+ 
7 


ts 
Ct 


buch 
Nit 


THE 


TECHNOLOGIST. 


A MONTHLY RECORD OF 


Seine Applied to Art, Manufacture, and Culture. 


EDITED BY 


PETER LUND SIMMONDS, 


Author of ‘The Commercial Products of the Vegetable Kingdom,” ‘‘A 
Dictionary of Trade Products,” ‘“‘ The Curiosities of Food,” 


“ Waste Products and Undeveloped Substances, 
dc. &e. &c. 


VouvmeE III, 


LONDON : 
KENT & CO., PATERNOSTER ROW. 


——= 


MDCCCLXIII. 


o¥. Ca eRe ; 


CONTENTS 


fi 4 s 
f / 
NoTss ON THE VEGETABLE PRODUCTS OF TASMANIA, AT THE INTERNATIONAL 
EXHIBITION. OF 1862. By William: Archer, F.L.5. : : 
Nove ON THE SILKWoRM. By James Morris j : : ‘ sean 
THE MANUFACTURE OF J.HATHER CLOTH . 6 : 6 oe : 
ESSENTIAL QILS FROM THE GENERA HUCALYPTUS AND Minera SUIT- 
ABLE FOR GENERAL APPLICATION IN THE ARTS’. ; ; 
DESCRIPTION OF THE CHIEF Forest TREES OF Upper CANADA. Br J. B 
EboEl bert’ lanl) : ; 4 ‘ ; ; B 
THE FISHES OF PRINCE EDWARD Teac, By the Rev. - Georges Sutherland 
On THE ANTIDOTE Cacoon. By N. Wilson : : 
Notes ON APPARENTLY USEFUL WooDs HITHERTO LITTLE KNOWN. By 
John R. Jackson . : 5 ; p : : ; : 
ON THE MEDICINAL QUALITIES OF THE RED Gum | oF AUSTRALIA. By 
James Sutherland, M.D. A 5 5 ; : 9 : : 
ON THE TOBACCO TRADE AND CULTIVATION OF THE Das OF CAVALLA, 
TurKEY. By Mr. Maling, British Vice-Consul . 5 c ; ‘ 
New Icze MacHIne : 6 5 : : : : SVS C 
Cotton CULTIVATION IN tmne : : : é : i : 
On Tamanu RESIN AND OIL FROM THE SocintTy Istanps. By G. Cuzent 
Woot AND WooLLEN ManuractursEs. By Edward T Stevens . F 
On THE AMARANTH WOOD AND THE CoLoUR OF Woops. By Professor J. 
Arnaudon, of Turin ; ‘ Sane . 
AFRICAN Patms. By Dr. W. Baltour Benge! R N. : ; 
A VISIT TO THE GREAT EXHIBITION. By Thomas D. Took Ne 0. II. 
ON THE BANANA AND PLANTAIN By Paul Madinier . 2 : : : 
THE UsEs OF THE BampBoo. By 8. Wells Williams, L.L.D. ‘ A 5 
Notes oN BorNEO Woops. By Spencer St. John : : ¢ : 
SUBSTITUTES FOR CoTTON AND NEW FIBRES 0 4 3 : : . 
CHEMICAL SUBSTANCES AND PrRopuUCcTS OF INDIA : i 0 
BEBEERINE FROM THE GREENHEART TREE. By Dr. H. pare . : 3 
THE Marsies oF ITaty. By Igino Cocchi . 9 : Wa Sins : : 
Tur SEED OF OWALA OR OPOCHALA, OF THE GABOON AND FERNANDO Po, 
AND THE OIL WHICH IT conTAINS. By Professor J. Arnaudon . 5 
PURIFICATION OF PETROLEAN OILS 5 : ‘ : 5 6 5 


PAGE 


1 
5 
7 


1 


103 
105 
112 
120 
123 
125 
131 
140 
145 


155 
158 


iv CONTENTS. 


ON THE CULTURE OF LaTakia Tosacco. By M. Charles Edward Guys . 

THe SULPHUR oF ITaLy. By M. Bianchi . ; 

THE SPONGE FISHERY OF RHODES : 

THE PERFUMERY TRADES AS REPRESENTED IN THE Sem fee 
BITION. By Eugene Rimmel 

ON THE SILKS OF JAPAN. By Commodore ord ion oa, C. B. 

THE MANUFACTURE Of MENHADEN OIL 

THE Economic Usres oF LEAVES. By the Raitor : : : : 

THE MINERAL RESOURCES OF NEw Brunswick. By Professor L. W. 
Bailey : : 

ON THE TANNING Manunrans AND Dye. anges Usep IN TraLy. By 
Professor J. Arnaudon 

Notes on INDIAN Corn. By the Editor : : : z A 

InpIan MANUFACTURES IN Precious Mrtats. By A. M. Dowleans . 

THE CULTURE AND TRADE IN ALMONDS. By M. De Bec : : 

THE Sink MANUFACTURES IN THE EXHIBITION OF 1862. ov Thomas 
Winkworth : 

‘EconoMIsING LABOUR BY NASER, —_ Danae OF Comes 
RESOURCES IN AUSTRALIA 2 : 

ON THE CULTURE OF BENE OR Seg ae = IN THE Untrep STATES. By 
Edward Parrish : ° : ‘ 5 

On Coca LEAVES FROM Eiemeaen Daur By Henry F. Fish 

Woops AND MANUFACTURES OF WoOD SHOWN AT THE INTERNATIONAL 
EXHIBITION OF 1862 

ON THE CASCARILLA, AND OTHER Suis: OF Sean OF THE ; Baas 
AND West InpIa Isnanps. . By William F. Daniell, M.D., F.L.S. 

THE WINES oF ITALY : : é F : : 

On THE Boracic ACID OF Guymnat Giaheae on W. P. Jervis, F.G.S. 
(With Illustrations) 5 : 3 

Nata, THE Bonduc Not, AND ITs PROPER ITER. By the Editor 

On DYEING AND CaLico Printine. By Dr. F. Crace Calvert, F.R.S. 

ON THE ADULTERATION OF Wax. By Barnard S. Proctor . < : 

OILS AND FATS SHOWN AT THE INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. By the 
Editor : 3 : - 2 : - - : . 3824, 

THE GROUND-NUT AND ITS om 

Gum OLiBanum. By M. C. Cooke 

On Maize Paper. By Dr. Alois Ritter Re yon Welsbaeh ; : 

NoTES ON THE EcoNOMIC APPLICATION OF Barks. By John R. 
Jackson . ‘ : : : : . : : : . 3862, 433, 

THE CoRAL FISHERY OF THE MEDITERRANEAN. By the Editor . 

OstRicH PLuMES. By the Editor . 

THE ALKALI TRADE OF GREAT BRITAIN é 

ON THE PAPER MANUFACTURE. By Benjamin ervent 

THE CULTIVATION OF SILK IN TasMANIA. By the Rev. T. J. Ewing Bu 
Mr. Stutzer 

ON THE UTILIZATION OF Taste By Dr. won Playfair, C. B. 

MILLETS AND OTRER SMALL-GRAINED GRASSES USED FoR HUMAN Foop 
IN VARIOUS COUNTRIES. By the Editor < 

THE TRADE IN SKINS AND Furs. By Edward B. Roberts - ° 

TuE COMMERCE AND USES OF THE Harr oF ANIMALS. By the Editor : 

ON THE ODOROUS SUBSTANCES SENT BY THE FRENCH COLONIES TO THE 
INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION OF 1862. By Eugene Rimmel - : 


CONTENTS. v 


THE TRADE IN Nuts. By the Editor . ! P ; ; 
THE FURNITURE Woops OF ComMMERCE. By the Editor 
Notrs oN Myropatans. By M. C. Cooke . : 470 
On Inpran Crver. From Notes and Observations ise Dr. “McClelland aed 

473 


B. H. Hodgson 6 
THE MANUFACTURE OF Chrmanetan Cammnas AT neny By J. ciarean . 481 


TROPICAL FipRes. By G. E. Squier . 486 
Our Om Frasks . . 489 
THE ToBacco PIPE MaNuvacnunn, rea Guay, AXD. ieorcennen By 

John George Reynolds 497 
THE WINES SHOWN AT THE INTERNATIONAL. arenes OF 1862. By J. 

B. Keene é 507 
PaPER MAKING. ener OF 2 Amano 6 5 . 0 : . 513 
A Frew REMARKS ON BLEACHING PowDER. By Murray Thomson, M.D., 

F.R.S.E. . : ; : . : : : ; c : : > Bly 
LEATHER CLOTHS . 6 : F : : 6 6 ; j ¢ . 522 
Gas WORKS IN GERMANY . . 9 i 6 524 
RIMMEL’s TaBLE FOUNTAIN. (With an ianenation) : : . 525 
ON THE CULTURE OF THE GROUND NuT IN GAMBIA, WESTERN Aprica, 

By Governor D’Arcy : . 527 
ON THE DESTRUCTION OF NOXIOUS 4 TISSHGLES | BY MEANS OF THE SaEMEEE 

By C. Willemot . 584 
THE STRAWBERRY, ITS Srey, Came ochermeat AND Nona Sasa 

CHARACTER. By Wm. R. Prince . : : ; : : 543 
THE GUARANA oF BRazit. By T.C. Archer. : 6 0 . 552 
HINTS GN Paper MATERIALS, By Benjamin Tarabert: : 0 . . 5bd4 
UNINFLAMMABLE STUFFS é 5 c 555 
ON THE MANUFACTURE OF NICKEL. By hens Thoacon M.R.C-S. « 556 
ScrentTIFIc Norns cn 142, 191, 238, 384, 432 

95, 335 


REVIEWS 5 : 6 . 5 6 : ; 5 : 


Abaca 


Abelmoschus esculentus 


Abies alba 

Abies balsamea 
Abies Canadensis 
Abies excelsa . 
Abies Fraseri . 
Abies nigra 

Abies pectinata 
Acacia Arabica. 
Acacia barks 
Acacia decurrens 
Acacia faleata . 
Acacia glaucescens . 
Acacia mollissima 
Acacia Bablah. 
Acacia Farnesiana 


Acacia Cunninghami. 


Acacia verticillata 
Acacia dealbata 
Acacia melanoxylon. 
Acacia molissima 
Acacia Julibrissin 
Acacia Nemu . 
Acacia, species of 
Acer campestre 
Acer dasycarpum 
Acer rubrum 

Acer saccharinum 
Achillea millifolium 
Achras Australis 
Achras sapota . 
Acmena floribunda . 
Acronychia laurina . 


Acrocomia sclerocarpa 


Adansonia digitata . 


Adenanthera pavonina 


Adi, a palm kernel 


Aisculus hippocastanum . 


Aigle marmelos 
African Palms 
Agati grandiflora 
Ageing . « 


41, 


198, 


Agviot, or cherry-sticks 
Ajonjoli . E 
Albecore . 

Albizzia Libbek 

Albumen from fish spawn 
Aleurites triloba 

Alfa fibre 

Algarobilla 

Algerian cocoons 
Algerian silk 

Algerian woods 

Algerian perfume plants . 
Alianthus ae 
Aliantus. silk 

Alizavine, green 

Alkali trade 

Alligator oil 

Alloxan 

Almond oil 

Almond oil 

Almonds, Trade in . 
Almond, Uses of 
Almonds, Varieties of 
Alnus cordifolia 

Alnus glutinosa 
Aloysia citriodora 
Alpaca taliow . 
Alphitonia excelsa 
Alsophita Australis . 
Alyxia aromatica 
Alyxia buxifolia 
Alyxia stellata 
Amaranthus, species of 
Amaranth wood 
Anacardium occidentalis 
Ambergris 

Amboyna wood 
Amygdalus communis 
Anatherum muricatum 
Andropogon 
Andropogon citratum 
Andropogon muricatum 
Andropogon nardus . 


173, 185, 456 


PAGE 
257 
422 
44 
65 
384 
342 
240 
210 
1a! 
143 
261 
185 
395 
4352 
321 
383 
3308 
309 
491 
340 
223 
169 
457 
. 208 

208, 530 


327 


179 
171, 179 


- Andropogon schaenanthus 171, 

Andropogon nardus . : 

Andiroba oil. 

Andiscus pentaphyllus 

Anda gomesu . 

Andira inermis 

Anethum foeniculum 

Anethum graveolens 

Angelica bark . 

Angelique wood 

Angely wood . : : 

Angrecum fr lie 6 

Aniseed . 

Aniline purple. 

Animal oils 

mes glandulosus 

Anta oil 

Antherza helena 

Antherza paphia 

‘Antherea pernyi 

Antherea yama-mai 

Anthemis Cotula 

Anthemis pyrethrum 

Antirrhea verticillata 

Antidote cacoon c : 

Antimony > : c . 

Aoura grease 

Arachis hypogea, 

Aralia spinesa é 

Araucaria Cunninghami . 

Arbutus unedo é 

Archer, W., on Tasmanian Pro- 
ducts . 

Archer, T. C. on Guarana 

Ardisia paniculata . 

Areca palm-leaf 

Argemone Mexicana 

Arhar 

Aristolochia clematitis 

Arnaudon, Prof., on Owala oil. 

Arnaudon, Professor, on Colour 
of Woods ; 

-Arnaudon, Professor, on dye- 
stuffs and tanning materials . 

Arnotto 

Arrindy silkworm 

Artocarpus hirsuta . 

Artocarpus integrifolia 

Asbestos for paper 

Ash-trees of Canada 

Aspen, America 

Astrocaryum vulgare 

Atherosperma moschata 

Attacus eynthia 

Attacus ricinus 

Attacus, species of . 

Australian wines 

Austrian silks . 

Aullo . ays 

Avelines . : - 

Avignon berries : . 

Avicennia nitida 


324, 


339, 490, 


INDEX.. vil 
PAGE PAGE 
179 | Avocado pear . : 60 
171 Azadirachta indica . 62, 343, 364 
344 Azuline . & 5 BU? 
343 
343 Baalee 417 
371 Bablah 210 
171 Badger fur 424 
170 Bacaba oil ; 344 
369 Badiera diversifolia . 53 
264 | Bagassa guianensis . 265 
65 Bahama satin wood. 54 
454 Bajra ¥ 413 
169 pales Dr., on n African Palms 103 
306 Balsam fir 41 
495 Balsam of Mecca 187 
3 Balsam of Peru : 169 
333 Balsamodendron myrrha . 171 
397 Balsam of Tolu 169 
396 Balwassa wood sf 3 56 
397 Banoo, uses of 120 
397 Rambusa arundinacea 120 
534 Bambusa Tagoara 120 
537 Banana fr vit 115 
439 | Banana, notice of 112 
46 | Banana products 129 
204 Banecoul oil . : 342 
84] Bandala, a plantain fibre 119 
527 | Bangles ‘of jade 223 
869 Banksia australis. F : 3 
54 Banksia serrata 65 
208 | Banyan bark 434 
Baobab bark 434 
1 | Baphia nitida 63 
553 Barbados tar 341 
366 Barcelona nuts 461 
195 Bardigli 149 
334 Barks, economic uses Che £ (ox 
137 Barracarra wood ‘ : Be 8 
534 | Barringtonia racemosa 438 
155 Barwood 63 
Basket-work 254 
97 Bass x 45 
Bassia latifolia: 138 
205 Bassia longifolia . 64, 340, on 
212 Bassia longifolia , A A 
395 Bassia Parkii ea 
65 | Basswood : 38, 54 
65 Bastard lignum vites 53 
360 Bauhinia Thankee 440 
36 | Bauhinia grandiflora 60 
435 | Bayberry bark 434 
341 Beads, coral 378 
53 Bear skins 494 
395 Beaver skins 424 
395 Bedfordia salicina 3, 68 
396 Bebeerine 140 
510 Becuiba oil 344 
226 Beech mast oil . 840 
420 Beech of Australia . 58, 60 
461 Beech trees of Canada . 37 
211 Beefwood of New South Wales 65 
532 | Beeswax, adulteration of 322 


Vill 


Relladonna oil 

Ben-Aile 

Benitche 

Benne plant 

Ben oil 

Benzoin , 

Berberis vulgaris 

Berberis vulgaris 

Bergamot 

Bergera Koenigii 

Berrya amomilla 

Bertholletia excelsa 

Betel leaves 

Betula alba 

Betula excelsa 

Betula. lenta 

Betula papyracea 

Beyeria viscosa 

Bhadlee i 

Biddery ware of India 

Bigarrade 

Bignonia antisyphil itica . 

Bienovia chelonioides 

Bignonia chica 

Birch bark 

Birch leaves : 

Bird cherry of America 

Birds’ nests, edible . 

Bitterwood of Jamaica 

Bixa or ellana 

Black birch 

Black dogwood 

Black fish oil 

Black marbles , 

Black oak of Canada 

Black spruce 

Black thorn 

Black. walnut 

Blackwood of Australia 

Blackwood of India 

Bleaching paper 

Bleaching powder 

Bloodwood of Australia 

Blue beech 

Blue gum tree 

Bocoa prouacensis 

Bohemeria nivea 

Bogbean 5 

Bogoak ornaments 

Boiling down stock 

Bois durci 

Bombyx Cynthea 

Bombyx Mylitta 

Bombyx Mori : 

Bombyx Pernyii 

Bombyx, various species 

Bondue nut, medicinal uses of 

Bone black é 

Bones, uses of 

Boracic acid, exports of “from 
Ital 

Boracic acid of Italy 


37, 209, 


INDEX. 
PAGE 
495 | Boracic acid, analysis of 
042 | Borassus ethiopum 
417 | Borassus flabelliformis 
245 Borneo woods 
480 | Bosck boerboon 
170 | Boswellia Carter. 
532 | Boswellia glabra 
210 | Boswellia papyrifera 
170 | Boswellia thurifera . 
199 Boulon pepper 5 5 : 
62 Brassica campestris oil. c 
344 | Brassica napus oil . 
194 Brauna wood 
532 | Breccias j 
38 Bridelia retusa 
38 Bristles, trade in 
37..| British silks 
4 | Bromelia karatas. 
419 | Broussonitia Kaminoki 
220 | Broussonitia papyrifera 
170 Brown furniture woods 
436 | Brown variegated woods . 
367 | Bruguieria gymnorhiza 
212 | Brush cherry 
209 Brushes 
194 } Buchanania latifolia, 
63 Buceda Buceras . 
47 | Burning bush bark 
363 | Bursaria spinosa 
212 Butea frondosa 
388 | Butternut 
57 | Butternut bark 
328 | Bynee. palm 
149 Byrsonima coriacea 
33 | Byrsonima crassifolia 
41 | Byrsonima spicata 
40 
34 | Cabbage-tree hats . . 
468 Cacao. butter 2 
68 Cadjans . 
390 Galccie e poly carpa 
519 Cesalpinia bondue . 
17 oe coriaria 
37 Cailcedra bark 
ei Calabar skins . 
265 -| Calamus secundiflorus 
129 | Calico printing 5 as 
193 | California strawberry 
254 | Caliistemon pallidum 
242 | Callitris quadrivalvis 
260 Callitris verruecosa . 
229 | Calophyllum Calaba . ; 
280 | Calophyllum inophyilum 342, 
23 Calophyllum Phony lum me 
230 ducts of : 
898 | Calotropis gigantea . : : 
304 | Camel's hair ; 
406 | Camelina sativa : 
405 Cameos, coral . 
Camphor : 
297 | Camphor wood 
289 | Camwood 


INDEX, ix 


: PAGE 
Canada balsam : a aul 

Canada corn . 3 Paley 
Canada, forest-trees of } bone Bll 
Canany odorant é 5 . 453 
Canarium strictum . BO go GND) 
Canary grass. : erica 
Candle-wood of Pamaica i 50 BD) 
Candles, manufacture of . . 482 


Canella alba. f : S04 
Cauello bark . : 4 5 OR 


Cannabis sativa ; . a LOB 
Cauthium parviflorum —. . 439 
Cape Ash : é ; Oe 
Capelin . : : . 44 
Capra,angorensis r : . 448 
Capra changra ¢ : . 449 
Capra hireus : ; . 424 
Carapa guianensis . : 61, 344 
Carapa guianensis . 6 5° Gt 
Caraya oil 2 : : . 842- 
_ Careya arborea f : 5 OO 
Cavludovica palmata : . 144 
pared tree 6 : by OB 
Carpinus Americana ; ale Oe 
Carraway seed é i gu Lee 
Carthamus tinctoria : > 84 
Carthamus tinctorius . 138, 212 


Carya alba ; 34, 53% 
Carya glabra . : ‘ . - 84 


Caryocar brasiliensis : . d44 
Caryocar tomentosum =, 2 5S 
Caryophyllus aromaticus og LGD 
Caryotaurens <« . é 6 OS 
 Cascarilla bark, exports from 

Bahamas. : ¢ 5 es 
Cascarilla bark 170, 270 
Cashaw . : 4 : OS 
Cashew nut oil : : go Behl 
Cashmere guat é ; . 449 
Cashmere shawls. : 450) 
Cassia oil , : : 5 6 NO 
Cassia tora _ . : : 9 A198) 
Cassié oil : 4 : Bi SbAO 
Cassine maurocenia . : Aol 
Cassuvium pomiferum —. . 343 
Castanea pumil- . 0 . 809 
Castanea vesca 61 Oh BOO.) aH 
Castanha oil . : ; . 344 
Castor fiber. : ; 5 Emel 
Castor oil : » 3407 341 
Casuarina leptoclada ; oe 00) 
Casuarna quadrivalvis . 3, 65 
Casuarina stricta . : of 1 OS 
Casuarina suberosa . ; . 3 
Catechu . : . 209 
Cathartocarpus fistula. 58, 533 
Cat skins : 5 . 424 
Cayalla, tobacco trade of 5 LD) 
Cedar oil : : ‘ 5 LAO 
Cedar woods . : ; . 466 
Cedrat oil : " j . 170 


Cedrela Australis , . OO 


pele aly PAGE 
Cedrela odorata : ; 5 Oe, 
Cedrela guianensis . : . 264 


Cedrela Toona . . : PEO 
Celastvus thombifolius  . oie, fal 


Cassia amicutata . : . $32 
Celery-topped pine... - 2 
Cerasus laurocerasus . . 5 yt 
Cerasus Mahaleb (OA 25S 
Cerasus Pennsylvanica . 38 
Cerasus serotina 38, 63 
Cerasus serotina.. ; . 365 
Cerutonia siliqua —. : een (Gas 
Ceratopetalum apetalum. : . 56 
Cercis siliquastrum 0 6 6G 
Cercopithecus Diana : . 425 
Cervus alces . 6 ¢ . 424 
Cervus Tarandus . : . 424 
Celtis occidentales .- . ene 
Chamerops humilis PV Loe 
Charqui. . . 243 
Chenopodium quinoa . . 421 
C hee tree, native of Tasmania 3 
Cherry, native of Australia. 55 
Chestuuts . . 3 : . 459 


hestnut bark . ‘ ; e209 
Chestnut of Canada r wiabiat 
Chestnut, Spanish . . . 532 
Chica dye : : : che rail 
Chick stone. ; : 5) a0 
Chinchilla skins : § » 424 


Chinese tree corm). o} | Pall’) 
Chirquassia bark. : 5 Ba 
Chrysanthemum roseum . . 538 


Chrysophylium buranhetar . 366 
Cholum .-  . . 6 . 416 


Chooa: . : ; 4 . 420 
Cinchona banks : OOS 
Cinnamodendron cor ticosum . 364 
Cinnamon oil . i 7 £70 
Cinnamonum Culilawan p ~ 437 
Citronella oil 170, 179 
Citrus aurantium 53, 171 
Citrus bigaradia AO Seale (al 
Citrus limetta . i R ele yal 
Citrus medica . : ; eeale ol: 
Civet 4 h ; 3 . 170 
Civet, Indian . : neraiion 
Clichy candle factory . . 481 
Clove oil . 3 ‘ vel70 
Cob nuts . ! ; s 6 aint 
Coca leaves .- . . 194, 248 
Cocoa butter . k . 494 
Cocoa nut oil 186, 340, 384 
Cocoa nuts : . 460 
Cocoa nut palm leaves. eeloG 
Coccoloba uvifera 65, 531 
Cocus nucifera . : B eNOS: 
Cod Se ae . . . 44 
Cod liver oil . , pi 5 BRU 
Colobus guereza : .) 427 
Colobus leucomerus . ; 22 495 


Cologne, eaude» . . aagniyas 


x 


Colza oil . . 
Coniocladia integrifolia 
Composite candles . 
Condaminea corymbosa 
Conesi bark 

Coney skins. . 
Coney wool : 
Conocarpus racemosa 
Commou fat 


Cooke’ s account of Britieh Fun- 


gi 
Cooke, M. ©. p on gum olibanum 


Coopers’ wood . : 
Copaifera bracteata . 
Copaifera officinalis . 
Copaifera pubiflora . 


60, 
63, 


Coral Fishery of the Mediterra- ra- 


nean 
Coral negligees 
Cordia Ger ascanthus 
Cordia myxa 
Cork i 5 
Cork wood ‘ 
Cornus circinata 
Cornus florida . 
Cornus florida 
Cornus sericea 
Corylus avellana 
Corylus colurna 
Corypha inermis 
Corypha umbraculifera 
Corypha palm A 
Cosmibuena hexandra 
Cotton, substitutes for 
Cotton in Italy 
Cotton seed oil 
Courari-ou wood 
Couratari guianensis 


Cowan, Mr. C., on paper . 


Cow hair 


Cryptocarya glaucescens 3 


Crabwood 
Crategus punctata 
Crategus tomentosa 
Crateeva tapia . 
Crocus sativus 
*Croton barks 
Croton cascarilla 
Croton eleuteria 
Croton pseudochina . 
Croton suberosum 
Croton viscosum 
Cucumis melo 
Cucumis sativa 
Cucurbita maxima oil 
Culilawan bark 
Cumaroo tree 
Cumaru oil . c 
Cummelmums 
Curatella alata 
Cunonia capensis 
Curcas purgans 


255, 258, 


196, 


83, 


Curled elm . : A 


Curled maple . ; 3 
Cupania Australis . : 
Currajong fibre 0° 

Curtisia faginea 0 c 


Cynips Kollari 
Cypress of Algeria . 


Dacrydium Franklinii 
Dalbergia lanceolaria 
Dalbergia latifolia 
Dalbergia Sissoo 
Damin-na wood 


Dandenong bastard peppermint 11 
3 


Daphne mezeron 

Date palms 

Date palm fibre 
Dattock wood 

Deer skins 

Deer's lard . 
Detarium senegalense 
Dhoop . 

Diana monkey skin 
Dicksonia antarctica 
Dicorynea paraensis 
Dictamnus fraxinella 
Dika oil 

Dillenia speciosa 

Dill oil 

Diospyros melanoxylon 
Diplotropis guinanensis . 
Dipterix odorata 
Dipteryx odorata . . 
Direa palustris 
Distylum racemosum 
Divi divi : 
Dobereier’s lamp 


Dog fish 5 ; 
Dog's fat ; - 
Dog skins 

Dosw ood : 
Dogwood, black 3 


Dogwood, white 
Dogwood. of Tasmania 
Doum palm fibre 

Dourah 

Dovyalis zizy phoides 
Drimys granatensis . 
Drimys Winteri : 
Dryobolanops camphora . 
Dugong oil . 
Dum palm 

Duboisia myopor oides 
Dutton corn 

Dye stuffs of Italy. 
Dyev’s broom . 
Dyeing, on, by Dr. Calvert 
Dyeing barks . : - 


Eau de Mantes 5 . 
Ebony . A 
ieee yellow « or Taigu : 


INDEX. xi 
PAGE PAGE 
Echidna hystrix. : 334 | Fagarastrum capense ’ Pee ats) 
Eckbergia capensis . 52 | Fagus Cunninghamii 2, 66 
Ecklonia buccinalis 6 109 | Fagus ferruginea 37 
Eels : : ; 45 | Fagus sylvastica, . 258 
Ege oil : ¢ 187 | Fagus sylvestris. . 5 Or 
Egyptian millet : . 421 | Faham leaves . ; 5 . 454 
- Eleeodendron Australe . 52 | Fanagliatura coral . o Oh 
Eleodendron croceum 62, 530 | Fan palm of Africa . 104 
Elieodendron Roxburghii . 3871 | Feather flowers from Brazil 111 
LJais guineensis 344 | Feathers, ostrich . 6 a oxfis) 
Hlais guineensis 104 | Feliscatus, . : ; . 424 
Hider bark 437 Felis concolor 495 
Hlephant hair . 451 | Ferraglio coral 377 
Eleusine coracana 413 | Ferolia guianensis . : . 266 
Hleusine stricta 421 | Feronia elephantum . 343 
Elk skins 424 | Feuillcea cordifolia . 46, 343 
Emu oil : 334 | Feuillea monosperma . 843 
Emblica officinalis : 871 | Feuillea passiflora 343 
Enamelled work of India 220 | Feuillcea trilobata 47 
Kndiandra glanca 67 | Fibre zibiticus : : - 425 
Enflewrave 174 | Fibres of Tasmania . 4 
Enhydva marina 425 | Fibres, tropical 486 
Eperua falcata 62 Ficus Indica 434 
Krica arborea ‘ . 260 | Ficus racemosa 433 
Ermine skius . 424 | Filigree work, gold . 222 
Eriodendron anfractuosum 343 | Wir and pine of Austria 254 
Erythvie acid : 309 | Fir wood paper 432 
Erythrina corallodendron . afjo6 | Kish aliumeny): 113 
Erythroxylon Coca 57, 248 | Fisher skins 424 
Exparto fibre é Ss Fish albumen . 334 
Ksparto, for paper . 5 . 892 | Fish oil 328 
Estridye : , . 880 | Fish oil of India : 330 
Ki icaly ptus acervula 66 | Fishes of Prince Edward Island 42 
Eucalyptus amygdalina . 11, 26, 64 | Fish scale ornaments 111 
Eucalyptus corymbosa 17, 25 | Fitch skins 424 
Eucalyptus fabrorum 18, 25 | Flax of India . 135 
Eucalyptus fissilis 19, 25 | Flint corn 218 
Eucalyptus gigantea : 1, 58 | Flounder 45 
Eucalyptus globulus LAG; 25, 57 | Flowers, quantity of, used for 
Huealyptus goniocalyx 16, 25 perfumery : Be nue 
Kucalyptus odorata . 19, 27 | Forest trees of Canada. etaiROll 
Eucalyptus oleosa 14, 26 | Fountains, Rimmel’s scent 525 
Eucalyptus paniculata . 64 | Fox skins 424 
Eucalyptus rostrata . 20, 27 | Fragarai, species of . 543 
Eucalyptus rostrata, gumof . 69 | Frangipanni . 454 
Eucalyptus sideroxylon 15, 26 | Fraxinus Americana : 36 
Encalyptus viminalis 421, 27 Fraxinus pubescens a . 86 
Eucalyptus Woollsii 20, 27 Fraxinus sambucifolia 36 
Eugenia zeyheri 0 . 657 | French silks 227 
Euonymus atropurpureus 438 | Frogs’ fat 825 
Kuonymus europeus 259 | Frost fish 45 
Eupomatia laurina 3 . 56 | Frullino, an oil mill 338 
Eurybia argophylla ; 3, 58 | Fundungi : : . 420 
Evodia febrifuga . : . 3865 | Fungi, British, : : eo 
Exceecaria glandulosa 211 | Furniture woods 462 
Exhibition, wood work in 253 Fur-seal . 431 
Exhibition, perfumery trade in 169 | Furs at the Exhibition 423 
Exhibition of 1862, articles on, Fustic 211 
see International Exhibition 
Exocarpus cupressiformus 3, 59 Galba oil : : . 341 
Exostemma caribeum  ., . 439 Galena . ; ; 2 202 ANS 
Galipea cusparia 364 


xii 


Galipea officinalis. 


Galls, English 

Gall nuts ‘4 4 
Garancine : 5 : i 
Garancux : A : 4 
Gaspereaux . ~ 


Gas works in Germany 

Gaultheria procumbens 

Geigera multiflora 

Genipa Americana 

Genista tinctoria 

Geonoma sp. 

Geranium oil 

German millet 

German silks : ; 

Ghislin’s laminite 

Gingeley 

Gingelly oil 

Ginger grass oil 

Giuggiolina oil 

eines inlaid with gold 

Gleditschia triacanthos 

Glyceria fluitans 

Glycerine soap : : : 

Goats* hair. . : : : 

Goat skins 

Godeparre wood 

Gold, tests of 

Golden Sioux corn 

Gomphia guianensis 

Googoola 

Goondricum resin 

Gorilla fat ; 

Gossypium herbaceum 

Gracilaria confervoides 

Granite . : 6 ‘ 

Grass tree gum 

Grass wrack , ; , 

Grapestone oil 5 . 

Green aliarine . : . 

Green heart tree 

Grevillea rebusta 

Grewia tilcefolia 

Grignon , 0 

Ground-nut oil 

Ground-nut oil 5 

Ground nut culture in Gambia 

Ground pistachio 

Guarana of Brazil 

Guatteria longifolia 

Guazuma tomentosa 

Guazuma ulmifolia . 

Guérin Méneville on the ae 
worm . 5 ; , : 

Guilandina bondue 

Gulo articus d 

Gunpowder, white , 

Gums of Tasmania : 

Gum-topped stringy bark 

Gum trees of Tasmania 

Gussub 2 : 

Gymnocladus canadensis 


171, 


341, 


INDEX. ie 
PAGE ' PAGH 
365 | Haddock ea ais : . 45 
142 | Hair, commerce in - °. 440 
209 | Hake ¢ 3 : 44 
320 | Hakea lissoperma 5 4 
320 | Halibut : 45 
44 | Halileh : 475 
524 | Halleria elliptica ; 52 - 
173 | Halleria lucida . : ae 
57 | Halmilile : 62 
53 | Hamamelis Virginica ~~ 438 
210 | Hardpeer : 2 2 AEROS 
104 | Hare skins : : 424 
170 | Hartovia capensis : = 
420 Hassagay wood 61 
237 | Hay, Lord John, on Japan silk 188 
109 | Hazel nuts . 460 
422 | Hemlock 41 
179 | Hemp-seed oil 340 
179 | Henne des arabes 309 
33 He-oak : : : , 3,65 
221 | Herring of N. America 44 
56 | Herring on paper-making 386 
422 | Hibiscus abelmoschus 171 
178 | Hibiscus elatus fibre 131 
448 | Hickory of Canada. 35, 533 
424 | Hirundo esculenta 47 
59 Holcus avenaceus 414 
203 | Holcus, species of 417 
217 | Hollarhena antidysenterica 436 
59 | Hollarhena febrifuga 436 
355 | Holly bark ‘ 435 
305 Honey Locust 56 
325 | Honey soap : 178 
340 | Honeysuckle tree 3 
5 | Honeysuckle wood of Australia 5 
498 | Horsehair 445 
13 | Horse nicker 305 
191 | Houlikun oil . : : . 332 
340 | Human hair : 5 440 
321 | Huon Pine : FEZ 550 
140 | Hulbert Dr., on Canadian trees 31 
65 | Huritochee < . 470 
58 | Hymencea Courbaril, 59, 433 
266 Hymenanthera dentata He J) 
343 Hymenodictyon excelsum . 436 
490 | Hyphene Thebaica 104, 195 
527 
337 | Ice machine : A Fh sh 
553 | Icica altissima : : 55 
363 | Ignacius bean 343 
3864 | Iguana oil , - 825 
367 | lex aquifolium : : 435 
Illipie oil 340 
6 | Imphee 415 
804 Indian corn, notes on 214 
425 | Indian metal work 220 
405 | Indian gut ; 195 
4 | Indian oils ; : : . 843 
2 | Inga Unguis Cati . 5 . 434 
1 Insect wing ornaments pee fe | 
418 Insects, destruction of . 584 
55 ’ International Exhibition of 


1862, articles on 1, 105, 123, 
131, 169, 188, 220, 225, 253 
305, 423, 453, 507 
Ipomea Turpethum 
lris Florentina 
Tron bark of New South Wales 
Tron-bark tree of Victoria 
Tronwood : 
Ironwood of Cape : 
fronwood of North America 
Ironwood of Tasmania 
Tsertia coccinea 
Italian millet . 
Ttalian silks . F 
Italian wines . j . 284, 
lialy, cotton culture in 
Italy, sulphur of 


_ Jabota oil 

Jacaranda 

> Jacaranda ovalitolian 

Jacare oil 

Jackson, J. yee on useful woods 


Jackson, dc R. on -wses of 

barks . 362, 483, 
Jack-tree. ‘ i 
Jackwood 


Jackwood-dye . 5 
Jalots, frames of wood 
Jasminum odoratissum 
Jerra wawak wood . 
Jatropha curcas 
Jatropha montana 
Jipajipa, Panama hats 
Joar 

Jonquil 

Jordan almonds 
Jowarree. 

Judas tree , 
Juglans cinerea - . 934, 
Juglans nigra . aii : 
Juncus vaginatus 

Juniper oil 

Juniperus virginiana 


Kalar joar 
Kalateel . 
Kangaroo skins 

Karanga, the ground- nut 
Karreewan ae ‘ : : 
Kayu kudrang . é 

Keene on strength of wines 
Khaya senegalensis c 
Khus-khus 

Kid-skins 

King Philip corn 

Kino, Tasmanian . : 
Kittool fibre. - 5 
Klipdoorn , : 
Knobhout of Cape . 
Knoppern gall. 
Kodo P 


INDEX. 


PAGE 


Xill 

PAGE 
Kodro 420 
Koelreuteria paniculata 2 5 9 OY 
Koftgari work 229, 
Kolhvo, a native oil-press . 138 
Kolinski fur 424 
Koodaka . 420 
Kovosum oil : 341 
Kours, a Turkish pastille 188 
Krangi min wood 123 
Kumbanzo bark ‘ 436 
Kurkuteh salt of India 131 
Kussoom. : , a elezs} 
Laburnum wood 467 
Lagoons of boracic acid . 290 
Las kaodye . A 309 
Lambert, Mr. B., on 1 paper 386 
Lamb- ding 424 
Laminaria buccinalis 110 
Laminaria digitata . 110 
Laminite products - 109 
larch: bark... 209 
Lard and lard oil 825 


Larix Americani : 4 ; 41 


Larix europea 209 
Latakia tobacco ; 161 
Laurel of New South Wales 56 


Laurel of Tasmania . ; 3 


Laurel oil 493 
Laurel oil 340 
Laurel turpentine 493 
Laurel water 171 
Laurus eassia . 170 
_ Laurus sassafias 172 
Laurus surinamensis 265 
Lavandula spica 173 
Lavandula vera 171 
Laveuder oil 171 


Leather cloth . 71, 522 
Leather jacket-wood : . 63 


Leaves, uses of : : ot LOS: 
Lecythis grandiflora : Mia OF 
Lecythis ollaria bark a: 7 Sit 
Lemon grass oil 5 gy faleale We) 
Lemon oil : Be lyial 
Lentisk leaves . . . 208 
Lentisk oil : 340 
Leopard skins 5 425 
Lepelhout 5 5 sO 
Lepidium ruderale 534 
Leptospermum langerium 5 3 
Lerp of Australia 144 
Licaria guianensis 266 
Lif fibre. 195 
Lignum aspalathum 172 


Lignum Vitae of New South 
‘Wales : ‘ 61 
Lightwood of New South Wales 56 


Limette 171 
Lingoa wood 468 
Thineecd oil 494 
Linseed oil. ° 5 - 309 


XiV 


Linum usitatissimnum 

Lion skins A 

Liquidambar styraciflua 

Liriodendron tulij ifera 

Live Stock 
Wales : 

Livistouia Australis 

Lobelia inflata 

Lodoicea sechellarum 

Lophira alata 

Lotus erry tree 

Lowizachek 

Luban berbera 

Luban hunkur 

Luban mattee 

Luban Makur 

Luban mustika 

Lucifer matches 

Lupis, a plantain fibre 

Lutra Canadensis 

Lygeum spartum 

Lynx. skins 

Ly onsia straminea 


Maba guianensis 

Mabea fistuligna oil 
Mace oil 5 
Mackarel 

Maclura tinctoria 
Macropus ceeruleus 
Macropus major 

Madder : 

Madder, flowers an 
Madder styles ; 
Madinier, P., onplantain 
Magenta : . 
Magnolia bark 

Magnolia hypoleuca 
Mahogany 

Mahot 

Maiden Plum of Jamaica. 
Maize fibre 

Maize gluten 

Maize paper 


Maling, Mr., on tobacco trade 


of Turkey 
Mammea neeiand 
Manatus Americanus 
Manettia cordifolia 
Manganese 
Manganese, used for alkali 
Mangifera gabonensis 
Mangrove 4 
Manna gum tree of Victoria 
Manna kroup 
Mantsiga tartaruga 


Maple : 

pple trees of Canada : 

Maqueira, a Brazilian ham- 
mock 


Marbles of Italy 
Marena dye - 


in New South 


INDEX. 


PAGE 
135 
425 
173 


, 370 


Mariwayana wood 
Marjoram oil 

Marmot skins 

Marquetry 

Marrons 

Marten skins 3 
Matches, mami fachure of 
Weapons, flexuosa 
Mazama Americana 
Medicago arborea 
Medicinal barks 

Mee tree 

Meerschaum 

Melaleuca curvifolia 


Melaleuca erisifolia 3, 21, 27, 28 
2 


Melaleuca genistifofia 


Melaleuca leucadendron 22 
Melaleuca linarifolia ; Pails rl 
Melaleuca squarrosa 24, 28 
Melaleuca uncinata 24, 28, 64 
Melaleuca Wilsonii 23, 218 
Melanoxylon Brauna sen 
Meles Labradoria 424 
Melon seed oil 343 
Menhaden oil 191 
Menhubang tree 124 
Meutha piperita 172 
Menyanthis trifoliata 193 
Mephitis Americana ; 425 
Merik bark : : 440 
Merwah : ; F AY Alsyv/ 
Messmate, a species of Kuca- 
lyptus ; : 19 
Mesua ferrea MOS! 
Michelia champaca 54, 439 
Mikania opifera - 439 
Milk wood 52 
Millet rice : 419 
Millets, culture of 412 
Mimosa bark 531 
Mindoubi : 349 
Minerals of Italy 335 
Minerals of New Brunswick 201 
Mink skins : ‘ 425 
Minquartia guianensis 266 
Mirbane oil 171 
Moha 420 
Mohair 448 
Mohwah 138 
Molahka 396 
Monkey- pot tree 64 
Monkey skins : 425 
Monnina polystachia 369 
Monotoca elliptica 60 
Montpellier spirits 179 
Moore’s collection of silk Pree (s 
Mora excelsa 61, 530 
Morbat ‘ = - 3858 
Moreton bay pine . oO4 
Morinda cetrifolia - 533 
Morinda tinctoria 533 
342 


Moringa pterygosperma 


INDEX. 


PAGE 
Morris, J., on silkworms 4 5 
Morus indica i 397 
Moschoxylum Swartzii 56 
Moschus moschatus : 171 
Mowchok bamboo of China 121 
Mueaya oil 344 
Mudarine 437 
Mulberry bark 440 
Mummachog fish 45 
Munyo 420 
Murexide 308 
Musa varieties of 112 
Musk 171 
Musk seed 171 
Musk wood 3, 58 


Musk wood of Niamnaica ; 59 


Muslin-de-laines, use of old 403 
Musquash skins 425 
Mustard seed of India 136 
Mustela, species of 424 


Myall wood . ¢ 
Mylitta Australis ; : 5 


Myopotamus Coypus 425 
Myrica cerifera 434 
Myrica Faya 68 
Myrica sapida 533 
Myrobalans, notes on 470 
Myrrh ; 171 
Myristica moschata 172 
Myrsine variabilis 53 
Myrtle leaves for tanning 208 
Myrtle of Tasmania 2, 66 


Myrtle oil : : ; 
Myrtus communis eile 208 


Myrtus trinervis 58 
Narcissus odorata Al 
Narcissus jonquila 171 
Nata j 304 
Natchenee 5 413 
Native box of iiinennemitn i 5 4 
Native bread of Tasmania oe Oo) 
Native cherry of Tasmania 8, 55 
Native laurel of Tasmania ; 3 
Native pear, Tasmania. : 4 
Nectandra rodiei 140, 367 
Nerium odoratum . 439 
Neroli oil 171 
New Brunswick, mineral re- 
sources of, ‘ 5 PhO 
Nickel, manufacture ‘of, 556 
Nicotiana rustica 74 
Niebuhria caffra 53 
Niepa bark 438 
Nipa fruticans 195 
Nitrate of potash of India 133 
Nitrate of soda : 383 
Nitro benzine 171 
Nitro benzole, use of, 177 
Northern flint corn . 217 
Norway spruce 209 


Notelea lingustrina . ; 3 


XV 
PAGE 
Nutmeg oil 172 
Nutria skins 425 
Nuts, trade in, j ; . 456 
Nyssa multiflora. c 40, 52 
Oak bark for tanning 208 
Oaks of Canada 33 
Ocotea aromatica 185 
Odina Wodier . ; 62 
Odorous substances shown at 
the Exhibition 453 
(Hillet te : . 343 
CEnoearpus ba caba 042, 344 
(Enocarpus dis tichus . 344 
(Hnocarpus pataua 344 
Oil flasks 489 
Oil nutmeg ; 342 
Oil palms ‘of Africa. 104 
Oils, animal, at the Exhibition. 324 
Oils, essential . 170 
Oils, essential, from the Buealy- 
ptiand Melaleuca. 11 
Oil trade 1861 and 1862 384 
Oily grain 6 - - 494 
Olea ‘Enropoea : may 22 1337/ 
Olea laurifolia . 67 
Olea verrucosa 67 
Oleane 327 
Olibanum 352 
Olinia Capensis 000 
Olive bark i . 437 
Olive oil . 837, 384, 491 
Ollahs : eelOG 
Olyvenhout 5 By 
Omphalea diandra . 342 
Onyx marble of ee 2) LOG 
Ool-a-chan oil . 48, 332 
Oorawang ; : Mets) 
Opossum hair . . : . 452 
Oppossum skins C . 426, 428 
Orange flower water . : 172 
Orange flower meee quantity 
made, : i és ule! 
Orange oil : é : 5 alge 
Orange treewood ~ . : ROD 
Orayura bark . 3865 
Orchella weeds. 5 Ab 
Oregon strawberry . . . 544 
Oreodaphne bullata 4 Soa Oe 
Oreodaphne foetens : ie O10; 
Origana majorana 171 
Ornamental woods of Tasmania 3 
Orris powder . : snedleg 
Ostreya Virginica 54 
Ostrich plumes 378 
Otter skins 425 
Otto of roses 172 
Ouabe oil 5 342 
Ouan-disi, Gardenia. sp. 211 
Oudehout ; 52 
Ovis montana : . 450 
Owala seed : - . 155 


xvi INDEX. 
PAGE PAGE 
Oxleya Xanthoxyla 65 | Phoenix spinosa 104 
Phospheine 807 
Paletuvier 266 | Photinia dubia 533 
Palm leaf mats 195 | Phytolacca decandra. 211 
Palm leaves 194 | Piquia oil 344 
Palms of Africa 103 | Pistacia lentiscus oil . 3840 
Palm kernel oil . 9845 -| Picrie acid Pas 3x0)// 
Palm oil 344, 384 | Pig’s hair . 445 
Palmyra mats . 195 | Pigment printing 312 
Palo morado 100 | Pimenta vulgaris — 60 
Panama hats 144 | Pinckneya pubescens 438 
Panicum miliaceum 412 | Pine-apple ey 543 
Panicum, species of 418 | Piney tallow 493 
Panther skins 425 | Pines of Canada 33 
Pao colorado 98 | Pin fish 45 
Paper, early history ‘of 386 | Pingon wood . i 124 
Paper manufacture 385 | Pink Wood of Tasmania . 4 
Papyrus antiquorum ; 385 | Pinus Austriaca 255 
Parchment, animal and vege table 293 Pinus sylvestris 255 
Parchment, artificial 393 | Pinus maritima 260 
Pataua oil é . 3844 | Pinus mitis 33 
Papayer somniferam 5 - 138 | Pinus resinosa . 33 
Paper making 5 513 | Pinus strobus . 33 
Paper from Seaweed . 126 | Pipe clays : : 497 
Paper materials . 238, 554 | Pipe Maker's company 5 502 
Paraguay, violet wood of . . 100 | Pipe sticks, Cherry . 258 
Paspalum, species of 420 | Pirirara oil . 553 
Patchouly 172 | Piscidia Carthaginensis RO, 
Paullinia cupana 553 | Piscidia ery thrina 57, 433 
Paullinia sorbilis 552 | Pistachio nuts. . 461 
Peacock fat 325 | Pistacia lentiscus 62, 208 
Pearl corn 219 | Pistacia terebinthus. 68 
Peixe+boi oil . 33 Pithecolobium pruinosum 55 
Pelargonium odoratisimum 170, 187 | Pittosporum bicolor 4, 51 
Pencil cedar 467 | Pittosporum crassifolium . 51 
Pendoom wood 51 Pittosporum undulatum . 51 
Penicillaria spicata . 413 | Playfair, Dr., on waste 403 
Pennantea acuta . 53 | Plagianthus sidoides 4 
Pepperidge 40, 52 Plantains, dried 116 
Peppermint oil : . 172 | Plantain juice asa dye stuff 118 
Peppermint Tree of Australia Plantain leaves 198 
2, 11, 19 | Platinum 108 
Perch 45 | Platy mischium polystachium 60 
Perfumery, exports of, in 1860. 177 | Plumesia rubra 454 
Perfumery exported from France Pongamia g labra 343 
in 1860 , : : 184 | Poppy seed oil 341 
Persia gratissima 60 | Poa Abyssinica 420 
Persian Insect Powder 534 | Podocarpus elongatus 54 
Peruvian rice . 421 | Podocarpus spinulosus 55 
Petates 197 | Podocarpus Thunbergii 54 
Petroleum oil 3847 | Polyosma Cunninghami 51 
Petroleum 384 | Pogostemon patchouli 173 
Petit grain 172 | Polanthus tuberosa 173 
Petroieum Oil, Purification of . 159 | Polish millet 422 
Phalaris canariensis . 421 | Poppy of India 138 
Phosphorus : - 407 | Populus tremuloides. 435 
Phylanthus Emblica : - 9396 | Porcupine’s quills 451 
Philadelphus coronarius . 258 | Porcupine oil .. 434 
Phillocladus rhomboidalis 2 | Porpoise oil 333 
Phoberos Mundtic 57 Portugal neroli j 171 
Pheebe Barbusana . 68 | Pothos mcr poate | fibre . 131 
Pheenix dactylifera . 104, 195 | Pot-pourri “ 179 


INDEX. 
PAGE 
Prinos verticillatus 866 | Rice corn Sins j 
Prussiate of potash . 401 | Ricinus communis 
Prickly fern tree . 5 | Rigitha 
Prickly yellow wood of Jamaica 57 | Rimash . 


Prince Edward Island, Fishes of 42 


Procyon lotor . . 425 
Prosopis juliflora . ; » 68 
Prosopis spicigera. . OS 
Pterocarpus erinaceus. “OO 
Pterocarpus flavus. . 440, 533 
Pungah salt of India . a GL 
Purpleheart wood . 63, 99 
Purpurine 321 
Punica granatum 370 
Purging nut oil : . 3843 
Pyrites used for alkali 883 
Pyrites . 203 
Pyrethrum Willemoti 534 
Pyrus coronaria . . a 40) 
Quebracho wood 101 
Quercus species 298 
Quercitron 3 ‘ 533 
Quercus alba . : 5 . 33 
Quercus barks 434 
Quercus prinus : 0 . 384 
Quercus ilex . 5 - . 208 
Quercus rubra . : imiod 
Quercus suber 5 ey) 
Quercus tinctoria 33, 211, 533 
Quina bark . : : . 436 
Rabbit skins 425 
Rags, woollen 403 
Racoon skins . 425 
Ragee 413 
Raphia vinifera 103 
Rate for tanning 208 
Ravensara pulp : . 455 
Red asb of Australia ; ao 
Red ash . ; s “aie 3G 
Red beech. : . 37 
Red cedar : : ; . 4 
Red marbles : 149 
Red oak . : : ; . 984 
Red pine”. 3 
Reddish brown furniture woods 60 
Red gum, medicinal ¢ 5) OY) 
Red gum of Victoria ; ni 20) 
Reseda eutola : 5. PO) 
Resins, solubility of 14, lif, 19523 
Rhea Americana . 382 
Rhea fibre 6 129 
Rhizophora mangle . 531 
‘Rhus typhina . : : 5 
Rhus, various species of . 207 
Rhododendron ferrugineum 208 
Rhamnus catharticus 309 
Rhubarb leaves 193 
Rhus copallino 193 
Rhus typhina 193 
Ride, a netted hammock 


198 


Rimmel, E., on | perfumery trade 
Rimmel’s table fountain . 

Roble wood of Trinidad . 

Robert’s paper machine 

Roberts on furs 

Rocella fusiformis 

Rock, T. D., visit to the "Great 
Exhibition ; 

Rock elm 

Roman purple 

Rood Elstree . 

Roosa grass oil 

Rosa centifolia 

Rosemary 

Rosewater ; 

Rose wood of New South Wales 

Rosewood, African . 

Rosewood, oil of 

Rose water, quantity made 

Rosmainus officinalis 

Rose wood of India . 

Rubia tinctoria 

Rumija ferraginea . 

Russian silk 


Sabal Mexicana 
Sable skins 
Safflower 
Safflower oil 
Saffron : 
Saffron wood . 
Sage tea . 
Sajjee. 
Salt used for Blea 
Salad oil . : 
Salmon . 
Saltpetre 
Sambucus nigra 
Samadera Indica 
Sandarac of Victoria 
Santalum Austro- Caledonicum 
Santalum citrinum . 
Sandal wood 

Sapota Achras 
Sapota sideroxylon . 
Sapodilla 
Sappoo wood 
Sapucaia oil 
Sapucainha seed oil, 
Sassafras oil 
Sassafras of Tasmania 
Sassafras tree . g : 
Sassafras officinale . 41, 
Satine . is 2 " - 
Satin wood . - : 4 
Salt of India . 4 : = 
Saturnia mylitta : 
Schleichera trijuga 


172, 


XxVii 


PAGE 
219 
134 
417 

36 
169 
525 

60 
387 
423 
211 


105 

36 
308. 

64 
179 
172 
172 
172 

61 

66 
172 
174 
172 
468 
211 
439 
233 


179 
425 
212 
341 
210 

62 
283 
134 
383 
491 

43 
133 
437 
438 

13 
186 


INDEX. 


xvViil 

PAGE 
Sea otter 425 
Seal skins 425 
Seal oil . 329 
Sea-side balsam — 283 
Sea-weed products . > Os 
Sea-side grapeof Jamaica 65, 531 
Sea-weed jelly 4 5 
Seed oil 384 
Serpent’s oil 325 
Serpolet oil . 173 
Sesamum orientale137, 245, 339, 499 
Sesamum oil . 179, 347 
Sesamum indicum 247, 422 
Setaria, species of . : 5 Zo 
Scented woods of Tasmania 4 
Scent wood of Tasmania . 6 
Schotia latifolia 52 
Schinus Molla . 434 
Schinus Arseira 434 
Scilla maritima 209 
Scirpus lacustris 258 
Sculpin 45 
Shaharree Luban 353 
Shamoola 419 
Shawl goats 449 
Shad 44 
Shark. 43 
Shea butter tree 64 
Shell flowers from Brazil . 111 
Sheep-skins 425 
She-oak : é 3 
Shoe pegs, wooden . 257 
Shoddy : 92 
Sideroxylon inerme . 52 
Silkworms, notes on 5 
Silky oak of Australia 65 
Silk from Algeria 143 
Silk of Japan 188 
Silks at the Exhibition 225 
Silk culture in Tasmania 395 
Silver fox . 424 
Silver pine, 255, 56 
Silver wattle 3, 61 
Simaruba amara 372 
Sinapis, species of, in India 136 
Sissoo wood 68 
Size for paper making 389 
Skate or ray 42 
Skins or furs, trade i in 423 
Skrunk skins . 425 
Smalblad tree . 62 
Smelt. : 43 
Soap of India . 134 
Soap, hard, . 175 
Soap, export of, in 1860 . 177 
Soft soap. : 175 
Soap root 369 
Sooparee caps . 195 
Sorgho a sucré : 415 
Sorghum glycichilum 221 
Sorghum saccharatum . 454 
Sorghums, species of, 413 


Sorghum vulgare 

Souari wood 

Sounding boards 

Soymida febrifuga, 

Spanish elm . 

Spanish silks . 

Spanish nuts . 

Spent madder . 

Spike, oil of 

Spiked millet . 

Spindle tree 

Spiny date palm 

Spindle tree wood 

Spondias lutea. 

Sponge fishery of Rhodes . 
Spurge laurel : 

Spruce of Canada 

Squirrel skins . 

Statuary Marble 

Star aniseed 

Steam colours . 

Stenocarpus. salignus : 
Stevens on woollen manufacture 
Stinck wood 

Stipa semri ba: bata 

Strawberry culture . 

Stringy bark . 
Stringy bark tree of Tasmania . 
Stringy bark fibre 
Sturgeon . 

Styrax : 
Stiychnos nux- yomia 
Struthio camelus 
Styrax benzoin 
Sucurigu oil 

Sudas gigas 

Sugar maple . 
Sulphur of Italy 
Sumac 

Sumach from Sicily . 
Sumach leaves 
Sunflower oil ; 
Sutherland, Rey. G., on fishes . 
Sutherland, Dr., on "red gum . 
Swamp gum tree 

Swamp tea tree 

Swamp oak 

Swan skins 

Sweetwood bark 

Sweet corn 

Swiss silks 

Sweitenia mahogani 

Symplocos bark 

Syzigium Jambolanum 


Taigu, yellow wood of Para- 
guay . 
Talipot leaf 
Talipot tent 
Tallow oil 
Tamanu oil 


Tamarac . 


340, 


101, 


Tamanu resin and oil 


é % ¢ 
Tamarind, wild, of Jamaica 
Tamarind tree of Australia 


Tamarisk leaves 

Tananeo wood . 

Tanning barks 

Tanning materials of Italy 
Tanneries in {taly 

Tapir Americana 
Tasmanian products 
Tasmania peppermint-tree 


Teak wood of New South Wales 


Tea substitute . ; 
Tea-tree of Australia -. 


Tea-tree, broadleaved, of Aus- 


tralia 
Tecoma undulata 
Teel-seed . 
Tecoria febrifuga 
Tectona grandis 
Terminalia glabra 
Teff 
Tenney 
Terminalia, species of 
Yerminalia tomentosa 
Tetranthera apetula 
Tetranthera ferruginea 
Theobroma cacao 
Thespesia populnea. 
Thlaspi ruderale 
Thresher . 
Thrinax argentea 
Thuja articulata 
Thuja occidentalis 
Thuya wood : 
Thymus serpyllum . 
Thymus vulgaris 
Tiftek 
Tiger fat. 
Tiger skins 
Tilia Americana 
Timber trees of Tasmania 
‘Timbo 
Tobacco, Latakia 
Tobacco- -pipe trade . : 
Tobacco trade of Turkey. 
Toddalia lanceolata . 
Toddala aculeata 
Toilet soaps 
Tomboki. 
Tom cod . ; 
Tonga-bean wood 
Tonquin beans 


Torsk 
Toothache tree 
Train oil ; 


Transparent soap. 
Trichilia glandulosa 
Triosetum perfoliatum 
Trout 

Trochocarpa laurina 
Tuberose oil 


137, 


58, 


176, 


INDEX. 


xix 

PAGE 
Tunbridge ware 253 
Tungstate of soda 555 
uy upelo wood 52 
Tupoz, a fibre from the plantain 119 
Turkish silks . j . 284 
Turnery . 253 
Turtle oil 333 
Tuscarora corn 218 
Tussilago farfar 193 
Turpentine 384 
Turroni, a kind of comfits 309 
Ulmate of ammonia 513 
Ulmus Americana 37 
Ulmus campestris 435 
Ulmus fulva 435 
Ulmus racemosa. 36 
Uninflammable stuffs 555 
Urena species 130 
Uric acid i 309 
Urtica tenacissima . 127 
Uto oil 347 
Vegetable sy 393 
Veneers 464 
Viverra, species of 473 
Valonia 209 
Vanilla from Tahiti. 186 
Vanilla planifolia 173 
Vanilla pompona 186 
Variolaria dealbata 211 
Vatoogoo 5 419 
Ventilago maderaspatana 1538 
Verbena, oil of 173, 179 
Vetivert . 179 
Vinegar . f 288 
Viola odorata . 5) LD 
Violet oil i Peleins 
Violet wood of Cay enne . ee a )s) 
Virola sebifera 266, 342 
Vitis Labrusca 5 OPES 
Vitevert oil F 173 
Wacapoua Americara 266 
Wainscot oak . 467 
Walnut wood. ; 466 
Waste, utilization of 403 
W aste of cattle : 242, 
W aterleaf, unsized paper 393 
Wattle bark . j 4, 531 
Wattle gum 4 
Wax, adulteration of, 822 
Weasel skins . 425 
Weinmannia racemosa 581 
Wendladdia tinctorea 533 
Whale oil 329 
White ash 36 
White birch 37 
White beeeh . 37 
White cedar . F ae 
White cedar of British Guiana 55 
White dog wood of Jamaica 57 


) White elm 


xx 


White gum tree 

White marbles 
White oak of Canada : 
White oak of New South Wales 
White pine of Australia . 
White pine of Canada 
White spruce . 

White thorn 

White wood 

White wood of Tasmania 
Wickstromia bark . 
Wigs : 

Wild apple tree 

Wilde jambos . 

Willemot, on pyrethrum . 
Willow plait : 

Windsor soap . 

Wine palm of Africa 
Wines of Italy 

Wines shown ee Exhibition 
Winter green oil 
Wanter’s bark 

W itbosch-hout 

Witte olyve 

Woad . 

Wolf skins 

Wolverine 

Wood carving. 

Wooden Pear . : 
Wood, manufactures of 
Wood mosaic . 

Wood oil 

Wood paper 

Woods, notes on useful woods . 
Woods of Algeria 

Woods of French Guiana 
Woods of French India 
Woods of Italy 


INDEX. 


PACE 
Woods of Martinique . 263 
Woods of New Caledonia . 268 
Woods of Reunion . 267. 


Wool and woollen manufacture 89 
Woollen rags, use of . 
Woollybutt of Australia . SNOB 20 
Wormia retusa : : a OO) 
Wormia triqueta . . 5 BY) 


Xanthoxylon fraxineum . 865 
Xanthoxylum clava Hercules 11, 57 
Xylocarpus carapa . : - 265 
Xylocarpus carapa : 342 
Xylomelum pyriforme  . 5 OS 


Xylopia glabra : c 363 
Yalhoi bark 369 
Yamadou oil ; : 342 

Yandermanna wood - ey) Sl 
Yaymadou 2 5 PARKS 
Yellow bark of Australia . pes PALL 
Yellow corn. ‘ 217, 219 
Yellow furniture woods : oO) 
Yellow marbles : 150 
Yellow pine. : - - 33 
Yellow poplar. . . . 54 
“Yellow sanders wood 533 
Yellow wood . A : a A 
Yeralla wood . s F oo til 
Yoke, a land measure . 3859 
Zanthoxylum aromaticum ne BD) 
Zieria lanceolata . . 5. A 
Zizyphus jujuba . 62, 371 
Zostera oceanica : >) eho 
Zostera marnia : 2) L265 or 
Zurrut a A . 416 


arent? Peek Ne Oly OG bell 


NOTES ON THE VEGETABLE PRODUCTS OF TASMANIA, AT 
THE INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION OF 1862. 


BY WILLIAM ARCHER, F.L.S. 


The principal timber trees of Tasmania, such as the blue gum, stringy 
bark, white gum, or gum-topped stringy bark, swamp gum, and pepper- 
mint tree, furnish a hard, close-grained, and strong timber, which is used 
in ship-building and house-building, and generally for all the purposes 
to which oak is applied in England. Huon pine is very durable, and 
is employed for boat-building, for which it is peculiarly adapted, and for 
house-fittings, &e. Blackwood makes excellent naves and spokes, cask 
staves, &c. Native myrtle is valuable for house-fittings. Swamp gum 
yields the finest palings and other split-stuff in the world. Sassafras 
affords timber for house-fittings, bench-screws, lasts, &c. Celery-topped 
pine is chiefly used for masts and ship’s spars. The different kinds of 
timber in the following list are arranged according to their value. The 
diameter of the trees is measured at the height of 4 feet from the ground. 

Buivue Gum (Eucalyptus globulus, Lab.)—The common name is derived 
from the bluish-grey colour of the young plants. Diameter, 5 to 30 
feet ; average of those felled for use, 6 feet. Height, 150 to 350 feet ; 
sp. grav. about ‘945 to 1:055. Abundant in the southern and south- 
western parts of the island. Cut for house-building, it sells at 8s. to 10s. 
per 100 superficial feet—for ship-building, at 12s. to 14s. 

Strincy Bark (Eucalyptus gigantea, Hooker, fils.—Common name 
taken from the coarse fibrous bark. Diameter, 4 to 24 feet; average of 
sawn about 55 feet. Height, 150 to 300 feet; sp. grav. about ‘905. 
Abundant everywhere upon hilly ground, Price, the same as that of 
blue gum. — _ 

Swamp Guu.—Wauite Gum (Eucalyptus viminalis, Lab.).—Commen 
names, from its growing to perfection in humid situations, and from its 
gigantic white trunk. Diameter, 4 to 18 feet ; average, about 55 feet. 

VOL. III. A 


2 NOTES ON THE VEGETABLE PRODUCTS OF TASMANIA. 


Height, 150 to 300 feet ; sp. grav. about ‘885. Growing in forests with 
other kinds of Zucalyptus, in rather humid localities. A small variety, 
called the manna tree, grows abundantly about Hobart Town and in 
other places, on dry ground. Price, for general purposes, the same as 
that of blue-gum ; 5-feet palings, 6s. to 8s. per 100. 

GUM-TOPPED StTRINGY Bark, sometimes called Waite Gum (Eucalyptus 
gigantea, var.—A tree resembling the blue gum in foliage, with rough 
bark similar to stringy bark towards the stem. It has been found recently 
that this wood possesses nearly all the properties of strength, solidity, 
and durability of the blue gum—whilst, being straight-grained, it is 
much easier to work. It is very abundant about D’Entrecasteaux Chan- 
nel, An old plank from the Hobart Town Wharf, which has been 
twenty years in use, may be seen in the timbertrophy. Price, about the 
same as blue gum. 

PEPPERMINT TREE (Eucalyptus amygdalina, Lab..—Common name, 
from the odour of the leaves. Diameter, 3 to 8 feet ; average, about 4 
feet. Height, 100 to 150 feet ; sp. grav. about ‘895. The peppermint 
tree abounds throughout the island, on gravelly and other BO soil. 
Price, about the same as that of swamp gum. 

Huon Pine (Dacrydium Franklin, Hooker, fils..—So called, Pee it 
was first discovered on the banks of the Huon river. Diameter, 3 to 8 
feet ; average, about 4} feet. Height, 50 to 120 feet ; sp. grav. about 
-650. Abundant in portions of the south-western part of the island. 
Price, about 16s. per 100 superficial feet, in the log. 

Buiackwoop (Acacia melanoxylon, Br.)—So called ffrom the dark- 
brown colour of the mature wood, which becomes black when washed 
with lime-water. In moist, shaded localities the trees grow more 
rapidly,.and the wood is of a much lighter colour. Hence this variety is 
called “ Lightwood” (in Hebart Town), to distinguish it from the other. 
Diameter, 14 to 4 feet ; average, about 2} feet. Height, 60 to 130 feet. 
Sp. gray. about ‘885. Found throughout the island, but not abundantly 
in any one locality. Price, about 12s. to 14s. per 100 feet superficial, in 
the log. 

Native MyrtLe (Fagus Cunninghamii, Hook.)\—Common name, from 
the fancied resemblance of its dark-green leaves to those of the myrtle. 
Diameter, 2 to 9 feet; average, about 34 feet. Height, 60 to 180 feet. 
Sp. grav. about -795. The native myrtle exists in great abundance 
throughout the western half of the island, growing in forests to a great 
size, in humid situations. Price, about 16s. per 100 feet superficial, in 
the log. 

CELERY-TOPPED PINE (Phillocladus rhomboidalis, Rich.)—So called 
from the fancied similarity in form of the upper part of the branchlets 
to celery. Diameter, 1} to 2 feet ; average, about 1} feet. Height, 60 
to 150 feet. Sp. grav. about ‘655. Rather common in damp forests in 
the southern parts of the island, and in some sub-alpine localities. 


NOTES ON THE VEGETABLE PRODUCTS OF TASMANIA, 3 


ORNAMENTAL Woops.—The different kinds of wood included in the 
following list are all in constant use for cabinet and fancy work. They 
are arranged according to their value. The finest specimens of native 
myrtle, musk-wood, Huon pine, and black-wood, exhibit qualities of the 
highest excellence, both in tint and variety of venation, 

Native Myrtie (Fagus Cunninghamii, Hook). 

Musxk-woop (Eurybia Argophylla, Cass.—Named from the musky 
odour of the plant. Diameter, 6 to 15 inches—the butt enlarging 
towards the ground to 14, and even 24 feet. Height, 15 to 30 feet. Spec. 
grav. about ‘685. Abundant throughout the island in damp localities. 

Huon Pine (Dacrydium Franklin, Hook, fils.) 

BuacKk-woop (Acacia melanozylon, Br.) 

SHE-OAK (Casuarina quadrivalvis, Lab.)—A portion of the common 
name is evidently derived from the resemblance of the markings to those 
of oak. Diameter, 1 to 14 foot. Height, 20 to 30 feet. Spec. gray. 
about °845. Very common on dry stony hills, except in the north- 
western districts. 

He-oak (Casuarina suberosa, Otto.\—Diameter, 9 to 15 inches, 
Height, 20 to 25 feet. Spec. grav. about -855. Common on stony hills. 

HONEYSUCKLE TREE (Banksia Australis, Br.) — Named from the 
large quantity of honey in the flowers. Diameter, 1} to 2} feet. Height, 
20 to 40 feet. Sp. grav. about ‘645. Abundant on sandy soil. 

Doewoov.—(Bedfordia salicina, D.C.)—Diameter, 6 to 16 inches. 
Height, 15 to 25 feet. Sp. grav. about ‘985. Common of small size, 
but rare of large proportions. 

Native LavureL.—(Anopterus glandulosus, Lab.)—So named from 
its laurel-like leaves. Diameter, 6 to 10 inches. Height, 15 to 22 feet. 
Sp. grav. about 675. Tolerably abundant in some sub-alpine localities. 

Buiue Gum (Eucalyptus globulus, Lab.)—Curly-grained variety. 

PEPPERMINT (Hucalyptus amygdalina, Lab.)—Some specimens of 
this timber have a fine wavy marking. 

UsreruL Woops.—SiLvER WartnLe (Acacia dealbata, Lindl.)—So 
called from the whiteness of the trunk, and the silvery green of the 
foliage. Used for cask staves and treenails. Diameter, 1$ to 25 feet. 
Height, 60 to 120 feet. Sp. grav. about ‘795. Very common. 

Tron Woop (Tasmanian).—(Notelea ligustrina, Vent.)\—An exceed- 
ingly hard, close-grained wood, used for mallets, sheaves of blocks» 
turnery, &c. Diameter, 9 to 18 inches. Height, 20 to 35 feet. Sp. 
grav. about ‘965. Not uncommon. 

Swamp TrA-TREE (Melaleuca ericifolia, Sm.)—So called, probably, 
because the leaves of an allied plant (Leptospermum lanigeram, Sm.) with 
similar bark, are said to have been used as a substitute for tea. Diameter, 
9 to 20 inches. Height, 20 to 60 feet. Sp. grav. about °824, Used for 
turnery chiefly. 

Native Cuerry (Ezxocarpus cupressiformis, Lab.)—So named because 

a 2 


4 NOTES ON THE VEGETABLE PRODUCTS OF TASMANTA, 


the colour of the fruit is similar to that of a Kentish cherry. Diameter, 
9 to 15 inches. Height, 20 to 30 feet. Sp. grav. about -785. Used for 
tool handles, spokes, gun-stocks, We. 

WHITE-woop (Pittosporum bicolor, Hook.)\—Wood white. Diameter, 
8 to 13 inches. Height, 20 to 35 feet. Sp. grav. about ‘875. Used in 
turnery. Probably fit for wood engraving. 

Native Box (Bursaria spinosa, Cav.)—The leaves are somewhat like 
those of the English box. Diameter, 8 to 12 inches. Height, 15 to 25 
feet. Sp. grav. about °825. Used for turnery. 

PInK-woop (Beyeria viscosa.—Croton viscosum, Lab.)—Diameter, 6 to 
10 inches. Height, 15 to 25 feet. Sp. grav. about °815. Used for 
sheaves of blocks, and for turnery. 

Native Pear (Hakea lissosperma, Br.)—The woody seed-vessel is 
somewhat pear-shaped. Diameter, 8 to 12 inches. Height, 29 to 30 
feet. Sp. gravity about 675. Fit for turnery. 

ScenteED Woops.—Tonea BEAN Woop (Alyxia buxifolia, Br.)—The 
odour is similar to that of the tonquin bean (Dépteryx odorata). A 
straggling sea-side shrub, 3 to 5 inches in diameter. 

Native Box (Bursaria spinosa, Cav.)—The scent is pleasant, but 
fleeting. 

TanninGc BarKs.—WattTLeE Bark.—The bark of the black wattle 
(Acacia mollissima, Wild.), the silver wattle (Acacia dealbata, Lindl.), 
and the blackwood tree (Acacia melanoxylon, Br.) The first-named 
yields the most valuable bark, and is common on dry stony hills. 

FrBsres.—CurrAJONG (Plagianthus sidoides, Hook.) —The fibres of the 
bark are very strong. It is a large shrub, found chiefly on the southern 
side of the island, in ravines and shady places, and grows rapidly. 

LyonstA (Lyonsia straminea, Br.)\—Fibres of the bark fine and strong. 
The lyonsia is met with, rather sparingly, in dense thickets, with its 
stems hanging like ropes among the trees. 

Buiue Gum (Eucalyptus globulus, Lab..—The bark of this immense 
tree yields a fibre which may, probably, be found available for making 
the coarser kinds of paper. 

Strincy Bark (Hucalyptus gigantea, Hook. fils. —The fibres of the 
bark are similar to those of the blue-gum bark, but are not so strong, or 
so fine. 

Fisrous Grass (Stipa semi-barbata, Br.)—After the seed has ripened 
the upper part of the stem breaks up into fibre, which curls loosely and 
hangs down, waving in the wind. The condition of the fibre at this time 
is undoubtedly far inferior to what it would be if rightly prepared. 
Common in some localities. 

Gums.—Kino.—This gum, which seems to have similar properties to 
those of the East Indian “kino,” exudes from the woods of all the Tas- 
manian species of Eucalyptus. 

WarttLe Gum, the gum of the Silver Wattle (Acacia dealbata, Lindl), 


NOTE ON THE SILKWORM. 5 


is exceedingly viscous, and, probably, quite as useful as gum arabic. 
The gum of the black wattle (Acacia mollissima, Willd.), which is often 
mixed with the other, is very inferior to it, being far less viscous. 

Sunpry Propucts.—PrRIcKLY FERN TREE (Alsophila Australis, Br.)}— 
This very handsome fern tree occasionally attains a height of 30 feet. 
It is not, by any means, so common a fern tree as Dicksonia antartica 
(Lab.) 

Pitre or Rusuus.—This is the pith of the largest Tasmanian rush 
(Juncus vaginatus, Br.) It is not rare. The pith is made up, in Hobart 
Town, into head-dresses, of which specimens are shown. 

GELATINOUS SEAWEED (Gracilaria sp.—This alga, which may, per- 
haps, be regarded as a variety of G. confervoides (Grev.), is occasionally 
used for making jelly. It abounds on the shores of Sloping (or Slopen) 
Islands, in Frederick Hendrick Bay. 

Native Breap (Mylitta Australis, Berk.}—An insipid, under-ground 
fungus, which sends up no stem, and is generally met with by accident 
When growing rapidly it sometimes causes the ground to crack, and may 
thus be discovered by a careful observer, as it probably was by the 
Aborigines, who used it as food. 


NOTE ON THE SILKWORM. 
BY JAMES MORRIS. 


I beg to append the following few lines, in the shape of a note, to 
the short article on the silkworm which appeared in the TECHNOLOGIST 
of last month. At a late meeting of the Académie des Sciences, M. 
Brouzet communicated the very beneficial results which he had obtained 
in arresting the contagious maladies of the silkworm, by the employ- 
ment in his silkworm sheds of pine-wood injected with sulphate of 
copper. M. Brouzet was a large proprietor in the Cévennes, and he had 
the misfortune to see his crop of silkworms perish successively from the 
year 1853 to 1858. He then determined to renew the whole of the wood- 
work of his silkworm houses, and for this purpose he employed pine 
wood recently-cut. This produced a satisfactory result, though it was 
sufficiently clear that many of those diseases to which the silkworm is so 
liable were again in operation. It appears that in 1860 M. Brouzet was 
charged by the Government to furnish a certain quantity of poles for the 
telegraphic wires over which it had control. M. Brouzet injected these 
poles, according to the process adopted by Dr. Boucherie. The thought 
occurred to him that a similar process might be advantageously adopted 
in the wood work of his silkworm houses. He accordingly employed | 
the sulphate of copper, and the health of the silkworms not only visibly © 


6 NOTE ON THE SILKWORM. 


improved, but none of them were attacked by those diseases which had 
caused such havoc among them in preceding years. Those worms, on 
the contrary, though of similar origin and placed in the same locality, 
but which were in houses built of non-injected wood, were attacked by 
the ordinary diseases, and gave results far inferior to those which had 
been otherwise treated. It is, therefore, clear that an advantageous anti- 
septic result was produced by the employment of the sulphate of copper 
as a wood-injection ; and this idea is worthy of the notice of all those 
who are interested in the care of these worms, which are now assuming 
an importance which they never had so extensively before. 

With regard to the diseases of the silkworm in France, it is satisfac- 
tory to know that they are now considerably on the decline. In a com- 
munication to the Académie des Sciences, by M. Guérin-Méneville, on the 
25th of June, that indefatigable investigator remarked, that the cha- 
racter of the epidemic which had previously attacked the silkworms had 
become considerably modified—a sign that it had entered upon its 
period of decline. Referring to his previous labours in this department, 
and particularly those of 1849 and 1853, M. Guérin-Méneville maintains 
his previous opinion, that the cause of the first epidemic among the 
silkworms originated in a diseased state of the mulberry trees. This 
explanation agrees better with the great mass of facts which have been 
observed in the cultivation of the mulberry tree on a large scale ; for 
others besides M. Guérin-Méneville had remarked the various phases of 
disease which the mulberry trees assumed, being sometimes numerous 
spots ; at other times, the falling off of the fruit before it had reached a 
period of maturity, whilst the leaves could not be preserved in the usual 
manner without fading away and rapidly fermenting. M. Moglia de 
Orsinovi, who distilled the mulberry for the purpose of obtaining an 
alcohol, lately communicated to his friends a fact no less conclusive than 
characteristic, that of late years the mulberry fruit, instead of yielding 
him an alcohol as usual, only gave him after distillation a species of 
aromatic oil. On this point M. Guérin-Méneville observes : 

“This circumstance recalled to me at once that in my communica- 
tions in the year 1849 on the changes in the blood of diseased silkworms, 
I had drawn attention to the vibrating ¢orpuscles and the crystals as the 
principal characteristics of the disease, and that these discoveries had been 
the starting-point of more recent observers in the same field, whose obser- 
vations had been considered as new. A scientific man, whilst discovering 
my already-discovered hema tozoa, to which he simply gave another name, 
concluded, as I had previously done, that the silkworm disease was the 
result of some essential alteration in nutrition ; but, instead of admitting 
with me, as was most natural in such a case, that such alteration in 
nutrition had its cause in a vitiated nourishment supplied to the worms, 
this party endeavoured to discover something extremely vague, which 
he no doubt considered more scientific, remarking that this essential 


THE MANUFACTURE OF LEATHER CLOTH. 7 


alteration in nutrition was produced by some miasmatic or contagious 
element. M. Chavannes, who had also studied my vibrating corpuscles 
and the blood-crystals, and had noticed that this fluid in the healthy 
caterpillar in the wild state contained none of them, concluded that the 
normal state of these silkworms might be brought back, by culti- 
vating them in the same way as nature does with respect to the wild 
caterpillar—that is, in the open air. Though such conclusions are, no 
doubt, sound, there is still nothing to prove that such amelioration in 
the silkworm did not rather arise from the employment of healthy leaves 
during many generations.” 

After the notices on this subject which have already appeared in the 
TECHNOLOGIST, and particularly after the able and elaborate paper on 
the silk-producing insects of India, &., by Mr. Frederic Moore, in the 
July number of this journal, it is to be hoped that some fresh impulse 
will be given to the silkworm culture, and to ailanticulture especially, 
so that a new industry may be organised in England. 


THE MANUFACTURE OF LEATHER CLOTH. 


The manufacture of leather cloth as a substitute for Morocco leather, 
was commenced in the year 1849, in the city of Newark, U.S. The 
first specimen of it seen in this country, was exhibited in 1851. The 
Americans have had the merit of producing many labour-saving 
machines and articles of domestic convenience, and many of them are 
becoming increasingly known and extensively adopted in this country. 
It is certain that this article of leather cloth has superseded the use of 
leather for many purposes to which the old material has hitherto been 
applied, besides being put to uses for which leather is wholly unsuitable. 
Messrs. Crockett, the inventors and patentees commenced the manu- 
facture of leather cloth in England in 1855, and their factory was an old 
workhouse, situated in one of those dreary, unpicturesque marshes at 
West Ham, in Essex, a locality somewhat famous for its insalubrious 
manufactures. The firm was known as the “Crockett International 
Leather Cloth Company.” In 1857 Messrs. Crockett surrendered their 
business to a company formed under the title of “The Leather Cloth 
Company, Limited,” which purchased the entire European business. 

The new company, with a paid up capital of 90,000/., and having Mr. 
A. Lorsont as their managing director, began the enterprise with great 
energy. They erected substantial and extensive premises, which cover 
ten acres of ground, employing upwards of 200 men. They produce 
daily 1,000 pieces of 12 yards long and 1% yards wide, or 15,000 square 
yards ; sufficient if laid end to end to reach from their factory to the 
warehouse in Cannon street west—a distance of seven miles. 


8 THE MANUFACTURE OF LEATHER CLOTH. 


It will be evident that an article intended to resemble leather should 
be pliant, supple, and not liable to peel off or crack. These excellencies 
are to be attained by the peculiar ingredients of the composition with 
which the cloth is covered, and the method of applyingit. On entering 
the factory our attention was first directed to the boiling room, in which 
there are 12 furnaces, with a large cauldron over each for boiling linseed 
oil. This process is attended with considerable danger from the liability 
of the boiling oil to generate gas and explode ; hence, a man is stationed 
at each cauldron stirring gently the boiling mass and watching a thermo- 
meter inserted in it, and which at the time of our visit stood at 580°. 
The oil is supplied to the boiling house by pipes from an adjoining 
building, where there is a huge tank with nine compartments containing 
3,200 gallons each, or 28,800 altogether, amounting to 122 tons of oil. 
The boiling oil being allowed to cool is conveyed on a tramway to the 
mixing-house, where, in a puddling machine, it receives several other 
ingredients, the principal ones being lampblack and turpentine, which 
being mixed into a composition is ready for use. 

Tie cloth to which this composition is applied is known by the name 
of “grey,” or unbleached cotton. It is of a peculiar manufacture, and 
made expressly for the company. The store room is a spacious building 
and will contain an immense stock ; at present it has 25,000 pieces, or 
300,000 yards. Here the cloth is calendered, and cut into lengths of 
twelve yards. The two ends of each length are sewn together to make 
it endless ; two sewing machines are in constant operation at this work. 
The pieces are then removed to the “ milling” rooms, so called because 
they contain the mills in which the cloth receives the composition. 
These mills are rough looking wooden structures, having a drum at one 
end and a roller at the other, over which the cloth is passed, and then 
tightened by a crank and wheel at one end. A large frame knife or 
scraper, is then dropped down close to the cloth, a measured quantity 
of composition being laid on the cloth along the edge of the knife, the 
mill revolves, and the cloth receives as much of the composition as can 
pass under the edge of the knife. The piece is then carried to the heat- 
ing room adjoining, and hung up on the rack to dry till next morning. 

There are on the premises six milling rooms, with three mills in each, 
and having three men attendant upon each mill. The adjoining rooms 
for drying are heated by three rows of pipes laid along the wall. These 
pipes during the day are at a temperature of about 130°. The tem- 
perature is then increased towards the evening, and during the night to 
160°, and it is the duty of the watchman to open the doors for ventila- 
tion and cooling, preparatory to the men resuming their work for the 
next coating. 

Of course, in a building so greatly heated, and having so much in- 
flammable thaterial within it, the danger of fire is imminent, but every 
precaution has been taken which prudence could dictate. The building 


THE MANUFACTURE OF LEATHER CLOTH. 9 


is fire-proof, the floors are of metallic lava, and the roof, which is flat, is 
of the same material. A large pipe runs up the outside wall by the 
partition which divides the drying rooms, into each of which runs a 
branch pipe with a valve, which can be worked from the outside. A 
deluge of steam can by these means be poured into the rooms in a few 
minutes, by day or night. There are fourteen fire-plugs around the 
buildings, on the main of the East London Water Works, with hose and 
turncocks at hand, so that ample means of extinguishing fire exist on the 
premises. 

But to return to the manufacture. The coating being thoroughly dry, 
the cloth is then taken to the “ rubbers,” whose business it is to remove 
all inequalities from the surface, and make it perfectly smooth. Thisis 
done by the “rolling machine” (an ingenious contrivance of Mr. Eagles, 
the manager,) by which the cloth is made to pass between two rollers, 
revolving in opposite directions. These rollers are covered with pumice 
stone, aud do the work completely and expeditiously, which, till lately, 
was done by hand at great expense of labour. The “coating” and the 
“rubbing” being repeated four, and, in the case of heavy goods, five 
times, the cloth is ready for the “painters.” The “ painting rooms” 
contain machines similar to the “ mills ;” but instead of the drum they 
have a roller at each end, over which the cloth passes slowly, and a man 
at each side supplies the paint, meeting each other half way. Dependant 
partly on the colours, and partly on the article to be produced, is the 
number of coats of paint to be applied. Sometimes two will be sufficient, 
at other times four are necessary. The last coat receives several applica- 
tions of a peculiar elastic enamel, composed chiefly of copal varnish, to 
protect it from the action of the atmosphere. 

At this stage of the process the edges of the cloth are rough and have 
to be trimmed, and the seam by which the ends are sown together has 
to be cut. This is done by a machine called the “ Guillotine,’ and we 
now follow the cloth to the “grainer.” This latter, and to the ordinary 
leather cloth, finishing process, is done by a remarkably beautiful iron 
machine, having two rollers, the upper one being of polished iron cut 
obliquely on the surface, the other one of paper. Between these two 
rollers the cloth passes twice and receives its external resemblance to 
morocco leather. There are six machines used for this finishing process, 
and others for embossing, from the small diamond to the large medieval 
pattern. The latter consumes much more time in passing through the 
machines. The cloth is now stamped with the trade-mark, labelled, 
and rolled up ready for transmission to the warehouse in Cannon street 
west. 

On locking at the pieces when finished, one is struck by the extreme 
cleanness of the inner side after passing through so many soiling opera- 
tions ; this is owing to the practical skill with which the men handle 
the cloth, and to the agility with which they remove it from the several 


10 THE MANUFACTURE OF LEATHER CLOTH. 


machines, and carry it to the drying-rooms. While watching the pro- 
cess, we thought that in many respects, it was similar to the tanning 
with sumach, from the leaves and stalks of the Rhus coriaria, by means 
of which skins are made into morocco leather. As the leather cloth can 
be made permanently soft and elastic by the oily matter combining with 
the texture of the cloth, as it does with the fibres of the skin, the 
‘Imitation is complete and successful. 

There is another room in this establishment, especially interesting to 
the artist, where the cloth is printed in gold and colours, in designs 
which are really chaste and beautiful, and which, when used for the 
furniture and hangings, adorn rooms with something of oriental 
splendour. Here, too, there are table-covers with floral borders, rich in 
colour and choice in grouping, with centre pieces, which, as specimens 
of decorative art, are very effective. Many of these are displayed at 
the International Exhibition, and, we doubt not, excite both surprise and 
admiration. 

The mixing room is a kind of sanctum of the manager’s, and we sup- 
pose that from the skill with which the colours are prepared arises much 
of the excellence of the company’s manufacture. In a room adjoining 
there are sixteen colour-grinding mills, constructed on the American 
principle, and worked by machinery, as in, indeed, almost everything on 
the premises seems to be. The machine which sets all in motion is a 
high pressure double-cylinder engine of 50-horse power, made by Woods, 
of Halifax. There are three immense Cornish boilers by Hill, of Hey- 
wood, which have been tested to a water pressure of 130 lbs. to the square 
inch, and represented 60-horse power. One of these is sufficient to work 
the engine by day and heat the drying rooms by night. We observed 
that, by the generosity of the company, a part of their premises had been 
given for the use of the 5th Essex Rifle Volunteers ; the drill room and 
armoury are magnificent apartments, such as are seldom seen devoted to 
such a purpose. 

A writer in a very useful work on the “Manufactures of Great 
Britain,” asks somewhat triumphantly, “ What substitute could be found 
for leather 2—a substance at once durable and elastic, affording protection 
from wet and cold, capable of being formed into innumerable useful 
articles, and susceptible of a high degree of ornament, and supplying 
lining to our carriages and covers to our books.” This book was pub- 
lished in 1848, under the direction of the “ Committee of General 
Literature and Education,’ and now in 1862, we have a substitute 
answering all the requirements here specified. 

As to protection from wet and cold, the whole American army is 
equipped with leather cloth in the shape of capes, leggings, and knap- 
sacks, our upholsterers can vouch for its durability and elasticity. The 
useful articles into which it can be made, and the degree of ornamenta- 
tion it can receive, are becoming every day more manifest. We line our 


ESSENTIAL OILS FROM THE GENERA EUCALYPTUS, ETC. 11 


railway, street carriages, and our hats with it ; and as to our books, 
if they are not covered with it they ought to be. Truly our progress in 
- art and science is defying all prediction as to what we may not accom- 
plish, and rendering obsolete many of our familiar proverbs, and none 
more strikingly so than that “ there is nothing like leather.”—‘ Mechanics’ 
Magazine.’ 


ESSENTIAL OILS FROM THE GENERA EUCALYPTUS AND 
MELALEUCA, SUITABLE FOR GENERAL APPLICATION IN 
THE ARTS. 


These oils, consisting of nineteen varieties, have properties which fit 
them for the manufacture of varnishes and for illuminating purposes, 
and the trees and shrubs from which they are derived are so widely dis- 
tributed, and obtainable in such quantities, as to render it probable that 
the oils can be produced at a cost enabling them to compéte commer- 
cially with similar products of other countries. 

Eucalyptus amygdalina (Tasmanian Peppermint, Dandenong Bastard 
Peppermint).—The tree, from the leaves of which this oil is obtained, 
occurs chiefly in the southern districts of the Colony of Victoria, and is 
sommon in Tasmania ; it occupies open and undulating forest land, and 
s always interspersed with other trees, and is one of the least valuable 
of the Eucalypti, considered in reference to its timber. On the other 
hand, its yield of essential oil is astonishingly plentiful, 100 Ibs. of the 
freshly-gathered leaves, inclusive of the small branchlets to which they 
are attached, giving upwards of three pints, imperial measure. The oil 
exists ready formed in the leaf, and the cells containing it may be seen in 
great numbers on examination by transmitted light. 

This oil is a thin transparent fluid of a pale yellow colour, possessed 
of a pungent odour, resembling that of oil of lemons, but coarser and 
stronger ; its taste is rather mild and cooling, producing an after sensa- 
tion in the mouth resembling camphor, with something of its bitterness. 
Its specific gravity at 60° F.is0°881. It boils freely at 330° ; but as the 
evaporation proceeds, the mercury rises rapidly to 370°, where it remains 
almost stationary. Cooled to 0° F., it at first becomes turbid, and then 
clearing, deposits a white flocculent substance, which melts at + 27° F. 
Suffered to evaporate spontaneously, it proves to be somewhat less 
volatile than oil of turpentine. Like other essential oils, it leaves no 
stain on paper, and in shallow vessels it absorbs oxygen, giving rise to a 
residual resinous matter. When brought in contact with iodine no ex- 
plosion ensues, even when the temperature is raised ; but a dark-coloured 
solution is created, which, when heated, emits peculiar variegated 


12 ESSENTIAL OILS FROM THE 


vapours, in which the colours yellow, red, violet, green, and blue are’ 
very beautifully visible, particularly in bright sunlight. 

The essential oil of FH. amygdalina is soluble in all proportions in tur- 
pentine, both fat and drying oils, benzine, naphtha, ether, chloroform, and 
absolute alcohol. Spirits of wine also dissolves it pretty freely ; and 
water, on being agitated with an excess, takes up 1'1 per cent. by weight, 
or two drachms to the imperial pint. 

This oil, when exposed in a shallow vessel, is ignited with great diffi- 
culty, by means of a burning match of wood or paper: in this way it 
cannot be made to take fire by contact with a flame until it has become 
quite hot. When it does burn under these circumstances, it produces a 
bright flame, with much smoke. When burned in a kerosene lamp, it 
gives a flame very nearly as luminous as that from American 
kerosene, but somewhat yellower, and inclined to smoke: a slight 
addition to the height of the chimney obviates this defect. The solvent 
powers of this and other oils from the genera Eucalyptus and Melaleuca 
constitute one of their most important characteristics, which will, doubt- 
less, be turned to account in the preparation of varnishes and lacquers, 
provided the cost of production does not exclude their use for such 
purposes. 

To enable manufacturers and technical men to estimate the capa- 
bilities of this as compared with the liquids usually employed for dis- 
solving resinous substances, an extended series of experiments have been 
undertaken, the results of which are embodied in the subjoined table. 
In reference to this table, it is necessary to state that the exact satu- 
rating quantity of some of the substances there specified is obtained with 
much difficulty and loss of time, because the solution gradually in- 
creases in viscidity, while the solvent power of the oil proportionally 
diminishes ; but in every case the resin undergoing investigation was 
added until a portion of it remained for two three days unacted upon. 
It will also be seen that the solutions were effected at ordinary tem- 
peratures, and the results produced by the action of different degrees of 
heat are not included in the category of facts, because to have done so 
would have extended this portion of the inquiry beyond all reasonable 
limits. Those persons who are conversant with this subject will, it is 
believed, be able to deduce from whatis here stated the information 
they require. In those cases in which only part of a resin is taken up 
by the essential oil, the determination of the quantity dissolved has been 
made by evaporating carefully a measured portion of the solution to 
dryness, and weighing the residue, after heating it until decomposition 
had just commenced. 

Mr. Hugh Gray, of Ballaarat, exhibits an oil distilled by him from one 
of the Eucalypti, which Dr. Mueller believes to be the E. amygdalina, 
judging from leaves of the tree forwarded to him. In yield this tree is 
very inferior to that which has just been described, 100 Ibs. of the leaves 


GENERA EUCALYPTUS AND MELALEUCA. 13 


in the dry state giving 31 ounces 2 drachms of oil; in other respects 
being a close resemblance to it. The specific gravity of this sample is 
0-907 ; it boils at 320°, the mercury rising to 385°. <A coniparison of 
this with the preceding oil suggests the idea that a portion of the volatile 
contents of the leaves may have been lost by the drying process to which 
they were subjected. 


TABLE SHOWING THE SOLUBILITY OF RESINOUS SUBSTANCES, AT 
ORDINARY TEMPERATURES, IN THE ESSENTIAL OIL of Eucalyptus 


amygdalina. 
Number 
of ounces 
Name of Resinous avoirdupois 
Substance. soluble in SISuREMAS. 
1 imperial 
pint. 
Camphorety-ays) sats 23°3 Thin, transparent, almost colour- 


less ; solution perfectly saturated 
at about 70° F. 
Rosine FAS 3 Zit 20°3 Oily solution. 


Viasticw ates sit bw, dest: 17°5 Perfect solution, very viscid. 
Victorian Sandarac 116 Beautiful clear yellow solution, very 
(from the Cailitris viscid. 
Verucosa) 
Blemmsoree Moh 10°2 Oily solution. 
Sandarac (ordinary) . 73 Fine viscid solution. 
Kaurie Gum _ (from 73 Beautiful clear solution, exceedingly 
New Zealand) viscid. This resin dissolves with 
great readiness in the essential oil. 
Dammar (ordinary) . 73 Fine solution, as thick as castor oil. 
Asplalty Epes LL os 58 Perfect solution, almost opaque, and 
very thick. 
Grass-tree Gum (from 52 This resin is not completely soluble 
Victoria) in amygdalina ; to obtain a satu- 


rated solution, it must be used 
greatly in excess. The solution is 
oily, and of a beautiful transparent 
red colour. 


Dragon’sblood. . . 4:3 Beautiful solution, obtained by using 
a moderate excess of the resin. 
IBEHZOIN Ee eae ct ie 28 A portion only soluble ; the concen- 


trated solution is obtained by 
treating a large excess ; yellowish 
oily liquid, very clear. 

Copal (Sample No. 1) 1:94 |Clear, viscid, colourless solution, 

Ditto (Sample No. 2) 1:33 some samples more soluble than 
others; in all cases, a few clear 
gelatinous particles sink to the 
bottom, and remain undissolved 
even on dilution. The solution 
takes place very rapidly. 


14 ESSENTIAL OILS FROM THE 


SoLuBILITY oF Restnous SuBsTances—Continued. 


Number 
of ounces 
Name of Resinous avoirdupois 
Substance. soluble in Remarks. 
1 imperial 
pint. 
NING SG bore 1:74 |About one quarter of the amber 


soluble ; it must be used in excess 
to obtain a concentrated solution. 
PASAT Wet eee lence 1:45 | This resin is soluble only in part, 
(about 67 per cent.), the remainder 
gelatinizes and remains for a long 
timein suspension. These particles, 
although they swell very much, 
do not lose their granular form 
nearly so much as those which 
form the insoluble portion of 
copal. 

ellaciin sp heisrvete. Ce 1:16 | Obtained by digesting a very large 
excess, reduced to a fine powder; a 
small portion only of the lac being 
soluble, and that with great diffi- 
culty. The colour of the solution 
is pale orange. 

Caoutchouc . .. . 0-73 =| A perfect solution, but very viscid. 

BeeSWaxte sr. 073 |Slightly turbid. The essential oil 
is capable of liquifying many times 
this quantity, but the turbidity of 
the solution increases very much, 
and it becomes thicker, ultimately 
refusing to flow. 

Gutta Percha . . . 0-0 Digestion for several days produced 
no effect. 


Eucalyptus oleosa (Mallee Scrub).—This species of Eucalyptus fur- 
nishes an essential oil which undoubtedly ranks first in importance 
amongst those submitted to the jurors. The interest which attaches to 
it, arises from the fact that greater facilities are offered for collecting the 
leaves from which it is distilled than is the case with those furnishing 
the other oils forwarded to the Exhibition. 

The £. oleosa covers the greater part of the vast tracts of level 
country towards the north-west of Victoria, forming, with the species EZ. 
dumoso (Cunn.), and E. socialis (F. Mueller), the dense masses of vegetation 
known as Mallee Scrub. Its dimensions require it to be ranked as a 
shrub, as it rarely exceeds twelve feet in height; but from the circum- 
stance that the individuals of the species are clothed with foliage to the 
ground, and often grow so closely together as to form impenetrable 
masses of vegetation, an exceedingly large quantity of the leaves can be 
procured in a short space of time, without moving far from one locality 


GENERA EUCALYPTUS AND MELALEUCA, 15 


in search of them; and this supply could be maintained from day to day, 
as required for distillation, almost without limit, 

Besides the favourable influence which the shrubby character of this 
plant exerts upon the cost of the raw material, the manufacturer of this 
oil upon a large scale would derive great benefit from the water-carriage 
which the River Murray furnishes for the transport of produce, and the 
constant and peculiarly abundant supply of water indispensable for pur- 
poses connected with the distillation and refrigeration of the oil. 

The River Murray, in Victoria alone, is for about 270 miles of its 
course covered on its southern bank with Mallee Scrub, receding in some 
cases to a short distance inland, whilst in others it comes down to the 
water's edge. Under conditions so favourable, it is certain that the oil 
can be produced at a very inconsiderable cost. 

The physical and chemical properties of the essential oil of E. oleosa, 
do not differ materially from the preceding. It is a thin mobile hquid 
of a pale yellow colour ; mild in taste as compared with others of this 
class, the flavour being camphoraceous, and also suggestive of oil of tur- 
pentine in a slight degree. 

Its odour, which is distinctly mint-like, is not so agreeable as that of 
E. amygdalina. The yield of the shrub, though inferior to that of the 
Dandenog Peppermint is still very large, 100 lbs. of the green leaves and 
branches giving 20 ounces of oil. Its specific gravity is 0911, and it 
boils freely at 320°, and temperature gradually increasing until it 
remains stationary at 350°. 

Burned in a kerosene lamp, this volatile fluid produces a fine luminous 
flame, superior in colour to that emitted by the preceding oil under 
similar circumstances, and totally devoid of smoke or smell. It is an 
excellent solvent for resins, but accurate determinations of the quantities 
of such substances taken up by it have not been made. 

Its habitat extends from the Murray to the south of Lake Hindmarsh, 
and to Spencer and St. Vincent’s Gulfs, in South Australia ; it also 
occurs in the vicinity of Lake Torrens, and in the neighbourhood of the 
Darling and Murrumbidgee. It is essentially a desert species, and is not 
found in Tasmania. 

Eucalyptus sideroxlyon (Ironbark).—In productiveness this tree ranks 
next in the series, 16 ounces 7 drachms having been obtained from 
100 lbs. of the leaves alone. This amount should be taken as only 
approximate, for the green material, closely packed, having to be trans- 
ported for a considerable distance, had suffered fermentation, and, owing 
to the heat evolved, to an extent certain to have acted disadvantageously 
upon the yield of oil. 

The specific gravity of iron bark oil is 0.923; it boils at 310°, the 
mercury afterwards rising to 352°. In taste and smell it closely re- 
sembles that from mallee scrub. It is a thin, limpid, very pale yellow 


16 ESSENTIAL OILS FROM THE 


fluid, igniting with great difficulty in open vessels, but burning well and 
with a dense white luminous flame in the lamp. The ironbark tree 
occurs on barren ranges, and is frequent in the vicinity of the gold-fields. 

Eucalyptus goniocalyx (one of the White Gums).—The yield from the 
leaves of this tree is not so copious as that from E. amygdalina, although 
still very considerable ; 100 Ibs. of fresh leaves give a product measuring 
16 ounces. This oil is of a very pale yellow colour, with a pungent 
penetrating odour, rather disagreeable ; its taste is diffusible, strong, and 
exceedingly unpleasant. Its specific gravity is 0918 ; it boils at 3069, 
after which the mercury rises to 346°. For illuminating purposes this 
oil is admirably adaped ; it produces a brilliant white flame, superior in 
intensity and colour to that from the best American kerosene ; its con- 
sumption in one of these lamps does not cause any smoke or smell. 
This tree is scattered over the mountain ranges of Victoria, but is not 
known in Tasmania. It is in some places rather abundant, being found 
from the Buffalo Ranges to the Mitchell River, in Gipps Land ; also in 
the district of the Upper Yarra. 

Eucalyptus globulus (Blue Gum).—Two specimens of this volatile 
oil are shown in the Exhibition; No. 1 is from the leaves of 
young trees, and No. 2 from those advanced in growth. The oil cells in 
the younger leaves are remarkable for their size, but a larger yield of oil 
is obtainable from those more perfectly matured ; this amounts to 125 
fluid ounces from 100 lbs. of freshly-gathered material. The essential 
oil from the blue gum must be regarded as one of the most important 
of this series, on account of its solvent and illuminating properties, and 
also in consequence of the large demand for blue gum timber, which 
occasions the felling of many trees of this kind, so that in some localities 
leaves of the E. globulus, which are utterly wasted at present, are to be had 
in great abundance. This oil is athin limpid fluid, of a very pale yellow 
tint, almost colourless in the case of the sample from the young leaves ; 
its odour is like that of cajeput, to which all the oils from the Victorian 
Eucalypti have more or less resemblance. In E. globulus the camphor- 
like smell predominates ; its taste is not so disagreeable as the preceding, 
and more cooling and mint-like. 

The specific gravity of this oil is 0°917 ; it boils more readily than 
the £. amygdalina—viz., at 300°, the mercury rising only to 350°. The 
sample from the young leaves differs slightly in these respects. Reduced 
in temperature to 0° F., it remained clear, and deposited no solid matter. 
In contact with iodine, this oil acts like amygdalina, and it is equally 
difficult to ignite in open vessels. In a lamp it gives a dense white 
flame, superior to kerosene, without smoke or smell. Its solvent capa- 
bilities are detailed in the following table. It is worthy of remark, that 
it dissolves grass-tree resin perfectly, in which it differs materially from 
EB. amygdalina. 


GENERA EUCALYPTUS AND MELALEUCA. ef 


TABLE SHOWING THE SOLUBILITY OF RESINOUS SUBSTANCES AT 
ORDINARY TEMPERATURES, IN EssenTIAL O1t oF Eucalyptus globulus. 


Number 
of ounces 
Name of Resinous avoirdupois 
Substance. soluble in Remarks. 
1 imperial 
pint. 


Campliorys.. < *. 145 Thin solution, perfectly saturated at 
about 70° F. 


Mestre Sorclb 2e(. by: 12°7 Fine solution, easily effected, of the 
consistency of honey. 

KaurieGum (from New; 80 This resin dissolves with great readi- 

Zealand) ness ; the solution is very viscid, 

flowing with difficulty. 

Sandarac (ordinary) . 73 Oily solution. This resin is taken up 
more slowly than the preceding. 

Grass-bree 9757). 3S}. 65 This gum completely dissolves, giv- 
inga deep red viscid liquid, almost 
opaque. 

Asphalt, 9209 hh. LAA 65 A thick opaque solution. Itis very 


probable that the oil would take 
a greater quantity than that here 
given, but it is not possible to see 
when the asphalt ceases to dissolve. 
Copal (sample No. 2) . 1:02 | The resin in this case must be used 
in excess. The soluble part of it 
gives, with the oil, a perfectly 
colourless oily solution. By con- 
tinued digestion for several weeks, 
so considerable a portion of the 
gelatinized residue is taken up, 
beyond the amount given in the 
table, as to make E. globulus ap- 
pears to be the best solvent of copal. 
Je) TUDI TCS ie sar rae Me 0°81 | Thisresin behaves in amannersome- 
whatresembling that just described 
save that the gelatinized insoluble 
portion retains its pulverulent 
form, although very much swelled 
and softened. About 55 per cent. 
of anime is dissolved in this vola- 
tile oil. 
el aCe eee 013 | Pale, bright, amber-coloured solu- 
tion, very thin ; it can only be 
obtained by digesting a large excess 
of the finely-powdered resin. 
Guitia<Percha 3.02, \. 0:0 No solvent action. 


Eucalyptus corymbosa (Bloodwood).—The leaves from which this 
sample of essential oil was produced had suffered decay to even a 
VOL, III. B 


18 ESSENTIAL OJLS FROM THE 


greater extent than those used in the preparation of the oil of the Iron- 
bark tree, and it is believed that this circumstance gave rise to the 
formation of certain resinous matters which passed over the products of 
distillation, increasing in the form of minute grains, the bulk of the oil. 
The yield from 100 lbs. of leaves was therefore as follows :—pure 
limpid oil 9 ounces 3 drachms, oil containing resinous matter in suspen- 
sion 6 ounces 2 drachms ; of the latter fifty per cent. of its volume may 
be estimated as consisting of solid matter, upon which assumption the 
total yield may be approximatively stated as 12 ounces 4 drachms. 

In odour this sample of oil differs greatly from all the oils of this 
class, so much so that it could hardly be recognised as of Eucalyptine 
origin. Its smell in relation to the others is much fainter and milder, 
and while partaking slightly of the lemon odour of the E. amygdalina, 
combined with a trace of attar of rose, it wants altogether the charac- 
teristic pungency and freshness of its congeners. 

The taste of this oil is slightly bitter, prodacing the usual after-taste 
of peppermint, and irritating the throat ; but it is not so pungent and 
diffusible as many others. It is a colourless and limpid fluid, and its 
specific gravity, which is below the average, is 0°881 at 60° F. It is 
found along the North-eastern boundary line of this colony and extends 
thence into New South Wales. 

Eucalyptus fabrorum (Stringybark)—What has been said of the 
facilities offered for obtaining leaves from the Blue Gum is equally 
applicable to those from the Stringybark ; the cost of such would not 
be great if the apparatus for distillation were erected in the vicinity of 
saw mills or where the wood splitter prosecutes his business. The 
Stringybark has a much wider range than many of the Australian 
Eucalypti, and is moreover quite gregarious, forming the main bulk of 
the timber in the barren mountainous districts; it is known from 
Spencer’s Gulf to New South Wales, and extends also into Tasmania. 

The essential oil from E#. fabrorum is a transparent reddish-yellow 
fluid of a mild odour, as compared with goniocalyx and globulus, and 
much less disagreeable. In taste it resembles the other Eucalyptine 
oils, but is rather more irritating in the mouth, and also distinctly bitter 
though less unpleasant. Its specific gravity is 0:899, and its boiling 
points are respectively 340° and 382°; cooled to 0° F. it becomes 
turbid and opalescent. It will be perceived that this phenomenon, 
which also takes place with E. amygdalina, harmonises with the high 
boiling points which they both possess, whilst globulus which boils 
as low as 300° does not separate any frozen portion when cooled to 
zero. 

With iodine this oil behaves as does amygdalina. In the lamp it 
gives a fine flame, but one not quite so white as that from E. goniocalyx 
and E. globulus. 100 lbs. of freshly-gathered leaves from the stringybark 


GENERA EUCALYPTUS AND MELALEUCA. 19 


tree yields 8 ounces of oil. Its solvent properties, with a selection of 
resinous bodies, will be found noted in the subjoined table : 


TABLE SHOWING THE SOLUBILITY oF RESINOUS SUBSTANCES AT 
ORDINARY TEMPERATURES, IN EssentTIAL O1L oF Eucalyptus 


Jabrorum. 
Number 
of ounces 
Name of Resinous avoirdupois 
Substance. soluble in Remarks. 
1 imperial 
pint. 


Camphon. 2 4. 21°8 A perfectly saturated solution, thin 
and clear ; temperature about 70°. 


Mastichiar a faioyr. W: 16:4 Pale yellow solution, clearandbright, 
of the consistence of oil. 
Sandarac (ordinary) . 10:9 Rather more viscid than preceding. 
Kaurie Gum (from 10:2 Beautiful transparent solution, ex- 
New Zealand) ceedingly viscid. 
Grass-tree. . . . . 76 This resin is totally soluble in the 


essential oil of E. fabrorum, pro- 
ducing a liquid of a deep red 
colour, almost black. 

J TENN) bole ene 1:09 | Golden yellow solution, a portion 
only of the resin being soluble 
(about 75 per cent.), the insoluble 
being much swelled and gelati- 
nized, 

Sirellelacwe se ee 0°98 | Dark amber-coloured liquid, only 
obtained when a large excess of 
the resin is employed. The undis- 
solved portion softens and agluti- 
nates together, adhering fast to 
the sides of the vessel used for the 
digestion. 

Copal (sample No. 2) . 0:76 | This resin behaves as anime does ; 
about 50 per cent. is soluble in 
the volatile oil. 

Gutta Percha . . . 0-0 No solvent action. 


Eucalyptus fissilis (Messmate)—This oil bears a strong resemblance 
to the preceding ; its yield is the same—viz., 8 ounces from 100 lbs. of 
leaves. Its colour isa pale reddish yellow, and its smell is mild and 
rather agreeable, like fabrorum. In taste it is also very similar, attack- 
ing the throat. Its specific gravity is 0-903 at 60° F., and it boils at 350°, 
the temperature rising until it reaches 386°. 

The essential oil of E. jissilis is a good solvent for resins, but no 
exact quantative determinations have been made with it. The messmate 
tree occurs under the same conditions as stringybark. 

Eucalyptus odorata (Peppermint).—The peppermint tree extends from 

B 2 


20 ESSENTIAL OILS FROM THE 


New England through Australia Felix as far as Spencer’s Gulf, is not 
known in Tasmania, forms in open reaches park-like scenery ; but, con- 
trary to what might have been anticipated, the quantity of oil fur- 
nished by the leaves of this species of the Eucalyptus is not large; the 
two samples forwarded differ so much in this and other respects, that a 
brief description of each will be necessary. The specifie gravity of the 
oil marked No. 1 is only 0:889, and its boiling points are respectively 
335° and 390 ; its consumption in a lamp does not give rise to quite so 
brilliant and white a flame as that from good kerosene. The yield is 
small, being only 5} drachms from 100 lbs. of the fresh leaves, while in 
the case of No. 2, a similar quantity of leaves yielded 4 ounces 1} 
drachms. This discrepancy is not easily accounted tor, and is possibly 
due to accidental circumstances. Both samples of oil have a pale yel- 
lowish colour, inclining slightly to green; they are limpid fluids, and 
diffuse an aromatic smell in which one resembling that of camphor pre- 
dominates. The taste is like that of fabrorum, but milder. The specific 
gravity of the sample No. 2 of this essential oil is 0'922. It boils at 
315°, and as the evaporation proceeds the temperature rises to 356°. It 
is acted upon by iodine in a manner similar to amygdalina. In a kero- 
sene lamp it gives a very brilliant white light, and burns exceedingly 
well. 

Eucalyptus Woollsit (Woollybut).—The tree, from the leaves of which 
this oil is distilled, has but a limited range in Victoria; it is met with 
in the north-eastern portion of Gipps Land, and accompanies the blood- 
wood into New South Wales. The sample of oil submitted to the Jurors 
exhibits the remarkable property of imparting an indelible transparent 
stain to paper, indicating that a resin is probably held by it in solution. 
This opinion is strengthened by the unusually high specific gravity which 
it possesses—namiely, 0°940 ; and by the fact that its boiling points are 
also much above the average, being 380° and 420° respectively. The 
taste of this essential oil is aromatic, and cooling, with but little pun- 
gency ; it has a fragrant carmphoraceous odour, and an oily consistency. 
The yield from 100 Ibs. of leaves (those used having suffered slightly 
from close packing) is 3 ounces 3$ drachms. In a kerosene lamp this 
fluid gives a good bright clear flame, but somewhat inferior to kerosene 
in intensity. 

Eucalyptus rostrata (Red Gum).—Like that from the Peppermint, this 
oilis represented by two samples, which differ chiefly in colour ; that of 
No. 1 being pale yellow, while No. 2 is of a reddish-amber tint. In 
smell it is hardly distinguishable from odorata, and the same may be 
said of its taste. The yield from 100 lbs. fresh leaves of the red gum is 
not large, as compared with many of the oils above described, amounting 
to 1 ounce 4}. drachms. The specific gravity of this oil is 0-918 ; its boil- 
ing point is the lowest of any, being 280°, the mercury afterwards 
became stationary at 358°. A portion which had been rapidly evapo- 


GENERA EUCALYPTUS AND MELALEUCA. 91 


rated to about one-fourth its bulk, almost gelatinised when reduced to 
zero, Without losing its transparency. This oil burns very well. 

The red gum has a wider range than any other of the Australian 
timber trees, being equally common within and beyond the tropics, and 
is usually found on the banks of rivers ; it does not occur in Tasmania. 

Eucalyptus viminalis (Manna Gum).—A_ pale yellowish-green oil, the 
smell of which is disagreeable, but not very strong or penetrating. In 
taste it resembles odorata. Its specific gravity is 0921, and its boiling 
points 318° and 360°. The yield is the least of any, being only 5} 
drachms from 100 lbs. fresh leaves. It burns very well in a lamp. 

This Eucalyptus is to be met with on grassy reaches, often interspersed. 
with odorata ; it is found also in New South Wales, South Australia, and 
Tasmania. 

Melaleuca linarifolia.—The extraordinary large yield of oil which 
the leaves of this shrub supply, as compared with the quantities obtain- 
able from others of the tea-tree genus, naturally places it at the head of 
the list ; 100 lbs. of fresh branchlets and leaves giving a product measuring 
28 fluid ounces. It presents the appearance of a very light straw- 
coloured mobile fluid, of rather a pleasant odour resembling the oil of 
cajeput, but less aromatic and pungent, and possessed of a singularly 
agreeable taste—in which respect it differs from most of the other oils— 
strongly suggestive of both mace and nutmeg, followed by the usual 
mint-like aftertaste, common in a greater or less degree to the mrytaceous 
oils. The specific gravity of the liquid under consideration is 0:903, the 
lower of its two boiling points is unusually high, being 348°, while 
the interval between it and the temperature at which the mercury ceases 
to rise, is very much narrower than the average, comprising only 21°. 

This essential oil burns well in the lamp, as far as colour is con- 
cerned, but its illuminating powers appear to be slightly inferior to 
good kerosene. This shrub is restricted to East Gipps Land and New 
South Wales, where it forms large bushes along some of the rivers. 

Melaleuca curvifola.—The product obtained from the distillation of 
the leaves and branchlets of this plant is of an oily consistency, and 
amber colour ; and, like E. Woollsii, leaves a transparent stain on paper, 
which peculiarity is probably due to a similar cause. Its specific 
gravity is considerable, being 0-938 ; it boils at 364° and 508°, which are 
remarkably high, being each of them upwards of 40° above the average - 
boiling points of the eucalyptine oils, thus maintaining its similarity 
to the E. Woollsii. The yield from 100 Ibs. freshly-gathered material 
is 5 ounces 74 drachms. The taste of this oil is not disagreeable, and 
resembles cajuput very closely. It is a good solvent for resins. 

This species of tea-tree is found on the coast of Victoria, where it 
sometimes forms fine umbrageous trees ; it also grows in desert regions, 
where it is of a scrubby habit. It seems to prefer a saline soil. 

Melaleuca erisifolia (Common Tea-tree of the Colonists)—The shrub 


22 ESSENTIAL OILS FROM THE 


from which this oil is extracted is very plentiful, and widely distri- 
buted. It inhabits vast tracts of swampy and often sub-saline country, 
and gives rise to the term “Tea-tree Swamp ;” it is remarkable for 
growing actually in water. It is also found in Tasmania and New 
South Wales, seldom exceeding the size of bushes, and penetrates along 
the watercourses into the ranges. It could be collected in very large 
quantities without difficulty. The minuteness of its leaves renders it 
necessary to introduce the smaller branches with them into the still, so 
that the yield of oil, which amounted to 5 ounces from 100 Ibs. of fresh 
material, is, therefore, much less than it would be, could the leaves be 
operated on alone, as they do not constitute more than about a fourth 
of the weight of the whole. This remark is true of many of the plants 
of this genus, but more especially so of the ericifolia, as its leaves are 
smaller than those of any other, samples of the oil of which have been 
forwarded to the Exhibition; it may also help to account for the 
very great difference in the quantity obtained by each of the exhi- 
bitors. 

The oil bears a striking resemblance to the cajeput of commerce, 
obtained from the Melaleuca leucadendron of the Moluccas. The colour 
of the product from this species of tea-tree isa very pale yellow ; its smell 
is like cajeput, but somewhat less agreeable ; its taste is bitter and 
camphoraceous, followed by a cool sensation, like that produced by 
peppermint, but the similarity to camphor is less perceptible, both in 
smell and taste, than it is in cajeput. This volatile oil is thin, but not 
as mobile as others ; its specific gravity is 0°899 to 0:902, at 60° F., 
and it boils freely at about 300°, the mercury rising to 362°. In 
shallow vessels it is as difficult to ignite as any of the preceding oils from 
the genus Eucalyptus, but in a common kerosene lamp it burns 
very well, with a dense white flame, giving rise to neither smoke nor 
smell. 

When iodine is brought into contact with it, at ordinary tempera- 
tures, reddish fumes are perceptible, without any explosion ; by raising 
the temperature, variegated vapours are emitted similar to those already 
described. 

It is worthy of remark, that the distillation of cajeput from the 
leaves of the Melaleuca leucadendron is conducted in a manner differing 
from that which has been pursued in the production of the Victorian 
oils, as in that case the leaves of the plant are allowed to heat in sacks, 
and are subsequently macerated in water, and fermented for a short time 
before the distillation is commenced. The object of this treatment is 
probably to increase the yield, and facilitate the escape of the oil ; but 
it should be remembered that the productiveness of the M. leucadendron 
is not large—viz., scarcely three drachms from two sacks full of leaves ; 
while the yield from i. ericifolia, and one or two other species, must be 
at least from twenty to one hundred times as great. It will be seen from 


_GENERA EUCALYPTUS AND MELALEUCA. 23 


the following table that this oil is not inferior to any of the preceding as 
a solvent of resinous substances. 


TABLE SHOWING THE SOLUBILITY OF RESINOUS SUBSTANCES AT 
ORDINARY TEMPERATURES, IN EssentTiAL O1n oF Melaleuca 


ericifolia. 
Number 
: of oun 
Ss avolradupols 
SEC rae colabley in Remarks. 
1 imperial 
pint. 
Wamiphor yy. jye ure A 18:9 Thin limpid solution, perfectly satu- 
rated at about 70°. 
MASTCn 6 2eagsd: GNESI 153 Very soluble, forming a viscid, clear 
solution. 
Kauri (from New Zea- 10:2 This resin dissolves with readiness ; 
land) its solution is very viscid, and of 
a pale, clear, reddish-yellow colour. 
Sandarac (ordinary) . 8°7 Pertect solution, somewhat thinner 


than the preceding, but thicker 
than that of mastic. 

Grasstreey b. j/ia- tite 6:5 This resin is totally soluble in the 
oil of MW. ericifolia, giving rise to a 
liquid of a very deep red colour, 
thicker than oil. 

Aime nS A Wass tis 1:02 | This resin is not totally soluble at 

ordinary temperatures; a little 

more than half of the quantity 

used was taken up to produce a 

solution of the strength indicated. 

The undissolved portion passes 

into a very bulky gelatinous state. 

nel lace liereb cin chee 0°95 | Theportion ofshell-lac which istaken 

up by this solvent forms with it a 

transparent, deep amber-coloured 

fluid, of the consistence of oil ; to 
obtain it, the resin must be used in 
excess, and ina finely divided state. 

Copal (Sample No. 2) 0°82 | Gum copal is rapidly acted upon by 

this volatile oil, but only a por- 

tion enters into perfect solution 

(about 56 per cent.), the remainder 

remains suspended in a very gela- 

tinous, transparent state. 

Gutta Percha ;. . . 0:0 No solvent action. 


Melaleuca Wilsonii—The productiveness of this shrub is tolerably 
great, bearing in mind the fact already stated, that a large portion of the 
material weighed into the still consists of stems and twigs, which, 
although they appear to contain a little oil, as is the case with all the 


24 : ESSENTIAL OILS FROM THE 


plants of this genus, must yet be regarded as relatively unproductive 
material. From 100 lbs. of the fresh green material four ounces of a 
pale yellow oil are obtained. In smell it is like curvifolia ; its taste is 
very diffusible and pungent. Its specific gravity is 0:925. 

This "plant has been found hitherto only in the vicinity of Lake 
Hindmarsh, and the Tatiara country, and the River Wimmera. It is a 
desert species. 

Melaleuca uncinata.—This plant is essentially a desert species ; it 
ranges from Victoria across the continent to Western Australia, and 
forms a slender and graceful shrub. The colour of its essential oil is 
green, being in this respect exactly similar to cajeput, but in taste it 
resembles more the Eucalypti. In smell it is like V ericifolia, with an 
addition of peppermint. The yield from 100 lbs. of the plant is approx- 
imately 1 ounce 6 drachms. 

Melaleuca genistifolia—100 lbs. of this shrub yield 1 ounce 2 drachms- 
of a pale greenish yellow oil, mild in odour and taste; but both cha- 
racteristic of the tea-tree oils. The quantity submitted for investigation 
was not sufficiently large to admit of determining its specific gravity and 
boiling points. The J. genistifolia accompanies the M. linarifolia, 
but is rare in Victoria. 

Melaleuca squarrosa.—This oil is also coloured green. It resembles 
that of uncinata and ericifolia, but its taste is disagreeable ; and, while it 
retains in this respect the character peculiar to the tea-tree oils, its 
flavour is somewhat vapid. The yield from M. squarrosa is small, being 
only 5 drachms from 100 lbs. of the shrub. 

This is one of the most common of the tea-tree shrubs, being fre- 
quently found with ericifolia in tea-tree swamps, though, unlike it, it 
assumes in deep forest dells the dimensions of a large tree. 

Before passing from the consideration of the essential oils of this 
class, it is desirable to make some observations bearing upon their tech- 
nical importance and general characteristics. 

The similarity in the properties of the oils which have been described 
is so great, that the investigations made respecting them have failed to 
establish individual peculiarities, sufficiently marked to enable the che- 
mist to distinguish with certainty between them, and tell by the exami- 
nrtion of a sample the source from which it was obtained. In a practical 
point of view this want will be little felt, as for the manufacture of var- 
nishes, the dissolving of india-rubber, or for illuminating purposes, they 
are almost equally valuable. The behaviour of these substances when 
subjected to the action of re-agents may be shortly stated as follows : 

With sulphuric acid at ordinary temperatures a gradual darkening 
in colour is perceptible, the tint varying slightly according to the oil 
operated upon, but the final result is in all cases a deep brown- 
When heat is employed, these changes are rapidly brought about ; the 
acid is decomposed, giving rise to sulphurous acid gas, and the oil is con- 


ma 


GENERA EUCALYPTUS AND MELALEUCA. 25 


verted into a charred mass, a part of which is dissolved by water, pro- 
ducing a liquid so dark as to be almost black. 

Nitric acid acts but slowly in the cold ; it gives rise when much 
concentrated to numerous shades of brown, olive, purple, violet, and 
grey ; but when an addition of oil of vitriol is made, or when the nitric 
acid is employed at a temperature near its boiling point, the action is 
exceedingly violent ; nitrous acid fumes are given off in great abundance, 
and the oil is converted into a brown resinous body of a pungent odour, 
hard and brittle, yet becoming plastic like pitch ; soluble in alcohol and 
ether ; fusing at a moderate heat and inflammable, and possessed of 
marked acid properties, as it forms coloured salts with the bases, and 
reddens litmus, in its alcoholic solution. 

Hydrochloric acid does not give rise to very marked results on being 
simply added to one of these oils ; but the effects produced by this re- 
avent have not as yet been studied to the extent they deserve. Iodine 
has been already referred to. What has been said of E. amygdalina, as 
to its solubility in various liquids, is true of the whole series. 

If a piece of the metal sodium be introduced into one of these volatile 
oils, an evolution of gas instantly begins upon its surface,and this action 
is much aided by heat ; it is not under any circumstances as energetic as 
that caused by the same treatment of some other essential oils, such as 
oil of cloves. The soda formedis taken up by the oil, giving rise to a 
dark brown liquid, from which water abstracts the colour, and acquires 
alkaline properties. Solid potash aided by heat, and a solution of potash 
in alcohol, act very similarly as far as the change in colour is concerned. 

From what has been said it would appear probable that these volatile 
fluids must be regarded as oxygenated oils of very similar constitution, 
holding a camphor, or possibly a liquid carbo-hydrogen in solution, the 
proportion of which differs in the several varieties. The adoption of 
such theory helps at least to explain the differences which exist, in bodies 
otherwise so similar in their boiling points, the separation of solid 
matter at low temperatures, and above all in the varying purity of colour 
with which they burn in a lamp supplied with a constant amount of 
atmospheric air. 

The following summary will be found to give concise information re- 
specting some of the properties of these oils, and the circumstances 
under which they were produced. 

E. amygdalina (Dandenong Peppermint).—Gathered in September ; 
yield from 100 lbs., 60°50 0z.; specific gravity at 60° F., 0°881; boil- 
ing temperatures, 330° to 370°; relative illuminating power, the 
flame of kerosene = 1-000, 0°849 ; colour of flame, that of kerosene being 
white, yellow. This yield is estimated from fresh leaves and branchlets 
together ; the flame has a tendency to smoke. 

E. amygdalina, from Ballaarat.—Yield from 100 Ibs., 31:25 oz. ; 
specific gravity at 60° F., 0:907 ; boiling temperatures, 320° to 385° ; 


26 i ESSENTIAL OILS FROM THE ~ 


relative illuminating power, the flame of kerosene = 1-000, 1-028 ; 
colour of flame, that of kerosene being white, white. Yield estimated 
from leaves only which had been dried in the shade. 

E. oleosa (Mallee Scrub) from Murray District——Gathered in January ; 
yield from 100 lbs., 20:00 ; specific gravity at 60° F., 0-911 ; boiling 
temperatures, 322° to 350°; relative illuminating power, the flame of 
kerosene = 1:000, 1°080 ; colour of flame, that of kerosene being white, 
white. Freshly gathered leaves and branchlets, brought a considerable 
distance, but in excellent condition. 

E, sideroxylon (Ironbark), from Bendigo.—Gathered in December ; 
yield from 100 lbs, 16°88 ; specific gravity at 60° F., 0°923 ; boiling 
temperatures, 310° to 352°; relative illuminating power the flame of 
kerosene = 1-000, 1:090 ; colour of flame, that of kerosene being white, 
very white. From leaves only which had undergone fermentation. 

E. goniocalyxz (White Gum), from Dandenong—Gathered in Novem- 
ber ; yield from 100 lbs., 16:00 oz.; specific gravity at 60° F., 0920; 
boiling temperatures, 306° to 346°; relative illuminating power, the 
flame of kerosene = 1:000, 1:098; colour of flame, that of kerosene 
being white, very white. From fresh leaves and branchlets. 

E. globulus (Blue Gum) No.1, from Port Phillip—Gathered in March; 
specific gravity at 60° F.,0°919; boiling temperatures, 295° to 346°; 
relative illuminating power, the flame of kerosene = 1-000, 1-086 ; colour 
of flame, that of kerosene being white, very white. From fresh leaves 
only. 

E. globulus (Blue Gum) No. 2, from the Botanical Gardens, Melbourne. 
Gathered in April ; yield from 100 lbs. 12°50 oz.; specific gravity at 
60° F., 0-917 ; boiling temperatures, 300° to 350° ; relative illuminating 
power, the flame of kerosene = 1:000, 1:048 ; colour of flame, that of 
kerosene being white, very white. From fresh leaves only. 

E. corymbosa (Bloodwood), from East Gipps Land.—Gathered in 
December ; yield from 100 lbs., 12°50 oz. ; specific gravity at 60° F., 0°881 ; 
relative illuminating power, the flame of kerosene = 1-004; colour of 
flame, that of kerosene being white, yellow. Leaves and branchlets which 
had undergone partial decay ; the flame has a slight tendency to smoke. 

E. fabrorum (Stringybark), from Dandenong.—Gathered in September ; 

yield from 100 lbs., 8-00 oz.; specific gravity at 60° F., 0:890; boiling 
temperatures, 340° to 382° ; relative illuminating power, the flame of 
fierosene = 1:000, 0°870; colour of flame, that of kerosene being white, 
yellow. From fresh leaves only ; the flame has a tendency to spread and 
smoke. 
_ &. fissilis (Messmate), from Dandenong.— Gathered in September ; 
yield from 100 Ibs., 8:00 0z.; specific gravity at 60° F., 0-903 ; boiling 
temperatures, 335° to 386° ; relative illuminating power, the flame of 
kerosene = 1-000, 0°908; colour of flame, that of kerosene being white- 
yellowish. From fresh leaves only. " 


GENERA EUCALYPTUS AND MELALEUCA, 27 


E. odorata (Peppermint) No. 1, from Port Phillip—Gathered in 
August ; yield from 100 lbs., 0°69 oz. ; specific gravity at 60° F., 0:889 ; 
boiling temperatures, 335° to 390°; relative illuminating power, the 
flame of kerosene = 1:000, 0'850 ; colour of flame, that of kerosene 
being white, yellow. Yield estimated from fresh leaves only. 

Ei. odorata (Peppermint), No. 2, from Port Phillip.—Gathered in 
August ; yield from 100 lbs., 4:17; specific gravity at 60° F., 0:922; 
boiling temperatures, 315° to 356°; relative illuminating power, the 
flame of kerosene = 1:000, 1:158 ; colour of flame, that of kerosene being 
white, very white. Yield estimated from fresh leaves only. 

E. Woollsii (Woollybut), from East Gipps Land. — Gathered in 
January ; yield from 100 lbs., 3°40 oz. ; specific gravity at 60° F., 0-940 ; 
boiling temperatures, 380° to 420°; relative illuminating power, the 
flame of kerosene = 1-000, 0°967 ; colour of flame, that of kerosene being 
white, white. Yield estimated from leaves only which had suffered 
slight injury from close packing. 

E. rostrata (Red Gum), No. 1, from Port Phillip.—Gathered in July ; 
yield from 100 Ibs., 1:04 oz. ; specific gravity at 60° F., 0918; relative 
illuminating power, the flame of kerosene = 1:000, 0:985; colour of 
flame, that of kerosene being white, very white. Yield estimated from 
fresh leaves only. 

E. rostrata (Red Gum), No. 2, from Port Phillip—Gathered in July ; 
yield from 100 lbs., 1°56 oz. ; specific gravity at 60° F., 0918; boiling 
temperatures, 280° to 358°; relative illuminating power, the flame of 
kerosene = 1-000, 0°942 ; colour of flame, that of kerosene being white, 
yellowish. Yield estimated from fresh leaves only. 

FE, viminalis (Manna gum), from Port Phillip—Gathered in August ; 
yield from 100 lbs., 0°65 oz. ; specific gravity at 60° F., 0921 ; boiling 
temperatures, 318° to 360°; relative illuminating power, the flame of 
kerosene = 1'000, 1082 ; colour of flame, that of kerosene being white, 
white. Yield estimated from fresh leaves and branchlets. 

M. linarifolia (Tea-tree), from Botanical gardens, Melbourne.— 
Gathered in January ; yield from 100 lbs., 28:00 oz. ; specific gravity at 
60° F., 0-903 ; boiling temperatures, 348° to 369° ; relative illuminating 
power, the flame of kerosene = 1-000, 0°982; colour of flame, that of 
kerosene being white, white. Yield estimated from fresh leaves and 
branchlets brought a considerable distance. 

M. curvifolia (Tea-tree), from Port Phillip Heads.—Gathered. in 
November ; yield from 100 lbs., 5-90 oz. ; specific gravity at 60° F., 0°938 ; 
boiling temperatures, 364° to 408°; relative illuminating power, the 
flame of kerosene = 1-000, 1:031 ; colour of flame, that of kerosene being 
white, white. Yield estimated from fresh leaves and branchlets. 

M. ericifolia (common tea-tree), from Port Phillip—Gathered in 
October ; yield from 100 lbs., 5:00 oz. ; specific gravity at 60° F., 0:902 ; 
boiling temperatures, 300° to 362°; relative illuminating power, the 


28 _ ESSENTIAL OILS FROM THE 


flame of kerosene = 1:000, 1:017; colour of flame, that of kerosene 
being white, white. Yield estimated from fresh leaves and branchlets. 

M. ericifolia, from Port Phillip—Gathered in October ; yield from 
100 lbs., 1°37 oz. ; specific gravity at 60° F., 0°899 ; boiling temperatures, 
310° to 350° ; relative illuminating power, the flame of kerosene = 
1000, 1:076 ; colour of flame, that of kerosene being white, white, 
Yield estimated from fresh leaves and branchlets. 

M. Wilsonii (Tea-tree), from Wimmera.—Gathered in December ; yield 
from 100 lbs., 4:00 0z. ; specific gravity at 60° F., 0°925; relative illu- 
minating power, the flame of kerosene = 1-000, 1:094: colour of flame, 
that of kerosene being white, very white. Yield estimated from fresh 
leaves and branchlets brought from a long distance. 

M. uncinata (Tea-tree), from Botanical Gardens, Melbourne.—Gathered 
in November ; yield from 100 lbs., 1°75 oz. ; specific gravity at 60 F., 
0920; relative illuminating power, the flame of kerosene = 1-000, 
1.075 ; colour of flame, that of kerosene being white, very white. Yield 
estimated from fresh leaves and branchlets. 

M. genistifolia (Tea-tree), from Botanical Gardens, Melbourne.— 
Gathered in January ; yield from 100 Ibs., 1:25 oz. Yield from fresh 
leaves and branchlets. 

M. squarrosa (Tea-tree), from Gipps Land.—Gathered in December ; 
yield from 100 lbs., 0°63 0z. Yield from dried leaves and branchlets. 

Averages of Eucalyptus oils obtained from the species amygdalina, 
oleosa, sideroxylon, goniocalyx, globulus, and fabrorum: Yield from 
100 lbs., 22°31 oz. ; specific gravity at 60° F., 0-908 ; boiling tempera- 
tures, 317° to 359° ; relative illuminating power, the flame of kerosene 
= 1-000, 1:006. Average interval between lower and higher boiling 
points, 42° F. 

Averages of Melaleuca oils obtained from all the species: specific 
gravity at 60° F., 0°915 ; boiling temperatures, 331° to 372°: relative 
illuminating power, the flame of kerosene = 1-000, 1:046. Average in- 
terval between lower and higher boiling points 41° F. 

With reference to the yield given, it should be borne in mind, that 
although the quantity obtained from each species has been determined 
with considerably accuracy, such results cannot be regarded as ab- 
solutely constant under all circumstances ; for there can be little doubt 
that marked variations will be perceptible in the producing powers of 
oil-bearing trees, due to differences in age, in the localities where they 
grow, whether on high or low, moist or dry ground, in the time of year 
when the leaves are gathered, and in climatic influences generally. In 
addition to these, a direct cause of variableness is to be found in the 
proportion of branchlets introduced with the leaves into the still, or 
included in the calculation. 

These are the causes which may have given rise to occasional 
anomalies, of which one or two instances will be found in the preceding 


GENERA EUCALYPTUS AND MELALEUCA. 29 


summary statement; but the manufacturer on the large scale will find 
that under like conditions the quantity he obtains may often exceed the 
yield as stated, but will very rarely fall below it. 

The averages appended have been furnished solely for practical pur- 
poses ; those belonging to the Eucalypti have been derived from the 
most common and important trees of that genus. In the case of the 
tea-tree oils the yield has been omitted, in consequence of the great 
disparity which the species of that genus manifest in this respect, and 
from the fact that the species ericifolia exists in much greater profusion, 
and covers larger tracts of country than all the others taken together. 

To enable a comparison to be made between the productiveness of 
Victorian plants supplying essential oils, and those of other countries, 
which are frequently dried before subjecting them to distillation, the 
following determinations of the loss in weight by drying Eucalyptus 
leaves in the shade have been made, and may be depended upon for 
their accuracy :— 


E. amygdalina (Dandenong peppermint) loses 50 per cent. 
E. globulus (blue gum) : 3 : ROO. ss 
E. viminalis (manna gum) 3 : “Al FP 
E. rostrata (red gum) : 5 OS 


Average loss by drying in the shade . 50 per cent. 


The photometric values of the flames produced by the combustion 
of these indigenous products have been obtained by comparing them 
with a kerosene lamp with a flat wick 3 inch wide, and burning 318 
grains per hour of kerosene of the best quality imported from America. 

It is evident that such of the oils as give a yellow or yellowish light 
may be made perfect in colour by a judicious admixture with others, 
giving a purer flame, or by an alteration in the form of the lamp, and 
that consume under such modified circumstances they would also emit 
a greater amount of light. 

Regarding the suitability of these substances for illuminating pur- 
poses there can be no question, as they are possessed of all the valuable 
properties required for the economic production of artificial light. In 
efficiency and safety they equal the best kerosene, their odour being at 
the same time more agreeable, while uniike it they leave no stain upon 
paper or clothing. Endowed with so many advantages, their general 
adoption in place of lamp oil, kerosene, naphtha, and camphine, will 
depend solely upon the cost of their production ; and without venturing 
to express a decided opinion upon a question of such difficulty, the suc- 
cessful solution of which depends upon an intimate knowledge of local 
circumstances, the jurors offer the following data, in addition to the 
information already given, with the view of enabling those who desire 
to pursue this subject further, to make the calculation of cost for 
themselves. 


_ 30 ESSENTIAL OILS. 


The apparatus required would consist of a still of large dimensions, 
which might be constructed of sheet iron, with a stout plate at bottom 
to resist the action of fire. Adapted to this a worm of very moderate 
size would be found sufficient, as the oils are easily condensed, and for 
refrigerating purposes a supply of cold water must be available, a small 
quantity being also necessary for the still. The price at which green 
leaves, which could be collected by women and young persons, can be 
delivered at the manufactory, constitutes the chief item in the calcula- 
tion of expense. To facilitate its estimation the following weights may 
be stated as the results of actual experience : —a sack, capable of 
containing 200 lbs. of flour, when closely packed with fresh green leaves 
only, weighs from 90 to 100 lbs., with Eucalyptus leaves and branchlets 
together from 50 to 60 lbs. Of the freshly gathered material used for 
the production of two of the tea-tree oils (linarifolia and genistifolia), 
the leaves alone amounted in weight respectively to 41 and 48 per cent. 
of the whole, the stems making up the rest ; from 70 to 80 per cent. 
may be received as equally applicable to Eucalyptus leaves and 
branchlets, without involving an important error. The question of cost 
will bealso materially affected, should the residual decoction remaining 
in the still, after the expulsion of the volatile contents of the leaves, be 
applicable to some useful purpose. The liquid referred to contains a 
very considerable quantity of extractive and astringent matter in solu- 
tion, which might be turned into account in a variety of ways ; but 
until more is known of its constituents and properties, it would be pre- 
mature to bring its value into calculation. 

The approximate extent of country covered by the several descrip- 
tions of vegetation in Victoria is, according to A. J. Skene, Esq., 
of the Survey Department, morasses, lakes, and lagoons, 402,000 
acres; dense mallee scrub, 5,560,000 acres; mountain ranges 
densely wooded with gum, 6,225,000 acres; open timbered country, 
38,922,000 acres; open plains devoid of timber, including heaths, 
4,470,000 acres ; tea-tree scrub, 65,000 acres—Total, 55,644,000 acres. 

From the foregoing figures it will be seen that about 12,000,000 
acres of land, namely the mountainous tracts, and those covered with 
mallee and tea-tree scrub, are densely clothed with myrtaceous vegeta- 
tion, in the foliage of which enormous quantities of valuable volatile 
oils are stored. 

The suitability of these substances for the manufacture of varnishes 
has been frequently referred to already ; in addition it may be re- 
marked, that most, if not all, of the refractory resins which are but 
little acted on by them at ordinary temperatures yield to their solvent 
action, when previously fused in the manner commonly practised by 
varnish makers. i 

Gutta percha, which is not affected by a lengthy digestion in the 
cold, is easily taken up when the temperature is raised, although a large 
portion appears to be again deposited when the liquid has cooled and 


DESCRIPTION OF THE CHIEF FOREST TREES, ETC. 3) 


remained for some time in a state of rest. The most exceptional and 
important property which the Victorian oils exhibit in their relations 
with resinous substances, is the power they possess of dissolving the 
fossil Kauri Gum (Dammara Australis) of New Zealand. This 
substance can be obtained at a very low price, from 10/. to 12/. per ton ; 
but the difficulty of bringing it into perfect solution, has hitherto 
retarded its exportation in large quantities. The solution of the above 
named resin, bears dilution with very strong alcohol, ether, and chloro- 
form to any extent, and about 30 per cent. of turpentine may be added 
with safety ; but 50 per cent. of that solvent throws down the resin as 
does spirits of wine, benzine, linseed oil, and coal oil (kerosene), The 
solution of sandarac may be diluted with strong alcohol ; but turpentine 
and linseed oil cause the deposition of the resin. Asphaltum is thrown 
down by the absolute alcohol ; but turpentine may be added with im- 
purity. Grass-tree resin on the contrary is held in solution by alcohol, 
but will not bear dilution with turpentine or linseed oil. Mastic may 
be diluted with all the ordinary solvents, but alcohol in quantity 
appears to precipitate a portion giving rise to a milky appearance. 

With a view of testing the durability of varnishes prepared with 
essentials oils of the genera Eucalyptus and Melaleuca, many experi- 
ments have been undertaken ; numerous surfaces coated with them, 
and with varnishes of established reputation, have been placed in 
sheltered and exposed situations, and the effects of sun and moisture, 
and of shade, compared and noted from time to time; but the results 
obtained are as yet too imperfect to admit of their embodiment in the 
present report, investigations of this kind requiring much time for their 
satisfactory completion. 


DESCRIPTION OF THE CHIEF FOREST TREES OF UPPER 
CANADA. 


BY DR. HURLBERT. 


The samples of wood about to be described, sent to the International 
Exhibition, have been collected from the extreme eastern and western, 
and central parts of Upper Canada, for the purpose of showing the 
extent of country over which the most valuable timbers grow. 

1. The most important collection is in the form of planks, twelve 
feet long and four inches thick, with the bark on both edges. Of these 
(sixty in number), there are superb samples of white oak, four feet 
wide ; white wood, black cherry, black walnut, button-wood, white ash, 
sugar maple and soft maple, from three to four feet wide ; one plank of 
pine, from the township of Bayham, twelve feet long (and it could have 


. 32 THE FOREST TREES OF UPPER CANADA. 


been cut fifty feet long) and fifty inches wide, without a knot, sawn 
from a tree 22 feet in circumference and 120 feet to the first limb ; the 
first four logs, twelve feet long, making 8,000 feet of lumber after being 
squared. 4 

2. The second class of woods are sections of the trunks of the chief 
of the valuable timbers, with the bark on, taken from the three divi- 
sions of the Province above named, Of these there are thirty-four. 

3. The third are neatly planed and polished specimens of all our 
chief woods—one side varnished, the other plain—veneers of the plain 
wood, of crotches, of roots, &c., of the most choice varieties. Of these 
there are two collections, each of 73 specimens, with some smaller ones ; 
in all, about 250. 

4, The fourth class consists of the sections of the trunks (from three 
to six inches in diameter), one foot on, with the bark on, so cut as to 
show the grain of the wood and the polish it will take, accompanied 
with twigs, leaves, and flowers of the trees. In this class are five valu- 
able collections, from the distans parts of Upper Canada, of some 90 
distinct kinds of native woods and shrubs. Of these there are 203 pieces. 

The common and scientific names of all the woods are given, with 
the size and height of the trees, the specific gravity of the wood, its 
weight compared with shell-bark hickory (which, being the heaviest of 
all our woods, is taken as the standard), its uses, prices, at the lake 
ports, and at Quebec, &c. 

5. The fifth class contains samples of tool-handles, shafts, and poles 
of carriages, spokes, naves, &c., showing the common purposes for which 
the woods are best adapted and most used. 

From a pamphlet issued from the Bureau of Agriculture, at Quebec, 
we learn that Canada exports annually about 30,000,000 cubic feet of 
timber in the rough state, and about 400,000,000 feet board measure, of 
sawn timber. The revenue derived by the province, during the year 1860, 
for timber cut in the forests, amounted to about 500,000 dols. Of the 
sixty or seventy varieties of woods in our forests, there are usually only 
five or six kinds which go to make up these exports so vast in quantity ; 
the remaining fifty or sixty timber trees are left to perish, or are burned 
as a nuisance, to get them out of the way. By showing, in the markets 
of the world, that we have these valuable woods, and can furnish them 
at such unprecedentedly low prices, we shall secure additional pur- 
chasers. The collections here named were made chiefly in reference to 
this point, and are, in their nature and in their intrisic value, it is be- 
lieved, well adapted foi that purpose. 

In extent, in the variety and value of its woods, the great forests of 
deciduous trees of North America surpass all others; and the most re- 
markable of this great mixed forest is that growing in the valley of the 
St. Lawrence. The Western coasts of both continents, in high latitudes, 
furnish only or chiefly the Conifere. The high summer temperatures 


THE FOREST TREES OF UPPER CANADA. 33 


and abundant summer rains are, unquestionably, those conditions of cli- 
mate necessary to produce these peculiar forest trees. The western coasts 
of both continents, in high latitudes, have the necessary moisture, but not 
the high summer temperature ; the western prairies, east of the Missis- 
sippi, and the vast deserts west of it, have the summer heat but not the 
moisture ; hence the absence of all trees in the one region, and of the 
deciduous trees in the other. ; 

1. Warre Pinr (Pinus strobus)—Grows in all parts of Canada in 
extensive groves, or scattered amongst the deciduous forests. Average 
height, 140 to 160 feet ; average diameter, 3 and 4 feet ; but common 
at 5 and 6 feet in diameter and 200 feet high, especially near the shores 
of Lake Erie. Trees of 22 feet in circumference and 220 feet in height 
and 120 to first limb, are sometimes found. The trunk is perfectly 
straight. The wood is soft-grained, easily wrought, and durable ; used 
in immense quantities in architecture. The large trunks are parti- 
cularly sought for masts of ships. Largely exported to England, where 
it is called “‘ Weymouth pine.” Specific gravity, 0-46 ; weight of cubic 
foot, 29 Ibs. 

2. Rep Prine (Pinus resinosa).—Found in dry soils and in the cooler 
latitudes of Canada, andattains the height of 80 feet, with a trunk 2 
feet in diameter, very straight and uniform. It affords a fine grained, 
resinous timber, of much strength and durability, and highly valued in 
architecture Specific gravity, 0°66 ; weight of cubic foot, 40 lbs. 

3. YELLOw Pine (P. mitis)—Grows in dry and sandy soils, common in 
all parts of the country ; attains the height of 60 feet ; wood close, fine 
grained, durable, and moderately resinous, and much used for ship 
building and all kinds of architecture, Specific gravity, 0°52; weight of 
cubic foot, 30lbs. 

4. WHITE Oak (Quercus alba)—Widely distributed throughout 
Canada in all rich soils. Average height, 130 feet ; height to first limb, 
70 feet ; diameter, 30 inches, and quite common, 60 inches in diameter, 
found 84 inches in diameter in the western parts of Upper Canada. Of 
the twenty varieties of oaks in North America, the white is the most 
valuable. The wood is of great strength and durability, and extensively 
used in ship-bnilding, for staves of casks, spokes and naves of waggon 
wheels, railway ties, &c. ; bark useful in tanning and in medicine. The 
timber is largely exported to England and the West Indies, and can be 
furnished in the remotest parts of Upper Canada at 40/. sterling per 
1,000 cubic feet ; freight to Quebec about 11/. sterling per 1,000 cubic 
feet. Specific gravity, 0.84; weight of cubic foot fully seasoned, 50 Ibs. 
Potash obtained from outer wood, 13°41, and from heart wood, 9°68 per 
cent. ; value for heating purposes, 81 (shell-bark hickory being 100), 

5, Buack Oak (Quercus tinctoria)—One of the largest trees of our 
forest, 100 to 130 feet in height, and 4, 5, and 6 feet in diameter. Not 

YOu, III, c 


34 THE FOREST TREES OF UPPER CANADA, 


so common or so valuable as white oak. The bark used in tanning, and 
for obtaining quercitron, used in dyeing. 

6. RED Oak (Quercus rubra).—Grows extensively throughout Canada, 
is a lofty, wide-spreading tree, of an average height of 130 feet, and of 
70 feet to the first limb, and common at 30 inches in diameter. Makes 
best casks for oils and molasses. Too little sought after, because of the 
great abundance and greater value of white oak. Can be furnished in 
the remote parts of Western Canada at 35/. sterling per 1,000 cubic feet ; 
freight to Quebec about 10/. sterling ; specific gravity, 0.675 ; weight of 
cubic foot, 40 lbs. ; value for heating purposes, 69 ; outside wood yields 
20°5 per cent., and the inside 14°79 per cent. of potash. 

7. Swamp Oak (Q. prinus, var. discolor) —A beautiful tree, widely 
diffused, attaining the height of 70 to 90 feet. Grows in swampy alluvial 
grounds ; timber preferred to that of the red oak, resembling more the 
white oak, and called also swamp white oak. The specific name dis- 
color or bicolor is derived from its rich and luxuriant foliage. Specific 
gravity, 0°675 ; weight of cubic foot, 40 lbs; value for heating pur- 
poses, 68. 

8. CHESNUT (Castanea vesca).—Grows only in the western parts of 
Upper Canada, and on rocky or hilly lands ; a large tree, 80 to 100 feet 
in height and 36 inches in diameter. The timber is coarse grained, 
strong, elastic, light, and very durable; posts of chesnut have been 
known to stand in the ground for forty years. The young wood is very 
elastic, and is used for rings of ship masts, hoops for tubs, &. Chesnut 
is distinguishable from oak in having no large transverse septa, though 
in every other respect the two woods are remarkably similar in texture 
and colour. The nuts are much esteemed, and sweeter than those of 
the European variety (the Spanish chesnuts). Outside wood contains 
4:56 per cent. of potash ; inside 2°73 per cent. Specific gravity, 0°5 ; 
weight of cubic foot, 32 lbs. ; value for heating purposes, 52. 

9. Bhack Watnut (Juglans nigra)—Grows abundantly on the rich 
soils of the western and south-western parts of Upper Canada, of an 
average height of 120 feet, 70 feet to the first Lmbs, and 36 inches in 
diameter. Sections of the wood 6 feet in diameter are not uncommon. 
The wood is compact, strong and tough, of a deep violet colour, sur- 
rounded by a white alburnum. It is used extensively for building, for 
furniture, and in the form of veneers. It can be furnished along the 
line of the Great Western Railway, or at the lake ports, for 601. sterling 
per 1,000 cubic feet ; freight thence to Quebec, about 11/. per 1,000 
cubic feet. Specific gravity, 0°5; weight ot cubic foot, 30 1bs., well 
seasoned ; value for heating purposes, 65. 

10. BurrerNut (Juglans cinerea).—A large forest tree of an average 
height of 100 feet, 65 feet to the first limb, and 24 to 30 inches in 
diameter, found over extensive areas in Canada on elevated river banks 
and on cold, uneven rocky soils. The wood is of a reddish hue, lighter 


THE FOREST TREES OF UPPER CANADA. 35 


than the black walnut, shrinks but little, and is used in panneling, in 
ornamental work, and for furniture. The bark is used in dyeing, and 
from it is extracted an excellent cathartic. Specific gravity, 0°426 ; 
weight of cubic foot, 26 lbs.; outside wood contains 442 per cent. 
potash ; inside, 1:42 per cent. 

11. SHeLL-BarK Hickory (Carya alba)—A tall and slender forest 
tree, of an average height of 110 feet, 50 feet to the first limb, and 18 
inches in diameter. The fruit is covered with a very thick epicarp, 
separating into four parts, and containing a thin-shelled, highly-flavoured 
kernel. The tree is covered with shagey bark, consisting of long, narrow 
plates loosely adhering by the middle; hence called shell or shaggy- 
bark hickory. It is also called walnut in parts of the country where the 
black walnut does not grow. It is the heaviest of all Canadian woods, 
strong, compact, and elastic, and much used where these qualities are 
required, as for the handles of all kinds of tools, and spokes of carriage 
wheels, shafts and poles of carriages, hoops, whip stalks, hand-spikes, 
&c. From the bark is extracted a yellow dye. Specific gravity, 0°929 ; 
weight of cubie foot, 58 lbs. ; value for heating purposes, 100* (the best 
of all Canadian woods) ; inside wood contains 20 per cent. of potash ; 
outside, 7°5 per cent. 

12. Smoora-BaRK Hickory (Carya glabra)—Nearly all the remarks 
made in reference to the shell-bark hickory apply to this species, and 
the wood is used for the same purposes, although it is not quite so 
highly esteemed. The bark of the tree is smooth, and the kernel of the 
nut very bitter in contrast with the other or sweet nut hickory. 

13 and 14. Sugar on Harp MapPLe AND Birp’s-Eve MAPLE (Acer 
saccharinum) AND Rep oR Swamp Martie (A. rubrum).—Found abun- 
dantly throughout Canada in all rich soils, and attains a height of 130 
feet and 12 feet in circumference. From its beauty and abundance in 
Canada, the leaf of the maple has been adopted as the national emblem. 
The timber is very beautiful, and is distinguished as bird’s-eye maple 
and mottled or curly maple (Acer rubrum), and is much used for picture 
frames and in furniture ; the less ornamental portions of the timber are 
much used for house carpentery and furniture. When well seasoned it 
is one of the hardest kinds of wood ; carriage and waggon-makers prize 
it highly for axles and for purposes where great strength and the least 
deflection are required. Its value for heating purposes is unsurpassed: 
It is from this maple that so much sugar is made. This and the soft 
maple (Acer dasycarpum) are most planted for ornamental and shade 
trees in lawns and gardens. The wood can be furnished at Quebee at 
about 45/. sterling per 1,000 cubic feet. Potash in the outer wood, 8°77 ; 
in the inner, 4°21 per cent. Specific gravity, 0°6 ; weight of cubie foot, 


* Tn estimating the value of the several kinds of wood for fuel, the shell-bark 
hickory is made the standard, and called 100. 
c 2 


36 THE FOREST TREES OF UPPER CANADA. 


38 Ibs. ; value for heating purposes, 80, but mostly used for fuel, and 
generally preferred to all other woods. 

15. Sorr on WHITE MAPLE (Acer dasycarpum)—tThis species much 
resembles the last, but its leaves are larger, and its winged fruit larger- 
It is common in all low, damp, rich soils; sometimes attains a diameter 
of 4 feet, and a height of 80 feet. Not so akundant as the hard maple, 
nor so valuable ; the wood is white and soft ; the bark is used for 
dyeing. Asan ornamental tree, it is preferred to the hard maple, as 
having a denser foliage, and being of more rapid growth. 

16. Waite Asx (Fraxinus Americana)—Grows abundantly through- 
out Canada, and attains an average height of 110 feet, and 60 feet to the 
first limb, and 26 to 36 inches in diameter. The timber is much valued 
for its toughness and elasticity ; excellent for works exposed to sudden 
shocks and strains, as the frames of machines, wheel carriages, agricul- 
tural implements, the felloes of wheels, &c., handles of implements, and 
for numerous similar purposes. The young branches serve for hoops of 
ships’ masts, tubs, for coarse basket work, &c. It grows rapidly, and the 
young or second growth wood is more valuable than that of the old trees. 
Can be furnished in almost every part of Canada for 35/. sterling per 
1,000 eubic feet, and at Quebec for about 45/. Specific gravity, 0°616 ; 
weight of cubic foot, 40 lbs. ; value for heating purposes, 70. 

17. Rep Asx (Frazxinus pubescens).—A smaller tree than the white 
ash, of much rarer occurrence, and not so valuable, but still a very 
valuable timber, resembling very much the white ash, and often con- 
founded with it. The wood is also used for the same purposes. Specific 
gravity, 0°7 ; weight of cubic foot, 40 lbs. 

18. Buack AsH (Frazinus sambucifolia)—Found in moist woods and 
swamps, grows to the height of 60 to 70 feet, with a diameter of 2 feet ; 
the wood is tough and elastic, but much less durable than white ash ; the 
young saplings are in great requisition for hoops, and mature trunks for 
baskets. The timber is very durable under water. Specific gravity, 
07 ; weight of cubic foot, 40 lbs. 

19. Rim Asx (Celtis occidentalis).—Grows to the height of 30 to 40 
feet, and 1 foot indiameter. The trunk has a rough but unbroken bark. 
The wood is very tough, and used for hoops of barrels. 

20. Rock Exo (Ulmus racemosa).—Found in most parts of Canada, 
and grows very large in the western counties, averaging 150 feet in 
height, and 80 to the first limb, with a diameter of 22 inches. Is abun- 
dant in the western part of Upper Canada ; preferred to even white ash 
by some carriage and waggon makers for the poles and shafts of car- 
riages and sleighs. The wood bears the driving of bolts and nails better 
than any other timber, and is exceedingly durable when continuously 
wet : it is, therefore, much used for the keels of vessels, water-works, 
piles, pumps, boards for coffins, and all wet foundations requiring wood. 
On account of its toughness, it is selected for the naves of wheels, shells 


THE FOREST TREES OF UPPER CANADA, 37 


for tackle-blocks, and sometimes for gunwales of ships. It can be laid 
on board of vessels at the ports of the lakes for 40/. sterling per 1,000 
cubic feet ; freight to Quebee about 111. Specific gravity, 0°59 ; weight 
of cubic foot, 36°75 lbs. 

22, AMERICAN OR WHITE Exum (Ulmus Americana).—A majestic tree, 
attaining a diameter of 60 inches in some of the western counties of 
Upper Canada, and of great height, with wide spreading branches. 
Grows in most woods and along rivers, in rich soils. The wood is 
tough and strong, used for the naves of wheels, and preferred by wheel- 
wrights to the English elms. Can be furnished at the same price as the 
rock elm. 

23. WuitE BrEcu (agus sylvestris)—Grows in almost every part of 
Canada, of an average height of 110 feet; height to the first limbs 
50 feet, and diameter 18 inches. It is distinguished from the red beech 
by its size, the lighter colour of the bark and wood ; it is also of more 
difficult cleavage, of greater compactness and strength, and is much 
used for planes and other tools of carpenters; also for lathe-chucks, 
keys and cogs of machinery, shoe-lasts, toys, brushes, handles, &c.; in 
architecture, for in-door work ; common bedsteads and furniture ; for 
carved moulds, for picture frames, and large letters used in printing ; 
it is easily worked and may be brought to a very smooth surface. Vast 
quantities of it is used for firewood. Specific gravity, 0672 ; weight of 
cubic foot, 41 lbs. ; outside wood contains 12 per cent., inside 4 per cent., 
of potash. Value for heating, 65. 

24. Rep Brecu (Fagus ferrruginia)—The red beech is regarded by 
many as only a variety of the beech, with the wood softer and of more 
easy cleavage than the white, with also a slight difference in foliage. 
The timber is not so valuable as that of the white beech, but used for 
the same purposes. It is also abundant throughout Canada. The nuts 
of both kinds are small, two together in the four-lobed burr, oily, sweet 
and nutritious. 

25. BuuE BrEecH (Carpinus Americana).—Common along streams ; 
grows 10 to 20 feet high, with ridged trunk; an exceedingly hard, 
whitish wood ; excellent for cogs of wheels and for purposes requiring 
extreme hardness. ‘The trunk is also made into brooms by being peeled 
by a knife, and is the most durable and soft of the splint brooms. 
Specific gravity, 0°79 ; weight of cubic foot, 47 lbs.; value for heat- 
ing, 6°5. 

26. Waite Brrow (Betula alba).—-Grows on the hill-sides and the 
banks of rivers ; a slender and beautiful tree of from one to two feet im 
diameter and 50 feet high, but usually not so large. The trunk is 
covered with a tough cuticle, consisting of numerous lamina, the outer 
of which is snow-white. The wood is of a fine compact texture, tough 
but not durable, and is used in turning and furniture. Specific gravity, 
0:5; weight of cubic foot, 32; value for heating, 48. 

27. Paper Bircw, Wuite Brrou (B. papyracea).—A large tree, with 


38 THE FOREST TREES OF UPPER CANADA. 


fine grained wood, and a very tough, durable bark, splitting into paper- 
like layers. It is of the bark of this birch that the Indians make their 
canoes ; hence the name, Canoe Birch. The wood is very similar to the 
last, and used for similar purposes. There is also a dwarf mountain 
variety. 

28. Brack Bircu (Betula lenta).—The largest of the birches, two to 
three feet in diameter, and 60 to 70 feet in height ; found over an 
extensive area, but more abundant in Lower than in Upper Canada. 
The trunk is covered with a dark brown or reddish bark, which becomes 
rough in old trees, and has a very agreeable aromatic flavour. The wood 
is of a reddish colour, strong, compact, and takes a high polish ; much 
used in furniture, and almost as handsomely figured as Honduras 
mahogany, and, when coloured, and varnished, is not easily distinguished 
from it. It is used, also, by carriage builders, and in frames of ships. 
and parts under water ; it is more prized as it becomes better known, 
as no wood sustains shocks and friction better than birch. A good deal 
of it is exported to Europe. The bark is harder than the wood, and 
used by Indians and backwoodsmen for shoes, hats, tiles of roofs, canoes, 
&e. Specific gravity, 0°65 ; weight of cubic foot, 46 lbs.; value for 
heating, 65. 

29. YeLLow Brrou (B. excelsa)—A lofty, beautiful, slender tree, of 
80 feet in height and 10 inches in diameter, with a thin, yellowish 
cuticle. Not very abundant; used for much the same purposes as the 
black and white birches, and valuable for fuel. 

30. Witp Buack CHERRY (Cerasus serotina).—Grows to an average 
height of 120 feet, with trunk of uniform size, and undivided to the 
height of 70 feet in the forests, of an average diameter of 24 inches, not 
uncommonly 36 inches, and found 48 inches in diameter. Not very 
abundant, but found over extensive areas, not in groves, but in single 
trees interspersed in the forests of deciduous trees, and springs up 
freely and grows rapidly after the primal forests are cleared off. The 
timber, of a pale red brown, is compact, fine, close-grained, receives a 
high polish, and is extensively used in cabinet work. The bark has a 
strong bitter taste, and is used in medicine as a tonic. The fruit, black 
when mature, is pleasant to the taste. The timber can be furnished 
in the western part of Canada at 60/. sterling per 1,000 cubic feet ; 
freight to Quebec about 11/. Specific gravity, 0:56; weight of cubic 
foot, 34 lbs. 

31. Winp Rep CHERRY (Cerasus Pennsylvanica)—Much smaller tree 
than the black cherry, of rapid growth, and found mostly succeeding the 
original forests, attains 40 to 50 feet in height, and 12 to 15 inches in 
diameter. The flowers are white, the fruit red and very acid. 

32. Basswoop (Tilia Americana)—Common forest tree throughout 
Canada, of an average height of 110 feet, height to first limbs, 65 feet, 
and diameter, 24 to 30 inches ; often much larger. The wood is white, 
oft, close-grained, and not liable to warp or split, much used in cabinet 


THE FOREST TREES OF UPPER CANADA. 39 


work and furniture, in pianofortes and musical instruments, for cutting- 
boards for curriers, shoemakers, &c., as it does not bias the knife in the 
direction of the grain; it turns cleanly, and is much used in manufac- 
turing bowls, pails, shovels, &e. Cost, at the ports of the lakes, 371. 
sterling per 1,000 cubic feet ; freight to Quebec, 7/. Specific gravity, 
0-48 ; weight of cubic foot, 26 lbs. Of the same genus as the lime or 
linden in England. 

33. Waite Woop (Liriodendron tulipifera).—Grows only in the 
western parts of Upper Canada, and attains a height of 130 feet, 70 feet 
to the first limb, and 36 inches in diameter, and not uncommon 60 
inches in diameter. Very abundant in the south-western counties of 
Canada, and can be furnished at 35/. sterling per 1,000 cubic feet ; freight 
to Quebec, 8/. It is called also the tulip tree ; and in some localities, 
erroneously, yellow poplar. The wood is extensively used as a substi- 
tute for pine for building and cabinet purposes. It is easily wrought, 
durable, and susceptible of a fine polish. Specific gravity, 0°5; weight 
of cubic foot, 30 lbs. 

34, Buttonwoop (Platanus occidentalis)—Called also plane-tree, and, 
improperly, sycamore. It is very abundant in the western and south- 
western parts of Canada, attaining an average height of 120 feet, 60 feet 
to first limbs, and 30 inches in diameter, and not uncommon at 60 inches 
in diameter. It yields a clean wood, softer than beech, very difficult, 
almost impossible, to split. Sometimes mottled, used in furniture, 
chiefly for bedsteads, pianofortes, and harps, for screws, presses, wind- 
lasses, wheels, blocks, &c., and immense quantities exported to Virginia 
for tobacco boxes. Prices and freight same as for white wood. Specific 
gravity, 0°5. 

35. Popiar (Populus monilifera)—Called also cotton wood. A large 
forest tree occurring on the margins of lakes and rivers. The timber is 
soft, light, easy to work, suited for carving, common turning, and works 
not exposed to much wear. The wooden polishing wheels of glass 
grinders are made of horizontal sections of the entire tree. The seeds 
are clothed in white cotton-like down, hence the name. Specific gra- 
vity, 0-4. 

36. Bansam PopLAR (Populus balsamzfera).—Also a large tree, grow- 
ing in wet, low lands ; wood resembling the previous. None of the pop- 
lars are used as large timbers. 

37. Wuitr WiLLow (Salix alba).—A familiar tree of rapid growth, 
attaining a height of 50 to 80 feet ; originally from Europe. The tim- 
ber is the softest and lightest of all our woods. The colour is whitish, 
inclining to yellowish grey. It is planed into chips for hat-boxes, bas- 
kets, &c. Attempts have been made to use it in the manufacture of 
paper ; small branches are used for hoops for tubs, &c.: the larger wood 
for cricket bats, boxes for druggists, perfumers, &c. Specific gravity, 
04 ; weight of cubic foot, 24 lbs. 


40, THE FOREST TREES OF UPPER CANADA. 


38. [RoN-wooD (Ostrya virginica)—A small, slender tree, 40 to 50 
feet in height, and 8 to 10 inches in diameter. The bark remarkable for 
its fine, narrow, longitudinal divisions, and of a brownish colour. The | 
wood hard, strong, and heavy ; used for hand-spikes and levers, hence 
the name lever wood; it is also called hop hornbeam. Found only 
sparsely scattered through the forests of deciduous trees, Specific gra- 
vity, 0°76 ; weight of cubic foot, 47°5 lbs. ; much prized for fuel. 

39. Waite THORN (Crategus punctata)—A common shrub or small 
tree, 15 to 20 feet high, and 6 inches in diameter, found in thickets on 
dry rocky lands. Thorns stout, rigid, sharp, and a little reeurved, 14 
inches long. Flowers white, fruit bright purple, and some varieties 
white. The wood extremely hard, used by wood engravers, for mallets, 
&e. Specific gravity, 0°75 ; weight of cubic foot, 46 lbs. 

40. Brack THORN (Crategus tomeniosa)—A large shrub or small 
tree, 12 to 15 feet high, thorns 1 to 2 inches long, found in thickets and 
hedges. Flowers large, fragrant, and white ; fruit, orange red ; wood 
hard, like white thorn. 

41. Witp AppLe TREE (Pyrus coronaria)—A small tree, 15 to 26 
feet high, common in the western part of Upper Canada. Wood hard, 
like the thorn ; flowers large, rose-coloured ; fruit one inch in diameter, 
yellowish, hard, and sour, but esteemed for preserves. 

42. PEPPERIDGE (Nyssa multiflora)—Found only in the western part 
of Upper Canada, and of an average height of 100 feet, of 60 feet to the 
first limb, and of 12 to 18 inches in diameter; scarce. The bark light 
erey, similar to that of the white oak,-and broken into hexigons. The 
wood is white, fine-grained, soft, the texture consisting of interwoven 
fibres, rendering it very difficult to split. It is, therefore, useful for 
beetles, naves of wheels, and for purposes requiring the toughest 
timber. 

43. Doawoop (Cornus florida)—Common in Upper Canada, grows 
20 to 30 feet high, and 8 inches in diameter. The wood is very hard 
and compact, and hence the name Cornel from the Latin Cornu, a horn ; 
used for-mallets, and is well adapted for the same purposes as box-wood. 
It is so remarkably free from silex, that splinters of the wood are used 
by watchmakers for cleaning the pivot-holes of watches, and by the 
optician for removing the dust from small lenses. The bark is rough, 
extremely bitter, and used in medicine as a tonic. Specifie gravity, 
0°78; weight of cubic foot, 50 Ibs. 

44, WuItE Cepar (Thuja occidentalis) Found extensively over Ca- 
nada on the rocky borders of streams and lakes, and in swamps. It 
grows to the height of 60 to 70 feet, rapidly diminishing in size, throw- 
ing out branches from base to summit. The wood is light, soft, coarse- 
grained, and very durable ; much used in frame work of buildings and 
for the upper timbers of ships, as posts for fences, gates, &c. Itis one 
of the most durable of Canadian woods : much esteemed also for making 


THE FOREST TREES OF UPPER CANADA. Al 


split laths, known as cyprus laths. Specific gravity, 0°45 ; weight of 
cubic foot, 26 lbs. . 

45, Rep CEepaR (Juniperus Virginiana).—Grows in many parts of 
Canada in dry rocky situations. It sometimes attains the size of 24 
inches in diameter, but mostly smaller. Leaves are dark green, the 
younger ones small, ovate, acute, scale-like, overlying each other. The 
wood is fine-grained, compact, of a reddish hue, very light and durable. 
It is used for fences, aqueducts, tubs and pails, and as cases for drawing 
pencils—hence called pencil cedar. 

46. Hemiock (Abies Canadensis)—Common in the hilly, rocky lands 
of Canada, attaining the height of 80 feet, and 3 feet in diameter. The 
timber is soft, elastic, of a coarse, loose texture, not much used, but 
sometimes substituted for pine ; resists well the effects of moisture, and 
for this reason is used for railway ties. The bark is extensively used 
in tanning. Specific gravity, 0°45. 

47. Buack Spruce (A. nigra).—This fine tree abounds in the higher 
and mountainous land of Canada, attains a height of 80 feet. The tim- 
ber is light, strong, and elastic, and, though inferior to white pine, is 
still valuable. From the young twigs spruce beer is made. 

48. WHITE SPRUCE (A. alba).—A smaller tree than the black spruce, 
but attains a height of 50 feet. Trunk from 12 to 18 inches in dia- 
meter. Timber much the same as that of the black spruce, 

49, CanaDA Barsam. Batsam Fir (Abies balsamea)— Common in 
humid grounds in the cooler latitudes of Canada, and attains a height of 
30 to 40 feet. The bark is smooth, abounding in reservoirs filled with 
a resin or balsam, which is considered valuable in medicine. 

50. BatsaAm Fir (A. Fraseri)—A smaller tree than the last. A 
highly ornamental shade tree. 

51. Tamarac (Lariz Americana).—A tall, slender tree, rising to the 
height of 80 to 100 feet, abundant in Canada in low wet lands. The 
wood is considered very valuable, being heavy, strong, and durable. 
Called also American larch, and hackmatac. It has recently come into 
great demand tor ship building and railway ties, for which latter pur- 
pose it is found to be well adapted, and very durable. The best oak is 
superior to it only for the outside work of a ship. For knees, bends, 
garlands, &., of a ship, no wood is better. It is remarkably distin- 
guished from the pines by its deciduous leaves, being bare nearly half 
the year. It is found up to a very high latitude, even in Hudson’s Bay. 
Specific gravity, 0°6. 

52. SASSAFRAS (Sassafras officinale)—Found only in the western 
part of Upper Canada; grows to the height of 50 to 60 feet, and 15 
inches in diameter. The timber is of little value, but used for light 
ornamental purposes on account of the fragrant odour. Every part of 
the tree has a pleasant fragrance and an aromatic taste, strongest in the 


42 THE FISHES OF PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND, 


bark of the root, from which an essential oil is distilled highly valued 
in medicine. Specific gravity, 0°6. 

53. Sumac (Rhus typhina)—Common on rocky, poor soils through- 
out Canada, and readily springs up on neglected lands after the primal 
forests are cleared off ; attains a height of 20 feet, and 8 inches in dia- 
meter ; the wood is soft, aromatic, of sulphur yellow, makes beautiful 
veneers, and is used in dyeing. The bark of this and the other varieties 
is also used in dyeing and tanning. 


THE FISHES OF PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND. 
BY THE REV. GEO. SUTHERLAND. 


Prince Edward Island rises in the midst of waters long famed for the 
abundance and fine quality of their fish. Although not so plentiful as 
in years long gone by, they still frequent our shores in vast shoals ; 
many of them pass up and down our rivers and streams ; and afford 
a healthy occupation and a valuable means of subsistence to a large 
number of our population. They include many of the richest and most 
palatable fish to be found in any quarter of the globe. 

Fishes are vertebrate animals, with gills fitted for breathing under 
water—of cold red blood—and with fins and extremities fitted for swim- 
ming. They are divided into two great classes :—l. Those with a 
skeleton of cartilage and with bony points or plates on the skin. And— 
2. Those with a skeleton of bone and with horny scales. The second 
class is by far the most useful and important, as well as the most 
numerous. It is the highest type of fish. 


I.—FIsH oF CARTILAGE SKELETON. 

Five kinds are met with on our coasts, viz: the Skate, the Dogfish, 
the Thresher, the Shark, and the Sturgeon. 

1. The Skate or Ray. Two or three species of Skate are found. 
These fish are flat, with broad pectoral fins. Their eyes are above the 
mouth, their nostrils below it. They are characterised by a long slender 
tail. In one species, the Sting Ray or Skate, the tail is armed with a 
sharp bone with which it inflicts wounds, The pectoral fins or wings 
are sometimes used as food, but the fish is little prized. 

2. The Dog-fish is a small, active, voracious fish about the size of a 
salmon, and allied to the shark, which it greatly resembles. It has a 
projecting snout, is tenacious of life, drives off the herring and destroys 


THE FISHES OF PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND. 43 


nets. It isnot used for food, but the oil is valuable—and the body is 
sometimes dried for feeding pigs. 

3. The Thresher is bold, active, and powerful—a member of the shark 
family. It is found from eight to twelve feet in length. It pursues 
and destroys the mackarel, shad, &c. It boldly attacks the small whales 
of our Gulf, violently threshing them with its tail and inflicting great 
pain as the movements of the whale indicate. 

4. The Shark is a well-known, large, powerful, and voracious fish. 
It has a long, tapering body, with projecting snout on the under side of 
which are the nostrils. Its tail is peculiar, the upper part of it being 
much longer than the lower, enabling the fish to throw itself rapidly on 
its side to seize its prey. Its mouth is armed with formidable teeth, 
and is situated in the lower side of the body and posterior to the snout. 
Sharks are often seen on the north coast of the island. The family name 
of the three last mentioned fishes is the Squalide. 

5. The Sturgeon is caught from two to eight feet in length. In shape 
it is almost pentagonal. The back of the head is depressed and flattened. 
Both head and sides are covered with bony plates. Its colour above is 
dull grey, and beneath white. The flesh is coarse. It was once numerous 
on our coasts, and might yet be caught in some of our large bays. 


9. FisH oF Bony SKELETON AND Horny SCALES. 


The most valuable families of this class are the Salmon, Mackarel, 
and Cod families ; other species are of less consequence. 

1. The Salmon. This valuable fish is well known. When fresh, it 
is beyond comparison the best fish in our waters. In the spring, great 
numbers of them find their way into our gulf, but as our rivers are 
poorly adapted for the deposit of their spawn, they spread along the 
coasts of Nova Scotia aud New Brunswick, pressing specially into the 
Bay Chaleur and up the Restigouche river. At one time they were 
abundant in the East River, and in several other rivers of the island ; 
now they are almost confined to St. Peter’s Bay, and the Morrell river 
which flows into it. 

2. The Trout. There is scarcely a stream on the Island in which 
some species of trout may not be found. In some rivers they are very 
fine. The salt-water trout, of grey appearance, sometimes called the 
Salmon-trout, is caught in the harbours in spring; at a later period, it 
ascends the rivers. The fresh-water Trout is brighter and more florid. 
When in good condition, its spots bright and flesh firm, it is much more 
highly flavoured than the other. When in cold water, and having the 
range of a flowing stream, they are always best. 

3. The Smelt, a small fish, is very abundant at certain seasons of the 
year. In winter it is best, and may be obtained by a hook or spear 
through the ice along the shore, or on the flats. About the last of April 


44 THE FISHES OF PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND. 


it ascends the brooks, and may be caught in vast quantities by a scoop- 
net. 

4, The Capelin resembles the Smelt, but is more slender. It seldom 
strikes our shores, preferring the colder waters around the coast of 
Newfoundland. Occasionally it is found on the north coast. It is 
superior to the smelt, and when salted and dried has a fine flavour. The 
salmon, trout, smelt, and eapelin, are classed under one genus—the 
Salmonide. 

5. The Mackarel is a member belonging to the albecore or horse 
mackarel, the Sword-fish and others. "The mackarel is a finely-shaped 
fish, and when just taken out of the water has a bright and beautiful 
appearance. This valuable and much prized fish ranges round our island, 
lying off and on its shores according to the prevailing winds from July 
to November.—Occasionally it enters the harbours. Large quanties are 
annually caught off the north and east coasts by Yankee fishermen fitted 
out for the purpose. 

6. The Albecore is occasionally seen on the north coast. It pursues 
the herring on which it preys. It resembles a monster mackarel, and is 
seen from five to eight feet in length. Its flesh is much superior to that 
of the sturgeon. The family is called the Scombridae. 

7. The Herring. Vast shoals of herring swarm on all the shores of 
the Gulf in the early part of summer. About the first of May they 
strike the shores of the Island, and are often caught in great quantities. 
They are, however, lean at that season. Those caught in autumn are 
much superior. 

8. The Gasperaux resemble herring, but are generally shorter and 
stiffer. They are later in their arrival than the herring. The first taken 
are the best. When salted they are inferior to the herring. They force 
their way with great perseverance into the ponils and brooks, and are 
easily caught. 

9. The Shad is a very valuable fish, and occasionally ascends some of 
our large rivers, though not in abundance. It is greatly larger than the 
gasperaux—and its flesh is almost equal to Mackarel. The herring 
gasperaux and shad belong to one family called the Clupeidae. 

10. The Cod is too well known to need any description, and isfound in 
all parts of the Gulf. They are most abundant on the north shore of 
the Island. When dried, they are generally prized as an article of food. 
—A yaluable oil is obtained from their livers. 

11. The Hake differs slightly from the cod. It is generally three feet 
in length, prefers muddy bottoms, and is often caught at night. Its 
mouth is armed with teeth which will soon cut off a hook, if the line is 
not protected. It sometimes receives the name of “ Ling.” 

12. The Torsk much resembles the cod, but its tail-fin is rounded, 
with a blue and white edge. It has a barbule on the chin. The back- 


THE FISHES OF PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND. 3) 


fin stretches to the tail. It is more rare than the cod, and its flesh is 
much finer. 

13. The Haddock is found on our shores at certain seasons. It is * 
much smaller than the full grown cod. When fresh it is good. If slightly 
salted and smoked, it is much better than if cured as codfish. 

14. The Frost Fish, or Tom Cod. This small fish may be caught in 
many parts of the island. Its flesh is white and soft, and is but little 
prized. It attains its name from the time of the year in which it makes 
its appearance in creeks—generally after the frost has set in in the month 
of December. The cod, the hake, the torsk, the haddock, and the frost 
fish belong to one family, the cod family, called the Gadidae. 

15. The Bass, so easily known by its stripes, once abounded in all our 
harbours. It, like other valuable fish, has become scarce. It is still 
occasionally found in the harbours, especially on the north side, where it 
may be caught with nets or taken by the hook. 

16. The Perch. The perch 3s remarkable for its sharp and strong fins. 
Two species are to be found, the yellow perch and the blue perch. The 
yellow perch, sometimes called the cunner or sea-perch, is much esteemed 
as food—the other is little prized. The bass and the perch belong to one 
family, the Percidae. 

17. The Flounder is found in all the creeks of the island. Itisa 
small flat fish, often seen moving slowly along a sandy or muddy shore 
in search of food. It may be eaten when fresh fish are scarce, but it is 
very bony and not very palatable. 

18. The Halibut is a very large flat fish, weighing sometimes from 
200 to 300 Ibs. It is not very frequently caught on the Island coasts. 
When fresh and in good condition, its flesh is prized. Portions of it are 
sometimes dried and smoked, after being slightly salted. 

The flounder and the halibut belong to one family, called the Plewro- 
nectide. 

19. There are other fishes of less note, such as the Sculpin, 
with a large depressed head, armed with spines, and a small tapering 
body, found about the wharves and rocks ; the Mummachog, a small 
fish which swims about ponds and rivulets and the mouth of creeks, and 
sometimes used as bait ; and the very small Pin-fish, armed with a spine 
on the back and on the sides. 

20. Eels of the finest quality abound on the muddy bottoms of 
the harbours, rivers, and mill-dams. They are of two species, the 
common eel and the sea eel. They may be caught by a trap made of 
rods, but are generally speared, either through the ice, or on the flats by 
torchlight. The sea eels are the best. Both species are very voracious. 


46 


ON THE ANTIDOTE CACOON (FEUILLG@A CORDIFOLIA) 
—NATURAL ORDER CUCURBITACECE, OR CUCUMBER 
ALLIANCE. 


[Named in honour of Lewis FEUILLEE, a French Physician-Monk, who travelled 
in Peru. ] 


The antidote cacoon is a scandent plant (perennial), climbling on the 
highest trees, and very common here (Jamaica). The pericarp re- 
sembles a small calabash packed singularly, with seeds eight to twelve 
in number ; albumine very oily and bitter, used by negroes as an anti- 
dote for poisonous stings and foul ulcers, &. Ihave used it with good 
effect to cattle suspected of having eaten a poisonous herb. 

Long, p. 718, says the seeds are extremely bitter, and when grated 
and infused in rum or other spirits, a small dose opens the body and 
produces an appetite. The infusion is also made in Madeira wine, and 
taken to relieve pains in the stomach. The oil gives a clear, fine light 
when burnt in lamps, and emits no disagreeable smell. 

Dancer says the kernel sliced and infused with orange-peel and a 
little wild cinnamon (Canella alba) inrum, forms an excellent bitter and 
opening medicine ; infused in water and rum, good in all cold poisons. 

Piso says that he has seen whole families in Brazil that have had 
violent aches and pains, got by the night air, who have been cured with 
the oil of these nuts, which they may easily have growing in great 
plenty in most parts of America. It cannot be used in victuals, being 
so excessively bitter. 

Barham remarks—“ A French gentleman some years past brought 
me from Peru some of these nuts, and asked me if I knew what they 
were. I did not satisfy him whether I knew them, but asked him what 
the Spaniards called them, and what use they put them to. He told me 
the Spaniards called them Avilla, and that they were worth their weight 
in gold to expel poison, and wished I could find them growing in 
Jamaica, which they do in great plenty, and the negroes I employed to 
get them for me called them sabo (p. 113). 

These seeds are said to be good for a person going into a dropsy, or a 
swelling of the face and feet, &c., and the following is the receipt :— 
Take eight or ten of the kernels, scrape and bruise them fine in a mortar ; 
put the same into a bottle, pouring thereon a pint of old rum or brandy 
and the like quantity of water ; let it remain in the bottle two or three 
days, shaking the bottle frequently. Take a wineglassful every morning 
fasting, and use moderate exercise before breakfast. 

An anonymous writer in the ‘Columbian Magazine’ for July, 1798, 
who gives the foregoing receipt, states that ‘(a young girl had been pro- - 
nounced by the medical gentlemen in Spanish-town in a dropsical state, 
and everything administered as they thought necessary in such a case, 


SCIENTIFIC NOTES. AT 


but all in vain ; for, on my subsequent removal to Kingston, I found 
the swelling much increased in her face, legs, and thighs, with a puf- 
finess in her belly. A planter from above Rocks breakfasted with me; 
I called the girl to get some water ; he was alarmed on seeing her con- 
dition, and advised the use of the cacoon, or antidote, observing that he 
had made a perfect cure of a girlin the same state. I proceeded according 
to his directions, and with the like suecess. It is now eighteen months 
since, and, thanks be to God, she is now in perfect health. I therefore 
think myself in duty bound to publish the same for the benefit of my 
fellow-creatures.” Ignorance alone could only raise a doubt. 

This plant could be freely cultivated in this island to any extent. 
The range of mountain land is very great, and scarcely serviceable for 
other plants occupied by limited means. 

N. WILSON. 

The oily seeds of this West Indian shrub are said by Lindley to be 
intensely bitter, and act virtually both as emetics and purgatives. The 
seeds of Feuillala triobata yield a fatty oil, used instead of ointment in 
pains of the joints. The Americans employ the oil of both species for 
lamps. In Brazil the seeds are considered an effectual remedy against 
the bites of poisonous serpents, and particularly as an antidote to the 
poison of hus toxicodendron, Mancenilla, and Spigelia, when fresh, and 
bruised in water. The leaves of F. cordifolia are said to possess the same 
properties. 


Suieutitic Putes. 

THE EprsLte Birps’ Nests or THE East.—The eminent naturalist, 
M. Moquin-Tandon, lately presented to the Académie des Sciences 
a carefully written paper by M. P. Bories, of the Island of Réunion, 
“On the Nests of the ‘Salanganes’ (Hirundo esculenta) and the Japan 
Moss.” Ornithologists recognise five species of salanganes, nearly 
all of which are found in the Indian Archipelago. A single species 
exists in the Island of Réunion, and it is to the study of this bird’s 
nest that M. Bories has given considerable attention. He found 
it to be composed of a species of lichen (Alectoria luteola) which grows 
abundantly on the trees of that island, and of a variable quantity 
of mucus secreted by the salivary glands of this bird. M. Bories caught 
one of them carrying in its beak filaments of the Alectoria. This is 
what, no doubt, gave rise to the circumstance mentioned by Buffon, that 
it was supposed in the Malayan peninsula that these nests were partly 
made by the birds from the fry of a certain fish abundant along the 


48 SCIENTIFIC NOTES. 


coasts, which they carried away in their beaks. These nests of the 
Hirundo esculenta are the results of a number of successive generations ; 
those introduced into commerce are the portions secreted by the birds 
carefully separated from the lichen. M. Bories also remarks that the 
Japan moss of commerce is not prepared with the nests of these 
salanganes, but with an alga of the genus gelidium. F. M. 

Oox-A-CHan O1t.—Among the new animal oils shown in the Interna- 
tional Exhibition is one in the Vancouver's Island Court which has not 
been before seen here, and termed Ool-a-Chan oil. We have been 
favoured with the following brief account of it by a physician long 
resident in the island, who is probably better acquainted with it than 
any one else there -—The Ool-a-chan fish much resembles the smelt 
both in size and transparency. It visits the coast about the month 
of May, appearing upon the same day every year, and mounts the 
streams by myriads to spawn. ‘This fish is of a very rich flavour, and is 
a favourite article of food. Some are salted and smoked, or dried for 
winter use, being universally prized. By warming over a slow fire, or 
by heating in water, an oil is abundantly obtained, which is used for the 
same purposes as cod liver oil, and with as much, if not greater benefit. 
The oil when cold is of the consistence of thick cream, white in colour, 
with but little odour, and by no means unpleasant to the taste—in fact, 
those who use it very quickly acquire a partiality for it. The Indians 
make large quantities every season, and with them it supplies the place 
of butter. They cannot live without it, and it forms a great article of 
trade. They prefer it rancid. It is a notorious fact, that the Indians are 
subject to spitting of blood and consumption ; they suffer theuroptysis 
for years, but still live to a great age? How much has the ool-a-chan to 
do with the prolongation of their days. A vast quantity of this oil could 
be obtained, were it found desirable for medicinal use. 


THE TECHNOLOGIST. 


NOTES ON APPARENTLY USEFUL WOODS HITHERTO 
LITTLE KNOWN. 


BY JOHN R. JACKSON. 


