I M, TAYLOR 
 ARTS AND MANUFACTURES 
 
 ILLUSTRATED, 
 
 W 1 T II 
 
 HISTORICAL AND LITERARY DETAILS, 
 
 IN 
 
 LECTURES 
 
 SOCIETY OF ARTS, 
 
 MANUFACTURES, AND COMMERCE. 
 
 ALSO 
 
 ADDRESS ILLUSTRATIONS APPENDIX. 
 
 ARTHUR AIKIN, SECRETARY. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 SOLD AT THE SOCIETY'S HOUSE, IN THE ADELPHL 
 
 1831—1845. 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2014 
 
 https://archive.org/details/artsmanufacturesOOaiki 
 
J. M. TAYLOR 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 AIKIN'S Lectures on POTTERY, Porcelain, 
 
 FURS and Fur Trade. TANNING and Leather Dressing. 
 
 TIMBER and Ornamental Wood, 
 
 (with list of 4o6 Indian Woods, collected by Dr. Willich, A. Maingy,&c, with a Table of 
 the results of comparative weight, strength, and durability, and Capt. Baker's supplement 
 of 452 Woods from India, the Cape, &c.) 
 
 SACCHARINE SUBSTANCES. 
 
 CORN MILLS. 
 
 LIMESTONE and Calcareous Cement, 
 
 (Also KNIGHT'S Descriptive Catalogue of Stones used in Mechanical Arts.) 
 LIGHT. Artificial, from solid substances. Manufacture of Candles. 
 
 COTTON MANUFACTURE, NATURAL AND COMMERCIAL HISTORY OF. 
 
 HORN — Tortoiseshell, Whalebone, manufacture and uses. Also Miscellaneo»s Illustrations, 
 in Arithmography, 
 
 BEES— Management ; various Hives; Food, &c 
 
 Daily Cleansing Streets of the Metropolis. Preserving Life from Shipwreck. Rendering 
 Paper Hangings useful, &c. Also Papers on the following Important subject* : — 
 
 Argand Smokeless Furnace — Williams 
 
 Barometer, Hygro — Ross 
 
 Ditto, improved — Wright 
 Blind, teaching to read and write 
 Blind Sun, Metallic Lath — Hughes 
 Bricks, Tiles, &c. new process — Prosser 
 Breakwater, Fixed — Johnson's plan 
 
 Ditto, natural, at Pisa 
 Bude Light, atmospheric — Bethell 
 
 Calculating Machine — Dr. Roth 
 Cannabic's Composition, from Hemp, for 
 
 Mouldings, &c. — Albano 
 Cement, Marble — Keene 
 Chain, also Tube improved — Cutler 
 Chirogymnast, Finger Exercices for Music — 
 
 Martin 
 Cloth, Filtered— Williams 
 Coating Iron, with zink, copper, &c, — 
 
 Elkington's process 
 
 Daguerreotype, progress and present state 
 
 — Claudet 
 Drying Machinery — Robinson 
 
 Electro Plating — Elkington 
 
 Excavating Machinery, American — Newton 
 
 Fire bars, moveable, and Smoke consuming 
 
 apparatus— Chanter 
 Fire Escapes — Taylor. Ditto — Thompson 
 Flues, construction of— Sylvester 
 Fuel, economising in boiler*— Fetley 
 Furnace, Inche's Patent 
 
 Gas Metre, dry — Defries 
 Glue, Marine — Jefferys 
 
 Lamp, Victoria 
 
 Ditto, Perfect Ventilating Burner— Faraday 
 Life Boat, apparatus for fitting ships' boats 
 for— Austin 
 
 Life Preserver, or Portable Life Belt — 
 
 Stephen 
 Light, signal — Robsnn 
 Lithotint, process— Hulltnandel 
 Locks 
 
 Locomotives, cause of rocking — Heaton 
 
 Marine Engine, double cylinder — Hick* 
 Monochord — Higgs 
 
 Pyramid of Gijeh — Perring 
 
 Railway Carriage, safety — Lee 
 
 Railway System, means of extending in 
 
 every portion of the United Kingdom— 
 
 Whishaw 
 
 Respiratory powers, apparatus for valuing, 
 
 with relation to health — Hutchinson 
 Rotary Engine — Beale 
 
 Silver Plating— Potter 
 Spade Husbandry — Fardon 
 Stoves 
 
 Sunken Vessels, Art of Raising 
 Syphon nursery for sick room — Rotch 
 
 Telegraphic signals by Electricity 
 
 Ditto, Cooke's Improvement 
 Time Table— Ellis 
 Type Setting Machine 
 
 Umbrella, Elaborate— Taunton 
 
 Valve, Safety, double acting steam — Wilson 
 
 Ventilator, Glass, self acting — Wroughton 
 
 Warp Printing, to produce clouded or China 
 
 — Kemp 
 Water Metre, Improved — Edge 
 Water Pipe Screw Joint — Perkins 
 Wire, Iron Rope — Smith 
 Wood Carving, Imitation — Braithwaite 
 Wood Paving, Stever's insmatic combina- 
 tion, applicable to — Davis. 
 
t 
 
J, M, TAYLOR 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 An account of the rise and progress of the 
 scientific societies of London would form a most 
 interesting and useful volume,, the pages of which 
 would he especially occupied hy the history in 
 particular of the Society for the Encouragement 
 of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce, which may, 
 without impropriety, be called the parent stock of 
 almost all the modem institutions for the ad- 
 vancement of various branches of the arts and 
 sciences. 
 
 The present seems to afford a suitable oppor- 
 tunity for presenting to the public some account 
 of the origin and progress of this Society, and of 
 reviewing its progress from the commencement in 
 1753 to the present time. 
 
 In commemorating the names of our founders 
 and early benefactors, the name of William Ship- 
 ley, u whose public spirit gave rise to the Society," 
 cannot be too frequently called to mind ; nor 
 should those high-minded noblemen, Lords Folke- 
 stone and Romney, who were among the eleven 
 patriotic individuals assembled at the first annual 
 
vi 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 meeting on the 29th March, 1754, be omitted in 
 any historical notice of the Society. Lord Folke- 
 stone was elected first president of the Society 
 in 1755, and occupied the presidential chair until 
 his decease in 1761, when his noble colleague, 
 Lord Ptomney, was unanimously elected his suc- 
 cessor, and continued to preside over the Society 
 with devoted feelings of attachment for thirty-two 
 years. These noble individuals undertook to 
 make good any deficiency which might arise from 
 want of subscriptions in the amount necessary for 
 the first year's rewards, which at that time were 
 entirely of a pecuniary nature. The first rewards 
 offered by the Society were in the class of fine 
 arts ; being " fifteen pounds each for the best draw- 
 ings by boys and girls under fourteen years of age, 
 with proofs of their abilities." And in the class 
 of chemistry the sum of thirty pounds was offered 
 by the Society to the person who, under certain 
 conditions, should produce to the Society cobalt 
 found in England ; and another reward, in the 
 same class, of equal amount to the person who 
 should raise in England a certain quantity of 
 madder. The general meetings of the Society 
 were at that early period of its existence held 
 on the second Wednesday in each month ; a 
 committee also met on the fourth Wednesday in 
 each month, to whom it was left to carry out in 
 detail the Society's business. The first invention 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 vii 
 
 laid before the Society appears to have been a 
 float, contrived by Mr. Shipley himself in No- 
 vember 1754, which is thus described in the 
 Society's records as an apparatus "to preserve 
 the lives of them that fall overboard." 
 
 The gradual progress of the Society in its early 
 stages is marked by the following incidents. In 
 January 1755 a box was ordered for the papers 
 of the Society, and on February 19th of the same 
 year a plan of the Society was agreed on, and Mr. 
 Shipley was desired to wait on such noblemen 
 and gentlemen as w r ere likely to become sub- 
 scribers. In March of the same year the Society 
 had made sufficient progress to enable them to 
 hold their meetings in apartments of their own 
 in Craig's Court, Fleet Street, and from that time 
 to discontinue their earlier practice of hiring a 
 room at Peele's or other coffee-house for such 
 meetings. At every succeeding meeting numbers 
 were added to the list, so that the Society was 
 soon enabled to offer additional premiums : among 
 others, for the best zaffer and smalt from English 
 cobalt ; for the best designs for weavers, em- 
 broiderers, or calico-printers, by boys and girls 
 under the age of seventeen ; for the best hides 
 of buff leather, and for the best mode of tinning 
 vessels. 
 
 In March 1755 Mr. Edward Wade presented 
 a pamphlet to the Society on the subject of 
 
viii 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 planting timber on the commons and waste-lands 
 of the country. This gave rise in future years 
 to the Society's offering rewards for planting oak, 
 fir, larch, and other timber; and among the dis- 
 tinguished persons who received the gold and 
 silver medals of the Society on this account, may 
 be mentioned the Dukes of Bedford and Beaufort, 
 the Earls of Winterton, Upper Ossory, and Mans- 
 field, the Bishop of LlandafF, and John Christian 
 Cur wen, Esq. of Windermere, who also received 
 several medals for improvements in agriculture ; and 
 it is well worthy of being recorded that Mr. Curwen 
 stated at a public meeting that but for this Society 
 he should never have been a farmer. 
 
 In 1756 the Society removed to larger apart- 
 ments in the Strand. The total amount which 
 had been received at that time from subscribers 
 from the commencement of the Society's labours 
 was 360/. 19s., and the disbursements, chiefly in 
 the shape of premiums, amounted to 228/. 8s. 5d. ; 
 whereas up to the present time a sum, certainly 
 not less than 100,000/. has been expended in 
 furthering the general objects of the Society. 
 
 On the 12th October, 1774, the Society held 
 their first meeting in the Adelphi, Owen Salusbury 
 Brereton, Esq. V.P. in the chair. Medals as hono- 
 rary rewards were first proposed by Mr. Baker, an 
 active and useful member of the Society, in March 
 1756, but it was not until 1758 that the first gold 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 ix 
 
 medal was ordered to be struck for the purpose of 
 being presented to the noble president, Lord 
 Viscount Folkestone, for eminent services. 
 
 The Society's first silver medal was presented 
 to Lady Louisa Grenville, by the noble president 
 in 1757, for a drawing. 
 
 In 1760 the Society offered twenty-four re- 
 wards in the class of agriculture ; twenty-one in 
 that of chemistry, dyeing, and mineralogy ; forty- 
 two in that of fine arts ; thirty-two in that of 
 machines, and manufactures ; and forty " for the 
 advantage of the British colonies. " 
 
 Among the eminent artists who at various times 
 have received rewards from this Society, may be 
 mentioned the names of Sir Thomas Lawrence, 
 Nollekens, the Pingos, Bacon, Flaxman, Sir 
 William Ross, Edwin Landseer, W. Finden, and 
 Wyon. 
 
 Sir Thomas Lawrence received the silver 
 palette and five guineas, in 1782, for a copy in 
 crayons of the Transfiguration. 
 
 To Nollekens was awarded, in 1761, ten gui- 
 neas for his basso-relievo of Jephtha's rash vow, 
 which is still preserved in the anteroom ; and, in 
 1763, the same artist received fifty guineas for a 
 basso-relievo in marble. 
 
 In 1769, and subsequent years, the Pingos 
 received several of the Society's rewards for medal 
 dies. 
 
X 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 Bacon, in each of the three years, 1763, 1764, 
 and 1765, received a pecuniary reward for a basso- 
 relievo in clay ; the first amount being ten, the 
 second fifteen, and the third twenty guineas. 
 
 Flaxman, in 1768, received ten guineas ; and 
 to the same artist, in 1771, was awarded the So- 
 ciety's gold medal for a superior production in the 
 same class of art. 
 
 Sir William Ross, who, in 1807, at the early 
 age of twelve years, received his first reward, in 
 the shape of the Society's silver palette, for a 
 drawing of the death of Wat Tyler, attained se- 
 veral superior rewards in subsequent years for 
 works of higher merit. 
 
 In 1810, the silver palette was adjudged to 
 Edwin Landseer for an etching. 
 
 In the same year, a similar honorary premium 
 was awarded to W. Finden, the engraver, for an 
 outline drawing; and the Society's gold medal to 
 Mr. W. Wyon for a medal die. 
 
 The above are selected as a few of the eminent 
 artists whose early talents, first fostered and en- 
 couraged by the Society of Arts, have since led 
 them to the temple of Fame. 
 
 The first public exhibition ever made by the 
 artists of the British metropolis took place within 
 the rooms of the Society of Arts, in the Strand, in 
 the spring of 1760 ; and so entirely successful was 
 this effort of bringing, as it were, into one focus 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 XI 
 
 the performances of British artists, that the So- 
 ciety continued to allow a similar exhibition for 
 several subsequent years. 
 
 In 1757, the business of the Society had in- 
 creased to so great an extent, that it was found 
 necessary to appoint eight standing committees, in 
 order that the various matters brought before the 
 Society might receive that attention which they 
 required. These committees were termed Com- 
 mittees of Correspondence, — of Rules, Orders, and 
 Ordinary Business, — of Colonies and Trade, — of 
 Minerals and Chemical Subjects, — of Mechanics 
 and Manufactures, — of Agriculture, — of Arts and 
 Literature, — and of Accounts. Up to the present 
 day, the different subjects brought before the 
 Society have been referred to committees similarly 
 constituted, some of whom meet each week during 
 the session, which commences in the early part of 
 November, and finishes in the early part of June. 
 
 The scientific committees, as at present ap- 
 pointed, are called, the Committees of Agriculture, 
 of Chemistry, of Colonies and Trade, of Fine Arts, 
 of Manufactures, and of Mechanics ; besides which 
 there are the Committees of Miscellaneous Matters, 
 of Accounts, and of Correspondence and Papers. To 
 each of the committees are appointed annually two 
 chairmen ; and any members of the Society, who 
 are so disposed, may attend any or all the meetings 
 of such committees, except that of Miscellaneous 
 
xii 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 Matters, which consists of the chairmen of the 
 respective committees, and six other members 
 chosen annually from the body at large. 
 
 From the commencement of the Society's ex- 
 istence, the business meetings, for the purpose of 
 investigating the merits of the inventions sent in 
 for reward, were necessarily attractive to the mem- 
 bers who took an active part in the administration 
 of affairs, and who found a compensation for their 
 services in the acquisition of much useful and 
 interesting information, bearing on the arts and 
 manufactures of the country, whereby they became 
 every day better qualified to adjudicate on the 
 merits of the inventions brought before them. 
 
 For a long time the house of the Society was 
 the only place of meeting for certain classes of 
 the members, who found an advantage in the op- 
 portunities of discussing, with those of the same 
 profession or calling, questions of professional inter- 
 est ; but, as those questions only arose incident- 
 ally, and were contingent on the nature of the 
 communications made by inventors and others, 
 they at length formed other societies, with laws 
 and regulations of their own, in order that they 
 might prosecute, without intermixture with other 
 matters, the investigation, and promote the ad- 
 vancement, of those subjects in which they were 
 more especially interested. The effect of this was 
 to occasion a less frequent attendance at the com- 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 xiii 
 
 mittees of those whose opinions, as practical men, 
 were always desirable ; and, although they con- 
 tinued to support the Society with their subscrip- 
 tions, and assisted in the business occasionally, 
 the zeal with which they had formerly represented 
 the Society among their friends and connexions, 
 for the purpose of supplying the places of the 
 members lost to the Society by death and other 
 casualties, relaxed or was partly absorbed in the 
 interests of their own institutions. The rapid 
 march of improvement in the practical arts con- 
 temporary with the operations of the Society, and 
 in a great measure promoted by its influence, sti- 
 mulated the general taste for useful knowledge and 
 scientific pursuits, and, to supply this demand, nu- 
 merous societies of a popular character arose, 
 which afforded to their members the means of 
 rational and instructive amusement ; but inasmuch 
 as the benefits were exclusively confined to their 
 members, as they offered no encouragement to 
 ingenious industry, as they published no opinions 
 which might serve as a protecting guide for the 
 public, their essential character was entirely dis- 
 tinct from that of the Society of Arts. 
 
 This difference has not been sufficiently under- 
 stood by those who have withdrawn their sub- 
 scriptions from this Society for the purpose of be- 
 coming members of other scientific institutions of 
 the kind just alluded to. The effects of these 
 
xiv 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 disturbing attractions have been extremely detri- 
 mental to the interests of the Society ; and since 
 the commencement of the present session 1841-42, 
 the expediency of increasing the interest of the 
 meetings by the adoption of measures which shall 
 in no way interfere with the original objects of the 
 Society is a question which has occupied the se- 
 rious attention of the members. Accordingly, it 
 is now the practice of the Society to receive com- 
 munications on any subjects of novelty and interest 
 connected with the arts and manufactures of the 
 country, including patent inventions to be read or 
 explained with models and drawings at the Wed- 
 nesday evening meetings. An open discussion 
 upon each subject is promoted with a view to 
 render it as complete as possible by eliciting" from 
 the experience of practical men desiderata still un- 
 supplied, and their opinions of its comparative 
 merits with other similar inventions already in use 
 with the public* 
 
 This addition to the ordinary business in no 
 way interferes with the interests of the candidates 
 for rewards, the contributors finding their account 
 in the publicity thus given to their inventions, and 
 contenting themselves with the advantages derived 
 from that publicity. 
 
 * See the Address of Mr. Graham, the late secretary, at 
 the distribution of rewards, June Gth, 1842, 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 XV 
 
 The most liberal construction of the intentions 
 of the founders of the Society is, that ingenious in- 
 dustry should be encouraged by every available 
 means, and it is now considered certain that these 
 intentions are but half fulfilled if the poor inventor 
 be debarred the advantage of a reference to the Mu- 
 seum and Transactions of the Society, as the sources 
 of information upon all, or, at least, the most im- 
 portant useful inventions ; and it is equally cer- 
 tain that if he trusts to them as a safe reference, 
 while they do not include patented inventions, he 
 takes the risk of wasting his time by inventing 
 again that which has been invented before, as it is 
 notorious that the most important inventions of the 
 present day are secured by patent. It is equally 
 notorious that patents are every day obtained for 
 inventions which prove to be altogether futile. 
 
 The patentee who receives a vote of thanks 
 from the Society must not consider that the mea- 
 sure of approbation thus expressed by the Society 
 in publishing his communication is less than that 
 of other inventions of non -patentees for which me- 
 dals or pecuniary premiums may have been voted. 
 The whole tendency of these regulations, both as 
 regards the proceedings at the weekly meetings and 
 the publication of patent inventions in the Society's 
 Transactions, is to render the Society more exten- 
 sively useful and valuable as a national institution ; 
 and it is hoped that they will be so far appreciated 
 
xvi 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 as to obtain the amouut of support requisite for 
 placing the Society once more in the prominent 
 station which it deserves to occupy. 
 
 Since the appearance of the fifty-fourth volume 
 of the Society's Transactions, the Society has lost 
 an old and faithful servant, the late Miss Cockings, 
 who for forty-two years had discharged the duties 
 of housekeeper with great credit to herself and ad- 
 vantage to the Society. 
 
 The father of Miss Cockings was registrar to 
 the Society for thirty years, until his death, in 
 180 J, and which is recorded in the preface to the 
 twentieth volume of the Society's Transactions as 
 of " that very faithful officer, whose honest zeal in 
 the discharge of his duty, during a service of thirty 
 years, entitles his memory to this record of 
 esteem." 
 
 In 1802, Miss Cockings, who had assisted her 
 father for several years in the discharge of his 
 duties, was appointed housekeeper, and acted also 
 as registrar and librarian until within a fortnight of 
 her death, which occurred on the 20th February, 
 1844, after an illness accompanied by considerable 
 suffering. 
 
 It is truly gratifying to be able to state that a 
 solid monument has been erected over her grave 
 at the Kensal Green Cemetery by a subscription 
 among the members of the Society, " In grateful 
 remembrance of the perfect integrity and the con- 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 xvii 
 
 stant and zealous diligence with which she per- 
 formed the duties of her office." 
 
 An event has occurred in the past year, the 
 mention of which cannot with propriety be omitted 
 in the present volume. A legacy of 5000/., 3 per 
 cent consols, has been bequeathed to the Society by 
 the late Dr. George Swiney, who died in January 
 1844, with directions, — " That every fifth year 
 from the date of the testator's decease, a silver 
 goblet of the value of 100/., containing gold coin 
 to the same amount, shall be presented to the 
 author of the best published work on jurispru- 
 dence." The remainder, about 90/. per annum, to 
 be applied to the general purposes of the Society. 
 The stock has been transferred into the names 
 of the Society's trustees. 
 
482 
 
 ON POTTERY. 
 
 ON POTTERY. — Part I. 
 BY A. AIKIN, F.L.S. F.G.S. SECRETARY TO THE SOCIETY. 
 Read Jan. 27, 1829. 
 
 In the section of the Rules and Orders of the Society 
 which relates to the duty of the Secretary, he is directed 
 " as much as possible to endeavour to make himself 
 acquainted with the nature and circumstances of the 
 several arts and manufactures of this and other coun- 
 tries." In obedience to these directions, when the plan 
 was first projected to devote a few evenings in the session 
 to illustrate, by the exhibition of specimens, the present 
 state of the Arts and Manufactures of Great Britain, I 
 proposed to collect, from such authentic sources as were 
 accessible to me, a sufficient number • of particulars to 
 explain the specimens exhibited, and to call forth dis- 
 cussions upon them, tending, I would hope, to the rational 
 entertainment of those present, and occasionally to the 
 improvement of those useful and ornamental arts that 
 have so largely contributed to the opulence and civilisation 
 of our country. 
 
 It never entered, however, into my thoughts, that if 
 left to my own resources I should be at all able to fulfil 
 the expectations of the Society : but I have had many 
 opportunities, from my official situation, of knowing how 
 well furnished the Society is with men personally and 
 professionally conversant with almost every branch of 
 manufacture. On these I knew that I could rely for all 
 the practical information which our plan requires. I was 
 also well aware that many of our members who rank 
 
ON POTTERY. 
 
 483 
 
 among the higher classes of society are in possession of 
 rare, and curious, and interesting specimens, illustrative 
 either of the ancient or modern state of art. Some of 
 these treasures, I felt confident, would be offered by the 
 liberality of their owners to the inspection of the Society. 
 I also considered it not improbable that those public and 
 scientific bodies, with whom we keep up an intercourse, 
 by the mutual exchange of Transactions, and other acts 
 of civility, would occasionally enrich our exhibitions by 
 the loan of specimens. The Society will, I am sure, be 
 much gratified in being informed, that whenever I have 
 made application in their name for information or for 
 specimens, I have not only not experienced any repulse, 
 but all my requests have been granted with a prompti- 
 tude, a kindness, and a liberality, beyond my utmost ex- 
 pectations. I shall hereafter have an opportunity of 
 mentioning the names of those from whom has been 
 derived whatever of practical information I may be able 
 this evening to communicate ; but I think it right now, 
 upon the very threshold of our undertaking, to record 
 the liberality of the Directors of the East India Company, 
 who, at the suggestion of Dr. Wilkins, their librarian, 
 have placed at our disposal such articles in their museum 
 as may fall in with our plan. Those only who know 
 the riches of this collection, in models, in specimens, and 
 in products illustrative of the arts and manufactures 
 of India and other oriental countries, can form an ade- 
 quate idea of the obligation thus conferred upon us by 
 Dr. Wilkins. To Thomas Hope, Esq., one of our mem- 
 bers, many thanks are also due, for the valuable and 
 extremely interesting specimens of Etruscan vases and 
 other articles, with which he has enriched this our first 
 exhibition. 
 
484 
 
 ON POTTERY. 
 
 The art of pottery, or, to use a still more general 
 term, the manufacture of earthenware, has been selected 
 for illustration on the present and the next succeeding 
 evening; and if adequately treated of with regard to 
 its history, both ancient and modern, to the physical 
 and chemical principles on which it is founded, and to 
 the machinery and manipulations by which its various 
 forms are produced, as well as with reference to the con- 
 nexion of these forms with the principles of fine art 
 and correct taste, would extend far beyond the bounds 
 within which it has been thought proper to confine it. 
 If, therefore, some curious and important particulars are 
 only slightly touched, or even wholly omitted, let it be 
 remembered that, compelled as I have been to select, 
 I have, to the best of my judgment, culled out those 
 particulars which appeared to me most likely to interest 
 and inform the curiosity of my audience. 
 
 Certain natural earthy mixtures, called clays, possess 
 the property of plasticity ; that is, when mixed with 
 water so as to be sensibly moist, they yield readily in any 
 direction to pressure without breaking, and when the 
 pressure is removed, they retain the form given to them, 
 without shewing any tendency to return to their original 
 figure. When dried, by the air or by the sunshine, or 
 by an artificial heat not exceeding that of boiling water, 
 they acquire a certain degree of hardness ; but when 
 pressed by a force greater than their power of resistance, 
 they give way at once, having lost their plasticity, and 
 having become perfectly brittle. These fragments, how- 
 ever, when beaten up with water, compose a mass equally 
 ductile as at first. But if the dried clay has been sub- 
 jected to a red heat, its hardness is found to be much 
 increased ; and its fragments, when broken, are no more 
 
ON POTTERY. 
 
 485 
 
 capable of forming a mass with water than so much sand. 
 On these two properties of clay, namely, its original 
 plasticity, and its subsequent hardness and resistance to 
 the action of water when burnt, the manufacture of 
 earthenware essentially depends : the former allowing 
 the artist easily to give to the material any figure that 
 he pleases, and the latter giving to the ware the re- 
 quisite firmness, and the capability of holding liquids, 
 and resisting the action of most of them even when 
 boiling hot. 
 
 Clay consists essentially of two ingredients, alumina 
 and silica. The first of these it is which, by its combi- 
 nation with water, acquires that pulpy kind of consistence 
 which fits it to be the cement of the mass ; the silica 
 is in the state of sand, more or less fine, and may be 
 considered as the passive ingredient. If pure alumina 
 be beaten up with water and afterwards dried, however 
 slowly, it will be found to contract greatly in all its 
 dimensions, and in so doing will become rifty, that is, 
 full of cracks, and will exfoliate and fall to pieces. The 
 addition of sand, especially in the proportion of from five 
 to ten parts of it to one of alumina, leaves the mass still 
 plastic, and diminishes greatly the defects which would 
 attend the use of alumina alone. A red heat, in pro- 
 portion to its intensity, produces effects on alumina similar 
 to those which evaporation does ; the mass contracts, 
 and if it is large or thick, the heat will necessarily be 
 unequally applied ; hence arises not only a diminution 
 of bulk, but cracks and warping from the truth of the 
 original figure. But sand, which obviates in a great 
 degree the former defects, also corrects these, because it 
 is neither liable to combine with water, nor to undergo 
 permanent contraction by heat. If, now, the natural clays 
 
486 
 
 ON POTTERY. 
 
 consisted merely of silica and alumina, all their varieties 
 would depend on the relative proportion of the two in- 
 gredients, and on the coarseness or fineness of the grains 
 of sand. The higher the heat to which alumina is ex- 
 posed, the harder and more compact it becomes, so that 
 at length it will scratch glass, and will not admit water 
 to rise in its pores ; and as the mixture of alumina and 
 silica in any proportions is infusible in the heat of our 
 furnaces, it is evident that a great degree of hardness 
 may be given, by high and long-continued firing, to wares 
 made of these ingredients, and that such ware will resist 
 the percolation of fluids ; but, at the same time, in pro- 
 portion to its density will be the hazard of warping 
 during the process of being baked. 
 
 It is, however, extremely rare to find a clay which 
 contains only the two substances above mentioned. In 
 general, they are mixed with lime in the state of carbonate 
 and sulphate, with magnesia in the state of carbonate, 
 with iron in the state of oxide or combined with sulphur, 
 and with common salt. Almost all these compounds, or 
 at least the bases of them, when exposed to a red heat, act 
 chemically on one another, and on the silica and alumina. 
 The precise nature of these actions has not been ascer- 
 tained, the matter not having yet been investigated with 
 the care that its importance deserves ; but the following 
 particulars may perhaps be considered as sufficiently 
 authenticated. 
 
 At a moderate red heat, the iron, if neither lime nor 
 magnesia are present, gives to the mass a more or less red 
 colour. If lime is present in sufficient quantity, the colour 
 given by the iron is cream-brown, passing into buff 
 colour. If magnesia is also present (for I am not ac- 
 quainted with any clay that contains magnesia without 
 
ON POTTERY. 
 
 48? 
 
 lime), the colour of the ware is brownish yellow, or the 
 colour of unburnt ochre. 
 
 The carbonate of lime loses its carbonic acid, which 
 escapes in the form of gas through the pores of the ware, 
 provided the carbonate is thoroughly mixed with the other 
 ingredients; but whenever a lump of it, even no bigger 
 than a pea, occurs, a hole reaching to the surface is ge- 
 nerally produced, probably by the rapid escape of the gas. 
 Another effect produced by the lime is, that it combines 
 with the alumina ; and if the former is equal in quantity 
 to the latter, it greatly diminishes, and, according to 
 Bergman, almost entirely prevents the contraction of the 
 alumina. At a more intense heat, the lime, the sand, and 
 the alumina, melt together into an imperfect glass or slag, 
 which, as it is formed, dissolves the oxide of iron, and 
 thus acquires a bluish black or greenish blue colour. 
 The common salt is also decomposed; and the soda, which 
 is its base, assists the action of the lime. The magnesia, 
 sometimes at least, combines with sulphuric acid, which it 
 gets partly from the iron pyrites mixed with the clay, 
 and partly from the fuel, when coal is made use of. This 
 i sulphate of magnesia it is which is occasionally found to 
 cover the outer surface of new-built walls with a saline 
 efflorescence, like hoar frost. 
 
 Having now stated the general principles on which 
 the manufacture of earthenware depends, I proceed to 
 give some account of the principal varieties of it. These 
 I shall arrange in groups, characterised for the most part 
 by the greater or lesser elaborateness of the process em- 
 ployed in the preparation of the ingredients, and the 
 beauty, the fineness, and commercial value of the ware 
 itself. 
 
488 :j 
 
 ON POTTERY. 
 
 The coarsest and most simple kind of earthenware is 
 that employed in the walls and as the covering of houses 
 and other buildings : of this there are two kinds, bricks 
 and tiles. 
 
 The manufacture of bricks goes up to the very earliest 
 time of historical record. In the book of Genesis, Nimrod 
 is stated to have been the first sovereign, and to have 
 reigned in the land of Shinar, one of the towns of which 
 was Babel. The first building after the flood, of which 
 any mention is made, was the Tower of Babel. It is ex- 
 pressly stated that well-burnt brick was used instead of 
 stone in these constructions ; and that slime, which is 
 generally understood to be bitumen, was employed in- 
 stead of mortar. Considerable progress appears to have 
 been made in building both the city and the tower before 
 what is called the confusion of tongues took place, in con- 
 sequence of which the work was abandoned. Nearly on 
 the same site was afterwards founded the celebrated city 
 of Babel, or Babylon ; which is described by Herodotus, 
 the oldest Greek historian, as surrounded by a deep and 
 wide trench, the earth from which was formed into bricks. 
 These bricks were then burnt in furnaces or kilns, and 
 were employed part in lining the trench, and the re- 
 mainder in building the walls : the cement used was hot 
 bitumen, and between every thirty courses of bricks was 
 a layer of mats composed of reeds. The ruins of Babylon 
 are still visible, in the form of hillocks or high mounds, 
 and have been visited of late years and described by 
 several travellers. The late Mr. Rich appears to have 
 examined these remains with great care, and from his 
 memoir the following particulars, as far as relates to our 
 immediate subject, are derived. Most of the mounds 
 
ON POTTERY. 
 
 489 
 
 appear to have a certain degree of connexion with one 
 another ; but the largest of the mounds, the Birs Nemrood, 
 together with another adjacent, called Akerkouf, is so far 
 distant from the others as to render it doubtful if it could 
 have been included within the extent of the Babylon 
 described by Herodotus. 
 
 The connected mounds present walls and passages, or 
 galleries, formed of well-burnt brick, laid in lime-mortar 
 of extreme toughness ; but in one of them, called the 
 tower of Belus, large solid masses, or fillings up between 
 the wall, are observed of unburnt bricks. These latter 
 are more rudely shaped than the burnt bricks, being 
 rather clods of earth, composed of a kind of clay-mortar, 
 intermixed with chopped straw to prevent it from falling 
 to pieces : these unburnt bricks are laid in very thick 
 cement of clay, with layers of reeds above the courses 
 of brick. 
 
 The Birs Nemrood, so called no doubt after Nimrod, 
 is at present a mound 762 yards in circumference and 
 198 feet high ; it consists of three steps, or receding 
 stories : the interior of the mass appears to consist of 
 layers of unburnt bricks set in clay, sometimes without 
 layers of reeds, sometimes with them, laid between every 
 five or six courses of bricks. This mass is in some parts 
 faced (and probably when perfect was completely so) with 
 layers of burnt bricks set in bitumen. These bricks are 
 about thirteen inches square by three inches thick, and 
 have indented inscriptions, apparently made by a stamp, 
 in a character at present wholly unknown, the elements 
 of which appear to have been representations of arrows 
 variously combined together. The bricks are laid with 
 the written face downward, so that they were not visible 
 on the front of the wall. At the top of the mound is a 
 
490 
 
 ON POTTERY. 
 
 solid pile, thirty seven feet high, of burnt bricks, with in- 
 scriptions, and set in lime-mortar. 
 
 From the proportions of the three stones that now 
 remain, it seems probable that the mound or pyramid 
 consisted, or perhaps was intended to consist, of five 
 stories ; the three lower of which were solid, and the two 
 upper would probably have contained chambers. Whether 
 this pile is the unfinished tower of Babel or not, is at 
 present only matter of conjecture : its local situation 
 with regard to the other mounds is rather in favour of 
 the hypothesis ; and the specimens of bricks now pro- 
 duced, which were obtained from this very mound, will 
 be regarded with no small interest : they form part of the 
 collection of the East India Company. 
 
 The manufacture of bricks was also known to the 
 ancient Egyptians. Every body is aware that one of the 
 modes of oppression practised by this people towards the 
 Israelites, was the unreasonable requisition from them of 
 a certain number of bricks : it is not mentioned that 
 these bricks were burnt; indeed, the circumstance of their 
 being mixed with chopped straw, like the unbaked bricks 
 found in Babylon, renders it probable that they were 
 only sun-dried. Herodotus also records of Asychis, one 
 of the kings of Egypt, that he built a pyramid of bricks 
 made of the mud or silt dredged up from the bottom of 
 the river. This is perhaps the same as that now called 
 the pyramid of Meidun : it was visited by Pococke, and 
 is described by him as formed of unburnt bricks, composed 
 of a mixture of clay and chopped straw. Such unburnt 
 bricks, Pococke adds, are still used in Egypt. It is 
 probable that in the time of Pliny the elder, who lived 
 in the reign of Vespasian, unburnt bricks were in use 
 elsewhere on the north coast of Africa ; for that author 
 
ON POTTERY. 
 
 491 
 
 mentions, that at Utica no bricks were allowed to be 
 used that had not been dried five years in the sun ; a 
 regulation which apparently would be absurd if applied 
 to baked ones. But sun-dried bricks may rather be con- 
 sidered as a kind of artificial stone than earthenware ; 
 and, from the circumstance of chopped straw being mixed 
 with them, the clay was probably much more sandy and 
 less tenacious than that required for burnt bricks, and 
 approached nearly to the loam employed at present in 
 building walls by ramming, or en pise ; a mode of con- 
 struction which also was well known to the ancients; 
 Hannibal having constructed several towers on the coast 
 of Spain of this material. # 
 
 Certain other celebrated buildings of high antiquity 
 were also formed of brick : such were the palaces of Croesus 
 at Sardis, of Mausolus at Halicarnassus, and of Attalus 
 at Tralles ; all of which were still remaining in the reign 
 of Trajan. That part of the walls of Athens which 
 looks towards Mount Hymettus, as well as some of 
 the more ancient temples in that city, were also built 
 of brick. 
 
 In ancient Rome, if the recorded saying of Augustus, 
 that he found the city of brick, and left it of marble, be of 
 any authority, the public buildings must have been gene- 
 rally of baked brick ; but this material does not seem to 
 have been much employed in the construction of pri- 
 vate houses, many of which were of wicker-work, covered 
 
 * Quid ? non in Africa Hispaniaque ex terra parietes, quos appellant 
 formaceos, quoniara in forma circumdatis utrimque duabus tabulis, infer- 
 ciuntur veriiis quam instruuntur, aevis durant, incorrupti imbribus, ventis, 
 ignibus, omnique caemento firmiores ? Spectat etiam nunc speculas Hanni- 
 balis Hispania, terrenasque turres jugis montium impositas. — Plin. Hist. 
 Nat. xxxv. 48. 
 
492 
 
 ON POTTERY. 
 
 with clay, raised on low walls of unbaked bricks. When- 
 ever works were erected by the Romans of rough un- 
 squared stones, they were in the habit of interposing 
 occasional courses of flat thin bricks, to strengthen the 
 building and to keep it upright. Many such examples are 
 to be found in our own country, where permanent Roman 
 stations occur. The walls of Richborough near Sand- 
 wich, the tower supposed to have been a light-house on 
 the summit of Dover castle, the station of Garrienum 
 (now Borough camp), at the conflux of the Yare and 
 Waveney in Norfolk, are among the most perfect and 
 remarkable. All the Roman bricks that I have seen are 
 of a deep red colour, very compact, and well burnt. They 
 probably were composed of natural clay, not containing 
 lime, and merely sifted, either dry or by washing over, 
 in order to separate the stones and coarser sand. 
 
 In Bengal, and generally in the wide alluvial valley of 
 the Ganges, bricks are the usual material for buildings of 
 any solidity ; and they appear to have been used in this 
 country from very high antiquity, and to have been em- 
 ployed even in the ornamental parts of architecture. 
 
 In Nipal, a hilly country north of Bengal, bricks are 
 made of remarkable compactness of texture : they are of 
 a brownish-red colour, and are very micaceous ; so that 
 the clay of which they are formed has probably originated 
 from the decomposition of granite. Some of these, from 
 the East India Company's museum, are now before the 
 Society. Not only the texture of these bricks, but the 
 elegance of their ornamented surface, deserve notice ; the 
 sharpness and depth of cutting are such as to make it 
 probable that they were moulded plain, and that the 
 ornaments were afterwards cut, before the process of 
 burning. 
 
ON POTTERY. 
 
 493 
 
 In China, bricks are made of blue clay more or less 
 sandy : the specimens before the Society have evidently 
 not been burnt; they nevertheless do not disturb the 
 clearness of water after lying in it for many hours. When 
 burnt they become of rather a pale red, with a compact, 
 almost serni-porcelainous texture. 
 
 I am not sufficiently acquainted with the history of 
 the art of brick-making to state to you the date and par- 
 ticulars of its introduction into the different countries of 
 modern continental Europe. It was certainly practised 
 largely in Italy in the beginning of the fourteenth cen- 
 tury ; and Mr. Hope informs me, that the brick buildings 
 erected at this period in Tuscany, and other parts of the 
 north of Italy, exhibit at the present day the finest spe- 
 cimens extant of brick-work. In Holland and the Nether- 
 lands, from the scarcity of stone, brick was used at an 
 early period, and to a great extent, to supply the wants 
 of a dense and rich population. 
 
 In England, from the time of the Romans to the 
 middle of the fourteenth century, brick seems to have 
 been entirely unknown, or at least unemployed. Soon 
 afterwards, the wooden palace at Croydon was rebuilt, 
 and two sides of the great court were formed of brick, 
 which is considered by Dr. Ducarel as the first modern 
 instance of the use of this material in England. It was 
 not, however, till a considerable time subsequent that the 
 employment of brick became common ; for Holinshed, in 
 the introduction to his u History of Queen Elizabeth," 
 enumerating the materials employed at that time for 
 building houses, omits all mention of brick. 
 
 Till lately, bricks appear to have been made in this 
 country in a very rude manner. The clay was dug in 
 the autumn, and exposed to the winter frost to mellow ; 
 
494 
 
 ON POTTERY. 
 
 it was then mixed, or not, with coal ashes, and tempered 
 by being trodden with horses or men, and was after- 
 wards moulded, without it being considered necessary to 
 take out the stones. The bricks were burnt in kilns or 
 in clamps : the former was the original mode, the latter 
 having been resorted to from motives of economy. When 
 clamps began to be employed I do not know ; but they 
 are mentioned in an act of parliament passed in 1726, 
 and therefore were in use prior to that date. The fol- 
 lowing, in few words, is the present process of brick- 
 making in the vicinity of London, for the practical 
 particulars of which I am indebted to Mr. Deville and 
 Mr. Gibbs. 
 
 It is chiefly, I believe entirely, from the alluvial de- 
 posits above the London clay, that bricks are made in the 
 vicinity of the metropolis ; and a section of these deposits 
 generally presents the following series, such as would 
 naturally result from a mixture of stones, and sand, and 
 clay, and chalk, brought together by a torrent of water, 
 and then allowed to subside. The lower part of the bed 
 is gravel, mixed more or less with coarse sandy clay and 
 pieces of chalk ; this by degrees passes into what is tech- 
 nically called malm, which is a mixture of sand, commi- 
 nuted chalk, and clay ; and this graduates into the upper 
 earth or strong clay, in which the clay is the prevailing 
 or characterising ingredient, the proportion of chalk being 
 so small that the earth makes no sensible effervescence 
 with acids. Bricks made of the upper earth, without any 
 addition, are apt to crack in drying, and in burning they 
 are very liable to warp, as well as to contract consider- 
 ably in all their dimensions : on this account they cannot 
 be used for the exterior of walls; and a greater number of 
 such are required for any given quantity of work than 
 
ON POTTERY. 
 
 495 
 
 of bricks, which, though made in the same mould, shrink 
 less in the baking. The texture, however, of such bricks 
 is compact, which makes them strong and durable. 
 Bricks formed of this clay, whether mixed or unmixed, 
 are called stocks ; it was formerly used unwashed, and 
 when the bricks were intended to be kiln-burnt, or flame- 
 burnt, to use the technical word, no addition was made 
 to the clay. If they were intended to be clamp-burnt, 
 coal-ash was mixed during the tempering. Of these and 
 all other clamp-burnt bricks the builders distinguish two 
 kinds, namely, the well-burnt ones from the interior, 
 and the half-burnt ones, or place bricks, from the outside 
 of the kiln. 
 
 At present the clay for stock bricks is separated with 
 tolerable care from the pebbles, and its tendency to shrink 
 and warp is diminished by the addition of chalk ground 
 to the consistence of cream ; but the calcareous earth 
 increases the liability of the brick to vitrify in the burning, 
 to counteract which, more sand is added. By these 
 successive additions, however, the compactness of the 
 texture is diminished, and such stock bricks approach 
 nearly to the quality of malm bricks. Sometimes, instead 
 of chalk and sand, malm earth and ashes are added. 
 
 The calcareous clay or malm earth requires no addition 
 of sand or chalk, but only of ashes. The bricks made 
 of it differ from those made of the top earth, in being of a 
 pale or liver brown colour, mixed more or less with yellow, 
 which is an indication of magnesia ; and such bricks are 
 liable to effloresce. The hardest of the malm bricks are 
 of a pale brown colour, and are known by the name of 
 grey stocks ; those next in hardness are called seconds, 
 and are employed for fronts of the better kind of houses ; 
 the yellowest and softest are called cutters, from the 
 
496 
 
 ON POTTERY. 
 
 facility with which they can be cut or rubbed down, and 
 are used chiefly for turning the arches of windows. What 
 I have said of top earth and malm earth must be under- 
 stood, however, to refer to well -characterised samples 
 of these varieties, but, as might be expected, there are 
 several brick-fields that yield a material partaking more 
 or less of the qualities of both, and therefore requiring 
 corresponding modifications in its manufacture. 
 
