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DICTIONARY
OP
ARTS, MANUFACTUEES, AM) UNES.
VOL. III.
LOSDOS : PBIXTED BY
SrOmSWOODB AXD CO., NEW-STttEEX SQCABB
A2!D PA!IUA:UEXT STUEET
URE'S DICTIONARY
OF
ARTS, MANUFACTTJIiES, AND MINES
CONTAINING
A CLEAR EXPOSITION OF THEIR PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE
BY
ROBERT HUNT, F.R.S.
KEEPER OP MINING REC0UD8
FORME RLT PROFESSOR OF PHYSICS, ROYAL SCHOOL OP SONES, KFC.
AUTHOR OF 'RESEARCHES ON LIGHT' 'THE POETRY OP SCIENCE* ETC.
assisted hij
F. W. EUDLEE, F.G.S.
and hy numerous Contribvlors eminent in Science and familiar Kith ilanvfaetures
|Utistral«b faitlj iipfaarbs ai S^fatnlg-oiw fiunirwb' ^ugraWn^s a\x Maaii
SEVENTH EDITION
COMPLETELY REVISED AND GREATLY ENLARGED
IN THREE VOLUMES
VOL. III.
LONDON
LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO.
1875
AH riahts reserved
VAfi;
A DICTIONAEY
OF
ARTS, MANUFACTURES, AND MINES.,
Omissions.
Page 240 insert METEORXe STONES. See Meteorites.
„ 517 „ PAVEmEirT. See Bitumex.
„ 628 „ PREHNITE. A hydrous silicate of alumina aud lime. See
Bristow's ' Glossary of Mineralog}'.'
.1 ,> „ PRESERVED MEATS. See Putbefaction : Curing of Pro-
visions.
„ 682 „ PYROMORPHXTE. A chlorophospliate of lead. See Lead.
ui Lijtr-
Bread-fruit order. This is the Indian jaca, a native of Southern Asia. Its fibres are
employed for many purposes by the natives, and the wood is used for furniture. A
yellow dye, derived from the inner bark is employed in India for dyeing the robes of
the Buddhist priests.
JACXSONXTE. A name applied by Whitney to a mineral from Keweenaw
Point, Lake Superior. It appears to be nothing more than ordinary prehnite. See
Peehnitb.
JACQirARS-XiOOM. A peculiar and most ingenious mechanism, invented by M.
Jacquart of Lyons, to be adapted to a silk and muslin loom for superseding the employ-
ment of draw-boys, in weaving figured goods. Independently of the ordinary play of
the warp threads for the formation of the ground of such a web, all those threads which
should rise simidtacneously to produce the figure, have their appropriate healds, which
a child formerly raised by means of cords, that grouped them together into a system,
in the order, and at the time desired by the weaver. This plan evidently occasioned
no little complication in the machine, when the design was richly figured ; but the
apparatus of Jacquart, which subjects this manoeuvre to a regular mechanical operation,
and derives its motion from a simple pedal put in motion by the weaver's feet, was
generally adopted soon after its invention in 1800. Every common loom is susceptible
of receiving this beautiful appendage. It costs in France 200 francs or 8Z. sterling,
and a little more in this country.
Fig. 1 287 is a front elevation of this mechanism, supposed to be let down. Fig. 1 288
is a cross section, shown in its highest position. IHg. 1289, the same section as the
preceding, but seen in its lower position.
A is the fixed part of the frame, supposed to form a part of the ordinary loom ;
there are two uprights of wood, with two cross-bars uniting them at their upper ends,
and leaving an interval x y between them, to place and work the moveable frame s
Vol. IIL B
?
8 JACQUAED-LOOM
vibrating round two fixed points a a, placed laterally opposite each other, in the middle
of the space xy,fig, 1287.
c is a piece of iron with a peculiar curvature, seen in front, Jig, 1287, and in profile,
1287
Jigs. 1288 and 1289. It is fixed on one side upon the upper cross-bar of the frame b,
and on the other, to the intermediate cross-bar b of the same frame, where it shows an
inclined curvilinear space c, terminated below by a semicircle.
JACQUARD-LOOK
3
D is a square -wooden axis, moveable upon itself round two iron pivots, fixed into its
two ends ; -which axis occupies the bottom of the moveable frame b. The four faces of
tliis square axis are pierced with three round, equal, truly-bored holes arranged in
» quincunx. The teeth a, Jig. 1291, are stuck into each face, and correspond to
holes a, fig. 1294, made in the cards which constitute the endless chain for the healds;
so that in the successive application of the cards to each face of the square axis, the
holes pierced in one card may always fall opposite to those pierced.in the other.
The right-hand end of the square axis, of which a section is shown in double size,
fig. 1290, carries two square plates of sheet iron d, kept parallel to each other and
a little apart, by four spindles e, passed opposite to the corners. This is a kind of
lantern, in whose spindles the hooks of the lever//', turning round fixed points 5'^'
beyond the right-hand upright a, catch hold, either above or below at the pleasure of
the weaver, according as he merely pulls or lets go the cord z, during the vibratory
movement of the frame b.
E is a piece of wood shaped like a T, the stem of which, prolonged upwards, passes
freely through the cross-bar b, and through the upper cross-bar of the frame b, which
serve as guides to it. The head of the T-piece being applied successively against
the two spindles e, placed above in horizontal position, first by its weight, and then
by the spiral spring h, acting from above downwards, keeps the square axis in its
position, while it permits it to turn upon itself in the two directions. The name presa
IS given to the assemblage of all the pieces which compose the moveable frame b b.
1290
1291
F is a cross-bar made to move in a vertical direction by means of the lever a, in the
notches or grooves i, formed within the fixed uprights A.
H is a piece of bent iron, fixed by one of its ends with a nut and screw, upon the
cross-bar f, out of the vertical plane of the piece c. Its other end carries a friction
roller j, which, working in the curvilinear space c of the piece c, forces this, and
consequently the frame b, to recede from the perpendicular, or to return to it ac-
cording as the cross-bar f is in the top or bottom of its course, as shown in figs. 1288
and 1289.
I, cheeks of sheet iron attached on either side to the cross-bar f, which serve as a
safe to a kind of claw k, composed here of eight small metallic bars, seen in section,
figs. 1288 and 1289, and on a greater scale in fig. 1291.
J, upright skewers of iron wire, whose tops bent down hookwise naturally place
themselves over the little bars k. The bottom of these spindles likewise hooked in
the same direction as the upper ones, embraces small wooden bars I, whose office is
to keep them in their respective places, and to prevent them from twirling round,
so that the uppermost hooks may be always directed towards the small metallic bars
upon which they impend. To these hooks from below are attached strings, which
after having crossed a fixed board m n, pierced with corresponding holes for this purpose,
proceed next to be attached to the threads of the loops destined to lift the warp threads.
K K, horizontal spindles or needles, arranged here in eight several rows, so that each
spindle corresponds both horizontally and vertically to each of the holes pierced in the
four faces of the square axis d. There are, therefore, as many of these spindles as there
are holes in one of the faces of the square.
Fig. 1292 represents one of these horizontal spindles, n is an eyelet through which
the corresponding vertical skewer passes. 0, another elongated eyelet, through which
a small fixed spindle passes to serve as a guide, but which does not hinder it from
1292
P o n
moving lengthwise, within the limits of the length of the eyelet, p, small spiral
springs placed in each hole of the case q q, fig. 1291. They serve the purpose of
bringing back to its primitive position every corresponding needle as soon as it ceases
to press upon it.
b2
4 JACQUARD-LOOM
Fia. 1293 represents the plan of the upper row of horizontal needles. Fig. 1J94 is
a fragment of the endless chain, formed with perforated cards, -which are made to
circulate or travel by the rotation of the shaft d. In this movement, each of the
perforated cards, whose position, form, and number are determined by the operation
1293
1294
1*1 t) o^'o __" ^ ■? I '^ ^ °^ > **<* a o o^ oa o* 0.0 I
I GOqO
a- £> °8„, o°o°ooPo. cSo
W o ooO '-O o o o o o O c
S -O'C o ""o°o,o 2 CO
. O-O n OOo„ 6
of tying-up of the warp, comes to be applied in succession against the four faces of the
square axis or drum, leaving open the corresponding holes, and covering those upon
the face of the axis which have no corresponding holes upon the card.
Now let us suppose that the press b is let down into the vertical position shown in
Jig. 1289 ; then the card applied against the left face of the axis, leaves at rest or
untouched the whole of the horizontal spindles (skewers), whose ends correspond to
these holes, but pushes back those which are opposite to the unpierced part of the
card ; thereby the corresponding upright skewers, 3, 5, 6, and 8, for example, pushed
out of the perpendictilar, unhook themselves from above the bars of the claw, and
remain in their place, when this claw comes to be raised by means of the lever g ; and
the skewers 1, 2, 4, and 7, which have remained hooked on, are raised along with the
warp threads attached to them. Then by the passage across of a shot of the colour,
as well as a shot of the common weft, and a stroke of the lay after shedding the warp
and lowering the press b, an element or point in the pattern is completed.
The following card, brought round by a quarter revolution of the £ixis, finds all the
needles in their first position, and as it is necessarily perforated differently from the
preceding card, it will lift another series of warp threads ; and thus in succession for
all the other cards, which compose a complete system of a figured pattern.
This machine, complicated in appearance, and which requires some pains to be un-
derstood, acts however in a very simple manner. Its whole play is dependent upon the
movement of the lever g, which the weaver himself causes to rise and fall, by means
of a peculiar pedal ; so that without the aid of any person, after the piece is properly
read in and mounted, he can execute the most complex patterns as easily as he could
weave plain goods ; only attending to the order of his weft yarns, when these happen
to be of different colours.
If some warp yarns should happen to break without the weaver observing them, or
should he mistake his coloured shuttle yarns, which would so far disfigure the pattern,
he must undo his work. For this purpose, he makes use of the lower hooked lever y,
whose purpose is to make the chain of the card go backwards, while working the loom
as usual, withdrawing at each stroke the shot both of the ground and of the figure.
The weaver is the more subject to make mistakes, as the figured side of the web is
downwards, and it is only with the aid of a bit of looking-glass that he takes a peep of
his work from time to time. The upper surface exhibits merely loose threads in dif-
ferent points, according as the pattern requires them to lie upon the one side or the
other.
Thus it must be evident, that such a number of pasteboards are to be provided and
mounted as equal the number of throws of the shuttle between the beginning and end
of any figure or design which is to be woven ; the piercing of each pasteboard indi-
Aidually will depend upon the arrangement of the lifting rods, and their connection
with the warp, which is according to the design and option of the workman ; great
care must be taken that the holes come exactly opposite to the ends of the needles ;
for this purpose two large holes are made at the ends of the pasteboards, which fall
upon conical points, by which means they are made to register correctly.
It will be hence seen, that, according to the length of the figure, so must be the
number of pasteboards, which may be readily displaced so as to remount and produce
the figure in a few minutes, or remove it, or replace it, or preserve the figure for future
use. The machine, of course, will be understood to consist of many sets of the lifting
rods and needles, shown in the diagram, as will be perceived by observing the dispo-
sition of the holes in the pasteboard ; those holes, in order that they may be accu-
rately distributed, are to be pierced from a gaxige, so that not the slightest variation
shall take place,
JACQUARD-LOOM
1296
To form these card-slips, an ingenious apparatus is employed, by which the proper
steel punches required for the piercing of each distinct card are placed in their relative
situations preparatory to the operation of piercing, and also by its means a card may
be punched with any number of holes at one operation. This disposition of the punches
is effected by means of rods connected to cords disposed in a frame, in the nature of
a false simple, on which the pattern of the work to be performed is first read in.
These improved pierced cards, slips, or pasteboards, apply to a weaving apparatus,
which is so arranged that a figure to be wrought can be extended to any distance along
the loom, and by that means the loom is rendered capable of producing broad-figured
works ; having the long lever o placed in such a situation that it affords power to the
foot of the weaver, and by this means enables him to draw the hea-yiest morintures
and figured works, without the assistance of a draw-boy.
The machinery for arranging the punches consists of a frame with four upright
standards and cross-pieces, which contains a series of endless cords passing under a
wooden roller at bottom, and over pulleys at the top. These pulleys are mounted on
axles in two frames, placed obliquely over the top of the standard frame, which pulley-
frames constitute the table commonly used by weavers.
In order better to explain these endless cords, ;?^. 1295 represents a single endless
cord, 1 1, which is here shown in operation, and part of another endless cord, 2 2,
shown stationary. There must be as many endless cords in this frame as needles in
the weaving-loom, a is the wooden cylinder, revolving upon its axis at the lower part
of the standards ; b b, the two pulleys of the pulley-frames above, over which the
individual endless cord passes ; c is a small transverse ring. To each of these rings a
weight is suspended by a single thread, for the
purpose of giving tension to the endless cord, d is
a board resembling a common comber-bar, which
is supported by the cross-bars of the standard
frame, and is pierced with holes, in situation and
number corresponding with the perpendicular
threads that pass through them; which board
keeps the threads distinct from each other.
At e, the endless cord passes through the eyes
of wires resembling needles, which are contained
in a wooden box placed in front of the machine,
and shown in this figure in section only. These
wires are called the punch-projectors; they are
guided and supported by horizontal rods and
vertical pins, the latter of which pass through
loops formed at the hinder part of the respective
wires. At /are two horizontal rods extending the
whole width of the machine, for the purpose of
producing the cross in the cords ; g ia a, thick brass
plate, extending along in front of the machine, and
lying close to the box which holds the punch-
projectors; this plate ff, shown also in section,
IS called the punch-holder ; it contains the same
number of apertures as there are punch-projectors,
and disposed so as to correspond with each other.
In each of these apertures, there is a punch for the
purpose of piercing the cards, slips, or pasteboards
with holes ; A is a thick steel plate of the same size as g, and shown likewise in section,
corresponding also in its number of apertures, and their disposition, with the punch-
projectors and the punch-holder. This plate h, is called the punch-receiver.
The object of this machine is to transfer such of the punches as may be required for
piercing any individual card from the punch-holder, g, into the punch-receiver, h; when
they will be properly situated, and ready for piercing the individual card or slip with
such holes as have been read in upon the machine, and are required for permitting the
warp threads to be withdrawn in the loom, when this card is brought against the ends
of the needles. The process of transferring the patterns to the punches will be effected
in the following manner : —
The pattern is to be read in, according to the ordinary mode, as in a false simple,
upon the endless cords below the rods /, and passed under the revolving wooden
cylinder a, to a sufficient height for a person in front of the machine to reach conve-
niently. He there takes the upper threads of the pattern, called the beard, and draws
them forward so as to introduce a stick behind the cords thus advanced, as shown by
dots, for the purpose of keeping them separate from the cords which are not intended to
be operated upon. All the punch-proj ectors which ate connected mth the cords brought
jAt)^
forward will be thus made to pass through the corresponding apertures of the punch-
holder g, and by this means will project the punches out of these apertures, into cor-
responding apertures of the punch-receiver h. The punches will now be properly
arranged for piercing the required holes on a card or slip, which is to be effect®! in
the following manner : —
Remove the punch-receivers from the front of the machine ; and having placed one
of the slips of card or pasteboard between the two folding plates of metal, completely
pierced with holes corresponding to the needles of the loom, lay the punch-receiver
upon those perforated plates ; to which it must be made to fit by mortises and blocks,
the cutting parts of the punches being downwards. Upon the back of the punch-
receiver is then to be placed a plate or block, studded with perpendicular pins, corre-
sponding to the above described holes, into which the pins will fall. The plates and
the blocks thus laid together, are to be placed under a press, by which means the pins
of the blocks will be made to pass through the apertures of the punch-receiver ; and
wherever the punch has been deposited in the receiver by the above process, the said
punches will be forced through the slip of pasteboard, and pierced with such holes as
are required for producing the figured design in the loom.
Each card being thus pierced, the punch-receiver is returned to its place in front of
the machine, and all the punches forced back again into the apertures of the punch-
holder as at first. The next sort of cords is now drawn forward by the next heard,
as above described, which sends out the punch-frojectors as before, and disposes the
punches in the punch-receiver, ready for the operation of piercing the next card. The
process being thus repeated, the whole pattern is by a number of operations, transferred
to the punches, and afterwards to the cards or slips, as above described.
JACyHTB. See Jacinth — Hyacinth.
TABE. Under the common name of Jade two or three distinct minerals, re-
sembling one another in many of their physical characters, but differing in chemical
composition, are popularly confounded. The true jade, or nephrite, is an anhycb^ous
silicate of lime and magnesia, related to the non-aluminous varieties of hornblende.
Jadeite is a mineral closely resembling true nephrite in external characters, but dis-
tinguished as a separate species by Damour, whose analyses show that it is essentially
a silicate of alumina and soda. A third mineral, originally described by H. B. de
Saussure as a jade, was termed Saussurite by T. de Saussure : this was \h&jade tenace
of Haiiy and the early French mineralogists. It is mainly a silicate of alumina and
lime, and may be classed with the species termed zoisite. The differences in com-
position between the several minerals comprehended under the general name of jade
are shown in the following selected analyses : —
I.
11.
: in.
IV.
Silica
54-68
57-10
69-17
43-69
Lime
16-06
13-48
2-68
19-71
Magnesia
Soda
26-01
23-29
115
12-93
2-98
308
Alumina
...
0-72
22-58
27-72
Peroxide of iron
...
...
2-61
Protoxide of iron
215
3-39
1-56
...
Protoxide of manganese .
Water
1-39
0-68
2-'60
...
0-35
Total
100-07
100-48
100-07
10004
I. Nephrite, from China, by Rammelsberg.
II. Nephrite, from New Zealand, by Scheerer.
ni. Jadeite, from China, by Damour.
IV. Saussurite, from Lake of Geneva, by T. Stcrry Hunt.
' It may be useful to give the means of discriminating these minerals by their
bohaA-ibur before the blowpipe. JSephrite is difficult of fusion, does not colour the
flame, but when moistened with solution of nitrate of cobalt assumes a rose colour,
due to the presence of magnesia ; jadeite is readily fusible to a transparent glass, and
gjves with cobalt a blue colour, due to the alumina ; Saussurite is more fusible than
nephrite, but less so than jadeite, it colours the flame blue, and becomes blue with
cobalt.
None of the varieties of jade have been found crystallised, but they usually occur
JARGOON 7
in compact tough masses, breaking with a splintery fracture. The specific graTity
varies Irom 2'9 to S'l, rising to 3'38 in Saussurite. All the jades are hard stones, being
nearly as hard as quartz, but it is said that some varieties when first broken, are so
soft as to be readily cut with a knife. The colours are various shades of green,
occasionally passing into a greenish white tint.
Like most green stones, jade has always been a favourite material for amulets. It
formerly possessed special repute for curing diseases of the kidneys, whence the
mineralogical name nephrite {vecpp6s, the kidneys), and the popular name kidney-stone
{pierre nephritigiue, Fr. ; pietra di hijada, Sp. ; Nierenstein, Ger.).
Jade is largely used in China as an ornamental stone under the name of yu. Mr.
Purapelly has shown that the jade of the province of Yunnan, known as fetsui, Is
really jadeite. The Chinese appear to have formerly obtained consideraible supplies
of jade from Eastern Turkestan, where it is found in the chain of the Kuen-lun
Mountains. The jade-quarries on the Kara-kash River have been visited and de-
scribed by Dr. Cayley and by Hermann von Schlagintweit. According to the latter
traveller, jade is always known in Khotan under the name of yashm.
Jade is found extensively in New Zealand, and is employed by the natives for
making tikis, or the grotesque ornaments worn on the breast, and for the peculiar
instruments of war, called pattoo-pattoos or meres. The use of jade for these axe-like
weapons has led to the popular name of axe-stone (Beilstein, Ger.). The New Zealand
jade is known to the Maories as punamu or ' greenstone ; ' and, according to Von
Hochstetter's map it is found along the west coast of the South Island ; indeed, this
island is called, from the occurrence of jade, Te Wahi Punamu, or 'The place of the
greenstone.*
Jade also occurs in Siberia, and fine specimens have been brought by M. Alibert,
with his graphite, from the Government of Irkutsk.
In prehistoric times, jade and jadeite were used for amulets and ornaments, and
specimens have been found among the relics of the old pile-buildings, or Pfahlbauten,
of the Swiss lakes. It is curious to conjecture whence this material could have been
derived ; for, with the exception of an erratic block found at Schwemsal in Germany,
true jade is not known to occur in western Europe. The so-called jade pebbles of
lona are nothing more than serpentinous marble. — F.W.B.
JABBXTBi See Jade.
JAGCERY. Palm-sugar, prepared from Saguerus saccharifer
JAXiAP. The root of the Exogoniiim purga, Bth., a member of the Convolvvlaceee,
or Bindweed order. It takes its name from Xalapa, a city of Mexico. Its uses as a
common purgative are well known.
JABXAXCA PSPBER. One of the names given to ArtspiCE.
JAAIESOXriTE. A sulphide of lead and antimony, containing about 40 per
cent, of lead and 34 of antimony. It occurs in several mines in the north-east of
Cornwall, and in Devonshire, but has not hitherto been available as an ore of lead.
JAITAPVIMt. Crotalaria juncea, a vegetable fibre used for ropes. See Fibres.
JAPAZr EARTH • Terra Japonica. See Gambik.
JAP AM* &ACQUER. A hard black varnish prepared from the Stagmaria
verniciflua.
J'APAir PEPPER. A condiment prepared in China and Japan by bruising the
capsules of the XantJwxylon piperitum, D.C. From this plant, or from a closely-allied
species, Stenhouse obtained two peculiar principles, which he called Xanthoxylene and
Xanthoxylin.
JAP Air SAGO. A starch obtained from the stem of the Cycas revoluta.
JAPAN WAX. A vegetable wax obtained from the fruits of Ehus succedanea,
L., and perhaps other species. It has been imported from Japan for use in candle-
making.
JAPAXrarxxTG is a kind of varnishing or lacquering, practised with excellence by
the Japanese, whence the name.
The only difference between Yarnishing and japanning is that after the application
of every coat of colour or varnish, the object so varnished is placed in an oven or
stove at as high a temperature as can safely be employed without injuring the articles
or causing the varnish to blister or run.
For black japanned works, the ground is first prepared with a coating of black, made
by mixing dross ivory black to a proper consistence with dark coloured anime varnish,
ns this gives a blacker surface than could be produced by japan alone. If the surface
is required to be polished, five or six coats of japan are necessary to give sufiBcieot
body to prevent the japan from being rubbed through in polishing.
Coloured japans are made by mixing with some hard varnishes the required colour,
and proceeding as described. See Varnish.
JARGOOXr, the name given to a variety of Zircon from Ceylon, It in seldom
8 JET
p "foctly transparent, and is either colourless or grey, -with tinges of green, blue, red,
and yellow of various shades, but generally smoky and ill-defined. It occurs in •worn
angular pieces, or in small detached crystals, rarely exceeding 6 or 8 carats in weight,
chiefly in the sand of a river in Ceylon. The surfaces of the crystals are smooth, and
possess a lustre more nearly approaching that of the diamond than any other gem.
At the present day, though out of fashion and in no request, it is still occasionally
sold for inferior diamonds.
Davy says that the light grey varieties of the zircon are sold by the inhabitants of
Ceylon as imperfect diamonds, the natives being altogether ignorant of the true
nature of the mineral. It is most abundant in the district of Matura, whence it has
its common name in Ceylon of Matura diamond. The colourless zircon is also cut
and sold as a false diamond in the bazaars of India, — H.W.B.
JTASOSXTE. A hydrous sulphate of peroxide of iron, with an alkaline sulphate.
It takes its name from Barranco Jaroso, in the Sierra Almagrera, in Spain.
7ASPE& {Jaspe calcedoine, Fr. ; Jaspis, Ger.) is a sub-species of quartz, of which
there are five varieties: — 1. The Egyptian red and brown, forming nodules with
ring or tendril-shaped delineations. 2. Porcelain jasper, or clay altered by heat,
and differing from true jasper by being fusible on the edges, before the blowpipe.
3. Striped or riband jasper. 4. Common jasper. 5. Agate jasper. The prettiest
specimens are cut for seals, and for the inferior kinds of jewellery ornaments. See
Lapidaht. — H.W.B.
TATROPHiV MCAWXROT. A plant belonging to the Euphorbiaceee, from which
the Cassava meal is prepared, and from the expressed juice of which are obtained
Cassava starch and 2'apioca. See Tapioca.
The seeds of Jatropha purgans yield jatropha oil, and the nuts of this and some
other species of Jatropha are known as ' Physic nuts.'
JEAir. A twilled cotton, usually stripped. Satin-jeans are woven so as to present
a smooth glossy appearance. It is used for stays, &c.
JEK]b7, AXrZMAXi. See Gelatine ; Glue ; and Isinglass.
TEXiZiT, VEGETABXiE. A great many vegetable productions yield upon Infusion
or decoction gelatinous solutions. These vary very much in character. The jelly of
ripe currants and other berries is a compound of mucilage and acid, which loses its
power of gelatinising by prolonged ebullition.
JEIMCMXES. A woollen cloth made in Scotland.
TEXtXEX) BEEF. Beef dried in the sun : much of this has been introduced £rom
the South American States, but it has not hitherto been much used, although sold at a
very low price.
JERVSAKEM ARTZCBOXE. The edible tubers of the Helianthus tuberosus.
The epithet of ' Jerusalem ' is a corruption of the Italian girasoL
JESSAMIXTE or JTASlMinrE. A well-known family of plants. The Jasmium
fruticans, a native of the southern parts of France, J. odoratissimy,m, a native of India,
and J. sicmbac, a native of India and Arabia, are used to obtain the essential oil or
jasmine. See Peefujiekt.
7BT. {Jaiet, ovjais, Fr.) Jet occurs in the upper lias shale in the neighbour-
hood of Whitby, in Yorkshire, in which locality this beautiful substance has been
worked for many himdred years. The jet-miner searches with great care the slaty
rocks, and finding the jet spread out, often in extreme thinness between the lamina-
tions of the rock, he follows it with great care, and firequently he is rewarded by its
thickening out to two or three inches.
The best jet is obtained from a lower bed of the upper lias formations. This bed
has an average thickness of about 20 feet, and is known as jet rock. An inferior
kind, known as joft jet, is obtained from the upper part of the upper lias, and from the
sandstone and shale above it. The production of jet in this country appears to be
limited to the coast of Yorkshire, from about nine mUes south of "Whitby to Boulby, and
about the same distance to the north ; the estates of Lord Mulgrave being especially
productive. There is a curious allusion to this in Drayton's ' Polyolbion ' : —
The rocks by Moultgrave, too, my glories forth to set,
Out of their crannied rocks can ^ve yon perfect jet.
Dr. Young, in his • Geology of the Yorkshire Coast,' writes — ' Jet, which occurs here
in considerable quantities in the aluminous bed, may be properly classed with fossil
wood, as it appears to be wood in a high state of bitnmenisation. Pieces of wood im-
pregnated with silex are often found completely crusted with a coat of jet about an
inch thick. But the most common form in which the jet occurs is in compact masses
of from half an inch to 2 inches thick, from 3 to 18 inches broad, and of 10 or 12 feet
long. The outer surface is always marked with longitudinal striae, like the grain of
JET 9
wood, and the transverse fracture, which is conchoidal, and has a resinous lustre, displays
the annular growth in compressed elliptical zones.'
It does not appear to us that the ' ligneous origin ' of jet is by any means established •
indeed, we think the amount of evidence is against it. There is no example, as far as we
can learn, of any discovery of true jet having a strictly ligneous structure, or showing
anything like the conversion of wood into this coal-like substance. There appears,
however, to have been some confusion in the observation of those who have written
on the subject. Mr. Simpson, the intelligent curator of the Whitby Museum, who
has paid much attention to the subject, says, ' Jet is generally considered to have
been wood, and in many cases it undoubtedly has been so ; for the woody structure
often remains, and it is not unlikely that comminuted vegetable matter may have
been changed into jet. But it is evident that vegetable matter is not an essential
part of jet, for we frequently find that bone, and the scales of fishes also have been
changed into jet. In the Whitby Museum there is a large mass of bone, which has
the exterior converted into jet for about a quarter of an inch in thickness. The
jetty matter appears to have first entered the pores of the bone, and there to have
hardened; and during the mineralising process, the whole bony matter has been
gradually displaced, and its place occupied by jet, so as to preserve its original form.'
After an attentive examination of this specimen, we are not disposed to agree entirely
with Mr. Simpson.
Jet certainly incrusts a mass which has something the structure of a bone, but,
without a chemical examination of its constituents, we should hesitate even to say it was
bone. Wood without doubt has been found encrusted with jet, as fragments of animal
matter may also have been. But it is quite inconsistent with our knowledge of physical
and chemical changes, to suppose that both animal and vegetable matter woidd undergo
this change. 3y process of sttbstitution, we know that silica will take the place occupied
by carbon, or woody matter ; as, for example, in the fossil palms of Trinidad, and the
silicified forests of Egypt ; but we have no example within the entire range of the
coal-formations of the world of carbon taking the place of any of the earths.
Jet is found in plates, which are sometimes penetrated by belemnites. Mr. Ripley, of
Whitby, has several curious examples, — two plates of jet, in one case enclose water-
worn quartz pebbles ; and in another jet partially invests an angular fragment of
quartz rock. ' This is the more remarkable,' says Mr. Simpson, ' as quartz rock, or,
indeed, any other sort of rocky fragment, is rarely found in the upper lias.'
The very fact that we find jet surrounding belemnites, casing adventitious masses
of stone, and investing wood, seems to show, that a liquid, or at all events, a plastic
condition, must at one time have prevailed. We have existing evidence of this. Dr.
Young, in the work already quoted, says : — ' In the cavities of nodules containing
petrifactions, we sometimes meet with petroleum, or mineral oil. When first exposed,
it is generally quite fluid and of a dark green colour ; but it soon becomes viscid and
black, and at last hardens into a kind of pitch, which generally melts with heat, and
when ignited burns with a crackling noise, and emits a strong bituminous smell.'
One more sample of evidence in favour of the view that jet has been formed from
wood. It is stated (Eeed's ' Illustrated Guide to Whitby') that in front of the clifiF-
work of Hailburne Wyke existed a petrified stump of a tree, in an erect posture, 3
feet high and 15 inches across, having the roots of coaly jet in a bed of shale; whilst
the trunk in the sandstone was partly petrified, and partly of decayed sooty wood.
Even in this example it would appear, that after all, a coating of jet was all that
really existed upon this example of the equisetum, which probably stands where it
grew. Mr. Simpson, in a valuable little publication, ' The Fossils of the Yorkshire
Lias described from Natxire, with a short Outline of the Geology of the Yorkshire
Coast,' says : — ' Erom all we know respecting this beautiful mineral, it appears ex-
ceedingly probable that it has its origin in a certain bituminous matter, or petroleum,
which abundantly impregnates the jet-rock, giving out a strong odour when it is
exposed to the air. It is frequently found in a liquid state in the chambers of ammonites
and belemnites and other cavities, and, whilst the unsuspicious operator is breaking a
lias nodule, it flies out and stains his garment. This petroleum, or mineral oil, also
occurs in nodules which contain no organic remains ; and I have been informed by
an experienced jet-miner that such nodules are often associated with a good seam of
jet, and are therefore regarded as an omen of success.'
Jet is supposed to have been worked in this country long before the time of the
Danes in England, for the Romans certainly used jet for ornamental purposes. Lionel
Oharltan, in the ' History of Whitby,' says, that he found the ear-ring of a lady having
the form of a heart, with a hole in the upper end for a suspension from the ear ; it was
found in one of the Roman tumuli, lying close to the jaw-bone. There is no doubt
that when the abbey of Whitby was the seat of learning and the resort of pilgrims, jet
rosaries and crosses were then common. The manufacture waa carried on till the time of
10 JUNIPER
Elizabeth, when it seems to have ceased suddenly, and -was not resumed till the year
1800, when Kobert Jefiferson, a painter, and John Carter made beads and crosses with
files and knives : — a neck guard, made in this manner, fetched one guinea. A stranger
coming to Whitby saw them working in this rude way, and advised them to try to turn
it ; they followed his advice and found it answer ; several more then joined them, and
the trade has been gradually increasing since.
In 1860 the jet-trade of Whitby realised about 45,000Z. ; but since that time it has
doubled itself. In 1870 the value amounted to 84,000^.; in 1871 to 86,000^.; in
1872 to 88,000;._; and in 1873 it probably exceeded 9O,000Z.
Two kinds of jet occur at Whitby — the hard and the soft. The hard jet, which alone
is now worked, is found in layers of varying extent and thickness ; the largest known
specimen having measured 6 feet 4 inches in length, about 5 inches in width, and 1 5
inch in thickness ; it weighed 11^ lbs. Formerly, the hard jet was worked in the cliffs
by a dangerous process called ' dessing ' ; but the cliff-workings are now almost entirely
abandoned, and most of the jet is obtained from mines in the Cleveland hills, the
most extensive workings being those of Bilsdale, near Broughton. About 20 mines
are at present open, giving employment to about 200 miners. Eough hard jet varies
in value from 4s. to 21s. per lb. ; but the soft jet realises only 6s. 6d. to 30s. per
stone, and it is now rarely worked at Whitby, since Spanish jet can be imported at the
same price. The Spanish does not stand wear so well as the Whitby jet, nor does it bear
exposure to the weather. The two kinds may be distingunshed by scratching them
with a knife, the Spanish giving a very irregular scratch, whilst the Whitby gives a
fine groove.
In working jet, the first operation is to remove the skin, or outer surface, which is
chipped off with an iron chisel ; the denuded pieces are then sawn up into sizes
adapted for the required articles, and are worked into form by carving and turning ;
finally, the objects are polished with rouge on a board covered with hide, by which
means a fine velvety lustre is obtained. There are at present upwards of 200 work-
shops in Whitby, the largest being that of Mr. Charles Bryan, which gives employ-
ment to about 120 hands. Most of the jet ornaments are sent to London ; the inferior
ones are mostly purchased for the American market. A trade is also carried on with
the Continent and with most of our colonies.
The jet workers complain of the great scarcity of designs in jet. Several designs
have been sent them ; bxit the artists not being acquainted with the peculiarities of
the material, their designs are not generally applicable, and tlie manufacturer is much
more successful in the imitation of natural objects than any artificial combination.
For recent information on jet, we are indebted to a paper on Whitby Jet and its
Manufacture, by Mr. J. A. Bower, F.C.S., ' Journal of the Society of Arts,' December
19, 1873.
nSTSAM. Goods cast into the sea from a ship in stress of weather ; flotsam being
the portion of a ship and cargo which remains floating upon the waters ; and lagan, or
ligan-goods, being merchandise which is cast overboard, and sunk with a buoy attached,
so that they may be possibly discovered.
TXS'WEXiXiER'S GOIi3>. Usually an alloy of about 25 per cent, of copper with
76 of gold. See Aixov.
TB'WBKXiES'S ROVGS. A carefuUy-prepared peroxide of iron, used for
polishing.
JElVEXtXiEair. See Bijoutby; Gem; and Lapidart.
JE'W'S PITCH. A fine variety of asphalt from the Dead Sea, See Asphalt,
SXCtOtXTXO, a mining term. Separating the ore with a griddle, or wire-bottomed
sieve, the heavier substances passing through to the bottom or lower part of the sieve,
the lighter substance remaining on the upper part.
JZIO'TA vrmitm A substance somewhat resembling caoutchouc, imported from
India. See CAotrTCHOuc,
70HilK»rZTE. Uranium-vitriol, or hydrous sulphate of uranium and copper,
found at Joachimstahl in Bohemia, and Johanngeorgenstadt in Satony.
JTrJlTBE. The fruit of the lAzyfhus vulgaris and L. jujuba, about the size of,
and nearly resembling, a small plum. The French confectioners prepare a lozenge
from the juice of the fruit, but nearly all the jujubes sold by our druggists and con-
fectioners are merely dried mucilage, flavoured and sweetened.
TSTttlVEM, a mining term. A large borer, steeled at each end like chisel bits. It
is worked by the hand. .
JTUXriPEXt. A genus of plants belonging to the order Conifcra. About twenty
species are known. This plant is cultivated mostly for its berries, which, when dis-
tilled with water, yield a volatile essential oil. The berries are largely employed in
the manufacture of Hollands and gin. The French name of the plant is Genievre, and
licnce our English words ' gin ' and ' geneva.'
JUTE
11
The Juniperus Bermudiana, the Bermuda red cedar, is a large tree with soft and
fragrant w(X)d, and is what is used in making pencils, and by cabinet-makers.
The J. Virginia, L., is also used as the so-called cedar for lead-pencils.
JUTE consists of the fibres of two plants, called the chonch and isbund (Cor-
chorus olitorus and Corchorus capsidaris), extensively cultivated in Bengal, and
forming, in fact, the material of which gunny-bags and gunny-cloth are made. It
/etches nearly, though not quite, so high a price as sunn. See Sunk. It comes into
competition with flax, tow, and codilla, in the manufacture of stair and other carpets,
bagging for cotton and other goods, and such like fabrics, being extensively used for
these purposes in Dundee. But it is unsuitable for cordage or other articles into
which hemp is manufactured, from its snapping when twisted, and rotting in water. —
M'CuUoch.
The importance of jute as an article of manufacture is shown by the following
statement of the Exports from India from 1850, when it first began to attract attention
in this coimtry, to 1863 : — '
1850
1851
1852
1863
1864
1865
1856
1867
1868
1869
1860
1861
1862
1863
The rapid progress of the jute manufacture in this country is thus shown. The
following Tables show the increase since 1869, which is to be accounted for by the
low cost of the material, and its possessing a considerable amount of spinning
quality. . .
Imports: nearly all from British India,
Total Value
Cwts.
&
391,098
88,989
584,461
196,936
535,027
180,976
340,797
112,017
509,507
214,768
699,566
220,241
882,715
329,078
673,416
274,957
788,820
303,292
317,890
625,099
761,201
290,018
1,092,668
409,372
1,232,279
537,610
1,266,884
750,466
Team
1869
1870
1671
1872
1873
Cwts.
2,467,000
2,376,000
8,464,020
4,041,018
4,643,000
The following quantities of
1872:—
yam and -waste of jute 'were imported
in 1871 and
Trom Russia . » .
„ Holland . . j
„ Belgium . » »
„ France .
„ Other countries .
Total
1871
187
2
lbs. .
29,000
249,286
178,787
2,739,981
&
400
4,914
6,363
. 60,913
IbSi
261,844
28,182
2j285,166
56,929
&
4,"8'91
1,347
49,631
. 1,644
3,197,053
62,690
2,682,071
57,513
The iPresident of the Chamber of Commerce, Dundee, at a meeting (1873) stated
that great prosperity had attended the Dundee trade during the past year, that the
whole machinery had been in operation, and that fuU employment had been obtained
by all. The importation of jute had never been greater than in this year, being some
20,000 tons more than last. It was mentioned as another indication of the prosperity,
that the deposits of the working classes engaged in the jute manufacture in the
savings-bank diiring the present year had increased by 36,000/. or 37,000/.
It is in Scotland especially where goods made from jute represent a large branch
12
JUTE
of industry. This very cheap raw material is employed there, either pure or mixed,
to make ordinary brown cloth, but more especially sacking, packing-cloth, and carpets.
The jute yams used for carpets are of the richest and most varied colours, and are
sometimes used in conjunction with cocoa-nut fibre. Even the Brussels and velvet-pile
carpets are imitated with success in appearance, but not in durability. Dundee and
its surrounding neighbourhood are the principal seats of this fast-increasing manufac-
ture. The number of spindles acting on jute in Dundee is considerably above 50,000.
A very beautiful cloth for binding books is made from jute.
The bulk of the raw jute exported is sent to France. About 30,000 cwts. are
annually returned in the shape of jute-yam.
The amoimt of British-made jute-yam and manufactures exported was as fol-
lows during the last five years :-
Yarns
Manufactures
lbs.
yds.
1869
. 8,041,000
60,127,000
1870
. 12,669,000
57,920,000
1871
. 13,710,000
62,310,000
1872
. 12,716,000
84,452,000
1873
. 12,275,000
96,639,000
This is exclusive of jute bags and sacks, which are not separately classified in the
trade returns.
The following Parliamentary return of the jute Exports in 1872 shows the countries
to which our manufactures were sent : —
Jute Yarn:
To Germany
„ Holland
„ Belgium
„ France
„ Spain .
„ Italy .
„ United States : Atlantic
„ „ „ Pacific
„ Other countries .
• Total
Jute Manufactures:
To Bussia ......
„ Denmark
„ Germany
„ Holland ' .
„ Portugal and Madeira.
„ Italy
„ Austrian Territories ....
„ Turkey Proper
„ Egypt
„ United States : Atlantic
„ „ „ Pacific
„ Foreign West Indies ....
„ United States of Colombia (New Granada)
„ Venezuela
„ Peru
„ Chili
„ Brazil
„ Uraguay
„ Argentine Republic ....
„ British Possessions in South A&ica
„ Australia
„ British North America . ...
„ Other countries
Total ....
lbs.
1,684,272
2,866,952
792,640
253,900
4,842,592
444,680
1,626,619
14,429
289,985
12,716,969
Yards
771,276
1,806,517
22,552,478
4,108,478
920,369
2,133,060
605,162
2,324,000
822,410
19,829,126
4,292,098
1,209,906
646,500
406,200
2,027,400
992,200
9,061,024
1,387,840
3,263,760
407,740
1,342,580
614,430
2,939,370
84,462,457
£
33,521
54,448
19,640
9,395
96,222
12,260
28,189
278
7,296
261,239
£
15,343
29,306
399,494
73,163
20,319
44,391
10,942
42,286
18,757
320,461
76,860
24,831
11,415
9,405
35,415
17,944
134,638
22,620
52,095
11,126
33,278
18,167
61,238
1,486,484
KAMPTULICON 13
K
XASOOK. A name for a clay-ironstone in Ceylon. — Simmonds,
X-aJCWITE. A hydrous sulphate of potash and magnesia, occurring in the great
saline deposits overlying the rock-salt at Stassfurt, in Prussian Saxony, It has
become an important commercial source of sulphate of potash.
XAX. A mining term. ' Wild iron ; a coarse, false kind of iron.' — Borlase, In
St. Just, in Cornwall, a callan lode is a lode containing much iron.
KAI^EZSOPBOir. An instrument devised by Professor Wheatstone. An elastic
thin bar is fixed by one of its extremities, and at its free end it carries a silvered or
polished ball ; a ray of light is reflected from this baU, and -when the thin plate is put
in vibration, the fine point of light describes various curves, corresponding with the
musical notes produced by the vibrations.
XA.3JSZSOSCOPE. A well-known instrument invented by Sir David Brewster.
It has been much employed in arts of design. The leading conditions are that the
angle at which the reflectors are placed is a submultiple of 360°, that the only posi-
tions in which a body can be placed to form perfectly symmetrical images are between
the ends of the mirrors, or in contact with the ends, and the eye must be as near as
possible to the angular point.
ILAJtt, The Arabs gave this name to an annual plant which grows near the
sea-shore, now known under the name of Salsola soda, and from whose ashes they
extracted a substance, which they called alkali, for making soap. The term Kali is
used by German chemists to denote caustic potash, and Kalium, its metallic basis,
instead of our potash and potassium.
X AUXrZTE. Dana's name for native potash-alum. See Alum.
XAHCAXiA, or XAMZIiA DVE. An Indian yellow dye for silks, obtained
from the Bottler a tinctoria, Kxb. The red powder which covers the fruit is mixed
■with alum or with carbonate of soda, and yields an orange dye. Kamala is also
employed medicinally in the East.
XAXMEPTVKICOXO'. This article was first made in the year 1843, but, like most
new productions, it remained for some time unappreciated. At length it was used
by Sir Charles Barry for the corridors of the Houses of Parliament.
At first it was produced in its unstained colour, but subsequently it has been stained
of many diflferent colours. It is also impressed with surface-colour designs of varied
and appropriate subjects. It is an admirable recipient of colour, which penetrates
throughout its substance, and remains permanent. Kamptulicon is composed of
gutta-percha, India-rubber, and ground cork.
Other materials have been tried, such as prepared oil and ground cork ; but this
has not been very successful. In some, sawdust has been substituted for cork.
One of the great advantages of kamptulicon is its property of deadening sound.
The Kamptulicon Elastic Floor-Cloth Company, who have extensive works at Bow
Common, furnish the following notice of this manufacture : —
The first part of the manufacturing process is the purification of the native caout-
chouc or India-rubber. It is first put to soak into large water tanks heated by steam,
and when sufficiently softened, is placed before a circular knife of cast steel, revolving
at the rate of 3,000 times a minute, and cut into small blocks ; and is then taken to a
pair of powerful cast-steel rollers, which seize it, and grind it with immense force ;
and, aided by a jet of water, all the clay and foreign ingredients are expelled and
washed away ; it is passed several times through this machine, till it is perfectly free
from all impurities, when it is taken to a formidable apparatus, called the masticator,
which consists of a massive structure of iron, fitted with cylinders, of which every
part, being subject to a violent straining, is rendered as strong as possible. The
material having been of a loose though tough mass on entering this machine, is
gradually crushed and worked down into a body of consistent substance, and has
altered to a light brown colour. This process is attended with the evolution of much
heat, caused by the immense friction in the working of the material, and any water
yet remaining in the mass is actually converted into steam, a succession of explosions
constantly being heard in the apparatus from the disengaged air or steam ; it is then
removed and worked into the proper consistency, by being passed through deeply-
indented rollers, which further grind and incorporate it with the different colours,
&c., for spreading upon cloth and rolling into sheets for steam packing; this is the
most tedious and expensive part of the manufacture, at it goes through several -pairs
of similar rollers, which require great mechanical power. After being brought to
14 KELP
this state, which is varied according to the purpose for which it is required, it is
taken to a still larger set of rollers, which consists of four cast-steel cylinders, each
of 22 inches diameter, and 62 inches on the face ; these rollers are beautifully turned
and polished, fitted with steam connections, as well as for hot and cold water, and are
estimated to have cost upwards of 1,500^., there being great difficulty in obtaining
rollers of so large a size.
The material forms a sheet upon the first roller, and, as it passes over, is pressed
into the cloth through the other rolls, and wound off in front of the machine on a
roller connected -with it, the average speed of the machine being such as to produce
1,600 to 2,000 yards per day. After leaving the machine, the fabric or rubber is
subjected to the vulcanising process by being placed with sulphiir at tempera-
tures of from 300° to 370° Fahr., which renders the India-rubber highly elastic,
and gives it the properties of resisting the influence of grease or acids. The whole
of the machinery is worked by a pair of horizontal double-cylinder engines of 66
horse-power, and one engine of 30 horse-power. Space will not permit Us to describe
the further machinery for making all the various articles in detail.
KAWBITE. An arsenide of manganese, probably from Saxony ; named after Sir
Eobert Kane, by whom it was first described.
XAHTGAROO. a marsupial animal, native of Australia. Its tail makes excel-
lent soup ; and its skin, when tanned, becomes a soft and durable leather.
KAOXiZXr. A name derived from the Chinese, which is sometimes applied to
porcelain clay. See Ciat, Poecelain.
XARABE', a name of amber, of Arabic origin, in use upon the Continent.
XASXr or CASXr. A Cornish miner's term, frequently, according to Borlase,
used to signify the solid rock — more commonly a pile of rocks.
XARST&WZTE. The name given by Hausmann to anhydrous sulphate of lime,
in compliment to the German mineralogist Karsten. See Anhydbite.
XAT, or 3CBAT. An Arabian drug, obtained from the Catha edulis and C.
spinosa. It is said to be chewed by the Arabs for the sake of its exhilarating effects ;
whilst a decoction prepared from it is used as tea.
KATTZMinO'DOO or drTTEMUirsOO. A caoutchouc-like substance ob-
tained from the Euphorbia antiquorum of Roxburgh. It was first exhibited in
this country in the Great Exhibition of 1851, being sent by Mr. W. Elliott from
Vizagapatam.
It was of a dark brown colour, opaque except in thin pieces, hard and somewhat
brittle at common temperatures, but easily softened by heat. Perfectly insoluble in
boiling water, but becoming soft, viscid, and remarkably sticky and adhesive like
bird-lime, reassuming, as it cools, its original character.
It is said to be used for joining metal, fastening knife-handles, &c.
XAURZE or XAVTBIE RESXIT. See Dammab.
XAVA ROOT. The root of the Piper methysticum, Forst., used in the South
Sea Islands for preparing a disgusting beverage.
KESOS AirCHOR. A small anchor with an iron stock used for warping.
KEEXi. A barge used on the Tyne to can-y coal. These barges are constructed
to carry 21 tons. The keel ' is worked by means of one oar at the gunwale and a
sweep at the stern. Of late years the build and rig of these vessels have been so
greatly improved, that they can now work to windward in as good a style as a sloop.'
Dunn, Winning and Working of Collieries.
XEE&ER. A manager of coal barges and colliers in the Durham and Northum-
berland district.
XEEVE, a mining term. A large vat used in dressing ores : also a brewer's term
for a mash tub.
XEG. A cask containing five gallons.
XEZR. A boiler used in bleaching establishments. See Bleaching.
KEILP ( Varec, Fr. ; Wareck, Ger.) is the crude alkaline matter produced by
incinerating various species of fuci, or sea-weed. They are cut with sickles from the
rocks in the summer season, dried and then burned, with much stirring of the pasty
ash. Dr. Ure analysed many specimens of kelp, and found the quantity of soluble
matter in 100 parts of the best to be from 53 to 62, while the insoluble was from 47
to 38. The soluble consisted of:
Sulphite of soda 8'0 19-0
Soda, as carbonate and sulphuret , . . 8'5 6'6
Muriate of soda and potash .... 36*5 37'5
53-0 62-0
KERMES GRAINS 15
The insoluble matter consisted of :
Carbonate of lime 24*0
Silica . . . . . . . .8-0
Alumina, tinged with iron oxide . . . . 9*0
Sulphate of lime O'O
Sulphur and loss . . . . . . 6-0
47-0
The first of these specimens was from Heisker, the second from Eona, both in the
Isle of Skye, upon the property of Lord Macdonald. From these, and many other
analyses which were made by Dr. Ure, it appears that kelp is a substance of very
variable composition, and hence it was very apt to produce anomalous results, when
employed as the chief alkaline flux of crown glass, which it was for a very long period.
The Fva:iis vesiculosus and F. nodosus are reckoned to afford the best kelp by in-
cineration ; but all the species yield a better product when they are of two or three
years' growth than when cut younger. The vareo made on the shores of Normandy
contains almost no carbonate of soda, but much sulphate of soda and potash, some
hyposulphite of potash, chloride of sodium, iodide of potassium, and chloride of potas-
sium ; the average composition of the soluble salts being, according to Gay-Lussac,
66 of chloride of sodium, 25 of chloride of potassium, and a little sulphate of potash.
The very low price at which soda-ash, the dry crude carbonate from the decomposition
of sea salt, is now sold, has superseded the use of kelp for this purpose.
Mr. E. C. C. Stanford has introduced a process for preparing kelp by simply carbo-
nising the weeds. The sea-weeds are collected during the winter, and, when dried and
compressed, are difitilled in retorts at a comparatively low temperature. See kmss, ;
Iodine ; Potash.
XEIO'TZSB RAG. See Eao and Basstone.
KSRATIxr. An animal principle obtained from hairs, nails, horn, feathers, and
other integumentary tissues.
KERIMCES CRAXirs, AXiKERIIKES, are the dried bodies of the female insects
of- the species Coccus ilicis, which Lives upon the leaves of the Quercus ilex (prickly
oak). Kirby and Spence, and also Stephens, state that the Coccus ilicis is found on
the Quercus coccifera. The word Jcermes is Arabic, and signifies ' little worm.' In
the middle ages, this dye-stuff was therefore called vermiculus in Latin, and vermeil
and vermilion in French. It is curious to consider how the name vermilion has been
since transferred to red sulphuret of mercury.
Kermes has been known in the East since the days of Moses ; it has been employed
from time immemorial in India to dye silk ; and was used also by the ancient Greek
and Eoman dyers. Pliny speaks of it under the name of coecigranum, and says that
there grew upon the oak in Africa, Sicily, &c., a small excrescence like a bud, called
cuscidium ; that the Spaniards paid with these grains half of their tribute to the
Eomans ; that those produced in Sicily were the worst ; that they served to dye
purple ; and that those from the neighbourhood of Emerita in Lusitania (Portugal)
were the best.
In Germany, during the ninth, twelfth, thirteenth, and fourteenth centuries, the rmral
serfs were bound to deliver aimually to the convents a certain quantity of kermes,
the Coccus Folonicus, among the other products of husbandry. It was collected from the
trees upon St. John's-day, between eleven o'clock and noon, with religious ceremonies,
and was therefore called Johannisblut (St. John's blood), as also German cochineal.
At the above period, a great deal of the German kermes was consumed in Venice, for
dyeing the scarlet to which that city gives its name. After the discovery of America,
cochineal having been introduced began to supersede kermes for all brilliant red dyes.
The principal varieties of kermes are the Coccus quercus, the Coccus Polonicus, the
Coccus fragaricB, and the Coccus uva ursi.
The Coccus quercus insect lives in the south of Europe upon tlie kermes oak. The
female has no wings, is of the size of of a small pea, of a brownish-red colour, and is
covered -with a whitish dust. I'rom the middle of May to the middle of June the eggs
are collected, and exposed to the vapour of vinegar, to prevent their incubation. A
portion of eggs is left upon the tree for the maintenance of the brood. In the depart-
ment of the Bouches-du-Ehone, one half of the kermes crop is dried.
The kermes of Poland, or Coccus Polonicus, is found iipon the roots of the Scleranthus
perennis and the Sisleranthm annuus, in sandy soils of that country and the Ukraine.
This species has the same properties as the preceding ; one pound of it, according to
"Wolfe, being capable of dyeing 10 pounds of wool; but Hermstaedt could not obtain
a fine colour, although he employed 5 times as much of it as of cochineal. The Turks,
Armenians, and Cossacks dye with kermes their morocco leather, cloth, silk, as well as
•the manes and tails of their horses.
16 KIESERITE
The kermes called Cocous fragarus is found principally in Siberia, upon the root of
the common strawberry.
The Coccus uva ursi is twice the size of the Polish kermes, and dyes with alum a fine
red. It occurs in Eussia.
Kermes is found not only upon the Lycopodium complanatum in the Ukraine, but upon
a great many other plants.
Good kermes is plump, of a deep red colour, of an agreeable smell, and a rough and
pungent taste. Its colouring matter is soluble in water and alcohol : it becomes yel-
lowish or brownish with acids, and violet or crimson with alkalis. Sulphate of iron
blackens it. With alum it dyes a blood-red ; with copperas, an agate-grey ; with
sulphate of copper and tartar, an olive-green ; with tartar and salt of tin, a lively cin-
namon-yellow ; with more alum and tartar, a lilac ; with sulphate of zinc and tartar,
a violet. Scarlet and crimson dyed with kermes were called grain colours. The red
caps for the Levant are dyed at Orleans with equal parts of kermes and madder, and
occasionally with an addition of Brazil-wood. Kermes is but little used in England at
present as a dyeing substance.
KSRMSS, ASXIO'ERAXi. Pure mineral kermes is regarded by Berzelius, Fuchs,
and Rose, as an amorphous tersulphuret of antimony. As the preparation has but
little use in the arts except as an artist's colour, for its mode of preparation and its
chemicivl constitution, we refer to Watts's ' Dictionary of Chemistry.'
XSRMESZTE. Bed antimony ore, composed of oxygen, 5'29 ; antimony, 74*45 ;
sulphur, 20'49. It occurs in the form of tufts of cherry-red hair-like crystals, at
Braunsdorf, near Freiberg, in Saxony, and at a few other localities.
XBS»rEIi ROASTIXO-C. See Coffeb.
XXUftOSXirs. A name given to one of the mineral oils, obtained from the oil-
wells and oil-shales of America, and other places.
KERSE'S'. A coarse stuff woven from long wool, chiefly manufactured in the
north of England.
XCERSETMERE. Commonly spelt cassimere. A fine fabric woven plain from the
finest wools ; a manufacture of the west of England principally.
KETCBVP. A name derived from the Japanese kitjap. It is prepared from
mushrooms, especially from the Agarictis campestris, by sprinkling them with salt,
letting them drain, and boiling the juice with spices. Walnut-ketchup is made from
green walnuts in a similar manner.
XfiTOWES. A class of organic bodies derived from aldehydes by substitution of
one atom of hydrogen for one atom of an alcohol-radical. For example, acetone is
acetic ketone ; that is, it may be regarded as acetic aldehyde in which one atom of
hydrogen is replaced by the radical methyl. See Watts's ' Dictionary of Chemistry.'
KHATA. One of the largest and handsomest trees growing on the western
coast of Africa. The wood is of fine quality, and of a reddish colour like mahogany.
KXABOCCA 'WOOB, called also Amboyna wood. This wood is said to be tiie
excrescence or burr of the Pterospermum indieum, or of the Pterocarpus draco, from
the Moluccas, the Island of Borneo, Amboyna, &c.
KZBBlbE, a mining term. A bucket usually made of iron, in which the ore is
drawn to the surface from the depths of the mine.
KIDBERMnrSTER-CARPET. A carpeting so called from the place of its
early manufacture. This kind of carpet is now principally made in Scotland.
Kidderminster is composed of two webs, each consisting of a separate warped woof.
The two are interwoven at intervals to produce the figures. The two webs being passed
at intervals through each other, each part being at one time above and the other
below, it will be evident, when the webs are of different colours, that the figures will
be the same on both sides, only the colours will be reversed. These carpets should
be made entirely of wool.
KXSSERXTE. A hydrous sulphate of magnesia, containing MgO.SO'-t-HO
(l*f gSO* + H-O). It occurs in large quantities in the upper part of the great saline
deposits overlying the rock-salt of Stassfurt, near Magdeberg, in Prussian Saxony.
The kieserite is specially characteristic of a zone of the deposits, known as the
kieserite region, which occurs below the carnallite, and above the polyhalite region.
Kieserite forms about 17 per cent, of the salts in that portion of the deposit to
which it gives its name. It is separated from the associated salts by solution and
crystallisation. Large quantities of sulphate of magnesia prepared from kieserite
are now sent into the market by the Stassfurt manufacturers.
The first attempts to economise kieserite were made in 1864, when it was pro-
posed to employ it in the preparation of sulphate of potash. Since that time the
applications have greatly increased, and it has now become an important article of
commerce.
The largest quantity of the raw material is sent to this country, where it takes the
KILN • 17
place of the sulphate of magnesia, formerly manufactured from dolomite, or from Grecian
magnesite, in cotton printing. Another portion of kieserite is converted into Glauber
salts, -which, on account of its freedom from iron, are highly prized by gas manu-
facturers.
Manufacturers of ' blancfixe ' employ kieserite, instead of sulphuric acid, to precipi-
tate the sulphate of baryta from chloride of barium, and in all similar cases -where
it is proposed to prepare a difficultly-soluble sulphate, the kieserite can be advan-
tageously used. Kieserite is recommended as a substitute for gypsum in agriculture,
as a top-dressing for clover, and is largely employed in England for this purpose.
It is proposed to use kieserite in the manufacture of alum. There is a mineral called
bauxite, which chiefly consists of the hydrated oxide of aluminium ; this is easily
dissolved in hydrochloric acid ; cheap pota,sh salts and the calculated quantity of
kieserite are added ; alum crystallises out of the solution, and chloride of magnesium
remains in the mother-liquid.
The uses indicated above are -wholly inadequate to consume the enormous quantities
no-w obtained from the Stassfurt mines, Millions of pounds of kieserite are annually
brought to the surface, and it is becoming a serious question to know what to do with
it. If it could be used as a substitute for gypsum in building materials and cements,
its cheapness -would at once commend it to notice. Experiments looking to this appli-
cation have been tried.
T-wo equivalents of kieserite and one equivalent of caustic lime -were stirred to a
paste in -water : the mass hardened, but remained granular and brittle. On calcining
it, however, again pulverising and moistening -with water, it set to a solid marble-like
mass, -which could be applied to many useful purposes. It is proposed to employ this
material for ornamental decorations in the interior of houses, and in general for the
manufacture of cements, and as a substitute for plaster-of-Paris.
Kieserite appears likely to prove a valuable accession to our supply of useful
minerals, to be ranked by the side of kainite, a potash mineral also found at Stass-
furt, and now largely imported into the United States.
KIKBRICKEirXTXi. A variety of Geocronite from Kilbricken, Clare county,
Ireland.
XCXIiKEXria'T COAIi. A variety of anthracite.
KZIiIiAS. The name given by the Cornish miners to the cla^ slate of that
district. It varies very much in colour and character, being sometimes clay-
white, and at other times grey or blue. It is in one district soft ; in another compact
and hard.
XlliXr, (Four, Fr., Ofen, Ger.) is the name given to a certain variety of furnace in
which substances can bo submitted to the influence of heat. In general, a kiln may be
described to be a structure of some considerable size, in which limestones, iron-ores, or
the like, can be calcined, bricks and cement stones burnt, pottery baked, or glass
annealed.
The ordinary brick-kiln has been already described in the article Beicks ; there
are, however, a few modern arrangements which demand some more especial des-
cription.
Horizontal Close Kilns. — These are employed very extensively on the Continent. One
is represented in fig. 1296. Although intended for bricks, it is often advantageously
used as an ordinary potter's kiln, a is the firing kiln ; b is the fuel-grate; c the ash-
pit, and D the chimney. The fire proceeds from the narrow end through the whole
length of the kiln to the chimney. Below the flue is the door b, which is bricked up
during every operation. The perforated wal 1 a a separates the fire-hearth from tlie
burning chamber, and diffuses the flame uniformly over the whole front part of the
chamber ; the position of the fire-grato is found in practice to be exceedingly good, and
is recommended. The grate is inclined towards the kiln for the purpose of facili-
tating the addition of fuel. The curve in the roof conducts the flames, without
interruption, into the burning chamber. The fire-door, e, can be easily drawn up by
means of the weight o, and the chains passing over the pulleys nn. The flue p, and
a few others in the side of the kiln, tend to keep the brickwork dry, which is an
important point in getting up the heat. The heat in all furnaces thus constructed is
greatest in the neighbourhood of the wall a a ; and to prevent the -vitrification of the
bricks, a certain quantity of lime is thrown into the front part of the kiln. In such a
furnace as this, the firing chamber is 3h feet high and 10 feet long, and a full charge
is 6,000 bricks.
Newcastle Kilns are arched kilns or ovens. These have been improved by Mr. C. G.
Johnson, who constructs a fine running along the back of a range of these kilns, and
instead of placing the chimney at the end farthest from the fire, he places it near the
fire. A communication is formed between the kilns of the flue running along the back
of the range. Saitable dampers regulate the heat, which can be drawn through any kiln
Vol. III. C
18
KILN
from back to front by the chimney. Fig. 1 297 is a front elevation of a portion of a range
of kilns thus constructed, a is the body of the kiln, -where the bricks are stacked
1296
1297
1298
on a plane floor ; h, a flue that connects any two or more kilns witli each other, the
communication being regulated by means of dampers 6' b- ; c, chimney -vvilh dumper d j
KILN
19
d, an archway for setting and drawing the kilns, made up with bricks daubed with
clay, so as to be air-tight while the bricks are burning. The system of firing is the
same as in the ordinary end firing ovens. The mode of working is simple : No. 1 kiln
when fired, is put into communication with No. 2, this kiln having had the opening
in front closed up, and the damper in the chimney opened. No. 2 kiln acts as a chimney
to No. 1 during the time that the moisture is being driven off from the bricks in it.
While this operation is going on, No. 3 kiln can be set, and as soon as the moistm-o
is expelled from the bricks in the first kiln, communication can be closed with No, 2,
and that with No. 3 opened. The waste heat will then pass into No. 3. This can be
repeated as many times as there are kilns, and the firing up of the kiln with the dried
bricks effected.
In Hellmann's brick-kiln, at his works near Hanover, the firing-chamber is 8 feet
from side to side, 12 feet 8 inches to the top of the arch, and 20 feet 4 inches in length.
This space, which is much larger than that in the kiln just described, will contain
24,000 bricks. The mean quantity of coal consumed in firing this kiln is 260 cwts.
The kiln is heated from 4 grates, which join in the centre.
The open Dutch kilns are much larger. Heren describes one 51 feet wide, 110 feet
long, and 25 feet high, containing 56 layers of bricks, one above the other, consisting
of more than 3,000,000 bricks, which are burnt in 36 days by the flames from 10 fires.
The Bihl kiln {ficj. 1298) used in Waiblingen is of a similar character. This kiln
is heated by two fires; between the fires and the chimney a there are two working
chambers, a lower chamber c for burning, and an upper chamber b for drying the
bricks. The working chambers and chimney are separated from each other by per-
forated arches ; the lower arch a a above the fire being perforated with 25 apertures
for the passage of the flames, while between the drying chamber and the chimney
there are 13 similar passages. The fuel is placed below the chief chamber c and in
front of it, in a prolongation of the fire channels a a, in which the grates are set.
Several modifications of these kilns have been from time to time introduced, and they
have been specially varied to meet the conditions for burning roofing tiles, pipes, &c.,
but in principle they are essentially the same.
Hoffmann's Straight Kiln. — The following ^_^. (1299) represents in section a kiln on
Hoffmann's system as arranged by Chamberlain and Wedekind.
a a is the brick-work of the kiln ; b, the fire-place at one end, the opposite end
opening with a chimney c, by a flue d; a number of openings e e, provided with
closely-fitting covers are constructed .along the roof of the kilns for the introduction of
small fuel. The entire ^^ngth of the kilns having been filled with bricks, in a fit state
for burning, a fire is lighted in the fire-place b, and air is allowed to enter freely through
the fire-door. When the heat at this end of the kiln is sufficiently high, fuel is intro-
1299
duced through the openings e e on the top. The hot air and products of combustion
pass along the entire length of the kiln, between the goods stacked in it, gradually
heats it, and finally passes off by the flue d to the chimney c. So soon as that portion
of the stacked bricks, into and amongst which the fuel has been supplied, has become
sufficiently burnt, the further supply of fuel is stopped, and the supply is then carried
on through other openings e in advance, so as td mingle the fuel with the adjoining
bricks, which by this time will bo sufficiently heated to ensure the conp^bustion
of such fuel. Those bricks which have been thoroughly burnt are now allowed
to cool gradually by the action of the cold air which passes amongst them and takes
up the caloric, which is transferred to the succeeding bricks on its way to the chimney.
In this manner the process of burning is continued until the extreme end of the
kiln has been reached, some of the goods having, in the meantime, been drawn
and replaced by fresh ones, so that the kiln will bo ready for relighting by the time
tiie last of the goods is withdrawn. These kilns may be provided at intervals with
sliding doors, which extend across the kiln, and subdivide it into a number of separata
compartments, facility is thus afforded for making use of these compartments as drying
c2
20
KILN
chambers, whilst the other portion of the kiln 'is burning. The drying may be
facilitated by bringing hot air from the cooling portions of the kiln into the drying
chamber for the time being, by means of a moveable pipe or flue, which may be
adjusted to any of the holes, e, in roof. When the bricks are sufiBcently dry, the doors
and flue are removed so as to bring them within the direct range of the hot air and
products of combustion from the burning bricks, preparatory to their being fired from
above. In this arrangement flues provided with dampers should be employed, leading
from each compartment to separate chimneys, or to one common flue leading to a single
chimney, and eacli compartment should have near its upper part a flue for carrying off
the steam and vapour, evolved during the process of drying.
Pottery-kiJns are sometimes constructed upon this principle, in compartments ; the
number varying considerably according to the conditions required : these are not
usually continuous. The greatest possible heat is required for baking porcelain. The
porcelain kiln consists of a round chamber, on the floor of which the porcelain vessels,
enclosed in seggars, are arranged in columns. The flames fill the whole space, cir-
culating between the columns, and escaping through different apertures in the top of
the chamber ; from thence they
1^"" enter a second chamber, and their
heat is still sufficient for baking
biscuit-ware. Fig. 1300 repre-
sents the Sevres porcelain kiln.
The kiln is surrounded by four
separate fires A a, which first heat
the space x,, which is intended for
completely burning the porcelain ;
the upper chamber l' being used
for baking the biscuit; while the
third space L"may be used for the
same purpose, or for drying the
seggars, the flame escaping througli
the chimney c. The hearths of
the porcelain kiln are peculiar ;
tliey are constructed without any
grate, and built in such a manner
that the draught is forced to take
a contrary direction to that which
it usually takes in other kilns.
The space c is filled with red-hot
fuel, which is passed in througli
the aperture b, and completely fill
the space f. The draught in the
first instance is downward, in the
direction of the arrow, through //,
and the spaces between the fuel in
,/' and c ; this creates a long flame,
which escapes through f into the
chamber r. The round aperture o
is usually closed with a clay
stopper ; through this opening the
fire is stirred ; b, at the foot of the
hearth is used for removing the
ashes when necessary, the draught being always regulated by the lid b'. The flue is divi-
ded by three tongues into three channels p, in order that the flame may be dispersed ; d
and E are the doors for the insertion of the goods. In the arched covering of the space
L twenty-five apertures 1 1 are left to conduct the flame into the chamber iJ. Any
single opening would draw all the flame together — the object is to spread it. Half the
number of openings are made in the roof of l' If t', for a similar purpose. Small
openings are made in the walls of the chamber l, through which the colour of the fire
may be watched. The whole of the kiln is bound together with iron bands to prevent
its falling to pieces. Such furnaces are usually 20 feet in diameter, they are con-
structed internally with fire-stone, and surrounded on the outside with bricks.
Hoffmann! 8 Continuous Kiln. — Fig. 1302 represents a vertical section, andjig. 1301
a sectional plan of a continuous kiln, combined with a second or inner chamber, by
which dry or warm air may be taken from any of the heated chambers of the kiln to
any of the other chambers, for the purpose of drying green bricks or other articles
from which it is desired to drive oft' tlie moisture, a, the brickwork of the kiln, a
portion of the annular burning and drying space of which may be shut off or sepa-
KILN
21
rated from the rest by two moreable diaphragms, b, h', to fonn a drying chamber.
The entire kiln is capable of being subdivided into a number of compartments,
numbered mfig. 1301 from 4 to 10 inclusive, although any other number maybe used.
Each compartment is provided -with a door at c, through which the goods are intro-
duced and removed. Prom the upper part of the several compartments extend a
series of flues, d d, converging towards, and opening into, an annular smoke-chamber,
e, Tvhich surrounds the chimney,/, and communicates therewith by the passages or
openings, g. The inner ends of these flues inside the smoke chamber are closed or
left open by means of conical plugs, k k, which, by being elevated, will regulate the
jimount of opening of the flues. A closed man-hole, i, fig. 1302, is made in each of
these flues for the facility of cleaning. Valves, k {fig. 1301), connect any one of these
flues, when open, with the annular passage, I, for dry or warm air, the bottom of the
passage conijmunicating, by means of valve m, with the flues, n, which lead from the
lower portion of the compartments of the kiln to the smoke chamber, e, before referred
to. These flues, n, are also provided with conical plugs or dampers, o, similar to
those which are fitted on to the inner ends of the flues, d.
In fig. 1301 the chambers 4 and 5 are represented as being shut off from the doors,
b, b', and are supposed to contain green bricks ; the chamber 6 is being filled whilst
1301
the goods are being removed from chamber 7 ; the chambers 8, 9, and 10, all contain
burnt goods in the act of cooling ; whilst the other chambers are being fired, the hot air
therefrom passing through the goods in the chambers 1 and 2 (not shown), and being
obstructed by the door, b, from entering the drying-chambers 4 and 5 direct, it passes
1302
by the bottom flue, n, of the series direct to the smoke-chamber, e, and thence to the
chimney, the plug or damper, being more or less open for that purpose according to
1 he draught required. The fresh air enters by the doors, c c, passes through the
heated goods in the chambers 7, 8, and 9, thereby cooling the goods, and at the same
time taking up the calorie. A portion of this air so heated passes onwards through
the chambers 10, 11, 12, 1, 2, and thence by the flue, n, to the chimney, whilst
another portion enters one of the flues, d, at the mouth thereof, and as the plug or
22
KIMERIDGE CLAY
valve, h, on the inner end of this fine is closed, the heated air enters by the open
. valve, Jc, in the annular chamber or passage, l. The warm air then traverses the
cbamljer, e, passes through the only open valve, m, of the series into the flue, n, of
the series, the end of which in the smoke chamber is closed by the valve, o, and
thence to the drying-chamber, 4, and chamber, 3, and finally escaping at d by the
flue and open plug or valve, h, into the smoke chamber, e, and chimney, /; the whole
of the valves, h, o, k, and m, are kept closed, except those which are in connection
with the flues for the time being ; and, so soon as the goods in the drying-chambers 3
and 4 are sufficiently dry for burning, the doors, b, are removed, and replaced at b',
exposing the bricks in the chamber 3 to the direct action of the heat from the kiln-
fires, whilst the chamber 5, just filled with green bricks, forms, with the chamber 4,
a drying-chamber. A fresh set of valves or dampers is now opened, and the opera-
tions of burning and drying proceed in a continuous manner.
Kilns for special purposes demand especial contrivances ; but, usually, they are in
principle like one or other of those which have been described. For Malt-Kiln, see
Maxt.
XZMCIIRIBCE CSmATZ or SHAXiE. The sands which underlie the Portland
stone of Dorsetshire and the south-west of England are based upon a considerable
thickness of dark brownish- or bluish-grey clay, to which the term Kimeridge Clay
has been given by geologists from the circumstance of its being largely developed and
well displayed in the neighboiirhood of the village of that name.
Throughout the Isle of Purbeck, but especially in the part of it in question, the clay
assumes a very shaly and bituminous character, sometimes passing into more massive
beds of brownish shaly coal, possessing a conchoidal fracture.
The ^Romans, and also the Celts who inhabited the country previously to its inva-
sion by the former nation, appear to have manufactured the harder portions of the
shale into cups and other articles, but chiefly into beads, armlets, and bracelets,
specimens of which last have been found in the neighbouring barrows, in some cases
still encircling the wrists of skeletons.
Circular discs of shale, about the size of & penny piece, have also been dug up in
great numbers in this part of the Isle of Purbeck : as many as 600 were, upon one
occasion, found closely packed together.
Authorities have been much divided in opinion as to the origin and use of these
circular pieces of shale. By some they are supposed to have passed current as money
or tokens, whence the name of Kimeridge coal-money, by which they are commonly
known, has been applied to them ; but the most probable supposition is, that they
were the portions of the material fixed to the lathe, and left adhering to it after the
armlets or other ornaments of a similar description had been turned from their outer
circumferences, and that at some subsequent period these refuse pieces of the turner
were worn as amulets or charms by the superstitious.
The shale around Kimeridge abounds in animal and vegetable matter, the former
consisting of the shells of oysters, ammonites, &c., together with the bones and teeth
of large saurians and fish ; while the latter is in so finely divided a state as not to
be distinguishable to the eye. Much carbonate of lime and pyrites are also present,
especially in those portions in which animal remains iire most abundant.
The variation in the external character of the shale is accompanied by a corre-
sponding variation in the relative proportions of mineral and organic matter contained
in it ; those portions which are the mose fissile and slaty containing a large proportion
of mineral matter combined with a relatively small proportion of organic matter ;
while, on the other hand, in the harder and more massive portions which break with
a conchoidal fracture, the organic matter is greatly in excess of the mineral matter, as
is shown by the following analyses : —
Amount of volatile matter .
„ „ mineral matter .
Greyish-green delicately fissile
shale
A
Brown shale
with conchoidal
fracture
B
19-61
80-49
62-8
47-2
73-3
26-7
10000
1000
1000
When heated the shale gives off copious fumes of a disagreeable odour resembling
that of petroleum ; and when ignited it burns of itself with a dull smoky flame,
leaving, when freely exposed to the atmosphere, a reddish ash, which generally re-
tains the form of the original fragment.
KIMERIDGE CLAY 23
The shale has long been tised for fuel by tho people of the district -where it occurs,
and the ashes left after combustion have long been known to the farmers on the coast
to exercise a beneficial influence upon their crops, especially turnips ; but the unplea-
sant smell given out by it when burning has prevented it from being used, except by
the poorer inhabitants.
The composition of this gas, freed from carbonic acid and sulphuretted hydrogen
by passing through an ordinaiy lime purifier, was as follows : —
defiant gas and congeners 10*0
Light ciirburetted hydrogen and hydrogen . . . 79-0
Carbonic oxide ll-n
The composition of the coke produced was : —
100-0
Carbon 73'4 .... 72'8
Ash 34-3 . • . . . 30-3
107*7 103-1
The excess above 100 arises ftom the presence of sulphides in the coal, which
during the process of incineration absorb oxygen, and are converted into sulphates.
A ton of shale furnished 11,300 cubic feet of this purified gas, the- illuminating
power of which, used in the argand burner, consuming 5 cubic feet per hour, equalled
that of 20 sperm candles, while the percentage of coke remaining was 36'5.
The liquid and solid products obtained by the distillation of the shale at a low tem-
perature, are an offensively smelling, dark brown oil, suspended in an aqueous liquid,
charged with sulphuretted hydrogen, carbonic acid, and ammonia.
This oil, purified and distilled with water, furnished an oily liquid heavier than
water ; a tar-like residue being left in the retort.
The oily liquid which, when purified, gives out the odour of the finest varieties of
coal-gas naphtha, is a mixture of several chemical substances.
"When treated with concentrated nitric acid, this oily liquid is divided into two
portions, one of which is dissolved by the acid, while the other insoluble portion
floats on the surface of the solution in the form of a light colourless oily liquid,
resembling in its general character the hydrocarbons of Boghead coal-tar, and of
petroleum. The nitric solution which forms the larger proportion of the oily liquid,
when mixed with water, furnishes a dense, heavy, yellowish oil, with the odour of
nitro-benzol.
Hence it appears that the oily liquid obtained by the distillation of tho shale con-
sists chiefly of benzol and its homologues, mixed with small quantities of petroleum
hydrocarbons. When sufficiently purified it is applicable for all the purposes for
which benzol is employed, for dissolving India-rubber and gutta-percha, for re-
moving stains from fabrics, for preparing varnishes, for making artificial oil of
almonds, &c.
On subjecting to distillation without water, and at a rather high temperature,
the oily tar-like residue remaining in the retort after the crude volatile oil is ob-
tained by heat from the shale, had been distilled with water, other volatile products
are obtained.
The first portion of the oil obtained during the distillation is of an amber colour
when first distilled, and much less limpid than the oil produced by distillation with
water. It also possesses an offensive sulphurous smell, which, however, is lost on
exposure to the air, while the oil assumes a much darker colour. This oil is acted
upon by sulphuric, nitric, and hydrochloric acids, by which, especially by the first, a
portion of it is resinified.
The remaining portion of tho oil, when washed with water and afterwards dis-
tilled with steam, furnishes a perfectly colourless oil with the properties of paraffine.
This last oil, which forms but a small portion of the original oil, behaves in all
respects like the paraffine oil obtained from Boghead cannel coal, and is applicable
to the lubrication of machinery, and all the other purposes to which that liquid is
applied.
The black, pitch-like, coky residue left in the retort resembles in general character
tho coke produced from coal in tho manufacture of gas.
The ash of tho incinerated coke contains nearly the same proportions of silica,
alumina, and iron, as Portland cement. The following is an analysis of the ash left
by the shale, which contains the larger apjount of mineral matter : —
24 KIRSCHWASSER
Ash of Dorsetshire sbale Portland cement
Insoluble residue .... 29'01
Peroxide of iron
Silica .
Alumina .
Lime .
Carbonic acid
710 5-30
21-75 22-23
10-60 7-76
20-62 64-11
10-92 2-15
100-00 91-64
Some few years since works were established at Wareham, for the purpose of
extracting naphtha, and other products, from the shale by distillation ; but the
manufacture was abandoned in consequence of the impossibility of destroying the
smell given out by the naphtha. We learn (1874) that the works are to be resumed.
The treatment of the shale at Wareham, according to Mr. John C. Mansel, was
conducted in the following manner : —
The retorts were charged with about 5 cwts. of shale, preyously broken into pieces
about 2 inches square, and the temperature was maintained as nearly uniform as pos-
sible. In order to obtain the required uniform temperature the retorts were constructed
so as to have backs of lead. The gas formed in the retorts was then condensed by
means of a leaden worm, and the product was a crude oil ; a large quantity of gas was
made during this operation, which was not condensed, but used for ordinary purposes.
The crude oil was allowed to stand in long tanks for 48 hours, for the purpose of
letting the ammoniacal water (of which there is a large quantity) subside. The oil
was tien put into a still and rectified once or twice as the case might be. The first
product was a light oil, making overproof 75° ; the next products were heavy oils, con-
taining paraffine.
The shale, on being taken out of the retorts, was placed in close vessels, and when
cool was ground in a mill for manure. In its unmanufactured state the shale was
not sufficiently rich in ammonia for this purpose ; but at this stage the artificial
manure was said to be as valuable as Ichaboe guano, both having been recently
analysed for the purpose of comparison. By keeping the temperature low in the
retorts, neither the phosphates nor the organic matter were destroyed.
KZIMCERZDGE COAX. See Xoiebidge Ciay or Shaxe.
XIirG'S BIiUE. See Blxte: Fiqhekts.
XXxrcSTON'S TUlETAJt. An alloy which is known as Kingston's metal is
much used for the bearings and packings of machinery. James Pole Kingston
patented in 1853 the use of an alloy which he specified as prepared in the following
manner : —
An alloy, consisting of copper 9 lbs. and tin 24 lbs., is first melted ; then 9 lbs. of
mercury are added, and the whole combined. When cooled, it is ready to be used.
SLZirG'S TEXiXiO'Vir. A mixture of arsenious acid and orpiment, used as a pig-
ment.
XZirCr-lxrOOD is imported &om the Brazils, and is sometimes called violet
wood. This is one of the most beautiful of the hard woods, and is used in small
cabinet work.
Xixric ACZ3>. A peculiar acid extracted by Vauquelin from cinchona.
XSNO is an extract obtained most probably from the Pterocarpus marsupium,
which grows on the Malabar coast. In India kino is used for dyeing cotton a nankeen
colour. It is of a reddish-brown colour, has a bitter styptic taste, and consists of
tannin and extractive, 75 parts, and a red gum 25 parts. It is used only as an
astringent in medicine. Kino is often called a gum, but most improperly so.
XZP. A Malacca weight for tin, of 40 lbs. 1 1 oz. avoirdupois. — Simmonds.
KIPS. The tanners call the skins of young animals kips. The skins of full-
grown cattle of small breed are also so called. See Leathbb.
XZRSCHVTASSBR is an alcoholic liquor obtained by fermenting and distilling
bruised cherries, called Kirschen in German. The cherry usually employed in Switzer-
land and Germany is a kind of morello, which on maturation becomes black, and has
a kernel very large in proportion to its pulp. When ripe, the fruit, being made to
fall by switching the trees, is gathered by children ; thrown promiscuously, unripe, ri pe,
and rotten into tubs; and crushed either by hand, or with a wooden beater. The
mashed materials are set to ferment ; and, whenever this process is complete, the
whole is transferred to a still, and the spirit is run oflF, by placing the pot over the
common fireplace.
The fermented mash is usually mouldy before it is put into the alembic, the capital
of which is luted on with a mixture of mud and dung. The liquor has accordingly, for
t&e most part, a rank smell, and is most dangerous to health, not only from its own
KRYOLITE 25
crude essential oil, but from the prussic acid derived from the distillation of the cherry-
stones.
There is a superior kind of Kirschwasser made in the Black Forest, prepared with
fewer kernels, from choice fruit, properly pressed, fermented, and distilled.
KXR'Wii.XI'ZTZi. A mineral found in basalt on the nortJi-eastem coast of Ireland
consisting of silica, lime, alumina, and protoxide of iron.
XISH. A •workman's name for the crystalline scales of graphite, which separate
from certain kinds of cast iron on cooling.
XIl-XFE-CI.EAlffXN-G- MACHIXTES. Mr. Kent's machine for this purpose
consists of a box or case, containing a couple of wooden discs, fixed near to each other
upon a horizontal iron rod or spindle, which passes through the case, and is caused to
rotate by means of a winch-handle. Each disc is, for about three-fourths of the area
of its inner face, covered with alternate rows of bristles and strips of leather ; and the
remaining fourth part is covered with bristles only. The knife-blades to be cleaned
are introduced through the openings in the case, between the rubbing surfaces of the
discs ; and rotatory motion being given to the discs by a winch-handle, the knives are
rapidly cleaned and polished.
Mr. Masters constructed knife-cleaning machines upon the same plan as the above ;
but the rubbing-surface of each disc is formed of strips of buff leather, with only a
narrow circle of bristles around the edge of each surface, to clean the shoulders of the
knives ; small brushes are fixed beneath the holes in the case, through which the
blades of the knives are inserted, to prevent the exit of dust from the apparatus.
Mr. Price has also devised a machine for cleaning knives, and another for cleaning
forks. The knife-cleaner consists of a horizontal drum, covered with pieces of leather
or felt, and fixed within another drum or circular framing, lined with leather or felt.
The knives are introduced through openings, in a moveable circular plate, at the front
of the outer casing, and enter between the surfaces of the two drums. The plate is
fixed upon a horizontal axis, which extends through the case, and is furnished at the
back with a handle ; by turning which the disc is caused to rotate and carry round the
knives between the surfaces of the drums. The fork -cleaner consists of a box, with a
long rectangular opening in the side ; behind which two brushes are fixed, face to face.
Between these brushes the prongs of the forks are introduced, and the handles are
secured in a carrier, which is made to advance and recede alternately by means of
a throw-crank, and thereby thrust the prongs into and draw them out of contact with
the brushes. The carrier consists of two metal plates, the lower one carrying a cushion
of vulcanised India-rubber for the fork handles to rest upon, and the upper being lined
with leather ; they are hinged together at one end, and are connected at the other,
when the handles have been placed between them, by a thumb-screw.
KXroXiZiS. A mining term in Germany for lead ore separated from the smallep
parts.
XirOPPERSr are excrescences produced by the puncture of an insect upon the
flower-cups of several species of oak. They are compressed or flat, irregularly-pointed,
generally prickly and hard ; brown when ripe. They abound in Styria, Croatia,
Sclavonia, and Natolia ; those from the latter country being the best. They contain
a great deal of tannin, are much employed in Austria for tanning, and in Germany for
dyeing fawn, grey, and black. See Galls.
XOFFO-HEMP. The name in the Moluccas for the Manilla hemp, or rather for
the fibres of the wild plantain of those islands, the Musa textUis.
XOHX-RABBX. A variety of cabbage {Brassica oleracea), in which the stem
enlarges into a fleshy excrescence, resembling a turnip.
XOKA. XVITTS. The bitter seeds of certain species of Stercidia, highly esteemed
for their medicinal properties by the tribes on the Niger,
XOrntiXZSS is the name of a liquor which the Kalmucks make by fermenting
mare's milk, and from which they distil a favourite intoxicating spirit, called rack or
rocky.
The milk is kept in bottles made of hide till it becomes sour, is shaken till it casts
np its cream, and is then set aside in earthen vessels, in a warm place to ferment, no
yeast being required, though sometimes a little old koumiss is added. 21 lbs. of milk
put into the still afford 14 oz. of low vrines, from which 6 oz. of pretty strong alcohol,
of an unpleasant flavour, are obtained by rectification.
XOVSXE -WOOD. The wood of the New Zealand pine, Bammara Australis, one
of the most magnificent of the coniferous woods. It is also called cowdie and kaurie
wood. It is much used for the masts of ships.
XRAMERXA. A shrub, which is a native of Peru, yielding the well-known
rhatany root, often used as a dentifrice.
K&EOSOTE. See Creosote.
XRYOXiXTE. See Cbtolite.
26 LAO
KVKUZ OX£. An oil expressed from the seeds of the Aleurites triloba, or candle-
nut tree. It is used as an artist's oil.
KUSS-KUSS. This is the tough fibrous rhizome of an Indian grass. It is woven
into a fabric called tatty in India ; it has an extensive use in the manufacture of
awnings, blinds, and sunshades ; these are often sprinkled with water during the hot
seasons, which, by evaporation, cools the air in the apartment, and at the same time
imparts an agreeable odour.
KVAiarXTX:. A stone, which is sometimes blue and transparent. It is then em-
ployed as a gem; it resembles sapphire. Its chemical composition is, silica, 37"0 ;
alumina, 63'0.
XC'VAIl'ZZIII'G. A process for preserving wood, successfully carried out by the
late Mr. Kyan of New York. A solution of corrosive sublimate is forced into the
pores of the timber. This chloride of mercury combines with, and coagulates the
vegetable albumen, and thus renders the wood impervious to air or moisture.
KVAXrOIi. The old name of aniline. It was applied by Kungo to the base from
coal-tiir.
XYROSXTE. A sulphide of copper containing traces of arsenic, from Briccius,
near Annaberg, in Saxony.
SbABARBAQVE'S FX^VID. A solution of chloride of soda, occasionally used
in bleaching. See Chiokide of Limb.
liABSAXJ'UlVE. A resin found on the leaves of the Cistus Cretious, in Candia.
It is used in perfumery and for pastiles.
lABRilDORITZ:, or XiABIlABOR FEXiSPAB, is a beautiful mineral, with
brilliant changing colours, blue, red, and green, &c. Spec. grav. 2-70 to 2-75.
Scratches glass ; affords no water by calcination ; fusible at the blowpipe into a
frothy bead; soluble in muriatic acid; solution affords a copious precipitate with
oxalate of ammonia. Cleavages of 93^° and 865° ; one of wliich is brilliant and
pearly. Its constituents are, silica, 5575; alumina, 26*5; lime, 11 ; soda, 4; oxide
of iron, 1'25; water, 0'6.
Labradorite receives a fine polish, and the beauty of its chatoyant reflections re-
commends it as an article of ornament. — H.W.B.
In addition to the play of iridescent colours exhibited on the brachydiagonal
cleavage-plane of labradorite, the mineral usually presents an aventurine-like appear-
ance due to the enclosure of microscopic scales and crystals {microliths). The minute
structure of labradorite has recently been studied by Schrauf, of Vienna, and other
microscopists. See Felspae.
XiABBilDOR TEA. An infusion of the leaves of Ledum palustre and L. lati-
folium, drunk in parts of North America.
ZiABtTRITiVIVI. Cytisus Lahirnam. (Arbois commun, Fr. ; Goldregmi, Gcr.)
The wood of the laburnam-tree is sometimes used in ornamental cabinet-work and
in marquetry. ' In the laburnam there is this peculiarity, namely, that the me-
dullary plates, which are large and very distinct, are white, whereas the fibres
are a dark brown — a circumstance which gives an extraordinary appearance to this
wood.' — AUcin.
KABTSIII'TH, in Metallurgy, means a series of canals distributed from the lead
of a stamping-mill ; through which canals a stream of water is transmitted for sus-
pending, carrying off, and depositing, at different distances, the ground ores. See
Dressing of Ores.
1mA.C. {Laque, Fr. ; Lack, Lackfarben, Ger.) A resinous substance produced
by the puncture of a peculiar female insect, called Coccus lacca or fens, upon tlie
branches of several plants ; as the Fktis rdigiosa or the pepel tree, the F. Lidica, the
EhamnusjuJ2iba, the Croton lacciferum or bihar tree, and the Buteafrnndosa, the Dhak,
which grow in Siam, Assam, Pegu, Bengal, and Malabar. The twig becomes thereby
incrusted with a reddish mammillated rosin, having a crystalline-looking fracture.
The female lac-insect is of the size of a louse ; rod, round, flat, with 12 abdominal
circles, a bifurcated tail, antennae, and 6 claws, half the length of tlie body. The male
is twice the above size, and has 4 wings ; there is one of them to 5,000 females. In
November or December the young V>rood makes its escape from the eggs, lying be-
neath the dead body of the mother ; they crawl about a little way, and fasten them-
selves to the bark of the shrubs. About this period tlie branches often swarm to
such a degree with this vermin, that they seem covered with a rod dust ; in this case,
they are apt to dry up, by being exhausted of their juices. Many of these insects.
LAC 27
however, become the prey of others, or are carried off by the feet of birds, to -which
they attach themselves, and are transplanted to other trees. They soon produce
small nipple-like incrustations upon the twigs, their bodies being apparently glued,
by means of a transparent liquor, which goes on increasing to the end of March, so
as to form a cellular texture. At this time the animal resembles a small oval bag,
without life, of the size of cochineal. At the commencement, a beautiful red liquor
only is perceived, afterwards eggs make their appearance ; and in October or Novem-
ber, when the red liquor gets exhaiistcd, twenty or thirty young ones bore a hole
through the back of their mother, and come forth. The empty colls remain upon the
branches. These are composed of the milky juice of the plant, which serves as nourish-
ment to the insects, and which is afterwards transformed or elaborated into the red
colouring matter that is found mixed with the resin, but in greater quantity in the
bodies of the insects, in their eggs, and still more copiously in the red liquor secreted
for feeding the young. After the brood escapes, the cells contain much less colouring
matter. On this account, the branches should be broken off before this happens, and
dried in the sun. In the East Indies this operation is performed twice in the year ;
the first time in March, the second in October. The twigs encrusted with the radiated
cellular substance constitute the stick-lac of commerce. It is of a red colour more or
less deep, nearly transparent, and hard, with a brilliant conchoidal fracture. The
stick-lac of Siam is the best ; it often forms an incrustation fully one quarter of an
inch thick all round the twig. The stick -lac of Assam ranks next ; and, last, that of
Bengal, in which the resinous coat is scanty, thin, and irregular. There are three
kinds of lac in commerce : stick-lac, which is ttie substance in its natural state, sced-
lac, and shell-lac. According to the analysis of Dr. John, stick-lac consists of-
An odorous common resin . 80"00
A resin insoluble in ether 20"00
Colouring matter analogous to that of cochineal . . . 4*50
Bitter balsamic matter ....... 3"00
Dun yellow extract . 0'60
Acid of the stick-lac (laccic acid) . : . . . 0-75
' Fatty matter, like wax . 3'00
Skins of the insects, and colouring matter .... 2-50
Salts 1-26
Earths 075
Loss 4*75
120-00
According to Franke, the constituents of stick-lac, are, resin, 65*7 ; substance of
the lac, 28'3 ; colouring matter 06.
Seed-lac. — "When the resinous concretion is taken off the twigs, coarsely pounded,
and tritm:ated with water in a mortar, the greater part of the colouring matter is dis-
solved, and the granular portion which remains being dried in the sun, constitutes
secd-lao. It contains of course less colouring matter than the stick-lac, and is much
less soluble. Mr. Hatchett's analysis of seed-lac was as follows : —
Eesin . . 68 .
Colouring matter 10
Wax . . 7
Gluten. . 5'5
Foreign bodies 6*5
Loss 4
100
John found in 100 parts of it, resin, 667 ; wax, 17 ; matter of the lac, 167 ; bitter
balsamic matter, 2-5 ; colouring matter, 3-9 ; dun yellow extract, 0-4 ; envelopes of
insects, 2-1 ; laccic acid, 0-0; salts of potash and lime, 1-0; earths, 6-6; loss, 4-2.
Shell-lac. — In India the seed-lac is put into oblong bags of cotton cloth, which are
held over a charcoal fire by a man at each end, as soon as it begins to melt, the
bag is twisted so as to strain the liquefied resin through its substance, and, to make
it drop upon smooth stems of the banyan-tree {Musa paradisa). In tliis way, the
resin spreads into thin plates, and constitutes the substance known in commerce by
the name of shell-lac.
The Pegu stick-lac, being very dark coloured, ftirnishes a shell-lac of a correspond-
28 LAC-DTE
ing deep hue, and therefore of inferior value. The palest and finest shell -lac is brought
from the northern drear. It contains very little colouring matter. A stick-lac of an
intermediate kind comes from the Mysore country, which yields a brilliant lac-dyo
and a good shell-lac.
Shell-lac, by Mr. Hatchett's analysis, consists of resin, 90'5 ; colouring matter, 0*6 ;
wax, 40; gluten, 2-8; loss, 1-8; in 100 parts.
The resin may be obtained pure by treating shell-lac with cold alcohol, and filtering
the solution in order to separate a yellow grey pulverulent matter. "When the alco-
liol is again distilled off, a brown, translucent, hard, and brittle resin, of specific gravity
1"139, remains. It melts into a viscid mass with heat, and diffuses an aromatic
odour. Anhydrous alcohol dissolves it in all proportions. According to John, it con-
sists of two resins, one of which dissolves readily in alcohol, ether, the volatile and
fat oils ; while the other is little soluble in cold alcohol, and is insoluble in ether and
the volatile oils. Unverdorben, however, has detected no less than four different
resins, and some other substances in shell-lac. Shell-lac dissolves with ease in dilute
muriatic and acetic acids, but not in concentrated sulphuric acid. The resin of shell-
lac has a great tendency to combine with salifiable bases ; as with caustic potash, which
it deprives of its alkaline taste.
This solution, which is of a dark red colour, dries into a brilliant, transparent red-
dish brown mass ; which may be re-dissolved in both water and alcohol. Bypassing
chlorine in excess through the dark-coloured alkaline solution, the lac-resin is precipi-
tated in a colourless state. When this precipitate is washed and dried, it forms, with
alcohol, an excellent pale-yellow varnish, especially with the addition of a little tur-
pentine and mastic.
With the aid of heat, shell-lac dissolves readily in a solution of borax.
The substances which Unverdorben found in shell-lac are the following :—
1. A resin, soluble in alcohol and ether;
2. A resin, soluble in alcohol, insoluble in ether ;
3. A resinous body, little soluble in cold alcohol ;
4. A crystallisable resin ;
6. A resin, soluble in alcohol and ether, but insoluble in petrolemn, and uncrys-
tallisable.
6. The unsaponified fat of the coccus insect, as well as oleic and mai^nc acids.
7. Wax.
8. The laccine of Dr. John.
9. An extractive colouring matter.
Shell-lac is largely used in the manufacture of sealing-wax and varnishes, and for
japanning.
XiAC-DTE, Lac-Lake, or CaTce-lac, is the watery infusion of the ground stick -lac,
evaporated to dryness, and formed into cakes about two inches square and half an
inch thick. Dr. John found it to consist of colouring matter, 60 ; resin, 25 ; and
solid matter, composed of alumina, plaster, chalk, and sand, 22.
Dr. Macleod, of Madras, states that he prepared a very superior lac-dye from
stick-lac, by digesting it in the cold in a slightly alkaline decoction of the dried leaves
of the Menecylon tinctorium (perhaps the M. capitellatum, from which the natives of
Malabar and Ceylon obtain a saffron-yellow dye). This solution being used along
with a mordant consisting of a saturated solution of tin in muriatic acid, was found
to dye woollen cloth of a very brilliant scarlet hue.
The cakes ot lac-dye imported from India, stamped with peculiar marks to designate
their different manufacturers {tlie best DT, the second JMcE, the third CE), are now
employed in England for dyeing scarlet cloth, and are found to yield an equally bril-
liant colour, and one less easily affected by perspiration than that produced by
cochineal. When the lac-dye was first introduced, sulphuric acid was the solvent
applied to the pulverised cakes, but as muriatic (hydrochloric) acid has been found
to answer, it has to a great extent supplanted it. A good solvent (No. 1) for this
dye-stuff may be prepared by dissolving .3 pounds of tin in 60 pounds of muriatic acid,
of specific gravity ri9. The proper mordant for the cloth is made by mixing 27
pounds of miiriatic acid of sp. gr. 1-17, with 1 J pound of nitric acid of 1-19 ; putting
this mixture into a salt-glazed stone bottle, and adding to it, in small bits at a time,
grain tin, till 4 pounds be dissolved. This solution (No. 2) may be used within
twelve hours after it is made, provided it has become cold and clear. For dyeing ;
three quarters of a pint of the solvent No. 1 is to be poured upon each pound of the
pulverised lac-dye, and allowed to digest upon it for six hours. The cloth before
being subjected to the dye-bath, must be scoured in the mill with fuller's earth. To
dye 100 pounds of pelisse cloth, a tin boiler of 300 gallons capacity should be filled
nearly brimful of water, and a fire kindled under it. Whenever the temperature
LACE MANUFACTURE 29
rises to 150° Fahr., a handful of bran, and half a pint of the solution of tin (No. 2)
are to be introduced. The froth, which rises as it approaches ebullition, must be
skimmed off; and when the liquor boils, 1 0^ pounds of lac-dye, previously mixed with
7 pints of the solTent No. 1, and 3^ pounds of solution of tin No. 2, must be poured
in. An instant afterwards, 10^ pounds of tartar, and 4 pounds of ground sumach,
both tied up in a linen bag, are to be suspended in the boiling-bath for five minutes.
The fire being now withdrawn, 20 gallons of cold water, with 1 OJ pints of solution of
tin being poured into the bath, the cloth is to bo immersed in it, moved about rapidly
during ten minutes ; the fire is to be then re-kindled, and the cloth winced more
slowly through the bath, which must be made to boil as quickly as possible, and
maintained at that pitch for an hour. The cloth is to be next washed in the river ;
and lastly with water only, in the fulling-mill. The above proportions of the ingre-
dients produce a brilliant scarlet tint, with a slightly purple cast. If a more orange
hue be wanted, white Florence argal may be used, instead of tartar, and some more
sumach. Lac-dye may be substituted for cochineal in the orange-scarlets.
To determine the tinctorial power of lac-dye by comparison with proved samples, a
dye-bath is prepared as follows : — 5 grains of argal, 20 grains of flannel or white cloth,
6 grains of lac-dye, 5 grains of chloride of tin, 1 quart of water. Heat the water to
the boiling point in a tin or china vessel ; add thereto the argal, and then the piece of
cloth or flannel. Weigh off 5 grains of the lac-dye and pulverise it in a Wedgwood
mortar, with the 5 grains by measure of chloride of tin, and pour the whole into the
hot liquor containing the cloth, taking care to rinse the mortar with a little of the
hot liquor ; keep the whole boiling for about half an hour, stirring the cloth or
flannel about with a glass rod ; then withdraw the cloth, wash and dry it for com-
parison.
DbACCIC ACIB crystallises, has a wine-yellow colour, a sour taste, is soluble in
water, alcohol, and ether. It was extracted from stick-lac by Dr. John.
ItACCmrE is the portion of shell-lac which is insoluble in boiling alcohol. It is
brown, brittle, translucid, consisting of agglomerated pellicles, more like a resin than
anything else. It is insoluble in ether and oils. It has not been applied to any use.
KACE BARK. The reticulated bark of the Lagetta lintearia. This splits into
fibres, which resemble lace. Lagetta cloth has been imported into this country under
the name oi guana. The fibres of the lagetta bark possess great strength, and have
been used in the West Indies for making ropes, whips, &c.
]bACE nXAKTTrFACTTrBE. The pillow-made, or bone-lace, which formerly gave
occupation to multitudes of women in their own houses, has, in the progress of me-
chanical invention, been nearly superseded by the bobbin-net lace, manufactured at
first by hand-machines, but recently by the power of water or steam. Bobbin-net
may be said to surpass every other branch of human industry in the complex ingenuity
of its machinery ; one of Fisher's spotting frames being as much beyond the most
curious chronometer in multiplicity of mechanical device, as that is beyond a common
roasting-jack. — Ure.
The threads in bobbin-net lace form, by their intertwisting and decussation, regular
hexagonal holes or meshes, of which the two opposite sides, the upper and under, are
1303 1304
directed along the breadth of the piece, or at right angles to the salvage or border.
Fig. 1303 shows how, by the crossing and twisting of the threads, the regular six-sided
30
LACE MANUFACTURE
mesh is produced, and that the texture results from the union of three separate sets of
threads, of which one set proceeds downwards in serpentine lines, a second set pro-
ceeds from the left to tlie right, and a third from the right to the left, both in slanting
directions. The oblique threads twist themselves round the vertical ones, and also
cross each other betwixt them, in a peculiar manner. This may be readily understood
by examining the representation. In comparing bobbin-net with common web, the
perpendicular threads in the figure, wliich are parallel to the border, may be regarded
as the warp, and the two sets of slanting threads as the weft.
These warp threads are extended up and down, in the original mounting of the
piece between a top and bottom horizontal roller or beam, of which one is called the
warp beam, and the other the lace beam, because the warp and finished lace are wound
upon them respectively. These straight warp threads receive their contortion from
the tension of the weft threads twisted obliquely round them alternately to the right
and the left hand. Were the warp threads so tightly drawn that they became in-
flexible, like fiddle-strings, then the lace would assume the appearance shown in
fig. 1304; and although this condition does not really exist, it may serve to illustrate
the structure of the web. The warp threads stand in the positions a a, a' a', and
a" a" ; the one half of the weft proceeds in the direction b b, b' b', and b" b" ; and the
second crosses the first by running in the direction c c, or c' c', towards the opposite
side of the fabric. If we pursue the path of a weft thread, we find it goes on till it
reaches the outermost or last warp thread, which it twists about ; not once as with the
others, but twice ; and then returning towards the other border, proceeds in a reverse
direction. It is from this double twist, and by the return of the weft tlireads, that the
selvage is made.
The ordinary material of bobbin-net is two cotton yarns, of from No. 180 to No. 250,
twisted into one thread ; but sometimes strongly twisted single yarn has been used.
The beauty of the fabric depends upon the quality of the material, as well as the
regularity and smallness of the meshes. The number of warp threads in a yard in
breadth is from 600 to 900 ; which is equivalent to from 20 to 30 in an inch. The
size of the holes cannot be exactly inferred from that circumstance, as it depends partly
upon the oblique traction of the threads. The breadth of the pieces of bobbin-net
varies from edgings of a quarter of an inch to webs 12 or even 20 quarters, that is,
2 yards -wide.
Bobbin-net lace is manufactured by means of very complicated and costly machines,
Cdlleil frames. The limits of this Dictionary will admit of an explanation of no more
than the general principles of the manufacture. The threads for crossing and twisting
round the warp being previously gassed, that is, freed from loose fibres by singeing
with gas, arc wound round small pulleys, called bobbins, which are, with this view,
deeply grooved in their periphery. Fi</s. 1305, 1306, exhibit the bobbin alone, and
witli its carriage.
In the section of the bobbin a, fig. 1305, the deep groove is shown in which the
thread is wound. The bobbin consists of two thin discs of brass, cut out in a stamp-
press, in the middle of each of which there is a hollow space c. These discs are
riveted together, leaving an interval between their edge all round, in which the thread
is coiled. The round hole in the centre, with the little notch at top, serves for spitting
1306
1305
them upon a feathered rod, in order to be filled with thread by the rotation of that
rod in a species of reel, called the bobbin-filling machine. Each of these bobbins
(about double the size of the figure) is inserted into the vacant space g of the car-
riage, /^. 1306. This is a small iron frame (also double the size of the figure), which,
at e e, embraces the grooved border of the bobbin, and by the pressure of the spring
at/, prevents it from falling out. This spring serves likewise to apply sufficient
friction to the bobbin, so as to prevent it from giving off its thread at g by its rotation,
LACE MANUFACTURE
SI
unless a certain small force of traction be employed upon the thread. The curvilinear
groove k h, sunk in each face or side of the carriage, has the depth shown in the
section at k. The grooA'e corre-
sponds to the inten^al between the
teeth of tlie comb, or bars of the .
bolt, in which each carriage is
j)laced, and has its movement. A
portion of that bolt or comb' is
shown at a, Jiff. 1307 in plan, and
one bar of a circular bolt machine
at 0, in section. If we suppose two
such combs or bolts placed with
the ends of the teeth opposite each
other, but a little apart, to let the
warp threads be stretched, in one
vertical plane, between their ends
or tips, we shall have an idea of
the skeleton of a bobbin-net ma-
chine. One of these two combs, in
the double bolt machine, has ail
occasional lateral movement called
shogging, equal to the interval of
one tooth or bolt, by which, after it
has received the bobbins, with their carriages, into its teeth, it can shift that inters^al
to the one side, and thereby get into a position to return the bobbins, with their
carriages, into the next series of interstices or gates in the other bolt. By this means
the whole series of carriages receives successive side steps to the right in one bolt, and
to the left in the other, so as to perform a species of counter- march, in the course of
which they are made to cross and twist round about the vertical warp threads, and
thus to form the meshes of the net.