If it were attempted to divide or classify the products of the vegetable 
kingdom according to their sphere of usefulness, we should find no part 
of greater importance, if we exclude cereals, or requiring greater inves- 
tigation, than the woods. Our knowledge of the source of many of 
our most beautiful woods which lend their aid to minister to our daily 
requirements and luxuries, are but imperfectly known, and our know- 
ledge on this point has certainly not advanced much of late; nor will 
it, until we can receive authentic specimens of the foliage and flowers 
of each tree. Timber merchants and manufacturers are content to 
receive the woods under the commercial name, and purchasers of the 
manufactured articles are generally easily satisfied by obtaining such 
articles in the most beautiful woods irrespective of their names; so that 
until buyers persist in requiring the scientific names of the woods from 
the manufacturers, who could with a little trouble obtain them, there 
is little hope of the sources of some of our best timbers being known, 
although many great and satisfactory results will undoubtedly accrue 
from the vast accumulation from all parts of the globe now under in- 
spection at South Kensington. These large collections are not brought 
together simply to show us the extent of our knowledge, but they tend 
to teach us how much, as well as how little, we know of the application 
of art and science to these productions. Doubtless, then, much will be 
added to our store of knowledge in this as in every other branch of 
Science, at the close of this great show. The value and importance of 
this section of economic botany cannot be misunderstood. Timber is 
certainly one of the most essential requisites in the Arts and Manutfac- 
tures, and though in these days iron has superseded wood for ship-building 

VOL. III. D 


50 NOTES ON APPARENTLY USEFUL WOODS 


and for various other purposes, yet it never can be entirely supplanted 
by its formidable rival. Timber has held its place in the estimation 
of men of all ages, both of civilised and uncivilised nations. In 
every country where it is found mankind has abundance of applica- 
tion for it. The vast collection of woods furnished by our Colonial pos- 
sessions to the International Exhibition have undoubtedly never before 
been equalled in point of magnitude and numbers, and the appearance 
of many of them seem to stamp them as likely to be of value for cabinet 
and ornamental purposes, It has, therefore, occurred to me that a few 
remarks upon some of the woods more especially adapted to furniture 
and cabinet work would not be out of place, but, on the contrary, rather 
appropriate at this time when most if not all mentioned in this paper 
can be seen by those interested in this branch of industry, and, indeed, 
may perhaps be the means of bringing some of them haying greater 
claims to attention under the notice of those by whom alone they ean be — 
brought into repute—our timber merchants and manufacturers. Of 
course the great bulk of the woods exhibited by our Colonies are not 
new to us in point of name, for they have held a place in our museums 
for some years; but the collections here shown are unique in regard to 
their great size and also their extreme beauty. There have been lists 
published of the woods known in commerce arranged both alphabetically 
and also geographically; but I have in the following enumeration 
grouped them according to their colours, thinking that such an arrange- 
ment will facilitate reterence both to the manufacturer and also for the 
purpose of identification. In this grouping, however, some difficulty 
has to be contended with, owing to the great variety of shades which 
merge into one another. 


LigHt CoLouRED YELLow Woops. 2 

Dacrydium Franklinii, Hook fil. (Huon Pine.)—This perhaps is the 
most beautiful of all the light-coloured woods, and certainly the most 
beautiful in point of delicate marking of all the Tasmanian woods. The 
tree is very abundant an often attains a height of 100 feet. The wood 
is exceedingly durable, and is used for ship and house-building, machi- 
nery, &c., as well as being much esteemed for cabinet work and furniture. 
Excrescences or burrs are very abundant upon the trees, and the ap- 
pearance of these, when cut and polished, are most beautiful, the ground 
being of a yellowish colour somewhat resembling satin wood thickly 
studded with dark knots, each of which is surrounded with a silvery 
lustre. There is as great a difference between the appearance of the 
wood cut from the trunk and burr of this tree, as that produced by the 
walnut. Very beautiful specimens of burrs of this wood are made up 
into articles of furniture, and may be seen in the Tasmanian trophy in 
the International Exhibition, where slabs from the trunk may likewise 
be seen. That this wood has not been brought into use in England 


HITHERTO LITTLE KNOWN. 51 


seems rather surprising, as it is well adapted for some articles of furni- 
ture, and for the larger kinds of inlaying and marqueterie work. 

Pittosporum undulatum, Vent. (Wallandundeyren.)—This wood. has 
nearly the same tint as the Huon pine, with dark wavy markings, and 
when polished makes a very fine appearance. It is very close grained 
and hard, and would afford handsome veneers for cabinet work. After 
careful seasoning it becomes exceedingly firm and close, for which reason 
it has been suggested as a substitute for box wood in wood engraving. 
The tree grows to a height of about 90 feet, and is very common in 
many parts of New South Wales. 

P. bicolor and P. crassifolium have also close-grained light-coloured 
woods like the preceding, and are natives of the same country. 

Acronychia laurina, Muell .Yandermanna.)—Also a native of New 
South Wales, where it forms a handsome tree about 70 feet high, pro- 
ducing a very close-grained and light-coloured wood, much resembling 
the wood of the orange, to which family it belongs, 

Achras Australis, R. Br. (Jerra wawak.)—Called in New South Wales 
the Brush Apple, or Wild Plum, is a large tree frequently attaining 100 
feet in height. The wood is yellow about the same tint as the former, 
but prettily marked with darkish wavy lines, very close grained and 
firm, suitable for cabinet work and inlaying. In the New South Wales 
catalogue of the Paris Exhibition, 1855, one tree is mentioned as standing 
at Brisbane Water which measured 10 feet 6 inches in girth. 

Polyosma Cunninghami, R. Br. (Y eralla.)—A light-coloured even-grained 
wood, probably useful for some kinds of furniture and inlaying, where 
a plain light-coloured wood is required. Care must be taken in drying 
or it is apt to split, but when properly dried it is hard and durable. Like 
the former, it is a native of New South Wales, attaining a height of 
from 30 to 40 feet. 

Bursaria spinosa, Cay.—A native of Tasmania and many parts of 
New Holland; is a small tree not more than 30 feet high. The wood is 
very close and even-grained, of a yellowish colour, unmarked and very 
much like our Box wood; indeed its vernacular name is the Tasmanian 
Box wood ; it has the appearance of being well adapted for wood en- 
graving, and no doubt would be found useful for inlaying. 

Toddalia lanceolata, Lam.—A South African tree ; furnishes a wood 
very much like the foregoing, but rather of a darker yellow, and the 
annual rings more developed, but without any other markings. The 
wood which is very tough, and is called White Iron Wood, is much used 
at the Cape in the construction of waggons, ploughs, &e., on account of 
its great strength. 

Celastrus rhombifolius, Eckl, et Z. (Pendoorn.)—Is another of the dense 
hard, and heavy Box-like woods of the Cape. It is a small tree or 
shrub; but the wood is very much prized amongst musical instrument 

D2 


AS 


oa NOTES ON APPARENTLY USEFUL WOODS 


makers, especially for clarionets, flutes, &e. It is also largely used in 
turnery. P 

Cassine Maurocenia, L.—Much like the former and used at the Cape 
for the same purposes as well as for all kinds of fancy cabinet work. 

Elceodendron Australe, Vent. (Courari-ou.)—A New South Wales tree, 
slender; but growing to a height of about 40 feet, produces a close- 
grained, firm wood of a lightish yellow colour with darker, wavy, and 
eccentric markings, very beautiful when polished, and adapted for furni- 
ture and turnery purposes. 

Dubvisia Myoporoides, R. Br. (Cork wood.)—A small tree of New 
South Wales, growing from 15 to 30 feet high. The wood is of a very 
light colour; almost as light as the wood of the Lime; very close 
grained and firm, but easily cut. It is adapted for some kinds of cabinet 
work, but more especially for wood carving. 

Schotia latifolia, Jacq. (Bosck Beerboon,)—A native of South Africa ; 
is a small tree with a hard, tough, and durable wood, of a plain 
yellowish colour. It is used at the Cape for posts, &c.; but might be 
useful also for inlaying, being too small for cabinet work, 

Nyssa multiflora, Walt. (Pepperidge, or Tupelo.)—A_ native of North 
America, where it grows to a large-sized tree. The wood is very light, 
much resembling Sycamore, and is said to offer great resistance to split- 
ting owing to the manner in which the fibres are interwoven. 

Zieria lanceolata, R. Br.—(A native of New South Wales.)—A tolerably- 
sized tree attaining a height of about 80 feet, with a diameter of from 
2 to 3 feet. It has a clear light-coloured wood, close and prettily grained, 
somewhat soft, but nevertheless takes a good polish, and might be found 
useful for the more ornamental parts of cabinet work. 

Sideroxylon inerme, L. (Milkwood of the Cape.)—A small tree about 
8 or 10 feet high, producing a close, hard, and very durable wood, not 
affected by damp. It is in great repute at the Cape for boat-building, 
bridges, &c., and is of a plain yellow colour looking well when polished. 

Halleria elliptica, Thbg. (Oudehout )—Is also a native of the Cape, 
growing 6 to 10 feet high, producing a yellowish wood, tough, and even 
grained, used at the Cape for plough beams, &c., though perhaps worthier 
of better application. 

Halleria lucida, L. (Witte Olyve.)—A small tree of the Cape 6 or 8 
feet high, has a wood somewhat resembling Beech, but more yellow, and 
a much finer grain. It-is hard and durable, and is much used in car- 
pentry and in the manufacture of planes and other tools. 

Eckebergia Capensis, Sparrm. (Cape Ash.)—Attains a height of 30 or 
40 feet. The wood is very close and tough, with a silvery grain, having 
a pretty and delicate appearance when polished. It is much used at 


the Cape for various purposes, but well adapted for inlaying, cabinet 
work, &e. 


HITHERTO LITTLE KNOWN. 53 

Byrsonima coriacea, Sw. (Lotus berry), native of Jamaica, where it is 
a very common and beautiful tree. The timber is fine, close, and even 
grained, of a light colour with a pinkish tinge. Might be found use- 
ful for the more ordinary kinds of cabinet work, possessing no great 
beauty, but is a clear light coloured wood. 

Badiera diversifolia, De. (Bastard lignum-vitee.) — Is a small tree 
growing abundantly in many parts of Jamaica, producing a.hard, com- 
pact, and fine-grained woed, apparently very durable, being nearly as 
heavy as the true lignum-vite. Itis of a lightish colour, having a pink- 
ish tinge without any markings. 

Citrus aurantium, L. (The Orange.)—This well-known tree is now 
cultivated in every tropical or subtropical country, though more espe- 
cially in Southern Europe and the Canary Islands. The wood is very 
close, even grained, and of a clear yellow colour. It is sometimes used 
for making walking-sticks, &c., but is seldom obtained large enough for 
cabinet work, though it might be employed more extensively than it is 
for turnery or inlaying. 

Niebuhria caffra, De. (Witbosch-hout.)—A South African tree grow- 
ing about 20 feet high, with a diameter of 10 to 15 inches; produces a 
hard, tough, and durable wood, of a clear light colour, much used at the 
Cape for some articles of furniture and for various other purposes. 

Atherosperma moschata, Lab. (Tasmanian Sassafras.)—Is a large tree 
attaining a height of 150 feet. The wood is unmarked, somewhat 
resembling our Deal, but of greater strength, and much yellower when 
polished. It is extensively used in een for house pears) and in 
the construction of carpenters’ tools. 

Dovyalis zizyphoides, EK. Mey.—This tree is very common in the 
woods in the neighbourhood of the Cape of Good Hope, where it grows 
to 30 or 40 feet in height. The timber is of a citron yellow colour, close 
grained, hard and compact. It is used chiefly in waggon work and for 
other purposes where strength is required, although its appearance when 
polished ought to secure it a place. amongst the ornamental woods. 

Myrsine variabilis, R. Br.—A good-sized tree about 50 feet in height, 
growing in New Holland. The wood is of a lightish colour, prettily 
marked, close and even grained. 

Genipa Americana, L., Lana of British Guiana, where it forms a 
lofty tree, the timber frequently squaring from 14 to 18 inches; very 
close grained, hard, and durable, and of a yellow colour, without any 
markings or figure. 

Pennantia acuta, Planch. (Balim bowlimba.)—A large tree native 
of New South Wales. The wood of which appears to be well adapted 
for the more ordinary kinds of cabinet work, and for inlaying where a 
light-coloured wood is required. It is even grained, and takes a good 
polish. 

Hymenanthera dentata, R. Br.—Is but a small Australian tree or 


54 NOTES ON APPARENTLY USEFUL WOODS 


shrub, not usually exceeding 20 feet in height, nevertheless the wood is 
tolerably hard, takes a good polish of a fine grain, with light silvery 
and dark alternating markings. 

Liriodendron tulipifera, u—(The Tulip tree, white wood, or yellow 
Poplar of North America.) It grows to a large size and produces a wood 
of nearly the same colour and density as Ash, but with a silvery grey 
grain. It takes an excellent polish. 

Tilia Americana, L. (Bass wood.) — A native of North America. 
It is about as strong as the common Lime, but a much more beautiful 
wood, being very even grained, with alternating silvery and dark 
transverse lines, changing in position with the rays of light. This 
would make a beautiful wood for inlaying and also for panelling. 

Acer saccharinum, L. (The Sugar Maple of North America.)—Has wood 
very much like the last, both in appearance and apparent strength. 

Tetranthera ferruginea, R. Br—A tree of New South Wales, where 
it grows to a height of about 80 feet. It has not a very dense wood, but 
apparently tough, and even grained, of a light colour, the annual rings 
being developed in darker stripes. 

Podocarpus Thunbergti, Hook. (Cape Yellow Wood.)—Is as its name 
indicates, a native of the Cape of Good Hope. It does not grow to any 
great height, but slabs can be obtained from it from 10 to 15 inches 
across. The wood is of a clear yellow colour, with an even grain, but is 
not so durable as that of 

Podocarpus elongatus, LiHerit, is a much larger tree, commonly 70 
feet in height, close grained, something resembling deal, and perhaps 
of a more yellowish colour. It is very commonly used at the Cape for 
all sorts of purposes, both useful and ornamental. 

Maba Guineensis—Supposed to be the source of the wood known as 
Bahama Satin Wood, or, as it is called in its native country, Yellow 
Wood. It grows abundantly and to a large size on Andros and the 
adjacent islands. The wood is of a close fine grain, having a pretty wavy 
pattern, which looks remarkably well when polished. It is imported 
into this country in small quantities, and is sometimes confounded with 
the Indian Satin Wood, to which it bears some resemblance. 

Ostrya Virginica, Lam. (Iron Wood of North America.)—A tree 
Srowing from 40 to 50 feet high, and 8 to 10 inches in diameter. It 
is very close and even grained, of a clear light colour somewhat like 
Ash. 

Araucaria Cunninghami, Ait, called the Moreton Bay Pine, from its 
abundance at that place; is also found in other parts of New South 
Wales. It grows toa height of from 200 to 300 feet, and produces an 
even-grained wood something like deal, but much finer both in grain 
and also in the general appearance of the wood which is of a clear yellow 
colour. 

Michelia Champaca, L. (Sappoo.)—A tree of the East Indian Penin- 


HITHERTO LITTLE KNOWN. 55 


sula and Ceylon, where it grows 30 or 40 feet high, producing a firm and 
durable wood of a brownish yellow tint with silvery shading. It is 
used in Ceylon chiefly for carriages and house-building. 

Exocarpus cupressiformis, Lab. (Native cherry.)—An Australian tree 
growing to a height of about 50 feet and 1 to 2 feet in diameter. The 
timber is very closed grained, of a light and even colour, and might 
probably be found of service for turnery purposes. It is apt to split 
unless care is taken in drying. 

Acacia Farnesiana, Willd.—A small tree growing in India, St. Do- 
mingo, the South of Europe, &c., producing a hard and tough wood of an 
even grain, and a clear yellow colour. It is much used in India for tent 
pegs, the knees of ships, &c. 

Icica altissima, Aubl. (Red or White Cedar of British Guiana.)}— Where 
the tree grows to a height of about 100 feet, the wood squaring from 
1to 3 feet. It is of a dingy yellow colour, rather open grained, but 
takes a good polish. It is easily worked and not liable to split. A 
strong aromatic odour is contained in the wood, which effectually keeps 
away insects, and adapts it for cabinets, wardrobes, &. As a proof of 
the durability of this wood it may be stated that one of the canoes that 
accompanied Sir R. Schomburgk in his expedition into the interior, was 
simply a hollowed trunk of this tree, which, after four years’ hard 
service was found to be perfectly sound. 


DaREIsH YELLOW Woops. 


Pithecolobium pruinosum, Bth. (Meroan gangne.)—A common tree at 
Illawarra, in New South Wales, growing to a height of about 60 feet, 
with a diameter of from 1 to 2 feet. The wood is of a deep yellow colour 
covered with dark wavy lines and knots ; well adapted for all kinds of 
cabinet work. 

Fagarastrum capense, Don. (Knobhout, of the Cape of Good Hope.)— 
Tree about 10 feet high. The timber is firm and close grained, of a 
beautiful dark silvery yellow, the annual rings distinct in fine dark 
parallel lines running transversely. Slabs of nearly 18 inches in breadth 
may be obtained from this tree. 

Podocarpus spinulosus, Spr. (White Pine of New South Wales)—A 
large tree frequently attaining a height of 120 feet. The wood is close 
but easily worked; some specimens are very beautifully figured with 
dark markings. It has been suggested that this wood might prove valu- 
able for the sounding boards of musical instruments. 

Cupania Australis, A.Cunn. (Tamarind tree of New South Wales.) 
—It grows to about 90 feet high, producing a firm, close-grained wood, 
with dark, cloudy markings running transversely. This wood appears 
well adapted for panelling and some of the larger kinds of cabinet work. 

Callistemon pallidum, De. (Broad-leaved Tea tree.)\—Also a native of 


56 NOTES ON APPARENTLY USEFUL WOODS 


New South Wales, growing to about 50 or 60 feet in height. The wood 
is hard and very close grained, of a dusky brownish yellow colour; it 
requires careful drying or is apt to split. 

Ceratopetalum apetalum, Don. (Light Wood of New South Wales.)— 
Produces a fine-grained wood easily worked, has a light-coloured ground 
with dark stripes, and looks well when polished. It is a large tree 
attaining a height of 130 feet, from which slabs can be procured 3 or 4 
feet in breadth. 

Oxleya Xanthoxyla, Cunn. (Yellow Wood.)—Is also a native of Aus- 
tralia, where it is used for boat-building; a dye is also obtained from it, 
hence its vernacular name. The wood is hard and close-grained, of a 
deepish yellow’colour with a silvery tinge, and looks well when polished. 
It is a large tree growing 100 feet high. 

Caryocar tomentosum, Willd. (Souari Wood of British Guiana.)—It 
is a dense heavy wood, of a deep yellow colour, with a brownish tinge, 
and is said to excel for ship-building, besides being used for various 
other purposes. It may be obtained 40 feet in length, squaring 16 to 20 
inches, 

Erythrina Corallodendron lL. (Barracara.)—This likewise is one of the 
hard heavy woods of British Guiana. It is even grained, of a brownish 
yellow colour without markings. 

Gymnocladus Canadensis, Lam.—A native of North America, growing 
to a height of about 30 or 40 feet. The wood is of a darkish silvery 
yellow, with light brown stripes, tolerably firm, and close grained ; looks 
well when polished. 

Gleditschia triacanthos, LL. (Honey Locust tree of North America.)— 
Growing 30 or 40 feet high. The wood of this tree somewhat resembles 
the last, being of a silvery yellow, with darkish stripes, though not 
quite so dark on the whole. 

Acacia julibrissin, Willd. (A native of the Levant and the East Indies.) 
—The tree attains a height of about 30 or 40 feet, producing a close and 
even-grained wood, of a deep silvery yellow, variegated with narrow 
brown stripes. 

Olinia Capensis, Klotz. (Hardpeer.\—A native of the Cape of Good 
Hope, growing about 16 or 18 feet high, with a diameter of 10 to 12 
inches. The wood is hard, compact and heavy, of a brownish yellow 
colour. It is much used for picture frames, various fancy purposes, and 
for the axles of waggons, &c. 

Cryptocarya glaucescens, R. Br. (Oorawang, or Laurel of New South 
Wales.)—Where the tree attains a height of 120 feet and a diameter of 
2to 4 feet. The wood is rather soft, but might be found useful for 
many purposes, being of a clear darkish yellow, taking a good polish. 

Eupomatia laurina, R. Br. (Balwarra..—A New South Wales tree 
growing 20 or 30 feet high, and having a diameter of 8 to 16 inches; 


sf 


HITHERTO LITTLE KNOWN. 57 


produces a somewhat softish wood, which nevertheless might be found 
useful. It is of a silvery yellow colour with a brownish transparent 
appearance, and looks well when polished. 

Phoberos Mundtii, W. Arn. (Klipdoorn.)—A native of the Cape of 
Good Hope, producing a clear, brownish yellow, hard and close-grained 
wood, much used by builders, as also in the construction of carriages 
and waggons. It can be obtained 20 to 30 feet long, with a diameter of 
about 3 feet. 

Erythroxylon Coca, Lam. (Native of Peru, but found also in Africa~ 
—It is a tree growing 20 or 30 feet high, and produces a close, even 
grained, compact wood; the sap wood being of a lightish tinge, while 
the heart wood has a tendency to a pinkish brown. 

Koelreuteria paniculata, Lamx.—A small tree not more than 20 feet 
high, native of China, producing a wood of a silvery yellow, with dark- 
ish stripes, something like the wood of Gymnodadus Canadensis, but not 
quite so dark. 

Geigera multiflora, Muell. (Kaligneen.)—A New South Wales tree, 
attaining a height of about 90 feet, with a diameter of 1 to 2 feet; very 
abundant at Illawarra. The wood is very hard, close grained and firm, 
of a rich deepish yellow with dark wavings. 

Xanthozylum Clava Hercules, L. (Hercules club, or Prickly Yellow 
Wood of Jamaica.)—The tree grows to a height of 50 or 60 feet, pro- 
ducing a rather coarse grained, but solid and heavy wood, of a brownish 
yellow colour, used in Jamaica for furniture, inlaying, and also for 
flooring. 

Piscidia erythrina, L. (White Dogwood.)—Also a native of Jamaica ; 
produces a hardand heavy wood, of a dull brownish yellow colour, much 
valued for its durability. The tree grows to a height of about 30. feet, 
and is common in Jamaica, the Bahamas, Antigua, &c. 

Piscidia Carthaginensis, L. (Bitch Wood, or Black Dogwood of Ja- 
maica.)—Is considered by some as only a variety of the former species. 
The woods are much alike, both in grain and colour. This is largely 
used in Jamaica for wheels and carriages. 

Eucalyptus globulus, Labil. (Blue gum.)—A very large Tasmanian 
tree, where it grows to over 300 feet in height. The wood is very tough 
and durable, of a dul] brownish yellow colour, without any great beauty ; 
but takes a good polish. It is much used for ship and house-building 
bridges, &e. Very many of the Eucalypt: (the Gum trees of Australia,) 
produce very tough and durable woods of a large size; but the species 
are so numerous and so imperfectly known, that it is impossible to give 
detailed account of their value with accuracy. 

Eugenia Zeyheri, Harv. Wilde Jambos of the Cape of Good Hope, 
where it grows to a height of from 15 to 20 feet, and a breadth of 9 to 
12 inches, producing a timber, very compact and close-grained, of a 
brownish yellow colour. 


58 NOTES ON APPARENTLY USEFUL WOODS 


Myrtus trinervis, (Dthalandoon).—Native of New South Wales, grow- 
ing about 70 feet high, with a diameter of 10 to 24 inches. The wood 
is even-grained, close, and firm, of a darkish yellow colour. 

Acmena floribunda, Dc. (Tdjerail.)—Native, like the last, of New 
South Wales, where it produces an even-grained and compact wood, of a 
brownish yellow, taking a good polish. It grows to a height of 60 or 
80 feet, and a diameter of 1 to 2 feet. 

Cathartocarpus fistula, Pers—The wood of this tree is of a close, 
even grained nature, and a plain yellow colour, without any distinct 
markings. Itis a middling-sized tree, but does not produce timber of 
any size, though large enough for the construction of spars for the native 
Indian craft. It is a native of the East Indies, but naturalised in the 
West, and South America. 

Prosopis spicigera, L.—An East Indian tree, growing to a height of 
40 or 50 feet, producing a hard, even-grained, and very strong wood, of 
a darkish yellow colour, without any distinct markings. 

Eucalyptus gigantea, Hook. fil. (Stringy Bark of Tasmania), where it 
is one of the largest forest trees, attaining a height of 250 to 300 feet. 
It is a very strong and durable wood, something like teak, but not so 
dark in colour, and is in great demand in its native country for house 
and shipbuilding, as well as for various other purposes. 

Eurybia argophylla, Cass. (Musk Wood of New South Wales).—So 
named on account of the leaves and young shoots having an odour of 
musk. It is a forest tree, growing 20 or 30 feet high, producing a 
tolerably hard and durable wood, of a dusky yellow colour, very beauti- 
fully covered with darkish wavy lines and knots. This is a very hand- 
some wood, and is used in New South Wales for furniture and cabinet 
work. It takes a capital polish. 

Trochocarpa laurina, R. Br. (Beech or Brush Cherry).—A native of 
New Holland, growing to the height of 30 or 40 feet. The timber is 
firm and close, of a brownish yellow, with a silvery shade, some speci- 
mens being very prettily marked, and well adapted for cabinet work. 


Dark Woods OF A BROWNISH COLOUR. 


Grewia tilefolia, Vahl. (Damin-na).—A small tree, native of the East 
Indies and Ceylon, produces a close-grained tolerably heavy wood, of a 
dull brownish colour. 

Lophira alata—A tree of West Tropical Africa, growing from 80 to 
100 feet high, has a hard and very heavy wood, rather coarse-grained, of 
a dark brown colour. 

Mammea Americana, L.(Mammee Apple).—A tall handsome tree, grow- 
ing in the West Indian Islands. The wood is of a rich brown colour, 
sometimes of a wavy appearance. It is hard, heavy, and very durable, 
and takes a good polish. - 

Thespesia populnea, Corr.—A native of the East Indies and Australia, 


HITHERTO LITTLE KNOWN, 59 


and naturalised in the West Indies, It is a tree attaining a height of 40 
or 50 feet in Ceylon, where it is known by the name of “‘ Sooriya,” and 
is used for a variety of purposes, as carriage wheels, buildings, &. In 
India it isin very general use where strength and durability are required, 
being used for rollers, gun-stocks, &. It is very close-grained, of a clear 
brown colour, with occasional dark stripes. 

Calophyllum Inophyllum, L.—A native of the East Indies, Ceylon, and 
the Pacific Islands, attaining a height of about 90 feet, and producing a 
tolerably close and even grained wood, much used in Ceylon for masts 
and spars for boats, &c. It is of a lightish brown colour, with a silvery 
shade, and takes a good polish. 

Moschoxylum Swartzii, Juss. (Musk Wood of Jamaica).—So called from 
the strong odour of musk contained in the leaves. It is a tree about 20 
or 30 feet high. The wood is close and heavy, of a silvery brown colour, 
with fine dark lines. 

Zanthoxylum aromaticum, Willd.—A native of the West Indian Islands. 
It is a tree about 20 feet high, growing abundantly in all the woods. The 
timber is very close, and fine-grained, the sapwood of a pinkish brown 
the heart wood much darker. 

Gomphia Guianensis, Rich. (Candlewood of Jamaica).—It is a small 
tree, producing a firm close-grained wood, of a dull brown colour, with 
a pinkish tinge. 

Dalbergia lanceolaria, L. fil—A native of the East Indies, where the 
tree grows to about 30 or 40 feet high, producing a hard heavy wood, of 
a dull brownish colour, much employed in Ceylon for housebuilding and 
other purposes. 

Dipteryx odorata, Willd. Cumaroo of British Guiana, where it grows 
to a height of 60 or 70 feet, from which timber may be obtained from 
one to two feet square. It is a hard, heavy, tough, and very durable 
wood, used for shafts, mill wheels, and cogs. The colour is of a yellowish 
brown, with dark stripes. This tree produces the Tonquin bean. 

Hymenea Courbaril, L. (Locust Tree).—Grows abundantly, and toa 
great size, in the forests of South America, frequently attaining 60 or 80 
feet before any branches are given off, and having a diameter of eight to 
nine feet. The wood is exceedingly hard, compact, and close-grained, in 
colour of a lightish brown, with dark streaks, but sometimes varying 
to a dark mahogany colour, It is used for engine work, planking of 
vessels, &c., is susceptible of a high polish, and might be employed for 
furniture. 

Wormia triquetra, Rottb.—This is a native of Ceylon, where it grows 
to a height of 20 or 30 feet. The wood is tolerably close-grained, of a 
pinkish brown colour, with dark variegated stripes, commonly used in 
Ceylon for various purposes. 

Wormia retusa, Hf. and T., (Godeparre).—This also is a native of 
Ceylon, growing in the woods to about 30 feet high. The timber resembles 


60 NOTES ON APPARENTLY USEFUL WOODS 


the last in grain, but rather a duller brown colour, much used for roofs 
of houses, &c. 

Bauhinia grandiflora, Juss—A small tree, native of Peru, produces 
an apparently durable close-grained wood, of a silvery brown, with dark 
stripes, having a very rich appearance when polished. 

Copaifera officinalis Jacq. (Balsam of Copaiva).—A large tree, native 
of the West Indian Islands. The wood is close and heavy, in colour of 
a dusky brown, with dark stripes. Takes a good polish. 

Acacia verticillata, Willd. Prickly Mimosa of Tasmania, where it 
grows to a height of 20 or 30 feet, and eight inches to one foot in dia- 
meter. The wood appears tolerably ieee -grained and hard, & a lightish 
colour, with dark brown markings. 

Acacia Cunninghami, Hook.—Also an Australian tree, producing a 
fine-grained, close, and compact wood, of a light brown colour, with dark 
stripes. 

Pimenta vulgaris, W. A.—A native of the West Indian Islands, a 
common tree, growing to a height of 30 or 40 feet, producing a close- 
grained wood, of a dusky brown colour, with dark stripes. 

Monotoca elliptica, R. Br. (Beech of New South Wales), but belonging 
to the Epacris family. It is a small tree, from 10 to 20 feet high, and 
6 to 12 inches in diameter, producing a very fine close-grained wood, of 
a yellowish brown colour, much used for making handles for mallets and 
other tools. 

Tecoma undulata, Don.—A native of India, where it grows to a 
height of 20 or 30 feet, and produces a hard and close-grained wood, of 
a lightish brown colour. 

Persea gratissima, Geertn. (Avocado Pear).—A native of Jamaica, but 
naturalized in all the West Indian islands, and also in Madeira. It grows 
to a large size, and produces a rather softish wood, of a brown colour, 
very prettily marked, with a silvery lustre, making a fine appearance 
when polished. 

Casuarina leptoclada, Mig. (River or White Oak of New South 
Wales), where it frequently grows to 120 feet high and 2to 5 feet in 
diameter. The timber is very strong, but will not bear exposure to the 
weather. The colour is of a clear brown, with dark markings, taking 
a good polish. 


DarK WoobDs OF A REDDISH BRown CoLour. 


Platymiscium polystachium, Bth. (Roble of Trinidad).—A fine tree, 
native of the West Indian Islands and Panama, producing a tough wood of 
a light mahogany colour, with dark stripes, and a silvery transparent 
grain. 

Copaifera bracteata.—A large tree of British Guiana, the wood of 
which is very close-grained and compact, and has been suggested as a 
substitute for rosewood in the fitting up of ships’ cabins. 


HITHERTO LITTLE KNOWN. 61 


Mora excelsa, Bth—This wood is produced by another of the mag- 
nificent trees of British Guiana, and is one of the strongest and most 
durable, being recognised at Lloyds as equal if not superior to oak, It 
is of a reddish brown colour, and takes a good polish. 

Acacia dealbata, Link. (Silver Wattle)—A Tasmanian tree, growing 
from 60 to 120 feet high, with a diameter of from 1 to 3 feet. The 
timber is strong and tough, very prettily marked with streaks and 
knots of a deepish red colour, with a silvery grain. It is much used by 
native coopers. 

Acacia decurrens, Willd.—Also a native of Tasmania, attaining a 
height of 40 or 60 feet, and a diameter of 12 to 18 inches. It is a close, 
even-grained wood, of a light reddish brown colour, witha silvery lustre, 
taking a good polish. 

Acacia falcata, Willd. (Wee-tjellan, or Lignum Vite of New South 
Wales) is a small tree, not more than 20 or 30 feet high, with a dia- 
meter of from 8 to 16 inches. The wood is close, even-grained, and 
hard, of a rich reddish brown, and prettily marked, looking well when 
polished. 

Acacia mollissima, Willd. (Black Wattle of Tasmania).—A_ tree 
growing to a height of 50 or 80 feet, with a diameter of 1 to 3 feet, pro- 
ducing a close-grained tolerably hard wood, of a light red colour, with 
dark stripes, used in Tasmania for tree nails, and when split for making 
hats and baskets. 

Acacia glaucescens, Willd. (Karreewan)—A native of Australia, 
where it grows 20 or 30 feet high, with a diameter of from 1 to 2 feet. 
The wood is hard, close, and fine-grained, of a rich reddish brown colour, 
and takes a good polish. 

Acacia Arabica, Willd.—Native of India, Egypt, Senegal, &c.; fur- 
nishes a strong, close-grained, durable wood, very much resembling the 
lighter kinds of mahogany when polished. 

Trichilia glandulosa, Sm, (Rosewood of New South Wales), where it 
grows to about 80 feet in height. The colour of this wood is of a deep 
reddish brown, something like mahogany, to which family it belongs. 
It is close and even grained, and is very applicable to the manufacture 
of cabinets, bedsteads, &c., as insects are effectually kept away, owing 
to the presence of an essential oil. The sawdust has the peculiar effect 
of blistering the skin, 

Carapa Guianensis, Aubl. (Carapa, or Crab Wood), is, as the specific 
name indicates, a native of British Guiana, where it grows in the forests 
to a height of 60 or 70 feet. The wood is hard and heavy, about the 
same colour as Honduras mahogany, though quite unmarked. It takes 
a good polish. 

Curtisia faginea, Ait. (Hassagay Wood of the Cape of Good Hope), 
wnere the tree attains a height of from 20 to 40 feet, but is generally 
felled when at the former height. The wood is very heavy, tough, and 


62 NOTES ON APPARENTLY USEFUL WOODS 


close-grained, of a colour resembling plain mahogany. It is highly 
prized at the Cape for furniture, tools, &., but particulary for carriages 
and waggons, 

Hartogia Capensis, Thbg. (Smalblad, or Lepelhout).—This is also a 
native of the Cape, and grows to a height of 12 or 15 feet, with a dia- 
meter of 14 feet. The wood is firm, fine-grained, and tough, and when 
polished is equal to some of the finer kinds of mahogany, both in colour 
and texture. It is much used at the Cape for veneering superior articles 
of furniture, and also for the manufacture of musical instruments. 

Berrya Amonille, Roxb. (Halmililo).—A native of the Moluccas and 
Ceylon, where the tree attains a height of 30 or 40 feet. The wood in 
colour somewhat resembles pencil cedar, but is much harder, closer, and 
finer grained, taking a good polish. It is considered the best timber in 
Ceylon for casks, tubs, waggons, &c. 

Eleodendron croceum, De. (Saffron-wood of the Cape of Good Hope), 
growing to about 40 feet high, with a diameter of two to four feet. The _ 
timber is close, fine, even-grained, and very tough ; the colour is of a 
lightish red-brown, and looks well when polished. It has an infinite 
variety of uses in its native country, being employed for cabinet-work, 
furniture, building purposes, and also for carriage and waggon work. 

Zizyphus jujuba, Lam.—A native of India, but growing also in China. 
It is a small tree, about 16 to 20 feet high, producing a wood of a fine 
reddish-brown colour, equal in appearance to fine mahogany ; it 1s very 
close and even-grained, compact, and heavy. From this wood the 
native Indian sandals are chiefly made. 

Comocladia integrifolia, Jacq. (Maiden Plum of Jamaica), where it is 
a common tree, growing 20 to 30 feet high. It has a very heavy, dense, 
and even-grained wood, of a clear, dark, mahogany colour, and is used 
in Jamaica for furniture and cabinet work. 

Pistacia Lentiscus, L—This tree is a native of the south of Europe 
and the northern parts of Africa. It is known to us as being one of the 
trees from which the gum mastich of commerce is obtained, and grows 
to about 20 or 30 feet high, producing a close-grained, hard wood, of a 
dark reddish-brown colour, beautifully marked with dark stripes. 

Odina Wodier, Roxb. A large tree, native of the East Indies. 
The heart wood of the old tree is hard, and close grained, of a reddish- 
brown mahogany colour, taking a good polish. It is used in India for 
various purposes, amongst others, for sheaths for swords, &c. 

Azedarachta Indica, Juss——A tree 20 to 30 feet high, native of the 
East Indies, producing a hard, close grained, and durable wood, of a 
reddish-brown colour, with dark variegated markings. It is much used 
for shipbuilding, carts, and various other purposes. 

Eperua falcata, Aubl. (Wallaba of British Guiana.) Where it grows 
very abundantly, and produces a close, even grained wood, very strong 
and durable, of a deep reddish colour. It is largely employed in house 


HITHERTO LITTLE KNOWN. 63 


building, for posts, and other purposes where strength is required; and 
can be obtained 30 or 40 feet long by 15 to 20 inches diameter. 

Mesua ferrea, L.—Iron wood of the East Indies, and is a native also 
of Java, growing about 40 or 50 feet high. The wood is hard, and close 
grained, of a deep reddish-brown colour ; looks well when polished, and 
is used in Ceylon for bridges, roofs, &c. 

Alphitonia excelsa, Reiss. (Red Ash, Coopers’ Wood, or Leather 
Jacket, of New South Wales.)—It is a fine tree, growing from 50 to 100 
feet high, with a diameter of 2 to 3 feet. The wood is very sound and 
close grained. The heart wood is of a light colour, something like Hon- 
duras mahogany, and takes a good polish. 

Copaifera pubiflora, Bth—Purple heart of British Guiana, where it 
grows very abundantly, and to a large size, producing a timber of very 
great strength and durability. The colour varies much in different 
specimens, some being of a deepish red brown, but the most beautiful 
is of a clear reddish purple, exceedingly handsome when polished. 

Baphia nitida, Lodd. (Barwood, or Camwood of Commerce).—A tree 
50 or 60 feet high, native of the West Coast of Africa. It is well known 
in this country as a dye-wood; and is imported in logs from 4 to 5 feet 
long, and about a foot in width. The wood is tolerably close grained, 
of a deep reddish brown colour, and is occasionally used for turning. 

Ceratonia Siliqua, Li. (Carob).—A tree 40 or 50 feet high, native of 
the South of Europe and the Levant. The wood is rather coarse grained, 
but of a fine reddish brown colour. This is the tree which produces the 
Carob bean, or St. John’s bread. © 

Prosopis julliflora, De. (Cashaw.)—A native of Jamaica; growing to 
the height of 30 or 40 feet. The wood is hard, close, and even grained ; 
the heart wood of a lightish mahogany colour, the sap wood yellowish. 
It is much used for shipbuilding in Jamaica. 

Detarium senegalense, (Gmel.)—A large tree, growing on the Gambia, 
where it is called “ Dattock ;’ producing a hard and compact timber, of 
a deep reddish brown colour, apparently very durable. 

Adenanthera pavonina, L. (Rukta chundun.)—A large East Indian 
tree, growing 100 feet high; found abundantly in all the forests. The 
wood is very hard and durable, of a deep red colour, which is extracted > 
by the Brahmins for staining their foreheads after bathing. 

Acacia arborea, Willd.— Wild Tamarind of Jamaica, where it 
grows to a height of 40 or 50 feet, producing a close compact wood, 
strong and durable ; heart wood of a light reddish brown, the sap wood 
yellow. Z 

Cerasus serotina, Lois. (American Bird Cherry.)—Growing in many 
parts of North America ; frequently attaining 120 feet in height and 4 
feet in diameter, The wood is very fine, even grained, and hard; of a 
very clear mahogany colour, without any markings, and susceptible of a 


64 NOTES ON APPARENTLY USEFUL WOODS 


high polish. It is much used in North America for all kinds of cabinet 
work, eS 

Cerasus Mahaleb, Mill.—A native of the South of Rurope. A small 
tree, about 20 or 25 feet high, producing a very hard, close grained and 
fragrant wood ; much esteemed by the French for furniture and cabinet 
work. The colour is of a rich reddish brown, with a satiny lustre, and 
dark stripes. 

Melaleuca uncinata, R. Br. (Yang-4rra, or Common Tea Tree.)—A 
large Australian tree, from 40 to 80 feet high, and having a diameter of 
from 2 to 4 feet. It affords a very hard, close grained and durable wood ; 
excellent for underground work, but liable to split if care is not taken 
in the drying. The colour is of a reddish brown, with a silvery trans- 
parent shade. 

Eucalyptus amygdalina, Lab. (Mokarago, or Narrow-leaved Iron bark 
of New South Wales,)—Where it grows to a height of 50 to 90 feet, with a 
diameter of 2 to 4 feet. This wood, like most of the Hucalypti is very 
dense, hard, and durable; the colour reddish brown with dark stripes, 
looking well when polished. 

Eucalyptus paniculata, Sm. (Mannen or Blood tree.)—A large tree 
from 60 to 120 feet high, and 3 to 4 or even 5 feet in diameter. The 
wood is not durable when exposed to the weather; but answers well for 
other purposes, as cabinet work, &c., for which the colour recommends 
it, being of a pretty reddish brown, with dark stripes, and taking a good 
polish. 

Lecythis grandiflora, Aubl. (Monkey-pot tree.—A native of British 
Guiana, growing to a large size. The timber is very close grained and 
hard. The heart wood of a lightish red colour, takes a good polish, 
and is much used in its native country for furniture as well as for the 
staves of casks. 

Cunonia capensis, L. (Rood Els—A small tree from 20 to 25 feet 
high, with a diameter of from 1 to 2 feet, native of the Cape of Good 
Hope. The wood is close and even-grained, very durable in moist situ- 
ations, and much used for turnery and furniture. The colour is of a 
clear reddish brown, susceptible of a high polish. 

Bassia longifolia, L. (Mee.)—A tree about 40 feet high, native of 
Ceylon, Malabar, Coromandel, &c. It is a heavy and very dense wood, 
said to be as durable as teak, but more difficult to be worked. The 
colour is of a dull red brown, much used in Ceylon for house buildings, 
bridges, and various other purposes. 

BassiaParkii, Don. (Shea butter tree.) A large African tree 40 or 50 
feet high, producing a very heavy and close-grained wood. The colour 
of the heart wood is of a deep reddish brown much like the former spe- 
cies, and takes a good polish. 

Sapota Achras, Mill. (Sapodilla.)\—A native of Trinidad, Jamaica, 


HITHERTO LITTLE KNOWN. 65 


St. Vincent, &c. sometimes growing 50 feet high. The wood is of very 
fine even grain, somewhat resembling mahogany in colour but with 
deeper markings. 

Sapota sideroxylon, Gr.—One of the most lofty trees of Jamaica, where 
it is much esteemed for its very strong and durable timber, of a clear 
reddish brown colour, capable of taking a high polish. 

Coccoloba uvifera, Jacq. (Sea Side Grape of Jamaica,)—Where it is 
native, as well as in other of the West Indian Islands. It affords a close- 
grained timber, but appears liable to split. Itis of a clear reddish brown 
colour, and is used in Jamaica for furniture and cabinet work. 

Grevillea robusta, Cunn. (Silky oak.)—An Australian tree, attaining 
a height of 50 or 60 feet, arid a diameter of 12 to 18 inches. The wood 
is hard and close grained, of a dark reddish-brown, with dark stripes ; 
takes a good polish, and is used in its native country for furniture work. 

Artocarpus integrifolia, L. (Jack Tree)—A large tree, common in 
Southern Asia and the Indian islands. It affords a tolerably close- 
grained wood, of a pale colour when young, but becoming by age of a 
rich mahogany colour. It is much used in India for furniture, cabinet 
work, frames, &c., and is capable of taking an excellent polish. 

Casuarina quadrivalvis, Lab. (She Oak).—A Tasmanian tree, growing 
20 or 30 feet high, and about 1 foot in diameter, producing a dense and 
very hard wood, of a reddish-brown colour, with dark stripes. It is 
used in Tasmania for picture frames as well as for cabinet work. 

Xylomelum pyriforme, Sm. (Native or Wooden Pear).—So named from 
the shape of its fruit. This, like the last, is a native of Australia, where 
the tree grows 40 or 50 feet high. The wood of this tree is very much 
like the last, both as to grain and colour. All the Proteaceous woods are 
very beautifully marked, and when polished have a very handsome 
appearance, - 

Stenocarpus salignus, R. Br. (Beef Wood of New South Wales).—This 
tree frequently attains 100 feet in height, with a diameter of from 1 to 
3 feet, affording a firm and durable wood, of a dull reddish-brown colour, 
but very beautifully marked, and having a fine satiny lustre. It is 
capable of taking a very high polish, and would make a handsome wood 
for some kinds of furniture or cabinet work. 

Banksia serrata, L. fil. (Honeysuckle of Australia).—A tree growing 
20 or 30 feet high, and having a diameter of 1 to 2 feet. The wood is 
rather coarse-grained, but handsome, of a dull reddish-brown colour, 
very prettily marked with dark stripes. 

Artocarpus hirsuta, Lam.—A native of the East Indies, where it 
grows to a large size, producing a timber known as Angely wood, which 
is rather coarse-grained ; in colour, of a dull reddish-brown. It is much 
used for ship and house building, as well as for various other purposes. 

Casuarina stricta, Ait. (He Oak)—Likewise a native of Tasmania, 
attaining a height of 20 or 30 feet, and a diameter of 1 to 2 feet. The 

VoL, III. E 


66 NOTES ON APPARENTLY USEFUL WOODS 


wood is hard and compact, of a dark reddish-brown colour, with dark 
stripes, and silvery shaded knots; used for cabinet work, picture 
frames, &c. 


HIGHLY-VARIEGATED WooDs oF A BRowN oR REDDISH-BROWN COLOUR. 


Cedrela Australis, R. Br. (Polai, or Cedar, of New South Wales).— 
This is a magnificent tree, growing from 80 to 150 feet high, with a dia- 
meter of 3 to 4 feet. It is a most valuable wood, strong and durable, of 
a very deep, rich, reddish-brown colour, beautifully figured with dark 
variegated markings, looking very handsome when polished. 

Cedrela odorata, L.,a native of Jamaica and the West Indian Islands, 
is another lofty tree, producing a rich coloured, variegated wood, but not 
so deep in colour as the former. The colour of the wood appears to be 
influenced by the place of growth, that from Cuba being the lightest, and 
that from Jamaica of the darkest brown. 

Pterocarpus erinaceus, Lam. (African Rosewood).—A native of the 
West Coast of Africa, and growing abundantly on the Gambia, produces 
a very close-grained, dense wood, of a deep, rich brown colour. It takes 
an excellent polish, and would look well made up into articles of fur- 
niture, Xe. 

Amygdalus communis, L. (Almond).—A native of the shores of the 
Mediterranean, but growing in the north of Africa, Persia, Spain, Italy, 
&e. The tree grows about 20 feet high, producing a wood of a fine, 
even grain, and a rich crimson brown colour. It is a very beautiful 
wood, and takes a high polish. 

Fagus Cunninghami, Hook. (Tasmanian Myrtle).— Growing abundantly 
in nearly all the Tasmanian forests, attaining 150 to 200 feet high, 
with a diameter of 10 to 15 feet. The wood is very hard and durable, 
of the most beautiful appearance when polished, being of a deep reddish- 
brown colour, thickly studded with knots and wavy lines of a much 
darker tint. It is much used in Tasmania for furniture, picture frames, &e. 

Cercis siliquastrum, L. (Judas tree).—A native of France, Italy, Spain, 
&c., growing to a height of 20 or 30 feet, produces a firm, even-grained 
wood, of a rich dark colour, streaked with deep brown markings. It 
takes an excellent polish, and might be useful for many purposes. 

Melanoxylon Brauna, Schott. Brauna of Brazil, where it grows to a 
good sized tree. The wood is hard, close-grained, and firm, of a rich, 
deep colour, somewhat resembling rosewood, but rather darker. It is 
capable of taking a high polish. 

Albizzia Lebbek.—A tree 20 or 30 feet high, growing in both the East 
and West Indies, North of Africa, &c., affords a close-grained hard wood 
of a yellowish-brown colour, beautifully variegated with markings 
passing from a mellow tint to a deep rich brown. 

Eucalyptus acervula, Sieb.—A native of New Holland, where it grows 
to a good sized tree, and produces a very close-grained and hard wood, 


HITHERTO LITTLE KNOWN. 67 


very rich in colour, of a deep brown, with dark stripes, taking an ex- 
cellent polish. 

Careya arborea, Roxb.—A. tolerably sized tree, native of the East 
Indies, Ceylon, &c. The wood is neither very hard nor heavy, and will 
not stand damp, but is pretty durable in dry situations. It is of a 
brownish colour, with dark stripes, and is much used for various pur- 
poses, especially for hoops, on account of its elasticity. 

Olea laurifolia, Lam. Black Iron Wood of the Cape of Good Hope, 
where it attains 12 or 15 feet in height, with a diameter of 1 to 2 feet, 
affording a very hard, close-grained wood of a very dark colour, beauti- 
fully marked, somewhat resembling walnut. It is much used at the 
Cape for furniture and cabinet work. 

Olea verrucosa, Link. (Olyvenhout). Also a native of the Cape, growing 
about 8 or 10 feet high, and a diameter of 8 to 12 inches. The wood is 
very dense and hard, and one of the most useful in the colony, both on 
account of its strength, and also for its handsome appearance, being in 
colour of a deep rich brown, with dark markings, very handsome when 
polished. 

Cordia Gerascanthus, Jacq. (Spanish Ehn).—A native of J amaica and 
the West Indian Islands, where it grows about 30 feet high, producing a 
hard, close-grained timber of a dark brown colour, with deep coloured 
markinges—a beautiful wood, taking a good polish, much used in 
Jamaica for cart bodies and for various other purposes. 

Oreodaphne bullata, Neis. ab. E, (Stinkwood).—This is a native of the 
Cape of Good Hope, and grows 20 or 35 feet high, with a diameter of 3 
to 5 feet. The wood is tolerably hard, close grained, and durable, of a 
deep brown colour, taking a good polish. It has a very disagreeable 
smell when cut ; hence its vernacular name; and might probably be 
employed for cabinets for natural history collections, as it is not infested 
by insects. It is very extensively used in the colony for various pur- 
poses. 

Oreodaphne fotens Neis.—A tree growing 70 to 100 feet high, native 
of the Madeira and Canary Islands. The timber is very dense and 
heavy, of a dark-brown colour, with still darker stripes. 

Endiandra glauca, R. Br., Teak wood of New South Wales, where it 
grows to a very large size, frequently attaining a height of 100 to 140 
feet, and a diameter of from 3 to 5 feet, producing a hard and close- 
grained timber. The heart wood is of a very beautiful rich brown 
colour, with silvery transverse markings, and dark lines running longi- 
tudinally. It is capable of taking a high polish, and has every appear- 
ance of being a valuable wood. 

Alyxia buxifolia, R. Br. (Scent-wood of Tasmania).—This is a small 
tree or shrub, and consequently does not produce wood of any great size, 
but it is firm and close-grained, of a lightish-brown mottled appearance, 
and has an odour resembling that of the Tonquin bean. 

E 2 


68 NOTES ON APPARENTLY USEFUL WOODS, ETC. 


Bedfordia salicina, De. (Dogwood).—Also a native of Tasmania, grow- 
ing about 20 or 30 feet high, but swelling to such an extent near the 
root as to enable boards 3 feet by 14 feet to be cut from it. The wood 
has a most beautiful appearance when polished, being of a light brown 
colour, richly marked with knots and wavy lines. From its appearance, 
it seems well adapted for cabinet work. 

Tetranthera apetula, Roxb.—A tolerably sized tree, growing in many 
parts of India, producing a hard and close-grained timber, of a light 
brown colour, beautifully variegated with dark markings. 

Bridelia retusa, Spr.—A large tree, growing in many parts of India, 
Ceylon, &c. The wood is close-grained and heavy, of a deep brown 
colour with dark stripes, and takes a good polish. 

Myrica Faya, Ait.—A native of Madeira, the Canary Islands, Spain, 
&e. It attains a height of 20 to 25 feet, and produces a very fine-grained 
compact wood, of a brownish colour, with a reddish tinge and dark 
stripes, taking an excellent polish. 

Phebe Barbusana, Webb.—Also a native of Madeira and the Canary 
Islands, where it attains to about 60 feet in height, producing a close- 
grained tough wood, of a deep, rich, reddish-brown colour, looking well 
when polished. : 

Pistacia terebinthus, L.—This is a native of the south of Europe and 
the northern parts of Africa, growing about 20 or 30 feet high, producing 
a hard, compact, and close-grained wood, in colour somewhat resembling 
walnut, but not so beautifully marked. From this tree the Venetian or 
Chian turpentine is procured. 

Dalbergia latifolia, Roxb. Black Wood of India, where it is abundant 
in the forests, the tree growing to a large size, so as to furnish planks 
four feet wide, after the removal of the sap wood. This is one of the 
most valuable of the Indian woods, and when polished much resembles 
rosewood. It is largely used in India for all kinds of furniture. 

Dalbergia Sissoo, Roxb.—This is the tree from which the Sissoo wood 
of the East Indies is produced. It is in colour somewhat like rosewood, 
but of a lighter tint, very tough and close grained, and is used in India 
for a variety of purposes, such as carts, gun-carriages, ship-building, &e. 
The tree grows to about 50 feet high. 

Acacia melanozylon, R. Br. (Myall of New South Wales)—This wood 
is of a very deep brown colour, with darkish stripes, having, when 
freshly cut, a strong odour of violets. The tree grows to a height of 
about 40 feet. The black wood, or light wood, of Tasmania, is said to 
be produced by this tree, but the wood has not so great a depth of 
colour, being lighter and more beautifully veined with a fine silvery 
lustre. Some confusion probably exists in the identification of the species 
from which these woods are produced. 

Kew, 1862. 


69 - 


ON THE MEDICINAL PROPERTIES OF THE RED GUM OF 
AUSTRALIA. 


BY JAMES SUTHERLAND, M.D. 


The accompanying gum, a most invaluable medicine in certain 
disorders, is the produce of the Eucalyptus rostrata, a tree of frequent 
occurrence in the colony of Victoria and many parts of Australia. 
It exudes in a fluid state from the bark, and in many instances 
between the different layers of the wood, in the months of November, 
December, January, February, and March, and by the evaporation of the 
watery particles by which it is held in solution ; it concretes into a beau- 
tiful ruby-coloured gum which, when exposed for a length of time to the 
air and the sun, assumes a black colour from an imperfect oxidation, losing 
at the same time its astringency. It is the only known vegetable astrin- 
gent with the exception of the wattle gum which exudes in this state 
—for the kino and catechu, though called gums, are really extracts, being 
obtained by evaporating a decoction of the smaller twigs and branches of 
the Acacia Catechu, and the Pterocarpus Erinacea, and possess no muci- 
laginous properties. The S. G. varies from 1:25 to 1:35. It has a highly 
astringent taste, much more so than tannin or gallic acid. It is soluble 
in water almost in any quantity, for when added greatly in excess to that 
fluid it softens, and forms a semifluid mass of the consistence of honey, or 
thick mucilage. It is also soluble in alcohol, though not to the same 
extent as in water. When digested in sulphuric ether for some days a 
small quantity is dissolved, forming a deep red solution. According to 
my experiments one fluid ounce of ether dissolves six grains. It dissolves 
speedily in nitric ether, forming a beautiful dark-red tincture, though 
its astringency is rather impaired in this menstruum. It is alto- 
gether insoluble in chloroform, in which it floats upon the surface, and 
is neither softened by nor miscible with it. It strikes a deep black 
colour with the tincture of steel and sulphate of iron, and causes white 
flocculent precipitates, with solutions of animal gelatine, albumen, alum, 
sulphate of zinc, corrosive sublimate, muriate of morphia, sulphate of 
copper, hydrodate of potash, and carbonate of soda. With the bichro- 
mate of potash it yields a copious dark-brown, curdy precipitate, quite 
different from that occasioned by tannin. Nitrate of silver occasions a dark 
precipitate almost approaching to black. When treated with lime water, 
it assumes a dark hue, and gradually a pale-brown, gelatinous precipitate 
ensues. With the caustic alkalies it forms dark yellow solutions, and an 
orange-coloured solution with the tincture of iodine. Sulphuric acid 
throws down a brown-coloured, flocculent precipitate—nitric acid has no 
perceptible action at all—while the muriatic precipitates only a few and 
new coloured flocculi. 

These experiments show that this gum is an original astringent prin- 


70 ON THE TOBACCO TRADE AND CULTIVATION 


ciple analogous in some respects to tannin, the basis of the other vege- 
table astringents, but by no means identical with that compound. Its 
properties are sufficiently distinct and characteristic to entitle it to be 
considered an astringent substance sui generis, which might with pro- 
priety be designated eucalyptine. My first impression was that it was 
composed of tannin, red colouring matter, and ordinary gum; but sub- 
sequent experiments failed to verify this theory. 

As a medicine, it is a more powerful astringent than any in our phar- 
macopceas, and justly merits a place among the legitimate articles of the 
Materia Medica in these publications. In the year 1853, I collected a 
large quantity of this gum on the Black Hill, Ballarat, and made a 
variety of experiments on myself, taking it internally in doses varying 
from one to thirty grains, in order to ascertain if it could be safely admin- 
istered as an internal medicine, and finding that it possessed no poison- 
ous properties, I ventured to prescribe it in a variety of disorders in 
which astringents are indicated, and found it peculiarly serviceable in 
certain stages of diarrhcea and dysentery, in passive hemorrhage, as an 
injection in leucorrhcea, gonorrhea, and gleet, in scurvy of the gums, 
in cyanche tonsillaris, as a gargle when the acute symptoms have 
subsided, in relaxation of the uvula, and in hemorrhoids, in the form 
of an ointment made by dissolving a drachm of the gum in a tea- 
spoonful of water, and when intimately mixed, rubbing it up with an 
ounce of lard. The dose for internal administration varies from one or 
two grains to twenty, dissolved in water, 


Ballarat, East Victoria. 


ON THE TOBACCO TRADE AND CULTIVATION OF THE 
DISTRICT OF CAVALLA, TURKEY. 


BY MR. MALING, BRITISH VICE CONSUL. 


_ Tobacco isthe staple article of production and industry of the sanjack 
of Drama, which forms the vice-consular district of Cavalla. The plant 
has been cultivated in the district from a remote period, but the general 
extension of its cultivation in all parts of the sanjack does not date, 
perhaps, more than twenty years back. 

The area of all the arable lands in the sanjack of Drama is roughly 
estimated to be 500,000 acres, of which 35,000 acres are exclusively 
devoted to the culture of tobacco. A comparative statement of the areas 
under different sorts of culture would afford, however, a very imperfect 
idea of the relative importance of tobacco as a branch of the local in- 


OF THE DISTRICL OF CAVALLA, TURKEY. 71 


dustry and trade. This can be justly appreciated only when the time, 
labour, and capital employed in producing tobacco have been taken into 
account, together with the relative values of the exported produce. In 
a population of 250,000 souls, there is scarcely a family in the district 
whose livelihood does not, at this day, depend more or less on the pro- 
duction and trade of tobacco. 

In the sanjack of Drama, as throughout Turkey generally, the land is 
for the most part owned by the tillers of the soil. Each peasant is 
absolute owner of his five or ten-acre freehold, and the village commu- 
nity of which he is a member constitutes a sort of small commonwealth 
of peasant proprietors, bound together for the defence of common rights 
and interests, and for the performance of their duties as subjects of the 
State. Although estates of several thousand acres in extent are occa- 
sionally to be met, they occupy in the aggregate but a small portion of 
the total surface. Small freeholds, independent of the village com- 
munities, are rare, and only to be found in the vicinity of towns. 

The peasant freeholder cultivates his patch of ground with the assist- 
ance of his family, and seldom resorts to the aid of hired labour. 
There are peasants, however, who hold much larger areas of land, to the 
extent of fifty, or even a hundred acres, requiring the employment of 
hired labourers for their cultivation. The large owners utilize their 
properties after the following system. The landlord stocks the farm, 
provides agricultural implements, and defrays at his own cost the pre- 
liminary expenses of tilling and preparing the ground for seed. Each 
peasant does all else that may be needed on his particular allotment by 
means of his own labour and that of his family, or by hired hands, in 
tending and securing the produce. The crop, after deduction of the 
tithes, is then divided in equal proportions between landlord and cul- 
tivator. 

Under such a system, stimulating enterprize and exertion so slightly 
on either hand, and with a languid administration, allowing almost un- 
limited powers of oppression to the landlord, it is not surprising that 
the peasantry on the large properties should be in a most wretched con- 
dition ; nor, that with an unrivalled climate and soil to favour him, a 
resident landlord rarely derives seven or eight per cent. return on the 
fee-simple of his estate, and the absentee a much smaller income. In 
some rare instances proprietors let farms on the English system of a 
fixed rent in money; but tenant-farmers, as a class, in the English 
aeceptation of the term, are unknown. 

The growing importance of the trade, consequent on the steadily 
increasing demand for this species of tobacco in the home and foreign 
markets, is the cause that fresh land is yearly brought under this kind 
of husbandry, to a degree indeed which has rendered cereal and cotton 
cultivations quite subordinate to this more lucrative investment for 
capital and labour. Its culture may be extended almost unlimitedly 


72 ON THE TOBACCO TRADE AND CULTIVATION 


without encroaching on lands required for other produce, as there is a 
vast surface of reclaimable waste lands, 

The present average annual yield of the district is about eighteen 
million pounds. The following is a statement of the weight of crops 
for sixteen years, going back to the earliest period whence any reliable 
statistics are procurable :— 


Annual Weight of Tobacco Crops. 


Weight. Weight. 
Years. ike Years. Le 
WSA4— oe sc. » 49;310,000 ~~ |), 18522 es te IO ONOnG 
[e152 eS 80000 1853 es 7eoun 
Ledge Us BY ES G1 OO00 1854. . . . 16,000,000 
1847 He 7 LOS41 05000 1855 oo), LRPaMSi2502000 
1848 - « « + 9,450,000 1856 «le ‘o> -l'95500;000 
1849 . . . . 9,800,000 1857. . . . 22,000,000 
1850 a eee O200/000 1858 oe LIOOOOOO 
1s5te 8) *f 48l9,700,000!/"|> 1859 2 2s Ee SCOmNe 


The rate of production, it is thus seen, has more than doubled within 
the last sixteen years. ; 

The tobacco plant of this district, though all produced from the same 
seed, and belonging to the same species, is classed into two comprehen- 
sive varieties: the one known as the “ Drama leat,’ the other, of greater 
fame, as the ‘“ Yenidgeh leaf.” The former is the larger and stouter 
leaf, and possesses more potent narcotic qualities. Its colour is generally 
of a deep reddish brown. The “ Yenidgeh leaf” is smaller and of a 
slighter texture. The better sorts are of a rich yellow colour, hence its 
designation “golden leaved.” It has a peculiarly delicate aroma, and 
is less narcotic in its properties. 

The “ Drama leaf” is principally grown in the western parts of the 
sanjack, and from this class the European market is exclusively supplied. 

The production of these distinctly marked classes seems to be due to 
some inherent principle in the soil, for the modes of culture and of 
curing are identical, and there is no perceptible difference in the climate 
ot the respective districts. The seed of the “golden leaf,’ if trans- 
planted to the western districts, may succeed the first year in producing 
something analogous to its parent, the Yenidgeh tobacco, but the suc- 
ceeding year it invariably degenerates. The soil is evidently the pre- 
disposing element in the change, although even the character of the 
earths does not seem to vary essentially. Quartz is the basis of the 
geological structure of the country, and the rich alluvial soils partake 
strongly of the siliceous character. 

As the two great classes of leaf are further subdivided in the trade 
with reference to their peculiar properties and value, the particular pro- 
duction of each separate locality requires some description. 

The district of Drama Proper comprises both plain and hill culti- 


OF THE DISTRICT OF CAVALLA, TURKEY. 73 


vation. The soils are light ferruginous loams. The plain produces 
annually about 4,500,000 lbs. to 5,000,000 lbs. The produce is known 
by the local denomination of “ bashi-baghli,” or “head tied,” on account ° 
of the tobacco, when packed, being tied together by the stalk in bundles 
of ten or fifteen leaves. These are of the character known in botany as 
“petiolate,” from having “ petioles,” or footstalks. The little bundles 
are called “ manoks,” and correspond to the “ handwork” of American 
tobaccos. The best leaves, distinguished by a stronger and more sub- 
stantial texture and a dark red hue, are reserved for the Constantinople 
market. The less substantial and lighter coloured find a sale in Russia. 
The value is from 44d. to 74d. per lb., and some of the finest sort even 
fetches 1s. to 1s. 4d. per lb. The mountain tobacco is much inferior in 
quality to the above. The annual yield is about 1,700,000 lbs. About 
one-half of the leaf is made up in the form of “ bashi-baghli,” or “ head 
tied,” the other half is known as “ bassma” pressed, that is to say, the 
leaves being “sessile,” or without petioles (footstalks), do not admit of 
being tied together, and consequently the “ manoks” or “hands” con- 
sist simply of several leaves pressed together. Mountain “ bashi- 
baghli” and “bassma” are both exported to Europe. Value, 23d. 
to 6d. per lb. 

The Vale of Pravista—The growth is known by the name of 
“ Demirli” (ferruginous), the village which introduced the cultivation 
into the district. The upper extremity alone of the valley is planted 
with tobacco. The soil is a light ferruginous loam, inferior in richness, 
to that of Drama. Annual production, 1,700,000 lbs., exported prin- 
cipally to Europe in the form of “ head tied” or “ bashi-baghli.” Qua- 
lity inferior, unsubstantial, and dark-coloured leaf. Value, 2d. to 33d. 
per lb. 

Cavalla.—tn this locality, from the close vicinity of the hills, the 
gravelly element in the soils greatly predominates. Production yearly 
600,000 Ibs. Form chiefly bashi-baghli. Quality inferior, principally 
consumed by home markets. Value, 2d. to 4d. per lb., and some of the 
finer 7d. per lb. The produce of the above localities is shipped at 
Cavalla. 

Sarishaban.—This district produces annually 2,250,000 lbs., of which 
seven-eighths is ‘bashi-baghli,” or “head tied.” Plain, hill, and 
mountain are alike cultivated. The produce of the hill and plain is 
called “Ghynbek’’ (navel), and is packed in small parcels of 30 Ibs to 
50 lbs. each, called “‘boghchas.” These “boghchas” are distinguished 
into two classes, the finest as ‘‘ béyaz” (white), so called from the white 
cotton wrappers in which they are made up; and the secondary as 
““kenavir” (canvas), from their coarse linen coverings. These are the 
golden-leafed tobaccos so highly prized in Turkey. The finest, consist- 
ing of about 600,000 lbs., are produced from the rising grounds. The 
erop raised on the plain comes next in estimation. With the exception 


74. ON THE TOBACCO TRADE AND CULTIVATION 


of 30,000 lbs, or 40,000 lbs. sent annually to Austria, all the finest 
qualities go to Constantinople, and the secondary to Smyrna and other 
home markets. Value, from 1s. to 4s. per lb. 

The mountain crop (5,000,000 lbs.) goes almost entirely to Austria and 
France. This is of a darker_colour, and is worth no more than 23d. to 
4d. per lb. The exportation to Europe is conducted through the port of 
Cavalla; the home or Turkish trade through the port of Karaghatch 
(Lagos). : 

Yenidgeh—tThis locality also comprises plain, hill, and mountain 
culture. The greater proportion of the produce is made up into 
“bassma,”’ whilst a portion only of the mountain growth becomes 
“bashi-baghli.” Inrespect of quality, value, and mode of packing, this 
is the same class of tobacco as the Sarishaban. “ Yenidgeh” is the 
generic designation for all the produce of the “golden leaf.” The low 
lands produce 4,200,000 lbs., the high lands 1,500,000 lbs. The finer 
crop of the plain is sent to Constantinople and to Russia; the inferior 
to various parts of Turkey, and to the Danubian Principalities. Of the 
mountain tobacco about 500,000 lbs. go to Austria. 

Ghiumirgina and Sultan-Yeri—The cultivation in these districts dates 
only five or six years back. The tobacco is of the class ‘‘ Drama,” but 
rather inferior to it. Ghiumirgina produces about 420,000 Ibs. 
“bassma,” of a dark coloured leaf, worth from 23d. to 4d. per Ib., 
which is taken up by home markets. Sultan-Yeri yields 560,000 lhs., 
“bashi-baghli,” of a still darker shade, worth from 2d. to 4d. per lb., of 
which the best is sent to Constantinople, and the inferior to the Princi- 
palities. These tobaccos, with those of Yenidgeh, are exported through 
Port Lagos. 

Culture.—Experience, as derived from local cultivation, would seem 
to prove that the tobacco plant thrives best in an alluvial soil, com- 
posed of an equal mixture of clay and sand. In the low clay lands of 
Ghiumirgina, where clay predominates, the plant is far from arriving at 
perfection. On the higher levels, at the bases of hills, and on the 
gently rising uplands, the soil is most congenial to its wants ; while on 
the mountain, where there is an excess of sand and quartzose detritus, 
the plant degenerates. 

In tobacco-planting, the same land is cropped over and over again 
from year to year, and is never allowed to lie in fallow or under other 
crops. Constant applications of manure maintain the fertility of the rich 
soil, and prevent its exhaustion under this trying process. In common 
with every other branch of agriculture, the tobacco-lands are tilled 
entirely by the plough; spade husbandry is unknown. Men, women, 
and children, all contribute their labour. 

The Nicotiana rustica, like the other species of the herbaceous annual 
Nicotiana cultivated in Europe, is not considered to be indigenous, but 
an exotic introduced from the New World. Some authorities are of 


OF THE DISTRICT OF CAVALLA, TURKEY. 75 


opinion that the plant cultivated in Turkey belongs to the species 
Nicotiana macrophylla (Orinoco tobacco), particularly the somewhat 
elongated Drama leaf; but there can be no doubt that the Nicotiana 
rustica, modified by climate and soil, is the parent of the tobacco which 
flourishes in this district. The variety grown here is paniculated or 
panicled (Nicotiana paniculata), the botanical term descriptive of the 
peculiar form of its inflorescence. 

The ground is prepared for its culture in two ways—firstly, for the 
germination of the seeds ; and, secondly, for maturing the transplanted 
shoots. The seed is sown in beds or small plots of ground, set apart 
in the plantation, and proportioned in dimensions and number to its 
extent. The soil of these nurseries, previously highly impregnated with 
manure—sheep or goats’ dung being preferred—is well trenched with 
an implement having two iron prongs, about nine inches long, set at an 
acute angle to a short wooden shaft, and employed after the manner of a 
pickaxe in breaking up and loosening the earth, and is brought to the 
condition of rich garden mould. The fatigue of using this “digger” is 
excessive, the shortness of the shaft obliging the husbandman to stoop 
in a constrained position ; and it is a curious fact, that a people who so 
much dislike hard labour have not yet devised an implement, like the 
spade, to render their toil less irksome, and more expeditious. 

The beds are sown in February or March, and are afterwards covered 
with a thick layer of sheep or goats’ dung. The shoots appear above 
ground in the course of a few days, and the precaution is then taken of 
laying brushwood over them to preserve them against the frosts. Towards 
the end of May the young plants are fit for setting in the fields. 

During winter the fields have been well manured with horse or cattle 
dung, and repeatedly ploughed up. But still the ground is very imper- 
fectly tilled to what it could be by means of less primitive agricultural 
implements than are in use in this country. The plough is a piece of 
crooked wood with one stilt, the share is only occasionally tipped with 
iron, and it has no coulter. The slow-draft ox is the only help to man’s 
labour in the field. The harrow, roller, tormentor, &c., are unknown. 
By such rude and imperfect appliances, the surface soil is barely in- 
dented, and the rich sub-soils are never disturbed. 

During the first half of May, sheep or goats are folded on the fields for 
the sake of their liquid manure, on a profuse application of which to the 
soil depends the perfection of the growth. In the course of time the soil 
of tobacco plantations consequently becomes highly impregnated with 
ammonia and nitrate of potass, both of which are absorbed by the 
plant ; the former influencing in a great measure, it is thought, the 
aroma. Owing to the great absorption of the nitrate of potash by the 
leaves, the tobacco, when ignited in the pipe, crackles and sparkles as if 
containing gunpowder, and even bursts into flame when a strong inhala- 
tion is taken. Minute crystals of this salt can be perceived on the sur- 
face of the dried leaf. 


76 ON THE TOBACCO TRADE AND CULTIVATION 


Transplanting is effected when the shoots are about six inches long, 
and have put forth three or four leaves. They are dug from the nur- 
sery beds with the double-pronged “digger,” placed in a tub or basket 
for removal to the field, and put into the ground in rows by the aid of 
a dibble, or solely by the labourer’s fingers, the earth being well pressed 
round the roots. No drills are made by the plough, but the rows are laid 
out with some regularity in the course of dibbling the single plants. 
The distance left between each row and between the plants themselves 
varies in different localities. At Drama, one foot ; and in the “ golden- 
leafed” district one foot-and-a-half’s interval is observed ; at Cavalla, 
about six inches space only is left between the rows, and the same 
interval between the plants. As soon as transplanted, the young plants 
are watered by hand. Irrigation is not resorted to, although it would be 
of service in dry seasons. The shoots are generally so vigorous that 
they rarely fail to strike root and thrive with a single watering in ordi- 
nary seasons. Reserved plants, however, are always kept in the nurseries 
to replace such as die off. A mean between a wet and a dry season is the 
most favourable to tobacco planting. Excessive moisture causes, it is 
true, a greater development of stalk and leaf, but the increase in bulk is 
more than counterbalanced by deterioration in quality. Drought, on the 
other hand, deprives the plant of its proper nourishment. Extremes 
equally weaken the leaf’s substance, and lessen its oily richness of 
flavour. 

Greater pains are bestowed on this culture than on other descriptions 
of local husbandry. The plant is carefully tended during growth, 
lateral shoots or suckers are removed, and the growth concentrated in 
one upright stem ; hand-hoeing is vigorously practised, weeds eradi- 
cated, and the earth stirred up about the roots; but some important 
details are lost sight of. The stem is never topped, as it might be most 
judiciously, in rainy seasons ; leaves, blighted or injured by grubs are 
allowed to remain ; the lower leaves, which in the end are withered, 
soiled, and valueless, are not removed, and the juices are thus diverted 
from nourishing the more precious parts. 

A well and full grown plant has a strong, upright stem, about four 
feet high and three-fourths of an inch in diameter, its skin somewhat 
hairy and sticky to the touch. The foliage is handsome. Each plant 
bears from ten to twenty green succulent leaves, ovate in form, and in 
some plants “ petiolate,” that is to say, having an intervening “ petiole,” 
or footstalk, by which they are attached to the stem ; and in others 
“sessile,” or sitting immediately on or clasping as it were the stem 
without any supporting footstalk. The leaves grow in clusters of three 
or four at intervals. The leaf of the Drama class is from seven to ten 
inches long ; the Yenidgeh five to six inches, and often less. In rainy 
seasons the plant reaches six feet in height, and the leaves are larger and 
more numerous, but bulk is obtained at the cost of quality. 

The flowers grow in clusters at the top of the stalk. The peduncles 


OF THE DISTRICT OF CAVALLA, TURKEY. 77 


or footstalks are variously sub-divided, whence the name of the variety, 
“panicled” or “paniculated.” The inflorescence is white externally, 
and of a delicate red or yellow within, the edges, when full-blown, 
inclining to purple. To it succeed kidney-shaped seed-pods of a 
brownish colour, of the size of a large pea, filled with numerous and 
very minute grains of a dusky red hue. Thirty, forty, and even a hun- 
dred of these capsules are borne by a plant. 

Curing—About the end of July the lower leaves begin to lose their 
lively green appearance, and assume a yellowish tint. They also become 
thickened, roughish, and slightly brittle to the touch, and exude a 
clammy oily matter. The time for gathering has arrived. The lower 
leaves are first taken. This is done by the husbandman in person, and 
the morning, when the dew has evaporated, is the usual time selected. 
The lowest leaves are of little or no value, and it would have been more 
judicious to have removed them at an earlier period. They are known 
by the name of “deeb,” or “dib,’ meaning “low” (or the “foot” of a 
plant or tree). By some planters they are even at this stage thrown 
away ; others preserve them to form the outsides of the bales. 

After ten days the next lowest cluster of leaves is taken ; and so on, 
at from ten to twenty days interval, the successive clusters, until the top- 
most ones are reached, which are of little value. The different clusters 
in an ascending scale are called “ Orta,” middling ; ‘ Ana,” mother ; 
“ Kuchuk Ana,” little mother; “ Utch Alti,” three sixes, &c. The “ Ana” 
are the best, and the next the “ Kuchuk Ana.” The leaves are largest 
at the bottom of the stalk, and diminish in size as they ascend. The 
gathering terminates towards the end of September. 

As fast as gathered, the leaves are removed in baskets to the home- 
stead, and placed under a shed. This is a building enclosed on three 
sides, the south being left open. Here they remain two or three days, 
until somewhat faded. The husbandman, his wife, and children, then 
with large needles string the leaves on to a piece of packthread, passing 
it through the thick ends of the stalks. Each string of leaves, ten or 
fifteen fect in length, is attached by the extremities and centre to a pole 
of corresponding length, and is placed in the sun, supported horizontally 
on trestles, where it remains so long as the leaves retain any moisture. 
Care is taken to remove the leaves into the shed on the approach of rain 
or heavy dews. They are finally hung up under the roof for the winter. 
The stalks are left standing in the field and are ultimately ploughed 
down as manure ; a few tops being first secured for seed. 

Combined with the sun’s action, the free circulation of the air among 
the suspended leaves effects all that is required in the first stage of the 
curing process. Recourse is never had to artificial slow heat for drying 
them. After hanging in the shed the whole winter, the tobacco becomes 
thoroughly dry, and so excessively brittle, that if handled, it -crumbles 
into dust. The next stage is to prepare it for carriage to the markets 


78 ON THE TOBACCO TRADE AND CULTIVATION 


of shipping ports. To effect this, advantage is taken of the first change 
from the dry frosty atmosphere of winter to the moist air which accom- 
panies the return of spring, when the leaves, losing their crispness, are 
removed from the strings and made up into little bundles of ten or 
fifteen leaves, called “manoks,” or “hands.” The “bashi-baghli’ are 
tied together by the foot-stalks ; the “‘ bassma,” having no petioles, are 
simply laid on each other. The sheds are not boarded, and as any pro- 
longed contact with the air imparts a bad flavour to the produce, loose 
boards are temporarily laid down, and on these a double row of 
‘¢manoks” is disposed, the tips of the leaves facing, or overlapping, and 
the stalks outwards. Other layers of “manoks” are successively laid 
on in like order, with such pressure as the labourer’s muscles merely 
can apply, until the heap of “ manoks” becomes a bale, two feet and a 
half or hree feet long, by two feet high and a foot anda half thick. It 
is then wrapped in strong hair-cloth and matting, and tightly corded. 
In this state the bale is ready for carriage. The Drama tobaccos are 
packed in the above way ; the Yenidgeh are made up originally in some- 
what larger packages, and the bale is secured by a board at top and 
bottom, and bound with cords. Mechanical pressure is not appled to 
the tobacco until it arrives in the merchant’s store, where it undergoes 
its preparation for shipment. 

The production of a given area varies according to the mode of 
planting practised in the different localities. In the Drama district, 
where close setting is preferred, the yield is from 700 lbs. to 900 lbs. per 
acre. In the “ golden-leafed” plantations the maximum return is 400 
Ibs. to an acre. The cost of production and the profit vary considerably. 

The produce is carried to the shipping ports chiefly during the months 
. between April and September. The tobacco shipped at Cavalla having 
to cross a mountain ridge, can only be transported on horse or mule’s 
back, in bales of one hundred weight or one and a half hundred weight 
each. The ‘ Yenidgeh’ being the produce of a plain bordering on the 
sea, with easy access throughout to Port Lagos, is carried in waggons. 
Until recently, the only storeroom at Cavalla for the large trade 
carried on was to be found in the numerous ‘ Khans, or native inns, in 
whose large stables the tobaccos used to be warehoused. Less appro- 
priate stores for the preservation and seasoning of such a delicate article 
could scarcely be selected, for the floors are unboarded and the roofs by 
no means impervious to rain. And for such wretched accommodation 
the owners used to exact an exorbitant rent. New stores have recently 
been erected ; amongst others a very extensive and handsome range 
of warehouses, on the construction of which Messrs, Abbott, Brothers, of 
Salonica, the principal exporters to England, have expended 15,0001. 
When the bales reach the stores at the shipping ports, they are 
arranged in two tiers on the ground floor, which ought properly to be, 


OF THE DISTRICT OF CAVALLA, TURKEY. 79 


and is now invariably, protected from damp by a wooden flooring. The 
bales are shifted from the upper to the lower tier at intervals of four or 
five days during a whole month. In this manner the tobacco undergoes 
the process called ‘sweating, which is in fact a partial fermentation. 
Tt sometimes happens that the store is too dry ; in that case water is 
from time to time, sprinkled on the floor between the rows of bales to 
hasten the sweating. The bales are then opened, examined, and sorted, 
and the soiled and inferior leaves, and those heated during the sweating, 
being rejected, the bales are made up to their proper weight and then 
pressed. Layers of inferior leaves are placed at the top and bottom of 
the bale. The presses in use are exceedingly rude, being nothing else 
than two stout planks connected by a couple of wooden screws worked 
by levers and manual power. The utmost power that can be exerted is 
not very great, as may be supposed, but experience (probably mere 
prejudice) is against pressing the leaf very strongly as it is supposed to 
injure it. The bales are finally dressed in a wrapper of hair-cloth which 
protects the flats and edges of the leaves ; the ends where the stalks are 
exposed are covered with a strip of matting. The bales are now ready 
for shipment and, unless immcdiately required, are removed to the 
upper floor to make room for the sweating and manipulation os other 
bales arriving in store. 

The process, of sweating, sorting, and pressing, occupies the merchant 
until the end of June. It is thus seen that from seed time in March 
until July of the following year, fully sixteen months are required to 
bring the tobacco into a fit state for shipment, and, including the delay 
of shipping and the voyage, from eighteen to nineteen months before it 
can appear in the English market. Tobaccos for the British trade are 
usually made up in bales weighing, on an average, 127 lbs. each, and 
measuring six or seven cubic feet. However, a late shipment was made 
of bales weighing as much as 450 lbs. each. For France and Austria 
the bales do not exceed 110 lbs. In the home trade the bales vary from 
100 lbs. to 200 Ibs. weight, but the fine Yenidgeh tobacco is invariably 
made up as before mentioned in ‘ Boghchas’ weighing 30 lbs. to 50 Ibs. 

In the first years of the trade with England the tobacco was packed 
in the same manner as American or West India produce, in wooden 
cases containing, ad mininum, 300 lbs., in conformity to the British 
Customs regulations of that time ; but in 1851 the Lords Commissioners 
of Her Majesty’s Treasury, taking into their favourable consideration a 
memorial of the merchants, issued a minute to the effect that Turkey 
tobacco should thenceforward be imported on the same footing as East 
India produce, that is to say,in packages or bales weighing not less than 
100 lbs. each ; but it must not be imported in vessels under the burden 
of 120 tons register. 


‘ Strip-leaf” aform of American tobacco in which the stalk or 


80 ‘ THE NEW ICE MACHINE. 


principal fibre has been torn or stripped from the leaf, is not seen here ; 
it is not usual to remove the stalk in this country when the leaf is cut 
up or manufactured. 

The charges incurred on tobacco, from the time it leaves the grower’s 
hands until it is stowed on board ship, include carriage from the 
country, brokerage, sorting, pressing, packing, weighing, porterage, 
lighterage, custom’s duties, warehouse rent, and commission, and amount 
in the aggregate to about 1$d.to 3d. per pound on the Drama class of 
tobaccos, and from 4d. to 6d. per pound on the Yenidgeh. This 
estimate is irrespective of the loss of weight consequent on the drying 
and manipulation, which varies from two to five per cent., nor does it 
comprise the still larger deficiency resulting from sorting, which amounts 
to ten or twenty per cent., and in some unusually bad years to as much 
as thirty or forty per cent. of rejected tobacco. This ‘ Refuso, or waste 
tobacco, is for the most part consumed in Egypt. 

The quantity of tobacco shipped from the Cayalla district to different 
home and foreign markets in 1859 was 18,667,676 lbs., of which 
14,100,000 lbs. went to the Turkish Empire, 2,691,228 lbs. to France, 
about 450,000 lbs. each to Austria, Greece, and Russia, 297,040 lbs. to 
Great Britain, and 224,000 lbs. to Sardinia. The trade with the Russian 
ports in the Black Sea, being carried on chiefly through Constantinople, 
its amount cannot be stated with any great degree of accuracy; and 
under the head of Greece is, no doubt, included a good deal of tobacco 
only nominally cleared out for that country. 


NEW ICE MACHINE. 


All the means hitherto employed for the manufacture of ice com- 
mercially have left much to desire; some with regard to the character 
of the ice obtained, others with respect to the construction of the 
machines or the fittings ; others also on account of the quality of the ice 
made, which is sometimes of too small density, rendering the preserva- 
tion of it difficult, or else of such an aspect and odour as to make its 
use almost impossible. 

A new inventor has just discovered and patented a system which has 
no longer the faults, the inconvenience and the danger of others, but 
offers, on the contrary, immense advantages in its construction, and in 
the quantity of ice it produces. That inventor is M. Lespine, who has 
succeeded, after many years of persevering labour, in furnishing for use 
machines of a rare perfection, of a simple and easy construction, always 
certain and regular in their action, liable to no explosion or derange- 


THE NEW ICE MACHINE. 81 


ment, and producing much more ice than any other system in use up to 
this time. The price of a machine capable of producing every hour— 


20 kilogrammes of ice is. . 4,000 francs. 


AO wists, Ss ele aaa Tea dune es SOOO 5s 
CO ass iui, sll deals MAEMO OOO hs 
SO ius ss fonts es aig eT OOOO Rina 
TOO 59 sep edhe spe leat lS OOOIe” yh 


The profit (at Paris) on the rough ice is guaranteed by M. Lespine at 
three centimes the kilogramme. The ingenious construction of these 
machines offers, in addition to the advantages enumerated above, that 
of answering all the various purposes for which cold is required, without 
introducing any modification into its machinery. 

The production of cold graduated at pleasure between zero and 30 
degrees centigrade below zero, adapts these machines for scien- 
tific as well as commercial purposes. The different ways in which 
cold is used, may be classed into three divisions: the 1st comprising 
private uses and the daily necessities of domestic life; the 2nd, the 
preservation of public health, the salubrity and the welfare of the 
million; the 38rd, including the various and different branches of 
industry. 

The following summary gives fuller details of the varied applica- 
tions of ice and the apparatus of M. Lespine : 


For private purposes and the daily requirements of domestic life:— 
1. The production of rough ice at will, soft or hard, transparent 
or opaque. 
2. The manufacture of sherbet and comestible ice in masses, more or 
less dense, iced wines, &c. 
3. The preservation of meat, butter, cream, pulse and alimentary sub- 
_. stances in general. 
4, The cooling of beverages of all kinds. 


For public health and salubrity, by lowering the temperature in crowded 

localities, &c.— 

1. As in theatres, factories, work-shops, hospitals, ambulances, and dis- 
secting-rooms, slaughter-houses, &c. 

2. By employing ice or cold in all its forms, within and without build- 
ings, as a remedy for, or a preventive of, many epidemic and 
endemic diseases resulting from intense heat. 

3. The separation of salt from sea water, so as to render it drinkable on 
board, or to promote congelation. 

4, Cooling the cabins of passengers and officers in ships, so as to enable 
them to defy the heat in the tropics in long voyages, &c. 


For scientific and industrial purposes :— 
1, Various preparations and the concentration of a great number of che- 
mical products, 
VOL, III. F 


82 COTTON CULTIVATION IN ITALY. 


2. The manufacture of essential oils, certain colours, sea salt, sugars, &e. 

3. Cooling the wort of beers, and by consequence improving the make 
of beer, especially in warm countries. 

4. Concentration of alcohols, spirits, and wines, and the improvement of 
wines in middling years, so as to admit of their keeping when 
shipped, &c. 

M. Lespine adds to his machine a particular method of action of 
extreme simplicity of detail, by which blocks of ice may be formed of 
considerable weight with the smallest possible volume, thus rendering 
the preservation and transport of the ice more easy. 


COTTON CULTIVATION IN ITALY. 


Of all countries to which we can turn our attention for an immediate 
supply of cotton, none offers better prospects of success than Italy, and 
we hope that it will be one of the grand results of the International 
Exhibition to establish this fact. The Italian cotton attracted till 
lately so little notice that its bare existence was scarcely known out of 
the very districts where it is cultivated, although it is one of the most 
ancient agricultural products of the country, whose introduction is lost 
in the mist of ages. 

The depressing political condition of the Southern provinces of 
Italy, where cotton is grown, had a more prejudical effect on this cul- 
tivation than the competition of the cheap American cotton. 

It would seem as if Providence, to alleviate the fearful distress from 
which Europe suffers, on account of the failure of the usual supply of 
cotton, had now restored liberty and independence to Italy, in order to 
open a new and extensive cotton field. 

There are in Italy upwards of 1,500,000 hectares of land which 
might easily be devoted to this cultivation. An hectare of land pro- 
duces in Italy from 250 to 600 kilogrammes of cotton. 

In the province of Principato Citeriore even 700 kilogrammes per 
hectare are often gathered. By good farming, it would be easy to get 
an average crop of 400 kilogrammes. Supposing, then, that at some 
future time, half this land should be alternately cultivated with cotton, 
we should have a produce of 300,000 tons, or 1,500,000 bales of cotton, 
equal to the quantity imported into England from the United States, and 
half of the total produce of that country. Our conviction is that, if we 
develop properly the favourable elements we have at our disposal, Italy, 
as a cotton-producing country, may take the same position with regard 
to England as that occupied for the last half century by the United 
States. : 

The greater part of the land in Italy that may be cultivated with 


COTTON CULTIVATION IN ITALY. 83 


cotton has an extremely low value from the entire deficiency of roads, 
as well as for the want of general improvement. 

The cultivation of cotton in Italy is very general, and carried on 
with considerable intelligence. 

In quality, Italian cotton may rival that of America, as may be 
seen by the “Report on the samples of Cotton in the International 
Exhibition, made on behalf of the Manchester Cotton Supply Associa- 
tion, by one of their members,” where full details are given as to 
the estimation in which the Italian “cotton is held, being often 
superior in value to middling New Orleans. 

South Carolina used to produce about half a million bales of cotton, 
with a population of 750,000 inhabitants. The agricultural population 
is very abundant in Italy, and the wages low. The population of the 
Italian cotton districts is not less than 10,000,000. That of the provinces 
of Terra di Otranto, Basilicata, and Calabria, on the Ionian sea, perhaps 
the best adapted to an immediate extensive development of cotton culti- 
vation, is alone upwards of 2,000,000. 

Almost all these cotton districts will soon be traversed by railways. 
One of these railways, passing through the provinces of Terra di Lavoro, 
Naples, and Principato Citeriore, along the shores of the Tyrrhenian sea, 
will be entirely thrown open in the course of a few months, and the sec- 
tion from Ancona to Foggia, on the Brindisi line, will be terminated 
within a year. 

The greater part of the available land to become fit for growing cotton 
requires drainage and irrigation. 

It results from the foregoing considerations that we have within a few 
days sail from Manchester, a country in which the following elements 
exist :— 

Ist. A vast extent of land, at a low rent, suited to the growth of 
cotton. 

2nd. An abundant population already accustomed to this branch of 
agriculture. 

3rd. Good species of cotton already acclimatised. 

Add to this that there is a free and liberal government desirous 
by every means in its power to promote the industry and welfare of the 
country. 

Leaving the United States out of the question, there is no country 
except India, which could give such a large supply of cotton as Italy, 
but there is this most important difference between them; in India, any 
change is introduced with great difficulty, and there is plenty of room 
for improvement in the quality of Indian cotton, while in Italy it is 
merely a question of developing an existing cultivation established on 
good principles. 

The consumption of cotton increases so rapidly in our days, that, 
even after the American crisis is over, it will doubtless be grown with 


success in many countries, 
E 2 


84 ON TAMANU RESIN AND OIL 


Italy has the great advantage of possessing the conditions to give the 
quickest supply at the present moment. If all these favourable cireum- 
stances be duly taken advantage of, Italy might be able to furnish at 
least 100,000 bales of cotton next year to the English market, and a 
million of bales within a few years time. 

But what steps are to be taken in order to establish this sroduchen 
on a proper footing ? 

Ist. The Italian Government should expedite, to the utmost degree, 
the construction of the railways which pass through the cotton regions, 
and especially the line along the Adriatic and Ionian seas. 

2nd. Private companies should rent or purchase land in those pro- 
vinces for growing cotton. 

3rd. One or more companies should be formed for drainage, wriga- 
tion, and general land improvement, similar to those in existence in this 
country. 

When once the land is improved, there is no doubt that cotton culti- 
vation would be established there in preference to all others for the 
large return it would yield. “eit 

It is questionable whether these last two objects might not be 
embraced by the same Company. 

While it is the interest of Italy to develop so great a source of 
national wealth, it is no less that of England to create this new field of 
cotton supply. 

Italian capital is so taken up in an endless variety of both public 
and private undertakings, that it could not suffice for immediately 
carrying out this cutivation ona large scale ; it is, therefore, extremely 
desirable that Italian and Foreign capital and energy should be 
combined, in order to give an instantaneous impulse to so important 
an enterprise as the establishment of an extensive European cotton 
field, 


ON TAMANU RESIN AND OIL FROM THE SOCIETY ISLANDS. 
BY G. CUZENT. 


The Calophyllum Inophyllum of Linnzeus, which bears in Tahiti the 
names of Ati and Tamanu, belongs to the Guttifera family of Jussieu. 

Resin of Tamanu.—tIn the crevices of the bark of this tree is found 
a green, heavy resin, which remains fluid and sticky for a long time, 
and subsequently becomes dry and solid. It is then brittle, and 
breaks like glass, and is aromatic. This resin must not be confounded — 
with those obtained from Icica Tacamacha, heptaphylal Guyanensis and 
altissima, which are known in the ‘ Pharmacopeia’ under the name of 
Tacamahaca. In fact, its physical characteristics are not the same ; the 
colours of reddish-yellow, black and yellow, a dull yellowish green, 


FROM THE SOCIETY ISLANDS. 85 


which distinguish the different kinds of Tacamahaca resins used in 
commerce, are not found in the resin produced from the Calophyllum 
inophyllum, which is very green while it is in a fluid state. Sometimes 
it is also of a bright yellow, but that is only the case when it exudes 
from the young branches of the tree. This resin has a peculiar aromatic 
odour, which has been compared to that of angelin, but is entirely dif- 
ferent. Like all the resins, it dissolves in alcohol, to which it imparts a 
green colour. Evaporated, it deposits a clear green resin ; on the con- 
trary, when containing water, it becomes milky. The resin is pre- 
cipitated ; and by exposure to the air, it acquires a greenish tint, and 
becomes odoriferous. Ether dissolves it readily. Heated in a glass tube, 
surmounted by a muffle, it does not produce any crystalline sublimation. 
It exhules an aromatic odour, and gives off much white smoke ; and on 
the heat being continued, it forms brown tears, which flow on the sides 
of the tube : the resin becomes brown, and emits a strong empyreumatic 
smell. The remainder is soluble in ether, which leaves, when eva- 
porated, a sticky, rich-coloured substance. In some countries—the 
Seychelles and the Mauritius, for instance—the resin of Tamanu is em- 
ployed to caulk ships. At Tahiti it is not used. 

Oil of Tamanu.—The almonds are formed by two cotyledons, of a pale 
yellow when fresh. They contain no oil, and before it can be obtained 
a change must be effected in the colour, the characteristic odour—in a 
word, a complete transformation must take place from the resinous gum 
sap of a yellowish green to an oily sap. That result is obtained by ex- 
posing the almonds to the sun for about two months. The oil is obtained 
by pressure. The almonds, reduced to powder, are put in linen sacks. 
All the virgin oil is obtained in this manner. They break the cakes up 
again, and expose the paste to a gentle heat to coagulate the albumen, 
and then submit it anew to the action of the press. The oil flows more 
readily, and they procure by those means a great quantity. 

From the commencement of the operation, the almonds having been 
crushed, might be submitted to the action of heat for the purpose of 
facilitating the production of the oil; but it is known that oil obtained 
in this manner becomes rancid sooner than those in whose preparation heat 
takes no part; and, therefore, it is advisable to avoid as much as possible 
the employment of heat. The following is a general table of results :-—. 
1,000 grammes of almonds have given, after the first pressure, when 
cold, 418 grammes of oil. The cakes, pulverised and warmed, again 
pressed, have produced 408 grammes of oil, which gives a total return 
of 810 grammes, or 81 per cent. 

One hundred kilos of entire nuts give 39 kilos of almonds; 100 kilos 
of almonds furnish 81 kilos of oil. The hectolitre contains 93 kilos. 

This oil, obtained in the manner described above, is greasy, of a 
greenish yellow, translucid, and sometimes very green, but this occurs 
when the almond is more advanced towards maturity. It has a perfume 


86 ON TAMANU RESIN AND OIL 


that is sui generis, and an insipid flavour, which is not agreeable. Its 
density is 89347. 

When it is boiled, it becomes thick Ais strongly coloured. It is in- 
soluble in alcohol. If shaken in a tube with that liquid the mixture 
becomes very green. This colour is owing to the resin, which the spirit 
separates from the oil and keeps in a state of solution. When allowed 
to settle, the oil, which has taken a yellow tint, occupies the lower part. 
If the alcohol be poured off, and the tube, which now only contains oil, 
be plunged into warm water, it clears, becomes translucid, and is very 
much like olive oil. The alcohol having been evaporated, a residuum 
of green resin is obtained. Such would be the means of purification 
employed were it not too expensive. This oil is insoluble im ether and 
chloroform. When a drop of concentrated sulphuric acid is added to 
some drops of oil, previously poured upon a lamina of glass placed on 
a small piece of white paper, a yellow stain is soon seen to form, 
which continually increases in the intensity of its colour, and finally 
becomes a reddish brown, but this colour disappears after twelve hours 
exposure to the air. Concentrated sulphuric acid, poured into oil of 
Tamanu, precipitates a resinous substance of a brown red colour, and 
the oil takes an orange tint without producing a sediment. Azotic acid 
has no immediate action on it; but if the mixture be stirred with a glass 
rod, the oil takes an orange tint without producing a sediment. 
Clorhydric acid produces the same result on stirring the mixture, except 
that the colour which the oil takes is yellow, like that of a lemon. 

Corrosive potash with heat forms with this oil a yellow soap, very 
soluble in water. 

Corrosive soda changes it, in the same manner, into a hard soap of 
a green colour, very soluble in water. 

Liquid ammonia also produces soap from it ; the combination is 
greenish and soluble in water. 

The acetate of fem gives a yellowish green soap, quite insoluble in 
water. 

If 7 grammes of litharge are boiled with 1,000 grammes of oil of 
Tamanu, a black substance is the result, which very readily dries. 

When the oil is treated with the Poutet reaction, it grows yellow, 
and then takes the colour of ochre, which soon changes to a very bright 
green. That colour in time disappears, and the mixture remains of a 
brown yellow. 

The oil does not congeal at 25° of temperature, it remains fluid ; 
and at the bottom of the phial a brown, solid, and elastic deposit is 
formed, and this too is very abundant. If two or three drops of am- 
monia are poured into the modified oil, which swims on the deposit, it 
becomes, when stirred, of a very bright orange colour. 

The following results have been noticed in trials to purify the oil by 
the Theénard process :— 


FROM THE SOCIETY ISLANDS. 87 


One hundred grammes of Tamanu oil, into which 2 grammes of con- 
centrated sulphuric acid were poured, and shaken quickly in a flask for 
a quarter of an hour, became of an orange colour. The resinous and 
the viscous matter formed a deposit thick and sticky, of a reddish brown 
colour. If 30 grammes of hot water are added and the mixture shaken, 
the oil becomes of a clear yellow, and resembles the yellow of an egg. 
After standing for 24 hours, the mixture separates into three layers; the 
lower is formed by the deposit of the middle layer of acidulated water, 
and the third of oil. This oil, when poured off, is shaken with a new 
quantity of warm water; and after this operation has been performed 
for ten minutes, it is left to stand, they pour it off again, filter it, and 
the result is the oil purified and in a fit state for use. 

The oil of Tamanu is useful for many industries, especially when it 
has been cleared of the green resinous matter which colours it, and 
which it retains in solution. It can be used in the manufacture of 
soap, In painting, and enters into the composition of some kinds of 
varnish. The soap obtained from it is of a yellowish green, aromatic, 
and of an excellent quality. 

Experiments have been tried with paint in one instance, made with 
oil in its natural state, and in another with oil that had been previously 
boiled. In both cases the paint tried on new doors was completely dry 
in twelve hours. 

Experiments have also been made to ascertain the fitness of the oil 
for sharpening tools made of steel. A number of graving tools were 
sharpened, and others, with the aid of water alone, or of cocoa-nut oil, 
which is sometimes used for that purpose. 

After they had been marked those tools were given to workmen for 
trial, and, according to their accounts, those which had been sharpened 
with the oil of Tamanu remained sharp for a longer time than the others. 
This is a new merit which deserves to be taken into consideration. 
Ainslie pretends that this oil has soothing properties, and that it can 
be used in embrocations, in rheumatic attacks, and especially in gout. 
Formerly the Tahitians used the resin of Tamanu for their “mouoi,’ 
which cosmetic is certainly held in great esteem at Tahiti, but the 
resin does not enter into its composition. Cocoa-nut oil is the prin” 
cipal ingredient, and as it is seldom fresh, it communicates to the 
hair an odour strong and disagreeable to which everybody cannot be- 
come accustomed. 

The Calophyllum Inophyllum prefers damp soils. It is found at 
Tahiti from the border of the sea to the valleys, where it spreads, and 
often near streams. The seeds which fall on the soil nearly always ger- 
minate; there is no necessity for increasing them, to do anything except 
protect their development. We have gathered seeds that have sprouted 
and young plants at Faa, just on the sea coast, in a soil that was muddy 
and impregnated with salt water. Formerly the tree was exceedingly 
abundant; there were numbers of large forests at many points of the 


88 ON TAMANU RESIN AND OIL, ETC. 


island. It is still found in great numbers at the present day, and prin- 
cipally in the districts of Papara, Hitiaa, and Tiarei. The natives have 
cut down many of these trees to make the posts and stakes which they 
used at Hitiaa for enclosing their portions of land. Fine spectmens of 
this tree are rare at this present day, but are still to be found in the 
valley of Papara. They distinguish two varieties of Tamanu, which 
differ only in the more or less bright colour of the wood and in the 
fibres which are either straight or undulating. The first kind bears the 
name of Tamanu hiva, the wood of it is hard and works easily ; it is 
common at Tahiti, Moorea, Huahine, and Raiatea. ‘Fhe second, called 
Ati, has a less hard wood which splits easily and is more difficult to 
work. It must be bought a long time beforehand, and well dried in 
the shade before made use of. 

The islands of Huahine, Raiatea, and Bora Bora, possess a great 
quantity of it; all the canoes in these islands are made of Ati. 

Raiatea contains an enormous quantity of Tamanus. There are consi- 
derable quantities on the numerous small islets which surround that 
island. The trees are of very great size, and the quantity of nuts that 
can be gathered from them for the manufacture of the oil is prodigious. 
At the Marquesas Islands there are a few enormous trees of this kind, of 
which the wood is very red. The island of Atiou in Cook’s archipelago, 
contains it in profusion; the wood has less colour. It is found also at 
New Caledonia, where it bears the name of Pits. The tree blossoms many 
times a year, and gives a large quantity of seed. It is planted at Java 
in avenues on account of the perfume of its flowers and the elegance of 
its foliage. It is in request for cabinet-making; beautiful furniture is 
made from it. When intended to be thus used it is important that it 
should be bought a long time previously; for if it be not very dry the 
articles of furniture warp and split in a short time. 

From what has been said about the Tamanu, its value for 
industrial purposes can be appreciated, and how far it would be useful 
to multiply this plant which is diminished continually in number. We 
cannot lay too great a stress upon the facility of extraction of the 
new oil which is lost, and which might be a true source of riches for the 
country. When it becomes better known it will doubtless be in request 
for the arts, and will, with oil of Aleurites, so long neglected in 
these seas, lead to loads being brought back by ship, which have been 
up to this time so completely deprived of it. 


89 


WOOL AND WOOLLEN MANUFACTURE. 
BY EDWARD 1, STEVENS. 


Although wool is but a modification of hair, yet under the micro- 
scope it exhibits well marked characteristics. Wool is defined by Pro- 
fessor Owen to be “a peculiar modification of hair characterised by fine 
transverse lines from 2,000 to 4,000 in the extent of an inch, indicative 
of a minutely imbricated scaly surface,” upon this and upon its curved 
and twisted form depends its remarkable and valuable felting property. 

Wool is not peculiar to the sheep, but it forms an under coat beneath 
the long hair in very many animals. Articles for clothing have been 
made from the wool of the musk ox (Ovibos Moschatus), from the wool 
of the skyn, or ibex, of Little Thibet, but in these and in other such 
instances they have been produced as objects of curiosity rather than 
for any commercial purpose. In the sheep, judicious management has 
in the course of years increased the growth of wool, and rendered 
the occurrence of hair unusual. 

From the time of Abel downward, attention has been paid to the 
breeding of sheep, and particularly so by the races of men inhabiting 
the southern parts of Europe, a considerable portion of Southern Asia, 
and the Northern part of Africa, with a few remarkable exceptions, as 
in the case of the Medes, the Phcenicians, the Egyptians, and the in- 
habitants of some of the islands in the Mediterranean, The Egyptians, 
however, as early as the time of Moses had become sheep-breeders, and 
about 1,500 years later it is related that the sheep of Egypt throve so 
well upon the rich alluvial soil of the country that their owners were 
able to shear them twice in the year. 

As an instance that the sheep of antiquity possessed a good fleece, 
examples may be cited from the Nineveh marbles. But the celebrated 
breed of sheep of antiquity was the Milesian. It was delicate in con- 
stitution, but it yielded a peculiarly fine wool, admirably adapted for 
manufacturing purposes. 

This breed, I believe, first appears in history at and near Miletus, in 
Asia Minor, about 540 B.C.—it was from thence probably introduced 
into Greece about 490 B. C.—and shortly after that into Italy, where it 
became famous under the name of the Tarentine Sheep. By the Romans 
this breed was carried to their various colonies, and amongst others to 
Spain. In Spain material improvements were effected in this breed 
about the commencement of the Christian era,—the fleece, which before 
was spotted, and frequently dark coloured, was rendered a pure white, 
and a sounder constitution was given to the delicate Tarentine Sheep. 
This regenerated race became known as the Merino Sheep, and from them 
have descended those animals which from that time to the present hav e 
supplied our clothiers with their best quality of wool. 


90 WOOL AND WOOLLEN MANUFACTURE. 


About 1765 the Merino sheep was introduced into Saxony, and after 
some years the Saxon fleece was found to be even superior to the 
Spanish. At the present time but little Spanish wool comes into the 
English market. 

The Merino sheep was introduced into Australia, Tasmania, New 
Zealand, the Cape of Good Hope, America, and other countries, with 
marked success, about the commencement of the present century. In 
Australia, the Merino succeeded the Leicester and South Down, which 
in their turn had supplanted the gaunt, hairy sheep imported by the 
early colonists from Bengal. 

The fibre of Merino wool exceeds in fineness that which any other 
breed of sheep produces, and North American Merino wool now sur- 
passes most other wools for its felting properties. Samples have been 
obtained from American flocks, which contain 2,552 serrations to the 
inch, while the finest Saxony wool only contain about 2,400 serrations 
to the inch. 

The increase of the sheep in some of our colonies is truly wonderful. 
In 1788 Australia had no sheep. In 1796 the entire stock of sheep in 
the colony of New South Wales was 1,531; in 1859 this number had 
increased to 7,581,762 ; whilst in 1861 the quantity of sheep’s wool im- 
ported into the United Kingdom from our Australian colonies amounted 
to 68,084,202 lbs. 

It must have struck every observer that man exercises a wonderful 
influence over the members of the animal kingdom, no less than over 
the members of the vegetable kingdom. Wherever attention has been 
paid to sheep-breeding, there a marked improvement has been mani- 
fested in the particular direction in which that improvement has been 
sought—whether in the carcass or in the fleece. This may account for 
the superiority of the breed of sheep around the ancient seats of civili- 
sation. 

Climate greatly affects the quality of wool—in very hot countries 
scarcely any wool is produced ; the animal is clothed with hair only. 
Variations in the temperature are very injurious—any sudden check of 
perspiration produces an irregularity in the staple of the wool (distinctly 
seen under tke microscope), and this of course greatly diminishes the 
value of the fleece. 

The sheep produces the finest quality of wool in two of the isothermal 
zones only—the warmer-temperate and the sub-tropical. Thus the most 
celebrated breeds of ancient times were the Coraxic, the Milesian, the 
Greek, the Tarentine, and the Spanish—all the spots upon which these 
sheep pastured are within the sub-tropical zone ; England, the United 
States, Buenos Ayres, the Cape of Good Hope, and South Australia are 
in the warmer-temperate zone ; whilst Tasmania and New Zealand are 
in the sub-tropical zone. It must, however, be remembered that eleva- 
tion above the sea-level reduces the temperature, and that in ascending 
a mountain range, a few hours will take you from the tropical scenery 


WOOL AND WOOLLEN MANUFACTURE. 91 


surrounding its base to the pines which fringe its snow-capped summit, 
passing through the familiar forms of the temperate zone on your way. 
For instance, the alpaca is a native of Peru, which is in the tropical 
zone, yet the alpaca succeeds well in Australia, which is in the sub- 
tropical ; but, then, this animal inhabits the elevated, and consequently 
cold, table lands of South America, and really finds the temperature of 
Australia warmer than its native habitat. The wool produced by the 
alpaca in Australia is stated to be superior to that produced in South 
America. 

Before quitting this part of my subject, I must remind my readers 
that the sheep did not exist in America, in Australia, or in New Zealand 
when those countries were first visited by Europeans. 

Naturalists and geologists draw some interesting conclusions from 
this fact. They state that the sheep is the most recent type of animal 
with which they are acquainted ; itis even a question whether it is 
found in a fossil state at all—it is peculiarly an animal belonging to the 
human period, and whether viewed as affording man food and clothing, 
or as imparting fertility to the soil he cultivates, it is scarcely possible 
to conceive an animal more valuable to him. 

Stages of Manufacture.—Wools are divisible into, firstly, those best 
adapted for carding, and, secondly, those most fit for combing. These two 
varieties may be classed as (1) short and (2) long wools, although the 
length of the staple is by no means their only distinction. 

(1) Short wool is used for the production of woollen cloth. It is 
first scoured ; next it is scribbled and carded ; it is then “slubbed ;” 
and, lastly, it is spun, or drawn finer, and twisted. None of these pro- 
cesses destroy the felting property of the wool. 

(2) Long wool for the production of worsted goods is deprived of its 
felting property by the process of combing, which destroys the imbri- 
cated structure of the wool, and approximates it to the nature of smooth 
fibres, such as silk and cotton. In fact, the process by which combed 
long wool is made into worsted yarn is analogous to that employed for 
spinning cotton, and consists in doubling the slivers or slubkings over 
and over again, until the fibres are laid parallel to each other, after 
which it is roved and then spun. 

As will be seen, the great distinction between woollen cloth and 
worsted goods is, that the wool in the former retains its felting property, 
whilst the wool in the latter has been deprived of it. Woollen cloth, 
as it leaves the loom, looks like a mere flannel, but after it has been 
submitted to the action of the fulling mill, it becomes compact and 
uniform—the fibres of the wool cohere, interlock, and conceal the 
threads beneath. Woollen cloth is then quite different in appearance 
from any article made from worsted, and which goods it must be re- 
membered are never fulled. 

Woollen cloths are either piece-dyed—that is, they are dyed after 
being woven, felted, and cut—or they are wool-dyed—that is, the scoured 


92 WOOL AND WOOLLEN MANUFACTURE. 


wool is dyed before being spun—in this respect again differing from the 
worsted or cotton manufacture, for cotton and combed wool are never 
dyed before being spun. 

In closing this very brief account of the stages of woollen manu- 
acture, I may add that recently improvements have been made in the 
preparation of both woollen and worsted yarn. For instance, in the 
former, one machine now feeds the other; and scoured wool passes 
through every stage short of being spun, without it being necessary for 
a human hand to touch. The fulling stocks are likewise supplanted 
in many mills by a fulling machine, which does the work in a shorter 
time, and requires less soap. 

In the preparation of worsted, the disagreeable and tedious process 
of hand-combing is superseded by a most exquisite machine, in which 
the movement of the wooden hands, as they draw the wool through the 
heated steel combs, and then place it upon a revolving wheel, is as nearly 
copied from a human action as it is possible. 

Three forms under which wool appears in manufactured goods still 
remain to be described, these three are known as mungo, shoddy, and 
extract; the former is obtained by tearing up old woollen garments in a 
machine called the “ Devil,’ and a most formidable looking machine it 
is with its array of iron teeth, the wheel upon which they bristle making 
about 600 revolutions in the minute. Shoddy is the result of a similar 
process exercised upon old worsted stockings, blankets, &c. No less 
than forty millions of pounds of mungo and shoddy are made annually 
in Yorkshire, the value of which is 800,000/. sterling, and yet this 
branch of manufacture only dates back about fifty years. 

The third article reproduced from old material is known as extract; 
it consists of the wool obtained from goods having a cotton or linen 
warp or mixture, the cotton is destroyed by chemical agency leaving the 
wool intact. Neither shoddy, mungo, nor extract are used for making 
new fabrics alone, they are mixed with a varying per-centage of new 
wool. 

Several qualities of wool are usually mixed together and form 
blends from which yarns are spun, both fleece wool—z.e. that shorn from 
the live sheep and skin wool—i.e. that obtained from the skins of such 
as are slaughtered are used, the per-centage of the latter and of inferior 
wools being reduced in spinning the better qualities of worsted yarn. 

The threads which extend the long way of any woven material are 
called the warp, those which pass across the width of the article are the 
weft. In the process of weaving there is much greater strain upon the 
warp than upon the weft threads, and, therefore, the former are more 
twisted in spinning, and indeed are altogether stronger than the latter. 
A most striking instance of this difference is displayed in the manu- 
facture of blankets—the warp threads used are spun, but the weft 
threads are not spun—they are not carried beyond the stage of slubbing, 


WOOL AND WOOLLEN MANUFACTURE. 93 


consequently being scarcely twisted at all, the peculiar woolly surface 
can be given to the blanket by the subsequent processes. 

Worsted yarn is largely employed as a weft with a warp of cotton 
(in some cases of silk) for the production of fancy dress goods ; these 
frequently have a check stripe, or figure of silk introduced upon the 
surface ; recently also mohair yarn (the hair of the Angora goat spun), 
has been employed as a weft for stuffs. 

Fettinc.—Wool and hair can be felted, that is made into a dense 
and compact cloth without the intervention of the processes of spinning 
or weaving. So great is this tendency that in a flock bed, the carded 
wool of which it is made is constantly felting itself into lumps, and 
from time to time the bed requires to be taken to pieces and the wool 
has to be carded afresh. With some animals, which possess a fine and 
soft fur such as Skye terriers and Persian cats, every one must have ob- 
served that the hair felts itself into ugly masses. 

This felting property of wool and certain kinds of hair is caused by 
a peculiarity in the structure which may be detected under the micro- 
scope, the filaments are notched or jagged at the edges—the teeth in- 
variably pointing upwards, that is from the root tothe point. A barley- 
ear will travel up your coat sleeve by the slight friction between it and 
your arm, because it possesses the same structure—but it will not move 
downward—so the fibres of wool moving in one direction only when 
subjected to gentle friction, mat together and form the kind of cloth 
called Felt. This felting property of wool is greatly assisted by the 
peculiar crimp in the fibre which it retains with great pertinacity, and if 
drawn out straight it immediately contracts again on being released, 
thus the forward motion of the fibre under friction is partly coun- 
teracted or converted into a circular or zig-zag movement, which is pre- 
cisely that which inost completely effects the matting together of the 
various fibres. 

Wool in the yolk, that is with the natural grease adhering to it can- 
not be felted—the roughness of the fibre being in that case smoothed 
over by the oil—were it otherwise the wool would felt on the sheep’s 
back and be comparatively useless. 

As St. Blaise is the patron saint of wool-combers for no better reason, 
so far as I can ascertain, than because the unfortunate martyr before he 
was beheaded (A.D. 289) was tortured by having his flesh torn with iron 
combs ; so St. Clementis the pation saint of the felting brotherhood, for he 
issaid to have placed carded wool inhissandals to protect his feet during 
a pilgrimage, and to have found at its close that the wool had felted 
itself into cloth ; thus rendering himself the reputed discoverer of felt. 

The process of Felting, however, claims a far earlier origin, and was 
probably discovered before weaving. Felt was anciently in ordinary use 
among the Medes, the Persians, and the Bactrians. The Greeks were 
acquainted with its use as early as the age of Homer, and the Romans 
seem to have obtained their knowledge of felt from the Greeks. 


94 WOOL AND WOOLLEN MANUFACTURE. 


Among the Romans the felted cap was regarded as an emblem of 
liberty and freedom—they were on that account worn at the Saturnalia- 
At the death of Nero, the common people to express their joy went 
about the city in felt caps. Not to multiply instances, when a Roman 
slave obtained his freedom he had his hair shaved, and wore instead of 
his hair the pileus or cap of undyed felt. Felt was used by the Romans 
as a lining for helmets, and both Greeks and Romans anticipated St. 
Clement in the use of felt for socks. Just as the Aztecs used thickly 
quilted cotton garments through which arrows could not penetrate, so 
the ancients employed garments of felt—for instance when the soldiers 
under Julius Cesar were annoved by Pompey’s archers they made 
shirts and other coverings of felt, and put them on for their defence. 

Felt was used for covering the wooden towers and military engines 
employed in warlike operations, to prevent their being destroyed by 
fire—and lastly, the Greeks and Romans covered their molles oves with 
felt. The Circassians still use large mantles of felt which they sleep 
under by night, and wear when required over their other dress by day. 
The postillions in Phrygia wear a cloak of white Camel’s hair felt half an 
inch thick 

Mr. Naish, of Wilton, has lately turned his attention to the pro- 
duction of felt with considerable success—he has recently patented in 
this country and in France, a most ingenious combination of partly 
woven and partly felted wool, to replace the ordinary felted saddle pads 
used by cavalry—this invention is receiving the warm support of our 
government. Mr. Naish also makes the wedge-shaped sheets of felted 
cloth used by piano-forte manufacturers—this material is exquisitely 
compact and fine. 

The manufacture of felt is exceedingly simple—the wool is first 
carded—the loose sheet of wool from the carding engine is then placed 
in the felting machine, where it is subjected to gentle friction, a current 
of steam passing through it during the operation—under this friction 
the loose fibres felt together and form a compact cloth. This cloth is 
next taken to a bench sloping towards a boiler, where it is worked, I 
may almost call it kneaded, by hand, and from time to time the hot fluid 
in the boiler is poured over it ; after this the mere finishing operations 
such as pressing and cutting take place. 

A pneumatic method of making felt exists. A quantity of flocculent 
wool is put into an air-tight chamber, these particles are kept floating 
equally, by a kind of winnowing wheel ; on one side of the chamber is 
a net-work of metal, communicating with another chamber, from which 
the air can be exhausted by means of an air-pump. When the com- 
munication between the two chambers are opened, the air rushes with 
great force to supply the partial vacuum in the exhausted chamber, 
carrying the floating wool against the network of metal, and so inter- 
lacing the fibres, that a felted cloth is at once produced. 

The great objection to felt for many purposes is its want of elasticity, 


REVIEWS. 95 


—how far this may be obviated remains to be shown. As a surface for 
printing, felt answers in one respect most admirably—the substance is 
so firm that it does not shift its position, and the successive blocks de- 
posit their colours with extreme regularity and precision ; from the 
close texture of the material, however, the colours do not penetrate 
deeply into the substance of the cloth, and hence, if subjected to hard 
wear, the coloured portion is rubbed off, and the appearance of the 
article is spoilt. By a method yet to be perfected, felt may be made to 
supersede the thick cloths, (Kerseys), used for overcoats, and by this 
- method a much finer face could be given to the material, than to the 
present woven goods. 

Felt is largely employed as a non-conductor for covering steam- 
boilers, &., and thus preventing loss of heat by radiation ; it might, 
also, I imagine, be used with advantage under slate, in roofing houses, 
by which the upper rooms would be rendered cooler in summer, and 
warmer in winter. 


Avis. 


A Puan AnD Easy Account oF British Funct. By M. C. Cooks. 
London: Robert Hardwicke. 


Mr. Cooke has done the public good service in bringing forward this 
subject in a popular form, in a well-written and fully illustrated book 
of 160 pages. Not only have we twenty-four coloured lithograph plates 
after his own drawings, and numerous wood-cut illustrations, but a great 
deal of useful, general information, supplemented by so much scientific 
description as seems to be requisite to identify the different species of 
esculent fungi. There has been hitherto no complete list or useful 
guide to the cryptograms ; as Mr. Cooke truly remarks :—“ That part of 
our scientific literature which is devoted to them is remarkably scanty ; 
and the young student, or the operative botanist, whose means are 
limited, enquires in vain for assistance in gaining even a slight know- 
ledge of a very interesting section of our Flora.” ‘This little hand-book 
is just the work required for ordinary and general reference, not too 
scientific to place it beyond the reach of the many, and full of valuable 
and curious details as to the edible character of this widely-diffused 
family of plants, of which hundredweights, admirably adapted for food, 
are wasted, and yet furnishing to those seeking information a synopsis 
of classification based upon the researches of some of the most eminent 
mycologists of the age. 

“¢ As articles of food,” Mr. Cooke justly remarks, “fungi are cer- 
tainly deserving of more attention than they have hitherto received 
from the majority of our countrymen. People widely separated by 


96 REVIEWS. 


mountains, oceans, or vast tracts of desert, have been found employing 
certain species as delicacies. Not only in China, as evidenced by the 
examples of dried edible fungi sent to the International Exhibition of 
1862, but also in the Himalayas and in the Rocky Mountains, as well as 
in Terra del Fuego, New Zealand, and Australia, to say nothing of Euro- 
pean countries, certain species afford wholesome and nutritious food. 
Of their chemical composition we are very deficient in information. Few 
authentically-determined species have yet come under the cognizance of 
the chemist, and there is but little doubt that not only does the compo- 
sition vary greatly in different species, as evidenced by their wholesome 
or unwholesome properties, but also in the same species under different 
conditions of climate and habitat, as well as during the different stages 
of its existence ; a few hours being sufficient in some cases to convert 
a wholesome food into a very injurious, and, perhaps, dangerous 
substance.” 

It would be scarcely fair to the author to draw largely upon his 
pages, but we are tempted to give the following extract, concluding with 
a strong recommendation of the work to general perusal : 

“‘ Subject as all fungi are to speedy decomposition, which intimates 
the existence of new compounds as the result of the chemical action, it 
is always advisable that all mushrooms, whether of the ordinary kind 
or those less commonly included under that term, should be prepared 
for the table as soon as possible after being collected. Not only do they 
lose flavour by keeping, but they are then more likely to produce un- 
pleasant results. It is also an excellent precaution to employ plenty of 
salt and spice in the preparation. Even poisonous fungi, and those of 
an active character, have been cooked with plenty of salt, and eaten 
with safety. It is only under such circumstances that we can imagine a 
fungus so injurious as Amanita muscaria being eaten at all, as it is said 
to be in Russia. The fact is equally well known, that in Russia fungi 
are thoroughly cooked and with plenty of salt. We have always exer- 
cised what we believed to be a prudent caution in experiment upon the 
esculent qualities of fungi, and would recommend others to follow our 
example. It is true that we have a number of species which are nuw 
known to be wholesome ; but an amateur testing a species for the first 
time would do well to exercise caution in conducting the experiment, to 
have regard to the taste when raw, and to proceed still more cautiously 
if there is any evidence of acridity in the uncooked fungus.” 


PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED.— Die Technischen Eigenschaften der Hol- 
ger fiir Forst-und Baubeamte Technologen und Gewerbtreibende’ By 
Dr. H. Nordlinger. Stuttgart : Cotta’scher—‘ Revue des Monde Colonial,’ 
Nos. 13 and 14. (Paris)—‘ The Vineyards and Orchards of South Austra- 
lia” By Ebenezer Ward. Adelaide: Platts—‘Mauve and Magenta,’ 
a Lecture delivered at the Royal Institution. By Dr. Hoffman.—The 
‘ Technologiste, Nos. 274 and 275 (Paris)—‘ The Journal of the Board of 
Arts and Manufactures, for Upper Canada.” July and August.—‘ Trans- 
actions of the New York State Agricultural Society, for 1861’—‘ Fine 
Wool Sheep-Husbandry.’ By Henry 8. Randall, LL.D., of Cortland 
Village, New York.—‘ Pharmaceutical Journal’ and ‘Chemist and 
Druggist’ for August. 


THE TECHNOLOGIST 


ON THE AMARANTH WOOD AND THE COLOUR OF WOODS. 
BY J. ARNAUDON. 


Of the natural products and more especially those which form articles 
of commerce in the Colonies, there are several kinds of woods, the origin 
of which, though they were formerly made use of by the Ancients, is almost 
unknown to us. They are designated only by a local name, derived 
either from their appearance, from a peculiar property of application 
which they possess, or it may be from the locality which produces them. 
Such a nomenclature can only be very artificial. Not to enumerate a 
crowd of examples which the history of drugs would supply, I will con- 
fine myself to one alone. I mention this because it forms part of the 
subject of which I have undertaken to treat—viz., the study of woods. 
It is neither the strength, colour, nor other physical properties, that the 
apothecary and the druggist would first pay attention to. Their object 
would be rather, to collect into one group all those woods, the action of 
whose extractive principle and animal economy was identical or analogous. 
The chemist, in his turn, would class them by their immediate and pre- 
dominating influence, or by that to which he attaches the most import- 
ance. The cabinetmaker again will group them according to the dispo- 
sition of their colours and the direction of their fibres. The latter will 
sometimes also take into consideration the odour, which is an essential 
point in the eyes of the perfumer, whilst for the artillery-waggon builder 
and for the shipbuilder, the most valuable properties are those of tenacity 
and power of resistance to atmospheric effects. - 

When employed for fuel, woods are classed according to their calorific 
power, their manner of burning, the nature of the flame they produce, 

VOL. III. G 


98 ON THE AMARANTH WOOD 


&c. Those engaged in some trades, and especially that of powder- 
making, pay particular attention to the quality of charcoal made from 
woods. The dyer disregards all the above-named properties, even that 
of colour, if he cannot utilise it, and forms a class of dye-woods which 
he subdivides according to the colours which he can extract from them, 
and apply to his textiles. 

It is not my intention to enter upon a discussion of the relative 
value of the methods used in classifying woods. I shall content my- 
self with stating that of the different systems, I prefer that which 
collects into one group those which have the same immediate principle, 
as a marked property of a certain number of plants. I propose in this 
paper to distinguish the immediate principles which are the characteristics 
of violet-coloured woods. Those which are included in a group to 
which the general name of amaranth wood has been given, will form the 
first subject of our enquiry. A little consideration will show that many 
of those at present used only in cabinet-making, may also be enumerated 
amongst dye-woods. I have, moreover, some hope that these researches 
may in some small degree contribute to the solution of the great 
problem of the colours in living animals. 

Under the name of violet-vood, wood of amaranth, &c., different 
kinds of wood for cabinet-making, are distinguished in commerce accord- 
ing to their deeper or lighter shades of red, purple, or violet. They 

_are obtained principally from South America and the Antilles. The 
requirements of the cabinet-making trade are satisfied chiefly from 
Guiana and Brazil; but these woods also abound in New Granada, 
Mexico, and Paraguay. <A great uncertainty still exists as to what species 
and botanic family the amaranth wood may belong, though probably the 
immediate colouring principle of the wood is, like that of indigo, spread 
over different families. 

But to remove all this uncertainty, we must arrive at the seat of 
the commerce of these woods ; we should be present where they are 
felled—in a word, we ought to be able to examine the plant which pro- 
duces them. In making enquiries up to the present time, we have 
taken into consideration merely the general appearance and the violet 
colour of the wood of amaranth, but the exterior characteristics of vege- 
tables, as of minerals, are very often liable to deceive us in the deter- 
mination of their race or species. Ihave found woods classed, on account 
of their colour, among the amaranth woods, which, judging from the™ 
nature of their colouring matter, are of a very different species from 
those comprehended in that group. I will now enumerate and describe, 
in a few words, those whose nature I have examined and which IJ class 
among woods of amaranth. 

The Pao colorado. A red wood of Bolivia and Brazil (this specimen 
came from the collection of Mr. Weddell). The wood is of a blood red 
colour, resembling red sandal wood, which is not merely superficial, but 


AND THE COLOUR OF WOODS. 99 


penetrates equally through the whole mass. The fibres are thick and 
straight, the specific gravity is less than that of water, and it is easily 
worked and polished. There appears to be no connection between this 
wood and that which M. Guibourt in his ‘ Histoire des Drognes, vol. iii, 
p- 322, describes as red wood of amaranth, and which, according to him, is 
a nissolia, tribe of the Dalbergii ? 

The violet wood of Cayenne is of a less intense, more yellowish red. 
The colour is more violet in the interior than the outside. The colour 
is not, however, equally distributed, but fibres of a rich red intertwine 
with others of a smaller size and orange hue ; the grain of this wood is 
coarser, and its specific gravity greater than that of the Pao colorado. 
The specimen which I examined was procured from the Museum of 
Natural History, Paris, and formed part of the collection of woods, from 
Cayenne, sent over by M. Ducier. I also found some specimnens in 
the museum of the ministry of the Colonies. This wood is used at Paris 
for the manufacture of furniture, and is said to be fitted for shipbuilding 
purposes, and M. Noyer bears witness as to its efficiency for the latter 
object. This gentleman is ex-deputy for Guiana, and has published 
a work entitled ‘Des Foréts vierges de la Guyane, in which. he says, 
that the violet wood belongs to a tree very common to the forests of that 
country. 

The Mariwayana or purple heart, called courabarel by the Arawaak 
in British Guiana. The specimen experimented upon, which I owe 
to the kindness of M. A Brogniart, was taken from the collection of 
Sir R. Schomburgk. According to the opinions of that learned man, and 
of the committee for British Guiana, in their Exhibition catalogue, this 
wood belongs to the Copaifera pubiflora and bracteata, Benth. This wood 
has a yellowish white, light and almost spongy exterior ; the heart is of a 
purple colour, less vivid than that of the Pao colorado, a little richer at 
the outside than in the interior. Its fibres run equally, and it is easy to 
work. It is esteemed superior to all other wood for artillery carriages, 
and is used in the colony for windmill shafts, rollers, and machinery. 
If better known it would be likely to take the place of rosewood in the 
ornamental work of the cabinet-maker. The Indians of the Berbice con- 
struct of its bark canoes called “wood-skins,” able to contain twenty-five 
persons. 

The Tananeo or Tanane, of New Granada. The specimen I examined 
was brought from Carthagena in 1853, by M. Fontainier. According to 
information obtained from M. José Triana, a learned botanist of Santa 
Fe de Bogota, the Tananoe belongs to the family of Bignoniacea, and . 
will be comprised in the genusTecoma. This wood is heavier than the 
preceding, and its specific gravity is superior to that of water. Its fibres 
are slender, close, and irregularly disposed, one forming an angle with 
another. This causes the wood to be as difficult to work as the quebracho 
and sandal woods, and to show the same variations of reflection exhibited 

G 2 


106 ON THE AMARANTH WOOD 


by their surfaces when they have been once polished. The exterior 
colour of the wood is ared violet, or rather a colour less purple than 
that of the preceding woods. The colour in this case is merely superfi- 
cial; towards the centre it becomes greyish, and approaches to the hue of 
walnut wood. When exposed to the air, the colour changes gradually 
to purple. This wood abounds in the forests of the Andes, and is especially 
plentiful in the original seats of vegetation, and not tar from the great 
rivers which flow through that region. It is used for turnery, mill- 
wheels, sugar mills, and even for fuel. 

The Palo morado, violet wood of Paraguay. The specimen from which 
the observations are drawn formed part of the collection of natural pro- 
duets sent from Paraguay to the Paris Universal Exhibition of 1855. 1 
owe it to the kindness of M. Laplace, Consul-General of that Republic at 
Paris. The characteristics of this wood are very similar to the one just 
described ; sometimes it is not quite so heavy ; ifs fibres, although un- 
dulating, are not so much interlaced, and its superficial colour is of a 
more intense violet red. But as is the case with the “Tananeo,” this 
colour does not extend far into the interior, the wood below that of the 
superficial layer is of a greyish white hue, and by exposure to the air 
soon becomes a light blue. The tree which produces this wood should 
be of a large size, judging from the specimen which I possess, the dia- 
meter of which is more than two decimetres. It appears to be rather 
plentiful on the banks of the Paraguay, the Parana, and the Uruguay. 

Lastly, 1 have examined a wood which I have been told is much used 
for cabinet-making, and a piece of which I obtained from the saw-mills 
in the Faubourg St. Antoine. This wood comes from the Rio de la 
Plata, and is something between the “purple heart” and the “ Palo 
morado.” All these woods burn generally with a clear flame, and leave 
very little ash. 

It will be remarked from the short descriptions just given, that all 
these woods contain a colouring matter, which is a red violet. There is 
this difference, however, between them, that in some it penetrates 
through the whole mass of wood, in others it is merely superficial, as if 
in the former the colouring matter were developed in the course of vege- 
tation ; in the latter, circumstances prevent its being so produced. But 
everything necessary to produce this colour is present in the tissues, for 
it requires but a very short exposure to what is called atmospheric 
action, to bring colour in those woods that were previously free from it. 
After having proved that transformation, it becomes necessary to inquire 
_ to what physico-chemical agent the colouring matter in woods is owing, 
especially what causes the phenomenon just mentioned. With that 
design I have made on the wood of amaranth experiments of which 
the following are the results: With the wood and air rarefied or 
exhausted hy-the pneumatic machine, it was found that when kept in 
darkness for fifteen days no change took place, as was also the case when 


AND THE COLOUR OF WOODS. 101 


the term was lengthened to a month. But when the wood was exposed 
to the light, at the end of fifteen days it became of a violet colour. The 
same results were obtained when hydrogen, carbonic acid, and steam 
were used—that is to say, darkness produced no effect, but light caused 
a violet colour to appear ; except that in the case where the last-named 
agent was employed, the violet was of a more intense hue, owing to the 
moisture.- With air confined in an hermetically-sealed tube, it took a 
month to produce any change in the colour, when the wood was kept in 
darkness. At the end of that time it became a light brown. When ex- 
posed to the light at the end of fifteen days it became violet, like those 
described above, but the violet in this case was more red. 

When common atmospheric air was used, the effect produced upon 
pieces kept severally in darkness for fifteen days and a month was the 
same—namely, to produce a light brown hue, but the light caused a 
brownish red violet to appear. The above experiments on the action of 
outward agents on the uncoloured woods of amaranth have been tried 
chiefly on the palo morado and the tananeo. The specimens operated 
upon were presented to the Chemical Society of Paris on the 18th 
August, 1857. The following conclusions may evidently be deduced 
from the above observations: 1. That light affects greatly the develop- 
ment of the colour of these woods. 2. That water is favourable to that 
phenomenon, probably, as has been said, in consequence of a physical 
action. 3, That atmospheric action is insufficient to develope the colour- 
ing matter, even with the assistance of water. But aided by light, it 
modifies the violet produced by the action of light alone, and gives it a 
tendency to become red. I think it expedient to glance at the results of 
analogous experiments made as to the influence of atmospheric action on 
the colour of the woods of Quebracho and Taigu. These experiments 
determined the fact, that although air and light were necessary to the 
development of the yellowish red colour peculiar to the Quebracho, yet 
air alone was sufficient to cause the appearance of a yellowish green 
tinge in the “ Taigu.” Inthe case of Amaranth, on the other hand, light 
seems to take an active part in the production of the purple colour of that 
wood. Although very limited, these results show us how necessary it is to 
multiply, repeat, and extend our experiments before laying down general 
assertions. I have been induced to make these researches from a natural 
love for these pursuits, and also from a desire for that applause ac- 
corded to those who discover any one of those laws which we consider as 
so many conquests gained by intelligence over matter, or beacons which 
light us over the vast untraversed space which surrounds us. 

Like causes always produce like effects, but like effects may arise 
from different causes. We are tempted to take the weakness of our un- 
derstanding for the simplicity of nature. We seek everywhere the 
original type of existence and unity of action. Nature, it is true, may 
sometimes follow the beaten track, but its methods and resources are 


102 ON THE AMARANTH WOOD 


inexhaustible ; it arrives at the completion of its purposes by ways the 
most diverse, and it is to the agreement of these differences that the har- 
mony of creation is owing. 

The preceding experiments were made at the ordinary temperature 
which had no sensible influence on the result. Lascertained in the same 
manner that a temperature of 100°, even where sustained for some hours, 
developed no trace of colouring. Sometimes, however, when ascertaining 
the nature of the flame produced by the combustion of those woods in the 
open air, I have found that those portions of the wood closest to the 
point of ignition, before becoming carbonized, take a purple tinge. This 
colour forms a violet-coloured belt shading off on one side into black, 
and on the other turning gradually to grey, the original colour of the 
wood. From this phenomenon I deduced the discovery of the formation 
of the colouring matter by means of heat, which I now proceed to show : 
I submitted to the action of heat at about 100° small pieces of woods 
without colour, in different mediums, hydrogen gas, &. ; at the same 
time, I raised the temperature to 130° without perceptible change, but 
when it reached between 140° and 150°, there showed itself in alla 
magnificent purple colour. 

The observations I had made on these woods induced me to examine 
into the effects of different solvents on their extracts. Dissolved in warm 
water it is of a light brown yellow colour, and deposits when cold a 
slate-coloured sediment. 1 took four equal quantities, A. B. C. D., of 
that solution, in a perfectly limpid state, and kept them as follows: the 
quantity A. in vacuo and in darkness, B. in darkness only, C. exposed to 
the light, was separated into two portions, one open to the air, the other 
guarded from it ; lastly, the quantity D. was exposed to the action of 
heat. The following were the results : 

A. No colour, no precipitate ; the liquor is still, after several years, 
as limpid as before the experiment. 

B. No red colour, but a slaty grey sediment, the hue of which 
changed gradually to a brown. 

C. After some minutes a light violet colour made its appearance on 
the side directly exposed to the light, but no perceptible difference be- 
tween the portions respectively exposed to and protected from the air. 

D. Boiling prolonged up to 100° developed no colour either in vacuo 
or not. These experiments demonstrate that air has some effect on the 
solution, but that light or heat up to 140° have none, and that light 
produces a purple colour in the matter dissolved in water. 

Examination of the effects on these solutions of the wood of ama- 
ranth by the different reactive agents have shown me that the acids and 
the salt acids, even when very much diluted, produce at the end of a 
certain time an extraordinary phenomenon in the formation of the purple 
colouring matter. Whilst the action of light alone produces only a very 
small quantity of colouring matter. In the liquid exposed to the rays 


AFRICAN PALMS. 103 


of the sun, when aided by diluted acids, it developes in a few minutes 
a beautiful red colour. It takes some days to produce this phenomenon 
if the operation is performed in darkness. Again, having raised the 
solution of colourless matter to a temperature of 80° or 100°, and 
mingled with it a few drops of acid, a magnificent crimson colour 
speedily appeared, which deposited, when cold, a flaky sediment of the 
same colour. We have thus assured ourselves of the following facts : 

1, That the different woods treated of all contain the same colourless 
matter, which can be changed into red under the influence of light, of 
heat, and of acids, 

2. That these woods, together with all whose properties in their im- 
mediate principles present like characteristics, may be classed in the 
same group. This classification is a useful one in science, if not in 
botany, and chemistry will derive especial benefit from it. 

3. That this colourless matter pre-existent in the wood must not be 
considered as possessing colour, until it has undergone a simple dis-oxy- 
dation. In other words, the connection between these matters is not 
the same as between blue indigo and disoxydised indigo. 

4, That the purple matter can be changed to a colourless one by the 
action of reductive agents, but in that case it differs from the original 
colouring matter of the wood. 

5. The most colouring matter is found in those woods which have 
the least colour in the interior. 

6. Lastly, that the art of dyeing will be enriched with a new dye, at 
the same time that the cabinet-makers will find a profitable means of 
disposing of their waste. 


AFRICAN PALMS. 
BY DR. W. BALFOUR BAIKIE, R.N. 


Famity CataMAcEa:—l. Calamus sp. possibly secundiflorus, at 
mouths of the Nun and Brass branches of the Kwéra or Niger. 2. 
Calamus sp. apparently different, near the banks of the Niger above the 
Delta. 3. Raphia vinifera, the Wine or Bamboo Palm. Constant along 
mouths and in deltas of rivers; also inland in moist places in Ibo, 
Benin, Y6ruba, Dahémi, &c., and still further from the sea in Korérofa, 
Adamawa, Bautsi, Ytriya, Gbéri, Naipe, K4mbari (as far as near to 
Yatiri), Borg, Gfirma, and along the road to Génja. The greatest 
known distance from the sea is in the town of Ktno, and more than 
400 miles from the sea. 


104 AFRICAN PALMS. i 


Uses: Dried pinne of leaves used for making ropes, bags, mats, hats, 
and for tying thatch. Long midrib of leaves, often upwards of thirty 
feet in length, used in construction of roofs of houses, for poling canoes, 
for making seats, couches, &c. The soft inside part of this used for 
making a large kind of mat used in travelling, and called by H&nsa and 
Ntipe “Mémme.” Sap used as a kind of Palm-wine, and much 
relished by the drunken savages of the coast. Fruit occasionally eaten 
(the mesocarp), but bitter, and in a few places, as in Kapa, oil is made 
from it. The fibre of the midrib is also woven with cotton into a kind 
of cloth in Benin and Yéruba. 

Famity BorassacE& :—1. Borassus ethiopum, African Fan Palm. 
Nearest approach to sea along river Niger in Ibo, nearly 150 miles up. 
In Yéruba and some other places it is found very near the sea, abun- 
dantly scattered throughout Bont, Nipe, Hansa, Bérnu, scarce in Margi, 
abundant along banks of river Binuwe in Korérofa, and Hamarraéwa in 
Adamdwa, and in the west in Borgi and Girma. Wherever it is plenti- 
ful elephants abound as they are very fond of its fruit. 

Uses: Wood used in building. Fruit edible and pleasant, though 
with a slight terebinthine flavour. Pulp beaten with milk in Hansa. 
Root-buds of seeds taken as an annual crop in October and November, 
and the spindle-shaped body roasted-and eaten, and very palatable. Sap 
used as a kind of Palm wine. Mats and hats made of leaves. Of very 
slow growth, and the tallest of the African palms, trees of 70 or 80 feet 
being often met with. Remarkable for the great swelling of its trunk, 
generally about two-thirds from the ground. 

2. Hyphene Thebaica, Dum Palm. Most abundant in Gébir, Masri, 
Kabbi, Azben, northern parts of Hansa, Bérnu, Margi; scattered in 
southern parts of Hansa, Nape, at Horin, and in Borgt; the most 
southern station is at Lukdéja, where I have planted them. Uses: Fruit 
edible and very pleasant ; kernels made into little perfume boxes at 
Kino ; leaves used for mats and the best kind of hats at Sdkoto and 
Gwandu. 

3. Geonoma sp. Found by Barter growing near the Niger. 

Famity CorypHACcEz.—1. Phenix dactylifera (Date Palm).—In 
Azhben, northern parts of Hansa, Kabi, &c., but a few are found in South 
Hansa, in Nape, where they bear fruit, and at Hérin. They are now 
growing at Lukéja. Uses: Fruit an important article of food. 

2. P. spinosa (Spiny Date).—In delta of Nun and Brass, in upper 
parts of Yoruba, in Nape, Kambari, Zériva, Béutsi, Kordrofa, and 
Adamawa, generally with Oil Palms. Uses: Leaves extensively employed 
in Nape and Zariya for making fine mats. 

Famity Cococe&.— 1. Elais Guineensis (Oil Palm).— Most abun- 
dant in Ibo, Benin, Yoruba, and Bont ; also very abundant in Korérofa, 
and in countries behind Adam&wa. Plentiful in Béutsi, Zarya, Gbéri, 
and Nfape. Plentiful along road to Gouja. Extends along Niger to near 


A VISIT TO THE GREAT EXHIBITION. 105 


Yatri. Dr, Barth mentions a solitary specimen in Kabbi, vol. v., p. 316, 
Farthest from the sea in Zariya, or 300 miles, and in Adam4wa, or about 
350 miles. Barter and I considered the Oil Palm to be Polycecious. 
Uses: Sap forms the sweetest kind of Palm wine. Fruit and kernel 
eaten. Mesocarp of fruit yields ‘“ Palm oil,” kernel yields “ Palm-nut 
oil” or “Nut oil.” Young leaf-buds eaten occasionally. Leaves, when 
Raphia is not procurable, used for thatching. Wood employed in 
building. : 

At West Bay, in Prince’s Island, we saw either a variety of the Oil 
Palm, or else another species of Elais. The nuts were larger, the foliage 
brighter green, and the trunk more robust, but we saw neither flowers 
nor ripe fruit. 

2. Cocos nucifera, Coco-nut Palm. All along sea-coast, and in deltas 
of rivers near towns. Extends up the Niger to Idda, where it fruits at 
120 miles from the sea. I have two young trees at Laikoja, more than 
150 miles from the nearest salt water. 

Uses: Fruit eaten. Oil said to be made in small quantity in Kwita, 
E. from Akkré. 

This list thus includes 10 species of Palms at present known in 
Suddn, a number not likely to be much increased. 


Bida, Feb. 18, 1862. 


A VISIT TO THE GREAT EXHIBITION. 
BY THOS. D. ROCK. 


% No. IL 


The Exhikition is a great popular educator, and there is no man, 
however exalted his intellect or deficient his knowledge, but must gain 
some advantage from a contemplation of the mind, and inspection of 
the matter, which together constitute that marvellous whole. In the 
labyrinthine courts and avenues of our great Technological Palace, we 
find the practical evidences of modern civilisation, the entire collection 
forming, as it were, a barometer of the world’s progress in art and 
industry. The richness and variety of the productions of nature, which 
are exhibited, in conjunction with the most curious contrivances, and 
appliances of art, must afford immense pleasure, and satisfaction, to 
everyone possessed of an appreciation for either the useful or the beau- 
tiful. There is, indeed, food for every mind, but such as are warped by 
envy or buried in hypochondria, . Every profession is enlightened, and 
each trade stimulated and encouraged, not te say benefited, by the 


106 A VISIT TO THE GREAT EXHIBITION. 


large field for comparison which the Exhibition affords; and the only 
regret which I feel in common with thousands, is that when the great 
show is ended there will be no complete or detailed catalogue of the 
contents for after-reference and consideration. Special catalogues there 
are without number, and some of them (especially those furnished by 
the colonies) are full of the most valuable information ; but they lack 
uniformity in size and style ; will not bind into one volume; and, more- 
over, some of them are not to be procured either for love or money. It 
seems left to the periodicals and general literature of the day to supply 
the deficiencies of a comprehensive catalogue, and I gladly avail myself 
of the pages of this Magazine to continue my notices of certain exhibits, 
specially attractive to its readers. 

One of the most beautiful objects pertaming to the mineral kingdom, 
which I have observed in the Exhibition, is the onyx marble of Algeria, 
contributed by that French colony, in which department the visitor 
will find specimens of the material illustrating its. peculiar properties, 
and attractions; whilst in the French Court itself there are several 
statues of bronze, robed in this same substance, not only proving the 
special suitability of the marble for such works of art, but also the skill 
of Gallic artists in the mystery of combination. In colour this marble 
so-called, is a yellowish brown, with the layers of colour somewhat 
merged, and yet sufficiently distinct to render the prefix onyx appro- 
priate. 

The efforts made of late years to develope the quarries of our own 
country have not been unsuccessful, nor are they likely to go unrewarded. 
Italy and Greece no longer monopolise the supply of marbles for our 
mantelpieces and furniture, but native stones are now commonly em- 
ployed, and amongst them the Serpentine, from the Lizard, is not the least 
attractive. Sundry useful and ornamental articles from the Serpentine 
are contributed by the company which works the quarry, and they are 
worthy of inspection. But of all the building materials which Great 
Britain affords, there are none more durable and characteristic of the 
people than our granites ; and it is pleasant to observe their growing 
employment in the construction of buildings, both public and private. 
~ Cornwall is the chief source of the serpentine marble, and is also cele- 
brated for its granites, that from the Penryn district having been worked 
for many years ; whilst the Cheesewring granite, more recently quarried, 
is gaining ground in public estimation, both on account of the excellence 
of its quality and the skill manifested in its preparation. 

In 1851, a medal rewarded the enterprise of the Cheesewring Granite 
Co., and now again, in 1862, the jurors have been compelled to acknow- 
ledge the great merit, both of material and workmanship which belongs 
to the articles exhibited by them. Only a few weeks since I had an 
opportunity of inspecting the works of this Company, and a few parti- 
culars may serve to elucidate some of the difficulties connected with the 


A VISIT TO THE GREAT EXHIBITION. 107 


preparation of granite. About six miles distant from the town of 
Liskeard, in East Cornwall, in a north-easterly direction, the interesting 
quarries are situated, and named after a curious pile of granite-stones, 
crudely representing an ancient instrument for wringing or squeezing 
cheeses. The stones or blocks of granite are eight in number, and about 
this strange heap there has been much controversy, some contending for 
a natural origin, and others willing to regard it as a Druidical monument. 
A large amount of the granite is prepared upon the spot, and then 
transported by means of a railway to Port Looe, passing en route the steam 
works which have recently been erected at Moorswater for sawing the 
granite into slabs, and polishing, and also for the preparation of works 
of art in this excellent material. Granite offers such great resistance to 
the saw, that to cut through half an inch in depth in a day is fair work, 
and this is accomplished with smooth, flat pieces of iron set in a frame, 
with water constantly dripping into the cutting ; and as the frame holds 
four of the saws or knives, and is propelled by steam power, three slabs 
can be cut at the same moment. Sand or emery flour are likewise used 
to facilitate this difficult operation. After the slabs are cut they are 
transferred to another machine, where the polishing process is carried 
on; but the entire operation is so tedious that slabs of granite of any 
size are necessarily expensive ; three very fine slabs, 7 feet x 3 feet, are 
to be seen amongst the articles exhibited by the Cheesewring Granite Co. 
in the south court of the eastern annexe, and as they are only about two 
inches thick, I should imagine some considerable demand is likely to 
spring up for such slabs, for table and cheffonier tops, &c. 

In ancient times, granite was very commonly employed in the con- 
struction of large buildings and monuments, but then labour was so low 
in value, and so much at the command of the rulers, that any work, 
however stupendous, was accomplished by a simple multiplication of 
human power to the requisite amount. Modern nations, on the contrary, 
can neither quarry nor transport such immense blocks as the ancients 
employed, not because they possess less skill or determination, but 
simply on account of the greatly enhanced value of an individual’s 
labour. Machinery will, to a certain extent, however, enable us to do 
more than the ancients could accomplish ; and, at a considerable outlay, 
the Cheesewring Granite Company, under the able superintendence of 
Mr. James Trathan, are prepared to gratify the public admiration for 
both picked and polished granite to any extent. Although a seeming 
paradox, leaden saws will cut through granite with much greater 
rapidity than iron, but cannot be employed, because this soft and yielding 
metal will not bear the tension necessary in tightening the saws. It is 
almost invidious to draw attention to the beautiful obelisk in Cheese- 
wring granite, which occupies so prominent a position in the British 
nave. 

In a case exhibited by Messrs. Johnston and Matthey, of Hatton- 


108 A VISIT TO THE GREAT EXHIBITION. 


garden, in the South Court of the Eastern Annexe, is to be found perhaps 
a larger amount of rare and useful information than in any other case of 
equal size in the entire Exhibition. The general public read of a great 
many metals in school-books, which, except upon occasions like the pre- 
sent, they never see ; and such an opportunity for oc ularly learning some 
of the elementary bodies which compose material things, should not be 
neglected. 

Platinum is a metal which many are accustomed to regard as more 
curious than useful ; but a glance at Messrs, Johnston and Matthey’s case 
will soon convince the observer that platinum is eminently practical. In 
addition to native platinum, (and this metal is invariably found pure,) 
there is a massive ingot weighing no less than 218 lbs. of the value of 
3840. and this is in itself a great triumph in the metallurgy of platinum, 
considering how difficult it is to fuse. Platinum wire, foil, sheet, cru- 
cibles and capsules, cones for lightning conductors, telescopic tubes 
soldered with the same metal, and two fine retorts for distillation of 
acids, all demonstrate its growing importance. Besides this very com- 
plete platinum series, there is some pure metallic iridium, pure silicium, 
erystallised, metallic boron, palladium foil, and the ammonio-perchlo- 
ride of palladium, gold in all its forms, and, lastly, some preparations 
of uranium, including a specimen of the oxide of that metal known to 
mineralogists as pitch-blende. 

Those great sea monsters which, a few years since, served to terrify 
nervous sailors, and astonish the students of natural history, have to all 
appearance ceased to exist ; or, if the sea-weed theory be correct, then 
indeed, the great sea-serpent is to be found in the Exhibition of 1862, 
“hung, drawn, and quartered,’ and the several portions of his grisly 
frame applied to a great variety of useful purposes. It is well known to 
botanists that certain kinds of alge exist of great size and length, as 
well as serpent-like in form, and when the rumours about sea serpents 
prevailed, they pointed out the great probability of the apparition being 
nothing more than a length of such weeds, floating upon the waters ; 
the appearance of Jife being imparted by the undulating motion of the 
waves. The genus Laminaria is peculiarly possessed of the animal cha- 
racteristics above mentioned, and it is a species of this tribe, with its 
singular and highly novel application, which arrested my attention the 
other day at South Kensington. Adjoining the large cases devoted to 
the collection of products from the Bahamas, I espied what, to all appear- 
ance, was a case of English manufactures in horn; and should have passed 
it over as a very ordinary exhibit but for a label with the words, South 
African Alge upon it ; and after a few minutes’ examination, I discovered, 
greatly to my surprise, that the entire contents of the case were manu- 
factured from South African Alge, of which a bunch in its crude con- 
dition was suspended in the corner. 

The weed in question is scientifically termed Laminaria buccinalis or 


A VISIT TO THE GREAT EXHIBITION. 109 


Ecklonia buccinalis, and these names very fairly describe its peculiarities. 
The generic terms Laminaria and Ecklonia imply a laminated structure, 
and remarkable mobility, or power of flotation; whilst the specific 
distinctive buccinalis, or “ horn-like,” is a further embodiment of its 
physical formation. It is found in various parts of the world, but, ac- 
cording to the opinion of the importer, nowhere with its hornlike 
characteristics so prominently defined as on the coast of South Africa. 
It may be briefly described as a bunch of pipes or tubes of varying 
length, all attached. at one point to a slender and solid stem, which 
springs from the bed of the ocean; the diameter of the tubes varies 
from half-an-inch to three inches or more, and increases from the point 
of junction with the stem, upwards, until each terminates in a sort of 
club-shaped headpiece or bulb, with a fringed border or leaf-like 
appendage. The substance of almost all seaweed consists of a sort of 
vegetable gelatine—which, on drying, both hardens and sensibly con- 
tracts ; and in the case of the species now under notice, the contraction 
causes the outer cuticle or epidermis to corrugate, and it assumes the 
appearance of buckhorn, 

The botanists who first examined and named this seaweed were evi- 
dently impressed with its external resemblance to horn, but their pursuit 
was science only in theory, whilst the enterprise and intelligent obser- 
vation of Mr. T. G. Ghislin has bridged over the chasm which ordinarily 
exists between theory and practice, and he presents us with the same 
science applied usefully, proposing, as a new material for man’s convert- 
ing ingenuity, this very horn weed, under the speciai distinctive of 
“ Laminite.” 

The most obvious application of Mr. Ghislin’s Laminite, and which 
had been better termed Buccinite, is in the production of walking sticks, 
for which the tapering form, small diameter, and ornamental exterior, 
eminently fit it ; and perhaps some reader may be picturing to himself 
the advantages of a seaweed walking stick, which might also subserve 
the purpose of a weather glass, and keep its owner well up in barome- 
trical changes; but this singular property of marine vegetation is 
necessarily destroyed by Mr. Ghislin’s patented process, which deprives 
the weed of its hygrometric virtues, and renders it at once eminently 
suited for an incalculably greater number of purposes. I have alluded 
¢0 its exact physical resemblance to buckhorn—a similarity which is 
still further increased after it has undergone the treatment with acid, 
whereby it is made completely anhydrous and hard. For knife handles 
it is peculiarly adapted, being lighter, more beautifully and regularly 
nodulated, and much more pleasant to the touch than common buck- 
horn, It can likewise be bleached, and we shall therefore have the 
luxury of white buck-horn handles for carvers, &c. Handles for sticks, 
umbrellas, and whips, coverings for instrument cases, books, telescopes, 
and opera-glasses, powder-flasks from the bulbous terminations, and 


110 A VISIT TO THE GREAT EXHIBITION. 


many minor applications, all produced from the Laminite, are to be 
seen at the Exhibition, in Mr. Ghislin’s case. The hollow form of the 
Laminaria also invites its application to articles of furniture, as a strong 
and tough material may be covered with it, and the furniture produced 
still be as light again, and equally ornamental, with the true horn furni- 
ture, of which a complete set is exhibited inthe Austrian court. 

Men of science and amateurs in this country, as well as the natives 
themselves of South Africa, have been in the habit of using the Lamin- 
aria after a very crude fashion. In this country the custom has been to 
use the solid stem only of Laminaria digitata as a rude handle for knives; 
the tang of the blade being inserted when the weed is fresh and soft, 
around which it clings more tenaciously as it hardens. The Kaffirs con- 
vert it into rough horns, and from this application the name of Trumpet 
weed has been given. 

Even in its crude state, as imported, the Laminaria buccinalis may 
fairly be taken for stag-horn, and when piled in heaps, it can scarcely be 
distinguished without close inspection. 

Mr. Ghislin will doubtless have to contend with much prejudice on 
the part of some, but he will,I trust, receive equal encouragement from 
others in the prosecution of this new industry, which is the more 
deserved as he stands alone as an exhibitor of Cape productions, and 
entirely unaided by the government of that colony. 

If ever the consumption of this vegetable horn should be sufficiently 
extensive to make any considerable waste, even that waste may be made 
available for the production of iodine, inasmuch as this especial variety 
of Laminaria from the Cape, is supposed to contain more of that valuable 
medicine than any European alga. 

Atpresent, Mr. Ghislin derives his supplies of the Laminite exclusively 
from the weed that is cast on the shores of South Africa, by the violence 
of the waves, but when his trade is fairly established, he thinks of 
dragging in deep water for larger specimens.* 

Silks in splendid variety are to be found in almost every court of the 
Exhibition, every nation, and colony, seeking to prove its anxiety to 
share in the production of a fibre of such inestimable value. Japan 
silks are displayed by Col. Howard Vyse, under the native names, his 
case containing no less than thirty different qualities—white, yellow, 
and green—and from his report I gather that this number is very far 
short of the total recognised in Japanese commerce. Other exhibitors 
of Japanese silks are Messrs. Remi, Schmidt, and Co., who have dis- 
played, in addition to the more ordinary varieties of silk in the skein, a 
very interesting set of cocoon samples, those termed ‘ Yama-mahi” 
being of a brilliant green colour, which is a decided novelty, but still 


* Mr Ghislin’s exhibit is not confined to the Laminaria, but embraces a great 
many other interesting products, which we have not space sufficient to mention. 


A VISIT TO THE GREAT EXHIBITION. 111 


further eclipsed by the cocoons of a wild worm called Kourinoki, which 
are of a brown colour and retinaceous, the chrysalis being quite exposed. 
As no sample of the silk accompanies this latter, the presumption is, 
that at present it has no commercial value. India, as may be imagined, 
is rich in silks, both raw and manufactured ; but there is no part of the 
collection of products from our Oriental Empire more attractive to a 
technologist than the case arranged by Mr. F. Moore, containing numerous 
specimens of coarse and wild silks produced by large species of moths. 
The Tusseh silk is pretty well known in the English market ; it is supplied 
by a large moth measuring five and a-half to six inches from wing to 
wing, the Antherewa paphia of Linneus: The silk is strong and coarse, 
of a flax-brown colour. Another species of silk called “ Moonga” is 
from Antherwa Assama, and approximates closely to the Tusseh ; but a 
third variety in this case, described as Mezan-kooree silk produced by 
Antherea Mezankooria, is of a lighter colour than the Tusseh.* 

Algiers also seems to possess capabilities for the successful cultivation 
of the silk-worm, and besides the ordinary species of Bombyx, I observed 
two new sorts of cocoons, labelled Bombyx Cynthia and Bombyx arindia, 
the former light brown, and the latter reddish brown in colour; both 
being smaller in diameter and more elongated than the common kinds. 
Greece, Turkey, Italy, France, Sweden, and even Russia, also exhibit 
silks in greater or less profusion.t+ 

Brazil was always celebrated for artificial flowers, and nature has cer- 
tainly been very profuse in supplying that country with just the very 
materials suited to the preparation of such elegancies. The plumage of 
birds in the Brazils is peculiarly splendid, and the natives have long 
been in the habit of selecting the various, rich coloured, parts of such 
plumage, and grouping them into flowers without the aid of any paint 
or dye, the beautiful green feathers of parrots forming the foliage, clipped 
or cut into suitable shape. Another material worked up by the Brazilians 
into artificial flowers is fish-scales, and they are so delicate in appearance 
and durable, that they form ornaments of the most attractive character, 
and the more so when combined and contrasted with a few feathers. 
Shells also are occasionally converted into flowers, and their elegant 
forms frequently resemble the petals of flowers in a remarkable degree. 
Groups of flowers in all these materials are exhibited in the Brazilian 
court, and must be closely examined to be justly appreciated. But by 
far the greatest novelty in this respect is enclosed in a small case at the 
entrance to the court, being nothing less than a group of flowers made 
entirely from the wings and wing cases of insects, and to which the jurors 
have awarded a prize medal. The leaves are formed from the pale green and 
gauzy wings of some large fly. Flowers yellow, blue, and red, from the 


* The moths producing these silks were fully described in a valuable paper by 
Mr. Moore, in the second volume of the TRCHNOLOGIS®, p. 410.—EDITOR. 
+ See the paper on the Alianthus silkworm, vol. ii. p. 386. 


112 ON THE BANANA AND PLANTAIN. 


brilliant wings of butterflies and moths ; whilst the iridescent elytras of 
several kinds of beetle are commingled here and there to enhance the 
general effect. The colours of insects are really so splendid that this 
first step towards preserving and grouping them in an ornamental form 
must be hailed with satisfaction, and it constitutes likewise another 
addition to the very long list of waste products utilised, enumerated in 
the work recently written by our worthy Editor. 


ON THE BANANA AND PLANTAIN. 
BY PAUL MADINIER. 


The banana (Musa, Lin., from its Arabic name, mouz) is a remark- 
able plant which forms a very striking object among the luxuriant 
vegetation of the tropics. Its elegant leaves, long and broad, majes- 
tically crown the stem, which, though it has the appearance of a tree, 
yet partakes much more of the nature of a grass. The banana* plant is 
reproduced by shoots cast in great numbers by its root, which is com- 
posed of long fibres, which are of a cylindrical shape. Its stalk owes its 
increase to the successive opening of leaves rolled in the form of a cone, 
all of which have the same centre. “It can be best compared,” says 
Labat, “to a great roll of many leaves, the exterior ones of which serve 
as envelopes for those which they enclose.” The banana (Musa para- 
disiaca, Lin.), or according to R. Brown, the Musa sapientum, is the species 
which may be considered as the origin of all the kinds of bananas, 
which are not merely simple varieties. Botanists distinguish more than 
a hundred, but we will enumerate only the principal of these. 

Musa sapientum, Lin., or the wise men’s banana, bears from eight to 
ten rows of fruit, and has ten or a dozen fruits in each row. 

Musa sinensis, or Cavendishii, H.P., is the Chinese banana. 

Musa coccinea, And., or the scarlet banana. 

Musa rosea, Jacq., the banana with red spathes. 

Musa rosacea, Pridham, is found in Hindostan, South America, and 
some of the Antilles. 

Musa superba, which, as well as the Musa ornata, is commonly called 
the monkey banana, their fruit being only eaten by those animals. 

Musa glauca, Roxb., distinguished by the rough appearance of all its 
parts. 

Musa troglodytarum, Lin.,is a kind very little cultivated, of which 


* Our correspondent uses the name banana where we usually write plantain. 


ON THE BANANA AND PLANTAIN. 113 


the fruit ought to be eaten green ; it irritates the throat, is a diuretic, 
and gives a red tint to the urine. 

Musa textilis, Nees., the abaca of Amboyna and the Philippines. We 
shall pay more attention to this species when we occupy ourselves with 
the textile properties of the different species of bananas. According to the 
most generally received opinion, the banana originally comes from Asia, 
the most easterly part of which continent has been called the region of 
Musas. 

With regard to its geographical distributions, the banana plant is an 
object of cultivation over an immense zone, which extends, although not 
continuously, from 38° N. to almost 35° S. latitude. A mean tempera- 
ture of from 18° to 20° Cent. suits it best, provided, however, the win- 
ters are not too rigorous. In Cuba the small species are cultivated in 
_ situations where the thermometer falls to 7° Cent., and even sometimes 
almost to zero. The Musa sapientum is satisfied with 18° of mean heat, 
but the Musa paradisiaca requires at least 20° to 22°, and that, too, 
only in the climates of equatorial regions. It produces the best crops in 
a temperature of 24° to 28°. It produces no fruit at 20°, nor at an 
altitude of more than 3,000 feet in the southern latitudes from 0 to 10°. 
(Humboldt.) 

In the Cordilleras of New Granada the banana is productive at an 
altitude of nearly 6,000 feet, but according to Boussingault, the fruit 
never ripens at an elevation of 7,000 feet. Schomburgk has seen the 
Musa bearing fruit in British Guiana at 3,000 feet above the level of 
the sea; the fruit was magnificent, and would have borne comparison 
with the finest from Porto Rico. In Hindostan the Musa is cultivated at 
an elevation of 3,700 to 5,000 feet, at Kamaon and Gurhwal, in the 
middle of the Himalaya chain. Major Munro found a wild species at 
Khondah (Neilgherries), at nearly 7,000 feet above the level of the sea. 
Dr. Madden also discovered an indigenous Musa in the Himalaya range, 
to the north of the province of Assam. 

Asia is, as we have seen, the native country of the banana plant ; 
many varieties are also found in the Indian Archipelago, China, Cochin 
China, and Hindostan. On one side of the continent they are spread 
over Polynesia and, lately, in Australia ; and on the other, in Persia, in 
Beloochistan, in Asia Minor, as far as Mount Taurus, andin Arabia. In 
Africa the banana has not the same importance as in Asia and America, 
except sometimes in Guinea and Madagascar, where many indigenous 
Musas are cultivated. It is not to be found on the eastern coast, but 
only in gardens higher up the country, in Abyssinia, Nubia, and Egypt. 
The northern part of Africa also possesses the plant, which has been 
carried thither by the victorious Arabs, but no great attention has ever 
been paid to it in that region. When we pass into Europe, we see the 
banana appear in some gardens in Greece, in Sicily, and especially in 
the souther provinces of Spain. It was introduced into the last-named 
country by the Moors, who cultivated it extensively in the neighbour- 

VOL. III. H 


‘314 ON THE BANANA AND PLANTAIN. 


hood of Armenia. The eastern parts of Portugal, whose marine and 
equal climate is singularly favourable to the naturalisation of tropical 
plants, enumerate even the Musa sapientum among their garden produc- 
tions. The Musa Cavendishii and Musa sinensis have also been success- 
fully introduced into that country. Equatorial America has immense 
resources in the banana; Mexico, Central America, Colombia, Upper and 
Lower Peru, Brazil, the Guianas, and the Antilles, more especially Haiti 
and Cuba, cultivate this plant on a vast scale. The banana exists still 
in Louisiana, Florida, and the other Southern States, where efforts 
have been made for some time to extend its cultivation. 

A warm and rather moist soil is best suited to the propagation of the 
banana, that is to say, a soil in which there is a plentiful admixture of 
clay, as in the immense valleys of America and Asia, and in the grassy 
plains of Malaysia. It seems to like the neighbourhood of the sea, and. 
an atmosphere impregnated with salt, for it is in that kind of situation 
that it appears to prosper best. In Egypt it grows well in the nitrous 
plains of Rosetta. In the majority of countries where the plantain is 
grown no manure is necessary, owing to the decomposition of the stems 
and the alluvial nature of the soil. But in other less favourable soils 
manure may be requisite to maintain a vigorous and constant production. 
A plantain walk is usually established a little before the rainy season 
commences. The soil is loosened to a foot or less, so as to receive the 
young plants. Itis thoroughly cleansed of all weeds and stones which may 
be there. Then shoots or suckers are taken from the parent stem, of from 
two to three feet high, their bulbs being divided from the principal bulb 
by means of a mattock. These slips are cut about eight inches above the 
neck, and placed in a slanting direction in the prepared holes, and 
covered with earth, leaving in sight only about two inches. The 
length of time which elapses between the planting of the slips and their 
fruiting, depends on climate, situation, and variety of species. Thus, 
Musa sapientum fruits in the fifth and sixth month, whilst the Musa 
paradisiaca requires ten months, and sometimes even a longer time 
than that. Two varieties of the Banana fig, the B. canaya and gengi, 
produce their fruit in five months. In mountain districts, the fruit of 
the large banana ripens only at the end of eighteen or twenty months 
of cultivation ; some varieties indeed, in such position, take three years 
to produce fruit. The leaves of the banana afford a useful shelter, and 
it is therefore of great service in tropical agriculture to young plants, 
which would otherwise suffer severely from the excessive heat of the 
sun. In British India and in Cuba, they use the coffee-plant, the 
young areca palms, the cocoa-nut, and the betel pepper for this pur- 
pose. In the West Indies and in South America, they plant rows of 
plantain and cocoa (Theobroma). In Java, the plantain is made a shade 
plant for vegetables. In British Guiana, the plantains are set six yards 
apart, and yams, maize, cocos or canes planted in the intervals. 

The cultivation of the plantain is one of the easiest to undertake 


ON THE BANANA AND PLANTAIN, 115 


and at the same time one of the most profitable ; when once it has been 
planted, there is nothing more to do except realise the harvest, for 
the trifle of manure bestowed upon the soil two or three times a year 
is nothing in comparison with the labour necessary in Europe to bring 
crops to perfection. As these plants renew themselves with offshoots 
at different degrees-of development, it follows that each plantation 
offers at the same time rows whose branches are laden with ripe fruit ; 
rows whose branches are full of blossom, and young offsets, which give 
promise of future plenty. In the best situation, three rows are counted 
/to each cluster of bananas, sometimes four ; in general they obtain five 
rows in two years. “ There is no culture that can be undertaken with 
more confidence than that of the banana,’ says M. Boussingault, ‘ for if 
climatic influences should sometimes have a prejudicial effect on the 
crop, they could never completely destroy the prospect. of a harvest, as 
the certainty would always remain of that to be obtained from the sur- 
viving and stronger growing offshoots or suckers. No other vegetable 
production presents similar advantages, — not even the maize, that ~ 
crop so precious in the warmer regions of the globe. 

“ The enormous return from this plant assures to the inhabitants of 
tropical countries an abundant means of sustenance, and one that can 
be obtained at a low price, as it is acquired without difficulty. But in 
consequence of the facility with which—thanks to the banana—the 
means of sustenance can be obtained, as the proverb runs, ‘ Personne 
ne meurt de besoin en Amérique, the inhabitants have a great excuse 
for being indolent, which they are already inclined to be on account of 
the climate.” 

The large banana is gathered at three different stages ; at a fourth 
part of its maturity, it is rather milky and contains much starch. If 
it is roasted in ashes, or boiled in water, it forms a very nourishing 
food, capable of being substituted for bread. If cut at three-fourths of 
its growth, it is less nourishing, but contains more sugar ; in this state 
it is eaten as an accompaniment to meat. Lastly, when the fruit is 
perfectly ripe, all the starch is changed into gum or sugar; it then 
developes an acid principle: in this state it is eaten either raw or in 
the form of fritters. The banana fig, which is eaten when perfectly 
ripe, is rather a fruit than a nutritive substance ; it is soft, full of sugar, 
melting, and possesses a powerful perfume, and forms a principal dish 
for dessert in tropical regions. In some countries they cut them while 
they are green, and hang them in their houses to ripen. To hasten 
their ripening in China they are covered with rice, or even with lime. 
The Chinese also eat the flowers of the banana plant pickled with 
vinegar. 

A banana when plucked keeps fresh fora week, at the end of that time 
it becomes yellowish and more sugary ; in twelve or fifteen days it 
begins to decompose and ferment. In America there are two methods 
of preserving the banana; the first, used when the fruit is green, 


116 ON THE BANANA AND PLANTAIN. 


produces banana farina ; the other, when the fruit is completely ripe, 
. produces the platano pasado of the Mexicans, or the platano curado of 
the province of Neyba, New Granada. 

The farina of the banana is prepared in the most simple manner, 
by cutting the fruit into slices and drying it in the sun, The whole, 
coarsely ground and sifted, forms a farina highly esteemed in South 
America; it is the “conguin tay” of the colonists of British Guiana. 
If machines are used in this process, care must be taken that no steel 
be brought into contact with the fruit, as the gallic acid acting on that 
metal would discolour the fruit. Implements of nickel, or even of » 
bamboo, should therefore be employed in preference to steel. The 
quality of the farina depends chiefly on the rapidity with which the 
slices are dried ; therefore the best way is to roast them in an oven. 
Eight hours is the time this operation ordinarily takes. When the 
bananas are taken out they are hard, brittle, translucid, and of a horny 
appearance. When ground they furnish a white sweet meal, with a smell 
like fresh hay, or tea, which is very suitable for invalids or children, as 
it is palatable and also digestible. It is the most nourishing of all 
introduced into Europe, containing 5 per cent. of azotic matter. 
Bread can be made from it with the addition of a meal that contains 
more gluten, for when used alone it is rather stiff and uses badly. 
Macaroni made from it falls to pieces when put into warm water. This 
product will, no doubt, acquire great importance in foreign countries 
when its properties become more known, but the best way of procuring 
the farina fresh would be to import into Europe the dried slices and 
grind them. This is a speculation which could not fail to be successful 
in the colonies, seeing that a bunch of plantains stripped of the skins 
would give 60 per cent. pulp ; but in general only about 50 per cent. is 
reckoned on. The fresh pulp furnishes 40 per cent. of dry farina. The 
yield is usually about 3lbs. per bunch of a mean weight of 25lbs. An 
acre of plantains would give, on the average, 450 bunches, yielding 
2,350lbs. of meal (nearly 6,000lbs. per hectare of two and a-half acres.) 
If this meal were to realise the price of arrowroot, Is. a pound, we 
should obtain the large return of 3007. per hectare. But if we allow 
only 150/. per hectare, and deducting the expenses incurred, we have a 
very large and remunerative return for the culture. 

There is another method of utilising this plant, made use of in South 
America, but it is defective in a great many points as compared with 
that already noticed. They grate the fruits, having first peeled them, 
squeeze the moisture out in a press, and bake them, like manioe, in an 
oven, and by this means obtain a coarse kind of flour. But the nutritive 
property of this is inferior to that prepared from the dried slices, for no 
doubt the pressure which extracts the moisture, expels also the soluble 
albumen, and other nutritious qualities.* 


* See some remarks on plantain flour, vol. i., p. 195.—EpDrror. 


=“ 


ON THE BANANA AND PLANTAIN. 117 


The next method of preserving the banana very closely resembles 
that commonly used in the preparation of dried fruits, such as figs, 
prunes, &c. The time chosen is when the fruit is quite ripe, and its 
skin has become of a yellow colour, shaded with black. In Mexico, 
in the “ terras calientes,” and particularly in Méchoacan and Xalisco, 
bananas are dried simply by exposure to the atmosphere. According to 
Colonel Colquhoun, they proceed in this manner: The fruits are 
exposed to the sun in bundles, and when they begin to wrinkle they are 
peeled, the skin, if left on, causing a disagreeable flavour. They are 
kept for some time, until an efflorescence of sugar appears on their sur- 
face, as on dried figs and prunes. They are then pressed into masses 
of about twenty-five pounds each, and wrapped with leaves of the 


. banana plant, or else kept in boxes. Some specimens of bananas pre- 


served in this manner, which had been kept for sixteen years, were 
shown at the Great Exhibition of 1851. These samples were in a very 
good state of preservation, although a little changed on the outside. Of 
course, these methods can only be adopted in countries where the cli- 
mate is very dry. In others, recourse must be had to artificial means, 
which are unfortunately more costly. A description of some of these may 
be seen at full length in the catalogue of British Guiana, in the Universal 
Exhibition of 1855 at Paris. That interesting little pamphlet states that 
there are three distinct ways in which the ripe banana may be dried : 
Firstly, exposing the fruit to an atmosphere of sulphuric acid gas before 
the dessication is begun. Secondly, boiling rapidly very ripe fruit in water 
which contains sulphate of lime. Thirdly, by boiling it in syrup. By 
either of these, the albumen and caseine of the fruit coagulates, and the 
tendency of the banana to decay and ferment is stopped at a period 
favourable for dessication. Experience shows that the second method 
is the best to employ ; in moist climates, without this precaution, the 
fruit, instead of drying, becomes damp. To expose the fruit to the sun’s 
rays after boiling, trays of bamboo, as in Mexico, or of anything which 
permits the free action of the air and light on the fruits, may be used. 
If rain falls, they are dried in a furnace, which must be left open, other- 
wise the bananas bake instead of drying. The heat, also, must be 
moderate. Bananas, when dry, are pressed and packed in boxes. 

This fruit thus prepared is a very good article of food, resembling 
figs, and its abundance and easy preparation would render it a cheap one. 
Many spirituous drinks, as well as vinegar, are made from the banana. 
Banana wine is obtained in Cayenne by pressing the fruit through a sieve, 
and then making it into small cakes, which are dried in the sun or on 
hot cinders. When wanted for use they are dissolved in water. Another 
way is to boil the fruit, and passing them through a sieve to separate 
the skin, they are melted and bruised in the same water. 

From bananas soaked in brandy a liqueur is prepared, which pre- 
serves the taste of the fruit; other liqueurs are also obtained by the 
process of fermentation. Vinegar is made in British Guiana by suspend- 


lis - ON THE BANANA AND PLANTAIN. 


ing in a cask the fruit in baskets, where they liquefy, and their juice 
flows into the casks and soon becomes vinegar. No water is added. 

Bananas baked in their skin, then peeled and boiled in water, are 
very good for coughs and inflammation of the lungs. The Malays use a 
variety of this fruit, which possesses considerable tonic properties, to 
arrest diarrhea. The bananas are generally very astringent when half 
ripe and eaten raw, on account of the gallic acid they contain. In the 
Antilles they obtain from the ashes of the plant burnt in a dry state 
large quantities of potash, which they use to wash linen. 

We will now glance at some of the uses of the stalk. The stem is 
filled with an abundant pith, enveloped in fibrous cases, and containing 
much starch. This boiled might serve as human food ; animals like 
it very much, Cattle, and especially the pig, relish this kind of sus- , 
tenance, 

A curious fact connected with the banana plant is that the sap is so 
abundant that it eseapes whenever an incision is made into the outer coat- 
ing. The sap has been examined and analysed by Fourcroy, Vanquelin, 
and Boussingault. According to the last writer it contains tannin, gallic 
acid, acetic acid, chloride of sodium, salts of lime, potass, and aluminum. 
If cotton, linen, or flax are dipped into it whilst perfectly fresh, it de- 
posits a colouring matter of a yellowish grey, which adheres to the fibre. 
When exposed to the air it becomes agitated, and precipitates floccules of 
a dirty rose colour. This phenomenon is produced by the oxygen con- 
tained in the atmosphere. The banana plant is used in Anam, or 
Cochin China, and the -Philippines, in the process of refining sugar. 
Masses of raw sugar are placed in layers one inch thick and ten wide, 
which are covered by a layer of stalk of this plant, cut into small pieces. 
According to Grosie, however, it is the ashes of the Musa paradisiaca, 
which they use in this process. The aqueous liquor that flows from these 
stalks filtrates through the sugar, carrying away with it all impurities, 
and leaving the sugar in a crystallized state. 'Phis sap is also of great 
value as a mordant in dyeing ; the Malays by means of it fix the green 
colour of the Dolichos lablab. When employed alone, the sap of the 
cochon banana communicates to fabrics a purple tint, which is durable. 
The sap has also medicinal properties. Itis used in St. Domingo to stop 
internal and external hemorrhage, like tannin is in other countries ; 
and at the Philippines, to heal a species of venereal disease very common 
in the province of Bisayas. 

We now come to consider those properties of the banana plant which 
are especially interesting at the present day, and to notice the textile 
purposes its stalk is applicable to. The species considered the best for 
such purposes is the abaca of the Philippines. There is some dispute as 
to the scientific name of the variety of the Musa from which the so- 
called “ Manila hemp” of the English, and the “abaca” of the Portu- 
guese and Spaniards, is procured. Some name it the Musa sylvestris, — 
some Musa troglodytarum textoria, and others Musa textilis and Musa 


ON THE BANANA AND PLANTAIN. 119 


abaca, The difference that exists between the fibres of the different 
species of banana plants, appears to be attributable to the fact that some 
fibres of wild plants, and especially those of the banana, are more or less 
modified by cultivation. The abaca is found in the volcanic islands of 
the Philippines, and in the neighbouring Archipelago ; still it is princi- 
pally in the pueblos of Donsol, Sorsogon, Tabaco, Cameli, and Quipa, 
that the cultivation is principally carried on, and from whence the best 
material is obtained. The only difference between the abaca and other 
plants of the banana tribe, is the rich dark green hue that pervades every 
part of the former. The abaca has very little care bestowed on its cul- 
tivation, as it is grown only for its stalks, and it is an advantage rather 
than otherwise that its fibres should retain their natural coarseness and 
tenacity. Nor does it require so rich a soil as the edible varieties ; it is 
usually planted on the slopes of mountains, where the land has been 
newly broken up. The ground is carefully and frequently cleared of all 
obnoxious weeds during the growth of the young plant, and the stalk is 
cut when the fruits first make their appearance. At the end of the first 
crop, they have monthly, good suckers springing up, and that, too, during 
the whole time that the plantation lasts, which is from five to seven years. 
This duration of course varies with the nature of the soil, the fertilizing 
properties af which this crop exhausts very rapidly, especially as no manure 
is applied. The textile material is obtained in the following manner :— 
The stems are cut down and stripped of their leaves. It is next divided 
into long strips of two fingers in breadth, then passed between a thick 
plank, placed in a horizontal position, with a knife resting edgewise 
The material is then drawn through with one hand, whilst the other 
presses heavily on the back of the knife, and in this manner the pulpy 
matter is scraped and cleared off, leaving the textile fibres bare. These 
are put to dry in the sun, care being taken to protect them from rain 
and moisture. They are then beaten lightly with sticks, again exposed 
to the sun, and, lastly, the filaments are separated according to their 
degrees of fineness. In this manner three sorts of fibre, of varying 
quality, are obtained, the Ist, called bandala, from the outer sheaths 
of the stem, which is the strongest and coarsest, and from which ropes, 
&e., are made. The 2nd, known by the name of Jupis, which is the 
finest, is procured from the inner layers, whilst the 3rd, the tupoz 
comes from the intermediate layers of the tissue, and from this last fabrics 
and gauzes are manufactured. Two men employed at this work, one 
in separating the outer coats, the other using the knife, can prepare from 
24 to 26 lbs. avoirdupois a-day. 50 feet length of banana will furnish 
from 24 to 26 lbs. of abaca fibre, or 143 to 145 lbs. to every 2% acres. 
Tt is cut at least 10 times a year, which gives a mean return of 1,760 
lbs. of bruised abaca, worth from 5l. to 10/. If the process be pro- 
perly conducted, at least a Ib. of thread, or taking the produce of 2¢ 
acres for a whole year, 3,520 lbs. of abaca will be obtained, worth at 
Manila about 201 The abaca intended for weaving, is bruised in a 


120 THE USES OF THE BAMBOO. 


mortar, such as they use to pound rice in, and thus reduced into a kind 
of ball, about the size of a child’s head. This operation has the effect 
of rendering the threads more flexible and resistant. These threads 
having been joined together by women or children, are woven after the 
manner of cotton, and the texture is immersed in water with a little 
shell lime, for a day and a night. Afterwards they are cleared in fresh 
water and left to dry. If mixed with silk or cotton, a beautiful texture 
is produced, very fine and very valuable, and applicable to a variety of 
purposes. 

Roping and cordage, made from abaca, is employed in the mercantile 
marine of India, and in the navy of the United States, and is well 
known under the name of white rope or Manila rope. 


THE USES OF THE BAMBOO. 
BY 8. WELLS WILLIAMS, L.L.D. 


The bamboo (Bambusa arudinacea),* which grows everywhere within 
the tropics, is one of the tree-like branching grasses which varies in 
growth and luxuriance, according to climate and situation, but oecasion- 
ally attains the height of fifty or sixty feet. It shoots up with great 
rapidity. Most of the species of bamboo have hollow stems, which 
often attain a diameter of many inches. Gardner mentions a large 
species (B. Tagoara) having a stem of eighteen inches in circumference, 
and attaining a height of fifty to 100 feet. The touch-paper of the 
Chinese is made from a variety of bamboo, by beating the young 
shoots flat, steeping them in a lime pit for a month, and then washing 
and drying. A curious under-shirt made of split bamboo, very in- 
geniously plaited, intended for wear in warm weather, was exhibited 
in the Chinese Department of the Great Exhibition in 1851. Of it 
are made implements for weaving, the posts and frames of the roofs 
of huts, scaffoldings for buildings, portable stages for natives’ processions, _ 
raised floors for granaries, stakes for nets in rivers, rafts, masts, yards 
oars, spars, and decks of boats. It is used for building bridges across 
creeks, for fences, as a lever for raising water for irrigation, and as flag- 
poles. Several agricultural implements are made of it, as are also 
hackeries or carts, doolees or litters, and biers ; the shafts of javelins 
or spears, bows and arrows, clubs, and fishing rods. A joint of bamboo 
serves as a holder for pens, small instruments, and tools. It is used 
as a case in which things of little bulk are sent to a distance ; the eggs 


__* These have already been alluded to by Mr. Cruger, vol. ii., p. 421.—EpDITOR. 


THE USES OF THE BAMBOO. 121 


of silkworms were brought in a bamboo cane from China to Constanti- 
nople, in the time. of Justinian. A joint of bamboo answers the 
purpose of a bottle ; and a section of it is a measure for liquids, rice, &c., 
In bazaars. It is also used as a pot for slips or seeds of plants, and when 
matured is easily split and separated, when required to be put into 
the earth. A piece of it is used as a blow-pipe, and asa tube ina 
distilling apparatus. A small bit of it, split at one end, serves as tongs 
to take up burning charcoal ; and a thin slip of it is sharp enough to be 
used as a knife in shelling betel-nuts, &e. Its surface is so hard, that 
it serves the purpose of a whetstone, upon which the ryots sharpen 
their bill-hooks, sickles, &. Its growth is very rapid ; Dr. John Davy 
has known a bamboo to shoot fourteen inches in twenty-four hours in 
Ceylon. 

The mowchok, the most beautiful bamboo in the world, is peculiar to 
China. It attains to its full height of from sixty to eighty feet in a 
few months ; and Mr. Fortune, who was in the habit of measuring its 
daily growth in the Chinese woods, found that it shot up from two to 
two and a-half feet in twenty-four hours. Unlike the bushy bamboo 
of India, with its large joints and branches throughout its stem, the 
mow-chok usually presents a bare surface for thirty feet from the 
ground. The freedom from knots and the fineness of its structure 
render the wood of great importance in the arts. Indeed, the number 
of uses to which this plant can be put is surprising. When it first 
shoots from the soil it is cut like asparagus and eaten as a vegetable 
Mr. Fortune found it excellent, and during the time it was in season 
had it for dinner every day. The interior portion of the stem is beaten 
into pulp for paper, the exterior is slit into strips for the weaving of 
ropes, baskets, and sieves. Ornamental inlaid work is constructed from 
it, and the entire pole, from its combined lightness and strength, answers 
every purpose for which poles can be employed.~ Mr. Fortune has done 
the service of introducing this invaluable variety into India, and it is 
now growing on the slopes of the Himalaya. 

The Dyaks of Borneo boil their food in bamboo cut into lengths of 
about two or three feet. These are placed over the fire in such a position 
that the joint of the bamboo does not come into contact with it, but 
rests upon the ground beyond it, the fire being placed under the green 
and harder part of the cane, which from its silicious coating resists the 
effects of the heat and flame, until the provisions are sufficiently pre- 
pared. A bundle of leaves placed in the mouth of the bamboo answers 
the purposes of the lid of an ordinary cooking pot. 

The uses of the bamboo among the “ Celestials” are so numerous as 
to entitle this grass to be called the national plant of the Chinese. It 
grows naturally throughout the country, nearly to the latitude of Pekin, 
diminishing in size and strength as one goes northward. The varieties 
induced during the long period of its culture are numerous; and a 
native writer on its propagation observes, at the outset of his treatise, 

YOu, Lt, I 


122 THE USES OF THE BAMBOO, 


that he could not undertake so much as to name them all, and would, 
therefore, confine himself to a consideration of sixty-three of the 
principal. Some of them are like trees, forty or fifty feet high, with 
culms eight inches in diameter near the root; others resemble pipe 
stems through their length, graceful and slender as a magician’s wand ; 
while one kind presents a black, and another a bright yellow skin. It 
is cultivated in or near villages, for its shade and beauty, and a grove 
furnishes culms from year to year, of various sizes. 

No plant presents so rural and oriental an aspect to a villa or hamlet 
as the chumps of this graceful and stately grass, the many plumes of 
which, swaying in every breeze, form an object of great beauty, well 
befitting so useful a plant. The bamboo may well be called useful, for 
it is applied by the Chinese to such a vast variety of purposes, that 
they are puzzled to get along without it when they emigrate where it 
does not grow. 

It is reared from suckers generally, but it is necessary after a time 
to renew the plants from the seed, as it dies down to the root, like all 
other grasses, after it flowers. Native authors say that the size of the 
stalk can be increased by cutting off the shoots and filling the topmost 
joint of the main one with sulphur for three years, after which the 
shoots will spring forth with great vigour. 