 Brick earth is usually begun to be dug in September, 
 that it may have the benefit of the frost in mellowing it 
 and breaking it down. It is then washed by grinding 
 with water, and passed through a grating in order to 
 separate the stones ; the mud runs into shallow pits, and 
 here is to be mixed with ground chalk, if any is required : 
 when it has become tolerably stiff by drying, coal-ash 
 is added, usually in the proportion of one foot in depth 
 of this latter to three feet of clay ; the ingredients are 
 then to be well mixed ; and, finally, the composition is to 
 be passed through the pug-mill, in order to complete the 
 mixture and to temper it. The moulder stands at a 
 table, and the tempered clay is brought to him in lumps 
 of about 7 or 8 lbs. : the mould is a box without top or 
 bottom, 9| inches long, 4| wide, and 2f deep ; it lies on 
 a table : a little sand is first sprinkled in, and then the 
 lump of clay is forcibly dashed into the mould, the 
 workman at the same time rapidly working it by his 
 fingers, so as to make it completely close up to the 
 corners ; next he scrapes off with a wetted stick the 
 superfluous clay, shakes the brick dexterously out of 
 the mould on to a flat piece of board, on which it is 
 carried to a place called the hacks ; here it remains till 
 dry enough to handle, and is then formed into open 
 hollow walls, which are covered with straw to keep off' 
 
ON POTTERY. 497 
 
 the rain, where it dries gradually, and hardens till it is 
 fit to be burnt. A raw brick weighs between 6 and 7 lbs.; 
 when ready for the clamp it has lost about 1 lb. of water 
 by evaporation. # A first-rate moulder has been known 
 to deliver from 10,000 to 11,000 bricks in the course of 
 a long summer's day, but the average produce is not 
 much more than half this number. If, however, the 
 average daily produce of one moulder be estimated only 
 at 5000 bricks, it is quite evident that the project of 
 moulding them by expensive machinery, complicated, 
 and therefore liable to want frequent repairs, cannot but 
 be a most ruinous speculation. 
 
 The consumption of London is chiefly supplied from 
 the brick-fields north of the Thames, at Stepney, Hackney, 
 
 * From some experiments made in France we learn the following 
 particulars : — A mould 8 inches 3 lines long, 4 inches 3 lines broad, and 
 2 inches 2 lines thick, yielded bricks which on an average weighed, when 
 first made, 5 lbs. 14 oz. When dried and ready for the kiln they weighed 
 41bs. 8 oz., having lost 22 oz. of water : 9 oz. of this quantity evaporates in 
 the first twenty-four hours, the other 13 oz. require five or six weeks to 
 evaporate. By burning, 4 oz. more of volatile matter is driven off ; a well- 
 burnt brick of the above dimensions weighing 4 lbs. 4 oz. A fresh-burnt 
 brick when laid in water absorbs about 9 oz., i. e. from one-seventh to one- 
 eighth of its weight. 
 
 It appears, however, from experiments by M. Gallon, that the weight 
 of bricks varies according to the care with which the clay is worked or 
 tempered. Some clay was well worked, and then beaten for half an hour, 
 on the morning of the next day it was again worked and beaten as before, 
 and in the afternoon was again beaten for a quarter of an hour, and was 
 then made into bricks. Another parcel of bricks was made of some of the 
 same clay, treated in the usual manner. Both parcels were dried in the air 
 for thirteen days, when it was found that those made by the former process 
 weighed on an average 5 lbs. 11 oz. each, while those made by the latter 
 weighed 5 lbs. 7 oz. Both kinds were burnt together for ten days ; they 
 underwent no relative change in bulk, but the weight of the former was 
 5 lbs. 6 oz., and of the latter 5 lbs. 2 oz. — Arts et tiers , vol. iv. 
 VOL. XLVIII. 2 K 
 
498 
 
 ON POTTERY. 
 
 Tottenham, Kingsland, Hammersmith, Cowley, Acton, 
 and Brentford. Those made at Grays Thurrock, Purfleet, 
 and Sittingbourne, are of a very good quality and a fine 
 yellow colour; stone-coloured ones are made near Ipswich, 
 and have been largely employed in the outside walls of some 
 of the new churches of the metropolis. There is a consi- 
 derable exportation of bricks from London ; many being 
 sent to the West Indies, to Quebec, and to other colonies. 
 
 Tiles, from the purpose to which they are applied, 
 namely, the roofing of houses in order to shoot off the 
 rain, require a texture as compact as can be given to 
 them, consistent with a due regard to economy. The 
 fattest and most unctuous clays are, therefore, those which 
 answer the best, especially if free from gravel and the 
 coarsest sand. The price of tiles, compared with that 
 of bricks, is such that the manufacturer can afford to 
 dry them under cover ; while, being not more than one 
 quarter of the thickness of bricks, the drying is more 
 speedily performed, and with far less hazard of warping 
 or cracking: the same also is the case with the baking. 
 Sand is added to the clay, but sparingly ; for if, on the 
 one hand, it prevents the ware from warping, yet, on the 
 other, it increases the porosity, which is a fault especially 
 to be avoided. The general manipulations of grinding 
 the clay and tempering it are analogous to those already 
 described for making bricks ; but more pains are be- 
 stowed in getting it to the utmost degree of plasticity, so 
 as to allow of its being rolled, like dough, into cakes of 
 a proper thickness, which are afterwards brought to the 
 required shape by pressing them into a mould. 
 
 The material employed at the manufactories of tiles in 
 the neighbourhood of London is either the bed of blue 
 clay, called by geologists the London clay, or the plastic 
 
ON POTTERY. 
 
 499 
 
 clay which lies below the former. The tileries north of 
 the Thames, at Hackney, Clapton Terrace, Hornsey, and 
 Child's Hill near Hampstead, are on the London clay; 
 those near Woolwich are on the plastic clay. The same 
 clay answers well for sugar-cones, for garden pots, and all 
 articles of common red ware that do not require to be 
 glazed, and in which a certain degree of porousness is 
 no objection to their use. 
 
 If well-tempered clay be placed on a horizontal board, 
 to which, by any simple machinery, a movement of 
 rotation on its centre is given, it is evident that a tendency 
 to centrifugal motion will be communicated to the clay, 
 which, though not of itself sufficient to overcome the 
 tenacity of the earth, will extremely facilitate the action 
 of the fingers in forming out of the mere lump either 
 solids or hollow vessels, of every conceivable variety, con- 
 sistent with the condition that the section of such vessels 
 in any part at right angles to the axis shall be a circle. 
 The board above described is called the potter's wheel or 
 lathe. By whom it was invented is not known ; for in 
 the most ancient records it is spoken of as an implement 
 familiar to every one. The potter's wheel is frequently 
 mentioned in the Jewish writings ; # and Homer, the most 
 ancient of the Greek authors, has a comparison the subject 
 of which is a potter turning round with his hands a newly 
 fitted wheel to see if it runs true.f In India, where im- 
 
 • " I went down to the potter's house, and behold he wrought a work 
 on the wheel ; and the vessel that he was making of clay was marred in his 
 hands ; so. he made it again into another vessel, as seemed good to the potter 
 to make it." — Jerem. xviii. 3. 
 
 \ its oft rts rgo%ov ecgfitvoy tv Tcc\acfty<riv 
 
 'E^optvos xzgcif&ius vrugyvnrxi eu tci hnffiv. — Iliad, xviii. 600. 
 As some potter, 3eated, tries with his hands the well-fitted wheel 
 whether it will run. 
 
500 
 
 ON POTTERY. 
 
 plements and tools for the manufacturer are reduced to 
 their utmost possible degree of simplicity, the potter 
 squats on the ground, turning the wheel on its spindle 
 with his feet, while he moulds the clay with his hands. 
 In this country, and I believe in general throughout 
 Europe, the workman turns the wheel by a treadle, as he 
 sits or stands to his work ; and, when the article to be 
 made is large and heavy, the motion is given by an 
 assistant working at a vertical wheel. In large establish- 
 ments, where many of these wheels or lathes are in use, 
 a steam engine is generally employed as the prime mover. . 
 It is impossible to describe by words the facility and 
 quickness with which the clay obeys the hand of the 
 workman and takes the figure required ; it must be seen 
 in order to be truly judged of ; and few processes are 
 more entertaining to the by-stander, because there are 
 none in which the effect more immediately follows the 
 application of the cause, and in which the material is 
 so completely under the control of the workman, adapting 
 itself to his taste, his whim, his caprice ; in which the 
 form that has been just given may be annihilated by a 
 touch, and the material may be immediately made to 
 assume its former, or a wholly different figure. No wonder, 
 therefore, that " clay in the hand of the potter," is so 
 often and so impressively used to denote the relative 
 situations of man and of Him who guides and moulds our 
 purposes at his pleasure. 
 
 I shall now proceed to give a brief account of the 
 manufacture of the common red pottery ware, as practised 
 in the neighbourhood of London, and in various other 
 parts of the kingdom for the principal particulars of 
 which, as well as for the specimens in illustration of it, 
 I am indebted to Mr. Jones, of Lambeth. The material 
 
ON POTTERY. 
 
 501 
 
 is a yellowish brown clay, from Deptford, there being no 
 other near London on which the glaze will spread with 
 the equality that is required. In general the clay is used 
 without any addition ; but such parcels as are too fat or 
 tenacious are brought to a proper state by mixture with 
 loam. The clay is watered and turned, but not being an 
 alluvial clay, contains no stones, and therefore does not 
 require to be washed over. It is finally passed through 
 the pug-mill in order to temper it. The required form of 
 a pot or pan, or any other article, is given to it on the 
 wheel, and the ware is dried under cover till it has ac- 
 quired a considerable solidity. The glaze is then put on 
 in the state of cream, by means of a brush, care being 
 taken to cover the whole surface as evenly as possible : 
 for small articles, such as pipkins, that are glazed only 
 internally, a little of the cream is poured in and then 
 poured out again, a sufficient quantity of the glaze 
 adhering to the bibulous surface of the ware. 
 
 The materials of the glaze are galena, commonly called 
 potter's lead ore, ground to an impalpable powder, and 
 then mixed with clay diffused in water, technically called 
 slip. This glaze is transparent, and of a pale yellow 
 colour, and consequently shews through it the colour of 
 the ware ; if a black opaque glaze is required, one part 
 of common manganese is added to nine parts of galena. 
 After the glaze is laid on, the ware is again dried, and is 
 then piled in the kiln in order to be burnt or fired. For 
 the first twenty-four hours a very low heat is applied, 
 in order to drive all the moisture out of the ware ; it is 
 then exposed for twenty-four hours more to a heat as high 
 as it can bear without fusion, which has the effect of 
 baking the clay, of driving off the sulphur from the lead 
 ore, and of causing the oxide of lead to form a frit or 
 
502 
 
 ON POTTERY. 
 
 imperfect glass with the clay, the other ingredient of the 
 glaze. The fire is now fed with bavin wood instead of 
 coal, by which the heat is increased, the furnace is filled 
 with flame, and the frit being converted into a perfect 
 glass, flows uniformly over the surface of the ware. The 
 fire is then allowed to go out, and when the furnace has 
 become cool, the contents are removed. If the air has 
 been still during the burning, and due care has been 
 observed, the articles in every part of the kiln will be 
 properly baked ; but a high wind always renders the 
 heat very unequal, so that the ware in the windward part 
 of the kiln will not be baked enough, while that in the 
 leeward part will be over-burnt and run to a slag. 
 
 All articles of earthenware which after being baked 
 are opaque, are more or less porous ; and if a heat some- 
 what approaching to their point of fusion, so as to render 
 them slightly translucent, cannot safely be applied, it is 
 evident that such ware is not very proper for vessels em- 
 ployed in cookery, and for several other purposes, from 
 the difficulty of keeping them clean, and from their 
 liability to crack when set on the fire in a damp state. 
 In England, we endeavour to obviate this imperfection by 
 means of a thick vitreous glaze ; but as the ware itself 
 is very fusible, the glaze must be still more so ; and as 
 oxide of lead forms the cheapest and most fusible glaze, 
 this accordingly is the material universally employed by 
 us. But there is a very serious objection to the use of 
 this glaze, namely, that it is soluble in vinegar, in the 
 juice of most fruits, especially when hot, and also in 
 boiling fat ; the consequence of which is, that the food 
 of the lower classes, by whom alone cooking vessels of 
 glazed red ware are employed, is often contaminated with 
 lead, so as seriously to impair their health by occasioning 
 
ON POTTERY. 
 
 503 
 
 colics, and the other usual effects of lead poison. Possibly 
 borax, which is now a cheap article and is very fusible, 
 might be made to supersede the use of lead; if not, the 
 only way of avoiding this very serious hazard to health 
 will be the use of more refractory clay, which, consequently, 
 would allow the employment of a less fusible glaze free 
 from lead. This has been done by Mr. Meigh, a potter 
 in Staffordshire, to whom the Society awarded a medal for 
 his invention : the ware produced by him is far superior 
 to that in common use, and well deserves the encourage- 
 ment of the public. The natives of Peru, as Captain 
 Bagnold informs me from his own personal observation, 
 are in the habit of rendering their earthenware imper- 
 meable by water, by rubbing it when hot with tallow, 
 which being partly charred, fills up the pores, and at the 
 same time gives the ware a black colour, of which the 
 specimens now before you are examples. The Etruscan 
 and Greek vases are covered by a black carbonaceous 
 non-vitreous varnish, which evidently wears off by long 
 handling, and may probably have been produced by a 
 process similar to the Peruvian. The pottery of Samos, 
 which was in great request among the ancients, especially 
 for cooking vessels, has a red covering, seemingly semi- 
 vitreous. Wine and oil jars were rendered by the ancients 
 impenetrable to moisture, as they are at present by the 
 people of Spain and Italy, by rubbing them with wax ; 
 but for holding dry substances no glaze or varnish was 
 required. Statues of the gods were in Rome very gene- 
 rally made of terra cotta,* that is, of red ware, till the 
 conquests of Sylla, Lucullus, and Pompey, by their large 
 introduction of Greek statues of marble, changed the 
 
 * " Fictilibus crevere Deis haec aurea templa." — Propert. iv. 1, 5. 
 
504 
 
 O N POTTERY. 
 
 fashion. Other uses of red ware among the Romans 
 were for tiles and water-pipes ; and Pliny states, that 
 M. Varro and others directed that their bodies when 
 dead should be deposited in earthenware.* A species 
 of ware, somewhat superior to our common red ware, is 
 made at Lambeth, of Maidstone clay, being of a paler 
 colour and a more compact texture than the latter, but 
 does not take a uniform covering by the common glaze 
 for red ware ; it is therefore chiefly used for purposes 
 which admit its employment in an unglazed state, or 
 in situations where the imperfection of the glaze is not 
 perceived, as in ornamented chimney-pots, gas -con- 
 sumers, &c. 
 
 A more perfect, and indeed very excellent species of 
 earthenware, is that called stone ware, originally intro- 
 duced from Holland, and now made in several parts 
 of the kingdom, and especially at Lambeth. To one of 
 the principal manufacturers of this ware, Mr. Wisker, I 
 am indebted for the specimens on the table, and for the 
 following particulars. 
 
 The materials are, pipe -clay from Dorsetshire and 
 Devonshire, calcined and ground flint from Staffordshire, 
 and sand from Woolwich and Charlton. 
 
 The clay is pulverised and sifted dry, and is either 
 used alone, when an article of great compactness is 
 required, as soda-water bottles, or is mixed with sand 
 to diminish its contraction in the fire. For retorts and 
 other large vessels, instead of sand, the refuse stone ware, 
 ground to a fine powder, is used. For the finer articles, 
 such as figured jugs, ground flint is employed in place 
 of sand. The composition is brought, by the addition 
 
 * Hist. Nat. xxxv. 40. 
 
ON POTTERY. 
 
 505 
 
 of water, to the state of mortar, and is then tempered in 
 the pug-mill. All round articles are made on the hori- 
 zontal wheel ; and those of great size, i. e. of a greater 
 capacity than two gallons, are at first of extraordinary- 
 thickness below to support the upper part ; when they 
 come off the wheel they are dried, and then put on the 
 wheel again, and shaved down to a proper thickness. For 
 oval, and other figures not circular, as pans for salting hams 
 in, the clay is formed in a mould to the required shape. 
 The drying, especially of large articles, must be very 
 carefully performed ; and as, from custom, the tops or 
 bottoms of jars and various other vessels made of this 
 ware are required to be of a deeper brown than the 
 natural colour of the materials, they are dipped in a mix- 
 ture of red ochre and clay slip. When perfectly dry they 
 are piled in the furnace, bits of well-sanded clay being put 
 between each piece to prevent them from adhering. A 
 slow fire is kept up for twelve to twenty -four hours, 
 according to the thickness of the ware, capable of 
 bringing it just to a low red heat. The fire is then to 
 be raised till the flame and the ware are of the same 
 colour, and is so to be continued for several hours. At 
 this time the glaze is added, which is done by pouring 
 down the holes in the top of the kiln, twenty or thirty 
 in number, ladlesful of common salt. This, being vola- 
 tilised by the intense heat of the interior, attaches 
 itself to the outer surface of the ware : here it is de- 
 composed, the muriatic acid flying ofT, and the soda 
 remaining behind in union with the earth, with which 
 it forms a very thin, but, on the whole, a perfect glaze; 
 at least quite sufficient, with the compactness of the ware, 
 to render it completely proof against the percolation, not 
 only of water, but of the strongest acids. So perfect, 
 
506 
 
 ON POTTERY. 
 
 indeed, is the texture of the best ware now made, that it 
 has of late been very largely used in the construction of 
 distillatory vessels for manufacturing chemists, instead of 
 green glass, as being more durable and also cheaper. 
 Pickling jars, and many other vessels in which acid sub- 
 stances for food or condiment are kept, as also those 
 earthen vessels in which great strength is required, are 
 best made of stone ware. Vauxhall is the chief seat of 
 this manufacture. There are now about eight houses 
 engaged in this fabric, most of which are very actively 
 employed, as the use of it is considerably on the increase. 
 
 ON POTTERY. — Part II. 
 
 Read Feb. 10, 1829. 
 
 The ancient Greeks appear to have been wholly unac- 
 quainted with the art of covering earthenware with a 
 vitreous glaze ; at least neither Pliny, nor other authors 
 whom I have consulted on the subject, say any thing 
 about it, nor am I aware that any specimens of glazed 
 ancient Greek or Roman pottery exist. For heating 
 water and other liquids in, metallic vessels were generally, 
 perhaps universally, employed ; and although cold liquids 
 were kept and conveyed in earthen vessels, the natural 
 porousness of the ware was corrected by a varnish of wax 
 or resin, or it was covered with a thin, black, non-vitreous 
 varnish, one method of producing which I have already 
 pointed out. It may be seen on all the so-called Etrus- 
 can vases ; and from these was liable to be worn off by 
 
ON POTTERY. 
 
 507 
 
 long use, as evidently has happened with the lower part 
 of the vase belonging to Mr. Hope, which was exhibited 
 at our last meeting. 
 
 Vitreous glazes, whether employed simply for closing 
 the pores of baked clay, and thus rendering it imper- 
 meable to water, or with the farther intention of con- 
 cealing the coarseness and bad colour of the body by a 
 covering of enamel, appear to have originated in China ; 
 for the earliest European travellers in that country make 
 mention of temples covered and encrusted by varnished 
 tiles of various colours. 
 
 The invasion and conquest of China, by Zengis Khan, 
 in 1212, was probably the event that made known to the 
 rest of Asia and to Europe the art of glazing earthen- 
 ware. The empire of Zengis extended from China across 
 the steppes or pastoral regions of Asia to the Caucasus, 
 between the Black Sea and the Caspian, and his son 
 Octai pushed through Russia into Poland, and the con- 
 fines of Germany. They likewise, in their victorious 
 progress, held hostile or friendly intercourse with many 
 of the Mahometan sovereigns who possessed the countries 
 to the south and west of them ; and the whole Mahometan 
 world, though broken into independent, and frequently 
 conflicting states, was nevertheless pressed into close 
 union by the crusades, which had hardly yet subsided, 
 and by the now imminent hazard of Tartar conquest. 
 The Moslems were also at this time not only a warlike, 
 but an active, ingenious, splendid, and inquisitive people, 
 possessing a language, the Arabic, in a great measure 
 common to all who professed the faith of Mahomet. 
 The similarity of their architecture, in the wide extent 
 of country from the Ganges to Gibraltar, shews not only 
 a coincidence of feeling, but a community of intercourse. 
 
508 ON POTTERY. 
 
 It appears, therefore, to me by no means improbable, that 
 an invention, which was largely and generally applied 
 to decorative purposes in Mahometan architecture, should 
 have travelled in a few years from the confines of China 
 to Spain. 
 
 The palace of the Moorish kings at Granada, called 
 Alhambra, was built in 1280, and many of the rooms 
 are represented as ornamented by lacquered tiles. The 
 tomb of Sultan Mahomed Khoda-Bendeh, at Sultanieh, 
 in Persia, was also built in the thirteenth century ; and 
 of this, the cupola and minarets are still in many parts 
 covered with a green lacquered tile, and the great archi- 
 trave is formed of a dark blue one. 
 
 In 1475 was built the painted mosque, in the now 
 ruined city of Gour, in India : it derived its name from the 
 profusion of glazed tiles with which it was ornamented ; 
 specimens of which, from the East India Museum, are 
 now before you. 
 
 The mother of Shah Abbas, about 1550, built a cara- 
 vanserai at Mayar, near Ispahan, the front of the prin- 
 cipal gate of which is inlaid with green tiles ; and at 
 present the domes of the mosques of that city are covered 
 with green and blue tiles. 
 
 Marco Polo, the Venetian, visited, in 1270, the court 
 of Kublai Khan, the grandson of Zengis, and remained 
 in the employ of that sovereign for several years ; at the 
 same time merchants from many of the commercial cities 
 of Italy were travelling, for the purpose of trade, in most 
 of the countries between Syria and India. By some of 
 these, the art of covering baked earthenware with an 
 opaque vitreous glaze might be imported into Italy ; and 
 Florence and its territory soon became celebrated for the 
 fine works executed on plates of this ware, which met 
 
ON POTTERY. 
 
 509 
 
 with a ready sale through Europe. The name given in 
 France to these works was faience, supposed to have 
 been derived from Faenza, a village near Florence, or 
 perhaps the word is a mere corruption of Firenze, the 
 Italian name of that city. Tiraboschi mentions one 
 " Luca della Robbia, a Florentine, born in 1388, who 
 appears to have been the first who made figures of terra 
 cotta, and covered them with a varnish, to preserve them 
 from the injuries of time and weather. He also adorned 
 flat surfaces of terra cotta with various colours, and 
 painted figures on them, by which he rendered himself 
 so famous that he received orders for them from all parts 
 of Europe." 
 
 Another artist, of the same name as the preceding, 
 and possibly a descendant of his, is described by Vasari, 
 {Vite de' Pittori, lib. i. p. 202), as having been introduced 
 by RafFaello to the favour of Leo X. He is stated to 
 have carried to high perfection an art long practised by 
 his ancestors, that of painting on terra invitriata (glazed 
 earth). In this manner he executed the impressa or 
 arms of Leo X., which yet adorn the apartments of the 
 Vatican. 
 
 RafFaello himself is said in his youth to have painted, 
 or at least to have given designs for painting, in enamel 
 on glazed earthenware. Such works are commonly 
 known by the name of Raphael china, two interesting 
 specimens of which, from the collection of R. H. Solly, 
 Esq., are now before you. From some casual flaws in 
 the back of these plates, it may be seen that the body of 
 them is red earthenware in one, and grayish brown in 
 the other, and of rather a coarse quality. Mr. Windus 
 also has sent a plate, doubtless of Italian manufacture, 
 bearing the date of 1533, thirteen years after the death 
 
510 
 
 ON POTTERY. 
 
 of Raffaello. He has also sent a singular specimen of 
 a somewhat similar ware, but with the figures in high 
 relief, and far inferior to the former as a work of art. 
 
 Mr. Brockedon informs me that, in his journey among 
 the Alps last year, he saw some beautiful specimens of 
 Raphael china, in the possession of the hostess of an inn 
 at the village of Rauris, in Carinthia. They consisted 
 of three dishes; the subjects painted on them are, Pan 
 and Apollo, Jupiter and Semele, and on the largest, 
 Apollo surrounded by wreaths of nymphs and satyrs, and 
 on the rim are entwined Cupids : this latter dish is about 
 twenty inches in diamater, and bears an inscription, in 
 Italian, purporting that it was made at Rome, in 1542, 
 in the manufactory of Guido di Merlingho Vassaro, a 
 native of Urbino. The date is twenty-two years after 
 the death of Raphael ; but, as the manufacturer was a 
 fellow-townsman of that celebrated artist, the inscription, 
 taken in connexion with the anecdote ofVasari already 
 mentioned, is interesting, as throwing light on the as- 
 sociation of the name of Raffaello with this species of 
 ware. 
 
 Whether a less ornamented or plain variety of glazed 
 pottery was at this time made in Italy for common table 
 service, I do not know. It is probably from Italy that 
 Holland received this art. The Venetians, the Genoese, 
 and the Florentines, had very extensive commercial dealings 
 with the merchants of Antwerp and of other towns in the 
 Low Countries ; it is therefore extremely likely that the 
 potters of Holland, to whom is due the first fabrication of 
 clay tobacco - pipes of excellent quality, derived their 
 knowledge of glazed ware from this source. The town 
 of Delft was the centre of these potteries, in which were 
 fabricated the tiles known in England by the name of 
 
ON POTTERY. 
 
 511 
 
 Dutch ; and the delft were employed for table service, and 
 for other domestic purposes. Considered merely with 
 regard to its material, the Dutch potters seem to have 
 improved on their Italian originals, being probably insti- 
 gated by a comparison with the blue and white patterns 
 of Nankin, which was now largely imported by the Dutch 
 from China and Japan, and which is a coarse, yellowish, 
 porcelain body, covered by an opaque white glaze. In the 
 ornamental part, however, the Dutch fell immeasurably 
 short of the potters of Florence : blue seems to have been 
 the only colour employed by them; and their favourite 
 patterns appear to have been either copies of the Chinese, 
 or European and Scripture subjects treated in a truly 
 Chinese manner and taste. 
 
 It is about two hundred years ago since some Dutch 
 potters came and established themselves in Lambeth, 
 and by degrees a little colony was fixed in that village, 
 possessed of about twenty manufactories, in which was 
 made the glazed pottery and tiles consumed in London 
 and in various other parts of the kingdom. Here they 
 continued in a flourishing state, giving employment to 
 many hands in the various departments of their art, till 
 about fifty or sixty years ago ; when the potters of 
 Staffordshire, by their commercial activity, and by the 
 great improvements introduced by them in the quality 
 of their ware, in a short time so completely beat out of 
 the market the Lambeth delft manufacturers, that this 
 ware is now made only by a single house, and forms the 
 smallest part even of their business. Mr. Wisker, a 
 member of the Society, is the potter to whom I allude, 
 and from his liberality I have derived the specimens and 
 details of the manufacture, which I shall now proceed to 
 lay before you. 
 
512 
 
 ON POTTERY. 
 
 The articles of delft ware, for which there still con- 
 tinues to be an effective demand, are plain white tiles for 
 dairies and for lining baths, pomatum pots, and a few 
 jugs, and other similar articles, of a pale blue colour. 
 
 The material employed is calcareous clay, or marl, of 
 a blue, red, or yellow colour, from the neighbourhood of 
 Maidstone, and therefore probably belongs to the deposit 
 called the Weald clay, which lies below the green sand. 
 The first process which it undergoes is that of grinding 
 with water, and passing it in this state over fine sieves, 
 in order to separate the coarser particles. The excess of 
 water is then dried off by exposing the fine mud to spon- 
 taneous evaporation in shallow tanks or pits. While still 
 in a soft state it is beat up by hand, and then heaped up 
 in a cave or clay cellar (as it is technically called) till 
 wanted. The longer it remains here, the more tenacious 
 and plastic it becomes. It is then tempered for use by 
 passing it through a pug-mill, or is kneaded by treading ; 
 the addition of sand of every kind being carefully avoided. 
 The ware is formed in the usual way, then dried, and 
 afterwards placed in the arch of the kiln to burn into 
 biscuit. It is now of a pale buff colour, the lime in the 
 clay having combined with the oxide of iron, and thus 
 preventing it from exhibiting the red colour which is 
 natural to it, and which it possesses when combined with 
 sand or with mere clay. The glaze is thus formed : Kelp 
 and Woolwich sand are calcined together under the kiln 
 till they combine into a spongy imperfect glass or frit; 
 lead and tin are calcined together till they form a grayish 
 white powdery oxide, called by the potters tin and lead 
 ashes ; the frit is then ground dry, and afterwards mixed 
 with the ashes, a little zaffre being added if a blue tint 
 is required, and arsenic if the glaze is intended to be 
 
ON POTTERY. 
 
 513 
 
 white. The composition being well mixed dry, is put in 
 the hottest part of the kiln, where it runs into a vitreous 
 opaque enamel. This latter is then ground under a heavy 
 runner of iron, and is finally mixed with water, and rubbed 
 between stones to the consistence of cream. The biscuit, 
 rendered bibulous by drying, is then dipped in this cream, 
 and a sufficient quantity of glaze adheres to the surface 
 of it. The ware is next dried, packed into saggars, which 
 are boxes of clay, to prevent it from being injured by 
 the smoke ; and these saggars are piled in the kiln. A 
 heat moderate for the first twelve hours, and stronger for 
 the last twelve hours, is applied, which vitrifies the glaze 
 on the surface of the ware, and thus completes the process. 
 
 As the use of delft pottery was superseded by the 
 earthenware of Staffordshire, it might seem more natural 
 for me to pass to the description of this latter, rather than 
 to the subject of porcelain. But the European imitations 
 of the Chinese porcelain have introduced so many modi- 
 fications in the manufacture of the finer kinds of earthen- 
 ware, that the line of distinction between them has become 
 almost evanescent ; and I think it will conduce to the 
 clearer understanding of that part of my subject which 
 yet remains to be illustrated, if I begin with the porcelain 
 of China. 
 
 * It had never entered into the head of any one that the 
 ancients were acquainted with porcelain, till the learned 
 Jos. Scaliger expressed his opinion, that the murrine cups 
 brought to Rome by Pompey, after his conquest of Asia 
 Minor, were of porcelain from China. The opinion of 
 Scaliger has, however, been adopted by Salmasius and 
 other critics, as well as by the late Dr. Vincent, in his 
 commentary on the Periplus of Arrian ; so that, although 
 critical disquisitions may seem out of place on the present 
 
 VOL. XLVIII. 2 L 
 
514 
 
 ON POTTERY. 
 
 occasion, I hope to be indulged in a few remarks on a 
 matter that, collaterally at least, is connected with our 
 subject. 
 
 Jos. Scaliger was appointed professor at the university 
 of Leyden in 1593 ; a date probably not long subsequent 
 to the introduction of porcelain from China by the Portu- 
 guese. Indeed, in the very year of his appointment, a 
 rich Portuguese prize from India was brought into London, 
 containing a large quantity of porcelain, which Anderson, 
 in his History of Commerce, considers to be the earliest 
 mention of the importation of that commodity. The 
 beauty of this newly introduced ware appears not only to 
 have turned the heads of the ladies, but to have stimu- 
 lated the fancy even of grave critics ; and Scaliger finding 
 that Propertius describes the murrine cups as having been 
 baked in Parthian furnaces,* and that Martial f talks of 
 sipping hot wine out of them, concludes that they were 
 unquestionably China porcelain. If, however, we turn from 
 the loose assertion of a poet respecting the factitious 
 nature of murrine cups, to Pliny, J who as a naturalist 
 was bound to inquire into the matter, we find quite a 
 different representation. " Murrine vases," says this 
 author, ''were first brought to Rome by Pompey, in his 
 great triumph over Asia and Pontus. Unwrought speci- 
 mens of murra, and cups made of the same, were dedicated 
 in the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus. This substance 
 soon became the most fashionable and precious of all 
 things at Rome. A cup capable of holding three sextarii 
 (4^ pints) was sold for seventy talents. T. Petronius 
 
 * Murreaque in Parthis pocula cocta focis — Propert. iv. 5, 50. 
 -f- Si calidum potas, ardenti murra Falerno 
 
 Convenit. Mart. xiv. 113. 
 
 % Plinii Hist. Nat. xxvii. 7, 8. 
 
ON POTTERY. 
 
 515 
 
 broke, before his death, a murrine dish which had cost 
 300 talents, lest it should come into the possession of the 
 Emperor Nero. Murra comes from the East : it is found 
 in Parthia, and chiefly in Carmania. Its lustre is without 
 brilliancy ; but it is chiefly valuable for its variety of 
 colour, for its spots changing into purple and white, and 
 a colour composed of both these, with a fiery tint : certain 
 spots reflect variable light like the hues of the rainbow. 
 Any translucent or pale parts detract from its value." A 
 talent is equal to about 180/. English money; it is ob- 
 vious, therefore, if single pieces of porcelain were sold at 
 Rome for 70 and 300 talents, or even for one-tenth of the 
 smallest of these sums, that all the crockery shops in 
 Rome would have been blocked up with porcelain in a 
 few years ; for the merchants were at this very time 
 carrying on a regular India trade down the Red Sea to 
 the western coast of Hindostan, as far as Ceylon, where 
 they met and dealt with other traders from the countries 
 still farther to the east. But the description of the 
 varying iridescent hues of this substance (to say nothing 
 of unwrought specimens of it) is totally inapplicable to 
 the intricate enamelled patterns of porcelain : and the 
 murra was, in all probability, either the gem called cat's- 
 eye, or perhaps, more likely, one of the iridescent varieties 
 of adularia, known among jewellers by the name of moon- 
 stone and sunstone, and which come chiefly from Persia, 
 Arabia, and Ceylon. 
 
 To return, however, from this digression. The name 
 China, by which the ware that I am about to describe is 
 known in England, shews sufficiently the country from 
 which we have received it. The term porcelain, which 
 is applied to it on the continent of Europe, is Italian ; 
 porcellana being in that language the name of those 
 
516 
 
 ON POTTERY. 
 
 univalve shells forming the genus cypraa of the concho- 
 logist, which have a high arched back like that of the hog 
 (porco, Ital.), and are remarkable for the white, smooth, 
 vitreous glossiness of the surface about the mouth of the 
 shell, and sometimes, as in the common cowry (Cypraa 
 moneta), over the whole surface. 
 
 The introduction of the Chinese porcelain soon excited 
 a strong desire in the various countries of Europe to imi- 
 tate it ; but as the establishment of experimental manu- 
 factories for this purpose required the expenditure of 
 considerable sums, and at a risk beyond the means of 
 private persons, it is chiefly to the munificence of the 
 sovereigns of Europe that the public are indebted for 
 the first steps made in this interesting art. In Ger- 
 many, chemists and mineralogists were set to work ; the 
 latter to seek for the most appropriate raw materials, 
 and the former to purify and to combine them in the 
 most advantageous proportions. The French govern- 
 ment adopted the very sensible plan of instructing some 
 of the Jesuit missionaries, who at that time had pene- 
 trated to the court of China, and into most of the pro- 
 vinces of that empire, to collect on the spot specimens 
 of the materials employed by the Chinese themselves, 
 together with the particulars of the process. The precise 
 result thus obtained is not known ; for as a considerable 
 rivalry existed between the different royal manufactories 
 of this ware, the most valuable information would of 
 course be kept as secret as possible. The most detailed 
 account hitherto given to the public, is that collected 
 by the Pere d'Entrecolles, and printed in the Arts et 
 Metiers of the Royal Academy of Paris, of which the 
 following is an abstract. 
 
 There are three materials employed in forming the 
 
ON POTTERY. 
 
 517 
 
 body of the ware, but all the three are never used at 
 once. 
 
 The first is called petuntse : it contains scattered 
 shining particles, is fine-grained, and is quarried from 
 certain rocks. It is prepared for use by first breaking 
 it with hammers, then grinding it in mortars with iron 
 pestles, and lastly, is washed over, taking only the 
 white creamy matter that floats on the surface, which, 
 after being dried and pressed into small cakes, is fit 
 for use. 
 
 The second material is called kaolin, and appears to 
 be porcelain clay, namely, that which results from the 
 decomposition of felspar. It is described as occurring 
 in lumps in the clefts of mountains, covered with a red- 
 dish earth. It is prepared for use exactly in the same 
 manner as the petuntse. 
 
 The third material is called hoache ; it is used instead 
 of kaolin. It has a smooth soapy feel, and no doubt is 
 either steatite, or soapstone, or agalmatolite. It is pre- 
 pared in the same manner as the preceding. Porcelain 
 made with this latter is much dearer than that made with 
 kaolin. It has an exceedingly fine grain and is very 
 light ; but, at the same time, is more fragile, and it is 
 not easy to hit on the precise degree of heat that suits it. 
 For the finest porcelain, four parts of hoache are added 
 to one of petuntse. Sometimes the body of the ware is 
 made with kaolin; and then the article, when dry, is 
 dipped in the hoache, brought to the consistence of 
 cream : what adheres forms a thin layer, on which, when 
 dry, are laid the colours and the glaze ; and thus a porce- 
 lain finer than the common is obtained. Hoache is also 
 laid with a pencil, before glazing, on those parts of the 
 
518 
 
 ON POTTERY. 
 
 common porcelain that are intended to have an ivory 
 white colour. 
 
 For the fine kaolin porcelains, equal parts of that 
 substance and of petuntse are employed ; for the less fine, 
 two parts of the former and three of the latter. The in- 
 gredients being put together in due proportions, the mass 
 is carefully tempered and kneaded by hand, and then 
 the ware is wrought on the wheel, or, for articles of 
 irregular figure which cannot be thus formed, is made by 
 pressing the composition into moulds, and then uniting 
 the several pieces by moist clay. The piece being formed 
 is very carefully dried, and is then covered with the glaze. 
 The white semi-transparent glaze is thus prepared. The 
 whitest petuntse with green spots is pulverised and washed 
 over, as already described ; and to 100 parts of the cream 
 thus obtained are added one part of che-kao (burnt alum), 
 previously pulverised. A caustic potash ley is also pre- 
 pared, into which che-kao is stirred, and the cream thus 
 produced is collected. The two creams are then mixed 
 together in the proportions of ten measures of the former 
 to one of the latter. This composition it is which gives 
 to porcelain its whiteness and lustre. 
 
 A brown glaze is made of common yellow clay, washed 
 over, and brought to the consistence of cream, and then 
 mixed with the former glaze. If the brown glaze is not 
 to cover the whole of the surface, wet paper is laid on the 
 reserved parts, which, after the glaze has been put on and 
 has ceased to be fluid, is removed, and such blank parts 
 are then painted in colours and covered with the common 
 white glaze. 
 
 When the glaze is thoroughly dry, the ware is put 
 into the furnace for the first time ; whence it appears 
 
ON POTTERY. 
 
 519 
 
 that the ware is never in the state of biscuit ; a circum- 
 stance in which the process materially differs from that 
 adopted by, I believe, all the European manufacturers, 
 who never put on the glaze till after the first firing of 
 the ware. 
 
 The flux used with those colours that are laid on over 
 the glaze is made of quartz, calcined and pulverised, and 
 then mixed with cerusse, in the proportion of one of quartz 
 to two of cerusse. 
 
 Red is given by peroxide of iron, produced by calcining 
 green vitriol ; and a finer red is made, of copper, but the 
 particular process is kept secret. 
 
 The enamel colours are tempered to the proper con- 
 sistence by a solution of glue, except those into the com- 
 position of which the cerusse enters; these latter are 
 tempered only with water. 
 
 Such, in few words, is nearly all that is publicly 
 known of the manufacture of porcelain in China, except 
 the mode of packing the ware in saggars previous to 
 firing, and certain other mechanical details not likely to 
 be of general interest. 
 
 On the preceding description I shall hazard a few 
 remarks, being at the same time sensible how likely one 
 not practically acquainted with the manufacture is to fall 
 into error. 
 
 In the first place, I think it may be doubted whether 
 the petuntse of the Chinese is a granular quartz or sili- 
 ceous sandstone, as it is commonly supposed to be. I do 
 not lay much stress on the green spots said to charac- 
 terise the most valued varieties of this substance, though 
 this colour is of very rare occurrence in sandstones, but 
 by no means uncommon in the porphyritic varieties of 
 compact felspar, so abundant in many parts of North 
 
.520 
 
 ON POTTERY. 
 
 Wales, and of Cumberland and Westmoreland. In the 
 next place, sandstone, however finely pounded, will not 
 form a cream on the surface of water into which it has 
 been stirred, but will subside almost immediately; whereas, 
 if compact felspar is treated in the same way, the finest 
 of the particles will be brought almost to the state of clay, 
 and will form a cream when stirred with water. That my 
 statement respecting comminuted felspar passing in no 
 great length of time to the state of moderately plastic 
 clay is correct, I may appeal to the experience of every 
 one who has observed how soon the granite fragments 
 which are laid on the streets in London get bound 
 together by a meagre but tenacious clay, formed by the 
 grinding of these stones (of which felspar forms the chief 
 ingredient) by the continued action of carriage-wheels. 
 Thirdly, porcelain clay is of itself scarcely at all fusible, 
 and the addition of 100 or 200 per cent of fine sand to it 
 would make a perfectly opaque body, incapable of under- 
 going that state of semi-fusion by which alone the true 
 porcelainous texture can be produced. Neither could 
 this substance be formed into a glaze by mixture with 
 burnt alum and precipitated alumina, although the addi- 
 tion of these latter ingredients to the powder of compact 
 felspar would form a composition capable of vitrifying at 
 a high heat into a translucent or semi-opaque enamel. I 
 am therefore inclined to believe that the petuntse is 
 compact felspar, and not sandstone ; and that those manu- 
 facturers who use calcined flints, or other substances, 
 containing silica almost in a state of purity, as the repre- 
 sentative of petuntse, are obliged to add, besides porcelain 
 clay, the other avowed ingredient, some alkaline or 
 vitreous flux, in order to give the ware its due degree 
 of semi- transparency. Such addition, however, cannot 
 
ON POTTERY. 
 
 521 
 
 be made without incurring the hazard of lowering too 
 far the infusibility of the porcelain. 
 
 All the Chinese porcelains that I have had an oppor- 
 tunity of examining may be reduced to three kinds, as far 
 as regards the body of the ware. The first is that of 
 which the larger pieces of the old blue and white Nankin 
 are formed. Its texture is in general compact, with more 
 or less tendency to fine granular; the fracture surface is 
 even, with a glistening, somewhat resinous lustre ; it is 
 translucent at the edges, and has a very pale ochre yellow 
 colour. In order to conceal the colour, it is covered with a 
 white semi-opaque glaze of considerable thickness. 
 
 The second differs from the former in having a more 
 compact texture and a white colour. Its glaze is there- 
 fore thin and transparent, or nearly so. When the inner 
 surface is left white, as in coffee-cups and other articles 
 of domestic use, no glaze seems to have been applied on 
 that side, it being of itself sufficiently smooth and glossy. 
 
 The third kind is lighter than the preceding; it is 
 translucent, has a beautifully even shining surface, but the 
 glaze is so thin as to be scarcely perceptible : it is made 
 only into small articles, and seems to answer well to the 
 hoache porcelain of D'Entrecolles. All the above varie- 
 ties are exceedingly infusible, being decidedly superior 
 in this quality to most of the European kinds. 
 
 For the specimens on the table we are indebted to 
 Mr. Copland and to Mr. Sidney, members of the Society, 
 the former of whom made his collection of porcelain at 
 Canton. The larger pieces are from the collection of 
 H. R. H. the Duke of Sussex, our president : they were 
 brought to England by Lord Macartney, on his return 
 from his embassy to the court of Pekin. 
 
 Of the European manufactories of porcelain, that esta- 
 
522 
 
 ON POTTERY. 
 
 blished at Miessen, near Dresden, by Augustus Elector 
 of Saxony and King of Poland, in the early part of the 
 17th century, was the first that aspired to a competition 
 with the Chinese. In compactness of texture and infusi- 
 bility it was reckoned perfect a hundred years ago. It 
 is not quite so white as some of the French and English 
 porcelains, but is inferior to none in its painting, gilding, 
 and other decorations. The figures in white biscuit of 
 this ware now before you, belong to a friend of mine, who 
 procured them at Dresden ; and the other specimens form 
 part of a set presented to your secretary by the King of 
 Saxony. 
 
