RESOURCES.—SAWING MACHINERY. Prernaps there are few countries in the world so well provided with timber suited to the purposes of man as New South Wales, and certainly nowhere until within a very recent period was so little effort made to turn natural capabilities to account. Three or four years since almost all the window sashes, doors, flooring, and other carpenters’ and joiners’ work used in the colony were imported, as well as most of the ordinary arti- cles of furniture and cabinet-maker’s goods. Now, on the contrary, owing to colonial enterprise and ingenuity, almost every article of this kind is made in Sydney, and at a much lower price than it can be imported for. ‘Two years since, the market was glutted with imported doors, sashes, and furniture, since then no articles of the former description, and very few of the latter have been introduced; and owing to the adapta- tion of machinery to cabinet-making and carpentry, there does not now exist the slightest.chance of the revival of such an anomalous state of things, as a colony producing the finest timber in the world, importing in- ferior articles manufactured from inferior timber, from a country thousands THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Supr. 1, 1864, 72 DEVELOPMENT OF COLONIAL RESOURCHS. of miles distant. It is all the more gratifying that this change has been brought about, not by absurd protective duties, not by excluding by legislative enactment the products of the industry and commerce of other countries, but by colonial energy and capital acting in open competition with the world; and, for that very reason, certain to be the more per- manent in its effects and successful in its operations, We think it due to those to whom the colony is mainly indebted for producing the beneficial change alluded to, that attention should be drawn to their efforts; and we feel sure that a notice of the machinery used, and a description of the process by which a log of wood is changed into doors, bedsteads, or packing cases, will be read with interest. There are several establishments in Sydney for machine-sawing and the manufacture of woodwork, but by far the most extensive is that of Messrs. Moon and Co., at the foot of Bathurst street, and to a descrip- tion of this we shall at present confine ourselves. The premises occu- pied in the operations of this firm covers several acres of ground, and the number of persons in their employment is upwards of 150. Their machinery is driven by three steam-engines, and all their engineering work and machine making is done on the premises. Most of the ma- chines used were not only made under the direction of Mr. Nicolls, their engineer, but several of the most important are of hisowninvention. To understand perfectly the operation of the various mechanical appliances, it will be necessary to watch the progress of a log of wood—say of cedar or pine, for nearly all the timber used is the produce of the country— from the time it is drawn from the water at the foot of Liverpool street, until it is changed into chairs, bedsteads, and tables, ready for the pur- chaser. The log of timber is drawn from the water up an inclined plane by machinery, and placed on the movable frame of an engine, called a breaking-down machine. This is the invention of Mr. Nicolls, and is one of the most powerful sawing-machines in the world. It isremarkable for the simplicity of its construction, and works very much on the principle of Nasmyth’s steam hammer. The blade of the saw is a mere extension of the piston-rod, so that its action is perfectly direct. It is capable of sawing a log eight feet in diameter, with as much ease as a man would cut with a handsaw through a plank of an inch in thickness. After being broken down, as it is called, by this machine, the timber is sawn into thinner portions by other more complicated ones. For this pur- pose there are two perpendicular sawing machines, each capable of carry- ing from eight to sixteen vertical saws, according to the required thick- ness of the planks. The perfect truth and smoothness with which these machines turn out their work is admirable. We may remark that it is necessary that wood intended to be planed, grooved, tenoned, and mor- ticed by machinery, should be perfectly square and true, and of a uni- form thickness throughout. All these conditions, which could not be obtained by hand sawing, are incidental to machine work, As soon as the log has been broken down, and cut into boards of the Spr. 1, 1864.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. DEVELOPMENT OF COLONIAL RESOURCES, 73 requisite thickness, it is, if wanted for immediate use, placed in the seasoning house. This is a steam-tight building, constructed of riveted iron plates, in the same manner as the boiler of an engine. It is fitted with steam-pipes, and it is by the action of the steam that the wood is seasoned,—a few hours being sufficient to produce the same effect by this process as would require months in the ordinary way. When seasoned, it is handed over to the department by which it is intended to be worked up. There are separate buildings, each having its necessary staff of work- men, for the manufacture of each description of article. One set of men make nothing but bedsteads, another only chests of drawers, a third packing cases, a fourth doors, a fifth sashes, a sixth chairs, and so on. The wood for each kind of article is sawn out by the machinery, and stacked separately. It may give some idea of the amount of work pro- duced in this establishment by this division of labour, when we state that a thousand bedsteads are undergoing the process of manufacture at once ; that a single boy, with a morticing machine, is capable of mor- ticing one hundred doors in a day ; that, on an average, four hundred pairs of sashes are sent out, glazed and ready for use, every week ; that the wood consumed annually in making soap, candle, wine, and other cases, alone, amounts to four million feet, and that the value of this single article of production is over 6,000/. annually. The rapidity and ease with which the circular saws, working on rack benches, reduce heavy pieces of timber into boards is something startling. A log, say fifteen inches square, and fifty or sixty feet long, is reduced into strips as easily, and almost as rapidly, as a lady could cut a sheet of paper with a pair of scissors. These rack-benches are among the most expensive machines used. They were made on the premises, at a cost of about 1,500/. each. The men attending them have little else to do than look on, and supply the machine with fresh timber as often as required. Another very ingenious tool, and one peculiar to this establishment —the invention of Mr. Nicolle, and made on the premises—is a machine for cutting laths. It is capable of producing ten thousand laths per day, and is said to be superior to anything of the kind ever before inven ted. To enumerate all the purposes to which steam machinery is here applied would be tedious. In addition to the large sawing machines there are others for planing, for cross-cut sawing, for grooving and tongueing, for morticing, for cutting tenons, for moulding, and for various other purposes. The consumption of timber amounts to 80,000 feet of cedar and 40,000 of pine weekly. No imported wood is used unless, from some unusual circumstance, colonial cannot be procured,—as the latter is deemed preferable on many accounts. The stock on hand usually amounts to about 2,000,000 feet. The consumption in 1862 was upwards of 4,000,000 feet, and is fast increasing. A considerable export trade is rapidly springing up to Victoria, Queensland, and other places. The VOL. V. K THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Smpr. 1, 1864, 74 ON THE PHYSICAL SCIENCES WHICH FORM Sydney made articles are fast driving the American out of the market in the other colonies, as they can be produced much cheaper than foreign goods can be importel, and are very superior in finish and general quality. Tt is somewhat surprising to know that, notwithstanding the enormous quantity of goods manufactured, and with all the facilities at their com- mand, Messrs. Moon and Co. are unable to supply orders fast enough. The demand is always in advance of their powers of production, although new adaptations of machinery are constantly offering greater facilities for the supply of the goods which they manufacture. We may mention, in order to show the facilities afforded by ma- chinery, that a boy can mortice 100 four-panel doors daily, at a cost for wages of 3s. 4d., and that this work, if performed by hand-labour, would cost about 10/7. That is, perhaps, an extreme instance, but the difference in the cost of making mouldings, &c., if not quite so great, issufficiently remarkable. Most persons not acquainted with the facts are under the impression, when seeing packages of doors and sashes being taken into the interior from Sydney, that they are imported American goods. This used to be the case, but it is not so at present. Weare assured that very few sashes and doors have been imported during the last two years, and that they cannot now be introduced for less than about 50 per cent. over the Sydney manufacturers’ prices. ON THE PHYSICAL SCIENCES WHICH FORM THE BASIS OF TECHNOLOGY. BY THE LATE GEORGE WILSON, M.D., F.R.S.E. REGIUS PROFESSOR OF TECHNOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH. (Continued from page 14.) THERE are thus four means of inducing chemical change, resembling familiar arithmetical processes. The first, a process of simple subtrac- tion ; the second, a process of simple addition ; the third, a process where certain figures are annexed and others removed ; the fourth, a process where, without altering the total number of figures, the value of each and of the sum total is changed, by changing their relative decimal places. Astronomy and Chemistry thus stand at opposite poles ; although no one who studies both can fail to perceive that the stars of the one science are represented by the atoms of the other, and that it is felt to be as natural to speak of the atmosphere of an atom as of the atmo- sphere of a star. The ancient vague alliance between astrology and alchemy has not been repealed, but only by wise restriction and Sept, 1, 1864.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. THE BASIS OF TECHNOLOGY. 75 enlargement made the modern explicit and intelligible bond between astronomy and chemistry. They agree in being observational and analytical, but differ inasmuch as, of the two, chemistry alone is synthe- tical, synthetico-analytical, and transformational. And although as a science chemistry is not more essentially analytical than astronomy ; all the sciences, as already urged, being, according to the linuts of their domain, equally analytical ; as an applied science, ze, as an art, its powers of analysis give it pre-eminence. In popular language, this word “analysis” is understood to signify chemical analysis ; nor need the analysts of the other sciences complain of this. It is the utilitarian value of the material products of such analysis, not the fact or mcde of its performance, that chiefly leads to the appropriation by chemistry of the term. The analysis by the telescope of the milky way into a firmament of stars ; of nebule into clusters of them; of one evening star into a Jupiter with four moons; of another into a Saturn with rings ; of a third into a double star, with each twin differently coloured, are performances as wonderful as the analysis of water into oxygen and hydrogen, or of vermilion into sulphur and mercury. But the moons of Jupiter have no industrial applications, and the rings of Saturn do not alter in market value; the milky way has not become more nourishing since the gods vanished from the sky ; nor is a double star of more use than a single one. Microscopic analysis, anatomical analysis, erystallographic analysis, yield results as curious and as important as any yielded by chemical analysis, but they have little interest for the industrialist. It matters not to the manufacturer of phosphorus what the microscopic characters of a bone are, but a great deal what its chemical composition is. It matters not to the farmer what the shapes are of the fossil infusorize in the soil he tills, but a great deal what the chemical constituents of that soil are. It matters little to the gunpowder inaker what the crystalline forms of sulphur and saltpetre are, but he attaches the greatest value to the question of their chemical purity. There is another reason why the word “analysis,” unless qualified, shoula be so generally understood to be chemical analysis. Chemistry, alike as a science and an art, does not merely separate the complex material wholes with which it deals into their simpler and simplest ingredients, but completely detaches each of these from the rest, and handles it apart. We do not merely know that water consists of hydrogen and oxygen, but these themselves are ours, to examine as minutely as we please. The solitary exception presented by the element fluorine, which chemical science can logieally analyse out of its com- pounds, but which chemical art cannot concretely isolate and exhibit, makes the contrast in all other cases the more remarkable. “No doubt our means of chemical analysis and isolation are very great, as geology, mineralogy, anatomy, and physics generally illustrate. Their modes of application, however, and their results, are less numerous, and far less striking than those of chemical analysis. The mechanical part, for kK 2 THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Sepr. 1, 1864. 76 ON THE PHYSICAL SCIENCES WHICH FORM example, of metallurgy, with its minings and diggings, its crushings and sortings, its siftings and washings, which are all processes of analysis and isolation, makes no such impression on us as the chemical part of metallurgy, where the blast-furnace resolves iron ore into oxygen and iron ; and the clay-still resolves cinnabar into quicksilver and sulphur ; and the cupel extracts silver from a mixture of metals. The greater impressiveness of chemical as compared with mechanical analysis largely depends upon the great rapidity with which the former can be executed, and its results rendered visible. You let fall a drop of oil on the liquid chloride of nitrogen, and on the instant it is resolved into its component gases. You strike a fulminating crystal, or heat a lock of gun-cotton, and in a moment every element in either is set free. You expose a salt of silver for a second to the sun, and silver appears. You add a little green vitriol to a solution of gold, and the gold 1s at once deposited. You plunge the poles of a galvanic battery into water, and torrents of hydrogen and oxygen instantly rise from the liquid. No science but chemistry can show such things; and if the practical chemist does not analyse quite so swiftly as such feats would imply that he might, he nevertheless always analyses swiftly. But skill to analyse forms, as we have seen, but one-fourth part of the chemist’s power. He can build up as well as pull down ; he can do both at once, and he can transmute without doing either, and all as swiftly as he analyses. This fourfold power and this immense energy place chemistry at the head of the experimental transformational sciences, and render it as an art so mighty in effecting useful changes upon matter. It is the type of the one group of industrial sciences, as astronomy is of the other, Astronomy is severely observational as a science, and passively registrative as an art. At best it lifts up its hand only to warn, and stretches.forth its finger only to point. Chemistry is inquisitorially scrutinising as a science, and actively changeful as an art. It lays its hand upon everything within its reach, and is never content till it has made some alteration upon it. The symbol, accordingly, of astronomy is an eye; the symbol of chemistry is a hand: not that astronomy is handless, or chemistry eyeless, but the power of the former is in its eye ; the power of the latter is in its hand. The symbol of industrial science is a hand with an eye in the palm, and the fingersfree. Let this be the crest of the Industrial Museum. The other physical sciences rank between those two, standing nearer to the one or the other, as they are predominantly observational or experimental. Nearest to astronomy stands geology. The magnitude of the objects with which it deals, small though they are compared with those which concern astronomy, places them in greater part beyond human interference. And the same influence which illimitable space exerts in astronomy, by lifting the stars to heights inaccessible by us, immeasurable time exerts in geology, by enlarging her almanac, so that Sepr. 1, 1864. ] THE TECHNOLOGIST. THE BASIS OF TECHNOLOGY. 77 _ less than a line suffices for all the generations of the most ancient race. Yet geology is visibly an experimental science, which astronomy is not. Our experiments upon the earth have indeed been more frequently incidental than designed, yet human feet have not trod the globe for thousands of years without leaving footprints upon it. And although with all our mines, tunnels, canals, bridges, roads, railways, break- waters, and harbours, we make no greater change on the crust of the globe than the earth-worms do on the soil of our gardens, or the sea- slugs on the sand of our shores, still, like them, we do leave behind us an impression which is not only immense, as tried by human standards, but sufficient, we may believe, permanently to distinguish our planet from all others. Such determinations, also, as those of the heights of mountains, the depths of oceans, and the limits of our atmosphere : such observations as those of the size, and the shape, and the weight of the earth: such bold questions, boldly answered in the affirmative, as— * Ts the sea open to the four winds of heaven? and may we sail upon it whithersoever we will?” “Is there a great continent to the west of Europe, behind the arch of the sea; a land of gold, near the setting sun?” “Ts the ocean a sphere as well as the land, and may we let loose from our sea-rock without anchor on board, and measure the great circle, floating every day on new waters, till we moor beneath the white cliffs of our sea-rock again ?” Such achievements, although a strict logic must refer them solely to observational science, inasmuch as they imply no transformative power over the objects with which they deal, yet include in the instruments with which they are effected so many fruits of trans- formative experiment, and are wrought out so thoroughly in its spirit, that we cannot easily reconcile ourselves to calling their heroes simply observers. They plainly deserve a middle place. Geology is half of the heavens: halt of the earth. She stands an imperial queen, with her head among the stars, and her tresses are white with the snows of ages ; but her feet, graceful and quick, are beneath the young grass, and are wet with the dews of to-day. Her hands are often raised to shade her eyes, as she gazes through space to exchange greetings with each sister-presence in the worlds around. But her fingers are as often busy with homely cares, and with bended forehead she traces for the tenant- lord of her estate the best track for his railway and channel for his canal, and shows him where to find coal and iron, and how to dig foy gold. The geologist, indeed, is so essentially a miner, a quarryman, a rock-blaster, a stone-breaker, a hill-climber, and leveller, that we do not realize him without such tools in his hands as to the imagination appear more potential than mere instruments of observation. Geology thus forms a link between the contrasted groups of sciences. It is to some extent experimentally transformational, and will slowly, as the ages roll on, become more possessed of this character. Registrative it scarcely is at all. It does not, for example, warn us of earthquakes, but only tells THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Sepr. 1, 1864. 78 ON THE PHYSICAL SCIENCES WHICH FORM us when they are past ; and we can scarcely call it Directive. It is of _ the greatest importance, however, to industrialism, in its purely obser- vational character, as dealing with the globe as a great store-house of ° mineral matters of the highest value. I need but name building stores, metallic ores, the constituents of glass and porcelain, coal, and lastly water. Next to Chemistry, as an experimental science, wielding immense transformative power, stands Mechanics. I include under this term the science of force, not only as determining the rest and sensible motion of masses or particles of matter, but also as determining all structural or molecular changes in bodies, whether solid, liquid, or gaseous, which are not produced by chemical alterations, or by the vital agencies at work in plants and animals. Were this identity between mechanical force, and all molecular force which is not certainly either chemical or vital, made the ground of positive deductions in natural philosophy, it would be liable to the gravest objections. But, regarded simply as an assump- tion, awaiting refutation, verification, or correction, as knowledge pro- eresses, it will involve us in no speculative error, whilst it greatly simplifies our study of many of the practical applications of science. There are few technical processes, for example, more important than the tempering of steel, the annealing of glass, and the crystallization of salts ; yet how far the structural or molecular changes which it is the object of those processes to produce imply only a mechanical, or, as is most probable, also a chemical change in the relative arrangement of their particles, is unknown. As, however, no loss or gain of element or ingredient, or any other sensible chemical change occurs, whilst a very appreciable mechanical alteration happens, it is convenient to disregard in technological discussions the possibility of the former kind of trans- formation occurring, and to recognise the occurrence only of the latter. The relation of vital to mechanical force will be considered hereafter. The transformative power of mechanics over matter comes before us as industrialists in a threefold way. First: As furnishing a motive power which can be directed on masses both large and small, so as to throw them into motion. Second: As furnishing a means of inducing change by alterations in the external configuration of bodies. Third : As furnishing a means of inducing molecular change in a mass without alteration of its external configuration or production of sensible motion. So far as the first is concerned, I need scarcely remind you that there is scarcely an industrial art which does not in some of its departments require a motive power. A steam-engine is scarcely wanting from a single utilitarian establishment. Places so unlike each other as a farm, a dye-work, a cotton factory, a stone-cutter’s yard, and a wood-cutter’s shop, have alike this indispensable engine, or some substitute. This necessity is curiously illustrated by the same word mill being applied to industrial establishments of the most opposite character. We speak, for example, of a flour-mill, a coiton-mill, a gunpowder-mill, and a saw- Serr. 1, 1864.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. THE BASIS OF TECHNOLOGY. 79 mill. As examples of the application of motive power to the production of mechanical transformation, I shall content myself here with refer- ring to the conversion of wool, silk, flax, and cotton into woven fabrics, and of rags into paper. So far as the second aspect of mechanical force is concerned, namely, as an inducer of alterations in the external configuration of bodies, it will be sufficient here to refer to the arts of the stone-cutter and wood-carver, and to those of sculptors, carvers, and engravers of all kinds. As for the third aspect of mechanical force, namely, to induce internal molecular change, such processes as the tempering of metals, the annealing of glass, and the baking of porcelain, in certain of its stages, may serve as illustrations. In contrasting mechanical with chemical transforming force, it is curious to notice how in one respect the former is the more imposing, in another the latter. Mechanical force, when exerted as a motive power, can be employed by man on a much grander scale than the similar power of chemical force, except in the case of explosives. Arti- ficial chemical processes, again, on however large a plan they are con- ducted, are, with few exceptions, such as that of the iron blast-furnace, striking only in their results. But the movements of massive pieces of machinery, even though moving aimlessly, still more when working for a purpose, always awaken in us the idea of power ; and often also create emotions of awe and sublimity akin to those which are begotten by the spectacle of great natural phenomena. The sweep of a railway train across the country, and the dash of a war-steamer against the waves with which it measures its strength, never become paltry pageants, even though we are ignorant of the errands on which these swift coursers are bound. Still more striking are those actions of machinery which involve not only swift irresistible motion, but also transformation of the materials on which the moving force is exerted. Take, for example, a cotton-mill, which some never tire of representing as dreary and prosaic. In the basement story revolves an immense steam-engine, unresting and unhasting as a star, in its stately, orderly movements. It stretches its strong iron arms in every direction throughout the build- ing ; and into whatever chamber you enter, as you climb stair after stair, you find its million hands in motion, and its fingers, which are as skilful as they are nimble, busy at work. They pick cotton and cleanse it, card it, rove it, twist it, spin it, dye it, and weave it. They will work any pattern you select, and in as many colours as you choose; and do all with such celerity, dexterity, unexhausted energy, and skill, that you begin to see what was prefigured in the legend of Michael Scott, and his “ sabbathless” demons (as Charles Lamb would have called them), to whom the most hateful of all things was rest, and ropemaking, though it were of sand, more welcome than idleness. For my own part, I gaze with untiring wonder and admiration on the steam Agathodemons of a THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Sepr. 1, 1864. 80 ON THE PHYSICAL SCIENCES WHICH FORM cotton-mill, the embodiments, all of them, of a few very simple statical” and dynamical laws ; and yet able, with the speed of race-horses, to transform a raw material, originally as cheap as thistledown, into end- less useful and beautiful fabrics. Michael Scott, had he lived to see them, would have dismissed his demons and broken his wand. Yet magnificent as the scale is on which many mechanical transfor- mations occur, they are to a great extent undervalued because there is nothing mysterious about them. However great the difference between the raw material and the finished product, we can follow each step in the transition from the one to the other. The Portland Vase, for example, is as different, in one respect, from the ball of vitreous jelly out of which it was elaborated, as in another, that jelly is from the sand and alkali and metallic oxides, which were melted together to produce it. Rarely-gifted hands and nice tools were needed to furnish the mere outline of that beautiful vessel ; still more to carve the exquisite shapes which are sculptured upon it. Its materials, on the other hand, are of the cheapest ; and the most ignorant slave had skill enough to melt them together. Yet we can realize each step in the mechanical workmanship ; and some lookers-on; if none others, the artists themselves, saw the whole grow into beauty under their eyes, like Aphrodite rising from the glassy sea. But no one saw or can see the sand and alkali change into glass, or can realise what happens during the transmutation. The most critical part of the process is effected per saltum ; and, as with children trying to watch themselves fall asleep, our eyesight and consciousness fail us at the very moment when the mystery lies bare, and the secret is open to view. It is so with every chemical process : bleaching, dyeing, fermenting, ether-making, reducing of metals, firing of gunpowder. The substances taking part in each reaction are like masqueraders crossing a bridge, the crown of which is hidden by clouds. You trace them, letting no movement escape you, as they climb from one side leisurely towards the elevated centre, and enter the shadowing cloud, but though it seems quite transparent, its entrants grow suddenly invisible, and when you next catch sight of them descend- ing on the other side, they are transfigured and totally changed. This occult character of chemical force appeals not only to that vulgar wonder which holds omne ignotum pro magnijico, but provokes the chastened curiosity of the philosopher, who cannot divine what or how many unexpected figures may emerge from each enigma, and alter the value of all his calculations. The mechanical powers are like stalwart giants of Northern blood, standing erect and naked to the waist, with their ponderous tools beside them, and their fair, frank faces, ignorant of guile, opening their blue eyes calmly upon us. They possess only strength and skill, and obedience to laws so few and simple that they can be made plain to any intelligent child. We respect and admire them ; but we feel that we can measure their height, and take the girth of their arms, and we are Serr. 1, 1864.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. THE BASIS OF TECHNOLOGY. 81 not afraid to calculate the horse-power, immense though it is, which lies in the bend of each of their little fingers. The chemical forces are like supple Eastern jugglers, with swarthy brows and lustrous, unfathomable eyes, who never look you straight in the face, or measure glances with you. They are robed in gauze, which seems transparent like glass; but when you try you can see nothing through it. The instruments in their girdles are like children’s play- things ; and the lighted lamp, which they always keep near them, has nothing to distinguish it from ordinary lamps. You may be indifferent when they stretch forth their slender arms, and ask you for the stone beneath your feet ; but you are startled when, after some sleight-of- hand, you receive in its stead a steel blade or a sphere of crystal ; and you tremble when you see the cunning fingers close for one moment over a little harmless charcoal and water, and open the next to offer you the deadliest poison. These subtle conjurors, secret as the grave, have we know not what of angelic, what of demonic, power at their com- mand; and we are continually tempted to put a higher value upon their mysterious legerdemain than upon the open handiwork of the mecha- nical powers. In so far, however, as the artificial modification of matter is concerned, we almost invariably require the services of both, and they work willingly together. It may be well to have one word, as transmutation, to indicate chemical molecular change, and another, as transformation, to indicate mechanical molecular change ; but, as indus- trialists, we must hesitate to marvel more at the one than the other. How cheerfully they labour to a common end, like twin brother and sister ; the one strong by measurable strength, the other by immeasur- able fascinating power, we see in the case of that great world-changer, that emblem of war and minister of peace, gunpowder. It needs the strong brother to fell the oaks, and with a hint from his twin sister to burn them into charcoal. It needs his stout arms to quarry the sulphur, and bring the saltpetre from India; to crush them into grains, and grind them together ; but it also needs his weird sister, in whose palm he lays the innocent dust, to breathe upon it before the Alps are tunnelled, or Sebastopol lies in ruins. It is not necessary, after the division I have made, to make special reference to heat, light, electricity, and magnetism as sciences of trans- muting and transforming force, since, without deciding on the essential nature of the agencies which they represent, we may, as industrialists, divide them between mechanics and chemistry. Thus heat may be equally partitioned between them, as alike remarkable for mechanical and chemical alterative power. Electricity and light may be given in larger part to chemistry, and magnetism in larger part to mechanics. On the other hand, also, mineralogy, as a lesser geology, may be ranked along with it. We may suppose all the sciences related to industrialism arranged in tae form of a crescent. At the tip of the one horn stands astronomy, THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Sepr. 1, 1864. 82 ON THE PHYSICAL SCIENCES WHICH FORM next it is geology, and next to that mineralogy. At the tip of the other horn stands chemistry, next it is mechanics, next to that heat, light, electricity, and magnetism. In the centre of the crescent stands the remarkable science which we have still to consider—namely, biology. It includes botany, the science of plants and plant life, and zoology, the science of animals and animal life. These sciences, in popular estimation, alone constitute natural history, and are often referred to as if they were solely observational and analytical ; but they are trans- formational in a remarkable way, and furnish the industrialist with most important instruments for effecting changes upon matter. After death, plants and animals furnish to the botanist and anatomist end- less subjects for the observation and analysis of peculiarities of form, structure, and function. To the practical chemist also and the mecha- nician they supply the raw or genetic materials, such as wood and wool, of a thousand industrial arts. During life they are likewise objects of observational science ; and in one respect are as much removed beyond direct human interference as the objects of astronomy. Life builds up a harrier round plants and animals which we may not overpass, except at a few places. We cannot experiment on them in the way we can on dead objects ; for interference with them, to any considerable extent, either sacrifices life, or so alters its conditions, that a dead or diseased thing is left in our hands. Nevertheless, every living plant and animal is for the industrialist a machine or apparatus, possessed of remarkable trans- forming and transmuting powers, which, to a very considerable extent, may be controlled, directed, and even modified by him. And if living organisms cannot be wielded as tools or weapons in the same way as in- organic machines can, there is this great compensation in the fact that, to the extent an organism can be wielded by us, it enables us to add to the transforming and transmuting powers of mechanical and chemical force, which alone are available in the dead machine, the metamor- phosing power of vital force. Differences of opinion may exist as to the essential peculiarity of this force, but there can be none as to the prac- tical advantage of regarding it as distinct from mechanical and che- mical force. I will go further, and apply the term metamorphosis to the kind of change which vitality specially induces in matter, so that, ac- cepting the confessedly arbitrary employment of terms which I have proposed, we shall speak of a mechanical transformation, a chemical transmutation, and a vital metamorphosis. — Looked at from this point of view, biology yields to none of the sciences in industrial importance. Translated into practice, it gives us agriculture, an art so peculiar and extensive, that, like medicine, it de- mands all the energies of an entire profession. It is not my province to discuss agriculture, but there are certain industrial aspects of the biology on which it reposes requiring notice here. Animal force is of immense importance to all the useful arts ; first, as a motive, secondly, as a transformative power. In these days of rail- Serr. 1, 1864.] THE TECHNOLOGIST, THE BASIS OF TECHNOLOGY. 83 ways and steam-engines we are apt to think too lightly of our horses and other beasts of burden, forgetting that without them we could not con- struct the engines which to some extent are supplanting them, and that they themselves are the best of engines for many purposes. James Watt and George Stephenson, I am sure, respected even a donkey ; and were the last of its race to die, we might all join Sterne in weeping over the dead ass. We do not sufficiently remember that all other machines are the offspring of living machines. A steam-engine is the literal as well as the metaphorical embodiment of so much horse-power. A railway viaduct is the petrifaction of so much animal force. A power-loom, after its last improvement, remains still a hand-loom. Archeologists tell us, that in far separate regions of the world, you find stamped on the monuments of forgotten races the impression in red of a human hand. But we need not go to distant lands and the works of extinct races for this mysterious signature. The mark of the red hand, red with the blood which toil has wrung from it, will be found on every industrial instrument and product, and the print of a horse’s hoof is generally near it. A horse’s shoe, indeed, might be nailed up on many a door besides the blacksmith’s, to keep away the evil spirit of idleness, if we are afraid of no other demon. It is only the sentient organism, the animal, that has motive and transformative powers of the kind we have been considering ; and it is only the paragon of animals that is able to direct them at will. Buta transmuting and metamorphosing power of another kind, and not less important to industrial art, is common to plants and animals, and in some respects characterises the former even more than the latter. The plants and animals which as agriculturists we care for, may be regarded as skilled labourers, who, in return for food, wages (which must be paid in kind), and a certain liberty of action, agree to collect or manufacture for us a multitude of useful substances. We employ them, and many wild plants and animals also, as collectors or amassers of certain bodies, because, although we could collect these ourselves, we could not do it half so well. We employ them as manufacturers, because they keep their processes secret and have a monopoly of the manufacture. Look first at their skill as collectors. As soon as the seed we sow has germinated, it begins to extract from the soil, or water and air around it, various matters, among others the mineral alkali, potash. Now this alkali is of great industrial value, and it is in our power to procure it from the sources which yield it to plants. To procure this, however, is a tedious, costly, and laborious process, for all the free alkali to be found at any moment in a moderate weight of soil is exceedingly small, and could not profitably be extracted by any artificial method, Buta growing plant day by day appropriates to itself an almost infinitesimal ainount of potash through its roots, and, like a miser, hoards it all, or nearly all, so that if at the close of a season we burn it entire, we find in the ashes all the gathered potash of the year harvested to our hands. THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Sepr. 1, 1864, 84 ON THE PHYSICAL SCIENCES WHICH FORM The sea, in like manner, is the great fountain of a rare and prized substance, iodine, but were we compelled to take it directly from the ocean we should require to evaporate tons of water to keep a single photographer supplied with it, and it would be more costly than gold. But the seaweeds employ it as well as the photographers, and have long anticipated the physicians in taking it internally. Day by day they sip a homeopathic dose of iodine and retain it, and by-and-by we burn them into kelp, and extract iodine and much else that is valuable from the ashes. To take another example, phosphate of lime, a minute constituent of all fertile soils and of most waters, is of great value to the ivory turner, the manure-maker, the potter, the silver-assayer, the drug-manufacturer, the dyer, and the lucifer-match maker. It reaches all of them in the shape of the bones of dead animals; dead cattle from our farms, dead horses from the Pampas of South America, dead walruses from the arctic icebergs, dead whales from the Pacific Ocean, dead men even from fields of battle. Land and sea plants have, as it were, milked this essential constituent of their frames, drop by drop, from the breast of Nature. Animals of all classes, from the lowest to the highest, have robbed plants of their hard-gotten gains, and made their bones strong with the precious substance. Finally, the chartered robber man has robbed them all, claiming even the relics of his brethren, and obtaining in a handful of bone-dust the phosphate of tons of rock and water. The industrial importance, however, of plants and animals, as col- lectors and harvesters of valuable mineral matters, is insignificant com- pared with their value as manufacturers of bodies whose worth depends much more on their construction or composition than on their raw material. In their former capacity, living organisms resemble simply filters with apertures of different fineness, and fitted to arrest and detain certain substances in themselves valuable. In the latter, those organisms resemble highly complex machines, able to convert the most familiar things into substances precious almost solely from the workmanship bestowed upon them. Take for example that important substance, wood. Its chief ingre- dients, charcoal and water, are uncostly and abundant; but in them- selves they are useless to the carpenter, and he cannot change them into timber. So he calls to remembrance that his great grandfather planted an acorn, which has turned its first small capital to so excellent account that now it is a timber merchant on a large scale, and will contract with you to build a ship of war out of oak of its own making. It is with other trees as with this ancestral oak. Each, with its republic of in- dustrious roots and leaves, is a joint-stock company with limited liabi- lity, engaging to furnish you with pine-stems for masts, fir-wood for planking, logwood for dyeing, cork bark for tanning, walnut for tables, rosewood for picture-frames, willow for cradles, mahogany for wardrobes, ebony for will-chests, elm-tree for coffins. Sept. 1, 1864.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. THE BASIS OF TECHNOLOGY. 85 Those trees form the Worshipful Company of Woodmakers, an an- cient guild. But there are others as old. A peaceful army of flax plants protects the monopoly of linen-weaving. Whole battalions of cotton shrubs watch over calico, No one may infringe the patent of the indigo plants for blue dye ; none may borrow the multitudinous crimsons and. purples of the madder root ; none may rival the elastic fig in manu- facturing caoutchouc; or learn from the trees of the Eastern Archipelago how to produce gutta-percha. The roses of Damascus keep the secret of their otto to themselves; and the acacias of Arabia and Africa alone deal in gum arabic. Each of those plants has a monopoly of its manufacture, and sells, at a price settled by itself, all that it produces. The charge is entirely for work, not for materials. You may bring these, indeed, yourself, and have them made up for you; and nearly the same materials will suit all the manufacturers, The cane will return them as sugar, and the vine as grape-juice, the olive as oil, and the poppy as opium; keeping only to themselves such a percentage as is needed to maintain their workshops, and multiply their buildings. The day may come when the patents of these monopolists will expire, and their secrets be published recipes open to all; but that day is distant, and chemistry as yet has dis- covered only so many of their devices as serve to whet to a keener edge her unsatisfied envy of their unapproachable powers. Plants are thus, in virtue of their amazing ability to convert the simplest and com- monest ingredients of air, earth, and water into the most complex and precious compounds, of as much value to the industrialist, considered simply as pieces of apparatus, as the most elaborate engines he has con- structed. Nor is it otherwise with animals. They do not work with so simple a raw material as plants do: they use plants, indeed, directly or indirectly, as their raw material ; but they convert them into products raised in industrial value by the additional workmanship bestowed upon them. We have thus the silkworm, whose calling it is to turn mulberry leaves into silk ; the bee, who turns sugar into wax; the coccus, who turns cactus-juice into carmine ; the oyster, who turns sea-chalk into pearls; the turtle, who turns seaweeds into tortoiseshell; and the whale, who turns sea-jellies into oil and whalebone. The birds are the only makers of quills and feathers ; the hogs of bristles; the elephant, the walrus, and hippopotamus of ivory; the sheep of wool, not to speak of fat and mutton; the ox and his congeners of undressed leather ; the beaver and his brethren of hat-felt ; and myriads of wild creatures of land and sea of furs and skins. I have barely alluded to one animal, as supplying us with food; although, as I need not remind you, the most important industrial relation of many others is their power, as machines, to convert weeds of various kinds into beef, mutton, venison, milk, butter, eggs, the flesh of birds, and beasts, and fishes. Two points call for special notice in connection with living plants and animals, as industrial apparatus and machines. Firstly: It is im- THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Sepr. 1, 1864. 86 ON THE PHYSICAL SOIENCES WHICH FORM possible ever to say too much regarding their amazing transforming, transmitting, and metamorphosing powers. Into the question how far their functions, as modifiers of matter, depend upon their vital, as dis- tinguished from their mechanical and chemical endowment, it is un- necessary to enter here. It is sufficient to notice that the power which every blade of grass and green leaf possesses to resolve carbonic acid into charcoal and free oxygen, and thereby to build up the most solid vegetable tissues, chiefly out of air, is beyond the rivalry of all our engines ; and this is but one feat among the thousands which plants unconsciously perform, and in vain bid us repeat. Within the more complex region of animal life, we are equally compelled to be mere spectators of changes of matter which we very imperfectly understand, and cannot effect by our machines. We can scarcely, accordingly, rate too highly the importance of living organisms, as working for us and with us. Secondly: Although we cannot construct machines to rival sugar-canes and silkworms, or any other plants and animals, we have a singular power of modifying these, so as to alter their actions as machines. : At every agricultural show, prizes are given to the exhibitors of vegetables and animals, which differ as much from their protoplasts as Watt’s steam-engine does from Savary’s or Newcomen’s. So much has cultivation changed our most highly-prized cereals, that it is matter of dispute from what forgotten weeds wheat and barley, as we now see them, have been elaborated. Our apples and pears were once sour crabs ; our plums austere sloes ; our turnips acrid radishes. We have as truly created such fruits and vegetables as the chemist has created ether or chloroform. The physiologist, no doubt, is much more limited than the chemist as a creator, but he is as truly one. Both work under that aphorism of the Novum Organon, which teaches us to conquer Nature by obeying her. The creating power of the physiologist is still more striking as exerted upon animals. Our dogs, and horses, and cattle we have made, as truly as we have made glass, or bronze, or porcelain. Nature yields no pointers among dogs, or race-horses among steeds, or short-horns among cattle. Food and climate, regimen and temperature, domesti- eation and training—above all, pairing in special ways—have given us endless and important varieties of every creature we have cared to sub- due ; and whenever the whim prompts us to make pets of pigs, or rabbits, or pigeons, we show through how many phases we can induce our playthings or victims to pass. We do not generally call this creation, because we quickly realize that we are but evolving certain germinal tendencies latent in the plants or animals whose offspring our interference renders so unlike themselves ; but we do no more when we call into existence glass or ultramarine ; for unless the elements of these compounds had inevitably tended to produce them under the conditions which we secure, the securing of Supr. 1, 1864.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. THE BASIS OF TECHNOLOGY, 87 these conditions would no more have produced them than the mating, under certain restrictions, of particular vegetable or animal pairs would have given us the grapes of Portugal or the race-horses of England. But whether we choose to call it creation or not, it is transformation of a kind as important, industrially, as that which mechanics has effected on many a machine. Ask a baker if he sets the same value on samples of wheat differently derived and grown, and he will offer you twice the sum for one that he will give for another. Ask a brewer the same questién regarding barley, and you will receive the same answer. The sugar-planter carefully classifies his beet-roots or sugar-canes, the perfumer his lavender and orange-flowers, the wine maker his grapes, the tea merchant his teas, the dye broker his indigos and madders, the phearmacologist his poppies and cinchonas, The plants in which those industrialists have an interest may, by variation in stock, in soil, lati- tude, climate, mode of cultivation, degree of manuring, and the like, be made abundant or deficient in starch, sugar, azotised nutritive prin- ciples, mineral salts, odorous essences, colouring principles, and medi- cinal or poisonous alkaloids. It is the same with animals. A cattle-dealer will give you one calf which shall certainly in course of time prove a bountiful yielder of milk and cream ; another which shall as certainly be a fatted ox when three years old ; a third which shall by-and-by be a match for a horse at the plough. A jockey may at first stun you with what seems his unintelligible slang about blood, and bone, and wind, and bottom ; but by-and-by you discover that these are his technical phrases for certain structural and physiological peculiarities, which he can exalt or diminish in a par- ticular animal by due selection of sire and dam, and fit treatment, and training of foal; so that if you are not very difficult to please, and, moreover, are not in a very great hurry, he will contract to make youa horse according to the pattern you select, as an engineer will to make you a steam-engine. So also: The Yorkshire broadcloth-makers choose by preference the long stapled wool of sheep fed plentifully upon artificial grasses, turnips, and the like. The Welsh blanket-makers, on the other hand, prefer the shorter wool of sheep cropping the natural grass of the hills, whilst the Scotch tartan shawl-weavers work only with Australian or Saxony wools. In like manner the comb-makers will tell you that the farmers are injuring them, by multiplying breeds of cattle which quickly fatten, and are, in consequence, killed before their horns are well grown ; and those same industrialists will curiously distinguish between the tortoise- shell from one region of the sea and that from another. I should never end, were I to pursue this matter. Let those illus- trations suffice to show that living organisms are not only industrialists like ourselves, and in many cases more skilful artists, but are also - THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Sepr. 1, 1864. 88 ON THE PHYSICAL SCIENCES WHICH FORM machines and apparatus which, within certain wide limits, we can wield at will. Such, then, is the scientific basis of industrialism, a platform broad as the whole earth, and reaching even to the stars. Although to biology we give a special place, because it deals with the inscrutable mystery of life, yet after all we can find room for it in the twofold division of physical sciences which arranges them, as each in part passively obser- vational, in part actively transformational. Our whole work, as industrialists, resolves itself into observing and transforming, and whether we labour as observers or transformers, we have noble work to do. In either case, an edifice rises before us as the fruit and memorial of our labour. In the one case, this edifice is like a Nineveh recovered from oblivion ; in the other it is like a Crystal Palace, for the first time given to the world. When we work as naturalists, though we do no more than bring into view objects which, from the moment of their creation, have been within reach of our senses, we are, nevertheless, like those skilful excavators who read a new lesson to the modern world, when they recovered to the light of day the long-buried and forgotten wonders of Herculaneum and Pompeii; or like those unwearied ex- plorers who displaced the sand under which Egyptian temples had been concealing, untarnished and unworn, the paintings and sculptures bestowed upon them centuries before. The same kind of interest which attaches to Belzoni, Denon, and Lepsius, as uncoverers of the sand- hidden pyramids and sphinxes of Egypt; and to Young, Champollion, Rossellini, and others, as decipherers of the hieroglyphics upon them ; or to Layard, as a revealer of the disinterred wonders of Babylon and Nineveh ; and to Rawlinson, as an interpreter of the Cuneiform inscrip- tions upon their buildings ; attaches to the naturalists of all classes. The most ancient book, it has been finely said, is published to-day for him who reads it for the first time. Herculaneum, Thebes, and Nineveh were as great novelties on the day of their re-discovering as if they had been cities of the Mormons, built yesterday. Hieroglyphics and Cuneatics are, for the novice who encounters them, marvels as astound- ing as the new language can he, which a tribe of native Africans are asserted (1 fear on doubtful authority) to have recently constructed for themselves. And so, although Galileo only discovered the moons of Jupiter, we often and unconsciously think of him as if he had been their creator, and had first set them to play their untiring game of hide- and-seek round the stately planet ; and so also in no irreverent spirit we call the laws which Kepler divined to regulate certain movements of the heavenly bodies, “ Kepler’s Laws,” although he disclaimed the title, grandly affirming that God, whose laws they were, had waited some thousand years before one man, even Kepler, had discerned them. And so again, notwithstanding our conviction that the star Neptune has been shining in the sky since what I shall be content to call “ the beginning,” Smpr, 1, 1864.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. THE BASIS OF TECHNOLOGY. 89 and that all the tiny planets which have so rapidly been added to our astronomical catalogues are probably as old as the sun, we cannot help feeling as if Adams, Leverrier, Hinds, and their brethren, had just planted those lights in the sky, and that midnight should be seysibly less dark because of their addition to the heavens. I have taken these illustrations from the most observational science, astronomy ; but any other science would have yielded illustrations as striking. The mastodons and megatheria of geology pass with us for creatures more recent than the elephants and camels which were the largest quadrupeds known to our fathers. Coal we think of as a newly invented, not as the oldest fuel ; aluminium we deliberately call a new metal, although we know none older; and gutta-percha is a new “gim.” After all, however, the naturalist is but a disinterrer, his tool is a spade, and his newest things are generally Nature’s oldest, and have taken longest to find, because they were buried first and deepest. When we work as transtormationalists we are like sculptors, not evolving a pre-existent statue from a concealing mass, but bestowing a statue on a block of marble. The hollow screw is Archimedes’ screw ; the condensing steam-engine, Watt’s engine ; the railway locomotive, Stephenson’s locomotive ; the electric telegraph, Oersted’s telegraph ; the Crystal Palace, Fox and Paxton’s palace. Yet as implied in what has been already said, we treat discoverers as if they were inventors, and to make amends we call inventors discoverers. And although, in strictness of speech, it is inadmissible to speak of Watt, as accomplished men are frequently found doing, as the discoverer of the steam-engine, and only Sancho Panza thought of invoking blessings on the man who first invented sleep, still the popular confusion between the discoverer and the inventor shows how difficult it is to assign the one higher praise than the other. It is better to decline answering, or to leave each person to answer according to his taste, such questions as, Is the world more indebted to Layard, who recovered Nineveh, or to Paxton, who created the Sydenham Palace ? Whether industrialism is more indebted to the naturalist or to the experimentalist, is a problem best disposed of by the logic of the child who, when asked whether he would have an apple or an orange, held out each hand and replied he would have both. VOL, V. L THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Smpr. 1, 1864- 90 ON THE “NARDOO” PLANT OF EASTERN AUSTRALIA. BY DAVID MOORE, M.R.I.A. CURATOR OF THE ROYAL DUBLIN SOCIETY'S BOTANIC GARDEN. In the paper which I have now the honour to read before this sectional meeting of the Royal Dublin Society, my object will be to convey some idea of the nature and appearance of the plant which produces the food called “‘ Nardoo” by the Aborigines of Australia, the position which it occupies in systematic botanic arrangement, and point out the parts of it which contain the nutritive matter. The Australian mail which brought the sad tidings of the fate of the last exploring party, brought at the same time two small packets of the “ Nardoo,’ which formed a portion of that taken from Cooper’s Creek to Melbourne by the party who rescued King, the only survivor. Valen- tine Hellicar, Esq., to whom we are indebted for one of the packets, sent it to his sister, Mrs. Ball, of Granby Row, with a request that it would be sent to me for the Botanical Garden, which that lady imme- diately complied with, and at the same time enclosed a short abstract taken from an article published in the ‘ Ballarat Star’ newspaper, giving a brief description of the plant. The fact of the fruit of a cryptogamous plant containing a sufficient quantity of nutritive substance to support human life during a lengthened period, at once struck me as being a very remarkable circumstance. It has been long known that the thallus of some, and the rhizomes of others, contain nutritive matter, which leads to their being occasionally used as food by the natives of various parts of the world ; but this I believe to be the only instance on record of the fruit of any of them being employed for that purpose. Several specimens of Lichens and Algz afford examples of cryptogamous plants which have the thallus nutritive, whilst Ferns have nutritive rhizomes. Among the latter, Pteris esculenta is largely used by the natives of New Holland, and Cyathea medullaris by the New Zealanders. Mr. Backhouse, in his work on the former country, speaking of Pteris, says : “ Pigs feed on this root when it has been turned up by the plough, and in sandy soils they will themselves turn up the earth in search of it. The Abori- gines roast it in the ashes, peel off its black skin with their teeth, and eat it with their roasted kangaroo, in the same manner Europeans do bread. The root of the Tara-fern possesses much nutritive matter, yet it is to be observed that persons who have been reduced to the use of it in long excursions through the bush have become very weak, though it has prolonged life.” Now, this last sentence has an important bearing on our present subject, affording as it does strong presumptive evidence that the nutritive matter in the rhizome or stem of the Fern and that contained in the fruit of the “Nardoo” are similar substances. Poor Buike and his companions were able to subsist on the latter during a SEPT. 1, 1864.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. ON THE “NARDOO” PLANT OF EASTERN AUSTRALIA. 91 considerable period, but they also died on it, with the exception of King, who was reduced to a mere skeleton when found by the relief party. I am not sufficiently acquainted with chemical substances to give a definite opinion on the matter, but I believe I am pretty safe in assuming that the nutritive properties contained in the thallus or rhizomes of Crypto- gamic plants depend chiefly upon the presence of an amylaceous sub- stance, analogous to gelatine, which occurs in the form of pure starch, or amylaceous fibre, which is also the case in the fruit of the “ Nardoo.” But, before observing farther on the nutritive parts of this plant, I shall state the position it occupies in the great section of plants to which it belongs. Whatever doubt exists relative to its species, happily there is none respecting the genus. It is a Marsilea, and°of the natural order Marsi- leaceze, which Berkeley, in his ‘ Introduction to Cryptogamous Plants,’ places between Lycopodiacese and Equisetaceze. I shall not here state the botanical characters which serve to separate this order from its allies, but simply observe that it includes four genera, according to that author, which contain a considerable number of species, all of an aquatic nature, growing in shallow pools and ditches liable to be occasionally dried up, and in geographical distribution extending over a considerable portion of the surfaces of both hemispheres. Our Irish Flora contains only one example of the order—namely, the Pillwort (Pilularia globu- lifera),a singular Imtle plant, which, like the “ Nardoo,” creeps along the bottoms of shallow pools of water, producing its round pill-like in- volucres or spore cases. In general appearance, the “ Nardoo” plant bears a great resemblance to some dwarf-species of Trifolium, or Clover, in its leaves ; whilst the hard, horny involucres might be mistaken at first sight for the legumes of that genus. When growing, it sends out long rhizomes, or stems, which lie flat on the surface of the mud, pro- ducing leaves and involucres at intervals from above, and roots from the under side. When the pools become dried up, the leaves wither and decay, leaving the hard involucres on the surface, which the natives collect as required for consumption. It appears, from King’s narrative, that the preparation consists of pounding them between stones, and baking into cakes as we use flour, or simply boiling. The genus Marsilea is one of the highest orders of Cryptogams, inas- much as the prothallus is confluent with the spore, and does not form a distinct expansion. Besides, when vegetating, a root and frond or leaf are developed at the same time, similar to some. monocotyledons, or -even dicotyledons—for example, the Water-Lilies, Nymphzacez. The involucre of Marsilea being a metamorphosed leaf, is a further indication of their approach to Phenogamous plants. The microscope shows it is composed of parallel series of tough vascular tissue, which is probably unrollable vascular fibres, lying among the cellular mass, and giving form and consistence to the two valves. When examining this part of the plant, hot water was applied to soften it, which caused it to THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Smpr. 1, 1864. 92 ON THE “ NARDOO” PLANT OF EASTERN AUSTRALIA. swell considerably, when the table of the microscope was covered with exceedingly minute roundish granules, which were tinged slightly of a brownish colour by iodine. I think it therefore probable that the muci- laginous valves of the involucres contain one of the elements of nutri- tion, though not, in my opinion, the principal one. When they open, their contents consist of two distinct spore-like bodies, spo- rangia and antheride, which are differently shaped, and perform very different functions. In fact, they are analogues of the ovules and anthers of flowering plants. Esprit Fabré regards them as such, and states that the latter “ consists of a membranous sac, very thin and transparent, in which you see numerous pollen grains ; and when crushed beneath the - microscope, spermatic granules of extreme smallness are seen to come out.” On the other hand, according to Dr. Lindley, Messrs. Brown and Griffith each regard both sorts of bodies as sporules. I have examined them carefully, and have studied the germination of the plant during the last month, when my observations tend to the confirmation of Fabré’s views. The sporangial bodies have in a good many instances produced plants, whilst the antheride after the germination of the former became putrid and decayed. But the most convincing proof of the distinctness of the two bodies is their great difference in chemical composition, which I am not aware of having been previously pointed out. The body which germinates and produces the future plant is filled with well-defined and very large starch granules, which have been taken even by some good Cryptogamic botanists for reproductive bodies. I applied the test of iodine to them, which speedily turned them a violet- blue colour, thus revealing their true nature, and at the same time affording evidence of the principal source of nutrition in the “ Nardoo.” The antheridz were scarcely altered in colour by the application of iodine—if any, it was a very slight tinge of brown. Having now, I trust, shown pretty clearly what the nutritive sub- stances are, and the parts which contain them in this sensitive plant, I shall only further make a few brief remarks on the progress of germina- tion. The involucres were split and laid on the surface of the mud, covered slightly with water, on the 13th of January, when they were afterwards placed in a warm house, where they speedily softened. In this state, the large oval sporangia could be seen lying among a mass of nearly globose antheridz, about one-eighth part the size of the former. They were without any cord, or attachment to a central cord, and were sur- rounded by a gelatinous fluid. The first young frondlet was seen to be protruded from the nipple end of the sporangia on the ninth day after sowing, when a radicle was at the time pushed into the soil. On the fourteenth day several others were visible, and on the sixteenth day the second frond or leaf was produced, which had a spathulate point. At this period the antheridz were again carefully examined, and found to Spr. 1, 1864.