It is rather difficult to transplant it; but when once rooted, the 
suckers annually extend till a clump of a hundred stalks is often pro- 
duced. The tender but tasteless shoots are cut for food, either boiled, 
pickled, or comfited, as the customer wishes; but not the “tender 
buds and flowers cut like asparagus,” as one writer on China describes. 
The seeds, too, furnish a farina suitable for cakes, and the Chimese 
have a proverb that the bamboo flowers chiefly in the years of 
famine. 

The gnarled roots are carved into fantastic images of men, birds, 
monkeys, or monstrous perversions of animated nature ; cut into lantern 
handles or canes, known in commerce as whangees ; or turned by lathe 
into oval sticks for worshippers to divine whether the gods will hear or 
refuse their petitions. The tapering culms are used for all purposes that 
poles can be applied to—in carrying, supporting, propelling, and measur- 
ing—by the porter, the carpenter, and the boatman—in all cases where 
strength, lightness, and length are requisites. The joists of houses and 
the ribs of sails, the shafts of spears and the wattles of hurdles, the tubes 
of aqueducts and the rafters of roofs, the handles of umbrellas, and the 
ribs of fans, are all constructed of bamboo. 

The leaves are sewn upon cords in layers, to make rain-cloaks ; swept 
into heaps for manure, matted into thatch, and used as wrappers in 
cooking rice dumplings. Cut into splints, of various kinds and sizes, 
the wood is worked into baskets and trays of every form and fancy, 
twisted into cables, plaited into awnings over boats, houses, and streets 
and woven into mats for the scenery of the theatre, the roofs of houses, 


NOTES ON BORNEO WOODS, 123 


and the casing of goods. The shavings even are picked into oakum, and 
mixed with these of rattan, to be stuffed into mattresses. 

The bamboo furnishes material for the bed and the couch, chop-sticks 
to use in eating, pipes for smoking, and flutes to aid in singing ; curtains 
to hang in the doorway, and brooms to sweep around it ; besides screens, 
stools, coops, stands, sofas, and other articles of convenience and luxury 
in the house, too numerous and trifling to mention. The mattress to le 
on, the chair to sit upon, the table to dine from, food to eat, and fuel to 
cook it with, are alike derived from it. The ferule to govern the scholar, 
and the book he studies, both originate here. The tapering tubes of the 
native organ, and the dreaded instrument of the lictor ; the skewer to 
pin the hair, and the hat to screen the head ; the paper to write on, the 
pencil to write with, and the cup to hold the pencils; the rule to 
measure lengths, the cup to gauge quantities, and the bucket to draw 
water ; the bellows to blow the fire, and the tube to hold the match; 
the bird-cage and the crab-net, the life-preserver and the children’s 
buoy, the fish-pole and sumpitan, the water-wheel and cave trough, 
sedan, wheelbarrow and hand-cart, with scores of other machines and 
utensils, are one and all furnished by this magnificent grass, the graceful 
beauty of which when growing is comparable to its varied usefulness 
when cut down. 

China could hardly be governed without the constant application of 
the bamboo, nor the people carry on their daily pursuits without it. 
The very phrase, to “bamboo a man,” has almost become incorporated 
into our language, to express the design and means of Chinese govern- 
ment. It serves to embellish the garden of the patrician, and shade the 
hamlet of the peasant. It composes the hedge which separates their 
grounds, and assists in constructing the tools to work their lands, and 
feeds the cattle which labour on them. The boatman, dyer, and weaver 
find its slender poles indispensable in their trade, while there is nothing 
the artists paint so well on wares and embroideries. The tabashir found 
in the internodes has its uses in native pharmacy, and the silicious 
cuticle furnishes the engraver a good surface for carving and polishing. 


NOTES ON BORNEO WOODS. 


Mr. Spencer St. John supplies the following notes of the uses and 
qualities of some of the woods from Sarawak, which he has sent to the 
International Exhibition :— 

The red Thrangi or Krangi Min wood is, perhaps, not so abundant as 
the other sorts, but still can be obtained if required. The growth is 
about 30 to 40 feet to the branches, and the diameter 20 to 30 inches. 


124 NOTES ON BORNEO WOODS. 


It is, perhaps, the heaviest, hardiest, and strongest tree that grows in 
Sarawak. It is not much used by the Malayans except for their vessels, 
and occasionally rudders, butts, &. It is a good durable wood, capable 
of standing a great strain and chafe, and would make excellent stem and 
stern posts, windlass pieces, rudder pieces, butts, in fact, anything where 
great strength is required, and where there is much friction. It takes 
fastenings well. 

The wood of the Pingou tree is much used by the Malays, though of 
a greater specific gravity than the camphor wood. It is a hard close- 
grained wood, full of a resinous or oily substance, insomuch that a tree 
just felled or exposed to the sun will be covered with gum, just as if it 
had received two or three coats of varnish. It bends very easily when 
treated by fire or steam, and would make good stringers, lower beams 
kelsons, coverings for hatches, butts, windlass pieces, and other pur- 
poses requiring strength. It is very durable for plankings. The 
tree attains to 70 or 80 feet by 7 or 8 feet in girth. It grows in 
quantities on the hills of Santubong, Marang Sundu, and Sungony 
Water. 

Camphor wood (Drybolanops Camphora). This tree also grows in abun- 
dance in the mountains of Santubong, MarangSundu, and Sungony Water. 
Its girth reaches 17 or 18 feet, and the stem often attains the height of 
90 or 100 feet to the first branches. The wood contains a quantity of 
oil, is tough, durable, and owing to its strong scent, withstands the 
attacks of the kepang, the worm so destructive in these seas. It is much 
valued by the natives for ship-building, for which it is admirably 
adapted, either for planks, beams, keels, stringers, or timbers. It takes 
fastenings well from being oily. Iron has been found not so liable to 
rust in it. 

The Menhubang-Pinang tree is one of the family of trees producing 
the Vegetable Tallow seed, or Buah Menhubang, and, like the Camphor 
wood, abounds in the mountains of Santubong, and is, perhaps, equal 
in growth to that tree, oreven higher. On account of its hardness it is 
not much used by natives for building, but largely for other purposes, 
such as pillars of houses, piles, &c. It is very durable. It has a great 
deal of white dammar or resin in it, and is a tough, hard wood, well 
suited for keels, kelsons, lower beams, butts, capstans, windlasses, 
stringers, rails, combings, &c. The Chinese know it by the name of 
Choco, and prefer it to any other for the masts of their junks. 


125 


SUBSTITUTES FOR COTTON AND NEW FIBRES. 


At a time when our principal staple manufacture is paralysed from a 
lack of the raw material, a discovery which would tend in the slightest 
degree to relieve this serious state of things would be a boon difficult to 
over-estimate. The properties of cotton are so marked, and so different 
from those of any other known fibrous material, that when it is stated 
that a substitute has been found, that the material is produced to a 
great extent in this country, and may be furnished to any greater extent 
that might be required, at trifling expense, without interfering with 
ordinary agricultural operations—and that in colour, fineness, strength, 
and length of staple, it is equal to the finest Sea Island cotton—one is 
inclined to believe that the wishes of some over sanguine inventor have 
been expressed, and not that a reliable discovery has been made, The 
announcement is so startling, that we may well be excused, pending 
more exact information, for fearing that this “ wonderful discovery” may 
share the fate of hundreds of others which, under the rigorous tests of 
quality, amount of available supply, and cost of production, have failed 
to realise the anticipations formed of them, or even to establish a claim 
to commercial value. However this may be, there can be no doubt of 
the good faith of those who have raised intense public interest by the 
announcement of a discovery which, if realised, would seem, in the pre- 
sent crisis, to be little less than providential. A legal firm in the City 
of the highest respectability stated, in the first instance, that a client of 
theirs had made a discovery by which the cotton manufacturers might 
be supplied, without any delay, to an extent equivalent, at least, to a 
million bales of cotton, with a raw material so closely resembling that 
article that it might be spun and woven by the existing machinery ; that 
the processes required in the preparation for the manufacturer were of 
the most simple and inexpensive character ; and that he was prepared to 
submit his plans to any nobleman or gentleman of scientific attainments 
upon whose judgment the public might rely for an unbiassed report. 

The interest awakened by the announcement led to communications 
being addressed to Messrs. Phillips and Son, of Abchurch lane, the firm 
in question, from manufacturers, cotton dealers, and others immediately 
interested in the vital question of cotton supply. Eventually small 
samples of the material were submitted to Mr. John Hardy Wrigley, of 
Liverpool, a retired cotton-broker, who expressed the opinion that in 
colour, length, and fineness it was all that could be desired. As to the 
important quality of strength, he could only speak from the report of 
the discoverer, who stated that it was as strong as, or stronger, than cot- 
ton, and could be produced as low in price. Since then specimens have 
been submitted to the Manchester Chamber of Commerce, and to various 
large firms in that city. Mr. Fleming, the secretary of the Chamber of 
Commerce, was permitted to do that which Mr. Wrigley had not done— 
to test in every possible way the strength of the fibre. As regards the 


126 SUBSTITUTES FOR COTTON AND NEW FIBRES. 


colour, fineness, and length of staple, Mr. Fleming at once confirmed the 
judgment of Mr. Wrigley, while its strengthproved so satisfactory that 
he lost no time in calling the attention of the leading public men and 
manufacturers to the matter. All these gentlemen were unanimous in 
their conclusion as to the value of the material. The general opinion 
being satisfactory, the Chamber of Commerce at once took the subject in 
hand, with the view of forming a committee to investigate and report 
upon the practicability of working up the material in the same way as 
cotton, and upon its value and availability for the purpose. 

On the 20th of September that committee met, and the discoverer of 
the new fibre, Mr. Henry Harben, showed small specimens in different 
states of preparation, and stated that they were the produce of the ma- 
rine plant, Zostera marina, or common grass wrack. Carefully conducted 
experiment must determine whether the fibre which the Zostera marina 
yields can be produced as cheaply as to make it of commercial value. 
Both of the suitability of the material, and of the extent of the supply 
we have very grave doubts. Subsequently to the experiments of Claus-- 
sen, a patent was taken out by Mr. Thomas Jackson, for preparing paper 
fibre directly from the flax strands, or from the refuse of the flax manu- 
facture. Though proceeding by a somewhat different method, Mr. Jack- 
son succeeded in producing a material which the papermakers declared 
to be too good to make anything but bank-notes. When dried and 
carded, this material also closely resembled cotton, and, but for the low 
price of the American staple, would undoubtedly have come into use. 

The cottony appearance of flax and hemp when half rotten by over 
retting in the process of steeping, long since led to the idea that those 
fibres might be made to resemble cotton in the fineness of its filaments, 
and thus be adapted to cotton machinery. A crude attempt was made 
to effect this object in Sweden as far back as 1747. Thirty years later, 
Lady Moira succeeded in producing a substance from flax which closely 
resembled cotton in appearance, and which possessed many of its 
properties. Similar attempts were made at different times in France 
and Germany, but not leading to any satisfactory commercial result. 
Those who remember the wonders of the Exhibition of 1851 will 
possibly call to mind a display of textile fabrics exhibited by Chevalier 
Claussen, made from flax, which had been submitted to this cottonising 
process.:4 Some material, closely resembling coarse cotton cloth was 
exhibited, which had been woven in cotton-machinery from yarn spun 
from this flax-cotton. Imperfect as these specimens were, they esta- 
blished the practicability of manufacturing the artificial cotton. Com- 
panies in England, Scotland, France, Belgium, and North America, 
were formed to carry out the Claussen process, and for some time 
continued in operation. The supply of cotton, however, at that time, 
was too abundant and too cheap to induce manufacturers to try the 
experiment of converting a new raw material. The cottonised flax was 
no cheaper than cotton, while the inequality in the length of its fibre 


SUBSTITUTES FOR COTTON AND NEW FIBRES. 10 7¢/ 


made its manufacture a matter of some difficulty. It was no wonder, 
therefore, that the manufacturers declined to take it in hand. Under 
these circumstances, the Claussen process was confined to preparing flax 
for mixing with wool. The vast improvement in carding machinery 
since that date would now probably obviate the only practical difficulty 
in the way of spinning flax cotton, and, as manufacturers would be as 
eager to try the experiment as they were then indifferent, the commercial 
value of the material, if brought again into the market, would speedily 
be satisfactorily tested. In the Claussen process refuse flax was first 
boiled in caustic alkali and then steeped in dilute acid. This dissolved 
out the gum and colouring matter from the fibre, and prepared it for 
disintegration into its ultimate filaments by the expansive action of 
suddenly disengaged carbonic acid gas. To effect this, the boiled flax 
was lowered into a vat of weak carbonate of soda solution, which soon 
permeated the whole of the fibres. It was then rinsed in a dilute 
solution of sulphuric acid, which, coming in contact with the carbonate 
of soda in the fibre, combined with the alkaline base, and set the car- 
bonic acid free. This, in assuming its gaseous condition, exerted a 
sufficiently great elastic force to separate the normal fibres of flax into 
fine cotton-like filaments. A peculiar process of bleaching followed, 
which rendered these filaments perfectly white, and the material, when 
dried, was then fitted for the processes of manufacture. The favourable 
opportunity offered by the present cotton famine has induced the 
owners of the patent for this country to again turn their attention to 
the production of this flax substitute. 

A new mode of preparing jute to mix with cotton for the production 
of the coarse kinds of cloth has also lately been submitted to practical 
cotton-spinners, who speak very favourably of its adaptibility for the 
purpose. If brought into use, this prepared jute will economise cotton, 
but will not supersede it, as it is unfitted for being spun alone. Several 
other substitutes for cotton have been spoken of, but they do not promise 
to become of much utility. They are chiefly valuable as indicating the 
vast amount of investigation and research that is going on with a view 
to relieve the present pressing want of raw material, and which, there 
is good reason to hope, may result in discoveries of importance to the 
manufacturing and commercial interests of the country. 

Mr. Arthur Robottom of Birmingham, who has long been most 
energetic on all that relates to new fibrous materials, thus writes to one 
of the local papers : 

“Public attention has been drawn of late to the various fibres which 
are now being brought forward as substitutes for cotton, and although 
it is my firm conviction that no article will entirely supersede the use of 
cotton, I wish to call your attention to a fibre* which I have imported in 
small quantities for some years, and which I think would prove one of 


* This isthe Urtica tenacissima.— EDITOR. 


128 SUBSTITUTES FOR COTTON AND NEW FIBRES. 


the best substitutes for cotton yet brought before the public. The article, of 
which I enclose a sample for your inspection, can be procured in un- 
limited quantity and at a moderate cost ; four or five crops can, I believe, 
be produced annually. It has been known to some few scientific gentle- 
men for years, and their surprise is that it has never yet been brought 
into general use by our spinners. 

“ A sample of this same kind of fibre was forwarded by Dr. Bucha- 
nan to the India House in the year 1811 ; the court of Directors handed 
it over to a London firm, and they reported that a thread spun of this 
fibre bore 252 Ibs., whereas one of Russian hemp of the same thickness 
broke at 82lbs. Some of the finest materials are made in China from a 
species of this fibre. The Society of Arts in 1814 awarded a silver 
medal to Captain S. Cotton, then a director of the East India Company, 
for the introduction of this fibre. It grows spontaneously in Assam, 
Burmah, Chittagong, Nepaul, the islands of Sumatra, Java, and Borneo, 
the Malayan Peninsula, Yunan Provinces, Siam, Cambodia, and also in 
the western parts of China ; and I have no doubt whatever but that it 
could (ike many other fibres) be brought into this country, and sold to 
a very large extent. 

“There are numbers of other fibres which could be advantageously 
used if spinners and others would only take the imatter spiritedly in 
hand ; but it is only since the extraordinary rise in the price of cotton 
that attention has been drawn to this very important subject. 

“The late Dr. Forbes Royle and Mr. P. L. Simmonds have worked 
hard in endeavouring to bring undeveloped fibrous substances before the 
notice of the manufacturers of this country, but there is such apathy on 
their part to try any article foreign to their regular trade that the suc- 
cessful introduction of anything new becomes almost an impossibility, 
and it is only in such times as the present that there is a chance of 
doing so. i 

** No one knows the difficulty except those who have experienced it, 
in the introduction of a new article, and very frequently losses are made 
by the first adventurer, although the article he imports, if it were fairly 
tried, would be found a good and useful one ; forinstance, I have known 
several firms who have been induced to make small tial shipments to 
this country, which, on arrival, are placed in the hands of a broker and 
advertised for sale on the London and Liverpool markets, but the novelty 
of appearance or strangeness of name under which they are denominated 
not being known by a single party who sees the articles or reads the 
advertisement, not a bid is made for them, they are put on one side and 
forgotten, perhaps never to he heard of again until the dock company or 
wharfingers bring them to a ‘rummage sale’ to pay rent and charges, 
when, if they cannot be sold, they are destroyed—the merchant virtually 
abandoning the ownership, and taking care how he meddles with a new 
article of commerce again. 

“ T trust the present very high price of cotton will induce our manu- 


SUBSTITUTES FOR COTTON AND NEW FIBRES. 129 


facturers to give a fair trial to such new products as may appear at all 
likely to answer as substitutes. It would not only find occupation for a 
large number of our operatives in this country, but would also be the 
source of employment for a number of natives who are now dependent 
upon a precarious mode of obtaining a living.” 

In Jamaica, Mr, N. Wilson, the island botanist, has long laboured most 
earnestly and zealously to develope and utilise the rich indigenous re- 
sources, and to introduce new plants. Hundreds and thousands of useful 
plants have already been distributed gratuitously over the island, and 
we trust to find that many new staples may thus be brought into culti- 
vation, and the rich lands now lying unproductive, become utilized, 
There are very many fibrous plants, the culture and preparation of 
which for market will require really very little labour. Every day ex- 
perience is gained, and a better amount of knowledge respecting them is 
diffused, new machines are invented, suited to the maceration and clean- 
ing of leaves and barks. 

In the Island of Jamaica may be found or cultivated profitably all the 
most valuable fibres of commerce. The Rheea fibre of India (Boehmeria 
nivea), furnishing the Chinese grass cloth, which grows there more freely 
and luxuriantly than it does in the east. The Sanseviera, which thrives 
in any sand-bank, and the fibre of which is so strong that it has received 
the name of bow-string hemp. Jute, about which there has lately been 
so much furor, is indigenous. 

We have lately received from Mr. Wilson the following statement of 
the produce of an acre of bananas, which is one of the most valuable 
plants that can be grown, and the contingent expenditure. This esti- 
mate is made on the most moderate calculation, for the banana requires 
little or no culture, and the stem, instead of weighing 100 pounds, 
yielding 23 Ibs. of fibre, will in most cases double that weight, and a 
bunch of fruit frequently weighs 80 lb., instead of 501b., as set down ; 
indeed, we have known a bunch of bananas to weigh 1201b. The value 
of the bunch of fruit at 6d. is also very low. <A few years ago the ripe 
fruits were selling at New York at 6d. each, and in this country they 
readily fetch 3d. or 4d. each. A bunch will number from 100 to 200 
fruit. Mr. Hill certainly holds out no prospects to speculators which 
cannot be realised,.and after more than twenty years’ experience of 
tropical culture, he ought to be able to judge correctly, and would not 
suggest speculations likely to end in loss. 

Banana (Musa sapientum).—This plant, with judicious management, 
would be found to be one of the most profitable for tropical cultivation, 
for its products—viz., fruit and fibre, and by a moderate estimate the 
following result would be obtained. 

At an average of 10 or 12 years, an acre planted at 12 feet apart, 
will contain 302 plants; each stool will produce at least 7 strong 
suckers = 2,114 stems per acre ; per-centage of clean fibre, 24 or say 
23 lbs. per stem, = 5,285 lbs. Or 47 cwt. 21 lbs. Or 2 tons 7 ewt. 21 ths, 

VOL. III. K 


130 SUBSTITUTES FOR COTTON. AND NEW FIBRES. 


per acre. Value at 6d. per Ib. per acre, 132i. 2s. 6d. Value of fruit at 
6d. per bunch, of 2,114 stems or bunches per acre, 521. 17s. Or fruit 
and fibre, 1847. 19s. 6d. 

Were the fruit to be dried like figs, allowing four-fifths waste for peel 
and absorption, the weight of fruit of 2,114 bunches (each weighing at 
least 50 lbs.), would be = 21,140 lbs. of cured fruit, value at 4d per Ib., 
3521. 6s. 8d. . 

The expense incurred in culture of the banana and preparation 
of product, cannot at present be correctly estimated, but asthe plant 
scarcely requires cultivation after the first and second year, 1 man 
would keep clean 3 or 4 acres, or say 3 acres, at 12/7. per annum, being 
high wages ; 100 acres would thereby require say 34 labourers, at 121. . 
each would be. 5 : : i ? : : £408 

For cleaning fibre, drying fruit, cartage of produce, 
and raw materials from field, &., say 20 hands, 


at 12/. each, would be ‘ : : : 240 
Superintendance by skilled labour, say : 300 
Total, excluding wear and tear, freight, and other — 

charges : : : 948 


The above must be considered a high estimate of expenditure, 
but an estate cultivating 300 acres of canes would cost from 3,500. to 
4,000. per annum, an acre yielding at an average 1 hhd. per acre, and 
90 gallons rum. 

At a time when there is such an outcry for new textile materials, to 
come to the aid of flax and cotton, it does seem somewhat singular, that 
with money so cheap and abundant, and with the very fine collections 
of prepared fibres exhibited from our colonies at the International Exhi- 
bition, so little attention has been given to these by practical men. 

The collection of prepared fibres sent from Jamaica, by Mr. Wilson, 
is one of the largest and most carefully prepared that has, perhaps, 
ever been seen. The fibres sent by Mr. Cruger, from Trinidad, have 
already been described in our pages. Then there are most interesting 
collections from British Guiana, Ceylon, Mauritius, and the Cape, and a 
well arranged series from the India House Museum ; to say nothing of 
the French, Guiana, and other foreign collections. We do not think 
that our home merchants and manufacturers have taken much trouble 
to examine them systematically, to determine their practical worth— 
and hence the labours of the collectors and exhibitors will be so much 
time and trouble lost. 

Among the fibres shown from British Guiana, are several specimens 
of silk grass or corawa fibre (Bromelia karaias, Linn.), which is very 
strong, and is used by the Indians for bow-strings, nets, fishing lines, 
ropes, &c. 

Wild ochro (Urena sp.)—The fibre is in a rough state, but when 
bleached and dressed it is adapted for making cloth equal to linen. 
It is very strong, and may be used for making rope, twine, gasketting, 


CHEMICAL SUBSTANCES AND PRODUCTS OF INDIA. 131 


&c. There is abundance of the plant all over the colony, and the ex- 
pense of obtaining the fibre is simple and inexpensive. 

A great number of specimens of prepared plantain fibre are exhibited. 
Burke’s patent machinery for the manufacture of this fibre on a large 
scale, has been introduced, but it has not as yet been made to work 
satisfactorily. Pittie fibre is from an undefined species of Hibiscus, and 
kratta or krattu fibre from another species. Mahoe fibre is also ob- 
tained from the Hibiscus elatus of Linneeus, the Thespesia populnea of 
Correa. 

Tibisiri fibre is made from the young leaves of the Ita palm 
Mauritia flecuosa, Linn., and is used by the Indians for making ham- 
mocks, &c. 

Iturite fibre (Maranta odliqua, Rudge.), is used by the Indians for 
making their pegalls. There are two other fibrous substances in this 
collection which deserve mention, and these are Winna fibre, the inner 
bark of the cacaralli tree (Lecythis ollaria, Linn.), used by the Indians to 
wrap their cigars, and the fibrous root of the Potkos macrophylla, 
Swartz., used by the Indians to make baskets. 

It is to be regretted that the colonists have not yet achieved the 
systematic production of their numerous vegetable fibres in a style or to 
an extent snitable for exportation. Experiments highly satisfactory in 
this character have, it is true, been repeatedly made, but unfortunately 
the machinery sent out was found in some respects unsuitable. The 
desired improvements will, however, it is hoped, be soon effected, when 
the trials will be resumed under more favourable auspices. 


CHEMICAL SUBSTANCES AND PRODUCTS OF INDIA. 


Two descriptions of salt are produced at Cuttack ; the first, called 
Pungah salt, is obtained by boiling to a residuum highly concentrated 
brine ; the second is the Kurkutch, or gravel salt. As the word signifies, 
it is produced by the aid of solar evaporation only, from sea-water. 
The water is introduced into small beds prepared with a smooth bottom 
of clay, slightly depressed in the ground, and surrounded by a slight 
ridge of earth. A few hours’ exposure in the burning sun of March and 
the two following months, is sufficient to evaporate the water in these beds, 
which deposits the salt it held in solution. A fresh supply is then let 
in, and the process of total or only partial evaporation is continued, till 
the bottom of the beds is covered with a layer of this salt, more or less 
thick, which is then scraped up. 

Both these kinds of salt are produced all along the sea-board of the 
province from February to June, and under what is practically a Govern- 


132 CHEMICAL SUBSTANCES AND PRODUCTS OF INDIA. 


ment monoply. The last season’s manufacture amounted to 50,000 tons 
of the one and 44,000 tons of the other. The production is considered 
handsomely to remunerate the petty contractors who engage with Goy- 
ernment for its supply, at 10 annas and 4 annas per maund for each 
kind respectively, which is equivalent to 35s. 5d. per ton for the one, and 
14s, 5d. per ton for the other, in English money and measure. To the 
Pungah must be added about 50 per cent., to the Kurkutch about 25 per 
cent., for expenses of superintendence, &. To the more extended 
manufacture of the white salt, the present insalubrity of the producing 
localities, and the consequent difficulty of procuring labour, as well as 
the insufficiency of the fuel supply, are obstacles. The coarser kind may 
be manufactured ad infinitum, but it is no where appreciated so much as 
locally, that is, in the district, as, not being “ cooked” like the Pungah, 
it is more acceptable to the scrupulous caste prejudices of the Oryahs. 
The bulk of both kinds is exported to Calcutta. The local retail price 
at Cuttack in the shops of the bazaar for Kurkutch is 6s 3d. per maund 
of 100 English lbs. ; Pungah is sold at the Government depots at 8s. 8d. 
per maund. 

The Local Committee of Cuttack, in specifying the local prices of 
articles, do so with this explanation, that it is impossible to give any 
rates which are average ones, or which are in any degree equally appli- 
cable all over the district. Where any particular article is produced, 
there it is cheapest, and the cost and difficulty of transport and the want 
of competition are such, that a distance of 50 miles between the place of 
production and the central market, makes a difference in price of 50 or 100 
per cent. in the rates at which some articles are bought and then sold. 
This is especially the case with the oil-seeds of the province, cotton, &c. 
Under these circumstances it would have been impossible for the Com- 
mittee to have stated any average rates. The prices which have been 
generally mentioned in the Indian catalogue are the local, that is, the 
Cuttack bazaar retail prices. It may be as well to state that all articles 
coming from Sumbulpore or elsewhere, by river carriage, are cheapest 
in the months of July and August, when the rivers first admit of 
navigation, and that between July and January the rates for the same 
articles may vary as much as 50 per cent. 

There are five salt mines in the Shahpore district worked by Govern- 
ment in the salt range ; one at Kalabagh, across the Indus, and several 
in the Kohat district, and the supply from these sources may be said to be 
inexhaustible. An excise duty of 3 rupees per maund of 80 lbs., is now- 
charged upon all salt sold, the rate having been lately increased (two 
years ago it was but 2 rupees) ; and the revenue derived from this source 
amounted to upwards of £280,000. The salt mines are the means of 
supplying the traders of the Punjab with a kind of paper currency. By 
payment of the regulated price at.any of the Punjab treasuries, a warrant 
for the delivery of so much salt at the mines may be obtained ; these 
documents are transferable, and pass from hand to hand like bank notes. 


CHEMICAL SUBSTANCES AND PRODUCTS OF INDIA, 133 


Nitre saltpetre, locally “Khai jabkahi,” is produced in Cuttack. 
Some is manufactured by a process of solution and filtration, (which it 
would be unnecessary here to describe,) from a thin whitish efflorescence 
scraped off old mud walls and buildings, &c., where it is produced more 
or less in all localities freely, that are continually exposed to the action of 
sea air in the cold season, and dependent on the existence of certain con- 
ditions. Some is more carefuly prepared, for the most part only in the 
hill tracts, from a similar efflorescence found in the cold months on the 
base of cow-house walls, and there generated, it is to be supposed, by 
the action of the ammonia thrown off from the urine of the cattle. 
Neither kind is manufactured extensively enough for commercial pur- 
poses, still the local manufacture furnishes a good deal of the saltpetre, if 
not the bulk of it, used in native gunpowder for shooting and fire-works 

Sal-ammoniac for tinning and frigorific mixture, 12 annas per seer, is 
made in various parts of Oude. It is manufactured from the contents of 
cesspools, and is used for tinning copper pots and pans ; mixed with 
common salts, nitre, &c., it forms a frigorific mixture. 

Nitrate of potash for frigorific mixtures and for gunpowder, three 
seers per rupee, is made in various parts of Oude. This is nitre of the 
first crystallization ; nitre is found in the earth of old buildings and 
ruins, which has long been exposed to the air ; water is filtered through 
this earth, and then boiled and concentrated. This kind is only used for 
frigorific mixtures. 

Saltpetre and salt are produced abundantly in some parts of Shah- 
abad ; the crude saltpetre is prepared at from six to seven rupees per 
local maund by the Nooneahs ; this would be 15/. to 182. per ton. The 
salt produced with the saltpetre is of a coarse kind, and only sold to 
the poorest of the community, under the names of ‘‘ Kharree Nimuck.” 
It can, however, easily be purified by boiling, and then is a good and 
pure salt. 

It may be here noticed, as an important and singular fact, that het 
strata on the north, east, and south faces, (where the face of the plateau 
towards the plains is invariably precipitous) has a considerable dip in- 
wards, varying from 5 to 45 degrees. This circumstance prevents any 
springs making their appearance on the face, which would have the 
effect of leaving the table lands dry, and would render them a desert. 
This fortunate dip has a contrary effect, retaining the moisture as in a 
basin, and water in consequence may be had in most places on the table 
lands at a moderate depth, while in several localities springs of pure 
and limpid water flow above the surface all round the year, consequently 
numbers of villages dot the table lands, and it is probable that not 
many years will elapse before large tracts are brought into a more 
profitable cultivation of coffee, cotton, and oil-seeds, by European energy 
and skill. The finest rice raised in the district is already grown in 
these shallow valleys, and when the soil has been subjected to the plough 
proves by its abundant crops what it might produce under a proper cul- 
tivation. 


134 CHEMICAL SUBSTANCES AND PRCDUCTS OF INDIA. 


Vitriol was once largely manufactured on the banks of the Soane, in 
Shahabad, from sulphate of iron, the product of the Kymore range ; but 
ihe death of the gentlemen who instituted the manufacture stayed it, 
It is now only a native manufacture on a small scale. 

Soap is made from cows’s suet and a peculiar efflorescence gathered 
from barren land, called by natives Oosur. The efflorescence is called 
Réh. It is used for washing ; eight seers per rupee. 

Tinder, a kind of which is found_under the leaf of the sago palm 
tree, ignites very easily. 

Bats’ dung is mixed with water and ashes, and strained and left to 
dry, when ammonia effloresces, and is used as an ingredient for gun- 
powder. It is also used for manure like guano. 

An article called Sajjee is used in soap manufacture. Sajjee is made 
in considerable quantities in the districts of Mooltan, Jung, Jhelum, 
and Thanessur. It sells at about 32 lbs. for a shilling. 

Ort SuEDSs.—The Ricinus communis, known by the provincial name 
of Bheeree, has two or three marked varieties ; it is largely cultivated 
in Shahabad, principally for home use, though a considerable quantity 
finds its way into the castor-oil factories of Dinapore. The native pro- 
cess only succeeds in making a very impure oil, which is so offensive 
for its smoking qualities in burning, that it is not sought after hy them 
for that purpose, but only for anointing leathern well ropes, shoes, &c., 
and, being a cheap oil, is largely used for the latter purpose. It is thick 
and viscid, and, extracted under the native process, soon turns rancid, 
while by the European process, it is next to cocoanut oil, one cf the 
purest and best burning oils known. The plant requires scarcely any 
cultivation, and in South Shahabad is oftener sown on the borders of a 
valuable field as a hedge than for any other purposes. It loves, however, 
a sandy loam, and will not grow in the clays. Its yield under the native 
process is about 33 per cent. of the impure oil above described, but a 
larger quantity, and a purer oil, is extracted by the European process. 
Newly cleared jungle lands grow the castor plant abundantly, and its 
extended cultivation is only bounded by the demands in the market, so 
long as the rates are remunerative ; for although the sowing and ten- 
dence of the plant costs little trouble, yet the picking of the seed is a 
troublesome process, and it requires a much larger amount of room to 
come to perfection. The natives sow and uproot the plant yearly. It 
is not known why this should be, as it grows and yields abundantly, 
the second and third years, in hedges, or other open places. When cul- 
tivated by itself, the natives always sow the seed too close, and con- 
sequently the plant is comparatively small ; for attaining its full perfec- 
tion no place is better suited than a hedge or a bank. 

The Ricinus communis is cultivated in Lucknow as a mixed crop. It 
is sown in June by almost all the villagers, not extensively, but prin- 
cipally for their own use. Its cultivation can be extended all over 
Oude. This oil is extracted by bruising the seed and then boiling it in 
water. The oil is afterwards skimmed off. This is the only seed out of 


CHEMICAL SUBSTANCES AND PRODUCTS OF INDIA. 135 


which the oil is extracted by boiling, as in this case it is found cheaper 
than the method used for other seeds, which is by pressure. The cost 
of the seed is one rupee per maund, and the price of the oil is from two 
to five seers per rupee, according to the abundance of the crop in the 
season. The proportion of the oil yielded is about half the weight of 
the seeds boiled ; used only for burning. 

The plant is grown all over the province of Cuttack, a good deal in 
patches of newly cleared land in the jungles of the Tributary States and 
Sumbulpore. The oil is extracted in two ways. It is used for burning 
and culinary purposes, and also medicinally. The local market is now 
113 petuls of the seeds per rupee. Both the native methods of extract- 
ing oil are wasteful and tedious, and therefore expensive. European oil- 
presses and a knowledge of some methods of clarifying the expressed 
oil, seems only to be required to render the oil-seed crops of this exten- 
sive division of great value. 

The flax Linum usitatissimum is a well-known plant almost all over 
the world, but is in most parts of civilised Europe more cultivated for 
its flax than for its seed. In Russia and in India the contrary is the 
case, and it may fairly be said that in India its flax-producing qualities 
are unknown. It is, therefore, cultivated as an oil-seed alone. It is, 
however, probable that the stunted plants grown in India would be of 
little use as a flax bearer, until improved cultivation had again raised its 
standard of height. In the Punjab and in Scinde considerable attention 
has of late been paid to this subject, and it would be an additional 
staple added to the agricultural resources of Shahabad and Behar, could 
it be brought uncer cultivation as a flax bearer here, which it doubtless 
. could be with the same advantage as in the Punjab. It is always grown 
in Shahabad as an auxiliary crop with wheat, masoor, barley, and the 
spring crops ; its bright blue flowers are a pleasing relief to the yellow- 
ish brown of the other cereals. I have never known it cultivated alone, 
so that I have no data as to its probable yield per beegah or acre. It 
would probably not be found to differ much from the linseed crops of 
England in that respect, were the cultivation equal : that is to say, were 
the same ‘labour bestowed upon its cultivation, which, however, is not 
the case in this district at least. Its favourite soil appears to be the black 
clay, (kurile), »ut it is sown largely in other soils, and the only difficulty 
to its indefinite extension appears to be want of facilities for carrying 
the crop to market. It is therefore grown in south Shahabad, prin- 
cipally for home consumption, and is used largely for lamps under the 
name of Teesce-ka-Tel. Under the native process it produces 25 per 
cent. of oil: what it would produce with the European method I am 
unable to say. The native method produces a tolerably clear-looking 
oil, but it smokes much in burning, showing that a large proportion of 
vegeta'sle fibre finds its way through the rude press into the pure oil. 
Considerable quintities are grown near the Ganges for export. The 
price varies inuch according to the season and the quantity in the 


136 CHEMICAL SUBSTANCES AND PRODUCTS OF INDIA. 


market. I have known it to sell for Rs. 40, or 42. sterling per ton, and 
I have known it fetch double that price. Until roads, railroads, and 
canals, with better modes of conveyance than exist at present, equalise 
prices, no average of price can be given with any certainty, as one 
season in one part of the country may have been favourable, and in 
another part unfavourable, all within a radius of twenty miles, and the 
two places show a difference of 50 per cent. in the selling price as well 
as in production: thus proving how imperfect are the means of trans- 
port from one part of the country to another, which would otherwise 
equalise the produce in the dearest market till a medium was found, or 
in other words, till further export to that place was unprofitable. 

It is grown all over Oude, and only cultivated for the sake of the oil 
of its seed. Some fishermen make their nets from the fibre. This is 
cultivated as a mixed crop, principally with gram, all over Oude. It is 
sown in the month of October, and never irrigated. It is never sown 
thickly, as the object is to get a large amount of seed for oil, and not 
fibre. It can be cultivated extensively, and there is no doubt that, with 
proper treatment, profitably, for its fibre. The oil is extracted by press- 
ing. The seed sells for 18? seers per rupee, and the oil for 5 seers per 
rupee. Every five seers of seed yield 14 seers of oil by the native pro- 
cess of pressing. It is used for cooking and burning. 

Mustard (Sinapis ramosa) is cultivated for its oil; one maund of 
mustard produces 13 seers of oil ; cost rupees 5-3. Cost of conveyance 
to Calcutta, in dry season, rupees 10 per 100 maunds. 

The Sinapis juncea and ramosa are not sown together, but each is 
cultivated as a mixed crop, with either grain, barley, wheat, or peas. In 
this way it is cultivated all over Oude. The oil is extracted in the usual 
way. The cost of the seed is 154 seers per rupee, and that of the oil © 
varies from three to eight seers per rupee. The proportion of oil ex- 
tracted is 14 seers from every five seers of seed; it is used for cooking 
and burning. 

The Stnapis ramosa and Sinapis dichotoma are grown generally 
mixed with the rape seed, also called sarson, although the plant is a dis- 
tinctly differing one, and the seed is a whitish yellow, while the seed of 
the rape (Sinapis dichotoma) is a dark brown. They are rarely grown 
separately, though such is the case in many parts of the country, and 
ought to be the case here. It is grown extensively all over the district, 
principally for local consumption, and, being sown in the month of 
October, is generally sown as an auxiliary with grain crops, amongst 
which its white and bright yellow flowers are easily distinguished. 
Being always sown as an auxiliary, it is impossible to ascertain what 
would be its yield per acre if sown separately. It loves the loam, and 
does not take kindly to any of the clays. It is ready before the close of 
February for cutting, and is always cut slightly green, or the seed pods 
would burst and scatter the seed. Being cut, the plant is dried on the 
threshing-floor by the heat of the sun, which does its work in three or 


CHEMICAL SUBSTANCES AND PRODUCTS OF INDIA, 137 


four days, when the seed is easily threshed out. Cattle eat the broken 
stalks, but it is questionable how far it is a very nourishing food for 
them. Itis sold in the bazaar at from 16 to 20 seers per rupee, and 
yields, under the native method of crushing, 30 per cent. of a tolerably 
pure oil, while the residue, or cake, is used as a food for cattle. It 
would yield more and a purer oil, under the action of the oil-pressing 
and purifying processes of Europe ; and probably 35 to 40 per cent. of 
its gross weight. It is largely used by the native community with their 
food, instead of ghee, under the name of metah, or sweet oil ; although, ~ 
for all other purposes it passes under the name of kurwah, or bitter oil. 
Most natives prefer it for the preparation of their curries and other warm 
dishes. The native oilmen give one seer, or 25 per cent. of the expressed 
oil, for every four seers of seed sent them, retaining the balance and 
the cake as the price of labour ; so that, with the seed at 16 seers per 
rupee, the value of the oil would be four seers per rupee. 

Of the Sesamum Orientale (Teel) a most useful plant, there are in the 
district of Shahabad two kinds, and both are extensively sown in various 
parts. The first is sown in July, and is ready for reaping in Kartick or 
Aghun, say in November : the second is sown in August, but they are 
both ready nearly at the same time. These plants are also sown as auxi- 
liaries, but with the highland rain crops, such as Ruhur, Motha, &c. 
The seed has about the same value as Surson in the bazaars, but the oil 
being thinner and purer, and almost tasteless, while burning with little 
smoke, is extensively used in Indian perfumery. It is extracted from 
the seed in the same manner as other oils. The residue or cake is eaten 
by the poorer classes as an article of food, and is greedily devoured by 
cattle. It grows on sandy loams. 

There are two varieties of the Sesamum indicum. The one white 
seeded called ‘“Teellee,” the other black seeded, called “Kala Teel.” 
The two kinds are never sown together, but each is cultivated as a mixed 
crop with either Eleusine Coracana, “ Merwah ;’ Paspalum scrobicula- 
tum, “ Kodo,” Cajanus Indicus, “ Arhar,” or with cotton in the month of 
June. These plants grow all over Oude without the slightest difficulty, 
and without any care being taken of them. They are often met with 
growing luxuriantly by the road side. The oil is extracted by pressing. 
The cost of the seed of the white variety is 11 seers per rupee, and of the 
black 12 seers per rupee. The oil of the former fetches from 2} to 4 
seers per rupee, and of the latter 3 to 8 seers per rupee. Every 5 seers 
of each kind yield 1$ seers of oil. These seeds are also eaten by the 
natives made into sweetmeats ; used for cooking and burning. 

One maund of Teel (Sesamum Orientale) seeds produces 13 seers of oil. 
Cost, 43 rupees. Expense of conveyance to Calcutta, in dry season, 
10 rupees per 100 maund. It is cultivated all over Oude for the 
sake of the oil contained init. It is used for cooking and burning, and 
the seed boiled in sugar makes a sort of sweetmeat. It is often grown 
as a mixed crop. 

VOL. III. L 


138 CHEMICAL SUBSTANCES AND PRODUCTS OF INDIA. 


The black Sesamum (Kala Teel) contains more oil than the white 
kind, and is eaten with goor: price 11 seers per rupee. 

The white and black sesamum are ordinarily used in the manufac- 
ture of oil in Rangoon. In Moulmein it is used as oil for household 
purposes ; one basket will yield about 25 viss of oil. 

Price at Lahore about 9 lbs. per shilling. Both teel and linseed are 
mentioned by Strabo as staple products of this part of India. Of late 
years the cultivation of these seeds, and oilseeds generally, has greatly 
increased, especially in the Mooltan and Ferozepore districts, and consi- 
derable quantities have lately been exported to France. 

The Brassica E. rucastrum (Taree “ Gomyah” or “ Semvah”) is culti- 
vated in Lucknow in the same way as the above, the cost of the oil is 
from 3 to 10 seers per rupee. It is used for burning. 

All oils in Oude are extracted by the native press called “ Kolhoo,” 
turned by means of bullocks,. with the exception of castor-oil seed, 
the oil from which is extracted by boiling in water, and afterwards 
skimming. 

The Carthamus tinctoria (Kussoom) found in Lucknow, is sown 
in October either alone, or along the edge of wheat crops ; both light 
and heavy soils are adapted to it. It is cultivated in every village, but 
not extensively. There would be no difficulty in further cultivating it 
to any extent. The oil is extracted by pressing ; used only for burning. 
The cost of the seed, which is called “ Barré,” is 182 seers per rupee, 
and of the oil from three to four seers per rupee. This plant is also 
useful for the bright scarlet dye that its flower yields. 

The Bassia latifolia (Mohwah) a middle-sized tree, grows wild in the 
Taree, and is also planted in groves in most parts of Oude, near villages, 
&c. Its cultivation can be extended all over Oude, and it thrives with- 
out any trouble. Its flowers have a thickened and enlarged tube, in 
which is contained a considerable amount of sugar. They are dried and 
eaten by the natives, and also fermented for the manufacture of Mohwah 
Spirits. The cost of the oil extracted is 3 rupees per maund. The pro- 
portion of oil yielded by the native process is about half the weight of 
the seed ; used only for burning. 

The poppy plant (Papaver somniferum), Poshtah-ka-danna, is largely 
eultivated in all parts of Shahabad and Behar, as also in the neighbour- 
ing districts, for the drug (which is a Government monopoly), the well- 
known opium of commerce. The seed has no intoxicating qualities, but 
has a sweet taste, and is used parched by the lower class of natives as a 
food ; it is also much used by the sweetmeat-makers as an addition in their 
wares. This and the seed of the teel Sesamum Orientale are the only 
oilseeds, with the exception of the pulp of the cocoa-nut, which are used 
for that purpose. It produces, under the native method, a clear limpid 
oil, which, however, has the disadvantage of burning very quickly. 
About 30 per cent. of oil is extracted, and the cake is then sold as a food 
to the poorer classes. The oil at present sells at about 5 seers per rupee: 


CHEMICAL SUBSTANCES AND PRODUCTS OF INDIA. 139 


It appears that this cil, if properly prepared would, from its thin and 
limpid character, be admirably adapted to supersede many of the pur- 
poses, if not all, forwhich the more expensive olive oils of southern France 
and Italy are now used, and would be an admirable watchmaker’s oil. 
This is thrown out as a suggestion for some practical men to decide. 
The production of this seed is only limited by the production of the 
BOPP Y- 

In Lucknow each ryot sows from two to four beegahs in the month 
of October. It is capable of being cultivated all over Oude. The oil is 
extracted by the common native press. The cost of the seed is 10 seers 
for the rupee, and the oil sells at 3 seers for the rupee ; two-fifths of 
the weight of the seed employed is about the proportion of oil yielded 
by the native process. The poppy seed is eaten by the natives made 
into sweetmeats, provided the opium has been extracted from the seed 
vessel, otherwise it is bitter and narcotic, and under these circumstances 
the oil extracted is also bitter. It is used for cooking and burning. 

These seeds are grown to a very considerable extent all over this pro- 
vince, and are, at least the sesamum is, beginning to be an important 
item in its exports, principally to Marseilles, where it is used for the 
manufacture of Lucca oil. Large quantities are brought down from 
Sumbulpore ; and Ungool, Dhenkanal, Hindole, and Talchar also supply 
a good deal of these seed oils. In the above-named States the cultivation 
of these crops can be extended to an indefinite degree, as the principal 
oil seeds there grown, the sesamum and castor, are sown broadcast over 
slightly tilled land, from which the jungle has been superficially cleared, 
or on rocky ground unfitted for the cultivation of any other crop. The 
oil of these seeds is expressed in the common native Ghana, or oil 
mill. For domestic use the farmer generally extracts the oil from the 
above as from other oil seeds, by making a mash of the seed and boiling 
it, by which process he obtains more oil of a better quality than from 
the oil mill, though the cold-pressed oil is purer or clearer. Mustard 
seed oil is used generally for culinary purposes, and with the other oils 
for burning. The linseed plant, though grown extensively in the Sum- 
bulpore district, and more or less all over the province, is nowhere cul- 
tivated for the flax it yields. All these oils are mixed together and sold 
under the name of mols, or thick oil. The local price of this common 
oil is, at the time of writing, 17s. 6d. per Cuttack maund, 28 of which go 
to the ton weight. A good deal of this oil is exported to Calcutta, where 
the ruling prices are more than double the local. The most valuable of 
these oilseeds, namely, the sesamum, is of two kinds, named respec- 
tively Maghee and Bhodoe, after the months in which they are plucked. 
The latter is the plumper seed, and yields most oil. The season and 
prospects of the crop so govern the rates for these seeds that no 
average prices can be safely given. 


140 


ON BEBEERINE FROM THE GREENHEART TREE. 
BY DR. H. RODIE. 


The Greenheart tree (Nectgndra Rodiei) of British Guiana, is found 
in the greatest perfection immediately behind the alluvial soil of the 
coast and rivers, or clay hills, but little elevated above the level of the 
ocean, and degenerates as it extends into the interior, till on the more 
elevated region of the Cinchonas, it disappears. The tree seems almost 
peculiar to British Guiana. It generally stands single and rises on an 
erect cylindrical, gently tapering stem to a height of 80 or 90 feet, to 40 
or 50 without a branch, by a circumference of 9 or even 12 feet. It is 
recognised at a distance by its dense glossy foliage and comparatively 
white trunk. On striking it with the edge of a cutlass, the bark flies 
like sandstone, and is very bitter. The bark occurs in large flat pieces, 
from one or two feet long, and varying in breadth from two to six 
inches. It is about four lines thick ; heavy, and with a rough fibrous 
fracture, dark cinnamon brown, and rather smooth within, and covered 
externally by a splintering greyish brown epidermis. It has little or 
no pungency or acrimony, but a strong persistent, bitter taste, with con- 
siderable astringency. 

The wood is extremely strong, hard, and heavy, sinking in water, © 
and taking a high polish, Neither the white ants on land, nor the 
teredo in the water, affect it much; it has stood on wharves, totally un- 
protected, for sometimes thirty years in the tide’s way. Its various 
shades of colour from black to yellow cannot be ascertained until the 
sapwood be cut through, which is invariably of a pale yellow ; no dif- 
ference in their botanical character or medical virtue has been observed. 
It appears to be of slow growth, for from the detritus accumulated 
round the old trees, and from the young trees in the formerly exhausted 
ground, having in say 70 years, scarcely attained the size of a spar 
(8 inches diameter), it is supposed several hundred years would be re- 
quired for its growth. Almost every tree above 8 inches in diameter 
has a quantity of obovate compressed nuts lying around its root, about 
the size of anapple, enveloped in a grayish brown brittle shell, 14 line 
thick, that parts readily from a kernel, which is yellowish when eut, 
but immediately becomes dark brown on exposure to the air, and is 
intensely bitter,and indeed richer in bebeerine than either the greenheart 
bark, or yellow cinchona bark. Its tincture, which is by reflection- 
light, dark olive green, does not affect the test-paper as the 
infusions of those barks do. The Indians, when their provisions 
fail, have from time immemorial used this nut as food (bread). They 
first break and part the pericarp from the cotyledons, which they then 
serape and grate as they do cassava, throw the pulp into an open basket 
placed over a pail, and pour water over it, so as to wash away the bitter, 
and this is repeated five times or oftener. 


ON BEBEERINE FROM THE GREENHEART TREE. 141 


It is then invariably mixed with about one third part its bulk of 
decayed wallaba (another native wood), pounded to powder and sifted, 
on a like quantity of cassava pap, put into the press, and the farinaceous 
substance thus expressed, baked into bread, This mixture is probably 
intended to correct the bitter of this seed, for the wallaba wood is rich 
in tannin, which precipitates and renders tasteless bebeerine. Green- 
heart bark adheres firmly to the tree even when full of sap, requiring to 
be gently beaten, so as to crush the liber, or inner rind, when it can be 
parted in flat pieces of six to twelve inches square, and from one-eighth 
to one-fourth of an inch thick. On subjecting it to the process by which 
quinine is made, two alkaloids are obtained, and the term bebeerine has 
been applied to them collectively. One of these only, when combined 
with a slight excess of sulphuric acid, and the solution reduced to the 
consistence of syrup, appeared to form small circular crystals, which 
could not be separated from the mass. 

Its infusion, like that of the cinchonas, reddens litmus paper ; is 
clearer, though darker coloured than the latter, and deposits much less 
sediment on standing. Its productiveness, compared with that of yellow 
cinchona, appears to be nearly as 3$ to 5. When long subjected to a 
boiling temperature (212°), or long contact with alkaline and caustic 
earthy substances, its bitter is destroyed. Bebeerine, when properly ad- 
ministered, generally cures intermittents where quinine has failed, seems 
not to affect the head, nor to produce its effects by counter-morbid 
action, as the alkaloids of the cinchonas are supposed to do. 

_Green-heart wood, bark, and seeds are well known now in commerce, 
and the sulphate has also come into use here. The British Guiana col- 
lection in the International Exhibition contains specimens of the wood, 
bark, and seeds, which may be referred to by those who desire to identify 
them. We may state that the green-heart wood has a reputation for 
fishing-rods, as well as for shipbuilding purposes. 

An esteemed correspondent supplies us with the following personal 
testimony as to the value of bebeerine :— 

“Jn the latter part of 1848, when in Jamaica, a very heavy loss threw 
ine into great affliction (grief), and concomitant with that came a very 
severe pain in the left hind portion of my head: the palm of my hand 
covered it. It was not to be called ‘intolerable, as I did bear it, nor 
could I imagine it so acute as I have heard tic doloreux described. But 
it became very constant and wearying (distressing). I placed myself 
under Dr. Gilbert M‘Nab (son of Mr. M‘Nab, of Edinburgh), who stood 
justly very high in colonial repute. He prescribed one drachm of sul- 
phate of bebeerine, mixed with a sufficient quantity of colocynth to 
make, I think, about twenty good sized pills; two pills to be taken 
every three or four hours, according to the intensity of the pain, and at 
longer intervals as the pain decreased. The cause of the pain—mental 
anxiety—did not subside ; the pain was entirely relieved for intervals— 
it returned three or four times—but repeating the remedy, it finally 
vanished. 


‘ 


142 SCIENTIFIC NOTES. ee 


“Travelling much in the different parts of Jamaica, I found ac- 
quaintances suffering from somewhat similar pains in the head, arising 
from different causes. The bebeerine was usually unknown in such 
country parts, and, in fact, not in general use anywhere ; I was there- 
fore requested to procure and forward a sufficiency from Kingston, and in 
three or four instances that came under my observation, it was a com- 
plete ‘success.’ 

“Dr. M‘Nab afterwards assured me that he had in one or two 
instances found it very efficacious in delirium tremens, and that in one 
case it was decidedly a temporary cure for tic doloreux. 

“T was cured of my disorder, and Dr. M‘Nab left Kingston for the 
country in Jamaica, and so I heard no more about it. Bebeerine was not 
in vogue among other doctors. I only speak from my own experience, 
and am certainly surprised that it is not more generally tried by the 
profession in England in all cases of neuralgia. 

“ Some constitutions cannot take Quinine, while on others it has no 
effect (on my own, I might say, it has little effect, for I can take 10 or 12 
grains a day without feeling it). Some can take 20 or 30 grains, while 
others again are deafened and bewildered by four or five grains. There- 
fore in some cases Bebeerine ought to prove a most valuable addition to 
our Pharmacopcea, and I believe confidence in it will prove it of great 
value.” 


arivatific Motes. 


EneuisH Ink Gais.—At a meeting of the Exeter Naturalists’ Club, 
held in Exmouth last month, Mr. D’Urban read a paper on these galls. 
Most persons, he said, must have noticed the hard brown galls, about 
the size of musket balls, so conspicuous in winter on the oaks about 
Exeter. They are supposed to have made their first appearance in 
Devonshire about the year 1847. They were first noticed by Mr. Parfitt, 
who sent specimens of the insect causing them to Mr. Westwood, in 1848 
or 1849. It has only lately, however, been determined to be Cynips 
Kollari, of Hartig, a species well known in Germany. About three 
years ago it suddenly appeared in the woods to the north of London in 
vast numbers. It is closely allied to Cynips galletinctorie, producing 
the ink gall of commerce on Quercus infectoria in the Levant. The 
galls of the Devonshire species contain a considerable amount of tannin, 
making excellent ink, and yielding a good and permanent dye. Like 
all other insects which multiply rapidly, it is subject to the attacks of 
a parasite, which contributes to keep its increase within certain limits. 
This is a beautiful green chalcite, first bred from these galls by Mr. 
Parfitt, and described by him in the ‘ Zoologist’ for 1856, under the 


SCIENTIFIC NOTES. 143 


name of Callimome Devoniensis. Mr. D’Urban did not think that the 
galls occasioned much injury to large oaks, but to young trees they are 
very injurious, frequently distorting the leading shoot, and seriously 
retarding its growth. They make their appearance on the oaks in this 
neighbourhood early in July, and growing rapidly reach their full size 
in August. They are formed on the young shoots of the year, always 
in the centre of a bud, and are monotholasmous, that is, they contain 
a single individual only. Some of them produce the flies in September, 
nearly all being females. The males are remarkably scarce, and have 
but rarely been obtained. Some remain in the larva state within the 
gall all through the winter, and emerge in the spring. Few, however, 
of those hybernating escape the different species of tit, those little birds 
picking the hard galls to pieces to get at the fat white grub inside. The 
galls themselves are very persistent, remaining for several years on the 
trees. Those from which the fly has escaped may readily be known by 
the presence of a single round hole on one side, Mr. D’Urban then 
explained the manner in which galls are formed, and the mechanism 
of the instrument with which the gall-fly makes a puncture in the bark 
of the trunk or shoots, in the young bud, on the leaf, or on the 
peduncles of the flowers, according to the part of the tree selected by a 
particular species, of which a great many infest the oak. 

ALBUMEN FROM FISH SpaAwN.—Some years ago La Société Tndec 
trielle at Mulhausen (Alsace) offered a prize of the gold medal of the 
Society for the invention of some substitute for albumen prepared from 
eggs ; and further, 17,800 francs as a remuneration. for the first manu- 
facture, on a large scale, of such a substitute. The prize was gained in 
1860, by J. G. Leuchs, of Nuremburg, and who has a patent for extract- 
ing lbumen from fishes’ roe, spawn, &. The albumen thus gained is 
a complete substitute for that of hen’s eggs, contains even less water, 
and is much cheaper. Some exhibited in the Swedish Court, made by 
Sahlstrom, of Jonkopine, is 2s. 44d. per lb. For certain purposes, 
the fat is separated from the albumen, which then no longer retains 
the smell of raw fish. This fat is used for grease. The residue of 
fishes’ spawn, after the albumen has been extracted, is used in the 
manufacture of ammonia, prussiate of potash, &c. 

ALGERIAN SILK.—For many years past the silk-worm has been attacked 
by disease, and in all the productive countries the harvest has been 
sensibly diminished. The Algerian cultivators have particularly 
suffered by this state of things, and the Administration, which had 
engaged to pay to the spinners a sum of 12 francs per kilogramme of 
silk spun from Algerian cocoons, have so far modified their first decision 
as without diminishing the bounty offered, to permit the spinners to 
buy elsewhere the cocoons they require to keep their factories going. 
The results of the silk operations in Algiers in 1861 were as follows :— 
Number of breeders, 257; quantity of cocoons raised, 4,206 kilo- 
grammes, from 15,253 grammes of eggs; sum paid to the spinners by 
the Government, 25,588 francs. 


144 SCIENTIFIC NOTES. 


Panama Hats.—The famous Jipajipa, or Panama hats, are principally 
manufactured in Panama, from the leaves of the Carludovica palmata, 
a Pandaneous plant. Not all, however, known in commerce by that 
name are plaited in the isthmus ; by far the greater portion is made in 
Manta, Monti Christi, and other parts of the Ecuador. The hats are 
- worn almost in the whole of the American continent and the West 
Indies, and would, probably, be eqaally used in Europe, did not their 
high price—amounting often to 150 dollars for a single one—prevent. 
their importation. They are distinguished from all others by consisting 
of only a single piece, and by their lightness and flexibility. They 
may be rolled up and put in the pocket without injury. In the rainy 
season, they are apt to get black, but by washing them with soap and 
water, besmearing them with lme juice, or any other acid, and 
exposing them to the sun, their whiteness is easily restored. So little 
is known about these hats, that it may not be deemed out of place to 
insert here a notice of their manufacture. The straw (paja) previous to | 
plaiting has to go through several processes. The leaves are gathered 
before they unfold, all their ribs and coarse veins removed, and the rest, 
without being separated from the base of the leaf, is reduced to shreds. 
After having been put in the sun for a day, and tied into a knot, the 
straw is immersed in boiling water until it becomes white. It is then 
hung up in a shady place, and subsequently bleached for two or three 
days. The straw is now ready for use, and in this state is sent to 
different places, especially to Peru, where the Indians manufacture 
from it, besides hats, those beautiful cigar cases, which fetch sometimes 
more than 6/. a-piece. The plaiting of the hats is done on a block, 
which is placed upon the knees ; it commences at the crown and 
finishes at the brim. According to the quality of the hats, more or less 
time is occupied in their completion; the coarse ones may be finished 
in two or three days, the finest take as many months. The best times 
for plaiting are the morning hours and the rainy season, when the air 
is moist. In the middle of the day and in dry clear weather, the straw 
is apt to break,—which, when the hats are finished, is betrayed by 
knots, and much diminishes their value—Seemann’s ‘ Botany of the 
V oyage of the Herald’ 

AUSTRALIAN Lerp.—Laap or Lerp is a whitish saccharine matter, a 
singular insect production found on the leaves of the Eucalypti in some 
parts of Australia. The name was given by the aborigines of the north 
west part of Australia Felix. We have samples of it in our private 
collection. The insects producing it are closely allied to the aptides, 
or green flies of rose bushes, geraniums, &c. Its chemical composition 
appears to be from an animal secretion, perfectly anomalous, so far as 
known, being composed of pure starch, which tastes sweet on the tongue, 
it is supposed by a rapid change into sugar by the action of the saliva. 
It has been suggested that from its large quantities in some parts of 
Victoria, and the ease with which it might be obtained, it may form a 
substitute for sugar or malt in distillation. 


he DE CAP NOG: site 


THE MARBLES OF ITALY. 


BY IGINO COCCHI, 


Professor of Mineralogy and Geology in the Royal Museum of Natural History at 
Florence. 


The name of marble is restricted to certain limestones of a crystal. 
line or granular structure which are sufficiently compact to be suscepti- 
ble of taking a high polish. 

As examples of the crystalline or saccharoidal structure, we may 
take the white marbles of the Apuan Alps (Lunigiana, Carrara, Massa, 
Seravezza, &c.), the “ Bardigli” of the same localities, those of Valdier, 
in Piedmont, and certain of the marbles of Venetia, Trentino, and the 
province of Brescia. 

Tf the crystallisation is of a very decided character, the structure be- 
comes lamellar, asin the white marble of Pallanza, the Bardigli, and 
statuary marbles of Monte Rombolo, Monte Calvi (Campiglia), and the 
island of Elba, which are in every respect equal to the famous marbles 
of Paros. 

The granular structure is seen in the white marbles of the Monte 
Pisano, the yellow of Siena, or giallo di Siena, and the majority of the 
marbles exhibited by the Neapolitan and Northern provinces. 

The black marbles of Spezzia, Brescia, &c., certain varieties of alberese 
and the fine slates from Perugia, exhibited by Count Orini, furnish 
examples of compact limestones of a very fine grained structure. 

These limestones mark the limit dividing the ornamental marbles 
from those that are only fitted for building purposes. The price of the 
former is more or less considerable, according to their varying capacity 
for taking and retaining a fine polish, like that of black marble, a quality 
which is not possessed by any other rock of the same colour. 

The breccias, or brecciated marbles, are formed of fragments of lime- 
stones united by a more or less calcareous cement, or they may contain 

VOL. III. M 


146 THE MARBLES OF ITALY. 


fragments of different rocks set in a calcareous base. They are found in 
great variety, many of them being extremely beautiful, as, for instance, 
the brilliantly-coloured breccia of Terra di Lavoro, the superb affricano 
of Seravezza, that of Rondone (Seravezza), that of Finocchioso (Carrara), 
the Mischi or mixed marbles of Seravezza and Massa, and the Mandor- 
lato and affricano of Vicentin. 

The breccias command a very high price, on account of the vivacity 
of their tints, and the delicacy and harmony of their variegations and 
shading ; in addition to which they are extremely durable, from the 
hardness of the fragments, and the homogeneous nature of the cementing 
material. 

In a commercial classification the breccias form the class of variega- 
ted or spotted marbles, and it is under that head that they will be 
noticed. The marbles, properly so called, fall into the two principal 
divisions of white and coloured marbles. 

Waitt Maresies.—This is the most important class, on account of 
the extensive commerce of which it is the object. There are three com- 
mercial divisions ; the first of which is exclusively employed for fine 
sculpture, and is distinguished as statuary marble ; the second is also 
used for sculpture and higher class of architectural ornamentation ; it 
includes the clear white marbles, marmo bianco chiaro, and the common 
white quality ; the third includes all the other varieties, which are often 
excellent, but are generally inferior to the foregoing, either in tint or 
structure, or are veined or spotted; they are used for making chimney- 
pieces, tables, paper-weights, &c., and may be called furniture marbles. 

These three classes are susceptible of further sub-division, according 
to well-known types, around which all the varieties and sub-varieties 
known in commerce may be arranged. 

SraTtuaRY Marpues.—These are the most beautiful of the white 
marbles, and it will be convenient to divide them into statuary marbles 
proper, and those of lamellar structure, having for type the marble of 
Paros. The most valuable varieties are those of a fine white colour, 
with a slightly bluish tint, having a certain amount of transpa- 
rency, and a perfectly homogeneous lamellar structure, so that the un- 
equal reflection from different sized lamelle shall not produce a disagree- 
able effect. The Venere det Medici and the Farnese Vase are examples 
of the use of the very highest class of material. The varieties uniting 
all the above characters are of a very high price; among them, are the 
marbles of the Island of Elba, of Campiglia, and more especially those 
of Monte Rombolo, which are in nowise inferior to their Greek type. 

The friability of some marbles, analogous to that of several kinds 
of dolomites, is a consequence of their lamellar structure, a fact 
that should make the artist hesitate in choosing blocks of this character, 
as they offer but little resistance to the chisel, and are too fragile to be 
used for ornaments and cornices. 

The statuary marbles proper are divided into several qualities ; those 


THE MARBLES OF ITALY. 147 


of the first quality are exclusively obtained from the Apuan Alps, and 
may be referred to four types, which are as follows :— 

Ist. The statuary marble of Monte Altissimo, superior to all others, 
and universally preferred by sculptors, is the dearest. Of this class are 
the marbles of Girardino, those of Tambura, and Arni, the large specimen 
exhibited with the breccias of Massa, and a few others. 

2nd. Yellowish statuary marble of Carrara (or giallgnoeo), which is 
principally obtained from Cressola. 

3rd. Bluish (statuario ceruelo) marble, having for type that of Poggio 
Silvestro, near Carrara. 

4th. Snow white (bianco niveo) marble, which is represented by that 
of Monte Corchia. The extreme whiteness of this variety is considered 
objectionable by sculptors, as rendering it unfit to reproduce the effect 
of flesh ; anda defective quality of the grain to which it is subject 
renders it of inferior value to the preceding varieties. 

The presence, or complete absence of spots or veins, and the greater 
or less homogeneity of the mass, are the essential elements which deter- 
mine the price of statuary marbles. 

After the first class come the statuary marbles of the second class. 
This term is generally applied to all marbles of a defective structure. 

Some of these may be grouped around well defined types, such as the 
second quality of Monte Altissimo, and those of Massa and Seravezza. 

The marble of Betogli, among the specimens from Carrara, forms 
another type belonging to this group, of which the principal characteris- 
tic is the feeble cohesion of its particles, and consequently slight dura- 
bility. It has, nevertheless, rather a fine appearance, and as it is easily 
worked it commands a ready sale. This class of marbles, which are 
known to artists as saloni, should be avoided as much as possible for all 
works of sculpture. The well-known fiexible marble of Carrara ap- 
proach very nearly to this type. 

The varieties inleuded in this division are very numerous, and with 
the exception of the saloni, all, or nearly all of them, are suited for the 
sculptor’s use. Many of these varieties are admirably adapted for large 
monuments, especially for such as are intended to stand atmospheric 
exposure, which rapidly alters the delicate grain of first-class marbles ; 
many, however, are less suited for exposure, and the artist should be 
careful to avoid using them for such a purpose. 

The most esteemed varieties of this class are the marbles of La Polla, 
in Monte Altissimo, which are of a very close grain, and hard to the 
chisel, and resist perfectly shock and pressure, and the variable action of 
the atmosphere. Many of the marbles of Massa are of a similar character. 

The varieties of clear white marble extracted from the quarries of 
Massa, Carrara, and Seravezza are extremely numerous, and are all 
more or less adapted for the various purposes mentioned above, when 
properly chosen. 

The series of Ravacciont, so called from the marble of Ravaccione of 

M 2 


148 THE MARBLES OF ITALY. 


Carrara, belongs to a transition group leading to the third class, which is 
represented by the marbles of Trambiserra, Cossa, Monte Altissimo, 
Monte Corchia, Massa, Carrara, and Lunigiana. 

Vernep WuitE Marpies.—Under this category are included a 
series of white marbles, more or less translucent and crystalline, which 
are traversed by parallel sinuous or reticulated veins of colour, or which 
are more or less irregularly spotted. 

These marbles are not fitted for sculpture ; they can be used for cer- 
tain architectural purposes, but their chief use is for certain decorative 
objects, such as balustrades, table-tops, and chimney-pieces. They form 
a series parallel to the preceding one; and the prices vary according to 
the whiteness, transparency, and granular structure of the mass. Those 
possessing these qualities in the highest degree are the ¢igrato of Altagana 
(Massa), that of Monte Corchia, the veined statuary (statuario venato) 
of the same locality, the splashed or spotted (statuario macchiato) marble 
of Massa, and many of the marbles of Carrara, which are very fine, al- — 
though they are veined and spotted. 

In addition to the numerous samples of these different marbles, the 
block of bust size from Monte Altissimo, and the objects shown by Messrs. 
Guerra in the Exhibition are deserving of special examination. A visit to 
the sculpture gallery will also be very useful in order to appreciate exactly 
the nature and properties of the marbles which have just been described. 

Waite GRANULAR Mareies.—These marbles are not nearly so 
important commercially as the crystalline varieties. In these the 
metamorphic action has not been sufficiently energetic to destroy the last 
traces of organic matter, and the original stratification of the rock; and 
the crystallising force has not been sufficiently exercised to allow of the 
entire re-arrangement of the whole of the molecules so as to expel the 
included impurities. 

They are, thereby, impaired by more or less grave defects; their 
hardness, solidity, resistance, and impenetrability being greatly inferior 
to those of the more perfect marbles already described. 

From the absence of better marbles, and their extremely low price, 
they are extensively employed in the localities adjacent to the places 
where they are quarried. The varieties most in repute are those of the 
Pisan mountains, Trentino, Vicentin, and the environs of Ascoli. The 
collection from the Pisan mountains contains some fossiliferous speci- 
mens, although they are of the same age as the most perfectly crystalline 
statuary marble. 

CoLoURED Marsies.—Under this head are included all marbles of a 
more or less uniform colour, or which are veined, splashed, or eae 
equally upon a uniformly calncest base. 

Among these marbles, which are very numerous, the following are 
the most important :— 

1. Black marbles, with a uniform or clouded base, or veined with 
white or yellow. 


o 


THE MARBLES OF ITALY. 149 


2. Bardigli. 

3. Red marbles of a unifoimor clouded tint. 

4. Yellow and violet marbles (broccatelli). 

5. Reddish marbles (ceciato unito) or variously veined, which are 


specially obtained from the alberese. 
6. Certain varieties of a greenish colour (verdognolo). 


7. Among the coloured marbles are also included certain breccias, in 
which the uniform tint of the base is broken by small fragments, or 
pebbles of limestone of different colours, which were introduced into the 
mass during the formation of the sedimentary deposit. 

Brack Marsies.—The finest black marbles with which we are at 
present acquainted in Italy are those of Caserta Vecchia (Terra di Lavoro) 
the Pisan mountains, Carrara and Spezia, in the metalliferous chain, and 
that of the province of Brescia. 

The analogy existing between the black marbles of the two latter 
localities is probably due to an important geological fact. They are for 
the most part streaked with small white sparry veins, which, by reason 
of their constitution, traverse the marble in regular lines like small lodes. 
These white veins are often replaced by smaller yellow ones, asin the 
celebrated marble of Portoro or Portovenere, very fine specimens of 
which are to be found in the collection from Spezia. The most beautiful 
variety is that in which interlacing veins of a golden yellow colour are 
set into a uniform black ground. 

It must be remarked that the grain of this marble is such that it will 
not keep its polish without extreme care. 

BaRvDicLi.—The numerous series of the bardigli comes next in order; 
it contains many very precious marbles, the rarest of which is the tur- 
quoise blue variety (bardiglio turchino unito); the finest specimens are 
from Monte della Cappella, near Seravezza, some of which are exhibited 
by Messrs. Garfagnini, Brothers. 

The veined bardiglio (bardiglio venato) is due to an incipient dis- 
colouration of the black marble, which changes the primitive colour 
into a vague tint, which is much sought after. Ifthe discolouration is 
only partially extended through the mass, the product is known as 
flowered bardiglio (bardiglio fiorito) ; when it is carried to its extreme 
limit we obtain white marble, which, when seen in places or in selected 
specimens, show the transition from its original to its present condition. 
The flowered bardiglio is one of the richest marbles that we possess. 
The finest specimens are obtained entirely from the quarries to the 
eastward of Seravezza. 

Other equally precious varieties are the veined bardigli of Valdieri, 
in Piedmont, those of Recoaro, Oliero, and Arsiero, in the province of 
Venice, as well as those of Campiglia, Monte Rombolo, and the island of 
Elba, in Tuscany, which furnish us with a new example of marbles of 
lamellar structure. 

Rep Marsies—The ammonite limestone, which forms a. well- 


150 THE MARBLES OF ITALY. 


marked geological horizon throughout the whole of the metalliferous 
chain of Tuscany, by its regular stratification and its. characteristic 
fossils, is generally of a more or less bright red colour, which is usually 
very agreeable to the eye. It is quarried in several places. 

In spite of its compact character, however, it scales off very readily, 
and is friable, vitreous, and full of cleavage planes ; in addition to 
which it is usually only found in thin beds, which prevents it being 
used for other than table tops and flooring slabs. It is very rarely 
found of a fine uniform red colour; when it is so it is usually less 
defective, and sells at a higher price. The ordinary specimens are of 
a light red colour, with ocellated marking (occhiato), and of a brecciated 
structure. The specimens of this marble are exhibited in the Italian 
collections from Spezia, Seravezza, Campiglia, and Camajore, at the 
Exhibition. In the Central Appennines the middle lias is represented 
by a red limestone, analogous to the preceding one, and which can be 
used for similar purposes, as may be seen in the collection from Ascoli. 
The upper lias also contains a red marble in some of the provinces. 

All the red Italian marbles are obtained from one or other of these 
liassic formations. 

YELLOW Marsies.—By a peculiar alteration of its colour and 
structure, the red ammonite marble is changed into a yellow granular 
form, in the brocatellos and yellow breccias. The valley of Santa 
Maria del Guidice, in the mountains of Pisa, the mountains of Carrara, 
the Montagnola Senese, and many of the southern provinces, produce 
marbles of this kind, which are more or less in demand. 

The most famous are the marbles of Sienna, represented by fine 
specimens from the estate of Cerbaie, belonging to Count B. Tolomeli, 
and from the estate of Seniere, belonging to Mr. G. Nomis. The 
marbles from the last-named property have not as yet been quarried 
for sale, but the great beauty of its clear yellow colour, and the large 
size of which the blocks can be obtained, together with the fine quaiity 
of the statuary marble already worked at the same place, make these 
quarries peculiarly interesting in an industrial point of view. 

The three remaining classes of coloured marbles are of an inferior 
importance. The fine slabs exhibited by Count Orfini, of Fuligno, are 
good examples of the reddish yellow limestones (ceciato) of close grained 
and uniform texture, which occur in the alberese. The peculiar and 
delicate colour of this rock renders it very suitable for ornamental 
purposes. The quarry belonging to Count Orfini is capable of furnish- 
ing a large supply, but up to the present time it has only been employed 
in the immediate vicinity, where there is no great demand for it. 

A few specimens of inferior green marbles are to be seen in the 
collection from Carrara. 

In the collection from Ascoli will be seen a breceia belonging to the 
necomian system ; this is a red limestone, with white spots which are 
produced by an intermixture of white calcareous pebbles. 


THE MARBLES OF ITALY. 151 


VARIEGATED MARBLES.—The most beautiful among the breccias 
known to us in Italy are those of Terra di Lavoro, but they are not 
quarried for sale ; some of the alpine varieties are extremely valuable ; 
that of Coregna, near La Spezia, is very beautiful, but its excessive hard- 
ness necessarily prevents it from being very largely used. The mountains 
extending from Carrara to Seravezza are also remarkable for the ex- 
excellence of their produce in this particular class, as will be seen by 
an examination of the breccias and mischi of Seravezza, Massa, and 
Carrara. The light and dark coloured mixed marbles (mischi), the 
breccias known as affricano, the breccias of Rondone, and other 
localities, the persichino of Corchia, and Vallata di Renaia, and the 
paonazzi of Laghetto, Finocchioso, Cava di Sponda, Boccanaglia, &c., 
are all very brilliant and costly marbles, 

Brecctas.—The breccias of the metalliferous chain are formed of 
fragments of highly crystalline limestone, united together by a siliceo- 
calcareous cement, containing an admixture of a hornblendic substance, 
which is eminently hard and resistant to the action of the atmosphere. 
The cement is due to a particular action of the adjacent masses or veins 
of iron ore, which are found in contact with the rocks in question. The 
hornblendic cement, with its iron or manganese base, produces the 
variegated appearance resembling the peacock’s tail, and rose colour, 
peach blossom, and other delicate tints, which may be seen in the 
specimens from the different localities. 

As may be imagined from their composition, these rocks are, as 
a rule, very impervious to ordinary atmospheric agencies. Examples 
of this fact are furnished by the mischi and affricano of Seravezza, 
employed in some of the principal monuments of Florence. 

The great column which formerly stood in the square of San Felice, 
but which has been lying on the ground for many years, exposed to the 
action of atmospheric water, has in nowise been injured by such un- 
favourable treatment. The tenacity with which the Porto Santo, the 
Affricano, the Brillante, the Paonazzo, and other varieties retain their 
polish is another valuable quality which renders them eminently 
adapted for the more costly class of decorative works. 

The whole of the Italian calcareous formations, of all ages, furnish 
a supply of excellent marbles from the miocene lumachella, down to 
the upper triassic and muschelkalk limestones, and perhaps those of 
an older period. 

The best known and most esteemed marbles are, as has already been 
seen, principally obtained from Tuscany. 

The white marbles of saccharoidal structure are those which are now 
principally preferred by sculptors. The most perfect blocks that could 
possibly be obtained are those of lamellar structure, derived from the 
quarries of Campigliese and the island of Elba. As regards saccharoid 
marbles, they are exclusively obtained from the Apuan Alps, and more 


152 THE MARBLES OF ITALY. 


especially from the wild mountains which rise above Carrara, Massa 
and Scravezza. Large quantities of marble were obtained in the time of 
the Romans from the mountains of Lunigiana (Montes Lunenses); and 
the name of Carrara statuary marbles is known all over the world. 
Leo X., Cosmo I., and Francis I., of Medicis, devoted much of their time 
and attention to the working of the marbles of Seravezza, the excellent 
quality of which was demonstrated by Michael Angelo, as well as the 
difficulty of obtaining them “ until the mountains were lowered and the 
inhabitants tamed,” two processes which have never been fairly accom- 
plished until a very recent period. The extraction of the marbles of 
Seravezza has been re-established on a large scale, Russia alone having 
taken them to the amount of one million roubles (about 150,000/.) for 
the construction of the cathedral of Saint Isaac, at St. Petersburgh ; and 
the population of the district of Pietrasanta has increased in 30 years 
(from 1819 to 1850) from 15,495 to 23,200 inhabitants, or nearly 50 per 
cent. 

In addition to rough blocks, Seravezza exports a considerable quan- 
tity of table-tops, flooring-slabs, and other sawn products. The trade of 
Carrara has recently increased to a considerable extent, owing chiefly to 
the efforts of the Local Academy of Fine Arts. In like manner the 
trade of Massa has increased in a manner that leads us to expect a still 
further expansion, for a great number of its marbles are of a character 
resembling the statuary marble of Monte Altissimo, and their architec- 
tural qualities are in every way equal to those of Seravezza, both as 
regards uniformity and durability, and they are equally well adapted to 
the most delicate kinds of sculpture. A marble, analogous to that of 
La Polla, already described, and comparable to the statuary quality of 
Crestola, is found in large quantities in the romantic and picturesque 
ravine of Equi, in the Lunigiana. 

The greatest possible care is necessary in the selection of marbles for 
exportation. The opinion current in Paris, that the marbles of Carrara 
are unable to withstand the effects of the climate of that city, is due to 
the frequent use of Saloni and Ravaccioni of a bad quality, the slightest 
coherent marble of Betogli, and other inferior descriptions from the 
Carrara country. 

The Montagnola of Sienna furnish broccatelli and yellow marbles. If 
the quarries belonging to Mr. Nomis were opened and properly worked, 
the supply of these rare qualities might be largely increased, more 
especially the yellow variety, which is now rarely found in large blocks. 

The Portoro, which is obtained from the western chain of the Gulf of 
Spezia, is also extremely rare, if fine golden-veined specimens are re- 
quired ; fresh supplies might, however, be obtained by opening quarries 
on the other slope of the chain, where this formation passes to that of 
the ammonitiferous limestones of the lias and of the palzozoic rocks. 

The mixed marbles and breccias are very abundant ; and, with an in- 


THE MARBLES OF ITALY. 153 


ereased demand, they might be supplied in England and France at a 
lower price than the marbles of the country. 

For the purpose of comparing the cost of the different varieties of 
marble, the following tables of the prices at the most important seats of 
production, and at the city of Florence, are added :— 


PRICES OF THE PRINCIPAL VARIETIES OF MARBLES AT FLORENCE. 


Per Cubic Metre. 


Statuary, first quality, Monte Altissimo - - - - £56 0 0 
. Carrara - - - - - - 48 0 O 
Marble of La Polla, first quality - co ais Seige - 24 0 0 
Statuary veined or clouded, for architectural purposes, fur- 
niture, &. - - - - - - - - = 24° 0) 0 
Clear white, good quality - - - - - - - 16 0 0 
Ravaccione of Carrara or Seravezza = - - - - =? 127-00 
Bardiglio, plain or veined, Seravezza - - - - - 16 0 0 
a5 flowered, Retignano, Seravezza_ - - - - 26 0 0 
Portoro of Porto venere (Spezia) - - - - - = 20 OO 
Plain red Caldana - - - - - - - - 15 4 0 
Red spotted, from Maremma - - - - - epatsy 20) 
Yellow and brocatello of Sienna - - - - - - 24 0 0 
Partasanta of Maremma - - - - - - - 20 0 0 
Mixture (mischi) of Seravezzas - - - - - - 40 0 0 
Breccia of Rondone di Stazzemma (Seravezza) —- - =) DA OeK@ 
Breccia affricana of Seravezza_— - - - - - = 160 OFFO 


It must be remembered that no fixed list of prices can be given for 
statuary, coloured or variegated qualities of a high class, as the price of 
the individual block depends on its size, uniformity, colour, and a num- 
ber of other circumstances which can only be determined by in- 
spection. 

The price is generally given at per palm (palmo), Genoese measure, 
and the rate increases more rapidly, particularly in good marbles, for 
blocks measuring several palms. The cubic metre, mentioned in the 
tables, is a conventional measure of 64 palms, or about 28 cubic English 
feet ; it must not be confounded with the cubic metre of the French sys- 
tem, which is equal to 35:3 cubic English feet. The ton is equal, on an 
average, to 25 palms. 


PRICES OF THE MARBLES OF SERAVEZZA, DELIVERED AT THE WHARF 
OF FORTE DEI MARMI. 


Ordinary white from Costa di Ceragiola, a5 ee Ch £ 
Solaio, &., — - - - - - from 4 0 0 to 6 
Ravaccione from Trambiserra - Pa oe beeO - 0 6 


154 THE MARBLES OF ITALY. 


£ s. d. 
Bardiglio, plain, best quality = from 0" "Oita 
33 flowered - - - STEERS] Bi QS 
White clear della Polla - - = TOE MUNG IN OOT ORES 
MOLCINAT YE. = - - - - 3) Ror Oa 
Falcovaja ordinary - - - - 7 ae OL wee 


Statuary, best quality, from Falcovaja, 

for blocks cubing 1 metre 16s. per 

Genoese palm - - - - A oeg oh 
For blocks of 1,000 palms and upwards, 

the price ranges up to 24s. pe palm 


or per metre - - - - OOP LOmO 
MARBLES OF CARRARA AND MASSA, DELIVERED AT AVENZA 
GIUSEPPE. 
& Wsiikd, 

Paonazzo from Finocchioso : - from 12 0 0 to 
Bardiglio - - - - - =NEt ts aypeece} nO) os 
Clear white Ravaccione - - a oth, Dy B08 5 
Statuary veined - - - satay: demise Oma 

»  Ilstquality,uptolmetrecube ,, 1G O;70Rs 

< BS 2 metres ,, 3 23°50: SOs 

i oF, 3 metres ,, = 36) (O710e, 


MARBLES OF LA SPEZIA. 


Black - - = : = - < ie 3 x ks 
Portoro, Ist quality = - - - - - = é = 
5 2nd quality - - = = 2 “ 


Biassa reds - = = = - 2 if = = a 
Breccia of Coregna = : x L is 2 re 


MIXED MARBLES AND BRECCIAS OF SERAVEZZA. 


Pallidone - - - = - = 3 : x Zi 
Light coloured mixture (mischio chiaro)  - - - - 
Granitello - ~ = - 2 2 s P z = 
Breccia of Rondone - - = = a = £ 2 
Paonazzo- - - = = = - s = ts 
Giallino esos) - = : = i = p bs 
Rosato (rose coloured) - - = : “ A = 
Affricano - 2 = = = z = 2 é S 
Campaneso - - - - - - - : : 3 
Brillante - - - = - = : i. = 
Mischio cupo (dark mixture) - - - - - = 
Doratello - = = = = = 2 2 F; is 
Broccatello - ~ = = : = - 7 2. 


Fee CL 
Op On 10 
22 VO! 10 
20 0 0 
3) CO 
10) 50 
51 4 O 
AND SAN 
Gaisa ie 
51210 
8-8. © 
8) 58.20 
LOLS Sr 0 
a) i. © 
40 0 0 
48 0 0 
8 0 0 
LS On 
1A @) @ 
194 Oy, -@) 
24 0 O 
eC) Sas 
28) 160 
20 SaeO 
26 16 O 
20) Ser O 
a MfayeL4(0) 
Dyn is) O 
DOSS) 
4416 0O 
4416 0 
44 16 0O 
BB ay 0 
4416 0 
SS 00 


THE SEED OF OWALA OR OPOCHALA, 155 
TABULAR VIEW OF THE AVERAGE ANNUAL EXPORT OF THE MARBLES 
OF CARRARA, MASSA, AND SERAVEZZA. 


Compiled from the Customs’ Register for the years 1855-59, and from Returns 
furnished by the Exporters. 


DENOMINATION. CARRARA, MASSA. SERAVEZZA. 
Tons. Cub. Met. |Tons. Cub. Met. 
Ambrogette (flooring 
slabs) - - - -| 904 18,080) 652 13,040) No. 1,000,000 
Lastroni (large slabs)| 163 1,954/1,011 12,632 aa 
Slabs - - - - -{1,090 939,800} 804 16,080 a 
Ravaccione - - eee peril Striped ) Cub. Mt. 
White pure - - ches ae TOMO aren tee 1,200) marble 
3 coloured ) coloured = 5,000 
mp Wenlete marbles. marbles. (tigrato). 
Statuary, Ist qual. iss 20 
SR pees i Ago s 235 ue 
Bardiglio, plain, 
veined, & flowered ae Bee aie ie nae 2,500 
Breccias and mixtures ae Fe, as ie me 70 


Of the above quantity produced, about one-third is taken by North 
America, another third is sent to France and England, while the remain- 
ing third supplies Belgium, Holland, Russia, Turkey, South America, 
and the interior of Italy. The greatest export of flooring slabs is to the 
Levant ; the prices are from 2s. 6d. to 3s. 6d. each, for squares of 92 
inches. 

In 1859, the export duty on marble was abolished, so that there is no 
means of ascertaining the production during that year. 


THE SEED OF OWALA OR OPOCHALA, OF THE GABOON 
AND FERNANDO PO, AND THE OIL WHICH IT CON- 


TAINS. 
BY J. ARNAUDON. 


Among the products sent by the French Colonies to the Universal 
Exhibition at Paris, in 1855, was the owala seed, exhibited as coming 
from the Gaboon (Western Africa) from whence it had been sent under 
the direction of M. Aubry-le-Comte, now curator of the Paris Colonial 
Museum, and it is to his kindness that I owe the specimen which IL, have 
made the subject of this paper. I could obtain only very vague informa- 
tion at Paris, as to the nature of the fruit and the plant to which this 
seed belongs, for they were unknown in the various museums of natural 


156 THE SEED OF OWALA OR OPOCHALA. 


history in that city, and it is only recently that I have, by the assistance 
of Sir Wm. Hooker, been enabled to examine them in the Botanical 
Gardens at Kew. I succeeded in seeing there the entire fruit, which is 
a pod of about 1 foot in length by 1? to 3 inches wide. Its general 
shape resembles that of a large haricot, its surface is brown and wrinkled. 
The two valves open easily, and display four or five seeds separated from 
each other by the same number of compartments. Of these seeds those 
near the ends of the pod are smaller and more angular in shape than 
those in the centre, which are oval. The length of this seed is nearly 
double its breadth, its weight varies from 4 of an oz. to ? of an oz., and its 
density is greater than that of water. It consists of two principal parts, 
a husk anda kernel. The husk very much resembles that of the large 
chesnut in colour and brilliancy, but it is thicker and its structure more 
compact and less elastic. Its surface too is unequal, presenting sinuosi- 
ties or raised fibres, which extending from the sharp end of the seed; 
where it is attached to the pod, reunite themselves towards the opposite 
extremity. The husk is strongly attached to the kernel, though it 
can be peeled clean off without fracture, and the imprint of the 
fibres can then be seen onthe perisperma or exterior husk. The 
kernel is of a greenish white colour, which becomes darker by 
exposure to the air; it consists of two cotyledons closely united to 
each other. 

Many experiments have shown me that the mean between the weight 
of the husk, and the total weight of the seed, is from 1 to 6, for instance, 


lehngi< 77 = é : k , e 16°66 
Kernel . : E ; : ; 83°34 


The quantity of water in the whole seed is 53 per cent., and of ash 
2.6, per cent. The husk contains 54, and the kernel 22 per cent. of 
ashes, but the ash of the former contains more silica than that of the 
latter. The oil of the kernel, although considerable in quantity is ob- 
tained with difficulty by pressure. In an experiment with ether, I 
obtained from the kernels alone, 62 per cent. of oil, and 57°47 per cent. 
from the seed and husks. When the oil had undergone repeated wash-- 
ings in distilled water, and the superfluous moisture had been drained 
off, its proportion was reduced to 56 per cent. in the case of the almonds, 
and 50°11 per cent. in that of the whole seed, 

This oil known as owala in the Gaboon, and opochala in Fer- 
nando Po is of a clear yellow colour, but becomes brown when it has 
been purified. Atatemperature of 11 deg. it gradually becomes less 
limpid, at some degrees lower it becomes turbid, and at zero changes 
into a viscous mass. Its density is very nearly the same as that of olive 
oil. If this oil be spread in thin layers over the surfaces of different 
substances, and left for several days exposed to the air it still preserves 
its original fluid state. This property the oil of owala possesses in com- 


THE SEED OF OWALA OR OPOCHALA. 157 


mon with the oil of ben (Moringa aptera), and is valuable for diminish- 
ing friction in clockwork. 

The oil which I obtained was rather acrid, but this might have been 
the result of the age of the seeds, and the damage inflicted upon them 
by the voyage. It has rather a marked odour, which, however, is by 
no means disagreeable ; it resembles very much that obtained from 
various pulses. The flavour, too, which it possesses is an agreeable one ; 
indeed, I have but little doubt but that this oil will some day be a use- 
ful addition to those already in use for comestible purposes ; in fact, 
the Boulons or Bushmen, a tribe in Senegal, employ it in the preparation 
of their food. 

If an attempt be made to dissolve this oil in alcohol without heat, 
the improbability of success soon becomes apparent, the spirit, however, 
carries off a peculiar matter as well as_a part of its aroma. 

One of the most remarkable properties of this oil is the colour which 
it developes under the influence of sulphuric acid. If the farina, or the 
oil obtained from the kernel be dissolved in concentrated sulphuric acid, 
the mixture takes first an olive, then a violet, and finally a bright crim- 
son red colour, which will, however, sometimes disappear on the addi- 
tion of a certain quantity of water. I was induced by the appearance of 
this phenomenon of colour to seek for the producing cause, and endea- 
voured to find in what part of the seed this property displayed itself in 
its maximum of intensity. To accomplish this I commenced by dis- 
solving part of the kernel in water. Upon this solution, the moisture 
being all drained off, I poured a quantity of concentrated sulphuric acid, 
and it became slightly brown, but no trace of the red colouring matter 
appeared. From this experiment I concluded that the part of the kernel 
wherein lay the power (when aided by sulphuric acid) of producing a 
red colour was insoluble in water. The same operation was performed 
upon another portion of the kernel dissolved by the aid of heat in 
alcohol. This experiment produced a magnificent red colour, and proved 
that the colouring matter is soluble in alcohol. When ether was sub- 
stituted for alcohol, the colour produced was no longer red, but violet, 
which became less intense upon the admixture of ether or alcohol, and 
this caused me to infer that the application of ether changed in a 
great degree the nature of the colouring matter, or that to develope the 
red colour some matter insoluble in ether was necessary. If so, this 
would be found in the etherised residuum. That the last supposition 
was correct will be seen from the following experiment. Having ex- 
hausted with ether a certain quantity of kernels, and dried the insoluble 
residuum, I recovered it again with alcohol boiling. I subjected the 
alcoholic extract to evaporation, and there remained a viscous mass very 
similar in appearance to molasses, which became brown when I added a 
little sulphuric acid. I mingled a little sugar syrup with the oil ob- 
tained by ether (which, as I have said, took only a light violet tinge), 
and poured on the mixture some concentrated sulphuric acid. The mass 


‘ 


158 PURIFICATION OF PETROLEAN OILS. 


speedily took first an olive and then a red colour ; in fact, the result was 
the same as in the case of the kernel itself. As I perceived that the 
absence of sugar was the cause of the etherised extract not developing 
the red colour on the application of sulphuric acid, I conceived the idea 
of replacing the natural saccharine matter of the seed by common sugar. 
Experiment encouraged that idea, for the result in all cases was the same 
phenomenon of red colour, and therefore the presence of sugar is abso- 
lutely necessary to produce it. After I had ascertained in what parts of 
the kernel that red colour could by the aid of sulphuric acid be pro- 
duced, I was desirous of assuring myself whether exterior agents had 
any influence on the production of this phenomenon. I first tried the 
effect of light, and for that purpose exposed one portion of the mixture 
of the nut and acid to the rays of the sun, and kept another portion in 
darkness. In both cases the red colour made its appearance after a short 
time, with nearly the same degree of intensity. The next agent experi- 
mented upon was the atmosphere, and two quantities of the solution 
were kept, the one in the open air, the other in an hermetically sealed 
vase. The result was that in the latter no colour made its appearance, 
while in the former it was very vivid. At one time I fancied that the 
colour was attributable to the admixture of a small quantity of water, 
but further experiments proved that water was of no service, that oxygen 
alone of all atmospheric agents had any influence. The path of a cur- 
rent of air passed over the mixture of oil, sulphuric acid, and saccharine, 
could be traced by the appearance of the bright red crimson on the parts 
of the surface exposed to its influence. The pulp divested of oil by the 
aid of ether, contains albumen, more or less coagulated ; an albuminous 
matter that is not coagulated by ether, although it is by alcohol and 
heat ; tannin, precipitated by salts of iron, or carbonate of potash ; an 
azotic matter, combined with an organic acid ; a saccharine matter, which 
is the principal agent in producing the red colour of the oil, by the 
addition of sulphuric acid. To dye stuffs, it is only necessary to boil 
them in an infusion of the kernels of the seed of owala, or of the cake. 
They are then exposed to the air, and the result is a rich brown colour, 
and this colour can be varied by the different mordants, or of étain ; if 
put into an iron bath, they become very black. 

The seed of owala may be considered one of those substances which 
are richest in oil principle. Oil obtained from it can be employed for 
domestic purposes, in mechanical industry, and in soap making. The 
residuum, or tourtean, which remains after the extraction of the oil, is a 
powerful dye, especially to produce black, and the remains of this tour- 
tean used for that purpose will serve for “engrais.” Lastly, we have 
seen that there exists in the kernel a curious principle, at least in a 
scientific point of view—viz., that of taking a crimson hue when acted 
upon by a saccharine matter and concentrated sulphuric acid. 


PURIFICATION OF PETROLEAN OILS, = ays 


PURIFICATION OF PETROLEAN OILS. 


An almost colourless naphtha arises from the earth at Baku, on the 
border of the Caspian Sea, accompanied by hydrocarbon vapours, which 
are collected and used for heating and lighting. It is also used in lamps 
in its natural state. A single distillation renders it quite pure. From 
the presence of paraffin the Rangoon petroleum is nearly of the consistence 
of butter at the ordinary temperature. It has been treated with sulphuric 
acid and the alkalies in the manner recommended for coal oils. The 
paraffiine, which was first discovered by Mr. Faraday, is also treated with 
the acids, and then submitted to pressure. Much of the Persian oil is 
colourless, and is consumed in lamps without purification. 

The petroleum of South America and the West India Islands often 
contain much sulphur, and their odour is very offensive. The petro- 
leums of volcanic districts were much more offensive than those of un- 
disturbed localities. Boiling mud with steam issues from the earth on 
the shores of Trinidad, and raises itself into conical mounds, sometimes 
fifty feet high. The petroleum at those places has an intolerable odour, 
and contains sulphuretted hydrogen. Gold is immediately tarnished by 
the gases of these sulphurous distric s. All these natural hydrocarbon 
oils require active treatment to render them unobjectionable for domestic 
purposes. The alternate use of acids and alkalies have been found the 
most effectual in their purification. 

The petroleums of the United States, of which great quantities 
are now obtained, differ much in their densities of proofs. Some of 
the wells in Venango county, Pennsylvania, afford oils of a specific 
gravity 0'800. In other parts of the oil region the petroleums have 
densities of 0°850, and even 0.900. Indeed these heavy semi-liquid 
hydro-carbon compounds sometimes pass into compact bitumen, an 
example of which may be seen in Jackson county, Kentucky, and also 
at other places. 

These deposits of solid bitumen have probably been produced by the 
evaporation of the higher hydro-carbons, and by the oxydation of those 
beds which now appear like the sites of ancient lakes. They are quite 
different in their origin and characters from the injected masses of solid 
asphalte discovered in Richie county, Virginia, and in Albert county, in 
the province of New Brunswick. 

From the great difference in the densities of these petroleums, there 
is a great difference in regard to their value and their treatment in the 
process of purification. Of the lighter oils, ninety per cent. of pure oil 
for illuminating purposes may be obtained; but of the more dense varie- 
ties, and those which contain much tarry matter, not more than forty or 
fifty per cent. of lamp oil is at present produced. The result has been 
the same as that in the manufacture of coal oils. Large quantities of 
the heavy oils and impure paraffin accumulate in the distilleries, and 


160 PURIFICATION OF PETROLEAN OILS: 


will continue to increase until a cheap and successful process is discovered 
for their decarbonisation. 

The methods practised by persons engaged in refining the American 
petroleums are as different as those in use for the purification of the oils 
distilled from coal. Some employ acids and alkalies, others use alkalies 
alone, and steam is applied at various degrees of heat. Some of the 
oils produced by those means are of good quality, others are inferior, 
and do not ascend the wick of the lamp in sufficient quantities to afford 
a constant light. In others, the illuminating principle, by some change 
effected on the carbon, is partially destroyed, and in almost all the odour 
is disagreeable. The oils from some of the wells contain traces of chlo- 
ride of sodium, others carbonate of soda in quantities sufficient to affect 
their treatment. The denser oils, or those which contain too much 
carbon to admit of being consumed in lamps without smoke, are excellent 
lubricators, either mixed or unmixed with animal oils. 

It will be perceived by the foregoing statement that it would be a 
difficult task to prescribe a mode of purification to meet the requirements 


of the oil-refiners. Neither the petroleums, nor the oils distilled from 
them, contain creosote, or carbolic acid, and other impurities which 


contaminate the oils distilled from coals and coal shales, their purification, 
therefore, is simple and comparatively cheap. 

When the proof of the oil is not below 38°, distillation with water, 
or by the use of steam, will most frequently render the lamp-oil of good 
colour, and its illuminating properties will be of the highest order. 
Before the heavy oils, or those below the proof of 38°, are submitted to 
any treatment, it is necessary to give them a preliminary distillation, by 
the aid of common or superheated steam, and the distillate should be 
separated into two parts, all below proof 38° being set aside to be treated 
for lubricating oil, and a farther portion to be added to the illuminating 
oil. Washing a lighter part of the charge with a solution of caustic 
potash, or soda of specific gravity not exceeding 1,400, is useful. A final 
distillation over a weak solution of either of those alkalies will generally 
render the oil pure. The heavy parts of the oil may require agitation 
with equal parts of sulphuric acid and water, followed by an alkaline 
wash, and then distillation. It is only the most impure oils, and those 
from the wells of certain localities, that require the use of acids, which, 
like the strong alkalies, when used in excess, greatly impair the ilu- 
minating properties of these hydro-carbons. The lighter the oils the 
lighter the colour. At proof 45° they are colourless. At proof 42° 
colouring matter begins to appear in the distillate, and continues to in- 
crease until the charge is exhausted. In order to present the lamp-oil of 
a light colour, some refiners have sent it to the market at proof 45°; but 
it should be understood that such oils are much more inflammable and 
liable to explode than those at proof 40°. Colour, in this instance, 
should be sacrificed to safety. The offensive odour of these oils is re- 
moved by the means laid down for the deodorisation of coal oils. A 


ON THE CULTURE OF LATAKIA TOBACCO. 161 


valuable property of all the before-mentioned oils consists in the fact, 
that they never become rancid nor ferment ; indeed, they become im- 
proved by age, and gradually lose their unpleasant odour. 

It is unnecessary to enlarge upon the advantages which must evidently 
result from the manufacture of oils from mineral substances. Some of 
the uses to which those oils may be applied have been noticed. Doubt- 
less there are others to be discovered. The light afforded by the hydro- 
earbon oils is equal to that of gas, and in an economical point of view it 
is unrivalled. 


ON THE CULTURE OF LATAKIA TOBACCO. 


BY M. CHARLES EDWARD GUYS. 


The district of Latakia is situated in the northern part of Syria, and 
produces the best tobacco that is obtained from that province ; the town 
is built near the sea of Tripoly, on the place where stood formerly the 
ancient Laodicea. 

It could once boast of a harbour which has, in course of time, been 
completely blocked up, and a kind of exterior roadstead, which has been 
so reduced in size that none but vessels of the smallest burden can now 
enter it. Unless some speedy steps are taken to remedy this evil, it will 
soon be closed to all but the smallest: boats. 

Behind this town there isa plain of about 6 leagues broad by 14 
long, extending from Gibelette on the south, to the foot of Mount Cassius 
(or Gebel Akerar) on the north. From Gibelette to this mountain there 
is a plain of smaller mountains, which extends in the form of acircle for 
many leagues into the interior. These mountains are inhabited by the 
Nerseris or Ansaries, who, in the time of the crusades, were, from the 
cruelties cominitted by them, known by the name of “ Assassins.” They 
are also to be found in the valley, and there, as well as on the mountains 
the cultivation of tobacco forms their principal occupation. It certainly 
requires a great amount of attention and care, but the returns obtained 
are proportionally remunerative. The plain is traversed by a river, 
known as the Nahr El-Thebir, from which, by means of drains, they 
obtain sufficient water both for the tobacco, and all other plants to whose 
sustenance that element is necessary. Soon after the commencement of 
the rainy season (about the end of October), the soil destined for the 
tobacco plant is broken up, and this process is repeated a second and 
a third time if rain has fallen in the interval. The soil is also harrowed 
for the purpose of breaking the clods. 

In the month of January, the seed is sown in a situation that has 


some degree of shelter. The soil has been previously so well worked 
VOL. III. N 


162 ON THE CULTURE OF LATAKIA TOBACCO. 


that a stick can be easily thrust into it, and by this simple means they 
make small holes of about 4 or 5 inches deep, and from ten to twelve 
seeds are pat into each hole. Assoonas they begin to shoot, the ground 
is covered with mats, which are removed only when the sun appears. 
Women and children are then employed to keep off poultry and other 
birds, whose attacks would be very prejudicial to the young crops. Ata 
more advanced stage the weaker stalks are pruned off, while at the same 
time all parasitical plants are carefully removed, and great care must be 
taken to perform this operation properly, in order to ensure a good crop. 

During the month of February, before the hot season (which is very 
early in Syria) commences, the process of transplantation takes place. 
The plants are removed to fresh soil, surrounded with earth and well 
watched. As they become larger, all buds and yellow leaves are pruned 
off, and this refuse is placed round the roots of the plant, to which it 
serves as excellent manure. In March they must be well watered, a supply 
of which is procured from the drains, and caused to flow through all the 
rows in which the plants are placed. The water is cut off as soon as the 
supply is sufficient: The leaves now begin to make their appearance in 
great numbers. 

In April the plant is ready for manufacture. The leaves are removed 
and dried, either in the sun or before an open fire. This is the favourite 
tobacco of the Fellahs, and is called ‘new tobacco;” it is said to be 
stronger than that which has been kept some little time. But as far as 
my own experience goes, tobacco, like wine, needs age to bring out all 
its qualities, and certainly the taste of the much vaunted “ new tobacco” 
was, In my opinion, not very agreeable. 

From April to August the quantity of water required for the susten- 
ance of the plant varies according to the temperature. Those leaves 
that begin to get yellow are removed, and in the month of May they also 
cut the tops of the stalks. Finally, only about 15 or 16 leaves are left 
on, these are the greenest and the nearest to the summit of the stalks. 

All the leaves have turned yellow by the end of August. The har- 
vest commences in July, in the south in September ; when the stalks are 
cut just above the root and the leaves removed, great care being taken 
that the leaves are not bruised or injured in any way. They are then 
made up into bundles, having been tied together at the lower part of the 
side and placed on mats, which are removed into the cabins, the princi- 
pal drying places in that country. These bundles are turned from time 
to time, in order that the tobacco may be equally dried on both sides. In 
November it has become perfectly dried and the bundles are made up into 
packages, or else folded up in a great number of layers. 

The tobacco is now transported into the town in sacks of horsehair, 
and placed in the hands of merchants. In their storehouses it under- 
goes a new preparation: the first step being that of drying it again, it 
evidently being the interest of the peasants to sell it when wet, in conse- 
quence of the increase thus gained in weight. It is next divided according 


ON THE CULTURE OF LATAKIA TOBACCO. 165 


to the soil from which it has been obtained. The different qualities are 
thus produced, and again subdivided according to the colour and flavour 
of the leaf. All the tobacco that comes from the plain of Latakia is 
denominated Degidar, and we class it among the Nicotiana rustica. That 
produced in the mountain districts, of which we shall presently speak, 
is known and esteemed in Europe as Latakia tobacco. Dgidar tobacco, 
although esteemed an ordinary kind of tobacco, is rendered suitable for 
exportation, and preserved from damp, by means of the preparation 
received in the storehouses. It gains by a sea voyage, for the air im- 
pregnated with saline matter, has a favourable effect upon it, while the 
heat in the hold of the ship also has a tendency to improve the quality. 
So greatly does a sea voyage improve the tobacco, that it is not an un- 
common thing for merchants to entrust captains of outward bound 
vessels with large quantities to be returned at the end of the voyage. 
And I know, from actual experience, that tobacco thus treated is more 
brittle and agreeable in flavour than that which has not received the 
benefit of the sea air. With regard to the seed, care is taken to leave 
as many plants uncut as will produce sufficient for the next seed-time. 
The plants are carefully protected from the attacks of the winds, which 
would break the stalks that are now heavy with pods. These pods 
must ripen on the plants in order that the seeds may be well matured, 
and dry. A sure method whereby to ascertain if the seeds are properly 
dry is to shake the pod. If the result is a rattling sound, they are 
immediately gathered and placed in large quantities in horsehair sacks, 
Horsehair is preferred to any other material, because it is naturally dry. 
These sacks are bound at the orifice by rope of the same material, and 
are hung in the interior of the huts or cabins. 

The different kinds of Latakia tobacco are—1. The Dgidar, of 
which we have already spoken, considered as a medium or ordinary 
quality. 2. The Abou-Riha, or Dgebeli, which is the finest tobacco, but 
is found in its best state only in the mountains of Nesseries, or An- 
saries, as they are called by us. Its superiority is besides principally 
owing to a particular kind of preparation, which we will speak of here- 
after, There are two kinds of this tobacco, different in quality, and it 
requires a connoisseur to distinguish between them. The Abou-Riha has 
a great reputation, in Europe particularly, and also in Egypt, and other 
places where a mild tobacco is preferred. 3. The Dgidar, which in- 
cludes the Gauti and other inferior kinds. It holds a medium place be- 
tween strong and weak tobacco; is rough, and burns easily, because it 
contains very little oil. Rejected by good smokers, it is a tobacco much 
in favour, on account of its cheapness, with the common people, who as 
long as they have a pipe in their mouths would smoke anything, even 
straw. 4, That known by the name of Schiek-el-Bent, the quality of 
which approaches the Abou-Riha, with which, indeed, it is often mixed 
by the merchants of Latakia. The Nesseries formerly dwelt in large 
numbers in the plain of Latakia, but being constantly harassed by the 


164 ON THE CULTURE OF LATAKIA TOBACCO. 


Turks, the greater part of them removed into the mountains which form 
a cordon around the town, and extend as far as the borders of Antioch, 
and abut on Dgerser-el-behowel, a town dependent on the pachalick of 
Aleppo. Their almost sole occupation was the cultivation of tobacco. 
At the time of the harvest they were at war with Latakia, and determined 
to keep the crop, when gathered, in a safe place until the return of peace. 
It being then the commencement of winter, fires were lighted in the 
cabins, in which as usual the tobacco was hanging. The wood which 
served them for fuel was a species of the Quercus ilex, known by the local 
name of “ Ozer,” and as chimneys were unknown, the cabins speedily 
became filled with smake, and the tobacco thoroughly impregnated. In 
April of the ensuing year peace ensued, and the commerce in tobacco 
was renewed with the town. At that time mountain tobacco was known 
by the name of Dgebeli. Surprise was felt by the buyers at the colour 
of the tobacco, which was of a black instead of, as formerly, a yellow 
hue. They thought it expedient to taste it before completing their pur- 
chases, and filled and lighted their pipes for that purpose. Their asto- 
nishment was increased instead of diminished at finding the flavour and 
odour of the tobacco far superior to that which it possessed before. A 
few inquiries elicited that it was the smoke which the tobacco had, so to 
speak, imbibed during the interval it was retained in the cabins that had 
produced this extraordinary effect. A demand speedily arose for this 
kind of tobacco, and the name of Abou-Riha (father of perfume) was 
given to it in consequence. Now all tobacco from this part is kept in 
the above manner from November to April, and it is to this that its 
quality is in a great measure owing. The product of the tobacco from 
the mountains is about 3,000,000 Turkish piastres, and as cotton and silk 
also form profitable occupations in that country, the Nesseries would be 
very wealthy and comfortable were it not for the attacks and demands 
made on them by the Pachas. Egypt obtains almost all her tobacco 
from the province of Latakia, for its own soil is not fitted to its cultiva- 
tion. Nor have they succeeded in growing it in Arabia. This plant 
needs a pure, cool, and fresh soil, whilst in those countries sand is the 
principal component, and coolness is almost unknown. The richer orders 
in Egypt smoke Abou-Riha, and the poorer classes the ordinary quali- 
ties, while those whose poverty will not allow them to buy any tobacco 
at all, make shift with the residuum in the pipes of their more fortunate 
“neighbours, who, luckily for the poor, only smoke their pipes half 
through. 

From the Koura, or plain at the foot of Mount Lebanon, to the Nahr- 
el-Kelb (or dog river), are found the most esteemed tobaccos in Turkey. 
They are, perhaps, rather strong, but are very much liked by those who 
are really good judges. We will now proceed to mention some of the 
countries which produce these articles of luxury. 

The Koura is a large plain which lies at the foot of Lebanon, between 
Tripoli and the mountains ; is traversed by two rivers, and intersected by 


ON THE CULTURE OF LATAKIA TOBACCO, 165 


many streams. Protected by the neighbouring mountains from the south 
and east winds (the driest and most sultry in the East), it lies open to 
the north and south, which are cooler and more refreshing. From these 
advantages this district enjoys a considerable vegetation, and a soil very 
suitable to the production of tobacco. It is cultivated there in consider- 
able quantities, and transported thence into almost every part of Turkey, 

On the lower part of Lebanon, on the same side, are the villages of 
Sebail and Serai, where tobacco is produced that is held in better esti- 
mation than that of the Koura. 

In the Kesrasan, or as we call it, Castravan, lies the district of 
Gebail, from whence comes the best, and, consequently, the dearest, 
tobacco in Syria. It is very brittle, and its ash is white, unlike that of 
most other tobaccos, which usually, when smoked, leave a black or dark 
grey ash. 

The south of Lebanon, like the district of Tripoly, produces only 
tobacco of very ordinary quality, known as Salili, Tanoné, Takibé, and 
also under the general name of Bérraoni. There is very little care be- 
stowed upon their cultivation, and they are planted in the first bit of 
soil that comes to hand. These three kinds (which, in fact, are one and 
the same) are also inferior to the Dgidar. However, tobacco is obtained 
in the south of Lebanon, of which large quantities are shipped at Sour 
the ancient Tyre) for Egypt, where it is smoked, after being mixed with 
a stronger tobacco, in the same manner as the Koura. 

We have said, when on the subject of Latakia, that the best of the 
Dgebeli tobacco was called Abou-Riha, but itis the Karn-el-Gazel (horn 
of the gazelle). The plant grows to a height of a little over three feet, 
its leaves are numerous, very compact, long and narrow. The flower is 
large and white, but when the plant has arrived at maturity, it takes a 
purplish tinge. 

The second quality of the Dgebeli is the Bonati. The plant which 
produces it, grows to a greater height than the Karn-el-Gazel, and the 
leaves are larger, of an oval shape, and thicker at the sides. 

The Deidar, I have been informed by creditable authority, is identical 
with the Nicotiana rustica, and the same class will include all the 
tobaccos which bear the name of Bezzaoni, and many others of the 
inferior kinds. 

I have been informed that there is a tobacco in Syria called Ksar, 
which, as they say, belongs to the second quality, and is very good, 
but I have never seen it. The provinces of Aleppo and Damascus 
produce very small quantities of tobacco, neither is much obtained 
from Palestine. 


166 


THE SULPHUR OF ITALY. 


BY P. BIANCHI. 


The present production of the Italian sulphur mines is not less than 
300,000 tons yearly, which, taken in a crude state, represents a money 
value of 1,200,000/. It is estimated that the annual production in the 
year 1830 was only one-tenth of the present yield. 

The greater part of the above quantity is derived from Sicily ; the 
Romagna, however, is commencing to increase the supply, and at the 
present time contributes about 8,000 tons per annum. 

An important improvement in the method of separating the sulphur 
from the accompanying limestone has been practised in Sicily for the last 
ten years. 

The separation of the sulphur from the gangue is always effected by 
liquation, the necessary heat for the fusion being obtained by burning a 
portion of the ore ; this operation, which was formerly effected in small 
cylindrical ope: kilns (calcarelle), is, by the improved process, performed 
in heaps which are often 400 times the capacity of the kilns. The ore is 
arranged in a manner similar to that employed for charcoal burning, the 
air being excluded by an impermeable covering of earth. 

By the new process, the loss occasioned by the formation of 
sulphurous acid las been largely diminished, the production is increased 
by one-fifth, and the new heaps can be placed close to houses and 
gardens, instead of its »eing necessary to keep them several miles off, as 
was the case with the old system. Another advantage consists in being 
able to ignite the heaps at any time, doing away with the necessity of 
keeping large masses of ore in reserve for firing at a particular season of 
the year, and, lastly, it has converted a process, formerly of the most 
deadly effect on the workmen employed, into one almost entirely free 
from danger. 

The mines belonging to the Romagna Sulphur Mining Company of 
Bologna are eight in number, five of which are in the district in the 
province of Forli, Romagna, and three at Monte Feltre, in the province 
of Urbino and Passaro, in the Marches. 

The names of those in the first group of five are, Firmignano, 
Luzzena, Fosso, Busca, Lontemauro. 

In the second group the mines are named, Perlicara, Marazzana, 
Montecchio, 

The most important of these are the first one in the first group, and 
the first two in the second group. 

The refined produce is exported chiefly from Rimini, where the 
refining establishment is situated, to the principal centres of consump- 
tion among the large towns of Italy, including Venice, Trieste, Ancona, 
and to Lombardy, Tuscany, Rome, &c. 

Refined sulphur is used in various manufactories for making sulphurie 


THE SULPHUR OF ITALY. 167 


acid, and, for several years past, a new use has been found for it in the 
sulphuration of vines. 

The price of sulphur is constantly increasing. The following are the 
present prices, delivered either on board ship at the ports of Rimini and 
Cesenatico, or at the railway stations of Rimini and Cesena :— 


£850: 
Refined sulphur in lumps... 8 10 6 per ton _ 
3 sticks... 10 3 6 i 


Sulphur is found here and there at different places in the Neapolitan 
provinces, but not in any considerable amount. 

In the volcanic country of the Solfatara it is mixed with clay and 
other substances, from which it is separated by sublimation. The pro- 
duce is very unimportant in amount. 

Small scattered deposits are also found in Majella, the largest is that 
of Santa Liberata, near Lettomanopello, which belongs to Messrs. Leo- 
nelli, and yields a small annual profit. 

The discovery of a sulphur-bearing deposit at Civitanova, in the pro- 
vince of Molise, has been recently announced to the Royal Institute 
for the Encouragement of the Useful Arts, but nothing more is known 
of it beyond the tact of the occurrence at the spot named of a limestone 
impregnated with sulphur, whose extent and value is as yet undeter- 
mined. Sulphur has also been found at a place called San Regina, about 
two miles to the eastward of Ariano, but whether it 1s in workable 
quantity or not is at present unknown. 

From the above evidence we are forced to conclude that no com- 
mercially valuable deposits of sulphur have as yet been discovered in the 
southern continental provinces. 

The gypsum and sulphur bearing formation of Sicily covers a large 
portion of the island, extending from Mount Etna to the neighbourhood 
of Trapani. The most important mines are principally situated in the 
provinces of Caltanisetta and Girgenti. The provinces of Catania and 
Palermo are next in importance, while the mines in the province of Tra- 
pani are the least productive. 

The geological horizon of the gypsum beds is not yet satisfactorily 
determined ; these have hitherto been supposed to be of mesozoic age, 
but more recent observers are inclined to assign them to a more recent 
period. In Sicily, as well as in the Romagna, the gypsum formation 
includes limestones, clays which are more or less marly, and beds of 
gypsum ; in the latter rock, as well as in the limestones, the sulphur is 
found as an uniform or irregular mixture, sometimes concentrated in 
small parallel seams, and occasionally crystallized. In the latter case it 
1s often associated with sulphate of strontia, or celestine. 

In the clays and slates the sulphur occurs in a different manner, 
being found concentrated in globular masses ; this method of occurrence 
is also observable in all the sulphur mines of the continent, which are 
contained in argillaceous strata. 


168 THE SULPHUR OF ITALY. 


The liquation is performed in the Calcaroni or open kilns already 
described ; the loss of sulphur is estimated at one-third of the whole 
contents of the ore. 

The greater part of the sulphur obtained is not refined in the island, 
but is exported in the crude state. For commercial purposes it is classi- 
fied into three qualities, which are further divided into seven sub- 
classes, which are known as :— 


lst quality. 
best, 
2nd quality, good, 
ordinary. 
best, 
: 3rd quality, good, 
ordinary. 

There are about fifty mines at present at work in Sicily, employing 
twenty thousand hands. 

The production of 1861 is approximately estimated at 150,000 tons 
of commercial sulphur, of which about one-half was from the province 
of Caltanisetta, one-third from Girgenti, 25,000 tons from the province 
of Catania, and 20,000 tons from Palermo, The province of Trapani did 
not contribute more than a few hundred tons. 

The principal shipping places are Girgenti, whence about half the 
total amount is exported, Licata, Catania, Palermo, Terranova, Siculiana, 
Palma, and Messina. About two-thirds of the quantity exported is 
taken by France and England, the remainder goes to Germany, Holland, 
the remaining countries of Europe, and the United States of America. 

The price has increased very considerably during the last few years ; 
in 1860 it varied between 12s. and 16s. per ton. 


THE Sponce FisHery or RHopes.—The following shows the value 
in round numbers of the sponges sold in 1861. Fine, 41,000/. ; com- 
mon, 63,000I.; coarse, 7,000/. ; total, 111,000/. Part of the sponges 
fished in the autumn of 1860, were sold in the early part of 1861, at 
450 piastres per oke, for fine, 120 for common, and 60 for coarse, 
which are the highest ever reached for the fine and coarse qualities. 
Towards the end of the year, the prices declined nearly one-fourth. 
The crop of 1861 was abundant, the proportion of fine sponges was 
larger and of a better quality than in former years. The divers say 
that the same quantity are not now found as ten years ago, so it must 
be inferred that they do not grow as fast as they are fished. The amount 
of crop sent to each country, wasin the following proportion ; out of 
36 parts, Great Britain 13, France, 153, Austria, 54, and Constantinople, 
2s total’ 36. 


169 


THE PERFUMERY TRADE AS REPRESENTED IN THE INTER- 
NATIONAL EXHIBITION. 


BY EUGENE RIMMEL. 


In England perfumes were at first imported from Italy and France 
and came into great vogue during the reign of Queen Elizabeth. Shak- 
speare often mentions musk, civet, perfumed gloves, and pomanders, or 
pommes d’ambre, which were balls of perfume, to be held in the hand 
and smelt occasionally: the latter were. supposed to preserve from the 
plague. 

It is difficult to ascertain the precise date when manufactories of per- 
fumery were first established in England, as perfumers did not form here 
a separate corporate body as they did in France; but an old English 
recipe book, printed in 1663, contains a dentifrice prepared by M. Ferene, 
of the New Exchange, perfumer to the Queen, so that they had already 
at that time begun to manufacture. Since that period the perfumery 
trade of England has followed about the same progress as that of France, 
until it has reached its present state of prosperity. 

Perfumery is now divided into two distinct branches, the preparation 
of perfumery materials, and the manufacture of perfumes, cosmetics, and 
toilet soaps. The former is chiefly carried on in the south of France, 
Italy, Spain, Turkey, Algeria, India, and other warm countries, where 
the climate gives to flowers and plants the intensity of odour required 
for a profitable extraction. England has produced only hitherto laven- 
der and peppermint, but which are both greatly superior in quality to 
any grown elsewhere. The following shows the principal materials em- 
ployed in making perfumery, with their commercial and technical names, 
the form in which they are used, their average prices, and the places 
where they are produced :— 

Almond, bitter (fruit of the Amygdalus amara); expressed oil, 
emulsion, or meal; 6d. per lb.; Northern Africa. 

Almond, bitter (fruit of the Amygdalus amara) ; essential oil ; 12. 12s. 
per 1b.; distilled in England from foreign almonds. 

Ambergris (secretion of the Physeter macrocephalus; powder and 
alcoholate ; 32/. per lb. ; found floating on the sea, or on the coasts of 
India, China, Japan, Greenland, and other places. 

Aniseed (seed of the Pimpinella anisum) ; essential oil; 9s. per lb.; 
North of Europe. 

Aniseed, star (capsules and seeds of the Illicium anisatum) ; essential 
oil; 16s. per lb.; China and Japan. 

Balsam of Peru (exudation of the Myroxylon Peruiferum); natural 
form ; 6s. per lb.; West Coast of South America. 

Balsam of Tolu (exudation of the Toluifera balsamum) ; natural 
form ; 5s. per lb. ; West Coast of South America. 

VOL, III. ) 


170 ON THE PERFUMERY TRADE. 


Benzoin Gum (exudation of the Styrax benzom) ; powder and alco- 
holate ; 6s. per lb. ; Siam. 

Benzoin Gum (exudation of the Styrax benzoin) ; powder and aleo- 
holate ; 3s. per lb.; Sumatra and Singapore. 

Bergamot (expressed or distilled from the rind of the Citrus bergamia) ; 
essential oil ; 14s. per lb. ; Calabria and Sicily. 

Bigarrade (expressed or distilled from the rind of the Citrus bigara- 
dia) ; essential oil ; 16s. per lb.; South of France and Italy. 

Camphor (from the wood of the Laurus camphora); powder and 
alcoholate ; 2s. 6d. per lb.; China and Japan. 

Carraway (seed of the Carum.carui) ; essential oil ; 8s. perlb.; Eng- 
land Germany, and France. ! 

Cascarilla (bark of the Croton cascarilla and eleuteria); powder ; 6d. 
per lb.; Bahama Islands. 

Cassia (distilled trom the bark of the Laurus cassia); essential oil ; 
16s. per lb. ; East Indies and China. 

Cassie (flower of the Acacia farnesiana); dried flowers; 6s. per Ib. ; 
South of France, Italy, and Algeria. 

Cassie (obtained by maceration from Acacia farnesiana}; pomade or 
oil ; 10s. per lb.; South of France, Italy, and Algeria. | 

Cassie (distilled from Acacia farnesiana) ; essential oil ; 64/. per Ib. ; 
Tunis, 

Cedar (distilled froin the wood of the Pinus cedra and Juniperus Vir~ 
giniana) ; essential oil ; 16s. per lb. ; Syria, United States, and Honduras. 

Cedrat (distilled or expressed from the rind of the Citrus cedrata) ; 
essential oil ; 1/. 4s. per 1b.; South of France and Italy. 

Cinnamon (distilled from the bark of the Laurus cinnamomum) ; 
essential oil ; 37. 4s. per 1b.; India. 

Cinnamon leaf (distilled from the leaves of the Laurus cinnamo- 
mum) ; essential oil ; 4s. per lb.; India. 

Citronella (distilled from the leaves of the Andropogon citratum) 
essential oil ; 12s. per lb. ; India. 

Civet (secretion of the Viverra civetta); alcoholate; 162. per Ib. ; 
Indian Archipelago and Africa. 

Cloves (flower bud of the Caryophyllus aromaticus); powder and 
alcoholate ; 1s. per lb. ; Indian Archipelago and Zanzibar. 

Cloves (distilled or expressed from the Caryophyllus aromaticus) ; 
essential oil ; 6s. per lb. ; distilled in England and France from foreign 
cloves. 

Dill (seed of the Anethum graveolens) ; essential oil; 8s. per lb. ; 
England. 

Fennel (distilled from the Anethum fceniculum) ; essential oil; 8s. 
per lb. ; South of France. 

Geranium (distilled fromthe leaves of the Pelargonium odoratissi- 
mum) ; essential oil; 3/. per 1b; South of France, Italy, Algeria, and 
Spain. 


° 
> 


ON THE PERFUMERY TRADE. 171 


Ginger grass (distilled from the leaves of the Andropogon nardus) ; 
essential oil ; 12s. perlb ; India. 

Iris, or Orris (root of the Iris Florentina) ; powder and alcoholate ; 
9d. per Ib ; Italy. 

Jasmine (obtained by absorption from the flowers of the Jasminum 
cdoratissimum) ; pomade and oil; 10s. per 1b.; South of France and 
Italy. 

Jasmine (distilled from the Jasminum odoratissimum) ; essential oil ; 
96/. per lb; Tunis and Algeria. 

Jonquil (obtained by maceration from the fiowers of the Narcis- 
sus jonquila) ; pomade and oil; 10s. per lb.; South of France and 
Italy. 

Laurel (distilled from the leaves of the Cerasus lauro-cerasus) ; dis- 
tilled water ; 1s. per lb.; south of France and Italy. 

Lavender (distilled from the flowers of the Lavandula vera ; essen- 
tial oil ; 27. 8s. per lb.; England. 

Lavender (distilled from flowers of Lavandula vera) ; essential oil ; 
6s. per lb. ; South of France and Italy. 

Lemon (distilled or expressed from the rind of the fruit of the Citrus 
medica ; essential oil ; 16s. per lb. ; Coast of Genoa, Calabria, Sicily, and 
Spain. 

Lemon grass (distilled from the Andropogon schzenanthus; essential 
oil; 1/. per lb. ; East and West Indies. 

Limette (expressed from the fruit of the Citrus limetta) ; essential 
oul ; 14. 4s. per lb. ; South of France. 

Mace (expressed from the refuse nutmegs) ; concrete o11 ; 8s. per lb. ; 
Indian Archipelago. 

Marjoram (distilled from the Origana majorana ; essential oil ; 8s. 
per lb. ; South of France. 

Mirbane (nitrobenzine or artificial essential oil of almonds) ; essential 
oil ; 8s. per lb. ; England and France. 

Musk (secretion of the Moschus moschatus) ; powder and alcoholate ; 
24l. per lb. ; Thibet, China, and Siberia. 

Musk seed (seed of the Hibiscus abelmoschus ; powder and alcoho- 
late ; 4s. per lb.; West Indies. 

Myrtle (distilled from the leaves of the Myrtus communis) ; essential 
oil; 16s. per lb. ; South of France. 

Myrrh (exudation of the Balsamodendron myrrha) ; powder and 
alcoholate ; 6s. per lb. ; India. 

Narcissus (obtained by maceration from the flowers of the Narcissus 
odorata) ; pomade and oil: 10s. per lb. ; Algeria. 

Neroli, bigarrade (distilled from the flowers of the Citrus brigaradia) ; 
essential oil ; 107. per lb. ; South of France, Italy, and Algeria. 

Neroli, Portugal (distilled from the flowers of the Citrus aurantium) ; 
essential oil ; 62. per lb.; South of France, Italy, and Algeria. 

oO 2 


LZ, ON THE PERFUMERY TRADE. 


Nutmeg (distilled from the fruit of the Myristica moschata ; essential 
oil ; 6s. per lb. ; Indian Archipelago. 

Orange (distilled or expressed from the fruit of the Citrus aurantium ; 
essential oil ; 12s. per lb. Calabria and Sicily. 

Orange flower (obtained by miaceration of the flowers of the Citrus 
bigaradia ; pomade and oil ; 10s. per lb. ; South of France and Italy. 

Orange flower-water (distilled trom the above) ; distilled water ; Is- 
per lb. ; South of France and Italy. i 

Patchouly (Leaves of the Pogostemon patchouli ; powder and alco- 
holate ; 2s. per lb.: India and China. 

Patchouly (leaves of the Pogostemonjpatchouli); essential oil ; 4/. per 
tb. ; distilled in England and France from dried leaves. 

Peppermint (distilled from the leaves of the Mentha piperita); essen- 
tial oil ; 22. 10s. per lb. ; England. 

Peppermint (distilled from the leaves of the Mentha piperita); essen- 
tial oil ; 12s. per 1b.; United States. 

Petit grain—bigarrade—(distilled from the leaves of the Citrus biga- 
radia); essential oil ; 3J. per lb.; South of France. 

Petit grain—Portugal—(distilled from the leaves of the Citrus auran- 
tium); essential oil ; 2/. per lb. ; South of France. 

Rose (flower of the Rosa centifolia); dried flowers ; 5s. per ib.; South 
of France. 

Rose (obtained by maceration of the leaves of the Rosa centifolia) ; 
pomade and oil; 10s. per lb.; South of France and Italy. 

Rose (distilled from the flower of the Rosa centifolia); essential oil 
or otto ; 247. per lb.; Turkey. 

Rose (distilled from the flower of the Rosa centifolia); essential oil or 
otto; 401. per lb.; South of France. 

Rose (distilled from the flower of the Rosa centifolia); essential oil or 
otto ; 641. per lb. ; Tunis. 

Rose (distilled from the flower of the Rosa centifolia) ; essential oil 
or otto ; 1921. per lb. ; India. 

Rose-water (distilled from the flower of the Rosa centifolia) ; distilled 
water ; ls. per lb. ; South of France and Italy. 

Rosemary (distilled from the Rosmarinus officinalis) ; essential oil ; 
4s, per lb. ; South of France. 

Rosewood (distilled from the wood of the Lignum aspalathum) ; 
essential oil ; 3/. per Ib. ; distilled in France and Germany from foreign 
wood. 

Sandal-wood (wood of the Santalum citrinum) ; powder ; 1s. per lh. ; 
India, China, Indian Archipelago, and West Australia. 

Sandal-wood (distilled from the wood of the Santalum citrinum) ; 
essential oil ; 3/. per 1b. ; distilled in England and France from foreign wood. 

Sassafras (distilled from the Laurus sassafras) ; essential oil; 6s. per 
lb. ; United States. 


ON THE PERFUMERY TRADE. 173 


Serpolet (distilled from Thymus serpyllum); essential oil ; 8s. per 
ib. ; south of France. 

Spike (distilled from Lavaudula spica; essential oil; 4s. per lb ; 
south of France, 

Styrax (exudation of the Liquidambar styraciflua) ; Alcoholate ; 6s. 
per lb. ; Turkey. 

Thyme (distilled from the Thymus vulgaris); essential oil; 6s. per 
ib. ; South of France. 

Tonquin (beans of the Dipterix odorata) ; powder, expressed oil, 
and aleokolate ; 5s. per Ib ; South Americaand West Indies. 

Tuberose (obtained by absorption from the flower of the Polianthes 
tuberosa) ; pomade and oil; 10s. per 1b.; South of France and 
dtaly. 

Vanilla (pod of the Vanilla planifolia) ; powder and alcoholate ; 
81. per lb. ; Mexico. 

Verbena (distilled from the Aloysia citriodora) ; essential oil ; 5/. 
per lb.; Spain and Algeria. 

Violet (obtained by maceration from the flowers of the Viola 
erdorata) ; pomade and oil; 16s. per lb. ; South of France Italy, and 
Algeria. : 

Vitivert (Rhizoma of the Anatherum muricatum) ; powder and 
alcoholate; 2s. 6d. per 1b; India. 

Vitivert (distilled from Anatherum miuricatum) ; essential oil; 2/. 
per 1b. 

Winter-green (distilled from the Gaultheria procumbens) ; essential 
oil; 1/. 4s. per lb. ; United States, 

It will be seen from the preceding that some of those materials 
are used in their natural form, and others have to undergo some mode of 
preparation. There are four processes employed for extracting the aroma 
from fragrant substances : distillation, expression, maceration, and ab- 
sorption. Distillation is applied to all plants, barks, woods, and a few 
flowers, and is too well known to require any particular description. The 
fragrant substance is placed in a still containing water, which is evapor- 
ated by means of heat, condenses in the worm and issues from the tap 
strongly impregnated with the aroma, the more concentrated part of 
which collects either on the surface or at the bottom of the distillate 
according to its specific gravity, and forms the essential oil. The same 
water is generally distilled several times with fresh materials, and is 
sometimes of sufficient value to be kept, as is the case with rose and 
orange-flower water. 

Expression is confined to essential oils obtained from the rind of the 
fruits of the citrine series, comprising lemon, orange, bergamot, cedvate, 
and limette. In some parts they rub the fruit against a grated fumel, in 
others they press the rinds in cloth bags. 

Maceration and absorption are used for extracting, by means of fatty 
bodies, the aroma of flowers, and producing scented pomades and oils, 


174 ON THE PERFUMERY TRADE 


from which the fragrance can afterwards be transferred by infusion to 
an alcoholic basis. Maceration is employed for the less delicate flowers, 
such as the rose, cassie, orange flower, jonquil, and violet, which can bear 
a tolerable degree of heat without losing theirscent. A certain quantity 
of grease is placed in a pan fitted with a water bath, and brought to an 
oily consistency. Flowers are then thrown in and left to digest for some 
hours, after which they are removed, and others put in, and so on for 
two or three days, until the grease is quite saturated. It is then taken 
out and pressed in cloth bags. The process of absorption, called by the 
French enfleurage, is chiefly confined to the jasmine and tuberose flowers, 
but is sometimes applied to the cassie. It consists of a series of square 
glass frames, covered with a thin layer of purified grease, in which ridges 
are made, to facilitate absorption. Fresh gathered flowers are strewed on 
that layer, and renewed every morning as longasthe fiower is m bloom, 
and by that time the grease has acquired a very strong odour. The same 
process is used for oil; but the frames instead of a glass have a wire 
bottom, over whichis spread a thick cotton cloth soaked in olive oil. 
Flowers are laid on in the same way, and the cloths submitted toa strong 
pressure to extract the oil when sufficiently impregnated. The frames 
are piled up en each other to keep them air-tight. 

Grasse, Cannes, and Nice, all in the south of France, and close to 
each other, are the principal towns where the maceration and absorption 
processes are in use. There are about 100 houses engaged in those 
operations, and in the distillation of essential oils, giving employment 
during the flower season to at least 10,000 people. 

The following are approximate quantities and values of the flowers 
consumed in that locality for manufacturing purposes :— 


Worth about 


kilos. Ibs. £ 
Orange flowers . . . 800,000 or 1,760,000 32,000 
Rose flowers . . . . 250,000 ,, 550C,000 10,000 
Jasmine flowers . . . 50,000 ,, 110,000 6,000 
‘Vaolets 7, 70'S WS Soiono. "E6009 7,000 
Cassia “2S! 1 30,0007 "66,000 “101ons 
Mtberdse: aes age FADS ONO re 33,000 3,000 


The average quantities of the principal articles manufactured are :— 
Worth about 


kilos. ths. £ 
Seented pumades and oils . . . 300,000 or 660,000  — 250,000 
OSes warcce fhe ee 80,000 ,, 175,000 5,000 
Orange flower water, lst quality . 500,000 ,, 1,100,000 30,000 


Orange flower water, 2nd quality . 1,000,000 ,, 2,200,000 50,000 


This does not include essential oils, which are also distilled to a 
large amount. 


ON THE PERFUMERY TRADE. 175 

The manufacture of perfumes, cosmetics, and toilet soaps is carried on. 
in the principal cities of Europe, but especially in London and Paris, 
which may be called the head-quarters of perfumery, and whence those 
products are exported to all parts of the world. Perfumes comprise 
toilet waters and vinegars, and scents for the handkerchief, the whole 
composed with an alcoholic basis. The most universally known of 
toilet waters is eau-de-Cologne, so called because it was invented by an 
apothecary in that town, in the last century. It consists of a mixture of 
alcohol and various essential oils, mostly of the citrine family, such as 
bergamot, orange, lemon, neroli extracted from the flowers of the citrus 
Digarradia, and petit-grain obtained from the leaves of the same tree, 
thus forming a very harmonious compound. Lavender-water was for- 
merly distilled from the flowers with alcohol, but this process has been 
abandoned as too costly, and it is now simply a mixture of alcohol and 
essential oil of lavender, the best being made from English oil. Toilet 
vinegar contains somewhat the same ingredients as eau-de-Cologne, with 
the addition of a little acetic acid, which gives it greater pungency. 
Perfumes for the handkerchief are composed in various ways ; the best 
are made by treating with aleohol the pomades and oils obtained from 
flowers by maceration or absorption: this alcoholate possesses the true 
scent ef the flower, entirely free trom the empyreumatic smell inherent 
in all essential oils: as, however, there are but six or seven flowers 
which yield pomades or oils, the perfumer has to blend those together, 
and by studying affinities and resemblances to imitate all other flowers 
from which no extracts are made. Those artificial extracts, when suc- 
cessfully achieved, constitute the truly artistic part of perfumery. Com- 
mon perfumes are made simply by mixing alcohol with various essential 
oils and infusions, but they never possess the fine and delicate odour of 
the others. 

Cosmetics embrace pomatums, lotions, washes, and dentifrices, and 
other preparations for the toilet, which are, however, too numerous and 
too uninteresting to be described at full length. 

Toilet soaps being now in universal use have become one of the most 
important branches of the perfumer’s trade. There are four kinds of 
soaps made for toilet purposes: hard soap by the hot process, hard soap 
by the cold process, soft soap, and transparent soap. The first, which ts 
also called the large-boiler process, because it is gererally made in consi- 
derable quantities, consists in boiling grease or oil, and sometimes a 
small proportion of rosin, with an excess of soda-lees. The lees are 
drawn or pumped out when exhausted of their alkali, and fresh ones 
added until the whole mass becomes saponified. In foreign countries 
they perfume the soap thus made when poured into the frame where it 
is placed to cool; but in England it is customary to remelt it and per- 
fume it then, which no doubt improves the quality. The second way of 
manufacturing hard soap is by the cold process, which is also called the 
small-boiler process, it being necessary to make it in vessels of small 


176 ON tHE PERFUMERY TRADE, 


dimensions, for the facility of working. It consists in mixing fat liqui- 
fied to a milky consistency with a fixed dose of concentrated soda-lees, in 
the proportion of one-third of lees to two-thirds of fat. The mass is kept 
at a gentle heat, and constantly stirred for about two hours, and then 
poured into a frame, where the saponification becomes complete. 
Mutton suet or lard is generally used for this purpose; the latter pro- 
duces a soap of a finer grain. This process is not generally so much 
esteemed as the other ; but yet when the fat and lees are perfeetly pure, 
and the doses nicely calculated, it may produce as good a soap as the 
hot process, but it requires to be kept some little time to become per- 
fect. It offers a certain advantage to perfumers for producing a deli- 
cately scented soap, by enabling them to use as a basis instead of fat 
some pomade obtained from flowers, which could not be done with the 
other process, as the heat would destroy its flavour. Soft soap, known in 
the trade under the name of saponaceous cream, or cream of almonds, is 
also made by the cold process, and consists in a mixture of lard and a 
little cocoa-nut oil with potash-lees. Transparent soap is a combination 
of hard soda soap with alcohol. A soft transparent soap may also be 
made by substituting potash-soap for soda-soap. Soaps are usually per- 
fumed with essential oils of a cheap description, such as those distilled 
from aromatic plants or spices, to which are sometimes added balsams 
or tinctures. They are coloured in various ways to suit the tastes of the 
markets for which they are intended. The new mauve dyes have been 

_ tried with them, and found to succeed very well with the violet colour, 
but the pink is apt to fly. There are some soaps, however, in the Aus- 
trian department which have a rosy hue, apparently produced by one of 
those dyes. 

In former Exhibitions perfumery was classed in different ways, 
sometimes with miscellaneous articles, as in 1851, sometimes with che- 
mical products, as in 1855. It has obtained for the first time in the 
present Exhibition—thanks to the exertions of the London perfumers— 
the privilege of forming a separate sub-class ; a distinction it is entitled 
to, not only for the importance of its trade, but also on account of the 
nature of its manufacture, which is totally different from any other. 
There are 232 exhibitors of perfumery, of which 109 exhibit perfumery 
materials, and 123 manufactured perfumery and toilet soaps. 

UnitepD Kinepom.—The perfumery materials exhibited in this de- 
partment consist in essential oils, some distilled from indigenous plants, 
such as peppermint and lavender, and others from aromatic substances 
imported from abroad, such as almonds, cloves, &c. Several exhibitors 
also show specimens of artificial essences or ethers, comprising nitro- 
benzole, called by the French mirbane, made by treating rectified ben- 
zole, or rectified coal-tar naptha, with nitric acid; and alcoholic solutions 
of various ethers, known under the names of fruit essences, comprising 
essence of pear, which is an acetate of amyl; essence of apple, which isa 
valerianate of amyl; and essence of pine-apple, which is composed of 


ON THE PERFUMERY TRADE. 177 


butyric ether. The other fruit essences are simply combinations of the 
above, sometimes with the addition of vanilla or other flavouring ingre- 
dients. Nitro-benzole is used by perfumers to give to soap the scent of 
bitter almonds, which it closely resembles, but the others are principally 
used by confectioners, and seldom only by perfumers. 

The principal manufacturers of perfumery and toilet soaps reside in 
London, where they number about sixty, employing a large number of 
menand women ; for female labour has been introduced since the last 
fifteen 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 official returns published, the exports of perfumery for 
the year 1860, amounted to 86,464/., sub-dividea as will be seen in the 
following table; we must, however, say that very little reliance is to be 
placed on those figures, which do not represent perhaps one-fourth of the 
actual amount exported. Taking for instance the sum given for Aus- 
tralia at 10,145/., it appears ridiculously small; there are undoubtedly 
several manufacturers in London who each and individually ship per- 
fumery to at least that amount every year— 


EXPORTS OF PERFUMERY FROM THE UnitTED KINGDOM IN 1860. 


Countries to which Exported. Amounts declared. 
£ 
Russia - a - - - - 2,524 
Hamburgh_ - - - - - 3,522 
Holland - - - - ol Absiksts} 
Belgium - - - - - 1,539 
France - - - - - 2,018 
Egypt - - - - - - 2,050 
China - - - - - - 4,409 
United States - - - - 6,018 
Brazil - - - - - Ste meals) 
British Possessions in South Africa 4,272 
Mauritius - - - - - 1,552 
British India - - - - 20,861 
Australia - - - - - 10,415 
British North America - - 2,655 
British West Indies - - - 7,294 
Other countries = - - - - 13,831 
otal. = - - - 86,464 


This does not include soap, of which 195,183 cwt., valued at 249,538/. 
were exported in 1860; but as perfumed soaps were not particularised, 
these figures give us no information, 

The manufacture of perfumery for home consumption is no doubt 
very extensive, but it is very difficult to ascertain its actual importance ; 
for besides what is produced by the London perfumers, almost every 


178 ON THE PERFUMERY TRADE. 


perfumery vendor throughout the country has commenced of late years 
to make his own toilette articles. It is therefore impossible to form 
even an approximate idea of the quantity consumed in the United 
Kingdom. Arar k 

The British manufacturers of perfumery make a very creditable show 
which manifests great improvements in that trade since 1851. The 
removal of the excise restrictions on soap-making have no doubt ope- 
rated very favourably in allowing perfumers either to manufacture their 
own soap, or to have it made for them of the most suitable ingredients for 
toilet purposes. The greater part of the English scented soaps exhibited 
are made by the hot process from tallow or palm-oil and soda-lees. 
A small quantity of rosin and cocoa-nut oil is generally added. The 
former renders the soap softer and easier to work, increasing at the 
same time its detergent properties. The latter gives it a fine grain and 
improves the lather, but it must not exceed a proportion of five per 
cent. on the fat used, as otherwise its fetid smell would become per- 
ceptible. The most celebrated of English soaps is the Windsor soap, 
which is not only much used for home consumption, but also exported 
largely to all parts of the world. It was originally a white soap which 
turned slightly brown with age, but it is now coloured artificially with 
brown umber or burnt sugar. Honey soap is also made in considerable 
quantities. It is a tallow soap, containing about five per cent. of 
rosin, and is perfumed principally with oil of citronella. It is an ex- 
cellent toilet soap, but contains no honey. Several so-called glycerine 
soaps are also exhibited. Some made by the hot process, which evi- 
dently contain no glycerine (unless crushed in afterwards), as it is 
pumped out with the waste lees, others made by the cold process, 
which have retained all the glycerine of the fat, to which, in some 
cases, more has been added mechanically. 

Some very fine specimens of transparent soap are exhibited. A few 
best and expensive soaps are also shown, but they appear scarcely equal 
to the French ; a circumstance easily explained, as the market for them is 
exceedingly limited in the United Kingdom, and consequently but little 
inducement is offered to manufacturers. On the otherhand we must 
say that after carefully comparing the ordinary British toilet soaps 
with those of foreign soaps, they seemed to us to be decidedly superior 
toany others. The commonest of them afford a copious lather, and leave 
a clean pleasant smell to the hands, an advantage rarely to be found in 
any ordinary foreign soap. Their price is also proportionately cheaper, 
due regard being had to the quality ; and this arises from several causes 
—the facilities afforded by English markets for procuring the necessary 
ingredients on the best terms, various improvements effected in the manu- 
facture, but above all the great simplicity of the process used for reducing 
soap into saleable shapes ; for whilst abroad soaps are cut up, crushed 
pounded, made into balls, dried and then stamped, English soaps being 
generally of a softer consistency are simply cut up into suitable 


ON THE PERFUMERY TRADE. 179 


Squares, and stamped at once, which saves at least three-fourths of the 
labour used in foreign countries. 

The perfumes exhibited are mostly of good quality, the alcohol used 
for their basis being generally distilled from grain, and perfectly 
inodorous. It was formerly thought that spirits distilled from wine 
(usually called Montpellier spirits) were the best for perfumery purposes ; 
but the principal houses have now adopted grain spirits, as being the 
most neutral and free from that znanthetic flavour inherent to spirits 
of wine, which is liable to impair the fragrance of very delicate 
perfumes. Now even French perfumers are beginning to use English 
grain alcohol to make their best perfumes. 

The toilet preparations exhibited in the British department are mostly 
deficient in that outward attractive appearance which is the distinguish- 
ing feature in foreign preparations ; but this does not affect the quality, 
which is generally good. The principal novelties we noticed were the 
happy introduction of glycerine into some toilet articles, and a new 
method of fumigation by volatilizing fragrant molecules through a 
current of steam. 

India exhibits a very extensive and interesting collection of native 
fragrant herbs, waters, oils, and other materials adapted for perfumery 
purposes, the principal of which will be found in the following, 
together with such information respecting them, as we have been able 
to derive from the East India catalogue, and from our own observa- 
tions :— 

Roosa-grass, alias Ginger-grass, or Indian Geranium (Andropogon 
nardus) ; Jubbulpore ; grass and essential oil. 

Lemon-grass, alias Verbena (Andropogon scheenanthus) ; Chota Nag- 
pore ; essential oil. 

Citronella (Andropogon citratum) ; Madrasand Penang; essential oil. 

Vetivert (Anatherum muricatum, called, in Indian Catalogue, Andro- 
pogon muricatum) ; Khus-khus ; Lucknow and Cuttack ; Rhizome and 
essential oil. 

Pot-pourri (Mattaghussa) ; Calcutta; mixture of fragrant herbs. 

Gingelly, or Sesamum Oil (Sesamum Orientale) ; Teel ; Shahabad 
and other places ; oil used in India for perfumery. 

Pand (Michelia champaca); Champa-ka-utter, or Keenla-ka-utter ; 
Calcutta ; essential oil. 

Pandang (Pandanus odoratissimus) ; Kawra-ka-utter, or Keenla-ka- 
utter ; Calcutta and Lucknow ; essential oil. 

Artemisia indica’; Donna-ka-utter ; Calcutta; leaves and essential oil. 

Mesua ferrea ; Nagkusur-ka-utter ; Calcutta ; essential oil. 

Jasmin sp. (Jasminum hirsutum, or Sambac) ; Motia-ka, or Bella-ka- 
utter ; Caleutta.and Lucknow ; essential oil. 

Patchouli (Pogostemon patchouli): Puchaput-ka-utter ; Calcutta ; 
leaves and essential oil. 

Phoenix dactylifera ; Kurna-ka-utter ; Calcutta ; essential oil. 


180 ON THE PERFUMERY TRADE. 


Jasmin sp. (Jasminum grandiflorum) ; Tore-ka-utter, or Chamelé- 
ka-utter ; Calcutta and Lucknow ; essential oil. : 

~Minusops elengi (Bookool-ka-utter) ; Calcutta ; essential oil. 

Sohag-ka-utter ; Calcutta and Moulmein ; essential oil. 

Bahar-ka-utter ; Calcutta ; essential oil. 

Henna (Lawsonia inermis ; Hina, or Mehndee-ka-utter ; Lucknow ; 
essential oil. 

Damask Rose (Rosa damascena) ; Golab-ka-utter ; Lucknow and 
Ulwar ; otto and water. ; 

Spikenard (Nardostachus natamansis) ; Buttsi, or Jatamangsi ; Hills 
and Nepaul ; root. 

Wild Lavender (Lavandula stacha) ; Yertakhudus ; Kashmeer ; leaves. 

Carraway (Carum nigrum) ; Zera ; Kashmere ; seed. 

Sweet Flag (Calamus aromaticus) ; Bach ; Kangra ; canes. 

Musk-seed (Hibiscus moschatus, or abelmoschus) ; Kala Kustooree ; 
Calcutta ; seed. 

Ocymum basilicum ; Babooi Toolsi ; Calcutta; leaves. 

Cyperas rotundus ; nagor mootha ; Calcutta ; tubers used as scent. 

Cassia (Laurus cassia) ; Calcutta ; bark. 

Cinnamon (Laurus cinnamomum); Kabab; Calcutta; bark. 

Fenugzeek (Trigonella fenum grecum); Mathie; Cuttach; seed. 

Aniseed (Pimpinella anisum) ; Pan Mohoree; Cuttach ; seed. 

Sandalwood (Santalum citrinum); Canara; essential oil and wood. 

Kohl (Trisulphuret of antimony); Soorma; Kandahar; used for 
darkening the eyebrows. 

Besides the above, Bombay sends seventeen specimens of essential 
oils, but although under different names, they seem to be of the same 
kinds as those sent from Calcutta and Lucknow. We expected to find 
a lage display in Ceylon, as it is from that island that we derive the great 
bulk of the Indian essential oils consumed in this market ; but nearly all 
the samples collected were unfortunately lost on their way to London, so 
that the list of exhibitors is reduced to two, who make but a meagre show 
ot indifferent products. 

Eight only out of the materials contained in the above statement are 
regular articles of commerce—viz., cassia, cinnamon, lemon-grass, ginger 
grass, citronella,patchouli,vitevert,andsandal wood. The first five are usually 
sent from India in the shape of essentials oils, but the other three are mostly 
imported in the natural state, and distilled in this country. The remainder 
of the materials enumerated are very little known in Europe, but would 
no doubt find a ready market if they could be produced in sufficient 
quantities and at reasonable prices. They would indeed be very accept- 
able to our perfumers, who are constantly in quest of novelties; but in 
order to make them saleable, they would have to be manufactured in a 
different way, for they are now more or less impregnated with a nauseous 
flavour of sandal-wood, which arises from the natives being accustomed to 
place sandal-wood shavings in the still with the flowers. This facilitates 


ON THE PERFUMERY TRADE. 181 


the operation and increases the distillate, but sadly at the expense of 
quality. This evil could, however, be easily obviated. Gingelly, or 
sesamum oil, is largely used by Indian perfumers for drawing the per- 
fumes of flowers, and for making hair oils; but the specimens shown 
have a rank flavour which would unfit them for such purposes in 
Kurope. 

‘The whole of this collection reflects great credit on the various official 
and private individuals engaged in the task. 

The colony of Victoria shows some very interesting specimens of new 
essential oils distilled by two Melbourne chemists under the superintend- 
ence of Dr. Mueller, the able director of the Botanical Gardens. These 
oils are principally extracted from the leaves of the trees of the 
Eucalyptus family which abound in Australia, and from a variety of native 
plants, including some of the mint tribe. Although they are represented 
as intended to be used for dissolving resins and making varnishes, it 
appeared to us that some of them possessed a sufficiently grateful frag- 
rance to render them available for perfumery purposes. If such be the 
case, it will prove a great boon to perfumers, on account of their abund- 
ance and cheapness, for in the course of time the supply can be un- 
limited ; and the price quoted for some of them now—viz., six shillings 
per gallon, is about one-fourth of the cost of the commonest essential oil 
used for scenting soap. Among the numerous specimens shown, the 
following seemed the most fragrant :—the Eucalyptus amygdalina (‘Tas- 
manian peppermint), the Eucalyptus odorata (peppermint tree), the 
Eucalyptus globulus (blue-gum), the Atherosperma moschatum, the 
Melaleuca ericifolia and the Ariostemos squameus. We tried an experi- 
ment with the essential oil of Eucalyptus amygdalina, which has a strange 
flavour, partaking at the same time of nutmegs and peppermint, and we 
obtained the following results :— 

Three ounces of the oil were sufficient to scent very strongly eight 
pounds of soap, at a cost of about one farthing per pound. ‘The per- 
fume produced by this oil alone would, however, be considered by some 
more peculiar than agreeable, and we obtained a much better result by 
combining it in a second experiment with oils of cassia, cloves, and 
lavender, which mixture yielded a very pleasant fragrance. We have, 
therefore, every reason to think that soap-makers would find great ad- 
vantage in using those new essential oils, and especially that of the 
eucalyptus amygdalina, which is yielded most abundantly by that tree, 
three pounds of oil being the result of the distillation of a hundred 
pounds of leaves. The specimens of essential oil of peppermint (Mentha 
Australis) is very fair, and could find a market in Europe provided it can 
compete with others for price. We were shown besides a sample of emu 
fat, a grease of very fine grain, which could be adapted to perfumery 
purposes, if procurable in quantities worth exporting. 

From New South Wales we have a small but interesting collection of 
essential oils, comprising that of orange and orange flowers, made from 


182 ON THE PERFUMERY TRADE. 


the fruits and flowers of the edible orange-treee (Citrus aurantium), not 
equal, however, to those made from the bitter orange-tyee (Citrus 
bigarradia), and that of Eucalyptus citirodora, which bears a strong resem- 
blance to the citronella grown in the East and West Indies, and might be 
used as a substitute. A very fine grease taken from the alpaca is also 
exhibited, and may become a useful article to perfumers when the 
herd of those animals reaches the proportions it is expected to attain. - 

Queensland sends us a very good toilet soap made from the oil of the 
dugong, a fish said to abound on the Australian coast, and a very pretty 
casket made from myall-wood (Acacia pendula), which has an intense 
and delightful smell of violets. This tree is very plentiful in all parts of 
Australia; and when the remarkable property it possesses becomes 
known to European manufacturers, the wood will no doubt be in great re- 
quest for making glove, handkerchief, and other fancy boxes, for as long 
as it remains unpolished, it preserves this remarkable fragrance of violets, 
which does not occur with such perfection in any other known sub- 
stance, 

In Tasmania we find the tonga-bean wood (Alyzia buaifolia), which 
has an odour similar to that of the tonquin-bean, and the muskwood, 
which might be perhaps applied to perfumery purposes; the silver wattle 
(Acacia dealbata) is also very common in this island, and the colonists 
may one day turn their attention to gather the flowers, which much re- 
semble in fragrance those of the cassie (Acacia farnesiana), so useful to 
perfumers. The eucalyptus amygdalian and other fragrant species like- 
wise abound in Tasmania. 

The other British colonies exhibit but few objects worthy of notice. 
Jamaica sends a few specimens of oil of ben (Moringa pterygosperma), 
which was in great request with perfumers some time since, but for which 
there seems to be no demand at present, although it is less lable to 
become rancid than any other oil. Mauritius has two exhibitors of 
vanilla, but we could not obtain a near inspection of it, the case being 
kept locked. Canada sends some indifferent perfumery, and Natala 
little soap, chiefly made from cocoa-nut oil. The Jonian Islands, which 
we include in the British colonies, contribute a very fine specimen of 
otto of roses made in Corfu, which appeared to be the purest in the 
Exhibition. 

Belgium exhibits principally toilet soaps, im which branch of manufac- 
ture it seems to have made great progress since the last Exhibition. These 
soaps are made by the hot process, and are very similar to those of the 
French makers. The excess of cocoa-nut oil which was at one time their 
great fault, has been judiciously suppressed, and the quality is now very 
creditable. Some good specimens of transparent soaps are also shown. 
The alcoholic perfumes exhibited are not equal to the English or 
French. 

Brazil shows an interesting collection of fragrant substances, availasle 
for perfumery purposes some of which are already in use, though not 


ON THE PEREFUMERY TRADE, 183 


generally imported from Brazil, such as tonquin-beans, cloves, vetivert, 
gum benzoin, &c. ; and others are not known in this country, comprising 
camara and jerporta beans (a smaller variety of the tonquin), a sort of 
pimento, and a wild lavender resembling the rosmarinho (Lavendula stacha) 
found in Spanish and Portuguese Estremadura. 

France.—Perfumery materials are exhibited by Grasse and Cannes, 
and comprise pomades ahd oils obtained by maceration or absortion, and 
essential oils distilled from various indigenous plants and flowers. They 
contain nothing particularly novel. An extract said to be made from the 
flowers of the cotton-tree was found on examination to be a combination. 
A crystallised oil of patchouli is exhibited, but we could find no special 
merit in it, as it does not appear stronger or purer than the usual sort. 
One house sends its essential oils in glass bottles cased in tin, a very 
appropriate sort of packing, asit excludes light, which impairs the quality 
of many oils, and at the same time prevents breakage. Nice does not 
exhibit any products in this department, which is to be regretted, as it 
possesses peculiar advantages over other localities, especially for violet 
preparations, of which there is a large consumption. 

The French perfumery trade has increased considerably within ihe 
last thirty or forty years. The average of— 


Exports for ten years from 1827 to 1836 was 6,000,000 f. 


ne : 1837 to 1846 ,,  8,000,000F, 
is Ps 1847 to 1856 ,, 10,000,000F 
The exports in 1858 were 12,000,000 f. 

Me » 1860 ,, $1,000,000 Ff 


The quantities and values of perfumery exported to each different 
country will be found in the following table :— 


EXports OF PERFUMERY FROM FRANCE IN THE YEAR 1860. 


Countries to which Exported. Quantity in kilos.| Value in franes. 
United Kingdom . 3 : : 310,033 2,170,231 
Russia . ; ; : 6 ; 37,769 331,373 
Zollverein : ; 5 ; : 75,047 525,329 
Belgium : ; : 5 5 251,326 1,759,282 
Hanse Towns 3 : : : 11,376 70,980 
Portugal : : j : : 21,650 151,550 
Spar! ©. : " 0 B : 135,705 949,935 
Two Sicilies . : ; : : 10,353 72,471 
Sardinian States . : é ; 70,483 493,381 
Tuscany 5 . ‘ 5 5 13,095 91,661. 
Switzerland . ; : 4 : 45,813 320,691 
Greece . : : : 5 ests 18,305 128,135 
Turkey . : é ; ; : 129,476 906,332 
Algeria . 2 2 : ; ‘ 90,850 -635,950 
Baya apt cc ith doko 30,816 215,712 
Tunis and Tripoli . : : ; 10,534 73,738 
Western Africa . : : : 3,042 21,294 


Cape and Mauritius : i , 64,096 448,672 


184 ON THE PERFUMERY TRADE. 


Exports OF PERFUMERY FROM FRANCE IN 1860.—(Continued.) 


Countries to which Exported. |Quantityin kilos.| Value in franes. 


British India 2 : 5 40,872 286,104 
Dutch possessions in India : F 9,502 66,514 
China, Cochin China, and Siam . 6,938 48,566 
Polynesia é é 2,248 15,736 
United States of America. ; 216,770 1,517,390 
Mexico. : é : : ‘ 28,313 198,191 
New Grenada : : ; : 25,371 177,597 
Venezuela. : , : ; 23,051 161,357 
Brazil . ; : : : : 187,717 _ 1,314,019 
Uruguay . j : : - 110,670 774,690 
River Plate . : ; : : 212,542 1,487,794 
Guatemala . : é : ; 6,026 42,112 
Ecuador ‘ ; ; 5 5 3,171 22,197 
Peru and Bolivia . . : : 119,181 834,267 
Chile”: , : : : : 96,758 677,306 
Hayti . : : 52,712 _ 368,984 
Spanish possessions in America ‘ 298,097 2,086,679 
British and Dutch ditto 3 . 7,613 53,291 
Danish ditto . : : 87,400 611,800 
French West India possessions : 78,581 410,071 
French East India ditto ; ; 30,789 215,523 
Other countries . 5 : . 89,241 624,687 
Hiotale te POURE ane 3,063,332 31,361,592 


It will be seen from the preceding table that the principal exports of 
French perfumery are made to other parts of Europe, and to North and 
South America, whilst English perfumery is chiefly sent to India, Aus- 
tralia, and other British colonies. The amount sent from France to the 
United Kingdom consists principally of perfumery materials, manu- 
factured perfumery forming but a small proportion of it. The imports of 
perfumery from foreign countries into France during the same year 
amounted in weight to 29,792 kilogrammes, and in value to 166,3791. 

Paris is the great centre of the manufacture of perfumery, and forms 
an important item of what are called ‘articles de Paris.” There are in 
that capital 120 working perfumers, employing about 3000 men and 
women, and their united returns may be estimated at not less than forty 
millions of franes yearly. 

The Parisian perfumers have turned to the best account the limited 
space assigned to them in the Exhibition ; and their articles are mostly 
of gvod quality and elegantly got up. Their ordinary soaps are not 
equal to the English, but their fine soaps are decidedly superior; the 
large cousumption they have for them making it worth their while to pay 
particular attention to that branch of their trade. Their alcoholic per- 
fumes and toilet preparations are very fair, but, with the exception of a 
few of the latter containing glycerine, and of the substitution of paraffine 


ON THE PERFUMERY TRADE. 185 


to wax in some instances, offer but little novelty. A most interesting 
exhibition, however, is that of M. Piver, who shows perfumes obtained by 
two new processes. ‘The first, invented by M. Millon, a French chemist, 
consists in placing flowers 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 aroma of the flowers. It is afterwards 
distilled to dryness, and the result obtained is a solid waxy mass, possess- 
ing the scent of the flower in its purest and most concentrated form. ‘The 
other process, which is the invention of M. Piver, consists in placing in a 
pneumatic apparatus layers of flowers on perforated plates alternately with 
layers of grease, and causing a current of air to pass through several times 
until the scent of the flowers becomes fixed inte the grease. These two 
processes have not been used hitherto to any extent; but they are no 
doubt both susceptible of commercial application, if not found too expen- 
sive to work. M. Piver also exhibits drawings of the various mechanical 
appliances used to simplify labour at his divers manufactories. They com- 
prise improvements in soap-boilers, lye-tubs, soap-cutting, planing, 
erushing, and stamping machines, agitators, macerating pans, &c., which 
are all very ingenious. 

The French colonies only send perfumery materials ; and among them 
stands pre-eminent Algeria, which bids fair to become soon one of the 
most important marts for that kind of products. ‘The Algerian soil and 
climate are particularly favourable to most of the flowers grown for per- 
fumery purposes, such as the rose, jasmine, orange, cassia (Acacia far- 
nesiana), tuberose, jonguil, geranium, &c., and they are now cultivated on 
a large scale in the vicinity of Algiers,—at Blidah, Oran, Chéragas, 
Rovigo, Bone, Philippeville, and other localities. Besides the above, 
some of the indigenous flowers might be turned to good account, and 
among others the nessri, or musk white rose, which has a beautiful fra- 
grance, and grows wild in great abundance. The specimens sent by 
Algerian distillers are not so complete and numerous as we could have 
wished; nevertheless they comprise a fair assortment of perfumed waters 
and oils. Among the former we noticed one distilled from the verbena 
plant (Aloysia citriodora), which is a novelty. 

The island of Réunion has a magnificent display of vanilla, contributed 
by no less than thirteen different exhibitors. This cultivation, which 
was originally carried on exclusively in Mexico, has been introduced 
lately into Réunion by M. de Floris, and has already acquired a wonder- 

ful extension, the annual production, which in 1849 was only three 
kilogrammes, having reached, in 1860, 6097 kilogrammes. This has 
naturally brought down the market price of the article, and will tend to 
popularise this really excellent aromatic, which is no less gratetul as a 
condiment than as a perfume. The vanilla shown in this department has 
all the characteristics of the best Mexican species ; it is long, moist, well 

VOL, III. P 


186 : ON THE PERFUMERY TRADE. 


crystallised, and very fragrant. Réunion exhibits also eassia, cloves, nut- 
megs, and citronella. 

The French West India colonies send specimens of vanilloes (Vanilla 
pompona), a sort of wild vanilla, and various spices. We have also to 
Notice a very fine specimen of sandal-wood (Santelum Austro-caledoniseum), 
and one of Ocotee aromatica, a bark possessing a strong sassafras flavour, 
both from New Caledonia ; a very fair sampte of vanilla from Tahiti, the 
first grown in that island, and a fragrant bark from Cochtn China, ealled 
Alyzia eromatice. 

The specimens sent by the French colonies are altogether very in- 
teresting and extremely well arranged. 

Austria makes a fair display of toilet soaps, the colours of which are 
very good, but they generally contain too large a proportion of cocoa-nut 
oil, a fault common to all German soaps. Cocoa-nut is largely used by 
German soap-makers, because it improves the appearance and the lather, 
and takes up more alkali than any other fatty substance, thereby dimi- 
nishing considerably the cost price of soap; but it has the serious ineon- 
venience of leaving a persistent fetid smell to the skin after washing with 
it. Some Austrian manufacturers exhibit various combinations of 
glycerine with soap and other toilet preparations. One of them shows a 
very good sample of transparent soap, said to contain twenty-four per 
cent. of glycerine, and a liquid soap with forty per cent. of it. The 
alcoholic perfumes exhibited in the Austrian department are generally 
inferior. 

The Zollverein has a large number of exhibitors of perfumery, but 
few that call for any particular notice. There are no less than twelve 
manufacturers of eau-de-Cologne, seven of whom exhibit under the name 
of Farina, although it is asserted that there is but one house (that opposite 
the Jiilichs Platz), who can lay real claim to the name. 

The toilet soaps exhibited are extremely varied in colours and shapes 
(some of the latter indeed being more fanciful than delicate), but they 
are all spoiled by an excess of cocoa-nut oil, which can be easily tested 
by applying the tongue to the soap, or by rubbing it briskly in the palm 
of the hand. It is to be hoped that the Germans will turn their attention 
to this very serious defect in their soaps, and will endeavour to render 
them more fit to be used by people of refined tastes. Even as regards 
price, there is no real advantage gained by employing cocoa-nut oil, for 
if it takes up more alkali, it naturally follows that the soap made with 
it wastes away faster than any other, so that its apparent cheapness is a 
deception. 

The alcoholic perfumes and toilet preparations exhibited in the Zoll- 
verein, with the exception of eau-de-Cologne, are not equal in quality to 
those of French or English makers. They have also the great fault of 
being most servile imitations of the Paris and London articles. 

Jtaly sends a good collection of essential oils, mostly of the citrine 


ON THE PERFUMERY TRADE. 187 


series, comprising bergamot, crange, lemon, and cedrate, some obtained 
by expression, and others by distillation, ‘The latter process yields a 
larger quantity of oil, but of an inferior quality. Some pretty fair toilet 
seaps, chiefly made with an olive-cil basis, are also exhibited. 

The collection of essential cils from Portugalis very meagre, yet that 
country is admirably situated to grow all flowers used for perfumery. It 
is to be hoped that this branch of manufacture will be improved and ex- 
tended, which could be easily accomplished with a little spirit of enter- 
prise and perseverance. The soaps exhibited are made with olive-oil, and 
are mostly of middling quality, a circumstance to be attributed to this 
manufacture having been until very recently a government monopoly, 
which precluded all private effurts and improvements. 

Five Russian exhibitors have sent perfumery and teilet soaps. One 
et them shows a series of soaps and toilet preparations, said te be made 
with the oil extracted from yolk of egg. It appears that the same house 
manufactures albumen from white of eggs, and have a quantity of yolks 
left, which they have thus tried to turn to account. 

Spain.—M. Robillard, the director of the botanical gardens ag 
Valencia, sends some very excellent specimens of essential oils, distilled 
from plantations which he has created, and is constantly extending, in 
the fertile ‘‘ Huerta de Valencia.” Tis essence of geranium (Pelargonium 
odoratissimum) was found superior to any other in the Exhibition, having 
a sweeter and more rosy fragrance. ‘This oil is much used by perfumers 
for producing, combined with other oils, the perfume of rose in soaps and 
other articles where price is an object, its cost being about one-tenth of 
that of otto of roses. Other specimens exhibited by M. Robillard, com- 
prising verbena (Aloysia citriedora), artemisia, albahaca, lavender, 
malva poma, schinas, rosemary, neroly, &c., are also very interesting, and 
might come into general use if produced in sufficient quantities, and at 
reasonable prices. An essential oil of lemon is sent from Malaga, but it 
is obiained by distillation, and is of inferior quality. 

Sweden has made a good display of perfumery and scented soaps, 
which is very creditable, considering that this manufacture is yet in its 
infancy in that country. We would, however, recommend to the toilet- 
soap makers to avoid in future the excess of cocoa-nut oil, a fault which 
they share with the Germans. 

There are several very interesting collections of fragrant oils and waters 
exhibited from Turkey ; some from the main-land and others from the 
Archipelago. They comprise the far-famed otto of roses, which is princi- 
pally distilled m the neighbourhood of Adrianople, rose and orange- 
flower water, essence of geranium, orange flower (neroli), peppermint, 
sage, sandalwood, laurel, rosemary, aloes, bergamot, and last, not least, 
the celebrated balsam of Mecca, of which the quantity gathered is now 
so small that it is reserved for the special use of the Sultan. Some of 
these products are of good quality, but many appear adulterated, or im- 


‘ 


188 | ON THE SILKS OF JAPAN. 


perfectly made. There is no doubt that great improvements might be 
effected in their manufacture, and render them an important and lucra- 
tive article of export. 
We also noticed some specimens of the Turkish pastilles called kours, 
which are round, flat, gilt discs, used in the harem for sweet fumigations, 
or by smokers to increase the aroma of the tobacco. Chaplets and brace- 
"Jets made of scented paste, kohl for darkening the eyelids, and various 
other cosmetics used by Turkish ladies, are likewise exhibited. All these 
preparations are of a very primitive form, and exhale a strong odour of 
musk, ambergris, and sandalwood, which appear to be the prevalent per- 
fumes in the East, but are generally considered too strong and oppressive 
for European nerves. 

In 1851 the United States sent nine exhibitors of perfumery, which 
number has dwindled down to two in the present Exhibition—a fact 
easily explained by the present disturbed state of that country. These 
two show essential oils of American production, comprising peppermint, 
spearmint, sassafras, and winter-green. The first is not equal in quality 
to the English oil, but sells at about one quarter of the price; the other 
three are largely used by perfumers for scenting common soaps. 


ON THE SILKS OF JAPAN. 
BY COMMODORE LORD JOHN HAY, C.B. 


The collection shown in the International Exhibition, containing spe- 
cimens of every description of silk that can be obtained in Japan, was 
made up by H.M. Consul at Kanagawa (Captain H. Vyse) and myself. 
We were assisted by that well-known and very greatly respected gentle- 
man Monsr. Jaquemont, of Yokohama, who has been for some time past 
engaged in the silk trade with Japan, where his industry, intelligence, 
and probity in all his dealings are thoroughly appreciated. On reference 
to the appended table it will be seen that of the great varieties of silk in 
Japan the larger proportion have never been permitted to reach the 
European market ; and any one conyersant with the subject will observe, 
in a glance at the specimens, that five or six of the best qualities of silk 
have never before appeared in England. This restriction upon the ex- 
port of the better qualities of the raw silk, no doubt arises from the 
action of the Government of Japan, always most jealous of Foreigners 
and of any increase to the Foreign trade : but it is gratifying to find that 
the supply of these better qualities, although at present limited, could, 
under more liberal government in trade, be indefinitely increased. 


ON THE SILKS OF JAPAN. 189 


Captain Howard Vyse observes, in reference to the silk trade, that 
“twenty-one provinces produce silk ; they are designated in the annexed 
table, which shows at the same time their approximate production. 
Eight or ten other provinces might be added, but their production is of 
too little importance to be noted. 

‘“‘If we compare this table with the geographical map of the country, it 
will be perceived that all the provinces between the east and north pro- 
duce silk. 

“Aussion and Montsen alone represent 45,000 bales, about 22,500 
piculs of annual production. In comparing the total production of Japan 
(which is about 67,500 piculs) with the principal silk countries of Europe, 
before the malady among the silk-worms broke out, we find, according to 
documents in our possession, that the production of France was 2,000,000 
kilogrammes, of Italy 4,000,000 kilogrammes, of Spain 300,000 that is to 
say, that Japan produces as much as Italy and Spain put together, 
(4,300,000 kilogrammes) and as much again as France. 

‘*‘ The export for the season 1861 and 1862 will not exceed, it appears, 
8,000 piculs, but there is a promise of a great extension when affairs in 
Kurope return to their normal state, when the Daimios no longer oppose 
the best kind of silk being exported, and especially if in exchange for the 
Port of Neeagata (which, situated in the centre of the silk provinces, the 
province of Itchingo, was not opened to Europeans in 1860, as being 
inaccessible to large ships) other ports be opened in the same district.” 

I trust that the agreeable appreciation that this collection has met 
with ever since its first exhibition in England, will encourage others to 
redouble their efforts in obtaining information such as may lead to the 
development of the resources of the wealthy, but as yet, little known 
empire of Japan. It is admitted in Japan, that the country is capable of 
producing an indefinite quantity of these superior qualities, but that the 
cultivation restrained by law, and that the higher qualities are absorbed 
by certain classes for their use alone. We are in prosecuting these in- 
quiries, greatly indebted to Her Majesty’s Consul at Kanagawa, in Japan, 
Captain Howard Vyse, whose energetic and determined efforts in the 
course of trade will be more fully appreciated when these present 
obstacles that exist are at last swept away. 

Since the opening of the ports of Japan, a large quantity of silk has 
been received from them. At first it realised from 15/. to 301. The 
quality has not been found equal to the exportations formed at its early 
jntroduction, and like Chinese silk, its character has deteriorated ; it is 
now inferior in quality, and much more mixed. The total imports have 
In the last three years been 17,295 bales, of about 103 lbs. nett, of which 
14,709 bales were taken by manufacturers. In the Japanese collection 
of Sir Rutherford Alcock, there are samples of manufactured silks and 
crape scarfs of peculiar fabric, printing of silk and pieces of embroidered 
tapestry. 


190 


ON THE SILKS OF JAPAN.- 


APPROXIMATE PRODUCTION OF SILK IN JAPAN. 
ca EE a 


Classifi- Q e Approxi- 
’ Provinces. | cation Jaca, oi mate pro- Remarks, 
Japanese. : duction. 
Bales. 
(fal lidaeeee 
eae, | 2 Ohonida ? Half of this Production 
Sinchion .. |{3 Jakato : | 20,000 is sent to the Miako 
| 4 Matsemoto . . | Market. 
U5 Senhoux J 
il Maibassi 
Djossion . . 2 Annaka. . 5,000 ae ik degen Soe sold 
3/4 Issezaki. . Samet 
1 Kinhassan . 
i 9 Roukouasiners The 3/4 of which is sent 
Aussion 45,000 Miako, the remain- 
2/4 Amatsenki . Z deriioikene 
3/4 Ahiaze .. ah diss 
: 1 Gondjio Sodai . e 3/4 has been sent 
MAG iet 21: 13/8 Massida . a 1B,000 to Miako. 
Etssion. .. [atsenho 5,000 | Almostall goesto Miako 
Dahissiodgi . ; 
Karica® Giass|) al res ii 5,000 | All sent to Miako. 


Tanbayesn 

Tanvoy ieee Santan .... 6,000 are to Osaka and 

Tadzma. . ..-. i 

Deya.... 6. WAtkaibar cies onine 6,000 | The 3/4 is sent to Miako 

Itchizein. . (Unknown) 3,000 The 1/4 issent to Miako 

Itchingo .. (Do.) 3,000 A lmostallsealea aks 
; Kofon.. he greatest part is sold 

Kossion Dza hibossi . B,On0 { at Kansas 


Boussien . . 


Wrmore br 


Tsitsibon' <<. 2,000 


Atzodgi... : 
Kaya nghoe. . 


Ditto 
A part of this Silk is 


Tchikondzein ( 

Chingo... ] | sent to Nagasaki, the 
Tehikungo . (Unknown.) 10,000 |4 remainder is used at 
Chizein... [ | the place, or sent to 
Oseumi... , lL. Miako. 

Notorsye (Unknown.) 2,000 | All sent to Miako. 

S) AL ES Ney 3 Tate a 10,000 | The ? sent to Miako. 


135,000 Bales. 67,500 Piculs. 

Messrs. Remi, Schmidt, and Co., show an interesting collection of the 
silks and cocoons of Japan, especially reticulated cocoons, which appears 
to be undescribed, and the large wild green cocoons of the Bombyx Yami- 
mai, the caterpillars, moth, and cocoon of which have been figured and 
described by M. Guerin de Menville, in the Revue et Magazine de 
Zoologié of Paris, for 1861. The value of the raw silk imported into this 
country from Japan in 1860, was 90,115/., and the value of that received 
in 1861, was larger, notwithstanding the decline in price —EDITor. 


191 


MANUFACTURE OF MENHADEN OIL. 


In our bay (the Peconic) there are no less than six manufactories con- 
suming, in the aggregate, about 2,000,000 fish weekly. The fish are 
chiefly caught in Gardiner’s bay, where they abound in great quantities. 
They are taken chiefly in what we call purse seines, and can be caught 
in any depth of water. The fish are bought for 1 dollar per thousand. 
These seines some days catch 150,000 each, which, you see, makes a paying 
business of it. The manufactories are nearly all on different plans. 
Some use large tanks, in which the fish are placed, and into which 
steam is forced. A portion of the oil is extracted coming on the surface 
of the water, and is skimmed off; the water is then drained off, and 
the refuse is pressed by hydraulic presses or powerful levers. In 
another way of working used by one manufactory, the fish are placed 
in a large iron cylinder, similar to a boiler, and steam is let in at a 
given pressure while the cylinder is made to rotate by a steam-engine.- 
The fish are steamed from 12 to 15 minutes, then turned out, and sub- 
jected to hydraulic pressure, which, of course, extracts oil and water 
together. This runs through pipes into tanks, where the oil rises to the 
top, and is taken off. There is a patent for this cylinder style, as it is 
called. The fish, after having being pressed, are dried on large plat- 
forms (some of them covering half an acre of ground), and after being 
thoroughly dried, the mass is ground down to what is called fish guano, 
ranging in price from 25 to 35 dollars per ton, and is considered an ex- 
cellent fertiliser. These manufactories employ from 15 to 60 men each, 
and consume an enormous quantity of fish. That it is a paying business 
I have no doubt, considering the amount vested in it, which is consider- 
able, the manufactories costing from 10,000 to 60,000 dollars each. 


Greenport, Long Island. _ Watte Hitz. 


Srivutific Mates. 


THe ProposED New SuBstitutE For Corron.—The grass-wrack 
(Zostera marina) for the manufacture of paper, was patented by Lucius 
Henry Spooner, in 1855; it is also much used for packing, and for 
stuffing common beds and pillows. Although apparently flaccid and 
tender, it is employed in some parts of Sweden for thatching, and is 
found to be very durable ; another species (Zostera oceanica) has leaves 
a foot long and an inch broad, this is even more valuable as a material 
for thatching than Zostera marina, it also furnishes the rush-like sub- 
stance used as a covering for Italian liquor-flasks. 

The fibre of Zostera bleaches well, indeed, endogenous fibres are for 
the most part of a beautiful white colour, as seen in the fibre of the pine- 
apple, the agave, the manilla, &. The separation of the fibre of the 
grass-wrack and of all endogens is also more easy and economical than 


192 SCIENTIFIC NOTES. 


that of exogens, because in the former the veins are parallel, and not 
reticulated, as in the latter ; therefore, in order to separate the fibres it 
is simply necessary to pass them between rollers. It is stated, however, 
that the per-centage of clean fibre yielded by the grass-wrack is very 
small—scarcely more than a few pounds to the ton, and if such should 
prove to be the case, however cheaply the material may be separated, in 
a commercial point of view the operation can scarcely be remunerative. 
But should such even prove to be the case, the question of the strength 
of the fibre and its adaptation for dyeing and printing yet remain to be 
tried before we can reckon much upon its adoption as a substitute for 
cotton. 

It may be well to bear in mind that the structure of cotton differs 
entirely from that of the fibre of the grass-wrack and of all other woody 
fibres. The structure of cotton is identical with that of the hairs found 
upon various parts of plants, yet even the silk cottons which resemble 
cotton in this respect have hitherto proved of no commercial importance, 
although the material is abundant and cheap. The silky down of the 
Bombax is spun in Africa, and stockings made from it were exhibited 
at a recent fair held in Liberia. In Zanzibar this substance is a favourite 
substitute for cotton, and costs about half the price. The down from 
various species of Bombax and other plants has also been spun and 
woven in the East Indies, in several parts of America, and in some other 
places, but the shortness of the stapleand its elasticity prevent its being 
spun by the machinery in use in this country. 

The grass-wracks are marine plants and very abundant—the scientific 
name (Zostera) has reference to the girdle-like appearance of the long 
linear foliage. This order of plants is very interesting, as affording the 
stepping-stone between the flowering and the flowerless plants, yet even 
to eyes little practised in such matters the superiority of Zostera in point 
of organisation to the common sea-weeds of our coast has been suffi- 
ciently apparent to give rise to a popular myth mentioned by the late 
Hugh Miller. Directly opposite the town of Cromarty are a series of 
sand-banks partially uncovered at spring tides, and green with Zostera 
marina ; these are pointed out as the meadows of the old town which 
was swept away by the encroachments of the sea some two or three 
hundred years ago. The fishermen of the neighbourhood affirm that 
these sand-banks are still covered with what were the luxuriant terrestrial 
grasses of ancient Cromarty—that they are in fact essentially the same, 
only they have made a virtue of necessity under their altered circum- 
stances, settling down into grasses of the sea, but that they are not at all 
akin to the brown kelp or tangle which every boisterous north-east wind 
heaps along the coast. This is quite an inverse Darwinian theory. 

The grass-wrack can claim for itself a most remote ancestry. Hugh 
Miller has given an engraving of a fossil plant closely allied to Zostera 
from the trilobite-bearing schists of Giruan—associated with graptolites 
of the Lower Silurian type. In order to appreciate in any adequate 
degree the extreme remoteness of the geological period named, we must 
bear in mind that since that epoch, rocks about 37,000 feet in thickness, 
have been deposited for the most part as the sediment of long-since dried 
up rivers, estuaries, and seas. Thais 37,000 feet of vertical thickness is 
no blank record, but bears upon its ample pages full testimony that 
during its accumulation, species, genera, and even entire orders of plants 
and animals have been summoned into existence, and have passed away, 
never to re-appear as living species ; and this has taken place, not once 
only, but again and again, since that little Zostera-like plant fringed the 
shore of the Silurian sea ;—who may say how many ages since? _ 


Salisbury. Epwarp T. STEVENS. 


THE TECHNOLOGIST. 


THE ECONOMIC USES OF LEAVES. 
BY THE EDITOR. 


Setting aside many of the most important leaves which furnish staples 
of commerce, like tobacco, tea, indigo, senna, &c., there are many local 
uses which deserve notice, and the object of the following remarks is to 
bring a few of these prominently forward in a collected form. 

The leaves of many trees furnish occasional fodder for cattle—espe- 
cially several of the Mimosa in India, Australia, and the Cape Colony. | 
From others an essential oil is distilled, as from the orange, cinnamon, 
and lemon grass. 

From the large leaves of the Cannabis sativa, bhang, an intoxicating 
drug is produced, and they are also smoked to cause the same effect. 
They have been imported into this country under the name of guaza. 

The leaves of coltsfoot (Tusselago farfar) have long been smoked for 
chest complaints, and are said to form the chief ingredient in British 
herb tobacco. The leaves of milfoil or yarrow (Achillea millefolium), 
another plant equally common with the last, have been recommended to 
smokers in lieu of tobacco, and are occasionally used for that purpose. 
The leaves of rhubarb are sometimes smoked by those who are too poor to 
furnish themselves with a regular supply of tobacco, and those who have 
used them state that although devoid of strength, they are not a bad 
substitute when tobacco is not to be obtained. For the same purposes 
they are collected and used in Thibet and on the slopes of the Himalayas. 

The leaves of the bog bean (Menyanthes trifoliata) are used in the north 
of Europe when hops are scarce, to give a bitter flavour to beer, and 
have been also adopted as a tobacco substitute. 

The Virginia or stag’s horn sumach (Rhus typhina) supplies leaves 
which are dried and used by some of the native American tribes for 
smoking. The Indians of the Mississippi and the Missouri use the leaves 
of another sumach (Rhus copallino), and Indian tobacco (Lobelia inflata), 

VOL, III. Q 


194 ON THE ECONOMIC USES OF LEAVES. 


supposed to be indebted for its name to the fact that it was one of the 
plants smoked by the Indians instead of the genuine “ weed.” Under the 
name of “ tomboki,” the leaf of a species of Lobelia, is smoked im parts of 
Asia. Beet leaves have been lately recommended as a tobacco substi- 
tute in France. 

The leaves of the betel pepper vine are in extensive use in Asia with 
the betel nut. In the markets incredible quantities of the leaves are 
offered for sale in piles carried about in baskets. The betel leaf is a 
powerful stimulant to the salivary glands and digestive organs, and 
dimizishes the perspiration of the skin. ey. 94 

In Peru and Bolivia an important trade is carried on in the leaves of 
the coca, another narcotic, which is considered stimulant and tonic. 
Large heaps of the freshly-dried leaves, particularly while the warm rays 
of the sun are upon them, diffuse a very strong smell, resembling that 
of hay, in which there is a quantity of milfoil. Birch ieaves were for- 
merly used internally and externally m cases of dropsy. They are em- 
ployed at the present day in Finland for tea. 

Palm leaf hats are common in many countries. The well-known and 
high-priced Panama hats have already been described in our pages- 
From Catacaos, Peru, there are frequently exported 10,000 or 12,000) 
doz. of palm fibre hats, valued at 60,000/. Pulm leaf is sold in Salvador 
Brazil, in bundles of sixty leaves, at about 14s. to 16s. Palmetto isa 
common name for several small palms. One species is much utilised in 
Bermuda, where the leaves are worked into baskets, table mats, hats, 
bonnets, and other articles. There is a utensil also formed of the leaf 
doubled very neatly at the end of a turned handle. The palmetto is 
about sixteen inches long, and is used in bed like a fly flapper, much to 
the discomfiture of that little insidious insect, the mosquito. The Ber- 
mudians make them with painted and decorated handles, and few towns 
in the islands are without them. 

The stately Corypha Palin (Livistonia Australis) one of the “ princes 
of the vegetable world,” attains the length of more than sixty feet. It 
furnishes in its young leaf stalks and terminal buds the palm cabbage, a 
food equally wholesome and delicious, whilst the fan-shaped leaves are 
eagerly collected for the manufacture of the well-known cabbage-tree 
hats of Australia, which if not so fine as the Panama hats, are equally 
strong and serviceable. 

The leaves of the dwarf fan palm (Chamaerops humilis) are used in 
Algeria for making brooms, seats of chairs, hats, thatch for cottages, &c. 
The leaves of another class of short palms, the Thrinaz, have many eco- 
nomic uses. 7. argentea furnishes the chip which is woven into hats, 
and made into baskets and wicker-work; while other species of the 
genus supply the palmetto thatch, which forms an article of export from 
North America. The leaves of Borassus flabelliformis are used tor writ- 
ing on, for thatching houses, and making baskets, mats, umbrellas, and 
fans. Strong and durable fibres are produced from the petioles of the 


ON THE ECONOMIC USES OF LEAVES. 195 


fronds. A fine downy substance is found ‘at the base of the leaves used 
for stopping bleeding wounds. 

‘The leaves of the palmyra and talipot palms are made into umbrellas 
baskets, &c., but they furnish no useful fibre. Palmyra mats are used 
for packing betel nuts in. In Tinnivelly, froma single palmyrah leaf 
buckets are made which are used for drawing water from wells. 

A flexible integument of the leaf of the Areca palm is used for nume- 
rous purposes, and especially for making a kind of shelter or covering 
to protect the blossom of the tree from the rain. The tying on of these 
caps is one of the chief expenses incurred in this cultivation. 