The number of movements required to form a row of meshes in the double tier
machine, that is, in a frame with two combs or bars, and two rows of bobbins, is six;
that is, the whole of the carriages (with their bobbins) pass from one bar or comb to
the other six times, during which passages the different divisions of bobbing and warp
threads change their relative positions twelve times.
This interchange or traversing of the carriages with their bobbins, which is the
most difficult thing to explain, but at the same time the most essential principle of the
lace-machine, may be tolerably well understood by a careful study of /^. 1.308, in which
the simple line 1 represents the bolts or teeth, the sign ^ the black line of carriages, and
1308
5
(iHdiiSM M,
fl!Ti
UiUJ
the sign (p the front line of carriages, h is the front comb or bolt bar, and i the back
bolt bar. The former remains always fixed or stationary, to receive the carriages as
they may be presented to it by the shogging of the latter. There must be always one
odd carriage at the end ; the rest being in pairs.
No. 1 represents the carriages in the front comb or bar, the odd carriage being at
the left end. The black line of carriages is first moved on to the back bar i, the odd
carriage as seen in No, 1, having been left behind, their being no carriage opposite to
drive it over to the other comb or bar. The carriages then stand as in No, 2. The
bar I now shifts to the left, as shown in No. 3 ; the front carriages then go over into
the back bar or comb, as is represented by No. 4. The bar i now shifts to the right,
and gives the position No. 5. The front carriages are then driven over to the front bar,
and leave the odd carriage on the back bar at the riglit end, for the same reason as
before described, and the carriages stand as shown in No. 6. The bar i next shifts to
the left, and the carriages stand as in No. 7 (the odd carriage being thereby on the back
bar to the left). The back carriages now come over to the front bar, and sfcmd as in
No. 8. The back bar or comb i shifts to the right as seen in No. 9, which' com-
82 LACQUER
pletes the traverse. The whole carriages \rith their bobbins have now changed their
position, as -will be seen by comparing No. 9 with No. 1, The odd carriage, No. 1,
<p has advanced one step to the right, and has become one of the front tier ; one of
the back tier or line <t> has advanced one step to the left, and has become the odd
carriage ; and one of the front ones ^ has gone over to the back line. The bobbins
and carriages throughout the whole width of the machine have thus crossed each other's
course, and completed the mesh of net.
The carriages with their bobbins are driven a certain way from the one comb to the
other, by the pressure of two long bjirs (one for each) placed above the level of the
comb, until they come into such a position that their projecting heels or catches t i.
Jiff. 1306, are moved off by two other long flat bars below, called the locker plates, and
thereby carried completely over the interval between the two combs.
There are six different systems of bobbin-net machines : — 1. Heathcoate's patent
machine. 2. Brown's traverse warp. 3. Morley's straight bolt. 4. Clarke's pusher
principle, single tier. 6. Leaver's machine, single tier. 6. Morley's circular bolt. All
the others are mere variations in the construction of some of their parts. It is a
remarkable fact, highly honourable to the mechanical judgment of the late Mr. Morley
of Derby, that no machines except those upon his circular-bolt principle have been
found capable of working successfully by mechanical power.
The circular-bolt machine (comb with curved teeth) was used by Mr. Morley for
making narrow breadths or edgings of lace immediately after its first invention ; and
it has been regularly used by the trade for that purpose ever since, in consequence of
the inventor having declined to secure the monopoly of it to himself by patent. At
that time the locker bars for driving across the carriages had only one plate or blade.
A machine so mounted is now called ' the single-locker circular bolt.' In the year
1824, Mr. Morley added another plate to each of the locker bars, which was a great
improvement on the machine for making plain net, but an obstruction to the making
of narrow breadths upon them. This machine is now distinguished from the former
by the term ' double locker.'
A rack of lace is a certain length of work counted perpendicularly, and contains
242 meshes or holes. Well-made lace has the meshes a little elongated in the direc-
tion of the selvage.
Mr. Heathcoate's machine, invented in 1809, was the first successful lace-making
machine.
Mr. Morley patented his in 1811 ; and in the same year Messrs. Marl and Clarke
invented the pusher machine, and Messrs. Leaver and Turton, of New Eadford, brought
forward the lever machine. In 1817, Mr. Heathcoate applied the rotatory movement
to the circular-bolt machine, and mounted a manufactory at Tiverton on this plan,
where the lace manufacture is still carried on extensively.
XiACQirER is a varnish, consisting chiefly of a solution of pale shell-lac in alcohol,
tinged with saffron, annotto, or other colouring matters. ' That commonly employed
is made by dissolving shell-lac in proof spirit, and colouring with the resinous substance
called dragoris blood. The lacquer heightens the colour of brass, or renders it more
golden in tint. Lacquer may be pale or deep in tint, when it is known as pale or
bronze lacquer, or it may be variously coloured. A transparent colourless lacquer
is a desideratum for German silver. A substance called bleached shell-lac is sold,
and I believe used for very pale lacquer. The lacquer is warmed and brushed over
the articles, which have been also previously warmed on stoves. If the temperature
is too cold, a dulness of surface is produced, which is not removed by re-heating.
The surface of brass is frequently coloured or bromed after ' dipping,' and before
lacquering. A dark grey coating is produced by dipping the article in a solution of
arsenious acid in hydrochloric acid, by applying a dilute aqueous solution of bi-
chloride of platinum, by applying an aqueous solution of corrosive sublimate mixed
with vinegar, or by rubbing plumbago over the surface. By the application of
lacquer to the surface of brass, which has received a dark grey coating by any of
these processes, a bronze-like tint is produced, due to the light reflected, through the
coloured stratum of varnish produced by lacquering, from the bright surface under-
neath. Precisely the same effect may be obtained by rubbing plumbago over a piece
of writing-paper, and then lacquering the surface, as in the case of brass. For
common work, the corrosive sublimate method is extensively used ; it is said to cause
trouble when it comes in contact with softer solder, with which the reduced mercury
amalgamates. The platinum process is used for instruments, such as theodolites,
levels, &c. ; and in these the bronze is much blacker, as pale is employed instead of
yellow lacquer. These methods I know are employed, and probably there may be
many others. The beautiful colours of brass foils are communicated by variously-
coloured lacquers. The coating of resinous matter adheres with remarkable tenacitj^,
and is not detached by bend'jog the foil backwards and forwards repeatedly. The
LACTOMETER 33
manufacture of these foils is, I believe, quite an art, and formerly there was only one
person in Birmingham who knew how to practise it successfully.' — Perci/s Metallurgy.
IbACTIC ^CIS, C'^H'^O'^ (C«H»2o«). Syn. Nanceic acid. {Adde lactique, Fr. ;
Milchsaure, Ger.) Discovered by Scheele in sour milk. Subsequently, M. Braconnot
examined the sour liquid which floats above starch during its manufacture, also the
acidified decoctions of various vegetables, including beet-root, carrots, peas, &c., and
found an acid which he considered to be peculiar, and consequently named the nanceic.
The acid formed under all these circumstances turns out to be the same ; it is, in fact,
lactic acid, which modern researches show to be a constant product of the fermentation
of sugar, starch, and bodies of that class. The acidity of sauerkraut is due to the
presence of the same substance. Liebig extended and confirmed the experiments made
many years ago by Berzelius, on the presence of lactic acid in the juice of flesh, but
he denied its existence in urine, as asserted by MM. Cap and Henry, and others.
Preparation. — Lactic acid can be prepared easily in any quantity by the fermenta-
tion of sugar. Care must be taken, however, that the process does not go too far,
because lactic acid undergoes with facility another decomposition, by which it becomes
converted into butyric acid. The following process of M. Bensch for the preparation
of lactate of lime can be recommended by the author of this article as yielding at a
small trouble and expense a very large quantity of product. In fact, he has prepared
with facility upwards of 3 pints of butyric acid from lactate of lime obtained in this
manner. Dissolve 6 lbs. of lump-sugar, and ^ oz. of tartaric acid in 2J gallons of
boiling water. Leave for a day or two, and then add 2 oz. of rotten cheese, and a
gallon of skimmed milk stirred up with 3 lbs. of well-washed prepared chalk. The
temperature should not fall below 86° F. nor rise above 95°. The water lost by
evaporation must be made up by adding a little every few days. After a time, vary-
ing from 10 days to a month, according to the temperature and other circumstances,
the whole becomes a magma of acetate of lime. Two gallons of boiling water must
then be added, and ^ oz. of quicklime, and the whole, after being boiled for half an
hour, is to be filtered through a linen or flannel bag. The filtered liquid is to be
evaporated until it begins to get somewhat syrupy, the fluid in this state being put
aside to allow the salt to crystallise. The crystals, after being slightly washed with
cold water, are to be recrystallised two or three times. To obtain lactic acid from the
lactate of lime, it is necessary, in the first place, to convert the latter salt into that of
zinc. For this purpose a crude lactic acid is first obtained thus : to every 2 lbs. 3 oz.
of lactate of lime dissolved in twice its weight of boiling water, 7 oz. of oil of vitriol
previously diluted with twice its volume of water are to be added. The boiling fluid
is to be strained through a linen bag to remove the precipitate of gypsum, and the
filtered liquid is to be boiled for 15 minutes with 85 oz. of carbonate of zinc. The
boiling must not be continued longer, or a subsalt of sparing solubility would be pro-
duced. The liquid, which is to be filtered boiling, will deposit on cooling the lactate
of zinc in colourless crystals, which are to be washed with a little cold water, and after
being drained are to be dried by exposure to the air on frames covered with filtering
paper. The mother-liquid will yield a fresh quantity of lactate if it be boiled with
the salt remaining on the filter and evaporated.
From the lactate of zinc the acid is to be separated by passing sulphuretted
hydrogen through the solution of the salt in eight times its weight of boiling water.
The gas is to be expelled by heat, and the fluid on evaporation yields pure syrupy
lactic acid.
Lactic acid is a colourless syrupy liquid of a powerful pure acid taste. Its specific
gravity is 1-215. It is bibasic.
The most important salts of lactic acid are those of zinc and lime. The former salt
is that generally formed in examining animal or vegetable fluids with a \-iew to the
isolation of the acid. It is found with two different quantities of water according to
the circumstances under which it is prepared, and it is worthy of remark that the
amount of water of crystallisation remarkably affects the solubility of the salt in water
and alcohol.
All the butyric acid employed for the preparation of butyric ether, or pine-apple
essence, is now prepared by the fermentation of lactate of lime. — C.G.W.
IiACTOnXETER is the name of an instrument for estimating the quality of
milk, called also a Galactometer. The most convenient form of apparatus would be
a series of glass tubes each about 1 inch in diameter, and 12 inches long, graduated
through a space of 10 inches, to tenths of an inch, having a stopcock at the bottom,
and suspended upright in a frame. The average milk of the cow being poured in to tJie
height of 10 inches, as soon as the cream has all separated at top, the thickness of its
body may be measured by the scale ; and then the skim-milk may be run off" below
into a hydrometer glass, in order to determine its density or relative richness in caseous
matter, and dilution with water.
Vol. IIL D
U LAMING'S MIXTURE
XACtrSTRZIO'E FOAMATZOW, a geologkal term. Belonging to a lake.
ItAHATSMVl, A fragrant gxim-resin obtained from several species of Cistu?, as
C. ladaniferus and C. Ledon. It is used in Turkey as a perfume.
ItAXStAXt GOODS. See Jktsaji.
XiASES. Under this general title are included all those pigment* which are pre-
pared by combining vegetable or animal colouring matter with earths or metallic oxides.
The general method of preparation is to make an infusion of the substance, and to add
thereto a solution of common alum ; or sometimes, when it has been necessary to
extract the colouring matter by the agency of an acid, a solution of alum saturated
with potash. At first, a slight precipitate falls, consisting of alumina and the colouring
matter; but if some alkali is added, the precipitate is increased. Some colour-
ing matters are brightened by alkalis; then the decoction of the dye-stuff is made
in an alkaline liquor, and being filtered, a solution of alum is poured into it. Where
the affinity of the colouring matter for the subsulphate of alumina is great, alumina
recently precipitated is agitated with the decoction of the colouring body. The manu-
facture of lakes depends on the remarkable property possessed by alumina, of com-
bining with, and separating the organic colouring matters from their solutions.
Red Lakes. — The finest of these is Caemine, which, as carminated lakes, called
lake of Florence, Paris, or Vienna, is usually prepared by taking the liquor de-
canted from the carmine, and adding freshly-precipitated alumina to it. The mixture
is warmed a little, briskly agitated, and allowed to settle. Sometimes alum is dissolved
in the decoction of cochineal, and then the alumina ptecipitated by potash ; but the
colour is not good when lakes are thus prepared, and to improve it the dyer's solution
of tin is often added. A red lake may be prepared from kermes in a similar manner.
Brazil -wood yields a red lake. The wood is boiled in a proper quantity of water
for 15 minutes, and then alum and solution of tin being added, the liquor is to be
filtered, and solution of potash poured in as long as it occasions a precipitate. This
is separated by a filter, the powder well washed, and being mixed with a little gum-
water, made into cakes. Sometimes the Brazil-wood is boiled with vinegar, instead of
water. An excess of potash produces a lake of a violet colour, and cream of tartar
gives it a brownish hue.
Madder is much used in the preparation of lakes.
The following process is recommended : —
Difiuse 2 lbs. of ground madder in 4 quarts of water, and after a maceration of 10
minutes strain and squeeze the grounds in a press. Repeat this maceration, &c.,
twice upon the same portion of madder. It will now have a fine rose colour. It
must then be mixed with 5 or 6 lbs. of water and \ lb. of bruised alum, and he.ated
upon a water-bath for 3 or 4 hours, with the addition of water, as it evaporates ; after
which the whole must be thrown on a filter-cloth. The liquor wliich passes through
is then to bo filtered through paper, and precipitated by carbonate of potash. If
potash be added in three successive doses, three different lakes wiU be obtained of
diminishing beauty. The precipitates must be washed until the water comes off
colourless, then with gum-water made into cakes.
Yellow Lakes are made with decoctions of Persian or French berries, to which some
potash or soda is added ; into the mixture a solution of alum is to be poured so long
as any precipitate falls. Quercitron will yield a yellow lake, provided the decoction
is purified by either butter-milk or glue. Annotto lake is formed by dissolving this
substance in a weak alkaline lye, and adding a solution of alum to the solution.
Lakes of other colours can be prepared in a similar manner ; but true lakes of other
coloiirs are not usu.ally manufactured.
KAlKEIsrABIiS is said of a metal which may be extended by passing between
steel or hardened (chilled) cast-iron rollers.
In the manufacture of rail and bar iron, laminated iron is rolled together at a
welding heat, until the required bar or rail is formei (see Rails). This is, even
under the best possible circumstances, a defective manufacture. The union of the
bars is never absolutely complete, and the result of the long-continued action of
trains of carriages upon all rails is the development of the laminated plates, which
frequently ^erf off, layer after layer, to the destruction of the rail, and to the great
danger of the traveller. Railway iron should be rolled into form from perfectly
homogeneous masses of metal. This lamination of iron rails has been laid hold of
by those who advocate the hypothesis that the slate rocks owe their lamination to
mechanical pressure, whereas it is evidently the result of an imperfect manxifacture.
See Rolling Mills.
XiAnxno'C'S MXXTXTRE. a mixture of porous hydrous peroxide of iron with
sawdust, used for absorbing sulphuretted hydrogen in the purification of coal-gas.
The sulphur accumulated in this mixture may be recovered by calcination, or by
means of steam.
LAMPS 86
£ AMtXITM A.J,BXmt, or the dead nettle, is said by Leucus to afford &om its leaves
a greenish-yello-w dye. The L, purpureum dyes a reddish-grey with salt of tin, and
a greenish tint with iron-liquor.
XAMP-BXrACa:. Every person knows that when the combustion of oil in a lamp
is imperfect it pours forth a dense volume of black soot. According to the quantity
of carbon contained in the material employed, so is the illuminating power of the
flame produced by combustion. If, therefore, we have a very brilliant flame, and we
subject it to any conditions which shall impede the progress of the combination of the
carbon with the oxygen of the air, the result is at once the formation of solid carbon,
or lamp-black. This is exhibited in a remarkable and often an annoying manner by
the camphine lamp. If oil of turpentine, resin, pitch-oil, or fat-oil, be burnt in lamps
under a hood, with either a rapid draught or an insufficient supply of air, the lamp-
black collects on the hood, and is occasionally removed. Sometimes a metallic roller,
generally of tin, is made to revolve in the flame, and rub against a brush. By the
cooling influence of the metal, the heat of the flame is diminished, the combustion
retarded, and the carbon deposited, and in the revolution of the cylinder swept off.
Camphor burning forms a very beautiful black, which is sometimes used as a
pigment.
The common varieties of lamp-black are made from all sorts of refuse resinous
matters, and from the rejected fragments of pine-trees, &c. In Germany, a long flue
is constructed in connection with the furnace in which the resinous substances are
burnt, and this flue communicates with a hood, composed of a loose woollen cloth, held
up by a rope passing over a pulley. Upon this the soot collects, and is from time to
time shaken down. In the best-conducted manufactories about 3 cwts. of lamp-black
is collected in each hood in about twelve hours. In England, lamp-black is sometimes
prepared from the refuse coking coal, or it is obtained in connection with coke-ovens.
The lamp-black, however, obtained from the combustion of coal or woody matter is
never pure. See Animal Black ; Bons Black ; Ivoey Black.
I^AIVXP, BAVV. See Safety Lamp.
XiAMPS. Under Illtjminatiok, will be found some notices of several kinds of
lamps, with especial reference to the quantity of light produced by them.
Lamps are very varied in form, and equally varied in the principles involved. A
brief description, however, of a few of the modern varieties is necessary.
The Moderator iamp.— The spiral spring has been introduced into the moderator
lamps, for the purpose of forcing the oil up the wick of the lamp. This will be under-
stood by the following description and drawings : — The distinguishing character of
the moderator lamp is the direct transmission of the power, in the reservoir of oil,
to the resistance offered by the weight of the column of oil, as it rises to the cotton ; —
and secondly, the introduction of a rectangular regulator, which equilibrates constantly
by the resistance of the oil and the force applied to raise it. In the reservoir (^^.
iy09), is a spiral spring which presses on the disc or piston, ^^. 1310, which is fur-
nished with a valve opening downwards. This spring is attached to a tooth-rack,
worked by a pinion wheel, by means of which it is wound up. The mechanical
force of the spring is equal to from 15 to 20 pounds ; and as this force is exerted upon
the disc, floating on the oil, this is forced up through the tube, and it overflows to
the argand burner, thoroughly saturating the cotton, and supplying a constant stream
of oil. This oil falls back into the reservoir, and is, of course, above the disc. When
the spring has run down, it is again wound up; and then the valve opening downward
allows the oil to flow back beneath the disc, to be again forced up through the tube.
As the pressure employed is so great, the oil would, but for the ' moderator,' flow over
with too much rapidity. This moderator, or regulator, is a tapering rod of iron-wire,
which is placed in the ascending tube ; and, as the pressure increases, it is forced more
into it, and checks the flow of oil ; whereas as it diminishes it falls, and being tapering,
allows more oil to rise. Several ingenious adjustments are introduced into these
lamps, as manufactured by the Messrs. Tylor of Warwick Lane, with which we need
not at present deal. The cylinders containing the oil are covered with cases in metal
or sometimes of porcelain. Two drawings of these are shown (^. 1311 and/^. 1312).
These lamps admit evidently of yet more elegant forms than have been given them.
The urn-shaped, from the antique, in very pure taste, is the last introduction of the
house above named.
It would be tedious to enumerate the various modifications of form and action to
which the oil lamp has been subject, previous to its arrival at what maybe deemed its
perfect construction by Argand. The discovery of the mode of applying a new
principle by this individual not only produced an entire revolution in the manufacture
of the article, but threatened with ruin all those whom the patent excluded from
participation in the new trade ; so much so indeed, that Argand, who had not been
apprenticed to the business, was publicly persecuted by the tinners, locksmiths, and
d2
86
LAMPS
ironmongers, •who disputed his right by any improrements to infringe the profits of
tVioir />Vin>hArfirl ■pn<»atinT>. • This invention,' to quote a description of the lamp pub-
their chartered vocation
1309
1311
1312
lished some years ago, * embraces so many improvements upon the common lamp, and
has become so general throughout Europe, that it may be justly ranked amongst the
greatest discoveries of the age. As a substitute for the candle, it has the advantage
of great economy and convenience, with much greater brilliancy; and for the purpose
of producing heat, it is an important instrument in the hands of the chemist. We
may, with some propriety,' continues this authority, ' compare the common lamp and
the candle to fire made in the open air, without any forced method of supplying it
with oxygen ; while the Argand lamp may be compared to a fire in a furnace, in
which a rapid supply of oxygen is furnished by the velocity of the ascending current.
This, however, is not the only advantage of this valuable invention. It is obvious
that, if the combustible vapour occupies a considerable area, the oxygen of the atmo-
sphere cannot combine with the vapour in the middle part of the ascending column.
The outside, therefore, is the only part which enters into combustion ; the middle
constituting smoke. This evil is obviated in the Argand lamp, by directing a current
of atmospheric air through the flame, which, instead of being raised from a solid wick,
is produced from a circular one, which surrounds the tube through which the air
ascends.
The mechanism of the Argand burner, in its improved state, will be clearly
understood from the annexed figures and explanation, which apply equally to each
description of the lamps hereafter described.
A, fig. 1313, is a brass tube, about 3} inches in length, and \\ inch wide ; within
this tube is placed another, b, which is soldered fiist inside by the flange at c : the
space between these tubes contains the oil surrounding the wick, and which, being
freely admitted from the reservoir by the side pipes d e, rises in the tubular space,
either to a height corresponding with its level in the reservoir, or at least so as to
maintain the wick in a state of constant saturation. The tube b is of considerable
thickness, having a spiral groove cut about it from top to bottom ; f la a metallic
ring made to slip over the tube b, it contains a short pin inside, which fits exactly
into the spiral groove just mentioned ; g is the circular woven cotton wick, the lower
end of which is drawn tight upon the neck of the ring ; h is a copper tube, with a slit
nearly from top to bottom ; it admits the ring f, and being dropped over the inner
tube B, exactly fits the inside of the wider tube a, by means of a narrow rim near the
LAMPS
37
top at a, and another at the bottom b ; between the upper rim and the margin there
is a small projecting pin c, which, when the whole apparatus is combined, fits into the
cavity e of the collar i. To prepare the lamp for use, the tube h is placed between a
and B, as just described ; the ring f, with its charge of cotton, is next inserted, the
pin in the inside falling into the spiral groove, and that on the outside entering the slit
in the tube h, which, on being turned about, moves the ring f down upon the screwed
inner tube, until the wick only just rises above the superior edges of the tubes, in the
interval between which it lies in the oil. In this stage the frame i is placed on the
nick in the collar at e, falling upon the pin near the top of h ; the lower disc f g,
passing over the tube a, at once presents a convenient support for the glass chimney,
and a finger-hold for raising the wick. The central tube is open throughout, com-
municating, at its lower end, with the brass receptacle k ; the latter is perforated at
top, to admit the air which, by circulating through the above tube, and the hollow
flame which surrounds it, causes the lamp to burn vrith that peculiar freedom and
brilliancy which distinguish the Argand construction. This last-mentioned receptacle
likewise catches any small quantity of oil which may pass over the inner tube during
the combustion of the wick, l is the brass peg, which fits into the upper part of the
pillar, in the table-lamp.
1313
1314
In addition to the endless variety of small portable lamps, the peculiarities of
which it would be tedious to particularise, and the merit of which, as compared witb
those on the Argand principle, consists, for the most part, m their cheapness, tfie
more important articles, and those generally in demand, may be distinguished as bxea
or bracket lamps, supended or chandelier lamps, and table or French lamps— all these
having burners on the principle above described. The former sort were, previous to
38 LAMPS
the introduction of gas, very common in shops. The globe a {fig. 1314), which is
sometimes made plain and sometimes embossed, as in the cut, screws off, when the
oil is poured in at an opening in the lower part, which is afterwards closed by means
of a slide attached to the stem b, and the globe, thus replenished, is inverted and
screwed into the part c. When the lamp is used, the stem b is raised a little, and the
oil is suffered to flow through the intermediate tube into the cistern d, only at the rate
at which it is consumed by the burning of the wick. The peculiar form of the glass
chimney is admirably calculated to assist in the more complete combustion of the
matter drawn up to the wick when impure oil is used, a desideratum originally in pjirt
secured by placing over the central tube, and in the midst of the flame, a circular
metal plate, by means of which the ascending column of air was turned out of its per-
pendicular course, and thrown immediately into that part of the flame where the smoke
is formed, and which by this ingenious contrivance is effectually consumed ; this appli-
cation, however, is not necessary, nor the form of much moment, when purified sperm-
oil is used. These lamps being usually made to move on a pivot at f, attached to the
wall or other support, are very convenient in many situations, as being easily advanced
over a desk or counter, and afterwards turned aside when not in use.
The sinumbral lamp having passed out of use need not be described.'
The use of spirit lamps followed, and we have the naphtha and camphine lamps of
this order. The accompanying woodcut {fig. 1315) shows the peculiarity of the cam-
phine lamp, where the reservoir of spirit (ttirpentine deprived of smell) is far below
the burner, to which it ascends by capillary attraction, through the tubes of the
cotton wick. Lamps to burn naphtha {Belmontine, &c.) are constructed on the same
principle, as are all the paraffine and mineral-oil lamps.
One of the best oil la&ps is that known as Carcel's lamp.
In this lamp the oil is raised through tubes by clockwork, so as continually to
overflow at the bottom of the burning wick ; thus keeping it thoroughly soaked, while
the excess of the oil drops into the cistern below. Lamps of this description will
burn most satisfactorily for many years ; but it can hardly be trusted in the hands
of a servant, and when it gets at all deranged, it must be sent to its constructor, in
Paris, to be repaired. The light of this lamp, when furnished with an appropriate
tall glass chimney, is very brilliant, though not perfectly uniform ; since it fluctuates
a little, but always perceptibly to a nice observer, with the alternating action of the
pump-work ; becoming dimmer after every successive jet of oil, and brighter just
before its return. The flame, moreover, always flickers more or less, owing to the
powerful draught, and rectangular reverberatory shoidder of the chimney. The
mechanical lamp is, however, remarkable for continuing to born, not only with un-
abated but with increasing splendour for 7 or 8 hours ; the vivacity of the combustion
increasing evidently' with the increased temperature and fluency of the oil, which, by
its ceaseless circulation through the ignited wick, gets eventually pretty warm. In
the comparative experiments made upon different lights by the Parisian philosophers,
the mechanical lamp is commonly taken as the standard. It is not entitled to this
pre-eminence, for it may be made to emit very different quantities of light, according
to differences in the nature and supply of the oil, as well as variations in the form
and position of the chimney.
The following experiments by Dr. Ure are well worth preserving : —
The great obstacle to the combustion of lamps lies in the viscidity, and conse-
quent sluggish supply, of oil to the wicks ; an obstacle nearly insuperable with
lamps of the common construction during the winter months. The relative viscidity
or relative fluency of different liquids at the same temperature, and of the same
liquid at different temperatures, has not, I believe, been hitlierto made the subject
of accurate researches. I was, therefore, induced to make the following experiments
with this view.
Into a hemispherical cup of platinum, resting on the ring of a chemical stand, I in-
troduced 2,000 water-grain measures of the liquid whose viscidity was to be measured,
and ran it off through a glass siphon, i^th of an inch in the bore, having the outer leg
Z\ inches, and the inner leg 3 inches long. The time of efflux became the measure of
the viscidity ; and of two liquids, if the specific gravity and consequent pressure upon
the siphon were the same, that time would indicate exactly the relative viscidity of
the two liquids. Thus, oil of turpentine and sperm-oil have each very nearly the
same density ; the former being, as sold in the shops, =0'876, and the latter from
0"876 to 0'880, when pure and genuine. Now I found that 2,000 grain-measures of
oil of turpentine ran off through the small siphon in 95 seconds, while that quantity
of sperm-oil took 2,700 seconds, being in the ratio of 1 to 28 J ; so that the fluency of
oil of turpentine is 282- times greater than that of sperm-oil. Pyroxilic spirit, com-
monly called naphtha, and alcohol, each of specific gravity 8' 125, were found to run
off respectively in 80 and 120 seconds; showing that the former was 60 per cent.
LAPIDARY 39
niore fluent than the latter. Sperm-oil, when heated to 265° Fahr., runs off in 300
seconds, or gth of the time it took -when at the temperature of 64°. Southern whale
oil, having a greater density than the sperm-oil, would flow off faster were it not
more viscid. 2,000 grain-measures of water at 60° run off through the said siphon in
75 seconds, but when heated to 180° they run off in 61 seconds. Concentrated sul-
phuric acid, though possessing the great density of 1'840, yet flows off very slowly at
64°, on account of its viscidity, whence its name of oil of vitriol. 2,000 grain-measures
of it took 660 seconds to discharge.
For a continuation of this subject, and a further description of lamps of various
kinds, see also Silber Light ; Safety Lamp.
IiAIMCPIC A,CXD. Syn. Aldehydic acid ; Acetylous acid. (Acide lampique, Fr.)
If a little ether be placed a.t the bottom of a glass, and some spongy platinum attached
to a wire of the same metal be ignited and suspended about an inch from the fluid,
it will glow and continue to do so for a long time. On the other hand, if a spiral of
platinum wire be placed over the wick of a spirit-lamp, and the latter be first ignited
and then blown out, the wire will continue at a red heat until all the spirit is ex-
hausted. Numerous sesquioxides, when placed warm on wire-gauze over capsules
containing alcohol, will glow in the same manner. Under all these circumstances, a
powerful odour resembling aldehyde is evolved, which strongly affects the eyes. K
this experiment be made in such a manner that the volatile product may be condensed,
it will be found to be strongly acid. It is powerfully reducing in its tendency, and
if heated with the oxides of silver or gold, converts them into the metallic state, and
the liquid is found to contain acetic acid and resin of aldehyde. If, however, the
acid liquid be only very gently warmed with oxide of silver, a portion of the latter is
dissolved ; but when baryta is added to precipitate the silver as oxide, and the fluid
is warmed, the metal instead of the oxide comes down, and the fluid, when tested for
the nature of the acid, is found to contain nothing but acetate of baryta. These
phenomena are explained by some chemists by supposing the fluid to contain an acid
which they, following the late Professor Daniell, call the lampic, and supposed to
contain C*H*0' (C*H'0'). When lampic acid is treated first with oxide of silver, and
then with baryta-water, and heated, they consider that the oxygen of the oxide of
silver is transferred to the lampic acid, and converting it into acetic acid, which com-
bines with the baryta, while the metallic silver is precipitated. The following equa-
tion explains the reaction supposed to take place : —
C<H<0»+ BaO + AgO = C^H50^BaO 4- Ag + HO.
Lampic acid. Acetate of baryta.
C*H«0» + BaO -f- Ag^o = (C=K'02)2Ba -t- Agr' + H'O.
The conversion of the lampic acid into acetic acid is therefore attributed to the oxidis-
ing tendency of the oxide of silver. Those who regard the decomposition from the
above point of view, consider lampic acid to be acetylous acid, that is to say, to bear
the same relation to acetylic acid (acetic acid) that sulphurous acid does to sulphuric
acid.
IiAIMtBSKIxrs. With the fleece on, these are extensively used for clothing, for
door-mats, and the like. Prussian lambsJcins are used for linings, for coat collars and
cuffs. Astracan lamb, which is a rich, glossy, black skin, with short fur, is used for
many ornamental costumes. Hungarian lamb : this skin forms the national coat of
Hungary. S-panish lamh : the short jacket of the Spaniard is made of this skin.
It is said that upwards of a million lambskins are imported annually into this country
for glove-making.
IiAXrABZCITE. A sulphato-carbonate of lead occurring at Leadhills in Lanark-
shire, whence the name.
XiAirCB 'WOOD. Uvaria lanceolaia OT Guatteria virgata. This wood is imported
from Jamaica and Cuba, in long poles from 3 to 6 inches diameter. Lance wood is
paler in colour than box ; it is selected for elastic works, as gig-shafts, archery bows,
springs, &c. These are bent into the required form by boiling or steaming. Sur-
veyor's rods, ordinary rules, and billiard cues are made of lance wood.
XiAZTDZiK. In mining, the man who attends at the mouth of the shaft to receive
the ' kibble of ore' as it reaches the surface.
IfAXrcXTx:. A basic sulphate of copper, from Cornwall, described a few years
ago by Prof. Maskelyne.
XiAlO'THAia'TTZMC. A metal discovered by Mofander in 1841. It occurs associated
with didymium and cerium, in cerfciin rare Swedish minerals.
XAPZDAR'S', Art of. The art of the lapidary, or that of cutting, polishing, and
engraving gems, was known to the ancients, many of whom have left admirable spe-
40
LAPIDARY
cimens of their skill. The Greeks were passionate lovers of rings and engraved
stones ; and the most parsimonious among the higher classes of the Cyrenians are said
to have worn rings of the value of ten minae (about 30^. of our money). By far the
greater part of the antique gems that have reached modern times may be considered
as so many models for forming the taste of the student of the fine arts, and for in-
spiring his mind ■with correct ideas of what is truly beautiful. With the cutting of
the diamond, however, the ancients were unacquainted, and hence they wore it in its
natural state. Even in the middle ages, this art was still unknown ; for the four large
diamonds which enrich the clasp of the imperial mantle of Charlemagne, as now pre-
served in Paris, are uncut, octahedral crystals. But the art of working diamonds
was probably known in Hindostan and China in very remote periods. After Louis de
Berghen's discovery, in 1476, of polishing two diamonds by their mutual attrition, all
the finest diamonds were sent to Holland to be cut and polished by the Dutch artists,
who long retained a superiority, now no longer admitted by the lapidaries of London
and Paris. See Diamond.
The operation of gem-cutting is abridged by two methods: 1, by cleavage; 2,
by cutting off slices with a fine wire, coated with diamond-powder, and fixed in
the stock of a hand-saw. Diamond is the only precious stone which is cut and
polished with diamond-powder, soaked with olive oil upon a mill plate of very soft
steel.
Oriental rubies, sapphires, and topazes, are cut with diamond-powder soaked with
olive oil, on a copper wheel. The facets thus formed are afterwards polished on
another copper wheel, with tripoli, tempered with water.
Emeralds, hyacinths, amethysts, garnets, agates, and other softer stones, are cut at a
lead wheel, with emery and water ; and are polished on a tin wheel with tripoli and
water, or, still better, on a zinc wheel, with putty of tin and water.
The more tender precious stones, and even the pastes, are cut on a mill-wheel of
hard wood, with emery and water ; and are polished with tripoli and water on another
wheel of hard wood.
Since the lapidary employs always the same tools, whatever be the stone which he
cuts or polishes, and since the wheel discs alone vary, as also the substance he uses
with them, we shall describe, first of all, his apparatus, and then the manipulations for
diamond-cutting, which are applicable to every species of stone.
The lapidary's mill, or wheel, is shown in perspective in Jig. 1316. It consists of
a strong frame made of oak carpentry, with tenon and mortised joints, bound together
with strong bolts and screw nuts. Its form is a parallelopiped, of from 8 to 9 feet
long, by from 6 to 7 feet high ; and about 2 feet broad. These dimensions are large
enough to contain two cutting wheels alongside of each other, as represented in the
figure.
1317 1318
1316
....
X
c
X
«q
A=iXh,
J^\
"F I'l 1
f
^-=1X1^*
y
X
ft
y
^,
Besides the two sole bars b b, we perceive in the breadth, 5 cross bars, c, d, e, f, o.
The two extreme bars c and g, are a part of the frame-work, and serve to bind it.
The two cross-bars d and f, carry each in the middle of their length, a piece of wood
as thick as themselves, but only 4^ inches long (see Jig. 1316), joined solidly by
mortises and tenons with that cross-bar as well as with the one placed opposite on tho
LAPIDARY
41
other parallel face. These two pieces are called summers (lintels) ; the ona placed
at D is the upper ; the one at f the lower.
In fig. 1318 this face is shown inside, in order to explain how the mill wheel is
placed and supported. The same letters point out the same objects, both in the pre-
ceding and the following figures.
In each of these summers a square hole is cut out, exactly opposite to the other in
which are adjusted by friction a square piece of oak, a a, fig. 1318, whose extremities
are perforated with a conical hole, which receives the two ends of the arbor h of the
wheel I, and forms its socket. This square bar is adjusted at a convenient height by
a double wooden wedge, b b. The cross-bar in the middle e, supports the table c c, a
strong plank of oak. It is pierced with two large holes, whose centres coincide with
the centres of the conical holes hollowed out at the end of the square pins. These
holes of about 6 inches diameter each, are intended to let the arbor pass freely through,
bearing its respective wheel. (See one of these holes at i, in fig. 1320 below).
Each wheel is composed of an iron arbor ^,fig. 1318, of a grinding wheel i, which
differs in substance according to circumstances, as already stated, and of the pulley j,
furnished with several grooves (see fig. 1320), which has a square fit upon the arbor.
The arbor carries a collet d, on which are four iron pegs or pins that enter into the
wheel to fasten it.
The wheel plate, of which the ground plan is shown at k, is hollowed out towards
its centre to half its thickness ; when it is in its position on the arbor, as indicated in
fig. 1320, a washer or ferrule of wrought iron is put over it, and secured in its place
by a double wedge. In fig. 1320 the wheel-plate is represented in section, that the
connection of the whole parts may be seen.
A board g (see fig. 1316 and fig. 1324) about 7^ inches high, is fixed to the part of
the frame opposite to the side at which the lapidary works, and it prevents the sub-
stances made use of in the cutting and polishing from being thrown to a distance by the
centrifugal force of the wheel-plate.
Behind the apparatus is mounted for each grinding-plate, a large wheel i. (see
fig. 1316), similar to a cutler's, but placed horizontally. The wheel is grooved round
its circumference to receive an endless cord or band, which passes round one of the
grooves of the pulley j, fixed below the wheel-plate. Hence, on turning the tly-wheel
L, the plate revolves with a velocity relative to the velocity communicated to the wlicel
r, and to the difference of diameter of the wheel l, and the pulley j. Each whee. l,
is mounted on an iron arbor, with a crank (see M,fig. 1317)-
The lower pivot of the arbor h is conical, and turns in a socket fixed in the floor.
The great wheel l rests on the collet i, furnished with its 4 iron pins, for securing the
connection. Above the wheel an iron washer is laid, and the whole is fixed by a double
wedge, which enters into the mortise I, fig. 1317.
Fig. 1321 exhibits a ground-plan view of all this assemblage of parts, to explain the
structure of the machine. Everything that stands above the upper sumiiwr-bar has
been suppressed in this representation. Here we see the table c c; the upper summer
m ; the one-wheel plate I, the other having been removed to show that the endless cord
does not cross ; the two large wheels l l, present in each machine, the crank bar ^-,
42
LAPIDARY
seen separate \rijiff. 1322, -which serves for turning the wheel i. This bar is formed of
three iron plates n, o; p,q; and q, r (fig. 1322). The first is bent round at the point
'"n, to embrace the "stud s; the second^ q, is of the same breadth and thickness as the
■first ; and the tliird, is adjusted to the hitter with a hinge joint, at the point q, where
they are both turned into a circular form, to embrace the crank m. When all these
pieces are connected, they are fixed at the proper lengths by the buckles or square rings
1 1 1, which embrace these pieces, as is shown mfig. 1322.
The stud s, seen mfig. 1322, is fixed to the point v, by a wedge-key upon the arm p,
represented separately, and in perspective, in fig. 1323. The labourer seizes the two
upright pegs or handles x x; hj the alternate forward and backward motion of his
arm, he communicates the same motion to the crank-rod, which transmits it to the
crank of the arbor m, and impresses on the arbor, and the wheel which it boars, a
rotatory movement.
1323 1324
Fig. 1324 shows piece-meal and in perspective a part of the lapidary's wheel-mill.
There we see the table c c, the grind plate i, whose axis is kept in a vertical position
by the two square plugs a a, fixed into the two summers by the wedges b b. On the
two sides of the wheel-plate, we perceive an important instrument called a dial, which
serves to hold the stone during the cutting and polishing. The instnmient has received
lately important ameliorations, to be described in fig. 1325. The lapidary holds this
instrument in his hand, he rests upon the iron pins u u, fixed in the table lest he should
be affected by the velocity of the revolving wheel-plate. He loads it sometimes with
weights e e, to make it take better hold of the grinding-plate.
Fig. 1325, shows an improvement made by one of the most expert lapidaries of
Geneva, whereby he cuts and polishes the facet with extreme regularity, converting it
into a true dial. Each of the two jaws bears a large conchoidal cavity, into which is
fitted a brass ball, which carries on its upper part a tube e, to whose extremity is
'fixed a dial-plate /y, engraved with several concentric circles, divided into equal parts,
like the toothed-wheel cutting engine-plate, according to the number of facets
to be placed in each cutting range. The tube receives with moderate friction
the handle of the cement-rod, which is fixed at the proper point by a thumb-screw, not
, shown in the figure, being concealed by the vertical limb d, about to be described.
1325 1326 1327
'■''A needle or index ^'.^ placed I'with a square fit on the tail of the cement-rod, marks by
^ts points the divisions on the dial-plate /./. On the' side m n, of the jaw a, there
is fixed by two screws, a limb d, forming a quadrant, whoso centre is supposed to be
at the centre of the ball. The quadrant is divided as usual into 90 degrees, whose
highest point is marked 0, and the lowest would mark about 70 ; for the remainder of
the arc down to 90 is concealed by the jaw. The two graduated plates are used as
follows: —
When the cement-rod conceals zero or of the limb, it is then vertical, and Borves
to cut the table of the brilliant; or the point opposite to it, and parallel to the table,
LAPIDARY
43
On milking it slope a little; 5 degrees, for example, all the facets -will now lie in the
same zone provided that the inclination be not allowed to vary. On turning round the
cement-rod and the index g marks the divisions so that by operating on the circle witli
16 divisions, stopping for some time at each, 16 facets will have been formed, of perfect
equality, and at equal distances, as soon as the revolution is completed.
In cutting the stones, they are mounted on the cement-rod b, jig. 1326, whose stem
is set upright in a socket placed in a middle of a sole piece at A, which receives the
stem of the cement-rod. The head of the rod fills the cup of a. A melted alloy of
tin and lead is poured into the head of the cement-rod, in the middle of which the
stone is immediately plunged ; and wherever the solder has become solid, a portion
of it is pared oflf from the top of the diamond, to give the pyramidal form shown in the
figure at b.
There is an instrument employed by the steel polishers for pieces of clock-work, and
by the manufacturers of watch-glasses for polishing their edges. It consists of a
solid oaken table, jig. 1327. The top is perforated with two holes, one for passing
through the pulley and the arbor of the wheel -plate b, made either of lead or of hard
wood, according to circumstances ; and the other c for receiving the upper part of the
arbor of the large pulley d. The upper pulley of the wheel-plate is supported by an
iron prop b, fixed to the table by two wooden screws. The inferior pivots of the two
pieces are supported by screw sockets, working in an iron screw-nut sunk into the
summer-bar f. The legs of the table are mride longer or shorter, according as the
workman chooses to stand or sit at his employment. Emery with oil is used for
grinding down, and tin-putty or colcothar for polishing. The workman lays the piece
on the flat of the wheel-plate with one hand, and presses it down with a lump of cork,
while he turns round the handle with the other hand.
A very convenient form of apparatus has been devised by Mr. James B. Jordan,
and manufactured by Messrs. Cotton and Johnson, of Grafton Street, Soho, for the
purpose of preparing thin sections of
minerals, rocks, and other hard sub- lo^o
stance for microscopical observation.
This machine is represented in figs.
1328, 1329. and 1330. It consists of
a wooden frame-work, a a, support-
ing a crank-axle and driving-wheel,
two feet diameter ; the top part of
this frame consists of two cross-
pieces a', fixed about an inch apart,
as in the bed of an ordinary turning-
lathe ; into the slot between them is
placed a casting b, carrying the
bracket for the angle-pulleys c ; this
casting is bored to receive the spindle
D, which, by means of the treadle,
is made to revolve at the rate of 400
or 500 revolutions per minute. It
is also bored to receive another
spindle e, to the top of which is
fixed a metal plate f, for carrying
the small cup h, to which the speci-
men is attached by means of pre-
pared wax. This means of mecha-
nically applying the work tg the
slicer is far preferable to holding it ]
in the hand in the ordinary way ;
the requisite pressure against the
cutting disc is regulated by the
weight G, and the thickness of the
slice by the thumb-screw k, on which
the spindle rests. By this means it
is possible to cut tolerably thin and
parallel slices, of from j^th to ^th
of an inch in thickness; the thin-
ness of course varying according to
the strength of the rock which is
being operated upon. The slitting
disc is made of soft iron, eight inches diameter, and about j^^th of an inch in thickness,
and it is fixed on the spindle d, between two brass plates 4 inches diameter, charged
with diamond-powder in the usual way.
44
LAPS
The slices are Btill further reduced in thickness by grinding with fine emery and
■water on a load ' lap,' which is made to revolve on the spindle d. The lap is 8 inches
diameter, and about |ths of an inch thick in the centre, cast with rounded edges and
1329
1330
slightly convex sides ; this form facilitates the grinding of a uniform thinness, there
being always a tendency on a flat surface (which soon wears hollow) for the edges of
the section to grind away before it is sufficiently thin. One side of the section can
easily be ground and finished by holding in the hand ; and this being done, it must bo
cemented with hard Canada balsam to a small square of plate glass, in order to grind
the other side, which operation must be carefully carried on until the structure appears
distinct and well defined. The finish requisite is best given by careful rubbing on the
flat surface of a hone-stone until all traces of the lines of grinding and scratches are
removed. .
Thin sections for microscopic study are then usually re-mo\inted in Canada balsam
under a glass cover in the ordinary way.
XiAPXS liAZUXX. A silicate of soda, lime, and alumina, with the sulphide of
iron and sodium in minute quantities. This beautiful mineral is found in crystalline
limestone of a greyish colour, on the banks of the Indus, and in granite in Persia,
China, and Siberia.
The finest varieties are highly esteemed, being employed in the manufacture of
costly vases. It was also the source from which the beautiful pigment ultramarine,
was obtained, but this colour is now prepared artificially at a very cheap rate. See
Ulte\maeine.
XiAPZS OXi^ARZS, or Pot-stone. An impure form of steatite.
XiAPS. Metal polishing-wheels. Metal wheels or laps made of nearly every metal
and alloy in common use, have been more or less employed in the mechanical arts as
vehicles for the application of several of the polishing-powders. But of all laps, not-
withstanding their variety, those of lead, slightly alloyed, and supplied with powdered
emery, rendered the most conspicuous service. Generally the plane, or flat surface of
the lap, is employed ; at other times the cylindrical edge, as by cutlers ; but the portion
actually used in either case is called the/ace of the lap. There are several kinds of laps.
The lap is in some cases a thin disc of metal, fixed by means of a screwed nut against
a shoulder on the spindle, but it is better with lead laps to employ an iron plat« cast
full of holes to support the softer metal. The casting mould may in this case bo either
an iron disc, with a central screw to fix the iron centre plate at the time of pouring, or
the mould may be made of sand 3.nd in halves, after the usual manner of the foundry.
LAUMONTITE 45
In either case the iron plate should be made as hot as the fluid metal, -which, by
entering the holes, becomes firmly united to the iron, especially if the holes are largest
on the reverse side, or that away from the lead. — Holteapffel.
Lap is also a roll or sliver of cotton for feeding the cards of a spinning machine.
JaAXO. The fat of the pig.
IiilRD OEL. Lard being subjected to a pressure, an oil, oleine, is expressed, stearine
being left. This lard oil is much used for lubricating machinery, and it has been em-
ployed for the adulteration of olive oil.
I<AR3>EREIiIiXTX:. A borate of ammonia, from the boracic-acid lagoons of
Tuscany.
lASXS. All Indian cut stones are called lasks. They are in general ill-shaped
or irregular in their form, their depth ill-proportioned, and the table, or face, seldom in
the centre of the stone, sometimes too broad or too small, and none properly polished.
The chief thing regarded is saving the size and weight of the stone. These stones are
always new wrought when brought to Europe.
KATHE-CORDS. Cords for turning lathes. These cords are made of intestines
of horses, cleaned and prepared by the separation of the mucous membrane in the
manner described under Gold Beatees' Skin. A wooden ball, armed in its lower
part with four cutting blades, at equal distances from each other, is fixed by an
upright piece of wood to a bench. The end of an intestine is then drawn over this ball,
and as the gut is pulled downwards it is di"\Tded into four equal bands or strips.
Four or eight of these strips, according to the thickness which it is intended to give
to the cord, are tied with a peculiar knot to one end of a thick piece of cord. The end
is passed around a peg introduced into a hole in a sdlid post, to the side of which a
number of pegs are attached. At a distance of ten or eleven yards from tlie first
one, another post is fixed, similarly provided with pegs, and over one of these latter
the middle of the assemblage of strips is passed, the other end being broiight back, and
attached to the first peg by means of another knotted cord. The tied end of the strisp
is then attached to the wheel by a hook connected with the whirl, which is made to
revolve until the strips are sufficiently twisted. The twisted end is then kept
stretched by attaching it to the peg, and any projecting filaments are cut off. After
being stretched for some time, the cords are then twisted again, and a third and
a fourth time are twisted by hand, being each time rubbed with and drawn through a
bunch of moistened horsehair after the twisting, and again stretched out between the
two posts. If the cord is not smooth and even after the twisting is completed, it is
made so by rubbing with a piece of dog-skin. It is then dried, and by some makers
is exposed to the vapours of sulphur. At last the ends are cut ofl[) and the cord is
roUed in a coil.
In order to avoid the putrid emanations, from the intestines, which are generally
in an incipient state of decomposition, Labarraqua recommends to clean them at
once, tiirn the inside out, and put them to soak over night in a cask containing, for
fifteen or twenty intestines, chloride of potash, at 13° or 18°, 1 lb. ; water, 4 gallons.
The mucous membrane is ready to be detached the next day ; and after its removal,
and a thorough washing, the intestines can at once be prepared, as has been already
described.
IiATK ^VOOD. The outside cuttings of fir-trees, used for being split into laths.
XiilTTEXI' is a somewhat antiquated term, which was applied to several kinds of
sheet metal. ' Mines of latfen, whatever may have been meant by the word, are men-
tioned in the time of Henry VI., who made his chaplain, John Botteright, comp-
troller of all his mines of gold, silver, copper, latten, lead, within the counties of
Devon and Cornwall.' Is tin meant by the term? — Watson's Chemical Essays.
In the reigns of Henry VIII. and Edward VI., several acts of parliament were
passed, prohibiting the exportation of brass, copper, latten, bell-metal, gun-metal,
schrof metal, &c. "Windows framed with lead are called lattice windows in the
West of England.
The term is now applied to sheet or plate brass. Black latten is rolled sheets ;
shaven latten is in thinner sheets ; and roll latten is polished on both sides.
AAVGKIII'G GAS. The popular name of nitrous oxide or nitrogen monoxide,
NO (N^O). It is best prepared by heating solid nitrate of ammonia, this salt being
resolved by heat into laughing gas and water. The gas, when inhaled, produces a
peculiar intoxicating effect, usually without being followed by any ill consequences.
Of late years laughing gas has been largely used by dentists as an anaesthetic. Care,
however, is needed in administering it, as it may produce serious results on individuals
suffering from certain affections of the heart.
IiAVMOM'TZTE, or Efflorescinff'zeoliie. A hydrous silicate of alumina and lime,
occurring in ca-\nties in amygdaloidal trap rocks and in metalliferous veins. It is
common in some of the copper deposits of I^ake 6upeiior. •
46 LAZULTTE
lAXTirSEB. A miner's term for a wooden tube or gutter to convey water. A
long sliallow trough, carrying off the ore frona the stamps.
IiATTRElb OI£. This oil is known also under the name of ' oil of bays' and is
obtiiined from either the fresh or dried berries of the bay tree {Laurus nobilis), which
grows principally in the south of Europe ; and is also cultivated in our gardens, the
leaves being used by the cook on account of their flavour. The berries were
analysed by Bonastre in 1824, and amongst other things, were volatile oil, 0"8, laurin
(camphor of the bay berry), I'O, and feed oil, 12"8, in 100 parts of the berries.
Duhamol states that the fixed oil is obtained from the fresh and ripe berries by
bruising them in a mortar, boiling them for three or four hours in water, and then
pressing them in a sack. The expressed oil is mixed with the decoction, and on
cooling is found floating on the surface of the water. When the dried berries are
used, they are first subjected to the vapour of water until they are well soaked, and
are then rapidly pressed between heated metallic plates. By the latter process they
yield one-fifth of their weigiit of oil. It is imported in barrels from Trieste. It has
a butyraceous consistence and a granular appearance. Its colour is greenish, and its
odour like that of the berries. C!old alcohol extracts from it the essential oil and
green colouring matter, leaving the lauro-siiearine, which composes the principal part
of it. With alkalis it forms soaps. But its principal use is in medicine, and more
particidarly in veterinary medicine. It has been used as a stimulating liniment in
sprains and bruises, and in paralysis.
Native Oil of Laurel {Hancock) ; Laurel Turpentine (Stenhotise). — Imported from
Demerara ; obtained by incisions in the bark of a large tree, called by the Spaniards
"■ Azeyte de sassafras' growing- in the vast forests between the Orinoco and the
Parime. This oil is transparent, slightly yellow, and smells like turpentine, but
more agreeable, and approaching to oil of lemons. Its specific gravity at 50° Fahr.
is 0'8645. It consists of two or more oils isomeric with each other, and with oil of
turpentine. Its colour is due to a little resin. It is an excellent solvent for caout-
chouc. — Pereira.
XiAtTRXC ACID. An acid obtained from the fat of the bay tree (Laurus nobilis),
and from the oil of pichurim beans {Faba pichurim maj.)
XiATTRITE. A sulphide of osmium and ruthenium, found in the platinum wash-
ings in Borneo.
XiAVXL. The ejected matter of volconoes. ' The stone which flows in a melted
state from a volcano.' — Lyell. M. Abich obtained from the Etna lava of 1669, 48'83
silica. He found the lava to consist of 54*80 labradorite, 34"16 augite, 7*98 olivine,
and 3'08 magnetic iron.
Bischoff gives the following two analyses of lava : —
oiiica . . •
Alumina
Peroxide of iron .
Lime .
Magnesia
Potash .
Soda .
Hecla
Etna
54-76
49-63
13-61
22-47
15-60
10-80
614
9-05
1-35
2-68
3-41
3-07
1-21
0-98
XiAVA-'UTARE. A peculiar stoneware, manufactured and coloured to assume
the semi-vitreous appearance of lava.
DLAVEZK. Porpkyra laciniata and Ulva latissima. See AjuQM.
XiAVEITDER, OTSm OF. See Perfumebt.
From the flowers of the Lavandula spicata the oil of spike is obtained, which is
used by painters on porcelain, and by artists in the preparation of some varnishes.
^tAAVSr. A fine linen fabric
IiAZtriiXTE (Eng. and Fr. ; LasulitJi, Ger.), from an Arabic, word, azul, meaning
heaven. It is a blue vitreous mineral, found massive and crystalline, traversing clay
elate, and sometimes associated with spathic iron; spec. grav. 2-76 to 2-94; scratches
glass ; affords a little water by calcination ; fusible into a white glass ; dissolves in
acids with loss of colour ; the solution leaves an alkaline residuum, after being treated
with carbonate of ammonia, filtered, evaporated, and calcined. By analysis it is found
tx) consist of: —
1
2
Phosphoric acid '. • ■
43-88
46-79
Alumina . . . •
31-77
2710
Protoxide of iron .
8-90
7-10
Magnesia ....
. 9-89
11-87
Water . , , , .
. 5-56
7-12
LEAD 47
XBAs. (Ho7}ib, Ft. ; Blei, Ger.) This metal appears to have been known at
a very early period. It is mentioned by Moses, as a metal in common use. Job
describes mining for lead, and the metallurgic processes of refining and separating
silver from lead are very clearly described by both Job and Jeremiah. Lead has a
bluish-grey colour, and, when recently cut, it exhibits considerable lustre, which,
however, it speedily loses. It is one of the softest of the ordinary metals, is easily
cut with a knife, may be scratched with the nail, and marks paper with a grey stain.
Lead is malleable, and may be beaten into thin leaves, but these are of very imperfect
tenacity ; hence, it cannot be drawn into thin wire ; a wire of ^th of an inch in dia-
meter will not support 20 lbs.
If lead be prepared in a very finely divided state, it is pyrophoric. This is usually
prepared from the tartrate of lead, by heating it in a glass tube as long as any fumes
are evolved ; consequently, it is finely-divided lead, combined with some carbon. As
soon as the fumes cease, the tube must be closed at the blowpipe-lamp. If at anytime
the tube is broken, and the powder scattered in the air, it burns with a red flash.
If lead is heated in closed vessels, it fuses at 635° F. (335° C), and at a red
heat, it gives off vapours. If fused lead is allowed to cool slowly, it crystallises in
a somewhat peculiar manner ; the crystals are referrible to the cubic system, but
they group themselves in a very complicated and interesting way. By the electro-
chemical action of zinc on a solution of the acetate of lead, crystals of that metal are
obtained in an arborescent form. This experiment is usually spoken of as the forma-
tion of Saturn's tree, Saturn being the alchemic name for this metal.
When fused in the air, lead oxidises rapidly, and it becomes covered with an
iridescent pellicle, often of great beauty. It then passes into a yellow powder
(litharge), protoxide of lead.
Pure lead is not affected by perfectly pure water free from air ; but if air be present,
the metal is oxidised at its expense, and the oxide thus formed, combining with
carbonic acid, is deposited on the lead in minute crystals aff^a 'basic carbonate of lead.
The water will then be found to contain lead in solution, and such waters drawn
from impure cisterns often produce very distressing consequences. If the water
contains any sulphates, the lead is thrown down as a sulphate of lead, which is
insoluble.
The Ores of Lead.
1. Native lead. — Mr. Greg appears to doubt the existence of native lead in this
country. He says, however, ' Native lead has been recently discovered in undoubtedly
genuine specimens in the province of Guanaxuato in Mexico.' Some equally genuine
specimens of native lead have been found in the Grassington mines and examined by
the Editor ; these are in the cabinets of the Duke of Devonshire, and of the late Stephen
Eddy, and it is now we presume in the possession of his son.
2. Minium. Native oxide of lead. — This rare ore has been found in Anglesea, at
Alston Moor, the Snailbeach Mine in Shropshire, at Grassington, the Leadhills in
.Scotland, and Wicklow in Ireland. Its composition is — lead, 90-66, oxygen, 9-34.
3. Cerussite. Carbonate of lead. White Lead ore {Bleispath, Got.). — This ore occurs
in crystals, in fibrous, compact, and earthy masses. It is found at several of the lead
mines of Cornwall and Devonshire; remarkably fine specimens have been obtained
from Frank Mills Mines in Devonshire, one of which is in the Museum of Practical
Geology. In nearly all the mines producing the ores of lead, cerussite is formed,
varying much in its character with the different conditions under which it has been
formed.
This ore, in its purest • state, is colourless and transparent like glass. It may be
recognised by the following characters : Its specific gravity is from 6 to 6'7 ; it dis-
solves with more' or less ease, and with effervescence, in nitric acid ; becomes im-
mediately black by the action of sulphuretted hydrogen, and melts on charcoal before
the blowpipe into a button of lead. According to Klaproth, the caxbonate of Leadhills
contains 82 parts of oxide of lead, and ] 6 of carbonic acid, in 98 parts. This mineral
is tender, scarcely scratches calcspar, and breaks easily with a waved conchoidal
fracture. It possesses the double refracting property in a very high degree ; the
double image being very visible on looking through the flat faces of the prismatic
crystals. Its crystalline forms are very numerous, and are referrible to the rhombic
system. It is also found in an earthy state.
4. Anglesite. Sulphate of lead, or Vitreous lead (Bkivitriol, Ger.). — This mineral
closely resembles carbonate of lead ; so that the external characters are inadequate to
distinguish the two. But the following are sufficient. It does not effervesce with nitric
acid ; it is but feebly blackened by sulphuretted hydrogen ; it first decrepitates and then
melts before the blowpipe into a transparent glass, which becomes milky as it cools. By
the combined action of heat and chapcoal, it passes first into a red pulverulent oxide,
48 LEAD
and then into metallic lead. It consists, according to Klaproth, of 71 oxide of lead,
25 sulphiiric acid, 2 -water, and 1 iron. The prevailing form of crystallisation is the
rectangular octahedron, whose angles and edges are variously modified. This mineral
was first recognised in Anglesea, hence its name. It was found in the Channel Islands
at Sark Mine, and is occasionally met with in the Leadhills and at Wanlockhead in
Scotland, at Glemalure in Wicklow, and at Ballycorus Mine, Co. Dublin.
5. Phosphate of lead. Pyromorphite.~Th.\a, like all the combinations of lead with
an acid, exhibits no metallic lustre, but a variety of colours. Before the blowpipe,
upon charcoal, it melts into a globule externally crystalline, which by a continuance
of the heat, with the addition of iron and boracic acid, affords metallic lead. Its con-
stituents are 80 oxide of lead, 18 phosphoric acid, and 1-6 hydrochloric acid, according
to Klaproth's analysis of the mineral from Wanlockhead. The crystalline forms are
derived from an obtuse rhombohedron. Phosphate of lead is a little harder than white
lead ; it is easily scratched, and its powder is always grey. Its specific gravity is 6-9.
It has a vitreous lustre, somewhat adamantine. Its lamellar texture is not very
distinct ; its fracture is wavy, and it is easily frangible. The phosphoric and arsenic
acids being, according to M. Mitscherlich, isomorphous bodies, may replace each other
in chemical combinations in every proportion, so that the phosphate of lead may include
any proportion, from the smallest fraction of arsenic acid to the smallest fraction of
phosphoric acid, thus graduating indefinitely into arsenate of lead. The yellowish
variety indicates, for the most part, the presence of arsenic acid. It is found in
Cornwall, Devonshire, Yorkshire, Derbyshire, and Cumberland, very fine specimens
being found in the Alston Moor mines.
6. Arsenate of lead, Mimetesite. — The name is derived from /xjjutjt^s, imitator, the
species so nearly resembling pyromorphite. The colour of this ore varies from straw-
yellow and wax-yellow to brown, reddish-brown, orange, yellow, and red. Before the
blowpipe, on charcoal, it emits arsenical fumes, and yields a bead of lead. The analysis
by Dufrenoy gives the following as its composition : —
Arsenate of lead 84"55
Phosphate of lead ........ 4'50
Chloride of lead 9-05
At Drygill, in Cumberland, this ore has been met with in sufficient abundance to be
worked to some extent as an ore of lead. The mimetesite from this mine was at one
time used in the manufacture of flint-glass, to which it gave great brilliancy. The
form of the arsenate of lead, when it is crystallised, is a prism with six faces, of
nearly the same dimensions as that of phosphate of lead. When pure, it is reducible
up«n charcoal, before the blowpipe, into metallic lead, with the copious exhalation of
arsenical fumes ; but only in part, and lea\'ing a crystalline globule, when it contains
any phosphate of lead. The arsenate of lead is tender, friable, sometimes even
pulverulent, and of specific gravity 504. That from the Saxon mines of Johann-
Georgenstadt, consists, according to Rose, of oxide of lead, 77'5 ; arsenic acid, 12'5;
phosphoric acid, 7 '5 ; and chlorine, 1"5.
7. Sulphide of lead. Galena {Bleiglanz, Get.). — This is the most abundant ore of
lead ; it may be indeed regarded as the only commercial ore of value, if we except
the carbonates, which are probably formed by the decomposition of galena. Its pre-
vailing forms are the cube and a combination of the cube and octahedron ; lustre
metallic, opaque, colour and streak lead grey. Fracture conchoidal, but difficult to
obtain, owing to the readiness with which it cleaves. The localities of galena need
not be named here, as the lead-producing districts, of which a list will be presently
given, will include them, galena occurring in them all. Thomson's analysis of
galena gives —
Lead 86*13
Sulphur 13-02
Iron . . 0-50
' It is a remarkable fact that silver should invariably be present in galena, some-
times, indeed, in very minute proportion ; and the same generalisation may now be
received as established with respect to the presence of gold. The silver, it is certain,
usually exists in galena in the state of sulphide ; and so, probably, does the gold.
The mode of existence of sulphide of silver in galena is not always the same, as may
be inferred from the fact that by washing, nearly the whole of the silver is carried
away from some kinds of galena ; while by the same treatment of other kinds of galena
the loss of silver is inconsiderable. It is an error to suppose that largely-crystalline
galena is generally poor in silver.' — Percy.
8. Jamesonite is a combination of lead, antimony, and sulphur. It occurs in acicular
crystals, or in parallel or diverging groups, and more frequently in fibrous masses. It
is found in many places in Cornwall and Devon. Rose's analysis gives the following
as its composition : —
LEAD 49
Lead 3871
Antimony 34-90
Iron 2-96
Copper 0'21
Zinc 0-74
Sulphvir , . . 26*53
103-0O
Some Jamesonite found near Bampton in Devon contained 15 per cent, of silver.
9. Bournonite is foiind near Liskeard in Cornwall, not far from Kingsbridgo, and
close to Beer Alston in Devonshire. It occurs in many places on the Continent, and is
found in both North and South America. Eammelsberg gives it the following com-
position : —
Lead 4254
Antimony 24*71
Copper 13*03
Sulphur 19-72
100-00
This mineral may be regarded as a double sulphide of lead and antimony, analogous
to the double sulphide of copper and iron.
The following ores of lead are only of mineralogical interest : —
10. (Tnloro-carbonate of lead, Cromfordite. Phosgenite. Horn-lead. — This ore has a
pale yellow colour, is reducible to metallic lead by the agency of soda, and is not
altered by the hydrosulphides. Before the blowpipe it melts first into a pale yellow
transparent globule, with salt of phosphorus and oxide of copper, and manifests the
presence of chlorine. It is fragile, tender, softer than carbonate of lead, and is some-
times almost colourless, with an adamantine lustre. Spec. grav. 6*06, Its constituents,
according to Berzelius, are, lead, 25-84 ; oxide of lead, 57-07 ; carbonate of lead, 6-25;
chlorine, 8*84; silica, 1*46; water, 0*54, in 100 parts.
11. Plattnerite. Super- ot binoxide of lead. A doubtful species.
12. Linarife. Cupreous stdphate of lead. Found at Leadhills, and in Cumberland.
13. Susannite. Svlphato-carbonate of lead. Occurs at Leadhills.
14. Lanarkite. Sulphato-carbonate of lead. Ditto.
15. LeadhiUite, Sidphato-tricarbonate of lead. Ditto.
16. Caledonite, Cupreousstdphato-carbonaieof lead. Ditto.
17. Vanadinate. Vanadate of lead.
18. Wulfenite. Molybdate of lead.
19. Geocronite. Sulphantimonide of lead,
20. Mendipite. Oxychloride of lead.
21. Matlockite, ditto.
22. CrocoisUe. Red lead ore or Chromate of lead.
23. Vauqiielinite. Chromate of lead and copper.
A few other lead-bearing minerals might have been named, but from their having
no commercial value, it has not been thought necessary to do so.
The ores of lead, which may be represented by galena, or the sulphide of lead, that
being the truly commercial variety, are found in rocks of different ages from the
granite and clay-slates to the Triassic formations. In the Devonian slate rocks, in
the neighbourhood of Liskeard in Cornwall are many most productive lead mines.
To the north of Truro is the abandoned lead mine Huel Eose, which from its long
celebrity gave its name to the district ; and again to the south of Helstone there have
been some valuable workings for lead. These formations of lead ore have all been in
the clay-slate, or ' killas ' rocks of Cornwall. In Devonshire many most vahiable lead
mines have been worked in similar rocks. In these the celebrated mines of Beer
Alston on the Tamar existed. "With a very few exceptions, but little lead has been
discovered in the black slates, — the carboniferous series of Devonshire. Some lead
ore has, however, been discovered in the New Eed Sandstone and in the slate rocks im-
mediately adjoining them near Newton St. Gyres. To the north of the carboniferous
rocks of Devonshire we have a renewal of clay-slate rocks, similar in all respects to
those which are found near Liskeard in Cornwall ; in these rocks are the once famous
argentiferous lead mines of Combe Martin, from which Edward the Black Prince
derived an immense revenue.
Thejead mines of the Mendip Hills, which were at one time very producJtive, are in
the mountain-limestone formation. The lead which is now obtained fix)m the Mendips
is smelted, from the refuse slimes and slags left by the old miners. Those of
VoL.nL E
60 LEAD
Cardiganshire aro found iu clay-slates and gritstones, correspondent Tvitli or underlying
the lowest beds described by Sir E. Murchison in his Silurian System.
In Shropshire we hare lead ore occurring in the original Silurian rocks, the Llandeilo
formation. ' In that lofty and rugged district of Shropshire which lies around the
village of Shelve and the Corndon mountains, and which extends west of the Stiper
Stones range into Montgomeryshire ' (Murchison), lead lodes are abundant. In
Derbyshire, in Yorkshire, in Cumberland, Northumberland, and Durham, the lead
mines prove the most productive in the mountain-limestone formations, although there
are some instances in which good lead mines have been worked in the sandstones and
shales. In addition to these, we have the mines in the Leadhills and at Wanlock-
head, consisting chiefly of the Silurian slates, in Scotland ; Luganure, &c., in the
granite districts of Wicklow, Newtonards in County Down, with a few others in
Ireland, and the lead mines in the Silurian rocks of the Isle of Man, — these are the
principal districts from which our large supplies of lead ore are obtained.
The principal lead mines at present worked in other parts of the world are the
following : — 1. Poullaouen and Huelgoefc, near Carhair in France, department of
Finisterre, being veins of galena, which traverse a clay-slate resting on granite. They
have been known for upwards of three centuries; the workings penetrate to a
depth of upwards of 300 yards, and in 1816, furnished 500 tons of lead per annum,
out of which 1,034 pounds avoirdupois of silver were extracted. 2. At Villefort and
Viallay, department of Lozere, are galena mines said to prodxxce 100 tons of lead
per annum, 400 kilogrammes of silver (880 lbs. avoird.). 3. At Pezey and Macot, to
the east of Moutiers in Savoy, a galena mine exists in talc-schist, which has produced
annually 200 tons of lead, and about 600 kilogrammes of silver (1,230 lbs. avoird.).
4. The mine of Vedrin near Namur in the Low Countries, is opened upon a vein of
galena, traversing compact limestone of a transition district ; it has furnished 200
tons of lead, from which 385 pounds avoirdupois of silver were extracted. 5. In
Saxony the galena mines are so rich in silver as to make the lead almost overlooked.
They are enumerated under Silver Ores. 6. The lead mines of the Hartz have been
likewise considered as silver ones. 7. Those of Bleyberg in the Eifel are in the
same predicament. 8. The galena mines of Bleyberg and Villach in Carinthia are
in compact limestone. 9. In Bohemia to the south-west of Prague. 10. Mines of
Joachimsthal and Bleistadt on the southern slope of the Erzgebirge, produce argenti-
ferous galena. 11. There are numerous lead mines in Spain, the most important
being in the granite hUls of Linares, upon the southern slope of the Sierra Morena,
and in the district of the small town of Caujagar. Sometimes enormous masses of
galena are extracted from the mines of Linares. There are also mines of galena in
Catalonia, Granada, Murcia, and Almeira, the ore of the last locality being generally
poor in silver. 12. The lead mines of Sweden are very argentiferous, and worked
chiefly with a view to the silver. 13. The lead mines of Daouria are numerous and
rich, lying in a transition limestone, which rests on primitive rocks ; their lead is
neglected on account of the silver.
There have been a few lead mines in this country, which have been equally pro-
ductive of silver. This was especially the case with the lead mine which was
formerly worked near Combe Martin, and the mines formerly worked at Beer Alston
in Devonshire. One of the most remarkable of recent examples, is a small mine known
as Huel Florence, near Tavistock, from which some lead ore has been sold at upwards
of 90/. a ton, on account of the large quantity of silver it contained. At the conclu-
sion of this article some tables will be given, showing the argentiferous character of
the different lead-producing districts of the United Kingdom.
Before proceeding to the consideration of the metallurgy of lead, a few brief notices
of the history of lead mining may not be out of place.
As we have already stated, mining for lead must have been one of the earliest of
man's subterranean labours, and at all periods of history we learn that lead mines
have been worked. The Eomans, especially, worked lead mines in Spain, and, after
the conquest of this country, in many of our lead-producing districts, especially in
Cardiganshire, Shropshire, and Flintshire.
Lead mining appears to have been carried on from a very early period in Alston
Moor, and some other of the northern districts. But in the west of England, lead
mining must be regarded as a somewhat recent industry.
Borlase mentions, in 1768, that lead mines had anciently and lately been worked
in Cornwall, and that those most noted formerly were Penrose, Penwerty, Trevascus,
Eelestian, and Guamek (Garras). He states that Penrose mines (near Helstone) had
been wrought for about 200 years — that is, from about the middle of the sixteenth
century — and that they had jnelded tolerable profit within thirty years. The only
lead mine worthy of note at work in his time, was at St. Issy, near Padstow. Pryce
describes the lead ore of Garras, near Truro, to have been so argentiferous, that when
LEAD 51
wrought about 1720, it produced 100 oz. of silver in the ton of lead. Huel Pool
near Helstoue, about 1790, yielded from 40 to 50 oz, of silver per ton of lead, and
works were erected for extracting the silver. The load ore of Wheal Eose contained
60 oz. of silver per ton.
In Devonshire, the Combe Martin and Beer Alston mines have long been cele-
brated for their argentiferous lead ores. It is stated that the produce of these mines
was unusually great in the reigns of Edward I. and Edward II. In 1293, William
de Wymundham accounted at the Treasury for 270 lbs. of silver raised in Devon.
In 129-1, it amounted to 521^. 10s. weight ; and in 1294, to 704^. 3s. Id. weight. In
1296, great profit is stated to have been derived from the Devon mines ; and 360
miners were impressed out of Derbyshire and Wales to work in them. In 1360, a writ
was issued, authorising certain persons to take up as many miners and workmen as
should bo necessary to work in the king's mines in Devon, allowing tliem reasonable
wages according to the custom of the country ; to arrest and imprison such as shoiUd
resist, till they should give security to serve the king in the said mines, and to buy
and provide timber at a competent price.
Henry, bishop of Winchester and cardinal of England, as one of the executors of
John, duke of Bedford, who had a grant from the king of the gold and silver mines
of Devon and Cornwall, rendered 26 lbs. and 2 oz. weight of pure silver as the loth
part of the pure silver raised in those counties from loth December, 21st, to 16th
August, 23rd of the same king's reign.
The Combe Martin mine was re-opened in the reign of Elizabeth. The working
of this mine was strongly recommended to the Long Parliament in 1659; but
Lysons observes that it does not appear to have been again worked until the close of
that century, and then without success. In 1813 it was again opened and worked
for four years, producing only 208 tons of ore in that time. In 1837 they were again
worked, and it was evident that tlie previous mining operations had been very un-
skilfully managed. The two lodes near Beer Alston have produced large quantities of
argentiferous galena, often containing from 80 to 120 oz. of silver per ton of lead.
According to Mr. Hitchings, the greatest quantity which occurred in that part of them
named the South Ilooe mine was 140 oz. of silver per ton of lead. In 1784 and 1785
the silver produce of these mines amounted to 6,600 oz. From Huel Betsy, near
Tavistock, which was re-opened in 1806, from 300 to 400 tons of lead, and from
4,000 to 5,000 oz. of silver, were annually obtained. Lead mines were worked at a
very early period in the Isle of Man, but the recent workings only date from the
commencement of the present century. The mines of Cardiganshire were evidently
worked by the Romans. In the reigns of Henry VII. and of Elizabeth they attracted
much attention, and German miners were invited to work them.
The English lead-miners distinguish three different kinds of deposits of lead ore :
■raJce-veins, pipe-vdns, and flat-veins. The English word ' vein ' corresponds to the
French term jilon ; but miners make use of it indifferently in England and France, to
indicate all the deposits of this ore, adding an epithet to distinguish the different forms ;
thus, rake-veins are true veins in the geological acceptation of the word vein ; fife-
veins are masses usually very narrow, and of oblong shape, most frequently parallel to
the plane of the rocky strata ; and flat-veins are small beds of ores interposed in the
middle of these strata.
In the north of England, which, on account of its great preponderance in produce,
we take as the basis of our description of lead mining, the ores are for the most part
found in veins {lodes in Cornish) and flats. Although different names have been as-
signed to occasional varieties, the usual occurrence of lead ore is in rake-veins, or
direct running veins, usually named as veins, with some distinctive appellation pre-
fixed, as, for example, Rampgill Vein, Hudgillburn Vein. Other veins, lying parallel,
receive a similar prefix, with the addition of the words north, east, or south ; but for
the last-named the word sun is often used ; as, for instance, Hudgillburn Sun Vein,
and 2nd and 3rd Sun Vein if further discoveries are made of other parallel veins.
Considerable quantities of ore are also raised from horizontal extensions of portions
of the vein called fiats, and these are interposed between the strata adjacent to the
vein.
Rake-veins are the most common form in which lead ore occurs in Cumberland.
They are in general narrower in the sandstone which covers the limestone than in the
calcareous beds. A thickness of less than a foot in the former becomes suddenly 3 or
4 feet in the latter ; in the rich vein of Hudgillburn, the thickness is 17 feet in the
Great limestone, while it does not exceed 3 feet in the overlying Watersill or sandstone.
This influence exercised on the veins by the nature of the enclosing rock, is instruc-
tive ; it determines at the same time almost uniformly their richness in lead ore, an
obsei'vation similar to what has been made in other countries, especially in the veins
of Kongsberg in Norway. The Cumberland veins are constantly richer, the more
E 2
52 LEAD
powerful they are, in the portions which traverse the calcareous rocks, than in the beds
of sandstone, and more particularly the schistose rocks. It is rare in the rock called
plate (a solid slaty clay) for the vein to include any ore ; it is commonly filled with a
species of potter's earth. The upper calcareous beds are also in general more produc-
tive than the lower ones. In most of these mines, the veins were not worked till
lately below the fifth calcareous bed (the four-fathom limestone), which is 307 yards
beneath the Millstone-Grit ; and as the first limestone stratum is 108 yards beneath
it, it follows that the thickness of the part of the ground where the veins are rich in
lead does not in general exceed 200 yanis. It appears, however, that veins have been
mined in the neighbourhood of Alston Moor downwards to the eleventh calcareous
stratum, or Tyne bottom limestone, which is 418 yards under the Millstone-Grit of the
coal formation, immediately above the whinsill ; and that they have been followed
above the first limestone stratum, as high as the grindstone sill, which is only 83 yards
below the same stratum of Millstone-Grit ; so that in the total thickness of the plumbi-
ferous formation is there more than 836 yards. It has been asserted that lead veins
have been traced even further down, into the Memerby scar-limestone ; but they have
not been mined.
The greatest enrichment of a vein takes place commonly in the points where its
two sides, being not far asunder, belong to the same rock ; and its impoverishment
occurs when one side is calcareous and the other a schistose clay. The minerals which
most frequently accompany the galena are carbonate of lime, fluoride of calcium, sul-
phate of barjrta, quartz, and pyrites.
The pipe-veins {amas in French) are seldom of great length; but some have a
considerable width ; their composition being somewhat similar to that of the rake-veins.
They meet commonly in the neighbourhood of the two systems, sometimes being in
evident communication together ; they are occasionally barren ; but when a wide pipe-
vein is metalliferous, it is said to be very productive.
The flat-veins, or strata-veins, seem to be nothing else than expansions of the matter
of the vein between the planes of the strata ; and contain the same ores as the veins
in their vicinity. When they are metalliferous, they are worked along with the ad-
jacent rake-vein, and are productive to only a certain distance from that vein, unless
they get enriched by crossing a rake-vein. Some examples have been adduced of ad-
vantageous workings in flat-veins in the great limestone of Cumberland, particularly in
the mines of Coalcleugh and Nenthead. The rake-veins, however, furnish the greater
part of the lead which Cumberland and the adjacent counties send every year into
the market.
The metalliferous limestone occupies, in Derbyshire, a length of about 25 miles from
north-west to south-east, under a very variable breadth, which towards the south
amounts to 25 miles. Castleton to the north, Suxton to the north-west, and Matlock
to the south-east, lie nearly upon its limits. It is surrounded on almost all sides by
the Millstone-Grit, which covers it, and which is, in its turn, covered by the coal strata.
The nature of the rocks beneath the limestone is not known. In Cumberland the
metalliferous limestone includes a bed of trap, designated under the name of whinsill.
In Derbyshire the trap is much more abundant, and it is thrice interposed between the
limestone. These two rocks constitute of themselves the whole mineral mass, through
a thickness of about 550 yards, measuring from the Millstone-Grit ; only in the upper
portion, that is near the Millstone-Grit, there is a pretty considerable thickness of
argillo-calcareous schists.
Four great bodies or beds of limestone are distinguishable, which alternate with
three masses of trap, called toadstone. The lead veins exist in the calcareous strata,
but disappear at the limits of the toadstone. It has, however, been ascertained that
they recur in the limestone underneath. See Mines and Mining.
Metaixuhgy of Lead.
Although lead forms an essential element in a large number of minerals, the ores of
this metal are, strictly speaking, far from numerous. Of these the most important is
sulphide of lead, or galena. This mineral, which possesses a metallic brilliancy, and
has a lighter colour than metallic lead, presents, in its cleavage, all the variations
from large facettes and laminae indicating a cubic crystallisation to a most minutely
granular structure. It is extremely brittle, and its powder presents a brilliant black-
ish-grey appearance.
The specific gravity of galena is 7'5 to 7'8, and its composition, when absolutely
pure, is —
Lead 86*55
Sulphur 13-45
100-00
LEAD 5S
The next most important ore of lead is the carbonate, which is a brittle mineral, of
a white or greyish-white colour, having a specific gravity varying from 6*46 to 6'50i
Its composition is —
Carbonic acid 16"06
Oxide of lead 83-66
99-61
Large quantities of this substance occur in the mines of the Mississippi Valley in
the United States of America, where they were formerly thrown away as useless, but
have since been collected and smelted. Vast deposits of this substance have also been
found in the Bunter sandstone, near Diiren in Prussia, and at Freyung in Bavaria.
The extraction and mechanical preparation of ores is the business of the miner,
and not of the metallurgist who receives them from the former freed as perfectly as
possible from foreign matters.
The metallurgic processes, by the aid of which lead is obtained from galena, may
be divided into two classes. The first of these is founded on the following reactions :—
If one equivalent of sulphide of lead and two equivalents of the oxide of the same
metal are fused together, the result is three equivalents of metallic lead and one
eqtiivalent of sulphurous acid, which is evolved.
This reaction is represented by the following equation : —
PbS + 2PbO = 3Pb + SO^
When, on the other hand, one equivalent of sulphide of lead and one equivalent of
sulphate of lead are similarly treated, two equivalents of lead are obtained, and two
equivalents of sulphurous acid are evolved. Thus : —
PbS + PbO.SO" = 2Pb + 2S02.
The process, fbunded on the foregoing reactions, and which we will distinguish as
the method by double decomposition, consists in roasting the galena in a reverberatory
furnace until a certain amount of oxide and sulphate has been formed, and subse-
quently, after having intimately mixed the charge, and closed the doors of the furnace
causing the whole to enter into a state of fusion.
During this second stage of the operation, the reaction between the sulphides, sul-
phates, and oxides takes place, and metallic lead is eliminated. The roasting of the
ore is, in some cases, conducted in the same furnace in which the fusion is effected,
whilst in others two separate furnaces are employed.
The process by double decomposition is best adapted for the richer varieties of ore,
and such as are least contaminated by siliceous or earthy impiirities, and is con-
sequently that which is almost universally employed for smelting the ores of this
country.
By the second method, which we will call the process by affinity, the ore is fused
with a mixture of metallic iron, which by combining with the sulphur liberates the
metallic lead. This reaction will be understood by reference to the following equa-
tion : —
PbS + Fe = Pb + FeS.
In practice, however, metallic iron is not always employed for this purpose ; cast
iron is also frequently used, and in some instances the ores of iron and hammer-slags
are substituted, as are also tap-cinder and other secondary products containing a con-
siderable percentage of this metal. None of these substances are, however, found to
be so efficacious as metallic iron, since cast iron requires to be decarburised before it
can readily decompose the sulphide of lead, and the ores of iron require the intro-
duction of various fluxes, and the consequent expenditure of an additional amount of
fuel. In all cases, however, it is judicious to subject the ore to a preliminary roasting,
in order to eliminate a portion of the sulphur, and thereby reduce the expenditure of
iron, as well as to agglutinate the ore and render it better adapted for its subsequent
treatment in the blast-furnace.
"We will not attempt to describe the different forms given to roasting furnaces em-
ployed for the ores treated by this process, but would remark that they frequently
resemble the kilns used for the preparation of lime, whilst in some instances the ores
are roasted in heaps interstratified with wood or other fuel.
The method of treating ore by affinity is particularly adapted to those varieties that
contain a considerable amount of silica, since such minerals, if treated by double de-
composition, would, by the formation of oxide of lead, give rise to silicates, from
which it would be exceedingly difficult to extract the metal.
U LEAD
English Process. Treaimeni by double decomposition. — Galena, if placed in a
close vessel which protects it jfrom the action of the air, and exposed to a gradually
increasing temperature, becomes fused 'vritliout the elimination of any lead taking
place, but ultimately a portion of the sulphur is driven off, and a subsulphide is
formed, which at a very elevated temperature is volatilised without change.
If, however, the vessel be uncovered, and the air allowed to act on its contents,
oxygen combines with the sulphur, sulphurous acid is evolved, and the desulphuration
of the mineral is slowly effected.
When galena is spread on the hearth of a reverberatory ftimace, and is so placed
as to present the largest possible amount of surface to oxidising influences, it will be
found that the surface slowly becomes covered with a yellowish-white crust of sulphate
of lead. The oxygen of the air, by combining with the two elementary bodies of
which galena is composed, will evidently produce this effect. This is not, however,
the only chemical change which takes place in the charge under these circumstances ;
oxide of lead is produced at the same time as the sulphate, or rather the formation of
the oxide is prior to that of the sulphate.
In fact, during the first stage of the operation of roasting, sulphurous acid is
evolved, the sulphur quits the lead, and a portion of that metal remains in a free
state. This becomes oxidised by the air passing through the furnace, and subse-
quently a part of it combines with sulphuric acid, formed by the oxidation of sulphu-
rous acid, and sulphate of lead is the result. In this way, after the expiration of a
certain period, both oxide and sulphate of lead are present in the furnace.
During the early period of the roasting, when the temperature of the furnace is not
very elevated, the proportion of sulphate is larger than that of the oxide formed, but
in proportion as the heat of the apparatus increases, the production of oxide becomes
more considerable, whilst that of the sulphate diminishes.
The sulphate and oxide thus formed re-act in their turn on the undecomposed
galenia, whilst a portion of the latter, by combining with the sulphide of lead, gives
rise to the formation of oxysulphide.
This last compound has no action on galena, except to dissolve it in certain pro-
portions, but is readily decomposed by the aid of carbonaceous matter.
It is therefore evident that the addition of carbon, at this stage of the operation,
will have the effect of reducing the oxide and oxysulphide of lead.
Every process then that has for its object the reduction of lead ores by double
decomposition, comprises two principal operations : 1st. The reduction of galena, by
the aid of heat and atmospheric air, to a mixture of sulphide, oxide, and sulphate,
which mutually decompose each other, with the elimination of metallic lead ; 2nd.
The reduction of the oxysulphide by the addition of carbonaceous matter.
The Reverberaiory Furnace. — The reverberatory furnace employed for the treatment
of galena is composed, like all other furnaces of this description, of three distinct
parts, — the fire-place, the hearth, and the chimney.
The hearth has to a certain extent the form of a funnel, of which the lowest point
is on the front side of the furnace immediately below the middle door. The molten
metal, descending from every side along the inclined bottom or sole, is collected in
this receptacle, and is ultimately run off by means of a proper tap-hole. This tap-
hole is, during the operation, closed by a pellet of clay.
The inclination of the hearth is more rapid in the vicinity of the fire-bridge than
towards the chimney, in order that the liquid metal may not be too long exposed to
the oxidising and volatilising influences of a current of strongly-heated air.
The dimensions given to these furnaces, as well as the weight of the charge operated
on at one time, vary considerably in different localities, but in the north of England
the following measurements are usually employed: — The fire-grate is 5 feet 9
inches x 1 foot 10 inches, and the thickness of the fire-bridge 1 foot 6 inches; the
length of the sole is 9 feet, and its average width 7 feet. The depth of the tivp is
about 2 feet 6 inches below the top of the inclined sole. The height of the roof at
the fire-end may be 1 foot 4 inches, and at the other extremity 11 inches.
The introduction of the charge is in some cases effected by the doors of the furnace,
whilst in other instances a hopper, placed over the centre of the arch, is made use of.
On the two sides of the furnace are placed three doors, about 11 inches x 9 inches,
which are distinguished as 1,2 and 3, counting from the fire-bridge end. The three
doors on the one side are known as the front doors, whilst those on the other side are
called the back doors. Immediately beneath the door on the front side of the furnace
is situated the iron pan into which the molten lead is tapped off.
The bottom of this arrangement is in most cases composed of fire-bricks, covered
by a layer of vitrified slags, of greater or less thickness. In order to form this bottom,
the slags are introduced into the furnace, the doors closed, and the damper raised.
An elevated temperature is thus quickly obtained, and as soon as the scoriae have
LEAD 55
become sufficiently fused, tlicy are, by means of rakcs and paddles, made to assume
the required form. The charge employed, as before stated, varies in almost every
establishment. In the North, however, smaller charges are used than in most other
localities. At Newcastle, and in the neighbourhood, the charge varies from 12 to 14
cwts. ; in Wales, and near Bristol, 21-cwt. charges are treated ; whilst in Cornwall
charges of 30 cwts. are not unfrequently worked. The' time required for smelting a
charge varies with its weight and the nature of the ores, from 6 to 24 hours.
In some cases the ore is introduced raw into the furnace, whilst in others it under-
goes a preliminary roasting previous to its introduction. Eich ores are generally
smelted without being first calcined ; but the poorer varieties, and particvdarly those
which contain largo quantities of iron pyrites, are, in most instances, subjected to
roasting in a separate furnace.
In order to understand more clearly the operation of smelting in furnaces of this
description, we will suppose that a charge has just been tapped off, and that, after
thoroughly clearing the hearth, a fresh charge of raw ores has been introduced.
During the first part of the operation of roasting, which usually occupies about two
hours, the doors are taken off to admit free access of air, and also for the purpose of
cooling the furnace, which has been strongly heated at the close of the preceding
operation. No fuel is at this period charged upon the grate, since the heat of the
furnace is of itself sufficient to effect the elimination of the first portions of sulphur.
The ore is carefully stirred, for the purpose of constantly presenting a fresh surface
to oxidising influences, and when white fumes are no longer observed to pass off in
large quantities, a little coal may be thrown on the grate, and the temperature gradu-
ally elevated until the charge becomes slightly clammy and adheres to the rake.
When the roasting is considered as being sufficiently advanced, the smelter turns his
attention to the state of the fire, taking care to remove the clinkers and get the grate
into proper condition for the reception of a fresh supply of fuel. The furnace doors
are now closed, and a strong heat is kept tip for about a quarter of an hour, when the
smelter examines the condition of his charge by removing one of the doors. If the
operation is progressing satisfactorily, and the lead flowing freely and passing without
obstruction into the tap, the firing is continued a little longer ; but when the ores
have been found to have taken fire, or are lying unevenly on the bottom of the fur-
nace, the position of the charge is changed by the use of an iron paddle. During
this operation the furnace becomes partially cooled, and the reduction of temperature
thus obtained is frequently found to produce decompositions, which facilitate the re-
duction of the charge. In the case of extremely refractory ores, this alternate heating
and cooling of the furnace is sometimes almost indispensable, whilst, in other in-
stances, their being once or twice raked over is all the manipulation that is required.
We will suppose that four hours have now' elapsed since the charging of the fur-
nace, and that the charge has run down the inclined sole towards the tap. The
smelter now examines the condition of the scoriae, and adds a couple of shovelfuls of
lime and three or four shovelfuls of small coals, the amount and relative proportions
of these being regulated in accordance with the aspect of the slags. The charge is
now, by means of proper tools, again raised to the breast of the furnace, and the firing
continued until the charge has run down into the tap-hole. The foreman now takes
his rake and feels if any lumps remain in an unfused condition, and if he finds all to
be in a fluid state he calls his assistant from the other side, and by the addition of a
small quantity of lime and flne coal, makes the slag assume a pasty or rather doughy
consistency. By the aid of his paddle he now pushes this compound up to the oppo-
site side of the furnace, where it is drawn by an assistant through the back door into
a trough containing water. Whilst the assistant is doing tliis, the foreman is busily
engaged in tapping off the metal into the iron pan in front of the furnace, from which,
when sufficiently cooled, it is laded out into suitable moulds.
The total duration of the operation may be about six hours.
To build a furnace of the above description, 5,000 common bricks, 2,000 fire-brick?,
and 2J tons of fireclay are required. In addition to this, must be reckoned the iron-
work, the expense of which will be much influenced by the nature of the armatures
employed and the locality in which the furnace is constnicted.
The amount of fuel employed for the treatment of a ton of lead ore varies not only
in relation to the richness of the mineral, but is also much influenced by the nature of
the associated matrix and the calorific value of the fuel itself. The loss of metal ex-
perienced during tho operation is mainly dependent on the richness of the ore treated
and the skill and attention of the foreman.
In the North about 12 cwts. of coal are consumed in tlie elaboration of 1 ton of
ore, and the loss of metal on 60 per cent, ore may be estimated at about 12 per cent.,
of which about OJ- per cent, is subsequently recovered from tho slag and fumes. At a
well-conducted smelting works, situated in the west of England, in which the average
56
LEAD
assay of the ores smelted during the year was 75 J, the yield from the smelting fur-
naces -wras 68i per cent., and the coal used per ton of ore was 13^ cwts. The lead
recovered from the slag and fumes amounted to 2| per cent., making the total yield
of metal 71 i per cent., and the loss on the assay produce 4r| per cent.
In this establishment the men are paid from 7s. 6d. to 125. 6d. per ton of lead, in
accordance with the nature of the ores operated on.
In one establishment the process before described is somewhat varied. The charge
employed is 21 cwts. This is run down and tapped off at the expiration of 6 hours,
and about 9 pigs of l\ cwt. each usually obtained. A second charge of 21 cwts. is
then dropped in, and. as soon as it is roasted, mixed with the slags of the former
operation. The whole is then run down in the ordinary way, the slags dra^vn and the
lead tapped off in 9 hours. The produce of the second or double charge is from 14
to 15 pigs.
If the ores are difficult to flow, 16 to 16^ hours are required for the two charges.
A small quantity of black slag from the slag hearth is employed for drying up.
FHgs. 1331, 1332, 1333, represent the reverberatory furnace at the Marquis of
Westminster's lead-smelting works, two miles from Holywell. The hearth is hollowed
out below the middle door of the furnace ; it slopes from the back and ends towards
this basin. The distance from the lowest point of this concavity up to the eill of the
door, is usually 24 inches, but it is sometimes a little less, according to the quality of the
1331
1332
1
ores to be smelted. This surface has no hole for running off the slag, above the level
of the tap-hole for the lead, like the smelting furnace of Lea, near Matlock. A single
chimney stack serves for all the establishment ; and receives all the flues of the various
roasting and reducing furnaces. Fig. 1333 gives an idea of the distribution of these
flues, a a a, &c., are the furnaces ; b, the flues, 18 inches square ; these lead from
each furnace to the principal conduit c, which is 5 feet deep by 2^ wide ; din 6 feet
deep by 3 wide ; c is a rovmd chamber, 15 feet in diameter ; /is a conduit, 7 feet high
by 6 wide ; ff another, 6 feet high by 3 wide. The chimney at h has a diameter at
bottom of 30 feet, at top of 12 feet, including the thickness of its sides, forming a trun-
Cfited cone 100 feet high ; whose base stands upon a hill a little way from the furnaces,
and 62 feet above their level.
a, figs, 1331, 1332, is the grate ; h, the door of the fire-place ; c, the fire-bridge ;
d, the arched roof; e, the hearth ; f f f, &c., the working doors; g g, flues running
into one conduit, which leads to the subterranean condensing-chamber e, and thence to
the general chimney ; h, a hopper-shaped opening in the top of the furnace, for sup-
plying it with ores.
This magnificent structure is not destined solely for the reduction of the ores, but
also for dissipating all the vapo&rs which might prove noxious to the health of the
work-people and to vegetation
LEAD 57
The ores smelted at HoljTrell are very refractory galenas, mixed -with blende, cala-
mine, pyrites, carbonate of lime, &c., but without any fluoride of calcium. They serve
mutually as fluxes to one another. The coal is of inferior quality. The sole of each
furnace is formed of slags obtained in the smelting, and they are all of one kind. In
constructing it, 7 or 8 tons of these slags are first thrown upon the brick area of the
hearth ; are made to melt by a brisk fire, and in their stiffening state, as they cool, they
permit the bottom to be sloped and hollowed into the desired shape. Four workmen,
two at each side of the furnace perform this task.
The ordinary charge of ore for one smelting operation is 20 cwts., and it is introduced
through the hopper. An assistant placed at the back doors spreads it equally over the
whole hearth with a rake ; the furnace being meanwhile heated only with the declining
fire of a preceding operation. No regular fire is made during the first two hours, but
a gentle heat merely is kept up by throwing one or two shovelfuls of small coal upon
the grate from time to time. All the doors are closed, and the register-plate of the
chimney lowered.
The outer basin in front of the furnace is at this time filled with the lead derived
from a former process, the metal being covered with slags. A rectangular slit above
the tap-hole is left open, and remains so during the whole time of the operation, unless
the lead should rise in the interior basin above the level of that orifice ; in which case
a little mound must be raised before it.
The two doors in front furthest from the fire being soon opened, the head-smelt<'r
throws in through them, upon the sole of the furnace, the slags swimming upon the
bath of lead, and a little while afterwards he opens the tap-hole, and runs off the me-
tixUic lead reduced from these slags. At the same time his assistant turns over the ore
with his paddle, through the back doors. These being again closed, while the above
two front doors are open, the smelter throws a shovelful of small coal or coke cinder
upon the lead-bath, and works the whole together, turning over the ore with the paddle
or iron oar. About three quarters of an hour after the commencement of the operation,
he throws back upon the sole of the hearth the fresh slags which then float upon the
bath of the outer basin, and which are mixed with coaly matter. He next turns over
these slags, as well as the ore vrith the paddle, and shuts all the doors. At this time
the smelter lades off the lead into the pig-moulds.
The assistant now turns over the ore once more through the back doors. A little
more than an hour after the operation began, a quantity of lead proceeding from the
slag last remelted is run off by the tap ; being usually in such quantity as to fill one
half of the outer basin. Soth the workmen then turn,over the ore, with the paddles,
at the several doors of the furnace. Its interior is at this time of a dull red heat ; the
roasting being carried on rather by the combustion of the sulphurous ingredients, than
by the action of the small quantity of coal in the grate. The smelter, after -shutting
the front doors, with the exception of that next the fire-bridge, lifts off the fresh slags
lying upon the surface of the outside bath, drains them, and throws them back into
the furnace.
An hour and a half after the commencement, the lead begins to ooze out in small
quantities from the ore ; but little should be suffered to flow before two hours have
expired. About this time the two workmen open all the doors, and turn over the ore,
each at his own side of the furnace. An hour and three quarters after the beginning,
there are few vapours in the furnace, its temperature being very moderate. No more
lead is then seen to fiow upon the sloping hearth. A little coal being thrown into the
grate to raise the heat slightly, the workmen turn over the ore, and then close all the
doors.
At the end of two hours, the first fire or roasting being completed, and the doors
shut, the register is to be lifted a little, and coal thrown upon the grate to give the
second fire, which lasts during 25 minutes. When the doors are now opened, the inside
of the furnace is of a vivid red colour, and the lead flows down from every side towards
the inner basin. The smelter with his rake or paddle pushes the slags upon that basin
back towards the upper part of the sole, and his assistant spreads them uniformly over
the surface through the back doors. The smelter next throws in by his middle door, a
few shovelfuls of quicklime upon the lead-bath. The assistant meanwhile for a quarter
of an hour works the ore and the slags together through the three back doors, and
then spreads them out, while the smelter pushes the slags from the surface of the inner
basin back to the upper part of the sole. The doors being now left open for a little,
while the interior remains in repose, the metallic lead, which had been pushed back with
the slags, flows down into the basin. This occasional cooling of tho furnace is thought
to be necessary for the better separation of the products, especially of the slags from
the red bath.
In a short time the workmen resume their rakes, and turn over the slags along with
the ore. Three hours after the commencement a little more fuel is put into the grate,
5R
LEAB
merely to keep up a moderate heat of the furnace during the paddling. After three
hours and ten minutes, the grate being charged ■with fuel for the third fire, the register
is completely opened, the doors are all shut, and the furnace is left in this state for
three quarters of an hour. In nearly four hours from the commencement, all the doors
being opened, the assistant levels the surfaces "with his rake, in order to favour the
descent of any drops of lead ; and then spreads the slags, which are pushed back towards
him by the smelter. The latter now throws in a fresh quantity of lime, with the view
not merely of covering the lead-bath and preventing its oxidation, but of rendering the
slags less fluid.
Ten minutes after the third fire is completed, the smelter puts a new charge of fuel
on the grate, and shuts the doors of the furnace to give it the fourth fire. In four hours
and forty minutes from the commencement, this fire being finished, the doors are
opened, the smelter pierces the tap-hole to discharge the lead into the outer basin, and
throws some quicklime upon the slags in the inner basin. He then pushes the slags
thus dried up towards the upper part of the hearth, and his assistant rakes them oat by
the back doors.
The whole operation of a smelting shift takes about four hours and a half, or at most
five hours, in which four periods may be distinguished : —
1. The first fire for roasting the ores requires very moderate firing, and la«ts two
hours.
2. The second fire, or smelting, requires a higher heat, with shut doors ; at the end
the slags are dried up with lime, and the furnace is also allowed to cool a little.
3. 4. The last two periods, or the third anA fourth fires, are likewise twosmeltings or
foundings, and differ from the first only in requiring a higher temperature. The heat
is greatest in the last. The form and dimensions of the furnace are calculated to cause
a uniform distribution of heat over the whole surface of the hearth. Sometimes billets
of green wood are plunged into the metallic lead of the outer basin, causing an ebulli-
tion which favours the separation of the slags, and consequently the production of a
purer lead ; but no more metallic metal is obtained.
Ten cwts. of coal are consumed at Holywell in smelting one ton of the lead-ore schlich
or sludge ; but at Grassington, near Skipton in Yorkshire, with a similar furnace worked
with a slower heat, the operation taking from seven hours to seven hours and a half,
instead of five, only 7g cwts. of
coal are consumed. But here the
ores are less refractory, have the
benefit of fluor-spar as a flux, and
are more exhausted of their metal,
being smelted upon a less sloping
hearth.
The ore-hearth. — This furnace,
called by the French foumeau
ecossais, is from 22 to 24 inches
in height and 1 foot by 1^ in area
inside ; but its horizontal section,
always rectangular, varies much
in its dimensions at different
levels, as shown in fig. 1334.
1334
C, TuySre. M, Workstone. P, Lead-pot.
Treatment of lead oreshy the Scotch furnace or ore-hearth. — This furnace is generally
employed in the counties of Northumberland, Cumberland, and Durham for the
smelting of lead ores, which were formerly carried to them without any preparation,
but they are now often exposed to a preliminary calcination. The roasted ore yields
in the Scotch furnace a more considerable product than the crude ore, because it forms
in the furnace a more porous mass, and at the same time it works drier, to use the
founder's expression ; that is, it allows the stream of air impelled by the blast to diflfuso
itself more completely across the matters contained in the furnace.
In proceeding to smelt by means of an ore-hearth, two workmen are required to be
in attendance from the beginning to the end of each smelting shift, the duration of
which is from 12 to 16 hours. The first step in commencing a smelting shift-is to fill
up the hearth-bottom, and space below the workstone with peats, placing one already
kindled before the nozzle of the bellows. The powerful blast very soon sets the
whole in a blaze, and by the addition of small quantities of coal at intervals, a body of
fire is obtained, filling the hearth. Eoastod ore is now put upon the surface of the
fire, between the forestone and pipestone, which immediately becomes heated red hot
and reduced ; the lead from it sinking down and collecting in the hearth bottom.
Other portions of ore of 10 or 12 lbs. each are introduced from time to time, and the
contents of the hearth are stirred and kept open, being occasionally dniwn out and
examined upon the workstone, until the hearth bottom becomes full of lead. The
LEAD 59
hearth may now be considered in its regular working state, having a mass of heated
fuel, mixed with partly-fused and semi-reduced ore, called Bronze, floating upon a
stratum of melted lead. The smelting shift is then regularly proceeded with by the
two workmen, as follows : — The fire being made up, a stratum of ore is spread upon
the horizontal surface of the hrouzc, and the whole suffered to remain exposed to the
blast for the space of about five minutes. At the end of that time, one man plunges
a poker into the fluid lead, in the hearth bottom below the hrouze, and raises the
whole up, at different places, so as to loosen and open the bronze, and in doing so, to
pull a part of it forwards upon the workstone, allowing the recently-added ore to sink
down into the body of the hearth. The poker is now exchanged for a shovel,
with a head 6 inches square, with which the brouze is examined upon the workstone,
and any lumps that may have been too much fused, broken to pieces ; those which are
so far agglutinated by the heat, as to be quite hard, and further known by their bright-
ness, being picked out, and thrown aside, to be afterwards smelted in the slag hearth.
They are called ' grey slags.' A little slaked lime, in powder, is then spread upon
the brouze, which has been drawn forward upon the workstone, if it exhibit a pasty
appearance ; and a portion of coal is added to the hearth, if necessary, which the
workman knows by experience. In the mean time, his fellow workman, or shoulder
fellow, clears the opening, through which the blast passes into the hearth, with a
shovel, and places a peat immediately above it, which he holds in its proper situation,
until it is fixed, by the return of all the brouze, from the workstone into the hearth.
The fixe is made up again into the shape before described, a stratum of fresh ore spread
upon the part, and the operation of stirring, brealdng the lumps upon the workstone,
and picking out the hard slags repeated, after the expiration of a few minutes, exactly
in the same manner. At every stirring a fresh peat is put above the nozzle of the
bellows, which divides the blast, and causes it to be distributed all over the hearth ;
and as it burns away into light ashes, an opening is left for the blast to issue freely
into the body of the bronze. The soft and porous nature of dried peat renders it very
suitable for this purpose ; but, in some instances, where a deficiency of peats has
occurred, blocks of wood of the same size have been used with little disadvantage. As
the smelting proceeds, the reduced lead, filtering down through all parts of the brouze
into the hearth bottom, flows through the channel, out of which it is laded into a
proper mould, and formed into pigs.
The principal particulars to be attended to in managing an ore-hearth properly
during the smelting shift are these: First. — It is very important to employ a
proper blast, which should be carefully regulated, so as to be neither too weak nor
too powerful. Too weak a blast would not excite the requisite heat to reduce the ore,
and one too powerful has the effect of fusing the contents of the hearth into slags.
In this particular no certain rules can be given ; for the same blast is not suitable
for every variety of ore. Soft free-grained galena, of great specific gravity, being
very fusible, and easily reduced, requires a moderate blast ; while the harder and
lighter varieties, many of which contain more or less iron, and are often found rich
in silver, require a blast considerably stronger. In all cases, it is most essential, that
the blast should be no more than sufficient to reduce the ore, after every other neces-
sary precaution is taken in working the hearth. Second. — The blast should be as
much divided as possible, and made to pass through every part of the brouze. Third.