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. ON THE “‘NARDOO” PLANT OF EASTERN AUSTRALIA. 93 be breaking up in form and decaying ; whilst the sporangia, which had not vegetated, retained their perfect form, unaltered in consistence. The progress of the young plants does not authorise me to make further ob- servations on them at present; but on some future occasion I hope to be able to state with certainty which species of Marsilea is the “ Nardoo” of Cooper’s Creek, when the plants become fully developed. If Marsilea quadrifolia, which Dr. Harvey informs me is common through east and middle Australia, it has heen cultivated at Glasnevin for a number of years ; but if it be the large species gathered by Drummond in the Swan River district, and so kindly lent by Dr Harvey for this occasion, it will prove a valuable and interesting acquisition. The following description was published in Australia :— “The Nardoo belongs to that class of flowerless plants which have distinguishable stems and leaves, in contradistinction to that in which stem and leaves are undistinguishable—as seaweed, fungi, and lichens. The part used for food is the involucre sporangium, or spore case, with its contained spores, which is of an oval shape, flattened, and about an eighth of an inch in its longest diameter, hard and horny in texture, and requiring considerable force to crush or pound it when dry, but becom- ing soft and mucilaginous when exposed to moisture. “ Tt is the same substance that sustained Macpherson and Lyons when they were lost, in 1860, between Ellenindie and Cooper’s Creek, a fruit of it serving them a day. They pounded it, in the manner of the natives, between two stones, and made it into cakes like flour. The spores vegetate in water, and root in the soil at the bottom, where the plants grow to maturity. After the water dries up, the plants die and leave the spore cases on, in many instances quite covering the dried mud, and it is then that they are gathered for food. On the return of moisture, either from rain or the overflowing of rivers, the spore cases are softened, become mucilaginous, and discharge their contents to pro- duce a fresh crop of plants. “The foliage is green and resembles clover, being composed of three leaflets on the top of a stalk a few inches in length. This order contains five genera and twenty-four species, all of which are inhabitants of ditches or inundated places. They do not appear to be affected so much by climate as by situation, and have been detected in all the four quarters of the globe, chiefly, however, in the temperate latitudes. Their uses are unknown to European botanists. If the Nardoo grains are carefully opened without crushing them, the spores can be readily perceived, of a regular oval form, with the aid of a magnifying glass of small power.” THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Sepr. 1, 1864. 94 Cnrrespunbenre. THE CHEMISTRY OF COLOUR.—RESTORATION OF VIOLET. TO THE EDITOR OF ‘THE TECHNOLOGIST.’ Srr,—Your readers may probably be interested in the following description of a process for restoring the colour to violet silk, after its extraction by acid. It is well-known that spirits of hartshorn will act upon black under similar circumstances, but I am not aware that any chemical agent has hitherto been put forward, as a restorer of violet ; and I claim to be the originator of the experiment, with the result of which I am very well pleased. After applying to several chemists and druggists on the subject, and failing to hear of anything that would answer the purpose, it occurred to me to try the “ iodine process,” which is employed for the purpose of obliterating blots of marking ink from linen ; although the process is doubtless well-known to most of your readers, it may be as well to describe the plan adopted :—First, brush with tincture of iodine the portion of fabric affected; after a few seconds well saturate the spot with a solution of hyposulphite of soda, and dry gradually in the air ; the colour will then be perfectly restored. I should be very glad if any of your correspondents who may try the experiment would give the result through the medium of your columns. I am, Sir, yours obediently, M. A. B. P.S.—I should have stated that I was induced to try the experiment described above, in consequence of my knowledge of some of the chemical properties of iodine, and its relation to the colour in question ; indeed, it is well-known that “iodine” derives its name from the violet vapour which it exhales when volatilized. Scientific Mates. New ARTIFICIAL FuEL.—At a meeting of the Franklin Institute recently held in Philadelphia, Professor Flenny exhibited samples of new artificial fuel and gas material, the invention of Mr. Wm. Gerhardt. This invention consists in preparing porous bricks, balls, or otherwise shaped fire-proof material, which are fully saturated with gas-tar, coal- oil, or any other hydrocarbon of a similar nature. These bricks are afterwards dried and used for the purpose of producing illuminating Spr. 1, 1864. | THE TECHNOLOGIST. SCIENTIFIC NOTES. 95 gas or fuel. The oil having burnt out, the material is used over again ; it leaves no ashes, and preserves its porosity. The use of fuel that is free from sulphur is of the highest importance in the manufacture of steel, iron, glass, &c., and it is claimed that artificial fuel is well adapted for these purposes, as well as for other uses, because the price of manu- facture is not so high as the present price of coal. SEAWEED IN Puiace or Hair.—It is becoming quite a common practice in New York to use seaweed in place of curled hair for uphol- stery, cheap furniture, and the filling of mattresses. Quite an extensive business is carried on from Long Island in the seaweed line, and vessels often leave the wharves bound for New York freighted with this article of merchandise, where it is sold to upholsterers and others, bringing a higher market price than a like quantity of the very best hay. On the shore where this seaweed is gathered, it is spread out and dried, and then pressed and baled the same ag hay. In this condition it is sent to the metropolis, where it is at once converted into hair mat- tresses, used for sofas, chairs, &. The best articles of this kind are stuffed with seaweed, hair sufficient being used to conceal the former and avoid detection. This branch of business is now carried on exten- sively, and the profits accruing therefrom are of no inconsiderable amount, [Ulva marina has long been used for upholstery purposes in England and on the Continent.—Ep1rTor. | Near’s Foor O11.—The process of obtaining this kind of oil is very simple, and many farmers often throw away enough feet annually to furnish oil sufficient to keep all their harness, shoes, and leather machine- belts in the best condition. By breaking the bone of the leg of a fat bullock or cow, it will be found full of an oily substance which often appears as rich and edible as a roll of excellent butter. This is neat’s foot oil, and it is sometimes surprising to see how much a single foot and leg will yield when it is properly treated. In order to extract the oil, wash the hoofs clean, then break up the shin bones, the finer the better, and cut the hoofs and bones of the feet into small pieces. Then put them in a kettle of any kind, and pour in water enough to cover the bones. The kettle should never be filled so full that the water will boil over the top of it. The finer the bones are broken, or cut, or sawed, the sooner the oil will be driven out. Now let the kettle be covered as tightly with a lid as it can be conveniently, and boil the bones thoroughly all day. Of course, it will be understood that more water must be poured into the kettle as it evaporates. The object of covering the kettle with a close lid is to retain the heat as much as possible, and thus expel the oil from the bones. The hot water and steam will liquify the oil and expel it from the bones, when it will immediately rise to the surface of the water. Therefore it is very important that the water should not be allowed to evaporate so low that the oil that has risen to the surface of the water comes in contact with the dry hoofs and bones, as much of it will be absorbed by them, and will be lost unless THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Sepr. 1, 1864. 96 SCIENTIFIC NOTES. it be again expelled by boiling. When there appears to be oil enough on the surface of the water, pour in a pailful or two of cold water to stop the boiling, or let the fire burn down. Now dip off the oil into some clean vessel, and boil the bones again until there is oil enough to be dipped off again. The oil that is obtained by the first boiling is purer than that which is obtained at the second or third boiling. There will be some water among the vil which must be evaporated ; therefore, put the oil in a clean kettle and heat it just hot enough to evaporate the water, and the oil will be ready for use. Great care must be exercised in heating the oil, so as not to burn it. As soon as the oil begins to simmer a little, the oil may be removed from the fire, as the water has evaporated. Water in oil, heated to the boiling point, will be converted into steam almost instantaneously, as may be seen by allowing a few drops to fall into boiling oil or hot lard. (This occurs from the dif- ference of temperature at the boiling point of the two liquids, that of linseed oil being 597°.) Let the oil be kept in a jug corked tightly, and it will be ready for use at any time for years to come. In very cold weather, however, it will require a little warming before using it. TEASELS (Dipsacus fullonum) are the dried heads of a biennial plant which is extensively cultivated in the woollen manufacturing districts and on the Continent, for its uses in raising the nap upon woollen stuffs, which it does by the rigid hooks of the heads. Without this plant, our woollen manufactures could hardly have made such progress. It appears, from many attempts, that the objects designed to be effected by the spiny bracts of the teasel cannot be so well supplied by the mechanical contrivance of metallic wire “ cards,” and successive inventions have been abandoned as defective or injurious. The dressing of a piece of cloth consumes from 1,500 to 2,000 teasels. They are repeatedly used in different parts of the process. The largest burs, and those most pointed, are esteemed the best, and are called “male teasels ;’ they are mostly used in the dressing and preparing of stockings and coverlets. The smaller kind, properly called the “ fuller’s, or draper’s teasels,” and some- times the “ female teasel,” are used in the preparation of the finer stuffs, as cloths, sateens, &c. The smaller kind, sometimes called “linnet’s heads,” are used to draw out the nap. The dealers give them peculiar names, according to their size and shape, &c., as “ Kings,” “ Queens,” &c. The teasel heads are set in a long frame of iron bars, when used for carding. Although not specified in the official trade returns, upwards of twenty millions of these teasel heads are imported annually from France. Oct, 1, 1864.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. THE PECHNOLOGIS©. ) ON CHEMISTRY APPLIED TO THE ARTS. BY DR. F. CRACE CALVERT, F.R.S., F.C.S. A CoURSE OF LECTURES DELIVERED BEFORE THE MEMBERS OF THE SoclETY OF ARTS. LecrureE II. GELATINE, GLUE, BONE-SIZE, CHONDRINE: their Preparation, Chemical Properties, Nutritive Value, and Application to Artsand Manufactures. Artificial Tortoise- shell. Jsinglass: its Adulterations and Adaptations to the Clarification Fluids. Skits, and the Art of Tanning. THERE are four distinct gelatinous substances obtained on a commercial scale from animal tissues and bones, viz., Osseine, which 1 mentioned in my last lecture, Gelatine, Chondrine, and Isinglass. Osseine, as already stated, is the animal matter existing in bones, and no doubt it is the same substance which also exists in skins, both during life and when recently removed from the animal. It is characterised by its insolubility, its inability to combine with tannin, and, lastly, the facility with which it undergoes a molecular change, and becomes con- verted into gelatine—slowly, when boiled with water at 212°, rapidly, when boiled under pressure at a higher temperature, and very gradually under the influence of putrefaction. Gelatine is a solid semi-transparent substance, which absorbs water in large quantities (40 per cent.), becoming thereby transparent. It is very slightly soluble ia cold water, but very soluble in boiling water ; and this solution has the characteristic property of forming a jelly on cooling. So powerful is gelatine in solidifying water, that one part of gelatine will form a jelly with 100 parts of water. It has been observed that gelatine loses this valuable property if boiled for a long time at . ordinary pressure, or if carried to a temperature above 223° F. Before examining the interesting action of acids upon gelatine, allow me to mention, that whilst solid gelatine resists putrefaction for a long time, VOL, VY. x THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Oct. 1, 1864. 98 ON CHEMISTRY APPLIED TO THE ARTS. its solutions have a tendency to putrefy rapidly, but I have the pleasure to inform you that a few drops of a substance called carbolie acid will prevent putrefaction for a long period. Gelatine dissolves readily in acetic acid, of moderate strength, or vinegar, and this solution, which is used as glue, has the usetul property of remaining fluid and sound for some time. But a Frenchman, named Demoulin, has introduced of late years in Paris a solution of glue which is superior to the above and to that in common use, because it does away with the trouble of constantly heating the glue-pot. His process consists in melting one pound of best glue in one pound of water, and adding gradually to the two one ounce of nitric acid of sp. gr. 1°36, heating the whole for a short time, when the fluid glue is prepared. The action of concentrated nitric acid on gelatine is most violent, giving rise to several compounds, amongst which may be cited oxalic acid. The action of sulphuric acid on gela- tine is important in a scientific point of view, as an alkaloid called leucine is produced, as well as a sweet substance, called glycocolle, or sugar of gelatine. Gelatine is distinguished from other organic sub- stances by the following chemical reactions :—it gives a white precipi- tate with alcohol, also with chlorine, none with gallic acid, but one with tannin, or tannic acid. The properties of this precipitate are most important to us, as it is on the formation of it in hides that we ascribe their conversion into leather. The relative proportion of these two substances (gelatine and tannin) in the precipitate varies with the respec- tive proportions brought in contact, but precipitates containing as much as 46 per cent. of tannin have been examined, It is insoluble in water, and presents the invaluable character of not entering into putrefaction. Beautiful fancy ornaments have recently been introduced in Paris by M. Pinson, called artificial tortoiseshell, which he obtains by melting, at a moderate temperature, gelatine with a small amount of metallic salts, running the whole into moulds, staining the mass with hydro- sulphate of ammonia, so as to produce an imitation of the grain of tortoiseshell. The objects so produced are then polished and ready for sale. Before entering on the manufacture of various qualities of gela- tine, I should wish to state that there can be do doubt, from the researches of Magendie, as well as from the Report of the Commission appointed by the Netherlands Academy of Sciences, that gelatine as food possesses no nutritive value whatever. Allow me now to give you a rapid out- line of the methods followed in the manufacture of various qualities of gelatine. The first quality of gelatine is prepared by taking the clip- pings, scrapings, and fleshings from the tanyard, treating them with lime water or alkali, to remove any smell and certain impurities. They are next washed and left in contact for a day or two with a solution of sulphurous acid. They are then placed in a suitable apparatus, with water, and heated, when the osseine is converted into gelatine. This is run into a second vessel, anda little alum added, to throw down any impurities that may be in suspension. The liquor is now ready to be Ocr. 1, 1864.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. ON OHEMISTRY APPLIED TO THE ARTS. 99 run into another pan, where it is concentrated to the necessary consist- ency, so as to become solid, when it is run into wooden moulds. Eighteen hours afterwards the gelatine in turned out of these moulds on to a wet slab, where it is cut into slices by means of a copper wire ; these slices are placed on wire gauze frames, and left in a drying shed until they are perfectly dry and ready for the requirements of trade. The second quality of gelatine is prepared by placing bones in large cylinders, and allowing high-pressure steam to arrive at the bottom of the cylinder, which rapidly converts the osseine of the bones into gelatine, and the removal of this is facilitated by allowing a stream of hot water to enter the upper part of the cylinder. The solution of gelatine thus obtained is evaporated, and is usually employed for the preparation of glue. A third quality is prepared by treating bones with hydrochloric acid (as referred to in my first lecture), and submitting the osseine thus obtained to the action of steam. Lastly, a fourth quality of gelatine, called bone-size, is manufactured by boiling more or less decayed bones as im- ported from South America and elsewhere, the flesh of dead animals, &c., and concentrating the solution to the consistency required for the various applications it receives in commerce. [The lecturer then described the mode of obtaining the beautiful thin coloured sheets of gelatine used in photography and other fancy purposes, and also the characteristics which distinguished good from bad glues. ] Chondrine, or cartilage gelatine, first noticed by Messsrs. Miller and Vogel, jun., is interesting as possessing qualities not only different from those of gelatine, but such as injure the quality of the latter when mixed with it. In fact, it gives precipitates with acetic acid, alum, persulphate of iron, and other salts; and as gelatine is often usedin covnection with these substances, it is easy to foresee how these precipitates may inter- fere with its application. On the other hand, the quality possessed by this peculiar gelatine may, 1 think, render it serviceable in the art of calico printing, for fixing colours, or as a substitute for albumen or lactarine. Thus, the solution of chondrine and acetic acid may be mixed with any of the new tar colours, and the whole printed, allowed to dry, and steamed ; the acetic acid will be driven off, leaving the colour fixed by the chondrine on the fabric. Chondrine is prepared by submitting to the action of heat and water the cartilaginous tissue of animals or the bones of young animals. Isinglass is obtained from the air-bag, or swimming-bladder, of several kinds of fish, especially those of the Sturgeon tribe; and although im- ported from various parts of the world, the principal supplies are from Russia, from whence the best qualities come, which bear the names of Beluga, Volga, or Caspian Sea leaf. Brazil, New York, the East Indies, and Hudson’s Bay, also supply various qualities of this valuable sub- stance. It also reaches this country in different states, viz., in leaf and in honeycomb, that is, the bag is cut open, cleaned, and dried ; and the quality called snow-bleached is enhanced in value by having been THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Ocr. 1, 1864. 100 ON CHEMISTRY APPLIED TO THE ARTS. buried in the snow on the banks of the Volga for a long period, by which the isinglass is whitened. Pipes, purses, and lumps are bags which have been cleared but not opened; and a quality called ribbon is made by rolling the bag and cutting it into strips before shipping it to this country. I shall now endeavour to explain to you how the beautiful prepara- tions before you, for which I am indebted to the kindness of Mr. James Vickers, are obtained. The leaf bladder is first softened in water, and rolled out, under high pressure, into thin leaves, which may extend to several feet long; these in their turn are drawn under a number of revolving knives, making 1,000 revolutions per minute, by which 6,000 of the well-known fine threads are produced in every minute. This quality is chiefly used for culinary purposes. For commercial uses the purses or lumps, above mentioned, are chefly employed. These are soaked in water for two or three days, cut;open, certain useless parts removed, further softened, rolled, and cut into various dimensions, according to the requirements of trade, their chief use being the clarifi- cation of beer and other alcoholic fluids, for which gelatine cannot be employed, because it dissolves in water, whilst isinglass merely swells. The result is that the highly-swollen and extended mass, when poured into beer, wine, or other alcoholic fluids, is, on the one hand, contracted by their alcohol, and, on the other hand, it combines with their tannin, forming an insoluble precipitate, which, as it falls through the liquor, carries with it the impurities in suspension, and thus clarifies the fluid. As isinglass is very slow in swelling out in the water, brewers employ an acid fluid for the purpose, but, strange to say, instead of using pure acetic acid, many of them take sour beer, and thus run the great risk of spoiling their sound beer. I have known instances of great losses occurring in this way, acetous fermentation having been thus spread through an entire brewery during the summer months. As a large quantity of gelatine, cut into shreds, in imitation of isinglass, is sold at the present day, it may be useful to know that detection is very easy by the following method :—Place a small quantity in hot water, in which gelatine will readily dissolve, whilst isinglass will do so very slowly. I cannot conclude the examination of this interesting class of substances without drawing your attention to the fact that osseine, gelatine, chondrine, and isinglass present marked differences in their textures and general properties, although their chemical compositions may be considered identical, thus :— Osseine. Gelatine. Chondrine. Isinglass. Carbon . : : 50°4 50:0 50°61 50°56 Hydrogen : : 65 65 6°58 690 Nitrogen . : ; 16-9 175 15:44 bye) Oxygen . : . 26:2 26:0 27°37 24°75 Esculent Nests —I must not omit to mention, in connection with this Oct. 1, 1864.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. ON CHEMISTRY APPLIED TO THE ARTS. 101 interesting class of substances, these curious gelatinous products, which are not only considered great delicacies in China and other parts of the East, but even in Europe,where they realize from 3J. to 72. per pound ; some are occasionally imported into England. It has long been a disputed question what is the chemical nature of the substance composing these nests, which are the product of a peculiar kind of swallow ; but Mr. Payen, by his recent researches, has left no doubt in the minds of chemists that it is an animal, not a vegetable matter. In fact, it is a peculiar mucous substance, secreted by the bird, and composed of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and sulphur. Further, it is insoluble in cold water, but soluble in boiling, and differs from gelatine and isinglass in that it does not gelatinize as it cools. Skins.—Skin consists of two principal parts, one a mere film, called the epidermis, and the other constituting the bulk of the skin, and called the dermis. There are, also, found in skin a large quantity of blood-vessels, and a small quantity of pigment cells, which hold colour- ing matter. Further, the skin contains a small amount of nerves and a number of glands, among which may be cited the sebaceous glands or follicles, which are intended to secrete the unctuous matter constantly accumulating upon the skin, and keeping it soft and pliable ; then there are perspiratory glands, which play a most important part in the physiolo- gical construction of the skin. These are sonumerous that Mr. Erasmus Wilson has calculated that there are 3,528 of them in a single square inch of human skin, so that in an ordinary-sized body there are no less than 2,300,000 of these pores. But still the most important part of the hide for us is that called the “dermis.” The skins of animals are com- mercially divided into three distinct classes. The hide is the name given to the skin of full-grown animals, such as oxen, horses, and buffaloes ; and these are further sub-divided into fresh hides, that is to say, those which are obtained from animals slaughtered in this country ; dry hides, that is hides which have been stretched in the sun, and which are principally imported from South America ; dry salted hides, princi- pally from the Brazils, where they are salted and then dried in the sun ; and salted hides, which are preserved at Monte Video and Buenos Ayres by salting them, and are then shipped, imbedded in salt, to this country. The composition of a fresh hide may be considered to be as follows :— Real skin . “ i A : ; 32°53 Albumen . : 5 s : i 1:54 Animal matters soluble in alcohol 0°83 Animal matters soluble in cold water . 7°60 Water . ; : ¥ Z ; 57°50 100°00 A second class of hides is that called kips, which are skins flayed from the same kinds of animal as the foregoing, only when young. Thirdly, THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Ocr. 1, 1864 102 ON CHEMISTRY APPLIED TO THE ARTS. the term skin is applied to those of small animals, such as the sheep, goat, seal, &c. I will now endeavour to give you an idea of the preparation which hides undergo to fit them for the art of tanning. These operations are four. The first consistsin washing off the dirt from the hide, softening it, if a dried one, or removing the salt, if salted. The second has for its object the removal of the hair, which is effected by two or three different methods. The most usual plan is to place the hides in large vats, containing a weak milk of lime, for two or three weeks, care being taken to remove and replace them every other day, after which time the hair is sufficiently loosened to be removed. A second plan consists in piling up the hides, allowing them to enter slightly into a state of putre- faction, and then placing them in weak milk of lime, so as to complete not only the loosening of the hair but also the swelling of the hide, for lime also possesses that property. Another process, which is called the American plan, is to hang the hides in pits for two or three weeks, keeping them at a temperature of 609 and constantly wet, when the hair can be easily removed. Weak alkalies are sometimes substituted with advantage for lime in the above processes, and this plan is certainly the best, as it does not leave in the hide any mineral residue, as is the case with lime, either in the form of an insoluble soap of lime or of car- bonate, both of which are highly objectionable in the subsequent process of tanning, as they act on the tannic acid of the tan, facilitating its oxidation, and thereby rendering it useless. Depilation of hides is some- times effected by the employment of weak organic acids; thus the Calmuck Tartars have used from time immemorial sour milk for that purpose. In some parts of France, Belgium, and Germany, the unhair- ing of the skins is also effected by an acid fluid, produced by the fer- mentation of barley meal, which gives rise to acetic and lactic acids. To carry out this process, generally speaking five vats are used. In the first the hides are cleaned ; in the second they are softened, and the hair and epidermis prepared for depilation ; and the third, fourth, and fifth are used to swell and give body to the hide. This operation, which is called white dressing, does not work so well as lime for heavy hides, as it swells them to such an extent as to render them unfit to prepare compact leather. When the hair can be easily pulled off, the hides are placed on a convex board, called a beam, and scraped with a double-handed con- cave knife, which not only removes the hair, but a large amount of fatty lime-soap and other impurities from the hides. The third operation consists in fleshing the hides, by shaving off all useless flesh, fat, and other matter by means of a sharp tool. The fourth operation is called swelling or raising the hide, the purpose of which is the following :— First, the removal of any lime or alkali which may remain in the hide ; and secondly, to swell or open the pores of the hide, so as to render them better adapted to absorb the tannic acid of the tanning liquors. Thisis effected by dipping the hides in weak spent tanning liquors, or liquors Ocr. 1, 1864.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. ON CHEMISTRY APPLIED TO THE ARTS. 103 which have lost the tannic acid, but which contain more or less of gallic acid, for not only do all tanning matters contain gallic acid, but its pro- portion is greatly increased during the operation of tanning, by a process of fermentation which goes on during that operation, and which converts tannic acid into gallic acid and a peculiar sugar. The Tanning of Hides——The old process of tanning consisted in placing layers of wet tan and of hiles alternately, and after two or three months removing the whole from the pit and replacing the old by fresh tan. ‘These operations were repeated until the hides were tanned, which took from eighteen months to two years, owing to the difficulty of the fannic acid reaching the interior of the hide. Of late years the process of tanning has been greatly shortened by treating the bark with water, and steeping the hides in the liquor, first weak and afterwards strong, By this means good leather can be obtained in the space of eight or ten months. More rapid tanning, but probably giving inferior leather, is effected by employing, in conjunction with, or as a substitute for, bark, a decoction of divi-divi, valonia, myrobalan, catechu, terra japonica, or gambier, &c. Many efforts have been made of late years to apply the laws of hydraulics, as well as several physical and physiological princi- ples discovered by eminent philosophers, with the view of shortening the period of tanning ; but as I believe that none of them have received the general sanction of the trade, I shall confine myself to giving youan idea of the most successful ones. The first attempt to accelerate the process of tanning consisted in forcing the tanning fluids into the sub- stance of the hide by means of hydraulic pressure. Mr. Spilbury, in 1831, employed a process which consisted in packing the hides into sacks, and plunging them into a tanning liquor, and as the fluid perco- lated through the skin into the interior of the bag the air was allowed to escape. By this means a certain amount of time was saved in bring- ing the tanning liquor in contact with the various parts of the skin. Mr. Drake soon followed in the same direction, his plan being to sew hides together, forming bags, which he filled with a solution of tan; and to prevent the distension of the skins by the pressure of the liquid within, they were supported in suitable frames ; as the pores became gradually filled with tannin, artificial heat was applied to increase the percolation of the fluid. Messrs. Chaplin and Cox’s process is also very similar to the above, the difference being that the tanning fluid is placed in a reservoir, and allowed to flow into the bag of hides through a pipe, the fluid being thus employed at pressures varying according to the height of the reservoir. The bag of hides is at the same time plunged into a solution of tannin to prevent excessive distension. Messrs. Knowles and Dewsbury have recourse to another principle to compel the percolation of the tanning liquor through the hide. To effect their purpose they cover vessels with hides, so as to form air-tight en- closures, and, having placed the tanning fluid they employ on the hides, the vessels are exhausted of air, and atmospheric pressure then forces THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Ocr. 1, 1864. 104 ON CHEMISTRY APPLIED TO THE ARTS. the fluid through the skins into the vessels below. Mr. Turnbull’s pro- cess, being an imitation of that used for tanning morocco leather, need not be described. Attempts have been made from time to time to mine- ralize, that is to say, to substitute for tanning, mineral salts, as will be described in my next lecture, when speaking of the art of tanning skins. The processes which have attracted most notice in this branch of the art of preparing leather are those of Messrs. D’Arcet and Ashton, M. Bordier, and M. Cavalier. M. Bordier’s plan is that of dipping hides in a solution of sesqui-sulphate of iron, when the animal matters of the hide gradually combine with a basic sesqui-sulphate of iron, rendering the hide imputrescible, and converting it into leather. M. Cavalier’s method is to dip hides first into a solution ot proto-sulphate of iron, and then into one containing alum and bichromate of potash. A chemical action ensues by which the proto-sulphate of iron is converted into a persul- phate, combining with the animal matter, and by its preservative action, together with that of some of the alum, the hide is converted into leather. I think, however, that I shall b2 able to satisfy you, from the results of many examinations of leather and hides which I have made, that there are good and sufficient reasons why most of these processes have necessarily failed. Inventors have been led to believe, by the state- ments of many eminent physiologists (as can be proved by reading some of the most recent works on that science), that skin is composed of blood- vessels, glands, &c., plus gelatine, and that if by any mechanical con- trivance the tanning liquor could be brought into contact with this gelatine, the leather would be tanned; and many ingenious schemes have been devised, and much money expended, to obtain that result. The fact, however, is that there is no gelatine in skin, for if there were, when hides were placed in water, the gelatine would be dissolved and washed away. But what is supposed to be gelatine in the hides is in reality the isomeric substance called osseine, or one greatly resembling it. The great discovery to be made in the art of tanning, therefore, is that of a chemical or fermentative process, by which the isomeric change (that of the osseine into gelatine) may be rapidly produced, instead of by the slow putrefactive process which occurs in the old method of tanning. Further, I would observe, that to convert a hide into leather it is not sufficient that the whole of its animal matter be combined with tannin, for the leather thus obtained would present two great defects : Ist, the hide would not have increased in weight, and the tanner’s profits therefore would suffer ; 2ndly, the leather would be so porous as to be useless for many of the purposes for which leather is required. The reason of this is, that when, after a period of several months, the osseine has been converted into gelatine, and this has become thoroughly com- bined with tannin, a second series of reactions is necessary to render the leather more solid and less permeable to water, and to increase mate- rially its weight. These reactions constitute what is called feeding the hide, and are brought about by leaving it to steepin more concentrated Oct. 1, 1864.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. ON MUSEUM ARRANGEMENT, ETC. 105 tanning liquor for a considerable period; aud this necessary process, beneficial to the wearer as weil as to the producer, appears to me to be that which offers the greatest impediment in the way of shortening the period of tanning. The hides as they leave the tanning vat require several operations before they are ready to be used for soles, or to be eurried for various commercial purposes. They are first slightly washed and placed in a shed to partially dry, and are then rubbed with a brush and rough stone on the face of the leather, or hair side, to remove any loose tanning material that may remain on the surface ; but this rubbing is not applied to the back, as buyers attach great importance to the peculiar appearance called the bloom, which enables them to judge of the goodness of the tanning. The tanned hides are again slightly dried and oiled on the face, and then submitted to the pressure of a roller passed over the surface, which has the effect of rendering the leather more flexible and the surface perfectly uniform. These operations are repeated two or three times, when the leather is ready for soles, Before the tanned hides intended for shoe-soles are considered fit for that pur- pose, they must be slightly compressed and softened, so as to again diminish their permeability to water. This was formerly effected by beating with a hammer called the mace, but of late years this slow pro- eess has been superseded by compressing machines ; and I believe those most appreciated in the trade were invented by Messrs. Cox and Welsh, and Messrs. Iran and Schloss. ON MUSEUM ARRANGEMENT AND ACCLIMATISATION, BY DR. J. E. GRAY, F.R.S. THE following forms a portion of the opening address of Dr. Gray» as President of the Zoological and Botanical Section of the British Association, read at Bath :—In the first place I wish to say a few words on the subject of public museums. It may be well imagined that having, during the whole of my life, been intimately connected with the management of what I believe to be, at the present day, the most important zoological museum in the world, it is a subject that has long and deeply occupied my thoughts ; and it will also be readily believed that it is only after serious and prolonged consideration that I have come to the conclusion that the plan hitherto pursued in the arrangement of our museums has rendered them less useful to science, and less interest- ing to the publie at large, than they might have been made under a diflerent system. Let us consider the purposes for which such a museum is established. These are twofold—lst, for the diffusion of instruction and rational amusement among the mass of the people ; 2ndly, for giving to the scientific student every possible means of examining and VOL. V. N THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Ocr, 1, 1864, 106 ON MUSEUM ARRANGEMENT studying the specimens of which they consist. Now, it appears to me that in the desire to combine these two objects, which are essentially distinct, the first object—namely, the general instruction of the people, has been to a great extent lost sight of, and sacrificed to the second, without any corresponding advantage to the latter, because the system itself has been thoroughly erroneous. The curators of large museums have naturally, and, perhaps, properly, been men more deeply devoted to scientific study than interested in elementary instruction, and they have consequently done what they thought best for the promotion of science by accommodating and exhibiting on the shelves or the open cases of the museum every specimen that they possessed, without con- sidering that by so doing they were overwhelming the general visitor with a mass of unintelligible objects, and at the same time rendering their attentive study by the man of science more difficult and onerous than if they had been brouyht into a smaller space and in a more ayail- able condition. What the largest class of visitors—the general public— want, is a collection of the more interesting objects so arranged as to afford the greatest possible amount of information in a moderate space, and to be obtained, as it were, at a glance. The student, on the other hand (and though these are undoubtedly the most important, they form but an infinitesimal proportion of the mass), the scientific student requires to have under his eyes, and in his hands, the most complete collection of specimens that can be brought together, and in such a con- dition as to admit of the most minute examination of their differences, whether of age, or sex, or state, or of whatever kind that can throw light upon all the innumerable questions that are continually arising in the progress of thought and opinion. In the futile attempt to combine these two purposes in one consecutive arrangement, the modern museum entirely fails in both particulars. It is only to be compared to a large store, or a city warehouse, in which every specimen that can be collected is arranged in its proper shelf, so that it may be found when wanted, but the uninformed mind derives little instruction from the contemplation of its stores, while the student of Nature requires a far more careful examination of them than is possible under such a system. To consult such an arrangement with any advantage, the visitor should be as well informed with relation to the system on which it is based as the curator himself, and consequently the general visitor perceives little else than a chaos of specimens, of which the bulk of those placed in close proximity are so nearly alike that he can scarcely perceive any difference between them, even supposing them to be placed on a level with the eye, while the greater number ef those which are above or below the level are utterly unintelligible. To such visitors the numerous specimens of rats or squirrels, or sparrows or larks, that crowd the shelves, from all parts of the world, are but a rat, a squirrel, a sparrow, or a lark; and this is still more especially the case with animals of a less marked and less known types of character. Experience has long since convinced me that Ocr. 1, 1864.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. AND ACCLIMATISATION. 107 such a collection so arranged is a great mistake. The eye both of the general visitor and of the student becomes confused by the number of the specimens, however systematically they may be brought together. The very extent of the collection renders it difficult even for the student, and much more so for the less scientific visitor, to discover any particular specimen of which he is in quest ; and the larger the collec- tion the greater this difficulty becomes. Add to this the fact that all specimens, but more especially the more beautiful and the more delicate, are speedily deteriorated, and in some cases destroyed for all useful pur- poses by exposure to light, and that both the skins and bones of animals are found to be much more susceptible of measurement and comparison in an unstuffed or unmounted state, and it will be at once apparent why almost all scientific zoologists have adopted for their own collections the simpler and more advantageous plan of keeping their specimens in boxes or in drawers, devoted each to a family, a genus, or a section of a genus, as each individual case may require. Thus preserved, and thus arranged, the most perfect and the most useful collection that the student could desire would occupy comparatively a small space, and by no means require large and lofty halls for its reception. As it is desirable that each large group should be kept in a separate room; and as wall-space is what is chiefly required for the reception of the drawers or boxes, rooms like those of an ordinary dwelling-house would be best fitted for the accommodation of such a collection, and of the students by whom it would be consulted ; one great ad vantage of this plan being that the students would be uninterrupted by the ignorant curiosity of the ruder class of general visitors, and not liable to interference from scientific rivals. ‘There are other considerations, also, which should be taken into account in estimating the advantages of a collection thus preserved and thus arranged. A particular value is attached to such specimens as have been studied and described by zoologists, as affording the certain means of identifying the animals on which their observations were made. Such specimens ought to be preserved in such a way as to be least liable to injury from exposure to light, dust, or other extraneous causes of deterioration ; and this is best done by keeping them in a state the least exposed to those destructive influences, instead of in the open cases of a public and necessarily strongly lighted gallery. Again, the amount of saving thus effected in the cost of stuffing and mounting is well worthy ‘of serious consideration, especially when we take into account the fact ‘that this stuffing and mounting, however agreeable to the eye, is made at ‘the cost of rendering the specimens thns operated upon tess available for scientific use. All these arguments go to prove that, for the purposes of scientific study, the most complete collection that could possibly be formed would be best kept in cabinets or boxes, from which light and dust would be excluded, in rooms specially devoted to the purpose, and not in galleries open to the general public; and that such an arrange- ment would combine the greatest advantage to the student, and the most ‘THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Ocr. 1, 1864. 108 ON MUSEUM ARRANGEMENT complete preservation of the specimens, with great economy in point of expense. This having been done, it is easy to devise the plan of a museum which shall be the most interesting and instructive to general visitors, and one from which, however short their stay, or however casual their inspection, they can hardly fail to carry away some amount of valuable information. The larger animals being of course more generally interesting, and easily seen and recognised, should be exhibited in the preserved state, and in situations in which they can be completely isolated. This is necessary also on account of their size, which would not admit of their being grouped in the manner which I proposed with reference to the smaller specimens. The older museums were, for the most part, made up of a number of larger or smaller glass-fronted boxes, each containing one, or, sometimes, a pair of specimens. This method had some advantages, but many inconveniences ; amongst others that of occupying too large an amount of room. But I cannot help thinking that when this was given up for the French plan of attaching each specimen to a separate stand, and marshalling them like soldiers on the shelves of a large open case, the improvement was not so great as many supposed; and this has become more and more evident since the researches of travellers and collectors have so largely increased the numbers of known species—of species frequently separated by characters so minute as not to be detected without careful and close examination. Having come to the conclusion that a museum for the use of the general public should consist chiefly of the best known, the most marked, and the most interesting animals, arranged in such a way as to convey the greatest amount of instruction in the shortest and most direct manner, and so exhibited as to be seen without confusion, I am very much dis- posed to recur to something like the old plan of arranging each species or series of species in a special case, to be placed either on shelves or tables, or in wall cases, as may be found most appropriate, or as the special purpose for which each case is prepared and exhibited may seem to require. But instead of each case, as of old, containing only a single specimen, it should embrace a series of specimens, selected and arranged so as to present a special object for study ; and thus, any visitor looking at a single case only, and taking the trouble to understand it, would carry away a distinct portion of knowledge, such as in the present state of our arrangements could only be obtained by the examination and comperison of specimens distributed through distant parts of the collec- tion. Every case should be distinctly labelled with an account of the purpose for which it is prepared and exhibited, and each specimen contained in it should also have a label indicating why it is there placed. I may be asked why should each series of specimens be contained in a separate case; but I think it most obvious that a series of objects exhibited for a definite purpose should be brought into close proximity, and contained in a well-defined space; and this will best be done by keeping them in a single case. There is Ocr. 1, 1864.] THE TECHNOLOGIST, AND ACCLIMATISATION. 109 also the additional advantage that whenever, in the progress of discovery, it becomes desirable that the facts for the illustration of which the case was prepared, should be exhibited in a different manner, this can easily be done by re-arranging the individual case, without interfering with the general arrangement of the collection. I believe the more clearly the object is defined, and the illustrations kept together, the greater will be the amount of information derived from it by the visitor, and the interest he will feel in examining it. Such cases may advantageously be prepared to show the classes of the animal kingdom by means of one or more typical examples of each class ; the orders of each class ; the families of each order ; the genera of each family ; the section of each genus ; a selection of a specimen of each of the more important or strik- ing species of each genus or section; the changes of state, sexes, habits, and manners of well-known or otherwise interesting species; the economic uses to which they are applied, and such other particulars as the judgment and talent of the curator would select as the best adapted for popular instruction, and of which these are intended only as partial indications. No one, I think, who has ever had charge of a museum, or has noted the behaviour of the visitors while passing through it, can doubt for a moment that such cases would be infinitely more attractive to the public at large than the crowded shelves of our present museums, in which they speedily become bewildered by the multiplicity, the apparent sameness, and, at the same time, the infinite variety of the objects presented to their view, and in regard to which the labels on the top of the cases afford them little assistance, while those on the specimens themselves are almost unintelligible. When such visitors really take any interest in the exhibition, it will generally be found that they concentrate their attention on individual objects, whilst others affect to do the same in order to conceal their total want of interest, of which they somehow feel ashamed, although it originates in no fault of theirown. I think the time is approaching when a great change will be made in museums of natural history ; and I have, therefore, thrown out these observations and suggestions, by which it appears to me that this usefulness may be greatly extended. In England, as we are well aware, all changes are well considered and slowly adopted. Some forty years ago, the plea of placing every specimen ona separate stand, and arranging theni in rank and file in large glass cases, was considered a great step in advance, and it was doubtless an improvement on the pre-existing plan, especially at a time when our collections were limited to a small number of species, which were scarcely more than types of our modern families or genera. The idea had arisen that the English collections were smaller than those on the Continent, and the public called for every specimen to be exhibited. But the result has been that, in consequence of the enormous development of our collections, the attention of the great mass of visitors is distracted by the multitude of specimens, while the minute characters by which naturalists distinguish genera and species are unap- THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Ocr. 1, 1864. 110 ON MUSEUM ARRANGEMENT preciable in their eyes. It was not, however, the unenlightened public only who insisted on this unlimited display, there were also some leading scientific men who called for it on the ground that the curator might be induced to keep specimens out of sight, in order to make use of them for the enlargement of his own scientific reputation, while the scientific public were debarred the sight of them, and that valuable specimens might thus be kept, as the phrase was, im the cellars. But any such imputation would be completely nullified by the plan I have proposed, of placing all the specimens in the scientific collec- tion, in boxes or drawers appropriated to them, and rendering them thus at once and readily accessible to students at large. And I may observe, that the late Mr. Swainson, who was the first to raise the cry, lived to find that it was far more useful to keep his own extensive col- lection of bird skins in drawers, like his butterflies and his shells ; and that most scientific zoologists and osteologists are now convinced that the skins of animals unstuffed, and the bones of vertebrata, unmounted, and kept in boxes, are far more useful for scientific purposes than stuffed skins or set up skeletons. So also with reference to my proposal for the arrangement of the museum for the general public. I find that those who are desirous of exhibiting their specimens to the best advantage are gradually adopting similar plans. Thus, when Mr. Gould determined the exhibition of his magnificent collection of humming-birds, he at once renounced the rank and file system, and arranged them in small glazed cases, each case containing a genus, and each pane or side of the case showing a small series of allied species, in a family group of a single species. When lately at Liverpool, I observed that the clever curator, Mr. Moore, instead of keeping a single animal on each stand, has com- menced grouping the various specimens of the same species of mammalia together on one and the same stand, and thus giving far greater interest to the group than the individual specimens afforded. In some of the continental museums also I have observed the same plan adopted to a limited extent. In the British Museum, as an experiment with the view of testing the feelings of the public and the scientific visitors, the species of the nester parrots and of the birds of paradise, a family of the gorilla, and of the impeyan pheasants, and sundry of the more interesting single specimens, have been placed in isolated cases, and it may be readily seen that they have proved to be the most attractive cases In the exhibition. I now exhibit a case of insects received from Germany, in which the plan I have suggested is fully carried out. You will perceive that in ‘one small case are exhibited simultaneously, and visible at a glance, the egg, the larve, the plant on which it feeds, the pupa, and the perfect ‘moth, together with its varieties, and the parasites by which the cater- pillar is infested ; such cases, representing the entire life and habits of all the best known and most interesting of our native insects, would bé, “as I conceive, far more attractive to the public at large than the exhibi- ‘tion of any conceivable number of our allied or cognate species, having Oct. 1, 1864. ] THE TECHNOLOGIST. AND ACCLIMATISATION. 111 no interest whatever except for the advanced zoological student. I will only add, that I am perfectly satisfied by observation and expe- rience, and that I believe the opinion is rapidly gaining ground, that the scientific student would find a collection solely devoted to study, and pre- served in boxes and drawers, far more useful and available for scientific purposes than the stuffed specimens at present arranged in galleries of extent, and crowded with curious and bewildered spectators ; while, on the other hand, the general public would infinitely better understand, and consequently more justly appreciate, a well-chosen and well-exhi- bited selection of a limited number of specimens, carefully arranged, to exhibit special objects of general interest, and to afford a complete series of elementary instruction, than miles of glass cases containing thousands upon thousands of specimens, all exhibited in a uniform manner, and placed like soldiers at a review. I now turn to a very dif- ferent subject, but one which has always occupied a considerable shar. of my attention, and on which a few observations may not be out of place on this occasion—viz., the acclimatisation of animals. This subject, which has been a favourite one with the more thoughtful student, appears all at once to have become popular, and several associations have been formed for the especial purpose of its promotion, not only in this country, but also on the Continent and in the Australian Colonies. I may observe that the acclimatisation of animals, and especially the introduction and cultivation of fish, was among the peculiar objects put forward by the Zoological Society at the time of its foundation, nearly forty years ago, although, as we all know, it has been able to do very little for its promotion. It would appear, from observations that are occasionally to be met with in the public papers, and in other journals, as though it were a prevalent opinion among the patrons of some of these Associations, that scientific zoologists are opposed to their views, or at least lukewarm on the subject. But I am convinced that they are totally mistaken in such a notion, and that it can only have originated in the expression of a belief, founded on experience, that some of the schemes of the would-be acclimatisers are incapable of being carried out, and would never have been suggested if their promoters had been better acquainted with the habits and manners of the animals on which the experiments are proposed to be made. The term “ acclimatisation” has been employed in several widely different senses. Firstly, as indicating the domestication of animals now only known in the wild state; secondly, to express the introduction of the domesticated animals of one country into another; and thirdly, the cultivation of fishes, &., by the re-stocking of rivers, the colonization of ponds, or the renovation of worn-out oyster or pearl fisheries by fresh supplies. Commencing with the first of these objects, which is by many regarded as the most impor- tant, I would observe that some animals seem to have been created with more or less of an instinctive desire to associete with man, and to be- come useful to him ; but the number of these is very limited, and, as it _ THE TECHNOLOGIST. {[Ccr. 1, 1864, 112 ON MUSEUM ARRANGEMENT undoubtedly takes a long period to become acquainted with the qualities and habits of these animals, and of the mode in which their services may be rendered available, it would almost appear as if all the animals which are possessed of this quality and are worth domesticating had already been brought into use. Indeed, all those which are now truly domesti- cated were in domestication in the earliest historic times. The turkey, it may be said, was not known until the discovery of America ; but I think that it has been satisfactorily proved that our domestic turkey is not descended from the wild turkey of America, but comes of a race which was domesticated by the Mexicans before the historic period. Again, the number of such animals is necessarily limited, for it is not worth while to go through a long process of domestication with the view of breeding an animal that is not superior in some important particular to those which already exist in domestication. For example, where would be the utility of introducing other ruminants, which do not breed as freely, feed as cheaply, afford as good meat, and bear the climate as well as our present races of domestic cattle? It has been thought that some of the numerous species of African antelopes might be domesti- cated here ; but every one who has eaten of their flesh describes it as harsh and dry, and without fat ; and such being the case (even could the domestication be effected, which I very much doubt) such an animal must have some very valuable peculiarity in its mode of life, and be capable of being produced at a very cheap rate, to enable it to take rank in our markets beside the good beef and mutton with which they are at present supplied. And, even supposing it to be semi-domesticated only for the park, it could not for an instant be put in competition with the fine venison which it is thought that it might displace. J am aware that certain French philosophers have lately taken up a notion that it is de- sirable to pervert the true purposes of the horse, by cultivating him for food instead of work ; and that a Society of Hippophagi has been insti- tuted with this view. Of course, under present circumstances, the flesh of old and worn-out horses is sold for much less than the meats of well- fed ruminants, and the miserable classes in countries are glad to obtain animal food of any kind at so low a rate ; but, whenever an attempt has been made to fatten horses for food, it has been found that the meat could not be produced at so low a rate as that for which far better beef and mutton could be bought. There are also some small semi-domesti- cated animals, such as the porcupine and other glires, which are said to afford good meat, but they have long been driven out of the market by the cheapness and abundance of the prolific rabbit. With regard to the larger ruminants, such as the giraffe, the eland, and some other foreign deer, the lama, and the alpaca, which have been bred in this country, but never brought into general use, I cannot consider them as at all acclimatised. They have almost always had the protection of warmed buildings, especially in the winter; and though they may have lived through a certain number of years, they are liable to attacks of diseases Ocr. 1, 1864. | THE TECHNOLOGIST. AND ACCLIMATISATION. 113 dependent upon our climate, and generally die off before their natural term of existence is completed. I can only regard them as partially domesticated, and that only as objects of curiosity and luxury, and as incapable of being turned to any useful domestic purpose. With regard to those animals which may be considered as more or less completely under the control of man, there exists considerable difference in fhe nature of their domestication. The typical or truly domesticated among them, such as the ox, the sheep, the horse, the camel, the dromedary, the dog, and the cat, like the wheat and the maize among plants, are never found truly wild, and when they are permitted to run wild, as in the case of horses and oxen in South America, they are easily brought back to a state of domestication, especially if caught young. What may be called the semi-domesticated or domesticatable animals, such as the buffalo, the goat, the pig, the reindeer, the yak, and some other Asiatic cattle, are found both in the tame and wild state, and often in the same region, and in close proximity with each other. The Asiatic elephant, and a few other animals which can be made tractable under man’s direc- tion, never (or very rarely) breed in domestication, and all the indivi- duals of these very useful races are caught wild and brought into sub- jection by training. The African elephant is evidently equally amenable to man’s control, and was equally domesticated by the Romans ; but the negroes do not seem to appreciate the advantages which they might derive from its domestication, and only make use of its tractable dispo- sition to keep it in captivity until such time as its ivory is best fitted for the market, when they also can feed upon its flesh. All our domestic or semi-domestic animals have their proper home in the temperate regions of Europe and Asia. They all, except the ass, bear great cold better than excessive heat, and even the ass suffers greatly on the coasts of the tropics. The sheep in the warmer regions require to be driven to the cool mountains during the hot season. In the tropics they lose their wool, and like the long-haired goats and dogs change the character of their fur. The inhabitants of the Arctic or sub-Arctic regions of Europe and Asia have partially domesticated the reindeer ; and either Asiatics have peculiar aptitude for domesticating animals, or the rumi- nants of that part of the world are peculiarly adapted for domestication. In the mountain regions of Thibet and Siberia the yak has been domes- ticated, and like the reindeer of the Arctic regions it is used as a beast of burthen, as well as for milk and food. The steppes of Asia is the home of the camel and dromedary. In the lower or warmer regions of Central and Southern Asia the zebu has been completely domesti- cated ; and the natives of India and of the Islands of the Malayan Archi- pelago have brought into a semi-domesticated state various species of wild cattle, such as the eyal, the gour, and the banting, and have even obtained some hybrid breeds between some of them and the zebus; as well as the buffalo, which they have in common with Africa and the South of Europe. In the park of the Governor-General of India there VOL. V. 0 THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Oet. 1, 1864, 114 ON MUSEUM ARRANGEMENT are large herds of the sasin (Antilope Cervicapra) in a semi-domestic state ; and our officers found in the park of the Emperor of China at Pekin more than one species of domesticated native deer. We have as yet received from Japan only one peculiar species of domestic animal, viz. a pig with a plaited face (sus plicatus); but it is not unlikely that the deer called Cervus Luku is a domes- ticated species, like the Cervus Swinhoei, of the Island of Formosa. In Celebes there is a small buffalo, called Azoa; and in the same island, as well as in Java and some of the other islands of the Indian Ocean, most of the aboriginal pigs, including the Babiroussa, have been more or less completely domesticated. These numerous instances will suffice to show how largely Asiaties have been enabled to draw upon the wild animals around them for additions to their domestic or semi- domestic races ; but a glance at the habits and manners of most of them will suffice to show how little they would be suited to our more northern climate, and how small would be the advantage gained were it possible to introduce them here. Africa has only sent to Europe the Guinea-fowl, that vagrant from our farm-yards, but it, too, has some domesticated animals of its own. In the more fertile and well-watered parts of that continent there exist at least five different kinds of domes- tic cattle. The buffalo (Bos Bubalus) and humpless cattle, which appear to be of the same species, and to be derived from the same source as the buffalo and domestic oxen of Europe. The African zebu (Bos Dante) appears to be distinct from the zebu of India, and is pro- bably an indigenous domestic race ; and the long-eared bush-cattle or zamous (Bos boachyceros) is certainly an aboriginal species peculiar to Tropical Africa. Besides these, it has in the desert regions the camel, with Asia; this animal is also domesticated in the southern parts of Europe. America has only three, or (if we reckon the dog) at most four, domestic animals belonging to the country before it was discovered by Europeans, who have, however, since introduced into it most of those which they themselves previously possessed. The turkey was early domesticated by the native Mexicans ; and it may be observed that in Europe these birds have been only imperfectly naturalized, requiring peculiar care and attention in their early stages, to protect them from the effects of an uncongenial climate. The llama and alpaca were also early domesticated by the native Peruvians, and it would appear as if these animals would not bear transportation to other quarters. All the attempts at least which have hitherto been made to introduce them into Europe and Australia have resulted in failure. The Esqui- maux inhabiting the more northern regions have a peculiar race of dogs, which is in the highest degree useful to them, but it appears to be of the same original stock with the dogs of Europe, and has probably passed from one continent to the other. In some parts of this vast continent the ox and the horse, since their introduction from Europe, have so firmly established themselves in a half-wild state as to be often ~ Oct. 1, 1864.