It is also made into sooparee caps, which are worn by the Bunts, an 
agricultural class of Hindoos in the district of Canara, and into coverlets. 

The fibre of the lower end of the leaf of the Bynee (Caryota urens) is of 
remarkable strength, and applied to many purposes, especially for fishing 
lines. In England it is termed India gut. Lately it has been largely 
introduced as Kittool fibre from Ceylon. 

Under the name of Nipap, or atep, the leaves of the Nipa fruticans 
are used very generally in the far East for thatching. * 

Of the leaves of the date palm (Phenix dactylifera), brooms and brushes 
are made in Egypt. Of the fibre (lif, or loof), by which the petioles are 
bound together, all sorts of cordage are made ; and it is used as a flesh 
rubber in the baths. 

Mats, baskets, and plates, are made by the Nubian women of the 
leaves of the doum palm (Hyphaene Thebaica). Palm-leaf mats are 
also made at Tripoli and other places. Mats are made of date-leat in 
Madras, of the fragrant screw pine, and the pandanus-leaf. 

In Ceylon, many of the indigenous inhabitants, as well as natives of 
Europe, thatch their houses with coco-nut leaves, by the Singalese called 
poiatiu, and sometimes cadjans. The latter term has, I believe, a Malay 
origin. To prepare cadjans, the stipe, or central ligneous portion of the 
leaf is divided longitudinally ; the leaflets of each half are then inter- 
woven, by which means they are adapted for a variety of uses. In this 
state they are employed to thatch cottages, to shelter young plants from 
the scorching rays of the sun, to construct fences, to form the ceilings of 
rooms, and to make baskets for carrying fruit, fish, &e. 

Sometimes baskets are made of palm-leaves, so close as to serve the 
purpose of buckets to draw water from deep wells. In the Maldive 
Islands, boneta, a species of fish, is preserved by a process in which 
coco-leaves are employed. The process consists in removing the back- 
bone and laying the fish in the shade, occasionally sprinkling it with 
salt water. After a certain period has elapsed, the fish is wrapped up in 
coco-nut leaves and buried in sand, where it becomes hard. Fish thus 
prepared is known in Ceylon, and perhaps over all India, by the name of 
cummelmums. The pieces of this fish brought to the market have a horny 
hardness, It is rasped upon rice to render it savoury. The inhabitants 
of several of the South Sea Islands manufacture a kind of mask or vizor 


196 ON THE ECONOMIC USES OF LEAVES. 


of the leaves of the coco-tree to defend their faces from the scorching 
rays of the sun; and this kind of armour is said to have a somewhat 
pleasing and graceful appearance when worn by young persons. The 
unexpanded leaves are employed to show marks of respect to persons in 
power. When the Governor or Chief Justice travel, lines made of the 
stems of creeping plants are stretched along on each side of the road 
about three or four feet from the ground. Upon those lines young palm 
leaves are suspended. The head civil servant of a district may command 
the inhabitants under his immediate control to ornament the road along 
which he passes ; but he is not warranted in claiming this mark of atten- 
tion beyond his own district. The immature leaves of the coco-nut palm 
have a fine yellow colour, and a beautiful texture resembling fine leather 
or satin. In some parts of Ceylon, natives evince great taste in orna- 
menting triumphal arches, as also ball-rooms and similar places of pub- 
lic resort, with the leaves of this tree, and some remarkably beautiful 
species of moss. As the young leaves are translucent, they serve to 
make lanterns, in the construction of which many of the inhabitants are 
very dexterous. The practice of showing respect to individuals by means 
of the branches of palm-trees is very ancient. (See Matt., xxi. 8; Mark, 
xi, 8. ; and John xii. 13.) The foliage of the palm tribe has been in 
many countries considered an emblem of joy and victory ; and hence 
the word palin is sometimes employed as a synonyme of victory and 
triumph. (See Levit. xxiii. 40.) Itis remarkable that a similar mode of 
showing respect by waving palm branches prevailed among the aborigines 
of America when it was discovered by Columbus. In ancient times, 
when pilgrims resorted to Palestine, they commonly returned bearing 
palm-leaves ; on this account they were denominated Palmers. Captain 
Lyon, when describing the amusements of the natives of some parts of 
Northern Africa, informs us that the dancers “were directed by an old 
woman, with a torch in one hand and a long palm-branch in the other, 
and sung in chorus verses which she repeated to them.” In the island 
of Otaheite the female inhabitants wear bonnets constructed of the leaf 
of the coco. : 

The leaflets are sometimes used to write upon, and the instrument 
employed to make the impression is an iron stylus, the pen of the Serip- 
tures. The stylus was used by the Romans to write on waxen tablets, 
leather, &c. The leaves of the Palmyra (Borassus flabelliformis), or Tali- 
pot (Corypha umbraculifera), are, however, much more frequently em- 
ployed for this purpose. Contracts and other legal instruments are often 
engraved upon tablets of copper, similar in shape toa slip of the Talipot 
leaf, which have occasionally a border of silver or gold. 

An allusion is made to the practice of writing on tablets in Isaiah 
xxx., 8, and Habbakuk ii., 2. Palm leaves, when they are prepared te 
receive the impression of the stylus, are called ollahs. The natives 
write letters to one another on ollahs, which are neatly rolled up, and 
sometimes sealed with a little gum lac. In this manner they pass 


ON THE ECONOMIC USES OF LEAVES. / 197 


through the post-office. During the operation of writing the leaf is 
supported by the left hand, and the letters scratched upon the surface 
with the stylus. (Marshall on the coco-nut.) 

Instead of moving the hand with which they write towards the 
right, they move the leaf in a contrary direction, by means of the 
thumb of the left hand. To render the characters more legible, the 
engraved lines are frequently filled by besmearing the leaf with fresh 
cowdung, which is tinged black by rubbing the lines over with coco- 
nut oil, or a mixture of oil and charcoal powder. The natives can write 
standing as well as walking, and they rarely use tablets. Palm-leaves, 
and perhaps the leaves of trees that do not belong to this natural class, 
were much used by the ancients as writing materials ; hence the word 
leaf (of a book) is synonymous with that of a tree. 

The leaves of Sabal Mexicana, Mart., are used for making hats 
and mats, the dried leaves used for platting being called “ petates.” 
They are prepared for platting by being dried and bleached in the sun, 
and then reduced to narrow shreds. 

The leaves of Corypha inermis are devoted to the same purpose. 

The large, broad fronds of the well-known fan palm of Ceylon 
(Corypha umbraculifera) are used for thatching, and also for writing on 
with an iron style. Such records are said to resist the ravages of time. 
The dried leaf is very strong, and is commonly used for umbrellas by 
all classes. It opens and shuts like a lady’s fan, and is remarkably 
light. 

An entire leaf of the Mauritia flexuosa, a Brazilian palm, is a load 
fora man. The unopened leaves form a thick, pointed column. Ac- 
cording to Wallace, this is cut down, and, by a little shaking, the tender 
segments fall apart; each one is then skilfully stripped of its outer 
covering, a thin, ribbon-like pellicle, of a pale yellow colour, whieh 
shrivels up almost into a thread ; these are then tied in bundles and 
dried, and are afterwards twisted, by rolling on the breast, as though 
into string, or with the fingers into thicker cords. The article most 
commonly made from it is the “ rede,” or netted hammock, the almost 
universal bed of the native tribes of the Amazon. This is formed by 
doubling the string over two rods, or poles, about six or seven feet 
apart, till there are forty or fifty parallel threads, which are then 
secured, at intervals of about a foot, by cross strings, twisted and tied 
on to a very longitudinal one, a strong cord is then passed through the 
loop formed by all the strings brought together at each end, by which 
the hammock is hung up a few feet from the ground ; and in this open 
cot the naked Indian sleeps beside his fire as comfortably as we do in 
our beds of down. Other tribes twist the strings together in a compli- 
cated manner, so that the hammock is more elastic; and the Brazilians 
have introduced a variety of improvements, by using a kind of knitting- 
needle, producing a close kind of web, or by a large wooden frame 
with rollers, in which they weave in a rude manner with a woof and 


198 ON THE ECONOMIC USES OF LEAVES. 


wift, asin a regular loom. They also dye the string of many brilliant 
colours, which they work in symmetrical patterns, making the “redes,”” 
or “ maqueiras,” as they are called, among the gayest articles of furni- 
ture to be seen ina Brazilian house on the Amazon. Beautiful speci- 
mens of these hammocks were shown in the Brazilian, British Guiana, 
and other Courts of the International Exhibition this year. 

The women of the island of Mahe, one of tha Seychelles group, work 
largely at making hats of a superior description from the leaves of the 
eclebrated coco-des-mer (Lodoicea Sechellarum), found only at Praslin 
and Cunense. 

The leaves open like a fan; they are of large size, often attaining 
a length of twenty feet, with a breadth of ten or twelve, and in some 
few cases, thirty feet in length, including the petiole, which is of suffi- 
cient strength to support the weight of aman. In 1859, 3,310 of these 
coco-nuts were exported, valued at 331/., and 11,800 cups made of 
them of the value of 5901. The foliage is employed to thatch the roofs 
of houses and sheds, and even for walls. With a hundred leaves a com- 
modious dwelling may be constructed, including even the partitions of 
the apartments, the doors, and the windows. In the Isle of Praslin 
most of the cabins and warehouses are thus made. The down attached 
to the young leaves serves for filling mattresses and pillows; the ribs 
and fibres of the petiole constitute baskets and brooms. The young 
foliage affords the material for the hats. For this purpose, the unex- 
panded leaves only are taken, dried in the sun, and cut into longitu- 
dinal slips, two or three lines in breadth, which are then plaited, and 
scarcely any other covering for the head is worn by the natives of the 
Seychelles. 

The leaves of many plants yield excellent fibre, such as the agave, 
the pine apple, the New Zealand flax, and others. The fine white 
fibres of the pine apple leaves have been formed into the most delicate 
fabrics, as well as fishing lines, ropes, &c. Unlike other fibres, they 
are not injured by immersion in water,—a property much increased by 
tanning, which process is constantly used by the natives of India. In 
Malacca and Singapore a trade is carried on with China in these 
fibres, which are there used in the manufacture of linen stuff. As 
a substitute for flax, they are, perhaps, the most valuable of Indian 
fibres. 

Plantain leaves (Musa) are converted in Africa into spoons, plates, and 
even bottles. They are also made into thatch, fuel, and a substitute 
for wrapping papers. From their cooling nature, the leaves are gene- 
rally used in the tropics to dress blisters. The leaves of Abelmoschus 
esculentus are used for poultices. In Africa, the leaves of Adansonia 
digitata are also made into poultices and fomentations for rheumatic 
affections of the limbs and irritable inflammatory ulcers. The natives 
eat the leaves with their food, and they are considered cooling and 
useful in restraining excessive perspiration. The leaves, too, are used 


ON THE ECONOMIC USES OF LEAYVKS, 199 


for leaven. The leaves of several species of Amarantus are employed 
as emollient poultices in India. 

A clean leaf of the Diilenia speciosa forms the plate of the Dyak. 
The leaves, which are hard and rough, are used for polishing furniture, 
like others of the same family. The leaves of a plant called “bua 
palas,” probably a Dillenia, are used in Sumatra for polishing creeses, 
The rough leaves of the Curatella alata are used in Guiana and Trini- 
dad for polishing bows, sabres, &c. The leaves of Celtis orientalis are 
used in India for polishing horns, &c. Cadjan fans painted, coloured 
palmyrah fans, and various palm fans are common in India. 

The leaves of the Bergera koenigii are used by the natives of India 
in their curries, to which they impart an agreeable flavour. When 
rubbed together they emit a pleasant aromatic smell. They retain this 
flavour when dried, and are sold in that state in the bazars, The 
mucilaginous leaves of Cassia tora have many medicinal uses in India. 

Baskets for catching fish, shrimps, &c., are made of the ligneous ribs 
of the leaflet. The same substance is employed by the natives for many 
of the purposes for which we use pins. A bundle of these ribs is in 
universal use, as a broom to sweep the cottages ; and when an European 
asks for a tooth-pick, his servant brings him a portion of one of these 
fibres. The South Sea Islanders make the teeth of combs for the hair 
of this part of the leaf. In a domestic state, elephants are fed chiefly 
upon coco-nut leaves, and this animal evinces much sagacity in separat- 
ing the elastic woody fibre from the thinner margin of the leaf. For 
temporary purposes, cadjan houses are frequently constructed both by 
natives and Europeans. During the insurrection in the Kandyan 
country in 1818, almost all the sick were accommodated in cadjan hos- 
pitals. Except the frame-work, every part of the house-walls, and roof, 
is formed of coco-nut leaves, and they are capable of resisting all kinds 
of weather for a year or more. A tent or hut made of talipot leaves sent 
home from Ceylon for the International Exhibition, was recently set up 
in the gardens of the Royal Horticultural Society, but it could not stand 
our inclement climate, for the sharp gales soon shattered the dry leaves 
to pieces. 

To prevent thieving, the owners of topes frequently fix a coco-nut 
leaf along the stems of the fruit trees. As the leaf rustles much when 
touched, a thief is cautious of ascending the trunk of the tree lest he 
should alarm some of the inmates of the neighbouring huts. Thunberg 
mistook the use of these leaves, and supposed that they supplied “the 
place of ladders, by means of which the natives could climb up and 
gather the fruit.” In warm climates, it is customary to travel during 
night, with a view of avoiding the influence of an ardent sun. Torches 
then become necessary, and coco-nut leaves are chiefly employed for 
this purpose. By tying the leaflets close to the centre rib of a leaf, the 
ignition is prevented from being too rapid. Torches of coco-nut leaves, 
commonly called chels (oaloo attu, Singhalese), are in constant use, to 


200 ON THE ECONOMIC USES OF LEAVES. 


obstruct the inroads of wild beasts upon cultivated fields, more particu- 
larly of elephants. In the interior of Ceylon, every field under culti- 
vation must be watched during night, to prevent depredations which 
would be made upon the crops, were these animals to have free ingress. 

__ When burned, the coco-nut tree, especially the leaves, affords a large 
proportion of potash, whence the washermen procure all the potash they 
require by the incineration of different parts of the tree. Soap is very 
little used by the native washermen of Ceylon. Boats are rowed with 
the centre rib of the leaf, in which operation it forms a substitute for 
paddles. The end of this part of the leaf when well bruised, and 
thereby converted into a brush, is used for a variety of purposes, such 
as whitewashing houses, &c. 

In British Guiana, the natives make a species of olian harp of 
the stipe of the leaf of a coco-nut tree; and some tribes split the 
stipes, and after rendering the split portions very thin, they are attached 
together laterally by means of their silky grass, thereby forming a sail 
for canoes. 

The foliage, that part of the palms which render them objects of 
such beauty and elegance, generally forms a magnificent crown at the end 
of the trunk. The leayes supported on petioles or leaf stalks, sheathing 
at the base, are alternate, coriaceous, and often of such gigantic size,— 
measuring as they do in some species, fifty feet in length, and eight in 
width,—that they surpass in the latter respect those of any natural order 
of plants. 

Their structure may be summed up ina few words: they are simple, 
and furnished with a midrib, from which parallel veins branch off. This 
structure best seen in some species of (Geonoma) G. simplicifrons, Willd., 
for instance, when it appears in all its normal simplicity is common to 
all palms, but assumes in different species different forms, easily recog- 
nised by accomplished botanists wont to look upon the vegetable king- 
dom with a morphological eye, but not so readily traced by those who 
have made only a limited progress in phytological studies. 

In some species, as for example, the species of Geonoma just quoted, 
the blade of the leaves is quite entire, while in others, of which the 
coco-nut may be cited as the type, it is cut into long segments (pinna- 
tisect) giving it the appearance of the plume of a feather: occasionally, 
in the genus Caryota, these segments are again divided (bipinnatisect), 
their ultimate divisions resembling in shape the fin or tail of a fish, 
The midrib in these three forms it must be observed, extendst hroughout 
the whole length of the leaves ; when the contrary is the case—namely, 
when the midrib is less developed, palmate or fan-shaped leaves are the 
result. This, however, does not happen very frequently, for out of 582 
known species only ninety-one have fan-shaped leaves. 

The leaves are green, generally on both sides, as in the different 
species of Chamaldorea, but occasionally on the under side of a silvery 
white, as in the Copernicia miraguama, and C. cerifera. Sometimes the 


ON THE MINERAL RESOURCES OF NEW BRUNSWICK. 201 


middle of some leaves is adorned with concentric bands of yellow and 
blue, in the manner of a peacock’s tail, as in the prickly Mauritia, dis- 
covered by Bonpland on the banks of the Rio Atabapo. The direction 
of the leaves is a character of no less importance than that of form and 
colour. 

The segments are either ranged in a comb-line manner close to one 
another, with a stiff parenchyma, allowing the solar rays to play over 
their surface, and causing them to shine with a brilliant verdure in the 
Coco-nut palm, and with a fainter ashy-coloured hue in the date tree, 
or they have a more flexible, grass-like texture, and are curled near the 
extremity. Another peculiarity is also notable, the more acute the 
angle made by the leaves with the upper part of the stem, the nearer the 
leaves approach the perpendicular, the bolder and nobler is the aspect of 
the species to which they belong. 

This will at once be evident by comparing the pendent leaves of the 
Palma de Covija (Copernicia tectorum), with the more horizontal leaves 
of the coco-nut palm, and the lofty heavenward pointed foliage of the 
dagua, the Cucurito, and Pirijao.—Seeman on Palms. 


THE MINERAL RESOURCES OF NEW BRUNSWICK. 


BY L. W. BAILEY, 


Professor of Chemistry in the University of New Brunswick. 


As the subject of the mineral resources of this province is at the 
present time absorbing a large proportion of public attention, and as a 
very general interest seems to be manifested in almost all parts of the 
province, in searching for and developing our metallic wealth, I have 
thought that a brief list of the ores already known and their localities, 
tegether with a few simple directions for the discrimination of future 
specimens, might possibly prove interesting to those engaged in such 
pursuits, and perhaps to the public generally. I have therefore prepared 
and given belew a short list of the principal ores known to exist in the 
province, with a few observations appended upon their quantity, quality, 
and facility of working, so far as has been hitherto ascertained. My 
authority for the greater part of the following facts are the labours of the 
late Dr. Robb, the metallurgical collection of the University, and state- 
ments, published or otherwise, of the late M. H. Perley, Esq., Dr. Gesner, 
aud other gentlemen in various parts of the province :— 

Tron.—Red Heematite, found at Woodstock, King’s County, Queen’s 
County, Bathurst, and Richibucto. Micaceous ore, specular iron, red 
hematite, found at Morrison’s, West Beach. Specular iron, found at 
Black River and Campo Bello. Iron pyrites and cubic pyrites, found at 

VOL IIL. R 


202- ON THE MINERAL RESOURCES OF NEW BRUNSWICE. 


Campo Bello. Micaceous iron pyrites, found in the vicinity of St. John, 
Red haematite, found at Restigouche and Dorchester, Iron pyrites, found 
at Botsford, Westmoreland. Bog iron ore, found at Rush Hill, Queen’s 
County, Sunbury, Campo, Bello, and Charlotte. Blue phosphate, found 
at Madawaska. 

MancGaneEse.—Manganite, found at Tattagouche River and Dalhouise- 
Gray oxide, found at Woodstock. Wad, black oxide, found at Quaco, 
Dorchester, Fredericton, Westmoreland, and Gneensber¥s York. Pyro- 
lusite, found at Shepody and Quaco. 

Lreap.—Galena, found at Campo Bello, Norton Kings, Tobique, Res- 
tigouche, McLeod’s, Macadavic ; Long Island, Digdeguash ; Emerson’s. 
Little Falls ; Woodstock ; and L’Etang, Charlotte. Anglesite, found at 
Campo Bello. 

Correr.—Native, found at St. David’s, Charlotte County. Copper 
pyrites, found at St. Stephen’s and Bathurst. Green carbonate, found at 
Bathurst, Tattagouche River, and Simpson’s Island, Charlotte. Chalco- 
pyrite, found at Bull’s Creek. Erubescite, found at Macadavic, Salmon 
River, Albert St. Stephen’s. Copper pyrites, found at Campo Bello. 

Zinc.—Blende, found at Lubec, Nerapis, and Restigouche. 

ANTIMONY.—Stibonite, found at Prince William, York, and vicinity of 
Fredericton. 

MoLyBDENUM.—Molybdenum, found at Nepisquit. 

These are by no means all the localities in which the above-named 
metals occur, especially as regards the sulphurets of iron and copper. 
These are very generally diffused ores, and occur in almost all parts of 
the Province. Only the purer and more extensive deposits are above 
given. It is impossible however, from small cabinet specimens to judge 
accurately in regard to the quantity or quality of an ore, average 
specimens being necessary to decide this point. The above list may 
therefore contain many which from their peculiar position or other 
causes may be in reality worthless, while some really valuable ores may 
be omitted.—This source of error it was impossible to avoid. 

It will be seen, from an inspection of the list, that some two or three 
localities contain good ores of several of the metals. Among these 
Woodstock, Campo Bello Island and the vicinity of Bathurst on the 
Tattagouche River are the most prominent. Campo Bello Island, especi- 
ally, is rich in iron, lead and copper, while Native (7. e., pure) copper 
occurs at St. David’s Charlotte, and zinc blende at Lubec, Mame.—Gold 
having also been discovered near Calais, by Mr. Goodale, this section of 
the Province may be regarded as one of the most promising for future 
exploration. Moreover no position could be more advantageous for 
transportation than these southern Shores and Islands of the Bay of 
Fundy. It is to be hoped that the immense resources here stored away 
for use may soon be made a source of revenue and profit. 

In regard to the ores of iron, I may say, generally, that the best ores 
for the purposes of smelting are the Specular Ores and Red Hematite 


@N THE MINERAL RESOURCES OF NEW BRUNSWICK. 203 


(the first easily recognised by its steel-like metallic lustre, and bright 
reflecting surfaces, resembling mirrors, the second by its dull red earthy 
or rusty character), while the sulphurets (generally called Pyrites, from 
the fact that they strike fire like steel), are seldom used except when 
existing in large quantities and of great purity. Slate however, im- 
pregnated with decomposing Pyrites is valuable as the chict source of 
the manufacture cf Copperas or Green VitrioL It may be of great 
value at some future day, but exists elsewhere in such great quantities as 
to be at present worthless. The same is partly true of Copper Pyrites, 
“which closely resembles the above, but which is of a deeper yellow 
colour, and unlike the former will yield to the point of a knife. These 
two ores, Iron and Copper Pyrites, together with an entirely valueless 
mineral, called Mica, are those most frequently mistaken for metallic 
gold, and are hence frequently called Fool’s Gold. The three may 
always be easily distinguished by the following means :— 

1. Gold can always be cut in slices like lead with a common pen- 
knife, is unchanged by the hottest fire, and is beaten out without break- 
ing by the blow of a hammer. 

2. Iron Pyrites is of a much lighter colour than gold, cannot be cut, 
is very brittle, when heated gives off strong fumes of sulphur, and 
flies into atoms by the blow of a hammer. 

3. Copper Pyrites looks more like brass than the preceding, yields to 
the point of a knife, but crumbles instead of cutting into slices like 
gold, and also gives off strong fumes of sulphur when heated. 

The two latter are very frequently intimately combined, and the 
resulting mineral is then called chalcopyrite. Mica is so wholly unlike 
any metal, that it has always been a matter of surprise that any one 
should mistake the two. As, however, the mistake is of frequent 
occurrence, 1 may say that Mica can be easily recognised by the fact 
of its splitting readily by the point of a knife into thin laminz or 
leaves. I may also state in regard to gold, that | am unaware of any 
authentic specimens having been as yet discovered in the province, not- 
withstanding the numerous reports circulated to that effect. The report 
which was current in several of the papers last winter, that specimens 
had been sent to the University, and found to contain the precious 
metal, was entirely without foundation, no such specimens having even 
been seen at the University during the past twelve months. It is highly 
probable, however, that such discoveries may yet be made. 

Manganese, of good quality, occurs in various parts of the province, 
and resembles the ores of iron in many respects. The means of dis- 
tinguishing the two, however, although simple, are not generally avail- 
able to the public at large. This metal is used in the manufacture of 
glass, both for producing and removing colours. It is also extensively 
used for glazing and bleaching. 

The ore of lead (galena) is easily recognised by its lead-grey colour 
and sharp angles, easily breaking into cubical blocks. It melts very 


204 ON THE MINERAL RESOURCES OF NEW BRUNSWICE. 


readily when heated, and generally contains a small per-centage of sil- 
ver, varying in amount in different localities. 

Antimony has been found in the two localities mentioned in the list. 
The statement now circulating in the papers to the effect that this is the 
only locality of antimony known in North America is incorrect, it hay- 
ing been found (though sparingly) in Maine, New Hampshire and Mary- 
land, Moreover, the discovery is not one of recent date, a specimen of 
the ore examined by Dr. Robb, and marked with his handwriting, hav- 
ing been in the museum of the University since before my arrival in 
the province. Whether he was the discoverer or not, or whether the 
locality is the same as that recently announced, I do not know, he hav- 
ing apparently been in some doubt himself in regard to the same. This 
ore resembles the preceding, but has a darker lustre. It may be recog- 
nised by boiling a little of the ore in strong ley (caustic potash) and 
after solution adding a little common muriatic acid. If antimony is 
present a dark red powder will appear in the liquid. The metal is used 
in the manufacture of type, Britannia ware, tartar emetic and various 
medicines. 

Zinc blende occurs in the province, but of no great purity. It is 
transparent and wax-like, with a brilliant surface. Molybdenum is a 
rare metal, of no importance in the arts. ‘ 

Ihave reason to think that the metal bismuth also occurs in great 
purity in the province, but as there is some doubt regarding the only 
specimen yet shown to me, I omit it from the list. It is used for the 
manufacture of type metal, plumber’s solder, fusible metal, &c. 

In conclusion I would say, that it is highly desirable that authentic 
and representative specimens of the valuable ores and minerals of the 
province should be collected and preserved for future reference. Such 
a collection of minerals, ores and fossils, representing thelr various 
localities, would be of inestimable value in the preparation of local 
agricultural and geological reports, or the conducting of future 
geological surveys. As a numerous collection has already been 
made with this object, by my lamented predecessor, in the museum 
of the University, and as this collection is not only valuable for 
reference, but also directly for the purposes of instruction in the In- 
stitution, it is to be hoped that those interested in the collection of 
such objects, will favour us with authentic and average samples of the 
different deposits, as they may from time to time be discovered. Such 
specimens, whether of ores, minerals, or fossils would be most thank- 
fully received and duly acknowledged by the University. I would 
especially ask those visiting Campo Bello, Grand Manan, the north 
shore of the province, the coal mines of Albert and Grand lake, and 
other interesting localities, to obtain and preserve the specimens they 
may meet, or forward them to the University. Any reasonable expense 
incurred in such transportation will be cheerfully repaid. The locality 
where the specimen is found should always be mentioned. 


ON HE TANNING MATERIALS, ETC. 205 


To the farmers generally, throughout the province, and indeed, to 
all living in the country districts, I would say, that they may render 
service of great value to the future interest of the province, by the 
simple preservation of whatever objects of curiosity may chance to 
meet their notice, even though they may be unable of themselves to 
decide upon their value. Such collections cannot fail to be of interest 
and profit to those who make them, while the assistance they may 
render to scientific investigators cannot be over-estimated. Wherever 
geological surveys have been conducted, such private collections have 
invariably been the source of much useful information. 


ON THE TANNING MATERIALS AND DYE-STUFFS USED IN 
ITALY. 


BY J. ARNAUDON. 


The art of working skins has been practised in Italy from very 
ancient times. The cities of Venice, Naples, Florence, and Mantua were 
renowned for their production of coloured gilt and morocco leather ; 
and the gloves and coloured skins produced by the two lattez towns, as 
well as by Rome and Rimini, were at the same period much esteemed. 
These branches of industry, however, have very greatly declined, though 
not to so great an extent, perhaps, as those of wool and silk, as they are 
not so dependant on the adaptation of machinery and the caprices of 
fashion. 

In spite of its general importance, few documents can be found 
that throw light upon the history and technology of this*art in Italy, 
those which exist giving but very little information on this interesting 
subject. The political disturbances of this country also cause great 
obstacles to le in the way of any researches into its commercial welfare 
(the more so with regard to skins and leathers, as these branches of 
industry are chiefly practised at the extremity of the peninsula), and all 
accounts that have been obtained are limited to the exports and im- 
ports ; the important points of national production and consumption 
being left almost wholly untouched. The documents that are found 
were written at a time prior to the formation of the Kingdom of 
Italy, when great and almost insuperable commercial barriers existed 
between different parts of the same nation. In subdividing the business 
connected with the preparation of the skins of animals, as far as the 
means in our power will allow us to judge, the production of tanning 
materials, and raw and half-cured hides, belongs to Sicily, Sardinia, the 
Tusban Maremmas, Trentino, Umbria, the Marches and the valleys of 
Susa, Finerola, and Aosta. From the towns of Turin, Naples, Florence, 


206 ON THE TANNING MATERIALS AND 


and Bologna, the finished productions of ordinary morocco and glazed 
leather are obtained. If there is a branch of industry susceptible of 
development in Italy, it is certainly that which comprehends works in 
leather ; for material is abundant, and those substances, or elements, 
necessary to its preparation are to be found in this country in great 
quantities. That some progress-is being made, a comparison of the 
manufactures exhibited by it in the former exhibitions at London and 
Paris, with those displayed in the World’s Fair of 1862, will testify- 
The total amount of the products of skins and leather may be com- 
puted at rather more than 30,000,000 kilogrammes, of the value of about 
120,000,000 francs, and this without reckoning the value added by 
supplementary processes which the skins undergo during their prepara- 
tion. In the ancient provinces there are 500 tanneries, which produce 
about 6,000,000 kilogrammes of leather. There are about 30 tanneries 
in the town of Turin alone, which employ 600 or 700 workmen, and 
produce more than 140,0001. There are from 60 to 80 tanneries 
divided amongst Liguria, Savoy, Genoa, and St. Maurice, with about 
700 to 800 workmen, the greater portion being at Genoa and Savoy ; 
at St. Maurice there are 18, which produce leather to the value of 
360,000 francs. ‘ 

Tanning establishments of some importance are beginning to be 
established in the isle of Sardinia, from whence more than 100,000 
skins are now exported, besides large quantities of the bark of tanning 
oaks, which are so abundant in its rich forests. Cagliari has seven 
manufactories, and Sofraritwo ; those of the former town employ from 
110 to 120 workmen, and the latter about 20. The value of 
exports and imports for ancient Piedmont may be approximately com- 
puted at 6,000,000 frances. 


frs. 
1s17 . : = : : ; . 6,685,960 
1818 . ; : ; ; : . 5,311,182 
IMPORTS. 

1818 . : : : : : . 4,092,964 
USEF. : : - 3 é . 4,806,427 
EXPorts. 

1818 . : : ; : : . 1,633,753 
Sly = : P : : ; . 1,879,513 


Lombardy can boast of more than 100 tanneries, which employ 
1,000 workmen, and of these Milan furnishes at least 300. In the new 
town of Milan there are about 28 or 32 manufactories, which turn out 
leather to the value of 100,0007. In the province of Brescia there are 
only 23 tanneries, which work every year about 138,000 skins, of the 
value of 30,000/.; but there are, besides, many alum-leather and glove 
manufactories. The province of Lodi possesses eight tanneries, three of 
which are in the town of Lodi, one at St. Angelo, and four at Lodogno, 


\ 


DYE-STUFFS USED IN ITALY. 207 


and those of the last-mentioned town produce the greatest amount. In 
the province of Cremona there are three, and six in that of Pavia. In 
the Neapolitan provinces there are about 20 tanneries, besides 300 
which are on a very small seale, and in which the leaves of the myrtle 
(mortella) are used. 

There are also numerous other towns which carry on this trade, and 
together work about 8,000,000 francs worth of skins, two-thirds of 
which are imported. The island of Sicily possesses a certain number 
of tanneries, which are found chiefly at Catania and at Messina. In the 
latter town the works of the Brothers Ollaverini alone employ 100 
workmen ; and the total amount of leather produced by the various 
tanneries is 193,000 kilogrammes, of the value of 33,1602. In various 
other Italian localities are found 547 tanneries, in which 10,000 workmen 
are employed, and which produce about 2,200,000/. worth of leather. 

There is great difficulty in ascertaining the exact amount of tanneries 
in Tuscany, they are so numerous, and, at the same time, many of 
them on a very small scale. In Venice the number is computed at 
about 80, some of which are very large, and produce more than 200,000 
kilogrammes, the value of which would amount to almost a million of 
francs. At Florence there are about 20 tanneries, employing about 
380 workmen. ; 

We will now proceed to glance at some of the principal substances 
used in the preparation of leather. In the collection which I have 
exhibited in Class IV. of the Italian department are to be found the 
most important of the mineral, animal, and vegetable substances that 
are used for tanning purposes ; and employed with success, not only to 
enable the skins of different animals to resist the effects of putrefaction, 
but also to make them supple and elastic. 

The word sumach (sommaco) is generally applied to various species 
of Rhus, and especially to the Rhus Coriaria, the Rhus typhina (Vir- 
ginian sumach), Rhus pentaphylla (sumach from Tezera), Rhus Cotina, 
Rhus glabra, and others, the leaves of which are often mixed with 
those of the lentiscus, the myrtle, the myrtillia, the tamarisk, and the 
arbutus. That which comes from Sicily is considered the best, and 
sumach is one of the principal articles which that province exports. 
Two houses alone (those of M. Florio and M. Vetrano) in Palermo 
produce annually 6,000,000 kilogrammes, valued at about 4,000/. M. 
Majorana, of Catania, and Burgarella, of Trapani, produce pretty much 
the same quantity. The annual exportation of sumach from Sicily is 
valued at about 400,0002. The countries which receive it are England 
and France, as well as the other Italian provinces. Sardinia, also, 
produces and exports sumach, but only in small quantities, and the 
article itself is considered inferior to that obtained from Sicily. Sumach 
is principally used in the tanning of goat and sheepskins that are 
intended to take darkish colours, such as green or red (for lighter 
colours it is necessary to combine the sumach with the bark of holm 


808 ON THE TANNING MATERIALS AND 


oak), and is used, also, in the preparation of saddlery leather. The 
leaves of the fustic tree, or Venetian sumach (Italian ocotano), are used, 
like those of the common sumach, but almost exclusively in Umbria 
and the Marches, where the tanning process is carried on in pits. 

The usage of leaves of the myrtle (mortella), especially of the Myrtus 
communis, is very ancient in Italy. They are steeped in the water 
which is used to impregnate the hides with tanning. This mode of 
tanning, known as the Italian process, is very prevalent in Tuscany and 
in some of the southern provinces, and is adopted solely for tanning 
the skins of animals. In Sardinia, for sheepskins, they use sumach, 
mixed with myrtle and alum. The leaves of the lentisk tree (Pistacia 
Lentiscus) are employed for the same purposes as the myrtle in the 
Neapolitan provinces, Sardinia, and the Volterrano; it is worth about 
six francs the 100 kilogrammes. The leaves of the tamarisk are used 
by the Sicilian tanners, and are valued at about five francs the 100 
kilogrammes. The leaves of the arbutus (Arbutus unedo) were, in 
former times, greatly used and esteemed for tanning purposes. 

The leaves of the Rhododendron ferrugineum, which are very plenti- 
ful in the Alps which surround Piedmont, are used by some tanners 
particularly at Bielle, where, under the name of “rate” they are mixed 
with oak, bark, and the produce of the Cesalpinia Coriaria, or dividivi, 
which are imported from abroad. Leather produced by this means is 
used principally for soles. Various species of oak furnish very valuable 
bark, and great quantities are still procured in spite of the gradual dis- 
appearance of forests. The preference is given to those barks which are 
obtained from the cork tree of Tuscany and Sardinia, in which a large 
trade is carried on with England. In the forests belonging to the state 
lands of Tuscany alone 900 tons are annually collected, and from those 
which are the property of M. Maffei, at Volterra, 930 tons of different 
barks. 

The bark of the Quercus Robur, that of the Quercus sessiliflora and 
pedunculata are used, but chiefly in Southern Italy. At Turin the 
species known as the “ Turkey oak” which comes from Montserrat and 
the Comba are much esteemed. 

The Quercus Cerris is found abundantly in the central provinces ; its 
bark is used in the tanneries Mondovi, Cuneo, and Alexandria, for 
thick leather. 

The holm oak (Quercus ilex) produces a bark which is almost exclu- 
sively employed in the preparation of calf and goat skins, which are used 
for saddlery and shoemeking. Sardinia and Tuscany import considerable 
quantities of it. It is worth about ten or twelve shillings the 100 kilo- 
grammes. 

The bark of the cork tree (Quercus suber) is used with very few 
exceptions, for sole leather only. The bark of the Alnus glutinosa and 
Alnus cordifolia is used in Piedmont and Sardinia sometimes alone, but 
frequently mixed with other barks. 


DYE-STUFFS USED IN ITALY. 209 


The bark of the chesnut tree (Castanea vesca), which is used in Pied- 
mont, and especially at Biella, is highly esteemed for the preparation of 
skins, though it imparts a dark colour to them ; but this is, of course, 
an advantage when black is the colour desired. 

The Birch (Betula alba) grows abundantly in the Valtellina, and in 
the valleys of Aosta and Susa, but it is only used to prepare oxhides and 
cowhides in the same manner as Russia leather. 

The Norway spruce (a very excellent dye), gives to the sheep skins 
of Savoy and the valley of Aosta, which are sold profitably under the 
name of Savoy sheep skins, a fine light chamois colour closely resem- 
bling hazel. 

The bark of the larch (Larix europea, Dec.), as well as that of the 
fir, is frequently used in the small tanneries of the Alps, beyond Susa, 
where the value of it is estimated at from 5s. 5d. to 5s. 10d. per 100 
kilos., and with this they prepare sheepskins, which, however, are not 
highly thought of in the market of Turin ; and before they are made 
into morocco, it is the custom to pass them through a bath containing 
oak-bark and sumach. 

Gall-nuts are excrescences which are produced on the leaves, on the 
fruit, or on the bark of various plants, and especially on the leaves of 
the different speciesof oak. They are much used in Piedmont for the 
preparation of strong leather, but the hardness and greenish colour 
which they impart to it lowers their price at Turm. Quantities of gall- 
nuts are collected at Mondovi, at Cuneo, Borgo Maneco, in Piedmont, 
Ascoli, in the Marches, in the Tuscan Maremmas, Calabria, &c. 

The valonias (vallonea, gallonea) are the cups of oak acorns (Quercus 
Azgilops.) ‘Those with the finest scales, which almost entirely cover 
the acorn, are the most esteemed by our tanners, who call them“ valoni 
sticks” (vallonea camata.) Trieste and Leghorn are the most abundant 
markets for this produce, which is brought to Italy from the Levant, 
and particularly from Turkey, Greece, and the Ionian isles. Sicily also 
produces it, but in very limited quantity. In Lombardy and the 
Romagna, valonia is almost exclusively used by the tanners ; they mix it 
in Piedmont with oak bark. 

The Scilla maritima, which grows naturally on the shores of the 
Mediterranean, isa plant which the Algerian tanners have utilised. 

I have made some attempts to utilise the residue of the tanneries 
in paper making. 

Knoppern, or Hungary gall, is an excrescence growing on the acorn, 
and common oak, Quercus Hayern, and purbescens. 

Some application of the dividivi, or fruit of the Cesalpinia coriaria, 
have been made in the Piedmontese tan-yards, and especially at Ee 
Borgomanero, and Turin. 

Some attempts have been made in Englandon Catechu, extracted 
from the Areca Catechu, and the leaves of Nauclea Gambir. This sub- 
stance is but little known, and being always charged with rather heavy 

VOL. III. S 


210 ON THE TANNING MATERIALS AND 


duties, as the custom-house apply to it the the tariff of pharmaceutical 
substances, it cannot be employed in the Italian tanyards and dyeworks 
until its price shall be much redueed. 

The Algarobilla is the fruit of a leguminous plant of the genus 
Mimosa, which grows in abundance in Paraguay. Besides tannin and a 
yellow colouring matter, I have extracted from it starch, which is con- 
verted into alcohol during the tanning process, and which can be ob- 
tained by distilling the water that is left. 

The Bablah, the fruit of the Acacia Bablah, which is used in Africa, 
is little known among our tanners. 

The Ou-poci-tse, or Chinese gallnut, isan excrescence growing on the 
leaves of the Distylum racemosum, according to M. Decaisne. It comes 
from China and Japan ; it is used for tanning and for dyeing black, and 
produces a pecuharly beautiful pearl grey colour. 


We now come to the colouring matter, and in this list we include those. 


which are used for dyeing, colouring, and graduating the shades of the 
tissues, either by a direct process, or by means of heat, light, or the use of 
acids. For staining skins mineral substances, such as Prussian blue, or 
sulphate of iron—vegetable substances, such as the woods of Cuba, Per- 
nambuco, Campeachy ; indigo, the bark and roots of the berberry tree, the 
florets of the safflower, and lastly animal substances, such as cochineal are 
used. Leather dyeing is not altogether dissimilar to silk dyeing, but it is 
the most difficult branch of the dyeing art, because the nature of the ani- 
mal tissue must be taken into consideration. This becomes changed at 70 
degrees of heat, and it therefore requires skill to adjust the properties of 
tanning and colouring matters, and the various effects of all those processes 
which have for their object to convert raw hides into tanned leather. 

The chief colours produced are yellow, blue, and red ; the principal 
vellow colouring matters are the following :—The berberry (Berberis 
vulgaris) is a shrub which grows abundantly in the Piedmontese Alps ; 
its bark, and especially its roots, impart to hides tanned with alum and 
sumach, a rather durable tint of ight yellow. 

The wood and the roots of the fustic, or the sumach, yield a yellow 
or scarlet colour when they are mixed with cochineal, even tawny 
colours when they are mixed with indigo, carmine, orchella, or Cam- 
peachy wood, &e. 

Woad (Reseda luteola) is occasionally used for dyeing skins which have 
been steeped in sumach; it is used principally for sheep skins. It 
grows in abundance on the hills of Montferrato and the mountains of 
Ascoli ; and was formerly cultivated at Cortona, in Tuscany. 

The broom used by the dyers (Genista tinctoria) is applied to the 
same purposes as woad. It is very abundant in the first zones of the 
Alps. 

Saffron (Crocus sativus) is used in the dyeing of skins, but merely to 
give more brilliancy to the scarlet of the cochineal. The cultivation of 
saffron is very general in Italy ; the most celebrated places are those of 


DYE-STUFFS USED IN ITALY. 211 


Castelnuovo, Catania, in Sicily, Aquila in the Capitanata, St. Gavino in 
Sardinia, Bibbiena, and Montalcino in Tuscany. 

The seeds of Avignon (Rhamnus cathartica) are very plentiful in the 
Maremmas, and are used to dye the skins yellow, or green when they are 
mixed with indigo. 

Fustic (Maclura tinctoria) is employed for similar purposes as those 
of the roots of the berberry tree, but it does not give so deep a colour. 
The best comes from Cuba. 

Quercitron, or the bark of the Quercus tinctoria, might be used 
in the same manner as sumach. If this kind of oak were more culti- 
vated, it would be very useful in the tanning business. 

The green ebony from the Antilles (Hxcecaria glandulosa) or 
Jacaranda avalifolia, has been used with success in some of our dyeing 
works, but at present is not much known. 

For a description of the sulphur yellow ebony of Guiana, or Taign of 
Paraguay, or Tpé of Brazil and Uruguay, the Olombeire of the Indian 
colonies of Portugal, see the paper which I presented, in 1858, to the 
Academy of Sciences at Paris. 

Respecting the yellow bark of Australia, see a second treatise, pub- 
lished by me in June, 1857. If Australia sent us any great quantity 
our dye works would be able to employ it largely for the purpose of giv- 
ing sheep skins and stuffs a deep yellow colour, produced by an alkaloid 
sunilar to that of the berberry tree. 

We may also mention various sorts of wood coming from Siam and 
Australia, and among them the Ouan-disi of China, Gardenia sp. 

Picric acid, whichis made at Turin and Milan, by the action of nitric 
acid upon indigo and coal tar, is obtained by the distillation of the 
bitumen of coal (phenic acid). 

With regard to the production of blue colour. Amongst the matters 
employed by dyers, there is Prussian blue, obtained by the reaction of 
a salt of iron with soda and prussiate of potash. The blue colour of the 
indigo is produced ina large tub, either by a cold process with woad, or 
by dissolving indigo in sulphuric acid. Azuline is not used because of 
its high price. Indigo, lime, and sulphate of iron, are also used. 

The red colouring matters come next in order, and are as follows :— 
Madder (Rubia tinctoria) has for a long time been used in the dyeing of 
skins. The best comes from the plains of Capaccio, the neighbourhood 
of Salerno, Naples, and the Tuscan Maremmas, where it has been culti- 
vated for many centuries. At present, Brazil wood and cochineal are 
used for the same purposes. Attempts have been made to rear cochineal 
inthe kingdom of Sardinia, with not very satisfactory results ; some 
small quantity is produced in Sicily. i 

The berries of the Phytolacca decandra are used for dyeing purple and 
violet the skins prepared with sumach, and the sheepskins of Florence. 
The preparation and the use otf the orchella (Rocella tinctoria and Rocella 
Fusiformis, Variolaria orcina, and V. dealbata, Lecanora, &c.), has been 


QI ON THE TANNING MATERIALS AND 


discontinued in Tuscany, where formerly it was much esteemed. That 
which is at present used is prepared at Lyons and Huddersfield ; and 
the suggestions of Giobert and Cantu have not yet succeeded in inducing 
our workmen to use the colouring lichens, which are plentiful in Sar- 
dinia and the Alps. The safflower (Carthamus tinctorius) is used for 
dyeing skins and giving to them a metallic lustre. Ascoli, in the 
Marches, and Castrocaro, in Tuscany, have some commerce in this 
article. 

Sorgho (Sorghum glycichilum) is also a colouring plant, the stem 
and the rind ot which, being fermented, produce a crimson, yellow, and 
red dye. Under the name of ‘ violet woods,’ I have grouped a 
eertain number of dyewoods, belonging to different species, but which 
all alike have the property of giving a colourless substance, susceptible 
of being converted into a crimson red colouring matter by the influence 
of acids, heat, and light ; each of these agents will give wood, or its ex- 
tract, or any textile fabric, passed through a decoction of the wood 
itself, different tints varying from purple to violet, and from green to 
brown. Arnotto (Biza orellana), in non-alkaline solution is used to give 
the leather particular tints. ‘ 

Besides the Tsai, and the leaves of the Chica (Bignonia Chica), with 
which the Indians of South America prepare the curare, or curaruru, we 
have also to mention the numerous series of dyeing substances—red, 
violet, and bordering upon violet, known in commerce under the im- 
proper names of fuchsines, azuleines, &c., produced by the action of 
bichlorate of tin and mercury, arsenic acid, and the peroxide of man- 
ganese upon aniline, extracted from the distillation of coal-tar. These 
colours are brilliant, but not durable ; they resemble the yellow colour 
of berberry—in that they are more durable on tanned leather, the pre- 
sence of the tannin, and the chemical substance of leather having some 
influence upon these phenomena. 

As regards the process undergone by the skins in their conversion 
into leather, tanning by steeping has been generally relinquished, but 
is still used for goats’ and sheep’s skin. The processes followed by 
tanners, and the substances which they make use of, vary very much in 
each province, and, indeed, in every place. It cannot be said that there 
exists an Italian method of tanning; that which bears this name in Tus- 
cany, and which is confined to that province and to a few other locali- 
ties, being itself doomed to disappear for economical reasons. 

Italian, or rather Tuscan tanning, consists essentially im giving the 
skins a preparatory treatment (addobbo) by immersion in six or seven 
successive baths (ripassature) of a decoction of myrtle leaves, to which 
are added oak bark and valonia: the next thing done is the covering 
over (rammorto), which is effected by spreading the skins in a pit, with 
layers of a composition made of ground valonia, steeped in a decoction 
of myrtle. The tanning lasts from 300 days to a year, according to the 
thickness of the skin. The small streaks, more or less regular, which 


DYE-STUFFS USED IN ITALY. 213 


may be seen on the surface of the leather curried in Tuscany arise from 
the peculiar process applied to it, to give it a finish, by currying the 
skins with the liscia or Porbello, which is a glass implement, re- 
sembling the bottom of a glass bottle ; it is furnished with a handle ; 
to lift up the skin, it is held on one side,and a little elevated, but to 
smooth the skin, it is held horizontally ; the skin is next stretched with 
the orbello, and afterwards the last polish is given by the liscia. 

Tanning with myrtle leaves, which is still of great use in the small 
tanneries dispersed over the Neapolitan provinces, is effected by stretch- 
ing out the skins, covered with myrtle, in a pit filled with water, where 
they remain from 30 to 36 months ; the leaves are changed every 30 or 
40 days. In Sardinia many tanners make use of myrtle, lentiscus, 
tamarisk and alum. In Lombardy, and particularly at Pavia, Brescia, 
Trento, and Venetia, they use almost exclusively valonia for tanning, 
even without mixing it with myrtle. 

A method of tanning, called French tanning, has been for a long time 
carried on in Piedmont; it might indeed with propriety be called an 
Italian method. In the provinces of the centre and south of Italy, it is 
performed by spreading layers of yew bark and cork bark over the skins, 
whilst in Piedmont they more generally make use of oak bark, common 
oak bark, &c. In certain parts of the north of the peninsula, at Biella, 
Bra, and Mondori, for instance, they make use of oak galls, but this 
method, less approved than that where bark is used, 1s growing more 
into disuse every day, and is already confined to certain localities. In 
some tanneries they use a mixture of oak bark, dividivi, and the leaves of 
the Rhododendrum. 

The bark tanneries which enjoy the highest reputation in Italy, are 
those of Messina, in Sicily ; of Castellamare of Naples ; of Pavia, Milan, 
Leghorn, Santa Croce, in Tuscany ; Turin and Pinerolo, in Piedmont. 

For the manufacture of leather for saddlery and harness, the skins 
coming from the slaughter-houses are almost exclusively used ; they are 
treated with holm oak bark, cork bark, and the leaves of the sumach. 
The skins for saddlery are made chiefly at Fabriano, at Turin, and at 
Castellamare, and are exported to the various provinces of Italy, to the 
Levant, and Germany. 

This manufacture of cow-hides and calf-skins curried and waxed for 
boots and shoes, which has acquired such importance in Nantes, Bor- 
deaux, Geneva, and Lausanne, has been now for some time imported 
into Italy. Turin, Naples, and Florence have made great progress in its 
prosecution. 

Italy imports from France, and still more from Germany, the greatest 
part of the japanned leather which it makes up. For some years this 
manufacture has been introduced into Lombardy, Naples, Florence, and 
especially at Turin. The art of dyeing tanned skins with bark and with 
oil, &c., flourished in the fifteenth century at Venice and Florence. The 


“ 
214 NOTES ON INDIAN CORN. 


ancient reputation for this business has now passed to Naples and Turin, 
where the manufacture of late years has largely increased. 

The greater part of the goat and sheep skins are tanned with sumach 
brought from Sicily. In the Romagna they use fustic, which they 
enclose in sewed skins, like a bag, according to the Danish method of 
tanning. This method is also practised in Sicily. 

In Piedmont the skins which are to be dyed colours are prepared 
with sumach, and those which are to be dyed black with oak and fir 
bark. Sardinia, the valleys of Piedmont, the Brescianese, the Abruzzis 
and the Calabrias furnish the greater portion of raw skins ; the Marche, 
and Umbria export their skins half raw. Turin imports a certain 
quantity with the outside skin on, and some in leather, from France 
especially from Gap, Nice, and Marseilles. 

The manutacture of white sheep-skins for lining is confined to the 
localities in which they are consumed, or to those parts in which vege- 
table substances for tanning are not to be found. Savoy was a province 
which snpplied a certain quantity for exportation. Naples furnished 
sheep-skins for gloves, and Milan, Bologna, and Turin were the chief 
centres of these manufactures. The greater part of the skins destined,- 
for glove leather, only partly made up are exported to Paris and Grenoble 
because if they were sent in a completely finished state they would be 
subject to very high duties on passing the frontier. 

The manufacture of chamois leather, formerly so flourishing in 
Italy, has disappeared in a great degree from this part of the country, 
particularly from Piedmont, so that sheep-skins take the place of chamois 
leather for gloves ; calf leather has been substituted for military buff 
leather and cloth in dress. At present, the greater part of the sheep- 
skins made up chamois fashion come from England, and they are manu- 
factured upon a small scale at Lando, in Piedmont, and Florence. Turin 
has two manufactories of curried skins in imitation of buff leather ; 
there are others at Florence, Naples, and Leghorn. 


NOTES ON INDIAN CORN. 


Indian corn or maize may be said to be the staple and peculiar crop 
of North America. The export of this grain is fast becoming the hydra 
of famine throughout the world. Whenever Europe is short of 
food, America stands ready to supply the deficiency with the excess of 
her corn crop. No plant is more beautiful, and none so well suited 
to the varieties of the climate; for janywhere between the 43rd 
degree of north latitude and a corresponding parallel south, it may be 
grown in the greatest perfection. Its ease of hybridation has produced 
innumerable varieties, suited to every kind of soil and every degree of 


NOTES ON INDIAN CORN. 215 


temperature, from the time-enduring hard corn of Canada, to the 
Stowell’s evergreen for boiling in the unripe state. We have it suited 
to summers, varying from three to six months ; thus we find it in the 
North requiring but half the time for its growth that is requisite in the 
South, and still in each locality are kinds appropriated to the different 
lengths of summers. We may say of the Indian corn crop of America 
what Mr. Webster said of the turnip crop of England, that “its failure 
for three successive years would nearly bankrupt the nation.” Fortu- 
nately, however, by the recent improvements in agriculture, they are en- 
abled, in the growth of this crop, almost to defy drought, and to render 
every variety of soil suitable for the production of maximum quantities. 
It is the food of both man and animals; and even its stalks, by proper 
treatment, have been rendered equal in value to the whole labour and 
expense of raising the crop. To it America is indebted for her fine 
beef, her plentiful supply of pork, and also as an article of human food. 
It is the plant of the country ; and the olive branch might with pro- 
priety be taken from the claw of the national emblem, and the Indian 
corn plant substituted in its place. 

In proof of the American origin of this plant, it may be stated that 
it is still found growing in a wild state from the Rocky mountains to 
the humid forests of Paraguay, where, instead of having each grain 
naked, as is always the case after long cultivation, it is completely 
covered with glumes or husks. Columbus found the natives of His- 
paniola cultivating it in extensive fields, and those of other places first 
visited by him were also in possession of it. The first Englishmen 
by whom it was cultivated were they who settled in Virginia in 1760. 

In England all cereals used as food for man are called “corn ;” but 
those who first landed in America from that country found a new 
cereal, also used as food by the aborigines. They added it to their 
catalogue of corn with the prefix of Indian. As it had been for ages 
the main dependence of the Indians, so it has since become the real 
staff of life to thirty millions who now occupy their places, while it is 
gradually making its way to favour among other millions in Europe. 
The pioneers give no accounts of the Indians having many varieties 
of corn. They seem to have been content with what they had. The 
higher civilisation of the whites quickly seized on the new cereal, 
recognised its value as food for man and beast, improved its culture, 
multiplied its varieties, made its increase a hundred-fold, and, by the 
invention of machines for shelling it rapidly and grinding it cheaply, 
raised it to the position of a staple so important, that if the whole wheat 
crop of America were suddenly annihilated, the corn crop alone would 
supply the people plenteously with food. It already equals the wheat 
crop of the whole world. The latter can be profitably cultivated only 
within certain latitudes, but corn grows luxuriantly in all. The border 
states of the tropics refuse’to yield wheat. Louisiana and Florida produce 
but 1,500 bushels annually, but nearly 14,000,000 bushels of corn. 


216 NOTES ON INDIAN CORN. 


The annuai average wheat crop of the world is 900,000,000 bushels, 
of which nearly 200,000,000 may be credited to the United States. In 
1850 her corn crop was over 590,000,000 bushels, and in 1860 it was 
fully 900,000,000, thus equalling the wheat crop of the whole earth. 
The varieties of corn are numerous, and are continually increasing by 
improvement, and the introduction of seed from one section to another. 
The plant hybridises with great facility. Some choice varieties have been 
originated in this way. It would be almost impossible to enumerate 
the many varieties now cultivated, or to give the reasons why one is 
preferred above the others. 

Visitors at the recent Royal Horticultural Society’s collection, had 
an opportunity of inspecting the greatest variety of Indian corn, per- 
haps, ever before exhibited here, in the collections of Mr. P. L. Simmonds, 
Messrs. Barr and Sugden (both of which received prize medals), and 
the New York State Agricultural Society. The varieties of size, colour, 
and shape were remarkable. 

With proper cultivation in an ordinary season the crop should not 
be less than 60 bushels to the acre; 100 bushels is not an uncommon 
yield. The New York State Agricultural Society require a yield of 80 
bushels to the acre to be entitled to a premium. 

It isa remarkable fact in connection with this subject that, although 
the experience of the people of the entire American continent bears 
uniform testimony in favour of the palatableness, the healthfulness, and 
the economy of Indian corn, it is but little known to the people of those 
portions of Europe to whom cheap food is the great desideratum. The 
famine of 1847 brought it prominently into notice here, and once 
having tasted it, even after imperfect cooking, it has secured a perfect 
foothold. European chemists have discovered that corn contains 77 per 
cent. of nutritive matter, while wheat contains but 95. When a bushel 
of wheat is worth 95 cents, one of corn is worth 77, nutriment alone 
considered ; yet when corn has stood at 1 dol. per bushel, wheat has 
stood at 2 dols. 50 cents; thus, in buying wheat, we obtain, for any 
given amount of money, a little less than half the nutriment we obtain 
when buying corn. Why this disparity in price? It must be mainly 
sought for in supply and demand. Wheat is relished by a greater por- 
tion of the human family ; it may be kept sweet more readily in any 
of its stages of manufacture, whether stationary, or during transportation 
by sea or land; hence its superior commercial value. Then, all the 
world is familiar with it as an article of food, while not a tenth of its 
population ever heard of Indian corn. Wheat needs no introduction among 
any people, while corn has required thorough judicious and persistent 
effort by European Governments to induce even famishing communities 
to consume it. 

It is well known that residents in American cities are small con- 
sumers of Indian corn in comparison with those who live in rural dis- 
tricts. This is because the former do not so well understand the art of 


NOTES ON INDIAN CORN. D7 


cooking it in the numerous forms of which it is susceptible. No wonder 
that European nations, to whom the grain and meal are novelties, should 
be more ignorant of their value, and should, therefore, refuse to consume 
them. But since 1855 the Prussian Government has left no means 
untried to ascertain the best mode of preparing corn bread. As corn 
meal, even when the dough is nicely risen, always falls when placed in 
the oven, producing an unsatisfactory bread, a multitude of experiments 
were tried with mixtures of potato flour, wheat, rye, and other substances. 
Rye flour was found te be the best. But most of these experiments were 
unfortunately made with meal which had soured before reaching Berlin. 
Finding it to be coarsely ground, the operators caused it to be ground 
very fine, not knowing:that no kind of grain is spoiled by fine grinding 
except Indian corn. In spite of these discouragements, Germany is 
annually consuming larger quantities, as her people become better 
acquainted with the article. In England and Ireland it has become 
permanently domesticated. Its introduction has been slow, but nothing 
seems more certain than that a few years hence will witness an enormous 
European demand, not the result of famine, but of popular appreciation 
of this cheap and wholesome staple. 

Common preference, as well as chemical analysis, proves that the 
round northern yellow variety contains the most nutriment, and is in all 
respects best adapted for the consumption of people living in high lati- 
tudes. The white variety, by its resemblance to wheaten flour when 
manufactured, meets with a ready sale where the difference is not known 
or where the appearance is alone consulted. 

There are a great number of varieties of corn in cultivation, and 
these varieties have become considerably intermingled. The principal 
varieties, which may be distinguished by the number ef rows or grains, 
on the cob, and the colour, shape, or size of the kernels, may be classi- 
fied and described as follows : 

1. Yellow corn. Golden Sicux, or Northern Flint corn, having a 
large cob with twelve rows of moderate-sized grains ; very oily. This 
is regarded as one of the best varieties for fattening animals, or for 
human food. By skilful tillage, 130 bushels have been raised to the 
acre, weighing 9,216 lbs. in the ear ; when dry, 75 lbs. of ear gave a 
bushel when shelled. 

2. King Philip, or the eight-rowed yellow corn. Its ears, which con- 
tain only eight rows, are longer than those of the Golden Sioux, and 
it will yield about the same quantity of oil. It is a hardy plant which 
belongs to a high latitude ; grows to about nine feet in height ; stalks 
small; ears from 10 to 14 inches in length. 

3. Canada corn, or eighteen-rowed yellow corn, whichis smaller, earlier, 
and more solid than any of the preceding, contains more oil than any 
other variety except the rice corn and the poss corn. It is exceedingly 
valuable for fattening poultry, swine, &c., and is grown by many in 
gardens for early boiling. 

VOL IIL. T 


218 NOTES ON INDIAN CORN. 


4. Dutton Corn. The cob sometimes grows to a length of fourteen 
or fifteen inches, but the grain is so compact on it, that two bushels of 
small ears have yielded five pecks of shelled corn, weighing 62 lbs. to 
the bushel. With proper management, an acre of ground will yield 
one hundred to one hundred and twenty bushels to the acre. As it is 
very oily, gives a good yield, and ripens early, it has always been a 
favourite variety for culture in the North. 

5. Southern Big Yellow Corn. The cob of this corn is thick and long 
the grain much wider than it is deep, and the rows unite with each other. 
The grain contains less oil and more starch than the Northern Flint 
kinds; yet its outward texture is somewhat flinty, solid, and firm. It 
comes to maturity rather later, affords an abundant yield, and is much 
used for fattening animals. 

6. Southern Small Yellow Corn. The ears of this variety are more 
slender as well as shorter than the last named ; the grains are smaller, 
though of the same form, of a deep yellow, more firm and flinty, and 
contains an abundance of oil, which renders it more valuable for the 
purpose of shipping, or for feeding poultry or swine. 

7. Rhode Island White Flint Corn. The grains of this variety are 
about the size and shape of those of the Tuscarora corn, but differs from 
them in containing an abundance of a transparent colourless oil, which 
may be easily seen through their clear pellucid hulls. The farinaceous 
parts of the grains are white, and as the quantity of oil which they con- 
tain is large, the flour or meal is more substantial as an article ot food, 
and less liable to ferment and become sour. 

8. Southern Little White Flint Corn. The kernels of this variety 
are smaller than those of the preceding, and much resemble them in 
shape, but they are more firm and solid, contain more oil, and conse- 
quently are of more value for feeding poultry and swine, and for human 
food. 

9. Dutton White Flint Corn. A variety not differing materially from 
the Yellow Dutton Corn, except in the colour of the oil. 

10. Early Canadian White Flint Corn. Cultivated principaliy for 
early boiling and roasting, while green. 

11. Tuscarora Corn. The ears contain from twelve to sixteen rows 
of grain, which are nearly as deep as they are broad, of a dead whitish 
colour on the extreme end, are entirely composed within of pure white 
dextrine, except the germs. As it contains neither gluten nor oil it may 
be profitably employed in the manufacture of starch. It is much softer 
and better food for horses than the flinty kind, and if used before it 
becomes sour, it may be converted into excellent bread. It is also an 
excellent variety for boiling when green, or in the milky state. 

12. Fine White Flint Corn. The ears of this variety contain 
‘twelve rows of rather white, roundish, thick grains which are filled 
with a snowy white flour composed principally of starch, but contains 
neither gluten nor oil. It is much used. 4s it possesses similar proper- 


NOTES ON INDIAN CORN. 219 


ties with the preceding variety, it may be profitably used for the same 
purpose. It is also an excellent variety for boiling, when green. 

7. Virginia White Seed Corn. The ears of this corn which are not 
very Jong (nor is the cob so long as those of the Big White or Yellow 
Flint), contain from twenty-four to thirty-six rows of very long narrow 
grains. These grains at their extreme ends are almost flat, and grow so 
closely together from the cob to the surface, that they produce a greater 
yield than any other variety in proportion to the size of the ears. They 
contain more starch, and less gluten and oil than those of the Flint 
kinds, and from their softness they serve as better food for horses ; but 
are less nourishing to poultry and swine. This variety ripens later, 
though it is more productive than any other kind. 

8. Early Sweet Corn. There are two kinds of this corn; one with 
the cob red, and the other white. The ears are short, and usually con- 
tain eight rows, the grains of which when mature, are of a higher colour, 
and become shrivelled, appearing as if they were unripe. It contains a 
very large proportion of the phosphates, and a considerable quantity of 
sugar and gum, though but little starch. It is extensively cultivated for 
culinary purposes, and is delicious food when boiled green. 

9. Rice Corn. A small variety, with small conical ears, the kernel 
terminating in sharp points which give them the appearance of burrs; 
the kernels in size and shape something like rice. It contains more oil 
and less starch than any other kind, and when ground its meal cannot 
be made into bread alone, but is dry ike sand. From its oily nature 
and peculiar size this corn is well adapted for feeding poultry. 

10. Pearl Corn, commonly called pop-corn, from the fact of its being 
used for popping or parboiling. The ears of this variety are small, the 
grains are sound, of various shades of colour (8), the white of a pearly ~ 
appearance ; and contains with the rice corn, more oil and less starch 
than any other variety. 

11. Chinese Tree Corn. It is a pure white variety, a very handsome 
ear, about ten inches long, has ten rows, grain very closely set, long and 
wedge-shaped, well filled out to the end of the cob, some of the grains 
slightly indented. One peculiarity of this corn is, the ears grow on the 
buds of the branches, hence its name “tree corn.’ It is said to yield 
from one-third to one-fourth more than the common varieties ; when 
ground into meal it is handsomer and better flavoured than the common 
varieties of white corn. There are generally two ears on a stalk, and 
often three. 

There are many other species of corn, but the foregoing embrace 
pretty well all those worthy of cultivation. 


220 


INDIAN MANUFACTURES IN PRECIOUS METALS. 
BY A, M. DOWLEANS. 


The finest enamelled work of India is produced in the independent 
Rajpootana state of Jeypore, and considered of great artistic merit. The 
enamellers came originally from Lahore. The enamel is a kind of glass 
made in earthen vessels, and when fused the colouring matters are added ; 
the whole is then allowed to cool, and in this state is kept for use. Only 
pure silver or gold articles are enamelled. From the silver the enamel 
may come off in course of time ; but it never does from the gold. All 
good enamel is consequently only applied to gold, which must be free 
from alloy, or otherwise it would tarnish by contact with the enamel in 
the great heat to which it is subsequently exposed. The gold is first 
earved of the required pattern ; the enamel, having been ground to an 
impalpable powder, and made into a paste with water, is then placed on 
the exact spot required by the pattern. The article is then strongly 
heated, much skill being required to take it out at the precise moment 
when the enamel is thoroughly fused, but before the colours begin to run 
into one another. As soon as removed, the workmen then exert the full 
power of their lungs in blowing upon it as quickly and as violently as 
possible. The hardest colours are first placed in the furnace and fused, 
and then those which melt more easily. Afterwards the whole is ground 
and polished. The enamelled work of Jeypore is very highly valued, 
and can only be procured through H. H. the Rao of Jeypore himself, by 
whom the workmen are employed. The artisans themselves form asmall 
family, and the real process of enamelling is kept by them as a secret, 
which descends from father to son like an heirloom. 

Enamelling, as applied to jewellery, consists of an extremely fine pen- 
cilling of flowers and fancy designs in a variety of colours, the prevailing 
ones being white, red, and blue, and is invariably applied to the inner 
sides of bracelets, armlets, anklets, necklaces, earrings, surpezes, tiaras, 
and all that description of native jewellery, the value depending upon 
the fineness of the work, and often exceeding that of the precious stones 
themselves. In general the cost is moderate, as the finest specimens are 
only made to order. The best come from Benares, Delhi, and the Raj- 
pootana states. 

The manufacture of enamels on articles of domestic use like the 
above is almost entirely restricted to Hyderabad. It presents no varie- 
ties, but in general consists of a blue coating interlined with white on a 
surface of silver, and is applied to rose-water sprinklers, spice-boxes, 
basins, and such-like articles. The merit of the manufacture lies in the 
simplicity of the enamel itself, and in the lightness of the silver article 
to which it is applied. Though pleasing, it is the coarsest enamel pro- 
duced in India. 

Bidri, or Biddery ware, derives its name from Bider, a city situated 


ON INDIAN MANUFACTURES IN PRECIOUS METALS, 221 


about sixty miles to the N.W. of Hyderabad. It is a species of inlaid 
ware of excellent form and graceful pattern. The stages of the manufac- 
ture are as follows :— 

A mass of finely-powdered and sifted old laterite dust mixed with 
cow-dung is put upon a rude lathe, and when dry, carefully turned to 
the correct shape. The model having been smoothed with a chisel, is 
next covered with a mixture of wax and oil boiled together ; when dry, 
the whole mass is carefully smoothed and turned. Over this coating is 
plastered a second layer of laterite dust, moistened with water alone ; 
this coat is rough, and not subsequently smoothed down. The next stage 
consists in boring two openings in the composite mould, and placing it 
in the fire, the effect of which is to melt the intermediate layer of wax, 
and thus to leave a vacant space for the reception of the alloy. Into this 
space is poured the allcy, consisting of one part of copper and four parts 
of pewter.* The vessel has now a dull leaden look ; itis hard, but 
easily cut. This shell, as it may be called, is carefully turned, and upon 
its smooth surface the pattern is traced by hand. This tracing is done 
rapidly. The workman next takes a small chisel and hammer, and, fol- 
lowing the lines of the pattern, cuts it deeply and expeditiously, scooping 
out the tracings of the little leaves, &., and leaving an indented, but 
rough surface. This rough surface is next smoothed down by hammer- 
ing gently with a blunt-pointed chisel, and the space is then ready for 
the process of inlaying. Thin plates of very pure silver are then taken, 
and the little leaves (or other patterns) are cut out with a small hammer 
and chisel ; each little leaf is then raised separately by the chisel and 
finger tip, and hammered gently but carefully into the depression in- 
tended forit. This part of the process is tedious. In the more durable 
kinds of Bidri ware, silver wire is substituted for silver leaf. The vessel 
in this state is rough, and requires smoothing ; this is done with a com- 
mon file and a curved scraper of a rude and clumsy form. The hole in 
the bottom of the vessel is filled up with lead, and smoothed down. 
Finally, the vase is gently heated, and, while warm, is blackened by the 
application of a powder (supposed to consist of chalk and sal-ammoniac, 
chloride of ammonium). This imparts a brilliant black polish to the 
shell, and careful hand rubbing brings out the polish of the silver. 

GLASS INLAID WITH GoLD.—This manufacture is peculiar to Indore, 
in Central India, but it does not constitute a regular trade. It is inva- 
riably applied to articles of personal decoration, such as necklaces, arm- 
lets, brooches, earrings, &c., which are set by native jewellers according 
to the taste of the purchaser. These subjects generally consist in a re- 


* The metal employed for the groundwork of the ‘ Bidri ware’ is stated by Dr. 
Hamilton to consist of zinc 12,360 grains, copper 460 grains, and lead 414 grains, 
melted together, a mixture of resin and hees’ wax being introduced into the 
crucible to prevent calcination. Dr. Hayne states that it is composed of copper 
16 0z., lead 4 oz., tin 2 0z., and that to every 3 oz. of this alloy, when melted for 
use, have to be added 16 oz. of zinc. 


222 ON INDIAN MANUFACTURES IN PRECIOUS Miztaus. 


presentation of the avatars, or pictures of the metamorphoses of Indian 
deities ; and the work is so perfect that it will stand, not only the in- 
fluence of climate, but even rough handling. 

The specimens of this kind of work have no fixed market value, and 
the price is therefore entirely dependent upon the number of competi- 
tors that may be in the field when any of them are offered for sale. A 
set of these ornaments, consisting of a necklace, earrings, two armlets, 
and a brooch in plain gold, contributed to the Exhibition of 1851, was 
valued at 1,700 rupees or 170]. A duplicate forwarded to the Paris Exhi- 
bition in 1855, was purchased for 600r., or 601. 

Koftgari work, or steel inlaid with gold, has in former days been car- 
ried on to a considerable extent in various parts of India. It was chiefly 
used for decorating armour; and among the collections exhibited on the 
present occasion are some very fine specimens of guns, coats of mail, hel- 
mets, swords, and sword handles, to which the process of Koftgari has 
been successfully applied. These specimens, however, are not the manu- 
facture of the present day. Since the late rebellion in India, the manu- 
facture of arms has been generally discouraged, and Koftgari work is 
consequently now chiefly applied to ornamenting a variety of fancy 
articles, such as jewel caskets, pen and card trays, paper weights, paper 
knives, inkstands, &c. The process is exactly the same as that pursued 
in Europe, and the workmen can copy any particular pattern required. 
The work is of high finish, and remarkable for its cheapness. 

Koftgari is chiefly carried on in Goojerat and Kotli, in the Sealkote 
district. It was formerly much in vogue for decorating armour and the 
blades and hilts of swords, but the artisans now confine themselves 
chiefly to the manufacture of ornamental paper knives, &c. The speci- 
mens above mentioned have been contributed by the Kotli artisans. 

Several admirable specimens of inlaid metal work by the native arti- 
sans of Bhooj were to be seen in the collection of arms contributed by 
H. H. the Rao of Kutch for the Exhibition. 

The native silversmiths of Cuttack have long been noted for the fine- 
ness, neatness, and lightness of their filigree work. This kind of work is 
executed, for the most part, under supervision, by mere boys, whose 
nimbler fingers and keener eyesight are supposed to enable them to bring 
out and put together the minute patterns with more distinctness and 
accuracy than their elders can; comparative cheapness is, perhaps, 
another reason for their employment. The ruling rates for this filigree 
work are from two to two and a half rupees, that is to say, taking the 
first rate, two rupees or four shillings is charged for every rupee weight 
of finished silver work, namely, one rupee for workmanship, and one 
rupee as the price of the silver. This branch of industry is, however, 
declining from want of sufficient demand. These articles are all of the 
purest silver. The filigree work in gold seems almost as good as that of 
Delhi. 

A large number of articles in gold and silver are’ annually made at 


ON THE CULTURE AND TRADE IN ALMONDS. 223 


Bhooj, principally for Europeans. The Goolabdanas, or rose-water 
sprinklers, are, however, manufactured for native use. The silver and 
gold used is very nearly pure. The principa: artisans are Vishram Gold- 
smith, Jewram Shamjee, and Heerjee Nagjee. The charge is at the rate 
of eight annas per tola weight. 

Bangles made of jade from Mogoung, in the north of Burinah. The 
bright green tint seen in these specimens is the characteristic peculiarity 
of the Burmese jade, or precious serpentine. The Chinese have a perfect 
mania for it, using it for Mandarins’ buttons, pipemouth pieces, and 
various articles of personal ornament and luxury. They estimate it 
according to the purity of the white and brightness of the green tints. 

These bangles, though of good quality (they cost 125r. or 121. 10s., 
and were obtained from the owner with difficulty even at that price), are 
by no means of the finest description. 

The Chinaman who sold the bangles showed the Committee a speci- 
men which he assured them would fetch in China sixty times its weight 
in silver, and that the really first-rate is sold for as much as forty times 
its weight in gold ; this appears incredible, but all inquiry tends to show 
that the Chinese will give almost anything for fine jade. 


THE CULTURE AND TRADE IN ALMONDS. 
BY M. DE BEC. 


Almonds are objects of considerable commerce in France, Spain, and 
Italy. There are two kinds, one bitter, which is obtained chiefly from 
Majorca, Algeria, and Mogador, and is used in the preparation of liqueurs, 
macaroons, and different medicinal compounds ; the other kind is sweet. 
This last was perfectly represented at the Exhibition by fifty varieties, 
shown by M. de Bec, Director of the Agricultural School of Montaurone 
(Mouths of the Rhone). The production of almonds is an important source 
of revenue, the more so as their quality is first rate, the atmosphere being 
very favourable to the growth of the plant which produces them. The 
exhibition of them has therefore rendered a great service to agriculture 
in displaying at the same time the best and the worse kinds, and the 
French jury has thought proper to reproduce in its official report this 
nomenclature, which is the fruit of forty years assiduous labour. M. de 
Bee gives the following details with regard to the different species of 
almonds. 

Sweet Almonds.—1. The shell very tender, easily receives the impres- 
sions of the weakest fingers. This almond is known by the name of 
Princess, Its price in the shell is about 40 francs the hectolitre. It be- 


224 ON THT CULTURE AND TRADE IN ALMONDS. 


comes eatable in July, ripe towards the end of August, and the seeds are 
gathered in September. 

2. The shells not quite so soft as the preceding. There are four 
varieties known as the Matheson, the Abeysasse, the Sans Grace, and the 
Boutreve, which are of a fine quality, and are sold at 30 francs the hec- 
tolitre. These ripen in the early part of September. 

3. The shells rather hard. Of these there are two varieties, which are 
sold in the shell af 25 francs the hectolitre. They flower in February 
and the beginning of March, and are ripe by the end of August or be- 
ginning of September. 

4. The shells hard. Of this kind also there are two varieties, the 
large and the small, and these are esteemed the best of all the hard 
almonds. They are sold in the shell at 20 francs the hectolitre. They 
are in flower during the whole of March, and ripen about the 15th of 
September. 

5. These shells are hard, the plant flowering late in the year. There are 
six kinds of this species distinguished from each other by the names of 
the large green, the small green, the spring, the Laty, and the late almond. 
The two first flower in March and September, and ripen in April, and 
are of great value as an article of commerce. That known as the spring 
almond flowers very late in April, and ripens in September. This variety 
isanewone. The late almond, which flowers in March and ripens in 
September. They are sold at the price of 18 franes the hectolitre, and 
the demand for them is very great. 

6. Hard shells, common quality, large quantities produced. Of these 
there are a great many varieties, of which the chief are those known by 
the names of Madame, Ailland, pointue, grosse of aumove, jumette, Bor- 
dette, Guillaume, noisette, ventre, Mastan, Aveline, pistache, of the 
Levant, Psate, Lisette, La Boule, La Vignerone, the round almond, the 
double almond, the croix, Robert, St. Esteve, Longnette, naturelle, Las- 
tane, La Gommée, admirable, la rouge, &c. &e. There is a considerable 
sale of the above variety of almonds, but the production of them is un-- 
certain. The price given for those in the shell is about 18 francs the 
hectolitre. In commerce, however, they are only bought when freed 
from the shell, and the price varies according to the demand that may 
exist, and indeed this is the case with every variety. 

7. Shells very hard, skins bitter. These almonds, which possess a 
very bitter flavour, are sold at about 20 francs the hectolitre, They are 
much valued, especially for the preparation of liqueurs, and hold no 
despicable place in the list of useful and medicinal drugs. Great quan- 
tities of them are produced, as their cultivation requires only ordinary 
care and skill, The study of the cultivation of, and commerce in almonds 
is one of no slight importance, for the fruit enters pre-eminently into 
domestic and other uses, forming a principal ingredient in cookery, medi- 
cine, and commerce. 

The ordinary varieties of commerce in Provence are the Crombees 


ON SILK MANUFACTURE IN THE EXHIBITION. 225 


and other sorts, naked and soft-shelled, called Aberanes, Matterones, and 
Molures, sold ordinarily in the shell; Princess almonds, consumed in 
France, Belgium, Holland, Germany, and Russia ; Ladies’ almonds, sent 
chiefly to the United States ; and wavy almonds (Amandi flot), employed 
principally in confectionery, as burnt almonds, and for fine pastry. The 
last kind is obtained especially from Lower Provence, and the best comes 
from the territory of Aix, and are all consumed in Paris, where they 
realise double the price of the ordinary varieties of almond. They are 
also those which keep the best. 

The imports of almonds into France were, in 1860, 714,256 kilo- 
grammes, and the exports 2,379,839 kilogrammes. The imports into 
England for the same year were 7,361 cwts. of bitter almonds, and 19,638 
ewt. of sweet almonds. 


SILK MANUFACTURE IN THE EXHIBITION. 
BY THOMAS WINKWORTH. 


The silk manufacture in Europe is of considerable antiquity, its 
introduction dating from the thirteenth to the fifteenth centuries. 
Depending so much on mild and uniform temperature, the difficulties of 
acclimatising the worm and the source of its food—the mulberry-tree— 
have often been insuperable. When, however, these have been sur- 
meunted, as more especially in Italy and France, the profit has rarely 
failed to reward the adventurers. But it is an industry of slow growth, 
requiring great care, and involving much dead capital. 

The manufactured article is susceptible of important adaptations, as 
well for the splendid garments of the luxurious and the wealthy as for 
the economic decoration of the humbler classes. From the Queen on 
the throne, resplendent in all the magnificence of damask and many- 
coloured brocade, to the factory-girl who can afford to purchase a dress 
of plain or checked Gros de Naples, silk is the material which, beyond 
all others, may be made to suit the tastes and pecuniary means of nearly 
all grades of civilised society. 

A glance in the International Exhibition at the many forms manu- 
factured silks assume, and at the many textures into which it is more or 
less incorporated, demonstrates the fact that modern discoveries and 
inventions have opened up channels for its use, of which, but for this 
extraordinary opportunity of seeing for ourselves, we could scarcely have 
formed a conception. The demand, therefore, for the raw material, has 
been rapidly increasing, while, like its rival necessity, cotton, but from 
a very different cause, the supply of late has been comparatively scanty. 
In the one case,a most disastrous and unnatural war has closed the channels 

VOL. III, U 


226 ON SILK MANUFACTURE IN THE EXHIBITION. 


of export to Europe, while in the other a disease as mysterious in its 
origin, progress, and agency as the cholera, has destroyed myriads of 
worms in the silk producing districts of Italy, France, and elsewhere on 
the continent. 

But severe as are these trials, they are not unmitigated evils, and 
afford additional illustrations of the theory—as paradoxical as it is true— 
that war, pestilence, and famine are more frequently than otherwise the 
harbingers of improved civilisation, open up new fields of production, 
and give to the resources of art and science, larger scope for profitable 
development. It cannot be doubted that when the American ports are 
again thrown open to the commerce of the world, cotton cultivators and 
merchants will find that in the European markets, which they have so 
long abandoned, they will have seriously to cope with other and newer 
producers in far distant climes, who have been encouraged and stimulated 
to competition by the prices their cotton has commanded during the 
years of famine. So of silk ; China and Bengal have come to the rescue, 
and have not only supplied to a great extent the vacuum occasioned by 
the devastating worm-disease with the raw material, but millions of eggs 
from the vast regions of Asia have been exported to Europe, where, by 
crossing enfeebled breeds with the more healthy and hardy races of the 
far East, the foundation has been laid for an ultimate supply of silk 
larger in quantity and better in quality than was ever before known. 

It will also be found that a new and formidable producer has recently 
entered the field of competition. Japan, whose many natural resources 
are beginning to be understood, is already giving earnest of an intention 
to achieve for itself a position as @ commercial country. Of this, as 
regards silk, some interesting particulars have been furnished to the 
Jury by Lord John Hay, published in the last number of the 
TECHNOLOGIST. 

In reviewing the progress of this trade since 1851, so far as the silks 
now exhibited afford the necessary evidence, it is proposed to take each 
important country alphabetically, and to group together those which do 
not seem to require separate notice. Acting on this arrangement, the 
first country which challenges attention is— 

AvstriA.—It will be seen in the list that out of thirty-six exhibitors of 
raw, thrown, and manufactured silks, the jury have only awarded medals 
to nine, and made honourable mention of nineteen others. Some progress; 
however, is apparent since 1851, which may be attributed to the removal of 
the incubus of prohibition and the substitution of a moderate import duty. 
This relaxation has produced its natural result, for the opportunity it has 
for the first time afforded to the silk manufacturers of Austria, of com- 
paring the productions of other countries with their own, has led to an 
appreciable improvement ; and the occasional introduction of weaving 
by power enables them to produce some classes of plain goods, which 
being cheaper than heretofore, find markets in the Danubian principali_ 
ties, in other parts of Germany, and even in the United States. But the 


ON SILK MANUFACIURE IN THE EXHIBITION. 227 


disposition to cultivate the more showy and weighty fabrics for furniture 
and ecclesiastical purposes, which give scope for the introduction of infe- 
rior materials at the expense of intrinsic value, still prevails. As much 
that appeared at the International Exhibitions of 1851 and 1855 as of 
Austrian supply, was really from Italy, then under the dominion of tha! 
country, the display is not so considerable of the raw and thrown article 
as on those occasions. 

France—tThe silk industry of this country is so important, from the 
large capital invested, the number of persons employed, and the perfec- 
tion to which it has attained, that the position it occupies is deservedly 
prominent. As compared with the display of silk textures made in 1851 
some disappointment may perhaps be felt, which can be thus explained. 
In that year the manufacturers of Lyons betrayed so little disposition in 
the first instance to expose their goods to competition, that in order to 
render it really worthy of the country, the Chamber of Commerce of that 
city interfered and purchased specimens of the most choice silks, not only 
of recent production, but of former years, which were very tastefully dis_ 
played and commanded universal admiration. The situation also which 
the French silks occupied on that occasion was one of the most com- 
manding in the building, while the artistic and uniform character of the 
lofty and well-lighted cases in which they were exhibited assisted the 
general effect. And lastly, it must be conceded that, as compared with 
the English departments, the superiority was too obvious to be disputed: 
In all these particulars the French are now unfortunate. The manufac- 
turers of Lyons and St. Etienne exhibit only their most recent produc- 
tions, and these, with few exceptions, do not, from the prevailing fashion 
for comparative simplicity of design, involve the necessity for elaborate 
patterns and complicated workmanship. The choice of situation made 
by the French Commission for this important department is certainly 
not a happy one, and this is not improved by the confined character of 
the glass cases in which the goods are displayed, on one side exposed to 
the utmost glare of light, and on the other suffering under a noonday 
eclipse. As regards the comparison generally instituted between the 
French and English silk goods, the great improvement so clearly visible 
in the latter since 1851, as elsewhere noticed, place those of the former 
at a disadvantage. But it must not from hence be inferred that the 
fancy silks of France are in any important particular inferior to what 
they were at that epoch ; and in one remarkable instance of what can be 
produced when ingenuity, taste, artistic skill, and pecuniary courage are 
combined, two specimens by one manufacturer (France, 1871) are exhi- 
bited, which are unquestionably the most elaborately beautiful that 
have ever yet been seen. The ground of each is the same, namely, rich 
white satin, but the patterns are different ; and both involve for their 
complete development no less than about 300 tints of colour, all of which 
in their distinct gradations are shown on reels strung together, and 
classed according to their separate shades. One pattern consists of 


228 ON SILK MANUFACTURE IN THE EXHIBITION. 


groups of orchids, the other of birds of paradise and humming birds. 
The texture of the figures, viz., brocade ‘affords great scope for the intro- 
duction of variety of colour, but never before were the skill and patience 
of the operatives so taxed ; the intricacies of the designs, and the deli- 
cacy of the colours necessary to throw them into full relief, being of so 
original and extraordinary a character. The enterprising manufacturer 
has met with suitable encouragement ; one of our silk mercers in Lon- 
don having purchased all that the manufaeturer has produced of these 
two patterns. Tours de force, however, are in their nature exceptional, 
whether woven at Lyons or Coventry ; for it is to the production of 
goods which suit the many that manufacturers find it to their interest to 
devote their energies, and purchasers soon discover for themselves where 
to find the best and the cheapest. 

There is one advantage which the silk manufacturers of France enjoy 
beyond those of all other European countries, except Italy,—viz., that 
they produce on their own soil a large portion of the raw material with 
which their looms are supplied. This has to some extent been of late 
curtailed by the worm disease having extended its ravages into the silk- 
growing districts, which has unfortunately led to the introduction of the 
raw produce of China, Bengal, and Japan, to supply the deficiency thus 
created, and with the manipulation of which in the silk mills, throwsters 
are not yet familiar, but there is no reason to fear the extinction of the 
races. On the contrary, attention being promptly given to the causes of 
the calamity, as far as they could with any degree of probability be 
ascertained, and a special commission having been successfully sent out 
to search for healthy seed in the Caucasus and elsewhere, an improvement 
has already obtained, and in due time native production will be restored 
to its former importance. 

In a paper on this subject, signed “ Bella,” inserted in ‘ Le Commerce 
Séricole, of July 23, 1862, published at Lyons, there are some very valu- 
able details respecting the causes of this calamity, and the steps taken to 
reduce it. ‘The more important of these will be found, freely translated, 
as given below. For the technical words “ edueation” and “ educators,” 
the reader will understand breeding and breeders. It must be borne in 
mind that the writer, an intelligent Frenchman, speaks from his point of 
view, which differs somewhat from ours, but may not be the less trust- 
worthy on that account. After alluding to the relations of France with 
China, from which he anticipates important advantages, especially as 
respects the facilities it will afford for the introduction of improved breeds 
of the silkworm, M. Bella goes on to say that— 

““ Many of those who admire satins and velvets at the International Ex- 
hibition are far from suspecting the imminent dangers that threaten the 
factories from which they spring. They are probably ignorant of the fact 
that terrible epidemics have for several years past attacked the precious 
insects that spin the silk from which those beautiful articles are manu- 
factured, and which, if not arrested in their destructive progress, must 


ON SILK MANUFACTURE IN THE EXHIBITION. 229 


soon exhaust the source of all these riches. What then is that epidemic 
which has successively extended its ravages over the major part of Eu- 
rope? Our French savans have named it ‘ pétrine’ ; Italians call it ‘the 
predominant malady.’ Its characteristics seem to vary, and the bitumi- 
nous spots which at first appear to mark this disease do not always ac- 
company it, and are not uniformly its most alarming symptoms. But by 
whatever name it may be called, the epidemic is nevertheless frightful ; 
entire batches of silkworms die before spinning ; others only spin poor 
cocoons, the best of which cannot reproduce without bequeathing to 
their posterity the germ of a deadly and increasing disease. It is thus 
that the bombyx Mori, of which France and Italy were so proud, and 
which they had spent ages in producing and improving, has already in 
great part disappeared. 

“ The International Exhibition occurring at so critical an epoch, has 
interest in this direction to men who desire to trace effects to causes, and 
who are entrusted with the preparation of the future of production : it 
is their province to examine, in all its details, the progress made to ward 
off and subdue a scourge which so cruelly obstructs the rearing of silk- 
worms. The efforts hitherto made towards this object have taken three 
very distinct directions. 

“Ist. The spinners requiring, without delay, large quantities of co- 
coons to supply their factories, have sent out active and intelligent agents, 
either to buy cocoons or to obtain eggs of all varieties of the bombyx 
from countries not yet visited with the disease. They have thus created 
a new industry, that of ‘graineurs,’ who establish themselves in non- 
infected districts, where they buy healthy cocoons, which, when developed 
into moths, are encouraged to breed. They then return to France with 
a precious supply of eggs, which are sold to our ‘ educators.” The races 
which are thus imported are less delicate than our indigenous breeds, 
and are, perhaps, somewhat coarser in quality ; but they resist the epi- 
demic more certainly, and produce passably good silk. The greater part 
of the cases in the Exhibition of Class XX. of France and Italy, contain 
remarkable specimens of these varieties of the worm in their first, second, 
and sometimes third generations. But how long will these races yet 
continue exempt from the epidemic, the ravages of which are being daily 
extended? This measure is evidently only a palliative, the success of 
which may soon cease. 

“ 2nd, Naturalists have endeavoured to find in the bombyx of the 
paliva Christi, which have been imported from India and China, gene- 
rators of silk less subject to disease and exempt from ‘ pétrine.’ The ex- 
hibitions made by the ‘Société Impériale d’Acclimatisation’ of Paris, 
and by M. Guérin Meneville, awaken, in this respect, a real interest, and 
attract attention. The bombyx Cynthia, also, may acquire at some 
fature time, an immense importance from the food on which it subsists 
being easy of culture and inexpensive. But, alas! how far removed is 
this silk at the present time in quality and quantity from that of the 


230 ON SILK MANUFACTURE IN THE EXHIBITION. 


bombyx Mori! It is only recently that Dr. Forgemolle and the Countess 
Corneillan have succeeded in spinning from these cocoons. The silk of 
the bombyx Miletta and Pernyi, which is reared in India under the name 
of Tussah silk, is beginning to be thrown with some success in England. 
In the India department of the Exhibition are some goods manufactured 
from this silk, which are very fine in texture, but being woven from the 
raw material, they do not take the dye well, and cannot bear comparison 
with ours of the bombyx Mori. 

“3rd. Others have entered on a more philosophical path, and strive 
to ascertain and to overcome the causes of the evil from which our cul- 
tivators of the South suffer so greatly. Some have conjectured that they 
may be traced to an affection of the mulberry tree ; and have, therefore, 
sought our more vigorous varieties (such as the ungrafted or stock mul- 
berry), or by sundry processes applying to the tainted trees what have 
succeeded with the vine. On the other hand, there are those who as- 
eribe the evil to the weakening of our varieties of the silkworm, and are 
prepared to prove, on good authority, that in our processes of ‘ educa- 
tion’ and reproduction we have forced and violated the economy of 
nature ; and that in our ‘ magnaniéres, or silk breeding-houses, 
which are too confined and close, we have produced insects so short- 
lived and delicate, that they cannot resist the epidemic so well as the 
rustic races hatched from larger eggs. By way of illustration they show 
us sundry varieties of the worm imported from countries where they are 
‘educated’ in a manner more in conformity with natural laws, but pro- 
ducing in our confined ‘magnaniéres’ smaller and still smaller eggs from 
generation to generation, and whose duration of life is proportionately 
curtailed. We will not venture a definite opinion on either of these hy- 
potheses, as there are serious considerations affecting both which require 
to be carefully weighed. By producing larger mulberry leaves we have 
evidently impoverished the quality of the nourishment necessary to the 
healthy development of the silkworm, and render the trees themselves 
more delicate. In short, as well from this cause as from overheating 
and overfeeding this insect on unsubstantial food, we have rendered it 
feeble, and quite unable to resist infection. Of all this there can be no 
doubt. 

“ Insects, like our larger domestic animals, and like man himself, are 
subject to great natural laws. Agriculturists know well that mild, moist, 
and temperate climate produce races of silkworms with fine skin and 
hair ; but are not ignorant of the fact that a secluded life and rich hou- 
rishment produce also analogous effects and precocious animals; they 
know, therefore, that the latter condition is not likely to produce rustic 
races, vigorous and able to resist the morbid influences of rigorous cli- 
mates. Medical men know well that epidemics are more serious when 
people are congregated together than when they are isolated. However 
this may be, we cannot too much recommend visitors to the Internationa’ 
Exhibition to examine the case in which M. Duseigneur, the ardent 


ON SILK MANUFACTURE IN THE EXHIBITION. 231 


apostle of tho regeneration of the silkworm fed on the mulberry, has 
presented the monography of the cocoon. 

“ We must also direct attention to the excellent cocoons sent from 
other countries which seemed destined to remain unfit for the production 
of silk; those, for instance, of M. Tepfer, of Stettin, and those of the 
“Société Séricole’ of Stockholm. 

“ There are at present chances of success for all ‘educators’ of the 
silkworm who will remove from the infected centres ; and encourage- 
ment should be given to the enlargement of the areas from whence the 
raw material may be purchased. In this direction, Algeria, which exhi- 
bits some remarkable samples of the cocoon, may render great service to 
France. M. Allier, director of the farming school near Gap, who has 
cultivated the mulberry in the Higher Alps, has also sent some very fine 
cocoons. And, finally, an excellent collection has arrived from French 
Guiana, where a clever colonist, M. Michely, conceived the happy idea 
of making successive ‘educations’ under simple sheds, an idea which 
must prove fruitful of good results in a climate so genial as that in which 
he resides, and which cannot, therefore, be too much encouraged.” 

The number of exhibitors in this class is 175, to 79 of whom medals 
are awarded, and of 74 honourable mention is made. 

Iraty.—In reporting on the silk trade of this country on former 
occasions (1851 and 1855), it was difficult to assign its due position to 
the several separate states into which it was then divided. The quanti- 
ties of silk produced by each was by no means reliable evidence of their 
relative importance, the profitable results being more or less affected by 
the fiscal exactions, paltry jealousies, and passport impediments of each 
petty sovereignty or grand dukedom. Hence in those years this important 
industry was most imperfectly represented. Much was exhibited in 1855 
at Paris, as of Austrian growth, which was really of Italian, particularly 
of the Lombardian provinces, and much that ought to have found a place 
amongst the products of Italy was altogether withheld by the caprice of 
arbitrary rulers, as in Naples and Austrian Lombardy, in 1851. Happily, 
however, a new state of things has supervened, and, with the exception 
of Rome and Venice, Italy being no longer divided into fractional auto- 
nomies with their many insecure and opposing interests, but apparently 
consolidated under one constitutional king and government, sounder 
maxims of political economy have obtained their proper influence on the 
legislative mind, some tangible results of which were to be found in the 
recent improvised Exhibition at Florence, and which has been still 
inore largely followed up by what appears in the International one of 
1862. 

The writer was furnished, when reporting to the Society of Arts on 
the silk department of the Italian Exhibition of 1861 (which he was 
deputed to visit for that purpose), with some statistics from which the 
importance of this valuable indigenous culture may be inferred. From 
these materials it appears that the annual production of the silkworm in 


232 ON SILK MANUFACTURE IN THE EXHIBITION. 


Italy exceeds 300,000,000f., or 12,000,0007. The evidence of this may 
be found in the following summary, calculated at an exchange of 25f. to 
1l. sterling, and the kilogram at 2lbs. of our weight, which is sufficiently 
near for the present purpose. The actual quantity of cocoons produced 
per annum is said to be about 49,212 tons, which, when separated from 
the outer coat, is thus divided and accounted for :— 


4232 tons raw silk, which, at the pee of re Ber Ib. 


English, would produce - -  £11,180,000 
Besides, 
197 tons of double cocoons, which, at 8s. the Ilb., 
would be - - - - - - - - 160,000 
984 tons of refuse of cocoons after reeling, for which, at 
4s. per lb., could be obtained - - - - 320,000 


The throwing into organzine and tram of, say— 
1970 tons of native silk, and 984 tons imported from 
China and India, should produce, at the rate of 
2s, 44d. per lb. - - - - - - - 720,000 
And lastly, 
344 tons of silk consumed by the looms of Italy (the re- 
mainder being exported to foreign markets in the 
raw or thrown state) would produce, at the rate of 
ll. perlb.  - eli hes one - - - 350,000 


£12,730,000 


From this, however, we should deduct the silk imported from India 
and China, but principally from the former, and always in cocoons—viz., 
984 tons at 2s. 4$d. per lb., or about 24,0001, leaving a net probable 
produce of 12,400,000/. 

In Italy, then, this trade is by natural advantages the largest, and 
should be the most remunerative, of all in that kingdom. Silk is 
grown, thrown, and woven without the necessity of having recourse to 
any external assistance, except such mechanical appliances as the inge- 
nuity of the foreigner may supply. Such was the Jacquard, which pro- 

duced, as is well known, a complete revolution in the fancy trade by its 
economic adaptation, but to which, from inability to avail themselves, 
the silk manufacturers of Italy may attribute their position in the rear 
of progress as compared with their competitors in France and England. 
No longer, however, exposed to the chilling influence of these difficulties, 
they ought to recover the relative rank amongst foreign producers which 
they occupied from the thirteenth to the sixteenth centuries. Why should 
it not be so? Italy possesses the same genial climate as heretofore— 
enjoys greater facilities than any other country for the cultivation of the 
purest taste from the atmosphere of art its inhabitants breathe from the 
very cradle—is not deficient in genius and the inventive faculty—pre- 


ON SILK MANUFACTURE IN THE EXHIBITION. 233 


serves with an almost idolatrous care the Divine types of the beautiful, 
so important to such textile and other manufactures as are objects of 
luxury—produces a raw material of silk of superior quality to that of 
China, or even of France, and commands the shores of the Mediterranean 
and the Adriatic. Assuming, then, the complete eradication of the 
worm disease, the introduction of foreign capital, the application of 
steam power, and other improved facilities where practicable ; the en- 
larged means of commercial intercourse with England, France, and Ger- 
many, which the sub-alpine tunnel now in course of construction under 
Mount Cenis will open up ; the increase of population, and therefore of 
demand, which always results from a lengthened state of peace and of 
high civilization ; and, finally, the security to life and property which 
constitutional government affords—assuming the realization of all or 
most of these conditions, it may safely be predicted that a career of hap- 
piness and prosperity, such as already dawns on Italy, will in due time 
reward the patriotic devotion by which it has broken the fetters of 
tyranny, emerged into a state of freedom—that first necessity of national 
regeneration—achieved for itself a moral if not a physical supremacy, 
and risen to the dignity of true manhood in the comity of European states, 

The number of exhibitors is 99, being, therefore, 40 more than those 
of England, and only 76 less than those of France. Of these 99, medals 
were awarded to 38, and Honourable Mention made of 40 others. 

Russ1a.—This country, occupying in square miles greater space 
than all Europe combined, enjoys at some parts a climate so genial, 
that not only are cereals grown in sufficient abundance for internal 
consumption, but, whenever the crops fail in this country, we generally 
look with confidence to Russia to supply, partially or wholly, as the 
case may be, the deficiency. Silk also, which requires a still more 
delicate and uniform atmosphere, is grown (the technical word for 
“bred”) successfully as to quantity, in various extensive districts. In 
quality, however, it cannot yet compete with the productions of more 
favoured climes. Hence out of twenty exhibitors of raw and thrown 
silks, only three have Medals awarded to them, and Honourable Mention 
made of two others; of the remaining eight, who exhibited manuiac- 
tured silks only, one is Honourably Mentioned and two have Medals 
awarded to them. 

It is to be feared that, until the Russian Government entirely 
abandons the repressive theory of protection, now so generally exploded 
elsewhere on the continent of Europe, any important progress towards 
perfection cannot be expected. 

Spain.—In the silks exhibited by producers in this country, some 
progress is apparent since 1851, when only one exhibitor received the 
honour of a Medal. On the present occasion, however, out of twenty- 
six exhibitors, three have achieved that distinction, and of eleven others 
Honourable Mention is made. This advance may, perhaps, be assigned 

VOL. III. x 


234 ‘ON SILK MANUFACTURE IN THE EXHIBITION. 


to the natural influence of a less stringent tariff than then oppressed the 
industry of the nation ; but until the exports and imports of silk are 
absolutely free of duty, a country so favoured by Nature for the suc- 
cessful cultivation of this trade, will not occupy the position to which 
it is otherwise entitled to aspire. 

SwITZERLAND.—If the eight Medals awarded to the forty-nine ex- 
hibitors, and the Honourable Mention made of five others, afforded the 
only reliable evidence of the true position of this trade as compared 
with 1851, it would not justify the favourable terms in which it may 
now be honestly noticed. The manufacturers of this country continue 
to address themselves to the production ot low-priced silks, which do 
not afford scope for individual distinction, but in which they have 
arrived at a perfection of economical workmanship, which enables them 
~to compete in many markets with the ribbons of St. Etienne, and the 
thin textures of Macclesfield, and of other places in France, England, 
and Germany. 

TurKkry.—The expectations in which the reporter on the silk de- 
partment of this country in 1851 ventured to indulge as to the progress 
of this trade, principally in the raw and thrown material, have been so 
far justified by the result, that whereas, on that occasion only two 
Medals were awarded, on this the Jurors have given eight, and made 
Honourable Mention of eight others, out of forty-two exhibitors. 
There is room, however, for still greater improvement for the dis- 
turbance to the natural flow of commerce which has prevailed so 
nnfortunately since 1851, until recently, and which takes its origin 
from political complications, having given place to the introduction of 
foreign capital and customs ; and being now assured in the safe appro- 
priation of the former by a ruler and government capable of protecting 
their material interests, there is no reason why this important trade 
should not occupy the position to which, favoured as it is naturally 
by climate and other necessary elements of success, it is entitled. 
Turkey still engages the favourable attention of European statesmen ; 
and if it does not soon emerge from the abject condition into which it 
was thrown by the cupidity and ambition of some neighbouring 
countries, and the dishonesty of some of its own executive, the fault 
and misfortune will be its own. 

Unitep Kinepom—The number of exhibitors is fifty-nine, to 
thirty-three of whom Medals have been awarded, and of fourteen 
others the Jurors make Honourable Mention: thus affording pretty 
strong evidence of the prominent position this important manufacture 
is entitled to occupy in this and other countries. 

The writer having, at the request of the Board of Trade, furnished 
a report of the “silk and velvet” (Class XXI.) department of the 
Paris International Exhibition of 1855, in which he treated at some 
length on the rise, progress, and then condition of the silk trade of the 


ON SILK MANUFACTURE IN THE EXHIBITION. 235 


United Kingdom, it is the less necessary that he should now do more 
than refer to it for details of the remarkable vicissitudes to which 
it has been exposed since its introduction in the 14th century, 
and which are mainly attributable to unsound legislation. All pro- 
hivitory and protective duties on silks being now, however, repealed 
both in England and France, the canon of free trade is fairly on its 
trial ; but it would be premature to theorise on the subject, for before 
and since the recent commercial treaty came into full operation, a series 
of disturbances to the natural current of trade seem to have postponed 
the mutnal advantages which cannot ultimately fail to result from the 
adoption of the policy therein inaugurated. Commerce generally, so far 
at least as profitable results are concerned, was then suffering from a 
serious collapse arising out of production being unduly stimulated, colo- 
nial and other external markets being glutted with our goods, and politi- 7 
cal apprehensions leading to exorbitant expenditure and increased tax- 
ation, with all their paralyzing and mischievous results. The manufac- 
turers also of Lyons and St. Etienne having lost their great customer on 
_ the other side of the Atlantic, and desirous of keeping their establish- 
ments in working order, made more goods than were required elsewhere, 
principally plain black silks, and sold them in this market at prices: 
which apparently afforded no profit, so that our warehouses and shops 
were filled to repletion. Our domestic requirements being thus unnatu- 
rally over-supplied, and the ordinary vent for excessive production, the 
United States, being almost hermetically sealed to us by the fratricidal war 
which then and since has devastated and impoverished that country, the 
silk industry of Great Britain has suffered longer and to a greater extent 
than ever before known. The cessation also of the cotton supply has 
had its effect on this and other branches of internal trade, by 
curtailing the means of purchase, while the melancholy loss the country 
has sustained by the death of the Prince Consort partially closed those 
avenues of consumption which the splendours of court entertainments 
and the gaieties of the ball-room ordinarily open up. Under these accu- 
mulated misfortunes, the statistics of the Board of Trade afford no re- 
liable criterion of the future condition of the silk trade since the repeal 
of the duties on imports ; for both exports and imports, when excessive, 
may rather be taken as indications of a desire to lessen stocks on hand, 
by ruinous sacrifices on the part of the sellers, than the results of healthy 
demand. Some improvement, however, may now be discerned, and de- 
mand having recently borne a more legitimate relation to supply, better 
prices are being obtained, It may also be assumed that the great influx 
of foreign visitors to the International Exhibition has led to increased 
consumption ; but until the disturbing influences arising out of the civil 
war in America subside, it would be vain to expect that the trade of 
this and other countries having commercial relations with them can 
return to their normal remunerative condition. 


236 ON SILK MANUFACTURE IN THE EXHIBITION. 


In the midst of all these discouraging impediments, there is a re- 
deeming feature which will make itself felt when trade revives, and 
that is the remarkable progress which our silk manufacturers have made 
since 1851, and even since 1855, in all that constitutes superiority. 
Whether in design, colour, or texture, or the whole combined, we com- 
pare the specimens of silks inthe English department with what were 
exhibited in those years in London and Paris, the improvement is 
immense. To single out any for special notice would be to make an in- 
vidious distinction where there is so much general excellence. The 
articles in which this improvement is perhaps most obvious are moirés 
antiques, and fancy goods of almost every variety that is exhibited. 
But if all this applies to broad goods, much more so does it to the ribbon 
branch. Coventry has made strides for which we were not prepared, 
“and their portion of the Exhibition rivets the attention of the most. 
careless visitors, be they natives or foreigners. In no respect are they, 
as a whole, inferior to those of St. Etienne, while as compared with 
the productions of Switzerland and the Zollverein, they are much 
superior. 

Even in what may be called minor tours de force, two extraordinary 
specimens of what can be accomplished in Coventry command general 
attention (United Kingdom, 3884). In the one,a group of cacti, most 
artistically arranged, and thrown into bold relief by twenty-one tints of 
colour, constitutes a charming picture, to the production of which no 
less than 22,000 cards were made subservient ; and in the other, an 
illuminated banner sereen, designed by R. R. Holmes, F.S.A., and 
suggested by the legendary historic incident of the “ Lady Godiva’’ pro- 
cession, is rich in all those colours which are necessary to produce the 
characteristics of initial letters and illustrations of missals of the early 
days of the Church. It goes in fact, and as it ought to do, far beyond 
those exemplars of medieval taste; for, as elsewhere noticed, these 
specimens introduce a new application of silk textures for ornamental 
bindings and other useful purposes, where brilliancy of colour and 
correct drawing are important ingredients. There is also to be found 
in case No. 3885 a peculiar and unique fabric made from single fila- 
ments of silk spun direct from the cocoon, having about twelve turns 
to the inch both for warp and schute. The size is only two and a 
quarter deniers (equal to 2600 hanks in the pound of cotton), and is the 
finest silk thread ever woven. For the present, or until some useful 
adaptation for so tender annd exquisite a texture can be discovered, it can 
only be viewed as a new variety of tours de force. 

It is true that for the type of fashion and taste our manufacturers 
must still look to France, for it is there that the former yet holds its 
court, and those producers in England must be bold who seek to 
originate and aim at establishing another tribunal. Such courage may 
ultimately succeed, but it should not be forgotten that, besides the 


ON SILK MANUFACTURE IN THE EXHIBITION, 237- 


intrinsic beauty of French fancy silks, there are prejudices in their 
favour here to be overcome, which it would be difficult to exaggerate, 
But great as they are or have been, and however much they may impede 
the full flow of commerce now opened up, with few exceptions, to the 
markets of the world by the general repeal of import duties, their in- 
fluence on purchases cannot be long continued when interest and know- 
ledge are combined to dissipate and expose them. 

There are also indications that the classes of goods which seem best 
to suit the genius of our manufacturers, viz., fancy silks where elaborate 
design is not required, and plain textures, whether like moirés antiques, 
satins, and glacés, which being comparatively expensive, suit only the 
wealthy ; or small checks, stripes, and self-coloured Gros de Naples, are 
likely to meet with an extensive demand for export. Buyers of all 
nations have already availed themselves of the opportunity of com- 
parison which the present Exhibition affords, and texture for texture, 
and value for value, it cannot be gainsaid that these goods of English 
production are evener, more free from knots and floss, and generally 
cheaper than foreign silks of the same nominal character. If all this be 
true, can the necessary result be other than a question of time. 

ZOLLVEREIN.—This confederation includes a vast area of distinct 
German governments, of which it is not necessary to take separate 
notice, as the most important of them, especially as regards this class, 
is Prussia, for out of forty-four collective exhibitors no less than thirty 
are from that kingdom, to twelve of whom Medals are awarded, and 
Honourable Mention is made of nine. Of the united contributions 
from the Zollverein, fourteen are in the former, and thirteen in the latter 
category. 

The industry of silk is a most important and increasing one in 
Prussia, for besides a large home trade, their products in velvet, velvet 
ribbons, hat plushes, and other articles of large consumption find 
profitable markets in England, France, and the United States. For 
reasons already assigned in another part of this Report, and which are 
equally applicable to the statistics of this country, the exceptional con- 
dition, especially for the last two years or more, of European commerce 
would render any official quotation of quantities and values, both of 
imports and exports, a most imperfect authority from which to extract 
evidence of progress or decadence since 1851. And indeed the materials 
furnished to the Jurors of the Exhibition of 1862, being limited in 
quantity and variety, do not materially assist them in forming such an 
opinion on these points as the instructions of the Council of Chaizmen 
would seem to require. But besides these difficulties the “spécialités ” 
of Prussian silk manufacturers, velvet, &c., do not afford scope for 
obvious improvement ; but so far as a judgment can be formed from the 
specimens exhibited, they fully sustain their former reputation for care 
in the selection of suitable silk for their goods, and for skill in the 


238 SCIENTIFIC NOTES. 


economical adaptation ot it. When the Prussian Government shall 
have wholly emancipated its industrial interests from the fiscal restric- 
tions still imposed on imports, and of this there seems to be an early 
probability, we may expect from the genius of the country a progress 
such as has already obtained in those producing countries which have 
adopted the principle in all its integrity and fulness. 

AucERIA, BeLGium, &.—Having now noticed at some length the 
present condition of this class of manufacture in the ten principal con- 
tributing countries, it remains that a few words should be said of some 
others which -are only nominally so.. These are—Algeria, from which 
there are 38 exhibitors, which appear under one number, viz., 3613 ; 
Belgium, from which there are 6; China, 2; Greece, 10; India, 1; 
Portugal, 19; Rome, 3; Sweden, 3: making together 82 exhibitors, or 
only about one-eighth of the whole contribution to this department. 

It would not, however, be just to these countries not to mention that 
some of them, as India, China, and Algeria, exhibit collectively under 
one or two numbers, and that the goods shown, especially by the first, 
are worthy of special inspection: that some, as Portugal, Sweden, Bel- 
gium, and Rome, either from climate or political impediments, cannot 
yet enter the field of competition with countries more favourably 
situated ; and that of Greece, though the promise of future commerce is 
great, it is yet, as a silk-producing country, in its infancy. 

Medals were awarded to six, and Honourable Mention made of seven 
of these eighty-two contributions. 

The whole result of the awards in Class XX., is that out of 639 
exhibitors, Medals are assigned to 204, and Honourable Mention made 
of 193. 


Arivntific utes. 


Paper.—Among the botanical specimens sent over from Japan to the 
Societé d’Acclimatation by M. Eugene Simon, there are a few young 
trees, out of the bark of which the Japanese make very good and strong 
paper. In China the bark of the Broussonetia papyrifera, a kind of mul- 
berry tree, is used. That of Japan is a variety of the species to which 
Von Siebold has given the name of the Broussonetia Kaminoki. Consi- 
dering the difficulty of meeting the demand for rags, which are sold at 
about 2/. per ewt., the bark of this tree imported from Japan would prove 
extremely valuable to the paper trade, inasmuch as it would not cost 
more than half that price. The Broussonetia Kaminoki might be easily 
acclimatised in various parts of Europe ; it prefers a stony soil, especially 


SCIENTIFIC NOTES. 239 


of a calcareous nature, and should be planted at intervals not exceeding 
three feet ; otherwise the branches would extend, whereby the bark 
would become full of knots, causing much loss of substance in the manu- 
facture. The soil is not manured until the second year; in the autumn 
of that year the plant is lopped close to the root, and this operation, as 
well as that of manuring slightly, is repeated every second year. 100lb. 
of branches thus obtained, stripped of their leaves, yield 10lb. of bark. 
The branches, on arriving at the manufactory, are put into hot water for 
half an hour ; the bark can then be easily stripped off by the hands, and 
is afterwards left in the sun to dry. It is next macerated for three days 
in river water and bleached in the sun. These operations having been 
several times repeated, the bark is at last boiled in a lye of ashes for the . 
space of three hours, then manipulated for some time to separate any 
epidermis that may have remained ; and, lastly, when dry, the mass is 
pounded fine and made into a pulp with water, to which a glutinous 
liquid is extracted from a shrub called Nebooicko—probably the Acacia- 
Nemu—is added in the proportion of about two pints per ewt. of pulp- 
The latter is then made into sheets much in the usual way. Sir Ruther- 
ford Alcock states that the barks of different shrubs are used, and his 
collection in the International Exhibition contained some 60 or 70 dif- 
ferent kinds of paper, with the various applications for pocket-handker- 
chiefs, bank-notes, printing and room-paper, waterproof clothing, imita- 
tion leather, &c. 

Esparto (uygeum Spartum, Lei.) is a grass common to the shores of 
the Mediterranean, and has of late years assumed great commercial 
importance for paper-making. A city broker assures me that in the 
course of this year not less than from 10,000 to 12,000 tons will be 
imported into England alone. Nearly every coal ship returning from 
the Mediterranean to England brings a cargo of this grass, the demand 
for which is constantly increasing, and it is stated that some of our 
largest daily papers are entirely printed on paper made of it. Of all 
substitutes for rags this fibre seems about to carry off the palm. It is 
procurable in any quantity both on the European and African shores of 
the Mediterranean, where it grows on land otherwise unproductive, on 
arid, rocky soil, having a basis of silica and iron. It is indigenous to 
Portugal, Spain, Sicily, Naples, Algiers, and, judging from a specimen 
in the British Museum collection, also in the Island of Crete. But we 
have hitherto chiefly imported it from Spain and Algeria. On the spot 
it fetches from 42s. to 50s per ton ; but in England, at the present time, 
41. 10s: from the ship’s side. So readily is this valuable fibre converted 
into paper, that a cargo which arriyed in the Thames in the morning 
was made into paper in the evening—at least so a city merchant 
assures me. 

Botanists have long been tamiliar with this grass, Pliny, to go no 
further back, has much to tell about the innumerable uses to which it 


240° . SCIENTIFIC NOTES. 


is applied in the Iberian peninsula, and Ray, many centuries later, 
reported that the inhabitants of that country did the same in his time, 
and it may be added that there has been no change in this respect till 
our own days. Mats, baskets, ropes, brushes, are manufactured of 
Esparto by the Spaniards and Portuguese as of yore, and even a coarse 
kind of paper was made of it in Spain. In Algeria it is known by the 
name of Alfa, and the attention of the French Government has for 
years past been directed to it as a substitute for rags : und in the London 
Exhibition of 1851 samples of Alfa, as well as paper made from it, were 
shown in the Algerian section of French products, and in 1862 in the 
British department. In consequence, however, of the difficulty of trans- 
port and the imperfect methods then employed in its preparation, little 
progress was made in spreading its fame amongst the commercial com- 
munities of this country. But the recent legislative enactments in Eng- 
land respecting paper, and the increasing price of rags abroad, have 
caused manufacturers to pay more attention to this grass, and not only 
established its superiority to straw, but its perfect adaptability to making 
paper, either by itself, or when mixed with straw, rags, or other material. 

The Rey. H. Tristam, in his book called “ The Great Sahara,” says 
that the Esparto is “the principal dependence of both horse and camel 
tor forage during a journey.” I should think they find it rather tough, 
for tough the plant certainly is. Its chemical constituents are said to 
be: yellow colouring matter, 12.0 ; red matter, 6.0 ; guin and resin, 7.0; 
salts forming the ashes, 1.5 ; paper fibres, 73.5. The Esparto grows natu- 
rally in tufts or clumps, but, to quote a broker's circular, only such 
leaves and stalks as have come to maturity and are full of sap, ought to 
be gathered. If collected too green, Esparto produces a transparent fibre 
which is mere waste ; if on the other hand too ripe, the constituent ele- 
ments of silica and iron are with difficulty removed. The proper months 
in Africa are therefore from April to June. It must be gathered by hand, 
and left to dry for a week or ten days before being removed for packing. 
From the green to the dry state it loses forty per cent. of its weight, but 
even in this latter form it is so cumbersome, that when shipped in loose 
bundles it occupies from four to five tons space to one ton weight. 
When placed under an hydraulic machine, however, it can be packed 
into pressed bales with iron hoops, and reduced to half the above volume, 
as far as space is concerned, each bale weighing about 23 cwt., and ten 
bales weighing about 1} ton. Reduced to this volume, the Esparto fibre 
can be transported not only with greater facility, but this method of 
packing (resembling, in fact, bales of pressed hay) keeps the fibre clean, 
and renders it of easy stowage. Indeed, could such a method have been 
adopted formerly, Pliny’s regret that its great bulk unfortunately pre- 
vented so valuable a fibre from being carried a greater distance than 
about thirty leagues, would have been impossible.—Berthold Seeman in 
Gardener’s Chronicle. 


THE TECHNOLOGIST. 


ECONOMISING LABOUR BY MACHINERY.—DEVELOPMENT 
OF COLONIAL RESOURCES IN AUSTRALIA. 


The application ef machinery te the economising of labour in the 
preparation ef our natural products, whether mineral, vegetable, or ani- 
mal, for the markets of the world, affords a most interesting and impor- 
tant field for the employment of energy and capital, and one which pro- 
mises a rich harvest te those who, possessing the necessary qualifications, 
are willing to engage in it. 

Had any man a few years since proposed to employ expensive 
machinery and elaborate mechanical appliances for the purpose of 
slaughtering cattle and turning their carcases to account, in the shape of 
beet, tallow, gelatine, and even as food for pigs, he would have been 
laughed at as a visionary and a dreamer. Yet this is now being carried 
out, and the result promised is precisely what Dr. Johnson said of the 
tubs and vats of Thrale’s brewery,—“a potentiality of creating wealth 
almost beyond the dreams of avarice.” 

New South Wales pessesses, in round numbers, about 3,000,000 
horned cattle, 300,000 horses, and 8,000,000 sheep. Horned stock have 
increased of late in a more rapid ratio than population, and the conse- 
guence is that the supply of beef is greater than the demand, and a 
market has to be found for the surplus in other parts of the world. The 
price of cattle is already commonly quoted “at boiling rates.” In other 
words, fat cattle will fetch no more from the butcher than can be realised 
from their hides, horns, hoofs, tallow, &c., for exportation. Under the 
old slovenly and shiftless system of sending cattle to the melting pot, it 
is certain that from one-fourth to one-half of what ought to have been 
profitably turned te account was wasted. The number of cattle in the 
colony is, as was observed above, about three millions. Now supposing 
these to be worth fifty shillings per head, i.e., for slaughtering purposes, 
it is plain that any man who could invent a method or devise appliances 

VOL Ill. Y 


242 ECONOMISING LABOUR BY MACHINERY. 


by which they could be made to realise sixty shillings each for exporta— 
tion, would increase the value of this description of pastoral property te 
the extent ofa million and a half sterling. With the idea of taking ad- 
vantage of this state of things, J. H. Atkinson, Esq., M.P., has com- 
menced operations on a somewhat extensive scale at Collingwood, near 
Liverpool, and with the view of showing that mechanical appliances are 
capable of effecting, even in such an apparently unpromising field as the 
slaughtering, boiling down, and other methods of turning the eareases of 
cattle to account, we are induced to give the following particulars of the 
plan pursued and the results obtained :— ‘ 

Mr. Atkinson’s establishmeut is situated on the west bank of George’s 
River, near Liverpool, and is about a furlong distant from the railway 
station at that place. It is connected with the railway by means of a 
short branch line, laid down at the expense of the proprietor. The whole 
premises occupy about 45 acres ot land, and the works give employment 
to from 70 to 100 men. About 25 acres of the land are devoted to the 
purposes of a vegetable garden, and as such form an important feature 
in the economy of the establishment, as will be explained hereafter. 
About ten acres are occupied by a piggery, holding from 800 to 1,000 
pigs; and the remainder is devoted to the necessary buildings for the 
plant and machinery used in boiling down, raising water, tallow-refining, 
wool-washing, fellmongering, bone-crushing, &c. The machinery is 
driven by three steam-engines, a large portion of the power being de- 
voted to raising water from the river. In order to be out of the reach of 
floods, the engine-house is placed at a distance from the stream, and is 
connected with the pump by a driving shaft, 700 feet long. No wheeled 
vehicles, except tramway trucks and trolleys, are used in this establish- 
ment, and for this purpose rails are laid down im all positions where it 
is necessary to move weights from one part of the establishment to the 
other—even the food for the pigs being carried into the piggeries on 
tramways, thus enabling one man to do as much work as would require 
three or four under ordinary circumstances. 

To make the great saving effected by machinery in the different processes 
understood by the reader, it will, perhaps, be necessary to show the 
modus operandi pursued in slaughtering and disposing of the carcass of a 
bullock. The beast, instead of being driven into a comparatively wide 
place, and exposed to the cruel and protracted methods of kilhng usually 
resorted to, is brought into a place so narrow that he is incapable of 
movement or resistance, and despatched by the butcher at once, with the 
greatest ease. He is then lifted for skinning by machinery, and as soon 
as the hide, head, hoofs, &c., are removed, the carcass is let down on a 
chopping block running on a tramway ; it is then cut into convenient 
sized pieces, without the necessity of the men handling or lifting the 
meat, and the trolleys chopping-block run on the rails to the other end 
of the building, where the boilers are. The meat is then lifted from 
the chopping-block into the boilers by means of endless chains with 


DEVELOPMENT OF COLONIAL RESOURCES IN AUSTRALIA. 243 


hooks attached, passing over sheaves, and driven by steam. The boilers 
are large steam-tight double cylinders, and capable of holding upwards 
of fifty bullocks at a time. When filled with meat, the orifice in the 
top of the boiler is closed, and the steam is let on at a pressure of 15 lbs. 
to the inch. In about seven hours, the whole mass of meat and bone is 
zeduced to a pulp. The steam is then condensed and the tallow floats 
on the surface. On a tap being turned, it flows inte the refining pans; 
and when the refining is completed, by turning another tap, it runs into 
large, shallow coolers. These are only about three inches deep, but very 
wide and long, in order that as great a surface as possible may be 
exposed te the air. When sufficiently cool, by turning other taps, it is 
run into casks alongside, and these are run by means of a tramway on 
to the weighing machine, and thence to the rail for conveyance to 
Sydney. The mass of pulp to which beth bone and flesh has by the 
steaming process been reduced, is then removed from the boilers by 
means of an opening near the bottom, fitted with a steam-tight door. It 
falls into a powerful press, also running on the tramways, and the strong 
pressure being applied, a large quantity of highly concentrated soup is 
extracted ; the flesh and bone, having by the pressure been made into 
enormous solid cakes, the trolly-press is then run into the piggery, and 
the greaves given to the pigs. The concentrated gravy or soup is then 
placed in a peculiarly constructed boiler, and reduced by evaporation to 
such a consistency that when cold it becomes solid, previously to which, 
however, it is run into bladders. It is, when cold, semi-transparent, of 
a rich reddish-brown colour, and sweet te the smell and taste, almost 
like confectionery. The first shipment from Sydney of this concentrated 
soup, which is in great demand in England, was made in June last by 
the mail steamer. An average bullock will yield about 20 lbs. weight 
of this portable soup. Mr. Atkinson was, we believe, the first person in 
New South Wales to turn this substance to profitable account. 

It will be seen by the above, that all the operations are carried on 
with a very small amount of labour. The tallow, gelatine, and other 
substances, are scarcely touched by the hand of man, from the time the 
beast is killed until its remains are on the way to market and the pig 
yards. The above account applies to cattle which are wholly boiled 
down. The best portions of the best beasts, however, instead of being 
carried on the tramway to the boilers, are run off to the salting-house. 
The process there need not be described, further than that every particle 
oi bone is extracted previous to the meat being salted. The leaner por- 
tions, not suitable for the casks, are cut into strips, and made (by a pro- 
cess which we are not at present at liberty to describe, as it will probably 
be made the subject of a patent) into what is known as charqut, or tasejo, 
an Indian name for dried or jerked beef. When prepared, it is placed in 
bags, and somewhat resembles dried apples in appearance, only that the 
scraps or strips are longer. Each bullock will yield on an average about 
100 lbs. of chargui, and the market for it is understood to be practically, 
unlimited. 


244 ECONOMISING LABOUR BY MACHINERY. 


We need not go into the details of curing the hides, drying and 
smoking the tongues, extracting the oil from the hoofs, preparing the 
horns and leg-bones for the English market—or into the fellmongering, 
or sorting, washing, and scouring of the wool—for larze numbers of sheep 
are slaughtered, as well as cattle. From the abundance of water, how- 
ever, all these processes are carried on with a degree of cleanliness and an 
absence of offensive smells most surprising. The paved floors are inclined 
from the centre of the building on each side, and being frequently 
flushed, are almost as free from impurity as the surface of a dining table. 
It will be seen from what is above stated, that every part of the beast is 
turned to account. All the blood and offal, as well as the greaves, is de- 
voured by the pigs, and thus turned into pork. The solid manure is 
carefully scraped up and taken to a distance, where it is allowed to fer- 
ment and decompose. It is then exceedingly strong, almost equal to 
guano for gardening and agricultural purposes, and is disposed of readily 
to the neighbouring settlers for about 10s. per load. The liquid manure, 
of which, from the quantity of water used, there is a very large amount, 
is run off in pipes to the garden above referred to. It is then carried 
through the grounds by ditches or canals, and spread over the surface, 
and is the only description of manure made use of there in the growth of 
vegetables, &c. 

Steam pipes are carried to almost every part of the premises, so that 
water of any degree of temperature, for the scouring of wool, &c., can be 
had at all times wherever it is wanted; and so great is the supply of 
steam, that a 400-gallon tank can be made to boil in a quarter of an hour- 
The steam-power, when not engaged in driving the machinery or for 
heating purposes, is employed in pumping a supply of water from the 
river into a reservoir. The main building—80 feet square, is surrounded 
with smaller ones for wool-sorting, fell-mongering, and coopering, all the 
casks used being made on the premises. The establishment is capable of 
slaughtering and disposing of nearly 1,000 head of cattle weekly, exclu- 
sively of sheep and pigs, and thus affording employment for a very large 
amount of labour and capital. 

Most of the mechanical and other arrangements were designed and 
carried out by Mr. Blaxland, whose abilities for adapting machinery so as 
to economise labour, are, evidently, of a very high order, and can hardly 
fail, if we may judge from the results already-obtained at Collingwood, 
of achieving a magnificent success. 

We have alluded above to the fact, that the value of cattle must in 
future be measured in this colony, not by the local demand for butchers’ 
meat, but by the price which can be obtained for the various constituents 
of the carcass in the markets of the world. This condition of things will 
probably be permanent, and no such injurious fluctuations as have fre- 
quently been witnessed in the colony need again be feared when the sys- 
tem pursued at Collingwood shall once have come into general operation. 
The methods heretofore in use were for the most part so wasteful, extra- 


ON THE CULTURE OF BENNE OR SESAMUM, ETC. 245 


yagant, and ill-conducted, that no criterion was afforded as to what 
results could be obtained under a proper system. 

The above remarks have almost exclusive reference to horned cattle, 
but we shall be much surprised if, in the course of a very few years, they 
are not equally applicable to horse-stock. Already the colony is being 
over-run with a race of useless weedy scrubbers, which, being of no value 
as horses, are fast becoming a nuisance. Horse grease has lately been 
discovered to possesss superior qualities to almost any other fatty sub- 
stance for oiling machinery, and we believe is now quoted in the London 
market as worth from 35/. to 401. per ton. The other portions of the 
carcases may be applied to a variety of useful purposes, and the owners 
of a description of stock now nearly unsaleable at any price may feel 
assured that a respectable minimum value will soon be arrived at, below 
which there is no danger of their animals receding. 

The prospect afforded by the result of operations at Collingwood must 
be highly gratifying to the owners of stock ; and we cannot conclude 
without expressing our opinion that they owe a deep debt of gratitude 
not only to the enterprising gentleman whose capital and power of organi- 
zation have been so usefully engaged, but to Mr. Blaxland, who has de- 
signed and carried out the mechanical and scientific arrangements. It is 
to be hoped that both may meet the success they so well deserve. 

As some indication of the extent of capital embarked in the various 
operations at Collingwood, it may be stated that the cost of the railway 
appliances alone has been upwards of 3,000/. ; while the pumping ma- 
chinery, piping, and tanks and reservoirs for the supply of water, have 
probably cost ten times that amount. The field of operations, however, 
now opened up is so wide that, in the opinion of sound judges, it amply 
justifies the outlay. 


ON THE CULTURE OF BENNE OR SESAMUM IN THE 
UNITED STATES. 


BY EDWARD PARRISH. 


The Benne plant (Sesamum orientale, Linn.), is believed to be a native 
of Africa, whence it was probably brought to the United States by the 
negroes. Mr. Frederick Brown has cultivated the plant in his garden 
at Burlington, New Jersey. This plant flourishes admirably in our 
climate, and is adapted to a very dry sandy soil, such as abounds in many 
sections of the United States ; it is, indeed, said to flourish where scarcely 
any other crop will grow, and in land of only moderate richness ; it re- 
quires no manure. The seeds are sown in drills, about three or four feet 


246 ON THE CULTURE OF BENNE OR SESAMUM, ETC. 


apart, according to the strength of the land and mode of cultivation ; 
thinned to twelve inches or more on the drill, and barely kept clean of 
weeds and grass ; not much earthing up is required. They can be sown 
just after the frost ; in the Southern Gulf States they are planted from 
first of April till June. 

My friend, J. A. M. King, of Savannah, Georgia, from whom these 
facts are obtained, is of opinion that this plant would richly repay for 
planting in many localities where the land is allowed to be idle, because 
unfit for other crops. He thinks one merit of this crop would be its re- 
quiring so little stirring of the soil, exposing it to the sun and rains, 
which he thinks one great cause of sandy soil losing consistence or body, 
besides by its leafy and leguminous character, this Benne enriches the 
soil in its decay. 

The yield of seed is large, returning twenty bushels to the acre, 
but the harvest is very wasteful, though easy, as usually managed 
by the negroes, who chiefly cultivate it on their own account. In the 
fall when the leaves have dropped off, which happens before the legume 
expands, the stalks are cut and bound in sheaves and stacked up in the 
field to dry, when, after a few days, they are simply shaken over a large 
sheet spread out in the field. Rain does not rot the seed, as it passes 
with facility through the pods, wasting a portion ; after winnowing, the 
seed is ready for sacking. 

As is well known, the chief use of the seed is as a source of oil, and 
in order to ascertain the yield of oil from a sample grown in Georgia, 
three bushels of the seed were submitted to the action of a linseed oil- 
mill, and nine and-a-half gallons of oil were obtained. From this data 
it will be seen that sesame is among the cheapest of the fixed oils, and 
must become a popular substitute for some others, if introduced. 

In regard to its properties, I have no new facts to offer ; it appears 
to be bland and nearly colourless, though not free from the odour and 
taste of the seed. It is the oil of Ben of English commerce. 

The negroes are in the habit of roasting the seeds and infusing 
them in water to form a drink like coffee, and it is asserted that its nar- 
cotic properties are very decided. The cake left after expressing the oil 
is probably possessed of all the narcotic properties of the seed, and it 
would soon become an economical question, in case of its production on 
a large scale,—What shall we do with it? If it met the fate of the cot- 
ton seed and the pea-nut cakes, it would be mixed in large proportion 
with the linseed cake of commerce, in which form it would find ready 
purchasers both at home and abroad. I have not spoken of the leaves, 
which plucked at the time of their maturity, are very mucilaginous, and 
extensively used in the treatment of some complaints of children. 

[ Mr. Parrish is wrong in assuming this to be the Ben oil of English 
commerce. There is very little oil sold under this name at all. The 
watchmaker’s ben oil is generally attributed to the seeds of the Moringa, 
but it is very doubtful whether any of this is ever imported. We have 


ON THE CULTURE OF BENNE OR SESAMUM, ETC. 247 


given a detailed account of the culture of this oil plant in India, in the 
“Commercial Products of the Vegetable Kingdom,” but the following 
condensed particulars, taken from Drury’s “Useful Plants of India” 
may be appended with advantage to the foregoing statement—EDITor. | 

The oil known as the gingilic oilis expressed from the seeds of the 
Sesamum Indicum, and is one of the most valuable of Indian vegetable 
oils. It will keep for many years without becoming rancid either in 
smell or taste ; after a time it becomes so mild as to be used as a sub- 
stitute for sweet oil in salads. In Japan, where they have no butter, 
they use the oil for frying fish and other things, also as a varnish, and 
medicinally as a resolvant and emollient. Besides its economic uses, 
the oil and preparations made from it are in use a8 medicines and cos- 
metics among the Egyptians. The women consider there is nothing 
so well calculated to cleanse the skin, and give it a bloom and lustre ; 
to preserve the beauty of the hair, and to increase the quantity of milk 
when they become mothers. The Egyptian physicians use it as a cure 
in ophthalmia, and inflammatory humours of the eyes, but no confidence 
can be placed in its curative virtues. Sesamum oil is insoluble in alcohol, 
readily saponifies with the alkalies, and combines with the oxide of lead. 
Dr. O'Shaughnessy says for all purposes of medicine and pharmacy it is, 
when well prepared, equal to the best olive oil. The oil cake mixed 
with honey and preserved citron, is esteemed an oriental luxury, and 
the cake alone has been recommended as a food for bees. 

The plant is cultivated to a great extent in most parts of India, espe- 
elally in the Peninsula. The following mode of preparing the oil was 
given in the Jury reports of the Madras Exhibition of 1855: 

“‘The method sometimes adopted is that of throwing the fresh seed 
without any cleansing process into the common mill, and pressing it 
in the usual way. The oil thus becomes mixed with a large portion of 
the colouring matter of the epidermis of the seed, and is neither so 
pleasant to the eye, nor so agreeable to the taste, as that obtained by 
first repeatedly washing the seeds in cold water, or by boiling them for 
a short time until the whole of the reddish-brown colouring matter is 
removed, and the seeds have become perfectly white. They are then 
dried in the sun, and the oil expressed as usual. This process yields 
40 to 44 per cent. of a very pale straw-coloured sweet-smelling oil, an 
excellent substitute for olive oil.” 

There are two varieties of seed known in commerce, one white and 
the other black. The plant bearing the white seeds is not so common 
as the other one. The Kala-til, or black seed, must not be confounded 
with that of the Guizotia oleifera, to which the same name is applied. 
It is said that the fragrance is much weaker when the plant 
has been sown in too moist a soil. The plant has a very general dis- 
tribution, and the oil is procured and used in Egypt, China, Cashmere, 
and the West Indies. In the Rajahmundry district, the seed is sown in 
the month of March, after the rice crop, and is irrigated twice, once at 


248 ON COCA LEAVES. 


sowing, and once afterwards. The seed, which is black, is called first 
sort gingelly, from the fact of its yielding the largest per centage of oil, 
ripens in May, and sells at the rate of 60 rupees per candy of 500 Ibs. 
Second sort gingelly is sown in June, and produces a red seed. The 
plant, although a little larger, resembles in most respects the former ; 
it has, however, a somewhat longer leaf, and the flower differs a shade 
or two in colour. <A candy of 500 lbs. of this seed sells at 574 rupees. 
The price of this oil is the same as that of gingelly. The fixed or ex- 
pressed oil, besides being eaten by the natives, is used medicinally, and 
considered to possess emenagogue virtues. It possesses such qualities 
as fairly entitle it to more general introduction into Europe, and if 
divested of its mucilage, it might, perhaps, compete with olive oil, at 
least for medicinal purposes, and could be raised in any quantity in 
British India. It is sufficiently free from smell to admit of being made 
the medium for extracting the perfume of the jasmine, tuberose, nar- 
cissus, camomile, and yellow rose. The process is managed by adding 
one weight of flowers to three weights of oil in a bottle, which, being 
corked, is exposed to the rays of the sun for 40 days, when the oil is 
supposed to be sufficiently impregnated for use. This oil, under the 
name of gingelly oil, is used in India to adulterate oil of almonds. 
The seeds are roasted, and groundinto meal, and so eaten by the Hindoos. 
It is used externally in rheumatism, also in the process of dyeing silk 
a pale-orange colour. Sesamum seed often contains about 45 or 46 per 
cent. of oil ; the Ram-til seeds only 34 per cent. The price of the oil 
varies in different districts, but the average is from 3 to 4 rupees a 
maund. In England its value is about 50/. per ton. 


ON COCA LEAVES—FROM ERYTHROXYLON COCA. 
BY HENRY F. FISH. 


Coca, according to Herndon, is a bush about four feet high, with a 
small light-green leaf. The flower is white, and the fruit a small red 
berry. The seed is sown in beds, at the expiration of the rainy season— 
about March 1st. Arbors of palm trees are frequently built over the 
young shoots, to protect them from the sun, and they are watered, if it 
continues clear, for a week or so. It is transplanted in September, a 
year and a-half after planting, and gives its first crop in one year from 
that time, and a crop every four months after. 

The bush, if not destroyed by ants, will give crops many years. Some 
times, but rarely, the leaves wither, and the crop fails. It is necessary 
to dry the leaves, when gathered, as quickly as possible, and to avoid 


ON COCA LEAVES. 249 


any moisture or dampness when storing them. Every 100 plants furnish 
an arroba 21 lbs. of leaves, worth, in Lima, about 7 dols., or 30c.a pound 
The leaf of this plant is to the Indian of Peru what tobacco is to the 
labouring classes of the southern states, a luxury. 

Supplied with an abundance of it, he sometimes performs prodigies 
of labour, and can go without food for several days. Without it he is 
miserable, and will not work. It is said to be a powerful stimulant to 
the nervous system, and, like strong tea or coffee, to take away sleep ; 
but, unlike tobacco and some other stimulants, no one has known it to 
be injurious to health. The hacienda (estate) of Montana Carabaya pro- 
duces three crops a-year. It is situated on a stream near San Mateo, on 
a square inclosed with one-story buildings, a mill for grinding the silver 
ore, &c. 

About forty hands are employed—Indians of the Sierra, strong hardy- 
looking fellows, though generally low in stature and stupid in expression. 
They are silent and patient, and, having coca enough to chew, will do an 
extraordinary quantity of work. 

They breakfast and commence work at 8 o’clock ; at 11 o’clock they 
have a recess of half an hour, when they sit down near their place of 
work, and chew coca mixed with lime, which each one carries in a small 
- gourd, putting it on the mass of coca leaves in his mouth, with a wire 
pin attached to the stopper of the gourd. They then go to work again 
till 5 o’clock, when they finish up for the day and dine. 

I have seen them puddling with their naked legs a mass of mud and 
quicksilver, in water, with the thermometer at 38 deg. (Herndon’s Ex- 
pedition, 1853). 

It is said that, by taking a sufficient quantity of coca, a man is capa- 
ble of dispensing with food for five days without any material incon- 
venience, even though he is engaged in rapid travelling on foot the whole 
time. Dr, Von Tschudi, in his travels, relates that a Cholo of Huari, 
named Hatun Huamang, was employed by him in very laborious digging. 
During the whole time he was in his service, five days and nights, he 
never tasted any food, and took only two hours’ sleep nightly ; but at 
intervals of two and a-half or three hours he regularly masticated 
about half-an-ounce of coca-leaves, and he kept an acullico continually in 
bis mouth. 

Dr. Von Tschudi was constantly beside him, and, therefore, had 
opportunity to observe him closely. The work for which he had engaged 
him being finished, he accompanied him on a two days’ journey of 
twenty-three leagues across the level heights. Although on foot, he kept 
pace with the Doctor’s mule, and halted only for the Chaechar. 

On leaving, he declared that he would willingly engage himself 
again for the same amount of work, and that he would go through it 
without food if he were but allowed a sufficient amount of coca. The 
village priest said this man was 62 years of age,and he had never known 
him to be ill in his life. The aboriginal Peruvians, who have been so 

VOL. III. Z 


250 ON COCA LEAVES. 


barbarously enslaved by the Spaniards in their own country, and so In- 
humanly overtasked and otherwise ill-treated, use coca. 

in their circumstances, it is really a necessary analeptie, or restora- 
tive, without which they would hardly be able to tolerate the labour 
imposed upon them. Travellers tell us that the only thing that prevents 
despair and revolt among those employed in the mines, is their being 
allowed a free use of coca. 

It would hardly be correct to say that they use it as a matter of sen- 
suality. (Tullys Mat. Med. Article “‘ Euphrenics”). 

But by far the most extended notice yet published on coca is one 
given at Milan by Dr. Mantegazza, a translation of which appeared im the 
‘Lond. Pharm. Jour.’ June, 1860, and is as follows :— 

The Erythroxylon Coca, a plant which grows in moist and woody 
regions, on the eastern slopes of the Andes, is highly valued by the in- 
habitants of Peru, Chili, and Bolivia, not only as a medicine, but also as 
an article of food; and serves with them as a substitute for the tea, 
coffee, betel, tobacco, hasehish, and opium used by other nations. Its 
culture, upon which, since the time of Pizarro’s conquest, much atten- 
tion has been bestowed, has recently increased to such a degree, that in 
the year 1836 the revenue of the republic of Bolivia from the sale of 
this herb amounted to 2,470,000 dollars, a very large sum when com- 
pared with the population (only 800,000), but it is likely that some of 
the crop is exported. 

According to the account of M. Péppiz, and of other well-known 
travellers, the natives use the dried leaves of the Coca either by them- 
selves, or In combination with a highly attractive substance called 
Clipta, which is prepared from roasted potatoes and the ashes of other 
plants ; they masticate it as the Malays do betel. The use of this, 
considered there as a great delicacy, is not however, confined to the rich ; 
on the contrary, it is particularly among the hard-working Indians that 
the Coca enjoys a high reputation as a nutritient restorative, and its use 
is considerel absolutely requisite to the comfortable endurance of fatigue 
and exertion, so that a labourer in making his contract has a view not 
only to his wages, but to the amount of Coca furnished. 

The Inca who lives at a height ranging from 7,000 to 15,000 feet 
above the sea level, and whose meagre fare consists only of maize, dried 
meat, and inferior potatoes, believes that he can sustain his strength 
solely by the use of coca. The peon who carries the mail, and who 
accompanies the traveller over the roughest roads, at the quick pace of 
the mule, invigorates and strengthens himself by the use of coca. The 
Indian who works half naked in the various mines looks upon this plant 
as an ambrosia capable of imparting new life and stimulating to new 
exertion. It is not surprising under such circumstances that the use of 
this article should be very much abused, and that the evil of intempe- 
rance in the consumption of coca, known as Coqguiar, should be quite as 
prevailing among the natives of those districts as intemperance in the 


ON COCA LEAVES. 251 


use of tobacco, alcoholic liquors, and opium among other nations. They 
often intoxicate themselves for several weeks, hide in the deepest forests, 
in order not to be disturbed in their enjoyment, and not rarely return 
home to their families suffering from delirium or decided idiocy, (This 
last sentence does not agree entirely with other authorities, who assert 
that coca, unlike opium or alcohol, leaves no debility supervening from 
its free use ; and it may well be questioned whether or no a delirious or 
an idiotic Indian would, as a general rule, be successful in finding his 
way home from “the deepest forests.”) The child and the feeble old 
man seize with equal eagerness the leaves of this wonderful herb, and 
find in it indemnification from all suffering and misery. Be it that the 
praised efficacy of the plant is merely the effect of fancy or tradition, or 
that the plant really contains a powerful principle unknown to science, 
the solution of the mystery is certainly a theme worthy of scientific in- 
quiry, and the investigations of Dr, Mantegazza deserve, therefore, our 
full attention. 

Dr, Mantegazza observed that the chewing of a drachm of the leaves 
of the coca increased salivation, giving at first a somewhat bitter, and 
afterwards an aromatic taste in the mouth, and a feeling of comfouré in the 
stomach, as after a frugal meal, eaten with a good appetite ; after a second 
and third dose, a slight burning sensation in the mouth and pharynx, 
and an increase of thirst, were noticed; digestion seemed to be more 
rapidly performed, and the feeces lost their stercoraceous smell, the pecu- 
liar odour of the juice of the coca becoming perceptible in them. 

On using the coca for several days, the author observed on himself, 
as well as on other individuals, a circumscribed erythema, an eruption 
around the eyelids resembling pityrias ; from time to time a not unplea- 
sant prickling or itching was felt. An infusion of the leaves taken in- 
ternally was found to increase the frequency of the pulse to a very con- 
siderable degree. In making his observation upon this point, Dr. Man- 
tegazza was very careful to consider all the varying influences ; he found 
that the temperature of the air being the same, and the liquids being 
heated to an equal degree, an infusion of coca will increase the action of 
the heart (and arteries?) four times its normal standard, while cacao, 
tea, coffee, and warm water only double it. By taking an infusion pre- 
pared from 3ijj. of the leaves, a feverish condition was produced, with 
increased heat of the skin, palpitation of the heart, seeing of flashes, 
head-ache, and vertigo : the pulse rose from 70 beats to 134. A peculiar 
roaring noise in the ear, a desire to run about at large, and an apparent 
enlargement of the intellectual horizon, indicated that its specific in- 
fluence on the brain: had commenced. <A peculiar hardly-describable 
feeling of increased strength, agility, and impulse to exertion follows ; it 
is the first symptom of the intoxication, which is, howevee, quite different 
irom the exaltation produced by alcohol. While the latter manifests 
itself by increased but irregular action of the muscles, the individual 
intoxicated by coca feels but a gradually augmented vigour, and a desire 


252 ON COCA LEAVES. 


to spend his newly-acquired strength in active labour. After some time 
the intellectual sphere participates in this general exaltation, while the 
sensibility seems hardly influenced ; the effect is thus quite different 
from that produced by coffee, and resembles in some degree that of 
opium. 

Dr. Mantegazza could in this excited condition write with ease and . 
regularity. After he had taken Ziv, he was seized with the peculiar 
feeling of being isolated from the external world, and with an irresistible 
inclination to gymnastic exercise, so that he who in his normal condition 
carefully avoided the latter, jumped upon the writing table easily with- 
out breaking the lamp on it. After this a state of torpidity came on, 
accompanied by a feeling of intense comfort, consciousness being all the 
time perfectly clear, and by an instinctive wish not to move a limb the 
whole day—not even a finger. During this sensation sleep sets in accom- 
panied by odd and rapidly changing dreams ; it may last an entire day 
without leaving a feeling of debility or of indisposition of any kind. 
The Doctor finally increased the dose to Zxviij. in one day ; his pulse rose 
in consequence to 134 beats, and in the moment when his exaltation was 
most intense, he described his feelings to several of his colleagues. 

After three hours’ sleep, he recovered completely from this intoxica- 
tion, and could immediately follow his daily occupation without any 
indisposition ; on the contrary, even with unusual facility. He had ab- 
stained forty hours from food of any kind, and the meals then taken 
were well digested. From this fact the author finds it explainable that 
the Indians employed as carriers of the mail are able to do without food 
for three or four days, provided they are supplied with coca. 

From these experiments made repeatedly on himself and others, Dr. 
Mantegazzi. draws the following conclusions :— 

The leaves of coca, chewed or taken in weak infusion, have a stimu- 
lating effect on the nerves of the stomach, and thereby greatly facilitate 
digestion. In a large dose coca increases the animal heat, and augments 
the frequency of the pulse, and consequently of respiration. Ina medium 
dose three or four drachms excited the nervous system in such a manner 
that muscular exertion is made with great ease, then it produces a calm- 
ing effect. Used in larger doses it causes delirium, hallucination, and 
finally congestion of the brain. 

Since this paper was written, announcement has been made of the 
discovery and isolation of a proximate principle from coca by a German 
chemist, said to possess all the peculiar properties that characterise the 
plant itself. For a very minute and interesting detail of the use of coca 
among the Indians, reference may be made to a small but attractive work 
by Captain Mayne Reid, entitled The Forest Exiles. 


253 


WOODS AND MANUFACTURES OF WOOD SHOWN AT THE 
INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. 


We take from the Report of the Jury on Class IV. the following 
details on the manufactures of wood. The section included specimens 
of timber and other woods, turnery, and small wares in wood, or wood 
and other materials, the wood being essential ; wood carvings, coopery, 
basket-work, sticks and canes, bark-work, &e. 

At no previous exhibition in this or any other country has so splendid 
and valuable a display of the products of forests and plantations been 
exhibited, not only when we consider the magnitude of the various 
collections sent from almost every country, but also in regard to the 
admirable care which in almost all cases has been shown in the prepara- 
tion of the specimens of which they were composed. Science and com- 
mercial enterprise have gone hand in hand, and we have no longer to 
regret that absence of correct information respecting the producing plants 
and other important particulars, which rendered so much that was sent 
to the Exhibition of 1851 comparatively valueless. Most of the collec- 
tions now exhibited are labelled correctly ; and not only do we find the 
scientific names of the trees attached, but in many cases valuable infor- 
mation respecting the qualities and quantities of the timber are given. 

In the British Department but little of the raw material is exhibited. 
Three exhibitors show very choice selections of the hard woods, which 
are imported for ornamental purposes ; these are the eminent firms of 
R. Fauntleroy and Sons, Messrs. W. Oliver and Sons, and R. Fauntleroy 
and Co., each of which exhibit remarkable specimens of the most beauti- 
ful of the ornamental woods, and good veneers, knife-cut, are exhibited 
by Blache and Co., of Finsbury. Of the other descriptions of wood 
goods entitled to notice, we have :— 

Excellent turnery and carving for dairy and other domestic purposes, 
by J. Duffield, of Great Chapel street, Oxford street; and by J. Bailey, 
of King’s Cliffe. These are for ordinary use ; but similar articles of 
much finer finish and greater artistic merit are shown by H. Bridges, 406 
Oxford street. Good specimens are also shown by W. Bollans, of King’s 
Cliffe, Northamptonshire. The only specimens of the well-known Tun- 
bridge ware or wood-mosaic are shown by J. R. Clarke, of Walworth ; 
they are varied and tasteful both in design and application to articles of 
ornament and utility. 

As specimens of masterly turning the arm-clubs and skittles of W. 
Camp, 81 Tottenham-court road, are excellent. 

The carved plates and potato-bowls of R. E. Farrant, of Queen’s row, 
Buckingham gate, are of excellent workmanship, quite equalling the best 
Swiss carvings of the same kind. The jury regretted that the limitation 
in the number of medals prevented one being awarded to these artistic 
carvings. 


254 ON WOODS AND MANUFACTURES OF Woop 


A very important application of turnery is shown in the admirable 
manufactures of J. Howard, Luton, consisting of wooden blocks for the 
bonnet and hat makers. 

The bog-oak ornaments of C. Goggin, of Dublin, exhibit the average 
amount of skill and taste usually found in those articles; but the vege- 
table ivory turnery of B. Taylor, of 169 St. John street road, show great 
excellence, and a more extended application of the material than has 
hitherto been seen. 

The beautiful boxes and other articles known as Mauchline or Tar- 
tan work, or “ Ecossais,” which are now so well known, are exhibited in 
great variety, and of very excellent manufacture, by the celebrated firm, 
W.and A. Smith, of Mauchline, to which locality this curious manufac- 
ture is confined. It employs about 280 persons, of whom 170 work for 
the Messrs. Smith, all natives of the neighbourhood. Excellent wooden 
boxes of a cylindrical shape, intended for gentlemen’s collars, &c., and 
for samples of such goods as are generally sent in canisters, are exhibited 
by A. Robertson, of Holloway Mills. This useful invention combines 
great lightness, strength, and neatness. 

An interesting collection, showing the indigenous woods of Hamp- 
shire, and their applications, is shown by H. Raynbird, of Basingstoke, 
in which are very excellent hoops for coopers’ purposes. Two admirable 
specimens of coopers’ work are shown in the machine-made casks of T. 
S. Cressey, of Burton-on-Trent ; this manufacture is quite unique, the 
staves being not only made, but also put together, by machinery. These 
casks are very perfect, and are now used extensively by Messrs. Bass and 
Co., the Burton brewers, and by the Lords of the Admiralty. 

Canes and walking-sticks are not very largely exhibited, except by 
B. Meyers, of Mill lane, Tooley street, whose collection is very interest- 
ing, from its great variety both in the raw and finished states. C. Cohen 
also shows a large number and variety of canes, walking-sticks, and um- 
brella-sticks. 

Basket-work is exhibited in great variety, some showing great taste 
in ornamental designs, and others strength and neatness for purposes of 
mere utility. Of the former may be mentioned the beautiful and origi- 
nal works of R. Cosser, the wicker chair, and baskets of R. Giehr, those 
of R. Lenton, those of T. and J. Toplis, and the very elegant wicker 
picture-frames of A. Mackay, Edinburgh. Of the latter kind may be 
specified the well-made fruit and flower-baskets of R. Adamson, the plain _ 
wicker-work of M. H. Heeks, the excellent strong basket-work of T. 
Smith and Sons, of Herstmonceaux, and those of S. J. Walden. 

Cork and its applications are not extensively exhibited: good corks - 
for bottles are shown by H. Clemence, and T.C. Clarkson; also by A. B. 
Seithen (but these last were artificially dressed) ; and an ingenious appli- 
cation of cork for lining the upper part as well as the soles of boots is 
exhibited by W. F. Coles. 

The carvings in wood in the British department are remarkable for 


SHOWN AT THE INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION, 255 


their great beauty and high artistic excellence. Those of Mr. Wallis, of 
Louth, are in the most masterly style, both of design and finish. Messrs. 
Rogers, of Soho square ; Mr. W. H. Baylis, Mr. Bryer, of Southampton ; 
Mr. T. H. Kendall; Mr. W. Perry, of North Audley street; and Mr. R 
J. Tudsbury, of Edwinstowe, have all exhibited works of great beauty 
and admirable execution, showing that in this branch of art a fair amount 
of real talent is not wanting im our artists. 

Austria presents a large display of timber specimens and wood 
goods. 

The Imperial Royal Ministries for the Direction of the I. R. Finances 
at Gratz, Lemberg, Pressburg ; for the I. R. Direction of Forests, Vienna, 
and Montana, in Istria ; and for the I. R. Direction of Salterns and 
Forests at Gumunden in Upper Austria, and at Saltzburg, of Kutjevo in 
Sclavonia, and Radauz in the Bukowina, have collectively brought toge- 
ther a finer collection of the forest products under their care, than in all 
probability was ever brought together before by one country. They are 
principally large and carefully-selected blocks of the various kinds of 
timber shown in different states, as cross-cuts (with the bark on), squared, 
logs, planks, rough and planed, scantling, palings, sleepers, staves, &c. ; 
and the barks of fir, larch, and oak, prepared for tanners’ use in rolls, and 
crushed. 

Matthew Bauer, of Warasdin, shows exainples of Croatian oak-staves 
of excellent grain, the prices of which are remarkably low. We were 
informed by the Imperial Commissioner that they are supplied in large 
quantities to the French coopers for claret and brandy hogsheads at the 
rate of 3/. 10s. per 1,000. Cross-cut sections of the trees are also sent by 
the exhibitor ; they show a clean, compact, and sound growth. a 

Count Ernest Hoyos-Sprinzenstein, of Stixenstein and Gutenstein, 
has made an admirable display of the timber produce of his estates. The 
following will show the varieties, price per cubic foot, soil on which 
grown, and the altitude. The price is expressed in Austrian convention 
Munz kreutzers :— 

Black fir (Pinus Austriaca, Poir) ; Alpine chalk: Northern; alti- 
tude, 1,600 feet ; price per cubic foot, 60 kreuzer. 

Spruce (Abies excelsa, D.C.). 

Silver pine (Abies pectinata, D.C.); Gray-wacke : Bottom of Valley ; 
altitude, 3,000 feet ; price per cubic foot, 30 kreuzer. 

Scotch fir (Pinus sylvestris, L.) ; Dolomite : Northern ; altitude, 1,600 
feet ; price per cubic feet, 30 kreuzer. 

Beech (Fagus sylvatica, L.); Alpine chalk: Southern ; altitude, 
2,000 ; price per cubic foot, 18 kreuzer. 

Count Munch-Bellinghausen shows the stem of a black fir (Pinus 
Austriaca) with the incisions made for collecting resin, and the imple- 
ments illustrating the process. The same nobleman also exhibits a 
most remarkable specimen of the hazel-tree of Austria (Corylus Colurna); 
it is a transverse section with one surface polished to show its beautiful 


256 “ON WOODS AND MANUFACTURES, OF WOOD 


rich brown colour. This section measures three feet six inches in dia- 
meter, and is perfectly sound throughout. The tree from which it was 
cut was known to be 280 years old, and had reached the height of seventy 
feet ; many similar trees are said to be growing on the same estate. 

The Prince Schaumburg-Lippe exhibits very excellent oaken-staves 
for wine casks, with the statement that he has 150,000,000"A ustrian cubie 
feet of similar wood at his disposal, from trees which have been standing 
from 200 to 250 years. 

Emil Raikem, steward of the estates of Wsetin, sends a very remark- 
able cut, or transverse section of an immense stem of the silver pine 
(Abies pectinata). This stem when cut and trimmed was 143 feet in 
length, with a diameter of six inches at the top, and contained 1,500 
cubic feet of timber. 

Excellent specimens of various kinds of timber from the estates of 
Prince Esterhazy in the Comitat of Somogy, are exhibited by the farmers 
of the estate, Messrs, Freistadtler and Co. And the Count Nicholas 
Esterhazy also sends equally good specimens from his estates in the 
Comitat of Romarom; and another excellent series is exhibited by 
Gabriel Varady, Chairman of the Exhibition committee for the Comitat 
of Maramarvas. An ingenious and beautiful method of showing the 
varieties of elegant curls found in the native wood has been adopted by 

- Professor Henry Engl, who has had twenty-nine specimens inlaid in a 
table-top, so artistically as to produce an excellent representation of the 
arms of Austria. 

Good collections are also shown by the Agricultural Society of 
Goritz ; Prince John of Lichtenstein, Bernard Pollak, jun. (chiefly for 
carriage builders, wheelwrights, and coopers’ uses), Hugel and Co. of 
Bistritz, Peter Barabas of Arad, Stephen Kazy of Nemes-Orozi, in the 
Comitat of Bars, the Town Council of Kremnitz, and M. D. Rombaner 
of Szkleno, in the Comitat of Bars. 

A very fine series of ship timber, oak for railway and artillery car- 
riages, and coopers’ staves, is shown by the Baron Hilleprand Gustavus 
Prandau of Valpo, Slavonia. 

Of wood prepared for various purposes, the following exhibits are en- 
titled to notice :— 

The fir and pine telegraph poles, impregnated with sulphate of copper 
by Boucherie’s process, sent by Francis Kreuter, of Vienna, whose works 
are said to produce 20,000 poles per annum. ; 

An important production of the Austrian forests is the fine, smooth- 
grained, soft, and sonorous wood of the silver-pine, which in that country 
yields the material which supplies to the rest of Europe the best sound- 
ing-boards for pianos and other musical instruments. The smaller por- 
tions of this wood also enables the Austrians to make the best matches, 
the choicer kinds of which, as shown in the case of Anthony Sartyni, of 
Smorce, in Galicia, are remarkable for the elegance of their manufssture 
and the extraordinary cheapness at which they can be produced, the 


SHOWN AT THE INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. Q57 


price stated for match sticks two feet in length is one penny per 4,000, 
and this manufacture gives employment to nearly 700 persons. 

Of the sounding-boards an excellent exhibition is made by D. Bienert 
and Son, of Muderhauser, in Bohemia, who supplied the Messrs. Broad- 
wood as early as 1827 with piano sounding-boards. 

The annual produce exported by this firm is very remarkable ; it 
comprises :— 


Pieces. 

Cut sounding-boards - - - - frem 35,000 to 40,006 
Cleft sounding-boards - - - 9 6,000", 51578,000 
Tops (86 ft. square each) - - - 4 2,500),,) 3,000 
Key-wood (18 in. to 32 in. leng and 9 

to 155 sq. ft.) - - - - » 18,000 ,, 20,000 
Rips - - - - - - - - - - 300 
Frame-wood - - - - - - - - 2,406 
Violoncello and double- bass tops - - - - 50 
Violin and bass-viol tops —- - - - - - 500 
Guitar tops - - - - - - - - 500 


The value is estimated at 17,000/. sterling, and gives employment to ~ 
more than 100 persons, the mills beg worked by water-power. 

Another exhibitor, John Reif, of Kuschwarda, in Bohemia, also sends 
sounding-boards of the very first quality, together with a variety of pre- 
pared wood goods, as hatchet-handles, sieve-hoops, pencil-casings, piano 
keys, covers, and frames, &e. 

Excellently prepared wood for joiners’ purposes is also shown by 
Samuel Ramoosa, of Pesth, and by Francis Stemdl, jun., of Pesth. 

Veneers and gunstocks are exhibited of excellent quality by the 
Veneer Cutting Company of Bistritz. ‘The veneers are of walnut and ash 
roots and knots, showing good curl. The gunstocks are of walnut wood, 
and are offered at very low prices, 

Nothing more remarkable is shown than the really wonderful mar- 
quetry veneers of Francis and Matthew Podany, of Vienna, which rival 
tissue-paper in thinness, and are so remarkably perfect that not even the 
smallest hole is seen in any of the specimens exhibited. 

The manufacture of pegs for boot and shoe makers is now extensively 
carried on in Austria, and the pegs are exhibited in great variety and of 
excellent make by Messrs. Zeidler and Menzel, of Schénau, in Bohemia, 
who employ one hundred men and twenty-nine machines worked by 
water-power ; they produce annually 200 tons of these pegs, which are 
all used by the Austrian, German, and Russian shoemakers. 

Excellent pegs are also shown by John Rattich and Son, of Kumaur, 
and by A. Perner, of Budweis, in Bohemia. The wood of the maple 
(Acer campestre) is used in this manufacture, 

The manufacture of the celebrated agriot, or cherry-sticks for pipes, 
is peculiar to Austria ; these pipe-sticks are the stems of the perfumed — 

VOL. IIL. AA 


258 ON WOCDS AND MANUFACTURES OF WOOD. 


cherry (Ceraus Mahaleb), a native of Austria ; for this purpose the young 
trees are grown in large pots in order that they may be turned round, so 
as to receive equal exposure to the sun and air on all sides. This is done 
with great regularity, and the utmost care is bestowed upon them in 
order to secure perfect straightness of growth, and an equal diameter 
throughout of about an inch or an inch and a half. 

Some of those shown in the collection which received the medal 
(Michael Biondek, of Baden), in Lower Austria, were eight feet in length 
and perfectly straight ; the bark, which is of a dark purple brown colour, 
is deliciously perfumed. Besides Biondek’s, there is a very fine collec- 
tion by William Germer and Co., of Baden, near Vienna, and also Joseph 
Trenner, sen. and jun., of the same place, and Andrew Burshik, of Wie- 
den, Vienna. 

Another kind of pipe-sticks is shown by Ferdinand Barany, of Pesth ; 
they are about eighteen inches in length, and are made of the shoots of 
Philadelphus coronarius, which is remarkable for its quality of absorbing 
the oil of tobacco, and for nice flexibility. 

Of turnery and fancy articles in wood there is a choice display. A 
large and very tasteful selection of useful and ornamental articles is 
shown by Anthony J. Krebs, of Vienna ; and good specimens are shown 
by Francis Theyer, of Vienna, and John Hillinger, of Vienna. 

A remarkably pleasing application of the wood of the hazel of the 
country (Corylus Colurna) is shown in the clever imitations of leather 
articles, such as caskets, &c., shown by Charles Stenzel at very moderate 
prices ; and numerous fancy boxes and other articles of very tasteful de- 
sign in wood are shown by Joseph Schiipler, of Vienna. 

In wood carving we have to notice a very beautiful work in high re- 
lief, representing a scene in a Tyrolese inn, by Peter Nocker, sculptor, 
of Botzen, in the Tyrol ; and some clock-cases of great beauty in design 
and nice finish by J. Oberleitner, from the establishment for the educa- 
tion of deaf and dumb persons at Halle, in the Tyrol. 

The exhibitors of basket-work and straw-work are few, but the orna- 
mental basket-work aud wicker furniture of Frederick Afh, Vienna, is 
exceedingly tasteful in design, and of very excellent workmanship. 

“The rush and cane basket-work of M. L. Hanning, of Debreczin, is 
worthy of notice, in consequence of its cheapness. It is made entirely 
by the peasants in the neighbourhood of Debreczin from the common 
rush (Scirpus lacustris), with small quantities of rattan cane for strength, 

The only exhibitor of straw work is Maria Petry, of Vienna, who 
shows a number of very elegant bouquets, for bonnet trimmings, made 
of various kinds of straw ; they are of novel and tasteful design. 

The woods and forests of the ZOLLVEREIN have scarcely furnished 
anything for this Exhibition. 

A few specimens of ornamental woods, most of them exotic, are sent 
from Ladenburg, in the Grand Duchy of Baden, by a manufacturer 
named Seifarth, who also exhibits some very good veneers made from 


SHOWN AT THE INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. 259 


the woods. Match-sticks, or wood prepared for lucifer-matches, of ¢ood 
quality, are shown by Heidenreich, a manufacturer of Affolterbach, in 
the Grand Duchy of Hesse ; and toothpicks of great excellence, made of 
the Spindle-tree wood (Huonymus Europeus), are exhibited by Carl Wol- 
fert, of Dresden ; there are four kinds, with the prices attached. No. 6 
is 2s. per 1,000 ; No. 74 is 3s. per 1,000 ; No. 10, 4s. per 1,000; and No. 
15, 4s. 6d. per 1,000. This manufacture is said to employ large numbers 
oi the peasantry during the winter evenings. Wilhelm Geyer, of Plauen, 
Saxony, has shown a large assortment of carved picture-frames and fancy 
boxes, which, as very cheap manufactures, are worthy of notice ; and a 
large collection of very well made shoe-lasts and boot-trees are exhibited 
by C. Behrens, of Alfeld, in Hanover ; the last range in price from 
2s, 3d. to 11s. 6d. per dozen. 

Several exhibitors have sent wicker-work in great variety, chiefly in 
the shape of ornamental chairs, perambulators, &. The principal are— 
Samuel Zinn and Co., of Red-witz, in Upper Franconia ; Walter, Errst, 
and Son, basket-makers to the Court, Brunswick ; F. Fuhrberg, Berlin ; 
Auguste Herbst, Bonn ; Johann Friedrich Reichardt, Erfurt ; Herrmann 
Winckler, of Berlin; and Oscar Merz, jun., of Dresden. All of them 
display more or less of taste as well as good workmanship. 

Of manufactured corks, one exhibitor, B. H. Lurssen, of Delmenhorst, 
in the Grand Duchy of Oldenburg, makes a large display ; he shows 
sixteen sorts, all well made, and of excellent material, varying from 
1s. 10d. to 60s. per 1,000. 

The Hansz Towns exhibit only wicker-work and walking-sticks in 
this division. The wicker-work is in the form of chairs, tables, &., and 
is very good and tasteful. The principal exhibitors are Henning Ahrens» 
of Hamburg ; C. Lampe, of Bremen ; and Meyer Brothers, of Hamburg. 
The exhibition of walking-sticks, by H. C. Meyer, of Hamburg, is very 
remarkable, both for its extent and the great variety and excellence of 
the goods shown. 

FRANCE shows but little in this division, if we except the admirable 
collections of Yilmorin-Andrieux and Co., M. Leopold Javal, M. P. Cham- 
brelent, and Dr. Eugene Robert. That of Vilmorin and Co. contains a 
most perfect series of forest woods, and many of their applications are 
also shown. Nothing can surpass the very admirable arrangement of 
this collection ; the specimens are so prepared as to illustrate every 
peculiarity of the material, and, besides the wood specimens, there are 
collateral series showing the foliage and the fruits of the trees, all pre- 
pared and named with the greatest care and scientific accuracy. This is 
the only collection in the Exhibition which reminds us of the magnifi- 
cent exhibition of similar products by Messrs. Lawson of Edinburgh, in 
1851. 

The collection of M. Javal is a very remarkable one; it is intended 
to illustrate the extraordinary results which he has realised by a sys- 
tematic cnltivation of the previously barren district called the “ Landes ” 


260 - ON WOODS AND MANUFACTURES OF WooD 


of Gascony, the soil of which is very little more than loose sand, similar 
to that of the dunes along the shores of the Bay of Biscay. Upon this 
unpromising land M. Javal has encouraged the growth of such plants as 
fern (Pieris aquilina), rushes, heather, gorse, &c., and has thus added to 
the vegetable mould ; he has, of the land so improved, planted nearly 
80,000 acres with seedlings of the sea-side pine (Pinus maritima, W.), 
and these, when large enough, are cut for various purposes, as railway 
sleepers, wood pavement, palings, &c., or they are treated, on the prin- 
ciple of Boucherie, with solution of sulphate of copper, and are used for 
telegraphic poles and other purposes, while great numbers are tapped 
and the turpentine is collected in large quantities and distilled on the 
estate ; the fuel used is the loppings of the trees and refuse of the saw- 
mills. The produce of turpentine, resin, and other products of distilla- 
tion is very considerable, and the quality is excellent, as seen by the 
specimens exhibited. 

M. Chambrelent’s collection is of a similar kind, but on a much 
smaller scale; still it is a gigantic effort to subdue the vast desert of 
the “ Landes,” and it is pleasing to witness these monuments of success- 
ful enterprise shown by MM. Javal and Chambrelent. 

The collection of Dr. Eugene Robert is one of great importance to the 
forester, for it indicates a valuable course of investigation. The speci 
mens. he has exhibited are collected for the purpose of showing th® 
ravages of insects, and the methods he proposes for destroying them, and 
restoring the vigour of the tree. As this depends upon a sort of surgical 
treatment of the tree, the jury can only recommend it for trial, the spe- 
cimens exhibited seeming to prove that it is very beneficial. Dr. 
Robert’s plan consists in making horizontal and longitudinal incisions in 
the bark of the infected trees, these incisions being determined by ex- 
perience. One of the curious results of his experiments, as shown in the 
specimens exhibited, is to entirely alter the form of the stem almost at 
will, the future growth being greatly modified by the direction of the 
cuts in the bark; thus four equidistant longitudinal cuts in the bark, by 
relieving the pressure, admit of a greater expansion of the wood below 
the cuts, and the tree thus assumes the square instead of the round form. 
Many other highly interesting results are shown by the specimens in 
this very curious collection. 

Amongst the curious applications of wood exhibited in the French 
department may be mentioned the “ Bois durci,’ or preparation of the 
finely-powdered sawdust and turnings of hardwoods, such as rosewood 
ebony, mahogany, &c., with blood. The paste formed of these materials 
is pressed into monlds or dies, and receives most beautiful impressions ; 
when hard it will take a polish equal to jet, which it much resembles ; 
the exhibitors, Latry, Sen., and Co., of Paris, have a beautiful series of 
medallions and other interesting objects in bois durci. Very elegant 
snuftboxes and pipe bowls, made of the root of the tree-heath-(Erice 
arborea), are shown in the case of Hochapfel Brothers of Strasbourg. 


SHOWN AT THE INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. 261 


Similar applications of the root of this plant are also found in the eollec- 
tion ot M. Javal, previously alluded to; they constitute another of the 
products obtained from his plantations. 

Amongst the heterogeneous materials submitted to this jury were fans 
for ladies’ use, In consequence of their having some portions of wood 
(bois Veventail). In this department the fans of P. Duvelleroy are most 
beautiful ; the carving of the handles is exquisite, and the general deco- 
rations of the finest specimen are in the highest style of art. M. Duvel- 
leroy exhibits fans varying in price from: nearly 2,000 frances to one sous 
each. 

The Frencw CoLontzs are rich in illustrations of forest products. 

In AtamrRIA very beautiful specimens of the wens of the Algerian 
Thuya (Callitris quadrivalvis, Vent.) rivalling the beautifully mottled 
Kyabouca wood of the Kast, are exhibited by Henri 
(Oran), Dufour and Co. (Algiers), Amadeuf (Oran), and Dr. Warnier 
(Algiers). These enormons wens, in some cases over two feet in dia- 
meter, are cut for veneers, which are used by the Parisian manufacturers 
in the construction of various elegant objets @ebénisterie, choice examples 
of which are shown in the collection of this colony from Messrs. Becker 
and Otto, M. Duthoit, Messrs. Jouby and Guibert of Paris, and M. 
Maréchal. 

M. Lambert, Inspecteur des Foréts 4 Bona (Constantine), ailivie 
a remarkable collection of 104 specimens of wood, representing very 
completely the products of the Algerian forests, both as regards the 
ligneous and sub-ligneous plants. The woods are labelled with French 
and scientific names, which we give below, and they are accompanied by 
other series, showing the twigs, leaves, flowers, &c., giving perfect means 
for the identification of the species. The following is the list : 


Costerisan 


Mauve arborescente (Lavatera Olbia), Baguenaudier arborescent (Colutea ar- 


Erable napolitain (Acer opulifolium). borescens). 

Margoutier, lilas des Indes (Aelia aze- Colycotome  épineux Colyer 
darach). spineda). 

Citronier (Citrus medica). Spartier d Espagne (Spent jun- 

Oranger (Citrus awrantiui). cewm). 


Vigne commune { Vitis vinifera). 
Houx commun (flex aquifolium). 
Nerprun alaterne (Rhamnus alaternus). 
Nerprun des Alpes (Rhamnus Alpina). 


Caroubier commun (Ceratonia siliqua). 

Amandier commun (Amygdalus com- 
munis). 

Cerisier merisier (Cerasus aviwm). 


Jujubier commun (Zizyphus vulgaris). 

Jujubier lotus (Zizyphus lotus). 

Pistachier térébinthe (Pistacia Tere- 
binthus). 

Pistachier de Tl Atlas (Pistacia atlan- 
tic). 

oy ee lentisque (Pistacia Leavtis- 
cus). 

Sumac des corroyeurs (Rhws coriaria). 

Sumac a cing feuilles (Rhus penta- 
phyla). 

Faux poivrier (Schinws moll). 

Anagyre fétide (Anagyris fatida). 


Prunier domestique (Prunus domestica). 
Prunier sauvage (Prunus insititia). 
Prunier épineux (Prunus spinosa). 
Abricotier commun (Armeniaca vul- 
garis). 
Coignassier 
garis). 
Poirier commun (Pyrus communis). 
Poirier longipede (Pyrus longipes). 
Aubépine monogyne (Crategus mono- 
gyda). 
Aubépine 
cantha). 


commun (Cydonia vul- 


epineuse (Crategus oxy- 


262 


Aubépine azérolier (Crategus azarolus). 

Amelanchier commun (Amelanchus 
vulgaris). 

Alisier blane (Sorbus aria). 

Alisier terminal (Sorbus terminalis). 

Sorbier domestique (Sorbus domestica). 

Grenadier commun (Punica granatum). 

Tamarix de France (Tamarix gallica). 

Tamarix d’ Afrique (Yamariz africana). 

Myrte commun (Myrtus communis). 

Myrte a fruit blane (Myrtus communis). 

Lierre grimpant (Hedera helix). ~ 

Viorne flexible (Viburnum lantana). 

Viorne tin (Viburnum tins). 

Sureau noir (Sambucus nigra). 

Chevrefeuille en arbre (Lonicera ar- 
borea). 

Arbousier commun (Arbutus unedo). 

Bruyere en arbre (rica arborea). 

Bruyere multiflore (Zrica multiflora). 

Fréne austral (Praxinus excelsior). 

Fréne a feuilles étroites (Fraxinus 
angustifolia). 

Fréne dimorphe (Fraxinus dimorpha). 

Olivier d’ Europe (Olea Europea). 

Genévrier oxycedre (Juniperus oxy- 
cedrus). 

Philaria dressé, Philaria a larges feuilles 
(Phillyrea stricta). 

Jasmin arbrisseau 
ticans). 

Nérion (Nerium olcander) 

Tabac glauque (Nicotiana glauca). 

Romarin officinal (Rosmarinus offict- 
nalis). 

Gatilier agneau chaste (Vitex agius 
castus). 

Laurier commun (Laurus nobilis). 

Osyris quadrangulaire (Osyris alba). 

Ricin commun (Ricinws communis). 

Buis commun (Buxus sempervirens). 

Figuier commun (Ficus carica). 

Murier blane (Morus alba). 

Micocoulier de Provence (Celtis Aus- 
iralis). a 

Orme champétre (Ulmus campestris). 


(Jasminum fru- 


ON WOODS AND MANUFACTURES OF WOOD 


Noyer commun (Juglans regia). 
Chataignier commun (Castanea vesca). 
Chéne zéen (Quercus Mirbeckit). 
Chéne commun a larges feuilles (Quer- 
cus sessilijflora : var., platyphylla). 
Chéne faux cerris, faux chevelu (Quer- 
cus pseudo-cerris). 

Chéne faux liége (Qu2reus pseudo-suber) 

Chéne yeuse (Wuercus Ilex). 

Chéne 2 gland doux (Quercus Ballota). 

Chéne liége (Quercus Suber). 

Chéne-liége avec écorce de reproduc- 
tion (liége femelle), from one to 
fifteen years. 

Chéne kermés (Quercus coccifera). 

Chéne faux kermes (Quercus pseudo 
coccifera). 

Plautane d’Orient (Plantanus orien- 
talis). 

Saule pourpre (Salix purpurea). 

Saule helice (Salix helix). 

Saule pédicellé (Salix pedicillata). 

Saule fragile (Salix fragilis). 

Saule blane (Salix alba). 

Peuplier blane (Populus alba). 

Peuplier noir (Populus nigra). 

Aune glutineux (Alnus glutinosa). 

Ephedra de Barberie (Zphedra altis- 
stmt). 

Ephedra fragile (Ephedra fragilis). 

If commun (Zaxus baccata). 

Philaria intermédiaire 
media). 

Genévrier de Phénicie (Juniperus phe- 
nicea). 

Genévrier thurifere (Juniperus thuri- 
Sera). 

Thuya articulé (Callitris quadrivalvis). 

Cypres pyramidal (Cupressus semper- 
virens). 

Sapin pinsapo (Abies pinsapo). 

Cedre de P Atlas (Cedrus Atlantica). 

Pin d Alep (Pinus halepensis). 

Pin pinier (Pinus pinec). 

Pin maritime (Pinus maritima). 


(Phillyrea 


Besides these, M. Lambert’s collection comprises fifteen specimens of 
cork, seventy-five specimens of charcoal, each prepared from a different 
species of wood ; and in addition a herbarium containing 215 specimens 


of the flora of the Algerian forests. 


An excellent but small collection of building woods is shown by M. 


Leture of Lambessa (Constantine). 


M. Lichtlin, Chef du Service des 


Foréts 4 Constantine, besides showing a most admirable series of pre- 
pared corks for various purposes, and several remarkable samples of cork 
of fine quality and extraordinary thickness, also shows the following 
sixty-seven specimens of the woods of Constantine, with French and 


scientific names :— 


SHOWN 


Azérolier (Crategus azarolus, Linnée). 

Amandier (Amygdalus communis). 

Alizier a feuilles dérable (Sorbus ace- 
rifolius). 

Alizier commun (Sorbus communis). 

Aubépine (Mespilus oxyacantha, Jacq.) 

Arbousier (Arbutus wnedo). 

Aune commun (Adnus 
Geertn.). 

Blave de Hollande, ou Tremble (Po- 
pulus tremula). 

Bourdoine 

Bruyere étalée (Zrica multiflora, Lin.) 

-Bruyere arborescente (Hrica arborea, 
Lin.). 

Buis (Buxus sempervirens, Lin.). 

Caroubier (Ceratonia siliqua). 

Chataignier (Fagus castanea). 

Chéne a feuilles de chataignier (Quer- 
cus castanecefolia). 

Chéne-liege, reproduction de 1 a 10 
ans (Quercus suber), 10 échantillons. 

Chéne-liege de 13 ans, 1 échantillon. 

Chéne-liege male, avec Il’écorce, 1 
échantillon. 

Chéne a glands doux (Quercus ballota, 
Desf.). 

Chéne vert (Quercus Ilex). 

Chéne zéen (Quercus Murbeckii). 

Citronnier (Citrus medica). 

Cypres (Cupressus disticha). 

Cytise. 

Cedre (Pinus cedrus, Lin.). 

Erable champétre (Acer campestre). 

Erable napolitain (Acer napolitanwn, 
Ter.). 

Figuier (Ficus carica, Lin.). 

Fréne de ! Aures, petites feuilles. 

Fréne des marais. 

Fréne éléve (Fraxinus excelsior, Lin.). 

Genét commun. 

Genét d’ Espagne. 


glutinosa, 


AT THE INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION, 26 


ie) 


Grenadier (Punica granatwm). 

Genévrier commun. 

Genévrier cédrille. 

Genévrier de Phénicie (Juniperus phe- 
nicea, Lin.). 

Houx commun (/lex aquifolium, Lin.) 

Jujubier (Ziziphus vulgaris, Lam.). 

Lentisque. 

Lierre (Hedera helix, Lin.). 

Laurier-rose (Weriuwm oleander, Lin.). 

Laurier-sauce (Laurus nobilis, Lin.). 

Myrte (Myr tus comnuunis). 

Micocoulier (Celtis australis, Lin.). 

Mérisier (Prunus avium, Lin.). 

Nerprun alaterne (Rhamnus alaternus, 
Lin.). 

Noyer commun (Juglans regia, Lin.). 

Ormeau. 

Orme. 

Oranger (Citrus awrantium). 

Olivier (Olea ewropea). 

Pin pignon (Pinus pinea). 

Pin d@Alep (Pinus halepensis, Mill.). 

Peuplier grisard (Populus canescens, 
Smith). 

Peuplier noir (Populus nigra, Lin.). 

Peuplier blane (Populus alba, Lin.). 

Prunellier, supposé chéne. 

Platane d’Occident (Planus occiden- 
talis, Lin.). 

Pistachier de V Atlas (Pistacia atlan- 
tice, Desf.). 

Phyllirea (Phyllirea latifolia, Lin.). 

Saule marsaula. 

Sumac des corroyeurs (Rhus coriaria, 
Lin.). 

Sureau. 

Tamarix africain (Tamarix Africana, 
Poiret). 

Viorne tin (Viburnwm tinus, Lin.). 

Vigne sauvage (Vitis vinifera, Lin.) 


Excellent cork, and manufactured cork, are also exhibited by Portes, 


Jun., of Algiers, and Lucy and Falcon, of Jemappes (Constantine), and 
very valuable and instructive collections of timber wood are displayed 
by the Service des Foréts de la Province d’Alger ; the Service des Forets 
de la Province d’Oran ; and the Société L)Union Agricole d’Atrique ; in 
the last each specimen is marked with the age of the tree from which it 
is taken. 

From MarriniquE has been sent an interesting collection of the 
woods of the colony, the majority of which are exhibited by M. Bélanger ; 
they are :— 

Acajou femelle (Cedrela odorata). Amandier du pays (Zerminalia ca 
Angelin (Andira inermis). tappa). 
Abricotier des Antilles (Mammea ame- Bois de lézard (Vitex divaricata)- 


ricand). Bois de riviére (Cymarrhis ey ymosa). 
Acomat (Homaliwm racemosum). Bois @’Inde (Mircia acris). 


264 


Bois tan (Malpighia spicata). 

Bois de Cypre (Cordia gerascanthus). 

Bitterash (Bittera febrifuga). 

Ciroyer (Rheedia laterifolia). 

Chataignier coco (Sloanea). 

Condori ou weil de paon (Adenanthera 
pavonina). 

Campéche (Hematoxylon campechia- 
num). 

Catalpa (Hibiscus populneus). 

Filao placage (Casuarina equisetifolia) 

Franchipanier (Plumiera rubra). 

Genipayer (Genipa americana). 

Galba (Galophyllum calaba). 

Haiti jaune. 


ON WOODS AND MANUFACTURES OF WOOD 


Laurier rose des Antilles (Podocarpus 
Sp.). 

Mancenillier (Hippomane mancinelia). 

Mille-branches. 

Manguier 4 grappes (Holigarnia). 

Muscadier a suif (Myristica laurifolia). 

Noyau (Prunus spherocarpa). 

Noyer (Fagara tragodes). 

Palétuvier (Bruguiera gynnorhiza). 

Poix doux (dnga dulcis). 

Pelé. 

Quinquina de montagne (Hxostemma 
floribunda). 

Savonnette (Sapindus saponaria). 

Tendre a caillou (Acacia Sederoxylon). 


The woods of GUADELOUPE are of considerable importance, and an 
excellent collection is displayed by M. Charles Ledentu, viz. :— 


Acajou & meubles (Swietenia maho- 
gont). 

Acajou femelle (Cedrela odorata). 

Abricotier des Antilles (Mammea ame- 
rieana). 

Amourette des Antilles. 

Acouma (Homaliwm racemoswm). 

Avocatier (Laurus persea). 

Acacia scandens. 

Bois chandelle (Amyris toxifera). 

Bois amer de Saint-Martin (Bitlera 
Sebrifuga). 

Bois jaune (Hopea tinctoria). 

Bois de fer (Acacia sederoxylon). 

Bois de vinette. 

Bursera balsamifera. 

Bois graines vertes. 

Bois de cracra. 

Bonia daphnoides. 

Campeche (Hematoxylon campéchia- 
nun). 

Carapa (Carapa guianensis). 

Cordia gerascanthus. 

Cafeier (Coffea arabica). 


Clusa venosa. 

Comocladia. 

Galba (Calophyllum Calaba). 

Ebene vert-brun (Zxzcecaria sp.). 

Epineux jaune (Zanthoxylon 
beum). 

Epineux blanc(Zanthoxylon caribeeum). 

Guarea trichilioides. 

Laurier rose des Antilles (Podocarpus 
Sp.). 

Laurier rose montagne. 

Liége des Antilles (Zzbiscus tiliaceus). 

Merisier du pays (Lugenia barnensis). 

Mancenillier (Hippomane mancinella). 

Moronobea coccinea. 

Noyer des Antilles (Fagara tragodes). 

Oranger (Citrus aurantium). 

Petites feuilles (Hugenta brasiliensis). 

Quinguina piton (xoslemma floribun- 
dum). 

Quinquina caraibe (Lxostemma cari- 
beum). 

Sapotillier (Achras sapota). 

Vitex divaricata. 


cart- 


The logwood is of excellent quality and is said to be very abundant 


in the vicinity of Marie-Galante. 


The collection of the woods of FrENcH GuIANA is large, as might 


be expected from a colony so rich in forest vegetation ; the specimens 
are the joint contribution of the Local Committee for the Colony, the 
Direction des Pénitentiares, Colonel Charriére, and M. Riolet Jeune of 
Paris. 

The principal specimens are :— 

Angélique (Dicorynea paraensis). For ship-building ; is not attacked 
by the teredo ; abundant. 

Acajou femelle (Cedreda guianensis). For inside work, lining fur- 
niture, &c. 


Bagot. For carpentry and cabinet work. 


SHOWN AT THE INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. 265 


Bois cannelle. For ship-building; very abundant. 

Bois balle. Building, carpentry, and carriage building. 

Bois gaulette (Licania sp. ?). For wheelwrights’ work ; it is easily split. 

Bois flambeau. For joinery and cabinet work. 

Balata (Sapota Mulleri, or Mimusops, sp.?) Useful for most building 
purposes ; it is free from the attack of white ants, and the tree yields a 
kind of gutta-percha. 

Balata indien, Balata franc., Balata montagne, and Balata saignant. 

Bois la morue. Building, carpentry, and wheelwrights’ work. 

Bois de rose male (Licaria sp.?). Admirable for building purposes, 
and free from insect or worm ravages. 

Bois de rose femelle. Good for building. 

Bois macaque (Lecythis sapucaia). Building and wheelwrights’ work. 

Bourgouny (Mimosa bourgouni). 

Bois rouge tisane (Houmiria sp.?). Good for building. 

Bagasse (Bagassa guianensis). Excellent for ship-building ; large and 
very straight. 

Bois puant. Building and carpenters’ and wheel wrights’ work. 

Bois violet (Copaifera bracteata). For cabinet work ; very handsome 
timber, large and sound. 

Bois Lemoine. Building, joinery, &c. 

Boco (Bocoa prouacensis). For block-making ; very large and very 
abundant. 

Bois pagayes. Joinery and carriage building. 