 The French royal manufactory at Sevres, near Paris, 
 has been for several years in a gradually advancing state, 
 with regard to the whiteness, compactness, and infusi- 
 bility of the body, the elegance of the forms, the brilliancy 
 of the colours, the elaborateness of the drawing, and the 
 superb enrichments of the gilding. The private manu- 
 factories of porcelain in France imitate and approach more 
 or less near to the royal establishment. Specimens of 
 French porcelain in biscuit, in plain white, glazed, and 
 painted and gilded, are now before you, through the 
 kindness of Mr. Windus, Mr. Pellatt, and Mr. Lemann, 
 members of the Society. 
 
 At Berlin and at Vienna are royal porcelain manu- 
 factories in high esteem, as well as in some of the smaller 
 states of Germany. For a fine specimen from Hammer, 
 in Bohemia, the Society are indebted to one of its mem- 
 bers, Mr. Morrison. 
 
 The first manufactories of porcelain in England were 
 those at Bow, and at Chelsea, near London. In these, 
 however, nothing but soft porcelain was made. This was 
 a mixture of white clay and fine white sand from Alum 
 
ON POTTERY. 
 
 523 
 
 bay, in the Isle of Wight, to which such a proportion of 
 pounded glass was added as, without causing the ware to 
 soften so as to lose its form, would give it when exposed 
 to a full red heat a semi-transparency resembling that of 
 the fine porcelain of China. The Chelsea ware, besides 
 bearing a very imperfect similarity in body to the Chinese, 
 admitted only of a very fusible lead glaze ; and in the 
 taste of its patterns, and in the style of their execution, 
 stood as low perhaps as any on the list. The china work3 
 at Derby come, I believe, the next in date; then those of 
 Worcester, established in 1751 ; and the most modern are 
 those of Coalport, in Shropshire ; of the neighbourhood of 
 Newcastle, in Staffordshire, and in other parts of that 
 county. 
 
 The porcelain clay used at present in all the English 
 works is obtained in Cornwall, by pounding and washing 
 over the gray disintegrated granite which occurs in several 
 parts of that county : by this means the quartz and mica 
 are got rid of, and the clay resulting from the decompo- 
 sition of the felspar is procured in the form of a white, 
 somewhat gritty powder. This clay is not fusible by the 
 highest heat of our furnaces, though the felspar, from the 
 decomposition of which it is derived, forms a spongy 
 milk-white glass, or enamel, at a low white heat. But 
 felspar, when decomposed by the percolation of water, 
 while it forms a constituent of granite, loses the potash, 
 which is one of its ingredients to the amount of about 15 
 per cent, and with it the fusibility that this latter sub- 
 stance imparts. 
 
 The siliceous ingredient is calcined flint ; and in some 
 of the porcelain works, (particularly, I believe, those at 
 Worcester,) the soapstone from the Lizard-point, in Corn- 
 wall, is employed. These are all the avowed materials,* 
 
524 
 
 ON POTTERY. 
 
 but there is little doubt that the alkalies, or alkaline earths, 
 either pure or in combination, are also used, in order to 
 dispose the other ingredients to assume that state of semi- 
 fusion characteristic of porcelain. 
 
 The grinding and due mixture of the ingredients, in 
 order to obtain a mass sufficiently plastic ; the forming 
 this mass on the wheel ; the subsequent drying of the 
 ware ; the first firing, by which it is brought to the state 
 of biscuit; the application of the firmer colours occa- 
 sionally on the surface of the biscuit ; the dipping the 
 biscuit in the glaze ; the second firing, by which the 
 glaze is vitrified ; the pencilling in of the more tender 
 colours on the surface of the glaze ; and the third and 
 last firing that is given to the porcelain, — so nearly resemble 
 the same processes as applied to the more elaborate kinds 
 of earthenware, that it would be a mere anticipation of 
 these latter if I were to describe them now. 
 
 It is not for me to determine which of our English 
 porcelains is the best ; probably, indeed, one will be found 
 superior in hardness, another in whiteness, a third in the 
 thinness and evenness of the glaze, a fourth in the form 
 of the articles, a fifth in the design, and a sixth in the 
 colours. In hardness and infusibility, they are probably 
 all inferior to the Dresden and to the Sevres porcelain ; 
 for pieces in biscuit and in white glaze, from both these 
 manufactories, are imported in considerable quantities, 
 in order to be painted and finished here. But it is equally 
 certain, that the last ten years have seen the commence- 
 ment, and, in part, the completion, of such improvements 
 in this fabric, as will probably place the English porce- 
 lains on an equality with the best of the continental 
 European ones. 
 
 For the specimens of English porcelain now exhibited, 
 
ON POTTERY. 
 
 525 
 
 the Society are indebted to the liberality of Mr. Pellatt, 
 Mr. Rose, and Mr. Davenport. 
 
 Advantage has recently been taken of the semi-trans- 
 parency of porcelain biscuit to form it into plates, and to 
 delineate upon it some very beautiful copies of landscapes 
 and other drawings, by so adapting the various thick- 
 nesses of the plate as to produce, when held between 
 the eye and the light, the effects of light and shadow in 
 common drawings. The invention originated in the in- 
 genuity of our French neighbours ; and some very fine 
 specimens have been sent for exhibition by Mr. Brady. 
 
 I now proceed to the last division of my subject, 
 namely, the manufacture of those species of glazed pot- 
 tery known by the general name of Staffordshire ware. 
 
 The date of this ware is about sixty years ago, and it 
 unquestionably originated with the late Mr. Wedgewood. 
 It not only originated with him, but was carried by his 
 knowledge, his skill, and his perseverance, to a degree 
 of excellence which, in several points, has never been 
 surpassed, and in some has never been equalled. With 
 a liberal ambition far above the mere love of gain, his 
 ruling object was to carry the art that he practised to the 
 utmost perfection of which it was capable. For this he 
 spared neither time, nor labour, nor expense ; and his 
 splendid success, inciting others to follow in the same 
 track, has secured to his country a most important branch 
 of internal and foreign commerce, and has placed his 
 name for ever among: the worthies of the British nation. 
 
 He perceived that the defects of the delft ware, at that 
 time the only species of pottery employed for common 
 domestic purposes, were the softness and looseness of 
 texture of its body, which obliged the potter to make it 
 thick and clumsy and heavy, in order to ensure to it a 
 
526 
 
 ON POTTERY. 
 
 moderate durability; and that its porousness, as well as 
 its dirty gray colour, required a thick coating of white 
 enamel, which added still farther to its bulk and weight, 
 and which, consisting for the most part of lead and 
 arsenic, was hardly safe for culinary use. 
 
 He began, therefore, by inventing a body for earthen- 
 ware, which at the same time should be white, and 
 capable of enduring a very high degree of heat without 
 fusion, well knowing that the hardness of the ware de- 
 pended on the high firing to which it has been subjected. 
 For this purpose, rejecting the common clays of his neigh- 
 bourhood, he sent as far as Dorsetshire and Devonshire 
 for the whiter and purer pipe-clays of those counties. For 
 the siliceous ingredient of his composition he made choice 
 of chalk-flints, calcined and ground to powder. 
 
 It might be supposed that white sand would have 
 answered his purpose equally well, and have been 
 cheaper ; but, being determined to give the body of his 
 ware as great a degree of compactness as possible, it 
 was necessary that the materials should be reduced to 
 the state almost of an impalpable powder ; and calcined 
 flints are much more easily brought to this state by grind- 
 ing than sand would be. The perfect and equable mixture 
 of these two ingredients being a point of great importance, 
 he did not choose to trust to the ordinary mode of tread- 
 ing them together when moist, but having ground them 
 between stones separately with water to the consistence 
 of cream, he mixed them together in this state by measure, 
 and then, evaporating the superfluous water by boiling 
 in large cisterns, he obtained a composition of the most per- 
 fect uniformity in every part. By the combination of these 
 ingredients, in different proportions, and exposed to differ- 
 ent degrees of heat, he obtained all the variety of texture 
 
ON POTTERY. 
 
 527 
 
 required, from the bibulous ware employed for glazed 
 articles, such as common plates and dishes, to the com- 
 pact ware not requiring glazing, of which he made mortars 
 and other similar articles. The almost infusible nature 
 of the body allowed him also to employ a thinner and 
 less fusible glaze, that is, one in which no more lead 
 entered than in common flint glass, and therefore in- 
 capable of being affected by any articles of food con- 
 tained or prepared in such vessels. With these materials, 
 either in their natural white or variously coloured — black 
 by manganese, blue by cobalt, brown and buff by iron — 
 he produced imitations of the Etruscan vases, and of 
 various other works of ancient art, such as the world had 
 never before seen — such as no subsequent artist has ever 
 attempted to rival. His copies of the Portland vase, of 
 which the liberality of Mr. Pellatt enables me to lay 
 before you a faultless specimen, are miracles of skill ; 
 and the other specimens of similar works, for the ex- 
 hibition of most of which you are indebted to Mr. Josiah 
 Wedgewood, his son and successor, may give some idea 
 of the many beautiful works that were produced in his 
 manufactory. 
 
 In table ware, for many years he led the way almost 
 without a rival ; but the immense demand occasioned by 
 the successive improvements of this article, which first 
 put down the use of delft, and then of pewter, gave ample 
 room and encouragement to men of capital and skill to 
 enter the field of profit and competition. Much good 
 has hence resulted : many subordinate improvements have 
 been effected and are almost daily making ; and a new 
 variety of ware, called ironstone, has been invented, and 
 so rapidly and judiciously improved, that, in appearance 
 and in many of its intrinsic properties, it bears a close 
 
528 
 
 ON POTTERY. 
 
 resemblance to the older and coarser porcelains of China 
 itself. 
 
 I shall conclude by a summary account of the manu- 
 facture of the best table ware ; for a considerable part 
 of which I am indebted to notes taken by Captain Bag- 
 nold, when visiting a pottery, inferior, perhaps, to none 
 in the country. For the copious and interesting collec- 
 tion of specimens of almost every variety of Staffordshire 
 table ware, we are under great obligation to Mr. Pellatt 
 and Mr. Davenport. 
 
 The materials of the Staffordshire ware are calcined 
 flints and clay. The flints are burnt in kilns, and then, 
 while hot, quenched in water, by which they are cracked 
 through their whole substance. After being quenched 
 they are ground in mills with water. The mill is a hollow 
 cylinder of wood bound with hoops, and having a bottom 
 of blocks of chert, a hard, tough, siliceous stone : the 
 mill-shaft is perpendicular, and has two horizontal arms 
 passing through it cross-wise. Between these arms are 
 laid loose blocks of chert, which are moved round on the 
 bed-stone as the arms revolve, and thus grind the flint 
 with water to the consistence of cream. 
 
 The clay, from Dorsetshire and Devonshire, is mixed 
 with water, and in this state is passed through fine sieves 
 to separate the grosser particles. The flint and clay are 
 now mixed by measure, and the mud or cream is passed 
 through a sieve in order to render the mixture more 
 complete. 
 
 In this state it is called slip, and is now evaporated to 
 a proper consistence in long brick troughs. It is then 
 tempered in the pug-mill, which is an iron cylinder placed 
 perpendicularly, in which an arbor or shaft revolves, 
 having several knives projecting from it, the edges of 
 
ON POTTERY. 
 
 529 
 
 which are somewhat depressed. By the revolution of 
 these the clay is cut or kneaded, and finally is forced by 
 their action through a hole in the bottom of the cylinder, 
 and is now ready for use. Cups, % pots, basins, and 
 other round articles, are turned rough on the horizontal 
 potter's wneel, and, when half dried, are again turned in 
 a lathe. They are then fully dried in a stove, and the 
 remaining roughnesses are afterwards removed by friction 
 with coarse paper. Articles that are not round, and the 
 round ones that have embossed designs on their surface, 
 are made of thin sheets of clay rolled out like dough, and 
 then pressed into moulds of plaster of Paris ; the moulds 
 being previously dried, absorb the superficial moisture 
 of the clay, and thus allow it to part from them without 
 injury. The two or three separate pieces composing the 
 article are then united by means of fluid slip. Spouts and 
 handles of jugs and tea-pots are made and united with the 
 body of the vessel in the same way. Small handles, head- 
 ings, mouldings, &c. are formed by means of an iron cylin- 
 der, having its bottom perforated so as to mould the clay, 
 as its passes through, into trie required figure. A piston 
 is inserted into the top of the cylinder, and caused to de- 
 scend slowly by means of a screw, in consequence of which 
 the clay is continually passing out through the perfora- 
 tion, and is cut off in lengths. 
 
 Plates are beaten or rolled out of a lump of clay, 
 and are then laid on a mould turned to the shape of the 
 upper surface of the plate. A rotatory motion is given 
 to the mould, and an earthenware tool representing a 
 section of the plate is pressed upon it; thus the plate is 
 made smooth, has a uniform thickness given to it, and 
 it takes a perfect cast of the mould. Cups, saucers, and 
 
 vol. xlviii. 2 M 
 
530 
 
 ON POTTERY. 
 
 basins, when rough-turned, are dried on the block to 
 prevent them from warping. 
 
 The ware being thoroughly dried, is. packed into 
 saggars and burnt in the furnace to biscuit. Patterns 
 for flat, or nearly flat surfaces, are put on by printing the 
 pattern from a copper-plate with an ink composed of 
 oxide of cobalt, oxide of iron, or other colouring matter, 
 mixed with oil. The impression is taken on soft paper, 
 and is applied to the surface of the biscuit, and slightly 
 rubbed to make the print adhere : the biscuit is then 
 soaked in water till the paper may be stripped off, leaving 
 the print or pattern behind.* The ware is then dipped 
 in the glaze, which is a mixture of flint slip and white 
 lead, and the bibulous quality of the biscuit causes a 
 sufficient quantity to adhere : the piece is then dried 
 and again passed into the furnace, which brings out the 
 colours of the pattern, and at the same time vitrifies 
 the glaze. 
 
 The finest patterns are applied after the glazing has 
 been completed, by taking the impressions from the 
 copper-plate on a flexible strap covered with a strong 
 gelatinous mixture of glue and treacle. This strap is 
 then pressed on the ware, and gives the impression in 
 glue, the colouring powder is then dusted over it, and a 
 sufficient portion adheres to the damp parts to give the 
 pattern, after having been again in the furnace. The 
 more elaborate patterns on earthenware, and all those on 
 porcelain, are finished by pencilling in. 
 
 * This very ingenious method of transferring printed patterns to biscuit 
 ware was invented at the porcelain works at Worcester. 
 
186 
 
 ON FURS AND THE FUR-TRADE. 
 
 ON FURS AND THE FUR-TRADE * 
 
 By A. AIKIN, Sec, F.L.S. F.G.S. &c. 
 Read Jan. 26, 1830. 
 
 The human race differs from most of the other highly- 
 organised animals in being nearly destitute of any natural 
 covering to the body. In the latter, the only use of the 
 hair or feathers with which they are clothed is to afford 
 protection against wet and cold. To man has been super- 
 added another motive, namely, the sense of modesty or 
 shame consequent on complete exposure of the person. 
 It is true a very partial covering will suffice to satisfy 
 the wants of this moral feeling, when not strengthened 
 by the physical necessity of protection against cold ; but 
 still the feeling itself exists so generally, that the reported 
 want of it in one or two savage tribes, in the lowest state 
 of wretchedness and degradation, can hardly be admitted 
 as detracting from its universality. 
 
 In those countries the inhabitants of which made the 
 most rapid advances in civilization, by domesticating the 
 sheep, the goat, and the camel, and betaking themselves 
 to agricultural labour in fixed habitations, the art of ob- 
 taining from the animals just mentioned an annual supply 
 of hair or wool, without slaughtering them, would soon 
 be discovered, and with it the method of spinning and 
 
 * For the splendid specimens of furs exhibited on this occasion, the 
 Society is chiefly indebted to Messrs. Poland, 21, Bow Lane ; and for the 
 stuffed specimens of fur-bearing animals, to the Zoological Society. 
 
ON FURS AND THE FUR-TRADE. 
 
 187 
 
 weaving them into cloths of various texture, better ac- 
 commodated to use than skins, and more susceptible of 
 ornament, through the skill of the dyer and of the em- 
 broiderer. But all documents of these primitive ages, if 
 such ever existed, have perished ; and it would be idle to 
 take up your time by substituting in their place theories, 
 which, however plausible, might be destitute of any foun- 
 dation. 
 
 There is, however, one remarkable fact in relation to 
 the subject now before us, in which all antiquity, as far as 
 it speaks at all, concurs ; namely, that the valleys of the 
 Tigris and Euphrates and of the Nile, as well as Syria 
 from the sea-coast eastward to the great desert that parts 
 it from Mesopotamia, were occupied by highly civilized 
 nations, subject for the most part to absolute monarchs, 
 and clothed in fabrics of cotton, linen, and wool ; while 
 the grassy, treeless plains extending from the Aral sea 
 westward as far as the mouths of the Danube, along 
 the northern border of the Caspian and Euxine seas, and 
 the intervening chain of the Caucasus, were occupied, or 
 rather traversed, by independent tribes of horsemen shep- 
 herds, clothed in skins and fur. Under the dreaded name 
 of Scythians, they occasionally forced the passes of the 
 mountains, and ravaged in temporary inroads the plains 
 of Mesopotamia and the valleys of Syria ; or, crossing 
 the Araxes between the Aral sea and the Caspian, pro- 
 duced a more permanent impression on the eastern fron- 
 tiers of Media and Persia. Herodotus records a conquest 
 of the open country of Mesopotamia by the Scythians ; 
 an incursion into Scythia, in revenge of this, by Cyrus, 
 in which that monarch lost his life ; and an expedition, 
 equally fruitless, across the Dardanelles, by Darius. But, 
 besides these mutually hostile incursions, we may con- 
 
188 
 
 ON FURS AND THE FUR-TRADE. 
 
 elude, with great probability, that more or less of com- 
 mercial intercourse took place at the common frontier of 
 the two countries, and that the manufactures of Baby- 
 lonia were exchanged for the natural productions of the 
 Scythian plains and of the interminable forests on their 
 northern boundary. Horses, cattle, and the finer kinds of 
 furs, would, in all likelihood, form the chief commodities 
 on the part of the Scythian traders. That the latter 
 articles were known and esteemed by the nobles of 
 Babylon, we have very satisfactory proof in the apocry- 
 phal book of Judith, and that they were applied to the 
 same purposes that Persian carpets are at present in the 
 same country. It appears from this book, that Nebu- 
 chadnezzar, king of Nineveh, having conquered Arphaxad, 
 king of the Medes, sent his general, Holofernes, against 
 the Jews. While he was besieging Bethulia, Judith came 
 out to him, and was lodged in an apartment of his tent, 
 " and her maid went and laid soft skins on the ground, 
 which she had received of Bagoas (chamberlain of Holo- 
 fernes) for her daily use, that she might sit and eat 
 upon them." — (Judith, xii. 15.) This passage is the 
 more valuable from the exceeding scarcity of notices in 
 ancient authors respecting the use of furs as an article 
 of state or luxury by the inhabitants of civilized coun- 
 tries. The Jews seem to have been precluded from the 
 use of furs by the enactments of the Mosaic law respect- 
 ing unclean animals (Levit. xi. 29) ; the Greeks esteemed 
 them badges of rusticity and barbarism ; and among the 
 Romans they seem to have been held in peculiar abhor- 
 rence. The Persians, therefore, using this appellation 
 in its largest sense, seem to have been the only civilized 
 nation of antiquity to whom furs were an object of luxury. 
 iElian, who wrote about the year 110 of the Christian 
 
ON FURS AND THE FUR-TRADE. 
 
 189 
 
 era, informs us, in his book on animals {mgi xvii. 17.), 
 that a certain species of mice are found in the district of 
 Teredon, in Babylonia, the soft skins of which are brought 
 by traders to Persia, where they are sewn together into 
 garments remarkable for their warmth. We have nothing 
 to enable us to identify the species of animal here men- 
 tioned ; but it might very well have been some small 
 creature of the weasel kind, for both Greek and Roman 
 writers were accustomed to call all such by the gene- 
 ral name of mouse. Zonaras writes, that Sapor, king 
 of Persia, possessed a tent, made at Babylon, in party- 
 work of different colours, of the skins of animals natives 
 of that country (sx BaQvXojvog dsp/xcccfiv sy%0Qgiofg ko/xiXojtspov 
 
 Having thus shewn that Babylon had by this time 
 become a mart for furs., where they were made up into 
 pelisses and the linings of tents, I shall now, by the 
 citation of a few authorities, endeavour to shew you the 
 feelings of the Romans with regard to the use of furs. 
 
 The poet Ovid, after having spent the flower of his 
 age in the license and luxury of the metropolis of the 
 empire, was banished by Augustus to the frontier fortress 
 of Tomi, on the south shore of the principal mouth of the 
 Danube. Here he passed the last four or five years of 
 his life, occupying and consoling his leisure in the com- 
 position of nine books of epistles in verse to his friends 
 in Rome, in which are many striking descriptions of the 
 wild country and rude climate, and of the wilder and 
 ruder tribes of Scythian marauders by whom it was 
 vexed.* During the summer, the wide stream of the 
 river defended the small fortress and its scanty garrison 
 
 * Tristia, iii. Eleg. 10 ; v. Eleg. 7 and 10. 
 
190 
 
 ON FURS AND THE FUR-TRADE* 
 
 from annoyance; but early in the winter, not only the 
 river but the sea itself to a considerable distance is frozen. 
 Bands of savage barbarians on horseback, or mounted on 
 their creaking waggons drawn by oxen, are then seen 
 crossing the ice. As they approach, you distinguish their 
 long loose trousers ; the upper part of their bodies, ex- 
 cept the face, buried in fur, their beards and disordered 
 hair matted with ice : the whole open country becomes 
 their prey; the farm-houses are set fire to, the cattle 
 driven off, the people massacred, except the young and 
 robust, who, with their hands tied behind them, are 
 goaded to keep pace with the rapid motions of these 
 mounted savages. As they retire, they surround the 
 petty fortress, and discharge into it, as much from con- 
 tempt as enmity, a shower of poisoned arrows. Asso- 
 ciated with such objects of dread and disgust, no wonder 
 that a hairy cloak appeared to the affrighted poet and 
 his friends at Rome as the very opposite to luxury and 
 civility. 
 
 Tacitus, in his interesting treatise on the manners of 
 the Germans, written in the reign of Trajan, having oc- 
 casion to describe the Fenni, one of the most barbarous 
 and distant tribes, characterizes them in terms of ener- 
 getic contempt, very inadequately represented by the 
 following translation . # " The Fenni lead the life almost 
 of wild beasts, in a state of foul penury, without arms, 
 horses, or homes : their food is the wild herb, their cloth- 
 ing skins, their resting-place the ground. " 
 
 The poet Claudian flourished in the reign of Honorius, 
 about the year 390. At this time considerable inter- 
 course, of a hostile or friendly kind, took place between 
 
 * Fennis mira feritas, foeda paupertas ; non arma, non equi, non penates ; 
 victui herlia, vestitui pelles, cubile humus.— Germania, 46. 
 
ON FURS AND THE FUR-TRADE. 
 
 191 
 
 the Scythian or Sarmatic tribes north of the Danube, and 
 the subjects and government of the Constantinopolitan 
 empire. We meet, therefore, with frequent mention of 
 these tribes in the poems of this writer, which are chiefly 
 panegyrics and satires composed on public occasions. In 
 one of them # he describes a victory obtained over an 
 army of Getse that had penetrated into the passes of 
 Greece. The furred youth, says he, are mown down, 
 their waggons swim in gore : 
 
 Plaustra cruore natant, metitur pellita juventus. 
 
 In another poenrf he speaks of the furred assembly of the 
 Getic chiefs, "pellita Getarum curia;" and lastly, in his 
 celebrated satire against Rufinus,J the prime minister of 
 Honorius, and the political enemy of his patron Stilicho, 
 after mentioning the Getic body-guard of Rufinus, he 
 discharges all his indignation upon him for assuming the 
 furred dress of these barbarians ( <l revocat fulvas in pec- 
 tore pelles"), and even venturing to appear on the seat of 
 justice wrapped in fur (" mcerent captivae pellito judice 
 leges"). These passages are interesting on several ac- 
 counts. They shew us, in the first place, that the man- 
 ners and dress of the Scythian tribes had undergone no 
 material change for many centuries ; in the second place, 
 that the inhabitants of Constantinople had completely 
 adopted the feelings of the Romans with respect to furs 
 being the characteristic outward and visible sign of bar- 
 barism ; and thirdly, that a man of high rank, either as a 
 compliment to his Scythian guard, or from some motive 
 of singularity or ostentation, had ventured to shew himself 
 to the public, even on the seat of justice, in robes of fur. 
 
 * De IV, Cons. Honorii, 466. 
 t In Rufinum, ii. 82. 
 
 f De Bello Get. 481. 
 
192 
 
 ON FURS AND THE FUR-TRADE. 
 
 The passage I have already quoted from Tacitus shews 
 that one of the most remote of the German tribes used 
 the skins of animals as their ordinary clothing ; and a 
 still more striking passage, which I shall have occasion 
 to cite by and by from the same author, shews that this 
 custom was common to all those people. Sidonius says 
 the same thing also of the Burgundians. Thus the whole 
 northern and eastern frontier of the Roman empire was 
 covered by nations of warlike barbarians clothed in furs, 
 except where long intercourse with the Roman garrisons 
 had introduced, in some degree, the use of cloth, with 
 other commencements of civilization. 
 
 In the 6th century, the defensive resistance of the 
 divided and enervated Romans availed no longer ; the 
 barriers of the Danube, the Rhine, and the Rha3tian Alps, 
 were forced by the nations of Germany and Sarmatia, in 
 search of plunder or of permanent settlements. Italy, in 
 the reign of Justinian, received for a time a Gothic king, 
 and the confederation of the Franks established them- 
 selves in Gaul. The intruders, while enjoying the luxury 
 and conveniences of the countries which they had con- 
 quered, retained, however, some of their barbaric tastes, 
 and among others their fondness for furs, though the 
 milder climate to which they had transferred them- 
 selves, no longer rendered this species of clothing an 
 article of absolute necessity. While, therefore, they east 
 aside the coarser skins, and replaced them by the more 
 convenient and agreeable fabrics of Italian and Gallic 
 looms, they sought out the more eagerly for the rarer, 
 richer, and more costly furs, as well for the purpose of 
 ostentatious luxury, as of the warmth which they afforded. 
 Jornandes, who was secretary to the Gothic kings of 
 Italy, and wrote his history of the Goths about the year 
 
ON FURS AND THE FUR-TRADE. 
 
 193 
 
 552, in speaking of the Suethans or Swedes, describes 
 them as a race who live hardly, but are clothed most 
 richly in furs of a becoming blackness. These are the 
 people, adds he, who transmit, by commerce, through 
 many intervening nations, the skins of sables for the use 
 of the Romans*.* 
 
 In the rapid sketch that has now been given, I have 
 endeavoured to convey a clear idea of the country which 
 in all ages has been inhabited by people characterised by 
 wearing fur. This material of dress was necessarily im- 
 posed on them, while occupying their native plains, by 
 the severe cold of the climate ; but when they had esta- 
 blished themselves in the milder countries of southern 
 Europe, the habit, at first superinduced by a natural 
 want, was retained, as ministering to luxury and the 
 desire of personal distinction. At the same time, and, 
 indeed, considerably previous, a similar taste had been 
 excited, through the medium of commerce, among the 
 nobles of Persia, many of whom were probably of Scy- 
 thian or Tartar extraction. 
 
 A demand for furs having thus been caused in the 
 Roman empire, chiefly indeed in the western division of 
 it, our next inquiry is into the sources from which this 
 demand was supplied. 
 
 We know from Jornandes, already cited, that sable- 
 skins were obtained from Scandinavia and the shores of 
 the Baltic. We also know, from various Greek writers 
 of the middle ages, that there existed a considerable 
 trade in furs from the mountainous countries whence 
 
 * Gens Suethans — hi sunt qui in usus Romanorum sapphirinas pelles, 
 commercio interveniente per alias innumeras gentes, transmittunt, faniosi 
 pellium decora nigritudine. Hi cum inopes vivunt, ditissime vestiuntur. — 
 Be Reb. Get. cap. iii. 
 
 VOL. XLIX. O 
 
194 
 
 ON FURS AND THE FUR-TRADE. 
 
 flow the Tigris and Euphrates, and which block up the 
 space between the Euxine and Caspian seas. The con- 
 sumption of Mesopotamia and Persia appears not to 
 have been sufficient to absorb the supply; and large quan- 
 tities of small furs, under the name of skins of Pontic or 
 Babylonian mice, were obtained through the Greek com- 
 mercial establishments in the Crimea, or the merchants 
 of Cappadocia. Of these, the principal and the only one 
 which can be identified is the ermine. Julius Pollux 
 informs us, that a particular kind of robe was called 
 Armenian, as being made of the skins of mice caught in 
 that country ; and the terms Pontic, Babylonian, and 
 Armenian mice, are used so indifferently by the writers 
 of that age, as to induce some antiquaries, particularly 
 M. Du Cange, in his very interesting memoir on Coats of 
 Arms, printed in the Memoir es de V Acadtmie des Inscrip- 
 tions, fyc, to suppose that the ermine is the only animal 
 meant by these various expressions. The more ancient 
 writers who mention this ereature, call it Hermelin ; now, 
 this is the Italian adjective Armellino, Armenian, scarcely 
 at all changed : whence I think we may fairly conclude, 
 not only that the ermine derives its name from Armenia, 
 but that by far the greater part of the supply required 
 for the princes and nobles of western Europe in the 
 middle ages, was imported from that country by the mer- 
 chants of Italy. I may here remark, that sables and 
 ermines were sometimes confounded together by the old 
 writers; a mistake which could never occur with regard 
 to the animals themselves, one being nearly black, and 
 the other snow white. It has probably arisen from this: 
 The Tartar name of the ermine, according to Marco Polo, 
 (Purchas, iii. 86 — 160), is zibelline, and that of the sable 
 is zamholine ; and these similar words may easily be con- 
 
ON FURS AND THE FUR-TRADE. 
 
 195 
 
 founded by ignorant or careless writers, or by the modern 
 reader who recognises the ermine only by its common 
 name. Thus, in one French metrical romance we find 
 the expression, 
 
 Si ot vestu un hermin engole ; 
 
 meaning ermine dyed red.* In another French poet of 
 the same age, we have the words, 
 
 chappes fourrees 
 De sobelines engoulees, 
 
 in which the author obviously means ermine, it being im- 
 possible to dye sable of a red colour. 
 
 The ermine is a small animal, and therefore the num- 
 ber of such skins employed to line the full robes and 
 mantles of princes and nobles, when furs were in their 
 highest fashion and esteem, may readily be conceived, as 
 well as the enormous expense attached to the indulgence 
 of this taste. In the account of Stephen de la Fontaine, 
 silversmith and master of the robes to Louis IX. of 
 France in 1251, is the following entry : " For three pieces 
 and a half of velvet in grain, to make a surcoat, a dress- 
 mantle, and a hat, lined with ermines for the king against 
 the feast of the star. For the said surcoat a fur lining 
 of 346 ermines, for the sleeves and wristbands 60, for the 
 frock 336." In all, 742 ermines for a single dress. 
 
 The four noble furs of those ages were the sable, the 
 ermine, the vair, and the gris. The three former of these 
 represented the three fur colours admitted into their 
 armorial bearings. Every one at all acquainted with 
 heraldry knows that ermine is represented by a white 
 
 * To the same effect St. Bernard says, in his forty-second epistle, Hor- 
 reant et rubricatas murium pelliculas, quas Gulas vocant, manibus circum- 
 dare sacratis." 
 
196 
 
 ON FURS AND THE FUR-TRADE. 
 
 ground with black somewhat lengthened spots. These 
 were intended to designate the black-tipped tails of the 
 animal, the skins being sewn together either with the 
 tails on, or the tails were first cut off, and afterwards sewn 
 in rows upon the skins, sometimes alone, sometimes with 
 a little wad of black lambskin on each side of the tail. 
 This arrangement is so obvious, I may say so natural, that 
 it would not have been worth a remark in this place, 
 except for its connexion with the science of heraldry. 
 
 The vair was a squirrel, # obtained probably at that 
 time, as it is at present, from the southern provinces of 
 Russia. It has a white belly, and a blue or rather dove- 
 coloured back, on which latter account its colour when 
 blazoned was azure. When these skins, entire, or at least 
 only reduced to square pieces (called in ancient heraldry 
 pannes), were sewn together, the result was a varied sur- 
 face of bluish gray and white in alternate somewhat bell- 
 shaped figures ; but as the white of the squirrel's belly is 
 far inferior to that of the ermine, it was the custom, for 
 the more sumptuous kind of . garments, to use only the 
 back of the squirrel, and to form the alternate white figures 
 of ermine. This custom of spotting, mixing, and diversi- 
 fying furs, is supposed by M. Du Cange and others to be 
 of eastern origin ; and the tent of Sapor, already mentioned, 
 has been cited as the earliest instance of it, and particu- 
 larly for that special mode of intermixing the furs called 
 vair. Tacitus, however, describes the same fashion of 
 variegating furs to have been in use among the German 
 tribes long before the existence of Sapor or his tent. 
 His words are these rf — " They wear also the skins of 
 
 * Vair is at present the provincial name for a squirrel in Devonshire 
 
 See Marshall's Rural Econ. West of England, vol. i. p. 326. 
 
 f Gerunt et ferarum pelles, proximi ripae, negligenter ; ulteriores, 
 
ON FURS AND THE FUR-TRADE. 
 
 197 
 
 wild beasts more negligently on the Roman borders, but 
 more exquisitely prepared by those tribes who, on account 
 of their distance, are ignorant of the refinements introduced 
 by commerce. For this purpose they select the skins of 
 particular animals, and vary them with spots, or with 
 the skins of marine animals,* that inhabit the unknown 
 northern ocean." 
 
 Respecting the gris, heraldic antiquaries seem much in 
 doubt. Some suppose it to be only the blue or gray back 
 of the same squirrel, as has just been described by the 
 name of vair. This, however, is not very probable, espe- 
 cially as the common French name of the North American 
 gray squirrel is petit gris, little gris, although in size it is 
 equal to the vair. It most probably is the animal called 
 calaber, or gray squirrel, in the list of the principal Russian 
 furs drawn up by Dr. Giles Fletcher, embassador to the 
 Czar from Queen Elizabeth. 
 
 Charlemagne, who appears to have been a man of 
 plain taste in dress, was accustomed to wear in winter a 
 cloak of otter-skins,f according to Eguinard ; but, accord- 
 ing to Philip Mouskes, who wrote a metrical life of Charle- 
 magne, he wore a surcoat with sleeves furred with vair 
 and fox. 
 
 " A tousjours en iveir si ot 
 A mances un nouviel surcot, 
 Fourre de vair et de goupis 
 Pour garder son cors et son pis. 
 
 Octher, a Norwegian chief, who gave an account to 
 
 exquisitius, ut quibus nullus per commercia cultus. Eligunt feras, et 
 detracta velamina spargunt maculis pellibusque belluarum quas exterior 
 oceanus atque ignotum mare gignit. — German, xvii. 
 * Probably seals. 
 
 ■f Fiber et lutra, utrumque aquaticum, utrique mollior pluraa pilus. — 
 Plin. Hist. Nat. viii. 47. 
 
198 
 
 ON FURS AND THE FUR TRADE. 
 
 our Alfred, about the year 890, of his discoveries towards 
 the North Cape, informs us that the tribute paid by the 
 Fynnes to the Biarmes or Sweedes was skins of marterns, 
 reindeers, and bears. — Hakluyt. 
 
 The martern, martin, or lette, as it is sometimes called, 
 has continued in great esteem from the earliest to the 
 present times. There are two species of it, the common 
 and the pine martin, the fur of the latter of which is by 
 far the best ; and some of the darker varieties are not 
 unfrequently mistaken for sable. It has been, indeed, 
 supposed that the real sable was hardly known in the 
 middle ages ; and we are certain that some of the writers 
 of this period use the word martin or martern as synony- 
 mous with sable. # Thus, Adam of Bremen, speaking of 
 the passion for rich furs, says, " Ad marturinam vestem 
 anhelamus quasi ad summam beatitudinem we are as 
 anxious to obtain a garment of marterns as the joys of 
 heaven. Where the word must evidently imply a fur of 
 the finest quality. 
 
 The Anglo-Saxons had the same taste for furs as the 
 ether nations of Germanic origin ; but the peltry trade of 
 the Italian merchants seems not to have reached the 
 remote island of Britain, whose inhabitants were confined 
 to their native produce, together with probably a few of 
 the richer kinds brought by the Northmen, and other semi- 
 piratical traders from the Baltic : accordingly the list of 
 Anglo-Saxon furs includes little more than sables, beavers, 
 foxes, cats, and lambs. 
 
 The era of the crusades appears to have been the time 
 when , the luxury of furs attained its height in western 
 
 * Si est le champ fait de brodure 
 
 De fine marte sabeline. — Jacques Millet. 
 
ON FURS AND THE FUR-TRADE. 
 
 199 
 
 Europe ; and sumptuary laws issued from time to time, 
 from the sovereigns of France and England, and the 
 princes of Italy, for the double purpose of restraining 
 the general extravagance in this article of expense, and 
 of confining the use of the most esteemed furs to the 
 higher ranks of society. In proof of this we may cite 
 the sumptuary laws of Charlemagne and Philip the Fair, 
 as well as three acts of the English parliament; one 
 passed in the year 1158, in the reign of Henry II., pro- 
 hibiting altogether, on the plea of preparation for an expe- 
 dition to the Holy Land, the use of sable, vair, or gris; 
 and two others, in 1334 and 1363, prohibiting any one 
 from the use of furs whose income was less than 100/. 
 a-year. These attest at once the extent of the fashion, 
 and the vain attempt to control or regulate it by law. 
 Not only the nobility, clergy, and gentry, but the mer- 
 chants and opulent burghers, indulged in the fashionable 
 luxury. The ermine was appropriated with considerable 
 strictness to the order of nobility and knighthood ; but 
 the gris, or gray squirrel, the martern, and the minever, 
 were also worn by magistrates and officers of corporations, 
 by rich citizens and their wives. The warriors of the first 
 crusade in 1097, led by Godfrey of Bouillon, passed 
 through Constantinople in their way to the Holy Land, 
 and displayed all their sumptuousness in an interview 
 with the then Emperor Alexius Comnenus. Albert, ca- 
 non of Aix-la-Chapelle, in his account of this interview, 
 describes the splendid vestments of purple, of cloth of 
 gold, of ermine, martern, gris, and vair, which they exhi- 
 bited on this occasion, being such, says he, as are prin- 
 cipally worn by the nobles of France. # Whence we may 
 
 * In splendore et ornatu pretiosarum vestium, tam ex ostro quam 
 aurifrigio et in niveo opere harmellino, et ex marchino, grisioque et vario, 
 quibus Gallorura principes praecipue utuntur. — Albert, Aq. J J. 16. 
 
200 
 
 ON FURS AND THE FUR-TRADE. 
 
 conclude, that the four furs above enumerated still bore 
 the highest estimation, and that the sable was considered 
 rather as a rich variety of the martern than a distinct 
 species. The minever at this time begins to make its 
 appearance in the list of furs : it is also called laset, and 
 is the same animal which in later times has been known 
 by the name of mink, a Russian animal of the weazel 
 kind, smaller than the martern, and amphibious, like the 
 otter. This fur continued long a very fashionable edging 
 of robes worn by gentlemen, and in general by the richer 
 of the middle classes of society. 
 
 Furs, tournaments, and heraldry, which have a close 
 connexion with each other, lasted in high glory for about 
 three centuries, and then began to decline together. In 
 proportion as fire-arms were introduced, the use of armour 
 ceased. It now became absurd for mailed knights, re- 
 splendent in their coats of arms, to shew themselves in the 
 front of battle a conspicuous mark for shot ; and the stern 
 compulsion of an improved system of military discipline 
 replaced the men-at-arms and other retainers of the feudal 
 chiefs by hired soldiers, tore down their patrimonial ban- 
 ners, and displayed instead the national flag. Improve- 
 ments in domestic accommodation attached people more 
 and more to their homes and to in-door social enjoy- 
 ments. The use of silk* obtained an ascendency over 
 that of fur, as being an article which admitted of being 
 manufactured into an infinite variety of forms and fabrics, 
 and thus better able to accommodate itself to the capri- 
 cious vagaries of fashion than furs, which, though rich, are 
 always heavy, literally as well as metaphorically ; and the 
 colours of which, though harmonious, are wholly incapable 
 of rivalling the brilliant rainbow tints of the dyer. 
 
 * Silken velvet and plush were perhaps first invented as an imitation of 
 fur in a richer material. 
 
ON FURS AND THE FUR-TRADE. 
 
 201 
 
 England, except perhaps in extremely remote times, 
 never produced furs sufficient for its own consumption/* 
 Two commercial events, however, have at different times 
 made London one of the centres of the fur-trade. The first 
 of these was the discovery by Richard Chancellour, in 1553, 
 of the passage by sea to the northern coast of European 
 Russia, and especially that great gulf commonly called 
 the White Sea, at the bottom of which Archangel was 
 afterwards built. Russia was at that time a barbarous 
 country, moderately populous, pressed on the one hand by 
 the Poles, and on the other by the Tartars, and bounded 
 on the east by the Uralian mountains. Its sovereigns, at 
 that time content with the title of Tsar, or duke, reigned 
 at Moscow. The arrival of Chancellour was considered as 
 an important event. The duke invited him to his capital, 
 patronized him, and allowed the company of merchants, 
 by whom he was sent out, to establish two or three 
 trading posts on the White Sea, to have a warehouse at 
 Moscow, and to send out from thence trading parties to 
 the shores of the Caspian and into Persia. Manufac- 
 tures of silk and of woollen formed the chief exports, and 
 among the imports were furs. Chancellour himself wrote 
 a very interesting though brief account of the country; 
 from which, and from the other official letters of the 
 agents of the company, I have taken such passages as 
 
 * Imports into Chester from Ireland in 1430 . 
 
 Hides and fish, salmon, hake, herringe, 
 
 Irish wooll, and linnen cloth, faldinge ; 
 
 And marterns good be her marchandie, 
 
 Hertes' hides and other of venerie. 
 
 Skinnes of otter, squirrel, and Irish hare, 
 
 Of sheepe, lambe, and foxe, is her chaffare, 
 
 Felles of kiddes and conies great plentie — Hakluyt, i. 199. 
 
202 
 
 ON FURS AND THE FUR-TRADE. 
 
 bear on the subject of our present evening's illustration. 
 From the country stretching from the river Dwina, which 
 runs into the White Sea, northward and westward to 
 the Uralian mountains, were procured sables, marterns, 
 beavers, foxes white, black, and red, minks, ermine, 
 minever, graies, and wolverings ; the finest sables and 
 black foxes being procured by tribute from the Samoeds, 
 who live at the mouth of the Oby. Siberia was not yet 
 conquered by the Russians ; but from several parts of 
 that extensive country were obtained by barter a con- 
 siderable number of valuable furs. 
 
 Dr. Giles Fletcher, embassador to the Tsar of Russia 
 in 1588, also describes the fur-trade of Russia in the 
 following words : — " Their chief furs are these, black fox, 
 sables, luzernes, dun fox, martrones, gurnestalles or ar- 
 mins, lasets or minever, beaver, wolverin, the skin of a 
 great water-rat that smelleth naturally like musk, calaber 
 or gray squirrel, red squirrel, red and white fox. Beside 
 the quantity spent in the country, there are transported 
 out of the country, by the merchants of Bucharia, Turkey, 
 Persia, Georgia, Armenia, and some part of Christendom, 
 to the value of 4 or 500,000 rubles (the ruble at that time 
 being equal to about 2 oz. of silver). The best sable 
 groweth in the country of Pechora, Momgosorskoi, and 
 Obdorskoi, the worser sort in Siberia and Perm : the black 
 fox and red come out of Siberia; white and dun fox, 
 white wolf, wolverin, and white bear, from Pechora; the 
 best martrons from Siberia, Codam-Morum, Perm, and 
 Cazan; lysernes, minever, and armin, are best out of 
 Galets and Oughts : the beaver of best sort breedeth by 
 Cola." Of these, the sable undoubtedly held the first 
 rank ; for Anthony Jenkinson, one of the agents of the 
 company, having seen the tsar's wardrobe, writes, that 
 
ON FURS AND THE FUR-TRADE. 
 