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. AND ACCLIMATISATION. 115 hunted and killed for their hides alone. Australia and the Islands of the Pacific have no native domestic animals, if we again except the dog; and Australia alone has many mamunals sufficiently large to he hunted for their flesh. There formerly existed in New Zealand a large bird (the Moa) which was eaten by the natives, but it seems to have been exterminated, or nearly so, before the colonization of the islands. European animals have been largely and advantageously introduced throughout the Pacific Ocean, and in some cases have become wild and even dangerous. As in Europe, all the domestic animals of the various parts of the world appear to have been brought into their present condition for many ages, inasmuch as they were all found in a domes- tic state when the several countries were first visited by Europeans. And an attentive study of the list, and of the peculiarities of the animals composing it, induced me to believe that in attempting to introduce new domestic animals into some of our colonies, it would be desirable not to confine ourselves to European breeds, but to ascer- tain whether some of the domestic races of Asia and Africa might not be better adapted to the climate and other conditions of the colony, although, for reasons to which I have before adverted, it would neither be worth the trouble, nor consistent with good policy, to attempt their introduction here. There is evidently ample room for such experi- ments, which might be advantageously made in the colonies of the west coast of Africa; for instance, where our horse, ass, ox, sheep, and goats, and even the dogs, have greatly degenerated ; where the horse and the ass live only for a very brief period ; where the flesh of the ox and the sheep is described as bad and rare ; and the flesh of the goat, which is more common, is said to be tasteless and stringy. The pig alone, of all our domestic animals, seems to bear the change with equanimity ; and the preduce of the “ milch pig,” so often sold to passengers by the mail- packets and the ships on the stations as the milk of the cow, or even of the goat, is rarely to be obtained. Unfortunately, both the white and the black inhabitants are merely sojourners in the land, and do not seem to possess sufficient energy or inclination to make the experiments them- selves. Secondly, as regards the introduction of the domestic races of one country into another. There can be no doubt that this isa much more important object in relation to our Australian colonies, and other settle- ments planted im waste lands, than it is to old countries, such as all the European states, and that it has been pursued, as far as they are con- cerned, with great success. Dr. George Bennett, in the third annual “Report of the Acclimatisation Society of New Holland, has well observed :—“ We have lately heard of acclimatisation dinners in London _ and other places, but a dinner in New South Wales of food naturalised in the colony occurs every day, and a finer display cannot be surpassed in any country.” Few countries were so badly supplied by Nature with useful animals and plants as the Australian continent; and while we do not receive in Hurope a single indigenous product for our tables, THE TECHNOLOGIST. — [Ocr. 1, 1864. 116 ON MUSEUM ARRANGEMENT either animal or vegetable, from Australia, which in this respect has added nothing to the comforts of civilised man, no country has been more richly supphed with the useful products of other parts of the world ; for, not only have the natural productions of the temperate regions of Europe been largely introduced, but even the flowers and fruits of tropical and sub-tropical regions. There is no doubt that the introduction into Australia of animals long domesticated in Europe is far more easy than that of semi-domesticated animals from countries in a ruder state of society. Perhaps this may explain why the leading animals and plants to which Dr. Bennett refers in his report (and which, be it observed, have all been introduced by individual enter- prise) have sueceeded so much better than the later attempts to intro- duce such animals as the llama and various ornamental mammalia and birds. Among other attempts referred to are the blackbirds, thrushes, starlings, and skylarks of Europe ; these latter seem to be established in the Botanic Gardens, but it is doubtful whether such birds can find their appropriate fuod, except in cultivated gardens, or near the towns. On the other hand, it is to be observed that the introduction into a new country of domestic or semi-domesticated animals is not always an unmixed advantage. Thus, the domestic pig has been so completely naturalized in New Zealand, that its great multiplication has rendered it so mischievous a pest to the sheep-farmer, from its following the ewes and eating the new-dropped lambs, that the Hock-masters have been compelled to employ persons to destroy the pigs, paying for their destruction at the rate of so much per tail. Many thousands are thus destroyed in a single season, without any diminution being discernible. Indeed, it has been proved by Dr. Hooker, in an interesting paper “ On the Replacement of Species in the Colonies,” that the introduction of a new animal or plant often results in its destroying and taking the place of some previous inhabitant, thus rendering its introduction a matter of doubtful advantage, or, at all events, a question to. be ap- proached with considerable caution. It is, however, manifest that, on the whole, more useful results are to be obtained from the introduc- tion of races already domesticated into countries which they have not yet reached, than from the attempt to acclimatise animals for the most part either unsuited to the climate, or capable only of an inferior degree of domestication, or inferior in quality to those which are already in possession of the ground. Under the third head, the cultivation of fish, I have very little to observe, although the subject is unquestionably one of great importance. But as yet we have little practical mforma- tion upon the question, and I consider that the advocates of the system are only for the present feeling their way, as the experiments have not been pursued for a sufficient iength of time to have produced any posi- tive or reliable results. To replenish rivers in which the fish which formerly inhabited them have been destroyed, it is necessary closely to study the habits of the fish, and to imitate as much as possible their Oct. 1, 1864.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. AND ACCLIMATISATION. 117 natural proclivities. Thus, for example, it appears to me that, when attempting to introduce young artificially hatched fish into a river, we should place them in the smallest streamlets, where the fish would themselves deposit their ova, and not in the wider parts of the stream, where they are liable to injury from various causes. Again, the notion of fishing the breeding fish out of a river, collecting their eggs, and arti- ficially impregnating them, seems to me an unnatural mode of proceed- ing, and such as is not practised in the cultivation of any other animal. I cannot see any practical advantage that can possibly be derived from it. For the replenishing of worn-out fisheries of oysters and pearl- shells, all that seems necessary or advantageous to be done is to place round the bed twigs and various similar substances, so arranged as to retain the eggs when deposited, and to protect them by all the means in our power, leaving the beds undisturbed for a sufficient time to allow the new brood to become firmly established in them. Besides the numerous attempts at home to replenish our rivers and oyster-beds, much has been written, and large sums have been expended, in trying to introduce salmon into the rivers of Australia ; but the many failures show how little those who undertook the task were acquainted with the most common physiological questions connected with the removal of fish, and how small was their knowledge of the habits and peculiarities of the fish which they proposed to remove. What, indeed, could be more absurd than the attempt to introduce salmon into rivers which for a considerable part of the year are reduced to a series of stagnant pools ? I think I may venture to predict that if salmon are ever introduced into Australia they are much more likely to succeed in the deep rapid rivers of Tasmania than in the streams of Australia proper. At the same time, when we consider the very limited geographical range of the salmon in Europe, confined as it is to those rivers which have their exit into the North Sea—that the attempt to remove it even from one river to another in Europe has always been a failure—and that it is not only necessary that the salmon should have a river similar to that which it inhabits here, but also the same food and other peculiarities, without which apparently it cannot subsist—I must confess that I have no great faith in the success of the introduction of the salmon into Australia. I think, therefore, that it is to be regretted that the Australian Acclima- tisation Society do not rather make some experiments on the introduc- tion of the gourami, or some of the other edible fish of countries nearer to, and more resembling their own. THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Ocr. 1, 1864. 118 PRODUCTS OF THE MONTANA OF PERU. BY MR. CONSUL COCKS. Ir has appeared to me that this great eastern Peruvian territory, the Montaiia or region of the woods, has been much overlooked, and that it deserves a more attentive consideration from our merchants than it has hitherto received. Two portions of it—namely, the Department of the Amazonas and the littoral province of Loreto—are among the richest in Peru, possessing, as they do, unlimited resources for commerce and science, and of which it is no exaggeration to say that, in their peculiar character, they have no equal inany country. The Amazonian basin possesses the most magnificent water com- munication in the world, and it offers facilities and means fur commerce between the above-mentioned provinces, Peru generally, and Europe, which are unrivalled. It is true the great Amazon river is at present, by the policy of the Brazilian Government, in a measure, shut to commerce, the duties imposed at their port at the mouth of the Amazon amounting to this ; but there is little doubt but that this state of things will be changed, and that the Amazon river, at no distant period, will be made free and open to all nations, as it ought to be for the purposes of trade. So soon as this desirable event shall happen, it is more than probable that the greater part of the goods from Europe will be introduced by this admirable channel. What the ulterior views of the present railroad company on the west coast may be, I am not prepared to say, but there appears to be little doubt but that they will extend their line of rail eventually to Cuzco. Itis clear that Arequipa cannot be the terminus ; the line must be continued further : and as Cuzco is an important town already, and the centre of Peru,* it may not seem premature to affirm that this town will again play an important part in the future progress of the Republic. Cuzco then will probably be the terminus, or rather the main trunk, whence will branch out in all directions other railroads, and probably the first direction taken will lead towards the provinces of Amazonas and Loreto above-mentioned. With the railroad on the west coast, and the free navigation of the Amazon river on the east coast, the rich products of the interior of Peru may have a chance of egress to Europe, whilst, at the same time, the manufacturers of Europe will have an equal chance of ingress to this country. The Montawa.—The territory of the Montaiia is of the richest in the gifts of Nature. It possesses accumulated treasures, which, it may be said, are yet hidden in the greater part of it. The richness of its vege- * Cuzco in the Quichnan language signifies ‘‘ Navel.” Oct. 1, 1864.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. PRODUCTS OF THE MONTANA OF PERU. 119 tation, the abundance of its navigable rivers communicating with the Atlantic, the singularity and copiousness of the animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms, are all worthy of attention, particularly its orni- thology, the most abundant and curious in the world. Its immense extent, its majestic aspect, the great volume of water of its rivers, the colossal size and peculiar character of its trees, its balsamic and medi- -cinal products, its fruits and substances, exotic to all other countries, are sources of inexhaustible wealth. It extends from the eastern slope of the Eastern Cordillera to the frontiers of Bolivia, Brazil, and Ecuador, comprehending the Pampas of Sacramento, between the rivers Pachitea and Huallaga. These pampas comprise the greater part of the territory which lies between the rivers Huallaga, Ucayali, Amazonas, and Pachitea, and are unrivalled in point of fertility. From north to south it extends about 300 miles, and its breadth is from 40 to 100. Many rivers have their origin in the centre of the district, and uniting themselves with the Huallaga enter the Ucayali. The greater part of these rivers are navigable for small boats: the Aiguaitia, Cuxiabatai, and Santa Catalina are the most considerable, and fall into the Ucayali. In the northern part there are many canals between the Huallaga and Marafion. The soil is covered with trees of prodigious size, and herbs and plants of such a height that a man is lost in them. So fertile is the soil, that it is a wonder it has not been populated in proportion to the advantages it offers. The whole of it, or nearly so, is virgin land, and capable of maintaining millions of head of cattle, and domestic animals of all kinds. Department of Amazonas.—The Department of Amazonas is bounded on the north by Ecuador, on the south by the department of Junin, on the east by the province of Loreto, and on the west by the depart- ments of Cajamarca and Libertad, which are separated from it by the river Amazon. It contains two provinces, Chachapoyas and Luya. The capital of the department is Chachapoyas. The three large rivers, Amazonas, Ucayali, and Huallaga, flow through this vast and fertile department, which receives, besides, a multitude of tributaries. Two Cordilleras run through it, one on the east of Chachapoyas, and the other on the west. With respect to the plants and vegetables of this department which may be made available for commerce, they are many. I will mention a few that appear to be among the most important. Nunu-huactana, or sour-cane, similar to maize, properly prepared, cures the intermittent fever ; quinaquina, sarsaparilla, tamarind, linseed, ginger, cascarilla, ipecacuanha, &c. The soil produces all kinds of vegetable aliments, among others— coffee, equal to that of Caraccas, which is perhaps the best in the world ; cacao ; yuccas ; camotes, or sweet potatoes ; common potato, various kinds ; carrots ; rice; French beans; lentils; chick pea, of various THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Oct. 1, 1864. 120 PRODUCTS OF THE MONTANA OF PERU. classes ; onions; purslain ; mint; maize; gourds; cocona, similar to the orange of Quito ; mashantuesi, a tree which yields a fruit of the size of an orange ; nuchuesi, a plant, yielding potatoes from its roots equal to the famous ones of Huamantanga of Lima, called yellow potatoes ; sachapapa, a species of white potato. The bombanaje, a palm of which hats are made like those of Guyaquil; agave; vanilla; cotton; long bejuco, yielding oil; tobacco, &e. Barbasco, the root of which is poisonous, used by the savages for fishing, thrown into the water it operates as a narcotic ; sami, whose leaves give a blue dve; llangua, useful for the same purpose ; mis- piganga, whose fruit is like a small black ball and is used for dyeing ; casha, huasca, bejuco, of thirty yards in length, very elastic, and the women use it, when washing, instead of soap. Ayac-mullaca, a kind of thorn, its leaves and fruit serve for soap ; achupa, odorous fruit, and which gives a colour; huito or jagua, a high and thin shrub, of the trunk of which spoons are made, the fruit is eaten green ; it dyes the hair a strong black ; llanchama, the bark of which is so flexible, that, after cutting and pounding, it stretches like cloth; quimba, a tree forty-five feet high, its fruit not unlike cotton; sebo de macoa, its fruit the shape of little green balls, which yield grease or fat when cooked or pressed ; sapaja, a tree like a palm, its leaves, from their hardness, serve for combs, colour yellow, and opaque like tortoiseshell ; tamsi, very strong and elastic. The fruits are those of the torrid zone, and very agreeable, a few may be mentioned, such as the marafion-castra, whose fruit is of the size of an egg, and yellow ; chiope, a dark green tree, fruit of agreeable taste ; gallo, similar to the tumbo ; simbillo, like the French bean ; runfinde, same as preceding ; gigma, root similarto the sweet potato; chachuela, like a nut, yellow husk and white in the interior, has a sort of bitter- sweet taste. In the mineral kingdoms there are many washings of gold; there are also quicksilver, copper, iron, lead, &c. This department is also rich in animals, most of them peculiar to the country and unknown elsewhere. The temperature or climate varies according to place, since, as already mentioned, two chains of mountains traverse it, one on the east and the other on the west of Chachapoyas, the capital. Rarely the thermometer passes 30° centigrade, or descends below 27°. Notwithstanding, it is said to be healthy, except on the margins of the Huallaga, Ucayali, and Maranon. Industry is very backward in this department from the abundance and cheapness of articles necessary for subsistence, the want of roads, &c. With respect to the province of Loreto, it is situated to the north of Peru, and occupies an extent of ground so large that it almost equals in surface all the rest of the departments of Peru put together. Its limits Oct. 1, 1864.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. PRODUCTS OF THE MONTANA OF PERU, 121 are not yet very precisely determined, however it may be said that it is bounded on the north by the Republic of Ecuador, te the east by the Empire of Brazil, to the south by the departments of Cuzco, Ayacucho, and Junin, and to the west by the departments ef Junin, Libertad, and Amazonas. Province of Loreto.—The productions of this province have a similar character to those of the department of Amazonas, some, however, have a distinct one; for this reason, and for circumstances connected with them, such as the use that is made of them, and their disposal by way of commerce, it will be necessary to notice a few in detail, at the risk, it may be, of some repetition. For this purpose I shall avail myself of a little boek written by Senor Raimendi upon this province, so far as it relates to productions and commerce. Products of Loreto.—The plantano or plantain, of which there is a great variety, serves instead of bread, of which there is none in the province, en account of the difficulties of transport. Flour therefore would, at once, be in great demand there. Yuca (Manihot aipi, Pohl), or Cassava, is another vegetable indis- pensable to the inhabitants, used also in place of bread, and for various other econemic purposes. Sugar-cane. This plant is not cultivated in Loreto for the purpose of extracting sugar, an article scarcely known in this part of Peru, but to obtain aguadiente, of which the natives are very fend. The sugar-cane grows in the prevince with the greatest luxuriance, and it is sufficient to plant it once to have constant yields from the roots. It is very common to see roots of this vegetable with more than twenty vigcrous cane-stalks. It promptly develops itself, and ripens at the end of six or seven months’ planting. Rice and maize grow abundantly at the end of six months from their plantation. Coca (Erythrozilon Coca, Lamark) is cultivated in all the villages along the banks of the Huallaga, and is of good quality ; it yields six crops a year, that is, one every two months. This is not the place, perhaps, to comment upon this plant, but it deserves to be more generally known on account of its extraordinary qualities. A Peruvian will endure the severest labour whilst chewing the leaves of this plant, accompany a horse or mule for days together up hill and down, and through the deepest sand, without scarcely any other refreshment than chewing coca. Its effects are seid to be truly surprising upon the human organisation. ‘ea, or a decoction of the leaves of this plant, is found to be a most wholesome and refreshing beverage, and very agreeable, Superficial travellers have decried coca, but more than one European has experienced its beneficial effects in the Sierra. For the poorer classes at home it would form, if needful, an excellent substitute tor tea, or for tobacco-chewing. Tobacco is cultivated the whole length of the Huallaga, and yields VOL. V. P THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Oor. 1, 1864. 122 PRODUCTS OF THE MONTANA OF PERU. magnificent crops, part of which is consumed in the neighbouring departments, and part experted to Brazil. Cotton grows almost spontaneously in the neighbourhood of the houses, and serves the inhabitants for domestic purposes, principally grey shirting, which is an article of exchange in this province. Coffee grows with extraordinary luxuriance in this region; the activity of its vegetation is wonderful, the branches are borne down indeed with the weight of the numerous berries. Cacao, besides being cultivated in all the gardens of Moyobamba, grows spontaneously, and is met with in abundance and of various kinds in all the woods of the province. Bombanaje (Carludovica palmata, Ruiz et Pavon), of the leaves of which straw hats are made. Not only is this plant cultivated, but it is met with in a wild state in almost all the warm, moist, and shady places of this part of Peru. Pischuayo (Guilielma speciosa, Mart.), an elegant palm of an elevated and thorny trunk ; grows spontaneously, and is cultivated for its pulpy fruit, which is eaten cooked. Aguaje (Mauritia flexuosa, Lin.) is a palm with leaves disposed in the form of afan. This useful vegetable produces a sealy fruit of the size of a hen’s egg which is eaten when cooked. Tutumo (Crescentia cujete, Lin.). Of the fruit of this tree calabashes are prepared, vessels to preserve liquids, and for other domestic purposes. A great number of fruit trees both indigenous and European grow in this province, such as orange, lemon, paltot (Persea gratissima, Gartn.), pacaes of various kinds (Inga vera, insignis, fastuosa, &c.), lucumos (Lucuma obovata, Kind.), papayo (Carica papaya, Lin.), prunes, plums, cherries, the bread fruit, pine apples—these abound in some parts and acquire enormous dimensions, often weighing 18 lbs., red pepper, &c. The quantity of plants which grow spontaneously is incalculable. In the more elevated parts of the province are various kinds of sarsaparilla, and many other plants of great usefulness. The Commerce of the Littoral Province of Loreto is yet in its infancy, having commenced, it may be said, only after the arrival at the Port of Nanta of tke steam vessels of the Brazilian Company established for the navigation of the Amazon, by the treaty entered into towards the end of 1851 between Peru and Brazil. This commerce goes on sen- sibly increasing, and will reach to much importance if the means of communication can be facilitated, opening good reads conducting to the ports situated on the banks of the navigable rivers, making the transport of the produce in all the affluents of the Amazon less difficult by steam- boats, and by all means avoiding monopoly. Almost all the commerce of this territory is carried on with Brazil by the facility which exists of communication between these countries by means of the rivers. The commerce of importation is conducted both by the way of the Amazon and the ports of the Pacific. Ocr. 1, 1864.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. CHEMISTRY. 123 The articles exported from the province are :—Straw hats, like those of Guyaquil, which are sold in Brazil at 3 dols.seach. Sarsaparilla, growing chiefly in the environs of Sarayaco, where it is collected in abundance. An arroba (25 lbs.) is exchanged for 3 or 4 yards of tocuyo or grey shirting. In Nanta it is worth 3 dols. the arroba ; and in Para it is sold as high as 14 or 15 dols. the arroba. Salt fish, which is sold in Brazil under the name of piracucu at the price of 19 dols. to 20 dols. the arroba. Tocuyo or grey shirting of the country is sold at 1 real or about 6d. the yard. Bombanaje straw is sold at 1 real a pound. Bun- dles of tobacco, 4 reals each. Tobacco in leaf is worth 18 dols. the arroba. Coffee is sold in the province at 2 dols. the arroba, and in Para 3 dols. and 3 dols. reals. Cacao, 3 dols. the arroba. Flour, 5 dols. a: quintal of 25 lbs. In Moyobamba, the capital of Loreto, more than 3,000 women are occupied in spinning cotton, the clews or balls of which are current money, so are also coffee and tobacco ;—lona, a texture wove very strong ; condocillo, a species of woollen kerseymere ; coverlets, or counter- panes, plain and worked, and other cloths ; straw hats, network very rich for stuffs, and clothing for women, as fine and beautiful as the best lace. Cigar cases and hats of the finest workmanship. The inhabitants are also very skilful in the working of gold and silver and make exquisite works of art, especially in filagree. CHEMISTRY. BY CAMPBELL MORFIT, M.D., F.C.8., LATE PROFESSOR OF ANALYTICAL AND APPLIED CHEMISTRY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND. In all the advances of either Civilisation or the Arts, and whether pertaining to those which minister to the wants, the industry, or to the protection of man, Chemistry has been a prevailing good, and has left marks of its usefulness. It is, indeed, the Alma Mater of the sciences ; a great store-house filled with knowledge suited to the wants of all ; its boundaries being co-extensive with Nature itself. Chemistry is the only true socialist ; for while it furnishes benefits to every community, it is upon fixed rules which neither policy, per- suasion, nor legislation can change. She is immutable in her ways: acting as naturally as astronomy, with nicer precision than mathematics, greater certainty than human jurisprudence, and more industry than art or handicraft, for her operations never cease. It acts, too, with as much beneficence to mankind as all the theories of faith ; because in her work she manifests, by unvarying attributes, and by her fruitfulness of universal blessings, the unmistakable existence of a Great Great Cause —a Providence. THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Ocr. }, 1864. es 124 CHEMISTRY. Chemistry, in its theoretical signification, is that science whick teaches us the internal properties of bodies and the mutual action of their elements. Its grand practical division is into—l. Inorganic or mineral chemistry ; 2. The chemistry of organised bodies, whick we so term because, though now dead, they have had their origin in a vital principle ; and 3. Organic chemistry, comprehending those substances which have a present vital existence. Analytical chemistry devises methods for detecting the various elements of a compound, and estimating their proportions. Synthetic ‘chemistry enables us to form homogeneous compounds of dissimilar substances, and is used to verify the results of analysis. Arraying or docimacy is the dry method of analysis. Practical or applied chemistry comprises the application of chemical principles to the arts: for example, to the making and fixing of colours for paints and dyes ; to the processes of tanning, distilling, and brewing ; to the manufacture of glass, porcelain, and artificial stones; and to domestic and culinary purposes. It is more elegantly termed techno- logical chemistry, and to this branch belongs also metallurgy, or the art of separating metals from their ores. Pharmaceutical chemistry relates to the preparation of remedies employed in medicine. Medical chemistry is allied to physiology, and treats of the application of chemical principles in the theory and practice of medicine. Toxicological chemistry refers to poisons, their special action upon the system, and the means of detecting them. The subdivisions of the science are still increasing, and the varied uses to which it is now applied are so great, that even subordinate branches are growing or taking place out of those that had previously existed. It was said of Mercury, in the days of mythology, that he plundered Neptune of his trident, Venus of her girdle, Mars of his sword, Vulcan of his implements, and Jupiter of his sceptre. This is but an allegory referring to Chemistry, of which Mercury was the patron, and through the means of which he collected so much knowledge from unseen as well as visible sources ; and now, Justice, acting upon her principle of retribution as to matters of this world, makes him return, with interest, to us, the prizes pillaged from the elements and the gods. © No one can tell to what extent the investigations in Chemistry may go ;—no one can define its limit. It enabled Daguerre to seize the fleeting shadows of the air and fix them immutable upon metal; and hereafter its discoveries may transfix the very sounds of human voices, and hold them quivering in the hand as echoes to the wind. Even thought itself may be reached, and the very breath that gives it silent aspiration be made to stand out upon tablets like recorded words of utterance. ; Ocr. 1, 1864.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. PHORMIUM TENAX, OR NEW ZEALAND FLAX, 125 It is a searching agent, which exposes the errors of those who blunder in the studies of Nature—a confirmer of truths—a spirit that dives into the deep bosom of the earth and reveals her riches, that soars into the high region of the heavens and brings away its lightning— that, like light, penetrates everywhere, and, like light, clears away all obscurities. It is true that Sir Francis Bacon was the first 10 teach us how to follow the genius of Nature through her many mansions. He began at the beginning in this particular ; and yet wonderful as was his learning then and as it still is, he had only reached the threshold of the great temple of science which succeeding generations have only partly built up. It is still an unfinished edifice ; not because it is labouring under the ban of a supernatural power, but because it is a structure to be made of mind, not matter—whose materials are to be drawn from the profoundest intellects, the tests of whose strength must be submitted to ages upon ages—whose increasing lights are beacons to guide its builders, and whose completion will be perfection. PHORMIUM TENAX, OR NEW ZEALAND FLAX, BY CHARLES CRAIK. . Tue valuable properties of the Phormium tenax, or New Zealand flax, as a fibre-producing plant, have long been known to botanists and others ; but, owing to various causes, its merits have not been, as yet, to any but a very inconsiderable extent practically tested in this country. The important purposes to which the Phormium tenaz can undoubtedly be applied surely render it of importance that it be brought under the notice of our manufacturers, as there is good reason for believing that it is well adapted for the manufacture of paper, and in the event of a demand being created in the markets of Britain it could be exported from New Zealand to a practically unlimited extent. The Phormium tenaz, which belongs to the order Liliacee of the natural system of botany, is strictly indigenous to New Zealand, and grows abundantly in all parts of that colony. In different portions of the province of Otago, in the Middle Island of New Zealand, we have seen it thriving in profusion. It is one of the first objects that catches the eye of the emigrant as soon as he leaves the ocean and enters the mag- nificent natural harbour of Port Chalmers; and on the voyage thence up to the town of Dunedin, it is seen in hundreds of places growing down to the very margin of the shore, till it almost dips its leaves in the salt water. In the Botanical Gardens of Kew and Edinburgh specimens of it may be seen, but these afford but a very indifferent idea of its appear- THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Oer. 1, 1864. 126 PHORMIUM TENAX, OR NEW ZEALAND FLAX. ance as it grows in its native habitats, where it flourishes in such great luxuriance that we have often seen its sword-shaped leaves attaining a length of upwards of six feet ; and the whole plant is in such profusion that in the gulleys and ravines the cattle, while wandering in the midst of it, are completely lost to view. The strength and tenacity of the fibre, which is got from the leaf of the plant, are such as to render it superior in these respects to that of any other vegetable production. The following table, by the illustrious botanist De Candolle (taken from Professor Balfour’s ‘ Class-Book of Botany ’), will show the strength of different vegetable fibres as contrasted with silk :— Silk supported a weight of . : . 3& New Zealand Flax . : 2 eon Common Hemp . . : : . 164 Common Flax . . : < . 112 Pita Hibreyiy So Neeal cece tea oton ta The above comparison speaks for itself ; indeed, it is unnecessary to insist at any length upon the value of the fibre in question, which has been admitted by all the scientific men and others, under whose conside- ration it has been brought, as far back as from the date of Captain Cook’s voyages down to the present day. The real difficulties of the question are not connected with any doubts as to the nature and properties of the fibre, or as to the possibility of exporting it in sufficient quantities, but relate to a practical difficulty in its preparation; and we would now very briefly direct attention to this matter, and to what has been accomplished in regard to it. As already alluded to, it is from the leaf that the fibrous material of the Phormium tenax is procured. Every leaf contains it in abundance, but at the same time it must be mentioned, that there is incorporated with it in the unprepared state a quantity of a substance of a gummy or resinous nature. To extract this resinous matter from the fibre, and at the same time leave the latter intact, has been found somewhat of a difficult problem. The solution of the problem has to some extent been obtained by the natives, who have long been in the habit of manufac- turing clothing, baskets, &c., from this valuable production of their islands ; but their process is somewhat defective, and being entirely manual, is unsuitable, both on economical and other grounds, for the preparation of the fibre to any large extent. It may be mentioned, en passant, that the settlers of New Zealand are a good deal in the habit of availing themselves in a rough and ready way of the tenacity and strength of this plant, which grows around and amongst their settle- ments, and are accustomed to employ strips of the green leaf in lieu of cord, &c., in various ways. The attention of the Government of New Zealand has been several times directed to this matter, the importance of which to the colony under its charge it has had sufficient reason to perceive ; and in consequence it has offered various liberal rewards to Oct. 1, 1864] THE TECHNOLOGIST, PHORMIUM TENAX, OR NEW ZEALAND FLAX. 127 any person or persons who should succeed in inventing a process by which the fibre of the Phormium tenazx should be prepared in a proper condition for the purposes of the manufacturer. For some years past, several persons in the different provinces of New Zealand, induced by these offered premiums, have directed their attention to the subject, and, indeed, I believe that in the North Island a patent has actually becn taken out and worked by one or more individuals, but it is understood that their operations have been as yet on but a limited scale. It is within the knowledge of the writer that practical experiments are at present being carried on in different quarters, and have already, in fact, been brought toa favourable conclusion. He has brought with him from Otago a sample of the fibre prepared by a gentleman lately of Glasgow, and now resident in Dunedin, but is in expectation of receiv- ing soon specimens of a much superior character. The gentleman in question is of opinion that the flax could be prepared in a state superior to the sample referred to for about 12/. a ton in Dunedin, which, even with the addition of freight and other charges, would render it quite practicable to introduce the material into this country for the manufac- ture of paper, at a price which would allow it to compete with other substances. It may be safely predicted, taking into consideration what has already been done and is at present doing in New Zealand in relation to the preparation of the Phormium tenaz fibre, and keeping in view the great scientific and practical resources of our age, that the difficulties above adverted to will speedily be disposed of in a satisfactory manner. It only remains for the manufacturers of Britain to show that they have a desire for the introduction and employment here of the New Zealand flax, to add another important item to our multifarious imports, and a new and valuable addition to the exports sent home from our distant but thriving colony. [There is no doubt of New Zealand flax being suitable for paper- making, for we have seen very excellent paper made with it ; but as in a raw state the cost of chemical treatment and loss of weight by bleach- ing is very great, it can scarcely be valued at more than 6I. or 7J. per ton delivered in this country. If it could be imported at a cheap rate, large quantities of it could be soldi—Ep. TxEcu.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Ocr. 1, 1864, 128 SILKWORM CULTURE. THE silk trade in France seems to be in almost as much difficulty with respect to raw material as its sister cotton manufacture. The culture of silk in France has long been in an unsatisfactory condition, the sup- ply falling short of the demand or the price rising from time to time to aruincus pitch. Great efforts have been made in various directions to increase the produce: silkworm eggs have been fetched from China and other places, with great care and cost, and many new kinds of eggs have been introduced from abroad with the hope of obtaining more hardy and more productive worms. The “ Magnanerie,” as a silkworm nursery is called, in the Jardin d Acclimatation in the Bois de Boulogne of Paris, is just now an object of considerable attraction, and contains many thousand worms of various kinds, and amongst others the Bom- byx mori of China, and the B. blanche of Japan, which feed on the leaves of the mulberry; the Bombyx cynthia and the B. Arrindia, which live on the castor-oil plant and the leaves of the Ailanthus, or Japan varnish-tree ; and the Bombyx Yamamai and B. Pernyi of China and Japan, which devour oak leaves. These two latter are in the open air, and hopes are entertained that they may acclimatise in Western Europe. There is also another establishment adjoining the hnperial model farm of Vincennes, where M. Guérin-Méneville—whose exhibi- tion of some of these worms and their produce in the French depart- ment of the London Exhibition of 1862 excited considerable attention —is pursuing their cultivation with a view to practical results. In the meantime, the want of the eggs, or seed as it is called, of the silkworms already cultivated in France is great, and apparently very difficult to supply. Not long since some adventurous persons announced their intention of seeking a supply of eggs in Independent Tartary, but they were warned by the Minister of Commerce that it would expose them to great danger in that country, and they therefore renounced their project. News has since been received from Teheran, by the Minister of Commerce, that there would bea better chance of success in Persia, and the attention of cultivators is now directed to that coun- try. It appears, however, that several parties have set out on this errand from Constantinople, but have been deterred from proceeding by information which they obtained at Tiflis. The opinion seems to be that interested speculators in silk have managed, for their own interest, to prevent the French agents from obtaining a supply of the eggs. Be that as it may, it is certain that the trade in silkworm eggs is but little developed, although the demand is very great in Europe, and in spite of the success which has attended the importations which have been made from China. The cultivation of silk is carried on in five provinces of Persia, Meshed, Yezd, Cachan, Mazenderan, and Ghilan, but the quantity and quality differ greatly. The worms obtain Oct, 1, 1864. THE TECHNOLOGIST. SILKWORM CULTURE. 129 little of the care which is bestowed upon them in France, where the duties of the sericulteur are constant and most troublesome. In Persia the worms are placed on rough wooden stages, and, being sup- plied with plenty of food, are left almost to themselves till the spinning time arrives ; yet it is said that the disease which has attacked the worms so seriously in France is not known in Persia. The inference drawn is, that the Persian silkworm is more hardy than those reared in France. The statistics of the culture in the former country are not very complete, for the French authorities have been unable to procure even ap approximate estimate of the amount of silk produced in more than three of the above-named provinces. Cachan is said to yield only 750 kilogrammes—an insignificant quantity ; Yezal, 21,000 kilos.; and Ghilah, 206,000 kilos. ; in all about 478,000 lbs. English. M. Guerin de Méneville makes the following remarks :— “For several years the Academy of Sciences has welcomed with in- terest the communications which I have had the honour to make to it on one of the most important applications of zoology, the introduction and acclimation of new species of silkworms, the products of which clothe the entire populations of India, China, and Japan. “‘ My attempts in this direction have been approved, for the immense good which would result from the introduction of these producers of textile fabrics is comprehended in view of the nearly irreparable cotton famine resulting from the deplorable American war. “ All now understand that the silkworms which live on the ailanthus and on the oak may become auxiliaries, susceptible of supplying to a greater or less extent this scarcity of cotton. “Up to the present time I have attempted the introduction of three species of Asiatic silkworms living on the oak: the Bombyx mylitta of Fabricius, from Bengal ; my Bombyx Perny?, from the north of China ; and my Bombyx Yama-mai, from Japan. “To-day I have the honour of presenting to the Academy the first specimens received in Europe of a fourth silkworm of the oak, the Bombyx (Antherea) Roylei, of Moore, “Twenty living cocoons of this remarkable species were sent to me by Captain Hutton, obtained from the high plateaus of the Himalaya, on the frontiers of Cashmere. The caterpillar lives on the thick oak leaves, the Quercus incana, which bears a close analogy with our oaks— liege and the holm, and it is evident that they, like the three others, may be fed with the oaks of our forests. “Its cocoon differs from those of the other three species—as may be seen in the comparative collection which I deposited on the bureau—in having a greater volume, and above all in being surrounded by an enve- lope also composed of silk of a clear, handsome grey. “Tt is evident that this new worm of the oak will be easily accli- mated in the centre and north of France, for the climate of the elevated parts of the Himalaya cannot differ notably from ours, since many of the vegetables of that central chain of Asia prosper very well among us. VOL. V. Q THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Oct. 1, 1864 130 SILKWORM CULTURE. ‘The twenty cocoons which I received on the 23rd of March gave me at first three males that came out on the 7th of April, and I began to fear that I should see them all hatch and perish before the appearance of the females, Finally, on the 19th of April, a male and female were hatched at the same time. These two butterflies united themselves together in the night of the 20th—2Ist, at one o’clock of the morning, and I obtained 108 eggs, a number sufficient to introduce the species, and to permit me soon to present specimens, first to the Society of Ac- climation, and then to the agriculturists of all countries where the diverse species of oaks flourish. “The instructions which I published in my Mevue de Sériciculture Comparée (1863, p. 38), for the care to be given to my Yama-mai of Japan, are applicable in all respects to this new species, of which I have the honour to present the first reproductions to the Academy, as I had the honour to present to it in 1858 those that permitted me to intfoduce the ailanthus silkworm, which has begun to be acclimated in all the regions of Europe, Africa, America, and even Australia. CULTIVATION OF SILK IN Java.—The introduction of a new branch of industry is not without its difficulties, more especially when, as is generally the case, public opinion characterises such as needless waste of money, time, and trouble. Never have worse results been foretold than in the case of the attempts now made to introduce the culture of silkworms. Remembering the scanty success which had attended former attempts, people were led to regard the hope of a future produc- tion of silk on the island as a fallacy. The difference between the former and present attempts was lost sight of. Was the Siam silkworm known in former years?) Was the cultivation of the Bombyx Cynthia and Bombyx Arrindia thought of? These questions may, I believe, _be all answered in the negative ; for, if I mistake not, all trials were made with the Chinese and European Bombyx mori only. The last attempts, on the contrary, were made with the silkworm of Siam, and with several varieties of what is known as wild silk-worms. The cultivation of the tame and wild species differs greatly ; most of the trials were made with the first. It is generally known that the Siam silkworm was brought over to Buitenzong by Mr. J. E. Teysman, Honorary Inspector of Cultures, in 1862. The first results were made public; not so those subsequently obtained. In the commencement of 1863, Mr. Teysman showed me the small establishment for the culture of silkworms which he had just erected. It consisted of two small buildings constructed of bamboos, the sides worked in the kepang pattern, with roofs of Atap (palm leaves). The surrounding grounds (some two and a half to three behoes) were planted with mulberry-trees (Morus indica), and in the immediate vicinity was the dwelling of the Cochin-Chinaman, André Locas, who, with his household, had the care of the worms. Everything was simple, and arranged in the Chinese fashion. One of the erections served for the development of the worms ; the other for the winding and for the Oct. 1, 1864.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. SILKWORM CULTURE. 131 preparation of the cocoons. The whole establishment, inclusive of the plantation, I computed to have cost 400 florins; and at the end of one year Mr. Teysman had the satisfaction of being able to bring to market 80 lb. (Amsterdam weight) wound, and 89 lb. of floss silk, which were sold on the 24th December last (1863) at Batavia for the sum of 400 florins. This year’s yield will be still greater, for now, after the lapse of six months, 50 lbs. of wound and much more of floss silk have been offered for sale. But not only at Buitenzong were favourable results obtained, but at Samarang, too; and at Malang the trials were attended with success. The degeneration of the worms, which was so much feared, is nowhere visible ; the cocoons have, on the contrary, increased in size since the worms have heen carefully tended. The quality, too, of the silk is better. The first musters (samples) sent to Europe were at 10 to 12 florins per kilogramme ; the Buitenzong silk fetched, at the auction alluded to, the average of 14? florins ; whilst a muster lately sent to Europe was valued in France at 22 florins per half kilo.! I believe that the facts here spoken of are so many reasons for asserting that a lucrative culture of the silkworm is not wholly imaginative. Mr. L. Weber says on the subject, in the introduction to his ‘ Handleiding voor eenige Kultures op Java’ (‘ Handbook of Cultures in Java’), “that the culture of the silk- worm will in time be a means of existence for the European as well as for the Malay, as will certainly be experienced by those who apply themselves toit. From the results which I myself have obtained, I do not hesitate to recommend its extension, and am convinced that the aid of our rulers may be reckoned upon.” Government, which lost such heavy sums with former attempts, is, we are informed upon good authority, endeavouring to introduce the culture of the Siamese silkworm ona large scale; the inducement to do so being the fortunate results which have attended the late trials. Already the planting of mulberry-trees in the residency krawang has been commenced. Private industry, too, should devote more of its attention to the subject. Not that it is necessary to erect extensive and costly establishments ; it is sufficient if many small and inexpensive ones be founded ; favourable results will then lead to extension. The trials with the so-called “wild silkworms” are not yet so far advanced. Although several trials on a small scale have been successful, the varie- ties of the worm are so numerous as to make it difficult to decide as to the best of the known varieties of the wild silkworm ; not less than ten sorts might be used for spinning purposes in Java. In other tropical countries, as Surinam (Dutch Guiana), the Argentine Republic, and in Brazil, the Bombyx Cynthia and Arrindia have already been introduced ; but Java herself has many silkworms which are found in a wild state, and perhaps one or other of these deserves the preference above the two just named. THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Ocr. 1, 1864. 132 ON THE POSITION AND MODE OF WORKING THE BATH FREESTONE. BY J. RANDALL. THE paper which I have the honour to lay bofore this section of the British Association has reference to two subjects, both of equal local interest, the one in an economical and commercial point of view, and the other bearing upon the scientifie conditions, both as regards the mode of working and geological positions of those beds in the great or Bath oolite, which may be called the ‘‘ quarry stone,’ and which are so extensively worked in the Bath district. I purpose, therefore, to divide my paper into two sections, or arrange the materials into short, and yet I hope sufficiently detailed amanner under two heads: first, to determine the true horizon or geological position of the workable beds of this valuable freestone in the series termed the great oolite ; secondly, to enter upon the mode of ‘‘ working and getting” this extensively used and valuable building stone. Geological Position.—Nowhere, I believe, in Great Britain (indeed, in Europe) are the lower members of the Jurassic group of rocks so extensively developed as in the Bath district, where each group seems to have attained its fullest recognised development ; nowhere can the whole Jurassic series be so readily studied, nowhere so easily understood ; and this applies to the lias itself in its three divisions—the fuller’s earth (here extensively employed); the member of the lower oolite under consideration ; and the Bath or great oolite, distinguished here for its economical value, and at Minchinhampton and other places for its fine and typical organic remains. Above this series, but intimately associated with it, the forest marble and cornbrash are highly and typically developed, succeeded by the Oxfordian and Kimmeridge groups, not omitting even the Portlandian at Swindon and the Purbecks of the Vale at Wardour. To each of these may be appended import- ant notes bearing upon their high importance, economically considered, and which are extensively developed in the district ; but I purpose draw- ing the attention of the members of this section to the Bath oolite only, determining the position of that zone from which the treestone is ex- tracted, and on which the wealth and comfort of the population of this neighbourhood, engaged in quarrying operations, so much depend. I have also endeavoured to fix, by detailed and measured sections, the work- able beds of the district, and to correlate them over a considerable area, useful, it is hoped, both to the man of business and the geologist. These sections, which I may here refer to, are all coloured the same in their respective zones, and show the importance of carefully determining the place or position of the workable beds, prior to any outlay of capital ; and however difficult, indeed impossible, it may be to diagnose the quality of the freestone beds in depth, there can be no doubt as to their posi- THE TECHNOLOGIST, [Ocr. 1, 1864, ON WORKING THE BATH FREESTONE. 133 tion and probable condition ; and when it is known that uniformity of condition over any large area is of extreme uncertainty, and knowing as we do that the thinning out of the marketable beds of freestone in this district, like the great oolite en masse on the line of deposition and dip, is a fact now well understood, it becomes a matter of high import- ance to the capitalist to be assured and confirmed as to the chances of success in opening out or developing a new district. The natural crouping of the beds constituting the great oolite series in this district fall under three well-marked divisions, all well exhibited in the sections exposed at Murhill, Westwood, and Farleydown, Combe and Hampton Downs, Box and Corsham workings, &c., &c. Indeed, generally where conditions have exposed them, and reading downwards from the surface, we meet with over the Bath area, immediately below the forest of marble (where present), the following groupings :—1. The Upper Rag- stones. 2. The Fine Freestone, or Building Beds. 3. The Lower Rag- stone. These constitute a series from 60 to 120 feet in thickness, depending upon local circumstances and conditions during pag and perhaps subsequent denudation. _ The Upper Ragstones.—This series consists of (in the upper part) coarse, shelly, and irregularly bedded limestones, with usually a few underlying beds of white fine-grained limestones, possessing a distinctly and well-defined oolitic structure and finely comminuted shells ; these are again succeeded by tough argillaceous beds of limestone, usually pale brown in colour and smooth in texture, the whole ranging in thickness from twenty-five feet to about fifty feet. No beds of workable value occur in this upper series. The Fine Freestone, or Building Beds, in the Bath Stone Series—Suc- ceeding the upper ragstone are the Bath freestone, or fine-grained build- ing beds, which vary in the number and thickness of the various beds comprising the series, and also economically distinguished from each other by their structural condition, the size and structure of the oolitic grains, the presence or absence of silicious particles or finely divided shelly matters, each of which may materially affect the limestone during the process of working, or influence them after being placed in position, and subject to weathering under atmospheric changes. In some localities the beds assume an earthy structure, indistinct in texture, smooth and close-grained, and hold more moistness. The Lower Ragstone.—Below the fine building beds, or freestone series, are the lower ragstones, which appear to be persistent every- where over the entire area, and resting upon the fuller’s earth. They consist of numerous and generally well-defined beds of a coarse shelly texture, and hard erystalline limestone exhibiting much false bedding, especially near the base. Many species of mollusca occur in the bottom beds, such as Ostrea acuminata, Terebratula, Ornithocephala, Rhyn- chonella, Trikitis, Concinna, and Tancredia. These lower ragstones, as before mentioned, rest immediately upon the fuller’s earth, but this THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Ocr. 1, 1864. 134 ON THE POSITION AND MODE OF member of the oolitic series concerns us only by position, and is in this district west of Corsham and Bradford a most persistent and important zone, between the inferior oolite beds below and the lower ragstones of the great oolite above, and, in some places, very fossiliferous, and varies in thickness from 150 feet to 200 feet. Taking, therefore, as our guide in this district the above three divisions of the great oolite, we are enabled to construct vertical sections to aid us in our determinations as to the position and condition of the few feet of stone profitable to work in the series, or the “freestone beds,” at all times an anxious and im- portant question when seeking for and developing new ground. In this paper I deal chiefly with facts, and therefore give detailed and measured sections of type localities, from which may be determined by compari- son the probable conditions under which the beds may occur at in- termediate and unexplored stations or localities on the table lands be- hind such outstanding mural precipices as Farley, Murhill, Box, on the eastern side of the Bradford and Slaughterford valleys, or on the elevated downs at Claverton, Combe, Hampton, Freshford, &c., to the south of Bath, and west of the Bradford Valley, and on the receding flats to the east of Monklow, Farleigh, and Bradford, &c., conspicuous for the nume- rous quarries opened in the cornbrash and forest marble, the latter of which occurs in detached patches or continuous lines, stretching from Malmesbury on the north, to Chippenham, Bradford, an1 other locali- ties to the east of Bath, and especially conspicuous near Corsham, Chapel Korap, South Wraxall, and on to Melksham. The most complete sec- tion, and which may be regarded as a typical one of the great oolite and forest marble beds of the Bath district is that of the Box Hill and Cor- sham Quarry workings. No. 1, showing those beds not usually seen or exposed, but which were cut through by the construction of the Box Tunnel, and which we are now extensively working in that neighbour- hood. Another exposition of the series is shown at Murhill, on the eastern side of the Bradford Valley, where the three divisions into which the series group themselves may be studied in situ. Also at Upper Westwood, on the opposite or west side of the valley, other sections occur, tending to show the same facts ; and the variable condition and thinning out of the same beds upon the line of Diss, even at this short distance. The Sections.—The shafts which are constructed along the line of the Box Tunnel, on the Great Western Railway, afford at the several points where they are carried through the beds of the great oolite accurate data for the construction of sections and clear evidence of the succession of the strata comprising the three divisions. I have endeavoured to main- tain, as occurring through this district, and being situated considerably to the east of the Bath Valley escarpments, a large area, for the produc- tiveness of that area is estimated by the lie, position, and condition of the building freestones, supposed to occupy the summit of the table land, stretching from the eastern escarpment of the Bradford, Box, and Oct. 1, 1864.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. WORKING THE BATH FREESTONE. 135 Slaughterford valleys to Yatton Keynell, Biddestone, and Corshain, The Section No. 1 gives accurate measurement and sufficient details to enable a practical observer to determine the series of beds at almost any point over the area above indicated, or even between the westerly ex- tension of the Oxford clay line from Malmesbury to Corsham and Melksham, and the valley escarpments before mentioned. It is not necessary to notice the forest marble or cornbrash, which is foreign to my paper, and which, although usually present, may or may not occur on any special area above the great oolite proper, local conditions, during deposition or subsequent denudations, having removed one or the other, or both ; but everywhere, so far as I know, over the whole table land do we find the coarse shelly limestones, and some finely grained oolite beds belonging to the upper ragstones or highest members of the great oolite. In the typical section No. 1, taken at No. 7 shaft, Box Tunnel, also at the shafts 4, 5, 6, these beds occur, and were cut through when sinking, and were found to be from twenty to thirty-five feet in thickness, before proving the “capping” to the building or “fine” beds below. At Murhill, near Winsley, these upper ragstone beds are about twenty feet in thickness, and are hard, coarse, and fine shelly limestones, highly comminuted in structure, and occasionally oolitic. In some localities many of the beds are of considerable thick- ness, and of regular and even texture, still they are too hard for those purposes for which the softer, fine-grained, whiter, and more easily worked architectural stone below (in the second series) are sought for, and to which they are applied ; and again, they are not good weather stones, but rapidly fall to decay on exposure to severe changes of weather. At Upper Westwood, on the south side of the Bradford Val- ley, opposite Winsley and Murhill, the beds comprising this upper series are thicker and of more even texture, but as weather stones are of little or no value. At Farley Down, overhanging Bathford, this upper series is nearly thirty feet in thickness, composed of coarse shelly limestones at the top, with hard and soft ragstones down te the capping of the fine “building beds” below. At Combe Down and Odd Down the beds closely resemble those of Farley and Box, and approximate in thickness. Thus we may examine detailed sections of the upper series at Murhill, Farley, Westwood, Coombe, and Odd Down, and the Box district gene- rally, but the beds at neither locality are deemed of sufficient value to work for transit as a building stone. e The Second or Middle Series.—Succeeding the ragstones above men- tioned, and commencing the second series, there appears to be every- where a peculiar bed extending over a large area, termed the ‘ cover,” or capping, varying in thickness, but generally hard in texture ; this forms the roof, or ceiling, to the fine economical building freestones below, and over which it lies, and is a marked feature in extensive un- derground workings, both for its horizontal extent, application, and im- portance as protection to the workmen, and as commencing the second THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Ocr, 1, 1864. 