Bois de lettre moucheté (Piratinera guianensis). Very beautiful 
cabinet wood. ; 

Bois de lettre grandes feuilles. Good for carpentry, &c. 

Bois de lettre marbé. Good for cabinet work. 

Bois Mary. Building and joinery. 

Bois de lettre rouge. Much prized by the Indians for bows. 

Bois divin. Building and joinery. 

Carapa rouge (Xylocarpus carapa). For lattice work and laths ; it 
splits easily. 

Cédre noir (Laurus surinamensis). Large for ship planking. 

Cédre jaune (Aniba guianensis). Ship-building. 

Cédre blanc. Joiners’ work. 

Cédre bagasse (Icica altissima). Used by the natives for carving idols. 

Coupi (Acioa dulcis). Excellent for ship-building, &c. 

Coeur dehors (Diplotropis quianensis). Excellent for carriage-building. 

Ceeur dehors blanc. Ditto ditto. 

Courbaril (Hymenia Courbaril). Ship. building. 

Coupaya. Building. 

Couaie (Qualea cerulea var.) Excellent for masts for ships. 

Cerisier (Eugenia sp.) Joiners’ work. 

Couratarie (Couratari guianensis). For piles, &c., in marine con- 
struction. 

VOL, III. BB 


266 ON WOODS AND MANUFACTURES OF WOOD 


Ebéne verte, verte grise, verte noire (Varieties of Nectandra Rodici). 
Excellent for ship-building, piles, railway sleepers, &c. ; it is free from 
the attacks of ants or teredo. 

Ebéne rouge. Joinery and cabinet work. 

Ebéne verte soufrée. 

Grignon (Bucida buceras). Ship-building ; very durable. 

Grignon fou (Qualea cerulea). Lining furniture, &c. 

Gayac de Cayenne (Dipterix odorata). Good for blockmaking. 

Jaune @eeuf. Good for carpentry. 

Maria congo. 

Mahot blane. Carpentry. Mahot rouge. Mahvt couratari. Mahot 
de marécage. = 

Mahot noir. 

Mincouart (Minquartia guianensis). Carpentry and joinery. 

Mora. . 

Moutouchi (Pterocarpus suber), For cabinet work. 

Nangossy (Terminalia tanibouea). Yields good knees for ships. 

Panacoco (Robinia panacoco rubra). Cabinet work. 

Préfontaine. Building ; not common. 

Petite-feulle. 

Parcouri. Ship-building and cabinet work. 

- Palétuvier rouge (Rhizophora mangle). Ship-building ; the bark for 
turning. 

Palétuvier blanc (Avicennia nitida). For various small works. 

Schawari (Caryota tomentosa). Ship-building, carpentry, &c. 

Simarouba, Building. 

Sassafras (Licaria guianensis). Ship-building. 

Saint-Martin. Cabinet work. 

Satiné (Ferolia guianensis). Cabinet work ; plentiful. 

Satiné rouge (Ferolia guianensis). Ditto ditto. 

Taoub. Ships’ planks. 

Wapa huileux (Eperua falcata). Palings, laths, &c. ; splits easily. 

Wacapou (Wacapoua Americana). Ship-building; free from insect 
ravages. 

Yayamadou de Montagne (Virola sebifera). Building. 

A few woods have been sent by the French colonies on the West 
Coast or Arrica; they are exhibited by the Local Committees for 
Gabon and Sénégal, and M. Masurier. 

The following are the principal :— 


Caileedra (Khaya Senegalensis), Intowo. 

Detarr (Detariwm Senegalense). Kata. 

Gonakie (Acacia adansonit). llonda. 

N’dimb (Stereulia cordifolia). Mandji. 

Solum (Dialiwm nitidum). Ocoumé. 

Vene (Plerocarpus erinaceus). Ojoli. 

Bois jaune. Oyamba. 

Ebene (Diospyros ebenwm). Santal (Plerocarpus). 
Evino. Teck du pays. 


Garigari (Avicennia sp. 2) 


SHOWN AT THE INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. 267 


An excellent and interesting collection made by Messrs. A. Thibault, 
J. Godefroy, J. de Cordemoy, P. de Rosemont, Ferrand, J. Fery, H. 
Dierx, R. de Chazallon, J. B. Hubert-Delisle, of Reunion, is exhibited 
from that colony ; it consists of :— 


Bananier a petites feuilles, Cascaria Jaunc a grandes feuilles, Ochrosia bor- 


fragilis. 
Bassin noir ¢, Blackwillia paniculata, 
Benjoin faux, Yerminalia 
ana. 
Bois noir, Acacia lebbeck. 
Bois noir de l’ Inde, Adenanthira pavo- 
nina. 
Bois de Inde, Murraya exotica. 
Bois blane, Hernandia ovigera. 
Camphrier, Lawrus camphora. 
Cannellier marron, Lawrus cupularis. 
Change écorce, Ludia heterophylla. 
Ebéne mélanide, Diospyros melanida. 
Fer, Sideroxylon bordonicum. 
Flamboyant, Poinciana regia. 
Filao, Casuarina laterifolia. 
Gaulette, Cupania alternifolia. 
Goyavier sauvage, Brockia theiformis. 
Judas, Cossinia borbonica, 
Jacquier, Artocarpus integrifolia. 


bonica. 
Jam long, Siaygiwm jambolanum. 


mauriti- Lilas Melia azedarach. 


Losteau rouge, Antirrhea verticillata. 

Millepertuis. 

Nefle, Jossinia borbonica. 

Natte a petites feuilles, 
petiolaris. 

Natte & grandes feuilles, Imbricaria 
maxima. 

Olivier blanc, Olea lancea, 

Olivier noir, Olea cernua. 

Puant, Fetidia mauritiana. 

Patte de poule femelle, 7uddalia pani- 
culata. 

Perroquet, Fissilia psittacorum. 

Tamarin des hauts, Acacia hetero- 
phylla. 

Tan rouge, Weinmannia macrostachya, 

Tacamahaca, Calophyllum spurium. 


Imbricaria 


The colony of Mayorre and Nossi-BE also sends a collection of 
woods, but so deficient in real information is the description accompany- 
ing the specimens that the list would be useless. 

From the Frencu INDIES a very carefully named series of the native 
woods is sent by M. Perrotet, of which the following is the list :— 


Acacia leucophlea. 

Acacia sundras. 

Acacia speciosa. 

Acacia odoratissima. 

Anacardium occidentale ; (acajou a 
Sruits). 

Anogeissus parvifolius. 

Anogeissus latifolius. 

Areca catechu. 

Artocarpus integrifolia (jacquier). 

Azadirachta indica. 

Bdansonia digitata. 

Bassia longifolia. 

Bauhinia purpurea. 

Bauhinia parvifolia. 

Berrya ammonilla 

Bombax malabaricum. 

Cutea frondosa. 

Celtis orientalis. 

Chickrassia taburalis. 

Cupania canescens (Molinea can- 
escens). 

Cochlospermum gossypium. 

Cordia polygama. 


Cassia fastigiata. 

Casuarina muricata. 
Cerbera thevetia. 

Cicca emblica. 
Clerodendrum phlomoides, 
Dalbergia sissoo (bith.) 
Diospyros gylvatica. 
Diospyros ebenaster. 

Ficus indica. 

Ficus religiosa. 

Feroni aelephantum. 
Guazuma tomentosa. 

inga dulcis (poix douz). 
Lagerstreemia regina. 
Morinda macrophylla. 
Morinda augustifolia. 
Mangifera indica. 

Mimosa tomentosa. 
Nephelium longan (longaste7). 
Pongamia glabra. 
Pterospermum suberifolium. 
Pentaptera coriacea. 
Pterospermum lancizfolium. 
Pterocarpus marsupium. 


BB 2 


268 ON WOODS AND MANUFACTURES OF WOOD 


Parkia biglandulosa. 
Pavetta alba. 

Salvadora persica. 
Sapindus emarginata. 
Spathodea. 

Spathodea chelonoides. 
Spathodea erispa. 
Spondias mangiiera. 
Syzygium jambolanum. 


Sterculia feetida. 
Tectona grandis. 
Tamarindus indica. 
Terminalia bellerica. 
Terminalia catappa. 
Thespesia populnea. 
Ulmus integrifolia. 
Uvaira longifolia. 
Vitex trifolia. 


From Cochin China Vice-Admiral Charner has sent a few speci- 
mens ; they are only five in number, viz. :— 

Ebony (Diospyros melanida) ; Musk Sandal wood (Sanialum sp.) ; Red 
Sandal wood ; Sappan wood ; Aloe wood (Aquilaria agallochia). 

We close this list of the French colonial woods with those of New 
Caledonia, which are by no means the least interesting. They have 
been collected and named most carefully by M. Pancher, botanist to the 


Government. 


Lumnitzera racemosa. 
Malaleuca viridiflora. 
Morinda citrifolia. 
Olivier du pays. 
Cupania paniculata. 
Acacia laurifolia. 
Salisia rubra. 


Acronichia ligustroides. 


Codia. 

Catha ? viridiflora ? 
Syzygium venosum ? 
Arillastrum stellatum. 
Belaghia drupacea. 
Doga macrogemma. 
Blackburnia pinnata. 
Myrtus coriaceus. 
Phyllanthus baccatus ? 


Cupania ? uniglandulosa ? 
Berchremia ? crenulata ? 
Pleurostylis ? decipiens ? 


Ternstemiacée 2 
Hartighsea> Billardieri. 
Eugenia littoralis. 
Acacia myriadena. 
Xylocarpus obovatus. 
Eugenia arborea. 
Maba a feuilles lisses. 
Intsia Testardil. 
Bruguiera. 
E!ceodendron. 
Terminalia littoralis. 
Casuarina nodiflora. 
Daoxylon? undulatum. 
Chrysophillum. 
Acacia spirorbis. 
Ardisiacée. 

Ebénacée laiteuse. 


Avicennia. 

Apocynée moyenne. 
Cordia sebestana. 
Salisia rugosa. 
Elcocarpus. 

Ochrosia. 

Sanda odorant (Santalum austra- 

caledonicun.). 

Ardisiacée ? 

Verbenacee ligneuse. 
Cupania juliflora. 
Acacia granulosa, 
Ximenia elliptica. 
Rhizophora mucronata. 
Catha ? ungulata ? 
Bruguiera gymnorhiza. 
Dodonea dioica. 

Maba a feuilles velules 
Evodia triphylla. 
Tricocée. 

Milnea. 

Acmena floribunda. 
Araucaria intermedia. 
Araucaria cookii. 
Ormocarpum sennoides. 
Pomaderris. . 
Pin de la Nouvelle-Caledonie. 
Croton collinum ? 
Pittosporum. 

Apocynée. 

Figuier glaucescent. 
Geissois racemosa. 
Guttifeére. 
Heritiera ferruginea. 
Coffea triflora. 
Hunga rhamnoides ? 
Tlex mucronulata. 


° SHOWN AT THE INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. 269 


Irary.—From Italy we have a great number of collections represent- 
ing the various kinds of timber woods grown in the different districts of 
that country ; generally speaking, they are carefully prepared and named. 
One of the most interesting is that shown by Professor Giocomo Arnaudon 
of Turin, which is especially remarkable for an exceedingly ingenious 
way of showing, by the size of the specimen,«its specific gravity. Hach 
is made to weigh 200 grammes, and the specific gravity is indicated 
inversely by its length, a method of exhibiting this important character 
which would become very valuable if generally adopted in museums. 

The other principal collections are those sent by the Count Pietro 
Beltrami, of Cagliari, which are accompanied with a series of charcoals 
prepared from some of them, and excellent cork cultivated on his estate ; 
by Professor Filippo Calandrini, of Florence, consisting of 185 specimens 
of the native and acclimatized woods of Tuscany ; by Niccolo Cherici, of 
Borgo San Sepolero ;* by Cavalier Niccolo Maffei, of Volterra; by the 
Majorana Brothers, from Catania ; by the Ravenna Sub-Committee for 
the Exhibition, which, in addition to the specimens of woods grown in 
the district, is further illustrated by an interesting series of the products 
of the common Italian pine (Pinus pinea), consisting of the cones, the 
nuts, the seeds, cakes made of the seeds, resin frum the tree, &.; by 
the Administration of the Forests of Sondrio, an excellent collection of~ 
large and characteristic specimens of the timber woods of the Valtellinar 
accompanied by a diagram in which the history of the trees and their 
chief economic characteristics are cleverly shown ; by the Reggio Agri- 
cultural Association, an exceedingly interesting collection, classified 
according to the uses of the woods, thus :— 

For building and naval architecture.—Several species of oak. 

For building and domestic utensils—Chesnut, elm, hazel, pine, &c. 

For coopers’ work, domestic utensils, and oars.—Beech and poplar. 

For furniture, utensils, and turning—Cherry, box, and service tree. 

For cooperage and domestic utensils—Willow, juniper, mulberry, 
and chestnut. 

Excellent elm, beech, and hazel hoops, oak bark, staves, &c., accom- 
pany this collection, still further illustrating the economic products of 
the forests of Reggio ; and by the Agricultural Academy of Pesaro, 
which, in addition to the woods of its district, exhibits other econcmic 
products gathered from the forests, especially excellent tinder (Amadou). 
The Italians also exhibit exceedingly beautiful preparations of willow 
plait and the prepared willow. That sent by Tito Benzi, of Carpi, by 
the Modena Sub-Committee for the Exhibition, and by Michele Finzi, 
of Carpi, are very fine, especially the first. Carpi in Modena is the head- 


* This is a small collection, but the very admirable manner in which the speci- 
mens are prepared for exhibition, as well as the excellence of the materials, were 
highly commended by the jury. They are those of the common oak (Quercus 
vubra), the Adriatic oak (Quercus serris), chestnut (Castanea vesca), walnut 
(Juglans regia), and cypress (Cupressus fastigiata). 


270 ON THE CASCARILLA BARK, HTC. 


quarters of this manufacture, which is an important export, especially to 
England. It isa matter of regret that the samples sent are so exceedingly 
small. 

In a small collection of the wood of exotic trees acclimatized in the 
vicinity of Cagliari is one remarkable specimen of the wood of Medicago 
arborea, resembling a block of Cocus wood, five inches in diameter. 
Walnut wood veneers, cut by circular saw, very thin and of fine quality, 
are sent by Gaspare Pasquini, of Florence. 

The more artistic productions of wood which come under this section 
were not numerous, but were of very superior quality. The carvings of 
P. Giusti, of Sienna, and of Luigi Frullini, of Florence, are exceedingly 
beautiful and in the best style of art. Beautiful marquetry and Sorrento- 
work is exhibited by Michele Grandville, of Sorrento, and exquisite in- 
laying with woods, &c., by Frederico Lancetti, of Perugia. 

The inlaid work (marquetry) made of Italian woods by Luigi Gar- 
giulo, of Sorrento, and the carved cornices, brackets, and picture and 
looking-glass frames, shown by Emilio Franceschi, of Florence, are very 
fine specimens of art in wood work. 


ON THE CASCARILLA, AND OTHER SPECIES OF CROTON, 
OF THE BAHAMA AND WEST INDIA ISLANDS. 


BY WILLIAM F. DANIELL, M.D., F.L.S. 


Although much of the confusion which formerly prevailed, respect- 
ing the sources of the Cascarilla barks of the West Indies, have been 
dissipated by the researches of Woodville, Lindley, and other pharma- 
ceutical authorities, nevertheless, considerable doubt existed with refer- 
ence to the species of Croton, that originally supplied the markets of 
Europe, and to which the term Cascarilla was first applicable. That 
the plant yielding the article of commerce, during the last century was 
also unknown, is evident from the discrepancy of opinion, that pervades 
the statements of comparatively recent writers. This obscurity, never 
entirely dispelled, has continued up to the present date. Some apparent 
inconsistencies in their descriptive account, requiring elucidation, I was 
induced during a tour of service in the Bahama islands in 1857-8, to 
make inquiries into the general history of the medicinal Crotons indi- 
genous to the group ; the results of which were placed in the hands of ~ 
my friend Mr. Bennett, and published by him in the Journal of the 
proceedings of the Linnean Society. From his careful revision 
of their botanical characters, intricate synonyms, and other specific 
details, 1 have been enabled to rectify many important inaccuracies, 
perpetuated in the works of Materia Medica. 


ON THE CASCARILLA BARK, ETC. 271 


Any attempt to trace the aboriginal uses of the Cascarilla barks, can 
only terminate in disappointment, owing to the rapid extinction of the 
Carib races, that from an early epoch populated these and other islands 
of the West Indian archipelago. These primitive inhabitants, according 
to report, were fully cognisant of their remedial and other economic 
properties, which they rendered subservient to the treatment of diseases, 
and other necessary purposes. If we may credit local traditions, the 
native priests or doctors, resorted to the dried plants for fumigations and 
im religious ceremonies ; and while the fresh leaves were infused in their 
medicinal baths, the cortical portions were more exclusively reserved 
for internal administration. The dried bark also was reduced to a pow- 
der, and mixed with their tobacco previous to smoking. The inhalation 
of this mixture was reputed to act as a powerful stimulant, and to induce 
effects analogous to those of intoxication.* 

The European colonists who first settled in the Bahamas apparently 
obtained a partial knowledge of these appliances, in the course of time 
from the natives, and hence their practical value has been derived, and 
handed down to the present period. The famous Buccaneers who 
infested the secret Cayes, or islets of the Bahamas, and inspired such 
terror by their piratical excursions in former centuries, appear to have 
held these products in high esteem. Selecting the fresh cortex, they 
infused it either in wine, or ardent spirits, and this constituted not only 
an agreeable bitter, but a prophylactic agent, for the preservation of 
health. Dried inthe sun, and subsequently pounded into small frag- 
ments, it was smoked mixed with tobacco: and this method of employ- 
ment, independently of the agreeable flavour inhaled, was equally consi- 
dered to bean antidote against the attacks of febrile, and other local maladies. 
The system of conjoining these barks with tobacco, partly introduced into 
England and other countries of Europe towards the close of the seven- 
teenth century, may be traced to these seafaring usages, which, again, 
were adopted from those of the Carib tribes. For the information which 
led to their appropriation, as one of the chief ingredients in the composi- 
tion of incense, and other fumigating compounds, we are indebted to 
the labours of the early Spanish missionaries, who during their sojourn 
among the West India islands, gained a practical illustration of this 
aboriginal mode of employment. 


I. SWEEIWOOD Bark, oR BAHAMA CASCARILLA. 


(Croton Eluteria, Benn.) 


Elutheria Providentiz, folio cordato subtus argenteo. Sweet Bark, 
s. cortex bene olens, Petiver Collect, 4 u. 276. 


* The conjunction of other substances in the smoking of tobacco, with the view 
of modifying or improving its flavour, appears also to prevail among several of 
the Indian tribes of North America. During the late overland transit of the 
troops through Canada, powdered Willow-bark, an article much used for this 
object, by the Indians, was freely offered for sale, and it is stated that on trial, a 
peculiar taste and odour was imparted to the smoke. 


ho 


72 ON THE CASCARILLA BARK, ETC. 


Eluteria, Linn. Hort. Cliffort., p. 486. 

Clutia Eluteria, Linn. Spec. Plant, ed. I. p, 1042 (excel. synon. omn 
preter Hort. Cliff.) 

Clutia Eluteria, s. Cascarilla, Woodville, Med. Botany, ed. 1, vol. iv., 
sup. fig. 2 (1794.) 

Clutia Eluteria, s. Cascarilla Clutia, Woodville, Med. Bot. ed. 3, p. 633, 
pl. 223, fig. 2. 

Croton Eluteria, Benn. Journ. Proceed Linn. Soc., vol. iv. p. 29. 

From this plant the ordinary Cascarilla bark of commerce is pro- 
cured. The species is tolerably abundant in the Bahamas, especially in 
the larger islands of Andros, Long, and Elutheria, from the latter of 
which its appellation has been derived, owing to the great supply it for- 
merly yielded. In New Providence, it flourishes only to a very limited 
extent, having become nearly extinct from previous demands. A num- 
ber of small shrubs and young trees may yet be found, within the track 
of brushwood to the rear of Fort Chariotte, adjoining the town of Nassau, 
and a few isolated bushes in other districts of the isle. 

Except a few local traditions referring to the use of the cortex for 
smoking, or fumigating purposes, in the religious or state ceremonies of 
the ancient Caribs, the data requisite to determine the various native pre- 
parations of this plant, are lost in obscurity. The custom of smoking the 
powdered bark conjoined with tobacco,invoguewith the earlier European 
colonists in these and the Caribbean islands, either to disguise the 
flavour of the herb, or as a prophylactic agent to avert attacks of sick- 
ness, may evidently be ascribed to their primitive usages. It is some- 
what remarkable that Catesby, who visited the Bahama islands about 
1722, should include a specimen of this shrub in his collection without 
name or other explanatory remarks, a fact that would lead to the infer- 
ence this product had not at that period acquired sufficient importance 
to constitute an article of export. Moreover, the mere descriptive out- 
line of ‘‘ Elutheria Providentic folio cordato, subtus argenteo, with the sole 
annotation of Sweet bark, s. cortex bene olens,’ in Petiver’s collection ot 
plants, will tend to confirm the opinion, that the bark had not been 
brought into popular request, otherwise sucha special event would have 
been recorded, 

Linneeus first briefly, but imcompletely, described this species under 
the true synonym of Cortex Ilitheria,in the ‘ Hortus Cliffortianus’ of 
the British Museum : but subsequently forgetting this detailed fragment, 
and quoting a series of discordant synonyms in his works, contributed 
greatly to complicate the identification of later specimens. In the first 
edition of his ‘Species Plantarum,’ under the name of Clutia Eluteria, 
he correctly refers to the Eluteria of the ‘Hortus Cliffortianus, but in 
the following editions improperly inserts other Crotons, obviously distinct. 
Linnzeus also classed several of these species by the generic title of 
Clutiai ; later botanists have however defined them to be true Crotons in 
the most comprehensive sense of the term. To Woodville, although he 


ON THE CASCARILLA BARK, BIC. 273 


indiscriminately confounded the Jamaica (C. Sloanei. Benn.) and 
Bahama (C. Eluteria, Benn.) plants together, under the general desig- 
nation of Clutia Eluteria’s Cascarilla, may be attributed the merit of 
having pointed out the plant producing the Cascarilla bark of modern 
commerce, at the same time truly stating the locality from whence it 
was imported. The difference and contemptible character of the speci- 
mens he figured in illustration, indicated such apparent inconsistencies 
as to induce Pereira and other authorities to doubt whether he had 
clearly established the source of the drug in common use. Lindley finally 
decided the question, by obtaining from New Providence authentic 
specimens of this species of Croton, fully confirming the accuracy ot 
Woodville relative to its local origin. The shrub is stated to have been 
introduced into England by P. Miller, but not being a showy plant, it 
probibly became neglected, and was ultimately suffered to decay, as no 
traces of its existence could subsequently be discovered. 

Under the aspect of a young tree, this species may sometimes be 
noticed, with a stem from 4 to 8 inches in diameter; the usual growth 
however is that of a small, compact-branched, scanty-leaved shrub, from 
3-5 feet in height. The inferior portion of the stem is devoid of 
branches, erect, marked at irregular intervals by epidermoid greyish, or 
white rugous stains, and covered by a variety of parasitical lichens. The 
leaves are petiolate, at the base varying from slightly cordate to acute, 
obtusely acuminate, or frequently abruptly acuminate, as if the apex had 
been cut off, pale or greyish green, sparingly clothed with peltate scales 
above ; beneath, densely clothed with shining and silvery scales, which 
in the distance present a white colour, They alter in size, in proportion 
to age ; for it is a singular fact the younger the plants the greater are 
their dimensions. They average from 2-3 inches in length, and 1-13 
inches in breadth. In the arborescent form they become more narrow 
and elongated, lose their cordate base and are considerably reduced in 
dimensions, being only $-1 inch long, and from 4-} inch wide. As the 
plant gains in growth the leaves fall from the lower branches, and are 
permanently collated at the summits of the younger branchlets. The 
inflorescence consists of numerous small, closely set white petiolate 
flowers, male and female, attached to a simple spike, either terminal or 
axillary. They appear in March and April, and then diffuse around a 
most exquisite perfume. In the arborescent shrub, the spike is, however 
uniformly terminal. The fruit, a small, roundish oblong, smooth, 
lobated capsule, is about the size ofa pea, of a greyish or silvery hue. 
It is divided into three cells, each containing a small dark brown, oblong, 
shining seed, convex externally, with flattened sides, converging toa 
ridge, and about 2-23 lines in length. The pericarp is covered with 
numerous silvery peltate scales, somewhat resembling those on the leaves. 
These capsules attain maturity in May and June. The cortical layers 
change from a pale, to dull red, according to age or dimensions of the 
plant. 


274 ON THE CASCARILLA BARK, ETC. 


In the late and previous editions of Pereira’s ‘ Materia Medica,’ this 
species has been denominated the sea-side Balsam, a name by which the 
C. basami-ferum, Linn., is recognised in the West Indian and Bahama 
islands. This title was conferred by Browne on a plant he considered to 
be identical with the Croton Eluteria of Swartz. The latter botanist how- 
ever had apparently his doubts whether it was the same product, as he 
has not adduced it as a synonym in his descriptive account. From the 
circumstance of a thick balsamic liquor exuding from the younger 
branches, whenever wounded or broken, with other structural pecu- 
liarities, it is probable that the Crotons of Browne and Linneeus may be 
nearly allied, if indeed they are not synonymous. The Croton Sloanei, 
Benn. (C Eluteria, Swartz), however, clearly differs from both. 

Woodville quotes a German author, who states that the bark com- 
prised one of the principal exports of the Bahamas, and could be pur- 
chased at the low rate of 10s. 6d. per cwt. He may therefore be pre- 
sumed to have visited these islands towards the end of the last century. 
During my residence in New Providence in 1857-8, the prices ranged 
from nine to twelve shillings per cwt. ; but at some periods, owing to the 
cessation of any demand, were almost nominal. The subjoined table, 
from official sources, will indicate the quantity exported from these 
islands from 1850-58, at the estimated value of 10/. 10s. per ton. 


Tons. Cwt. Tons. Cwt. 
{std} 0 speagacesecouse 46 3 IRs Wohoochadooes 16 1 
WEDS Spee ss eees 50 4 USB NSbagagno0once 16 
I{S}375s5acgon6600C0 10 13 teh) peecaase pace 68 8 
iS} ep Abe Onicoadticdc 24 13 NGHSssecteceites 21 14 
MBDA SiS. tastep cieoa ee 25 15 


The parts of the plant employed for remedial purposes by the inhabi- 
tants of the Bahamas, are chiefly the cortex and tender shoots, which are 
administered in the form of a decoction or infusion, in cases of dyspepsia, 
loss of appetite, and other visceral derangements occurring as the sequel 
of acute endemic diseases. The leaves are selected chiefly to medicate 
their warm baths. Doubtless from being viewed more in the light of a 
mercantile product, than as a medicinal agent, it has of recent years 
fallen somewhat into disrepute, and is less frequently resorted to in the 
treatment of these maladies. It would not come within the scope of 
this paper to enter into the comprehensive details connected with the 
appliances of this drug in Europe. I may, however remark, in addition 
to other uses, that I have found an infusion of the fresh bark, combined 
with ammonia or other stimulants, to prove of benefit in the latter stages 
of yellow fever, where, trom the resulis of previous febrile excitement, 
the stomach has assumed an atonic or depraved condition, rendering it 
barely capable of exercising its ordinary functions. 


or 


ON THE CASCARILLA BARK, ETC. 27 
II. Tor JAMAICA, OR CARIBBEAN CASCARILLA. 
(Croton Sloanei, Benn.) 


Mali folio arbor, artemiesee odore et flore, Sloane, Jamaica, vol. ii. 
p. 30, t. 174, fig. 2. 

Clutia Eluteria, Linn. Amenit. Academ. vol. v. p. 411. 

Croton fruticosum ; foliis subrotundo-ovatis, subtus subincanis alter- 
nis, spicillis alaribus? Browne, Hist. Jamaica, p. 348. 

Croton Eluteria, Swartz, Flor. Ind. Oc. p. 1183. 

Croton Elutheria, Wright, Lond. Med. Jour., vol. viii. p. 3. 

Cluytia Eluteria, Woodville, Med. Botany, 1 ed. t. 211, f. 1. p. 2. 

Croton Eluteria, Sw. Nees v. Hsenbeck, Plante Medicinales, Band 1. 

Croton Eluteria, Sw. Hayne, Getreue Darstellung und Beschreibung 
der in der Arzneykunde, etc., vol. xiv.t. 1. p. 1. 

Croton Eluteria, Sw. Guibourt, Histoire Nat. des Drogues, ed. 4. vol. 
u. p. 340. 

Croton Eluteria, Sw. Pereira, El. Mat. Medica, ed. 4, vol. 1. part 1, 
p. 412, 

Croton Eluteria, Wood & Bache, Dispensatory of United States, ed. 
11, p. 198. 

Croton Sloanei, Benn. Journ. Proceed, Linn. Soc. vol. iv. p. 30. 

This plant appears to be indigenous to Jamaica, and has not hitherto 
been discovered in any of the Bahama islands. It was introduced into 
notice by Dr. Wright, who not only confounded it with the Clutia Elu- 
teria of Linneeus (C’. Eluteria, Benn.), but also stated that it constituted 
the source from whence the Cascarilla bark of the shops was obtained, 
His remarks are as follow: “ This tree is common near the sea-shore, 
and rises to about twenty feet. The leaves are from two to three inches 
long and of aproportional breadth. On the upper side they are waved 
and of a rusty colour, on the under, ribbed and of a fine glossy or silvery 
appearance. From the axille they have numerous small spikes, with a 
great quantity of white, small, and fragrant flowers. The capsule is 
tricoccous like other Crotons. The bark is the same as the Cascarilla 
and Elutheria of the shops.” Pereira, however, proved the fallacy of 
several of these statements; for on an examination of the customs’ 
entries, he ascertained these imports were brought from the Bahamas, 
and that the two supposed distinct barks retailed in the shops were in 
fact identical, and procured from the same plant. He also observed that 
two circumstances threw great doubt over the validity of Dr. Wright’s 
conclusions—viz., that it was very unlikely that Cascarilla and Eluteria 
barks should be vended as distinct substances, if they were identical, 
and that it was possible they might be, or were nearly allied, but their 
identity was impossible ; moreover, if Cascarilla was the produce of 
C. Eluteria, how was it that none of the bark was imported from 
Jamaica, where, as Dr. Wright stated, the tree was very common ? 
Nevertheless both this and the Bahama species (C. Eluteria, Benn.) were 


276 ON THE CASCARILLA BARK, ETC. 


considered to be synonymous, by botanical and pharmaceutical authors 
until the present time. f 

Sloane, in his work on Jamaica, was the first to notice this plant 
under the descriptive outline of “ Mali folio arbor, artemisiz odore et 
flore,” a dried specimen of which, exists in the Linnean herbarium of 
the British Museum, in a good state of preservation. In the fifth 
volume of ‘ Amcenitates Academica, Linneeus, under the same designa- 
tion of Clutia Eluteria, confused it with the Bahama Cascarilla (C. Elu- 
teria, Benn.): Swartz, in his Flor. Indie Occidentalis, described the tree 
with ovate acuminate leaves, silvery beneath, and composite axillary 
racemes, by the name of Croton Eluteria, under the impression it fur- 
nished the ordinary bark of commerce ; and this mistake has subse- 
quently been continued in most of the works of Materia Medica. 

Woodville, in the several editions of his ‘ Medical Botany, gives a 
bad delineation of both this and the Bahamian Cascarilla, evidently view- 
ing them to be identical. Nees von Esenbeck, in his ‘ Plantee Medicinales,’ 
has also incorrectly stated this species to constitute the officinal Cascarilla 
bark. His figure has apparently been taken from the plant in the Herb- 
arium of the British Museum. Hayne also, in his ‘ Arzneycunde,’ adheres 
to the same mistake ; and Pereira, in his elaborate work, labouring under 
the impression that Swartz’s and the Bahama plants were identical, has 
also erroneously represented the former, with its connected descriptive 
details, as supplying the modern drug of the markets. Guibourt, in his 
‘ Histoire des Drogues, has also considered it to yield the same article. 

This species, though commonly met with as a low bushy shrub, from 
four to six feet in height, often assumes an arborescent form, and attains 
an elevation of twenty feet or more. The trunk is more or less covered 
with a whitish wrinkled epidermis, as in the preceding plant. The leaves 
are petiolate, broadly ovate, blunt or with a blunt point, perforated with 
transparent dots, thinly sprinkled on the upper surface with peltate 
scales, beneath, more numerous, and of a whitish or silvery hue. A 
marked distinction may be observed in the character of the inflorescence 
compared with other species, the compound spikes, or rather racemes, 
being more frequently axillary than terminal, and densely clothed with 
small, subsessile, white, and fragrant flowers. The fruit consists of the 
usual tricoccous capsule, indicative of the genus, about the magnitude of 
a pea, each cell containing a small brown ovoid seed. The pericarp is 
minutely warted (Swartz), and studded with peltate scales. There are 
grounds for supposition that the employment of the cortex of this plant 
by the colonists of Jamaica for various medicinal uses, may have led 
Dr. Wright into the belief that it was identical with the Cascarilla bark 
of the shops, and the warm aromatic taste and agreeable flavour of all 
parts of the shrub would tend to confirm this opinion. Although it is 
stated to he applied to the cure of diseise by the negro inhabitants of the 
island, I have not been able to obtain any detailed account of the mode 
of administration, or of the affections, for the treatment of which it is 
exhibited. 


ON THE CASCARILLA BARK, EI¢. 207 


Ill. Tae SMooTH-LEAVED, OR Fase BAHAMA CASCARILLA, 
(Croton lucidum, Linn.) 


Croton fruticosum, Miller, Gard. Dictionary. 

Croton lucidum, Linn. Species Plant. n. 1426; Amenitat. Acad., vol. v, 
p. 410. 

Croton spicatum, Bergius, Philosophical Transact., vol. lviii. t. 7. 
p. 132. 

Croton erectum glabrum, foliis ovatis oppositis vel ternatis, spicis 
terminalibus, Browne, Hist. Jamaica, p. 347. 

Croton lucidum, Swartz, Flor. Ind, Oc. vol. ii. p. 1193. 

Croton (Astreeopsis) Hookerianus, Baillon, Euphorb. p. 363. 

Croton lucidus, L. G'riesebach, Flor. Brit. W. India Islands, vol. i, 
p. 40. 

In several of the districts of New Providence, the negro settlers were 
in the habit of collecting the cortex of this plant, with the object of boil- 
ing it with that of the C. Eluteria, Benn., under the notion it exerted a 
more favourable influence in the modification of its curative powers, and 
I found on inquiry that it was recognized by the specific term of False 
sweetwood bark. Elsewhere, however, these supposed remedial virtues 
are either apparently unknown, or not so much appreciated. 

The species occurs in the Bahamas usually as a low dwarfish shrub, 
from 3 to 4 feet in height, and is common throughout the group, and in 
most of the West India Islands. The stem is erect, with epidermis more 
or less stained by white or greyish rugous blotches, branches smooth or 
rarely lepidote, leaves long, petiolated (the petiole and midrib frequently 
of a pinkish hue), elliptical, perforated by transparent dots, with plain or 
slightly undulated margins, glabrous on upper surface, or sparingly 
covered with minute stellate hairy scales ; devoid beneath. Spikes 
abbreviated, simple, terminal, clothed with long petiolated white flowers, 
which emit a fragrant odour. They are produced in March and April, 
male and female on the same spike. The capsule is oblong, or ovate- 
oblong, partially embedded in persistent calyx, three celled, with a soli_ 
tary seed in each. Pericarp glabrous, or sprinkled with a few stellated 
hairs. Seeds 2 to 2} lines long, ovoid oblong, pale brown, shining, con- 
vex externally, with flattened sides. Fruit ripens about May or June. 

The cortical layers of the bark are of a dull red colour, and, in their 
fresh state, have a slight bitter and somewhat astringent flavour ; they 
are much less spicy and aromatic than the true Cascarilla. Under the 
preparation of a decoction it appears to be administered conjoined with 
that of the C. Eluteria, Benn., in cases of mild or ephemeral fevers, dis- 
orders of the chylopoietic viscera, and slight constitutional debility. 


IV. THe WILLOW-LEAVED CASCARILLA. 


(Croton Cascarilla, Benn.) 


Ricinoides eleagni folio, Plumier, Iconies, p. 236, t. 240, f. 1, spec. 20 
Ricinoides elwagni folio, Catesby, History, Carolina, vol. il. t. 46. 


278 ON THE CASCARILLA BARK, ELC. 


Clutia Cascarilla, Linn. Species Plant. ed. 1. p. 1042. 

Croton Cascarilla, Benn. Journ. Proc. Linn. Soc., vol. iv. p. 30. 

This species, indigenous to Elutheria, Long, and other large islands 
of the Bahamas, and formerly equally abundant in that of New Pro- 
vidence, became almost extirpated in the latter during the last century» 
a few plants now only existing at the eastern extremity of the isle. The 
same product appears to be also common to several districts in St. 
Domingo, but I am not aware that it has ever been found in Jamaica, 
as asserted by some writers. That this species originally yielded the 
Cascarilla bark of commerce, until superseded by the Croton Eluteria; 
Benn. (Clutia Eluteria, Linn.), there can be little doubt ; for though un- 
known to the inhabitants of Nassau, several from Eleuteria had a faint 
recollection of it constituting an article of export many years since. The 
dried cortex was also denominated Ilatheria or Eleutheria bark, and em- 
ployed by the people in the treatment of diseases, incidental to different 
localities of the island. 

Dr. Wood, of America, and the late Dr. Pereira were both of opinion 
that the ordinary Cascarilla bark of the shops may have been procured 
from this plant, and there are sufficient grounds for belief that their con- 
jectures would have proved well-founded had they assigned the origin to 
a less modern date. But I was assured by one of the wood-cutters of 
Eleutheria, that even recently, the bark cf this Croton when met with, 
is collected, and incorporated with that of the C. Eleuteria, Benn., for 
exportation. This statement, however, requires confirmation. 

Plumier was the first who described this Croton in his ‘ Species,’ etc., 
under the title of Ricinoides eleagni folio, and gave a figure of it in the 
“ Tcones, ete.” Catesby, in his History of Carolina, mentions it by that 
of Ilatheria bark or La Chachrille, and observes that the shrub “ grew 
plentifully in most of the Bahama Islands, seldom above ten feet high, 
and rarely so big as a man’s leg, though it is probable that before these 
islands were exhausted of so much of it, that it grew to a larger size ; 
the leaves are long, narrow, and sharp-pointed, and of a very pale light- 
green colour ; at the ends of the smaller branches grow spikes of small 
hexapetalous white flowers, with yellow apices, which are succeeded by 
tricapsular pale-green berries of the size of peas, each berry containing 
three small black seeds, one in every capsule. The bark of this tree being 
burnt, yields a fine perfume ; and infused in either wine or water, gives 
a fine aromatic bitter.” The result of my inquiries tends co substantiate 
the accuracy of these statements, so far as they relate to the general 
history. The custom of smoking certain portions of this plant conjoined _ 
with tobacco, adopted by the earlier European settlers, either to impart 
an agreeable flavour, or as a stimulant and prophylactic to avert the 
attacks of disease, is evidently to be traced to the usages of the preceding 
Carib population. The term ‘ Ilatheria, is merely a vernacular corrup- 
tion of Elutheria. Catesby’s plant is the Clutia Cascarilla of the first 
edition of Linnzeus’s ‘ Species Plantarum, who misstated the habitat of 


ON THE CASCARILLA BARK, ETC. 279 


Carolina for that of the Bahamas. Nicolson, in his “ Essai sur |’ Histoire 
Naturelle de St. Dominique,” evidently alludes to this or a similar pro- 
duction under the synonym of “ Ricinoides ;” and by the creole appel- 
lation of Sauge du Port de Paix—Chaumeton, in his ‘ Flore Medicale’ 
gives a tolerable illustration of it, remarking that the shrub flourished 
so extensively on the northern coasts of the island, as to form large 
forests occupying an extensive arid track of country, in the neighbour- 
hood of Cape La Grange, and the immediate vicinity of the town of 
Port du Paix. It is there known by the name of “ Thé du Port de Paix,” 
from an infusion made by the inhabitants from the leaves. He adds, in 
a note, that it was very plentiful in the island of Eleutheria, and was 
distinguished by certain pharmacologists by the term Cortex Eleu- 
therie.” 

The comparative rarity of this species of Croton, with the difficulty 
of obtaining authentic specimens, has rendered it very imperfectly 
understood ; a wide diversity of opinion existing among botanical 
writers, with reference to it constituting a distinct species, or only a 
variety of the Croton lineare of Jacquin. The delineation of the plant 
in Catesby’s work is of such an indifferent character as to lead Lindley 
to question to what Croton it could belong.* By the majority it has 
been confounded with Jacquin’s plant. The general habit, form of leaves, 
and other peculiar characters however, obviously separate it from this 
and all other species of Croton; so much so, that when placed in com- 
parison no question could arise about the recognition of their specific 
differences. The following remarks by Pereira indicated the doubt and 
obscurity in which these details were involved. He observes that the 
plant called by Linneeus “ Croton Cascarilla was regarded for many 
years as the source of our Cascarilla bark. In 1787, Dr. Wright de- 
clared that Linneus’s Croton Cascarilla is the wild Rosemary shrub of 
Jamaica the bark of which has none of the sensible qualities of Casca- 
rilla. It appears however that the wild Rosemary shrub of Jamaica 
is the Croton lineare of Jacquin, and that some botanists are not quite 
decided whether we ought to regard it as a variety merely of, or a 
distinct species from, the Croton Cascarilla of Linneus. Willdenow 
considered it to be a variety ; Sprengel a distinct species; Don says it 
is identical with Linnzeus’s plant. It is remarkable, however, that the 
specimen in the Linnzan Herbarium is, according to Mr. Don, C. lineare, 
and we are therefore in want of a good botanical description of the 
plant alluded to by Catesby.” This desideratum has lately been supplied 
by the excellent Paper of Mr. Bennett, in the Journal of the Proceed- 
ings of the Linnean Society.’ 

Guibourt, in his ‘ Histoire des Drogues,’ appears to incline to the 
opinion that this species was the one formerly supposed to supply the 


* Tt is also to be noticed that it is impossible to say what the plant is, that 
Catesby figured ; for I know of no Croton, nor indeed any other plant, to which it 
can belong. (‘Flora Medica,’ p. 170.) 


280 ON THE CASCARILLA BARK, ETC, 


markets with the articie of commerce, although he considers it now to 
be chiefly yielded by the C. Eluteria of Swartz, the production from 
which, however, as I have previously remarked, was not the case. 

Of this Croton, a few plants only were discovered growing at the 
eastern extremity of the island of New Providence, among the interstices, 
of lime-stone rocks skirting the beach, it apparently delighting in dry 
localities, exposed to the influence of the regular sea breezes. With a 
solitary exception, all partook of the habit of bushy shrubs, from 4-6 
feet in height, much branched, with a peculiar pale or greyish-green 
stem. The epidermis was destitute of lichens, and the white rugous 
patches, so frequently met with in other species. The branchlets were 
of a pale or orange-yellow, clothed with pubescence similar to that on 
the leaves. The inflorescence consisted of numerous simple spikes, in- 
variably terminal, with male and female subsessile flowers on each spike, 
the small white petals of which were sometimes tinged by a faint yellow 
hue. They generally appeared in March and April, and when fully 
evolved emitted a very fragrant perfume. The fruit, a tricoccous cap- 
sule, deeply furrowed, about the dimensions of a pea, with a pale yellow 
more or less rugous, pubescent pericarp, clothed by minute stellate hairy 
scales, is divided into the ordinary number of cells, each containing a 
small brown shining seed of variable proportions (1-23 lines long), ex- 
ternally convex and flattened on each side, so as to form an angular 
ridge. - They attain maturity in May and June. The leaves are petiolate, 
glandular at base, narrow-lanceolate, sharp-pointed, flat or slightly 
waved at the margins, tapering towards both extremities, smooth, 
yellowish or rusty green on their upper surface, pale yellow beneath, 
and densely tomentose, being covered with numerous intricate stellate 
haws. 

The cortical layers in the younger shrubs are of a pale, or greyish- 
green colour, but in those of an arborescent size become changed to a 
dull red. The dried bark is deficient in the warm aromatic flavour of 
the C. EHluteria, Benn., but appears to be endowed with more bitter ex- 
tractive matter. The absence of the whitish epidermoid stains, and 
parasitical cryptogams, the peculiar nodulate character of the stems and 
greyish-coloured inner bark, will serve to distinguish it from that of C- 
Eluteria, Benn. 

According to local traditions the Carib populations highly valued the 
entire plant, and also that of the Crotom lineare, Jacq., both of which 
exhaled a grateful spicy odour, qualities that invariably command the 
regard and esteem of most barbarous tribes. These products they 
rendered subservient to a variety of useful purposes, of which the pro- 
cess of fumigating, comprised one of their favourite modes of appliance: 
European colonists subsequently obtained the knowledge of their 
medicinal virtues from these sources. They macerated the fresh cortex 
in wine or spirits, and thus prepared a palatable and pleasant tonic for 
the relief of dyspepsia, and loss of appetite. In St. Domingo the negro 


ON THE CASCARILLA BARK, ETC. 281 


inhabitants have designated the shrub by the name of Port de Paix Sage. 
The beverage termed “Thé du Port de Paix is made by infusing the 
fresh leaves in boiling water, which, previous to use, required to be well 
strained, otherwise irritation of the throat would be induced. The agree- 
able aromatic taste of this infusion had doubtless suggested its employ- 
ment as a stimulant and stomachic in functional derangements of the 
stomach and bowels, and the nervous lassitude or debility, that so 
frequently ensues as the sequel of endemic febrile affections. 


VY. Tot RoSEMARY-LEAVED CASCARILLA. 
(Croton lineare, Jacq.) 


Ricino affinis odorifera fruticosa major rosmarini folio, fructu tricocco 
albido, Sloane, Hist, Jamaica, 1. p. 133, t. 86, f. 1. 

Croton fruticulosum ; foliis longis, angustis, subtus incanis, margine 
reflexis, Browne, Hist, Jamaica, p. 347. 

Clutia Cascarilla, Linn, Amenitat, Acad. vol. v. p. 411. 

Croton lineare, Jacquin, Stirp. American. p. 256, t. 162, f. 4; Pict. p. 
124, t. 263, f. 80. 

Croton Cascarilla, Woodville, Med. Botany, ed. 1, vol. iii. p. 116, ¢. 41 

Croton lineare, Benn. Journ. Proc. Linn. Soc., vol. iv. p. 30. 

This species is indigenous to most of the Bahama and West India 
islands, where it is known by the title of Spanish or wild Rosemary 
bush, from the leaves and other portions of the shrub resembling those 
of the common Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis, Linn.) ; although every 
sweet-scented plant of the genus was formerly so designated in Jamaica, 
irrespective of this supposed similarity. It is also indigenous to the 
southern provinces of North America, whence specimens collected by 
Michaux were transmitted to the British Museum, under the erroneous 
title of Croton Cascarilla, Among the Creole population it enjoyed a 
wide repute for its efficiency in the cure of various maladies. In the 
Bahamas it is met with under the form of a low scrubby bush, seldom 
exceeding 3-4 feet in height, growing in waste, arid places, or by the 
roadsides. The stems, sometimes white, or of a peculiar greyish-brown 
colour, occasionally marked by white rugous stains on the epidermis, are 
always more or less shrubby and branched, seldom assuming an arbo- 
rescent character, although stated to attain an altitude of seven or eight 
feet in Jamaica. The branchlets are white, or of a pale or orange-yellow 
hue, partially covered with stellate hairs. The leaves 4} inch broad, 
and from 1-2} inches long, are nearly sessile, linear, blunt, more or less 
reflected at the margins, deeply channelled green and smooth above, 
beneath white or pale-yellow, very densely pubescent, being clothed by 
numerous intricate stellate hairs. The inflorescence is axillary and 
terminal. Odoriferous, subsessile white flowers, occasionally tinged by 
yellow-green at their apices, are sparingly attached to simple spikes, the 
male and female being set on distinct spikes. The fruit, the ordinary 
trilobular capsule of the genus, containing three small, deep-brown, 

VOL. Til. CRG 


282 ON THE CASCARILLA BARK, ETC, 


ovoid seeds, is about half the size of the common pea. The pericarp, of 
an orange-yellow hue, is rugous, and thickly studded with stellate hairy 
scales. The fruit ripens in May and June. Similar to the preceding 
species, the entire plant, when rubbed between the hands, imparts a 
pleasant aromatic fragrance, which continues for some time. The cortical 
layers of the bark are of a greyish-brown colour, and of an agreeable 
bitter flavour, but do not possess the warm aromatic aroma of those of 
the Croton Eluteria, Benn., and are also much inferior in quality to the 
cortex of the C. Cascarilla, Benn. According to Swartz, the leaves 
become more largely developed in the inland districts, than in those ad- 
joining the seacoast. Sloane, in his ‘ History of Jamaica,’ first noticed 
this plant under the description of “ Ricino affinis odorifera fruticosa 
major rosmarini folio ;” and Patrick Browne, in his work on Jamaica, by 
that of Croton fruticulosm. In the fifth volume of the ‘Ameenitates 
Academicee’ of Linneus, it was termed Clutia Cascarilla. Jacquin, 
however, conferred upon it the more appropriate title of Croton lineare, 
having both described and figured it in his work on American plants. 
By many authorities this species has been confounded with the Croton 
Cascarilla of Bennett, a product widely dissimilar in every respect, not 
only as regards the habit, arborescent stem, but in the distinctive cha- 
racter of the petiolate, lanceolate and sharp-pointed leaves of the latter. 
Wright, in the ‘London Medical Journal,’ has incorrectly referred it to 
the C. Cascarilla of Linnzeus, which designation Mr. Bennett has clearly 
pointed out was originally founded on Catesby’s representation of the 
Bahama specimen. Woodville has also committed the same mistake, 
and erroneously delineated it under the name of Croton Cascarilla, in 
his ‘ Medical Botany. Under the article Croton, in ‘ Rees’s Cyclopedia,’ 
the diagnoses of these two species has, however, been clearly defined, as 
would appear by the following statement :— Lamarck was justified, by 
well preserved specimens, in the herbarium of Jussieu, that this plant 
(C. lixneare) was specifically distinct from the preceding (C. Cascarilla), 
though they have been confounded by Linneus. The author of ‘ Hortus 
Kewensis’ (Aiton) appears to have been of the same opinion, by his ex- 
cluding the synonyms of Catesby and Plumier.’’? Grisebach, the most 
recent authority on this subject, however, describes this plant as a mere 
variety of the C. Cascarilla, Linn. 

Under the form of an infusion or decoction, different portions of this 
Croton appear to have been employed as medicinal agents by European 
colonists at an early date. Barham considered the dried leaves in powder, 
to constitute a specific in colic, and to equal in .virtue, as a stimulant 
and stomachic, those of our common Rosemary. The young branchlets 
and leaves, under the form of a decoction, were used as fomentations in 
painful tumours, neuralgia, and muscular rheumatism, and likewise 
entered as a principal ingredient into the composition of the warm medi- 
eated baths in popular usance. During my residence in New Providence, 
I was informed that an infusion of this plant was deemed a successful 


ON THE CASCARILLA BARK, ETC. 283 


remedy in the treatment of ulcers and other cutaneous affections, and 
administered internally in copious warm draughts to promote diaphoresis 
in the first stages of febrile and other inflammatory complaints, both by 
the creole negro soldiers, and the inhabitants of the island. This species 
appears to have been introduced into England by Dr. Houston prior to 
1733, and was subsequently cultivated in some of the public gardens. 


VI. Sea-stipE BaLsaM oR SAGE. 
(Croton balsamiferum, Linn.) 


Croton balsamiferum, Linn. Mant. 125. 

Croton balsamiferum, Jacquin, American t. 162, f. 3; Pict. p. 124- 
242. Hort. Botan. Vindob. vol. iii. t. 46. 

Croton fruticosum erectum, et subvillosum, foliis cordato-acuminatis 
spicif terminalibus, Browne, Hist. Jam., p. 347. 

Croton balsamifer Grisebach Flor. Brit. W. I. Isl. vol. 1. p. 38. 

This well-marked species flourishes in many of the West India 
islands, as also in several of the Bahamas. In that of New Providence 
it is usually found, more or less under cultivation in the gardens, or on 
the outskirts of the town of Nassau ; hence, probably it has been in- 
troduced and naturalised from other localities. Tradition also asserts 
that this comprehended one, among other favourite plants, resorted to 
by the Caribs for remedial purposes. Its reputation as a medicine has 
not declined since their extinction, for manifold preparations from the 
shrub still attest the popular esteem in which it is held by the various 
populations of the above islands. 

Owing either to its odoriferous qualities, or from an imaginary 
resemblance to the rugose leaves of our garden Sage (Salvia officinalis), 
this and some other Crotons have received the title of Sage or Sea-side 
Sage. Hence an infusion of the leaves, prepared in a similar manner 
to that from the Salvia in England and America, is also termed Sage- 
tea. The designation of Balsam, frequently conjoined with it, appears 
to have been derived from the circumstance of a thick, yellowish 
aromatic sap exuding from the extremities of the broken branches, or 
wherever the stem has been wounded. Jacquin has furnished brief 
detailed outlines of this species in several of his works, remarking that 
it was called in Martinique by the name of Petit Beaume, or Little 
Balsam. 

The stem is erect, with a grey or pale-brown epidermis. Branchlets 
pale-yellow, more or less clothed with stellate hairs. Leaves long- 
petiolate, broad, ovate-lanceolate, pointed, perforated by pellucid dots, 
pale-green, smooth, or partially covered with stellate down on upper 
surface, pale-yellow, hoary, densely studded with intricate stellate hairs 
with two urceolate glands at the base beneath. Spike simple. Inflo- 
rescence terminal, flowers white, sometimes faintly tinged with yellow. 
Male and female on same spike. Fruit consists of an oblong, roundish 
capsule, one-third less in size than that of the C. Eluteria, Benn. Peri- 


284 THE WINES OF ITALY. 


carp rugose, covered with numerous stellate hairs. Seeds 1-24 lines 
long, ovoid, deep-brown, and shining, one in each cell. Fruit becomes 
mature about May or June. 

Tn several of the West India and Bahama islands, different parts of 
this product are rendered applicable to the cure of endemic diseases. 
The yonng leaves and branchlets introduced into warm baths are sup- 
posed to communicate their agreeable fragrance and medicinal virtues 
to the water, and these act in a remedial mode through the cutaneous 
system, while a decoction of the same is employed as a fomentation in 
arthritic swellings of the joints, and as a stimulant lotion to indolent 
sores, and chronic ulcers of the legs. Similar to the Sage-tea, in English 
and American use an infusion made from the tender leaves, and drunk 
in copious warm draughts, is administered to procure diaphoresis in 
fevers, and local inflammatory complaints. . Probably their stimulant, 
aromatic qualities render them more agreeable to the stomach, and con- 
sequently allay the nausea and gastric irritation that often accompanies 
the invasion of these tropical affections. 

In New Providence the bruised branches and balsamic exudation, 
conjoined with the infused leaves, have been found beneficial in bron- 
chitis, and as a gargle in some morbid conditions of the pharynx and 
mouth. <A cordial liquor termed Hau de Mantes, is said to be distilled 
from the yellow, glutinous sap, with spirits of wine, in Martinique, 
and valued asa medicine in the treatment of certain uterine irregu- 
larities, independently of its appropriation as an article for domestic use. 
Neither the bark of this species, nor that of the C. lineare, Jacq., are 
apparently held in any esteem as curative agents in the Bahamas, and 
therefore are never diverted to these purposes. 


THE WINES OF ITALY. 

Wine, next to cereals, is the most important production of the 
Italian soil. 

In a superficies of about 32,000,000 of hectares, containing forests, 
lakes, rivers, and roads, the peninsula produces annually 28,340,000 hec- 
tolitres of wine, that is to say, every proportion duly kept, 10°34 per cent. 
more than France, which gives 45,000,000 hectolitres from a superticies 
of 53,000,000 hectares. 

In estimating the average price of the hectolitre at 16s., wine repre- 
sents in Italy a value of 22,640,000. 

The fruit of the vine ripes in all parts of Italy, in the plains as well 
as on the hills and mountains, and eyen close to the limit of the chest- 
nut trees. 


THE WINES OF ITALY. 285 


The varieties of vines are almost innumerable. There are some 
adapted to certain localities, and of limited cultivation, and others which 
are almost invariably grown in every district. The greater part are 
indigenous, and of very ancient origin ; others, having been originally 
transplanted from Italy, have been reintroduced with new properties 
from Hungary, the banks of the Rhine, the South of France and Spain, 
from the Cape of Good Hope, and the Canary Islands. There are some 
varieties from America of the Labruscan or Isabella (Vitis Labrusca), re- 
maining in the gardens up to a recent period objects of curiosity, but 
their cultivation is rapidly increasing, because it has been observed that 
their grapes have not been affected by Otdium. 

The methods followed in dressing and planting the vine are equally 
various. In the southern countries, and in the plains, the vine is trained 
up high trees, such as elms, poplars, and walnut trees, and the branches 
which reach to the tops are interwoven among themselves, forming gar- 
lands and festoons. In other places props are used, arranged in such a 
manner as to support the shoots of the vine, which are lengthened or 
shortened in various ways. The vine is also cultivated on trellis work, 
in espalier, also separate and without props. This last system, which is 
rather unusual, is chiefly employed on the heights, and is the best method 
in the dry soils of the small islands. 

In every part, unfortunately, but little attention is paid to the choice 
of the vines best fitted for cultivation, Various qualities of grapes are all 
promiscuously gathered in the same vintage—white, black, sweet and 
sour—after a more or less perfect maturity, without much care being 
paid to the proportions to be observed amongst them during the process 
they undergo in the making. Sometimes, the most intelligent vine- 
growers separate the grapes, according to their qualities and their differ- 
ent degrees of ripeness, and thus obtain wines more esteemed, more equal 
in character, and capable of keeping longer. A small number plant 
separately the various qualities of vines, afterwards mixing the grapes 
and the must in the proportions which experience has indicated to them 
as being the best. This last method is much extending in Piedmont. 

The process generally used in making wine consists in treading the 
grapes in tubs (tint), which are left open in the wine cellars ; and the 
liquor being drained off, as soon as the active fermentation has ceased, it 
is transferred to the tuns, where the action of the second fermentation 
takes place, in which the wine is clarified and completely made. 

Nevertheless, the grapes are sometimes left in the open air during 
some time; they are then pressed, and the must is carried away and 
placed in barrels to ferment. This is the process followed, especially in the 
making of full-bodied wines, like the Vin santo. 

The black wines are obtained by crushing the grapes, and leaving the 

_husks and stems in contact with the must; there are white wines, less 
valued by drinkers, made either from white grapes, put into tubs sepa- 
rately from the black wines, or from the liquor, which ferments separate 
from the husks. 


286 THE WINES OF ITALY. 


Machines for picking grapes or crushing them are not generally 
known, but everything is prepared by manual labour. Nevertheless, the 
common presses—that is, mechanical presses—are employed to obtain 
the wine irom the residue, which is called stretto. 

Some wine producers have constructed vats, others have cisterns, 
closed hermetically as soon as the fermentation has subsided, wherein 
the wine is kept for an indefinite period. 

The wine being placed in the tubs and cellars, there undergoes its 
last vinous change in a natural way, which does not fail to superinduce 
sensible differences in the article, caused by the position of the cellars 
themselves, their temperature, and other extrinsic circumstances, and by 
the variation of seasons. 

But a mixing or doctoring of wines is also practised, by adding at one 
or successive times to the wines in the tuns, either a quantity of concen- 
trated must, produced by boiling, which is called cotto, or of grape-juice 
thickened by exposure to the open air, and made from the sweetest and 
best coloured fruit ; this gives a tint and flavour to the wine much ap- 
preciated by consumers, but which certainly does not improve the natural 
body of the wine itself. For this reason, although the wine-growers suc- 
ceed in raising the price of some wines, the expedients resorted to, as 
above described, ought to be condemned rather than approved. The 
practice of sulphuring wines is well known and resorted to ; not equally 
so is clarification; but some wine-growers attempt to improve their 
wines by clearing them as much as possible from all extraneous matters. 
The process of changing the liquor from one vessel to another in the 
month of March is adopted, from which a remarkable clearing of the 
wine results. 

Considering the natural elements possessed by Italy, and the mode 
practised of making wine, of which we have just given a brief sketch, it 
is easy to comprehend what an enormous production of wine there is 
in ordinary times, and the augmentation of which it is susceptible. 

It is easy to conceive the infinite variety of wines produced, and 
which depend upon natural circumstances, or upon the system adopted 

i n preparing the wines, in which a uniformity in the early stages of the 
process being disregarded, the chances of a variation of the produce are 
greatly augmented. This will fully account for the variation in the pro- 
duce of the wines of Italy, and leaves the field open for immense im- 
provement. 

It is useless, in the present day, to seek those wines which formerly 
gave such delight to connoisseurs, those wines of Falerno, of Opiniano, 
which slowly maturing, and with their spirit preserved for a century, 
inspired the poets of antiquity. But we have still the wines of Asti, 
the Montepulciano, the Orvieto, the Lachryma Christi, the muscats of 
Syracuse, and other exquisite productions, which, with the Marsala, are 
appreciated wherever they are introduced. There are amongst the wines 
of Italy sufficient to satisfy whatever demands may spring up from 
abroad, and the present resources can be indefinitely augmented. 


THE WINES OF ITALY. 287 


The Italian producers will not neglect to improve their system of 
making and keeping wines; and the prospects opened to them by 
foreign commerce will be embraced with a conviction of their com- 
petency to meet any demand, still reserving to the produce of different 
places, the original distinctions which attach to them from the circum- 
stances which have made them famous. 

The determination of various elements of the wines of Italy, which 
were made by M. Fausto Sestini and M. Attilio Fabrini, subsequently to 
the Italian Exhibition, upon specimens which leave no doubt of their 
genuineness and the completeness of the selection, have, on that ac- 
count, an especial value. The Royal Commission of the Italian Exhi- 
bition of 1861, upon the requisition of M. A. Targioni Tozzetti, inspector 
and reporter of the fifth class of the above Exhibition, ordered these 
experiments to be made, and this duty was performed, together with a 
number of others of the same sort, in the laboratory of the Agricul- 
tural Institution in Florence, by the young and able chemists who have 
been so favourably mentioned, under the supervision of M. Targioni 
himself, who has recently presided at the inauguration of that insti_ 
tution dedicated to agricultural experiments of all sorts. M. Cozzi and 
M. de Luca have given some analyses of the wines of Italy, which ought 
to be consulted concurrently with the above, however partially they 
may be. 

The analyses of M. Cozzi, inserted in the proceedings of the Royal 
Academy of Georgofiles of Florence (1848), give for the maximum of 
alcohol 9°80, the minimum 5°83, the average being 7°81. Those of M. 
De Luca, inserted in the Nuovo Cimento, fourth year, with reference also 
to those of M. Cozzi on the wines of Tuscany, give 


Maximum. Minimum. Average. 
aX) XO) aX) es Bie. Se mnt gn see RO) ain Siero HO ean ie wee X00) 
Fixed organic matters Oa welts tle Oly 0 cee ine OW 
linorsanichmattermy gr (0:0 tse Onl tra meet O;04 


Alcohol is always fixed at 1,000, whilst in the analyses made by 
Brande of the wines of Marsala and Syracuse it is 0°825. 

The acidity is estimated collectively, supposing that it proceeds from 
tartaric acid. 

The sulphurous smell of the grape wine, which has been treated with 
brimstone on account ,of the vine disease, has stimulated other re- 
searches ; which, being completed, together with those by M. Sestini, 
under the supervision of M. Targoni, have discovered that the sulphur- 
etted hydrogen is a product of the decomposition of sugar, which, in 
presence of sulphur, and the act of fermentation, undergoes partially a 
lactic fermentation and gives out a quantity of hydrogen, which, being 
evolyed under the above conditions, combines with the sulphur sus- 
pended in the must. Amongst all the processes employed to get rid of 
the smell of sulphuretted fhydrogen, there is nothing better than ex- 


288 THE WINES OF ITALY. 


posure to the air, when changing the wine in the casks, or sulphuring 
the wines with the vapour of burnt sulphur. 

Previously to the vine disease, wine held an important position in 
the manufacture of vinegar. Vinegar is still obtained in the ordinary 
way in farm and other households, where in general the proprietors are 
satisfied with allowing wine to become vinegar in large open casks, 
which already contain some vinegar or the lees of vinegar. 

There are in Piedmont two extensive vinegar yards, one at Turin, 
the other at Verduno, where the conversion of wine into vinegar is 
effected upon a large scale, a particular process, based on scientific prin- 
ciples, being economically practised. Vinegar from these establishments 
contains from 0:030 to 0:045 of acetic acid, and is sold at 23d. to 4d. per 
litre. 

_ An establishment exists in Venice for making vinegar from spirit 
distilled from corn, conducted on the method of Wigemann and Schut- 
zembach, which annually produces vinegar to the amount of 40,0001. 
This vinegar contains from 0:055 to 0100 of acetic acid, and is sold at 
13d. to 3d. the litre. 

The balsamic vinegars of Modena are a special production, obtained 
from the must of grapes, concentrated by heat, and to which a small 
quantity of old vinegar is added every year. At the same time a quan- 
tity of vinegar, equal to the quantity of must which is added, is drawn 
off, and the portion so drawn off is mixed with vinegar a year older, 
which in its turn is transferred to another tun, older still, and so on 
regularly, by which means vinegar from a hundred toa hundred and fifty 
and even two hunired years old is obtained in the last cask of the series. 
These vinegar houses are the property of ancient families; that of the 
ducal house enjoys a distinguished reputation. 

This vinegar is of a brown colour, rather thick, very fragrant, and 
possesses no quality in common with ordinary vinegar, except the 
acidity, which is, however, not so strong. It is esteemed in propor- 
tion to its age, is expensive, and is used as an article of luxury, as a 
perfume, either by itself, or by communicating its fragrance to common 
vinegar. Its chemical composition is not as yet ascertained, but pro- 
pably it contains many combinations. ‘ 

Vinegar is also obtained from certain fruits in Italy. 


Td CEN OL.0;G tise 


ON THE BORACIC ACID OF CENTRAL ITALY. 


BY W. P. JERVIS, F.G.S., 


Assistant-General to the Special Commissioners for Italy at the International 
Exhibition. 


Of all the mineral resources of Central Italy, none have been deve- 
loped of late in so remarkable a manner as that of boracie acid, the very 
existence of which in Europe was unknown a century ago, while now 
100,0002. worth of crude acid are annually exported from Leghorn to 
England alone, besides a considerable quantity sent to France. It will 
not be without interest to trace the history of the discovery of boracic 
acid in Italy as a scientific curiosity, and to follow its introduction into 
the manufactures, detailing the various steps taken to improve the 
method of collecting it, until it may be said to have almost reached per- 
fection. 

In 1742, Giovanni Targioni Tozzetti, a scientific Tuscan traveller, 
and one of the earliest geologists of Central Italy, visited the salt 
works of Volterra (Pisa) in his rambles through the Maremme, and pro- 
ceeded southward through Pomarance to Monte Cerboli, in order to ex- 
amine the curious phenomenon of het vapours which abounded in the 
neighbourhood. He relates how he took a stroll through the valley 
which stretches south-east from Monte Cerboli, and reached the little 
torrent Possera: all around him was a scene of desolation, well fitted 
to strike dismay on the ignorant, but eminently suited to the contem- 
plative mind of the naturalist, to whom the most dreary plains and barren 
rocks yield ample subject for useful and agreeable study. Targioni’s 
attention, was attracted to the exnmination of the strange scene around 
him; he stood close to a yawning gulf, from which issued rumbling 
noises and disagreeable odours ; he wished to look down and peep into 
the mysterious chasm to learn something of its nature, but his temerity 
was rewarded by a surly growl from within, and his guide told him 

VOL. III. DD 


290 ON THE BORACIC ACID OF CENTRAL ITALY. 


that the noise sometimes resembled a hundred bellows, as if Vulean 
himself were hard at work, while flames issued forth at night after very 
hot days. Though he saw no fire, the vapour served as a warning to 
him to keep at a considerable distance ; but before long he came upon 
more vapour vents, or soffioni, and little lagoni, or ponds of muddy blue 
waters, boiling vehemently, the imprisoned gases producing bubbles in- 
creasing in size till sufficiently large to cause them to burst. Dense vapours 
smelling strongly of rotten eggs, rose from the lagoni, and ascended to 
a considerable height into the atmosphere. The ground on which he 
stood was soft and crumbled under his feet; the decomposed rocks, 
as well as some of the efflorescent minerals, were new to him, and 
became the subject of many curious speculations. The whole of the 
valley was apparently studded with such lagoons, an attempt to 
define the number of which would be impossible, connected as they 
were in many places by cross fissures and superficial cracks. 
Not a tree was visible throughout the extent of the valley ; 
the opening of a new fissure would be the signal for the destruction 
of all neighbouring shrubs, scorched by the subterranean heat. Occa- 
sionally, he was told, the Jagont would be overcharged by the rain, and 
their contents flow into the Possera, where the heat would immediately 
kill all the fish for a considerable distance down its course, the density 
of the atmosphere in cloudy weather pressing on the columns of vapour, 
causing them to lie closer to the ground and spread themselves 
horizontally, while the grumbling sounds in the bowels of the earth 
redoubled in fury. Passing on towards Castelnuovo the same lagoons were 
abundant, but of smaller dimensions, and according to tradition they 
had increased in number; on the other hand old lagoons dried up, only 
emitting steam at intervals. 

A farm house near Castelnuovo, built 200 years before, had been 
suddenly undermined, a fwmacchio, or incipient lagoon, having uncere- 
moniously made its appearance in the kitchen, rapidly assuming the 
dimensions of a true lagoon. The inhabitants were utterly defenceless, 
and bade adieu to their ancestral tenement, the stone walls of which 
were soon attacked by the corroding influence of the vapours, and 
speedily destined, as our traveller truly predicted, to crumble to pieces. 
Within certain limits fertile fields were subject to be laid waste, and 
poisonous gases escaped, which had on several occasions proved fatal ; 
thus he relates how a swineherd in charge of forty pigs had been over- 
taken by the noxious gases ; all the poor animals were killed but one. 
Another man, who was working in an alabaster pit, was suddenly over- 
powered by the escape of mephitic gas through the marls, and cried 
loudly for help to his fellow at the mouth of the shaft ; while he was 
being hauled up he was stifled by oppression of the lungs, and fell life- 
less to the bottom. Should any luckless wight approach a lagoon too 
closely he would stand a chance of sinking into a quagmire, or losing 


we 


ON THE BORACIC ACID OF CENTRAL ITALY. 29) 


a leg. Sheep occasionally fell victims when rushing too carelessly 
along, and after remaining a short time in the water, nothing but a 
bleached skeleton remained. Though this picture is perhaps rather 
overdrawn, the temperature being very considerably above the boiling 
point of pure water, very serious and generally fatal accidents must 
have frequently resulted. 

It would be untrue to say that the soffioni were utterly useless. The 
skilled peasants would cleverly manage to roast their chestnuts in sacks 
placed over these vapour vents; no small convenience in a district 
where this article is a substitute for bread ; birds, game, and cattle 
made the lagoni their winter resort, in order to take refuge from the 
cold snowy ground ; cattle, indeed, occasionally frequented the neigh- 
bourhood to rid themselves of gad-flies and musquitoes. Our traveller 
traced the various crevices along the course of the rivulet, where they 
found their way out from beneath huge masses of rock; in their 
vicinity a hole made with a stick would frequently originate a little 
pool or lagoncello, from whence sulphurous vapours poured forth. As 
to the noxious vapours, which were chiefly carbonic acid gas, he was 
told that the introduction of a copious supply of water into the vents 
destroyed their power. 

The origin of these meme rable fissures, the account of which I hase 
borrowed from Targioni Tozzetti, was first pointed out by Sir Roderick 
Murchison, who proved them to have the same lineal direction as the axis 
of the Appennines and the serpentine eruptions of Central Italy, and to 
be closely connected with recent earthquakes. As the fissures would be 
easily blocked up by detritus, &c., 1 consider that they did not exist 
before the Deluge, at which time they would have been completely 
choked up and destroyed. Earthquakes, however, are common there, 
one having occurred within the last year. In the Codice della 
Gaddiana it is mentioned that in 1320 a fissure was produced by an 
earthquake, near Velieno (Vegliani ?) in the Volterrano, whence water 
rushed out in large quantities, great heat being also evolved, and a lake 
was soon formed, which finally attained the depth of 80 feet. Ugolino 
di Monte Catini, quoted by Repetti, while speaking of the neighbour- 
hood of Monte Cerboli, makes no mention of lagoons, although he dwells 
in detail on those of Castelnuovo, whence Repetti concludes that in the 
middle ages, when Ugolino lived, there were no fissures or lagoons in the 
former place. 

In 1777, Heeffer, the chemist of the Grand Duke of Tuscany, found 
boracic acid at Monte Rotondo and Castelnuovo, a fact confirmed two 
years subsequently at Monte Rotondo, by Prof. Mascagni, well-known 
for his researches on the lymphatic system. 

Gazzeri made some attempt to utilize the boracie acid in these waters 
in 1808 and again in 1816; Heeffer and Mascagni proposed to make 


borax from them, the latter in 1812. Mascagni, however, was too much 
DD2 


292 ON THE BORACIC ACID OF CENTRAL ITALY. 


engaged in his scientific labours to carry out his idea, for which he even 
obtained a patent during Napoleon’s rule in Italy ; he therefore ceded 
his right to Fossi, to whom he communicated his proposition for placing 
eauldrons of the solution of acid in the lagoons, as in a water bath, in 
order to concentrate it. Fossi was the first to obtain boracie acid in any 
quantity from Monte Rotondo; and we learn from the Atti dei Georgofil 
(tom. xvii., Firenze, 1839), that he exhibited white glass in Florence as 
early as 1818, prepared with borax made from these lagoons. Messrs. 
Gazzeri and Brouzet worked the lagoons of Monte Rotondo from 1815 to 
1818, employing as their engineer Sig. Ciaschi, who made further im- 
provements by constructing artificial lagoons round the dry soffioni, to 
utilize the hitherto waste vapours. The poor fellow was one day super- 
intending an operation of this nature, in 1816, when he fell into a 
fissure : he was dragged out half dead, and only lingered for a few days; 
during which time he suffered the most excruciating torture from violent 
spasms and frightful burns. Gazzeri. and Brouzet with great difficulty 
managed to export to France 3 tons 53 ewt. of very impure crude boracic 
acid in the nine and a half months ending April 1, 1818, A small 
quantity of these mineral waters had been for many years employed in 
pharmacy, under the name of Sale Sedativo di Hombourg, borax being 
considered to possess calming properties. 

Thus, for 40 years, little or nothing was done, when in 1818, M. 
Frangois Lardarel, a French gentleman, then staying in Italy, re- 
solved on the formation of a small establishment for the collection and 
extraction of the boracic acid. For many years his labours were attended 
with small success. The sale of the acid was steady, but the profits were 
inconsiderable. He was thus induced to study a more economical means 
of evaporation, the expense of firewood used for that purpose up to 
1827 having swallowed up the greater part of his proceeds, the more so 
as it was particularly scarce in that neighbourhood, where not a blade of 
grass was to be seen, and road communication for bringing it had all to 
be made by the proprietor of the works. 

After much thought the brilliant idea struck M. Lardarel that by 
some method he might take advantage of the natural steam jets or 
soffioni arising so plentifully from the soil; and at the period I have men- 
tioned he devised the plan for imprisoning and turning them to account, 
which I shall describe. The process was a triumph for those days, when, 
let us remember, steam was little known as an element in manufacturing 
industry. From that moment the produce of the works rapidly increased, 
and the uses to which the boracie acid was applied became equally 
numerous. 

At the present time there are no less than nine separate establish- 
ments belonging to Count Lardarel, all situated within a few miles of 
Castelnuovo (Leghorn), a little town half-way between Volterra and Massa 
Marittima (Grosseto), viz.: Lustignano, Lardarello, Lago, Sasso, Monte 


wat 


ON THE BORACIC ACID OF CENTRAL ITALY. 293 


Rotondo, Serrazzano, San Federigo, San Edoardo, and Castelnuovo. M. 
Durval has one establishment at the Lake of Monte Rotondo, and a new 
company has just been established at Travale, near Volterra, All these 
places are in close proximity to eruptions of gabbro or Miocene serpentine, 
as at Monte Cerbol, Serrazzano, Monte Rotondo, and numerous other lo- 
calities, where that rock has pierced the sedimentary strata. No one can call 
in question the existence of deep-seated subterranean fire in this neighbour- 
hood; though during the present century no flames have been seen at 
the surface. I cannot help thinkiug that these insignificant vents can 
only be subsidiary to the more capacious craters of the volcanoes in the 
South of Italy, where more ample space is provided for the escape of 
the gases produced by the decomposition of mineral matter. In support 
of this theory I will presently give a comparison between the two 
localities. 

The works are so similar that it will be quite sufficient to describe in 
detail that of Lardarello, which is highly interesting. This thriving 
little colony is entirely the creation of Count Lardarel, and is situated 
on the torrent Possera, below the village of Monte Cerboli, three miles 
from Serrazzano, and six from Pomarance. A group of half-a-dozen or 
more lagoni are seen on the slope of the hill, about half a mile from the 
main road, from which they are completely hidden by rising ground. 
Some of these lagont are those described by Targioni Tozzetti, but the 
vapour-vents—the soffiont of which he speaks—no longer exist, as they 
have been artificially converted into lagon?. 

Singularly enough, boracie acid has never been found here in the solid 
state at any depth to which search has been made, with the exception of 
such places in which it has sublimed ; it is probably either the result of 
the double decomposition of water and a volatile salt of boron, accord- 
ing to Dumas’ theory ; sulphide of boron and water producing boracic 
acid and sulphuretted hydrogen, thus :— 


Bo S* +2 HO= BoO? +2 HS. 


or simply chloride of boron and water producing boracic and hydro- 
ehloric acids, thus :— 


BoCl? + 2 HO= BoO* +2 HCl. 


in support of which supposition we only find the boracic acid appear 
when there is water present ; or it may be caused by the reaction of sul- 
phuric acid on borates, such as tourmaline, the granite found not very 
far off being so rich in this mineral as to bear the name of tourmalini- 
ferous granite. The theory I advance is tenable, provided we assume the 
heat to be very great. Though sulphuric acid is one of the most power- 
ful, and boracie acid the weakest, next to carbonic acid, at ordinary 
temperatures, they exhibit the reverse phenomena at very elevated 
temperatures ; in fact, under such circumstances, boracic acid will 


* 


294 ON THE BORACIC ACID OF CENTRAL ITALY. 


actually decompose sulphates formed by the action of sulphuric acid on 
borates. Before water is introduced into the fissures they are mere 
soffioni ; borates of several bases are most probably abundant at great 
depth, and are uninjured by the constant passage of sulphurous 
vapours, and even sulphuric acid, on their way to the surface, whence 
the latter escape, but boracic acid is not to be detected. Water being 
now introduced lowers the temperature, and the balance of affinities is 
altered, the powerfully corroding influence of the sulphurie acid on the 
borates is set in operation, whence the boracic acid is liberated, and 
ascends in solution with the ejected water and steam. 

The following is the analysis of the dry gases issuing from a soffione 
examined by Payen :— 


Carbonic acid , ; : ; : 57°30 
Nitrogen : é : . é : 34°81 
Oxygen ‘ : A : : : 6:57 
Sulphuretted hydrogen. : ; . 1:32 

100-00 


Respecting the temperature of the fissures, none have satisfactorily 
treated the question, though it has excited much attention from Pilla, 
Murchison, Lardarel, &c. I think that some light is thrown on the sub- 
ject by the presence of an instructive mineral round the lagoons,—viz., 
Anhydrite (Ca O. SO*), evidently formed at a temperature at which 
water could not combine with the sulphate of lime to produce ordinary 
gypsum. When gypsum (CaO. SO* + 2 HO) is heated to 260° Fah., it 
loses its water of crystallization, and becomes plaster of Paris; but on 
cooling it again absorbs the original quantity of water. When it is 
heated to redness this does not take place, but the mass melts into 
an enamel, which, according to Regnault, is identical with anhydrite. 
The heat, on the other hand, could not be very much above redness, 
provided my theory of the borates be correct. 

The first care of the manufacturer is the removal of a certain quantity 
of clay, and the formation of a Lagone or condensing basin, of more or less 
circular form, the sides of which have to be strengthened by rough stones 
to prevent them from falling in, the tenacity of the clay sufficing for the 
bottom. The usual depth of a lagone is from 4 to 6 feet, more rarely as 
many yards ; the capacity and depth have to be regulated with the ut- 
most care, according to the force of the vapour in that particular vent. 
During the period that the workmen are employed in digging a lagone, 
the steam is conveyed away into the atmosphere, far above their heads, 
by means of a tall wooden chimney, which protects them from being 
scalded. A stream of water has been brought to the uppermost lagoon 
at Lardarello, from near the Bagno del Morbo, not a quarter of a mile 
off ; this lagoon is about 15 or 20 yards in diameter, with a jet of steam 


ON THE BORACIC ACID OF CENTRAL ITALY. 295 


in the centre. Forcing its way through the fissures by its specific gra- 
vity, the water comes in contact with the highly-heated gases and rocks, 
and is immediately converted into steam, which, from its elasticity and 
enormous increase in volume, is ejected with great force, but is con- 
densed as soon as it reaches the surface of the basin by the colder water 
around. This incessant vaporization of the water and its subsequent 
liquefaction produce a great commotion in the lagoon, a turbulent little 
fountain rising to the height of a foot, and causing a succession of con- 
centric ripples, All this time there is a copious discharge of sulphur- 
etted hydrogen, which in one case I distinctly perceived at night-time 
full a quarter of a mile from a lagoon, and before I knew of its existence 
there. 

Having remained twenty-four hours subject to continual agitation, 
the water, which has assumed a slate-blue colour, is let out of the lagoon 
and passes into a canal, through which it is conducted into a second 
basin at a lower level ; thence it passes through several more, of similar 
construction, each lower than the preceding one. In this manner the 
water dissolves the boracic acid in the fissures, and brings it up mechani- 
cally mixed with it. No other object appears to be attained by making 
all the water pass through the chain of lagoni than to obtain boracic 
acid of uniform density, though Dumas expressed to Count Lardarel the 
opinion that probably, by some ingenious device, it might be brought 
to a saturation of 15 to 16 per cent.—a great desideratum. The tempera- 
ture of the liquid is considerably above 212° Fahr., and dense vapours 
rise for many yards above the ground, heating the air so much as to 
render it unpleasant to remain long nearthem. Efflorescent minerals and 
decomposed rock, ejected with the steam, lie scattered all round on the 
heated surface of the ground, along with sulphur incrustations and 
many sulphates, such as gypsum, alum, and sulphate of ammonia, be- 
sides iron pyrites in minute veins in the fragments of rocks. 

The water passes at stated intervals, while still boiling, into 
the Vasco, a tank sixty feet square, covered by a tiled roof sup- 
ported at the sides by slight brick pillars. Here the greater part of the. 
mechanical impurities, clay, and the more insoluble sulphates, sink to 
the bottom, and the water regains its limpidity. The next operation is 
to concentrate the solution of acid, which is effected in the adjoining 
building containing the evaporating pans : these are so exceedingly inge- 
nious and simple as to merit particular consideration ; Count Lardarel, who 
invented them, has given them the name of Adrian evaporators. Three 
parallel series of shallow leaden divisions, called Scanelli, are placed in a 
line, each being a third of an inch lower than the one before it, from which 
itis only separated by a leaden partition half an inch broad, and as deep- 
The scanelli are placed transversely, and are six feet long by twenty-two 
inches wide ; they are arranged under a roof, to keep off the rain, but the 
evaporation is not in any way impeded, since the sides are open, and only 


296 ON THE BORACIC ACID OF CENTRAL ITALY, 


a few brick pillars of the lightest construction are employed to support 
the roof. The length of the building is often several hundred feet, At 
the commencement of the operation a man turns a tap, which lets the 
water flow in regulated quantities from the vasco into the first scanello, 
everything depending on this precaution ; it now flows on from one divi- 
sion of these diaphragm pans to another, until, arriving at the end of 
the building, it passes along the second row of divisions, and finally back 
through the last series into the diagonal corner, where there is a large and 
deep reservoir called the Caldaja a sale. In its progress the water gra- 
dually evaporates. As I mentioned before, when it entered the building, 
it only contained 14 or 2 per cent. of boracic aeid, but after having passed 
through fifty or sixty divisions, it assumes a decidedly yellow tinge, in- 
creasing in intensity until finally it becomes a bright golden yellow fluid, 
having a characteristic odour. The internal arrangements of the evapo- 
vators, though they may appear simple enough, were the result of much 
thought. The leaden pans are supported by beams over a low vaulted 
<team-passage, lined with hydraulic cement, to protect the stone-work 
and keep in the heat. For this purpose a soffione is vaulted over with a 
stone dome, about ten feet high, firmly bound with wrought-iron bars 
water is admitted, and the imprisoned high-pressure steam thereby pro- 
duced acquires immense power, and thumping loudly against the dome, 
the jets. of water seem ready at every moment to undermine the struc- 
ture. The steam passes thence through the vaulted passage into the lower 
chamber of the evaporators, and, having traversed it from end to end, 
finds its way out into the open air through a chimney at the opposite end. 
What formerly took 62 hours to evaporate, is performed by this beautiful 
contrivance in 12, the expense being also proportionately diminished. 

From the caldaja a sale the syrupy liquor is periodically conducted 
along a wooden pipe to the Bollajo, or erystallizing house, in which a 
series of large barrels, 3 or 35 feet in diameter, are ranged in a line, 
When it is desired to fill them, all that is necessary to be done is to re- 
move a plug placed over the centre of each barrel in the pipe which runs 
round the building: the liquor remains four days in the barrels, during 
which time it has crystallized at the sides and bottom to the thickness 
of several inches, the liquid portion is then withdrawn by removing a 
plug, and finds its way along a longitudinal drain, by which means it is 
all saved for future use. No one could fail to admire these beautiful 
processes, whose characteristic merit is that they do not necessitate 
anything being lost. 

The boracic acid crystallizes in hexagonal plates, about the size and 
thickness of a wafer, having a waxy appearance and pearly lustre. From 
their peculiar form they naturally retain much water mechanically 
mixed, so that they are first put in large wicker baskets, Corbelli, to 
drain, and then emptied out on the floor of a large airy chamber, called — 
the Asciugatojo, or drying house. The brick floor is heated, like the 


ON THE BORACIC ACID OF CENTRAL ITALY. 297 


evaporators, by steam passing through an underground chamber. The 
boracic acid being spread out in thin layers on the floor, is stirred from 
time to time with a wooden rake, and the crystals, while losing their 
sharp angles, separate in great measure from each other. When dry 
nothing remains to be done but to shovel up the mass of crystals and 
remove them to the warehouse, where the produce of all the establish- 
ments is mixed, to ensure its being all of uniform quality. It is then 
put in large barrels, containing 2,000 Tuscan lbs., or 134 cwt., and con- 
veyed to Leghorn, whence the greater portion is exported to England, 

The first impression produced on my mind, when I first went through 
the establishment, was the marvellous simplicity of the successive 
processes, almost everything being performed by Nature: little has to 
be affected by human agency but to convey water to the dagoni and re- 
gulate the supply in the various operations, to empty the barrels and 
spread out the crystals on the floor to dry. Such is the work allotted to 
the 40 men who are employed at Lardarello on ordinary occasions. 
They commence at four a.m. in summer, and at sun-rise in winter, and 
only work on an average four or five hours daily: thus I arrived at ten 
a.m., but they had finished tor the day! The art of procuring boracic 
acid is, however, very harassing ; sometimes the sides of a lagoon break 
in, or there is not sufficient water ; perhaps through carelessness on the 
part of the men the steam supply diminishes at a particular spot, as is 
liable to occur, unless they regulate the quantity of water accordingly ; 
the inevitable consequence is that the lagoon becomes useless, and the 
steam seeks an easier vent for itself elsewhere. In some cases it forms 
a new soffione a hundred yards off, or else, unable to force an immediate 
passage to the surface, it is necessary to have recourse to boring, and a 
pertectly new lagoon is constructed. This operation is by no means an 
enviable task ; the ground feels so hot near fissures which do not quite 
reach the surface, but from which steam issues out in minute jets, that 
one’s feet are scorched through a very thick pair of shoes, and one is 
warned to retreat, since afew steps further on would probably cause a per- 
son to sink into a hidden cauldron, or steam-bath. Around this place are 
fragments of alberese limestone, the gradual metamorphoses of which are 
very visible ; first the rock, which has a dirty-brown discolouration, is 
shivered and rendered friable, and in other places absolutely converted 
into gypsum, as has been described by Savi and Meneghini ; besides 
these there are clays and marls of the Eocene, Miocene, and Pleiocene 
formations. 


PRoDUCE OF Boracic AcID FROM Count LARDAREL’s LAGOONS. 


From Tons.:cwts. Tons. cwts. 

1818 to 1828 (ten years) 521 16 1842... Boo. ERR) 15S 

1829 to 1838 (ten years) 4,870 6 L843) | ie. ... 923 16 
139 Le OA O LS 1844... i eOZoELG 


1840... dao gs} JB} 1845... .. 923 15 
1841... .. 886 6 1846... ... 1,043 13 


2983 ON THE BORACIC ACID OF CENTRAL ITALY. 

Tons. cwt. Tons. cwt. 

Ts/ > eee ... 1,048 13 So eaeee po On ed 
1848... ... 1,043 13 GID See ... 1,832 19 
1849... ... 1,043 13 WSO see cee CAD eee 

TUS) 2 sae ... 1,043 138 LS eee wae A: 
Sa ... 1,040 0 USES occ ... 2,026 10 

SD Iareae: oro, de illaxes" 112) S59 eee ... 1,830 18 
SDs eee 208 09 ——_ 

Total ... ae soe SOSOUZemlees 


In 1861, more than 1,800 tons. 


I should not consider my description of the lagoons complete with- 
out being permitted to turn the attention of the reader to the character 
of Count Lardarel, the originator of the works, who died in 1858. 
Endowed with great enthusiasm, combined with indomitable perseve- 
rance, he carried out many grand ideas ; his mind seems ever to have 
been bent on some useful project. He became the master of a truly 
colossal fortune by his well-merited and praiseworthy exertions ; and 
by giving employment to a great number of the working-classes in Leg- 
horn and other towns, as well as on his establishments, he rendered great 
public service. Italy, his adopted country, will ever be grateful for the 
oasis which he has planted in the midst of the most sterile lands of the 
Maremme. A picture of the Piazza dell’Industria, at Lardarello, will 
convey some idea of the man. 

On one side is a handsome block of buildings, including the neces- 
sary offices, a laboratory, museum of mineralogy, apothecary’s shop, 
philharmonic society, boys’ and girls’ schools, and weaving looms for 
the wives and daughters of the workmen. In the centre of this terrace 
is a very handsome church, the priest also performing the office of 
schoolmaster. Opposite is a neat and spacious hospital, to which are 
attached a physician and surgeon, as is the case in all the other estab- 
lishments. On another side is the house in which the count lived when 
he came to inspect the works, and a neat little theatre, where the men 
amuse themselves by getting up plays. In the centre of two large 
squares are the marble statues of the late Grand Duke Leopold L, and 
an allegorical figure of Industry. I might mention the establishment 
of road communication, by means of a bridge which cost 20,0001. over 
ground very unfavourable for its erection ; the space under one of the 
archways having been made into a paper manufactory. I must not for- 
get the shops where the men may purchase necessary commodities, nor 
the model lodging-houses, where they have apartments for themselves 
and families. Who can view these institutions, so well calculated to 
advance the social condition of the still too ignorant working classes in 
Italy, without being pardoned for digressing for a moment from the 
more beaten track of technological description ? 

The count established a fund, by which the men, relinquishing a day’s 
wages per month, are free to the enjoyment of the whole of these liberal 


ON THE BORACIC ACID OF CENTRAL ITALY. 299 


institutions, including house rent. As might be anticipated, the apothe- 
eary’s shop is largely frequented by villagers from the neighbourhood, 
who obtain drugs free of expense. The late Grand Duke of Tuscany, 
alive to the good which M. Lardarel had done and was doing, ennobled 
him with the title of Count of Monte Cerboli. If I were asked to erect 
a monument to him at Lardarello, I would place no statue, but simply 
copy the beautiful epitaph applied to Sir Christopher Wren, in St. Paul’s 
Cathedral, London, “Si monumentum queris, circumspice.” 

The lake of Monte Rotonpo, belonging to M. Durval, contains <3, of 
boracic acid in solution, the maximum of impurities being 15 per cent., 
chiefly sulphates of lime, ammonia, alumina, and magnesia, hydro- 
chloric acid, and free sulphuric acid, with traces of organic matter. The 
area of the lake is about 18 acres. M. Durval produced from it 64 tons 
in 1854 and 142 tons in 1855. 

Within the last year Prof. De Luca has analyzed two specimens of 
boracic acid from M. Durval’s works ; these he kindly communicated 
to me, and not having been published before, they are additionally valu- 
able, and are as follows :— 

No. 1. No. 2. 


Anhydrous boracie acid : : 5 50°7 46.6 
Water . 6 : : 6 : 5 359 40°4 
Sulphuric acid. : : : : 91 9°5 
Chlorine : 5 : ; : : 0-2 0-1 
Silica. : ; : : : ; 1.0 1-2 
Magnesia. : : : : : LL 13 
ifaame ay: : : : 3 ; ; 0-5 06 
Ammonia . ; 0:3 0-4 
Potash, soda, alumina, omide of iron, i feaceee traeecl 
and organic matter 

Total . 9 : d 3 99°8 100°1 
Impurities in the above : 12-2 13-1 
100 parts give of crystallized horaets aid 89°0 84:3 


TRAVALE.—Within the last two or three years a new company, 
called the “Societa Anonima di Travale,’ has commenced operations 
near Montieri (Pisa), for extracting the boracic acid which is there found 
in small quantities, associated with a large proportion of sulphate of 
ammonia. The locality is north of the fracture we have been describ- 
ing, and it remains to be proved whether it offers such a brilliant future 
as the other lagoons. 

The remarkable analogy between the lagoons and volcanic craters 
will be best seen by a comparison of the products found in these re- 
spective places, 

The following is a list of some of the gases and minerals from the 


300 ON THE BORACIC ACID OF CENTRAL ITALY. 


Tuscan boracic acid lagoons, compared principally with those from Vul- 
cano, in the Lipari Islands, &c., which will show their intimate connec- 


tion with volcanic action :— 


1. Sulphuretted hydrogen is found 
in large quantities, as at Vulcano. 
Pilla remarks that Vesuvius emits 
hydrochloric acid in great abundance, 
as do Etna and all other active vol- 
canoes, while quiescent ones pour 
forth chiefly sulphuretted hydrogen, 
which is disengaged at lower tempe- 
ratures than is necessary to liberate 
the former. (Zrattato di Geologia, 
tom. 1., p. 244.) 


2. Sassoline, Boracic acid, BO%, 
3 HO; also in Vuleano :— 


Boracic acid . . . 56°4 
Watetere ccs ss 40°60 
100°0 


3. Hayesine, Borate of lime, CaO, 
2 BO® + 3 HO; also at Iquique, 
Peru :— 


HGS (See eat, ane eA tes) 
Boracic acid . 51°13 
Water . 26°25 

Silica, Alumina, and 
Magnesia. . . 75 
99°98 


4. Lagonite, Borate of iron, Fe? O°, 
3 BO® + 3 HO; as incrustations :-— 


Sesquioxide of iron. 36°26 
Water . 14°02 
Boracic acid . 47°95 
Magnesia and loss . _ 1°77 

100°00 


5. Lardarellite, Borate of ammonia, 
NH+0, 4 BO? + 4 HO :— 


Ammonia ANE 12°73 
Water . 18°32 
Boracie acid . 68°56 

99°61 


6. Borax? NaO, 2BO% + 6 HO:— 
Soda acaleh homme eae 


Water . 37:19 
Boracie acid . 43°56 
100°00 


(Ordinary borax contains 10 atoms 
of water.) 

7. Mascagnine, NH*O, SO® + 
2 HO; also in the Lipari [slands — 


Ammonia. . 34°67 
Sulphuric acid 52°33 
Water . 12-00 
99:00 
8. Gypsum, CaO, SO® + 2 HO 
(Impure). 


9. Selenite, CaO, SO? + 2 HO. 
10. Anhydrite, CaO, SO* :— 
Limejiih: 2 ee a eral: 
Sulphuric acid . . 58°8 
100°0 
11. Alum (probably ammonia and 
iron alums). 
12. Sulphate of Magnesia (rare), 
MgO, S08. 
13. Sulphate of ammonia, 
14. Iron pyrites, Fe S?. 
15. Sulphur incrustations, $ ; also 
in the Lipari Islands. 
16. Resinous quartz, Si0?. 
17. Common salt :—Na Cl. 


The connection between the soffiont-and volcanic craters has been 


corroborated in a remarkable manner by the discovery of boracic acid 
crystals in the minor crevasses produced near the Torre del Greco 
during the eruption of Vesuvius in the winter of 1861, and I have a firm 
conviction that a very considerable quantity of boron, combined in some 
way or another, exists in Vesuvius, but that its occasional ejection is 
purely a matter of affinities and temperature, so that even here it may 
be one day possible to establish boracic acid establishments, profiting by 
certain barometrical and thermometrical conditions of the atmosphere. 
The boracic acid crystals from the lagoons are far from pure, con- 


ON THE BORACIC ACID OF CENTRAL ITALY. 301 


taining a small quantity of numerous sulphates, mechanically mixed. 
In 1842, Wittstein (Rapp. ann, de Berzelius), published the following 
analysis :— 


Crystallized boracic acid(3 HO BO). 3 . 76°494 
( Iron : : . : : . 0°365 
| Alumina . ; : ¢ : . 0°320 
| Lime z i ; ; ; . 1:018 

Sulphate of { Magnesia ; : ; : . 2°632 
| Ammonia 4 ’ 3 j . 8508 
| Soda H : ‘ , ; . 0°917 
{Potash . : ; : ; . 0°369 

Chloride of ammonium 4 : . : . 0°298 

Water of crystallisation of the above salts. . 6°557 

Silicic acid. ‘ 6 6 : ; : . 1:200 

Sulphuric acid combined with boracic acid. . 1°322 

Organic matter and sulphate ofiron . 6 . traces. 

100-000 


The amount of foreign salts has very considerably diminished 
since the /agoni were first made use of ; I believe it is not more than 13 
per cent. at this time. In order to purify the crude produce, which is 
not done in Italy, nothing further is necessary but to re-crystallize it 
once or twice. 

It will suffice to mention that the uses of boracic acid are only limited 
by the supply. The greater part of what Count Lardarel produces is 
exported to England, that of M. Durval supplying the necessities of the 
French market. 

The British Custom-house returns show that the importation of the 
boracie acid produced by Count Lardarel and M. Durval, from Central 
Italy into England, has been as follows ; the quantity of olive oil is given 

for the sake of comparison, as being better known to the public. 


< Boracic ACID. Value of Olive Oil : 
a imported from ota uae pals 
Quantities. | Value. PUSeDy Sa the Tuscany. 
tons. cwt. £ £& £ 
1852 OR) il 
1853 1,038 8 i i aa 
1854 1,185 9 106,691 68,853 751,595 
1855 1,338 16 121,163 142,893 747,967 
1856 1,253 O 110,264 130,711 554,437 
1857 1,245 12 87,192 103,914 534,494 
1858 1,156 15 73,157 123,892 538,500 
1859 1,785 17 94,846 117;398 648,460 
1860 1,406 O 77,336 148,751 575,064 


Motalseles As... 6s. £670,649 £836,412 £4,350,517 


“MIN VHO ONTAWC 


“NIVUT 


— le 


“UdId ATdd NS 


i 


HI 


th 


A 


MNT 


ASNOH ONIZVITVISATO 


‘SUTUOL 


ni 


WaOLOVEONVI 


dIoVv OloOvVedOd AO 


STIVLAG 


ON THE BORACIC ACID OF CENTRAL ITALY. 303 


Thus the seventh part of the imports from Tuscan provinces into Eng- 
land, representing 80,0001. per annum, is derived from the evaporation of 
mineral waters, an item second only in value to the celebrated ee of 
Lucca and other parts of the country. 

Mr. Wood, of Stoke-upon-Trent, applied boracic acid to glazing pot- 

_ tery in 1820, and for that branch of industry an enormous quantity is 
consumed, 

The glaze for common English porcelain differs only from that 
employed for figures and ornaments in the amount of borax and silica. 
Their respective composition is :— 


Felspar . . , 45 — 45 Flint Glass . . 20 — 20 
UCAGeese 2. Ge 2 Nickels 1 iced tee 
Borax == 2.) 21 — 15 Minium 59) 26 22 le 


— Dumas, Traité de Chimie, tom. ii., p. 265. 


With silicates of the alkalies and various metallic oxides, it forms 
that beautiful and brilliant greenish-yellowish glass, made at Sévres, of 
which the composition is given below :— 


Silicainen eee ne 2 1998 Oxide of zinc. . . 2°99 
Protoxide oflead . 57°64 Antimonic acid . . 3°41 
SOdasaeNe Ea ee a StS Rotash® a4. 40 0°44 - 
Boracicacid . . . 7:00 

Peroxide ofiron. . 6°12 100°00 


—Salvetat, Annales de Chimie et de Physique, 3ieme Série, tom. 15, p. 122. 


M. Maés, of Clichy la Garenne, near Paris, manufactures glass of boro- 
silicates of potash and zinc, boro-silicates of soda and zinc, and boro- 
silicates of potash and baryta. 

I was informed by several persons that the vines in the neighbour- 
hood of the lagoons do not get the Oidium disease, which may possibly 
be attributable to the sulphurous vapours which arise so plentifully and 
pervade the atmosphere—perhaps even in a less degree to the sulphur- 
etted hydrogen ; hence this locality is well adapted for the growth of 
vines, wherever the soil in the lower valleys admits of their cultivation. 
May not this continual vapour of sulphurous acid account in some degree 
for the excellence of the celebrated wines of Vesuvius? For a similar 
reason, it is possible that the superiority of the Canary wines may be 
partly attributable to the sulphurous bath to which they are subjected, 
as well to the richness of the soil, though that also is incontestable. 


[An article “On the Nitrate of Soda and Borate Districts of Peru,” 
by Wm. Bollaert, F.R.G.S., appeared in Vol. I. of the TecHNnoLoerst, 
p. 115, and one “On the Uses of the Tincal of Asia and its Applica- 
tions,” by Arthur Robottom, p. 370 in the same volume.—EpIToR. ] 


304 


NATA, THE BONDUC NUT, AND ITS PROPERTIES. 


Attention has recently been drawn in some of the continental and 
English periodicals, to the medical uses of these seeds, the produce of 
Guilandina Bonduc, Linn. ; Cesalpinia Bonduc, Roxb. Flor. Ind. II. 362, 
C. Bonducella, Fleming. Rheede II. t. 22. As. Researches II. 159, “ The 
Sociéte d’Acclimatation,” so the paragraph runs “ has just received a letter 
trom India, accompanied with a box containing a quantity of seeds of 
the Cesalpinia Bonducella, a plant which, according to Mr. Hayes, the 
writer of the letter, is much used there as a specific for intermittent 
fevers. The Bengalee name for this plant is Nata. It is a small 
ereeper producing a nut, the kernel of which is exceedingly bitter, and 
possesses the quality of Jesuit’s bark in an eminent degree, with this 
exception that it is aperient rather than the contrary, a valuable pro- 
perty in a tropical climate where the bilious system is so generally 
affected. It is singular that the remarkable properties of this plant 
should have remained so long unnoticed, offering as it does a cheap and 
powerful substitute for Jesuit’s bark, which, as every one knows, com- 
mands a high price. As the plant thrives in Egypt, Mr. Hayes thinks 
that it might prosper in Algeria, and even in the south of France.” 

Thus far the paragraph. Now, let us see how far it may be relied 
on. There is certainly nothing new in the statements put forth ; for 
so far from being unnoticed, the properties pointed out have been 
alluded to by almost every leading writer. Lindley (Vegetable 
Kingdom, 550) says, “Some (of the Cesalpiniew) are reported to pro- 
duce powerfully bitter and tonic effects. The bark and seeds of 
Guilandina Bonduc are of this class ; the latter are very bitter ; when 
pounded small and mixed with castor oil, they form a valuable ex- 
ternal application in incipient hydrocele. The leaves are a valuable 
discutient, fried with a little castor oil in cases of hernia humoralis.” 
But he adds that the seeds are emetic. 

Our correspondent, Mr. Jackson, of the Kew Museum, in his papers 
“On the Products of the Pea Family,’ in TEcHNoLoGist, vol. II.,p. 310, 
pointed out some of the uses of the plant. 

Dr. O'Shaughnessy, (Bengal Dispensatory, Caleutta,) so far back as 
1842, states, “ The seeds are a powerful tonic, and very valuable febri- 
fuge. The kernelsare very bitter, when reduced to powder and mixed 
with black pepper, they are used in 3 to 6 gr. doses in ague, with the 
best results ; powdered small with castor oil, they are applied externally 
in hydrocele. The seeds yield oil, starch, sugar, and resin. Mr, Piddington 
published an analysis in the Trans. Medical and Physical Society of 
Calcutta, in which these principles were described. Nitric acid reddens 
the nut, and subsequently gives it a yellow colour. The root is de- 
scribed in Amboyna to be a good tonic.” 

Dr. Hogg in his “ Vegetable Kingdom ” (London, 1858,) and Major 


-~ 


DYEING AND CALICO PRINTING, 305 


Drury, in his “ Useful Plants of India,” (Madras, 1858,) have also pub- 
lished these and similar details, so that there is nothing very new in the 
accounts put forth. The oil from the leaves is said to be useful in 
convulsions, palsy, &c. In Barbados the plant is known as the horse 
nicker or chick stone. Ornaments made of the seeds are common in 
most museums. We have baskets, bracelets, rosaries, &c., formed of the 
Bonduce nuts. There is no doubt it would readily grow in Algeria, and 
probably in the South of Europe and the Mediterranean Islands. It is 
often used as a fence plant in the West Indies, the curved thorns on 
the branches serving to keep off trespassers. 

The Bundue nuts appear to be used in India in combination with the 
Cheretta (Agatha chirayta,) all the parts of which plant are extremely 
bitter. ep JL Se 


ON DYEING AND CALICO PRINTING. 


BY DR. F. CRACE CALVERT, F.2.8.* 


To give a comprehensive view of the present state of the arts of 
dyeing and calico printing, it will be more convenient to divide the sub- 
ject under two general heads. 

I. DyE1ne.—I shall commence my observations on dyeing by referring 
especially to the remarkable and beautiful colours derived from coal-tar, 
the introduction of which into this art may be said to constitute the 
chief distinction, as far as dyeing is concerned, between the present and 
former Exhibition—creating, in fact, a new era in the tinctorial art. As 
it is intended that this report should comprise, besides a description of the 
distinctive excellence of the goods exhibited, some useful information 
to the public respecting the means by which the results have been ob- 
tained, I shall detail some of the steps which preceded the discovery of 
these beautiful colours, and show how they have been successfully 
adapted to the art of dyeing. I may, en passant, state the interesting 
fact that a substance which was originally, and so recently as 1826, a 
purely scientific product, has become, by a series of discoveries, one of 
the most valuable of dye-stuffs. Thus in 1825, Faraday obtained for 
the first time benzine from coal gas. In 1826, Unverdorben dis- 
covered a substance which was ultimately named aniline by Fritsche 
and subsequently found by Dr. A. W. Hofmann to be a product of coal 
tar ; and further by the researches of eminent chemists, the benzine of 
Faraday has become the aniline of Hofmann. To effect this, the fol- 


* From the Jury Reports. 
VOL. III. E E 


306 - DYEING AND CALICO PRINTING. 


lowing simple and ingenious method has been devised. Benzine, one of 
the most volatile products of coal-tar, and now well known, is treated 
with strong nitric acid, when a violent action ensues, which gives rise 
to a substance called nitro-benzine; this is then mixed with acetic acid 
and iron filings, and the result of the chemical action is to convert the 
nitro-benzine into aniline, which is easily separated from the iron filings 
and other impurities by careful distillation. It is this substance which 
Mr. W. A. Perkin took in 1856, mixed with sulphuric acid and bichro- 
mate of potash, and successfully converted into the well-known dye 
called aniline purple, the applications of which in the late Exhibition 
were so beautiful and endless. To obtain this colour in the state required 


by the dyer it is necessary to extract it from the mass resulting from _ 


the action of sulphuric acid and bichromate of potash, by washing it 
with coal naphtha, which removes various useless tarry products, and 
then with alcohol, which dissolves the colour and renders it fit for use- 
Shortly after Mr. Perkin’s mauve was introduced to the trade, Messrs, 
Renard Fréres, of Lyons, obtained from aniline another colour, since 
well known under the name of magenta. This colour, which was first 
“observed by Mr. Natanson, in 1856, and produced by Dr. W. A. Hof- 
mann, in 1857, was commercially made in 1859 by M. Verguin, and 
successfully introduced into commerce by Messrs. Renard Fréres. Te 
prepare their magenta, or, as they called it, fuchsime, they heated for 
about twenty minutes at a temperature of 392°,a mixture of aniline 
and bichloride of tin. The dark mass so obtained was left to cool, and 
then boiled with hot water, and the solution of fuchsine filtered off. It 
was then only necessary to throw down the fuchsine from the solution 
by common salt, and to re-dissolve it in slightly acidulated water to 
render it fit for the dyer. This colour is now prepared in England most 
successfully, and in a high state of purity by Messrs. Simpson, Maule, 
and Nicholson. Their process consists in heating aniline with arsenic 
acid, and treating the mass when cold with boiling water. The colour 
is then purified and combined with acetic acid, which compound, being 
soluble in water, is ready for the dyer. 

Whilst dwelling on aniline, a blue colour also obtaimed from it 
should be noticed. It was first produced by Messrs. Persoz, De Luynes, 
and Salvétat, and subsequently manufactured commercially by Messrs. 
Renard Freres. This firm employs Girard’s method, which consists in 
mixing magenta with aniline, and heating the whole for several hours 
at a temperature of 359°, when the ‘Bleu de Lyon” is produced, and 
it is brought to a state of purity by acting on the mass at a boiling 
temperature, with a weak solution of hydrochloric acid. 

It would not be conveying a correct idea of the present state of 
knowledge respecting the aniline colours if I omitted to mention the 
interesting discovery recently made and published by Dr. A. W. Hof- 
mann, F.R.S., showing that the substance which gives the magenta 


DYEING AND CALICO PRINTING. 207 


colour is itself perfectly colourless, until it is combined with an acid 
and becomes red; thus when the colourless substance, named rosani- 
line, or 

CoH, .N;H20 


combines with acetic acid, acetate of rosaniline or magenta is formed, 
and constitutes the beautiful crowns of roseine exhibited by Messrs 
Simpson and Co. It is easy to prove by Dr. Hofmann’s extremely in- 
genious process, that roseine is an acetate of rosaniline, for by boiling 
roseine with ammonia, colourless crystals of ammonia are liberated. 
There is no doubt that the aniline purples and blues will be also traced 
to a colourless alkaloid, and it would not be surprising if this should 
prove to be isomeric or homologous with that producing roseine. 

Messrs. Laurent and Casthelaz, of France, have exhibited a red 
colour from coal-tar which deserves attention, as it is produced by a 
new and highly interesting chemical reaction, directly from nitro-ben- 
zine without the intermediate process of converting the latter into 
aniline. This product will be found under the name of erythro-benzine 
in their case. 

Messrs. Simpson, Maule, and Nicholson have also exhibited a beau- 
tiful yellow from aniline, which they call phosphéine, and a superb 
purple called regina purple, which is obtained by carefully heating 
roseine in a suitable apparatus at a temperature of about 400°. The 
mass obtained is heated with acetic acid and alcohol, when the regina 
purple is dissolved. 

Put to describe only the colours obtained from aniline would give 
~ an inadequate idea of the fertility which enables coal-tar to yield to the 
researches of the chemist such a variety of splendid dyes. Thus, for 
example, in 1860, Messrs. Guinon, Marnas, and Bonnet, of Lyons, in- 
troduced a beautiful brilliant blue colour from coal-tar products, under 
the name of azuline, obtained from phenye acid. These gentlemen, as 
well as Messrs. W. Adshead and Co., also exhibit specimens of silk 
dyed with another coal-tar product called picric acid, which is obtained 
by the action of nitric acid on carbolic acid. This beautiful yellow dye 
well known in 1851, has been extensively used with the coal-tar blues 
for the production of excellent greens, which possess the property of 
remaining green by artificial light. But the best examples of dyed- 
green silk-skeins in the Exhibition are those dyed with picric acid and 
then with very pure sulphate of indigo The dyer, however, replaces 
the sulphate of indigo by Prussian blue, when his object is to produce 
a green which shall appear as such by artificial light. 

These observations should not be brought to a conclusion without 
remarking that the coal-tar colours deserve attention for their power as 
well as for the facility with which they may be applied, for one grain 
will deeply tint half a gallon of water, and little or no skill is required 

= EE 2 


308 DYEING AND CALICO PRINTING. 


for their application. It is not intended in this short report to give a 
description of the numerous methods adopted to produce these new 
dyes, but only to mention those which are illustrated in the Exhibi- 
tion by their application to fabrics. 

Since 1851 and even since 1855, a most valuable improvement has 
been made in the manufacture of an important dye-stuff known under 
the name of orchil. Though this material yielded beautiful purple and 
violet dyes, they had the disadvantage of being extremely fugitive, the 
acid vapours of our large cities causing them to become red, and to fade 
rapidly. But the important desideratum of giving fastness to these bril- 
liant colours was obtained in 1856 by M. Marnas, of the firm of Guinon, 
Marnas, and Bonnet, who arrived at this valuable result by treating 
lichens, as suggested by Dr. Stenhouse, with milk of lime, filtering off 
the lime liquor, and precipitating the colour-giving principles from it 
with hydrochloric acid, gathering these on a filter, and after haying pro- 
perly washed them, dissolving them in caustic ammonia, and keeping 
this ammoniacal liquor at a temperature of 153° to 160° for twenty to 
twenty-five days. Under the influence of that temperature the colour- 
giving principles fix ammonia and oxygen, and are transformed into a new 
series of products which M. Marnas separates from the coloured liquor 
by adding chloride of calcium, causing a fine purple lake to be deposited, 
this, after being well washed and dried, is sold under the name of 
French purple. It is easy to understand that the chloride of calcium 
can be replaced by salts of alumina, tin, &c. What distinguishes this 
orchil colour from those previously known is, that it dyes animal fibres 
with greater facility than the common orchil, that it gives directly 
mauve colours, which can be modified with carmine of indigo, roseine, 
&c.; but the essential difference between these purples and those from 
common orchil is—that while the latter are destroyed by acids and 
light, those of M. Marnas, on the contrary, withstand these influences. 
To dye silk or wool with French purple it is simply necessary to to mix 
the lake with its weight of oxalic acid, boil with water, and then filter, 
the oxalate of lime remaining on the filter while the colour passes imto 
the filtrate. This liquor is then added to a slightly ammoniacal liquor, 
contained in the dye-beck, and all that is now necessary is to dip in the 
beck silk, wool, cotton mordanted with albumen, or cotton prepared as 
for Turkey-red, when any of these materials will become dyed with 
magnificent fast shades of purple or mauve. 

It is to be regretted that there is not a larger nuinber of examples of 
fabrics dyed with a most splendid colour, viz., murexide, or Roman 
purple, which was so extensively used in 1856 and 1857 by some of our 
largest dyers and printers. As this colour furnishes one more remark- 
able instance of the great assistance derived by practical art from the 
researches of science, I cannot refrain from giving here a short sketch 
of its history. In 1776, the illustrious Swedish chemist Scheele, dis- 


DYEING AND CALICO PRINTING, 309 


covered in human urine, uric acid. In 1817, Brugnatelli found that 
nitric acid transformed uric acid into a substance which he called ery- 
thric acid, but which was subsequently called by Wéhler and Liebig 
allozan. In 1818, Dr. Prout found that the latter substance gave, when in 
contact with ammonia, a beautiful purple-red colour, which he called pur- 
purate of ammonia—the product known by the name of murexide since 
the researches of Liebig and Wéhler, published about 1837, These dis- 
coveries remained dormant in the field of pure science until the year 
1851, when Dr. Saac observed that when alloxan eame into contact with 
the hand, it tinged it red. This led him to infer that alloxan might be 
employed to dye woollens red, and further experiments convinced him 
that if woollen cloth were prepared with a salt of tin, passed through 
a solution of alloxan, and then submitted to a gentle heat, a most 
beautiful and delicate pink colour resulted. In 1856, MM. Depouilly, 
Lauth, Meister, Petersen, and Albert Schlumberger, applied it as a dyeing 
material to silk and wool, and succeeded in obtaining red and purple 
colours, by mixing the murexide with corrosive sublimate, acetate of 
soda, and acetic acid. It will naturally be wondered where the supplies 
ef uric acid or murexide could be found to supply such a demand as at one 
time existed. The production of the colour from urie acid is in itself 
interesting, but still more so is the fact that chemical investigation has 
opened up a source of uric acid so unexpected and so extensive as that 
of Peruvian guano. To extract urie acid from guano, the latter is 
treated repeatedly with hydrochloric acid, until all soluble matters are 
removed by heat and washing. The insoluble mass, consisting chiefly 
of sand and uric acid, is carefully treated with nitric acid of specific 
gravity 1.40. When the action of the acid is completed, the mass is 
treated with warm water, and thrown on a filter. The filtrate, which 
has a yellowish colour, and contains alloxan, &c., is evaporated carefully 
to such a degree that when left to cool, it becomes a brownish-red, or 
violet solid, called by the inventor carmén de pourpre. 

In the French department, M. Charvin, of Lyons, has shown some’ 
specimens of silk dyed with the interesting green dye extracted by him 
from the Rhamnus catharticus, which is perfectly identical with the 
curious dye imported from China, and used in this country and in 
France in 1855 and 1856, known by the name of La-kao, 

The attention of the public is called to fine specimens of dyed black 
silk skeins in the English, Prussian, and French departments, bat 
especially in the latter, where M. Gilet of Lyons exhibitsa new black 
from the substance le Hennée des Arabes, which he imports from Alveria, 
and which he applies with great advantage to obtain a superior weighted 
black silk. 

With reference to dyed woollen yarns, there are some excellent dis- 
plays in the French, Prussian, and Hesse Cassel departments, but the 
beautiful collection of clouded woollen yarns of M. N. Raye, senior, of 


310 DYEING AND CALICO PRINIING. 


Brussels, deserves special notice, as they are remarkable for the neatness 
and precision of the junction of the colours. 

If the dyed cotton yarns exhibited do not illustrate any new dis- 
coveries, still the attention of the observer is strongly drawn to one 
class of yarns, of which a very extensive and varied assortment is shown 
and in which great excellence is attained, that is in Turkey-red dyed 
yarns. It is, therefore, desirable to give a slight description of this 
ancient (but frequently improved) process, which gives shades of such 
brilianey and fastness. Without entering into a full detail of the 
numerous and tedious manipulations undergone by the yarn in the 
course of its preparation for fixing the colouring principles of madder, 
it may be stated that the chief characteristic of Turkey-red dyeing, is 
the use of olive or gallipoli oil as a fixing agent. The bleached yarn is 
first soaked in a peculiar quality of this oil—I say peculiar, because the 
oil used must, when mixed with a small quantity of an alkaline car- 
bonate, form a white emulsion ; this is due, as we now known from M. 
Pelouze’s researches, to a ferment which the oil, as it is liberated from 
the berry, carries with it, and which resolves the oil into its component 
parts, viz., glyecrine and fatty acids ; and it is the oils so modified which 
are adapted for Turkey-red dyemg, The yarns saturated with these 
acids are dipped into a solution of carbonate of soda, and then exposed 
to the action of the air, or air and steam ina warm room. After this 
treatment has been repeated a sufficient number of times, the yarns are 
passed through a solution of nut-galls, then into a solution of a salt of 
alumina, called red mordant, and the yarn so prepared is ready for dye- 
ing, to effect which it is boiled for two or three hours ina bath to which 
madder-root has been added. Lastly, the brillaney of the colour is 
completed by boiling the yarns in a strong solution of soap. This 
method of preparing cotton for dyeing has enabled dyers to apply with 
success the aniline purple. 

The dyed fabries exhibited in the Indian department will be 
examined with great interest, and, considering the limited means at the 
disposal of the dyer, the goods are deserving of public notice, es- 
pecially with reference to the beauty and brilliancy of some of the dyes, 
which are well illustrated by the exhibitors, Rao Venkata and Rao 
Papana ; there are also several displays amongst the manufactured goods 
which are worth examination. It may be here suggested, that 
great advantage to these arts might be obtained if the Indian govern- 
ment were to take steps to forward to this country some of the dye- 
stuffs used by the Indian dyers, in quantities sufficient for practical 
trials. For if we consider the wonderful progress which Turkey-red 
dyeing has made with European appliances, and with the assistance of 
chemistry, as compared with the mode in which it was carried on for 
centuries in India, it is impossible to say what advantages might result 
to India ; if, for instance, the new green of Dr. Thompson, the Jack- 


DYEING AND CALICO PRINIING. 311 


wood, (a@rtocarpus integrifolia) A., or the Kayu Kudrang, &e., of which 
specimens are exhibited in this department, were imported into this 
country in such quantities as to receive some practical applications. 

I]. Carico Printinag.—The printers of Great Britain, though compara- 
tavely few, have shown by many examples that they are well able to 
avail themselves of the mechanical and chemical means at their dis- 
posal for producing a large variety of goods fitted, both by design and 
execution, for this as well as for numerous foreign markets ; and there 
ean be little doubt that the close observer of the goods exhibited, even 
by a few only of our best printers, will form the opinion that no country 
surpasses, if it equals Great Britain in the class of goods called “ cheap 
and fast prints,” which class, after all, forms the great staple of our pro- 
duction, supplying, as it does, the great demands of the million. It 
should be kept in mind in estimating the comparative merits of dif- 
ferent styles of printing, that the great aim of the British manufacturer 
is to find cheap methods of producing in large quantities good, but at 
the same time low-priced prints ; for some of our printers will turn 
out as many as a million or a million and a half of pieces in a single 
year. It follows, therefore, that the printers of Great Britain, as well 
as those of several other countries, are obliged to cultivate both pre- 
eision and rapidity of execution, impossible of attainment with methods 
which may well remunerate the foreigner who aims at extreme delicacy 
and finish of workmanship, but whose interest, at the same time, is to 
produce only in limited quantity. For instance, several of the leading 
French houses exhibit goods which, at a short distance, appear like 
embroidery, instead of, as they are, merely prints; this effect is ob- 
tained by pasting the entire piece on a long table or frame, and then 
skilfully applying the colour with blocks. When the piece has been 
removed, washed, and finished, the colours have a body, and at the 
some time, through not having penetrated the substance of the cloth, 
they acquire a transparency which produces on the eye an effect as if 
the pattern were in relievo. 

Before entering into the details of che various styles of printing 
exhibited, and of the methods by which they are produced, it is desir- 
able to make a few remarks on the distinguishing characteristics of other 
European countries. : 

Austria has never appeared to equal advantage in any previous 
Exhibition ; the designs are varied and in good taste, and the quality 
of colour and neatness of impression are alike excellent. 

Though the Zollverein shows no printed calico, there is a good col- 
lection of printed silk handkerchiefs, and a fine collection of cheap 
printed shawls and carpets from Saxony. 

Russia has displayed, as already noticed, some goods specimens of 
Turkey-red dyeing, especially those obtained with the species of madder 
known by the name of Marena; also a good collection of goods well 
suited for Eastern markets, especially in the style called Lapis. 


312 DYEING AND CALICO PRINTING. 


It is to be regretted that the best printers of Belgium and Switzer- 
land, like those of Great Britain and the Zollverein, have abstained 
from exhibiting, and it is therefore impossible to form a correct, idea of 
the progress of calico printing in those countries. 

It may be as well to state here, though there are no prints of native 
production in the Indian Department worth notice, the Cotton Supply 
Association has exhibited, through Mr. Cheetham, some fine specimens 
of goods printed in England on Surat cotton ; and although the details 
of the processes used are not sufficiently known for a close comparison 
of these goods with similar ones printed on American cotton, still the 
results are so good as to be highly satisfactory, and warrant the belief 
that Surat cotton may be very extensively substituted for American. 

What has been already said will doubtless have led to the 
anticipation that the printed goods exhibited inthe French department 
are, generally speaking, of a very high class, and justify the reputation 
which the best printers of France have long since acquired, especially 
in those fashionable styles known popularly by the name of haute 
nouveauté. In this class of prints elegance of design, beauty of colour, 
and delicacy of execution stand unrivalled by those of any other nation, 
and they have applied the new tar colours with a perfection of skill 
which leaves nothing to be desired. It will also be seen in the course 
of this report that they have exhibited several original improvements. 

III. Priament Printinc.—This style of printing has been developed to 
such an extent within a few years as to demand a slight historical 
sketch of successive phases through which it has passed. Pigment 
printing made but little progress for many years, owing to the insuffi- 
cient variety of pigments, and the difficulty of finding a proper fixing 
agent which would give the pigment the required consistency, and at 
the same time cause it to adhere to the cloth. Artificial ultramarine 
was the first pigment attempted to be printed, and in 1843 india-rubber 
dissolved in naphtha was proposed as the fixing agent; but from the dan- 
ger of fire, and other reasons, this was abandoned. In 1847, egg 
albumen was introduced into this country for the same purpose, but 
owing to the coarseness of the ultramarine, and its high price (about 8/. 
per pound, which is now Is. 3d.), the progress of this mode of print- 
ing was much retarded. In 1849, Mr. R. T. Paterson, of Glasgow, 
patented the use of caseine from milk, which he called lactarine, and 
thereby promoted the use of ultramarine, buff, and stone pigments in 
shawl printing. About the same period another fixing agent was intro- 
duced, viz., albumen obtained from blood. The style of pigment print- 
ing, however, received an extraordinary impetus in the spring of 1859, 
when the purple aniline of Mr. Perkin, and the French purple of Messrs. 
Guinon, Marnas, and Bonnet were introduced to the trade, and led to 
the production of those splendid mauves and purples which astonished 
the world by their beauty and brilliancy. These were obtained by 


ys | > a 


>i 


DYEING AND CALICO PRINTING, dl 


printing albumen or lactarine on muslin, and fixing the same by coagu- 
lating it by the action of steam. The pieces were then passed into the 
dye-beck, containing in solution either aniline purple, or French purple, 
when the albumen or lactarine took up the colour, and fixed it on the 
cloth, afver which the pieces were thoroughly washed, to remove any ex- 
cess of colour. In the middle of the same year a beautiful green pig- 
ment, which had been patented in 1859 by Mr. Guignet, was introduced ; 
and as it is extensively employed, it may be interesting to know how 
this green oxide of chrome is produced. Three parts of boracic acid are 
intimately mixed with one part of bichromate of potash, and a sufficient 
quantity of water to form the whole into a thick paste. It is then intro- 
duced into a furnace, and heated to a dull red heat, when a borate of 
potash, and a borate of oxide of chrome are produced. The mass is 
allowed to cool, and is then thrown into cold water, when the borate of 
potash dissolves, and the borate of oxide of chrome is decomposed. The 
hydrate of oxide of chromium, Cr,O0, +3 HO, falls to the bottom as a 
magnificent green powder, requiring only to be well washed and drained 
to be ready for use. 

The peculiarity of this green, as well as of one prepared by M. 
Arnaudon, of Turin, from phosphate of ammonia and bichromate of 
potash, is that, besides being of a brilliant green, it maintains this colour 
by artificial light. In November, 1859, the magenta colour, or fuchsine, 
of Messrs. Renard Fréres, was introduced to the printing trade, and 
fixed by the above-described method. The beautiful pinks thus pro- 
duced were soon followed by the application of roseine, azaléine, and 
other aniline reds. In May, 1859, a further improvement was made 
which reduced the cost of applying these colours to muslins, by Mr 
Walter Crum, who made the curious observation, that if the gluten of 
wheat flour is allowed, by exposure to the atmosphere, to fall into a 
semi-fluid condition, it dissolves easily in a weak solution of caustic 
soda, which solution he used as a substitute for albumen or lactarine. 
About the same time Mr. Scheurer Kestner also introduced the use of 
gluten by the aid of weak acids ; and Messrs, W. A. Perkin and Matthew 
Gray, of the Dalmarnock Printing Company, proposed to fix the coal- 
tar colours on fabrics by means of a lead-soap. 

Early in 1860, calico printers succeeded in printing the aniline 
colours directly with the animal mordants, instead of dyeing the mor- 
dants after the latter were printed and fixed, and thus were enabled not 
only to print a variety of colours on the same piece, but also to effect a 
great saving and simplicity in the operation. By this means the pig- 
ment style was fully developed, and an entirely new class of prints was 
introduced. 

Owing to the great extension of this style, the cost of the animal 
mordants employed became such a serious consideration as to cause 
anxious search for other means of fixing the colours ; and Messrs, Cal- 


314 DYEING AND CALICO PRINTING. 


vert and Lowe having observed, in 1856, that tanning matters would 
precipitate and render insoluble certain coal-tar colours, further ob- 
served, at the end of 1859, that taunin, when printed on prepared cloth, 
and submitted to the action of the steam, would become fixed, and serve 
as a mordant for the coal-tar colours. But it was only in 1860 that this 
result was practically carried out by Mr. Gratrix, and although the 
aniline purples so fixed are faster against soap than those printed with 
albumen, they do not so perfectly resist the action of light. The pro- 
cess preferred by Mr. Gratrix consisted in making cloth prepared with 
oxide of tin, such as is generally used for steam colours, and after having 
prepared it with a gall-nut solution, submitting it to the action of steam, 
when the tannin becomes fixed and insoluble : the pieces are then passed 
through a dunging liquor, washed, and then into a beck containing 
aniline purple, mixed with a little acetic acid. As the bath is gradually 
carried to the boil, the colour fixes itself on the tannin, and thus pro- 
duces the print; but, as the whites are rather soiled, the pieces are 
passed into a weak acid bath, or through a weak solution of printing 
clearing liquor, such as used for garancine. 

In 1861, Messrs. Nathaniel Lloyd and E. G. Dale introduced a pro- 
cess, the leading feature of which is the use of tartar-emetic as the agent 
for fixing aniline purple. 

Although it has been long known to chemists that aniline would 
yield a green colour under certain oxidizing agents, up to the present 
time all efforts to dye silk or wool commercially with it have failed, 
but in 1860, Messrs. Calvert, Clift, and Lowe introduced a most easy 
and practical method of producing it under the name of emeraldine, on 
cotton fabrics. The process consists in printing an acid chloride of ani- 
line on a cotton fabric prepared with chlorate of potash, and in a few 
hours a beautiful bright green gradually appears, which only requires 
to be washed. If the green fabric is passed through a solution of bi- 
chromate of potash, this colour is transformed into a dark indigo blue, 
called azurine. The productionof this colour directly on the fabric is most 
important, and it will probably lead to the similar production of the 
other coal-tar colours, without previous treatment, directly on the cloth. 
By this means not only the great loss of aniline in the original produe- 
tion of the colour will be avoided, but a considerable economy of mor- 
dants will be effected. 

It is by availing themselves extensively of the pigment style of 
printing that the French have given such an attractive appearance to 
their display of printed fabrics in the Exhibition ; and by the aid of the 
remarkable talent possessed by this people for combining various con- 
trivances, such as the block, perrotine, and roller, they have sueceeded 
not only in producing beautiful effects, but also in perfectly imitating 
madder and steam chintz styles, in which the colours simultaneously 
printed by these various modes are adjusted one to the other with per- 


fect accuracy. 


DYEING AND CALICO PRINTING. ; 315 


It should be observed that the great facility which attends the appli- 
cation of the tar colours and pigments generally, as compared with mad- 
der styles, reduces printing (apart from design) nearer to the level of a 
mechanical art than would at first sight appear. In a word, thanks to 
the brilliancy of those colours, their affinity for aaimal matters, and 
the facility of using several pigments at the same time, the execution of 
complicated designs on fabrics is no longer beset with what were for- 
merly insuperable difficulties. 

A most interesting and valuable methud of applying aniline colours 
in fabrics has been devised by M. Onfroy, of Paris. It consists in print- 
ing the aniline red, purple, or blue, on a solid black or brown ground, 
in which gallic acid has been used instead of the ordinary tanning mat- 
ters, the result of which is, that the black or brown ground is more 
easily reduced, so that if he mixes with the aniline colours and animal 
mordants some acid, such as oxalic acid, the black or brown is destroyed, 
and the aniline colour fixed. This produces a new effect. While speak- 
ing of this important improvement, it may be as well to ailude to two 
other inventions introduced by the same gentleman. One of these, 
ealled by him T%reur mécanique, isa great improvement on the old Tobby 
sieve, or the other mechanical means which have been devised to enable 
the block-printer to carry on his block several colours at once. M. 
Onfroy has succeeded in enabling the block-printer, by simply moving 
his feet, to feed the surface of his sieve with a great variety of colours, 
and to level them with a brush, also mechanically moved, so that whilst 
he is applying the block to the fabric the machine is preparing the 
colour for feeding it afresh. M. Onfroy has also invented a me- 
chanical contrivance which may be very useful to the calico- 
printer, and which he calls a_ résiste tambour. It consists of a 
large cylinder, three or four feet in circumference, covered with folds of 
cloth, which are made to adhere by a solution of caoutchoue ; over this 
is placed a layer of felt, in which the blanks in the pattern to be printed 
are cut out. The roller is so placed in the machine as to print the resists 
required. 

It is highly probable that the style of pigment printing will receive 
a great impulse from the introduction of lakes generally ; and this opinion 
is supported by the beautiful specimens of cotton printed with alumina 
lakes, of the colouring principle of madder exhibited in the French de- 
partment, as well as by the varied collection of lakes, especially of bav- 
wood lake, prepared with oxide of tin, by Messrs. Roberts, Dale, and 
Company. 

SreaM CoLtours.—Though no marked improvement has occurred of 
late years in this branch of calico printing, still it is so largely used at 
the present day, especially in producing furniture prints, thatitis desirable 
to give an outline of its chief characteristics. Either the colour is mixed 
with a mordant and then printed on the cloth and submitted to the action 


316 DYEING AND CALICO PRINTING. 


of steam in a close chamber or over a pertorated cylinder, or the pieces 
are passed through a tin solution, the oxide of tin being precipitated on 
the fabric by a chemical process, when the colour, properly thickened, is 
printed and afterwards submitted to the action of steam. It is chiefly 
by this style of printing that such fine effects are produced upon mixed 
fabrics of cotton and wool. 

Since 1855, the production of furniture prints by machinery has under- 
gone a great development, owing to several important improvements ;° 
firstly, to the great advances in the art of engraving rollers ; secondly, 
to the manufacture and employment of very large rollers, some of which 
have a circumference of forty-three inches, and a length of forty-four ; 
thirdly, to the easy application of the gum roller, which resulted in the 
production of a class of goods first noticed at the Paris Exhibition of 
1855. The gum roller deserves notice because of the extensive use now 
made of it by the printers of furniture goods. It is, of course, understood 
that, to produce light shades of colour, the darker ones are diluted with 
gum-water or reducing liquid: this was the work of the colour mixer, 
and, therefore, to print four colours and four shades of each colour, six- 
teen rollers would be necessary. Mr. Burch’s gum-roller reduces the 
colour upon the cloth during the process of printing. The pattern of the 
paler shades of each colour in a chintz design being engraved upon one 
roller, an impression of reducing liquid is first given off upon the cloth, 
then that of the other rollers following in the usual order; where the 
various colours fall upon the gum-water a lighter shade is produced, 
owing to the dilution of the colour on those parts, which effect may be 
still further heightened by lightly engraving the corresponding parts 
of the colouring roller, so that a less quantity of colours shall be 
given off. 

The introduction of the tar colours has enabled the woollen and silk 
printers to obtain, with the aid of steam, most excellent effects, by which 
many of them, chiefly foreigners, have displayed a great variety of very 
beautiful goods. 

There was in the French department, exhibited by Mr. Brunet Lecomte, 
a most interesting display of printed silks obtained by a new mode of 
printing silk warps, by which the woven fabric has all the appearance of 
having been printed, though it is well known that when this is done in 
the usual way the patterns have always a clouded and chiné appearance. 

Mapper StryLes.—The improvements which have occurred in this, 
the most important branch of calico printing, since 1851, have tended to 
facilitate, and consequently to cheapen production rather than to give us 
finer or more brilliant-coloured goods. Improvements, more or less con- 
siderable, have taken place in nearly every stage of the manufacture, but 
it is not proposed in this report to enter into their details except into 
those of one important improvement. Madder and its derivatives, how- 
ever, play such a conspicuous part in calico printing, that this report 


DYEING AND CALICO PRINTING. 317 


would be incomplete without some information respecting this style, 
which still occupies the foremost rank in the printing art. 

To obtain prints of this important style, white calico, bleached with 
especial care, is printed by engraved copper rollers with one or more 
mordants, such as the pyrolignites or acetates of iron and alumina, which, 
under the influence of “ ageing” (to be presently noticed), are so decom- 
posed or modified by the oxygen and moisture of the atmosphere as to 
leave on the cloth either an insoluble oxide or a subsalt, and these become 
the intermediate agent for fixing on the fabric the colouring matters 
called alizarine or purpurine ; iron giving from a dark purple to a light 
lilac, alumina from a dark red to a pink, and mixtures of the two mor- 
dants a variety of chocolate tints. After the process of “ageing,” the 
pieces are passed through a hot solution of the double phosphates of soda 
and lime, the arsenite and arseniate of soda or the silicate of soda, which 
“dung substitutes” have completely superseded the use of cow-dung in 
the process of “dunging,” the object of which is to fix thoroughly the 
mordant on the cloth, and to remove any excess that may have been used 
without allowing it to fix itself on the white or unmordanted parts. By 
the introduction of these dung substitutes and improved dunging vats, a 
great saving of time, labour, and expense, has been effected, thousands of 
pieces being now done in the same vat where formerly hundreds only 
could have been treated. 

The pieces, after having been well washed, are ready for the dye-beck, 
in which the mordants assume the colours for which they are adapted. 
Here also a slight improvement has been made, the advantage of which 
is a saving of time, the mordants becoming saturated with alizarine and 
purpurine in one hour and a quarter, or with the colouring principles of 
madder in two hours. After leaving the dye-becks, the pieces are tho- 
roughly washed in the improved washing machines, but as the white 
parts (or those not mordanted) are still soiled, and the colours dim, it is 
necessary to place the pieces for half an hour into a rather strong soap 
solution heated to 180°, by which the loose dye is removed both from 
the white parts and those on which colour has been fixed. To finally 
brighten the colours and completely clean the white portions, the pieces 
are passed into a weak solution of a mixture called “ chymic,” or an alka- 
line hypochlorite of soda with a little sulphate of zinc, until the desired 
effect is obtained ; but latterly this process has been improved by pass- 
ing the goods rapidly into chymic and then through a steam chest. As 
they have not yet, however, a commercial appearance, they further 
undergo what is called “ finishing,” that is, the pieces are passed through 
a solution of flour which has been fermented for several weeks, starch, 
farina, &c., and then between rollers ; after which they are dried and 
passed through calenders, the object of these last operations being to fill 
up the interstices of the cloth and give it a glossy appearance. 

Though it is thought advisable to abstain here from entering into the 
details of the numerous improvements which have found their way into 


318 DYEING AND CALICO PRINTING. 


every step of madder printing, still there is one process so pre-eminently 
important in its practical results, and so interesting in a scientific point 
of view, as to exact a more extended notice. 

The process of “ ageing” in calico printing is that by which a mor- 
dant, after being applied to a cotton fabric, is placed in circumstances 
favourable to its being completely incorporated with and fixed in the 
fibre. Thus it has generally been found necessary that calico printed 
with a mordant should, before dyeing, be exposed in single folds to the 
atmosphere for several days in the ageing room; the object being to 
liberate the acetic acid from the acetates of iron or sulpho-acetate of 
alumina, and to oxidize the oxide of iron. It was for many years be- 
lieved that oxygen was the only necessary agent, and though some 
printers had observed that moisture facilitated the process, the fact was 
not generally known until Mr. John Thom suggested the introduction of 
moisture as an important agent in the phenomena of ageing. The first 
printer, however, who, as far as I am aware, practically applied this dis- 
covery was Mr. Walter Crum, F.R.S.; and the great saving effected by 
the judicious employment of steam in this process cannot be better 
stated than by giving, in Mr. Crum’s own words, the particulars of the 
plan adopted at Thornliebank Print Works :— 

“ A building is employed, forty-eight feet long inside, and forty feet 
high, with a mid wall from bottom to top running lengthwise, so as to 
form two apartments, each eleven feet wide. 

“Tn one of these apartments the goods first receive the moisture they 
require, Besides the ground floor, it has two open sparred floors twenty- 
six feet apart, upon eaeh of which is fixed a row of tin rollers, all long 
enough to contain two pieces of cloth at their breadth. The rollers 
being threaded, are set in motion by a small steam engine, and the 
goods to be aged, which are first placed in the ground floor, are drawn 
into the chamber above, where they are made to pass over and under 
each roller, issuing at last at the opposite end, where they are folded 
into bundles on one (at a time) of the three stages that are placed there. 
These stages are partially separated from the rest of the chamber by 
woollen cloths. 

«While the goods are traversing these rollers, they are exposed to 
heat and moisture, furnished to them by steam, which is made to issue 
gently from three rows of trumpet-mouth openings. The temperature 
is raised from 80 deg. to 100 deg. or more—a wet-bulb thermometer in- 
dicating at the same time 76 deg. to 96 deg., or always 4 deg. less than 
the dry bulb thermometer. In this arrangement fifty pieces, of twenty 
yards, are exposed at one time, and as each piece is a quarter of an hour 
under the influence of the steam, 200 pieces pass through in an hour. 
Although workpeople need scarcely ever enter the warmest part of this 
chamber, a ventilator in the roof is opened when there is any consider- 
able evolution of acetic acid. 

“The mordant, as already explained, does not become fully “aged” 


DYEING AND CALICO PRINTING. 319 
by this process alone, although as much so as if it had hung a whole day 
in cold air. It has received, however, the requisite quantity of moisture 
(about seven per cent. of the weight of the printed piece), and is thereby 
enabled, if an iron mordant, to take oxygen from the air, and to become 
changed (with time) into the sexquiacetate and sesyuihydrate of iron. 
In order to be sufficiently aged it must be left one or two, or even three 
days in an atmosphere still warm and moist. 

“Tt had fortunately been ascertained long before, at Thornliebank, 
that exposure in single folds after moistening was not necessary. Mr. 
Graham’s experiments on the diffusion of gases through small apertures 
had served to suggest that for the absorption of the small quantity of 
oxygen required, the goods might as well be wrapped up and laid in 
heaps. Accordingly in the operation in question, the moistened goods 
are carried in bundles into the building on the opposite side of the mid 
wall already mentioned, and deposited there on the sparred floors, which 
are placed there at heights corresponding with the stages in the first 
apartment on which the goods are folded down. Upon these floors seven 
or eight thousand pieces may be laid at a time, and as each -piece is 
twenty -five yards long, 100 miles is therefore the quantity that can be 
stored at once. It is necessary, of course, that an elevated teimaerature, 
and a corresponding degree of moisture be preserved in the storing de- 
partments day and night, and 80 deg. of Fahrenheit is sufficient with the 
wet-bulb at 76 deg. To effect that object a large iron pipe is placed 
along the ground floor underneath, and moderately heated by steam, 
while a row of small jets in the same position are made to project steam 
directly into the air of the apartment. The whole building is defended 
from external cold, and consequently from condensation of steam, by a 
warmed entrance room, and by double windows and double roofs. 
Small steam pipes are also placed at other points where they seem to be 
required ; and the apartment with rollers is specially heated when not 
in use, by a couple of steam pipes, which are placed under the ceiling of 
the ground floor. 

“‘ The process of ageing, as thus detailed, was in operation at Thorn- 
lebank in the autumn of 1856. About a year afterwards it began to 
be adopted by other printers, and now it is already in use in at least 
sixteen different printing extablishments in Scotland and Lancashire.” 

One of the greatest benefits which chemistry has conferred upon 
manufactures is that of finding profitable employment for refuse mate- 
rials. Thus it was for along time considered that madder when re- 
moved from the dyebecks was exhausted, or to use the technical term, 
“spent.” It was, however, discovered in 18438, by M. Schwartz, that 
if this refuse was mixed with sulphuric acid, and heated for several 
hours by steam, a considerable quantity of colouring matter was 
liberated, and after the spent madder was well washed, and all trace of 
acid removed, a product was obtained to which he gave the name of 


320 DYEING AND CALICO PBINTING. 


gurancuxz, and which could be used for producing colours, if not so fast 
as those of madder, still a good imitation of them. This process is now 
adopted at all print works, especially for obtaining various shades of red 
and chocolate. : 

When, instead of spent madder, fresh madder root is treated by the 
above process, the result is a substance called garancine, the use of which 
has very greatly extended since 1851. The advantage obtained by 
converting madder into garancine instead of using it in its original form, 
is that it saves the printer much expense, as goods dyed with garancine 
do not require soaping to obtain good whites, a slight chymic and good 
washing being sufficient. 

The defect presented by this class of goods, viz., their inability to 
resist the action of soap, led Messrs. Pincoff and Schunck to search for 
a substitute, which they discovered in 1853, and called “ commercial 
alizarine.” This material, which has been of late years most extensively 
employed by several printing firms, is obtained by taking principally 
garancine prepared as above, thoroughly depriving it of acid, and sub- 
mitting it to the action of high-pressure steam, when the substance 
called verantine is decomposed or modified, so as to stain the whites 
less, and not to interfere with the purple-dying power of alizarine. The 
advantages possessed by this product are :—the production of good lilacs 
economically and without soaping ; great promptitude and regularity in 
the production ; facility of producing combination of lilacs with catechu 
and lilac with chocolate, which results cannot be so satisfactorily 
obtained with madder or garancine ; production of lilac shades graduated 
ad libitum as to cost ; lastly, economy of mordants. 

Mr. Higgins has lately devised a method of preparing commercial 
alizarine which differs from that of Messrs. Pincoff and Schunck, in that 
he boils garancine, and carbonate of soda, and a little ammonia. The 
liquor, which is alkaline at starting, becomes acid after being boiled 
twenty-four hours, and converts the garancine into alizarine. 

Another preparation of madder, known under the name of flower of 
madder, which is now extensively used by continental printers, was 
introduced to the trade in 1852, by MM. Julian and Rojuer. It is ob- 
tained by allowing madder to ferment, and then washing it thoroughly, 
which removes from it not only all soluble matters, such as sugar, 
mucilaginous substances, acids, &c., which interfere with the fixation 
of the alizarine on the various mordants, but also (in accordance with 
Dr. Schunk’s researches, on the influence of the ferment erythrozym on 
rubian) increases the quantity of the colour-giving principles,—alizarine 
and purpurine. It is found by experience that 100 parts of flower of 
madder are equal to about 200 parts of ordinary ground roots, and that 
the shades are finer, the pinks and reds also having greater solidity. 
Mr. Mucklow has recently introduced a process similar to the above, 
which consists in alternately macerating and pressing madder roots, so 


DYE{NG AND CALICO PRINTING. 321 
as to expel from them various substances which, as above stated, inter- 
fere with the dyeing of the fabrics. 

PURPURINE AND Green ALIZARINE.—Messrs. Schaaff andLauth exhi- 
bited in the French department, most beautiful commercial preparations 
obtained from madder, and called purpurine and green alizarine ; and as 
these substances are now applied by continental printers, and as the 
process for obtaining them (devised by Mr. Emile Kopp, a most eminent 
chemist) is very interesting, it is deemed advisable to give here a short 
notice of it. Six hundred pounds of ground madder are allowed to 
macerate for ten hours in a vat containing 800 to 1000 gallons of a 
solution of sulpburous acid, and after running off this liquor, the 
madder is again treated with 200 to 250 gallons of the same acid 
solution. These liquors are then mixed with three per cent of sul- 
phuric acid, specific gravity 1°60, and the whole heated to about 100 deg. 
by means of steam, when the purpurine separates itself under the form 
of large red flakes, which, ina few hours settle at the bottom of the vat. 
The liquors are then run off, and carried to ebullition for three or four 
hours, when a new substance called green alizarine is liberated and pre- 
cipitates. Both these products require only washing to be ready for 
the printer. The dyeing power of these new substances is remarkable, 
that of purpurine being equal to forty or fifty times the same quantity 
ef madder, and the green alizarine to thirty-eight times that of madder. 
The 600 lbs. of madder yield about 4 lbs. of purpurine and about 16lbs 
ef alizarine. The madder treated as above described, can be converted 
into garancine, the dyeing power of which is equal to half that of 
erdinary garancine. Green alizarine can be employed for the same 
purposes as commercial alizarine. Purpurine gives magnificient reds 
and pinks with alumina mordants, but no purple with iron mordants. 
Purpurine, however, will probably be chiefly employed as a pigment or 
in steam printing. 

PRINTED AND PLAIN TURKEY-RED FAaprics.—The process for produc- 
ingTurkey-red on fabrics being identical with that followed for yarns, it is 
unnecessary to repeat here the details of the precess. But besides the 
intricate and difficult manipulation which Turkey-red goods have to 
undergo, there is another peculiarity connected with them, viz., the 
method by which the whites are obtained, which is the reverse of that 
followed with madder goods, in which the whites are preserved, whilst 
in the case of Turkey-red the whites are obtained by destroying the 
colour after it has been fixed. This is done by printing tartaric acid on 
the cloth, and then bringing it into contact with bleaching liquor (or 
kypochloric of lime), or by forcing a weak solution of sulphuric acid 
and bleaching powder through perforated plates, the result being that 
the red is destroyed on those parts where the acid bleaching liquor has 
come in contact with the fabric. 


In conclusion, it should be stated that the business of calico printing 
VOL. III. FEF 


322 ADULTERATION OF WAX. 


has enormously increased since 1851, and that many of the printing 
establishments in this country, and also, no doubt, on the Continent, 
have doubled their productions ; andit may be added, on the authority 
of Mr. E. Potter, M.P., that the quantity of printed goods exported, 
which, in 1851, was about six and a half millions of pieces, had risen, in 
1857, to about twenty-seven millions of pieces. 


ADULTERATION OF WAX. 
BY BARNARD S. PROCTOR. 


Wax, both in its bleached and unbleached conditions, is much sab- 
ject to adulteration, so much so, that the purity of foreign yellow wax 
is always considered as very doubtful, and the impurity of white cake 
wax is generally looked upon as almost certain, The foreign matters 
fraudulently occurring in either variety may be divided into two elasses : 
those which are fusible or soluble in melted wax, at water-bath tcm- 
perature, and those which remain solid or unmixed with the melted wax 
under these circumstances. The latter, being so easily detected, are 
much less frequently present, and require no special notice at present. 
Resin, fat, and spermaceti are the principal materials to be looked for in 
the former class. Christison and Pereira both refer to all these materials: 
and instruct us to examine for resin by the action of eold aleohol, which 
they say removes nothing from pure wax ; this, however, will be looked 
upon with doubt, since recent analyses of wax show that one of its prin- 
ciples (cerolein) is soluble in cold alcohol. It constitutes four or five 
per cent. of the wax ; it is of a greasy nature, and imparts colour, odour, 
and tenacity, which are wanting in the other two constituents (cerotic 
acid, the amount of which varies from 22 per cent. downwards, and my- 
ricin, which forms the great bulk of the material). 

Fatty matters are to be detected, according to the above authors, by 
the softness, stickiness, the odour and the taste which they impart. 
Spermaceti, which we are informed is constantly added to white wax to 
improve its colour, is passed over without any means for its detection 
being suggested ; this, no doubt, arises from the analogy in the chemi- 
cal characters of the two materials affording no ready means by which 
to recognise an admixture, and from the fact that, pharmaceutically and 
therapeutically, there is no great difference in the properties and value 
_of the two. - J 

It is a deception, however, which is only tolerated, either in phar- 
macy or commerce, from the difficulty of obtaining any decided results 
from any examination not too complicated for the purposes of the retail 
trader. 


ADULTERATION OF WAX. 323 


A close attention to the physical properties of the sample probably 
affords the only means of determining its quality, which is suitable asa 
suide to the tradesman in making his purchases from the wholesale 
dealer. 'The following results will be found useful as a guide to the 
presence and probable quantity of the above adulterants. Good samples 
of yellow wax and genuine white block wax were melted in a water- 


bath, with spermaceti, pale amber resin, and lard, in various proportions, 
as below :— 


No. 1. Yellow wax 8 Spermaceti 1 
» 2 ”? 8 ” 2 
Sil ea . 8 Lard 2 
Pte op 8 Resin g 
9D ” 8 ” 1 
», 6. Block white wax 8; Spermaceti 2 
1 

EE ie 27) ream en 
8. Pr 8 Lard 1 
Reo: 9 8 Spermaceti 8 
» 10. ”? 8 5») 24 
8 

ay HUE 39 8 Tear 4 


All these additions detracted from the hardness and toughness of the 
wax. The yellow wax was “improved in appearance” by all the addi- 
tions ; its odour was not perceptibly affected by the spermaceti ; the 
lard gave it a slightly greasy smell ; the resin was distinctly perceptible 
in the larger proportion, barely so in the smaller. The white wax was 
improved in appearance by the spermaceti and lard, but injured by the 
resin. The odours of the lard and resin were more readily detected 
in the white thanin the yellow wax. In both cases the odour of the 
lard was more readily detected by rubbing the sample upon a plaster 
spatula heated a little above 212°, but not so hot as to make vapours 
rise from the wax, the odour of the resin was very distinct when 
sought in this way, and not less so when the heat was raised to the 
smoking point. 

The rough mealy fracture of pure wax is rendered finer-grained, 
smoother, and duller, by the addition of lard or spermaceti, and becomes 
sparkling and more granular by the addition of resin. 

Pure wax becomes kneadable at about 85°, and its behaviour, while 
worked between the finger and thumb, is characteristic. A piece the size of 
a pea being worked in the hand till tough with the warmth, then placed 
upon the thumb, and forcibly stroked down with the forefinger, curls 
up, following the finger, and is marked by it with longitudinal streaks 
The samples Nos. 1 and 2, when worked in the same manner, are softer, 
curl less by the stroke of the finger, and instead of longitudinal streaks 

FR2 


B24 OILS AND FATS, ETC. 


have a granular or flaky surface. No. 3 spreads on the thumb like 
cerate. No.4 is softer than the pure wax, more sticky, spreads more 
readily, curls less, but takes the longitudinal streaks. No. 5, very simi- 
lar to No. 4. No. 6 is like Nos. and 2 m consistence. No. 7, soft, 
sticky, and of a bad colour. No. 8 spreads like cerate. No. 9, softer than 
pure wax, capable of being spread with the finger, curls less than pure 
wax, and takes a granular, mealy surface. No. 10 erumbles into @ 
mealy condition when kneaded. No. 11 spreads like cetate. Perhaps 
new yellow soap affords the best comparison for the sticky feeling of the 
samples containing lard, and also ef the manner of their spreading on 
the thumb when rubbed. 

From a comparison of the samples Nos. 9 and 10 with white eake 
wax, as supphed by wholesale houses of the highest reputation, f ams 
satisfied that in many cases it is half spermaceti, and In some as much 
as two-thirds spermaceti to one of wax, which is supplied to us under 
this name.* 


OILS AND FATS SHOWN AT THE INTERNATIONAL 
EXHIBITION. 


BY THE EDITOR. 


A very large number of oils, some of them quite new to commerce, 
were shown at the International Exhibition, and as many of these pro- 
bably never came under the notice of persons interested, a few notes 
upon them may be found of practical use in many quarters, accom- 
panied by some descriptive and statistical details. 


T—ANIMAL OILS. 
The ANIMAL oils and fats are not nearly so numerous as those derived 
from the vegetable kingdom. 
The principal ones are horse grease, lard, and tallow; cod, skate, 
shark, sperm, train, and seal oil, &e. 

Some of these are found in the cellular tissue immediately beneath 
the skin-and between the folds of the liming membrane of the abdomen, 
others in the liver; and in the sperm whale, in a triangular cavity in 
the head. The oil in all the above cases is contained in distinct cells, 
and each cell has its blood vessels. 

In the case of lard, tallow, and other animal fats, the general mode 
of extraction is to boil the cellular tissue containing the oil in water, 


* From the ‘Chemist and Druggist.’ 


ra ea ie 


OILS AND FATS, ELC. 325 


the heat and moisture rupture the cells, and the oil escapes, floating on 
the tep liquefied by the heat, sometimes a little sulphurous acid is 
added to facilitate the destruction of the membrane forming the oil-cells. 

Another process is to enclose the cellular tissue in bags made of horse 
hair, or of some other strong material. These bags are warmed and 
subjected to powerful pressure by machinery. The fat oils contained in 
the liver are obtained by cutting the liver into small pieces and boil- 
ing, the oil rises to the top and is skimmed off ; it is afterwards purified 
by filtration. This is far the better way of procuring the oil than to 
allow the liver to putrefy, and the oil to exude from disintegration ef the 
cells by putrefaction. 

There are some oils and fats which are obtained in such small quan- 
tities as to be more matters. of scientific curiosity than commercial use, 
such are tiger fat, deer’s lard, gorilla fat, serpents oil, frog’s fat, peacock 
fat, &c. A very fine oil has been obtained from the fat of the iguana ; 
some was shown from Queensland, where it is said to be used by the 
fishermen for sprains, &c. 

Doa’s Fat.—Dr. M. Sterry states that among the poor German in- 
habitants of the United States, it has become not uncommon to consume, 
with advantage, doy’s fat in affections where other classes would take 
cod-liver oil. This accounts for the killing a great number of dogs, 
which had been attributed, by the uninitiated to their being wanted for 
sausage meat. (‘ American Journal of Medical Science.’) 

Probably this may also account for the slaughter of dogs by the 
German Legion in Kaffraria, the subject of remark in the South African 
papers in the close of 1858, and then believed to be for food. 

AMERICAN Larp.—The imports of lard from all quarters in 1860 were 
198,030 ewt., of the value of 587,079. The great bulk—130,871 cwt. 
—came from the United States. Austria, Italy, and Hamburg, supply 
nearly all the rest. 

The average amount of lard obtained from each hog is said to be 
about 32 pounds, England and Cuba take most of the American lard. 
Tn the West Indies lard is very generally used as a substitute for butter. 

About 50,000 tons of lard are stated to be used annually in the 
States. Lard oil is made principally in Cincinnatti. The average ex- 
ports from that city a few years ago were : 


ard ye csne ... barrels 40,000 8,000,000 Ibs. 


Garcia e: in Kegs 110,000 4,400,000 lbs. 
Lard oil... ... barrels 28,000 7,000,000 Ibs. 
19,400,000 Ibs. 


There are in Cincinnatti, forty manufacturers of lard oil, These 
consume on an average, each week, the year round, 1,000 packages of 
300 Ibs. each ; equal to 52,000 packages, or 15,000,000 Ibs. per annum 
From this is to be deducted for stearine, one-third or 5,120,000 lbs. 


326 OILS AND FATS, ETC. 


leaving 10,480,000 lbs., equal (allowing 8 Ibs. to the gallon) to 1,110,600 
gallons. This may be considered as a fair average of the amount manu- 
factured and consumed yearly in Cincinnatti. To the latter aceount 
must be set its five large candle factories, which consume the 
stearine in combination with tallow. As manufacturers are unwilling to 
divulge the quantity of candles made, we are left to infer it from the 
large amount of stearine which enters into their composition—two pounds 
being consumed for each pound of candles. It is to be remembered that 
the stearine after blending with, has to be extracted from, the tallow. 

Larp O11.—lt is but a few years since that the manufacture of lard 
oil was looked upon as very unimportant, or, to use the words of a 
manufacturer, ‘* almost as nothing.” Now it occupies a prominent posi- 
tion, and determines, to a great extent, the value of the hog. In 
quality, except in temperature, which will always be higher, it is begin- 
ning to outrival any fish oil, and is superior to the best sperm for 
lubricating the surface of machinery. Through the entire southwest and 
north the amount employed for this purpose is immense, Andas to the 
manufacture of the article out of Cincinnatti, almost every place where 
it can be readily and cheaply obtained has its manufactory. The manu- 
facture has this rare advantage, that a ready sale is always found for the 
sterine and for the oil, wherever sent to. 

Professor Olmstead, of New Haven, states that, by adding one pound 
of powdered rosin to three pounds of lard, well stirred together, the mass 
becomes a semifluid at 72 degrees Fahrenheit, and on being melted 
(which it does at 90 degrees, notwithstanding if melted alone the rosin 
requires 300 degrees and the lard 97 degrees of heat), the compound will 
remain transparent and limpid at that temperature. As it cools, a pel- 
licle begins to form on the surface at 87 deg.; and at 76 deg. it remains 
a dense semi-fluid, 

The discovery of the above named fact is of great importance to those 
who use lard-oil lamps, as the lard is rendered more fluid by the rosin, 
and the power of illumination increased two fifths ; yet, after two hours 
burning, it loses its brilliancy on account of the wick becoming clogged. 
This will not be a material objection in families, while in point of 
economy the gain is considerable, for lard is worth three or four times 
as much as rosin. 

To machinists, the discovery is also important, as it enables them to 
make use of lard instead of oil, which is not only a saving in cost, but 
what is of far more importance, the addition of the rosin completely 
neutralises the quality of acidity in the lard, which corrodes metals, 
particularly brass and copper, to such a degree as to render lard unfit to 
be applied to anything not in constant use. Professor Olmstead says, a 
thin coating of the compound laid upon a grate or sheet iron stove with 
a brush, as thin as possible, will keep it free from rust all the summer, 
although stored in a damp place. 


i aes 


@ILS AND FATS, ETC. 327 


To soap makers, the discovery is also important. If one pound of the 
compound is added to two pounds of common Windsor soap, the quality 
is greatly improved, and the tendency that soap has to grow rancid, when 
in use, or keep moist, is thus entirely prevented. 

The same compound applied to boots and shoes renders them nearly 
impervious to water, and if applied to tke soles will not soil the floor. 
The uppers will be soft and pliable, and not prevented from receiving a 
blacking polish. For oiling carriages, the mixture of lard and rosin will 
be valuable ; and when wanted for heavy wheels, a proper consistency 
may be given to it by adding wheat flour, or, if greatly preferred, black 
dead. 

Axupaca TaLLow, from New South Wales.—Mr. C. Ledger, speaking 
ef the alpaca tallow, says, “It it unquestionably of superior quality. 
Perfumers will scon find out its valuable properties, and I believe that 
ere many years have elapsed, ‘ Alpaca pomade’ will be held in high 
estimation. Ido not pretend to a knowledge of pomade composition, 
but I have prepared and now forward a small quantity, which may be 
deemed worthy of notice. In South America, where the pomade is much 
used, the luxuriant and beautiful hair of the ladies is proverbial.” 

TALLow Orn or OLEANE and TaLLow from Russia and Australia— 
The number of cattle and sheep slaughtered for their tallow alone in 
Australia is very large, especially in some years. In the nine years 
ending with 1852, the following numbers were boiled down :—Sheep, 
1,785,960 ; Horned cattle, 340,353. From 200 to 300lhbs. of tallow is ob- 
tained from cattle, and 18 to 25lbs. from sheep according to condition. 
Everybody has heard of a boiling-down establishment, but very few 
have any idea what it is, beyond the fact of its being a place where a 
number of bullocks er sheep are converted into tallow. We will give a 
description of one belonging to Messrs. Russell and Co. of Sydney. The 
“plant” is capable of boiling down one hundred bullecks a day. There 
are six iren cylinders (all capable of bearing high pressure steam,) each 
of which will hold eight large bullocks. The meat being put ito these, 
they are supplied with steam at a pressure of thirty-five pounds to the 
inch. which is generated in a large boiler at one end of the establishment. 
To this heat, whiclr is more than double that of boiling water, the 
meat is subjected for ten hours, when all the fat is converted into 
tallow, this is run off by a series of cocks and pipes into a clarifier, 
which is a large open pan, where it is made very hot, in order to drive 
off any watery particles, it is then run into a cooler, und is ready for 
market. A small engine is attached, which pumps up water, and does 
other work, by which much labour is spared. 

In a country like Southern Russia, where the greatest part of the 
Jand is yet untilled, and the population by no means numerous, pasture 
of course abounds, and the breeding of cattle must necessarily be very pro- 


s 


o28 OILS AND FATS, ETC. 


table. The inhabitants. of that country are, in fact,always engaged in this 
branch. of industry, and for many years the butchers of the capital have. 
heen indebted to them for their principal supplies. Ever since the opening 
of the Black Sea, an active trade in tallow has been carried on from its. 
ports, and more especially with England. Generally speaking, the mer- 
chants who are engaged in the exportation of tallow, make their contracts. 
during the winter with. the dealers in the interior, and advance them & 
part of the cost, or even the whole sum. In the spring, these latter 
make use of these advances.for the purchase of cattle at the different 
fairs of the country. The price of cattle varies considerably. The 
slaughter-houses of Odessa, of Nicolaoff and of Kherson, are in full 
activity from September to November. The ports of the Baltie cannot 
compete with Southern Russia in this article ; and the demand at the 
Black Sea ports invariably exceeds the supply. 

Tallow at Galatz is divided into two qualities, called tallow and 
chervice. The latter is the clean fat of the carcase and marrow boiled,. 
and is much used in Constantinople for culinary purposes; tallow 
is the fat of the intestines, feet, &c., boiled. It is generally sold 
in parcels, consisting of two-thirds chervice, and one-third tallow. For 
the Constantinople market chervice is worth 10 per cent. more than 
tallow.; but for other European markets tallow is worth as much as. 
chervice. 

JAPANESE Fish Ort—Four qualities—The fish from which this oil 
is obtained is not known to us. 

Brack Fish Ort—Three qualities from Tasmania,—SeerM OIL, 
TRAIN O11, and SouTHERN WHALE O11 from New South Wales. 

Up to within the last few years a large portion of the export trade of 
New South Wales was derived from the whale fisheries of the Southern 
and Pacific Oceans. A great number of vessels.engaged in this pursuit 
either belonged to. Sydney, or were accustomed to call at that port for 
supplies. From a variety of causes, the principal of which was, perhaps,, 
the increasing value and dearth of labour, the number of ships thus. 
employed has lessened, and the trade proportionably declined ; the 
article of oil now occupies a very low position in the list of colonial 
exports. 

There has been a great decrease of late years in the value of the. 
Australian whale: fisheries. A return of the vessels, British, colonial, 
and foreign, engaged in this trade that have visited Port Jackson during. 
the last ten years, shows that the number of these in the year 1846 was. 
80, but in the year 1852 had diminished to 29, the amount of tonnage of 
which during the several periods amounted to 20,288 and 7,534 tons. 
Owing to the long and uncertain periods occupied in whaling voyages 
it would he impossible to ascertain the amount of oil obtained during. 
any particular period by vessels belonging to the colony. 

The official statistics show that in 1853, 329 tons of sperm whale oil 


OILS AND FATS, ETC. 329 


and 55 tuns of black whale oil were shipped from Sydney, being a less 
export than during any previous year. In 1840, no fewer than 6,151 
tuns of the two descriptions of oil were exported, since which time the 
produce has gradually dwindled to its present low amount. The export 
of whalebone and seal skins has also, during that period, lessened im 
the same proportions. The declension in the value of the export may 
be seen by noticing that while in 1850 the total value of the export of 
oil, whalebone, and seal skins from New South Wales, was 224,144/., in 
1853 it was only 25,4901, the export of the intervening years displaying 
a regular gradation. 

Whale oil is frequently mixed with sperm oil to adulterate it,as the 
former is a drying oil, attracting oxygen from the atmosphere, and 
hardening Ta into a horn-like substance, the smallest quantity 
mixed with sperm oi! injures it irretrievably for lubricating purposes. 

The various oils shown from British North America were—pale, 
straw, and brown seal oil, cod oil, whale oil, porpoise oil, and dog- 
fish oil. 

The export of fish oils from Newfoundland averages about 2,750,000 
gallons, worth 320,000/., and about 10,600/. worth is used in the colony. 

The principal whale fishery is now carried on by the Americans, for 
statistics see vol. 1, p. 363. The impcrts of oil to the United States 
were as follows in barrels :— 


Whale Oil. Sperm Oil. 
1856 01,000 93,000 
1860 140,000 73,708 


A polar whale yields, on an average, 120 brls. (25 impl. galls.) of oil. 

SEAL O1n.—The oil from the seals is extracted partly by compres- 
sion, by which the cold-drawn oil is obtained ; resort is then had to boil- 
ing the blubber in large pans, cauldrons, 

The same method, and the same apparatus, might be used for extract- 
ing the oil from seal-blubber as from eod-livers; and when the difference 
in the value of the oil made by the different methods is s considered, it is 
curious it has not been carried into effect, 

The quantity of oil wasted, partly by volatilization in boiling in the 
cauldrons, and the inferior value given to the rest by its becoming car- 
bonized or browned is considerable. Were the whole extracted by steam; 
the advantage would be very great. The expense of fuel may be quoted 
against the method, but the number of vessels that go to the cod-fishery 
with no cargo but the salt for their fish would render the transport of 
coal cheap. 

The exports of seal oil during the five years ending 1850 averaged 
4,921 tuns annually ; the average for the five years ending 1855, 6,353 
tuns, The total produce of seal and whale oil obtained by British ves- 
sels in the Greenland fishery in the years 1849—58 was 23,636 tuns. 


330 OILS AND FATS, ETC. 


Fish oils have been largely supplanted the last few years by mineral 
oils for burning. 

East Inp1a FisH O1n.—Among the various Indian fishes from which 
oil is obtained are the following, but being only known by the native 
names, it is impossible to specifically describe them :—Karahmanoo, 
Chadoo pareeger, Cooawanoo, Goodee, Valager, Moosoo, Bochee, Muthi 
Yeno, Frictzi, Karitze malu, Seri nei (shark-liver), Chellei nei. 

There is an active demand now at all the sea-ports of the western 
coast of the Indian Peninsula for fish oil, and the product has been of 
great importance, 721,095 gallons, valued at 20,685. having been ex- 
ported from the Madras territories by sea last year. 

The oil seems to be obtained from various fishes, drawings and de- 
tails of which would be most useful and interesting. Specimens of fine 
quality from Mangalore, Tellicherry, Masulipatam, and Pondicherry, col- 
lected by the Madras committee, were sent. These fish oils appear to 
_ be used in India in cases of rheumatism, atrophy, phthisis, glandular 
swellings, and all diseases of a strumous nature. A coarse kind of fish 
oil has been used by the natives from time immemorial in chest com- 
plaints, and specially as a remedy for spitting of blood. The attention 
of chemists was directed to the article in 1851, from a knowledge of this 
fact, since which it has been brought into very general use. 

Fish liver oil is now prepared in large quantities on the Western and 
Malabar coasts of India for exportation. That supplied to hospitals for 
the use of troops is prepared from the liver of the skate, seer, and white 
shark, indiscriminately. From analysis and experiments made in Eng- 
land, it has been found to equal in its medicinal properties the best Cod- 
liver oil ; but, from its extremely disagreeable taste and odour, it can 
never supersede the oil of Newfoundland. A more agreeable kind of oil 
may be prepared from the skate or seer fish ; but when the liver of the 
shark is also used with the livers of the other fish, the oil so obtained 
has a very offensive odour and unpleasant taste, and which cannot by 
any mechanical or chemical process be removed, however carefully it 
may be prepared. 

Providence provides for the relief of humanity by multifarious means. 
The earth, the air, the waters, all supply his wants. Thus, in more ways 
than one, his necessities are variously supplied. Cod-liver oil is one of 
the best medicines yet discovered for the affection of the lungs and other 
complaints. 

Dr. W. Gray, of Madras, has prepared oil from the liver of a fish fre- 
quenting the Indian shores, which has proved equal in every respect to 
cod-liver oil. 

It has long been known that the oil in question is not procurable 
from the liver of the cod alone, but is to be derived of an equally good 
quality though not so copiously, from the ling, torsk, skate, and many 


Bers 


OILS AND FATS, BTC. 331 


other species of white fish, some of which, or individuals nearly allied to 
them in genus and conformation, are, it is most probable to be found on 
every sea-coast in the world; and we have no doubt that, of those 
containing and affording the oil in question, more than one species 
or family will be found on the shores of India if the investigation 
should be continued, and the supply from Europe should be deficient, 
or the native oil can be produced at a more moderate rate. Should our 
medical and scientific brethren in Madras, however, extend the field of 
their inquiry, and pursue still further their experimental investigation, 
we are firmly convinced that, ere long, they will discover fresh sources 
for supplying this very useful and popular medicine in such quantities 
as would enable both the Government Medical depdéts and the trade to 
dispense with the necessity of importing it from Europe at a higher 
price than it can be produced for locally, and besides protect the medical 
community and the public from the possibility of interrupted or scanty 
supphes. 

CoD-LIVER OIL was first prepared in Newfoundland from the livers 
which, being extracted from the fish in the process of cleansing and salt- 
ing, were thrown aside, and whilst putrifying in the sun, gave out in the 
process of dissolution the animal oil, now in such high repute, but which 
was at first prescribed by empirics and administered by ignorant persons, 
in whose hands, however, although its action was not understood any 
better than it now is by the educated practitioner, its use was followed 
by many remarkable cures. Itis now more than fifty years since it was 
first brought to the notice of the profession in England, and about seventy 
since its name first occurred in medical practice. The oil produced in 
Newfoundland was possessed, from the process through which it was ob. 
tained, of the most nauseous flavour and taste, and on this account it was 
not long before the attention of persons employed in the English fisheries 
was directed to the object of extracting it from the material in their 
hands by a more cleanly process, and one which should afford an oil less 
repulsive in its manufacture, and consequently in its odour. The fishes 
from which this oil is obtainable are not confined, in their residence or 
migrations, to any particular coast or climate, but are most probably to 
be found in every ocean and on every seaboard on the globe ; and we 
hope that this probability will stimulate scientific persons in all coun- 
tries to imitate the industrious research of the Madras practitioner 
already referred to. 

The Cod-liver Oil of Commerce is still obtained by the French fisher- 
men at Newfoundland from the decomposition of the liver in casks 
either in the holds of the fishing vessels or on shore near the dwellings. 
It is an object of considerable trade, for there are exported annually 
500,000 kilos., varying in price from LOOf. to 150f. the 100 kilos. 

Purified Cod-liver Oil for Medicinal Use.— This new industry 
promises to attain to considerable importance at St. Pierre. It is in- 


332 OILS AND FATS, ELC. 


creased by the Academy of Medicine, who consider the brown, pale, and 
white oils of the Newfoundland French Fisheries as rivalling the best 
products of the British and Norwegian manufactories. That which is 
made in the months of April, May, and June, is of a superior quality ; 
the livers are then of a lean or thin nature, but earlier they are very fat, 
and, in a therapeutic point of view, furnish oil of less value and purity. 
An excellent descriptive article on the manufacture of cod-liver oil 
in Norway, and a new method of preparing it for medicinal purposes, 
by Mr. Peter Moller, was published in the TEcHNoLOoGIST, vol. ii., p.376, 
OoLacHAN O11 from Vancouver.—At page 48 of this vol. we gave 
a short account of this new oil; we now append some further 
details. 2 
The oil obtained from the Hou-li-kun is a common article of food 
among the northern tribes, and one of which they are very fond. This 
fish is not unlike a sprat, but somewhat longer and rounder, and is so 
oily that, when dried, it will burn like a candle. It is not found at the 
south pait of the island, (Vancouver) but is caught in great numbers to the 
northward. ‘The process of extracting the oil is very primitive indeed. 
Mr. Duncan gives, in one of his letters, the following description of it, as 
witnessed by him at Nass River :—“ In a general way,” he says, “I found 
each house had a pit near it, about three feet deep, and six or eight inches 
square, filled with the little fish. I found some Indians making boxes 
to put the grease in, others cutting firewood, and others (women and 
children) stringing the fish and hanging them up to dry in the sun, while 
others, and they the greater number, were making the fish-grease. The 
process is as follows :—Make a large fire, put four or five heaps of stones 
as big as your hand in it ; while these are heating, fill a few baskets with 
rather stale fish, and get a tub of water into the house. When the stones 
are red-hot, bring a box about eighteen inches square (the sides of which 
are all one piece of wood) near the fire, and put about half a gallon of the 
fish in it, and as much fresh water; then three or four hot stones, using 
wooder tongs. Repeat the doses again, then stir the whole up. Repeat 
them again, stir again, take out the cold stones, and place them in the 
fire. Proceed in this way until the box is nearly full, then let the whole 
cool, and commence skimming off the grease. While this is cooking 
prepare another boxfull in the same way. In doing the third, use 
instead of fresh water, the liquid from the first box. ' 
On coming to the refuse of the boiled fish in the box, which is still 
pretty warm, let it be put into a rough willow basket ; then let an old 
woman for the purpose of squeezing the liquid from it, lay it on a 
wooden grate, sufficiently elevated to let a wooden box stand under ; 
then let her lay her naked chest on it, and press it with all her weight. 
On no account must a male undertake to do this.’* This oil has been 


* Captain Mayne’s British Columbia. 


OILS AND FATS, ETC, Ba3 


ascertained by analysis to be equal to cod-liver oil, but it requires more 
eare and skill in the preparation. 

Porporse Orn—Small samples of oil of the white porpoise or 
Beluga, and of the black porpoise of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, were 
transmitted from Canada. But it is to be regretted that no large 
specimens of these excellent fat oils, whose extraction constitutes such 
an important branch of industry in the district of Quebec, should be 
found in the Exhibition. An account of the fishery of the white por- 
poise was given in vol. i., p. 107. 

Ducgone Orn, from Ceylon, from New South Wales, and Moreton 
Bay.—A_ descriptive article on this oil will be found in the TECHNOLO- 
GIsT, vgl.i, p. 311. The Ceylon oil is of a concrete character; the 
Australian of a more fluid nature. 

_ Under the name of Peixe boi oil, I exhibited an alhed oil from 
the cowfish or lamentin of Brazil and Guiana (Manatus Americanus.) 
This animal yields from 5 to 25 gallons of oil, which is used for light and 
for cooking. The layer of fat from which it is boiled out is of a greater 
or less thickness beneath the skin, generally about an inch. 

The fat has a very pleasant smell and tastes like the oil of sweet- 
almonds. It forms an admirable substitute for butter and does not turn 
rancid in the sun. The fat fof the tail is of a firmer consistence, and 
when boiled is most delicate eating. 

JACARE O1L.—This is a fixed oil of a red colour, extracted from the 
adipose tissue of the alligator in Brazil, commonly called the Jacare. 
It is used for burning, although of a nauseous odour, and medicinally 
for embrocations in rheumatism. 

Alligators are killed in great numbers in parts of the river Amazon 
for their fat, which is rendered into oil. Although the oil has a dis- 
agreeable smell it is not worse than train oil. 

Anta Oin.—A liquid crystalline oil, ofa yellow colour, obtained from 
the adipose tissue of the Tapir Americanain Brazil. It is used as a 
therapeutic and an emanagogue, and as a remedy for rheumatics. 

Sucuriau Oin.—This is also extracted from the adipose tissue of 
areptile sonamedin Brazil. The oil is liquid when well prepared, of a 
yellowish colour, and used for rheumatism. 

TuRTLE OIL on Burrer—In the large collection of oils exhibited 
by the writer were samples of turtle oil imported from Sydney,—but no 
doubt the produce of some of the Pacific Islands—and turtle butter from 
Brazil—samples were also shown in the Brazilian Court under the name 
of Mantiega Tartaruga. It is stated to be extracted principally from the 
eggs, but also from the fat, of various species of tortoises by means of 
fermentation and decoction. It is of a yellowish colour and opaque 
when well prepared, clear and liquid when purified, with a peculiar 
flavour. It is much employed for culinary purposes, and is in generaluse 
in the province of Para by the lower classes. In medicine it has the 


334 OILS AND FATS, ETC. 


reputation of being useful in rheumatic complaints. Several thousand 
persons occupy themselves in the season in preparing turtle oil on the 
banks of the Orimoco, Amazon, Negro, and other rivers of South America. 
When the waters of the rivers begin to fall about February, millions of 
tortoises come to deposit their eggs in the sand, and the mean depth of 
the stratum is about three feet. The harvest of eggs is estimated 
like the produce of a well cultivated field. An acre of sand has been 
known te yield eggs sufficient to make 100 pots or jars of oil. The eggs 
when collected, are thrown into large troughs of water, and being broken 
and stirred with shovels, they remain exposed to the sun till the yolk, 
the oily part, is collected on the surface and has time to inspissate; as 
fast as the oily part rises it is skimmed off and boiled over a quick fire. 
This turtle grease or oil, when well prepared, is limpid, inodorous, and 
slightly yellow. It is used not merely to burn in lamps, but in dressing 
victuals, to which it imparts no disagreeable taste. It is not easy, how- 
ever, to produce oil of turtles’ eggs quite pure; it has generally a 
putrid smell, owing to the mixture of addled eggs. The total made on 
the three shores between the junction of the Orinoco and Apur, is said to 
be about 5,000 jars, and it takes about 5,000 eggs to make one jar of oil. 
In the Comarca of the Rio Negro there are also about 6,000 jars made, 
and from the small town of Barra, on the Amazon, nearly 2,000 jars are 
sent down, most of which is made in Santarem, a mile above the 
mouth of the Tapajos. Many of the marsh tortoises (Emydes), as well 
as the marine tortoises contribute their eggs to this annual harvest. 

PorcuPine Or.—In the Tasmanian collection under this name was 
shown an oil obtained from the Echidna hystrix. 

Emu O1n.—The skin of the Australian emu or New Holland casso- 
wary produces six or seven quarts of a clear, beautiful bright yellow oil, 
which is esteemed for some medicinal properties in Australia. The 
method of extracting or “ drying” out the oil is to pluck the feathers, cut 
the skin into pieces, and boil it. 

PIRIRARA Orn, obtained in Brazil from a fish of that name, of 
which there are quantities in the province of Anazonas. Itisa concrete 
oil, yellowish, and of an unpleasant flavour. It is used as a relief for rheu- 
matism. 


(To be continued.) 


339 


ay + 
INLUIM. 
Minerat Resources oF CentrRAL ITALY, INCLUDING A DescrIP- 
TION OF THE Mines AND Marsie Quarries. By W. P. Jervis, 
F.G.S. London: Edward Stanford. 


This is a work of great importance and utility at the present moment, 
in bringing the resources of the Italian kingdom more prominently before 
the British public. Itis the result of a very competent pen, and one which 
has frequently been employed before the learned Societies of London in 
describing Italian minerals. Having been delegated by the Royal Italian 
Commission to travel through the central provinces of the kingdom, in 
order to aid in procuring products to be forwarded to the International 
Exhibition, Mr. Jervis took the opportunity of investigating closely the 
sources and statistics of supply, and we have here the condensed account 
of an incredible amount of observations and labours upon the stones, 
and ores, and minerals, including etruscan metal work, and mineral oils 
and fuel. 

The description of the marbles is one that has never before appeared 
in so complete and reliable a form, whilst the accounts of the quarries 
and annual produce of the statuary and building marbles, and alabaster 
and serpentine, are of immense commercial value. The author has kindly 
prepared and corrected the chapter on boracic acid for appearance in 
our pages, where it will be read with interest, and naturally lead the 
reader to consult the work from which it is drawn for other interesting 
descriptive details of Italian mineral produce. The work is embellished 
with numerous illustrations, which further add to interest and com- 
pleteness as a reliable book of reference on the special subject on which 
it treats. We hope to see it have a large circulation throughout the 
country. 


British Borany; or, CoLouRED Figures or British PLAnts. 
Third Edition. No.1. London: Robert Hardwicke. 


The re-issue of so important a work enlarged, re-arranged according 
to the natural order, and entirely revised under the editorship of Mr. 
Syme, demands a word of notice at our hands. It is a marvel of cheap- 
ness, each part is to contain twenty-four beautifully hand-coloured plates, 
and twenty-four pages of letter-press. The figures, by the Messrs. 
Sowerby, have been carefully examined, and any errors in the outline or 
colour coriected. Mrs. Lankester furnisbes popular descriptions of the 
plants and their uses, properties, and peculiarities. Such a work, to 
prove in any way remunerative to the publisher for the heavy outlay in- 
curred on it, must have a very large sale. This, however, its beauty and 
merits are sure to command. 


On THE CULTIVATION OF CoTTon IN ItTaty. Report to the Minister 
of Agriculture, Industry, and Commerce in the Kingdom of 
Italy. By G. Devincenzi, Member of the Italian Parliament, 
General Italian Commissioner at the International Exhibition. 
London: W. Trounce. 


We may say with truth that no foreign country which took part in 
the late Exhibition displayed more industry and zeal, and attended with 
such beneficial results as Italy. The information diffused of all kinds 
respecting its manufactures, products, and capabilities, was most ample and 
exhaustive, whether on its mineral or vegetable resources. Its official cata- 


O36 REVIEWS. 


Zogne was a model of completeness, and full of valuable description, 
contributed by men of talent and ability, The Chief Commissioner was 
himself most active, and took part in every discussion where he could 
either afford or receive inforination. The question of our future supply 
ef cotton being a prominent one, and one much under discussion. Cav. 
Devincenzi has here shown the capabilities of Italy for producing cotton 
on an extensive scale, and at as low a rate as 4d. perib. Ata recent 
meeting of the executive committee of the Manchester Cotton Supply 
Association, it was resolved, that having examined the collection of samples 
of cotton grown in Italy, and submitted from the Royal Italian Commis- 
sion, the Committee is of opinion that they are of a good useful class of 
cottons, some of them being, indeed, superior to middling American, but 
with careful attention and cleansing, the aggregate production of Italian 
cotton may be rendered equaily as desirable for the spinner and manu- 
facturer as the best samples of ihe United States. 

The practical inforination on cotton cultivation here brought toge- 
ther might be usefully diffused elsewhere than in Italy. 


Tue InpustRy, SCIENCE, AND ArT OF THE AgczE, &c. By John Timbs. 
Lockwood and Co. 


This is one of Mr. Timbs’ series of useful and painstaking compila- 
tions, which, from a careful perusal, we can strongly recommend as a 
most valuable compendium of all descriptions of information relating to 
the International Exhibition of last year. Having been so long intimately 
identified with that Exhibition officially, and written and read so much in 
connection with it, few are, perhaps. more competent to ferm an accurate 
opinion of Mr. ‘Timbs’ labours in this direction. A good photograph of 
the nave, from the western dome, forms the frontispiece to the volume. 


Tue RecorD oF THE INTERNATIONAL Exurertion. Edited by Robert 
Mallet, C.E., F.R.S. Longman and Co. 


This one ot the best works that has yet been issued in connection with 
the Exhibition, is now brought to a close, having been issued in serial 
parts. It comprises able descriptions of all the sections of objects, by the 
most eminent men in the several departments, and is lavishly illustrated 
whenever requisite. Those who wish to possess a good descriptive account 
of the exhibitors and of their merits, and the progress made in the arts 
and manufactures since 1851, should certainly secure this work. 


Every Mans’ Own Lawyer. By a Barrister. Lockwood and Co, 


There is a proverbial saying that the man who acts as his own lawyer is 
a fool, and we believe there is much truth in the remark, for it is quite 
impossible for any man who has not mastered the rules of the professi on 
or studied the numberless and varying cases and decisions that daily arise, 
tobe able to master any legal question. While we have no wish that 
any of our readers should go to law, and certainly would never advise 
them to dispense with a skilled advocate, there is no reason why, they 
shoud not master sufliciently the ordinary abstract principles of law and 
equity, so as to save them many a consultation fee, on trivial points 
and questions. With this view, they may study with advantage this 
barrister’s book, who tells them quite enough on all points to guide 
them in ordinary matters of business. 


PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED.—Medical Psychology. by Robert Dunn, 
F.R.C.S.. Churchill. The Pharmaceutical Journal. Chemist and 
Druggist. Paris Technologiste, &e. 


Pe ECOLOGIST 


OILS AND FATS SHOWN AT THE INTERNATIONAL 
EXHIBITION. 


BY THE EDITOR. 


(Continued from page 334.) 


IL—VEGETABLE OILS. 


Ottve O11n.—The collection of olive oils from Italy was very fine, 
whether used for soap manufacture, or food. Some of the superior can 
be purchased at 53d. a pound, and the common at 43d. a pound. Is. 10d. 
per gallon seemed about the medium price. 

Messrs. Danielli and Philippi, of Pisa, exhibited an interesting 
series of olives preserved in spirits, dried olives, pickled olives, olive 
oil, washed olive oil, olive kernels, residium of the kernels after expres- 
sion of oil for burning, and more for fattening cattle. 

The other oils shown in the Italian collection were purified grape 
stone oil, and purified nut oil for burning rape oil used for food by the 
peasants, linseed oil, laurel oil, and hazel nut oil, oil from the ground 
pistachio (Arachis hypogea) for burning, and pine seed oil. 

The olive tree, from the* fruit of which the oil is obtained, grows 
naturally in the woods and cupses near the coast on the southern parts 
of the Peninsula and the Italian Islands, as also in Greece and Asia 
Minor, and in the southern parts of France and Spain, and on the coasts 
of Africa. Wild olive trees are sometimes of gigantic size, having a 
very thick foliage, particularly in the islands. A temperature of seven 
or eight degrees centigrade below zero being prejudicial to their growth, 
wild olive trees, like those which are cultivated, require a mild winter, 
with a hot summer and autumn to ripen the fruit ; olive oil, however, 
is obtained from cultivated olive-trees, of which there are many sorts, 
the frantoio, the morajolo, the leccino, and others more or less esteemed 

VOL, III. GG 


338 i OILS AND FATS, ETC. 


for the quantity and quality of their fruit. The best olive oils 
come from the coast of Nice, Genoa, Lucca, and Tuscany. Excellent 
oils are also obtained from Naples and Sicily, and they are at all times 
a source of great wealth for certain parts of the country. The total 
production is estimated at 1,767,000 hectolitres, of which 124,000 are 
from Liguria. The province of Lucca alone derives nearly 40,0002. 
annually from it; and even exports to America. Tuscany exports olive 
oil to the value of nearly 80,000/. a-year ; and the Neapolitan provinces 
to the extent of about 740,000/. 

The different kinds of oils are distinguished according to their 
quality and the mode of preparation. The finest and the most 
esteemed is fluid, of a yellow straw, or citron colour, rarely white, 
colourless, sweetish, sometimes greenish, almost always clear, with- 
out any smell, in taste insipid, or at least slightly bitter, with a 
fruity flavour. It is obtained from perfectly sound and fresh olives, 
after being crushed and squeezed, without previous fermentation. This 
is what is called virgin oil, oil of first quality ; this oil is used pre-emi- 
nently for seasoning food, and is known in commerce under the deno- 
mination of Oil of Nice, Lucca Oil, or Italian Oil. 