— The hearth should be vigorously stirred, at due intervals, and part of its contents
exposed upon the workstone; when the partially -fused lumps shoidd be well broken to
pieces, as well as those which are further vitrified, so as to form slags, carefully picked
out. This breaking to pieces, and exposure of the hottest part of the brouze upon
the workstone, has a most beneficial effect in promoting its reduction into lead ; for
the atmospheric air immediately acts upon it, and, in that heated state, the sulphur
is readily consumed, or converted into sulphurous acid, leaving the lead in its metallic
state ; hence it is that the reduced lead always flows most abundantly out of the hearth
immediately after the return of the brouze, which has been spread out and exposed to
the atmosphere. Fourth. — The quantity of lime Aised should be no more than is just
necessary to thicken the brouze sufiiciently ; as it does not in the least contribute to
reduce the ore by any chemical effect : its use is merely to render the brouze less
pasty, if, from the heat being too great, or from the nature of the ore, it has a dis-
position to become very soft. Fifth. — Coal should also be supplied judiciously ; too
much unnecessarily increasing the bulk of the brouze, and causing the hearth to get
too full.
"When the ore is of a description to smelt readily, and the hearth is well managed in
every imrticular, it works with but a small quantity of brouze, which feels dry when
stirred, and is easily kept open and permeable to the blast. The reduction proceeds
rapidly with a moderate degree of heat, and the slags produced are inconsiderable ; but,
if in this state, the stirring of the brouze and exposure upon the workstone are die-
60 LEAD
continued, or practised at longer intervals, the hearth quickly gets too hot, and imme-
diately begins to agglutinate together; rendering evident the necessity of these
operations to the successful management of the process. It is not difficult to under-
stiind why these effects take place, -when it is considered, that in smelting by means
of the ore-hearth, it is the oxygen of the blast and of the atmosphere which principally
accomplishes the reduction ; and the point to be chiefly attended to consists in exposing
the ore to its action, at the proper temperature, and under the most favourable cir-
cumstances. The importance of having the ores free from impurities is also evident ;
for the stony or eartliy matter it contains impedes the smelting process, and increases
the quantity of slags. A very slight difference of composition of perfectly-dressed ore
may readily be understood to affect its reducibility ; and hence it is, that ore from
ditibrent veins, or the same vein in different strata, as before obser\-ed, is frequently
found to.jwork very differently when smelted singly in the hearth. It happens, there-
fore, that with the best workmen, some varieties of ore require more coal and lime, and
a greater degree of heat than others ; and it is for this reason that the forestone is made
moveable, so as to answer for ore which works either with a large or a small quantity
of broaze.
It has been stated that the duration of a smelting shift is from 12 to 15 hours, at the
end of which time, with every precaution, the hearth is apt to become too hot, and it
is necessary to stop for some time, in order that it may cool. At miUs where the
smelting shift is 12 hours, the hearths usually go on 12 hours, and are suspended 5 ;
four and a half or five bings ' of ore (36 to 40 cwts.) are smelted during a shift, and the
two men who manage the hearth work each four shifts per week ; terminating their
week's work at 3 o'dock on Wednesday afternoon. They are succeeded by two other
workmen, who also work four 12-hour shifts ; the last of which they finish at 4 o'clock
on Saturday. In these eight shifts, from 36 to 40 bings of ore are smelted, which,
when of good quality, produce from 9 to 10 fodders* of lead. At other mills where
the shift is 14 or 15 hours, the furnace is kindled at 4 o'clock in the morning, and'
worked until 6 or 7 in the evening each day, six days in the week ; during this shift
6 or 6^ bings of ore are smelted, and two men at one hearth, in the early part of each
week, work three such shifts, producing about 4 fodders of lead — two other men work
each three shifts in the latter part of the week, making the total quantity smelted per
week, in one hearth, from 30 to 33 bings.
Hearth-ends and Smelter's fume. — In the operation of smelting, as already described,
it happens that particles of unreduced and semi-reduced ore are continually expelled
from the hearth, partly by the force of the blast, but principally by the decrepita-
tion of the ore on the application of beat. This ore is mixed with a portion of
the fuel and lime made use of in smelting, all of which are deposited upon the top
of the smelting-hearth, and are called hearth-ends. It is customary to remove the
hearth-ends from time to time, and deposit them in a convenient place until the end
of the year, or some shorter period, when they are washed to get rid of the earthy
matter they may contain, and the metallic portion is roasted at a strong heat, until
it begins to soften and cohere into lumps, and afterwards smelted in the ore-hearth,
exactly in the same way as ore undergoing that operation for the first time, as already
described.
It is difficult to state what quantity of h^rth-ends are produced by the smelting of
a given quantity of ore, but in one instance the hearth-ends produced in smelting 9,751
bings, on being roasted and reduced in the ore-hearth, yielded of common lead 315
cwts., and the grey slags separated in this process gave, by treatment in the slag-
hearth, 47 cwts. of slag-lead ; making the total quantity of lead 362 cwts., which is
at the rate of 3 cwts. 2 qrs. 23 lbs. from the smelting of 100 bings of ore.
Slag-hearth. — The various slags obtained from the different operations of lead
smelting are di^dded into two classes. Those which do not contain a sufficient amount
of metal to pay for further treatment are thrown away as useless, whilst those in
which the percentage of lead is sufficiently large are treated by the slag-hearth.
Figs. 1335, 1336, represent a slag-hearth, the fourneau a Tnanche (elbow furnace)
of the French, and the Krummofen (crooked furnace) of the Germans ; such as is used
at Alston Moor, in Cumberland, for the reduction of the lead-slag. It resembles the
Scotch furnace. The shaft is a parallelopiped, whose base is 26 inches by 24 inches in
area inside, and whose height is 3 feet ; the sole-plate a, of cast iron, slopes slightly
down to the basin of reception, or the fore-hearth, b. Upon both of the long sides of
the sole-plate there are cast-iron beams, called bearers, c, c, of great strength, which
support the side walls built of a coarse-grained sandstone, as well as the cast-iron
plate d (forestone), which forms the front of the shaft. This stands 7 inches off from-
the eole-plate, leaving an empty space between them. The back side is made of cast
' 1 bing=8 cwtB. " 1 fodcler=21 c^-ts.
LEAD
61
iron, from the sole-plate to the horizontal tuyere in its middle ; but above this point
it is made of sandstone. The tuyere is from 1^ to 2 inches in diameter. In front of
the fore-hearth b, a cistern, e, is placed, through which -water continually flows, so
1335
1336
that the slags •which spontaneously overflow the fore-hearth may become inflated and
divided, whereby the lead disseminated through them may be readily separated by
washing. The lead itself flows from the fore-hearth b, through an orifice into an iron
pot, /, which is kept over a fire. The metal obtained from this slag-hearth is much
less pure than that extracted directly from the ore.
The whole bottom of the furnace is filled to a height of 17 inches, that is, to within
2 or 3 inches of the tuyere, with the rubbish of coke reduced to coarse powder and
beat strongly down. At each smelting shift, this bed must be made anew, and the
interior of the furnace above the tuyere repaired, with the exception of the front, con-
sisting of cast iron. In advance of the furnace there is a basin of reception, which is
also filled with coke rubbish. Farther off is the pit, full of water, replenished by a
cold stream, which incessantly runs in through a pipe. The scoriae, in flowing out of
the furnace, pass over the coke bed in the basin of reception, and then fall into the
water, whose coolness makes them fly into small pieces, after which they are easily
washed, so as to separate the lead that may be entangled among them.
These furnaces are urged sometimes by fans or by wooden bellows,/^. 1337. But
at the smelting works of Lea, near Matlock, the blowing-machine consists of two
casks, which move upon hori-
zontal axes. Each of these
casks is divided into two
equal parts by a fixed plane
that passes through it's axis,
and is filled with water to a
certain height. The water of
one side communicates with
that of the other by an open-
ing in the lower part of the
di vision. Each cask possesses
11 movement of oscillation,
produced by a rod attached
to a crank of a bucket-wheel.
At each demi-oscillation one of the compartments, being in communication with the
external air, is filled ; whilst the other, on the contrary, communicates with the nozzle,
and supplies wind to the furnace.
Instead of being blown by a cold blast, these furnaces are sometimes supplied with
heated air. When smelting with cold air, it is often found difficult to proportion the
quantity of slag or other substance operated on, so as to preserve the nose or cone of
slag which forms at the end of the tuyere from growing too long, to the prejudice of
the operation. When the substance operated on is poor for metal, and very refractory,
it frequently happens that the smelter is obliged to break the nose, or introduce some
very fusible substance in order to melt it off. By the introduction of hot air this in-
convenience is removed, since by increasing or lowering the temperature of the blast,
the nose may be allowed to lengthen or shorten, according as the nature of the slags
may require. The temperature found to answer best is from 250° to 300° Fahr. ;
since when it is heated to from 500° to 600°, it is found impossible to form a nose of
sufficient length to convey the blast to the front of the hearth, and therefore the back,
which is expensive to rebuild, is quickly destroyed.
The advantage to be derived from the use of the hot blast will bo evident, from the
result of two experiments which were tried some years since : —
Twenty-eight tons of slag smelted with cold blast consumed 392 cubic feet of air
per minute.
Labour cost , £3 7 8
Coke, 7 tons, at 24s. 6d 8 116
Total . £11 19 2
C2 LEAD
Thirty-five tons of similar slag smelted with hot blast consumed 300 cubic feet of
air per minute.
Labour cost £3 7 8
Coke, 5 tons, 17cwts., at 24s. 6<?. . . .734
Turf for beating air, 11 loads, Is. 8^. . . . 18 4
Total . £11 9 4
From wliich it will be seen that, -with one-quaiter part less air, a quarter part more
slag was melted per week, and a saving of expense of nearly 10s. effected.
The loss of lejid experienced in smelting by the slag-hearth is, however, very
great, even under the most favourable circumstances ; and it has, consequently, of
later years been gradually superseded by the Castilian furnace, which will be shortly
described. Many large and well-conducted establishments still however continue to
employ the slag-hearth, and when well constructed and skilfully managed, the loss
arising from volatilisation may be considerably reduced.
Castilian Furnace. — Within the bast few years a blast-furnace has been introduced
into the lead-works of this country which possesses great advantages over every other
description of apparatus which has been hitherto employed for the treatment of lead
ores of low produce. This apparatus, although first employed in Spain, was invented
by an Englishman (Mr. W. Goundry) who was employed in the reduction of rich
slags in the neighbourhood of Cartliagena.
This furnace is circular, usually about 2 feet 4 inches, or 2 feet 6 inches in diameter,
and is constructed of the best fire-bricks, so moulded as to fit together, and allow all
the joints to follow the radii of the circle described by the brick-work. Its usual
height is 8 feet 6 inches, and the thickness of the masonry invariably 9 inches. In
this arrangement the breast is formed by a semicircular plate of cast iron, furnished
with a lip for running off the slag, and has a longitudinal slot, in which is placed the
tapping-hole.
On the top of this cylinder of brick-work a box-shaped covering of masonry is
supported by a cast-iron framing, resting on four pillars, and in this is placed the
door for feeding the furnace, and the outlet by which the various products of com-
bustion escape to the flues. The lower part of this liood is fitted closely to the body
of the furnace, whilst its top is closed by an arch of 4J-inch brick-work laid in
fire-clay. The bottom is composed of a mixtui-e of coke-dust and fire-clay, slightly
moistened, and well beaten to the height of the top of the breast-pan, which stands
nearly 3 feet above the level of the fioor. Above the breast-pan is an arch so
turned as to form a sort of niche, 18 inches in width, and rather more than 2 feet in
height.
When the bottom has been solidly beaten, up to the required height, it is hollowed
out so as to form an internal cavity, communicating freely with the breast-pan, whicli
is filled with the same material, and subsequently hollowed out to a depth slightly
below the level of the internal cavity. The blast is supplied by three water tuyeres,
3 inches in diameter at the smaller end, 6J inclies at the larger, and 10 inches in
length. Into these the nozzles are introduced, by which a current of air is supplied
by means of a fan or ventilator making about 800 revolutions per minute. The bla.st
may be conveniently conducted to the nozzles through brick channels formed beneath
the fioor of the smelting-house.
The ores treated in this furnace ought never to contain more than 30 per cent, of
metal, and when richer, must be reduced to about this tenure by the addition of slags
and other fluxes. In charging this apparatus, the coke and ore are supplied stratum
super stratum, and care must be taken so to dispose the coke as not to heat too
violently the brickwork of the furnaces. In order to allow the slags which are pro-
duced to escape freely into the breast-pan, a brick is left out of the front of the
fiirnace at the height of the fore-liearth, which, for the purpose of preventing the
cooling of the scoriae, is kept covered by a layer of coke-dust or cinders. From the
breast-pan the slags flow constantly off over a spout into cast-iron waggons, where
they consolidate into masses, having the form of truncated pyramids, of which the
larger base is about 2 feet square. As soon as a sufficient amount of lead is accu-
mulated in the bottom of the furnace, it is let off into a lateral lead-pot, by removing
the clay-stopper of the tap-hole situated in the slot of the breast-pan, and, after
being properly skimmed, it is laded into moulds. When, in addition to lead, the
ore treated likewise contains a certain portion of copper, this metal will be found
in the form of a matt floating on the surface of the leaden bath. This, when suffi-
ciently solidified, is removed, and, after being roasted, is operated on for the copper it
contains.
The waggons in which the liquid slag runs off are frequently made to traverse
LEAD
63
email railways, by •which, -vvhon one mass has been removed, its place may readily bo
supplied by an empty waggon. When nearly cold, the casings of the waggons are
turned over, and the blocts of slag easily made to drop out. In addition to the
facility for transport obtained in this way, one of the great advantages obtained by
this method of manipulation arises from the circumstance that should the furnaces at
any time run lead or matt, without its being detected by tire smelter, the whole of it
will be collected at the bottom of the block, from which, when cold, it may be readily
detached.
In working these furnaces care must be taken to prevent flamo from appearing at
the tunnel-head, since, provided the slags are sufficiently liquid, the cooler the appa-
ratus is kept the less will be the loss of metal through volatilisation. In addition
to the greatest attention being paid to the working of the furnace, it is necessary, in
order to obtain the best results, that all establishments in which this apparatus is
employed should bo provided with long and capacious flues, in which the condensation
of the fumes takes place, previous to arriving at the chimney-shaft. These flues
should be built at least 3 feet in width, and 6 feet in height, so as readily to admit
of being cleaned, and are often made of several thousand yards in length. The value
of the fumes so condenged, amounts to many hundreds, and in some instances thousands
per annum.
In order to be advantageously worked in these furnaces, the ores should be first
roasted, and subsequently agglomerated into masses, which, after being broken into
fragments of about the size of the fist, and mixed with the various fluxes, are charged
as before described.
In an establishment in which the average assay produce of the roasted ore for lead
is 42|ths, the furnace yield is SS^fths, and the weight of coke employed to effect the
reduction 22 per cent, of the roasted ore operated on. The mixture charged into the
furnace, in this instance, is composed of 100 parts of roasted ore, 42 parts of slags
from a previous operation, 8 parts of scrap iron, and 7 parts of limestone. Each
64
LEAD
furnace works off about seven tons of roasted ore in the course of 24 hours ; the
weight of slags run off is about double that of the lead obtained, and tlie matt re-
moved from the surface of the pan is nearly 6 per cent, of the lead produced. The
ores treated in this establishment consist of galena, much mixed •w'ith spathose iron,
and are therefore somewhat refractory. A furnace of this kind requires for its con-
struction about 1,000 segmental fire-bricks, and the same number of ordinary fire-
bricks of second quality.
Figs. 1338, 1339, 1340,and 1341 represent respectively a vertical section, an elevation,
a ground plan, and an horizontal section of a Castilian furnace. The section/^. 1341
1340
1341
IS on the line x t, Jiff. 1339. a is the body of the furnace, b, the bottom, composed of
a mixture of coke-dust and fire-clay ; c c c, the tuyeres ; d, the rectangular covering of
masonry ; e e e e, cast-iron pillars ; f, the breast-pan ; g, slot for tapping hole ; h, lip
of breast-pan ; i, feeding-door ; k, flue-hole ; v, a, ground line.
1342
Fias. 1342, 1343 are the slag-waggons, A being a moveable case without a bottom,
and B a strong cast-iron plate running on four wheels.
The desulphuration of the ores to be treated in these furnaces may be effected either
by the aid of an ordinary reverberatory roasting furnace, or in heaps, or properly
constructed kilns.
The kilns best adapted for this purpose consist of rectangular chambers, having an
arched roof, and pronded with proper fines for the escape of the evolved gases, as
well as a wide door for charging and withdra^ving the ore to be operated on.
Each of these chambers is capable of containing from 25 to 30 tons of ore'; and,
in order to charge it, a layer of faggots and split wood is laid on the floor, and this,
after having been covered by a layer of ore about two feet in thickness, is ignited,
care being at the same time taken to close, by means of loose brick -work, the open-
ing of the door to the same height. When this first layer has become sufficiently
ignited, a fresh stratum of ore, mixed with a little coal or charcoal, is thrown upon it,
LEAD
6S
and when this layer has in its turn become Bufl&ciently heated, more ore is thrown
on. In this way ore is from time to time added, until the kiln has become full, whea
the orifice of the doorway is closed by an iron plate, and the operation proceeds regu-
larly and without further trouble until the greater portion has become eliminated.
This usually happens at the expiration of about four weeks from the time of first
ignition, and the brick-work front is then removed, and the ores broken out, and after
being mixed with proper fluxes, passed through the blast-furnace.
The proportion of wood necessary for the roasting of a ton of ore by this means
must necessarily depend on the composition of the minerals operated on ; but with ores
of the description above-mentioned, and in a neighbourhood where wood is moderately
cheap, the desulphuration may be effected at a cost of about 5s, per ton.
CalciniTiff.^-The lead obtained by the various processes above described generally
contains a sufficient amount of silver to render its extraction of much importance ;
but, in addition to this, it is not unfrequently associated with antimony, tin, copper, and
various other impurities, which require to be removed before the separation of the
silver can be effected.
This operation consists in fusing the hard lead in a reverberatory furnace of peculiar
construction, and allowing it to remain, when in a melted state, exposed to the oxi-
dising influences of the gases passing through the apparatus. By this treatment the
antimony, copper, and other impurities become oxidised, and on rising to the surface
of the metallic bath are skimmed off, and removed with an iron rake. The hearth of
the furnace in which this operation is conducted consists of a large cast-iron pan,
which may be 10 feet in length, 5 feet 6 inches in width, and 10 inches in depth. The
fire-place, which is 1 foot 8 inches in width, has a length equal to the width of the
pan, and is separated from it by a fire-bridge 2 feet in width. The height of the arch
at the bridge-end is 1 foot 4 inches above the edge of the pan, whilst at the outer
extremity it is only about 8 inches.
The lead to be introduced into the pan is first fused in a large iron pot fixed in
brick -work at the side of the fiumace, and subsequently laded into it through an iron
gutter adapted for that purpose. The length of time necessary for the purification of
hard lead obviously depends on the nature and amount of the impurities which it
contains ; and, consequently, some varieties will be sufficiently improved at the ex-
piration of twelve hours, whilst in other instances it is necessary to continue the
operation during three or four weeks. The charge of hard lead varies from eight to
eleven tons.
When the metal is thought to be in a fit state for tapping, a small portion taken out
with a ladle, and poured into a mould used for this purpose, is found on cooling to
1344
Q
B
E
assume at the surface a peculiar crystalline appearance, which when once seen is
readily again recognised. As soon as this appearance presents itself, an iron plug is
1345
withdrawn from the bottom of the pan, and the lead run off into an iron pan, from
which it is subsequently laded into moidds.
Vol. in. F
a^
LSAD
The construction of a furnace of this description requires 5,000 common bricks,
3,500 fire-bricks, and 2 tons of fire-clay.
1347
1348
Figs. 1344 and 1345 represent an
elevation and vertical section of the
calcining furnace, a is the fire-place ;
B, ash-pit ; c, fire-bridge ; d, cast-iron
pan ; E, fine ; f f f, channels for allow-
ing the escape of moisture ; g, one of
the working doors ; h, spout for running
oflf calcined metal. Fig. 1346 repre-
sents the pan removed from the
masonry, and shows a groove in the
1346
T^
lip for the introduction of a sheet-iron
dam, tightened with moistened bone-ash
for keeping in the fused metal.
In the more modem furnaces of this
description, the corners are usually
rounded to prevent breakage from ex-
pansion, whilst the tapping is eflfected
by means of a hole through the bottom
near one of the sides. This, when
closed, is stopped by means of an iron
plug kept in its place by a weighted
lever.
Concentration of the silver. — This
process is founded on the circumstance,
first noticed in the year 1829, by the
late H. L. Pattinson, of Newcastle-on-
Tyne, that when lead containing silver
is melted in a suitable vessel, after-
wards slowly allowed to cool, and at
the same time kept constantly stirred,
at a certain temperature near the
melting point of lead, metallic crystals
begin to form. These, as rapidly as
they are produced, sink to the bottom,
and on being removed are found to
contain much less silver than the lead
originally operated on. The still fluid
portion, from which the crystals have
been removed, will at the same time
be proportionally enriched.
This operation is conducted in a
series of 8 or 10 cast-iron pots, set in
a row, with fire-places beneath. These
are each capable of containing about
6 tons of calcined lead, and, on com-
mencing an operation, that quantity of
metal, containing, we will suppose,
20 oz. of silTer per ton, is introduced into a pot (say f. Jig. 1347) about the centre
of the series. This, when melted, is carefully skimmed with a perforated ladle, and
the fire immediately withdrawn. The cooling of the metal is also frequently hastened
LEAD
Q7
by throwing ■water upon its surface, and whilst cooling it is kept constantly a^tated
by means of a long iron stirrer or slice. Crystals soon begin to make their appear-
ance, and tliese as they accumulate and fall to the bottom are removed by means of a
large perforated ladle, in which they are well shaken, and afterwards carried over
to the next pot to the left of the workman. This operation goes on continually until
about 4 tons of crystals have been taken out of the pot r, and have been placed in
pot E, at which time the pot F may contain about 40 oz. of silver to the ton, whilst
that in e -will only yield 10 oz. The rich lead in f is then laded into the next pot o,
to the right of the workman, and the operation repeated in f, on a fresh quantity of
calcined lead.
In this way calcined lead is constantly introduced, and the resulting poor lead
passes continually to the left of the workman, whilst the rich is passing towards his
right. Each pot in succession, when filled with lead of its proper produce for silver,
is in its turn crystallised, the poor lead passing to the left of the workman, and the
enriched lead to his right. By this method of treatment it is evident that the crystals
obtained from the pots to the left of the workman must gradually be deprived
of their silver, whilst the rich lead passing to his right becomes continually
richer. The final result is, that at one end of the series the poor lead contains
very little silver, whilst at the other an exceedingly rich alloy of lead and silver is
obtained.
The poor lead obtained by this process should never contain more than 12 dwts. of
silver per ton, whilst the rich lead is frequently concentrated to 600 oz. to the ton.
This rich lead is subsequently cupelled in the refining furnace.
The ladle employed for the removal of the crystals, when manual labour is made
use of, is about 16 inches in diameter, and 5 inches in depth, but when cranes are
used, much larger ladles are easily managed. A form of crane has been invented
wliich effects considerable economy of labour in this operation. When, during the
operation of crystallisation, the ladle becomes chilled, it is dipped into a small vessel
containing lead of a higher temperature than that which is being worked, and known
by the name of a temper-pot. The pot containing the rich lead is generally called
the No. 1 pot ; in some establishments, however, the last pot in which the poor lead
is crystallised obtains this appellation.
Figs, 1347 and 1348 represent a plan and elevation of a set of Pattinson's pots,
arranged in the most approved way. A. is the ' market pot,' from which the desil-
verised lead is laded out. b, c, d, e, f, g, h, and i, are the working pots, whilst a', b', c',
d', e', f', g', h', and i', are their respective fire-places. The ' temper pots,' aaaa, are
employed for heating the ladles when they have become too much reduced in tem-
perature.
1349
P
The figs. 1349 and 1350 are sections showing the manner of setting and the arrange-
ment of the pots and flues, a, pot ; b, main flue ; c, ash-pit.
The erection of nine six-ton pots requires 15,000 common bricks, 10,000 fire-bricks,
160 feet of quarles, 80 fire-clay blocks, and 5 tons of fire-clay.
In some establishments ten-ton pots are employed, and where cranes are made use
of they are found to be advantageous.
Befining. — The extraction of the silver contained in the rich lead is conducted in a
cupel forming the bottom of a reverberatory furnace called a refinery.
In this operation the litharge produced, instead of being absorbed by the substance
of the cupel, is run off in a fluid state, by means of a depression called a gate.
r2
68
LEAD
The size of the fire-place varies with the other, dimensions of the furnace, but is
usually nearly square, and in an apparatus of ordinary size may be about 2 feet x 2
feet 6 inches. This is separated from the body of the furnace by a fire-bridge 18
inches in breadth, so that the flame and heated air pass directly oyer the surface of
1350
the cupel, and from thence escape by means of two separate apertures into the main
flues of the establishment. The cupel or test consists of an oval iron ring, about 6
inches in depth, its greatest diameter being 4 feet, and its lesser nearly 3 feet. This
frame, in order to better support the bottom of the cupel, is provided with cross-bars
about 4 J inches wide and i inch in thickness. In order to make a test, this frame
is beaten full of finely-powdered bone-ash, slightly moistened with water, containing
a small quantity of pearlash in solution, which has the property of giving consistency
to the cupel when heated.
The centre of the test, after the ring has been well-filled with this mixture, and
solidly beaten down, is scooped out with a small trowel, until the sides are left 2 inches
in thickness at top, and three inches at the bottom, whilst the thickness of the sole
itself is about 1 inch.
At the fore part or wide end of the test the thickness of the border is increased to
6 inches, and a hole is then cut through the bottom, which communicates with the
openings or gates by which the fluid litharge makes its escape.
The test, when thus prepared, is placed in the refinery furnace, of which it forms
the bottom, and is wedged to its proper height against an iron ring firmly built into
the masonry. When this furnace is first lighted, it is necessary to apply the heat very
gradually, since if the test were too strongly heated before it became perfectly dry, it
would be liable to crack. As soon as the test has become thoroughly diy, it is
heated to incipient redness, and is nearly filled with the rich lead to be operated on,
which has been previously fused in an iron pot at the side of the furnace, and beneath
which is a small grate where a fire is lighted.
The melted lead, when first introduced into the furnace, becomes covered with a
greyish dross, but on further increasing the heat, the surface of the bath uncovers,
and ordinary litharge begins to make its appearance.
The blast is now turned on, and forces ^e litharge from the back of the test up to
the breast, where it passes over the gate, and falls through the aperture between
the bone-ash and the ring into a small cast-iron pot running on wheels. The air,
which is supplied by a small ventilator, not only sweeps the litharge from the sur-
face of the lead towards the breast, but also supplies the oxygen necessary for its
formation.
In proportion as the surface of the lead becomes depressed by its constant oxidation,
and the continual removal of the resulting litharge, more metal is added from the
melting pot, so as to raise it to its former level, and in this manner the operation is
continued until the lead in the bottom of the test has become so enriched as to render
it necessary that it should be tapped. The contents of the test are now so far reduced
in volume that the whole of the silver contained in the rich lead opei:ated on remains
in combination with a few hundred-weights only of metal, and this is removed by
carefully drilling a hole in the bone-ash forming the bottom of the test. The reason
for the removal of the rich lead, is to prevent too large an amount of silver from
being carried off in the litharge, which is found to be the case when lead containing
a very large amount of that metal is operated on.
When the rich lead has been thus removed, the tapping hole is again closed by a
pellet of bone-ash, and another chaise immediately introduced.
As soon as the whole of the rich lead has been subjected to cupellation, and has
become thus further enriched, the argentiferous alloy is itself similarly treated, either
LEAD
69
in a fresh test, or in that employed for the concentration of the rich lead. The
brightening of pure silver at the moment of the separation of the last traces of lead,
indicates the precise period at which the operation should be terminated, and the blast
is then turned off, and the fire removed from the grate. The silver is now allowed
to set, and as soon as it has become hardened, the wedges are removed from beneath
the test, which is placed on the floor of the establishment. When cold, the silver
plate is detached from the test, and any adhering particles of bone-ash removed by
the aid of a wire-brush.
A test furnace of ordinary dimensions requires for its construction about 2,000
common bricks, 2,000 fire-bricks, and li ton of fire-clay. A furnace of this kind
will work off 4 pigs of lead per hour, and consume i cwts. of coal per ton of rich
lead operated on.
1351
Fiffs. 1351, 1352, and 1353, represent an elevation, plan, and section of a refining
furnace; a, fire-place; b, ash-pit; c, fire-bridge; D, test-ring, shown in its proper
position ; e, flues ; f, point where blast enters ; c, pig-holes.*
1352
^##^^^^;^^^;.^^^>i F/^^/#^^/^fer<A^i
The cost of working a ton of rich lead in the neighbourhood of Newcastle, eon*
taining on an average 400 oz. of silver per ton, is as follows : —
Refiner's wages 4
Coals, 4 cwts. . . . t . > . •
Engine wages , . » 1
CoSs, 5 cwts. ........
Pearlash . > «
Bone-ash, l7'3 lbs. . 3
Eepairs .
d.
21
6-8
7-0
8-7
3-5
10
6-0
Total
10 101
» Pig-holes are used for introductag the lead in cases in which it Is not laded into the test to »
fused state.
70
LEAD
ParJces^ Pi-oeess of Desilverising Lead by Zine. — When lead and zinc are melted
together and allowed to cool slowly, an almost complete separation occurs, the zinc,
owing to its lower specific gravity and higher melting-point, cools first and may bo
1353
removed in a solid crust, wliile the lead is still liquid underneath. Mr. Alexander
Parkes of Birmingham, found that argentiferous lead might be freed from its silver
by melting with it zinc ; and in the process of cooling the zinc crystallises and takes
out the silver ; the silver may afterwards be removed from the zinc by dissolving in
hydrochloric or in dilute sulphuric acid, and the zinc may be used again and again for
melting with the lead. Mr. Parkes first patented his process in 1860 ; he improved it
in 1861 ; and in 1852, he was granted a third patent, entitled 'Improvements in sepa-
rating Silver from other Metals.' The process is as follows : There are two vessels
over separate fires, one a Pattinson pot of cast iron, which will hold 7 tons of molten
metal — this is for the lead — and a smaller one for melting the charge of zinc. When
the 7 tons of lead to be desilverised is melted, it is skimmed, the temperature is raised
to that of molten zinc, and the charge of zinc (about 1 cwt. to every ton of lead, or
1| lb. to every ounce of silver) which has been previously melted is laded into the
lead, and the whole well stirred with a perforated rabble to insure perfect intermix-
ture ; the mass is then left to gradually cool. When the surface has hardened, it is
skimmed off with a perforated ladle, and the surface of the liquid lead is skimmed off
as well. The lead thus treated contains about 10 dwts. of silver per ton. The
solidified zinc is placed in a retort, which is oval on bore, and placed a little on the
incline over a fire for the purpose of liquation ; it is heated above the melting point
of lead, but decidedly below that of zinc, and so the lead that is taken up with the
zinc drains off at the lower end of the retort into an iron pot placed convenient to it.
The zinc, which has been thus drained of the lead, but still contains the silver, is dis-
tilled in a Belgian retort with twice its bulk of lime and its own bulk of coal ; the
zinc, being much more volatile than the silver, is distilled over, and the residue is very
rich in silver. The partially-desilverised lead is submitted to a softening process for
the separation of any remaining zinc. It is kept melted at a good red heat for a
period of from 9 to 12 hours, during which time it is skimmed twice, first, after the
first three hours, and again half an hour before tapping. The lead is tapped into a
cast-iron receiver, and therein subjected to ' boiling ; ' that is, green wood is kept
submerged in it, held down by a lever. Lead treated in this manner is said to contain
a small quantity of silver, but no zinc.
These processes were supposed to have been improved by Flach, who patented
his processes in this country in 1866. Although Flach's process has been used, it is
said, with success on the Continent, it has never been permanently adopted in this
country.
The difficulty with Parkes' process has been the separation of the zinc from tlie
desilverised lead. A process for effecting this was patented by Cordurie of Toulouse
in 1866. Lead to be desilverised was treated by him in the usual manner with zinc.
After the removal of the crust of argentiferous zinc, superheated steam is passed into
the desilverised lead, whereby the zinc retained by the lead is oxidised by the oxygen
of the steam; this oxide rises to thesurface in the state of powder, and is skimmed
off. According to Gruner, who wrote on his process in the Annalcs des Mines, the
result at Eothschild's works at Havre was most satisfactory. The desilverised zinci-
I
LEAD 71
ferous lead contained 0"75 per cent, of zinc; but after it had been subjected to the
action of steam, it yielded only the most feeble traces of zinc.
A process for the desilvensation of lead by zinc has been described by E. Koch in
the Berg- und Huetten-maennisclie Zeitung. In order to make the process continuous
the author liquates his lead from copper in a reverberatory furnace with an in-
clined hearth. The liquated lead is received in a Pattinson kettle, which when it
coutiiins a charge is emptied by a siphon-tap into a lower kettle. In the second
kettle the antimony is oxidised by steam, and the lead then siphoned into the lower
kettles, where it is desilverised by zinc, the latter being fastened in front of the lower
mouth of the siphons, so as to bring it into intimate contact with the lead. The
desilverised lead is then siphoned into a still lower kettle, where the zinc is removed
by steam, and then siphoned into a still lower kettle, whence it is siphoned into iron
moulds. The advantages claimed for this method of plant are, a more perfect utilisa-
tion of heat, greater production of metals before the addition of zinc {i.e., copper and
antimony), saving in the amount of zinc, less wear of kettles, and a more suitable
shape of these last. ,
Decopperisation of Lead hy Zinc. — Mr. "W. Baker of Sheffield has successfully
carried out this process. AVhen a certain portion of zinc is melted with lead contain-
ing copper, a zinc alloy with a small portion of lead is formed, and most of the copper
is withdrawn from the lead with it, which floats on the surface in a pasty mass, and
may be skimmed oflF.
In operating upon 100 tons of lead containing from 10 to 15 oz. of copper to the
ton, the copper was reduced on the average to 1 oz. and 21 grs. per ton.
Mr. Baker thus describes the operation : Five tons of lead are melted, skimmed, and
kept sufficiently hot to prevent the metal setting at the sides of the pot. 28 lbs. of
zinc are melted with about 2 cwts. of lead in a small pot adjacent. This pot already
contains about 14 lbs. of zinc, together with some lead from a previous operation.
When quite liquid more lead is added from the larger pot, in order to dilute the alloy
before mixing with the entire charge. The contents of the small pot, which should
be not enough to prevent any alloy separating, are then added to the charge and
stirred well into the molted metal. The fire is now "nathdrawn, and the whole allowed
to cool down. In a short time a pasty alloy rises to the surface and is removed by a
perforated skimmer into the small pot. This operation is continued until the lead
begins to set at the sides of the pan. The charge must then be re-heated, and the
alloy in the small pot liquated by heating at a regulated temperature, which will
permit of the zinc alloy being removed from a quantity of zinciferous lead, which will
be left with only a trace of copper. 14 lbs. more zinc are now melted with this
residue in the small pot, and the operation is repeated. More certain results are
obtained by thus adding the zinc in two portions. Finally, all the zinc dross and
alloy are liquated in the small pot. The quantity of alloy obtained is about 1 cwt.
This will contain about 25 per cent, of zinc, or 28 lbs. of the zinc employed for one
operation. It may be estimated that 14 lbs. will be left in the decopperised lead, and
14 lbs. also in the liquated product remaining in the small pot ready for the next
operation. The zinc remaining in the decopperised lead is oxidised in a reverberatory
furnace with a slag bottom, or in a pan such as is used in the furnaces for softening
hard lead. In a round pan containing from 8 to 10 tons, set in a furnace of the latter
description, a charge was worked off in about 30 hours, including charging and tap-
ping out. From 90 tons an average of 95 per cent, of softened lead was obtained.
The dross was easily reduced, and yielded ordinary soft lead.
The zinc alloy containing copper and also most of the silver is best economised
by melting down in a small blast-furnace, when a rich argentiferous lead may bo
obtained.
Natro-Metallurgy. — The various processes of refining lead employed at the present
day causes, in cases where the metal is impure, considerable waste, and necessitate the
reduction of an enormous quantity of oxide, to which they are, besides, inadequate for
the removal of certain foreign metals. A new plan, which has recently been devised
by MM. Pagen and Eous of Marseilles, France, allows the complete refining of any
argentiferous lead without the formation of oxides of lead, and has, according to the
Chronique dc VIndustrk, the particular advantage of permitting the collection of all
foreign metals, of which the value maybe worth considering. The process is founded
on the property which a bath of caustic, hydrated, melted alkali possesses in dissolv-
ing, or at least oxidising, successively, all the metals except three, by drawing them
into a soluble scoria, in a state of igneous fusion. The three exceptions are lead,
silver, and gold. The metals united with the lead are, one after the other, removed
by melted soda, the action of the bath being maintained, first by a jet of steam,
designed to restore constantly the water of the hydrate from which the metals gain
oxygen, and urged according as the metals are in a less degree oxidisable, either by a
72 LEAD
blast of air, or finally, by carefully measured additions of nitrate of soda. The theory
of the reaction is as fbllows : By simple solution in water, soda abandons all the
oxides -which it holds in solution or suspension, and is evaporated and dried for use,
in the operation, almost without loss. The metals oxidise in the melted alkaline bath
in the order of their affinity for oxygen, an order modified, however — (1) by their
particular affinity for soda ; (2) by the action of affinity exercised by the largest mass
present. Thus, tin and the metals of platinum, although much less oxidisable than
lead or copper, are attacked very rapidly ; and before the latter in the soda-bath, by
reason of their propensity to act as electro-negative elements. Hence, also, in an
alloy very rich in lead the copper oxidises first. Another phenomenon of not less
importance is that the solutions of the oxides in the soda-bath act chemically in pre-
sence of the re-agents exactly as do the metallic salts dissolved in water. It is thus
in this igneous solution — all the metals are precipitated one after the other, in the
inverse order of their solubility, and in the direct order they preserve each other from
oxidation. In this respect even insoluble reducing agents, such as charcoal, may be
employed in the bath. The principal applications in the process are its adaptation,
not only to the refining of lead and the extraction of silver by the zinc process from
lead and argentiferous scoriae, but the purification of argentiferous copper and old
complex alloys; the treatment of ores of platinum, gold, silver, &c., of ores of
chromium, &c. Since March last the inventors have constructed a plant, and have
carried on the process at Marseilles ; and we learn that the hard leads of Greece
(containing 2^ per cent, antimony, 1 per cent, arsenic, ^ per cent, copper, and 1 to 2
per cent, iron and sulphur), hard Spanish lead, and other forms of the metal contain-
ing large quantities of foreign substances, have been successfully treated. A company
has been formed for the fusion of ores, separation of metals, and then refining by the
process of natro-metallurgy.
Seducing. — The reduction to the metallic state of the litharge from the refinery,
the pot-dross, and the mixed metallic oxides from the calcining furnace, is effected m
a reverberatory apparatus, somewhat resembling a smelting furnace, except that its
dimensions are smaller, and the sole, instead of being lowest immediately below the
middle door, gradually slopes from the fire-bridge to near the flue, where there is a
depression in which is inserted an iron gutter, which constantly remains open, and from
which the reduced metal flows continuously into an iron pot placed by the side of the
furnace for its reception, whence it is subsequently laded into moulds.
The litharge, or pot-dross, is intimately mixed with a quantity of small coal, and is
charged on that part of the hearth immediately before the fire-bridge. To prevent
the fused oxide from attacking the bottom of the furnace, and also to provide a sort
of hollow filter for the liquid metal, the sole is covered by a layer of bituminous
coal.
The heat of the furnace quickly causes the ignition of this stratum, which is rapidly
reduced to the state of a spongy cinder. The reducing gases present in the furnace,
aided by the coal mixed with the charge itself, cause the reduction of the oxide, which,
assuming the metallic form, flows through the interstices of the cinder, and ultimately
finding its way into the depression at the extremity of the hearth, flows through the
iron gutter into the external cast-iron pot. The surface of the charge is frequently,
during the process of elaboration, turned over with an iron rake, for the double pur-
pose of exposing new surfaces to the action of the fomace, and also to allow the
reduced lead to flow off more readily.
Fresh quantities of litharge, or pot-dross, with small coals, are from time to time
thrown in, in proportion as that already charged disappears, and at the end of the
shift, which usually extends over 12 hours, the floor of cinder is broken up, and after
being mixed with the residual matters in the furnace is withdrawn. A new floor of
cinders is then introduced, and the operation commenced as before. A furnace of
this kind, having a sole 8 feet in length and 7 feet in width, will afford, from litharge,
about 6 J tons of lead in 24 hours.
The dross from the calcining pan, when treated in a furnace of this description,
should be previously reduced to a state of fine division, and intimately mixed up with
email coal and soda-ash. In many cases, however, the calcined dross is treated in
the smelting furnace. The hard lead obtained from this substance is again taken to
the calcining furnace, for the purpose of bein^ softened.
In the establishment from which the foregoing data were obtained, the cost of slack,
delivered at the works, was only 2s. lid. per ton, which is cheaper than fuel can be
obtained in the majority of the lead-mills of this country. In North Wales the cost
of small coal is generally about 45., and at Bristol 5s. 6a. per ton.
Figs. 1354 and 1365 represent a vertical section and plan of a reducing-fumace.
A, fire-place ; b, ash-pit ; c, fire-bridge ; D, hearth ; b, worbng-door ; t, iron spout for
I
LEAD
73
conducting the reduced metal into the lead-pot o, which is kept heated by means of
a fire beneath.
1354
The total cost of elaborating one ton of hard lead, containing 30 oz, of silver pel*
ton, in a locality in which fuel is obtained at the low price above quoted, is nearly as
follows : —
£ s. d.
Calcining . ► » 2 4-4
Crystallising
Eefining
Reducing pot dross and litharge .
Calcined dross
Slags
Bone-ash, &c. . . , . .
Transport, &c.
Management, taxes, and interest of plant
Total .
One hundifed tons of hard ledd treated gave : —
9 6-5
9'2
1 0-8
8-0
50
7-0
1 1-0
5 10-0
1 2 3-9
Soft lead .
Black dfoss
Loss . .
Tona.
94-90
372
1-38
Total .
. 100-00
74 LEAD
On comparing the expense of each operation, as given, in the foregoing abstract,
mth the amounts stated as the cost of each separate process, they "will be found to
be widely different ; but it must be remembered that the whole of the substances
elaborated are far from being subjected to the various treatments described.
In order, therefore, to give an idea of the relative proportions which are passed
through the several departments, it may be stated that in an establishment in which
the ores are treated in the Castilian furnace the following were the results ob-
tained : —
One hundred parts of raw ore yielded :—
Boasted ore 85
Hard lead 42
Soft „ 36
Rich „ 9
Dross and litharge re- treated 18 J
It may be remarked that for the treatment of ores of good produce the reverbera-
tory furnace and Scotch hearth are to be preferred, but for working minerals of a
low percentage the blast-fumace may generally be substituted with advantage.
The slag-hearth, from the amount of fuel consumed and loss experienced, is a somewhat
expensive apparatus, and might in many cases be advantageously exchanged for the
Castilian furnace.
It is well known that the losses which take place in this branch of metallurgy are,
from the volatility of the metal operated on, unusually large. In those establish-
ments, however, in which due attention is paid to fluxes and a proper admixture of
ores, as well as the condensation of the fumes, a great economy is effected.
In some instances flues of above five miles in length have been constructed, and the
most satisfactory results obtained. The attention of lead-smelters is being daily more
directed to the prevention of the loss of metal by volatilisation, and those who have
adopted the use of long flues have been, in all cases, quickly repaid for their outlay.
As an example of the great extent to which sublimation may take place on the
scale employed in large smelting works, we may mention the lead-works belonging
to Mi". Beaumont in Northumberland. Formerly the fumes or smoke arising from
various smelting operations escaped from ordinary chimneys or short galleries, and
large quantities of lead were thus carried off in the state of vapour, and deposited
on the surrounding land, where vegetation was destroyed, and the health of both
men and animals seriously affected. This led to various extensions of the hori-
zontal or slightly-inclined galleries now in use, and the quantity of lead extracted
rapidly repaid the cost of construction. The latest addition of this kind was made
at Allen Mill, by Mr. Sopwith, the manager, and completed a length of 8,789 yards
(nearly five miles) of stone gallery from that mill alone. This gallery is 8 feet
high and 6 wide, and is in two divisions, widely separated. There are also upwards
of 4 miles of gallery for the same purpose connected with other mills belonging to Mr.
Beaumont in the same district, and in Durham. The value of the lead thus saved from
being totally dissipated and dispersed, and obtained from what in common parlance
might be called chimney-sweepings, considerably exceeds 10,000/. sterling annually,
and forms a striking illustration of the importance of economising our waste pro-
ducts.
In lieu of long and extensive flues, condensers of various descriptions have from
time to time been introduced, but in most induces the former have been found to bo
more efficient.
When, however, water can be procured for the purpose of cooling the condensers,
excellent results are generally obtained. — J. A. P.
See LrrHAKGE ; Red Lead ; Soldeh ; Sugar or Acetate ov Lead j TtPB MEtAt ;
and White Lead.
Lead Assaying The ores submitted to assay are galena or sulphide of lead,
cerussite or carbonate of lead, anglesito or sulphate of lead, and pyromoTphite or
phosphate of lead. For assay purposes, the ores of lead itiay be divided into two
classes '. —
The first class comprehends all the ores of lead which contain neither sulphur nor
arsenic, or in which they are present in small proportion only.
The second class comprises galena, together with all lead ores containing sulphur
or arsenic.
A common wind or air furnace is best adapted for making lead assays. For this
purpose the cavity for the reception of fuel should be 9 inches square, and the height
of the flue-way from the fire-bars about 14 inches. For ordinary ores a furnace 8
inches square and 12 inches deep will be found sufficient ; but as it is easy to regu-
LEAi) 75
late, by a damper, the heat of the larger apparatus, it is often found advantageous to
be able to produce a high temperature. A furnace of this kind should be connected
with a chimney of at least twenty feet in height, and be supplied with good coke,
broken into pieces of the size of eggs.
The air furnace (see Copper,/^. 533), is well adapted for the assaying of lead ores.
The ores should be dried in shallow, flat metal vessels, powdered and sifted through
a sieve of from 40 to 60 holes to the linear inch, preAaous to being submitted to
assay. The balance employed should carry 1,000 grs., and turn with ith of a
grain.
The tongs (see Coppeb, fig. 536) may be used for the assay with earthen crucibles.
For working with iron crucibles tongs of stronger and stouter make are desirable.
The iron mould {fig. 534) is used for receiving the assay products, or one containing
a deep conical cavity may be substituted for it. The fluxes should be employed in
the dry state.
Oees of the Fihst Class. — The assay of ores of this class is a simple operation,
care being only required that a sufficient amount of carbonaceous matter be added to
effect the rediiction of the metal, whilst such fluxes are supplied as will afford a
readily-fusible slag. When the sample has been properly powdered, 400 or 500
grains are weighed out, and well mixed with 600 or 600 grains of carbonate of soda,
and from 40 to 60 grains of finely-powdered charcoal, according to the richness of the
mineral operated on. This is introduced into an earthen crucible, of such a size as
not to be more than one-half filled by the mixture, and on the top is placed a thin
layer of the flux. The crucible is then placed in the furnace and gently heated, care
being taken to so moderate the temperature, that the mixture of ore and flux, which
soon begins to soften and enter into ebullition, may not swell up and flow over. If
the action in the crucible becomes too strong, it must be checked by a due regulation
of the heat by means of a damper. "When the action has subsided, the temperature
is again raised for a few minutes, and the assay completed in about half an hour.
During the process of reduction, the heat should not exceed dull redness ; but in order
to complete the operation, and render the slag sufficiently liquid, the temperature
should bo raised to bright redness. When the contents have been reduced to a state
of tranquil fusion, the crucible must be removed from the fire, and the assay either
rapidly poured, or, after being tapped against some hard body to collect the lead iu
a single globule, be set to cool. When the operation has been successfully conducted,
the cooled slag will present a smooth concave surface, with a more or less vitreous
lustre. When cold, the crucible may be broken, and the button extracted. To remove
from it the particles of adhering slag, it is hammered on an anvil, and afterwards
rubbed with a hard brush. Instead of empleying carbonate of soda and powdered
charcoal, the ore may be fused with 1^ times its weight of black flux, and the
mixtxire covered by a thin layer of borax. Good results are also obtained by mixing
together 400 grains of ore with an equal weight of carbonate of soda and half that
quantity of crude tartar. These ingredients, after being well incorporated, are placed
in a crucible, and slightly covered by a layer of borax. Each of the foregoing
methods yields good results, and affords slags retaining but a small proportion of
lead.
Ores op the Second Class. — This class comprehends galena, which is the most
common and abundant ore of lead, and also comprises sundry metallurgic products, as
well as the sulphates and arsenates of lead.
The assay of galena and other substances is variously conducted ; but one of the
following methods is usually employed for commercial purposes : —
Assay in an earthen crucible with metallic iron. — Mix 400 or 500 grs. of the ore
with about an equal weight of carbonate of soda, and, after having placed it in the
earthen crucible, of which it should occupy about one half the capacity, insert with
tlieir heads downward three or four tenpenny nails, and press the mixture firmly
around them. On the top place a thin layer of borax. The whole is now introduced
into the furnace, and gradually heated to redness ; at the expiration of 1;en minutes
the temperature is increased to bright redness, and the heat continued until the fused
fluxes present a perfectly smooth surface. When this has taken place the pot is
removed from the flre, and the nails are separately withdrawnby the use of a small
pair of tongs, care being taken to well cleanse each in the fluid slag until free from
adhering lead. When the nails have been thus removed, the pot is gently shaken, to
collect the metal into one button, and laid aside to cool ; after which it may be broken,
and the button removed. Instead of first allowing the slags to cool, and then breaking
the crucible, the assay may, if preferred, after the withdrawal of the nails, be poured
into a mould (see Coppeh, fig. 534). Hoop iron or iron rod may be used, instead of
the iron nails. The assay should be completed in from 25 to 30 minutes.
Assay in an iron ^ot with fluxes. — Instead of adding metallic iron to the mixture of
76 LEAD
ore and flux, it is generally better that the pot itself should be made of that metal.
For this purpose a piece of ^-inch plate iron is turned up in the form of a cnicible,
and carefully ■welded at the edges. The bottom is closed by a thick iron rivet, which
is securely ■welded to the sides, and the ■whole then finished on a properly-formed
mandril. To make an assay in a crucible of this kind, it is first heated to dull red-
ness, and, ■when sufficiently hot, 400 or 500 grs. of the po^wdered ore, intimately mixed
■with its own ■weight of carbonate of soda, half its weight of pearlash, and a small
quantity of crude tartar, is introduced by means of a copper scoop (see Coppeb, Jig.
635). On the top of the whole is placed a thin layer of borax, ■whilst the crucible,
which, for the ready introduction of the mixture, has been removed from the fire, is
at once replaced. The heat is now raised to redness, the contents gradually becoming
liquid, and giving oflF large quantities of gas. At the expiration of from 8 to 10
minutes the mixture ■will be in a state of complete fusion ; the contents of the pot are
now stirred with a small iron rod. Any matter adhering to its sides is scraped to the
bottom of the pot, and the temperature of the furnace is increased daring 3 or 4
minutes to bright redness.
The crucible is then seized by a strong pair of bent tongs, on that part of the edge
which is opposite the lip, and its contents rapidly poured into a cast-iron mould (see
Copper, /iff. 634), The sides of the pot are now carefully scraped do^wn with a chisel-
edge bar of iron, and any adhering particles of metallic lead added to the portion first
obtained. When sufficiently cooled the contents of the mould are easily removed, and
the button of lead cleaned and weighed. By this process pure galena yields 84 per
cent, of metallic lead, free from any injurious amount of iron, and perfectly ductile
and malleable. This method of assaying, with various modifications, is that adopted
in almost all lead-smelting establishments, and has the advantage of affijrding good
results ■with all the ores belonging to the second class.
Assay in the iron dish without fluxes. — In some of the mining districts of Wales the
assay of lead ore is conducted in a manner somewhat difierent from that just described.
Instead of fusing the ore in an iron crucible •with fluxes, the fusion is effected in a
flat shallow iron dish, having a hemispherical ca^vity of about 4^ inches in diameter,
and about 1 inch in depth in the centre. 10 oz. of the ore are operated on, and the
assay is made by the aid of a blacksmith's forge-fire. The ore is placed in the iron
dish, provided with a sheet-iron cover, and heated for about 5 minutes, and the re-
duced metal poured out into a mould. The iron dish is then replaced on the fire, and
the heat continued for about 5 minutes, until the regulus (slurry) is fused ; the con-
tents are then poured out into a mould, the lead detached, and added to the first
portion of lead obtained ; and the whole weighed. Galena wall yield as much as 82
per cent, of lead by this method. In some works the assay is made in an iron crucible
■without fiuxes, instead of the iron dish.
Estimation of silver contained in lead ores. — All varieties of lead ore contain silver,
and it is consequently necessary, in order to judge of their commercial value, to ascer-
tain the exact amount of this metal which they afford. This is effected by the process
of Cupdlation. See Silvek.
In order, therefore, to separate the silver present in buttons resulting from ordinary
lead assays, it is only necessary to expose them, on a cupel, to such a temperature as
will rapidly oxidise the lead. The oxide of lead, or litharge, produced is absorbed by
the porous body on which the assay is supported, and nothing but a small button of
silver ultimately remains on the test. These supports or cupels are made of bone-
ash, slightly moistened with a little water, and consolidated by being pressed into a
mould. The furnace employed for this purpose is described in the article Sh-ver, as
is also the muffle or D-shaped retort in which the cupels are heated.
As soon as the muffle has become red hot, the cupels that have been drying in the
mouth of the opening are introduced by means of proper tongs, on the bottom of the
muffle, pre^nously covered with a thin layer of bone-ash, in order to prevent its being
attacked in case of any portion of litharge coming in contact with it during the pro-
gress of the subsequent operations. The open end of the muffle is now closed by
means of a proper door, and the cupels are thus rapidly heated to the temperature of
the muffle itself. When this has been effected the door is removed, and into each of
the cupels is introduced, by the aid of slender steel tongs, a button of the lead to be
assayed. The mouth of the muffle is again closed during a few minutes to facilitate
the fusion of the alloy ; when the oxide begins to pass off the surface of the metallic
product, the assay is said to be uncovered. The lead is now quickly converted into
litharge, which is absorbed by the cupel as fast as it is produced, whilst at the same
time there arises a white vapour, which is gradually carried off by the door and throiigh
the openings in the sides and end. A circular stain is at the same time formed around
the globule of melted metal, which gradually extends and penetrates into the sub-
stance of the cupel. When nearly the whole of the lead has thus been removed, the
I
LEAD
77
remaining bead of silver appears to become agitated by a rapid motion, which seems
to make it revolve ■with great rapidity. At this stage the motion will be observed
suddenly to cease, and the button becomes immoveable. This is called the brightening
of the assay, and a button of silver now remains on- the cupel.
Jf the cupel were now abruptly removed from the muflle, the globule of silver
Showing the Quantity/ of Lead Ore raised and smelted, average Metallic Yield of Ore
per Cent,, and Batio of Lead 'produced in various Tarts of tho United Kingdom,
during Ten Years ending 1857.
England
Wales
Ireland
Scotland
Isle of Man
Total
Years
Lead
Ore
Lead
Lead
Ore
Lead
Lead
Ore
Lead
Lead
Ore
Lead
Lead
Ore
Lead
Lead
Ore
Lead
tons
tons
tons
tons
tons
tons
tons
tons
tons
tons
tons
' tons
1848 .. .
54,638
39,142
16,305
11,122
1,912
1,188
2,688
1,736
2,521
1,665
77,864
54,853
1849
60,124
41,168
19,711
13,389
2,739
1,653
1,421
957
2,826
1,535
86,821
58,702
1850
63,565
44,462
21,093
14,876
2,895
1,746
3,117
2,124
2,175
1,218
92,845
64,426
1851
64,102
45,103
19,314
14,813
3,222
1,829
3,113
2,140
2,560
1,402
92,311
65,287
1852
62,411
43,813
18,379
13,798
4,493
3,222
3,499
2,381
2,415
1,835
91,197
64,959
1853
69,342
41,897
17,131
12,870
3,309
2,452
2,799
1,919
2,460
1,829
85,041
60,967
1854
64,796
44,986
18,130
13,367
3,069
2,210
1,753
1,279
2,800
2,137
90,548
63,979
1855
66,270
46,244
18,206
13,673
2,405
1,732
1,587
1,159
3,573
2,726
92,041
65,533
1856
74,489
62,868
19,873
14,791
2,484
1,602
1,931
1,417
8,218
2,451
101,997
73,129
1857 ,
68,520
48,356
21,455
16,124
2,299
1,407
1,891
1,351
2,666
2,028
96,821
96,266
Average metallic
638,157
448,039
189,597
138,733
28,827
19,041
23,699il6,463
27,204
18,825
907,486 644,101
yield of ore
70-2
73-1
66-0
69-4
69-1
70-6
Batio of lead pro-
duced .
69-9
21-7
3-0
2-5
2-1
100
Table of Lead Ores, Lead, and Silver produced from them in the United Kingdom from
the gear 1848, showing the Quantity of Ore required to make 100 Tons of Lead, the
Quantity of Lead in 100 Tons of Ore, and the Ounces of Silver in a Ton of Lead,
for the same period.
Ore to make
Lead in
Silver in
Years
Lead Ore
Lead
Silver
100 Tons of
Lead
100 Tons of
Ore
a Ton of
Lead
tons
tons
ozs.
tons
tons
ozs.
1848
78,944
53,373
•••
147-909
67-608
...
1849
86,823
68,715
...
147-871
67-626
• ••
1850
92,958
64,429
«..
144-279
69-309
.,,
1851
92,312
65,289
...
141-389
70-726
...
1852
91,198
64,961
140-388
71-230
1853
85,843
60,969
496,475
139-485
71-691
8-143
1854
90,554
64,005
562,659
141-479
70-681
8-798
1855
92,251
65,691
561,906
140-430
71-209
8-553
1856
101,997
73,129
614,188
139-476
71-696
8-798
1857
96,820
69,266
532,866
139-780
71-541
7-693
1858
95,855
68,303
509,345
140-377
71-256
8-336
1859
91,353
62,382
678,275
146-441
68-286
9-270
1860
88,791
63,225
549,090
140-436
71-206
8-684
1861
90,666
65,644
570.474
138117
72-402
8-690
1862
95,312
69,013
686,123
138-107
72-407
9-942
1863
91,283
68,221
634,004
133-804
74-735
9-293
1864
94,463
67,081
641,088
140-819
71-013
9-957
1865
90,452
67,251
724,856
134-499
74-349
10-778
1866
91,051
67,391
636,688
135-108
74-014
9-447
1867
93,432
68,441
805,394
136-514
73-252
11-767
1868
95,236
71,017
841,328
134-103
74-568
11-846
1869
96,866
73,259
831,891
132-224
75-629
11-355
1870
98,176
73,420
784,562
133-718
74-783
10-687
1871
93,965
69,037
761,490
136-108
73-470
11-030
1872
81,564
60,420
628,920
138-89
72-000
10-403
78
LEAD
Summary of Lead Ore, Lead, and Silver Produce of 1872.
No. of
Mines
Counties
Lead Ore
Lead
Silver
tons
cwts.
tons
cwts.
ozs.
England:
18
Cornwall .
5,463
10
4,098
15
207,710
o
Devonshire .
746
9
522
6
10,392
4
Somersetshire
1,322
6
•602
18
...
194
Derbyshire .
6,612
4,191
2
1,000
2
Staflfordshire
280
8
210
11
...
10
Shropshire .
7,386
17
6,602
6
2,960
34
Yorkshire .
6,202
6
3,873
3
600
30
Cumberland
3,721
17
3,813
2
30,159
7
Westmoreland
1,679
2
1,259
8
17,620
32
Durham and Northumberlam
Wat,f,s :
i 19,106
10
14,399
4
. 72.175
1
Breconshire .
8
6
• ••
40
Cardiganshire
6,764
3
4,998
13
41,690
1
Caermarthenshire
651
475
15
2,382
1
Pembrokeshire .
130
97
10
490
1
Eadnorshire
32
13
24
15
. .125
11
Montgomeryshire
8,059
14
6,042
65J12
1
Merionethshire .
17
6
13
>••
6
Denbighshire
3,677
18
2,758
17
14,479
29
Flintshire .
3,208
6
2,435
7
18,650
12
Carnarvonshiro .
397
15
297
1
500
10
Isle of Man .
3,529
2,639
2
'145,433
2
iBELi-ND .
962
726
5
1,040
4
455
Scotland .
3,605
6
2,331
7
5,900
Total of the Unite
■
dKi:
igdon
1 81,564
2
60,420
11
628,920
would be liable to vegetate, by which a portion of the metal might be thrown off, and
a certain amount of loss be thereby entailed. To prevent this, the cupel in which the
assay has brightened should be immediately covered by another, kept red hot for that
purpose. The two are now gradually withdrawn together, and, after having suffi-
cently cooled, the upper cupel is removed, and the globule of silver detached and
cleaned as follows : —
The globule is now laid hold of by a pair of fine pliers and flattened on a small
steel anvil, by which the oxide of lead which may have attached itself to it becomes
pulverised, and is temoved by rubbing with a small hard brush. The flattened disc
is then examined, in order to be sure that it is perfectly clean, and afterwards weighed
in a balance capable of turning with ^i^th of a grain.
The cupellations should be conducted at the lowest possible heat at which they can
be effected. The temperature best fitted for this operation is obtained when the
muffle is at a red heat, and the vapours which arise from the assays curl gradually
away, and are finally removed by the draught. When the muffle is heated to white-
ness, and the vapours rise to the top of the arch, the heat is too great : and when, on
the contrary, the fumes lie over the bottom, and the sides of the openings in the
muffle begin to darken, either a little more fuel must be added or tlie draught in-
creased. If an assay has been properly conducted, tlie button of silver obtained is
round, bright, and smooth on its upper surface, and beneath crystalline, and of a dead
white colour ; easily removed from the cupel, and readily freed from litharge.
When the ores of lead, in addition to silver, contain gold, the button remaining on
the cupel is an alloy of these metals. For the method of estimating the gold, see
G0LD.'%
For commercial purposes the silver contained in any given ore is estimated in
ounces, pennyweights, and grains troy upon the statute ton avoirdupois of 2,240 lbs.
It is customary to return the silver obtained from lead ores upon the ton of lead as
yielded by assay, and not upon the ton of ore. For a Table to facilitate calculation,
see SiLVSB.
I
I
LEAD-SHOT 79
Lead imported into the United Kingdom in the Year 1872.
Quantities
Description of Lead tons
Lead ore 14,560
Lead, pig and eheet .... 69,841
Lead manufactures . . . . 441
British and Foreign Lead exported in the Year 1872.
British Foreign
Description of Lead tons tons
Lead ore 1,004 1,404
Pig lead 33,403 691
Lead, rolled, sheet, piping, and tubing . 10,927
Lead manufactured 4
3bELA3>-SBOT. {Plomb de Chasse, Fr, ; Schrot, Flintenschrot, Ger.) The origin
of most of the imperfections in the manufacture of lead-shot is the too rapid cooling
of the spherules by their being dropped too hot into the water, whereby their surfaces
form a solid crust, while their interior remains fluid, and, in its subsequent concretions,
shrinks, so as to produce the irregularities of the shot.
The patent shot-towers originally constructed in England obviate this evil by ex-
posing the fused spherules after they pass through the cullender, to a large body of
air during their descent into the water-tub placed on the ground. The highest erec-
tion of this kind is probably at Villach in Carinthia, being 240 Vienna, or 249 English
feet high.
The quantity of arsenic added to the mass of melted lead varies according to the
quality of this metal ; the harder and less ductile the lead is, the more arsenic must
be added- About 3 pounds of either white arsenic or orpiment is enough for one
thousand parts of soft lead, and about 8 for the coarser kinds. The latter are em-
ployed preferably for shot, as they are cheaper, and answer suiiiciently well. The
arsenical alloy is made either by introducing some of this substance at each melting ;
or by making a quantity of the compound considerably stronger at once, and adding
a certain portion of this to each charge of lead. If the particles of the shot appear
lens-shaped, it is a proof that the proportion of arsenic has been too great ; but
if they are flattened upon the side, if they are hollowed in their middle, called
cupping by the workmen, or drag with a tail behind them, the proportion of arsenic is
too small.
The following is the process prescribed by the patentees, Ackerman and Martin.
Melt a ton of soft lead, and sprinkle round its sides in the iron pot about two shovel-
fuls of wood ashes, taking care to leave the centre clear; then put into the middle
about 40 pounds of arsenic to form a rich alloy with the lead. Cover the pot with
an iron lid, and lute the joints quickly with loam or mortar to confine the arsenical
vapours, keeping up a moderate fire to maintain the mixture fluid for three or four
hours ; after which skim carefully, and run the alloy into moulds to form ingots or pigs.
The composition thus made is to be put in the proportion of one pig or ingot into 1,000
pounds of melted oKlinary lead. "WTien the whole is well combined, take a perforated
skimmer, and let a few drops of it fall from some height into a tub of water. If they
do not appear globular, some more arsenical aUoy must be added.
Lead which contains a good deal of pewter or tin must be rejected, because it tends
to produce elongated drops or tails.
From two to three tons are usually melted at once in the large establishments. The
surface of the lead gets covered with a crust of oxide of a white spongy nature, some-
times called cream by the workmen, which is of use to coat over the bottom of the cul-
lender, because without such a bed the heavy melted lead would run too rapidly through
the holes for the granulating process, and would form oblong spheroids. The mount-
ing of this filter, or lining of the cullender, is reckoned to bo a nice operation by tlie
workmen, and is regarded usually as a valuable secret.
The cullenders are hollow hemispheres of sheet-iron, about 10 inches in diameter,
perforated with holes, which should be perfectly round and free from burs. These
must be of an uniform size in each cullender ; but of course a series of different cul-
lenders with sorted holes for every different size of lead-shot must be prepared. The
holes have nearly the following diameters for the annexed numbers of shot : —
No. oV of an inch.
1 5^5 "
2 ^ „
4. ...... ^ II
80 LEAD, SALTS OF
From No. 5 to No, 9 the diameter decreases by regular gradations, the latter being
only jggth of au inch.
The operation is always carried on •with three cullenders at a time, which are sup-
ported upon projecting grates of a kind of chafing-dish made of sheet-iron somewhat
like a triangle. This chafing-dish should be placed immediately above the fall, while
at its bottom there must be a tub half-filled with water for receiving the granulated lead.
The cullenders are not in contact, but must be parted by burning charcoal in order to
keep the lead constantly at the proper temperature, and to prevent its solidifying in the
filter. The temperature of the lead-bath should vary with the size of the shot ; for the
largest, it should be such that a bit of straw plunged into it will be scarcely browned,
but for all it should be nicely regulated. The height from which the particles should
be let fall varies likewise with the size of the shot ; as the congelation is the more
rapid, the smaller they are. With a fall of 33 yards or 100 feet, from No. 4 to No. 9
may be made : but for larger sizes, 150 feet of height will be required.
Everything being arranged as above described, the workman puts the filter-stufiP
into the cullender, pressing it well against the sides. He next pours lead into it with
an iron ladle, but not in too great quantity at a time, lest it should run through too
fast. The shot thereby formed and found in the tub are not all equal.
The centre of the cidlender being less hot affords larger shot than the sides, which
are constantly surrounded with burning charcoal. Occasionally, also, the three cul-
lenders employed together may have holes of different sizes, in which case the tub
may contain shot of very various magnitudes. These are separated from each other
by square sieves of different fineness, 10 inches broad and 16 inches long, their bottoms
being of sheet-iron pierced with holes of the same diameters as those of the cullenders.
These sieves are suspended by means of two bands above boxes for receinng the
shot ; one sieve being usually set above another in consecutive numbers, for instance,
I and 2. The shot being put into the upper sieve, No. will remain in it ; No. 1 ■vs'ill
remain in the lower sieve, and No. 2 will, with all the others, pass through it into the
chest below. It is obvious that by substituting sieves of successive fineness, shot of
any dimensions may be sorted.
In the preceding process the shot has been sorted to size ; it must next be sorted to
form, so as to separate all the spheroids which are not truly round, or are defective in
any respect. For this purpose a board is made use of about 27 inches long and 16
broad, furnished partially with upright ledges ; upon this tray a handful or two of the
shot to be sorted being laid, it is inclined very slightly, and gently shaken in the hori-
zontal direction, when the globular particles run down by one edge, into a chest set to
receive them, while those of irregular forms remain on the sides of the tray, and are
reserved to be re-melted.
After being sorted in this way, the shot requires still to be smoothed and polished
bright. This object is effected by putting it into a small octagonal cask, through a
door in its side, turning upon a horizontal iron axis, with rests in plummer boxes at its
ends, and is made to revolve by any mechanical power. A certain quantity of plumbago
or black-lead is put into the cask along with the shot.
XiEAS, SA3bTS OF. The following are the chief artificial salts : —
Caebonatb of Lead. See WHrrE Lead.
NiTBATE of Lead (Nitrate de plomb, Fr. ; Salpetersaures bleioxj/d, Ger.), is made
by saturating somewhat dilute nitric acid with oxide of lead (litharge), evapo-
rating the neutral solution till a pellicle appears, and then exposing it in a hot
chamber till it be converted into crystals, which are sometimes transparent, but gene-
rally opaque white octahedrons. Their spec. grav. is 4"068 ; they have a cooling,
sweetish, pungent taste. They dissolve in 7 parts of cold, and in much less boiling
water ; they fuse at a moderate elevation of temperature, emit oxygen gas, and pass
into oxide of lead. Their constituents are 67*3 oxide and 327 acid. Nitrate of lead
is much employed in the chrome-yellow style of Calico-Phintixg.
There are three other compounds of nitric acid and lead oxide : viz. the bi-basic,
the tri-basic, and the sex-basic ; which contain respectively 2, 3, and 6 atoms of base to
1 of acid.
OxTCOLOBiDB OF Lkat). — A white pigment patented by the late Mr. Hugh Lee
Pattinson, of Newcastle, which he prepared by precipitating a solution of chloride of
lead in hot water with pure lime-water, in equal measures ; the mixture being made
with agitation. As the operation of mixing the lime-water and the solution of
chloride of lead requires to be performed in an instantaneous manner, tlie patentee
prefers to employ for this purpose two tumbling boxes of about 16 feet cubic capacity,
which are charged with the two liquids, and simultaneously upset into a cistern in
which oxychloride of lead is instantaneously formed, and from which the mixture fiows
into other cisterns, where the oxychloride subsides. This white pigment consists of
one atom of chloride of lead and one atom of oxide of lead, with or without an atom
of water.
I
LEATHER 81
The salts of lead, beyond those already named, which enter into any of our manu-
factures, are few and unimportant. Watts'* Dictionary of Chemistry should bo con-
suited for them.
XiEAB, REB. See Bed Lead.
XiEAB, VITBITS. See White Lead.
KE ABHZXi&XTB. A sulphate-carbonate of lead found at Leadbills, in Lanarkshire,
Scotland.
1EA.TBEB (Ctcir, Fr. ; Leder, Ger. ; Leer, Dutch; Leeder, Danish; Lader,
Swedish ; Ctcojo, Italian ; Cuero, Spanish ; Kusha, Eussian). This substance con-
sists of the skins of animals, chemically changed by the process called tanning.
Throughout the civilised world, and from the most ancient times this substance has
been employed by man for a variety of purposes. Barbarous and savage tribes use
the skins of beasts as skins ; civilised man renders the same substance unalterable by
the external agents which tend to decompose it in its natural state, and by a variety
of peculiar manipulations prepares it for almost innumerable applications.
Although the preparation of this valuable substance in a rude manner has been
known from the most ancient times, it was not until the end of the last, and the
beginning of the present century (1800) that it began to be manufactured upon right
principles, in consequence of the researches of Macbride, Deyeux, Seguin, and Davy.
Skins may be converted into leather either with or without their hair ; generally,
however, the hair is removed.
The most important and costly kinds are comprised under sole leather and upper
leather, to which may be added harness leather, belts used in machinery, leather
hose, &c., but as far as the tanner is concerned, these are comprehended almost en-
tirely in the kinds known as upper leather.
The active principle by which the skins of animals are prevented from putrefying,
and at the same time, under some modes of preparation, rendered comparatively im-
pervious to water, is called tannin, or tannic acid, a property found in the bark of the
various species of Quercus, but especially plentiful in the gall-nut. When obtained
pure, as it may easily be from the gall-nut, by chemical means, tannic acid appears as
a slightly yellowish, almost a colourless mass, readily soluble in water; it precipitates
gelatin from solution, forming what has been called tannogelatin. Tannic acid also
precipitates albumen and starch. There can be little difficulty, after knowing the
chemical combination just alluded to, in understanding the peculiar and striking
change produced on animal substance in the formation of leather. The hide or skin
consists principally of gelatin, for which the vegetable astringent tannin has an
affinity, and the chemical union of these substances in the process of tanning pro-
duces the useful article of which we are treating.
Before entering upon the various processes by which the changes are effected on
the animal fibre, it noay not be uninteresting to speak of some of the principal as-
tringents used for the purpose of producing these effects.
Bark obtained from the oak-tree is the most valuable and the most extensively used
ingredient in tanning, and for a long time no other substance was used in England
for the purpose. In consequence of the demand having become very much greater
than the supply, and the consequent increase in the price of the article, it became
necessary to investigate its properties, in order, if possible, to furnish the required
quantity of tanning matter from other sources. Among other substitutes which
were tried with some success in other countries may be mentioned heath, myrtle
leaves, vdld laurel leaves, birch-tree bark, and (according to the ' Penny Cyclopaedia ')
in 1765 oak-sawdust was applied in England, and has since been used in Germany
for this purpose.
Investigation proved that the tanning power of oak-bark consisted in a peculiar
astringent property, to which the name of tannin has been given, and this discovery
suggested that other bodies possessing this property would be suitable substitutes.
According to Sir H. Davy the following proportions of tannin in the different sub-
stances mentioned will be found : — ' 8 J lbs. of oak-bark are equal to 2J lbs. of galls,
to 3 lbs. of sumach, to 7^ lbs. of bark of Leicester willow, to 1 1 lbs. of the bark of the
Spanish chestnut, to 18 lbs. of elm-bark, and to 21 lbs. of common willow-bark.' —
Penny Cyclcypcedia.
Oak-babk contains more tannin when cut in spring by four and a half times
than when cut in winter ; it is also more plentiful in young trees than in old ones.
About 40,000 tons of oak-bark are said to be imported into this country annually,
from the Netherlands, Germany, and ports in the Mediterranean. The quantity of
English oak-bark used we have no means of ascertaining. It is prepared for use by
grinding it to a coarse powder between cast-iron cylinders, and laid into the tan-pits
alternately with the skins to be tanned. Sometimes, however, as will be hereafter
noticed, an infusion of the bark in water is employed with better effect. See Oak-Babk.
Vol. III.
82
LEATHER
Mimosa. — Tho bark and pods of several kinds of Prosopis, the astringent properties
of which have rendered them valuable in tanning, are known in commerce by this
name. The Mimosm are a division of the leguminous order of plants, which consists
of a large number of species, the Acacia being the principal. Tho sensitive plants
belong to this division. The Prosopis is found in India and South America ; the genus
consists both of shrubs and trees.
Valonia. — The oak which produces this acorn is the Quercus Mgilops, or great
prickly-cupped oak {figs. 1356, 1357). These are exported from "the Morea and
Levant; the husk contains an abundance of tannin.
1356
1357
09 .
. 97
68 .
. 73
13 .
. 16
10 .
. 14
Catechu, or Terra Japonica, is the inspissated extract of the Acacia catechu. At
the time the sap is most perfectly formed the bark of the plant is taken off, the tree is
then felled, and the outer part removed ; the heart of the tree, which is brown, is cut
into pieces and boiled in water ; when sufficiently boiled it is placed in the sun, and,
subject to various manip\ilations, gradually dried. It is cut into square pieces, and
much resembles a mass of earth in appearance ; indeed, it was once considered to be
such, hence the name Terra Japonica,
We give Sir H. Davy's analysis ; the first numbers represent Bombay, the second
Bengal catechu : —
Tannin
Extractive
Mucilage
Impurities .....
This astringent is also obtained from the Uncaria Gambir.
DiviDivi is a leguminous plant of the genus Casalpinia (C. coriaria). The legumes
of this species are extremely astringent, and contain a very large quantity of tannic
.-,_ and gallic acid; they grow in a
very peculiar manner, and be-
come curiously curled as they
arrive to perfection (Jig. 1358).
The plant is a native of America,
between the tropics.
Sumach is a plant belonging
to the genus Ekus; several of
the species have astringent pro-
perties ; Shus cotinus and R.
coriaria are much used in tan-
ning ; the bark of the latter is
said to be the only ingredient
iised in Turkey for the purpose
of converting gelatin into leather.
That used in this country is ground to a fine powder, and is extensively applied to tho
production of bright leather, both by tanners and curriers.
Many other vegetable products have been from time to time proposed, and to some
extent adopted for the same end, but they need not be enumerated.
The process first attended to by the tanner is simply to soak the skin or hide in
water ; those from the home market may be said to be washed merely, as they remain
in water only a few hours ; while hides imported from foreign countries, and which
have been preserved by salting or drying, and especially the latter, require soaking for
a longer period, in order to render them supple, and beating or rubbing materially
assists in bringing them to the required condition.
LEATHER
88
After removing the horns, the softened or recent hides are laid in a heap for a short
time, after which they are suspended on poles in a close room called a smoke-house,
heated somewhat above the common temperature by a smouldering fire. In these
circumstances, a slight putrefaction supervenes, which loosens the epidermis, and
renders the hair easily detachable. This method for removing the hair is by no means
general in this country. The plan adopted is to place the hides in a large vat or
pit, containing milk of lime, in which they must be moved frequently, to allow the
lime to act equally on every part. When the menstruum has taken proper effect, the
hair is easily removed, and for this purpose the hide is spread out, and a blunt tool
is worked over the surface. The hair being removed, the hide is washed in water to
cleanse it from the lime, which must be most thoroughly effected.
The heaviest hides are for the most part tanned for sole leather, and as the thinner
parts are cut off previous to their being prepared for sale, they have received the
name of butts or backs : the various processes through which these pass will be first
described.
After removing the hair and washing, the hides are placed on a convex beam {fig.
1359), and worked with a concave tool with two handles {fig. 1360), in order to remove
any flesh or fatty matter which
may adhere to them ; this 1359
being done, they are worked
on the same beam, on the
grain side, to drive out the
grease and remove any re-
maining hair. The fleshings
are pressed into cakes, and
sold for making glue, as are
all such portions of the hide
or skin as cannot be conve-
niently worked. The hair is
sold to plasterers, to be used
in their mortar ; and the tails,
also for the hair, to sofa-
makers and others requiring
such materials.
Such hides as are designed
for machinery purposes are
next immersed in a pit con-
taining water impregnated
with sulphuric acid, the acid varying from ji^th to y^th of the mixture. This process
is called raising, because it distends the pores, and makes the fibres swell, so as to
become more susceptible of the action of tanning infusions. Forty-eight hours in
general sufl&ce for this operation, but more time may be safely taken. From the
term raising it will be concluded that the substance of the hide is increased, and
this is the fact ; but as the gelatine is not increased, it is said that the shoemaker's
hammer would condense the leather so much that it would lose any supposed ad-
vantage arising out of this increase in thickness. There is, however, a method
of augmenting the substance of sole leather called puffing, which, when once commu-
nicated, appears to exist permanently ; the process is known to a small extent only,
and the material is said to be considerably injured by this mode of preparation.
When the hides are sufficientlj' raised, they are transferred to a pit supplied with a
weak infusion of bark ; here they are handled, at first several times a day ; that is, they
are drawn out of the pits, or moved up and down in the liquor, to prevent the grain
from being drawn into wrinkles. As the ooze, or tanning infusion, takes effect, they
are put into pits containing stronger liquors, and after a month or six weeks they are
placed in a pit, in which they are stratified with oak-bark, ground by a proper mill
into a coarse powder. The pit is then filled with an infusion of bark. In a month
or five weeks the tanning and extractive matter of the bark will have intimately
combined with the animal fibre ; the pit, exhausted of its virtue, must be renewed by
taking out the spent bark, and repeating the dose as in the first instance. The hides,
which were placed at the top of the pit at first, are now put into the bottom, to equa-
lise the action. In about three months this also is spent, and the process being
repeated two or tliree times more, the operation is complete. The hides are now re-
moved from the pit, and hung up in a shed. In the progress of drying they are com-
pressed with a steel tool, and afterwards they are subjected to the action of a brass
roller. The steel tool is called a^i« ; it is of a triangular shape {fig. 1361), with the sides
scooped out {fig. 1362), presenting three blunt edges. The butt is thrown across a pole,
and the workman, taking the pin by the handles a,a{fig. 1361), presses it forcibly over
e2
84
LEATHER
the grain-side of the leather; after carefully compressing every part in this -way, the
butt is laid upon a flat bed of solid wood-work, prepared for the purpose, and the brass
roller is worked backward and forward until every portion is sufficiently compressed
1361
{fig. 1363). The roller a is a cylinder varying from 9 to 12 inches in length, and from
7 to 10 inches in diameter; b is an open box over the roller, into which weights are
placed to make the necessary pressure, ten or twelve cwts. being frequently used for
the purpose ; c, c, forms a fulcrum for lifting the roller from the bed to the leather ;
d is the handle by which the machine is worked. When the compression is com-
pleted, the only thing remaining to be done is properly to dry the leather, and then it
is fit for the market.
Some manufacturers place on the bottom of the tan-pit five or six inches of spent
bark, and two or three inches of fresh bark over it, then a hide, and so alternately
bark and a hide, until the pit is nearly full, reserving a small space at the top for a
thicker layer of bark, over which weighted boards are laid, to condense the whole
down into the tanning infusion.
The operation of tanning sole leather by the above method occupies a year or more,
the time depending on the nature and stoutness of the hide.
A perfect leather is recognised by its section, which should have a glistening
marbled appearance, without any white streak in the middle.
Crop hides are manufactured very much like butts, that is to say, they are placed
in milk of lime until the hair is sufficiently loosened, equality of action being secured
by occasionally moving them in the menstruum ; they are then cleared of the hair and
other impurities by the fleshing knife, worked on the convex beam already described,
they are then freed from lime by thorough washing. The next process is to plunge
them into a weak ooze, from which they are transferred to other pits with stronger
ooze ; all the while they are frequently handled, that is, moved up and down in the
infusion. After a month or six weeks they are subjected to a mixture of ground oak-
bark and stronger ooze in other pits, to a series of which they are progressively sub-
jected during two or three months.
The hides are next put into large vats called layers, in which they are smoothly
stratified, with more bark and a stronger infusion. After about six weeks they are
taken out of these vats, and subjected to a new charge of this material, and allowed
to lay some two months ; this process is repeated once or twice more till the hides
are tiioroughly tanned. They are then slowly dried in the shed, and folded for
market. Although in general the stoutest and most compact hides are used as sole
leather (notwithstanding that they have not been condensed by the tanner, as in the
case of butts), yet many are appropriated to other purposes by the currier, and the
lighter cow-hides are manufactured for the upper leather of stout shoes, water-
boots, &c.
The process of tanning shins (as calves, seals, &c.) next claims attention. These
are placed in the lime-pits until the hair can be easily removed, a process which
requires about ten or twelve days ; this being accomplished, they are next washed in
water, so as completely to remove the lime, as far as washing can secure its removal,
and then immersed in a lixivium of pigeon's dung, dog's dung, or matters of a like
nature ; in this state they remain about ten or twelve days, the state of the atmo-
ephere rendering the process quicker at one time than another ; here also they are
I
LEATHER 85
frequently handled, and worked on both sides on the convex beam. The •working,
joined to the action of the peculiar lixivium, serves to separate the remaining lime,
oil, and glutinous matter, and at the same time to render the skin pliant, soft, and
ready to imbibe the tanning principle. It is important that great attention should be
paid to the process just described, as too short a period would produce a hard and
crisp leather, -while a few hours more than is necessary makes the article coarse and
spongy, both of -which conditions should be very carefully guarded against.
The skins are next removed to a pit containing a -weak solution of bark, in -which
they undergo nearly the same treatment as crop hides, but they are not commonly
stratified in the layers. About three months is usually occupied in tanning calf-skins,
but of course the stouter the skin the more -will be the time required. When dried
they are disposed of to the currier, -who dresses them for the upper leathers of boots,
shoes, and a variety of other purposes. It is not unusual for the lighter cow hides to
be treated like calf-skins.
Horse-hides are also treated like calf-skins ; but as the horse-hide, -with the exception
of the part on and near the animal's rump, produces a thin leather, it is usual, before
subjecting the hide to the action of the bark, to cut out -what is called the hutt, -which
is tanned separately, and frequently used as an inferior sole leather. It is also to be
remarked that horse-hides and kips (the hides of small foreign cattle) are frequently
subjected to a process called bate shaving, in -which the stout parts are reduced by a
currier's knife pre-vious to tanning, the object being to secure the complete infiltration
of the animal fibre by the tannin in every part of the hide in the same time.
Sheepskins are usually pressed after the -wool is removed, and before the tanning
process is commenced, to get rid of the fatty matter contained in them, and -which is
not readily removed by ordinary working.
In all the above processes, as the animal fibres on the surface of the skin absorb
most readily the tanning principles, and thereby obstruct, in a certain degree, their
passage into the interior fibres, especially of thick hides, it becomes an object of im-
portance to contrive some method of overcoming that obstacle, and promoting the
penetration of the tan. The first manufacturer -who appears to have employed effica-
cious mechanical means for favouring the chemical action -was Francis G. Spilsbury,
-who, in April 1823, obtained a patent for the foUo-wing operation: — After the hides
are freed from the hairs, &c., in the usual -way, they are minutely inspected as to their
soundness, and if any holes be found, they are carefully se-wed up, so as to be -water-
tight. Three frames of -wood are provided of equal dimensions, fitted to each other,
-with the edges of the frames held together by screw bolts. A skin about to be tanned
is now laid upon the frame, and stretched over its edges, then the second frame is to
be placed upon it, so that the edges of the two frames may pinch the skin all round
and hold it securely ; another such skin is then stretched over the upper surface of the
second frame, in like manner, and a third frame being set upon this, confines the
second skin. The three frames are then pinched tightly together by a series of screw
bolts, passing through ears set round their outer edges, which fix the skin in a proper
manner for being operated upon by the tanning liquor.
A space has been thus formed between the two skins, into which, when the frames
are set upright, the infusion is introduced by means of a pipe from the cistern above,
while the air is permitted to escape by a stopcock below. This cock must of course
be shut whenever the bag is filled, but the one above is left open to maintain a
commiinication -with the liquor cistern, and to allow the hydrostatic pressure
to force the liquor through the cutaneous pores by a slow infiltration, and thus
to bring the tannin into contact -with all the fibres indiscriminately. The action
of this pressure is evinced by a constant perspiration on the outer surfaces of the
skins.
When the tanning is completed, the upper stopcock is closed, and the under is
opened to run off the liquor. The frames are now removed, the bolts are unscrewed,
and the pinched edges of the skins pared off; after which they are to be dried and
finished in the usual manner.
A modification of this ingenious and effectual process was made the subject of a
patent, by William Drake, of Bedminster, tanner, m October 1831. The hides, after
the usual preparatory processes, are immersed in a weak tan liquor, and by frequent
handling or turning over, receive an incipient tanning before being submitted to the
infiltration plan. Two hides, as nearly of the same size and shape as possible, are
placed grain to grain, when their corresponding edges are sewed firmly together aU
round by shoemaker's waxed thread, so as to form a bag sufficiently tight to hold tan
liquor. This bag must then bo suspended by means of loops sewed to its shoulder-end,
upon pegs, in such a manner that it may hang -within a wooden-barred rack, and be
confined laterally into a book form. About an inch of the bag is left unscwed at the
upper end, for the purpose of introducing a funnel through which the cold tan liquor
86 LEATHER
is poured into the bag till it be full. After a certain interval, which varies -with the
quality of the hides, the outer surface becomes moist, and drops begin to form at the
bottom of the bag. These are received in a proper vessel, and •when they accumulate
sufficiently may be poured back into the funnel ; the bag being thus, as -well as by a
fresh supply from above, kept constantly distended.
When the hides are observed to feel hard and firm, -while every part of them feels
equally damp, the air of the tanning apartment, having been always well ventilated, is
now to be heated by proper means to a temperature gradually increasing from 70°
to 150° of Fahrenheit's scale. This heat is to be maintained till the hides become
firmer and harder in all parts. When they begin to assume a black appearance in some
parts, and when the tan liquor undergoes little diminution, the hides maybe considered
to be tanned, and the bag may be emptied by cutting a few stitches at its bottom.
The outer edges being pared off, the hides are to be finished in the usual way. During
their suspension within the racks, the hides should be shifted a little sideways, to
prevent the formation of furrows by the bars, and to facilitate the equable action of
the liquor.
By this process the patentee says, that a hide may be tanned as completely in ten
days as it could be in ten months by the usual method.
Messrs. Knowlys and Duesbury obtained a patent in August 1826 for accelerating
the impregnation of skins with tannin, by suspending them in a close vessel, from which
the air is to be extracted by an air-pump, and then the tanning infusion is to be ad-
mitted. In this way, it is supposed to penetrate the hide so effectually as to tan it
uniformly in a short time.
Danish leather is made by tanning lamb and kid skins with willow bark, whence it
derives an agreeable smell. It is chiefly worked up into gloves.
Of the famng or dressing of skins for gloves, and white sheep leather.
The operations of this art are : 1, washing the skins ; 2, properly treating them with
lime ; 3, taking off the fleece ; 4, treatment in the leather steep.
A shed erected upon the side of a stream, with a cistern of water for washing the
skins ; wooden horses for cleaning them with the back of the fleshing knife ; pincers
for removing the fibres of damaged wool ; a plunger for depressing the skins in the
pits ; a lime pit ; a pole with a bag tied to the end of it ; a two-handled fleshing knife ;
a rolling pin, from 15 to 18 inches long, thickened in the middle ; — such are somo of the
utensils of a tawing establishment. There must be provided also a table for applying
the oil to the skins ; a fulling mill, worked by a water-wheel or other power ; a dress-
ing peg ; a press for squeezing out the fatty filth ; a stove ; planks mounted upon legs,
for stretching the skins, &c.
Fresh skins must be worked immediately after being washed, and then dried, other-
wise they ferment, and contract either indelible spots, or get tender in certain points,
so as to open up and tear under the tools. When received in the dry state they should
be steeped in water for two days, and then treated as fresh skins. Thej' are next
strongly rubbed on the convex horse-beam with a round-edged knife, in order to make
them pliant. The rough parts are removed by the fleshing knife. One workman can
in this way prepare 200 skins in a day.
The flesh side of each being rubbed with a cold cream of lime, the skins are piled
together with the woolly side of each pair outermost, and the flesh sides in contact.
They are left in this state for a few days, till it is found that the wool may be easily
removed by plucking.
They are next washed in running water, to separate the greater part of the lime,
stripped of the wool by small spring tweezers, and then fleeced smooth by means of the
rolling pin, or sometimes by rubbing with a whetstone. Unless they be fleeced soon
after the treatment with lime, they do not well admit of this operation subsequently,
as they are apt to get hard.
They are now steeped in the milk-of-lime pit, in order to swell, soften, and cleanse
them ; afterwards in a weak pit of old lime-water, from which they are taken out and
drained. This steeping and draining upon inclined tables, are repeated frequently
during the space of three weeks. Only the skins of young animals, or those of inferior
value are tawed. Sometimes the wool is left on, as for housings, &c.
The skins, after having been well softened in the steeps, are rubbed on tlie outside
with a whetstone set in a wooden case with two handles, in order to smoothe them
completely by removing any remaining filaments of wool. Lamb-skins are rubbed
wth the pin in the direction of their breadth, to give them suppleness ; but sheep-skins
are fulled with water alone. They are now ready for the branning, which is done by
mixing 40 lbs. of bran with 20 gallons of wator, and keeping them in this fermentable
mixture for three weeks — with the addition, if possible, of some old bran- water. Here
LEATHER * 87
they must be frequently turned over, and carefully watched, as it is a delicate operation.
In the course of two days in summer, and eight in winter, the skins are said to be
raised, when they sink in the water. On coming out of the bran they are ready
for the white stuff; which is a bath composed of alum and sea-salt. Twelve, fourteen,
and sometimes eighteen pounds of alum for 100 skins, form the basis of the bath ; to
which two and a half pounds of salt are added in winter, and three in summer. These
ingredients are introduced into a copper with twelve gallons of water. The salt aids
in the whitening action. When the solution is about to boil, three gallons of it are
passed through the cullender into a basin ; in this 26 skins are worked one after
another, and, after draining, they are put together into the bath, and left in it for ten
minutes to imbibe the salts. They are now ready to receive the paste. For 100 skins,
from 13 to 15 pounds of wheat-flour are used, along with the yolks of 60 eggs. After
having warmed the alum-bath through which the skins have been passed, the flour is
dusted into it, with careful stirring. The paste is well kneaded by the gradual addition
of the solution, and passed through the cullender, whereby it becomes as clear as honey.
To this the yolks being added, the whole is incorporated with much manual labour.
The skins are worked one after another in this paste ; and afterwards the whole to-
gether are left immersed in it for a day. They are now stretched and dried upon poles,
in a proper apartment, during from 8 to 15 days, according to the season.
The effects of the paste are to whiten the skins, to soften them, and to protect them
from the»hardening influence of the atmosphere, which would naturally render them
brittle. They would not bear working upon the softening iron, but for the emulsion
which has been introduced into their substance. With this view they are dipped in a
tub of clear water during five or six minutes, and then spread and worked upon the
board. They are increased by this means in length, in the proportion of 5 to 3. No
hard points must be left in them. The whiteness is also better brought out by this
operation, which is performed upon the flesh side. The softening tool is an iron plate,
about 1 foot broad, rounded over above, mounted upon an upright beam, 30 inches
high, which is fixed to the end of a strong horizontal plank, 2^ feet long and 1 broad.
This plank is heavily loaded, to make it immoveable upon the floor. Sometimes the
skins are next spread over an undressed clean skin upon the horse, and worked well
with the two-handled knife, for the purpose of removing the first and second epidermis,
called the fleur and arriere-fleur by the French Tnegissiers. They are then dried while
stretched by hooks and strings. When dry they are worked on the stretching-iron, or
they are occasionally polished with pumice-stone. A delicate yellow tint is given by
a composition made of two parts of whitening and one of ochre, applied in a moistened
state, and well worked in upon the grain side. After being polished with pumice,_they
are smoothed with a hot iron, as the laundresses do linen, whereby they acquire a
degree of lustre, and are ready to be delivered to the glover.
For housings, the best sheep-skins are selected, and such as are covered with the
longest and most beautiful fleece. They are steeped in water, in order to be cleaned
and softened ; after which they are thinned inside by the fleshing knife. They are
now steeped in an old bran-pit for 3 or 4 days, when they are taken out and washed.
They are next subjected to the white or alum-bath, the wool being carefully folded
within ; about 18 lbs. of alum being used for 100 skins. The paste is made as for
the fleeced skins, but it is merely spread upon their flesh side, and left upon them for
18 hours, so as to stiffen. They are then hung up to dry. They are next moistened
by sprinkling cold water upon them, folded up, piled in a heap, and covered with
boards weighted with heavy stones ; in which state they remain for two days. They
are next opened with a round iron upon the horse, and subjected to the stretching
iron, being worked broadvrise. They are dried with the fleece outermost, in the sun
if possible, and are finished upon the stretcher.
Calf- and lamb-skins with their hair and wool are worked nearly in the same
manner ; only the thicker the skin, the stronger the alum-bath ou^ht to be. One
pound of alum and one of salt are required for a single calf-skin. It is left four days
in this bath, after which it is worked upon the stretcher, and then fulled. When half
dry, the skins are opened upon the horse. In eight days of ordinary weather, they may
be completely dressed. Lamb-skins are sometimes steeped during eight days in a
bath prepared with unbolted rye-flour and cold water, in which they are daily moved
about two or three times. They are then dried, stretched upon the iron, and switched
upon the fleecy side.
Chamois, or Shamoy leather. — The skins are first washed, limed, fleeced, and branned
as above described. They are next efflowered, that is, deprived of their epidermis by
a concave knife, blunt in its middle part, upon the convex horse-beam. _ The cutting
part serves to remove all excrescences, and to equalise the thickness, while the blunt
part softens and smooths. The skins of goats, does, and chamois are always treated
in this way. They are next subjected to the fermenting bran-steep for one or two
88 LEATHER
days, in ordinary weather ; but in hot weather for a much shorter time, sometimes
only moving them in the sour bran-liquor for a few minutes. They are lastly wrung
at the peg, and subjected to the fulling mill.
"When the skins have been sufficiently swelled and suppled by the branning, they
may receive the first oil as follows : a dozen skins being stretched upon the table, the
fingers are dipped in the oil, and shaken over the skins in different places, so as to
impart enough of it to imbue the whole surface slightly, by friction with the palms of
the hands. It is to the outside or grain that the oil is applied. The skins are folded
four together, so as to form balls of the size of a hog's bladder, and thrown into the
trough of the fulling mill, to the number of twelve dozen at once. Here they remain
exposed to the beater for two, three, or four hours, according to their nature and the
state of the weather. They are taken out, aired, oiled, and again fulled. The airing
and fulling are repeated several times, with more or less frequent oilings. Any cheap
animal oil is employed.
After these operations, the skins require to be subjected to a fermenting process, to
dilate their pores, and to facilitate their combination with the oil. This is performed
in a chamber only 6 feet high and 10 or 12 feet square. Poles are suspended hori-
zontally a few inches from the ceiling, with hooks fixed in them to which the skins are
attached. A somewhat elevated temperature is maintained, and by a stove if need be.
This operation requires great skill and experience.
The remainder of the epidermis is next removed by a blunt foncave knife and the
horse ; whereby the surface is not cut, but rather forcibly scraped.
The skins are now scoured to carry off the redundant oil ; which is effected by a
potash-lye, at 2° Baum6, heated no hotter than the hand can bear. In this they are
stirred briskly, steeped for an hour, and lastly wrung at the peg. The soapy liquor
thus expelled is used for inferior purposes. The clean skins after being dried are
finished first on the stretcher-iron, and then on the horse or stretching frame.
Leather of Hungary. — This is manufactured by impregnating strong hides with alum,
common salt, and suet ; by a rapid process which is usually completed in the space
of two months. The workshop is divided into two parts : 1. A shed on the side of a
stream, furnished with wooden horses, fleshing knives, and other small tools. In one
corner is a furnace with a boiler for dissolving the alum, a vat for immersing the hides
in the solution, and several subsidiary tubs. 2. A chamber, 6 feet high, by 15 feet
square, capable of being made very tight, for preserving the heat. In one corner is a
copper boiler, of sufficient size to contain 170 lbs. of tallow. In the middle of the
stove is a square stone slab, upon which an iron grate is placed about a yard square.
This is covered with charcoal. At each side of the stove are large tables, which occupy
ita whole length, and on which the leather is spread to receive the grease. The upper
part below the ceiling is filled with poles for hanging the leather upon to be heated.
The door is made to shut perfectly close.
The first operations are analogous to those of tanning and tawing ; the skins being
washed, cut in halves, shaved, and steeped for 24 hours in the river. They are
then cleaned with 6 or 6 lbs. of alum, and 3^ lbs. of salt, for a piece of hide
which weighs from 70 to 80 lbs. The common salt softens the effect of the alum,
attracts the moisture of the air, and preserves the suppleness of the skin. When the
alum and salt are dissolved, hot water is poured upon the hides placed in a vat, and
they are trampled upon by a workman walking repeatedly from one end of the vat to
the other. They are then transferred into a similar vat containing some hot water,
and similarly trampled upon. They are next steeped for eight days in alum-water.
The same round of operations is repeated a second time.
The skins are now dried either in the air, or in a stove-room ; but before being quite
dry, they are doubled together, well stretched to take out the wrinkles, and piled up.
When dry, they are again trampled to open the pores as well as to render the skin
pliant, after which they are whitened by exposure to the sun.
Tallow of inferior quality is employed for greasing the leather. With this view tlio
hides are hung upon the poles in the close stove-room, then laid upon the table, and
besmeared with the tallow melted till it begins to crackle. This piece is laid on
another table, is there covered with a second, similarly greased, and so forth. Three
pounds of fat are commonly employed for one piece of leather.
When the thirty strips, or fifteen hides passed through the grease in one operation
are completed, two workmen take the first piece in their hands, and stretch it over the
burning charcoal on the grate for a minute, with the flesh-side to the fire. The rest
are passed over the flame in like manner. After flaming, the pieces are successively
laid on an inclined table exposed to the fire, where they are covered with a cloth.
They are finally hung upon polos in the air to dry ; and if the weather be warm, they
are suspended only during the night, so as to favour the hardening of the grease.
Instead of the alum-batb,M, Curaadau has employed with advantage a steep of dilute
ulphuric acid.
LEATHER 89
The Eussians have long been possessed of a method of making a pectiliar leather,
called by them Jucten, dyed red with the aromatic saunders wood. This article
has been much sought after, on account of not being subject to mould in damp
situations, being proof against insects, and even repelling them from the vicinity
by its odour. The skins are freed from the hair or fleece, by steeping in an ash-lye too
weak to act upon the animal fibres. They are then rinsed, fulled for a longer or shorter
time according to their nature, and fermented in a proper steep, after having been
washed in hot water. They are taken out at the end of a week, but they may
be steeped a second time if deemed necessary, to open their pores. They are now
cleaned by working them at the horse on both the flesh and grain sides.
A paste is next composed, for 200 skins, of 38 lbs. of rye-flour, which is set to
ferment with leaven. This dough is worked up with a sufficient quantity of water to
form a bath for the skins, in which they are soaked for 48 hours ; they are then trans-
ferred into small tubs, where they remain during fifteen days, after which they are
washed at the river. These operations serve to prepare the skins for absorbing the
astringent juices with uniformity. A decoction of willow-bark {Salix cinerea and Salix
caprea) being made, the skins are immersed in the boiler whenever the temperature of
the liquor is sufficiently lowered not to injure the animal fibres, and handled and
pressed for half an hour. This manipulation is repeated twice daily during the
period of a week. The thinning infusion is then renewed, and applied to the same
skins for another week ; after which, being exposed to the air to dry, they are ready
for being dyed, and then curried with the empyreumatic oil of the bark of the birch
tree. To this substance the Russia leather owes its peculiarities. Many modes have
been prescribed for preparing it ; but the following is the one practised in Russia.
The whitish membranous epidermis of the birch, stripped of all woody parts, is in-
troduced into an iron boiler, which, when stuffed full, is covered tight with a vaulted
iron lid, having a pipe rising from its centre. A second boiler into which this pipe
passes without reaching its bottom, is set over the first, and is luted to it at the edges,
after the two are bolted together. They are then inverted, so that the upper one con-
tains the birch-bark. The under half of this apparatus is sunk in the earth, the surface
of the upper boiler is coated over with a clay lute, then surrounded with a fire of wood,
and exposed to a red heat, till the distillation be completed. This operation, though
rude in appearance, and wasteful of wood, answers its purpose perfectly well. The iron
cylinder apparatus used in Britain for distilling wood-vinegar would, however, be
much more convenient and productive. When the above bodies are unluted, there is
found in the upper one a very light powder of charcoal, and in the under one, which
served as a receiver, there is an oily, brown, empyreumatic fluid, of a very strong
smell, which is mixed with the tar, and which floats over a small quantity of crude
vinegar. The former matter is the oil employed to impregnate the skins, by working
it into the flesh side with the currier's tools. It is difficult to make this oil penetrate
with uniformity ; and the Russians do not always succeed in this process, for they
turn out many skins in a spotted state. This oil is at present obtained in France by
distilling the birch-bark in copper stiUs, and condensing the products by means of a
pipe plunged in cold water. About 60 per cent, of the weight of the bark is extracted.
The skins imbibe this oil most equally before they are fully dry. Care must be
taken not to apply too much of it, for fear of its passing through and staining the
grain side of the leather. Chevreul has investigated the chemical nature of this odo-
riferous substance, and finding it to be a peculiar compound, has called it betuline.
In the Franklin Institute for February 1843, Mr. Gideon Lee has published some
judicious observations on the process of tanning. He believes that much of the
original gelatine of the hides is never combined with the tannin, but is wasted ; for
he thinks that 100 lbs. of perfectly dry hide, when cleaned from extraneous matter,
should, on chemical principles, afford at least 180 lbs. of leather. The usual
preparation of the hide for tanning he believes to be a wasteful process. In the
liming and bating, or the unhairing and the cleansing, the general plan is first to steep
the hides in milk of lime for one, two, or three weeks, according to the weather and
texture of the skin, until the hair and epidermis be so loosened as to be readily re-
moved by rubbing down, by means of a knife, upon a beam or block. Another mode
is to suspend the hides in a close chamber, heated slightly by a smouldering fire, till
the epidermis gets loosened by incipient putrefaction. A third process, called sweat-
ing, used in Germany, consists in laying the hides in a pack or pile, covered with tan,
to promote fermentative heat, and to loosen the epidermis and hairs. These plans,
especially the two latter, are apt to injure the quality of the hides.
The bate consists in steeping the haired hides in a solution of pigeons' dung, con-
taining, Mr. Lee says, muriate of ammonia, muriate of soda, &c. ; but most probably
phosphates of ammonia and lime, with urate of ammonia, and very fermentable animal
matter. The dry hides are often subjected first of all to the operation of the f\]lling-
90 LEATHER, MOROCCO
stocks, which opens the pores, but at the same time prepares them for the action of the
liming and bate; as also for the introduction of the tanning matter. When the
fulling is too violent, the leather is apt to be too limber and thin. Mr. Lee conceives
that the liming is iiyurious, by carrying off more or less of the gelatine and albumen
of the skin. High-hmed leather is loose, -weighs light, and wears out quickly. The
subsequent fermentation in the bating aggravates that evil. Another process has
therefore been adopted in New York, Maine, New Hampshire, and some parts of
Philadelphia, called, but incorrectly, cool sweating, which consists in suspending the
hides in a subterranean vault, at a temperature of 50° F., kept perfectly damp, by
the trickling of cold spring- water from points in the roof. The hides being first
soaked, are suspended in this vault from 6 to 12 days, when the hair is well loosened,
by the mere softening effect of moisture, without fermentation. — H.M,
IbBATHES, IICOKOCCO. {Maroquin, Fr. ; Saffian, Ger.) Morocco leather of
the finer quality is made from goat-skins tanned with sumach; inferior morocco
leather (roan) from sheep-skins. Tlie goat-skins as imported are covered with hair ;
to remove which they are soaked in water for a certain time, and they are then sub-
jected to the operation called breaking, which consists in scraping them clean and
smooth on the flesh side, and they are next steeped in lime-pits (milk of lime) for
several days, during which period they are drawn out, with a hook, from time to time,
laid on the side of the pit to drain, and replunged alternately, adding occasionally a
little lime, whereby they are eventually deprived of their hair. Wl^n this has be-
come sufficiently loose, the skins are taken out one by one, laid on convex beams, the
work-benches, which stand in an inclined position, resting on a stool at their upper
end, at a height convenient for the workman's breast, who scrapes off the hair with a
concave steel blade or knife, having a handle at each end. When unhaired, the skins
are once more soaked in milk of lime for a few days, and then scraped on the flesh
side to render it very even. For removing the lime which obstructs their pores, and
would impede the tanning process, as well as to open these pores, the skins are steeped
in a warm semi-putrid alkaline liquor, made with pigeons' and hens' dung diffused in
water. Probably some very weak acid, such as fermented bran-water, would answer
as well, and not be so offensive to the workmen. (In Germany the skins are first
washed in a barrel by a revolving axle and discs.) They are again scraped, and then
sewed into bags, the grain outermost, like bladders, leaving a small orifice, into which
the neck of a funnel is inserted, and through which is poured a certain quantity of a
strong infusion of the sumach ; and they are now rendered tight round the orifices,
after being filled out with air, like a blown bladder. A parcel of these inflated skins
are thrown into a very large tub, containing a weaker infusion of sumach, where
they are rolled about in the midst of the liquor, to cause the infusion within to act
upon their whole surface, as well as to expose their outsides uniformly to the tjin-
ning action of the bath. After a while these bladder-skins are taken out of the bath,
and piled over each other upon a wooden rack, whereby they undergo such pressure
as to force the enclosed infusion to penetrate through their pores, and to bring the
tannin of the sumach into intimate contact, and to form a chemical combination with
the skin fibres. The tanning is completed by a repetition of the process of intro-
ducing some infusion or decoction into them, blowing them up, and floating them
with agitation in the bath. In this way goat-skins may be well tanned in the course
of one day.