136 ON THE POSITION AND MODE OF series, or middle beds, which occur between the “ upper and lower rag- stones.” At Bradford, Westwood, and Murhill this bed is a coarse, shelly, hard limestone ; at Corsham and Box, a closer-grained and tough rock. I associate it with the building freestone, or fine beds below it, rather than with the ragstone above, from its persistency and the constancy of its conditions. Succeeding this is the true Bath stone, or fine freestone, and which I believe occupy, with minor differences, the same position or horizon over the whole of the Bath district. This second, middle, or freestone series are as a group from twenty to thirty feet in thickness, and are coloured chrome-yellow in all sections, aud those beds worked for transit are usually evenly grained in texture, regularly bedded, yield well to the saw, are non-fossiliferous, and give evident proof of having been accumulated or deposited in a somewhat deep and tranquil sea, or away from any littoral or wave disturbance, and which the almost total absence of organic remains still further tends to confirm or demonstrate. It appears from observation, and the correlation of measured sections, and conditions observable underground, that the fine-grained regular beds thin away in a south-eastern direction, or upon the line of their general dip, a fact clearly determinable on examining the sections ex- posed in the valleys. Indeed, it cannot be doubted but that the great or Bath oolite as a group, in this neighbourhood, exists under extremely irregular conditions, and dies out and disappears in the form of a lenti- cular or wedge-shaped mass, to the east and south-east. This cireum- stance, causing the building freestones to thus vary in their relative thickness as we proceed from the western part of the area to the east and south-east, and the removing of much of the exposed belt comprising the oolitic series between Bath and Bradford, on the line of their strike, north-east and south-west, caused, it would appear, by the extreme denudation of the Bath and Bradford valleys, and the westerly exten- sion of the cretaceous series from Melksham to Westbury, Frome, and Warminster, are due, perhaps, to physical conditioas connected with the eastern extension of the Mendip axis, and the little understood, deeply-seated, but undoubted position of the Palzeozoic series, between Frome on the south, and Bath and Wickwar on the north, or along the eastern edge of the Bristol coal-field ; but under any circumstances the extension or invasion of the cretaceous series in the east, the narrowing of the exposed oolitic series above-mentioned, and the mechanical ar- rangement of the rock structures themselves, evince and determine Iccal deposition to have gone on under continued oscillation of the land at the time of the deposition of the great oolite series. It is to jthis second grouping, therefore, or the middle series, which exist between the upper end lower ragstones, that we must assign the workable beds of freestone now extensively quarried in the Bath district. The Lower Ragstones—These are an extensive series of rather fine and hard, as well as coarse and shelly, limestones. The lowest beds of this series being usually finer in texture than the upper, and when Oct. 1, 1864.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. WORKING THE BATH FREESTONE. 137 exposed, are generally froin thirty to forty feet in thickness. Nowhere in this neighbourhood are finer sections to be seen than at Murhill, on the north side of the Bradford Valley, and Upper Westwood, on the south side. The beds comprising this division usually occur, or are exposed, in the escarpments of the denuded valleys or the projecting downs above. Masses of the thicker and fine-grained beds frequently occur on the inclined slopes of the valleys, owing to or rising from frequent slips or slides over the fuller’s earth upon which these lower ragstones immediately rest. It is, therefore, in the narrowing of the valleys and abrupt cliffs that this series of the great oolite are best exposed. The chief economical value of these beds is confined to local purposes, being utterly unfit for architectural work or exposure to atmospheric influences. The stone used in the construction of the aqueduct conveying the canal over the river Avon, at Avon Cliff, came from the beds of this series at the Westwood Quarry ; and although in situ the stone appears of fine texture and quality, yet it rapidly decom- poses on exposure, and the stone work of the Avon Cliff aqueduct is a perishing evidence of its non-durability. At the Box and Corsham quarries these lower beds, though not observable at the surface, are, nevertheless, forty-three feet in thickness, and are chiefly composed of the fine-textured oolitic limestones, but are not worked, as they are of no value in a commercial point of view. On the Mode of Working the Bath Freestones—Having endeavoured to determine the horizon of the workable beds of oolite and the relations they hold to the ragstones, or shelly series—recognised above and below these freestones, I will endeavour to describe shortly the mode of open- ing, working, and extracting the rock; a matter of no little import- ance, when we consider that more than 100,000 tons of the Bath freestone is annually removed from its original position in this neigh- bourhood, and forwarded to various parts of the United Kingdom. In working for stone, the first question to determine is, whether the stone shall be reached by open or underground workings, and this must depend upon the presence and conditions of the upper ragstones (and forest marble, where they exist), as they must of necessity be passed through, unless the stone can be reached by tunnelling on the face of an escarpment, where the beds are vertically exposed, or by driving a level to cut the beds ; but if the desired beds are not too much covered, open workings are resorted to. Few persons travelling from London to the West of England, wd the Great Western Railway, through the Box tunnel, have any conception, on passing through it, that around and over them are large and extensively worked mines, from which the well-known Corsham and Box freestones are taken, or as they shoot from the tunnel-mouth into the Bath-hampton, Bath-eastern, and Brad- ford valleys, that it is the seat of so much quarry industry, having for its object the working of the Bath freestone. In describing the particular mode of getting the stone, I will take for my type the Corsham VOL. V. R THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Ocr. 1, 1864: 138 ON THE POSITION AND MODE OF Down and Box Hill workings. I do so, because these mines have had more thought and attentiun bestowed on them than any others in this neigh- bourhood, and because they are the most extensively developed. It is believed that the Box and Corsham locality has been worked for stone, with more or less activity, for three centuries, but it was not demon- strated that so large an amount of good workable freestone existed in the district until the fact was evidenced by the cutting of the Box tunnel, which at once exposed the beds, and showed that to the north and north-west of the tunnel, on the strike of the beds, there existed what we may practically call an inexhaustible supply of valuable free- stone. The cutting of the Box tunnel having opened to view this fact, gave an impulse to the previously limited mining operations of the _ district. The chief operations are situated on the north side of the tunnel ; the reason of this is, that the rock is found sounder in this direction, and the stone more even in colour, and more regular in quality and texture, than to the south or dip of the stone. The entrance to these workings is driven from the Corsham or eastern end, imme- diately contiguous to the mouth of the Box tunnel, and it is here that the railways of the underground workings join the Great Western Rail- way on the same level. The chief or main road through the workings is carried from this point due west, in a direct line towards the Box Hill | escarpment, a distance of one mile and six-eighths ; rising with the strata, for the purpose of keeping on the floor of the workable beds, thus making an incline to the west of about 1 in 40 ; and as the rise to the north is about 1 in 60, advantage has been taken of this, and the works so laid out, that much of the stone can be run on trollies without draught power—that is to say by gravitation—to the loading platform, where it is transferred from the quarry trollies into the railway trucks, which are taken into the mine to receive it. To economise and facilitate the operation of loading, the platform stands on a level a few inches higher than the sides of the railway truck, into which the stone has to be loaded, and by the upper level narrow-guage tramways this platform is placed in direct connection with the whole of the headings or work- ings ; and by its lower level broad-guage railway it is connected with the Great Western Railway. By this loading arrangement, we are enabled to load off into railway trucks from thirty to forty tons in the hour. One uniform system of getting or working the stone prevails throughout the quarries, and this system is an inversion of the mode of working coal. The coal-miner undercuts his coal, that the mass may fall and break, but building-stone so worked would make a valueless rubbish heap. The freestone miner or quarryman has to commence his operations at the roof of the stone. This picking operation is effected by means of adze-shaped picks, on the heads of which longer handles are inserted as the work proceeds, and the men thus make their driving a distance of six or seven feet back into the rock. The width or span of these stalls must of course depend on the Oct. 1, 1864.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. WORKING THE BATH FREESTONE. 139 soundness of the rock. In the Corsham workings, they can, without danger, be driven a width of from twenty-five to thirty-five feet. In the Box quarries, where the rock is not so sound, and the capping bed, before referred to, not so regular, the drivings are limited to from twelve to twenty feet. This is, of course, regulated by the space that may be safely opened without danger to the working beneath. It must be evident that the removal of eight or nine inches of the rock immediately under the ceiling deprives the overlying strata of the support of this area of stone, as effectually as its removal throughout, from roof to floor, would do, and any tendency to settle or drop is at once determined and any risk of life thus guarded against. Another process, by a fresh _ agency, is now called into exercise, for the cutting of the rock into blocks of required dimensions; for this, a one-handled saw is used. These saws are worked in lengths of four, five, six, and seven feet, and are made broad, rather I should say, deep, atthe head or extreme point, so as to insure the saw sinking to its work at that point. The saw is worked at first horizontally, dropping a little as the cut goes on; and after the rock is thus opened down to the next natural parting, and the block thus separated laterally from the parent rock, levers are intro- duced into the bed or parting at the bottom of the block, and these levers are weighted and shaken till the block is forcibly detached at the back. It is then drawn down by crane power, and the broken end and the bed dressed with the axe, so as to make the block shapely ; it is then placed on a trolly, and allowed to run to the loading platform. After the first block is removed, it will be evident that the work- men have then access by that opening to the back of the bank of stone, and they avail themselves of this to work the saw transversely, which, separating the block from its back or hinder attachment, renders all further breaking off unnecessary, so the first block of each face is the only stone broken from the rock. To each face or heading of work, a ten-ton crane is erected in such position as to command the whole face. These cranes are now constructed telescopically, so as to accommodate them to slight variations in the headings, arising from differences in the depths of the valuable beds, and the expense otherwise attendant on frequent alteration of the crane is thus avoided, and the periodical shifts from old worked-out to new localities are effected with less trouble and loss of time. Sometimes after a block of freestone has been loosened in situ, a Lewis bolt is let into the face of the block, the chain of the crane attached to it, and the block is then drawn out horizontally. By the removal of the first stratum a sufficient space is obtained to allow the workmen an entrance under the roof; and vertical cuts are again carried down through the next bed to the parting below, and a transverse cut readily made ; meanwhile, the cutting is continued in the picking bed, the upper layer removed as before, and everything below this point quarried away, with all the sides of the block sawn, except the bed on which it has rested, and those abutting on the natural joints ; hence THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Ocr. 1, 1864. 140 REVIEWS. each block comes out ready to pass into the hands of the builder, sculptor, or dealer, and this with much less cost and loss in waste than formerly attended blasting and other powerful but rough modes of extraction. The continued repetition of these several operations pro- duces a terrace or step-like profile in the workings, extending from the highest to the lowest of the beds worked, and thus they present themselves to the view. Professor Phillips said such a paper as this was of the utmost practical importance in connection with science. Professor Ansted pointed out that the Bath stone, when carried for building purposes to a distance, was exposed to rapid destruction by the action of the atmosphere. He attributed this to the manner in which the stone was quarried. It had been observed that this did not occur with the stone that was used in the immediate neighbourhood of Bath. This, no doubt, was attributable to the fact that the stone was not taken away from its own atmosphere, as is done. He would suggest, therefore, to the quarry-owners, that all the stone to be sent to a distance should, be exposed to its own atmosphere for some considerable time, until it had became seasoned, as it were. He believed that if this were done, the stone would be as durable everywhere as it was in the immediate neighbourhood of Bath. Arvirwy. PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF LAND AND MarINE ENGINES AND Borters. In Twenty Plates, Elephant Folio. By N. P. Burgh, Engineer. A Pocket-Book oF PRACTICAL RULES FOR THE PROPORTIONS OF MopERN ENGINES AND BorLers ror LAND AND MARINE PURPOSES. By N. P. Burgh. London: E. and F. N. Spon. These are works calculated to be of great utility to professional men and machinists. The large plates give in detail all the modern improve- ments in high and low pressure engines, surface condensation, and superheating, together with land and marine boilers, and prove Mr. Burgh’s great capabilities and excellence as a draughtsman, and judg- ment in making his plates complete working drawings. Plates 1, 6, 7, 12, and 20, representing engines of various kinds, are designed by the author from the rules given in the Pocket-Book. These plates give the details of a high pressure steam-engine of 12 H.P.; and four plates illustrate the details of a marine-engine. oe ea... Oct. 1, 1864.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. REVIEWS. 141 Plate 5 gives four views of a Cornish boiler of the usual kind, in which the mode of setting is clearly and practically shown. Plates 13 and 14 give the details of a paddle-wheel and feathering- wheel, details which we have never before seen illustrated; and Plate 15, Griffith’s patent screw propeller, contains five views on an un- usually large scale. Messrs. Ravenhill, Salkeld, and Co. contribute a plate showing the arrangement of a pair of marine steam-engines, of 900 H.P., for the Imperial Ottoman iron-clad frigate Sultan Mahmoud. Plate 17 is a drawing of a marine boiler with superheating tubes, which may be studied with great advantage for the information it affords in putting the boiler-plates together, fitting the stays, &c. Plates 18 and 19 are examples of ordinary and surface condensers, with air-valves. The Pocket-Book contains nearly 1,000 rules, chiefly for designing, constructing, and erecting land and marine engines and boilers. It commences with the high pressure engine, the latest and best known examples of which are described ; the rules connected with this, 217 in number, are ranged under twenty-two sections. Then follows a descrip- tion of the condensing beam engine, and mode of working the valves, with about 100 rules adapted to the subject. We then come to a descrip- tion of the marine screw engines made by the most eminent firms in London ; and there are nearly 300 rules, divided into forty-seven sec- tions, adapted to the common and equilibrium slide valves, practical arrangement of the valves in the condenser, for the air-pump &c., &c., with many valuable improvements suggested by the author. Passing next to oscillating engines, we have upwards of 100 rules, with tables of cylinder proportions, starting gear for all kinds of engines, surface con- densation, &c. We have then a large number of valuable rules for land and marine boilers, including safety valvesand superheating. The work concludes with a collection of miscellaneous rules for general application, with tables of proportions of works, bolts, nuts, copper pipes, &c., and areas and circumferences; all of great practical utility for ready refer- ence. We have thus given a sufficient outline of the research and mecha- nical knowledge condensed in a small compass calculated to be always available for consultation on dubious points, and must congratulate the author on the result of his arduous labours, which can only be fully appreciated by the practical man. His work will, there is little doubt, be looked up to as a standing authority among machinists and mecha- nical engineers. TABLES FOR COMPARING BRITISH wiTH Metric MEASURES AND _ -WeIcuts. By C. H. Dowling, C.E. Lockwood and Co. We have in this work a long series of most valuable tables, in which the British standard measures and weights are compared with those of the metric system at present in use on the Continent. Through various foreign treaties our trade and commerce with continental countries are rapidly THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Ocr. 1, 1864, 142 SCIENTIFIC NOTES. increasing, and, as the author justly observes, these tables will render important service to all engaged with those countries in manufacturing, mechanical, or commercial transactions. The bill passed for legalising the use of the metric system in England renders the issue of such a work at the present time the more important. In the compilation of the moneys, weights, and measures for his ‘ Dictionary of Trade Pro- ducts, &c.,’ the Editor of the TucnNnoLogist much felt the want of such a manual of ready reference. Scientific Mates. BLISTERING Fries.—The following insects are employed in various countries instead of Cantharis vesicatoria:—l. A small variety of Mylabris cichorit, and 2. M. trimaculatus in Southern,Europe, from Italy to the Caucasus ; 3. M. Cichorii in Bengal and China ; 4. Lytta rujisses, Tllig., in Java and Sumatra, and a variety in China; 5. L. gigas, and 6. L. violacea, Br. and Ratz., in India; 7. L. vittata, in North America ; 8. L. atomaria, in Brazil; and 9. Mylabris puncta et indica in Pondi- cherry. Manirotp Users ror LEATHER.—The old saying, that there is “nothing like leather,” is amply verifiedin the thousand and one little articles of feminine decoration which Madame Fashion has recently decreed for her daughters’ wear. In a town stroll the other day, we paused before the tastefully arranged window of a shop, wherein were displayed the usual miscellaneous collection of ornaments, trimmings, &c., which go to make the sum total of such an establishment, and we thought, as we noted down how freely the material “leather” had been used in their construction—Oh that mother Eve, as she perambulated Eden in her primitive garment of fig-leaves, could have foreseen how skilfully her sons and daughters would convert the skins of such animals as those over which she held dominion into the multitude of articles, both useful and ornamental, which meet our eye on eyery side, and supply our needs at every step. Could she have seen the girdle, formed to encircle the waist of some fair damsel ; the coquettish little bow which fastens the collar of the fashionable belle, the trimming of her dress, the rosettes upon her hat, the buttons scattered in delightful confusion over her garments, or arranged in mathematical precision, in rows containing twelve, eighteen, or twenty-four, as fashion and taste shall dictate ; the gauntlet, to shade the delicate wrist ; the bracelet, for its adornment ; the anklet, to protect the ankle ; the page, to elevate the trailing skirts from contact with muddy crossings ; the reticule, the fan, Oct. 1, 1864.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. SCIENTIFIC NOTES. 143 for subduing summer’s heat—these, and many other ornaments too numerous to mention, and all made of leather, so embossed, and stitched, and pinked, and otherwise decorated as almost to lose its identity, yet leather still, are additional evidence of the truth of the saying at the head of our paragraph. Toe Narpoo Purant of Australia, noticed in our last number, is not, it seems, ‘‘one and indivisible,” for at a recent meeting of naturalists at Stettin, Prof. Braun exhibited living specimens of four species of Marsilea, two of which had been raised from nardoo seed received from New Holland. These two were the M. hirsuta of R. Brown, and the M. salvatriz of Hanstrin, the latter of which was figured recently in the Journal of Botany, and identified by Mr. Currey with J7. macropus of Hooker. In this view, however, Braun does not agree ; but he considers salvatriz to be probably the same as a plant he had previously named Muelleri, and macropus as unquestionably one he had two years earlier named Drummondi. The learned Professor of Berlin has, moreover, reently published an interesting sketch of the genera Marsilea and Pilularia, thirty-seven species of the former and four of the latter genus being recorded, together with their geographical range and various other particulars respecting them. Bakine PowpER.—We have received a pamphlet by a lady, who» however, withholds her name, “On the Practice of employing Certain Substitutes for the Genuine Ingredients in some Articles of Daily Food, as it affects the Health of the Community.” She attacks, primarily, the ordinary “‘ baking powder,” of which about a ton a day is said to be sold, and which consists chiefly, we believe, of bicarbonate of soda and tartaric acid. In the following remarks of the authoress we heartily concur :—‘ It is a matter for serious consideration how far medical men are justified in allowing their names to be published, as analysts or otherwise, in connection with this or any other article of trade. It is questionable whether they promote their own interests by such a course ; but it is certain that the practice is not consistent with the dignity of the profession to which they belong. Moreover, the name of ‘ Dr. This or That’ tacked on to advertisements and circulars recommending some particular article of food affords no security to the public as to its genuineness ; the fact of a sample having been examined is no proof that the whole stock is pure and unadulterated, excepting in the case of business houses of undoubted respectablity ; therefore, in the interests of the public and of the medical profession, as well as of legitimate trade, the sooner the practice to which I have adverted is discountenanced and put down, the better for all parties concerned.” Oin FROM THE Lawsonia [NERMIS.—The sample of essential oil of “ Mehudee” alluded to by Mr. Paul Madinier, in page 79, No. 38, vol. iv., of the TECHNOLOGIST, was sent by me to the London Exhi- bition of 1862, having been Secretary to the Lucknow Committee on that occasion. The species of Lawsonia cultivated in Lucknow THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Ocr. 1, 1864. 144 SCIENTIFIC NOTES.- is the inermis. Roxburgh, in his ‘ Flora Indica,’ under the head of “TZ. inermis, Willd.,” writes as follows:—“‘ Flowers small, greenish yellow, very fragrant.” Further on, he says:—“ The flowers are remarkably fragrant, whether fresh or dry, and are particularly grateful at a distance. The species called spinosa is nothing more, I imagine, than the same plant growing on a dry, sterile soil; at least, In such soils 1 have often found it very thorny, the branchlets being then short and rigid, with sharp, thorny points.” Don, under the head of Lawsonia alba, gives as synonymes L. inermis and L. spinosa. He also says :—“‘ Young trees unarmed, old trees having the branchlets hardened into spines.” He says: — “It is a native of the Kast Indies, the Levant, and North Africa”? I have just been exa- mining a young plant in my garden. It consists of long, thin branches, with small branches all over them. On the latter are branchlets. On touching the points of the branchlets, the young leaves at the extremity fall off very easily, leaving a bare point, rather hard and sharp. Some of these branchlets are about half an inch long, and when they become old and the leaves fall off they are quite hard and rigid, and resemble spines more than anything else. This, I should say, is the origin of the different specific names this plant bears. I have some of the fresh flowers before me. The petals are of a dirty white, and emit a strong fragrance, which is more grassy than flowery. The natives in Lucknow are very fond of it, but I should not think that it would be admired by Europeans. I am not aware that the otto from the petals is extracted in any other part of India than Lucknow. The leaves of the Lawsonia inermis (‘“ Henna-mehudee”) are here also used for colouring red the nails of fingers and toes, and the palms and soles. Mr. Paul Madinier asked for some information regarding this plant. This contribution may be acceptable to him, E. Bonavia, M.D. Lucknow, 28th June, 1864. Nov. 1, 1864.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. Ce Orn OO Cae 0 PHOTO-SCULPTURE. BY A. CLAUDET, F.R.S. Ir in our time opinions are divided as to whether photography is finally to exercise a beneficial influence upon the fine arts, or the con- trary, there is no question that its innumerable useful applications are a boon to the community. After having been habituated to photography, we can scarcely suppose it possible to do without photography, as we might say of railways or of the electric telegraph. Photography may have been the enemy of all that was inferior in the arts of painting and engraving, but is that to be regretted? Instead of the dabblers in por- traiture who were satisfying a morbid taste, we have a great army of photographers capable of representing the human form and features in the utmost perfection. The art of painting, instead of being injured, is served by photography, which enables artists to be more perfect in their design, and to study the beauty of forms yielded by the photographic mirror. Photography, in multiplying marvellous representations of the beauties of Nature, tends to inculcate the taste for artistic productions. There will be fewer bad painters, because there will be less and less de- mand for inferior paintings. Fine works only will be esteemed, and the taste for art will increase in proportion to the value of its productions. How can it be said that photography prevents the artist from imparting to his work the impress of genius ? Photography is for him only a use- ful auxiliary. Nothing can arrest the strides of photography ; it extends every day its applications and gradually invades every art. Who would have expected that photography was to be the means of sculpture? Yet, however extraordinary such a prognostication might appear, however difficult at first thought it may be to understand the possible connection between flat representation of objects and their solid form, it has been proved that, from flat photographs, a bust, a statue, or other object of three dimensions can be made by a mechanical process without the necessity of the sculptor’s'copying the original, or even secing it at all. VOL. V. S THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Nov. 1, 1864. - 146 PHOTO-SCULPTURE. Yet the result is a perfect fac-simile of the original. Moreover, the work is executed in one-tenth of the time required for modelling by hand. This beautiful application of photography is called Photo-Sculpture, and is the invention of M. Willéme, an eminent French sculptor. Before explaining how M. Willéme was led to this discovery, let me remind you that photography itself was invented by painters of talent—by artists, who, while using the camera obscura for studying the subject of their intended pictures, were struck with the beauty of those natural re- presentations. In contemplating them they naturally desired that the pictures could be permanently fixed. Considering that these pictures were formed by the light reflected from the objects, they essayed to fix them by availing themselves of the known scientific fact that light had the property of blackening certain chemical compounds. The flash of that idea was enough ; their genius and perseverance solved the problem, and they created that art which they desired so much—photography. A similar and no less instructive story may be told of photo-sculpture. M. Willéme was in the habit, whenever he could procure photographs of his sitters, of endeavouring to communicate to the model the cor- rectness of those unerring types. But how should he raise the outlines of flat pictures into a solid form? Yet these single photographs, such as they were, could serve him to measure exactly profile outlines. He could, indeed, by means of one of the points of a pantograph, follow the outline of the photograph, while, with the other point directed on the model, he ascertained and corrected any error which had been commu- nicated to his work during the modelling. What he could do with one view, or one single photograph of the sitter, he might do also with several other views if he had them. This was sufficient to open the inquiry of an ingenious mind. He saw at once that if he had photographs of many other profiles of the sitter, taken at the same moment, by a number of camera obscuras placed around, he might alternately and consecutively correct his model by comparing the profile outline of each photograph with the corresponding outline of the model. Such was the origin of a marvellous and splendid discovery. But it soon naturally occurred to him, that instead of correcting his model when nearly com- pleted, he had better work with the pantograph upon the rough biock of clay, and cut it out gradually ail round in following one after the other the outline of each of the photographs. Now, supposing that he had twenty-four photographs, representing the sitter in as many points of view (all taken at once), he had but to turn the block of clay after every operation 1-24th of the base upon which it is fixed, and to cut out the next profile, until the block had completed its entire revolution, and then the clay was transformed into a perfect solid figure of the twenty- four photographs—the statue of the bust was made. When this is once explained, every one must be struck with admiration at the excellence of the process. It isso sure, and so simple, that we are surprised it has not been thought of before. But so it is with the most valuable inven- Nov. 1, 1864.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. PHOTO-SCULPTURE. 147 tions. They wait until some genius grasps the idea and conceives how to make them practical. It will, perhaps, be argued asa defect of photo- sculpture, that, being the result of a mechanical process, it leaves no opportunity for the display of artistic taste or feeling, and that its pro- ductions must therefore be only vulgar and matter-of-fact. This would be a mistake, because the sculptor who has to direct the last operation will exercise his skill in communicating to the model all the refinement with which, as a sculptor merely, he could have endowed it ; for, sup- posing the photographs to have been deficient in attitude or expression, in giving the last touches to the model, the sculptor ean correct those imperfections, The pantograph of photo-sculpture will communicate to the clay the true character and the proportions of the object, with all the correctness of the photographs ; it will produce a perfect, likeness, and it will be necessary to give to this first draught the softness and finish of a work of art. These, of course, cannot be imparted except by a skilful hand and the intellectual feeling of a true artist. In short, as the model must be touched by a sculptor, it is clear that the sculptor se engaged should be such as will not spoil the work of the unerring machine, but, on the contrary, improve it in many particulars, and even add to it the sentiment of art. Therefore the process of photo-sculpture is to put in the hands of a skilful sculptor a model perfect in its pro- portions, correct in design, full of character, including draperies of the most elegant outlines such as only are represented by photographs ; and this model, so prepared for him, would have required a tedious labour with the disadvantage of much uncertainty. As photography has been the means of improving the art of painting, so photo-sculpture is destined to improve sculpture, and to spread in all classes the taste for this noblest branch of the fine arts. It may be said that sculpture is understood only by a very limited number of educated minds. It is seen only in palaces, in the public galleries, and in the mansions of the rich. Good sculpture is very expensive, and for this reason it is not customary for the middle classes to employ sculptors to execute busts or statuettes of relatives or friends. Besides the question of price, there are very few artists capable of producing such a work as shall be an inducement to the possession of this kind of similitude. Photo-sculpture therefore opens a new era by the advantages of its procedure. The work is done with greater accuracy, ina very short time, and consequently at a moderate price. ‘The original has only to sit once for the photograph, and then in a few days, without further trouble, or the necessity of appearing repeatedly before the sculptor, a bust or statuette is produced. Such facilities cannot fail to make the demand very general, and this must cause the employment of a great number of artists. The ateliers of photo-sculpture are indeed to be the best school of sculpture, from which will issue a succession of skilful artists, who, having practised the mechanical process, will be able, when photographs cannot be obtained, to model by hand. Therefore the art of sculpture must in $2 « THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Nov. 1, 1864. 148 PHOTO-SCULPTURE. every way henefit from the practice of photo-seculpture, which undoubt- edly we shall see honoured in the dwellings of thousands, not only as regards portraiture in general, but also as to the resemblances of those who by their genius and virtues have deserved our admiration and esteem. Again, photo-sculpture will be the easy and inexpensive means of reproducing, in various sizes, and with unerring faithfulness, the beautiful remains of antique sculpture, whether statues, vases, or other objects which can only be seen in museums and galleries, and thus the public can possess, at a small cost, copies, or rather fac-similes, of the great creations of past ages. The only copies existing of those works cannot often be repeated, for they must be made at some risk of injuring the original, the only process hitherto known being that of taking casts ;shence they are expensive and rare. To obtain a certain number of photographs of these precious relics is all that will be needed for their preduction by the photo-sculpture process. Photo- graphy has already been the means of copying the paintings of cele- brated masters existing in public and private galleries. By those photographs every one is enabled to possess copies of the noblest works in the art of painting. These copies contain composition, design, and everything capable of conveying the feeling of the artist; but they are deficient in one essential—colour. It is otherwise as regards the representation of statuary, which leaves to the mind to imagine colour. Photo-sculj ture has, then, the advantage of reproducing works in sculpture without depriving us of any of the attributes which have made them famous. Photo-sculpture will further be applied to the representations of animals, showing them in true and natural attitudes ; by this means faithful modes will be introduced in the manufacture of porcelain, clocks, furniture, and much that contributes to the embellish- ment of our dwellings. In a word, photo-sculpture is calculated to spread the taste for the beautiful in form ; it opens a new era, which will be remarkable in the history of the fine arts. I have thought that Tcould not give to the meeting a better illustration of the process of photo-sculpture than by executing the bust of our illustrious President, Sir Charles Lyell. I invited Sir Charles for this purpose, and he was kind enough to sit for his photograph on the 16th August. The machine has done the work, the sculptor has given the finishing- touch to the model, and here is the bust complete, Sir Charles not having seen it before I brought it to the mecting. In so short a time as a fortnight I have also been able to obtain of the same bust a model in bronze, and I leave to the meeting to form some opinion of photo-sculpture by this and otlier examples now near me.* * Proceedings of the British Association. Nov. 1, 1864.] — THE TECHNOLOGIST. 149 WOOLLEN MANUFACTURES IN AUSTRALIA. As wool is the great staple of Australian produce, so woollen goods may be expected to become, at no distant day, her staple manufacture. At no time since the period of the gold discovery has so fair a prospect presented itself for the investment of capital and the success of enter- prise in manufacturing pursuits as at this ,time. With the present and prospective rise in the price of cotton goods, consequent on the scarcity of the raw material, woollen fabrics must come into greater demand and consumption ; and with a thorough knowledge of the latest methods and appliances on the part of colonial manufacturers, and the importation and adaptation of the most improved machinery, there can be no valid reason why—carrying on their operations in the country which produces the wool—they should not be able to drive from the field the goods imported from a heavily taxed country, sixteen thousand miles off. Colonial manufacturing enterprise is only now recovering from the severe depression which it underwent at, and shortly after, the period of the gold discovery. Almost every mechanical and manufac- turing pursuit suffered more or less at that time, but more especially those branches of industry where large capital had been invested in expensive and complicated machinery, requiring special knowledge, and steady and painstaking workmen to keep it in profitable operation. Skilled labourers could not be found to replace those who had abandoned the hammer or the shuttle for the pick and the spade, even if the rate of wages demanded did not preclude its employment, except with the prospect of certain ruin to the capitalist. The consequence was that, in common with other industrial pursuits, the manufacture of woollen goods, previously in a most promising state, dwindled, in two or three years, almost to nothing. In 1852, when the gold mania set in, the number of yards of tweed made was 234,378. In 1855 it had fallen to 35,760 yards, and in the following year to 26,534 yards. This was the period of the greatest gold excitement, and, consequently, of the greatest manufacturing depression. From that time industry became more settled and steady. Many of those who had tried a digger’s life began to tire of it, and most of them returned to their former less exciting but more reliable pursuits. From 1856 the quantity of tweed-cloth made gradually increased, and in 1861 the number of yards produced was 145,393, or about two-thirds the quantity made ten years before. This was an increase of 26,887 yards over the production of 1860, and nearly double the quantity made in 1859, When it is considered that this comparatively rapid inerease in woollen manufactures has taken place, without any legislative inter- ference, or without the aid of the hot-bed but deceptive influence of protective duties, it must be admitted that the prospect for the future is encouraging. The number of tweed factories in operation in New South Wales, and the quantity produced in 1861, were as follows :— THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Nov. 1, 1864. 150 WOOLLEN MANUFACTURES IN AUSTRALIA. No. of Factories. Yards made. Hartley ; : Pipa 7,893 Penrith 7 eet) : 7,500 Sydney : . a 6 : . 95,000 Parramatta . 1 35,000 Totals siete oo 15 =) <6 Be l4big93 This improvement is, no doubt, owing, in a great degree, to the introduction of the latest and most improved machinery and appliances from the mother-country. At the Messrs. Byrnes’s establishment, at Parramatta, and at the Sydney factory of Messrs. Campbell and Co., may be seen in operation some of the most beautiful and complicated machinery in the Southern hemisphere. In 1852, notwithstanding the quantity of tweed-cloth manufactured, there was not a single power- loom in the colony, all being made by hand. At the present time, however, the Parramatta factory alone contains about twenty power- looms, as well as other machinery, which greatly enhances its productive capacity. The manufacture of cloth is so complicated a process that it would be useless to attempt to describe all its details here, but without a short description of the different processes through which the weol passes, from the time it ceases to be a sheep’s coat until it becomes the clothing of man, our notice of this branch of colonial manufactures would be incomplete. The wool when it comes into the hands of the manufac- turer is scoured or washed in hot water, in large vats, until it becomes almost the colour of white paper, and all grass-seeds and other substances which had become mixed with it are carefully removed. Itis thentaken to the dye-house and placed in large boilers, filled with dye, for several hours, according to the colour intended to be produced. When suffi- ciently dyed it is taken to the drying ground, and from thence, when dry, it is brought to the mill and placed in a machine called a “devil.” This devil consists of a large number of revolving cylinders, armed with numberless sharp spikes or teeth. The wool is placed in the machine at one end and comes out at the other, looking like tiny banks of fleecy clouds. It is next passed through a machine called a “ scribbler,” consisting of numbers of revolving cylinders covered with steel wire, set like the hairs of a brush. From this it comes forth more fleecy, cloud- like, and intangible in appearance than ever. It is then weighed (according to the thickness and quality of the cloth intended to be made) and passed through the carding machine. These carders are exceedingly complicated and beautiful engines, consisting of five large cylinders, and numerous smaller ones, having their surfaces covered with fine steel wires, so closely set as to present almost a solid surface to the eye. From the carder the wool falls out on a moving table in small rolls, about four feet in length and of the thickness of a child’s little finger. It now, for the first time, presents the appearance of yarn ; its Nov. 1, 1864.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. WOOLLEN MANUFACTURES IN AUSTRALIA. 151 tenuity, however, is so small, that it requires to be handled with great care to prevent its dropping apart. These little rolls of wool are taken from the revolving table of the carding machine by children, and placed in an inclined frame belonging to what is called a “slubbing-billy.” This machine moves on a sort of railway forwards and backwards, stretching out the little rolls of wool into threads by its forward motion, and winding them on to perpendicular reels or spindles on its return, The process is continued until the spindles are filled with the yarn. The children who attend these machines are called “piecers,” and the dexterity with which they piece or join on the fresh rolls of wool to the retreating ends of those which are being drawn into yarn or thread is wonderful. In the Parramatta factory new machines have been introduced, called “ power-billies,” in which the piecing is done by the machine, with- out manual assistance. The next machine through which the yarn or thread is passed is called a“ mule ;” this operation makes the thread finer, gives it a twist, and reels it on to spindles, ready to be placed in the shuttles, either for the power-loom or the hand-loom weaver. The mule finishes the spinning process, and it is up to this point in producing the yarn or thread that modern invention has worked such wonders. What follows—that is, the weaving process—is much the same now as it was in times of the most remote antiquity. It is still done by a frame and - a shuttle, very similar to those in use two or three thousand years ago. Even that modern invention, the power-loom, is but the old-fashioned loom driven by machinery instead of by the feet and hands of a man. The machine is almost the same, although the method of driving it is different. As there is nothing novel in the weaving process, it is needless to describe it. Colonial tweed is woven in pieces of forty yards long, of double width, and the piece, after it comes from the loom, is divided lengthwise at a salvage left in the middle. There are, in the Parramatta factory, upwards of forty looms, about one-half being power-looms. In Messrs. Campbell and Co.’s factory the number of looms is probably larger, although we believe the power-loom has not yet been introduced there. After leaving the loom, the cloth undergoes a variety of processes, passing through several machines, in which it is scoured and cleansed. One part of the operation is singular. The cloth is placed in what is called the stocks, and beaten by enormous hammers driven by steam. By this process it is felted or milled—that is, the fibres of the wool are so mingled together that all appearance of separate threads is lost. In this process the cloth shrinks in width and length, and becomes stouter. It is then passed through a cutting machine, where revolving knives, set like the threads of an endless screw, cut off all the loose fibres, and give the fabric a more even and finished appearance. It then goes through a brush machine, and lastly through a teazle mill. This produces a nap or down on the surface, after which it is placed between THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Nov. 1, 1864. 152 WOOLLEN MANUFACTURES IN AUSTRALIA. glazed paper, in a powerful hydraulic press, where it is left for many hours, and finally comes out in the state in which it is sold to the woollen draper. Some of the tweeds now being made are very beautiful fabrics ; and we understand those sent home by the Messrs. Byrnes, and Messrs. Campbell and Co., to the International Exhibition of 1862, attracted the attention and excited the admiration of the English manufacturers. Colonial tweeds are made from a class of wool superior to that used in England in making a like description of goods, and are therefore much more durable. For this reason it is impossible that the imported article can stand its ground against the home-made one. Previous to the gold discovery a large majority of colonists wore colonial tweed, and this state of things is likely to be the case again at no very distant day. The cheapest and best article will inevitably force its way into consump- tion, and those who once make a trial of colonial tweed are not likely to abandon its use while it can be obtained at a price little, if at all, in advance of the sum charged for a much less durable and altogether inferior description of imported goods. We understand that the demand —especially in the sister colonies—is rapidly extending, and we may expect to hear, at no distant day, of new factories springing up, and of new fabrics being made of a lighter description to suit the requirements which are certain to arise for woollen goods, if the present scarcity of cotton should continue. To the Messrs. Byrnes, Messrs. Campbell and Co., Captain Russell, of Regentville, and others who have established or are engaged in the making of woollen fabrics in New South Wales, great credit is due for their efforts to develop this interesting braach of colonial manufacture. There is no pursuit which deserves greater encouragement, and it is pleasing to know that these enterprising gentlemen look for no class-legislation in their favour, or desire anything but fair play in the markets of the world. With such energy and opportunities as they possess, who can doubt of their ultimate success ? ov. 1, 1864.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. 153 ON CHEMISTRY APPLIED TO THE ARTS. BY DR, F. CRACE CALVERT, F.R.S., F.C.S. A COURSE OF LECTURES DELIVERED BEFORE THE MEMBERS OF THE SocInTY OF ARTS. Lecture III. LratHEr.—The Art of the Currier. Morocco, Russia, and Patent Leathers. The Art of Tawing Skins. Chamois and Glove Skins. Parchment. Hair: its Com- position and Dyeing. Wool: its Washing, Scouring, Bleaching, and Dyeing. Silk: its Adulterations and Conditioning. I sHatL have to crave the indulgence and patience of my audience during this lecture, as it will chiefly consist of descriptions of processes for the most part well known to manufacturers and others engaged in the leather trade. Thus, the art of currying, which is applied prin- cipally to such leathers as are intended* for the upper parts of shoes, for harness, &c., is carried on at the present day nearly as it was fifty years ago, and still is but little known to the public. Currying—The objects in view in currying leather are several : to give it elasticity, to render it nearly impermeable, to impart to it a black or other colour, and, lastly, to reduce it to uniform thickness. These qualities are imparted by the following processes: After the leather obtained from hides or the thicker qualities of skins has been damped, it is placed on a stone surface and energetically rubbed, first with a stone, then with a special kind of knife, and lastly with a hard brush. The leather is then ready to be stuffed or dubbed, which consists in covering it on the fleshy side with tallow, and hanging it in a moderately warm room ; and as the water contained in the leather evaporates, the fatty matter penetrates into the substance of the leather and replaces it. The dubbing process is then repeated on the other side of the leather, which is now ready to be softened and rendered flexible, and this is effected by rubbing it with a tool called a “pummel.” The leather then undergoes the last mechanical operation, which reduces it to uniformity of thickness by shaving off the inequali- ties of its surface by means of a peculiarly-shaped knife called a “slicker.” The greatest part of the curried leather is blackened on the grain side by rubbing it with grease and lamp black, and lastly brushing it over with a mixture of grease and glue. I believe that some kinds of curried leather are dyed by a purely chemical process, that of rubbing the tanned skin, first with iron liquor, and then with a solution of gall nuts or other tanning substance. The most tedious of the foregoing processes is that of dubbing, which has been greatly improved of late years by the Americans.. The scoured skins are placed in a large revolving drum, of ten or twelve feet diameter, and lined inside with wooden pegs. A certain quantity of tallow is then introduced and the THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Nov. 1, 1864. 154 ON CHEMISTRY APPLIED TO THE ARTS. whole set in motion, and whilst the hides are thus tossed about, a current of warm air is passed through the drums, which carries off the moisture and allows the grease to penetrate the hide. By this means thick hide leather can be stuffed in four or five days. Split Leather—A large branch of trade has sprung up within a few years owing to the invention of machinery for splitting hides, skins, and kips, by which the quantity of leather has been considerably in- creased, though I am afraid this has been done at the expense of its quality. Fancy Leathers——Allow me now to give you a slight insight into the methods of preparing various fancy leathers, such as Morocco, Russia, enamelled, tawed, or kid leather, used for soldiers’ belts, gloves, &c., and, lastly, oiled leathers, used for washleather, gloves, &c. Until the middle of the eighteenth century Morocco leather was wholly imported from that country, for it was in 1735 that the first Morocco works were established in Paris, and similar manufactories were soon set up im various parts of the Continent and in this country. The process by which Morocco leather is prepared is as follows :—The goat and sheep skins, which are especially used for this branch of manufacture, are softened, fleshed, unhaired, and raised or swelled by methods similar to those already described, but one essential element of success in this kind of leather lies in the perfect removal of all lime from the skins. This is effected by plunging the well-washed skins in a bath of bran or rye flour, which has been allowed to enter into a state of fermenta- tion. The result is, that the lactic and acetic acids generated by fermentation of the amylaceous substances combine with the lime and remove it from the skins. The other essential point is the mode of tanning the skins. Each skin is sown so as to form a bag, and filled, through a small opening, with a strong decoction of sumach, and after the aperture has been closed the skins are thrown into a large vat con- taining also a decoction of the same material. After several hours they are taken out, emptied, and the operation is repeated. To render these skins ready for commerce it is necessary to wash, clean, and dye them. The last operation was formerly tedious, and required great skill, but since the introduction of tar colours, the affinity of which for animal matters is so great, it has become comparatively easy. The skins, atter they have been dyed, are oiled, slightly coloured, and the peculiar grain, characteristic of Morocco leather, is imparted to them by means of grooved balls or rollers. There are two inferior kinds of Morocco leather manufactured, viz., those called roan, prepared in a similar way to Morocco, but not grained ; and skivers, also prepared in the same manner, but from split sheep skins. Russia Leather.—The great esteem in which this leather is held is owing to its extreme softness and strength, its impermeability, and resistance to mildew, which latter property is imparted to it by the use of a peculiar oil in its currying—that is, birch-tree oil—the odour of Nov. 1, 1864.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. ON CHEMISTRY APPLIED TO THE ARTS. 165 which is well-known as a distinguishing feature of Russialeather. As to its preparation, I will merely state that it is very similar to that of Mo- rocco, with these differences, that hot solutions of willow bark are used instead of sumach ; that it is generally dyed with sanders wood and a decoction of alum ; and, lastly, as already stated, the birch-tree oil is usedin currying it. Enamel Leather.—This class of leather is usually prepared with calf and sheep skins tanned in the ordinary manner. They are dyed black by rubbing them over with a decoction of logwood, and then with iron liquor or acetate of iron. The leather is softened with a little oil, and is ready to receive a varnish, which is applied by means of a brush. The varnish is composed of bitumen of Judea,*copal, turpentine, and boiled oil. Tawed or Kid Leathers.—The manufacture of this class of leathers differs entirely from that of those already described, as their preserva- tive qualities are imparted by quite different substances from those used. with other leathers, the preservative action of the tannin being substi- tuted by that of a mixture of alum and common salt. In the produc- tion of this class of leather, one of the most interesting characteristics is that of unhairing sheep, lamb, and kid skins, after they have been well washed and fleshed on the beam. The old process of unhairing by smearing the fleshy side with a milk of lime was improved by mixing with the lime a certain amount of orpiment, or sulphuret of arsenic ; but Mr. Robert Warrington having ascertained that the rapid removal of hair in this case was not due to the arsenic, but to the formation of sulphuret of calcium, proposed, with great foresight, the following mixture as a substitute for the dangerous and poisonous substance called orpiment, viz.: Three parts of polysulphuret of sodium, 10 parts of slacked lime, and 10 parts of starch. The polysulphuret of sodium may be advantageously replaced by the polysulphuret of calcium. The skins, unhaired by any of these processes, are now ready to be placed in a bran or rye bath, as with Morocco leather, or in a weak solution of vitriol, to remove, as already stated, the lime. After the lime has been thoroughly removed from the skins, they are dipped in what is called the white bath, which is composed, for 100 skins, of 13 to 20lbs. of alum and 4 to 5lbs. of chloride of sodium or common salt, and the skins are either worked slowly in this bath or introduced into a revolving cylinder to facilitate the penetration of the preservative agent, which, according to Berzelius, is chloride of aluminium resulting from the action of the chloride of sodium on the alum. When the manufacturer judges that the skins have been sufficiently impregnated with the above mixture, he introduces them into a bath composed of alum and salt in the same proportions, but to which are added 20lbs. of rye flour and fifty eggs for 100 skins. After remaining a few hours they are removed and allowed to dry for about fifteen days, and * Query Asphalte.—EpITOoR TECR. ° THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Nov. 1, 1864. 156 ON CHEMISTRY APPLIED TO THE ARTS. are then softened by working them with a peculiar iron tool, the white surface which characterises that class of leather being communicated to them by stretching them on a frame and rubbing them with pumice- stone. In the summer time, however, but little ripe produce could be shown, and plants, under experiment, were too precious for removal. I could not now have produced this case of hybridised pods had I sent away my plants and lost my time at that working period of the year. And so November was decided upon as being upon the whole the best fixture for most purposes. I look forward, as I write, with great apprehension as to the appearance my collection will present, especially after their transit by railway ; but, thanks to the unsurpassed horticultural skill of the Garden Superintendent, I am able to show you some splendidly grown specimens, in a younger state, from the Kensington department of our Scciety. My present difficulty is simply this ; how to say a very great deal in a very short space of time. To describe the various sorts, that is, semi- nal or climatic varieties, with their ever-varying forms and their apparently great but really invalid points of difference, would be taking up your time to no present purpose ; suffice it to say, they are as nu- merous as the kinds of wheat in our corn fields or peas in our kitchen gardens. In India especially, every great geographic division, seaboard, central, or peninsular, every district, nay, almost every mountain or valley, cultivates its own form or variety. Could all this be told in half an hour? For the same reason I am obliged to omit the history, rise, and progress of the trade and manufacture of the raw material. Unwillingly I pass by the lives and labours of those gifted men who, starting from the simple distaff and wheel, and the rude handloom of the cottage weaver, invented and improved, modelled and re-modelled, the long series of mechanical contrivances, of which the crowning result was that wondrous and beautiful marvel, the self-acting mule-jenny. It is a romance in itself, that story of the machines. It has been told, and told again, never too often, and the names of Hargreaves, Arkwright, Cartwright, and Crompton, are among the “household words” of the country of their birth. But our business is with the plant and its pro- duce. Let us take its early history. The history of the cotton plant is old, old ; so old that no man may tell when or where it was—in the dim ' Jan. 1, 1865.] . THE TECHNOLOGIST. ON THE COTTON PLANT. 241 Cyclopean times, ages, incomprehensible ages ago—that the thoughtful observer first saw and plucked that fair and fleecy treasure from the tree—the “ wool-tree,” from which he might clothe himself without bloodshed, and which stood before him, as if planted by the hand of the Creator for the comfort of His creatures. Did he dream that those silver threads—and who shall view them through the optician’s achromatic glass and say that they belie the designation ?—did he dream that the sil- very fibres of the pretty cotton pod would be changed into gold by the magic of time, to the golden fieece half worshipped by a busy world? Perhaps it was a woman. It must have been. I see her now—the lithe Asiatic form, glowing in deep sun tints and instinct with life and beauty. She seems lost in admiration of some object before her. It is a little shrub of rare beauty ; she plucks the fair blossom, cinque spotted purple in its golden chalice, and weaves it in her crisped hair ; then the ripe fruit pod, with its white and downy flocks of spotless purity. Now she plays with it—she pulls it from hand to hand, and while lost in thought unconsciously twists it into a thread—the first thread ever twined by human fingers. Certain it is that the Hindoo women two thousand years ago pro- duced threads and wove muslins only very lately surpassed by the power- doom and mule-jenny. Spinning Jenny ! still female. The thread of my story has led me to the East. Let us follow the clue. To the well-preserved literature of ancient India we owe the fact that cotton was well known and manufactured eight hundred years before the Christian era. In the book of the Institutes of Menu, per- haps the oldest law books in existence, occurs the following passage : “Let a weaver whe has received ten palds of cotton wool give them back increased to eleven by the rice water and the like used in weaving; he who does otherwise shall pay a fine of twelve pandas.” So that sizing, and the abuse of it, is nething new. Arrian mentions cotton as an article of import into Rome, from India, and describes the means of transit, the principal marts, and the commerce in general. But it appears to have been costly, and only used sparingly by the higher classes, who stuck to the toga, and it is on record that Horace’s father had no pocket hand- chief, cotton or otherwise.* The Greeks were as perfectly acquainted with the Dacca muslins as we are. Nearchus describes the Indians as having garments of “tree-wool”’ which reached to the middle of the leg, a sheet folded about the shoulders, and a turban round the head. One would think it was but yesterday, the description is so perfectly that of the modern Mussulman in his outer man. Long kefore this, Herodotus, a young Greek nobleman, travelling in India for pleasure and information, speaks thus, in hisown grand language, ‘‘ Ta de Sevdpa ta aypia avtob pepe KapTov elpia KaAAovy TE Bpopepovra kat apern Twy o1sy’ Kat eoOyT¢ ot Iydot amo TouTwY Twy Sevdpewy XpEwvTaAt. * Quctics vidi patrem tuum digito se emungentem. FF 2 hiss = = _ THE TECHNOLOGIST, [Jan. 1, 1865. 242, ON THE COTTON PLANT. And in language “ understanded of the people” as follows. “The trees of the field there bear wool as fruit, in beauty and quality surpassing that of sheep, and Indians use clothing from these trees.” He came home, and, as was the custom in that classic and sporting land, recited his observations, which were accurate, and his priest-impaited stories which were “‘crammers,” at the Olympic Games. Fancy Lord Dufferin or Sir Gardner Wilkinson reading their experiences of Greere and Egypt at Tattenham Corner! The word “ cotton” occurs in many etymological forms, as Gotn, Kotun, and so on. Pliny first mentions it as Gossypium or Gossympium, while other old authors, and, following them, the earlier botanists, use the word Xylon. But the oldest designation of the manu- factured article is the Sanscrit kurpasum. Hence the Greek xapracoy, the Latin Carbasum, and our canvass and cambric. Cotton, as a culti- vated crop, did not get into China till the 13th century, though they had long possessed the handsome red-flowered G. arboreum as a garden plant. It iscurious that the Celestials, who never do anything like any- body else, seem to have taken a fancy to the brownish yellow stapled sort produced principally by the Indian form called religiosum, but also by the American plant. This was imported, rather largely, at one time to make Nankin trousers for the English fashionables, having first at- tracted notice from its strength and durability. Seeing this, the crafty Chinaman began to dye his common white cotton yellow, and the de- preciated article lost him his trade. This sort is said to be one of those held sacred hy the Asiatics, and, as such, used only for the head and upper parts of the body, while the British dandy’s practice was just the contrary. Undoubtedly ancient as the use of cotton was in Egypt, I fear the mummy cloths were not made of it. This, however, was long supposed to be the case, but the matter was settled a few years ago by my friend Sir Gardner Wilkinson, who pronounced it to be linen, and the microscope, in the able hands of Thompson and Bauer, confirmed his decision. Old as our subject is in India, it can boast as high, and probably a higher, antiquity in the western world, and the botanical genealogy of the Occidental plant is far more inscrutable than that of the Oriental. Columbus found it in the West Indies, Magellan in Brazil. Ferdinand Cortez found the Mexican Court clad in cotton, and presents of it were brought home by the gorgeous and cruel buccaneer to his imperial master—better had they not been stained by the blood of Montezuma ! Cotton, both in its raw state and beautifully woven, has been found in the ancient Peruvian tombs. The Indian plant, however, appears to have been first cultivated by the British colonists in America prior to the French Revolution, before the high qualities of the mdigenous Mexican form, so close at hand, were known. Cotton was grown on a limited scale in Maryland, in 1736, by Miss Lucas, the daughter of the then Governor of Antigua. Again a lady! No conjured vision now, but an enterprising English Jan. 1, 1855.]- THE TECHNOLOGIST. ON THE COTTON PLANT, 243 girl. Listen to her journal “July 1, 1739.