The paste of olives, passed through a mill after the firstsqueezing, and 
allowedto remain undisturbed for some time, then pressed again, produces 
a fresh quantity of oil, inferior in quality to the above, and which may 
be designated as second quality. Treated with boiling water the paste 
furnishes a further quantity of oil, inferior to the above. This oil is 
clear, of a rather strong citron colour, but sometimes quite colourless, of 
a fatty flavour, slightly rancid, and sometimes also it has a little sul- 
phurous taste. It is used for burning, or for making soap. 

The residuary matter, treated again with water, by means of 
machines called frullini, yields a further quantity of highly-coloured 
thick cloudy oil, used for manufacturing purposes, and which is called 
oil of frullino. 

In order to extract the whole quantity from the residue it is treated 
with sulphur of carbon, which succeeds in extracting a still further 
yield. Recently, Messrs. Danielli, of Buti, have offered for sale an oil of 
lotis green, in a half concrete state, which nevertheless is capable of 
becoming limpid and inflammable, and which they obtain by a process 
of their own, utilising about 1 per cent. of the matter treated. 

In places where the extraction of the oil is less carefully attended to 
than in Italy, and amongst oil-growers who are not so particular about 
the quality of their produce, very little virgin, or first quality oil, is 
made, as it is much more easy to obtain olive oil fermented, or arti- 
ficially treated, and this with some appearance of a much larger yield, 
but then they only produce inferior oil. 

The consumption of olive oilin Italy forms an important item in 
the wants of the table, and for lighting purposes and soap-making. 
The Venetians were the first to use oil in making soap, which was pre- 


OILS AND FATS, ETC. 339 


viously made from fatty matters. The best oil sells at from 1s. 2d. to 
Is, 4d. the kilo, according to the year. An oil of an inferior quality, 
for lighting purposes, is extracted from olive nuts. The mare or cake 
is used for feeding cattle. 


Watnut O1t.—In the provinces of the Peninsula where the olive 
does not grow spontaneously, and cannot be cultivated except in certain 
places having an equal temperature, as on the banks of the lakes, walnut 
trees have been planted from time immemorial; they yield an oil which, 
when fresh, is used for food and lighting purposes, or for painting when it 
becomes rancid. In the north of Thalys in the valleys of the Alps, and 
also of the Apennines, the walnut-tree forms, and gives its name to a 
special botanical region. 


OrHER O11s.—The importance of nut-oil has diminished since the 
introduction of the turnip (Brassica Napus, L.) and of the Colza (Brassica 
campestris, L.), the seeds of which yield a good oil, and which are used 
for culinary and for lighting purposes. 


For the same objects the Camelina sativa is also cultivated, but in 
less quantities ; and in the Novarese, in the Vicentino, and elsewhere, 
an attempt has been made to cultivate the ground-nut (Arachis hypogea), 
a small plant which conceals its husks under ground, and which in hot 
countries, and in fresh soils, yields more than half the weight of its 
seed in oil, of sufficient good quality to bear a comparison with the best 
olive oil. M. Filippo Majorana has persevered in developing the culti- 
vation of this vegetable in Sicily, the merit of which, appertaining to 
him, cannot be better appropriated. © 


SEsAME O1i.—Another important eee ee is cultivated in 
Sicily, that of the Sesame (Sesamum orientale, L.), commonly called Giug- 
giolena. It is a small annual plant, which sown at the end of May, yields 
its produce during the summer. The inhabitants strew their bread with 
its seeds, which impart to it a pungent flavour. They also make comfits 
or turroni of it. They extract very little oil from it, but in consequence 
of the bad crops of olive during the last few years, the trade has been com- 
pelled to have recourse to the Sesame, and we hope to see a great increase 
in the cultivation of this plant in Sicily, which will rival the olive both 
in the quality and quantity of its oil, At Leghorn and at Turin there 
are already large manufactories of Sesame oil. 

LinsEED O1n.—The extraction of linseed oil has given rise to exten- 
sive manufactories. The establishment of M. Giovanni Battista Menotti, 
of Pistoja, produces annually about seventy-thousand kilogrammes of 
linseed and rape oil by the employment of very powerful mechanical 
presses. 

The Association of the New Industry at Leghorn, which has at won 
eight hydraulic presses and a steam-engine of 15 horse-power, produces 
nearly 550,000 kilogrammes of oil. This oil is scarcely ever used for 
culinary purposes ; itis of great use for painting, for lighting, and for 

G@2 


340 OILS AND FATS, ETC. 


varnishes suitable for cabinet makers. M. Ombroni, upon Lake Como 
has also a large establishment for the extraction of different oils. 

At Port St. Stefano, in Tuseany, there isa manufactory of oil of Pistacta 
Lentiscus, which is commonly used for lighting, and even for culinary 
purposes. When thus applied it is deprived of its offensive smell by 
heating it with crumbs of bread. Apulia carries on a large trade of Len- 
tiscus oil with Egypt. A large trade ir castor oil is earried on to supply 
the demands of pharmacy and soap-making. Many other oils are used 
for different economical or industrial purposes—as almond oil for medi- 
_ eine, nuts, beech mast (Fagus sylvatica, L.), juniper (Juniperus communis, 
L.), laurel (Laurus nobilis), cotton seed (Gossypium herbaceum), and 
grapestones for lighting purposes. This last oil, which presents a new 
product of the grape, is extracted principally in Modena, in which it is 
an old source of profit. 

Castor O1n.—In the northern part of Italy, around Legrano and 
Verona, the castor oil plant has been grown since 1816 ; and recently the 
produce of seed and oil has been considerably increased. Messrs. Valine 
and Co. owns a large establishment containing hydraulic presses, machines 
for cleansing and sorting the seed, and a particular filtering process is 
employed for purifying the expressed oil. About 45 tons of oil are 
produced by them annually from about 120 tons of seed. The cake 
remaining after the seed has been expressed is in great demand as a 
manure for hemp growers. 

Russia exhibited refined hemp seed oil first quality, at 54d. per Ib., 
raw ditto second quality cold pressure, and warm pressure, and fourth 
quality mixed cold and warm pressure, all at 4d. per lb.; raw and 
refined linseed oi], train and seal oil, egg oil, and sunflower oil. 

SUNFLOWER O1i.—tThe sunflower is largely cultivated in Kiers and 
Podolia eastward on the black soil lands. The stalks are used for fnel. 

From the seeds of the sun-flower (white, grey, striped, and black) 
is expressed a palatable, clear, and flavourless oil, the demand for 
which is very great. It is exported from St. Petersburg at the average 
price of 10s. 6d. per cwt., and is said to be very extensively used, after 
undergoing a certain amount of purifying, for the adulteration of salad oil. 


InuiPre O1L (Bassia longifolia)—The oil extracted from the Bassia seeds 
in India, solidifies at a temperature of 22 deg. or 23 deg. ; at 30 deg. itis 
semi-solid. It does not become liquid under 35 deg. It is an admirable 
oil for soap manufacture. If this oil were better known in Europe, a 


very extended commerce might be carried on in it with advantage. 
Cocoa-nut Orn.—This oil is well known in Europe, and a large 
trade is carried on in it from Cochin and Ceylon. It is said to be a good 
deal adulterated in some quarters with other oils. 
Some very fine samples of this oil were shown from the 
islands of the Pacific, and also from Tahiti. The principal com- 
merce of Tahiti and its dependencies consists in the preparaticn of 


®ILS AND FATS, ETC. 341 


oil from the cocoa-nut, with which the Pomotau Islands are covered. 
The expert ef this oil, which now reaches 600 tons, might easily be 
doubled in two years, and increased to several thousand tons in ten 
years. Chili consumes about one-half of the whole quantity produced, 
and the rest is shipped to Liverpool, Havre, aud Bordeaux, either direct 
or by the way of Valparaiso. The price is about 750 franes the ton. 
This commerce has of late years vreatly altered the affairs of the country, 
and now supplies freights to many vessels. 

The Ground Nor (Arachis hypogea), a native of America, is now 
grown on a large scale in India, and a considerable quantity of the oil 
expressed from the seed is exported. A special article on this oil-plant 
appears in the present number. 

KoosuM OR SAFFLOWER OIL (Carthamus tinctorius, Linn.), is em- 
ployed for burning, and has been suggested for alimentary uses. 

Castor O1n—A single species only of Ricinus is usually recognised, 
of which there are two admitted varieties, one with large and one with 
small seeds. It would appear, however, that these two varieties are 
perpetuated by culture, and the marked characters would seem to 
warrant the formation of two distinct species. If extracted cold a 
colourless, oil is obtained, while the application of heat darkens the 
oil and renders it bitter and more fitted for burning in lamps than use 
in medicine. A large commerce is carried on in this oil from India. 

From Martinique the following varieties of seeds were sent :— 
Ricinus sanguineus, rutilans, Americanus, lividus, spectabilis, viridus. 

The CasHEew Nout contains in its pericarp an oily viscous juice, of 
an acrid and caustic character. The kernel, on the contrary, is white, 
oleaginous, and of an agreeable flavour, and is eaten in the place of 
the almond. It furnishes an oil which is considered superior to olive 
oil. 

The seeds of the white poppy in India furnish about 36 per cent. of 
oil, which is useful for food purposes. In Europe, from the seeds of 
the black poppy is extracted an oil known under the name of 
“ oeillette.” 

The seeds of the Cucurbita maxima and of Cucumis melo and sativa 
yield a bland oil, which could be used for alimentary purposes; but as 
these plants are cultivated for their fleshy fruits, it is not likely that 
their seeds will be largely available for oil purposes. 

GaLBa O1L (Caluphyllum calaba).—The nuts of this tree, very abund- 
ant in the West Indies, furnish a good burning oil. 


AouRA GREASE (Astrocaryum vulgare), is from a tree very common 
in the forests of Guiana and the island of Cayenne. The oil is 
obtained from the fleshy pericarp of the fruit, which is macerated 
some time after being submitted to the action of a pestle to dis- 
engage the nuts. The pulp or mass is then left a couple of days and 


342 OILS AND FATS, ETC. 


afterwards prepared, when twelve to fifteen per cent. of oii is obtained, 
which is used for food by the lower classes, and is fit for soap-making. 


BEN-AILE (Moringa pterigosperma),—This tree, which was introduced 
into Martinique in 1784, now grows wild and plentiful, and it is stated 
considerable quantities of the seed could be obtained at 4 franes the barrel. 
A very fiuid oil, which does not turn rancid, is obtained from the seeds, 
which is in demand by perfumers and watchmakers. 

Bancout O1n (Aleurites triloba)—This tree is common in Tahiti. 
The nuts yield 50 per cent. of a drying oil, useful for varnish, and of a 

‘density of ‘923. It is employed as a purgative in doses of twenty-five 
to thirty grammes and for soap-making. 

TaMANU Ott (Calophyllum inophyllum).—The seeds of this tree give 
an excellent oil for soap-making, and for the treatment of rheumatism. 


Yamapbovu Orn, O11 Nurmuc (Virola sebifera)—The seeds bruised 


and pressed by heat, give 26 per cent. of a substance entirely soluble in — 


potash water, fusible at 34:5, and composed of two parts of oil, one 
neutral and the other acid, the last forming about three-fourths of the 
mass. The neutral part having glycerine for its base, forms a solid soap 
with soda, This oil is well adapted for candles ; it is very abundant in 
Guiana, and deserves the attention of business men. 


Carapa O1n (Xylocarpus carapa).—The forests of Guiana contains 
an enormous quantity of these trees. In the district of Cachipour, 
after the ripening of the fruit the ground is covered several inches deep 
with the nuts. The district and the right bank of the Courouaie is 
stated to be capable of furnishing the soap factories of Marseilles with all 
the oil they now work up. 

Comou Fat (nocarpus bacaba).—This tree is very common in 
Guiana, especially in virgin forests. The pulp of the fruit furnishes 
18 per cent of a limpid edible oil, and from the kernels a fat is obtained 
well suited to soap-making. 

OvUABE Om (Omphalea diandra).—From the seeds of this plant an 
excellent oil for lubricating machinery is produced. 

All the vegetable oils and fats of British India, which were shown in 
the Exhibition, have already been fully described by Mr. Cooke, TEcH- 
NOLOGIST, vol. 11, pp. 1 and 41. 

The specific characteristics of the Indian oils enumerated in the 
table on the following page, are given by M. Jules Lepine, of Pondi- 
cherry. These differ materially from the character given by other 
authors, but M. Lepine has had opportunities of judging authorita- 
tively on the spot of the origin of the oil, the mode of extraction, and 
clarification, influenced by other circumstances. 


OILS AND FATS, ETC. 


343 


TABLE OF SPECIFIC CHARACTERISTICS OF INDIAN OILS. 


Name. 


Linum usitatissimum 
Pongamia glabra . 


Cassuvium pomiferum 
Papaver somniferum . 
Cucurbita maxima 
Butea frondosa . 
Argemone Mexicana . 
Cucumis melo . 
Cucumis sativus 
Hibiscus cannabinus . 
Jatropha montana 
Eriodendron antractu- 


OSU SAN weet! 
Buchanania latifolia . 


Feronia elephantum . 
Nicotiana tabacum 
Calophyllum inophyl- 
Lites Seat ae ae 
Sinapis sp. . 
Carthamus tinctorius . 
Azadirachta indica 
Curcas purgans 
Bassia longifolia 


Cocos nucifera . 


Arachis hypogea 


Colour, &e. 


Density 


Amber . 3 
Sattron yellow 


Pale yellow 


i) 
Pale, bitter 
Orange yellow 


Pale yellow 


99 


99 


Orange yellow, thick 


Clear yellow . . 
White, when at rest 
deposits stearine 


Clear yellow 


29 


Clear yellow with a 
green shade, thick . 
Yellow, with an allia- 
ceous odour 6 
Clear yellow, with a 
brown deposit . 
Deep yellow, with an 
alliaceous odour 


Deep yellow, viscous 

Clear yellow, deposit- 
ing stearine 

White 

Yellow . 


. | 0.929 | 
. | 0.937 


0.915 
0.923 
0.918 
0.928 
0.928 
0.926 
0.926 
0.926 
0.960 
0.926 
0.913 


0.923 
0.926 


0.937 
0.915 
0.928 
0.923 
0.918 


0.912 
0.926 


0.922 | 


Colour given to the Oil by 
a dropof Sulphuric Acid. 


Clear chesnut. 

Orange, with rays of 
sulphur yellow. 

Citron yellow. 

Do., afterwards orange 

Citron yellow. 

Citron yellow, turning 
to marone. 

Deep yellow, turning 
to red. 

Brown, passing 
marone. 

Marone, changing to 
brown. 

Citron yellow, passing 
to orange. 

Yellow, passing to 
marone. 

Orange yellow. 


to 


Deep yellow, changing 
to marone. 

Marone. 

Marone, 
black. 


passing to 


Orange, passing to red. 


Orange, passing to ma- 
rone. 

Citron yellow, passing 
to marone. 

Yellow, passing to ma- 
rone. 

Citron yellow, passing 
to orange. 

Pale yellow, afterwards 
citron. 

Slightly coloured, grey- 
ish yellow. 

Clear yellow, passing 
to citron. 


O1ts SHOwN FROM Brazit.—Oil of St. Ignacius bean (Feutllea cordi- 
folia and monosperma, Vell.) 
Oil of Castanha de Jabota (Feuillea passiflora, Vell. ; Anisosperma 


passiflora, Mart). 


Melon-seed Oil (Cucurbita citrullus, Lin). 
Oil of the seeds of Mamono do mate (Mabea fistuligna, Mart). - 
Oil of Carocos of Anda-acu (Anda Gomesu, or Andiscus pentaphyllus). 


Purging nut oil (Jatropha curcas, Lin). 


344 OILS AND FATS, ETC. 


Cashew Nut Oil (Anacardium occidentale, Lin). 

Oil of the Becuiba Fruit (Myristica Bicuhiba, Schott). 

Oil of Sapucainha Seeds (Carpotroche Braziliensis, Endl). 

Oil of Castanhas de Sapucaia (Lecythis urnigera, Mart). 

Mandobi, or Amendoim Oil (Arachis hypogea, Lin.), used for rheu- 
matic affections. 

Capaivi Balsam (Copaifera nitida, Mart). 

Andiroba Oil, extracted from the fruit of the Carapa guyanensis, 
a fixed, extremely bitter oil, of a yellowish colour when purified. It is 
employed externally as a deobstruent; and, as an illuminating oil is 
equal to any other known. The tree is abundant in the province of 
Para. This is the Carapa oil as before spoken of, p. 342. 

Bacaba Oil, from the fruit of the palm Gnocarpus bacaba, also abun- 
dant in Para, a solid oil of a greenish colour, when well made and puri- 
fied, employed in cooking and for illumination. 

Castanha Oil, obtained from the well-known Brazil nut of commerce 
(Bertholletia excelsa), of a clear yellow colour, possessing more or less 
of the flavour of the nut, with a strong tendency to turn rancid. When 
fresh it is employed for culinary purposes, and can be made into soap, or 
used for lamps. It is possible to obtain almost an unlimited quantity, 
the tree being extremely abundant in the province of Para. 

Cumaru Oil, obtained from the seeds of the Dipteryx odorata, of a clear 
yellow colour, used in perfumery, as a therapeutic in medicine, and 
for ulcerations of the throat. 

Butter of Cacao, a concrete white oil, obtained from the seeds of Theo- 
broma Cacao. 

Mucaja Oil, extracted from the fruit of the Acrocomia sclerocarpa, 
a palm which is abundant in the province. The oil is concrete, and of 
a yellow colour. 

Pataua Oil, extracted by decoction from the fruit of the Ginocarpus - 
pataua, or distichus, a palm of which there are great quantities in Para. 
It is a clear yellow transparent oil, which, when well purified, is inodour- 
ous. It is employed for culinary purposes, and is a perfect substitute for 
olive oil. 

Piquia Oil, a concrete, brownish oil, extracted by decoction and ex- 
pression of the pulp of the fruit of Caryocar brasiliensis. It retains the 
flavour of the fruit from which it is extracted. 

Patm Orn was shown from Liberia, and by the writer. 

The Elais guineensis locaily called mchikichi, which is known by 
the Arabs to grow in the islands of Zanzibar and Pemba, and more 
rarely in the mountains of Usagara, springs apparently uncultivated in 
large dark groves on the shores of the Tanganyika, where it hugs the 
margin, rarely growing at any distance inland. The bright yellow drupe 
with shiny purple-bark point, though nauseous to the taste is eaten by 
the people. The mawize or palm oil of the consistency of honey, rudely 


OILS AND FATS, ETC. 345 


extracted, forms an article of considerable traffic in the regions about 
the Lake. This is the celebrated extract, whose various officinal uses in 
Europe have already begun to work a social reformation in Western 
Africa. The people of Ujiji separate by pounding the oily sarcocarpium 
from the one seed of the drupe, boil it for some hours, allow the floating 
substance to coagulate, and collect it in large earthen pots. 

The price is usually about one doti of white cotton for thirty-five 
pounds, and the people generally demand salt in exchange for it from 
caravans. This is the “oil of a red colour,’ which, according to Mr. 
Cooley, is brought by the Wanyamwezi “from the opposite or south- 
western side of the Lake.” Despite its sickly flavour, it is universally 
used in cooking, and it forms the only unguent and lamp oil in the 
country. This fine Guinea palm is also tapped, as the date is in Western 
India, for toddy, and the cheapness of this timbo—the sura of West 
Africa—accounts for the prevalence of intoxication, and the consequent 
demoralisation of the Lakist tribes.* 

Palm oil factories on the West Coast are very numerous. The process 
of extracting the oil is simple. The nuts are gathered by men; from 
one to four or five women separate them from the integuments; they 
are then passed on to other women, who boil them in large earthen pots. 
Another set crush their fibre in mortars. "This done, they are placed in 
large clay vats, filled with water, and two or three women tread out the 
semi-liquid oil, which comes to the surface as disengaged from the fibre, 
when it is collected and again boiled, to get rid of the water which 
mechanically adheres to it. The inner, surface of these clay vats, having 
at first absorbed a small quantity of oil, is not afterwards affected either 
by the water or oil. 

No part of the palm-nut is wasted. The hard shell or pericarp is 
burnt for charcoal, and used by the native blacksmiths. The oil being 
extracted, the fibre which still retains oil, is dried or used for kindling. 
The kernel is used for making another oil called adi locally, which is 
excellent for burning in lamps and making native soap. In British 
commerce it is called palm kernel oil. 

Mr. Cole, in his “Life on ‘the Niger,” says: The palm nuts grow 
in clusters or bunches, containing as many as 4,000, and when gathered 
are thrown indiscriminately into a trench or pit. They are there covered 
over with leaves, and so left until they become somewhat decayed. The 
manufacturer then jumps upon the nuts, and by so doing presses out the 
oil ; the refuse is then parted, and the oil placed in pots containing 
from three to twenty gallons. 

The kernels of the nuts also contain oil of the most transparent 
nature, but so tedious is the popular mode of extraction, that it is but 
seldom obtainable, otherwise than boiled, and then its colour is very 


' * Burton’s Lake Regions of Central Africa. 


346 OILS AND FATS, ETC. 


dark, and the taste unsavoury. Palm oil is also used for food, and the 
mode of making it is very superior to that of making the trader’s oil. 

The fruit is pounded in a mortar, and when sufficiently bruised, is 
thrown into a pot containing water; this is then allowed to boil, 
and the oil, rising to the surface, is skimmed off gently and suffered to 
cool, and I must say a nicer relish is seldom required to render the yam 
palatable. 

The principal ports in the Bight ef Benin, from which palm oil is 


exported, are Badagry, Porto Novo, Whydah, Aliquah, Lagos, and- 


Palmas. The progress of the export trade from Lagos in palm oil has 
been as follows :— 


Tons. 
RODE Kaji cuueny Saeeos! 
She AS? eh ckeie ale emer 
TSH uieieAswas adhe mt Glo 


There is still a formidable opposition to the palm oil trade exercised by . 


native chiefs, who desire a return to the slave trade. 
From Liberia there was exported to the United States in— 


Gallons. Value $ 
1854 538,902 179,634 
1856 1,149,547 416,317 
To Great Britain— 
1856 113,193 
To Hamburg— 
1856 30,456 
In 1856 the exports of palm oil from various localities were as follows: 
Tons £ 
Benin River . : - : ; : 2,500 102,500 
Palmas, and vicinity . : ; ; 2,250 101,250 
Badagry ; : : : - 2 1,250 96,250 
Lagos . _ | SPs ieGa™ Me Siar 
Porto Novo, and iets 4 3 : 4,400 180,000 
Whydah . : : : - : : 2,580 112,000 
Aliguah . : : : ; : 1,500 67,000 
To the United States : : : . 300 13,500 


— —- 


18,644 847,284 


The Cincinnatti candle manufacturers have recently been purchasing 
palm oil to make their “star” candles. The cost being about 11 cents. per 
pound was far cheaper than lard, and hence the production of the forests 
of Africa has come into successful competition with the product of the 
hog. 

Palm oil is exported from the following rivers :— 

Brass, New Kalabar, and Bonny, Old Kalabar, Bimbia, Kameroons, 
and Fernando Po. 


OILS AND FATS, ETC. * B47 


Independent of these in the rivers Malemba, Boreah, and Kampo, 
palm oil is bought by coasting vessels, chiefly American and French, 
and some oil is taken by each of the African Steam Company’s vessels. 
At Porto Novo, Onim and Ajuda, the shipments sometimes reach 4,000 
tons yearly. 

The palm nut tree grows as far up in the interior as Zheru, a dis- 
tance of 400 miles from the sea, or the mouth of the Min, one of the 
embouchures of the Niger. 

Bonny supplies the largest amount of palm oil that is brought from 
any river in Western Africa. ‘There are generally from 12 to 15 vessels 
in the stream, and these comprise an average tonnage of 9 to 12,000 tons. 

Tn 1836, only 13,850 tons of palm oil were imported into England 
from Western Africa; in 1861, upwards of 37,000 tons were received 
here. 

Egga and Rabba, up the Niger, are the chief places of the manufac- 
ture of shea butter, a fat from the Bassia palm-nut already described, 
TECHNOLOGIST, vol. i. p. 217. But abundance of the trees from which 
it is produced are met with up the Shadda. 

A superior kind of oil for cooking, used in Eastern Africa, is the 
“uto” extracted from the infuta simsim (Sesamum), which grows every- 
where on the coast, and extends far into the interior. The process of 
pressing is managed by pounding the seed dry in a huge mortar ; when 
the oil begins to appear, a little hot water is poured in, and the mass is 
forcibly squeezed with huge pestles ; all that floats is then ladled out into 
pots and gourds. Oilis extracted from the two varieties of the castor- 
plant, and in spite of its unsavoury smell, it is extensively used as an 
unguent by the people. At Unyanyembe, and other places where the 
cucumber grows almost wild, the Arabs derive from its seed an admir- 
able salad oil, which, in flavour, equals and perhaps, surpasses, the finest 
produce of the olive. 


PETROLEUM OILs.—Specimens of these oils were shown in the 
United States and Canada collections, and two samples made from Bar- 
bados tar. This oozes out of the ground, and is skimmed off the sur- 
tace of a small pool of water in the island of Barbados. 

Mr. Charles Humfrey gives the following report of an analysis he 
made of it : 

“This tar was of a dark brown colour, very viscid, with a faint 
pleasant smell, its specific gravity ‘940. 

Ten ounces distilled gave :— 


4 oz. water. 

5 oz, crude oil, No. 1, sp. gr. ‘912. 
4 oz. crude oil, No. 2, sp. gr. "927. 
% oz. coke, left in crucible. 


10 


348 ; THE GROUND-NUT AND ITS OIL. 


The crude oil, No. 1, when refined, gave 4 oz. fine oil, pale colour, 
and very sweet, sp. gr. ‘908. 

The crude oil, No. 2, refined, gave 23 oz. fine oil, dark colour, es 
some empyreumatic alll sp. gr. ‘918. 

Woop Om.—This oil is a brownish yellow limpid oil, with a consi- 
derable deposit and sediment—density ‘982. The true source of some 
of these wood oils is not well defined. According to Roxburgh they are 
the product of Dipterocarpus turbinatus, incanus, alatus, and contatus. 

In the Journal de Pharmacie, Sept., 1856, M. Guibourt published an 
interesting account of this oil. These wood oils, when held between 
the eye and the light appear transparent, and more or less red ; viewed 
by reflection, they are cpaque, and of a greenish brown tint. Dr. 
O'Shaughnessy recommended wood oil as a substitute for balsam of 
capivi, and Mr. Hanbury has since drawn attention to its medicinal use 
in the ‘ Pharmaceutical Journal 

This tree is known in the Straits under the name of Pune. It is 
exceedingly plentiful, and is admirably adapted for masts and spars, as 
such it is much employed in the above localities The Siamese and 
Cambodians, however, use the tree for a different purpose, that is for the 
production of the oil, commonly known under the name of “ wood oil.” 
It is a drying oil, and used tor caulking and varnishing vessels, and the 
manufacture of the torches so generally used by the Siamese. The 
method of extracting the oil is to make a deep incision in the trunk of 
the tree, a few feet from its base, in this a fire is kindled, and allowed to 
burn for some time, after which it is cleared out. The oil then com- 
mences to drop into the incision, which serves asa receptacle. T: 
mean yield of the best treesis 80 to 90 gallons. 


THE GROUND-NUT AND ITS OIL. 


The plant which produces this fruit, entering into commerce under the 
popular name of the ground-nut is a little annual, with oblong leaves, 
growing in fours, and rather large yellow flowers, rising a little way 
above ground. Botanists call it Arachis hypogea. The plant is one of 
a class which bury their pods in the earth where they ripen, instead of 
raising them into the free air. In order to effect this, the flower-stalk, 
after the flower has passed away, gradually curves downwards, and at 
length forces its end perpendicularly into the soil, along with the very 
young pod which is seated there. Having buried itself sufficiently deep, 
the pod then begins to swell, and when ripe becomes an oblong, rugged, 
pale brown fruit, containing about two seeds, as large as the kernel of a 
hazel-nut. Such pods are common in collections of unusual fruits ; the 


THE GROUND-NUT AND ITS OIL. B49 


French call them Pisteche de terre, in allusion to their resemblance to 
Pistachio-nuts, 

At the present day, the arachis is found in a state of cultivation all 
over the hottest part of the tropics. It is, nevertheless, almost certain 
that, like maize, tobacco, and pine-apples, it was unknown till the dis- 
covery of America, and that every region in the old world where it is 
now grown owed if to Brazil ; so that we have in this plant a further 
example of the rapidity with which vegetables will take possession of 
soils where the climate is suitable. In Brazil it is known under the 
name of “ Mindoubi,” and has long been used there parched for food, and 
to extract oil from. The roasted seeds are sometimes used as a substi- 
tute for chocolate. The nut, aecording to Dr. Davy, abounds with 
starch as well as oil, and a large proportion of albuminous matter, and 
in no other instance had he found so large a proportion of starch mixed 
with oil. 

Although the ground-nut is sometimes eaten, we agree with M. 
Poiteau, who has lately published an account of the plant, in regarding 
it as a very indifferent variety of the nut kind, whether raw or roasted. 
Its great value is caused by the abundance of oil whichit contains. Olive 
oil, largely employed in dressing woollen cloths, has become too dear 
for manufacturing purposes. Olive trees have of late years been unpro- 
ductive, and are disappearing from some of the Italian states ; they are 
now, moreover, reported to be attacked by some kimd of mildew, so that 
a good substitute has become a matter of first necessity. Such a substi- 
tute has been found in ground-nut oil. According to Dumas, it was a 
house at Marseilles that first thought of importing this substitute. 
About twenty years ago, four or five kilos were imported by way of ex- 
periment, and so great was the suecess which attended it, that m 1852 
the imports into France amounted to the enormous quantity of 70,000 
tons, a figure beyond even that of sugar. 

The chief places of export for ground-nuts from the west coast are 
Senegal and its dependencies, Sierra Leone, and Gambia. But it is also 
produced on the east coast, at Natal and Zanzibar, although not at pre- 
sent for shipment. 

Captain Burton, in his “ Lake Regions of Central Africa,” says the 
common oil of Eastern Africa is that of the karanga, or ground-nut. 
When ghee (fluid butter) is not procurable, the Arabs eat it, like cocoa- 
nut oil, with beans, manioe, sweet potato, and other vegetables. 

The prepared oil expressed from the ground-nut is admitted by all 
to be of the purest quality, and fit for some of the most delicate pur- 
poses to which oil is put. 

“There is no reason (observes the ‘ Natal Mercury ’) why this colony, 
and especially the coast districts, with their grease-craving machinery, 
should not be wholly supplied frem its internal resources, or why the 
article should not be produced in sufficient quantity for exportation to 
the Cape town and home markets. 


350 THE GROUND-NUT AND ITS OIL. 


_ “We have been favoured with the subjoined statement regarding the 
past years’ local crop, prepared by a firm which is entirely devoted to 
the manufacture of the nuts on a large scale, and which we believe has_ 
recently received complete and extensive machinery for carrying on 
operations. 

“The ground-nut harvest is just over, and this year’s crop has 
proved an exceedingly fine one, the yield most abundant, and the nuts 
themselves heavy and well developed. 

“Tn the absence of actual tabular reports, we are only able to make 
the following return :—2,200 muids ground nuts have been harvested ; 
900 muids ground nuts left in the ground from want of sufficient hands 
to pick them out; total, 3,100, This amounts, in fact, to a loss on the 
whole crop of nearly thirty per cent. The muid is 2? bushels. 

“The yield this season has been great, and is variously estimated by 
different growers, and in different soils, at from forty to eighty muids 
per acre ; fifty muids per acre has been considered the average yield of 
the season. The whole of the present crop has been grown by 
European colonists. In only three or four instances have natives 
purchased seed, although we believe many kraals are growing small 
patches of the ground-nut expressly for seed.” 

Senegal and its dependencies, which exported, in 1840, but 1,210 
kilogrammes of ground nuts, now produce more than 10,000,000 kilo- 
grammes. Cayor and Casamance furnish the largest quantities ; but 
some cargoes are also sent from Galam, which are more esteemed than 
from the other localities, on account of the thickness of the husk or 
shell and the superior yield of oil. Itis one of the principal resources of 
the country, and the production is annually more and more extended, 
notwithstanding the impediments which the Moors throw in the way of 
its traffic, under the dread that their gums will be neglected. The 
principal market for Senegal proper is the large village of Gandiole. 
About Goree, the centre of supply is Rufisque, lower down Sedhiou 
and Carabane in Casamance, and Albreda, on the Gambia. At the 
Gaboon, where the population is thinly scattered, and little agricultural, 
all that is produced is locally consumed. The mean price at Senegal 
for ground nuts is 20 to 25 francs the 100 kilogrammes (8s. to 10s. 
the cwt). 

The Governor of the Gambia, in a despatch under date May Ist, 1851, 
stated the demand for ground-nuts had led to the cultivation of large 
tracts of land; and if the trade were to extend every ten years as 
rapidly as it had done since its commencement—viz., 43 tons exported in 
1837, to 8,636 tons exported in 1847,—whole tracts of country at present 
covered with jungle or traversed by rude and savage tribes would then 
be cultivated and reclaimed, whilst all the blessings which spring 
from agriculture, bringing with them peace and plenty, industry, 
civilization, and improvement would necessarily follow. Although the ~ 
exports did nearly double again in the following ten years, this increased 


THE GROUND-NUT AND ITS OIL. 351 


production has been scarcely maintained. The exports from the Gambia 
were :— 


Tons. Value. 
SSS Los 29 CS Aea, 
1859 S593 ae tee OS IAD 


1860 CoE ek yee 


The greater part of these go to France, the shipments to that country in 
1860 having been 8,206 tons. Our imports into the United Kingdom in 
the four years ending 1861 averaged 1,400 tons per annum. 

Our direct imports of ground-nuts from Sierra Leone, which used to 
average about 1,000 tons annually, have ceased altogether, as they go 
now entirely to France. The exports from that colony were :— 


Bushels. Value. 
1858 147,750 . . . £14,449 
1859 262,846 5 oy LIC 
1860 471,509 . . . 84,514 


Besides about 1,000 bushels shelled. 

The ground-nut is now cultivated on a large scale in India, where 
the seeds form a considerable article of commerce, and there is also a 
quantity of the oil exported. 

From Pondicherry there was exported in 1858, 8,155 sacks, mn 1859, 
3,269, and in 1860, 4,739 sacks of ground-nuts, and of the oil, 45,634 
veltes, in 1858, 72,369, ditto in 1859, and 99,330 veltes in 1860. 

Ground-nut oil is used in parts of India for alimentary purposes; in 

some countries it is sold for olive oil; in North Arcot, it serves to 
adulterate gingelie or sesame oil, and at Pondicherry it is mixed with 
cocoa-nut oil. It is chiefly used for the manufacture of soap, and for 
lubricating machinery. As an illuminating oil, it burns longer than 
olive oil, although its illuminating power is less. Compared with ordi- 
nary burning oils its power is feeble. It has the advantage, however, of 
keeping a long time without becoming rancid. 
- Under favourable circumstances, the nuts will produce half their 
weight of oil, and the quantity 1s much increased by heat and pressure. 
In India the mean yield of oil is only 37 per cent. at Pondicherry, and 
43 per cent. in Madras. In Europe it is usually found that a bushel of 
ground-nuts produces one gallon of oil when expressed cold ; if heat be 
applied a larger quantity is obtained, but of inferior quantity. A great 
quantity of oil is annually exported from the Madras presidency. “The 
plant is cultivated in the neighbourhood of Calcutta, the oil being used 
for pharmaceutical purposes, and especially for lamps and machinery. 
The wide extent of the culture was evidenced in ground-nuts being 
shown in the International Exhibition from China, Siam, Cochin-China, 
Australia, India, the South of Europe, different parts of Africa, Brazil, 
and the West Indies. 


Biy) GUM OLIBANUM. 


We know little of the cultivation of this plant, except that it re- 
quires a temperature much above that of any country north of Lyons. 
According to Girardin and Dubreuil it requires good, alluvial soil, or 
even sandy soil which is well watered, and has been heavily manured. 
In the month of May in Spain it is dibbled in lines so as to leave the 
plants a foot apart in all directions. Assoon as the flowers appear, the 
plants are earthed up, and this is continued as long as growth continues. 
When the temperature falls to 58° the Arachis ceases to grow, its leaves 
turn yellow, and it may then be dug. Each acre should yield about 
half a ton of seed. These produce from 34 to 60 per cent. of good oil, 
fit for burning or for cloth dressing. The cake is very rich in nitrogen, 
and makes excellent manure or cattle food, but it is poor in phos- 
phates. The leaves or haulm of the plant may be used for fodder. 

We notice the plant thus at length in the belief that it may prove a 
profitable crop in all our tropical colonies where there is moisture 
enough to suit it. In Spain and Algeria it is found to rank among the 
more advantageous objects of field cultivation. 8. 


GUM OLIBANUM. 
BY M. C. COOKE. 


The question of the varieties and sources of Olibanum has again 
been opened up by the enquiries of Dr. Birdwood, of Bombay, who 
adverts, in the first instance, to the researches of Dr. Vaughan, the re- 
sults of which are recorded in vol. xii. of the Pharmaceutical Journal. 
Dr. Vaughan states that the following are the different kinds of Luban 
imported for sale into the Aden Bazaar :— 

I. “ Luban Mattee, so called from Bunder Mattee, the port whence 
it comes. This gum is collected chiefly by the Agardagahala tribe of 
Somalis. The season for piercing the trees, from which it is procured, 
is during the north-east monsoon in the months of July and August.” 
In a note to this, Mr. Hanbury states that the specimen which accom- 
panied it “is very dissimilar to any resin known in England as oli- 
banum. It is in stalactitic masses, which have evidently been the pro- 
duce of a very copious flow of the peculiar secretion of the tree. These 
pieces, whose weight varies from one to three ounces, are in parts white 
or yellowish and highly opaque, in other parts brightly transparent. A 
thin, brown, paper-like bark is occasionally adherent. The Luban 
Matiee possesses a strong, agreeable, somewhat citron-like odour, and 
but little taste. It is closely allied in its characters to the Tacamaque 
jaune huileuse of Guibourt, which is the Resina anime of the German 


<45 
ars | 
Feud 


GUM OLIBANUM., 353 


pharmacologists. It also nearly approaches, as Professor Guibourt 
informs me, the Résine de Madagascar of his Hist. des Drogues.” 

II. The second kind named by Dr. Vaughan is Luban Hunkur, or 
Aungure, from the country of Dour Mahamed and Abardagahala Somalis, 
is so called from Bunder Aungure, whence it is principally exported. 
Large quantities of this description of frankincense are brought to Aden ; 
when picked and garbled, it sells in the market for one and a half dollars 
the maund of 28 lbs. Ungarbled, the usual price for the same quantity 
is three-quarters of a dollar. 

Ill. Lubin Makur, from the seaports of Ras Kurree, Khor Bunder, 
Alholu, Murya, and Bunder Khasoom, in the country of the Worsun- 
gali and Meggertein, tribes of Somalis, who inhabit the extreme North- 
east Coast of Africa, about Cape Gardafui. The natives collect this gum 
in the months of May, June, and July. When picked, it realizes one 
and a half dollars per maund; if not picked, about half that sum. 
Very little of this quality of gum finds its way to Aden ; almost all is 
taken to Maculla and Shehr, on the Arabian coast, from whence it is 
shipped direct to Bombay. The note appended to this describes the 
sample to be inseparate, opaque, yellowish, rather small tears, to which 
bark is frequently attached. 

IV. Lubdn Berbera, or Mustika, so called from the place whence it is 
exported. It is collected in the district inhabited by the Ayil Yunis and 
Ayil Hamed Soumali tribes, and upwards of 3,000 maunds are annually 
sent out of the country. This quality of gum is generally garbled before 
it is exported, and is largely used by the Arabs in their religious services. 
Its price in Aden is from three-quarters to one dollar per maund. 

VY. Arabian Lubdn, commonly called Morbat, or Shaharree Lubdn. A 
large quantity of Olibanum is also collected in the Southern and South- 
eastern districts of Arabia, and exported from several towns on the coast 
between Ras Fartak and Marbat. 

The note to Nos. 4and 5 describes these samples as consisting of tears 
loosely agglomerated together into darkish masses, many of the tears 
having a vitreous appearance when fractured. 

We have ventured upon giving the above descriptions entire, lest the 
volume of the valuable journal whence it is quoted should not be in the 
possession of our readers, : 

The above being known to Dr. Birdwood, he did not rest satisfied 
that the botanical sources should remain undetermined, and therefore 
communicated with Captain Playfair to obtain through him specimens 
of all the Olibanum trees found in the Soumali country. Through this 
channel he learnt that there are at least three trees in that district : 


1. Yegaar, yielding Lubdn Mattee. 


2. Mohr Add, ee 4 
3. Mohr Madow, yielding Lubdn Sheheri. 


The latter product being so called, writes Captain Playfair, “ possibly 
VOL, III. HH 


354 GUM OLIBANUM, 


because it is principally taken to the Shehr and Makulla market from 
the African coast.” The Lubén Mattee and Lubdén Sheheri of Captain 
Playfair would at first seem to correspond with Vaughan’s Lubdn Maittee 
(No. 1), and Luban Shaharree or Morbat (No. 5), but there is difficulty in 
reconciling Captain Playfair’s remark on Lubdén Sheheri with those of Dr. 
Vaughan, who states that the Lubin Makur is “almost all taken to 
Maculla and Shehr on the Arabian coast,” and that the Lubdn Shaharree 
is collected in the Southern and South-eastern districts of Arabia. 


“ach of the three specimens collected by Captain Playfair, ‘writes ; 


Dr. Birdwood,’ so far as can be judged from the leaves, is distinct from 
the plant described and figured by Carter, (vol. ii., ‘Journal of Bombay 
Branch of Asiatic Society,) as Boswellia thurifera (?) and afterwards, as 
believed, identified by Stocks with B.papyrifera. No plant amongst those 
sent by Captain Playfair being like his plant, which, moreover, he found 
in Arabia, Dr. Carter began to doubt Stock’s reference, and expressed the 


opinion that Afohr Madow would prove to be Hochstetter’s plant, of | 


which there can be little doubt, judging from the leaves. There are 
then three known African Olibanuin trees : 


Mohr Madow, Boswellia papyrifera, Hoch. 
Mohr Add (undetermined). 
Yegaar (undetermined). 


And one Arabian plant described in 1847 by Carter, but not yet named, 
Captain Playtair says there are other species in Africa, but he has never 
been able to get at them.” 

If the Lubdén Sheheri of Captain Playfair is proved to be the Lubdén 
Makur of Vaughan, by the fact of its being the kind sent to the Maculla 
and Shehr markets, then it is the produce, in part, of the Mohr Madow 
(Boswellia papyrifera, Hoch.), and the Arabian Lubdén or Lubdn Shaharree 
of Vaughan, in part, the produce of Carter’s tree, which may be called 
provisionally Boswellia Cartert. Unfortunately, however, there is still 
too much of doubt, arising from the discrepancy in native names alluded 
to, to permit of our accepting this conclusion as matter of fact, but this 
little additional information may indicate the course of future enquiry. 

The Arabian plant, which is certainly not Boswellia thurifera, Cole- 
brook, is thus described by Carter, with the exception of the name— 


BOSWELLIA CARTERI, 


“Tn the Arabian tree, the leaflets are oval, of a deep green colour, glossy, 
and sparsely pilose, in both it and B. serrata* they are crenate, serrated 
and wavy ; they average six pairs, an inch in length, and, with the con- 
fluence of the terminal leaflets, amounting to double, and frequently 


treble the size of any of the others. The pericarp is pear-shaped and 


about half the size of an olive ; indeed, the tree throughout appears to 
average haif the size of B. serrata, The new cuticle is of a bright hazel 


* This is the B. thurifera of Colebrooke, 


ON MAIZE PAPER. 355 


brown colour, peeling off in large deciduous flakes from the bases of the 
principal branches and trunk, and none but the oldest portions are 
cinereous. The racemes are fascicled and as long as the leaves.” 

The gum is procured by making longitudinal incisions through the 
bark in the months of May and December, when the cuticle glistens 
with intumescence from the distended state of the parts beneath: the 
operation is simple, and requires no skill on the part of the operator. 
On its first appearance the gum comes forth as white as milk, and ac- 
cording to its degree of fluidity, finds its way to the ground, or concretes 
on the branch near the place from which it first issued, from whence it 
is collected by men and boys, employed to look after the trees by the 
different families who possess the land on which they grow. 

Dr. Carter’s specimens were collected in 1846 at Rakhcote, a small 
village close to Ras Sajar, on the South-east Coast of Arabia. 

The Boswellia glabra, Roxhb., which inhabits Coromandel, yields the 
fragrant resin Goondricum, or as it is called on the Malabar coast 
Koonthrekum, the Googola of the Telingas. The Boswellia thurifera, 
Colebr., is also found in the same locality, and at Nagpore, but the 
true Salat, which is the produce of this tree, is almost a curiosity in 
India, for only a small fragment is contained in the Bombay Museum. 
Olibanum, the produce of India, is therefore not an article of commerce. 
Dr. Birdwood has carefully collected the vernacular names by which 
Olibanum is known in India, Sallaci, Sillaci, Cunduruci, Amduri, 
Surabhi, and Suvana, being the Sanscrit ; Salai, Sale, Sila, Sala, Sajuvan, 
Gundabarosa, Dhoop, Esus, and Luban, Hindustani (Dhoop is also 
applied to the resin of Canarium strictum). In Guzerat, Olibanum is called 
Koondur-zuchir, in the Deccan, Awul-goondur, and the Tamul synonym 
is Paranghi-sawbrani. 


ON MAIZE PAPER. 
BY DR. ALOIS RITTER AUER VON WELSBACH, 


Imperial Royal Aulic Counsellor, Chief Director of the Imperial State Printing 
Establishment in Vienna, and of the Imperial Paper Mill, at Schlogelmuhle, 
Member of the Imperial Academy of Sciences. 


“Where shall we in future get our paper from ?” is at the present 
time a stereotype question among paper-makers. And they have indeed 
reason to ask the question, for it isa well known fact that the consump- 
tion of paper is encrmously increasing in all civilised States. The ex- 
planation of this is not only the increased productive activity of litera- 
ture in general, and the periodical press especially, but also the quicker 
pulsation of public and private commercial life, caused by the freer 

HH 2 


356 ON MAIZE PAPER. 


institutions of States, the stimulus of competition, increased communi- 
cation, &e. A great quantity of paper is also now used for other purposes 
than for printing and writing on, such as for paper hangings, cartridge, 
packing paper, &c. 

The consequences of this enormous paper consumption are felt more 
and more, because the paper manufacturers meet every day with greater 
difficulties in procuring a sufficient supply of the raw material necessary 
for the working of their factories. The rags which are mostly used for 
the paper pulp cannot be produced at will, like other raw material ; the 
supply is, as well in regard to quality as quantity, to a certain limit 
influenced by the activity of the rag gatherers. 

It is therefore evident, that the moment must come, sooner or later, 
when it will be absolutely impossible for the paper manufacturers to 
keep pace with the paper consumption—if they should not succeed in 
discovering a suitable substitute for rags. To this end their exertions 
have been directed for years, and experiments tried with different degrees 
of success have proved the existence of many substances containing fibre ~ 
* which might serve as a substitute for rags. Few, however, are adapted 
for manufacturing purposes, either because they are too costly, or be- 
cause they cannot be obtained in sufficient quantity. Culture or food 
plants are those which are produced in the greatest quantity, and of 
these the maize plant seems one of the best adapted for paper-making. 
This fact was ascertained long ago, and hence it has been tried on 
several occasions. According to Dr. Schaeffers “Sammutliche Papier- 
versuche” (Reginsburg, 1772), two maize straw paper factories existed 
in Italy in the last century. But the process in use by the makers 
seems to have been lost with the decay of the paper mills. A certain 
Montz Diamant, from Bohemia, recently again drew attention to the 
maize plant as a substitute for linen rags, and indicated a process for the 
transformation of maize fibre into paper pulp. He submitted in 1856 
to Baron Bruck, the Austrian Minister of Finance, a project with regard to 
it. The Imperial paper manufactory at Schlogelmuhle, near Gloggnitz, 
was consequently authorised to make, under Diamant’s direction, paper 
out of acertain quantity of maize straw. The paper so produced was not 
satisfactory in regard to quality, and the cost of making it also proved to 
be much higher than that of rag paper. The Minister of Finance 
therefore gave orders to stop further experiments. 

In consequence of a recommendation from experienced men whose 
opinions had been taken, Baron Bruck consented to have a second trial 
made in the Imperial paper mill, under Diamant’s direction. The mill 
was at that time under my superintendence, and I interested myself very 
warmly in the experiments. Different kinds of paper, writing and 
printing, were manufactured, which were not entirely satisfactory as far 
as quality was concerned. The cost of producing the paper was still, in 
spite of all exertions to reduce the manufacturing expenses, considerably 
higher than that of rag paper, consequently the director of the Imperial 


ON MAIZE PAPER. 357 


paper mill could not recommend the manufacture of maize paper on a 
large scale, 

As the bulk of the expenditure arose from the great distance of tran- 
sport of the raw material, it was proposed to undertake the manufacture 
in a locality where maize was raised in sufficient quantity to have the 
straw at hand available. It was further resolved to erect an experi- 
mental factory for reducing it intu half stuff, so that instead of the 
bulky straw only the compressed substance adapted for manufacturing 
paper should be delivered at the paper mills. 

The half-stuff factory was erected at Roman Szt-Mitaaly, near Te- 
mesvar, where the maize cultivation is extensive, and on the 6th March, 
1860, it commenced to work under Diamant’s provisional direction. The 
restricted time for experiments was one year. Diamant promised to 
manufacture in that period 4,500 cwt. of half stuff out of maize straw, 
but not the seventh part of this quantity was reached. 

The half stuff made was also so poor that further experiments, and. 
the working of the factory were suspended at Diamant’s own suggestion 
before the stipulated time had expired. Diamant was then released 
from his position, absented himself, and left the question unsettled. The 
experiments cost more than 30,000 florins, which had been advanced by 
the Imperial paper mill, according to orders from the late Baron Bruck. 
With this, the past operations of maize straw paper were closed as far as 
the experiments were conducted under Diamant’s direction. Diamant 
did not participate in subsequent experiments. 

The Imperial paper mill had now to rely on itself. The exertions of 
the direction under whose superintendence the experiments were con- 
tinued, aimed principally at two things ; first, to reduce the cost of pro- 
duction by improvements in the mode of manufacture—secondly, to 
ascertain what the expenses would be, if, instead of the whole straw, 
only the envelope of the grain cob (the sheathing leaves enclosing the 
corn head), containing fibres of the best and finest quality were used for 
making paper. 

If these industriously continued experiments did not lead directly to 
the desired result, that of making paper as cheap out of maize straw as 
out of rags, they led at least indirectly to improvements, and what is of 
greater weight, to a very important result—the discovery of a new fibre 
capable of being spun and woven, and the waste of which fibre fur- 
nishes a cheap paper. 

The origin of this discovery was somewhat as follows :— 

It was known that the basis of all paper is vegetable fibre. The rags 
are but the fibres, produced out of the flax, hemp, or cotton plants, and 
used up by wearing. If those fibres were used for making paper before 
they were converted into textures, the paper would be certainly better, 
but at the same time more costly. 

Paper of maize straw is paper of unworp plant fibres. After the idea 
had once run in this direction, the question arose—cannot the fibres of 


358 ON MAIZE PAPER. 


the maize plant before they are delivered to the paper machine, just as 
well be worn as the fibres of flax and hemp are first reduced by wear and 
tear? In other words, cannot the maize fibre be spun and woven. All 
that was necessary was a trial. It was made, and succeeded. It was 
found that the maize fibre could be extracted from the plant in a form 
like flax, by a process very simple, and at the same time requiring but 
little apparatus and auxiliary means; that it could be spun like flax, and 
woven like flax thread. The process which I have invented and brought 
into use, is protected by patents in all the great European States, so as 
to secure for Austria the priority of the invention. 

That the spinning and weaving of the maize fibre is not yet so far 
advanced as to make paper out of it, is not to be wondered at, for it 
must be borne in mind that the last-named process has been tried for 
several years, while the invention of spinning and weaving it has only 
recently been experimented on, and is consequently yet in its infancy. 
The textiles of maize flax will look very different in a short time, when 
practical men have taken it in hand, and the spinning and weaving 
machinery have been adapted to the maize fibre. No invention has 
come out of the brain of its author thoroughly complete, all require 
time to bring them to perfection, so has it been with this. But this 
much can be stated with confidence, that the adaptability of maize fibre 
for spinning and weaving is of the greatest consequence in a commercial 
point of view, for the cultivation of this plant constitutes one of the 
most profitable branches of agriculture known, especially in America, 
and parts of Europe. Without taking the corn into consideration, which 
already pays for its cultivation, the various parts of the plants can be 
utilised in many ways. 

By the process employed for producing the maize fibre, the com- 
ponents of the plant are separated into three different parts—fibre, flour- 
dough, and gluten. The fibres are spun and woven ; the nutritive sub- 
stance. (flour-dough) which has the peculiarity ef remaining fresh for 
months in the open air, and, unlike other organic substances, resisting 
putrefaction, gives a pleasant tasting, nutritive, healthy flour dough. 

All the fibre and gluten wastes of the maize plant which are precipi- 
tated during the process of extracting the fibres, are used for manutac- 
turing paper. The catalogues of the Austrian collection at the London 
International Exhibition in 1862 in German, French and English, were 
printed either wholly on maize paper, or on paper made partly of maize 
fibre and of lnenor cotton rags. 

The entire maize plant can be brought into use. The ear and the 
maize stuff extract furnish food for man. The fibres are woven into 
clothing, and the shorter fibre and gluten stuff is converted into beauti- 
ful paper. Afterthe fibre has served for clothing, it is recovered as rags 
and manufactured into paper. What plant can boast of such general 
qualities as maize. 

The most remarkable thing in regard to the process is its simplicity. 


ON MAIZE PAPER. 359 


The humblest labourer can adopt it when once instructed, and is enabled 
to produce the above-named article in the field itself without the slightest 
expense, Where woodis scarce, the lower part of the stalk will supply 
him with fuel; owners of large farms or manufacturers can produce 
hundreds of cwts. per day in steam boilers. The material may be 
bought for cash from the smallest farmer or the largest planter, and 
brought into the markets of the world. 

Austria will endeavour first to acquire enough to supply its own con- 
sumption, and then realise alarge foreign export. The other countries 
where maize is grown will follow in the train of this useful application, 
and the whole world will derive millions of profit by this new branch of 
industry. 

I may close with the following summary : 160 pounds of rags, valued 
here at about 16 florins, are required for the production of 100lbs. of 
foolseap, which paper sells forabout 33 florins. Four florins have been 
paid up to this time at Schlogelmuhle, for one hundred weight of the 
maize paper material. From 3 to 34 cwts. of lischen (head leaves), yield 
1G0lbs. of paper. 

According to official accounts there are in the Austrian dominions 
more than 2,800,000 yokes (14 English acres=1 yoke) of ground planted 
with maize. The produce of lischen or head leaves (grain sheath) 
may therefore be estimated at 25 cwt. of lischen at the lowest compu- 
tation. We maythustake it for granted that 1,200,000 cwt. of rags 
can be substituted by maize leaves. 

One cwt. of head leaves yields, on an average, one-third substance for 
spinning, one-third for paper, and one-third for food, there is, therefore, 
scarcely an atom of waste. 

If the whole of the fibrous substances were worked up into paper 
there would be produced about 1,500,000 cwts, of paper from the lischen. 
collected in the Austrian monarchy. There is no doubt whatever that 
paper made from pure maize substance far surpasse3 the best rag paper 
in strength, toughness, durability, and power of bearing. Experiments 
mInade in my own room and before my own eyes, showed that one 
sheet of bleached maize paper chosen from the portfolio, sustained a 
weight of 460 Vienna pounds. 

If the substance is ground short, on which the transparency depends, 
maize paper can probably be used as an excellent substitute for glass, 
owing partly to its natural transparency. It may further be remarked 
that factories for the extraction of fibre and substance for bread, require 
no expensive machinery, and but little additional material, 


Thus far, our German contributor. The quality of the mixed maize 
and rag paper we have seen resembles that of fine Indian wove, which is 
made for taking impressions of steel engravings. There is no country in 
the world wherethe raw material for maize paper can be obtained in such 
abundance and perfection as in the United States, where 830 million 


360 ON MAIZE PAPER. 


bushels of this grain are produced annually. The fibre of maize, unlike 
that of cotton, is not free, but is connected and embedded in vegetable 
gluten and albumen, which require to be removed by chemical and manu- 
facturing processes before it is fit for making paper. What the expense of 
these processes are Dr. Von Welsback does not tellus ; but the present 
high price of cotton rags warrants us in urging experiments elsewhere 
with the material, in the confident hope that it may be economically and 
generally employed in the manufacture of paper. 

One of the great objects of commercial men belonging to certain 
departments of trade is the production of cheap paper. This useful 
article is now employed in so many different ways, and is in such con- 
stant and increasing demand, that like cotton, its price is rising beyond 
all precedent, unless some discovery of a paper cheaper and more 
suitable than rags is made, or the public choose to submit 
to an inferior article, the prices of many material necessaries of 
civilised life will undoubtedly rise. Paper for printing purposes must 
be possessed of certain properties, such as strength, smoothness, 
pliability, tenacity, and a uniform colour, whether pure white, delicate 
cream or rose, purple or blue, it matters not the colour must be 
uniform, the surface smooth, and the material strong, or the public will 
not be satisfied, 

If any person examines some of the publications now daily or weekly 
issuing from the press he will find that the paper used is often delicately 
tinted. The ‘Illustrated London News,’ for instance, is printed on™ 
paper possessing a very beautiful pink hue when viewed in a proper 
light. Many of the best description of new works are printed on 
straw or cream-coloured paper, but elastic and perfectly uniform in 
texture. Colour conceals many defects, and is much used for this pur- 
pose. The number of substances which have been used for the manu- 
facture of paper with different degrees of success is almost incredible. 

Nearly every kind of plant has been experimented upon ; shavings, 
sawdust, hay, straw, rushes, &c., are all even now used, more or less, for 
the production of printing paper, when mixed with a certain pro- 
portion of rags, and alone or mixed together, to form the coarser 
wrapping and room paper. Even the mineral world has been searched 
for materials for paper, and in 1853 a patent was taken out for the 
preparation and use of asbestos for this purpose. The pulp was 
mixed with alum and an indestructible paper produced, 

The ‘ Mechanics’ Magazine,’ probably unaware of the patent just 
named, introduced the following paragraph respecting this new paper 
material ;—“ In the Northern States of America asbestos is found in 
rather large quantities, in fine, long, silky threads. The low price of 
this mineral, its power of resisting heat, and its low heat-conducting 
power, have led to experiments for using it in paper-making. This 
paper contains about one-third of its weight of asbestos. 

“The paper burns with a flame, and leaves a white residue, ce 


ON MAIZE PAPER, 361 


keeps the shape of the sheet if carefully handled. Any writing in com- 
mon ink is perceptible, even after the organic substance of the paper is 
consumed.” 

The machinery for the manufacture of this important material 
from rags may be said to be almost perfect, but this perfection has been 
gained at the expense of much labour, time, and money. 

Paper in more senses than one has ruined many an industrious and 
honest man. The very machine which now supplies the world with an 
endless sheet of paper, invented by Louis Robert, proved the ruin of 
the liberal and once wealthy firm of Messrs. Fourdrinier of London, 
They spent 60,000/. in giving form and power to this beautiful piece of 
mechanism, which, with the improvements it has since received, has 
culminated in the astonishing results which may be now witnessed in 
certain printing establishments in Europe. Waste cotton or rags, or, 
for the sake of experimental illustration, a number of old shirts or 
pocket-handkerchiefs may be put in at one extremity of the machine, 
and traced through each step in the changes and processes to which they 
are subjected, until, after a comparatively few minutes, they fall into 
the hands of the wondering experimentalists, a printed sheet of paper, 
containing the latest news of the day, or a stereotyped engraving of the 
interior of the late International Exhibition. 

By the agency of the paper machine the old common process of 
manufacturing this article by hand, which occupied about three weeks, 
is now reduced to about three minutes. In all the details of the manu- 
facture, after the pulp is produced, the modern complete paper machine 
may be said to be perfect. The distance the material has to travel in a 
large machine, from the time the rags are introduced to the moment 
when it becomes fit to print on, sometimes exceeds 1,000 feet ; and fine 
writing paper is now made seventy inches in breadth, at the rate of 
sixty feet a minute. The operation of sizing, drying, and cutting into 
sheets is included in the time stated. It isthe material from which the 
pulp is made that is the grand desideratum of the day among paper 
manufacturers. Next to rags, straw is generally acknowledged to be 
the best available material for this purpose. It is largely used for 
newspapers when mixed with a certain portion of rags, and the propor- 
tion of straw used in connection with rags or paper shavings varies from 
50 to 80 per cent. 


362 


NOTES ON THE ECONOMIC APPLICATION OF BARKS. 


BY JOHN R. JACKSON. 


To produce a complete history of barks, and the various uses to 
“which they are applied, would be a work of infinite research, if not 
entire impossibility. The number of plants known to us as furnishing 
useful barks is very great, but hidden treasures in this field, as in all 
others, remain to be brought to light. Barks frequently come under 
our notice as of reputed efficacy in various complaints, or usefulness in 
the rude arts of savage tribes, but for want of confirmatory evidence, 
brought out in experiments conducted by competent men, and a know- 
ledge of their source, little or nothing can be said about them. The 
uses of barks are infinite ; they furnish us with medicines, dyes, and 
tanning substances, clothing, and other necessaries and luxuries. It 
would be difficult to say from which branch of their application we de- 
rive the most benefit—the scientific or the manufacturing ; in other 
words, as medicine or clothing. The properties and uses of some of 
the barks which are invaluable to us in these our own days were 
ejually well known to the ancients, and perhaps none more so than 
Cork, for this appears not only to have been known in times of remote 
antiquity, but also for like purposes to that for which we use it now. 
It is mentioned by Theophrastus and Pliny, the last writer especially 
describing the use of it amongst the Romans for stopping vessels of 
every description, and also for floats for fishing nets, as well as for 
many other purposes. Of the barks of British plants comparatively 
few are made use of in any way whatever. The oak is the chief ex- 
ception, for it is extensively grown for the sake of its bark, which 
is superior to all others for the tanning of leather. I have endeavoured 
to make the following list as perfect as possible by including all 
the barks which have come under my notice as having any special 
property, whether real or reputed, and in this I have not given too much 
attention to those barks in common use, and which are so well known. 
Where it happens that any individual bark has more than one appli- 
cation, I have dwelt more particularly upon it in the division to which 
its use gives it the greatest claim. 


MEDICINAL Barks. 


In this section, undoubtedly the most important is the Peruvian, 
or Cinchona barks, to the cultivation of which so much attention has 
of late been directed, and upon which so much has been written 
by skilful chemists and botanists. An account of the introduction of 
this invaluable plant into the East and West Indies will be found at 
page 181, vol. ii, TeEcHNoLocist. Although one of our most valued 
and important medicines is procured from this plant, it will be needless 
to give more than passing notice here, as the subject has been 


NOTES ON THE ECONOMIC APPLICATION OF BARKS. 363 


thoroughly and skilfully treated by most able men. The precise date 
of the discovery of this invaluable febrifuge has not been recorded, 
but the period of its introduction into Europe is said to be about 
1640. The appellation of Jesuits bark, by which it has been 
known, was not acquired till some years after, upon being taken to 
Rome by the Jesuits, and distributed amongst their order. It after- 
wards fell into disuse, but was revived in France in the time of Louis 
XIV., and has maintained its celebrity as a febrifugal and strengthening 
medicine down to our own day. Indeed it is of more importance now 
than even then, its uses and applications being more fully developed. 
The commercial varieties of Cinchona barks are almost numberless, and 
the species yielding them are not very satisfactorily known. The 
clearest elucidation of this point is probably to be found in Mr. How- 
ard’s new work, “ The Nueva Quinologia cf Pavou.” As is well known, 
the trees producing these barks are natives of the Andes and the eastern 
side of the Cordilleras ; but experiments have of late been tried as te 
their cultivation in both the East and West Indies, where we have 
hopes of their eventually succeeding, so that our supplies of this inva- 
luable remedy may not be curtailed by a continual draining of its native 
habitat. 

Drimys Wintert, Dec. Winter’s bark, a native of the Straits of 
Magellan, Peru, Chili, &c.—It is named in honour of Captain Winter, 
who accompanied Sir Francis Drake in his voyage round the world, and 
who brought some of the bark with him from the Straits of Magellan. 
“ He had found it to be very useful to his ships’ crew, both instead of 
other spices to their meat, and as a medicine very powerful against the 
scurvy.” It has been confounded with the bark of Canella Alba, having 
similar properties, but is seldom employed in practice at the present 
time. The tree grows to about 40 feet high, the bark occurring in 
rolled pieces about two inches in diameter, and frequently about 12 
inches long, in colour of a reddish grey. It has a pungent taste, and an 
aromatic smell. 

Drimys Granatensis, Lin. fil., called Canelo bark in Venezuela, is a 
native of New Grenada, growing about 20 feet high. The bark having 
much the same odour and taste as the preceding. It is much used by 
the people in the provinces of the mines as a tonic in the cure of colics, 
and is in general reputation as a spice for the seasoning of their food. 
It has not found a place in the English Materia Medica. 

Xylopia glabra, L., Bitter Wood of Jamaica—This is a tree grow- 
img to a height of about 40 feet. All parts of the plant have an agree- 
able bitter taste; a decoction of the wood and bark is said to have 
been given with success in colic cases for the purpose of creating 
appetite. The berries have the same bitter properties, imparting to 
the flesh of the wild pigeons which feed upon them a grateful bitter 
flavour. The bark is thin, of a greyish brown colour. ’ 

Guatteria longifolia, Wall. "A native of Ceylon, Java, &c.—It is a 


364 NOTES ON THE ECONOMIC APPLICATION OF BARKS. 


small tree or shrub, the bark having tonic and diuretic properties, 
and is used in Ceylon in the cure of fevers and dropsy. It is of a 
dull reddish grey colour, nearly a quarter of an inch in thickness 

Celocline polycarpa, Hook, fil. A native of West Africa, where it 
is called “ Yellow Gbeyido bark.”—It is thin and fibrous, of a dull 
greyish brown colour, with a yellowish fracture, and is applied by the 
natives as a specific in ulcers ; a yellow dye is also obtained from it. 

Guazuma (probably ulmifolia), known in the markets’of Caraccas and 
La Guayra as “ Gudsima blanco.” It abounds in mucilage, and is used 
in decoction. It is considered salutary in cases of irritation. The bark 
is usually about the sixteenth of an inch thick, of a dusky brown colour, 
with a reddish fracture. The tree grows abundantly in the valley of 
the River Tuy. 

Guazuma tomentosa, H.B.K.—This is a small tree, about 12 or 14 
feet high, and very abundant in the same districts as the former. This 
bark is also found in the markets of Caraccas and La Guayra, under the 
name of “ Gudsima colorado.” It is of a reddish brown colour, thin and 
fibrous, and is in great repute in the cure of dysentery and similar 
diseases. 

Aigle Marmelos, Corr.—This tree is a native of Coromandel, Mala- 
bar, &c., and grows to a tolerably large size. The bark is of an ashy 
grey colour, and is used in decoction for palpitation of the heart, bilious 
fevers, &c., though seldom alone, but in combination with other ingre- 
dients. It is the root bark which has the greatest reputation, and which 
is mostly used. All parts of the plant are considered refrigerant in 
Malabar. 

Cinnamodendron corticosum, Miers.—This is a small tree or shrub, 
10 to 15 feet high, native of Jamaica, The bark is about a quarter of 
an inch in thickness, the outer surface of a clear reddish grey tint, the 
inner of a dusky white, and much resembles the bark of Canella alba, 
having also similar properties. 

Canella alba, Sw.—A tree growing to about 50 feet high, native of 
the West Indies. Its bark is similar in colour to the foregoing, but 
perhaps rather lighter on the inner surface, the fracture having a whitish 
granular appearance. It is aromatic, stimulant, and tonic. Its use in 
this country is chiefly as a medicinal agent. In the West Indies it is 
occasionally employed as a condiment. This bark has often been con- 
- founded with winter’s bark. See Drimys Winteri. 

Azadirachta Indica, Juss——A tolerably-sized tree, native of the East 
Indies, where the bark is much used by the natives as a tonic in inter- 
mittent fevers. It is stimulant and anti-spasmodic, and is likewise 
employed in cholera, chronic rheumatism, &c., applied either in decoc- 
tion or powder. A gum obtained from the bark is used in native prac- 
tice as a stimulant. 

. Galipea cusparia, St. Hil—A native of the forests of tropical America, 
where the tree grows 70 or 80 feet high. The bark is of a light ash 


NOTES ON THE ECONOMIC APPLICATION OF BARKS, 365 


colour, intensely bitter and aromatic, having tonic and stimulant pro- 
perties. According to Humboldt and Bonpland, the Angostura bark of 
comimerce is furnished by this tree, but Dr. Hancock, who was resi- 
dent in the district for some months, considers it to be the produce of a 
distinct species, that of G'. officinalis, Han. This is a smaller tree than 
the former, seldom found attaining a greater height than 20 feet, with 
a bark much resembling that of the former species. It grows in the 
neighbourhood of the Orinoco, Alta Gracia, &c., and is known to the 
natives as the “Orayura.” It is considered by Dr. Hancock as one of 
the most valuable febrifuges produced in that country, being adapted to 
the worst and most malignant bilious fevers. The natives use the bark 
when bruised for the purpose of intoxicating fish. Its use in this 
country is not very extensive, but an infusion of it is sometimes prescribed 
in bilious diarrheea, dysentery, dyspepsia &c. It arrives here either 
direct from South America or indirect by the West Indies, the largest 
quantity being imported from those islands, where it is packed in cases 
for transmission to England, The bark occurs in pieces of various 
sizes, some nearly flat, others more or less quilled. When fractured, it 
is brittle and resinous, and has a strong odour. Its introduction into 
England dates from about 1788. 

Evodia febrifuga, St. Hil—A tree about 40 feet high, native of Brazil, 
where the bark is used with great success for the same purposes as 
cinchona. 

Ticorea febrifuga, St. Hil—This is a small tree about 20 feet high, 
growing in the province of Minas Geraes, Brazil. The bark is very 
bitter, astringent, and febrifugal, as its specific name indicates. 

Xanthoxylon fraxineum, Willd.—Known as the American Prickly 
Ash—though no ash at all—is a small tree about 10 or 15 feet high, 
erowirg in the woods and shady parts near rivers of South America. 
The bark is in great repute in the United States. As a remedy in 
chronic rheumatism, and reduced to powder it is occasionally employed 
as a topical irritant. It is likewise chewed as a cure for toothache, for 
which it is a popular remedy. It is somewhat aromatic and very 
pungent. The bark as found in commerce is in small quills, not very 
thick, in colour of a darkish grey, with occasional lightish patches. 

X. Clava Hercules, L.—A tree growing from 20 to 50 feet high, native 
of the West Indies, where its bark is extensively employed, both ex- 
ternally and internally as a remedy in malignant ulcers. The tincture 
is reputed to be a valuable febrifuge, and an infusion antispasmodic. 
The bark is of a dusky brown, with nipple-like protuberances, the 
remains of the spines. 

Cerasus serotina, Dec.—This is a tree about 20 feet high, native of 
North America, where the bark is considered one of the most valuable 
indigenous remedies for calming irritation, and diminishing nervous 
excitement ; it is also efficacious in dyspepsia, intermittent fever, &c, 
It is known as wild cherry bark, and is obtained alike from the trunk 


366 NOTES ON THE ECONOMIC APPLICATION OF BARKS. 


and branches, though that from the root is considered to be the most 
active. It is found in trade, in pieces of various sizes, of a reddish 
brown colour, rather brittle, showing a reddish grey fracture. It has a 
pleasant aromatic and bitter taste. 

Prinos verticillatus, Lin—The black alder of North America, where it 
grows abundantly in damp, moist places, or swamps, all through the 
States. It isa shrub, growing 8 to 10 feet high. The bark occurs in 
pieces of irregular length, more or less quilled. The under surface of a 
dingy or greenish white. It has a bitterish and astringent taste; is used 
in the United States as a remedy in diarrheea, intermittent fever, &c., 
and is likewise considered useful in cutaneous diseases, both for internal 
and external application. 

Cornus florida, L.—Also a North American tree, where it is called 
Dogwood. It grows to a height of about 15 to 20 feet. The bark is 
obtained from all parts of the tree, the most valued being that from 
the root which appears in commerce in various sized pieces, partially 
rolled. Of a reddish grey colour, and very brittle, having a bitter 
astringent and somewhat aromatic taste. Its uses in American practice 
have been chiefly as a tonic, and as a substitute for cinchona bark. 
Two other species of this genus C. sericea, Herit., and C. circinata, 
Herit.,-furnish barks having similar properties, though not used in prac- 
tice to the extent of the former species. 

Chrysophyllum buranhetm, Riedd.—A Brazilian tree, growing in the 
neighbourhood of Rio Janeiro. The bark is known as Monesia Bark, 
and was introduced into France at the early part of the present cen- 
tury, where it has been employed, as well as in Germany,in cases of 
atonic diarrheea, leucorrheea, &c., though it has now fallen into disuse. 
The Brazilians still use it for like purposes. It has an astringent bitter 
taste, in colour of a lightish dusky brown, very thick and heavy, in 
pieces of various sizes and shapes. 

Ardisia paniculata, Roxb.—An East Indian shrub, growing 10 or 12 
feet high, producing a bark having tonic and astringent properties, 
which is used in Ceylon in fevers and bowel complaints, and for exter- 
nal application in the cure of ulcers, &c. The bark is rather thin, of 
a greyish brown colour, in pieces of various sizes. 

Strychnos nux vomica, L.— A native of Coromandel, Ceylon, 
and other parts of the East Indies, growing to a moderate sized 
tree, with a rather short, crooked stem. This bark was formerly con- 
founded with Angostura Bark, but is now generally known as False 
Angostura. Its appearance is greatly altered by age, the young bark 
being of an ashy grey colour, and somewhat resembling true angostura. 
At a more advanced age, it becomes partially covered with a soft, 
spongy surface, of a rusty appearance. It is found in pieces of an irre- 
gular size, hard and close, with an exceedingly bitter taste. This bark 
has been sold in the shops in Calcutta under the name of “ Rohun,” 
the true “Rohun” being the bark of Soymida febrifuga, which is per- 


NOTES ON THE ECONOMIC APPLICATION OF BARKS. 367 


fectly harmless, and used as a febrifuge, while the strychnos bark is of 
a poisonous nature. Drs. Pereira and Christison discovered, upon 
examination, the difference between the two barks, but not till it had 
been employed on the Continent, and its use prohibited on account of 
the fatal cases which occurred. 

Bignonia chelonoides, L.—A large East Indian tree, the bark of which 
is tonic, and employed in~Ceyion in fevers and puerperal inflamma- 
tions. It is rather a thickish bark, the outer surface of a lightish brown 
colour, the under of a bright yellowish grey. 

Sassafras officinale, Nees.—A tree of North America, sometimes grow- 
ing to a height of from 30 to 50 feet, but varying much in size, according 
to the favourable or unfavourable situation in which it is found; thus, 
in the northern parts, it is seldom more than a shrub. The flowers, and 
nearly every part of the plant have a slightly aromatic odour ; but the 
root and bark are the parts which are employed in medicine, the bark 
of the root being in greater reputation than that of the trunk or branches. 
It is cousidered powerfully sudorific, and is employed in combination 
with sarsaparilla and guaiacum, in chronic rheumatism and cutaneous 
diseases, in this country as well as in North America. The root bark is 
found in commerce in small pieces, the outer surface, or epidermis being 
of a brownish grey, while the inner side is of a dusky red brown, the 
bark is of a corky, or spongy, consistence, 

Nectandra Rodiei, Schomb.—A large forest tree of British Guiana, 
the timber of which is known and much valued under the name of 
Greenheart. The tree grows to 80 and sometimes even 100 feet in 
height. The first notice of the valuable qualities of this wood was 
made by Bancroft, in 1769. Dr. Roder afterwards, in 1834, discovered 
the chemical properties of the bark, which he proposed as a substitute 
for cinchona. He also found that the bark and fruit contained an alka- 
loid, to which he gave the name of Bebeerine, the tree being called the 
“ Bebeeru.” An interesting account of this alkaloid and its effects will 
be found at p. 140, Vol. III. of the Tecunonoaist. Its properties are 
tonic, astringent, and febrifugal. The bark, as it occurs in commerce, is 
in large pieces of about 1 to 2 feet long, and from 3 to 6 inches broad, 
and about 4 lines thick. Externally, it is of a dusky greyish colour, 
the inner surface of a cinnamon brown. ‘ 

Daphne mezereum, L. (Mezereon or Spurge Laurel).—This is a well 
known medicinal agent, though in this country seldom employed alone. 
It is produced by an indigenous plant, and is collected for its medicinal 
properties both in the counties of Kent and Hampshire. It is a bushy 
shrub 4to 5 feet high, producing sweet scented pink blossoms in the 
spring months when destitute of leaves. The earliest authentic notice 
we have of the plant dates from about 1530. Its properties are sudo- 
rific and alterative, stimulating, and diuretic, preserved in scrofulous and 
chronic cutaneous affections, rheumatism, &c., and is frequently used in 
England as a remedy for toothache. In this country the bark of the 


368 NOTES ON THE ECONOMIC APPLICATION OF BARKS. 


root is considered the most valuable, and commands a much higher 
price than that from the stem. In Germany the bark is collected in 
the spring from the stem and larger branches, and folded and dried in 
bundles for medicinal purposes. In appearance the root bark is usually 
somewhat darker than that from the stem ; but both are of a fibrous tough 
and limp nature, of a brownish corrugated exterior, with a yellowish or 
whitish cottony appearance on the inner surface. It is found in com- 
merce in strips several inches long. The taste of the bark when chewed 
is sweetish, changing to an acrid burning flavour. 

Croton Eleuteria, Sw.—From this, and probably other allied species, 
the bark known as Cascarilla is procured, but much confusion exists 
as to the identity of the plants producing it. The name of Cascarilla 
has been given by the Spaniards to several varieties of Cinchona barks, 
but when found in our Pharmacopeia is always intended for the bark 
furnished by the genus Croton. The first notice of Cascarilla appears 
to have been made in the year 1692 by a Spaniard named Vincent 
Garcias Salat, soon after its introduction ; it was thought to be produced 
either by a species of cinchona, or, frankincense (Boswellia), but Catesby, 
in 1754, in his Nat. Hist. of Carolina, described the plant, stating it grew 
abundantly in the Bahamas. From this and otber sources botanists 
were enabled to determine the genus as that of Croton and the species 
probably Eleuteria, but it is very probable that the Cascarilla bark, 
as found in commerce, is the produce of other species as well as this. 
The Croton Eleuteria is a small tree or shrub growing in some parts only 
4 to 6 feet high, but toa height of 20 feet in Jamaica, where it is found, 
as well as in the other West Indian Islands, growing abundantly in 
thickets. The chemical properties of the bark are stimulant, tonic and 
febrifugai. It has been employed as a substitute for cinchona, but is 
chiefly used in dyspepsia and general debility. In Germany it is largely 
employed for various complaints, as low and intermittent fevers, 
dysentery, diarrheea, &c. The bark as met with in commerce is in small 
quills, a few inches long, of a dull brown exterior, but nearly covered 
with a whitish cuticle, the inside being of a dull cinnamon brown. It 
has a brittle resinous fracture. 

Croton pseudo-China, Schiede. — From this species the Copalchi 
bark of Mexico is said to be obtained. It has been asserted that the 
Croton Cascarilla of Linneus yields both the Copalchi bark of Mexico 
and also a bark known in Chili and Peru as “ Natra.” But there ap- 
pears little doubt that the true Copalchi bark is produced by the former 
species, that is if we take the small variety of Copalchi as the true 
bark, for it comes in two distinct forms—viz.,in small and slender 
quills of an ashy colour, and also in quills of five or six times the 
circumference, with a thickish and somewhat cork-like epidermis. 
This latter has been referred to Croton Suberosum, H.B.K., but with 
doubt. The medicinal properties of this bark resemble those of Casca- 
rilla. In Mexico it is in great esteem asa tonic, and largely used as a 


NOTES ON THE ECONOMIC APPLICATION OF BARKS. 369 


substitute for cinchona. A paper on the Cascarilla Barks will be found 
in the present volume of the TECHNOLOGIST, p. 270. 

Aralia spinosa, L.— Called in North America Angelica, or Tooth- 
ache tree. It is an arborescent shrub, indigenous to the United 
States ; growing in the Southern States to a height of 30 or 40 feet. 
The properties of the bark are stimulant and diaphoretic ; an infusion 
ef the fresh bark is considered emetic and cathartic. Itis employed in 
cutaneous eruptions, chronic rheumatism, &c., and the tincture is con- 
sidered efficacious in toothache, hence one of the popular names of the 
tree. The bark as found in the shops is in small fine quills, the ex- 
terior surface of a greyish colour, with spines or prickles, or the remains 
of them. It has not a place in the British Pharmacopeia, but is in 
repute amongst the Americans. 

4asculus Hippocastanum, L.—This tree, the Horse-Chesnut of our 
gardens, is probably a native of the north of India or Persia. The 
bark has been employed in Italy with success in intermittent fevers, 
but has not been adopted as a medicinal agent in this country. In 
decoction it has been recommended in gangrene. The date of the intro- 
duction of the tree in England appears uncertain; but it was not 
common with us until about the beginning of the last century. 

Monnina polystachia. R.et P.—A shrub native of the Andes of 
Peru, where it is found growing in thickets, and known by the name 
of ‘*Yalhoi.”” The fresh bark of the root, pounded and moulded into 
balls, is used by the Peruvians in place of soap. The medicinal pro- 
perty of this bark is anti-dysenteric, and it is successfully employed by 
the natives in cases of dysentery and diarrhcea. 

Castanea pumila, Mill.—A tree or shrub indigenous to North 
America, where it is known as Chinquapin. It sometimes grows to a 
height of 30 or 40 feet. The bark is tonic and astringent, and has been 
applied in America inthe cure of intermittent fevers, but its virtues 
seem to be hardly sufficient to give it even a place in the Pharmacopesia 
of that country. 

Schleichera tryuga, Willd.— A tree growing about 20 feet high, 
native of the East Indies, Ceylon, &c. The bark is said to have astrin- 
gent properties, and is used by the Indians to cure the itch, for which 
purpose it is pounded and rubbed up with oil. 

Swietenia Mahogani, L.—The mahogany tree grows in Cuba, Hon- 
duras, St. Domingo, the West Indian Islands, &c., attaining a height of 
80 or 90 feet. The bark is employed in the West Indies as a substitute 
for cinchona, and is said to have been used with success in intermittent 
fevers, &., though its effects undoubtedly are not to be compared with 
Peruvian bark. 

Soymida febrifuga, Juss.—This is a native of the East Indies, chiefly 
the central and southern provinces. Itis a tree about sixty feet high. 
The bark has an astringent bitter taste, and is considered a good tonic 
in intermittent fevers. It is reputed to be of great efficacy in Jungle 

VOL, III. 1 5 


370 NOTES ON THE ECONOMIC APPLICATION OF BARKS. 


fever, when Peruvian bark has no effect. An infusion or decoction is 
usually employed, but, if taken in too large quantities, it is apt to 
cause vertigo and stupor. 

Punica Granatum, L. The Pomegranate.—This is a small, shrubby 
tree, found wild upon the shores of the Mediterranean, Persia, Arabia, 
India, and China, It has been introduced into the West Indies, and is 
now very generaly cultivated in all warm climates, for the sake of its 
fruit. It is the bark of the root that is used in medicine. It abounds 
in a peculiar acrid principle called punicin. This bark appears to have 
been known to the ancients, and used by them as a vermifuge, and it is 
still used by the native practitioners of Hindostan, as a specific against 
tapeworm. It has aplace in our Materia Medica asa valuable anthel- 
mintic, and is usually applied in decoction, but can also be administered 
in powder. The bark as found in commerce is in small pieces, rather 
brittle ; the entire surface of a yellowish or ashy grey ; the inner, of a 
pale, dusky yellow. 

Juglans cinerea, L.—This is a 1ative forest tree of North America, 
where it is known as Butternut. It varies in size according to the place 
of its growth ; in favourable situations, frequently attaining to fifty or 
sixty feet high. The inner bark is the medicinal portion, that from the 
root being considered the most powerful. Its properties are cathartic 
and rubrufacient, and it has been used in America with success in inter- 
mittent and remittent fevers. It is employed in the forms both of 
extract and decoction. The bark, when fresh, is of a clear, white 
colour, changing to a deep brown when dry, and besides being employed 
in medicine, is often used for dyeing wool of a dark, brown colour. 

Crateva tapia, L—A tree growing about twenty feet high ; native 
of the West Indies and South America. The properties of the bark are 
bitter and tonic, and it is said to have been employed with success in the 
cure of intermittent fevers. 

Cedrela toona, Roxb.—An East Indian tree, about 60 feet high. The 
bark is a very powerful astringent, and is considered extremely effica- 
cious in fevers, diarrhoea, dysentery, &c. It also has the repute of being 
a good substitute for cinchona, especially when combined with the 
powdered seeds of the Guilandina bonduc. In the form of a powder, the 
bark is applied externally in the cure of ulcers. 

Khaya senegalensis, Juss.—A forest tree, common on the banks of 
the Gambia, attaining a height of from 80 to 100 feet. The bark, which 
is called “Cail Cedra,” is bitter, and is used by the natives either in 
infusion or decoction, as a febrifuge. 

Liriodendron tulipifera, u—The tulip tree of North America, where 
it forms one of the handsomest and most noble of forest trees, frequently 
attaining 100 feet in height. It ranges from New York to Florida, but 
is found most abundantly in the forests of the middle and westerm 
states. The bark has a place in the American Pharmacopeeia, its medicinal 
properties being stimulant and diaphoretic, and it has been used suc- 


= 


NOTES ON THE ECONOMIC APPLICATION OF BARKS, 371 


cessfully in intermittent fevers, dyspepsia, chronic rheumatism, &c. It 
is usually administered in the form of a powder, the decoction and 
infusion being less powerful. The bark is obtained from the trunk, 
branches, and root ; the latter is considered the most active. It seems 
to lose some of its aroma and pungency by being kept. As met with in 
commerce, it is of a yellowish, or dirty white colour, rather light, and 
very brittle. 

Magnolia glauca, L.—Another North American plant, sometimes 
found in the Southern States, growing to a height of 40 feet, while in the 
northern it is seldom more than a shrub. Itis common in the swamps, 
and on the shores of the Atlantic, from Massachusetts to the Mexican 
Gulf. It is knownin the Northern States by the name of Magnolia ; in 
the Southern, by white, or sweet bay, swamp sassafras, &c. The bark is 
considered diaphoretic, stimulant, and tonic, and has been employed in 
chronic rheumatism, intermittent and remittent fevers. The fresh bark, 
macerated and steeped in brandy, is a popular remedy for rheumatism. 
This bark has a bitter, spicy taste, and an aromatic odour, and is usually 
administered in powder, being more powerful than when given in infusion. 
The barks of M. acuminata and M. tripetala have properties similar to 
the preceding, and are used for like purposes. They are both natives 
of North America, M. acuminata growing to a large size—70 or 80 feet, 
while M. tripetala rarely exceeds 30 feet. 

Zizyphus j:guba, Lam.—A small tree, about 16 feet high, native of 
various parts of the East Indies and China. The bark is employed in 
the Moluccas as a remedy in diarrhcea, and in India that from the root, 
powdered and mixed with oil, is used to cure ulcers. 

Emblica officinalis, Gaertn.—A small tree, native of the East Indies. 
The bark is astringent, and is given in diarrhea; it is also used for 
tanning purposes. The bark of the root when mixed with honey is 
applied to apthous inflammations of the mouth. In colour it is of an 
ash grey. 

Eleodendron Roxburghi, W. et A.—This is a small tree, native of the 
mountainous parts of India. The bark of the roots is a very powerful 
astringent, and when fresh is rubbed with water and applied externally 
to swellings of all kinds. 

Byrsonima crassifolia, Dce.—A tree about 20 feet high, native of 
Guiana, where the bark is employed as a febrifuge. It is also reputed 
as very efficacious in the cure of abscesses in the lungs. An infusion 
under the name of “ Chapara manteca” is given as an antidote for 
rattlesnake bites. 

Andira inermis, H. B.—A tree about 20 or 30 feet high, native of 
Jamaica, Trinidad, and other West Indian Islands, where it is known as 
the “ Cabbage tree.” The medicinal properties of the bark are cathartic 
and emetic, and it is considered in the West Indies an efficient vermi- 
fuge, but care has to be taken in its administration, as an overdose 
produces vomiting, fever, delirium, and frequently death. It has a 


372 THE CORAL FISHERY OF THE MEDITERRANEAN. 


sweetish mucilaginous taste, but a disagreeable smell, and is adminis- 
tered in the form either of decoction, extract, syrup, or in powder. Its 
properties are extracted by boiling water. It is found in long, thick, 
fibrous pieces, the outer surface of an ashy brown colour, frequently 
covered with small lichens, the under surface is of a yellowish colour, 
and has a short brittle resinous fracture. 

Simaruba amara, Aubl.—A large tree, 60 feet high, native of Guiana, 
and other parts of South America, also in some of the West Indian 
Islands. In Jamaica it is called the Mountain Damson. Itis the root 
bark that is employed medicinally, and has a place in our Materia 
Medica. Its properties were first made known in Europe in the year 
17138, some of the bark being sent from Guiana to Paris with the infor- 
mation that it was successfully employed by the natives in dysentery. 
Dr. Wright afterwards published a botanical description of the tree pro- 
ducing it. Its chief use is as a tonic, but in large doses it is said to 
cause purging and vomiting. It is usually administered in infusion, its 
virtues being easily taken in water and alcohol. It arrives in this country 
in bales from Jamaica, and occurs in pieces several feet long, rather 
broad and somewhat flexible and fibrous. The exterior is rough and 
marked with transverse ridges, internally it isofa pale yellow. It has 
a bitterish taste; but is without smell. An article on the ““Commercial 
Quassia,’ by Dr, Bowerbank of Jamaica, vol. ii., p. 250, TecHNOLOGIST, 
describes this bark fully. 

Toddalia aculeata, Pers.—A common hedge bush in many parts of 
India. The bark of the roots when fresh is employed by the Telinga 
physicians as a cure for the remittent fever, known as jungle fever. 
The whole of the plant is considered to possess powerful stimulating 


properties. 
(To be continued.) 


THE CORAL FISHERY OF THE MEDITERRANEAN. 
BY THE EDITOR. 


In the second volume of the TECHNOLOGIST, at page 20, we drew 
attention generally to the “Coral of Commerce,” and we now proceed 
to furnish some more special, descriptive, and recent details respecting 
the fishery off the Algerian and Italian shores. 

Coral is one of the handsomest and most valuable productions ob- 
tained from the sea. Naturalists range it in the animal kingdom at the 
head of zoophytes, or animal plants. It presents to the fishermen the 
appearance of a branching shrub without leaves, of a red or rose colour 


THE CORAL FISHERY OF THE MEDITERRANEAN, 373 


hard, compact, and solid. Coral has the hardness and brilliancy of the 
agate ; it polishes like gems, and shines like garnet, with the tints of the 
ruby. It is found almost on the whole length of the Mediterranean 
Sea; but that obtained at great depths is the handsomest and the most 
diffused. But little is found near rivers. It is not found, according to 
M. Bory de St. Vincent, at less than 100 feet; but the small forests 
which it forms descend to a depth of 650 feet. 

Since the sixteenth century, when the merchants of Marseilles began 
to fish for coral in the Gulf of Stora, this industry has been nurtured by 
the French Government, and with varied success to the profit of the 
trade and commerce of Marseilles. 

In 1750, the French company which prosecuted this fishery employed 
25 boats, which brought in annually from 30 to 35,000 kilogrammes of 
coral of the value of more than 1,000,000 francs, This coral. was 
re-sold by the manufacturers of Marseilles at the price of five millions, 
thus bringing in a profit of four million francs to the workers. The 
suppression of the exclusive privilege of the fishery in 1791 led to the 
decline of the fishing for and manufacture of coral in France, which 
passed into the hands of foreigners. 

Naples, Genoa, and Leghorn, took up the advantages which France 
had enjoyed, and for the last quarter of a century it is chiefly these 
foreign boats which have pursued the coral-fishery on the Algerian 
coast. Notwithstanding all the efforts made by France to recover the 
principal share of this profitable pursuit, she has not succeeded. Ac- 
cording to an official document, the reasons assigned for this ill-success 
are as follows :—The fishery is not unattended with hardship and peril, 
and the number of seamen is seldom equal to the ordinary wants of 
commerce ; they also find more comfort and greater advantages in other 
maritime operations. 

The Neapolitans, the Genoese, the Sardinians, and the Spaniards, 
accustomed to a more frugal diet, are content with a morsel of bread 
and a clove of garlic the greater part of the time, fare which would not 
satisfy the French fishermen. But this is not the sole reason of their 
numerical superiority in the prosecution of the fishery. The extra cost 
of the French outfit for the boats is another disadvantage under which 
they labour, while the fluctuations of price, owing to changes in fashion, 
gives it a less interest in their eyes. 

But notwithstanding the favours accorded to French boats under the 
ordinance of the 3lst of March, 1832, and the efforts of the Adminis- 
tration to nationalise this industry, the Genoese, Sardinian, and Nea- 
politan fishermen are still almost exclusively in possession of the 
coral fishery. The number of French boats employed continues very 
limited. The ordinance of the 9th Nov., 1844, fixed the annual sum 
payable to the State by foreign boats at 800 francs, without distinction 
of season, The French boats are free from any payment, 


374 THE CORAL FISHERY OF THE MEDITERRANEAN. 


To this day we possess but vague and indistinct accounts of the 
processes of formation and reproduction of coral. 

M. Lacaze du Thiers, Professor of Science at Lille, who was charged 
with a mission to the Coast of Algeria to report upon this zoophyte, has 
given us the results of his investigation and curious experience. 

The following are extracts from his report presented to the Governor- 
General :— 

“The lower or inferior animals have the power of producing, by 
buds like vegetables, other individuals of the same kind. From these, 
again, proceed others endowed with the like properties, which remain 
connected, and produce, by their aggregation, masses of different forms, 
according to the species. 

“To describe correctly a branch of coral, we must bear in mind this 
peculiar property of germination which belongs to the immense class 
of zoophytes, and we can then consider it as a colony of individuals 
derived from one zoophyte, itself originating from an ovum or egg. 

“The stem of the coral is divisible into two constant .and distinet 
parts: a central axis, hard and brittle, like stone, which is the part used 
in commerce, and a soft covering or epidermis, which easily yields to 
the nail when it is fresh, but is friable or brittle when dry. 

“This epidermis appears indented by small cavities upon its surface, 
and we can often perceive radiated pores corresponding to these cavi- 
ties. In observing the live coral, we see that out of these holes protrude 
the little flowers that the naturalists Maligny and Peissonnel recognised 
as the animals, and which they compared to small sea-nettles. 

“ Nothing can equal the delicacy and graceful disposition of these 
little milk-white rosettes, which contrast admirably with the brilliant 
red of the coral. 

“Their arms which surround their mouths, are ciliated, or covered 
with fine fringes which, ever moving and agitating the water, create a 
circular current that carries to the centre, and consequently into their 
mouths, the minute matters that sustain them. 

“The epidermis is composed of a very delicate white tissue, and 
presents through its whole thickness the long cavities of the polypes. 
It is traversed by canals, which are very numerous, and establish a 
solidity between all parts, sprinkled with small calcareous corpuscles, 
hard, resisting, and all armed with unassailable bundles of points, 
having a special form. 

“The structure of the animals is otherwise very simple; they pre- 
sent the appearance of a pocket or of an open purse. The mouth is 
surrounded with arms, and conducts to the central or penetrating cavity 
the food, and there we find eight lamille radiating towards the centre. 

“We do not remark, as analogous to the organs of circulation, the 
ramifying vessels which establish an union between the different indi- 
viduals in carrying into their chief cavity the liquids that digestion has 


THE CORAL FISHERY OF THE MEDITERRANEAN. 375 


there prepared for thejr removal, not only into the whole thickness of 
the epidermis, but again into a series of parallel tubes that surround 
the axis. 

“One can seldom form an exact idea of the axis. The polype tree— 
that is to say the solid framework or skeleton of the zoophyte—forms 
part of the animal in the same way that this froth-like tissue is the 
bony framework around which the animalcule are grouped. 

“The ends of the branches of coral are generally the thickest parts. 
This arises from a considerable number of large polypes, with young 
ones budding from their bases. The epidermis is relatively more deve- 
loped than the hard axis which scarcely yet exists. 

“The intestinal coils, which proceed from the walls of the digestive 
cavity, without re-uniting upon the centre, bear at their base the ovaries, 
and in the males the seminal capsules. Some polypes may be found 
wholly males, and some entirely female ; others again are hermaphrodite, 
but these latter are comparatively few. 

“Fecundation must be accomplished in the digestive sac. The egg 
remains in the sac where it has been produced, and there undergoes the 
transformation in the centre of the same place where the digestion of 
the alimentary matter is accomplished. 

“This egg is of a fine dead white ; it is not at all transparent. It is 
of a spherical form before fecundation, but afterwards becomes oval, 
and is covered with that moveable down or fringe which naturalists call 
vibratile cilia, and which, moving with great rapidity, serves to carry 
along the body which bears it. 

“When the egg has taken this elongated form, and is invested with 
organs of locomotion, it becomes an embryo: it is a juvenile that 
goes moving about at fuli liberty for a certain time, and then settles 
down and fixes itself to a rock, to become the founder of a colony of 
similar individuals, or a branch of coral.” 

The necessary outfit for a boat costs about 6,000 francs. The total 
receipts of the French boats vary annually between the wide margin of 
13,000 to 34,000 francs, or it may be taken at a mean sum of 22,000 to 
25,000 francs, being nearly 150 kilogramme of coral per boat, and 400 to 
500 kilos for the most successful. The value of coral varies considerably. 
In 1826, when the use of it by ladies had gone out of fashion, it was 
estimated by the French custom-house authorities at but 2 francs the kilo- 
gramme in the rough. In 1853, when it had again come somewhat into 
favour, it was valued at 25 francs the kilogramme. 

The number of boats employed varies each year, but on the average 
reaches about 200. As there are about 10 men to each boat, we havea 
total of 2,000 mariners frequenting yearly the Algerian coasts for fishing 
coral. In 1850 the fishery was carried on by 204 boats, of which 26 
were French, 3 Sardinian, 121 Neapolitan, 28 Tuscan, and 26 Spanish. 

According to the Customs returns, these boats obtained nearly. 29,000 


376 THE CORAL FISHERY OF THE MEDITERRANBAN. 


kilogrammes of coral, valued at about 14 million francs (60,0007) This 
was obtained at the following localities :— 


Kilos. Value francs. 

Oran ; ; 3 262 : : 13,000 
Mers-el-Kébir . § 307 : ; 15,350 
Alger : A “ 345 3 4 17,250 
Dyjidyelli ie 04236 : 11,800 
Stora ‘ : F 218 : : 10,900 
Philippeville . : 76 2 PS RosoOU 
Bone : : 2 937 : : 416,850 
La Calle — . . 19,200 : ; 960,000 

29,881 1,448,950 


In 1856, the rough coral exported from Algeria, amounted to but 
9,557 kilogrammes, of the value of 477,850 francs ; in 1861, it reached 
37,118 kilogrammes, of the value of 1,855,900 francs. In 1857, there was 
sent to France rough coral of the value of 170,000 francs, and in 1858 to 
the value of 330,000 francs. 


The following figures give the value of the exports in the last six 
years :— 


Frances. 
TBS) pitas acl uk et ue eee IB OIS OM 
1856 Ser tahoe ay ae 477,850 
1857 A P ; 661,350 
TESS cis hye ed aah Fee ane ESO. G00 
TEGO) hich hanes. (ea eat ae 14 ABO 0 
TSO). UO + Go) eh GBs OND 


The statistics of export show that it is carried for the most part to 
the same ports from which the fishing boats proceeded. 

The coral, after being cut and mounted, is sent from Leghorn, Naples, 
and Genoa, to Alexandria, Constantinople, and Aleppo, and from thence 
finds its way to Persia, India, and China ; of late years more has come to 
England than usual. Thus, in 1861, there was imported of : 


lbs. £ 
Coral in fragments . : 15,639 valued at 5,706 
» Whole : 5 84 = 370 
» Negligees Shap Ste 602 5 2,015 
16,385 8,091 


This was more than four times the quantity imported the previous 
year, and hence the price fell considerably. 
We may append to the foregoing some official details respecting the 


{HE CORAL FISHERY OF THE MEDITERRANEAN. 377 


Italian coral trade, as furnished in the official Exhibition catalogue of 
that kingdom. 

Coral is an important branch of industry and commerce in Italy. 
Genoa, Leghorn, and Naples, have been from old times the three great 
centres to which the raw material has been carried, and where skilful 
artificers have established themselves in order to work at its transfor- 
mation into ornaments. Coral is obtained in large quantities in the 
Mediterranean, and at depths ranging from 200 to 600 feet. Four 
varieties are distinguished: 1st, red, which is subdivided into deep 
crimson red, pale ved, and vermilion, which is very rare; 2nd, black ; 
3rd, clear white ; 4th, dull white, which is the most common. ‘The 
produce of the fishery varies yearly, and even in the richest spots the 
fishing should only be carried on at fixed intervals. 

The coasts where this valuable zoophyte is found in the greatest 
abundance are those of Corsica, Sardinia, Provence, Africa, the vicinity 
of Trepani, and the Straits of Messina. Three hundred and forty 
Italian barques, manned by 3,400 sailors, are employed in the fishery. 
The average profits made by each boat are from 2801. to 320/., and the 
total profits may be estimated at 180,000/. The raw coral is sold in the 
markets of Genoa, Leghorn, and Naples, where it receives its first polish, 
and undergoes its successive manipulations. The price of the raw coral 
varies according to the size of the pieces. The smallest, called 
“ Ferraglio” of Sardinia, range from 9d. to 10d. the kilogramme. Those 
called “ Barbarie,” from 1s. 10d. to 2s.2d. Medium size “ Fanagliatura ” 
of Sardinia, 21s. 6d. to 24s. 2d. Large size “ Fanagliatura,” 41. 4s. 
Large size, of Barbary, 41. 12s. 6d. the kilo. 

Besides several second rate establishments, there are in the city of 
Leghorn four principal manufactories for working in coral. 

Each of these employs from 250 to 300 workpeople ; this branch of 
industry thus giving occupation to a thousand women. The coral which 
is annually wrought into little globules, round, egg-shaped, smooth, or 
cut into facets, &c., amounts to 25,000 kilos. The greater part is sent 
to the East Indies, by way of Marseilles ; a large portion is exported to 
Germany, especially for necklaces of an inferior quality, destined to 
serve as funeral ornaments. It is also sent to Russia, where coral is in 
great demand. The total value of these exports is not less than 20,0001. 
Naples and Sicily derive an annual profit of 88,0001. The quantity of 
coral brought yearly to Genoa, amounts to about 37,000 kilogrammes, 
worth 480,000/. There are twenty-four coral venders in the city, 
fourteen of whom have their own manutactories. 

The greater part of the coral is wrought into beads. This work, 
which consists of three different operations, cutting, piercing, and round- 
_ Ing, is executed by the country people, and principally by the women of 
the Valde Bisagno. The manner in which it is distributed among the 
inhabitants of the different communes of the valley, affords a striking 
example of the principle of division of labour. All the workmen em- 

VOL. III. K K 


378 OSTRICH PLUMES. 


ployed in cutting belong to about 100 families in the commune of Assio. 
Those in piercing and rounding, to about 60 families living in other 
parts of the valley. Each village works exclusively at beads of a fixed 
size. The inhabitants go to Genoa to procure the raw material from 
the coral sellers, and to take back the coral which they have wrought. 
In Genoa, each manufacturer employs from ten to twenty or more 
women, who submit the coral te a preparatory process before it is given 
to the workers of Bisagno. 

Upwards of thirty men or women are employed in their own homes 
in cutting coral with facets. There are, perhaps, also thirty engravers 
of cameos and coral. It may be safely affirmed that, from 5,000 to 
6,000 persons in the province of Genoa gain their livelihood either by 
fishing for, working up, or selling coral, and that this craft produces a 
revenue of 80,0007. Genoa exports its coral to Austria, Hungary, 
Poland, England, Aleppo, Madras, and Calcutta. 


OSTRICH PLUMES. 


The most beautiful, the most complex, and the most highly- 
elaborated of all the coverings of animals, due to the develop- 
ments of the epidermal system, is the plumage of birds. Well might 
the eloquent Paley say,—‘‘ Every feather is a mechanical wonder; 
their disposition, all inclined backward, the down about the stem, the 
overlapping of their tips, their different configuration in different parts, 
not to mention the variety of their colours, constitute a vestment for 
the body, so beautiful, and so appropriate to the life which the animal 
has to lead, as that, think, we should have had no conception of anything 
equally perfect, if we had never seen it, or can now imagine anything 
more so. ; 

A feather consists of the “ quill,” the “ shaft,’ and the “ vane:” the 
vane consists of “ barbs” and “ barbules.” 

The quill is pierced by a lower and an upper orifice, and contains a 
series of light, dry, conical capsules, fitted one upon another, and united 
together by a central pedicle. 

The shaft is slightly bent ; the concave side is divided into two sur- 
faces by a middle longitudinal line continued from the upper orifice of 
the quill, the convex side is smooth. Both sides are covered with a 
horny material, similar to that of the quill ; and they inclose a peculiar 
white, soft, elastic substance, called the “ pith.’ 

The barbs are attached to the sides of the shaft, and consist of plates, 
arranged with their flat sides towards each other, and their margins in 


OSTRICH PLUMES. 379 


the direction of the convex and concave sides of the feathers; con- 
sequently they present considerable resistance to being bent out of their 
plane, although readily yielding to any force acting upon them in the 
direction of the line of the stem. 

The barbules are given off from either sides of the barbs, and are 
Sometimes similarly barbed themselves, as may be seen in the barbules of 
the long feathers of the peacock’s tail. 

The barbules are commonly short and close-set, and curved in con- 
trary directions, so that two adjoining series of barbules interlock toge- 
ther, and form the mechanism by which the barbs are compacted into 
the close and resisting vane of the quill, or “ feather,” properly so called. 
When the barbules are long and loose, they characterise that form of 
the feather which is properly called a ‘ plume,” and such are the most 
valuable products of the plumage of birds in a. commercial point of 
view ; as, e. g. the plumes of the ostrich. 

The lower barbs in every kind of feather are usually loose, forming 
the down, which is increased, in most birds, by what is called the ‘ acces- 
sory plume.” This is usually a small downy tuft, but varies in different 
species, and even in the feathers of different parts of the body of the 
same bird. The value of the feathers, for bed-stuffing depends upon the 
proportion of loose soft down that enters into their composition ; and as 
the “accessory plume” in the body feathers of the swans, geese and 
ducks, is almost as long as the feather from which it springs, hence 
arises the commercial value of the feathers of these aquatic birds. 

In the development of plumage, the first covering of the bird is a 
temporary one, consisting of bun Illes of long, loosely-barbed filaments, 
which diverge from a small quill, and on their first appearance are enve- 
loped in a thin sheath, which soon crumbles away after being exposed to 
the atmosphere. These down-feathers are succeeded by the true feathers ; 
to which they bear the same relation as wool does to hair, or the tempo- 
rary to the permanent teeth. In most birds a certain proportion of the 
down-feathers is retained with the true feathers, and this proportion is 
usually greatest in the aquatic birds.* 

Of the various kinds of feathers employed as plumes for head dresses, 
the most important are those of the ostrich, the Struthio camelus, which 
belongs to a peculiarly African genus of the great wingless birds. If 
the ostrich ever slips into Asia, it is only a little way into the Arabian 
side of the Isthmus of Suez. 

The feathers on the body of the male bird are black, but on the female 
dusky ; those of the wings and tail are white, sometimes marked with 

-black. The ornamental wings are furnished with loose and flexible plumes. 
The elegance of these feathers, arising from their slender stems and the 
disunited barbs has occasioned them to be prized in all ages; and as 
they still constitute a valuable article of commerce, there is small chance of 


* Professor Owen’s Lecture on Raw Materials from the Animal Kingdom. 


380 OSTRICH PLUMES. 


the ostrich being allowed to remain undisturbed, even in the desolate 
regions which he inhabits. The hunting of this bird is extremely - 
laborious. 

Those who hunt the ostrich for the sake of its feathers proceed 
systematically to theirwork. They hunt on horseback, and begin the 
pursuit by a gentle gallop; for should they at the outset, be rashly 
eager, the ostrich would start off at such a speed as would carry him 
wholly beyond the reach of his hunters; but when the pace is more 
steady, the ostrich makes no particular effort to escape. It does not go 
in a direct line, but wavers from one side to the other ; and this enables 
the hunter to save distance. The chase often continues several days, at 
the end of which time the strength of the ostrich becomes exhausted, 
and he yields. The feathers on which value is placed are chiefly those 
of the tail ; and the hunters are careful not to disfigure these in the 
process of capture. 

Osirich feathers dyed black, are used for making funeral plumes for 
horses’ heads, in sets of eleven for the hearse, and sets of six for the 
lid or coffin board, which is borne on the head of one of the undertakers. 
These plumes are made of a number of pieces of feathers, fastened on to 
supports of stout brass wire, which are bent downwards when used, so 
as to give the graceful fall to the plume. When not in use they are 
closed up tothe centre stem. A full set of these plumes for a funeral is 
worth 200/. to 300/., and they are let out by the makers to undertakers. 

Plumes of white ostrich feathers are sometimes used at the funeral 
of young females, but such plumes, from their great value, are rarely 
seen. 

In preparing ostrich feathers “for use they are first washed im a 
lather of white soap and water, and subsequently in warm clear water. 
They are bleached by three successive operations ; first with water only, 
then with a little indigo, and then a little sulphur. The feathers are 
then dried by hanging upon cords, during which they are shaken from 
time to time to separate their barbs. To increase their pliancy the ribs 
are scraped with a bit of glass cut circularly ; and to impart the re- 
quisite curly form to the barbs or filaments, the edge of a blunt knife is 
drawn. over them. 

The fine soft down, which lies under the larger feathers, known in 
commerce as estridge, is used in the Cape Colony and in France, as a 
substitute for beaver in the manufacture of hats ; and the coarser, or 
stronger sort, called hair, has been employed in the fabrication of a 
stuff or list which resembles fine woollen cloth. 

At the South Kensington Museum the various ornamental applica- 
tions of feathers are well displayed, by Messrs Adcock and Co., where 
are numerous illustrations of ostrich feathers. They are shown white, 
curled and dressed; dyed blue, black, and green, and white tipped with 
pink. The feathers as imported undressed, and some with the barbs 
on each side of the shaft dyed different colours. 


OSTRICH PLUMES. 381 


Ostrich feathers continue the object of an important commerce. The 
most esteemed are those of Alep. Those of Barbary, Alexandria, Morocco, 
the Cape of Good Hope, and Senegal, are also much sought after. 
_ The feather dealers set a high value on the feathers of the female ostrich ; 
but those of the male are most prized, being larger, better barbed, and 
finer than the female ones. They readily take any colours that are given 
to them in dyeing. 

The white feathers are much appreciated. In France they are sold 
by number, in England by weight. The black feathers sell by weight. 

France derives every year, from the above named producing coun- 
tries, enormous quantities of ostrich feathers, bought in a rough state, 
which she employs in her industries, or re-exports dressed to other 
countries, after having given them a very considerable additional value 
by hand-work, as the following statement will show. 

During the space of seven years France has purchased nearly 
235,000 kil. of rough ostrich feathers, of all sorts, of a value approxi- 
mating to 2,800,000fr. ; and during the same period she has re-exported 
to other countries 77,276 kilos of dressed feathers, of a total value of 
153 million francs. 

This branch of industry is then considerable, and looking at the 
enormous benefits which it secures, it is, says a French writer, much to 
be desired that Algeria, which hardly enters for much more than a hun- 
dredth part in the importations of the seven years, should in future 
take a larger share in this commerce. At present the price of ostrich 
feathers is high, in consequence of the large consumption of them for 
articles de mode and ornament, also on account of the continually increas- 
ing scarcity of the product in all the markets which were formerly 
abundantly supplied. Thus, that which was worth 25 to 30 fr. in Paris 
twenty years ago, now costs 400 to 500 francs. | 

This dearth prejudices Parisian industry which has long held 
so to speak the monopoly of the fabrication of ornamental feathers, and 
now also menaces the English industry. It is principally occa- 
sioned by the pursuit of the chase in the Sahara beyond all reason, 
both of the ostrich itself and of the eggs, which the female deposits in 
the sand, where the heat of the sun incubates them. 

Thanks to the absolute security which now reigns in these vast regions, 
and gives free access to the numerous caravans traversing them in 
all directions, the places which were formerly solitary and formed the 
peaceable domain of the ostrich, are now battues in all the sense of the 
word, and especially during winter, at the time of laying. The Arabs 
who know the value of the eggs, seek them with eagerness, and 
the birds from which the feathers are stripped have become the object 
of a lucrative speculation, and are pursued with ardour. 

Thus the ostrich, enclosed on all sides, either dies by the hand of 
the hunters, or emigrates towards more desert regions. To remedy this 
state of things, and to prevent the complete disappearanceof the ostrich 


- 382 OSTRICH PLUMES. 


from the Sahara, the following questions have been agitated, to ascertain 
if it be not possible ; ; i 

1st. To prohibit entirely the sale of ostrich eggs. 

2nd. To interdict the chase of young ostriches, otherwise than to 
take them alive, and keep them in a domestic state for the periodical 
crop of feathers, and their reproduction. 

3rd. To prohibit the chase of the adult ostrich for one or two years. 

These regulations would result in promoting greatly the increase of 
the species, the incubation would not be disturbed, and they would 
greatly aid the domestication of the ostrich. Experience already shows 
the great success which has attended experiments at the Jardin 
dAcclimatation at Hamma. The Director of that establishment 
haying received the premium of 2,000 fr. offered by M. Chagot, sen., fea- 
ther florist, member of the commission of valuers to the Ministry of 
Commerce, who was the first to succeed in getting the ostrich to breed 
in a domestic state, and this reproduction promises to obtain for com- 
merce the ostrich plumes, which are daily becoming more rare and dear. 
The problem of the domestication of the ostrich in the temperate 
regions of Northern Africa, may yet be attended with a satisfactory result, 
and thus, instead of chasing the bird from its destination, in order to 
obtain the valuable spoils of its plumage, it may be bred and led to 
yield its feathers periodically for the wants of fashion. 

The following have been the imports of ostrich feathers into the 
United Kingdom in the past eight years. 


lbs Value lbs Value 
1854 10,282 £46,285 1858 18,843 £56,722 
1855 10,681 13,821 1859 29,672 78,871 
1856 10,797 19,441 1860 25,277 81,425 
1857 14,922 102,182 1861 17,873 42,550 


The feathers of the American, or three-toed ostrich, Rhea Americana, 
are extensively worn on bonnets and as military plumes. It is of a 
uniform grey colour, except on the back, which has a brown tint. The 
back and rump are furnished with long feathers, but not of the same 
rich and costly kinds as those of the African ostrich. The Indians, 
however, make plumes, parasols, and many beautiful ornaments of the 
feathers, which they much value. This bird is met with in the Banda 
Oriental, in the provinces of Entre Rios, and in the plains of Buenos 
Ayres. 


ie 


383 


THE ALKALI TRADE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 
The quantity of raw material consumed, the amount of capital 
employed in the manufacture, the number of hands engaged, and the 
value of the commercial product, chiefly consisting of carbonate and 


caustic soda, are truly enormous. 


STATISTICS OF THE ALKALI TRADE OF GREAT Brivarn, 1862. 


Annual value of finished products - - £2,500,000 
Weight of dry products - - - 280,000 tons. 
Raw Materials consumed per annum. Tons. 
Salt ae GRnae ee ia - = 254,600 
Coals - - - - - - 961,000 
Limestone and Chalk - - - - - 280,500 
Pyrites  - - - - - - - 264,000 
‘Nitrate of Sedal - - - a - - 8,300 
Manganese - - - - - - - 33,000 
Timber for Casks  - - - - - - 33,000 
otal = = 834 COU 
Capital gaployed t in We LEROY AAT 
In Land - - £235,000 
In Plant, Buildings, &e. - - - - 950,000 
Working Capital - - - - - - 825,000 


Total Capital - £2,010,000 


Annual Cost of Material for Repairs. 


Stones, bricks, slates, iron, lead, timber, &. - £135,500 


Labour, not including Labour in Transit 


No of Souls. 


Hands. 

Directly employed - - 10,600 53,000 

Employed in getting coals” - 3,110 15,500 

making salt - 420 2,100 

Getting and breaking limestone 660 3,300 

Getting pyrites - - 4,030 20,150 
Felling and sawing dines for 

casks - - - - - 330 1,656 
Total labour employed in the 
manufacture, and in the pre- 
paration of raw materials 

used init - - - - 19,140 95,700 


Annual 
Amount of 
Wages. 


£ 
549,500 
112,840 
16,380 
25,740 
157,150 


10,140 


871,750 


Manufactures depending upon the Products of the Alkak Trade. 


Soap. Linen. All chemical ma- 
Glass. Woollen. nufactures of 
Paper. Colour making. any magnitude, 


Cotton, 


384 


Arivuific Mates. 


ALBUMEN FROM FisH Spawn.—Some years ago La Societé 
Industrielle, at Mullhausen (Alsace) offered its gold medal for the 
invention of some substitute for albumen prepared from hen’s eggs, 
and further 17,800 francs as a remuneration for the first manufac- 
ture on a large scale of such a substitute. This prize was gained in 
1860, by J. G. Leuchs, of Niirnberg. Mr. C. J. Sahlstrém, of Jonkoping, 
Sweden, purchased the “patent right of manufacture for Sweden, and 
received a medal at the International Exhibition of 1862, “ for novelty 
and importance of albumen extracted from fish-roe.” The albumen 
thus made is acomplete substitute for that of eggs, contains even less 
water, and is much cheaper, being sold at 2s. 4$d. per lb., avoirdupois. 
For certain purposes the fat is separated from the albumen, which then 
no longer retains the smell of raw fish; the fat is used for grease. 
The residue of the fish spawn, after the albumen is extracted, is used in 
the manufacture of ammonia, prussiate of potash, &c. 

Tue Om TraDE.—NSince the article on the vegetable oils of com- 
merce, in preceding pages, was printed off, the Board of Trade returns 
for the year 1860 have been issued, and from these we find that, with the 
exception of cocoa-nut oil, the imports of all kinds were very large last 
year, as will be seen by the following comparative figures :— 


1861 1862 
Train tons. 19,176 18,264 
Palm cwts. 740,332 865,890 
Cocoa-nut cwts. 274,992 170,485 
Olive tons. 17,325 21,095 
Seed oil tons. 8,873 11,201 
Oilofturpentine cwts. 100,296 66,632 


The palm oil imports are larger than in any preceding year, and 
hence prices are somewhat lower. We may mention incidentally 
that an enhanced value has been given to palm-nut oil, from the dis- 
covery that in the process of soap-making, it has the property of absorb- 
ing more “ liquor,” or water, than other oil used. The price of cocoa-nut 
oil rules higher than at any period for the last seven years. Ceylon 
oil fetching 52/., and Cochin 571. per ton. 

Petroleum, or rock oil, but imperfectly known twelve months ago, 
has forced itself into a position of great importance, not only here, but 
on the Continent, and in our colonies, notwithstanding every impedi- 
ment thrown in the way of its transit and storage, and large as the trade 
has already become, we consider it to be still in its infancy. The im- 
portation into London last year was 28,335 barrels ; to Liverpool, 
39,309 barrels, and to Glasgow, 650 barrels. The total exports to Europe 
from America, 257,914 barrels, or 10,318,658 gallons, 


ont TRGHNOLOGIS i 


ON THE PAPER MANUFACTURE. 
BY BENJAMIN LAMBERT. 


We question very much whether there be any industry in this country 
of a more interesting character as regards its antecedents than the manu" 
facture of paper, stretching back as it does into antiquity so remote as 
to defy the efforts of the most learned antiquarians to discover its origin. 
It is supposed, however, that the infant manufacture was cradled on the 
Nile, when Egypt was in the meridian of her dynastic glory, and, at all 
events, must have occupied a distinguished position as a national indus- 
try during the reign of the Emperor Hadrian, who, in a letter speaking 
of Alexandria, says —“ In this rich and opulent city nobody is seen idle ; 
some are employed in the manufacture of cloth, some in that of writing 
paper ;” that it was afterwards practised in Sicily, and carried from 
thence to Rome. The Papyrus Antiquorum of Linn. is universally recog- 
nised as the fibre-yielding sedge, from which the Egyptians of old made 
the rolls which serve still to commemorate the events of that ancient 
period. And it is rather a singular reflection that, after the lapse of so 
many centuries, the paper-makers of our own day are looking to the 
marshes of Southern Europe for a supply of fibre in aid of the refuse of 
the human wardrobe. 

Much learned discussion has arisen on the probable date when the 
Egyptian papyrus was supplanted as a paper-making material by cotton 
or linen fibre. That cotton paper was in use in the eleventh century 
may be inferred from the year 1050 being the date of a manuscript 
written on cotton paper, and preserved in the Imperial Library at Paris. 
In the early part of the twelfth century it would appear to have been 
well known ; and in one instance, at all events, its fragile character duly 
appreciated, as, according to Montfaucon, Roger, King of Sicily, ina 
diploma written in 1145, says that he had renewed on parchment a 

VOL, III. LL 


386 ON THE PAPER MANUFACTURE. 


charter which had been written upon cotton paper in the year 1100, and 
another which was dated twelve years afterwards. The fibre of the 
cotton paper of this period would seem to have been too soft for advan- 
tageous use, and we consequently find that it was superseded either at the 
end of the twelfth or the beginning of the thirteenth century by paper 
made from linen. A very much earlier period than that just named has 
been ascribed by some writers to the introduction of linen as a paper- 
making material. Preferring, however, the evidence of some very old 
documents preserved in the libraries of some of the German Uni- 
versities, the early part of the thirteenth century is as near as history will 
carry us. 

Many countries have contended for the honour of having been fore- 
most in the van of the paper manufacture from rags. China, Persia, 
Egypt, Italy, and Spain are the principal claimants. Of the five coun- 
tries named, Italy and Spain would seem to have the balance of testi- 
mony on their side, although a learned ecclesiastic, the Abbot Andrez, 
writing in the eighteenth century, endeavours to accommodate them all 
by beginning in China with unregistered antiquity, and ending in Ger- 
many in the year 1312. Of Italy, however, we know most from authentic 
data, as it is certain that paper mills dating from 1564 still exist at 
Fabriano, in Umbria, as well as at Colle, in Tuscany. As regards the 
establishment of the first paper mill in this country, there is really no 
reliable evidence. It has been customary to ascribe the honour to a 
German named Spielman, who, it is stated, erected a mill at Dartford 
in the year 1588. Mr. Charles Cowan, in the last edition of the ‘ Ency- 
clopedia Britannica’—article, Paper—adopts this version. Mr. Herring, 
in his book on ‘ Paper and Paper-making, after stating that the erec- 
tion of the first paper mill in this country is commonly attributed to 
Spielman, says :—“ It is, however, quite certain that paper mills were 
in existence here long before Spielman’s time.” Shakespeare, in the 
second part of his play of Henry the Sixth, the plot of which appears 
laid at least a century previously, refers to a paper mill. In fact, he 
introduces it as an additional weight to the charge which Jack Cade is 
made to bring against Lord Say :—“ Thou hast most traitorously cor- 
rupted,” says he, ‘the youth of the realin, in erecting a grammar school ; 
and whereas, before, our forefathers had no other books but the score 
and the tally, thou hast caused printing to be used, and, contrary to the 
King, his Crown, and dignity, thou hast built a paper mill ;” and Mr. 
Macintosh, in his ‘Popular Outlines of the Press, gives his award in 
favour of John Tate, whose mill was situated in Hertfordshire ; but to 
whomsoever the honour—for such it undoubtedly is—belongs, it is per- 
fectly clear that until the commencement of the last century, paper- 
making in this country did not advance with very rapid strides. Fuller, 
the quaint author of ‘The Worthies of England, enumerates paper 
among the manufactures of the county of Cambridge, not as being prae- 
tised in his time, but “ because there are mills nigh Sturbridge-fair where 


ON THE PAPER MANUFACTURE. 387 


paper was made in the memory of our fathers,” and expresses his ‘pity 
the making thereof is disused.” It will be remembered that Fuller 
wrote during the first half of the seventeenth century, and as his labours 
were nearly contemporaneous with the first establishment of paper- 
making in this country, it may be interesting to note his remarks on the 
various kinds of paper then in use. He says :—“ There are almost as 
many several kinds of paper as conditions of persons betwixt the Em- 
peror and beggar : Imperial, Royal, Cardinal, and so downwards to that 
coarse paper called emporetica, useful only for chapmen to wrap their 
wares therein. Paper participates in some sort of the character of the 
countrymen which make it: the Venetian being neat, subtle, and court 
like ; the French, light, slight, and slender; the Dutch, thick, corpulent, 
and gross, not to say sometimes also charta bibula, sucking up the ink 
with the sponginess thereof.” 

. It is not our purpose in this place to describe in detail the process of 
paper-making as at present practised. The route of the rags, from the 
rag-loft to the salle, has been repeatedly traversed by different encyclo- 
peedists, and is withal so simple, regarded as a generality, as to come 
within the easy comprehension of almost any reader. It is only within 
the last thirty years that paper-making has literally become an art. In 
the days when all paper was made by hand, and the vatman, or, as the 
word is still pronounced, “fateman,” was the principal skilled hand in 
the establishment, paper-making was comparatively a very simple 
operation. Rags were not then the skeleton in the closet which every 
paper-maker now-a-days is supposed to possess. The limited supply of 
skilled labour regulated the number of vats, and the size of the moulds 
the size of the sheet ; and it was not until nearly twenty-five years after 
the existence of the paper machine was known in this country—viz., 
June 17th, 1825—that a Bill was introduced and passed the Legislature 
abolishing the Act by which newspapers were limited in the size of their 
sheet to 32 inches by 22. Vat-made papers have hitherto been consi- 
dered to be, without exception, stronger than machine-made paper, 
owing to the freedom with which the sheet can contract in the process 
of air-drying. Of this advantage, however, it is nearly deprived by the 
introduction of hot-air driers on some modern machines. Some descrip- 
tions of paper continue necessarily to be made by hand, such as bank 
note, fine drawing, &c.; but for all ordinary sorts, the ‘“ fateman” and 
his moulds, the coucher and his felts, the drier and his tribbles, have 
had to bow before that splendid aggregation of machines known as the 
paper machine. 

The paper machine was invented by M. Louis Robert, in the year 
1799. The MM. Didot, at that time the proprietors of the paper works 
at Essonne, procured an interest in the patent, and they—through a 
relation, Mr. Gamble—brought the invention under the notice of the 
English paper-makers. The idea was to make a continuous sheet of 
paper on an endless wire, couch it between rollers, and wind the sheet 

LL2 


388 ON THE PAPER MANUFACTURE. 


off on reels, to be afterwards dried and finished in the ordinary way. 
As a model, the machine worked fairly ; but in order to bring it into 
use in a practicable shape, several years and a large sum of money were 
spent by the Messrs. Fourdrinier, who worked at the machine with the 
zeal of enthusiasts, and ultimately succeeded. From this time the ma- 
chine was rapidly improved, until there was no hiatus between the stuff 
and the cut paper. After this there was another pause. The trade 
seemed satisfied with what they had got; and a machine capable of 
making 54 inches on the wire—with two presses, 5 drying cylinders 3 
feet in diameter, a set of glaze rolls, and a cutter—and able to run at the 
rate of 50 feet per minute, was considered rather a good thing than 
otherwise. Now, however, there are machines as much as 88 inches 
wide, with 16 drying cylinders 3} feet in diameter, running at the rate 
of 110 feet per minute, making printings, whilst for the manufacture of 
writings there is a machine with no less than thirty, 36 inch steam-drying 
cylinders before sizeing, and 272 drying drums after; and such is the 
extent of surface developed by the latter that, supposing the machine to 
be running at the rate of 50 feet per minute, the paper would take an 
hour to go over the whole series. Such machines as those just named 
are inarvels of mechanical skill. The tide of opinion amongst the 
makers is now turning in favour of large machines and high speeds, but 
a long time must elapse before anything like a general substitution of 
the new for the old can be reasonably expected. 

A celebrated statesman once electrified the House of Commons by 
asking the question—What is a pound? And were we asked—What is 
a paper-maker ? the question would not be more embarrassing. To say 
that a paper-maker is a manufacturer of paper is very well; but that 
conveys to the mind of the inquirer no definite idea of his acquirements. 
Speaking of a mechanical engineer, the conclusion is almost inevitable 
that he is a mechanic, and, as such, conversant with both the science and 
practice of his business. The same thing cannot, however, be predicated 
of a paper-maker, All sound and successful paper-making must be based 
on an intimate acquaintance with the practice of chemistry. This truth 
is just beginning to obtain recognition, although the fact must have been 
patent to the old school of makers for a great many years. As a rule, 
the paper-makers of this country are woefully deficient in chemical know- 
ledge even of the most elementary character, and their loss has in con- 
sequence been proportionately great. Even amongst chemists the 
chemistry of the paper manufacture is regarded as a speciality, involving 
a facile use of the microscope in determining the structure of fibre. Of 
all this an ordinary paper-maker of the present day is profoundly igno- 
rant. A pail and a hand bowl are his standards of measure ; and this 
rude system—for there is method in it all—is even used in the most 
delicate chemical operations in a mill. Take, for example, the making 
of resin-size. Most descriptions of printing papers are engine-sized— 
that is, a certain proportion of size, composed of resin digested in carbo 


ON THE PAPER MANUFACTURE. 389 


nate of soda or potash, is put into the beating-engine, and mixed with 
the stuff before emptying into the chests before the machine,—given a 
certain weight of resin, a sufficient quantity of water to be added thereto 
to bring the resin, when incorporated with it, to a certain consistence, 
and a sufficient weight of alkali to effect the digestion of the resin. To 
the chemist these are all known quantities, and the result can be predi- 
cated with certainty under the ordinary conditions of proper and uniform 
heat, &c, ; but, in order to arrive at these conclusions, he must ascertain 
the percentage of real alkali in the ash or crystals he may be required 
to use; and he must also ascertain the constitution of the parcel of resin 
from which he is working. Our paper-maker, on the contrary, puts to 
so many parts of water so many pounds of resin and so many pails or 
hand-bowls of crystals of soda, and considers himself fortunate if he get 
a resulting parcel of very ordinary size indeed. As a rule, it is found 
that there is a great excess of water as well as excess of alkali in solu- 
tion, constituting one of the waste products of the paper manufacture. 
We have seen many parcels of size in different parts of the country, but 
not one sample made in the manner just described which at all came up 
to our standard of a perfect size. In order to size paper evenly in the 
engine a certain weight of resin to a certain weight of paper is, of course, 
necessary. Our paper-maker, however, is ignorant as to the variationg 
in the constitution of his different parcels of size ; but calling uniformity 
to his aid, the hand-bowl is brought into requisition for all alike, and he 
is afterwards puzzled to account for his paper bearing unevenly. In a 
paper mill, difficulties are of constant occurrence, admitting only of 
chemical solution; and although the routine of a well-ordered mill, 
realizes to the mind of the amateur observer nothing but the greatest 
simplicity, it 1s yet one of the most complex and harassing arts in which 
any person can engage. The amount of intelligence required from the 
artizan is not extraordinary, but the individual judgment of the director 
is called into play with a frequency that would astonish the uninitiated : 
the paper is not bearing well—the paper is breaking most unaccountably 
on some part of the machine—the colour is not quite up to standard— 
the engines are frothing ; in short, every contretemp, however insignifi- 
cant, occurring in a large establishment is brought under the notice of 
the director ; and wisely so, as they all bear more or less directly on the 
general operative results. 

Two descriptions of size are used in the manufacture of paper—viz., 
vegetable and animal. The former is mixed with the pulp, by being put in 
the beating engine when in course of final preparation for the machine, 
thus becoming directly incorporated with the stuff ; but when the inten- 
tion is to use gelatine size, the stuff is sent down to the machine either 
entirely without or with an exceedingly small portion of vegetable size, 
and in this state is made into paper, termed, from its porosity, water- 
leaf. After having passed over a complete set of steam-drying cylinders, 
the web is either conducted through a trough full of warm dilute 


390 ON THE PAPER MANUFACTURE. 


gelatine, or is conducted between two perforated tubes which saturate 
both sides of the web as it passes on. In either case, the superfluous 
size is removed from the web by a pair of copper rollers ; and it is then 
conducted over a second set of steam cylinders if for printing, or over a 
set-of hot-air drums if for writing. In this country animal size for 
writing is the rule, although on the Continent of Europe the size in 
most prevalent use for this class of paper is a well-prepared vegetable 
size. Asa rule, however, the Continental paper-makers use a stronger 
rag than we do, and, consequently, with careful breaking, capable of 
carrying a greater quantity of size than a softer material. With us nearly 
all printing papers are engine-sized. Paper is said to bear well when it 
resists moderate contact with the tongue; otherwise it will not stand 
handling after the process of wetting to which it is subjected in order to 
prepare it for the printer. If printing papers were only partially dried 


on the machine, and sent direct over the printing machine without the. 


intermediate process of wetting, the difference in the appearance of the 
work would be extraordinary; the effect as demonstrated is that the 
paper retains its brightness of surface, instead of acquiring the dulness 
which results from subsequent wetting, and the whole appearance of the 
printer’s work is materially improved ; the practical difficulty would be 
in determining the weight of water in the paper. 

Judicious bleaching is a very important operation in the manufac- 
ture of paper. We say judicious ; for if great care be not exercised, the 
integrity of the fibre is more or less damaged. Rags are prepared for 
bleaching—I1st, By being cut into small pieces by hand, or sorted by 
hand and cut by a machine called a chopper; they are then passed 
through the duster ; then boiled in a partially caustic alkaline ley, under 
pressure ; from thence they are conveyed to a breaking engine, where 
they are washed and broken into the condition of half-stuff—that being 
an intermediate step between the rag or textile fabric and the stuff or 
pulp. Having been sufficiently washed, the half-stuff is drained, and is 
ready for bleaching. Chlorine is the bleaching agent, and is exhibited 
in two ways, either in combination with lime as chloride of lime, or as 
gas applied as such. The former is considered the most scientific method 
of the two, as well as the most economical, although the latter still 
retains many influential advocates. Thorough boiling is a necessary 
condition—Ist, In the production of uniform half-stuff ; and, 2nd, To. 
effective bleaching, chlorine being inert in the presence of grease. Com- 
mon printings, and papers of that class, are usually bleached both 
expeditiously and roughly. After having been broken in, the rags are 
retained in the breaking engine, into which is put so many pounds of 
dry chloride of lime, which becomes thoroughly mixed with the half 
stuff by the action of the roll. A little sulphuric acid assists the 
rapid liberation of the chlorine, and by this means the material acquires 
a very respectable colour in comparatively a short space of time. This, 
however, is done at the expense of quality, in every sense of the word. 


ON THE PAPER MANUFACTURE, 391 


The halt-stuff destined for fine papers, after being discharged from the 
breaking engine, and having parted by drainage with the bulk of its 
water, is either filled into what is termed a poaching-enyine, or is put into 
the bleaching cisterns direct. In the former case the chemical is tho- 
roughly mixed with the stuff before it reaches the cistern, whilst in the 
latter the chemical is left to reach the underlying stuff by percolation. 
It is obviously important that the half-stuff should be brought into 
regular contact with the chemicals ; and as chlorine is a heavy gas, slow 
of voluntary evolution, a great deal of difficulty is experienced in getting 
an average colour in cases where the poaching-engine has been dispensed 
with. In our opinion, the most scientific method of bleaching is the 
injection of carbonic acid gas into a circular vessel containing the half- 
stuff floating in a dilute solution of chloride of lime. By this means the 
elimination of the gas is regularly effected ; and the stuff being kept in 
constant motion by means of an agitator, secures the fair distribution of 
the bleaching agent. The best way to use bleaching powder is in clear 
solution, the strength of which should be known in order to regulate 
the quantity applied ; but not less important is its eradication from the 
stuff when the bleaching process has sufficiently far advanced. Many 
persons still use sulphuric acid for this purpose, regardless of the danger 
of its subsequent liability to concentrate, should the smallest quantity 
remain in the stuff, a solution of Sulphite of soda is the best and 
most scientific. Gas bleaching is still extensively used, but we are of 
opinion that the damage done to the fibre more than counterbalances 
any advantage which may be gained by a saving of time. 

In paper mills it is customary to run the machinery night and day ; 
and the amount of continuous labour the work-people undergo is 
startling. For example, we have seen men refuse to work during 12 
hours and rest the remaining 12, insisting on the privilege of working 
24 hours on and 24 hours off. At the rag-engines the men work even 
longer than this at times, without any visible effect on health. Large 
quantities of paper are made by some of the large makers—as much as 
300 tons per month by one firm alone. An idea would seem to have 
gained some currency that the process of conversion of rags into paper 
occupies only a very few minutes of time. Nothing can possibly be 
more erroneous, as it takes 24 hours, more or less, from the time of 
unpacking the rags to the appearance of finished paper in the salle. 
Comparing papers of English manufacture with foreign makes, we are 
unable to discover any good ground of alarm from excess of importation. 
Our papers are, somehow, characteristic. Neither the Belgian nor 
French makers can approach us in quality and price in our market, if 
we only choose to keep the pas. Hitherto the fear of foreign invasion 
has certainly acted as an incentive to improvement in almost every 
branch of the manufacture. Tinting printing sorts is becoming rather 
general, and we are glad to see anything like an exhibition of taste 
coming from within. In coloured sorts the foreign makers are rather 


392 ON THE PAPER MANUFACTURE. 


distinguished ; but if our own makers would pay stricter attention to 
the absolute purity of their stuff—as well as to beight of colour, previous 
to the addition of colouring materials—they would have no reason to 
complain of any superiority, whether in brightness or otherwise, on the 
part of the foreign paper-maker. 

In considering the multitude of vegetable fibres suggested for the use 
of the paper-maker, we are completely bewildered. Their name is 
legion ; and yet we can only point to one out of the whole number as an 
accomplished fact, viz., the grass called esparto or alfa—a hard, wiry 
grass, with a rather strong siliceous cuticle. In this country Mr. Rout- 
ledge, of Eynsham, has, by his diligence and enterprise, monopolised the 
manufacture, throwing it open to the trade, however, on easy terms ; 
whilst the Baron de Niviere has been doing the same thing in France. 
The fibre is strong and hard, and, as far as our experience goes, difficult 
to work, great care being required at the beating-engine, otherwise the 
stuff is apt to be stringy and impede the working of the machine. Mr: 
Routledge shows some specimens of esparto paper, remarkably good in 
texture, and of good colour; but we cannot help thinking that the utility 
of the fibre is most apparent when used as a mixer with rags. Straw 
cannot be considered a new material for paper-making, although its 
extensive use is of comparatively recent date. Neither can straw be consi- 
dered in the light of a substitute for rags per se. For low papers it will, 
at all events for the present, command a market ; and as a mixer, we 
consider it inferior to esparto, the articulations or knots are so exceed- 
ingly troublesome, and cannot be got rid of effectually. The conse- 
quence is that, even when used as a mixer at the rate of 10 per cent., 
should the knotter on the machine be set fine, the plate speedily hecomes 
clogged with knots, and the paper runs immediately uneven. The only 
remedy for this is to rake the knotter, which almost invariably forces 
some dirt into the stuff below, and the paper for several yards in length 
becomes foul and unserviceable, the only alternative being to work with 
a knotter sufficiently coarse to allow the straw knots to pass, and trust to 
Providence for the rest. The refuse of the maize manufacture in 
Austria—an interesting account of which, by Dr. Auer, appeared in the 
‘Technologist’ for March—may become in time an important aid to the 
paper-maker ; but, as far as we can judge, there is no fibre, before the 
public at present which could be accepted as a substitute for ragsin every 
particular. : 

Any novelty in the paper manufacture is of rare occurrence ; but the 
manufacture of a good printing sort, entirely from waste paper, may be 
fairly accepted as such. Any kind of old paper that, has ever been white 
—whether plain, printed, or written—is eligible for this process, which 
was originated by the writer, and was, from its inception to its proof, 
carried on by a series of laboratory experiments under his direction. 
The process is the property of the Kennet Paper-making Company, occu_ 
pying large premises on the river bearing that name. The uses of waste 


ON THE PAPER MANUFACTURE. 393 


paper, and of fibrous material suitable for some branches of the paper 
manufacture, are so multifarious as to defy enumeration. Plastic art 
annually demands a considerable quantity ; and, as a curiosity in its 
way, we read that in Bergen there is an elegant church, capable of hold- 
ing 1,000 persons, constructed entirely, statues and all, of papier maché. 

The transformation of water-leaf, or unsized paper, into a material 
in exact resemblance to parchment, is one of the chemical facts of the 
last few years. This metamorphosis is effected by dipping the paper in 
a vat of dilute sulphuric acid, which must be of an exact stated strength, 
as either an excess or paucity of acid in the vat fails to effect the desired 
result. Dr. Hofmann reports that the product resembles in every respect 
animal membrane—‘ The same peculiar tint, the same degree of trans- 
lucency” and horn-like condition. ‘Immersed in water, vegetable 
parchment exhibits all the character of animal membrane, becoming 
soft and slippery by the action of water, without, however, in any way 
losing its strength. Water does not percolate through vegetable parch- 
ment, although it slowly traverses the substance like animal membrane 
by endosmotic action.” A set of experiments, conducted by Dr. Hof- 
marn, to test the relative strength of vegetable and animal parchment, 
resulted as follows :— 


Water-leaf paper broke when loaded with 


I. II. III. - Mean. 
171b. 15lb. 15lb. 15'6Lb. 
Vegetable parchment broke when loaded with 
I. IL III. Mean. 
78lb. 751b, 70lb. 7Alb. 
Animal parchment broke when loaded with 
I. IL. III. Mean. 
92Ib. 781b. 56lb. 751b. 


And the operator continues to say ‘The strips of vegetable and animal 
parchment were selected as nearly as possible of equal thickness, but 
the strips of the artificial product were somewhat heavier than those of 
real parchment. On an average the former weighed 18 grains, and the 
latter only 12.75 grains. Calculated for equal weights the strength of 
animal parchment as compared with that of artificial parchment is 
obviously 33% x 75 = 105, in round numbers, it may be said that 
vegetable parchment has three-fourths thé strength of animal parch- 
ment.” Under the name of artificial parchment, Captain J. H. Brown, 
R.N., started a process at Romsey, for making parchment direct by 
treating the parings of raw hides with alkaline solutions, and succeeded 
in producing a very capital substitute for parchment. Satisfying all the 
conditions, even to appearance, specifically belonging to the original 
article ; but on refusing to take out a papermaker’s licence, on the plea, 
as he informed us, that with a paper label attached, the article could not 
be sold as parchment, realising its proper value, the Excise instituted 


394 ON THE PAPER MANUFACTURE. 


a prosecution for penalties. On the trial, the Judge, ruling that it was a 
question of law and not of fact, caused a verdict to be entered for the 
prosecution, but allowed the party the unenviable privilege of leave to 
move for a new trial, on the ground that although it was quite clear to 
him that the article in question was not parchment, he could not say 
that it was paper. In consequence of these proceedings the mill was 
shut up, and we are not aware of the manufacture having been 
revived. 

Particularly facetious persons have more than once informed us that 
sawdust is a highly nutritious article of diet when properly cooked; but 
it would appear that uses have been found for it other than gastronomi- 
cal, one being as a fibre for paper-making. We are informed that wood 
of any kind or age is equally well adapted for this process, which is being 
extensively worked in some of the Continental States. At the recent 
International Exhibition Wurtemberg contributed several samples of 
paper made from wood pulp mixed with rags, the proportion of the 
former varying from 10 to 80 per cent; and the paper is reported to be 
serviceable, although of a low quality. Doubtless the inventor will 
improve the article as he gains experience in its manipulation. We 
understand that the wood is simply rubbed down into pulp against the 
periphery of a wheel prepared with a rough face, so utilizing the enor- 
mous waste of the timber-producing forests of the north of Europe. 

Since the repeal of the duty on paper the manufacture has barely reco- 
vered from the general paralysis occasioned by that Act. The demand 
for paper both for home consumption and exportation to all parts of 
the world, the United States excepted, is steady. 1n the United States 
there exists at the present moment a paper famine which must, sooner 
or later, be satisfied by importation from the European markets. So 
serious is the scarcity that paper has risen in price enormously, and the 
consumers are clamouring for the repeal of the prohibitory duty fixed 
by the Federal Government on its import from abroad. When that 
comes, the prices of all papers here must inevitably rise, but some years 
must elapse before the balance of trade be again restored. 


[The reader will find the following articles bearing on paper making 
and materials in previous volumes of the TECHNOLOGIST.—EDITOR. 
Vol. i, Paper and Rags, in China, by Dr. Macgowan, p. 27 ; Paper 
Materials Patented since the year 1800, by M. C. Cooke, p. 50 ; On the 
Manufacture of Paper in Tasmania, p. 61; Paper from Indian Corn 
Leaves, p. 109.] 


395 


ON THE CULTIVATION OF SILK IN TASMANIA. 
BY THE REV. T. J. EWING AND MR, STUTZER. 


At the monthly meeting of the Royal Society of Tasmania, held at 
Hobart Town, on the 4th November, 1862, Mr. Ewing laid before the 
meeting elaborately executed drawings from his work on Natural His- 
tory, of most of the silk-spinning moths of the world, and read the fol- 
lowimg*observations in reference tothem. Although most of the infor- 
mation is a duplication of the details given by Mr. Moore in our pages, 
vol. 2, p. 410, we give it entire, as showing the interest taken in the sub- 
ject at the Antipodes. 

Attacus Cynthia (Drury).—First described by Drury in 1773. It was 
sent from China to Turin by Father Fantoni in 1857, and was intro- 
duced into France by Guerin Meneville in 1858. It was figured by 
Danberton, jun.,in his coloured plates, which were published between 
1760 and 1765. It was raised for some centuries in China, where its 
silk clothes the people. The colour of the silk is a fine flax-grey ; and 
the clothes made of it are not injured by rain or oil. The caterpillar of 
the silk-worm feeds on the leaves of the Ailanthus glandulosa. It has 
been shown to live as well in Europe as in its native country. More 
than two thousand amateurs are engaged in efforts to rear this worm ; 
these experiments have not all resulted satisfactorily, the insect-eating 
birds having in some places made a war of extermination. Nevertheless, 

the degree of success is so great that, according to Guerin Meneville, it 
is now practicable to carry on experiments on a large scale. 

The principal obstacle connected with the manufacture, arises from 

the difficulty of separating (reeling) the silk from the cocoons, This 
difficulty has at length been overcome by two different methods, one of 
which was discovered by Madame Vernede, of Corneillan, the other by 
Dr. Forgend. 
; Attacus Ricini (Sir W. Jones).—First described by Boisduval, in 1854, 
and long confounded with the true Cynthia of Drury. It is the arrindy, 
arria, or eria silkworm, and is reared over a great part of Hindostan, 
but more especially in the districts of Dinajpur and Ranjpur, in houses 
in a domesticated state, and feeds chiefly on the leaves of Ricinus com- 
munis. ‘The silk of this species has hitherto never been wound off, but 
people spun it like cotton. It is so productive as to give sometimes 
twelve broods of spun silk in the year, says the late Dr. Helfer, (T.AS., 
Bengal, p. 45, 1857). 

Dr. Roxburgh states, (Linn. Trans., vol. 7) that it is capable of being 
reared in the same way as the common silkworm. The cocoons are 
‘white or yellowish, of a very soft and delicate texture, in general about 
two or three inches in length, and three in circumference, and pointed 
at both ends. In this cocoon the chrysalis remains from ten to twenty 
days, the moth appearing at one end, the period of its final state not ex- 


396 ON THE CULTIVATION OF SILK IN TASMANIA. 


tending beyond from four to eight days. The moths are quiet, seldom 
attempting to fly from the apartment in which they are reared. The 
silk is so exceedingly delicate and glossy that it is impracticable to wind 
it off, it is therefore spun like cotton, and the thread thus manufactured 
is woven into a coarse kind of white cloth, of a loose texture, but of 
surprising durability, the life of one person seldom being sufficient to 
wear out a garment made from it, the same piece descending from 
mother to daughter. It is not only used for clothing but for packing 
light clothes, &e. Some manufacturers in England to whom it was 
shown, seemed to think that it could be made there into shawls 
equal to any received from India. For some time it was thought 
that this species could be acclimatised in France, but at length after 
many efforts it has been deemed right to abandon the attempt on account 
of the climate. In fact, this industry only flourishes in warm countries 
where the Ricinus is not killed by frost in winter. After experiments 
tried upon an extended scale. the culture of this silk-worm has proved 
successful in the Canary Islands. 

Mixep Breep.—Guerin Meneyille has succeeded in raising a mixed 
breed, between Ricina and a Cynthia, which have partly overcome the 
early hatching of the former silk-worm, and may in the end prove hardy 
enough to brave the French climate. 

Attacus Hesperus (Linn.)—This species is a native of Cayenne, where 
it feeds in its natural state on a plant which bears the name of the cafi 
diabie. Michlez discovered that the Ailanthus suited it still better, and 
that it developed itself perfectly upon this tree. It does not, however, 
succeed in France, because it hatches at a season of the year when all 
vegetation is arrested. 

Attacus aurota is also a silk-bearing species from Surinam, where it 
feeds onthe leaves of the orange tree, and there are several other silk- 
producing moths of this genus from both North and South America, 
which however have not been domesticated. - 

Attacus Atlas (Linn. 1767).—This is the largest of all known lepi- 
dopterous insects. It inhabits China, North and South India, Ceylon, 
Burmah, Java, &c. Im China the larva feeds on the leaves of the 
Molakka (Phylanthus Emblica), and it is said that the Chinese Tusseh 
silk is obtained from its cocoon. 

Attacus Edwardsii (White, 1859) is distinguished from A. Atlas by 
its intensely dark colour. 

Attacus Guerini Moore, 1859) is the only other Eastern species of 
this genus, and is named in honour of the gentleman who has especially 
interested himself in the introduction of new silk worms into Europe. 

Antherea paphia (Linn. 1767).—Saturnea mylitta (Drury, 17383). 
This is a native of N. E. india, Silhet, Assam, S. India, Ceylon, and 
Java. It feeds upon the leaves of the Rkamnus jujuba (Byer of the Hin- 
doos) Terminalia or glabra, Roxb. (Assan of the Hindoos). Colonel 
Sykes also adds that it feeds alsoon the teak (Tectona grandis) and the 


id sy) ad 


ON THE CULTIVATION OF SILK IN TASMANTA. 397 


mulberry tree (Morus Indica). The cocoons are extensively used by 
matchlock men, cut into thongs as ligatures for binding the matchlock 
barrel to the stock ; the thongs are more durable than those of leather. 
It cannot, according to some authors, be domesticated, but is found in 
such abundance over many parts of Bengal and the adjoining provinces 
as to have afforded to the natives from time immemorial an abundant 
supply of a most durable coarse dark coloured silk, commonly called . 
Tusseh silk, which is woven into a kind of cloth called Tusseh doothies, 
much worn by Brahmins and other sects of Hindoos. 

Antherwa pernyi (Guerin, 1855)—Feeds on the oak; a native of 
China ; introduced into France by its describer. 

Antherea yama-mai (Guerin, 1861).—A native of Japan, where it 
feeds upon the leaves of the oak, and bears the name of Yama-maz. 
The silk which it produces is of a very beautiful quality. It is more 
solid and more beautiful than that of other species of silkworm which. 
feed upon the oak. It was sent to the Society of Acclimatisation by 
the French Consul in Japan, M Duchesne de Bellecourt. Two circum- 
stances give peculiar interest to the introduction of this useful insect— 
viz., the coldness of the country it naturally inhabits, and its feeding 
upon a species of oak, not mulberry; the oak on which the silkworm 
feeds is not exactly described, but it has been found by Guerin to feed 
on two or three species in France, Quercus castanefolia, pedunculata, Sc. 

Many other species of Antherea are natives of the warmer portions 
of the Himalaya, Assam, Silhet, &c., &c., also of the West Coast of 
Africa. One, however, Antherea helena of Adam White, first described 
in the 12th vol. of the Annals of Natural History, p. 344, is a native of 
Tasmania, where it feeds on the leaves of the peppermint tree. This 
is the emperor moth of the colonists, and I have the pleasure of laying 
before this meeting drawings of the chrysalis, cocoon, and caterpillar, 
in all its stages, admirably executed by Mrs. Allport, and also speci- 
mens of the male and female of this beautiful moth, together with its 
cocoons in their natural state. I fear that the silk spun by this cater- 
pillar can never be turned to any commercial advantage, because as yet 
no method has been discovered of reeling, or of carding the material ; 
and also on account of the caterpillar being subject to the attacks of an 
ichneumon which prevents more than one in a hundred from attaining a 
state of maturity. When, for instance, you are expecting the appearance 
of the moth, you are astonished by finding a large mass of wool, sur- 
rounded by about fifty or a hundred small cocoons of this insect which 
I now exhibit. 

If, however, either the Antherea pernyi from N. China, or the 
Antherewa yama-mai from Japan could be introduced as they are both 
very closely allied to Antherwa helena, and therefore in all probability 
the larva might be induced to feed on the leaves of the Eucalyptus, an 
unbounded field would be opened for making this a silk-producing 
colony. They have already been introduced into France, after twice 


398 ON THE CULTIVATION OF SILK IN TASMANTA. 


crossing the Line ; there would, therefore, be the less chance of risk in’ 
introducing them into Tasmania. 

I now pass on to the members of the Genus Bombyz, or true Silk- 
worm. 

Bombyx religiose (Helfer, 1837).—This is a native of Assam, where it 
feeds on the leaves of the Ficus religiose. It yields a silk, if not superior, 
yet certainly equal to the B. Mori. The cocoon shows the finest fila- 
ment, and has very much silky lustre. It is exceedingly smooth to the 
touch, and very different from the cocoon of the mulberry moth (pure 
silkworm). 

Bombyx Huttoni (Westwood, 1847).—A native of Mussoorie. It feeds 
on the leaves of the wild mulberry. It cannot be treated like the 
domestic kinds, but must be reared upon the trees. On the tree it is 
perfectly free from restlessness, and saves a vast expense in feeding. 
The worm spins in all weather, whereas the common silkworm is apt to 
be thrown off work by a passing cloud. 

Bombyx Horsfieldi (Moore, 1858), from Java, and B. subnotata 
(Walker, 1859), from Singapore, also belong to India. 

Bombyx mori.—From late researches it appears that the disease of 
the silkworm is caused principally by a disease of the mulberry trees, 
on the leaves of which the silkworm is fed. This disease can be cured 
by placing the infected eggs for some time in a box containing a little 
spirit of turpentine. But this treatment does not prevent the re- 
appearance of the disease upon the worms when they are fed upon the 
leaves of diseased mulberry trees. The silkworm in France (before this 
disease broke out) ordinarily produced about 150,000,000 francs worth 
of raw silk. This silk, after being manufactured at Lyons, Nismes. and 
St. Etienne, acquired a value of 310,000,000 of frances. The annual 
average production of cocoons in France from 1846 to 1852 was 53 mil- 
lion pounds ; which had diminished from 1853 to 1861 to 263 million 
pounds. The disease, therefore, becomes a perfect scourge, and we can 
easily imagine of what importance it is considered to discover a remedy. 

The following paper was then read by Mr. Stutzer :— 

T had intended to have made scme observations upon the Ailanthus, 
but fortunately Mr. Ewing has anticipated me, and I will only now 
notice one or two particulars to which he has not alluded. The culti- 
vation of the Ailanthus, which is spreading rapidly in France, has been 
created by the present Emperor of the French. The merit of its intro- 
duction into Tasmania belongs exclusively to Mr. Ewing. In tke middle 
of last year he showed me the articles on the Adlanthus in ‘ All the 
Year Round,’ and finding that there was a full-grown tree in the Botanical 
Gardens, I obtained a number of suckers from it. About the same time 
Mr. Ewing received 100 specimens from Professor Mueller, at Melbourne. 
Of the plants which I have planted out myself a great number have 
been destroyed by rabbits ; but the rest have thriven most vigorously, 
They seem to do best in alluvial soil, but those at the Queen’s Asylum 


ON THE CULTIVATION OF SILK IN TASMANIA. 399 


are growing, and growing well, in a cold stiff clay. It seems, in fact, as 
if in any soil, good or bad, the trees would thrive, and it grows so 
rapidly that Mr. Abbott tells me he thinks that the leaves may be used 
for silk as early as the third year. Some particulars relating to the 
Ailanthus are contained in a letter from Sir H. E. Young to the Governor, 
published in the ‘ Agricultural Journal.’ 

Passing from the Ailanthus to the mulberry silkworm, the remarks 
which I have the honour to lay before the Society this evening are not 
intended to apply to the abstract question of the cultivation of sill and 
its adaptability to Tasmania, so much as to notice briefly what has been 
actually done in the twelve months which have elapsed since the subject 
was first publicly mooted. The amount has not been much, but of that 
nature which justifies us in detailing it to a body whose peculiar mission 
it is to utilize science. The profitable cultivation of silk in Tasmania 
depends upon the four conditions of (1) the management of the insect, 
(2) the cultivation of the tree, (3) the manufacture of the silk, and (4) 
the amount, quality, and cost of the labour employed. I shall have 
chiefly to solicit your attention, on this occasion, to the second subject 
—viz., the progress in the cultivation of the mulberry. With respect 
to the first, the silkworm itself, there is very little to be said, as the 
management of the insect is so extremely simple that no one who has 
attempted, or will attempt it in Tasmania, is likely to encounter any 
real difficulty until he came to deal with it in very large numbers—say 
50,000 to 100,000. The enormous rapidity of its increase renders it 
practically indestructible, as may be conceived from the fact that the 
offspring of a single pair will in less than four years greatly exceed the 
number of human beings living on the globe. For example, I received 
from Mr. Morton Allport, last year, 500 eggs, and although a good many 
insects were destroyed in the cocoons, I have already given away more 
than 12,000, and have a great many on hand. If the eggs of only a 
portion of these are preserved, there will be many more silkworms 
round Hobart Town next year than all the present mulberry trees can 
support. As far as I have seen last year, and this, the insects are 
peculiarly healthy, and the loss among them almost none. On Italian 
silk-farms a loss of 20 per cent. is rather a low average. So far, there- 
fore, the Tasmanian climate suits them peculiarly. The degree at which 
they hatch in Hobart Town is 62. They remained in my room for some 
days with the thermometer standing steadily at 60 without one of them 
appearing, but at 62 some hundreds came out at once. 

The temperature at which they thrive best, as proved by experiment 
here, is from 64 to 70’ This appears to be about 5 degrees above the 
average temperature of November, in Hobart Town, and therefore sup- 
posing they are kept in quantities of 100,000 and upwards, it would be 
economical to keep up a fire of incessant warmth to a certain point, as this 
quickens their growth. They will, however, live healthily at 60, but 
require a week longer before spinning than at 65. They should be 


400 ON THE CULTIVATION OF SILK IN TASMANTA, 


kept in pure air and sunshine as much as possible, and be steadily fed. 
Abundance of food is, in fact, the main point, since an insect which in 
50 days increases to 1000 times its original bulk, must necessarily be a 
most voracious feeder. The larger the box in which they are kept, the 
better, and the dead leaves, of course, require to be soon removed, Ob- 
serving these few simple facts, they will grow to the cocoon with scarcely 
any trouble. 

The silk from the cocoons raised last year, was sent home to England, 
by Mr. Wilkins, to have its commercial value properly ascertained. I 
regret not having by me the letter sent by his correspondent to Mr. 
Wilkins, but it stated in substance, that the specimen was of unusual 
fineness and strength and of a quality to command a high price in the 
market. It was, however, difficult to ascertain its exact market value, 
owing to the manner in which it had been reeled. Mr. Wilkins is now 
in England, which is likely to be a considerable assistance, as he under- 
stands silk practically, and is a strenuous supporter of its growth in 
Tasmania. I do not, however, individually lay much stress on reports 
from home, having seen so much of the Italian silk in masses at Leghorn 
and elsewhere, as to feel assured of the quality of the Tasmania silk 
being at least a high average. Anything above this will depend upon 
the manner of reeling. 

I come now to the great point of all, the growth of the mulberry 
tree. Putting aside the question of labour, the profitable cultivation of 
silk in Tasmania depends simply upon the supply of leaves. I will 
briefly notice what in this poimt has been done. 

There are in round numbers at a rather vague calculation, within 20 
miles round Hobart Town, from 100 to 150 mulberry trees, about half 
of which are at New Town. All of these are the black mulberry which 
is generally assumed to give a rather inferior silk. The Valencian silk, 
however, which stands well in the market is from the black, and the 
difference of the two is not likely’to be considerable. The only white 
mulberry in the south side of the island is the one so called in the 
Botanical gardens. I doubt myself whether this is a real white one, but 
have not the botanical knowledge to know. 

Nearly two years ago, in the beginning of 1861, Mr. Abbott, at my 
request, took a number of cuttings am this tree, and from the one 
Ailanthus tree in the garden. At the end of the year, Mr. Hill, the 
gardener at the Queen’s Asylum, with some of the boys, was employed 
in breaking up, trenching, and ‘liming a plot containing an acre and 
three-quarters, which was hedged in and irrigated for making the first 
plantation. As this piece, though the best available on the grounds of 
the Asylum, seemed rather too stiff for young trees, in March last I took 
on my own account a piece three acres on the New Town Rivulet at the 
back of the Government land, and broke it up for the young trees. Into 
these two were put the cuttings from the white mulberry and Ailanthus 
and forty boughs of the black mulberry. At the same time Mr. Abboit 


bi 


ON THE CULTIVATION OF SILK IN TASMANIA. 40] 


made a number of additional cuttings, which are now in the Society’s 
gardens. 

The only result of this, so far as to the mulberry, is that 80 of the 
white mulberry and 40 boughs of the black have struck, and are 
flourishing vigorously. More than 100 cuttings of the white mulberry 
died. The black mulberry which were put in the damp alluvial soil 
along the creek grew, and their success seems to show that in this way the 
tree can be easily propagated. In addition to these a number of layers 
have been made, and are in full leaf in the Society’s gardens, 

The plantations formed from these sources, and in this manner, 
would go a very little way towards raising the armies of trees which 
will be wanted to supply the demand when silk is fairly established in 
the island. The way to raise mulberry plantations at once, and on a 
very large scale, is from seed. The difficulty has been that mulberry 
seed at home hardly ever succeeds. Out of a thousand seeds in England 
hardly one comes up. I took advantage, however, of Mr. Martelli being 
in the island, to send, through him, to Genoa for a supply of the genuine 
Italian seed. In Italy, where the value of the raw silk alone exceeds 
four times that of the whole collective exports of Tasmania—mulberry 
seed is sold in immense quantities, and to avoid imposition is regularly 
examined and stamped. I have distributed the seed very widely, to the 
Qneen’s Asylum, the Botanical Gardens, His Excellency the Governo 
and above thirty individuals who had land adapted for growing it, but — 
always with considerable doubts as to the results. Lam, however, happy 
to say that it has turned out a great success. At the Botanical Gardens 
three seeds out of four of the white mulberry tree, came up, and there 
are now about a thousand plants growing vigorously. If the rest turn 
out equally well, there will be by the end of the year many thousand 
plants growing in Tasmania. The seed at the Botanical Gardens was 
grown in the greenhouse boxes, and will be planted out in the beginning 
of autumn. 

I consider that the real difficulty in producing silk in Tasmania is now 
solved. I know by experience that the silkworm thrives in this climate, 
the pure mountain air here as in the Appenines and the Lebanon suiting 
best the insect and tree. The great point was to raise very large quan- 
tities of leaves, and every landowner who likes, can now produce any 
necessary quantity. But I am still obliged to remind the Society that 
it is not likely to pay for years to come to employ hired labour in seri- 
culture here. The trouble attending it is not much, and it lasts less 
than two months in the year, but the profit will arise by employing the 
spare time of those who are otherwise supported. The children and 
patients at the Queen’s Asylum and New Norfolk, the wives and children 
of all persons having garden ground enough to grow a few trees will 
find in it a certain source of profit small or great. The plants, however, 
cannot be safely stripped till after five years, and in this lies the great 
advantage of the Ailanthus that it grows in any soil, that its insect, the 

VOL, III. M M 


402 ON THE CULTIVATION OF SILK IN TASMANTA. 


Attacus Cynthia, requires scarcely any tending, and that the leaves can be 
used at least two years earlier than those of the mulberry. 

An interesting discussion ensued on some of the important topics 
treated of in Mr. Stutzer’s paper. 

Mr. Abbott, junr., stated that the Ailanthus grew and flourished 
vigorously in that climate. Leaves could be taken from it in the course 
of two or three years, and on the whole it was a very hardy and prolific 
plant. Even the white mulberry did well, and was very easily propa- 
gated. 

Mr. Ewing remarked after what they had just heard he had no doubt 
that the growth of silk would eventually be established in Tasmania, 
and it was evident that the introduction of an article which was likely 
to become one of great importance as an export, would be due entirely 
to the indomitable energy and zeal of Mr. Stutzer. 

Mr. Stutzer observed that he spoke strongly on the importance of 
introducing the silkworm because he felt strongly on the subject. At 
the same time he did not mean to say it would pay a capitalist to hire 
expensive labour for preparing ground, planting trees, feeding the 
worm, and attending to the various operations required in the process 
of silk-culture. If, however, a knowledge of this very easy and simple 
process could be diffused throughout the colony, as was the case in other 
countries, and if at the proper season the odd half hours of a few weeks, 
which would otherwise probably be wasted, were devoted to the silk- 
worm, the result would necessarily be the production of an article of 
export not far inferior in value to the oil which is shipped from our 
ports. Influenced as we are by English experience and prejudice, we 
are apt to look upon the silk-worm as a sort of toy. But this should 
not be, and when we consider that Tasmania is admirably adapted for 
the production of an article, the supply of which from the shores of 
the Mediterranean alone surpasses in value that of all the gold of the 
Australias, it is surely incumbent upon us to recognise its great eco- 
nomic importance, and to take action in the matter. Mr. Stutzer re- 
marked that he had still on hand a considerable supply of the finest 
seed of the white mulberry which he had received direct from Italy, 
and that he would be very happy to furnish applicants for it with such 
quantities as he could spare. 


403 


ON THE UTILIZATION OF WASTE* 
BY DR. LYON PLAYFAIR, C.B. 


WooiueN Racs.—Woollen rags have become extensively useful of 
late years. They cannot be converted into paper, but they can be con- 
verted into a great many substances; and, perhaps, some of my lady 
hearers will not thank me for the information which I am going to give. 
It is interesting, nevertheless. After garments have been worn and 
have gone through their common use and wear, they are by no means 
useless. They possess still a high money value; and these woollen 
garments, these clippings of the tailor, old rags, and old worn coats, 
when we have done with them, are all cut up, and torn to pieces. They 
have a little oil placed upon them, and are blown through a blower to 
get them into a fine state of division; and then they are sold as wool 
under the name of “mungo,” or of ‘‘shoddy.” Now, this is sold at 
about one-third the price of ordinary wool.. The wool obtained in 
this way by breaking up these old rags is sold at from sixpence to a 
shilling a pound, and it forms excellent cloths. For instance, those 
light ladies’ cloths which they wear as mantles are almost all made 
from these old rags. It is also employed extensively for mixing with 
wool, because it gives a greater lustre and a certain fineness to the 
cloth ; and therefore it is often used for mixing in ordinary woollen 
cloths. The coarser varieties are used for druggets and other purposes ; 
but it is all used up. There is a portion of it which becomes waste, 
which will not make good wool. This mungo waste, as it is called, 
cannot be worked up into a cloth ; but it is only waste as regards cloth- 
making. This waste is powdered and dyed with brillant colours, and 
is then made use of for making flock-paper such as we have in our 
ordinary apartments. For that purpose the paper is printed in a pattern 
with gum or with size. The powdered waste wool which has been 
dyed and prepared is then sieved over the paper, and it sticks where 
the gum or size has been printed on. In that way it forms the ordinary 
flock-paper. 

MUSLIN-DE-LAINES.—As long ago as 1834, in the cotton districts, 
they learnt how to put a cotton weft with a woollen warp. The cloths 
thus produced were finer in texture and cheaper than the woollen cloth, 
and therefore there wasa great demand for them. It was, however, 
scarcely worth while to take these muslin-de-laines as rags after they 
were worn out and economise them. The reason of that was that you 
had two fibres of different kinds, one of wool and one of cotton, 
and you had to sacrifice one in order to get the other. For instance, if 
you desired to get the wool, you steeped the muslin-de-laines in acids, 
and converted the cellulose or woody fibre of which the cotton consisted 
into sugar, and the cotton being converted into sugar was lost, but the 


* From Lectures on the Exhibition. 


404. ON THE UTILIZATION OF WASTE, 


wool was obtained, and used. If, on the other hand, you wished to 
save the cotton of this mixed fabric, you dipped the material into an 
alkali and dissolved the wool. The alkali did not dissolve the cotton, 
but the wool, being dissolved, was separated from the cotton, and the 
cotton was saved. Now, Mr. F. O. Ward has shown in the Exhibition 
a pretty process for economising both fibres, or at least for getting a 
chemical product from both fibres, and it is very simple. Here are the 
rags as they are presented—the rags containing both of the substances 
—cotton and wool. They are subjected to a current of steam at three 
or four atmospheres—that is to say, hotter than ordinary; and when 
this heated steam passes through the rags it converts the wool into a 
sort of bituminous or resinous matter which becomes brittle. There is 
a portion of it which has been acted on by the steam. I agitate it, and 
the wool separates as a powder, and the cotton is as firm and as strong 
as it was before. All the wool has gone away from it, because it has 
been converted into this resinous substance. When this wool becomes 
dry it can be separated by a kind of combined beating and sieving pro- 
cess ; and now there remains the cotton. The cotton in this state is 
sold as ordinary cotton rags to the bleacher who bleaches it, and it is 
converted into paper. There is some paper made from the cotton rags 
bleached in this way. This substance which I have shaken off here, and 
which has come upon this paper, is the wool and is still valuable. It 
ontains 12 per cent. of nitrogen, and therefore is in a condition which 
makes it a good manure, and it is sold as such under the name of “ ulmate 
of ammonia.” I ought to tell you that the woollen rags are never too waste 
to be converted into manure. All the early broccoli which comes up from 
Cornwall is forced on by being manured with these woollen rags. 
PRUSSIATE OF PorasH.—Attempts have been made to improve the 
manufacture largely, but without any great success. Still, itis such an 
interesting application of the waste substances which contain nitrogen, 
that it would not do to pass it over in a lecture upon waste materials. 
In the making of prussiate of potash, almost all the things which are 
too waste and too refuse to be employed for the higher purposes of 
waste substances, such as I have shown you there, as cloths and paper- 
hangings, are employed for making this salt. For instance, the horns of 
cattle, the hoofs of cattle, clippings of leather, the cast-off woollen 
garments of the Irish peasantry, and all sorts of things which are re- 
fuse, are mixed up with pearlash, or carbonate of potash, which, you 
know, comes from the ashes which remain after the combustion of 
wood, and with old scraps of iron. Old iron hoops from beer barrels, 
broken hoops, iron nails, old iron horse shoes, or any old scrap iron 
which can be obtained, is mixed up with this refuse, pearlash blood, 
and other substances, and they are all fused together in a pot, and after 
they are fused together in this way they are dissolved out in water, 
and then they are transformed from their ugly primary condition to 
this beautiful salt, which is yellow prussiate of potash. It isa cyanide 


ON THE UTILIZATION OF WASTE. 405 


of iron and a cyanide of potassium. The nitrogen combines with the 
earbon and forms cyanogen ; and then the cyanogen combines with the 
iron and the potassium, and forms this prussiate of potash. This salt 
is very extensively employed because it is the source of Prussian blue. 
I have here a solution of iron rust which I add to this solution of the 
yellow salt. You see immediately that a copious precipitate of Prussian 
blue is produced—that beautiful colour which we employ so extensively. 
Now, if you pass chlorine through yellow prussiate of potash, you re- 
move one equivalent of potassium, and then you get this other salt, the 
red prussiate of potash, which, though it differs from the other merely in 
containing one equivalent of potassium less, yet is changed in its che- 
mical characters considerably. The yellow salt is not poisonous, but 
the red salt is intensely poisonous. This also with another salt of iron 
—a proto-salt of iron—forms Prussian blue. If I put some of this red 
salt into the water, and add a lower oxide of iron, it forms a Prussian 
blue of a characteristic brilliancy, which enables it to be used in many 
cases in preference to that which is produced from the cther salt. 
Wuitre Gunrowper.—If I take 28 parts of that yellow prussiate, 
23 parts of cane sugar, 49 parts of chlorate of potash, and then sieve 
them so as to mix them together, we get a description of gunpowder. 
This gunpowder has certain advantages even above ordinary gun- 
powder. Weight for weight, it forms nearly double the volume of 
gas that common gunpowder yields ; and it leaves less residue behind. 
Although you may think the ash considerable, it is still less in quantity 
than the amount which is left by the ordinary gunpowder. But the © 
temperature of the flame on ignition is not so high; so that, although 
the white gunpowder produces double the amount of gas, that gas is 
not heated so much, and therefore does not expand so much as in the 
case of ordinary gunpowder, and the projectile force of this white gun- 
powder has not answered the expectations formed of it. Still, it is so 
exceedingly easily made—by simply taking these materials, prussiate 
of potash, chlorate of potash, and sugar, sieving them separately so as 
to get them fine, and then sieving them in their proportions together 
so as to get them mixed, that it may have some advantages. There is 
required none of the mechanical appliances necessary in the manufac- 
ture of ordinary gunpowder, such as the milling, and glazing, and gra- 
nulation, which make its manufacture so troublesome and expensive. 
Bones.—Rags and bones are naturally associated in one’s mind. The 
same collector collects both ; although I confess T am somewhat sorry 
for their association to-day, because the chemistry of bones is so exten- 
sive that I scarcely know how to handle it in half a lecture. I must 
therefore pass over their known applications—the applications which 
are so familiar to you. I can say nothing of their use as a manure, 
either in the ground or subdivided state, or as they are often used, after 
being treated with sulphuric acid, under the name of superphosphate of 
lime. I cannot even, interesting as it is, dwell upon the fact that 


406 ON THE UTILIZATION OF WASTE. 


within the last few years we have learned actually to take up and apply 
the bones of extinct animals—of the old reptiles which, during the 
Saurian period, spread terror through the seas and estuaries of the time. 
The bones and exuviee of these animals are now used as manure. They 
are ground and mixed with sulphuric acid, and sold under the name of 
‘* superphosphate of lime.” 

‘In this country the importation of bones for mechanical and 
chemical purposes, amounts to about 70,000 tons per annum. The 
mechanical purpose for which bones are used are such as the making 
of handles for knives, tooth, and nail-brushes, &e. The quantity im- 
ported represents a money value of 350,0001. 

When we examine the chemical composition of bone, we find it to 
consist of organic matter 33 parts, of phosphate of lime 56 parts, of 
carbonate of lime 8 parts, and of fluoride of calcium and phosphate of 
magnesia 2 parts, making 100 parts. Now, I can easily show you the 
earthy matter, taking it generally, and the organic matter. I have 
here put a bone, which was of the form you see it here, in a little 
weak muriatic acid. That has dissolved out the earthy portion and 
left the organic matter of the cartilage, which you see is quite 
soft. Now, this cartilage is extensively used for purposes which I have 
not time to enter into, because that is not what I have to deal with. 
It is used extensively in making a glue or size used for stiffening calico 
prints, which is of a less stiff and firm character than the glue used for 
ordinary purposes. The bones are boiled, and this cartilage becomes 
converted into gelatine, or into the jelly with which you are familiar 
under the name of “ calve’s-foot jelly,” in which the cartilage is 
changed into a gelatinous substance. This is extensively used, and 
it is a subject which one would like to dwell upon. 

BonE Biack.—lIf instead of taking out this gelatine by boiling it, 
you take the bones and calcine them with this cartilage in them, the 
bones are converted into a black substance which is called “ bone-black.” 
The fact is, the cartilage becomes carbonised, the volatile matters are 
driven off, and the earthy matters of the bone become mixed with char- 
coal, which remains behind. This charcoal is extensively used for the 
purpose of decolourisation. It is that which is employed for the pur- 
pose of making brown sugar white. If any coloured organic substance 
be passed through these calcined bones, and you allow it to go gradually 
you will find that it filters through with the colour, perhaps not wholly 
removed by the first operation, but it will be removed by the second. 
You see this liquid is now passing through almost wholly decolourised, 
because this charcoal has a strong affinity for the colouring matter and 
unites with it. Bone-black is extensively used for decolourising syrups 
and other things. When this bone-black is formed by the calcination 
of the bones, there is also a large quantity of oil which distils over, and 

is sold under the name of “Dippel’s animal oil,” being useful for 
various purposes. 


ON THE UTILIZATION OF WASTE, 407 


PHosPHoRUS.—The earthy matter of bones consists of three equiva- 
lents of lime united with one equivalent of phosphoric acid. It is what 
chemists term “a tribasic phosphate of lime.” Phosphoric acid, as you 
are no doubt aware, consists of one equivalent of phosphorus united 
with five equivalents of oxygen. In order to obtain the phosphorus, it 
is only necessary to take away those five equivalents of oxygen, which 
we can do by mixing the compound with charcoal after some prelimi- 
nary operations, and heating them together. The charcoal takes away 
the oxygen and forms carbolic oxide with it, whilst the phosphorus distils 
over. In this way we get phosphorus in the condition in which you 
are very familiar with it. Here it is in the state in which we obtain it, 
by this distillation, after it has been again melted and filtered through 
chamois leather, and cast into quill tubes. You see it is a wax-like 
substance, which I must handle with care, because if I allow it to dry, 
the heat of my fingers would be sufficient to inflame it. Now, observe 
what this substance looks like. It is semi-transparent; it is soft; you 
can cut it like wax. It is exceedingly poisonous, and in the making of 
lucifer-matches is found to be avery insidious poison. Lucifer-match 
makers are apt at first to be subject to an affection which does not draw 
much attention. They complain frequently of toothache, but they do 
not know the insidious disease which is creeping upon them. I will 
not pain you by describing this disease in its progress, but will merely 
say that the workmen who make lucifer-matches from this phosphorus 
are subject to the most distressing of all diseases ; the jawbone be- 
comes destroyed, and frequently disappears or becomes useless, and 
some of them spend the greater part of their lives in the wards of 
hospitals. 

It therefore became an important point for science to find some way 
by which this phosphorus should be deprived of its poisonous proper- 
ties without losing those chemical characters which make it so useful in 
making matches for instantaneous light. Now,a gentleman who is at 
present in London, as one of the Jurors of the Great Exhibition, met 
this want of science in a very skilful way. Bodies are capable of assum- 
ing two conditions, and sometimes more, which the chemist calls 
“ allotropic” conditions ; that is to say, they are, in fact, old friends 
with new faces given to them by some artifice, but still the same body, 
and not having gained or lost anything. Now, here is our old friend 
phosphorus with certainly a new face. By taking common phosphorus 
and exposing it for some time to a temperature of 460 deg., this yellow 
waxy, transparent substance transforms into a dark brick-like substance. 
It is no longer so inflammable as toignite spontaneously. I place it in 
water because it will ignite upon the application of a light, and it is 
best to keep it away from the possibility of those conditions under 
which it might be accidently ignited. It may be packed up in boxes 
without danger of spontaneous combustion ; but what is more import- 
ant, it has lost all its poisonous properties. The phosphorus, which 


408 ON THE UTILIZATION OF WASTE. 


was poisonous before, is no longer poisonous in this allotropic condition, 
and it is still-capable of being used for making lucifer-matches. In 
passing into that allotropic state it has lost its power of dissolving in 
bisulphide of carbon, and if any of the old phosphorus remains in it, 
it may be dissolved out by this bisulphide of carbon. I have here 
some of this ordinary substance which is dissolved in bisulphide of 
carbon, and if I pour it now over this paper you will see the proper- 
ties which it possesses, in a very short time. It will ignite of itself 
as soon as it becomes sufficiently dry by the passing off of the bisulphide 
of carbon. When this evaporation takes place the phosphorus is left in 
such a fine state of division upon the paper that it bursts into flame. 
The allotropic phosphorus is altered very considerably in its chemical 
characters. 

Lucirer Matcues.—lI cannot tell you who was the first inventor of 
a means of getting instantaneous light. Many admirers of Prometheus 
declare that it was Prometheus, but he does not do so himself. He 
says this :— 3 


“T am he who sought the source of fire, 
Enclosing it hid in my narthex staff ; 
And it hath shown itself a friend to man, 
And teacher of all arts.” 


You recollect the circuinstances under which Prometheus got the fire. 
Jupiter was so angry with Prometheus for having stuffed a bull’s skin 
with bones, and passed it off as a real carcase for a votive offering, that 
he took away fire from the earth to punish Prometheus. We might 
suppose that the father of the gods removed the fire lest the ingenious 
Prometheus should have made phosphorus from the bones, and thus 
become independent of the gods. Whether man would thus have been 
independent of the gods for fire I do not know, but fire was taken from 
the earth. What Prometheus actually did was only to steal fire from 
the chariot of the sun, and keep it alive, until he reached the earth and 
gave it to man, by blowing with the pith of the giant Fennel, which 
he used as a staff. We are told by Pliny and Virgil thatthe tinder- 
box, similar to those used by us, was well known in their time. They 
describe the properties of the flint and steel, and Virgil says that dry 
leaves may be ignited by means of the flint and steel with the 
rapidity of speech. The savages of various countries found for them- 
selves.a means of getting a light which was far from instanta- 
neous. I think it would require much more dexterity than we can 
employ, to demonstrate how a light may be got by rubbing together 
two pieces of wood; but we can get sufficient heat in that way to ignite 
some substances which are more combustible than the wood itself. By 
rubbing these two pieces of wood together, in a little time they become 
very hot. Now they are smoking violently. Observe that there is now heat 
enough to ignite a piece of phosphorus readily. In this case the friction 


ON THE UTILIZATION OF WASTE. 409 


by a philosophical process, which I need not describe just now, is suffi- 
‘cient to produce a large quantity of heat, and savage tribes have been 
accustomed to use that friction to obtain a source of light. For a long 
time, as many of our older readers will recollect, our only means of 
obtaining an instantaneous light, even within my own recollection, was 
the tinder-box. The tinder-box with its trio, burnt-rag, flint, and steel, 
was familiar to many of us. These were used to obtain a flame, and then 
in addition to this trio there was the sulphur-match, which was ignited 
after the flame had been obtained by the sparks falling among the 
burnt-rag. If the rag were not damp, and everything was in perfect 
order, you could get a light in a short time ; but if the rag were at all 
damp, or the day was draughty, you might get a light in a quarter of an 
hour. There, now we have got a light, and by blowing it up I may 
succeed in getting the sulphur match alight. I recollect when I was a 
boy remaining for at least half an hour in a castle which I was to be 
shown over, whilst a light was got in this way. 

DoBEREINER’s Lamp.—tThe firstinvention which led the attention of 
chemists to the importance of a means of obtaining an instantaneous 
light occurred in 1820, when Dobereiner produced a lamp of an elegant 
character. You will see it represented in this diagram. Here is a 
vessel in which hydrogen gas is collected. The hydrogen gas is formed 
by the action of sulphuric aeid and water upon zinc. These acting upon 
the zine produce hydrogen, and the hydrogen rises here, and as it is 
formed it expels the acid from the vessel, so that it no longer acts upon 
the zinc. I have in this way areservoir of hydrogen ; and now if I take 
a piece of spongy platinum, which has the power of absorbing oxygen 
from the air and condensing it within its pores, and bring this platinum 
in contact with the hydrogen, you see that it gets red hot, and ignites 
the hydrogen. ‘Thus, you see that this plan of applying hydrogen for 
the purpose of acting upon the oxygen condensed in spongy platinum is 
a method by which a light can be obtained. The spongy platinum 
absorbing oxygen, presented oxygen to the hydrogen, and caused the 
formation of water, and in the formation of water, so much heat was pro- 
duced that the hydrogen became ignited, and a light was obtained. One 
disadvantage which prevented it being universally adopted was simply 
this: that the least speck or fouling of this spongy platinum puts the 
lamp out of order. For instance, this may have been in order five 
minutes ago, and it may be out of order now. Some dust or dirt may 
have got upon the spongy platinum. Still, the application was so ele- 
gant that it drew the attention of scientific men to the importance of 
getting an instantaneous light. 

The next invention consisted in mixing phosphorus and sulphur in 
a bottle, and then taking them out upon a splint of wood, which was 
rubbed, and a light obtained in that way. 

Then came the method of getting a light by means of chlorate of 
potash and sulphuric acid, Here I have some chlorate of potash mixed 

VOL, III, NWN 


410 ON THE UTILIZATION OF WASTE. 


with sugar, and I place a little of it on a plate. I will not put too much 
because of the fumes. I now dip this rod in sulphurie acid so as to 
get a little on the end of it, and with this I touch the mixture of 
chlorate of potash and sugar. The sulphuric acid liberates the chloric 
acid, which gives oxygen tothe sugar; the sugar burns and an instanta- 
neous light is obtained in this way. Captain Manby used this process 
fox firing off his safety mortars, and thus drew considerable attention to 
this mode of obtaining a light. An application of this chlorate of 
potash and sulphuric acid to match-making was now made. There were 
two applications : one was older than the other. The method which 
was first introduced consisted of having a little bottle of asbestos. Here 
is one of the old kind, which many of us can recollect. This asbestos is 
moistened with oil of vitriol, and the chlorate of potash and sugar, 
instead of being separate, as I showed you there, are put upon the end 
of the match, and you dip it in the sulphuric acid, and the chlorate of 
potash and sugar mixture gets ignited, and the light is got in that way. 
Well, that was the first application of the old experiment of chlorate of 
potash and sugar. Then there was another. I am sorry to say that I 
have only one or two of these ancient matches left, and they will soon 
be gone altogether. The plan was to take the chlorate of potash and 
sugar, and wrap it in a piece of paper, and to have the sulphuric acid 
sealed up in a little glass globule inside the mixture. The mode of 
using it was, if you had a pair of pincers at hand, to break the globule 
with them, and so ignite the match; but if you had not a pair of 
pincers in readiness, you did it between your teeth ; and if you were 
very clever, you might do it without getting the sulphuric acid mto 
your mouth, or burning it with the explosion. This match had a great 
objection—that chlorate of potash and sugar always go off violently, and 
the sulphuric acid in the globule, although in small quantity, was 
spirted over the dress, and destroyed the dress whenever it came in 
contact with it. 

The first friction-match was introduced in 1832. The mode in which 
these friction-matches are made, many of my hearers who lived in 1832 
will recollect. I have a lively recollection of it. The mode was this 
—sulphide of antimony was mixed with chlorate of potash. Here 
the sulphide of antimony gave sulphur, just as the sugar gave, 
a combustible to the chloride of potash. This was put upon 
the end of a piece of wood; and the friction was produced by 
drawing this through a piece of sand-paper. I have there some 
antique matches of all kinds, which are now very valuable because they 
are very difficult to obtain. My experience as a boy with regard to 
these friction-matches was that with considerable adroitness you might 
get a light after pulling off the ends of half a box ; and when it did 
come, it came with such viclence and explosion that it projected a 
considerable quantity of the ignited matter over the hands and burnt 


ON THE UTILIZATION OF WASTE. 4\1 


them. You might get a light for_6d. or 8d. ; at least, that was my expe- 
rience as a boy. My seniors may have been more successful. 

In 1834 the phosphorus-match was invented. In this, after a time, 
sulphur became substituted for sulphide of antimony, and it was a great 
improvement upon the old congreve. At first the phosphorus match was 
violent in its action, and it projected its melted materials over the fingers 
unless you held it carefully, and the reason of that was that nothing 
but chlorate of potash was used as the oxidiser. The friction produced 
the heat necessary to ignite the phosphorus : the chlorate of potash gave 
it the oxygen, and it burnt violently. After atime manufacturers learnt 
that it was better not to take chlorate of potash by itself, but to mix it with 
some less energetic oxidising agent—as, for instance, with saltpetre or 
nitrate of potash, or with peroxide of lead, or with some agent less ener- 
getic than the chlorate of potash. In this way the phosphorus-match became 
much improved in character. The sulphur, which was used to carry out 
combustion, and to get up sufficient heat to make the wood ignite, was 
also gradually substituted in the better kinds of matches by melted 
stearine. The wooden match was dipped into melted stearine, and all 
possibility of fumes of sulphur was in this way obviated. The common 
phosphorus match became gradually improved, and its use has now 
increased to such an extent, that it may surprise you to know 
that there are some chemical works in this country where they 
make nine millions of matches daily. In France and England 
alone 300,000 pounds of phosphorus are annually made into matches, 
and as three pounds of phosphorus are sufficient to tip five or 
six millions of matches, you can conceive what a large industry this has 
become. But the larger the industry has become the greater has been 
the evil with regard to the workers. On account of the extreme cheap- 
ness of the phosphorus-matches there is a desire to make them of the 
cheapest materials, and as this waxy phosphorus is cheaper than the 
allotropic phosphorus, all the common matches are, of course, made 
with the ordinary phosphorus. I show you a better kind of matches, 
which I hope all my hearers. will encourage, which are not made with 
the waxy phosphorus, but with the allotropic, or brown phosphorus. 
You may easily know them by their brown ends. The allotropic phos- 
phorus fortunately answers equally well for the purpose, and is not at 
all poisonous to the match-makers who have to use it. There are two 
kinds of matches made with the allotropic phosphorus. One kind is 
made like the ordinary match, with the oxidising material and the 
_ allotropic phosphorus mixed together and put upon the end of the 
match. It, therefore, differs from the ordinary kind only in the fact 
of its being made with allotropic phosphorus. But there is another kind 
of match which has been manufactured, and is an exceedingly beautiful 
invention, Here the oxidising material alone is put upon the match, 
the phosphorus not being put upon the wood. It is not, therefore, a 
match of the ordinary kind. You could not get it to ignite in the usual 

NN 2 


412 ON THE MILLETS AND OTHER SMALL-GRAINED GRASSES. 


way. Here the oxidising material is put upon the piece of wood, and 
the allotropic phophorus is put upon the friction paper mixed with the 
emery. This piece of wood does not, therefore, become a match until I 
take off a certain quantity of that phosphorus along with my oxidising 
material, by rubbing it upon the paper upon which the emery and phos- 
phorus are spread. The value of that device is great, because there can 
be no accidental firing, as in the ordinary matches. Trampling upon 
them, or leaving them too near the fire, cannot make them ignite, 
because the match is not a match until it is drawn over the sand 

paper and takes up phosphorus. Accidental ignition is thus pre- 
vented. 