 203 
 
 " the crown was lined with a fair black sable worth forty 
 rubles, and his gowns and garments were of rich tissue 
 and clotli of gold, and all furred with very black sables," 
 no other fur being mentioned. Next in rank to the sable 
 were reckoned the lyserne and black fox : what the former 
 of these animals was, I have not been able to find out, but 
 it was evidently a valuable fur ; as the presents from the 
 tsar to Queen Mary, # and afterwards to Queen Elizabeth, 
 consisted entirely of sables and lysernes, with some large 
 and beautiful skins not particularised. Foxes, black, 
 white, and russet, martrons, minevers, ermines, and sables, 
 formed the chief furs purchased by the company ; and it 
 appears that gray squirrels' and some other smaller furs 
 were imported as private ventures by their servants. But 
 the trade, though it flourished for a time, soon began to 
 decline. A proclamation from the queen + prohibited in 
 England the wearing of any except native furs, and 
 although this, like former proclamations and acts of par- 
 liament with the same object, would in vain have opposed 
 the omnipotence of fashion, the taste for furs seems nearly 
 to have become extinct, the prices obtained by the com- 
 pany were in many cases less than they had given for the 
 skins in Russia, and the trade was abandoned. 
 
 Some years afterwards, the discoveries in North 
 America, of the river St. Lawrence by the French, and 
 
 * Gifts sent in 1656 to Queen Mary by the Tsar of Russia : — 
 6 timber (240) of sables, rich in colour and hair. 
 20 entire sables. 
 30 lusarnes. 
 
 6 large and great skins very rich and rare. — Hakluyt, vol. i. 
 f Make not any great provision of any rich furs, except principal sables 
 and lettes ; for now there is a proclamation, that no furs shall be worn 
 here but such as is grown here within the realm. — Letter of the Moscovia 
 Company to their Agents, 1560. 
 
204 
 
 ON FURS AND THE FUR-TRADE. 
 
 of Hudson's Bay by the English navigator whose name 
 it bears, opened to the two great maritime nations of 
 Europe a new and almost immeasurable extent of country 
 abounding in fur-bearing animals. The French were the 
 first to avail themselves of this advantage. A powerful 
 colony was settled in Lower Canada, and the possession 
 of water-carriage, by the St. Lawrence and its tributary 
 streams and sea-like lakes, gave them ready access to 
 some of the best fur-ground in that continent ; of this 
 they actively and adroitly availed themselves, conciliating 
 the good-will and attachment of the savage tribes, by 
 condescending, with less reluctance than any other Euro- 
 pean nation, to form domestic relations with them, and 
 to adopt their manners. 
 
 The quantity of furs obtained annually by the French 
 during their possession of Canada, was very great ; being 
 derived not only from the St. Lawrence, but from the 
 upper part of the Mississippi, on the banks of which river 
 they had fixed forts and trading stations. 
 
 The Hudson's Bay Company, incorporated in 1670, 
 was only a private association of a few adventurers, 
 and therefore, independently of the disadvantages of its 
 local situation, possessing neither the capital nor enter- 
 prise of the French colony. Its importation of furs, 
 though very considerable, never equalled that of the 
 latter. The conquest of Canada in 1762, suspended for 
 a few years the fur-trade of that province. It recom- 
 menced in 1766, chiefly under the management of Scotch 
 traders; but again declined, partly from the rivalry of the 
 Hudson's Bay Company. Obstructed in their endeavours 
 to open a fur-trade with the tribes of native Indians in 
 the country north of Canada, the commercial enterprise of 
 that colony sought out a field for its exertions in the 
 
ON FURS AND THE FUR-TRADE. 
 
 205 
 
 western wilderness. In 1775, a trader of the name of 
 Jos. Frobisher penetrated to the neighbourhood of Lake 
 Winipeg, which, with other lakes and rivers, fill up the 
 space between Lake Superior and Mackenzie's River. 
 From this country vast quantities of very valuable furs 
 were obtained, to which were also added a considerable 
 number, by intercepting in part the course of the Indian 
 trade with Fort Churchill, one of the stations of the 
 Hudson's Bay Company. A few years after, however, 
 the small-pox broke out among the natives, and sweeping 
 away the greater part of the population, and deterring 
 the remainder from intercourse with Europeans, nearly 
 put an end to the trade in this quarter. Another asso- 
 ciation was formed in Canada in 1783, calling themselves 
 the North-west Company, which appears to have been a 
 consolidation of the Scotch and other interests, for the 
 purpose of exploring the country which still remained 
 between Lake Winipeg and the Rocky Mountains. Mac- 
 kenzie was one of the agents employed on this occasion, 
 and his enterprise and perseverance were rewarded by 
 the discovery of the large river which bears his name, 
 and which, with a course in general parallel to that of 
 the Copper-mine River, which had already been explored 
 by Hearne, a servant of the Hudson's Bay Company, 
 empties itself, also like that river, into the Frozen Sea, 
 which forms the northern boundary of the American con- 
 tinent. Jealousies, squabbles, and occasional scuffles 
 between the agents of the two companies, still took place, 
 to their mutual loss ; at length an accommodation was 
 brought about, and the furs obtained by the Canadian 
 traders are now disposed of at the annual sales of the 
 Hudson's Bay Company. 
 
 After the United States had achieved their independ- 
 
206 
 
 ON FURS AND THE FUR-TRADE. 
 
 ence, the fur-traders of that country spread themselves 
 along the dubious N.W. line of frontier which separates 
 the territory of the United States from that of the British 
 nation ; and the presidency of Jefferson was illustrated 
 by the expedition of Lewis and Clark, who traced up the 
 great Missouri to its principal sources in the Rocky Moun- 
 tains,, discovered on their western slope the feeders of 
 another great river, which they traced to its junction 
 with the sea on the western coast, and to which they gave 
 the name of the Columbia. By both these channels furs 
 found their way to New York ; and the most advantage- 
 ous mode of disposing of a great part of them has been 
 found to consign them to London, in which city is thus 
 concentrated nearly the whole of the North American fur- 
 trade. 
 
 While the fur-bearing animals were thus attracting the 
 commercial enterprise of the French and British, from the 
 eastern to the western shore of North America, the same 
 motive and the same results were exciting and rewarding 
 the perseverance of the Russians, and drawing them con- 
 tinually forwards from the Ural Mountains, the western 
 boundary of northern Asia, to the sea of Kamtschatka, 
 which washes its eastern shore. The conquest of Siberia, 
 and its annexation to the Russian empire, took place in 
 1640, thirty years before the incorporation of the Hudson's 
 Bay Company. The Kuril and Aleutian isles, in the 
 sea that divides Asia from North America, were discovered 
 and taken possession of in 1745, by which the fur of the 
 sea-otter was first introduced into commerce, and which, 
 while rare, obtained incredible prices in the Chinese mar- 
 ket. In 1780 the fur-bearing animals had already become 
 scarce in Siberia, while the demand continued undimi- 
 nished in the Asiatic markets: this led to new exertions ; 
 
ON FURS AND THE FUR-TRADE. 
 
 207 
 
 and when Cook, in the course of his exploratory circum- 
 navigation, was engaged in surveying the western coast of 
 America north of Nootka, he found that the Russians had 
 already, on some points, opened an intercourse for furs 
 with the inhabitants. The sea- otters obtained by the 
 crews of his ships, sold in Kamtschatka, for the Chinese 
 market, for prices which astonished them, and which gave 
 birth soon after to British and American expeditions to 
 the same quarter, and even excited some signs of spirit in 
 the sluggishness of the Spaniards of Monterey and Cali- 
 fornia. The Russians, however, being nearest and in 
 force, and stimulated by commercial jealousy and national 
 ambition, established a colony on the American coast, and 
 now possess the north-western extremity of that continent. 
 Thus the fur- traders of different nations, the one setting 
 out from the western boundary of Asia, and the others 
 from the eastern boundary of America, have traversed 
 these two great continents, and now find themselves face 
 to face on the western shores of America. No new fur- 
 ground remains to be explored ; and although the supplies 
 of this commodity may not, for some years, diminish in 
 any very sensible degree, yet it is evident that the summit 
 of the trade has been reached, and perhaps overpassed. 
 
 The fur-trade of England is both an importing and ex- 
 porting one. The imports for our own consumption are 
 blue and white fox from Norway and Iceland, martern 
 and fitch from Germany and France, bears silver and gray, 
 sables, ermines, squirrels, hares, and lambskins,* from 
 Russia; seals from the southern ocean, and chinchilla 
 from South America. 
 
 * Of which there are the four following varieties : — black, wavy, from 
 -Astracan ; black, curly, from the Ukrain ; gray, curly, from the Crimea ; 
 gray, knotty, from Persia. 
 
208 
 
 ON FURS AND THE FUR-TRADE. 
 
 The imports, partly for home consumption and partly 
 for re-exportation, are the furs of North America. Several 
 of the smaller animals which were imported from Ca 
 while that colony was in possession of the French, 
 which formed the menu pelleterie of the traders, are fotind 
 to be no longer worth the trouble and expense of collecting : 
 these were chiefly ermine and squirrel, but considerably 
 inferior in quality to similar skins from Russia. The 
 American furs which are at present brought to London 
 are : 
 
 Bears of several species and colours. 
 
 The black are used for hammer-cloths, for grenadiers' caps, 
 
 and other military equipments. (In the United States for 
 
 coverings of sleighs.) 
 The russet, or Isabella bear, for muffs. 
 The silver, or gray. 
 The white, or Polar bear, for rugs. 
 
 Raccoon. 
 
 A coarse fur, few of which are brought, and are re-exported 
 to Germany and Poland. 
 
 Badger. 
 
 Also a coarse fur, exported to the continent. 
 Wolverine, or quicquehatch. 
 Also exported to the continent. 
 
 Vison, or mink. 
 
 Very similar to the Russian mink, but the fur of inferior 
 quality. It is used here, but more on the continent, for 
 trimmings and muffs. 
 
 Martin, or martern, or pine martin. 
 
 A fur of very general use, here for muffs and trimmings, 
 abroad for the same purposes, and for almost all the uses 
 to which the better kinds of furs are applied. The darkest 
 coloured, from the rocky and woody district of the Nipi- 
 gon, are the best, and go popularly by the name of sable ; 
 but the true sable is not a native of America. The whole- 
 
ON FURS AND THE FUR-TRADE. 
 
 209 
 
 sale price of skins of first quality is about twenty shillings 
 a-piece. 
 
 ' Peckan, or fisher. 
 
 In quality inferior to the mink and pine martin, but twice 
 the size of this latter, and exported to the continent. 
 
 Otter. 
 
 A warm, rich, and useful skin, consisting of a fine, waved, 
 and shining down, ahout as fine as beaver-wool, mixed 
 with long coarse hair. Chiefly exported. 
 
 Sea-otter. 
 
 An exceedingly close, fine fur, jet black in winter, when it is 
 in perfection, exceedingly soft with a silken gloss, inter- 
 spersed with shining silvery hairs, used a little in Eng- 
 land, but chiefly sent to Russia and China. Fine skins 
 even now fetch, at first hand, from 101. to 15/. The fur 
 of the young animal is a beautiful brown, like fine velvet, 
 and covered with coarse white hair. 
 
 Wolf. 
 
 Of this there are several species and varieties, larger than 
 the European, and distinguished in the trade by their 
 colours, gray, white, and black. They are chiefly ex- 
 ported. 
 
 Fox. 
 
 Of this, also, there are many kinds. The white, or Arctic 
 fox, is now coming a little into use here for muffs and 
 tippets ; it is a fine fur, and has nothing of the rank smell 
 of other species of fox. 
 
 The silver, or black, and the cross-fox,* are chiefly 
 sent to Russia. The decided taste in Russia is for dark- 
 coloured furs : hence those which are at the same time 
 black and fine are the most costly. The black fox of 
 America, though a far more valuable fur than that of 
 any other American fox, is not comparable to the 
 Russian, the skins of which are popularly said to be 
 
 * The cross- fox lias a thick long fur, mottled black and white dashed 
 with rust-colour, with certain cruciform markings on the shoulders. 
 VOL. XLIX. P 
 
210 
 
 ON FURS AND THE FUR-TRADE. 
 
 worth their weight in gold, and have actually been sold 
 for 300 or 400 roubles a-piece. 
 
 The red fox, a much larger and fuller fur than the 
 European fox, and of a bright rust-colour. It is used 
 here for muffs and trimmings, and a considerable demand 
 exists for them in Greece. 
 
 Lynx — wild cat of the traders. 
 
 This is a long hoary fur, of no great beauty in its natural 
 state, but, when dyed, meets with a ready sale under the 
 name of lustered lynx. 
 
 Beaver and musk-rat. 
 
 In this country used only by the hatters, but worn abroad as 
 a fur. 
 
 Hare and rabbit. 
 
 Used chiefly by the hatters, and for common trimmings, &c. 
 
 One fur, and one only, is peculiar to England, namely 
 the silver-tipped rabbit of Lincolnshire. This fur is a 
 dark or lighter gray, mixed with longer hairs tipped 
 with white. It is little used in this country, but is rea- 
 dily purchased abroad, especially in Russia and China. 
 In assorting it for these markets, it is, however, necessary 
 to be careful with respect to the colour, for while the Rus- 
 sian will eagerly purchase the dark-coloured skins, he 
 makes no account of the gray ones. The Chinese are 
 equally fastidious, but their taste happens to be the re- 
 verse of the Russian. Thus the fur-merchant, to dispose 
 of his commodities to the best advantage, must be fami- 
 liar with the caprices of fashion on the other side of the 
 globe ; I say the caprices, because a few years ago none 
 but dark skins were saleable in China. 
 
 The great sales of furs by the Hudson's Bay Company 
 and other parties take place in the month of March, and 
 are attended by many foreign merchants, who select what 
 
ON FURS AND THE FUR-TRADE. 
 
 211 
 
 suit their purposes, and consign them to Leipsig : here 
 they are disposed of during the great fair in that city, and 
 are hence distributed to all parts of the continent. The 
 chief demand and consumption of furs is now among the 
 nations of Slavonian and Tartar extraction, either inhabit- 
 ing their native seats, or retaining their original love of 
 furred clothing though settled in countries where the 
 physical necessity for their use no longer exists. Such 
 are the Poles, the Russians, the Chinese, the Persians, 
 the Turks; even under the burning sun of Syria and 
 Egypt, the Buchanans, and the various tribes of inde- 
 pendent Tartars. Among the nations of Gothic origin 
 occupying the middle and western parts of Europe, furs 
 are chiefly used in common dress by women and soldiers, 
 and officially by magistrates ; from the ermine robe of the 
 sovereign, to the gown of the common councilman trim- 
 med with fitch or martern. 
 
 The American furs come in their raw state, that is, 
 merely dried ; they are dressed here by treading them 
 with refuse butter, which makes the skin supple and not 
 liable to break or tear : but as this cannot be done with- 
 out also greasing the hairs, it is necessary, after treading, 
 to turn them for some time in a revolving barrel set on 
 the inside with spikes, and containing chalk, gypsum, or 
 saw-dust, which absorbs the superfluous grease. 
 
192 
 
 ON TANNING AND LEATHER-DRESSING. 
 
 ON TANNING AND LEATHER-DRESSING. 
 
 By A. AIKIN, Sec, F.L.S. F.G.S. &c. 
 
 Read 6th April, 1830. 
 
 Every one knows that a skin, recently stripped from a 
 sheep, an ox or any other quadruped, is tough, flexible 
 and elastic ; and, while in that state, may be fitted as a 
 covering or article of dress to any part of the human 
 body. As it dries, it shrinks, becomes hard like horn, 
 and will no longer adapt itself to the free motion of the 
 parts that it covers. There are various processes whereby 
 the original flexibility or suppleness of the skin may be 
 restored to it and even rendered permanent. Skin thus 
 treated is converted into leather, a word obviously de- 
 rived from the adjective lithe, supple. The primary idea, 
 therefore, conveyed by the term leather, is that of flexi- 
 bility ; and when we speak of skin made into leather by 
 tanning, tawing, or dressing in oil, we mean that it is 
 rendered lithe by these processes, and consequently is 
 fitted for use. 
 
 The English verb to tan and the French tanner, are 
 plainly derived from the low Latin tanare, which has the 
 same signification ; but the origin of this latter word is 
 not very clear : perhaps it is only the Greek word ravunv 
 in a Latin form ; a word which occurs thrice in a remark- 
 able passage in Homer, in which he describes a process 
 of leather-dressing very analogous to currying, and seems 
 
ON TANNING AND LEATHER-DRESSING. 
 
 193 
 
 to apply the word almost as a technical expression. If so, 
 the primary meaning of to tan is to stretch, and it alludes 
 to the manual labour of pulling, stretching, or handling 
 the skin, whereby the entry into its pores of those sub- 
 stances which render it supple, is facilitated, rather than 
 to the nature or specific action of the substances them- 
 selves. 
 
 The skins of all quadrupeds are capable of being made 
 into leather ; but some are too small for use, and others 
 are more valuable with the hair or fur remaining on 
 them unaltered, than they would be in the state of leather. 
 I shall, therefore, now proceed to enumerate the kinds of 
 skins on which, in this country at least, the arts of the 
 tanner and of the leather-dresser are employed. 
 
 Of our domestic cattle of the species ox, the bull- 
 hide is thicker, stronger, and coarser in its grain, tha 
 that of the cow ; the hide of the bullock, or castrated bull, 
 is intermediate in quality between that of the male and 
 female. Besides the skins of this species that are of home 
 growth, large quantities of cow-hides are brought from 
 South America, the produce of the half- wild cattle of 
 European extraction which pasture on the extensive plains 
 extending from Buenos Ayres towards the Andes. # The 
 thickest and most substantial leather now in use is made 
 from the hides of animals of this species, and is employed 
 for shoe and boot soles, for most parts of harness and 
 saddlery, for leathern trunks and buckets, hose for fire- 
 engines, pump-valves, soldiers' belts, and gloves for cavalry # 
 
 * In the year 1829 there were imported 286,416 cwt. of hides, of which 
 166,400 were from South America, 
 
 24,000 North America, 
 
 66,000 Russia, Denmark, Germany, and 
 
 the Netherlands. 
 
394 ON TANNING AND LEATHER-DRESSING. 
 
 Formerly, when metallic armour was going out of use, but 
 while it was still considered advisable to cover the body in 
 battle with a better protection than ordinary clothing, a 
 species of very thick but pliant leather was made from the 
 hide of the urus, or wild bull, at that time plentiful in the 
 forests of Poland, Hungary, and the middle and southern 
 provinces of Russia. The name by which this animal was 
 commonly known was that of Buffe, whence is derived 
 the term buff-leather as designating the hide of this ani- 
 mal prepared in a particular way. The Russia Com- 
 pany, which was chartered by Henry VIII., was obliged 
 to import a certain number of " buffe-hides," which were 
 manufactured into leather for military use. Real buff- 
 leather would turn the edge of a sword and was pistol- 
 proof. The time of its principal use in this country was 
 during the great civil war in the reign of Charles I., after 
 which it gradually declined and at length became obso- 
 lete. Besides the hides of the urus, I believe those of the 
 real buffalo of Italy were employed for the same purpose. 
 The buff-leather of modern times is prepared from cow- 
 hide, and is used for little else than soldiers' belts. 
 
 The skins of calves are thinner than those of cows, 
 but thicker than most others that are employed. When 
 converted into leather by tawing, they are used by book- 
 binders ; but they are generally first tanned and then 
 curried, and in this state form a very compact, soft and 
 flexible leather, of which the upper parts of shoes and 
 boots are made. In a lot of calf-skins several will be 
 found defective, having been cut through in different 
 places, owing to the carelessness of the butchers' boys 
 while flaying the animal. A fine used to be levied on 
 all such skins offered to sale by the butchers, and, being 
 enforced with moderate strictness, either prevented the 
 
ON TANNING AND LEATHER -DRESSING . 195 
 
 skins from being injured, or at least excluded such from 
 the market. A few years ago this fine was abolished, it 
 appearing to the legislature that the interest of the 
 butcher was of itself sufficient to prevent any unneces- 
 sary injury being done to the skins in the process of strip- 
 ping them. The fact, however, has been, that, since the 
 abolition of the fine, the proportion of defective skins, 
 especially of calves, has very greatly increased, so as to 
 amount, if T am rightly informed, to about one-fifth of the 
 whole supply. Now, when we consider that the cost of 
 the manufacture and the amount of the excise duty are 
 precisely the same on defective as on perfect skins, and 
 that the prime cost of the skin bears only a small propor- 
 tion to the sale-price of the leather made from it, we shall 
 probably be of opinion that the re-enactment of the old 
 law would be of public advantage. 
 
 It used to be the custom in the south-west of Ireland 
 to slaughter many cows while in calf. The skins of these 
 unborn calves were of extraordinary fineness and delicacy, 
 and from such was prepared the leather of which the cele- 
 brated Limerick gloves were made. This practice, how- 
 ever, is now almost discontinued, and whatever merit the 
 Limerick gloves may still possess, is owing to the skill of 
 the manufacturer and not to the superiority of his raw 
 material. 
 
 Of sheep-skins, by far the greater number are of home 
 growth ; many thousands, however, are imported by a 
 London house from the colony of the Cape of Good Hope. 
 These latter are of the fat-tailed variety, and in quality 
 are considerably superior to the English, being nearly 
 equal to goat-skins. They are at once distinguishable 
 from the common sort by the width of the skin that 
 covered the tail being nearly equal to that which covered 
 
196 ON TANNING AND LEATHER-DRESSING. 
 
 the neck ; whereas, in the common sheep-skin, the neck 
 is two or three times as wide as the tail. 
 
 English sheep-skins vary much in quality. Hill sheep 
 produce a finer and stronger skin than the lowland or 
 marsh sheep ; but the chief difference arises from the state 
 of the wool at the time when the animal was slaughtered. 
 A sheep whose skin is covered with a thick heavy fleece 
 has to furnish a large quantity of matter for the growth of 
 the wool, as well as a large quantity of oil or grease, 
 technically called yolk, the effect of which is to render 
 the wool supple and prevent it from being soaked by the 
 rain. A long fleece, therefore, always indicates a thin 
 skin ; much of the jelly laid up in that organ being, 
 perhaps, the material from which the oil is elaborated. 
 As soon as a sheep has been sheared the air comes in 
 contact with the cuticle, checks the perspiration and ex- 
 penditure of the skin, and allows the jelly to accumulate ; 
 which it does so rapidly, that, if a parcel of sheep en- 
 cumbered with long fleeces are driven up to London from 
 a distance of a few days' journey, and if part of them 
 are slaughtered immediately on their arrival and the re- 
 mainder are sheared and slaughtered two days after- 
 wards, the skin of the latter will be nearly twice as thick 
 as that of the former. 
 
 Raw sheep-skins used to be liable to a duty when ex- 
 ported ; the consequence of which was that scarcely any 
 were sent out of the country except in the state of leather ; 
 but, of late, that duty has been taken off, and the exporta- 
 tion of raw sheep-skins has become considerable. They go 
 chiefly to Flanders and to the United States of America, 
 where they are manufactured ; a considerable number of 
 English artisans, in the various departments of leather- 
 dressing, having recently established themselves in these 
 countries. 
 
ON TANNING AND LEATHER-DRESSING. 197 
 
 Sheep-skin, simply tanned, is employed for leathering 
 bellows, for common book-binding, and for various other 
 purposes in which a thin cheap leather is wanted. All 
 the whit-leather, as it is called, is of sheep-skin ; and is 
 employed for whip -lashes, for bags, for aprons, &c. The 
 cheaper kinds of wash-leather, for breeches gloves under- 
 waistcoats and other articles of dress, are of sheep-skin ; 
 of the same material are most of the coloured and dyed 
 leathers and mock morocco, used for women's shoes, for 
 covering writing-tables stools chairs and sofas, for lining 
 carriages, &c. 
 
 Lamb-skins are chiefly of home growth, but are also 
 brought in great numbers from Tuscany and other parts 
 of the north of Italy, and from Sicily .* They are for the 
 most part dressed white or coloured for gloves. 
 
 The skins of goats and kids are the material of the 
 best kinds of light leather. [A few are procured from 
 Wales, more from Scotland, and still more from Ireland. 
 About 50,000 of these skins are prepared annually in 
 Dublin, and perhaps as many, also of Irish growth, are 
 sent to London. 
 
 But the great supply of kid-skins, and of the best 
 quality, comes from Switzerland and Tuscany,f being 
 shipped chiefly at Leghorn, as that of goat- skins is from 
 
 * Total number of lamb-skins imported in 1829, 1,888,000, of which 
 1,497,000 came from Italy and Sicily, and 239,000 from Spain. 
 
 ■f Total number of goat-skins and kid-skins imported in 1829 : — 
 306,000 goat, 
 106,000 kid. 
 Of the former, 104,000 came from Barbary, 
 
 87,000 ... Cape of Good Hope, 
 36,000 ... France. 
 Of the latter, 82,000 came from the Italian ports, 
 16,000 ... Spain. 
 
198 
 
 ON TANNING AND LEATHER-DRESSING. 
 
 the Barbary coast and the Cape of Good Hope. The 
 finest white and coloured leather, for gloves and ladies' 
 shoes, is of kid-skin ; and the best dyed morocco, of all 
 colours, is goat-skin. When the walls of rooms were 
 furnished with movable hangings, goat-leather, flowered 
 or gilt in various patterns, was a fashionable and valuable 
 material. 
 
 Deer-skins are partly furnished by our own parks ; 
 but the principal supply is from New York and New 
 Orleans ; a few come from Canada, and some from 
 India ; these latter are, on the whole, reckoned the best. 
 Some antelope-skins of good quality are imported from 
 the Cape of Good Hope. # All these are shamoyed or 
 dressed in oil, and are used chiefly for riding-breeches. 
 
 Till a few years ago, there was an immense quantity 
 of the skins of sheep goats and deer shamoyed in Eng- 
 land. Breeches of this article, either white or dyed, were 
 commonly worn by persons whose occupations or amuse- 
 ments led them to be much on horseback. They were 
 worn by most of the cavalry of Europe, and the English 
 shamoyed leather being of extraordinary good quality, was 
 employed in clothing not only our troops, but the cavalry 
 of Prussia, Austria, and most of the other German states. 
 
 In the campaigns in Spain during the last war, it was 
 discovered by the British commander that the health of 
 the horse-soldiers was seriously affected in wet weather 
 by the leather that they wore, which, fitting close to the 
 skin and being long in drying, chilled the men and 
 rendered them liable to rheumatism and other diseases. 
 
 * In 1829, there were imported 123,000 deer-skins, of which 
 120,000 came from the United States, 
 1,780 ... Canada, 
 675 ... India. 
 
ON TANNING AND LEATHER-DRESSING. 
 
 199 
 
 Woollen cloth was accordingly substituted ; and, the ex- 
 ample having been followed by Austria and Prussia, this 
 change has occasioned a great decline in that branch of 
 the English leather-trade. 
 
 The hide of the horse is much thinner than would be 
 expected from the size of the animal. It is prepared by 
 tanning and currying ; is used in harness-work for collars; 
 and of late has been pared thin, and employed a good 
 deal for ladies' walking-shoes. 
 
 The skin of the dog is thin but tough, and makes 
 leather of excellent quality. The supply is entirely of 
 home growth, and has fallen off so much of late years 
 that at present it is in a manner extinct, and has been su- 
 perseded, in part at least, as a material for thin dress-shoes, 
 by horse-leather and by tanned rat-skins. Seal-skin is 
 similar, but inferior, to dog-skin ; it is employed for the 
 same purposes, but its use has much declined of late years. # 
 
 Hog-skin affords a thin dense leather, employed en- 
 tirely in covering the seats of saddles. It comes from 
 Scotland and Yorkshire ; for, though hogs are abundant in 
 every part of the country, the general custom of cooking 
 pork with the skin on greatly restricts the supply. 
 
 Having now gone through the list of those skins from 
 which leather is made in this country, I proceed to consider 
 the different modes or processes by which the several kinds 
 of leather are prepared. In doing so I shall explain, as 
 far as I am able, the chemical or mechanical changes 
 produced in the skin, premising, however, that many im- 
 portant points have not as yet been investigated. These I 
 
 * The importation of seal-skins in 1829 amounted to 289,500, of which 
 227,000 came from Canada ; but the greater part of these were employed as 
 fur in covering caps, &c. 
 
200 ON TANNING AND LEATHER-DRESSING. 
 
 shall leave as I find them, being unwilling to supply by 
 hypothesis what can only be really obtained from a careful 
 comparison of well-observed facts. 
 
 I shall first describe in a few words the texture and 
 composition of skin in general. 
 
 This organ consists of two parallel layers, the outer of 
 which is called by anatomists cuticle, and the inner cutis 
 or true skin. The cuticle is by far the thinner of the two; 
 it is quite insensible, has somewhat the appearance of 
 parchment, and, though closely adherent to the true skin, 
 may be separated from it by various vital actions as well 
 as by the combination of chemical and mechanical agents 
 after death. The appearance of a blister is familiar to 
 every one : it is occasioned by the effusion of a watery 
 fluid between the cuticle and skin which thus separates 
 the two ; the skin of the blister, as it is called, being the 
 insensible cuticle, and the highly sensitive red surface 
 which forms the bottom of the blister, being the surface of 
 the true skin. Chemically speaking, the cuticle is con- 
 densed albumen and differs in no material degree from 
 horn or hair. It is not capable of combining with tan or 
 of being converted into leather ; and therefore one of the 
 preparatory processes to which skin is subjected by the 
 manufacturer is the separation of the cuticle. The true 
 skin is of a semi-cartilaginous consistence when alive, 
 becomes more or less horny and hard by drying, and by 
 subsequent soaking in water it increases greatly in thick- 
 ness, much in the same way as a cake of hard glue does 
 in similar circumstances. If a piece of dried skin is bent 
 repeatedly backwards and forwards in the same place, it 
 will acquire an opaque whiteness in consequence of its 
 separation into layers of irregular horizontal fibres. The 
 same kind of structure may be developed by splitting the 
 
ON TANNING AND LEATHER-DRESSING. 201 
 
 edge of the skin when dry, and then tearing it up parallel 
 to the surface. On examining it in this state it will ap- 
 pear to consist entirely of white glossy semi-transparent 
 fibres, perfectly flexible, and somewhat elastic. In their 
 chemical nature, they are considered as nearly identical 
 with glue ; for, by long boiling, skin may be almost 
 entirely resolved into that substance. But, as the skin is 
 an exceedingly sensitive organ, it is penetrated by an 
 infinite number of nervous filaments : it also contains mul- 
 titudes of minute veins and arteries, and of exhalant 
 tubes through which the various perspirable fluids escape. 
 
 Skin is a substance not nearly so liable to spontaneous 
 decomposition as muscular fibre ; but when a number of 
 damp hides are laid together, they will begin to heat in 
 twenty-four hours, more or less according to the warmth 
 of the air ; a putrid odour is given out, and the result is, 
 that the hides become tender and rotten and unfit for 
 conversion into serviceable leather. This accident occa- 
 sionally happens to imported hides in the hold of a ship, if 
 they have not been previously well dried or if the air of 
 the hold should be very damp and close. 
 
 As hides come into the hands of the tanner and leather- 
 dresser with the hair or wool on them, the first process 
 that they undergo (after washing in water to separate the 
 blood and dirt) is that of taking off the hair. Now, the 
 roots, as they are called, or the bulbous terminations of 
 the hair, are inserted in the cellular membrane that lies at 
 the bottom of the skin ; and in order to get them out 
 easily, it is necessary to weaken both the adhesion of the 
 bulbs to the membrane as well as the close pressure which 
 the skin exerts on that part of the hair with which it is in 
 contact. This is done in two ways, either by the action of 
 lime and water, the mode of operation of which is not very 
 clear, or by such a degree of putrefaction as softens the 
 
202 
 
 ON TANNING AND LEATHER-DRESSING. 
 
 texture of the skin without weakening it in any injurious 
 degree. 
 
 The same process that loosens the hair also loosens the 
 cuticle, and likewise brings to the surface a quantity of 
 slimy matter, the result probably of the decomposition of 
 the nerves the capillary blood-vessels and other parts. 
 The intention of the next series of operations is the farther 
 cleansing of the skin from the impurities, and from the 
 lime added in the previous process ; the result of which, 
 if properly performed, is a pure pelt, consisting merely of 
 skin and having its pores sufficiently open to receive the 
 materials by which it is to be converted into leather ; for, 
 up to this period, it is merely skin in a purer state than 
 in the raw hide, but drying to a horny hardness and 
 swelling considerably when afterwards steeped in water. 
 
 There are several ways of converting skin into leather ; 
 but they may ultimately be reduced to three, which may 
 be applied either alone or in combination. 
 
 The simplest, most imperfect, and probably the earliest 
 in use, is merely mechanical. It consists in first moisten- 
 ing the skin with water, and then, by dint of hard rubbing, 
 forcing grease of any kind into the pores in proportion as 
 the water evaporates. The oil is thus introduced among 
 the fibres of the skin, rendering it supple, and, as long as 
 it remains there, opposing the entrance of water and thus 
 preventing it from swelling hardening or decomposing. 
 
 Thus Homer, in the passage that I have already- 
 alluded to (//. xvii. 389 # ), describes " a man giving to his 
 " servants to be tanned a great bull-hide drunken with 
 
 * 'Cls or avYi(> tuv^oio fioos fciyaXoio (loiwv 
 
 Ai\a(/,ivot V ctgct rotyt ^icx.a'ra.vri? ravuovfft 
 KuxXotr, cttya^ £s n ixfictg livvzi £s <r' «Aa/0»j, 
 TIoXXojv iXxovruv, rctvurai %s n tuo'cc %ta, vgo. 
 
ON TANNING AND LEATHER-DRESSING. 
 
 203 
 
 " grease. They surround the hide, and tug and strain it 
 u this way and that in every direction ; and as they pull, the 
 " grease goes in and the water comes out." The native 
 Indians in the country north-west of Canada practise a 
 somewhat similar method, according to Hearne, of pre- 
 paring their deer and buffalo-skins. They mix the brains 
 and some of the softest part of the fat of the animal into a 
 kind of lather, and soak the skin in it for some hours ; 
 they then take the skin out, rub it in their hands till nearly 
 dry and afterwards hang it up in the smoke : after a few 
 days it is taken down, well rinsed, and wrung out in water, 
 and rubbed frequently while it is drying. 
 
 Another method of making skin into leather is by the 
 action of vegetable astringents. The bark, the roots, and 
 occasionally the leaves, of a multitude of plants, chiefly 
 trees and shrubs, are astringent. By soaking them in 
 hot or cold water an infusion is obtained, usually of a 
 yellowish brown colour, which, when taken into the 
 mouth, corrugates puckers or constringes the lips and 
 every other soft part that it touches. It also has the pro- 
 perty of hardening and thickening dead skin which has 
 been exposed to its action. For a long time this was con- 
 sidered as a mere mechanical effect ; but, about the be- 
 ginning of the present century, M. Seguin, a French tanner 
 and man of science, discovered that if a solution of glue 
 or jelly is dropped into an infusion of oak-bark of gall- 
 nut or of any other vegetable astringent, a brown insoluble 
 precipitate falls down, which is a combination of the jelly 
 with a peculiar substance contained in the infusion, and 
 to which, on account of this property, he gave the name 
 of tannin, or tan. But, besides tan, there are two other 
 substances contained in astringent infusions ; one of these 
 is called gallic acid and, as well as tan, has the property 
 
204 
 
 ON TANNING AND LEATHER-DRESSING. 
 
 of giving a blue black colour with salts of iron ; the other 
 is extract, a substance common to all vegetable infusions. 
 Skin that has been tanned, although by no means impe- 
 netrable to water, swells scarcely at all by imbibing it, 
 and appears to be insoluble in that fluid either cold or 
 hot. These properties are owing to the combination of 
 tan with the jelly of the skin. It also becomes black 
 when rubbed over with a solution of green vitriol or of 
 any other salt of iron, which property it owes partly to 
 the tan and partly to the gallic acid. The flexibility 
 which the tanned leather retains is no doubt owing, in a 
 considerable degree, to its fibrous texture, and perhaps in 
 part to its combination with some of the extract ; at least, 
 we are certain that the compound of glue and tan when 
 dry is perfectly brittle, and that leather made in a strong 
 infusion of tan with but little extract is harder than com- 
 mon, and very liable to crack on the surface. 
 
 If a piece of prepared skin be immersed for some days 
 in a moderately strong infusion of oak-bark, and then be 
 taken out, washed, and dried, it will be found, on cutting 
 a piece off, that the surface only has been tanned, the in- 
 side being still in the state of skin. Another piece being 
 then put into the same infusion for the same time as the 
 first, will be found to be still less tanned than that. Hence 
 the necessity of refreshing the tan liquor from time to 
 time by additions of bark, or of removing the hides from 
 an exhausted infusion to a stronger one, in order to com- 
 plete the tanning. As the process goes on, the change of 
 skin into leather penetrates deeper into the hide, the in- 
 terior layer of skin becomes narrower and narrower and 
 at length, when the process is completed, entirely disap- 
 pears ; I say at length, because the operation of tanning 
 is a very slow one. The heavy bullock-hides cannot be 
 
ON TANNING AND LEATHER -DRESSING. 
 
 205 
 
 converted into good leather in less than fifteen months, 
 and other skins in proportion. Many attempts have heen 
 made to shorten the time, but on the whole without much 
 success. On trying the very obvious method of increasing 
 the strength of the infusion of bark, the leather, though 
 finished in a shorter time, was found to be proportionally 
 harder and liable to crack. By employing the infusion 
 warm, a similar gain in time, but deterioration in quality, 
 has been the result. Even Mr. Spyllsbury's very inge- 
 nious plan of employing weak infusions, and forcing them 
 by artificial pressure through the pores of the skin, failed 
 of success. 
 
 Tanned leather is sold by weight, and this is a strong 
 inducement to the manufacturer to make his hides gain 
 as much weight as possible in the tan-pit, even at the 
 expense of the toughness or compactness of the leather. 
 Weak infusions not only take longer time to produce their 
 effect but also give a leather of less weight. It is true 
 that the quality of such leather is excellent, but it will 
 rarely command a price in the market to compensate the 
 greater expense of its preparation. 
 
 The third method of converting skin into leather is by 
 the use of alum. I am not aware that any experiments 
 have been made in order to shew precisely the action of 
 this salt on skin. We know, however, from the employ- 
 ment of alum in dying, that it is capable of combining 
 both with animal and vegetable fibre, and may conclude 
 that it acts a similar part towards the fibre of skin. But 
 alum is never used alone for this purpose ; and whatever 
 more may remain to be said concerning this substance 
 will come more conveniently hereafter. 
 
 I now proceed to detail, as far as my plan and the 
 time will allow, the methods practised in this country of 
 vol. l. p 
 
206 ON TANNING AND LEATHER- DRESSING. 
 
 preparing the different kinds of leather. It is hardly 
 necessary to remark, that in so doing it is not my inten- 
 tion to teach the arts of tanning and leather-dressing, but 
 to confine myself to such particulars as are of most im- 
 portance and best worthy of being made the objects of a 
 liberal curiosity. 
 
 The heavy hides, that is, ox cow and calf-skins, and 
 some sheep-skins, are made into leather by tanning; and 
 there are two preparatory processes, to one or other of 
 which they are submitted, before they are placed in the 
 tan-pit. One way is to mix together quick -lime and 
 water to the consistence of cream, and to put the hides 
 into this mixture after they have been washed in water 
 and pared on the flesh side with a two-handled drawing- 
 knife, in order to separate the bits of fat, flesh, or mem- 
 brane that adhere to it. The hides remain in the lime- 
 pit for several days, being stirred about from time to time, 
 and are then taken out and placed, one by one, on a semi- 
 cylindrical block of wood or stone, called the beam, where 
 they are scraped on both sides with a blunt draw-knife : 
 the hair is removed by this operation, and the hide is well 
 washed in order to get out as much as possible of the 
 lime. For hard shoe-soles and for pump- valves it is 
 advisable to leave some of the lime in the skin ; such, 
 therefore, are less accurately washed than the others : the 
 skin comes out of the lime much thickened and very 
 hard. It is next put into the mastering-pit, which contains 
 a mixture of water and dogs' dung ; and if enough of this 
 latter article cannot be had, its place is supplied by the 
 dung of pigeons or domestic poultry, or, still better, of 
 sea-birds. In the mastering-pit the skin becomes thinner 
 soft and supple ; and if kept here too long, its texture is 
 irrecoverably destroyed, it being reduced to a tender gela- 
 
ON TANNING AND LEATHER-DRESSING. 207 
 
 tinous mass that may be pulled to pieces with great ease. 
 The effect produced on the skin in the mastering-pit has 
 been attributed, perhaps without sufficient examination, 
 to the putrefactive effect of the dung. The hide is then 
 washed, well cleaned on the beam, and is thus brought to 
 the state of pelt. 
 
 The thickest skins, and those intended for the toughest 
 leather, in which lime, from its hardening quality, would 
 be injurious, are prepared in another way. After being 
 well washed, they are folded up lengthwise and placed in 
 a close chamber. Here they soon begin to heat and 
 exhale a somewhat putrid ammoniacal vapour, the evi- 
 dence of spontaneous decomposition having begun. When 
 this has proceeded a certain way, the hides are laid on 
 the beam and the hair is readily detached with a blunt 
 knife, its adhesion having been loosened by the foregoing- 
 process. They are then immersed for several days in 
 sours, that is, in a mixture of rye or barley flour and 
 water fermented till it has become sour. The hide comes 
 out of this bath considerably swelled and softened ; and if 
 kept too long in it the texture of the skin is much injured. 
 As a cheaper and less hazardous sour liquor, sulphuric 
 acid and water, in the proportion of a pint of the former 
 to fifty gallons of the latter, is often employed. In this 
 the hide may be kept a long time without injury, and it 
 comes out thicker and harder than when it was put in. 
 By the methods that I have now described, the skin is 
 brought to the state of pelt ; that is, it has been cleared of 
 the hair and of all impurities, and its texture is more or 
 less opened to facilitate the penetration of the tan, which 
 is the next process. The hide is first put into a pit con- 
 taining nearly-spent ooze, that is, an infusion of oak or 
 chestnut bark, in which hides have already lain, and which 
 
208 ON TANNING AND LEATHER-DRESSING. 
 
 therefore has lost more or less of its tan. In this pit they 
 are frequently stirred or handled, to equalize the infusion 
 in every part of the pit and to facilitate its penetration 
 into the pores of the skin. From weak infusions they 
 pass successively into others that are stronger, finishing 
 with the strongest of all. When the whole interior line 
 of unaltered skin has entirely disappeared, the hides are 
 thoroughly tanned : they are then taken out of the ooze, 
 rinsed in water, are partly dried, and then are laid on a 
 wooden beam, called a horse, where they are beaten in 
 order to render the leather compact, or are passed between 
 rollers which answers nearly the same purpose ; lastly, 
 they are dried in an airy loft, and are then fit for market. 
 