—Wrote to my father to- day on the pains I had taken to bring the indigo, ginger, and cotton to perfection, and that I had greater hopes,” &c. In 1775, just before the revolutionary war, the Southern States of America had begun to turn their attention to cotton growing, and the cultivation of thirty-three acres by one person of “green seed cotton,” probably the Xylon americanum prestantissimum semine virescente of the old botanist Schwartz, was considered a great feat in those days. After the peace in 1783, the independent spirit of the Americans was directed more to their own manutactures at home, than to their exports or imports, and Mr. Madison expressed his conviction that the United States, in the extensive regions south of Maryland, would certainly become a great cotton country. Shortly after, an American gentleman eame to England to purchase machinery. British law then forbade its exportation ; soa Mr. Slater, who had been Arkwright’s pupil, carried off the fruit of his master’s brains to America, and working from recol- lection, his plans and models having been seized, made the first cotton machinery ever used or seen in the United States. In 1784, eight bales had been shipped to Liverpool, and seized at the Custom House as an illicit importation of British colonial produce, but were restcered to the consignees so soon as it was discovered that so “large” a quantity of cotton could be grown on the American continent. Exportations have continued from that day to this. The blockade can only be con- sidered as a temporary inconvenience, with a great resulting advantage, it has taught the world to grow cotton. But enough of dry history ; let us get to the botany. I must now refer you back to a remark I made, perhaps a flippant one, but I am sure excusable in the case of any one who has painfully floundered through the subject as I have, “that the botany of cotton was impossible.” It is not alone I who have said this thing. Better men have given it up in despair, quieting their consciences by lumping the whole family, with its numerous and undefinable clanships, into two or three specitic heads, leaving even these to fight it out, like the cats of Kilkenny, till nothing be left to tell the tale, and one Gossy ypium, genus and species, be left alone in its glory. All are agreed that the genus is good in law, but the specific differ- ences are so slight, and the seminal variations so great, that botanists have always been in a perpetual puzzle on the subject ; and what 13 worse, they seem to have shaken up their specimens and descriptions in one bag, and their names in another, put them together at random, and returned them to their herbariums to puzzle posterity. Linneeus admits five species ; Lamarck follows with eight; Poirct describes four more ; Roxburgh adds two more, and with reason, as they would appear to 5e stirpes, or really wild forms ; De Candolle enumerates, not insists upon, thirteen, and rests upon his oars, quietly remarking that all were uncer- fain, and that no genus more requized the labours of a monographer, THE TECHNOLOGIST. — [Jan. 1, 186 244 ON THE COTTON PLANT. who could describe them from living specimens ; and I believe our own Lindley is of much the same opinion. The distinguished botanist and traveller, Dr. Welwitsch, adds another undoubted wild species, G. micro- carpum, Welw., from the district of Mossamede, near Loanda, in Western Africa. I shall have the gratification of being able te show you a specimen by-and-by, of this very curious plant, which I shall always be proud of as a present from the discoverer of Welwitschta mirabilis. I need not say that the popular accounts of the plant present an amount of error and confusion past all understanding. But there is reason and excuse for all this. Cotton is a domesticated plant, and has been so through unknown ages, in every part of the world where the climate would bring it to perfection. What the canine are to the zoolo- gist, fowls and pigeons to the ornithologist, cereal grain, potatoes, pinks, and polyanthuses to the farmer, gardener, and florist, this has cotton been to the botanist. Naturalists know that no two reproductions of animal or vegetable life are exactly alike. However slight it may be, each has an individuality, more or less visibly stamped upon it. This disposition to sport, as it is termed, is enormously increased by cultivation, by which I mean, rich food and immunity from disturbing influences. Upon any plant weeded, watered and manured, fenced in and fos- tered by the hand of man, Nature rings her weird changes with un- bridled energy, and in no case more curiously than in the genus Gossypium. What are or were the countless Gossypium legionaries, uplands and lowlands, Sea islands, and Bourbons, long staples and short staples, with the botanical hirsutums, glabrums, vitifoliums, and latifoliums of the West? What the albums, nigrums, rubrums, and purpureums, pal- matums and tricuspidatums of the Eastern world? They are mastiffs, greyhounds, pointers, setters, pugs, poodles, and turnspits, Taylor's . bright Venuses and Buck’s George the Fourth’s, white Talavera and brown Lammas, beautiful man-made monsters, fair to the eye and good tor food and raiment and other wants of the world, but inscrutable as to their origin and a stumbling-block to systematism ? But it is time to get to work.—Loquitur Royle. The genus Gossypium is distinguished, that is from other mallow- worts, by having a double calyx, or in other words a simple calyx sup- ported externally by three leaf-like bracts, forming an involucre, and a three to five-celled capsule, with seeds immersed in the wool-like sub- stance, so well known by the name of cotton. Time compels me to refer you to Royle or other reliable botanists for the general description. Slight as are the real specific distinctions, in the strict scientific sense of the word there is an outward physiognomic difference between at least two great and important races of the plant, to wit, those of the American and those of the Asiatic continent, which no person, however slightly acquainted with plants, can fail to observe. And this outward appearance is accompanied by an equally great and important difference -in the commercial product We will first take the American forms. Jan. 1, 1865.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. ON THE COTTON PLANT. 945 These, according to the best and latest authorities, are but two in species ; far the greater part of them being derivations of one—Gossypium bar- badense. They are handsome, more or less short-lived trees, biennial or peren- nial in warm climates ; annual wherever a true winter ends the year, The Bourbon plant is generally received as a type, or varietas princeps, of the species. It is supposed to be indigenous to the hottest regions, the terras calienées of Mexico, whence it was taken to the Isle de Bour- bon, Anguilla in the Antilles, the Mauritius, and finally to Barbados ; and these islands were undoubtedly the nurseries from whence came the stock which supplied plants to the cotton-producing States of America. The varieties into which this species runs take their peculiar forms and qualities of staple frem the various aspects, soils, sites, and altitudes in which they have been cultivated. Some of these variations are ex- tremely curieus, as in the case of seed, which in the same sort varies from a smooth black naked grain, parting from the wool with a very slight pull, to a distinct-looking form, covered with a short green or brownish nap, to which the tufts of available fibre cling with more or less tenacity. The celebrated Sea-island plant is the form taken by the Barbadian type when transferred to the warm, moist climate, and rich low-lying lands, on the Georgian coast and in the adjacent islands. The fibre is long, strong, and of the highest excellence. Cultivated in Egypt it retains its properties to a certain degree, isa good, useful, long cotton, and is much used for the same purposes. The appearance of the plant is slightly modified by the climate. Uplands, or short-stapled American (not Surat), now includes, according to Royle, the produce of the interior and upland country of Georgia and Carolina, as well as of Alabama, Mississippi, Lonisiana, and Tennessee —bowed Georgian as it was once called, from having been first cleaned by the Indian contrivance of a bow and string, flicking the tibre from the seed. Just now the fashionable sort is called the Mexican Gulf Hill seed. I am indebted to the Cotton Supply Association fur a sample of this. Three seeds of it produced me three very different-looking plants. One nearly approaching the type, with glabrous foliage much angled and divided. Another with hirsute strong branches and more spreading habit ; and a third with the most remarkable foliage of any I have hitherto seen of its race; the lobes, especially the central one, are so long as to give the leaf almost the palmate appearance of the Indian plant, and the individual lobes are also curiously divided. The seed was peculiar and different from the rest in being very small and nearly clean or naked. There is a sort called little Mexican or Petit Gulf; I think this may be it. Venezuelan seed, also from the Association, resembled this. The plants, however, were like the Gulf seed, but a little more hairy. These were all sown very early this spring, but have, at present, shown no signs of flowering. But the favourite staple of the Manchester men is produced by the THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Jaw 1, 1666,” 246 ON THE COTTON PLANT. New Orleans plant ; it has more of an herbaceous or annual habit than the Upland race, comes to maturity in a few months from the seed, rests fora few weeks after the effort of producing its beautiful wool, and either dies if touched by frost, or shoots forth again, bearing a second, and often the best crop. The flower is large and saucer-shaped, of a pale yellow tint, or nearly white, wanting the purple basal spots, with cream-coloured anthers, and elliptical pod. Closely allied to this sort, and indeed undistinguishable before the pod bursts, is the American Nankin plant. The Sea Island is by no means so conspicuous an object, as far as the pod of fibre is concerned, though the fibre itself is more costly and ~ showy. Its habit is different from that of the last. The whole plant is more or less glabrous, the branches slenderer, and set on at a more acute angle ; the blossom is golden yellow, almost tubular from the con- volution of the petals, each of which has a rich brown-purple spot at the base ; the pod long-oval, often much acuminated, and rough, with pit- ted depressions. Like the New Orleans, this comes quickly to maturity, and, like it, is often treated as an annual, though they will both live several years in a winterless climate. The seed is black, clean, and free from nap, except at the extremity or extremities, where there is a little tuft to which the lock of cotton adheres loosely. It varies with an entire covering of greenish nap, which it is said to put on, as a gentle- man puts on his great coat, when taken up to the hills or into a cooler climate. I have raised plants from both kinds of seed, and find the habit reproduced in the seedlings respectively. It has been said, upon the authority of cotton farmers, that these two races interchange habit, appearance, and quality with each other after cultivation for a genera- tion or two, under opposite conditions respectively. I should feel very much obliged to any observer of the plant in its own climate, if he could tell me of any authentic instance where the change of appearance of seed was accompanied by a corresponding alteration in the flower—whether, in short, the Sea Island plant has ever put on the widely expanded, pale, self-coloured hollyhock-like blossom and large smooth elliptical pod, of the New Orleans or vice versa. Every monographer, or even pseudo-monographer, like myself, has a conceded right to a crotchet, and mine is that there exists, or has existed somewhere among the Aztecs or elsewhere, a ee Gossypium hirsutum distinct from the smooth barbadense. Here is Mr. Wanklyn’s superb “ Vine Cotton,” the seat of which were kindly presented by him to our Society. The Vice-Secretary sent me three, one of which grew into the plant before you. There must have been some misconception in the description given to Mr. Wanklyn as to its habit of rambling like a vine. The plant is simply a gigantic fourm of New Orleans, differing only from the normal sort in a general exaltation of development in all its parts. The staple, although jnjured by the syringe, in the small propagating house here at Ken- JAN. 1, 1865.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. ON THE COTTON PLANT. 247 sington, was pronounced by Dr. Forbes Watson to be of very high quality. ; Away now westwards across the sultry continent: we have had enough of the Bourbons, like our neighbours. Brazil and Peru boast of the most curious and distinct cotton tree known. A noble great fellow he is; too much so for me. My hothouse is fourteen feet high, and in another week he would have broken his neck against the luffer boards! The seeds in the species are agglomerated together into one kidney-shaped mass, to which the cotton adheres so slightly that it is easily separable by the hand or machine. Some of you may remember to have seen a curious-looking specimen, enshrined in a glass case here at Kensington, and labelled “ native African.” Of this my friend Mr. Murray surrendered me a seed or two, and here is the result. It produces, I believe, the Pernambuco staple, or Pernams of the trade. The flower has not yet appeared, nor do I know what it will be like, but I think | can anticipate the bright yellow tube and purple spots of the Sea Island. And here, again, crops out my crotchet. In two separate pods of the Sea Island I found seeds adhering to each other by twos ; they are very like those of acwminatum, our present subject, and so is the whole plant except in stature. I have another plant here very nearly resembling this in habit, size, and other particulars. It is the Peruvian cotton of Mr. Clements Mark- ham, so well known on account of his services in the establishment of the quinine plant in India. He has succeeded in introducing this fine cot- ton also,* and the Indian-grown produce has been pronounced most ratisfactory. The seeds, however, are free, and not massed as in the Kid- ney cotton. Away again, Hastward Ho! and we are in India with the anything but gentle Hindoo and his despised Surat cotton. What a different plant it is, with its deeply-cut five-fingered leaf and dull-tinted foliage, sometimes a short and shrubby bush, sometimes tall and slender as a fairy fishing-rod. The flower is very handsome— purple and gold—like that of the Sea Island aristocrat, but the cotton— the cotton—is nowhere. It is usually short, harsh, and only useful in Manchester, when mixed with the medium-stapled sorts from America, Some varieties, however, have the silky quality. The fibre of these is also so extremely fine, that the native women, by their wonderful here- ditary fine sense of touch, have been, and are still able, to spin those gossamer threads and weave those “webs of woven air” which have been the admiration of all times, and have been even sung in soft San- scrit by the dusky poets of the land. I have been able, by the kind assistance that has been given to me, to get together several of the numerous varieties of the Indian plant. Here is the celebrated Dacca sort—at least, it pretty well answers the descriptions. Here is the Sacrosancte religiosum, if indeed reliqgiosum *The Piura and Imbabura cottons of Spruce. THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Jax 1, 1865, 248 ON THE COTTON PLANT. it be ; for, in hunting among the books, religiosum is generally found to be something else, and something else to be religiosum. It has broader lobed leaves than the common sorts, tinged and veined with brownish pink, and bears very decidedly green seeds. I have raised it from a sample sent me, under that name, by the Cotton Supply Association ; andalso mixed with the sort called “ oopum,” from the same source. The “oopum ”’ plant I have retained at home, in hopes of ripening the one single late-set pod which it produced. Very like it, with the same green seeds, but with more acute and numerously-divided lobes, is the very interesting species arboreum. I assume it to be such, upon the authority of the Botanic Garden of Saharunpore, associated as the name is with Royle and cotton. My plants were raised from seed received from thence through my friend Mr. Arthur Grote, of the Asiatic Society at - Calcutta. Now this arboreum was, on many accounts, a desideratum— desideratissimum. For years it eluded my search with the cunning ofa fox. I was once fond of fox-hunting, and could hold my own across a country as. well as my neighbours; but of all the foxes to hunt, for intense excitement, there is nothing like a scientific fox. I first ‘ put up” the arhoreum fox in the covers of my old friend Tenore, at Naples, kept it for years, and never could do anything with it, as it always showed for bloom in November, and went leafless to rest in December. Again I got the same plant from Chiswick, but now under the name of South Sea Island. I have it now just trying to ripen a pod. Itis the acclimatised Bourbon of India. So for ten years I was ‘‘ running hare.” I then took to books, botanic gardens, and friends in the tropics. Tro- pical friends sent big Bombaxes, and the eternal Bourbon again, with a sprinkling of acuminatum. Botanic gardens were out of the question, as they always stuck religiously to the label the captain in the navy, collector of customs, or consul’s wife sent with the seed. Books were worse than botanic gardens, as almost every writer has a pet arboreum of his own. Now, for popular and general information, every Brahmin, you must know, wears a hank of cotton of three threads round his neck for religious motives, and this arboreum, a plant nearly resembling the ordinary Indian cotton in all respects, except in bearing ared flower, and being a decided perennial, is known to be cultivated in the gardens of priests and fakirs, and in the precincts of temples, for the purpose of furnishing the mystic threads. But travellers say that the large kidney cotton plant is used for the same purpose ; and we read that kinnzus named another sort religiosum, as being a cotton tree under the shade of which religious ceremonies were performed, and which furnished the sacred threads. It was afterwards said that this tree was simply a Bombax. Here I was running four foxes at once. Finally, 1 ran into my fox in Royle’s “Illustrations.” Here it is ; it answers pretty well to Royle’s figure which I now exhibit. It has not yet flowered. It closely resembles religiosum in the tinted foliage and green seeds. From a sample of Kupas, or seed with the wool on it, labelled “Good native Jan. 1, 1865.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. ON THE COTTON PLANT. Q49 Cotton, Dholerah,” I raised plants with very distinct habit and foliage, with short broad elliptical, sometimes mucronate leaves and many hirsute zig-zag branches, The segments of the outer calyx are much expanded, so as to give them a sort of butterfly appearance. The cotton is long and soft, and approaching in quality to the American staple. Here is a very fine form of the Indian plant from one of Dr. Forbes Watson’s samples, marked ‘‘ From Nymansing, Assam,” with thick dark green leaves lanceo- late, and wanting the small supplementary lobes; the nearly entire bracts enclose large long pods, rivalling in size those of the American plant. This sort was detected by the keen eye of the Doctor among the Indian specimens sent over to the last Great Exhibition. The staple appears bulky, strong, and, I believe, is very good. Seeds from the same packet produced a beautiful little miniature form, with small round pods. Another packet, from Assam, gave me a plant somewhat like the last, but with a yellowish tint in the leaf and smaller pods. These comprise my Indian menagerie of cultivated kinds. And now I must show you perhaps the most curious and interesting thing in my whole collection, Dr. Welwitsch’s wild African species. If we look with Darwin back into the dim pre-historical ages and watch as it were our beautifully developed forms fading back into one first created wild type, Lam afraid the dark lady of my dream would have had stiff work to spin a thread from this. Here is the seed with the cotton on it. The colour of itis Nankin. I must now, at the risk of wearying my audience, touch upon the all-important subject of the cultivation of American staple in India ; and as it will be absolutely to explain the commercial relations which the Indian and American staples bear to each other, I will read part of a eapital speech made by Mr. Smith, once member for Stockport, which gives a short and masterly explanation of the subject. It is from a capital book—‘ The Cotton Trade, by George McHenry, published by Saundersand Otley. It has astrong Yankee leaning, but is exhaustive of the subject as a commercial history. “The long staple, or long-fibre cotton, is used for making the warp, as it is technically called, 2. e., the longitudinal threads of the woven tissue. These threads, when of the finer sorts—for all numbers, say above 50’s—must be made of long-staple cotton ; for numbers below 50’s they may be made of it, and would be so made were it as cheap as the lower qualities of the raw material. No other quality of cotton is strong enough or long enough either to spin into the higher and finer numbers or to sustain the tension and friction to which the threads are exposed in the loom. “The mediuni-staple cotton, on the contrary, is used partly for the lower numbers of the warp (and as such enters largely into the produc- tion of the vast quantities of ‘cotton yarn’ and sewing thread exported) but mainly for the weft, or transverse threads of the woven tissue. Itis softer and more silkier than the quality spoken of above, makes a fuller THE TECHNOLOGIST. (Jaw. 1, 1865, 250: ON THE COTTON PLANT. and rounder thread, and fills up the fabric better. The long-staple article is never used for this purpose, and could not, however cheap, be so used with advantage ; it is ordinarily too harsh. For the warp, strength and length of fibre are required ; for the weft, softness and full- ness. Now, as the lower numbers of ‘ yarn’ require a far larger amount of raw cotton for their production than the higher, and constitute the chief portion (in weight) both of our export and consumption ; and as, moreover, every yard of calico or cotton-woven fabric, technically called cloth, is composed of from two to five times as much weft as warp, lt is obvious that we need a far larger supply of this peculiar character of cotton, the medium-stuple, than of any other. “The short-staple cotton is used almost exclusively for weft (except alittle taken for candle-wicks), or for the very lowest numbers of warp, say 10's and under. But it is different in character from the second de- scription, as well as shorter in fibre ; it is drier, fuzzier—more like rough wool, and it cannot be substituted for it without impoverishing the nature of the cloth, and making it, especially after washing or bleaching, look thinner and more meagre ; and for the same reason it can only be blended with it with much caution, and in very moderate proportions. But its colour is usually good, and its comparative cheapness its great recommendation. “‘ Tt will be seen, therefore, that while we require for the purposes of our manufacture a limited quantity of the first and third qualities of raw cotton, we need, and can consume, an almost unlimited supply of the second quality. In this fact lies our real difficulty ; for while several quarters of the world supply the first sort, and India could supply enormous quantities of the third sort, the United States of America alone have hitherto produced the second and most necessary kind.” I have read most attentively the history of the Indian experiments. They tell of the well-directed skll], the stout and willing heart, the rough hard toil and untiring energy of the Royles, Wights, and other earlier and later labourers in the field of Indian experiment. They prove that good useful cotton, such as goes by the name of good middling New Orleans in Manchester, can be, and has been, produced on Indian soil. The accounts, the authentic accounts, and the samples received from time to time, only strengthen the conviction. The long series of experi- ments carried on under the auspices of the Indian Government for now nearly a century, go to prove that the principal impediments to the pro- duction of good Surats are the filthy habits of the gentle Hindoo, and the religious prejudices of his priesthood. In the case of the cultivation of the exotic species by Europeans or natives, the casualties would appear not to differ greatly from those to which every agricultural crop is subject in India, or England either. Even the elements can be coaxed, if not controlled. Irrigation is now no prohle~y, and the periods of sowing can be so arranged that the wild , Jan. 1, 1865.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. ON THE COTTON PLANT. Q51 monsoon may foster rather than injure. ach and all of these diffi- culties seem to have vanished whenever the strong will of these gallant pioneers had determined they should do so. Royle alludes to experi- ments in hybridisation once or twice, but no authenticated results have been recorded. A year or two ago, gee ever, certain of the American sorts were intercrossed, both by myself and Dr. Bonavia, of Lucknow. Weare now waiting the final report of the Doctor’s experiments. Mine pro- duced what is apparently a very beautifuland prolific cotton, second only, according to Watson—the Cocker of cotton fibre—to the best Sea- Island. I must here offer my tribute of thanks to all good friends who started me and helped me onmy way. First and foremost to my kind friend Dr. Lindley, who, always ready alike to encourage an aspirant or smash an impostor, supplied me with advice and introductions. To Dr. Wight the same. To the Manchester Cotton Supply Association, Dr. Forbes Watson, Mr. Clements Markham, Mr. Arthur Grote, Mr. P. L. Simmonds, and Dr. Welwitsch, for plentiful supplies of seed of com- mercial or botanical interest ; and last, but notleast, to my friend Mr. A. Henderson, of Pine Apple Place, for the seeds of the Nankin and Sea Island, from which I produced my first cross-bred plant. In Cotton literature I have profited by and used largely the contents of Royle’s . great work, the prize Essays by Dr. Shortt and others, and the Journal of the Agri-Horticultural Society of India. There wasone want, however, which neither men nor books seemed able to supply. Search where I would I could not find “the poetry of cotton.” One could wander through ferny glades with Mr. Moore, and feel inspired ; there was poetry in the fairy bells of the modern and in the mournful a a of the mythic hyacinth ; the rose was bathed in it ; but there was no poetry in cotton. At last I found it—in a negro melody: “ picking cotton in the field, there first I saw a yellow girl, her name was Lucy Neal.” Nay, scoff not ; nigger melody though it be, it is one of the most exquisitely pathetic alas of modern times. Listen to the last verse, the outpour- ings of the poor negro’s profound love melancholy— ““They bore her from my bosom, but the wound they cannot heal, For my heart is breaking, breaking, for the love of Lucy Neal ; Ah! yes, and when I’m dying, and dark visions o’er me steal, The last low murmur of this life shall be poor Lucy Neal.” Farewell now, my friends, and thank you for your kind attention. If I have mixed science and Lucy Neal, it was that you should not be sent home to your firesides with ears quite stuffed with cotton. The lecture was amply illustrated by samples of cotton pods of the Major's own growth under glass in this country and seeds of various kinds and drawings ; also by numerous living plants from his conservatory, in most cases well furnished with pods, and by others in blossom grown at Kensington, THE TECHNOLOGIST. [JAN. 1, 1865. 252 ON THE GOLD MINES OF CANADA, AND THE MANNER OF * WORKING THEM. BY T. STERRY HUNT, F.R.S. THE existence of gold in the sands of the Chaudiére valley, to the south of Quebec, was, so far as we were aware, first announced to the world by General Baddeley (then Lieutenant), of the Royal Engineers, in the year 1835, and by him communicated to Professor Silliman. (See ‘American Journal of Science for that year, vol. xxviii. p. 112.) In 1847, and the three or four years following, careful examinations were made in that region by the Geological Survey, and it was found that the precious metal is not confined to the valley of the Chaudiére, but exists in the superficial deposits of a wide area. The source of the gold throughout this extent appears to have heen the breaking up of the crystalline schists of the region, in which the metal has occasionally been met with. One example of this isin a vein of quartz in clay state, in the parish of St. Francis, on the Chauditre, where it occurs with argentiferous galena, arsenical pyrites, cubic iron pyrites, and sulphuret of zinc,—the latter two ores containing a notable propor- tion of gold. The results of assays of all these materials will be found in the reports of the Geological Survey for 1853, p. 370. During the past year, another vein of quartz, about one hundred yards from this last, has yielded very rich and beautiful specimens of native gold, also accompanied by arsenical pyrites. The precious metal occurs again not far from the Harvey Hill copper mine, in Leeds, at a locality known as Nutbrown’s shaft, which is sunk on a vein of bitter-spar, holding specular iron, vitreous copper ore, and native gold, generally in small grains or scales. Some specimens from this locality, however, have weighed as much as a pennyweight. The only attempts as yet made at gold-mining in Canada have been in the diluvial deposits. We extract from the General Report of the Geological Survey of Canada the follow- ing details with regard to these deposits, together with the results of some of the trials hitherto made to work them, and suggestions as to the best mode of obtaining the gold :— “These rocks of Eastern Canada may be traced south-westwardly through New England, along the Appalachian chain, to the State of Georgia, and furnish gold in greater or less quantity in nearly every part of their extension. They constitute the great gold-bearing forma- tion of eastern North America, which in its mineralogical and litho- logical characters is similar to that of the western coast, and to those of Russia and Australia. These auriferous rocks in Canada belong for the greater part to the Quebec group, of Lower Silurian age ; but the quartz veins containing gold, mentioned above, are found cutting strata which are supposed to belong to the upper Silurian period. The auriferous drift covers a wide area on the south side of the St. Lawrence, including JAN. 1, 1865.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. ON THE GOLD MINES OF CANADA, ETC. 253 the hill country belonging to the Notre Dame range, and extending thence south and east to the boundary of the province. These wide limits are assigned, inasmuch as although gold has not been everywhere found in this region, the same mineralogical characters are met with throughout. In its continuation southward in Plymouth, and elsewhere in Vermont, considerable quantities of gold have been obtained from the diluvial deposits. In Canada, gold has been found on the St. Francis River, from the vicinity of Melbourne to Sherbrooke ; in the townships of Westbury, Weedon, and Dudswell, and on Lake St. Francis. It has also been found on the Etchemin and the Chaudiére, and nearly all its tributaries, from the seigniory of St. Mary to the frontier of the State of Maine, including the Bras, the Guillaume, the Riviere des Plantes, the Famine, the Du Loup, and the Metgermet. Several attempts have been made to work these alluvial deposits for gold in the seigniories of Vau- dreuil, Aubert-Gallion, and Aubert de l’Isle, but they have been suc- cessively abandoned, and it is difficult to obtain authentic accounts of the result of the various workings, although it is known that very con- siderable quantities of gold were extracted. The country people still, from time to time, attempt the washing of the gravel, generally with the aid of a pan, and are occasionally rewarded by the discovery of a nugget of considerable value. In the years 1851 and 1852, an experi- ment of this kind on a considerable scale was tried by the Canada Gold Mining Company in the last-nained seigniory, on the Rivitre du Loup, near its conjunction with the Chaudiére. The system adopted for the separation of gold from the gravel was similar to that used in Cornwall in washing for alluvial tin, and the water for the purpose was obtained from a small stream adjoining. Great difficulties were, however, met with, from a deficient supply of water during the summer months. The gravel from about three-eighths of an acre, with an average thickness of two feet, was washed during the summer of 1851, and yielded 2,107 pennyweights of gold; of which 160 were in the form of fine dust, mingled with about a ton of black iron sand, the heavy residue of the washings. There were several pieces of gold weighing over an ounce. The value of this gold was 1,826 dols., and the whole expenditure con- nected with the working 1,643 dols., leaving a profit of 182 dols. In this account is, however, included 500 dols. lost by a flood, which swept away an unfinished dam ; so that the real difference between the amount of the wages and the value of the gold obtained should be stated at 682 dols. The average price of the labour employed was sixty cents a day. “Jn 1852, about five-eighths of an acre of gravel were washed at this place, and the total amount of gold obtained was 2,880 pennyweights, valued at 2,496 dols. Of this, 307 pennyweights were in the form of fine dust mixed with the iron sand. A portion was also found in nug- gets or rounded masses of considerable size. Nine of these weighed together 468 pennyweights, the largest being about 127, and the smallest about 11 pennyweights. Small portions of native platinum, and of - 7) on x THE TECHNOLOGIST. —[Jan. 1, 1866. 254 ON THE GOLD MINES OF CANADA, iridosmine, were obtained in these washings, but their quantity was too small to be of any importance. The washing season lasted from the 24th of May to the 30th of October, and the sum expended for labour was 1,888 dols., leaving a profit of 608 dols. Bri,.c: Silk reeler . ; . . 1 50to2 O per day. Warper 3 : . . 250to3 0 a Lace-maker (weaver) . . 4 O0to5 0 A The majority of the operatives contribute monthly towards the sick relief fund, out of which they are supported daily in case of sickness, or else the hospital charges are paid. Few manufacturers have a private fund for this purpose ; several, however, give annual donations to the existing public funds, and frequently they are assisted by testa- mentary endowments. One principal advantage of the Bale ribbon manufacture consists in the perfection of the ribbon-looms. In fact, they have improved from year to year, particularly of late, so that already a considerable demand for them exists from abroad. There are several workshops of high reputation. Bale possesses seven loom-mechanicians, occupying about 250 operatives ; eight loom-mechanicians (in the country), with about fifty operatives, The annual number of new looms manufactured is about 500, 350 of which are destined for Switzerland, and 150 for abroad. The waste of old looms is made up annually by about 100 new ones. They repre- sent a total value of about 700,000 frances ; the raw material of which may beestimated at 200,000 franes, leaving a profit of about 500,000 francs. Dyeing has also made considerable progress, both as regards quantity and quality. Certain colours are nowhere to be found so fine as here. This particular branch seems destined to have a brilliant future ; for hel THE TECHNOLOGIST. ——[Jay. 1, 1865. 274 PAST AND PRESENT STATE OF while formerly Bale manufacturers had to send their silk to France to be dyed, the reputation of the Bale dyers frequently induced the con- trary to take place. The dyers are responsible to the manufacturers for the proper dyes, as well as for any spoiled or damaged goods, and that at the current price. The dyers’ wages are from two francs to fifteen francs and upwards. With superfine colours a deduction up to 10 per cent. on the length of the ribbons is made for the higher dyeing price. There are in Bale eight dyeing establishments, the largest of which employs 300 hands. In 1846 the total value of ribbon manufactured at Bale amounted to at least 20,000,000 frances annually, somewhat less than half the product of the silk manufacturers of the whole of Switzerland, the export of which was estimated at about 46,000,000 frances. In the above 20,000,000 francs are included—for actual wages, 2,070,000 francs, 1,500,000 of which were paid in the canton of Bale country, and 500,000 in Bale town; for dyers’ wages, exclusively to dyers of this place, 620,000 francs ; for finishers (“‘appretur”), dressers and packers, sala- ries of employés, cost of management in general, 1,530,000 franes, or about 4,500,000 tz toto, which are annually paid away on the spot. At present the total production may be about 35,000,000 franes. With regard to the goods themselves, they may be classed into about one-third figured and two-thirds plain articles. In the same way | as, 100 years ago, there was a transition from linen and woollen ribbons to silk ribbons, so within the last thirty-five years the figured (fancy) articles, which, at the beginning of this century, were almost unknown, were adopted. It was in the nature of things that, owing to the increased com- petition of the native and French manufactories, the plain articles would have to suffer the most, and that those articles would pay.the best which left more play-room to the spirit of invention, taste, and activity. It was not, however, the prospects alone of a greater gain which occasioned the increase in the manufacture of figured silks, but with the decrease in the former the market of the latter increased enormously when Switzer- land had learned to manufacture cheaply, as well as tastefully and beautifully. At the same time the great improvements in the ribbon, andin the adoption of the Jacquard machines, as well as in the intro- duction (for the first time at Bale) of bars for several shuttles, promoted the manufacture of figured articles. As a proof of the progress of this industry it may be worth mentioning that several houses have succeeded, under equal conditions, in the manufacture of rich figured ribbons in such a way as not only to successfully cope with their French competi- tors, but even to secure a market at the focus of fashion and taste at Paris, at a disadvantage of from 5 to 7 per cent. which Bale manufac- turers have to pay as import duty into France. The principal articles of the Bale ribbon industry are the beautiful courant ribbons ; the quite rich ones are still left to the French manufacturers. With regard to patterns, the French manufacturers complain of being purloined by the JAN. 1, 1865.] THe TECHNOLOGIST. THE SILK INDUSTRY OF BALE. 275 Balois, and demand of their Government a rigid protection for such patterns. But no official protection would be of any avail; the only result would be that the French Government would inevitably aim a blow at their own industry. The patterns which the Bale people are accused of borrowing from the French are just_as much their own pro- perty as that of the French. The Balois procureagreat many of them direct from Paris, where they have their own designers, as well as the French manutacturers, and frequently the same persons work for both parties. Besides, the native designers are continually improving, and endeavour- ing to furnish even more beautiful and elegant patterns, notwithstand- ing their dependence upon the leading fashions at Paris. Latterly great importance has been attached to the preparation of the raw material. The finest qualities of silk were procured and used by the French; this is one reason why they have maintained their superiority in the richest ribbon patterns. The Bale industry has there- fore to direct its particular attention to the manufacture of a fine article from the ordinary and fine sorts. This is effected by careful spinning and throwing. Whilst formerly they had no throwing establishments at all, several manufacturers now throw their own silk themselves. The advantage is thereby gained’ that this operation is done more skilfully and accurately than by the silk cultivators. They endeavour to pur- chase the cocoons themselves, and to spin them off by improved methods, which gives greater uniformity to the thread. The working up of the raw silk, the throwing and winding, is beginning to be executed on the most extensive scale, and by the most perfect machinery. A new branch of industry is thereby obtained, and an adequate return secured by the improvement of the raw material. With regard to tae sale of the staple, it is impossible to give any exact statements, as the general relations have considerably varied during the last three years. The first and most natural, because the nearest, market was in neighbouring Germany. Then, those countries whose demands are entirely or in part supplied by German houses, such as Holland, Denmark, Sweden, Russia, Poland, Galicia, Turkey, and Greece. The next important markets are those of North America and England; less so France, Central and South America. Almost unsupplied are the markets of Italy, Spain, and Portugal, which may be accounted for by the smaller consumption in these countries. The average may be as follows :— Per cent. Germany . ; 38 North American and tereat Britain | i : 44 France j 4 i ‘ 5 : 10 Other countries. ‘ 3 ; : ; 8 In conclusion, the four following reasons may be given as the basis on which lies the greater producing power, and the superiority of Bale to other places :— THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Jan. 1, 1865. 276 ON CHEMISTRY APPLIED TO THE ARTS. 1. The amount of the ready working capital, about 500,000 franes, for the working of 100 looms, without including the buildings and mechanical constructions. This allows of the work being done at a smaller profit. The merchandise becomes cheaper, a large margin is left for the speculation in the raw material, and more can be employed on perfecting the machines and what pertains to them. Only through the possession of a very large capital has it been possible to establish here the largest ribbon manufactory in the world, one with more than 900 . looms, whereas formerly the largest number of looms under one hand was, at the most, 200. 2. The general fair dealing of the manufacturers and operatives towards the buyers ; the knowledge that it is the genuineness of the article with regard to the quality and length of the piece which can alone sustain their credit. 3. The accommodating themselves easily to the demands of their customers. 4. The higher education of the operatives, as well as of the manu- facturers, as compared with their French rivals, ought to be prominently brought forward. No operative enjoys, like the Swiss, such excellent schooling, and every chance is left him to perfect himself further. While the French workman is lighter and nimbler, conceivesand exe- cutes new things quicker, the Swiss is slower and heavier, but the more solid, steady, and reliable. The Swiss manufacturer has the advantage of a larger capital, and greater skill and practice in mercantile business. While the French manufacturer is, in nine cases out of ten, nothing but manufacturer, an 1 does not engage in the traffic abroad, the Balois is both merchant and manufacturer; he makes his purchases and sales himself, is, thereby, more independent, and can turn all the advan- tages of the markets of the world and the secret springs of commerce to his profit. ON CHEMISTRY APPLIED TO THE ARTS. BY DR. F. CRACE CALVERT, F.R.S., F.C.S. A COURSE OF LECTURES DELIVERED BEFORE THE MEMBERS OF THE SoclETY OF ARTS. LECTURE VY. MILK: its Composition, Properties, Falsification, and Preservation. Urine: its Uses. A Few Words on Putrefaction. Miik.—The composition of this important fluid varies not only in different’ classes of animals, but also in different individuals of the same class. Further, the composition of milk is modified by the infiuence of food, climate, degree of activity, and health. Notwithstanding these Jan. 1, 1865.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. ON CHEMISTRY APPLIED TO THE ARTS, 277 variations, an average can be arrived at by numerous analyses, and the following table will give a general idea of milk :— Women’s. | Cows’. Asses’. Goats’. Ewes’. Dried caseine. 15:0 44:8 18°2 40-2 458 Butter Sol 31°3 11 33°2 12:0 Sugar of milk 65:0 47°7 60:8 52°8 50:0 Salts 4:5 6:0 34 58 6:8 Water 881°8 8702 916°5 868-0 885.4 1000:0 | 1000:0 1000-0 1000:0 | 1000:0 The various substances comprised in milk may be classified under three heads—cream, curd or caseine, and whey. Cream, according to Dr. Voelcker’s* analysis, is composed of :— Water . 61°67 64:80 Butter . 33°43 25°40 Caseine ‘ 2°62 7-61 Sugar of milk . 1:56 Mineral matters 0:72 219 100:00 100-00 And may be considered as consisting of small, round, egg-shaped globules, composed of fatty matters, enclosed in a thin cell of caseine, which, being lighter than the fluid containing them, rise to the surface and constitute cream, and in proportion to the quantity of this removed from the milk, the latter becomes less opaque, and assumes a blue tinge. When exposed to the air for a short time in a dry place it loses water, becomes more compact, and constitutes what is called cream cheese. When churned, cream undergoes a complete change; the caseine cells are broken, and the fatty globules gradually adhere one to the other and form a solid fatty mass, called butter, and it is found, on an average, that 28 lbs. of milk will yield 1lb. of butter. Fresh butter is composed of :— ( Margarine Oleine Caproine < Fatty matters Capi A r 77-5 Butyrene_ | | Caproleine J - Caseine i Hie 16 Whey 20:9 100-00 * For further particulars on this subject, the reader is referred to Dr. Voelcker’s paper, published in the ‘ Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society of England,’ vol, xxiv. THE TECHNOLOGIST. [JaN. 1, 1865. 278 ON CHEMISTRY APPLIED TO THE ARTS. But as butter rapidly becomes rancid, it is necessary to adopt means to prevent this as much as possiole, and the following are the usual methods—viz., working the butter well with water, and then adding 3 or 4 per cent. of common salt, or melting the butter at a temperature below 212°; but-the following method, employed hy M. Bréon, appears to give general satisfaction. It consists in adding to the butter water containing 0°003 of acetic or tartaric acid, and carefully closing the vessels containing it. The rancidity of butter is due to a fermentation generated by the caseine existing in it, which unfolds the fatty matters into their respective acids and glycerine, and as the volatile acids, butyric, caproic, &c., have a most disagreeable taste and odour, it is these which impart to butter the rank taste. Allow me to add, en passant, that whilst butyric acid possesses a repulsive smell, its ether has a most fragrant odour—viz. that of pineapple, for which it is sold in commerce. Curd of Milk or Caseine has, according to Dr. Voelcker, the following composition :— Carbon : : : ; . 53°57 Hydrogen. 5 . : : 7:14 Nitrogen : ; : ; : 15-41 Oxygen . : 7 5 5 22°03 Sulphur . , : 5 , Biot Phosphorus . : P : : 0°74 100-0 And is easily recognisable by its white flocculent appearance. It is insipid and inodorous, like albumen, from which it differs in its insolu- bility in water, though it is dissolved by a weak solution of alkali or acid. But what chiefly distinguishes caseine is that it is not coagulated on boiling, and that rennet precipitates it from its solutions. Dr. Voelcker has proved, however, in his researches on cheese, that the commonly-received opinion that rennet coagulates milk by decomposing the lactine into lactic acid is incorrect, for he has coagulated milk while in an alkaline condition, and it is owing to the difference in the action of rennet on albumen and caseine that chemists have been able to detect the presence of $ to # per cent. of albumen in milk. This important organic substance not only exists in milk, but is also found in small quantities in the blood of some animals, such as the ox, and ina large class of plants, but more especially in the leguminous tribe, such as peas, beans, &c. Caseine is the basis of all cheeses, and when these are made with milk from which the cream has been previously taken the cheese is dry, but when part of the cream has been left the cheese is rich in fatty matters as well as in caseine; and I may add that the peculiar flavours characterising different cheeses are caused by modifying the conditions of the fermentations which the organic matters undergo. The following researches made by M. Blondeau illustrate JAN. 1, 1865.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. ON CHEMISTRY APPLIED TO THE ARTS. 279 this point, as well as the modifications which cryptogamic life under peculiar circumstances may effect in the composition of organic sub- stances, and his interesting results were obtained in studying the con- version of curd into the well-known cheese of Roquefort. He placed in a cellar some curd of the following composition :— Caseine : ; : ; 3 85:43 Fatty matters : . : 5 1°85 Lactic acid . $ i ’ ; 0°88 Water ; , j ; é 11°84 100-00 To which he added a small quantity of salt. After a month, and again after two months, he analysed portions of the same, with the following results :— After one month. After two months. Caseine ‘ R j 61:33 43°28 Fatty matters : : 16:12 32°31 Chloride of sodium. ‘ 4:40 4:45 Water 5 ; 4 18°15 19°16 Butyric acid : : — 0°67 100:00 99:87 The above figures show a most extraordinary change in the caseine or curd, for we observe that the proportion of caseine gradually decreases, and is replaced by fatty matters. Considering the circumstances under which this phenomenon has occurred, there can be no doubt that this curieus conversion of an animal matter into a fatty one is due toa cryptogamic vegetation or ferment ; and if the Roquefort cheese be ex- posed to the air under a bell jar for twelve months, the decomposition becomes still more complete; for it is no longer the caseine which undergoes a transformation, but the oleine of the fatty matters. The following analyses clearly illustrate this curious action. Composition of the cheese after two and twelve months :— After two months. After twelve months. Caseine . 5 6 43°28 Margarine 5 : 18°30 16°85 Oleine . : : 1400 148 Butyric acid. : 0:67 — Common salt . é 4:45 4°45 Water . : “ 19°30 1516 Butyrate of ammonia . — 5°62 Caproate of ammonia . — 731 Carprylate of ammonia. — 4:18 Caprate of ammonia . — 4:21 100°00 99°49 The substances to which cheeses owe their peculiar flavour are ammoniacal salts, chiefly composed of various organic acids, such as VOL. Vv. KK THE TECHNOLOGIST. (Jan. 1, 1865. 280 ON CHEMISTRY APPLIED TO THE ARTS. acetic, butyric, capric, caproic, and caproleic. I cannot better conclude my remarks on cheese than by extracting from Dr. Voelcker’s inte- resting papers a few of his numerous analyses of different kinds of cheese :— 2 c A o 2 bart H 4 3 iol 3 oO oO a 8 as} e| res) Ds = un a) =e} on a FE = o8 | 82 jae Wag a) = no io) mn ‘S Ad S ) Further he observed, that the flesh of wild animals contained a much larger proportion of kreutine than that of those which were confined : for instance, that there was six times as much in the flesh of a wild fox as in that of a tame one. Allow me to say a few words on the proper- ties of this curious substance, which presents itself in the form of mode- rately large white rectangular prisms, having a pearly lustre, soluble in water, insoluble in alcohol. Although this substance is neutral, it is converted when heated with hydrochloric acid into another solid crys- tallized substance called ‘‘kreatinine,” which possesses strong alkaline properties. When kreatine, instead of being treated by an acid is acted upon by baryta, it is converted into an acid compound called “ inosinic acid.” Liebig ultimately succeeded in finding these substances, as well as another called “ sarcosine,” in various animal secretions. I shall not take up more of your time by discussing the chemical properties of these substances, but merely state that they enable us to distinguish real soup tablets from spurious ones. For this purpose a solution of the tablet in cold water should be made, when, if genuine, it will give a precipitate with chloride of zinc, whilst the spurious one, which contains gelatine but no kreatine, will not do so. Another reaction is, that the pure article will yield 85 per cent. of its weight to alcohol, whilst the imita- tion will only yield about five. i ‘ie ees a a? ie Marcu 1, 1865.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. ON CHEMISTRY APPLIED TO THE ARTS. 945 Preservation of Meat and Animal Substances.—A low temperature is most favourable to the preservation of flesh and other animal substances, and under that condition it will not enter into putrefaction, the best proof of which is that elephants in a perfect state of preservation have been found in Siberia. buried in ice, where they have doubtless existed for many thousands of years. It is also well known that the inhabitants of polar regions preserve their meat fresh by burying it in snow, and I mentioned an instance in one of my previous lectures, viz., the pre- servation and bleaching of sturgeon’s bladders on the banks of the Volga. A high state of desiccation or dryness also contributes powerfully to the prevention of decay. Thus, in Buenos Ayres and Monte Video meat is cut into thin slices, covered with maize flour, dried in the sun, and it is consumed largely, under the name of “tasago” or “charqui,” by the inhabitants of the interior, and also by the black population in Brazil and the West Indies. Further, dried meat reduced to powder is used by travellers in Tartary and adjacent countries, and I may add that of late years meat biscuits have been extensively consumed by the emi- grants having to travel from the United States to California and the West Coast.generally. It is stated that six ounces per diem of this meat biscuit will maintain a man in good health throughout the journey. A remarkable instance of the preservation of animal matter by extreme desiccation is related by Dr. Wefer, who states that in 1787, during a journey in Peru, he found on the borders of the sea many hundreds of corpses slightly buried in the sand which, though they had evidently remained there for two or three centuries, were perfectly dry and free from putrefaction. Although it is not within the scope of these lectures to describe the preservation of vegetable matters, still I cannot refrain from mentioning the interesting method adopted by MM. Masson and Gannal, by which, as you are doubtless aware, vegetables are preserved in the most perfect manner. Their process is most simple, as it consists in submitting the vegetables for a few minutes to the action of high- pressure steam (70 lbs. to the square inch), then drying them by air heated to 100°, when, after compression by hydraulic pressure, they are made into tablets for sale, and when required for use it is only necessary to place the tablets for five hours in cold water, when the vegetable substances swell out to their former size and appearance, and are ready for cooking. As the presence of oxygen or air is an essential condition of putrefaction, the consequence is, that many methods have been invented to exclude that agent, or rather, as I shall show at the end of _ this lecture, the sporules or germs of cryptogamic plants or animals, which are the true ferments or microscopic source of fermentation aud putrefaction. Permit me to describe concisely some of the methods proposed ; and I believe that one of the best processes for excluding air was that invented by Appert, in 1804. It consists in introducing the meat or other animal substance with some water into vessels which are nearly closed, these are then placed ‘in a large boiler with salt (which : ‘a THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Marcu 1, 1865. Wis 346 ON CHEMISTRY APPLIED TO THE ARTS. raises the boiling point of the liquor), and the contents of the vessels are kept hoiling for about an hour so as to exclude all air, and destroy, by the high temperature, all the sporules or germs of putrefaction they may contain, when they are hermetically closed. M. Chevalier Appert has improved this process by placing the prepared vessels in a closed : boiler, by which means he raises the temperature (by pressure) to 234°, effecting thus the same purpose more rapidly and economically. To give you an idea of the extent of this trade, I may state that M. Chevalier Appert prepared above 50,000 Ibs. of meat for the French army in the Crimea. I am aware that many modifications have been applied to this process, but I shall only mention that of Mr. J. McCall, who adds to the previous principle of preservation a small quantity of sulphate of soda, well known to be a powerful antiseptic. The beautiful specimens now on the table, which have been kindly lent to me by Messrs. Fortnum and Mason and by Mr. McCall, will satisfy you of the applicability of the above-named methods for the preserva- tion of meat and other animal substances. But before concluding this part of my lecture, I must add that the preservation of animal and vegetable substances by the exclusion of air and cryptogamic sporules is also effected by other methods than those above described ; for instance, they are imbedded in oil, or in glycerine, as suggested by Mr. G. Wilson, or in saccharine syrups. I should not forget to mention that several plans have been proposed for protecting animal matter by cover- ing their external surfaces with coatings impermeable to air. Two of the most recent are the following :—M. Pelletier has proposed to cover the animal matter with a layer of gum, then immerse it in acetate of alumina, and lastly in a solution of ‘gelatine, allowing the whole to dry on the surface of the animal matter. The characteristic of this method is the use of acetate of alumina which is not only a powerful antiseptic, but also forms an insoluble compound with gelatine, thus protecting the animal matter from external injury. Mr. Pagliari has lately intro- duced a method which is stated to give very good results. It consists in boiling benzoin resin in a solution of alum, immersing the animal matter in the solution, and driving off the excess of moisture by a cur- rent of hot air, which leaves the above antiseptics on the animal matter. It is scarcely necessary to mention the old method of using smoke arising from the combustien of various kinds of wood, except to state that in this case it is the creosote and pyroligneous acids which are the preservative agents. The preservation of animal matter by a very similar action is effected by the use of carbolic acid, a product obtained from coal tar. It is much to be regretted that this substance, which is the most powerful antiseptic known, cannot be made available for the preservation of food, but there can be no doubt that for the preservation of organic substances intended for use in arts and manufactures, no cheaper or more effective material can be found. For example, I have ascertained that one part of carbolic acid, added to five thousand parts Marca 1, 1865.) THE TECHNOLOGIST. ON CHEMISTRY APPLIED TO THE ARTS. 347 of a strong solution of glue, will keep it perfectly sweet for at least two years, and probably for an indefinite period. Also, if hides or skins are immersed for twenty-four hours in a solution of one part of carbolic acid to fifty of water, and then dried in the air, they will remain quite sweet. In fact, hides and bones so prepared have been safely imported from Monte Video. From these facts and many others with which I am acquainted, I firmly believe that this substance is destined, within a few years, to be largely used as an antiseptic and disinfectant. I need hardly speak of the power of chloride of sodium, or common salt, in preserving animal matters, and it is highly probable that the interesting process described by Mr. J. Morgan, for the employment of salt, is likely to render great service in preserving animal food from putrefaction. But with regard to the feasibility of its use in Monte Video and Buenos Ayres, I cannot offer an opinion, as it depends upon so many local cir- cumstances which it isimpossible to appreciate here. Messrs. Jones and Trevethick displayed at the last Exhibition some meat, fowls, and game preserved by the following process, which received the approbation of the jurors. Meat is placed in a tin canister, which is then hermetically closed, with the exception of two small apertures in the lid. It is then plunged into a vessel containing water, and after the air has been ex- hausted through one aperture by means of an air pump, sulphurous acid gas is admitted through the second aperture, and the alternate action of exhausting the air and replenishing the sulphurous acid gas is kept up until the whole of the air has been removed. The sulphurous acid gas in its turn is exhausted, and nitrogen adinitted. The two apertures are then soldered up, and the operation is completed. As I consider the action of carbon on animal matters rather as a case of oxidation than of preservation, I shall refer to that subject further on, and shall, there- fore, proceed to consider the employment of certain animal matters not yet alluded to during this course of lectures, such as the flesh of dead animals not used as food, and those other parts of their carcases which have not been applied in any of the processes already described. The greatest part of these refuse matters are used for producing animal black, which differs from bone black, referred to in my first lecture, being used in the state of impalpable powder, whilst bone black or char is composed of smallhard grains. The manufacture of animal black is generally carried out by introducing into horizontal retorts connected with a coil or condenser, and with an exit pipe for the gases, some of the animal matters mentioned ; on the application of heat decomposition occurs, the oily matters distil and condense in the worm, and constitute what is called oil of dippel, formerly much nsed in the art of currying certain classes of leather ; water also distils, charged with a variety of ammoniacal salts, which are generally converted into sulphate of ammo- nia for agricultural purposes. As to the gases, they are usually ignited ‘and burnt to waste. The carbonaceous mass which remains in the re- tort is removed, and ground to powder with water in a mill, allowed to THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Marcu 1, isés 348 ON CHEMISTRY APPLIED TO THE ARTS. settle, and, lastly, dried and sold under the name of animal black. Its chief uses are in the manufacture of blacking and printing ink. Another manufacture which consumes a large quantity of animal refuse, especially the horns, hoofs, &c., of too inferior a quality to be used for the pur- poses described in my first lecture, is that of the yellow prussiate of potash, a most important salt, for it is extensively used in calico print- ing, silk and wool dyeing, and in the manufacture of the pigment called prussian blue—for gilding silver, copper, and other inferior metals ; and lastly, it is the source from which cyanide of potassium is procured, a substance much employed in the art of photography. Let me now call your attention to the manufacture of prussiate of potash, the greatest portion of which is still prepared at the present day by the old process devised by Dr. Woodward, F.R.S., in 1724. It consists in introducing into large cast-iron pots American pearlash, melting it, closing the ves- sel, and then setting the mass in motion by means of a revolving shaft. At this period of the operation, hoofs, horns, and other animal refuse are introduced in small quantities at a time. Under the influence of heat and of the alkali, the nitrogen of the organic matters splits into two parts, one part combining with the hydrogen to form ammonia, which escapes, whilst the other portion unites with the carbon, pro- ducing cyanogen, which remains combined with the potassium of the potash. After several hours the operation is considered to be completed and the melted mass is run out into small cast-iron receptacles ; when cool, these are placed in large vats with water, and a jet of steam is in- troduced, and the whole is kept on the boil for several hours, when the cyanide of potassium is partly decomposed, giving rise to carbonate of potash and to cyanide of iron, for not only has a portion of the iron of the melting pots been attacked and combined with the mass, but a cer- tain quantity of iron filings has been used during the operation. How- ever, two parts of the cyanide of potassium combine with one part of cyanide of iron, and the result is that a double cyanide, called ferro- eyanide of potassium, or yellow prussiate of potash, is formed. The liquors are then allowed to clear by standing, and the ayueous solution is evaporated until a pellicle appears on its surface, when it is permitted to cool, and the salt is deposited on strings which have been passed through the crystallizing vat, and which facilitate the crystallization of the prussiate salt. In consequence of the large amount of animal mat- ter used as compared with the quantity of prussiate- obtained, this salt has always commanded a good price in the market, and has induced many eminent chemists to try to devise cheaper processes for obtaining it. To attempt here to give merely an outline of these various proposed plans would involve so much technical description as would occupy far too much time for this lecture, but I would recommend those interested in this branch of manufacture to read the learned account given by Dr. A. W. Hoffman, in his report on “The Chemical Products in the last Exhibition,” page 57, where they will find the process of M. Gauthier- Marca 1, 1865.