The bags are next undone by removing the sewing, the tanned skins are scraped as
before on the curriers' bench, and hung up in the drying loft or shed ; they are said
now to be ' in the crust.' They are again moistened and smoothed with a rubbing
tool before being subjected to the dyeing operations, in which two skins are applied
face to face to confine the dye to one of their surfaces only, for the sake of economising
the dyeing materials, which may be of several different colours. The dyed skins are
grained by being strongly rubbed with a ball of box wood, finely grooved on its
surface.
Preparatory to being dyed, each skin is sewed together edgewise, with the grain on
the outside, and it is then mordanted either with a solution of tin, or with alum-water.
The colour is given by cochineal, of which from 10 to 12 ounces are required for a dozen
of skins. The cochineal being boiled in water along with a little tartar or alum for a
few minutes, forms a red liquor, which is flltered through a linen cloth, and put into
a clean cask. The skins are immersed in this bath, and agitated in it for about half
an hour; they are taken out and beaten, and then subjected to a second immersion in
the cochineal bath. After being thus dyed, they are rinsed and tanued with Sicilian
sumach, at the rate of two pounds for a skin of moderate size. The process is per-
formed in a large tub made of white wood, in the liquor of which the skins are floated
like so many bladders, and moved about by manual labour during four hours. They
are then taken out, drained, and again subjected to the tanning liquor ; tlie whole pro-
LEATHER, MOROCCO dl
cess requiring a space of twenty-four hours. The skins are now unstitched, rinsed,
fiilled with beetles, drained, rubbed hard with a copper blade, and lastly hung up
to dry.
Some manufacturers brighten the colour by applying to the sur&ce of the skins, in
a damp state, a solution of carmine in ammonia with a sponge ; others apply a decoc-
tion of saffron to enliven the scarlet tint. At Paris, the morocco leather is tanned by
agitation with a decoction of sumach in large casks made to revolve upon a horizontal
axis, like a barrel churn. White galls are sometimes substituted for sumach ; a pound
being used for a skin. The skins must be finally cleaned with the utmost care.
The black dye is given by applying with the brush a solution of red acetate of iron to
the grain side. Blue is communicated by the common cold indigo vat ; violet, with a
light blue followed by cochineal red ; green, by Saxon blue followed by a yellow dye,
usually made with the chopped roots of the barberry. This plant serves also for
yellows. To dye olive, the skins are first passed through a weak solution of green
vitriol, and then through the decoction of barberry root, containing a little Saxon
blue. Puce colour is communicated by logwood with a little alum ; which may be
modified by the addition of a little Brazil wood. In all these cases, whenever the
skins are dyed, they should be rinsed, wrung, or rather drained, stretched upon a
table, then besmeared on the grain side with a film of linseed oil applied by means of
a sponge, in order to promote their glossiness when curried, and to prevent them
becoming horny by too rapid drying.
The last process in preparing morocco leather is the currying, which brings out the
lustre, and restores the original suppleness. This operation is practised in diflferent
manners, according to the purpose th^ skins are to serve. For pocket-books, port-
folios, and case-making in general, they must be thinned as much as possible upon the
flesh side, moistened slightly, then stretched upon the table, to smooth them ; dried
again, moistened, and lastly passed two or three times through the cylinder press in
different directions, to produce the crossing of the grain. The skins intended for the
shoemaker, the saddler, the bookbinder, &c., require more pliancy, and must be dif-
ferently curried. After being thinned, they are glazed with a polisher while still
moist, and a grain is formed upon the flesh side with the roughened lead plate or
grainer of the curriers, called in French pommelle ; they are glazed anew to remove
the roughness produced by the pommel, and finally grained on the flesh side with a
surface of cork applied under a pommel of white wood.
Tawing of Skins. {Megisserie, Fr. ; Weissgerberei, Ger.) The kid-, sheep-, and
lamb-skins, are cleaned as has been already described. In some factories they
receive the tanning power of the submuriate of alumina (from a solution of alum arid
common salt) in a large barrel-chum apparatus, in which they are subjected to violent
agitation, and thereby take the aluming m the course of a few minutes. In other cases,
where the yolks of eggs are added to the above solution, the mixture, with the skins,
is put into a large tub, and the whole trampled strongly by the naked feet of the
operator, till the emulsion of the egg be forced into the pores of the skin. The tawed
skins, when dry, are ' staked,' that is stretched, scraped, and smoothed by friction
against the blunt edge of a semi-circular knife, fixed to the top of a short beam of wood
set upright. The workman holding the extremities of the skin with both hands, pulls
it in all directions forcibly, but skilfully, against the smoothing ' stake.'
In an entertaining article on tanning in the 11th vol. of the 'Penny Magazine,' at
page 215, the following description is given of one of the great tawing establishments
of London : —
' In the production of " imitation " kid leather, the skin of lambs is employed ; and
for this purpose lamb-skins are imported from the shores of the Mediterranean.
They are imported with the wool yet on them ; and as this wool is valuable, the leather
manufacturer removes this before the operations on the pelt commence. The wool is
of a quality that would be greatly injured by the contact of lime, and therefore a kind
of natural fermentation is brought about as a means of loosening the wool from the
pelt.' The following is a description of one of the buildings : ' On the ground floor,
a flight of stone steps leads down to a range of subterranean vaults or close rooms,
into which the lamb-skins are introduced in a wet state, after having been steeped
in water, * broken ' on the flesh side, and drained. The temperature of these rooms
is nearly the same all the year round, a result obtained by having them excluded as
much as possible from the variations of the external atmosphere ; and the result is,
that the skins undergo a kind of putrefactive or fermenting process, by which the
wool becomes loosened from the pelt. During tliis chemical change ammonia is
evolved in great abundance ; the odour is strong and disagreeable ; a lighted candle,
if introduced, would be instantly extinguished, and injurious effects would be per-
ceived by a person remaining long in one of the rooms. Each room is about ten
feet square, and is provided with nails and bars whereon to hang the lamb-skins.
92 LEATHER, RUSSIAN
The doors from all the rooms open into one common passage or vault, and are kept
close, except -when the skins are inspected. It is a point of much nicety to determine
•when the fermentation has proceeded to such an extent as to loosen the wool from the
pelt ; for if it bo allowed to proceed beyond that stage, the pelt itself would become
injured.
When the fermentation is completed, generally in about five days, the skins are re-
moved to a beam, and there ' slimed,' that is, scraped on the flesh side, to remove a
slimy substance which exudes from the pores. The wool is then taken off, cleaned,
and sold to the hatters, for making the bodies of common hats. The stripped pelts
are steeped in lime-water for about a week, to kill the grease ; and are next ' fleshed
on the beam.' After being placed in a ' drench,' or a solution of sour bran for some
days to remove the lime and open the pores, the skins are alumed, and subjected to
nearly the same processes as the true kid-skins. These Mediterranean lamb-skins do
not in general measure more than about 20 inches by 12; and each one furnishes
leather for two pairs of small gloves. These kinds of leather generally leave the
leather-dresser in a -white state ; but imdergo a process of dyeing, softening, ' stroking,'
&c., before being cut up into gloves.
The tanning of one average-sized skin requires about 1^ lb. of good Sicilian
sumach ; but for leather which is to receive a bright scarlet dye, from one half to
three quarters of a pound of gall-nuts are employed in preference. Inferior goat-skins
are tanned with a willow-bark infusion, in pits, in which they are turned repeatedly,
and laid out to drain, as in tanning sole leather. The flnest skins for the brightest
scarlet are cured with salt, to prevent their receiving damage in the transport, and
are dyed before being tanned. This method is practised in Germany and France.
Leather of deer- and sheep-skins is prepared with oil, for the purpose of making
breeches, &c., and for wash-leather, used in cleaning plate. After they are completely
washed, limed, and beamed, as above described, they have their ' grain ' surface re-
moved, to give them greater softness and pliability. This removal of the grain is
called ' frizing,* and it is done either with the round edge of a blunt knife, or with
pumice-stone. After being freed from the lime by steeping in fermented bran-water,
they are pressed as dry as may be, and are then impregnated with cod-oil, by beating
with stocks in the trough of a kind of fulling mill. Previously to the application of
the oil, they are usually beat for some time alone to open their substance. The oiled
skins are stretched, hung up for some time in the air, then fulled with oil as before — a
process which is 8 or 9 times repeated. The oil is slowly and evenly poured upon the
skins in the trough during the action of the beaters. One hundred skins usually take
up in this way from two to three gallons of oil. The fulled oil skins are thrown into
large tubs, and left for some time to ferment, and thereby to combine more intimately
with the oil. They are lastly subjected to a weak potash-lye-bath, to strip them of the
loosely adliering oil. They are then hung up in the air to dry, and dressed for the
market. — ^H.M.
XiEATBER, KTrssZAMT, as tanned at Ka^an. The hides to be tanned may be
either fresh from the animal or dry, no matter which ; they are first laid to soak for
tliree days and nights in a solution of potash, to which some quicklime is added. The
potash used is made of tjie tree called in Euss ilim (the common elm), which sort is
said to be preferable to any other, if not essential ; it is not purified, so that it is of a
brown colour and of an earthy appearance : about 12 poods of this (the pood is 36 lbs.
English), and 2 poods of lime, serve for 100 skins. As they have no way of ascer-
taining the degree of causticity of the alkali but by its effect upon the tongue, when
they find it weak they let the skins lie longer in the solution.
When the skins are taken out of this solution they are carried to the river, and left
under water for a day and night.
Next a vedro of dog's dung is boiled in as much water as is enough to soak 60 skins,
(the vedro is equal to 2-696 English imperial gallons) but in the winter time, when
the dung is frozen, twice that quantity is found necessary. The skins are put into this
solution, not while it is boiling hot, but when at the heat which the hand can bear ; in
this they lie one day and one night.
The skins are then sewed up so as to leave no hole ; in short, so as to bo water-tiglit ;
about one third of what the skin will contain is then filled up with the leaves and small
twigs chopped together of the plant called in Euss Toloknanka (^Arbutus uva-ursi,
sometimes called bearberry), which is brought from the environs of Solikamskaga,
and the skin is then filled up with water.
The skins thus filled are laid one on the other in a large trough, and heavy stones
upon them, so as by their weight to press the infusion through the pores of the skin in
about 4 hours ; yet, as it was said at the same time, that the skins aro filled up with
the same water which had been pressed out 10 times successively, and that the whole
operation takes but one day and one night, this leaves but 2\ hours for each time.
LEATHER, CURRYING OF 93
The skins are then taken to the river and washed, and are ready for the dyeing,
Tho whitest skins are laid aside for the red and yellow leather.
To soften the skins after dyeing, they are harassed by a knife, the point of which is
cun-ed upwards. — H. M.
LEATHER, CVRRTZNG OF. The currier's shop has no resemblance to the
promises of the tanner, the tools and manipulations being quite different.
Within the last twenty or thirty years, many tanners have added the currying
business to their establishments, and many curriers have likewise commenced tanning ;
but in each case, an extension of premises is necessary, and the two departments are
still separate. The advantages derivable from this arrangement are two-fold : — first,
a saving of time is effected, for as the tanned leather is sold by weight, it is required
to be well dried before being disposed of to the currier, an operation which is not
needed where the tanner carries on the currying also ; and secondly, by the currier's
art, the skins can be reduced to a comparatively uniform thickness previous to their
being tanned, thus saving time and bark (used for tanning), and insuring a more
equal distribution of tannin through the substance of the skin. In the following
description, the business of cxirrying will be considered as practised at the present
time.
The currier's shop or premises, to be convenient, should be spacious. A frequent,
though not universal method, is to have the ground-floor appropriated to such ope-
rations as require the use of a large quantity of water. The place or apartment thus
used, is called the scounnq-house, and is commonly furnished with a nimiber of vaif
or casks open at one end, in which the leather is placed for the purpose of soaking,
and undergoing such treatment as will be hereafter described. In this apartment also
is placed a large, flat, slate stone, called a scouring stone, or, more consistently, the
stone on which the leather is scoured. This stone, which has its face perfectly flat
and smooth, and which should measure 8 or 9 feet in length, by 4J- broad, forms
a table, supported generally by masonry, but sometimes by a strong frame of wood,
so constructed that tho water, which is freely used in scouring, may drain off on
the opposite side from that on which the workman is engaged; an inclination of
about 3 or 4 inches on the width of the table, is suificient for this purpose. Another
piece of furniture very frequently found in, or on the same floor with the scour! ng-
liouse, is a block of sandstone, in the form of a parallelopipedon, between 2 and 3
feet long, and 9 or 10 inches broad, the upper face of which is kept as near as
possible a perfect plane; this stone is fixed at a convenient height on a strong
trussel, and is called the rub-stone, liocause here the workman rubs or sharpens his
knives and other tools. In some large establishments where the premises and water
are heated by steam, the scouring-houso will be found with a service of pipe leading
to tho various vats, and the boiler for generating the steam may be conveniently
placed in or near this part of the building.
The floor above the scouring-house, in the arrangement here laid down, is what is
specially designated the shop. The furniture in this department consists of a beam
{fig. 1364), on which the leather is shaved. It
consists of a heavy block of wood, on which the
workman stands, and into one end of which a
stiff piece of wood is firmly mortised, at an angle
of about 85° ; this upright (so called) is about a
foot wide, the height being greater cfr less, accord-
ing to the height of the workman, each of whom
has his beam adjusted to meet his convenience.
On the front of the upright a piece of deal is
firmly screwed, to which is glued a face or plate
of lignum vita, worked to perfect smoothness to
agree with the edge of the knife used in the
operation of shaving. It is of the greatest im-
portance to the workman, to keep his skin from
injury, that this knife and beam should be kept
in good order. A table or tables, generally of
mahogany, large planks of which are used for the purpose to avoid joints, may be
said to form a necessary part of the furniture of this department. These tables are
firmly fixed, to resist the pressure of the workman when using various tools ; and
as light is of the greatest consequence in the operations performed on them, they
are usually placed so as to have windows in front of them. A high trussel is
frequently used, across which the leather is thrown, after undergoing any of tho
processes, while the currier subjects other pieces to the same operation.
Another part of the premises is termed the drying-loft. In good buildings the
drying-loft is surrounded with weather-boards, constructed to be opened or closed as
94
LEATHER, CURRYING OF
may be required. The use of this part being the drying of the leather, the ceiling is
furnished with a number of rails or long pieces of wood, with hooks or nails on
which to hang the leather for drying ; and where steam is used for this purpose, the
floor is traversed with pipes for heating the loft. Here also is a table, similar to that
previously described ; it should not be less than 7 or 8 feet long by 4^ broad, if
possible, without joint, and with a smooth face.
There are other subordinate departments, each furnished with a table similar to
those described.
Of the tools used in currying, the knife stands first in importance {jig. 1365). Here
a and h are two handles, a is held in the left hand, and forms a powerful lever when
the edge c is applied to the leather. The blade of the cxirrier's knife is peculiarly
tempered ; it is composed of a plate of fine steel, strongly riveted between two plates
of iron. This instrument is taken to the rub-stone, and ground to a perfectly sharp
edge by successively rubbing forward and backward ; care being taken to keep the
edge true, that is, straight. When this has been satisfactorily accomplished, it is
still further rubbed on a fine Scotch or Welsh stone, called a clearing-stone, until the
scratches of the rub-stone disappear.
In this operation a fine thread or wire forms on the edges, for the knife has two
edges, c, c, which must be carefully got rid of; after which it is wiped dry, and the
edges greased with tallow or oiL The workman then takes a strong steel, and placing
himself on his knees, he fixes the knife with the straight handle b against any firm
body, and the cross handle a between his knees ; then holding the steel in both hands,
he carefully rubs it forward and backward the whole length of the edge. During this
operation the knife is gradually raised by means of the handle a, until it is nearly
perpendicular ; by this means the edge is turned completely over. If the knife is
not well tempered, the edge thus obtained will be irregula" or broken ; in either of
which cases, it is of no use whatever.
1366
1367
To keep the instrument just described in proper order requires great skill on
the part of the currier. The edge is so delicate and liable to injury that it can-
not be used more than a minute or two without losing its keenness. To restore
this a very carefully prepared small steel is used, fg. 1 366 ; the point of the steel
is first run along the groove which is formed by turning the edge over, and the' steel is
then made to pass outside the edge (fig. 1367). It is remarkable that a skilful hand
can thus restore the efliciency of the knife, and keep it in work for hours without
going for a new edge to the rub-stone. The other tools will be described as their uses
are mentioned.
The first thing done by the currier is the soaking of the leather received from the
tanner in water ; the skin requires a thorough wetting, but not to saturation. In
LEATHER, CURRYING OF 95
some cases the thicker parts are partially soaked before the immersion of the whole
and when, from the nature of the skin, this cannot be done, water is applied to the
stout parts after the dipping ; it is requisite that the whole should be as nearly as
possible equally wet. In some instances the wetted leather is beaten, and sometimes
a coarse graining-board (hereafter to be described) is used, to make it more supple
previous to shaving it. The skin is then laid over the beam {fig. 1368), and the
rough fleshy portion is shaved oft". This operation is generally called skiving, ^n
all the operations at the beam the leather is kept in its place by pressure of the knees
or body of the workman from behind. In skiving the right-hand handle of the knife
somewhat precedes the left, but in shaving, properly so called, the left-hand precedes
the right, fig. 1369. In skiving the knife is driven obliquely a few inches at a time ;
in shaving it is driven with great force, not unfrequently from the top to the bottom
of the beam ; great skill is requisite in the performance of these operations, to guide
the knife and to keep its edge. The carpenter's plane can be most completely regu-
lated by the projection of the plane iron from the wood, but the currier's knife admits
of no such arrangement, and the unskilful currier is constantly liable to injure the
leather by cutting through it, as well as by failing to produce a regular substance.
The kind of skin, and the use for which it is designed, will regulate the work at the
beam. In some cases, as in the calf-skin, it is skived and then shaved, or, as it is
called, flattened at right angles to the skiving — in other kinds, as the cow-hide pre-
pared for the upper leather of heavy shoes, after skiving it is shaved across {i. e.
nearly at right angles to the skiving), and flattened by being again shaved in the
same direction as the skiving. In some manufactories there are certain kinds of
leather which are subjected to the operation called by curriers stoning before flatten-
ing : this is done by forcibly driving the stock-stone (fig. 1370) over the grain side of
the leather, thereby stretching it, and rendering the grain smooth. The flattening
process is considerably facilitated by this stoning ; and if the skin has been allowed
slightly to harden by exposure to air, and the edge of the knife is fine, as it should
be, the workman has but to strike the flat part of the knife over the leather after the
shaving is performed, to produce a beautiful face to the flesh side of the skin. It
will not be diffictdt to understand that a good hand is easily distinguished from an
inferior one in this part of the business. With such nicety will a skilful workman
set the edge of his knife, that although there seems nothing to guide him, he can
take shaving after shaving from the hide extending from the top to the bottom of the
beam, thus rendering the leather extremely even in its substance,
1370 1371
After the process of shaving is completed, the leather is placed in water, where
it remains until it is convenient to carry on the operation next required. It is to
be observed that in the condition in which leather is shaved, it cannot long be
kept without becoming heated ; when, however, it is put into water, it is safe
from injury, and may be kept a very long time, provided the water be occasionally
changed for a fresh, sweet supply ; stale water is regarded as injurious for the skin
to remain in.
Scouring is next proceeded with ; the skin is taken out of the water, and laid on
the scouring-stone. In respectable manufactories, it is usual first to scour on the
flesh ; this is done by passing a slicker smartly over the flesh side, by which the grain
of the leather is brought into close contact with the scouring-stone, and, being in a
wet condition, the air is easily excluded, so that the leather sticks to the stone. A
plentiful supply of water is now applied, and a large brut.:, with stiff hairs, is rubbed
over the flesh, or upper side. Portions of the surface, in a pulpy condition, come off
with the scrubbing, and the skin presents a soft, whitened and pulpy appearance ; the
pores are rendered capable of containing more moisture, and, altogether, the leather is
much benefited. The slicker is a plate of iron or steel, or for particular purposes, of
brass or copper ; it is about five inches long, and like the stock-stone, is fixed in a
stock, or handle {fig. 1371). It is sharpened at the rub-stone, by grinding the plate
perpendicularly, and then on either side, thus producing two edges (or, rather, right
angles). The edges thus produced are not of an order to cut the leather, but rather
to scrape it. The slicker is not intended to remove irregularities in the leather; but
its uses are various, and it may be considered a very important tool, as will hereafter
appear.
In the process of tanning, the grain side of tlie hide or skin becomes covered with
96 LEATHER, CURRYING OF
a whitish body, derived from the bark called bloi>7)i ; this is more or less difficult to
remove according to the hardness or softness of the water used in tanning, and the
peculiar treatment of the tanner. It is, however, the currier's business to remove it,
which he effects thus : — In the case of leather whose grain is tender, as cordovan,
which is manufactured from horse-hides, the grain being kept uppermost, the leather
is spread on the scouring-stone, and being plentifully supplied with water, is stretched
by using the slicker, or a fine pebble, ground to the shape of the stock-stone, the bloom
is thus loosened, and at the same time, by making it adhere to the scouring-stone, the
next operation is readily carried on, which consists in smartly brushing the grain with
a ItiflF-haired brush, and at the same time keeping a quantity of water on the surface,
the slicker is again used to remove the water and loosened bloom, and the scouring is
complete. In the scouring of calf-skins, and cow- or ox-hides, the stock-stone is used
to fix the leather, and a piece of pumice-stone, the face of which has been ground to
smoothness, and afterwards cut in grooves, is then forcibly rubbed over the grain, in
order to remove the bloom. In this, as in other operations on the scouring-stone,
water is a necessary ingredient. The bloom being sufficiently loosened by the pumice-
stone, the brush is used to scrub up the remaining dirt, which is then removed by the
stock-stone or slicker. In harness leather, which is stout, and requires to be stretched
as much as possible, the pumice-stone is seldom used, the stock-stone and scouring-
brush being lustily applied until the bloom is sufficiently removed. Ordinary manu-
facturers within the present (nineteenth) century have considered the operations of
the seouring-house complete at this point. The modern currier takes a different view,
and not unfrequently detains his scoured property for days, and sometimes for weeks,
in the scouring-house.
If the leather is imperfectly tanned, or it is required to be made of a bright colour,
there are other processes to be passed through. In these cases sumach (an ever-
green shrub of the natural order AnacardiacetB, genus Ehus, and from the bark of
which all the leather made in Turkey is said to be tanned) is infused in boiling
water, and when cooled to a tepid state the leather is placed in it. After staying
a sufficient time it is taken to the scouring-stone ; if cordovan, it is slicked as dry as
can be well accomplished on the flesh side ; other leather is for the most part slicked
in a similar way on the grain side. Saddle leather, which is required to be of a
bright colour, is still further placed in warm water slightly acidulated with sulphuric
or oxalic acid, or both ; here for a time it is kept in motion, then taken to the
scouring-stone, it is washed with peculiar chemical lotions, according to the taste or
knowledge of the workman ; then again it is dipped in tepid sumach infusion, then
slicked with a copper or brass slicker (iron is liable to stain leather thus prepared),
and a thin coat of oil being applied to either side, it is removed to the drying-loft.
Until within a very few years much time and trouble were taken to produce very
bright leather for the sadcUer ; but of late brown-coloured leather has been adopted
to a considerable extent, as it is less liable to become soiled. Nearly all leather is
placed a short time in the loft before further manipulations are carried on, in order to
harden it slightly by drying.
In the drying-loft, or its immediate vicinity, the leather receives the dubbing {daub-
ing, probably) or stuffing. The substance so called is composed of tallow, brought to
a soft plastic condition by being melted and mixed with cod-liver oil ; occasionally sod
(an oil made in preparing sheep-skins) is, in very small quantities, added to the mix-
ture. This is laid upon the leather either with a soft-haired brush or a mop made
generally of rags.
The leather is prepared for stuffing by wetting slightly such parts as have become
too dry. It is then taken to the table previously described, which, being slightly
oiled, the process is carried on by placing the skin on the table in the manner most
convenient for stretching it and making the surface smooth. In those kinds that
have a rough wrinkled grain the flesh side is placed next the table, and the stock-
stone is used very smartly to stretch and smooth the grain. A kind of clamp or hold-
fast, composed of two cheeks fastened with a screw, is sometimes used to prevent the
leather from moving during this operation, but in general these are not required ;
the slicker is then applied to remove the marks left by the stock-stone, and a thin
stuffing being spread over the grain it is turned over, slicked on the flesh lightly, a
coat of stuffing is spread over it, and it is hung up to dry. In those kinds which
have to be blacked (or stained) on the grain, a little cod-oil only is spread on the
grain, and the slicker is applied on the flesh side most laboriously previous to stuffing.
Much skill is required to give the requisite quantity of stuff {duhhing) to the leather
without excess, excess being injurious, and the quantity required is further regulated
by the freshness or otherwise of the leather, the tan-yard from which it comes, and
the treatment it has received in the scouring-house.
When dry, the skins or hides are folded together, to remain until required. It is
LEATHER, CURBYING OF 97
certain the leather improves by remaining some •weeks in this condition. It shonld
be observed that, in drying, the leather absorbs a large quantity of the oleaginous
matter with which it is charged, and the unabsorbed portion forms a thick coating of
hardened greasy matter on the flesh side.
Leather which has to be blackened on the flesh (wax-leat/ter), from this point, re-
ceives different treatment from ^'raw-leather. Wf^ox-leather is taken to the shop-table
and softened with a graining-board. The skin is laid on the table and doubled, grain
to grain, the graining-board {fig. 1373), which is confined to the hand by a leather
strap (a a), is driven forward and drawn back alternately until a grain is raised on the
1372 1373
leather, and it has attained the required suppleness. Observe, the graining-board is
slightly rounded on the lower surface, and traversed by parallel grooves from side to
side, whicli are coarser or finer, as occasion requires. The grease is next removed
from the flesh by the slicker, and afterwards a sharp slicker is passed over the grain
to remove grease or other accumulations from it. The next process is called
whitening. The leather is laid over the beam, and a knife with an extremely fine
edge is used to take a thin shaving from the flesh side ; this is a point at which a
cu: rier's skill is tested. The knife used is one that has been very much worn, the
quality of which has been tested to the utmost ; and so extremely true is the edge
expected, that not the slightest mark (scratch) is allowed to appear on the surface of
the leather. Only a good workman can satisfactorily accomplish this. The slightest^
gravel in the flesh of the skin may break the edge of the knife in pieces, and it is not
easy to rectify so serious a misfortune; besides, a poor workman may turn up the edge
by steeling, an operation which ought to mend the mischief instead of provoking it.
A fine graining-board is next used to soften the leather ; the stiffer parts being
boarded both on the grain and flesh sides, and the operation being carried on in two
or three directions, to insure both softness and regularity of grain. Boarding is per-
formed by doubling the leather and driving the double part forward and drawing it
backward by the graining-board.
The leather is now prepared for the waxer, and passes, consequently, into his
hands. Waxing, in large establishments, is a branch considered separate from the
general business, and is usually in the hands of a person who confines himself to this
occupation alone. The skin is laid on the table, and the colour rubbed into the flesh side
with a brush. It is necessary to give the brush a kind of circular motion to insure
the required blackness in the leather. The colour is made by stirring a quantity of
the best lampblack into cod-liver-oil ; sometimes a little dubbing is added, and in order
to make it work smoothly so as not to clog the brush, some stale tan-water from the
vats in the scouring-house is beaten up with the mixture until it combines therewith.
The preparation of the colour is an important affair, and requires a considerable
amount of time and labour to render it such as the waxer desires.
A slick-stone, or glass, is next used ; this tool is about the size and shape of the
slicker, but instead of being ground like it, the edges are very carefully removed, so
that while, from end to end, it preserves nearly a right line, it is circular across the
edge. The stone (a flne pebble) is little used now, plate-glass being substituted for it.
The use pf the tool just described is to smooth the flesh after the operation by the
colouring brush, thereby getting rid of any marks made on the surface.
The next step in waxing is what is called sizing. Size is prepared by boiling glue
in water ; the melted glue is diluted with water to the extent required, and in some
cases it is softened by mixing cod-liver oil with it in cooling. When cold, it is beaten
up with various ingredients, according to the taste or experience of the waxer ; the
waxer then well rubs the size into the coloured side of the leather, and with a sponge,
or, more generally, the fleshy part of his hand, smooths it off. When dry, the slick-
stone, or glass, is again applied, thus producing a polish on the size ; and a very thin
coat of oil completes the work. In different manufactories different methods are pur-
sued, but the above is convenient and satisfactory in almost all circumstances. It is
now ready for the shoemaker.
Leather intended to be blacked on the grain is left folded up when dry after stuff-
ing. Some years ago it was the custom to stain these kinds of leather while wet in the
scouring-house, by spreading stale urine over it, and then applying a solution of oqpverns
Vol. III. U
98
LEATHER, CURRYING OP
(sulphate of iron). That method is now exploded. The dry skins or pieces of leather
are laid on the shop-board : a brush is used to saturate the grain with urine, or, as is
now more common, a solution of soda in water, and a peculiar preparation of iron in
solution is afterwards laid over it, which blackens the surface. It may be observed
that in wax-leather a body of black is laid on, and rubbed into the flesh ; in grain-
leather the black is a stain. After the blackening, it is necessary to rub a small
quantity of oil or dubbing over the blackened surface, then turning the oiled grain
toward the table, a sharp slicker is used on the flesh side ; the leather sticks to the
table by means of the oil, and the slicker is driven so smartly over it, that it is stretched
on the table at the same time that the grease is removed. It is quite an important
point to take all the stretch out of the leather in this operation, after which it is turned
over ; the table is covered with a very thin coat of hard tallow, a roll of tallow being
rubbed over the table, for the purpose of keeping the leather fastened to it. A dull
slicker is used on the grain to remove remaining marks and wrinkles, or to smooth
any coarse appearance on the grain ; a sharp slicker removes all the grease, and a
thin coat of weak size, made of glue dissolved in water, is spread over it, and the pro-
cess, usually called seasoning, is completed. The next object is carefully to dry the
seasoned leather, and in this state it may be stored without injury.
The next step is very similar to that described in the case of wax-leather, and called
whitening : — it is then softened by means of a fine graining-board, or a board of the
same shape and size covered with cork, the grain side is placed next the table, and
the flesh doubled against the flesh, and thus driven forward and backward until the
required degree of suppleness is obtained. The loose particles of flesh are brushed off",
and a slicker carefully passed over the grain removes all marks of the last operation.
If a sufSciency of stuff has not been applied in the drying-loft, the deficiency is remedied
by a coat of tallow-dubbing now spread over the grain, and allowed to remain some hours.
As the leather absorbs the oily matter, a hardened coat of grease has to be removed
by the aid of the slicker. The leather is then sized, and a very thin coat of oil spread
over the size, completes the operation.
In the preparation of various kinds of leather, or of leather for particular purposes,
the currier has particular appliances. Harness-leather is considerably diyer than
other kinds before stuffing, and is subjected to immense labour by the stock-stone and
slicker, to procure a smooth grain. It is blackened when dry like other ^^ratn-leather,
but instead of the oiling and other processes described, the hardest tallow procurable
is rubbed into it, stoned with
1^'* a fine pebble, slicked, and
tallow again rubbed into it
by the hand. When dry after
this operation, the grease is
slicked from the flesh side,
and a repetition of the tallow-
ing, stoning, and rubbing
finishes the work.
Saddle - leather, which is
cut into comparatively small
pieces, after hardening in the
drying-loft, is passed through
a very different process from
any described previously. The
skin of the hog is much used
for certain parts of hackney
saddles, and the bristles, when
removed by the tanner, leave
indentations, or even holes in
the tanned skin. Probably it
was deemed desirable to ob-
tain some imitation for tlie
parts of .'the saddle where the
hog-skin was not suitable.
The skin of the dog-fish
{Sct/llium, Cuv.), to some ox-
tent supplied the imitation,
having hard tubercles on its
surface. At first the skin
was laid on the leather, and
lustily pressed into it by rub-
bing it with a pebble or plate of glass ; at length a press was invented, and, more
LEATHER, CURRYING OF
99
recently, various methods have been proposed to produce the best effect. We have
here {fig. 1374) a representation of one of these presses, which may stand as a type
of all others a a are the feet into which the uprights are inserted ; b b are the two
upright sides tied at the top by c, a similar cross-piece ties them a little above the
feet ; d is a, leaf festened with hinges, which closes upon e when the press is not in
use ; ee are screws which press on the iron plate, in which the axes of the roller/ are
inserted ; these plates imbedded in the uprights b b have considerable play, so as to
allow the rollers fh more or less pressure as the case may require. The dotted line
ii', represents an iron bar or cylinder, supplied with a small cog-wheel at i', and a
crank handle j ; this is turned round by the hand, and the small cog-wheel acts on a
larger one, k, which is attached to the axis of the roller/: /is a soUd roller of hard
wood, such as lignum vitcB ; upon this cylinder is strongly glued the fish-skin, pre-
viously alluded to ; A is a cylindrical solid piece of wood, covered with stout flannel ;
I is a piece of leather on which the leather to be pressed is placed; when all is adjusted,
the piece to be pressed is placed on I, the handle is moved slowly round, and the
whole is carried between the rollers ; the leather thus receives the imprint of the fish-
ski7i, and at the sama time becomes extremely solid. After drying, this is fit for the
saddler.
1375
Of late years the currier has undertaken an office which was previously the business
of the bootmaker ; namely, the blocking of boot fronts. This is performed by the instru-
ment represented by^^. 1375. The leather is first dressed, as previously described,
■up to the point of being ready for whitening. The fronts are then cut {fig. 1375 a),
h2
100
LEATHER SPLITTING
aud when folded [ot doubled appear as fy. 1375 J. 1' 1', 1 1, is a strong frame-
work ; 2, represents a pair of cheeks, strongly fastened in the frame, and regulated as
to distance by a screw ; these cheeks are lined with zinc ; 3 is a strong plate of metal,
the angle at 3 corresponding exactly with the angle of the cheeks ; the ends of this
plate are fixed in moveable plates passing down the columns 1' 1' ; 4 is a handle by
which the instrument is worked, and which, by cog-wheels acting on the moveable
plates, brings 3 downwards. The front, a, is laid, aiter a thorough soaking in water,
over the cheeks 2, the handle being turned, 3 comes down upon the front, and
1376
forces it through the small opening between the cheeks, and when brought out below
the cheeks, it has the appearance given in fff. 1375 c. The plate 3 haying carried
J 0177 the front between the cheeks, is
removed (below), and the weight
6 assists in bringing the perpen-
dicular moveable plates to their
place, when 3 is again put in
position ; and thus the opera-
tion is rapidly carried on. After
this, the fronts are regularly
placed on a block, being forced
into position by an instrument
called the flounder {fig. 1376),
and tacked to their place ; after
this, they are slightly oiled aud
dried. Some ingenious methods
have been adopted for softening
the fronts, so as not to disturb
the blocking. They are whitened
on a very sloping beam {fig. 1 377)»
which enables the workman to
hold them better than he could
on the common beam. They are
again blocked by the waxer, and
when these processes are care-
fully performed, much trouble
is saved to the bootmaker. Of
course, in a manufactory many
appliances are found which are not here mentioned ; the general idea, however, may
be easily gathered from this description. The work is dirty and very laborious, re-
quiring great skill and experience, and consequently good workmen have generally
commanded better wages than other mechanics.
Hides intended for covering coaches are shaved as thin as shoe hides, and blacked on
the grain. — H. M.
ZiEATBSS SP&ZTTZXf O. This operation is employed sometimes upon certain
«orts of leather for glovers, for bookbinders, sheath-makers, and always to give a
uniform thickness to the leather destined for the cotton and wool card-makers.
, Figs, 1378,1379, 1380, 1381 represent a well-contrived machine for that purpose ; of
LEATHER SPLITTING
101-
which/5'. 1378 sho-ws the front view,fff. 1379 a view from the left side, fig. 1380 a
vertical section across the machine, and fig. 1381 a ground plan, a is a strong table,
furnished with four legs b, which to the right and left hand bears two horizontal pieces c[
Each of these pieces is cut out in front, so as to form in its substance a half-round fork,
that receives a cylinder d, carrying on its end a toothed'spur-wheel e. Motion is com-
1378
d
i'
A'
S X t» J o'l
1379
1381
municated to the wheel by means of the handle/, upon whose axis the pinion i is fixed,
working into the wheel d, made fast to the end of tlae cylinder round which the leather
is rolled. The leather is fixed at one of its ends or edges to the cylinder, either with
a wedge pressed into a groove, or by a moveable segment of the cylinder itself.
The table, a, is cut out lengthwise with a slot, that is widened below, as shown io
fiff, 1380.
tOi LEATHER SPLITTING
The knife h{figs. 1380 and 1381) is fixed flat upon the table -with screw bolts, whose
heads are conntersiink into the table, and secured with taps beneath (fig. 1380), the edge
of the knife being placed horizontally over the opening, and parallel with it.
In^. 1380 the leather, k, is shown advancing against the knife, getting split, and
has a portion coiled round the'cylinder, which is made to revolve in proportion as the
leather is cleft. The upper portion of the leather is rolled upon the cylinder d, while
the under half, I, falls through the oblong opening upon the ground.
In regulating the thickness of the split leather, the two supports, m, act ; they are
made fast to the table a (one on each side of the knife), and are mortised into the table
by two tenons secured beneath. These supports are furnished near their tops with
keyed slots, by means of which the horizontal iron rod o (figs. 1378, 1380) is secured,
and outside of the uprights they press upon the springs p p, which tend to raise the
rod, 0, in its two end slots ; but the adjusting screws q, which pass down through the
tops of the supports into the mortise n {fig. 1380), and press upon the upper half of
the divided tenon, counteract the springs, and accordingly keep the rod o exactly at
any desired height or level. The iron rod o carries another iron bar, r, beneath it,
parallel and also rectangular,^. 1380. This lower bar, which is rounded at its under
face, lies upon and presses the leather by the action of two screws, which pass through
two upright pieces s (figs. 1378 and 1380) made fast to the table ; thus the iron bar r
may be made to press forwards the edge of the knife, and it may be adjusted in its
degree of pressure, according to the desired thickness of the leaf of split leather that
passes through under it.
Fig. 1380 shows that the slant or obliquity of the knife is directed downwards, over
one of the edges of the oblong opening g ; the other edge of this opening is provided
with an iron plate t (figs. 1378, 1380), which serves to guide the blade in cutting the
leather to the proper depth. Por this purpose the plate is made adjustible by means
of the four springs u (fig. 1381) let into the table, which press it downwards. Four
screws, v, pass down through the table, each belonging to its respective spring w,
and by means of these screws the plate t may be raised in any desired degree. Each
of the screws u has besides a small rectangular notch through which a screw bolt x
passes, by which the spring is made fast to the table. Thus also the plate t may be
made to approach to or recede from the knife.
y, in figs. 1378 and 1380, is a flat board, laid upon the leather a little behind the
edge of the plate t ; this board is pressed by the cylinder g, that lies upon it, and whose
tenons rest in mortises cut out in the two supports a'. The cylinder z is held in its
position by a wedge or pin, 5 (figs. 1378 and 1380), which passes through the supports.
When the leather has been split, these pins are removed, and the cylinder rises then by
means of two counter-weights, not shown in the figures.
The operation of the machine is as follows : — The edge or end of the leather being
eecured to the cylinder d, the leather itself having the direction upon the table shown
in^. 1380, and the bar r its proper position over the knife, the edge begins to enter
in this position into the leather, while the cylinder d is moved by the handle or winch,
and the piece gets split betwixt the blade and the roUer d. When the other end of the
leather, k, advances to the knife, there is, consequently, one half of the leather split ;
the skin is to be then rolled off the cylinder d; it is turned ; the already split half, or
the end of the leather, k, is made fast into the wood of the cylinder, and the other half
is next split; while the knife now acts from below, in an opposite direction to what
it did at first.
That the unrolling of the leather from the cylinder, d, may not be obstructed by
the pinion i, the stop-wedge e (figs. 1378, 1379) is removed from the teeth. In tlie
process of splitting, the grain side of the leather is uppermost, and is therefore cut of
an uniform thickness, but the under side varies in thickness with the inequality of
the skin.
Several other ingenious contrivances have been introduced for this purpose, illus-
trated descriptions of which have been given by Hebert, who states that a splitting-
machine, long used by the Messrs. Bevington, of Bermondsey, had been made to split
sheep-skins into three equal parts, one of which, that on the grain side, might be used
as leather ; the middle portion converted into parchment ; and the slice on the flesh
side, being unequal in thickness, and therefore unfit for any better use, being used for
glue-making. In this machine the skin is drawn between two revolving rollers, and
presented, as it emerges from their grasp, to the edge of a long and very sharp knife,
which is kept continually moving a little backwards and forwards with great velocity.
As a skin of unequal thickness could not be grasped in the proper manner between two
perfectly true and rigid rollers, the upper roller, instead of being soli4. is composed
of a numbei" of circular discs or rings of metal, about half an inch thick, slipped on
to an axis rather smaller than tJie holes in their centres, but con\pelled to revolve with
it by means of what may bo termed a planetary axis, which is a rod passing loosely
LEATHER, VEGETABLE 103
through holes in the -whole series of discs between their centre and their circum-
ference, and so connected with the axis by its ends as to be carried round with it. By
this contrivance the upper roller is enabled to adapt its surface to that of the skin,
which is everywhere pressed with an equal force, due to the weight of the discs of
which the upper roller is composed. It is stated in the ' Penny Magazine' ' that this
machine will split a sheep-skin of the ordinary size in about two minutes, during which
time the knife makes from two to three thousand vibratory motions to and fro.'
This machine is said to be the invention of Lieutenant Parr. Another contrivance
is known as Duxbury's Patent Skin-Splitting Machine, in which the knife consists of
a series of plates of steel, so attached to the periphery of a wheel or disc, seventeen
feet in diameter, as to form a gigantic cutting instrument, resembling a crown or
trepan saw, the compound blade projecting horizontally from the rim of the wheel
parallel to its axis. The skin to be split passes round the circumference of a hori-
zontal drum, the axis of which is at right angles with that of the great disc, and lies
very nearly in the same plane with its face, and which instead of being perfectly
cylindrical has its sides so hollowed as to present a concavity perfectly tallying with
the curvature of the periphery of the disc. As therefore the drum revolves it brings
the skin, which is confined closely to its concave surface by a contrivance somewhat
resembling the upper roller in the machine above described, in contact with the edge
of the revolving knife, which cuts by a continuous onward movement, instead of a
sawing action backwards and forwards. The extreme nicety required to fix the con-
cavity of the feeding roller to the edge of the circular knife, and to keep the knife or
cutter itself perfectly true in shape, appear to be the chief objections to this ingenious
contrivance. — Penny Cyclapmdia, SuppL, 'Leather.'
Exports of leather of British produce and manufacture in 1872 : —
Total value
Tanned, unwrought .... 139,019 cwts. £1,220,981
Wrought, boots and shoes . . . 679,130 dozen pairs 1,695,248 •
Other articles unenumerated . . . 1,937,604 lbs. 376,441
Imports of Leather in 1872.
Leather, unwrought t hides not tanned, tawed, Total value
curried, or in any way dressed . . . 808,930 cwts. £3,063,920
Hides, wet
„ tanned, not otherwise dressed J
„ tanned, curried, but not enamelled
„ varnished, japanned, or enamelled
. 627,930 „ 1,915,342
23,574,061 lbs. 1,179,716
. 3,135,162 „ 479,680
. 479,658 „ 123,098
Imports of leather manufactured, &c., in 1872 : —
Value
Boots and shoes 46,139 dozen pairs £151,218
Gloves 1,052,717 „ 1,403,622
Unenumerated — „ 139,209
UlATHSR-CKOTB. Under the name of Atnerican Leather-cloth, an enamelled
oil-cloth has been introduced. Much of it possessed great elasticity, and resembled
the vegetable leather described in the next article. The trade has, however, rapidly
declined, as will be seen by the following table of imports of this material : —
yards valU3
1854 631,304 £38,210
1855 . . . . . . 665,395 42,405
1856 607,326 38,069
1858 174,573 13,094
I860 151,969 11,398
1861 127,051 9,528
The recent importations of leather-cloth are not obtainable.
XiEATBES, VEGETABLE. Under this name a new material, composed^ of
india-rubber spread upon linen, has been introduced. Of this the 'Mechanics'
Magazine' writes: — 'Having seen some specimens of these leathers, as well as various
articles of utility manufactured therewith, we have been induced to pay the extensive
works of Messrs. Spill and Co., the eminent Government contractors, on Stepney Green,
a visit, in order to cull sufficient to place upon record the present position of artificial
as a substitute for real leather. The face and general character of the vegetable
leather resembles the natural product so closely, that it is only by actual examination
that the difference can be determined. This is more particularly the case in that des-
cription which is made for bookbinding, the covering of library tables, and like purposes,
104 LECYTHIDACE^
Amongst other advantages it possesses over leather proper, may be mentioned, that
however thin the imitation is, it will not tear without considerable force is exercised ;
that it resists all damp, and that moisture may be left upon it for any period without
injury, consequently, it does not sodden or cockle, is always dry, and its polish is
rather increased than diminished by friction. Add to these facts, that any attempt to
scratch or raise its surface with the nail, or by contact with any ordinary substance,
will not abrade it, and enough will have been said to justify its entering the list
against an article of daily use, which has of late years been deemed far from sufficient
for the demand, and has consequently risen in price to the manifest loss and injury of
every class of the community. We believe that the largest entire piece of real leather
that can be cut from a bullock's hide, is not more than 7 feet by 5 feet, and this
includes the stomach and other inferior parts. Vegetable leather, on the contrary, is
now produced 50 yards in length and 1 J yard wide, every portion being of equal and
of any required thickness, and the smallest portion is convertible. We were agreeably
disappointed, however, to find that instead of vegetable leather being a discovery re-
quiring the aid of ourselves and contemporaries, it was, although so young, an active
agent in the fabrication of numerous articles of daily requirement, and that it had
already become the subject of large, indeed we may say enormous, contracts.
Caoutchouc and naphtha are used in its manufacture ; but by a process known to the
senior of the firm, who is himself an accomplished chemist, all odour is removed from
the naphtha, and the smell of vegetable leather is rendered thereby less in strength,
if anything, than that of leather. The principal objects to which it is at present
applied, although it is obvious it will take a wider range of usefulness than leather
itself, are carriage and horse aprons, antigropola, soldiers' belts, buckets which pack
flat, harness of every description, bookbinding, &c. For, the latter, its toughness,
washable quality and resistance to stains, render it remarkably fitted. Its thickness,
which may be carried to any extent, is obtained by additional backings of linen, &c.,
cemented with the caoutchouc, and its strength is something marvellous, while in the
all-important commercial view, it is but one-third the price of leather. Many of the
articles we were shown possessed the appearance of much elegance and finish; but it
was curious to observe, that although most of them could be made without a stitch,
and within the factory itself, a deference to the feelings of the workmen in the several
trades has been shown by the firm, and the material is given out as ordinary leather,
to undergo the process of the needle, which it submits to with a greater facility than
its original prototype.'
XEAVEir. Under Bread, the employment of yeast is fully explained. A few
particulars relative to the French leaven may not, however, be out of place.
In Paris, where bread-making has been brought to a high degree of perfection, the
fermentation is produced chiefly by the gluten of the dough, yeast being used merely
to facilitate the action. A lump of dough remaining from the last batch of bread,
and consisting of 8 lbs. flour and 4 lbs. of water, is left to itself for ten hours : in this
state it is called /resA leaven {levain de chef). By kneading this with another quantity
of 8 lbs. flour and 4 lbs. water, the once revived leaven (levain de premiere) is obtained.
After another interval of eight hours, 16 lbs. of flour and 8 lbs. water are added,
forming the twice revived leaven (levain de seconde) ; and after three hours more
100 lbs. flour and 52 lbs. water, containing ^ to ^ lb. beer-yeast are added, forming
the finished leaven (levain de tout point). The 200 lbs. leaven thus obtained are
mixed after two hours with 132 lbs. flour and 68 lbs. water containing ^ lb. of yeast
in suspension, and 2 lbs. common salt dissolved. This quantity of dough serves for
five or six bakings. For the first baking half the dough (200 lbs.) is made into
loaves of the required size and form, which are exposed for a while in shallow baskets
to a temperature of 25° C. (77° F.), and then transferred to the oven. The bread thus
obtained has a sourish taste and dark colour. The remaining half of the dough is
again mixed with 132 lbs. of flour, 70 lbs. water, ^ lb. yeast, and the requisite quantity
of salt, the half of this quantity of dough is then formed into loaves, left to ferment,
and baked. The same operation is repeated three times, one-half of the dough being
each time mixed with 130 lbs. flour and Ij lb. yeast, and the proper quantity of water
and salt. The last stage yields the finest and whitest bread. See Watts's ' Dictionary
of Chemistry.'
ZiBCAKOAZC ACZB. An acid obtained from a South American variety of the
Roccella tinctoria.
3CiECTTHIDiLCZUE. The Brazil-nut order, remarkable for the edible seeds of
many of its members. The Lecythis ollatia is found in the forests of Brazil and
CumAna. The fruit is about the size of a child's head ; and it contains numerous
edible seeds. The natives, who eat the seeds, and use the case for various purposes,
call the fruit ' the monkey pots.' The L. Zapucajo is a native of Guiana : its fruit is
about the size of the above ; it contains numerous seeds, larger than almonds, and of
LENS 105
an agreeable taste. These are the • sapuc^a ' nuts of tho fruiterers' shops. The
Brazil-nuts are the produce of the juvia tree {BerthoUetia excelsa). See Brazil
Nuts.
KEDUM PAXiVSTRE. This plant is employed in Bussia to tan the skins of
goats, calves, and sheep, into a reddish leather of an agreeable smell ; as also in
the preparation of the oil of birch, for making what is commonly called Kussia
leather.
IiEER. An arched building, forming an annealing furnace, in which glass is
tempered or annealed.
l,EGTJiaiia"E. A name applied to vegetable casein, in allusion to its occurrence
in the seeds of many of the LeguminoscB, or Pea and Bean family.
XiBnsiO'ZAiar earth, a yellowish-grey earth, obtained from Lemnos by the
Greeks. It is very similar to fuller's earth.
XEMOirs. The fruit of the Citrus limonum. Both the juice and the peel of the
fruit are employed medicinally, and in the preparation of lemonade. See Citric
Acid, and Oils, Essential.
XiEAXOSr CRASS. Tho Andropogon citratum (De Can.), This, and certain allied
species, yield fragrant essential oils imported from India under the name of lemon
grass and citronelle oils.
XiEXrS. {LentUle, Fr. ; Linsenglas, Ger.) Lenses are transparent bodies, usually
made of glass, which by their curvature either concentrate or disperse the rays of
light. Lenses are of the following kinds : — Double convex : having the same or a
different degree of convexity on either side. Plano-convex, having one plane and one
convex surface. Concavo-convex, having one concave and one convex side, commonly
called meniscus lenses. Plano-concave, having one plane surface and one concave one;
and the double concave lens.
The first three, which are thicker in the middle than at the edge, are converging
lenses, because they occasion the rays of light to converge in passing through
them. The others, which are thicker at the edges than in the middle, and there-
fore cause the pencils of light refracted through them to diverge, are called diverging
lenses.
For the most complete examination of the laws regulating the construction of
lenses, and the action of these on the rays of light, we must refer the reader to Sir
John Herschel's admirable treatise on Light in the Encyclopcedia Metropolitana. In
this work we have only to deal with the mode of manufacturing the ordinary varieties.
The spherical surfaces are produced by grinding them in counterpart tools, or discs
of metal, prepared to the same curvature as the lenses. For the formation of the
grinding tools, a concave and a convex template are first made to the radius of the
curvature of the required lens. The templates of large radius are sometimes cut
out of crown glass. More usually the templates are made out of sheet brass, the
templates of long radii are cut with a strong radius bar and cutter, and those of
only a few inches radius are cut in the turning-lathe. The brass concave and
convex gauges are cut at separate operations, as it is necessary to adjust the
radius to compensate for the thickness of the cutter, and the brass templates
are not usually corrected by grinding, as practically it is fotmd more convenient
to fit the tools themselves together. The templates, having been made of the re-
quired radius, are used for the preparation of the grinding and polishing tools,
which for concave lenses consist of a concave rough grinding-tool of cast iron, called
a shell.
A pair of brass tools is, however, the most important part of the apparatus. One
of these is concave and the other convex, made exactly to the curvature of the tem-
plates, and to fit each other as accurately as possible. -„„2
The concave tool is used as the grinder for correcting the
curvature of the lenses after they have been rouglily
figured in the concave shell, and the convex tool is em-
ployed for producing and maintaining the true form of
the concave grinding-tool itself, and also that of the
polisher. These polishers are adjusted with great accu-
racy. The concave tool is placed upon the convex, and
they are first rubbed together dry, so that by the
brightened parts the inequalities may be distinguished ;
they are then ground true, first by means of emery and
water, and then with dry emery.
The annexed figure (1382) represents those tools,
which are fitted with screws at the back, so that they can be fixed upon pillars ifl
connection with the machinery for giving motion to them.
By grinding with eundry niceties of motion, which are Required to produce the best
106 LEPIDOLITE
effect, such as the prodnction of motion which shall resemble as nearly as possible the
kind of stroke which would be given by the hand, these tools are eventually brought
to true spherical figures which fit each other exactly.
The glasses for lenses, being selected of suitable quality, are brought to a cir-
cular fdrm by means of flat pliers called shanks. The pressure of the pliers
applied near the edges of the glass causes it to crumble away in small frag-
ments, and this process, which is called shanking or nibbling, is continued until the
glasses are made circular, and of a little larger diameter than the finished size of
the lenses.
A cement is made by mixing wood-ashes with melt«d pitch. Some nicety is re-
quired in the adjustment of the proportion, since the cement must not be too adhesive,
nor must it be too hard or too brittle ; generally about 4 lbs. of wood-ashes to 14 lbs.
of pitch are employed. This when melted is poured on one side of the glasses to be
ground, in small quantities at a time, imtil a sufficient quantity adheres to the back
of the lens to form a handle. The glass is rough ground by rubbing it within the
spherical shell. The glass is rubbed with large circular strokes, and the 5^^ is
usually placed within a shallow tray to catch the loose emery or polishing powder
which may be emjjloyed. When one side is rough ground in this wiy, the glass is
warmed to detach it from the handle, which is transferred to the other side and the
operation repeated. When both sides are thus rudely formed, the lenses are cemented
upon a runner. The best object-glasses for telescopes are
_ ground and polished singly, while as many as four dozen of
common spectacle glasses are ground and polished together.
When many are thus fixed on one runner, the number must
be such as will admit of their being arranged symmetrically
around a central lens, as 7, 13, or 21 ; or sometimes 4, form
the nucleus, and then the numbers run 14, 30. Lenses of ordinary quality are usually
ground true and polished 7 at a time. This runner with its lenses attached is shown
in ^.1383.
The cement at the back of the lenses is first flattened with a heated iron. The cast-
iron runner is heated just sufficiently to melt the cement, and carefully placed upon
the cemented backs of the lenses. As soon as the cement is sufficiently softened to
adhere firmly to the runner, it is coated with a wet sponge, as the cement must only
be so far fused as to fill up the spaces nearly, but not quite, level with the surface of
the lenses. The block of lenses is now mounted upon a post, and ground with the
concave brass tool, fig. 1382, motion being given to it either by the hand or by ma-
chinery similar to the sweeping motion already named. As the grinding proceeds,
the fineness of the emery-powder employed is increased, until in the last operation it
is sufficiently fine to produce a finely-polished surface. This grinding being com-
pleted successfully, the lenses have to be polished. The polisher is made by warming
a cast-iron shell, and coating it uniformly about one quarter of an inch thick with
melted cement A piece of thick woollen cloth is cut to the size of the polisher and
secured to it, and pressed into form by working the brass tool within it. When
this is properly adjusted it is covered with very finely-divided putty-powder, sprinkled
with a little water, and the powder worked into the pores of the cloth with the brass
convex tool. Eepeated supplies of putty-powder are put on the polisher until it is
made quite level, and it is worked smooth with the tool. Many hours are expended
in the proper preparation of a polisher. When completed it is fixed upon the block
of lenses still fixed to the post, and worked with wide and narrow elliptical strokes.
Where a very large ntunber of glasses are ground or polished at the same time, this
peculiar motion is imitated by the excentric movement of a lever attached to the
revolving shaft. In the processes of grinding and polishing, other materials beside
emery and putty-powder are sometimes employed, such as radcUe, an earthy oxide of
iron, the finer kinds of which are much employed in the large lens manidfactory at
Sheffield.
The best account of these processes and of the instruments used is by the late
Andrew Ross, in the fifty-third volume of the Transactions of the Society of Arte. In
HoltzapffeVs Mechanical Manipulation there is also some practical information. See
Photoorapht.
XiEKTZAS., The seeds of Ervum lens, a leguminous plant, from which the flotir
called Ervalenta, or Bevalenta, is prepared.
XSPZSnrz:. C"'H''N (C»H»M'). A volatile base, homologous with chinoline,
found in coal-naphtha and in the fluid produced by distilling cinchonine with
potash.
XiBPXBOcaocZTB. A scaly or fibrous variety of Gothite, or hydrous peroxide
of iron. See Iron.
XiBPlBOXiZTSt or LUhia Mica. A beautiful purple mineral, which occurs in
LIAS 107
fine masses on Mount Hradisko, near Eosna, in Moravia. It is remarkable for the
large quantity of lithia which it contains, and also for its containing the newly-
discovered metal rubidium. See Spectbum Analysis.
IbEFXDOnSEIiAXrE. An iron-potash mica, of black colour.
UjXTSOIttlTB. A beautiful blue velvety mineral, from the Banat, first de-
scribed by Dr. J. Percy. It is a hydrqus sulphate of copper, of rare occurrence.
XETTXrCE. The Lactuca sativa, cultivated as a salad. 'Lettuce opium' ia
prepared from this species, and from L. virosa, a more highly narcotic species,
XETTCAXriXXXTE. If a solution of rosaniline is Ifeft in contact with metallic
zinc, or treated with sulphide of ammonium, it is rapidly decomposed. The rosani-
line disappears, and is transformed into a remarkable base, which has received the
name of letccaniline, and which may be obtained in completely colourless needles
scarcely soluble in water, very soluble in alcohol. Its formula is : —
COH-'N' (COH^'W).
The salts of leucaniline are also colourless, easily crystallisable, and very soluble
in water, from which they may be precipitated by the addition of an excess of
acid.
There exists an extremely remarkable relation between the composition of leu-
caniline and that of rosaniline : —
Eosanlline C^oH'^K' (C»°H'8»r9).
Leucaniline . . . . . C^oH^'N' (C'OH^'K').
Leucaniline differs therefore from rosaniline simply by containing two atoms more
of hydrogen.
The two bases bear to each other the relation which exists between blue and white
indigo : —
Blue indigo C'^H'^N^O" (cm'^Vt^O).
White indigo .... C'»H"N''0'' (C'H'^W^O).
Leucaniline, as might have been expected from this interesting relation, may be
reconverted into the red colouring matter by oxidising agents. On gently heating
the colourless solution of hydrochlorate of leucaniline with peroxide of barium, per-
chlorides of iron or platinum or chromate of potassium, the liquid at once re-assumes
the splendid colour of the rosaniline salts. {Hofmann.)
KSVCITE. A mineral found in volcanic rocks, containing usually 66'10 of
silica, 23'10 of alumina, and 2ri5 of potash. The finest and most beautiful crystals
are found in the older lavas of Vesuvius and Rocca Monfina, and in the neighbour-
hood of Rome. It is sometimes called the white garnet, from the similarity of its
crystallisation to that of the common garnet. Kirwan calls it the white garnet of
Vesuvius. It was always supposed that leucite crystallised iu the cubic system
until Vom Rath showed, in 1872, that the crystals belonged to the tetragonal
system.
SLEircOIinirE. A synonym of Letkol.
IbEircOPirRXTE. An arsenide of iron, resembling Lolingite.
JsUVrJCOli. See Chinoline.
XiEVEK (a mining term). An adit gallery or horizontal working in a mine.
IiEVIGATXOXr is the mechanical process whereby hard substances are reduced
to a very fine powder.
IiEVTTXiOSE. A kind of sugar which turns the plane of polarisation of a ray of
light towards the left hand.
SbE'Vns is the name of one kind of shears used in cropping woollen cloth.
XilAS. Under this term are comprehended the strata which intervene between the
Trias, or New Red Series, and the Inferior Oolite. In the aggregate they are of
considerable thickness, and occupy a large area' in this coimtry, stretching in a
north-easterly direction from the sea west of Lyme Regis, in Dorsetshire, to Red-
car, on the coast of Yorkshire. The strata which compose the Liassic series
consist, in the lower part, of compact argillaceous limestone, alternating with or
forming layers in clay, to a provincial pronunciation of which word the name
lias probably owes its origin. This limestone forms the base of a thick deposit of
blue clays and marls, which are overlaid by a series of sands and sandstone, called
Marlstone; these in tLoir turn are separated from another mass of sands, which
form the uppermost member of the group, by a etratiim of clay, known as the
Upper Lias Clay.
108 LICHEN
By the term lias, however, is ordinarily only understood the calcareous and argil-
laceous division, -which constitutes the lower section of the entire formation.
In an economical point of view, it is of considerable value from its furnishing a
useful and durable stone, both for building and paving ; for the latter purpose it is
particularly suited, not only from the large dimensions of the flags it affords, but on
account of its occurrence in thin layers, which, in many cases, when required for
rough purposes only, are used in the state in which they are taken from the quarry,
without undergoing subsequent dressing. The lime furnished by the blue lias limestone
is also well known, and in great request, some of the beds possessing the valuable pro-
perty of forming hydraulic mortars and cements, for manufacturing which it is col-
lected from the shore and the sea-cHffs at Charmouth, and largely quarried at Lyme
Regis and the neighbourhood. See Hydeaulic Cements.
The clayey members of the lias furnish a poor and cold agricultural soil, which is
chiefly devoted to pasture, but the land upon the marlstone is, on the contrary, of a
very rich and fertile description, and constitutes a district, where it prevails, that is
marked by the luxuriance of its crops and the excellence of the cider it produces.
In the iipper part, it contains beds of ferruginous, brown, calcareous sandstone, which
is used K>r building purposes in the neighbourhoods where it occurs. The sandstone
is always more or less of a ferruginous character, but in some instances the ferruginous
ingredient prevails to such a degree, as to constitute a valuable ore of iron, as in the
neighbourhood of Blenheim, to which attention has been directed by Mr, Edward Hull,
of the Geological Survey.
Like the marlstone, the calcareous sands of the uppermost portion of the liassic
series also furnish a rich agricultural soil. Until recently, these sands were consi-
dered to form the base of the inferior oolite series, but the researches of Dr. Wright
render it highly probable that they should, with more propriety, be classed with the
underlying lias, ratlier than with the oolitic strata.'
The stone found at Gotham and other places in the neighbourhood of Bristol, and
which has in consequence received the name of Gotham Tnarhle, and has also been
called ruin, or landscape Tnarble, from the curious delineations displayed upon polished
sections of it, resembling trees, landscapes, &c., is a limestone from the lower part of
the lias.— H. W. B.
XiXSAVXTTS, Fuming Liqttok of, is the bichloride of tin, prepared by dissolving
that metal with the aid of heat in aqua regia, or by passing chlorine gas through a
solution of muriate of tin till no more gas be absorbed, evaporating the solution, and
setting it aside to crystallise. The anhydrous bichloride is best prepared by mixing
four parts of corrosive sublimate with one part of tin, previously amalgamated with
just so much mercury as to render it pulverisable ; and by distilling this mixture
with a gentle heat, a colourless fluid, the dry bichloride of tin, or the proper
fuming liquor of Libavius, comes over. When it is mixed with one-third of its weight
of water it becomes solid. The first bichloride of tin is used in calico-printing. See
Caltco-Printing.
XiXBSTHEia'ITS. A hydrous phosphate of copper, named from one of its localities
— Libethen, near Neusohl, in Hungary.
XiXCHEir. A certain set of plants, composed chiefly of cellular tissue devoid of
spiral vessels, with the stems and leaves undistinguilhable, are termed Thallogens.
These are of two kinds, the first admitting of two divisions : —
1. Aquatic thallogens, or such as are nourished through their whole surface by
water, are Alg.ze. Aerial thallogens nourished through their whole surface by air
are Lichens.
2. Thallogens nourished through their thalhis (spawn or mycelium) by juices de*
rived from the matrix are Fungi.
Lichens are numerous, as Ground liverwort, Cup moss, and Tree lungwort, vised in
Siberia as a substitute for hops in brewing ; Gyrophora, employed by the hunters irl
the arctic regions as an article of food, under the name of tripe dc roche ; Eeindcer
moss, and Iceland moss, much used in this country as a remedy for coughs ; the
Common yellow wall lichen, and some others.
The Tinctorial lichens are also numerous. They furnish ^our principal colourSj
brown, yellow, purple, and blue.
Gyrophora pustuldta and Sticta pidmonaria yield brown colours. The latter, witH
mordants of tin and creain of tartar, pfoducea on silk a dilrable carmelite coloui?.
( Guibourt.)
Parmelia parietina and Everma vidpina produce yellows ; the yellow principle of
the former being called chrysophanio acid, that of the latter vtdpinic acid.
' The evidence btonght forward by Dr. Wrigtit in f arotr of the Hassle origin of these safids is
purely of a palseontological nature ; physically, the most natural arrangement is to ooiiueot tbenl
rather with the inferior oolite than with the lias,— H, W. B.
LIGHT
109
Bocodla, Lecanora, Variolaria, &c., yield purple and blue colours. In this country
archil and cudbear, purple colours, are prepared from it. In Holland, a blue colour,
litmus.
Dr. Stenhouse, to whom we are much indebted for many important inquiries con-
nected with the applications of chemistry, has given the following table of the
lichens : —
Lichens
Colorific Principles Colouring Principles
Authority
Commercial Names
Locality
Names
Formulae Names
Formulas
S. American or-
Lima, &c.
Alpha orsel-
C^=H'^0'=+HO
Orceine
C"H'»NO
Stenhouse
chella weed
lic acid
Cape orchella weed
C. of Good
Hope
Beta orsel-
Uc acid
C=*H''0"+HO
Stenhouse
Angola orchella
Africa
Erythric
C=°H"'0»+HO
Stenhouse
weed
acid
Perelle moss {Le-
Switzerland
Lecanoric
C"H'0'
Shunck
canora parella)
acid
Tartareous moss
Norway
Gyrophoric
C3«H-'0"
Stenhonse
{Lecanora tar-
acid
tarea)
Pustulatoua moss
Norway
„
>f
Stenhouse
(Gyrophora pus-
tuJata)
Bagged hoary li-
Scotland
Evemic acid
C"H"0"+HO
Stenhonse
chen (Evemia
prunasiri)
Vsnea. {Florida, pU-
Germany
Usnic acid
C'»H'0"
Bochleder
cata, and nirta)
and Heldt
Eeindeermoss {Cla-
• •
„
II
„
donia rangife-
rina)
BamaUna {Fasti-
..
„
„
i>
giata calicarii)
See Aechil; French Pueple; Litmus; Ohchella Weed.
KZCKJirSIt'S B&VEi The silicate of cobalt and potash,
KXEBZGZTB. A hydrous carbonate of uranium and lime, named after the late
Baron Liebig.
XIEVKZTE. A silicate of iron, known as Evaite and Jenite.
XZCHT. {Lumiere, Fr. ; Licht, Ger.) The operation of light as an agent in
the arts or manufactures has scarcely yet received attention. Sufficient evidence
has, however, been collected to show that it is of the utmost importance in producing
many of the remarkable changes in bodies which are desired in some cases as the
result, but which in others are to be, if possible, avoided.
There is a very general misconception as to the power or principle to which cer-
tain phenomena, the result of exposiire to sunshine, are to be referred. In general
liffht is regarded as the principle in action, whereas frequently it has nothing what-
ever to do with the change. A few words therefore in explanation are necessary.
The solar ray, commonly spoken of as light, contains, in addition to its luminous
power, calorific power, chemical power, and, in all probability, electrical power. (See
Actinism.) These phenomena can be separated one from the other, and individu-
ally studied. All the photographic phenomena are dependent upon the chemical
(actinic) power. Many of the peculiar changes which are effected in organic bodies
are evidently due to light, and the phenomena which depend entirely on heat are well
known,
Herschel has directed attention to some of the most striking phenomena of light,
especially its action upon vegetable colours. As these have direct reference to the
permanence of dyes, they are deserving of great attention. The following quotation
from Sir John Herschel's paper ' On the Chemical Action of the Eays of the Solar
Spectrum, &c.,' will explain his views and give the character of the phenomena which
he has studied. He writes : —
' The evidence we have obtained by the foregoing experiments of the existence of
chemical actions of very different and, to a certain extent, opposite characters at the
opposite extremities (or rather, as we ought to express it, in the opposite regions) of
the spectrum, will naturally give rise to many interesting speculations and conclu-
sions, of which those I am about to state will probably not be regarded as among the
least so. We all know that colours of vegetable origin are usually considered to be
destroyed and whitened by the continual action of light. The process, however, is
too slow to be made the subject of any satisfactory series of experiments, and, in
110 LIGHT
consequence, this subject, so interesting to the painter, the dyer, and the general
artist, has been allowed to remain uninvestigated. As soon, however, as these evi-
dences of a counterbalance of mutually opposing actions, in the elements of which the
solar light consists, offered themselves to view, it occurred to me, as a reasonable
subject of inquiry, whether this slow destruction of vegetable tints might not be due to
the feeble amount of residual action outstanding after imperfect mutual compensation,
in the ordinary way in which such colours are presented to light, i.e. to mixed rays.
It appeared therefore to merit inquiry, whether such colours, subjected to the un-
compensated action of the elementary rays of the spectrum, might not undergo
changes differing both in kind and in degree which mixed light produces on them,
and might not, moreover, by such changes indicate chemical properties in the rays
themselves hitherto unknown.
' One of the most intense and beautiful of the vegetable blues is that yielded by the
blue petals of the dark velvety varieties of the common heartsease ( Viola tricolor). It
is best extracted by alcohol. The alcoholic tincture so obtained, after a few days keep-
ing in a stoppered phial, loses its fine blue colour, and changes to a pallid brownish
red, like that of port wine discoloured by age.
' When spread on paper it hardly tinges it at first, and might be supposed to have
lost all colouring virtue, but that a few drops of very dilute sulphuric acid sprinkled
over it, indicate by the beautiful and intense rose colour developed where they fall,
the continued existence of the colouring principle. As the paper so moistened with
the tincture dries, however, the original blue colour begins to appear, and when quite
dry is full and rich. The tincture by long keeping loses this quality, and does not
seem capable of being restored. But the paper preserves its colour well, and is even
rather remarkable among vegetable colours for its permanence in the dark or in
common daylight.
' A paper so tinged of a very fine and full blue colour, was exposed to the solar
spectrum concentrated, as usual (October 11, 1839), by a prism and lens; a water-
prism, however, was used in the experiment, to command as large an area of sunbeam
as possible. The sun was poor and desultory ; nevertheless, in half an hour there
was an evident commencement of whitening from the fiducial yellow ray to the mean
red. In two hours and a half, the sunsMne continuing very much interrupted by
clouds, the effect was marked by a considerable white patch extending from the
extreme red to the end of the violet ray, but not traceable beyond that limit. Its com-
mencement and termination were, however, very feeble, graduating off insensibly ;
but at the maximum, which occurred a little below the fiducial point (corresponding
nearly with the orange rays of the luminous spectrum), the blue colour was completely
discharged. Beyond the violet there was no indication of increase of coloiir, or of any
other action. I do not find that this paper is discoloured by mere radiant heat
unaccompanied with light.'
The late Dr. George Wilson of Edinburgh made some exceedingly interesting experi-
ments on the influence of sun light over the action of dry gases on organic colours. The
results arrived at were communicated to the British Association, and an abstract of
the communication is published in their Transactions. The experiments were on
chlorine, sulphurous acid, sulphuretted hydrogen, carbonic acid, and a mixture of
sulphurous and carbonic acid, oxygen, hydrogen and nitrogen on organic colouring
matters. ' I had ascertained,' says Dr. George Wilson, • the action of the gases
mentioned already on vegetable colouring matters, so arranged, that both colouring
matter and gas should be as dry as possible, the aim of the inquiry being to elucidate
the theory of bleaching, by accounting for the action of dry chlorine upon dry colours.
In the coinrse of this inquiry, I ascertained that in darkness dry chlorine may be kept
for three years in contact with colours without bleaching them, although when moist
it destroys their tints in a few seconds (see Bleaching) ; and I thought it desirable
to ascertain whether dry chlorine was equally powerless as a bleacher when assisted
by sunlight. The general result of the inquiry was, that a few weeks sufficed for the
bleaching of a body by chlorine in sunlight, where months, I may even say years,
would not avail in darkness.' The form of the experiment was as follows : — Four
tubes were connected together so as to form a continuous canal, through which a
current of gas could be sent. Each tube contained a small glass rod, on which seven
pieces of differently-coloured papers were spiked. It is not necessary here to state
the colours employed, suffice it to say, that all the tubes thus contained seven different
coloured papers, of different origins, and easily distinguishable by the eye. They
were arranged in the same order in each tube, and were prepaored as nearly as
possible of the same shade. These papers were carefully deprived of every trace of
moistiu-e by a current of very dry air. The tubes were then filled with the gas, also
dried, on which the experiment was to be made. One tube of each series was kept
LIGHTHOUSE HI
in darkness, two others were exposed in a western aspect behind glass, and the other
was turned to the south in the open air.
The results were as follow: — In the dark chlorine tube the colours were very
little altered, and would probably have been altered less had not the tube been fre-
quently exposed to light for the sake of examination. In the western tube, the
original grey and green wallflower papers became of a bright crimson, the blue
litmus bright red, and the brown rhubarb yellow. The whole of the chlorine had
apparently entered into combination with the colouring matters, for the yellow tint
of the gas had totally disappeared. In the southern tube the colour of the
chlorine could still be seen, the reddening action was less decided, and the
bleaching action was more powerfully evinced. The general result was that the
action of sunlight is less uniform than might have been expected in increasing the
bleaching power of chlorine, or while some tints rapidly disappeared under its action
assisted by light, other colours remained, in apparently the very same circumstances,
unaiFected.
Sulphurous acid, if thoroughly dried, may be kept for months in contact with dry
colours without altering them ; under the influence of sunlight it however recovers to
some extent its bleaching power.
Sulphuretted hydrogen acts as a weak acid, and readily as a bleacher when
moist, and becomes inactive in both respects if made dry and kept in darkness.
"With the assistance of sunlight it recovers in no inconsiderable degree its bleaching
power.
Oxygen is a well-known bleaching agent, but when dry its action upon colouring
matter in the dark is extremely slow. In sunlight, however, it recovers its bleaching
power.
Carbonic add, when dry in darkness, loses aU power on colouring matter, but a
faint bleaching action is exerted by it under exposure to sunlight.
Hydrogen is without any action when dry upon colours, but it acquires a slight
decolorising power when exposed to sunshine.
'The general result,' concludes Dr. George Wilson, 'of this inquiry, so far as
it has yet proceeded, is, that the bleaching gases, viz. chlorine, sulphurous acid,
sulphuretted hydrogen, and oxygen, lose nearly all their bleaching power, if dry and
in darkness, but all recover it, and chlorine in a most marked degree, by exposure to
sunlight.'
All these experiments appear to show that the action of the solar rays on vegetable
colours is dependent upon the power possessed by one set of rays to aid in the
oxidation or chemical changes of the organic compound constituting the colouring
matter. The whole matter requires careful investigation.
It is a proved fact, that colouring matters, either from the mineral or the vegetable
kingdoms, are much brighter when they are precipitated from their solutions in
bright sunshine, than if precipitated on a cloudy day or in the dark. It must
not bo supposed that all the changes observed are due to chemical action ; there
can be no doubt but many are purely physical phenomena, that is, the result of mole-
cular change, without any chemical disturbance.
IiXCKT CARBVRETTEX> HY3>BOGEl«r. Marsh-gas or flre-damp.
XiXGHT, EKECTRIC. See Electeic Light.
]bZGKTKOirSE. The importance of lights of great power and of a distinguish-
able character around our coasts is admitted by all. One of the noblest eiForts of
humanity is certainly the construction of those guides to the mariners upon rocks
which exist in the tracks of ships, or upon dangerous shores and the mouths of har-
bours. This is not the place to enter largely upon any special description of the
lights which are adopted around our shores ; a brief account only will be given of some
of the more remarkable principles which have been introduced of late years by the
Trinity Board.
The early lighthouses appear to have been illuminated by coal or wood fires con-
tained in ' chauffers.' The Isle of Man light was of this kind until 1816. The_ first
decided improvement was made by Argand, in 1784, who invented a lamp with a
circular wick, the flame being supplied by an external and internal current of air.
To make these lamps more effective for lighthouse illumination, and to prevent the
ray of light escaping on all sides, a reflector was added in 1780 by M. Lenoir; this
tlirew the light forward in parallel rays towards such points of the horizon as would
be useful to the mariner. Good reflectors increase the luminous effect of a lamp
about 400 times; tliis is the 'catoptric' system of lighting. When reflectors are
used, there is a certain quantity of light lost, and the ' dioptric ' or refracting system,
invented by the late M. Augustin Fresnel in 1822 is designed to obviate this effect to
some extent : the ' catadioptric ' system is a still ftirther improvement, and acts both
by refraction and reflection. Lights of the first order have an interior radius or focal
112 LIGHTHOUSE
distance of 36"22 inches, and are lighted by a lamp of four concentric ■wicks, con-
suming 570 gallons of oil per annum. Eecently (1874) mineral oil has been used
■with much advantage and economy in the lighthouses of America.
The following notices may be of interest : — The Eddystone Lighthouse, 9^ miles
from the Rame Head, on the coast of Cornwall, was erected of timber by Winstanley
in 1696-98, and was washed away in 1703. It was rebuilt by Rudyard in 1706,
and destroyed by fire in 1765. The present edifice -was erected by Smeaton 1767-59.
Tallo'w candles were used in the first instance for the lights; but in 1807 argand
lamps, ■with paraboloidal reflectors of silvered copper were substituted.
The Skerryvore Eocks, about 12 miles south-west of Tj-ree on the coast of Axgyle-
shire, lying in the track of the shipping of Liverpool and of the Clyde had long been
regarded -with dread by the mariners frequenting these seas. The extreme difficulty
of the position, exposed to the unbroken force of the Atlantic Ocean, had alone de-
terred the Commissioners of Northern Lights from the attempt to place a light upon
this dangerous spot; but in 1834 they caused the reef to be surveyed, and in 1838
Mr. Alan Stevenson, their engineer, inheriting his father's energy and scientific skill,
commenced his operations upon a site from which ' nothing could be seen for miles
around but ■white foaming breakers, and nothing could be heard but the howling of
the winds and the lashing of the waves.' His design was an adaptation of Smeaton's
tower of the Eddystone to the peculiar situation, a circumstance with which he had
to contend. He established a circular base 42 feet in diameter, rising in a solid
mass of gneiss or granite, but diminishing in diameter to the height of 26 feet, and
presenting an even concave surface all round to the action of the •waves. Imme-
diately above this level the ■walls are 9 "58 feet thick, diminishing in thickness as the
tower rises to its highest elevation, ■where the -walls are reduced to 2 feet in thickness,
and the diameter to 16 feet. The tower is built of granite from the islands of
Tyree and Mull, and its height from the base is 138 feet 8 inches. In the in-
tervals left by the thickness of the walls are the stairs, a space for the necessary
supply of stores, and a not uncomfortable habitation for three attendants. The
rest of the establishment, stores, &c., are kept at the depot in the island of Tyree.
The light of the Skerryvore is revolving, and is produced by the revolution of
eight annular lenses around a central lamp, and belongs to the first order of dioptric
lights in the system of Fresnel, and may be seen from a vessel's deck at a distance
of 18 miles.
Some of the lenticular arrangements must no^w claim attention. The appearance of
light called short eclipses has hitherto been obtained by the following arrangement : —
An apparatus for a fixed light being provided, composed of a central cylinder and two
zones of catadioptric rings forming a cupola and lower part, a certain number of lenses
are arranged at equal distances from each other, placed upon an exterior moveable
frame making its revolution around the apparatus in a given period. These lenses,
composed of vertical prisms, are of the same altitude as 5ie cylinder, and the radius
of their curves is in opposite directions to those of the cylinder, in such a manner
that at their passage they converge into a parallel pencil of light, all the divergent
rays emitted horizontally from the cylinder producing a brilliant effect, like that
obtained by the use of annular lenses at the
1384 1385 revolving lighthouses. Large lenses, or any
large masses of glass, are liable to striae,
which by dispersing, occasion a loss of much
light.
' In order to improve a solid lens formed of
one piece of glass whose section is A, m, p, b,
F, B, D, c, A {fiff. 1384), Bufifon proposed to cut
out all the glass left white in the figure,
namely, the portions between m p and n o, and
between « o and the left-hand surface of » e.
A lens thus constructed would be incomparably
superior to a solid one, but such a process we
conceive to be impracticable on a large scale, from the extreme difficulty of polishing
the surfaces x m, B p, c n, ¥ o, and the left-hand surface of d e ; and even if it were
practical, the greatest imperfections of the glass might happen to occur in the parts
which are left. In order to remove these imperfections and to construct lenses of
any size,' says Sir David Brewster, »I proposed in 1811 to build them up of separate
zones or rings, each of -which rings was again to be composed of separate segments,
as shown in the front view of the lens in fig. 1386. T^is lens is composed of one
central lens a b c d, corresponding with its section d b in fig. 1384 ; of a middle ring
G E L I, corresponding to c d, e f, and consisting of 4 segments ; and another ring
N p B t, corresponding to A c, f b, and consisting of 8 segments. The preceding
LIGHTHOUSE 113
destruction obviously puts it in our power to execute those lenses, to whicli I have
given tho name of foly zonal lenses, of pure flint glass free from veins ; but it pos-
sesses another great advantage, namely, that of enabling us to correct very nearly the
spherical aberration by making the foci of each zone coincide.'
This description will enable the reader to understand the system which has been
adopted by Fresnel, and carried out by the French Government and by our own Com-
missionei's of Lights.
In the fixed dioptric light of Fresnel, the flama is placed in the centre of the ap-
paratus, and within a cylindric reflector of glass, of a vertical refracting power, the
breadth and height of a strip of light emitted by it being dependent upon the size of
the flame and the height of the reflector itself ; above and below is placed a series of
reflecting prismatic rings or zones for collecting the upper and lower divergent rayf^
which, falling upon the inner side of the zone are refracted, pass through the second
side where they suffer total reflection, and, passing out on the outer side of the zone,
are again refracted. The effect of these zones is to lengthen the vertical strip of
light, the size of which is dependent upon the breadth of the flame and the height of
the apparatus.
In Fresnel's revolving lighthouse, a large flame is placed in the centre of a revolv-
ing frame which carries a number of lenses on a large scale and of various curva-
tures for the avoidance of spherical aberration. With the view of collecting tho
divergent rays above the flame, an arrangement of lenses and silvered mirrors is
placed immediately over it. By this compound arrangement the simply revolving
character of the apparatus is destroyed, as, in addition to the revolving flash, a ver-
tical and fixed light is at all times seen, added to which a great loss of light must be
sustained by the loss of metallic reflectors. In 1851, Messrs. Wilkins and Letour-
neau introduced a catadioptric apparatus of great utility, which was thus described
by them : —
The flrst improvement had special reference to tlie light, and produced a consider-
able increase in its power, whilst the simplicity of the optical arrangements was also
regarded. It consisted, flrst, in completely dispensing with the moveable central
cylindrical lenses ; secondly, it replaced these by a single revolving cylinder composed
of four annular lenses and four lenses of a fixed light introduced between them ; but
the number of each varying according to the succession of flashes to be produced in
the period of revolution.
The second improvement consisted in a new method of arranging the revolving
parts, experience having shown that the arrangements in use were very faulty.
A short time is sufficient for the action of tlie friction-rollers, revolving on two
parallel planes, to produce, by a succession of cuttings, a sufficiently deep groove
to destroy the regularity of the rotatory movement. To obviate this great incon-
A-enience the friction-rollers were so placed and fitted, on an iron axis with regulating
screws and traversing between two bevelled surfaces, and when an indentation was
made in one place they could be adjusted to another part of the plates which is not so
worn.
The third improvement produced the result of an increase of tho power of the flashes
in rcA^olving lighthouse apparatus to double what had been obtained hitherto. By
moans of lenses of vertical prisms placed in the prolongation of the central annular
lenses, the divergent rays emerging from the catadioptric zone were brought into a
straight lino, and a coincidence of the three lenses obtained.
The wliole of the prisms, lenses, and zones are mounted with strength and sim-
plicity, accurately ground and polished to the correct curves according to their re-
spective positions, so as to properly develope this beautiful system of Fresnel. The
glass of which they are composed should be of the clearest crystal colour, and free
from that green hue which so materially reduces the power of the light, and is con-
sidered objectionable for apparatus of this kind. The lamp by which the apparatus is
to be lighted consists of a concentric burner with four circiUar wicks attachetl to a
lamp of simple construction, the oil being forced up to the burner by atmospheric
pressure only, so that there are no delicate pumps or machinery to become de-
ranged.
Stevemon's Bevolving Lighthouse. — This apparatus consists of two parts. The prin-
cipal part is a right octagonal hollow prism composed of eight large lenses, which
throw out a powerful beam of light whenever the axis of a single lens comes in the line
between the observer and tho focus. This occurs once in a minute, as the frame which
bears the lens revolves in eight minutes on the rollers placed beneath. The subsidiary
parts consist of eight pyramidal lenses inclined at an angle of 30° to the horizon, and
forming together a hollow truncited cone, which rests above the flame like a cap.
Above thfse smaller lenses (which can only be seen by looking from below) are
Vol. III. I
114 LIGNITE
placed eight plane mirrors, -whose surfaces being inclined to the horizon at 60° in the
direction opposite to that of the pyramidal lenses, finally cause all the light made
parallel by the refraction of these lenses to leave the mirror in a horizontal direction.
The only object of this part is to turn to useful account, by prolonging the duration
of the flash, that part of the light which would otherwise escape into the atmosphere
above the main lenses. Tliis is effected by giving to the upper lenses a slight hori-
, zontal divergence^ from the vertical plane of the principal lenses. Below are five
tires of totally reflecting prisms, which intercept tlie light that passes below the great
lenses, and by means of two reflections and an intermediate refraction project them in
the shape of a fiat ring to the horizon.
Stevenson's fixed dioptric apparatus of tlie first order (same as that at the Isle of
May, with various improvements). The principal part consists of a cylindric belt of
glass which surrounds the flame in the centre, and by its action refracts the light in
a vertical direction iipward and downward, so as to be parallel with the focal plane of
the s)'stem. In this way it throws out a fiat ring of light equally intense in every
direction. To near observers, this action presents a narrow vertical band of light,
depending for its breadtli on the extent of the horizontal angle embraced by the eye.
This arrangement therefore fulfils all the conditions of a fixed light, and surpasses in
effect any arrangement of parabolic refiectors. In order to save the light wliich would
be lost in passing above and below the cylindrical belt, curved mirrors with their
common focus in the lamp were formerly used ; but by the present engineer, the
adaptation of catadiopiric zones to this part of the apparatus was, after much labour,
successfully carried out. These zones are triangidar, and act by total refiection, the
inner face refracting, the second totally reflecting, and the third or outer face, a second
time refracting, so as to cause the light to emerge horizontally. The apparatus has
received many smaller changes by the introduction of a new mode of grouping the
various parts of the framework, by which the passage of the light is less obscured in
every azimuth.
Mechanical lamps of four wicks are used in these lighthouses ; in these the oil is
kept continually overfiowing by means of pumps which raise it from tlie cistern below ;
thus the rapid carbonisation of the wicks, which would be caused by the great heat,
is avoided. The flames of the lamp reach their best effect in three hours after light-
ing, i.e. after the whole of the oil in the cistern, by passing and repassing over the
wicks repeatedly, has reached its maximum temperature. After this the lamp often
burns fourteen hours without sensible diminution of the light, and then rapidly falls.
The height varies from sixteen to twenty times that of the argand flame of an inch in
diameter; and the quantity of oil consumed by it is greater nearly in the same
proportion.
In Stevenson's ordinary parabolic reflector, rendered Jwlophotal (where the entire
light is parallelised) by a portion of a catadioptric annular lens, the back part of the
parabolic conoid is cut off, and a portion of a spherical mirror substituted, so as to
send the rays again through the flame ; while his holophotal catadioptric annular
lens apparattcs is a combination of a hemispherical mirror and a lens having totally-
reflecting zones ; the peculiarity of this arrangement is, that the catadioptric zones,
instead of transmitting the light in parallel horizont^il plates, as in Fresnel's appa-
ratus, produces, as it were, an extension of the lenticular or quaquaversal action of the
central lens by assembling the light around its axis in the form of concentric hollow
cylinders.
Mr. Chance, of Birmingham, constructed a lighthouse which may be regarded as
Fresnel's revolving light rendered holophotal. This arrangement was divided into
three compartments, the upper and lower of which were composed respectively of
thirteen and six catadioptric zones which produce the vertical strip of light extending
the whole length of the apparatus, and is similar to Fresnel's dioptric light. The
central or catoptric compartment consisted of eight lenses of three feet focal length,
each of which was the centre of a series of eleven concentric prismatic rings, designed
to produce the same refractive effect as a solid lens of equal size. These compound
lenses were mounted upon a revolving frame and transmitted liorizontal flashes of
light as they successively rotated. The motion was communicated to the frame by
a clock movement, and performs one revolution in four minutes; consequently, as
there are eight lenses, a fiash of light is transmitted every thirty seconds to the
horizon.
^XOW AXiOES. This wood is supposed to be the produce of Aqtiilaria Agallocha,
one of the Lace-bark order.
XiZGlVEOxrs MATTXOt is vegetable fibre. See Fibre, Vegetable.
^WGWITE. Under Bhown Coal, and Coal, the characteristics of lignite have
already received attention, therefore little further need bo said. The term lignite
should be confined to fossil wood, or, still more correctly to wood which has under-
n
LIGNUM-VIT^
115
gone one of the changes leading towards the production of coal. If •wood is
buried in moist earth there is the production of carbonic acid from the elements of the
wood, and the wood is changed into either lignite or brown coal. Lignite and coiil
differ ciiomically from each other. Lignite yields by dry distillation acetic acid and
acetate of ammonia, whereas coal produces only an ammoniacal liquor. (^Kremers.)
"Woody fibre gives rise to acetic acid ; therefore, lignite must still contain undecomposed
woody fibre. The following table gives the composition of several well-known
lignites : —
From Uttweiler .
„ Hungary .
„ theKlioue.
„ Meissner .
„ Bovey Heathfield
Carbon
Hydrogen
Oxygen and
Nitrogen
Earthy
matter
Cbemist
77-9
67-3
72-2
68-6
67-9
2-6
4-3
4-9
6-9
3-8
19-5
20-1
190
24-8
1-0
0-8
1-8
2-3
Karsten
Nendtwich
Regnault
Grager
Vaux
The products of the destructive distillation of lignite, by B. Niederstadt is well
deserving attention. — The lignites examined came from the Rhenish-Hessian basin.
1. Lignite from Meissner, of a red-brown colour and woody texture ; specific gravity
ri2. 2. Lignite from Eheinhardswalde, grey or black, containing abundance of
resin; specific gravity 1"13. 3. Brilliant lignite of Meissner, black, fracture fibrous,
lustre vitreous; specific gravity r32. 4. Lignite of Hirschberg, brownish-black, in
tree-like masses ; specific gravity 1 '35. The following is their elementary composi-
tion : —
Carbon .....
1
2
3
4
61-238
58-782
60-995
60-302
Hydrogen
4-169
4-042
3-192
4-859
Oxygen . . .
32-326
20-803
17-591
20-169
Nitrogen
0175
0-150
0123
0-121
Ash
0-795
5-940
5-470
3-167
Moisture .....
10-297
10-283
3-629
11-391
On distillation these lignites yielded solid, liquid, and gaseous products ; at a dark-red
heat, a brown tarry matter passing over along with combustible gases. To separate
the watery portion from the tar, common salt was added to the mixture, heated to 40°.
The quantity of tar, when freed from water, amounted to 4 to 5 percent., and the watery
products 48 to 55 per cent., containing acetic acid and ammonia. The oily matters
distilled over at 95° to 220°, leaving a black pitchy residue. The distillate, on agitation
with concentrated soda-lye, yields phenol. On fractional distillation, the portions
passing over up to 150° contain pyrrol and picoline, which boils at 135°, and is distin-
guished from aniline by not giving a violet colouration with chloride of lime. The
part passing over about 220° solidified on cooling, yielding a crystalline mass soluble
in alcohol and ether. It melts at 49° to 51°, and is a paraffin formed of hydrocarbons
C''H-". It amounts to 1 per cent, of the lignite employed. The gaseous mixture,
from the Meissner lignite, consisted of: — Hydrogen, 14-26; carbonic oxide, 40'12;
marsh-gas, 10*29 ; nitrogen, 4-09 ; carbonic acid, 2-10 ; ethylene and superior hydro-
carbons, 2-13. There appears, consequently, little prospect of using the gases from
lignite for lighting purposes.
In Prussia, Austria, and many other parts of the Continent, lignite forms a very
important product, being largely employed for domestic and for manufacturing
purposes. In this country, with the single exception of the Bovey Heathfield formation,
wliich is used in the adjoining pottery, lignite is not employed. See Coal.
XiIG'19'TrMC-VXT.aB, or Giiaiacum (Guaiacum officinale and G. sanctum), a, very
hard and heavy wood. The fibrous structure of tliis wood is very remarkable ; the
fibres cross each other sometimes as obliquely as at an angle of 30° with the axis,
as if one group of the annual layers wound to the right, the next to the left, and
so on, with any exactitude. The wood can hardly bo split, it is therefore divided by
the saw. Lignum-vitse is much used in machinery for rollers, presses, mills, &c., and
for pestles and mortars, sheers for ship's blocks, skittle balls, and a great variety of
othei- works requiring hardness and strengtli.
The gum guaiacum of the apothecary is extracted from this wood.
i2
]1G LIME
ZiXXi AC BVE. See Calico-Pbinting ; Dyeixg ; and Anilink.
ItZTCCA "WOOB. See Brazil Wood.
X.ZIVIE4 THE. The Citrus lAmetta, yielding the lime-juice bo much esteemed for
flarouriug sherbet, punch, &c.
IiIME. Qukmme, an Oxide of Calcium. This useful substance is prepared by
burning calcareous stones in kilns or furnaces.
Limestone used to be calcined in a very rude kiln, formed by inclosing a circular
space of 10 or 15 feet diameter, by rude stone walls 4 or 5 feet high, and filling
the cylindrical cavity with alternate layers of turf or coal and limestone broken
into moderate pieces. A bed of brushwood was usually placed at the bottom, to
facilitate the kindling of the kiln. Whenever the combustion was fairly commenced,
the top, piled into a conical form, was covered in with sods, to render the calcina-
tion slow and regular. This method being found relatively inconvenient and
ineffectual, was succeeded by a permanent kiln biiilt of stones or brickwork, in the
shape of a truncated cone with the narrow end undermost, and closed at bottom by
an iron grate. Into this kiln, the fuel and limestone were introduced at the top in
alternate layers, beginning of course with the former ; and the charge was either
allowed to burn out, when the layer was altogether removed at a door near the bottom,
or the kiln was successively fed with fresh materials, in alternate beds, as the former
supply sunk down by the calcination, while the thoroughly-burnt lime at the bottom
was successively raked out by a side door immediately above the grate. The interior
of the lime kiln has been changed of late years from the conical to the elliptical form,
and probably the best is that of an egg placed with .its narrow end undermost, and
truncated both above and below ; the ground plot or bottom of the kiln being com-
pressed so as to give an elliptical section, with an eye or draft-hole towards each end
of that ellipse. A kiln thus arched in above gives a reverberatory heat to the upper
materials, and also favours their falling freely down in proportion as the finished
lime is raked out below ; adA'antages which the conical form does not afford. The
size of the draft-holes for extracting the quicklime, should be proportionate to the size
of the kiln, in order to admit a sufficient current of air to ascend with the smoke and
flame, which is found to facilitate the extrication of the carbonic acid. The kilns are
called perpetual, because the operation is carried on continuously as long as the build-
ing lasts ; and draw-kilns, from the mode of discharging them by raking out the lime
into carts placed against the draft-holes. Three bushels of calcined limestone, or
lime-shells, are produced on an average for every bushel of coals consumed. Such
kilns should bo built up against the face of a cliff, so that easy access may be
gained to the mouth for charging, by making a sloping cart-road to the top of the
bank.
Figs. 1386, 1387, 1388, 1389, represent the lime-kiln of Eiidersdorf near Berlin, upon
the continuous plan, excellently constructed for economising fuel. It is triple, and
yields a threefold product. Fig. 1388 is a view of it as seen from above; fig. 1389,
the elevation and general appearance of one side; fig. 1386, a vertical section, and
fi<j. 1387, the ground plan in the line a b c d of fig. 1386. The inner shaft ./?gr. 1386,
has the form of two truncated cones, with their larger circular ends applied to each
other ; it has the greatest width at the level of the fire-door h, where it is 8 feet in
diameter ; it is narrower below, at the discharge door, and at the top orifice, where it
is about 6 feet in diameter. The interior wall d, of the upper shaft is built with hewn
stones to the height of 38 feet, and below that for 25 feet, with fire-bricks d' d', laid
stepwise. This inner wall is surrounded with a mantle e, of limestone, but between
the two there is a small vacant space of a few inches filled with ashes, in order to
allow of the expansion of the interior with heat taking place without shattering the
mass of the building.
The fire-grate, b, consists of fire-tiles, which at the middle, where the single pieces
press together, lie upon an arched support /. The fire-door is also arched, and is secured
by fire-tiles, g is the iron door in front of that orifice. The tiles which form the grate
have 3 or 4 slits of an inch wide for admitting the air, which enters through the canal A.
The under part of the shaft from the fire to the hearth is 7 feet, and the outer enclosing
wall is constructed of limestone, the lining being of fire-bricks. Here are the ash-
pit i, the discharge outlet a, and the canal k, in front of the outlet. Each ash-pit is
shut with an iron door, which is opened only when the space i becomes filled witli
ashes. These indeed are allowed to remain till they get cool enough to be removed
without inconvenience.
The discharge outlets are also furnished with iron doors, which are opened only for
taking out the lime, and are carefully luted with loam during the burning. The outer
walls I m n of the kiln, are not essentially necessary, but convenient, because they afford
room for the lime to lie in the lower floor, and the fuel in the second. The several
Btoriee are formed of groined arches 0, and platforms p, covered over with limestone
LIME
117
slabs. In the third and fourth stories the ■workmen lodge at night. See fig. 1389. Some
enter their apartments by the upper door q, others by the lower door s, r is one of
the chimneys for the several fireplaces of the workmen ; t,u,v are stairs.
1386
1388
As the limestone is introduced at top, the mouth of the kiln is surrounded with a
strong iron balustrade to prevent the danger of the people tumbling in. The platform
{fig. 1388) is laid with rails w, for the waggons of limestone, drawn by horses, to run
upon. X is another railway, leading to another kiln. Such kilns are named after
the number of their fire-doors, single, twofold, threefold, fourfold, &c. ; from three
to five being the most usual. The outer form of the kiln also is determined by the
number of the furnaces, being a truncated pyramid of equal sides, and in the middle
of each alternate side there is a fireplace, and a discharge outlet. A cubic foot of
limestone requires for burning, one and five-twelfths of a cubic foot of wood, and one
and a half of turf.
When the kiln is to be set in action, it is filled with rough limestone, to the height
c D, or to the level of the firing ; a wood fire is kindled in a, and kept up till the lime
is calcined. Upon this mass of quicklime a fresh quantity of limestone is introduced,
not thrown in at the mouth, but let down in buckets, till the kiln is quite full ; while
over the top a cone of limestones is piled up, about 4 feet high. A turf-fire is now
kindled in the furnaces b. Whenever the upper stones are well calcined, the lime
under the fire-level is ttiken out, the superior column falls in, a new cone is piled up,
and the process goes on thus without interruption, and without the necessity of onco
putting a fire into a ; for in the space c b, the lime must be always well calcined. The
discharge of lime takes place every 12 hours, and it amounts at each time in a three-
fold kiln, to from 20 to 24 Prussian tonnes of 6 imperial bushels each ; or to 130 bushels
imperial upon the average. It is found by experience that fresh-broken limestone,
which contains a little moisture, calcines more readily than what has been dried by
exposure for some time to the air : in consequence of the vapour of water promoting
the escape of the carbonic acid gas ; a fact well exemplified in distilling essential oils,
as oil of turpentine and naphtha, which come over with the steam of water at upwards
of 100° Fahr. below their natural term of ebullition. Six bushels of Elidersdorf
quicklime weigh from 280 to 306 pounds. See Kilns.
118 LIMESTONE
Anhydrous lime, or, as it is commonly called, ' quicklime,* is an amorphous solid,
varying much in coherence, ticcordiug to the kind of rock from which it is obtained ;
its specific gravity varies from 2-3 to 3. Lime is one of the most infusible bodies
which we possess ; it resists the highest heats of our furnaces.
When exposed to air, quicklime rapidly absorbs water and crumbles into a powder,
commonly known as slaked lime, which is a hydrate of liTtie.
Hydrate of lime, when exposed to tho air, absorbs carbonic acid, and after long ex-
posure it is converted into a mixture of carbonate of lime and hydrate of lime in single
equivalents. Hydrate of lime is but slightly soluble in water, 729 to 733 parts of that
fluid dissolving only 1 part of the lime at ordinary temperatures.
Hydrate of lime is applied to numerous purposes in the arts and manufactures. It
is chiefly employed in tho preparation of mortar for building purposes. See Mortar.
The pure limes, prepared from the carbonates of lime, form an imperfect mortar
suitable only for dry situations. In damp buildings or in wet situations they never
set (as the process of hardening is technically termed), but always remain in a pulpy
state. General Pasley says, ' The unfitness of pure lime for the purposes of hydraulic
architecture has been proved by several striking circumstiiuces that have come under
my personal observation, of which I shall only mention a few. First, a great portion
of the boundary-wall of Rochester Castle having been completely undermined, nearly
throughout its whole thickness, which was considerable, whilst the upper part of the
same wall was left standing, I had always ascribed this remarkable breach to violence,
considering it as having been the act of persons intending to destroy the wall for the
sake of the stone ; but on examining it more accurately after I had begun to study
the subject of limes and cements, I observed that the whole of the breached part was
washed by the Medway at high water, and that all the mortar of a small portion of
tlio back part of the foot of the wall still left standing was quite soft, but that towards
the ordinary high water level it became a little harder, and above that level it was
perfectly sound. I observed the same process at the outer wall of Cockham Wood
Fort, on the left bank of the Medway, below Chatham, of which the upper part was
standing, whilst the lower part of it had been gradually ruined by the action of the
river at high water destroying the mortar.' Tho peculiar conditions necessary to
insure a good and useful mortar for building purposes, and the peculiarities of the
hydraulic mortars or cements are treated of under Hydraulic Cements and
Mortar.
UIMCESTOITE. (Calcaire, Fr. ; KalJcstein, Ger.) A great variety of rocks contain
a sufficient quantity of carbonate of lime to be called limestones.
Chalk is an eartliy massive opaque variety, usually soft and without lustre, and may
be regarded as a tolerably pure carbonate of lime. Carbonate of lime dissolves in 1,000
parts of water charged with carbonic acid. {Bischof.) Fresenius states that it dissolves
in 8,834 parts of boiling water and in 10,601 parts of water at ordinary temperatures.
Carbonate of lime is found in nature more or less pure ; it occurs crystallised, as
in calcspar and aragonite ; and also occurs as granular limestone ; and in compact
masses, as in common limestone, chalk, &c.
Stalactitic carbonate of liTne, frequently called concretionary limestone, is formed by
the infiltration of water through rocks containing lime, which is dissolved out, and as
it slowly percolates the rocks into cavernous openings, the water parts with its carbo-
nate of lime, which is deposited in zones more or less iindulated, which have a fibrous
structure from the crystalline character of the concretionary lime. The long fibrous
pieces called stalactites show those fibres very beautifully. The stratiform masses
called stalagmites exhibit a similar structure, varied only by the conditions under
which they are formed. A very remarkable stalagmitic limestone found in Egypt is
known as oriental alabaster.
True Alabaster is a sulphate of lime, but the stalagmitic carbenate is not unfre-
quently called by this name. See Alabaster.
Incrusting concretionary limestones differ but little from the above. They are deposits
from calcareous springs which are common in some parts of Derbyshire, Yorkshire,
and other places. It is a common practice to place vegetable substances in those
springs ; they then become incrusted with carbonate of lime, and are sold aS petrifac-
tions, which they are not. In volcanic districts many very remarkable springs of
this character exist. One of the most remarkable is at the baths of San Filippo,
in Tuscany, where the water flows in almost a boiling state ; carbonate of lime here
appears to be hold in solution by sulphuretted hydrogen, which flies off when the
water issues to-day. Dr. Vegny has taken advantage of this property of the spring
to obtain basso-rilievo figures of great whiteness and solidity by occasioning the lime
to deposit in sulphur moulds.
Agaric mineral, Spongy limestone, Bock milk, is found at the bottom of and about
LIMNITE 119
lakes whoso waters are impregnated -with lime. The calcareous tufa of Derbyshire
is of this character ; it may be studied in every stage of formation.
Travertine, which served to construct most of the monuments in ancient Rome
appears to have been formed by the deposits of the Anio and the Solfatara of Tivoli.
The temples of Psestum, which are of extreme antiquity, have been built with a trover-
tino, formed by the waters which still flow in this territory.
Compact limestone has a compact texture, usually an even surface of fracture, and
dull shades of colour.
Granular limestone includes common statuary and architectural marble, and has a
texture something like loaf-sugar. I/nder those two heads are grouped a great number
of varieties.
Oolite or roe-stone consists of spherical grains of various sizes, from a millet seed
to a poa, or even an egg.
Coarse-grained limesto7ie. Coarse lias has been referred to this head.
Marly limestone. Lake- and fresh-water limestone formation ; texture fine-grained,
more or less dense ; apt to crumble down in the air ; colour white or pale yello^ ;
fracture rough-grained, somewhat conchoidal ; rather tenacious. Texture occa-
sionally cavernous, with cylindrical winding cavities. This true limestone must
not be confounded with lime marl, which is composed of calcareous matter and
clay.
Siliceous limestone. A combination of silica and carbonate of lime, varying
very much in the proportions, and sometimes passing from cherty limestone into
chert. It scratches steel, and leaves a siliceous residuum after the action of muriatic
acid,
Stinkstone or Swinestone. A carbonate of lime combined with sulphur and
organic matter. It emits the smell of sulphuretted hydrogen by a blow or by
friction. It occurs at Aseynt, ia Sutherlandshire, in Derbyshire, and some parts of
Ireland.
Bituminotis limestone. Limestone containing various hydrocarbon compounds,
diffusing by the action of fire a bituminous odour, and becoming white when
burnt.
Limestones of whatsoever kind may be referred to deposition effected by chemical
change. The immense lapse of time required to form the great limestone ranges of
this country can scarcely be estimated.