 Of this leather, that which is employed for the soles of 
 shoes and boots, and for some other purposes, undergoes 
 no farther preparation ; but that which is required to be 
 supple and soft is afterwards dressed in oil, or, in other 
 words, is curried. The process of currying consists, in 
 few words, of steeping the leather in water, of covering 
 one surface with a mixture of oil tallow and grease, and 
 then stoving it. As the water evaporates, the oil takes 
 its place in the pores of the leather ; the grain side is 
 then rubbed with a solution of sulphate of iron in order to 
 blacken it, and the leather is completed by beating and 
 passing between rollers to smooth its surface, and to ren- 
 der it at the same time compact and flexible. Many 
 sheep-skins, for gloves and other purposes, are prepared 
 by a combination of tanning and aluming, forming tawed 
 leather, which is generally done in the following manner, 
 as I am informed by Mr. Savage, of Chiswell Street, who 
 is largely concerned in this branch of the trade : — 
 
 The skins, after being soaked in water, are painted 
 over on the flesh side with a batter of lime and water, are 
 
ON TANNING AND LEATHER-DRESSING. 209 
 
 then rolled up and kept so for twenty-four hours ; the 
 wool is thereby loosened, and is easily stripped off. The 
 skin is next drenched in bran and water, in order to soften 
 it by getting out the lime ; after which it is put into a 
 weak ooze, and then into two others, each stronger than 
 the preceding, till it is stained of a good brown colour 
 and is half tanned. It is then soaked for some days in a 
 strong solution of alum and common salt ; is afterwards 
 washed in water,' and then dried. The common white, 
 or whit-leather, is also prepared in the same way, but 
 omitting the tanning. 
 
 For the finer kinds of tawed and dyed leather, more 
 care and a somewhat more elaborate process are required. 
 Messrs. Bevingtons, of Bermondsey, stand, I believe, the 
 highest, or at least among the highest, in this department 
 of leather-dressing ; and to their liberality I am indebted 
 for the following particulars, obtained on a visit to their 
 manufactory. The skins employed by them are those of 
 sheep, goats, lambs, and kids. The essential foundation 
 of success in the finer kinds of leather-dressing is the 
 perfect purity of the pelt ; for, wherever a particle of dirt 
 or lime is allowed to remain, there will be a speck or 
 flaw. The purity of the water employed in rinsing the 
 skins is also a matter of considerable importance. The 
 manufacturers whom I have just named have derived 
 great advantage from a boiler larger than what is abso- 
 lutely required for their steam-engine, as, by means of it, 
 they get a sufficient supply of warm distilled water. 
 
 The skins are first steeped in cold water, and are then 
 fleshed on the beam in order *to separate the dirt and 
 grosser impurities. The sheep and lamb skins are then 
 hung up in a close* chamber till they heat and their 
 texture is sufficiently loosened to allow the wool to be 
 
210 
 
 ON TANNING AND LEATHER-DRESSING. 
 
 stripped off. The sheep-skins are then put under an 
 hydraulic press, by the action of which a considerable 
 quantity of tallow is squeezed out. The next process is 
 liming. In this the skins are first put into a nearly ex- 
 hausted lime-pit and then transferred to a stronger one ; 
 here they are frequently worked about with poles, to 
 expose every part of the surface to the action of the lime, 
 and remain here for a fortnight or six weeks, according to 
 the nature of the skin. 
 
 The goat and kid skins are put into the lime after 
 being simply washed, their hair being of little value and 
 not liable to be injured by the lime as wool is. From the 
 lime-pit the skins are transferred to the beam, where they 
 are scraped with a draw-knife and soaked at intervals in 
 warm water, in order to get out the whole of the slime. 
 They are then transferred to a bath of bran and water in 
 a state of gentle fermentation, where they remain for some 
 weeks, being from time to time dressed on the beam, and 
 washed out in warm distilled water. By this means they 
 are brought to the state of pure pelt, delicately white, 
 semi-transparent, and without a spot. 
 
 Those pelts that are intended to be tawed are then put 
 into a solution of alum and salt, in the proportion of three 
 parts of alum to four of salt. The solution is employed 
 blood warm, and the skins remain in it till they are satu- 
 rated : they are then taken out, washed in cold water, 
 and again put into a bath of fermenting bran, where they 
 remain till they become soft and pliable. After this they 
 are washed and stoved till quite dry, and some sheep- 
 skins are used in this state. The lamb and kid skins 
 undergo a farther process, which commences by soaking 
 them in warm water, wringing them out, and then putting 
 them in a wash -wheel, into which is poured a mixture 
 
ON TANNING AND LEATHER-DRESSING. 
 
 211 
 
 of the consistence of batter, composed of meal eggs salt 
 and alum : a gentle motion is given to the wheel, and by 
 degrees the whole of these ingredients are absorbed by the 
 skins, nothing but a watery fluid remaining : the substance 
 of the skins and the softness of their feel are increased by 
 this. They are then hung up in a loft, and when about 
 half dry are put into a stock-mill with a quantity of dry 
 bran : here they are beaten for some hours, after which 
 they are finished by working them on a blunt semicircular 
 knife set upright in a post. The eggs are brought from 
 France, and are preserved for use in lime-water. More 
 than a million eggs are imported weekly into London 
 from France and Flanders for domestic use, and for the 
 manufactures in which they are employed : they are abso- 
 lutely indispensable in the preparation of white lamb and 
 kid leather ; and one reason why the English leather of 
 this description is at present fully equal to the French, is 
 the abundance and consequent cheapness of an article, the 
 demand for which can never be adequately supplied from 
 our own sources. 
 
 The dyed leathers are of sheep or goat skin. The 
 former, technically called roan, is far inferior in strength 
 and softness to the latter, which bears the name of mo- 
 rocco, because it was at first offered in the market as a 
 substitute for, or imitation of, the dyed goat-skins pre- 
 pared in Morocco and other parts of the north of Africa. 
 
 The skins worked and limed, as already described, are 
 then put not into fermenting bran, but into a bath of 
 dogs' dung; after which they are worked on the beam, 
 and washed, and thus brought to the state of pelt. Next, 
 they are sewn into bags, the grain side outwards, and are 
 put into a warm-bath of colouring matter ; for the red, 
 cochineal is employed, indigo for the blue, archil for the 
 
212 
 
 ON TANNING AND LEATHER-DRESSING. 
 
 purple, &c. In this bath the bags remain till the colour 
 has struck. Into the bags dyed red a handful of sumach 
 is put ; the opening is again sewed up, and the bags are 
 floated in a warm-bath of sumach till they are thoroughly 
 tanned. For the other colours the pelt is first tanned 
 with sumach, and afterwards dyed. Lastly, the skins are 
 dried in an airy loft, and are finished by spreading them 
 on an inclined board ; then rubbing them slightly with 
 oil, and afterwards giving the grain by rubbing them hard 
 by hand with a ball of box, on the surface of which are a 
 few raised lines or ribs. 
 
 Another kind called wash-leather or Shamoy, remains 
 to be described. The subjects of this operation are deer 
 and sheep skins, and they are essentially distinguished 
 from other kinds of leather in being dressed in oil without 
 salt or alum, and without tanning, and in the grain of the 
 skin being taken off. Of such leather, the best kinds are 
 used for riding-breeches, the inferior kinds for under- 
 waistcoats, for straps pads and similar articles sold by 
 the surgeons' instrument-makers, and a variety of other 
 purposes. 
 
 The skins are brought to the state of pelt by liming, 
 washing, and working on the beam, as already described ; 
 after which those skins that are intended to be buff colour 
 are steeped in spent ooze, not to tan, but merely to dye 
 them. They are next frized, which is done by wrapping 
 one end of the skin over a pole, the grain side being 
 uppermost ; then scraping away the whole surface by the 
 application of a round knife, or a rubber of pumice-stone ; 
 the former is chiefly used to sheep-skins, the latter to 
 deer-skins. The removal of the grain not only affords a 
 much softer surface but greatly increases the extensibility 
 of the leather, which still remains sufficiently strong and 
 
ON TANNING AND LEATHER-DRESSING. 213 
 
 elastic for the uses to which it is put. The skins, after 
 being frized, are wrung out in water, and are then put 
 into a mill where they are beaten by the stocks till most 
 of the water has come away, and oil is then poured in, 
 and the milling is continued till the oil has been totally 
 absorbed by the leather and all appearance of greasiness 
 on the surface has vanished. The skin is then stoved in 
 order to dry it and to promote a more intimate combina- 
 tion of the oil ; after which it is scoured in a weak solution 
 of potash in water, by which whatever excess of oil may 
 have remained in the leather is extracted. Finally, it is 
 washed in water, dried gently, and smoothed and suppled 
 by passing it between rollers. 
 
 I shall conclude the subject by a short description of 
 the method by which that singular and valuable substance 
 called Shagreen is prepared. It can hardly be called 
 leather, for it is in the state of skin, and is used, or rather 
 was used, for covers of watch-cases and other similar pur- 
 poses. Astrakan is the seat of this manufacture. The 
 material is the strong skin that covers the crupper of the 
 ass or the horse. The skin is first soaked in water for 
 some days till the hair is loose enough to be scraped off ; 
 after which it is cut and scraped till it becomes scarcely 
 thicker than a hog's bladder. It is then, while wet and 
 soft, fastened to a frame, the flesh side undermost, and 
 the upper or grain side is strewed over with the hard 
 round seeds of a species of chenopodium ; a felt is then 
 laid over it, and the seeds are trodden deeply into the 
 soft yielding skin. The frames are then placed in the 
 shade till the skin becomes dry and the seeds will shake 
 out of their holes. Next, the skin is rasped till the sides 
 of the holes are worn down almost to a level with their 
 bottoms : it is then soaked, first in water, and afterwards 
 
214 ON TANNING AND LEATHER-DRESSING. 
 
 in an alkaline lie; and, as it becomes soft, those parts of 
 the skin which were merely depressed by the seeds being- 
 forced down upon them, rise above the parts which had 
 been rasped, presenting a granular pustular surface. The 
 skin is then stained superficially of a green colour by 
 copper filings and sal ammoniac, and is afterwards allowed 
 to dry : lastly, the grains or warts are rubbed down to a 
 level with the rest of the surface, which thus presents the 
 appearance of white dots on a green ground ; and when 
 polished is very beautiful as well as durable. 
 
140 
 
 ON TIMBER. 
 
 By A. AIKIN, Sec, F.L.S. F.G.S., kc. 
 Read 8th February, 1831. 
 
 My object on the present occasion is not so much to treat 
 of the physiology and functions of the wood in living 
 trees, as of its mechanical properties and uses in the 
 arts. But as many curious particulars respecting timber 
 cannot be understood without knowing something of the 
 structure and formation of wood, I shall begin by explain- 
 ing shortly as much of these as is necessary to the main 
 purpose of this evening's Illustration. 
 
 Timber, in its most extensive signification, might, 
 perhaps, be made to comprehend all those vegetables, the 
 woody fibre of which is sufficiently strong to be applied 
 to purposes of construction, resistance, and support ; and, 
 therefore, would include not only the wood of those 
 trees that are natives of the temperate regions of the 
 earth, but the stalks of some of the gigantic herbaceous 
 plants of warm climates ; the nettles (Urticce), for ex- 
 ample ; some of the large grasses, as the bamboo, and a 
 species of reed (Arundo donax), the entire class of palms, 
 the arborescent ferns, and that other tribe of tropical 
 plants, the canes, nearly allied to the palms. It is not 
 my intention, however, at present, to treat of any of 
 these, as I intend to confine myself to those substances 
 which, in common speech and in commercial dealings, go 
 by the name of timber. 
 
ON TIMBER. 
 
 141 
 
 By far the greater number of shrubs and trees belong- 
 to that division of perennial-stemmed plants called by 
 botanists exogenous, that is, which increase by the yearly 
 addition of new matter between the outer layer of wood 
 and the inner layer of bark. A transverse section, there- 
 fore, of the trunk of such a tree presents, in general, con- 
 centric rings, more or less circular, equal in number to 
 the years of the tree's growth. On examining one of 
 these rings with the naked eye or with a low magnifier, 
 it will be found to be composed of an inner ring of vertical 
 pores or tubes, bounded or hooped in by an outer ring of 
 more compact texture. The proportion of these parts 
 varies greatly in different kinds of wood ; and I think we 
 generally find, that where the compact part is the nar- 
 rowest it is the most solid, and is abruptly separated from 
 the porous or spongy part, as is remarkably the case in 
 larch wood and in others of the fir tribe. But, on the 
 contrary, where the compact part is broader than the 
 porous part, the line of demarcation is not so distinct, and 
 the compact part is crossed by rows of pores : this is very 
 observable in the oak and in other hard woods. 
 
 On examining these concentric rings more closely, we 
 shall find a number of slender compact lines, radiating 
 from the central ring, and, in many species of wood at 
 least, holding their way, apparently without interruption, 
 from the inner to the outer ring of the whole series. 
 These lines, in their course from the centre to the cir- 
 cumference, become more distant from each other as they 
 cross each successive annual ring; and when they have 
 diverged to a certain distance, a secondary line makes its 
 appearance between them, originating, apparently, from 
 the spongy part of one of the annual rings, and, like the 
 primary ones, holding its course unbroken to the outer- 
 
142 
 
 ON TIMBER. 
 
 most ring. The plates of which these lines are sections 
 vary much in depth in different woods : in the oak often 
 amounting to several inches ; in the maple, sycamore, &c. 
 rarely exceeding a quarter of an inch. In some kinds of 
 wood these radiating lines are very fine and numerous, 
 scarcely to be distinguished by the naked eye, as in beech ; 
 in other kinds they are very visible, and are nearly equi- 
 distant from each other, as in maple ; or are at very 
 irregular distances, as in oak. Frequently they are of a 
 different colour from the rest of the wood, as in birch, 
 alder and maple. 
 
 From the appearances in the transverse section which 
 I have just described, it is evident that the trunk of a tree 
 consists of a number of cylinders, or rather cones, one 
 within the other, divided by a multitude of thin compact 
 vertical plates, of various depths, running from the axis 
 of the trunk to its circumference. These plates are com- 
 monly known by the name of silver grain, from their 
 great brilliancy ; and, when cut obliquely, they conduce 
 to those variations and undulations of light so much 
 esteemed in ornamental cabinet ware. You must bear 
 in mind, however, that, although I have spoken of com- 
 pact and porous parts, even the most compact, when 
 viewed by high magnifiers, seem to be made up of 
 distinct bags or cells ; so that the really solid matter, even 
 in the most dense woods, is comparatively small. 
 
 The bark, like the wood, consists of annual concentric 
 layers, the new layer of bark being formed on the surface 
 of the new wood. As many layers of bark, therefore, are 
 produced as of wood, and, as the new yearly deposit of 
 wood and bark is formed between the wood and bark 
 of the preceding year, the old bark is continually pushed 
 more and more outwards : but, during this process, the 
 
ON TIMBER. 
 
 143 
 
 wood of the trunk is continually enlarging in circum- 
 ference ; the outer layers, therefore, of bark become in- 
 capable of containing it, and crack and fall off. In most 
 trees, many layers of the dead outer bark remain on at 
 the same time and detach themselves insensibly by small 
 pieces, which occasions the rough, rugged furrows in the 
 older trunks of the oak, the elm and the ash. In other 
 trees, as each external layer of bark dies, it falls off, either 
 in large flakes, as in the plane ; or in coarse fibres, as in 
 the vine ; or is insensibly cast off in small scales, as in the 
 beech and hornbeam. 
 
 During winter, the vital powers of the tree are nearly 
 inactive ; but early in spring the roots take up from the 
 ground a large quantity of fluid, that is, of water holding 
 a small proportion of salts and other substances in solu- 
 tion. The water, when taken up, comes in contact with 
 vegetable matter deposited during the former year in the 
 roots and in every part of the living wood of the tree, but 
 chiefly in the sap wood, and, dissolving it, is converted 
 into sap. I am not acquainted with any experiments for 
 the purpose of ascertaining the nature of the substance 
 which, when dissolved in water, forms sap ; but as we 
 know that sap is capable of the vinous fermentation and, 
 when boiled down, yields sugar, it is reasonable to con- 
 clude, that the substance in question is either sugar or a 
 vegetable principle capable, when acted on by water in 
 the living plant, of yielding sugar. This latter is the 
 more probable supposition, both because wood is not 
 sweet to the taste, and because there is the strong analogy 
 in its favour of the conversion of starch into sugar during 
 the germination of seeds, a process apparently very similar 
 to the unfolding of buds. The sap rises to the furthest 
 branches and sprays by means with which we are not 
 
144 
 
 ON TIMBER. 
 
 well acquainted, and thus conveys a due supply of nutri- 
 ment to every bud in the tree. In the mean time, a 
 separation takes place of the outer layer of wood from 
 the inner layer of bark, and the space between them is 
 occupied by a viscid half-gelatinous fluid. The buds, as 
 soon as they begin to unfold, shoot down one fibre or 
 root each, which, creeping down among the viscid fluid 
 just mentioned, at length reach the extreme roots of the 
 tree, and thus, by their close lateral adhesion to each 
 other, inclose the last year's wood with a layer which 
 itself becomes the compact part of the new wood. 
 
 Since, therefore, each annual deposit of wood consists 
 for the most part of the fibrous roots of the buds, it might 
 be expected that all those circumstances which influence 
 the number of the buds, their due and healthy unfolding, 
 and the size and vigour of their descending fibres, will 
 also affect the thickness and compactness of the corre- 
 sponding layer of wood. There is every reason to believe 
 that this is the case to a certain degree ; and it may be 
 worth while to pursue the inquiry with some minuteness, 
 as several matters of interesting speculation and practice 
 are connected with it. If we look at a transverse section 
 of any tree, we shall find a notable difference in thickness 
 between many of the annual layers. Of English trees, 
 none presents so great a difference in this respect as the 
 oak ; and, agreeably to this, the fact must be familiar to 
 every one, that none of our trees is so liable to have its 
 young foliage injured or destroyed by cockchafers and 
 other insects, and by dry blighting winds. 
 
 If, of two concentric rings, the difference in breadth, 
 whatever may be its amount, be the same, or nearly so, 
 in every part of the ring, the cause of such difference is 
 one which has affected the whole tree ; such are favourable 
 
ON TIMBER. 
 
 145 
 
 or unfavourable seasons with respect to warmth or 
 moisture, insects, blights and spring frosts. Probably, 
 also, if a maiden tree (one which has not been lopped) 
 grows in a coppice composed of trees equal to itself in 
 height, the year before and the five or six years after 
 felling such coppice, would be indicated, respectively, by 
 a narrow ring, and then by a series of others gradually 
 increasing in breadth ; as, in the former case, the tree 
 would have been in the least degree, and, in the succeed- 
 ing years, in the greatest degree, exposed to the action of 
 free air and light. A severe pruning of a timber tree has 
 also the effect of very notably diminishing the thickness 
 of the annual layers subsequently deposited, till the num- 
 ber of buds which existed previously to the pruning has 
 been restored. # 
 
 But in many trees a great difference is observable in 
 the same ring in opposite parts of it ; and where this 
 affects all, or nearly all, the rings, it shews that some 
 partial cause has been operating during a series of years. 
 Some of the woods collected by Dr. Wallich in the moun- 
 tains of Nipal, and presented by him to the Society, afford 
 very extraordinary examples of this variation ; and, in a 
 less degree, it is by no means an uncommon occurrence. 
 The cause of it is generally considered to be the position 
 of the tree with regard to the sun, that side on which the 
 rings are broadest facing the south. I do not know how 
 far the fact has been ascertained in any particular case ; 
 but, if this were the sole, or even the chief, cause of the 
 appearance, it ought to affect every tree that grows, either 
 singly, or in an avenue or hedge-row extending east and 
 west. The subject has been discussed by M. .Dahamel, in 
 
 * Transactions of Society of Arts, vol. xlviii. p. 214. 
 VOL. L. L 
 
146 
 
 ON TIMBER. 
 
 his great work on timber,* and he states, as the result 
 of actual experiment, that in those trees which grow sur- 
 rounded by others in a wood or forest, each concentric 
 ring is equal, or nearly so, in every part of it ; but that 
 the trees on the margin of a wood have the broad part of 
 every ring facing outwards ; for, says he, the branches on 
 the side towards the country are longer, and better fur- 
 nished with foliage, than those which project towards the 
 wood, because the roots which feed them have a longer 
 and interrupted range. In a rocky country, there may 
 be many situations in which the roots of a tree shall starve 
 on one side and luxuriate on the other ; and when such 
 accidentally concur with a north and south aspect, such 
 exaggerated specimens as those just now alluded to may 
 be the result. 
 
 Another variety in the concentric rings deserves no- 
 tice, namely, that they are sometimes elliptical, being 
 considerably broader in two opposite points than they are 
 in the points at right angles to these. A closely planted 
 line of trees would exhibit this appearance in the wood of 
 each of them, except the first and last in the row ; for 
 the roots and boughs would be cramped in two opposite 
 directions, and at full liberty in the contrary ones ; the 
 wind, likewise, would affect them chiefly at right angles 
 to the direction of the row ; and, when trees are prevented 
 from swaying except in one line, the principal deposit of 
 wood will be in that line, as Mr. Knight has proved by 
 experiment. 
 
 In very young trees, there is no perceptible difference 
 in the several layers of which they are composed ; the 
 whole is sap-wood, on which account, indeed, they are 
 
 * Sur PExploitation des Bois. 
 
ON TIMBER. 
 
 147 
 
 technically called saplings. But, after ten or a dozen 
 annual layers have been deposited, the two or three 
 interior ones will begin to be distinguished from the 
 others by a deeper colour, a greater specific gravity, a su- 
 perior hardness, strength and durability : they have passed 
 into the state of timber, and the chief vital operations 
 going on in them seem to be the permanent deposit in 
 their cells of colouring matter, resin, and other secretions. 
 Still, however, some of the solid ingredients of sap are 
 stored up in them, during the autumn, for the consump- 
 tion of the spring and summer ; for young oak felled in 
 December and January, and weighed immediately with- 
 out drying, is of greater specific gravity than when felled 
 at any other time ; while that felled in June and July 
 has the least specific gravity. 
 
 The number of layers of sap-wood in a tree continues 
 always the same, or nearly so ; and if we estimate these, 
 on an average, at seven or eight, it follows that the 
 timber, or heart, is continually increasing with each suc- 
 cessive annual layer, the density and hardness of the 
 timber, in any part, usually corresponding, in a great 
 degree, with its nearness to the centre, or axis of the 
 tree. At length, however, the central layer acquires 
 the utmost degree of density and hardness of which 
 it is capable, and afterwards other layers in succession. 
 Now, it is manifest that, if this state were permanent, the 
 increase of a tree would be absolutely indefinite. But 
 every thing that lives is destined to death; and trees, 
 although their life, in many cases, is protracted through 
 centuries, at length die of old age. It appears probable, 
 when the central layer has acquired its greatest density, 
 by the deposition of resin, colouring matter, &c, that the 
 ascent of sap in it is greatly impeded, and at length 
 
148 
 
 ON TIMBER. 
 
 ceases. The layer next the central one soon passes into 
 the same state, and many others in succession. The 
 lateral branches, in proportion to their nearness to the 
 central one, attain the same height as this, and afterwards 
 stop. When, therefore, a tree becomes round-headed or 
 flat-topped, its season of growth has passed, and it is in a 
 state of maturity. Of all our common deciduous trees the 
 lime and the horse-chestnut shew this change the most 
 remarkably, the outline of the foliage of both of them 
 when young being conical, and when old nearly globular 
 (I am speaking, of course, only of such trees as stand by 
 themselves, and in situations where their natural form is 
 not interfered with, either by art or by natural causes). Of 
 evergreen trees, the common fir, as being within every 
 one's notice, may be cited, the form of which when young 
 is an acute cone, and when old is nearly flat-topped. 
 How long a tree continues in a state of maturity I do not 
 know, there being no recorded experiments on the subject. 
 It is probable, however, that each species of tree has what 
 may be called its natural term of growth and maturity, 
 and that in this respect there is a great difference between 
 different species ; the beech and sycamore, for example, 
 passing through these two states in a much shorter time 
 than the oak or the wild pear, and this independently of 
 the adventitious circumstances of soil, climate, and ex- 
 posure, by which their natural period may be hastened or 
 retarded. 
 
 If a tree be felled that has been for some years at its 
 full growth, the central layers of timber, instead of being 
 of greater specific gravity and hardness than the others, 
 will, on the contrary, be found to be lighter, softer, and in 
 a remarkable degree weaker. In these layers, therefore, 
 life has probably ceased, and decay has begun: the moisture 
 
ON TIMBER. 
 
 149 
 
 by which all parts of a standing tree are penetrated, and 
 which maintains the life of all the living layers, has a 
 directly contrary effect on the dead ones, facilitating their 
 decay and decomposition. Rottenness of the dead layers 
 ensues, the axis of the tree becomes an open pipe, through 
 which the rain-water soaks and the air enters ; decay of 
 each layer in succession from the centre follows more 
 quickly than the application of new layers on the outside, 
 the roots partake in the destruction of the layers which 
 they supplied, and, finally, the trunk, having become a 
 mere shell, is overthrown by some violent storm of wind. 
 
 From what has been said, it is evident that in all 
 healthy trees there is a period of maturity, in which a 
 great many layers have passed to the state of timber, 
 while the central one still retains as great a degree of 
 strength and density as it ever possessed. This, therefore, 
 is the precise time to fell the tree, if our wish is to have 
 timber of as large scantling as possible, and at the same 
 time perfectly sound. How long this time continues, is 
 not known, and on the whole it is better to anticipate it 
 by a few years than to incur the hazard of its passing over. 
 A tree has certainly passed its prime if the leaves change 
 colour in autumn earlier than those of other trees of the 
 same kind, and especially if the leaves on the upper 
 branches are coloured, while those on the lower ones are 
 still green. Also, if the upper branches die, in which case 
 the tree becomes stag-headed ; if the bark cracks and peels 
 off in unusually large pieces ; if it is overloaded with 
 lichens or moss ; or, finally, if the sap becomes extra- 
 vasated and runs out through rifts in the bark. 
 
 Two circumstances remain to be mentioned, which, 
 perhaps, more than any others, affect the quality of grow- 
 ing timber : these are, exposure and soil. 
 
150 
 
 ON TIMBER. 
 
 A tree surrounded by others must grow as fast as its 
 neighbours, or not at all. Every one knows, even from 
 experience of the plants in his windows, how eagerly all 
 vegetables turn the upper surface of their leaves to the 
 light, how they shoot solely in that direction, and much 
 more rapidly than usual, though with diminished vigour, 
 in order to reach the light if it enters a little above them. 
 In a dense wood the trees of most robust constitution and 
 quickest growth take the lead, and, by intercepting the 
 light from the weaker or more slow-growing, occasion a 
 somewhat sickly and unnatural rate of growth in these 
 latter, to secure their share of light. All the energies of 
 the tree are directed to its longitudinal increase ; the side- 
 branches are rare and slender, and soon decay, the stem 
 spindles up, in diameter a mere stick, even when many 
 feet high, in consequence partly of the unnatural rate of 
 its elongation, and partly of the absence of leaf-buds, 
 except at the top of the tree, which occasions the annual 
 deposits of woody layer to be extremely thin. The final 
 result of these circumstances is, that the weak perish and 
 the strong and vigorous alone remain, with clean drawn 
 up trunks, that in time acquire their proper thickness, but 
 free from lateral branches. The timber of such trees con- 
 sists of straight fibres ; it is rather soft, splits readily, and 
 when cut into beams or planks possesses great strength 
 and elasticity, because each fibre bears an equal share of 
 the load laid upon it. 
 
 On the contrary, when a tree grows in an open space 
 it rises less rapidly, and rarely attains so great a height as 
 it does in the former situation ; it throws out large lateral 
 arms on all sides, the fibres of which, as they join those of 
 the trunk, interfere with them, and thus mutually compel 
 each other to take a curvilinear direction. The timber of 
 
ON TIMBER. 
 
 151 
 
 such a tree will be coarse, knotty, contorted, unfit to cut 
 into beams or planks to sustain pressure, but hard, tough, 
 and well qualified to resist blows, and the wear and tear 
 of friction. For the same reason the butt of all trees, that 
 is, the part immediately above the roots, is tougher and 
 harder than the stem. 
 
 If exposure thus modifies the quality of timber, soil 
 will be found likewise to produce no unimportant effect. 
 To every tree there is a soil which suits it best ; for 
 although many will grow in very different soils, the tim- 
 ber which is the product of them differs accordingly in 
 magnitude, hardness, strengtn, and durability. In a 
 country fully peopled like England, the best soils are 
 appropriated to agriculture ; and our modern plantations 
 are chiefly confined to exposed hilly tracts, or to land more 
 sheltered, but too barren for arable crops or pasturage. 
 Hence it is that in England the giants of the forest have 
 for the most part passed away, and our posterity will 
 know them only by history or vague tradition. 
 
 The time of year in which trees ought to be felled has 
 been a subject of much controversy ; that is, whether it 
 should be done in winter, before the rise of the sap, or in 
 spring, when the sap is most abundant. On this question, 
 as on most others respecting timber, there has been a 
 great deal of vague talk, because it is much easier to 
 make a theory or an assertion than an experiment. We 
 find, however, in the large and elaborate work of M. Du- 
 hamel, sur V Exploitation des Bois, an extremely valuable 
 series of experiments relating to this inquiry, the results 
 of which I shall now state. The experiments, indeed, 
 were made only on oaks, but are probably applicable to 
 all other deciduous forest-trees. Oak felled in December 
 and January, and weighed without drying, is of greater 
 
152 
 
 ON TIMBER. 
 
 specific gravity than that felled in March and April. 
 Winter-felled oak, by drying under a shed for three 
 years, lost somewhat less weight than oak of similar 
 quality spring -felled. In another set of experiments, 
 winter-felled oak, after being dried under a shed for four 
 years, and then in a stove, lost more than one-fifth less 
 than spring-felled oak by similar treatment. Now, it is 
 a general rule, that of two samples of oak, equally dry, 
 that is the strongest which has the greatest density ; but 
 M. Duhamel found this to hold good with respect to 
 different oaks only if felled at the same time of the year. 
 He concludes, therefore, that, as far as the strength of 
 timber is concerned, this quality is little, if at all, affected 
 by its being felled in winter or in spring. 
 
 It is likewise asserted, that spring-felled timber is 
 much more liable to decay than that which is winter- 
 felled ; and the determination of this point was the object 
 of another series of experiments, in which M. Duhamel 
 found that there is really a difference in this respect in 
 favour of winter-felled wood, but by no means to the 
 extent that is generally supposed. Against this is to be 
 set the much greater facility of stripping the bark in 
 spring, when the adhesion of it to the wood is nearly 
 destroyed, as I have stated in a former part of this paper, 
 a circumstance that deserves consideration when, as in oak, 
 the bark is often one-fourth of the value of the timber. 
 
 Another mode of taking down timber, which appears 
 to have prevailed formerly in Northumberland and Dur- 
 ham, was to strip the bark from the trunk while the tree 
 was standing, and not to take it down till a year or, per- 
 haps, two years after. The Royal William, and two or 
 three other ships in the Navy, remarkable for having 
 lasted seventy years or more, were built of north-country 
 
ON TIMBER. 
 
 153 
 
 timber, in all probability prepared in the way just men- 
 tioned. The effects of this treatment were investigated by 
 Duhamel, and the following are the results obtained. 
 Four oaks feet in girth, one 3 feet, and two 6 feet in 
 girth, were stripped of their bark in the month of May, 
 from the root to the division of the trunk into branches. 
 The trees, with the exception of one of the small ones, 
 which died early in the autumn, carried their leaves the 
 usual time, and produced another crop in the second 
 spring. They all died in the course of that year, and 
 were cut down in the third spring, having stood two years 
 unbarked. After drying for a year, they were cut up, and 
 compared with others of equal size, spring- felled as usual, 
 stripped, and dried for three years. The former, though 
 apparently in the same state of dryness as the latter, were 
 far more difficult to saw, their specific gravity was greater 
 in the proportion of 6 per cent, and their resistance, 
 when loaded to breaking, was on an average full 1 4 per 
 cent greater. For naval timber, therefore, this practice 
 seems likely to be attended with very beneficial results, 
 notwithstanding the increased expense of taking off the 
 bark of the trunk while standing, of sacrificing much of 
 the bark left on the branches, and of subsequently convert- 
 ing the timber on account of its much greater hardness. 
 
 What degree of seasoning is required to enable timber 
 to resist for the longest period the progress of natural 
 decay, that is, decay from spontaneous decomposition, as 
 distinguished from that which is effected by insects, either 
 in their larva or in their perfect state ? 
 
 This is a question easier asked than answered, both on 
 account of its extent and complication, and because we are 
 still in want of accurate experiments on some of the lead- 
 ing points of inquiry. 
 
154 
 
 ON TIMBER. 
 
 I believe the only kind of seasoning that has ever been 
 in use, at least in general use, is slow drying, with as free 
 an exposure to air as circumstances will allow : the greater 
 the surface of the wood in proportion to its bulk, the more 
 quickly is it seasoned. On this account it is that the timber 
 employed in common carpentry and in cabinet-making is 
 sawn into planks, and that used in ship-building is rough- 
 hewn nearly to the shape required before the seasoning- 
 commences. There is likewise another reason for so doing, 
 namely, that wood is much easier worked wet than dry, and 
 a considerable saving of labour, and therefore of expense, 
 is made by converting timber when in this state. The 
 larger the piece of timber, and the closer its grain, the 
 longer is the time required to season it, that is, to evaporate 
 all the moisture which it will give out in ordinary states of 
 the atmosphere. In experiments on this subject, the wood is 
 weighed from time to time, and the seasoning is not con- 
 sidered as complete so long as the specimen continues to 
 lose weight. A piece of oak large enough for ship-timber, 
 judging by this test, will not be thoroughly dried in less 
 than eight or ten years, and other woods in proportion. 
 The sap-wood usually decays in the very act of seasoning, 
 and therefore is rejected. 
 
 On account of the length of time required for complete 
 seasoning, it may be assumed that almost all timber of 
 any size, such as is required for buildings, both naval and 
 domestic, is insufficiently seasoned ; but if, when placed in 
 a house or ship, it is exposed to a tolerably free circulation 
 of air, evaporation will still go on, and the wood may at 
 length be seasoned, without having incurred any injury. 
 If, on the contrary, evaporation is prevented by a covering 
 of paint, or the surface, unpainted, is exposed to a close 
 damp air, decomposition will speedily ensue ; the timber 
 
ON TIMBER. 
 
 155 
 
 acquires the smell of mushrooms, and white filaments will 
 be seen penetrating into those parts of the wood the cohe- 
 sion of which has been weakened by the commencement 
 of decomposition. These fibres are the living roots of a 
 species of fungus, which, in circumstances favourable to 
 its growth, will, in an incredibly short time, penetrate 
 through the whole substance of a piece of timber, and 
 totally destroy its cohesion. This species of decay is called 
 dry rot, and is characterised by the rifts and ruptures 
 which it occasions directly across the fibres of the wood. 
 It not only destroys the piece in which it originates, but 
 passes to those pieces that happen to be in contact with 
 the first, even though these latter may have been sufficiently 
 seasoned to have shewn no previous signs of decay. It is 
 this formidable infection which of late years has made such 
 ravages in the navy, and in buildings of all kinds where 
 circumstances occur favourable to its developement. 
 
 Far different from this is the common rot or decay 
 which seasoned timber undergoes while freely exposed to 
 the atmosphere, by the concurrent action of moisture and 
 air : the whole cellular texture is first weakened, and then, 
 first the soft parts and afterwards the harder ones break 
 down, and are reduced to a brown powder. It does not, 
 however, appear that there is any thing infectious in this 
 decay, except so far as that insects, which are attracted by 
 the decaying wood, on which they feed and in which they 
 bore their hiding-places, may also extend their operations 
 to sound timber in the neighbourhood, and thus hasten its 
 destruction. 
 
156 
 
 ON ORNAMENTAL WOODS. 
 
 By A. A1KIN, Sec, F.L.S. F.G.S., &c. 
 Read 22d February, 1831. 
 
 In the last illustration I explained the structure of wood 
 in general, the mode of its growth, and the uses to which 
 the various kinds of timber, whether native or imported, 
 are applied in this country. On the present occasion I 
 mean to direct your attention to those woods which, on 
 account of their beauty, are employed by the cabinet- 
 maker in the construction of various articles of household 
 furniture, and of other objects of use or luxury. 
 
 Lustre, figure, and colour, are the elements of beauty 
 in wood ; and if, instead of contenting ourselves with a 
 vague perception, we wish to ascertain the reason why 
 one piece of wood is more beautiful than another, we must 
 compare them together, with reference to these three cha- 
 racters. It will also aid our comparison if we previously 
 have investigated the variations which different kinds of 
 wood present in these respects, together with the natural 
 connexion which in many cases exists between them. 
 This part of the subject, indeed, is entirely untrodden 
 ground, and neither my time nor opportunities have been 
 such as to have enabled me to give it the full investigation 
 which its importance merits. You will, therefore, be 
 pleased to bear in mind, that the remarks which I am 
 about to make are deduced from the examination of a 
 
ON ORNAMENTAL WOODS. 
 
 157 
 
 few specimens, and that a more extensive inquiry will, 
 no doubt, produce several modifications and limitations, 
 though the general principles will, I believe, be confirmed. 
 
 First, with regard to the degree in which the beauty of 
 woods is affected by their structure. 
 
 On examining the fibrous portion of wood, either with 
 the naked eye, or by, what is still better, a low magnifier, 
 we shall find it to consist of strings, or bundles of fine 
 fibres, the general arrangement of which is parallel to 
 each other. These fibres are more or less translucent, 
 when held between the eye and a bright light, and have a 
 smooth polished surface. The result of this structure is a 
 variation or play of light, according to the angle under 
 which they are viewed; and the degree of light, or the 
 lustre, depends on the number of adjacent fibres that have 
 their reflecting surfaces strictly parallel. 
 
 In the horse-chestnut, among the soft and light woods, 
 and in the box, among the hard and heavy ones, few of 
 the adjacent fibres are parallel ; and, therefore, although 
 the fibres, especially of the former, have, individually, 
 considerable lustre, the face of the wood is very dull. 
 But in those woods where the medullary plates are rather 
 large, and very near together, the bundles of fibres take 
 the form of gently waving ribands, in order to pass between 
 and over them, being closely applied to the surface of 
 every medullary plate that they come in contact with : 
 now, as the surfaces of these plates are planes, the fibres, 
 in passing over them, are necessarily reduced to the same 
 plane, and thus become one reflecting surface. The syca- 
 more exhibits this structure in a moderate degree. It is 
 more remarkable in the English ash and in the mahogany, 
 and still more in two Burmese woods of Dr. Wallich's 
 collection. In the butt of a tree, in the crown of the 
 
158 
 
 ON ORNAMENTAL WOODS. 
 
 roots, and even in the trunk, where any irregularity of 
 growth occurs, the fibres, in making their way clown- 
 wards, are obliged to change their direction according to 
 the obstacles that they meet with, and thus produce a 
 tortuous, feathery, or wavy appearance, which, when com- 
 bined with a considerable degree of lustre, is very or- 
 namental. 
 
 The spongy or tubular part of the annual layers pos- 
 sesses, in general, hardly any lustre, and the sections of 
 the tubes, that make their appearance when the wood is 
 cut up for use, are for the most part defects, though some- 
 times tolerable by way of contrast. In the oak, the ash, 
 the walnut, and the cedar, of ornamental woods, this struc- 
 ture is very conspicuous, and is generally a great defect. 
 In mahogany the tubes are less coarse, and are distributed 
 indifferently in every part of the yearly layer, so that, 
 although they are a blemish to this otherwise incom- 
 parably beautiful wood, they are not so obtrusive as they 
 would be if accumulated in particular spaces. In several 
 kinds of English wood, as the lime, the pear-tree, the 
 beech, and the birch, and in many foreign woods, the 
 lignum vitse, bird's-eye maple, plane, tulip-wood, satin- 
 wood, and Coromandel-wood, the tubes are so small as 
 hardly to be visible to the naked eye; and it may be 
 stated as a general remark, which I believe is quite cor- 
 rect, that in the woods of tropical countries the tubes are 
 found distributed in nearly equal proportion in every part 
 of the annual layers, and the annual layers themselves are 
 often very indistinct, probably on account of the trees con- 
 tinuing to grow during the whole year, instead of being 
 quiescent for some months, as they are in the more tem- 
 perate regions. The medullary plates contribute very 
 essentially to the character of ornamental woods ; not only 
 
ON ORNAMENTAL WOODS. 
 
 159 
 
 by being* the secondary cause, as I have already shewn, of 
 the lustre of most of those woods that are remarkable for 
 this quality, but likewise by their own inherent properties. 
 The structure of this part is invisible to the naked eye, and 
 often, even to a low magnifier, it presents no distinction of 
 parts, but appears to be wholly composed of a finely gra- 
 nular matter, which, under magnifiers of high powers, is 
 resolved into a cellular structure. In general it is quite 
 dull, and will not take a polish, though, in some few in- 
 stances, I have found it of a silky lustre. In the oak the 
 medullary plates are much larger than in any other wood 
 that I have seen ; and when their broad side is brought to 
 the surface by a section a little oblique to the direction or 
 run of the plates, they have this peculiarity, that they are 
 dull when the fibrous part reflects the light, and, on the 
 contrary, exhibit a bright silky lustre when the fibres are 
 dull. In all the coloured woods that I have examined, 
 with one exception, the colour of the medullary plates is 
 much deeper than that of the fibres, and sometimes differs 
 even in kind, so that, when viewed in different lights, 
 they present different colours, like a shot silk. The plane 
 is very remarkable for the size and distinctness of its me- 
 dullary plates, these being of a rich chestnut brown, with 
 a considerable lustre, while the fibres are nearly white, and 
 almost dull. An equal contrast between these two parts 
 exists in the so-called Botany-bay oak, with this difference, 
 however, that the fibres have a good deal of lustre, while 
 the medullary plates are dull. The beef-wood exhibits a 
 similar distinction of parts, though on a smaller scale, and 
 so do select specimens of common elm. 
 
 The satin-wood presents an entirely analogous inter- 
 mixture of fibre and medullary plates, although it requires 
 a magnifier to resolve this structure, on account of the 
 
160 
 
 ON ORNAMENTAL WOODS. 
 
 minuteness of the parts : the medullary plates are reddish 
 brown, and without lustre, while the fibres have rather a 
 considerable silky lustre, and are nearly white. On fixing 
 the eye on any part or stripe, it will be found to vary its 
 colour from shining whitish to dull chestnut, according as 
 the light is reflected from the fibres or from the sections 
 of the medullary plates. The same will be found in those 
 parts of mahogany which present a varying lustre. In the 
 laburnum there is this peculiarity, which I have not ob- 
 served in any other wood, namely, that the medullary 
 plates, which are large and very distinct, are white, 
 whereas the fibres are a dark brown ; a circumstance 
 that gives quite an extraordinary appearance to this wood. 
 
 Another source of variety in wood, both in figure and 
 colour, depends on the comparison and contrast of one 
 annual layer with another. If the circumstances which 
 affect the deposition of wood, acted with perfect uniformity, 
 a cross section of the trunk of a tree would exhibit a num- 
 ber of perfectly concentric circular rings. This, however, 
 is a case which probably never occurred ; and, in a great 
 many instances, much irregularity takes place in this 
 respect. This very irregularity is a source of beauty, and 
 is capable of being indefinitely varied, by making the sec- 
 tion more or less oblique to the axis of the tree. An 
 alternation of colour not unfrequently accompanies these 
 concentric rings, but not indicative of any change of struc- 
 ture ; and when the colours are lively, well defined, and 
 well contrasted, their effect is very agreeable. King- wood, 
 yew, tulip-wood, Amboyna- wood, partridge-wood, and 
 lignum vitse, are, perhaps, the most remarkable of such. 
 
 This symmetrical distribution of colour passes by insens- 
 ible degrees into the striped, the veined, and the mottled, 
 of which walnut, perhaps, affords the best example among 
 
ON ORNAMENTAL WOODS. 
 
 161 
 
 the commoner woods, and spotted and veined ebony, rose- 
 wood, zebra-wood, and Coromandel-wood, among the more 
 valuable ones. The three latter, in well-selected pieces, 
 are particularly beautiful, especially the Coromandel-wood, 
 whether we regard the harmonious tone of its colours, 
 passing from brownish white to rich chocolate, and nearly 
 black, or the broad masses in which they are arranged, 
 giving it more the appearance of brecciated marble than 
 of wood. 
 