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. ON CHEMISTRY APPLIED TO THE ARTS. 349 Bouchard for obtaining salts of cyanogen from the ammoniacal waters of eas-works; those of Mr. R. T. Hughes and Messrs. Bramwell, of Newcastle, for the conversion of nitrogen of the atmosphere into cyanide of potassium ; that of M. Kamrodt, for decomposing ammonia by carbon carried to a high temperature ; and Jastly, that of MM. Marguerite and De Sourdeval, for producing cyanogen from the nitrogen of the atmo- sphere and fixing it by means of barium. This latter process seems to be highly commended by the learned reporter to whom I have referred. I must not, however, omit to mention the scientific and interesting pro- cess devised by Mr. Gelis, and based on the chemical reaction which ensues when bisulphide of carbon is mixed with sulphide of ammonium. Yellow prussiate crystallizes in large crystals belonging to the octohe- dral system, composed, as before stated, of two parts of cyanide of po- tassium, 2 Cy K, and one of iron, Cy Fe + 3 of water or HO. This salt is freely soluble in water, but is insoluble in alcohol, and when mixed with weak vitriol and heated gives rise to prussic acid, which distils, and may be used either as a violent poison or, in qualified hands, as a most valuable therapeutic agent. When ferrocyanide of potassium is heated with several times its bulk of concentrated sulphuric ecid, instead of yielding prussic acid, as above, it gives rise to a poisonous gas, called oxide of carbon, which burns with a beautiful blue flame, and which we have all seen burning in our fireplaces when the combustible matter has lost all its volatile constituentsand nothing remains but a red incandescent mass. When chlorine is passed through a solution of this salt chloride of potassium is formed, and the yellow prussiate is con- verted into red prussiate or ferrocyanide of potassium, composed of 3 Cy K + 3 Fe, Cys. When heated with peroxide of mercury, potash, peroxide of iron, and cyanide of mercury are produced, the latter being a most violent poison. To produce Prussian blue on silk with this salt, al! that is required is to dip the silk in a slightly acidulated liquor con- taining a persalt of iron, and when the silk is washed and mordanted, it is dipped in a weak acidulated solution of yellow prussiate of potash, when it assumes a beautiful blue colour, due to the formation of Prussian blue. To dye wood it is necessary to pass it through a boiling bath composed of yellow prussiate, muriate of tin, anda small quantity of sulphuric acid. Prussian blue is gra:lually formed, and fixes itself on the fibre. To produce blue on calicoes, a solution of yellow prussiate of potash is made, to which is added some tartaric acid and muriate of tin. This mixture, after having been properly thickened, is printed on the calico, and then submitted to the action of steam, the Prussian blue so produced being fixed on the cotton fibre by means of the oxide of tin, resulting from the decomposition of the salt employed. Nothing is more simple than to gild or silver metals by means of ferrocyanide of potassium, or to cover iron and other metals with copper. To obtain a gilding liquor, it is only necessary to take 1,000 parts of water, adding to it 100 parts of yellow prussiate of potash, 10 parts of THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Marcy 1, 1865. 350 ON CHEMISTRY APPLIED TO THE ARTS. chloride of gold, and 1 part of caustic potash. ach of these should be acded successively, and the whole of the liquor carried to the boil and filtered. It is then ready for gilding silver or brass objects, when properly attached to the pole of a galvanic battery. The silvering liquor is made by substituting for the chloride of gold, in the above process, ferrocyanide of silver, prepared by adding nitrate of silver toa solution of ferrocyanide of potassium, the white precipitate resulting being washed and added to the liquor intended for silvering. For covering zinc or iron with copper it is simply necessary to substitute the ferrocyanide of copper for that of silver. Ferrocyanide of potassium, as above stated, is also employed for the manufacture of Prussian blue, which was accidentally discovered by Diesback,in 1718, by adding alum, containing iron, to the ammoniacal liquors sold to him by Dippel, which were produced, as already stated, during the distillation of animal refuse. These liquors, being rich in cyanide compounds, yielded, with the salt of iron of the alum, Prussian blue. At the pre- sent day Prussian blue is manufactured by different processes, but they are all based on the principle of mixing various salts of iron with red or yellow prussiate, when double cyanides of iron (or Prussian blues) are produced. I shall now examine with you some of the various causes which contribute to the destruction of animal matters, when it arises from slew decay or putrefaction. The first of these to which I shall have the pleasure of calling your attention is that observed by Dr. Stenhouse, who, in 1854, made the curious discovery, that if the body of an animal be buried in a carbonaceous mass, such as charcoal, after a few months the whole of the animal, excepting the skeleton, would entirely disap- pear: and what was still more remarkable was, that, though the ex- periments were conducted within his laboratory, no unpleasant effluvium was apparent to those who were constantly there. This eminent chemist attributed the rapid and complete destruction of animal tissue in these experiments to the oxidation of the animal matters by the oxy- gen of the atmosphere ; but to enable you fully to understand how this occurs, I must call your attention to the following facts. Lowitz, many years since, observed that charcoal possesses the property of absorbing and condensing in its pores large quantities of various gases, and Theodore de Saussure made an extensive series of experiments, from which I extract the following data :— One cubic inch of boxwood charcoal absorbed of— Ammonia . : : - : . 90 cubic inches, Hydrochloric acid. - ; g Say ire + Sulphurous acid ; - : : GB aeas = Sulphuretted hydrogen. . 5 Dai tas = Carbonic acid. : i 3 : So Sy we Oxygen. : ; : : ‘ ED i, os Nitrogen. : 5 3 - : 7 Marca 1, 1865.] THis TECHNOLOGIST. ON CHEMISTRY APPLIED TO THE ARTS. Bip Consequently the absorption or condensation of a gas in charcoal appears to be in proportion to the solubility of the gas in water,and although the condensation by a solid and by a liquid may at first appear neces- sarily due to different causes, and therefore to bear no relation to each other, yet in my opinion these two actions are identical. Seeing that the gas is condensed by the molecular attraction of the solid, I do not see why the same attraction should not be exercised by the molecules of the liquid. The different degrees of solubility of various gases are no dyubt owing to their respective physical properties, such as specific gravity, repulsive or expansive forces of their molecules, &c. I may here niention that 1 am now engaged in a series of experiments in the hope of throwing some light on this interesting question. Gay-Lussac, in his researches on the condensation of gases by char- coal, found that one gas may expel and take the place of another gas aiready condensed in the charcoal; and Dr. Stenhouse, following up this observation, states that the gases, vapours, and sporules generated by the putrefaction of animal substances, are absorbed by charcoal and brought into immediate contact with the oxygen of the atmosphere also contained in the pores of the charcoal, which oxidising or destroying the products of putrefaction converts them into water, carbonic acid, nitric acid, &c. These important scientific observations of Dr. Sten- house have already received practical application; thus Mr. Haywood has estabiished charcoal filters at the mouths of public drains, thereby arresting the escape and diffusion in the atmosphere of the noxious effluvia given off by the putrefying matters in the sewers. Further, charcoal respirators have become extensively used since Dr. Stenhouse called public attention to the valuable properties of this substance ; and lastly, atmospheric filters, containing charcoal, have been successfully applied in the Houses of Parliament to purify the entering air from any noxious gases it may contain before passing into the building. The natural decay or destruction of organic matters is due to two perfectly distinct causes, one of them chemical and the other physiological. The former has been investigated by many of the most eminent chemists of the day, and no deubt can remain that the action of the oxygen of the atmosphere converts the carbon of organic substances into carbonic acid, the hydrogen into water, the sulphur into sulphurie acid, the nitrogen into nitric acid, the phosphorus into phosphoric acid, &e, Much light has recently been thrown upon these phenomena by Mr. Kuhlmann, who clearly shows that the oxides of iron play a most impor- tant part therein ; thus, that the sesquioxide of iron yields its oxygen to the elements of the organic matters ; that the protoxide of iron there- by formed absorbs oxygen from the air, which reeonverts it into sesqui- oxide, and this again yields its oxygen to a fresh portion of organic matter, so that sesquioxide of iron is a most powerful oxidising agent, it being, in fact, the condenser of oxygen and the medium of its con- veyance to and destruction of organic substances. MM. Chevreul and VOL, VY. QQ THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Maron 1, 1865. 352 ON CHEMISTRY APPLIED TO THE ARTS. Kuhlmann have also shown that sulphate of lime acts in a similar manner, namely, that it yields its oxygen to the elements of organic substances, and is thus converted into sulphuret of calcium, which having a great affinity for oxygen is again rapidly converted into sul- phate of lime, and thus the oxygenation and destruction of the organic matter is effected. Mr. Millon has published an interesting paper on the formation of nitre, or nitrate of potash, through the ammonia gene- rated during the destruction of organic substances being oxidised into nitric acid, which combines with potash, if present, and if not with lime or magnesia, which are present in all soils. Mr. Millon has remarked that this important chemical reaction is effected by an organic substance called humic acid, which acid, or its homologues, exists in large quantities in all earthy loams containing much organic, and more especially vegetable, matters in a state of decomposition. Humic acid absorbs the oxygen of the atmosphere, which oxidises the ammonia into nitric acid and water. The chemical theory of the destruction of organic matters through oxidation and their absorption of plants and reconversion into the same substances, from which they were derived, such as sugar, starch, gum, oil, essences, &c., or albumen, fibrine, gluten, caseine, &e., was greatly in favour a few years since, as it appeared to fulfil all the requirements of nature. It has, however, been greatly shaken by the beautiful researches of M. Pasteur on fermentation, putrefaction, and spontaneous generation, which prove clearly that these physiological actions play a most active part in the destruction of organic substances. This most skilful chemist has demonstrated that there is no such thing as spontaneous generation, and that the notion entertained by some physiologists, that if matter is placed in favourable circumstances as to heat, light, &c., and in a proper medium, it will be- come spontaneously animated, is undoubtedly erroneous, and that life in all instances proceeds from a germ or egg in which the vital principle is implanted by the Creator. He proves that life, even in the most insignificant of microscopic creatures, always originates thus, and that there is no single instance of matter being animated by purely physical causes. Let me draw your attention to a few among many tacts observed by M. Pasteur, proving that life is not a property of matter, like weight, elasticity, compressibility, &c., but is always the result of a germ even in its lowest development. - When arterial blood is carefully introduced from the artery into a clean vessel, and there brought into contact with oxygen, no fermenta- tion or putrefaction of the blood ensues ; and if the experiment is repeated, substituting for the chemically prepared oxygen, atmospheric air which has been passed through atube containing pumice stone and carried to intense heat, im this case also, there is no putrefaction or fermentation ; but if ordinary atmospheric air be used in the place of pure oxygen, or heated air, and left in contact with some of the same blood, this vital fluid will rapidly putrefy, which is doubtless owing to the presence in the Marca 1, 1865.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. ON CHEMISTRY APPLIED TO THE ARTS. 353 atmospherie air of the sporules or eggs of mycoderma and vibrios, or organized ferments, which give rise to the various chemical phenomena -and changes of organic matters into products which characterise fer- mentation and putrefaction. The same results are obtained when fresh urine is substituted tor blood, an important fact, proving that the germs of fermentation do not exist in the fluids themselves, and that fermentation does not proceed fom any molecular or chemical change in the composition or nature of the organic substances contained in blood and urine, but that the ferment from which these phenomena proceed is to be sought for in the atmosphere. I shall substantiate this view by several other interesting observations made by M. Pasteur. If some asbestos is heated to a red heat and plunged into a liquor susceptible of putrefaction, such as a saccharine liquor, no fermenta- tion ensues, but if atmospheric air is passed through asbestos at natural temperature, and the latter then inmersed in a similar solution of sugar, active fermentation soon takes place, proving that the atmo- spheric air has Jeft on the surface of the asbestos sporules of the Mycoderma vini, which, being introduced with the asbestos into the saccharine fluid, orginated the well-known alcoholic fermentation, Another beautiful series of experiments by M. Pasteur is the following: —He introduced into sixty small balloons a small quantity of a highly putrescible fluid, and after boiling the fluid in order to drive out the air remaining in the balloons by the formation of steam, he closed the small apertures so that on cooling the steam condensed and a vacuum was produced. He then proceeded to open twenty of these ballouns at the foot of one of the hills of the Coté d'Or, twenty others at the summit of the same (about 2,000 feet high), and the remaining twenty at a point near Chamounix, and the following results were observed : Of the first twenty balloons the contents of fifteen entered into putrefaction within a few days; of the second twenty only six, and of the third twenty only two gave signs of fermentation. These results, as well as some others published by M. Pasteur, prove that the sporules or germs of putrefac- tion and fermentation exist in all parts of the atmosphere, but more abundantly in the lower strata, which are necessarily in contact with vreat quantities of organic matter in a state of decay, and that these sporules become scarce in the upper regions of the atmosphere, which are further removed from the source of pollution. Further, he has proved, as I stated in my last lecture, when speaking of the preservation of milk, that fluids extremely liable to fermentation or putrefaction may be prevented from entering into those conditions by heating them to 250° or 260°, a temperature at which the sporules cannot resist decom- position in the presence of water. M. Pasteur has advanced a step fur- ther in this interesting inquiry, for he has demonstrated that there are two distinct phases in putrefaction. In the first there are the vibrios produced in the bulk of the fluid containing animal matters in solution, and that these microscopic animals resolve the organic substances into THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Marcu 1, 1865. 354 ON CHEMISTRY APPLIED TO THE ARTS. more simple compounds ; in the second phase, there are produced on the surface of the fluid eryptogams, which he calls mycoderms, and which absorb oxygen from the air, and oxidise the products developed by the vibrios. In the case of the fermentation of vegetable substances, such as saccharine matters, there are mycoderms (Mycoderma vini), which resolve them into, say alchol and carbonic acid, while other mycoderms (Mycoderma aceti) are produced, and grow on the surface of the fluid, oxidising alcohol into water and acetic acid. He therefore concludes that the animal vibrios and vegetable mycoderms exist abundantly in nature, and that they must be and are the most active causes of the destruction of vegetable and animal substances which have fulfilled their vital function on the earth, reducing them into water, carbonic acid, ammonia, sulphuretted hydrogen, &c., which, in their turn, become the food of a succeeding generation of plants and animals, We may therefore truly say that death is life in the constantly reviving world. M. Pasteur has observed another most curious fact connected with these microscopic beings—(I say microscopic, because it requires a most powerful instrument and bigh powers to distinguish them, and to ascer- tain that vibrios possess a vibratory motion while mycoderms are stationary) ; this is, that vibrios are the only animals which can live in pure carbonic acid, and which are killed by oxygen even diluted with another gas. Oxygen is essential to the life of mycoderms, and some of them can also exist in carbonic acid. Lastly, M. Pasteur has noticed that if a very small amount of yeast is added to a saccharine fluid, the yeast will not materially increase in quantity, because the new genera- tion which is produced lives on the remains of its parent; but if phos- phate of ammonia or of lime and some sal ammoniac is added with the yeast, the latter will rapidly increase and occupy several times its origi- nal bulk. It is curious to observe that these microscopic cryptogams require the same kind of,food as man. Thus, they require nitrogenated food—so do we. They require mineral food, as phosphates—so do we. They require respiratory food—so do we. They produce carbonic acid as part of their vital functions—so do we.’ I cannot do better than con- clude this part of my subject by giving the following table descriptive of the various ferments observed by M. Pasteur :— FERMENTATION. Alcohol. Mycoderma Resolves Carbonic acid. vini. sugar. Succinie acid. Glycerine. Mycoderma ? Oxidises Acetie. aceti. § alcohol. } Water. PUTREFACTION. Infusorial Ferments. Vibrios resolve animal substances. Bacterea oxidises organic-matters of an animal origin. Marcu 1, 1865. | THE TECHNOLOGIST. ON THE DENTALIUM SHELL, ETC. 355 IT should mislead you, however, if I did not call your attention to another class of fermentations, which are chemical in their nature and in their action. This, for example, is the case when bitter almonds are crushed and mixed with water. The amygdaline they contain is decom- posed into prussic acid, hydruret of benzoil, &c., by the ferment they contain, which is called ‘‘emulcine.” Again, when black mustard is re- duced to meal, and placed in contact with water, the myronic acid it contains is decomposed into the essential oil of mustard, a most corro- sive fluid, and this is also effected by a sjecial ferment called “myrosine.” Again, when malt is mashed with water of a temperature of 170°, its starch is converted into sugar by a ferment called “ diastase.” We also know that the starch which we take into our stomachs as food is con- verted into sugar by animal diastase, which exists in the saliva as well as In the pancreatic juice, and that this conversion is identical with that which takes place in the mashtub. In fact, the whole of the changes which our food undergoes to render it fit for assimilation in the digestive organs of the body may be considered as a series of different fermenta- tions. What gives a further interest to these chemical ferments is, that not only are they all nitrogenated, and possess a similar composition, -but they present many identical properties, and each has its own pecu- liar action, that is, it will only cause fermentation in those matters which have been placed by Nature in contact with it. Thus, diastase will not convert amygdaline into prussic acid, hydruret of benzoil, &c., nor will myrosine convert starch into sugar. In conclusion, it is certain that our knowledge of these interesting phenomena of putrefaction, fermentation, &c., is yet in its infancy, and there is no doubt that many important discoveries in thig intricate branch of knowledge will from time to time be brought before the world, and reward science for its persevering efforts. ON THE DENTALIUM SHELL AND SHELL-MONEY. BY EDWARD T. STEVENS. In the very interesting paper upon “The Use of the Dentalium Sheil by the Natives of Vancouver’s Island and British Columbia,” which appeared in the last number of the TxcHNoLoGIsT, it is stated that twenty-five dentalium shells placed end to end should measure six feet (a fathom) to make a “ Hi-qua” or the highest value capable of being repre- sented by a single fathom of these shells, and that the shorter and defec- tive shells are strung together in various lengths, and are known as “kop-kops,” forty of which equal a “ hi-qua” in value. Mr. Paul Kane (quoted by Dr. Daniel Wilson) gives some particulars THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Marcy 1, 1865. — 356 ON THE DENTALIUM SHELL as to the value of these shorter shells. He states that forty dentalia go to the fathom as the standard number, which, he adds, is equal in value to one beaver’s skin ; that if thirty-nine shells measure the fathom, it is then worth two beavers’ skins, and so on increasing in value one beaver’s skin for every shell less than the standard number. Among the Chinooks and other Indians of the Northern Pacific coast, dentalia, called by them “ ioqua,” serve for ornamental purposes, as well as for money ; they are formed into necklaces, and the robes of the natives are fringed with them. Curiously enough, dentalia were used for a necklace by some long-forgotten Celtic chieftain, who found his last resting place on this side of the Atlantic, upon that large tract of bleak down-land known as Salisbury Plain. The smooth grass-clad knoll which marked the spot at Winterborne Stoke, near Salisbury, when opened by the late Sir Richard C. Hoare, disclosed the moulder- ing remains of the warrior, with his highly-prized bronze dagger-blade and his rude ornaments, which consisted of some imperfectly-burnt clay beads, two joints of a fossil encrinite, and a necklace of dentalium shells. From this and similar examples it appears that necklaces and such ornaments were worn by the male sex in the British Isles during the period that stone and bronze weapous were in use; thus, to give but one corroborative example, two male skeletons were found in a tumulus in Phenix Park, Dublin, in 1838, and each had been buried with a necklace of shells (Nerita lttoralis) around the neck. In this instance no trace of metal was found in the interment; the brooch (fibula) was of bone, the arrow point merely chipped from a flint. How exactly does this practice agree with what is known to exist among the aborigines of North America; it is not so much the squaw as the warrior who is loaded with ornaments and decorations. Whilst the dentalinm constitutes the circulating medium of North- Western America, shells in another form represented money among the tribes which inhabited the south-eastern districts of that continent. This shell-money is known as wampum, an Iroquois word meaning a mussel. Wampum was made from shells cut into pieces from half an inch to one inch in length ; these pieces were perforated and strung on deer’s sinews. An old writer (John Josselyn) asserted that the Indians made wampum so cunningly, that neither Jew nor devil could counter- feit it. As events have turned out, this was an idle boast, for a spurious imitation, very closely resembling real wampum, was introduced by the fur traders at so low a price, that the whole Indian country was soon flooded with it, destroying at once the value and meaning of real wampum. Wampum is of two colours, dark purple and white; the former is made from the Venus mercatorius, the latter from the columella of various shells. Not only did wampum at one time form the regular circulating medium in the eastern districts of North America, but the wampum belt was passed as a pledge of friendship at treaties, or was Marcu 1, 1865. ] THE TECHNOLOGIST, AND SHELL-MONEY. 357 sent to hostile tribes as the messenger of peace. Did fortune prove adverse, then so many fathoms of wampum were paid as tribute to the conquering tribe. Ninigret paid the English in two years about 1,100 fathoms of wampum (cir. 1650). Pometacom (a New England Indian, cir. 1671) possessed a coat, band, and buskins “thick set with these beads, in pleasant wild works,” which were valued at 201. About 1650 a fathom of white wampum was worth rather more than 5s. 7d., the purple representing double that sum. By number, six white and three purple beads were equivalent to one penny English. Wampuni is found in ancient graves in Western New York, in tumuli of the West. It has been obtained from the plains of Sandusky, from graves near Buffalo, and north of the Niagara river in Canada. Not less than 1,700 of these shell beads were taken from one tumulus in Western Virginia. Catlin observed that, after he had passed the Mississippi River, scarcely any wampum was used ; he did not notice it at all among the Upper Missouri Indians, very little among the Missouri Sioux, and none among tribes north and west of them. Below the Sioux, and along the whole of the western frontier of the United States, the use of wampum was profuse. In tumuli in Tennessee, and in the Ohio Valley, wampum occurs together with the raw material (the columella of the Strombus gigas as found on the sea-coast) and all stages in the manufacture up to the finished beads. Doubiless the tropical marine shells which have been found in American tumuli, at considerable distances from their native habitat, had been treasured by their owners during life for their rarity, and were buried with the cherished belongings of the deceased. It is pro- bable that they represented money, just as appears still to be the case with certain marine shells in Central Africa. Strinte hung a string of beads with the end of a cone-sheli around Dr. Livingston’s neck as a last and convincing proof of his friendship. Two such shells would have bought a slave, and five would have been a handsome price for an elephant’s tusk worth 10/. The value of the money cowry (Cyprea moneta) appears to have varied considerably—a variation which depended upon the supply of shells, the distance they had to be transported, and the difficulties of transit. Thus, in Bengal, eighty cowries made a ponz, and from sixty to sixty-five ponis (according to the scarcity or the abundance of cowries in the country) were of the value of a rupee; whilst in the interior of Africa the value of the cowry was increased tenfold. If shells have served for money, they have also ministered to man’s wants, to his luxury, and to his pride in a thousand ways. I can but enumerate a few instances :—The Caribs made knives, lances, and har- poons from shells. The application of shells to the manufacture of fish-hooks is well known ; the natives of Tahiti caught cuttle-fish with a bait made from highly-coloured shells. Whilst many natives have eM ey THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Marcu 1, 1865. _ 358 IRISH BOG-OAK ORNAMENTS. decked themselves with ornaments made of shells, the natives of Darnley Island, off the coast of New Guinea, are stated (cir. 1843) to use shells as substitutes for dress.) The Malays need calcined shell, (chunam) to impart a relish to their favourite masticatory, the sliced betel nut. The American mound-builders reduced shells to a coarse powder, and mixed it with the clay employed in making their pottery. According to tradition, a dog broke a shell on the sea-shore, and thus led to the discovery of the renowned dye—the Tyrian purple—so highly prized by the ancients. The byssus of the Pinna shell was spun and. woven into a silky cloth by the ancients; indeed, gloves and other articles are still made from it as curiosities. I say nothing of the value which has always attached to pearls, or of the importance of shell-fish as food, although the Danish shell- mounds (Kjékkenmédding) and those of Massachusetts and Georgia, U.S., carry us back to a period when certain tribes almost subsisted upon molluscs. The modern British trade in shells, however, is not unimportant, as your readers may learn by looking to the TrcHNoLoaist, vol. i., p. 271. Details are there given of the value of the imports of foreign-collected shells for the year 1859, amounting to the very respectable sum of 274,268). Salisbury Museum. IRISH BOG-OAK ORNAMENTS. One branch of art manufacture exclusively Irish is the manufacture of ornaments from Irish bog-oak. In compensation as it were for the coal-fields of England, Ireland possesses vast traets of peat moss or bogs. In these have been found, deeply buried, the relics of primeval forests which flourished, it may be, before man had trodden the earth. Oak, fir, deal, and yew have been dug up and used for firing and other pur- poses ; but in the present century the hand of Art has converted por- tions of this product from comparative uselessness to articles of artistic value. The history of bog-oak manufacture is somewhat interesting. When George IV. visited Ireland in 1821, a person of the name of M‘Gurk presented him with an elaborately-carved walking-stick of Irish bog- oak the work of his own hands, and received, we believe, a very ample remuneration. The work was much admired and M‘Gurk obtained several orders from time to time. Subsequently a man of the name of Connell, who lived in the lovely lake district of Killarney, commenced to do somewhat more regular business in carving the oak to be found plentifully in the district, and selling his work to the visitors as souve- Marca 1, 1865.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. IRISH BOG-OAK ORNAMENTS. 359 nirs of the locality. The trade prospered sufficiently to induce him to establish himself in Dublin some twenty years ago, and at his retire- ment the business, now a profitable one, passed to his son-in-law, Mr. Cornelius Goggin, of Nassau-street. The beauty of the carving and the elegance of the designs, chiefly taken from objects of antique Irish art, made these ornaments in fashion not only in Ireland, but in England. The Queen, the Prince Consort, and other members of the royal family and the nobility were purchasers of the most beautiful specimens ; and so carving in Irish bog-oak attained the position of a native art, giving employment to many hands and supporting many establishments. The oak is black and hard as ebony ; that best suited for carving is brought from the counties of Meath, Tipperary, Kerry, and Donegal. Of a load which will be purchased for about thirty shillings, a consider- able portion is unfit for use, by reason of flaws or splits. The wood is cut into pieces suitable for carving and is worked on the end of the grain or section, and not on the length of the grain, or plankwise. The process of carving is similar to that of ivory. The more experienced workmen carve designs without any pattern before them, and can earn from forty to fifty shillings a week. The wages of the less expert vary from ten shillings upwards, and women earn nearly as much as men. The total number of persons employed in this artistic handicraft is something over two hundred. Many of them work on the premises of their employers, while others take the material to their own houses. A method of producing very fine effects at a great saving of cost and labour has been patented by Mr. Joseph Johnson, of Suffolk-street. This is effected by stamping: the piece of wood, cut to the required size, is placed on the top of the die, which latter is heated by means of a hot plate of metal upon which it stands ; over the wood a similar hot plate is laid ; upon this a powerful screw-press descends, and the wood receives the impress of the die as freely as wax, the bitumen in it pre- venting the fibre from cracking or crumbling. In this way objects of exquisite delicacy and very high relief, almost to the height of an inch, are produced in a moment. The designs thus obtained bv the die are readily distinguishable from those wrought by the carver’s tool; they want the extreme sharpness of the carving, but they are capable of showing, in compensation, more minute figuring and more elaborate details. The dies, some of which are very beautiful in design and all sharply cut, are made on the premises. This branch of trade has done some service to Art in Ireland, by producing many excellent native carvers, several of them in the hum- blest walks of life. Amongst those one pre-eminently deserves to be mentioned. Many years ago, three ladies of the name of Grierson, persons of education and refinement, turned their attention to educating some of the young people in their neighbourhood, in the Dublin moun- tains, in the art of wood-carving, as they had seen it practised in VOL. V. RR 360 IRISH BOG-OAK ORNAMENTS. Sweden. The project was successful, and amongst the pupils one of the name of Thomas Rogers attained to such excellence that his work will safely bear comparison with the best artists of any country. He is, of course, in full business. From tine to time he comes down from his retired home, a glen in the Dublin mountains, known by the poetic name of Glen-na-Smohl, or the “ Valley of the Thrush,” receives his orders, takes home his wood, and returns in due time with his work executed in the most exquisite manner. This year he executed for Mr. Johnson, of Suffolk-street, one of the most elaborate and beautiful pieces of work that has ever been produced in Ireland—the large bog- oak box made for the purpose of holding the Irish lace presented to the Princess of Wales by the ladies of Ireland, the box being a gift to her from the Irish gentry. It is not easy to estimate the amount of the sales of bog-oak work. Mr. Johnson sells between 4,000/. and 5,000/. a year, and Mr. Samuel M‘Connell and others do a proportionately large business. It is to be regretted that a very inferior imitation is produced in England made of common deal, stamped and coloured, which is sold as genuine Irish carved bog-oak. It can, however, deceive only the very ignorant or the very unwary. The stranger who visits Dublin may dispose of an idle hour very agreeably in the inspection of the shops where these bog-oak ornaments are sold. The principal establishments are those of Mr. Johnson and Mr. Goggin already alluded to, and of the brother of the latter in Grafton-street, and those of Mr. Samuel in Nassau-street and Mr. John- son in Fleet-street. Articles of very much the same character may be seen in them all: antique sculptured crosses in high relief, round towers, abbeys, antique brooches and fibule, harps, shamrocks, and other national emblems, besides a multitude of articles used in the boudoir and the drawing-room. Unhappily, there are not many Irish manufactures ; it is a duty to encourage those that do exist. They will in time become better as well as more numerous. We have strong faith, not only in the capabilities of the country—so. fertile in raw materials of every available and useful kind—but in the power of its people to turn them to valuable account. — The Art Journal.’ ate Sie ee ‘da THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Marcu 1, 1865. - Marca 1, 1865.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. 361 FOREIGN AND HOME FISHING VESSELS AND BOATS.* Amipst the variety, or rather the profusion, of objects which the Exhibition displayed, ships and vessels of all kinds were few in number, and occupied but little space, notwithstanding the large share they had in bringing these very objects to our doors from every part of the habitable globe, the intercommunication they keep up between remote nations, and the deep influence they have exercised on mankind by being the pioneers of discovery and the means of spreading civiliza- tion to the uttermost parts of the earth. And especially does this remark of scarcity of specimens apply to the various forms of native vessels, boats, and canoes which the navigator meets with in the eastern seas and among the numerous islands in the Pacific Ocean, where each group has its peculiar form, some of which, when we were first introduced. to them by our earlier circumnavigators, as Tasman, Vasco da Gama, Cook, La Pérouse, Dumont-Durville, Littke, and Krusenstern, were found to be of unusual shape, to have many good qualities, to be very picturesque under sail, and occasionally ornamented by most elaborate carving. As from some cause or another these types are fast passing away, it may not be without interest to mention some of the more cha- racteristic of them, and to compare them with the more familiar European forms. At the same time we cannot but express our regret that so few specimens of them were to be found in the Exhibition of 1862; nor, indeed, as far as we are aware, is there anything approach- ing a complete collection of models of native boats and vessels in any museum in Europe. The best, we believe, is in the Louvre at Paris. On the western coast of Africa, in the deep rivers of Senegal, and the delta of the Niger, the canoes are hollowed out of the trunks of large trees, and some of them, especially those used for war, are fine powerful boats, propelled by thirty paddles. On the shores of Arabia, the dhow and bagala of Mokha, and Maskat, with a high poop and very low raking stem, appear to have been the type of vessels of the middle ages, One peculiar feature is having the maximum of displacement abaft. The garikuh boat, with its long raking stein, the beden safar, or great fishing boat of Maskat, with an upright stem and one large lateen sail, and the dungiyah of the Gulf of K’ach, has each its peculiarity, On the Malabar coast is the putamar, with its arched keel, and farther south the snake boat, a long pirogue, which is light for use on the back waters or lagoons that extend south of Cochin. In Ceylon the outrigger becomes a pro- minent feature, and with its aid the boat carries a larger sail in propor- tion than any that swims the seas. It is of light cotton cloth, and its surface is more than 200 times that of the immersed section of the canoe and its outriggers. * From the Jurors’ Reyort on Class XIL., International Exhibition, 1862, RR 2 THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Marc 1, 1865. 362 FOREIGN AND HOME ~ On the Coromandel coast we meet with the catamaran, or raft, with its brown triangular sail, which at a distance resembles a buoy placed to mark a shoal; off Madras with the masulah or surf boat, apparently clumsy and frail, yet admirably adapted for landing on the beach, on which the rollers of the Indian Ocean unceasingly break. On the Ganges and Hooghly are numerous flat boats, a sort of floating houses, with very high pointed sterns, low bows, and kiosk-like buildings amid- ships to give shelter from the sun. The war galley of the Birmans with its thirty rowers, and the shupdn doghe, or state yacht, are magnificent vessels in their way. On the coast of China there is an entire change; and however fantastical the form, there is no want of intelligence in adapting the junks for the work they have to do; they have their greatest breadth abatt the beam, the stern is round, and the bow sharp, with no hollow lines; the sail is of palm canvas with bamboo laths across it, sometimes upwards of thirty in number, like a persienne or Venetian blind. A Tonkin coasting junk with its radiating ribbed sail and the carved head drawn forward, looking like a gigantic neutilus. In the Philippine Isles, as in all the country of the Malays, double outriggers, or one on each side, are used, the weather one serving to give stability by its weight, the lee one by its buoyancy ; the tarayas or fishing rafts with their two masts in the form of shears, their very long bamboo lateen yards curving right and left, and the fishing nets suspended from them are very pic- turesque. The Malay coasters have triple masts in the form of a tri- angle, while the build of the boats is not unlike that of the fishing boats of Provence. In these seas, which are always smooth, the notorious Malay pirates have reproduced the biremes and triremes of the ancient ages. They are very long boats, and the banks of oars or paddles are placed one above and outside the other on the outriggers, and the boats attain a great speed. To the eastward of New Guinea we meet with only the single out- rigger, the happy invention of some savage Archimedes, which by its leverage enables the small and narrow canoes te carry large sails. In the Caroline Islands we first see the flying praos, the sail being an equilateral triangle, having its side equal to the length of the canoe. This enormous sail is balanced by a single outrigger in the form of a small solid boat, and the lateral resistance is further increased by the lee side of the canoe being straight and nearly upright, as they can always present the same side to the wind, changing the rudder from stern to stem when necessary. The natives of this group, the sailors par excellence of the South Seas, go distances of 700 miles out of sight of land, and their speed is such that the name of flying praos given by the earlier circumnavigators hardly seems an exaggeration. At Vanikorro, where La Pérouse perished in the year 1788, the ends of the canoes are decked, and in the centre is a raised caboose, from the top of which long slight spars curve down to the outriggers on each side, Marca 1, 1865.) THE TECHNOLOGIST. FISHING VESSELS AND BOATS. 363 giving the appearance at a short distance of a gigantic spider walking on the sea. Amongst the Viti or Fiji group, as well as in the Tonga Islands, the canoes are much longer, reaching to sixty and occasionally eighty feet ; some elaborately carved, evincing the skill and patience of the natives, when we consider that their tools were only sharp stones or pieces of shel. Their war canoes are preserved from the sun and weather under beautiful roofs supported on elegant pointed arches. In New Zealand the raised stem and stern of the canoes is often adorned with large tufts of feathers. At Taiti, in the Society Islands, and Hawaii, in the Sandwich Islands, large double canoes were used ; in the latter group, Captain Cook, in the year 1778, saw a canoe 110 feet long in the fleet of King Otu, but all these have disappeared, and coarse fishing canoes are the only native boats to be now seen. On the north-western coast of America the baidar, or umiak, made of skins, is entirely covered up, except a hole in the centre, where the native sits and dexterously plies his double paddle, and this form pre- vails as far as the coast of Labrador and Greenland. A specimen of a Greenland fishing-canoe, fitted complete, was exhibited by the Danish Government. In Guayaquil and along the coast of Peru, the balsa or large raft, made of a peculiarly light wood, is in use; and where the surf is very heavy, as at Arica and elsewhere, two large inflated skins, placed side by side, and united by a light platform between them, carry the passenger with safety to the beach. Prince Edward Island, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, exhibited a specimen of the North American Indian bark canoe. The models of fishing boats were not near so numerous in the last Exh‘bition as those sent to the Exhibition of 1851 ; still, there were some from the ports in the United Kingdom, from Norway, and other coun- tries which deserve notice, and which we shall have occasion to refer to a little later. The value and importance of the fisheries to every mari- time country, not only in a commercial point of view, but as supplying the poor with cheap and nutritious food, and as a means of raising up a body of intelligent seamen conversant with the set of the tides, and inured to every hardship, ready to man life-boats and carry succour to a stranded vessel in case of need, is of such interest to all seafaring nations, that a brief notice of the more important European and trans-Atlantic coast fisheries, with a description of the best forms of fishing vessels and boats in use, might well form a suitable preface to our Report. But the means are not available, and we are reluctantly compelled to limit our notice to the fisheries of the coasts of the United Kingdom and the surrounding seas, as the trawling grounds frequented by the Penzance, Plymouth, and Torbay fishermen, in the western part of the Channel, the Dogger Bank and North Sea fisheries, the herring fishery on the coast of Scotland, the Nymph Bank, off Waterford, and the recently- discovered Rockall Bank, off the north-west coast of Ireland. The fishing vessels and boats of Penzance, Plymouth, Torbay, and “ THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Marcu 1, 1865 364 FOREIGN AND HOME the south coast generally, are remarkably fine vessels, whether consi- dered as sea boats or pilot boats. The Torbay or Plymouth vessels vary from thirty to sixty-five tons old measurement ; they are cutter rigged, and keep the sea in the heaviest weather, trawling with a hawser of 100 fathoms in the midst of Channel gales. The following are the dimensions of the pilot and fishing cutter “Queen of the Craft,” of Plymouth :— Length on deck, 17 ft.; breadth, 16 ft.; draught of water, 10 ft.; 62 tons, old measurement ; value 400/. Ona wind these vessels spread 500 yards of can- vas, but in trawling with a free wind they set a square sail and a studding sail over, making, with the other sails, a spread of from 700 to 800 yards. Such vessels sweep the bed of the sea with a very large net, of from eighty to ninety feet in length; it is of a purse form with wings forty- eight feet at the mouth, with the same length of trawl beam. The management in trawling displays good seamanship, and skill and know- ledge of the position of the shoals and rocks at the bottom of the sea, which is determined by landmarks and experience, The fishermen, with a large hawser and net astern, wear and stay their vessels even in severe weather with great ease. The quantity of fish caught is occasionally very great, amounting sometimes to between three and four tons on a day’s fishing. The fish consist of hake in large quantity, turbot, soles, whiting, dory, brill, plaice, and other kinds of fish. In addition to these pilot fishing cutters, there is a fine class of boats, generally yawl rigged, termed the Cawsand Bay boat. They are usually clipper built, vary from twenty-five to forty tons, and are rigged with a gaff mainsail. Value from 80I. to 1501. or more. Of late years light lug- gers have beenemployed, or about thirty feet keel, and drawing about five feet. There is another class of boat on the south coast termed a hooker, also worthy of notice. These are generaly clench built, yawl rigged, and are used for hook and line fishing, in about thirty fathoms. They ride easily, and come to an anchor often in severe weather ten to fifteen miles or more from the land ; they are thirty-two feet in length, and cost about 701. Besides these vessels, more immediately employed at Plymouth and Torbay, there is a very fine class of lugger-rigged boats found be- tween Portland, to the east, and the Land’s-end to the west. The eastern luggers are from forty to fifty feet long, fifteen feet wide, and draw about seven feet abaft. They are usually sailed with a fore and mizen lug and jib. They are generally employed in mackerel fishing with drift nets. These nets are each about fourteen fathoms on the rope and four fathoms deep. One hundred-and-twenty such nets are commonly laid out in a line, to which the boats ride during the night. They not unfrequently land in the morning from 30,000 to 40,000 mackerel, which are immediately sent off by rail to London and other parts. The Cornish or Penzance luggers are vessels of a similar kind, but with a narrow bow and stern. They are sailed in much the same way as the eastern luggers, and are very fast and weatherly. They likewise enclose large catches of mackerel and pilchards. Marcu 1, 18665.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. FISHING VESSELS AND BOATS, : 365 Well-smacks suitable for fishing in the North Sea were first con- structed at Harwich in the year 1712. Fifty years later the first attempt was made to fish for cod with long lines on the Dogger Bank, an exten- sive bank about sixty miles east of Flamborough Head, and in the year 1798 the number of vessels had increased to ninety-six smacks. About this period Gravesend, Greenwich, and Barking sent out smacks of similar description. At present the number and tonnage of the well-smacks, and of their crews, and the names of the ports they hail from, are as follows : Name of Port. Smacks. Tons. Men. Harwich . : : : : 5 300 50 Aldborough 2 : alae 10 500 90 Gravesend : : é ; 10 600 60 Grimsby . : ° : : 14 900 130 Greenwich : : : : 4] 2,066 370 Barking . : ; 5 180 10,800 1,620 Mctal eye ae aes 260 15,166 2,320 These vessels are employed—forty on the cod fishery, six on the haddock fishery, and the remaining 214 in trawling. There are also many of what are termed dry-bottomed vessels—viz., smacks built without wells, all fishing with trawls in the North Sea. The number of these vessels, their tonnage, and crews, now nearly equal those of the well-smacks. Hull sends out 100, Ramsgate, 96, and Brixham in Torbay, 113, averaging about thirty-five tons and five men each, or a total of 309 vessels, of 11,185 tons, and 1,488 men and -boys. With respect to the shore fisheries, the following statistical account of the number of fishing boats and their crews on the coast of England was prepared by Mr. John Miller, the intelligent General Inspector of Fisheries in Scotland, and is for the year 1850, since which time, it is believed, no record has been kept. It will be seen that in the nine districts into which the coast of England is divided, there were 4,698 boats, manned by 20,459 men and boys. Extent No. of Men — Name of District. in Sta- Boats. and miles. | tions. Boys. North Sunderland district . : 80 29 576 1,238 Scarborough district . : é 130 10 283 950 Yarmouth district . : : 180 34 859 5,216 London district . 4 4 f 300 Q4 626 2,826 St. Ives district . : , , 200 37 940 3,233 Bristol district . ‘ ; : 200 16 193 500 Liverpool district . ; ; — — 371 1,838 Isle of Man district . i : 70 | 4 605 3,865 Whitehaven district . ; ; 120 14 945 793 THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Mancz 1, 1865. 366 FOREIGN AND HOME The above tables did not include the Channel Islands oyster fishery, which employs forty-two boats and 200 men. On the adjacent coast of France, at the four ports of Granville, Cancale, St. Malo, and Dinan, 426 vessels and 2,938 men are employed. The French have lately set a good example in establishing oyster parks on different parts of their coasts with great success. In the year 1859, M. Coste, of the Institute, who had been so successful in his endeavours to stock the rivers of France with salmon, was authorised by the Emperor to establish oyster beds in the Bay of St. Briduc, about thirty miles to the westward of St. Malo ; these have proved so successful that it is understood they are being extended to Brest, Ré, Oléron, and elsewhere on the west coast of France.* This has been done in England at Alnmouth, where the Duke of Northumberland has recently formed oyster beds, which are thriving well ; he has also established beds of mussels to enable the fishermen to supply themselves with bait close at hand, without having to go to a distance to procure it.t In Scotland on the east coast, the herring fishery is carried on from the shore, and, with the exception of some haif-decked boats at Fraserburgh, entirely in open boats, which, partly on account of the shallow harbours, are found by experience to be most convenient for the purpose ; the boats vary much in form, the Buckie or Moray Firth boats appear to be the best ; but the very raking stem and sternpost are objectionable, as rendering the boat unsteady when sailing before the wind. The boats are from thirty-six to forty feet in length by thirteen feet breadth of beam, and they cost from 40/. to 70/. On the west coast four-fifths of the Loch Fyne herring boats are half-decked, greatly to the safety and comfort of their crews. The number of boats employed in the thirteen districts into which the east coast is divided is about 13,000, and on the west coast about 2,500 boats, making a total of 15,500 boats, manned by 60,000 men and boys. In Ireland much of the fishing is carried on in open boats ; but on the south coast the Kinsale hooker is used to go off to the Nymph Bank, which lies about forty miles off shore, extending from Waterford west- ward nearly to Cape Clear, and also for trawling along shore. The hooker has the reputation of being a good sea-boat ; but this would seem to be its only good quality ; the bow is very full, and the quarter so Jean that the mast is not only obliged to be placed far forward, but to be stayed over the bows, in order that the boats, when under sail, may not be always flying up in the wind. On the iron-bound coast of the west, from the Shannon to Galway, the fishermen use a canoe, a framework of ash covered with canvas, which each time they land they are obliged to haul up on to the cliffs. Altogether the fishery employs * See ‘ Voyage d’Exploration sur le Littoral de la France et de I’Italie,’ par M. Coste, 2eme édition, Paris, 1861. t Since the date of this report the subject has occupied much attention, and the establishment of oyster beds on our coasts is becoming more general. beta oe ae Sige Marca 1, 1865.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. FISHING VESSELS AND BOATS. 367 about 12,000 boats, making a total for the United Kingdom of 33,000 boats, manned by 130,000 men and boys, a branch of industry well deserving proper encouragement, as affording an inexhaustible source of abundant and nutritious food. It is to be regretted that few models of European fishing boats were exhibited, nor can we obtain any description of the build of the boats, nor any statistics of the fishing ; yet France, Holland, and Sweden must have large fisheries. Nerney: alone sent models of fishing boats, several well-executed specimens being furnished by the Naval Department. The principal herring fishing stations on the west coast of Norway are at or near Stavanger and Bergen, and, for the cod fishery, at the Lofoden Isles. In a country with so extensive a seaboard, and with its numerous deep fiords, having a large part of the population constantly employed on the water, it might be expected that many lives would be annually lost by drowning, but we were not prepared for anything like the amount of loss that really does occur. It appears from a small periodical named ‘ Volkevennen,’ or ‘ Friend of the People, published at Christiania, by Mr. Eilert Sundt, one of the Royal Commissioners for Norway at the International Exhibition, that the average annual loss from drowning for the last ten years, in a population of only a million and a half, exceeded 700, and this chiefly by the upsetting of boats. In the single diocese of Tromsé, which is the most northern of the five dioceses into which the country is divided, and has a large extent of sea-coast, the accidents from drowning, on an average of ten years, were 206 out of a population of 132,242. The cause of this startling fact, which could hardly have been credited but for the authority it rests upon, deserves to be the object of the most careful inquiry and philanthropic interference. Is it that the boats are faulty in form? or the fishermen and others are reckless in the use of them ? or that the men, as a general rule, cannot swim ? or that there is a want of a humane society, and of the most effi- cient means for saving life in such accidents, and for restoring anima- tion? Perhaps all these causes combined, and we would fain hope that not the least of the benefits of the Exhibition of 1862 may be that, having witnessed the various establishments and means specially provided for the saving life from drowning in this country, including the swimming schools set on foot by the Duke of Northumberland in the north of England, those appliances may be extended to the coasts and fiords of Norway. In the Australian colonies generally, and especially in Tasmania and at Sydney, there are many well-built boats of good form, and well adapted to the fisheries in those seas ; but the only specimens exhikited were two whale-boats by the Commissioners of Tasmania, the production of the best builders of Hobart Town (Chandler and Miller). These boats are of colonial wood, the harpoons and all the exquisite fishing gear being fitted by colonial workmen. THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Manca 1, 1865, 368 ON THE OAK-FEEDING In connection with Tasmania, whale fishing is a branch of colonial industry deserving mention. The fishing ground extends from the shores of this noble island to the Antarctic regions, and attracts many foreign whale ships, who rendezvous at Hobart Town. The value oz the produce from the South Whale Fishery, exported in 1861, was 60,3501. At the present time there are twenty-five vessels, with an aggregate tonnage of 5,746 tons, engaged in whaling from the port of Hobart Town, and 131 whale boats (including fifty-one spare ones), identical in all respects to those exhibited, are attached to these twenty- five vessels, each boat costing, when fitted complete, about 701 The boats of the Tasmanian fleet find employment for about 700 men. A colonial writer, in treating of this branch of industry, observes :— “Whale fishing is sometimes attended with great hardship, but being looked on as a colossal aquatic sport, and combining the excitement of bold and perilous adventure with the contingency of a good prize, and promotion according to merit, it has always been a favourite pursuit with the young Tasmanians, from whom might be selected some of the smartest boatmen in the world.” ON THE OAK-FEEDING SILKWORM OF CHINA. BY T. T. MEADOWS. THe British Consul at Newchang has written an interesting letter to the Shanghai Chamber of Commerce, regarding the silk produced in the neighbourhood of that port and the probability of foreigners deriving profit from its exportation. The worms there feed on oak-leaves instead of the stereotyped mulberry, and naturally produce a much coarser thread ; but the Chinese utilize it to a considerable extent. It is in- termixed with cotton, and used for fabricating silk cloth of a rough texture. Dealers come up from the South in junks about the end of March, go into the interior, and advance money to the farmers. Two crops are produced, the latter of which is taken to the coast in the early part of November, shortly before the navigation is closed by ice. As to the quantity annually exported, I have not been able, observes Mr. Meadows, to get any information. My principal informant tells me that from one valley, which is, however, one of the most productive, about eighty cart-loads are taken away annually. Each cart carries ten baskets, which, from his description, must each contain fifteen cubic feet, That would give about 12,000 cubic feet of loosely-piled cocoons from that one valley. What I myself know is, that the production in the whole region could be quadrupled in a few years, if the entering of Marcu 1, 1865.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. SILKWORM OF CHINA. 369 foreigners into the trade should give sufficient inducement to the culti- vators. I have sent down samples and submitted them to Mr. Major, the inspector of Messrs. Jardine and Matheson’s silk establishment at Shanghai, and he is of opinion that, notwithstanding its coarseness, it could be used with advantage in manufacturing the coarser kinds of silk fabrics in Europe. The yield is infinitely less, inasmuch as 20 Ib. of cocoons only give 1 lb. of silk against 51b. or 6 lb. which are reeled from a similar quantity of ordinary Chinese cocoons. “‘Ofthe value of these cocoons” Mr. Majorremarks, “I can say nothing before I get a sufficient number of them to make 21b. or 3 1b. of silk, say at least four times 1,500 cocoons, and know exactly what they cost in dollars or taels at Shanghai ; but I think it will be worth while making such a trial and sending the produce to Lyons or London (there is more skill in Lyons) to be dyed and manufactured into goods. ‘¢ Besides this, it is requisite to ascertain— “Ist. How often does this worm sleep while feeding ? «2nd. Is the worm fed on the mulberry leaf, of which Mr. Meadows speaks, of this same species (that feeds on oak leaves), or bred of the usual China silkworm eggs? I should much like to see a few cocoons of worms fed on mulberry leaf there. “ 3rd. An experiment ought to be made of this breed (eating oak leaves) to ascertain what they come to when fed in a more congenial climate on mulberry leaves. IfI could get an ounce of eggs of the first (July) crop, I would willingly attend to their feeding myself. The eggs ought to be sent here during the winter, protected from frost, but not kept near a fire or in atoo warm cabin; 66° Fahrenheit would be too hot, or the utmost they would bear. “Tt strikes me that this species of silkworm may turn out of the greatest consequence in restoring the silkworm breed in Europe, now quite lost, and even in restoring the silkworm of China, which I find also greatly deteriorated, to a more healthful state (this, however, is almost hopeless, considering the Chinese character). In all nature, too much and long-continued culture degenerates a breed; then new strength and vigour is acquired by cross-breeding with a healthy kind of the same species. “ Now, this worm gives me the impression of being very strong and healthy. It would be a great boon to the silk trade and industry to introduce any such means. “ New seed has for years been tried from all parts of the world in Europe, but to no effect ; the whole family of one and the same race seems to have outlived itself by constant generating in the same family, at an enormous rate, to supply our augmented and constantly growing luxury. “Tn Naples I tried, during three years, cross-breeding the old Euro- pean breed with the usual China worm, and that with very good THE TECHNOLOGIST. [MarcH |, 1865. 370 THE SUPPLY OF success. When I left for China I gave all the seed I had thus collected to an English gentleman, who, I fear, has not persevered, or I should have heard something of it ; people look too much to immediate benefits. “ Tf this new family is to be introduced for cross breeding, I should recommend feeding them in their first and second stages on oak leaves, and after that only on mulberry leaves. “T beg leave to conclude with my opinion, that great thanks are due to Mr. Meadows for making so great an exception among the consuls in China, by turning his eye and mind towards what may be advantageous to the commerce and industry of the country he represents, and thereby also, to the country he occupies.” Mr. Major has had much experience in silkworms both in Europe and China, he having been engaged in silk farming in the south of Italy many years before he went to the East; and his opinion, that a cross between the Newchang worm and that of China and Europe might be effected with advantage, is, therefore, worth consideration. Kang-ni, the second Emperor of the reigning dynasty, appears to have made the first experiment of feeding silkworms on oak leaves about 200 years ago; and specimens of the cocoon obtained are to be seen in the Mu- seum of the Chamber of Commerce at Lyons at the present day, having been sent home by the Jesuit missionaries who, under that Emperor, gained so prominent a position in China. It is evident, from Mr. Meadows’ report, that since then the worm has thriven and multiplied. THE SUPPLY OF TURPENTINE AND RESIN. BY THE EDITOR. In a former volume (vol. ii., p. 209) we gave some information as to the modus operandi pursued for obtaining turpentine in the Southern States of America. The supply from that quarter has been cut off, owing to the vrotracted civil war; and the Secretary of State for the Colonies, at the instigation of the Board of Trade, has drawn the attention of the colonial governors to the subject, in order that persons who are in a favourable position for furnishing a supply of these articles may have the facts before them. Canada, Vancouver, and New Zealand might do something in this matter. At present, France, Greece, and Turkey are deriving benefits from the demand for these products, the market price for which has doubled in the last three years. The decreasing supplies are shown in the following figures :— TURPENTINE. RESIN. Cwts. Cwts. 1861 - = - 112,312 598,080 1862 “ : : . 12,722 339,011 1863 Slots on AOS aes aes Marca 1, 1865.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. TURPENTINE AND RESIN. 