ON THE MILLETS AND OTHER SMALIL-GRAINED GRASSES, 
USED FOR HUMAN FOOD IN VARIOUS COUNTRIES. 


BY P. L. SIMMONDS. 


What is Millet? Doubtless every reader will think he can very 
readily reply to this simple question. But we fancy that, like the defini- 
tion of Corn, it will vary considerably with the locality and the 
experience of the person answering the inquiry. The “corn” of Eng- 
land is not the “corn” of the United States, for while we apply the 
term to wheat, the Americans restrict it to maize. In Scotland again 
the name corn is given to oats, and still further north, in Sweden, Ice- 
land, &c., barley is the bread corn of the country. So with the term 
Millet, the word has a widely extended signification, and embraces the 
edible seed of grasses of various genera very dissimilar in habit and 
appearance. 

What is generally known as Millet in popular parlance in England 
is the seed, chiefly yellow, of the Panicum miliaceum sold in seed-shops 
for feeding cage-birds. But the collective term takes in a much greater 
range of product. In many countries the millets form large and 
important staple food-crops, and in some years considerable quantities 
are even imported into the United Kingdom. Thus, the imports here of 
late years have been as follows : 


Millet. Dari. 
1853 158,159 cwts ewts. 
1854 16,470 ,, — 
1855 58,263 _,, _ 
1856 41,284 ,, 7,542 
1857 230,451 ,, 147,187 
1858 58,866 ,, 171,277 
1859 107,600 ,, 84,763 
1860 53,624 ,, 960 


1861 55,674 4 5,716 


ON THE MILLETS AND OTHER SMALL-GRAINED GRASSES. 413 


The consideration, therefore, of the millets is not without interest, 
both in a commercial and agricultural point of view; and since 
there is little collected accessible information on these plants, we 
propose to treat somewhat at length of their peculiarities and uses, 
and shall endeavour to reconcile some discrepancies, and correct popu- 
lar errors which are very apt to lead those astray who have not looked 
very closely into the subject. 

If we turn to an ordinary dictionary we shall merely find “ Millet— 
the name of a plant.” Whilst Webster quotes the ‘Penny Cyclopeedia.’ 
“ Millet, a plant, or the grain of a plant of the genus Holcus, or Sorghum, 
having a stalk resembling a jointed reed, and classed by botanists among 
the grasses. Various species are used as food for man and animals, but 
the Indian Millet is the most common. The species are mostly natives 
of warm climates.” 

Simmonds’s more recent ‘Dictionary of Trade Products,’ tells us 
that “ Millet is a common name for several species of small seed corn, 
which on the Mediterranean coasts are generally called Dhurra, in the 
West Indies guinea corn,” &e. 

But we want something more than this; and although we cannot 
branch out here into an abstract definition of what is millet and what 
is not, and where the line of demarcation of these small seeded grains 
should be drawn; we can at least look at the matter in a technological 
point of view, and show what are the millets, popularly so termed, 
cultivated in different countries, and what are their local and generic 
names for identification, and what their uses, modes of cultivation, &c. 

Dr. Forbes Watson, in his treatise ‘ On the Composition and Relative 
Value of the Food Grains of India,” states that the millets in India occupy 
a position second to none in the country, and form tke staple food of 
a larger number of the population than perhaps all the other cereals put 
together. 

At the head of the list of these stands the millet called Bajra (Peni- 
cillaria spicata), and which itself, with the usual adjuncts of a little 
milk, &c., forms the chief article of diet of a very large number. 

Compared with rice, it is considerably more nutritious, containing 
about 103 per cent. of gluten, and giving a proportion between the car- 
bonaceous and nitrogenous compounds of from 7 to 74 per cent. of the 
former to one of the latter, whereas the kind of rice most rich in gluten 
contains only about 83 per cent. of that substance, and gives the pro- 
portion of a little more than 9 of the non-nitrogenous to the nitroge- 
nous—thus involving the addition of a large quantity of some pulse or 
extra nitrogenous substance to increase the proportion between the 
flesh-forming and heat-and-fat-yielding constituents. 

The great millet, Jowarree (Sorghum vulgare) stands next in order of 
importance, both on account of its intrinsic value as well as the num- 
bers it chiefly supplies with food. 

Natchenee or Ragee (Eleusine Curacana) stands at the bottom of the 


= “Aa ee ~ 
Se 
eh) ee 


414 ON THE MILLETS AND OTHER SMALL-GRAINED GRASSES. ~ 


list of grain plants, as far as nutritive power is concerned, and hence 
the necessity also for adding pulse, &c., in order to bring its important 
ingredients into due proportion. This grain in some districts is looked 
upon entirely as a famine food, and only had recourse to in seasons of 
drought, when other crops are very defective. In some places during 
ordinary seasons as much as from 130 to 140 lbs. are procurable for a 
couple of shillings. <A third part of the inhabitants of the globe feed 
upon the various millets, especially those of Africa, the greater part of 
Turkey, Persia, and India. Millet forms the principal sustenance of the 
people of Bokhara. The grain there yields so abundant a harvest that 
there is a large quantity for export. The seeds of millet are excellent 
for food both to domestic animals and man. The grain mixed with 
that of wheat gives an excellent bread, though a little heavy ; but gene- 
rally it is boiled with milk, like maize flour ; it swells considerably in 
water. Millet fattens poultry in a very short time. The stalks serve 
for heating ovens or for cooking food in countries where fuel is scarces 
The panicles, after the separation of the grain, form excellent brooms. 
The sale of these brooms in Italy, in Spain, France, and North America, 
is so remunerative that they enter largely into the value of the profits 
of culture. An article on the growth of millet for the manufacture of 
brooms in the United States will be found at Vol. i, TECHNOLOGIST, 
page 239. 

The seed is kept like wheat in gramaries or sacks, but it loses its 
flavour with age, and with humidity gets mouldy, and is much subject 
to the attacks of weevil. 

SORGHUMS. 

In Paxton’s ‘ Botanical Dictionary,’ eleven species of Sorghum are 
enumerated—namely, S. avenaceum (Holcus avenaceus, Linn.), bicolor, 
Caffrorum, or arduini, cernuum, elongatum, halepense, nigrum, rubens, 
saccharatum, and vulgare. 

The two genera Andropogon and Sorghum are closely allied. Some of 
the best authorities consider the difference so slight as to warrant their 
union into one. Steudel arranges Andropogon, Sorghum, and Trachy- 
pogon all under one head—Andropogon. Lindley italicises Sorghum in 
the last edition of his “Vegetable Kingdom,” and places it beneath 
Trachypogon, evidently considering them equivalent. The differences - 
between them are these :— 


Andropogon. Sorghum. 
Inflorescence spicate. Inflorescence paniculate. 
Spikelets in pairs, only one being Spikelets in twos or threes, cen- 
fertile. tral one only being fertile. 
Glumes herbaceous or mem- Glumes hard, coriaceous or in- 
branaceous. durated. 
Rachis hairy. Rachis smooth. 


Suear Miniet.—Sorghum saccharatus, Willd.; Andropogon saccha- 
raius, Kunth and Roxb. ; Holeus saccharatus, Linn.—Deodhan, Hind ; 


ON THE MILLETS AND OTHER SMALL-GRAINED GRASSES. 415 


Shalu, Tel. Erect, panicles verticillate ; culms erect, round-jointed ; 
seeds black or deep purple. 

Little seems to have been known in Europe of this species until 1851, 
when Mr. Montigny, French consul at Shanghai, sent this, among 
other seeds, to Paris, labelled “Sugar Cane of the North of China.” 
Professor Arudin of Florence would seem, however, to have grown it 
in Tuscany in 1766, and published in 1786 an account of his experi- 
ments in making sugar from it. 

The cultivation of this plant within the last ten years has been widely’ 
extended ; more, however, as a forage plant than for its saccharine pro- 
perties as a sugar producer. It is now grown in France, Algeria, 
Lombardy, Russia, the United States, India, and Australia. 

An innumerable number of treatises on the culture and uses of this 
species have been published in the United States, and on the Continent. 
Mr. Leonard Wray first drew attention to it here in a pamphlet printed 
for private circulation in 1854, “On the Zulu Kaffir Imphee or Sweet 
Reed.” In America Mr. H. 8. Olcott has collected in a volume under 
the title of ““Sorgho and Imphee, the Chinese and African sugar canes” 
(Moore, New York, 1857), a large amount of useful and practical intor- 
mation ; and Mr. Hyde has published a “‘ Manual of the Chinese Sugar 
Cane.” Wemay also enumerate, for the reference of those who take an 
interest in the culture, the following treatises published in France :— 
““ Monographe de la Canne & Sucre de la Chine, dite Sorgho a Sucre, par 
le Docteur Sicard” (Marseilles) ; “ Recherches sur la Sorgho Sucre,” par 
Louis Vilmorin ; “ De I’ Introduction et de lAcclimatation du Sorgho 
dans le Nord de France,’ par Dumont-Carment; ‘ La Sorgho Sucre, 
sa Culture,” &c, par Louis Hervé; “La Sorgho 4 Sucre,” par Paul 
Madinier ;” “Guide du Cultivateur du Sorgho a Sucre,” par Madinier 
et Lacoste ; ‘“ Guide du Distillateur du Sorgho & Sucre,’ par Bourdais 
These are for the most part published at the Central Library of Agricul- 
ture and Gardening in Paris. 

Although the seed of this species has hitherto been taken little into 
account in an economic point of view, it appears that in France a hec- 
tolitre of 65 kilogrammes of the grain unhusked yielded by grinding 
134 kilogrammes of coarse, and the same quantity of fine bran, and 
37 kilogrammes, flour or semola. This was of a violet colour, but when 
boiled with great care, the meal becomes perfectly white. But as this 
product would scarcely repay the trouble of grinding, it is chiefly for 
soups, puddings, and for feeding stock that it might be utilised. The 
yield of seed would seem to be about 60 bushels to the acre, of juice 
from the stalk 45 to 55 per cent. of a density varying from 1.050 to 
1.075, and the proportion of sugar, crystallisable and uncrystallisable, 
from 10 to 16 per cent. 

Mr. Wray states from his Natal experience that he is acquainted 
with fifteen varieties of this Sorghum, and certainly the panicles which 
he has shown us are very different in the colour and shape of the seeds, 
&c., to the ordinary Sorghum Saccharatum. 


416 ON THE MILLETS AND OTHER SMALL-GRAINED GRASSES. 


In Northern Africa, millet—but a much larger and more prolific grain, 
derived from a species of Sorghum—enters generally into cultivation 
under the name of Dourah or Dari. It is produced in considerable 
quantities in Upper Egypt, and being 40 or 50 per cent. lower in price 
than wheat, is more commonly the food of the fellah or peasant than 
any other grain. The late Professor Johnston states that by his analysis 
Dourah flour contains 114 per cent. of gluten. 

There seem to be three leading species, with short, close-set panicles, 
having either white, red, or olive-coloured seeds, probably Sorghum vul- 
gare, S. rubens and S. bicolor. 

While many of the Sorghums have rigid, compact heads, others have 
loose and spreading panicles, and the colour of the seed or grain appears 
to vary considerably, so that there is some difficulty, in the absence of 
precise information, in identifying them or naming them botanically, 
amid the scientific complexities of Holcus, Sorghum and Andropogon, to 
which they have severally been referred by various authors. Then they 
bear different local names in different countries -—The broom corn of 
the United States, the negro or Guinea corn of the West Indies, the 
Dourah of Northern Africa, the Kaffir corn of South-Eastern Africa, and 
the Jowarree or Cholum of India, being evidently the same plant and seed. 

The Sorghums require a more tropical climate to bring their seed to 
perfection than the common millets of Europe, but yield a much greater 
quantity of seed per acre than other grains. 

The different kinds of Sorghum are usually called joar in India, where 
they form principal objects of culture, and are of much more importance 
than would appear in Europe, as many of the inhabitants live as much 
upon these small or dry grains as uponrice. The joar is the durra of 
some Arab tribes, and the zurrut of others, It is extensivly cultivated 
throughout Asia, and appears to be the “ tall corn” of the Chinese. It has 
been introduced into the South of Europe, where it is chiefly employed 
in feeding cattle and poultry ; but is also made into cakes. The flour 
is white, anda good deal resembles that of the Indian corn in nature. 
The species commonly sown in Indiaare S. vulgare and S. bicolor. Kala- 
joar (S. cernuum) is a distinct species, which forms the principal food of 
the mountaineers of the Munnipore district. S. saccharatum is also culti- 
vated in many parts during the rainy and cold seasons, on land which 
is too high for rice. The stalks and straw of all are much valued as 
fodder for cattle, being cut into small pieces commonly called kurbee, 

Great Mitet, or White Cholum.—(Sorghum vulgare, Pers. ; S. com- 
mune, Beauy- ; Holcus Sorghum, Linn. ; H. durra, Forsk ; Andropogon 
Sorghum, Brow.; Jowar, Hind. ; Janoo, Tel.; Cholum, Tam.; Durra 
or Doora of N. Africa. Culms erect, panicles contracted, very dense. 
There is a red seeded variety, called Yerra Janoo, in Teloogoo, the 
panicle of which is rather loose. JS. vulgare has long been cultivated 
in the southern parts of Europe, India, Egypt, and Barbary. The seeds 
of the Sorghum are large, compressed, nearly oval, variable in colour, 
white, yellow, reddish, or black. In parts of India the great millet is 


ON THE MILLETS AND OTHER SMALL-GRAINED GRASSES. 417 


cultivated for its grain, which is much used for food, The produce in 
good soil is upwards of a hundred fold. Cattle are very fond of the 
straw ; the latter is also a substitute for forage for horses, when grain is 
not obtainable. There are three varieties grown in Madras, known as 
Munja Cholum, Mootho Cholum, and Secapoo Cholum. 

Sorghum vulgare is cultivated in the southern provinces of France, 
up to the environs of Macon, for feeding poultry, under the names of 
great millet, great panic sagina, &c. In Egypt the name of Dourah, 
or Dora, is specially applied to this millet. The S. bicolor, Willd., is 
also used for the same purposes. 

By some, Holcus compactus, Linn. ; H. cernuus, Willd., is thought 
to be but a variety of S. vulgare. It is occasionally cultivated for 
food. It differs in the panicle being more dense, more shaggy, 
depressed, and twisted, when young. The seeds are very white. 

In Algeria, in the Sahara, and the Tell, two species of Sorghum are 
cultivated. 

1. Avariety of the great sorgho (Sorghum vulgare,) of which the grain 
is red, and the panicles form excellent brooms. The stem attains a 
height of six or seven feet. 

2.-The Bechna of the Arabs, S. cernuus, or the Doura of the west, 
resembling S. saccharatus, which recent experiments have proved 
well suited for the manufacture of sugar. It is the righiffa of the Arabs. 

3. The benitche of the Arabs (Penicillaria spicata), sometimes called 
candle millet, is also grown in Algeria. 

It is worthy of remark that the natives of Upper Egypt call the Sorg- 
hums ‘‘ Baalee,” or Doora, whereas the Zulu-kafir's name for the same 
plant is ‘‘ Ma-baalee,’ the Ma being merely a prefix which they give toa 
great number of other proper names, Of Sorghums there are in Egypt six 
kinds, viz. Doora Sayfee, or Baalee, D. Hamra, D. Kaydee, D. Byood, 
or Dimeeree; D. Owaygeh, and D. Saffra. 

Wilkinson says that the Holcus saccharatus, (Arabic name, Dokhn), 
is grown about Asouan, in Nubia, and the Oasis. 

S. halepense, Holcus halepensis, Linn., H. exiguus, Forsk. In this 
species the panicle is loose, pyramidal, and ordinarily purple. 

An amazingly prolific variety of millet was introduced into Jamaica 
afew years ago from Texas. The precise species has not been deter- 
mined. It grows in a much cooler climate than the Sorghum vulgare, 
and it would be desirable to test it as a mountain corn. It is not the 
Sorghum cernuum of the mountaineers of Munnipore, in India, for although 
that is a straggling millet, it is heavy grained, whereas this grows thin 
and light. A mountain millet is a desirable acquisition for some of our 
colonies. The stalks and straw of all the Sorghums being much valued 
- as a fodder for cattle, an upland species would materially assist the 
mountaineer in feeding close-penned stock. Everything that gives 
variety to the food of a people is an addition to their resources beyond 
the mere multiplication of victual. It augments their home economy, 


418 ON THE MILLETS AND OTHER SMALL-GRAINED GRASSES. 


and adds to their abundance the wholesomeness and usefulness of a 
mixed diet. 

In the various districts of Bornou, a species of millet is produced, 
which is called by the inhabitants gussub, and upon which both men and 
animals are almost exclusively fed. By the poorer classes it is frequently 
eaten, simply parched, or even without any culinary preparation ; other 
persons crush and then steep the seeds in water previous to eating them, 
and some few, who are the epicures of the land, clear the grain from 
the husk, pound it, and make it up into a light paste with melted fat ; 
this favourite dish is called kaddel. 


PANIcUMS, OR LoosH-HEADED MILLETS. 


ComMMON, OR SMALL MILLET (Panicum miliaceum, Willd.).—Waragoo, 
Tamil ; Cheena, Hindustani; Worga, Teloogo ; Iddal Jungo, Singhalese. 
The Panicums were probably so named scientifically from panis, bread, 
or panicula, a panicle. The panicle is loose, nodding ; seed, when ripe, 
about one-eighth of an inch in length, oval, and slightly pointed at 
both ends, smooth, shining ; height, about three and a-half feet. 

In the book of the Prophet Ezekiel (iv. 9) is contained the only 
allusion to millet. By some writers, the millet is conjectured to be the 
parched corn which Boaz gave to Ruth, and which David carried to his 
brethren. The native country of the millet is supposed to be Tartary, 
where it is largely used for food. In the time of Columella, it was 
cultivated in Italy, who mentions it as growing abundantly in the 
Campania. 

In America, the common millet is often known to yield twenty 
bushels per acre, after one quarter of a bushel sown ; and the hay is so 
relished by cattle, and horses in particular, notwithstanding its seeming 
coarseness, that they prefer it to that of common Timothy grass. In 
Germany, and other southern countries of Europe, also in America, 
some parts of Asia, and in most countries lying under the warmer lati- 
tudes of the temperate zone, the millets form a very essential article in 
the domestic economy of the inhabitants ; and when deprived of the 
husk, are used whole, as rice, or ground into meal, or flour, and made 
into bread, &e. In England, millet is chiefly used for feeding small birds. 


This plant has been introduced into Algeria with success, from 3,000 
to 3,500 kilogrammes of grain haying been obtained per hectare. 

The following varieties are arranged according to their time of 
ripening, the difference between the earliest and the latest being only 
about a week :— 

1. Common Millet. Panicle rather fasciculated, and nodding a good 
deal to one side. Colour, light green ; colour of the seed, yellow. 

2. Grey-seeded Millet. Panicle more loose and spreading than that of 
the last variety ;seed greyish coloured ; panicle darker green than the last. 

3. White-seeded Millet. Panicle light green; more contracted, or 
bundled, and nodding, than in any of the others ; seeds white. 


ON THE MILLETS AND OTHER SMALL-GRAINED GRASSES. 419 


4, Black-seeded Millet. Panicle of a mixed, blackish-green colour, 
very loose ; seeds almost black. 

The four varieties cultivated in Madras are called Varoogoo, Varoo- 
goo Arisy, Samay, and Samay Arisy, in Tamil. Vellai Thanie is a 
species grown in Tinnevelly. 

Mitiet Ricz, Panicum miliare, Lam.; P. colonwm, Linn.—Nella 
Shama, Telugu ; Shama, Tamul. 

Culms erect, ramous, two to three feet high, smooth ; flowers paired 
ona common pedicel, with unequal partial pedicels. Corolla three- 
valved, seed ovate, smooth, fine streaked. Panicle oblong, beautifully 
bowing with the weight of the grain; glumes of the calyces striated. 
This is cultivated under the name of millet rice in the peninsula of 
India. 

There are several kinds of Panicum cultivated in India, among 
which the most celebrated are P. miliaceum, and P. frumentaceum, of 
which there are some varieties. 

Panicum frumentaceum, Roxb.—Bonta-Shama, Telugu, called Sha- 
moola in the Deccan. Culms erect, two to four feet high ; panicle erect, 
spikes secund, incurved, flowers three fold, unequally pedicelled ; leaves 
large, margins hispid. The seed is wholesome and nourishing. It yields 
about forty fold in a dry rich soil. Cattle are very fond of this, the 
P. spicatum and others. 

BHADLEE (P. pilosum), also called Vursuom ; Pil arisy in Tamil,_— 
This seed is used in the Madras Presidency in time of famine, 


SETARIA, OR CLOSE-SEEDED MILLET, 


From seta a bristle (in reference to the hairy involucre), is a genus 
separated by Beauvois from that of Panicum, on account of its panicles 
being contracted so as to resemble a spike; its other characteristics are 
the same, except in having a bristle-like appendage proceeding from 
under the glumes, considerably longer than the spikelet, termed the 
involucrum. 

1. Iranian Mrnpet (Setaria Italica, Beauv., Panicum Italicum, Linn., 
Pennisetum Italicum, R. Br.), Tenney, Tamul; Tenna, Malabar; Kangoo 
Kungnu, Beng. ; Kora, Hindustani; Coraloo, Telugu ; Thadahaal, Singal ; 
Culms erect, three to five feet high ; round, smooth ; leaves sheathing ; 
spikes nodding ; seeds about half as long as those of the common millet, 
not so small, and of a lighter colour, slightly tinged with green. 

This millet, called Raggy in Madras, is considered by the natives of 
India one of the most delicious of cultivated grains. The Brahmins, 
indeed all classes of natives, particularly esteem it, and use the seeds for 
cakes, and porridge, &c. Itis good for pastry, scarcely inferior, says 
Ainslie, to wheat, and when boiled with milk, makes a pleasant light 
diet for invalids. It is cultivated in many parts of India, requiring a 
dry light soil. The seed time for the first crop is in June and July ; for 
the second, between September and February. The Italians make a sort 


420 ON THE MILLETS AND OTHER SMALL-GRAINED GRASSES. 


of coarse brown bread from the flour of the seeds. The numerous grains 
adhere but slightly to the husks, and are easily shaken out; the seeds 
are of various colours. : 

2. GERMAN MILLET (Setaria Germanica). differs from the last in being 
much dwarfer ; spike shorter, more compact, and upright ; seeds about 
the same size, and of a dark greyish colour. There are two varieties— 
a red seeded, which seems to resemble the Italian millet ; seed larger, 
smoother, and of a reddish colour; spike not so pendulous; height 
about four feet. 

And a small white seeded variety, spike larger than any of the pre- 
ceding ; bristles much shorter ; height about four feet. 

This is the “moha” of the Germans, it is cultivated chiefly in 
Moravia, South Hungary, and Lombardy. The seed is made into bread, 
eaten instead of rice, boiled in soup and milk, and used for feeding 
all domestic animals. 

Dr. F. Welwitsch sent specimens of two gigantic close-seeded millets 
(Setaria), to the Exhibition, from the Portuguese Colonies in Africa. 


PASPALUM, 


From paspalos, one of the Greek names for millet. 

AULLO (Paspalum frumantaceum), and Munyo and Kopro (P. serobi- 
culatum), supply in India a cheap grain, which is considered whole- 
some. The latter, under the name of Koodaka, is cultivated in the 
Gawel range north of Berar, and forms the staple food of the natives. 

Funpunei—This is a small edible grain produced by Paspalum exile, 
which is much cultivated and esteemed in Sierra Leone and other parts 
of Western Africa by the natives, to whom it is known under the local 
name of Hungry rice. It produces a semi-transparent cordiform grain, 
about the size of a mignionette seed. The ear consists of two conjugate 
spikes, the grain being arranged on the outer edge of either spike and 
alternated ; they are attached by a peduncle to the husk. It is sown in 
May and June, and ripens in September, and grows to the height of eigh- 
teen inches ; its stems, which are very slender, are bent to the earth by the 
mere weight of the grain. The grain is trodden out with the feet, and 
is then parched or dried in the sun, to allow of the more easy removal 
of the chaff and the process of pounding, which is performed in wooden 
mortars. It is then winnowed with a kind of cane fanner, on a mat. 

CHovua, or CHooa.—tThe seeds of Amaranthus frumentaceus, Linn., 
A. oleraceus, and of A. anardhana are also gathered as corn crops in 
India. The former is extensively cultivated in the Coimbatore district, for 
the flour of its seeds, which is a great article of diet among the natives. 

Terr (Poa Abyssinica) is another African grain used for food. Bread 
is made of it by allowing the dough to become sour, when generating 
carbonic acid gas, it serves instead of yeast to leaven it. It is then 
baked in circular cakes, which are white, spongy, and of a hot acrid 
taste, but easy of digestion. This bread, carefully toasted and left in 


ON THE MILLETS AND OTHER SMALL-SRAINED GRASSES. 421 


water for three or four days, furnishes the bousa or common beer of 
the country similar to the quas of Russia. 

EGyptiaN, oR SprkeD Miuuer (Penicillaria spicata, Swz.; Holcus 
spicatus, Linn. ; Panicum spicatum Roxb.), Kumboo, Tam. ; Bajree, Hind. 
Terminal cylindric spike erect, as thick as a man’s thumb, from 6 to 9 
inches long ; seed obovate, peach-coloured, smooth, with hilum. 

RaGGEE (Eleusine Coracana, Gaert.; Cynosurus coracanus, Linn. ; 
Natchanee, Hindust ; Mootamy, Malab; Kayvaroo, Tam.) Culms erect, 
2 to 4 feet high, a little compressed, smooth ; spikes 4-6 digitate, in- 
curved, secund 1 to 3 inches long; seeds globular, brown, a little 
wrinkled, covered with a thin aril. 

This is the most prolific of cultivated grasses, forming the chief diet 
of the poorer classes of some parts of India, as Mysore, N. Circars, 
slopes of the Ghauts, &e. On the Coromandal Coast it is known as the 
Natchanee grain, and is the Raggee of the Mahomedans. In Teloogoo 
the name of this grain is Ponassa. A fermented liquor is prepared from 
the seeds called Bojah in the Mahratta country. 

Eleusine stricta, Roxb.—This species is cultivated in the Penin- 
sula of India and Rajahmundry to a great extent. It differs from the 
preceding in having the spikes straight, being of a larger size and more 
productive. The seeds are also heavier, which cause the spikes to bend 
down horizontally. 

All the millets prefer a light good soil, from which the water readily 
flows after the heavy rains. In a favourable season, the farmers reckon 
on an increase of about 120 fold. The variety known in Teloogoo as 
Maddi ruba soioo requires a richer soil than the others, and in good 
years, when the land fit for its cultivation can be procured, increases 
five hundred fold. 

Canary GRass.—(Phalaris canariensis) generically named from 
phaiaros, brilliant ; in consequence of the shining character of the seeds. 
Panicle contracted, so as to resemble an oval spike; straw from one and 
a half to two feet high ; grain smooth and shining, of a whitish colour, 
difficult to thrash or separate from the glumes. Is cultivated to a 
considerable extent in some parts of England chiefly as food for birds. 
In the Canary Islands, it is ground into flour and made into a nutritious 
bread by the inhabitants. It also forms a considerable article of com- 
merce in Italy, and some very fine samples appeared in the collection 
sent from that country to the Exhibition. 

PERUVIAN RicE.—(Chenopodium Quinoa, Willd.) In Chili and some 
other parts of South America this plant ranks in utility next to the 
potato, maize, and wheat, the leaves being used as greens, and the 
seeds in soups, or eaten as rice. They also make an excellent beer. Mr. — 
Lawson states that on account of its ascertained suitability for our 
climate, and its great productiveness, it would be well worthy of atten- 
tion if the modes of preparing it for food were better understood. A 

meal is obtained from the seed haying a tinge of yellow. It con- 


422 ON THE MILLETS AND OTHER SMALL-GRAINED GRASSES. 


tains scarcely any gluten, but like oatmeal, makes very good porridge 
and cakes. Dr. Voelcker, who analyzed it, states it to yield 3.66 per 
cent. of nitrogen, equal to 2.87 per cent. of protein compounds. In this 
respect the meal appears to be superior to rye, barley, rice, maize, or 
the potato. 

GINGELEY OR TILL SEED.—(Sesamum indicum, Linn. ; S. trifoliatum, 
Mill. ; S. luteum, Retz; S. laciniatum, Willd.) Annual, 2 to 3 feet high, 
capsule, oblong, tetragonal, four-celled seeds numerous. 

Extensively cultivated in India, the seed yielding one of the most 
valuable vegetable oils. The seeds are toasted and ground into meal, 
and so eaten by the Hindoos, and also made into a kind of bread and 
puddings, or used in soups, &c. It has a wide range, being grown in 
Central America under the name of Ajonjoli, and in the West Indies as 
oily grain ; also in Africa, Siam, China, and Cashmere. Children are very 
fond of the seeds, which have a nutty flavour. In Egypt they are eaten 
after being baked in an oven, and are also sprinkled over bread 
and pastry. The cake, after the oil is extracted, is also eaten kneaded 
with honey. 

PorisHh Minter—Manna Krovup.—(Gilyceria fluitans, R. Brown). 
Striped ; seeds small, yellowish-white ; paranchyme farinaceous, sweet, 
and mucilaginous. These succeed best in very wet districts. This 
grass produces such abundance of sweet seeds that they are ex- 
ported from the Syrian coast and sold in Turkey, Hungary, and the 
South of Germany, under the name of sweet manna seeds for the table, 
where they are presented in the form of soup, puddings, and confections 
of various kinds. 

In Russia and North America the seeds are also collected. Bryant, 
in his ‘ Description of California, says he saw five old Indian women 
gathering grass seed for bread. This process is performed with two 
baskets, one shaped like a round shield, and the other having a basin 
and handle. With the shield the top of the grass is brushed, and the 
seed by the motion is thrown into the deep basket held in the other hand. 

Here, then, we close our summary of what may be broadly termed the 
millets. Their uses, it will be seen, are more various and important 
than generally supposed, and their culture widely extended and daily 
increasing. Besides food for man and poultry, and fodder and fuel, 
sugar, vinegar, spirit, and beer, are also obtained from them; and the 
panicles make excellent carpet and other sweeping brooms and brushes. 


423 


THE TRADE IN SKINS AND FURS.* 
BY EDWARD B. ROBERTS. 


Furs have for many years formed a leading branch of commerce in 
this country, England being possessed of so vast a territory in its Cana- 
dian, Hudson’s Bay, and British Columbia colonies, and of Islands on 
the north-west coast of America, has long been the country to which 
exports have tended, as preliminary to their distribution to the various 
parts of the world in which furs are in request as articles of warm 
elothing, of official costume, or for ornamental attire. 

The greater portion are annually imported by the Hudson’s Bay 
Company, and become dispersed at their sales, which are held three 
times in each year: the first in January, which comprises beaver and 
musquash, from their Canadian, Labrador, and Hudson’s Bay settlements. 

The second in March, of bears, foxes, otters, wolves, fisher, marten, 
mink, and minor furs from the same districts; the third in September, 
the products of their trade from the north-west coast of America. An 
immense number of kind of the same kind are also imported by the 
American fur merchants, whose sales follow immediately upon those of 
the Hudson’s Bay Company. The principal skin imported from the 
United States, both for number and value, is the raccoon, of which from 
350,000 to 500,000 are annually received and again exported for use as 
a lining to the shube, or long travelling coat, and other equipments of 
northern countries. The most costly furs are not adequately prized in 
England, the choicest are therefore exported, a large portion being 
consigned to the merchants at the Leipsic Easter and autumn fairs, 
from whence they are transmitted to France, Russia, and China, where 
the climate and fashion not only demand their use, but higher prices are 
more readily obtained. 

The value of the several skins greatly fluctuates, according to the 
caprices of fashion or the limited or abundant importations : the dif- 
ferences of quality also occasion extreme ranges of value—that of the 
raccoon, for instance, varying from 6d. for the most inferior, to 58s. for 
the choicest—it is, therefore, difficult to determine the value ; but as the 
price realised more than a century since may be interesting, it is attached 

In 1788, the average value of bear skins was 12s. 10d. ; of beaver, 
53s. 54d. per lb. ; of fox skins, 10s. 2d. each; fisher skins, 8s.; lynx, 
15s. 2d.; marten, 6s. 53d. ; common otter, 7s. 7d.; wolf, 9s. 10d. ; 
wolverine, 6s. 10d. The whole imports from the Hudson’s Bay territories 
then were 266 bear skins, 69,911 beaver, 234 fox, 51 fisher, 1,011 lynx, 
15,196 marten, 355 otter, 454 wolf, and 853 wolverine. 

The French were the first fur-traders to America; and subsequently 
the Hudson’s Bay Company, in the reign of Charles IT., received a royal 


* Altered and Enlarged from the Jury Reports. 


424 ON THE TRADE IN SKINS AND FURS. 


charter, granting unto them the entire fur trade of British North 
America. The following statistics will show the magnitude of the fur 
trade now : 


BapeeEr (Meles Labradoria).—Imports in 1851, 1,632 ; in 1860, 5,628. 

Brar (Ursus arctos et Americanus).—Imports in 1851, 10,342; in 1861, 
8,715, nearly all from North America ; estimated import 
price, 21s. to 27s. 2d. 

Braver (Castor Fiber)—Imports in 1851, 59,959 ; in1861, 106,512, nearly 
all from North America ; estimated price, 7s. to 17s. 6d. 

Cat (Felis Catus).—Imports in 1851, 13,451; 1860, 9,741. 

CHINCHILLA (Chinchilla lanigera)—Imports in 1851, 79,446; 1861, 
22,757 ; from South America. 

DEER (Cervus Tarandus, §c.)—Imports in 1851, 79,380 ; in 1861, 66,586 
undressed, and 18,375 dressed. Of these 29,551 came from 
North America, 7,667 from Central America, 14,920 from 
India and the East, and 4,872 from Central Africa. Price, 
2s. 7d. to 8s. 

Doe (Canis).—Imports, 3,142 in 1860. 

ELK (Cervus Alces).— Imports, 2 in 1851, 363 in 1861. 

ERMINE (Mustela erminea).—Imports in 1851, 221,853; in 1861, 

307,282 ; principally received from Russia and through 
Hamburg ; value about Is. to 1s. 6d. each. 

FisHeEr (Mustela Canadensis).—Imports in 1851, 9,011 ; in 1861, 10,706. 

Fircn (Mustela putorius).—Imports in 1851, 65,899 ; in 1861, 25,229. 
From Russia and Hamburg valued at 1s. to 5s. 7d. each. 

Fox, Silver (Canis argentatus).—Imports in 1861, 1,028 ; average worth, 
91. 1s. 6d. each ; chiefly from North America. 

Fox, other sorts (Canis sp.)\—Imports in1851, 62,320; 1861, 67,666 ; 
principally frcm North America; valued at 5s. to 61. In 
1860, 4,765 foxtails were received. 

Goat (Capra hircus).—Imports in 1851, 675,988 ; 1861,466,736 undressed ; 
1,151,067 dressed. The former come chiefly from South 
Africa and the Continent ; the latter from India and 
Ceylon ; value from Is. to 3s. 

Hare (Lepus timidus).—Imports in 1851, 42,005 ; 1860, 136,684. 

KanGaroo (Macropus major and ceruleus). — Imports in 1860, 1,199 
skins from Australia. 

Kip (Capra hircus).—Imports in 1851, 81,188; in 1861, 9,912 undressed, 
222,510 dressed—nearly all the imports from France ; 
value of the skins, ls. to ls. 9d.; a few thousands from 
India worth only about 4d. 

Koutnsk1 (Mustela siberica)—Imports in 1851, 4,400 ; in 1861, 67,549. 

LaMB (Ovis aries)—Imports in 1851, 1,521,138 ; in 1861, 1,086,197, of 
which 6,050 were dressed. Italy, Turkey, and Austria 
are the chief sources of supply. 


ON THE TRADE IN SKINS AND FURS. A425 


LEOPARD (Felis Leopardus).—Imports in 1851, 75; in 1860, 186. 

Lion (felis Leo).—Imports in 1851, 1 ; in 1860, 19. 

Lynx (felis Canadensis)—Imports in 1851, 15,546; in 1861, 8,415; 
chiefly imported from British North America, price, 7s. 9d. 
to 17s. 6d. 

Marten (Mustela Canadensis)—Imports in 1851, 171,945; in 1861, 
97,685 ; all from North America ; worth 12s. to 3/. 3s. 6d. 
each. 

Marmoz (Arctomys empetra).—3,639 were imported in 1860 from North 
America, some few are also received under the name of 
Weenusk. 

Mink (A/ustela vison).—Imports in 185], 191,729 ; in 1860, 111,926. 

Monkey (Colobus leueomerus and Cercopithecus Diana).— Imports in 
1860, 5,787. 

MusquasH (Fiber Zibeticus)—Imports in 1851, 1,541,268; in 1861, 
1,657,243; all from North America ; valued at 7d. to 8$d. 

Norria (Myopotamus Coypus).—Imports in 1851, 9,332; in 1861, 506,089 ; 
chiefly from the River Plate republics ; value, 54d. to 3s. 

OtteR, Common (Lutra Canadensis).—Imports in 1851, 12,147 ; in 1861 
17,873 from North America; value, 9s. 7d. to 31. 

OrTER, Sea (Enhydra marina).—Imports in 1851, 98; 1861, 202 ; value 
81. 12s. to 251. 15s. each. 

PANTHER (Felis concolor).—Imports in 1851, 6 ; in 1860, 78. 

Rapsit or Conry (Lepus cuniculus)—Imports in 1851, 71,394; in 1861, 
333,057 ; value 23d. to 4$d.; chiefly from Hamburg and 
Belgium. 

Raccoon (Procyon lotor)—Imports in 1851, 465,340 ; in 1861, 380,182 ; 
nearly all from North America; value, 2s. to 10s. 

SABLE (Mustela zibellina)—Imports in 1861, 1,309; value, 37. 3s. to 
71. 7s. 6d. ; principally from Russia. 

Sea (Phoca).—Imports in 1851, 769,756 ; in 1861, 494,079 ; from the 
Polar Regions and South Seas ; value, 3s. 9d. to 14s. 3d. 

SHEEP (Ovis aries).—Imports in 1851, 392,293 ; in 1861, 2,554,894, 
of which a little over one million were dressed. The 
principal imports are from Africa, Australia, India, and 
South America; value, 9d. to 3s. 8d. 

SKUNK (Mephitis Americana).— Imports in. 1851, 1,454; in 1860, 
138,376; all from North America. 

SQUIRREL or CALABAR (Sciurus vulgaris).—Imports in 1851, 4,516,914 ; 
in 1861, 537,950. 

SWANSKINS (Cygnus ferus).—Imports in 1851, 1,613 ; in 1860, 2,932 

Tiger (Felis Tigris)—Imports in 1851, 14; in 1860, 380. 

WEASEL (Mustela vulgaris).— Imports in 1851, 89; in 1860, 463. 

Wor (Canis lupus)—Imports in 1851, 2,391 ; in 1860, 6,186 ; in 1861, 

’ 3,669 ; from Hudson’s Bay Territories. 
WOLVERINE (Gulo arcticus).—Imports in 1851, 1,400; im 1861, 1,453. 
VOL, III. 090 


496 ON THE TRADE IN SKINS AND FURS. 


In reviewing the fur trade in England from the year 1851 to the 
present date, there is little to remark denoting progress. In this country 
utility has perhaps been too closely regarded, and artistic feeling too 
little exercised upon the combinations that may be effected of form, 
colour, and texture with other materials. 

Time has long proved the style of manufacture most useful in this 
climate for fur clothing, and in all the familiar varieties it would be 
difficult to surpass the excellence of materials and workmanship of the 
exhibitors rewarded. With each exhibitor there appears to have pre- 
vailed the same, and a natural desire, on such an occasion to produce 
the most costly goods—a circumstance in some degree regretted by the 
Jurors, inasmuch as the cheap and imitation furs have been lost sight 
of, and scarcely exemplified. 

As there exists in England an extensive consumption of low-priced 
furs, it would have appeared desirable if some attention had been given 
to the inferior skins, to have demonstrated how far effective goods can 
be produced at moderate prices. 

The furs which have been brought into notice since the above period 
are the beaver, the badger, the monkey, the musquash, and the skunk. 
Prior to the year 1851, the beaver, which had commanded very high 
prices, and had formed the staple article of the Hudson’s Bay Company’s 
trade, began annually to decline in value in consequence of the great 
perfection to which the silk hat had then been produced. The skins 
became almost unsaleable, and the price, which had reached in more 
favourable times 2/. 3s. 7d. per pound, had declined to 4s. per pound. 

In the year 1851, the writer after some few experiments, introduced 
it as a fur, by removing the upper coarse hair and retaining the soft fur 
beneath, when, with the aid of an ingenious machine he had construeted 
or the purpose, he cut the fur to a fine, even surface. 

When finished it was universally admired by the fur trade, imme- 
diately rose considerably in value, and has continued in demand, both 
for home and continental consumption. 

The writer has since introduced the Badger for ladies’ ‘mufis—a 
genuine-looking fur at a very moderate price, which has led to the in- 
troduction of the Virginian opossum, a skin of less value, but interest- 
ing, as meeting the requirements of purchasers at a still lower price. 

The long shaggy black skin of one species of monkey, the white 
thighed-Colobus, has been imported from the West coast of Africa: the 
skin at first was not welcomed, and met with a very dull sale. The low 
price encouraged speculators, and the skin was largely manufactured 
into muffs, which, from the low rate they were offered at, and the really 
good appearance they presented, did not fail to receive a favourable re- 
ception from the ladies. 

A fashion arose, and from the original price of 1s. per skin, they 
advanced in the year 1860 to 12s. perskin. Imitation by another long- 
haired fur, and less care in manufacture, have occasioned the skins 


ON THE TRADE IN SKINS AND FURS. 427 


again to recede, and will afford time to the monkeys, who must have 
been sorely hunted, to recruit their numbers. There are two other 
species of monkey, which might be introduced with advantage, they are 
the Diana monkey and the Colobus Guereza. 

The fur seal has annually increased in demand for ladies’ mantles 
and like all other goods of a costly nature, has called forth an imitation 
of less value. This has been effected by removing the upper hair from 
the skin of the musquash, leaving the finer portion, which having passed 
through the hands of the fur dyer, forms an excellent substitute at half 
the price. 

The Skunk (Mephitis Americana) is a fur new to commerce: owing 
to the repugnant smell which the animal possesses, and which the fur, 
even when it has passed through the dressing process, retains, it has not 
been considered of great commercial value. Continued experiments 
have surmounted the difficulty ; the two stripes of white coarse hair 
down the back are removed, and a skin of rich black fur isformed. It 
will no doubt take rivalry with superior furs for ladies wear. 

The history of this skin is suggestive that there may be many other 
skins that could be rendered useful were apparent objections sought to be 
overcome. But afew years back the number that appeared in the London 
sales was trivial: in 1861, 110,000 were brought to public sale; and 
now that their preparation has been still further improved, this formerly 
neglected skin will probably bear a high value. 

In 1851, there were seventeen English exhibitors of furs, nineteen 
colonial, and fifteen foreign; in the late Exhibition there were eighteen 
English, forty-one colonial, and eighty-six foreign. Of the English ex- 
hibitors, Messrs. Smith and Sons made the best and most prominent 
display ; the skins had been carefully selected and well manufactured. 

Messrs. Bevington and Morris showed some excellent samples of 
angora and sheepskin rugs; the grease appeared to have been thoroughly 
extracted, and the several colours were particularly bright and good. 

Messrs. Tussaud Brothers exhibited specimens prepared under their 
patent for the removal of the hair or fur from skins, by which process 
the fur is preserved for warm clothing, and the skin or pelt left available 
for tanning. The skin is in the first instance steeped in lime-water to 
loosen the fur from the skin ; the fur is then, by the aid of a solution, 
adhered together, and as soon as dry it is stripped from the pelt. When 
stripped, a coating of India-rubber is spread on the roots of the hair, 
which is finally protected with thin cambric, to form an artificial pelt. 
The process is very cleverly and ingeniously effected ; and should the 
new inaterial stand the wear and tear of fair usage it may prove of much 
utility. fe 

From such of our Colonies as are of high temperature we cannot 
look for skins of fur-bearing animals, at the same time they have been 
larger contributors than on the former occasion in 1851. 

Ceylon and India exhibited chetah and tiger skins, the demand for 
which is very limited being solely for ornamental purposes. 


428 ON THE TRADE IN SKINS AND FURS. 


The Government of Newfoundland showed black bear skins, with a 
superior collection of silver and red fox and otter. The foxes were very 
fine, but the prices at which they were valued, too high. 

New South Wales had but two exhibitors, who showed a few speci- 
mens of ornithorhynchus and native cat, of comparatively little value. 

From Nova Scotia there was but one representative, a Mr. Coleman, 
who fully illustrated the furs of the colony. He sent some very fine 
silver, cross, and red foxes, superior mink and musquash, for which the 
province is noted ; these skins command higher prices at our London 
sales than those trapped in the interior of North America. There were 
also lynx, raccoon, and otter, with some few manufactured specimens, 
forming in the whole a very interesting collection. 

From Queensland some opossum wrappers were shown as used by 
the natives. In the Tasmanian collection the commissioners for the 
colony and private exhibitors made an excellent display of indigenous 
skins; comprising the kangaroo, wallaby, wombat, opossum, native 
cat, native tiger, and ornithorhynchus. The native tiger skins are 
scarce ; they are applicable for hearth-rugs or mats. The ornithorhyn- 
chus are also very rare ; they make up prettily into muffs and cuffs, The 
skin of the kangaroo is more valuable for leather than for its fur; but 
that of the brush kangaroo (MZ. ceruleus), which is less woolly, would be 
useful for carriage-wrappers. The opossum, wombat, and wallaby are 
admirably light, and the fur being very thick, renders them invaluable 
for native clothing and the use of colonists. These skins, although 
not high priced, do not possess sufficient beauty to enter into competition 
with our cheaper European furs. The chief application in this country 
is for carriage-wrappers. Opossum-skins can be purchased in the colony 
at 5s. per dozen. 

From British Guiana there were sent many specimens of sloth, 
monkey, ant-eater, otter, and jaguar. These skins are instructive, as ex- 
emplifying the natural history of the colony, but, with the exception of 
the otter and the jaguar, are not of use to the furrier. The otter is very 
large, and_ an interesting species ; the outer hair is a light brown, very 
short, and much resembles a fur-seal ; its habits are those of the sea- 
otter, and it is said to be very scarce. The colony possesses other species 
of the monkey, but they were not exhibited. 

The colony of Natal sent several varieties of deer and antelope 
skins, adapted for oil-dressed leather ; also lion and leopard skins. The 
latter command good prices for hearthrugs and military purposes. There 
were some carosses, of which that made from the springbok was the best ; 
the others not being well-selected specimens. A fine land otter was ex- 
hibited, much resembling that of this country. It is stated to be found 
in all the principal rivers, and, if existing in sufficient numbers, may be 
made a beneficial article of export. 

From Prince Edward Island some nicely tanned sheepskin rugs ; also 
a few furs, in fox, mink, &c., were shown, scarcely worthy of notice. 
But the island possesses furs equal in quality to those of the neighbour- 


ON THE TRADE IN SKINS AND FURS. 429 


ing provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, in bear, fox, otter, 
marten, mink, cat, and musquash. : 

In the foreign courts, Messrs. Hesnault and Brothers, of Belgium, 
showed a good assortment of rabbit skins in different stages of manu- 
facture, natural, dyed, and pulled. As is well known, a large trade is 
carried on with our markets in the flesh of these animals, the skins 
having been previously retained by the skin-merchants, to be by them 
prepared, in imitation of superior furs, to meet the requirements of the 
less wealthy classes. The inferior skins have the fur cut off them, 
which is sold to the hat-maker, and applied for making felts. Consider- 
ing that in the markets of Leadenhall and Newgate alone 870,000 
rabbits are annually disposed of, the fur of which is of small value, 
this collection is suggestive - that rabbit-breeding might become an 
important branch of British industry, if conducted in a more systematic 
manner. 

From Costa Rica were sent skins of ‘the puma, or lion of the New 
World, and the jaguar. The number of puma skins collected annually 
are few, and of little value. The jaguar is used for ornamental pur- 
poses, as hearthrugs, &c. 

Denmark displayed some good blue foxes. These skins are not much 
esteemed by English ladies, but in Germany realize very high prices. 
Not many blue foxes are found in North America. Both the white and 
blue are very numerous in Greenland, the northern and unexplored 
part of which, subject to the permission of the Danish government, is 
open to our trade, and well worthy the attention of an enterprising 
adventurer. It is only needful to remark the high figures attached to 
the goods exhibited to ascertain the value in the Danish market. 

The quilts shown from the dressed skin of the eider duck were neatly 
made ; they are exceedingly ight and warm. ‘The specimens of Esqui- 
maux workmanship are admirably executed, and merited the rewards of 
the Jurors. 

From France there were three exhibitors. In Mr. Hasse’s case the 
goods presented were well assorted, from the finest Russian sables to 
the common cat and rabbit, meeting the requirements of the noble and 
the peasant. In the development of the rabbit-skin trade, Mr. Hasse 
has taken a commendable interest in bringing the skins to great per- 
fection, having successfully laboured to spread a knowledge amongst the 
peasantry of the necessary demands of the furrier, which has resulted 
in more than trebling the value of the skin. Skins of large size, and 
of many colours and gradations, were exhibited, and also of the 
silver-gray rabbit, a variety which has a special value as an important 
article of trade with China and Russia. In the finer manufactured furs, 
Mr. Hasse showed marked taste and superior workmanship. 

From Hungary, Messrs. Goldstein and Son presented some fine skins 
in baum and stone-marten, lamb and fitch. Of these skins large quanti- 
ties are manufactured in England. The cost of the European marten is 


430 ON THE TRADE IN SKINS AND FURS. 


under that of the American ; the fur at the same time much resembles 
it, and when dyed by a clever workman, it requires a better judge than 
the ordinary purchaser to determine its quality. The fur is rather 
coarser, which renders it the more durable. The fitch, although fashion- 
able many years since, is not now a favourite fur in England, but is 
much worn in France. The skins found in Seotland of this animal are 
considered finer than from any other country. The black lambskins 
shown, for which the country is celebrated, were particularly fine. 
There were also some fine samples of wild cat. 

Norway sent a collection of skins, the products of the country, com- 
prising foxes, wolverine, otter, and marten. The wolverine and marten 
were very fine samples ; but in their manufactured goods the Norwegians 
seem to be far behind other countries. 

From Prussia, an excellent assortment of squirrel backs and squirrel 
belly linings were shown by the Messrs. Keller of Weissenfels. Large 
quantities of these skins are imported into England, but to a far less 
extent than in 1851, when 4,500,000 were received. The fur of the 
squirrel is light, and not capable of imitation; and the goods, when 
manufactured, being suitable to the means of the middle classes, 1t will 
probably always continue in demand. The importation in 1860 was 
164,976 skins, and in 1861 more than three times that number. 

In the Greek court a few skins were shown in red fox, squirrel, lamb, 
and wild eat, not one of which is promising for the trade. 

The fur trade of Russia from the vastness of its territories, and the 
exigencies of many portions of the country, is, as may be conjectured, 
one of great magnitude. With the view of forming an adequate idea of 
its extent, it may be desirable to introduce the latest official returns 
upon the subject—viz., value of furs imported into European Russia 
(exclusive of Finland) from various countries in the year 1859, 
2,252,776 silver roubles. 

Value of furs exported from European Russia (exclusive of Finland) 
to various countries in 1859 :— 


(Wo Prussia’ > .  . |,  . 828,838"silver zoubles: 
mGreab britain «i. pe ykn = treed . 
» Other'countries . . . 42,947 59 
981,019 is 
— £155,328 


Value of furs imported into European Russia, exclusive of Finland, 
from various countries in Asia in 1859 :— 


From Persia . . . .  . 117,380 silver roubles. 
» NKirghise Steppes . . 347,176 5 
3, Bokhara ee es tor aeaAls 5 
Other countries. . . 85,943 5 


712,612 3 
—= £112,830 4s. 8d. 


ON THE TRADE IN SKINS AND FURS. 431 


Value of furs exported from European Russia to various countries in 
Asia in 1859 :— 


To China’ 9.9 3) =) 081,337 ‘silver roubles. 
7 Other countries: 4. 0". 44,455 a 
1,125,792 i, 


= £178,250 8s. 


The Russian-American Company of St. Petersburgh were exhibitors 
of sea-otter, cross, silver, and blue fox skins. The sea-otter skins were 
particularly choice ; but owing to the great demand which exists for 
home consumption, the prices there realised exclude them from an 
export trade. The blue-fox skins were also very good and cheap. The 
cross fox are large, although not of the first quality : the price is so low, 
that they demand attention. There were also specimens of fur-seal skins 
in the raw state from the same territory, the prices of which are reason- 
able. The moderate prices may arise from the judicious arrangements 
made by this Company, under which only the mature animals are 
slaughtered. At one period of the trade upon the coast 200,000 were 
annually obtained ; but, by the indiscriminate destruction of old and 
young, the race was nearly exterminated. 

These animals appear on the coast in the month of May, and remain 
until October, when they disperse no one knows whither. Marked ones 
have returned to the same places for ten years ; and there is therefore 
no inducement to destroy the young, wherever wholesome restraint can 
be placed on the trade. Under the Russian regulations, animals of four 
years old are alone allowed to be killed, and the trade has revived. 

The sea-otter, an animal of analogous habits, was formerly found in 
thousands on the Pacific coast, from California to the Russian settle- 
ments ; but, in the absence of proper restrictions, is progressing towards 
extinction on those parts of the coast under British rule. 

The Agricultural Department showed a large assortment of black and 
gray lamb ard sheep skins. These skins were beautifully tanned, to form 
the clothing for the peasant. The wool side had not received the same 
share of attention ; but if cleansed and bleached by one of our sheep- 
skin dressers, the skins would present a far more valuable appearance. 

The squirrel skins were good and the price remarkably low ; the 
ermine were also very cheap, and worthy of attention. 

There were some young reindeer skins, and coats made of the same, 
the tanning of which was excellent. The Russians evidently excel in 
this branch of fur-dressing. 

There were some martles and neckerchiefs made from the swan’s 
down, very tastefully bordered with the down of the eider duck, shown 
by A. Vinograd, of Nijni-Novgorod. The manufacture of one mantle 
is quite novel; it is exceedingly light and warm. 

From Sweden, Messrs. Forssell and Co. showed some well-manufac- 
tured furs, and very fine baum marten, the produce of the country. 


432 SCIENTIFIC NOTES. 


From Turkey there were several exhibitors, who showed a variety of 
skins indigenous to the country, consisting of marten, red fox, lynx, 
wolf, jackall, cat, hare, and badger. The skins most worthy of notice 
were the marten and hare. The hare skins were very large, the fur of 
these being much valued for felting and hat-making. 


Srivutitic utes. 


Frr-Woop Paper.—The Rosendahl Manufacturing Company of 
Gottenburg makes yearly about 1,000,000 lbs. of paper from fir-wood. 
The wood is ground at a mill at the Trollhattan waterfall, using about 
180 horse-power, and occupying twelve persons daily. The Jury made 
honourable mention of this paper in 1862. 

Atantus Sitk.—The new Chinese silk-moth Saturnia, or Bombyx 
Cynthia, has been introduced into Canada, where the Aliantus glandulosa, 
on which it feeds, is quite hardy. Professor Lawson states that the 
chief obstacle in manufacturing this silk—the difficulty of unwinding 
or cording the cocoons—will no doubt be overcome by the method of 
soaking them in caustic potash, which has been found to answer 
so well in the case of the much larger parchment-like cocoons of the 
Canadian Cecropia. The potash disintegrates the parchment-like mem- 
brane into its constituent thread, by dissolving the adhesive substance 
which glues them together. 


PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED. 


Tropical Fibres; their Production and Economic Extraction. By 
E. G. Squier. James Madden.—Revue du Monde Colonial, No. 3, for 
March. — Technologiste, Paris, March. — Pharmaceutical Journal. — 
Chemist and Druggist—Journal of the Board of Arts and Manufactures, 
Upper Canada. 


oo PEC NOt. Gsee 


NOTES ON THE ECONOMIC APPLICATION OF BARKS. 
BY JOHN R. JACKSON. 
(Continued from page 372.) 


Agati grandifiora, Desf.—A common East Indian tree, 20 to 30 feet 
high. The bark is very bitter and is used as a tonic ; an infusion is also 
employed in small-pox. 

Piscidia Erythrina, Linn.—The Dogwood of Jamaica, a native of the 
West Indies, where it grows to about 30 feet high. The bark is very 
astringent ; a decoction of it is said to be eflicacious in allaying or stop- 
ping the discharge of ulcers, and is more powerful when united with 
that of Mangrove bark. A tincture of the bark is strongly narcotic and 
diaphoretic. This bark is one of the common fish poisons of the 
country. 

Hymenea Courbaril, Linn.—A lofty spreading tree, sometimes 100 
feet high, native of the South American forests, but growing also in 
Jamaica. A decoction of the inner bark is considered an excellent 
vermifuge. Canoes are made of the thick bark. 

Acacia ferruginea, D.C—A tree 20 to 30 feet high, native of the 
mountainous parts of India, where a decoction of the bark, combined 
with ginger and other ingredients, is used as an astringent wash for the 
teeth. The natives distil an intoxicating liquor by steeping the bark in 
Jaggery. The same may be said of the barks of A. leucophlea, Willd., 
and A. myrivphylla, Grah., both natives of the East Indies, From the 
bark of A. odoratissima, Willd., also an East Indian tree, growing 30 or 
40 feet high, a juice is obtained which “ mixed with lime-juice and 
green curcuma, and boiled in cocoa-nut oil, is given in leprosy externally, 
~ as well as applied to inveterate ulcers.” 

Adansonia digitata, Linn.—The Baobab, a widely distributed tropical 
African tree, now introduced into the East and West Indies. It grows 

VOL. III. 1p iP 


434 NOTES ON THE ECONOMIC APPLICATION OF BARKS, 


to a moderate height, but of an enormous bulk, sometimes measuring 20 
or 30 feet in diameter. The bark has been used with great suceess by Dr. 
Duchassaing in the miasmatic diseases of the West Indies, and he has pub- 
lished the result of his experience with it. In France it has also been suc- 
cessfully employed in intermittent fever. The bark is mucilaginous, and 
almost without smell or taste. It produces increased appetite and perspi- 
ration. The leaves also have similar properties. The natives use the 
bark for various purposes, as for making ropes, nets, &c. 

Inga Ungquis Cati, Willd.—A small tree or bush, growing about 16 
feet high, common in various parts of trepical America. The bark is 
very astringent, and is reported to have diuretic properties; it is used as 
a lotion, and for fomentations for external application, as well as in- 
jection in cases of relaxation of the parts. 

Schinus Molle, L.—A small and very graceful tree, about 20 feet high, 
native of Peru and Brazil. The bark abounds in a whitish resinous 
substance resembling mastic. The natives prepare a lotion which they 
apply to tumours and inflammations, by boiling the bark in water. The 
bark of another species of the same genus, S Aroeira, of L., is said to 
be used by the Indians in diseases of the eyes. They also employ it, 
when fresh, for rubbing upon new ropes to strengthen them. 

Quercus pedunculata, Willd—This is our well-known English oak, 
the bark of which is so much used for its astringeney. The principal 
uses to which it is applied in medicine are in gargles, lotions, &. Itis 
also given in powder as a febrifuge, made into poultices it is applied to 
ulcers and external gangrene ; a decoction is given in chronic diarrhea. 
This bark, so much used for tanning, will be noticed more fully under 
that head. 

Quercus alba, 4—The white oak, and Q, tinctoria, the black oak of 
North America, are both large trees found growing in the American 
forests. The properties of the hark are the same as our Quercus pedun- 
culata, that from the black oak being considered inferior for imternal 
administration, having the power to irritate the bowels in a greater 
degree. than that of Quercus alba. 

Ficus Indica, u.—The Banyan tree of India, where it is common in 
all parts, growing to an enormous extent by throwing adventitious roots 
from its horizontal branches, downwards into the soil, thereby support- 
ing the superincumbent weight, and at the same time adding extent to 
the circumference. The bark is considered by the Hindoos as a power- 
ful tonic, and is used by them in diabetes. 

Ficus racemosa, L.—Also an East Indian tree, produces a bark which 
is somewhat astringent, and is used in native practice In cancerous affec- 
tions, being reduced to a fine powder and mixed with gingelley oil ; an 
infusion is given in diabetes. 

Myrica cerifera, L.—A small tree or bush called Bayberry, some- 
times growing 12 feet high, native of the woods of North America. The 
root bark is astringent, and very acrid. It produces a strong burning 


NOTES ON THE ECONOMIC APPLICATION OF BARKS, 435 


sensation, followed by vomiting if taken in large doses. In powder it 
has the repute of acting asa stimulant. It is of a fibrous texture, with 
a whitish shining exterior, and a cinnamon brown coloured fracture. 

Populous tremuloides, Michx.—A tree growing to 20 or 30 feet high, 
common in the swamps of North America, where it is known as the 
“American Aspen.” The bark has tonic properties, and has been used 
successfully, and esteemed as a febrifuge in the United States. It is of 
a lightish brown colour, with silvery white patches. 

Achras Sapota, L.—A tree sometimes growing 50 feet high, native 
of the West Indies and the neighbouring Continent of South America. 
The bark is said to be powerfully astringent, and to have been used 
successfully in place of cinchona. 

Diospyros Melanoxylon, Roxb.—This is one of the trees supposed to 
furnish the ebony wood of Commerce. It is a native of Ceylon, Coro- 
mandel, and other parts of India, growing to a height of 20 or 30 feet. 
The bark is a valuable astringent, and, mixed with pepper, is given in 
dysentery, by the native Indian practitioners, who also reduce it te 
powder and apply it for the cure of ulcers. The bark is of a spongy 
nature, deeply furrowed, or cracked. In colour of a dull grey. 

Ulmus fulva, Michx.—The slippery elm of North America is a com- 
mon tree in the United States, growing to a height of 50 or 60 feet, 
The inner bark is employed in medicine, and is considered an excellent 
demulcent, the mucilage being highly nutritious ; an instance is told of 
a soldier who supported life for ten days on this bark and sassafras. 
The Indians also employ it as an article of food in times of great 
scarcity. In North American practice, it has been recommended in 
diarrheea and dysentery, and also in cutaneous eruptions. It occurs in 
long nearly flat pieces, of a fibrous nature, tawny externally, and some- 
‘what reddish on the inner surface. 

Ulmus Campestris, L.—The common field elm, found in all parts of 
England, but especially in the southern counties. The bark of this 
tree is used as a medicinal agent by our own practitioners. Its pro- 
perties appear ‘to have been known to the ancients, Dioscorides and 
Pliny both speak of the astringency of the elm. It contains a quantity 
of mucilage, and is therefore slightly demulcent, but its effect upon the 
system is that of a gentle astringent tonic. It is given in the form of a 
decoction, and has been used in cutaneous diseases, and also as a substi- 
tute for sarsaparilla. The inner bark is the part used. It occurs in Com- 
merce in thin pieces, of a toughish texture, and a brownish yellow 
colour, and is without smell, but has an astringent bitter taste. 

Llex Aquifolium, L.—The Holly, a common bush or tree of our own 
country, but found also in many parts of Hurope, Asia, and America. 
The bark has been reported to possess emollient, expectorant, and 
diuretic properties, and has been employed successfully in cases of 
epidemic intermittent fevers, when cinchona has been of no avail. It 
contains a large quantity of viscid matter, and when macerated in water 


436 NOTES ON THE ECONOMIC APPLICATION OF BARKS. 


and fermented, forms bird-lime. It is of a dirty greyish brown colour, 
with a short brittle fracture and a slightly bitter taste. 

Ipomea Turpethum, R. Br—A twining plant, native of the Hast 
Indies, New Holland, Otaheite, the Friendly Islands, &c. In India the 
natives use the fresh bark of the roots as a purgative by rubbing it up 
with milk, a piece about six inches long, and about as thick as the little 
finger is considered sufficient for one dose. It is also used in Ceylon for 
a like purpose in combination with tamarinds, ginger, and sugar. It is 
of an earthy brown colour, with a very white fracture, having little or 
no smell or taste. 

Hymenodictyon excelsum, Wall.—A tree growing about 50 feet high, 
native of the East Indies, chiefly in the mountainous parts of the Circars, 
and in the adjoining valleys. The inner layers of the bark possess 
strong bitter and astringent properties resembling those of cinchona, 
but when fresh in a greater degree ; these properties, however, are not so 
quickly extracted by chewing as they are from Peruvian bark, but the 
taste is much stronger and more durable. The bark is of a thick 
spongy consistence, much cracked on the outer surface, which is of a 
grey colour, the inner layers white, the middle portion between the 
outer and inner coats of a farinaceous consistence. 'This bark is used for 
tanning as well as in medicine. 

Hollarhena febrifuga, K1.—A small tree or shiub, native of Eastern 
tropical Africa. The bark of this tree is used by the Portuguese on the 
Zambesi as a substitute for cinchona, and is spoken of by Dr. Living- 
stone, who, in his traveis, says he employed it himself in decoction, and 
found it very efficacious in fevers, &c. The plant is known in that 
country as “ Kumbanzo” or “ Quina” of the Portuguese. 

Hollarhena antidysenterica, Wall_—A small tree, native of the East 
Indies. The bark, under the name of Conessi bark, has great reputation — 
in India as a tonic and febrifuge, and has been successfully employed in 
dysentery. 

Cosmibuena hexandra, Pohl—A middling-sized tree, native of the 
mountain woods of Brazil, in the provinces of Rio Janeiro and Minas 
Geraes. The bark, like most other plants of this order, is very bitter, 
and is employed by the Brazilians as a febrifuge, and for other purposes 
to which cinchona is applied. The outer surface is of a bay colour, the 
inner of a deep red, or blood colour. 

Bignonia antisyphilitica, Mart.—A moderate-sized tree, growing in 
the Province of Rio Negro, Brazil. The bark obtained from the young 
branches is used as a remedy in the worst cases of syphilitic swellings. 
It isemployed in two forms, externally in powder, and internally in 
decoction. 

Cordia myxa, L.—A small tree, growing to a height of 10 or 15 feet, 
native of many parts of India, Arabia, Persia, Egypt, &e. The bark has 
the reputation in Java of being a mild tonic, for which purpose it is 
generally used. It is of a grey colour, much cracked on the surface. 


NOTES ON THE ECONOMIC APPLICATION OF BARKS. 437 


Terminalia tomentosa, W. et A.—An East Indian tree, growing about 
40 teet high. The bark is astringent, and is used in India as a febri- 
fuge, powdered and mixed with oil, it is said to have been successfully 
employed in Apthe. It is of a reddish brown colour, the surface very 
deeply cracked, or furrowed. 

Syzigium Jambolanum, D.C.—A tree of moderate size, native of the 
East Indiies, but now introduced into Jamaica and. other West Indian 
islands. All parts of the plant are said to be astringent. A decoction 
of the bark is employed by the native Indian practitioners in fevers, 
bowel complaints, &c., and they also apply it externally in the cure of 
ulcers. Ht is rather a thick bark, the outer surface of a brown 
colour. 

Calotropis gigantea, R. Br.—A large shrub, very common in all parts 
of India, growing on waste and uncultivated ground. From all parts of 
the plant a milky juice flows when wounded ; this is used in combina- 
tion with the powdered bark of the roots in all cutaneous affections, and is 
considered very efficacious in the cure of leprosy. Its activity, no doubt, 
exists in a principle called “‘ Mudarine,” discovered by Dr. Duncan, of 
Edinburgh. The bark, as employed, is of a whitish colour, of a bitter, 
nauseous taste, devoid of any smell. The juice which exudes is in great 
repute in India, not only as a remedy in the above-named diseases, but 
also iu rheumatism, dropsy, intermittent fevers, &c. A strong fibre, 
known as Yercum or Mudar fibre, is procured from this plant. 

Condaminea corymbosa, D.C.—A tree about 40 or 50 feet high, 
native of Peru and New Granada. The bark of this plant, like nearly 
all the Cinchonacez, has tonic and febrifugal properties. It is said the 
Peruvian bark gatherers adulterate the true cinchona barks with this, 
but it may be detected by its white inner surface, its less powerful 
bitter taste, and a viscidity, which the cinchonas have not. 

Sambucus Nigra, u—The Common Elder.—This plant is found 
growing in all parts of Europe, the Caucasus, and Siberia. It has a 
variety of uses, the bark and flowers being employed in medicine, and 
the berries in the manufacture of a well-known wine. The inner bark 
of the branches is the part employed ; it is of a greenish white colour, 
and bas a slightly astringent and somewhat sweetish taste. Its proper- 
ties are hydragogue, cathartic, and emetic ; and it has been used in 
dropsy, as well as an aperient in various chronic disorders. 

Olea Europea, u.—The Olive.—This is a common tree, all over the 
south of Europe, Barbary, the Levant, &c., usually growing to about 20 
feet high. The bark is said to have been used as a substitute for cin- 
chona. It is bitter and astringent. The exterior of a greyish brown 
colour, very much cracked. The fruits and the oil obtained from them 
are articles well known in commerce. 

Cinnamomum cuiilawan, Bl.—A large tree, native of the Moluccas, 
Cochin China, &c. The bark is very aromatic, much resembling cloves ; 


438 NOTES ON THE ECONOMIC APPLICATION OF BARKS. 


it has also an agreeable fragrant odour. Its medicinal properties resem- 
ble those of cinnamon, the principle being contained chiefly ina volatile 
oil which can be separated by distillation. The bark is not niore than 
two lines thick, sometimes in flat pieces, but usually more or less 
quilled, it is of a somewhat corky consistence, of a dull cinnamon brown 
colour. 

Hamamelis Virginica, L—A shrub, growing to about 15 feet high, 
native of North America, east of the Rocky Mountains, growing chiefly 
upon hills or near streams. A decoction of the bark is employed as a 
wash in diseases of the eye, and in hemorrhoidal affections, as also for 
poultices. Its properties are said to have been first noticed on account 
of the uses to which the natives applied it—viz., for outward applications 
to humours and other such diseases, and also as a sedative. Its taste is 
bitter astringent, with a slight sweetish pungency. 

Euonymus atropurpureus, Jacq.—A shrub, growing about 10 or 12 
feet high, native of North America, extending from New York to Caro- 
lina. Is is known as Spindle tree or burning bush, from the rich red 
colour of its fruits, which appear in autumn. The bark obtained a 
notice in America some years ago as areputed remedy in dropsy ; it was 
also considered to have tonic, diuretic, cathartic, and antiperiodie pro- 
perties, but its action seems to be doubtful, so that it is not an officinal 
medicine in that country at the present time. 

Dirca palustris, L.A small shrub, growing only 6 or 8 feet high, 
common in damp swampy places, all over the United States, where it is 
called leather wood. The bark is said to act asa slow vesicatory, and 
also to have cathartic properties ; a dose of 6 or.8 grains of the fresh 
bark will produce great heat in the stomach, followed by violent vomit- 
ing. It has a disagreeable smell and an acid taste, is very tough, some- 
what fibrous, and difficult to reduce to powder. 

Dictamnus fraxinella, Pers.—A small perennial plant, native of 
Southern Europe and West Asia. The bark of the root is bitter and 
aromatic, and has been considered.a good anthelmintic, emenagogue, and 
stomachic tonic. Its use in medicine is now nearly obsolete. 

Pinckneya pubeus, Michx.—A ‘small tree, or shrub, native of North 
America, and found in most low damp places, along the sea coast of 
South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. The bark is bitter, and is em- 
ployed as a febrifuge, and as a substitute for cinchona generally. 

Samadera Indica, Geertn.—A tree, growing to a height of 30 or 40 
feet, native of the East Indies, where the bark is used by the natives as 
a febrifuge, under the name of Niepa bark. See an article on Samadera 
wood, TrcHNoLoeist, vol. II. p. 317. 

Barringtonia racemosa, Roxb.—A tree, 30 or 40 feet high, native of 
the East Indies, the Moluccas, &c. The bark is said to possess proper- 
ties analogous to those of cinchona, as a substitute for which it has been 
used, 


a 


NOTES ON THE ECONOMIC APPLICATION OF BARKS. 439 


Antirrhea verticillata, D, C—A tree attaining a height of about 20 
feet, native of Bourbon and Mauritius, where it is known as “ Bois de 
Losteau.” The bark of the root is reputed to be a powerful astringent, 
and is used in Bourbon as a styptic. 

Exostemma caribeum, Rom.—A shrub, about 10 feet high, growing 
in Mexico, San Domingo, and most of the West Indian Islands. The 
bark is reputed to be a good febrifuge, and also to be employed as an 
emetic. It has a very bitter taste and disagreeable smell. It would 
seem, according to Guibourt to contain some peculiar principle, as the 
fracture displays an abundance of small crystals. The barks of several 
other species of this genus have more or less febrifugal properties, 
amongst them may be mentioned H. floribundum, R. et S., a native 
also of the West Indian Islancs., &. Peruvianum, H. et B. and £. 
Souzanum, Mart., both natives of South America, 

Remija ferruginea, D. C—Asinall shrub, growing only about 5 or 6 
feet high, native of Brazil, where the bark is used as a substitute for 
cinchona, under the names of Quina de Remijo, or Quina de Serra. 

Manettia-cordifolia, Mart.—A twining plant, growing in hedges in 
the province of Minas Geraes, Brazil. The bark of the root is consi- 
dered as an emetic, and is very efficacious in the cure of dropsy and 
dysentery, being applied in the form of a powder. 

Alyzia steuata, R. et S—A shrub, native of the Society and Friendly 
Islands. The bark is stimulant and tonic, and has been employed in 
Germany in nervous complaints and chronic diarrhea. It is of a 
whitish colour, with a short brittle fracture, a very pleasant odour, and 
a sharp aromatic taste. 

Nerium odoratum, Lam.—A shrub, 6 or 8 feet high ; native of India, 
China, and Japan. The native practitioners of India use the bark of 
the root, beaten into paste, for external application in ringworm. It is 
said that the root itself, taken inwardly, acts asa powerful poison. A 
decoction of the bark of N. Oleander, L., is much used by the poorer 
classes in the South of France, as a remedy in itch and many cutaneous 
diseases. The powdered bark and wood is employed as a poison for rats. 

‘The foregoing list of barks having real or reputed medicinal pro- 
perties is as perfect as I have been able to make it. As wiil be clearly 
seen, it applies only to those whose scientific names are known ; some 
few of these, indeed, have been omitted as unimportant, or on account 
of the fact of their reputed properties being very doubtful. But it will 
be as well to give the latter a passing mention before closing this 
section of my paper. 

The bark of Michelia champaca, L., an Indian plant, is considered 
febrifugal in its native country. Jsertia coccinea, Vahl., a native 
of Guiana, has also similar properties. Mikania opifera, Mart., a 
Brazilian plant, is said to be a powerful diuretic, and is used for poul- 
tices in venomous snake-bites. The bark and young shoots of Canthium 
parviflorum, Lam., a native of the East Indies, are considered efficacious 
in dysentery. The root bark of Triosetum perfoliatum, L., a native of 


\ 


440) ON THE COMMERCE AND USES OF THE HAIR OF ANIMALS. 


North America, is cathartic and emetic. Several species of Bauhinia 
furnish medicinal barks ; that from B. acuminata, L., an Indian plant, 
is considered a remedy in cutaneous affections. The bark of B. tomentosa, 
L., is used as a plaister for outward application to wounds, &c., while 
a decoction of the root bark is employed as a vermifuge. The bark of 
Pterocarpus flavus, Lour., a native of China, is reputed to be resolvent 
and vulnerary. Its also employed for dyeing silks yellow ; that from 
Magnolia hypoleuca, 8. et. Z., is considered in the same country a good 
tonic. The bark of the mulberry, Morus nigra, L., is cathartic and 
anthelmintic. In Borneo, the bark of a species of Wickstromia, known 
as “Merik” bark, is chewed as a cure for toothache, and is said to 
possess the entire properties of Mezereon bark. Many barks are known 
only by the names in which they appear in commerce; but the pro- 
perties and uses of these are so well understood as to require no notice 
here. 


THE COMMERCE AND USES OF THE HAIR OF ANIMALS. 


Hair, the covering of many animals, consists of slender flexible 
tubes, growing from bulbs in or under the skin, which resembles the 
fibres of horn, and possesses the properties of coagulated albumen. 
Hair is made up of three parts called the cuticle, the cortex, and the 
medullary substance. The cuticle is formed of plates placed like tiles, 
the one above the other. The cortex, a fibrous matter, arranged in long 
narrow plates, makes the chief part of hair. The minor portion, or 
medullary substance, consists of closely-arranged rows of glandular 
cells. Hair is very elastic, and can be stretched one-third in length, 
returning nearly to its former size. From its elasticity and durability, 
it forms the best stuffing for cushions and mattrasses, and hence is 
always used in the best description of upholstery. 

Human Hatr is remarkable for being the only recognised market- 
able article produced on the bodies of our race. It is chiefly imported 
from France, the north of Germany, aud Italy: small quantities are 
occasionally received from Bohemia, Austria, and Belgium. Great 
Britain also furnishes a small quantity, and even India and China have 
at various times contributed to the supply; but the bulk of hair used 
in this country is the growth of France, Germany, and Italy. From 
France the finest and softest hairs are received ; from Germany the 
light and flaxen colours; and from Italy the long dark hair. The 
hair from India and China is scarcely marketable, as the texture is 
too coarse for use in this country. 

The only purposes for which human hair is used here are the various 
branches of tress and wig-making, and small ornaments. 


ON THE COMMERCE AND USES OF THE HUMAN HAIR. 44) 


The imports of human hair average about 15,0001b. weight in a 
year. Although this small amount of raw material supplies the whole 
consumption of England, it must not be inferred that it is an insignifi- 
cant trade; on the contrary, it gives employment to many thousands of 
hands in its manufacture from the raw state into wigs, fronts, &c. 

The price varies from 4s. to 30s. per pound for the average qualities, 
but as high as 80s. is frequently paid for parcels of choice goods even 
in the raw state. . 

Some curious information on “New Manufactures from Human 
Hair :” will be found in a paper by Mr. W. Danson. TECHNOLOGIST, 
vol. 2, p. 88. 

France exports a large quantity principally to England. Twenty 
years ago the exports amounted to about 50,0001b. a year, of the value 
of one million francs, exclusive of the value of wigs and curls which were 
set down at another half a million francs. That whichis esteemed the 
best is obtained from the country-women, who wear their hair uncovered, 
and never curled or much combed. The north of France furnishes the 
best, but when the crop of Brittany and Normandy is insufficient, the 
hair collectors invade the central departments, and return to Paris 
twice a year to effect their sales. The hair of the females in the North 
of France is finer and more supple, but that of the centre of the empire 
best retains curl. 

Human hair is an article of commerce in many countries, young 
women selling their tresses for trinkets and dresses. A head of hair 
weighs from $lb. to #lb. Its wholesale price is from 30s. to 60s. per 
lb. The light coloured and most valuable hair comes from Germany 
and the Scandinavian States. The darker shades are supplied by the 
female peasants of France, from whom the spring harvest of hair is 
stated to average 200,0001bs. 

The average weight of a French head of hair is five ounces, Italian 
six ounces, German ten ounces ; but the German hairs seldom come to 
market in their original condition, beimg mixed together to conceal the 
bad colours and inferior qualities. Commercially a head of hair is 
only the piece which forms the knot at the back of the head; that 
which grows on the front is seldom clipped, as it is always much shorter 
than the back hair, and to cut it would be a disfigurement. 

The preparation of hair into a state suitable for the wig-maker is 
intricate, and in the hands of a few manufacturers. Some idea of 
the time and labour bestowed upon it may be gathered from the fact 
that the price of the raw material is increased from 300 to 500 per cent. 
even before it passes into the hands of the wig-maker. 

So distinct has Nature made the various nations of the earth that 
the hair of the inhabitants of different countries can be easily dis- 
tinguished by the manufacturer; even where the heads of hair are 
made to resemble each other externally, the workmen can, it is stated, 
by the odour, distinguish the products of each country. 

VOL. III. QQ 


449 ON THE COMMERCE AND USES OF THE HUMAN HAIR. 


In the ‘Book of Costumes by a Lady of Rank’ we find the fol- 
lowing :—“ The peruke, or at all events false hair, was much used by 
the ancients. It is supposed that the perukes then worn were made of 
painted hair glued together. An account is given of that worn by the 
Emperor Commodus ; it is described as having been powdered with 
gold, and previously oiled and perfumed, to cause the gold to adhere to 
it. In the British Museum may be seen a peruke, found in the Temple 
of Isis, at Thebes, the curling and arranging of which would puzzle 
many a modern coiffeur. It is of a large size, and each ringlet is 
arranged with the greatest nicety; apparently the Theban perruquiers 
possessed a secret unknown to modern artistes in wigology—that of pre- 
serving the curl in the hair.” 

In Planché's work on British Costumes, it is stated that when Henry I. 
was in Normandy in 1104, a prelate named Serlo preached so eloquently 
against the fashion of wearing long hair that the whole congregation was 
cropped. This was followed by a royal edict prohibiting the wearing 
of long hair ; in the next reign, that of Stephen, the old fashion was 
revived ; until in 1139 it received a sudden check, and cropping was 
again the order of the day. But this reformation was of short 
duration,—scarcely had a year elapsed, before the people returned to 
their former follies, and such especially as would be thought courtiers 
permitted their hair to grow to sucha length that they resembled women 
rather than men. Those to whom Nature had denied abundance of 
hair, supplied the deficiency by artificial means. Wigs, therefore, may 
date in England from the time of Stephen. 

In Ellis’s Letters, we read, among other items, of the wardrobe of 
Queen Elizabeth, the following :—“ One cawle of hair set with pearls 
in number 43.” 

In the reign of James I., the king set the fashion of a “ love-lock,” 
which was a curl on the left side considerably longer than the rest, 
Nothing in the annals of hair, of wigs or of periwigs caused such a con- 
sternation among quiet, staid people as did this unfortunate “ love- 
lock.” 

In the time of Charles I. and Oliver Cromwell, the Puritans wore 
their hair so short as to scarcely cover the ears,and thus marked their 
sense of the “ loathsomeness of long hair.’ The Royalists pursuing the 
contra extreme, left their hair as long as nature would permit; and 
those to whom flowing locks were denied, supplied their place by 
wearing a wig, a fashion which after the Restoration flourished greatly. 
In the reign of Charles IT. the periwigs attained an enormous size, and 
the “ Heartbreaker,’ a long lock of hair worn by the ladies, cor- 
responding with the “love-lock” worn by the gentleman, was intro- 
duced. 

From Samuel Pepys’ Memoirs we make the following extracts :-— 
“ 1663, Oct. 30. Bought two periwigs, one whereof cost 60s., the other 
40s. 1663, Noy. 3. Home, and by-and-bye comes Chapman, the 


ON THE COMMERCE AND USES OF THE HAIR OF ANIMALS. 443 


periwig maker, and upon my liking it (the wig) without more ado I 
went up, and then he cut off my haire, which went a little to my heart 
at present to part with it ; but it being over, and my periwig on, I 
paid him 3/., and away went he with my own haire to make up another 
of ; and by-and-by went abroad, after I had caused all my maids to look 
upon it, and then concluded it did become me.” ‘1664-5, March 13. 
This day my wife began to wear light-coloured-locks, quite white almost. 
1666, May 30. Being come now to an agreement with my barber to 
keep my periwig in good order at 20s. a year.” 

In the reign of James II. and William and Mary, periwigs became 
more monstrous; the full-bottomed wig was worn by the learned pro- 
fession and those who affected particular gravity. Farquhar, in his 
comedy of ‘ Love and a Bottle, written in 1698, remarks that “a full 
wig” is imagined as infallible a token of wit as the laurel.” Wigs 
of smaller dimensions called “ nightcap-wigs,” the ‘campaign major,” 
““bags,’ and the “riding wigs,” were worn. 

The most striking novelty of the time of George I. was the 
“ Ramilies” tail, which was a tail plaited to the wig with an immense 
bow at the top and a smaller one at the bottom. The pigtail, that 
favourite ornament of sailors in later years, first appeared in the 
reign of George II., and it banished the Ramilies tail and tie. Marie 
Antoinette invented a coiffure in which were represented “hills, and 
enamelled meadows, silvery rills and foaming torrents, the well-trimmed 
garden and the English park.” The servants of our nobility now 
seldom appear in wigs, unless on state occasions. In our time false 
hair has a very different office to perform, and by the skill of our artists 
in that commodity we are enabled to wear that article so as to deceive 
almost our very selves.* 

HorseHAir.—Though in nearly every country horsehair is collected, 
the chief sources of supply are Russia, South America, and Prussia, The 
importation into England amounts annually to about 1,450 tons, of 
the value of 152,000/. We get some good long tail hair from Russia— 
other qualities long, medium, and short from the River Plate. 

The forensic, theatrical, and coachmen’s wigs are made of horsehair, 
but these are fast getting into disuse; the latter are sometimes made of 
goat’s hair. 

Horsehair is used on the helmets of the Horse Guards. It is made 
into ropes and wigs, even the learned lawyer is obliged to rob the poor 
Siberian horse for his wig. Horsehair shirts were formerly worn for the 
health of the soul, but gloves of the same material are now used for the 
health of the body. False tails of horsehair are made for the use ot 
those horses which are deficient in that respect. Fishing lines are oc- 
casionally made of horsehair. 

A queue, or tail of horsehair, suspended at the end of a pike, ter- 


* Jury Reports, Exhibition, 1862. 
1D 12) 


444 ON THE COMMERCE AND USES OF THE HAIR OF ANIMALS. 


mj ated by a gilded pennant, is the Turkish standard, or emblem of 
authority. Commanders are distinguished by the number of horse 
tails carried before them, or planted in front of their tents. Thus the 
Sultan has seven, the Grand Vizier five, and the Pasha three, two, or 
one. The usage of these tails is of Tartaric origin. 

Hair thread and hair sacks are made in Romalia and Anatolia. For 
upholstery purposes, Ohio hogs’ bristles are used for stuffing in the 
United States, and it is possible that this kind of hair sometimes gets 
mixed with the description designed for mattresses, &c. The process of 
manufacturirg horsehair is as follows :—From the bales it is thrown 
into a ‘ picker’ making 800 revolutions per minute, and then twisted 
into ropes by machinery, to make it curl. The next process is to boil 
it, that it may be thoroughly cleansed, for which purpose it is put into 
vats, heated with exhausted steam from the engine; this done, it is 
thoroughly dried in an oven. The ropes of hair are then ready to be 
picked into pieces for use. 

The short hair is serviceable after curling, for stuffing chair seats, 
cushions, sofas, mattresses, &c. The long hair for weaving into seating 
and covering; and the middle lengths for brush-making in lien of 
bristles. In Sicily cheap and rough ordinary paint-brushes of horsehair 
are sold as low as a farthing to a penny each, and rough-made clothes- 
brushes at 8d. Light horsehair can be dyed of various colours, but as 
there is only a limited supply of the pure white, some difficulty would 
arise in obtaining the raw material, 

Hair-seating is wove by hand, every hair being introduced singly. It 
differs in this respect from most other woven fabrics, in which there is 
uniform and continuous supply of material, thereby permitting the appli- 
cation of steam power. In hair-seating, the weft being in detached pieces, 
it has been found that power-looms cannot be advantageously employed. 

At the South Kensington Museum, in the Animal Collection, there 
are some interesting specimens of damask hair cloths made by Mr. E. 
Webb (Worcester), and Messrs. 8. Laycock and Sons (Sheffield). 
Among these are fancy green striped hair seating, plain grey satin ditto, 
orange damask figured, scarlet damask, figured black diaper damask, 
plain black satin hair, &c. In some of these specimens a variety of 
damask patterns or designs are introduced by the application of the 
Jacquard loom, and also diversity of colours, 

Among the various other purposes to which horsehair is applied are 
for making crinolne or ladies’ petticoats, mixed with cotton ; for bags for 
pressing apples, cloth for straining purposes by brewers, oil-refiners, &c., 
for rope, for socks or soles for lining boots and shoes, for brush- 
making, &c. 

Formerly the warps of hair seating were made exclusively of linen 
yarn, but of late years, cotton has been extensively use1 on account of its 
softness, as it produces hair cloth of more pliable texture, and of 
smoother and more eyen surface, 


ON THE COMMERCE AND USES OF THE HAIR OF ANIMALS. 445 


Pra’s Harrs or Bristies.—The stiff glossy hairs growing on the 
back of the hog or wild boar, which are in great request by shoe- 
makers, saddlers, and brush-makers, are chiefly imported from Russia, 
Prussia, and Germany. The sources of supply will be seen from the 
following imports in 1861 :— 


tbs. 

Russia. : : ; : 1,644,751 
Prussia , : : 5 21,906 
Hanover : : : : 20,338 
Hamburg : : ‘ 5 159,184 
Holland ; . 3 : 16,333 
Belgium : : : : 84,038 
France... : j j 37,197 
United States : ; j 40,658 
Other Countries. p : 11,875 

2,036,880 


The exports from Russia were formerly larger than they are now, 
but many substitutes have been brought into use for brush-making. 

The imports from 1820 to 1833, ranged from 1,178,346 lbs., the 
lowest to 2,320,993 Ibs. ; from 1835 to 1841, the imports were much 
about the usual average, namely, from 1,200,000 to 2,000,000 Ibs. 

The imports since have been as follows :— 


Year. lbs. Year. lbs. 

Nese 1789739 16520 0 ed O5siage 
4g 4 | 910201435 18537 . UO NEe Sos 0 59 
1844. . . . 2,132,300 1854) 3) cue el S0n76d, 
1845... . 2,419,967 TS ee ee AE Tea 
1846. . . . 2,234,782 1e561 4. 2 De 7Esas 
heey ee? 1547961 1857. . > . 2,644,802 
1848.- . . 2,064,739 1858" . . . 2,055,596 
1849. . . . 2,504,676 1859. . . . 2,595,926 
1850. . . . 2,305,685 IU eh oe) OESLONY/ 
Neo ee 38710 1861). 4 44. 21086;880 


The hair of pigs is used for stuffing chair seats and other upholstery 
purposes in America, either alone or mixed with horse hair. As the 
supply of bristles from wild hogs cannot continue on the same scale, 
our manufacturers have began to tax their ingenuity for other materials 
for brushes—various strong vegetable fibres have been brought into use, 
and the last invention is metallic dents or fine wire teeth for brushes. 

A writer in ‘Household Words’ on this subject, observes :—‘‘ This 
brush question may be said, figuratively and literally, to bristle up 
before us in greater importance than most persons would imagine. 
What with the wax-ends for our Crispins, and the materials for our brush- 
makers, the demand for bristles is quite enormous. Only think of our im- 
porting more than two and a half million pounds of bristles every year 


446 ON THE COMMERCE AND USES OF THE HAIR OF ANIMALS. 


irrespective of those which grow on the backs of true-born British hogs ! 
Why it is that a hog’s bristle is more useful for such purposes than the 
hair of horse, ox, or sheep, a microscopic examination would possibly 
reveal ; but of the fact itself there can be no doubt. Those countries 
which rear most hogs and make fewest brushes, can sell most bristles to 
their neighbours. Russia is such a country. Barren as the region is, 
it has immense forests of those trees in which, or rather under which, 
hogs delight to pick up a living. There are large establishments, too, 
in which oxen are slaughtered for the sake of their hides and tallow ; 
and there are nice pickings in such places for the porcine tribe—the hog 
being a sort of optimist, finding good in everything. The good feeding 
not merely renders the hog fat, but the fatness renders his bristles sus- 
ceptible of easy extraction. The bristle harvest is no small affair. Like 
the hair harvest in France, it is a grand time when the agents come 
round to collect the crop. What sort of prices the agents give, is a 
mystery we are unable to solve ; but the bristles are conveyed by these 
agents to the great fairs held periodically in Russia ; and at these fairs 
merchants from St. Petersburg and Odessa make their purchases. The 
cropping and transporting, and selling, are so managed that, if possible, 
the cargoes shall be shipped off for foreign export before the Baltic and 
the Black Sea become frozen over. The bristles, varying from three or 
four to nine or ten inches in length, vary much in quality ; the white are 
better than the yellow and the yellow better than the black; the wiry 
are better than the limp ; and the moderately long are better than the 
very long. The bristles are tied into bundles, and the bundles are 
packed into casks containing four or five hundred pounds weight each. 
Our brush-makers are sometimes indebted to Westphalia, whose hogs 
ean afford bristles as well as hams; and sometimes to Australia, whose 
forests afford abundant hog meat; and sometimes to France and Belgium, 
which supply bristles in limited quantity and fine quality ; but Russia 
is the great source of supply. 

“ Russian and Polish hogs are not more cleanly than other hogs. Their 
bristles are dirty and piggish, and require much cleansing. First of all, 
in preparing them for the market, they are assorted into colours and 
qualities—the blacks, the greys, the yellows, the whites, and the lilacs; 
and then they receive a thorough good dressing. The root-ends are 
carefully kept together ; the long are separated from the short, and the 
bristles are combed and combed and combed, again with a kind of wool- 
comber’s implement, until they become as sleek as may be.” 

MANUFACTURES FROM Harr.—BrusHeEs.—This branch of industry 
belongs more to the useful than to the ornamental, and is annually in- 
creasing in importance, as civilization advances and education induces 
that self-respect, one of the first objects of which is cleanliness. 

From the peer to the peasant, there is seldom to be found any one 
who does not indulge in the luxury of the hair-brush ; and although 
the fashion which the 1851 Exhibition thoroughly introduced among us, 


ON THE COMMERCE AND USES OF THE HAIR OF ANIMALS. 447 


threatens ere long to throw into disuse the once almost universal 
shaving-brush, the brush trade must always be one of magnitude, for 
no dwelling, however humble, is complete without the use of the paint- 
brush, or kept in order without the broom and the scrubbing-brush. 

The brush trade of the United Kingdom finds employment for a 
large number of people : its various branches are distinct, the workmen 
of one branch being seldom employed upon any other. The brush- 
makers and bristle assorters number 2,300 men, of whom 1,500 belong 
to a trade union, while 800 are not members of this society. The 
painting-brush-makers number 80 men, of whom 72 belong to a trade 
union, and only,8 are not members of this society. About 400 hands 
are employed in making bass brooms for sweeping streets, areas, etc. 

It would be difficult to ascertain correctly how many men and women 
are employed in the other branches of the trade, such as— 


Fancy hair-brush making. 
Bone and ivory brush making. 
Artists’ and grainers’ brush making. 


The amount of the home trade in brushes cannot be ascertained, but 
ihe returns issued by the Board of Trade show that the exports of 
brushware and brooms have been as follows :— 


1853. : . 43,635 | 1858 : . £39,408 
1854. ; . 45,284 1859) ©. : . 42,570 
1855. ; : 26,307 | 1860 . : . 41,898 
1856. 6 é 37,041 NSGM ye 3 . 37,986 


1857. : : 43,915 


And the imports of paint-brushes have been— 


MSD Omesgera. ec: £824 | LOO sey oe en os ues 
SHG et 968 WSCC Mer ean 1,407 
MS baie lie Se 1,548 | TSGMN yy tee he aarse 8,423 
SSS papi eae. Sia | 


Whilst, however, the demand for brushes is increasing, the supply 
of bristles, which is the material chiefly used in their manufacture, is 
slowly but surely decreasing. Fifty years ago excellent bristles were 
collected in England and Ireland ; but the present breed of pigs in the 
United Kingdom produces no bristles fit for brush-making. 

Until the year 1816 hair brushes were made upon the same princi- 
ple as clothes-brushes are now made—the surface of the bristle being 
flat or even; but in that year a simple invention was patented, the 
object of which was to insert the bristles of hair-brushes in an uneven 
or spiral form, in order that they might penetrate the hair. This patent 
was upset on the plea of insufficient description ; the process is now 
almost universal, an even hair-brush, except for smoothing the hair, 
being seldom made.* 


* My. Kent, Jury Reports, Class xxv. Sect. B. 


448 ON THE COMMERCE AND USES OF THE HAIR OF ANIMALS. 


Cow Hair is in this country chiefly used by plasterers for mixing 
with mortar to make it adhere to walls. It has lately been made into 
a kind of waterproof bituminous felt, to line damp walls, to place between 
partitions, to prevent draft or deaden sound, for roofing, for sheathing 
ship’s bottoms, and for clothing boilers and pipes of steam engines. 

In Sicily it is used for stuffing sofas and chair cushions, the 
price locally being about 4/. per ewt. Carpets of cow hair are common 
in some parts of Germany, selling at about 10 Prussian dollars each. 
Cow hair socks are made by the peasantry in the interior of Norway. 
Cow hair rope is used in paper manufactories, and oceasionally for 
other purposes. The supply of cow hair is principally obtained at 
home, but about 20,000 cwt. is imported chiefly from Germany and 
France, worth about 5/. the ewt. This is probably cow-tail hair, which 
is used for stuffing furniture in the same way as short horsehair. Wet 
cow hair is sold at tanneries for about 2s. 6d. the bushel, and is after- 
wards dried and the lime beaten out. Cow hair is sold here in packs 
of 240 lbs. 

Goat's Harr or Mowarr, is the woolly hair or fleece of the Angora 
goat, (Capra Angorensis), a native of a small district of Asia Minor. 
The silky hair of this goat, which hangs in long curls, is invariably 
white, the average length of the staple being 5 to 6 inches. The fleece 
is called locally “ Tiftik.” When clipped annually in April or May they 
yield from 13 to 4 lbs. of wool or hair according to age. The demand 
for this wool is only of recent origin. In 1848, mixtures of it, with alpaca, 
silk, cotton, and worsted, came into use for ladies dresses, and fora heavy 
material known by the name of flushing, for gentlemen’s overcoats ; in 
which article the goat’s wool was thrown to the surface, so as to re- 
semble, to some extent, the original fleece, except in colour. The prin- 
cipal consumption of mohair now, is for mixing with other animal fibres 
for ladies’ dresses, light’ overcoats, coat-linings, lustres, tabinets and 
fringes, umbrellas, &c.; and also for spinning into yarn, which is 
exported to France and Belgium, chiefly for the manufacture of 
Utrecht velvet, for the coverings of furniture, linings of carriages, 
plush, &c.; and to some extent for a cheap imitation of black silk-lace, 
braid button coverings, and other articles. 

Mohair is perfectly free from “underdown,” unlike the Thibet or 
Cashmere fleece, which has a downy covering on the pelt, with long 
coarse hair, or kemps at the top, the separation of which is both tedious 
and expensive. In sorting mohair, about one-sixth part is taken out, 
which is too short in the staple and not applicable for combing purposes, 
and in the precess of combing, about one-fifth part is made into “ noils ;” 
these, together, are bought by woollen manufacturers, for making into 
cloth of different kinds and other materials. 

Late accounts state that the animals yielding the fleece have been 
so multiplied that the product has realised about 1,000,000 okes, nearly 
3,000,000 Ibs. But the price having greatly risen in England from its 


ON THE COMMERCE AND USES OF THE HAIR OF ANIMALS. 449 


still more extended use in new stuffs, for which it is found adapted ; 
the cost at Angora has advanced 30 to 50 per cent. over that of previous 
years, being quoted at 28 to 40 piastres per oke, metallic money, about 
Ys. 3d. to 2s. 44. per lb. 

The common domestic goat of Thibet (Capra changra), is distin- 
guished by the uniform abundance of its long flowing straight hair, 
which descends below the knees and hocks, and covers the whole animal 
pretty uniformally. This and the Kirghis breed are closely allied to the 
celebrated shawl goat, and their exquisite sub-fleece, or abundant outer 
coat, might be turned to good account, if not immediately, yet after 
crossing the breed with some nearer appropriate stock, such as the 
Angora or Whidah. The natives of Thibet manufacture ropes, caps, 
and coarse overalls out of the long hairs, and a fine woollen cloth out of 
the sub-fleece, mixed occasionally with the wool of the Silingia sheep. 

Twenty years ago, the imports of goat’s wool from Turkey were 
under 4,000 bales, of 2 cwt. each ; now, the average is nearly four times 
that amount. In 1861, the imports were 3,334,748 lbs., worth about 
2s. 8d. a lb., and of the gross value of 456,542. 

The Gish, or shawl goat, so highly prized for its fleece, i ig 
decended from the goat of Thibet, which pastures on the Himalayas, 
When picked, the wool is soft, rich, and lustrous ; indeed, superior to 
any lambs’ wool that possibly can be produced, and afterwards divisable 
into two or three qualities. The kemp is a coarse and harsh straight 
hair, and when the animal has not been shorn for some time the spiral 
points out-top the rest of the fleece. Goats producing the shawl wool 
are common in the countries west of the Caspian. 

The first step in the process of converting the wool into a shawl, 
is to submit it to a delicate and tedious manipulation for the 
purpose of extracting the long hairs. The wool is next carefully washed 
in a mixture of rice-flour and water. It is then hand-spun by the 
women, and made into woollen thread. This thread is inspected by 
experienced persons, and divided into qualities of fine and coarse, to be 
used for shawls of superior or inferior qualities. The yarns intended 
for white shawls are sent to the bleacher, and, by a peculiar method, 
are rendered beautifully white. Those for coloured shawls are 
handed to the dyers. The Cashmerian dyers profess to use sixty-four 
different tints, and obtain some of these by extracting the colours 
from European woollens imported expressly for the purpose. After 
being dyed to the proper colour, the yarn is again carefully washed. It 
is next given out to the weavers, to be made into pieces of cloth for 
scarfs, handkerchiefs, and square shawls of all sizes. Next comes the 
preparation of the warp and woof for the border; the warp being of 
silk and the woof of wool. We have now got the cloth of the shawl, 
both middle and border. Next comes the important work of embroider- 
ing. Connected with this branch of the manufacture, there are persons 
to design patterns to particular shawls, When a shawl of ordinary size 


450 ON THE COMMERCE AND USES OF THE HAIR OF ANIMALS. 


and pattern is to be embroidered, three men are appointed to the work, 
and are engaged upon it for three months. But when a rich and rare 
pair of shawls is to be embroidered, the men wlll be eighteen months 
and even two years, in finishing the elaborate patterns which have to 
be produced upon the cloth. The embroidered borders of the finest 
shawls are made separately, and are afterwards so cleverly attached 
to the middle that the-eye cannot detect the junction. This is the 
most curious and ingenious part of the fabrication. A lady’s shawl of 
the finest and most costly description, is, in fact, nothing less than a 
piece of cunningly devised and delicately jointed patchwork, setting at 
defiance the most rigorous scrutiny to discover a seam. The labour 
required to produce a first-rate Cashmere shawl is immense, and this 
will account for the fact that a shawl will cost sometimes 6002. or 700J. 
before it passes the rocky portals of the valley of Cashmere. These 
shawls always form part of the presents made to persons who visit the 
courts of Indian princes. 

Thirty ounces of wool, valued at 8s. or 9s., is all that is required in the 
manufacture of a shawl a yard anda half square. The immense cost 
of these shawls in the European market is, therefore, a subject of much 
wonder to those unacquainted with the history of their manufacture 
and transportation. A heavy duty is first paid upon the wool; then a 
further tax upon the yarn when it reaches the bazaar ; and the manu- 
factured shawl, when taken to the custom-house is further taxed accord- 
ing to the discretion or caprice of the collector. If intended for the 
European market, the shawls have to pass through the ordeal of 
still heavier exactions, They must be borne from Cashmere across the 
Indus to Peshawur, on the frontier of Afghanistan, a journey of twenty 
days, upon the back of a man, the road being often impassable by 
camels or mules, deep precipices are crossed upon suspension bridges of 
rope, and perpendicular rocks climbed by means of wooden ladders. 
At various stages of this journey taxes are exacted, amounting to 36s. 
or 42s, in the aggregate. From Peshawur to near the confines of 
Europe, tribute is paid at many custom-houses ; but this forbearance of 
the marauders of Afghanistan and Persia, and of the Turkomanic 
hordes, must also be purchased at a high price. The precious burden 
is thus conveyed to Europe over the Caucasus, and through Russia, or 
as is now frequent, through the Turkish provinces to Constantinople. 

The Rocky Mountain goat (Ovis montana), of North America, has 
a fleece almost as valuable as that of the Cashmere goat. It has a 
shagey appearance, in consequence of the protrusion of the long hair 
beyond the wool, which is white and soft, It has been named by some 
authors the Mazama Americana, The pile is of two kinds, one long 
and coarse like that of lamb’s wool, the other like the under coat of 
the poodle dog. It is thought that this goat might prove a valuable 
addition to the fleece-bearing animals now domesticated, for the pile 
would improve by the care and attention that could be bestowed upon 


ON THE COMMERCE AND USES OF THE HAIR OF ANIMALS. 451 


the animal. The fleece of this animal, exhibited by Mr. E. B, Roberts, 
may be seen in the Fur Court, South Kensington Museum. 

The hair of the common goat, which is in colour mostly grey, 
brown, and black, is used for very low-priced carpetings, &c. Tents 
and baling cloths are made of it, in the East. Several hundred tons of 
goat’s hair are now imported annually from Ireland to mix with low 
carpet yarns. 

CameEL’s Hatr.—The hair obtained from an ordinary camel weighs 
about 10 Ibs., but its colour and abundance depend entirely upon the 
particular species of camel, and the climate which he inhabits. It is 
sometimes finer than silk, and is always longer than sheep’s wool. The 
camel annually casts its hair in the spring. The hair of the Arabian 
camel is thin and whitish; that of the Bactrian camel thicker and 
darker coloured. The hair is principally imported into this country 
for the manufacture of fiue brushes or pencils for drawing and painting. 
It is exported in considerable quantities from Smyrna, Constantinople, 
and Alexandria, and is largely used by the French in the manufacture 
of hats. It may be obtained in many parts of Africa ‘and Asia. In 
the East it forms an important article of commerce, and is extensively 
used in the arts. When spun it serves for wrappers for merchandise, 
and the fabrication of the tents, shawls, and carpets of the Arabs. A 
coarse kind of clothing, almost impermeable to rain, is made for camel 
drivers and shepherds, and as a wrapper for merchandise long exposed 
to wet in heavy rains. In Persia more valuable manufactures are pro- 
duced in cloths of different colours, and fine stockings, of which white 
are the highest prized. The Tartar women of the plains make a kind 
of warm, soft, and light narrow cloth from the hair of the Bactrian 
camel, preserving the natural colours. The hair for sale is divided into 
three qualities—black,'red, and grey. The black is the dearest, the redthe 
second quality, and the grey is only worth half the value of the 
red. The import of camel’s hair into England, which, but a few 
years ago, only amounted to a few thousand pounds, has greatly ~ 
increased of late, as much as 322,000 lbs. having been received in 
1861. 

PoRCUPINE’S QuiLLs.—In certain parts of the bodies of some animals, 
hairs sometimes become remarkably developed and strangely modified, as 
in the case of the hedgehog or porcupine, where they assume, over the 
greater part, but not the whole of the body, the form of spines and 
quills. Those of the porcupine (Hystrix cristata) come into commerce, 
and are rather expensive. They are used for penholders, work-piercers, 
or eyeletteers by ladies, for tooth-picks, fish-floats, making fancy boxes, 
and other ornamental purposes. 

The hair from the tail of the elephant is stiff and smooth, of glossy 
black colour, 14 to 15 inches long, the size of small iron wire, solid, of 
a horny nature, very tough, and will bear to be doubled and tied with- 
out breaking (though some are brittle), and therefore useful for making 


e 
452 ON THE COMMERCE AND USES OF THE HAIR OF ANIMALS. 


braids to fishhooks ; neat ornaments for rings, brooches, &c., are made 
of them in parts of Africa and Asia. 

Coney Woot, or the hair of the rabbit and hare, is shaved off by a 
mechanical process. The vast number of these prolific rodents in 
Spain and other countries, afford a large supply of this kind of hair, 
which is put to the same uses as down. 

Badger hair is used for shaving-brushes, and for graining tools ; 
sable and hog’s hair are also used for the latter purpose. 

The highest quality of artists’ brushes, which formerly were im- 
ported into England, are now manufactured by the artists’ colourmen of 
London, and exported freely. 

A rope-like girdle of opossum hair is worn by the aborigines of 
Western Australia, partly by way of ornament, passed many times 
round their waist. But it serves also for other useful purposes. In it 
are carried the kadjo or hammer, the dowak or throwing stick, and the 
kyli or’ boomerang. It is tightened or loosened like the belt of famine 
of the Africans, according to their supply of food, and it answers for 
string occasionally, or for rag in the case of a cut or wound ; and small 
articles, such as the teeth and barbs of spears, are frequently deposited 
in the folds of it. 


The following is a summary of the value of the hair of different 
kinds imported into the United Kingdom in the year 1861 :— 


Quantity. Value. 
£ 
Cow hair, ewts., 21,639 . F , ; 103,229 
Goats’ hair, lbs., 3,334,748 . " 2 456,542 
Manufactures of ditto . : - : 347,217 
Horse hair, cwts., 29,033 4 : ; 151,800 
Camels’ hair, lbs., 321,897 ; : : 8,047 
Manufactures of hair. . : ; 16,724 
Human hair, lbs., 15,672 : : 6,268 


Bristles or hogs’ hair, lbs., 2,036 880 : 251,191 


£1,341,018 


453 


ON THE ODOROUS SUBSTANCES SENT BY THE FRENCH 
COLONIES TO THE INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION OF 


1862. 
BY EUGENE RIMMEL, 


The perfumery trade in France, has of late years considerably in- 
creased, and has become one of the most important branches of the in- 
dustry known under the name of “articles de Paris.” The exports of 
perfumery, which from 1827 to 1836 did not rise on the average to more 
than six million francs per annum, had in 1860, according to the official 
reports, attained the sum of thirty-one million francs, and if we add to 
this amount that of the interior consumption, we arrive at a very con- 

“siderable total of production. 

It becomes then interesting to learn the sources from which the sub- 
stances are derived to sustain this industry. For a long time Provence 
furnished her extracts de fleurs, and essences of aromatic herbs, but per- 
fumery also requires the aid of the odorous substances which are diffused 
in such wide profusion in tropical climates. All these products, with 
some exceptions, are found in the French possessions, and we will now 
offer a few words of notice upon the splendid collections forwarded to 
the late Exhibition by the Ministry of Marine, and the Ministry of 
Algeria. 

Martinique and Guadaloupe produce a great variety of odorous sub- 
stances. Cloves, nutmegs, and cinnamon are equal in quality to those 
of the East Indies, but the culture is extremely limited, and is not suf- 
ficientiy large to make them an article of export. The graine d’Am- 
brette, or musk-seed (Abelmoschus moschatus), the tonquin bean (Dipterix 
odorata), and Vanillon or Vanilloes (Vanilla Pompona), of which 
Guadaloupe alone can furnish a thousand kilogrammes, are very nearly 
the only products which perfumery obtains from the French West India 
Islands. 

We remarked the following specimens, however, which might advan- 
tageously be employed in this industry, if they could be procured in 
sufficient quantity, the canang odorant (Uvarid Aithiopica), which is 
known in Senegal under the name of boulon pepper, the seeds of the 
bois d’Inde (Myricia pimentoides), and the Jamaica pimento (Pimenta 
vera), both of which have a very agreeable aromatic odour, and lastly 
the Ben-oil seed (Moringa pterygosperma), which produces an extremely 
fine, clear, sweet, and fluid oil, qualities very valuable in perfumery. 

This oil was formerly much sought after by perfumers, but it is now 
little used on account of its being so difficult to procure genuine. It 
appears, however, that this tree grows wild in the Antilles, and if the 
colonists would take the trouble of gathering the seeds and ex- 
tracting the oil from them, it would be a sure investment. Bay 
rum is also a prodact of the Isles, and could be introduced into 
France with advantage. They make use of it largely in North 


454 THE ODOROUS SUBSTANCES OF THE FRENCH COLONIES. 


America as a toilet water for washing the head, but in Europe it is 
almost unknown. 

Some use might also be made of the odorous flowers that these Colo- 
nies produce, such as Frangipane (Plumesia vubra), Cassie (Acacia - 
farnesiana), and Henna (Lawsonia inermis), a dye-plant which is used by 
the women in the East to tint their finger-nails, the soles of their feet, 
and sometimes their hair. Guiana offers nearly the same products as 
Martinique and Guadaloupe. The Vanilla which is found wild in the 
woods, differs a little from the Vanillon. The pod is longer aud more 
slender, but it has not the fine flavour of the Mexican. The “bois de 
rose femelle,’ (Licaria odorata), has a delicious odour which approaches 
to bergamot, but being extremely fugitive, it is necessary to pulverise 
the wood at the moment of distillation. The essence drawn from it, 
which has begun to be employed by the Parisian perfumers, would 
fetch “a remunerative price if it were sufficiently known. The fat 
extracted from the oil nutmeg (Virola sebifera), would form a good 
base for toilet soaps, and the resin of Icica heptaphylla might be em- 
ployed to make pastilles for burning. 

Senegal did not send any odorous materials, although they ought not 
to be wanting ; but we remarked a very varied collection of fatty sub- 
stances which could be used in soap-making. Besides Palm oil, which 
is consumed in large quantities, one might also be found, the Dika, a solid 
oil, obtained from the seeds of the Mangifera Gabonensis, which appears 
very unctuous, and is offered at 150 francs the 100 kilos., free at Rouen, 
which isa very advantageous price for manufacturers. Henna, of which 
we have already spoken is also among the products from Senegal. 

Réunion exhibited in the first place a magnificent collection or 
vanilla, contributed by thirteen exhibitors, of whom four received medals. 
This culture is of very recent date, for in 1849 it scarcely existed, 
whereas, in 1860, it produced more than 6,000 kilogrammes. We 
cannot congratulate the colonists too much on occupying them- 
selves in propagating this excellent aromatic, which forms an 
agreeable condiment as well as a precious perfume. The vanillas 
exhibited were very fine; they had the length, the bulk and 
the penetrating odour of the best Mexican, and will, in course of 
time probably supplant the latter for French consumption. We also 
find that Réunion is overrun with aromatic plants and substances with 
which the perfumery trade has hitherto been supplied from the East 
Indies or the Eastern Archipelago. 

Among these are the clove, cinnamon, nutmegs, citronella (Andropogon 
citratum), vetivert (Anatherum muricatum), coriander, fennel, fenugreek, 
and cardamoms, substances which are all employed in a natural state, 
or in the form of essences, in perfumery. A specimen of the leaves of the 
faham (Angrecum fragrans), struck us as possessing a very agreeable 
odour, which must be still better when fresh. From French India not- 
withstanding the narrow compass of its territory, were displayed a great 


THE ODOROUS SUBSTANCES OF THE FRENCH COLONIES. 455 


number of specimens of the riches of that country, amongst which we 
remarked the flowers of the cassie and lavender, vetivert, aniseed, cumin, 
nutmegs, ilipé oil, which could be employed in soap-making, and lastly, 
the ben-oil seeds, which we have already noticed from the Antilles. 

In the extensive collection which Admiral Charner sent from 
Cochin China, were fine specimens of benzoin, and an aromatic bark 
(Alyzia aromatica), which could be employed in perfumery. New 
Caledonia offers a specimen of Erromanga sandal wood ‘(Santalum 
Austro-Caledonicum), which is superior to that of other countries, 
owing to the strength and fineness of its odour. It is to he 
regretted that this tree is being ruthlessly destroyed in the colony, 
as the wood is of such great use in perfumery. We noticed 
some other interesting specimens, among which were Ocotea, a bark 
possessing an odour very nearly approaching to sassafras, and the leaves 
and essence of cajeput (Melaleuca leucodendron et viridiflora). It appears 
that the trees belonging to the family of Melaleuca are very abundant 
in New Caledonia. They are equally so in British Australia, which 
exhibited a very fine collection of essences extracted from the leaves of 
several Melaleuca and Hucalypti. Those essences, although a little 
coarse, would do to perfume common soaps, and might in the 
course of time prove a fresh resource for the colony, and a great 
seving to manufacturers; for they are yielded in such abundance, that 
they cost very little beyond the expense of distillation. The essen- 
tial oil of Eucalyptus amygdalina,. for example, exhibited from 
the English colony of Victoria, costs less than one shilling per Ib. 
and its odour, which is a singular mixture of lemon and nutmeg, is so 
powerful that three ounces are sufficient to perfume eight pounds of 
soap. There is every reason to believe that the same kinds exist in New 
Caledonia, and in that case the extraction of the essence would become a 
profitable speculation for the colonists. 

To return to the French colonies, St. Marie de Madagascar sent cloves, 
nutmegs, cinnamon, faham, citronelle und vetivert, and a very curious 
substance called Pulpe de Ravensara (Agathophylium aromaticum). 
Tahiti exhibited a fine specimen of vanilla, the first that this colony 
has produced, and tamanu oil, from the fruit of Calophyllum inophyllum, 
which might be made use of in perfumery. 

It remains now to speak of Algeria, which bids fair soon to rival 
Provence for the manufacture of the finer materials of perfumery. In 
fact, its magnificent climate admirably favours the culture of the prin- 
cipal flowers which are employed in this industry, such as the rose, 
jasmine, orange, cassie, tuberose, and jonquil. The violet alone does 
not find there that shade which it requires; but the geranium, lavender, 
thyme, rosemary, and other aromatic plants grow in wild luxuriance. 
The citron-tree and all its varieties, such as the bergamotte, biga- 
radier, &c., the fruits of which afford such precious essences for per- 
fumery, are equally abundant. A dozen exhibitors sent specimers 


456 ON THE TRADE IN NUTS. 


of odorous substances ; but it is to be regretted that they were not more 
complete, for they did not comprise all the different kinds manufactured 
in Algeria. Amongst the new products we remarked a water distilled 
from verbena (Aloysia citriodora), wrongly named citronelle ; but we 
should have liked to see by the side of it the essence which was pro- 
bably produced by the same operation. . 


ACR RA DBs iN Nan Se 
BY P. L. SIMMONDS. 


Of the commerce in fruit in this country, that in nuts of various 
kinds forms a very considerable share, furnishing a carrying trade of at 
least 10,000 tons. The average value of the foreign nuts sold annually 
amounts to upwards of 400,000/. There are are but five kinds specitied 
in the official trade returns—almonds, chestnuts, cocoa-nuts, small 
nuts (hazel nuts), and walnuts. But there are various other kinds form- 
ing articles of commerce in a smaller dcgree, among which may be men- 
tioned Brazil nuts, pistachio nuts, cashew nuts, sourai and sapucai nuts, 
hickory, and peccan nuts. 

We present a summary of the imports of foreign nuts during the 
last nine years, compiled from the Board of Trade Returns, and shall 
proceed to furnish some few details respecting each. 


1854, | 1855. 


| 1853. 1856. 1857. 
| | 
| 
Almonds, sweet, cwt. | 21,743) 23,561) 24,581) 34,(43) 33,465 
bitter, ,, | | 6352. 5,910|. 7,366|. 9,204 ieae 
Chestnuts, bushels | 35,300] 31,809] 64,756] 67,270| 77,197 
Cocoa-nuts, No. 11,388,77411, 730,963 2,217,35011,879,388 2,129,993 
Small nuts, bushels | 148,680 943, 458| 256,396) 254,415] 200,900 
Walnuts z | 50,125, 21,949 34,832) 56,534) 60,128 
| re at : Value in 
| 1858 1859. 1860. | 1861. | 1861, 
| , 
Almonds, sweet, ewt. | 33,176) 24,619) 19,638) 29,807) 158,976 
» bitter, , | 8,370] 10,125] 7,861] 7,517) 16,168 
Chestnuts, bushels | 35,300) 57,048) 25,218) 53,711) 26,792 
Cocoa-nuts, No. 2,508,869 2,484,423 |2,479,251)2,804,657| 17,114 
Small nuts, bushels | 177,859) 222,218] 198,562, 218,548] 156,721 
Walnuts 56,468, 68,363] 52,090 71,699] 27,453 


be 


£403,224 


w 


ON THE TRADE IN NUTS. 


457 


In 1850 the following quantities of foreign nuts were sold in the mar- 
kets of London and Liverpool :— 


London Liverpool 

Markets. Imports. 

Cocoa-nuts . ; : : No. 1,250,000 325,000 
Black Spanish, Barcelona, Black Sea 

Nuts, Se. : . bushels 72,500 66,000 

Brazil nuts . 54 11,700 27,000 

Chestnuts % 26,250 3,000 

Walnuts a 36,000 2,000 

Other sorts . 8,000 3,000 


A comparison of prices with those of seven or eight years ago, will 
show that the variations are considerable in some kinds, especially in 
almonds, which, as respects the sweet almonds, have nearly doubled in 
price. The price of chestnuts has risen fully 50 per cent. Cocoa-nuts, 


although the imports are so much larger, keep up in price. Walnuts 
are about the same, but small nuts have advanced in price. 
Average Prices of Nuts. 
1854. 1861 
| s. d sued: 
Almonds, Jordan, per cwt. 10 i £OO 
Pea Panis iay5.d0: V7 a: 7/ 
Pe Morocco. do: 10 4 4 6 
» Bitter do. MOO 


9s. 3d. to 10s. 
8s. Lld. to 128s 5d 
| 13s. to 14s. 6d. 
| 6s. 9d. to 8s. 8d. 


The duties have varied as follows :—On 9th July, 1842, a duty of 
1l. 6s. 3d. per cwt. was fixed on Jordan Almonds, and 10s. 6d. per cwt. 
on other than Jordan. On the 4th June, 1853, the duty on all 
kinds of sweet almonds was reduced to 10s. per cwt. Bitter Almonds 
were made free of duty on the 19th March, 1845; and Sweet Almonds 
in March 1860. Chestnuts and cocoa-nuts have been free of duty since 
1845. Small nuts and walnuts, on which a duty of 2s. 1d. per bushel 
was levied in May, 1840, were lowered to 1s. per bushel on the 4th June, 
1853 ; and have been entered free of duty since the 7th March, 1860. 

Almonds.—The almond gives rise in France, Spain, and Italy, to a 
large commerce. Although there are a great number of varieties 
arising from cultivation, all are derived from the Amygdalus communis. 
There are, however, two well defined kinds of fruit, the bitter and the 
sweet. 

VOL ._III. 


Chestnuts, per bushel 
Cocoa-nuts, per 100 
Small nuts, per bushel 
Walnuts, per bushel 


SDOSCCWNWAK 
° 


0 
6 
0 
0) 
9 
3 
0) 
6 


RR 


458 ON THE TRADE IN NUTS. 


The sweet variety of the almond was well represented at the late 
Exhibition in the French Court, by M. de Bee, Director of the Agricul- 
tural School of Montaurone, Bouches de Rhone, whose description of 
the principal varieties was recently published in this Journal.* The 
production of almonds is for Provence a very fertile source of revenue, as 
the quality of the product is excellens and the frost does not kill the 
blossoms. The ordinary varieties produced there are the Crombecs and 
other semi-hard kinds called Aberanes, Matherones and Moliéres sold 
generally in the shell ; the Princesses, consumed in France, Belgium 
Holland, Germany, and Russia; the variety called Ladies, sent exclusively 
to the United States, and where the import of almonds is from 3 to 5 
million pounds a year ; and the “flot” variety employed chiefly for 
confectionary and burnt almonds, This last kind is peculiar to Lower 
Provence, the best being grown about Aix. These are consumed entirely, 
in Paris,‘and double the quantity of these is sold over other sorts because 
they keep best. 

The Jordan almonds which come from Malaga were formerly the 
highest priced of any, but those from France, from the care in cultivat- 
ing good varieties, now fetch a better price. The imports of almonds 
into France in 1860 were 714,256 kilogrammes, and the exports 
2,379,839 kilogrammes. In this country, although many kinds are now 
imported, we have chiefly clung to two varieties, known as Jordan and 
Valencia almonds. The Jordan almond is characterised by a longer, 
narrower, and more pointed kernel, about one inchlong. The Valencia 
almond is somewhat shorter, and broad in proportion to its length. 
Nearly half the sweet almonds now imported, 11,000 ewt., come from 
Morocco, 11,000 ewt. more from Spain and Gibraltar, and about 2,000 
ewt. each from Italy, Portugal, and France. 

The bitter almonds, 7000 to 8000 cwts. in quantity, come almost 
exclusively from Morocco, chiefly from Mogadore. They are employed 
in the preparation of noyeau, macaroons and ratafia cakes. By the 
cook and confectioner they are used for flavouring, and are occasionally 
employed for medicines. 

In France the fine almonds, as the Princesses, the Ladies, &¢., are 
sold wholesale in the shell, and the hardshelled almonds also, the 
expense of breaking them being repaid by the value of the shells, which 
serve for fuel. Different varieties of almonds yield of course different 
proportions of kernel and shell. According to M. Arnaud, 16 decalitres 
of wild almonds in the shell yielded 16 kilogrammes of almonds ; 
the same quantity of large green, 18 kilogrammes. Again 16 decalitres 
of “‘ flots or trochets”” gave 26 kilogrammes of almonds. The hectolitre 
of almonds in the shell weighs about 56 kilogrammes. The price varies, 
but the average a few years ago was for the Princesses 100 francs the 


*»See ‘TECHNOLOGIST,’ anti p. 223. 


ON THE TRADE IN NUTS. ABQ 


100 kilogrammes ;. for Les Dames 50 francs, for common almonds 25 
francs, and for Wild, 18 francs. 

Chestnuts.-—Our foreign trade in chestnuts, the fruit of Castanea vesca, 
is not very large, scarcely ever exceeding 70,000 bushels. In 1861 it 
was 53,711 bushels, of which about 40,000 came from France, 10,000 
from Spain and Portugal, and the rest from Italy. There is very little 
difference in the wholesale price, but the French chestnuts fetch about 
8d. or 9d. the bushel more than those from other quarters. 

The two most desirable varieties of this tree cultivated in France 
are La Chataigne verte du Limousin, which produces very large excel- 
lent nuts, of a rich creamy flavour and aromatic odour when roasted, 
that will keep a long time, and the tree of which preserves its leaves 
green much longer than any of the other sorts; and La Chataigue 
exaltade, the fruit of which is the best of all common chestnuts for the 
table ; but, although the tree is low with spreading branches, it is such 
an abundant bearer that it soon exhausts itself. The best chestnuts are 
those which permit of being kept in a good state for several months. 
This is done by preserving them in layers of straw or in sand. In 
parts of France and Corsica the fruit is husked and dried, and then bears 
thename of Chataigne blanc. In France and Corsica they are made into 
flour for a porridge boiled with milk, or a kind of cake or pudding. 

The large species of chestnuts grown in France and Italy are known 
by the name of Marrons. The best are those of Lyon and St. Tropez 
(a small town in the department of the Var.) Those of St. Tropez are 
divided into three sorts—common, good, and best, but these last do not 
include the marrons of first quality, of a very large size. They are 
gathered during the month of September. The usual modes of cooking 
chestnuts in France and Italy are boiling them in water with simply a 
little salt, or with leaves of celery, sage, or any other herbs which may 
impart to them an agreeable flavour; and roasting them in hot ashes 
or in a coffee roaster. They are also occasionally scorched before the 
fire, or on a shovel; but when thus prepared are not considered so 
good. In whatever way they are roasted, the French cooks previously 
slit the skin or shell of all except one; and when that cracks and flies 
off, it is an indication that the rest are done. 

The principal countries in which the chestnut is employed as anim- 
portant article of food are the south of France, Spain, and the north of 
Italy, where it serves in a great measure as a substitute both for potatoes 
and bread. In the island of Corsica, Tuscany, and several parts of Italy, 
there is a very large commerce in chestnuts. In these countries, espe- 
cially in Corsica, as well as in Limousin and other places, chestnuts form 
the chief sustenance of the country people, as the grain harvests would be 
totally insufficient for their consumption. Bilbao, Bayonne,Libourne, Bour- 
deaux, Limousin, Berry, Perigord, the Rhenish Provinces, the Tyrol, Hun- 
gary, Moravia, &c., produce a smaller kind of chestnut. Chestnuts to the 
value of 8341, were shipped from Bilbao in 1860 to Holland and Bel- 

RR 2 


460 ON THE TRADE IN NUTS. 


gium. France exported in 1834 537,518 kilogrammes of chestnuts, of 
which 366,364 went to England, 21,339 to Belgium, and 46,437 to 
Algeria. But she imported in the same year 124,134 kilogrammes of 
chestnuts and chestnut flour, of which 86,665 kilogrammes came from 
Sardinia, and 35,183 from Germany. In 1860 the importation in France 
had risen to 2,293,003 kilogrammes, and the exports to 2,018,704 kilo- 
grammes, of which 289,072 went to Algeria. These figures, combmed 
with the amount of local consumption, which reaches to two million 
hectolitres, is an evidence of the importance of the trade in chestnuts to 
France. 

Cocoa-nuts, which are now pretty generally termed coker-nuts in 
the trade, to distinguish them from the seeds of the Theobroma cacao, 
are becoming of increasing importance in commerce, and maintain 
high prices, in consequence of the value of the husk or coir as a fibrous 
material, and of the waste for garden purposes. They are even brought 
as dunnage in ships on the long sea voyage from Singapore, India, and 
Ceylon, where they are extensively grown. In Ceylon the cocoa-nut 
palm gives rise to a very considerable cultivation, and forms a most profit- 
able investment from the value of the nuts for the oil and husk. 
They are brought chiefly to this country for sale to hucksters and 
retail dealers. Royle says that in Malabar 300 or 400 millions are pro- 
duced annually. In Travancore there are from five and a half to six 
million trees, which produce on an average 80 to 100 nuts a year. Up- 
wards of 2? million nuts are now imported here annually; the largest 
quantity are brought from Jamaica, British Guiana and Honduras, and 
some now come from the West Coast of Africa. Last year there was a 
considerable advance in the price paid for them. France imports about 
1} million cocoa-nuts. 

Hazel-nuts come into commerce under the general term of Small 
nuts ; but included in these are sometimes Peccan and Hickory nuts 
from the United States. Of the imports of Hazel nuts in 1861, 177,142 
bushels came from Spain, 30,315 from Italy, and 4,202 bushels from 
Turkey. ; ! 

Hazel-nuts are the fruit of the wild bush of Corylus Avellana, un- 
changed and unimproved by cultivation. The fruit differs from that of 
the domesticated varieties only in being smaller, while the tree is more 
hardy. This plant, which is a native of all the cooler parts of Europe, 
Northern Asia, and North America, is the parent of the many varieties 
of nuts and filberts now cultivated for their fruit. The trade in hazel 
nuts is very stationary in this country, and the consumption does not 
vary greatly. In 1846, we imported, chiefly from Spain, 182,702 
bushels ; in 1847, 207,784 bushels ; and in 1848, 150,022 bushels. In 
the last ten years the imports have ranged between 148,000 and 256,000 
bushels per annum. 

In trade, though both produced by the variety barcelonensis, the 
nuts are classed into two kinds: 1. The Spanish, which are the fresh 


ON THE TRADE IN NUS. 461 


nuts coming from Gijon, that will not keep for any time, and are said 
to be coloured by the Jew dealers with the fumes of sulphur. They 
are sold at public sales in barrels of about three bushels each. The 
Barcelonas, which are kiln-dried and shipped from Tarragona ; the 
annual export from thence is said to be about 8000 tons. The trade in 
Hazel nuts in France is very inconsiderable, and only sufficient for 
local consumption. 

The finest kinds called Avelines are brought to Paris from several 
quarters. The principal are those termed cadieres or corrupted into 
acadierses from the neighbourhood of Toulon. The nuts are of an 
irregular round and the shell hard. Other kinds come from Languedoe 
and Piedmont. 

The nuts of the Constantinople variety (Corylus Colurna) are roundish 
and very hard ; 160,000 cwt. of these nuts are annually raised at Trebizond 
and Kuirasond. Large and very fine nuts of this species grown in the 
Crimea were shown in the Russian collection at the late Exhibition, 
priced at 69s. 3d. the ewt. 

The Filbert is the fruit of the tubulosa variety of the Corylus 
Avellana. The term was originally applied to those kinds of nuts 
which have very long husks, but owing to the number of varieties that 
have of late years been obtained, this distinction, which was never 
scientific, appears to be nearly disregarded, and nuts and filberts are 
almost synonymous terms, excepting that the wild uncultivated fruits, 
and those varieties which most nearly approach it, are never called 
filberts. Filberts are mostly grown in Kent, where as much as 30 
ewt. per acre has been raised on particular lands. In order to preserve 
filberts in a fresh and plump state, it is only necessary to prevent 
their parting with their moisture by evaporation. Burying them in heaps 
in the earth, putting them in earthen jars in a wine cellar, and covering 
them with dry sand, are all excellent plans. Itis estimated that 1,000 
tons of filberts are annually sold in this country. 

The Cob-nut of Kent is a large, roundish prolific variety—grandis— 
of the ordinary Hazel-nut. The wild nuts of this country seldom 
reach to any size. 

For walnuts we are chiefly indebted to France, whence we received 
55,500 bushels in 1861, and from Holland 8,300 bushels of a rather 
better quality. France is an importer as well as an exporter of wal- 
nuts ; for in 1860 she received 2,153,289 kilogrammes, and sent away 
1,471,000. The principal French varieties are those of Chatellerault, 
Treguel, Aisne, Sarthe, Corréze, and Drome, districts long renowned 
for the excellence of their fruit. Those of the Dauphiny and Savain, 
however, represent a very considerable production. 

Pistachio-nuts which had been heretofore only a secondary item in 
the exports from A'eppo, now find an extensive sale at 1,200 to 1,300 
piastres the quintal. 1,250 cwt. were exported from thence in 1861 
valued at 2,4651—Gardner’s Chronicle. 


462 


THE FURNITURE WOODS OF COMMERCE. 


BY P. L. SIMMONDS. 


The commerce in Foreign Woods carried on by this country is much 
larger than would be supposed by those who had not looked into the 
figures; and the vast quantities of timber, useful and ornamental, 
received, forma very interesting subject of inquiry. The timber of 
many countries is a most important item in its annual income, especially 
in Russia, Austria, Norway, Switzerland, Brazil, and also in British 
North America, India, Guiana, and some other of our possessions. The 
value of the woods of all kinds that we import is not less than twelve 
millions sterling, whilst about four millions more may be set down as 
the value of the home produce. These woods, as far as their economic 
uses are concerned, are divided into three classes :— 

1st.— Woods of construction, useful for ship and house-building and 

other rough work. 

2ndly.—Those suitable for cabinet and ornamental work, as tables, 

and other articles of furniture, pianofortes, &c. 
3rdly.—Dye-woods, and many hard woods, used chiefly by the tur- 
ner, carver, engraver, &c. 

To the first class belong such woods as the fir, and indeed all the 
Coniferze, if we except the evergreen cypress, whose beautiful colour and 
pleasing odour fit it in an especial manner to rank among the higher 
class of cabinet woods. To this division belong also the beech, ash, 
chestnut, poplar, and willow ; while teak, oak, and plane-tree would 
seem to occupy a middle class, connecting this with the second, or more 
ornamental woods, among which are ranked mahogany, rosewood, wal- 
nut, maple, laburnum, mountain ash, box, &c. 

It is to the Furniture Woods that we purpose confining our 
present observations, and chiefly to those received from foreign 
countries. 

The importance of this survey will be better appreciated when it is 
stated that the annual value of the household furniture made in this 
country alone was, more than ten years ago, estimated at fifteen millions 
and has certainly largely increased since then, keeping pace with the 
wealth and numerous wants of the nation, and the progress of commerce. 
The computed value of the rough fancy hard woods imported in 1861 
was 804,426/.,, to which has to be added household furniture and cabinet 
ware, valued by the importers at 32,557/. ; 769 pianofortes,: of the de- 
clared value of 24,5421. besides other items. This, then, forms the 
aggregate trade in which we are specially interested, quite exclusive of 
the large commercial trade in rough woods and furniture carried on by 
other European nations. 

The foreign fancy and hard woods specifically enumerated in the 
official trade returns are very few, being only mahogany, rosewood, 


ON THE FURNITURE WOODS OF COMMERCE. 463 


maple, satin, walnut, ebony, and cedar, and a few such as box, bar- 
wood and camwood, brazilleto, &c., which are chiefly used for other 
purposes. There are, however, some very beautiful woods which, being 
scarce, are imported in but small quantities. 

Oak, ash, elm, beech, birch, &c., are designated hard woods; whilst 
mahogany, rosewood, zebra, tulip, kingwood, satin, and other furniture 
woods, are usually sold under the denomination of fancy woods. From 
the most common description of pine to the finest variety of satin-wood 
or calamander, from mahogany to walnut, from wainscot to ebony—all 
are in some way or other made to do service in their respective places 
for the cabinet-maker. 

The elements of beauty in wood may be considered as consisting in 
lustre, figure, and colour; in the degree of which there are, however, 
numerous modifications as well as limitations. 

The medullary plates contribute essentially to the character of orna- 
mental woods, not only from being the secondary cause of the lustre of 
mest of those woods that are remarkable for this quality, but likewise 
by their own inherent properties. In nearly all the coloured woods the 
colour of the medullary plates is much deeper than that of the fibres, 
sometimes varying even in kind, so that when viewed in different lights 
they present different colours. The plane or sycamore is remarkable 
for the size and distinctness of its medullary plates, these being of 
a rich chestnut brown, with a considerable lustre, while the fibres are 
nearly white and almost dull. 

There is another source of varietyin wood, both in figure and colour, 
depeuding on the comparison and contrast of one annual layer with 
another. Much irregularity takes place in this respect. But this very 
irregularity is a source of beauty, and is capable of being indefinitely 
varied by making the section more or less oblique to the axis of the 
tree. An alternation of colour not unfrequently accompanies these con- 
centric rings, but is not indicative of any change of structure; and 
when the colours are lively, well defined, and well contrasted, their 
effect is very agreeable: kingwood, tulip-wood, Amboyna-wood, yew, 
lignum vite, and partridge-wood, are, perhaps, some of the most re- 
markable. 

This symmetrical distribution of colour passes by insensible degrees 
into the striped, the veined, and the mottled, of which walnut affords 
the best example among the more common woods; and spotted and 
veined ebony, rosewood, zebra wood, and Coromandel-wood, among the 
more valuable ones. The three latter are particularly beautiful, 
especially the Coromandel-wood, whether we regard the harmonious 
tone of its colours, passing from brownish white to rich chocolate, and 
nearly black, or the broad masses in which these are arranged, giving it 
more the appearance of brecciated marble than of wood. 

One other variety in the figure of woods is the occurrence of eyes, 
zoned spots and small curls, of which the bird’s-eye maple, Amboyna- 


464 ON THE FURNITURE WOODS OF. COMMERCE. 


wood, and the root or burr of the yew and the commom maple are the 
most beautiful. The knobby tubercles that form on the root and trunk 
of the common elm, from repeatedly stripping off the side branches, 
afford a very beautiful wood called “curled elm.” 

We will pass on now to notice the principal woods, giving promi- 
nence to Mahogany as being that most largely used. 

In 1820, when the duty on mahogany was 111. 17s. 6d. the ton, the 
imports were 16,005 tons ; in 1830, nearly the same, although the duty 
had been reduced in 1826 to 7/. the ton. In 1850 the imports were 
33,650 tons ; and in 1861, 53,108 tons, valued at 569,000/. Mahogany 
unquestionably occupies the highest rank in the scale of furniture 
woods ; it has long continued in steadily increasing request forall kinds 
of cabinet work, ornaments in woods, and generally for all purposes to 
which timber is appliel for interior decoration. A thousand pounds 
has frequently been given for a good log of mahogany—and few pro- 
bably of the visitors at the Inteinational Exhibition gave a second 
glance at the huge squared log of mahogany, which was shown in the 
Haytian Court, worth many hundreds of pounds, or reflected upon 
what might be its ultimate destination when sawn or cut into veneers. 
The principal sources of supply for this wood are Belize, British 
Honduras, which furnishes one half, St. Domingo, Cuba, and Mexico. 

Spanish mahogany imported from Cuba, Hayti, and other West 
India islands, is in smaller logs than the Honduras, seldom exceeding 
sixteen to twenty-four inches square, and from six to twelve feet long. 
The colour is paler, the lustre less, in consequence of the medullary 
plates being smaller and irregularly distributed ; the grain is also finer 
than the Honduras, and the texture harder. 

Many of the more expensive woods are cut into thin strips, termed 
veneers, Which are glued on to pine surfaces, or other common 
woods, and by this process nine-tenths of the wood are saved. 
By the use of beautifully adapted circular saws, worked by 
machinery, veneers are often cut of the thickness of one-fortieth of an 
inch, a little thicker than the sheet of paper on which this is printed. 
By the largest saws, logs of mahogany, three feet square, can be cut up 
into unbroken sheets of veneer at the rate of about ten or twelve to 
the inch, and so beautifully smooth as to require scarcely any dressing. 
The longitudinal edges of the veneers are protected by a calico band 
glued on, to prevent them from splitting when removed. Walnut is 
cut, not in longitudinal sections like other veneers, but in thin spiral 
sheets from the circumference of the tree. This makes the thinnest 
veneer of the whole, but it is frequently defective. 

Rosewood, obtained from Brazil, and walnut, from Belgium and Italy, 
are probably, next to mahogany, the most important furniture woods. 

There is still great confusion as to the trees which furnish the South 
American rosewood. From the Portuguese name of Jacaranda, the 
scientific name of Jacaranda Brasiliana has been applied to it. There 


ON THE FURNITURE WOODS OF COMMERCE, 465 


is, however, little doubt that several species of Triptolomea yield rose- 
wood in the province of Bahia. 

The demand for rosewood has lately fallen off ; for whilst in 1854, 
5,670 tons, of the value of 82,2111, were Fanon dl on the average ue 
the three years ending 1861, the nai were only 2,000 tons. 

Rosewood exhibits large elongated zones of black irregular lines on 
a reddish brown ground, of various tints and high lustre. The grain 
varies—being frequently very coarse, but in selected specimens is sufii- 
ciently fine for the best description of furniture. The dark colour in 
general is too predominant; but when this is not the case, and the 
lighter ground is disposed in larger masses than usual, the wood is con- 
sidered very beautiful. 

Some of the specimens of Maple wood from North America are very 
ornamental, especially those of the red-flowering maple (Acer rubrum), 
and the sugar maple (A. saccharinum). 

It sometimes happens that in very old trees of the former species, 
the grain, instead of following a perpendicular direction, is undulated ; 
and this variety bears the name of “curled maple.” This singular 
arrangement, for which no cause has ever been assigned, is never wit- 
nessed in young trees, nor in the branches of such as exhibit it in the 
trunk. It is also less conspicuous at the centre than near the circum- 
ference. Trees offering this disposition are rare, and do not exist in the 
proportion of one to a hundred, The serpentine direction of the fibre 
which renders them difficult to split and to work, produces, in the hands 
of a skilful mechanic, the most beautiful effects of light and shade. 
These effects are rendered more striking if, after smoothing the surface 
of the wood with a double-ironed plane, it is rubbed with a little sul- 
phuric acid, and then with linseed oil. On examining it attentively, 
the varying shades are found to be owing entirely to the inflection of 
the rays of light, and this is more sensibly perceived in viewing it in 
different directions by candle light. 

Before mahogany came into such general use, the wood of the red- 
flowering maple was largely employed in America for furniture ; bed- 
steads are still made of it, which in richness and lustre excel the finest 
mahogany. Veneers of it are much used to inlay other woods in articles 
of cabinet work and for the finishing of ship’s cabins. The red-flower- 
ing maple, never produces the variety known as “ bird’s-eye maple,” 
that being confined exclusively to the sugar, or the rock maple. The 
sugar maple exhibits two accidental forms in the arrangements of the 
fibre, of which cabinet-makers take advantage for making beautiful 
articles of furniture. The first consists of undulations like those of 
the red-flowering maple and is likewise known as “ curled maple ;” the 
second, which takes place only in old trees which are still sound, appears 
to arise from an inflection of the fibre from the circumference towards 
the centre, producing spots of half a line in diameter, sometimes con- 


466 ON THE FURNITURE WOODS OF COMMERCE. 


tiguous, and sometimes several lines apart. The more numerous the 
spots, the more beautiful and the more esteemed isthe wood. This variety 
is called “ bird’s eye maple.” 

Maple is now imported in considerable quantities from New 
Brunswick and fetches a high price; 413 tons, valued at 2,752/. were 
received in 1861. The ancients held the maple in great esteem, and 
tables inlaid with curious portions of it, or formed entirely of its finely 
variegated wood, in some instances realized their weight in gold. 

The principal portion of the Satin-wood that comes into commerce is 
brought from the West Indies, and is produced by Maba Guineensis 
an ebenaceous tree in the Bahamas, Hayti, &c. 

It is of a beautiful deep yellow colour, mixed more or less with orange 
and brown, and hence callel, locally, “ yellow wood ;” it is remarkably 
close-grained, heavy, and durable. It is sometimes confounded with 
East Indian satin-wood, the produce of Chlororylon Swietenia, a 
cedrelaceous tree. The latter possesses the richest colour, whilst the 
West Indian satin wood has a higher and more variable lustre. In some 
instances the Indian wood is beautifully patterned or flowered, and is 
much used for picture-frames, rivalling bird’s-eye maple. Indeed, Satin- 
wood fetches a much higher price than maple. The Chinese are very 
partial to this wood, and receive quantities of it from Siam. We 
obtain some from Ceylon and Madras. 

Our supplies of the dark blackwood, known as Ebony, to the extent 
of 1,500 tons, are imported chiefly from the west coast of Africa, 
Madagascar, India, and Ceylon. It is the duramen or heart-wood of 
several species of Diospyros, and is much used for inlaying work by 
cabinet-makers. 

Previous to the introduction of mahogany, rosewood, and other exotic 
woods, that of the walnut was held in higher estimation than that of 
any other European tree, and supplied their places in the manufacture 
of the most valuable and costly pieces of furniture, examples of which 
are still to be seen in the houses of ancient date, whose beauty in grain, 
polish, and pattern, would bear comparison with any of the choicest 
woods of the present day. Indeed, of late years we have been return- 
ing to this taste; for while foreigners prefer mahogony for cabinet we 
have taken again to walnut for suites of furniture. The imports of 
walnut-wood have recently averaged 3,200 tons, or double the quantity 
of rosewood imported. 

The name of Cedar is given to several woods, but properly belongs to 
the almost incorruptible wood obtained from two species of Cedrus,—C. 
Deodrar and C. Libani. This is the cedar spoken of injScripture: “The 
cedar of the house within was carved with knops and open flowers : all 
was cedar ; there was no stone seen.”—(1 Kings, vi. 18.) 

The wood of the common Cedrelas is far less valuable. The cedar 
chiefly imported is Cedrela odorata, in logs tree from knots and straight- 


ON THE FURNITURE WOODS OF COMMERCE. 467 


grained, from Cuba, Mexico, and Central America, in quantities varying 
from 3,000 to 5,000 tons yearly. Thirty years ago the consumption was 
less than half that quantity. The red or pencil cedar of Virginia 
(Juniperus Virginiana) is also imported, being serviceable for internal 
joiners’ work. The rare beauty of the sideboard top of the Australian 
cedar root in the New South Wales court of the late Exhibition attracted 
much attention.. 

Oak still retains its time-honoured place in Gothic furniture and 
libraries. Wainscot oak is imported in logs from the Baltic, for cutting 
into planks or slabs for furniture, or for pannelling rooms. 

Having noticed the principal woods imported in quantity, we may 
now incidentally glance briefly at a few others deserving of mention. 
And here it may be remarked that nearly all the ornamental woods used 
are derived from tropical countries, although occasionally specimens of 
woods grown in temperate regions are characterized by considerable 
beauty. Thus the curled ash of Canada, from the beauty of the figure, 
if better known, would be much appreciated by our timber merchants, 
the pattern resembling the renowned Hungarian ash, a wood which was | 
in great favour here at one time, and realized a high price, but could 
not be obtained in large planks. 

The Laburnum has a wood of a darkly variegated colour, rendered 
more beautiful by a lustre of metallic green, and when knotted is equal 
to mahogany. The medullary plates, which are large and very distinct, 
are white, and the fibresof a dark brown, a circumstance that gives 
quite an extraordinary appearance—a peculiarity not to be observed in 
any other wood. 

To the fine woods of our colonies, but scant justice has yet been 
done in the way of publicity, either inthe Jury Reports or through any 
other medium. Such a magnificent collection of woods of all kinds, 
many of them new and rare, from different countries, was never before 
brought together, and it is very doubtful if it ever may be again. 

Many of these woods are as yet comparatively unknown; the 
difficulties in the want of labour, proper roads, and available means of 
transport, have hitherto prevented the various treasures of the colonial 
forests from becoming readily accessible to the requirements of our 
artizans. 

Numerous illustrations were afforded of the suitability of many of 
these woods for furniture, for’smaller articles of turnery and ornamental 
workmanship, and for parti-coloured work in marquetry, wood mosiac 
or Tunbridge ware, and Sorrento inlaying. Innumerable specimens of 
cabinet-work, of the highest excellence, were seen to great advantage 
and obtained universal commendation from competent judges. 

Many of these elegant pieces of ornamental work displayed the 
peculiar beauty and figure, the closeness of grain, and, in some cases, 
revealed the fragrant odours of the smaller woods and showed how well 


468 ON THE FURNITURE WOODS OF COMMERCE. 


they are deserving of more extensive notice than they have hitherto 
received. Many of the woods exhibit a peculiar beauty of structure ; 
some are highly fragrant, and retain their agreeable odour for a con- 
siderable period of time, which renders them additionally pleasant and 
acceptable in the form of ornamental articles to the boudoir and 
drawing-room. 

Some of the rarest and and most esteemed ornamental woods are 
South American, and come chiefly from Brazil; among these are tulip- 
wood, zebra-wood, the produce of Omphalobium Lamberti, king-wood, 
canary-wood, partridge and pheasant-wood, and purple-wood. 

Coromandel or Calamander wood is the produce of an ebenaceous 
tree of Ceylon, and considered, from its peculiar marking, one of the 
handsomest of the_brown woods. It is getting scarce. King-wood and 
zebra-wood are rich yellowish-brown, striped ; sometimes full of zoned 
eyes. : 

A valuable, heavy furniture wood of British India is the blackwood, 
locally called rosewood, obtained from the Dalbergia latifolia, a 
leguminous tree. It can be procured in any quantity, and of immense 
size, but in large pannels is lable to split. Jackwood (Artocarpus 
integrifola) furnishes a yellowish wood, which deepens into brown. 
When made into tables and well kept, it attains a polish little inferior 
to mahogany. The Chittagong wood (Chickrassia tabularis) is more 
used in Madras for the making of furniture than any other wood. It is 
light, cheap, and durable. 

Lingoa wood, the Amboyna wood of commerce, was imported into 
this country in considerable quantities from the Moluccas during the 
time those islands were British possessions. It is stated to be 
abundant at Ceram, New Guinea, and throughout the Molucea seas. 
The wood can be obtained in any quantity if the precaution be taken of 
ordering it during the previous season. Circular slabs of Amboyna wood 
are occasionally met with as large as nine feet in diameter; but the 
usual size is from four to six feet. These slabs are obtained by taking 
advantage of the spurs which project from the base of the trunk, as the 
tree itself has not sufficient diameter to furnish such wide slabs. The 
kayubuka of commerce, so much esteemed as a fancy wood, is obtained 
from the gnarled excrescences which are found on these trees (Ptero- 
spermum Indicum.) 

In the beauty of its duramen the blackwood of Australia (Acacia 
Melanozylon), also known as lightwood, possesses many resemblances 
to the best walnut, and is considered even superior to that wood, being 
harder and more durable. It is a favourite wood with the cabinet 
makers of Victoria for furniture of every description, and receives a 
very high and beautiful polish. 

There is one other very ornamental wood which has lately been 
largely used in cabinet work by the French,—the cypress of Algeria 


ON THE FURNITURE WOODS OF COMMERCE. 469 


(Thuja articulata). The wood is dark nut-brown, close-grained, and 
very fragrant. It is believed to be the algum or almuz of Scripture, 
one of the most costly materials furnished by Hiram, King of Tyre, 
to Solomon, for the building of the Temple, and for the house on Mount 
Lebanon, Planks of this wood formed the precious citrine tables of 
the Roman banqueting halls. 

It requires a large capital to keep up a good steck of seasoned wood, 
so as even to support a moderately large manufactory ; but as there are 
no duties on wood, it pays the dealer well to lay in a stock of furni- 
ture wood for seasoning, because the unexampled prosperity of our 
colonies insures for a long series of years a market for the furniture 
of Europe. Nothing but the taste and make of the mother country 
will suit her colonists, and skilled labour is too high in the colonies for 
much attention to be given yet to furniture and cabinet-making. The 
value of the furniture, cabinet, and upholstery wares annually 
exported from the United Kingdom averages from 250,000/. to 
350,0007. 

- There was a time, we are told by a leading Liverpool timber firm, 
when a portion of the capital of that county (Lancashire) employed its 
population in the manufacture, and its merchants in the exportation of 
furniture. The foundations of the fortunes of the more prosperous 
cabinet-makers and shipowners were so laid. Circumstances, however, 
interrupted this state of things, through the imposition of war duties 
of 12/. 10s. per ton on Spanish mahogany, and 45/. per ton on rosewood ; 
and Lancashire ceased to employ its people in the manufacture beyond 
the home trade, and its merchants ceased to load the ’tween decks 
of their ships with furniture to the colonies. — Popular Science 
Review. 


4 a 


NOTES ON MYRABOLANS. 


BY M. C. COOKE. 


The fruits of several species of Terminalia have been of late in- 
cluded under the general name of ‘ Myrabolans,’ which, in truth, 
belongs only to the ripe fruits of Terminalia chebula. India is the chief 
source of these different fruits, where they are extensively employed by 
the natives in dyeing and in medicine. I was for some time, and until 
recently, under the impression that more than two species were to be 
met with in English commerce, but am now convinced that all I have 
hitherto met with may be referred to one of two species, viz.: Termi- 
nalia chebula and T. belerica. The Mungachi of the Canarese, (7. 
augustifolia) is still a stranger in our markets. Under the name of 
Kiritoochie (a corruption of Huritochee), the unripe fruits of Terminalia 
chebula have been referred to 7. angustifolia, for which I know of 
no vernacular synonym in India resembling Kzritcochie. 

In the Mekhzen-ul-Adviyeh, of Muhainmed Hosen Shirazi, under the 
head of Aflile, the following kinds of Halileh or chebalic myrabolan are 
enumerated :— 

1. Halileh zira—Gathered when the fruit is just set. Being dried, 
it is about the size of the Zira (cumin seed). 

2. Halilehjawi— Gathered when the fruit is more advanced. When 
dried, it is of the size of a barley-corn (jaw). 

3. Halileh-zengi, Hindi, or Aswed.—This kind is gathered when the 
fruit is still more advanced. Being dried, it is the size of a raisin, and 
is black, whence its name Aswed black, or Zengi negro. 

A, Halileh chini—Which is gathered when the nut has acquired 
some degree of hardness. The dried fruit is of a greenish colour. 

5. Halileh-asfer—Gathered when approaching to maturity. The 
fruit, when dry, is of a reddish yellow, whence its name (Asfer yellow). 

6. Halileh-cabuli—W hen the fruit has come to full maturity. 

All these six kinds are the produce of the same tree (Terminalia 
chebula). 

I have never met with any myrabolan so rudimentary and minute 
as the first variety named by Shirazi. The smallest kind which seems 
to be now known and employed in Hindustan corresponds more nearly 
with the second variety above-named, and is represented by a small 
black immature myrabolan, of the size of a barley-corn, which is used 
in Hindustani medicine, and is the Halileh-jawi of the Persian writers, 
It is not an article of European commerce, but may be examined by the 
student amongst the Pharmaceutical substances in the India Museum, 
Whitehall. 

The Zengi-har, or black myrabolan (the Halileh zengi of the Persians) 
is the form which has been confounded with the fruit of Yerminalia 


NOTES ON MYROBALANS. 471 


augustifulia. Itis the Kooroo-villa cadookai of the Tamuls, and the 
Huritukee of Bengal. This variety contains scarcely the rudiments of a 
nut, and is of the size and shape of a small black raisin, which, in ap- 
pearance it somewhat resembles. 

Dr. Fleming (‘ Asiatic Researches,’ vol. xi.), says: “ The Zengi-har is 
as far as I can learn, more frequently used in medicine by the Hindus 
than any of the other myrabolans, being generally employed by them 
as a purgative. It operates briskly, but without occasioning heat or 
irritation. Persons liable to a redundancy of bile, habitual costiveness, 
or any other complaint which requires the frequent use of gentle laxa- 
tives, will find this one of the most convenient which they can use.” 
This form of myrabolan has several times appeared in the London 
market. 

The Halileh-chint is doubtless the same as the Munjulde of Assam, 
noticed in vol. i., pp. 186 of this journal. The fruit is much more 
mature than in the Zengi-har, the nut being formed within it, but it is 
still of a greenish black when dried, with the epicarp shrivelled upon it 
or contracted into ridges. I have not, however, met with it commer- 
cially, and unless the Munjulde can be referred to this variety, I must 
consider myself still a stranger to the Halileh-chini. The kind known 
as Afunjulde in Assam is about the length of a Tonquin bean, but 
thicker, angular, and with a shrivelled pericarp. 

Of the ordinary myrabolans of commerce, two varieties at least will 
have been noticed. In one of these the surface of the pericarp is smooth 
and shining, and of a light yellowish brown or tawny colour, in the 
other, the surface of the pericarp is much shrivelled in drying, and the 
colour is seldom so bright or yellow, possessing generally a greenish 
tint. These differences are due to the degree of perfection at which the 
fruit had arrived when gathered, and between these varieties almost 
every gradation in regularity of surface may be encountered. 

I have not the least doubt that some of the greenish yellow, and 
reddish yellow, smali sized myrabolans often met with constitute the 
variety named Halileh-asfer in the Mekhzen-ul-adviyeh already quoted. 

The mature myrabolan is too well known to need description. It is 
the Helileh-kabulee of the Arabs, and D’Herbelot is of opinion that 
this name is derived from “ Cabul,” the article having been first brought 
to Arabia from the country so named, At the present time mature 
Cabul myrabolans sell for a rupee each in Bombay under the name of 
Surwarree hirda. This induces the fraudulent admixture therewith of 
the fruits of Balanites Zgyptaica which generally accompany the Cabul 
myrabolans to Bombay. 

The astringent pericarp of this fruit in combination with sulphate 
of iron makes a very good ink, and the kernels yield upon expression a 
small quantity of oil. The leaves cf the tree are subject to the attacks 
of a gallinsect. The galls produced are flat hollow cases of a horny 


472 NOTES ON MYROBALANS. 


texture, and from half-an-inch to an inch and a half in diameter in one 
direction, and about one-fourth of that diameter in the other direction, 
with these galls and alum a durable yellow is dyed in India. 

Mature myrabolans are called Haritika in Sanscrit, whiist in Hin- 
dustani they are known as Hur, Harhara, Hulda, and Hura. In many 
districts they have also their local names, as Huritukee in Bengal, Heerda 
or Huldah in the Deccan, Arulay in Mysore, Kodorka amongst the Malays, 
Kadukai of the Tamuls, Karakaia and Seingi-tige of the Telugos, Ara- 
loo in Ceylon, Kayoo-bin in Pegu, and Ahlile or Halileh in Arabia and 
Persia. 

Myrabolans, the produce of ancther species of Terminalia (T. 
bellericu) have during the past few years found their way into the 
English market under different names, but generally as “ Bedda-nuts.” 
Their obovate form will at once distinguish them from the true myra- 
bolan. Like the varieties already named, these are also an Indian pro- 
duct, and are much employed by the natives on account of their astrin- 
gency both in manufactures and medicine. The kernels yield a larger 
quantity ef oil than those of the Chebulie myrabolan which is em- 
ployed for strengthening the hair. 

Reference to the ‘ TECHNOLOGIST,’ vol. ii., pp. 233, will furnish the 
relative values of the Chebulic myrabolan, mature and immature, and 
the Belleric myrabolan, as tanning substances, viz. :— 


Chebulic Myrobalan (mature) . ; 5 .  18°:230 
35 9 (immature) under the name 

of Kiritochee . : : : . 385'280 

Belleric Myrobalan . . ; . : : 9:086 


Other notes by the Editor on “ The Myrobalans of Commerce” will 
be found in the same volume, p. 184, from which it would appear that 
he has met with the fruits of 7. augustifolia in commerce ; but I think 
that, on renewed examination, he will confess himself to have been 
misled by the different appearances of the fruits of JT. chebula, when 
collected and dried at earlier stages of growth. 


473 


INDIAN CIVETS. 


FROM NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS BY DR. MCCLELLAND AND 
B. H. HODGSON, ESQ. 


“The zoologist has no greater difficulty to encounter in the mere de- 
seriptive part of his duty than in drawing just conclusions as to the 
specific value of characters in animals nearly allied to each other, and 
there is nothing of more importance to know, than the amount of 
variation nature is capable of assuming in a single form, and the cir- 
cumstances to which such variations are due. 

“We should not generally lay any great stress on slight shades of 
difference in colour, but there are some groups in which the distribution 
of particular spots and markings on the external covering is of much 
more importance than in others. In the Fere, or Cats, for instance, as 
well as in their corresponding types throughout the animal kingdom, 
we often observe each species distinguished not merely by the number, 
size, and colour of spots, but by the particular forms these assume on 
various parts of the body. It is curious also to observe this law of 
isographism, if we may use such an expression, the more constant in 
those species whose form and habits approach nearest to each other, and 
which it would consequently be most difficult to distinguish but for the 
constancy of some peculiar marks. Until the time of Buffon, the dif- 
ference between the Civet and the Zibeth was unobserved, both being of 
nearly the same form and colour, but the number of dark marks on the 
tail being different in the two, might have earlier led to a comparison 
of the number and form of the vertebral bones of which the organ is 
constructed, when a difference we may presume would have been de- 
tected that could only be accounted for by the ordinary laws of varia- 
tion in animals of distinct species. Strange to say, however, that long 
after the difference between the animals in question had been first sug- 
gested, naturalists preferred dealing in opinions to searching for facts ; 
and so slow is the discovery of truth, that it required some thirty years 
to reconcile naturalists to what they had been unaccustomed to suppose 
in this instance. 

“The Civet (Viverra civetta) is most abundant in the hottest parts of 
Africa and in Abyssinia, where the animal is reared and an extensive 
trade carried on in civet, a peculiar odoriferous substance like musk, 
once very fashionable in medicine, and also as a perfume. 

“The Zibeth (Viverra zibetta) has been found in the Philippine 
Islands, from whence the animal figured and described by M. F. Cuvier 
seems to have been brought ; but it is said also to belong to India, but 
on what authority I have not the means of ascertaining. 

“Colonel Sykes found Viverra rasse, Horsf. in the woods of the 
table lands east of the western ghauts,* and V. indica, a very nearly 
allied species to the latter, in the forests of the western ghauts. More 


+ Proc. Zool. Soc. 14th Feb., 1832. 
VOL. IIL. 


wa 
tf 


474 ON INDIAN CIVETS. 


recently Mr. Hodgson of Nipal mentions both these species as inhabit- 
ants of the Tarai.t The species figured in Hardwicke’s Illustrations as 
Viverra bengalensis, Gray, seems to be V. vindica, Geof. It appears pro- 
bable therefore that naturalists have fallen into a mistake in supposing 


V. zibetta to be an inhabitant of India, i.e., Hindustan, and we shall 


probably be able to account for the manner in which the error, if it be 
one, has arisen. 

“Tn a collection of abont 200 animals of different kinds recently 
formed by the plant collectors employed by our friend Mr. Griffith in 
the Kasyah mountains, is an animal which corresponds partly with V. 
zibetta, Gm. in the distribution of colour and size, but it has a shorter 
tail with only six complete broad black rings, and a broad black band 
passing below under the throat in addition to two black stripes on 
either side of the neck. As this arimal corresponds nearly with the 
colour of the Zibeth, and is of the same size and form, we may pre- 
sume that it has been supposed to be the same species. Without at- 
tempting to describe this animal fully, we beg to offer a few more re- 
marks regarding its peculiarities. 

“Throat white, with black band passing from the ear backwards 
under the neck, a second interrupted black band on the side of the 
neck, and a third passing along either side of the nape and descending 
in front of the shoulder with a black streak along the spine, forming a 
short mane. There are six broad black rings encircling the tail. Head 
grey, with a dark spot on the base of the outer side of the external ear, 
general colour grey, darker above than below. The sides are streaked 
transversely, the streaks longitudinal on the hind quarters and 
shoulders, becoming closer and darker on the limbs, which are nearly 
black. The length of the tail is thirteen inches, length from the tail to 
the snout two feet nine inches. Height about thirteen and a half 
inches. 

“The tail of this animal is about the same length as that of V. 
civetta, but the black rings which surround it are broader, and this last 
peculiarity also removes it still farther from JV. zibetta ; in which the 
rings on the tail are more numerous and incomplete. It also differs from 
V. civetta, in having a white throat, and from V. zibetta, in the neck 
being crossed below by a black band. Should it prove a new species, as 
we have no doubt it will, we trust that its name may be connected with 
that of the distinguished botanist to whose liberality we are indebted 
for the first knowledge of its existence ; and who, while employed him- 
self in one extremity of India, can find means for supporting, and time 
for organising establishments for collecting natural productions in 
another. 

“The different animals of the Civet kind are in India called Catas ; 
there is one in Bengal, probably V. indica, Geof., which is very common, 
and has been know even to enter houses in Calcutta at night in search 


+ Ib. Proe. 26th Aug. 1834. 


a 


ON INDIAN CIVETS. 475 


of poultry. A few months ago an instance of the kind occurred in 
a house surrounded by a high wall, and in which there were several 
dogs. The Catas on finding itself pursued, entered a large pond, and 
appeared to rely with much confidence on its dexterity in the water 
for its safety. 

J. M. McoCLEe.anp.” 


In the above notice of a Civet from the Cossia Hills, Dr. McClelland 
supposes it to be distinct from Civetta and Zibetha of authors. “The 
subject is involved in double perplexity trom the variations to which 
these animals are liable, and from the inadequacy of all recorded de- 
scriptions of the Civet and Zibet. The greater and the lesser species 
of these animals are common in the Tarai and Hills of Nepal, and 
they are recorded by me in my Catalogue of Mammals as Viverra 
orientalis, new forsan Civetta vel Zibetha, and as Viverricula (nobis) 
Indica and V. Rasse. 

“ The first of these three is probably identical with Dr. McClelland’s 
animal, but from my experience during the past 12 years, I own myself 
as much inclined to doubt the specific distinctness of the Viverra et 
Zibetha of authors as to allege positively the independence of this third 
species on both the former. The specific character which I gave to my 
V. orientalis in May 1838, when I forwarded drawings and skins to 
England, is as follows :—Iron grey Civet, with body marked or unmarked, 
with lateral and anteal surfaces of the neck conspicuously quadri- 
cinctate, with black and white, the black prevailing, and black tail fur- 
nished with six narrow perfect white rings. Snout to rump 32-3 inches ; 
tail 19; mean height 14 to 15. It seems to me, however, that the 
specific characters of Civetta and of Zibetha must be amended before 
one set can be assigned to V. orientalis (Potius melanurus) at once precise 
and accurate. 

“ Without further preface I will proceed now to a full description of 
a fine male specimen of our animal which I obtained in our valley in 
March, 1836, thereafter noticing contradistinctively ‘a specimen from 
Dorjiling, in which the Civet-like markings of the body, so faint in the 
former as most striking. 

“The general colour of our animal, which is an old male, ‘is iron 
grey, more or less fulvescent and sordid. Below the belly and inside of 
the limbs close to it are hoary white. Limbs nearly to the body brown, 
black, or deep sooty ; whole inferior surface of the head and throat with 
the margins of the gape and bridge of the nose, the same: mystaceal region 
and tip of chin hoary like the belly; ears outside black for the most 
part, but becoming dusky and even grey towards tips ; lining of the 
ears hoary grey; head above and laterally void of marks, and coloured 
like the body, but paler ; no mark under the eye ; sides and front of the 
neck occupied by four conspicuous alternating black and white bands, 
which proceeding from behind the ears first run longitudinally towards 


476 ON INDIAN CIVETS. 


the shoulders, and then suddenly turn down to gird the front of the 
neck, which they entirely embrace, and which from the superior breadth 
of the inner dark zone is rather black than white. Within (that is 
nearer to the head) this large dark zone is a semblance of a third dark 
one, which however rather resembles horns put off towards the ears from 
the dark interior surface of the head than a separate pectoral zone. Out- 
side the external dark zone there are traces of a pale edging or band ; 
and if we include this faint line (clear enough on the abdominal aspect) 
as well as reckon separately the last named, also counting the dark line 
of the head below, we have a succession of eight pale and dark spaces. 
But the more prominent are only four, whereof the outer dark one is 
somewhat broken on the shoulder, it descends nearly at right angles, 
whilst the inner one is quite entire, more accurately curved, and so 
broad below or on the abdominal aspect of the neck that that aspect 
must be called black rather than white. Above, or dorsally, the neck 
has no mark, at least noue distinct, though the vague tracing of the 
dorsal mane which only becomes distinct at the withers, may here be 
seen. ‘This mane is by no means strong or conspicuous, and it ceases 
wholly at the base of the tail after somewhat breaking the first pale 
caudal ring. It is accompanied by a white edging on either side, and 
these colours thus pass into that member, or the tail, which somewhat 
exceeds half the length of the animal, and is gradually attenuated from 
a thick base. 

“‘ Whatever other changes our larger Viverra are liable to, the caudal 
rings hold an,unvarying character, and in this species they are uniformly 
six in number, pale upon a black ground, with a gradually increasing 
interval towards the tip, and, though wider below than above, yet upon 
the whole far smaller than their dark interstices. Oneand a half totwo 
inches of the dark ground colour oceupy the tip of the tail before the 
nearest pale ring is reached. It has already been noticed that the dorsal 
mane breaks the first ring towards the base of the tail. The body of 
the animal is almost wholly immaculate, and even on the shoulders, and 
tibize the wavy bands we expect to meet can hardly be traced. In other 
mature specimens these lines may be seen here and there only, not on 
the flanks or body of the animal where the iron grey has a bluish cast, 
sometimes overlaid with dull fawn, especially on the buttocks. In our 
present subject little or none of the latter hue can be traced. 

“Tn all our specimens the fur consists of wool and hair constituting a 
thick warm covering, but liable to vary with the seasons and health of 
the animals. The wool is copious and wavily curled : the hair straight, 
and a third longer, moderately adpressed, and “neither harsh nor soft. 
In the present animal the hair is $ to ? inch long: the wool one inch, 
On the tail the wool and hair are both present, nor is either longer than 
on the body : the face and limbs are dressed in fine close glossy hair 
only : the colour of the wool (in all specimens) purpurescent, dusky : 
two-thirds of hair and more, towards the base, the same: the terminal 


ON INDIAN CIVETS. 477 


third + white, or fulvescent-white, and $ (the outer) black. Some hairs 
wholly dark, and hence results the iron grey hue of the animal, the 
generally sordid tinge of the white even on the belly, being caused by 
the interior dusky colour of the wool and hair throughout. The Dor- 
jiling specimen is of the same size as the above, and also a male. 

‘The general resemblance of the two in the essential marks, pro- 
portions, &c. is perfect including the scantiness of the mane; nor will 
the nicest scrutiny serve to detect any differences, save that the fur is 
rather shorter and more adpressed in this one, and that the third dark 
pectoral zone is distinct from the dusky throat, instead of merely form- 
ing horns to it, whence, reckoning the pale edging between the last two, 
and that without or beyond all the dark marks, we have here the com- 
plete series of eight pectoral zones, though a fastidious objector might 
reject some of them as vague. They may be counted however, and 
therefore are noted, lest their omission should hereafter mislead. The 
line of these zones is in general black and white respectively ; but the 
latter colour is more or less sordid ; and the dark inferior surface of the 
head (here included) is decidedly not black but dusky, or sooty brown, 
like the limbs. All these things are however so in the first specimen 
also, from which this therefore is only differenced by the clear and 
striking Civet-like marks occupying the body of the present subject. 
These marks are oblique on the shoulders and hams, and have there 
usually a straight lined character, whereas on the body they are vertical 
and wavy, presenting the exact appearance of a succession of waves, 
advancing from the rear to the front, and often passing, as real waves 
will do, nearly into open circles or eyes, especially towards the dorsal 
ridge and mane. This may possibly be a distinct species or variety. I 
have noted it as the latter, with the trivial name of Undulatus. In this 
marking it is nearly allied to Civetta. 

“My other specimens are mostly of the unmarked kind, and juniors : 
the rusty hue is clear on the hams, and sometimes passes on to the tail 
near them. The tibiz are barred, and the shoulders or brachia likewise, 
but the flanks and body are immaculate : six narrow perfect white rings 
on a black tail, and four principal, or six to eight principal and inferior, 
alternate black ana white pectoral zones, of which the former consti- 
tutes the ground hue, distinguish all alike. 

“In May (27th) 1836, I procured four young ones of one of these 
species or varieties, but of which I know not, for the mother escaped. 
The young were about a span or six inches long, and could not have 
been born a week, yet their eyes were open, and all their organization 
(save the teeth) perfect; they had the pectoral and caudal marks, 
especially the latter palpably developed, but the dorsal dark line could 
hardly be distinguished owing to the generally darker hue of the little 
creatures, none of which lived beyond September. They were found 
on the bare ground, under thick copse wood, and their mother with 
them. On the 26th July they were two spans, or twelve inches, long, or 


478 ON INDIAN CIVETS. 


double the size when first taken, and then they had four molars above 
and as many below. A survivor to 15th September was then 143 inches 
long, and had cut all the molars. On 20th June the incisors appeared. 
But I must hasten to return to my first subject, and subjoin such a 
detail of its dimensions as with the colours, may serve to fix the species 
in the judgment of the skilful. Dimensions of Viverra orientalis, potius 
Melanurus, mature male. 


ft. in. 
Snout to base or tail 2 8 
Tail only ; 1 5s 
Tail and terminal hair Gr 
Head, length of a long curve O 62 


Ditto, ditto, straight 

Greatest breadth 

Ditto, depth 

Width between the ears across apts, Sapte 
Ditto, between inner canthi of the eyes 5 ° 
Length of ears from crown of head 

Ditto, ditto, from the lobe 

Elbow to top of corpus 

Corpus (inclusive) to tip long finger 

Knee (true) to os calcis 

Os calcis to end of longest toe 

Mean height of the animal 

Girth behind the shoulder 

Weight (fat) 


(Oo) (Eyes) (Ss) ey (SS Ses) Sis SS 
bo 


_ 
po 
roy! 
we 


“TJ shall close this description, in order to render it complete with a 
notice of the structure of the animal: head conico-depressed, with ears 
and eyes remote ; its vertical line very slightly curved from snout to 
occiput, and the bridge of the nose straight ;j muzzle or nude extremity 
of the nose clearly defined, rounded, slightly grooved in front, not so 
above nor mobile, nor mnch exceeding the teeth ; the nares canine, 
being opened chiefly to the front with a narrower curved fissure to the 
sides ; eyes midway between the snout and anteal base of the ears, 
somewhat oblique ; rather prominent, largish, dark, with variable pupil, 
the third lid capable of being brought Sane over the eye; lips ad- 
pressed, and furnished with long firm mustachios ; lesser tufts above 
each eye, two behind the gape on the cheeks on either side, and one 
under the chin, nine in all; ears moderate, ovoid, longer than wide, 
placed rather high up, and yet remotely from each other; the helix 
anteally having but a moderate attachment to the sides of the head,* 
fissure on posteal edge of helix small and simple ; tragus small, but pal- 
pable ; antitragus less so, one small salient process on the superior 


* In Viverrula the helix is carried forward toward the eye so that the ears are 
brought néar to each other. 


ON INDIAN CIVETS. 479 


margin of the couch, helix freely exserted from the scull, and capable 
consequently of free lateral motion ; softly furred behind and on the 
margin before or within ; the couch and auditory passage hid by longer 
soft hairs springing from the anteal and attached portion of the helix ; 
neck and body moderately elongated and full, especially towards the 
buttocks ; tail rather more than half the length of the animal, furred 
like the body, thick, and gradually tapering from the base ; limbs short, 
fine, strictly digitigrade, five-toed before and behind, the two centrals 
longest and equal; the two laterals shorter and equal; the fifth or 
thumb very small, but not elevated, being placed close to the edge of 
the main rest or pad of the foot, and touching the ground with its own 
little pad ; toes short, and connected by a furred membrane to posteal 
edge of terminal pads, which are soft and nude: main pad trigonocor- 
date, full soft, nude, and extending forwards to ends of first phalanges 
of the digits ; a small metacarpal tuberosity behind the limb ; but no 
metatarsal one; nails or talons subfeline and partially retractile, but 
except in youth blunt and worn by constant attrition with the earth, to 
which these animals are exclusively confined, and are thus distinguished 
by habits, as well as structure, from the small vermiformed and scan- 
sorial species (Indica et Rasse of authors) equally common throughout 
India, which I nave separated under the subgeneric term of Viverrula. 

“The greater species are as frequent in the mountains as in the 
plains ; the lesser vermiformed species are found only in the latter, and 
in every part of them. In both the peculiar odoriferous apparatus is 
fully aud equally developed, and each has besides a feetid anal appa- 
ratus analagous to that of Mydaus ursitaxus, &c. consisting of two solid 
glaidular bodies placed centrally on either side the anus, just within 
its external margin, and opening on either side by a palpable pore 
whence pressure sends forth a marrowlke offensive secretion ; essen- 
tially similar glands and pores are found in the Maries flavigula and 
others of the foetid genera of this family ; but it has not been noticed 
that they exist in the true Civets, in addition to their peculiar organs, 
which last as to position are pubic or preputial, as in the Paradozuri, 
and also in Moschus, or the Musk Deer, a very noticeable circumstance ! 

“The peculiar glands of the Civets when dissected from the skin, 
are found to be not rounded bodies but flat ones, each (in Orientalis vel 
melanurus) 25 inches long by 14 broad, a congeries of glands like a 
cauliflower exactly. Cuvier asserts that the Genets, to which our lesser 
Indian Civets are so much allied in size and form, have this peculiar 
odorous apparatus only in any evanescent or rather incipient state ; and 
as I cannot doubt his assertion (the type of Genetta being common in 
France) it follows that our lesser species are not, as alleged, Genets, for 
they have this apparatus as complete as the large or true Civets. I have 
therefore separated the smaller Civets, and constituted them a new 
group, which is equally distant from Viverra on one side and Genetta on 
the other. 


480 ON INDIAN CIVETS. 


“The Viverrula are not one-third of the size of the Viverra; they 
have the true vermiform structure; the thumbs are more remote than 
in Viverra; and the animals are enabled, and wont with their more 
acute and more feline talons, to climb with facility, a faculty wholly 
denied to the Viverra. Lastly, whereas the latter are more common in 
the mountains than in the plains, the former are exclusively confined 
to the plains, where they appear to be spread universally from Cape 
Comorin to the base of the Himalaya. How many distinct species India 
possesses of the small, as well as of the large Civets, may perhaps be . 
disputed, but Bengalensis, Indica, et Rasse, certainly appear to be dis- 
tinct, whilst, if Civetia et Zibetha be justly sundered, our present sub- 
ject, or Melanurus, may prove to be independent of either. The young 
I procured are believed, with some reason, to have belonged to this 
species, which therefore would appear to produce four perfect young 
ones at a birth, at the beginning of summer (the teats are six and ven- 
tral); and as these helpless little creatures were found on the bare 
ground, the species would seem seldom or never voluntarily to seek 
the shelter of holes or burrows, though I have known it do so for safety 
when pursued. 

“These animals, in the mountains, dwell in forests or detached 
wood and copses, whence they wander freely into the more open country 
by day (occasionally at least) as well as by night ; for I have seen one 
killed at noon three miles from cover, in the midst of the fields of this 
valley. They are solitary and single wanderers, even the pair being 
seldom together, and they feed promiscuously upon small mammals, 
birds, eggs, snakes, frogs, insects, besides some fruits and roots. In the 
Taroi the larger Viverrz are found in uncultivated copses, and they are 
said further to protect themselves by burrowing ; at least they are fre- 
quently taken in holes, whether made by themselves or obtained by 
ejection of other animals. The Mushars, a low caste of woodmen, eat 
their flesh. The Tarai name of the animals is Bhraun, the hill name 
Nit Biraloo. The lesser species are called in the Tarai Sayer and Bug- 
myul, indiscriminately, but not Katas, that name being given to a dis- 
tinct animal. The Tarai specimens of the Bhraun agree sufficiently 
with those obtained in the mountains, but I have only procured skins 
from the former tract ; nor is there any essential difference of habits or 
manners in the high-land and low-land animals, though subterranean 
dwellings are seldom used, if at all, by the mountaineers.” 


Pe Th NOG Pat 


THE MANUFACTURE OF COMPOSITE CANDLES AT CLICHY. 
BY J. TURGAN, OF THE ‘ MONITEUR UNIVERSAL.’ 


The manufacture of stearine* is essentially French—from the first 
works of MM. Chevreul and Gay-Lussac in 1824, and the industrial 
realisation of MM. de Milly and Motard in 1835, down to the recent 
idea of decorating the wax candle, and making it an ornament which 
completes the luxury of candelabra. The numerous inconveniences of 
the candle, its nauseous odour, its insufficient consistency, its smoky 
wick requiring snuffers, added to the high price of wax, stimulated the 
inventors in their researches. As in a great number of industrial ope- 
rations, the spirit of fraud guided the wax-chandlers. They commenced 
by making tallow candles coated with a layer of wax; but the fraud 
was discovered quickly enough by the fcetid emanations arising there- 
from. They mixed with the wax different kinds of flour—beans and 
horse-chestnuts. They also tried to fabricate tallow candles which ap- 
peared to be wax; but this did not give very satisfactory results, 
The wick was always smoking, the snuffers necessary, and the candle 
disguised under divers names, continued to soil the hands, and to 
stain the clothes and furniture. It was reserved for MM. Chevreul and 
Gay-Lussac to discover, in 1825, the principles by the aid of which MM. 
de Milly and Motard, assisted by the researches of M. Cambacéres, 
should, in 1835, lay the foundation of an entire industry, one of the 
most flourishing of the present day—the fabrication of the stearine wax 


* Stearine (from stear, suet) that part of oils and fats which is solid at common 
temperatures. The nature of these substances was first made known by Chevreul, 
in 1823, who showed that they were compounds of peculiar acids, with a base 
termed glycerine; of these compounds the chief are stearine, margarine, and 
oleine (from elation, oil). 

VOL. III. Ter 


482 ON THE MANUFACTURE OF COMPOSITH CANDLES AT CLICHY. 


candles. The trials of experience had been fruitless; it was the 
methodical researches of chemistry which triumphed with éclat. They 
had a portion of tallow analysed, which they found composed of three 
acids—stearic, margaric, and oleic, with a base termed glycerine, the 
first acid fusible at 60°, the second at 47°, and the third liquid at 0. 
They analysed the three acids, and they discovered that they were 
formed of carbon and hydrogen, together with a certain quantity of 
oxygen, which was the most favourable composition to produce by com- 
bustion a brilliant light. In fact, they contained hydrogen, the most 
inflammable of gases; oxygen, without which all combustion is im- 
possible ; and, finally, carbon, the disengagement of which puts in sus- 
pension in the flame of the hydrogen little corpuscles which, passing to 
a reddish-white, give brilliancy to the flame. Of the three acids, two 
were, by their physical properties, that is to say, by their consistence 
and whiteness, in the best condition possible for making the wax candles. 
The third, on the contrary, by its extreme fluidity, was an obstacle that 
it Was necessary to surmount. Its reddish colour, the volatile matters 
that it contained, the smoke that is disengaged by an excess of carbon, 
rendered it unadapted for luxurious lighting. These principles once 
laid down, we perceive the means they used to obtain, in their purity, 
the stearic and margaric acids ; they mixed the melted tallow with a 
base of soda or potash, and they thus got rid of the glycerine, which 
could be of no use. By adding a certain quantity of sulphuric acid, 
which has an extreme affinity for bases, they formed a sulphate of soda, 
and the three fat acids were set at liberty in a state of paste ; the solid 
erystals of the stearic and margaric acids containing in their network the 
fluid oleic acid. An energetic pressure disengaged it mechanically, and 
the two acids remained pure in a state of white matter like alabaster, solid 
enough, and fusible at about 55°. Towards 1835, the application com- 
menced on a great scale at the Usine de? Etoile, extended into Germany, 
where the Austrians distinguished themselves notably in the manufac- 
ture, which established itself in England, where the powerful firm of 
Price and Co. produce immense quantities of fat acids, and now all 
nations make large quantities of the stearine wax candle, more or less 
handsome, particularly since the economical method of distillation has 
allowed a decrease in the price by making use of matters of less value, 
such as palm oil and all kinds of inferior fats. 

The manufactory at Clichy, the description of which will give us an 
opportunity of furnishing a detailed account of the making of candles, 
is the last established. The company has studied rather to introduce 
processes for the purpose of bringing the manufacture to perfection, than 
the erection of one of those immense buildings that swallow up the 
bulk of the capital, leaving little or no residue for the carrying on of 
the business. The tallow factory, however, is necessarily a vast edifice, 
and its chimney is one of the highest. The only object of the company 
has been the manufacture of irreproachable products, and to raise the 


ON THE MANUFACTURE OF COMPOSITE CANDLES AT CLICHY. 483 


character of its manufacturing mark. Let us see what series of operations 
resulted from this. The first is the melting of tallow. No industrial 
manipulation is more infectious or more nauseous—none more repulsive 
for the neighbours. The factories where it is carried on are built as far 
as possible from the centre of habitation. The authority for establishing 
them is a sort of privilege. The use of the tallow candle, which 
scarcely extended to the south, where oil was abundant and very cheap, 
was extended, and became perfected in the north of Europe—in parti- 
cular, in France. The butchers themselves melted their fat and made 
candles of it. Towards 1016, a corporation of chandlers was established 
by Philip L, re-arranged towards 1470, and kept its privileges to the end. 
of the last century. Moreover, without being as much shackled and as 
well regulated as formerly, it is, however, practised under a very active 
superintendence of the police prefecture and of the supervision of the 
butchers of Paris. The tallow arrives at the manufactory en branche, 
that is to say, as it comes from the offal-houses and butcheries. The 
sooner it is brought the better, especially in summer; in fact, the fat- 
matter is enveloped in fibrous cells, eminently liable to putrefaction, 
which decomposes rapidly at their contact. In order to disengage these 
fat-matters from the membranes which envelop them, two means are 
employed : the most ancient consists in melting the tallow in copper 
pans, then to extract, by strong pressure, all the liquid part, and having 
for remainder des cretons (the residue of tallow) in little loaves. The 
procedure employed at Clichy consists in reducing the fusion of the 
tallow into a liquid with an addition of sulphuric acid, which destroys 
completely all the membranes, and brings with it a certain quantity of 
glycerine, when they pour the mixture into large vats, capable of con- 
taining four or five thousand kilogrammes ; they barrel up the tallow, 
after having previously added a little water and sulphuric acid ; they 
then introduce a current of vapour at 133° by means of a serpentine pipe, 
perforated with little holes ; ebullition commences, the cells open, and 
the membranes are destroyed. Atthe end of four hours, it is poured into 
erystallising copper vessels and left to cool ; they then rack and leave it 
to settle in forms of wood named jalots. The tallow then takes the form 
of cone-shaped loaves. By this process they withdraw about 88 to 100 
per cent. of useful matter, already white, purified from all organic bodies 
not belonging to it, leaving a little glycerine, which it is necessary to 
get rid of altogether. This object is uttained by saponification, that is 
to say, by the combination of the fat acids of the tallow with a basis. 
The tallow coming out of the melting-house in a state of stearine, the 
margarate and oleate of glycerine are collected in gigantic vats, capable 
of containing 10,000 kilogrammes of matter, and are put in fusion by 
means of an injection of vapour, admitted by a serpentine pipe at the 
bottom of the vat. They add lime, dissolved in water, which soon seizes 
on the acids, forms stearate, margarate, and oleate of lime. All the 
glycerine is racked and poured into the Seine, for they have not yet 
TTS, 


484 ON THE MANUFACTURE OF COMPOSITE CANDLES AT CLICHY. 


learned how to utilise it economically. The soap obtained by this 
operation is of a greyish white, and of great hardness. In order to 
separate the fat acids from it, they pound it, and throw it into great 
vats, lined with lead, where is already to be found the quantity of sul- 
phuric acid necessary to neutralise the lime ; a pipe heats this mixture 
by an injection of vapour, and soon a sulphate of lime is formed, drawn 
by its weight to the bottom of the vat, whilst the stearic, margaric, and 
oleic acids remain on the surface, presenting the appearance of a pretty 
thick liquid, of a reddish colour, and of a disagreeable smell. A series 
ef canals, of a calculated inclination, conduct into little flat reservoirs, 
made of iron plates and disposed on props, one beyond the other. The 
liquid fills the superior reservoir, that which flows over falls into the im- 
mediately inferior scale, then into the third, and so on in continuation. In 
cooling, the matter coagulates, and, drawn from the mould, forms a large 
square of four centimetres in thickness, by fifty-eight in length and thirty- 
five in breadth. From these squares it is now necessary te withdraw 
the oleic acid that they contain. Chemistry is not competent to perform 
this task ; mechanism can succeed, thanks to the hydraulic press. But 
it is not one simple pressure which can obtain this result ; two, three, 
and even four, are necessary. The first is a cold pressure. The tablets, 
placed horizontally, enveloped in coarse woollen stuff, horse hair, or 
even ordinary hair, called maljils, and separated by plates of iron, are 
piled up under an ordinary hydraulic press, and compressed as much as 
possible. A great part of the oleic acid contained between the crystals 
of the two other acids passes off in a reddish-brown liquid, and descends 
to the cellars, where we shall find it by-and-by. The cakes, now 
flattened, still contain a large quantity of the proscribed liquid, as one 
can judge by the large red spots which mottle them. They then submit 
them to a final pressure, which should entirely purify them. This 
pressure, which is accompanied by heat, is effected by means of ingenious 
machinery, brought to perfection by M. Galabrun. The tablets are 
placed vertically between horse-hair étreindelle covered with.a printer’s 
blanket, separated from each other by one of plated iron, composed of 
two plates supported by props, leaving between them sufficient space 
for an injection of vapour, which maintains them at about 80°. The 
hydraulic pressure is made horizontally, and, thanks to the clever in- 
vention of M. Galabrun, the vapour continues to penetrate between the 
plates by pipes made of caoutchouc. 