Oolitic limestone includes Bath stone, Portland stone, and Caen stone.
Pisolite is a variety of oolite, in which the concretions become as large as peas.
Num.mulitic limestone, Clymenia, Crinoidal, or Encrinital limestones, &c., are so
called from the fossils which the rock contains.
Shell-limestone or Muschelkalk has its name in the same way from its composition.
Cipolino is a granular limestone containing mica.
Majolica, a white and compact limestone.
Scaglia, a rod limestone in the Alps.
See Alabastek ; Chalk : Hydhaulic Cement ; and Maeble.
XiZniESTOirE, mtil-Cia-ESZAIir (Dolomie, Fr. ; Bitterkalk, Talkspat/i, Ger.),
is a mineral which crystallises in the rhombohedral system. Spec. grav. 2-88 ;
scratches calc-spar ; does not fall spontaneously into powder when calcined, as com-
mon limestone does. It consists of 1 equivalent of carbonate of lime = 50, asso-
ciated with 1 of carbonate of magnesia = 42.
Massive magnesian limestone is yellowish-brown, cream-yellow, and yellowish-grey ;
brittle. It dissolves slowly and with feeble effervescence in dilute muriatic acid ;
whence it is called Calcaire lent dolomie, by the French mineralogists. Specific gravity,
2-6 to 2-7.
Near Sunderland it is found in flexible slabs. The principal range of hills com-
posing this geological formation in England, extends from Sunderland on the north-
east coast to Nottingham, and its beds are described as being about 300 feet thick on
the east of the coal-field in Derbyshire, which is near its southern extremity. — H. W. B.
See Dolomite,
ZiZME TBEE {Tilia Europcea). The well-known linden tree, common to all
Europe. The wood is very light-coloured, fine and close in the grain, and when
properly seasoned, not liable to warp. It is much used in the manufacture of piano-
fortes and harps. It is made into cutting boards for curriers, shoemakers, &c., as it
does not turn the knife in any direction of the grain, nor injure the edge.
Lime-tree wood is especially useful for carving, from its even texture and freedom
from knots. The beautiful works of Gibbons at Hampton Court, at Windsor, and at
Chatsworth, are executed in lime-tree wood, as are also the works of Rogers.
XiXMISrSTE. A name applied to certain varieties of hydrous peroxide of iron,
having tlie composition — Fe^O^.SHO (Pe-O^SH^O). Some kinds of bog iron-ore and
120 LINEN
etalactitic brown iron-ore may come under this denomination. The name is derived
from Xifiirfi ijimne), a marsh.
ZiXMOGES Z:xrAlMCEX.S. SceENAKELS.
XiZMOWZTE. A hydrous peroxide of iron of the composition — 2Fe'0.'3HO
(2Fe*0'.3H=0). It includes most of the bog iron-ores and the so-called brown haema-
tites. The name is derived from Xei/ieDj/ {leimon), a meadow. See Iron.
mSTASZTS. A hydrous sulphate of copper and lead, occurring in beautiful
dark blue crystals at Leadhills in Lanarkshire, and at several localities in Cumber-
land. It takes its name from Linares in Spain.
XiZirBEXr T&ES. See Limb Tbee.
XiZXrEXr. History does not state at what period of the world's existence the
manufacture of cloth from flaxen material was first introduced; but from many
evidences found in Egyptian mausoleums the process of weaving must have been known
and practised even before the great shipbuilder laid the first planks of his famous Ark.
Throughout the pages of Sacred Writ the allusions to ' fine linen,' ' broidered linen,'
and the fancy styles of the fabric as they were brought out wefted with gold threads
and coloured yarns, show that in those days the clothing of princes, priests, and
people was largely composed of the diiFerent qualities of such material. In ancient
Greece the embroidering of linen robes was delighted in as a popular pastime by the
ladies of high degree, and the Romans of old were no less fond of the manufacture.
But all their fancy goods were not furnished by the needle alone. Homer alludes to
his famous heroine weaving pictures in the loom, and other productions similar in
pattern to the damask of modern days were worked by the shuttle in ancient Greece.
The use of linen was pretty general in the higher cii'cles of society in the British
isles at a very remote period; but all the finer varieties of the fabric were imported
from the continent of Europe. Woollen goods formed the principal material for inner
as well as outside clothing of the people on both sides the Tweed in the fifth century ;
but even then linen was considered an essential requisite for special purposes, and
particularly for wrapping the bodies of the dead. Weaving was cultivated by the
more skilful peasants for a long period afterwards ; but it does not appear that any
high order of work had been produced until the reign of Henry III., when a number
of Flemings brought over by that monarch settled in Sussex and introduced a very
superior make of linen. Wo have only slight allusions in after history respecting the
progress of the trade either in England, Scotland, or Ireland. The yarns, at least
those of the upper counts used in Sussex and Lancashire were imported from
Holland, Flanders and Ireland. A high authority — Leland — in alluding to the
Liverpool trade says : ' Irysh merchantes doe cum muche heyre withe linnen yjime,
the whiche Manchester men doe bye.' King William tried to give greater impulse to
the trade in England, but somehow the pride of the people in manufacturing districts
to uphold woollen, ' the noble and national fabric,' stood in the way ; and while royal
patronage did immense good in Scotland and Ireland, it had little effect in England.
Sam Homespun's calculations relative to the value of a single acre's produce of flax
when spun and woven were made in 1742, and given at length in the leading magazine
of that day ; but marvellous as they were, so far as referred to the profits which
might be made in the linen manufacture, the subject was not taken up in the spirit
intended by that writer. Shortly afterwards the discoveries of Hargreaves, Arkwright,
and others, and the enterprise created thereby in the cotton trade opened iip new
avenues in the manufacturing world of England ; farmers there gradually decreased
the area of flax culture ; and, except in few localities, linen weaving no longer occu-
pied any large space in the republic of labour.
In the meantime very great progress had been maintained in the manufacture of
linen in Scotland and Ireland. Bounties and other artificial stimulants were freely
administered by the State ; a Board of Trustees for Scotland sat in Edinburgh, and
local influence was largely used to give effect to the movement for improving the
manufacture. The Bounty Act became law in 1742, and in the course of that year
4,431,500 yards of linen were stamped by the inspectors appointed for that purpose.
Twelve years afterwards, and when the bounty system was given up, the turn out of
goods had increased to 8,914,400 yards ; in 1800, 24,236,630 yards were protluced and
stamped by the inspectors; and in 1822 there was a total of 36,268,530 yards of linen
made in Scotland. The introduction of flax spinning by mechanical power and of
weaving linen on the steam-loom principle, made a remarkable change in the Scotch
trade. Dundee had long been the great centre of the flaxen manufactures, and of
late years it has taken the lead in the Jute trade. Twenty-five years ago the imports
of Jute into Dundee were 12,500 cwts. ; in 1863, 46,900 cwts. were landed there ; and
of the total import of 2,583,842 cwts. for t*he six months ending June 30, 1874, a large
proportion went to Dundee. Tlio capital employed in that town and neighbourhood
m the flax and Jute trades cannot at present bo under five and a half millions sterling.
%
LINEN
121
Ireland's linen trade was its great sheet anchor in times the records of Trhich have
been lost in the mist of ages. Long before the reign of William the Conqueror Irish
linen occupied a largo space among the wares exposed for sale at the great fairs of
England. The looms used in the make of goods were, however, of very primitive con-
struction ; and, until the semi-regal reign of Wentworth, Earl of Strafford, no effort
had been made to improve those machines. In course of a tour through Ulster that
viceroy saw that much was required to place the Irish trade on something like equality
with their French and Dutch competitors. He had already, by importing superior
flax seed and giving it at cost price to the farmers succeeded in creating, as it were, a
higher class of fibre, and at considerable cost he brought over from Holland some
hundreds of looms, all of which ho distributed among the more ambitious class of
weavers.
The trade at that time may be said to have been a local one, as the total annual
value of linen exports did not exceed an average of 10,000^., and that aggregate
had not increased in any great degree when the first batch of Huguenot exiles landed
in Ireland. How much the Prince of Orange contributed towards the establishment
of a new system of flaxen manufacture has still to be acknowledged by the people of
that country. He was the warm friend of the Gallic fugitives, and his kindly feeling
towards those victims of persecution led to the most important results in all depart-
ments of the Irish trade. We have alluded to the value of exports in 1690. In 1706
the quantity of linen sent from Ireland was 530,900 yards, valued at IQd. a yard.
In 1726 there were 4,368,396 yards exported; and in 1766 the account had ran up to
17,892,000 yards, while the average value had arisen to 15<?. a yard. Forty years
afterwards, Ireland exported 43,534,000 yards of linen, and in 1836 the export was
60,000,000 yards.
Up to this time, and for a great many years afterwards, all the linen produced in
Ireland had been woven by hand. Considerable impulse was given to the trade by
the introduction, a few years before, of flax-spinning by steam-power. Still, although
flaxen goods were largely produced in Kirkcaldy arid Dundee on the power-loom
principle, no attempt had been made to bring out the new weaving-machine in Ireland.
We here give two figures of the loom as constructed some years ago for the working
of heavy linen.
Flax Weaving Loom foh Heavy Fabrics. — AA\,fgs. 1390, 1391, frame of loom;
B, beam on which the yarn for warp is wound ; c, cloth-receiving beam ; d, driving
puUey-s and fly-wheel ; e, hand rail for supporting the reed ; f, swords of supports of
going part ; g, picking sticks for driving the shuttle ; h, leather straps for connecting
the picking sticks with their actuating levers i ; m, n, jaws of a clamp to cause the
retaining friction on the
collars of the beam b, by
which friction the quantity
of weft is regulated ; o,
end of lever, bearing the
weiglit by which the jaws
are brought together ; p,
lever, keyed at one end to
the upright shaft q, and
connected with the other to
the fulcrum of the weighted
lever o ; n, lever, one end
of which is also keyed to
the upright shaft q, and
the other is provided with
a wood sole, and is pressed
by a strong spring against
the yarn wound upon the
beam b. It will be seen
that, as the yarn is taken
off the beam b, and its
diameter consequently re-
duced, the lever p moves
the Hilcrum of the weighted
lever o, and thus regulates
the pressure upon the
clamps M and n, causing
an equal tension upon the
yarn from the full to the
empty beam ; a, treddles, actuated by the cams b, driven by the wheels <?, d, e, from the
1390
122
LINEN
picking shaft /; gg, shuttle-boxeg at each end of the going part ; h h, arrangement
of levers to conduct equally each end of the geare i i. This loom has also, in addi-
1391
tion to the ordinary stopping arrangement connected with the shuttle, one also fop
relaxing the reed in case the shuttle should be arrested in its course across the warp,
whereby the danger, ordinarily incurred by that accident, of breaking many threads
in the warp is avoided ; it will also be seen that the bands called picking bands are
superseded by the ends of the picking levers striking the shuttle direct ; thus, by these
improvements, drills are currently woven in this loom at the rate of 120 to 130 picks
per minute.
About a dozen years since extensive trials were made to adapt the power-loom to
the weaving of light linen fabrics. Previously it had been found that while coarse
and strong flax fabrics, such as those made at Dundee, Arbroath, &c., in Scotland,
and the drills made at Barnsley, could be produced by power as well and more cheaply
than by hand, yet that the lighter fabrics, such as shirtings, cambrics, lawns, &c.,
would not bear the strain of the power-loom, or, at all events, that to make them of as
good appearance as by the hand-loom the manufacturer required to employ a dearer
article of yarn, and so fotmd that he could not compete with his neighbours who had
hand-loom weavers.
Irish manufacturers were for a long time very hard to convince that, except for the
production of sets, say from S*" to 1 2°°, the steam-driven loom was not likely to be
worked successfully. But at length the. increasing demand for linen, and tlie difficulty
of procuring hands to work on the ordinary loom, forced capitalists to adopt the new
mode of production, and rapidly did tlie system extend when it was found not only to
equal, but far exceed that which had been expected from it. Hand-loom weaving, in
coarse, heavy linens, was a labour that required more than average strength, and yet,
when it was maintained for fourteen hours a diiy, the operator did not earn as much
as a factory worker can now realise by his ten hours' labour. Many linen weavers,
as demand for hands increased in other sections of industry, forsook the loom, and the
only alternative manufacturers had was the substitution of the iron macliino and the
steam-engine for the old wooden loom and the hand-weaver.
In 1857 there were only 30 power-looms at work on linen weaving in Ireland, in
1860 there were 4,000, in 1866, 10,000, and in 1872, about 15,600 power-looms were
engaged in the trade. Some of these machines work up to le'". lu one factory an
1 8"" linen has been produced by the steam loom, but such liigh sets can hardly be
made with profit. Damasks, diapers, and cambric handkerchiefs, are brought out in
the best style, of course, up to certain sets on the same principle, but the upper class of
work can only be rightly done by hand. In fact, the practical limit to steam produc-
f
LINEN
123
tion of linens has been found to be the weaving of a 16*''-web ; any fabric above that
• set ' cannot well be brought out by ' power,' so as to compete with the hand-loom work.
The improvements recently efibctod in the make of the steam loom have nearly all
been favourable to the operatives. Stronger and better fitted-up machines are now
seen in factories ; for instance, a loom which a dozen years ago, and constructed for a
certain class of work, weighed 15 to 16 cwts., would, now be brought out so much
heavier as to weigh 17 to 18 cwts. One effect of the improvement in gearing is to
give the workpeople greater facility of production ; they get through their bibour with
more ease, and the quality of cloth is decidedly better. In the last case, however, we
must add that the superior class of yarns now thrown off the spindles has had much
to do with the order of fabric made in 1874, compared with that brought out in 1863.
And while thus alluding to the improvements in machinery, we must not forget to
add that the better mode of ventilation in mills, the care taken as to sanitary regu-
lations and the regailarity of labour, have been producing a very gratifying change on
the physical aspect of the people oonriected with public works. Contrasted with the
appearance of the hand-loom or factory weaver of half a century since, that of his
successor in the present day shows a marvellous advance in social position as well as
in bodily stamina.
Exports of Linen, 1872.
Linen Yam:
To Norway .
„ Denmark .
,, Germany .
„ Holland .
„ Belgium .
„ France
„ Spain and Canaries
„ Italy .• .
„ Egypt .
„ United States : Atlantic
„ Other countries .
Total
Linen Piece Goods — Plain, Unbleached, or
Bleached :
To Sweden
„ Germany
„ Holland ,
„ France . . . . ....
„ Portugal, Azores, and Madeira .
„ Spain and Canaries ....
„ Itixly
„ Turkey Proper ,
,. Egypt ,
„ United States : Atlantic .
„ „ „ Pacific . . .
„ Foreign West Indies . . . .
„ Mexico , '
„ United States of Colombia (New Gran,ada)
,, Venezuela. . . .
„ Peru . . . .
„ Chili . . .
„ Brazil
„ Uruguay . . .
„ Argentine Eepublic .
„ British Possessions in South Africa
„ Hong Kong . . .
„ Australia
„ British North America
„ British West Indies and British Guiana
„ Other countries . .
Total
lbs.
266,260
768,577
6,327,028
4,538,841
986,078
1,677;361
11,882,108
2,110,300
300,630
1,617,946
711,922
31,187,051
yards
1,214,426
6,532,256
.1,000,617
4,429,502
1,550,740
2,397,794
2,556,070
1,470,290
1,527,060
115,462.840
1,412,340
37,410,503
2,367,500
6,268,739
1,671,532
1,833,490
2,248,320
9,977,789
•1,260,500
4,900,400
1,627,027
723,539 ,
,7,613,280
5,443,111
,4,098,804
.6,830,829
233,838,338
£
25,655
72,791
624,499
273,322
97,465
126,700
650,053
140,579
20,069
53,317
47,621
2,131,071
£
36,471
266,184
42,779
176.485
48,341
139,333
126,215
45,226
49,437
3,526,584
29,942
988.736
79,406
204,827
43,899
61,232
70,604
284,060
36,089
139,983
61,486
30,316
255,656
161,265
100,988
247,294
7,241.338
124
LINEN
Checked, Printed, or Dyed, and Damasks and
Diapers :
To France
, United States : Atlantic .
, „ „ Pacific
, Foreign West Indies ....
, Mexico
, United States of Colombia (New Granada)
, Brazil
, Argentine Eepublic . . , .
, Australia
, British North America
, British West Indies and British Guiana
, Other countries ....
Total
Sail-cloth and Sails:
To Norway
„ Denmark
„ Germany
„ Turkey Proper ....
„ United States : Atlantic .
Pacific .
„ Brazil
„ Argentine Eepublic .
„ Channel Islands
„ British Possessions in South Africa
., British India, Bengal, and Burmah
„ Hong Kong ....
„ Australia
„ British North America
„ British West Indies and British Guii
„ Other countries . . .
Total ,
Thread for Sewing:
To Eussia ....
„ Sweden ....
„ Germany ....
„ Holland ....
„ Spain and Canaries .
„ Italy ...
„ Austrian Territories .
„ Turkey Proper .
„ United States : Atlantic .
Pacific .
„ Foreign West Indies .
„ Brazil ....
„ British North America '.
., Other countries .
Total
Manufactures unenumerated.
To Russia
„ Germany .....
„ Holland
„ Belgium
„ France
Carried forward .
yarda
324,680
1,390,020
2,500
2,608,341
450,400
454,746
158,900
97,260
619,100
102,409
820,180
869,404
7,397,940
yards
321,652
247,788
699,660
13X),920
323,646
12,300
121,306
50,370
68,350
179,543
110,600
101,110
191,550
702,434
66,490
545,407
3,783,126
lbs.
91,875
75,182
247,467
85,765
87,326
28,054
72,845
76,089
1,296,823
1,020
52,018
48,200
226,222
252,846
2,641,732
£
12,839
54,316
61
65,769
12,351
12,683
7,258
3,820
20,316
3,358
8,838
31,127
233,736
£
25,240
14,886
36,637
7,637
16,653
587
7,132
2,505
3,305
9,909
6,404
6,919
11,589
41,713
3,955
30,291
255,291
£
11,488
10,247
31,057
11.594
8,392
3,906
9,647
7,976
162,189
144
3,991
5,365
24,214
27,357
817,666
£
12,902
40,193
12,426
16,514
18,744
100,779
LINEN
121
yards
£
Brought forward .
100,779
To Portugal and Madeira . . . ' .
2,760
„ Spain and Canaries
6,620
» Italy
8,169
„ United States : Atlantic ....
13,081
„ „ „ Pacific ....
38
„ Foreign West Indies ....
14,111
„ United States of Colombia (New Granada)
4,632
„ Brazil
3,909
„ Argentine Republic
4,488
„ Australia
13,018
„ British North America ....
6,379
„ Other countries
Total ....
33,828
207,769
XUffSTJEXTE. A sulphide of cobalt, named after the Swedish naturalist, Linn^
(Linnaeus). See Cobalt.
XIJiTSEED. ( Graine de lin, Fr. ; Leinsame, Ger.) The seed of the flax, Linum
usitatissimum, which is indigenous to our islands, and is cultivated extensively in this
and other countries for its seed, and tor flax. Linseed contains in its dry state, 11*268
of oil; 0"146 of wax; 2"'i808 of a soft resin ; OooO of a colouring resinous matter;
0"926 of a yellowish substance analogous to tannin ; 6'154 of gum ; 15"12 of vegetable
mucilage; 1*48 of starch ; 2-932 of gluten ; 2782 of albumine ; 10'884 of saccharine
extractive ; 44"382 of envelopes, including some vegetable mucilage. It contains also
free acetic acid ; some acetate, sulphate, and muriate of potash, phosphate and sulphate
of lime ; phosphate of magnesia ; and silica.
ZiXXJSEED OZXi is obtained from linseed by first bruising the seeds, grinding them,
and subjecting them to violent pressure, either by means of wedges, or of the hydraulic
or screw press. Cold drawn linseed oil is obtained cold, and is paler coloured, less
odorous, and has less taste than that which is obtained when heat is applied.
It is usual to employ a steam heat of about 200° Fahr. By cold expression the seeds
yield about 20 per cent., while by the aid of heat nearly 27 per cent, of oil can be
obtained. The ultimate composition of linseed oil is carbon 76'014, hydrogen 11-381,
and oxj'gen 12-638; its proximate constituents being oleic and margaric acids, and
glycerine. Linseed oil is much used as a vehicle for colours by the painter. If
linseed oil is exposed in a thin coat to the air it absorbs oxygen and becomes tenacious,
and in many respects like caoutchouc : upon this property mainly depends its use in
the arts. To secure this more readily a drying process is adopted, which must be
described.
When linseed oil is carefully agitated with acetate of lead (tribasic acetate of lead),
and the mixture allowed to clear by settling, a copious white cloudy precipitate forms,
containing oxide of lead, -whilst the raw oil is converted into a drying oil of a pale
straw colour, forming an excellent varnish, which, when applied in thin layers, dries
perfectly in twenty-four hours. It contains from four to five per cent, of oxide of
lead in solution. The following proportions appear to be the most advantageous for
its preparation : —
In a bottle containing 4J pints of rain water, 18 ounces of neutral acetate of lead are
placed, and when the solution is complete, 18 ounces of litharge in a very fine powder
are added ; the whole is then allowed to stand in a moderately warm place, frequently
agitating it to assist the solution of the litharge. This solution may be considered as
complete when no more small scales are apparent. The deposit of a shining white
cc^our (sexbasic acetate of lead) may be separated by filtration. This conversion of
the neiitral acetate of lead into vinegar of lead, by means of litharge and water, is
effected in about a quarter of an hour, if the mixture be heated to ebullition. Vfhen
heat is not applied, tlie process will usually take three or four days. The solution _ of
vinegar of lead, or tribasic acetate of lead, thus formed, is sufficientifor the preparation
of 22 lbs. of drying oil. For this piirpose, the solution is diluted witli an equal volume
of rain-water, and to it is gradually added, with constant agitation, 22 lbs. of oil, with
whicli 18 ounces of litharge have previously been mixed.
When the points of contact between the lead solution and the oil have been fre-
quently renewed by agitation of the mixture three or four times a day, and the mixture
allowed to settle in a warm place, the limpid straw-coloured oil rises to the surface,
leaving a copious whitish deposit. The watery solution rendered clear by filtration.
126
LINEN
contains intact all the acetate of lead first employed, and may 1)6 used in the next
operation, after the addition to it as before of 18. ounces of litharge.
By filtration through paper or cotton the oil may be obtained as limpid as water,
and by exposure to the light of the sun it may also be bleached.
Should a drying oil be required absolutely free from lead, it may be obtained by
the addition of dilute siUphuric acid to the above, when, on being allowed to stand,
a deposit of sulphate of lead will take plac§, and the clear oil may be obtained free
from all trace of lead.
Linseed oil was at one time much used in the preparation of a liniment, which, as
it is one of the very best possible applications to a burnt surface, cannot be too
generally known. If equal parts of limewater and linseed oil are agitated together,
they form a thick liniment, which may be applied to the burn with a brush or
feather. It relieves at once from pain, and forming a pellicle, protects the abraded
parts from the air. The Linimentum. calcis of the Pharmacopoeia is equal parts of
limewater and olive oil ; this is a more elegant, but a less effective preparation.
See Oil.
XiZMTT for Surgery, was formerly prepared by scraping up linen by the hand ; the
preparation of it, however, has been made the subject of a patent by Mr. Thomas Ross,
which consists in the employment of peculiarly constructed scrapers for abrading the
surface of the linen cloth, and producing a pile or nap upon it. The scrapers
are worked by a rotary motion.
Instead of rotary scrapers, a reciprocating pendulous movement is sometimes applied
to a single scraper. Chisel-formed blades are claimed by the patentee as scrapers for
raising the pile, by working with the bevel edges forwards, so as to scrape and noi to
cut the fabric. He has in the rotary form a lodge or bed concentric with the axis of
the scraper, which he also claims ; both of which seem to be serviceable. Several
kinds of lint-making machines are now employed, but as they all partake more or less
the above principles they do not require description.
XZQir.a,TZOXr (Eng. and Fr. ; Saigcrung, Ger.) is the process of sweating out,
by a regulated heat, from an alloy a more easily fusible metal from the interstices of a
metal which is more difficult of fusion. Lead and antimony are the metals most com-
monly subjected to liquation : lead for the purpose of removing by its superior affinity
the silver present in any complex alloy ; antimony as an easy means of separating it
from its combinations in the ores.
Figs, 1392, 1393, 1394, represent the celebrated antimonial liquation furnaces of
Malbosc, in the department of Ardfeche, in France. Fig. 1392 is a ground plan
taken at the level of the draught holes g g, fig. 1393, and of the dotted line e f ; fig.
1393 is a vertical section through the dotted line A b, of fig. 1392 ; and fig 1394 is a
vertical section through the dotted line c d of fig. 1392. In the three figures, the
same letters denote like objects, a, b, c, are three grates upon the same level above
the floor of the works, 4^ feet long, by 10^ inches broad; between which are two
rectangular galleries, d e, which pass trans-
versely through the whole furnace, and lie at
a level of 12 inches above the ground. They
are separated by two walls from the three
fire-places. The walls have three openings,
/ g h, alternately placed for the flames to
play through. The ends of these galleries are
shut in -with iron doors i i, containing peep-
holes. In each gallery are two conical cast-
iron crucibles k k, into which the eliqiiativg
sulphuret of antimony drops. Their height
is from 12 to 14 inches; the width of the
mouth is 10 inches, that of the bottom is 6,
and the thickness four-tenths of an inch.
They are coated over with fire-clay, to pre-
vent the sulphuret from acting upon them ; and they stand upon cast-iron pedestals
with projecting ears, to facilitate their removal from the gallery or platform. Both
of these galleries are lined with tiles of fire-clay 1 1, which also serve as supports to
the vertical liquation tubes m m, made of the same clay. The tiles are somewhat
cun'ed towards the middle, for the purpose of receiving the lower ends of these
tubes, and have a small hole at n, through which the liquid sulphuret flows down into
the crucible.
The liquation tubes are conical, the internal diameter at top being 10 inches, at bot-
tom 8 ; the length fully 40 inches, and the thickness six-tenths of an incli. Tliey have
at their lower ends notches or slits, o, fig. 1394, from 3 to 6 inches long, which look out-
wards, to make them accessible from the front and back part of the furnaces through
1392
LIQUEURS, LIQUORISTE
127
small conical openings p p, in the walls. These are closed during the operation ■with
clay stoppers, and are opened only when the gangue, rubbish, and cinders are to be raked
out The liquation-tubes pass across the arch of the furnace, q q, the space of the arch
being wider than the tubes ; they are shut in at top with fire-corers r r. e s. the
1393
1394
middle part of the arch, immediately under the middle grate, is barrel-shaped, so that
both arches are abutted togetlier. The flames, after playing round about the sides of
the liquation-tubes, pass off through three openings and flues into the chimney i, about
13 feet high; u, being the one opening, and v, the tM"o others, which are provided
with register-plates. In front of the furnace is a smoke-flue, w, to carry off the sulphur-
ous vapours exhaled during the clearing-out of the rubbish and slag; another, x,
begins over y y, at the top of the tubes ; a wall, z, separates the smoke-flue into
halves, so that the workmen upon the one side may not be incommoded by the fumes
of the other. This wall connects at the same time the front flue, w, with the chimney
t. a a' and b' U are iron and wooden bearer beams and rods for strengthening the
smoke-flue, c' c' are arches upon both sides of the furnace, which become narrower
from without inwards, and are closed with well-fitted plates cV d'. They serve in
particular circumstances to allow the interior to be inspected, and to see if either of
the liquation-furnaces bo out of order. Each tube is charged with 500 lbs. of anti-
monial ore, previously warmed ; in a short time the sulphuret of antimony begins to
flow off. When the liquation ceases, the cinders are raked out by the side openings,
and the tubes are charged afresh. The luted iron crucibles are allowed to become
three-fourths full, are then drawn out from the galleries, left to cool, and emptied,
The ingot weighs about 85 lbs. The average duration of the tube is 3 weeks. This
plan is proved to be an exceedingly economical one.
. ILZQUEITRS, XiIQirORXSTE. Names given by the I'rench, and adopted into our
language, to denote certain aromatic alcoholic cordials, and to the manufactm*er of them.
Some liqueurs are prepared by infusing the woods, fruits, or flowers, in either water
or alcohol, and adding thereto sugar and colouring matter. Others are distilled from
the flavouring agents.
Many of the liqueurs are of very compound character, as the following recipes will
show : —
Martinique Noycau. — Put into a stone jar,
Preserved guavas and their syrup, or the jelly of that fruit
Oil of sweet almonds ....
Sweet almonds, beaten fine . . .
Bitter „ „ . . . .
Preserved ginger and its syrup
Cinnamon and cloves (bruised) of eacli
Nutmeg and Pimento ,, „ . .
Jamaica ginger „
Candied lemon and citron, of each
White sugar-candy (powdered) .
Proof spirit of wine . . . . •
ilb.
1 OK.
lib.
1
2
4
4
i
1
14
5 quarts.
128 LITHIA
Beat the oil with a little brandy, and mix it with the almonds, when beaten to a
paste with orange-flower water. Stop up the jar securely, and let it remain in a warm
room, or in the sun, shaking it often, for a fortnight. Keep it in the jar for twelve or
fifteen months ; then strain it, and filter repeatedly until it is as clear as spring water.
Einse phials or half-pint bottles, with any whit© wine, drain them and fill. Cork
and seal well. In six months it will be fit for use, if required, but will improve
greatly by age. — Robinson.
Tears of the Widow of Malabar. — To ten pounds of spirit (pale brandy), add 4
pounds of white sugar, and 4 pints of water, adding 4 drachms of powdered cinnamon,
48 grains of cloves, and the same quantity of mace ; colour with caramel.
Thi Sighs of Love. — Spirit, water, and sugar as above. Perfume with otto of rose.s,
and slightly colour with cochineal.
Absinthe. — Take of the tops of wormwood, 4 pounds, root of angelica, calamus
aromaticus, aniseed, leaves of dittany, of each, 1 oz. ; alcohol, four gallons.
Macerate these substances during eight days, add a little water, and distil by a
gentle fire until two gallons are obtained. This is reduced to a proof spirit, and a
few drops of the oil of aniseed added. See Absinthe.
These forms exemplify the character of all kinds of liqueurs. They are coloured
yeUow by the colouring matter of carthamus ; fawn is produced by caramel ; red, by
cochineal ; violet, by litmus, or archil ; bliie, by the siilphate of indigo ; green, by
mixing the blue and the yellow together.
Ratafia is the generic name, in France, of liqwurs compounded with alcohol,
sugar, and the odoriferous or flavouring principles of vegetables. Bruised cherries
with their stones are infused in spirit of wine to make the ratafia of Grenoble de
Teyssere. The liquor being boiled and filtered, is flavoured, when cold, with spirit
of noyeau, made by distilling water off the bruised bitter kernels of apricots, and
mixing it with alcohol. Syrup of bay laurel and galango are also added.
SEiXQVXDAIKEBAR. A balsam obtained from the Liquidambar styracijlica, a
native of North America.
XiXQiriS STORAX. The produce of the Liquidambar orientate.
XiXQUORXCE (Glycyrrhiza glabra; from y\vKvs, sweet, and plCa, a root. The
root only is employed ; these roots are thick, long, and running deep in the ground.
Besides the use of liquoric roots in medicine, they are also employed in brewing,
and are pretty extensively grown for these purposes in some parts of England. Liquo-
rice requires a rich, deep, dry, sandy soil, which, previous to forming a new planta-
tion, should be trenched to the depth of about 3 feet and a liberal amount of manure
regidarly mixed with the earth in trenching. The plants which are procured by
slipping them from those in old plantations arc, either in February or March, dibbled
in rows 3 feet apart, and from 18 inches to 2 feet in the row. They require three
summers' growth before being fit for use, when the roots are obtained by retrenching
the whole, and they are then stored in sand for their preservation imtil required. —
Peter Lawson.
Large quantities of extract of liquorice-root are imported into this country imdcr
the name of Spanish or Italian juice, according as it comes from one peninsiUa or the
other. Whilst the Spanish juice is yielded by G. glabra, it is said that the Italian
liquorice is prepared from G. cchinata. Liquorice juice contains an uncrystallisable
sugar called Glycyrrhisin or Liquorice Sugar.
KXROCON'XTfi. A hj'drous arsenate of copper, occurring in sky-blue crystals.
It was formerly found in some of the Cornish copper-mines.
XiXTHARCX: (Eng. and Fr. ; Gldtte, Ger.) is the fused yellow protoxide of lead,
which on cooling passes into a mass consisting of small six-sided plates, of a reddish
yellow colour and semi-transparent. It generally contains more or less red lead,
whence the variations of its colour, and carbonic acid, especially when it lias been
exposed to the air for some time. For its mode of preparation, see Lead, and Silveh.
XtXTHIA is a simple earthy or alkaline substance, discovered in the minerals
called petalito and triphane. It is white, very caustic, reddens litmus and red cabbage,
and saturates acid with great facility. When exposed to the air it attracts humidity
and carbonic acid. It is more soluble in water than baryta, and has such a strong
affinity for it as to be obtained only in the state of a hydrate. It forms neutral salts
with all the acids. It is most remarkabla for its power of acting upon or corroding
platinum. This earth is now used medicinally.
The following interesting account of a new source of lithium is from the address of
Sir Charles Lyell at the Bath meeting of the British Association. After stating that
Professor Roscoe of Manchester liad detected the chloride of lithium in the Bath
waters, Sir Charles Lyell proceeds : —
' While I was pursuing my inquiries respecting the Bath waters, I learned casually
that a hot spring had been discovered at a great depth in a copper mine, near Eedruth
fli
LITHIA 129
in Cormrall, having about as high a temperature as that of the Batli waters, and of
which, strange to say, no account has yet been published. It seems that, in the year
1830, a level was driven from an old shaft, so as to intersect a riclx copper lode at a
depth of 1,350 feet from the surface. This lode or metalliferous fissure occurred in
•what was formerly called the United Mines, and which have since been named the
Clifford Amalgamated Mines. Through the contents of the lode a powerful spring
of hot water was obsen^ed to rise, which has continued to flow with undiminished
strength ever since. At my request Mr. Horton Davey, of Eedruth, had the kindness
to seiltl up to London many gallons of this water, which have been analysed by Pro-
fessor AVilliam Allen Miller, F.E.S., who finds that the quantity of solid matter is so
great as to exceed by more than four times the proportion of that yielded by the Bath
waters. Its composition is also in many respects very different ; for it contains but
little sulphate of lime, and is almost free from the salts of magnesium. It is rich in
the chlorides of calcium and sodium, and it contains one of the new metals, CeBsium,
never before detected in any mineral spring in England ; but its peculiar charac-
teristic is the extraordinary abundance of lithium, of which a mere trace had been
found by Professor Iloscoe in the Bath waters ; whereas, in this Cornish hot spring,
this metal constitutes no less than a twenty-sixth part of the whole of the solid
contents, which, as before stated, are so voluminous. When Professor Miller exposed
some of these contents to the test of spectrum analysis, he gave me an opportunity of
seeing the beautiful bright crimson lino which the lithium produces in the spectrum.
'Lithium was first nfeide known in 1817 by Arfvedsen, who extracted it from
petalite ; and it was believed to be extremely rare, until Bunsen and Kirchhoff in
1860, by means of the spectrum analysis, showed that it was a most widely-difiused
substance, existing in minute quantities in almost aU mineral waters and in the sea,
as well as in milk, human blood, and the ashes of some plants. It has already been
used in medicine, and we may therefore hope that now that it is obtainable in large
quantities, and at a much cheaper rate than before the Huel Clifford hot spring was
analysed, it may become of high value. According to a rough eScimate, which has
been sent to me by Mr. Davey, the Huel Clifford spring yields no less thon 250 gallons
per minute, which is almost equal to the discharge of the King's Bath, or chief spring
of this city. As to the gases emitted, they are the same as those of the Bath water,
namely, carbonic acid, oxygen, and nitrogen.'
Mr. Warington Smyth, who had already -sasited the Huel Clifford lode in 1855,
re-examined it shortly before this meeting, chiefly with the view of replying to several
queries which Sir Charles Lyell put to him ; and, in spite of the stifling heat, ascer-
tained the geological structure of the lode, and the exact temperature of the water.
This last lie found to be 122° Falir. at the depth of 1,350 feet ; but he scarcely doubts
that the thermometer would stand two or three degrees higher at a distance of 200
feet to the eastward, where the water is known to gush iip more freely. The Huel
Clifford lode is a fissure varying in width from 6 to 12 feet, one wall consisting of
elvan or porphyritic granite, and the other of killas or clay-slate. Along the line of
the rent, which runs east and west, there has been a slight throw or shift of the
rocks. The vein-stuff is chiefly formed of cellular pyrites of copper and iron, the
porous nature of which allows the hot water to percolate freely through it. It seems,
however, that in the continuation upwards of the same fissure, little or no metal-
liferous ore was deposited, but, in its place, quartz and other impermeable substances,
which obstructed the course of the hot spring so as to prevent its flowing out on the
surface of the country.
Huel Clifford Amalgamated Mine, having ceased to pay the adventurers,^ was
stopped working in 1872. It is now (1874) full of water, and in all probability it
will never again be opened.
A similar hot spring has been discovered in Huel Seton Mine near Camborne,
Cornwall. The waters issue, at the rate of 50 gallons per minute, from the eastern
fore-breast of the 160-fathom level, at a temperature of 92° Fahr._ This water has
been analysed with the greatest care by Mr. John Arthur Phillips, and found to
contain a larger quantity of lithium than the Huel Clifford spring. Mr. J. A.
Phillips communicated the results of his examination to the Koyal Society; from
which communication the following analysis is extracted : —
Grains per gallon
Calcium carbonate ...... 7"03
Ferrous carbonate .
Manganous carbonate
Calcium sulphate .
Oupric chloride
Calciam chloride
Carried forward
Vol. m. K
0-33
trace
2-11
minute trace
475-54
485-08
130
LITHOGRAPHIC PRESS
C
i rains per gallon
Brought forward
48506
Magnesium cUorido
11-80
Aluminum chloride .
6309
Potassium chloride
6-30
Sodium chloride
. 407-47
IMhium chloride
33-74
Potassium bromide
trace
Potassium silicate
603
Nitric acid
trace
Ammonia
trace
Total.
1012-49
XXTRrUM is the metallic basis of lithia ; the latter substance consists of 1 00 of
metal and 123 of oxygen. Lithium is the lightest kno-wn solid, its specific gravity
being 0-59. Its atomic -weight (7) is lower than that of any other element, excepting
hydrogen. Lithium is not of any use in the arts. See Lithia,
ZiXTHOFRiVCTZilTa. See Explosive Agents.
XiZTHOCS&ii.PHIC PRESS. The lithographic press in common use has long
been regarded as a very inadequate machine. The amount of manual power required
to work it, and tlie slow speed at which, under the most favourable circumstances,
copies can be produced, disables lithography in its competition with letter-press. A
career of brilliant success has attended the efforts of scientific men towards speed and
success in this latter branch of
1395 the art; and the present printing-
machines surpass the hand-press
somewhat in the same ratio as
does our express-speed the jog-
trot of our forefathers. The
engravings annexed, jigs. 1395,
1396, will serve to illustrate
Messrs. Napier and Sons' im-
provements upon the lithographic
press. The machine is arranged
to be driven by steam-power ; has
belts, 'crossed' and 'open,' sup-
posed to be in connection with
the engine, and to rank upon the
pulleys. A, B, c. The crank-
pulley, B, is fixed on the scrcw-
spindle, D, and the other two work
loose, or 'dead,' on tlie same
spindle ; these bands, -with their striking-forks, a, are arranged so as to be brought
alternately upon the fixed pulley, b, and thus a reversing-motion is given to the
screw. The nut in which tlie screw works is fixed to a cross-piece, e, which braces
the side-frames, f f, together at bottom, while the bar, g, performs the same oflice at
top ; the scrapor-box, u, is sustained between these frames at bearings, i, and is so
fitted as to work freely. To support the frames and scraper-box independent of the
screw and maint-.in them in position, allowing freedom of action, tlie rollers, J J,
are provided, which run in the planed recesses, k, along the top of the main stan-
dards, 1. ■
LITHOGRAPHY 131
The machine is shown -with its tympan down, ready for starting ; this is eflFected by
pressing lightly upon the lever, b, which raises a catch, and allows the weight, h, to
descend in the direction of its present inclination, and act upon the connections with
the striking-forks, so as to bring one of the bands upon the fast pulley, b, and make
the scraper and its frames move forward. The return is caused by the frame, f,
coming in contact with a stop, c, which, yielding, acts upon the striking-forks by its
bar, d, upon which it may be adjusted to give the travel required. On the return
being accomplished, the machine stops itself by a striking action against stop e, the
catch, b, falling in to prevent the weight descending to its full throw, and thus retain-
ing the two bands upon the two dead pulleys, a, c, while the machine is prepared for
another impression.
The action of the scraper is peculiar and novel : it is balanced so that its tendency
is to remain slightly raised, but in its forward movement, and at the point desired, it
is made to descend by a stop fixed upon the top of the main standard, i, into a posi-
tion vertical, or nearly so, in which position it is retained by its own onward progress
against strong abirtmcnts prcgecting from the frames, f ; on the return it resumes its
raised position, and passes back without impediment. The scraper may be adjxistfid
to give the pressure desired, or the table on which the stone is placed regulated by
screws.
The advantages embodied in this machine will be at once recognised by those inte-
rested. The pulling down of the scraper, and the labour and inconvenience attendant
upon that operation, are entirely superseded by the simple and effectual valve-like
movement just explained, which forms the groundwork of this combination, although
it will alike apply to the press-work by hand, and is the most striking novelty in tho
machine.
IiITHOCRAPRir. Though this subject belongs rather to the arts of taste and
design than to productive manufactures, its chemical principles fall within the pro-
vince of this Dictionary.
The term lithography is derived from xiQos, a stone, and ypa<p'fi, writing, and desig-
nates tho art of throwing off impressions upon paper of figures and writing previously
traced upon stone. The processes of this art are founded —
1. Upon the adhesion to a grained or smoothly-polished limestone of an encaustic
fat which forms the lines or traces.
2. Upon tho power acquired by the parts penetrated by this encaustic of attract-
ing to themselves, and becoming covered with, a printer's ink having linseed-oil for
its basis.
3. Upon the interposition of a film of water, which prevents the adhesion of the ink
in all the parts of the surface of the stone not impregnated with the encaustic.
4. Lastly, upon a pressure applied to the stone, such as to transfer to paper the
greater part of the ink which covers the greasy tracings or drawings of the encaustic.
The lithographic stones of the best quality are still procured from the quarry of
Solenhofen, a village at no great distance from Munich, where this mode of printing
had its birth. They resemble in their aspect the yellowish-white lias of Bath, but
their geological place is much higher than the lias. Abundant quarries of these fine-
grained limestones occur in the county of Pappenheim, along the banks of the Danube,
presenting slabs of every required degree of thickness, parted by regular seams, and
ready for removal with very little violence. The good quality of a lithographic stone
is generally denoted by the following characters : its hue is of a yellowish-grey, and
uniform throughout ; it is free from veins, fibres, and spots ; a steel point makes an
impression on it with difficulty ; and the splinters broken off from it by the hammer
display a conchoidai fracture.
The Munich stones are retailed on tho spot in slabs or layers of equal thickness ;
they are quarried with the aid of a saw, so as to sacrifice as little as possible of the
irregular edges of the rectangular tables or plates. One of the broad faces is then
dressed, and coarsely smoothed. The thickness of these stones is nearly proportional
to their other dimensions ; and varies from 1§ inch to 3 inches.
In each lithographic establishment the stones receive their finishing, dressing, and
polishing ; which are performed like the grinding and polishing of mirror-plate. The
work is done by hand, by rubbing circularly a moveable slab over another in a hori-
zontal position, with fine-sifted sand and water interposed between the two. The
style of wor/c tliat tlie stone is intended to produce determines the kind of polish
that it should get. For crayon-drawing the stone should be merely grained more or
less fi7ie according to the fancy of the- draughtsman. The higher the finish of the
surface the softer are the drawings ; but the printing process becomes sooner pasty,
and a smaller number of impressions can be taken. Works in ink require the stone
to be more softened down, and finally polished with pumice and a little water. The
stones thus prepared are packed for use with white paper interposed between their faces.
x2
L'^2 LITHOGRAPHY
Zinc plates are sometimes used in lieu of stones ; they are prepared by graining the
surface with fine sand, rubbed over by means of a small piece of the metal. Zinc
takes a finer surface than stone, and yields more delicate impressions ; but great care
is necessary in keeping it dry, so that it does not corrode ; this is almost the only
objection to its more general use, for it is far more convenient to handle and move
about than heavy stones.
Lithographic Crayons. — Fine lithographic prints cannot be obtained unless the
crayons possess every requisite quality. The ingredients composing them ought to be
of such a nature as to adhere strongly to the stone, both after the drawing has imder-
gone the preparation of the acid, and during the press-work. They should be hard
enough to admit of a fine point, and trace delicate lines without risk of breaking.
The following composition has been successfully employed for crayons by MM. Bernard
and Delarue, at Paris : —
Parts
Pure wax (first quality) ...... 4
Dry white tallow soap ...... 2
White tallow 2
Gum lac ......... 2
Lamp-black, enough to give a dark tint . . .1
Occasionally copal varish 1
Tho wax should be melted over a gentle fire, and the lac, broken to bits, is then
added by degrees, stirring all the while with a spatula : the soap is next introduced
in fine shavings ; and when the mixture of these substances is very intimately accom-
plished, the copal varnish, incorporated with the lamp-black, is poured in. The heat
and agitation are continued until the paste has acquired a suitable consistence ; which
may be recognised by taking out a little of it, letting it cool on a plate, and trying its
quality with a penknife. This composition, on being cut, should aiFord brittle slices.
The boiling may be quickened by setting the rising vapours on fire, which increases
the temperature, and renders the exhalations less offensive. When ready it is to be
poured into a brass mould, made of two semi-cylinders joined together by clasps or
rings, forming between them a cylindric tube of the crayon size. The monld should
bo previously rubbed with a greasy cloth.
The soap and tallow are to be put into a small goblet and covered up. When the
whole is thoroughly fused by heat, and no clots remain, the black is gradually
sprinkled in with careful stirring.
Lithographic ink is prepared nearly on the same principle : —
Parts
Wax 16
Tallow 6
Hard tallow soap 6
Shell-lac 12
Mastic in tears . 8
Venice turpentine ,1
Lamp-black ........ 4
The mastic and lac, previously ground together, are to be carefully heated in the
turpentine ; the wax and tallow must be added after they are taken off the fire, and
when their solution is effected, the soap-shavings are to be thrown in. Lastly, the
lamp-black is to be well intermixed. Whenever the union is accomplished by heat,
the operation is finished ; the liquor is left to cool a little, then poured out on tables,
and, when cold, cut into square rods.
Lithographic ink of good quality ought to be susceptible of forming an emulsion so
attenuated that it may appear to be dissolved when rubbed upon a hard body in dis-
tilled or river water. It should flow in the pen, but not spread on the stone ; capable
of forming delicate traces, and very black, to show its delineations. The most essen-
tial quality of the ink is to sink well into the stone, so as to reproduce the most
delicate outlines of the drawing, and to afford numerous impressions. It must,
therefore, be able to resist the acid with which the stone is moistened in tho pre-
paration, without letting any of its greasy matter escape.
M. de Lasteyrie states that, after having tried a great many combinations, he gives
the preference to tlie following : —
Parts
Tallow soap, dried 30
Mastic in tears 80
White soda of commerce ,30
Shell-lac ISA
Lamp-black 12
LITHOGRAPHY I33
The soap is first put into the goblet, and melted over the fire ; the lac being added,
it fuses immediately ; the soda is then introduced, and next the mastic, stirring all
the while with a spatula. A brisk fire is applied till all these materials are melted
completely, when the whole is poured out into the mould.
The inks now prescribed may be employed, either with the pen and the hair-pencil
for writings, black-lead drawings, aqua tinta, mixed drawings, those which represent
engraving on wood (woodcuts), &c. When the ink is to be used it is to be rubbed
do^n with water, in the manner of China ink, till the shade be of the requisite depth.
The temperature of the place ought to be from 84° to 90° Fahr., or the saucer in
which the ink-stick is rubbed should bo set in a heated plate, Ko more ink should
be dissolved than is to be used at the time, for it rarely keeps in the liquid state for
24 hours ; and it should be covered or corked up.
Autographic Paper. — Autography, or the operation by which a writing or a drawing
is transferred from paper to stone, presents not merely a means of abridging labour,
but also that of reverting the writings or drawings into the direction in which they
were traced, whilst, if executed directly upon the stone, the impression given by it is
jMverted. Hence, a writing upon stone must be inverted from right to left to obtain
direct impressions. But the art of writing thus is tedious and difficult to acquire ;
while, by means of the autographic paper and the transfer, proofs are obtained in the
same direction with the writing and drawing.
Autographic Ink. — It must bo fatter and softer than that applied directly to the
stone, so that, though dry upon the paper, it may still preserve sufficient viscidity to
adhere to the stone by mere pressure.
To compose this ink we take —
Parts
White soap ....,,,. 100
White wax, of the best quality . . . .100
Mutton-suet ........ 30
Shell-lac 50
Mastic 50
Lamp-black 30 or 35
These materials are to be melted as above described for the lithographic ink.
Lit/iographic Ink and Paper, — The following recipes have been much com-
mended : —
Virgin or white wax ..... 8 parts
White soap . . . . . . 2 „
Shell-lac 2 „
Lamp-black .3 table-spoonfuls.
Preparation. — The wax and soap are to be melted together, and before they become
so hot as to take fire, the lamp-black is to be well stirred in with a spatula, and then
the mixture should be allowed to burn for 30 seconds; the flame being extinguished,
the lac is added by degrees, carefully stirring all the time ; the vessel is to be put
upon the fire once more in order to complete the combination, and till the materials
are either kindled or nearly so. After the flame is extinguished, the ink must be
suffered to cool a little, and then put into the moulds.
With the ink-crayons thus made, lines may be drawn as fine as with the point of
the graver, and as full as can be desired, without risk of its spreading in the
carriage. Its traces will remain unchanged on paper for years before being trans-
ferred.
Some may think it strange that there is no suet in the above composition, but it has
been found that ink containing it is only good when used soon after it is made, and
when immediately transferred to the stone, while traces drawn on paper with the suet
ink become defective after 4 or 5 days.
Lithographic Paper. — Lay on the paper 3 successive coats of sheep's-foot jelly, 1
layer of white starch, 1 layer of gamboge.
The first layer is applied with a sponge dipped in the solution of the hot jelly,
very equally over the whole surface, but thin ; and if the leaf be stretched upon a
cord, the gelatine will be more uniform. The next two coats are to be laid on until
each is dry. The layer of starch is then to be applied with a sponge, and it will
also be very thin and equal. The coat of gamboge is lastly to bo applied in the
same way. When the paper is dry it must bo smoothed by passing it through the
lithographic press ; and the more polished it is, the better does it take on the ink in
fine lines.
Transfer. — When the paper is moistened, the transfer of the ink from the gamboge
is perfect and infallible. The starch separates from the gelatine, and if, after taking
134 LITHOGRAPHY
the paper off the stono, wo place it on a white slab of stone, and pour hot water over
it, it will resume its primitive state.
The coat of gamboge ought to be laid on the same day it is dissolved, as by keeping
it becomes of an oily nature ; in this state it does not obstruct the transfer, but it
gives a gloss to the paper which renders the drawing or tracing more difficult, espe-
cially to persons little accustomed to lithography.
The starch paste can be employed only when cold, the day after it is made, and
after having the skin removed from its surface.
A leaf of such lithographic paper may be made in two minutes.
In transferring a writing, an ink drawing, or a lithographic crayon, even the im-
pression of a copper-plate, to the stone, it is necessary, (1) that the impressions bo
made upon a thin and slender body, like common paper ; (2) that they may bo de-
tached and fixed totally on the stone by means of pressure ; but as the ink of a draw-
ing sinks to a certain depth in paper, and adheres rather strongly, it would be
difficult to detach all its parts, wei-e there not previously put between the paper and
the traces a body capable of being separated from the paper, and of losing its ad-
hesion to it by means of the water with which it is damped. In order to produce this
effect, the paper gets a certain preparation, which consists in coating it over with a
kind of paste ready to receive every delineation without suffering it to penetrate into
the paper. There are different modes of communicating tliis property to paper.
Besides the above, the following may be tried. Take an unsized paper, rather
strong, and cover it with a varnish composed of — Starch, 120 parts ; gum arable,
40 parts ; alum, 20 parts.
A paste of moderate consistence must be made with the starch and some water,
with the aid of heat, into which the gum and alum are to bo thrown, each previously
dissolved in separate vessels. When the whole is well mixed, it is to bo applied, still
hot, on the leaves of paper, with a flat smooth brush. A tint of yellow colour may
bo given to tlio varnish with a decoction of the borries of Avignon, commonly called
French berries by our dyers. The paper is to be dried, and smoothed by passing
under the scraper of the lithographic press.
Steel pens are employed for writing and drawing with ink on the lithographic
stones ; in many establishments a sable brush is more frequently used.
Engraving on stone, for maps, geometrical drawings of evory kind, patent inven-
tions, machinery, &c., is performed with a diamond point as clearly and distinctly as
if executed on copper or steel plates ; to print these engraved stones, the ink should
be laid on with a dabber, not a roller. Another method is by preparing the surface
of the stone with a thin covering, or etching ground, of gum and black, upon which
the design is traced or engraved with an etching point;- it then appears in white lines
upon a black surface. In this state the stone is taken to the printer, who applies ink
to the engraved part, and washing off the gum, the drawing appears in black lines
upon tho white surface of the stone, and after being submitted to the process of
fixing, described below, is ready for printing.
Litlwtint, a process of drawing upon stone was adopted, first, by Mr. J. D. Harding,
a few years back, and since by one or two other artists ; several works were at
the time executed by this method, which consists in painting the subject with a
camel's-hair pencil, dipped in a preparation of liquid lithogi-aphic chalk, using tlie
latter as if it were an ordinary colour, or Indian ink, sepia, &c. The results of this
process were, however, so uncertain in printing, that it has been almost, if not en-
tirely, abandoned.
The process of printing a subject executed in lithography is as follows : — Tho
drawing is first executed by the artist on tho stone in as perfect and finished a
manner as if done on paper or cardboard : the stone is then washed over with nitric
acid, diluted with gum, which neutralises the alkali, or soap, contained in the chalk,
fixes the drawing, and cleanses tho stono at tho same time : this is technically called
etching. The acid is then washed off with cold water, and any particles of tho
crayon or other substances which may have adhered to the surface are removed by
the application of a sponge dipped in spirits of turpentine : the stono is now ready
for printing: it is slightly wetted, chained with printing-ink by means of a roller,
the sheet of paper, which is to receive the impression, is laid on it in a damp state,
and the whole is passed through the press.
Chromolithography, or printing in colours from stones (xpa'juo, colour), is a com-
paratively recent introduction ; but has been brought to such perfection, that works
of art of the highest pictorial excellence are sometimes so closely imitated, as to
deceive very competent judges. A portrait of Shakspearo, for example, executed
in chromolithography by Mr. Vincent Erooks, of London, from an old oil painting,
is so marvellous a copy of tho original as almost to dofy detection. Chromolitho-
graphy, as a beautiful medium of illustration, is now in very general use : the process
LLAMA 185
may be thus described, A drawing of the subject, in outline, on transfer tracing-
paper, is made in the ordinary way : when transferred to a stone, this drawing is
called the kei/stone, and it serves as a guide to all the others, for it must be transferred
to as many different stones as there are colours in the subject ; as many as thirty
stones have been used in the production of one coloured print. The first etone
required, generally for flat, local tints, is covered with lithographic ink where the
parts should be of solid colour: the different gradations are produced by rub-
bing the stone with rubbing-stuff, or tint-ink, made of soap, shell-lac, &c. &c., and
with a painted lithographic chalk where necessary ; the stone is then washed over with
nitric acid, and goes through the entire process described above. A roller charged
with lithographic printing-ink is then passed over it to ascertain if the drawing
comes as desired ; and the ink is immediately afterwards washed off with turpentine :
if satisfactory, this stone is ready for printing, and is worked off in the requisite
colour ; the next stone undergoes the same process for another colour, and so with
the rest, till the work is complete : it will of course, be understood, that before any
single impression is finished, it will have to pass through as many separate printings
as there are drawings on stones. The colours used in printing are ground up with
burnt linseed-oil, termed varnish.
XiXTBOMARGX:. An iron ochre ; essentially a silicate of alumina, with 6 to 7
per cent, of oxide of iron, in many respects resembling China clay or kaolin. It is
found abundantly in co. Antrim. See Ihon.
UTBSTTS (Tournesol, Fr. ; Lackmus, Ger.) is prepared in Holland from the spe-
cies of lichen called Lecanora tartarea, and Eoccella tinctoria. The ground lichens are
first treated with urine containing a little potash, and allowed to ferment for several
weeks, whereby they produce a purple-red ; the coloured liquor, treated with quick-
lime and some more urine, is set again to ferment during two or three weeks, then
it is mixed with chalk or gypsum into a paste, which is formed into small cubical
pieces by being pressed into brass moulds, and dried in the shade. Litmus has a
violet-blue colour, is easy to pulverise, is partially soluble in water and dilute alcohol,
leaving a residuum consisting of carbonate of lime, of clay, silica, gypsum, and oxide
of iron combined with the dye. The colour of litmus is not altered by alkalis, but is
reddened by acids ; and is therefore used in chemistry as a delicate test of acidity,
either in the state of solution or of unsized paper stained with it.
Litmus is used in Holland to give a peculiar tint to certain kinds of Dutch
The preparation of litmus has been described by Ferber, Moreloz, and others.
Litmus is imported from Holland, in tlie form of small, rectangular, light, and
friable cakes of an indigo blue colour. Examined by the microscope, we find sporules
and portions of the epidermis and mesothallus of some species of lichen, moss, leaves,
sand, &c. The odour of the cakes is that of indigo and violets. The A'iolet odour
is acquired while the mixture is undergoing fermentation, and is common to all the
tinctorial lichens. It has led some writers into the error of supposing that the
litmus-makers use Florentine orris in the manufacture of litmus. The indigo colour
depends on the presence of indigo in the litmus cakes. See Lichex.
XiITIVEUS-PAPEB. Paper coloured with an infusion of litmus, used as a testfor
the presence of acids.
Faraday, in his ' Chemical Manipulation,' recommended an infusion of one ounce of
litmus, and half a pint of hot water. Bibulous paper is saturated with this. Prof.
Graham preferred good letter-paper to the unsized paper. In order to obtain very
delicate test-paper, the alkali in the litmus must be almost neutralised by a minute
portion of acid.
ZiITTORAXi, a geological term. Belonging to the sea-shore.
ZiZVX-BIBI. Another name for Divi-divi. See Leatheb.
XiZXIVIATIOIO' {Lessivage, Fr. ; Auslaugen, Ger.) signifies the abstraction by
water of the soluble alkaline or saline matters present in any earthy admixture ; as
from that of quicklime and potashes to make potash-lye, from that of effloresced alum
schist to make aluminous liquors, &c.
ItXiAZMCA. A genus of animals belonging to the class Mammalia, order Ungulata,
family Bovida, and tribe Camelina. They are the camels of South America, to
which country they are confined. In the wild state the llamas keep together in herds
of from one to two hundred. There are two distinct species found wild in South
America, inhabiting the Peruvian Alps, the Pampas, and the mountains of Chili.
These animals are iised as beasts of burthen ; cords and sacks, as well as stuffs for
ponchos, &c.,are fabricated from their wool ; and their bones are converted into instru-
ments for weaving the same. The Alpaca, which is a variety of the llama, has
given its name to a cloth manufactured from its hair ; and this has become so valuable,
that attempts have been made to naturalise the animal in E\irope. The success,
136 LLAMA
however, -which has attended these attempts has not been great. The following note
from the ' Penny Cycloptedia,' article ' Llama,' is important : —
' In reference to the wool, we may here state that a herd of thirty-six, including the
kinds called llamas, alpacas, and vicunas or vigonias, were sent from Lima (Peru)
and Concepcion (Chili) to Buenos Ayres by journeys of two or throe leagues. To
those who may be inclined to import these animals, it may be necessary to state that
they were fed during the journey with potatoes, maize, and hay. As soon, however,
as the potatoes were exhausted, constipation came on so obstinately, that medical
relief was required. They were shipped as a present from Godoy, the Prince of
Peace, to the Empress Josephine, but only eleven arrived at Cadiz in 1808, just as
Godoy fell into disgrace. Here two died, and the rest were near being thrown into
the sea by the infuriated rabble, in their detestation of the late minister and minion.
The poor llamas were however saved from the tender mercies of the populace by the
governor of Cadiz, and were consigned to Don Francisco de Theran of Andalusia,
who had a fine menagerie at San Lucar de Earrameda. When the French occupied
the province, Marshal Soult protected them; and M. Bury St. Vincent, who was
with the army, studied their habits, and executed drawings of them, which were lost
at the battle of Vittoria. M. Bury paid great attention to their wool, and some from
each kind was sent to the Academy of Sciences at Paris. From the report of the
French naturalist and the philosophical Spaniard, it woiild appear that the fleece of
the alpa-vigonia (prodiiced by a cross between a \ngonia and an alpaca) has much
greater length than any other variety, and is six times heavier.'
The following is from James's ' History of the Worsted Manufacture in England,'
p. 652 :—
To commence with the earliest mention of the alpaca, we must recur to so early a
period as the year 1525, when Pizarro and his ferocious companions invaded Peru.
It is related by the Spanish historians, that they found there four varieties of sheep :
two, the guanaco and the vicuna, in a wild state, ranging the mountainous tracts
of South America ; and the others, the llama, and the pacos, or alpaca, domesti-
cated. The former of these domestic animals, partaking somewhat of the nature and
size of the Arabian camel, was in like manner employed as a beast of burthen.
Though in many features similar to the llama, the alpacii had several clear marks
of distinction, and among others was less, and the fleece much longer and softer in
fibre. In the sixteenth century, and even from the remotest times, the Peruvians
being comparatively (to the other tribes of the great continent of America) a civilised
people, and well acquainted with the arts of spinning and weaving, fabricated from
alpaca-wool textures of much delicacy and beauty, which were highly prized as
articles of dress. And that the use of them had prevailed for centuries is demonstrated
by the opening of several very ancient tombs of the Peruvians, in which the dead
had been en^vrapped in stuffs made from the fleece of the alpaca.
In general, the alpaca ranges about four feet in height, the size of a full-grown
deer, and, like it, is of graceful appearance. Its fleece is superior to the sheep in
length and softness, averaging six inches (the length of the staple of the alpaca
fleece is on an average much less than formerly, probably from being shorn oftener),
and sometimes it has been procured even of an extraordinary length ; a specimen
shown at the Great Exhibition, by Messrs. Walter Milligan and Son, reaching to
forty-two inches in length. The fleeces, when annually shorn, range from five to six
pounds. Contrary to experience in other descriptions of wool, the fibre of the
alpaca fleece acquires strength without coarseness; besides, each filament appears
straiglit, well-formed, and free from crispness, and the quality is more uniform
throughout the fleece. There is also a transparency, a glittering brightness upon
the surface, giving it the glossiness of silk, which is enhanced on its passing through
the dye-vat. It is also distinguished by softness and elasticity, essential properties
in the manufacture of fine goods, being exempt from spiral, curly, and shaggy defects ;
and it spins, when treated properly according to the present improved method, easily,
and yields an even, strong, and true thread. With all these remarkable qualities, it
was long before the value of alpaca wool was known or appreciated in this country.
Becurring to the application of tlie alpaca fleece to manufacturing purposes in
England, it was long delayed, though so early as the year 1807, the British troops
returning from the attack of Buenos Ayres brought with them a few bags of this wool,
which were submitted for inspection in London ; but, observes Walton, in his work
on alpaca, ' owing to the difficulty of spinning it, or the prejudice of our manufac-
turers, it did not then come into notice,' and for more than twenty years the attempt
does not seem to have been renewed ; thus depriving, for that period, the country of
the advantage derived from this notable manufacture.
According to the best authorities, the first person in England who introduced a
marketable fabric made from this material was Mr. Benjamin Oucram, a scientific
LLAMA 137
manufacturer of Greetland, near Halifax, who, about tho year 1830, Burmounted,
•with much difficulty, tho obstacles encountered in spinning the wool, and eventually
produced an article which sold at high prices for ladies' carriage-shawls and cloakings •
but their value arose more from being rare and curious articles than from intrinsic
worth.
These were, it is well established, quite destitute of the peculiar gloss and beauty
whicli distinguish the alpaca lustres and fabrics of later times, and after a short period
the manufacture was abandoned.
About the same time as Mr. Outram was weaving goods from alpaca, the wool
attracted the notice of the Bradford spinners. Messrs. Wood and Walker spun it to
some extent for camlet warps used in the Norwich trade. Owing to the cheapness of
alpaca wool during tho first years of its consumption in England, it was occasionally
employed instead of English hog wool for preparing lasting and camblet warps, being
spun to about No. 48.
The earliest manufacture of the alpaca-wool into goods at Bradford appears to
have occurred under these circumstances. In the commencement of 1832 some
gentlemen, connected with the trade to tho west coast of South America, were on a
visit at the house of J. Garnett, Esq., of Clithero, and, on their alluding to the diffi-
culty of meeting with suitable returns for goods forwarded to that part of the world,
he suggested to them the transmission of alpaca -wool, and offered, if they would send
him a few pounds weight to ascertivin its value for manufacturing purposes. In a few
months he received some samples of alpaca-wool, wliich, on October 2, 1832, he for-
warded to Messrs. Horsfall of Bradford, with a request that they would test its value.
Accordingly, they fabricated from this wool a piece resembling hea\-y camblet, which
they showed to the Leeds merchants ; but the piece, not developing any peculiar
qualities of alpaca, did not please, so that Messrs. Horsfall were not encouraged to
proceed further with experiments. However, in the same year Messrs. Hoyam, Hall,
and Co., spirited merchants of Liverpool, perceiving the value of the alpaca-wool,
directed their agents in Peru to purchase and ship over all the parcels of alpaca-wool
they coiild meet with ; some of which, being sent to the Bradford district, was spun
and manufactured by several parties there. The pieces chiefly fabricated from alpaca
in the neighbourhood of Bradford were figures made with worsted warp and alpaca
weft, the figxires being raised and lustrous, like union damasks. These goods were in
vogue only for a limited time, for neither the figured nor plain ones seem to have suited
the public taste.
Until the introduction of cotton warps into the worsted trade it may safely be
averred that the alpaca manufacture had not been developed, and would never have
made much progress without being combined with cotton or silk warp. To Sir
Titus Salt, of Bradford, must undoubtedly be awarded the high praise of finally
overcoming the difficulties of preparing and spinning the alpaca-wool so as to produce
an even and true thread ; and, by combining it with cotton warps, which had then
(1836) been imported into the trade at Bradford, improved the manufacture so as to
make it one of the staple industries of the kingdom. He has, by an admirable adap-
tation of machinery, been enabled to work up the material with the ease of ordinary
wool, and tlius present beautiful alpaca-stuffs at a reasonable rate. Every previous
attempt had been made, as far as can bo ascertained, with worsted warps, with which
the alpaca did not easily assort.
About the year 1836 the alpaca trade had become established, and has since risen
to much importance. After this period the manufacture rapidly extended. The great
mercantile house of A. and S. Henry took very large quantities of alpaca-stuffs, wliich
began to be made in an endless variety of goods suited both for male and female
dress, including scarfs, handkerchiefs, and cravats, plain and figured goods, both with
silk and cotton warp, for ladies' dresses, dyed alpaca checks of beautiful texture, and
a variety of grograms, codringtons, silk-striped, checked, and figured alpacas and
alpaca linings. The demand for these various alpaca fabrics during the period between
1841 and 1846 remained uniform and steady.
At the commencement of the manufacture of alpaca goods with cotton warps (silk
was not used) the weft was spun from fine qualities of the wool into low numbers,
and the pieces were made much richer and heavier than has been the case more
recently, the demand having altered in favour of lighter and less costly cloth.
Most of the alpaca-wool brought into the United Kingdom is unshipped at Liver-
pool, but a small portion is also carried to London. At these two ports, it may be
asserted, the whole imported into this country is landed. It arrives in small bales,
called ballots, weighing about 70 lbs., and is generally in an impure state, ^vith diffe-
rent qualities mixed. Like the fleece of the sheep, that of the alpaca is composed of
different qualities, so that the portion growing on tho hind-quarters is of an inferior
description. The wool is .sorted into about eight different qualities^ each fitted for a
138
LOAD
particular class of goods. Owing to the dirty state of the fleeces, and the peculiar
nature of the dusty particles arising during the progress of sorting, the operation is
an unhealthy one, unless great care be tiken by ventilation to counteract this baneful
ciFcct. After being sorted, it is at Saltaire washed and combed by machinerj'. Until
of late years it was combed wholly by hand, and the combs used for this purpose
were of a deeper pitch than those usually adopted for preparing sheep's wool, that
is, those combs liad a larger number of teeth than ordinary. The next process is to
draw the sliver, which is perfected by an improved gill-machino, especially adapted
for this material. And here, in combing and preparing the alpaca-wool, so as to
make a clean, even, and glossy thread, lay the grand difficulty in the way of applying
the alpaca-fibre to the worsted manufactiire, and which was so successfully surmounted
by Sir Titus Salt.
The main articles now manufactured from alpaca-wool consists of alpaca lustres,
which are dyed, and alpaca mixtures, which are undyed ; and both are made of cotton
or silk warp. These phiin goods may, from their extensive and steady use, be termed
stock-articles. Largo quantities of fancy alpacas are made, but they are rapidly vary-
ing, and are distinguished by innumerable names. The material is at present much
shorter in staple than formerly, owing to the alpaca being shorn oftener, so that it is
now commonly from 5 to 8 inches in length. Nearly all the alpaca-wool consumed in
England is worked up in the Bradford district.
Dating from the year 1834, when the importation of alpaca-wool sprung up as a
permanent branch of commerce, the demand in this country has, on the whole, been
a growing one. Mr. Walton, in his work on the alpaca, exhibits the quantities im-
ported until the year 1843, when, the tariff law having come into operation, the
returns began to be more correctly framed, and the alpaca-wool was then classed by
itself.
Our imports were in 1843, 1,458,032 lbs. ; in 1853, 2,148,267 lbs. These large
quantities wore yet increased in 1863, when we imported from Peru, 2,772,836 lbs. ;
from New Granada, 622,889 lbs. ; and 6,857 lbs. from other parts ; and the Imports
of llama, alpaca, and vicuna during the three years ending 1872 were as follows : —
From Germany
„ Peru .
„ Chill .
„ Other countries •
Total .
1870
1871
1872 1
lbs.
3,324,454
563,782
300
Value
£388,969
66,996
14
lbs.
3,n83",328
665,855
2,067
Value
£402,590
80,861
282
lbs.
184,144
3,522,314
124,219
48,062
Value
£34,450
460,532
20,417
6,433
3,888,536
454,979
3,651,250
483,733
8,878,739
521,839
In the interval, the price had, with the demand, progressively increased : the price
in 1834 only amounted to about %^d. per pound; next year it reached nearly \0d.;
the year after. Is. ; in 1838, to upwards of Is. ^\d, ; and in 1839 to Is. 4id.
During the last ten years the prices have fluctuated considerably. In 1844, Is. 8cf.
per pound was quoted as the price of the white fleece, and 2s. for the black one. In
the year 1856, according to the price-currents, the average rates were thus quoted : —
Alpaca, best white
„ brown and black
Vicuna, best dark coloured
Llama ....
s. d.
2 6 to 2
2 6 „ 2
3 „ 3
lOi „ 1
s. d.
But these quotations are somewhat higher for alpaca-wool than the prices now
realised, which of late years have ranged from 2s. to 2s. Id. per pound.
.^paca Fat was shown in the Exhibition of 1862, and was stated to be remark-
able in its power of resisting rancidity. It was thought this would make it valuable
to the arts, especially in perfumery.
XOAB. A burthen or freight. As the various quantities of material contained
in a load cannot but be useful, the following Table is borrowed from Mr. P. L. Sim-
monds's * Trade Products,' &c. : —
Bricks . . 500.
Tiles . . 1,000.
Lead ore (in Derbyshire) 9 dishes or
aearJy 3 cwts.
Bulruslies , 63 bundles.
Com .
. 5 qrs. or 40 bushels.
Straw .
. 36 trusses, or 11 cwts.
64 lbs.
Old hay
. 18 cwts.
New hay
. 19 cwts. 32 lbs.
LOCKS
189
Mortar .
CoSbo, in bags
Eice .
Timber : —
1 inch plank
U ,.
27 feet.
Timber : —
. 12 cwts.
2 inch plank
. 10 „
2i „
square feet
3
. 600
3^ ..
. '400
4
square feet
. 300
. 240
. 200
. 170
. ISO
XiOADSTOITEi Magnetic Iron-stone, (Fer oxi/duU, Fr. ; Magneteiscnstein,
Ger.) An iron ore, consisting of the protoxide and peroxide of iron in a state of
combination.
It was first discovered in Magnesia, and from that province has been derived the
name Magxet applied to this ore of iron. The term loadstone, however, is given to
those specimens which are powerfully magnetic only. See Ieon.
KOAM. {Terre Umoneicse, Yv. ; Lekm, Ger.) A native clay, mixed with quartz-
sand and iron-ochre, and occasionally with some carbonate of lime.
' More commonly we find sand and clay, or clay and marl, intermixed in the same
mass. When the sand and clay are each in considerable quantities, the mixture is
called " loam." ' — Li/cU.
IiOCKS. Although locks are distinctly a manufacture, yet they wore not embraced
in the early editions of this work ; the chief cause of this being the desire on the part
of Dr. Ure to limit the articles of the Dictionary to such manufactures as were not
comprehended within his meaning of the term Handicraft.
The lock manufacture is essentially one of handicraft ; and seeing that these
volumes could not possibly enter into any detailed description of this and numerous
other trades, as watch-making and the like, it has been determined that a brief notice
of the several kinds of locks alone shall find a place in its pages.
The lock manufacture of this country is confined almost exclusively to "Wolver-
hampton and the neighbouring village of Willenhall. There are very few largo
manufactories, almost all kinds of locks being made by small masters, employing
from half-a-dozen to a dozen men.
In nearly every kind of lock a bolt shoots out from the box or lock, usually of an
oblong shape, and catches in some kind of staple or box fixed to receive it. In soma
a staple enters the lock, and the bolt passes through the staple within the lock. The
lock of a room-door is of the first character ; the lock of a writing-desk, or ordinary
box, is of the second kind. The key is merely a bent piece of iron, which, on entering
the lock, can move freely, and push forward the bolt. To the bolts of superior locks
springs are attached, and the force required to turn the key in a lock is the force
necessary to overcome the resistance of the springs. The following two figures, 1397,
1398, represent the character of a lock with wards or wheels, which are introduced to
give safety. Fig. 1397 is an ordinary back-spring lock, representing the bolt half-
shot ; a' a" are notches on the under side of the bolt, connected by a curved portion ;
b is the back-spring, which is of course compressed as the curved portion of the bolt
1397
1398
[
b
...... J
/il
((f^w
a"
passes through the aperture prepared for it in the rim of the lock ; when the bolt is
withdrawn, the notch a' rests in the rim ; when the bolt is shot, the notch a" rests in
the same manner. The action of the key and wards is shown in Jiff. 1398. The
curved pieces of metal are the wards ; and there are two clefts in the bit of the key
to enable it to move without interruption.
The tumbler-lock is shown in its most simple form in Jiff. 1399. Hero the bolt has
two slots, a a, in the upper part ; and behind the bolt is a kind of latch, b, which
carries a projecting piece of metal ; c, this is the tumbler, which moves freely on
a pivot at the other end. When the bolt is fully shot the projecting piece of metal
falls into one notch, and when withdrawn it falls into the other. It will bo evident
140
LOCKS
1399
here that the action of the key is to raise the tumbler, so that the bolt has free
motion : this action will be intelligible by tracing the action of Uiq key on the dotted
lines. These tumbler-lqcks are greatly varied in
character ; but in principle they aro as above
described.
Numerous well-known locks have been pa-
□ I ^ - ,^1 tented, the most remarkable being Chubb's
a~^ i.f^.... lock, which has been fully described by the
l-Af^l: W ' inventors in a paper read before the Institu-
tion of Civil Engineers ; and also in an excel-
lent treatise on locks to be found in Mr. Weale's
series of useful manuals. This lock is essen-
tially a tumbler-lock, it being fitted up with
no less than six tumblers ; and the key has to
raise, by a series of steps, these before the bolt
is free to move. It will be obvious, that unless
the key is exactly fitted to move these, there is no chance of moving the bolt. In this
paper already alluded to Mr. Chubb says : —
' The number of changes which may be effected on the keys of a three-inch
drawer-lock is 1 x 2 x 3 x 4 x 5 x 6 = 720, the number of different combinations
which may bo made on the six steps of unequal lengths without altering the length of
either step.' The height of the shortest step is however capable of being reduced, 20
times ; and each time of being reduced, the 720 combinations may be repeated ; there-
fore 720x20 = 14,400 changes.' By effecting changes of this character, therefore,
almost any number of combinations can be produced. The Bramah lock has been long
celebrated, and most deservedly so. Notwithstanding the fact that this lock was picked
by Mr. Hobbs after having the lock in his possession for sixteen days, it appears to us
that it most fully justifies the boast made by Mr. Bramah in his ' Dissertation on the
Construction of Locks.' ' Being confident,' he says, ' that I have contrived a security
which no instrument but its proper key can reach, and which may be so applied as
not only to defy the art and ingenuity of the most skilful workman, but to render the
utmost force ineffectual, and thereby to secure what is most valued as well from dis-
honest servants as from the midnight ruffian, I think myself at liberty to declare (what
nothing but the discovery of an infallible remedy would justify my disclosing) that all
dependence on the inviolable security of locks, even of those which are constructed on
the best principle of any in general use, is fallacious.' Ho then proceeds to demonstrate
the imperfections of ordinary locks, and to describe his own.
' The body of a Bramah lock may be considered as formed of two concentric brass
barrels, the outer one fixed, and the inner rotating within it. The inner barrel has
a projecting stud, which, while the barrel is rotating, comes in contact ^vith the bolt
in such a way as to shoot or lock it ; and thus the stud sen'es the same purpose as
the bit of an ordinary key, rendering tlie construction of a bit to the Bramah key
unnecessary. If the barrel can bo made to rot^ito to the right or loft, the bolt can bo
locked or unlocked, and the problem is, therefore, how to insure the rotation of the
barrel. The key, which has a pipe or hollow shaft, is inserted in the keyliole upon
the pin, and is then turned round; but there must be a nice adjustment of the me-
chanism of the barrel before this turning round of the key and the barrel can be in-
sured. The barrel has an external groove at right angles to the axis, penetrating to
a certain depth ; and it has also several internal longitudinal grooves from end to
end. In these internal grooves thin pieces of steel are able to slide, in a direction
parallel with the axis of the barrel. A thin plate of steel, called the locking plate, is
screwed in two portions to the outer barrel, concentric with the inner barrel ; and at
the same time occupying the external circular groove of the inner barrel ; this plate
has notches, fitted in number and size to receive the edges of the slides which work in
the internal longitudinal grooves of the barrel. If this were all, the barrel could not
revolve, because the slides are catching in the grooves of the locking plate ; but each
slide has also a groove, corresponding in depth to the extent of this entanglement ; and
if this groove be brought to the plane of the locking plate, the barrel can be turned,
so far as respects the individual slide. All the slides must, however, be so adjusted,
that their grooves shall come to the same plane ; but, as the notch is cut at different
points in the lengths of the several slides, the slides have to be pushed in to different
distances in the barrel, in order that this juxtaposition of notches may be insured.
This is effected by the key, which has notches or clefts at the end of the pipe equal in
number to the slides, and made to fit the ends of the slides when the key is in-
serted ; the key presses each slide, and pushes it so far as the doptli of its cleft will
permit ; and all these depths are' such that all the slides are pushed to the exact
position where their notches all lie in the same plane ; this is the plane of the locking
LOCKS
141
plate, and the barrel can bo then turned.' — Tomlinson on the Construction of Lock$.
In this work the details of construction are given with great clearness.
The American bank locks, especially that of Messrs. Day and Newall, hare ex-
cited much attention. Their English patent describes it thus : —
' The object of the present improvements is the constructing of locks in such
manner that the interior arrangements, or the combination of the internal moveable
parts, may bo changed at pleasure according to the form given to, or change made in,
the key, without th« necessity of arranging the moveable parts of the lock by hand,
or removing the lock or any part thereof from the door. In locks constructed on
tliis plan the key may be altered at pleasure ; and the act of locking, or throwing out
the bolt of the lock, produces the particular arrangements of the internal parts,
which correspond to that of the key for the time being. While the same is locked,
this form is retained until the lock is unlocked or the bolt witlidrawn, upon which
the internal moveable parts return to their original position, with reference to each
other ; but these parts cannot bo made to assume or bo brought back to their original
position, except by a key of the precise form and dimensions as the key by which they
were made to assume sucli arrangement in the act of locking. The key is change-
able at pleasure, and the lock receives a special form in the act of locking according
to the key employed, and retains that form until in the act of unlocking by the same
key it resumes its original or unlocked state, Thp lock is again changeable at plea-
sure, simply by altering the arrangement of the moveable bits of the key ; and the
key may bo changed to any one of the forms within the number of permutations of
which the parts are susceptible.' — April 16, 1851.
Mr. Hobbs who has been carrying out the manufacture of American locks in this
country has introduced an inexpensive- lock, which he calls a protector lock. The
following description is borrowed from Mr. Charles Tomlinson's ' Treatise on the
Construction of Locks ' : —
'When the American locks became known in England, Mr. Hobbs undertook
the superintendence of their manufacture, and their introduction into the commercial
world. Such a lock as that just described must necessarily bo a complex piece of
mechanism ; it is intended for use in the doors of receptacles containing property of
great value ; and the aim has been to baffle all the methods at present known of
picking locks, by a combination of mechanism necessarily elaborate. Such a lock
must of necessity be costly ; but in order to supply the demand for a small lock at
moderate price, Mr. Hobbs has introduced what he calls a protector lock. This is a
modification of the ordinary six-tumbler lock. It bears an aflfinity to the lock of
Messrs. Day and Newall, inasmuch as it is an attempt to introduce the same prin-
ciple of security against picking, while avoiding the complexity of the changeable
lock. The distinction which Mr. Hobbs has made between secure and insecure locks
will be understood from the following proposition : viz. ' that whenever the parts of
a lock which come in contact with the key are so aiFected by any pressure applied to
the bolt, or to that portion of the lock by which the bolt is withdrawn, as to indicate
the points of resistance to the withdrawal of the bolt, such a lock can be picked.'
Fig. 1401 exhibits the internal mechanism of this new patent lock. It contains the
usual contrivances of tumblers and springs, with a key cut into steps to suit the dif-
ferent heights to which the tumblers must be raised. The key is shown separately
in Jig, 1402. But there is a small additional piece of mechanism, in which the
1402
1401
1400
-1
-1
'
tumbler stump shown at s in/^s. 1400 and 1401 is attached; which piece is intended
to work under or behind the bolt of the lock. Id^;^. 1401, b is the bolt; tt is tho
142 ^ LODE
!
front or foremost of the range of six tumblers, each of which has the usual slot and
notches. In other tumbler-locks the stump or stud which moves along these slots is
riveted to the bolt, in such manner that, if any pressure be applied in an attempt to
"withdraw the bolt, the stump becomes pressed against the edges of the tumblers, and
bites or binds against them. How far their biting facilitates the picking of a lock
will bo shown further on ; but it will suffice here to say, that the moveable action given
to the stump in the Hobbs lock transfers the pressure to another quarter. The stump
5 is riveted to a peculiarly-shaped piece of metal hp {fig. 1400), the hole in the centre
of which fits upon a centre or pin in a recess formed at the back of the bolt ; the
piece moves easily on its centre, but is prevented from so doing spontaneously by a
small binding spring. The mode in which this small moveable piece takes part in tho
action of the lock is as follows : when the proper key is applied in the usual way, the
tumblers are all raised to the proper heights for allowing the stump to pass hori-
zontally through the grating ; but should there be an attempt made, either by a false
key or by any other instrument, to withdraw the bolt before the tumblers are pro-
perly raised, the stump becomes an obstacle. Meeting with an obstruction to its
passage, the stump turns the piece to which it is attached on its centre, and moves the
arm of tlie piece p so that it shall come into contact with a stud riveted into the case
of the lock; and in this position there is a firm resistance against the withdrawal of
the bolt. The tumblers are at the same moment released from the pressure of the
stump. There is a dog or lever d, which catches into the top of the bolt, and
tliereby serves as an additional security against its being forced back. At Jc is tho
drill-pin on which the pipe of the key works ; and r is a metal piece on which the
tumblers rest when the key is not operating upon them. -
Another lock, patented by Mr. Hobbs in 1852, has for its object the absolute
closing of the key- hole during the process of locking. The key does not work or
turn on its own centre, but occupies a small cell or chamber in a revolving cylinder,
which is turned by a fixed handie. The bit of the moveable key is entirely separable
from the shaft or stem, into which it is screwed, and may be detached by turning
round a small milled headed thumb-screw. The key is placed in the key-hole in
the usual way, but it cannot turn ; its circular movement round the stem as an axis
is prevented by the internal mechanism of the lock ; it is left in the key-hole, and
the stem is detached from it by unscrewing. By turning tlie handle, the key-bit,
which is left in the chamber of the cylinder, is brought into contact with the works
of the lock, so as to shoot and withdraw the bolt. This revolution may take place
whether the bit of the moveable key occupy its little cell in the plate or not ; only
with this difference — that if the bit be not in the lock, tlie plate revolves without
acting upon any of the tumblers ; but if the bit be in its place, it raises the tumblers
in tlie proper way for shooting or withdrawing the bolt. It will bo understood that
there is only one key-hole, namely, that through which the divisible key is in-
serted ; the other handle or fixed key working through a hole in the cover of the
lock only just large enough to receive it, and not being removable from the lock.
As soon as the plate turns round so far as to enable the key-bit to act upon the
tumblers, the key-hole becomes entirely closed by the plate itself, so that the actual
locking is effected at the very time when all access to the interior through the key-
hole is cut off. When the bolt has been shot, the plate comes round to its original
position, it uncovers the key-hole, and exhibits the key-bit occupying tho little cell
into which it had been dropped; the stem is then to be screwed into the bit, and the
latter witlidrawn. It is one consequence of this arrangement, that the key has to be
screwed and \inscrewed when used; but through this arrangement the key-hole
becomes a sealed book to one who has not the right key. Nothing can be moved,
provided the bit and stem of the key be both left in ; but by leaving in the lock the
former without the latter, the plate can rotate, tlie tumblers can be lifted, and the
bolt can be shot.
XiOCVST TSE&i A North American tree, tho Bobinia pseudacacin. ' It grows
most abundantly in the southern States ; but it is pretty generally diffused through
the whole country. It sometimes exceeds four feet in diameter and seventy feet in
height. The locust is one of tho very few trees planted by tho Americans.' This
wood is much used for ships' tree-nails, and is employed for stakes and pales.
The wood of tho Hymencea Courbaril is also known as locust wood.
IbOBE (rt mining term). A mineral lode, or a mineral vein, is the name given to
a fissure in the crust of tho earth which has been filled in with mctiilliferous matter.
Tho miner gives the same name lode to a fissure filled with quartz, carbonate of lime,
&c", but then ho says the lode is not ' mineralised,' confining the word ' mineral' to
metalliferous matter.
The term vein has frequently led to tho idea that it expresses tho condition of
Eometbing analogous to the blood-vessels of the animal body, to which a lode has not
LUBRICATING OIL
143
in the remotest degree any resemLlance. Duriug some primary convulsions, the
crust of the earth has been cracked, these fissures having, of course, some special re-
lation to the direction of tlie force which produced them. These cracks hare during
ages of submergence been filled in, according to some law of polarity, with mineral
matter, the character of the lode having generally some special relation to its direc-
tion. See Mining.
XiOCrWOOS {Bois do CampecJie, Bois bleu, Fr. ; Blauhoh, Ger.) is the wood of
the HcBmatoxylon Campechiamuii, a native tree of Central America, grown in Jamaica
since 1715. It was first introduced into England in the reign of Elizabeth, but as it
aiforded to the unskilful dyers of her time a fugitive colour, it was not only prohibited
from being used, under severe penalties, but was ordered to bo burned wherever found,
by a law passed in the 23rd year of her reign. The same prejudice existed, and the
same law was enacted against indigo. At length, after a century of absurd prohibition,
these two most valuable tinctorial matters, by which all our hats, and the greater part
of our woollen cloths, are dyed, were allowed to be used. The logwood tree grows
from 40 to 50 feet high, the stems arc cut into logs of about 3 feet long, the bark and
white sap (alburnum) of which are chipped off", the heart or red part only being sent
to England. Chovreul gaA^e the constituents of logwood as volatile oil, hannatin, resin-
ous iiiattcr, tannin, glutinous matter, acetic acid, sundry salts of lime, with alumina,
silica, manganese, and iron. The decoction of logwood is of a deep dull red, which is
rendered p;iler and of a brighter colour by acids. Alkalis give it a purplish or violet
colour. Acetate of lead causes a blue, alum a violet precipitate ; the salts of iron
make it a dark violet blue, gelatine forming a reddish precipitate with it. The
colouring principle of logwood is a crystallisable substance known as Jimmatoxylin,
which contains C'«H'0« (C-H^QS).
Old wood, with black bark and with little of the white alburnum, is preferred.
LogATOod is denser than water, specific gravity, 1'057, very hard, of a fine compact
grain, and almost indestructible by the atmospheric elements ; it has a sweet and
astringent taste, and a peculiar but inoffensive smell, and will take a fine polish.
When chipped logwood is for some time exposed to the air, it loses a portion of its
dyeing power. Its decoction absorbs the oxygen of the atmosphere, and then acquires
the property of precipitating with gelatine, which it had not before. The dry extract
of logwood, made from an old decoction, affords only a fugitive colour.
For its applications in dyeing, see Black Dye ; Calico Printing ; Dteing ; Hat
Dyeing, &c.
Imports of Logwood.
From France ....
1871
1872
Tons
£
Tons
£
649
4,885
• • .
.••
„ United States .
705
4,755
616
4,004
„ Spanish West Indies .
190
2,090
...
,, Hayti and Domingo .
2,832
12,791
4,319
23,864
„ Mexico ....
1,009
7,693
2,099
18,220
., British West Indies .
24,059
115,957
32,792
157,346
„ British Honduras
9,174
43,550
5,660
25,693
„ Other countries .
Total .
728
4,080
535
3,908
39,346
195,801
46,021
233,035
XiblilZS'GXTE. An arsenide of iron, resembling mispickel._ It is occasionally
auriferou?, and has been worked for gold at Keichenstein in Silesia. See Pyeites.
XiOOXXUG- CXiA-SS. See Mibbobs.
. IiOOIVZ {Metier a tisscr, Fr. ; WebcrstuM, Ger.) is the ancient and well-known
machine for wea^-ing cloth by tlie decussation of a series of parallel threads, which
run lengthwise, called the warp or chain, with other threads thrown transversely with.
the shuttle, called the woof or weft. See Jacqtjard Loom and Weaving.^
XiOVAGE. The Levisticmn officinale, an umbelliferous plant, with aromatic
fruit. /. J •
XiirsitZCAia'TS. Oleaginous or fatty bodies employed for the purpose of reducing
the friction between two parts of a machine or carriage.
I.VSZlICATXI«rG OIXi. This name has recently been specially given to an oil
or grease prepared from the mineral naphthas. It ought to have a specific graAnty
varying from 0-920 to 0950, and to possess but a very slight odour. Although it
144
LUBRICATION
contain parafGin, yet it ought not to deposit any wlien cooled to 2° Cent, See
Naphtha.
KVBRXCATZOW. The lubrication of the wheel and axle of railway carriiiges is
effected by a kind of soap : a combination of cocoa-nut oil or palm oil, or ordinary fats,
with soda being the ' grease ' with which the boxes are filled. The heat produced
by the friction melts the grease, and it flows out upon the parts in motion through an
opening in the bottom of the box. Heavy machinery, such as pumping-engines,
require tenacious bodies as their lubricants, while the finer parts must be carefully
oiled with oils as free as possible from any of the fatty acids. Spinning machinerj',
for example, must be lubricated with the finest oils, or, as it is found to be still better,
with those peculiar hydro-carbon compounds, as paraffin, glycerine, and the like.
The following is a simple and efficacious plan of lubricating the joints and bearings
of machinery by capillary attraction, the invention of Edward Woolsey, Esq. : —
Fig. 1403 represents a tin cup, which has a small tin tube A, which passes through
the bottom. It may have a tin cover to keep out the dust.
Fig. 1404 is a plan of the same.
Fig. 1405 is a section of the siime. Oil is poured into the cup, the one end of a
worsted or cotton thread is dipped into the oil, and the other end passed through the tube.
The capillary attraction causes the oil to ascend and pass over the orifice of the tube,
whence it gradually descends, and drops slower or quicker according to the length of
the thread or its thickness, until every particle of oil is drawn over by this capillary
siphon. The tube is intended to be put into the bearings of shafts, &c., and is made
of any size that may be wished. If oil, or other liquids, is desired to be dropped upon a
grindstone or other surface, this cup can have a handle to it, or be hung from the ceiling.
Fig. 1406. It is frequently required to stop the capillary action when the machinery
is not going ; and this has been effected by means of a tightening screw, which passes
through a screw boss in the cover of the cup, and presses against the internal orifice
of the tube, preventing the oil from passing.
Fig. 1407. As when these screw cups are used upou beams of engines and moving
bearings, the screw is apt to be tightened by the motion; and also, as the action
of the screw is uncertain, from the workman neglecting to screw it down sufficiently,
it answers best to take out the capillary thread when the lubrication is not required ;
and to effect this easily, a tin top is fixed to the cup, with a round pipe soldered to it ;
this pipe has a slit in
1^06 ,.-. .,„, ,.p,„ it, like a pencil-case, and
, r ir^-^t, - l40o 1404 140,1 ' f '
|p=^=^ I 1 allows a bolt b to slide
-. ^ ^ ^ s^ easily. In ^^r. 1408 the
bolt is down ; in^. 1409
the bolt, which is a piece
of brass wire, is drawn
up, and thus the flowing
of the oil is checked. In
fig. 1409 it will be ob-
served, that the bolt is
kept in its place by its
head c, resting in a lateral
slit in the pipe, and it
cannot be drawn out on
account of the pin e.
One end of the thread is
fastened to the eye-hole
at the bottom of the bolt,
and the other end is tied
to a small wire which
crosses the lower orifice
of the tube at d, and
which is shown in plan,
1^.1410.
Tho saving by this
plan, instead of pouring
oil into the bearings, is
2 gallons out of 3, while
the bearings are better
oiled.
Tho saving in labour
is considerable where
iheie are many joints to keep oiled three or four times a day ; and the workman does
LUCIFER MATCHES ]45
not, with this apparatus, run the risk of being caught by the machinery. To tie on
the cotton or worsted thread, pass a long thread through the ej'e-hole, e, of the bolt,
and then draw the two ends through the tube by a fine wire with a hook to it, one
end on one side of the cross-wire d, and the other end on the other side. Then put
the cover on, and the bolt in the position shown in fig. 1409 ; when, by drawing the
two ends of the thread, and tying them across the wire d, you have the exact length
required. AVhen you wish to see the quantity of oil remaining in the lubricator, the
bolt must be dropped, as in fig. 1408, and you can then lift the cover a little way oS,
without breaking the thread, and replenish with oil. The figures in the woodcut are
one-third of the full size.
XiircZFER MATCHES. The importance of this manufacture has been shown
by Mr. Tomlinson in a communication made by that gentleman to the ' Journal of the
Society of Arts.' * It has been estimated,' ho says, ' that the English and French
manufacturers of phosphorus are now producing at the rate of 300,000 lbs. of common
phosphorus per annum, nearly the whole of which is consumed in making lucifer
matches. In compounding the emulsion for tipping the . matches, the German manu-
facturers make three pounds of phosphorus suffice for five or six millions of matches.
If we suppose only one-half of the French and English annual product of phosphorus
to be employed in making matches, this will give us 250,000,000,000 of matches as
the annual product consequent on the consumption of one-half of the French and
English phosphorus. We need not suppose this to be an exaggerated statement when
we consider the daily product of some of our match manufactories. I lately had occa-
sion to describe the processes of a London factory, which produces 2,500,000 matches
daily. For this purpose, fourteen 3-inch planks are cut up ; each plank produces 30
blocks; each block, of the dimensions of 11 inches long, 4^- inches wide and 3 inches
thick, produces 100 slices; each slice 31 splints; each splint 2 matches: thus we
have — 14 x 30 x 100 x 31 x 2 = 2,604,000 matches as the day's work of a single factory
in London. At Messrs. Dixon's factory, near Manchester, from 6,000,000 to 9,000,000
of matches are produced daily.'
The lucifer matches formerly employed for procuring a light were the wooden
sulphur matches, coated with a paste containing phosphorus, which, when dry, would
ignite by friction. To prepare the paste, phosphorus was melted with a certain
quantity of water at 120°, the requisite proportion of nitrate, with a small proportion
of chlorate of potash, was dissolved in this water, a small quantity of bmoxide of
manganese or red lead added, and the liquid thickened with gum ; the whole was
well triturated together in a mortar till the globules of phosphorus ceased to be
visible to the eye, and the mass was coloured with Prussian blue or with minium.
The points of the matches were dipped into this paste, and then cautiously dried in a
stove. The use of the gum was to servo as a varnish to protect the phosphorus from
oxidation by the air.
For the rapid manufacture of the wooden splints for lucifer matches, a patent was
obtained by Mr. Eeuben Partridge, in March 1842. He employed a perforated
metallic plate, having a steel face, strengthened by a bell-metal back ; see figs. 1411,
1412. The size of the perforations must depend on that of the desired splints; but
they must be as close together as possible, that there may be a very small blank
space between them, otherwise the plate would afford too great a resistance to the
passage of the wood. By this construction, the whole area of the block of wood
may be compressed laterally into the countersunk openings, and forced through the
holes, which are slightly countersunk to favour the entrance and separation of the
wooden fibres. Fig. 1411 represents the face of one of these plates ; and fi^. 1412 is
a rectangular section through the plate. A convenient size of plate is 3 inches broad,
6 inches long, and 1 inch thick. The mode of pressing is by fixing the back of the
plate against a firm resisting block or bearing, having an aperture equal to the area
of the perforations in the plate, and then placing the end of the piece or pieces of
wood in the direction of the grain against the fiice of the plate within the area of the
perforated portion. A plunger or lever, or other suitable mechanical agent, being
then applied to tlie back or reverse end of the piece of wood, it may be forced through
the perforations in the plate, being first split as it advances by the cutting edges of
the holes, and afterwards compressed and driven through the perforations in the
plate, coming out on the opposite side or back of the plate in the form of a multitude
of distinct splints, agreeably to the shapes and dimensions of the perforations.^
The first stage in the manufacture of lucifers is the cutting the wood, which is done,
according to the extent of the manufactory, either by hand or by machinery. This,
as well as the subsequent process of coimting and placing tlie matches in frames, is in
itself necessarily free from any inconvenience or evil consequences ; nor does it appear
that the third stage, which consists of melting the sulphur and dipping the heads of
the matches in it, produces any inconvenience. The fourth, fiftli, sixth, and seventh '
Vol. ni. L
146
LUCIFER MATCHES
stages comprise the grinding, mullering, and mixing of the explosive compound ; the
process of dipping the matches in it, the counting and boxing. The dipping, counting,
1403
1404
and packing appear to be, according to Mr. Geist, the only departments in which the
workpeople are in any way affected with peculiar complaints ; we would even limit
the appearance of the jaw-disease to those engaged in dipping — at least, all that we
have examined on the subject were unanimous as to the fact that dippers only were
attacked. There is a certain degree of secrecy observed relative to the proportions of
the composition ; and the mixture of the materials is generally performed by the pro-
prietor of the manufactory, or by a confidential workman. Chlorate of potash is
considered an essential ingredient in England ; but in the manufactories at Niirnberg
it has not been emplojted for a number of years, as its explosive properties much en-
dangered the safety of the buildings and the limbs of the workmen.
The composition used in Niirnberg consists of one-third of phosphorus, of gum-
arabic (which is eschewed by English manufacturers on accoimt of its hygrometric
property), of water, and of colouring-matter, for which either minium or Prussian blue
is employed. If ignition be required without a flame, the quantity of phosphorus is
diminished, or nitrate of lead is added. The mixing is conducted in a water-bath ; and
during this process, and as long as the plaosphorus is being ground or ' mullered,'
copious fumes are evolved. The dipping is performed in the following manner : — The
melted composition is spread upon a board covered with cloth or leather, and the
workman dips the two ends of the matches alternately that are fixed in the frame ;
and as this is done with great rapidity, the disengagement of fumes is very consider-
able, and the more liable to be injurious, as they are evolved in a very concentrated
form close to the face of the workman. This department is generally left to a single
workman ; and the average number that he can dip in an hour, supposing each frame
to hold 3,000 matches, would be 1,000,000.
As the matches have been dipped, they require to be dried. This is generally
done in the room in which the former process is carried on ; and as a temperature of
from 80° to 90° Fahr. is necessary, the greatest quantity of fumes is evolved at this
stage. When the matches are dried, the frames are removed from the drying-room,
and the lucifers are now ready to be counted out into boxes. As this is done with
great rapidity they frequently take fire, and, although instantly extinguished in the
sawdust or the water which is at hand, the occurrence gives rise to an additional and
frequent evolution of fumes.
The composition of lucifer matches varies greatly, as it regards the proportions of
the materials employed. In principle they are, however, as we have described them
above ; everything depending on the ignition of the phosphorus, and the perfection of
a lucifer match is in tipping the match witli a composition which will ignite quietly
upon attrition against any rough surface, but which is not liable to ignition by such
Parts
Farts
4
Red ochre, or red lead .
. 6
10
Smalt ....
. 2
6 1
LUCIFER MATCHES 147
pressure as it may bo subjected to under the ordinary condition of keeping in closed
boxes.
According to Dr. E. Bottger, in Annalen der Chemie und Tharmacie, vol. xlvii.
p. 334, the best composition for lucifer matches is —
Phosphorus .
Nitre ....
Fine glue
Convert the glue, with a little water, by a gentle heat into a sm»oth jelly, put it into
a slightly-warm porcelain mortar to liquefy ; rub the phosphorus down through this
gelatine at a temperature of about 140° or 150° Fahr. ; add the nitre, then the red
powder, and lastly the smalt, till the whole forms a uniform paste. To make writing-
paper matches, which burn with a bright flame, and dififtise an agreeable odour,
moisten each side of the paper with tincture of benzoin, dry it, cut it into slips, and
smear one of their ends with a little of the above paste by means of a hair-pencil.
On rubbing the said end, after it is dry, against a rough surface the paper will take
fire, without the intervention of sulphur.
To form lucifer wood-matches that act without sulphur, melt in a flat -bottomed tin
pan as much wliite wax as will stand ith of an inch deep ; take a bundle of wooden
matches free from resin, rub their ends against a red-hot iron plate till the wood ba
slightly charred ; dip them now in the melted wax for a moment, shake them well
on taking them out, and finally dip them separately in the above viscid paste. When
dry, they will kindle readily by friction.
The phosphorus may be introduced into the composition of lucifer matches in the
form of a solution in bisulphide of carbon. It has been suggested by C. Puscher to
employ a sulphide of phosphorus in the place of pure phosphorus.
A ' Safety Lucifer Match' as it is called, has been manufactured at Jonkoping in
Sweden and by Bottger in Germany. A patent was obtained in this country, by
Messrs. Bryant and May, for this match. Its peculiarity consists in the division of
the combustible ingredients of the lucifer between the match and the friction-paper.
In the ordinary lucifer the phosphorus, sulphur, and chlorate of potash or nitre, are
all together on the match, which ignites when rubbed against any rough substance.
In the Swedish matches these materials are so divided that the phosphorus is placed
on the sand-paper, whilst the sulphur and a minimum amount of chlorate or nitrate
of potash is placed on the match. In virtue of this arrangement it is only when the
phosphorised sand-paper and the sulphurised match come in contact with each other
that the ignition occurs. Neither match nor sand-paper, singly takes fire by moderate
friction against a rough surface. The phosphorus used in the sand-paper for these
safety matches is the amorphous variety described below.
The preparation of lucifer matches has been attended with much human suffering.
Every person engaged in a factory of this kind is more or less exposed to the fumes
of phosphorus, and this exposure produces a disease which lias thus been described by
Mr. Harrison in the ' Quarterly Journal of Medical Science ' : — ' This disease,' he says,
* is of so insidious a nature that it is at first supposed to be common toothache, and
a most serious disease of the jaw is produced before the patient is fully aware of his
condition. The disease gradually creeps on, until the sufferer becomes a miserable and
loathsome object, spending the best period of his life in the wards of a public hospitaL
Many patients have died of the disease ; many, unable to open their jaws, have
lingered with carious and necrosed bones ; others have suffered dreadful mutilations
from surgical operations, considering themselves happy to escape with the loss of the
greater portion of the lower jaw.'
By the introduction of an amorphous phosphorus discovered by M. Schrotter,
which is in nearly all respects unlike the ordinary phosphorus, except in combustibility,
but which answers exceedingly well for the manufacture of lucifer matches, this disease
is prevented, the manufactory is rendered more healthy, and the boxes of matches
themselves less dangerous.
Lucifer matches are now manufactured without sulphur. Letchford employs
paraffin or paraffin-oil for saturating the wood : these ignite rapidly, and burn
regularly with little or no smell. Notice and approbation are due to the persever-
ing efforts which have been made to produce friction matches, containing neither
ordinary nor amorphous phosphorus. Wiederhold has proved that lucifer matches
of good quality may be made with chlorate of potash and hyposulphite of lead : a
result which may prove most valuable, should experience show it to be attainable on
the industrial scale. Other matches free from phosphorus have been made with the
following mixtures, which are given by Jettel : chlorate of potash 4 parts, sulphur
1, and bichromate of potash, 0-4 ; or, chlorate of potash 7, sulphiu: 1, bichromate of
l2
148 LUTEOLINE
potash 2, and nitrate of lead 2 ; or, chlorate of potash 8 parts, bichromate of potash
05, and sulphide of antimony 8. Wiederhold's mixture, mentioned above, may be
made of chlorate of potash 7"8 parts, hyposulphite of lead 2-6, and gum-arabic, 1.
XmJJT/LACSHJiJmA, or Fire Marble. This is a dark-brown shelly marble, having
brilliant ficiy or chatoyant reflections from within. See Mabble.
ZiirsrAB CAtrSTlC. A name for nitrate of silver, when fused and run into
cylindrical moulds.
XiirpIsmrE is a substance of a gummy appearance, so. named by M. Cussola,
because it was obtained from Lupines.
XiVPirXtXN'E. The peculiar bitter aromatic principle of the hop, Humulus Lufu-
lus. See Beer.
XiVSTRZirG, sometimes spelled and pronounced Lutestring ; a peculiar shining
silk.
ZitTTE (from Lutum, clay ; Lut, Tr. ; Kitte, Beschldge, Ger.) is a pasty or loamy
matter employed to close the joints of chemical apparatus, or to coat their surfaces,
and protect them from the direct action of flame. Lut«s differ according to the nature
of the vapours which they are destined to confine, and the degree of heat which they
are to be exposed to.
1. Litte of linseed-meal, made into a soft plastic dough -with water, and immediately
applied pretty thick to junctions of glass, or stoneware, makes them perfectly tight,
hardens speedily, resists acids and ammoniacal vapours, as also a moderate degree of
heat. It becomes stronger when the meal is kneaded with milk, lime-water, or solu-
tion of glue, and is the best lute for fluo-silicic acid.
2. Lute of thick gum-water, kneaded with clay, and iron filings, serves well for
permanent junctions, as it becomes extremely solid.