 The last variety in the figure of woods that need be 
 mentioned, is the occurrence of eyes, zoned spots, and 
 small curls, which, although hardly suited to the larger 
 kinds of cabinet furniture, is often extremely ornamental 
 in small tables or stands, desks, work-boxes, and such 
 other articles as usually come under close inspection. 
 Bird's-eye maple, Amboyna-wood, and the root or butt of 
 the common yew, and of the common maple, are perhaps 
 the most beautiful : the knobby tubercles that form on the 
 root and trunk of the common elm, from repeatedly strip- 
 ping off the side branches, as is the general practice round 
 London, afford occasionally very beautiful pieces, which 
 are employed for tea-caddies and other small articles, by 
 the name of curdled elm. 
 
 It is not known when the colours and veinings of wood 
 first attracted attention, and occasioned a preference to be 
 given on this account to one kind of wood over another. 
 The taste of the Greeks appears to have been almost 
 exclusively directed to sculpture as a source of ornament, 
 and therefore, although we occasionally meet with descrip- 
 tions of wooden drinking-cups in the poems of Homer,* of 
 Theocritus,t and other writers, the notice of the reader is 
 
 * Odyss. ix. 345. 
 VOL. L. 
 
 M 
 
 f Idyll, i. 20. 
 
162 
 
 ON ORNAMENTAL WOODS. 
 
 never directed to the material, but to the elaborate carving 
 of foliage and of figures with which they were enriched. 
 We are certain, however, that the Romans began to pay 
 attention to the subject in the generation prior to the 
 Augustan age, when luxury of all kinds was at its height. 
 In the writings of the satiric and epigrammatic poets who 
 flourished under the Caesars, we meet with frequent allu- 
 sions to the enormous sums given for tables of ornamental 
 wood ; but the most copious and interesting account of 
 this department of luxury is to be found in the Natural 
 History of Pliny the elder, # from which the following 
 particulars are extracted. 
 
 By far the most costly wood was procured from a tree 
 called citrus, a native of that part of Mauritania which is 
 adjacent to Mount Atlas. In leaf, odour, and trunk, it 
 resembles the female wild cypress. The valuable part is 
 a tuber or warty excrescence, which, when found on the 
 root and under ground, is more esteemed than when 
 growing on the trunk or branches. When cut and po- 
 lished it presents various figures, of which the most 
 esteemed are curling veins, or concentric spots like eyes, 
 the former being called tiger- wood, the latter panther- 
 woodi Sometimes both these figures are mixed, produc- 
 ing a resemblance to the feathers in a peacock's tail. The 
 colour appears to have been a warm brown of different 
 shades. The only polish that they ever received was 
 given by long rubbing with a dry hand. Tables of this 
 material appear to have been first brought into fashion by 
 Cicero, w T ho is said to have given for a single one a million 
 sesterces, i. e. 8072/. One belonged to Gallus Asinius, 
 which was valued at 8879/. Two, which had formerly 
 
 * Plin. Hist. Nat. xiii. 29 ; xvi. 24, 84. 
 
ON ORNAMENTAL WOODS. 
 
 163 
 
 belonged to King Juba, were actually sold, one for 9700/., 
 and the other for somewhat less. Another, which had 
 been for some generations in the family of the Cethegi, 
 was sold for 11,300Z., and in the time of Pliny was acci- 
 dentally destroyed by fire. The largest ever known 
 belonged to Ptolemy, king of Mauritania : it was four 
 feet and a half in diameter, and four inches thick, being 
 formed of two semicircular planks, so skilfully joined that 
 the place of juncture was not discernible. These tables 
 were generally set in a broad border of ivory. From the 
 above description the Mauritanian citrus seems to have 
 been a species of juniper, and is not to be confounded with 
 the citron, or any other species of the genus Citrus of 
 modern botanists. I mention this because in Italy they 
 actually employ at the present day the old trunks of the 
 lemon, orange, and citron, for painters' palettes, and 
 other small articles of a like description. 
 
 The maple, also, was highly esteemed by the Romans, 
 especially that which grew in Istria and Rhsetia, and was 
 distinguished by its curled peacock-tail veins. In beauty, 
 Pliny says, it exceeded even the citrus, but could be 
 obtained only in small pieces for writing-desks and 
 similar articles. 
 
 In the time of Pliny the art of veneering was a recent 
 invention ; and he descants, in his usual antithetical way, 
 on thus converting the cheaper into the most valuable 
 woods, by plating them with these latter ; and of the in- 
 genuity of cutting a tree into thin slices, and thus selling 
 it several times over. The woods employed for this pur- 
 pose were the citrus, the terebinth, various kinds of 
 maple, box, palm, holly, ilex, the root of elder and 
 poplar. The middle part of a tree, he observes, shews 
 the largest and most curling veins, while the rings and 
 
104 
 
 ON ORNAMENTAL WOODS. 
 
 spots are chiefly found near the root. The veneers, or 
 plates, were secured, as at present, by strong glue. 
 
 Of the ornamental woods now used in this country, 
 mahogany, unquestionably, claims the first place; both 
 because a greater quantity of it is employed than of all 
 the other ornamental woods put together, and because 
 it is applicable to every kind of cabinet ware, great and 
 small. It varies much in quality and, proportionally, in 
 price : for a log of the finest kind as much as 800/. has 
 been given, and, I believe, even more. There are two kinds 
 distinguished in the market, namely, the Honduras ma- 
 hogany, from the Mosquito shore, and the Spanish, which 
 grows in the island of Cuba. The former is generally the 
 most in request ; but, occasionally, very splendid speci- 
 mens of the latter come to hand. In the Honduras ma- 
 hogany, the medullary plates are large, and generally 
 disposed in rows ; the consequence of which is, a high 
 colour, much lustre, and rather a coarse grain. In the 
 common, or Spanish mahogany, the medullary plates are 
 small, and irregularly distributed ; hence, the colour is 
 paler, the lustre less, and verging to silky, and the grain 
 is finer, than in the preceding. The inferior kinds are 
 used solid ; the finer varieties are cut into veneers. 
 
 Next in use is rose-wood, a native of Brazil. It 
 exhibits large elongated zones of black irregular lines on 
 a reddish-brown ground, of various tints and high lustre. 
 The grain varies, being often rather coarse, but, in 
 selected specimens, sufficiently fine. The dark colour, 
 in general, rather too much prevails ; but when this 
 is not the case, and the lighter ground is disposed in 
 larger masses than usual, the wood is exceedingly beau- 
 tiful. 
 
 A West Indian wood, that goes by the name of coccus, 
 
ON ORNAMENTAL WOODS. 
 
 165 
 
 bears a great resemblance to rose-wood, only the colour 
 is less red. 
 
 King- wood, likewise, comes from Brazil. Its general 
 colour is a rich yellowish brown, deep in the veins, more 
 dilute in the other parts. It has a fine grain and a 
 moderate lustre ; the smaller pieces are often striped, and 
 sometimes it occurs full of elongated zoned eyes. 
 
 Zebra- wood — also, I believe, from Brazil — resembles 
 king-wood, only the colours are generally disposed in 
 irregular, but angular, veins and stripes. It is a very 
 fine wood. 
 
 Coromandel-wood, from its name, I presume, is a na- 
 tive of India. It consists of pale reddish -brown fibres, 
 crossed by large medullary plates of a deep rich brown, 
 passing into black : these latter are chiefly conspicuous 
 in well-defined veins and broad spots, admirably con- 
 trasting with the lighter parts ; the lustre is silky where 
 the medullary plates are small, but higher and more 
 varying where the plates are larger and the grain coarser. 
 It is, unquestionably, the handsomest of all the brown 
 woods. 
 
 Giaca is, I believe, a Brazilian wood, and is exceed- 
 ingly handsome, on account of its rich hair-brown colour, 
 its fine grain, and high lustre. 
 
 Other brown woods are, — 
 
 Snake-wood, from Demerara, in which the lines often 
 bear a kind of resemblance to writing. 
 Crocus- wood, from Brazil. 
 
 Lignum-vitae, from the West Indies ; the colours of 
 which are generally dull, dingy, and ill-defined. 
 
 Green ebony, from the West Indies, in which a 
 greenish tint is discernible by daylight, but dingy and 
 dull. 
 
166 
 
 ON ORNAMENTAL WOODS. 
 
 Sandal- wood, from Owyhee ; of a pale brown, a very 
 line grain, and a considerable satiny lustre. 
 
 The only perfectly black wood is ebony from Africa : 
 that from the Mauritius and Ceylon is usually variegated 
 more or less with cream-brown, and is sometimes very 
 handsome ; sometimes it produces accidental resemblances 
 to moonlight falling on black clouds. Perhaps the Coro- 
 mandel-wood is a variety of spotted ebony. 
 
 Of woods in which yellow, mixed more or less with 
 orange and brown, is the prevailing colour, may be men- 
 tioned the satin-wood of India and of the West Indies, 
 the former of which has the richer colour, the latter the 
 higher and more variable lustre. 
 
 Fustic also belongs to this class, forming the passage 
 to the orange-brown woods. It has a high varying lustre, 
 with moderate fineness of grain. 
 
 The red woods are not much used for ornament, ex- 
 cept in small pieces for inlaying. Of these — 
 
 Africa furnishes the cam- wood and the barr-wood, this 
 latter being distinguished by its rich purple tinge : 
 
 India furnishes red sanders : 
 
 Brazil furnishes tulip-wood and beef-wood : 
 
 And the West Indies, the pencil-cedar, or juniper, and 
 the Havannah cedar ; this latter being remarkable for its 
 high, varying, and completely silky lustre. 
 
 A singular wood has lately been imported from Russia, 
 where it is dug out of the bogs. It seems to be a birch ; 
 the ground is pale yellowish, but is prettily and singu- 
 larly variegated by dark curved lines. 
 
 New Holland furnishes a wood of no great beauty, 
 called Botany Bay oak. 
 
 The bird's-eye maple comes from the United States; 
 and, although deficient in colour, merits notice from the 
 
ON ORNAMENTAL WOODS. 
 
 167 
 
 eyes, and the very pretty, though small, markings with 
 which its surface is overspread. 
 
 Our own country furnishes yew, of which the tubers 
 and parts near the root are often extremely beautiful : 
 for the combination of colour with figure, it ranks, 
 perhaps, at the head of the eyed, or spotted, woods. 
 Walnut was formerly very extensively used as veneers 
 for chests of drawers, and other large articles, in which 
 it has of late years been superseded by mahogany. Its 
 chief use at present is solid, for gun-stocks, many of 
 which are extremely beautiful. The butt and larger roots 
 of maple are likewise employed for gun-stocks, as well as 
 selected pieces of ash, which, when properly coloured, 
 shew off their native lustre and figure to great advantage. 
 The oak occasionally presents very rich figures ; and 
 tables made of such are much esteemed, notwithstanding 
 its deficiency in variety and vivacity of colour. 
 
 Veneers used to be cut by the hand-saw ; at present, 
 the circular saw is, I believe, universally employed in 
 England for this purpose, with the advantage, not only of 
 cheapness and expedition, but of a smaller waste of wood 
 in sawdust, and for greater accuracy and precision in the 
 thickness of the veneer — a quality essentially requisite to 
 produce good work in the finished article. 
 
 In a large veneer-mill which I had an opportunity, 
 through the kindness of one of our members, of visiting, 
 there are five circular saws. Each consists of a strong, 
 stiff, circular frame-work, of the shape of a plano-convex 
 lens, or rather a low hollow cone, tapering gradually to 
 the edge, from which projects a ring of soft steel a few 
 inches broad, pierced with many holes. The saw is a 
 plate, or rather a fiat ring, of well- tempered steel, about 
 twelve inches broad, pierced with as many holes as the 
 
168 
 
 ON ORNAMENTAL WOODS. 
 
 former ring, and firmly secured to it by means of screws : 
 a band over the axis of the saw communicates motion to 
 it, by connecting it with the first mover, which is a steam- 
 engine. The wood to be cut is laid on the cross-bars of a 
 frame, which are previously covered with glue, and re- 
 mains in a horizontal position, loaded with heavy weights, 
 till the glue has become dry. The frame, with the log, or 
 flitch , as it is technically called, adhering to it, is then 
 fixed sideways in a carriage which traverses backwards 
 and forwards, the frame itself being likewise capable of 
 motion at right angles to the run of the carriage, in order 
 to project the log sufficiently to bring it within the action 
 of the saw. The quantity of the latter motion is regulated 
 by a screw, one turn of which throws forward the frame, 
 and, consequently, the log, about °f an inch. The 
 saw being put in motion, the workman first turns the 
 regulating screw more or less, according to the required 
 thickness of the veneer ; he then, by pulling a lever, 
 throws the apparatus into gear, which gives motion to the 
 carriage, and takes his seat by the inner, or convex, side 
 of the saw. As soon as the log comes up to the saw, he 
 directs the head of the veneer into a curved frame, which 
 it readily enters, on account of its flexibility, being so very 
 thin, and then employs himself in holding in each hand 
 a chip of wood obliquely against the teeth of the screw, 
 in order to clear them of the particles of sawdust which 
 otherwise would more or less clog them up. In a minute 
 or two the log has passed the saw, the motion of the 
 carriage is reversed, and it is brought back to the point 
 from which it first started. Being then thrown out of 
 gear, the regulating screw is again turned, to project the 
 log as much as the intended thickness of the next veneer ; 
 and then all those motions are repeated which I have 
 
ON ORNAMENTAL WOODS. 
 
 169 
 
 already described. The usual thickness of a veneer is 
 about of an inch ; but some kinds of wood may be cut 
 as thin as about T V of an inch. About half the wood is 
 converted into sawdust. 
 
 Of the fine saws employed at these mills, the largest 
 is eighteen feet in diameter, and makes thirty revolutions 
 in a minute. Three are each ten feet in diameter, with a 
 speed of about sixty revolutions in a minute ; the small 
 saw is six feet in diameter, with a speed of eighty revolu- 
 tions in a minute, which is sometimes increased to one 
 hundred, or even one hundred and twenty revolutions. 
 The teeth of the saws are nearly a quarter of an inch 
 deep. A saw lasts about a year ; for the first six months 
 it is employed in coarse work, and afterwards, till worn 
 out, in fine work. 
 
 The veneer is necessarily split, for an inch or two at 
 its head, in getting it on the curved frame j and as it is 
 likewise liable to split in drying, a thin strip of linen 
 is glued along the two cross edges of each veneer, which 
 prevents this accident : the holes, at least those of an inch 
 or more across, are also covered in the same manner. 
 
 The general method of laying down veneers is very 
 simple, although to do this well and correctly requires, 
 as every thing else does, practice, attention, and patience. 
 The under side of the veneer, if previously smooth, must 
 be scored by means of a toothing-plane ; but if cut by a 
 circular saw, it generally acquires a sufficient tooth by 
 that operation. The surface to be veneered is covered 
 over with strong glue, and before it chills or gelatinizes, 
 the veneer, previously prepared and cut to the shape 
 required, is laid down upon it, care being taken, in doing 
 so, to inclose as little air as possible. When it has been 
 pressed down to its proper bearing in every part, the 
 
170 ON ORNAMENTAL WOODS. ^ 
 
 compound piece is enclosed between two Hot boards, 
 secured at the edges by thumb -screws, or, which is still 
 better, is put into a press between two hot plates, where 
 it remains till perfectly dry. 
 
 The next process is to give a smooth surface to the 
 veneer, which is effected by first filling up any holes by 
 plugs of the same kind of wood cut to fit them, or by 
 making a paste of fine sawdust and glue, and pressing 
 it into the holes by hand, and then by the successive use 
 of small planes, scrapers, files, glass-paper, Dutch rushes, 
 and fish-skin. Lastly, a varnish is added, which has the 
 effect of bringing up the colour and lustre of the wood, 
 and protecting it from the action of the air. If the 
 colour of the wood is itself unexceptionable, the varnish 
 should be as colourless as possible ; but if a little mellow- 
 ness or warmth is required, a varnish coloured accord- 
 ingly must be applied. The so-called French varnish 
 has within the last few years almost entirely superseded 
 the oil varnishes, as being more quickly applied, pos- 
 sessing more lustre and hardness, being much less liable 
 to be injured by any common liquid spilled upon it, and 
 not requiring to be renewed or refreshed except at long 
 intervals. It is made by dissolving lac in "spirits of wine, 
 and then shaking it up with olive-oil to the consistence 
 of an emulsion, in which state it must be used. It is 
 fixed on the surface of the wood by means of a linen 
 rubber, applied with a circular or spiral motion. 
 
439 
 
 List of Indian Woods collected by N. WALLICH, M.D. 
 F.R.S., Corresponding Member of the Royal Institute 
 of France, and the Academy of Sciences at Berlin, fyc, 
 and of the Society of Arts of London ; Superintendent 
 of the Botanic Garden at Calcutta. 
 
 Dr. Wallich was sent by the Governor-General of India 
 on several botanical missions, especially in 1820-1, to 
 Nipal, a hilly country situated between the lower part 
 of the valley of the Ganges and the Himalaya moun- 
 tains, and to the Burmese territory in 1826-7. On each 
 of these expeditions he collected specimens of the native 
 woods, which were sent to England, and deposited at 
 the India House. To these were likewise added some 
 that had been grown in the Botanic Garden of Calcutta. 
 On the arrival of Dr. Wallich himself in England, I had 
 the pleasure of forming a personal acquaintance with him, 
 having before occasionally corresponded with him respect- 
 ing various Indian products that at different times he had 
 sent to the Society of Arts. 
 
 Under an apprehension that the arrangement and de- 
 scription of the vast botanical collection brought over by 
 him, would occupy the whole of his granted time of 
 absence from Calcutta, he suggested that his collection 
 of woods should be transferred to the Society of Arts 
 for arrangement and examination. This plan having been 
 sanctioned by the Court of Directors of the East India 
 Company, between four and five hundred specimens were 
 placed in our possession. Here they were examined, and 
 were cut up into three or four sets of specimens more or 
 less complete. Some of them were found to be worm- 
 eaten ; and several of those from Nipal being only portions 
 of small branches, are not in a state very favourable for 
 
440 
 
 CATALOGUE OF INDIAN WOODS. 
 
 shewing the qualities of wood with reference to its value 
 as timber. Their native names, and the scientific ones 
 of those that have any, as well as the uses to which they 
 are applied by the people of the countries where they 
 grow, were supplied by Dr. Wallich, partly from his own 
 observation, and partly from a catalogue of Burmese 
 woods collected in 1827 by A. Maingy, Esq., and pre- 
 sented by him to Dr. Wallich. Some notices have like- 
 wise been obtained from a catalogue of woods sent by 
 Dr. Francis Hamilton (late Buchanan), from Gualpara 
 in Assam, on the Burrampooter, and which were put 
 into the hands of Mr. James Kyd, master builder to 
 the Hon. East India Company at Calcutta, for examina- 
 tion. These notices are distinguished by the letters 
 Ham., though some of Dr. Wallich's are intermixed with 
 them. The observations on the structure of some of the 
 woods from Nipal were made by myself, and relate chiefly 
 to the longitudinal fibre, to the medullary rays, to the 
 longitudinal tubes, and to the annual layers. For some 
 practical observations the Society is indebted to the car- 
 penter employed in cutting up the specimens. 
 
 Appended to the catalogue are two valuable tables of 
 experiments on the strength of some of the most import- 
 ant kinds of Indian timber, made by Mr. Kyd, at Cal- 
 cutta, and by Major H. Campbell, in the gun-carriage 
 manufactory at Cassipur, near Calcutta, 
 
 A. Aikin, Sec. 
 
CATALOGUE OF INDIAN WOODS. 
 
 1 Acacia mollis, fr. Nipal. 
 
 A large tree : wood yellowish white, shining, coarse, rather soft 
 
 Sp.* 2 inch. diam. Fibres and rays of the same colour, the latter very 
 distinct : tubes large. 
 
 2 Acacia fragrans, fr. Nipal. 
 
 A large tree. — Sp. 2 inch. diam. Wood glossy, coarse : a bad 
 specimen. 
 
 3 Acacia. Joolchumahl, N.f fr. Nipal. 
 
 Tree very large : wood excellent for chests and boxes. 
 
 4 Acacia. Popeeah, B.J fr. Tavoy. 
 
 A very large tree : the wood used for posts, bows, and rollers for 
 ginning cotton. 
 
 5 Acacia. Paingadoo, fr. Tavoy. 
 
 6 Acacia odoratissima. Jatikorai, fr. Gualpara.|| 
 
 Trunk very lofty, but not straight ; often 6 feet in girth : wood 
 hard, and used in furniture — Ham. 
 
 7 Acacia marginata. Korui, fr. Gualpara. 
 
 5 cubits in girth. Makes good planks. — Ham. 
 
 8 Acer lsevigatum. Suslendi, N. Cherouni, P.§ fr. Nipal. 
 
 30 to 40 feet high : 3 to 4 inches in diameter ; of slow growth ; 
 
 used for rafters, beams, and other building purposes Sp. 3*5 inches 
 
 in diam. Wood varied brown and cream colour, with a wavy lustre. 
 
 9 Acer sterculiaceum, fr. Nipal. 
 
 A very large tree, 3 feet in diameter. — Sp. 3*5 incb. diam. Wood 
 light : fibre pale cream colour, with considerable lustre : rays in dis- 
 tinct brown ribands : tubes large, giving a coarse appearance to the 
 wood. 
 
 * Sp. the individual specimen examined. 
 
 f N. Newar, the language of the Hindoo conquerors of Nipal. 
 X B. The Burmese language. 
 
 || The Gualpara specimens are not as yet in the Society's possession. 
 § Parbuttea, the language of the natives of Nipal. 
 
442 
 
 CATALOGUE OF INDIAN WOODS. 
 
 10 Acer oblongum, fr. Nipal. 
 
 A very large tree. Wood moderately hard and compact Sp. fibre 
 
 cream brown, with considerable lustre : rays in narrow ribands of a 
 flesh colour : tubes small. 
 
 11 Adamia cyanea. Bansook, P. and N. fr. Nipal. 
 
 Wood pale coloured, not used. 
 
 Aggur. See Aquilaria. 
 
 Ain, ) „ _. 
 
 > See Dipterocarpus. 
 Aintha. ) r r 
 
 12 Ahnaun, fr. Tavoy. 
 
 3 to 6 fathoms long ; 12 to 15 inches diameter. Yields good crooked 
 timber, the strongest and most durable of any in Tavoy ; used for 
 anchors to the largest boats. 
 
 Alesi. See Justicia. 
 
 13 Alnus nepalensis, fr. Nipal. 
 
 Wood as firm as English birch, and of a deeper colour ; very hard, 
 and difficult to cut ; lustre considerable — Sp. 5 inch, diam., 20 layers 
 in 1*7 inch (but in another specimen 5 layers in 1*8 inch). Heart 
 pale brownish red : fibre glossy : rays reddish brown, very distinct. 
 Bark fibrous, rather thick, composed of many thin laminae. 
 
 14 Alstonia (Echites) scholaris. Chatiyan, fr. Gualpara. 
 
 A beautiful tree, often 3 cubits in girth, used for coarse furniture. 
 — Ham. 
 
 15 Alstonia antidysenterica (Nerium antidys.). Dudkhuri, fr. 
 
 Gualpara. 
 
 A large tree, often 3 cubits in circumference. Is considered a 
 powerful medicine. Beads are made of it, to be worn round the neck. 
 — Ham. 
 
 Amari. See Guarea. 
 
 16 Anacardium latifolium. Bhela, fr. Gualpara. 
 
 Grows to a good size ; used for making chests and couches. — Ham. 
 
 17 Anacardium? Thubbamboo, B. fr. Tavoy. 
 
 A large tree, used in boat-building. 
 
 18 Andrachne trifoliata. Uriam, fr. Gualpara. 
 
 3 cubits in girth, used for coarse furniture — Ham. 
 
 19 Andromeda ovalifolia. Angaree, P.; Juggoochal, N. ; fr. Nipal. 
 
 Grows 1 or 2 feet in diameter : wood soft and spongy, used 
 
 for fuel Sp. wood moderately hard, compact, reddish brown, with 
 
 some lustre. Bark with layers of stringy fibres. 
 
CATALOGUE OF INDIAN WOODS. 
 
 443 
 
 20 Andromeda fbrmosa. Sheaboge, N. fr. Nipal. 
 
 A tree of considerable size Sp. 4*5 inch. diam. : wood pale brown, 
 
 fine grained, moderately hard ; rays very distinct in the outer layers. 
 
 21 Andromeda cordata, fr. Nipal. 
 
 Sp. 4-5 inch. diam. : wood brown, nearly dull ; rays distinct : bark 
 flaky, not at all stringy. 
 
 22 Andromeda, fr. Nipal. 
 
 23 Andromeda, fr. Nipal. 
 Angaree. See Andromeda. 
 Anjoo. See Jasminum. 
 Annah-beng. See Fagrsea. 
 Antheel. See Ludia. 
 
 24 Antidesma. Boro-helock, fr. Gualpara. 
 
 Grows in the mountains ; 6 feet in girth ; the wood used for fur- 
 niture — Ham. 
 
 25 Aquilaria agallochum. Aggur and Langchi, fr. Gualpara. 
 
 Attains a great size in the low-lands of Assam, and on the lower 
 hills of Gualpara ; but in these situations the wood is white, and in no 
 estimation. In the Garo mountains certain parts of the heart of the 
 wood become of a dark-brown colour, and are strongly impregnated 
 with a highly scented oil. When in this state it is usually called 
 Eagle-wood. — Ham. 
 
 26 Aralia digitata. Leesaong, N. fr. Nipal. 
 
 A rambling shrub. 
 
 27 Aralia nodosa, fr. Nipal. 
 
 Sp. small, imperfect, and worm-eaten. 
 
 28 Aralia, v. Panax, fr. Nipal. 
 
 Said to be excellent wood ; used for boxes and other articles. Sp. 
 4*5 inch. diam. ; light coloured, rather soft. 
 
 Aroo. See Prunus. 
 
 29 Artocarpus. Thounben or Thoun-pine, B. fr. Tavoy. 
 
 A large tree ; used in boat-building. It produces a sort of caout- 
 chouc, with which the Burmese pay their boats. 
 
 30 Artocarpus, fr. Tavoy. 
 
 A large tree. 
 
 31 Artocarpus. Pynyathe or Tanabeng, B. fr. Tavoy. 
 
 Wood not used. 
 
444 
 
 CATALOGUE OF INDIAN WOODS. 
 
 32 Artocarpus Chama. Kangtali chama, fr. Gualpara. 
 
 The glory of the forests of Gorakpur, where it attains a very great 
 size : used for canoes, for which it is well fitted, being both very buoy- 
 ant and durable in the water. — Ham. 
 
 33 Bah-nah-thoa (probably the same as Laurus Panatha of 
 
 this Catalogue), fr. Tavoy. 
 Timber 4 to 6 fathoms long : 15 to 24 inches in diameter : used in 
 boat and house-building. 
 
 Bajarmandi. See Fagrsea. 
 Bakhalpani. See Ficus. 
 Bakuri. See Bauhinia. 
 Banatha. See Laurus. 
 Bancha. See Ligustrum. 
 
 34 Bauhinia Tucra. Tukra, fr. Gualpara. 
 
 A close-grained, soft, tough wood, of a yellow colour — Ham. 
 
 35 Bauhinia Bacuria. Bakuri, fr. Gualpara. 
 
 An open-grained, soft, tough wood ; 3 cubits in girth : used for 
 furniture. — Ham. 
 
 36 Bauhinia. Koila, P. fr. Nipal. 
 
 The flower-buds are eaten in curries. 
 
 37 Bauhinia, fr. Nipal. 
 
 A large tree. 
 
 38 Berberis pinnatifolia. Milkissee, N.; Jumne-munda, P.; fr. 
 
 Nipal. 
 
 Rarely exceeding a foot in diameter. — Sp. 5 inch. diam. : wood 
 strong, close, compact, yellow. 
 
 39 Berberis asiatica. Matekissee, N. ; Chitra, P. ; fr. Nipal. 
 
 Wood small — Sp. rays rather large, distinct ; layers 12 in 1-5 inch. : 
 wood tough, compact, greenish yellow. 
 Bhela. See Anacardium. 
 
 40 Betula leptostachya, fr. Nipal. 
 
 Wood not to be distinguished from English birch — Sp. 2-8 inch, 
 diam. ; 3 layers ; rays in numerous, straight, narrow, parallel, ri- 
 bands ; bark thin, smooth, spotted like common alder. 
 
 41 Betula cylindrostachya, fr. Nipal. 
 
 Sp. 4*5 inch. diam. ; wood shaky, of no value ; layers not distinct 
 enough to be counted ; fibre white, glossy ; rays dark nut-brown, in 
 very distinct, narrow ribands; bark thick, tubercular. 
 
CATALOGUE OF INDIAN WOODS. 
 
 445 
 
 42 Betula Bhojpattra, N. fr. Nipal. 
 
 Sp. 5*8 inch. diam. ; about 20 layers ; wood moderately hard and 
 compact ; cuticle used for writing on, and also for covering the inside 
 of the tube of the hookah and kalioun. 
 
 Bhaleo. See Rhus. 
 
 43 Bheza Moya. Moj, fr. Gualpara. 
 
 A close-grained hard wood — Ham. 
 Bhoea. See Conyza. 
 Bhoelasi. See Salix. 
 Bhongyena. See Decadia. 
 Bhosee. See Salix. 
 Bhojpattra. See Betula. 
 
 44 Bignonia Colais. Kolai Beng. Parijat, fr. Gualpara. 
 
 Often 5 cubits in girth ; used only for fire-wood — Ham. 
 
 45 Bignonia, fr. the higher parts of the Saluen river in Nipal. 
 
 46 Bignonia. Thathee, B. fr. Tavoy. 
 
 A very large tree. 
 
 47 Bignonia ? Thuggainee, B. fr. Tavoy. 
 
 A large tree, used in house-building. 
 
 48 Bignonia. Lainbha, B. fr. Tavoy. 
 
 A middle-sized tree. 
 
 49 Bignonia chelonoides, fr. Nipal. 
 
 A large tree. 
 
 Billae. See Ligustrum. 
 Bireesee. See Myrsine. 
 
 50 Birouni, P. Kurauni, N. fr. Nipal. 
 
 Stem 6 to 8 inches in diameter. 
 Bojhinsi. See Coriaria. 
 Bonjam. See Gardenia. 
 Bonkapash. See Hibiscus. 
 Boro-belock. See Antidesma. 
 Borogotadhara. See Guarea. 
 Boropatiya. See Elseocarpus. 
 Bosuniyapoma. See Guarea. 
 
 51 Briedelia stipularis. Kohi, fr. Gualpara. 
 
 Grows to a large size ; wood close, hard, tough ; used for chests, 
 stools, &c — Ham. 
 
446 
 
 CATALOGUE OF INDIAN WOODS. 
 
 52 Briedelia? fr. Nipal. 
 
 Wood not very hard, but fine-grained, and fit for ornamental 
 cabinet-work. — Sp. 2*5 inch. diam. ; colour lighter than box: no 
 tubes nor rays visible. 
 
 53 Brucea napalensis, fr. Nipal. 
 Bukkiamela. See Rhus. 
 
 54 Buddleia paniculata. Narum- pattee, P. ; Sinna, N. ; fr. 
 
 Nipal. 
 
 Sp. 1*6 inch. diam. ; rays very indistinct ; wood pale brown, dull. 
 Bukaena. See Melia. 
 Bulsima. See Symplocos. 
 Bunamb. See Sphserocaria. 
 Bunaroo. See Quercus. 
 Bundhali. See Gardenia. 
 
 55 Butea frondosa. Polash, fr. Gualpara. 
 
 Sometimes 6 feet in girth ; wood open, soft, and tough, but not 
 strong ; used in coarse furniture. — Ham. 
 
 56 Csesalpinia? fr. Nipal. 
 
 57 Ceesalpinia Sappan. Sappan-wood. 
 
 A native both of the peninsula of India, of the Burmese country, 
 and of the Malayan Islands. A large and valuable tree ; the wood red ; 
 used in dying. 
 
 58 Calophyllum. Thurappe, B. ; Choopee, N. ; fr. Martaban. 
 
 A large tree, used for masts and spars, and for pestles for oil presses. 
 
 59 Calophyllum. Turra-phee, B. fr. Tavoy. 
 
 Very different from the preceding ; used for masts and spars. 
 
 60 Callicarpa arborea. Khoja, fr. Gualpara. 
 
 6 feet in girth ; used for mortars, pestles, and common furniture. — 
 Ham. 
 
 61 Calyptranthes. Jam, fr. Gualpara. 
 
 8 feet in girth ; made into planks, but not considered as of good 
 quality — Ham. 
 
 62 Calyptranthes. Saljam, fr. Gualpara. 
 
 Seldom more than 3 cubits in girth. A close, hard, tough wood, 
 used for posts, beams, and planks. — Ham. 
 
 63 Camellia Kissi. Kissi, fr. Nipal. 
 
 Wood close grained ; no sapwood. — Sp. 1 r 5 inch. diam. ; wood pale 
 brown ; bark very thin. 
 
CATALOGUE OF INDIAN WOODS. 
 
 447 
 
 64 Capparis, fr. Nipal. 
 
 Sp. 2 inch. diam. ; wood white, moderately hard, dull. 
 
 65 Capparis, fr. Nipal. 
 
 66 Carapa. Taila-oon, B. fr. Tavoy. 
 
 Timber 13 to 15 cubits long, 15 to 18 inch. diam. ; used in house- 
 building. 
 
 67 Careya. Kaza, B. fr. Martaban and Tavoy. 
 
 Timber of large size ; used for posts and other common purposes. 
 
 68 Careya. Kombo, fr. Gualpara. 
 
 About 3 cubits in girth ; wood close, hard, tough, and strong. 
 Stocks of matchlocks are made of it Ham. 
 
 69 Carpinus viminea. Chukisse, N. ; Konikath, B. ; fr. Nipal. 
 
 Wood esteemed by carpenters. Sp. pale purplish, with little lustre, 
 hard, rather heavy ; tubes small. 
 
 70 Cassia Fistula. Sonalu, fr. Gualpara. 
 
 6 feet in girth; an open, hard, tough wood, used for ploughs. — 
 Ham. 
 
 71 Cassia nodosa, fr. Bot. G.* 
 
 A very large tree. 
 
 72 Castanea tribuloides. Cotoor and Chisee ; also Makoo 
 
 Shingali, N. (Shingali is the general name for oak 
 
 and chestnut.) Fr. Nipal. 
 Used for large mortars and pestles for grinding grain in ; becomes 
 brown by steeping in water; wood hard and heavy — Sp. rays like 
 English oak ; that is, every 5th or 6th much larger than the others. 
 Another specimen, said to be of the same species, wants the large rays. 
 
 73 Castanea martabanica. Nome and Zitha, B. fr. Tavoy. 
 
 74 Castanea. Golsinggur, fr. Gualpara. 
 
 Branched prickles on the cup of the fruit ; leaves entire ; timber 
 excellent, close, hard, and tough — Ham. 
 
 75 Castanea. Nikari, fr. Gualpara. 
 
 Oak or chestnut ; cup covered with strong prickles ; leaves notched ; 
 5 cubits in girth ; timber close, hard, tough ; used for furniture and 
 canoes. — Ham. 
 
 76 Castanea. Kangta Singgur, fr. Gualpara. 
 
 Not exceeding 3 feet in girth ; inferior in strength and toughness 
 to the preceding. — Ham. 
 
 * Bot. G., the Company's Botanic Garden at Calcutta. 
 
448 
 
 CATALOGUE OF INDIAN WOODS. 
 
 77 Cedrela hexandra. Toon-wood, fr. Nipal. 
 
 Sp. the wood has a great general resemblance to Lauras ; the outer 
 layers have white glossy fibres, with very distinct brown rays ; the inner 
 layers are brownish red, harder, and more compact : bark with white 
 fibres. 
 
 78 Cedrela Toona. Toon or Tungd ; Poma ; Jeea ; fr. Gualpara. 
 
 5 cubits in girth ; a close, hard, but rather brittle wood, of a brown 
 red colour ; very durable, and esteemed for furniture. It has an agree- 
 able smell — Ham. The wood, under the name of Toon, is extensively 
 used among the Europeans in Portugal for chairs and other furniture. 
 
 79 Celastrus, fr. Nipal. 
 
 An enormous climber — Sp. trunk deeply channelled externally ; 
 wood light, reddish brown ; tubes large and numerous ; rays deep and 
 very distinct, but of the same colour as the rest of the wood ; bark, 
 outer, orange yellow ; inner, deep brown. 
 
 80 Celastrus verticillata, fr. Nipal. 
 
 A small tree. 
 
 81 Celastrus? fr. Nipal. 
 
 Sp. 1*8 inch. diam. ; wood rather soft, very fine grained ; tubes and 
 rays very indistinct ; inner bark nearly black ; approaches in most of 
 its characters to Turpinia. 
 
 82 Celtis australis, fr. Bot. G. , 
 
 83 Celtis. Khori, P. ; Koosikma, N. ; fr. NipaK 
 
 84 Cerasus Puddum. Nipal cherry, fr. Nipal. 
 
 Sp. 3*5 inch diam. 14 layers: rays reddish brown, distinct; wood 
 rather soft, with some lustre. 
 
 85 Cerbera Manghas. Kullooa, B. fr. Tavoy. 
 
 From the fruit (probably the kernels) an oil is drawn with which 
 the Burmese anoint their hair. Wood not used. 
 Chacrosila. See Elseocarpus. 
 Chalita. See Dillenia. 
 
 86 Chamserops Martiona, Wall. Nipal palm, fr. Nipal. 
 
 87 Champa, white, fr. Nipal. 
 
 Sp. part of a plank: a free- working wood, soft and light like deal: 
 fibre wavy, white, and very glossy : rays shallow and slender : layers 
 very distinct, 32 in 4 5 inches. Compare Michelia. 
 Chabsee. See Michelia. 
 Chasehoo. See Laurus. 
 Chat'*yan. See Alstonia. 
 Cheriala. See Rhododendron. 
 
CATALOGUE OF INDIAN WOODS. 
 
 449 
 
 Cherouni. See Acer. 
 Chickooni. See Eurya. 
 Chillounea. See Gordonia. 
 Chitra. See Berberis. 
 Choopee. See Calophyllum. 
 Choo-kha. See Pongamia. 
 Choo-mulloo. See Diospyros. 
 Choo-muna. See Xanthoxylon. 
 Choopee. See Calophyllum. 
 
 88 Choorosi, N. fr. Nipal. 
 
 A very fine sort of wood, said to come from the north. I only 
 knew it from having a walking-stick of it, which was presented to me 
 by the Vice-regent of Nipal. 
 Chose. See Rhus. 
 
 89 Chaulmoogra odorata, Roxb. fr. Bot. G. 
 
 A very large tree. 
 
 90 Chotagotadhora, Bengal, fr. Gualpara. 
 Chukisse. See Carpinus. 
 
 Chusee. See Elseagnus. 
 
 91 Chrysophyllum acuminatum, Roxb. Pithogarkh, fr. Gualpara. 
 
 3 cubits in girth ; wood white, tough, used in furniture. — Ham. 
 
 92 Chung, fr. Gualpara. 
 
 Perhaps a species of Chilmoria. It grows very large, and affords a 
 close tough wood used in furniture — Ham. 
 
 93 Cinchona gratissima, Wall. Tungnusi, N. and P. fr. Nipal. 
 
 A native also of the mountains in Bengal, where it is called Usokuli : 
 used in Nipal for posts and rafters — Sp. wood brown, light, coarse- 
 grained : bark with many compressed coarse fibres. 
 
 94 Clerodendron phlomoides, fr. Bot. G. 
 
 95 Coccoloba uvifera, fr. Bot. G. 
 
 96 Conyza candicans, Wall. Phusrae, P. ; Bhoea, N. ; fr. Nipal. 
 
 97 Cordia Myxa? fr. Nipal. 
 
 A large tree. 
 
 98 Coriaria nepalensis. Bhojhinsi, N. fr. Nipal. 
 
 The fruit is eaten : trunk 4 or 5 inches in diam. Wood not used. 
 
 99 Cornus oblonga, Wall. Easee, N. and P. fr. Nipal. 
 
 A tree of middle size Sp. 3 inch. diam. Wood fine-grained, 
 
 rather hard : fibre white and shining : rays very numerous, reddish 
 brown. 
 
 VOL. XLV1II. 2 G 
 
450 
 
 CATALOGUE OF INDIAN 
 
 WOODS. 
 
 100 Cornus capitata, Roxb. fr. Nipal. 
 
 Grows sometimes to a great size. Wood very hard. 
 
 101 Corylus ferox, Wall. fr. Nipal. 
 
 Grows at the top of Sheopore, one of the highest mountains in 
 Nipal ; flowers in September, and produces fruit in December : shell 
 of the nut hard and thick. A tree 20 feet high, 2 feet in girth : wood 
 light, compact. 
 
 102 Cotoneaster affinis, Lindl. fr. Nipal. 
 
 103 Cotoneaster? obovata, Wall. fr. Nipal. 
 Catoor. See Castanea. 
 
 104 Cou-moo, fr. Tavoy. 
 
 Timber 5 to 10 fathoms long ; 20 to 30 inches in girth : used in 
 boat and house building : not much inferior to Hopsea. 
 
 105 Crataegus arbutiflora. Rooes, N. fr. Nipal. 
 
 A small tree, or rather shrub ; wood exceedingly strong : used 
 for walking-sticks. 
 
 106 Croton oblongifolium, Roxb. Parokupi, fr. Gualpara. 
 
 5 cubits in girth ; a close-grained but rather brittle wood ; used 
 for coarse furniture Ham. 
 
 107 Croton. J/alpatuja, fr. Gualpara. 
 
 3 cubits in girth ; a hard close-grained wood, used for small canoes. 
 Cusroo. See Quercus. 
 
 108 Cyathea spinulosa. Fern-tree, fr. Nipal. 
 
 109 Cynometra. Maingga, B. fr. Martaban. 
 
 A small tree. 
 
 Daine-oksi. See Dillenia. 
 
 110 Dalbergia Momsita, Ham. Momsita, fr. Gualpara. 
 
 Attains a considerable size : wood close, hard, and tough ; used in 
 coarse furniture — Ham. 
 
 111 Dalbergia (Rangoon Sissoo), fr. Rangoon, Ham. 
 
 112 Dalbergia, fr. Nipal. 
 
 113 Daphne Gardneri, Wall. fr. Nipal. 
 
 W ood not used. Bark used for paper stuff — Sp. 3'75 inch. diam. ; 
 wood light, soft, coarse, of a gray colour, with little lustre; bark finely 
 fibrous. 
 
 114 Daphne cannabina. Loureir, fr. Nipal. 
 
 A shrub, from 6 to 8 feet high ; grows on the most exposed parts 
 of the snowy mountains of Nipal. Paper made of the bark is strong, 
 tough, not liable to crack, nor to be eaten by the white ant or other 
 insects. 
 
CATALOGUE OF INDIAN WOODS. 
 
 451 
 
 115 Decadia spicata. Bongyera, fr. Gualpara. 
 
 3 cubits in girth. A close, hard, tough wood, used by carpenters. 
 — Ham. 
 
 Deodae. See Ficus. 
 Dheyri. See Taxus. 
 Dhoree. See Gualtheria. 
 
 116 Dillenia. Zimboon, B. fr. Tavoy. 
 
 Timber 3 to 5 fathoms long, 8 to 10 inches diameter. Wood used 
 in house-building ; it also affords small crooked timbers for boats. 
 
 117 Dillenia pilosa, Roxb. Daine-oksi, fr. Gualpara. 
 
 Trunk 6 feet in girth. Wood open, but hard and tough ; used 
 for canoes — Ham. 
 