371 In 1859 our imports of turpentine were 256,663 cwt.; and of resin 886,789 cwt. The price then was about 10s. for the former, and 8s. tor the latter ; now it is 23s. and 28s. respectively. The ‘Journal of the Board of Arts and Manufactures of Upper Canada’ of a revent date states:—We have received from Mr. Peter Trish, of Brighton, county of Northumberland, several samples of resin, and one of spirits of turpentine, of his manufacture. Mr. Irish took the first prize for both these articles at the late Provincial Exhibition, in the city of Hamilton. The samples of resin comprise black and white, with many intermediate shades of both transparent and opaque. We regret not having an analysis of Mr. Irish’s turpentine ; we have, how- ever, Professor Croft’s analysis of the specimens exhibited by Messrs. Connell and Cotter, of Hastings, which was awarded the second prize, and of Mr. Luke’s specimen, of Angus, highly commended by the judges. The notes of analysis on Messrs. Connell and Cotter’s turpen- tine are,—‘t Smell much like pure turpentine ; boiling point, 154°C.; spe- cific gravity, 0°865.’” For Mr. Luke’s—“ Smell of oil from pine-wood, by distillation ; boiling point, 153° C. ; specific gravity, 0 868.” The boiling point of pure spirits of turpentine is 155° C. ; specific gravity, 0°865. In a communication from Mr. Irish, accompanying his samples, he gives a description of his process of procuring the raw article. He says he cbtains it from the white (not the Norway) pine, by cutting notches — or boxes, about two feet from the ground, with long-bitted axes, and a good axeman can cut about three hundred boxes per day. These boxes are made dishing, so as to hold from a gill to half a pint each, and should be cut between the 20th of May and the end of June. During the hot weather it will be necessary to gather the sap from these boxes at least once a week. In a tree one foot in diameter he cuts one box, of two feet in diameter two boxes, and so on. This, he says, will injure the tree but little, as the boxes he cut in some forty years ago are now com- pletely grown over. Mr. Thish paid 10 dollars per barrel for the raw article. The price obtained by him for resin during the year averaged 8 cents (4d.) per lb., and spirits of turpentine 1? dollars per gallon. There is no danger of the supply exceeding the demand, even for local consumption in the colony ; for, according to the trade returns in | 1863, the imports of spirits of turpentine into the province were . 13,913 gallons, valued at 26,312 dollars, and of resin, 3,650 barrels, valued at 63,484 dollars. The sap in the wood of pines consists in variable proportions of turpentine and resin, according to the species. When the turpentine abounds, the sap of the tree operated on exudes a very fluid and volatile kind of turpentine, and when dry the wood is strong, slightly resinous, and generally light. On the other hand, when the turpentine is viscous, it leaves, on drying, an abundant resin in the tissues, and the wood is heavier. The hooked pine, the Cembra pine, and the THE TECHNOLOGIST. § [Mancw 1, 1865. 372 THE SUPPLY OF Weymouth pine are of the first-class ; the Scotch fir, the larch, and the maritime pine are of the second. Colophony, or common rosin, is the residue of the distillation of turpentine. ‘The oil or essence of turpentine passes over, and the residue is a soft yellow substance, which hardens by exposure to air, and is known as white or yellow resin. When melted it loses water, and concretes on cooling into black or common resin. M. Auguste Mathieu, Inspector of Forests, in his description of the trees that grow spontaneously in France, points out the following as more or less utilized for obtaining resin and turpentine :— Pinus abies, Linn. ; Picea excelsa, Link.—To obtain the resinous sap of this tree, long incisions are made through the entire depth of the bark. This operation, although very productive, is very weakening to the tree, necessarily dwarfing the dimensions to which it would attain. From this product is made spirits of turpentine, rosin, Burgundy pitch, and lampblack. Pinus larviz, Linn. ; Lariz Europea, D. C.—This tree furnishes the Venice turpentine, from which is obtained spirits of turpentine and other products. The tree is tapped with an auger of about three centi- metres in diameter ; several incisions are made, inclining downwards, in the direction of the heart of the tree, but not penetrating beyond the sapwood. In these orifices, gutters or channels of wood or bark are placed, conducting the sap to a bucket. Pinus picea, Linn ; Abies pectinata, D. C.—This tree is occasionally tapped for its resinous sap. The operation consists simply in piercing with a metal tool the resinous blisters that form on the bark, in order to collect the drops of turpentine which exude. This practice, which is attended with but small results, is, however, being more and more aban- doned. Pinus Cembra, Linn., yields a considerable quantity of turpentine of an agreeable odour. ; Pinus sylvestris, Linn.—This tree is not generally tapped for turpen tine. The resin sometimes accumulates in very great abundance in certain parts of the trunk and impregnates completely the wood, which is hard and almost translucid like horn. The wood is cut up and made into small bundles and sold in the markets under the name of fat wood, for lighting fires. The cones, after extracting the seed are also sought after for the same purpose. Resinous products are obtaine@ from the stumps, where the resin is more abundant than in the stem. This is obtained by burning in close vessels in ovens of masonry of a special construction. The resin is liquified and mixed with the empyreumatic products of distillation, and flows over the surface of the furnace, being carried by a special channel to vessels placed on the exterior to receive is. The dark and viscous deposit is known as tar. This operation is performed in fine weather, and the boring the trunk is by preference done near mid-day. A tree of fifty or sixty years pees Soke Marcy 1, 1865.) THE TECHNOLOGIST. TURPENTINE AND RESIN. 373 old will yield annually from 3to 5 kilogrammes of turpentine; and this for five or six successive years, if the channels or incisions made are carefully plugged or closed in winter. The pursuit is followed in Valais by the Lombardians, who traverse the forests yearly to exercise their industry. It is not much practised in France, at least with less regularity. The leaves of this tree exude a particular resinous substance, in the shape of small white grains, which are used medicinally as a purgative, under the name of Manna of Briancon. Pinus Laricio, Poir.—This pine has only of late years been much em- ployed for turpentine ; but attention is now being generally directed to it, and this industry is established on a definite scale in Corsica. Re- sin was first extracted from the Corsican tress in 1856. In 1863, 175,000 trees (laricio and maritime pines) were subjected to tapping. Two kilogrammes (about 44 lbs.) of resin were considered as the probable average yield of each tree; but this estimate, it is thought, will be con- siderably exceeded, as the Corsican pine proves to be much richer in resin than was anticipated. Still, this extraction of resin accordirg to M. Tassy, the Conservateur of Forests, must always remain of secon- dary importance, and should only be carried on in forests which are difficult of access. Even if the quality of the trees is not injured by the tapping, there is reason to believe that their growth is impeded. The composition of the forests of Corsica is stated to be as follows : —Of 45,810 hectares belonging to the State, 34,350 are covered with resin-yielding trees, of which the P. Laricio predominates. Of 57,428 hectares belonging to the communes the laricio and maritime pines are predominant in one-half. The Austrian pine may be operated on with advantage; the turpentine contains in the proportion of 1 spirit to 3} of resin. The trees which have been tapped for six or eight years yield better products than those which have been recently operated on. From trees of about thirty centimetres in diameter a mean annual yield of four kilogrammes of crude turpentine is obtained. Pinus halepensis, Mill.—In Provence this pine is tapped in the same manner as the maritime pine is in the west, and the same products are obtained, but of less value. In general the tree is tapped when it has attained the dimensions of twenty or thirty centimetres in diameter. If properly attended to, it will yield for fifteen or twenty years six or seven kilogrammes of turpentine annually per tree. The notches which are made in the bark to induce the flow of the sap are about ten centimetres wide, and are called “ Surlés.” Every fifteen days the flow is invigorated by a small fresh cut at the upper part, until, in the course of the year, the incision or notch reaches the length of thirty centimetres. The turpentine is received in holes opened in the earth at the foot of the tree. It is known under the name of “ Périnne vierge.’ After preparing and cooling in cakes, the resin so obtained THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Marca 1, 1865. 374 THE SUPPLY OF is called “‘Raze.” After exhausting the tree for turpentine, the trunk and root are distilled for tar, &c. Turpentine is abundant in all the parts of the Weymouth pine (Pinus Strobus), but containing very little resin; it volatilises rapidly, and yields little at each extraction. The extraction of resin from the pine trees in the extensive forest of Lairvaux (Morbihan) is about to be carried on on a large scale. For that purpose several cargoes of earthenware cups have been imported at Vannes. These are extremely simple, each cup resembling a small flower-pot, with the difference that one of the sides is concave, so that it can be fixed against the tree to be tapped, so as to facilitate the flow of the sap when the tree is pierced. The wood of the pine which has been tapped or resinated is considered in the Landes as far superior in resistance and durability to that which has not been tapped, and with good reasons. If the tapping exhausts the trees and reduces their dimensions, it produces, on the other hand, wood of feebler growth, and more charged with autumnal shoots ; it causes, besides, an active flow of turpentine from the interior to the surface, of which the most liquid effuses, losing in the woody tissues which it traverses a consi- derable portion of resin. Therefore, the proportion of the resin the trees contain determines their weight, solidity, durability, and inflam- mability. The wood is not always the principal product of the pignadas, o pine forests, for very often the timber is sacrificed for the turpentine. It is principally in the Landes that the tapping is carried on on a large scale ; it is generally performed in the following manner :—A tree is ready for tapping as soon as it measures about four feet in circum- ference at the base. The tapper, to prepare it for his work, thins with his hatchet the bark where he intends to pierce it, and smooths it ; then, with a special instrument, he makes a rectangular incision or channel called “ quarre,” which lays the sap open ; it is generally a foot long by one inch wide. At the lower part of the “quarre” he digs a little trough in some protruding part of the stem to receive the produce. If that is not possible he attaches a portable trough. Every week the incision is renewed by cutting cff a thin slice from the upper part, so that it always increases in height, preserving the same width, or, better still, decreasing in width, and in five years probably reaches a height of about ten feet. Then it is abandoned, and a second one commenced, conducted like the first, from which it is separated by a belt of bark of two inches at most, and which is called “Ourle” or ‘‘Bourrelet.” This is done all round the tree, taking care to put each “‘quarre” a little higher than the preceding one; then the belts (“ourles”) are attacked, which, in the meantime, have spread and covered, more or less, the old wounds, and they are incised in the same way. a . Marca 1, 1865.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. TURPENTINE AND RESIN. 375 A well-regulated tapping may last 150 years and more, especially if the precaution be taken in the first years, whilst the tree is still weak, to give a year’s rest after each period of extraction of seven or eight years. Sometimes, when the tree is vigorous enough to bear it, two incisions are made at a time—a high “quarre” and a low “quarre,”’ or “ basson,.” Lastly, instead of opening the channels side by side, they are put as opposite to each other as possible, the new ones in the centre of the intervals which separate the old ones. The tapping, when managed so as to preserve the vitality of the trees, is called “ life-tapping.” If, however, the pine is to be exhausted in a short time, none of these precautions are observed; they are cut on all sides, the channels being carried in one year to treble the height, and this is called “lost pine” or “tapped to death.” To reach up to the height which the channels attain, a pole with notches on opposite sides is used by the operator. The tapping is begun in May and continued to the end of September; the turpentine flowing out collects in the troughs, whence it is removed from time to time. A good workman can notch 200 to 300 trees a day. A strong and hardy pine, standing isolated, will produce from fifty to 100 lbs. of the raw material in the year, but trees growing in clumps will not yield more than twelve or fourteen pounds. The pines of the downs of Gascoigne are much more productive than others; those of the “ Provence,” which were submitted to a similar treatment, did not give any such satisfactory results, The gross proceeds or raw products from tapping are of three kinds : —First, the soft resin, or liquid part, which has collected in the troughs ; secondly, the “Galipot” resin, solidified in the grooves or channels, and which may be detached in pieces without being mixed with particles of the bark; thirdly, the “ Barras,’ which must be scraped off, and is only an impure galipot, mixed with slices and fragments of bark, &c. Ail these products are formed of essence of turpentine, and of resin or colophony ; they only differ in the proportion of the two elements. Industry purifies, manipulates, and mixes them in the most varied processes, and manufactures them into a multitude of substances, of which the principal are— Ist. Pastes of turpentine, viscous liquids extracted from ine raw materials by means of a low artificial heat filterimg through straw hurdles (common turpentine paste), or by exposure to solar heat upon inclined planes, formed of boards badly joined together (fine sun turpentine paste). 2ud. The essence or oil of turpentine, a colourless liquid of slight oleaginous substance, produced by distillation of the svuft resin or turpentine pastes. 3rd, The dry resin, or colophony, the residue of the distillation of VOL, V. 85 ‘THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Marcu 1, 1865, 376 OSTRICH BREEDING. the turpentine pastes ; melted and mixed with hot water and “ barras,” it forms the oil of resin. The yellow resin is a kindred substance obtained by a mixture of soft resin “barras,” and “ galipot,’ melted, filtered, and formed into cakes in moulds. 4th. The greasy“ pitch,” a viscous substance, of a reddish browhe produced by burning in a brick stove the filtering hurdles and all the débris and residues of the manufacture. After exhaustion, the stems of the pines are cut in pieces, and burnt in ovens of earth or brickwork, when another product is obtained, the “ooudron,” or a pitch coal of medium quality. All these materials are of great importance :—The Navy could not do without tar and pitch ; the spirits of turpentine serves for numerous uses, especially as a solvent for varnishes ; the colophony is applied directly to the purpose of illumination; the resin oil and the yellow resin for making gas for burning, soap-making, paper-making, and other uses. OSTRICH BREEDING. THe problem of the domestication of the ostrich in the temperate regions of Northern and Southern Africa appears already to be attended with satisfactory results; and instead of chasing the bird for its destruction, in order to obtain the valuable spoils of its plumage, it can be bred and led to yield its feathers periodically for the wants of fashion. Some few years ago, it was stated that great success had attended experi- ments at the Jardin d’Acclimatation, at Hamma, in Algeria, the director of that establishment having received the premium of 80/1. offered by M. Chagot, sen., feather florist, of Paris, a member of the Commission of Valuers to the French Ministry of Commerce, who was the first to get the ostrich to breed in a domestic state; and the reproduction pro- mises to obtain for commerce the ostrich plumes, which are daily becoming more rare and dear. At a recent meeting of the Cape Agricultural Society, M. L. von Maltiz, well known as one of the most enterprising and successful farmers in the Colesberg district, gave a statement of his short experience in ostrich farming; and any theory formed as to the profits which might be realized by such a pursuit falls immeasurably short of the result obtained. M. von Maltiz said: ‘“ My desire is that a prize be given to the proprietor of the largest number of ostriches in the dis- trict. I believe I ain at present the only owner of those birds, and, therefore, 1 may,in making the proposal, be suspected of interested motives. To set that at rest, if a prize be offered and awarded to me, I will return it to the Society, to be again competed for at the following show. My sole object in moving the resolution is to encourage ostrich a ee ae Marcu 1, 1865.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. OSTRICH BREEDING. 377 farming in the district, by which I am convinced, from my own short ex- perience, enormous profits may be realized. Towards the close of last year, I purchased seventeen young ostriches of three or four months old. I placed them in an enclosure of 300 acres in extent, in which they had a free run. They have been kept there ever since, and have subsisted entirely upon the herbage of the enclosure, except an occasional feed of grain when driven up to the house for the inspection of visitors. I had at the same time other stock within the enclosure, and the opinion I have formed with reference to the extent of ground requisite for their grazing is that thirty-five birds can be carried year in and year out upon 300 acres of good grazing land—I mean land rather superior to the common run. At the end of last April I had the wings of the birds plucked, where the feathers of commerce grow. In con- sequence of the youth of the birds, the feathers then obtained were valueless. I now find, by recent examination, that the birds will be fit to pluck again at the end of the present month, verifying the state- ment made at the last Swellendam Show by one of its members, who was, like myself, experimenting in this novel description of farming, that he obtained feathers fully grown from his ostriches every six months. My ostriches are so tame that they allow themselves to be handled and their plumage minutely examined. Being desirous of ascertaining the opinion of those versed in the trade, as to the com- mercial value of the feathers, I have had the birds examined by several, and the general opinion is that the largest feathers, of which there are twenty-four on the wing of each male bird, are worth 25/. per lb., and that the yield of the whole plucking, the majority of the »birds being males, will not fall short of 10/. each upon the average. I think the statement made at the Swellendam Agricultural Show sets the value of each half-yearly plucking at 127. 10s. per bird, and this, | have no doubt, will be the average of mine when they arrive at maturity, accord- ing to the present market value of feathers. The original cost of the young birds was about 5/. each.” This hitherto neglected district (Colesberg), which, with the adjoining Free State, is pre-eminently the ostrich country, is likely to eclipse the gold-mines of Australia, California, and British Columbia, and landed proprietors may congratulate themselves in possessing the veritable El Dorado of the colony. In the last Cape papers it is stated that only a few small parcels of ostrich feathers had come to hand during the month, and for those offered at public auction competition had been very keen. All descriptions realized extreme prices, the best being sold as high as 271, 10s. to 301. 10s. per lb. In 1863 there was imported into the United Kingdom, chiefly from South Africa, Morocco, and France, 28,500 lbs. of ostrich feathers, valued et 153,059/. THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Marcu 1, 1865. 378 Srivutitic Mates. We learn from the ‘ Chemical News’ that a M. Richter, of Stuttgard, has devised a nevel means of extracting the juice from grapes. Instead of pressing them in the ordinary way, he puts them ina drum provided with a suitable strainer, and rotating at the rate of 1,000 or 1,500 times a minute. The process is said to have the following advantages over the ordinary method :—The time required for the operation is greatly lessened, the whole of the must from one cwt. of grapes being obtained in five minutes; the quantity of juice is increased by five or six per cent. ; “stalking ” is rendered unnecessary ; and the agitated must is so mixed with air that fermentation begins comparatively soon. THE Société Impériale d Agriculture has offered a prize ef 2,000 francs, to be given in 1867, for the best analyses of the following woods : —Oak (heart-wood) of the age of at least forty years (Quercus robur or pedunculata) ; ash (Frawinus excelsior), of the age of at least twenty- five years—the whole of the wood except the liber and bark ; pine (Pinus maritima or sylvestris) of the same age, and poplar (Populus tre- mula or alba) of the age of twenty years. Analyses of the same trees five years old are also to be made, with the view of comparing the com- position of wood of different ages. Specimens of the woods and of the principles obtained from them must be sent with each paper. Tae Coat-rar CoLours.—The trade in coal-tar dyes, which began in 1860, continues to expand, amounting probably to from a quarter to half a million annually. The colours are magenta, various shades of blue and violet, purple, yellow, orange, and green. The dyes are sent from London to Lancashire and Yorkshire and other places, to be used in the preparation of silk and cotton velvets, printed calicoes, delaines, merinoes, finished cottons, silks, ribbons, flannels, and fancy and flannel shirtings. An export trade is beginning to China and the United States, the dyes being sent in their solid form to save freight. It is said that several thousand pounds are annually spent in defending the patent. BEET SUGAR IN GeRMANY.—How the manufacture of beet sugar con- tinues to prosper in the States of the Zollverein may be judged by the following figures, condensed from a recent official report :—“ In 1863 there were about 250 factories in operation, which used up more than 36,000,000 cwts. of beet root. Twenty years ago only 5,000,000 ewts. of beet root were worked up into sugar. Then 18 ewts. of beet root were required to produce one cwt. of sugar ; now only 12 cwts. are needed. The duty levied produced 9,000,000 dols. The enormous profit derived from the cultivation is well known. In Austria alone 18,500,000 ewts. of beet root are grown, and 14,500,000 ewts. are worked up by 125 facté- Marcu 1, 1865.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. SCIENTIFIC NOTES. 379 ries; and 32 of these each use above 140,000 cwts. of roots annually, one using as muchjas 408,000 ewts.’’ Tue NepHrite or New Zeatanp.—This mineral, which is held in high esteem among the natives as a material for weapons, tools, and. various ornamental objects, occurs exclusively on the west coast of the south island which is called “Te Wari Pooramoo,” which means the Place of the Green Stone. It appears generally in the form of pebbles in river-beds and on the sea-shore ; it is, however, said to occur also in masses in the vicinity of considerable veins of serpentine. The*natives distinguish by name a great number of varieties, differing in hardness, colour, and translucence. These varieties may be7divided between the two following groups :—1. Those of an intense green (generally leek- green) more or less translucent, with a hardness between that of felspar and quartz, compact, not schistose. 2. This group is of less value than the first, and its members are analogous in physical ‘properties and chemical constitution to M. Damour’s “jade blanc,’ and , probably belong to the family Amphiboles. Astatic Manna.—A letter from Mr. Hardinge, to Sir Roderick Murchison, describing the appearance of a large quantity of manna in July, 1864, observed near Diarberker, Asia Minor, was published some time since, and created a good deal of controversy regarding the nature of manna. We believe, however, that there can be very little doubt that it is a species of lichen, which, like a fungus, springs up in the course of a single night, and thus gives rise to the notion that it has fallen from the skies. This manna is ground into flour and baked into bread, the Turkish name of it being ‘‘ Kudert-bogh-dasi,” which means wonder-corn, or grain. Though used as bread, its composition is” remarkable ; for it contains more than 65 per cent. of oxalate of lime; and has about 25 per cent. of amylaceous matter. This substance is evidently the manna of the Hebrews, who gave it the name of “ Man-hu,” which signifies “ What is it?” from the circumstance of its sudden appearance and their-previous. unfamiliarity with it. BunsLtocHur.—This is a silicious concretion, or crystallization, formed in the hollow bamboo, which is said to be found in old wood only, and about one bamboo in three producing it. It is used by the natives of India as a stimulant, tonic, and astringent, in doses of about five grains. The native practitioners have great faith in it as a medicine, and use it largely ; its properties are said by them to be of a very heating nature. The substance, however, in a medicinal point of view, must be quite useless, as it seems to be merely impure silicate of potash. There are three varieties—pink, white, and blue. It is a very common article in the Bengal market, and comes from Sylhet, as also from other parts of India. PaPeR FoR Patrern Carps.— Many attempts have been made to substitute punched paper, in the form of a web, for the heavy, cum- brous, and costly cards employed in Jacquard looms, but without prac- Oe Wee THE TECHNOLOGIST. — [Marcx 1, 1865. 380 REVIEWS. tical success, until M. Acklin, a French engineer, at length selved the problem, and fitted up several looms, which are now at work in or near Paris. They save 30 percent. in the cost of pasteboard, the tedious operation of lacing is avoided, and the expenses of preservation and transport of bulky and heavy pasteboard cards are saved, and the work is more regular, the “ backing off” more certain and accurate, and the weavers’ time and labour economised, and the rapid working of power- looms is facilitated. The improvement may be applied to existing Jacquard looms with little expense, and may be erected or removed ina short time. A pueny. THe Book or PerruMes. By EvuGENE Rimmen. Chapman and Hall. This is a work which will be popular, in the most widely-extended sense of the term, for it will interest large numbers, not only by the elegance of its getting up, but by the variety of the information it affords. Mr. Rimmel must have read long and deeply to have accumulated the vast stores of information of which he has given us the cream. From his valuable jury report at the last International Exhibition, and his paper read hefore the Society of Arts, we were prepared to find a large stock of knowledge opened up to us in any work emanating from his pen. But this elegant volume, with its various beauties of illustration, exterior and interior, and its sweet scent of perfume wafted on the air as we turn the leaves, more than fulfils the promise. After a preliminary chapter on the physiology of perfumes, we are led through the manners and customs in this respect of the Egyptians, Jews, ancient Asiatic nations, Greeks, Romans, Orientals, and natives of the countries of the far East, whilst uncivilized nations are not overlooked. Then the use of per- , fumes and the varying partialities of Gauls and Britons in ancient and modern times are dwelt on. Lastly, we have chapters devoted to the commercial uses of flowers and plants, and the several materials chiefly used in perfumery. To say that all these subjects are treated with a master-hand is no more than the truth ; and, despite the modest preface of the author, his erudition and widely-extended practical knowledge are evidenced in every page. The general mode of treatment of the subject, as well as the taste and skill shown in the selection of appropriate woodcut illustrations, are alike creditable to the author. Indeed, it is just such a work as may be read with profit and pleasure by all, whether old or young, and as a drawing-room book, or agreeable souvenir, it forms one ica an Marci 1, 1865.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. REVIEWS. 381 of the most entertaining and seasonable presents that could be made. Although the book can scarcely add to the already world-wide fame and European reputation of this well-known purveyor of sweet odours, it will certainly largely extend his circle of admirers, and become familiar as a household word wherever pleasant reading and useful information is appreciated. Such a book as this will necessarily run through many large editions, the more especially when its cheapness is borne in mind, coupled with the fact that it contains more than 250 illustrations. Rust, Smut, Mrnpew, AnD Moutp: An INTRODUCTION TO THE Stupy or Microscopic Funel. By M. C. Cooke. With nearly 300 figures by J. E. Sowerhy. Robert Hardwicke. Mr. Cooke has established for himself a deservedly high reputation as a close investigator of Nature and a careful describer of Fungi. The beau- tiful little work before us opens a new field of research, not only for the microscopists, but also for all interested (and who is not more or less so ?) in those minute pests of the field and garden. In the twenty years since the fifth volume of the British Flora appeared, the progress of Mycological science has been much extended. Corn rust, smut, and the mould, or parasitic fungi, are diseases well known to the farmers ; but the true nature of these he has seldom stopped to inquire into. The popular work now before us, with its many beautiful coloured illustrations, will enlighten him on many points, and may be studied with advantage by others besides the mere microscopist seeking novelties for his object-glass. Mr. Cooke thus sums up his remarks :— “This fragment of a history of microscopic fungi goes forth to plead for students and prepare the path for something more complete. Is it not a shame that two thousand species of plants (never mind how minute, how insignificant) should be known to exist, and constitute a flora, in a nation amongst the foremost in civilization, and yet be without a complete record? It is, nevertheless, true that hundreds of minute organisms, exquisite in form, marvellous in structure, mysterious in development, injurious to some, linked with the existence of all, are known to flourish in Britain without a history or description in the language of, or produced in, the country they inhabit. It is also true that the descriptions, by which they should be known, of hundreds of the rest lie buried in a floating literature whence the youthful and ardent student needs, not only youth and ardour, but leisure and per- severance unlimited, to unearth them.” We hail the appearance of all such works as this with satisfaction, from being calculated to fill an existing void, and also likely to interest the botanical student, the agriculturist, and the horticulturist. - THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Marcr 1, 1865, 382 REVIEWS. PLANTES MEDICINALES DE Maurice. Par Louis Bouton. This is the second edition of a valuable treatise on the medicinal plants of Mauritius, by the Curator of the Colonial Museum at Port Louis. The descriptions are brief, but the English, French, and native names are given, as well as the scientific ones. ENSAYO SOBRE EL CULTIVO DE LA CANA DE AzucaR. Por D. ALVARO Reynoso. Second Edition. Printed at the expense of the Govern- . ment. Madrid: M. Rivadeneyra. This Spanish treatise is highly interesting, from being the result of the practical labours of a scientific planter, who has carried on the culture of the sugar-cane in Cuba on an extensive scale, and availing himself of all the modern improvements which machinery, new manures, and chemical research can give. ENGRAVING AND OTHER REPRODUCTIVE ART-PROcESSES. By S. T. Davenport. W. Trounce. This is a valuable and exhaustive paper, reprinted from the “ Society of Arts Journal,’ which summarises all that has been done in the various art-processes of engraving. Navat Armour. By James CHatmers. W. Mitchell. This treatise deals with an important and interesting subject, but one with which we do not profess to deal in our pages. It is chiefly devoted to the armour-plating of ships and targets, and especially treats, as a matter of course, of the author’s own system of compound backing. Aprit 1, 1865.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. THE TECHNOLOGIST. 6) THE COMMERCIAL USES OF FLOWERS AND PLANTS. BY EUGENE RIMMEL.* “ i So : 4 i NAY ill EUNGANN i iN | ieee : seul Sui ee i G if A \e fee I : Ws of many scents. VOL. V. foal 2 NDER this heading, I shall describe the art of perfumery as it is now practised in | the South of France, | Italy, Spain, Turkey, Algeria, India — in fact, wherever the climate gives to flowers and plants the intensity of odour required for a profit- able extraction. The South of France fur- nishes the most abun- dant supply of per- fumery materials; there the most fragrant flowers —such orange, &c.—are cultivated on a large scale, and form the basis of the finest perfumes. Italy produces chiefly essences of bergamot, orange, lemon, and others of the citrine family, the consumption of which is very great. To Turkey we are in- debted for the far-famed otto of roses, which enters into the composition Spain and Algeria have yielded but little hitherto, but will, no doubt, in after times, turn to better account the fragrant trea- sures with which Nature has endowed them, Travelling in the plains of Spanish Estremadura, I have passed through miles and miles of land as the rose, jasmine, * From Rimmel’s ‘ Book of Perfumes.’ THE TECHNOLOGIST. [APRIL 1, 1865. 384 THE COMMERCIAL USES OF covered with lavender, rosemary, iris, and what they call “rosmarino ” (Lavandula stechas), all growing wild in the greatest luxuriance, and yet they are left to “ waste their sweets on desert air,” for want of proper labour and attention. I also found many aromatic plants in Portugal, and among others one named “ Alcrim do norte” (Diosma ericioides), which has a delightful fragrance. From British India we import cassia, cloves, sandal-wood, patchouly, and several essential oils of the Andropogon genus; and the Celestial Empire sends us the much-abused but yet indispensable musk, which, carefully blended with other perfumes, gives them strength and piquancy without being in any way offensive. It has been proposed to cultivate flowers in England for perfumery purposes, but the climate renders this scheme totally impracticable. English flowers, however beautiful in form and colour they may be, do not possess the intensity of odour required for extraction, and the greater part of those used in France for perfumery would only grow here in hothouses. The only flower which might be had in abundance would be the rose, but the smell of it is very faint compared with that of the Southern rose, and the rose-water made in this country can never equal the French in strength. Ifwe add to this the shortness of the flowering season, and the high price of land and labour, we may arrive at the conclusion that such a speculation would be as bad as that of attempting to make wine from English grapes. As a proof of this, I may mention that I had a specimen submitted to me, not long since, of a perfumed pomade which a lady had attempted to make on a flewer- farm which she had been induced to establish in the North of England, and I regret to say it was a complete failure. The only two perfumery ingredients in which the English really excel are lavender and peppermint, but that is owing to the very cause which would militate against the success of other flowers in this country; for our moist and moderate climate gives those two plants the mildness of fragrance for which they are prized, whilst in France and other warm countries they grow strong and rank. There are four processes in use for extracting the aroma from fra- grant substances— distillation, expression, maceration, and absorption. Distillativn is employed for plants, barks, woods, and a few flowers. (The mode of distillation was described in vol. iii., p. 173.) A great improvement has lately been introduced in the mode of distillation : it consists in suspending the flowers or plants in the still on a sort of sieve, and allowing a jet of steam to pass through and carry off the fragrant molecules. This produces a finer essential oil than allowing those substances to be steeped in water at the bottom of the still. Expression is confined to the essences obtained from the rinds of the fruits of the citron series, comprising lemon, orange, bergamot, cedrat, and limette. It is performed in various ways: on the coast of Genoa they rub the fruit against a grated funnel ; in Sicily they press the rind Apriz 1, 1865.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. FLOWERS AND PLANTS. 385 in cloth bags; and in Calabria, where the larger quantity is manufac- tured, they roll the fruit between two bowls, one placed inside the other, the concave part of the lower and the convex part of the upper being armed with sharp spikes. These bowls revolve in a contrary direction, causing the small vesicles on the surface of the fruit to burst and give up the essence contained in them, which is afterwards collected with a sponge. The rinds are also sometimes distilled; but the former process, which is called in French au zest, gives a much purer essence. Maceration and absorption are both founded on the affinity which fragrant molecules have for fatty bodies, becoming more readily fixed into them than into any others. Thus the aroma of flowers is first transferred into greases (called pomades) and oils, which are made afterwards to yield it to alcohol; whilst the latter, if placed in direct contact with the flowers, would not extract it from them. The first attempt that was made in this way, some two hundred years ago, was to place some almonds in alternate layers with fresh-gathered flowers, re- newing the latter several days, and afterwards pounding the almonds in a mortar, and pressing the oil which had absorbed the aroma. This is the same process now used in India by the natives for obtaining perfumed oils, substituting gingelly or sesamum seeds for almonds. The next im- provement was to use a plain earthen pan, coated inside with a thin layer of grease, strewing the flowers on the grease, and covering it over with another jar similarly prepared. After renewing the flowers for a few days, the grease was found to have borrowed their scent. This pro- cess was abandoned in France some fifty years ago, but is still resorted to by the Arabs (who were probably the inventors of it), the only difference being that they use white wax mixed with grease, on account of the heat of the climate. Maceration is used for the less delicate flowers, such as the rose, orange, jonquil, violet, and cassie (Acacia Farnesiana). A certain quantity of grease is placed in a pan fitted with a water-bath, and is brought to an oily consistency. Flowers are then thrown in and left to digest for some hours, stirring them frequently, after which the grease is taken out and pressed in horsehair bags. This operation is repeated until the fatty body is sufficiently impregnated with the fragrance of the flowers. Oil is treated in the same way, but requires less heat. The process of absorption, called by the French enflewrage, is chiefly coafined to the jasmine and tuberose, the delicate aroma of which would be injured by heat. (For a description of the process, I may refer back to vol. iii., p. 174.) A new mode of enflewrage has been lately devised by Mr. D. Seméria, of Nice, and found to offer advantages over that previously in use. In- stead of laying the flowers on the grease, he spreads them on a fine net mounted on a separate frame. This net is introduced between two glass frames covered on both sides with grease. The whole series of Dy Da THE TECHNOLOGIST. [APRin 1, 1865. \ 386 THE COMMERCIAL USES OF frames is inclosed in an air-tight recess, and all that is required is to draw out the nets every morning and fill them with fresh flowers, which give their aroma to the two surfaces with which they are in contact. This system saves the waste and labour resulting from having to pick the old flowers from the surface of the grease, and produces also a finer fragrance. { Oil and Pomade Frames. A very curious pneumatic apparatus for the same purpose has been invented by M. Piner, the eminent Parisian perfumer, who submitted to the jury a plan of it at the last International Exhibition in London. It consists of a series of perforated plates, supporting flowers placed alternately with sheets of glass overlaid with grease, in a chamber through which a current of air is made to pass several times, until all the scent of the flowers becomes fixed into the grease. A no less remarkable invention is that of M. Millon, a French chemist, who found means to extract the aroma of flowers by placing them in a percolating apparatus and pouring over them some ether or sulphuret of carbon, which is drawn off a few minutes after, and carries with it all the fragrant molecules. It is afterwards distilled to dryness and the result obtained is a solid waxy mass, possessing the scent of the flower in its purest and most concentrated form. This process, although very ingenious, has not received any practical application as yet, owing to the expense attending it, some of these concrete essences costing as much as 50/. an eunce. Grasse, Cannes, and Nice are the principal towns where the macera- | tion and absorption processes are carried on. Since Nice has become French, its manufactures have much increased, for it is admirably situated for producing all flowers for perfumery purposes, and its violets in par- ticular are superior to any other. The following are approximate quantities and values of the Apri 1, 1865.) § THE TECHNOLOGIST. FLOWERS AND PLANTS. 387 flowers now consumed in that locality for preparing perfumery materials :— Orange flowers . : 2,000,000 Ibs., worthabout £40,000 Roses 5 ; : 600,000 ,, ss 12,000 Jasmines . : A 150,000 ,, a 8,000 Violets . : d 60,000 ,, 5 4,000 Cassie . : é 80,000 ,, xs 6,000 Tuberose . : é 40,000 ,, 5 3,000 Cs Grasse. These flowers are procured from growers by private contract, or sold in the market. The average quantities of the following articles are manufactured with them yearly :—700,000 Ibs. of scented oils and po- mades, 200,000 Ibs. of rose-water, 1,200,000 lbs. of orange-flower water, Ist quality,* 2,400,000 lbs. of orange-flower water, 2nd quality; 1,000 lbs. of neroly, an essential oil obtained from orange-flowers. The other flowers do not yield essential oils, but the latter are extensively distilled in the same places from aromatic plants, such as lavender, rosemary, thyme, geranium, &c. Many readers may have considered flowers hitherto as simply ornamental ; the above figures will give them an idea of their importance as anarticle of commerce. The second branch of the art of perfumery is the manufacture of scents, cosmetics, soaps, and other toilet necessaries. The principal manufacturers of perfumery and toilet soaps reside in * That is distilled twice over the flowers. THE TECHNOLOGIST. [APRIL 1, 1865. 388 THE COMMERCIAL USES OF London, where they number about sixty, employing a large number of men and women ; for female labour has been introduced nearly twenty years in almost all the London manufactories and found to answer very well for all kinds of work requiring more dexterity than strength.* According to the official returns published, the exports of British- made perfumery for the year 1863 amounted to 106,789/. ; we must, however, say that very little reliance is to be placed on these figures, which do not represent, perhaps, one-fourth of the actual amount ex- ported. Next to Hungary-water the most ancient perfume now in use is eau- de-Cologne, or Cologne-water, which was invented in the last century by an apothecary residing in that city. It can, however, be made just as well anywhere else, as all the ingredients entering into its composition come from the South of France and Italy. Its perfume is extracted principally from the flowers, leaves, and rind of the fruit of the bitter orange and other trees of the Citrus family, which blend well together, and form an harmonious compound. The toilet vinegar is a sort of improvement on eau-de-Cologne, con- taining balsams and vinegar in addition tothe above. Lavender-water was formerly distilled with alcohol from fresh flowers, but is now pre- pared by simply digesting the essential oil in spirits, which produces * T believe I was the first to employ female labour in England, and I am happy to say my example was soon followed. pT he Aprit 1, 1865.) © THE TECHNOLOGIST. FLOWERS AND PLANTS. 389 the same result at a much less cost. The finest is made with English oil, and the common with French, which is considerably cheaper, but is easily distinguished by its coarse flavour. Perfumes for the handkerchief are composed in various ways: the best are made by infusing in alcohol the pomades or oils obtained by the processes I have just described. This alcoholate possesses the true scent of the flowers entirely free from the empyreumatic smell inherent in all essential oils; as, however, there are but six or seven flowers which yield pomades and oils, the perfumer has to combine these together to imitate all other flowers. This may be called the truly artistic part of perfumery ; for it is done by studying resemblances and affinities, and blending the shades of scent as a painter does the colours on his palette. Thus, for instance, no ,perfume is extracted from the heliotrope, but as it has a strong vanilla flavour, by using vanilla as a base with other ingredients to give it freshness, a perfect imitation is produced, and so on with many others. ‘The most important branch of the perfumer’s art is the manufacture of toilet soaps. They are generally made from the best tallow soaps, which are remelted, purified, and scented. They can also be made by what is called the cold process, which consists in combining grease with a fixed dose of lees. It offers a certain advantage to perfumers for pro- ducing a delicately-sceuted soap, by enabling them te use as a base a pomade instead of fat, which could not be done with the other process, as the heat would destroy the fragrance. This soap, however, requires being kept for some time before it is used, in order that the saponifica- tion may become complete. Soft soap, known as shaving cream, is obtained by substituting potash for soda lees, and transparent soap by combining soda-soap with alcohol. Another sort of transparent soap has been produced lately by incorporating glycerine into it, in the pro- portion of about one-third to two-thirds of soap. The English toilet soaps are the very best that are made ; the French come next, but as they are not remelted they never acquire the softness of ours. The German soaps are the very worst that are manufactured ; the cocoa-nut oil which invariably forms their basis leaves a strong foetid smell on the hands, and their very cheapness isa deception, for as cocoa-nut oil takes up twice as much alkali as any other fatty substance, the soap produced with it wastes away in a very short time. _ Cosmetics, pomatums, washes, dentifrices, and other toilet requisites are also largely manufactured, but they are too numerous to be described here at length, nor shall I attempt to descant on their respective merits, which depend, in a great measure, upon the skill of the operator, and the fitness and purity of the materials used. The greatest improve- ment effected in these preparations lately has been the introduction of glycerine. Although this substance was discovered in the last century, it is only a few years since medical men fully recognised and appreciated its merits, and applied it to the cure of skin diseases, for THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Apri 1, 1865. 390 THE COMMERCIAL USES OF which it answers admirably. Perfumers are now beginning to avail themselves of its wonderful properties, and to combine it with their soaps and cosmetics. The volatilization of perfumes by means of steam is also a modern improvement. A current of steam is made to pass through a concen- trated essence, from which it disengages the fragrant molecules, and spreads them through the atmosphere with extraordinary rapidity and force. A whole theatre may be perfumed by that means in ten minutes, and a drawing-room, naturally, in much less time. This system has the advantage of purifying the air, and has been adopted, on that account, by some of the hospitals and other public institutions. It remains now for me to give a brief description of the various materials used for perfumery, which are supplied by all parts of the world, from the parched regions of the torrid zone to the icy realms of the Arctic pole. They may be divided, according to their nature, into twelve series— viz., the animal, floral, herbal, andropogon, citrine, spicy, ligneous, radical, seminal, balmy or resinous, fruity, and artificial. The animal series comprises only three substances—musk, civet, and ambereris. It is very useful in perfumery, on account of its powerful and durable aroma, which resists evaporation longer than any other. Musk is a secretion formed in a pocket or pod under the belly of the musk-deer, a ruminant which inhabits the higher mountain ranges of China, Thibet,and Tonquin. “It is a pretty grey animal,’ says Dr. Hooker, “the size of a roebuck, and somewhat resembling it, with coarse fur, short horns, and two projecting teeth from the upper jaw, Musk-Deer. said to be used in rooting up the aromatic herbs from which the Bhoteas believe that it derives its odour.” * The male alone yields the cele- brated perfume, the best being that which comes from Tonquin. The next in quality is collected in Assam, whilst the Kaberdeen musk, obtained from a variety of the species called Kubaya (Moschus * ‘Himalayan Journals,’ by Dr. Hooker, vol. i., p. 256. APRIL 1, 1865.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. FLOWERS AND PLANTS. 3g9l Sibericus), which inhabits the Siberian side of those mountains, is the most inferior of all. The Chinese have known musk for many ages; they call it shay heang, shay being the name of the animal, and heang meaning perfume. Tavernier is the first European traveller who mentions the precious drug, and says he bought 7,673 pods in one of his journeys, which shows how plentiful it must have been even at that early period. He gives the following description of musk-deer hunting, which takes place in February and March, when hunger drives these animals from their wild snowy haunts towards cultivated regions :—“ At that time,” says Tavernier, “ the hunters lie in wait for them with snares, and kill them with arrows and sticks. They are so lean and exhausted through the hunger they have endured, that they are easily pursued and over- taken.”* The accompanying illustration, faithfully copied from a , Musk-Deer Hunting. (From a Chinese Drawing.) Chinese drawing, in which were wrapt up some musk-pods I purchased lately, would tend to prove that the same weapons are still used in the musk-deer chase. ‘ Musk is an unctuous substance of a reddish-brown colour, which soon becomes black by exposure to air. It is so powerful that, according to Chardin’s authority, the hunter is obliged to have his mouth and nose stopped with folds of linen when he cuts off the bag from the animal, as otherwise the pungent smell would cause hemorrhage, some- times ending in death. As, however, the natives take good care to * ‘Voyage de Jean Baptiste Tavernier,’ vol. iv., p. 75. THE TECHNOLOGIST. [APRIL 1, 1865. 392 THE COMMERCIAL USES OF adulterate the musk before they send it to Europe, we are not exposed to such accidents. The substances used for this adulteration are gene- rally the blood or chopped liver of the animal, which they cleverly insert into the pod, or sometimes pieces of lead are introduced to in- crease the weight. Some even manufacture artificial pods from the belly-skin, and fill them with a mixture of musk and other materials. Musk in pods is generally imported in caddies of twenty = ounces in weight, and the Musk-Pod (Natural Size). price of it varies from 25s. to 50s. per ounce, according to quality. Grain musk, which is the musk extracted from the pods, is much dearer. Musk is, without any exception, the strongest and most durable of all known perfumes, and is in consequence largely used in compounds, its presence, when not too perceptible, producing a very agreeable effect. The odour of musk is not confined to this species of animal ; .it is also to be found, though in a less degree, in others—such as the musk- ox, the musk-rat, the musk-duck, &c. Mr. Chief-Justice Temple, of British Honduras, who presided at the Society of Arts when I read my paper “On Perfumery,” assured the meeting that the glands of alligators had a strong musky odour ; and, wishing to ascertain the fact, I pro- cured, through the kindness of my friend, Mr. Edward Grey, of the Royal Mail Steam Navigation Company, the head of one of these - monsters ; but I must say that, when the case was opened, the stench it diffused was so great that it required some little amount of courage to extract the glands, and the perfume they seemed to possess was strongly suggestive of Billingsgate market on a hot day. Some polypi, and, among others, the Zipula moschifera, which is found in the Mediter- ranean, and principally at Nice, give out a musky smell, but of a very evanescent nature. The musky fragrance likewise occurs in some vegetables, such as the well known yellow-flowered musk-plant, but its intensity is not sufficient for extraction. The definition moschatus (musky) is often applied to plants and flowers, but it must not always be taken in its literal sense, for botanists are apt to distinguish by this name strong scents, such as the nutmeg, which is termed Myristica moschata, although it bears no resemblance to musk. The so-called musk-seed itself (Hibiscus abelmoschus) is much more like civet thanmusk. Dr. Cloquet pretends that some preparations of gold and other mineral substances APRIL 1, 1865.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. FLOWERS AND PLANTS. 393 have also a musky fragrance,* but I have never met with any which bore out this assertion. Civet is the glandular secretion of the Viverra civetta, an animal of the feline tribe, about three feet in length and one foot in height, which is found in Africa and India. It is now chiefly imported from the Indian Archipelago, but formerly Dutch merchants kept some of those cats at Amsterdam in long wooden cages, and had the perfume scraped from them two or three times a week with a wooden spatula. Civet in the natural state has a most disgusting appearance, and its smell appears equally repulsive to the uninitiated, who would be tempted to cry out with Cowper— “*T cannot talk with civet in the room, A fine puss gentleman that’s all perfume ; The sight’s enough, no need to smell a beau Who thrusts his nose into a raree show.” Yet when properly diluted and combined with other scents it produces a very pleasing effect, and possesses a much more floral fragrance than Civet Cat ( Viverra civetia). musk ; indeed, it would be impossible to imitate some flowers without it. Its price varies from 20s. to 30s. per ounce, according to quality. Ambergris puzzled the savans, wno were at a loss tov account for its origin, and thought it at first to be of the same nature as yellow amber, whence it derived its name of grey amber (ambre gris). It is now ascer- tained beyond a doubt to be generated by the large-headed or sperma- ceti whale (Physeter macrocephalus), and is the result of a diseased state of the animal, which either throws up the morbific substance, or dies through it and is eaten up by other fishes. In either case, the ambergris becomes loose, and is picked up floating on the sea, or is washed ashore. It is found principally on the coasts of Greenland, Brazil, India, China, Japan, &c., and sometimes on the west coast of Iveland. The largest piece on record was one weighing 182 lbs., which the Dutch East India * © Osphrésiologie,’ p. 76. THE TECHNOLOGIST. — [Aprin 1, 1865. 394 THE COMMERCIAL USES OF Company bought from the King of Tydore. I have in my possession a very curious specimen, extracted by a North American whaler from a whale which he killed. Part of it is quite grey, and the remainder still black, which shows that the disease had not yet attained its maturity. Ambergris is not agreeable by itself, having a somewhat earthy or mouldy flavour, but blended with other perfumes it imparts to them an ethereal fragrance unattainable by any other means. Its price varies very much, according to the quantity to be found in the market. I have seen it as low as 10s. and as high as 50s. per ounce. The floral series includes all flowers available for perfumery purposes, which hitherto have been limited to eight—viz., jasmine, rose, orange, tuberose, cassie, violet, jonquil, and narcissus. Jasmine is one of the most agreeable and useful odours employed by perfumers, and highly valuable are the fragrant treasures which they obtain “From timid jasmine buds, that keep Their odours to themselves all day, But, when the sunlight dies away, Let their delicious secret out.” * Bettie It was introduced by the Arabs, who called it Yasmyn, hence its present name. The most fragrant sort is the Jasminum odoratissimum, which is largely cultivated in the South of France. It is obtained by grafting on wild jasmine, and begins to bear flowers the second year. It grows in the shape of a bush from three to four feet high, and requires to be in a fresh open soil, well sheltered from north winds. The flowering season is from July to October. The flowers open every morning at six o’clock with great regularity, and are culled after sunrise, as the morning dew would injure their flavour. Each tree yields about twenty-four ounces of flowers. We next come to the queen of the flowers, the rose—the eternal theme of poets of all ages and all nations, and which for the prosaical perfumer derives its principal charms from the delicious fragrance with which Nature has endowed it :— ‘<'The rose looks fair, but fairer we it deem For that sweet odour which doth in it live.” And well does the perfumer turn that sweetness to account, for he com- pels the lovely flower to yield its aroma to him in every shape, and he obtains from it an essential oil, a distilled water, and a perfumed oil and pomade. Even its withered leaves are rendered available to form the ground of sachet-powder, for they retain their scent for a considerable time. The species used for perfumery is the hundred-leaved rose (Rosa centifolia). It is extensively cultivated in Turkey, near Adrianople, whence comes the far-famed otto of roses, and the South of France, * ‘Light of the Harem.’ + Shakspeare’s Sonnets, liv. Aprit 1, 1865.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. FLOWERS AND PLANTS. 395 where pomades and oils are made. Rose-trees are planted in a cool ground, and may be exposed to the north wind without any injury. They bear about eight ounce of flowers in the second year, and twelve ounces in the following ones. The flowering season is in May, and the flowers, which generally open during the night, must be gathered before sunrise, as after that they lose half their fragrance. The orange-blossoms used for perfumery are those of the bigarrade or bitter orange-tree (Citrus. Bigaradia). They yield by distillation an essential oil known under the name of néroly, which forms one of the chief ingredients in eau-de-Cologne ; a pomade and an oil are also obtained trom them by maceration. From the leaves of the tree is produced an essential oil called petit-grain, and from the rind of the fruit another essence is expressed which is styled oi of orange, or Portugal. The edible orange-tree (Citrus aurantium) also produces essences, but they are of a very inferior quality. The largest bigarrade-tree plantations are to be found in the South of France, in Calabria, and in Sicily. This tree requires a dry soil with asouthern aspect. It bears flowers three years after grafting, increasing every year until it reaches its maximum, when it is about twenty years old. The quantity depends on the age and situation, a full-grown tree yielding on an average from 50 lbs. to 60 lbs. of blossoms. The flowering season is in May, and the flowers are gathered two or three times a week after sunrise. The tuberose (Polianthes tuberosa) is a native of the East Indies, where it grows wild, in Java and Ceylon, and was first brought to Europe by Simon de Tovar, a Spanish physician, in 1594. The Dutch monopolised this flower for some time, cultivating it in hothouses ; but it has now found its way to France, Italy, and Spain, and thrives well in those climates. “ Eternal spring, with smiling verdure here Warms the mild air, and crowns the youthful year. The tuberose ever breathes,*and violet Bigot f * ‘Tuberose (Polianthes iuberosa). It springs from a bulb which is planted in the autumn and bears flowers the following year. Each plant rises about three feet, and produces every day two full-blown flowers, which open from 11 A.M. to 3 P.M, according to localities, but always with the most precise regularity ; they must be gathered immediately, as their fragrance does not last long. | Cassie (Acacia Farnesiana) is a shrub of the acacia tribe, which grows in southern latitudes. Its height ranges from five to six feet, and it THE TECHNOLOGIST. [APRIL 1, 1865. 396 THE COMMERCIAL USES OF becomes covered in the months of October and November with globular flowers of a bright golden hue, which, peering through its delicate emerald foliage, have the prettiest effect. All those who have travelled in that season on the coast of Genoa will no doubt remember what charm- ing bouquets and garlands are made of the cassie intermixed with other flowers. To perfumers it is a most valuable assistant, possessing in the highest degree a fresh floral fragrance which renders it highly useful in compounds. It bears some resem- blance to violet, and, being much Cassie (Acacia Furnesiana). stronger, is often used to fortify that scent, which is naturally weak. The cassie requires a very dry soil, well exposed to the sun's rays. The tree does not bear flowers until it is five or six years old ; the yield varies from 1 lb. to 20 lbs. for every tree, according to age and position ; the blossoms are gathered three times a week after sunrise. A very strong oil and pomade is obtained from them by maceration. In Africa, and principally in Tunis, an essential oil of cassie is made, which is sold at about 4/. per ounce, but French and Italian flowers are not sufficiently powerful to yield an essence. The violet is one of the most charming odours in nature, and well might Shakspeare exclaimn— “Sweet thief, whence didst thou steal thy sweet that smells, If not from my love’s breath ?” It is a scent which pleases all, even the most delicate and nervous, and it is no wonder that it should be in such universal request. The largest and almost only violet plantations have hitherto been at Nice, its excep- tional position rendering it the most available spot for them. The violet used is the double Parma violet (Viola odorata). It requires a very cool and shady ground, and is generally placed in the orange and citron groves, at the foot of the trees, which screen it with their thick foliage from the heat of the sun. It flowers from the beginning of February to the middle of April, and each plant yields but a few ounces of blos- sums, which are culled twice a week after sunrise. Jonquil (Narcissus Jonquilla) and narcissus (Narcissus odoratus) are two bulbous plants, which are also cultivated for perfumery purposes, but in much smaller quantities than any of those already mentioned, their peculiar aroma rendering their use limited. The former is to be found chiefly in the South of France, and the latter in Algeria. Mignonette, lilac, and hawthorn are also sometimes worked into po- mades, but on such a small scale that they are not worth mentioning. APRIL 1, 1865.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. FLOWERS AND PLANTS. 397 The extracts named after those flowers are generally produced by com- bination. The herbal series comprises all aromatic plants, such as lavender, spike, peppermint, rosemary, thyme, marjoram, geranium, patchouly, and wintergreen, which yield essential oils by distillation. Lavender was extensively used by the Romans in their baths, whence it derived its name.* It is a nice clean scent, and an old and deserving favourite. The best lavender (Lavandula vera) is grown at Mitcham, in Surrey, and Hitchin, in Hertfordshire. It is produced by slips, which are planted in the autumn, and yield flowers the next year and the two following ones, when they are renewed. Mr. James Bridges, the largest distiller of lavender and peppermint, cultivates those two plants on an extensive scale near Mitcham. During the flower season he has three gigantic stills in operation, each able to contain about one thousand gallons. A great deal of essence of lavender is also manu- factured in France, but, as I said before, it is very inferior to the English. It is obtained from the same plant, which grows wild in great abun- dance in most Alpine districts. Portable stills are carried into the mountains, and the herb distilled on thespot. The same process is used for rosemary and thyme. Spike (Lavandula spica) is a coarser species of lavender, which is principally used for mixing with the other, or for scenting common soaps. A third sort of lavender (Lavandula Stechas) has a beautiful odour, and would yield a very fragrant essence, but it is very scarce in France; the only places where I met with it in quantities were Spain and Portugal, and there it is only used to strew the floors of churches and houses on festive occasions. Peppermint (Mentha piperita) is more used by confectioners than by perfumers, yet the latter find it useful in tooth-powders and washes. It is, like lavender, best grown in England, the foreign being very inferior. The American comes next to the English in quality. Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) is another plant of the labiate order, which yields a powerful essence, used chiefly for scenting soap. Its resemblance to camphor is very remarkable. There are two sorts of thyme distilled—ordinary thyme (Thymus vulgaris) and wild thyme, or serpolet (T'hymus Serpyllum). Marjoram (Origanum Majorana) belongs to the same class. The rose-geranium (Pelargonium odoratum) yields an essence which is greatly prized by perfumers on account of its powerful aroma, by means of which they impart a rosy fragrance to common articles at a much less cost than by using otto of roses, which is worth six times as much. It is principally cultivated in the South of France, Algeria, and Spain. The latter produces the finest essence. Patchouli (Pogostemon patchouli) comes from India, where it is known * From the Latin lavare, to wash. THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Apri 1, 1865. 328 THE COMMERCIAL USES OF under the name of puchapat. It has a most peculiar flavour, which is as offensive to some as it is agreeable to others. Wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens) we receive from North America. This essence is exceedingly powerful, and requires to be used with great caution to produce a pleasing effect. Well blended with others in soap. it imparts to it a rich floral fragrance. The andropogon * series embraces three sorts of aromatic grasses, which grow abundantly in India, and principally in Ceylon, whence we obtain their essential oils» They are the Andropogon Schenanthus, or _ lemon-grass, which is used to imitate verbena, having a somewhat similar fragrance; the Andropogon citratus, or citronella, which forms the basis of the perfume of honey soap; and the Andropogon Nardus, or ginger-grass oil, improperly called Indian geranium. The chief use of the latter for some persons, lam sorry to say, is to adulterate otto of roses, which costs from 30s. to 40s. per ounce, whilst the latter is scarcely worth one shilling per ounce. The citrine series comprises bergamot (Citrus bergamia), orange (Citrus Bigaradia), lemon (Citrus medica), cedrat (Citrus cedra), and limette (Citrus Limetta). Essential oils are expressed or distilled from the rind of those fruits. The spice series includes cassia, cinnamon, cloves, mace, nutmeg, and pimento, Cassi1, which was, like cinnamon, well known and highly-prized by the ancients, is distilled from the Laurus Cassia, a tree of the laurel tribe, which is abundant in the East Indies and China. Cinnamon belongs to the same class, and is extracted from the bark of the Laurus Cinnamomum. A coarser essence is also obtained from the leaves of the same tree. Cloves are the flower-buds of the Caryophyllus aromaticus, a tree found in the Indian Archipelago. The finest come from Zanzibar. The essence is chiefly used for scenting soap, but when in infinitesimal quanti- ties italso blends well with some handkerchief scents, and principally with the carnation and clove-pink, the fragrance of which it closely resembles. Mace and nutmeg are both produced by the Myristica moschata, the latter being the fruit of that tree, and the former one of its envelopes. Pimento, or allspice,is the berry of the Pimenta vulgaris, from which an essential oil is distilled, which, like the two last-named, is used for pertuming soap. The ligneous series consists of sandal-wood, rose-wood, rhodium, cedar-wood, and sassafras. Sandal-wood comes from the East, where it is highly esteemed as the perfume par excellence, forming the ground of all their toilet prepara- tions. There are several species, the best being the. Santalum citrinum, from which the essential oil used by perfumers is chiefly distilled. I ” * From avdpos méyov, so called because this grass resembles a man’s beard. APRIL 1, 1865.] THE TECHNOLOGIST, FLOWERS AND PLANTS. 399 observed also, some very fine specimens in the last Exhibition from Western Australia and New Caledonia. Rosewood (Lignum aspalathum), rhodium (Convolvulus scoparius), and cedar-avood (Juniperus virginiana) likewise yield essential oils, but which are little used by perfumers. Sassafras, distilled from the Zaurus Sassafras, a tree which grows abundantly in North America, is a very useful essence for soap, ou account of its fresh and powerful aroma. The radical series is confined to orris-root and vetivert. Orris or iris is the rhizome of the ris Hlorentina, which is extensively cultivated in Italy, and principally in Tuscany. It exhales, when dry, a delightful violet fragrance, which renders it very useful for scenting toilet, sachet, and tooth powders. When infused in spirits it loses this violet odour, owing to the resinous matters contained in it, which become dissolved and overpower it; but it 1s still sufficiently pleeeany to form the basis of many cheap perfumes. Vetivert, or khus-khus, is the rhizome of the Anatherum muricatum, which grows wild in India. It forms the basis of the perfume called mousseline, which derived its name from the peculiar odour of Indian muslin which had formerly great repute in Europe, and which was scented with this root by the natives. The seminal series includes aniseed (Pimpinella anisum), dill (Ane- thum graveolens), fennel (Anethum feniculum), and carraway (Carum carui), all umbelliferous plants, with aromatic seeds which yield essen- tial oils. The last-named is the most largely used. Musk-seed, obtained from Abelmoschus moschatus, belongs also to the same series. The balsamy and gummy series coniprises balsam of Peru, balsam of Tolu, benzoin, styrax, myrrh, and camphor. With the exception of the last, they are all exudations from various trees: balsam of Peru being obtained from the Myroxylon peruiferum; balsam of Tolu from the M. toluifera; benzoin (or gum-benjamin) from the Styraz Benzoin ; and myrrh from the Balsamodendyon myrrha. The four first-named possess a fragrance somewhat similar to vanilla, but less delicate. Myrrh was the most esteemed perfume in ancient times, but tastes must have changed since, for it is now but little in request. Camphor, which is more used in medicine than perfumery, is obtained by boiling the wood of the Laurus Camphora, a tree found principally in China and Japan, and in which the gum exists ready formed, The fruity series includes bitter almonds, Tonquin beans, and vanilla. The essential oil of bitter almonds is obtained by distilling the dry cake of the fruit after the fat oil has been pressed out. It contains from 8 to 10 per cent, of prussie acid, which can be removed by re-distilling it over potash. Tonquin beans are the seed of the Dipterix odorata, a tree which grows in the West Indies and South America. VOL, V. Uv THE TECHNOLOGIST. [APRIL 1, 1865. 400 THE COMMERCIAL USES OF FLOWERS AND PLANTS. Vanilla is the bean of a beautiful creeper (Vanilla planifolia) which is a native of Mexico, but has lately been introduced in the French island of Réunion, where it thrives adinirably. This colony now yields annually more than 12,000 lbs. of the costly perfume, and among the many beautiful specimens shown at the last Exhibition, nine were deemed worthy of medals or honourable mention. “ee May 1, 1865.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. THE COMB MANUFACTURE, 478 Cachar, the profits of plantations would be equally good. In Chittagong, too, the soil is reported well adapted for tea and coffee cultivation. During the past financial year several tea-planters visited the distzict and applied for grants. Some difficulty is anticipated in making new allotments, ‘‘ owing to the rather loose and haphazard way in which large tracts of land were, so to speak, given away rent-free for long periods at the settlement of the district.” It will be remembered that a sample of Chittagong tea won a medal in the Agricultural Exhibition at Alipore. A small estate has been in cultivation for many years near the Sudder Station, and a considerable number of acres has recently been broken up for the plant in the hill tracts. We find tkat in one province this portion of British enterprise has trebled itself during the past official year, and in another has doubled itself. The returnsof only two tea-growing districts are given in full, but we believe that the same proportion holds good in all. This single branch, tea-planting, has changed the destiny of whole provinces greater in area than England, and turned vast tracts of unhealthy, unprofitable wastes into. revenue- paying and life-supporting land. It has belted our North-Eastern fron- tier with a ring of gardens, and placed an advance guard of Englishmen between the plains and the hill tribes. But this is not all. It has furnished an accessible and profitable vent for the overcrowded popu- lation in Bengal proper, and done much to ameliorate the condition of the labouring classes throughout the whole country.— Calcutta Englisk- man. THE COMB MANUFACTURE. THERE are few important industrial operations that are so independent of mechanical contrivances and appliances as the comb manufacture. The nature of the horn material worked up is such, that, in few of the processes through which it must be put, are the manipulations of a continuously identical character. Consequently, the hand, the eye, and the judgment, with a small number of simple tools, must still produce those beautiful horn specimens of civilization—so useful in common life, so adorning to beauty, and astonishing to all, for accuracy and fine- ness of finish. The comb manufacture is pre-eminently conducive to our national wealth, because therein the value of the raw product is greatly multi- plied. The skilled labour placed on tortoiseshell increases it in value about 40 per cent., while horn (the generally used product) so favoured advances 200 per cent. This latter, rough, uncouth, unattractive, fresh from the head of its occupant, is split, and heated, bent and planed, triturated and polished, pressed and carved and fretted, till at length it THE TECHNOLOGIST. [May 1, 1865. 476 THE COMB MANUFACTURE. is sent forth into polite society reduced to the most fairy-like proportions, elegant in its surroundings, having a highly polished exterior, a beautiful set of teeth, a graceful bend, and an elastic spring, betokening youth and spirit. It is the laminatory character of horn that prevents the economical use of mechanical aid to any large extent. The difficulties hitherto in- surmountable are an erratic and diversely running grain, the raising up of the fibres after every use of the file, saw, plane, or other cutting instrument, and therefore the necessity for constant removal of débris and dust from the product-face, and of continual polishing and guaging. This latter care is needed, because the original start has to be made with a thickness of horn much stouter than is needed for the perfect comb, to allow for the waste of manufacture. In addition, is the requirement of heat in all the processes, and that continually. These and other diffi- culties have ever prevented the use of what may be termed perfect mechanical appliancesin this trade industry, in order to elegant, complete, and rapid production. Let us first enter the press house. All around on our right and our left lie heaps of horns, with the tips cut off, or divided lengthwise ; while the ammoniacal smell of burnt oil is touching up oureyes, palates, and nostrils. On one side of this shed, or out-house, is an ordinary fur- nace, a sort of Tubal-Cain improvisation ; and close by, in front, is a huge hammer, or kind of movable anvil, working between upright iron guides, the hammer or anvil raisable by a pulley. The process thus goes on. The workman in front of the furnace takes one of the tipless horns (after it has been rendered pliable by heat) and with a common {strong ripping knife rips open the horn lengthwise in the direction of the varying grain—in other words, he merely divides the horn by the grain throughout. For to cut across the grain would be objectionable. The split-up horns are then again warmed (in hot water and by fire), are opened out pretty flat, laid between cold iron plates, and pressed quite level by aid of the before-mentioned hammer, a few iron wedges and an oblong iron-bound space sunk in the furnace-floor, in which plates and horn are placed. The above plan is adopted in the case of “ non-stained” goods. When the goods are to be stained afterwards (in imitation of tortoiseshell it may be), the heated, ripped- up, and opened out horn (and please to remember that reheating has to be constantly gone through in every stage of the manufacture) is placed between hot steel plates, and more highly pressed so as to reduce the horn- plates in thickness, and to destroy the grain of the material. Then, by the aid of other processes, the horn will take the staining requisite in the subsequent operations. The machine-room may be called the laboratory of a comb works. Blazing fires, revolving lathes, choking dust, and horny abominations and smells of all Kinds greet your entrance. Here the horn may be seen In all shapes and progress of development—receiving its direction, May 1, 1865.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. THE COMB MANUFAOTURE, 477 contour, polish, or other commands to go on its way rejoicing. The cutting apparatus works like a simple copying machine. Place the horr-plate on the bench beneath, put over the plate a cutter of the shape, size, and outline of any comb you may subsequently require, strike down the press, and the piece is stamped out immediately, Many pieces may, of course, be struck out by one die, and at one opera- tion, the comb-plate being as economically used as possible. More pressing and straightening succeed, then grinding, ready for the “ teeth.” The mode of operation here depends on the kind of product you are manipulating. For a lady’s back or side-comb the “ parting-engine ” is put in requisition. ‘This is a clever little contrivance, that cuts the teeth as it draws the horn-plate through the machine ; working by a top-handle also, like a copying machine. Each forward or backward motion of the handle brings down a tooth-cutter, and by means of a cogged wheel shifts on the bed on which the plate lays one tooth- distance further till all the teeth are cut. Various sized cutters may be used at one machine. The last tooth at each end of the comb or combs is separated by hand, and then you have two perfect combs, the just-cut teeth fitting into and drawing away from each other, as the fingers of each hand, if they be placed the one between the other, for purposes of illustration. The teeth of horse and other combs, and of those finer ones for the dressing-table, are cut by the circular saw. Suppose one or more very fine-toothed saw to be fixed on a rapidly-revolving shaft (lathe fashion) having a frame in front to hold the horn-plate or plates to be toothed (for several in thickness may be done simultaneously, one lot in front of each saw fixed on the one shaft). This frame is centred or pivoted, so that it can be pressed close to, or be moved further from, the saw-edges ; and has also a lateral motion, acted on by a ratchet-wheel. Now. take, say, a dressing-comb, put on the ratchet- wheel that will produce the number, or width and size of teeth you need (for all such wheels are numbered at so many teeth to the inch, and are made to suit the various sizes and shaped products), turn the handle, press down the horn pieces against the revolving saw, and (the pressure being regulated by the mechanism) the teeth are just cut as you want them—in depth, size, &c.—each backward motion of the frame from the saw sending the frame sideways just the distance needed to determine the width of the teeth: thus this repeated action produces perfect teeth. When the back of the comb is half-straight and half-curved, or in any other similar form out of the straight line, and the depth of the teeth has therefore to vary in accordance, the pressure of the frame (which holds the horn in process of “toothing”) is increased or de- creased against the saw, and so the cut is made deeper or less deep by causing the frame, in its lateral progress, to be affected (in its proximity to the edge of the circular saw) by a projecting arm, that is raised or depressed by its passage over a curved block or comb-back of the shape of the one in manipulation. :_ ee ee THE TECHNOLOGIST. [May 1, 1865. 478 THE COMB MANUFACTURE. The fretwork in the back combs is all done by hand, the patterns being marked on the products and cut out by a very fine saw, a steady hand, and keen eye. The grooving and indentations on the comb-back are produced by the revolution of edged, grooved, serrated, and feathered wheels, against which the product is pressed to any required depth, exactly as the glasscutter deals with his product. So out come flowers and fruit, leaves put forth their sweet and varied outlines ; there are the signs of nobility and loyalty, the Anchor of Hope, the Birds of Paradise, the Scroll of Fame, the Crown of Empire, for lovely women! Thus also are the comb-backs of our cressing products channelled, grooved, roached, and otherwise adorned—the warmed and plastic horn being most obedient to every “ good word and work.” There seems scarcely an end to the rasping, planing, smoothing, and polishing, till, in the case of “stained” goods, the products are placed in a solution of weak aquafortis (as it appears, but the practice is a secret), and they are dotted with a red paint-like composition, to be subsequently chemicalised and washed off, when the stains will remain a la Tortoiseshell! And so our horn and shell products are introduced to a competitive, struggling world. Horns, horn-tips, and pieces of horn are extensively used in the manufacture of handles for knives, of spoons, combs, buttons, toys, &c. The value of those imported in 1863 was about 100,000/. The buffalo and deer horns come chiefly from India and Ceylon ; the ox and other horns from the River Plate, South Africa, Australia, and the Continent. The tortoiseshell imported comes from a great variety of quarters. In 1853, 34,000 lbs. were imported, valued at 14s. to 15s. the pound. Coton1aL Gotp Frerps.—The quantity of gold exported from New Zealand from 1861 to the end of 1864 was 1,814,026 ounces troy, of the value of 6,250,000/., of which the province of Auckland produced 10,000 ounces ; Nelson, 80,000 ; Marlborough, 30,000; Canterbury, 2,500 ; Otago, 1,691,526—total, 1,814,026 ounces, or 103 cubic feet of solid gold, which was represented at the New Zealand Exhibition this year by an obelisk of that size. The total yield of the Nova Scotia gold-fields for the year 1864 was 20,022 oz. 13 dwts. 13 gr., against 14,001 oz. 14 dwt. 17 gr. for 1863. A gilded pyramid at the Dublin Exhibition is to show the quantity of gold obtained in Nova Scotia in the last three years—161,000U. JuNE 1, 1865.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. THE TECHNOLOGIST. 0 USEFUL PLANTS OF NEW ZEALAND. in the Official Catalogue of the New Zealand Industrial Exhibition, opened at Otago, in January last, we find some interesting information on the trees and plants of the Province, from which we make the fol- lowing extracts. We look forward also with interest to the publication of a series of special reports on the resources of the colony by the most competent men, which will contribute much to our stock of knowledge. Drimys axillaris. —A very handsome, small tree ; whole plant aromatic and stimulant ; wood very ornamental in cabinet work. This is the pepper-tree of the colonists. Native name, Horo pito. Melicytus ramiflorus.—An angular-stemmed, ornamental tree, and nourishing as food for cattle. Native name, Mahol or Hinau-ini. Pittosporum, sp.—White and black Mapau. The wood of some of the trees of this genus is adapted for wood engraving. They exude a gum resin, which has not been examined. Plagianthus Botulinas (Ribbon-wood).—The bark, which is thick and fibrous, might be employed in the manufacture of ropes or paper, but no quantity of it could be procured. Hoheria populnea and Pennantia corymbosa are also called ribbon-wood. 'The wood of the lace-tree (Pla- gianthus Lyallii) is also fibrous, and both wood and bark might be used for paper-making, if the expense of procuring it were not too great. Coriaria ruscifolia (the Tutu) is an ornamental shrub with poisonous seeds and leaves, probably on account of their containing an alkaloid similar to strychnine. It has medicinal properties, and has been used in epilepsy with supposed success. The whole plant is very astringent, and might be used for tanning leather. Tannate of quinine prepared from this plant was shown at the New Zealend Exhibition, the plant containing tannic acid in large quantities. The wood, though soft, is beautifully marked in the grain, and might be introduced with effect in light cabinet work. VOL, V. 3 5 ‘HE TECHNOLOGIST. [Jonze 1, 18: 480 USEFUL PLANTS OF NEW ZEALAND. Sophora grandiflora, Kohwai.—A splendid tree, with laburnum-like flowers. The wood is highly durable, and adapted for cabinet work. Fuschia excorticata.—A very crooked, but ornamental tree. The wood might be used as a dye-stuff, if rasped up and boiled in the usual way ; and by using iron as a mordant, various shades of purple may be produced, even to a dense black, that makes good writing ink. Its juice, which is astringent and agreeable, might perhaps yield an extract - that would be useful in bowel complaints ; its fruit is pleasant, and forms the favourite food of the wood-pigeon. Metrosidoros lucida et robusti, Rata—A very: ornamental tree, especially when covered with dark crimson flowers. The timber is very valuable as a cabinet wood, and can be procured in quantity from the West Coast. It is also likely to come into demand for all purposes where durability and strength are required, such as for beams and knees in shipbuilding, bridges, and the like. Leptospermum ericiodes, Manuka.—A highly ornamental tree, more especially when less than twenty years old. It is largely used at present for ftel and fencing. The old timber, from its dark-coloured markings, might be used with advantage in cabinet work, and its great durability might recommend it for many other purposes. L. scoparium is sometimes large enough to be called a tree ; the bank is papery. Both these species have.very astringent saps; one has been tested for its strength as a building timber, and found to bear a greater transverse strain than any of the Australian or other New Zealand woods. Carpoditus serratus, White Mapauw—A very ornamental shrub-tree ; the wood is tough, and might be used in the manufacture of handles of agricultural implements. Weinmannia sylvicola, Kamai.—An ornamental timber tree, with handsome flowers; its wood is close-grained and heavy, but rather brittle. It might become useful for building purposes, being very similar to beech and sycamore, and might be used for the same pur- poses, such as plane-making and other joiner’s tools, block-cutting for paper- and calico-printing, besides various kinds of turnery and wood- engraving. Panax crassifolia, Grass-tree or Lancewood.—The wood is close- grained and tough, and if kept dry might be used in building. Coprosina lwcida.—An ornamental shrub-tree. Wood close-grained and yellow ; might be used in turnery. Olearia nitide has alsoa close-grained wood with yellow markings, which might be used for cabinet wood. 0. dentata in the vicinity of Dunedin often attains eighteen inches in diameter, and is also well marked for cabinet work. O. Forsteriand O. avicennifolia are also suited for the same purpose. Dracophyllum longifolium is an ornamental. shrub-tree, with long grassy leaves. The wood is white, marked with satiny specks, and > JUNE 1, 1865.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. USEFUL PLANTS OF NEW ZEALAND. 481 is adapted for cabinet work. One species in the vicinity of Dunedin attains a diameter of ten to twelve inches. Myrsine urvillia, Red Mapau.—An ornamental tree, with dark red wood useful for cabinet work. Juices very astringent. Veronica salicifolia, the New Zealand willow, is used by the Maories as tonic and purgative. ) Fagus Menziestii—The red birch is a lofty timber tree, one of the most valuable in New Zealand, attaining a diameter of two or three feet ; yielding boards long enough for any purpose. It is durable, and adapted for cabinet work. It is also well fitted for masts and oars, and perhaps no tree in New Zealand, except the Dammara or Kauri Pine, can be applied to so many useful purposes. It is the only wood likely to be used for cooper’s work in the country excepting the Magus Solandri. The black birch (Fagus fusca) is one of the largest timber trees in New Zealand, often attaining a diameter of twelve feet. Wood clear- grained, splits freely, and may be as generally useful as the last. Inbocedrus Bidwelliit, Cedar.—A very ornamental tree; its wood light and clear-grained, but only adapted for inside work, as it is not durable when exposed to the weather. Fagus Solandri, White Birch.—A large, ornamental, timber tree, attaining a diameter of from three to five feet. Wood white, straight, tough, not durable under exposure, but well adapted for cooper’s work. Podocarpus ferruginea, Matai.—A large, ornamental, and useful tim~- ber tree, attaining a diameter of three to four feet. Wood close-grained, hard, reddish, very durable, unequalled for barn or granary floors ; use- ful also in bridges and fencing. P, spicata, Mira.—A large timber tree; wood white, tough, and durable. These two species are called Black Pine in Otago. P. Totara.—One of the largest timber trees in New Zealand, attain- ing a diameter of ten feet. Wood clear-grained and well adapted for carpenter's work, splits freely, and is durable as fencing and shingles. Dacrydium cupressinum, Red Pine or Rima.—A large timber tree, attaining a diameter of three to four feet. Wood clear-grained, reddish, useful for all building purposes. The wood of old trees is highly orna- mental for cabinet work. The sap of these pines is agreeable to drink, and can be manufactured into spruce beer. (See Capt. Cook’s ‘ Voyages.’) A varnish is made from the resin of this tree. Phyllocladus alpinus.—A small, very ornamental tree; the bark is used for dyeing red. OrHER UsrFrun Pants. Rhipogonum scandens.—A climbing shrub, reaching the tops of trees, The stems are used when split for the manufacture of strong baskets. The root has been used in the same manner as sarsaparilla. Phormium tenax, New Zealand Flax.—Two varieties of this plant exist in Otago—one with dark-red flowers, and triangular, erect capsules, atrong, broad, erect leaves ; the other with smaller flowers, inside petals 3 E 2 t THE TECHNOLOGIST. [June 1, 1865. 482 USEFUL PLANTS OF NEW ZEALAND. greenish, capsules round, four inches by one inch, twisted, drooping leaves, narrower, finer fibre, drooping. Whatever may be the success in the invention of means to prepare the fibre for the manufacturer, it ought to be always borne in mind that the supply of the raw material will be very soon dependent upon cultivation. It is a great mistake to suppose that an unlimited supply exists in the native state ; and per- haps this is not to be regretted, as cultivation will improve the fibre, and those varieties possessing the finest fibre only will be cultivated. It is understood that the Maories cultivated this plant on the North Island, and it would be a subject worth inquiring into, in order to dis- cover which is the best variety for producing a fine quality of fibre, and if there is any peculiarity in the system of cultivation. Also, minute information is much required connected with the method and substances used in dyeing the flax with those brilliant fast colours, in which art the Maories have excelled. The difficulty in producing a good fast colour on vegetable fibre is well known, and many tedious and expersive pro- cesses are used to animalise (as it is termed) the vegetable fabrics, so as to enable the dyer to fix the colours. If we are to improve on the Maories’ method of dressing the flax, we should not be behind them in its adornment. The gum of the flax is used for the same purpose as gum arabic. The root is purgative, and said to have the properties of sarsaparilla. Cor dyline Australis, Ti or Cabbage-tree.—Whole plant fibrous, and might be made into paper. The juice of the roots and stems contains a small amount of sugar, and has been used for procuring alcohol. The fibre of the trunk of C. indivisa is used by the Maories in the manufacture of mats. Among the grassesin the genera Triticum, Agrostis, Arundo, and Danthonea, are several species well adapted for paper-making. They are abundantly spread over the grassy hills of Otago, at altitudes over 1,000 feet. If the article should become one of exvort, the cost of con- veyance to port would be heavy, unless means could be applied to com- press it into bales. At some future time, however, machinery could be erected, where water-power is convenient, and the manufacture of an inferior description of paper could be carried on in the country. There is a so-called cotton-plant in Otago (Celmosia coriacea) the dressed fibre of which is shown, and it has been made into cloth by the natives. JuNE 1, 1865.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. 483 SUGAR FROM THE ARENGA PALM. THE following suggestions on the regular cultivation of the Arenva palia for the more general manufacture of sugar are by Dr. J. E. de Vry. In vol. iv., p. 281, will be found a note on Palmyra palm-sugar. “When I went from Holland to Java, in 1857, I sojourned a month in Ceylon, and there became acquainted with the Borassus flabelli/ormis, vulgarly called Palmyra palm, by the Englishmen living in Ceylon, and among the products of indigenous industry I remarked, as taking a fiyst rank, the sugar sold by the natives under the name of jaggery. The great number of these palms induced me, in a conversation with persous having interests in Ceylon, to express the idea that it would be possible to put them into regular cultivation for obtaining a good sugar crop from them. But my sojourn in Ceylon was but temporary ; and, moreover, I had not the required apparatus for making the necessary researches, I occupied myself more closely with this question, when, having penetrated in the interior of Java, my attention was drawn to the great amount of sugar the Javanese living in the districts called Preanger Regentschappen obtained from the Aren palm (Arenga saccharifera). Professor Rein- wardt had affirmed that this sugar was only glucose; but I recog- nised that, although the natives extract it by a very rude and entirely primitive mode, it contains a great proportion of cane-sugar. Their process is as follows :—As soon as the palm-tree begins to blossom, they cut off the part of the stem that bears the flower ; then flows from the cut a sap containing sugar, which they collect in tubes made of bamboo cane, previously exposed to smoke, in order to prevent the fermenta- tion of the juice, which, without this preeaution, would take place very quickly under the double influence of the heat of the climate and the presence of a nitrogenous matter. The juice thus obtained is imme- diately poured into shallow iron basins, heated by fire, and is thickened by evaporation, till a drop falling on a cold surface solidifies ; the degree of concentration attained, the contents of the kettle is put in forms or great prismatic lozenges. Several thousand pounds of sugar are thus obtained yearly. I have collected some of the sap in a clean glass bottle, and [ found that the unaltered juice does not contain any glucose, but a nitrogenous matter, which, by the heat of the climate, quickly converts a part of the cane-sugar in glucose. In order to prove, without employing any artificial means, that the juice exuding from the tree contains pure cane-sugar, I collected a sample directly in alzo- hol; the nitrogenous principle is thus eliminated by coagulation ; a mixture of equal parts of juice and alcohol has been, after filtration, evaporated on the sand-bath to the consistence of syrup. I brought this syrup with me on returning from Java, and during the voyage the syrup became solid, presenting very fine and well-defined crystals of cane-sugar, immediately recognised as such by all the experts. At the THE TECHNOLOGIST. 484 SUGAR FROM THE ARENGA PALM. Congress of Giessen, I spoke of the preparation of sugar from palms as the only rational mode of obtaining sugar in the futnre, basing my opinion on the following grounds :—Sugar, by itself, being only com- posed, in state of purity, from carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, does not take anything from the soil ; but the plants now mainly cultivated for extracting sugar, viz., the Beta vulgaris and the Saccharum officinarum, require for their development a great amount of substanees from the soil in which they grow, whence it follows that their culture exhausts the soil. But this is not the only evil ; what is worse is, that the space now occupied by beet-roots in Europe, and by sugar-cane between the tropics, might and ought to serve for the culture of wheat or of forage in Europe, and for rice under the tropics ; and it is my opinion that, con- sidering the increase of population, the time is not far distant when it will be absolutely necessary to devote to the culture of wheat or rice the lands now employed for beet-root or cane. While the cane and beet- root want a soil fit for cereals, the Aren palm prospers on soils entirely unfit for their culture, so unfit, indeed, that one might try in vain to grow on them rice or cereals; the Aren palm leaves the profound valleys of Java, in some parts of the island extends from the shores of the sea to the interior, where the tree is found in groups, and it is very possible to make rich plantations of that fine tree. There is one drawback, but not a very serious one: the tree must be eleven or twelve years old before it will yield sugar. When, however, it com- mences, the operation can be repeated during several years, and the preparation of the sugar becomes a continuous industry and not an interrupted one, as it is now. According to my average, a field of thirty acres (? acre) planted with those trees should produce yearly 2,400 kilogrammes of sugar on a soil quite unfit for any other kind of culture.” The following further details respecting the uses of this palm are from Seeman’s “ Popular History of the Palms” :— The Arenga saccharifera, Labill. ; Saguerus Rumphii, Roxb, ; Boras- sus Gomulus, Lour. ; Gomutus saccharifera, Spr. ; occurs in great abund- ance in a wild state throughout the islands of the Indian Archipelago, but is more common in the interior, principally in the hilly districts, than on the sea-coast, and it is also very generally cultivated by the various people who inhabit that region. It has been called one of the most useful of all the palms; and how well it deserves that epithet may be judged from a perusal of the accounts published by Roxburgh, Griffith, Marsden, Low, and, above all, by Crawfurd. Like all plants enjoying a wide geographical distribution, this tree is distinguished by names as numerous as the languages of the countries which claim it as a member of their flora. With the usual copiousness of these languages on similar occasions, each useful part of the plant is distinguished by a special name. In Malay, the tree is called Anoa (Anowe according to Griffith, and Anan according to Bennet), the liquor (teddy) obtained from it, JUNE 1, 1865.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. SUGAR FROM THE ARENGA PALM. 485 Tuwak or Nera, the soft brown scurf found at the base of the petioles, Baru, and the horsehair-like material covering the latter, Ejoo or Egu, or Gomuti. It is this last name which some botanists have applied as a genuine, others as a specific one, to the whole plant. In Javanese, the tree is called Aser, the material like horsehair, Duk (occasionally spelt Dok), the gossamer-like substance, Aawul, and the sap, Lagu, which means the sweet material, by distinction. In the Amboynese language, the tree is called Nawa, the horsehair-like material, Makse. In the Ternate language, the tree is called Seho, in the Bali, Jahaka, and in the Bina, Naun. In the Macassar language, the tree is termed Mon- chono, the sap or toddy, Juro ; and in the Mandar, the former Akel and the latter Ai. The Portuguese and other European nations following their example, call the tree and its liquor Sagwire, though no one knows for what reason. The Sagwire or Gomute—we had better adopt the latter name, as being the most euphonious—attains a height of thirty or forty feet, is without spines, and bears a dense crown of pinnatescent leaves, which have rather a sombre aspect ; their segments are generally fasciculate, the middle ones five feet long, about four inches broad, linear ensiform, dark green above, white underneath, with distant spinescent teeth, and a bilobed or bifid croso-dentale apex. When very young, they are eaten, like those of the American cabbage-palm (Oreodowa oleracea, Mait.). The etioles are very stout, and it is at the base of these and completely em- bracing the trunk of the tree, where the horsehair-like material, which co-operates to render this palm so valuable, is produced. This fibrous substance, superior in quality, cheapness, and durability to that obtained from the husk of the cocoa-nut, and removed for its power of resisting wet, is used by the natives of the Indian islands for every purpose of cordage, domestic and naval, a practice in which Europeans have of late years initiated them. The coarser parts, or small twigs, as some authors call them, found with this “vegetable horsehair,’ are used by all the tribes who write on paper as pens, and they are the arrows used by others to discharge, poisoned or otherwise, from blow-pipes or arrow- tubes. Underneath this material is found a substance of a soft gossamer- like texture, which is imported into China. It is applied as oakum in caulking the seams of ships, and more generally as tinder for kindling fire. It is for this latter purpose that it is chiefly in request among the Chinese. Marsden, in his ‘‘ Sumatra,” says, ‘‘ It is bound on as a thatch, in the same manner as we do straw, and not unfrequently over the galoonpye (bamboo thatch) ; in which case the roof is so durable as never to re- quire removal, the Hjoo being of all vegetable substances the least prone to decay ; and for this reason it is a common practice to wrap a quantity of it round the ends of timbers or posts which are to be fixed in the ground. The Hjoo exactly resembles coarse black horsehair, and it is ie THE TECHNOLOGIST, [Jone 1, 1865. 486 SUGAR FROM THE ARENGA PALM. used like it, among other purposes, for making ropes, and mixing with mortar.” Low, im his “ Borneo,” whilst corroborating this statement, adds :—* The hairy filaments are plaited by the natives into ornaments for the arms, legs, and neck, which are more pleasing in their deep black hue and neat appearances (at least, to eyes of Europeans) than the beads and brass with which these people are fond of adorning their persons.” Bennett, in his “ Wanderings,” also gives a highly favourable deserip- tion of this fibre, and throws out the suggestion that it may be the same as that called “Cabo negro” by the Spaniards at Manila. The princi- pal production of the Gomute palm is the toddy, which, according te Crawfurd, is produced in the following manner :— “One of the spadices is, on the first appearance of fruit, beaten on three successive days with a small stick, with the view of determining the sap to the wounded part. The spadix is then cut off a little way from its root (base), and the liquor which pours out is received in pots of earthenware, in bamboo, or other vessels. The Gomute palm is fit to yield toddy when nine or ten years old, and continues to yield it fortwo years, at the average rate of three quarts a day. When newly drawn, the liquor is clear, and in taste resembles fresh must. In a very short time it becomes turbid, whitish, and somewhat acid, and quickly runs into the vinous fermentation, acquiring an intoxicating quality. In this state great quantities are consumed ; a still larger quantity is imme- diately applied to the purpose of yielding sugar. With this view the liquor is boiled to a syrup, and thrown out to cool in small vessels, the form of which it takes, and in this shape it is sold in the markets. This sugar is of a dark colour and greasy consistence, with a peculiar flavour ; it is the only sugar used by the native population. The wine of this palm is also used by the Chinese residing in the Indian islands in the preparation of the celebrated Batavian arrack. “Tn Malacca, the Gomute, there termed Kabong, is cultivated prin- cipally for the juice which it yields, for the manufacture of jaggery (sugar). The “Journal of the Indian Archipelago ” for November, 1849, says :—‘ Like the cocoa-nut tree, it comes into bearing after the seventh year. It produces two kinds of mayams or spadices—male and female. The female spadix yields fruit, but no juice, and the male vice versa, Some trees will produce five or six female spadices before they yield a single male one, and such trees are considered unprofitable by the toddy collectors ; but it is said that in this case they yield sago equal in quality, though not in quantity, to the Cycas circinalis, although it is not always put to such a requisition by the natives ; others will produce only one or two female spadices, and the rest male, from each of which the quantity of juice extracted is the same as that obtained from ten cocoa-nut spadices. A single tree will yield in one day sufficient juice for the manufacture of five bundles of jaggery, valued at two cents each. The number of mayams shooting out at any one time may be averaged JUNE 1, 18665.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. SUGAR FROM THE ARENGA. PALM. 487 at two, although three is not an uncommon case. When sickness or other occupation prevents the owner from manufacturing jaggery, the juice is put into a jar, where, in a few days, it is converted into excellent vine- gar, equal in strength te that produced by the vinous fermentation of Europe. Each mayam will yield toddy for at least three months, often for five,and fresh mayams make their appearance before the old ones are exhausted ; in this way a tree is kept in a state of productiveness for a number of years, the first mayam opening at the top of the stem, the next lower down, and so on, until at last it yields one at the bottom of the trunk, with which the tree terminates its existence.” The fruit, according to Crawfurd, is about the size of a medlar, and produced in such abundance that a single spadix is more than a load for a man, The fleshy outer covering of the fruit affords a juice of a highly stimulating and corrosive nature, which, whea applied to the skin, occasions great pain and inflammation. The inhabitants of the Moluccas were in the practice of using, in their wars, in the defence of posts, a liquor afforded by the maceration of this fruit, which the Dutch appropriately denominated “hell water.” The seed, or rather the albumen, freed from this noxious covering, is made into sweetmeat by the Chinese. “Like the true sago-palm,” continues the last-quoted author, “ the Gomute affords a medullary matter, from which a farina is prepared.” In Java, it is the only source of this substance, which in the western and poorer part of the island is used in considerable quantity, and offered for sale in all the markets. It is smaller in quantity than the pith of the true sago-tree, more difficult to extract, and inferior in quality, having a certain peculiar flavour, from which the farina of the true sago is free. Griffith, who has given a good description and figure of this palm, says :—“ Mr. Lewis informs me that trees that have died after the ripen- ing of the whole crop of fruit—which is the natural course of events— are almost hollow, and particularly adapted for making troughs, spouts, or channels for water, and that they last extremely well under- ground. In short, it is so valuable a palm, that it early attracted Dr. Roxburgh’s attention, who introduced it largely into Hindos- tan. The natives of Bengal, however, have never taken to it, pre- ferring the coir of the cocoa-nut, and the toddy and sugar of Phenix sylvestris,” The following are Dr. Roxburgh’s words :—“ With respect to the various important uses of this most elegant palm, I have nothing to offer myself, but refer to what Rumphius and Marsden have written on the subject. At the same time, I cannot avoid recommending to every one who possesses land in India, particularly such as is low and near the coasts, to extend the cultivation thereof as much as possible. The wine itself, and the sugar it yields, the black fibres for cables and cordage | Bae THE TECHNOLOGIST. [June 1, 1865. 488 ON MAGNESIUM. and the pith for sago, independent of many other uses, are objects of very great importance. “‘ From observations made in the Botanic Gardens at Calcutta, well- grown, thriving trees produce about six leaves annually, and each leaf yields from eight to sixteen ounces of the clean fibre. In the same garden there are now (1810) many thousand plants and young trees, some of them of above twenty years’ growth, with trunks as thick as a stout man’s body, and from twenty to thirty feet high, exclusive of foliage. They are in blossom all the year ; one of them was lately cut down, and yielded about 150 lbs. of good sago-meal.” ON MAGNESIUM. THE existence of magnesium was revealed by Sir Humphry Davy. By means of large electric batteries at the Royal Institution, Albemarle Street, London, he succeeded in decomposing sundry earths and alkalies, and demonstrated their metallic bases. Thereby he opened a new con- tinent to scientific exploration—a continent as yet virgin in many regions, as America or Australia. Magnesium dates from Davy, in 1808, but for half a century it stood for little but a name in the catalogue of elements. In combination with oxygen, as the medicine magnesia, it was familiar to everybody, but as a metal it has been a very great rarity, preserved in bottles and sold in grains at fancy prices, and even then but seldom pure. Indeed, in several manuals of chemistry it is so incorrectly described, that it is evident the authors have never seen the metal in simplicity. It would appear that Davy did little more than indicate the exist- ence of magnesium. His discoveries were too numerous for him to track out each in detail, and twenty years elapsed ere any one was tempted to resume the study of magnesium from the point where he left it. In 1827, Woehler, having obtained aluminium by the decom- position of the chloride of aluminium by potassium, it occurred to Alexander Bussy, the Parisian chemist, that it would be possible to divorce magnesium from its combination with chlorine in the same way. He tried and succeeded. He fused some globules of potassium in a glass tube with anhydrous chloride of magnesium, and to his delight obtained globules of the metal. In 1830 he made the process the subject of a memoir addressed to the Royal Academy of Sciences.* * “Journal de Chimie Medicale,” March, 1830, and ‘‘ Annales de Chimie et de Physique,” vol. xlvi., page 434. JUNE 1, 1865.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. ON MAGNESIUM. 489 Bussy is sometimes credited with the discovery of magnesium, but though that honour is unquestionably Davy’s, he was certainly the first to exhibit it in anything beyond microscopic quantities, and to describe its properties. With Bussy progress ceased for another series of years. Becquerel, by electrolysis, from a solution of the chloride of magnesium, procured the metal in minute octohedral crystals. Bunsen, likewise by electro- lysis, obtained the metal, and further modified Bussy’s process by adding chloride of sodium or of potassium to the anhydrous chloride of magnesium. Matthiessen in turn tried to improve upon Bunsen by adding chloride of ammonium, also reducing the compound by electro- lysis. He afterwards succeeded in pressing some grains of magnesium into wire. It was reserved, however, for Deville and Caron to make the first grand advance on the labours of Bussy. They, about 1856, effected the reduction of the chloride of magnesium by sodium in clay crucibles, using the fluoride of calcium as a flux ; and so obtained magnesium in larger quantities than any of their predecessors. But their chief dis- covery was the volatility of the metal ; they distilled a few grammes at a time in a gas carbon retort tube enclosed in a porcelain tube.* So far magnesium had been produced on a laboratory scale ; none of _ the methods made any pretence to commercial application. In 1859, M. Bunsen, of Heidelberg, and Professor Roscoe, of Manchester, after a variety of experiments, published their opinion of the high value of magnesium as a source of light for photographic purposes owing to the close affinity of its chemical properties to those of sun-light; and offered at the same time some excellent suggestions as to the mode of its combustion—suggestions which have since been wrought. into practice. The memoir of Bunsen and Roscoe was read by Mr. Edward Sonstadt—a young Englishman with a name derived from Swedish ancestry—and it set him thinking whether it would not be possible to make magnesium cheap enough for at least some practical purposes. The ore was abundant. Surely some means might be devised for releasing the silvery treasure from the elements which held it in obscurity and idleness ! The question started, was quickly attacked with vigour, pertinacity, and ingenuity. For many months, day after day, far into the night, and often until the dawning of the morning, did Sonstadt, without cessation, first in Nottingham, and subsequently at Loughborough, strive, through multitudinous and costly experiments, to compass his end. In November, 1862, he had so far succeeded, that he felt * MM. Deville and Caron’s labours are described with that exquisite clearness which is peculiarly French, in the “‘Comptes Rendus” of the 27th February, 1857, page 394, and with enlarged experience in the ‘‘ Annales de Chimie et de Physique,” 1863, vol. Ixvii., page 347. THE TECHNOLOGIST. [June 1, 1865. 490 ON MAGNESIUM. warranted in taking out his first patent for ‘‘ Improvements in the Manufacture of the Metal Magnesium.” His success was at the same time attested by the circulation amongst his acquaintances of specimens of the new metal from the size of a pin’s head to that of a hen’s egg. The metal in this state burnt freely enough, but it contained slight impurities, and demanded further treatment to render it ductile and malleable. Again Sonstadt set to work, and after another arduous series of experiments, devised a process of purification by distillation, which he secured by patent in May, 1863. One of the first lumps of the distilled metal was presented to Professor Faraday at the Royal Institution—the spot where magnesium was first introduced to human knowledge. “ This is indeed a triumph !” exclaimed the great philosopher as he poised the shining mass in his hand. Not yet, however, had the time arrived for working magnesium on a commercial scale. Many details had to be brought still nearer practical perfection, and the summer and autumn of 1863 were consumed in experiments. At last, with the close of the year, Mr. Sonstadt con- sidered it safe to commence manufacturing. The Magnesium Metal Company was organized, and operations commenced in Manchester. ‘The aim with which Mr. Sonstadt set out was, a ready method for the extraction of magnesium from its ore, and his merit is to be measured by its achievement. The methods of his predecessors were only prac- ticable in the laboratory, indeed, they made no pretence to practise else- where ; they required complicated apparatus and delicate manipulation, and, with all care, frequently resulted in failure. His method, on the contrary, is so simple, that it can be accomplished by the hands of ordinary workmen, and on a scale only limited by the convenient size of vessels and furnaces. At Loughborough, at Midsummer, 1863, we saw some pounds of magnesium made by a labourer and his boy with perfect ease. The manufacture of magnesium, as conducted in Manchester, may be conveniently described under three heads :—I. The preparation of anhydrous chloride of magnesium. II. The release of the magnesium from the chlorine. III. The purification of the magnesium by distilla- tion. I. Lumps of rock-magnesia (carbonate of magnesia) are placed in large jars and saturated with hydrochloric acid. Chemical action at once ensues ; the union of carbon and oxygen with magnesium in the rock is dissolved ; the magnesium combines with the chlorine of the acid, forming the desired product—chloride of magnesium, but in solu- tion. The water is next evaporated from the salt. The liquor is poured into broad open pans, which are placed over stoves. When the drying is sufficiently advanced, the salt is collected into a crucible and sub- jected to heat until perfectly melted and the last traces of water driven off, when it is stowed away in air-tight vessels. if es SN sy JUNE 1, 1865.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. ON MAGNESIUM. 491 II. In the second stage, that curious metal—sodium, used likewise in the reduction of aluminium, comes into play. Common table salt is sodium plus chlorine— released from chlorine we have sodium. It is a white metal, but quickly grows dim on exposure to the moisture of the atmosphere. If cast upon water it floats and burns fiercely, almost like potassium. Such is its affinity for oxygen, that it has to be kept in air- tight vessels or under oil. It may be cut with a knife, somewhat like tough cheese. In a crucible are deposited five parts of the dry chloride of magne- sium, with one part of sodium. The crucible is covered and heated to redness, when the chlorine deserts the magnesium and flies over to the- sodium. The crucible is allowed to cool and its contents removed in block, which when broken up reveals magnesium in nuggets of various sizes and shapes, like eggs, nuts, buttons, and in minute granules. This product is styled crude magnesium. III. The distillation of the crude magnesium is effected in a crucible through which a tube ascends to within an inch of the lid. The tube opens at the bottom into an iron box placed beneath the bars of the furnace, so that it may be kept cool. The crucible is filled with the crude metal to the level of the mouth of the tube, the lid is carefully luted down, and the atmospheric air expelled by the injection of hydro- ~gen. As the crucible becomes heated, the magnesium rises in vapour freed from any impurities, and descends through the upright tube in the centre into the box below, where, on the completion of the opera- tion, it is found in the form of a mountain of drippings. It is subse- quently melted, and cast into ingots, or into any other form that may be desired. In this broad sketch of the process of manufacture, the reader will perceive how fully Mr. Sonstadt’s ideal has been realized. Scarcely a month elapses in which some detail is not reduced to greater simplicity and some new economy discovered in the works of the Magnesium Metal Company. The new art has made great progress since its establish- ment ; experience suggests constant improvements : as the old copy-head runs— Practice makes perfect. When the magnesium company commenced manufacturing, the question presented itself, In what form should the metal be offered to the public? As there was no known use for it except as a light, it was determined to vend it in the form of wire; but here arose a difficulty— How to make wire. The metal was not ductile, and could not, like ‘iron or copper, be drawn out. Dr. Matthiessen and others had pressed small quantities into wire, but when experiments were made on a large scale, the magnesium was found capricious; sometimes it worked readily, but at others it resisted enormous pressure, and the rams broke down under the strain. Mr. Wiliam Mather, of Salford, had taken the matter in hand, and with admirable resolution declined to be baffled ; through costly disasters he persevered, tried, and tried again, and THE TECHNOLOGIST, = [Junn 1, 1865. 492 ON MAGNESIUM. a finally overcame. Now, by machinery of his contrivance, the metal is pressed into wire of various thickness, and a spectator might wonder, as the silver threads stream forth, how that which now seems so easy should have cost such pains. Mr. Mather improved on the wire by flattening it into ribbons, in which form, as a larger surface is exposed to the air, combustion takes place more completely. Mr. Mather likewise made the first lamp for burning magnesium. In it the end of the wire or ribbon was presented to the flame of a spirit-lamp to ensure perfect combustion. As the wire burnt, it was paid out by hand from a reel, and propelled between rollers through a tube, which conducted it to the flame. A concave reflector diffused the light forwards and afforded shade to the eyes of the operator. To few could the introduction of the new metal to commerce vield such lively satisfaction as Professor Roscoe, whose hint had been, as it were, the spark which set Mr. Sonstadt’s energy afire. It was Dr. Roscoe’s lot, moreover, to introduce magnesium to the scientific public. In doing so, he was fortunate in having the assistance of Mr. Brothers, of Manchester, who in the spring of 1864 was the first to take a photograph by the magnesium light. At the Royal Institution in May last year, Professor Roscoe delivered a lecture on light, and among his illustrative experiments, burned some magnesium, and calling forth Professor Faraday from the audience, had him photographed on the spot by Mr. Brothers, and the negative being inserted in the magic lantern a gigantic likeness of the venerable savan was projected on the screen. The same experiment was repeated, with Sir Charles Lyell for a subject, - in the Bath Theatre, when Professor Roscoe lectured on light to one of the evening assemblies of the British Association. To photographers the magnesium light will prove an inestimable advantage. Smoke, fog, and night need no longer interfere with their operations. A busy man, who cannot afford to lose a forenoon in order to catch the sunshine, may have his likeness taken in the quiet and leisure of an evening at home. Photographs under such circumstances are much more likely to possess that ease and naturalness, which are so difficult to attain under the ordinary conditions of out-of-door costume, an ascent to a house-top by a tedious flight of stairs, and a pose in the glare of a glass-house amid theatrical furniture. As a Quarterly Reviewer observes— “The new magnesium light promises to dispense with the necessity of a glass studio with all its discomfort for the sitter, and all the temptation to meretricious decoration which it appears to hold out to the photographer. The metal magnesium, the oxide and carbonate of which is a familiar medicine, is itself rare. It will burn like a candle,* and it emits a light peculiar for its wonderful richness in chemical *No; not quite like a candle. Magnesium wire should be held downwards, ‘ say at an angle of 45° in burning. No more than a paper spill or a wood match will magnesium burn with certainty if the lighted end be held upright. JUNE 1, 1865.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. ON MAGNESIUM. 493 rays ; but until recently the cost of isolating it has been so great, that its capabilities have never advanced beyond the rank of a chemical curiosity. Recent discoveries have, however, facilitated its manufacture, and it has come into partial use among photographers. A negative of Sir Charles Lyell was taken at the recent meeting of the British Asso- ciation. A slight further reduction in cost” [a reduction which has been made since this was written] will enable photographers to use it for the purpose of taking likenesses in the houses of their sitters; and the sitter’s gain in personal comfort will be duly registered in the improved expression of the picture.” * Nor are portraits taken by magnesium light in any sense makeshifts. It is quite within the truth to say, that they are equal to, and undistin- guishable from, sun-pictures. Of course the skilful handling of the new light is only to be acquired after some practice. The light will probably develope a melancholy branch of art—the portraiture of the dead. We say melancholy, but more in a conven- tional than a sincere sense. The faces of the dead frequently assume a sweet, a saintly, a severe, a statuesque beauty rarely present inlife. By the aid of magnesium this beauty may readily be perpetuated and divested of painful accessories. Some such memorials we have seen, and they have only to be known to become common. As soon as it was discovered that photography was possible by magnesium, it was suggested that the interiors of the Pyramids, of catacombs, caves, and other underground and dim regions might be revealed in faithful pictures, and studied under the stereoscope. The suggestion was soon acted upon. Professor Piazzi Smyth, the Scottish Astronomer-Royal, having gone upon an exploring expedition to the Pyramids, took with him a quantity of magnesium wire, and thus reports on its use to his friend Mr. Spiller, of Woolwich Arsenal :— ‘* Hast Tomb, Great Pyramid, Feb. 2, 1865. “ My DEAR S1R,—We have been here now about three weeks, and are settled down at last to the measuring; the chief part of the time hitherto having been occupied, in concert with a party of labourers furnished by the Egyptian Government, in clearing away rubbish from important parts of the interior, and in cleansing and preparing it for nice observation. “The magnesium wire light is something astounding in its power of illuminating difficult places. With any number of wax candles which we haye yet taken into either the king’s chamber or the grand gallery, the impression left on the mind is merely seeing the candles and what- ever is very close to them, so that you have small idea whether you are in a palace or a cottage ; but burn a triple strand of magnesium wire and in a moment you see the whole apartment and appreciate the * Article ‘‘Photography”’ in ‘‘The Quarterly Review” for October, 1864, page 517. THE TECHNOLOGIST. [June 1, 18 ~¢ mat 494 ON MAGNESIUM. grandeur of its size andthe beauty of its proportions. This effect, so admirably complete, too, as it is, and perfect in its way, probably results from the extraordinary intensity of the light, apart from its useful photographic property, for, side by side with the magnesium light, the wax candle-flame looked not much brighter than the red granite of the walls of the room. There come parties—often many parties—of visitors to see the Pyramid every day without fail, and they come amply provided, too, with all sorts of means and appliances to enjoy the sight, ¢. e., with everything but the needful magnesium wire; and one waistcoat-pocket of that would be worth a whole donkey-load of what they do bring up to enable their souls to realize the ancient glories of the internal scene. “J remain, yours very truly, “C. Prazzi SMytH. “John Spiller, Esq., Chemical Department, Royal Arsenal, Woolwich.” M. Nadar is said to be engaged on a series of photographs of the Catacombs of Paris ; various artists are busy practising on monuments in obscure recesses of Continental churches ; and Mr. Brothers, we believe, contemplates undertaking the caves of Derbyshire. The erypt of St. Stephen’s Palace of Westminster, recently restored and decorated under the direction of Mr. E. M. Barry, has been lighted up for an hour and a half with the magnesium lamp, and the exquisite elaboration of its moulded and carved doorways and the bosses of the groyning displayed in vivid detail. By the same means the vast recesses of the Outfall Sewer Works at Crossness have been illuminated. In surgery the magnesium light is now freely used in examinations with the speculum. Jn a recent number of “ Galignani” we read— “This powerful light has just received a new application in connec- tion with the laryngoscope, a small apparatus consisting of two mirrors by means of which the lower parts of the larynx may be conveniently brought to view. M. Maisonneuve, being desirous of showing his students the manner of using this apparatus, requested Dr. Fournié, the inventor of the improvement we are about to describe, to attend a late clinical lecture of his.. Dr. Fournié did so, bringing a patient with him who was suffering from a polypus situated deep in the throat. This tumour, of the size of a filbert, not only impeded the free articulation of sound, but might in the end, by its growth, have rendered respiration impossible, and consequently caused death by suffocation. In order to render this pathological phenomenon visible to the students and physi- cians who crowded the lecture-room, M. Fournié made use cf the mag- nesium light. By means of M. Mathieu-Plessy’s lamp, especially con- structed for the magnesium light, strong luminous rays were projected on the mirror placed at the furthest end of the fauces, and thencereflected into the larynx and the trachea. These parts being thus powerfully illuminated, were visibly depicted on the mirror; but the image was 65. ie an JUNE 1, 1865.] THH TECHNOLOGIST. ON MAGNESIUM. 495 necessarily small, the mirror not being more than two centimetres square But on a bi-convex lens being placed before the patient’s mouth, the image became so enlarged, that every one could distinguish it from a distance of a few metres. These two applications of important scientific discoveries and contrivances combined are highly interesting ; in the first place, by the aid of the magnesium light, the exact site of the slightest sore in the upper respiratory organs may be discovered by phy- sicians ; and in the second place, the same may be rendered visible to a numerous atwlience.” One of the peculiarities of the magnesium light is, that it displays colour as in sunshine. This may be tested, and a very interesting effect produced, by burning some wire in a garden or conservatory at night. This peculiarity we learn, from the ‘ British Journal of Photography,’ is being turned to practical account. “ The magnesium lamp promises quickly te become a regular article of furniture in every silk mercer’s show-room.