3. By softening in water a piece of thick brown paper, kneading it first with rye-
flour paste, and then with some potter's clay, till it acquire the proper consistence, a
lute is formed which does not readily crack or scale off.
4. Lute, consisting of a strong solution of glue kneaded into a dough with new
slaked lime, is a powerful cement, and, with the addition of white-of-egg, forms
the lute (fane — a composition adapted to mend broken vessels of porcelain and stone-
Tvare.
5. Skim-milk cheese, boiled for some time in water, and then triturated into paste
with fresh-slaked lime, forms also a good lute.
6. Calcined gypsum (plaster-of-Paris), diffused through milk, solution of glue,
starch, or gum-water, is a valuable lute in many cases.
7. A lute made with linseed, melted caoutchouc, and pipe-clay, incorporated into a
smooth dough, may be kept long soft when covered in a cellar, aud serves admirably
to confine acid-vapours. As it does not harden, it may therefore be applied and taken
off as often as we please,
8. Caoutchouc itself, after being melted in a spoon, may be advantageously used for
securing joints against chlorine and acid vapours, in emergencies when nothing else
would be effectual ; or we may use 1 part of caoutchouc dissolved in 2 parts of hot
linseed-oil, and worked up with pipe-clay (3 parts) into a plastic mass. It bears the
heat at which sulphuric acid boils.
9. The best lute for joining crucibles inverted into each other is a dough made with
a mixture of fresh fire-clay and ground fire-bricks, worked with water. That cement,
if made with a solution of borax, answers still better upon some occasions, as it be-
comes a compact vitreous mass in the fire.
IiXTTEOtlWE is the colouring-principle of the weld (Reseda hcteola), a slender
plant, growing to the height of about three feet, and cultivated for the use of dyers.
When ripe it is cut and dried.
Chevreul was the first to separate the luteoline. It is extracted from the weld by
boiling-water, and when this solution is concentrated and allowed to cool, the luteo-
line separates ; it is then collected, dried, and submitted to sublimation, when it is
condensed in yellow needles.
It is valued for its durability, and is used as a yellow dye, on cottons principall}',
and also on silks, but is little used at present. It was formerly used by paper-hanging
manufacturers, to form a yellow pigment, but has been entirely superseded for that
purpose by miercitron bark and Persian berries. It unites with acids and alkalis, the
former making the colour paler, and the latter heightening the colour. The compound
which it forms with potash is of a golden colour, becoming greenish when exposed to
the air, by absorption of oxygen, and at length becomes red.
It forms yellow compounds with alum, protochloride of tin, and acetate of lead ;
with the salts of iron it produces a blackish-grey precipitate ; and with sulphate of
copper a greenish-brown precipitate.
It is readily soluble in alcohol and etlier, but sparingly so in water. — H. K. B.
MACHINES FOR CUTTING COAL IN MINES 149
XXrriSZVrS, C'^H^N (C'H'W). a volatile nitryle base, diacoverod by Andersou
in bone-oil. It has also been found in shale-naphtha, coal-naphtha, and in crude
chinoline.
XiYCOPODIinvI CXiAVATUnX. The spores of the lycopodium, or club-moss
ripen in September. They are employed, on account of their great combustibility, in
theatres, to imitate the sudden flash of lightning, by throwing a quantity of them
from a powder-puff, or bellows, across the flame of a candle. They are sometimes
known as ' vegetable sulphur.'
ZiYSIAIiI' STOXarE, Touchstone, or Basanite. A flinty variety of jasper, used on
account of its hardness, fine texture, and velvet-black colour, for trying the purity of
the precious metals. The amount of alloy is indicated by the colour left on the stone
after the metal has been rubbed across it.
JLTEIiIiXTi:. A basic sulphate of copper, occurring as a blue incrustation on
killas, from certain Cornish mines. It is named after Sir Charles Lyell. According
to Tschermak, it is a mixture of langite and gypsum.
TsSrtlX.. An animal producing a favourite fur of a greyish-white with dark spots.
Most of the lynx-fur is imported from North America, and is obtained from the
Canadian lynx {Felis Canadensis),
M
IWCACAROXri is a dough of fine wheat-flour, made into a tubular or pipe form, of
the thickness of goose-quills, which was first prepared in Italy, and introduced into
commerce under the name of Italian or Genoese paste. The wheat for this purpose
must be ground into a coarse flour, called gruau semoule, by the French, by means
of a pair of light mill-stones, placed at a somewhat greater distance than usual. This
semoule is the substance employed for making the dough. See Vermicilxi.
IVXACE is a somewhat thick, tough, unctuous membrane, reticulated, and of a yel-
lowish-brown or orange colour. It forms the envelope of the shell of the fruit of the
Myristica moscJiata, tlie nutmeg. It is dried in the sun, after being dipped in brine ;
sometimes it is sprinkled over with a little brine, before packing, to prevent the risk
of moulding. Jlace has a more agreeable flavour than nutmeg, with a warm and
pungent taste. It contains two kinds of oil : the one of which is unctuous, bland, and
of the consistence of butter ; the other is volatile, aromatic, and thinner. Mace is
used as a condiment in cookery, and the aromatic oil occasionally in medicine. See
Nutmeg.
IVSACHXXTES FOK THS CUTTIDTG OF COAIi US IVCZlTZiS. The severe
character of the labour of the coal-miner, and the dangers connected ■\vith bis employ-
ment have led to several mechanical appliances, by which the task of ' hewing coal '
might be lessened, and the dangers attendant on the work diminished. No one has
given more attention to tlie subject than Mr. William Firth of Leeds, to whom wo are
indebted for one of the very first machines which have been successfully employed in
the cutting of coal in mines. To this gentleman we owe the following notice of the
progress made within the past century in this direction :—
'In 1761 Michael Menzies of Newcastle obtained a patent for cutting coal in mines,
and that is the earliest evidence whicli we have of any attempt having been made to
produce a mechanical coal-cutter ; and his plans having regard to the time at which
they were produced, were remarkable for their ingenuity.
' Menzies' specification is also remarkable in other respects, as showing that it was
his intention to make use of the 'fire-engine' as his motor; which engine had, about
two years previously, through the improvements of Watt and of Smeaton, attained only
to so much perfection as to become a doubtful rival to the ' water miln ' or ' wind
miln,' and the ' horse gin.'
' By the power of one or other of these agents, he proposed to give motion to a heavy
iron pick, made to reciprocate by means of spears and chains, carried down the pit,
and with wheels and hoi'izont;il spears, on rollers, extended to the working places, and
there to " shear " the coal exactly as it is now performed. In the same patent, Menzies
included a " saw " to cut the coal ; and although nothing came from his labours, he
displayed so much mechanical knowledge, as to have deserved success ; and his failure
was evidently due to the absence of an eligible power, and not to his deficiencies as a
mechanic.
'During the hundred years that followed these events more than a hundred
other patents were applied for, and granted ; but amongst them all, there was
150 MACHINES FOR CUTTING COAL IN MINES
not one machine that approached nearer to success than the invention of Michael
Menzies.
' This fact is not referred to in disparagement of the patentees, for there were many
curious devices, ingeniously arranged ; but the matter is referred to to show that the
object excited much continuous interest, and that amongst so many miscarriages, our
mechanics were still hopeful.
'Amongst these devices may be enumerated the "saw," "catapult," "battering
ram," "plough," "rotary wheel," "endless chain," "planing machine," and many
others by which the coal was to Jbe either crushed, cut, or shared out.
' There had been no suitable power made known for driving the machines ; and it
was to that cause, without doubt, that so many failures and disappointments were
attributable. The steam-engine, even when it attained to its most perfect form, is
not in itself sufficient for the purpose, because steam cannot be produced near to the
place where the work has to be done, nor can it be carried long distances in an effective
condition, by reason of its rapid condensation. Moreover, an escape of exhaust-steam
could not be permitted in the coal-mine, because of its tendency to soften and bring
down the roof, the difficulty of maintaining which is already the most serious and
troublesome part of coal-mining operations.
'Hydraulic ppwer might, in certain cases, be, and has been recently, tried, but its
unfavourable conditions exceed its advantages for the purpose of cutting coal in mines,
.ind may be put aside from present considerations.
' But in compressed air, in so far as the moving power is concerned, every require-
ment is found ; and from the date of the experiments made at West Ardsley in York-
shire, in 1862, the question was undoubtedly settled.
' The elastic property of air under compression, is an old and well-known power ;
but until these experiments had been completed, its value was but imperfectly under-
stood, and its future beneficial influence on coal-mining was unappreciated.
' The engine for compressing the air, by which a coal-cutting machine is worked, is
generally placed on the surface, near to the top of the shaft ; a receiver is fixed in close
proximity thereto, and the air is taken from the compressor to the receiver, which is
30 feet in length and 4 feet in diameter.
' The density is generally of about three atmospheres.
' Iron pipes of sufficient area are laid on from the receiver to the bottom of the shaft,
and there, being split into smaller sizes, is led in every needed direction through the
roads and passages of the mine, exactly as the gas and water services are laid on in
any town.
' At the entrance into the working places, screw joints or stop-cocks are fixed to the
iron air-pipe, at which point an india-rubber nose, 50 or 60 yards in length (as the
length of the " benk " may require) is screwed on ; the other end of the nose is attached
to the cutting machine, and when all is in readiness, the tap at the receiver is turned
on, and the air rushes down, and throughout the whole service of pipes.
' The air does not require to be forced from the receiver, for by its own elasticity it
is carried forward at a velocity corresponding to its own density.
' Apparently it loses, if the arrangements are good, but little of its power by
distance, except the frictional retardation ; and machines are working underground,
at nearly two miles distance from the air-engine, without any serious loss of
force.*
Firth's Coal-Cutting Machine. — A machine which maybe simply described as a pick
placed horizontally, and worked by a crank motion, has for some five or six years
(1874) been steadily at work in the West Ardsley collieries. The colliers, who at first
objected to ' following the machine,' instead of working -with their old implements,
have at length yielded to the evident advantages of the ' coal-cutter,' and in many of
our largest collieries these machines are now fairly introduced.
We must now turn to the consideration of this machine for cutting the coal, as
invented by Mr. William Firth. Fig. 1413 shows its form and construction; the
weight is about IS cwts. for an ordinary sized machine, its length 4 feet, its height
2 feet 2 inches, and a gauge 1 foot 6 inches to 2 feet ; it is very portable, and easily
transferred from one ' benk ' to another.
The front and hind wheels of the machine are coupled together in a similar manner
to the coupled locomotive engines. The 'pick 'or cutter is double-headed, whereby
the penetrating power is considerably increased.
The groove is now cut to a depth of 3 feet to 3 feet 6 inches at one course, whereas
oy the old form of a single blade, the machine had to pass twice over the face of the
coal to accomplish the same depth. The points are loose and cottered into the boss,
so that when one is blunt or broken, it can be replaced in a few minutes. It dispenses
with the necessity of sending the lieavy tools out of the pit to be sharpened, and is an
immense improvement on the old pick.
4
MACHINES FOR CUTTING COAL IN MINES 151
When all is in readiness for work, the air is admitted to the machine, and the
reciprocating action commences. The piston works at a speed of sixty to ninety
strokes per minute, varying according to the density of the compressed air, the hard-
ness of the strata to be cut, or the expertness of the attendant.
1413
As to the quantity of work. In ' long-wall,' a machine can, under favourable cir-
cumstances, cut 20 yards in an hour, to a depth of 3 feet; but we consider 10 yards
per hour very good work, or say 60 yards in a shift.
This is about equal to the day's work of twelve average men, and the persons em-
ployed to work the machine are one man, one youth, and one boy, who remove and
lay down the road and clear away the debris.
The machines are built so strong that they rarely get out of working condition.
Some of those now working at West Ardsley (and other places), have been in constant
. use for three or four years.
At that colliery there are about eight machines in use. One of the seams is so hard
and. difficult to manage, that it could not be done ' by hand,' and the proprietors had
to abandon it, but now, by the einployment of these machines, it is worked with per-
fect ease. It is a thin cannel seam, with layers of iron-stone, and the machines now
'hole' for about 1,200 tons per week.
The groove made by the machine is only 2 or 3 inches wide at the face, and LJ- at
the back, whereas by hand, it is 12 to 18 inches on the face, and 2 to 3 inches at tho
back, thus : —
In thick seams worked by hand, the holeing is often done to a depth of 4 feet 6
inches to 5 feet, and the getter is quite within the hole he has made, and where the
coal does not stick well up to the roof, or w here there is a natural parting, there is great
difl&culty and danger from falls of coal. In cutting coal by the ordinary method, the
angle is such that when the upper portion of coal falls off from the roof, that it must
pitch forward into the ' road,' but by the machine cutting a perfectly horizontal groove.
The coal, having lost its support, simply settles upon its own bed ; and has no tendnecy
to fall forward.
The following statement was made by the inventor at the meeting of the British
Association at Bradford : —
• The cost of applying coal-cutting machinery is an important part of the question,
but it frequently happens that at old established collieries there may be surplus
power, which can be utilised ; but supposing that everything has to be provided new,
then the following may be taken as an approximate estimate of the necessary outlay ; —
£
2 Boilers at 500Z. each 1,000
1 Steam-engine 1,250
10 Machines at 150^. each 1,500
Pipes, Receivers, Fixings, and sundry other outgoings . . 1,250
say 5,000
' This outlay would provide all necessary power and plant for the regular working
of eight machines, with two in reserve ; and estimating that each machine will cut 60
yards per day, the product in a 4-foot seam would be 85 tons per day, or per week say
600 tons per machine, and 8 by 500 is 4,000 tons.
' Now at this rate of expenditure and work done, an allowance of 2c?. per ton would
in three years liquidate the entire outlay.
152 MACHINES FOR CUTTING COAL IN MINES
' But there is no reason -why the macliines should be restricted to a single shift
daily ; indeed, it is far more economical to work double shifts, there is no additional
outlay of capital, and so far as depends upon the machinery, the output might be easily
increased to 8,000 tons .per week.
' Wo now come to the relative costs of cutting the coal, by hand and by machine,
and the following figures may be taken as representing a somewhat favourable state
of things for the latter,
' The seam is the " Middleton Main " or " Silkstone Bed." The depth of the mine
is 160 yards, and the coal four feet thick ; there are two bands of shale, with a thin
layer of coal between them.
' The bottom portion is not always wholly merchantable, but when it is so, it yields
one ton and a third of a ton per running yard. For the purpose, however, of this
comparison, I take 60 tons only per day (which would come out of 45 yards of machine
working.'
The Cost by Hand.
30 Men cutting, filling, timbering, drilling, road-laying, blasting,
and all other needful work ready in the corves for the " hurrier," * *• d.
at is. 5ld. per ton , . . . . , . .13 8 9
By Machine.
1 Machine man at 8s. 6c? 8 6
1 youth at 6s. &d. \ ^^„„, ,„ , ^„„ fO 5 6
. i_ .. r, o 1 J" equal to 1 man , . . .•?««>/.
1 boy at 3s. 6a. J ^ - \0 3 6
3 men clearing and packing at 8s. 4c? 15
6 men filling, 10 tons each man at i\d. per ton . .213
3 men timbering at 6s. 10c? 10 6
ith portion of cost of steam and air expenses . . . 1 14 '
Maintenance at Ic?. per ton 5
Redemption of capital at 2c?. per ton . . . . 10
8 13 9
Difference in money in'favour of the machine : or Is. Td.
per ton 4 15
13 8
It is necessary now to bring under notice some of the other coal-cutting machines
which have been introduced of late j'ears.
Baird's, or the Gartsherrie Machine. — One of the machines which has claimed the
largest share of attention is the ' Gartsherrie coal-cutter ' of the Messrs. Baird. This
appears to be a modified form of a machine which was patented many years since by
Mr. Gleadhill.
The cutting in these machines is done by an endless chain with cutters attached,
driven round a jib or arm, which extends underneath the coal. The machine is actuated
by air compressed on pit bank to 35 or 40 lbs. per square inch, and conveyed there-
from in cast-iron pipes. The machine at work draws or "feeds " itself along the coal
face, with the jib projecting underneath the coal 2 ft. 9 in. or 3 ft. as required. The
present work done (1874) is 300 to 350 ft., cut 2 ft. 9 in. deep, in a shift of eight to
ten hoiirs, and as the seam worked is 2 ft. 10 in. thick, this yields 75 to 90 tons.
This rate includes all stoppages, and, of course, if it were possible to drive along
without interruption, the figures would be very much higher. The speed also is
capable of considerable increase by extra pressure of air, and when it is stated that
even in the hard Gartsherrie coal the machine has frequently been timed at about
6 ft. in four minutes, an idea may be formed of what it would do in soft English coal
with a good pressure above. The machine at work is attended" by three men. The
working parts of thb machine are carried upon a sttong cast-iron soleplate 6 ft. long
by 2 ft. 6 in. broad, set upon four Wheels. On the soleplate is bolted the cylinder,
8^ in. in diameter, with a 12-in. stroke. The crank shaft is fixed in bearings cast on
soleplate. On' this ^haft is the fly-wheel and excentrie, which is reversible. On one
end of the shaft, overhanging the soleplate, is attached a spur-wheel, which by means
of another shaft and bevel-gearing, is connected to an upright shaft, on under end of
which is the chain-wheel, communicating motion to the cutting chain. The whole of
these wheels are of Bessemer steel, and, so far as proved, appear to give the greatest
satisfaction in wear. The cutters, nine in number, and 2| in. broad on face, are
secured to the chain by means of two bolts passing through cutter and link. The jib,
which distends the chain, is bolted to side of soleplate, and consists of two parts, the
stock and point, adjustable by means of a nut and screw working against a bridge in
MACHINES FOR CUTTING COAL IN MINES 153
stock. Tho chain is made of wrought steel, and the cutters of the best tool-steel. The
machine draws or " feeds " itself by means of a drum and a /^ in. chain passed round
a pulley fixed to a prop 100 ft. in advance. Tlio drum shaft is actuated through u
toothed wheel worked by a racket motion from an excentric cast or bevel-wheel of
upright shaft. The roadway on which the machine travels is of cast malleable iron.
The rails arc keyed down to sleepers, and are kept in condition by means of snugs
cast on sleepers, which fit into oblong holes in end of rails. Each machine is fitted
with 21 ft. or seven pairs of such rails 3 ft. long. Tho machines are of two designs.
No. 1, being 2 ft. 4 in. high, requires about 3 ft. of head room between pavement and
roof. No. 2 is 1 ft. 8 in. high, including roadway, and so is capable of working tho
thinnest seam. The gearing can be altered to speed required by the nature of the coal
or other material cut. They have been adapted to undercut clay band iron-stone lying
1414
on hard sandy fire-clay. At work the machine is attended by three men, one driving,
one lifting roadway behind machine, and the other laying roadway in front, &c.
1415
The cutters are sharpened at each shift, the cutting chain being brought to bank daily
for this purpose, and the cutters removed, sharpened, and dressed to a gauge.
This description will be rendered quite intelligible by reference to the drawings.
154
MACHINES FOR CUTTING COAL IN MINES
Fig. 1414 shows the Gartsherrie m.achine in plan. Fig. 1415 gives an end elevation
of the machine. In both cases the way in which the cutting work into the coal is
effected is clearly shown. I'o^fig. 1416 a side elevation is given, from which it will be
1416
easy for anyone having but a slight acquaintance with machinery to see how motion is
given to the cutters.
GiUott aiid Copley's Machine, which is shown in the accompanying woodcuts, was
patented in 1868. Fig. 1417 gives the machine in plan.
The machine, with the exception of the cylinders and one spur-wheel, is made
entirely of steel and wrought iron, thus combining the greatest strength in the
1417
i
1418
smallest space, and with the least weight. The top frame is of angle-iron, 4 feet
9 inches long by 2 feet 4 inches wide, and on this are fixed two cylinders, 7 J inches
in diameter, with a 9-inch stroke, working on to a crank-shaft, which, by'a very
simple arrangement, drives the pinion which gears into the slots of tlie cutter-wheel.
This wheel, which is of cast steel, is carried by a bracket projecting horizontally
from the side of the machine. It makes about six revolutions per minute, and on its
outer edge are fixed twenty steel picks or cutters, these giving 120 strokes per
MACHmES FOR CUTTING COAL IN MINES 155
minute ; it is 3 feet 10 inches in diameter, and makes a clean cut of 3 feet 4 inches
deep by 3 inches thick, and from this space it entirely sweeps out the -whole of the
coal as it revolves. The machine is propelled by a wire rope having one end secured
at the extremity of the face, and passing round a drum driven by the air-cylinders, or
by liand-gearing attached to the side of the machine. The whole is covered in with a
moveable sheet-iron casing to protect it from anything falling from the roof. One
man only is required to be in attendance on the machine, and another should follow
to sprag the coal as it is cut.
With a pressure of 27 lbs. of compressed air per square inch the machine has holed,
in a hard tough fire-clay seating, 25^ yards in 40 minutes, and 24 yards' 1 foot of
strong solid coal in 55 minutes, with only 20 lbs. pressure. A fair average rate of
work with 27 lbs. pressure may be stated at thirty yards per hour, 3 feet 2 inches to
3 feet 4 inches under and 3 inches thick, either in a seating or moderately hard coal.
The average rate of holeing by manual labour in the seam where it is now working is
1419
r..^>'' •• " ^^ \"y
about 7 yards for a day's work — equivalent to aboiit nine men working a whole day to
do what the machine does better in two hours. The men have only to wedge or shoot
the coal down and clear it away, while the machine is taken to another bank to do its
work there. In figs. 1418 and 1419 the machine is shown in sectional elevations.
Winstanley' s Machine, — The coal cutting machine of Messrs. Winstanley and
Barker is not essentially different from the machines already described. It consists of
a small frame running upon four wheels adapted to the colliery gauge, and carrying
two oscillating cylinders driven by compressed air or steam. On the crank-shaft and
imderneath the frame is a pinion which gears into a very coarse-pitched toothed
wheel, the ends of the teeth being armed with cutters. This cutting wheel can be
turned under the carriage when not required, and when placed in position is brought
to bear against the coal by turning a handle into which it cuts, until the arm carrying
the wheel is at right angles to the carriage. The machine is slowly dragged forward
by means of a chain attached to a crab and worked by a boy. As the machine
advances, the miner in attendance drives wooden wedges into the cut to support the
coal, and when the machine is out of the way the wedges are withdrawn and the coal
falls. The machine itself only weighs 15 cwts., and will cut at the rate of 30 yards
per hour with a pressure of only 25 lbs. per square inch, making a ' holing' in the
coal 3 feet deep and only 2^ inches high. The height of the machine is only 22 inches.
It has the disadvantage of being only able to cut on one side of tlie carriage, but of
course it can be constructed to cut on the right- or left-hand side as may be desired by
the purchaser.
Hurd and Simpsm's 39-ineh self-acting, right and left-hand, variable height
coal-cutter was specially constructed for the Glass Houghton Coal Company to under-
cut in the blue stone band lying between two portions of the coal-seam. This
machine is worked on a somewhat similar principle to that of Winstanley and
Barker ; that is to say, the coal is undercut by means of a circidar saw working at the
end of a moveable lever, but with this important difference, that in Hurd and Simp-
son's machine the cutter is placed in front, and can thus cut the coal right ahead of
the machine or on either side of it. The cutting wheel is slightly excentric, and the
machine hauls itself along by means of a chai"U anchored ahead of it ; for as the
cutter revolves, being an excentric, the teeth on one portion of the periphery would
revolve without touching the cail, but at this time the self-acting hauling gear comes
into play, the machine advances, and the cutters get a fresh feed on the coal. This
coal-cutter is 30 inches high over all, and cuts to a depth of 3 feet 3 inches.
156
MACHINES FOR CUTTING COAL IN MINES
BrowTbS Mo7iitor Coal-Cutter has excited some attention in America. The machine
consists of a five horse-power steam-engine driven by steam carried into the mine by
a steam-pipe, terminating, however, in a few feet of rubber-hose, which permit of full
freedom of motion to the machine. The intention of the proprietors is to employ
compressed air in place of steam eventually. The cutting arrangement is an iron rim
of four feet in diameter, which has on its periphery moveable steel teeth, placed at
points about 12 inches apart. These teeth may bo taken out and ground whenever
they become dull. This rim lies on small wheels which support it and allow a freo
motion, and has cogs on its under surface which gear into cogs on a shaft turned by
the engine. By this means the power is applied near the circumference of the wheel,
instead of at the centre as in the ordinary circular saw. The principal reason for
this arrangement is to get a deeper cut at the coal. The cutter can bo put to a depth
of 3^ feet, or ^ths of its whole diameter, whereas the ordinary circular saw can hardly
cut to one-half of its diameter. The machine runs on a moveable track, and is fed by
means of a screw working in cogs. The track is put down along the side of the coal
at the proper distance from it, and when a cut has been made the whole length, the
machine is put on tracks and wheeled to the next ' room,' where the track is laid as
before, and so on through the mine. The duty of the machine is calculated to be at
about a yard in five minutes.
The estimate of its economy given by the proprietors is that it saves about 35 cents
per ton over the cost of putting out coal by hand labour, which in a mine turning out,
say 200 tons a day, amounts to a saving of 70 dollars per day. The first cost of. the
machine is very moderate, being only about 800 dollars,.
Jones's Hand Coal-Cutter. — This machine is practically a combination of inclined
circular-saws mounted upon a revolving rod, so that the groove cut by each saw runs
into the groove cut by the next, thus thoroughly under-cutting a seam. The saws are
set on the rod obliquely, and provision is made for retaining them at a proper distance
from each other, and in the most suitable position on the rod, the end of which has a
.„ screw-thread cut upon it, by means
of which it is fastened into the
spindle and bearings. Another
form of cutting apparatus may be
formed from a flat bar of steel, with
saw teeth along both of its outer
edges, and so twisted that the
toothed edges are formed into spirals
(fig. 1420). By this arrangement,
which resembles that of Macdcr-
mott's rock-perforator, the cutter
readily clears itself from the slack
which it cuts away. See Eock-Per-
FOEATOE. A revohnng cutter of this
kind may be worked in two ways.
It may be caused to sweep in the arc
of a circle into and out of the coal,
so as to cut out a groove in it, the
spindle of the cutter being for that
purpose carried by a frame turning upon an axis, such axis being also traversed for-
ward from time to time in a line parallel with the face of the coal operated upon.
Alternatively the frame carrying the spindle of the cutter may simply bo caused to
move forward continuously in a line parallel with the face of the coal, in which latter
case a groove will be produced of a depth equal to the length of the cutter. But if
the cutter is caused to sweep round in the arc of a circle, a groove of any desired
depth can be cut, irrespective of the length of the cutter itself.
Eevolving cutters, such as above described, can bo driven either by hand-power or
by compressed air. In the former case, and when the machine is to be used only for
holing or undercutting, the following is proposed as the preferable arrangement. The
spindle of the cutter is mounted on bearings in a frame which can turn upon a stud
on the bed-plate of the machine. On the under side of this bed-plate are sledge
runners to run on rails laid upon the floor of the mine. On the frame which carries
the cutter spindle is a toothed arc, into which gears a pinion carried in bearings from
the bed-plate. The pinion can be turned by a hand wheel on its spindle, and thus the
cutter can be caused to sweep round to and fro in the arc of a circle. Upon the cutter
Bpindle is fixed a bevel pinion gearing into a horizontal bevel wheel, which is con-
centric with the stud upon which the frame carrying the cutter is mounted. The
horizontal bevel is mounted upon a vortical shaft, upon which is a fly-wheel, and at
its upper end a pinion which gears with a bevel wheel, which latter can be driven by
MACHINES FOR CUTTING COAL IN MINES 157
1421
a crank handle, and thus a quick revolving motion can be given to the cutter, whilst
that, at the same time, may be freely swept round to and fro in the arc of a circle.
Moans are provided for the exclusion of dirt from the machinery, and ior holding the
apparatus securely while the cutter is in motion. An adjustment may bo made for
cutting grooves, either vertically or* horizon-
tally in the upper part of the seam, and in
such case the spindle of the cutter is driven
by a rotary engine set in motion by com-
pressed air.
The mode of action of Mr. Jones's appara-
tus will be more clearly understood on refe-
rence to the diagram {Fig. 1421). The fixed
end of the cutter is supposed to be succes-
sively at A, D, and c, the seam of coal lying
between the lines d n and e e. First the
cutter, starting from the position a a', traA'els
round to the position a a", clearing the triangular space A a' a". Then the fixed end is
transferred from a to b, when a quarter revolution changes its direction from bb' to
B b", clearing the space b b' b", and on removal to the fixed point c, the similar
space c c'c" is cleared.
Bidders Machine for hreaking down Coal. — Mr. S. P. Bidder, jun., had, in conjunc-
tion with Mr. John Jones, devised a machine which had been submitted to actual
trial on a working scale at the Harecastle Colliery, where the results were so satisfac-
tory as to induce the proprietors to make arrangements for its immediate adoption.
The machine consisted of a small hydraulic press of 12 tons power, to whicli was
attached a pair of tension-bars, bent in the form of a connecting rod or hinge-strap.
These were placed one over the other in the bore-hole, and between them, at the
extreme end, tliere were a clearance-box and two metal pressing-blocks, between which
was forced, by the action of the hydraulic press, a split wedge 15 inches long, causing
a lateral expansion of 3 inches. The ram was then withdrawn, and a second wedge
was inserted between the two parts of the first wedge, and was forced up until suffi-
cient expansion was obtained to break the coal. The operation could be repeated
several times if found necessary. The whole apparatus would weigh about 50 lbs.
The hydraulic press was in future to be made of steel, and the ram would be cored
out. In practical working, each gang of colliers woiild be provided with the tension-
bars and three wedges, while the presses would be under the charge of the men who
at present occupied the position of firemen, so that no new class of labour would be
introduced, while the risk of firing would be got rid of. Trials had been made both
in tlio 7-feet and the 9-feet seams at Harecastle ; and in the latter, with three wedges,
about 12 tons of coal had been brought down in only three or foiir pieces. It was
found that the press could be applied, and the blocks brought down, in less time than
was consumed by firing a hole and waiting for the smoke clearing.
Explosions in mines were known to arise, very frequently, from the employment of
gunpowder for blasting. In the interests of humanity alone, an efficient substitute
had long been desired by practical men ; and this, it was believed, had been accom-
plished by Bidder's machine, which had also the advantage of preventing the waste of
coal incurred by the present system.
The following remarks, made by Mr. W. Menelaus of Dowlais, on the use of coal-
cutting machines in the collieries of South Wales, are so much to the point that they
are extracted from the ' Journal of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.' Tiiese
remarks have reference more especially to the coal-cutting machine of Mr. Eobert
Winstanley.
Mr. Menelaus said that, having paid considerable attention to the subject of coal-
cutting by machinery, and watched carefully the several plans that had been tried, he
had not yet found any machine that could compete with colliers' labour under the
exceptional circumstances attending the working of the thick veins of coal in South
Wales. The holing of the coal constituted there only one-tenth of the entire labour
in the collieries ; and the margin for saving upon this portion of the work was there-
fore so small, that he had given up as hopeless the introduction of coal-cutting
machines in that district. The colliers at present worked only one turn of about 8
hours per day of 24 hours ; and the coal was all brought down by natural pressure
during the interval while the men were all absent, the bulk of the coal being obtained
with very little holing. If three turns were worked per day he was not sure that tie
holing might not be advantageously done by a machine, even in the thick soft veins of
the South Wales collieries; and in such a case, he should be very glad to adopt
machines for the purpose. In thin veins of liard coal he considered the introduction
of coal-cutting machines would be attended with very great advantages, and he hoped
158 ■ MADDER
they would bo generally adopted, and thought every possible endeavour should be
made to establish their use. The machine now described appeared to him to be one
of the best that had been brought forward for coal-cutting ; and he thought the prin-
ciple of its construction and action was more likely to prove the right one than that
of machines designed to work a pick in a similar manner to hand-labour. One of the
earliest coal-cutting-machines that he remembered had been made on the same prin-
ciple as a circular saw, but in that case the cutting-wheel had been literally a circular
saw with fixed teeth, and had consequently proved a failure in actual working. The
use of moveable teeth in the cutting-wheel of the present machine M'as an important
practical improvement, and this machine appeared to him to have been worked out in
a very ingenious way, and seemed one of the most likely to succeed that he had yet
met with. Whether the air was worked expansively in the cylinders was a question
that should not be overlooked in regard to the economy of any coal-cutting machine ;
and if the expansion could be obtained without complicating the construction of the
machine, it was by all means desirable to have the benefit of it. If, however, it
involved the introduction of cams or excentrics and ordinary valve-gear, he thought it
would be better to waste a portion of the power than to introduce these complications,
as he considered the utmost simplicity of construction was an object of such essential
importance for the success of a coal-cutting machine ; and in working with compressed
air it must be borne in mind that the power was cheaply produced at the mouth ot
the pit, and readily conveyed to the machine. The construction of the machine now
described seemed to possess the advantage of simplicity, and he thought this machine
was very likely to prove one of the best yet introduced ; it had also another advan-
tage in being able to hole its own way into the coal at starting, without requiring any
preliminary holing to be done by hand before it could be got to work. He agreed in
considering that the discharge of exhaust-air from a coal-cutting machine was hardly
capable of producing an appreciable effect upon the ventilation of a colliery, as the
quantity of fresh air so discharged was insignificant in comparison with the total
quantity passing through the mine.
MAC&E is the name given to certain spots in minerals, of a deeper hue than the
main substance, and differing from it. Clay-slate may be macled with Iron Pyrites ;
— or it may be that the made spots are some peculiar form of the same mineral matter
supposed to proceed from some disturbance of the particles in the act of crystallisation.
Maclcs are twin crystals which are united, or which interpenetrate.
XMCASDER ( Garance, Fr. ; Krapp, Fdrberrothe, Ger.), a substance very exten-
sively used in dyeing, is the root of the Bubia tinctorum, Linn. It is employed for
the production of a variety of colours, such as red, pink, purple, black, and chocolate.
The Ert/throdaimm or Ereuthrodanum of the Greeks, of which Pliny says that it
was named Bubia in Latin, and that its roots were used for dyeing wool and leather
red, was probably identical with the Bubia tiiictorum, since the description of its
appearance and uses given by ancient authors can hardly apply to any other plant. It
was cultivated in Galilee, Caria, and near Kavenna in Italy, where it was planted
either among the olive-trees or in fields destined for that purpose. Another species
of Rubia, viz. the B. manjisia, grows in the mountainous regions of Hindostan, and
the roots of this and an allied plant, the Oldenlandia timbcllata, called by the natives
Chaya, have been in use in that country since the most remote period, for the purpose
of producing the red and chocolate figures seen in the chintz calicoes of the E;ist
Indies. (See Calico-Phinting.) The peculiar process by which the colour called
Turkey red is imparted to cotton was probably invented originally in India, but the
dyeing material generally employed in this process was not madder, but the chaya-
root. From India the art of dyeing this colour seems to have been carried to Persia,
Armenia, Syria, and Greece ; where it was practised for many centuries before it
became known in the western part of Europe. In those countries, however, the root
of the Bubia peregrina, called in the Levant Alizari, was the material to which dyers
had recourse for this purpose, and large quantities of it are at the present day
imported into Europe from Smyrna, under the name of Turkey roots. In the middle
ages, according to Beckraann, madder went by the name of Varantia or Verantia,
The cultivation of madder was introduced into the province of Zeeland, in Holland,
in the reign of the Emperor Charles V., who encouraged it by particular privileges
conferred on the inhabitants for the purpose. According to Macquer, however, it
was to the Flemish refugees that the Dutch were first indebted for their knowledge
of the method of preparing the plant. It is still grown very extensively in that part
of Holland, and large quantities are annually exported thence into other countries.
Until very recently indeed, the dyers of this country derived almost the whole
of their supply of madder from Holland ; and it was the discovery that Dutch madder
was incapable of producing some of the finer colours more recently introduced, tliat
first led to its being to some extent supplanted by madder grown in other countries.
MADDER 159
In the district of Avignon, in France, tlie cultivation of the plant commenced abont
the year 1666, under Colbert, but it was chiefly by the efforts of the Secretary of State
Bertin, towards the close of the last century, that it became firmly established there.
The French dyers and printers are supplied with madder from Avignon and Alsace,
and large quantities are also exported from France into England and other countries.
Madder is also grown for the use of dyers in Silesia, Naples, and Spain. It was
formerly more extensively cultivated in England than it is now, when it can be
imported at a less expense than it can be raised. The Buhia pcregrina grows wild in
the south of England, but it is not applied to any useful purpose.
The Rubia tinctorum is one of the least conspicuous and ornamental of our culti-
vated plants. In external appearance it bears great resemblance to the ordinary
bed-straws or Galiums, with which it is also botanically allied. Some species of
galium seem also to contain a red colouring matter, and one of them, the G. verum, is
used in the Hebrides for dyeing. The B. tinctorum belongs to the class Tetrandria,
order Monogynia, of the Linnajan, and the order Rubiaceae, of the Natural system. It
is a perennial plant, but has an herbaceous stem, which dies down every yeiir. The
main part of the root, which extends perpendicularly downwards to a considerable depth,
is cylindrical, fleshy, tolerably smooth, and of a pale carrot colour. On cutting it
across transversely, it is found to consist externally of a thin cortical layer, or
epidermis, to which succeeds a thick, spongy mass of cellular tissue, filled with a
yellow juice, and in the centre runs a thin tough string of woody fibre, of a rather
paler yellow colour than the enveloping cellular tissue, which may easily be peeled
off. The root when freshly cut has a yellow colour, but speedily acquires a reddish
tinge on exposure to the air. Many side roots issue from the upper part or head of
the parent root, and they extend just beneath the surface of the ground to a con-
siderable distance. It in consequence propagates itself very rapidly, for these
numerous side roots send forth many shoots, which, if carefully separated in the
spring, soon after tliey are above ground, become so many plants. From the roots
spring forth numerous square-jointed stalks, which creep along the ground to the
length of from 5 to 8 feet. Round each joint are placed in a whorl from 4 to 6
lance-shaped leaves, about 3 inches in length, and almost an inch wide at the
broadest part. The upper surface of the leaves is smooth, but their margin and keel,
as well as the four angles of the stem, are armed with refiexed prickles, so as to cause
tlie plant to adhere to any rough object with which it comes in contact. The flowers,
which are yellow, are arranged in compound panicles, which rise in pairs opposite to
each other from the axils of the leaves. The calyx is very small. The corolla is small,
campanulate, and 5-cloft. The flower contains 4 stamens, and 1 style. The fruit or
berry is at first red, but afterwards becomes black. It consists of two lobes, each of
which contains a seed.
The Ruhia tinctorum thrives best in a warm climate, and if grown in the north of
Europe a warm sheltered situation should be chosen. A deep, dry soil, containing an
abundance of humus, is best adapted for its cultivation. A rich loam, in which
there is a large proportion of sand and but little clay, is preferable to the stifFer soils.
As the plant requires to be left in the ground several years, it is not one which can
he adapted to any system of rotation of crops, and its cultivation must be carried on
independently. Land which has lain for a considerable time in grass is preferred to
any otlier for the purpose. At all events, it is well not to allow it to follow on root crops.
Tlie finest qualities of madder grow in calcareous soils. In the district called Palud,
which produces the best quality of French madder, the soil contains about 90 per
cent, of carbonate of lime, and is moreover capable of yielding several successive crops
of the plant ; whereas the land which grows the second quality called rosee is richer,
but less calcareous, and can only be made to grow madder alternately with other crops.
The land must be well dug up with the spade about the beginning of autumn, and before
winter. The manure used must be well rotten, and mixed with earth in a compost some
time before it is used. Good stable-dung, which has heated to a certain degree and been
turned over two or three times before it is mixed with earth, is the best. The dung
should be put in layers with the earth, and if the whole can be well-watered with
urine or the drainings of the yard, and then mixed up by the spade, the compost
will be much superior to fresh dung alone. The manure having been dug or ploughed
in, the land is left over winter, and in spring it is turned over again, in order to
destroy all weeds, and make the soil uniform to the depth of 2 feet at least. After
having been harrowed flat it is ready for planting. Madder is generally grown from
suckers or shoots, rarely from seeds. The shoots are prepared by cutting in the
previous autumn, from the secondary roots of old plants, pieces at least 5 inches
long and of the thickness of a quill, each length containing several joints for the
development of buds, and preserving them through the winter in a dry place by
covering them over with litter or leaves. Before planting, the land is in some dis-
160 MADDER
tricts laid in beds, about 3 feet wide, -with deep intervals dug out ■with the spade, and
the layers are set, by means of a dibble or narrow trowel, in rows, each bed contain-
ing two rows about 16 inches apart, and the layers being at a distance of 4 to 6
inches from each other. In other districts, furrows about 3 or 4 inches deep, and
1^ or 2 feet apart, are made, and in these furrows the suckers are placed at a distance
of 1 foot from one another, and the furrows are then filled up with soil by means of a
rake. Should the weather be dry, tlio plants must be watered. A watering with
diluted urine after sunset greatly assists their taking root. After 3 or 4 weeks they
appear above the ground. When they have grown to the length of a finger they
must be well weeded and earthed up with the hoe, and this process must be repeated
4 or 6 weeks later, taking care that the roots be well covered with earth, which
very much promotes their growth. The stems and leaves should not be cut off, but
allowed to die down as winter approaches. Where the winter cold is very great, the
roots should in the course of November be covered up with earth to the depth of 2
or 3 inches, and an additional covering of litter is also advisable as a protection
from the frost. Water must on no account be allowed to stand in the furrows
between the rows during the winter. In spring the covering is removed, and the
plant then sends up fresh stalks and leaves as in the first year. The same attention
must be paid to weeding and earthing-up during the second as the first year. A
second winter and a third summer must elapse before the root is sufficiently mature
to be taken xip. The object of allowing the roots to remain for such a length of
time in the ground seems to be to give time for the interior or woody part of the root
to increase ; for this part, though it is no richer in colouring matter than the outer or
fleshy part of the root, yields a product of finer quality. In France, however, it is
usual to gather the crop in 18 months after planting, that is, in the autumn of the
second year.
In Germany the roots are sometimes even taken up at the end of the first year,
and it is to the product thus obtained that the special name of Eotke is applied, the
term Krapp being restricted to that which has been in the ground tlie usual length
of time. The root is the only part of the plant generally used. The East Indian
product called Munject seems, however, to consist entirely of the stalks of the madder
plant. It is much inferior in quality to ordinary madder, and is comparatively poor
in colouring-matter.
The time usually selected for taking up the roots is October or November. In
doing so care must be taken to break and injure them as little as possible. The
quantity of fresh roots obtained in France from one arpent of ground (of 48,000
square feet) varies from 4.000 to 6,000 lbs. In England an acre of ground will yield
from 10 to 20 cwts., and in the south of Germany the produce of 1 morgen of land
(equal to about 4,075 square yards) amounts to 50 cwts. of dry roots. In warm
climates the roots, as soon, as they are taken out of the ground, are simply dried in
the sun, and after having been separated from the earth, &c., are broken into pieces,
and then brought to market. This kind of madder is called in the East Alizari, and
in England Madder-roots. It consists of short twisted pieces, a little thicker than a
quill, reddish-brown, and rather rough externally. A transverse section of one of
these pieces exhibits in the centre several concentric layers of pale yellowish-red
woody fibre, surrounded by a thin reddish-brown layer of cellular tissue, the original
volume of which has been much reduced by drying. Madder is also imported in this
state from France, Naples, and Bombay.
In France and Holland the cultivator generally dries his roots, after shaking out
the earth as much as possible, partially in stoves. He then takes them to the
threshing-floor, and threshes them with the flail, partly for the purpose of separat-
ing the small radicles and epidermis of the root, and partly in order to divide the
latter into pieces about 7 or 8 centimetres in length. They are then sieved or win-
nowed, in order to remove what has been detached by threshing. The particles
which are separated in this process are ground by themselves, and constitute an in-
ferior kind of madder called Mull. The remainder is then handed over to the madder
manufacturer, who proceeds to dry it completely in stoves heated to about 100° Fahr.
by means of furnaces so constructed as to allow an occasional current of fresh air to
pass through. It is afterwards taken to a largo sieve with different compartments,
moved by machinery. The compartment with the narrowest meshes serves to sepa-
rate the portions of epidermis, earthy particles, and other refuse matter which had
been left adhering to the roots after the threshing. The compartments with wider
meshes are for the purpose of separating the smaller roots from the larger ones, the
latter being considered the best. In Franco this operation is called robage. The
roots are then subjected to the process of grinding, by means of vertical millstones,
and afterwards passed through sieves of different sizes, until they are reduced to a
Btate of fine powder. When the larger and better roots are ground by themselvesi
MADDER 161
the madder is called in France garancc robco fine, or garance surfine, and it is marked
■with the letters s f. The smaller roots yield an inferior madder, which is called
garance non rohee, or mifine, and is marked sr f. When the diflfl-rent kinds of Txtotn
are not separated from one another, but all ground together, the product is called
garance petite robee, moins rohee, or fine, and is marked f f. By far the greater por-
tion of the madder consumed in France consists of this quality, since it is found to be
perfectly well adapted for all the purposes to which madder is usually applied. The
letter o is applied to the lowest quality of madder or mull, which is obtained by
grinding the epidermis and other portions of the root which are detached after the
first storing, and during the process called rohage. The qualities c f and c p o con-
sist of mixtures of m f and o. There is also another quality, which receives the
designation s f f, and which is obtained by grinding separately the internal ligneoxis
part of the root, previously deprived of the outer or cortical portion. This quality is
employed for dyeing fine colours on wool and silk, as well as for the preparation of
madder-lakes. Other marks, such as s f f f, e x s f f f, &c., are also occasionally
employed by French manufacturers and dealers, to distinguish particular qualities.
In Holland the product obtained by grinding together the whole roots, after the sepa-
ration of the mull, is called onber, whilst the term crop is applied to the internal part
of the root ground separately.
The Levant madder, usually called Turkey roots, is considered to be the finest
quality imported into this country. It comes to us from Smyrna, and consists of the
whole roots broken into small pieces, and packed in bales. It is ground as it is,
without any attempt being made to separate the different portions of the root ; and
has then the appearance of a coarse, dark reddish-brown powder. It is employed
chiefly for the purpose of dyeing the finer purples on calico. Next to this comes the
madder of Avignon, of which two varieties are distinguislied in commerce, viz. Faluds
and rosee. The first, which is the finest, owes its name to the district in which it is
grown, consisting of a small tract of reclaimed marsh land in the neighbourhood of
Avignon. Avignon madder is considered to be the best adapted for dyeing pink. It
has the appearance, as imported into this country, of a fine pale yellowish-brown or
reddish-brown powder. The paler colour, as compared with that of ground roots, is
owing to the partial separation of the external or cellular portion of the root during
the process of grinding, as practised in France. The madders of Alsace, Holland, and
Naples, are richer in colouring-matter than the two preceding kinds, but they yield
less permanent dyes, and are therefore only employed for colours which require little
treatment with soap and other purifying agents after dyeing. Of late years, indeed,
the employment of garancine, a preparation of madder, in the place of these lower
descriptions, has become very general.
All kinds of madder have a peculiar, indescribable smell, and a taste between
bitter and sweet. Their colour varies extremely, being sometimes yellow, sometimes
orange, red, reddish-brown, or brown. They are all more or less hygroscopic, so
that even when closely packed in casks in a state of powder, they slowly attract
moisture, increase in weight, and at length lose their pulverulent condition, and form
a firm, coherent mass. This change takes place to a greater extent with Alsace and
Dutch madders than with those of Avignon. Madder which has undergone this
change is called by the French garance grappee. It is probable that some process
of fermentiition goes on at the same time, for madder that is kept in casks in a
dry place, and as much out of contact with the air as possible, is found constantly
to improve in quality for a certain length of time, after which it again deteriorates.
Some kinds of madder, especially those of Alsace and Holland, when mixed with
water and left to stand for a short time, give a thick coagulum or jelly, which does
not take place to the same degree witli Avignon madder. The madder of A-\-ignon
contains so much carbonate of lime as to effer\'esce \^^th acids. The herbaceous parts
of the plant, when given as fodder to cattle, are found to communicate a red colour
to their bones, a circumstance which was first observed about a hundred years ago,
and has been employed by physiologists to determine the manner and rate of growth
of bone.
There exists no certain means of accurately ascertaining the intrinsic value of any
sample of madder, except that of dyeing a certain quantity of mordanted calico with
a weighed quantity of the sample, and comparing the depth and solidity of the
colours with those produced by the same weight of another sample of known quality,
and even this method may lead to uncertain results, if practised on too small a scale.
The Paluds, which is the most esteemed of the Avignon madders, has a dark red hue,
whereas the other kinds have naturally a yellow, reddish-yellow, or brownish-yellow
colour. Nevertheless, means have been devised of communicating to the latter tho
desired reddish tinge, which, therefore, no longer serves as a test. A method formerly
employed to ascertain the comparative value of a number of samples of madder con-
Voi. ni. M
162 MADDER
Bisted in placing a small quantity of each sample on a slate, pressing the heaps flat with
some hard body, and then taking them to a cellar or other damp place. After 10 or
1 2 hours they were examined, and that ■which had acquired the deepest colour, and
increased the most in volume was considered the best. This method led, however, to so
many frauds on the part of the dealer, for the purpose of producing the desired effect,
that it is no longer resorted to. Madder is sometimes adulterated with sand, clay,
brick-dust, ochre, sawdust, bran, oak-bark, logwood and other dye-woods, sumac and
quercitron bark. Some of these additions are difficult to detect. Such as contain
tannin maybe discovered by the iisual tests, since madder contains naturally no tannin.
If the material used for adulteration be of mineral nature, its presence may be dis-
covered by incinerating a weighed quantity of the sample. If the quantity of ash which
is left exceeds 10 per cent, of the material employed, adulteration may be suspected.
The ash obtained by incinerating pure madder consists of the carbonates, sulphates,
and phosphates of potash and soda, chloride of potassium, carbonate and phosphate of
lime, phosphate of magnesia, oxide of iron and silica. If a considerable amount of
any other mineral constituents is found, it is certainly duo to adulteration.
There is probably no subject connected with the art of dyeing which has given rise to
so much discussion as the composition of madder, and the chemical nature of the
colouring matters to which it owes its valuable properties. The subject has engaged
the attention of a number of chemists, whose labours, extending over a lengthened
period, have thrown considerable light on it. Nevertheless, the conclusions at
which they have severally arrived do not perfectly agree with one another, nor with
the views entertained by the most intelligent of those practically engaged in madder
dyeing. The older investigators supposed that madder contained two colouring
matters, one of which was tawny, and the other red. Kobiquet was the first chemist
who asserted that it contained two distinct red colouring matters, both of which
contributed to the production of the dyes for which madder is employed ; and his
views, thougli they were at the time of their promulgation strongly objected to
by some of the most eminent French dyers and calico-printers, still offer probably
the best means of explaining some of the phenomena occurring during the process of
madder dyeing. The two red colouring matters discovered by Robiquet were named
by him Alizarine and Purpurine, and these names they still retain. Several crystal-
lised yellow colouring matters have been discovered by other chemists ; but the only
one which exists ready-formed in the madder of commerce is the Rubiacine of Schunck,
and this substance may also be taken as the type of the whole class, the members of
which possess very similar properties. Among the other organic substances obtained
by different chemists from madder, two resinous colouring matters, sugar, a bitter
principle, a peculiar extractive matter, pectin, a fermentative nitrogenoiis substance,
and malic, citric, and oxalic acids, may be mentioned.
When madder is extracted with boiling water, a dark brown muddy liquid, having
a taste between bitter and sweet, is obtained. On adding a small quantity of an acid
to this liquid, a dark brown precipitate is produced, while the supernatant liquid
becomes clear, and now appears of a bright yellow colour. The precipitate consists
of alizarine, purpurine, rubiacine, the two resinous colotu'ing matters, pectic acid,
oxidised extractive matter, and a peculiar nitrogenous substance. The liquid filtered
from this precipitate contains the bitter principle and the extractive matter of madder,
as well as sugar and salts of potash, lime, and magnesia. No starch, gum, or tiinnin
can be detected in the watery extract. After the madder has lieen completely ex-
liausted with boiling water, it appears of a dull red colour. It still contains a quan-
tity of colouring matter, which cannot, however, be extracted with hot water, or
even alkalis, since it exists in a state of combination with lime and other bases,
forming compounds which are insoluble in those menstrua. If, however, the residue
be treated with boiling dilute muriatic acid, the latter dissolves a quantity of lime,
magnesia, alumina, and peroxide of iron, as well as some phosphate and oxalate of
lime, which may be discovered in the filtered liquid ; and if the remainder, after being
well washed, be treated with caustic alkali, a dark red liquid is obtained, which gives
with acids a dark reddish-brown precipitate consisting of alizarine, purpurine, rubia-
cine, resin, and pectic acid. That portion of the madder left after treatment with hot
water, acids, and alkalis, consists almost entirely of woody fibre.
A short description of some of the substances just mentioned will not be out of
place here, as it may assist in rendering the process of dyeing with madder more
intelligible.
The most important of these substances is alizarine, since it forms the basis of all
the finer and more permanent dyes produced by madder. The onatiere colorante rouge
of Persoz and the madder-red of Range also consist essential!}' of alizarine, mixed
with some impurities. Robiquet first obtained it in the form of a crystalline sublimate,
by extracting madder with cold water, allowing tlie liquid to gelatinise, treating tlia
MADDER 163
jelly with alcohol, evaporating the alcoholic liquid to dryness, and heating the residue ;
and since the application of heat seemed to be an essential part of his process, it was
for a long time doubted whether alizarine was contained as such in madder, and was
not a product of decomposition of some other body. It was proved, however, by the
experiments of Schunck that it does in reality pre-exist in the ordinary madder of
commerce, though not in the fresh root when just taken out of the ground. It has
the following properties : — It crystallises in long, transparent, lustrous, yellowish-red
needles. These needles when heated to 212*' F, lose their water of crystallisation,
and become opaque. At about 420° F. alizarine begins to sublime, and if carefully
heated may be almost entirely volatilised, only a little charcoal being left behind.
The sublimate obtained by collecting the, vapours consists of long, brilliant, trans-
parent, orange-coloured crystals, which are pure anhydrous alizarine. If madder, or
any preparation or extract of madder, be heated to the same temperature, a sub-
limate of alizarine is also obtained, but the crystals are then generally contaminated
with drops of empyreumatic oil, produced by the decomposition of other constituents
of the root. This oily matter may, according to Robiquet, be removed by washing
the crystals with a little cold alcohol. Alizarine is almost insoluble in cold water.
It is only slightly soluble in boiling water, and is deposited, on the solution cooling,
in yellow crystalline flocks. When the water contains largo quantities of acid or
salts in solution, it dissolves very little alizarine, even on boiling. The colour of the
solution is yellowish when it is quite free from alkalis or alkaline earths. Alizarine
dissolves much more readily in alcohol and ether than in water ; the solutions have
a deep yellow colour. Alizarine is decomposed by chlorine, and converted into a
colourless product. It is also decomposed by boiling nitric acid, the product being
a colourless, crystallised acid, phthalic acid, the same that is formed by the action of
nitric acid on naphthaline. Alizarine dissolves in concentrated sulphuric acid, yield-
ing a yellow solution, which may be heated to the boiling point without changing
colour and without any decomposition of the alizarine, which is precipitated unchanged
on the addition of water. Alizarine dissolves in caustic alkalis with a splendid
purple or violet colour, which remains unchanged on exposure of the solutions to the
air. The ammoniacal solution, however, loses its ammonia entirely on being left to
stand in an open vessel, and deposits its alizarine in the form of shining prismatic
crystals, or of a crystalline crust. The alkaline solutions give with solutions of limo
and baryta salts precipitates of a beautiful purple colour, with alumina salts a red,
with iron salts a purple precipitate, and with most of the salts of metallic oxides pre-
cipitates of various shades of purple. The affinity of alizarine for alumina is so great,
that if the compound of the two bodies be treated with boiling caustic potash-lye, it
merely changes its colour from red to purple without being decomposed. Alizarine
is not more soluble in boiling alum-liquor than in boiling water. The chemical
formula of anhydrous alizarine is, according to the researches of Messrs. Graebe and
Licbermann, C"H*0« (C"H'0*).
If alizarine in a finely divided or, what is still better, in a freshly precipitated state,
be suspended in distilled water, and a piece of calico printed with alumina and
iron mordants of different strengths be plunged into it, the latter, on gradually
heating the bath, become dyed. The process is necessarily a slow one, because
alizarine is only slightly soluble in boiling water, and as the mordants can only
combine with that portion actually in solution, a constant ebullition of the liquid
must be kept up, in order to cause fresh portions of colouring matter to dissolve in
the place of that portion taken up by the mordants. A very small proportional
quantity of alizarine is required in order to dye very dark colours, but it is absolutely
necessary that the bath should contain no trace of cither acid or base, since the former
would combine with the mordants, and the latter with the alizarine. When the
process is complete the alumina mordant will be found to have acquired various
shades of red, while the iron mordant will appear either black or of different shades
of purple, according to the strength of the mordant employed. These colours are
as brilliant and as permanent as those obtained from madder by means of a long and
complicated process. Nevertheless, the red is generally found to have more of a
purplish hue, and the black to bo less intense than when madder or its preparations
are employed. On the other hand, if one of the finer madder colours which aro
produced on calico, such as pink or lilac, be examined, the colours are found to con-
tain, in combination witli the mordants, almost pure alizarine. Hence it may be
inferred, that alizarine alone is required for the production of these colours, and
that the simple combination of this colouring matter with the mordants is the principal
end which is to be attained by the dyer in producing them.
Alizarine has been obtained artificially by Messrs. Graebe and Liebermann, as a
derivative of anthracene or paranaphthaline, which is one of the products obtained in
the distillation of coal-tar. Artificial alizarine is now extensively manufactured and
m2
164 MADDER
used for a substitute for madder. By the action of bromine upon alizarine, Mr. Perktn
has recently obtained a derivative called hromalizarine, -which may also be used in
dyeing. For the manufacture of artificial alizarine, see Alizarine ; Anthracene.
Purpurine, the other red colouring matter of madder, with ■which the matihre
colorante rose of Gaultier de Claubry and Persoz, and the maddcr-pttrple of Runge, are
substantially identical, can hardly be distinguished by its appearance from alizarine,
which it also resembles in most of its properties. It crystallises in small orange-
coloured or rod needles. When carefully heated it is almost entirely volatilised,
yielding a sublimate of shining orange-coloured scales and needles. It is slightly
soluble in boiling -water, gi^ving a pink solution. It is more soluble in alcohol than
in -water, the solution ha-ving a deep yello-w colour. It dissolves in concentrated
sulphuric acid, and is not decomposed on heating the solution, even to the boiling
point. It is decomposed by boiling nitric acid, and yields, like alizarine, phthalic
acid. It is distinguished from alizarine, by its solubility in alum- liquor. "When
treated with a boiling solution of alum in water, it dissolves entirely, yielding a peculiar
opalescent solution, which appears of a bright pink colour by transmitted light, and
yellowish by reflected light. The solution deposits nothing on cooling, but on
adding to it an excess of muriatic or sulphuric acid, it becomes colourless, and the
purpurine falls down in yellow flocks. On this property depends the method of
separating it from alizarine. The compounds of purpurine -with bases are mostly
purple. It dissolves in alkalis with a bright purplish-red or cherry-red colour.
If the solution in caustic potash or soda be exposed to the air, its colour changes
gradually to reddish-yellow, and the purpurine contained in it is decomposed, a
characteristic which also serves to distinguish purpurine from alizarine, the alkaline
solutions of which are not changed by the action of oxygen. The composition of
purpurine approaches very near to that of alizarine, but its chemical formula is
unknown. It communicates to calico, which has been priTited -with various mordants,
colours similar to those imparted by alizarine, but the red is more fiery, and the
black more intense than when alizarine is employed. On the other hand, the purple
dyed by means of purpurine has a disagreeable reddish tinge, and presents an
unpleasant contrast -with the beautiful purple from alizarine. The name of this
colouring matter is therefore very inappropriate, and is calculated to mislead. The
colours dyed with purpurine are less stable than those dyed with aliziirine, they
are less able to resist the action of soap and other agents than the latter. Hence, very
little purpurine is found in combination -with the mordants, in such madder colours
as have undergone a course of treatment -with alkalis and acids, after having been
dyed ; indeed, the principal object of this treatment appears to be the removal of this
and other substances, so as to leave compounds of alizarine only on the fabric.
Purpurine seems to abound more in the lower, stronger qualities of madder than in
the finer. To this cause, Eobiquet chiefly ascribed the superiority of the latter in
dyeing fast colours, and no better way of accounting for it has hitherto been suggested.
Purpurine forms the basis of the red pigment called madder-lake.
Rubiacine is the name which has been applied to a yellow crystallised colouring
matter contained in madder. It coincides in most of its properties witli the
madder-orange of Eunge. It crystallises in greenish-yellow lustrous scales and
needles. When heated it is entirely volatilised, yielding a crystalline sublimate. It
is only slightly soluble in boiling water, but more soluble in boiling alcohol, from
which it crystallises on cooling. It dissolves in concentrated sulphuric acid, and is
not decomposed on boiling the solution. It also dissolves in boiling nitric acid witliout
being decomposed. It dissolves in caustic alkalis with a purple colour. Its com-
pounds with earths and metallic oxides are mostly red. When treated with a
boiling solution of pernitrate or perchloride of iron it dissolves entirely, yielding a
brownish-red solution, which deposits nothing on cooling, but gives, on the addition
of an excess of muriatic acid, a yellow flocculent precipitate, consisting of a peculiar
acid, called rubiacic acid.
Two amorphous resinous colouring matters, forming brownish-red compounds
with bases, have also been obt<iined from madder. Both are very little soluble in
boiling water. One of them is a dark brown, brittle, resin-like substance, very easily
soluble in alcohol, which melts at a temperature a little above 212° F. The other is
a reddish-brown powder, less soluble in alcohol than the preceding. These two
colouring matters, together with rubiacine, constitute probably the taww/ or dun
colouring matter of the older chemists. TJiey do not contribute to the intensity of the
colours dyed with madder, and exert a very prejudicial efl'ect on the beauty of the
dyes. If printed calico be dyetl with a mixture of alizarine, and any one of these
three colouring matters, the colours are found to be both weaker and less beautiful
than when alizarine is employed alone. The red acquires an orange tinge, and tlio
purple a reddish hue, whilst the black is less intense, and the parts of the calico
MADDER
165
which should remain white are found to have a yellowish colour. Hence it is of im-
portanco to the dyer that their effect should be counteracted as much as possible, by
preventing them either from dissolving in the dye-bath or from attaching themseivM
to the fabric.
The other constituents of madder possess no interest in themselves, but may be-
come of importance in consequence of the effects which they produce during the pro-
cess of dyeing. The poctine, in the state in which it exists in the root, is probably
an indifferent substance, but in consequence of the ease and rapidity with which it
passes into pectic acid, it may in dyeing act very prejudicially by combining
with the mordants and preventing them taking up colouring matter. The extrac-
tive matter of madder, when in an unaltered state, produces no injurious effects
directly ; but by Ihe action of oxygen, especially at an elevated temperature, it ac-
quires a brown colour and then contributes, together with the rubiacine and the
resinous colouring matter, in deteriorating the colours and sullying the white parts
of the fabric. The extractive matter, when in a state of purity, has the appearance
of a yellow syrup like honey, which is easily soluble in water and alcohol. When
pure it is not precipitated from its watery solution by an earthy or metallic salt,
but if the solution be evaporated in contact with the air, it gradually becomes brown,
and then gives an abundant brown precipitate with sugar of lead. When its watery
solution is mixed with muriatic or sulphuric acid and boiled, it becomes green and
deposits a dark green powder. Hence this extractive matter has, for the sake of dis-
tinction, been called Chlorogenine, and EubicMoric Acid. The bitter principle of madder
will be referred to presently. The Xanthine of Kuhlmann, and the madder-yellow of
Runge are mixtures of the extractive matter and the bitter principle. The sugar
contained in madder is probably grape-sugar. It has not hitherto been obtained in a
crystallised state, but it yields by fermentation alcohol and carbonic acid, like ordi-
nary sugar. The woody fibre which is left after madder has been treated with
various solvents until nothing more is extracted, always retain a slight reddish or
brownish tinge from the presence of some colouring matter which cannot be com-
pletely removed, and seems to adhere to it in the same way as it does to the cotton
fibre of unmordanted calico.
There is a question connected with the chemical history of madder which must not
be passed over in silence, since it is one which possesses great interest, and may at
some future time become of great importance, viz. the question as to the state in which
the colouring matters originally exist in the root. It has long been known, that when
ground madder is kept tightly packed in casks f6r some time, it constantly improves
in quality for several years, after which it again deteriorates ; and it was always sup-
posed that this effect was due to some process of slow fermentation going on in the
interior of the mass, an opinion which seemed to be justified by the evident increase
in weight and volume, and the agglomeration of the particles which took place at the
same time. Nevertheless, the earlier chemical examinations of madder threw no light
whatever on this part of the subject, since the red colouring matters were found to
be very stable compounds, not easily decomposed except by the action of very potent
agents, so that when once formed it seemed improbable that they would be at at all
affected by any mere process of fermentation. Hence some chemists were led to the
conclusion that the improvement which takes place in the quality of madder on keep-
ing is caused by an actual formation of fresh colouring matter. A very simple ex-
periment may indeed suffice to prove that the whole of the colouring matter does not
exist ready formed, even in the article as used by the dyer. If ordinary madder be
extracted with cold water, the extract after being filtered has generally an acid re-
action, and cannot contain any of the colouring matters, since these are almost in-
soluble in cold water, especially when there is any acid present. Nevertheless the
extract when gradually heated is found capable of dyeing in the same way as madder
itself. If the extract be made tolerably strong, it possesses a deep yellow colour and
a very bitter taste ; but if it be allowed to stand in a warm place for a few hours,
it gelatinises, and the insoluble jelly which is formed is found to possess the whole of
the tinctorial power of the liquid, which has also lost its yellow colour and bitter
taste. Hence, it may be inferred that the substance which imparts to the extract its
bitter taste and yellow colour is capable also of giving rise to the formation of a certain
quantity of colouring matter.
In 1837 a memoir was published by Decaisne, containing the results of an ana-
tomical and physiological examination of the madder plant, results which were con-
sidered so important that a prize was awarded to the author by the Eoyal Academy
of Sciences at Brussels. This investigation led the author to the conclusion, that the
cells of the living plant contain no ready-formed red colouring matter, but are filled
with a transparent yellow juice, which, on exposure to the atmosphere, becomes reddish
and opaque in consequence of the formation of red colouring-matter. Hence ha
166 MADDER
itiferred that the insoluble red colouring-matter was simply a product of oxidation of
the soluble yellow one, and that, consequently, the more complete the exposure of the
triturated root to the atmosphere, the greater would be its tinctorial power ; and he
eyen went so far as to assert that all tlie proximate principles obtained from the root
were derived ultimately from one single substance contained in the whole plant. That
the fresh roots, before being dried, do indeed contain no colouring-matter capable of
imparting to mordants colours of the usual appearance and intensity, may be proved
by the following experiment : — If the roots, as soon as they are taken out of the
ground, are cut into small pieces as quickly as possible, and then extracted with
boiling spirits of wine, a yellow extract is obtained, which, after being filtered and
evaporated, leaves a brownish-yellow residue. Now this residue, on being redissolved
in water, is found incapable of imparting to mordants any but the sli^test shades
of colour ; and, on the other hand, the portion of the root left after extraction with
spirits of wine, on being subjected to the same test as the extract, is found to possess
as little tinctorial power as the latter. If, however, the roots, instead of being treated
with spirits of wine, are macerated in water, the liquor, on being gradually heated,
dyes the usual colour as well as ordinary madder. Hence it may be inferred that by
means of alcohol the colour-producing body of the root may be separated from the
agent which, under ordinary circumstances, is destined to efifect its transformation
into colouring-matter, the one being soluble and the other insoluble in that menstruum.
It was by this and other similar facts that Schunck was led to an examination of this
part of the subject. He infers from his experiments that the colour-producing body
of maddder is identical with its so-called bitter principle, to which he has given the
name of Bubian. This body, when pure, has the following properties : — It is an
amorphous, shining, brittle substance like gum, dark brown and opaque in mass, but
yellow and transparent in thin layers. Its solutions are of a deep-yellow colour, and
have an intensely-bitter taste. It is easily soluble in water and alcohoL The watery
solution turns of a blood-red colour on the addition of caustic and carbonated alkalis,
and gives dark-red precipitate with lime and baryta-water. The solution gives a
copious light-red precipitate with basic acetate of load, but yields no precipitate with
any other metallic salt. On trying to dye with rubian in the usual manner, the mor-
dants assume only the faintest shades of colour. If, however, the watery solution be
mixed with sulphuric or muriatic acid and boiled, it gradually deposits a quantity of
insoluble yellow flocks, which, after being separated by filtration and well washed,
are found to dye the same colour as those obtained by means of madder. In fact,
these flocks contain alizarine, to which they owe their tinctorial power, but they also
contain a crystallised yellow colouring-matter, similar to, but not identical with,
rubiacine, as well as two resinous colouring-matters, which Schunck has named
Verantine and Bubiretine, and which are probably identical with the resinous
colouring-matters before referred to as being obtained from ordinary madder. The
liquid filtered from the flocks contains an uncrystallisable sugar, similar to that which
is obtained from the madder itself. Kubian is not decomposed by ordinary ferments,
such as yeast and decomposing-casein ; but by extracting madder with cold water,
and adding alcohol to the extract, a substance is precipitated in pale-red flocks, which
possesses in an eminent degree the power of eiFecting the decomposition of rubian. If
a watery solution of the latter be mixed with some of the flocculent precipitate
(after having been collected on a filter, and washed with alcohol), and then left to
stand in a warm place for some hours, the mixture is converted into a light-brown
jelly, which is so thick that the vessel may be reversed without its falling out. This
jelly, when agitated with cold water, communicates to the latter very little colour or
taste, proving that the rubian has undergone complete decomposition by the action of
the flocculent substance or ferment added to its solution. The cold water, however,
extracts from the gelatinous mass a quantity of sugar, while the portion left undis-
solved contains alizarine, verantine, rubiretine, and a crystalline yellow colouring-
matter, besides a portion of undecomposed ferment. Eubian, therefore, by the action
of strong mineral-acids and of the peculiar ferment of madder, is decomposed, yielding
sugar and a variety of colouring-matters, the principal of which is alizarine. It appears,
therefore, that these colouring-matters are not originally contained as such in the root,
but are formed by the decomposition of one parent substance, which alone is produced
by the vital energies of the plant. In addition to this substance, the plant also con-
tains another, which possesses the property of rapidly effecting the decomposition of
the first. The two are, however, during the living state of the plant, prevented from
acting on one another, either in consequence of their being contained in different cells,
or because the vital energies of the plant resist the process of decomposition. During
the drying and grinding of the root the decomposition of the colour-producing body
commences and continues slowly during the period that the powder is kept before
being used. It is finally completed during the process of dyeing itself, and hence no
MADDER 167
trace of colour-producing substance can be detected, either in the liquor or the residual
madder, after the operation of dyeing is concluded. The presence of oxygen does not
seem to be essential during this process of decomposition, as Decaisne supposed.
Nevertheless, according to Schunck, rubian does in reality suffer a partial oxida-
tion when its watery solution, mixed with some alkali or alkaline earth, is exposed to
the action of the atmosphere, giving rise to a peculiar acid, called by him rubianie
acid. When rubiarn is heated dt a temperature considerably exceeding 212° Fahr., it
is converted without much change of appearance into a substance which yields by
decomposition resinous colouring-matters in the place of alizarine. The great excess
of these colouring-matters contained in the madder of commerce arises, therefore,
most probably from the high temperature employed in drying the root.
Emplopneiit of Madder in Dyeing. — After the account which has just been given of
the composition of madder, it may easily be conceived that the chemical and physical
phenomena which occur during the various processes of madder-dyeing, are of a rather
complicated nature, and that many of these phenomena have not yet received a per-
fectly satisfactory explanation. Nevertheless, the present state of our knowledge on
this subject may enable us to give a co.nsistent explanation of the facts presented to
us by the experience of the dyer, and even to indicate what direction our labours must
take if we wish to improve this branch of the arts.
In order to produce perfectly-fast colours in madder-dyeing, it is necessary that the
madder should contain a large proportion of carbonate of lime, and if the madder is
naturally deficient in that salt, the deficiency may be supplied either by using cal-
careous water in dyeing, or by adding a quantity of ground chalk. If madder be
treated with dilute sulphuric or muriatic acid, so as to dissolve all the lime contained
in it, and then washed with cold water until the excess of acid is removed, its tinc-
torial power will be found to be very much diminished, but may be entirely restored,
and even increased, by the addition of a proper quantity of lime-water or chalk.
Hence, too, Avignon madder, which is grown in a highly-calcareous soil, and contains
so much carbonate of lime as to effervesce with acids, affords the most permanent
colours ; whilst Alsace madder requires the addition of carbonate of lime in order to
produce the same effect. This fact was first pointed out by Hausmann, who, after
having produced very fine reds at Kouen, encountered the greatest obstacles in dyeing
the same reds at Logelbaoh, near Colmar, where he went to live. Numerous trials,
undertaken with the view of obtaining the same success in his new establishment,
proved that the cause of his favourable results at Rouen existed in the water, which
contained carbonate of lime in solution, whilst the water of Logelbach was nearly
pure. He then tried a factitious calcareous water by adding chalk to his dye-bath.
Having obtained the most satisfactory results, he was not long in producing here as
beautiful and as solid reds as he had done at Eouen. This simple fact led to the pro-
duction of a series of lengthy Memoirs on the part of some of the French chemists and
calico-printers, which fully confirmed the results of Hausmann, without, however,
leading to a satisfactory explanation of them. The experiments of Eobiquet prove
that in dyeing with pure alizarine the least addition of lime is rather injurious than
otherwise, as it merely weakens the colours without adding to their durability. Hence
the beneficial effect of lime can only be accounted for by some action whicli it exerts
on other constituents of the root. Bartholdi imagined that this action consisted
simply in the decomposition of the sulphate of magnesia, which he found to be con-
tained in ordinary madder. It was asserted by others that the carbonate of lime
served to neutralise some free acid, supposed by Kuhlmann to be malic acid, which
was present in some madders, and which not only to a great degree prevented the
colouring-matters from dissolving in the dye-bath, but also combined with the mor-
dants to the exclusion of the latter. Though later researches have failed to detect
the existence of malic acid in madder, still it is certain that all_ watery extracts of
madder contain pectic acid, which probably exists in the root originally as pectine ;
and that this acid, when in a free state, acts most injuriously in dyeing with alizarine,
but ceases to do so as soon as it is combined with lime. Nevertheless, it seems that
madder which is naturally deficient in lime, cannot be made to replace entirely such
madder as has been grown in a calcareous soil, however groat an excess of chalk be
used in dyeing. Hence Eobiquet was led to the conclusion that the inferior kinds of
madder, which are also the most deficient in lime, contain more purpurine and less
alizarine than the superior kinds, and that the carbonate of lime serves partly to
combine with the purpurine, and prevent it from uniting with the mordants, and thus
producing less permanent dyes. The experiments of Schunck have proved that not
only pectic acid, but also rubiacine and the resinous colouring-matters of madder, act
detrimentally in dyeing ^vith pure alizarine, by deteriorating the colours and sullying
the white parts of the fabric, and that these effects are entirely neutralised by the
addition of a little lime-water to the dye-bath. If in dyeing with madder the whole
168 MABDEE
of the colouring-matters were in a free state, the resinous and yellow colouring-matters
would, according to Schunck, unite with the mordants, to the exclusion of the aliza-
rine, yielding colours of little permanency and of a disagreeable hue ; but on adding
lime, they combine with it, and the alizarine, being less electro-negative, then attaches
itself to the mordants or weaker bases. A great excess of lime would of course
have an injurious effect by combining also with the alizarine, and preventing it from
exerting its tinctorial power. In practice a little less lime is added than is sufficient
to take up the whole of the impurities with which the alizarine is associated, thus
allowing a portion of the former to go to the mordants, to be subsequently removed
by treatment with soap and other detergents. Lastly, it has been asserted by Kochlin
and Persoz that when lime is used in dyeing with madder the colours produced are
not simply compounds of colouring-matter with mordants, but contain also in chemical
combination a certain quantity of lime, which adds very much to their stability. It is
probable that all these causes contribute in producing the effect. The carbonates of
magnesia and zinc, acetate and neutral phosphate of lime, and the protoxides of lead,
zinc and nmnganese, act in a similar manner to carbonate of lime in madder-dyeing,
but are less ef&cient.
Dambourney and Beckman have asserted that it is more advantageous to employ
the fresh root of madder than that which has been submitted to desiccation, especially
by means of stoves. But in its state of freshness its volume becomes troublesome in
the dye-bath, and uniform observation seems to prove that it ameliorates by age up
to a certain point. Besides, it must be rendered susceptible of keeping and carrying
easily.
In dyeing printed calicoes with madder, the general- course of proceeding is as
follows : — The madder having been mixed in the dye-vessel with the proper quantity
of water, and, if necessary, with chalk, the liquid is heated slowly by means of fire or
steam, and the fabric is introduced and kept constsmtly moving until the dyeing is
finished. (See Calico-Pbinting.) The temperature should be kept low at first, and
should be gradually raised, without allowing it to fall, until it reaches the boiling-
point ; and the boiling may, if necessary, be continued for a short time. The chief
object of the gradual heating seems to be to allow the ferment to exert its full power
on the rubian or colour-producing body ; for this process, like all processes of fermen-
tation, is most active at a temperature of about 100° Fahr., and is arrested at 212°
Fahr. In dyeing quickly less permanent colours are also produced, in consequence,
probably, of the colouring-matters combining with the more superficial portions of
the mordants, and not penetrating sufficiently into the interior of the vegetable fibre.
The fastest colours are produced by dyeing at a moderate temperature, and not allow-
ing the liquid to boil. By boiling the madder becomes more thoroughly exhausted,
and a greater deptli of colour is attained, but the latter resists less perfectly the
action of soap and other agents, than the same shade dyed at a lower temperature.
The time occupied in dyeing varies according to the nature and intensity of the
colours to be produced ; but there is little advantage in allowing it in any case to
exceed 3 hours, since the gain in colour acquired is more than counterbalanced by the
loss of time and increased expenditure of fuel caused by a long-continued ebullition.
In dyeing ordinary madder colours, such as red, black, chocolate, and common purple,
which do not require much treatment after dyeing, in order to give them the desired
tone and intensity, strong but inferior qualities of madder may be used with advan-
tage ; and various other dye-stuffs, such as peach-wood, quercitron-bark, sumac, &c.,
are often added to the madder, in order to vary the shade and depth of colour. But
for the finer colours, such as pink and fine purple, which after dyeing must be sub-
jected to a long course of treatment with soap and acids before they assume the
requisite beauty and delicacy of hue, it is necessary to employ the finest qualities of
madder ; for if dyed with inferior qualities they would resist only imperfectly the
requisite after-treatment, and great care must be observed in regulating the tempera-
ture during dyeing. The addition of other dye-stuffs, in their case, would be not
only useless, but positively injurious. The use of different kinds and qualities of
madder in conjunction is often found to be attended with benefit, arising probably
from the circumstance of one kind supplying some material or other, such as ferment
or carbonate of lime, in which the other is deficient.
The chemical processes which take place during the operation of dyeing may be
shortly described as follow :— In the first place, the water of the dye-bath extracts
the more soluble constituents of the madder, such as the sugar, extractive matter, and
bitter principle. The latter substance is decomposed by the ferment, and the colotir-
ing- matter thereby formed is added to that which already exists in the root. As tlie
temperature rises tlie less soluble constituents, such as the alizarine, purpurine, rubia-
cine, the resinous colouring-matters, the pectine and pectic acid, begin to dissolve, and
as they dissolve they combine partly with the mordants of the fabric, partly with the
MADDER 169
lime and other bases contained in the root or added to the dye-bath, and thns permit
the liquid to take up fresh quantities from the madder. If the quantity of madder
was exactly proportioned to the quantity of fabric to be dyed, then it becomes, in this
way, gradually exhausted of all available colouring-matter. The extractive matter at
the same time acquires a brown colour by the combined action of the heat and oxygen,
and covers the whole surface of the fabric with a uniform brown tinge. When the
dyeing is concluded the liquor appears muddy and of a pale dirty-red colour. It still
contains a quantity of colouring-matter in a state of combination with lime and other
bases from the madder, or with portions of the mordant mechanically detached from
the fabric. The residual matter at the bottom of the liquor also contains a quantity
of colouring-matter in a similar state of combination. By mixing the residue and
the liquor Avith sulphuric or muriatic acid, boiling, and then washing with water, the
various bases are removed, and the colouring-matter is thus made available for dyeing.
Occasionally, when a very great depth of colour is required, it is found advisable to
let the goods pass through a second dyeing operation, instead of obtaining the requisite
shade at once.
After the calico has been removed from the dye-bath and washed in water, it
presents a very unsightly appearance. The alumina-mordant has acquired a dirty
brownish-red colour, and the iron-mordant a black- or brownish-purple, according to
its strength, whilst the white portions are reddish-brown. In the case of ordinary
colours the fabric is now passed through a mixture of boiling bran-and-water, or
through a weak solution of chloride of lime, or it is exposed for some time on the grass
to the action of air and light, or it is subjected to several of these processes in succes-
sion, by which means the impurities adhering to the mordants or the fibre are, in a
great measure, either removed or destroyed, the white portions recovering their purity,
and the red, black, purple, and chocolate, appearing afterwards sufficiently bright for
ordinary purposes. That the colours, however, even after being thus treated, still
contain in combination with the mordants other substances in addition to the red
colouring-matters, may be proved by a very simple experiment. If a few yards of
some calico, which has been treated as just described, be immersed in dilute muriatic
acid in the cold, the mordants are removed, and the colours are destroyed ; orange-
coloured stains being left on the places where they were before fixed. After washing
the calico with cold water, the orange-coloured matter may be dissolved in alkali, and
tlie calico left entirely white. The solution, which is brownish-red, gives, with an
excess of acid, a reddish-brown floeculent precipitate. This precipibite, after being
collected on a filter and well washed with water, is found to be only partially soluble
in boiling alcohol, a brown substance, consisting partly of pectic acid, being left un-
dissolved. The yellow alcoholic solution leaves, on spontaneous evaporation, a brown
crystalline residue, which is found on examination to contain alizarine, purpurine, a
little rubiacine, or some similar compound, and a brown amorphous substance. The
removal of these various impurities, associated with the alizarine, seems to be a prin-
cipal object of the treatment to which madder-colours are subjected, when it is desired
to give them the highest degree of brilliancy of which they are susceptible. This course
of treatment, as applied to printed calicoes, may be shortly described as follows : — The
goods, after being very fully dyed, generally with the addition of chalk, and then
washed, are passed for some time through a solution of soap, which is heated to a
moderate temperature. By this means a great deal of colour is removed, as may be
seen by the red tinge of the soap-liquor, and the purity of the white portions is almost
entirely restored. During this process the brown and yellow colouring-matters arc
probably removed by double decomposition, the alkali of the soap combining vnth
and dissolving them, while the fat acid takes their place on the fabric. After being
washed the goods are passed through a weak solution of acid, mostly sulphuric or
oxalic acid, or an acid tin-salt, which causes the colours to assume an orange tinge.
The point at which the action of this acid-liquid is to be arrested can only be ascer-
tained by practice. The next step in the process is, after washing the goods, to treat
them again with soap-liquor, which is gradually raised to the boiling-point, and they
are lastly subjected to the action of soap-liquor in a close vessel under pressure. By
exposing the goods on the grass for some time after the first soaping, the use of acid
may be obviated, but the process then becomes much more tedious. In this way are
produced those beautiful pinks and lilacs which, for delicacy of hue, combined with
great permanence, are not surpassed by any dyed colours known in the arts. Whether
the fat acid of the soap employed forms an essential constituent of these colours is not
certainly known, but it is probable that it contributes to their beauty and durability.
It is certain, however, that they always contain fat acid. If a piece of calico which has
gone through the processes just described be treated with muriatic acid, the colour is
destroyed, and a yellow stain is left in its place. This yellow stain disappears on
txeating the calico, after washing vidth water, with alkali, yielding a solution of a beau-
17(5 MADDER
tiful purple colour. This solution gives again with an excess of acid a yellow, floccu-
lent precipitate, which, after filtration, dissolves almost entirely in boiling alcohol,
and the solution on evaporation affords needle-shaped crystals of pure alizarine, mixed
with white masses of fat acid. The latter, therefore, seems to occupy the place taken
up by the impurities before the treatment with soap. This experiment serves also to
prove that it is alizarine which forms the basis of the more permanent colours
afforded by madder, though, on the other hand, as in dyeing the finer madder
colours, it cannot be denied that the colouring-matters which are removed by the
treatment with soap and acids contribute to the effect produced in dyeing ordinary
madder colours.
The same result is attained in dyeing Turkey red, but the process employed is
somewhat different and much more complicated. See Tdkkey Red.
The attempts which have been made at various times to obtain an extract of madder,
capable of being applied in making so-called steam-colours for ciilico and other
fabrics, have not been completely successful. A very beautiful pink has been pro-
duced by Gastard and Girardin, in France, by printing on calico, previously prepared
with some mordant, an ammoniacal solution of an extract of madder called colorine,
but it is not much superior, either as regards its hue or its degree of permanency, to
what can be obtained by easier processes from dye-woods and other materials.
Madder is not so much employed in woollen dyeing, especially in this country, as in
cotton dyeing and printing. Only ordinary woollen goods are dyed red with madder,
since the colour is not so bright as that obtained from cochineal or lac, though it is
more permanent and cheaper. A mixture of alum and tartar is employed as a mordant.
The addition of a little muriate of tin in dyeing imparts to the colour a more scarlet
tinge. The bath of madder, at the rate of from 8 or 16 ounces to the pound of cloth, is
heated to such a degree as to be just bearable by the hand, and the goods are then
dyed by the wince, without heating the bath more until the colouring matter is fixed.
Vitalis prescribes as a mordant, :Jth of alum and ^th of tartar ; and for dyeing ^rd of
madder, with the addition of Trjth of solution of tin, diluted with its weight of water.
Ho raises the temperature in the space of one hour to 200°, and afterwards he boils
for three or four minutes, a circumstance which is believed to contribute to the fixation
of the colour. The bath, after dyeing, appears to contain much yellow colouring-
matter. Sometimes a little archil is added to the madder, in order to give the dye a
pink tinge ; but the effect is not lasting. By passing the goods after dyeing through
weak alkali, the colour acquires a blueish tinge. By adding other dye-stuffs, sucli as
fustic, peachwood, and logwood, to the madder in dyeing, various shades of brown,
drab, &c., are obtained. Madder is also used in conjunction with woad and indigo in
dyeing woollen goods blue, in order to impart to the colour a reddish tinge. See
Indigo.
Silk is seldom dyed with madder, because cochineal affords brighter tints.
Preparations of Madder. — The numerous analjrtieal investigations of madder,
undertaken chiefly in consequence of the Sociite Industrielle de Mulhouse having
offered in the year 1826 a premium for a means of discovering the real quantity of
colouring-matter in the root, and of determining the comparative value of different
samples of madder, led to many attempts on the part of chemists to improve the
quality of this dye-stuff by means of chemical agents, and thus render it more fit for
the purposes to which it is applied. Eobiquet and Persoz were the first to point out
the advantages which result from submitting madder, previous to its being used, to
the action of strong acids. They showed that, by acting on madder with strong
sulphuric acid, and then carefully Avashing out the acid with water, a product was
obtained which not only possessed a greater tinctorial power than the original
material, but also dyed much brighter colours. This important discovery, which was
not, like so many others, arrived at by chance, but was purely the result of scientific
investigation, did not at first receive, on the part of practical men, the appreciation
which it deserved. The product obtained by the action of sulphuric acid on madder,
which in the first instance was called charbon mlfurique, afterwards garancine, was
first manufactured on a large scale by MM. Lagier and Thomas, of Avignon, but so
great were the prejudices entertained by dyers and calico-printers against its use at
the commencement, that years elapsed before they could be overcome ; indeed they
were partly justified by the imperfect nature of the product itself. The persevering
efforts to improve the method of manufacture, and adapt it to the wants of the con-
sumer were at last attended with success, so that at the present day garancine has
come to be used to as great an extent as madder, and large quantities of it are now
manufactiured in France and other countries.
It was supposed by Eobiquet, that by the action of sulphuric acid on madder the
saccharine, mucilaginous, and extractive matters of the root were destroyed, and thus
hindered from producing any injurious effects in dyeing, and that the woody fibre
I
MADDER 171
was at the same time charred, so as to prevent it from attracting and binding any
of the colouring-matter. This explanation is not entirely correct, since it is not
necessary to carry the action so far as actually to carbonise any of the constituents
of the root, and it is also doubtful whether the woody fibre ever attracts the useful
colouring-matters in any considerable degree. The account above given of the
chemical constitution of madder, may easily lead us to the conclusion, tliat, during
the action of the acid, the following processes take place: — 1. The bitter principle or
colour-producing body of the root is decomposed, yielding, among other products, a
quantity of alizarine which did not previously exist. 2. The red colouring-matters
are rendered by the acid insoluble in water, and thus it becomes possible to wash out
the extractive matter, sugar, &c., without the madder losing any of its tinctorial power.
3. The lime, magnesia, and other bases which are combined in the root with colouring
matter, or would combine with it during the dyeing process, are removed by the acid,
and thus prevented from exerting any injurious action. The subsequent addition of
a suitable quantity of lime, soda, or other base, serves to neutralise the effect of the
excessive amount of poetic acid and resinous colouring matters, which were set free by
the action of the mineral acid.
The metliod of manufacturing garaucine, as practised at the present day, may be
shortly described as follows: — The ground madder is mixed with water, and the
mixture is left to stand for some hours. During this time it is probable that the
rubian is decomposed by the ferment of the root, otherwise a great loss would be
experienced. More water is now added, in order to remove all the soluble matters,
and is then run off. The liquid contains sugar, and is employed on the Continent for
the preparation of a kind of spirit, which on account of its peculiar smell and flavour
cannot be consumed as a beverage, but is used in the arts for the preparation of
varnishes and other purposes. A sufficient quantity of alcoholic spirit is thus obtained
to pay for the whole cost of the process. The residue left after washing the madder
may be employed for dyeing without any further preparation, and is then called fleur
de garance. In order to convert it into garancine, it is mixed with sulphuric acid, and
the mixture is heated and left to itself for some time. Water is then added in suc-
cessive portions until the excess of acid is removed. The pectic acid of the root
always retains a portion of the sulphuric acid in chemical combination ; and the
compoiind being but little soluble in water would require for its removal a very long
washing. The addition of a small quantity of carbonate of soda, by neutralising this
double acid, serves to abridge the time of washing very considerably. The residue is
then filtered on strainers, pressed, dried, and lastly ground into a fine powder. This
powder has a dark reddish-brown colour, and a peculiar odour, different from that of
madder, but no taste. It communicates hardly any colour to cold water. Dyeing
with garancine is attended with the following advantages: — 1. The whole tinctorial
power of the madder is exerted at once, and garancine is therefore capable of dyeing
more than the material from which it is made. 2. The colours produced by its
means are much brighter than those dyed with madder, and the parts of the fabric
destined to remain white attract hardly any colour, so that very little treatment is
required after dyeing. 3. Much less attention is required in regard to the temperatiure
of the dye-bath and its gradual elevation than with madder, and a continued ebullition
produces no injurious effects, but only serves to exhaust the material of all its colour-
ing-matter. On the other hand, garancine colours are not so fast as madder colours,
they do not resist so well the action of soap and acids, and hence garancine cannot be
employed for the production of the more permanent colours, sucli as pink and fine
purple. By the use of a product which was patented by Pincoffs and Schunck several
years ago, and which is obtained by exposing garancine to the action of steam of high
pressure it is indeed possible to dye as beaiitiful and as permanent a purple as with
madder, and its use is attended by a considerable saving of time as well as of dyeing
material and soap, but it is not so well adapted for dyeing pink. As yet therefore wo
have not succeeded in obtiiining a preparation which shall serve as a perfect substitute
for madder, and the latter consequently continues to bo employed for some purposes.
The residue left after dyeing with madder as well as the dyeing liquor still contain
some colouring-matter in a state of combination, as mentioned above. By acting on
it with sulphuric acid it affords a product similar to garancine. which is called
garanceux. This product is, however, adapted only for dyeing red and black, as it
does not afford a good purple. (See Calico-Pbinting.) Numerous other methods of
treating madder for the use of the dyer have been invented and patented of late years,
but they are not sufficiently important to merit description within the limifS of the
present article. — ^E. S.
The following notes of a journey to the madder-growing districts of France, (October
1866), by James Higgin, who contributed the important article on CArico-PRiNTiNO,
will be found to have considerable interest :— ' The part of the Comtat d'Avignon
172 MADDER
Inhere madder is gro\ni is a flat basin, bounded on tihe north and north-east by
mountains of limestone, spurs of which, gradually declining in height, run east and
west. This basin is plentifully watered : in the north by several streams which rise
in the mountains towards the north-east, and run, in a south-westerly direction, into
the Rlione ; along the south-west boundary runs the fine river Durance, which, like all
the other streams, joins the Ilh6ne — in this case below the town of Avignon ; between
the Durance and the mountains, and about the centre of the Comtat rises the celebrated
fountain of Vaucluse, or the river Sorgue. This remarkable river rises as a spring,
in an amphitheatre of perpendicular rocks, about eighteen miles north-east of Avignon.
A prodigious volume of water issues from a deep pool at the foot of a high precipice,
and in the course of two hundred or three hundred yards the stream is augmented by
numerous lateral springs ; so that, at the distance of a quarter of a mile from tho
source, the fountain has become a considerable river, running at the rate of seven or
eight miles an hour. After running a mile or two the stream divides into two main
branches, which, lower down, subdivide ; the one into four branches, the other into
three, or seven streams in all, each of considerable volume. These seven streams
permeate the central and southerly portions of the basin above described ; and it is to
these waters that I unhesitatingly ascribe the wonderful fertility of the district of
which Avignon is the capital. The Sorgue waters are again subdivided, artificially,
in a great variety of ways. Small streams run along the roadside and across the
fields in every conceivable manner ; the volume of water being so great and flowing so
rapidly, that the agriculturist can divert it, dam it up, and irrigate his fields just as
he wants, in the same manner as the people of the ' Garden of Valencia,' in Spain,
apply the waters flowing through the old Moorish aqueducts, and produce thereby,
with the aid of a southern sun, a fertility perhaps without parallel anywhere.
* The result of this abundance of water is that the soil is kept naturally moist ; not,
be it understood, wet, but to such a degree of moisture as naturally occurs when water
is found anywhere from two to four yards below the surface. In some parts of the
basin are patches of land, where formerly were small lakes, which have dried up.
These patches -were occupied during the drying-up, and for years subsequently, by a
dense growth of reeds ; and at the present time the ditches bordering these lands, and
any portion of them still covered with water, grow plentifully, tall reeds. These
ancient lakelets form the lands known as ' Paluds,' where the finest quality of madder
grows. The soil here, when dry, is of a light drab colour, very pulverulent, and
containing about half its weight of chalk, which has been washed down from the
limestone hills. When freshly turned up, this soil is dark brown, showing the presence
of considerable quantities of humus.
' In the higher portions of the basin grows the quality of madder called Eosee.
The soil here contains more clay and less chalk, and when dry it is much more tenacious
and not so easily powdered in the fingers. It is, when moist, of not quite so dark a
colour as the paluds land. The course of cultivation for the rosee lands is to plough
up and clean the laud in autumn and winter. In spring, stable or cow manure is
freely applied over the ground, and then ploughed in. Beds of about three feet wide
are made by cutting trenches about one foot deep, and throwing the soil on the beds.
Madder-seed is now sown in drills, running lengthwise down the beds, to the number
of four or five to each bed. The quantity of manure given per acre varies with tho
number of cattle kept by the farmers ; they give as much as they can muster, as they
know very well that plenty of manure increases the yield of roots. In the trenches
between the madder beds, or more generally only in every other trench, white-sugar
beet is always sown ; probably as the beet, when growing is a very bulky, leafy
plant, the beds would be too much shaded from the sun by sowing it in every drill.
Clothing is done during the summer but weeding, and before winter comes on the young
plant is covered entirely with earth taken from the trenches after the beet-crop (three
to five tons per acre) is removed. Next spring and summer nothing but weeding is
done, if we except plucking the seed and sowing beet-root in the trenches which were
left vacant the former year. In the late autumn, or about October, the crop is
generally dug up, or at eighteen months old. The farmers know perfectly well that
to leave the madder in the ground another year, or in all thirty months, is a gain to
them both in quantity and quality, but they are generally poor, the French laws of
inheritance tending to constantly subdivide the lands into very small farms, and they
are obliged to realise upon the crop as soon as they possibly can, which is as soon as
the roots are of a saleable size. The paluds madder is always planted in the spring,
not sown, the plants being obtained from the year-old crops. I could not ascertain
why this difference is made, further than that it is found to suit paluds land better
than rosee.
' On the two great cardinal points I satisfied myself, viz. : that manure is always
given, and that no artificial irrigation is practised, the natural freshness of the soil
MADDER 173
being sufficient. The farmers, however, always look for rain in the spring to facilitate
the germination of the seed, and in autumn to facilitate the digging-up the roots ; for
the rest of the year it is not of any importance to have rain. Rotation of crops is
usually practised, though in some districts madder is grown year after year upon the
same soil, by giving plenty of manure. This, however, is not considered a wise plan,
and all the farmers I talked with condemned it. The usual rotation is one madder
crop, then a crop of wheat, and lastly lucerne for one or two years, generally the
latter, lucerne being a good paying crop. I saw in October lucerne being cut and
made into hay for the fourth time that year, and even then a splendid crop. Where
it is practicable, they irrigate the lucerne three or four times a year. In many places
this is very easy, by damming across one of the numerous streamlets of the fountain
of Vaucluse water, so as to cause the water to cover the adjacent land. Thus, once
manuring, with irrigation, lasts six years.
' The roots when pulled are spread out on sheets on the ground and dried in the
sun, and sold in this state to the merchant or grinder. The farmers deliver them as
damp as they dare ; as soon as a bundle of them, taken in the hand and twisted round,
breaks easily, the roots are considered commercially dry. On being stove-dried for
grinding, the dried roots lose for paluds, 20 per cent. ; for rosee, 18 per cent.
* The digging up of madder is evidently the most expensive part of the business,
but it is not surprising when you see the leisurely way in which they go about it: a
man digs down a breadtli of a bed, and then puts down his louche (a sort of spade-
hoe) and picks out the maclder roots, shakes them, and throws them into a basket.
By hiring children to follow the digger, to pick up and clear the roots, a great saving
could be effected. A madder-digger gets three francs a day ; the ordinary wages for
other labourers is two and a half francs per day. It would seem easy to adapt horse
machinery to digging up madder. I was told as one reason why the roots are often
pulled up at eighteen months old, that if left in the ground longer they rotted ; this,
however, is only said of low-lying lands, and is not the case near the mountains. I
am inclined to think, however, that poverty is more frequently the cause.
' I saw near Pernes, in the paluds coimtry, some splendid madder that had been
forty-two months in the ground ; the farmer had been too busy in the autumn of 1865
to pull it at the usual time, and knew, he said, that he should be rather a gainer than
a loser by letting it stay in the ground another year. This madder had all the
appearance of good Turkey madder ; and a French madder-grinder and garancine-
maker, who was with me, told me that he had never seen any so good before.
• The rent of good madder-land is high. About Avignon the land that grows rosee
roots is let at 20 francs to 25 francs per eminee per annum ; an eminee being one-
tenth of an hectare, or about a quarter acre English.' The rent of paluds land, near
Orange and Pernes, is 30 francs to 35 francs per eminee ; so that an acre (English) of
rosee lands lets at 64s. to SOs. per annum. An acre of paluds land lets at from 96s.
to 112s. per acre. The yield per acre is two tons for paluds roots ; for rosee roots it
is not so much.'^ The present price of ros6o roots, as delivered by the farmer, is 55
francs per 100 kilos. ; of paluds, 65 francs per 100 kilos. These prices correspond to
22^. per ton for ros^e, and 26^. per ton for paluds. These prices are exceptionally
low; and a madder-grinder told me that 55 francs per 100 kilos, only about covered
the cost of rent, manure, and laboui', and that 75 francs was a good paying price ; 75
francs is at the rate of 30^. per ton. Colza-oil Gike is used as a manure for grain
crops and lucerne, when not following madder, but it docs not suit madder — good farm-
yard manure being what is reqiiired ; superphosphate of lime does not appear to have
been tried.
'Madder of very fine quality, almost paluds, is now grown in the alluvial lands of
the Bouches du Rhone, near Aries, and even down nearly to Marseilles. This land is
impregnated with salt, and I was told more than once that a little salt as a top dressing
was useful to improve the yield of the lands in the Comtatof A\ngnon. _ It is a curious
coincidence that in the district where madder is principally cultivated in Spain— that
is, between Segovia and Valladolid— there are large salt lakes, though almost in the
centre of Spain ; indeed, salt is made from some of them.'
The following, extracted from 'A Practical Handbook on Dyeing and Calico-
* The eminde varies in size in different pai-ts of the countiy ; at Entraignea (terrains paluds) it
contains 7 ares 85 centiares, at Avignon 8 ares 54 centiares, and at Orange 5 ares 84 eentiares.
= This quantity is somewhat above the average. According to Mr. Pernod, an eminent garancine
manufacturer at Avignon, 5 ares 84 centiares (Avignon eminCe) yield 800 Icilogranimes of fresh
madder roots, equal to 200 kilogrammes of dry roots ; one are or 100 square mfitrcs equals 0'0247 of
an English acre; 5-84 x •0247 = 0-144248 acres, and 200 -r -144248= l;i8G-5 kilos, which x 2-2 =
3,050 lbs., or 27 cwts. 0-26 dry rosee roots per acre. This is for 18 months old roots. The quantity
produced of 30 months old roots is one-third more, or an increased weight of one-third by keeping the
roots another year in the ground, giving on above data 36 cwts. 1 qr. 6 lbs. for 30 months rgote.
174 MADDER
Printing, by William Crookes, F.R.S., contains some instTactire matter connected
■with the application of mordants in the use of madder: —
' Aluminate of soda is largely made and used in France, since the discovery of the
extensive deposits of bauxite in the southern parts of that country. It is obtained by
roasting, in a reverberatory furnace, a mixture of soda-ash and bauxite, until a small
sample taken from the fritted mass ceases to effervesce with acids. When the opera-
tion is finished, the aluminate of soda is extracted by lixiviation with boiling water,
and the solution evaporated to dryness. It is a coarse powder, exhibiting a slightly
greenish colour, due to a trace of vanadium. It is infusible at the highest furnace-
heat, and readily soluble in hot and cold water. Dilute solutions (sp. gr. 1"072 to
l'089 = 14and 17°T\v.) remain limpid and clear for a long time, but stronger solutions
(sp. gr. 1*3 to 1-37 = 62° to 71^° Tw.) deposit granular alumina, while the supernatant
liquor contains a subaluminate and excess of caustic soda. This aluminate of soda
agrees in its properties with the corresponding potassa-salt. See Axuminatb of
Soda ; Bauxite.
' Since bauxite is a very pure native hydrate of alumina, the aluminate of soda pre-
pared with it is used for the production of acetate of alumina in the following
manner: — The aluminate of soda is precipitated by the addition of a very slight excess
of hydrochloric acid; the gelatinoiis alumina thus obtained is thoroughly washed with
boiling water, and next dissolved in acetic acid. The percentage composition of the
pure aluminate of soda is 47*21 soda and 52"79 alumina; the commercial product, as
met with in the French market, is contaminated with about 9 per cent, of impurities,
due to the presence of sulphate of soda, and chloride of sodium in the soda-ash.
' As regards the methods of fixing alumina upon woven fabrics, it must be in a
perfect state of solution, while it is also necessary that the hydrate of alumina should
be precipitated, in the best possible physical condition, within the fibre of the fabrics.
W. Crum found that the microscopic examination of fibres mordanted with acetate of
alumina and dyed, presented differences : inasmuch as, in the first instance, the coloured
lake, or combination of alumina and colouring-matter, was chiefly accumulated within
the central cjinal of the fibre ; in the second case, however, the periphery of the fibre
only was coloured.
'Alumina can be obtained in solution: (1) in the state of a saline solution of that
base; (2) as a basic salt; (3) as a soluble modification of the earth itself; (4) in
combination with alkali. Some of the salts of alumina can be brought into contact
with the cotton fibre without any decomposition whatsoever ensuing, so that a simple
washing in cold water eliminates all the alumina taken up. This happens, e.g., ■with
nitrate and sulphate of alumina and with alum. Whenever it may be desirable to
apply such salts for the purpose of mordanting cloth it is necessary to pass the cloth,
after it has been impregnated with the aluminous solution, through a bath containing
substances capable of precipitating within the fibres either hydrate of alumina, or at
least an insoluble basic salt of that base. Some of the salts of alumina are decom-
posed by moist heat (steam), thereby giving up to the fibres of the cloth the whole or
a portion of the alumina on becoming converted into a basic salt. The acid set free
is volatilised, or leaves the tissue. The chloride, acetate, and hyposulphite of alumina
are salts of this description. These salts become fixed by exposing the saturated
tissues to a warm and moist atmosphere. This result is not simply a dissociation of
the constituent elements of the salt, but the intervention of the water is absolutely
required for the formation of the hydrate of alumina. The action is, therefore, to be
considered as a saponification, in the more extended sense of this word, as understood
by chemists.
' It is here the proper place to give a few particiilars concerning the process just
mentioned, and known as " ageing." The mordants generally used for madder styles
are tlio pyrolignites, or acetates of iron and alumina, which, under the influence of
ageing — which we are about to describe — are so decomposed as to leave on the cloth
either an insoluble oxide or a subsalt, which becomes the intermediate agent for fixing
on the fabric the colouring-matters of madder. The fixing of mordants by ageing
was first practically carried out by Mr. W. Crum, an eminent and highly scientific
calico-printer. " On the proper ageing of printed goods," says Dr. Schunck, " depends
in a great measure the success of many styles. Should a room be too hot or too dry,
imperfect fixation of the colour ensues, and meagre and uneven tints are obtained in
the subsequent operations." To give some idea of the importance of this step in
calico-printing, we may here state that " ageing rooms," as they are called, are in
several print-works of enormous dimensions, and generally constitute a separate build-
ing. Those of Messrs. Edmund Potter and Co., and Messrs. T Iloglc and Sons, all
at or near Manchester, may be pjirticulariscd as forming quite a feature in their
works. The process of ageing in calico -priuting is that by which a mordant, after
being applied to a cotton fabric, is placed in circumstances favourable to its being
II
MADDER LAKE 175
completely inoprporated with and fixed in the fibre. It has generally been found
desirable that calico printed with a mordant should, before dyeing, bo exposed to the
atmosphere for some time in the ageing room, in single folds, which generally speak-
ing, requires several days, the object being to liberate the acetic acid from the acetates
of iron or subacetates of alumina, and to oxidise the protoxide of iron. It was for
many years believed that oxygen was the only necessary agent ; and although some
printers had observed that moisture facilitated the process, this fact was not generally
known until Mr. J, Thom of Manchester claimed the introduction of moisture as an
important agent in the process of ageing, in a patent which he took out in 1849. Mr.
W. Crum was, however, the first printer who applied this principle practically. He
describes the process as adopted at Thornliebank (near Glasgow), in the following
words : — A building is employed, 48 feet long inside and 40 feet high, with a mid-
wall from bottom to top, running lengthwise, so as to form two apartments, each 11
feet wide : in one of these apartments the goods first receive the moisture they require.