 118 Dillenia pentagyna. Oksi, fr. Gualpara. 
 
 Wood closer, but in other respects very like the preceding — Ham. 
 
 119 Dillenia speciosa. Chalita, fr. Gualpara. 
 
 6 feet in girth. Wood close and hard, but rather brittle. 
 
 120 Diospyros. Tendoo, N. fr. Nipal. 
 
 121 Diospyros? Ryamucha, B. ; Choomulloo, T. ; fr. Martaban. 
 
 Wood used in house-building. 
 
 122 Dipterocarpus grandiflora, Wall. Ain or Aintha, B. fr. 
 
 Martaban, on the banks of the Atran; also from 
 Tavoy. 
 
 A stupendous tree : one of those which yield Wood-oil and Dammar. 
 
 123 Dipterocarpus. Kunnean-phew, B. fr. Tavoy. 
 
 5 to 8 fathoms long; 18 to 24 inches in diameter; grows 'to a 
 great size ; used for beams and planks. 
 
 Doduan. See Smilax. 
 
 124 Dubdubia (see Rhus), fr. Nipal. 
 
 Sp. 4*2 inch. diam. ; layers 10; rays distinct; tubes few, rather 
 large. Wood very white, light, and soft. Bark thin. 
 
 Dudkuri. See Alstonia. 
 
 Eandorkomul-soong. See Gardenia. 
 Earansa. See Eurya. 
 Easee. See Cornus and Rubus. 
 Eea. See Loranthus. 
 
452 
 
 CATALOGUE OF INDIAN WOODS. 
 
 125 Ehretia serrata, Roxb. Nalshima, N. fr. Nipal ; also fr. 
 
 Gualpara. 
 
 5 cubits in girth; gives planks from 12 to 18 inches wide ; wood 
 soft and open-grained, but rather tough ; not durable ; used for posts 
 and other common purposes. 
 
 126 Ehretia serrata, or macrophylla. Poegulsee, N. fr. Nipal. 
 
 Sp. 3 inch. diam. ; layers 10 ; tubes few and small ; rays distinct ; 
 wood white, moderately shining, soft. 
 
 127 Ehretia lsevis, fr. Bot. G. 
 
 128 Ekebergia. Jiyakohi, fr. Gualpara. 
 
 5 cubits in girth ; wood like mahogany, very durable, and much 
 esteemed. 
 
 129 Elseagnus, fr. Nipal. 
 
 Wood similar to, but whiter than, common hawthorn. — Sp. 4 inch, 
 diam. ; layers 27 in 1*7 inch : neither tubes nor rays visible in the 
 cross section : bark thin. 
 
 130 Eleeagnus. Chusee, N. fr. Nipal. 
 
 131 Elseocarpus. Boropatiya, fr. Gualpara. 
 
 A close hard wood, of good size, used for canoes. — Ham. 
 
 132 Elseocarpus Chacrosila, Ham. fr. Gualpara. 
 
 A close hard wood, used for mortars, chests, &c. — Ham. 
 
 133 Elseocarpus. Thaumagee, T. fr. Martaban. 
 
 Timber very large, used for masts and posts for houses. 
 
 134 Embelia, fr. Nipal. 
 
 Sp. very imperfect. 
 
 135 Eriobotyria elliptica. Mihul, P. and N. fr. Nipal. 
 
 Wood cinnamon-brown, hard, compact, and reckoned good Sp. 7 
 
 inch. diam. ; rings indistinct, about 26 in 3*1 inches ; tubes very small. 
 
 Esealoo. See Rubus. 
 
 136 Euonymus. Veysoor, N. ; Junghuree, P. ; fr. Nipal. 
 
 Grows large ; wood close-grained, not very hard, perhaps good for 
 carvers — Sp. rays and tubes scarcely visible: outer bark yellowish 
 gray. 
 
 137 Euonymus tingens. Kusoori, N. fr, Nipal. 
 
 Wood brown, compact, hard, very fine-grained, dull Sp. tubes 
 
 not visible ; rays small and indistinct : bark, outer, orange yellow ; 
 inner, brown with fine white fibres : the yellow bark is used for 
 painting the forehead. 
 
 138 Euonymus echinata, Wall. fr. Nipal. 
 
CATALOGUE OF INDIAN WOODS. 
 
 453 
 
 139 Euonymus pendula (japonica Tkunb.), fr. Nipal. 
 
 Sp. wood brown, moderately hard, fine-grained, dull ; tubes and 
 rays as E. tingens : outer bark yellowish in places ; inner, brown. 
 
 140 Euonymus, fr. Nipal. 
 
 Tall, but of a slender stem. 
 
 141 Euphorbiacea. Yamala, B. fr. Tavoy. 
 
 Wood used for frames of lacquered ware. 
 
 142 Eurya nepalensis. Jeegnee, P.; Earansea, N. ; fr. Nipal. 
 
 A small tree. — Sp. 5 inch. diam. 
 
 143 Eurya variabilis (probably the same as the preceding). 
 
 Chickouni, B. and N. fr. Nipal. 
 Grows large ; wood compact, fine-grained, cinnamon-brown ; good 
 for turnery ware. 
 
 144 Eurya? fr. Nipal. 
 
 Sp. 2-5 inch. diam. : tubes small ; rays distinct, red brown ; fibre 
 pale brown, with moderate lustre : wood reddish brown, fine-grained, 
 moderately hard. 
 
 145 Eurya. Thaun, B. fr. Tavoy. 
 
 A small tree, used only for fuel. 
 
 146 Excoecaria? Thurrotha, B. fr. Tavoy. 
 
 147 Fagara floribunda, fr. Nipal. 
 
 Sp. 2'2 inch. diam. : tubes many and large: wood coarse, and of 
 remarkably open grain, but more compact near the axis ; colour 
 brownish yellow, nearly dull. 
 
 148 Fagara, fr. Nipal. 
 
 149 Fagara Rhetza, Roxb. Bajarmondi, fr. Gualpara. 
 
 Wood close, hard, tough ; fit for the joiner. — Ham. 
 
 150 Fagraea fragrans, Roxb. Annah-beng, B. fr. Martaban. 
 
 Timber not large ; wood yellowish, compact, and beautiful, but 
 very hard, and on this account not much used by the Burmese. 
 
 151 Ficus. Doodae-kath, N. P. fr. Nipal. 
 
 Used for water-courses, drains, and gutters. — Sp. 4*5 inch. diam. ; 
 layers 63 in 2 inches ; wood soft, free-working, closer than deal ; 
 lustre considerable, satiny, 
 
 152 Ficus? Kaffrsea, P. ; Pillaksi, N. ; fr. Nipal. 
 
 Sp. 1*75 inch, diam.; layers about 50; rays brown, indistinct: 
 wood soft, light, of no use. 
 
 153 Ficus, fr. Nipal. , 
 
 Small specimen ; rays distinct ; wood soft, light. 
 
454 
 
 CATALOGUE OF INDIAN WOODS. 
 
 154 Ficus, fr. Nipal. 
 
 A climber. 
 
 155 Ficus, fr. Nipal. 
 
 A climber — Sp. rays nut-brown, strongly marked ; wood light, 
 not very soft, pale brown, with some lustre. 
 
 156 Ficus, fr. Nipal. 
 
 Sp. 4 inch. diam. ; rays brown, very distinct ; layers very many ; 
 wood moderately hard, with some lustre. 
 
 157 Ficus, fr. Nipal. 
 
 Sp. 2*4 inch. diam. ; rays brown, strongly marked ; layers very 
 indistinct ; tubes large, giving the wood a coarse grain : wood reddish 
 brown, rather hard. 
 
 158 Ficus, fr. Nipal. 
 
 A large tree.— Sp. 4*5 inch. diam. ; layers very numerous; wood 
 soft, worm-eaten. 
 
 159 Ficus. Thubboo, B. fr. Tavoy. 
 
 A middle-sized tree ; wood used in house-carpentry. 
 
 160 Ficus. Thuppan, B. fr. Tavoy. 
 
 A large tree ; wood not used. 
 
 161 Ficus undulata. Bakhalpani, fr. Gualpara. 
 
 6 cubits in girth ; makes good canoes ; wood open, soft, rather 
 tough. — Ham. 
 
 162 Ficus oppositifolia. Khoskadumer, fr. Gualpara. 
 
 3 cubits in girth ; wood open, soft, brittle. 
 
 163 Fraxinus floribunda. Lakkuree, N. fr. Nipal. 
 
 Sp. 17 layers in 2-1 inches; in colour, grain, and toughness, just 
 like English ash. 
 
 164 Freziera ochnoides, fr. Nipal. 
 
 A middle-sized tree ; wood pale brown, close-grained, and mo- 
 derately hard. — Sp. 2-5 inch, diam.; rays hardly distinguishable? 
 resembles pear-tree. 
 
 Gambhari. See Gmelina. 
 
 165 Garcinia. Pullowa, B. fr. Tavoy. 
 
 A large tree, used for posts, &c. 
 
 166 Garcinia paniculata, fr. Bot. G. 
 
 167 Gardenia florida. Eandorkomul-soang, N. fr. Nipal. 
 
 168 Gardenia, fr. Nipal. 
 
 Sp. wood cream-brown, fine-grained, hard, compact ; probably 
 useful for turnery ware. 
 
CATALOGUE OF INDIAN WOODS. 
 
 455 
 
 169 Gardenia. Bonjam, fr. Gualpara. 
 
 3 cubits in girth; well adapted for all kinds of turnery 
 ware. — Ham. 
 
 170 Gardenia. Bundhali, P. and N. fr. Nipal. 
 
 171 Gardenia latifolia, fr. Bot. G. 
 
 172 Gardenia lucida, fr. Bot. G. 
 
 173 Gastonia palmata, fr. Nipal. 
 Ghese. See Quercus. 
 Ghonas. See Rhododendron. 
 Ghorans. See Rhododendron. 
 Gillaephul. See Spondias. 
 
 174 Gmelina arborea. Gambhari, fr. Gualpara. 
 
 Wood light, but durable, does not warp, and is not readily attacked 
 by insects ; used for turnery ware of all kinds, and cylinders of a 
 proper size are turned very thin for drums : other musical instruments 
 are also made of it. 
 Goechassee. See Gordonia. 
 Golsinggur. See Castanea. 
 Gomulsee. See Quercus. 
 Gooki. See Symplocos. 
 Goonsi. See Podocarpus. 
 Goopor. See Pyrus. 
 
 175 Gordonia integrifolia. Chillounea, P.; Goechassee N. ; 
 
 fr. Nipal. 
 
 The bark contains white spiculae, that produce violent itching 
 when rubbed on the skin in their recent state. The Burmese have 
 a superstition, that one beam in a house should be made of this wood. 
 Wood brown, nearly dull, moderately hard and compact. 
 
 176 Gordonia? Kaza, B. fr. Martaban. 
 
 Large timber, used for ordinary building purposes. 
 
 Govorpongyata. See Guarea. 
 
 177 Grewia. Meaya, B. fr. Tavoy. 
 
 178 Gualtheria fragrantissima. Dhoree, N. ; Dhoseongree, P. ; 
 
 fr. Nipal. 
 
 179 Guarea, fr. Nipal. 
 
 Sp. 3-5 inch. diam. ; wood moderately hard, compact, pale reddish 
 brown. 
 
456 
 
 CATALOGUE OF INDIAN WOODS. 
 
 180 Guarea. Amari, fr. Gualpara. 
 
 5 cubits in girth ; wood close, hard, and tough ; used for 
 canoes. — Ham. 
 
 181 Guarea Gobara. Govorpongyota, fr. Gualpara. 
 
 Used for canoes — Ham. 
 
 182 Guarea Alliaria. Bosuniyapoma, fr. Gualpara. 
 
 Used for canoes — Ham. 
 
 183 Guarea Gotadhara. Borogotadara, fr. Gualpara. 
 
 5 feet in girth ; wood close and hard ; used by joiners.— Ham. 
 Guarnasi. See Rhus. 
 
 Hakoolual. See Limonia. 
 Harobaer. See Ziziphus. 
 
 184 Heritiera Fomes, Ham. (minor, Roxb.) Kunnazoo, B. 
 
 fr. Tavoy, Soondree of Bengal. 
 A very large tree ; wood exceedingly hard and durable ; used for 
 pestles for oil mills ; shafts of gigs, spokes, and naves, are made of it: 
 an excellent fuel for burning bricks : grows to a much greater size on 
 the Martaban coast than in Bengal. 
 
 185 Hibiscus macrophyllus, Roxb. fr. Tavoy. 
 
 A middle-sized tree, used for common building purposes ; bark 
 tough and stringy ; is made into cordage. 
 
 186 Hibiscus (perhaps a Sterculia), fr. Tavoy. 
 
 Applied to the same uses as the foregoing. 
 
 187 Hibiscus Lampas. Bonkapash, fr. Gualpara. 
 
 6 feet in girth ; a soft, open wood, used for coarse furni- 
 ture — Ham. 
 
 188 Holboellia (Stauntonia) latifolia. Bagul, T. fr. Nipal. 
 
 A vast climber. 
 
 189 Hopea odorata. Tengaun or Thaengong. Common on 
 
 the Tenasserim and Martaban coasts. 
 Canoes are made of this tree, which grows to an enormous size : 
 it also produces a valuable resin or dammar. 
 
 190 Hopea floribunda, Wall. Tantheya, fr. Tavoy. 
 
 A very large tree. 
 
 191 Hovenia dulcis, fr. Nipal. 
 
 A very large tree. — Sp. 3 inch. diam. ; layers 9 ; wood light, 
 coarse-grained. 
 
 192 Hydrangea altissima, fr. Nipal. 
 
 A climber. 
 
CATALOGUE OF INDIAN WOODS. 
 
 457 
 
 193 Hydrangea trigyna, Wall. fr. Nipal. 
 
 194 Hymenodictyon flaecidum, Roxb. fr. Nipal. 
 
 Sp. 1*125 inch. diam. ; wood dirty gray, nearly dull ; moderately 
 hard. 
 
 195 Ilex dipyrena, Wall. Karaput, P.; Munasi and Gulsima, 
 
 N. ; fr. Nipal. 
 
 Wood heavy, hard, fine-grained, and much like common holly, 
 said to become black with age ; used for various purposes of car- 
 pentry. — Sp. 3 inch. diam. ; tubes very small ; rays distinct. 
 
 196 Jambolifera pedunculata. Holhholi, fr. Gualpara. 
 
 3 cubits in girth ; used for stocks of matchlocks — Ham. 
 
 197 Jasminum arboreum. Anjoo, N. from Nipal. 
 
 Sp. 4 inch. diam. ; wood pale brown, nearly dull, fine-grained, 
 hard, compact. 
 
 198 Jasminum dispermum, fr. Nipal. 
 
 199 Jasminum chrysanthum, Roxb. fr. Nipal. 
 
 Sp. 1*8 inch. diam. ; neither tubes nor rays visible ; wood white, 
 fine-grained, moderately hard ; brittle, hard concretions in the bark. 
 
 Jeea. See Cedrela. 
 
 Jeegue. See Eurya. 
 
 Jhoori. See Osyris. 
 
 Jiyakoki. See Ekebergia. 
 
 Joolchumahl. See Acacia. 
 
 200 Joolshima, N. fr. Nipal. 
 Juggoochal. See Andromeda. 
 
 201 Juglans pterococca, Roxb. from Nipal. 
 
 An exceeding large tree Sp. 3-5 inch. diam. ; wood pale reddish 
 
 brown, with considerable lustre, but rather coarse-grained. 
 
 Julsi. See Rondeletia. 
 
 Jumnemandoo. See Berberis. 
 
 Junghurree. See Euonymus. 
 
 202 Juniperus excelsa, Bieb ? The Cedar of Himalaya. 
 
 Harder and less odorant than the West Indian cedar ; an excellent 
 light wood. 
 
 203 Justicia Adhatoda. Kath, P. ; Alesi, N. ; fr. Nipal. 
 
458 CATALOGUE OF INDIAN WOODS. 
 
 204 Kaantha, B. fr. Tavoy. 
 
 3 to 5 fathoms long, 12 to 15 inches in diameter. Yields a small 
 but valuable timber for oars and paddles. 
 Kadabusi. See Ziziphus. 
 Kaffrsea. See Ficus. 
 Kaintha-phogee. See Symplocos. 
 Kaizai. See Laurus. 
 
 205 Kalajiya, fr. Gualpara. 
 
 Common over all India ; remarkable for the facility with which 
 it grows from cuttings, and from truncheons ; yields much gum : 
 wood of no use. — Ham. 
 Kalikat. See Limonia. 
 Kalikath. See Symplocos. 
 Kalikaut. See Myrsine. 
 Kanaput. See Ilex. 
 Kangtali-chama. See Artocarpus. 
 Kangta-singgur. See Castanea. 
 Kath. See Justicia. 
 
 206 Kaunzo-Kurro, B. fr. Tavoy. 
 
 5 to 7 fath. long, 15 to 20 inch. diam. ; used in boat-building. See 
 also Meliacea. 
 Kayzai. See Laurus. 
 Kaza. See Careya and Gordon ia. 
 
 207 Keahnaun, B. fr. Tavoy. 
 
 15 to 20 feet long, 15 to 20 inch. diam. ; strong crooked timber, 
 used for musket-stocks. See also Xylocarpus. 
 Keannan. See Xylocarpus. 
 Kee-tha. See Syndesmis. 
 Keounlak. See Rottlera. 
 Keysoor. See Euonymus. 
 Kheemna. See Laurus. 
 
 208 Kheera, N. fr. Nipal. 
 
 An Euphorbiaceous tree, of no value. 
 Khori. See Celtis. 
 Khoskadumor. See Ficus. 
 Koila See Bauhinia. 
 Kohi. See Briedelia. 
 
CATALOGUE OF INDIAN WOODS. 
 
 459 
 
 Kolai. See Bignonia. 
 Kombo. See Careya. 
 Komkath. See Carpinus. 
 Kongeea. See Rondeletia. 
 Korui. See Acacia. 
 Kooathoe. See Myristica. 
 Koosikma. See Celtis. 
 
 209 Kuddoot- Alain, B. fr. Tavoy. 
 
 Grows to a great size ; used by house and boat-builders. 
 
 210 Kuddoot-nee, B. fr. Tavoy. 
 
 6 to 8 fath. long, 15 to 20 inch. diam. ; an inferior wood, used in 
 boat-building. 
 
 Kuenmoonee. See Lagerstroemia. 
 
 211 Kujulsee, P. and N. fr. Nipal. 
 
 Trunk 2 feet in diam. ; wood strong and durable ; used for door- 
 posts. 
 
 Kullooa. See Cerbera. 
 Kullowa. See Laurus. 
 
 212 Kummi,B. fr. Tavoy. 
 Kunna. See Pierardia. 
 Kunnazoo. See Heritiera. 
 Kunnean-phew. See Dipterocarpus. 
 Kunneen. See Myristica. 
 Kunneen-keunke. 1 „ 
 
 Kunneenee. See Sterculia. 
 Kurauni. See Birouni. 
 Kurrowa. See Laurus. 
 Kusoori. See Euonymus. 
 Kuzzo. See Pierardia. 
 Kyakle. See Quercus. 
 Kyamueha. See Diospyros. 
 
 Labtesee. See Panax and Rottlera. 
 213 Lagerstroemia. Kuenmounee or Peema, B. fr. Tavov. 
 Used in house-building, and for oars. 
 
460 
 
 CATALOGUE OF INDIAN WOODS. 
 
 214 Lagerstroemia parviflora, Roxb. Sida, fr. Gualpara. 
 
 A large tree, 6 feet in girth, and very common ; Avood close, hard, 
 and tough, forming excellent timber Ham. 
 
 215 Lagerstroemia Reginse. Jarul, fr. Gualpara. 
 
 6 feet in girth, used in boat-building ; but the wood is soft and 
 deficient in toughness — Ham. It is extensively used in Bengal under 
 the name of Jarul. — Wall. 
 
 Lakhurree. See Fraxinus. 
 
 Lalpatuja. See Croton. 
 
 Lambha. See Bignonia. 
 
 Langchi. See Aquilaria. 
 
 Latasishnoo. See Urtica. 
 
 216 Laurina. Tapahaw, N. fr. Nipal. 
 
 217 Laurus. Lumpatch, P.; Chasepoo, N. ; fr. Nipal. 
 
 4 to 6 feet in diam. ; wood soft and pale when young, hard and 
 pale red when older ; used in carpenter's work, and for beams. — Sp. 
 27 layers in 1*8 inches ; lustre considerable ; rays mostly distinct. 
 
 218 Laurus glandulifera. Sassafras and Camphor -wood of 
 
 Nipal, fr. Nipal. 
 
 Sp. fibre pale flesh colour, with considerable lustre ; rays small, 
 dark red-brown ; wood soft, coarse. 
 
 219 Laurus. Very like the preceding. Kullowa or Kurrowa, 
 
 B. fr. Tavoy. 
 
 Produces the sassafras-bark and camphor-wood of Martaban. 
 
 220 Laurus caudata, fr. Nipal. 
 
 Sp. fibre light-coloured, shining ; tubes not numerous but large ; 
 rays distinct, dark brown ; 4-2 inch. diam. ; layers 12 ; axis very 
 eccentric. 
 
 221 Laurus albiflora, fr. Nipal. 
 
 A large tree — Sp. 3*8 inch, diam, ; fibre, tubes, and rays, as the 
 foregoing. 
 
 222 Laurus. Panatha (Banatha?), B. fr. Tavoy. 
 
 Used in house carpentry. 
 
 223 Laurus. Maythen, B. fr. Tavoy. 
 
 5 to 6 fath. long, 18 to 26 inch. diam. ; a very large tree ; wood 
 used for furniture, in house carpentry, and for planks and upper decks 
 for proas. 
 
 224 Laurus. Paheja, N. fr. Nipal. 
 
 225 Laurus ? Kheemna, B. fr. Tavoy. 
 
 Timber small ; used for posts and rafters. 
 
CATALOGUE OF INDIAN WOODS. 
 
 461 
 
 226 Laurus. Phetpetta, N. ; Balukshee, P. ; fr. Nipal. 
 
 Wood red-brown, of a fine grain, used for chests, &c. — Sp. fibre 
 and rays as other Lauri ; tubes filled with a dark red-brown substance. 
 
 227 Laurus, Chausoma, N. fr. Nipal. 
 
 Sp. fibre light-coloured, with considerable lustre; tubes rather 
 large ; rays distinct, dark brown. 
 
 228 Laurus. Sami-lumpata, P.; Chikihui - tussipoo, N. ; fr. 
 
 Nipal. 
 
 Sp. fibre cream-colour, shining ; tubes and rays cinnamon-brown ; 
 rather fine grain. 
 
 229 Laurus. Keebula, N. ; Kalechampoo, P. ; fr. Nipal. 
 
 Sp. 3*2 inch. diam. ; fibre, tubes, and rays, as other Lauri. 
 
 230 Laurus. Pumlasi, N. ; Khorkula, P. ; fr. Nipal. 
 
 A large tree ; wood strong and durable — Sp. 1*6 inch. diam. 
 
 231 Laurus. Khulsi, N. from Nipal. 
 
 232 Laurus (or Tetranthera), very like T. pulcherrima. Bu- 
 
 looksee, N. ; Sengoulee and Tijpaut, P. ; fr. Nipal. 
 
 Wood excellent, used for spinning wheels. — Sp. 3*5 inch, diam.; 
 fibre, tubes, and rays, as other Lauri. 
 
 233 Laurus. Phusree, N. and P. fr. Nipal. 
 
 Wood grayish brown. 
 
 234 Laurus lanuginosa, Wall. fr. Nipal. 
 
 Sp. wood cream-brown ; moderately hard ; rays, tubes, and fibre, 
 as others. 
 
 235 Laurus. Thuggoo, B. fr. Tavoy. 
 
 4 to 6 fath. long, 12 to 18 inch. diam. ; used for oars and rudders. 
 
 236 Laurus (Tetranthera bifaria, Wall.) Juttrunga, N. ; Pa- 
 
 helakath, P. ; fr. Nipal. 
 
 Large and useful timber ; wood soft, rather spongy — Sp. 6 inch, 
 diam. ; rotten at heart ; fibre pale yellow, glossy ; rays distinct, dirty 
 brown. 
 
 237 Laurus? Thitya, B. fr. Tavoy. 
 
 A very large tree ; wood used for house-building, and for mortars 
 in which rice is husked. 
 
 238 Laurus. Kayzai, B. fr. Tavoy. 
 
 Wood used in house carpentry. 
 
 239 Laurus salicifolia. Horisongher, fr. Gualpara. 
 
 6 feet in girth ; wood has a strong smell of camphor ; used for 
 coarse articles of furniture. — Ham. 
 
462 CATALOGUE OF INDIAN WOODS. 
 
 240 Laurus Champa. Kurka-champa, fr. Gualpara. 
 
 3 cubits in girth ; used for coarse furniture. — Ham. 
 
 241 Leucosceptrum, fr. Nipal. 
 
 Wood used for rafters; soft and of no value. — Sp. fibre with 
 some lustre ; rays moderately distinct ; axis very eccentric. 
 
 242 Leycesteria formosa, Wall. fr. Nipal. 
 
 243 Ligustrum napalense. Billae or Bancha, N. and P. fr. 
 
 Nipal. 
 
 Timber about a foot or more in diameter ; used for building 
 purposes. — Sp. 4 inch. diam. ; layers about 10 in an inch; wood 
 heavy, hard, compact, tough, and very fine-grained ; for the purposes 
 of the engraver will probably be found nearly as good as Mediter- 
 ranean box ; bark with coarse white fibres. 
 
 244 Limonia. Kailkat, P. ; Hakoolnal, N. ; fr. Nipal. 
 
 Timber large for the genus ; wood white, soft, but close, strong, 
 
 and tough; fit for fine turnery ware Sp. 7 inch, diam.; neither 
 
 rays nor tubes visible ; inner bark very fibrous. 
 
 245 Limonia crenulata, fr. Nipal. 
 
 Wood yellow, very hard ; used in house-building. 
 Lissokatta. See Loranthus. 
 Lolsi. See Taxus. 
 
 246 Loranthus. Eea,N.; Lissokatta, P. ; fr. Nipal. 
 Loshima. See Viburnum. 
 
 247 Ludia. Mulloka, N. ; Antheel ; fr. Nipal. 
 
 Used for posts and walking-sticks. 
 
 248 Ludia spinosa, fr. Bot. G, 
 Lumpatch. See Laurus. 
 Lushpoo. See Sphserocaria. 
 Luzun. See Pongamia. 
 
 249 Magnolia insignis, Wall. fr. Nipal. 
 
 Sp. 3 inch. diam. ; 12 layers ; wood rather soft, moderately fine- 
 grained, and with some lustre. 
 
 250 Mainaban, B. fr. Tavoy. 
 
 Resembles lance-wood ; used for beams, posts, and rafters ; also 
 for lances, bows, sword -handles, &c. 
 Maingga. See Cynometra. 
 Magor. See Vernonia. 
 Mako-shingali. See Castanea. 
 
CATALOGUE OF INDIAN WOODS. 
 
 463 
 
 Makusal. See Gordonia. 
 
 251 Malpighia lucida, fr. Bot. G. A native of America. 
 Masoochi. See Laurus. 
 
 252 May-chin-ehan-jay. Probably a species of Ebenus. 
 
 253 May-klen, fr. Tavoy. 
 
 Scarce and dear ; used for rudders and anchors. 
 
 254 May-maka, fr. 
 
 Used for timbers of junks. 
 
 255 May-rang, fr. Tavoy. 
 
 Said to be very durable, and much esteemed for the posts of houses 
 built on the bank of rivers. 
 
 256 May-tobek, fr. Tavoy. 
 
 Imported in long planks, and used in preference to teak for the 
 bottom planks of ships. 
 Mathen. See Laurus. 
 Meaya. See Grewia. 
 
 257 Meenaban, fr. Martaban. 
 
 5 to 8 cubits long, 6 to 10 inch. diam. ; a durable and pliant wood, 
 used for sword-handles and spear-shafts. 
 
 258 Megeongee, fr. Tavoy. 
 
 A very large tree, used in house-building. 
 
 Mehul. See Pyrus. 
 
 259 Melia. Bukaena, P. ; Baksi, N. ; fr. Nipal. 
 
 260 Meliacea ? Kanzu-Kurroo, B. fr. Nipal. 
 
 261 Meliacea. Tokor, fr. Gualpara. 
 
 A large tree, used for planks, canoes, and coarse furniture — Ham. 
 
 262 Menispermum laurifolium, Roxb. fr. Nipal. 
 
 A large tree, very remarkable for the grain and irregular layers 
 of its wood. 
 
 Mhasoosee. See Spondias. 
 
 263 Michelia Kisopa, De Cand. Champ or Chaump, P. ; 
 
 Chobsse, N. 
 
 The wood much used for light works Sp. piece of a plank, 30 
 
 layers in 3*75 inches ; another Sp. 2*5 inch. diam. 12 layers in 1*1 inch. 
 Similar to white champa, No. 87, but the colour is more yellow, and 
 the rays less distinct. 
 Mihul. See Eriobotrya. 
 Mikay. See Murraya. 
 
464 
 
 CATALOGUE OF INDIAN WOODS. 
 
 Milkissee. See Berberis. 
 
 264 Millingtonia pungens, fr. Nipal. 
 
 A middle-sized tree. 
 
 265 Mimosa capensis, Bot. G. 
 
 266 Mimosa odoratissima, Bot. G. 
 
 267 Mimosa polystachya, Bot. G. 
 
 268 Mimusops. Thubbae, B. fr. Tavoy. 
 
 Wood used for masts and spars ; affords also good crooked wood. 
 
 269 Mimusops Elengi, fr. Tavoy. 
 
 Slow-growing ; reared only on account of its flowers, which smell 
 like Russia leather. 
 
 270 Mimusops ? Chalpata, fr. Gualpara. 
 
 A tree of moderate size, used for coarse furniture. — Ham. 
 Moj. See Bheza. 
 Momsita. See Dalbergia. 
 
 271 Morinda citrifolia, Bot. G. 
 
 The root yields a yellow dye. 
 
 272 Morus laevigata, Wall. fr. Nipal. 
 
 A large tree — Sp. 1*5 inch. diam. ; wood coarse brownish yellow, 
 with considerable lustre. 
 
 273 Morus mauritiana, fr. Bot. G. 
 Motikissee. See Berberis. 
 Moyen. See Vauqueria. 
 
 274 Mucuna, fr. Nipal. 
 
 A superb climber (a kind of cowhage). 
 Mullokath. See Ludia. 
 Munasi. See Ilex. 
 Munachoo. See Rottlera. 
 
 275 Murraya. Maikay, B. fr. Tavoy. 
 
 4 to 5 feet long, 3 to 6 inch. diam. ; used for handles of daggers 
 and of other weapons. A strong, tough wood, in grain like box. 
 
 276 Myginda. Silapoma, fr. Gualpara. 
 
 5 cubits in girth ; used for coarse furniture — Ham. 
 
 277 Myrica sapida, Wall. ; Kaephul, P.; Kobusi, N.; fr. Nipal. 
 
 Grain like birch, but the colour darker. — Sp. 2*5 inch. diam. ; fibre 
 brownish white, nearly dull; rays very distinct, dark brown in the 
 outer layers ; the interior layers harder, heavier, and more compact. 
 The fruit is eaten. 
 
CATALOGUE OF INDIAN WOODS. 
 
 465 
 
 278 Myristica ? Thounsanga, B. fr. Tavoy. 
 
 A large tree ; the wood used in boat-building. 
 
 279 Myristica. Koathoe or Kunneen, B. fr. Tavoy. 
 
 A large tree ; tbe wood used for flooring houses : perhaps the 
 same as the foregoing. 
 
 280 Myristica. Jheruya, fr. Gualpara. 
 
 A sort of nutmeg, but neither the nut nor mace have any aroma : 
 timber 5 cubits in girth, used for furniture. — Ham. 
 
 281 Myrsine capitellata, fr. Nipal. 
 
 Wood compact, hard, with a handsome grain. — Sp. 3*5 inch. diam. ; 
 fibre cream-colour ; rays very distinct, broad, wavy, pale brown. 
 
 282 Myrsine semiserrata. Bireesee and Kalikaut, N. and P. 
 
 fr. Nipal. 
 
 Wood excellent Sp. 2-5 inch. diam. ; rays large, deep, flesh- 
 colour, and very ornamental. 
 
 283 Nauclea Cadamba, Roxb. Kodom, fr. Gualpara. 
 
 A noble tree, 6 feet in girth; wood yellow, used for coarse 
 furniture Ham. 
 
 284 Nauclea undulata, fr. Bot. G. 
 Nalshima. See Ehretia. 
 
 285 Nerium tomentosum. Adhkuri, fr. Gualpara. 
 
 3 cubits in girth ; used for furniture — Ham. 
 
 286 Nerium antidysentericum. Dudkhuri, fr. Gualpara. 
 
 Of the same size and uses as the foregoing : beads are also made 
 of it. — Ham. 
 
 287 Nikari, fr. Gualpara. 
 
 An oak or chestnut ; cup covered with large prickles ; leaves 
 notched ; 5 cubits in girth ; used for canoes and furniture — Ham. 
 
 Niyor. See Schinus. 
 
 Nome. See Castanea. 
 
 Novum-pattee. See Buddleia. 
 
 Odla. See Sterculia. 
 
 Okchi. See Dillenia. - - 
 
 288 Olea glandulifera, fr. Nipal. 
 
 A large tree Sp. 5 inch. diam. ; rays very thin and indistinct ; 
 
 wood pale brown, very hard, heavy, and compact. 
 VOL. XLVIIT. 2 H 
 
466 
 
 CATALOGUE OF INDIAN WOODS. 
 
 289 Oleina, fr. Nipal. 
 
 A middle-sized tree Sp. 3 inch. diam. ; wood pale brown, with 
 
 considerable lustre, handsome grain, and very hard. 
 
 Oosihu. See Podalyria. 
 
 290 Ormosia glauca. 
 
 Sp. 3*5 inch. diam. ; wood light brownish yellow, with some lustre, 
 hard, and coarse-grained. 
 
 291 Osyris napalensis. Ihoori, P. and N. fr. Nipal. 
 
 A large timber tree, the fruit of which is eaten, and the wood is 
 in estimation — Sp. 1*5 inch. diam. ; tubes very small ; wood red- 
 brown, rather hard, compact, and very fine-grained. 
 
 292 Osyris peltata. Phaoun, B. fr. Tavoy. 
 
 Pahela. See Laurus. 
 Paingodoo. See Acacia. 
 Palash. See Butea. 
 Paluepean. See Sapota. 
 Panatha. See Laurus. 
 
 293 Panax polyacanthus, fr. Nipal. 
 
 A large tree. 
 
 294 Panax. Lubtesee, N. fr. Nipal. 
 
 Sp. about 2*5 inch. diam. ; wood soft, light, spongy, with high 
 lustre ; bark with short thick tubercles or spines broad at the base. 
 
 295 Panax? fr. Nipal. 
 
 Sp. 4 inch. diam. ; wood soft, light, spongy, nearly dull ; rays 
 numerous and very distinct in the outer layers. 
 
 296 Panax, fr. Nipal. 
 
 297 Panax pendulus, fr. Nipal. 
 
 A middle-sized tree ; wood pale reddish brown, light, moderately 
 hard ; rays distinct, giving a handsome grain. 
 
 Pangeh-petiya. See Tetranthera. 
 
 Panmuja. See Tetranthera. 
 
 Parijat. See Bignonia. 
 
 Paro-kupi. See Croton. 
 
 Passy. See Pyrus. 
 
 Paunlah. See Symplocos. 
 
CATALOGUE OF INDIAN WOODS. 
 
 467 
 
 Peema. See Lagerstroemia. 
 
 298 Penlay-peen, fr. Tavoy. 
 
 5 to 6 fathoms long ; 8 to 15 inches diameter ; used in house- 
 building. 
 
 Phaoun. See Osyris. 
 
 299 Photinia dubia, Lindl. fr. Nipal. 
 
 Grows about 20 feet high ; wood hard, fine-grained. 
 
 300 Photinia integrifolia, fr. Nipal. 
 
 Sp. 2*1 inch. diam. : works freely ; somewhat coarse ; colour 
 reddish brown, with scarcely any lustre. 
 Phrarat. See Quercus. 
 Phurasee. See Turpinia. 
 Phusrae. See Conyza. 
 Phutki. See Eurya. 
 
 301 Phyllanthus Emblica, fr. Nipal. 
 
 Sp. 3 inch. diam. ; layers about 8, very indistinct ; rays distinct : 
 a handsome, nut-brown, glossy, hard wood. 
 
 302 Phyllanthus? Horinhara, fr. Gualpara. 
 
 A tree of moderate size ; the wood used for coarse furniture.— 
 Ham. 
 
 303 Pienmahne, fr. Tavoy. 
 
 4 to 6 fathoms long ; 1 8 to 20 inches diameter ; affords the best 
 and strongest crooked timber, and is very durable : used also in house- 
 building. 
 
 304 Pienmah-pue, fr. Tavoy. 
 
 See Lagerstroemia. 
 
 305 Pierardia? Kunna or Kuzzo, B. fr. Tavoy. 
 Pillaksi. See Ficus. 
 
 306 Pinus excelsa, fr. Nipal. 
 
 Wood remarkably compact. — Sp. 3 inch. diam. ; 6 layers. 
 
 307 Pinus longifolia, fr. Nipal. 
 
 Excellent timber, like Memel deal. 
 
 308 Pinus Brunoniana, fr. Nipal. 
 
 Wood soft, and of no value. 
 
 309 Pinus Webbiana, fr. Nipal. 
 
 Sp. 7 inch. diam. ; exterior layers soft, and of no value ; interior 
 ones harder and finer-grained. 
 
 310 Pinus Dammara? fr. Tavoy. 
 
 A very large tree ; used for beams and rafters. 
 
468 
 
 CATALOGUE OF INDIAN WOODS. 
 
 311 Pinus Deodara. Himalaya Cedar, fr. Nipal. 
 
 Wood very fragrant. 
 
 Pithogarkh. See Chrysophyllum. 
 
 312 Plumeria alba, fr. Bot. G. 
 
 A West Indian tree. 
 
 313 Plumeria acuminata, fr. Bot. G. 
 
 A West Indian tree. Every part, both of this and of the fore- 
 going, full of milky juice. 
 
 314 Podalyria napalensis. Potugalla, N. ; Oosihu, P.; fr. 
 
 Nipal. 
 
 315 Podocarpus macrophylla. Goonsi, N. fr. Nipal. 
 
 The peduncle of the fruit, but not the fruit itself, is eaten. 
 
 316 Polygonum. Tuknee, P. ; Tauntul, N. ; fr. Nipal. 
 
 Used only for fire-wood. The young shoots have a pleasant acidu- 
 lous taste, and are eaten. 
 
 317 Polypodium giganteum. A tree-fern, fr. Nipal. 
 
 A stem, 45 feet in height, and proportionately thick, was presented 
 by the Directors of the East India Company to the British Museum. 
 Poma. See Cedrela. 
 
 318 Pongamia atropurpurea, Wall. Lazun, B.; Choo-kha, T. ; 
 
 fr. Martaban. 
 
 A noble forest-tree ; native of environs of Amherst and Moal- 
 myne, on the Martaban coast : the wood used in boat and house 
 building ; flower of a dark purple colour. 
 
 Popeeah. See Acacia. 
 
 Potugalla. See Podalyria. 
 
 319 Premna spinosa, fr. Bot. G. 
 
 320 Premna. Toomulse, N. fr. Nipal. 
 
 321 Premna hircina. Chikagambhari, fr. Gualpara. 
 
 Is often found 6 feet in girth ; the wood has a strong odour like 
 the musk rat ; it is used for making musical instruments, and for 
 other uses. It is said that no insect will eat it. — Ham. 
 
 322 Premna flavescens. Bukdholi, fr. Gualpara. 
 
 3 cubits in girth ; wood very inferior to the foregoing. — Ham. 
 
 Pregulsee. See Ehretia. 
 
 323 Prunus glaucifolia. Ranipeeplee, N. fr. NipaK 
 
 A large tree. 
 
CATALOGUE OF INDIAN WOODS. 
 
 469 
 
 324 Prunus adenophylla. Aroo, P. fr. Nipal. 
 
 A large tree. — Sp. 2-5 inch. diam. ; fibre white and glossy ; rays 
 brown, distinct ; tubes rather small ; wood light and soft, but harder 
 and reddish brown near the centre. 
 
 325 Prunus ferruginea, fr. Nipal. 
 
 326 Psychotria rotata, fr. Nipal. 
 
 Sp. 3-5 inch. diam. ; axis very eccentric ; wood pale reddish 
 brown, dull, fine-grained, moderately hard. 
 
 327 Pterocarpus? Puddow, B. fr. Tavoy. 
 
 A large tree ; wood used for furniture and musical instruments. 
 
 328 Pterocarpus? Thoun-kheea, B. fr. the river Attran, in 
 
 Martaban. 
 Puddow. See Pterocarpus. 
 Pullowa. See Garcinia. 
 Puzzeen-zwa. See Ternstroemia. 
 Pynathe. See Artocarpus. 
 
 329 Pyrus indica, Roxb. ? Mehul, P. ; Passy, N. ; fr. Nipal. 
 
 Sp. 2-5 inch. diam. ; wood brown, compact, moderately hard, very 
 fine-grained : tubes exceedingly small ; bark very thin, composed of 
 9 brown layers alternating with as many white ones ; the thickness 
 of the whole scarcely | of an inch. 
 
 330 Pyrus vestita. Goohor, N. fr. Nipal. 
 
 Sp. 3-6 inch. diam. ; about 20 layers ; wood soft, compact, of a 
 pale colour, nearly dull. 
 
 331 Pyrus foliolosa, fr. Nipal. 
 
 A climber Sp. 2*5 inch. diam. : wood pale brown, fine-grained, 
 
 nearly dull, moderately hard. 
 
 332 Pyrus ursina, fr. Nipal. 
 
 333 Quercus spicata, fr. Nipal. 
 
 A very large tree ; wood very like English oak ; every 7th or 
 8th ray much thicker than the others. 
 
 334 Quercus semecarpifolia. Ghese and Cusroo, N. fr. Nipal. 
 
 A very large tree, from 14 to 18 feet in girth at 5 feet above 
 the ground; clear trunk from 80 to 100 feet — Sp. 35 layers in 2-4 
 inches ; wood light pale brown ; rays small, uniform. 
 
 335 Quercus lamellosa. Shulshee and Phrarat, N. fr. Nipal. 
 
 Wood very hard, straight -grained, and good, of a pale brown 
 colour ; rays uniform. 
 
470 
 
 CATALOGUE OF INDIAN WOODS. 
 
 336 Quercus. Bunaroo, P. ; Gomulsee, N. ; fr. Nipal. 
 
 Wood soft, works as easily as deal ; fibre grey, with considerable 
 lustre ; rays uniform, reddish brown, very distinct ; layers indistinct ; 
 heart reddish brown. 
 3*37 Quercus lanata, fr. Nipal. 
 
 A very large tree — Sp. bad. 
 
 338 Quercus lamellata, fr. Nipal. 
 
 339 Quercus polyantha, Lindl. Soosi-Singhali, N. fr. Nipal. 
 
 340 Quercus. Tima, fr. Gualpara. 
 
 Leaves entire ; acorns covered entirely by an unarmed cup formed 
 of concentric rings ; timber not more than 3 cubits in girth ; used for 
 coarse furniture. — Ham. 
 
 341 Quercus Amherstiana, Wall. Tirbbae, B. ; Ryakle, T. ; 
 
 fr. Martaban. 
 Grows to a large size ; wood used in boat-building, &c. 
 
 342 Quercus, from the mountains called Taong-Dong, near Ava. 
 
 Ranipeplee. See Prunus. 
 
 343 Rhamnea, fr. Nipal. 
 
 A large climber — Sp. 18 inch. diam. ; heart moderately compact ; 
 outer part coarse-grained, rather hard. 
 