The oleic acid squeezed out runs into the inferior part of the pre- 
paration, and goes to find that which has deposited itself there in escaping 
from the cold presses. There they make it pass through felt filters, in 
which it still leaves a good part of the stearic and margaric acids, which 
again undergo pressure. The oleic acid, disembarrassed of the useful 
matters which it contained, is casked, given up to commerce, or em- 
ployed in the manufacture of soft soap ; for the Clichy manufactory, 
like almost all others, possesses an important soap-making department. : 


ON THE MANUFACTURE OF COMPOSITE CANDLES AT CLICHY. 485 


The tablets of stearic and margaric acids, freed by the hot pressure of 
the greater part of the oleic acid, are afterwards employed in making 
candles. The first kinds for commerce are made thus :—At Clichy the 
loaves undergo a second hot pressure, and they then obtain the stearic 
acid almost pure, of a beautiful white;translucent colour, and deprived of 
odour, of a pretty good resistance to fusion, presenting, in fact, all the 
qualities which in commerce have given it the name of extra- double. In 
coming out of the presses, the stearic acid is purified by several wazhings 
in water, at first acidulated, to purge from all foreign matter, and par- 
ticularly from the oxide of iron by oxalic acid, to take away every trace 
of lime, then elarified & V’albumine. Thus purified, it crystallises with 
an excessive rapidity, which would present a great difficulty in the 
making of the candle if it were not remedied. Formerly, they added 
in the coppers a small quantity of arsenic acid, which prevented, it is 
true, the crystallisation, but was entirely injurious to the consumer. In 
a great many stearine manufactories they employ the old candle-moulds, 
slightly warmed, before pouring in the liquid stearic acid. At Clichy 
they make use of apparatus by means of which they can easily make 
40,000 eandles per day. This apparatus has the advantage of being 
heated and cooled at will, of being worked by women and children, 
and owes its rapidity of execution to the clever mechanism which 
supplies it with a series of wicks without end. In coming out of 
the mould, the candles are exposed to the air on frames of lattice-work ; 
there they undergo the discolouring influence of light, and become of 
an absolute whiteness. After forty-eight or sixty hours of exposure, 
according to the season, they bring them to the cutting machines. An 
endless chain, composed of parallel staffs, reccives each candle at the 
moment in which, escaping from the notches of the cylinder, it is cut 
by a circular saw, warmed by friction against two corks, which press it 
lightly. During their passage on the endless chain, a brush, animated 
by a to-and-fro movement, washes and rubs the candles, on which fall 
some drops of water charged with carbonate of soda ; from thence they 
pass over the polisher, a machine in which the brushes are replaced by 
plugs of flannel, which gently polish the cylindrical surface, and give it 
an agreeable brightness. The candles are then finished ; but their fate 
varies according to their degree of perfection. Those which contain any 
defect whatever are broken and again melted down; those which satisfy 
in every way the experienced eye of the persons charged with the 
examination of them, are recognised by the house and judged worthy of 
bearing its mark. By means of a little apparatus in silver, maintained 
at a heat of about 212° F., they impress the word “Clichy,” and the 
candle goes to the packing-room with its fellows, or, if it present an un- 
usual degree of perfection, it is judged worthy of being decorated. The 
idea of decorating the candle by ornamenting it with paintings, es- 
cutcheons, and figures, is an elegant and graceful invention, that the 
proprietor of the manufactory, M. Casinberche, has developed with the 


dan ow. 


486 ON TROPICAL FIBRES. 


same certainty of purpose which distinguishes all his enterprises. 
Nothing in the world is more unseemly than to see in rich candelabra 
with costly carvings, or even in small delicate porcelain candlesticks 
finely painted, thick ugly candles, very unjustly called wax candles, 
yellowish and dropping grease, with a shrivelled-up wick, emitting with 
an unpleasant smoke an insipid and repulsive odour. 

Exaggerating the contrary idea, the manufactory of Clichy has had 
the foolish prodigality to paint on the candles some chefs d’eeuvre, signed 
by the best names of the manufactory of Sévres; the ever-to-be-regretted 
Mme. Laurent, and other artists of talent, have executed charming 
subjects on stearine. But we must not forget that ornamental painting 
has its laws. Execute on the candle ornaments of every kind—flowers, 
birds, chimeras, but do not trace portraits thereon. Nothing can be 
more tasteful—nothing more simple and more natural than to have on 
the candle of which you make use your armorial bearings, if you have 
inherited them from your ancestors—your figure when you can draw one, 
or, at least, choose it well, This kind of ornamenting is still expensive, 
but researches actively and cleverly conducted will soon lead to a re- 
duction in the cost, which will generalise the custom in every house 
priding itself on elegance. 


TROPICAL FIBRES. 
BY E. G. SQUIER. 


No person from northern latitudes ean long reside in tropical 
countries, particularly in tropical America, without being struck with 
the number and variety of endogenous plants, such as the agaves, pine= 
apples, plantains, and palms, which form a characteristic, and to 
northern eyes, a novel teature in every landscape. Hf of an observant 
and inquiring turn of mind, the traveller will soon be brought to reflect 
on the economic value of these plants, and their thousand useful appli- 
cations in supplying human wants. He will discover that they not only 
furnish staple articles of food, oil, and refreshing as well as intoxicating 
drinks, but also that they are the productive sources of valuable fibres, 
of every degree of fineness and strength, and fit for the most delicate 
tissues as well as for the strongest cables. He will find that the ham- 
mock in which he reclines is netted from a material almost as fine and 
soft as silk, and will probably be surprised to learn that it is supplied 
from the leaves of the wild pineapple, which he sees everywhere forming 
the hedges of enclosures, and scattered thickly through the forests. He 
will find the native boats rigged with cordage of superior description, 
and will be told that it has been procured from the agaves or “ henne- 


ON TROPICAL FIBRES: 487 


quins,” of which -he will observe a small, perennial patch, with their 
green, fleshy leaves, growing by the side of almost every hut. Or, if in 
Mexico, he will receive his passport on paper of surprising toughness 
and durability, made from the leaves of the “ maguey”—the juice of 
which, supplying there the place of beer, cider, and more potent 
whiskey, is sold in the shops, under the name of ‘“pulque.” Or if, 
in the East Indies, he desires to send home some souvenir of nis travels, 
he will select from the stock of an itinerant pedlar, a handkerchief of 
gossamer-like texture, almost as fine and as delicate as that which 
the spider weaves, made from the fibres of the pineapple plant, 
the fruit of which he ate for his dessert. Ifin Manila, he will find 
ships of all nations filling up their cargoes with bales of excellent 
fibres, which he will mistake for hemp or flax, but which he will ascer- 
tain, on inquiry, are extracted from the stalks of the plantain—the 
forests of which, with their broad leaves, shadow over every path and 
by-road of the island. 

And if our traveller be well-informed as to the wants of manu- 
factures and the arts, he will wonder how it is that the acknowledged 
and increasing deficiency in the world’s supply of fibrous materials, has 
not been filled from the numerous and prolific sources which he sees 
everywhere around him, He will, perhaps, be induced to inquire why 
it is that the millions of plantain trees which are cut down throughout 
tropical America, after having yielded their fruit, are suffered to ret on 
the ground, instead of being utilised for the excellent fibres with which 
they are lined. He will ask why the countless agaves, which some- 
times surround him like forests, and the myriads of wild-pine plants 
which throng the woods, and invade every abandoned field, are allowed 
to send out their fibre-stuffed leaves to flourish and decay, while the 
world clamors for an increased supply of fibrous materials ? 

The supply of vegetable fibres from all sources does not meet the 
present and increasing demands of manufacture, and many of the most 
important articles of common use, such as paper and fabrics, are steadily 
advancing in price, from an absolute and growing deficiency of fibrous 
materials. 

Where is this deficiency to be supplied, is a question which is now 
frequently and earnestly repeated with every succeeding year, and to 
which no satisfactory answer. has yet been obtained. It is true that 
naturalists without exception, have always pointed to the tropics within 
which are numerous and exhaustless varieties of endogenous plants pro- 
ducing foliaceous fibres, capable not only of supplying all existing 
or possible deficiencies, but capable also, of furnishing beautiful, as 
well as cheap materials, for new and useful manufactures. It is also 
true, that the production of fibres from tropical plants, has of late years 
rapidly increased, but not ina ratio equal to the demand for them, 
owing to the want of simple, cheap, and eflicient machinery for extract- 
ing the fibres. 


488 GN TROPICAL FIBRES. 


~ All vegetable fibres used for textile purposes, resolve themselves into 
three great classes, viz., Foliaceous fibres, Cortical fibres, and Capsular 
fibres. 

1. Foliaceous fibres.—These are obtained from Endogenous or Monocoty- 
edonous plants, or inside-growers, which are best known to us in their 
herbaceous forms, such as the grasses, including the cereals, sugar-cane, 
and common cane, as also the lily, the cat-briar, and all plants in 
which the leaves have parallel veins. Under and near the tropics, the 
endogens are represented by the yuccas, the agaves, the plantain, and 
the great family of palms. These plants do not form a regular bark, 
show no signs of annual growth, and do not increase by continual addi- 
tions to the outside of the stem, as is the ease with the trees common to 
our climate. Their fibres are imbedded in the cellular tissues and pulpy 
matter of their stems and leaves, and may in most, if not all cases, be 
extracted by a purely mechanical process. The fibres known as Manila 
hemp, Sisal hemp, silk-grass, etc., are obtained from plants of this class. 
It is only in tropical and sub-tropical regions that endogenous plants 
attain any great development, take aborescent forms, or yield fibres 
suitable for textile purposes. To an inhabitant of the northern tem- 
perate zone, an endogenous plant of which the green leaves yield valua- 
ble fibres, isa curiosity only to be seen in conservatories or botanical 
gardens. 

2. Cortical jibres—These are obtained from what are botanically 
known as Exogenous or Dicotyledonous plants, or outside-growers, and are 
contained in their bark or bast. They are often of great length, but 
little hardened, and with the exception of cotton, are the most valuable 
produced in temperate climates. Some of the plants of this class attain 
great size. <A familiar example is the linden (bass or bastwood) of 
Europe and America, and the wild-fig or banyan tree of the tropics. A 
greater number, however, are herbaceous, such as most of the Mallows, 
in which is embraced the cotton plant), a large part of the Urtica or 
nettle family (embracing the familiar hemp), the Lznacee or flax family, 
and some varieties of the Leguminose or pea and bean tribe, such as 
the Crotalaria juncea, which supplies the Sunn or Bengal hemp. The 
stems of these plants consist of a woody core, surrounded by a sheath of 
fibrous texture, and the two cre connected by a peculiar vegetable 
glue, which unites them in a solid stem. In the preparation of flax, 
hemp, China-grass, ete., the object is to remove this matter, and thus 
separate the useless stem from the valuable external sheath of fibres, 

3. Capsular fibres—These, as the name indicates, are obtained from 
pods or capsules. Cotton, a familiar type of this class, is found in the 
capsules of the Gossypium, enveloping the seeds, and in nearly all cases 
closely adhering to them. 


aaa 


489 


OUR OIL FLASKS.* 


Oils ? Of course every one knows what oil is. Florence oil—for salads 
—comes from Florence in those thin flasks always on one side, with a 
wicker covering that never stands straight, stoppered with cotton wool, 
or the blunt end of the little straw tassel, when people are untidy 
and put things to wrong uses ;—comes out of the olive berry, those 
mouldy-looking green things, all salt and oil, which one eats after 
dinner and thinks very nasty, but daren’t say so, and doesn’t know what 
to do with the stones, when one is young and shy and not up to all the 
niceness of table-manners. Surely there is nothing so very particular 
about oil that one need make an article out of it! And yet it has some 
curious facts and circumstances connected with it in its various appear- 
ances ; quite curious enough for a ten minutes’ rapid reading among 
the graver tasks of the day. 

There are two kinds of oils, the fixed or fatty, and the volatile or 
essential. The first are bland and mild to the taste, and, whether of 
animal or vegetable origin, are all composed of oxygen, hydrogen, and 
carbon, but with a large proportion of carbon, which makes them good 
for food and light. They are the chemists’ “oils,” “ tallows,” and 
“butters.” The second arehot and pungent, chiefly used in perfumery 
and as stimulants in medicine, and of a very varied chemical composi- 
tion—some containing only carbon and hydrogen, as the oil of turpen- 
tine; others adding oxygen, as the oil of cloves ; and others containing 
sulphur, as the oil of garlic. But our present flasks are all filled with the 
fixed or fatty oils: the volatile or essential must wait their turn. 

By the discoyeries of Chevreul, ‘ the father of the fatty acids,” as he 
is called, the fixed oils are known now to have three invariable con- 
stituents, oleine, margarine, and stearine—all compounds of glycerine 
with fatty acid—and it is according to the greater or less proportion of 
one or the other that fatis more or less fusible or solid. Thus, oleine 
is liquid at any ordinary temperature, but margarine is solid up to 116 
deg. Fahrenheit, and stearine up to 130 deg. Fahrenheit. An experi- 
ment on these two substances may be made by those fond of chemistry 
and not afraid of evil smells or dirty fingers. Melt some solid mutton 
fat in a glass flask, and shake it with several times its weight of ether. 
When cool the stearine falls in beautiful soft crystals, leaving the mar- 
garine and oleine in solution. Press out the soft mass of stearine in a 
cloth, and evaporate the liquid remaining ; you will then get margarine 
and oleine together, if you press them out through folds of blotting- 
paper. The residue, dissolved afresh in ether, gives pure margarine ; 


* There are a great many palpable errors in this article, both in botanical 
classification and in commercial and chemical details ; the writer having evi- 
dently aimed more at popular information than technological description, but we 
republish it for what it is worth, although some parts will cause our readers to 
smnile.—Editor, TECHNOLOGIST, 


490 ON OUR OIL FLASKS. 


very like stearine, only melting at a lower point. Oleine is difficult to 
get pure. The best way is to freeze olive oil, when the margarine erystal- 
lises and sinks, and the oleine is left floating at the top, and can be 
skimmed off. The importance of all these discoveries, and which of the 
animal fats and vegetable oils have more or less of these compounds, can 
hardly be over-estimated, when we see their practical results in the 
beautiful candles which are sold now at half the original cost, and more 
than twice the light-giving power, of the ancient wax and muttons; and 
in the pure and bright burning oils—so pure and colourless that they 
reveal the secret of straw-coloured gloves, and do not let them pass for 
white. 

There is scarcely a portion of the animal body that has not fat mixed 
with it, either in separate masses, or indistinguishably ; as in the bones 
and fibrous parts of the body to be got at by only certain processes ; but 
not many plants yield oil. The richest are the cruciferous tribe, in- 
cluding the seeds of radish, mustard, rocket, Camelina (gold of pleasure) 
garden cress, and rape, in the three varieties of Brassica napus et 
campestris, the common rape; Brassica precox, summer rape; and 
Brassica campestris oleifera, or colza. But these are not all good for 
food or light ; some of them being of the kind called “ drying oils,” as 
we shall see presently. The quantity of oils to be got from plants and 
seeds varies, not only in different species of the same thing, but accord- 
ing to climate and culture ; still, for broad measurement, it may be said 
that nuts yield half their weight of oil; Brassica oleracea campestris, 
one-third ; the variety called colza,in France, two-fifths ; hempseed, 
one-fourth ; and linseed from one-fourth to one-fifth. The grasses and 
pea tribe (Graminee et Leguminose) rarely give a trace of oil; only one 
of the former—the roots of the cyperus grass, which is not a true grass by 
the way—and two of the latter ; both foreign. One is called the oil of 
Ben, trom the seeds of a plant (Moringa aptera) growing wild in Arabia 
and Syria but cultivated in the West Indies, and chiefly used in per- 
fumery, “to dissolve out the odoriferous principle of the flowers,” being 
absolutely pure, mild to the taste, inodorous, becoming slowly rancid, 
and free from all acid; the other is ground-nut oil, from the Arachis 
hypogea, a native of America, The properties of ground-nut oil were 
tested by a kindof accident in Europe. A large cargo of nuts had 
arrived at Bremen, and found no purchasers in their natural state, as 
good for luncheon or dessert; so the importers expressed the oil, and 
then found market enough. Where the ground-nut grows, that is, in tro- 
pical climates, the inhabitantseat the seeds raw, which then have a slight 
resemblance to haricot beans, or make them into a kind of paste like 
chocolate. They are very pleasant when properly roasted, which is rather 
hard to get done down stairs; and have the further quality of being 
wholesome and nutritious. The potato tribe, Solanacee, gives us hen- 
bane-seed oil, tobacco-seed oil, and oil of deadly nightshade ; while the 
Rosacee, which term includes the peach, cherry, plum, almond, and the 


ON OUR OIL FLASKS. 491 


seeds of the apple, are among the most valuable of all. But the king of 
the oil-yielding trees is the Olive; that dusky-looking, shadeless, 
narrow-leaved, humbug ofa tree, which disappoints every one so bitterly 
at first sight, and for which Europe is indebted to the Greeks of past 
times, who introduced it from Syria, where the Hebrews had long known 
its virtues. 

The salad oil of commerce and our summer dinners, is said to be 
got from Nice and Genoa ; we call it Florence oil, ina grand kind of 
generalising way ; but excepting the coarse shipments from Gallipoli, 
good chiefly for machinery, we get but comparatively little Italian oil 
at all, and very seldom good olive oil unadulterated, even from Aix and 
Montpellier, whence our chief supplies come. Poppy oil, ground-nut 
oil, and oil of sesamum, adulterate our table oil; colza oil adulterates 
the second running of olive oil, for the manufacturers ; and colza oil 
itself is adulterated with various cheaper oils, but principally with 
whale oil. All of which may be discovered by various chemical tests, 
by which the oil changes colour according to the kinds employed ; but 
by ways and appearances too long to give here. 

The olive harvest at Aix is an important circumstance in the local 
life; on the good or ill-results of which depends the well-being or misery 
of many hundreds of people. When gathered, the fruit is heaped up ia 
barns and cellars for a few days, to allow just the beginning of fermen- 
tation to set in; only the beginning; for, if suffered to ferment through- 
out the mass as it lies there, the whole yield would be ruined, and 
rendered useless save for the coarsest purposes of manufacture. When 
the exact moment has arrived between the loosening and . fermentation, 
the olives are put into bulrush bags, called cabas, and crushed very 
gently under a screw. The pale, greenish-yellow, limpid, sweet, 
inodorous liquid that runs from this first gentle squeeze, is called Virgin 
Oil, and is the oil used in the watch trade, being a kind of idealisation 
of oil, not clogging the finest wheels ; but happy the gourmand who can 
go shares with the watchmakers, and command fresh virgin oil for his 
kitchen! Nothing in the world is such a delicious cooking medium ; 
and the cordon bleu who can get this, dispenses with all forms of lard 
or butter, until the pale, greenish yellow turns to a more decided gold, 
deepening and deepening till it gets the awful hue and flavour known as 
rancid. When the virgin oil has run out, the half crushed olives are 
taken out of the bags, to be put in again with boiling water, and again 
pressed, a little harder under the screw this time. The oil and water 
run out together; and, when cold, the oil floats on the top, and is 
skimmed off with flat ladles: “lever Vhuile” the technical term. This 
is Ordinary Oil, and very good for the table, too, when pertectly fresh, 
but inclined to become rancid sooner than the virgin. After the skim- 
ming there is still some oil left in the water, which is led away into a 
large cistern or reservoir, called l’enfer, where it remains for many days, 
the oil gradually collecting on the top. Then the water is drawn off 


492 ON OUR OIL FLASKS. 


from below, leaving the oil, which is known as Vhuile d’enfer, or Lamp 
Oil. Another yield called Phuile fermenté, is oil got from olives in a 
state of fermentation; but this is rarely employed, and the oil is never 
met with in trade. Only the virgin oil and the ordinary‘oil are sent | 
abroad ; ’huile d’enferand the horrible fermented stuffare mercifully 
kept at home. 

Though Spain has such magnificent fruit—the Spanish olives are 
much larger than the French—she makes but inferior oil, owing to the 
rudeness and poverty of her machinery, whereby the olives ferment 
before they can be crushed, and thus the oil is never quite sweet or 
pure, and soon turns violently rancid, which is the reason why that 
terrible smell and taste of bad oil, mingled with the smell! and taste of 
garlic, destroys every meal cooked in Spain ; while in Italy you have 
oil cookery without any of these disagreeable results. Italian oil is 
certainly first-rate, though the machinery employed is not much 
superior to the Spanish. As for the Gallipoli oil, the manufacture of 
that is of the rudest and simplest description. The Neapolitan women and 
children pick up the ripe fruit as it falls from the tree, fling the olives 
into a mill and crush them up body and bones, skin and kernel 
together ; whence streams forth an oil, according to the law of olive 
nature. They ladle this oil into skins—sheep, goat, kid, bullock, any- 
thing handy—and send it to the seaport of Gallipoli, to be clarified in 
the huge cisterns cut in the rock on which the town is built; and to be 
finally shipped off to England and elsewhere, under the name of 
Gallipoli oil ; but by no means to be attempted for food, for frying fish, 
or for summer salads. 

Almond oil is got by squeezing bitter almonds, which are cheaper 
than, and as good as, the sweet, between cold metal plates. This is the 
first quality ; the second is got by pressing them again between heated 
inetal plates, the heat acting as a further power of expression; and the 
reSult of both processes is a sweet-tasted and inodorous oil. When an 
almond scented oil is needed, then the almonds are first blanched in hot 
water, and carefully dried again previous to being pressed; by which 
process the oil retains the odorous particles, and is the “ oil of bitter 
almonds” we all know of. If we want the essential oil of almonds, 
which is quite another thing, the marc or bitter-almond cake left by the 
first process—the alinonds with all the bland oil expressed—is distilled 
with water, and the essential oil passes up with the steam and condenses 
in the worm. Cocoa-nut oil is obtained by heat, pressure, and water, 
all together. It soon turns rancid, and is principally used here for 
candles and soap ; but employ what perfumes we will in the latter, the 
horrible smell of the cocoa-nut oil survives and overpowers everything, 
and when the rose and the almond and the lavender and the patchouli 
have all vanished from our hands, cocoa-nut oil remains. The Indians 
and Cinghalese use this oil largely as a pomade, but we cannot do so, 
unless we become indifferent to eyil smells as a national characteristic. 


ON OUR OIL FLASKS? 493. 


Palm oil is that gold-coloured “butter” which one puts into home-made 
pomades, more as a colouring agent than anything else, seeing that it 
soon turns rancid, and so spoils the whole making. It is said that palm 
oil, when fresh, has the odour of violets, but I suppose I have never 
met with it perfectly fresh, as this is a fact quite undiscovered by me. 
It is principally used in making candles, when it is bleached, unless 
people chance to prefer them of a muddy yellow instead of white ; and 
that sickening-looking stuff which the railway porters dab into the 
wheel-boxes to keep them from taking fire, is palm oil and tallow, mixed 
with a little soda lye. 

We all know something about colza oil; those of us at least who 
use moderator lamps ; but we do not all get it quite pure as it comes 
from the seeds of that special Brassica devoted to its expression. Colza 
oil was put on its trial in 1845, when Faraday reported on its excel- 
lences and blemishes, on behalf of the Trinity House, interested in 
getting the best light at the least cost, and, until then, burning sperm in 
all its lighthouses. This report was decidedly favourable to colza: the 
light being full one and a half as compared with sperm oil, and the 
cost three and sixpence a gallon as against six-and-fourpence for the 
sperm, The price has risen since then, unfortunately, being now, for 
the ill-luck of the consumers, four and ninepence or five shillings the 
gallon, and decidedly not better than- in the early days ; indeed, not so 
good, because now adulterated, which it was not then. Not only for 
light, but also for food and manure, is the colza plant valuable to the 
world. Cattle fatten on it, and ground fattens on it ; and the Abbé de 
Commerel, the introducer to the French Agricultural Society in 1789 of 
this chou a faucher— mowing cabbage,” as he calls it—was a greater 
benefactor to mankind than he dreamed of. Colza cabbage may be said 
to have been one of the agents of civilisation. 

Then there is laurel oil, or “ the oil of bays,” got from the berries 
of the bay tree (Laurus nobilis) principally from Italy and the south of 
Europe generally ; the greater part being shipped from Trieste; and 
which our doctors and veterinary surgeons use as a stimulating liniment 
for sprains and bruises, and in paralysis. Is it one of the ingredients 
of the famous nine oils? Also the native oil of laurel or laurel tur- 
pentine, imported from Demerara, and got by making incisions in the 
bark of a large forest tree called by the Spaniards Azeyte de sassafias, 
and growing in the forests hetween Orinoco and Parime. These incisions 
yield a pale yellow oil, smelling something between turpentine and 
oil of lemons, and easily dissolving caoutchouc. The Vateria Indica 
a Malabar tree, gives “ piney tallow oil,” if the fruit is boiled in water 
and the fat skinzmed from the top. It is white and smells pleasantly, makes 
good soap and candles out in its native place, but is little known and less 
used here. Then our spindle tree gives us an oil as well as butchers’ 
skewers ; an oil yellow and thick, bitter and acrid to the taste, and in 
odour like colza ; and the beech-tree has nuts good for feeding pigs, 


494 ON OUR OIL FLASKS. 


but better for the 12 per cent. of oil to be expressed from them—a 
clear oil, thick, inodorous, and pale-yellow in colour, used in France 
for both light and cooking, and in Silesia, by the peasants in the place 
of butter. And there is the oil of mustard-seed, good for soups and 
cooking ; and tel oil, or the oil of the Sesamum Orientale, called “ oily 
grain” in South Carolina, and used for soups and puddings like rice, 
the oil coming in for salads, and, indeed, being often mixed with olive 
oil: the oil of Ben, already spoken of; rapeseed oil—the ordinary 
English rape, which is the best—used for lighting, for the manufacture 
of soft soaps, in the preparation of leather, and for oiling machinery ; 
plum-kernel oil, tasting like the oil of sweet almonds, transparent, and 
of a brown-yellow, soon turning rancid, but much liked in Wurtem- 
burg for lighting purposes; and the ‘butter of cacao,” from the 
nuts of the Theobroma cacao, when crushed in hot water, and had to 
the extent of 50 per cent. It is yellow, but can be melted white in 
hot water ; smells and tastes like the cacao nut ; is of the consistency 
of suet, and keeps long fresh without turning rancid. And, lastly, 
there is the “ butter of nutmegs,’ prepared by beating the nutmegs to 
a paste, steaming them, and then pressing them between heated plates. 
This butter is imported in oblong cakes, covered with leaves and 
looking like common bricks, of an orange colour, firm consistency, 
aromatic and fragrant in odour, like the nutmegs themselves—when 
not wooden. A spurious article is sometimes made of animal fat 
boiled with powdered nutmegs and flavoured with sassafras; but it 
can be easily distinguished by the wary. All these are the non-drying 
oils, good for food and light, the oils which, as they grow old, get 
thicker, less combustible, offensive to the taste and rancid, irritating 
the throat in consequence of the acid that is developed in them. But 
that acid can be removed by boiling rancid oil in water, with a 
little magnesia, for a quarter of an hour, or until it no longer reddens 
the litmus paper. 

Now we come to the drying oils, those which go chiefly to make 
painters’ varnishes, which dry up into a transparent, yellowish, flexible 
substance, with a skin formed over the surface of the oil, by which all 
alteration of its condition is stopped. When boiled with litharge, or 
oxide of lead, they become even more drying, as every painter, fond of 
experiments, knows ; and if one-eighth of resin is added to the process 
it greatly improves the look of the painting when dry. First, there is 
linseed oil, which makes printers’ ink when it has been burned and 
mixed with one-sixth of its weight of lamp-black, which is a final 
dressing to thin-gummed silks, which varnishes leather and oilcloth, 
and which, when thoroughly expressed from the seeds, leaves “ oil 
cake” for cattle-feeding and the destruction of pleasant milk and butter. 
Then there is walnut oil, an even more rapidly drying oil than linseed, 
used chiefly for paints and varnishes, and, because it gets white by age, 
for white paints; and hazel-nut oil; and poppy oil from tke seeds, 


ON OUR OIL FLASKS. AQ5 


which have none of the narcotic properties of the capsules whence we 
get the laudanum, the seeds being’ sold for birds, under the name of 
maw-seed, and quite harmless. The oil is like olive oil in look and 
taste, and is used to adulterate it ; when treated with litharge or sub- 
acetate of lead, it is used for paints—without such treatment, for light- 
ing. Hempseed feeds birds, and gives a capital oil for varnishes ; also 
sometimes used for lighting, but not often or satisfactorily, for it makes 
a thick edge and clogs the wick ; it does better in the soft soap and 
paint manufactories. Sunflower oil makes soap ; it is sometimes used 
for food, and sometimes for lighting, but chiefly for soap. Grape-seeds 
have an oil which must not be confounded with the fusil oil obtained 
in the rectification of spirits, whether from grapes or corn, for the one 
is bland and insipid, inodorous, and sometimes, in the south, used for 
food, and the other is simply disgusting, but largely used for confec- 
tionary. And there is the oil of belladonna, wnich is used in Wurtem- 
burg for lighting and cooking, limpid, golden-yellow, insipid, and in- 
odorous, with all the poisonous principles left in the residual cake, 
which cannot, therefore, be used for cattle-feeding, as other more harm- 
less residual cakes, and the expression of which stupifies the workmen 
employed. And there is tobacco-seed oil, limpid, green-yellow, and 
inodorous, and with no more of the narcotic principles of the plant 
than poppy-seed oil. And, lastly, there is castor-oil, and there is croton 
oil ; the one got by expression from the seeds of the Ricinus communis, 
or Palma Christi, the other by expression and distillation by alcohol, 
from the seeds of the Croton Tiglium. 'These are the principal vegetable 
oils, of the fixed or fatty kind. 

The only animal oils, properly so-called, are lard-oil, tallow-oil, and 
neat’s-foot oil: and these are obtained from the fats of the various 
beasts indicated—from hog’s lard, from sheep’s tallow, and from cow- 
heel ; but the fats, or stearine, or adipose tissue, or by what name soever 
it is considered well to call them, come quite under another heading, 
and do not rightfully run into our oil-flasks, Lard oil is used for 
greasing woollens; tallow oil makes the best kind of soap; and 
neat’s foot oil oils church clocks admirably, because it does not solidify 
at even a comparatively low temperature, neither does it soon turn 
rancid, 

The animal oils are few, and the fish oils are not many; but of 
enormous value. First, there is train oil, which comes from the whale, 
the porpoise, the pilchard, the seal, and others; ap oil of a brownish 
colour, disagreeable to the smell, used for lighting, for making soft 
soap, and in the preparation of leather; also, says historical ill-nature, 
much valued as a winter dram by Russian soldiers, to whom a pound 
of tallow candles is as welcome as a box of bonbons to a Spanish belle. 
The peculiar, and most peculiarly disagreeable odour of train oil, is due 
to. the decomposition, during the homeward passage, of the animal 


496 ON OUR OIL FLASKS. 


matter attached to the blubber, by which is developed a certain fat 
composed of glycerine and phocenic acid. Porpoise oil is very like 
whale oil. Cod-liver oil is got from the livers of the common cod, the 
dorse, the coal-fish, the burbot, the ling, and the torsk. In Australia, 
the liver of the dugong is used instead of the cod; but no dugong 
liver oil has found its way over here. Fish oil of various kinds is 
largely used for soap-making ; and the famous Naples soap is made 
from fish oil and potash, giving a marvellous lather for strong beards; 
but before any soap can be made, the glycerine of the oil must first be 
got rid of, when the fatty acid is mixed with alkali and soap is formed. 
In the case of glycerine soap, the glycerine is put back again, when it 
combines in a different manner. Diachylon plaster, an insoluble soap, 
is only lead and oil; and ammonia and oil is a “volatile liniment, 
forming a milky emulsion, and used as a rubefacient in medicine,” Are 
there many who recognise in these majestic words our old greasy friend, 
the hartshorn and oil bottle ? 

Then there are essential or volatile oils, found in various parts of 
plants; in the flowers of some—as the orange-flower (neroli), the dried 
clove-bud (essential oil of cloves), the elder-flower, lavender-spikes, 
rose-leaves (attar or otto of roses), jessamine, mignionette, camomile, 
and, mdeed, in all sweet and strong-smelling flowers; in the fruit of 
others—as the oil of bergamot from the ripe fruit of the Citrus berga- 
mia, the oil of nutmegs (not the butter), extracted from the inner lining 
of the nutmeg, from juniper-berries, orange rinds, and lemon rinds ; 
in the bark of others—as oil of cinnamon from the bark of the cinna- 
mon tree of Ceylon (Laurus cinnamomum), oil of turpentine, distilled 
from the “‘oleo resin” of pine trees, and when rectified and re-distilled 
sold as the camphine which smokes so abominably when not sufficiently 
supplied with air, and which smokes more abominably still when left 
exposed to the air, by which it becomes resinified again, and unfit for 
burning ; in the leaves—from orange-leaves, from the dry leaves of the 
Melaleuca cajeputi, known as cajeput oil from the Moluccas, oil of 
savine, from the leaves of the Juniperus sabinus, and others; in the 
seeds of many, and in the roots of a few. But the essential oils have 
a less varied usefulness than the fatty ; and if a law was passed pro- 
hibiting the use of perfumes, there would then be very few distilled at 
all. But all are not distilled; for the essential oil of certain flowers, in 
which resides the perfume, or what chemists call the “ odoriferous 
principle,” is so delicate and evanescent that the only way to get at it 
is by imprisoning it in a neutral medium, as in the process called enfleu- 
rage. Scented buds and petals are gently laid in perfectly inodorous 
grease, which thus becomes impregnated with the perfume. 

Oil has a peculiar facility for developing heat. If hemp, or wool, or 
paper, sawdust, rags, soot, shavings—what not of refuse—be smeared 
with oil, and left to the free action of the sun and air, they will soon 


ON THE TOBACCO PIPE MANUFACTURE, ETC. 497 


get hot, begin to smoke, and finally burst into flame; which accounts 
for many of the apparently mysterious fires of mills and maaufactories. 
And if linseed oil and ground manganese are “‘triturated” together 
the soft lump so formed will speedily become firm, and take fire of 
is own accord. Oils are purified by sulphuric acid, by steam and hot 
air passing through them, and by tannic acid. Mineral oils, so-called, 
are not oils at all, according to the proper definition of oils; they are 
fluid hydro-carbons, with the addition in the Burmese naphtha, of a con- 
siderable quantity of parafline.—‘ All the Year Round.’ 


cf 


THE TOBACCO PIPE MANUFACTURE, PIPE CLAYS, AND 
MEERSCHAUM. 


BY JOHN GEORGE REYNOLDS. 


The manufacture of the tobacco pipe is an item of labour which 
has required for this purpose nearly 40,000 tons of clay per annum, of 
which quantity about 12,000 tons are consumed in the United Kingdom, 
supplied principally from the Clay works of Messrs. Whiteway and Co., 
Kingsteignton, Newton Abbot, Devonshire, who have also supplied the 
French manufacturers for the last six years. 

Those who do not indnlge in the use of tobacco may despise an 
article which ministers in no way to their pleasure, but on the other 
hand excites their disgust. A feeling kindred to this might have pos- 
sessed the mind of the Greek Sage, who, when passing through a fair 
at Athens, and on seeing stalls filled with a variety of wares, exclaimed, 
with a derisive smile :—“ How many things are here that I do not 
want.” Many may smile at, but we think they cannot but admire, the 
amount of science and skill which has been brought to bear upon 
a want so general, and in the gratification of a pleasure which none but 
the smoker can appreciate. There are those who decry the use of 
tobacco, and who denounce it in the strongest terms. Medical and other 
men have written against it; but they have never advanced anything 
specific upon the subject. They argue, that as nicotine the active prin- 
ciple of tobacco is injurious in its isolated form, the use of it must be 
pernicious. The experience of mankind does not confirm their opinion 
although we cannot but admit, that the excessive use or abuse of 
tobacco, as of everything else is 1njurious, 

We shall proceed to illustrate the nature of clay, and its adaptation 
to the tobacco-pipe, and then go step by step through the several pro- 
cesses, from the native material to its completion. 

Granite is the primary constituent of pipe clay, deriving its name 
from the Latin word “ Granum” (grain). Granite is a mixture of quartz, 
felspar, and mica; the pavement of London Bridge, hewn from the Haytor 

VOL, IZ. UU 


498 ON THE TOBACCO PIPE MANUFACTURE, ETC. 


Rock in Devonshire, is a beautiful specimen of granite. It is 
chemically divided into alumina, silicic acid, and mica ; the disintegra- 
tion of these three compounds forming an earthy mass, which is 
commonly called clay. 

The clays principally used for pipe-making and other purposes, 
appear to take their origin from the above named granite hills of 
Haytor, on the borders of Dartmoor, and from thence deposited in a 
large sheet or mass at their base. Owing to floods and other causes, the 
purer portions of the disintegrated felspar of the granite has been pro- 
pelled onwards towards the sea, and deposited in fine channel-like and 
continuous beds, by the flood-charged streams. This may account for 
the different qualities of the clays, as each ribbony deposit is varied 
from the others in its adaptation to manufacturing purposes. For 
instance—one, a dark body, burns similarly to China clay from Corn- 
wall ; another is a white body, and is more plastic, and is used for long 
tobacco pipes, it would not vitrify sufficiently for pottery purposes 
These clays are unique in themselves for the particular manufacture 
for which they are suitable, and no deposits have yet been found of 
identically the same nature. 

The Granite Hills at Haytor, from whence these deposits are pre- 
sumed to arise, are in Ilsington parish, about twelve miles in a direct 
line from Teignmouth, passing through the neighbouring parishes of 
Bovey Tracey, Hennock, and Teigngraie, until they reach the parish of 
Kingsteignton, where the deposits appear to be the purest and most 
continuous, and whence clays have been procured for manufacturing 
purposes, for a period of at least a century. Messrs. Whiteway have 
the largest portion of these deposits, either as owners themselves, or 
renters of the clay property of other landowners; and they are the 
present representatives of a firm which has been in existence tor more 
than half a century. 

As it may not be uninteresting to some readers, we shall briefly 

explain the nature of the three chemical divisions of this important 
article of manufacture, and would observe that aluminum forms a 
portion of the crust of our earth, since its oxygen compound, which is 
termed alumina, constitutes (next to silicic acid and lime) the mass of 
the greatest number of minerals. 
_ Crystalized alamina is found under the same circumstances as 
erystalized carbon: thus the sapphire, consisting of pure alumina, 
and distinguished by its hardness, lustre, and the variety of its 
colours, is numbered among the precious stones, and is considered 
next in value to the diamond. 

The aluminous portion of clay is an important material in the 
process of dyeing, and it is this that fixes the beautiful colours in 
our prints, muslins, and other fabrics. Alumina having an affinity 
for vegetable matter, forces a portion of the colour into the fibre, 
thus making it secure and permanent. 


ON THE TOBACCO PIPE MANUFACTURE, ETC. 499 


This clay purified, absorbs moisture with extraordinary power. 
Hence its use for removing grease spots from cloth and silk, As an 
experiment take purified pipe-clay in powder, moisten with water, 
powder sufficient to cover the grease spot the thickness of a shilling. 
then break the head from off a long pipe, placing the thick end in 
the fire until it is red hot, and placing the cool end in the mouth, 
blow hot air on the moist clay, by which means the grease is softened, 
and the water evaporated from the clay. The active evaporation 
brings into play the powerful absorbing property of the clay, fot 
while the water passes off in steam, the grease takes its place. Remove 
the clay when cold, and cleanse the material with a sponge. 

A remarkable and curious fact, illustrating the power of alumina, 
or of aluminous clays (5,000 tons of which are used annually in New- 
castle-on-Tyne in making alum), in the preservation of colour, may be 
here related. In the year 1854, bunches of nuts were discovered 
imbedded in the clay underneath the gravel at the Kingsteignton Pits, 
twenty feet beneath the surface, in all their natural colours. 

Corundrum and emery are alumina, without the use of <ihiol 
substance grinding and polishing metals eald be a diffiult process. 

Silicie acid is another principal constituent of most minerals and 
next to oxygen, may be said to form the greatest portion of the earth’s 
erust. It is found in a variety of forms. Rock crystal, found in the 
eaverns of St. Gothard in beautiful hexagonal prisms, terminating in 
pyramids with six faces, is pure silicic acid. In the soluble form it is 
found in almost all springs, whence it enters into the organism of 
plants, being as essential to the vegetable world as salt is to the animal 
creation. It is not acid to the taste, and is endowed with very feeble 
affinity ; hence it is sometimes called silica. 

Mica is the least important of the three chemicals enumerated as 
composing granite, and it cannot be described by formula. Alumina 
and silicic acid are the principal constituents. It is found in various 
rocks largely distributed ; for instance, in granite, gniess, and mica 
slates, in which it is observable as lustrous lamine. It is found in 
Siberia in large plates, which are used instead of glass for windows. 

Having endeavoured to describe the nature of pipe clay, we shall 
now proceed to point out the various processes which the pipe under- 
goes prior to its ccmpletion ; and here there is much to interest and 
much to admire. The pipe is an ingenious contrivance. The bowl is 
a kind of furnace in which tobacco is burnt ; the chimney to this 
furnace is a long or short perforated stem, and the draught is caused by 
the smoker drawing air through the bowl; this supplies the ignited 
tobacco with fresh oxygen, and the products of combustion consisting 
chiefly of nitrogen, carbonic acid, and oil of tobacco in a volatile form, 
pass up the stem into the mouth of the smoker, the length of the stem 
cooling the smoke, and owing to the porous nature of the clay, absorbing 


500 ON THE TOBACCO PIPE MANUFACTURE, ETC. 


the oil ; while the ashes, consisting of salts of potash, lime, and carbon, 
remain in the bowl. 

The colouring of the pipe is not so much attributable to the deposits 
of oil in the bowl, as tothe smoke itself. To illustrate this, procure twe 
pipe bowls—one large, the other small; in the small bowl place the 
tobacco, and fix it in the larger ; then ignite the tobacco, and you will 
find that although nothing but smoke comes in contact with the outside 
bow], it will colour much sooner than that which contains the tobacco. 

The clay is extracted from the pit in square blucks which weigh 
about thirty-two pounds. These are dried, and if dirty are scraped 
clean with a knife; they are then broken into smal! pieces, about the 
size of a hen’s egg. These pieces are soaked in a slight excess of water, 
in tubs, iron tanks, or any suitable receptacle, for forty-eight hours. 
They are then taken out, and mixed with the cuttings or parings, for 
the purpose of preventing any waste, and also with the view of absorb- 
ing any extra moisture, and giving the clay its required firmness and 
plasticity. They are now beat with an iron bar, ground in a elay mill, 
or passed between rollers, according to the circumstances or notions of 
the maker. The clay is again worked into square blocks from 56 to 
SOlbs. weight ; this weight is generally computed by the number of 
grosses each block will make, as the 4-gross or 6-gross block. Workmen 
accustomed to make the same sized pipes for several months, can judge 
the number of pipes each lump will make to a dozen or two, The clay 
is now placed on the bench, cne corner of the ball resting upon the eud 
of a board, called a rolling board, to the right of the operator, who- 
grasps with his right hand sufficient clay for two pipes ; this he divides 
with his left hand, and this is done so equally by the sense of touch, 
that out of a gross of these divided pieces, which are called nips (from 
being nipped in two by the fingers), you would scarcely find one that 

_would vary more than a quarter of an ounce in weight. The nip is now 
placed under the palms of both hands on the board, and is elongated 
from the point, or what is to be the mcuth-piece of the pipe, graduating 
in thickness to the bowl, about one-third of the nip being left on the 
thick end of what is called a roll. These rolls are laid in bunches of 
from 12 to 16, and are dried until they are fit for moulding. To test 
this they must stand on their heads or bowls without bending, then they 
are considered sufficiently dry. 

Moulding gives the pipe any required shape, by the assistance of a 
screw-press and lever. In commencing this process the bunch of rolls 
is carefully divided, and laid loosely upon the bench, the point or 
narrow end of the roll near the left hand of the moulder. This point is 
taken between the fore-finger and thumb of the left hand, the wire to 
drill the pipe is in the right hand, and is drawn across oiled wool to 
prevent the clay from sticking to the wire. But the greasing of the wire 
is not sufficient of itself to the true boring of the pipe. The wire must 


ON THE TOBACCO PIPE MANUFACTURE, ETC. 501 


be scraped with a knife, and in the scraping the knife is made to vibrate 
by being held near the thin end of the blade, and the wire drawn 
sharply under it indents the wire uniformly, slightly narrowing it 
near the end which first enters the clay. This being done, the wire is 
cut eff to the required length by being rolled backwards and forwards 
under the edge of a blunt knife. This process of cutting forms a pro- 
jection on the poiut of the wire; should this projection or head he too 
small, it is enlarged in a similar manner to the formation of the head 
of asmall nail. This head is called a button, and is somewhat larger 
than the thickest part of the wire. The notching of the wire is to form 
receptacles to carry the oil and the air up the stem; the button is to 
enlarge the bore, so as to allow the wire to pass freely up the stem, 
sufficiently oiling it so as to allow its withdrawal after the clay has 
received a heavy pressure. It requires more skill than is seen at first 
sight, to make a wire which can be thus withdrawn from the pipe in its 
soft state, after being pressed, so as to prevent the pipe being elongated 
beyond the length given to it by the mould, for in case the pipe were 
stretched, its tension would be destroyed, and if it did not break at the © 
time, would be so weakened that it would be almost valueless. The roll 
with the wire in it is now laid in one-half of the mould, which has been 
well oiled ; the second half is then placed upon it and fixed by means 
of pins which correspond in both halves, and is put into an iron press, 
the superfluous clay being pressed out between the joints. To form the 
bowl, a piece of iron of the required shape is suspended to a lever over 
- an aperture in the head of the mould, the lever is then pulled down- 
wards, and the piece of iron, called a stopper, is forced into the lump of 
clay left by the roller for this purpose. In thus hollowing out the bow], 
the waste clay forms a ring around the stopper, and enters a space left 
for its reception; this waste in England is usually cut off by the 
moulder, but in France by the trimmer. In the writer’s improved 
method, the machine cuts off its own waste. The mould is now opened, 
the pipe lifted out, the wire withdrawn and placed on a board to dry. 
We are thus brought to notice the next process, which is trimming. 
When the pipe is sufficiently dry, the finisher or trimmer passes up 
another wire through the stem into the bowl, to remove any particles of 
clay, and to ensure a free current. While the pipe is thus stayed or 
strengthened, the trimmer removes the surplus clay or seam left by the 
mould with a grooved knife (this groove fitting the stem, as also another 
groove fitting the head of the pipe). The pipe is now laid on a smooth 
block of any hard suitable wood, when a steel burnisher is passed up 
and down the stem, the trimmer balancing the burnisher in order to 
keep a uniform pressure, at the same time turning the pipe, by which 
means it obtains an even polish. This method of polishing the pipe 
adds materially to its solidity and durability ; hence, one reason why 
our pipes are stronger than those of other makers, especially of the 
Continental manufacturers, who give a polish to their pipes with a small 


502 ON THE TOBACCO PIPE MANUFACTURE, ETC. 


piece of agate, unsupported by the trimmer’s block. The point of the 
Pipe is now cut, and the top of the bowl smoothed down with the palm 
of the hand or a damp sponge. It is then taken off the wire, and is 
laid flat upon a board, if intended to be straight ; if bent with the usual 
curve, the pipe is laid on a dryer, the bars which support it being hollow 
in the centre.. The pipes when of a greyish white, are removed and 
packed into a kiln, or into segegars (which is an improved method), the 
old and primitive plan being to pack them directly into a large crucible, 
standing upon five legs, made of fire brick or clay, mixed with crushed 
pipes. The crucible is built by piling small rolls of clay one on 
another, wetting each roll slightly so as to assist adhesion while worked 
together with the hand. 

This kiln, or large crucible, is built inside a circular furnace about 
twelve inches larger than the kiln, leaving a space of about six inches 
between the furnace and the kiln. When the kiln is filled with pipes, 
the space that admits the man to stack the pipes within, is bricked up 
with pieces of burnt clay of the uniform thickness of the kiln, and the 
‘top or dome is covered with clay spread on paper, to keep out the flame 
and sulphur, which would otherwise discolour the pipes while burning. 
The kiln being ready, the fire beneath the centre is lighted, and is kept 
increasing in heat for from 7 to 16 hours, the time required depending 
upon the size of the kiln, some of which hold 30 gross, and some about 
100 gross. 

The improved, or seggar kiln, is simply a large furnace in which the 
seggars containing the pipes are piled, and which hold about 2 gross 
each, so that these kilns are made to contain from 200 to 1,200 gross. 
They have from three to six fire-places, the crucible kiln having but one. 
They are a decided improvement upon the old system, and add materially 
to the quality and shape of the pipes. 

In the year 1653, King Charles the Second granted a charter “ for 
the good of his subjects, tobacco pipe makers, as they had been trained 
up and long exercised in that art, and intending to restrain and suppress 
the growing numbers of loose and idle persons intruders in that trade, 
and to appropriate the same to such only as theretofore had been, and 
thereafter should be, orderly and honestly educated, and brought up as 
its apprentices according to law. For the effecting thereof, his princely 
wisdom thought fit to create and constitute sundry persons in the said 
Letters Patent named, into a Corporation, or body politique, and cor- 
porate in deed and name, by the name of the Masters, Wardens, and 
Assistants, and Fellowship of the Company of Tobacco Pipe Makers, in 
our cities of London and Westminster, and our Kingdom of England, 
and Dominion of Wales; some of which Pipe Makers had, by their 
industry and expense, found out a new way of burning the said Tobacco 
Pipes with sea coals, or pit coals, which were formerly burnt with wood, 
to the consumption and decay thereof. And whereas our said subjects, 
the tobacco-pipe makers, have for them and their successors, entered 


bays 


ON THE TOBACCO PIPE MANUFACTURE, ETC. 503 


into a covenant with us, our heirs and successors, that for 
ever hereafter they will burn their tobacco pipes with sea coals or pit 
coals, without the use of any wood towards the same. Know ye, 
therefore, that we especially minding the due and orderly making of 
the said manufacture, and the encouragement and improvement of the 
same within this our kingdom, by forbidding the importation of all 
foreign tobacco pipes ; and being desirous also to provide for the pre- 
servation of wood, which of late years has been much consumed, and 
whereof there is now grown a great decay and scarcity in most parts 
and places of this our Kingdom of England and Dominion of Wales ; 
and being graciously inclined to the humble desires of our said 
subjects in the premises, and for divers other good causes and con- 
siderations, as hereunto moving our special grace, certain knowledge, 
and mere motion, have willed, ordained, constituted, granted, and 
declared, that our said subjects, the tobacco-pipe makers, within our 
said cities of London and Westminster, and our Kingdom of England, 
and Dominion of Wales, and every of their apprentices whatsoever, 
when they shall have served as apprentices in and unto the said art, 
mystery, and trade, by the space of seven years at the least, and all 
others ‘that shall be admitted or made free of the said society in such 
manner as in these presents is declared and specified, shall be from 
henceforth for ever hereafter one fellowship and one body, corporate and 
politique, in deed and in name, by the name of the Master, Wardens, 
and Assistants, and Fellowship of the Company of Tobacco Pipe Makers, 
of our said cities of London and Westminster, and our Kingdom of 
England and Dominion of Wales.” : 

The Charter proceeds to provide for the offices, and constitutes “ our 
well-beloved subject,” William Brown, to be the first Master of the said 
society of tobacco-pipe makers. 

Four Wardens and fourteen Assistants are afterwards provided for 
in a similar manner, and a fine, or mulct of a sum of money, not exceed- 
ing ten pounds is imposed upon persons elected to fill the offices, 
“ yefusing to undergo or accept the same.” A clerk is then appointed 
who is to continue in the said office during the will and pleasure of. the 
Master, Wardens, and Assistants, during the time being. 

It is further ordered and commanded, that “ all and singular , justices, 
mayors, sheriffs, bailiffs, constables, and other officers, that they and 
every of them be helping, aiding, and assisting to the said Master, 
Wardens, Assistants, and Society, and to their successors, for and in the 
execution as well of these our Letters Patent, as all and singular grants, 
orders, etc., hereafter by these presents allowed and approved of accord- 
ng to the statutes of this realm ; and to the end, that the said Society 
of tobacco-pipe makers, may the better live and be maintained by the 
said art and mystery ; we do, therefore, for us, our heirs and successors, 
will, ordain, prohibit, and forbid, all and every person and persons 
whatsoever, of what estates, condition or quality soever, that they or any 


504 ON THE TOBACCO PIPE MANUFACTURE, ETC. 


of them shall not, or do not, at any time hereafter import, convey, or 
bring, or cause to be imported, conveyed or brought, into this our realm 
of England and Dominion of Wales, from any part beyond the sea, any 
kind or sort of tobacco pipes whatsoever to be here uttered, sold or put 
to sale upon pain of being punished according to the utmost severity of 
our laws.” It was further enacted “that they nor any of them do from 
henceforth for ever hereafter directly or indirectly export, transport, 
carry, or convey out of our said Kingdom of England or Dominion of 
Wales, any tobacco-pipe clay into any other foreign parts under the 
penalty of three shillings for every pound of tobacco-pipe clay which 
shall be exported or transported, mentioned im a certain Act of Parlia- 
ment began at Westminster the eighth day of May, in the thirteenth 
year of our reign, and there now held and continued.” 

It is not difficult to trace the motive which must have induced 
Charles to grant this Charter ; for it is easily seen that the consumption 
of tobacco, from its introduction into England by Sir Walter Raleigh 
during a period of about 68 years, had become so great that it led the 
king to fear that his forests would be destroyed in supplying the timber 
necessary to burn the pipes made. 

It is also a curious fact, that at the present day coals are prohibited 
in the burning of pipe kilns in populous towns, and of necessity a great 
quantity of coke is consumed. 

This charter, from which we have extracted so freely, is kept up to a 
cextain extent to the present time, for it is well known that within the 
Jast ten years pipe-makers have been imprisoned for disobeying its laws. 
The Company now hold their Court at the Guildhall, and is composed 
of a Master, Wardens, and a Committee, who are called “ Legs of the 
Table,” corresponding, we suppose, with the “ Assistants” of the Charter. 

Several Bye Laws were passed in the reign of George the Third, 
for the better regulation of the trade, and all persons exercising the same 
(pursuant to the Charter granted to the Company) and were approved, 
allowed, confirmed, and signed by the Right Hon. the Lord High Chan- 
cellor of Great Britain, and the Right Hon. the Lord Chief Justices of 
His Majesty’s Courts of King’s Bench and Common Pleas, April 9th, 
1821. In the reign of Queen Anne, a duty was levied upon the pipe, 
but we may well suppose it was a tax as obnoxious to our countrymen 
who lived in that reign, as the latest item of American taxation will be 
to our Yankee cousins, namely, a duty upon Crinoline. 

Smokers are not aware to what a wretched state the makers of the 
common clay pipe have been reduced by the Innkeepers of England and 
the Tobacconists of Scotland, owing to the introduction of the system of 
giving pipes away. 

It may be readily imagined that persons buying articles to give away, 
will, in almost every instance, select the poorest quality at the lowest 
price possible. This state of things has not only materially injured 
the pipe-maker, but as well the smoker. I would show this from 


ON THE TOBACCO PIPE MANUFACTURE, BTC. 505 


the fact, that the proportion of best pipe-clay sold by the merchants, 
Messrs. Whiteway and Co., is only one third, while the second quality 
has increased considerably, and the consumption of the third quality is 
more than doubled. Taking into consideration the fact of third: class 
clays worked by ill-paid artisans and comparing them to the good old 
pipes in use twenty years age, the question is answered: Why smokers 
of the present day preter an old pipe. While we need look back only a 
dozen years and find that thousands of smokers would not use a pipe a 
second evening, any more than a gentleman of the present day can with 
any pleasure smoke the second half of a cigar, left on the past evening, 
the following morning. Why this change? Because third-class clays 
emit an unpleasant odour when heated, termed the “clay odour,” and 
because pipes made from these clays are only about half burnt and 
are thus not fully purified from their earthy taste and smell. 

The untradesmanlike practice of giving away pipes to promote the 
sale of beer and tobacco, has done much to destroy this branch of in- 
dustry, pipe-making, while at the same time it cannot have improved 
the quality of the article sold, or the morality of the retailer of beer or 
tobacco, the quality of which must be reduced in proportion to the value 
of the pipes given away. It can be easily proved that hundreds of 
Licensed Victuallers in this great Metropolis give pipes away, to the 
amount of from 5s. to 25s. per week; and does any one suppose that 
this loss is not counterbalanced in some other way ? 

It was the occupation of the landlady or barmaid, during the leisure 
hours of the day, to make preparation for the public. These ladies 
thought it would be less trouble to sell packets of tobacco rather than 
continue the old custom of filling each pipe and charging $d., ?d., and 
1d., for pipe and tobacco, according to the size of the bowl and length 
of the stem. The idea was carried into practice and the tobacconists 
were appealed to, and they very naturally offered to supply 64 to 70 
penny packages to the pound. This offer was accepted, and the package 
was introduced and was immediately baptized by hundreds of smokers and 
had as many sponsors who stood to the appropriateness of the name given. 
By some it was called a “ Soft-roed herring,” supposing it was anything 
of arespectable size. When small it was termed a “roeless herring” 
when smaller still “a dead nail ;” when damp and the tobacco bad “a 
choker ;” and in truth it was enough to choke any smoker often-times. 
However, the name which was ultimately given to it was a “screw.” It 
is not for me to say who might have been the fanciful baptizer of 
this lilliputian parcel ; but it may possibly be traced to the horse-jobber, 
who, after his days’ work was done, sat down to his beer and asking for 
a pipe and tobacco was handed one of these pennyworths, when he was 
forcibly reminded of a transaction of the day and involuntarily pro- 
nounced the word “screw.” Be this as it may, the screw was sold for a 
penny ; but it often occurred that the halfpenny pipe filled with tobacco 
under the old system, contained as much tohacco as the screw. This 

VOL, III. xX x 


506 ON THE TOBACCO PIPE MANUFACTURE, ETC. 


of course induced many to bring their tobacco with them, and then they 
borrowed a pipe. Borrowing led to stealing, and in some cases one half 
penny was charged for the pipe, which on its being returned was 
refunded. 

The introduction of the screw gave rise to several curious laws which 
were local only, and which varied according to the temper and disposi- 
tion of the several Bonifaces, and were peculiar to smoking rooms only. 
One of these is as follows, and was placed over the mantle-piece :— 

Those who bring Tobacco here, 
Must pay for Pipes as well as beer.” 
Some wag, however, soon caused the obliteration of these lines, by 
adding the following— 
**To buy Tobacco here from you, 
Convinces us that you're the screw.” 

This state of things continued for some time, until the respectable 
tobacconist sold a better article in pennyworths to the publican, but the 
principles of the trade have from that time to this been questioned ; 
the “pennyworth of tobacco” is looked at to this day with sus- 
picion, and the publican is oftimes “roasted” respecting its size. 

Then began the ruin of the pipe-maker’s trade, for the answers to 
the complaning customer was—“ Well, you get a pipe and paper of 
tobacco for a penny,” and from this time the landlord’s cry was “ Make 
us cheap pipes, do not study their quality.” 

Importers of fancy goods, seeing that they could be made for publicans 
to give away, thought that they would sell pipes, and consequently sought 
out the little makers who manufactured their goods in garrets and cellars 
and bought all they could make. These poverty stricken pipe-makers 
were the discharged employées from respectable manufacturers who re- 
fused to use a third-class clay, to make an article which would ultimately 
destroy their credit as good manufacturers. Some of these buyers 
succeeded in getting a monopoly of the trade by representing themselves 
as makers, and sold the very worst description of pipe at the highest 
prices. By this means the English pipe got into bad repute, and the 
French manufacturers poured their goods into this market for ten years 
and have made large sums of money. Knowing this, and as an English 
manufacturer suffering a loss in consequence, I became determined 
to uphold the merits of English goods; and owing to my having adopted 
a method of purifying my own clays in my factories at Bristol and in 
London, I was soon able to convince the public of the superiority of 
the English pipe, and thus restored much of the trade to its legitimate 
channel, reducing the importations from France about 20 per cent. 

As this paper may not be considered complete without allusion being 
made to the manufacture of meerschaum into tobacco pipes, I will 
endeavour briefly to describe the properties of this substance which has 
been much misunderstood. 


THE WINES SHOWN AT THE INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. 507 


Meerschaum is a hydrated silicate of magnesia, MG.O.SI.0,.HO. 

It is found in Greece, Spain and Moravia, but the finest quality is 
produced in Turkey in Asia. Its French name is Ecume de Mer, hence 
the reason why it is almost generally supposed to be solidified froth of 
the sea. 

Meerschaum is found in blocks of various sizes and shapes, and conse- 
quently, is not cast as Plaster of Paris, or moulded as clay. The natural 
blocks are cut into shape first by a saw, and then with a knife and 
chisel. The stem and upper part of the bowl are turned in a lathe 
After the turning of the pipe, it is cleaned and boiled in white wax, 
which imparts to it its required beautiful polish. 

The meerschaum mines in Turkey are the exclusive property of the 
Sultan, who exacts a very high price for it. It is packed in cases, and the 
prices fixed upon it according to size of the blocks, the larger ones being 
ten times the value of the smaller pieces. This is one reason why a large 
meerschaum pipe is so expensive. Another reason which may be 
assigned is, that some of the blocks are faulty. These faults or blemishes 
are not discovered until the pipe has received its coating of wax, and, 
consequently, to a great extent the labour is lost, and the manufacturer 
is obliged to put an extra price upon the perfect pipe. 

The agents of the Sultan of Turkey do not allow the purchaser to 
select his own meerschaum. ‘The price is affixed on each case, which 
must be paid before it can be opened or examined, and should the case 
turn out faulty, the buyer has no redress. 

It may not be out of place to add that the writer was the first English- 
man who ever imported or manufactured meerschaum into the United 
Kingdom, 


THE WINES SHOWN AT THE INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION 
OF 1862. 


BY J. B. KEENE. 


We have been favoured with a copy of the report made by Mr. 
Keene to the Commissioners of Customs, of the results obtained by 
him in testing samples of the various wines exhibited last year, from 
which we make the following extracts :— 

Those exhibitors to whom I had an opportunity of mentioning the 
subject entered willingly into the plan, and, from the wines which were 
deposited in the west cellar of the Queen’s Warehouse, I was from time 
to time freely supplied with samples for testing. Of the wines which 
were exhibited in the International Exhibition Building I obtained 18 
representative samples, of Australian vintages only, This result was 
doubtless the consequence of being unable personally to look after the 

Xx2 


508 THE WINES SHOWN AT THE INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. 


matter in that quarter, though I had numerous promises, which I fear, 
however, will remain unfulfilled. This I much regret, as not only the 
Spanish and Portuguese wines, but also the Russian, Greek, and other 
kinds hitherto comparatively unknown in this country, as well as the 
growths of our colonial vineyards, were solely represented there ; 
examples of which would have added greatly to the interest and value 
of these tables. 

The list is nevertheless a large one, comprising in all 569 samples, 
which are thus divided :— 


France 3 : ; ; ] . del 
Italy : 3 . ; : pial 
The Zollverein : : ; OF 
Austrian Empire : : . pal 


Australia. : : : 5 =. als 

The first portion of the tables contains the information relative to 
the individual samples, namely, colour and strength, and, when it could 
be obtained, the date of vintage. The wines are classed, first under the - 
National, and seconaly under the Provincial head, while in some 
instances a more specific reference to the locality of the vineyard is 
given. 

The whole is afterwards massed in a general abstract. In this the 
red and white wines of each province are separately arranged, to show 
the number of samples tried and the average strength obtained. The 
highest and lowest degree of actual strength is also given, and the 
number of samples in each instance, the strengths of which exceed or 
fall short of the average. This serves to give a truer value to the 
average itself, by indicating whether the bulk is tolerably uniform, or 
whether the average is raised or lowered by the extreme strength or 
weakness of a minority of the samples. 

A desire was expressed by several persons interested, to have some 
guide by which to compare the French and English degrees of strength. 
Through the kindness of Mr. Selby, I obtained a French hydrometer, 
and, after a series of careful experiments with it and one of Sykes’s, in 
mixtures of alcohol and water of various gravities, I calculated the 
table which I have placed at the end of these papers, and in which the 
value of degrees “ overproof” and “underproof,” and the relative per- 
centages of proof spirit, are referable to the equivalent in the French 
reckoning. 

As the means at my command were wanting in that extreme nicety 
requisite to obtain a perfectly exact result, it is possible that a slight 
error may exist. The maximum difference at the highest point could, 
however, be only 1°5 per cent. of proof spirit; that being the difference 
between 75°5 overproof, which is the strength of anhydrous alcohol, 
according to recent experiments of Mr. Phillips, and 74:0 overproof, 
which would appear to be the French estimate, according to the instru- 
ment I used. But it is probable that the estimate of Gay Lussac was 


THE WINES SHOWN AT THE INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. 509 


nearer the latter than the former strength, which would therefore 
reduce the supposed error, and what remained, divided through the 
table, would be inappreciable in practice at those parts most commonly 
required. 

On inspection of the series of tests, some great extremes of strength 
are observable ; for instance, one sample from the Roman States is 52°7 
per cent., one from Sicily 46:5, and one from Piedmont 43:1; Algeria 
also sends one 45°2. Each of these so-called wines partook more of the 
character of a liqueur, being sweet and highly fortified, Others of a 
less but still high degree of strength were professedly imitations of 
fortified wines, such as port, sherry, madeira, &c. Piedmont, on the 
other hand, furnished a sparkling red wine of a poor, low class, which 
only gave a strength of 7°7 per cent. ; and Hungary also, in one of her 
choicest sorts, sends the lowest of the whole, one sample being only 7-2 
per cent. This latter is called ‘“ Menes Essenz,” and is a red wine of 
the district of Arad; it is produced from selected grapes, the juice of 
which has been extracted by the mere weight of their mass, without 
added pressure. A consequence of this mode of treatment is, that more 
of the sugar and less of the ferment and acids of the grape are in the 
must, and the spirit produced is necessarily small in quantity. In 
testing this sample, when somewhat less than two-thirds of its bulk had 
been distilled over, the residuum had become so thick as to endanger 
the retort, and when cold it formed a hard dark amorphous mass, of an 
intense brown colour, proving the very large preponderance of sugar. 

It may not be uninteresting to observe, that on taking the average 
strength of the weakest wines of each country (omitting the two excep- 
tional samples just mentioned) it exceeds in each instance the limit 
which in the first differential wine tariff was fixed as the strength of 
Class A, viz. 18°0 ; thus :-— 


In Italy the average lowest strength is . 19°5 
In the Zollverein . , : ; “a Okan 
In the Austrian Empire : : . 18°4 
Tn France 5 5 : : : snl) 20 


In Australia : : : : UPS 

From this it is probable, that when the foreigner considered 18 
degrees as a sufficient limit, it was with reference to the French com- 
putation, which by the table would equal 31°3 per cent. of proof spirit. 

Three of the samples tested were altogether exceptional. The first 
two were samples called “ Wine of Water,” from Bavaria; one of these 
was said to be “ produced at twopence the bottle ;’ the other “at three- 
pence.” The former was a light agreeable drink, with 19°6 per cent. of 
spirit ; the latter was sweeter, and of better body, and had 29-9 per cent. 
The third exceptional sample was a mead or metheglin, a honey wine, 
called “ Alt Deutscher Meth.” This, according to our customs’ tariff, is 
free of duty, yet it contained no less than 29:2 per cent. of proof spirit, 
at which strength wine would he liable to 2s. 6d. per gallon duty. 


510 THE WINES SHOWN AT THE INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. 


Some few samples are remarkable from their great age. Thus “ Vin 
d’Alicant,” of St. Gilles, Département du Gard, is of the vintage of 1801, 
and yielded 33:3 per cent. of spirit. A red wine from Luz in the same 
Department, dated 1811, is 23-9 per cent., anda wine calied La Marigny, 
of Neunier, Department Indre et Loire, also of 1811, is 18°9 per cent. A 
sample from Chateau la Serre, of Libourne in the Gironde, is of the 
vintage of 1783, and strength 19-6. But these are but young in com- 
parison with one from the Département du Tarn, which has reached 
the venerable age of 111 years, and maintained a strength of 18-9 per 
cent. This last, though still sound and healthy, possessed little or no 
character, and from the complete exhaustion of the sugar, and the 
ereater prominence thus acquired by the tannic acid, it had a positively 
bitter taste. ‘ 

The wines of Australia, of which 18 samples have been tested, are 
interesting as being comparatively unknown in this country, and as the 
representatives of a culture and manufacture yet in its infancy, but of 
high importance for many considerations. None of them are of 
high character, but those from Sydney in particular possess some 
sound and excellent qualities that promise well under improved 
culture and more careful manipulation. All have a high natural degree 
of spirit. 

The wines from Victoria, though much the same in strength as those 
from New South Wales, are decidedly their inferiors in quality. The 
body is weak, and the flavour poor and uninviting.* 

The names by which several of them are designated may perhaps 
indicate the kind of grape used in their manufacture ; but, if so, the 
alteration of climate, season, or some other circumstance, must have 
completely changed their character, as not a vestige of resemblance 
remains. The Frontignac here is a red sour wine, instead of being 
white and luscious. The perfume, however, which attached to the dis- 
tillate, gave indication of its origin in the muscat grape. The 
Hermitage and Burgundies are of a sickly pale red colour, and 
thin body. Indeed all the red wines bear a great family likeness 
to each other, and, as well as the white wines, are destitute of any great 
individuality. 

The Tokay has no point of similarity to its celebrated namesake, 
aud, except a higher degree of strength, is in other respects like the 
rest of the white wines ; and the white Victoria was still in a state of 
fermentation. 


* It appears that these wines, being in the first instance very new, were for 
three months exhibited im a hot glass building in Melbourne, had afterwards a 
voyage of four months to England, and were then shown in the International 
Exhibition building for six months in an upright position. It is, therefore, 
evident, that their flavour and character were not likely to be in good condition ; 


that they were sound and alcoholic appears extraordinary under the circum- 
stances. 


‘THE WINES SHOWN AT THE INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. dll 


GENERAL ABSTRACT OF THE AVERAGE STRENGTH OF THE WINES oF 
VARIOUS COUNTRIES. 


oH 
Proof Sp. per cent. peace es ee a 
a on— 
’ A Re | Boe 
Country of Produce. ee ee S 2 5 E os i ene Z 
S51 85| 8 |2s\35' 3 ae oo 
ae 45 Ab A] Ss Be 
sr eeu Me Nimes Mey as eats 
Italy, viz.— 
Piedmont (Red) . LeQve Din) dad A 2OrO= 20k Oy ee30 121 
Do. (White) . 6 43°1| 13°1| 24:9] 15 14 29 14°4 
Lombardy (Red). . | 20°8|189/199] 2] 11] 8 11°5 
Do. (White) . ; — — | 22°70; — | — 1 12°7 
Naples (Red) . | 286} 15-4) 23-7) 7 6 | 13 13°6 
Do. (White) . . | 40°3] 12-0] 25-4] 6 7 | 18 14°6 
Roman States (Red) . | 17:1] 16°5| 16°8; 1 1 2 oes 
Do. (White) . 9 52°7| 18°9 | 29°8 2 4 6 17:2 
Tuscany (Red) . ; 22°0}) 16°5 | 20-4|) 4 1 5 11°8 
Do. (White) . : 32°0 | 28°6 | 29°7 1 2 3 17-1 
Sicily (Red) : . | 80°6] 26:5 | 28:5) 1 1 2 16°4 
Do. (White) . . | 46:5] 26-5) 31-7) 1 4 5 18:2 
The Zollverein, viz. 
Baden (Red) . | 22°0/ 18°3| 19°9| 3 3 6 11°5 
Do. (White) s e2de a ene Te LOs |" 78 Gale) ita 
Wiirtemburg (Red) . | 183) 17:1) 17:6] 3 3 6 1071 
Do. (White) : 25°2| 15°4| 1871 9 13 22 10:4 
Rhenish, Prussia (Red) — | — | 20°83} — | — 1 12°0 
Do. (White) . . |'22°7] 18°3| 20:1) 6 Gee 12 11°6 
Do. (Meth.). : — | — | 29:2); — | — 1 16°8 
Bavaria (White) Ah PRA GALE APL Na 1 2 12°8 
Do.(Wine of Water, do.); 29°9| 19.6] 24°8) J 1 2 14:3 
Austrian Empire, viz.— 
Austria Proper(Red) . | 27°9| 18°9/ 21°8) 2 3 5 12°6 
Do. (White) . ; 28°6| 12:0] 21:0) 38 1 4 12°71 
Moravia (White) 196/165} 17:7) 1 2 3 10°2 
Styria (White) . ; — | — |196); — | — 1 11°3 
Transylvania (White) — | — | 27:2) — |} — 1 15°6 
Hungary (Red) . 5 PREIS CAV 20S eG 6 | il 11°8 
Do. (White) 25°9| 16-0, 213) 9 | 7 | 16 12°38 
Australia, ee 
New South Wales (Red) — | — | 25:9); — | — 2 14:9 
Do. (White) 24°6| 18°9 | 22°7 3 1 4 13°0 
Victoria (Red) . . | 28.6] 20:2) 23:3] 4 3 7 13°4 
Do. (White) 27°9| 20°2| 25°6| 2 3 & 14:7 
France, viz.— 
Algérie (Red) Zilsou lydia cee 6 5 11 e2o7) 
Do. (White) . 45.2| 19°6' 26-8) 5 | 10 15 15°4 
Départ. del Aude (Red) — | — | 25:9) — |} — 1 14-9 
Do. Var (Red) J 23°9 | 19°6 | 22:1 4 A 8 12-7 
Do. do. (White) . 23°9| 18:9 | 21:6) 2 1 3 12°4 
Do. Gard (Red) 33°3| 19°6 | 26°38) 2 | 3 5 15.4 
Do. do. (White) 29°9| 24°6 | 27°9| 2 2 4 16°0 


512 THE WINES SHOWN AT THE INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION, 


. of Sampl seas 
Proof Sp. per cent. al ee Pe bo a Fs 
| ES A 
Country of Produce | $4/ 4] ¢ 3 | 3 UE eae 
- | 8%|ee| 2 |EPl ES a | eee 
ae/38/ 5 |SSle8| 5 | gees 
S5)2) 2 |=2/42) = | ge 
eee <42HS 
France—continwed ; viz.— 
Depart. Loire Inférieure | 
(White) 19-62) 1829) TO ;2e a aa 2 11-0 
Do. Allier (Red) . | 19:6) 189)192; 1 1 2 11-0 
Do. do. (White) . — |— |189;) — |; — 1 10°9 
Do. du Bas Rhin (do.)| 19°6/165|1799) 2| 2) 4 10°3 
Do. Haut Rhin (do.) | 21:4) 18°9} 19°8| 1 yg) 11-4 
Do. Tarn et Garonne | | 
(Red) 25°2| 1771 | 20:8) 4 By i) ali 12:0 
Do. do. (White) — | — | 265) — | — 1 15:2 
Do. Loiret (Red) . | 19°6]15°4) 17-7] 4 6 | 11 10°2 
Do. Vienne (Red) . — | — | 202; — |— | 1 11°6 
Do. Indre et Loire (do.)| 23°3} 171] 19°7) 6 | 6 | 12 11-4 
Do. do. (White) . | 22°7|183|205, 1] 1] 2 Lies 
Do. Dordogne(Red) | 23:3) 171| 20°33; 6 | 4 | 10 ploy; 
Do. do. (White) | 27:2:)-14:8 226i Tele 4 Ay HI 130 
Do. Indre (Red) | 20°2) 16°5| 18-0} 38 Bele 46) 14-4 
Do. Tarn (Red) | 26:5 | 18:9] 23°7 | 1 2 3 13°6 
Do. do. (White) — | — /171) — | — 1 9°8 
Do. Moselle (Red). ee eel au lal etn 10'9 
Do. Haute Garonne(do.)| — — | 22:00); — | — 1 12°6 
Do. Lot (Red) . | 23°9|17-7/ 20°83] 1 | 21) 2 12:0 
Do. Sarthe (White) — |171,;— | —} bY] 9°8 
Do. Isere (Red) 1D ere ale ae 9°8 
Do. do. (White) — | — | 21-4) — | — 1 12°4 
Do. Maineet Loire(Red)} — | — |18°9| — | — | 1 | 10:9 
Do. do. (White) 22711601182] 1] 2] 31 105 
Do. Corse (Red) 27°9|20°8| 24:91 1 | 2] 83 144 
Do. do. (White) — | — | 326 — —| 1 18°8 
Do. Puyde Dome (Red)| 25°9| 1976) 22°77 11] 1) 2 13:1 
Do. Charente Infé- | | 
rieure (Red) | — [19:6..—- |.) 2a kno celebs 
Do. Vaucluse(Red) | 27:9! 246| 26:4 2 2 4 15-2 
Do. Ardeéche (Red) — | 18:95; —— | = 1 10°9 
Do. do. (White) — | — |272, — | — 1 16°4 
Do. Drédme (Red) . D5sO D202 1GG aed al ae 6) | ola 
Do. do. (White) 25°9| 142/211) 2 | 1 8 12°2 
Do. Heérault (Red) | 34:0/ 177/236 2 | 3 | 5 13°6 
Do. do. (White) . | 35°4| 20°8; 25.6) 2 | 8 5 14'8 
Do. Beaujolais (Red) | 23°3| 18°3|21:0 5 | 7 | 12 12-1 
Do, Cher (Red) . | 20°8| 17-1} 19:3) 2 2 4 It 
Do. LoireetCher(Red)) 21-4) 14°8/17°6) 3 4 7 10°1 
Do. do. (White) . | 24°6|15°4/ 201] 3 2 5 11°6 
Do. Jura (White) . 2 SU DI Isto tia tt Se? 14°6 
Do. Deux Sévres(do.). — | — | 214) — | — } 1 | 124 
Do. Correze (Red) — | — 117-7) — | — | 4) 202 
Do. Gironde (Red) 23°31. 14-8) 19°5 | 31 | 14 pabr it - eZ 
Do. do. (White) 27°2). 17-1) 22°38) 5) 6 A 131 
Do. Saoneet Loire(Red) 22°7|17°7, 20°77| 17 | 9 | 26 | 119 
Do. do. (White) | 23301] TsO suatco ete I oe ie 12°6 
Do. Yonne (Red) | 2204 Tass 18e7 ee | se | S27 10°8 
Do. do. (White) | 22°0 | 18°38.) 20.5.) -3 1 i 11°8 


PAPER MAKING. 


513 


TABLE SHOWING THE CoMPARATIVE VALUE OF THE ENGLISH AND 


English English. 

5 ~ ° ~ 

S | Ba 3S | Ba 
A jaslail a | ag 
a a S fa S w 
> peuple > yy 
Osi) ee a Sh 
74:0 | 174:0 |100 || 30°5 § 130°5 
72°3 | 172°3 | 99 || 28°8 § 128°8 
70°5 : 27-0 4 127°0 
68°8 25-3 9 125°3 
67:0 93°5 #1238°5 
65°3 21°8 | 121°8 
63°6 20°1 41201 
61°8 18°3 #118°3 
60-1 16°6 1116°6 
583 14°8 1114°8 
56°6 TB sorb | {aes ; eT 
54-9 11-4 f 111-4 
53°1 9:6 | 109°6 
51°4 7:9 1107°9 
49°6 6-1 | 106-1 
47°9 4-4 4104°4 
46°2 9:7 1102°7 
44°4 0:9 #100°9 
42-7 f O08 99:2 
40°9 $26, 97-4 
39-2 4 4:3.) 95-7 
37-5 L 6:0 94-0 
350 H 7°38 | 92:2 
34-0 # 9.5  90°5 
32:2 11-3 88:7 


PAPER MAKING.—ULMATE OF AMMONIA. 


Frenco DrGrers or ALCOHOLIC STRENGTH OBTAINED BY AN 
EXPERIMENTAL COMPARISON OF THE HypRoMETERS OF GAY 
Lussac AND SYKES. 


English. 
eee 3 | x 
2 | os 2 | 24 
Po MO Py ® 5 
cae 5 isc | 
mee. 2 | 28/2 
5m | a lila 
13:0 | 87-0 56°5 | 43°35 | 25 
14°7 | 85°3 582 | 41°8 | 24 
16°5 | 83°5 60°0 | 40:0 | 23 
18-2 | 81°8 61i-7.,| 8833) |. 22 
20:0 | 80-0 63°5 | 36°5 | 21 
21-7 | 78:3 65:2 | 34°8 | 20 
23-4 | 76°6 '66:9 | 33°1 | 19 
25°2| 74:8 68-7, eoleonlels 
1126°9 | 73:1 '70°4! 29°6 | 17 
eile 7B AD || DilPR \\ LE 
30°4 | 69°6 | 73°9 | 26-1 | 15 
32-1 | 67:9 |75°6 | 24:4 | 14 
33°9 | 66°71 177-4 | 22°6 | 13 
35°6 | 64:4 |79°1 | 20°9 | 12 
|| 87°74 | 62°6 11 80°9 | 19:1 | 11 
|| 39-1 | 60°9 | 82°6 | 17:4 | 10 
40°8 | 59-2 84:3 | 15°71 9 
42°6 | 57-4 [86-1 | 13:9] 8 
44°3 : Pees a) I 7 
46°1 |89°6 | 10°4 | 6 
47°8 Qi-3u lis Sea |eaas 
49°5 93°04 Onl ae 
| 51:3 94°8| 52) 8 
53:0 96°5 | 35 | 2 
54°8 98°3| 1:7] 1 


Nearly a year ago we described in considerable detail a large paper 
mill, at that time just completed on Dartford Creek. This mill was 
built complete by Messrs. Easton, Amos, and Sons, for the Hon. William 
Napier, and at a cost, apart from the site, of about 35,0000. 
has now been formed to purchase this mill, and another establishment 
at Grays, Essex, the former to be enlarged and both to be worked upon 
a capital of 135,000/., with an additional 15,0002, subject to call. 
concern at Grays, which is set down at 39,000. in the prospectus (a sum 
we apprehend, by no means under-stated), is known as the “ Ulmate of 


A company 


The 


514 PAPER MAKING. 


Ammonia Company's” works, and already forms an indispensable 
adjunct to a thriving paper mill. What is “ulmate of ammonia?’ Dr. 
_ Playfair describes it as the powder of woollen fibre, separated from 
muslin-de-laines by the action of high-pressure steam. Mixed cotton and 
wool fabrics are, unless specially treated, worthless as rags to the paper- 
maker. There have been practised two modes of separating the cotton and 
the wool, either at the expense of one or the other. Thus, if it were desired 
to obtain the wool, the rags of the mixed stuff were steeped in acids 
which decomposed the cellulose of the cotton, changing it into sugar, 
which was dissolved and lost in the process. To save the cotton, on the 
other hand, the rags were steeped in a strong alkali, which, acting upon 
the wool, formed a soapy compound in which the cotton remained intact. 
Now Mr. Ward, while separating the cotton fibre in a condition serviceable 
to the paper-maker, has contrived to retain the wool in a condition fit 
for something—manure, at least. He subjects muslin-de-laine, or the 
rags of mixed cotton and wool stuffs, to the action of steam of 50 Ih. 
pressure or so, the effect of which is to convert the wool into a brittle, 
bituminous, or resinous matter, which separates readily, as a powder 
from the cotton. 

The importance of this process will justify us in quoting at some 
length from Mr. Ward’s specifications. 

His improvements, patented in 1857, were intended to remedy the 
defects of the ‘wet process’ of separation, and to accomplish more 
economically and completely the separation of the azotised from the 
unazotised ingredients of the mixed materials. 

In carrying this invention into effect Mr. Ward employs a closed 
boiler or digester, of any convenient form and size, preferring a cylin- 
drical form with hemispherical ends, set with its long axis vertical, and 
haying sufficient capacity to hold a ton of mixed rags. This digester has 
the usual fittings. There must also be provided, either in the structure of 
a digester itself or as part of the apparatus used therewith, suitable 
appliances to protect the materials under treatment from the injurious 
action of condensation water in excess. These appliances may vary, 
but the form preferred consists in an inner case or cradle, rather less in 
height and diameter than the cylindrical portion of the digester, into 
which it may be let down, and from which it may be lifted out by 
means of a crane. 

The sides of this case or cradle should be perforated with numerous 
holes to admit steam, but its lid and its lower part should be unper- 
forated: the object of the case or cradle being to hold the materials 
under treatment and to protect them from the contact of any condensa- 
tion water that may be formed in the interior of the digester and run 
down its sides, or accumulate at the bottom, or drip from the lid. 

To obviate, as much as possible, loss of heat by radiation, which 
involves formation of condensation water (and,. consequently waste of 
fuel), the digester should be carefully clothed with non-conducting 
material. 


PAPER MAKING 515 


The mixed rags or other such materials containing azotised matter 
mixed with vegetable fibre after being well beaten (preferably in a paper 
maker’s rag-beating machine) to separate inert dust and grit, are 
put into’the cradle or cradles and lifted into the digester, the lid of which 
is then screwed down steam-tight. Steam from a generator is then 
turned on through a tube and stop-cock in the usual way, at a tempera- 
ture and for a time which may vary within wide limits. Mr. Ward has 
obtained good results, for example, with steam at from three to seven 
atmospheres pressure, kept up for from two to four hours’ time, the time 
being lengthened when the temperature and pressure are diminished 
and vice versa; but he recommends as a good working average steam at 
about five atmospheres pressure, continued for about three hours’ time. 
The effect of these arrangements has been found to be, on the one hand, 
effectually to defend the materials from the contact or drip of any 
excess of condensation water that ‘may form as aforesaid, and on the 
other hand to admit to the materials a sufficiency of steam to hydrate 
their azotised ingredients and to produce the above-described peculiar 
transformation thereof. 

Any condensation water that may accumulate in the digester 
should be discharged from time to time by the stop-cock below, and 
as soon as the digesting process is finished steam should be suffered 
to blow off a little while through the steam cock above. The materials 
may thus be obtained dry from the digester, or if taken out while still 
damp they may be dried by exposure to a current of hot air in a drying 
chamber, 

The mechanical means available for separating the manure pro 
duct from the fibrous product are, it will be readily understood, nume- 
rous and susceptible of many modifications. Mr. Ward has obtained 
excellent results by passing the dry product of digestion between fluted 
wooden cylinders, such as are used in scutching flax, and afterwards 
through an ordinary paper-makers’ rag-beating machine. Care must 
of course be taken to enclose dust-tight the space which receives the 
valuable azotised powder beaten out, so that none of it may be blown 
away and lost, and the machinery should be worked by steam or other 
power at sufficient speed and force thoroughly to separate the azotised 
dust from the fibrous vegetable matter without injuring the staple of 
the latter or wastefully wearing it away. 

In dealing with greasy refuse, such as the oily waste of the wool 
manufacture called shoddy, the patentee proceeds in the same manner, 
merely omitting the final cylindering, beating and shifting process, as 
being in this case unnecessary, and instead thereof, subjecting the ma- 
teriai to a preliminary process of pressure to extract the oil, such pres- 
sure being (preferably) applied by means of a hydraulic press, aided in 
some cases by moisture and heat to facilitate the running out of the oil. 
The cake left in the press is digested with the appliances and precau- 
tions above set forth, and makes a superior manure, more portable, and 


“JENA Me 
ee 


516 PAPER MAKING: 


richer in azote than when encumbered with oil, which has no fertilising 
properties; on the other hand, the oil extracted will be found appli- 
cable to a variety of useful purposes, especially when purified by any 
of the ordinary means, 

Under a subsequent patent, Mr. Ward combined the wet and dry 
modes of separation. 

This mixed method, partly wet, partly dry, was devised to remedy 
an inconvenience met with in working out the dry process. This in- 
convenience arises from the tendency of wool and other animal matters 
to become partially converted, under the influence of high-pressure 
steam, into a glutinous adhesive substance, which impregnates the more 
friable portion of the reduced animal matter, gluing its molecules to 
each other and to the vegetable fibres of the mixed material, so as to 
render the subsequent mechanical separation of the products, and the 
cleansing and bleaching of the vegetable fibre, more difficult. To 
remedy this Mr. Ward takes advantage of the remarkable solubility 
of the glutinous adhesive portion of the converted animal matter to 
remove this portion in solution, leaving only the less soluble residuum 
of the animal matter to be separated as a dry powder from the vege- 
table fibre, by beating, sifting, or other mechanical means. By thus 
separately withdrawing in solution the glutinous sticky product, instead 
of allowing it, as heretofore, to dry along with the remainder of the 
mixed material, the subsequent mechanical separation of the friable 
from the fibrous parts of the mixed mass is greatly facilitated, seeing 
that the molecules of the animal powder are no longer glued, as before, 
to each other and to the vegetable fibre; again, the cleansing and 
bleaching of the fibre is also made much easier, because itis no longer 
imbued and partially encrusted with animal matter. This mixed 
process can be performed in several ways, and the object being to 
dissolve part only of the animal ingredients of mixed materials, the 
choice of a partial solvent is the first consideration. The substances 
preferred for this purpose, on account of their cheapness and efficacy, 
are (1) water, and (2) a caustic earthy base, preferably lime. 

If the mixed materials be slightly moistened with water before 
being subjected to the process of digestion in an atmosphere of steam, 
and if, after such moistening and digestion they be subjected to pressure 
to remove from them the dark-coloured solution of animal matter which 
will flow away, and if, finally, the pressed residuum be then subjected to 
the remainder of the process, the mixed mode of separation, partly wet, 
partly dry, will be effected, and the above described benefits of this 
mode will, to a considerable extent, be obtained. The addition of lime 
as well as water will, however, be to increase the advantage and dimin- 
ish the cost of the new or mixed mode of treatment. The lime rapidly 
attacks the animal matter, combining in particular with the sulphur to 
forma soluble hydrosulphate of lime (probably a bi-hydrosulphate). 
The animal matter thus more energetically attacked, yields, and becomes 


“ 


PAPER MAKING. 517 


‘disintegrated under the influence of steam of lower pressure and tempe- 
rature, or of steam of equal pressure and temperature, applied during 
a shorter time than when no lime is used. The quantity of lime which 
may be employed in applying this mode to the average mixed rags of 
commerce may, it is found advantageously, amount to 3% per cent. of 
their weight, or thereabouts ; and this lime, made into a milk with three 
or four times their weight of water will turn a suitable menstruum for 
the purpose. Two hours’ digestion of the rags in this liquor in an anto- 
clave boiler, supplied with steam at a pressure corresponding to 276 
deg. on Fah. scale will be found in ordinary cases to accomplish a suf- 
ficient disintegration of the animal matter, such as wool, leather, silk, 
and the like. After digestion the liquor containing in solution the 
gluey product above referred to may be removed, either by ordinary 
drainage and ablution, or by the action of a centrifugal hydro-extractor 
or by subjecting the mass to powerful pressure. The partially dried 
mass thus obtained may next be opened and loosened and have its desic- 
cation completed in any way. When dried the material may be sub- 
jected to any suitable mechanical process of beating, shaking, sifting, 
and the like. The animal part will be found to possess that greater 
degree of friability and that more easy and complete separability from 
the intermixed vegetable fibre, which it is the special object of the pre- 
sent invention to secure. The vegetable fibre also, freed as it thus may 
be from gluey impregnation and thoroughly disencumbered of adherent 
animal matter, will be found to bleach more easily and to attain a 
brighter whiteness with less consumption of bleaching liquor, and con- 
sequently less impairment of tenacity than when treated by former 
modes. In some cases, however, high-pressure digesters are dispensed 
with, and the process is conducted at ordinary atmospheric pressure and 
at (or even in some cases below) the ordinary boiling point of water ; 
making up, in such cases, either by length of the time of treatment, or 
by increase of the dose of caustic earthy solvent, or in both ways, for the 
diminished chemical activity resulting from the lowered temperature. 
In some cases indeed, when time is no object, the process may be con- 
ducted at the ordinary temperature of the atmosphere, the maceration 
being continued with occasional agitation until the animal matter is 
found to be sufficiently disintegrated, and a due proportion of the gluti- 
nous animal matter dissolved. 'The temperature, however, preferred, 
when operating on average commercial mixed rags, is the ordinary 
boiling point of water, or 212 deg. Fah.; and in thus operating it is 
best to add to the rags about 5 per cent. of their weight of quick- 
lime, and three or four times their weight of water, the lime and the 
water being mixed so as to make a milk of lime, and the boiling being 
continued for about three hours, after which the squeezing, drying, and 
beating processes may be applied, as above described. 

Silk, which resists much more than leather and wool disintegration 
by hot steam, only yields readily under the combined attack of hot 


518 PAPER MAKING. 


steam or water and the caustic earthy base, so that the new process is 
peculiarly advantageous in its application to mixed materials rich in 
silk rags or waste. The above-mentioned proportions of solvent ingre- 
dients, temperature, pressure, and time, are indicated as the result of 
experiments made with the express purpose of ascertaining the mini- 
mum of solvent power to be employed when it is desired to remove as 
little as may be of the animal part of the mixed material in watery 
solution, and to leave as much as possible for removal on the dry way, 
which latter is by far the cheaper and more convenient way of removing 
it. It will be understood, therefore, that the above-mentioned pro- 
portions may be varied to any required extent accordingly as the ope- 
rator’s object may be to remove a greater or less proportion of the 
animal matter in solution. Indeed it is found easy, by a slight increase 
of the lime, and of the temperature or time of the steaming, to reduce 
the whole of the animal matter in the mixed mass treated to a gelatinous 
fluid condition so that it can be washed or strained away from the 
vegetable fibre which still remains unaltered. 

The powder, for which the name of “ulmate of ammonia” has been 
invented, is said to contain 12 (the Dartford Paper Mill prospectus says 15,) 
per cent. of soluble nitrogen, and to be equal therefore, or nearly so, as a 
fertiliser, to Peruvian guano. It is stated that the works at Grays are 
now turning out 25 tons of separated cotton fibre, and about the same 
quantity of “ulmate” weekly. We are not aware how nearly the price 
at which this “ulmate” is sold approaches that of guano, but the esti- 
' mate of yearly profits from its sale, and from the manufacture of from 
32 to 36 tons of paper weekly, is from 20,0007. to 25,0001. Allowing 
one-half of this, or say 12,5001, to accrue from the paper-mill, this 
would be equal to nearly 1d. per lb. upon the estimated annual pro- 
duction, an assumed profit which would appear to be reasonable 
enough. It is hardly likely, however, that the profits upon the 
“ulmate” works can be anything like 10,0001. or 12,0001. a year; 
while it is not unlikely that the profit of paper-making now amounts to 
considerably more than 1d. per lb. 

The American paper trade has for some time been an object of 
interest to English makers. The present American tariff upon paper is 
from 20 to 35 per cent. ad valorem, under which such paper as is em- 
ployed for the American journals can even now be laid down in New 
York, with all charges paid, at less than 7$d. per lb. We observe, by 
a paragraph in the “ New York Times,” that 5,000 reams, or say 90 tons, 
of paper for that journal had just been imported from Belgium, and 
that more was to follow.—The Engineer. 


519 


A FEW REMARKS ON BLEACHING POWDER. 
BY MURRAY THOMSON, M.D., F.R.S.E. 


This substance is so largely used in paper making, that it may 
form a subject of considerable interest to many. We havein the follow- 
ing paper treated the subject in such a way, that it will be simple and 
instructive to those who may be ignorant of chemistry. 

This widely used substance, as many of our readers may know, was 
first prepared by Mr. John Tennant, the founder of the St. Rollox 
Works, Glasgow. And though it has now been in use for upwards of . 
sixty years, it is still as highly esteemed as ever asa bleaching agent. 
At one time a difference of opinion existed as to what its active con- 
stituent was ; but now most chemists believe its bleaching power to be 
due to hypochlorous acid, acompound of chlorine and oxygen. It may 
be regarded as a mixture of hypochlorite of lime, hydrate of lime, and 
chloride of calcium, but it is only the first-named substance which is 
available for bleaching. Another circumstance, not to be lost sight of 
in this view of the composition of bleaching powder, is that hypo- 
chlorous acid is destructive of colour, not only on account of the 
chlorine it contains, but also on account of its oxygen. Indeed it is 
estimated that this acid has a bleaching power twice as great as the 
elementary gas chlorine itself. To understand this, our readers 
should remember that before chlorine and its compounds were employ- 
ed to effect bleaching, the oxygen of the air, in one or other of its 
forms, aided by the sunlight and moisture, were the agents used to 
destroy colour. Keeping this in mind, it is now not difficult to see how 
a compound like hypochlorous acid should be more energetic as a 
bleacher, than either of its constituents separately. The method of the 
action of hypochlorous acid may be perhaps best understood, by saying 
that its elements, the chlorine and the oxygen, are apt to separate from 
each other. The tie that keeps them together as acompound is a feeble 
one, and once unloosed, they are not only free to combine with 
other substances, but in a state of greater inclination to do so. 
They are in what the technical language of the chemist calls the 
nascent state. And when in this condition, they are presented to com- 
pounds that they can combine with, such as colouring matter, they 
readily unite, and a new, but now colourless substance, is the result. 

But although it be true that bleaching powder owes its eflicacy to 
both chlorine and oxygen, it is not necessary in estimating its value, 
to take into account anything more than the amount of chlorine pre- 
sent ; because the more of it the sample contains, the more oxygen will 
it also contain, and its bleaching power will be the greater ; and if these 
follow by equal steps, it is sufficient to know the amount of either 
element ; and as it is the easiest to ascertain the amount of chlorine, it 
is always chosen as the element to operate on. 


520 A FEW REMARKS ON BLEACHING POWDER. 


Moreover, as the processes used in estimating the strength of bleach- 
ing powder bring the functions of the chlorine into play, much in the 
same way as these are exercised in the act of bleaching, it is clear that 
we have in these processes a complete index to the purity on the one 
hand, or sophistication on the other, of any sample of bleaching 
powder. 

The processes which have been recommended from time to time for 
estimating the strength of chloride of lime, are nearly equal in poimt 
of accuracy, but they are not all equally easy of performance. The 
method which we would recommend the paper-maker to adopt is one 
which, with a little care and nicety in its execution, may be employed 
by almost any one, however little he may have been engaged in che- 
mical pursuits. 

The only instruments that need be provided are a small common 
balance which will turn with halfa grain. The small beams and scales 
used by the apothecaries will answer quite well. The other instru- 
ment is a glass tube closed at one end and open at the other, this 
open end having a small spout. It may be about eight inches long, 
and nearly one inch in diameter, and should hold when filled to near 
its top, a little over two fluid ounces. There should be a mark about 
an inch from the top, and the space between this mark and the bottom 
should be divided into 100 equal divisions. Such graduated tubes may 
be bought from almost any optician or philosophical instrument-maker, 
at a small cost. 

The chemicals which are needed are very few, some tolerably clean 
crystals of green vitriol (sulphate of iron), some solution of red prus- 
siate of potash (ferrideyanide of potassium), and some weak sulphuric 
acid. 

Provided with these, we may now proceed to test the strength of 
any sample of bleaching powder in the following way :—78 grains of 
the green vitriol crystals are weighed out and dissolved in water, to 
which a drop or two of the weak sulphuric acid is subsequently added. 
While this solution is making in a tumbler or cup, 50 grains of the 
sample of bleaching powder are weighed out, and then thoroughly 
stirred up and mixed with water (this is best done with a small 
mortar and pestle), and then transferred to the graduated tube, and the 
moitar or other vessel in which the mixture has been made, is now 
washed, and the washings also added to the graduated tube until it is 
filled up to O or zero. A few drops of the solution of the red prus- 
siate of potash are now sprinkled on a common white plate. If the 
crystals of sulphate of iron are now dissolved, then the mouth of the 
graduated tube should be closed with the palm of the hand, and 
its contents thoroughly shaken together, a creamy fluid being thus 
formed. This mixed-up fluid should now be transferred little by little 
to the vessel with the sulphate of iron solution. 30 or 40 measures 
may be added at once, but after this the additions should be smaller. 


A FEW REMARKS ON BLEACHING POWDER. 521 


The effect of adding the chloride of lime solution to that of the iron 
salt, is to throw down a red powder (sesqui-oxide of iron). If, after the 
first addition of chloride of lime solution be made to the iron, one drop 
of the mixed solutions be now withdrawn on the end of a glass rod and 
brought in contact with the drops of the red prussiate on the white 
plate, there will immediately be formed a dark blue precipitate (Prussian 
blue). This indicates that the iron solution has not had enough of the 
chloride. A further small addition of the solution of bleaching powder 
is now made. Another drop of the mixture is withdrawn and laid on 
the prussiate solution as before—if there is still a dark blue precipitate 
produced, a further addition of the chloride of lime is needed. During 
the process this solution should be shaken up. The estimation of the 
chlorine is known to be complete when a drop of the mixed solutions 
no longer gives a dark blue precipitate with the prussiate drops on the 
white plate, but gives, instead, a green colour with little or no precipi- 
tate. When, after cautious additions of the chloride solution, this point 
is reached, the number of measures which it has taken to effect the 
change are now read off from the graduated tube. A very simple cal- 
culation now follows, which is based on the fact that the portion of the 
50 grains of the sample now used in oxidising the solution of iron (for 
it is a process of oxidation), contains exactly 10 grains of chlorine 
available for bleaching purposes. The first step in the calculation is 
to divide the number of measures now used by 2. The reason of 
this step is obvious; because, as the 50 grains of the sample were 
diffused through 100 measures, each measure corresponds to half a 
grain of the sample. The quotient of dividing by 2 will, therefore, 
give the number of grains of the sample, containing 10 grains of 
chlorine. This number is now made the first term in a simple pro- 
portion ; 10 the second, and 100 the third ; and the result of this caleu- 
lation is the percentage of chlorine in the sample. If the steps in 
this simple calculation be reflected on as they are worked out, it will be 
seen that the several steps. might be combined into this one formula.— 
Divide 2,000 by the number of measures of chloride solution used.— 
An example will now make it all clear. If, in any sample, it takes 
70 measures to oxidise thoroughly the iron solution, the half of 70 is 35, 
and as 35 is to 10, so is 100; the answer is, 28°57 per cent. A result 
which would be more easily deduced by dividing 2,000 by 70; when, 
as before, 28°57 would be shown to be the percentage amount of 
available chlorine in the sample supposed. 

Though a description of this really excellent and trustworthy pro- 
cess cannot be well condensed into fewer words, yet it must not be 
thought tedious in its execution ; because four or five times trial of it, 
by way of practice, is enough to render one sufficiently expert to over- 
take the testing of half-a-dozen samples in an hour or two ; and, we 
may add, that the information gained by the process must be coupled with 
the satisfaction of having performed it all oneself—Parer Trade Review. 

‘VOL, III. ¥ OY 


522 


LEATHER CLOTH. 


The recent continuous increase in the price of leather has naturally 
directed the attention of practical chemists to the best methods of perfect- 
ing the imitations which, under the name of leather cloth, are now so 
largely used as substitutes for leather itself. The improvement in this 
branch of manufacture has been so steadily progressive that the original 
standard taken for imitation—The American leather cloth—has been 
long since surpassed, and it is, perhaps not too much to 
say that the art of making artificial leather has now attained a 
perfection which promises to make the imitation a better, and, though 
cheaper, a more valuable article than that whichit imitates. Among 
the many new processes and inventions shown in the late Exhibition 
there was no lack of English representatives of this rising branch of 
manufacture striving to displace the American fabrics. Nearly all these 
however, were too much like the Transatlantic article to be perfectly 
successful, With its merits they produced its grave defects—the liability 
of the varnish to crack, the colours to fade, and the material 
itself to wear out fast as compared with real leather. One 
series of specimens, however in this class attracted a great deal of 
attention, though they faled to attract a medal. These 
specimens were shown by Mz. Szerelmey, a gentleman well known 
for his most curious chemical discoveries in hardening stone, wood, and 
paper, and up to the present time the most successful of all the many 
competitors for preserving the Houses of Parliament from further decay 
by indurating the surface of the stone with a fluid silica, which, it is 
asserted renders the stone beneath perfectly indestructible. The leather 
cloth of Mr. Szeremley has since then grown in reputation till it now 
promises to become a most important manufacturing discovery, since 
while the*cloth thus prepared possesses all the best attributes of leather 
in great strength and durability, it has other and special advantages of 
its own which even the advocates cf the famous virtues of leather have 
never claimed for it—namely, complete impermeability to water, a 
flexibility and scftness equal to a woollen fabric, and a cheapness which 
makes its cost scarcely one-third that of real leather. Thus,a good 
calf-skin costs from 10s. to 14s., and yields leather for three or three and 
a half pairs of boots, whereas six square feet of the calf-skin leather 
cloth yields materials for five or six pair of boots, and costs only about 
4s. 6d. Such an important difference and saving as this ought to satisfy 
any inventor ; but even more than this is claimed for the “pannonia” 
inits capability of being produced in any quantity at a few days’ notice 
and in sizes only limited by the size to which the fabric can be woven 
on which the composition is laid. The nucleus of a factory has been 
established at Clapham, where the leather is now made, and where a 
company is about to construct large works and carry on the manufacture 
on a most extensive scale. The fabric used in manufacture is entirely 


GN LEATHER CLOTH. 523 


according to the kind of imitation leather wished to be turned out. 
Thus “moll” a very thick soft kind of cotton fabric made at Manchester 
is preferred for calf-skin ; fine calico or linen for waterproof material for 
macintoshes, siphonias, &c., as perfectly waterproof as india rubber 
itself; the alpaca, silk, cloth or common cotton for boots and shoes, 
bookbinding, harness, carriage furniture, and all the thousand purposes 
to which real leather isapplied. What the composition of the pigment 
is which in a few hours changes common cotton into a substance like 
enamelled leather, and only to be distinguished from the real article 
by its non-liability to crack and its greatly additional strength, is of 
course a strict trade secret. The mode of manufacture, however, is 
simple. The fabric to be converted into leather, silk, alpaca, or what 
ever it may be, of any length or width, is merely wound on rollers 
beneath a broad knife-blade, which by its weight presses in and equally 
distributes the pigment previously placed upon it. A hundred 
yards may thus be done in a single minute, and in the most simple 
application the whole manufacture begins and ends, except that three 
coats of the pigment are necessary to perfect the leather, and an 
interval of twenty-four hours must elapse between the application of 
each. During this period the sheets are carried to a drying-house heated 
to a temperature of 94 degrees, and where they are hung like oil-cloth, 
according to the order in which they arrive, the last comers displacing 
those which have completed their time and are ready for their second 
coat. Thus the manufacture never stops, and three days suffice to com- 
plete “hides” of any length or breadth to which fabrics can be woven. 
For imitations of morocco or other grained leathers the long sheets are 
simply passed, when finished, through iron rollers, which indent them 
in any pattern required. For enamelled leather the enamel is applied 
after the third coat, by hand labour, which though slower of course, than 
that of machinery, is nevertheless rapid enough to cover the sheet in a 
very short time. The enamel, when dry is infinitely superior to any 
description of patent leather. It is perhaps, scarcely necessary to state 
that the pigment which transforms the cotton into leather is capable of 
being tinted to any shade that may be wanted of red, green, brown, 
black, blue, yellow, &c., and that whatever are the ingredients of the 
composition no admixture of india rubber or gutta percha forms part of 
it, inasmuch as the leather cloth when complete, even when left folded 
and exposed to a considerable heat is entirely free from the tendency to 
stickiness, which has been the great objection to all waterproof materials, 
— The Ironmonger.’ 


524 


GAS WORKS IN GERMANY. 


There are in Germany 266 gas works, of which 66 are worked by 
townships or individuals, and 200 belong to various companies. 
The combustible employed is chiefly coal, the largest quantity being 
supplied from England. Out of 74 million quintals 3,350,000 are ob- 
tained from the English collieries. Berlin, which produces annually 
800 million cubie feet of gas uses about half of this quantity of coal. 
Hamburg takes more than 500,000 quintals, and the rest is used in the 
gas works of Altona, Lubeck, Rostock, Stralsund, Stettin, Dantzic, 
_Konigsberg, &. The excellent quality of the English coal for gas- 
making causes the preference to be given to it over indigenous coal, but 
if the cost of transport of the latter can be cheapened it is thought that 
it will ere long come into use in Hamburg, Berlin, and other towns. 
The following are the per centage proportions in which the various 
coal is used in Germany :— 


English coal . : ‘ : ° 5 : - 46.00 
Westphalia. : ; : é , . . 18.00 
Moravia . ; : : . ; 5 ; LS 
Zwickan ‘ = F - ; : : 5 EDO 
Saarbuck : : . , ‘ : : 100 
Silesia. : ‘ ; - i : : Ps 4010) 
Dresden ; . : : : - A res 
Bohemia : i ; - : i F +2100} 
Northern Bayaria . : ‘ : . Jeno, = OMS 
100. 


Besides the gas-works which consume coal Germany possesses twenty 
in which wood alone is employed for distillation ; and there are two 
small works in Holstein which consume peat or turf at certain times, 
and at others coal. 

The retorts used are generally of clay, except in those works 
where gas is made from wood. The total number of retorts employed 
is estimated at 7,337, made for the most part in the immediate locality 
of the works ; their form and size differs considerably. 

Assuming that the mean consumption of gas inghe 24 hours is 
25 millions of cubic feet, and supposing that each retort furnishes daily 
4,500 cubic feet, it follows that these 7,337 retorts must be continually or 
three-fourths of the time in work. 

The use of extractors is much less general than would be supposed. 
There are only ninety, or less than a third of the whole of the gas-works 
in Germany which employ about 107 extractors. The small works 
do not employ them at all. 

The meters in general use are water-meters of native manufacture, ~ 
and may number about 139,000, the mean number of lights of each 
is about eight—Journal de ’Eclairage au Gaz. 


RIMMEL’S TABLE FOUNTAIN. 


Fountains constitute one of the chief enjoyments of the Orientals, 
who remain for hours in dreamy contemplation before their tiny streams. 
Although we do not profess for them the same partiality, which would 
be incompatible with our busy life, we consider them as pleasing orna- 
ments for our gardens and conservatories, and numerous have been the 
attempts to introduce them into our drawing-rooms. These attempts, 
however, have hitherto signally failed ; for, strange as it may seem, no 
system of self-acting fountain has yet been found to answer the desired 


a 4 | ee 


"ie 
8, ae aos 


oh ~ i 
. ath : at 
a ue 


x Car 
bine: 
tiny 


Aty Ny Nig: Hi oi 


ee 


26 


526 RIMMEL’S TABLE FOUNTAIN. 


purpose. Weights, springs, and other contrivances have been tried, but 
they all get out of order in a very short time. Springs turn rusty, 
valves become loose, and the useless toy is soon ignominiously banished 
to the lumber-roow. 

Mr. Rimmel, of the Strand, the indefatigable caterer of novelties for 
the fashionable public, has just brought out a table fountain which ap- 
pears likely to escape the dire fate of its predecessors. It contains no 
machinery whatever, and acts merely by the pressure of atmospheric 
air. It consists of a basin and side reservoir, which latter when filled 
forces the liquid up the jet. It plays for about an hour, and when it 
has run out it can be made to play again by reversing it and re-filling 
the side reservoir. The very simplicity of this system, which nothing 
can disturb, insures its success. 

The fountain represented in our sketch is one which Mr. Rimmel 
was commanded by the Lord Chamberlain to supply for the Princess of 
Wales’ bridal boudoir at Windsor Castle. It consisted ofa chaste statue 
in Parian supporting a cut glass basin and was ornamented with silk, 
lace and flowers, to match the gorgeous apartment in which it shed 
a delicious perfume. After making such a brilliant entrée into 
the aristocratic world there is no doubt that Rimmel’s Fountains will 
soon be thought an indispensable requisite in all drawing-rooms, and 
will be called in request to increase the attraction of our fashionable 
fétes and balls. 


ON THE CULTURE OF THE GROUND-NUT, ETC. 527 


ON THE CULTURE OF THE GROUND-NUT IN GAMBIA, 
WESTERN AFRICA. 


BY HIS EXCELLENCY GOVERNOR DARCY. 


The ground-nut, our staple product, is principally cultivated down the 
borders of the river, and in British Combo by the Serrawoolies. They 
are a nomadic tribe of Mahommedan farmers of the Senegambia; they 
leave their wives and children’far up the country, and wander to the 
seaboard in search of fallow ground, to be left again as soon as the crops 
have worn out the soil. The native has unfortunately introduced, of late 
years, the pernicious system of beating, or threshing, instead of picking by 
hand, whereby the nuts are mixed with leaves, stalks, stones, and other 
extraneous substances, causing large deductions in the French market, 
and depreciating their value in the United States as an article of food, or, 
better to be described, a favourite dessert for the tables of the rich in the 
latter country. The resident native, the Jolloffe, or the liberated 
African, surrounded by his Lares et Penates, In the shape of women, 
children, and domestic servants, or slaves, takes his time to pick the nuts, 
so saving the grass for the Bathurst market, where it meets with ready 
sale as fodder for horses; whereas the Serrawoolie, who is anxious for 
quick returns, has not the time, and certainly not the energy, to pick two 
acres of ground-nuts between December and May, and which he can 
easily dress, work, and sow in June and November, thereby losing the 
fodder, but bringing a larger quantity of nuts to the market. I have 
endeavoured most earnestly to counteract this baneful mode of harvest- 
ing, not only in British Combo, but in the other parts of the country ; 
for if it continues, it will lower the reputation hitherto enjoyed by the 
Gambia over the nuts exported from the neighbouring rivers of the Casa- 
mance, Jeba, the Rio Grande, and Sierra Leone. 

I take every occasion to urge upon the natives most seriously the ne- 
cessity of not solely relying on the ground-nut; it is a very precarious 
staple for a community only to depend on. I dread some day a famine, 
not to the extent of the suffering in Ireland from the potato disease, for 
sufficient corn is certainly grown to keep life from season to season, but, 
I fear they will lose all their comforts, such as warm clothes, tobacco, 
rum, &c., from their inability to purchase dry goods, owing to the nut be- 
coming a drug in the market, from more causes than one ; a French re- 
volution for instance, asin 1848, left the exportation of the nut only to 
the States and Great Britain, leaving thousands of tons on hand, not to 
speak of the loss the colony will suffer from the absence of the tonnage 
dues. We shall then only have to fall back on our old articles of hides, 
wax, and ivory, which is a failing trade. 

The reflection is very serious to one who studies the interests of the 
Gambia colony, in particular, and difficult to remedy, unless Providence 
in its mercy supplies some hitherto unknown or unappreciated article of 


528 ON THE CULTURE OF THE GROUND-NUT, ETC. 


commerce to supply the place of this little oleaginous nut, which has, 
for the last twelve years, brought all the blessings of comfort, healthful 
occupation, industrious habits, and civilization, in the place of wars, 
famine and the slave trade of the interior. 

Indigo might, in the opinion of some old residents, take a lead in 
exports, but I fear not to any extent. The natives understand its culti- 
vation, growing sufficient to dye their “ pangs,” or country cloths, but 
not an ounce is yet exported. 

The following is a correct return of the quantity and value of the 
ground-nuts exported from the Gambia for the last 24 years. 


EXPORTS OF GROUND-NUTS FROM 1837 To 1860. 


Quantity. Value. 
tons. £ 

1837 : : : 671 - : 2 > §,053, 
1838 : ; ; 6805. . 2 : 8,264 
1839 : : - 882 : : ; ; 11,228 
1840 : ; seh PDE aes, : : 3 15,209 
1841 5 3 . 2,334 ; : ; 2 26 932 
1842 : : . 2,034 : : : - 29,489 
1843 : 5 . 2,680 : 5 . : 32,899 
1844 - : . 0,426 - E 2 ; 44,672 
1845 - ; . 4,027 ‘ . BP ee 51,270 
1846 : ; aE - ; ; : 73,867 
1847 ; . S eshevs . - : : 98,395 
1848 : . . 8,636 : : 3 « » LOZ og 
1849 : , | 4,8395...-. : . : 51,923 
1850 : . . 6,009 : ; : ‘ 72,237 
1851 ; . sd 0949 « Gs : : - 133,133 
1852 ; : . 9,295 : s : . 153,098 
1853 : : » 11,226 5 ; ; . 135,404 
1854 : : = Dae . - . . 109,846 
1855 - . . 12,485 : ; : . 149,714 
1856 ; 4 . 10,8743. .. : : . 130,496 
1857 - , . 15,554 : . : . 162,650 
1858 ; 3 . 15,729 : : 4 . 188,747 
1859 : : . 8,839 : ; ; : 68,745 
1860 . : , os OBE: : : - 94,008 


The average annual export in the ten years from 1850 to 1860 was 
11,1963 tons. 


PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED.—Pharmaceutical Journal for May. Chemist 
and Druggist, No. 45. °Revue du Monde Colonial, Nos. 4, 5, and 6, 
Technologiste for April and May. Holmes’ Magnite Electric Light as 
applicable to Lighthouses. Transactions of the Royal Institution, and 
of the Institution of Civil Engineers. Journal of the Board of Arts 
and Manufactures, Upper Canada, for March and April. The Stationer. 
The Paper Trade Review. 


fat PhO N OL GAs 


NOTES ON THE ECONOMIC APPLICATION OF BARKS. 


BY JOHN R. JACKSON. . 


Tannina BARKS. 


The tanning of the hides of animals is an art of very great antiquity. 
Pliny speaks of leather as the invention of Tychius of Beeotia ; one of 
the oldest substances in use for the purpose of tanning, is undoubtedly 
oak-bark, and for a considerable time it was considered the only article 
suited for such purposes. Although tanning can be traced back to so 
remote an age, the ancient tanners seem to have known little or nothing 
of the chemical action of the properties of the bark upon the hide; 
but, of late, keeping pace with the advancement of all other branches 
of knowledge, changes have taken place in this work ; new barks and 
other substances which have been found to contain the required prin- 
ciple have been tried, and consequently we have many other materials 
in the market, and new ones being frequently added. The demand for 
oak-bark became so great that in the year 1765 the Society of Arts were 
led to offer a prize for a substitute for use in tanning, and the applica- 
tion of oak-sawdust, which, however, had been previously used suc- 
cessfully in Germany, was the result ; other substances followed, such 
as oak-leaves, &c., yet the bark of the oak maintained and still holds 
its superiority over them all, and is always used for the best kinds of 
leather. The present consumption of oak-bark for tanning purposes is 
enormous; besides the home supplies, which amount to between 
200,000 and 300,000 tons yearly, we annually import about 4,000 tons 
from the Continent. Some interesting information on Tanning Sub- 
stances will be found at p. 289, vol. 1, TECHNOLOGIST. 

Quercus suber, L.—The cork-tree, a native of the South of Europe 

VOL. III. LCT a 


530 ON THE ECONOMIC APPLICATION OF BARKS. 


and North of Africa. The inner bark is that used in the production of 
leather, the corky portion being devoid of tanning. The largest 
amount of cork-bark and the best quality is imported from Sardinia ;-it 
contains a large quantity of tannin, but is seldom used alone, being 
usually mixed with valonea, &c. The greatest use to which the bark of 
this tree is applied is for stoppers for bottles, and other similar applica- 
tions which are so well known, and for which no substitute is equal. 
The trees are usually allowed about sixteen years growth before the 
bark is sufficiently thick for cutting. This is done by making longi- 
tudinal and transverse incisions so as to allow the cork to be taken off 
in flakes. These pieces are afterwards placed in water with heavy 
weights upon them to flatten them, after which they are scorched or 
blackened at a fire, chiefly for the purpose of giving a closer texture. 
They are then packed in bales ready for the market. About 2,500 tons 
of the bark are annually imported into this country. 

Abies canadensis, L. The Hemlock Spruce.—This is another well- 
known material for tanning. The tree is a native of the colder parts of 
North America, growing to a height of about eighty feet. The bark is 
much used in the States, but an objection to its use in this country ison 
account of the red colour it imparts to leather. 

Alnus glutinosa, Willd.—A tree twenty or thirty feet high, native of 
Europe and Western Asia. The bark has astringent properties, and is 
used, as well as the leaves for tanning purposes. It is also employed 
for dyeing black. The young shoots afford adye of a cinnamon or 
brownish yellow, while from the catkins a green colour is procured. 

Byrsonima spicata, Dec—A small tree or shrub, native of St. Do- 
mingo, Dominica, Brazil, &c., produces a bark which is used in those 
countries for tanning. It is about a quarter of an inch thick, of a cin- 
namon brown colour, covered with a whitish cuticle. 

Eleodendron croceum, Dec.—A tuee about thirty or forty feet high, 
native of the neighbourhood of the Cape of Good Hope. It produces 
a thick fibrous bark of an earthy brown colour, and is much used in the 
colony for tanning and dyeing, though it appears to contain very little 
astringency. The tree is known as the saffron tree, probably from the 
bark being covered with a resinous coating of a yellowish colour. 

Spondias lutea, L.—The Hog-plum of the West Indies, where it is a 
native, as well as of South America. It is a tree growing to a height of 
about fifty feet, of very rapid growth, and is frequently planted for 
hedges. The bark is about half an inch in thickness, of a very com- 
pact, close texture, and a deep mahogany colour, the outer surface very 
much cracked or furrowed. It is astringent, and has been successfully 
used for tanning in British Guiana and the West Indian Islands. 

Mora excelsa, Bth.—A gigantic tree, growing to a height of from 
120 to 150 feet, native of the forests of British Guiana. The bark is 
considered a good tanning agent, for which purpose it is much employed: 
It is about a quarter of an inch thiek, very even and uniform through- 


ON THE ECONOMIC APPLICATION OF BARKS. 531 


out, of a dull brown colour, with occasional patches of a whitish epi- 
dermis, 

Rhizophora mangle, . The Mangrove.—A tree forty or fifty feet 
high. The seeds of this plant, which grows in the tidal estuaries of 
rivers in Guiana, Brazil, and the West Indies, would inevitably be 
earried away by the receding tide were they like those of most plants, 
but while they are yet in the fruit, the rootlet grows until it is from one 
to two feet in length, and nearly twice the thickness of a common lead 
pencil ; it then drops from the tree into the mud, where it establishes 
itself as an independent plant. The bark of this tree is much prized 
in Brazil as a tanning material, and small quantities have been imported 
into this country for the same purpose. It is reputed to contain a large 
quantity of tannin, and to be superior to many barks for that purpose, 
but its deep red colour is, perhaps, an objection to its being brought 
into greater use. It is about a quarter of an inch thick, of a dull, 
reddish brown colour,somewhat fibrous, and covered on the outer surface 
with acork-like cuticle. Other allied species of this genus produce 
barks having similar properties. 

Coccoloba uvifera, L. Sea-side Grape.—This is a large tree, native of 
the West Indies and South America. Nearly all parts of the tree have 
astringent properties, particularly the fleshy calyx, which partly covers 
the edible berries. These have a pleasant acid flavour. The bark is 
used for tanning in the West Indies. It is about a quarter of an inch 
thick, of a dusky brown colour externally, the inside of a lightish red, 
it breaks with a short brittle fracture. 

Acacia Arabica, L.—A tree growing thirty or forty feet high, a native 
of the East Indies, Egypt, Senegal, &c., produces a bark known as 
Babool bark, much prized in the East Indies for tanning leather, and 
also for dyeing various shades of brown. ‘The bark itself is of a deep 
red brown colour, much resembling in appearance that imported as 
‘Mimosa bark.” <A decoction is employed as a substitute for soap. 

Acacia melanoxylon, R. Br—Known in Tasmania as Blackwood. A 
common Australian tree, growing thirty or forty feet high, also furnishes 
a bark used by the natives for tanning. Acacia mollissima, Willd., the 
Black Wattle, and A. decurrens, Willd., the Green Wattle, of New 
South Wales, both large trees, produce, with several other species of 
Acacia, barks more or less esteemed in the Australian colonies for 
tanning and dyeing purposes. The numerous species of Acacia growing 
in this part of the world are very imperfectly known, and consequently 
the native or commercial name of their products difficult of identifica- 
tion ; thus, a large quantity of bark is imported into this country from 
Tasmania and Australia for tanning purposes under the name of 
“ Mimosa bark,” but the scientific name of the plant or plants producing 
it cannot be determined. 

Weinmannia racemosa, Forst—A moderately sized tree, native 
of New Zealand, where the bark is much prized for tanning, 

L422 


532 ON THE ECONOMIC APPLICATION OF BARKS. 


It is very thick, heavy and ligneous, of a dull deep brown colour, 
the outer surface covered with patches of a thickish white cuticle. 

Avicennia nitida, Jacqg—A native of British Guiana, where it is 
known as “ Courida,” produces a bark valued amongst the natives for 
its use in tanning. It is thin and somewhat brittle, the outer surface of 
a dusky grey colour, the inner haying the appearance of being partly 
charred or scorched by heat. 

Cassia auriculata, L.—A shrub common on waste land in various 
parts of the East Indies, where the bark is in great repute, both for 
tanning and also for dyeing leather of a buff colour. It is known by the 
name of “ Turwur.” 

Betula alba, L.—The common birch, a native of the colder parts of 
Europe. The bark of this tree is much used in Scotland for tanning 
the lighter kinds of leather, and an oil is extracted from it which is 
used for dressing the well known Russian leather ; the peculiar smell of 
this leather is said to be caused entirely by the use of this oil. The 
bark is also used in Lapland for tanning purposes, and in Scotland a 
wine is made from the sap of the tree. 

Castanea vesca, Gaertn. The Spanish Chestnut.—This well known 
tree is now widely distributed over all parts of Europe and North 
America. It is supposed to have been originally a native of Asia 
Minor. The chestnut tree grows to a large size and a great age. In 
Piedmont the bark is used for tanning, and is said to impart a very dark 
colour to the skins tanned with it. 

Larix Europea, Dec.—The common larch is a native probably of 
Asia, and was introduced at the commencement of the 17th century, but 
it was not till about the middle of the 18th century that it was cultivated 
as a forest tree. It flourishes well in this country, but is more abund- 
antly grown in Scotland than any other part. Its bark is much used 
among the Scotch, chiefly for tanning the leathers used in bookbinding. 
It is likewise used as a tanning substance in England as well as in 
America. 

Bucida Buceras, L.—A tree growing twenty or thirty feet high, 
native of Jamaica and other West Indian Islands. The bark is said to 
be highly prized for its astringent properties in tanning. It is called in 
Antigua, “French oak ;” in Jamaica, “ Black olive.” 

Conocarpus racemosa, L.—A shrub or small tree growing in marshes 
on the sea-coast of the West Indian Islands and the neighbouring con- 
tinent of South America. The bark is very largely used in Rio Janeiro 
for tanning purposes. The plant is one of the many known among the 
natives as mangroves. 

Dyeing Barks. 

Berberis vulgaris, L.—A shrub or small tree sometimes found grow- 
ing to a height of eighteen to twenty feet. Itis a native of Europe and 
Western Asia, ‘and formerly grew in abundance in hedges in this 
country, but a groundless belief prevailed that corn growing in the 


ll 


ON THE ECONOMIC APPLICATION OF BARKS, 533 


vicinity of these bushes always proved abortive, which caused the 
owners of the ground to destroy them in large quantities. The bark of 
the root, and also the inner bark of the stem yields a yellow dye, which 
is used for colouring linen, cotton, &c. In Poland, it is used for dyeing 
leather of a bright yellow colour. 

Ventilago maderaspatana, Gaertn.—From the bark of the root of 
this plant, a native of the forests and uncultivated places in the North 
of Bengal, an orange-coloured dye is procured by the natives; it is 
usually employed with some other ingredients by which its colour is 
changed, as with galls it produces a good black. It is a favourite colour- 
ing agent, and is in common use amongst them. 

Pterocarpus flavus, Lour.—A tree about forty feet high, a native of 
China, produces a thin but igneous bark, of a bright yellow fracture. 
It is much used by the dyers in Canton. The colour is extracted by 
simply macerating in cold water, and is used without the aid of a mor- 
daunt. The wood is called yellow sanders wood. : 

Morinda citrifolia, L.—A small tree, native of various parts of the 
East Indies, where the bark of the roots is more or less employed for the 
purpose of extractinga red dye. The red turbans and handkerchiefs so 
much in use in the Madras Presidency, owe their colour chiefly to this 
bark. From the bark of the roots of Af tinctoria, Roxb., and other 
allied species, red dyes are likewise procured. The number of plants 
whose barks afford dyes are small compared with the other uses to which 
this part of the plant is applied. Vegetable colouring agents are, 
perhaps more prevalent in the wood than in any other part, and a long 
list might be made of our dye woods, which form an extensive article of 
commerce. But the colouring matter is not confined alone to bark or 
wood ; from the flowers of some, from the leaves of others, and from 
the fruits of others, again, different coloured dyes are obtained. In 
various parts of India the bark of many plants is used by the natives 
as local colouring agents, either alone or combined with other sub- 
stances. Thus in Nepal, the bark of Photinia dubia, Lindl., is used for 
dyeing scarlet ; that from Datisca cannabina, L., furnishes a yellow dye; 
from Myrica sapida, Wall., the same colour is obtained at Rohilkund. 
Bruguieria gymnorhiza, Lam., produces a black dye.—Quercitron; the 
bark of Quercus tinctoria, Willd., furnishes a yellow colour, in great 
repute among dyers; from that of the American Hickory (Carya alba, 
Nutt.), a colour is obtained much resembling that from Quercitron, but 
it is more difficult of extraction, on account of the hardness of its bark, 
and it cannot be obtained in such large quantities. The barks of 
Wendlandia tinctoria, Dec., Cathartocarpus fistula, Pers., several species 
of Symplocos, and many others are used as dye stuffs in India. 


- 534. 


ON THE DESTRUCTION OF NOXIOUS INSECTS BY MEANS 
OF THE PYRETHRUM. 


BY C, WILLEMOT., 


Of all substances hitherto proposed for the destruction of noxious 
insects, powders have been found the only ones that can be used to 
advantage on account of their simple and easy method of application. 
All such powders, too, which have been employed, so far as known, are 
derived from the vegetable creation. It would occupy too great a space » 
to enumerate here all the plants used in the form of powder for this 
purpose ; it will suffice to mention some which have been more parti- 
cularly under observation. Among these are the straight-leaved pepper- 
wort (Lepidium ruderale, Linn., and Thlaspi ruderale, Desfon), found 
growing in uncultivated places and among rubbish around Paris. This 
is used in Southern Dalmatia in the form of powder almost exclusively 
for the destruction of fleas. In some parts of Southern Russia, espe- 
cially in the Crimea, a plant very common in France, Aristolochia Clema- 
titis, Linn. (common birthwort) is used exclusively to destroy bugs. 
Sawdust of aromatic wood, particularly American cedar (Cedrela odo- 
rata, Livn.), is largely sold for the destruction of insects, and, according 
to some authorities, most of the powders sold in Paris for that purpose 
are composed of that substance. But after using and experimenting 
with them we have been fully convinced that the object cannot thus be 
perfectly attained. Their action is feeble, or they merely stupefy, for a 
time, the insect, which soon recovers its strength and sensibility to do 
injury. 

The greater number of the plants which furnish the most satisfactory 
means for the destruction of insects are of the genus Pyrethrum. Many 
observers, considering the botanic resemblance (as well as similar pro- 
perties of this genus) with kindred ones as certain chamomiles, the 
Anthemis Cotula for instance, have pretended that such indigenous plants 
(chamomiles) may specifically furnish a powder for destroying insects 
equal in every respect to the Pyrethrum. But accurate and detailed 
experiments by ourselves and other competent observers refute such 
assertion. All the efficacy of the Anthemis Cotula consists in rendering 
the insects insensible for a time instead of destroying them. The 
inhabitants of the regions of Europe and Asia, near the Caucasian 
mountains, seem to have been the first to discover the properties of the 
Pyrethrum, and try on a large scale’the powders obtained from these 
plants. The species employed differ according to the different localities. 

Tt is easy to comprehend that the inhabitants of the Caucasus choose 
for their use that kind which is most abundant in their own country. 
Thus in Armenia they prefer the red Pyrethrum (P. Roseum, Biebers), 
commonly called Lowizachek, or fiea plant. 

The Persian powder which appears most extensively used is” 


ON THE DESTRUCTION OF NOXIOUS INSECTS, ETC. 535 


almost. wholly composed of this flesh-coloured Pyrethium. (P. 
carneum, Biebers.) Dr. Ch. Koch in his ‘Travels in the East’ 
gives very curious details respecting this precious species in the Cau- 
casian regions. In the ‘Journal de la Sociéte Imperiale et Centrale 
d’Horticulture de la Seine,’ vol. iii. 1857, p. 756, may also be found an 
analysis of a note by Mr. Neumann, of Breslau, on the ‘Culture and 
Preparation of the Powder of the Pyrethrum carneum. 

We may here remark, in passing, that in countries where the most 
frequent use has been made of these powders of Pyrethrum, they have 
only been applied to the destruction of those insects which are trouble- 
some in dwellings. Our object has been to select from the different 
plants the one which presents the greatest range of efficacy ; and we 
have been more exacting in this than heretofore has been the case 
in seeking a plant of incontestable efficacy for the destruction of insects, 
and which can be so applied, not only to vermin in the house, but also 
to those insects which every year commit such great ravages upon the 
cereals, fruit-trees, leguminous and ornamental plants, &e. A plant was 
desirable which can easily be acclimatized in France, the properties of 
which, in its wild state in its native regions, are neither destroyed nor 
weakened by cultivation, and which can be raised with but slight atten- 
tion to its culture. We want, finally, a productive plant, to the end 
that the powder it furnishes may be sold at a very low price. Sucha 
plant we are now fortunate enough to introduce for the public use. Its 
efficacy has been fully proved by a great number of persons, as will be 
seen hereafter ; its acclimatization is very satisfactorily evinced ; its cul- 
ture is most simple ; its properties are wholly retained ; the production is 
very abundant; now nothing remains but its extensive propagation 
which, however, is not without many difficulties. We will not dis- 
guise the fact that the great success so far attained by no means makes 
us suppose the task accomplished, but it, nevertheless encourages us 
to continue our efforts with new perseverance. It was about 1850 when 
the first powder of Pyrethrum was introduced into France for the 
destruction of insects in houses. The powder came exclusively from 
provinces of the Caucasus, of Persia, and Dalmatia. Our researches 
have proved to us that that from the Caucasus is the best. For a 
number of years the inhabitants of those countries have successfully 
used the powder of the Pyrethrum to protect themselves against the 
ravages of numerous insects. 

For a long period, apreparation was used throughout the Russian Cau- 
casus for thedestruction of injurious insects, and was regarded as a secret 
by the restof the world, until its properties became known to Mx. Jum- 
tikoff, an American merchant, while travelling through that country some 
forty years ago. He communicated his discovery to his son, who manu- 
factured the article in 1828. This powder, or the plant from which it was 
obtained, was soon after introduced into Alexandropol, and subsequently 
the powder got into use in Germany and France, where its popularity is 


536 ON THE DESTRUCTION OF NOXIOUS INSECTS 


rapidly increasing. At present there are more than 20 villages in 
the district of Alexandropol engaged in cultivating the plant and collect- 
ing its flowers. The plants from which this powder is produced, consist 
of small perennial shrubs, from twelve to fifteen inches in height, bearing 
floweis an inch and a half in diameter, and resembling those of the 
ox-eye daisy, (Chrysanthemum leucanthemum.) 

They grow on the mountains of the Caucasus at an elevation of 
5,650 feet above the level of the sea, in a temperature of 68° 
Fahr. They are of easy cultivation in gardens, and since their hardiness 
has become known, they have been introduced into Germany, Holland, 
and France, for the purposes of ornament, when they begin to flower 
in June. They will flourish in any ordinary garden soil, and may 
be propagated by layers as well as by seed. 

The parts of the plants from which the powder is made are the dried 
flower-heads, gathered when ripe, on fine days; and usually dried by 
exposure to the sun ; but they have been found to be more serviceable 
when dried in the shade, during which operation they are occasionally 
turned. In the process of dessication they lose about 90 per cent. 
When perfectly dried, they are first comminated with the hand, and 
then reduced to powder in a small mill. 

A quantity of these plants grown upon eighteen square rods is 
estimated to furnish one hundred pounds of powder, which is best pre- 
served in sealed vessels of glass. The application is made either as a 
powder or as an infusion, though in the latter form it is more beneficial, 
especially when intended for the destruction of insects on plants. The 
powder may be employed directly to the insects themselves, or in the 
places which they frequent. They are attracted by its smell, become 
stupified and immediately die. This substance may be employed with- 
out injury to the larger animals, or toman. It is intimated that the 
amount of this powder consumed annually in Russia alone is about 
500 tons. 

The inhabitants of the Caucasus and adjoining countries who used 
these powders had only a very limited knowledge of their plants, and 
did not suspect that one among them, the Pyrethrum Willemoti, 
Duchartre, would be called upon to render the most effective service to 
avticulture and horticulture, achieving the preservation of food, wool, 
furs, and the comfort of man and the domestic animals, &c. 

These powders had been introduced into France for several years 
before a choice had been made among them, and the special import- 
ance of this particular species recognised. The high price and the 
numerous adulterations they have undergone, diverted the public from 
this acquisition, and from a public appreciation of its efficacy. Submitted 
to a close analysis, these powders as sold have been found to be mixed 
with dangerous substances, which in due regard to public safety re- 
quire to be vigorously excluded from sale. In them sumac powder is a 
common ingredient frum its close resemblance tothe Pyrethrum powder, 


cf 


BY MEANS OF THE PYRETHRUM. 537 


and also jalap, cockle, of Levant, nux vomica, and even arsenic, enter 
into the composition of the powders we have examined, 

It was not till 1856 and after many efforts that we could procure some 
good seeds of the Pyrethrum of Caucasus. We were then able to ex- 
tend our researches as to the culture of the plant. We had to proceed 
cautiously in determining the soil best adapted to it, to find out the best 
exposure and to discover the care necessary to be bestowed on it. The 
first sown on September 15, 1856, produced only a few shoots. A great 
point was, to ascertain whether the plant was an annual or perennial. 
In order to determine this, several of the procured plants passed through 
the winter of 1856-57, and sustained from 8 to 12 degrees of cold with- 
out appearing to suffer. 

The seeds gathered trom this first culture were sown in February, 
1858. In May, we communicated our experiments and the success that 
had crowned them to Messrs. Decaisne, Neumann, and Pepin. These 
gentlemen then exainined the plant botanically, and their opinions are 


as follows :-— 


Botanical characters——The genus Pyrethrum* has been established 
by Gaertner, according to Haller. Linnaeus classes it under the genus 
Chrysanthemum, but it differs from the latter by the strap-shaped flowers 
or semi florets situated on the circumference and terminating by threc 
teeth, and because its fruits or akenes are crowned by a projecting mem- 
brane frequently toothed. 

It must be admitted that these characteristics are not always very 
distinctly marked in some of the numerous species composing the Pyre- 
thrum; and that the other characteristics of these plants resemble in 
every respect those of the Chrysanthemum. However this may be, 
present authors unanimously adopt the genus Pyrethrum. It belongs to 
the great family of the composite plants in the tribe of Seneciones, and 
the subdivision of Anthemidee. 

After the introduction into France, in October, 1857, of the first 
shoots of the species dwelt upon in this paper, there was a long period 
of indecision as to the true name which was to be given toit. On its 
presentation to the Imperial and Central Society of Horticulture, it 
was regarded as Pyrethrum roseum, Biebers; (Chrysanthemum roseum, 
Adam ;) but at that time the characters of the plant not being per- 
fectly ascertained, this decision could only be the result of a supposition. 
Later when we presented some flowering specimens of the plant to the 
Museum, M. Decaisne believing that he was examining a plant well- 
known to the botanical explorers of the Caucasus, and described in 
botanical works in that region, at first sight took it for Pyrethrum 
pedunculare. 

Shortly afterwards, having inspected the herbariums of the Museum, 

* The name is a Greek word, signifying ‘‘fire,” because the first plant of this 


name had a root which, when chewed, leaves a very burning taste in the mouth. 
It isa species of chamomile (Anthemis pyrethrum), used in medicine. 


538 ON THE DESTRUCTION OF NOXIOUS INSECTS 


the celebrated professor recognised only one species to which it could 
be compared. Unfortunately the dried specimen which he was examin- 
ing being imperfect, his researches were necessarily limited, and 
M. Decaisne regarded the plant as belonging to the species named by 
Fisher and Meyer Pyrethrum elongatum, (Tanacetum elongatum, Schultz, 
Bip.), which he with much kindness communicated to us. 

Thus the Pyrethrum of Caucasus was propagated under this name 
to the time when M. Duchartre having made it a special object of study 
declared (Session of Hort. Soc., Nov. 24, 1859), that this species had 
not before been described, and that it differed by very marked charac- 
teristics from P. elongatum. The conclusions and scientific reasons which 
induced M. Duchartre to establish a new species for this plant are given 
in the 5th vol. of the ‘Journal de la Societie Imperiale et Centrale 
d’ Horticulture.” . 

Pyrethrum Willemott is a perennial herbaceous plant, which in its culti- 
vated state reaches to the height of about 0°50 to 0°60 metres. All its 
green portions are covered with soft, cottony hair, giving it a whitish 
appearance. It forms rounded tufts, in the middle of which shoot up 
numerous little heads of flowers with long peduncles. The stalk is 
erect; nearly frutescent, rounded below, striped or furrowed, a little 
cottony towards the top. The lower leaves are large, and measure often 
nearly eight inches in length, by a breadth of about two inches. Borne 
by a long channelled petiole, slightly clasping at their base, they are 
divided into seven to nine segments or pinnatifid. These segments are 
alternate, deep, narrowed at their base, expanded at the top in unequal 
lobes terminated by pointed teeth. In proportion as they rise on the 
stalk, the leaves become smaller and less divided. Some of them 
towards the top may even be found linear and almost entire. The leaves 
finally vary in this form during the course of vegetation. They have a 
very bitter taste. 

The peduncles are furrowed or channelled, and have hardly any but 
small linear leaves, and near the head (capatulum) very small green 
scales. The little heads formed by the re-union of the flowers on a 
cominon receptacle terminate each in a peduncle. The flowers of 
the disk are yellow and those of the circumference or rays white. The 
involucre or common calyx is composed of scales, brownish towards the 
middle and covered with a cottony and whitish down. They are 
imbricated, linear, the exterior ones are longer and terminate in a point, 
the interior ones on the contrary are truncate, curved and terminating 
in irregular teeth. The receptacle is nearly hemespherical, convex, 
without the spangles, which are found in many other plants of the com- 
posite family. 

The flowers of the circumference, which are also called strap-shaped 
flowers or florets, have a corolla with a short tube and a tongue-shaped 
limb presenting two furrows above and terminated by these rounded 
teeth. Each little head is composed of from twelve to fifteen of these 


BY MEANS OF THE PYRETHRUM. 539 


flowers, The plants of the disk (those which are yellow and situated 
in the centre) have a corolla, hollowed, regular, divided at the top in 
five large teeth, and presenting on the external surface small grains. 
In cutting the corolla, we may see the several organs; the five stamens 
have their anthers united in a tube, each terminating by an appendix 
which results in the prolongation of the connexion in the form of an 
oval tongue. The threads are slender and abruptly inflated near the 
antheris. The style presents at its basis an inflation in the form of a 
bulb, crosses the tube of the stamens, and terminates in two developed 
branches with stigmas. The flowers on the circumference are female, 
that is, they inclose only the pistil, the stamens being represented by 
five little distinct thread-like bodies inflated with a rounded head at 
the extremity. The ovary of the flowers of the disk, as well as of those 
of the circumference, is inferior, that is other parts of the flower are 
inserted at the top, slightly arched and marked with five longitudinal 
angles, alternating with the teeth of the corolla. The ovary, the form of 
which is thus somewhat prismatic and surmounted by a border forming 
a cup irregularly toothed, and constituting what is termed an egret, 
because in many compound flowers that part forms a silky assemblage. 

The external side of the ovary is flat in the flowers of the circum- 
ference, whilst in those of the disk it forms a projecting corner. 
Thus the portion of the sections of the ovary, situated at the bottom are 
also connected with the exterior of the flowers. The hollow of the ovary 
is filled almost entirely by an erect ovula inflated at the top and 
turned back or reflexed. The fruits or akenes which succeed the 
ovaries, are a little more arched than the last, presenting between their 
five sides small resinous grains. Their egret, as we have termed it in 
speaking of the ovary, is composed of a sort of cup, which does not 
reach scarcely the sixth or seventh part of the length of the fruit or 
akene. 

Culture and Gathering.—The Pyrethrum, though a native of Mount 
Caucasus, where it grows abundantly and at a slight elevation above the 
level of the sea, under a latitude warmer than that of Paris, succeeds 
very well on good soil in France. It is very hardy and can sustain 
without hazard, the sévere winter there. A few years’ experience has 
taught the writer that it is little sensible to cold, and that it needs no 
shelter during the winter. It has been asserted that the kindred species 
which also grow in the Caucasus have rather suffered than benefited by 
the shelter given to them. The soil best adapted to the culture 
of the plant is a pure earth somewhat silicious and dry. Moisture 
and the presence of dung is injurious, the plant being extremely sensi- 
tive to a mass of water, and would in such case immediately perish. A 
southern aspect is the most favourable. The best time for putting the 
seed in the ground is from March to April. It can be done even in the 
month of February if the weather will permit it. After the soil has 
been prepared and the seeds are sown, they are covered by a stratum of 


540 ON THE DESTRUCTION OF NOXIOUS INSECTS 


soil mixed with some vegetable mould, and the roller is slightly applied 
to it. Every five or six days the watering is to be renewed in order to 
facilitate the germination. 

At the end of about 30 or 40 days the young plants make their 
appearance and as soon as they have gained strength enough they are 
transplanted. Three months after, they are transplanted again at wider 
distances according to their strength, each time being of course watered, 
but only moderately. 

The blossoming commences in the second year towards the end of 
May and continues to the end of September. Within that period the 
heads from which the powder is made must be gathered. The most 
favourable time for gathering seems to be when the heads are about to 
open—that is, when the flowerets of the circumference are yet standing 
erect. In this state the fecundation takes place, and the essential oil 
contained in the heads has reached its highest state of development, 
The stalks and leaves through having the properties in ‘a less degree, 
may be used also for making powder, but they must be mixed with the 
flowers in the proportion of a third of their weight. The powder thus 
obtained will perfectly answer the destruction of insects. Towards the 
end of September, at which time the blossoming has ceased, the stalks 
are cut at about 4 inches from the ground. As the flowers are cut they 
are dried in a granary or shed, great care, however, being taken not to 
expose them to moisture or to the rays of the sun. When completely 
dried the flowers are to be hermetically closed up in sacks, so as to 
prevent too early pulverization. In pulverizing them it is better not to 
take a larger quantity than the wants of the moment may require. The 
volatiliz: tion, which is of course more rapid in the powdered torm than 
in flowers, will thus be avoided. It has been suggested that the drying 
of the flowers for making the powder might be effected on sheet-iron 
plates, like tea leaves are dried in China, but this operation is most 
injurious to the plant, dissipating the essential oil. 

Pulverization—Among the numerous methods which we have tried 
in order to simplify the pulverization of the dried flowers, that which 
appears the best is to pound the flowers in a mortar. The mortar should 
be covered with a piece of leather, through which the pestle moves, 
adjusting it in such a way as to prevent any contact from without, 
as is usually done in pulverizing drugs in a laboratory. The 
quantity to be pulverized should not exceed a pound at a time 
thus avoiding too high a degree of heat which would be injurious to the 
quality of the powder. The pulverization being deemed sufficient, the 
substance is sifted through a silk sieve, and the residue, with a new 
addition of flowers, is put into the mortar and pulverized again. 

This method of preparation is so simple as to be within the reach 
of all; the pulverization by steam is more rapid and effectual, but 
necessarily more expensive. The best receptacles for holding | the 
powder seem te be bottles, these, if well corked, will keep out moisture 


BY MEANS OF THE PYRETHRUM. 541 


which is so injurious to the properties of the powder. If the powder 
is not to be kept long, small boxes will do as well as bottles. 

Insects Destroyed by the Powder.—The principal insects to 
which the powder is destructive may be ranged under four 
classes—first, insects injurious to agriculture and_ horticulture ; 
second, insects obnoxious to man and his habitation; third, insects 
destructive to certain substances, as wool, furs, feathers ; and fourth, 
insects injurious to museums of animal and vegetable products, and 
collections of natural history. We do not pretend to enumerate all 
the insects to which the powder is destructive, it will suffice to mention 
a few instances which will sufficiently show what applications may be 
made of it. Our demestic animals, dogs, cats, fowls, pigeons, &c., are 
subject to annoyance from insects which cannot withstand the effects 
of this powder. Of the numerous insects injurious to agriculture and 
horticulture we may mention the following which have been 
destroyed by it: the weevil, bark beetle, wheat-fly, maggots, cocci, 
aphides, earwigs, spiders, ants, &c. It is evident that not only the per- 
fectly developed insects are destroyed, but also the larvae, which in some 
cases, do greater injury than the insects themselves. Large depdéts 
where military stores or navy supplies are kept, and especially exten- 
sive bakeries, may use the powder with great advantage for the destruc- 
tion of weevils, midges, crickets, cockroaches, &c., the great plague of 
those establishments. The powder is equally efficacious in destroying 
insects which are a constant source of annoyance to the inhabitants of 
cities and the country. Gnats and musquitoes are banished ; bugs, 
fleas, and flies disappear from houses under itsinfluence. As to manu- 
factured articles, the powder is applied effectually to the following :— 

1. Furs.—These require great care for their preservation. Numerous 
insects live upon them. Their propagation is rapid. The only remedy 
against their ravages hitherto has been pepper or camphor, but by using 
the powder of Pyrethrum the insects and their larva will be most 
effectually destroyed. 

2, Feathers.—The same result will be arrived at by using this powder 
for the preservation of the costly products of feather dealers. Most 
woollen products have also a number of insect enemies, especially in 
their undeveloped state, as larvee. The powder of Pyrethrum, if applied 
in proper time, will effectually preserve all woollen articles. Natural 
history, too, has its share of the advantages afforded by this powder in 
the preservation of collections of mammalia, birds, fishes, reptiles, 
insects, and anatomical preparations. 

Herbariums are very frequently devastated by insects gradually 
piercing the paper as well as the dried plants, reducing the latter almost 
to powder, more especially if they have not been poisoned by chloride 
of mercury dissolved in alcohol—a substance both expensive and 
dangerous. By applying a pinch of the powder between the leaves of 
his herbarium, the botanist will soon get rid of the enemies of his 


542 ON THE DESTRUCTION OF NOXIOUS INSECTS. 


collection. Finally, a most important advantage of this powder is that 
it is innocuous to man, and can be absorbed by the human subject 
without the slightest danger to his health. Some physicians of celebrity 
even assert that the powder can be advantageously sprinkled upon sores 
or open wounds that diffuse an unpleasant odour. 

Mode of Applying the Powder.—In using the powder it must be ap- 
plied carefully and in sufficient quantity, otherwise the result will be 
unsatisfactory, especially if used against some of the hardy or very 
resisting species of insects. Occasionally the powder, by being exposed 
to the air or moisture, will have lost its destructive properties, so as to 
render the result doubtful and wholly inefficient ; at others the result 
has been unsatisfactory because the most favourable moment for the 
operation has been overlooked. A rainy or wetday, for instance, always 
lessens the destructive effieacy, because the powder, containing a very 
volatile essential oil, renders the conservation of this principle extremely 
difficult. 

Of all the methods for applying the powder to plants attacked by 
insects, including the vine, the bellows will best accomplish the object. 
As thereis only a small quantity of powder thrown at once, the loss will 
be very small, whilst in any other way a good deal of it will fall upon 
the ground. The powder should be directly applied to the parts operated 
on, and with care and precaution it may be made to penetrate into the 
most inaccessible parts of aplant. If, for instance, a plant has been 
attacked by plant lice, which are often hidden or masked by thick 
foliage, it will become necessary to turn aside this foliage, so as to have 
the insects exposedand the powder directly brought into contact with them. 

In all cases these operations should take place on a warm day, the 
morning being always preferable. A slight moisture arising from the 
morning dew will make the powder more easily adhere to the spots 
where it is applied, and maintain its properties long enough to cause the 
death of the insects. The insufflation should be renewed several times, 
according to the nature and number of insects to be destroyed. The first 
operation generally stupifies them, while at the second or third applica- 
tion they lose their strength, fall to the ground and die sooner or later. | 

In order to prevent the ravages of the wheat midge, the powder is 
mixed with the grain to be sown, in the proportion of about two 
ounces to two or three bushels, which will save a year’s crop. 

For insects in dwellings the insufflation may be performed by bellows 
of a smaller size than those used in agriculture and horticulture, 
Proper care should be taken to make the powder penetrate to the recesses 
where the insects lodge. Household furniture ought to be scrupulously 
searched, and bedsteads and sofas sprinkled in the evening. By continu- 
ing this for several days, the premises will be thoroughly rid of insects. 

For the preservation of furs, woollen garments or patterns, it is 
necessary, at the approach of spring, to sprinkle the articles abundantly 
with the powder, the object in contemplation being not the destruction 
of the insects, but the preventing their reappearance. 


543 


THE STRAWBERRY, ITS SPECIES, NATIVE LOCALITIES 
AND THEIR NORMAL SEXUAL CHARACTER. 


BY WM. R. PRINCE. 


The publication in your periodical of an article written by Leonard 
Wray,* who had recently visited. this country, in which he explains 
“The scientific culture of the strawberry in America,’ has evidently 
awakened public attention in England to this highly interesting subject. 
As very erroneous views have existed both there and here, I presume a 
short paper on it will be acceptable to the public. 

EvRopre presents us with three species of strawberries which, in their 
normal state, all produce fruit of small size. Two of these species have 
hermaphrodite flowers, and the third (fragaria elatior) comprises male, 
female, and hermaphrodite flowers. 

These European species are :— 

F. vesca—The Wood and Alpine strawberry. 

fF, Collina—Green Pineapple strawberry. 

F’, elatior—Hautbois strawberry. 

FE. monophylla, of Linnzeus, does not exist as a species, it being a 
variety of F.vesca. F. sterilis, of Linneeus, has proved to be Comarum 
fragaroides. Both Linnzeys and Miller supposed, and so stated, that the 
F. elatior (Hautbois) was obtained from America; an error that can 
scarcely be accounted for. 

ASIA presents us with one hermaphrodite species, F. indica, pro- 
ducing yellow blossoms, and whose fruit is not edible. 

SoutH AMERICA presents us with two species, both of which have 
large foliage and flowers, and fruit of remarkable size, and which com- 
prise in their normat state, both staminate and hermaphrodite varieties. 
These are :— 

F. grandiflora—Pine strawberry. 

F, Chilensis—Chili strawberry. 

The F. Bonariensis of Loudon, is only a synonym of F. grandiflora. 

NortH AMERICA presents us with six species, very distinct in 
character from all the European and South American species, and pro- 
ducing fruit varying from a medium to a large size. These species each 
present, in their normal state, plants of two characters : 1st, hermaphro- 
dite, or bi-sexual ; and 2nd, pistillate, or female. Of the hermaphro~ 
dite section there are two divisions : the one combining the stamens and 
pistils in each flower ; and the other producing some peduncles of 
entirely bi-sexual, and others of entirely pistillate flowers. These 
American species are :— 

F. Virginiana vel Canadensis—Scarlet strawberry. 

F. Hudsonica—Hudson’s Bay strawberry. 


* “TECHNOLOGIST,” vol. i., p. 44. 


SG a 
4 Sure 
* ee: ee 


544 THE STRAWBERRY, ETC. 


F.. Iowensis—lowa strawberry. 

F. Iilinoiensis—Illinois strawberry. 

F. lucida—California strawberry. 

F. sericea, Douglas, F’. Chilensis, of Torrey and Grey—Oregon straw- 
berry. 

The F. Caroliniensis of Loudon, and F. Caroliniana of Duchesne 
and Poiteau, has no distinct existence, but is merely a synonym of F. 
grandiflora. 

The European species being hermaphrodite, and but one of the 
North American species being known to Europeans in the time of 
Linnzeus, he supposed that all the species of the genus Fragaria were 
of the same character, and consequently placed them under the class 
and order Icosandria polygynia, comprising the stamens and pistils in 
the same flower. The two South American species which comprise 
staminate and hermaphrodite varieties, and whose large fruit caused 
them to be preferred in Europe, are the only species from which the 
numerous seedling varieties they now possess have been originated ; and 
as but one sexual variety of the Chilensis was carried to Europe, there 
have been only a few hybrids grown therefrom. All the others are 
seedlings of the F. grandiflora, and they are very numerous throughout 
Europe. 

These seminal varieties have retained their normal parental character, 
as this species does not admix even with its own congener of South 
America (F. Chilensis) as but one sex of this species has been obtained. 

This primal character of the Pine family, comprising staminates and 
hermaphrodites has always been sustained, but the adoption in Europe 
of an unnatural system based on the extermination of all the staminates 
(males) has resulted in filling the gardens of Europe exclusively with 
varieties of the hermaphrodite character; and, as preference has been 
thus given to these large white-fleshed varieties over the scarlet- 
fleshed varieties of the F. Virginiana, it has caused an almost total ex- 
clusion from their gardens of all the North American species and 
varieties. The prejudice thus generated has prevented the introduction 
into Europe of the productive American pistillate, or female varieties, 
as well as of our hermaphrodites, comprising the numerous large 
hybridized varicties which constitute such remarkable improvements 
over the few North American kinds they already possess, both in the size 
and flowers of their fruit, in the far greater hardihood of the plants 
suitable to the most northern climates, and especially in their great 
productiveness, the latter quality arising from their sexual physical 
capacities, and from the “scientific culture of the strawberry,” in the 
combination of the sexes. 

Europe, at the present time, possesses no female varieties except the 
pistillate Hautbois, which she exterminates, and the few pistillate 
varieties of Virginiana, mostly obtained from America two hundred 
years ago, and two only of our estimable pistillate varieties, which have 


THE STRAWBERRY, ETC. 545 
been recently introduced there ; this deficiency having resulted from 
her fatuity in ignoring the rapid progress made in the strawberry culture 
in America during the last fifty years. 

Black Strawberries.—The varieties which are so called and classed as 
a distinct species or family in the London Society’s Transactions, are 
not actually so, but are merely very dark-coloured varieties of the F. 
Virginiana, or hybrids. No such distinctive division is made by the 
French and Belgians. The Downton is a seedling of . Virginiana, and 

others may be hybrids, such as Black Prince, Hovey, &c. 
In Johnson’s Dictionary of Gardening this section is distinguished 
as “ F, vesca nigella ;’ but as Ff. vesca is European, and all the black 
strawberries are from American species, the author could not have been 
very conversant with the subject. 

Mr. T. A. Knight, when president of the London Horticultural Society 
raised a large number of seedling strawberries, from which he selected 
about twenty varieties, which were described in the Society’s Transac- 
tions, but these were grown from seeds injudiciously selected without 
any proper regard to sexual hybridization, and it would seem that he was 
then, as Dr. Lindley has been since, ignorant that such sexual distinc- 
tions existed, although he had seven pistillate varieties in the garden 
over which he presided. The varieties produced by him have, in conse- 
quence of their inferiority, been long since abandoned. Mr. Knight con- 
sidered the F. grandiflora or Pine, the Chilensis or Chili, and the Virgi- 
niana or Scarlet, to be only varieties of one species, as all these (he says) 
may be made TO BREED TOGETHER INDISCRIMINATELY. ‘This is a radical 
error. The first two species will blend with each other, although they 
are very distinct, but these two differ so entirely from the Virginiana 
that they never commingle therewith. 

It is plainly apparent that in Europe this subject of sexuality has 
been almost entirely overlooked by the mass, and that investigation has 
been neglected by the professedly scientific, and discouraged by the 
prolonged assumptions of Dr. Lindley and others, that the “science” 
of the otherwise “cute” Americans was mere “ theory and assertion,” 
which simply required a little English “practice and common sense” to 
regulate it. Thus they have, during the whole period of forty-four 
years since the establishment of the London Horticultural Society’s 
garden, remained in the ignorance of ‘intellectual exclusiveness,” from 
which Mr. Wray’s account of what he saw in America has at last 
awakened them. 

Undoubtedly the publication by Mr. Wray of the “ Scientific culture 
of the strawberry,” resulting from his recent visit to our American 
gardens, will effect quite a change in the European method of culture, 
so that it will henceforth be based on those scientific principles long 
practised in this country, and which were announced by my fetes 
William Prince, and myself, in various horticultural periodicals, and 
published in our “ Treatise on Horticulture” in 1828, and which have 

VOL. III. 3A 


546 THE STRAWBERRY, ETC. 


been assumed by My. Longworth and others throughout our country, 
until they have become the recognized basis of all American strawberry 
plantations. 

So indispensable is the sexual combination to the production of 
abundant crops in all the American varieties, and in the Pine and 
Hautbois varieties cultivated in Europe, that it may well be doubted 
whether any person in England has yet realized what constitutes a full 
crop of strawberries. Attention to sexual distinctions being indispen- 
sable in a scientific view, it is equally demanded in every country and 
climate where strawberries are grown that possess these characteristic 
distinctions. ; 

There should be no confused application of the sexual terms STAMI- 
NATE and HERMAPHRODITE, as the plants of these sexual divisions are 
entirely distinct; and while there are some species or families that 
combine both of these traits, there are others that possess but one, to 
the entire exclusion of the other; and a lack of discrimination will 
consequently produce confusion. Nor should the term “sterile” be 
ever used in reference to staminates or pistillates, it being inapplicable 
to either. 

It may here be cited as a singular fact, that of the eleven edible 
species of the strawberry, there is but one which is positively known to 
combine all the three variations of staminate, hermaphrodite, and pis- 
tillate ; although European writers, and some of our own, have run into 
the idea that the seeds of any one species would produce plants of all 
the three sexual divisions, and some have even declared that there was 
such confusion and vacillation in the sexuality, not only of seedlings, 
but of the actually existing varieties, that no reliance could be based on 
these distinctions as a reliable test for distinguishing species and 
varieties. Such views, however, are adverse to the facts, No such 
variations of character ever occur, but Nature sustains these normal 
distinctions as permanent and eternal, the vacillations finding existence 
only in the brains of such theorists. 

Although it is a truism that the differences between the humid and 
cool climate of England and our dry and hot atmosphere cause the best 
educated English gardeners who migrate here to commit great absurdi- 
ties, yet these climatic variations have no more connexion with the 
sexuality of strawberries, nor with the results of that sexuality in the 
productiveness of the crop, than they would have on two crops grown 
side by side—the one on dry soil, and the other subjected to irrigation. 
SEXUALITY IS NATURE'S OWN FACT; the success and extent of the 
crop are the-result of art and culture. The incontrovertible truth thus 
stands forth that the exercise-of science in regard to the existing 
sexuality is not necessarily variable by climate but is quite as im- 
portant in one country as in another. 

The chimerical idea of a transmutation of sexes by any variations 
of climate or circumstances is antagonistic to that order of Nature 


THE STRAWBERRY, PTC. 547 


which can never be varied or contravened any more in the humblest 
plant than in the largest animal, or in the movements of the spheres. 


** From Nature’s chain whatever link you strike, 
Tenth or ten-thousandth, breaks the chain alike.” 


As climate—cold or hot, dry or humid—can in no wise affect the 
sexuality of any plant more than of any animal, the assertion made by 
a quandam observer, which has been made in print, that the Alpine va- 
rieties of strawberries, which have perfect flowers (hermaphrodite) in the 
regions of perpetual snow, when removed to the climates of lower 
parallels produce pistillates and staminates as seedlings HAS NO FOUNDA- 
TION IN TRUTH. As the plants growing in the alpine regions are all of 
the Fragaria vesca and F. collina species, I now put the question to 
every cultivator whether he has ever seen one single variation, as 
alleged, in all the seedlings that have ever been produced from those 
two species. No such variation has ever occurred, and the assertion is in 
direct contradiction to Dr. Lindley, who says he has never seen any 
other than hermaphrodite plants, except of the hautbois (/ elatior.) lt 
is also controverted by the fact that it is universally recommended that 
the wood and alpine varieties be propagated from seeds, their sexual 
organs being always perfect ; and this course is specially urged by Keen, 
in the London Horticultural Transactions, and in the “ Bon Jardinier,” 
they having been grown in France for centuries without the least 
variation. 

All the esteemed European seedling varieties now cultivated in 
England, France, and Belgium are hermaphrodites, and Mr. Wray states 
that “these are so imperfectly developed in their organs they seldom 
produce other than a very scanty cross of inferior and imperfect berries.” 
That the object of the high-priced grower is attained if he only has a 
few large-sized berries on each plant; but that if these plants were 
placed in an open field, deprived of hand-glasses, artificial impregnation, 
and unremitting watchfulness, they would be dead failures, and for a 
general crop quite unsuitable. 

It is admitted on all hands that the principal strawherries in England 
are treated as tender exotics, and Mr. Wray asks, “ Why is it so pam- 
pered, swathed, and swaddled, and its hardy character so completely 
ignored ?” In England the fine varieties of strawberries are so expen- 
sively grown that they only reach the tables of the wealthy classes, 
whereas in America they are chiefly grown for the million. Mr. Wray 
also remarks that ‘so hardy a plant should certainly appertain more 
to open field culture than to the elaborate and expensive culture of the 
garden.” The reason, he says, is ‘‘ because science has not been applied 
to its culture,” and hence “‘the supply is totally inadequate to the 
demand.” 

There are points of consideration other than the sexual question 
which European writers and cultivators have hitherto lost sight of, and 
3A 2 


548 THE STRAWBERRY, ETC. 


that even Mr. Wray aces not seem to realize, which hold a most im- 
portant bearing on the success of the strawberry in open field culture 
in England ; but as these a»pertain more particularly to that special 
point, I propose to consider them in a future paper specially devoted to 
strawberry culture. 

Here strawberries are grown, without any special care, in vast fields 
of ten to fifty acres, without any covering or protection. The idea of 
treating our estimable varieties as tender exotics, when their parentage 
is traceable to Labrador and to the Arctic regions on the Atlantic, and 
to Oregon and Vancouver’s Island, and beyond Lake Attabasca, on the 
western side of the continent, is an absurdity which no American has 
been guilty of. Mr. Wray speaks of 5,000 quarts being grown to an 
acre in Cincinnati; but on many plantations, there and elsewhere, 200 
bushels (6,400 quarts) are not considered an extraordinary crop, and in 
frequent instances it is claimed that the crop amounts to 250 bushels, 
or 8,000 quarts, per acre. It is shown by our present statistics that one 
strawberry-grower sent to market 6,000 quarts a day, his crop for the 
year amounting to 6,200 dollars. In statistics published in the “ New 
York Times” the following statement is made: “The strawberry trade 
of New York is the largest of any one point in the world. It is esti- 
mated that 50,000 bushels are sold annuaily in New York, while about 
12,000 bushels are sold in Philadelphia, 12,000 in Cincinnati, and 10,000 
in Boston. During one week last season 400,000 baskets were received 
daily in New York. From one port in New Jersey, twenty-five miles 
distant from the city, there were received by steamboat, in a single day, 
200,000 baskets. The largest receipt of strawberries in a single day, by” 
railroad, was a load of 892 bushels, or 142,000 baskets, brought in by 
an evening train on the Erie railroad. New York city received last- 
year, from all sources, not less than 8,000,000 baskets of strawberries ; 
the value of these, at the wholesale price of 24 cents the basket, was. 
200,000 dollars, for which the consumers probably paid double that 
sum. About 1,500 acres of choice land in the vicinity of New York 
are required to supply this market with strawberries. Some farmers 
cultivate 30 to 50 acres.” 

How great, then, the loss to Europe that they have failed to introduce 
our robust and productive American varieties! Not content, however, 
with ignoring our productive pistillate varieties, the European culturists 
have, with a singular lack of judgment, cast aside also the advantages 
which nature had presented to them, and adopted the custom of anni- 
hilating the indispensable staminate plants of the hautbois and pine 
families. 

The large “ white-fleshed varieties,” as the pine family is termed in 
Europe, and which are there held in most esteem, have all been origi- 
nated from seeds of the F. grandiflora, which comprises both male and 
hermaphrodite varieties, and it has there been particularly insisted that 
the hermaphrodites of this family possess both the male and female 


THE STRAWBERRY, ETC. 549 


organs in perfection. It is true that the organs are always present, but 
the male organs of these hermaphrodites are deficient in pollen, whereby 
a combination with the staminate is rendered indispensable to a perfect 
crop. The assumption of the fatal error as to the perfection of the her- 
maphrodites culminated in the adoption everywhere in Europe of a 
system based on the destruction of all the male seedlings, und a practice 
thus fallacious—an utter perversion of nature—has been universally 
urged in England and elsewhere throughout Europe, and has resulted 
in the extermination of the male plants. It-seems never to have oc- 
curred to their superficial minds that nature, always equally economical 
and provident, and ever compensatory, had not furnished these stami- 
nate or male varieties without a purpose, and that they were, therefore, 
essentially necessary to the ample results which nature had designed as 
to the crop. 


‘Go, wiser thou! and in thy scale of sense 
Weigh thy opinions against Providence ; 
Call imperfection what thou fancies’ such, 
Say here he gives too little, there too much.” 


Although the hermaphrodite varieties combine the two sexual 
organs, yet normally but one of them is perfect and preponderates, and 
the other is defective ; consequently, the combination of the male is re- 
quired in the one case and of the female in the other to perfect a full 
crop. It would therefore seem that nature, in the vegetable as in the 
animal kingdom, is ever exercising her influence on the compensating 
principle, and that the means imparted are always in exact ratio to the 
result to be attained. And it must here be borne in mind that these 
sexual conditions are all normal or primeval, and consequently are per- 
manent. 

From the time of Linnzeus and Jussieu to the present day we do not 
witness any sexual change whatever, and a standard that has remained 
unchanged from their day down to the present time, with no prospect of 
any future variation, may well be considered as permanently estab- 
lished. 

When in any of the Fragaria species the male organs of the herma- 
phrodite are imperfect, nature, ever provident, furnishes the male or 
staminate plant to supply the deficiency. And when in any species the 
female organs in the hermaphrodite are defective, nature presents us 
with the pistillate or female variety. But when any species like the 
Ff, vesca and F. collina, and also the Indica, are perfect in both organs 
throughout all their varieties, nature, never wasting her resources, gives 
us none other than hermaphrodites. 

These exterminated males are as necessary to make up the imper- 
fection of the MALE organs in the European and South American 
hermaphrodites as the female or pistillate varieties of North America 
are essential to compensate for the deficiency in the FEMALE develop- 


550 THE STRAWBERRY, ETC. 


ment of our hermaphrodites. It is this perversion of nature, by the 
destruction of the male plants which she had furnished, that has 
rendered it necessary in the humid climate of England to have recourse 
to artificial culture by hand ; and this attempt to improve on nature, 
while in reality waging a most unnatural war against her, has been the 
long continued cause of the miserable crops produced in England, where 
the flowers of many varieties are reduced by hand to four on each 
plant, and the plants have also to be specially nursed to insure the 
development of even this small product. The wanton destruction of 
the male plants, so necessary to efficient impregnation, is precisely 
similar to a man’s cutting off both his natural arms in order that he 
might find use for artificial ones. The annihilation of the males of 
their own native hautbois is not only strenuously urged in Europe, but 
it is declared by their most intelligent (?) cultivators that it is to the 
existence of these “ sterile” (males are not sterile) plants that the dis- 
credit and abandonment of its general culture is to be attributed, in 
consequence, as they say, of some people believing (as the Americans 
do) that it is necessary to combine the two sexual varieties to insure a 
good crop; and that by adopting this course the ‘‘ sterile plants” (males) 
overrun the females, and thus the beds become nearly barren. I would 
suggest the adoption of our American practice of planting the sexes in’ 
distinct beds. I desire also to impress on European cultivators that it 
is the same unnatural destruction of the males that has reduced the 
crops of the hautbois, which were formerly abundant in a state of 
nature: and I urge the adoption of American science (as to sexuality) 
in their treatment, by which they can restore its former fertility. Thus 
by reversing their practice they will revolutionize the results. 

The additional normal fact that the four great families—the F. 
elatior (nautbois) and /. vesca (wood), the /. grandiflora (pine), and F’. 
Virginiana (scarlet) —NEVER BLEND WITH EACH OTHER BY ANY SEXUAL 
UNION WHATEVER, AND CANNOT CONSEQUENTLY BE FERTILIZED EXCEPT 
BY THEIR OWN STAMINATES, RENDERS THE PRESERVATION OF BOTH 
SEXES INDISPENSABLE, WHERE THEY NORMALLY EXIST ON DISTINCT 
PLANTS. 

As a proof of this fundamental fact there has not, during the two 
hundred and fifty years which have elapsed since the first interchange 
of European and American strawberries, been produced a single hybrid 
between the species of the two hemispheres, or between the three 
species which are natives of Europe, or between the species which are 
natives of South with those of North America. The six North American 
species blend sexually with each other, and the two South American 
varieties blend sexually with each other, but these two sections can never 
be sexually blended, nor can any American species ever be blended with 
those of Europe. 

THIS NORMAL FACT OF SEXUAL AVERSION, WHICH FORMS THE 
SCIENTIFIC BASIS OF ALL STRAWBERRY CULTURE, appears not to be 


THE STRAWBERRY, ETC, 551 


understood, but to be entirely unknown to Europeans, as even the 
French as well as the English publications recommend that the male 
hautbois be planted near the Chili and pine varieties, in order to render 
thein fruitful. 

The negleet of scientifie sexual culture has been more unfortunate 
in regard to the /’. Chilensis, the largest strawberry of the earth, than to 
any other. It appears that when this, which in its native country pro- 
duces fruit as large as a medium sized hen’s egg, was brought to Europe 
in 1712, only the hermaphrodite variety was introduced, and that its 
potent staminate, so indispensable to develop this large fruit, was left 
behind. The neglect of scientific scrutiny, and the apathy which has 
consequently existed in Hurope-as to the present vital question, has 
caused their cultivators to ignore the great advantage attainable by the 
importation of the other sexual variety ; and as the staminates of other 
species have proved incongenial, the seminal production of this noblest 
of all strawberries, by improved seminal varicties, has had necessarily 
to be abandoned, anil not one representative of this magnificeat species 
now exists in the London Horticultural Garden, and with the exception 
of three or four HYBRIDIZED seedlings in France, the #. Chilensis is only 
known throughout Europe as a botanical curiosity, not one genuine 
seedling having ever been produced for want of the other sex. Such is 
the unfortunate result for which the horticultural savans of HKurope are 
responsible, by their having left the question recently propounded by 
Mr. Wray to be answered at this late day in the negative: ‘‘Is science 
brought to bear on the art of strawberry culture in England?” Fortu- 
nately, we have, by several importations, established a basis for a great 
extension of the varieties of this interesting family, and can boast of the 
production of many fine seedlings. Mr. Wray, despite the adoption of 
the enlightened views lately presented by him, falls into some errors as 
to culture, which I shall correct in my next article; but there is one 
which I cannot leave unnoticed at this time. Mr. Keen has been re- 
ferred to as having made some discovery as to sexuality in 1809. He 
did so and, as he states in the Horticultural Transactions, his discovery 
was as to the hautbois strawberry only. Mr. Wray, however, applies 
this discovery as to his “ Keen’s Seedling,” which was not produced until 
1821, to which, of course, it can have no application, and which, with 
his “ Imperial,” the onty other variety he ever produced, are both of the 
F. grandiflora family, of which no pistillate or female variety has ever 
yet been produced in Europe, nor yet has one ever been enumerated in 
the London Horticultural Society’s catalogues to the present hour. Mr. 
W. fell into this error, probably, by following Mr. Longworth, who 
makes the same transposition of facts and dates. The “ pistillate Keen’s . 
Seedling” that found its way to Mr. Longworth is a misnomer. It is ¢ 
native seedling of Indiana, of the wild prairie species, termed F. 
Iilinoiensis. I obtained it m 1847 from Mr. Longworth, who supposed 
it had been imported’ from England ; and I also obtained from him the 


552 THE GUARANA OF BRAZIL. 


“ Necked Pine,” which proved to be another pistillate of the same 
Tllinois species, although bearing a foreign title. Prof. Huntsman (our 
closest observer of the strawberry) and myself tested both, and we had 
many a laugh about the supposed voyage across the Atlantic. Mr. 
Hooper, also, author of the “ Western Fruit Book,’ who resides within 
a mile of Cincinnati, states that the “pistillate Keen” came from 
Indiana. Many of us were then cultivating the true Keen’s Seedling 
and Imperial, which my father had received from the London Hor- 
ticultural Society, and which were the same as have been cultivated 
here and in Europe down to the present period. Neither will produce 
a full crop unless attended by a pine staminate. At the present 
time, it is the MALE oRGANS of all the European hermaphrodite pine 
varieties, and not the FEMALE ORGANS, as Mr. Wray, in common with 
others, supposed, that demand an application of a corrective by 
staminates. 
Flushing, Long Island, N.Y. 


[Mr. Prince then furnishes a detailed description of the several 
species and cultivated varieties, European and American, extending 
over about 10 pages, which is too specially horticultural to be given in 
detail in our pages.—EDb170r. | 


THE GUARANA OF BRAZIL. 


In a paper read by Mr. T. C. Archer before the Botanical Society of 
Edinburgh in April last, that gentleman furnished the following farti- 
culars respecting Paullinia Sorbilis, Mart, and its products. 

There is no more remarkable plant in the order Sapindacew, if re- 
garded from an economic point of view, than Paullinia sorbilis, although 
as a plant it is not well known to the botanical world. From its large 
seeds is manufactured the substance called Guaran4, which is exten- 
sively used in Brazil, Guatemala, Costa Rica, and other parts of South 
America, as a nervous stimulant and restorative. The seeds, deprived of 
their coverings, are pounded into a paste, which, hardened in the sun, 
constitutes Guarand. It is used both as a remedy for various diseases, 
and also as a material for making a most refreshing beverage ; and it 
adds another of those incidents so puzzling in human history, of the 
discovery of these qualities in plants least likely to be suspected ; such, 
for instance, as that of the leaves of tea, the seeds of coffee and cacay, 
the leaves and twigs of the various American Ilexes and other plants 
should have this wonderful restorative effect on the nervous system, and 
that this should not be a mere vague notion, such as attaches to thou- 
sands of other plants, but that it should really depend upon the pre- 
sence of a chemical principle the same in all, and the operation of which 


THE GUARANA OF BRAZIL. 553 


can be satisfactorily explained. The presence of an alkaloid which he 
called Guaranine was discovered some years ago in Guaran& by Dr. 
Theodore von Martius, of Erlangen, but its identity with Theine was soon 
established, and subsequent analyses, especially one by Dr. Stenhouse in 
1856, proved that not only was the active principle of Guarand identical 
with Theine, but that as far as is known, no other substance yields it 
so abundantly, the amount being 5.07 per cent. as against good black 
tea, which yields 2.13 per cent., and coffee from 0.8 to 1.00. The mode 
of using the Guarana is eurious and interesting. It is carried in the 
pocket of almost every traveller, and with it the bony palate of the 
large fish (Sudas gigas), locally called “pirarucu,” the rough surfaces of 
which form a rasp upon which the Guarana is grated, and a few grains 
of the powder so formed are added to water and drank as a substitute 
for tea. The effect is very agreeable, but as there is a large portion of 
tannic acid also present, it is not a good thing for weak digestions. Its 
remarkable restorative power has given it a further great reputation as 
an aphrodisiac. 

Another species of this genus, Paullinia cupana, also enters into the 
composition of a favourite national diet-drink. Its seeds are mingled 
with cassava and water, and allowed to pass into a state of fermentation 
bordering on the putrefactive, in which state it is the favourite drink of 
the Orinoco Indians. 

We append to the above details the following further information.— 
- Epiror. 

The tree is abundant in the new province of Amazonas, where the 
seeds are collected, reduced, and prepared in mass, and sold to the 
Bolivians, who use it largely. It is also sent to the provinces in the 
South. There is exported annually from the city of Santarem, about 
500 arrobas, or 16,0001bs., valued at 8d. or 9d. per pound. 

Specimens of the Guarand were exhibited in the Brazilian Court, 
made by the Indians of the River Amazonas, who not only prepare it 
for their own use, but for conveyence to Para, Matto Grosso, and Goyaz, 
where it finds a ready market. It is made from the seeds of a low wide- 
spreading tree, which grows abundantly along the banks of the Upper 
Tapajés, Rio Negro, and other tributaries of the Amazonas, as well as 
in Guiana and Venezuela. The fruit is scarcely as large as a walnut, 
and contains five or six seeds ; these are first roasted, then mixed with a 
little water, moulded into a cylindrical form, the size and shape of a 
large sausage, and dried in an oven, in which state it is known as an 
article of commerce. It is grated into a powder by means of a rasp, (the 
bone before alluded to,) which was shown in the Exhibition. Two spoon- 
fuls of this powder are mixed in a tumbler of water ; this is considered 
to be a very refreshing drink, and regarded as a stimulant to the nerves, 
and like strong tea or coffee, is said to take away the disposition to sleep, 
It is exported also from the Rio Negro, where it has been purchased for 
Id. per lb. ; in 1851, 3,500lbs. of Guarana was exported from Pard, 


554 HINTS ON PAPER MATERIALS. 


which was there valued at 13d. per lb. In the Exhibition six different 
preparations made in Vienna from Guarané were exhibited in the Aus- 
trian Court. Guarand has been analysed by Dr. Stenhouse, who ascer- 
tained that it contained a quantity of a principle first called Guaranine, 
but which has been found to be identical with Theine, the principle to 
which both tea and coffee owe their invigorating qualities. The same 
principle, in the amount of 1} per cent., also exists in the Yerba Maté, 
the celebrated Paraguay Tea, which consists of the dried leaves of some 
species of Ilex. ‘ 

The powdered seeds of the Paullinia are said to have been employed 
with much success by French medical men in cases of headache. They 
furnish by analysis a small quantity of resinous matter, starch, 
tannin, and a particular alkaloid guaranine. 


HINTS ON PAPER MATERIALS. 


In searching for fibre suited for the manufacture of paper, the fol- 
lowing hints may be found useful to residents in tropical and other 
Tegions. 

Any fibre capable of cohesion when precipitated on a draining sur- 
face from mechanical suspension in water, after having been reduced to 
a pure state of capillary subdivision by mechanical action, is fit for the 
manufacture of paper. 

For all practical purposes it may be accepted asa rule, that for the 
manufacture of white paper all fibre requires bleaching. 

Raw fibre may be divided into four classes :-— 

1. That which is easily reduced and easily bleached. 

. That which is easily reduced, but difficult to bleach. 
. That which is difficult to reduce, but easily bleached. 
. That wherein perfect bleaching involves the integrity of the fibre. 

The most profitable shape in which to send fibre to the English 
market is that of half-stuff (or pulp). Well-prepared bleached half-stu ff 
would fetch 252. per ton in the market. 

The best machine for reducing fibre to half-stuff is the ordinary rag- 
engine, costing about 1501. carrying about 2 cwt. of stuff, and requiring 
a maximum of 7-horse power for driving. The half-stuff would require 
to be pressed, dried, and packed in bales. For experimental purposes 
in reducing the fibre, anything smaller than the ordinary sized rag- 
engine is useless, as the weight of the iriturating roll—about 15 ewt.— 
cannot be dispensed with, so that laboratory experiments are necessarily 
confined to rough separation and bleaching. Moreover, laboratory ex- 
periments, unless conducted with the utmost care and skill, furnish no 


we OD bo 


UNINFLAMMABLE STUFES. 555 


reliable data for commercial operations. As a preliminary, the character 
of the fibre ought to be determined in the laboratory. 

Ist. In relation to its structure, having in view ease in fibrous sepa- 
ration. 2nd. In relation to its chemical constitution, having in view 
ease in bleaching. 

Bleached half-stuff would realise a larger profit than unbleached, 
always supposing that the process of bleaching, owing to the accident of 
geographical position or otherwise, did not entail expense extra to that 
properly belonging to the-operation under the most favourable circum- 
stances. 

Fibre could be sent into the market as half-stuff unbleached when- 
ever its characteristics were reliably established. 

Bio: 


* 


UNINFLAMMABLE STUFES. 


On this important subject the French Academy of Sciences has 
received a report from MM. Payen, Velpean, and Rayer, in which M. H, 
Chevalier’s paper sent in to the Academy on the 25th of January last, is 
discussed. From this report it appears that only three salts have 
hitherto been found that may be successfully applied to the purpose in 
question, viz., that of preventing ladies’ dresses from catching fire. 
There are many other salts that would do the same, but not without 
spoiling the dye, or the gloss, or the texture of the stuff, &. Of the 
three in question, the sulphate and phosphate of ammonia have the in- 
convenience of being decomposed by the heat of a smoothing-iron ; but 
they are applicable in those manufactures where stuffs are stiffened by 
the action of hot air or cylinders heated by steam. They exercise no 
action upon either the thread or the colour of the stuff. The phosphate 
of ammonia may be mixed with half its weight of hydro-chlorate of 
ammonia. To obtain an efficacious solution, 20 per cent. of this mix- 
ture must be dissolved in water. A solution of 7 per cent. of sulphate 
of ammonia produces the same effect, and is therefore the most econo- 
mical salt that the trade can employ. But in those cases in which the 
smoothing-iron cannot be dispensed with, as in linen, for instance, a 
solution of 20 per cent. of tungstate of soda should be preferred. To 
obtain the desired effect all these solutions must be applied to the stuffs 
after they have been stiffened and dried, because starch is always used 
in a weaker solution than that required for these salts. Acid tungstates 
destroy the thread of cotton stuffs, like borax, alum, and other sub- 
stances previously recommended. The tungstate of soda is prepared in 
Cornwall, where the tin mines yield a large quantity of wolfram. It 
costs from 12/. to 18/. per ton. The sulphate of ammonia costs about 
14/, per ton, and has hitherto been used for manure. 


556 THE MANUFACTURE OF NICKEL. 


M. Sauvageon, a French investigator, has discovered that cotton’ 
cloth which has been exposed for a certain time to the vapour of burn- 
ing sulphur, assumes such an amount of incombustibility, that although 
it will char and become brittle when held over the flame of a spirit 
lamp, it cannot be made to take fire, while under like conditions similar 
cloth, but unprepared in this way, is flamed immediately. If the 
alleged facts be borne out in practice, the problem is solved, for the 
simplest domestic means may be devised for subjecting, after being 
washed, all white clothing to the vapour of sulphur, which will tend to 
make it still whiter. Moreover, it may not prove necessary to repeat 
the exposure so often. 


ON THE MANUFACTURE OF NICKEL. 
BY LEWIS THOMPSON, M.R.C.S. 


Commercial Nickel is a very impure article, and bears no more rela- 
tion to pure nickel than brass or bell-metal does to copper. The 
following table will show its average composition, as it is found in the 
market. 


English. German. French. 
Nickel 86:0 845 75°7 80°9 775 
Cobalt . . 6°5 8:2 2-2 52, 37 
Copper . : ole tan 0°6 125 as 10°2 
Mer dw ule. 11 04h eye 11 
Arsenic 13 0-4 26 | 38 2°38 
Zine ee 0-7 41 | O85 14 
Manganese . See ee (24 0°8 a — 06 
Sulphur Ver 4 2:2. 23 _ 0-2 TSE 
Carbon . - a 40 0-9 0-2 01 O'7 
Silicaand Alumina | 0-4 0°6 — 0-4 0-9 


There is every reason to suppose that our accounts of metallic nickel 
relate to an alloy of that metal with cobalt, in greater or smaller pro- 
portion ; that in fact absolutely pure nickel has not hitherto been ob- 
tained. Pure nickel, is however, much more easily made than pure 
cobalt, for its affinity for oxygen is much less. Taking advantage of 
this point, made upa quantity of pure oxide of nickel into a paste 
by means of a little water, and forced this paste through a perforated 
earthenware plate, so as to form it into a granulated mass ; when this 
mass had been thoroughly dried, I introduced it into a porcelain tube, 


THE MANUFACTURE OF NICKEL. 557 


and after heating it red-hot, 1 passed a current of pure hydrogen gas 
over it, and continued this until 1t had become cold. The grey metallic 
shape thus produced was fused with a little borax in a crucible, lined 
with pure alumina, and yielded a beautiful white silvery looking button 
of the weight of 620 grains ; its specific gravity was 8575, and it was 
almost as soft as copper. Its malleability seemed very great indeed, for 
a piece of it was rolled ont nearly to the thinness of tinfoil ; it showed, 
however, a disposition to tarnish after a few days’ exposure to the air, 
and became then of a pale yellow colour, a kind of green sickness 
tinge. Its magnetic properties were less dreaded than those of either 
cobalt or iron; and judging by the globular form and other evidences of 
perfect fusion in the button, I believe that nickel is much more fusible 
than the two metals just mentioned. When portions of it were melted 
with copper and zine in the quantities usually adopted to form albata, 
it produced a compound vastly superior in appearance to any of the 
miserable makeshifts that now disgrace our markets. Indeed, I am 
quite convinced that it would well repay any respectable person to com- 
mence the manufacture of pure nickel ; and it would not surprise me, 
if a compound of aluminium and nickel could be found which, for 
beauty of appearance, might equal silver and surpass it in durability 
and freedom from sulphurous deterioration. Whilst alluding to the 
advantages of an improvement in the manufacture of nickel, it may not 
be amiss for me to notice two points of some importance in the way of 
improvement. At present this extraction of nickel from the ore is made 
to depend very much upon the affinity of arsenic for that. metal, so as to 
form with it an arseniuret of easy fusibility, and sufficient specific gra- 
vity to separate freely from the melted slag or gangrene ; and for this 
purpose large quantities of arsenic are employed by the workmen, not 
only to the detriment of their own health, but to the injury of their 
neighbours. This pernicious practice is quite unnecessary, as I have 
myself proved by experiments upon a large scale; for example, after 
roasting six hundred weight of the common ore of nickel, which is an 
* arsenio-sulphuret, I mixed it with half its weight of chalk, and threw 
the mixture into a cupulo furnace in full blast ; the result was that the 
lime of the chalk formed with the quartz and oxide of iron in the ore 
a perfect flux, whilst the oxide of nickel, being reduced to the metallic 
state, fell in that condition into the well of the cupulo, from whence 
it was run out ina melted form and readily separated from the slag. 
There was no apparent appreciable loss of nickel in this operation, 
and the rough metal was found to contain 88 per cent. of pure nickel, 
the rest being cobalt and iron, with a little sulphur, but no arsenic 
could be detected in it; moreover, this rough metal might, from the 
cheapness of the process, have been profitably sold at 3s. per Ib., 
and was decidedly more pure than the ordinary commercial nickel. 
The other point to which I have alluded is applicable to the wet 
mode of separating nickel, and depends upon a fact hitherto, I believe, 


558 THE MANUFACTURE OF NICKEL. 


unnoticed by chemists. If we have in solution a mixture of the sulphates 
of nickel, cobalt, zinc, manganese, iron, and copper, we have only to 
add to this solution in a warm state as much sulphate of ammonia as it 
will dissolve, and then set it aside to cool. Almost every particle of 
the nickel and cobalt will separate as a green crystallized powder and 
leave the other metals in solution. The explanation is very simple. 
The sulphates of nickel and cobalt form triple salts or alums with the 
sulphate of ammonia, and these salts are absolutely insoluble in a cold 
saturated solution of sulphate of ammonia, particularly when the 
solution is slightly acidulous. 

I shall conclude these remarks upon nickel by stating that this 
metal appears to possess the property of “welding” like iron. At my 
request, a workman heated two small bars of nickel which had been 
previously powdered over with borax. The bars were heated in a 
forge, and the two hot ends “jumped” together,—that is to say, the 
white hot ends were forcibly driven one against the other by gentle 
blows with a hammer applied to the other ends, the symmetry of the 
bar being preserved by blows applied laterally. Although the point of 
junction was afterwards subjected to much twisting, straining, and so 
forth, with a view to test its cohesive power, yet it showed no signs of 
weakness even after much cold hammering. —‘ Newton’s London 
Journal.’ 


LONDON: PRINTED BY M’GOWAN AND DANES, GREAT WINDMILL STREET, HAYMARKET, W. 


Bc. be 
STITUTION LIBRARIES 


nui