Besides the ground floor, it has two open sparred floors, 26 feet apart, upon each of
which is fixed a row of tin rollers, all long enough to contain two pieces of cloth in
their breadth. The rollers being threaded, are set in motion by a small steam-engine,
and the goods to be aged, which are at 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 of the three
stages which 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-mouthed-shaped openings. The temperature is
raised from 80° to 100° F. or more, a wet-bulb thermometer indicating at the same
time 76° to 96° F., or always 4° less than the dry-bulb thermometer. In this arrange-
ment 60 pieces of 25 yards each are exposed at one time ; and, as each piece is a
quarter of an hour under the influence of 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 considerable evolution of acetic
acid. The mordant does not, however, become fully aged by this process alone,
although it is acted upon as much as if it had hung a whole day in cold air. It has
received, however, the requisite quantity of moisture, about 7 per cent, of the weight
of the piece, and is thus enabled, if the mordant be iron, to take oxygen from tljo air,
and to become changed with time into the sesquiacetate and sesqiuhydrate of oxide of
iron. In order to be sufiiciently aged, it must be left one, or two, or even three, days
in an atmospliere still warm and moist.
'It had been ascertained long before, at Thornliebank, that exposure in single folds,
after moistening, was not necessary. The experiments of the late Prof. T. Graham,
on the diifusion 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
WTapped 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 laid upon the sparred floors, placed at heights cor-
responding with the stages in the first apartment. Upon these floors, 7,000 or 8,000
pieces may be laid at a time, and, since each piece is 25 yards long, 100 miles can be
stored at once. It is necessary, of course, that an elevated temperature and a corre-
sponding degree of moisture be preserved in the storing apartments, day and night,
and 80° F. is sufficient with the wet-bulb thermometer at 76°. To effect this condition,
a largo 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 tlie room. The whole building is protected from external cold,
and consequently from condensation of steam, by a warmed entrance-room, and by
double windows, thick walls and a double roof. Small steam-pipes are also placed at
otlier points, where they seem to be required ; and the apartment which contains the
rollers is specially heated when not in use by a couple of steam-pipes, which are placed
under the ceiling of the ground floor.'
All who are interested in the application of mordants, and who aro desirous of
undersbmding the principles upon which the applications are made, are referred to
the ' Handbook of Dyeing,' already quoted.
nXABDER XiAKE. The red pigment usually called i)iadder lake, which is mtich
used by painters, is made by treating madder, which has been previously washed with
water, witli a boiling solution of alum, filtering the red liquid, and adding a small
quantity of carbonate of soda, taking care to leave an excess of alumina in solution,
washing tlie red jjrecipitate, wliich is a compound of colouring-matter and alumina,
with water and drying. Persoz gives the following method for obtaining a madder
lake of groat brilliancy :— One part of madder, which haa been previously anb-
176
MAGISTRAL
mitted to fermentation op else washed -with a solution of sulphate of soda, is treated
■with ten times its weight of a boiling solution of alum, containing one part of alum,
for fifteen or twenty minutes. The filtered liquid is mixed, as soon as its tempera-
ture has fallen to about 100° F., with a solution of carbonate of soda containing one-
eighth or one-tenth of the weight of the alum employed. This quantity is insuf-
ficient to cause any precipitate at that temperature, but on boiling the liquid, the lake
falls down in the shape of a red powder. The madder must be treated several times
with boiling alum-liquor, in order to extract the whole of the colouring-matter soluble
in that menstruum. It is evident that these lakes contain chiefly puipurine and very
little alizarine, the latter being hardly soluble in alum-liquor. See Lake.
Imports of Madder.
JSIadder .
„ Boot
„ Munjeet .
„ Garancine
1869
1870
1871
1872
Cwtk
Computed
real ralue
Cwts.
Computed
real ralue
Cwtf.
Computed
real ralue
Cwt».
Computed
real value
38,139
105,626
3,921
30,610
£
89,536
321,732
7,151
202,372
37,820
135,498
2,749
42,195
£
92,683
339,333
3,471
275,177
90,706
150,525
27,808
£
245,070
376,016
220,58
134,207
109,352
144
43,313
£
372,563
271,931
803
285,926
MAOBAXiA USD. A name applied to naphthaline red.
MAGSITTA. A full description of this and analogous colours will be found under
Aniline Ekd. We extract the following from Mr. Crookes's ' Handbook of Dyeing and
Calico-Printing ' : —
' The simplest method of testing a commercial sample of magenta both for intensity
and for purity of tone, is to dissolve a known weight in boiling water and to dye with
the strained decoction a known weight of fine white woollen yarn or cloth. By thus
comparing different samples, their respective tinctorial power can be readily ascer-
tained, and the presence of tarry matters, unconverted aniline, &c., may be detected
by the flatness and brownish cast of the colour. Sugar is sometimes used as an adul-
terant. This may be detected by treating the sample with concentrated alcohol. The
magenta dissolves and is filtered off, whilst the sugar remains behind undissolved.
' The following method is used to ascertain whether a magenta is a pure salt of
rosaniline, or is contaminated with mauvaniline, violaniline, chrysotoluidine, &c. The
colour is dissolved in as little alcohol as possible, the solution diluted with its own
bulk of water or rather more, and a drop is taken up by means of a glass rod, and
applied to a piece of white blotting-paper. If more than on© colouring-matter is
present, the different shades will diffuse themselves in concentric circles, and may be
distinctly seen. This method is still more applicable to the aniline violets and blues,
which are frequently heterogeneous.
'Aniline Crimson. — The cnide magenta-cake, without any purification, is sold under
this name, and is used in dyeing certain maroons, browns, clarets, and other compound
colours.
• The colour well bruised or broken up into powder, is placed in a suitable stoneware
vessel and well stirred up with its own weight of hydrochloric acid. During this
process the fumes given off should be carefully avoided. After the colour has steeped
for a short time in the acid, boiling water is added suflBcient to dissolve the whole.
The solution thus obtained is carefully strained, and is then ready for use. To correct
the acidity of the colour, a small quantity of ammonia is added to the dye-bath. This
preparation will in many cases supersede peachwood, producing brighter shades, with
less trouble, and at a lower price. They are, however, more fugitive. Upon wool
and silk, aniline crimson, like magenta, is a substantive colour. Upon vegetable
fibres it requires to be fixed with a mordant — generally a per-salt of tin — and an
astringent.'
m;agz&P. a vehicle used by artists, of a gelatinous character. Much secresy
prevails as to the manufacture of magilp. It appears to be essentially licseed-oil
which has been exposed for some time to the oxidising influences of the air, mixed
with good mastic A'arnish.
MAGZSTSIfr is an old chemical term to designate white pulverulent substances,
spontaneously precipitated in making certain metallic solutions ; as magistery of
bismuth.
MAOZSTXtAK, in the language of the Spanish smelters of Mexico and South
America, is the roasted and pulverised copper pyrites, which is added to the ground
ores of silver in their torta, or amalgamation-magma in the patio process for the
MAGNESIUM I77
purpose of decomposing the horn-silver (chloride of silver) present. For an account
of this process of reduction, see Sjlvee.
IVXAGIIIA is the generic name of any crude mixture of mineral or organic matters
iu a thin pasty state.
MA.GirAlXXES is the name given in the southern departments of Franco to tho
proprietor of a nursery in which silkworms are reared upon the great scale, or to the
manager of the establisliment. The word is derived from magnans, which signifies
silkworms in the language of the country people. See Silk.
IMCACITESIA. {Magnesie, Fr. ; Bittcrerdc, Talkerde, Ger.) is one of the earths,
first proved by Sir H. Davy to be the oxide of a metal, which he called niagnesium.
It is a fine, light, white powder, without taste or smell, which requires 5,130 parts
of cold water, and no less than 36,000 parts of boiling water, for its solution. Its
specific gravity is 2-3. It is fusible only by the heat of the hydroxygen blowpipe.
A natural hydrate exists which contains 30 per cent, of water. Magnesia changes
the purple infusion of red cabbage to a bright green. It attracts carbonic acid from the
air, but much more slowly than quicklime. It consists of 6 1 • 2 1 parts of metallic basis and
38'79 of oxygen ; and has, therefore, 20 for its equivalent upon the hydrogefi scale.
Its only employment in the arts is for the purification of fine oil, in the preparation of
varnish.
Magnesia, popularly known as Calcined Magnesia, may be obtained by precipitation
with potash or soda from its sulphate, commonly called Epsom salt ; but it is usually
procured by calcining the artificial or natural carbonate. There is a heavy calcined
magnesia prepared by burning the dense carbonate. Mr. Lockyor has shown, however,
that a very dense and pure magnesia could be obtained by calcining the ordinary
pure carbonate in large masses, and at a very high temperature.
IVXACH'ESIA, CA]lBOII'A.T& OF ; properly speaking, a subcarbonate, con-
sisting of 44"69 magnesia, 35'86 carbonic acid, and 19'45 water. It is prepared by
adding to the solution of, the sulphate, or the chloride (the bittern of sea-salt evapora-
tion works), a solution of carbonate of soda, or of carbonate of ammonia distilled from
bones in iron cylinders. Mr. Hugh Lee Pattinson introduced tho manufacture of car-
bonate of magnesia from the dolomite rocks, availing himself of the difierent rates of
solubility of the carbonates of lime and magnesia in water saturated with carbonic
acid. (See Dolomite.) The subcarbonate, or magnesia alba of the apothecary, has
been proposed by Mr. E. Davy to bo added by the baker to damaged flour, to counter-
act Its acescency.
MAGXESZil., NATIVE HYDRATE OX*, or Brucite. This mineral consists
of magnesia, 6897, water, 31-03, according to analyses by Bruce. It accompanies
other magnesian minerals in serpentine at Swinaness in Unst, one of the Shetland
Isles, in the Ural Mountains, in France, and opposite to Now York.
IMCAGITESXA, SZZiXCATES OX*. Compounds of this character are abundant
in the mineral kingdom. Meerscliaum, French Chalk or Steatite, Talc, Serpentine,
and many other minerals are silicates of magnesia. (See these articles.)
IVXAGHrESXA, SUIiPHATE OP, {Epsom Salts,) is generally made by acting
upon magnesian limestone with somewhat dilute sulphuric acid. The sulphate of lime
precipitates, while the sulphate of magnesia remains in solution, and may be made to
crystallise in quadrangular prisms, by suitable evaporation and slow cooling. "Where
muriatic acid may be had in profusion for the trouble of collecting it, as in the soda-
works in which sea-salt is decomposed by sulphuric acid, tho magnesian limestone
sliould be first acted upon with as much of the former acid as will dissolve out the lime,
and then, the residuum being treated with the latter acid, will afford a sulphate at the
cheapest possible rate ; from wliich magnesia and all its other preparations may be
readily made. Or, if the equivalent quantity of calcined magnesian limestone be boiled
for some time in bittern, the lime of the former will displace the magnesia from the
muriatic acid of the latter. This is the most economical process for manufacturing
magnesia. See Dolomite.
IMCAGHTESXAIT IiXMESTOlTE. See Dolomite ; Limestokb.
nXAGIirESXTE. Carbonate of Magnesia; Rhomb Spar. This native carbonate of
magnesia, consisting of magnesia 47'6, carbonic acid 52-4, is found with serpentine
and other magnesian rocks.
MAGU-ESXXnvi. The metal obtained from magnesia. It was first procured by
Bussy, although previously shown to exist by Davy. It is now made by placing
potassium or sodium in a platinum crucible, covering them with_ chloride of mag-
nesium, fastening down the cover of the crucible, and exposing it to the heat of a
spirit-lamp. It has been prepared by Bunsen by the action of tlie voltaic current ;
and the late Dr. Matthiessen obtained it by tho electrolysis of fused chloride of mag-
nesium.
We are much indebted to M. Sonstadt for removing the obstacles in the wa^ of
Vol. ni. N
178 MAGNESIUM
obtaining magnesium on the large scalo for commercial purposes. The process pur-
sued by Sonstadt is that of Dcville and Caron, somewhat modified. Magnes^'um may,
however, be obtained in much larger quantity, by heating a mixture of 600 grains
of chloride of magnesium, 100 grains of fused chloride of sodium, and 100 grains of
pulverised fluoride of calcium, -with 100 grains of sodium, to bright redness, in a
covered earthen crucible. The magnesium is thereby obtained in globules, which
are afterwards heated nearly to whiteness in a boat of compact charcoal placed within
an inclined tube of the same material, through which a stream of dry hydrogen is
passed. The magnesium then volatilises and condenses in the upper part of the tube.
Lastly, it is re-melted with a flux composed of chloride of magnesium, chloride of
sodium, and fluoride of calcium, and is thus obtained in large globules. It still, how-
ever, usually retains portions of carbon, silicium, and nitrogen, from which it may bo
purified by careful distillation in a current of hydrogen.
Magnesium is an easily infiammable metal ; a wire of considerable thickness can be
ignited in the flame of a candle, and the light evolved by the combustion is of great
intensity. It has been ascertained that a wire of 0'297 millimeter diameter will
give as mucli light as 74 stearine candles of five to the pound. The powerfully
actinic character of the light has been demonstrated by Mr. Brothers, of Manchester,
and Mr. Sydney Smith, both of whom have produced good pictures by its use.
The metal is neither ductile nor very malleable. It cannot be drawn, but, by
employing a method devised by Dr. Matthiessen, it can be forced in a softened state
through a small opening in an iron cylinder, and thus strands of wire of consider-
able length can be formed. The wire has been found to burn more steadily when
three or four strands are twisted into a rope ; and a simple clockwork arrangement
will deliver such a rope to a spirit- or oil-lamp, in the flame of which it may bo
burned.
Alloys of Magnesium. — Dr. T. L. Phipson has paid some attention to these. In
a communication to the Chemical Society, he says : —
' I have examined only a few alloys of magnesium. Unlike zinc, magnesium will
not unite with mercury at the ordinary temperature of the air. "With tin 85 parts,
and magnesium 15 parts, I formed a very curious alloy of a beautiful lavender colour,
very hard and brittle, easiiy pulverised, and decomposing water with considerable
rapidity at ordinary temperatures. If the air has access during the formation of this
alloy the mixture takes fire ; and if the crucible be then suddenly withdrawn from
the lamp the flame disappears, but a vivid phosphorescence ensues, and the unfused
mass remains highly luminous for a considerable time. A white powdery mass,
containing stannic acid and magnesia, is the result. (With platinum, according to
M. Sonstadt, magnesium forms a fusible alloy ; so that platinum crucibles can be
easily perforated by heating magnesium in them.) Sodium and potassium unite with
magnesium and form very malleable alloys, which decompose water at the ordinary
temperature. It is probable that an alloy of copper and magnesium, which I have
not yet obtained, would differ from brass, not only in lightness, but by decomposing
water at the usual temperature with more or less rapidity.'
Photochemical Power of the Magnesium. Flaim. — To Professors Bunsen and Hoscoe
we are especially indebted for an examination of this question. Their experiments
showed that a burning-surface of magnesium-wire which, seen from a point at the
sea's level, has an apparent magnitude equal to that of the sun, effects on that point
the same chemical action as the sun would do when shining from a cloudless sky at
a height of 9° 68' above the horizon. On comparing the chemical with the visible
brightness of these two sources of light, it was found that the brightness of the sun's
disc, as measured by the eye when the sun's zenith distance was 67° 22*, is 624-7
times as great as that of the burning magnesium-wire ; whilst, at the same zenith
distance, the chemical brightness of tlie sun is only 36-6 times as great. Hence the
value of this light as a source of the chemically-active rays for photographic purposes
becomes apparent.
Professors Bunsen and Eoscoe say in their memoir : * The steady and equable light
evolved by magnesium-wire burning in the air, and the immense chemicivl action
thus produced, render this source of light valuable as a simpler means of obtaining a
given amount of illumination expressed in our terms of measurement of light.
The combustion of magnesium constitutes so definite and simple a source of light
for the purpose of photochemical measurement that the wide distribution of this
metal becomes desirable. The application of this metal as a source of light may
even become of technical importance. A burning magnesiimi-wiro of the thickness
of 0*297 millimeter evolves, according to a measurement we have made, as much
light as seventy-four stearine candles, of which five go to a pound. If this light
lasted one minute, 0'987 meter of wire, weighing 0'1204 grain, would l)o burnt. Ir
order to produce a light equal to seventy-four candles burning for ten hours
MAGNETISM
179
whoreLy about 20 lbs. of stearine is consumed, 72-2 grains of magnesium •would
bo required. The magnesium-wire can be easily prepared by forcing out the metal
from a heated steel press, having a fine opening at bottom ; this wire might bo
rolled up in coils on a spindle, which would bo made to revolve by clockwork, and
thus the end of the wire, guided by passing through a groove, or between rollers,
could be continually pushed forward into a gas- or spirit-lamp flame, in which it
would burn.'
In the reports of Mr. Brothers' experiments upon the magnesium-light, he says,
' The result of an experiment I have just tried is, that in fifty seconds, with the
magnesium-light, I have obtiiined a good negative copy of an engraving, the copy
being made in a darkened room. Another copy was made in the usual way by day-
light, and in fifty seconds the result was about equal to the negative taken by tho
artificial light. The sun was shining, but there was a good deal of fog in the atmo-
sphere.'
Magnesium-Lamps liave been invented and manufactured by E. W. Hart, London,
for photochemical and other purposes. This invention includes the use of springs
and wlieels for self-acting propulsion and revolving of the ignited magnesium at tho
same time, thereby avoiding a drooping light, which for optical illumination is a
great desideratum. These lamps are only made to order, as their mechanism is con-
sidered unnecessary for ordinary purposes, the action of the simplified lamp being as
follows : —
Hand-Lamp, for ribbon or one or more wires — if more than one wire, they should
be twisted firmly togetlier. Place the
end in the clip on the inside of the ^^22
flange of the reel A (Jig. 1422) ; ap-
ply a slight pressure to the reel by
turning the tension-screw t ; then
wind tho magnesium on by turning
the flange with the finger and
thumb ; in the more highly-finished
lamps the winch, b, screws on the
spindle of a for winding on quantities
very regular. The loose end is then
passed through the guide and feed-
ing-rollers at F, Sufficient tension
having been applied by the screw-
head, T, the wire remains witli-
out uncoiling. For use, release the
tension, and turn the winch, u,
towards the reel, a. In the self-
acting propelling-lamps above men-
tioned, a governor requires personal
adjustment to the rate of burning —
in the simplified hand-lamps the
winch, B, is moved at the desired
rate, which saves a considerable ex-
pense for common purposes. The wire should be ignited in the smokeless part of ft
flame, and a spirit-lamp is recommended. See Watts's ' Dictionary of Chemistry,'
MACrlfET. A bar of steel, which, being imbued with a peculiar condition of
electrical force, is possessed of polarity. The magnet has a special employment in
the mariner's compass, as from the undeviating way in which — unless strong dis-
turbing causes are in operation — it points north and south. The magnet is used also
in surveying-instruments. The use of iron in ship-building has led to a very careful
examination of the influence of iron on the ship's compasses. The late Dr. Scoresby,
Professor Airy, and some others, liave been peculiarly distinguished in this important
inquiry, and to their memoirs on the subject the reader is referred. Magnetic
machines have been constructed for developing electricity, and employed for the de-
position of metals. See Electbo-Metalltjrgy,
mCAGlO'ETXC PVKXTZSS. One of the native sulphides of iron, Its chemical
composition is usually sulphur 40-15, iron 59-85, Its power of attracting the mag-
netic needle is probably due to tho peculiar condition in which the iron exists. It
is distinguished from the common pyrites {Mimdic) by its inferior hardness and its
bronze colour. See Pyrites.
IMCAGITETISItT. A peculiar condition of electrical force. Tlie phenomena of
magnetism which are rendered in any way available in the arts are detailed in
special articles ; as Electro-Telegraphy, &c. &c. All bodies must now bo re-
garded as existing in one of two known conditions of magnetism. It is understood
n2
180 MAHOGANY
Umt magnetism is manifested as a -pdar force, as in a bar of iron. Every one is
familiar with the fact that a polarised bar, if free to move, places itself in a cer-
tain direction, which we call north and south. Besides iron, nickel and two or three
other metals possess this property. Bismuth, silver, glass, wood, and nearly all
other substances exhibit magnetic force of a different order, which is manifested in
all these bodies by their placing themselves at right-angles to a magnet, or to the
line of magnetic force. This condition has received the name of Dia-Magnetism,
which see.
nCAGlTETZTE. Oxydulated iron, or magnetic iron ore. One of the richest and
most important ores of iron. See Ieon.
IWACirET, ir.a.TXVE. See Loadstone and Iron.
MAH/LIiEB. The fruit of this shrub affords a violet dye, as well as a fermented
liquor like Kirschwasser. It is a species of cherry, cultivated in our gardens.
nXAHOG.A.XI'T. The wood of a tree (Swietenia Mahagoni), which is a native
of the West Indies. This wood appears to have been first brought to England in
1724.
Spanish mahogany is imported from Cuba, St. Domingo, the Spanish Main, and
several of the West India Islands, in logs about 26 inches square, and 10 feet long.
Its general character is well known from its extensive use in cabinet-work.
Honduras mahogany is generally lighter than the Spanish, and more open and
irregular in its grain. This is imported in large logs, many of 4 feet square and 18
feet in length. Planks are sometimes obtained of 7 feet in width. According to Mr.
Chief-Justice Temple, ' the cutting commences in the month of August. In April or
May, in which months the ground has become perfectly hard from the continued dry
weather, the wood is carried upon trucks drawn by bullocks to the water side ; and
about the middle of June, when the rivers are swollen by the floods, the logs are
floated down about 1 miles from the mouths of the different rivers, where they are
confined by a heavy boom drawn across the stream. Here the owners select their re-
spective logs, form them into rafts, and so fioat them down to the sea. The mahogany
is always trucked in the middle of the night, the cattle not being able to perform
such laborious work during the heat of the day. It is a picturesque and striking
scene — this midnight trucking. The lowing of the oxen, the creaking of the wheels,
the shrill cries of the men, the resounding crack of their whips, and the red glare of
their pine torches in the midst of the dense dark forest, produce an effect approaching
to sublimity,
' An impression has latterly existed that almost all the mahogany in British Hon-
duras has been cut. This, however, is a misUike. There is sufficient wood in the
country, both on granted and ungranted land, to supply the European as well as the
American markets for many years to come. A considerable quantity of mahogany has
been, within the last few years, cut in the state of Honduras and on the Mosquito
shore ; but the mahogany-works in the former country have been almost entirely
abandoned, partly on account of the wood, which is accessible, being nearly all cut,
and partly on account of the extra freight and insurance which are required when
vessels are loaded on that coast. Erom the Mosquito shore very few cargoes have
been lately sent, for the wood which grows there, although it is very large, is of
inferior quality. The mahogany-tree requires a rich dry soil. The best mahogany is
found to tliB north of the river of Belize. In consequence of the nature of the soil in
that district, in which there is a great quantity of limestone, the mahogany is longer
coming to maturity, but, when fully grown, it is of a harder and firmer texture than
that which is found in the southern portion of the settlement. There is no wood
more durable than mahogany, and none that is so generally useful. It is stated in a
little book called the " Mahogany-Tree " that furniture is being made, in the royal
dockyards, out of the beautiful mahogany found in breaking up the old lino-of-battle
ship the Gibraltar, which was built in Havana 100 years ago. The English and
French Governments purchase yearly a large amount of mahogany for their dockyards.
During the last year the British Government required 12,000 tons, paying lOl. 17s. 6d.
per ton. The French government took 3,000 tons at the same price. The royal
yacht is built principally of Honduras mahogany. Private ship-builders are, however,
reluctant to make use of mahogany for their vessels, as Lloyd's Committee exclude all
ships of 12 years' standing in which the floors, futtocks, top-timber, keelson, stem and
stern-post, transoms, knightheads, hawse-timbers, apron, and dead wood, are made of
mahogany.
' Mahogany vessels of 10 years' standing they admit, but oven these, I am informed,
it is their intention very shortly to exclude. The reason which they assign is, that
mahogany differs very much in quality, and it is impossible to know when a ship is
built of good or bad wood. But this difference in quality depends entirely upon the
xiistrict in wliicli it has grown. If they restricted tho ship-builders to the northern
MAJOLICA
181
wood, tlicy might admit vessels of 12 years' standing without any risk. In the year
1846 the Honduras merchants presented a memorial to Lloyd's Committee, praying
for a removal of the existing limitations to the general use of mahogany in the build-
ing of vessels of the highest class. Attached to this memorial were numerous cer-
tifeates from persons well qualified to give an opinion on the subject, speaking in the
highest terms of mahogany for ship-building. Captain E. Chappel, E.N., Secretary of
the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company, says he " has seen the Gibraltar, 80-gun ship,
which was broken up at Pembroke. This ship is entirely of mahogany ; captured of
the Spaniards in 1780 ; all her timbers sound as wlien put into her. Tables for the
Navy made of the timbers of the Gnbraltar, The steamer Forth, built by Mr. Menzies
of Leith, has as much mahogany put into lier as could be obtained. The use of ma-
hogany ought to be the nde, and not the exception." The qualities of mahogany,
which render it peculiarly fitted for ship-building, are its lightness and buoyancy, its
freedom from dry-rot, and its non-liability to shrink or warp. The price of mahogany
varies according to the size, figure, and quality of the wood. One tree from the
northern districts, which was cut into three logs, sold for 1,800^., or 10s. per super-
ficial foot of 1 inch ; southern wood of small size and inferior quality has been sold at
Sid. per foot. The present prices in London for small-sized plain mahogany are from
5d. to 6d. per foot ; for large-sized plain, from 7d. to lOd. ; and for large, of good
quality and figured, from 9d. to Is. 6d.
' The yearly average quantity of mahogany exported from Honduras during the
last ten years is about 8,000,000 feet, equal to 20,000 tons, or 200,000 tons in tho
whole ten years, requiring 160,000 trees.'
African mahogany {Swietcnia senegalensis), from Gambia, has been used of late
years for curriers' tables, mangles, &c., and may be used for turning. It is denied
by some authors to be a Swieienia ; but, if not so, it is a very closely-alliod
genus.
There are two or three varieties of the Svnetenia in the East Indies which are
ornamental woods, but not mahogany.
The importance of this wood will be seen from the following statement of the
Imports of mahogany in 1868-70, and 1872: —
From Prance . . . .
„ Cuba . . . .
,, Curaijoa . . . .
„ Hayti and St. Domingo .
„ United States (near At-
lantic ports) .
„ Ports on the Pacific
„ British West Indies
„ Mexico . . . .
„ Central America
„ British Honduras .
„ Other parts
Total
1868
1869
1870
1872
Tons
Computed
real value
Tons
Computed
real value
Ton«
Computed
real value
Ton>
Computed
real value
5",207
271
1,290
177
137
20,"479
5,705
7,979
680
&
46.598
2,599
16,163
1,549
1,165
149,835
43,002
65,921
5,900
1*726
753
1,041
24[038
6,537
11,177
1,980
£
16,967
7,154
12,466
169,687
45,759
91,484
16,231
*980
814
2,267
6,871
3,542
2,673
£
9,912
8,243
26,185
116,685
61,533
27,640
21,260
1,244
i,m
660
"671
15,090
4,757
7,705
2,703
£
19,193
11,235
7,920
6,046
182,318
60,.548
66,261
32,269
41,925
332,732
47,252
359,748
32,732
261,358
33,920 375,790 1
MAIZE. A genus of monocotyledonous plants belonging to the natural order
Gramine<B — the grasses. There are only two species known, and these both belong to
America. The Zea- mays is the Indian corn or common maize ; and the Zca caragua,
the Chilian maize or Valparaiso corn. Both these varieties are largely cultivated as
articles of food.
nXAJroiiIC A, known also as Faenza and Raffaelle ware. A term for soft enamelled
pottery, first introduced into Italy from Majorca about the twelfth century, and which
was the work of the Moors.
The distinguishing points of the so-called majolica are coarseness of ware, and an
opaque white enamel containing binoxide of tin, and decorated in colours. A large
class ascribed, although possibly on insufficient grounds, to Valentia, is characterised
by elaborate conformity of pattern, flushed with metallic lustre, on a greyish-white
ground.
Of tho positively Italian wares, though they were so greatly in request that most of
the cities of the Eomagna instituted manufactories of them, but little can be ascer-
tained prior to the sixteenth century.
The towns most celebrated after a.d. 1500 for their artistic productions are Pesaro,
182 MALIC ACID
Gubio, Ascanio, Bologna, Cltacastellana, Ferrara, Forli, Fynlina, Pisa, Perugia,
Eimini, Sienna, and Spello ; and the first is considered the earliest site of a manu-
factory in Italy, notwitlistanding the attempts of the ingenious Eugene Piot in
favour of Deruta. So early as 1509 Guidobolato della Eovere, duke of Urbino,
granted a patent to Jacques Lanfranco of Pesaro, for ' the application of gold to
the Italian faience,' by which is probably intended that lustre of a golden colour
■which so brilliantly sheds its prismatic hue on the fictile performances of this period.
The next in antiquity is Gubio, which boasted, in Giorgio Andriolio, of one of the
most famous masters in his art. In 1511, and subsequently, he, improving on the
invention of Lanfranco, gave to his wares a ruby splendour, restricted to his
works alone ; for the artist and his secret died together. His works are usually
inscribed at the back M°" G°- (Maestro Giorgio), which title he assumed on his
ennoblement. At Gubio, also, Giorgio'a son Vincent is said to have laboured in the
same department.
It was, however, during a period extending from 1520 to 1560 that these wares
attained perfection. The classical designs of Raflfaclle, of Giulio Eomano, and of
Marc Antonio, were adopted and correctly developed ; the most graceful figure-com-
positions, selected from the Grecian and Eoman mythologies, were surrounded by
borders of imaginative arabesques. The colours, less brilliant than before, were now
more harmoniously combined, while the glaze became more transparent, and more
evenly applied then ever. Plates, dishes, vases, cisterns, fountains, now came into
being in full magnificence, while goblets, salt-cellars, and other appendages to the table
receive the same careful ornamentation with works of greater pretension but less
utility. "
At Pesaro, in 1542, flourished Geronimo, and in 1550, Mathieu, when large
dishes were first made, having a profusion of ornaments executed in relief. With
these artists successfully competed Terenzio, son of Mathieu ; Battista Franco, a
skilful designer, entrusted with the direction of the works ; Taddeo Zuccaro and the
two RafFaelles — one Ciarla, the other dell CoUe — both for a long time confounded with
the immortal Sanzio. There, too, worked the brothers Flaminio, and Orazzio Fontana,
of Urbino, on the dinner service which Guidobardo caused to be made for Charles V.
and Philip II. Orazzio also worked at Castel Durante and Florence, as did the
Chevalier Piccolpesso, a talented painter, and the author of a work on pottery.
Eivallingalso the above in fame, were Guido Selvaggio ofFaenza, Francisco Xante de
Eovigio, who was a support of the manufactory at Urbino, Frederico Brandini, and
Guido Durantino. The works of Luca della Eobbia gave much celebrity to the ware,
owing to the brilliancy of his colours, the modelled relief of his designs, and the
hardness of his enamel. The Dukes of Urbino patronized the art for nearly
two hundred years ; and the productions they issued are geiierally kno*n as Eaffiielle
ware.
For an historical account of majolica, see Mr. Drury Fortnum's elaborate ' Descrip-
tive Catalogue of the Majolica in the South Kensington Museum,' 1873.
MAIiilCRZTS, or oiiountain green, is native carbonate of copper of a beautiful
green colour, with variegated radiations and zones ; spec. grav. 3'5 ; it scratches calc-
spar, but not fluor-spar ; by calcination it aflfords water and turns black. Its solution
in the acids deposits copper iipon a plate of iron plunged into it. Its consists of car-
bonic acid, 18'5 ; protoxide of copper, 722 ; water, 9-3.
It is found in great quantities and of a remarkably fine character, in the copper
mines of the Ural mountains, and is in Eussia manufactured* into various kinds of
furniture and highly ornamental articles. A very fine malachite has been obtained
from the Burra-Burra mines in South Australia. It is found to exist in large quantities
in Central Africa, See Copper.
nSAlLATES are saline compounds of the bases with malic acid.
MAXiE FERir. Lastrea (Aspidium) FUix-mas. This fern grows in all parts of
Europe and most parts of America, between New York and Virginia. Its root (rhizome)
has been used for tanning. The best root is about 6 inches long and an incii broad ;
externally it is of a brown colour, internally yellowish or reddish white, with a pecu-
liar but not very strong odour, and a sweetish bitter-astringent taste. Morrin states
that the root contains volatile oil, fatty matter, gallic acid, acetic acid, tannin, uncrystal-
lizable sugar, starch, ligneous matter, and gelatiniform matter. The root is collected
in May and September.
MCAIiXC ACZS. {Acide maligue, Fr. ; Aepfels'dare, Get.) This acid exists in the
juices of many fruits and plants alone, or associated with the citric, tartaric, and
oxalic acids : and occasionally combined with potash or lime. Unripe apples, sloes,
barberries, the berries of the mountain-ash, • elder berries, currants, gooseberries,
etrawberries, raspberries, bilberries, brambleberries, whortleberries, cherries, and
MALTING 183
ananas, afford malic acid; tlio house-lcek and purslane contain the malate of
lime.
The acid may be obtained most conveniently from the juice of the berries of the
mountain-asli or barberries. This must be clarified, by mixing it with -white-of-egg,
and heating the mixture to ebullition ; then filtering, digesting the clear liquor with
carbonate of lead, till it becomes neutral ; and eA'aporating the saline solution, till
crystals of malate of lead be obtained. These are to be washed with cold water, and
purified by re-crystallization. On dissolving the white salt in water, and passing a
stream of sulphuretted hydrogen through the solution, the lead will bo all separated in
the form of a sulphide, and the liquor, after filtration and evaporation, will yield yellow
granular crystiils, or cauliflower concretions, of malic acid, which may be blanched by
re-dissolution and digestion with bone-black, and re-crystallization.
Malic acid has no smell, but a very sour taste, deliquesces by absorption of moisture
from the air, is soluble in alcohol, fuses at 150° Fahr., is decomposed at a heat of
348°, and affords by distillation a peculiar acid, the pyromalic. It consists, in 100
parts, of 41*47 carbon, of 3'ol hydrogen, and 55"02 oxygen ; liaving nearly the same
composition as citric acid. A crude malic acid might be economically extracted from
the fruit of the mountain-ash, applicable to many purposes ; but it has not hitherto
been manufactured on the great scale.
lOAXiXiEABZXiITV is the property belonging to certain metals of being extended
under the hammer by beating, or under the roller. Gold is a remarkable example of
a malleable metal.
lVLA.XiXiBil.BXiB IRON. See Iron.
MAIiIVX ROCS. A local name for the sandstones of Sussex and Surrey, called
also fire-stone. It belongs to the Upper Greensand formation. This Malm forms the
soil which produces the greater part of the hops for which these counties are cele-
brated. See Sandstone.
ItXAXiTHA. Biiume glutineux, or mineral pitch. It dissolves in alcohol, as also
in naphtha, and oil of turpentine. It seems to be inspissated petroleum.
nSAlbTING. The process by which barley or other grain is prepared by germina-
tion under artificial conditions, for the purpose of brewing. The changes produced in
its constituents, and the requisite properties of good malt, having been already given
in the article Beer, we now proceed to describe the requisites of a malt-house, and
the mode of operation.
The necessary apparatus for the production of malt is extremely simple : that is to
say, first, a cistern or vessel for steeping the grain ; secondly, a floor on which it may
be thinly spread and allowed to germinate ; and, lastly, a kiln or stove in which the
newly-formed malt may be dried. These need not be of any specific size, neither is
any special position, or arrangement needed; but in this country, from the large
amount of duty levied on this manufacture, fiscal regulations interfere with, and in-
fluence the whole arrangement.
The regulations as to the manuificture of malt are embodied in the acts 7 & 8 Geo. 4.
c. 52, and 11 Geo. 4. c. 17. The former act is an admirable specimen of legislative
injustice ; the latter was intended to ameliorate the provisions of its predecessor, and
does, in a degree, effect that object. The first contains no less than 83 clauses ; and
the regulations in it are enforced by 106 penalties, amounting in the aggregate to the
incredible sum of 15,000/. How much of this is negatived by the subsequent act
it is not very easy to determine, though, as far as it goes, the effect of No. 2 is to
stultify the regulations of No. 1. The cistern or steeping vessel must be of a determinate
form and construction ; it must have been approved of by a supervising officer ; its
cubical contents must have been very accurately ascertained by actual admeasurement,
and it must be placed in such a situation that the officer gauging it may have sufficient
light, and a clear open space of 48 inches, at the least, above every part of such cistern,
for the purpose of facilitating the process of gauging ; and, lastly, if such light be an
impossibility, from local obstacles, the maltster must enter into an engagement to
keep, at his own expense, lamps or candles burning, for the convenience of the
officer. From what wc have now said, as well as from the notoriously uncertain
character of grain, it might naturally be inferred that the process of steeping would
be left entirely to the judgment of the maltster, who would determine according to his
experience, and the nature of the resulting phenomena, when the grain had been
steeped long enough in the water, and when it had not. Tlio law, however, allows
him no such privilege ; whether the grain be old or dry, or new and moist, is all
one,—' maltsters are required to keep their corn or grain covered with water for the
full space of 40 hours, under the penalty of 100/.'^ Nor will any change occurring in
the appearance of the grain, and seeming to require its immediate removal, justify or
excuse the maltster in so doing, unless indeed he shall have anticipated the occurrence
184 ]VIALTmG
ty giving notice of his intention to do so in his original notice ' to wcf — ^whichmust
date 24 hours previous to commencing that operation, — and to give the day and hour
of the day for beginning the steep, — all under the usual penalty of 100/. Nor may he
' begin to wet at any other time than between the hours of eight in the morning and
two in the afternoon,' imder a penalty of 100/., nor may he take corn or grain from any
cistern at any other time than between the hours of seven in the morning and four in
the afternoon. To empty corn or grain out of any cistern, until the expiration of
ninety-six hours from the time of the last preceding emptying of any cistern in the
establishment, involves a penalty of 200/. ; and the same infliction occurs, * if the corn
or grain be not emptied out of all such cisterns at one and the same time, or within
three hours after the clearing of the first cistern w^s commenced.'
Maltsters are not to mix, either on the floor or kiln, any corn or grain of one wetting
"with corn or grain of another wetting, under a penalty of 100/. What is termed the
couch, or place in which the grain, after being steeped, is laid together for the purpose
of germination, is a supplementary apparatus of excise ingenuity, and no way neces-
sary to the success of the malting process. Here the grain, after having been gauged
in the steep, is again to be gauged with great care ; and if the maltster should tread or
compress the couch, so as to diminish its bulk, a penalty of 100/. is imposed, though it
is obvious that a power of loosening or compressing this couch according to its tempe-
rature would greatly improve the formation of malt. However, ' all corn or graiK
emptied into the couch-frame is to be laid flat and level by the maltster, and so kept
24 hours at the least,' and similarly the floors are all to be placed level on pain of
100/. fine, so that any experimental essay at imnrovement is very likely to end in the
Court of Exchequer. Again, it frequently happens, or rather we should say, it
generally happens, that too little water is absorbed by the grain during the operation
of steeping ; the consequence of which is, that after being removed from the couch to
the floor, the grain desiccates, and, ceasing to germinate, speedily evolves a sickly
odour, and becomes mouldy, — the incipient radicles at the same time drying and
shrinking up for want of moisture ; in fact, the grain withers and perishes from the
eflFect of drought, This condition is very frequent about the third and fourth day from
the couch, and is easily and eiFectually put a stop to by the application of a little
water. But now comes a rather awkward dilemma for the maltster : if the grain con-
tinue on the floor without being sprinkled, it is greatly damaged or altogether spoilt;
if water be sprinkled upon it to restore vitality, tlie law says that ' corn or grain,
making into malt, must not be wetted or sprinkled with water before the expiration
of 12 days, or 288 hours, after the same shall have been taken from or out of the
cistern, under a penalty of 200/.' "Wliere, however, the steep has lasted for the full
period of 50 hours, and where, consequently, tlie want of water is less likely to be
felt, the maltster may sprinkle at the end of six days, or 144 hours; but in no case less
than this, — though, as we have stated, the great urgency for the sprinkling process
occurs generally on the third day ; and it is an undeniable fact, that, in spite of the
heavy risk incurred, maltsters do almost invariably sprinkle their floors at about this
period, and are thus driven to the necessity of trusting in the good fiiith and dis-
cretion of some workman, to the injury of both parties. But the discriminating power
confided to excise officers in these matters is incredible. ' Whenever there shall be rea-
son to suspect, from the appearance of the grain on the floor, that it has been illegally
wetted or sprinkled, the officer must give immediate notice to the maltster, or his
servant, of such suspicion, and make a memorandum thereof, upon the specimen-
paper, and in the memorandum-book, mentioning whether anything, and what, was
stated by such maltster or any person on his behalf," &c. Nay, the Anews of the officer
are ordered to be put on record, as to an immense number of fortuitous circumstances,
all of which, of course, received an unfavourable signification : for instance, ' how the
kiln was loaded, and whether fed by a brisk or slow fire? — whether the house seemed
in a state for running or wetting, or committing any other and what fraud ? — what the
trader says, and what character he bears in his concerns with the revenue ? ' — and
60 on, in the most arbitrary spirit. Indeed, the officer is specially instructed to make
sudden and unexpected returns or visits, at unusual periods, so as to discover any
suspicious indications. Again, of the three separate gauges of malt which he may
take, whether in the cistern, in the couch, or on the floor, the officer must select the
largest for charging duty upon. Thus, if in the cistern he finds 78^ bushels indicated,
in the couch subsequently 81 J indicated, and on the floor 83 i, then the latter is
preferred ; and so with regard to the highest wherever found, — the order being that
' when the cistern or couch gauge is equal to or exceeds the floor gauge, then the best
cistern or couch gauge will be the charge ; but if that be less than the floor gauge, then
the floor gauge will be the charge.' Any accident or loss arising after the cistern gauge
is therefore thrown wholly on the maltster, who, far from being able to employ his
ingenuity in the improvement of his business processes, finds himself more than fully
MALTING 185
occupied in a perpetual efTort to protect his interests from fiscal regulations conceived
in a most hostile spirit. The carelessness and ignorance of conunon workmen may
at any moment subject the most honest maltster in the kingdom, not merely to
charges of dishonesty, but even to penal inflictions ; which have ceased to carry
moral degradation with them, only because of the popular belief of their injustice.
It would be impossible, nor is it requisite, to follow out or recapitulate the in-
numerable annoyances to which the manufacturer of malt is subjected at present:
we have thus briefly noted down a few, in order that the admirers of Bavarian and
other foreign beers may take into account the very different state of the malt manu-
facture in this country, as compared with that brought about by an unrestricted
liberty to use or apply any means which the nature of the grain, the condition of
the atmosphere, or other accidental circumstances, may require during the process of
germination.
Having thus seen the restricticns imposed by the legislature, we need only indicate
that the capacities of the cistern, the couch, and the kiln should be adapted to contai*
respectively the whole quantity of barley or malt made at one steeping, and this
should again have reference to the space allotted to the floor, which should allow of
at least three steepings to be worked on it without interference in their different stages
of growth and withering.
The process of malting consists of three successive operations : the steeping ; the
couching, sweating, flooring ; and the kiln-drying.
It often happens from various reasons that the importance of extreme care in the
selection of barley for malting is overlooked, but the injurious consequences re-
sulting from such a laxity are so great that they cannot be too strongly impressed
upon the attention of the party entrusted with this duty. All barleys that have
been weathered in the field, or have got mow-burnt or musty in the stack, should be
Tigidly rejected; they are so easily detected that there is no room for accidental
oversight. Weathered barley has a dull and often a dirty appearance, quite dis-
tinct from the bright shotty character of good samples, and frequently a sprouted
corn or two may be seen amongst them, but the last is the least enl of the three,
as the sprouted corns may to some extent be removed by carefully swimming the
barley (at the time the cistern is charged) and floating off' the lighter grains. But
with mow-burnt and musty barley the grain has suffered so much that a sound
wort out of malt made from mow-burnt barley cannot be obtixined. This evil arises
chiefly from the barley having been stacked in an insufficiently dry state; subse-
quently it has become overheated and its germinating principle destroyed ; there -.•>
no remedy, it cannot be reclaimed, it is spoilt for malting purposes, more or less
according to the circumstances immediately attending it. It may be detected by
a peculiarly faint, sickly smell, perhaps the word 'stink' more nearly describes it;
in addition to that, it may be at once suspected if some of the grains have a dis-
colouration varying from red to black at the radicle end ; such grains when thrown
into the couch after steeping will often exhibit a brownish-red appearance from end to
end ; if broken they will display a red-tinted kernel and show an unmistakeable rotten-
ness ; on the floor they will impart that odour of rotten apples, so disheartening to
the careful maltster, especially if he be brewer also ; and after being dried on the
kiln, a minute examination of them will disclose a kernel of a yellowish and some-
times a brownish tinge, which otherwise ought to be perfectly white and flowerj'.
Beer brewed from such malt is liable to ferment with uncontrollable violence, and
•will soon turn sourish, bad, or stinking, according to the degree of injury the barley
has suffered.
Musty barley of course can easily be detected ty the smell, and a slight appearance
of mould may generally be detected upon the ends and belly of the grain ; if it is very
slight indeed it need not condemn an otherwise good sample, but if it arises from being
overheated in the hold of a vessel it should not be malted. Broken and bruised corns,
and corns crushed by the feet or shovel upon the withering floor, have precisely the
same effect and result as mow-burnt barley ; for this reason, therefore, the thrashing-
machines now in such general use have need of great improvement, as they break the
corns to a fearful extent, the more so when the season has been exceptionally dry, and
the finest and boldest corns suffer most.
Another unfavourable symptom is when the beard has not been entirely removed,
some of the corns retaining portions of it attached ; this is an indication that the
mellowing in the stack has been imperfect when the grain was thrashed, the beard
has therefore remained tough, and the operation has been unable therefore to detach
them : it is generally attendant on weathered grain.
The Malting.— It is a good plan as a rule to have all barley Bhot into its Linn as
soon as possible, and there allowed to remain till it is granted for malting; the
186 MALTING
mellowing is thereby some'wliat encouraged, especially so if the season has been a
very dry one, for the barley is likely to Be intractable ; it is advisable then to let it
remain in heap for some ■weeks with that purpose.
But if on putting the hand into the sacks the feeling of sharpness and briskness is
wanting, too much moisture may be suspected: it should then remain in dry sacks,
or, if thought requisite, should be dried with a slow fire upon the kiln and turned
frequently, after which it should be thoroughly cooled, and thrown into heap to
mellow.
Whenever practicable, samples differing from each other should never be mixed be-
fore malting, but when unavoidable only such barleys should be mixed as are of the
same weiglit per imperial bushel, the same in character and condition, and from
similar districts, otherwise there will be a harassing irregularity iipon the floor. And
now before commencing operations, perhaps a word or two about the amount of work
a man should do would not be out of place.
Previous to the operation of steepinp;, it will be found most profitable that the
barley should be very thoroughly cleansed : all dirt, earth, stones, light grains,
and small ones, should be CiirefuUy screened and swam out of it (for it is a
waste to pay duty and wages for such things, and what is of more consequence,
they tend to injure the quality of the malt while on the floors), and the steep com-
mences.
It is a good arrangement to have at the overflow-end of the cistern a sieve or wire
trough placed a few inches below the overflow on the outside of the cistern, so that
the surplus water shall easily float away the light grains from the surface as they
rise ; there they will collect, and may eventually be taken away, dried on the kiln, and
used for feeding purposes. The draining ability of the cistern should be as ample and
expeditious as possible, and the water-supply should be equally good ; some maltsters
with commendable prudence provide a sort of shower-bath arrangement over their
cisterns in place of the water-tap.
The steeping is performed in large cisterns made of wood or stone, which being
filled with clear water up to a certain height, a quantity of barley is shot into them,
and well stirred about with rakes.
Tlie good grain is heavy and subsides ; the lighter grains, which float on the surface,
are the damaged ones, and should be skimmed off, for tliey would injure the quality of
tlie malt and the flavour of the beer made with it. They seldom amount to more than
2 per cent.
More barley is successively emptied into the steep-cistern, till the water stands only
a few inches, about five, above its surface ; when this is levelled very carefully, and
every light seed is removed.
The steep lasts from 40 to 84 hours, according to thw circumstances of the season,
condition, and weight per imperial bushel ; new barley lequiring a longer period than
old, and big requiring much less time than barley.
In England it is the common practice, in order to escape as much as possible the
excise duty, to allow the barley as a rule only 50 hours, but this is not sufficient for
heavy or strong barleys : 60, 72, or even 84 hours will bo found much more advan-
tageous to the saccharific and friable qualities of the malt produced, and where tlie
maltster is also the brewer it will well repay him the little extra excise duty he may
pay on account of it, and the loss by solution in the steep-water will be found alto-
gether inconsiderable. The Munich maltsters usually allow 96 hours, and take for
their criterion that the pip shall have swollen almost to bursting, before the steeping
is considered sufficient.
During this steep, carbonic acid is evolved from the grnins, and combines with
the water, which at the same time acquires a yellowish tinge and a strawy smell,
from dissolving some of the extractive matter of the barley husks. The grain im-
bibes al)Out one-half of its weight of water and increases in size by about one-fifth.
By losing this extract the husk becomes about one-seventieth lighter in weight, and
paler in colour.
The duration of the steep depends in some measure upon the temperature and
state of humidity of the atmosphere, and the temperature and constitution of the
water, and is the shorter the warmer the season.
The water most suitable for malting purposes is most certainly fresh spring-water
from deep sources, at the temperature of about 52° Fahr. ; this is generally obtainable
in England ; surface-water is not estimable, first, on account of its variable tempera-
ture, secondly, because it contains a variable amount of organic matter, and thirdlj',
because its solvent power is greater; whereas the salts of lime held in solution by
nearly all spring-waters have a very beneficial effect upon the barley, as to some
extent they neutralise the acid tendency, and must or mould.
Steeping has for its object, to expand the farina of the barley with humidity, and
MALTING 187
thus prepare the seed for germination, in the same way as the moisture of the earth
prepares for the growth of the radicle andplumulain the seed. Too long continuance
in the steep is injurious ; because it prevents the germination at the proper time, and
thereby exhausts a portion of the vegetative power: it causes also an abstrac-
tion of saccharine matter by the water. The maceration or steep is known to be
complete when the skin of tlie barley has lost all wrinkle or curl, can be easily
transfixed with a needle, and is swollen to its fullest size. Tlie following is reckoned
a good test: — If a barleycorn, when pressed between the thumb and fingers, continues
entire in its husk, it is not sufficiently steeped ; but if it sheds its flour on the fingers,
it is ready.
Wlien the substance exudes in the form of a milky juice, the steep has been too
long continued, and the barley is spoiled for germination.
Unhealthy, damaged, and mutilated corns, frequently become pasty in the cistern,
long before the sound portion of the charge lias been steeped enough, and this the
sooner, in proportion to the amount of injury the grain has sufFered. All such
grains are apt to become very damaging upon the withering floor, and to avoid this,
and increase the profits as much as possible, it is a ride with some maltsters that the
more indiiFerent a sample of barley is, the less steep must be given to it ; he must
force the acrospire on, by thick and warm floors, that it may be put on the kiln as
quickly as possible, after it is wetted ; by this means, the sample saves its appearance
very considerably; but although the decomposing corns do not stink and mould
quite so soon when thus worked, as they would if treated otherwise, thqir mischievous
tendency is not at all diminished ; for, by the sliori; steep allowed, the sound corns
are thrown on the floor in an intractable state, and by the thick flooring and conse-
quent heat at which they are subsequently worked, tendencies to lactous fermentation
and mould are greatly encouraged, first in the iinsound corns, and then by contact
through the whole floor.
In warm weather it sometimes happens that the water becomes acescent before the
grain is thoroughly swelled. Tliis accident, which is manifest to the taste and smell,
must be immediately ob\nated by drawing off the foul water through the tap at the
bottom of the cistern, and replacing it with fresh cold water. It does no harm to
renew it two or tliree times at one steep.
The Couch. — The water being drawn off, and occasionally a fresh quantity passed
through to wash away any slimy matter which may have been generated in warm
weather, the barley is now laid on tlie coucli-floor of stone flags in square heaps, from
12 to 16 inches high, and left in that position for twenty -four hours.
At this period, the bulk of the grain being at the greatest, it is usually gauged by
the revenue officers, and the quantity then found multiplied by the decimal '8 15 is
that on which the dnty is generally charged.
After a few hours, moisture leaves the surface of the barley so completely, that it
imparts no dampness to the hands ; but, in from fifteen to thirty hours, sooner or
later, according to the circumstances at the time of the season, quality of barley,
and efficiency or otherwise of the steep, it becomes warm, the temperature rises
from 7° to 10° above that of the atmosphere, while an agreeable, fruity smell is
evolved; if the hand is thrust into the grain as it lies in the couch, it not only
feels warm, but it is bedewed ■with moisture. At this sweating stage, the fibrils of
the radicles make an appearance at the base of every grain, in the form of a white
elevation.
After remaining in the couch twenty-four hours, the time insisted upon by excise
regulation, the couch is broken, that is, the planks composing the front of it arc re-
moved, and Avith a maltster's Avood shovel, the grain is spread out to the depth of
from 6 to 10 inches (according as required by the before-mentioned circumstances;
and bo it remembered, that these must be carefully considered at every stage of the
working, from first to last). Some few hours after the radicles have begun to divide,
the plumula may be discerned at the same point, proceeding beneath the husk, to the
other end of the seed, in the form of a yellow leaflet.
Tlie Flooring. -With, this last operation, 'the flooring,' may be said to have com-
menced, and the experience and judgment of the maltster are now called into requisi-
tion, and will be taxed to their utmost to ensure a simultaneous start and equal degree
of germination in every individual grain alike ; he must not forget it for a moment,
but carefully watch its progress, and as soon as the grains immediately below the
surface appear glossy wet from sweating, the floor must be turned with the shovel,
and thinned out from 2 to 4 inches in thickness, as he sees it desirable. The manner
of handling the shovel is a matter of great importance, and it is only from careful
practice that the required proficiency is attained ; the upper stratum of the floor is
skimmed off and rolled over, just in the immediate neighbourhood of the workman.
188 MALTING
step by step, shovelful by Bhovelful ; the under portion is then well deaned up, flung
and spread "with an inward turn of the wrists, as the arms are thrown across the
front; by this motion, the grains are disposed into a thin, wide-spreading shower,
driven through the air and falling evenly on the floor, at a considerable distance from
where they were taken up by the shovel, and by the operation are separated and
cooled ; should any faint smell have been attained, it will afterwards be fbimd to have
passed off in a very great measure.
Thus the workman advances, proceeding across and recrossing the floor, taking
alternately, first the upper stratum, and then the lower one at everj' step, throwing
it out the further, the more cooling or ' check ' he purposes to give to it, and also
regulating its area accordingly. Sometimes it requires turning over, and lightening
up, without being subjected to the cooling consequent upon the use of the shovel ; and
for this purpose the workman uses what is called the ' rake.' This is an iron blade,
about 30 inches long and perhaps 2 inches broad, fixed at each end by holders, to a
massive wood head, to which is attached a strong wood shaft, with a cross-head
handle. This blade is dragged along the floor, passing under the barley, turning the
bottom to the top and lightening it up considerably ; but when turning only is re-
quired, he uses what is called the ' plough ; ' this is a long-handled tool, in shape
very much resembling the scull of a boat, and in using it is made to pass through the
grain, precisely as a scull is made to do in the water. The young floors will generally
require some sort of tendance every three or four hours ; tliis must be judged now by
the appearance of the radicle as a principal indicator ; when it is particularly white
and vigorous, the floor requires a ' turn,' that is, the shovel preceded by the rake ; if
it requires nursing, and it is thought that a tiurn would check it too much, the rak?
alone is used ; but if it requires a gentle turn over and careful nursing, then the
plough alone is used ; and thus these are employed, either alone, in turn or combined,
in any way the workman may deem it desirable ; but always before leaving his house,
for the night, he must thoroughly disentangle the corns, the one from the other, give
the floors a good turning and spreading, thin them out, and lay them light. In the
old floors it will most likely be necessary to use all three tools about them ; fijst the
plough, and then the rake, till they are well disentangled and light, then with the
shovel, thin out, turn, spread, and cool them.
With the young floors, perhaps, only the plough and the rake may be required,
as it sometimes happens that nursing is necessary, owing to the coldness of the
weather.
It will sometimes occur, most commoniy from an insufficient steep, that the radicles
will show signs of withering prematurely ; and if the circumstance was to remain un-
heeded, the floor would die long before the germination had wrought the desired
change in the constitution of the barley ; the withering radicles would drop off even
with the most careful handling, and then the grain would have to depend on those
that remained to it for the support it needed to complete the change. To render the
necessary help, at this time, recourse is had to 'sprinkling,' that is, water is ad-
ministered to it from a 4-gallon watering-can, with a rose, in the proportion as a rule
of about one can to the quarter (8 bushels) ; under some circumstances a floor will
take nearly double that quantity, as in the case of the heavy Scotch barleys, with
only 50 hours' steep, but with liglit free barleys, perhaps only half the quantity, the
less the better in all cases, where quality is of more consequence than appearance ; for
the object being to supply a stimulant to the ' fainting ' and perhaps wounded grain,
the acrospire is forced up as it were, under the husk of the hide-bound grain ; no good,
or at any rate very little good, is done by the process, to really benefit the constitution
of the grain ; the application is too superficial, and where the quality of the saccharine
constituent is the consideration, it cannot stand in competition with the properly
administered steep. But for the sake of overmeasure or overweight, and it must bo
admitted a saving in appearance, it is adopted by the malting-trade generally, as a
matter of routine. It is administered as follows : —
On the fourth or fifth day after the grain is thrown from the cistern, the radicles
will have attained the length of nearly a quarter of an inch ; the floor has then given
to it about half a can-full of water to the 8 bushels ; it is then well ploughed, rtiked
and turned, so as to wet every grain possible, and tlien worked in tlie usual course.
Next day, the remainder of the dose is given, or if much water is thought necessary,
it is given two doses the second day, one in the morning and the other in the after-
noon, and perhaps another dose next morning ; the operation, of course, necessitates
plenty of room, so it is usual to arrange for the main sprinkling on the day tliat the
old floors are loaded on the kilns. If floors are closely observed about this time, it
will be seen, that mould mostly appears immediately after the sprinkling; then it is
that the mischievous effects of rotting, mutilated, and broken corns are most apparent,
and with each hour the disease spreads from corn to corn, till sometimes, before the
MALTING 189
floor can be got ready for the kiln, the whole of the floor is literally impregnated with
it, a kind of blue bloom is to be perceived upon it, and it may oven affect the atmo*
sphere above it, plainly showing that mould in the form of dust is present, ready to
full on everj'thing; some of it may bo made to disappear, after drying and screen-
ing the malt ; but the taste is permanently attached to the malt, and follows it through
the remainder of its existence, even after it has changed its state; not that mould
can be always detected in the beer made from such malt, for unless it is very bad
indeed, it can bo overpowered by the hop ; but there is a perceptible deficiency in
that fine, clean flavour, which is the perfection of a glass of good beer, its place
being usurped by a flavour coarse and tangey, and tending to acidity, the more so
in proportion as tlie disease has ravaged the malt ; for let it not be forgotten, that
mould and acidity always go hand-in-hand. Therefore, where it is found necessary
to malt an indifferent sample of barley, it is much the wiser plan to treat it with a
sufScient steep, and work it as cool as possible upon the floors, giving it plenty of
time ; for heats approaching 60°, and especially between 60° and 70° encourage disease
in barley on the floors, just as it does also upon an unsound wort in the fermenting
tin ; such malts should always bo set apart to be brewed by themselves for a quick
consumption. '
If the heat on the floor should by any chance rise to temperatures between 70° and
75°, it is almost a certainty that much of the saccharine constituent will have changed
into the lactic state. It is sometimes asserted that sprinkled malt will yield more
gravity per quarter than unsprinkled malt will do : the extra gravity is caused by an
excess of the albuminous constituent present in the wort, and this is but an increase
of trouble, disappointment, and loss to the brewer ; but the difference between sprinkled
and unsprinkled barley is perceived at once by the taste, being in favour of the latter,
from the superior sweetness in the mouth, and it far exceeds the former in the
brightening and keeping ability of its product, and in the general excellence of the
beer. The attentive reader will perhaps ere this have surmised from the mention of
the old floor, the young floor, and the floor to be sprinkled, that there must generally
be three steeps upon the floor at the same time, and under very exceptional circum-
stances there may even be four floors, exclusive of those on the kiln, and in either the
cistern or the couch. This of course necessitates plenty of area in the withering floor ;
there should be {lUowed 28 square yards at least to the quarter of barley steeped.
Therefore for one man-kiln, 15 quarters being steeped every four days nearly, the
withering-floor area should be 15 x 28 yards =420 yards, including the couch-frame;
about 30 feet in width is a nice arrangement for a kiln of this size, and is even a con-'
venient width for any sized kiln, for where the floors are much wider, the sides and
middle work vary unevenly, and cause an amount of labour that is likely to be the
cause somewhat of neglect ; forty feet should be the extreme limit for a kiln of the
largest size ; of course the wider the floor is the less throwing forward it requires, and
this is a consideration ; the height of the place should be about six feet under the
beams, which should be underdrawn ; the windows should be glazed with blue glass,
vand the ventilation and temperature of the place should be under complete control.
At times the grain on the floors will suffer mutilation and crushing by the feet; the
excise officer must trample upon it, for the purpose of gauging, but it is quite unneces-
sary that any one else should. Some, to relieve the floor from inj ury by the tread, have
moveable gangways suspended from the beams above, or supported from the walls, so
that the workmen can pass from floor to floor the whole length of the house without
treading on the grain.
The system of working upon the floors is of such extreme importance to brewers,
that it is necessary that we should give very special attention to the considera-
tion of the several points of guidance, which experience has established as incontro-
vertible.
The first and most essential of these, is the selection and cleansing of the barley,
and this has already been treated in detail in an early part of the present article ; the
next is the class and temperature of the water, and this has also been treated upon,
and we must now consider the rule that must be adopted to producer malt that shall
have the least amount of the albuminous constituent in its composition along with the
-greatest amount of good sound saccharum as free as possible from acid tendency, and
perfectly free from mould.
In the first place, in order to make good sound malt from carefully-selected barley,
the efiicient steep is of paramount importance ; then the cooler it is worked upon the
floors, and the longer it can be made to take in growing the acrospire right up to the
opposite end of the grain, the better will be the saccharific excellence of the malt.
The heat of the floors should never bo allowed to attain 60° Fahr., and it should be
kept on the floors from twelve to fifteen days, including couching.
There is no danger of mould if the turning is properly attended to, and no more
190 MALTING
sprinkling allowed than is absolutely necessary to keep the germination alive ; in
season-made malt, sprinkling is but very seldom required, but an exceptional warmth
or dryness of the atmosphere may make it at times a necessity.
If the rootlets or radicles appear languid, shrivelled, and of a dull yellowish tint,
lay the floor a little thicker; it may be that the barley is more intractable than was
supposed at first ; and if in the course of two or three hours its appearance is not
materially improved, then administer the sprinkling, about a good third of a Civn-fuU
to the quarter (i.e. 8 bushels), well plough, rake, turn, and thin out ; but let it carefully
be borne in mind that whatever is done in the way of increasing or decreasing the
vigour of the germination must be done most gradually, or the radicles will be liable
to break off, therefore leaving the grain maimed, and less able to att^iiu the desired
result, and as a consequence the quality of the malt will bn impaired, On the other
hand, if the rootlets appear robust and vigorous, tlie floor must be well turned and
thinned out, or the middle of the floor will become the warmer, and an uneven germi-
nation will result ; when a floor has been allowed to remain too long unturned, it may
easily bo perceived from the faint smell that attends it, and also it may bo observed
that the main or centre radicle is of unusual length and strength in comparison with
its mates ; great care must then be exercised, for to be checked too rapidly would
certainly cause them to break off, and prove an injury ; this must particularly be
attended to in the young floors. If all has gone on as it should have done, when the
grain has spent the moisture absorbed in the steep, the acrospire will have attained
about three-fourths the length of the grain, and the culm (rootlets) somewhere about
half an inch in ordinary English barley, but more than that in the strong Yorkshire
barleys, and more still in the heavy Scotch ; this excitation will occupy from perhaps
nine to twelve days, according to the circumstances, of the kind of barley, and state
of the atmosphere, and tlie culm will then begin to grow languid, fade, and wither,
and of course will cease to develope any more ; the acrospire too will remain almost
stationary, though not quite so, for germination is not extinct, but only retarded.
The floor must now be laid thicker, very gradually, frequently disentangled and
turned, but kept just warm enough to cause most of the remaining moisture to
pass away from the grain till when taken up in the hand it feels light and drj',
and when the kernel is forced out from the husk with the thumb-nail, it should rub
abroad between the thumb and forefinger easily and smooth ; this process is called
the ' mellowing,' and occupie.t from two and a half to four days ; it is then ready for
the kiln.
Tlie Kiln-Floor. — The mellowed floor is then loaded into baskets, craned up to the
kiln-floor, upset in regular heaps over it, and when all the charge is in, it should
immediately be griped over and levelled. In area the kiln-floor should allow at lesist
three square yards to every quarter of barley steeped, thus for a 15-quarter cistern,
the area for the kiln-floor should be at least 45 square yards, this will allow the barley
to lie from 7 to 9 inches thick upon the kiln, and that thickness is a medium between
extremes. In England coke is most commonly used for the kiln-fires, and there should
be from 15 to 25 feet below the centre of the kiln-floor; the greater the height the
better the draught.
Immediately above the fire-place, and supported at the four corners, a disperser is
placed from 6 to 9 feet above the fire-bars, according to the strength of the draught and
character of malt it is intended should be made usually ; it is well to have all the
draught»course, both above and below the malt, under perfect control, so as to at all
times cause the stream of heated air passing from the fire to disperse itself to the
extreme limits of the kiln-floor ; but with all the aid that art and experience can give,
nothing can relieve the workman from that careful watchiug and regulating of the
fires, that is the real secret of success in the finishing of malt. The ' old floor ' being
now ' loaded' on the kiln and griped over, the fire is placed and regulated so that the
heat shall accumulate in the space under the floor-tiles, and fill it to the remotest
corner with a temperature of about 90°, which must be the same throughout the whole
area of the floor, no one place being hotter than another, or the finishing will be
freckled and uneven : the advantage of having a good height over the spreader will be
now seen, by reason of its allowing a better opportunity for the thorough mixture and
attemperating of the atmosphere and also decreasing the liability to a hot-air current
through any particular portion of the floor.
In a short time the heat may be increased three or four degrees, but the floor
should not be molested till all apparent moisture or steam has been driven from
it; this will take about 12 hours, when it may be griped over, again turning the top
to the bottom ; fires damped up and left for the night ; next morning the floor must
be griped again, and turned with the shovel, the fires may be broken up, and the
heat increased 3 or 4 degrees more, and the floor must be turned 3 or 4 times with
the shovel, and by the following morning it will most likely be dry ; the flnish
MALT KILN
191
must then be given, that is, the particular colour and flavour xeqxiired must now b«
attained.
For pale malt, the heat should not exceed 120°.
For the amber colours, heats ranging from 120° to 160°, according to the colour
desired.
For brown malt for porter-brewing, oak sticks are blazed on the fire, and the heat
raised to 180° or above; the floor must not be laid more than an inch thick, and be
kept constantly on the move by turning ; it is therefore a very hot and laborious
process. In finishing for the pale and amber malts, it is bettor to subject the floors
to a low and long-continued heat, rather than a high and sharp one, for the culm
colours much sooner than the body of the grain, owing to its slightness in substance,
and the workman is often deceived by this circumstance ; for pale malts, say 100° or
a little above ; for amber, about 125° or so.
When tlie malt has attained the colour required, it is immediately heaped in the
middle of the kiln-floor, and the fires allowed to die down ; in about two or three hours
after, the kiln is ' teemed,' that is, the malt is taken off and stored in its bin : it is
decidedly the best plan to let this bo done while the malt is in a good hot state, for
it will keep right all the longer, and the culm should go with it to aid in keeping
out the atmosphere ; but although malt should be kept in the store-bin as dry as
possible, it is not thought a good plan to use it for brewing purposes until it has got
quite cold in the heap, or it will prove somewhat intractable in the mash-tun, and the
beer from it will not work kindly in the fermenting-tun, and prove somewhat difficult
to fire.
During the kiln-drying, the roots and acrospire of the barley become brittle, and
fall off; and are separated by a wire-sieve whose meshes are too small to allow the
malt itself to pass through.
A quantity of good barley which weighs 100 pounds, being judiciously malted, will
weigh, after drying and sifting, 80 pounds. Since the raw grain, dried by itself at
the same temperature as the malt, would lose 12 per cent, of its weight in wat«r, the
malt process dissipates out of these remaining 88 pounds, only 8 pounds, or 8 percent,
of the raw barley. This loss consists of —
1 J per cent, dissolved out in the steep water,
3 „ dissipated in the kiln,
3 ,, by the removal of the fibrils,
OJ „ of waste.
The bulk of good malt exceeds that of the barley from ■which it was made by about
8 or 9 per cent.
MAIiT KIKir. {Darre, Ger.) The requisite conditions of a good malt kiln
are, that the temperature should be under perfect control ; the malt not exposed too
near the direct action of the flro ; and the vapour from the heated grain rapidly
carried off.
Figs. 1423, 1424, 1425, 1426 exhibit the construction of a well-contrived malt kiln.
Fig. 1423 is the ground plan ; fig. 1424 is the vertical section ; and figs. 1425 and 1426,
ft hoiizontal and vertical section in the line of the malt-plates. The same letters
1424
1423
denote the same parts in each of the figures. A cast-iron cupola-shaped oven is sup-
ported in the middle upon a wall of brick n'ork four feet high ; and beneath it are
the grate and its ash-pit. The smoke pisses off through two equidistant pipes into
the chimney. The oven is surrounded with four pillars, on whose top a stone lintd
192
MALT KILN
is laid : a is the grate, 9 inches below the sole of the oven b; e c c c are the four nine-
inch strong pillars of brickwork which bear the lintel m ; d d d d are strong nino-
inch pillars, wliich support the girtler and joists upon which perforated plates repose ;
c deootes a vaulted arch on each of the four sides of the oven ; / is the space between
the kiln and the side arch, into which a workman may enter to inspect and clean the
kiln ; ff g, the ■^alls on either side of tlie kiln, upon which the arches rest ; h, tlio space
for the ashes to fall ; k, the fire-door of the kiln ; 1 1, junction-pieces to connect the
pipes r r with the kiln ; the mode of attaching them is shown in fig. 1425. These
smoke-pipes lie about three foot under the iron plates, and at the same distance from
the side walls ; they are supported upon iron props, which are made fast to the arches.
In fig. 1424, u shows their section; at s s,fig. 1425, they enter the chimney, which is
provided with two register or damper plates, to regulate the draught through the
1426
pipes. These registers are represented by 1 1, fig. 1426, which shows a perpendicular
section of the chimney, m, fig. 1424, is the lintel, which causes the heated air to spread
laterally, instead of ascending in one mass in the middle, and prevents any com-
bustible particles from falling upon the iron cupola, n n are the main girders of iron
for the iron beams oo, upon which the perforated plates^ lie; q,fig. 1424, is the
vapour-pipe in the middle of the roof, which allows the steam of the drying malt to
escape. The kiln may be heated either with coal or wood.
The size of this kiln is about 20 feet square ; but it may be made proportionally
either smaller or greater. The perforated floor should be large enough to receive the
contents of one steep or couch.
The perforated plate might be conveniently heated by steam-pipes, laid zigzag,
or in parallel lines under it; or a wire-gauze web might be stretched upon such
pipes. The wooden joists of a common floor -would answer perfectly to support
this steam-range, and the heat of the pipes would cause an abundant circulation
of air. For drying the pale malt of the ale-brewer, this plan is particularly well
adapted.
1427
The improved malt kiln of Pistorin is represented, fig. 1427, in a top view ; fig. 1428.
in a longitudinal view and section ; and^. 1429, in transverse section. ■ a, a, are two
MAMMEE
193
quadrangular smoke-flues, constructed of fire-tiles, or fire-stones, and covered with
iron plates, over which a pont-house roof is laid ; the whole bound by the cross pieces
b {figs. 1428, 1429). These flues are built above a grating cc, which commences at c'-
in front of c' there is a bridge of bricks. Instead of such a brick flue covered with
plates, iron pipes may be used, covered with semi-cylindrical tiles, to prevent the
malt that may happen to fall from being burned, d d, are the breast walls of the kiln,
3 feet high, furnished with two apertxu:e8 shut with iron doors, through which the
malt that drops down may be removed from time to time, c is a beam of wood lying
on the breast wall, against which the hurdles are laid down slantingly towards the
back wall of the kiln ; // are two vef tical flues left in the substance of the walls,
through which the hot air, discharged by open pipes laid in a subjacent furnace, rises
into the space between the pent-house roof and the iron plates, and is thence allowed
to issue through apertures in the sides, g is the discharge-flue in the back wall of the
kiln for the air now saturated with moisture; A is a smoke-pipe, from which the
smoke passes into the anterior flue a, provided with a side-plate for modifying the
draught ; the smoke thence flows ofiF through a flue, fitted also with a damper-plate,
into the chimney i. k is a smoke-pipe of a subsidiary fire, in case no smoke should
pass through h. The iron pipes are 11 inches in diameter ; the air-flues/, 5 inches,
and the smoke-pipe A, 10 inchfes square; the brick flues 10 inches wide, and the usual
height of bricks.
The following is an account of the total number of bushels of malt made in the
United Kingdom from 1861 to 1870, distinguishing such as were charged with duty
from such as were free of duty, exported on drawback or free of duty, and the quan-
tities returned for home consumption : —
The Quantities of Malt charged with duties of Excise in the United Kingdom, quantities
exported on drawback, and returned for home consumption.
Years
Charged with
Free of
Exported on
drawback or
Retained
for home
duty
duty'
free of duty °
consumption
Bushels
Bushels
Bushels
Bushels
1861 .
44,141,422
3,793,192
1,284,514
46,650,100
1862 .
41,118,172
4,069,883
1,499,447
43,688,608
1863 .
46,269,842
4,679,829
1,876,856
49,072,815
1864 .
48,544,125
4,837,742
1,584,889
51,796,998
1865 .
45,190,374
622,828
1,641,685
43,548,689
1866 .
45,982,397
551,423
1,687,344
44,295,053
1867 .
43,608,571
459.660
1,385,577
42,222,994
1868 .
44,387,259
452,880
1,330,664
43,056,595
1869 .
45,351,518
484,907
1,537,147
43,814,371
1870 « .
47,005,803
402,465
1,462,226
46,603,677
nsaZiVACEJE:. The petals of the plant known as Althcea rosea, belonging to the
natural order Malvacece, contain a peculiar colouring-matter, soluble in water and
alcohol, but insoluble in ether. ' The aqueous solutions of the petals, freed previously
from the calyx and stamens, exhibit a violet-red colour, which is turned crimson by
the addition of acids and green by alkalis. The alcoholic tincture of the leaves is
purplish-red, and leaves on evaporation a deep red residue, free from nitrogenous
matter. Cotton mordanted with iron is turned blue or bluish-black by an aqueous
infusion of the petals. With an aluminous mordant a violet-blue, and with tm
mordants a bluish-violet is produced. Woollen fabrics, previously mordanted with
bichloride of tin, assume a deep A-iolet, and when mordanted with iron a bluish-black
orgi-ey; if mordanted with antimonic-acid salts, a bluish-violet is obtained; silk
mordanted with tin salts takes a violet.
'For calico-printing purposes the alcoholic extract suits better than the aqueous
infusion. The colours produced are faster than those yielded by logwood, but they do
not stand clearing with soap. .
' The colouring matter is yet, and was formerly far more so, m great request for
the artificial colouration of wines. Latterly it has come into use^as a dye-ware, and
is chiefly so applied in Germany and more particularly in Bavaria.
jaAMMEE. A tree growing in Honduras. Its dried leaves are very powerfuUy
' Including the estimated quantity used in beer exported. ,. ^.„ . j«._««,^_i_
' On the Uth of August 1855, malt wiis made free of duty for distillery purposes and for exporta-
tion, and spirits were allowed to be distilled free of duty for exportation.
' The Board of Trade has not published any later return.
Vol. III.
194 MAN-ENGINE
narcotic ; tho bark is, however, stated to possess some tonic properties. The flowers
of the tree are used in flavouring a liqueur made in some parts of the West Indies,
called creme des Creoles. — Temple.
MAXrCHSSTER TEIiXiO'W. A name by which naphthaline yellow is known
in commerce.
MAXrCHZXVESlb. A large tree of a very poisonous character, growing in South
America, and in some parts of the West Indies. The wood is of a yellow-brown
colour, beautifully clouded, and very close and hard. It is sometimes used instead
of mahogany. This tree is the Hippomane Tnancinella, one of the Euphorbiacem
BXAirnxoCA. Cassava starch. See Stabch.
M.A.xr-SM'GXlI'S. {Machine d^ Ascension, Fr. ; Fahrkunst, Ger.) The name
given to a machine by which the men working in deep metalliferous mines are
enabled to descend or ascend without much fatigue. The labour of climbing from
the bottom of the deep mines of the Hartz and of Cornwall has long been known to
produce an injurious effect upon the men. It Has therefore long been deemed of the
utmost importance to devise some means by which relief might be afforded.
It was not till 1833 that the circumstance of two water-wheels having been thrown
out of work by the opening of the deep George adit in the Hartz mines suggested
the idea of employing the pump-rods for aiding the ascent of the miners, and in such
manner that every man should , as on the simple ladder plan, depend on himself
alone for his safety ; the ascent to be effected by means of the water-wheels' power.
There was sufficient room in the shaft, which was perpendicular, and an experiment of
100 fathoms was set in operation. The rods were entirely of wood, of a very simple
and solid construction. The spars were cut 4 x 6, and .joggled into each other one
inch, and bolted together, so that the whole was 7x6; at the joints iron plates 20
inches long were put on and screwed together, so as to render the whole equally
strong; tearing asunder, as long as the timber remains sound, being nearly impossible.
The whole length was then divided into 22 stages, and from the top downwards, on
alternate sides for each stage, the steps were fastened, at distances of 4 feet, by iron
rests. In like manner, hand-holds were fastened at convenient distances. Between
the two rods ordinary ladders were placed against one side of the shaft, for the sake
of safety should anyone become confused, or should the machinery from any acci-
dent stand still. On a given signal, the machine was set in motion by the man
at the engine, who regulates the supply of water according to the number of men
on at a time. This number was not allowed to exceed 20 men for this machine (ex-
cept in cases of necessity) although of sufficient strength to support a much greater
number.
The perpendicular rods were supported at every stage by rollers, which were always
placed where there is no step. They were of fir, 10 inches long, 12 inches in diameter,
and a cast-iron flange of 1| inch fastened to them at each end, to prevent the rods
slipping off; at five different points it was so arranged that the rods could not
fall farther than to the next stage, or at the utmost 48 inches, thiit being the
length of stroke. The ascent on the macliine requires no description ; the miners,
after the second trial, felt familiar with it, nor was there any more danger than if
they were on the ordinary ladder. This machine, or power-ladder, was calculated to
ease the toil of ascent ; but it has also been used in descending, when of course it
requires little or no water to set it in motion ; and in cases of want of water, tlie
descending miners might bring up the men who had finished their shift, the water-
wheel only regulating the motion and overcoming friction and other prejudicial
resistances. This first machine surpassed expectation ; short as the length of ascent
was, many invalids of the district found new sources of employment, and the descent
by this was used by many, especially during winter, who could reach far-removed
mines by underground communication. Gradually the most prejudiced were at-
tracted to tho machine, and it is received as a blessing. Thoroughly convinced of
the excellence of the contrivance, 200 fathoms of the 340 fathoms of Duke George
William shaft, from grass downwards, were in 1838 provided with a power-ladder
similar in construction to the above described, with this difference only, that this
being on the vein which falls at an angle of 70°, only certain distances of 5, 8, 12
fathoms are taken on the machine, and intermediate of 5 to 10 fathoms on the tisual
ladders, which divides the strain on tho machine, provides against catching colds,
and in some degree against the danger of falling. Thus one of the deepest shafts
Was rendered easy of ascent, more than half the depth being furnished with power for
raising the miners.
In 1836 another machine was completed in the Schreibfeder Schacht. Here the
machine-rods must also serve as pump-rods in time of flood, and therefore the notion
ot making the rods of iron viire, thrown out by Albert, could not be brought to bear,
but a combination of timber and iron wire was adopted. The rods were of the best
i
MAN-ENGINE I95
spars joggled, as in the former cases ; but in the two grooves run in these there were let
in two iron-wire ropes of 12 wires each. The two spars were screwed tight upon the
ropes, which were steeped in prepared tar. Thus the ropes formed a core to the
wooden rods, which in themselves were sufficiently strong for the strain, but the ropes
were a protection, should the wood decay, against any misfortune, while the wood
gave sufficient stifi'uess to the rope-rod. These rods were not above half the weight
of the former per fiithom.
It was very fiiirly objected to this construction, that it was uncertain what strain
came on the wood, what on the iron, and that damage on the iron wire could not be
observed. 124 fathoms of the 265 were provided with a power-ladder of this con-
struction. The ascent on it is not continuous, but alternating, as in the Duke George
"William shaft, so that of 143| fathoms, 124^ are by the machine, 19^ on the fixed
ladders.
These being accomplished, several experiments were begun in 1836 to endeavour
to arrive at a construction of rod, at once lighter and mechanically more perfect.
I"irst, a wire-rope ladder, as it were, laid along planks as a continuous bearing, and
having here and there rollers, so attached as to keep the rope down on the planks,
was tried. Steps and hand-holds were made fast to the rope, so that no injury
resulted to the rope. The necessary stiffness was wanting, the small rollers were
insufficient, and the planks were very rapidly worn. Second, a wire rod, as it were,
of four ropes in a square, nine wires in a rope, with inch boards on one side running
on fixed rollers. The four ropes made a parallelogram of 6 and 7 inches, between
which hand-holds and steps were fastened. The boards were protected by iron
friction-pieces, where they ran on the rollers ; ten fathoms weighed 42'9 lbs., and
cost about one hundred thalers. The only objection to this was, that the ibur ropes
could not bo depended upon as being equally strained. Third, Albert's proposal to
have two ropes of the wii'o parallel to each other, 2-inch and 10-inch deals to be
attached to the back of these, without any other connection : to let these run as
usual on rollers, and fastening the steps and hand-holds to the ropes. It was tried
in Duke George William's shaft, and found the most noiseless and easiest in go, and
on the whole, most perfectly fulfilling the required conditions. This construction, with
some modifications by M. Jordan, was finally determined upon, and has since been
carried out in the Samson shaft, in Andreasberg, 345 fathoms deep, and now to be
particularly described.
In this case there was the advantage and disadvantage of having to provide
everything for the express purpose of the ascending machine. A new wheel-room
had to be executed, new watercourses to be driven, new wheels to be built ; — an
advantage, so far as the whole was perfectly adapted to the end in view ; a disadvantage,
inasmuch as the expense was very greatly increased. The fact, however, proves
the importance attached to the means of facilitating the minor's operations. Any
further mention of the arrangements for the necessary power, than that the mover is
water and the machine an ordinary water-wheel, over-shot, 42 feet in diameter, 4
feet on the breast, making from two to two and a half revolutions per minute, is un-
necessary. The letting-on of the water is regulated from the top of the shaft, where
there is a miniature machine moved by rods and gear, connected with the power-
ladder, indicating exactly the relative position of everything below ground. A system
of signals, too, has been adopted, by wliich most of the circumstances occurring in
connection with the working of the ladder can be immediately made known above
ground. The Spannschufze, a sluice or pen-trough of admirable construction, is ap-
plied to this wheel, as its load is very variable. Tlie crank is 3 x 6 feet long, of cast
iron, and is attached by a connecting rod with framed rods that work the crosses at the
shaft head in the usual manner.
The method of hanging the ladders deserves attention, as it is perfectly successful
and very simple. In the history of the machines there have been several arrange-
ments tried, but this is the last and considered the best. The power-ladders are
hung on the cross-head of a knife-edge by two iron slings, 6x2 inches. They were in
this ladder first hung by passing the ropes round a segmental frame, but the friction
of the knife-edge induced a continual bending of the rope ; through a very small
angle, it is true, but such, that under its effects the wires gave way at the end of three
months. This led to an arrangement by which the ropes are bound between
timbers bolted and screwed together, and thus the whole hung to the things above-
mentioned.
Perhaps the most efficient construction would be the passing the ropes^ round
an arched head, as was the connection between the beam of the steam-engine and
piston-rod of old, only passing the ropes over a greater segment than was or is
customary.
The ropes at the top consist of 36 wires, viz., three ropes of 12wires in each rope, and
o2
196 MAN-ENGINE
these together cable laid. In the timbers, grooves are cut of such dimensions that
the screw bolts may have the effect of so pressing the timbers together, that the
ropes are held in place by the friction thus induced. The length of those timbers is
4 J- fathoms ; this great length is a consequence of local circumstances.
The rope diminishes gradually, viz., four wires less for each 50 fathoms descent.
The estimate of the strength required was made thus : —
lbs.
1. The weight of the rope 5,600
2. Weight of steps and handles, &c 2,200
3. Weight of 60 men 7,500
4. 185 fethoms of deal and 90 fathoms slide-bar . . 6,795
22,095
And assuming that the double rope of 36 wires would bear, at the utmost,
2 X 36 X 1,100 lbs. = 79,200 lbs., the load of 22,096 lbs. would be 28 per cent of the
ultimate strength.
For safety in case of the accident of the power-ladder breaking, several good
arrangements have been adopted, so that any serious accident is not likely to
occur, should oven a side of the power-ladder give way. At several parts of the
length, the two sides of the laddeir are connected together by a very strong chain ;
this chain passes over a fixed pulley ; and it is evident that, if on either side the ladder
were to break above this, its fall, if not entirely checked, would be very much
broken by the counterbalancing weight of the other side, acting by means of the
chain.
Again, at various stages there are wedge-shaped blocks attached to the planks, in
which are fixed the friction pieces, and these wedges would fall into wedge-shaped
bearings, that are secured by timbering in the shaft, and so, having broken at any
point above these, the fall is limited to 7 feet at the utmost.
In conclusion, it may be mentioned that in order to ascertain the exact state of the
wires, several pieces of the rope have been kept exposed in different parts of the shaft;
these are from time to time examined, but since 1837, when the power-ladder of
iron wire was erected in Andreasberg, the progress has been so very slow, that little
is to be apprehended from the effects of rust, so long as care is taken to keep the
ropes properly tarred.
The total cost of one side was 607 Prussian thalers, and therefore tho total cost
of power- ladder was 1,214 thalers = 1 82^. 10s.
The mines in Cornwall being as deep as those in the Hartz, it became a question of
moment to adopt some machine for tho relief of the miner in that county. Medical
men had long expressed their conviction that much of the lung disease prevalent
amongst the men working in the deep mines of the Gwennap district was due to the
violent exertion of climbing on perpendicular ladders from a depth varying from 200
to upwards of 300 fathoms. At length the subject was taken up by the Royal Corn-
wall Polytechnic Society, and a man-engine was introduced, whicli in most respects
resembled tho German power-ladders.
The following is a short account of the principal phases of its introduction, due
entirely to the ready and generous initiative taken by the Polytechnic Society : —
At the first general meeting of the society in 1834 Mr. Charles Fox offered three
prizes for the perfection of the means then in use for the descent and the ascen-
sion of miners. The first project was that of Michael Loam the engineer, the same
who afterwards constructed tho machine at Tresavean. Tho competition remained
open for many years; several plans wore produced, and the prizes awarded. In
1838 Mr. Fox offered 100^. to the first mine that would make a trial in tho desired
way ; this example was followed by other individuals, and tho sum of 530Z. was
put into tho hands of a committee, who were charged with sending circulars to
the mines. The adventurers of Tresavean accepted the proposed conditions, and in
January 1842, two rods moving alternately, conducted by an hydraulic wheel, were
working to a depth of 26 fathoms. The steps were 1 2 feet distant from eacli other,
and each rod moved 6 feet ; so that the men clianged tlieir position at each step.
By the ad^Hce of Mr. Loam, it was decided to substitute a steam-engine for the hy-
draulic wheel, so that the motive power could not fail, and at the same time it was
judged advisable to increase the stroke of tho rods 12 feet; the number of the steps
and the distance between them remaining the same, so that the men had only to
change at every other one, and the same number of miners could ascend and descend
at once.
On October 25, 1842, the machine, thus modified, had attained to the depth of 140
d
MAN-ENGINE
197
fathoms, and on June 20, 1843, it was finished ; its length being 290 fathoms and
the mine being at this time 31 1 fathoms deep below the adit. '
The second man-engine was constructed by Hocking and Loam, in 1845, at the
Great United Mines in Gwennap. The temperature was 120° Fahr. at the bottom of
the mine, and it was an urgent necessity to diminish the fatigue of the miners as
much as possible. They contented themselves with copying the plan which had suc-
ceeded so well at Trevesean, only making some slight differences in detail.
In 1851 the late Captain Puckey and Mr. West, an engineer, adopted a new system
for the Fowey Consols mine.
A single rod, furnished with steps, worked in the shaft ; a series of platforms are
fixed at different parts of the shaft ; these have, like the steps, spaces of 12 feet
1430
1431
>
bm
between them, and they are placed on a level corresponding with the steps at the
extremity of the stroke of the rod. The miner, quitting one step, waits on the plat-
form until the next reaches him. This man-engine can also be used at the same
time by miners ascending and by miners descending. The stoppage at the plat-
form is of sufficient length for one man to pass on to the step which another has just
abandoned.
The machine with a single rod has been since applied by Mr. Hocking to Levant
mine, and in 1854 to that of Dolcoath. It may thus be considered as being now the
most used in Cornwall, and it possesses an incontestable superiority over machines
with two rods.
The man-engines in the Cornish mines are so much alike in their construction, that
it is quite unnecessary to describe each of them. Their general . characters will be
understood by examining the accompanying woodcuts, /^s. 1430 and 1431.
At Fowey Consols the machine is worked by a water-wheel of about 50 horse-power,
198 MANGANATES
but all the other inan-engines are -worked by the ordinary Cornish steam-engine, that
is, with a cylinder vertical and balanced ; and always double-acting. The outer end
of the beam of the machine is attached by a sweep-rod to two small wheels which are
situated on the shaft ; these drive two larger wheels, so that the engine makes several
strokes to one revolution of the wheels. In some of the mines the engine, besides
giving motion to the man-engine, is used for crushing the ores and performing
other work, while in others it is merely employed for raising and lowering the
miners. The rods are generally about 7 or 8 inches square, slightly decreasing in
size as they descend. When there are two rods the steps are so placed that there
is a distance of about 6 inches between them when the man passes from one to the
other. The weight of the rod is counterbalanced sometimes by levers and sometimes
by balance-bobs attached to it in diflFerent levels. The greatest object gained in the
use of levers is a considerable saving in expense, both in the materials of which
they are made, and in the size of the piece of ground that must be excavated to
receive the balance-bobs. There are twelve feet of space between the step on the rod,
and 4 feet above each step are round bars of iron fixed vertically into the rod, to serve
as hand-holds, and maintain the miner in his position on the step with perfect safety.
In case of accident happening to any part of the machinery, there are catches placed
at every few fathoms, so that the fall cannot be great.
The man-engine with a single rod is generally used in Cornwall, because it possesses
60 many advantages over that with two : the expense of erection is much less, it
enables the miner to mount and descend in as short a space of time, and the number
who can do so per minute is doubled ; the work performed by the machine is also
increased. There are signals connected with the man-engine, by which the miner can
communicate with the surface from every platform.
The usual speed of the engine is 15 strokes per minute, by which each rod makes
3 strokes during that time. Therefore, the rate at which it travels is 12 fathoms
per minuta ascending and descending : this speed enables a miner to travel in 24
minutes a space that he would otherwise take 60 minutes to perform. In case of
any accident happening to the man-engine, there are always ladders placed by the
side of it ; sometimes they only go from platform to platform ; in other mines there
are bars nailed on the rod, so that the miner can climb on them imtil he regains the
principal ladders.
The man-engine possesses almost innumerable advantages over the ladders ; the
greatest is the immense saving of fatigue to the miner. "When there are only ladders
in a mine, he sometimes takes an hour or more to reach the place where he is working,
and then only with immense bodily exertion ; on a man-engine he can reach the same
place in about a third of the time, and as free from fatigue and ready for hard work
as when he started from the surface. Even those who have never been in a mine
cannot but appreciate the great blessing this simple invention is to the miners, if
they have only seen the exhausted state in which they reach the surface after having
ascended by ladders from any great depth. At first it was feared the man-engine
might be dangerous, that the speed at which it worked would not allow time for the
men to step from one platform to another, but after one or two trials it wiis found that
no fears need be entertained on that account, and it was pronounced by the miners as
perfectly safe as ladders.
In 1845 M. Warocque constructed similar machines in Belgium. These have been
described in the Revue Scienfijique et Industriellc, under the several denominations
of ' Fahrkunst,' ' Man-Engine,' * Warocqui^re,' ' Macliine d'Asccnsion,' and ' Echelles
Mobiles.' The first application was made, as we have already said, by M. Warocqu6
at the pit of St. Nicholas, belonging to the colliery of Mariemont, to a depth of 220
metres — about 240 yards. A full account of these machines will be found in the
Annates dex Travaux puHics, tome v., p. 79, by M. Delvaux de Fenflfe ; in the
Traitt d^ Exploitation by M. Combes ; Notice sur les Appareils de Translation des
Mineurs dans les Puits, by M. A. De Vaux ; also in tlie Annales des Travaux publics
de Belgiquc ; and by M. Moissenet in tlio Annales des Mines.
MANGAXTATES ; PSSIVXAXrCAXATES ; COITBT'S FZiiriD. Dr.
Hofmann, in his report on the chemical products of the Exhibition of 1862, has the
following excellent remarks on soluble saline oxidising disinfectants. Of this variety
of oxidising disinfectants the alkaline manganates and permanganates are the best
examples ; and in this cursory sketch, attention may bo confined to these as types of
their class.
Alkaline Manganates and Permanganates. — Chemists have long known and turned
to account, in laboratory operations, the powerful oxidising action of tlie salts of
permanganic acid. The rapidity and definitencss of their action, and the marked
change of colour bj which their loss of oxygen is attended, renders these compounds
invaluable as instruments of analytical researches. And the same properties, coupled
MANGANATES 199
■with their perfectly innocuous character, adapts them admirably for disinfecting pur-
poses. Their action is certainly superior to that of chloride of lime and alkaline
hypochlorites ; for although these are also oxidising disinfectants, they act indirectly
by decomposing water, from which the chlorine takes hydrogen to form hydrochloric
acid, thus liberating oxygen for the supply of the putrefying matter. The manga-
nates and permanganates, on the contrary, are agents of direct oxidation, yielding
up, as they do, part of their own oxygon to the combustible elements of putrescible
compounds. The raanganates thus supply one-fourth, the permanganates no less than
three-eighths, of the oxygen they respectively contain, peroxide of manganese being
in both cases precipitated, and the alkaline base remaining in solution in the form of
carbonate.
Their Efficacy as Disinfectants. — Dr. Hofmann has had many opportimities of
satisfjang himself of their efficacy as disinfectants. "Waters taken from stagnating
ponds highly charged with organic matter in a state of most active putrefaction, and
emitting the most repulsive odour, were instantaneously deodorised by a compara-
tively small quantity of permanganate, or even nianganate of potassium or sodium.
After the brown precipitate of peroxide of manganese had been allowed to subside,
the waters examined by Dr. Hofmann had become perfectly clear and colourless,
having permanently lost their offensive smell and taste. The taint of some of these
waters had survived the action of even very considerable quantities of the usually-
applied metallic salts. Their deodorisation by chloride of lime was likewise rapid
and permanent ; but, though entirely deprived of their original putrid odour, the
chlorine-treated waters retained a faint, peculiar smell, probably due to the chloride
of nitrogen, generated by the action of free chlorine upon their ammoniacal consti-
tuents.
For freeing river or other waters from ammoniacal impregnations, the disappear-
ance of the colours of the manganates and permanganates, in proportion as their
oxidising action goes on, particularly adapts them. By the fading of the colour
(emerald, if manganate is used ; purple, if permanganate) the operator can follow
the process of oxidation, and graduate his additions with the utmost accuracy. By
careful manipulation he may completely free the water from organic impurity, intro-
ducing into it, in exchange, only a minute quantity of an alkaline carbonate. This
is rarely an objectionable, frequently rather a serviceable, addition ; especially in the
ease of hard waters, which are thus softened.
Their minor applications. — The innocuous character of these substances has already
been referred to ; and it is not the least valuable of their properties. It permits
of their being used for a variety of purposes to which disinfectants have hitherto
been almost entirely inapplicable. Among them are some of great value, such as
disinfection of all parts of the living animal body (deodorisation of the breath, dis-
infection of ulcers, wounds, &c.). Scarcely less important is the service they are
capable of rendering to the vegetable organism when suffering from blight and
similar pernicious influences. They may also be advantageously employed for the
purification of tainted provisions, &e. It may be of some interest to the smokers of
tobacco to know that by rinsing out the mouth with a dilute solution of permanganate
of sodium every trace of the odour of tobacco is almost instantaneously got rid of.
Among the numerous applications of minor importance which Mr. Condy suggests
for the manganic disinfectants is their use by wine-tasters for refreshing their palates
when engaged in the important duties of their profession. They are also said to
subdue the irritation caused by the bites of gnats and other stiU more disagreeable
insects.
The manganic disinfectants are thus seen to possess a combination of properties
which in many cases may render their application preferable to that of the hypo-
chlorites. These latter, however, have the superiority as atmospheric disinfecttints,
on account of their exhalation of chlorine gas, in a more or less dilute state, when
acted on by acids, or acid salts, or even by the atmosphere itself _ This property of
chloride of lime will always secure it a field of application, in which it is not likely
to be superseded by non-volatile disinfectants of any kind.
Their Manufacture. — It only now remains to say a few words concerning the manu-
facture of the alkaline manganates and permanganates, which is accomplished by a
very simple and easy process.
For laboratory purposes the potassic permanganates are usually preferred tp the
corresponding sodic compound, on account of the superior crystallising properties of
the former salt, and the facilities thus afforded for its purification. For industrial
purposes, on the other hand, where cheapness is far more import^int than perfect
purity, the manganate and permanganate of sodium are always used. Mr. Condy
manufactures manganates of sodium simply by mixing caustic soda with finely-
divided peroxide of manganese, and exposing the mixture in shallow vessels, for
200 MANGANESE, ORES OP
48 hours, to a dull red heat. The proportions employed by Mr. Condy are IJ
ton of 6oda-ash, caustified in tlie usual way, to 7 cwte. of peroxide of manga-
nese. The product of the reaction is treated \nth a sufficient quantity of -water to
convert (partly, at all events) the manganate into permanganate ; and the solution is
evaporated to an appropriate state of concentration or to dryness. In some cases
Mr. Condy transforms the manganate into the permanganate by the addition of
sulphuric acid. On evaporating the solution thus formed, crystals of sulphate of
sodium separate ; these are fished out, and the liquid is ultimately boiled down to
dryness. See Disinfectants.
JUtBLKGAXtsaii (£ng. and Fr. ; Mangan, Braunsteinmetall, 6er.) is a greyish-
white metal, of a fine-grained fracture, very hard, very brittle, with considerable
lustre, of specific gravity 8013, and requiring for fusion an extreme heat. It
should be kept in closely-stoppered bottles, under naphtha, like potassium, because
with contact of air it speedily gets oxidised, and ftills into powder. It decomposes
water slowly at common temperatures, and rapidly at a red heat. Pure oxide of
manganese can be reduced to the metallic state only in small quantities, by mixing
it with lamp-black and oil into a dough, and exposing the mixture to the intense heat
of a smith's forge, in a luted crucible ; which must be shaken occasionally to favour
the agglomeration of the particles into a button. Thus procured, it contains, however,
a little carbon. Some improvements in the reduction of manganese have recently
been effected by Mr. Hugo Tamm.
Manganese is supposed to perform an important part in the compound of iron,
known as Spugdeisen, which is now so largely employed in the manufacture of the
Bessemer Steel. See Spiegeleisen and Steel,
MCAlO'GAXrESE, ORES OF. There are two principal ores of this metal, which
occur in great masses ; the peroxide, and the hydrated oxide ; but aU the ores of
manganese are described in the following paragraphs : —
Pyrolusite, or grey manganese ore, has a metallic lustre, a steel-grey colour, and
affords a black powder. Specific gravity 4'85. Scratches calc-spar. It effervesces
briskly with borax at the blowpipe, in consequence of the disengagement of oxygen
gas. This is the most common ore of manganese, and a very valuable one, being the
substance mostly employed in the manufacture of chloride of lime and of fiint glass.
It is the peroxide. It contains manganese. 63"3; oxygen, 36"7. Great quantities
are found near Tavistock in Devonshire and Launceston in Cornwall.
Braunite is a dark brown substance of glassy metallic lustre, affording a brown
powder. Specific gravity 4'8. It scratches felspar, but is scratched by quartz. In-
fusible at the blowpipe, and effervesces but slightly when fused with glass of borax.
It is the sesquioxide, containing manganese,69'68 ; oxygen, 30"32. It gives out at a red
heat only 3 per cent, of oxygen. Hausmannite is a rarer ore, consisting of the protoxide
and sesquioxide of manganese. *
Manganiie is brownish-black or iron-black, powder brown, with somewhat of a
metallic lustre. Specific gravity 4'3. Scratches fiuor-spar. Affords water by cal-
cination in a glass tube ; infusible at the blowpipe ; and effervesces slightly when
fused with glass of borax. It consists of manganese, 6268 ; oxygen, 27'22 ; water,
lO'lO ; and is therefore a hydrated sesquioxide.
Manganese-blende, or sulphide of manganese, has a metallic aspect : is black or
dark steel-grey. Specific gravity 3'95. Has no cleavage ; cannot be cut. Infusible,
but affords, after being roasted, distinct evidence of manganese by giving a violet
tinge to soda at the blowpipe. Soluble in nitric acid ; solution yields a white pre-
cipitate, with the ferrocyanide of potassium. It consists of sulphur, 37'90 ; manga-
nese, 62-10.
Biallogite ; Carbonate of Manganese. Specific gravity 34. Affords a green frit by
fusion with carbonate of soda ; is soluble, with some effervescence, in nitric acid ;
solution, when freed from iron by succinate of ammonia, gives a white precipitate,
with ferrocyanide of potassium. Carbonic acid, 38'20 ; protoxide of manganese, 61-80.
Rhodonite, or HydrosUicate of Manganese, is a brownish-red-looking substance,
which yields a yellowish-brown powder, and water by calcination ; is acted on by
muriatic acid, but affords no chlorine. It consists of silica, 45 ; protoxide of manga-
nese, 54*1.
Wad, or Bog Manganese, is the old English name "of the hydrated peroxide of
manganese. It occurs in various imitative shapes, in froth-like coatings upon other
minerals, as also massive. Some varieties possess imperfect metallic lustre. Th«
external colour is a dark brown of various shades, and similar in the streak, only
shining. It is opaque, very sectile, soils and writes. Its specific gravity is about 3"7.
Mixed with linseed-oil into a dough, black wad forms a mass that spontjineously in-
flames. The localities of wad are particularly Cornwall and Devonshire, the Hartz,
and Piedmoiit. Wad from Devonshire gave — oxide of manganese, 70*12 ; oxygen, 8*82 ;
■water. 1006.
MAl^GLE
201
The manufacturer of flint glass uses a small proportion of the black manganese ore,
to correct the green tinge -which his glass is apt to derive from the iron present in the
sand ho employs. To him it is of great consequence to get a native manganese con-
taining as little iron oxide as possible ; since, in fact, the colour or limpidity of his
product -vvill depend altogether upon that circumstance. See Glass.
The peroxide of manganese is used also in the formation of glass-pastes, and in
making the black enamel of pottery.
The restoration of manganese to the state of peroxide, for the chemical arts in
which it is so extensively consumed, has been long a desideratum in manufac-
tures.
The chief use of ' manganese ' (binoxido of manganese) is in the manufacture of
chlorine for bleaching-powder. The spent manganese may now be regenerated by
Mr. Walter Weldon's process. See Chlorine.
Sulphate of manganese has of late years been introduced into calico-printing, to
give a chocolate or bronze impression. It is easily formed by heating the black oxide,
mixed with a little ground coal, with sulphuric acid. See Calico-Phintino.
For some of the other uses of manganese in the arts, see Bleaching and Chloho*
METRT.
for a simple method of ascertaining the value of this substance in the protluc*
tion of chlorine, and the manufacture of the chlorides and chlorates, see Chloro-
METRT.
Imports of manganese in 1869-72, and 1873 : —
From Holland ,
„ Portugal
,, Spain
„ Greece .
,, other parts .
Total
18G9
1870
1872
1873 1
Tons
Computed
real value
Tons
Computed
real value
Tons
Computed
real value
Tom
Computed
real value
8,793
10,445
27,667
4,612
£
30,776
52,225
138,335
15,556
6,753
9,296
13,329
3,325
£
28,702
46,480
66,045
15',232
5,400
12,569
19,502
1,373
£
24,693
75,650
114,215
8',672
913
6,492
16,025
950
1,397
£
4,689
.39,090
92,047
5,700
9,457
51,517
236,892
32,703
154,059 1 38,934
223,230
25,777
150,983
taAXGAKSSS, OXZBES OP. Manganese is susceptible of five degrees of
oxygenation : —
1. The Protoxide may be obtained from a solution of the sulphate by precipitatioL
with carbonate of potash, and expelling the carbonic acid from the washed and dried
carbonate, by calcination in a close vessel filled with hydrogen gas, taking care that
no air have access during the cooling. It is a pale-green powder, which slowly
attracts oxygen from the air. and becomes brown ; on which account it slioiikl be
kept in glass tubes containing hydrogen, and hermetically sealed. It consists of
metal, 77 57 ; oxygen, 22-43. It forms, with 24 per cent, of water, a white hydrate ;
and with acids, saline compounds, which are white, pink, or amethyst coloured. They
have a bitter acerb taste, and afford with hydrogenatod sulphide of ammonia a flesh-
red precipitate, but with caustic alkalis one which soon turns brown-red, and eventu-
ally black.
2. The Sesquioxide of Manganese exists native in the mineral called Braunite ; but
it may be procured either by calcining at a red heat the proto-nitrate, or by sponta-
neous" oxidisement of the protoxide in the air. It is black ; when finely pulverised,
dark brown ; and is convertible, on being heated in acids, into protoxide, with disen-
gagement of oxygen gas. It consists of metal, 69-7o ; oxygen, 30-25. It forms with
10 per cent, of water, a liver-brown hydrate, which occurs native under the name of
Manganiie. It dissolves readily in tartaric and citric acids, but in few others. This
oxide constitutes a bronze ground in calico-printing,
3. Peroxide of Manganese, or Pyrolusite, occurs abundantly in nature. It gives out
oxygen freely when heated, and becomes an oxidulated deutoxide. It consists of
metal, 63-36 ; oxygen, 36-64.
4. Manganic Acid forms green-coloured salts, but has not hitherto been insulated
from the bases. It consists of metal, 53-55 ; oxygen, 46-46. ^
5. Hypermanganic Acid consists of metal, 49-70; oxygen, 50-30. See Watts 3
* Dictionary of Chemistry.'
Mim-GXiE. {Calandre, Fr.; Mangel, Ger.) This is a well-known machine for
smoothing linen and cotton furniture. As usually made, it consists of an oblong,
rectangular wooden chest, filled with stones, which load it to a degree of pressure that
it should exercise upon the two cylinders on which it rests, and which, by rolling
202 MANURE
backwards and forwards over the linen spread upon a polished table underneath,
render it smooth and level. The moving wheel, being furnished with teeth upon both
surfaces of its periphery, and having a notch cut out at one part, allows a pinion,
uniformly driven in one direction, to act alternately upon its outside and inside, so
as to cause the reciprocating motion of the chest. This elegant and much-admired
English invention, called the mangle- wheel, has been introduced with great advantage
into the machinery of the textile manufactures.
Mr. Warcup, of Dartford, obtained a patent several years ago for a mangle
in which the linen, being rolled round a cylinder revolving in stationary bearings,
is pressed downwards by heavy weights hung upon its axes, against a curved
bed, made to slide to and fro, or traverse from right to left, and left to right,
alternately.
Mr. Hubie, of York, patented in June 1832 another form of mangle, consisting
of three rollers placed one above another in a vertical frame, the axle of the upper
roller being pressed downwards by a powerful spring. The articles intended to
be smoothed are introduced into the machine by passing them under the middle
roller, which is made to revolve by means of a fly-wheel ; the pinion upon whose
axis works in a large toothed wheel fixed in the shaft of the same roller. The
linen, &c. is lapped, as usual, in protecting cloths. This machine is merely a small
Cai.endkb.
MCAXfGROVS. Several tropical trees yield woods to which this name has
been applied. Colonel G. A. Lloyd informs us, that 'the timbers are very much
valued for ship-building ; and a large quantity comes from Crab Island and Porto
Eico.' Most of the mangroves belong to the Bhisophoracea.
MAXrziiIiA. One of the hemps, derived from the Musa textilis. See Hemp.
MAZfXOC is the Indian name of the nutritious matter of the shrub Jatropha
Manihot, from which cassava and tapioca are made in the West Indies. See Cassava ;
Tapioca.
IMCAXinrA is the concrete saccharine juice of the Fraxinus ornus, a tree much
cultivated in Sicily and Calabria. It is now little used, and that only in medi-
cine.
IMCAHarirHEZM GOIiS. A brass, containing 80 per cent, of copper and 20 per
cent, of zinc.
MAnrtmS. Under tlie auspices of the British Association, Profe'ssor Liebig, in the
year 1840, first promulgated his views on agriculture, from which date we may trace a
spirit of investigation into it, sucli as had not previously existed in this country. Among
other labotirers in this field, we must state that Mr. J. B. Lawes, of Rothamstead in
Hertfordshire, was occupied several years prior to the first edition of Professor Liebig's
work, in investigating the action of different chemical combinations M'hen applied as
manures to the more important crops of the farm ; and having ever since continued
his experimental researches with all the lights of science with which he is familiar,
aided by Dr. J. H. Gilbert, a skilful analytical chemist, he has been able to arrive at
conclusions of greater value and precision than the merely theoretical determinations
of the German Professor. In the course of this inquiry, the whole tenor of the
results of Messrs. Lawes and Gilbert, and also of information derived from intelligent
ngricultural friends, upon every vai-iety of laud in Great Britain, has forced upon
them opinions dififerent from those of Professor Liebig, on some imporfcint points ;
and more especially, in relation to his so-called ' mineral theory,' which is embodied
in the following sentence, to be found at page 211 of the third edition of his work on
Agricultural Chemistry, where he says ' the crops on a field diminish or increase
in exact proportion to the diminution or increase of the mineral substances conveyed
to it iu manure.'
Of the vast importance, botli in a scientifij and practical point of view, of correct
ideas on the subject here at issue, a judgment may be formed from tlie manner in
which Liebig himself speaks of the mineral theory in this edition of his 'Letters on
Chemistry.' Thus he says of the agriculturists of England, that 'pooner or latter
they must see that in the so-csilled mineral tlieory, in its development and ultimate
perfection, lies the whole future of agriculture.' Messrs, Lawes and Gilbert published
the following paper in reply to Liebig. It is of so important a nature that, acting
On the advice of the best authority in this country, it has been retained : —
' Looking upon the subject in a cliemical point of view only, it would seem that an
analysis of the soil upon which crops were to be experimentally grown, as well as
a knowledge of the composition of the crop, should be the first points ascertained, with
the view of deciding in what constituents tlie soil was deficient ; and, at the commence-
ment of our more systematic course of field experiments, the importance of these points
•was carefully considered. Wlien we reflect, however, that an acre of soil six inches
deep may be computed to weigh about 1,344,000 lbs. (though the roots of plants take a
MANURE 203
much wider range than this), and taking the one constituent of ammonia or nitrogen na
an illustration, that in adding to this quantity of soil a quantity of ammoniacal salt, con-
taining 100 lbs. of ammonia, which -would be an unusually hea^-y and very effective
dressing, we should only increase the percentage of ammonia in the soil by 00007. it
is evident that our methods of analysis would be quite incompetent to appreciate the
difference between the soil before and after the application, — that is to say, in it« state
of exhaustion, and of highly productive condition, so far as that constituent is con-
cerned ; and, from our knowledge of the effects of this substance on wheat, we may
confidently assert that the quantity of it supposed above would have given a produce
at least double that of the unmanured land. The same kind of argument might, indeed,
be adopted in reference to the more important of those constituents of a soil which are
found in the ashes of the plant grown upon it, and we determined, therefore, to seek
our results in another manner. Indeed, the imperfection of our knowledge of the pro-
ductive quality of a soil, as derived from its percentage composition, has been amply
proved by the results of analysis which have been published during the last ten years ;
and in corroboration, we need only refer to the opinions of Professor Magnus on this
subject, who, in his capacity of chemist to the 'Landes-Oekonomie Kollegium'of
Prussia, has published the result of many analyses of soils. The truth is, that little is
as yet known of what a soil either is, or ought to be, in a chemical point of view ; but
when we call to mind the investigations of Professor Mulder in relation to the organic
acids found in soils, and of Mr. Way and others as to the chemical and physical pro-
perties of soils in relation to the atmosphere and to saline substances exposed to
their action in solution, we may at least anticipate for chemistry that she will ere
long throw important light on this interesting but intricate subject.
' In our field experiments, then, we have been satisfied with preserving specimens of
the soils which were to be the subjects of them, and have sought to ascertain their de-
ficiency, in regard to the production of different crops, by means which we conceive to
be not only far more manageable, but in every way more conclusive and satisfiictory in
their result. To illustrate : What is termed a rotation of crops is at least of such
universality in the farming of Great Britain, that any investigation in relation to the
agriculture of that country may safely be grounded on the supposition of its adoption.
Let us, then, direct attention for a moment to some of the chief features of rotations.
What is called a course of rotation is the period of years which includes the circle of
all the different crops grown in that rotation or alternation. The crops which thus
succeed each other, and constitute a rotation, may be two, three, four, or more, varying
with the nature of the soil and the judgment of the farmer ; but whatever cotirse be
adopted, no individual crop — wheat, for example — is grown immediately succeeding
one of the same description, but it is sown again only after some other crops have
been grown, and at such a period of the rotation, indeed, as by experience it is known
that the soil will, by direct manure or other means, have recovered its capability of
producing a profitable quantity of the crop in question.
' On carefully considering these established and well-known facts of agriculture,
it appeared to us that, by taking soils either at the end of the rotation, or at least at
that period of it when in the ordinary course of fanning farmyard manure would be
added before any further crop would be grown, we should then have the soils in what
may be termed a normal, or, perhaps better still, a practically and agriculturally
exhausted, state.
' Now, if it is found, in the experience of the farmer, that land of any given qua-
lity, with which he is well acquainted will not, when in this condition of practical
exhaustion, yield the quantity he usually obtains from it of any particular crop, but
that after applying farmyard manure it will do so, it is evident that if we supply to
different plots of this exhausted land the constituents of farmyard maniure both indi-
vidually and combined, and if by the side of these plots we also grow the crop both
without manure of any kind and with farmyard manure, we shall, in the comparative
results obtained, have a far more satisfactory solution of the question as to what con-
stituents were, in this ordinary course of agriculture most in defect in respect to the
proportion of the particular crop experimented upon, than any analysis of the soil
could have given us. In other words, we should have before us very good ground
for deciding to which of the constituents of the farmyard niannro the increased pro-
duce was mainly due on the plot provided with it, in the case of the particular crops :
not so, however, unless the soil had been so far exhausted by previous cropping as to
be considered practically unfit for the growth of the crop without manure. We lay
particular stress on this point, because we believe that the vast discrepancy in the
results of comparative trials with different manures, by different experiments, arises
more from irregidarity in what may be called the /ooi^in.'/ capital of the soil, tlianfrom
irregularities in the original character of the soil itself, or from any other cause,
unlesB we include the frequent faulty methods of application.
204 MANURE
• It is, then, by this »yn thetus rather than by the n n alytic method that we have sought
cur results : and in the carrying out of our object we have taken wheat as the type of
the cereal crops, turnips as the type of the root crops, and beans as the representative of
the leffuviinous corn crop most frequently entering into rotation ; and having selected
for each of these a field which, agriculturally considered, was exhausted, "we have grown
the same description of crop upon the same land, year after year, with different chemical
manures, and in each case with one plot or more continuously unmanured, and one
supplied every year mth a fair quantity of farmyard manure. In this way 14 acres
have been devoted to the continuous growth of wheat since 1843, 8 acres to continuous
growth of turnips from the same date, and 6 to 6 acres to that of leguminous corn crops
since 1 847. And of field experiments, beside these, which amount in each year to from
80 to 40 on wheat, upwards of 90 on turnips, and 20 to 30 on beans, others have been
made, viz. some on the growth of clover, and some in relation to the chemical circum-
stances involved in an actual course of rotation, comprising turnips, barley, clover, and
wheat, grown in the order in which they are here stated.
' It may be stated, too, that in addition to these experiments on wheat, and the other
crops usually grown upon the farm, as above referred to, we have for several years been
much occupied also with the subject of the feeding of animals, viz. bullocks, sheep, and
pigs ; as well as in investigating the functional actions of the growing plant in relation
to the soil and atmosphere ; and in connection with each of these subjects much labo-
ratory labour has constantly been in progress.
* The scope and object of our investigation has been therefore to examine in the field,
the feeding-shed, and the laboratory, into the chemical circumstances connected with
the agriculture of Great Britain in its four main features ; namely —
' First, the production of the cereal grain crops ; secondly, that of root crops ; thirdly,
that of the leguminous corn and fodder crop ; and, fourthly and lastly, that of the con-
sumption of food on the farm, for its double produce of meat and manure.
' So much then for the rationale and general plan of the experiments themselves,
and we now propose to call attention to some of the results which they have afforded us.
' It is to field experiments on wheat that we shall chiefly confine our attention on
this occasion ; for wheat, which constitutes the principal food of our population, is
with the farmer the most important crop in his rotation, all others being considered
more or loss subservient to it ; and it is, too, in reference to the production of this
crop in agricultural quantity that the mineral theory of Baron Liebig is perhaps
more prominently at fault than in that of any other. It is true, that in the case of
vegetation in a native soil manured by art, the mineral constituents of the plants being
furnished from the soil, the atmosphere is found to be a sufficient source of tho
nitrogen and carbon ; and it is the supposition that those cirbumstances of natural
vegetation apply equally to the various crops when grown tinder cidtivation that has
led Baron Liebig to suggest that, if by artificial means we accumulate within the soil
itself a sufiBiciently liberal supply of those constituents found in the ashes of the plant,
essentially soil constituents, we shall by this means be able in all cases to increase
thereby the assimilation of the vegetable or atmospheric constituents in a degree
sufficient for agricultural purposes. But agriculture is itself an artificial process ;
and it will be found that, as regards the production of wheat more especially, it is only
by the accumulation within the soil itself of nitrogen naturally derived from the atmo-
sphere, rather than of the peculiarly soil constituents, that our crops of it can be
increased. Mineral substances will, indeed, materially develope the accumulation of
vegetable or atmospheric constituents when applied to some of the crops of rotation ;
and it is thus chiefly that these crops become subservient to the growth of the cereal
grains ; but even in these cases it is not the constituents, as found collectively in the
ashes of the plants to he grown, that are the most efficient in this respect ; nor can the
demand which we find thus made for the production of crops in agricxdtural quantity
be accounted for by the mere idea of supplying tho actual constituents of the crop.
It would seem, therefore, that we can only an'ive at correct ideas in agriculture by a
close examination of the actual circumstances of growth of each particular crop when
grown under cultivation. We now turn to the consideration of our experiments upon
this subject. It has been said that all the experimental fields were selected when they
were in a state of agricultural exhaustion. Tlie wheat fields, however, after having
been manured in the usual way for turnips at the commencement of the previous
rotation, had then grown barley, peas, wheat, and oats, without any further manuring ;
80 that when taken for experiment in 1844, it was, as a gi-ain-producer, considerably
more exhausted than would ordinarily be tho case. It was, therefore, in a most favour-
able condition for the purposes of our experiments.
' In tho first experimental season, the field of 14 acres was divided into about 20 plots,
and it was by the mineral theory that we wore mainly guided in the selection of
manures : mineral manures were therefore employed in the majority of cases. Ammonia^
MANURE
205
on the other hand, being then considered of less importance, was used in a few
instances only, and in these in very insignificant quantities. Eape-cako, as being a well-
recognised manure, and calculated to supply, besides some mineraU and nitrogen a
certain quantity of carbonaceous substance in which both corn and straw so much
abound, was also added to one or two of the plots.
Table I. — Harvest 1844. Summary.
Description of the mannres
Plot 3. Unmanured ....
„ 2. 14 tons of farmyard manure
„ 4. Tlie ashes of 14 tons of farm manure
„ 8. Minimum produce of 9 plots, TVith ar-
tificial mineral manures' ...
Superphosphate of lime, 350 lbs.
Phosphate of potass, 364 lbs.
„ 15. Maximum produce of 9 plots with ar-
tificial mineral manures .
Superphosphate of lime, 350 lbs.
Phosphate of magnesia, 1 ff8 lbs.
„ potass, 150 lbs.
Silicate of potass, 112 lbs.
Mean of the 9 plots with artificial mineral ma-
nures
Mean of 3 plots with mineral manures, and 65
lbs, each of sulphate of ammonia . .
Mean of 2 plots with mineral manures, and 150
lbs. and 130 lbs. of rape- cake respectively
Plot 18. With complex mineral manure, 65 lbs. of
sulphate of ammonia, and 150 lbs. of rape-cake
Dressed com
per acre,
in bushels
and pecks
bush, pecks
16
22
16
17 H
16 31
21
18 1|
22 ^
Total
com
per acre,
in lbs.
;bs.
023
1276
980
1096
1009
1275
1078
1368
Straw
per acre,
in lbs.
lbs.
1120
1476
1104
1160
1240
1155
1423
1201
1768
' The indications of the table are seen to be most conclusive, as showing what was the
character of the exhaustion which had been induced by the previous heavy cropping,
and what therefore, sliould be the peculiar nature of the supply in a rational system of
manuring. If the exhaustion had been connected v.-ith a deficiency of mineral con-
stituents, we might reasonably have expected that by some one at least of the nine
mineral conditions, — supposing in some cases an abundance of every mineral con-
stituent which the plant could require, — this deficiency would have been made up ; but
it was not so.
' Thus, taking the column of bushels per acre as given in this summary as our guide,
it will be seen that whilst we have without manure only 16 busliels of dressed corn, we
have by farmyard manure 22 bushels. The ashes of farmyard manure give, however,
no increase whatever over the unmanured plot. Again, out of the 9 plots supplied with
artificial mineral manures, we have in no case an increase of two bushels by this means ;
the produce of the average of the 9 being not quite 17 bushels. On the otlier hand, we
see that the addition to some of these purely mineral manures of 65 lbs. of sulphate of
ammonia — a very small dressing of that substance, and containing only about 14 lbs. of
ammonia— has given us an average produce of 21 bushels. An insignificant addition of
rape-cake too, to manures otherwise ineffective, has given us about 18 J bushels; and
wlien, as in plot 18, we have added to the inefiicient mineral manures 65 lbs. of am-
moniacal salts, and a little rape-cake also, we have a produce greater than by the 14 tons
of farmyard manure.
'The quantities of rape-cake used were small, and the increase attributable to it also
small, but it nevertheless was much what we should expect when compared with that
from the ammoniacal salts, if, as we believe is the case, the effect of rape-eako on ^rain-
crops is due to the nitrogen it contains.
'Indeed, the coincidence in the slight or non-effect throughout the mineral series on
the one hand, and of tlie marked and nearly uniform result of the nitrogenous supply
on the other, was most striking in the first year's experimental produce, and such as to
lead us to give to nitrogenous manures in the second season even greater prominence
than we had done to minerals in the previous one. This is, in some respects, perhaps,
-to be regretted, as had we kept a series of plots for some years continuously under
206
MANUBE
minerals alone, the evidence, though at present sufficiently conclusive, would have
carried with it somewhat more of systematic proof.
' In Table II. we have given a few results selected trom those obtained at the harvest
of 1 845, the second of the experimental series. By the table it would seem that we have,
at the harvest of 1845, a produce of rather more than 23 bushels without manure of any
kind, instead of only 16 as in 1844 ; and in like manner the farmyard manure gives
32 bushels in 1845, and only 22 in 1844.
Table II. — Harvest 1845. Seleoted Bestdts.
DoBorlption and quantities of the manorea per acre
Section 1.
Plot 3. No manure
„ 2. 14 tons of farmyard manure .
Section 2.
„ 5a. No manure
„ bb. Top-dressed with 252 lbs. of carbonate
of ammonia (dissolved) at 3 times,
during the spring ....
Section 3.
q r Sulphate of ammonia, 1 68 lbs. "1 top-dressed
" ■ |_ Muriate of ammonia, 168 lbs. J at once
^ ^ / Sulphate of ammonia, 1 68 lbs. 1 top-dressed
" ■ \Muriate of ammonia, 168 lbs./ at 4 times
Dressed com
per acre,
iu bushels
and pecks
bush, pecks
23 oa
32 0^
22 2\
26 3J
33
31
1^
Si-
Total
corn
per acre,
in lbs.
lbs.
1441
1967
1431
1732
2131
1980
Straw
per acre,
in lbs.
lbs.
2712
3915
2684
3599
4058
4266
* We assume, then, 23 bushels or thereabouts to be the standard produce of the soil
and season, without manure, during this second experimental year ; and as part of plot
5 (previously manured with superphosphate of lime), and which is now also without
manure, gives rather more than 22\ bushels of dressed corn, the correctness of the
result of plot 3, the permanently unmanurod plot, is thereby fully confirmed.
' This plot No. 5, previously two thirds of an acre, was, in this second year, divided
into two equal portions : one of these (' plot 5a') being, as just said, unmanured, and
the other (' plot 56') having supplied to it in solution, by top-dressings during the
spring, the inedicinal carbonate cf ammonia, at the rate of 250 lbs. per acre ; and it is
seen that we have, by this pure but highly volatile ammoniacal salt alone, tlie produce
raised from 22^ bushels to very nearly 27 bushels !
' In the next section of the Table are given the results of plots 9 and 10, the former
of which had in the previous year been manured by superphosphate of lime and a
small quantity of sulphate of ammonia, and the latter by superphosphate of lime and
silicate of potass. To each of these plots 1^ cwt. of sulphate and 1^ cwt. of muriate
of ammonia were now supplied. Upon plot 9 the whole of the manure was top-dressed,
at once, early in the spring ; but on plot 10 the salts were put on at four successive
periods. The produce obtained by these salts of ammonia alone is 33 bushels and three-
eighths, when sown all at once, and nearly 32 bushels when sown at four different times
— quantities which amount to about 10 bushels per acre more than was obtivinod with-
out manure. In the case of No. 9, indeed, the produce exceeds by 1 J- bushel that given
by farmyard manure, and in that of No. 12 it is all but identical with it. And if we
take the weights of total corn, instead of the measure of the dressed corn, to which latter
wo chiefly refer, merely as a standard more conventionally understood. No. 10 by
ammonia only, has given both more corn and more straw than the farmyard manure,
with all its minerals and carbonaceous substance.
' Let us see whether this almost specific effect of nitrogen, in restoring, for the
reproduction of corn, a corn-exhausted soil, is borne out by the results of succeeding
years.
' We should have omitted all reference to the results obtained with the wheat manure
of Professor Liebig, but that whilst fully admitting the failure of the manure — the
composition of which, to use his own words when commenting upon it, ' could be
no secret, since every plant showed by its ashes the due proportion of the consti-
tuents essential to its growth ' — he implied that the failure was due to a yet imperfect
knowledge of the mechanical form and chemical qualities required to be given to
the necessary constituents in order to fit them for their reception and nutritive
n
MANURE
207
action on the plant, rather than to any fallacy in the theory -which would recommend
to practical agriculture the supply by artiHcial means of the constituents of the ashes
of plants as manures.
' The following Table gives our selection of the results of the third season, 1846 :—
Table Ill.—Harvest 1846. Selected Results.
Descriptions and quantities of the manures per aero
Section 1.
Plot 3. No manure
„ 2. 14 tons of farmyard manure . .
Section 2.
„ 105. No manure
„ 10«. Sulphate of ammonia, 224 lbs. .
Section 3.
„ 5a'. Ash of 3 loads of wheat-straw .
,, 5a^. Ash of 3 loads of wheat-straw, and
top-dressed with 224 lbs. of sulphate
of ammonia .....
Section 4.
„ 6a. Liebig's wheat-manure, 448 lbs. .
„ 5a. Liebig's wheat-manure, 448 lbs., with
112 lbs. each of sulphate and muriate
of ammonia
Dressed com
per acre,
In bushels
and pecks
bnsh, pecks
17 3|
27
17 2J
27 U
19 0|
27
20 n
29 0§
Total
com
per acre.
In lbs.
lbs.
1207
1826
1216
1850
1400
1967
Straw
per acre,
in lbs.
lbs.
1513
2454
1455
2244
1541
2309
1676
2571
' At this third experimental harvest we have on the continuously unmanured plot,
namely, No. 3, not quite 18 bushels of dressed corn, as the normal produce of the
season; and by its side we have on plot lOi — comprising one half of the plot 10
of the previous years and so highly manured by ammoniacal salts in 1845, but
now unmanured, — rather more than 17| bushels. The near approach, again, to
identity of result from the two unmanured plots, at once gives confidence in the
accuracy of the experiments, and shows us how effectually the preceding crop had,
in a practical point of view, reduced the plots, previously so differently circumstanced
both as to manure and produce, to something like an uniform standard as regards
their grain-producing qualities. We take this opportunity of particularly calling atten-
tion to these coincidences in the amount of produce in the two unmanured plots of the
ditferent years, because it had been objected against our experiments, as already
published, that confirmation was wanting as to the natural yield of soil and season.
'Plot 2 has, as before, 14 tons of farmyard manure, and the produce is 27^ bushels,
or between 9 and 10 bushels more than without manure of any kind.
' On plot 10a, which in the previous year gave with ammoniacal salts alone a produce
equal to that of the farmyard manure, we have again a similar resiUt : for 2 cwts. of
sulphate of ammonia has now given 1850 lbs. of total corn, instead of 1826 lbs., which
is the produce on plot 2. The straw of the latter is, however, slightly heavier than
that by the ammoniacal salt.
' Again, plot 5a, which was in the previous season ttnmanured, was now subdivided :
on one half of it (namely, 5a') we have the ashes of wheat-straw alone, by which there
is an increase of rather more than 1 bushel per acre of dressed corn ; on the other
half {5a^) we have, besides the straw-ashes, 2 cwts. of sidphate of ammonia put on
as a top-dressing ; 8 cwts. of sulphate of ammonia have, in this case, only increased
the produce beyond that of 5a' by 7| bushels of corn and 768 lbs. of straw, instead of
by 9f bushels of corn and 789 lbs. of straw, which was the increase obtained by the
same amount of ammoniacal salt on 10a, as compared with 106. It will be observed,
however, that in the former case the ammoniacal salts were top-dressed, but in the
latter they were drilled at the time of sowing the seed ; and it will be remembered th;it
in 1845 the result was bettor cs to corn on plot 9, where the salts were sown earlier
than on plot 10, whore the top-dressing extended far into the spring. We have had
several direct instances of this kind in our experience, and we would give it as a
suggestion, in most cases applicable, that manures for wheat, and especially ammo-
niacal ones, should be applied before or at the time the seed is sown ; for, although
208 MANUEE
the apparent luxuriance of the crop is greater, and the produce of straw really heavier,
by spring rather than autumn sowings of Peruvian guano and other ammoniacal
manures, yet we believe that that of the corn will not be increased in an equivalent
degree. Indeed, the success of the crop undoubtedly depends very materially on the
progress of the underground growth during the winter months; and this again, other
things being equal, upon the quantity of available nitrogenous constituents within the
soil, without a liberal provision of which, the range of the fibrous feeders of the plants
will not be such as to take up the minerals which the soil is competent to supply, and
in such quantity as will be required during the after-progress of the plant for its
healthy and favourable growth.
' The next result to be noticed is that obtained on plot 6, now also divided into two
equal portions, designated respectively 6a and 66. Plot No. 6 had for the crop of 1844
superphosphate of lime and the phosphate of magnesia manure, and for that of 1845
superphosphate of lime, rape-cake, and atamoniacal' salts. Por this the third experi-
mental season, it was devoted to the trial of the wheat-manure manufactured under
the sanction of Professor Liebig, and patented in this country.
' Upon plot 6a, 4 cwts. per acre of the patent wheat-manure were used, which gave
20J bushels, or rather more than two busliels beyoiid thfi produce of the unmanured
plot ; but as the manure contained, besides the minerals peculiar to it, some nitrogenous
compounds, giving off a very perceptible odour of ammonia, some, at least, of the in-
crease would be due to that substance. On plot 6b, however, the further addition of
1 cwt. each of sulphate and muriate of ammonia to this so-called ' mineral manure'
gives a produce of 29:|- bushels. In other words, the addition of ammoniacal salt to
Liebig's mineral manure has increased the produce by very nearly 9 bushels per aero
beyond that of- the mineral manure alone, while the increase obtained over the un-
manured plot by 14 tons of farmyard manure was only 9^ bushels.
' If, then, the " mechanical form and chemical qualities " of the so-called " mineral
manure" were at fault, the sulphate of ammonia has, at least, compensated for the
defect ; and even supposing a mineral manure, founded on a knowledge of the compo-
sition of the ashes of the plant, be still the great desideratum, the farmer may rest
contented, meanwhile, that he has in ammonia, supplied to him by Peruvian guano,
by ammoniacal salts, and by other sources, so good a substitute.
' It surely is needless to attempt further to justify, by the results of individual
years, our assertion, that in practical agriculture nitrogenous manures are peculiarly
adapted to the growth of wheat. We shall therefore conclude this part of our subject
by directing attention to the history of a few of the plots throughout the entire series
of years, as compared with that of the unmanured plot during the same period.
' In support of the view that leguminous plants do possess a superior power of
reliance upon the atmosphere for their nitrogen, and, indeed, that it is to this pro-
perty that they materially owe their efficacy in rotation with grain, we may refer
to the admirable investigations into the chemistry of agriculture of M. Boussingault.
His experiments, however, have not received the attention which they merit from the
agriculturists of this country ; probably on account of the small amounts of produce
which he obtained. But it must be remembered that his investigation had for its object
to explain the practices of agriculture as ho found them in liis own locality, before
attempting to deviate from its established rules. M. Boussingault states the rotation
usually adopted at Bechelbronn, and throtighout the greater part of Alsace, to be as
follows: —
"Potatoes or beet-root;" "Wheat;" "Clover;" "Wheat;"
and that the average of wheat so obtained is, after potatoes 19 J bushels, after beet-root
17 bushels, and after clover 24 bushels. Now we find by reference to his table that the
first crop of wheat, grain, and straw removed 17 lbs. of phosphoric acid and 24 lbs. of
potash and soda ; the following clover crop, 18 lbs. of phosphoric acid and 77 lbs. of
potash and soda ; and after this removal of alkalis and phosphates by the clover,
a larger crop of wheat is obtained. Surely it would seem impossible to reconcile this
result with a theory which supposes the produce of wheat to rise and fall with the
quantity of minerals available within the soil. If, however, we admit that the first
crop of wheat could not take up the mineral matters existing in the soil for want of
nitrogenous supply, and that the clover crop, not being so dependent upon supplied
nitrogen, was able to take up the minerals required for its growth, and that it more-
over left in the soil sufficient ammonia or its equivalent of nitrogen in some form, to
g^ve the increased crop of wheat, we have a much more consistent and probable solu-
tion of the results. There is little doubt that M. Boussingault could have increased
his produce of wheat by means of ammoniacal salts : whether he could have done so
economically is another question, depending of course upon the relative prices of grain
and ammonia.
MANURE
209
' The striking effect of phosphoric acid upon the gro^wth of the turnip, indeed, is a
fact so well known to every intelligent agriculturist in Great Britain, tiiat it would
eeem quite superfluous to attempt to illustrate it by any direct experiments of our
own. However, as Professor Liebig has again, in the recent edition of his ' Letters,'
expressed an opinion entirely inconsistent with such a result, we will refer to one or
two of the results obtained in our experimental turnip-field, which bear on the opinion
he has reiterated as follows : — thus, speaking of the exhaustion of phosphate of lime
and alkaline phosphates by the sale of flour, cattle, &c., he says : — " It is cerbiin that
this incessant removal of the phosphates must tend to exhaust the land and diminish
its capability of producing grain. The fields of Great Britain are in a state of pro-
gressive exhaustion from this cause, as is proved by the rapid extension of the cultiva-
tion of turnips and mangc^ld-wurzel, plants which contain the least amount of the
phosphates, axd therefore require the smallest quantity for theib develop-
ment." Now we do not hesitate to Siiy that, however small the quantity of phosphates
contained in the turnip, the successful cultivation of it is more dependent upon a large
supply of phosphoric acid in the manure than that of any other ci'op.
'In the following Table, then, is given the amount of bulb, from 1843 to 1850.
First, the continuously unmanured plot : —
Secondly, that with a large amount of the superphosphate of lime alone each year; and
Thirdly, that with a very liberal supply of potash, with some soda and magnesia also
in addition to superphosphate of lime.
Years
Plot continuously
unmamirod
Plot with
Superphosphate of Lime
alone every year
Plot with
superphosphate of lime
and mixed alkalis
1843
1844
1845
1846
1847
1848
1849
1850
tons
4
2
cwts. qrs. lbs.
3 3 2
4 1
13 2 24
tons cwts. qrs. lbs.
12 3 2 8
7 14 3
12 13 3 12
1 18
5 11 1
10 n 8
3 15
U 9
tons cwts. qrs. lbs.
11 17 2
5 13 2
12 12 2 8
3 10 1 20
5 16
9 14 2
3 13 2 8
9 7 1 12
Totals .
...
65 16 1 1
62 5 1 20
Means .
8 4 2 4
7 15 2 20
'It is seen, then, that in the third season, viz. 1845, the produceof the unmanured
plot is reduced to a few hundredweights, and since that period the size of the bulbs had
been such that they had not been considered worth weighing. On the other hand, on
the plot with superphoKphate of lime alone for eight successive years, we have an aver-
age produce of about 8^ tons of bulb ! varying however exceedingly year by year, ac-
cording to the season. We see, too, that by the addition to superphosphate of lime of
a large quantity of the alkalis, much greater than could be taken off in the crop, the
average produce is not so great by nearly half a ton as by the superphosphate of lime
alone. It must be admitted that this extraordinary effect of superphosphate ot lime
cannot be accounted for by the idea of merely supplying in it the actual constituents
of the crop, but that it is due to some special agency in developing the assimilative
processes of the plant. The opinion is favoured by the fact that in the case where the
superphosphate of Hme is at once neutralised by alkalis artificially supphed, the efficacy
of the manure would seem to be thereby reduced. And, from this again, we would
gather that the effect of the phosphoric acid, as such, cannot be due merely to the
liberation within the soil of its alkalis, or we should suppose that the artificial sup-
ply of these would at least have been attended with some increase of produce. But
this is not the case, notwithstanding that by means of superphosphate of lime alone
there has been taken from the land more of the alkalis in which the ash of the turnip
so peculiarly abounds, than would have been lost to it in a century under the ordinary
course of rotation and home manuring ! Collateral experiments also clearly prove the
importance of a liberal supply of organic substance rich m mrion— which always con-
tains a considerable quantity of nitrogen also-if we would m practical agriculture
increase the yield much beyond the amount which can be obtained by mineral manures
alone, and these conditions being fulfilled, the direct supply of nitrogen, on tlie other
hand, is bv no means so generally essential. And it is where we have provided a liberal
Vol. III. P
210 ]\IANURE, ARTIFICUL
supply of constituents for organic formations, in addition to the mineral manures, that
we have found the use of alkalis not to be without effect.
' But it is at any rate certain that phosphoric acid, though it forms so small a pro-
portion of the ash of the turnip, has a very striking effect on its growth when applied
as manure ; and it is equally certain that the extended cultivation of root crops in
Great Britain cannot be due to the deficiency of this substance for the growth of
com, and to the less dependence upon it of the root crops, as supposed by Baron Liobig.
' These curious and interesting facts in relation to the growth of turnips, as well as
those which have been given in reference to wheat and to the leguminous crops, are suffi-
cient to prove how impossible it is to form correct opinions on agricultural chemistry
without the guidance of direct experiment in the field. And we are convinced that if
Baron Liebig had watched the experiments which we have had in progress during the
last eight years, he would long ago have arrived at conclusions in the main agreeing
with those to which we have been irresistibly led,
' So much, then, for the results of experiments in the field, and for the considerations
in relation to the functional actions of plants, as bearing upon the character of the
manure required for their growth in a course of practical agriculture. Let us now
consider for a few moments what really are the main and characteristic features of
practical agriculture, as most generally followed in this country.
' Let us suppose that the rotation adopted is that of Turnips, Barley, Clover, Wlieat :
that the turnips and clover are consumed upon the farm by stock, and that the meat
thus produced, 40 bushels of barley, and 30 bushels of wheat, are all the exports from
the farm ; the manure from the consumed turnips and clover, and the straw, both of
barley and of wheat, being retained on the .farm. Wo have in this case, by the sale of
grain, a loss of minerals to each acre of the farm of only 20 to 24 lbs. of potass
and soda, and 26 to 30 lbs. of phosphoric acid, in the centre of the rotation, or an
average of 5 to 6 lbs. of potass and soda, and 65 to 7 2 lbs. of phosphoric acid per
acre per annum. In the sale of the animals there would of course be an additional
loss of phosphoric acid, though especially if no breeding-stoek were kept, this would be
even much less considerable than in that of the grain ; and the amount of the alkalis
thus sent off the farm would, according to direct experiments of our own upon calves,
bullocks, lambs, sheep, and pigs, probably be only about one-fourth that of the phos-
phoric acid. It has, however, long been decided in practical agriculture that phos-
phoric acid maybe advantageously provided in the purchase of bones or other phospha-
tic manures, though in practice these are not found applicable as a direct manure for
the wheat crop ; and as we have already said, even when employed for the turnip, its
efficacy is not to be accounted for merely as supplying a sufficiency of that substance to
be stored up in the crop.
' In conclusion, then : if the theory of' Baron Liebig simply implies that the grow-
ing plant must have within its reach a sufficiency of the mineral constituents of which
it is to be built up, we fully and entirely assent to so evident a truism ; but if, on the
other hand, he would have it understood that it is of the mineral constituents, as
would be collectively found in the ashes of the exported produce, that our soils are defi-
cient relatively to other constituents, and that, in the present condition of agriculture
in Great Britain, " we cannot increase the fertility of our fields by a supply of nitro-
genised products, or by salts of ammonia alone, but rather that their produce increases
or diminishes, in a direct ratio, with the supply of mineral elements capable of assimi-
lation," we do not hesitate to say that every fact with which we are acquainted, in
relation to this point, is unfavourable to such a view. We have before stated, how-
ever, that, if a cheap source of ammonia were at command, the available mineral con-
stituents might in their turn become exhausted by its excessive use.'
MAXmHE, AXTZFZCXAXi. Agricultural writers tisually divide manures into
two classes, natural and artificial.
The first division includes farmyard manure, liquid manure, and the various com-
posts that are occasionally made by formers from excrementitious matters, earth,
lime, and all sorts of refuse matters found or produced on the farm.
In the second division we find guano, bone-dust, nitrate of soda, sulphate of
ammonia; also the waste of slaughter-houses, night-soil, the refuse of glue-makers,
wool waste, and other refuse materials of certain factories; and likewise super-
phosphate of lime, blood manure, and a great -variety of saline mixtures, whidi are
now extensively manufactured in manure works, for the purpose of supplying
farmers with special chemical fertilisers, such as wheat-, barley-, oat-, potato-, flax-
manure, &c. The term artificial manure thus includes a great variety of different
materials, and is frequently applied to products which, like guano, are in point of fact
much more natural than farmyard manure, in the successful preparation of which a
certain amount of skill is required on the part of the farmer. The evident anomaly
pf considering guano, bonea, blood, and nitrate of aoda (Chili saltpetre) as artificial
MANURE, ARTIFICIAL 211
manures, has led some agricultural -writers to describe them under natural manures.
Again, others apply the term artificial only to compound saline manuring mixtures
such AS wheat- and grass-manures, or to manures the preparation of which necessitates
a certain acquaintance with chemical principles and the use of chemical agents. All
this confusion can be avoided entirely, if manures, instead of being divided into
natural and artificial, were separated into home-made manures, that is, manures pro-
duced from the natural resources of the farm, and into imported manures, that is,
fertilisers which are introduced on the farm from foreign sources.
The term ' artificial,' more appropriately, is given to all simple or compound
fertilisers in the production of which human art has been instrumental. In this signi-
fication we shall use the term ' artificial manure.'
Not many years ago farmyard maniire was universally considered the only efficient
fertiliser to restore the fertility of land, impaired by a succession of crops. Recent
agricultiu-al experience, however, has shown that, in a great measure, artificial
manures may be employed with advantage instead of yard manure, nay, that in several
respects artificial manures are preferable to ordinary dung. Indeed, the present
advanced state of British agriculture is intimately connected with the success with
which artificial manures have been introduced into the ordinary routine on the farm.
The variety oi artificials in present use amongst English farmers is very great.
Some, like well prepared samples of superphosphate, are unquestionably manures
distinguished for high fertilising properties ; others are less efficacious, or of a doubt-
ful character ; and not a few hardly repay the cost of carriage beyond a distance of 10
miles. The fact that in almost every market-town artificial manures are sold, which,
if not altogether worthless, oiFer, to say the least, no profitable investment to the
occupier of land, shows plainly that the principles which ought to regulate the manu-
facture of artificial manures are not so generally understood as it is desirable they
should be. In comparison with other branches of industrial art, the manufacture of
manures is comparatively simple, and involves no very expensive machinery beyond
steam-power for the pulverisation of the raw materials ; nor does it necessitate exten-
sive practical experience, or the possession of a large stock of chemical knowledge, on
the part of the manufacturer. The limits of this article preclude the detailed de-
scription of all the artificial manures that find their way at present into the manure
market ; nor does it appear to us necessary to mention in detail the various propor-
tions in which the numerous refuse materials used by manure-makers may be blended
together into efficacious fertilisers ; for a manufacturer who is thoroughly acquainted
with the nature of artificial manures, and the legitimate uses to which they ought to
be applied, will find little or no difficulty when working up into artificial manures the
raw materials or refuse matters for the acquirement of which a particular locality
may offer peculiar advantages. A right conception of the relative commercial and
agricultural value of the diffbrent constituents that enter into the composition of
manures is the chief desideratum for the manufacturer of artificial manure. "We
therefore propose to refer, in the following pages, briefly to the more important prin-
ciples which ouglit to be kept steadily in view in establishments erected for the supply
of artificial fertilisers.
The high esteem in which good farmyard manure is held by practical men, its uni-
formly beneficial effect upon almost every kind of crop, and the economical advantages
with which it is usually applied to the land, have induced many to regard farmyard
manure as the model which tho manufacturer of artificial manure should endeavour
to imitate. But this proposition is wrong in principle, as will be shown presently,
and its adoption in manure-works has led to disappointment and ruin. It would be
foreign to our object to give in this place a full account of the peculiar merits that
belong to yard manure, and to compare them with those exhibited by artificial
manures. Each has its peculiar merits and disadvantages, upon which we need not
dwell in this article. It will help us, however, in properly comprehending what is
really required in a good artificial manure, if we inquire briefly into the composition
of good yard manure. We therefore subjoin an analysis, made some time ago by
Dr. Voelcker, of well-rotted farmyard manure (see next page) : —
Farmyard manure contains all the constituents which our cultivated crops require
to come to perfection, and is suited for every description of agricultural produce. As
far as the inorganic fertilising substances are concerned, we find in farmyard manure
potash, soda, lime, magnesia, oxide of iron, phosphoric acid, sulphuric acid, hydro-
chloric and carbonic acid ; in short, all the minerals that are found in the ashes of
agricultural crops.
Of organic fertilising substances, we find in farmyard manure some which are
readily soluble in water, and containing a large portion of nitrogen; and others
insoluble in water, and containing, comparatively speaking, a small proportion of
nitrogen. The former readilv yield ammonia, the latter principally give rise to
■ " p2
212 MANURE, ARTIFICIAL
the formation of humic acids, and similar organic compounds. These organic acids
constitute the mixture of organic matters, which in practice pass under the name of
humus.
Composition of Farmyard Rotted Dung {Horses', Cows', and Figs'), in 100 parts.
Water 7542 .
Soluble organic matter ' 371
Soluble inorganic matter (ash) : —
Soluble silica ....... •254
Thosphate of lime ...... '382
Lime '117
Magnesia '047
Potash '446
Soda -023
Chloride of sodium '037
Sulphuric acid '058
Carbonic acid and loss -106
1-47
Insoluble organic matter - 1282
Insoluble inorganic matter (asli) : —
Soluble silica 1-424
Insoluble silica 1010
Oxides of iron and alumina, with phosphates . "947
Containing phosphoric acid . . . ' . . ('274)
Equal to bone-earth (•573)
Lime 1-C67
Magnesia '091
Potash -045
Soda . . '038
Sulphuric acid . . . . . . . '063
Carbonic acid and loss 1-295
6-58
10000
Farmyard manure thus is a perfect manure, for experience and analysis alike
show that it contains all the fertilising constituents required by plants, in states of
combination which appear to be especially favourable to the luxuriant growth of our
crops.
On most farms the supply of common yard manure is inadequate to meet the de-
mands of the modem system of high farming. Hence the endeavour of enterprising
men to supply this deficiency by converting various refuse materials into substitutes
for farmyard manure. Artificial maniutes likely to approach farmyard manure in
their action should contain all the elements in the latter, and in a state of combina-
tion, in which they are neither too soluble nor too insoluble ; for it is evident that a
plant can grow luxuriantly, and come to perfect maturity only when all the elements
necessary for its existence are presented to it in a state in which they can be assimi-
lated by the plant.
But the question arises, Is it desirable to produce by art perfect substitutes for
common dung ? We think not, for the following reasons : —
In the first place, well-rotted dung contains in round numbers two-thirds of its
weight of water, and only one-third of its weight of dry matter. A large bulk thei-e-
foro contains, comparatively speaking, but a small proportion of fertilising-matters.
In every 3 tons of manure we have to pay carrkige for 2 tons of water ; and it may
be safely asserted that no manure, however efficacious it may be in a dry condition,
will be found an economic substitute for farmyard manure, if it cannot be produced in
a much drier condition than common yard manure.
Again, several of the constituents which greatly preponderate in farmyard manure
are present in most soils in abimdant quantities ; ibey need not, therefore, be supplied
to the land in the form of manure ; or, should they be wanting in the soil, they can
be readily obtained almost everywhere at a cheap rate. If, therefore, these inexpen-
' Containing nitroi^en . I '297
Equal to ammonia . . '86
* Containing nitrogen '309
Equal to ammonia '376
VHiole manure containing ammonia in free state . . . '046
„ „ form of salts . . '057
MANURE, ARTIFICIAL 213
siTO and more widely distributed substances are dispensed with in compounding a
manure, and those are selected which occur in soils only in minute quantities, a very
valuable and efficacious fertiliser is obtained, which possesses the great advantage of
containing in a small bulk all the essential fertilising substances of a large mass of
home-made dung.
That the effect which every description of manure is capable of producing depends
on its composition is self-evident ; and as the different constituents which generally
enter into the composition of manures produce different effects upon vegetation, it is
of primary importance to the manufacturer of manure that he should be acquainted
with the special mode of action of each fertilising constituent.
Wo shall therefore make some observations on the practical effects, and the
comparative value, of the various constituents that enter into the composition of
manures.
To guard against misapprehension, we would observe that, in one sense, all the
fertilising-agents are alike valuable ; for they are all indispensable for the healthy
condition of our cultivated crops, and consequently the absence of one is attended
with serious consequences, though all others may be present in abundance. Thus
the deficiency of lime in the land is attended with as much injury to the plant
as tliat of phosphoric acid. In this sense lime is as valuable as phosphoric acid ;
but inasmuch as lime is generally found in most soils in abundant quantities, or,
if deficient, can be applied to the land economically in the form of slaked lime,
marl, shell-sand, &c„ its presence in an artificial manure is by no means a recommen-
dation to it.
The principal constituents of manures are : —
1. Nitrogen (in the shape of ammonia, nitric acid, and nitrogenised
organic matters).
2. Phosphoric acid (bone-earth and soluble phosphates).
3. Potash (carbonate and silicate of potash).
4. Soda (common salt).
5. Lime and magnesia (carbonate and sulphate of lime and magnesia),
6. Soluble silica.
7. Humus-forming organic matters (vegetable remains of all kinds).
8. Sulphuric acid (sulphate of lime).
9. Chlorine (common salt).
10. Oxide of iron, alumina, silica (clay, earth, and sand).
We have here mentioned these constituents in the order which expresses their com-
parative commercial value.
1. Nitrogen. — This element may be incorporated with artificial manures in the
shape of ammoniacal salts or nitrates, or nitrogenised organic matters.
The cheapest ammoniacal salt is sulphate of ammonia ; the cheapest nitrate is Chili
saltpetre, or nitrate of soda ; hence sulphate of ammonia and nitrate of soda are exclu-
sively employed by manure manufacturers for the preparation of nitrogenised manures,
wlien no organic refuse-matters containing nitrogen, such as horn-shavings, bone-dust,
woollen rags, blood, glue-refuse, &c., are available.
Nitrogen in any of these forms exercises a most powerful action in manure, espe-
cially when applied to plants at an early stage of their growth ; at a later period of
development the application of ammoniacal salts or nitrate of soda appears mucli
less effective, and sometimes even useless. For this reason nitrogenised manures,
such as guano, soot, specially-prepared wheat-manures, &e., ought to be applied
either in autumn or in spring, immediately after the young blade has made its ap-
pearance above ground.
Ammoniacal salts, nitrate of soda, and decomposed nitrogenised organic matters,
have a most marked effect upon the leaves of plants ; tliey induce a rapid and
luxuriant development of leaves, and may tliereforo be called leaf-producing or
forcing manures. Grass, wheat, oats, and other cereals, when grown upon soils
containing abundance of available mineral elements, are strikingly benefited by a
nitrogenised manure ; but, on account of their special action, they ought to be used
with caution in the case of corn-crops, and always more sparingly on light tlinn
on heavy land ; otherwise, fine straw, but little and an inferior sample of grain,
will be obtained.
As a general rule, ammoniacal salts or nitrate of soda should not be used by
farmers in a concentrated state, and exceptionally only. However useful sulphate
of ammonia or nitrate of soda may be in a particular case, it ought to be re-
membered that generally such manures produce beneficial effects only in conjunc-
tion with mineral matters. If, therefore, a proper amount of available mineral
substances does not exist in the soil, it has to be supplied in the manure. Am-
214 MANURE, ARTIFICIAL
moniacal salts, nitrate of soda, animal matters, &c., are therefore almost always
blended together with phosphates, common salt, gypsum, &c., by manufacturers of
manures.
Whilst we thus fuUy recognise the importance of the presence of ammonia, am-
moniacal salts, nitrates, or animal matters furnishing ammonia on decomposition in
manures, especially in manures for white crops, we cannot agree with those who
estimate the entire value of manuring-substances by the proportion of nitrogen which
they contain.
In a purely commercial sense, nitrogen in the shape of ammonia or nitric acid, or
animal nitrogenised matters, is the most valuable fertilising constituent, for it fetches
a higher price in the market than any other manuring constituent.
2. Phosphoric Acid. — Next in importance follows phosphoric acid. This acid exists
largely in the grain of wheat, oats, barley, in leguminous seeds, likewise in turnips,
mangolds, carrots, in clover, meadow-hay, and, in short, in every kind of agricultural
produce. Whether we grow, therefore, a cereal crop or a fallow crop, there must be
phosphoric acid in sufficient quantity in the soil, or if insufficient it must be added to
the land in the shape of manure.
The proportion of phosphoric acid in even good soils is very small, and as the agri-
cultural produce in almost every case removes from the soil more of phosphoric acid
than of any other soil-constituent, the want of available phosphoric acid makes itself
known very soon. This is especially the case with quick-growing crops, such as
turnips, mangolds, &c. The whole period of vegetation of these green crops extends
only over 4 or 5 months, and the fibrous roots of these crops are unable to penetrate,
like wheat, the soil to any considerable depth. For these reasons, phosphoric acid in
some form or other has to be abundantly supplied to root-crops ; and experience
has shown that no description of fertilising matter benefits roots so much as super-
phosphate and similar manures, which contain phosphate of lime in a state in which
it is readily assimilated by plants.
In artificial manures phosphoric acid commonly occurs in the shape of bone-dust,
boiled bones, bone-shavings (refuse of knife-handle makers, turners of ivory, button-
makers, &c.), or in the state of biphosphato of lime, purposely manufactured from
bone materials or from phosphatic minerals.
The phosphate of lime which occurs in fresh bones, practically speaking, is insoluble
in water. In water charged with carbonic acid, and still more so in water containing
some ammonia, it is more soluble than in pure water. On fermenting bone-dust in
heaps it becomes a much more effective manure. Such fermented bone-dust is added
with much benefit to general artificial manures.
All really good artificial manures should contain a fair proportion of phosphate —
say from 25 to 40 per cent., according to the uses for which the manure is intended.
Generally speaking, manures for turnips, and root-crops in general, should bo rich in
phosphates especially soluble phosphates (biphosphate of lime) ; such manures need
not contain more than 1 to 1-J per cent, of ammonia, and, when used on land in a
tolerably good agricultural condition, ammonia can be altogether omitted in the
manure without fear of deteriorating the efficacy of the manure.
3. Potash. — Salts of potash unquestionably are valuable fertilising constituents, for
potash enters largely into the composition of the ashes of all crops. Root-crops es-
pecially require much potash ; hence these crops are much benefited by wood-ashes,
burnt clay, liquid manure, and other fertilisers contiiining much potash.
The commercial resources of potash arc limited, and salts of potash have generally
been far too expensive to be employed largely in the manufacture of artificial manures.
Fortunately potash exists abundantly in most soils containing a fair proportion of clay.
Its want in artificial manures therefore is not perceived, at least not in the same
degree in which tlie deficiency of phosphates in a manure would bo felt. Of late years
however valuable deposits of potash-salts have been discovered at Stassfurt in Prussian
Saxony, and have been extensively employed for various industrial purposes, including
the preparation of manures.
4. Soda. — Salts of soda are much less efficacious fertilising matters than salts of
potash. There are few soils which do not contain naturally enough soda, in one
form or the other, to satisfy the wants of the crops which are raised upon them.
However, common salt is largely employed in the manufacture of artificial manures ;
if it does no good, it certainly does no harm ; and in this country it is one of the
cheapest diluents which can bo employed for reducing the expenses of concentrated
fertilising mixtures to a price at which they can be sold to farmers. In continental
districts common salt proves more efficacious as a manure than in England, where the
neighbourhood of the sea provides the majority of soils with plenty of salt, which
by the winds is carried landwarda with the spray of the sea to very considerable dis>
;aQces.
MANURE, ARTIFICIAL 215
Salt, however, even in England, is usefully applied to mangolds, and enters
largely into the composition of most artificial manures expressly prepared for this crop.
5. Lime and Magnesia. — All plants require lime and magnesia in smaller or larger
quantities. Many soils contain lime in superabundance ; in others it is deficient. To
the latter soils it must be added. This can be done by lime-compost, by slaked lime,
by marl, shell-sand, or gypsum. All these calcareous manures are cheap almost
everywhere, for lime and magnesia are among the most widely distributed, and moat
abundant mineral substances.
The addition of chalk, marl, and even gypsum, to artificial manures, should there-
fore be avoided as much as possible.
At the best, carbonate and sulphate of lime in artificial manures must be regarded
as diluents.
6. Soluble Silica. — The artificial supply of soluble silica to the land, as far as our
present experience goes, has done no good whatever to cereals, the straw of which
soluble silica is supposed to strengthen.
In the absence of reliable practical experiments with soluble silica, we cannot
venture to recommend the use of silicate of soda or soluble silica to manure-manufac-
turers.
7. Organic substances; Humiis. — The importance of organic matters free from
nitrogen, as fertilising agents, is very trifling. Formerly the value of a manure was
estimHted by the amount of organic matter it contained, and little or no difference
was made whether the organic matter contained nitrogen or not. Under good culti-
vation, the organic matter in the soil regularly increases from year to year ; there
exists therefore no necessity of supplying it in the shape of manure.
In artificial manures we should certainly exclude all substances that merely add to
the biilk, without enhancing the real fertilising value of the manure. Peat, saw-duSt,
and similar organic matters, &c., are useful to the manure-maker only as diluents
and absorbents of moisture.
8. Sulphuric acid is another constituent of manure, which possesses little value.
In artificial manures sulphuric acid chiefly occurs as gypsum.
9. Chlorine. — Exists in manures principally as salt.
10. Oxide of Iron, Alumina, Silica. — These constituents exist sometimes in manures
in the shape of burnt-clay, earth, brick-dust, and sand.
It is hardly necessary to remark that good artificial manures should contain as
little as possible of these matters.
It will appear from the preceding observations, that nitrogen in the shape of am-
moniacal salts, nitric acid or decomposed animal matters, and phosphoric acid are the
most vahiable fertilising constituents.
The manufacturers of artificial manure should therefore endeavour :
1. To produce manures containing as little water as possible.
2. To incorporate as much of nitrogenised organic matters, or ammoniacal salts, or
nitrates and phosphates, in general manuring mixtures, as is possible at the price at
which artificial manures are usually sold.
3. To avoid as much as possible gypsum, salt, peat-mould, chalk, and other sub-
stances that chiefly add to the biilk, withoxit increasing the efficacy, of the manures.
He should also endeavour to produce uniform finely-pulverised articles, that run
readily through the manure drill.
It likewise devolves on the manufacturer of manures to render more effective,
that is to say, more rapid and energetic in their action, refuse materials which may
remain inactive in the soil for years before they entei into decomposition, and to
reduce by chemical means into a more convenient state for assimilation, raw materials,
which like coprolites, apatite, &c., produce little or no beneficial effects upon vegeta-
tion, even when added to the land in a finely-powdered condition.
At the present time, two classes of artificial manures maybe distinguished: 1,
general manures, i.e. manures which profess to suit equally well every kind of agri-
cultural produce ; and 2, special manures, i.e. manures specially prepared for a par-
ticular crop only.
The requirements of different crops, or perhaps, more correctly speaking, the con-
ditions that regulate the assimilation of food, vary so much, that we doubt the
policy of manure-makers to prepare general artificial maniures. At the same time, wo
doubt the necessity of preparing artificial manures for every description of crop.
Special manures are extremely useful to farmers, if they are prepared by intelligent
manufacturers, who possess siiSicient chemical knowledge to take advantage of
every improvement that is made in manufacturing chemistry, and at fhe same time
know sufficient of agriculture to understand what is really wanted in .a soil. In other
words, except a manufacturer is a good practical chemist and a tolerably good farmer,
ho will not be able properly to adapt the composition of special fertilisers to the
216 MAPLE
nature of the soil, and the peculiar mode of treatment which the land has received
on the part of the farmer.
However, nearly all special artificial mannres, generally speaking, may be arranged
under two heads. They are either: 1. Nitrogenised Manures, or, 2. Phosphatic
Manures. The first may be used with almost equal advantage for wheat, barley, oats,
for Tje, and on good land likewise for grass. The second are cniefly used for root-crops.
Nitrogenised artificial manures frequently are nothing more than guano, diluted with
gypsum, salt, peat-mould, earth, &c. In fact, guano is the cheapest amraoniacal
manure; for which reason it is so largely employed for compounding low-priced
wheat-manures, grass-manures, &c. &c.
Good manures for cereals may be made by blending together fine bone-dust, or
bone-dust dissolved in sulphuric acid, sulphate of ammonia, salt, and gypsum.
These maniu-es will be the better the more sidphate of ammonia they contain. In
1873 we imported 70,055 tons of bones of animals and fish for this purpose.
Turnip-manures, and artificial manures for root-crops in general, consist prin-
cipally of dissolved bones, or dissolved coprolites and other mineral phosphates.
They are, in fact, superphosphates of various degrees of concentration. The more
soluble phosphate a root-manure contains, the better is it adapted to the purpose for
which it is used.
Most samples of superphosphate contain little or no ammonia, or nitrogenised
organic matters.
Blood-manure is a superphosphate, in the preparation of which some blood is used.
In preparing superphosphate from bones, it is essential that they should be reduced
to fine dust. This is moistened ^vith about ^ its weight of water, after which another
third to one half of brown sulphuric acid is added. The pasty mass is allowed to
cool, in the mixing vessel, or when large quantities are prepared, the semi-liquid
mass in the mixer is run out still hot, fresh quantities of bone-dust, water, and acid
are put in the mixer, and after 5 or 10 minutes the contents allowed to run out, and a
fresh quantity prepared as before. The successive mixings .are all kept together in one
heap for 1 or 2 months ; the heap is then turned over, and if necessary, the partially-
dissolved bones are passed through a riddle.
In a similar manner, coprolites, bone-ash, apatite and other phosphatic minerals are
treated with acid. It ought to be observed, however, that the quantity of brown sul-
phuric acid necessary for dissolving coprolites must be at least £ths of the weight of
coprolite powder, for coprolites contain much carbonate of lime, which neutralises sul-
phuric acid. Even 75 per cent, of brown acid are not always sufficient to dissolve com-
pletely coprolite powder, and as the proportion of carbonate of lime in coprolites and
phosphatic minerals varies considerably, it cannot be stated definitely what amount of
oil of vitriol should be \xsed in every case. The safest plan, therefore, for the manu-
facturer is, to ascertain from time to time whether the proportion of acid which he
has used has converted nearly the whole of the insoluble phosphates in coprolites into
soluble phosphates, and if necessary to add more acid. In the case of bone-dust, it
does not matter if the whole of the bone-earth is not rendered soluble ; bones even par-
tially acted upon by oil of vitriol, become sufficiently soluble in the soil to prove effi-
cacious for the turnip crop. But the case is diiferent, if mineral phosphates, such as
apatite or coprolite powder, are employed in the manufacture of superphosphate. In-
soluble phosphates in the shape of coprolite powder are not worth anything in an arti-
ficial manure, for they are too insoluble to be taken up by the turnip crop. It is
therefore essential to employ a quantity of acid, which is amply sufficient to convert
the whole of the insoluble phosphate of lime in coprolites into soluble, or biphosphate
of lime. — A. V. See Apatite; Coprolites; Phosphates.
We exported, in 1873, artificial manures to the value of 671,550/.
DiXAPXii:, or Plane. {Erable, Fr. ; Ahorn, Ger.) Acer campestre, the English
or field maple. The wood of this tree is compact and finely veined ; it is used in
France and other parts of the Continent for furniture, and it makes excellent charcoal.
Acer platanoides. The Norway maple. This wood is soft, but being finely grained
is capable of receiving a good polish, and looks well.
Acer pseudo-plafanus. Sycamore, groat maple, or false plane. The wood is of a
compact grain, and does not warp or become worm-eaten.
Acer saccharum. Sugar maple. This tree is extensively cultivated in America
for the sugar which is extracted from it. The wood is frequently used for furniture,
having a silky lustre when polished. <
Acer striatum. Striped barked maple. This treo is grown in America, and as
the wood is finely grained and white, it is much used as a substitute for holly by
furniture-makers.
The Russian maple is thought to be the wood of a birch-tree. It differs in many
respects from the American maple, but is sometimes used as a substitute for it.
MARBLE 217
The bird's-eye maple is the American variety, the best being obtained from Prince
Edward's Island. The mottled maple is a commoner variety.
ACiLRBIiE. This title embraces such of the primary, transition, and purer com-
pact limestones of the secondary formation, as may be quarried in solid blocks without
fissures, and are susceptible of a fine polished surface. The finer the white, the more
beautifully variegated the colours of the stone, the more valuable, ceteris paribus, is
the marble. Its general characters are the following : —
Marble effervesces with acids ; afibrds quicklime by calcination ; has a conchoidal
scaly fracture ; is translucent only on the very edges ; is easily scratched by the knife ;
has a spec. grav. of 2-7 ; admits of being sawn into slabs ; and receives a brilliant
polish. These qualities occur united in only three principal varieties of limestone :
1, in the saccharoid limestone, so called from its fine granular texture resembling that
of loaf-sugar, and which constitutes modern statuary marble, like that of Carrara ;
2, in the foliated limestone, consisting of a multitude of small facets formed of little
crystalline plates applied to one another in every possible direction, constituting the
antique statuary marble, like that of Paros ; 3, in many of the Devonian and Carboni-
ferous, or encrinitic limestones, which occur below the coal formation.
The saccharoid and lamellar, or statuary marbles, belong entirely to metamorphic
districts. The greater part of the close-grained coloured marbles belong also to the
same geological localities ; and become so rare in the more recent limestone forma-
tions, that immense tracts of these occur without a single bed sufficiently entire
and compact to constitute a workable marble. The limestone lying between the
Great Oolite and the Combrash of the lower oolite, and which is called 'Forest
marble ' in England, being susceptible of a tolerable polish, and variegated with im-
bedded shells, has sometimes been worked into ornamental slabs in Oxfordshire,
where it occurs in the neighbourhood of Wychwood forest; but this case can hardly
be considered as an exception to the general rule. Even higher in the geological
series, marbles may occasionally be worked ; thus the Purbeck and Wealden series
yield shelly bands of freshwater limestone, which, under the names of Purbeck marble,
.Sussex marble, &c., have been largely used for the clustered shafts in Gothic archi-
tecture.
To constitute a profitable marble-quarry, there must be a large extent of homogeneous
limestone, and a facility of transporting the blocks after they are dug. On examining
these natural advantages of the beds of Carrara marble, we may readily imderstand
how the statuary marbles discovered in the Pyrenees, Savoy, Corsica, &c. have never
been able to come into competition with it in the market. In fact, the two sides of
the valley of Carrara may be regarded as mountiiins of statuary marble of the finest
quality.
The various tints of ornamental marbles generally proceed from oxides of iron ; but
the blue and green tints are sometimes caused by minute particles of hornblende, as
in the slate-blue variety called Turchino, and in some green marbles of Germany.
The black marbles are coloured by carbon, mixed occasionally with sulphur and
bitumen ; when they constitute ' stinkstone.'
Brard divides marbles, according to their localities, into classes, each of which con-
t^iius eight subdivisions : —
1. Uni-coloured marbles ; including only the white and the black.
2. Variegated marbles ; those with irregular spots or veins,
3. Madreporic marbles, presenting animal remains in the shape of white or grey
•spots, with regularly disposed dots and stars in the centre.
4r. Shell marbles ; with only a few shells interspersed in the calcareous base.
5. Lumachella marbles, entirely composed of shells.
6. Cipolin marbles, containing veins of greenish talc.
7. Breccia marbles, formed of a number of angular fragments of different marbles,
united by a common cement.
8. Padding-stone marbles ; a conglomerate of rsunded pieces.
Antique marbles. — The most remarkable of these are the following: — Parian
marble, called Lychnites by the ancients, because its quarries were worked by lamps;
it has a yellowish-white colour, and a texture composed of fine crystalline facets, lying
in all directions. The celebrated Arundelian marbles at Oxford consist of Parian
marble, as does also the Medicean Venus. Pentelic marble, from Mount Penteles, near
Athens, resembles the Pari^ui ; but is somewhat denser and finer grained, with occa-
sional greenish zone.s produced by greenish talc, whence it is called by the Italians
CipHino statuario. The Parthenon, Propyloeum, the Hippodrome, and other principal
monumenis of Athens, were of Pentelic marble ; of which fine specimens may be seen
amojag the Elgin collection, in the British Museum. Marmo Greco, or Greek white
marble, is of a very lively snow-white colour, rather harder than the preceding, and
susceptible of a very fine polish. Jt was obtained from several islands of the Archi'
218 MARBLE
pelago, as Scio, Samos, Lesbos, &c. Translucent white marble, Marmo statuario of the
Italians, is very much like the Parian, only not so opaque. Columns and altars of
this marble exist in Venice, and several towns of Lombardy ; but the quarries are
quite unknown. Flexible white marble, of which five or six tables are preserved in
the house of Prince Borghese, at Eome. The White tnarble of Luni, on the coast of
Tuscany, was preferred by the Greek sculptors to both the Parian and Pentelic.
White marble of Carrara, between Spezzia and Lucca, is of a fine white colour, but
often traversed by grey veins, so that it is difficult to procure moderately large pieces
free from them. It is not so apt to turn yellow as the Parian marble. This quarry
was worked by the ancients, having been opened in the time of Julius Caesar. Many
antique statues remain of this marble. Its two principal quarries at the present day
are those of Pianello and Polvazzo. In the centre of its block very limpid rock
crystals are sometimes found, which are called 'Carrara diamonds.' As the finest
qualities are becoming exce.ssively rare, it has risen in price to about 3 guineas the
cubic foot. The White marble of Mount Hymettus, in Greece, was not of a very pure
white, but inclined a little to grey. The statue of Meleager, in the French Museum,
is of this marble.
Black antique marble, the Nero antico of the Italians. This is more intensely black
than any of our modern marbles ; it is extremely scarce, occurring only in sculptured
pieces. The red antique marble, Egyptum of the ancients, and Rosso antico of the
Italians, is a beautiful marble of a deep blood-red colour, interspersed with white veins
and with very minute white dots, as if strewed over with grains of sand. There is in
the Grimani Palace at Venice a colossal statue of Marcus Agrippa in rosso antico,
which was formerly preserved in the Pantheon at Rome. - Green antique marble, verde
antico, is a kind of breccia, whoso paste is a mixture of talc and limestone, while the
dark green fragments consist of serpentine. Very beautiful specimens of it are
preserved at Parma. The best quality has a grass-green paste, with black spots of
noble serpentine, but is never mingled with red spots. Bed spotted green antique
marble has a dark green ground marked with small red and black spots, with frag-
ments of entrochi changed into white marble. It is known only in small tablets.
Leek marble ; a rare variety of that colour of which there is a table in the Mint at
Paris. Marmo verde pagliocco is of a yellowish-green colour, and is found only in
the ruins of ancient Eome. Cervelas marble, of a deep red, with numerous grey and
white veins, is said to be found in Africa, and highly esteemed in commerce. Yellow
antique marble, giallo antico of the Italians ; colour of the yolk of an egg, either uniform
or marked with black or deep yellow rings. It is rare, but may be replaced by Sienna
marble. Bed and white antique marbles, found only among the ruins of ancient Rome.
Grand antique, a breccia marble, containing shells, consists of large fragments of a
black marble, traversed by veins or lines of a shining white. There are four columns
of it in the Museum at Paris. Antique Cipolino marble: Cipolin is a name given to
all such marbles as have greenish zones produced by green talc ; their fracture is
granular and shining, and displays here and there plates of talc. Purple antique
breccia marble is very variable in the colour and size of its spots. Antiq^te African
breccia has a black ground, variegated with large fragments of a greyish-white, deep
red, or purplish wine colour ; and is one of the most beautiful marbles. Rose-coloured
antique breccia marble is very scarce, occurring only in small tablets. There are
various other kinds of ancient breccia, which it would be tedious to particularise.
Modem Marbles. — 1. British. Black marble is found at Ashford, Matlock,
and Bonsaldale in Derbyshire ; and in the south part of Devonshire. The variegated
marbles of Devonshire are generally reddish, brownish, and greyish, variously veined
with white and yellow, or the colours are often intimately blended ; the marbles from
Torbay and Babbacombo display a great variety in the mixture of their colours ; the
Plymouth marble is either ash-coloiirod with black veins, or blackish-grey and white
shaded with black veins ; the cliffs near Marychurch exhibit marble quarries not only
of great extent, but of superior beauty to any other in Devonshire, being either of a
dove-coloured ground with reddish-purple and yellow veins, or of a black ground
mottled with purplish globules. The green marble of Anglesea is not unlike the
verde antico ; its colours being greenish-black, leek-groen, and sometimes dull purplish
irregularly blended with white. The white part is limestone, the green shades proceed
from serpentine and asbestos. There are several fine varieties of marble in Derby-
shire ; the mottled-grey in the neighbourhood of Moneyash, the light-grey being
rendered extremely beautiful by the number of purple veins which spread upon its
polished surface in elegant irregular branches ; but its chief ornament is the multitude
of entrochi with which this limestone marble abounds. Much of the transition and
carboniferous limestone of Wales and Westmoreland is capable of being worked up
into agreeable dark marbles.
In Scotland a fine variety of white marble is found in beds at Assynt in Sutber-
MARBLE 219
landshire. A beautiful ash-grey marble, of a very uniform grain, and susceptible of
a fihe polish, occurs on the north side of the ferry of Ballachulish in Invemessshirc.
One of the most beautiful varieties is that from the hill of Belephetrich in Tiree, one
of the Hebrides. Its colours are pale blood-red, light flesh-red, and reddish-white
with dark-green particles of hornblende, or rather sahlite, diffused through the
general base. The compact marble of lona is of a fine grain, a dull-white colour
somewhat resembling pure compact felspar. It is said by Bournon to consist of an
intimate mixture of tremolito and carbonate of lime, sometimes with yellowish or
greenish-yellow spots. The carboniferous limestone of many of the coal-basins in
the Lowlands of Scotland may be worked into a tolerably good marble for chimney-
pieces.
In Ireland the Kilkenny marble is the one best known, having a black ground more
or less varied with white marks produced by fossils. The spar which occupies
the place of the shells sometimes assumes a greenish-yellow colour. An exceedingly
fine black marble has also been raised at Crayleath in the county of Down. At
Louthlougher, in the county of Tipperary, a fine purple marble is found. The county
of Kerry affords several variegated marbles not unlike the Kilkeuny ; and a fine red-
dish marble is quarried in the county Cork. A serpentinous limestone in Connemara
forms a prettily variegated green marble known as ' Irish green.'
France possesses a great many marble quarries, which have been described by
Brard, and of which a copious extract is given under the article Marble, Baes's
Ci/dopcedia.
The territory of Genoa furnishes several beautiful varieties of marble, the most
remarkable of which is the pohevera di Genoa, called in French the vert ^Egypte
and vert de mer. It is a mixture of granular limestone with a talcose and serpentine
substance disposed in veins ; and it is sometimes mixed with a reddish body. This
marble was formerly much employed in Italy, France, and England, for chimney-
pieces, but its sombre appearance has put it out of fashion. Among the Genoese
marbles we may notice the highly-esteemed variety called portor. on account of the
brilliant yellow veins in a deep black ground. The most beautiful kind comes from
Porto Venese ; and Louis XIV. caused a great deal of it to be worked up for the
decoration of Versailles. It costs now 21, per cubic foot.
Corsica possesses a good statuary marble, of a fine clcse grain, and pure milky-
whiteness, quarried at Ornofrio ; it will bear comparison with that of Carrara : also a
grey marble (bardigUo), a cipolin, and some other varieties. The island of Elba has
immense quarries of a white marble with blackish-green veins.
Among the innumerable varieties of Italian marbles, the following deserve especial
notice : —
The rovigio, a white marble found at Padua. The white marble of St. Julien, at
Pisa, of which the cathedral and celebrated slanting tower are built. The Biancone
marble, white with a tinge of grey, quarried at Magurega for altars and tombs.
Near Mergozza a white marble with grey veins is found, with which the cathedral
of Milan is built. The black marble of Bergamo is called faragone, from its black
colour, like touchstone ; it has a pure, intense tint, and is susceptible of a fine polish.
The pure black marble of Como is also much esteemed. The pclveroso of Pistoya is
a black marble sprinkled with dots ; and the beautiful white marble with black spots,
from the Lago Maggiore, has been employed for decorating the interior of many
churches in the Milanese. The Margorre marble, found in several parts of the
Milanese, is bluish veined with brown, and composes part of the dome of the cathe-
dral of Milan. The green marble of Florence owes its colour to a copious admixture
of serpentine. Another green marble, called verde di Prado, occurs in Tuscany, near
the little town of Prado. It is marked with spots of a deeper green than the rest,
passing even into blackish-blue. The beautiful Sienna marble, or brocatello di Siena,
has a yellow colour like the yolk of an egg, which is disposed in large irregidar spote,
surrounded"with veins of bluish-red, passing sometimes into purple. At Montarenti,
two leagues from Sienna, another yellow marble is met with, which is traversed by
black and purplish-black veins. The Brema marble is yellow, with white spots.
The mandelatb of the Italians is a light-red marble with yellowish-white spots, found
at Luggezzana, in the Veronese. The red marble of Verona is of a red rather in-
clining to yellow or hyacinth ; a second variety, of a dark red, composes the vast
amphitheatre of Verona. Auother marble is found near Verona, with largo white
spots in a reddish and greenish paste : very fine columns have been made of it _ The
occhio di pavone is an Italian shell-marble, in which the shells forms large orbicular
spots, red, white, and bluish. A madreporic marble, known under the name of pietra
stellaria, much employed in Italy, is entirely composed of star madrepores, converted
into a grey-and-whito substance, and is susceptible of an excellent polish. The
village of Bretonico, in the Veronese, furnishes a splendid breccia marble, composed
220 MAELSTONE
of yellow, steel-grey, and rose-coloured spots. That of Bergamo consists of black and
grey fragments in a greenish cement. Florence marble, called also ruin and land-
scape marble, is an indurated calcareous marl.
Sicily abounds in marbles, the most valuable of which is that called by the English
stone-cutters Sicilian jasper ; it is red, with large stripes like ribands, white, red, and
sometimes green, which run zigzag with pretty acute angles.
Of Cutting and Polishing Marble. — The marble-saw is a thin plate of soft iron,
continually supplied during its sawing-motion with water and the sharpest sand.
The sawing of moderate pieces is performed by band, but that of large slabs is most
economically done by a proper mill.
The first substance used in the polishing process is the sharpest sand, with which
the marble must bo worked till the surface becomes perfectly flat. Then a second,
and even a third sand of increasing fineness is to be applied. The next substance
is emery of progressive degrees of fineness, after which tripoli is employed ; and the
last polish is given with tin-putty. (See Puttt-Powdek.) The body with which
the sand is rubbed into the marble is usually a plate of iron ; but for the subsequent
process, a plate of lead is used with fine sand and emery. The polishing-rubbers are
coarse linen cloths, or bagging, wedged tight into an iron planing-tool. In every step
of the operation a constant trickling supply of water is required.
MA.RCASXTE, or white iron pyrites, is of a pale bronze-yellow, or iron-grey
colour, with a metallic lustre. It is a bisulphide of iron, composed of iron 46"7, sul-
phur 63-3. Specific gravity 4-678 to 4-847.
The mineral was formerly much used for various ornaments, as shoe- and knee-
buckles, pins, bracelets, setting of watch-cases, &c. ; and, although the taste for it
has considerably declined now, probably owing in some degree to its abundance,
immense quantities are still cut and manufactured at Geneva and in the French Jura.
The marcasite of commerce is generally small, rarely attaining the size of a stone
of two carats. It takes a good polish, and is cut in facets like rose-diamonds. In
this state it possesses all the bright blue of polished steel, without the tendency of
the latter to become oxidised by exposure to the action of the atmosphere. It is prin-
cipally procured from Germany and the Jura. — H. W. B. See Pteites.
MARCASITB. Bismuth was formerly so called. See Bismtjth.
nXARGiiRATZSS are saline compounds of margaric acid -with the bases.
xaA&GARZC ACZn {Margarine) is one of the acid fats produced by saponify-
ing tallow with alkaline matter, and decomposing the soap with dilute acid. The
term margaric signifies pearly-looking.
The physical properties of the margaric and stearic acids are very similar ; the chief
difference is that the former is more fusible, melting at 140° Fahr. The readiest mode
of obtaining pure margaric acid is to dissolve olive-oil soap in water, to pour into the
solution a solution of neutral acetate of lead, to wash and dry the precipitate, and then
to remove its oleato of lead by ether, which does not affect its margarate of lead. The
residuum being decomposed by boiling-hct muriatic acid, affords margaric acid. When
heated in a retort this acid boils. It is insoluble in water, very soluble in alcohol and
ether ; it reddens litmus-paper, and decomposes, with the aid of heat, the carbonates
of soda and potash.
Margaric acid is obtained most easily by the distillation of stearic acid. The
humidity at the beginning of the process must be expelled by a smart heat, otherwise
explosive ebullitions are apt to occur. Whenever the ebullition becomes uniform, the
fire is to be moderated. See Oir.s.
IMCABXXTA. A name given to madder after it has undergone a peculiar treatment.
See Crookes's ' Handbook of Dyeing.'
IKCAazsrE ACZn. Hydrochloric acid was formerly so called because it could
be obtained from sea-water. See HTDEOcmoHic Acid and Mtteiatic Acid.
MARXXI'S METAZi. A name for AVetterstedt's alloy, which was introduced as
a sheathing for ships. It consisted of lead 94*4, antimony 4-3, and mercury rs. It
was said not to be attacked by sea-water, and to remain free from vegetable or animal
growth.
IKCAaZNE SAZiT. See Salt.
MASJORAM. Tlio Origanum majorana, one of the Lahiata, is used as an
aromatic lurb, and yields oil cj marjoram on distillation,
XttAS& {Marnc, Fr. ; Mergel, Ger.) is a mixed earthy substance, consisting of
carbonate of lime, clay, and siliceous sand, in very variable proportions ; it is
sometimes compact, sometimes pulverulent. According to the predominance of
one or other of these ingredients, marls are distributed into calcareous, clayey, and
sandy.
XMCA&^bSTOSars. One of the members of the Lias formation. The Clereland
iron ore occurs in tlie marlstonc, or middle lias. Sec Lias,
MAUVE 221
MABMATXTEi A variety of blende, in irhich part of the dnc is replaced,
sometimes by iron, and sometimes by cadmium. It is found at Marmato in Po^
payan.
MABOOXr. A peculiar deep-red colour produced, according to Crookes (' Hand-
book of Dyeing') in the following manner : —
Boil 20 lbs. of cudbear, or 25 lbs. of orchil, and 4 ounces of magenta crystals, for
ten minutes. Cool the dye to 175° Fahr. ; enter the wool; increase the temperature
to 212° ; remove, riuse, and dry.
JVXAROOIi. A vegetable fibre from the Sanseviera Zeylanica. See Fibres.
XVXABQTrSTRir is a peculiar kind of cabinet-work, in -which the surfece of -wood
is ornamented with inlaid pieces of various colours and forms. The marqueteur
puts gold, silver, copper, tortoise-shell, mother-of-pearl, ivory, horn, &c., under con-
tribuuon. These substances, being reduced to laminae of proper thinness, are cut
out into the desired form by punches, which produce the full pattern or mould, and
the empty one, which enclosed it ; and both serve their separate purposes. A
mosaic wood-work was much practised in Italy in the fifteenth century which very
much resembled marquetry. It was called Tarsia ( Tarsiatura, Ital.). The art was
cultivated to the greatest extent in the Venetian territories, and was much employed
in decorating the choirs of churches, the backs of seats, and the panels of doors. In
Mrs. Merrifleld's ' Ancient- Practice of Painting' it is well described. See Tabsia;
PAKQtTETBY.
MARSH-GAS. Light carburetted hydrogen. This gas is the fire-damp of the
coal-miner. See Fire-damp Indicator ; Ventilation.
MARSH ROSEMARY. (Statica CaroliniancB.) This plant is found along the
sea-coast in marshy situations from Maine to Florida. The root has been used for
tanning. According to Professor Parrish, it contains 12 per cent, of tannin.
MARTIAIi, Belonging to iron ; from Mars, the old name of this metal.
MARTXU'S-YEKltO'W. A name sometimes applied to naphthaline yellow.
MASSICOT. Yellow oxide of lead. The old name of litharge. See Litharge.
MASTIC (Eng. and Fr. ; Matsix, Ger.) is a resin produced by making inci-
sions in the Pistacla lentiscus, a tree cultivated in the Levant, and chiefly in the
island of Chios. It comes to us in yello-w, brittle, transparent, rounded tears ; which
soften between the teeth, with bitterish taste and aromatic smell, and a specific
gravity of 07"1. Mastic consists of two resins; one soluble in dilute alcohol. Its
solution in spirit of wine constitutes a good varnish. It dissolves also in turpentine.
See Varnish.
MASTIC CEMEITT. A mixture of lime, sand, litharge, and linseed-oil.
MATCHES. See Lucifer Matches.
MATRASS is a bottle -with a thin, egg-shaped bottom, much used for digestions
in chemical researches.
MATTE is a crude black copper, reduced, but not refined, from sulphur and other
heterogeneous substances. A matte is simply a regulus, or fused sulphide.
MAWE, or Ferkin's Violet. The earliest aniline colour introduced into com-
merce has lost much of its importance. Kunge had previously called attention to
the violet coloration produced on treating aniline with chromic acid or the hj-po-
chlorites. In August 1856 Mr. Perkin patented his process for the production of a
violet colouring-matter from aniline. See Aniline-Violet.
Among the very large number of new methods proposed for the manufacture of
tills dye, especially after the spring of the year 1859, we may notice the following : —
Messrs. Depouilly and South's method, patented in June 1860, consisted in adding
to a salt of aniline a solution of chloride of lime, which yielded a purple insoluble
precipitate. This was repeatedly washed in slightly-acidulated water, dissolved in
concentrated sulphuric acid, and re-precipitated by the addition of an excesssof water.
It was then simply necessary to wash the precipitate thoroughly, in order to render it
fit for use if dissolved in alcohol or methylated spirit. The chloride of lime process
gives a more abundant yield than the bichromate method, but the" tone of the violets
obtained is redder and less pure. We may here mention that Mr. W. H. Perkin lias
lately succeeded in obtaining the product of Eunge's experiment in the solid condition.
Ho finds that it dissolves in alcohol, forming a solution of a nearly pure blue colour,
which is changed to a brownish-red by the action of caustic alkali ; it therefore differs
essentially from the mauve ; an alcoholic solution of which, if treated with caustic
alkali, passes from purple to violet. The blue product, which the author proposes to
call ' Runge's blue,' undergoes a very remarkable change when subjected to the action
of heat. It is rapidly converted into a purple colouring-matter, which is found to be
the true mauve. Indeed, Runge's blue is so prone to change into the more stable
mauve, that its composition cannot be satisfactorily determined.
Mr. Kay, jn January 1860, took out a patent for producing purple-aniline— most
822 IVIEATS, PRESERVED
absurdly called ' hiirmaline ' — by adding to sulphate of aniline peroxide of manganese,
and heating this mixture to lOO-* Fahr., when the 'harmaline' so produced remained
in solution, and was separated from an insoluble deposit. The dissolved colour was
precipitated by adding to the solution ammonia in sufficient quantity to neutralise the
acid, after which the insoluble colour was washed, dried, and dissolved in methylated
alcohol.
In January 1860 Mr. Grenlle Williams patented the use of pennanganate of
potassa as a means of oxidising aniline and producing purples and othet colours.
At about the same time Dr. D. Price took out a patent for acting on sulphate of
aniline by means of the peroxide of lead.
In 1860 Dale and Caro patented the use of chloride of copper, in the proportion of
six equivalents to one of a neutral salt of aniline. In place of chloride of copper, a
mixture of sulphate of copper and common salt may be used in equivalent proportions.
The quantity of water necessary to dissolve the mixture is added, and tlie whole is
then boiled till a precipitate appears, which contains the colouring-matter. At the
expiration of three or four hours the process is completed. The precipitate Is collected
on a filter, and washed with a solution of soda or carbonate of soda so long as the
washings contain chlorides. The residue is then extracted with boiling water, so
long as anything dissolves. The solutions thus obtained are filtered, and precipitated
with a small quantity of soda or carbonate of soda. The colour thus obtained is ready
for use. The matter insoluble in boiling water still contains a violet, which may be
extracted by treatment with boiling dilute alcohol in a displacement-apparatus.
On January 12, 1861, another interesting process to. obtain aniline-purple was
patented by M. A. Girard. Pure aniline-red (known as magenta) is mixed with an
equal weight of aniline, and the mixture heated for several hours to 329° Fahr., when
the mass is changed to a fine purple colour, requiring only to be mixed with water
and hydrochloric acid to remove any aniline or red dye in excess, leanng the purple
insoluble ; but, on being well washed with water, this becomes soluble in alcohol,
acetic acid, wood-naphtha, and boiling water slightly acidulated with acetic acid.
The French call this — Violet Imperial. See Aniline.
MIAZ&AGE. The French name for a process identical with our Kefinery.
MfiASOW-OSE is bog-iron ore. See Iron.
mSASITRES, "WEIGHTS, and COXStS. See Weights and Measubes.
MEATS, PRESERVED. The interest which has of late attached to the
subject of such meats warrants us in bringing under examination the principles and
practice on which this important branch of industry is based. The art itself is of
modern invention, and differs in every respect from the old or common modes of pro-
serving animal food. These, as is well known, depend upon the use of culinary salt,
saltpetre, sugar, or similar substances.
Our remarks will not apply solely to raw or uncooked meats ; but the practical
bearing of meat-preserving really points to those which are, more or less, cooked or
preserved.
The first successful attempt at the preservation of unsalted meats is of French origin,
and due to the inventive skill of M. Appert. This gentleman, so long ago as the year
1810, received from the Board of Arts and Manufactures of Paris the sum of 12,000
francs for his discovery of a mode of preserving animal and vegetable substances ;
the results of which had been then amply attested by a prolonged experience in the
French navy. Shortly after this period Appert induced a Mr. Durant to visit London,
for the purpose of taking out a patent ; and this was accordingly done towards the
end of the year 1811. In this patent, however, the claims were ridiculously wide ; so
much so, that the patent-right was subsequently infringed with impunity. The claims
included all kinds of fruit, moat, and vegetables, when subjected to the action of heat
in closed vessels, more or less freed from air. As, however, the Society of Arts in
London had presented in 1807 a premium to a Mr. J. Suddington, for 'a method of
preserving fruit without sugar for house or sea stores ' — which method is exactly
the same as that of M. Appert — the validity of Durant's patent was at once called
in question. Nevertheless, so satisfactory were the results when applied to animal
food, or- mixed provisions, that the patent was eventually purchased from Durant
by Messrs. Donkin, Hall, and Gamble ; and the firm, thus established, became at once
the sole manufacturers of preserved meats in this country. The process of Appert
was. however, extremely defective in a manufacturing point of view. Nothing but
glass bottles were to be used for containing the meats, and M. Appert remarks : ' I
choose glass for this purpose, as being the most impenetrable to air, and have not
ventured to make any experiment with a vessel made of any other substance.' Of
course the fragility of this material, and the great difficulty of hermetically sealing
the bottles with corks, threw impediments in the way of the process as a commercial
undertaking. Nor was it until aft«r a long series of experiments that Messrs. Don-
MEATS, PRESERVED 223
kin, Hall, and Gamble 'were able to overcome the primary difiScnlties of this invention,
and produce provisions successfully preserved in tin-plate vessels.
The process of Appert certainly does not depend upon the exclusion of oxygen
from the provisions he preserved, nor is this principle included in the improved process
still practised by the firm of Gamble. Appert seems to have had a doubt as tx) the
sufficiency of the oxygen theory, for he tells us that, ' fire has a peculiar property, not
only of changing the combination of the constituent parts of vegetable and animal pro-
ductions, but also of retarding, for many years at least, if not of destroying altogether,
the natural tendency of these same products to decomposition.' And this opinion is con-
firmed from many startling facts, which cannot be reconciled to the supposition that
oxygen is the sole or even principal agent of decomposition. Thus milk, which has been
merely scalded, will keep much longer from the effects of this process, even though freely
exposed to, or purposely impregnated with, oxygen gas. Now the method of Appert, as
improved by Gamble, is to render the albumen of the meat or the vegetable insoluble,
and therefore scarcely if at all, susceptible of the action of atmosph«ric oxygen. By
this means the total exclusion of air from the tin cases is rendered unnecessary, for
even if a small quantity of air remain in the case, it will exert no more influence
than happens to a piece of coagulated albumen, or hard boiled white-of-egg, which,
as is well known, may be exposed to the air for years without sensible alteration,
though in its uncoagulated state it immediately putrefies. It appears, therefore,
that the essential characteristics of Gamble's process may be referred not to the
exclusion of air, but to the thorough coagulation of the albumen. The heat employed
also destroys all organic germs that may be present, and thus prevents their develop-
ment. In this process, the meat, more or less cooked, is placed, with a quantity of
gravy, in a tin vessel, capable of being hermetically sealed with solder ; it is then
heated, for some time, in a bath of muriate of lime, and the aperture neatly soldered
up. After this it is again exposed to the action of the heated bath for a period, which
varies with the size and nature of the contents of the vessels ; and to prove that this
latter operation is really the most important of the whole, it sometimes happens that
cases which have begun to decompose are opened, resoldered, and again submitted to the
muriate-of-lime batli, with the most perfect success, as regards the ultimate result.
Although by no means free from occasional failures and certainly requiring im-
provement, the system of Gamble has in practice worked well ; and provisions have
been kept in this way, for a long period of years, without the slightest alteration
in their particular qualities.
Mr. Goldner, some few years ago, adopted the idea originally conceived by Sir
Humphry Davy, of enclosing cooked provisions in a complete vacuum. For this
purpose the provisions, slightly cooked on the surface, were enclosed in canisters,
similar to those of Gamble, but stronger, and provided with a small opening in the
cover. At this moment a slight condensation was effected by the application of a
cold and damp rag or sponge, and simultaneously with this the small opening was
soldered up. In theory, nothing could seem better adapted to insure success ; but,
the practical working of the invention afforded anything but a satisfactory result. Nor
is there much difficulty in conceiving how this may arise, as in the first place the ap-
plication of a sudden heat to non-conducting materials, is almost certain to give rise
to that peculiar condition by which the interior of the meat will be as thoroughly
protected from the effect of heat as if no heat were applied. Hence, even though
steam in abundance may issue from the small opening in the cover, this is no proof
that the meat in the centre of the vessel is even warmed ; and still less does it
warrent the supposition that the soluble albumen is thoroughly coagulated; and
without which, as we have stated, preservation is scarcely possible.
Bedwood's Process. — This process, invented by Professor Eedwood, consists in
the immersion of fresh meat in melted paraffin, at a temperature of 240° Fahr.
(115° Centigrade), for a sufficient time to -effect a concentration of the juices of the
meat and the complete expulsion of air ; after which the meat, in its condensed state,
is covered with an external coating of paraffin, by which air is excluded and de-
composition prevented.
The concentration of the juices may thus be carried to any required extent. If
the meat is to be kept in hot climates its weight should be reduced by evaporation to
about one-half, in which state it will contain all the nutriment of twice its weight of
fresh meat, the portion driven off by evaporation consisting only of water. Thus
prepared it will be fully cooked (by the heat applied in the process), and it may be
eaten without further preparation, but it will also be applicable for the preparation
of a variety of made-dishes, including stews, hashes, soiips. gra\nes, etc. For cold
climates a less amount of heating Jind concentration will suffice, so that the meat
may retain its original juic}' condition, and, when further cooked, present tho
appearance, and possess all the characters, of fresh unpreserved meat.
rittBAM
■^1
W^SES
226
MELTING POTS
clay ; ^ burned-clay cement ; ^ coke-powder ; ^ pipe-clay. The pasty mass must be
compressed in moulds. The Hessian crucibles from Great Almerode and Epterode
are made from a fire-clay which contains a little iron, but no lime ; it is incorporated
■with siliceous sand. The dough is compressed in a mould, dried and strongly kilned.
They stand saline and leaden fluxes in assaying operations very well ; are rather
porous on account of the coarseness of the sand, but are thereby less apt to crack
from sudden heating or cooling. They molt under the fusing-point of bar-iron.
Beaufay in Paris has lately succeeded in making a tolerable imitation of the Hessian
crucibles with a fire-clay found near Namur in the Ardennes.
Berthier has published the following elaborate analyses of several kinds of
crucibles : —
English
St. Etienne
Glass-
Bohemian
Gloss-
Hessian
Beaufay
for cast
for cast
pots at
glass-
pots of
Silica .
steel
steel
Nemours
67-4
pots
Creusot
70-9
64-6
63-7
65-2
680
680
Alumina
24-8
33-4
20-7
25-0
320
290
28-0
Oxide of iron
3-8
1-0
40
7-2
0-8
2-2
20
Magnesia .
trace
trace
trace
0-6
trace
Water .
...
...
10-3'
...
...
...
10
Wurzur states the composition of the sand and clay in the Hessian crucibles
as follows : —
Clay; silica 10*1 ; alumina 65*4 ; oxides of iron and manganese 1-2 ; lime 0*3 ; water 23
Sand; „ 95-6; „ 2-1; „ „ 1-5; „ 0-8
The composition of some of the best varieties of fire-clay, as deduced from tho
analyses of Berthier and Salvetat, is given in the following table : —
Dried at 212°
Great Almerode Hes-
sian crucible-clay
Beaufay's
Department
of Ardennes
Brierley Hill, near
Stourbridge
Schierdorf,
near
Passau
Berthier
Salvetat
Berthier
Berthier
Salvetat
Salvetat
Hygrometric water
Combined water .
15'2
043
14-00
19-0
10-3
]7*34
0-50
16-50
Silica .
46-5
47-50
620
63-7
45-25
45-79
Alumina
34-9
34-37
27-0
20-7
28-77
2810
Oxide of iron
3-0
1-24
20
4-0
7-72
6-55
Lime .
...
0-50
...
0-47
200
Magnesia .
Alkalis
...
1-00
trace
...
...
...
Quoted from Knapp's ' Technology.'
Mr. C. Cowper has analysed the clays used at Birmingham for glass-pots. His re-
sults were as follow : —
Silica ....
Alumina
Oxide of iron
Carbonate of lime
„ magnesia .
Water.
Total
In the dry state
In the ordinary state
Best Stourbridge
pot clay
Clay from
Monmouth
Best Stonrbridge
pot clay
Clay from
Monmouth
70-6
25-9
20
1-5
trace
80-1
17-9
1-0
1-0
63-3
23-3
1-8
1-3
trace
100
75-3
16-8
1-0
0-9
'6-0
1000
100-0
1000
100-0
Black-lead crucibles are made of two parts of graphite and one of fire-clay, mixed
■with water into a paste, pressed in moulds, and well dried, but not baked hard in the
• This crnoible had been analysed before being baked in the kiln
MERCURY 227
kiln. They bear a higher heat than the Hessian crucibles, as well as sudden changes of
temperature ; have a smooth surface, and are therefore preferred by themelters of gold
and silver. This compound forms excellent small or portable furnaces.
The crucibles from Passau or Ipser are made from one part plastic clay from
Schildorf, and from two to three parts of an impure graphite, which, according to
Berthier's analysis, consists of —
Carbon . ........ 34
Silica 41
Alumina 15
Oxide of iron 8
Magnesia, water . 2
100
Berthier has examined the crucibles of different districts ; his results are as follow : —
Crucibles from Gros Almerode
SiUca
Alumina
Oxide of
iron
Magnesia
70-9
24-8
3-8
„ Paris ....
64-6
34-4
1-0
„ Saveignies (Beaufay's)
72-3
19-5
3-9
„ England (for steel) .
710
23-0
40
„ St. Etienne (for steel)
65-2
250
7-2
Glass pots from Nemours
67-4
320
0-8
„ Bohemia
680
290
2-2
0-5
Mr. Anstey describes his patent process for making crucibles as follows : — Take
two parts of fine-ground raw Stourbridge clay, and one part of the hardest gas-coke,
previously pulverised, and sifted through a sieve of one-eighth of an inch mesh (if the
coke is ground too fine, the pots are very apt to crack). Mix the ingredients together
with the proper quantity of water, and tread the mass well. The pot is moulded by
hand upon a wooden block, supported on a spindle which turns in a hole in the bench ;
there is a gauge to regulate the thickness of the melting pot, and a cap of linen or cotton
placed wet upon the core before the clay is applied, to prevent the clay from sticking
partially to the core, in the taking-off ; the cap adheres to the pot only while wet, and
may bo removed without trouble or hazard when dry. He employs a wooden bat to
assist in moulding the pot; when moulded, it is carefully dried at a gentle heat. A
pot dried as above, when wanted for use, is first warmed by the fire-side, and is then
laid in the furnace with the mouth downwards (the red cokes being previously
damped with cold ones in order to lessen the heat) ; more coke is then thrown in till
the pot is covered, and it is now brought gradually to a red heat. The pot is next
turned and fixed in a proper position in the surface, without being allowed to cool,
and is then charged with cold iron, so that the metal, when melted, shall have its sur-
face a little below the mouth of the pot. The iron is melted in about an hour and a
half, and no flux or addition of any kind is made use of. A pot will last for fourteen
or even eighteen successive meltings, provided it is not allowed to cool in the intervals ;
but if it is cool, will probably crack. These pots, it is said, can bear a greater heat
than others without softening, and will, consequently, deliver the metal in a more fluid
state than the best Birmingham pots will.
The Cornish crucible has been long known, and valued for all assaying purposes.
They are prepared in large quantities for the ordinary assays made in the county, and
are exported in considerable numbers. The base of these crucibles is the Poole and
Stourbridge clay, which is mixed with a certain proportion of sand obtained itom
St. Agnes, and ground pots.
Dr. Percy has favoured us with his analysis of the Cornish crucible : —
Silica 72-29
Alumina ........ 25'32
Peroxide of iron 1*07
Lime 0"38
Magnesia . . trace
Potash 1-14
MEXrACCAiriTE. An ore of titanium, found in the bed of a rivulet which flows
into the valley of Menaccan in Cornwall.
ZtSERCVRV, or Quicksilver. This metal is distinguished by its fluidity at com-
mon temperatures ; its specific gravity=13'6; its silver-blue lustre; and its extreme
o2
228 MERCURY
mobility. A cold of 39" below zero of Fahrenheit, or —40° Cent, is required for its
congelation, in -which state its density is increased in the proportion of 10 to 9, or it
becomes of specific gravity 150. At a temperature of d62° F. it boils and distils off in
an elastic vapour of specific gravity 6*976, which, being condensed by cold, forms puri-
rified mercury.
Mercury combines with great readiness with gold, silver, zinc, tin, and bismuth,
forming, in certain proportions, fluid solution of these metals. Such mercurial alloys
are called amalgams. This property is extensively employed in many arts ; as in ex-
tracting gold and silver from their ores ; in gilding, plating, making looking-glasses,
&c. (See Amaixjam.) Humboldt estimates at 16,000 quintals, of 100 lbs. each,
the quantity of mercury annually employed in the treatment of the ores of the mines
of New Spain ; three-fourths of which came from European mines.
The mercurial ores belong principally to the following four species : —
1. Native quicksilver. — It occurs in most of the mines of the other mercurial ores,
in the form of small drops attached to the rocks, or lodged in the crevices of other ores.
2. Native silver amalgam. — It has a silver-white colour, and is more or less soft,
according to the proportion which the mercury bears to the silver. Its density is
sometimes so high as 14. A moderate heat dissipates the mercury, and leaves the
silver. Klaproth states its constituents at silver 36, and mercury 64, in 100 ; but
Cordier makes them to be, 27 i silver and 72 ^ mercury. It occurs crystallised in
the cubic system. It has been found in the territory of Deux-Ponts ; at Rozenau and
Niderstana, in Hungary, in a canton of Tyrol, at Sala in Sweden, at Kolyvan in
Siberia, and at Allemont in Dauphiny ; in small quantity at Almaden in Spain, and at
Idria in Carniola. In the rich silver mines of Arqueros, near Coquimbo, tiiis mineral
occurs, having the composition, silver 8649, mercury 13"51. This is the arquerite of
Domeyko. By the chemical union of the mercury with the silver, the amalgam, which
should by calculation have a specific gravity of only 12"5, acquires that of 14"11.
See Amalgam ; Aequerite.
3. Sulphide of Mercury, commonly called Cinnabar, is a red mineral of various
shades ; burning at the blowpipe with a blue flame, volatilising entirely ^^■ith the smell
of burning sulphur, and giving a quicksilver coating to a plat« of copper held in the
fumes. Even the powder of cinnabar rubbed on copper whitens it. Its density varies
from 6"9 to 10-2. It becomes negatively electrical by fiiction. Analysed by Klaproth,
it was found to consist of mercury 84"5, sulphur 14'7o. Its composition, viewed as a
bisulphiu-et of mercury, is, mercury 86'2, sulphur 138. Its chief localities are Idria,
in Carniola ; Almaden, in Spain ; and New Almaden, in California. It is found also
at Wolfstein, in Ehenish Bavaria ; in Saxony, in the Hartz ; in Carinthia, Styria,
Bohemia, Hungary, and Tuscany ; in the Ural and Altai ; in China, Japan, Queensland,
Mexico, and Peru. See Cinnabae.
A bituminous sulphide of mercury appears to be the base of the great exploration of
Idria ; it is of a dark liver-red hue, and of a slaty texture, with straight or twisted
plates. It exists in large masses in the bituminous schists of Idria. M. Berard
mentions also the locality of Miinster-Appel, in the duchy of Deux-Ponts, where the
ore includes impressions of fishes, curiously spotted with cinnabar.
The compact variety of Idria ore seems very complex in composition, according
to the following analysis of Klaproth : — Mercury, 81"8 ; sulphur, 13"75 ; carbon, 2"3 ;
silica, 065 ; alumina, 0*55 ; oxide of iron, 0-20 ; copper, 002 ; water, 0'73 ; in 100
parts. M. Berard mentions another variety from the Palatinate, which yields a large
quantity of bitumen by distillation ; and it was present in all the specimens of these
ores analysed by Dr. Ure for the German Mines Company. At Idiia and Almaden fl
the sulphides are extremely rich in mercury. H
4. Chloride of mercury, or Native Calomel, commonly called Horn-mercury. This
mineral, which is very rare, occurs in very small crystals of a pearl-grey or greenish-
grey colour, or in small nipples which stud, like crystals, the cavities, fissures,
or geodes among the ferruginous gangues of the other ores of mercury. It is brittle,
and entirely volatile at the blowpipe ; characters which distinguish it from horn
silver. See Calomel.
Ores of mercury are found in rocks of almost every geological age. At Almaden,
in Spain, they occur in deposits at the contact of Silurian slates with a metamorphic
rock locally called frayleaca. At Eipa, in Tuscany, the veins traverse mica-slate.
The deposits at Deux»Ponts, or Zwcibrucken, in the Palatinate, are said to be in red
sandstones of Permian age, and in the sechstcin, or magnesian limestone. At Idria,
in Carniola, the ores are disseminated through shales and black compact limestones
of the Jurassic period; and at New Almaden, in California, the rocks ccntaining the
cinnabar belong to the Cretaceous period. Cinnabar is now in course of formation in
some of the siliceous deposits thrown down from the hot springs of California and
Nevada.
I
MERCURT 22ft
Tho great mines of Idria in Frinli, in the county of Goritz, •were discovered in
1497, aiid the principal ore mined there is the bituminous cinnabar. Tho workings
of this mine have been pushed beyond the depth of 280 yards. The product in quick-
silver might easily amount annually to 6,000 metrical quintals =600 tons British; but,
in order to uphold the price of the metal, the Austrian Government has restricted the
production to 160 tons. Tho memorable fire of 1803 was most disastrous to these
mines. It was extinguished only by drowning all the underground workings. Tho
sublimed mercury in this catastrophe occasioned diseases and nervous tremblings to
more than 900 persons in the neighbourhood.
The mines of Almaden according to Pliny supplied the Greek? with red cinnabar 700
years before the Christian era ; and Eome, in his time, annually received 700,000
pounds from the same mines. Since 1827, the Almaden mines have produced 22,000
cwts. of mercui'y every year, with a corps of 700 miners and 200 smelters ; and,
indeed, the veins are so extremely rich, that though they have been worked pretty
constantly during so many centuries, the mines have hardly reached the depth of
330 yards, or something less than 1,000 feet. The lode actually under exploration
is from H to 16 yards thick, and it becomes thicker still at the crossing of the veins.
The ores yield in their smelting works only 10 per cent, upon an average; but there
is no doubt, that nearly one-half of the quicksilver is lost, and dispersed in the air, to
the great injury of the workmen's health, in consequence of the barbarous apparatus
of aludels employed in its sublimation ; an apparatus which has remained without
any material change for the better since the days of the Moorish dominion in Spain.
M. Lo Play, who published, in tho Anno.les dcs Mines, his Itinerairc to Almaden, says,
that the mercurial contents of the ores are notahlement plus elevies than the product.
These veins extend all the way from the town of Chillon to Almadenejos. Upon
the borders of the streamlet Balde Alogues, a black slate is also mined which is abun-
dantly impregnated with metallic mercury.
These celebrated mines, near to which lie those of Las Cucbas and of Almadenejos,
after having been the property of the religious knights of Ccdatrava, who had assisted
in expelling the Moors, were farmed off to the celebrated Fugger merchants of
Augsburg; and afterwards explored on account of tho government, from the date
of 1645. Their produce was, till very lately, entirelj'^ appropriated to the treatment
of the gold and silver ores of the New World.
The mines of the Palatinate, situated on the left bank of the Ehine, though they
do not approach in richness and importance to those of Idria and Almaden, merit,
however, all the attention of the government that farms them out. They are nu-
merous, and varied in geological position. Those of Drey-Konigszug, at Potzberg,
near Kussel, deserve particular notice. The workings have reached a depth of more
than 220 yards ; the oro being a sandstone strongly impregnated with sulphuret
of mercury. The produce of these mines is estimated at about 30 tons per annum.
There are also in Hungary, Bohemia, and several other parts of Germany, some
inconsiderable mines of mercury, the total produce of which is valued at about 30 or
40 tons on an average of several years.
The mines of Huancavelica, in Peru, are tho more interesting, as their products are
directly employed in treating the ores of gold and silver which abound in that portion
of America. These quicksilver mines have been explored since 1570, the actual pro-
duce of the explorations being, according to Helms, about the beginning of this
century, from 170 to 180 tons per annum.
In 1782 recourse was had by the South American miners to the mercury extracted
in the province of Yun-nan, in China.
The mercurial mines of California are thus described by Dr. Tobin : —
' That part of California where I have been residing, and that which I have just
visited, consists of three long ranges of trap mountains, with two wide valleys dividing
them, the valley of the San Joaquin, and the valley of Santa Clara. Near this last
place are the quicksilver mines of New Almaden, where I have been working. Tho
matrix of the cinnabar ore is the same trap of which the mountain ranges are com
posed, and as yet only one great deposit of this ore has been found, though traces
of quicksilver ores have been discovered in other places. The ores are composed
solely of sulphuret of mercury (averaging 36 per cent.), red oxido of iron, and sUica ;
and, had the mine been properly worked from the commencement, almost any quan-
tity of ore might be extracted ; it now, however, more resembles a gigantic rabbit-
warren than a mine. Its greatest depth is about 160 feet, and the weekly extraction
of ores varies from 100 to 150 tons. 16 cylinders are at work, producing 1,400 to
1,600 lbs. daily.
Mr. Kusscll Bartlott, the United States Commissioner on the Mexican and United
States Boundary Question, who visited California in 1863, states that the quantity of
quicksilver produced annually at New Almaden, exceeds 1,000,000 lbs. During the
230
MERCUEY
year 1853 the total exports from San Francisco amounted to 1,350,000 lbs., valued at
683,189 dollars. All this, together with the large amount used in California, was tho
product of the New Almaden mine in the Santa Clara county, 12 miles from the town
of San Jose, which is 64 miles from the city of San Francisco. The working of the
mine was begun in the year 1846-7 by an English company, but for some reasons
was not profitable ; in 1849-50 it fell into American hands.
The analysis compared with that of the Old Almaden ore furnished the followiug
results to Mr. Bealey (' Quarterly Journal of Chemical Society,' vol. iv.) : —
Merciu-y .
Sulphur .
Iron .
Lime
Alumina .
Magnesia .
Silica
Loss .
New Almaden
Old Almaden
. 60-90
37-79
11-29
16-22
1-23
10-36
1-40
35*12 silica and alumina
0-61
—
0-49
—
14-41
•67
•51
100-00 10000
Production of Quicksilver in Ca 
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