 344 Rhamnea. Bangla, fr. Gualpara. 
 
 5 cubits in girth ; used for chests, stools, and other coarse furniture. 
 
 345 Rhamnus (Premna?) Gondsori, fr. Gualpara. 
 
 5 cubits in girth ; used for canoes and cbests. 
 
 346 Rhamnus virgatus, fr. Nipal. 
 
 Wood very hard and heavy ; the heart a bright-red brown, not 
 unlike English yew. — Sp. 3*5 inch. diam. ; tubes very irregular ; rays 
 scarcely visible. 
 
 347 Rhododendron arboreum. Ghorans or Ghonas, P. ; Tug- 
 
 goo, N. ; fr. Nipal. 
 The wood resembles plum-tree ; used for gun-stocks. 
 
 348 Rhododendron arboreum (white-flowered variety). Teuggoo 
 
 Tuggoo (Teuggo means white), N.; Saphed Gonos 
 
 or Ghorons, P. ; fr. Nipal. 
 Grows to a large size — Sp. 6 inch. diam. ; wood rather hard, 
 pale brown ; rays in the outer layers very distinct ; tubes few and 
 large ; layers indistinct. 
 
CATALOGUE OF INDIAN WOODS. 
 
 471 
 
 349 Rhododendron campanulatum. Cheriala, P. ; Teotosa, N. ; 
 
 fr. Nipal. 
 
 A large tree — Sp. 3-1 inch. diam. ; 26 layers, very distinct ; rays 
 indistinct ; tubes hardly visible. 
 
 350 Rhus Bukkiamela, Roxb. Subuchunsee, N. ; Bukkiamela, 
 
 P. ; fr. Nipal. 
 
 Timber good and large — Sp. 3*5 inch. diam. : greyish white, with 
 considerable lustre ; soft, light. 
 
 351 Rhus? Dubdubea? P.; Guarnusi, N.; fr. Nipal. 
 
 Sp. 3 inch. diam. ; layers about 10 : fibre light cream-colour, with 
 high lustre ; rays distinct, reddish brown ; wood very light and soft ; 
 bark thin. 
 
 352 Rhus succedaneum, fr. Nipal. 
 
 A large tree. 
 
 353 Rhus juglandifolium, Wall. Chose, N. ; Bhalaeo, P. ; 
 
 fr. Nipal. 
 
 Very like the Japan varnish-tree — Sp. 3*5 inch. diam. : heart red- 
 brown, the tubes being filled with a substance of this colour : wood 
 soft ; bears a considerable resemblance to the Lauri with indistinct 
 rays. 
 
 354 Rondeletia cana, Wall, fr. Nipal. 
 
 355 Rondeletia coriacea, Wall. Kongeea, P. ; Julsi, N. ; 
 
 fr. Nipal. 
 
 Wood close-grained, and becomes of the colour of mahogany some 
 time after it has been cut ; layers very indistinct : used for rafters, 
 tools, &c. A red dye is also prepared from it. 
 
 356 Rosa macrophylla, Lindl. fr. Gossain-Than, in the Himalaya. 
 
 357 Rottlera. Teeta-kath, N. ; Labtesee, P. ; fr. Nipal. 
 
 358 Rottlera (perhaps tinctoria), fr. Nipal. 
 
 Wood pale brown, compact, hard, fine-grained : bark very thin. 
 
 359 Rottlera tinctoria, fr. Nipal. 
 
 Fruit used as a red dye. 
 
 360 Rottlera arborea, fr. Nipal. 
 
 Wood light, coarse, soft, worm-eaten : inner bark stringy. 
 
 361 Rottlera? Keoun-lae, B. fr. Tavoy. 
 
 A large tree ; wood used for rudders, &c. 
 
 362 Rottlera. Memasho, B. fr. Tavoy. 
 
472 
 
 CATALOGUE OF INDIAN WOODS. 
 
 363 Rubus Gouriphul. R. ellipticus, Sm. Escaloo, P. ; Eesi, 
 
 N. ; fr. Nipal. 
 Common in hedges : as thick as a stout arm : fruit eatable. 
 
 364 Sabia parviflora. Mhasoosee, P. and N. fr. Nipal. 
 
 Bark spongy, of a yellow colour ; sometimes used for marking the 
 forehead. 
 
 365 Salix. Bhoelasi, P. and N. fr. Nipal. 
 
 A small tree, not more than 8 to 10 inches in diameter. 
 
 366 Salix babylonica. Tissee and Bhosee, N. and P. fr. Nipal. 
 
 Attains an enormous size. 
 
 367 Salix, fr. Nipal. 
 
 Saljam. See Calyptranthus. 
 
 368 Sandoricum. Thittoo, B. fr. Tavoy. 
 
 "Wood used for furniture. 
 Saora. See Trophis. 
 Saphed-gonos. See Rhododendron. 
 Saphew. See Xanthoxylon. 
 
 369 Sapindacea. Dophari, fr. Gualpara. 
 
 A small tree ; used for coarse furniture. — Ham. 
 
 370 Sapotea? Palaepean, B. fr. Tavoy. 
 
 Leaves most beautifully silky and gold colour beneath. A very 
 large tree ; wood used in building. 
 
 Saul or Sal. See Shorea. 
 
 371 Schinus Niara, Ham. Niyor, fr. Gualpara. 
 
 5 cubits in girth : a hard, close-grained, rather brittle wood, with 
 a resinous scent ; preferred by the natives to almost any other for 
 furniture — Ham. 
 
 372 Schoepfia fragrans, fr. Nipal. 
 
 Sp. 2-5 inch. diam. : a coarse, light, soft wood. 
 
 373 Scytalia Longan, Bot. G. 
 
 374 Scytalia Litchi, Bot. G. 
 
 375 Securidaca reniformis, fr. Nipal. 
 
 Sp. a soft white wood ; rays of the same colour as the fibre. 
 Seesaong. See Aralia. 
 
 376 Semecarpus Anacardium. Marking-nut, fr. 
 
 Wood soft, and full of acrid juice : not used. 
 
CATALOGUE OF INDIAN WOODS. 
 
 473 
 
 377 Shorea robusta. Saul or Sal. 
 
 This is the staple timber of Hindostan for building purposes : vast 
 quantities of dammar, or resin, are extracted from it, as well as from 
 Dipterocarpus and Hopea, all of which belong to one family, the 
 Dipterocarpeae. 
 
 Sida. See Lagerstroemia. 
 Signa. See Turpinia. 
 Silapoma. See Myginda. 
 Sinna. See Budloea. 
 Sissoo. See Dalbergia. 
 
 378 Smilax. Doduan, P. and N. fr. Nipal. 
 Sonalu. See Cassia. 
 
 379 Sonneratia ? Thaumma, B. fr. Tavoy. 
 
 A small tree. 
 
 380 Sonneratia apetala, Bot. G. 
 Soosi-Singhali. See Quercus. 
 
 381 Sphoerocaria edulis. -Bun-amb, P. ; Lushpoo, Ael, or Eal- 
 
 marisee, N.; fr. Nipal. 
 Used for posts and for fire-wood — Sp. the wood has a handsome 
 grain, like Sycamore, but with scarce any lustre : rays very distinct, 
 of the same yellowish grey colour as the fibre. 
 
 382 Sphgerosacme fragrans, fr. Nipal. 
 
 A coarse, rather soft, dusky-coloured wood, without lustre. 
 
 383 Spondias axillaris. Lupshe, N. fr. Nipal. 
 
 Sp. 2*8 inch. diam. ; layers about 11 ; fibre white, with consider- 
 able lustre ; rays moderately distinct ; tubes rather large. 
 
 384 Spondias. Sillaephul, N. fr. Nipal. 
 
 385 Spondias acuminata, Bot. G. 
 
 A large tree. 
 
 386 Spondias Amara. Amra, fr. Gualpara. 
 
 Grows to a good size, but is not made use of. — Ham. 
 
 387 Sterculia ? Kuneenee, B. fr. Tavoy. 
 
 Attains an enormous size. An oil is extracted from the wood by 
 incision, which is used for torches. 
 
 388 Sterculia. Thikadoo, fr. Tavoy. 
 
 389 Sterculia angustifolia, fr. Bot. G. 
 
 390 Sterculia. Bahelli, fr. Gualpara. 
 
 5 cubits in girth ; used for canoes — Ham. 
 
474 
 
 CATALOGUE OF INDIAN WOODS. 
 
 391 Sterculia urens. Odla or Hatchanda, fr. Gualpara. 
 
 5 cubits in girth ; used for canoes. A coarse rope is made from 
 the bark, which is used in taking wild elephants. — Ham. 
 
 392 Stravadium acutangulum. Hendol, fr. Gualpara. 
 
 3 cubits in diameter ; the wood much used, but neither strong nor 
 handsome — Ham. 
 
 Subucbunsee. See Rhus. 
 
 Suslendi. See Acer. 
 
 393 Syndesmis Tavoyana, Wall. Kee-tha, B. ; red - wood ; 
 
 fr. Tavoy. 
 
 A very large tree ; used in building, and for boxes, &c. 
 
 394 Symplocos. Gooki, N. fr. Nipal. 
 
 A tall, slender tree; wood not esteemed. Most of this genus 
 produce a yellow dye. 
 
 395 Symplocos floribunda, fr. Nipal. 
 
 A large tree ; wood fine-grained. 
 
 396 Symplocos? Kalikath, P. ; Paunlah, N. ; fr. Nipal. 
 
 A large tree. — Sp. wood white, compact, of a very fine grain, and 
 as soft as deal ; no tubes visible ; rays indistinct ; bark as thin as 
 paper. 
 
 397 Symplocos. Bulsima, fr. Nipal. 
 
 398 Symplocos ? fr. Nipal. 
 
 A large tree. — Sp. 3 inch. diam. ; wood cream-brown, moderately 
 hard. 
 
 399 Symplocos pulcherrima, fr. Nipal. 
 
 A small tree. 
 
 400 Symplocos lucida, fr. Nipal. 
 
 Sp. 3 inch. diam. ; rays indistinct ; wood rather hard, very fine- 
 grained, with little lustre. 
 
 401 Symplocos? Kain-tha-pbogee, B. fr. Tavoy. 
 
 13 to 17 feet long, 6 to 12 inch. diam. ; used for posts and oars; 
 affords good but small crooked timber. 
 
 402 Symplocos. Kunneen-keunkee or Kunneen-keunla, B. 
 
 fr. Tavoy. 
 Used for beams, posts, &c. 
 Taila-oon. See Carapa. 
 Tantbeya. See Htfpea. 
 
 403 Tantbeya, B. fr. Tavoy. 
 Tapabaw. See Laurina. 
 
CATALOGUE OF INDIAN WOODS. 
 
 475 
 
 404 Tanguet nee, fr. Tavoy. 
 
 6 to 8 fathoms long, 15 to 20 inch. diam. Does not saw kindly. 
 Tauntul. See Polygonum. 
 
 405 Taxus virgata, Wall. Dheyri, P.; Lolsi, N.; fr. Nipal. 
 
 Grows to a large size : the green branches are used to adorn 
 houses during certain festivals : timber strong and good — Sp. 6-5 inch, 
 diam. Axis very eccentric, 5 | 1*5; all the layers cannot be counted. 
 On the widest side of the axis are 27 layers in 0*85 inch, beginning 
 from the axis ; near the outside are 18 layers in 09 inch. ; wood 
 softer, of paler colour, and less lustre, than English yew. 
 Teak. See Tectona. 
 
 406 Tectona grandis. Teak, fr. Martaban. 
 
 Several specimens of various qualities. 
 Teetakuth. See Rottlera. 
 Tendoo. See Diospyros. 
 Tengaun. See Hopea. 
 Teotosa. See Rhododendron. 
 
 407 Terminalia. Thuphanga, B. fr. Tavoy. 
 
 408 Terminalia bialata, fr. Martaban. 
 
 409 Terminalia Bellerica. Bauri, fr. Gualpara. 
 
 6 feet in girth ; used for canoes : the fruit and bark used by 
 tanners. — Ham. 
 
 410 Terminalia Catappa, fr. Bot. G. 
 
 A noble and most ornamental tree : wood very good. 
 
 411 Terminalia moluccana. Joynal, fr. Gualpara. 
 
 3 cubits in girth ; used in boat-building, as the timber is both 
 light and durable Ham. 
 
 412 Terminalia Hilka. Hilkha, fr. Gualpara. 
 
 6 feet in girth ; used for canoes and for furniture. — Ham. 
 
 413 Ternstroemia napalensis, De Cand. fr. Nipal. 
 
 Sp. 3 inch. diam. Outer layers with very distinct rays, of a reddish 
 brown ; wood soft and spongy. 
 
 414 Ternstroemia. Puzzeen-zwa, B. fr. Tavoy. 
 
 A rather large tree, used for posts and rafters. 
 
 415 Tetradium ? cymosum, Wall. fr. Nipal. 
 
 416 Tetradium? fr. Nipal. 
 
 A very large tree. 
 
 417 Tetranthera caduca. Pangch-Petiya, fr. Gualpara. 
 
 6 feet in girth ; used for chests and common carpentry. — Ham. 
 
476 
 
 CATALOGUE OF INDIAN WOODS. 
 
 418 Tetranthera. Haola, fr. Gualpara. 
 
 3 feet in girth ; wood close and soft ; used for coarse furniture. 
 — Ham. 
 
 419 Tetranthera Paromouja. Paromuja, fr. Gualpara. 
 
 6 feet in girth ; wood close and soft ; used for coarse furniture. — 
 Ham. 
 
 420 Tetranthera Dorodmeda. Vagnal or Bagonal, fr. Gualpara. 
 
 3 cubits in girth ; used for coarse furniture. — Ham. 
 
 421 Teutha, B. fr. Tavoy. 
 Thathee. See Bignonia. 
 
 422 Thauga-et-thittoo, fr. Tavoy. 
 
 3 to 5 fathoms long, 8 to 12 inches diam. An inferior wood, used 
 in small buildings. 
 
 423 Thau-baun-po, fr. Tavoy. 
 
 5 to 8 fathoms long, 12 to 18 inches diam. An inferior light wood, 
 used for small canoes. 
 
 424 Thau-baun-thau-lay, fr. Tavoy. 
 
 6 to 12 fathoms long, 13 to 20 inches diam. Wood very pliant ; 
 little inferior to Hopea, but does not saw so kindly. 
 
 Thaumma. See Sonneratia. 
 Thaun. See Eurya. 
 
 425 They ah, fr. Tavoy. 
 
 4 to 6 fathoms long, 10 to 15 inches diam. An inferior wood, used 
 in small buildings. 
 
 Thikadoo. See Sterculia. 
 
 Thittoo. See Sandoricum. 
 
 Thitya. See Laurus. 
 
 Thoun-ben. ) _ 
 
 ? See Artocarpus. 
 Thoun-pine. 3 
 
 Thounkheea. See Pterocarpus. 
 
 426 Thounmynga, B. fr. Tavoy. 
 
 A middle-sized tree, used in house-building. 
 Thounsanga. See Myristica. 
 Thubbae. See Mimusops, Uvaria, Ficus. 
 Thubboobamboo. See Anacardium. 
 Thuggainee. See Bignonia. 
 Thuggoo. See Rhododendron. 
 
 427 Thunbergia coccinea, fr. Nipal. 
 
CATALOGUE OF INDIAN WOODS. 
 
 477 
 
 Thaumagee. See Elseocarpus. 
 Thuphanga. See Terminalia. 
 Thuppan. See Ficus. 
 Thurape. See Callophyllum. 
 Thurratha. See Exccecaria. 
 
 428 Thymboo, B. Thau-baun-po, fr. Tavoy. 
 
 5 to 10 fath. long, 15 to 20 inches diam. Good strong durable 
 light wood ; used in boat-building : does not saw kindly. 
 
 Tima. See Quercus. 
 Timbhus. See Xanthoxylon. 
 Tirbbue. See Quercus. 
 Tissee. See Salix. 
 
 429 Tomex, or Litssea Japonica. Uluyaohama, fr. Gualpara. 
 
 6 feet in girth ; used for small canoes. — Ham. 
 Toomulsee. See Premna. 
 
 Toon. See Cedrela. 
 
 430 Town-pine, fr. Tavoy. 
 
 7 to 8 fathoms long, 18 to 30 inches thick ; used in boat-building £ 
 reckoned little inferior to Hopa?a. 
 
 431 Trophis ? aspera. Saora, fr. Gualpara. 
 
 3 cubits in girth ; used for joiner's work. — Ham. 
 Tuknee. See Polygonum. 
 Tukra. See Bauhinia. 
 Tunabeng. See Artocarpus. 
 Tungnusi. See Cinchona. 
 
 432 Turpinia pomifera (Dalrymplea), Phurasee and Signa, N. 
 
 fr. Nipal. 
 
 A large tree ; wood of a dull grey colour, light, soft, compact, free- 
 working, splits easily ; not applied to any particular use Sp. 3*2 
 
 inch. diam. ; rays indistinct ; tubes very small ; bark thin, and the 
 inner layer almost black. 
 
 433 Ulderoo, fr. Bombay. 
 
 Very little liable to split, and therefore used for fuses for bomb-shells. 
 Uluyaohama. See Tomex. 
 
 434 Uncaria pilosa, fr. Nipal. 
 
 A small and imperfect specimen. 
 
 Uriam. See Andrachne. 
 
478 
 
 CATALOGUE OF INDIAN WOODS. 
 
 435 Urtica. Jeonagkun, N. ; Latasishnoo, P. ; fr. Nipal. 
 
 436 Urtica salicifolia, fr. Nipal. 
 
 437 Urtica pulcherrima, fr. Bot. G. 
 
 438 Uvaria. Thubboo, B. fr. Tavoy. 
 
 A large tree, used in boat-building. 
 
 439 Uvaria suberosa. Banclorkola, fr. Gualpara. 
 
 3 cubits in girth ; a close-grained, soft, brittle wood ; used for 
 posts, beams, and planks. — Ham. 
 
 Vagnal. See Tetranthera. 
 
 440 Vangueria edulis. Moyen, fr. Gualpara. 
 
 A small timber tree, 4 feet in girth ; used for coarse furniture — 
 Ham. 
 
 441 Vernonia. Magor, fr. Gualpara. 
 
 3 cubits in girth ; used for coarse furniture. The only one of the 
 numerous tribe of corymbiferous plants that grows to be a timber tree. 
 
 442 Viburnum ? Loshima, N. fr. Nipal. 
 
 443 Viburnum erubescens, fr. Nipal. 
 
 A middle-sized tree. 
 
 444 Viburnum cordifolium, fr. the Himalaya. 
 
 445 Vitex acuminata. Angchhui, fr. Gualpara. 
 
 3 cubits in girth. A very close, hard, brittle wood ; used for mortars 
 of oil-mills, feet of bedsteads, &c — Ham. 
 
 446 Vitex Babula. Babla, fr. Gualpara. 
 
 3 cubits in girth ; wood close, soft, tough ; used for coarse furni- 
 ture, but in little estimation. — Ham. 
 
 447 Vitex Leucoxylon. Bhodiya, fr. Gualpara. 
 
 3 cubits in girth ; used in making ploughs ; will grow on land 
 that is inundated for weeks together. — Ham. 
 
 448 Vitis or Cissus, fr. Nipal. 
 
 Sp. 4*5 inch. diam. ; wood spongy and very coarse-grained ; fibre 
 very small in proportion to the tubes, which are many and large ; 
 rays very distinct, of a reddish brown colour, forming a handsome 
 waved figure ; bark stringy. 
 
 449 Wightia gigantea, Wall. fr. Nipal. 
 
 A large climber. — Sp. 2*5 inch, diam.; 10 layers; wood whitish, 
 with considerable lustre ; rather soft. 
 
 450 Wrigbtia antidysenterica. Lathon, B. fr. Tavoy. 
 
 A small tree ; not used. 
 
CATALOGUE OF INDIAN WOODS. 
 
 479 
 
 451 Wrightia tinctoria. (Indigo tree.) 
 
 The leaves yield indigo. The wood is "beautifully white, close- 
 grained, coming nearer to ivory than any other known to me." — Roxb. 
 
 452 Xanthophyllum. Saphew, B. ; Choo-muna, T. ; fr. Martaban. 
 
 Very large ; wood used for posts and rafters. 
 
 453 Xanthoxylon alatum. Timbhus, P. and N. fr. Nipal. 
 
 Wood soft and open-grained, like aspen ; bark very tubercular. 
 
 454 Xylocarpus. Keannan, B. fr. Tavoy. 
 
 Timber from 10 to 20 feet long; very durable; used for furniture 
 and in house-building. 
 
 Zeethee. See Ziziphus. 
 
 Zimboon. See Dillenia. 
 
 Zitha. See Castanea. 
 
 455 Ziziphus incurva. Harobaer, P. ; Kadabusi, N.; fr. Nipal. 
 
 Wood in considerable estimation. — Sp. 3*5 inch. diam. ; fibre 
 brownish white, with little lustre ; rays in the outer layers distinct, 
 but of the same colour as the fibre : bark coarsely fibrous. 
 
 456 Ziziphus. Zeethee, B. fr. Tavoy. 
 
 Wood hard and durable. 
 
 Omitted by mistake in its proper place. 
 
 Bambusa. Bamboo, fr. Pulo-Geun, in Martaban. 
 
 The largest and tallest sort known ; the stem 100 feet high, and 
 attaining at the base a diameter of 1 1 inches, with sides 1 inch 
 thick. 
 
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APPENDIX. 
 
 173 
 
 No. II. 
 
 List of Specimens of Wood from India, Sfc. presented to 
 the Society by Capt. H. C. JBaker, of the Benycd 
 Artillery. 
 
 The specimens are numbered in the order in which they 
 were received from different sources during a period of 
 about four years. The want of precise information, re- 
 specting far the greater number, rendered it impracticable 
 to adopt any classification, or to describe, in a satisfactory 
 way, the qualities of the several kinds of timber, or the 
 purposes to which they are applied in the countries pro- 
 ducing them. The native names, too, are in many in- 
 stances of doubtful orthography, resting on the vague 
 pronunciation of people on the spot, taken by mere sound 
 of ear. 
 
 From Bengal. 
 
 1 Peepul. Ficus religiosa. 
 
 2 Bail, or Bheal. iEgle marmelos. 
 
 3 Dehdaree. Uvaria longifolia. 
 
 A very ornamental tree, particularly fitted for forming shady walks. 
 
 4 Bhoori. Symplocos spicata. 
 
 5 Nori. Phyllanthus longifolia. 
 
 6 Tatool. Tamarindus indica. 
 
 A strong handsome wood, used for furniture, for oil and sugar-mills, 
 and for washermen's boards. 
 
 7 Jaum. Calyptranthes jambulana. 
 
 8 Tepultah. Erythrina indica. 
 
 9 Peearah, or Gayava. Psidium pyriferum. 
 
 10 Golaub Jaumoon. Eugenia jambolana. 
 
 1 1 Neem, or Nimb. Melia azedarachta. 
 
 Used for making images, as it is not liable to be worm-eaten. 
 
174 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 12 Goolar, or Doomur. Ficus glomerata. 
 
 13 Chulta, Chaluta. Dillenia indica, or speciosa. «. v 
 
 14 Daul, Kurrumeha. Carissa spinarum ; Dalbergia arborea. 
 
 15 Gya, Ausud. Ficus religiosa. See k 
 
 1 6 Taul. Borassus flabelliformis. 
 
 A durable material for building, and small canoes are also made of it, 
 which, in the rainy season, serve for conveyance from house to house. 
 
 17 Kookurchitkoo. A sp. of Ixora. 
 
 18 Daukata, or Dookatiya. Symplocos ferruginea. 
 
 19 Kuthul, or Jack-wood. Artocarpus integrifolia. 
 
 An useful and ornamental wood, but warps much with the heat, 
 and therefore not suited to the climate of India. It is also used as a 
 dye-wood. 
 
 20 Kut Bail. Limonia acidissima, or Feronia elephantum. 
 
 21 Betabee nimboo. Citrus decumanus. 
 
 22 Aumrah. Spondias amara, or Hog-plum. 
 
 23 Seorah. Trophis aspera. 
 
 24 Sagena. Hyperanthus maringa. 
 
 25 Keerish, or Seerish. Acacia Serisha. 
 
 26 Kanchun. Banhinia variegata, or acuminata. 
 
 27 Madar. Asclepias gigantea. 
 
 28 Julee. 
 
 29 Nonah. Annona reticulata. 
 
 From Chittagong . 
 
 30 Paurul, Padul. Bignonia chelonoides. 
 
 31 Amoor. Andersonia cucullata. 
 
 32 Kekra, or Kekur. ( Rhizophora gymnorhiza. 
 
 33 Karpah. Petalonia alternifolia. 
 
 34 Bhyla. Semecarpus anacardium. 
 
 The wood of little value : the nuts are used by tanners, especially in 
 preparing the hide of the rhinoceros for targets. 
 
 35 Gamur. Gmelinia arbore^. 
 
 36 Soondri. Heritiera minor. 
 
 37 Pussoor, or Pussool. Xylocarpus granatum. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 175 
 
 38 Bahna, or Butana. Arracan Oak. 
 
 39 Gg^gooliah. Amyris Agollocha. 
 
 This tree produces bdellium. 
 
 40 Telsun, or Telsur. Shorea Talura. 
 
 41 Chumalis, or Chuplass. Phyllanthus emblica. 
 
 The wood is of little value, but the fruit, preserved in sugar or 
 honey, is a favourite sweetmeat. 
 
 42 Herina. Acacia heterophylla. 
 
 43 Choongree. 
 
 From Tavoy Coast. 
 
 44 Korai, Koray, or Koorye. Acacia marginata. 
 
 45 Doodia, Duddi. Euphorbia hirta. 
 
 46 Keethau. Red wood. 
 
 47 Sassafras. Laurus ensis. 
 
 48 Jeeoo, or Jika. Ekebergia ; Assamese mahogany. 
 
 49 Keeooh. Melanorrhoea usitata. 
 
 Supposed to yield the black varnish of Ava. 
 
 50 Cossya. Pinus longifolia. 
 
 51 Syrium myrtifolium. Botany-bay santal-wood. 
 
 52 Thengan. Hopea odorata. 
 
 53 Thauban. 
 
 54 Pyngma, or Peema. Lagerstroemia. 
 
 55 Kanza-kuno. Meliacea ? 
 
 56 Kadwot. Kuddoot-Alaen, W. 
 
 57 An an. 
 
 58 Thagatui, or Thugatui. 
 
 59 Lance-wood, from Martaban. 
 
 60 Saul, Morung. Shorea robusta. 
 
 61 Saul, Gorruckpore. Shorea robusta. 
 
 62 Saul, Pillibeah. Shorea robusta. 
 
 63 Saul, Baggree Jungle, Midnapore. Shorea robusta. 
 
 64 Saul, Peeja saul, Beejeesal. ^Buchanania latifolia. 
 64*Saul, Burdwan. 
 
 65 Sissooh. Dalbergia Sisu. 
 
17G 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 66 Sitsaul. 
 
 67 Chafrass, or Chuckrassee. Swietenia chickrassa, from 
 
 Bengal. 
 
 67*Chafrass, or Chuckrassee, from Chittagong. 
 
 68 Arjoon, Urjoon. Pentaplera urjoona. 
 
 69 Baunh. Hyperanthera morunga. 
 
 70 Jamoon. Calyptranthes jambulana. 
 
 71 Teak, from Pegu. Tectona grandis. 
 
 72 Teak, from Malabar. Tectona grandis. 
 
 73 Satin-wood, from Ceylon. Swietenia chloroxylon. 
 
 74 Jungle-wood, from Chittagong. 
 
 Close-grained, and of a dirty yellow colour. 
 
 75 Black Rose, or Malabar Sissoo. Dalbergia latifolia. 
 
 76 Mango-wood. Mangifera Indica. 
 
 77 Toon, from Chittagong. Cedrela Tuna. 
 
 78 Trincomalee-wood. 
 
 A very fine-grained reddish wood, excellent for cabinet-work. 
 
 79 Koosum. Carthamus tinctorius ; safBower. 
 
 From Morung Forest. 
 
 80 Koosumah. 
 
 81 Paundur, or Pangdar. a Bignonia. 
 
 82 Dharee. Gualtheria fragrantissima. 
 
 83 Assaun. Pentaptera tomentosa. 
 
 84 Paunjur. 
 
 85 Jummooa. Sizygum lateriflorum. 
 
 86 Seriss. Mimosa serissa. 
 
 87 Kurmine, or Kurmah. Phoenix dactylifera ? 
 
 88 Dhauhah. 
 
 89 Bhaunjee. 
 
 90 Tekolee. 
 
 91 Gomar Morung. Gmelinia arborea. 
 
 92 Jarul. Lagerstroemia reginee. 
 
 Used for boat-building. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 177 
 
 93 Pussooh. Xylocarpus granatum. 
 
 94 Hill-pine. Pinus Deodara? 
 
 95 Red European Fir. Pinus sylvestris. 
 
 96 European Oak. Quercus robur. 
 
 97 Casuarina muricata ? 
 
 98 Daphul. Zanthochyrus pictorius. 
 
 99 Ihengra. 
 
 From Bengal Proper. 
 
 100 Baroon. Capparis trifoliata. 
 
 101 Jog Doomur. Ficus glomerata. 
 
 102 Shee, or Shumeer. Bombax heptaphyllum ? 
 
 103 Seorah. Trophis aspera. See 23. 
 
 104 Nargul. Cocus nucifera, Cocoa-nut. 
 
 105 Butt, or Banian. 
 
 106 Assud, or Ussud. Ficus religiosa. 
 
 107 Kool plum. Ziziphus jujuba. 
 
 108 Gaub. Diospyros glutinifera. 
 
 The fruit is very acid, and is principally used for paying the hottom 
 of hoats. 
 
 109 Kuddum. Nauclea orientalis. 
 
 A very ornamental tree ; the timber good, but little used. 
 
 110 Bugaen, or Gora-neen. Melia sempervirens. 
 
 111 Buckool. Mimusops Elengi. 
 
 The bark is used by tanners. 
 
 112 Pullass, or Puras. Butea frondosa. 
 
 The wood is used for coarse furniture. 
 
 113 Buck, or Bach. Acorus calamus? 
 
 114 White Sandal-wood. Syrium myrtifolium. 
 
 115 Jeebun. Celtis orientalis. 
 
 116 Joyentee. 
 
 From Tavoy coast and Rangoon, 
 
 117 Kun-men-pee. 
 
 118 May-kaa. Murraya. 
 
 VOL. L. H" 
 
178 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 119 Thittoo, Sandoricum. Camphor-wood. 
 
 120 Pen-lay-oon. 
 
 121 Keeaza. 
 
 122 Une. 
 
 123 Kuddool-pue. 
 
 124 Thembon. 
 
 125 Thau-ban- thau-lay. 
 
 126 Heema. Lagerstroemia. 
 
 A paler coloured specimen than 54. 
 
 127 Thoun-pine, or Thounpen. Artocarpus. 
 
 128 Zeem-boun. Dillenia. 
 
 129 Kaantha. 
 
 Wood small ; used for paddles. 
 
 130 Thaengong. Bignonia. 
 
 131 Coumoo 
 
 132 Purrah-wah, or Pulluwa. Garcinia. 
 
 133 Thoun-sanga. Myristica. 
 
 134 Thau-bae. Mimusops. 
 
 135 Bahnah-thau. Laurus Panatha. 
 
 136 Thau-ra-pee. Calophyllum. 
 
 137 Peen-ra-nee. Lagerstroemia. See 54, 126. 
 
 138 Keeaza-reecheea. 
 
 139 Paun-thee-yea. Artocarpus. 
 
 140 Keeah-naun. Xylocarpus. 
 
 141 Duggooh. Laurus. 
 
 142 Thengue-thittoo. Sandoricum. 
 
 143 Melanorhoea usitata. 
 
 145 Kun-nien-nee. Sterculia. 
 
 146 Pah-doath. 
 
 147 Kueea-thuca. 
 
 148 Kau-rah-way. Laurus. 
 
 Produces the Sassafras and Camphor-wood of Martaban. 
 
 149 Paingadu. Acacia xylocarpus. 
 
 150 Aumlokey. Phyllanthus emblica ; from Bengal. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 From Assam. 
 
 151 Jackwood. Artocarpus integrifolia. 
 
 152 Teetah-samper. 
 
 153 Saum. 
 
 154 Nahor, or Nyor. Casuarina equisetifolia. 
 
 Greatly valued as a material for furniture. 
 
 155 Stones. Bursera serrata. 
 
 156 Bhaee. 
 
 157 Aoree Aum. Andracbne trifoliata. 
 
 158 Aum. Mangifera indica. Mango. See 76. 
 
 159 Gond Horoy, Gondsori/ Rhamnus, or Premna. 
 
 160 Juggrow. 
 
 161 Hoolee. 
 
 162 Checka mooralle. 
 
 163 Dha-pah-aye. Pinus longifolia. See 50. 
 
 164 Ta-koorha. Garcinia pedunculata. 
 
 165 Bandore-Harr. 
 
 166 Morhall. 
 
 167 Singoree. 
 
 168 Phank-dameh. 
 
 169 Jammoo, or Jamoon. Calyptranthes. 
 
 170 Jala. 
 
 171 Nossawah, or Cossowah. 
 
 172 Kalose. 
 
 173 Mauch Koyta. 
 
 174 Chaum. Artocarpus chama. 
 
 175 Talee-oyne. Pinus deodara ? 
 
 176 Phool kath. 
 
 177 Mow-khutta. 
 
 178 Karoy. Acacia marginata ? 
 
 179 Holloke, Boroheloke. Antidesma. 
 
 180 Pomma. Cedrela tuna. 
 
 Used for furniture. 
 
 181 Sotee-onna. Trophis aspera. 
 
 182 Korole. 
 
180 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 183 Bander-kolae. Uvaria suberosa ? 
 
 184 Ahjar. 
 
 185 Poolee-kyte. 
 
 186 Joll. 
 
 187 Moje. Celastrus senacia, 
 
 From Bengal. 
 
 188 Bhourkuncl. Symplocos spicata. 
 
 189 Checkun. Celtis orientalis. 
 
 190 Red Sandal. Pterocarpus santalinns ? 
 
 191 Goniaree, or Guniaree. Premna spinosa. 
 
 192 Kel-kuddum. Nauclea cordifolia. 
 
 193 Babla, or Gorsunder. Mimosa Arabica. 
 
 194 Gooya-babla. Mimosa Farnesiana. 
 
 195 Nak-douah. Artemisia indica. 
 
 196 Gouda aswara. Vitex sp. 
 
 197 Peepaljauka. Ficus religiosa. See 1. 
 
 198 Bansora batana. Quercus turbinata. 
 
 199 Joypal. Croton tiglium. Qu. Jumulgotta. 
 
 200 Kesuma. Perhaps the sapwood of 80. 
 
 201 Moyna. Vauqueria edulis. 
 
 202 Kyabooka. An excrescence of the Pterocarpus draco. 
 
 203 China rose-wood. Dalbergia latifolia. 
 
 204 Amboyna-wood. 
 
 205 Chinese Deodar, of very inferior quality. 
 
 206 Ebony. Diospyros melanoxylon. 
 206*Ebony from Orissa. Diospyros cordifolia. 
 
 207 Mahogany. Swietenia mahogani. St. Domingo. 
 
 208 Dummoor, or khaska. Ficus oppositifolia. 
 
 209 Oak from Landour. 
 
 210 Basmaleea. Lagerstroemia grandiflora. 
 
 211 Toon-wood, from Landour. Cedrela tuna. 
 
 212 Botany-bay Cedar. Cedrus deodara, or Cedrela Australis. 
 
 213 Chakoondee. Cassia tora. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 181 
 
 214 Aeen. Dipterocarpus ? 
 
 215 Sappoot. Tinda parua. 
 
 216 Jeemul, or Gigul. Ardina woodier. 
 
 217 Burdwan Gomar-wood. Gmelina arborea. 
 
 218 Keeowra. Soneratia apetala. 
 
 219 Tukkhund, Qu. Bukhum. Csesalpinia Sappan. 
 
 220 Shimool. Bombax heptaphyllum. 
 
 221 Hoggalee. Typha elephantina. 
 
 222 Kujoor-khejur. Phoenix dactylifera. Ph. sylvestris. 
 
 223 Chik-wood. 
 
 224 Keeowrah. Pandanus odoratissimus ? 
 
 225 Champah. Michelia champa. 
 
 226 Jumooreea. 
 
 227 Brinjooree. Cassia sumatrana. 
 
 228 Summusuleeah. Symplocos, sp. 
 
 229 Burroona. Capparis spinosa. See 100. 
 
 230 Bhadee. Garuga pinnata. 
 
 231 Hureetukee. Terminalia chebula, or citrina. 
 
 From Chittagong and Arracan. 
 
 232 Dood Pitulee, or Pechul. Trewia nudiflora. 
 
 233 Gurgun. Dipterocarpus incanus. 
 
 The wood yields an oil used in painting. 
 
 234 Ooream. Mangifera sylvatica. See 158. 
 
 235 Huriana aswaree. Acacia heterophylla. 
 
 An inferior specimen to 42. 
 
 236 Jam. Calyptranthes Jambulana. 
 
 237 Looeea. 
 
 238 Lohanu Pooya. 
 
 239 Peetras. Pittaraj. 
 
 A good timber. 
 
 240 Goodgootea. Amyris agollocha. 
 
 The wood is not like 39. 
 
 241 Chedool. Hibiscus? 
 
 242 Chugarasee, or Chukrassee. Swietenia chickrassa. See 67,. 
 
182 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 243 Kandeb. Mesna speciosa. 
 
 244 Koorye. Mimosa emarginata. 
 
 245 Mueh. Pterospermum acerifolium. 
 
 246 Batna. Arracan oak. See 38. 
 
 247 Amrog, Quamrood. Pyrus communis. 
 
 248 Chamaleez. Artocarpus Chaplasha. See 41. 
 
 249 Bahul. 
 
 Used for joiners' work. 
 
 From Orissa. 
 
 250 Saul. Shorea robusta, from the Mahanuddy. 
 
 251 Mahaneen. Melia sempervirens ? 
 
 252 Cungra. Webera corymbosa ? 
 
 253 Mohole. Bauhinia racemosa. 
 
 254 Nember Mohoo. Burseria serrata. 
 
 255 Tentara. Mimosa serissa. 
 
 256 Cussee. Ehretia spinosa. 
 
 257 Patmoose, or Patolee. Trewia nudiflora. 
 
 258 Assun. Pentaptera tomentosa. 
 
 259 Teniah. 
 
 260 Bundun. 
 
 261 Croom. Phoenix dactylifera. See 87. 
 
 262 Teak. Tectona grandis ; from Sambhulpore. 
 
 263 Mussoo. 
 
 264 Rojmoee. 
 
 265 Smjna Patreea. Dalbergia latifolia. 
 
 266 Bheroo. Zizyphus jujuba. 
 
 267 Koochila. Strychnos nux vomica. 
 
 268 Bhenta. Ricinus communis. 
 
 269 Koossum. Carthamus tinctorius. See 79. 
 
 From Chittagong. 
 
 270 Dhammun. Sp. of Celtis. 
 
 271 Peetara Pitalea. Trewia nudiflora. See 232. 
 
 272 Chasteen, Alstonia scholaris. 
 
 273 Kudumba. Nauclea Kadumba. See 109, 192. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 183 
 
 274 Chak-koa. Cassia obtusifolia ? 
 
 275 Gaokhulsa. 
 
 276 Bhenda. Ricinus communis. See 268. 
 
 277 Chaleeta. Dillenia indica. 
 
 278 Bansburoona. Capparis trifoliata. See 100, 229. 
 
 Takes a fine polish. 
 
 279 Kantalea. Cordia grandis ? 
 
 280 Parbha. 
 
 281 Toola. 
 
 282 Toolee. 
 
 283 Paneeatara. 
 
 284 Kaleegata. 
 
 285 Bylsur. Sp. of Celastrus ? 
 
 286 Ataleeah. Sp. of Uvaria. 
 
 287 Daka-kurum. Butea frondosa. See 112. 
 
 288 Joeemu. Pterospermum suberifolium ? 
 
 289 Khur-choona. 
 
 290 Bunmala. 
 
 291 Konak, or Kinok Changpa. Pterospermum suberifolium. 
 
 See 288. 
 
 292 Kaoo. Garcinia Cowa. 
 
 Yields an inferior sort of gamboge. 
 
 293 Peeala, Pial, Piyal. Buchanania latifolia. 
 
 294 Phoolnala. 
 
 295 Koorooz, Koorchin. Wrightea antidysenterica. 
 
 296 Morechuta. Euonymus garcinifolia. Qu. Mori of Sillhet. 
 
 297 Telsur. Shorea Talura? See 40. 
 
 298 Kumaloo. 
 
 299 Doomoeer. Ficus glomerata. See 12, 101. 
 
 300 Neechujoona. 
 
 301 Bunjomeeru. Eugenia fruticosa. 
 
 From Orissa. 
 
 302 Ebony, Pun, Saugor. Diospyros melanoxylon. 
 
 303 Saj, or Ein. Prosopis aculeata. 
 
184 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 304 Moulmun ebony. Diospyros melanoxylon. See 206, 302. 
 
 305 Achoo. Morinda tinctoria ? 
 
 306 Kunso. Cinchona thyrsiflora. 
 
 307 Calicha. Sp. Diospyros ? 
 
 308 Geringa. Pterospermum suberifolium. 
 
 309 Nutkooniah, or Neephkoonia, Nauclea parviflora. 
 
 310 Kurera. Terminal ia Bellerica ? 
 
 311 Noonnoonia. Pentaptera glabra. 
 
 312 Gordue. Terminalia Bellerica. See 310. 
 
 313 Akooputtreea. 
 
 314 Hulda, or Huldoo. Nauclea cordifolia ; Diospyros mon- 
 
 tana. 
 
 315 Endo. Clematis Gouryana. 
 
 316 Sidha. Lagerstrcemia parviflora ? Sida Gualpara. 
 
 317 Makurkenda. Diospyros glutinosa. 
 
 318 Alba. 
 
 319 Raiee. Dillenia pentagyna. 
 
 320 Kurera. Terminalia Bellerica? See 310, 312. 
 
 321 Charo. Buchanania angustifolia. 
 
 322 Dhowrung. Qu. Dhoura of Nagpour. 
 
 323 Dho. Sp. Artocarpus ; Conocarpus latifolia. 
 
 324 Swamo. Swietenia febrifuga. 
 
 325 Goheera. Mimosa arabica. 
 
 326 Bhallia. Sp. Bassia. 
 
 327 Onla, Amlokey, Aunla. Phyllanthus emblica. See 150. 
 
 328 Kuthul, or Jack. Artocarpus integrifolia. See 19. 
 
 329 Pandooroo. 
 
 330 Bahara, Bahura. Terminalia Bellerica. See 310, 312, 320. 
 
 331 Arjoon, Urjoon. Pentaptera urjoona. See 68. 
 
 332 Coombee. Elseocarpus. 
 
 333 Patoolee. Trewia nudiflora. See 252, 257, 271. 
 
 334 Kurma. Phoenix dactylifera, fr. Tirhoot. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 185 
 
 From the Cape of Good Hope. 
 
 335 Cape Fir. 
 
 336 Assiquee, or Assagai wood, of which the natives make 
 
 darts. 
 
 337 Heart Pear. 
 
 338 Comasia-wood. 
 
 339 White Halse. 
 
 340 Iron-wood. 
 
 341 Heart Pear. See 337. 
 
 342 Wild Olive. 
 
 343 Cape Yellow wood. 
 
 344 Cape Oak. 
 
 345 Cape Beech. Fagus sylvatica. 
 
 346 Black Bark. 
 
 347 Black Stink-wood. 
 
 348 Yellow Stink-wood. 
 
 349 White Stink-wood. 
 
 350 Sole-wood. 
 
 351 Red Halse. 
 
 From the Hill Provinces. 
 
 352 Kukhur. 
 
 Wood small, but beautifully veined, and takes a high polish. 
 
 353 Mhyroo. Quercus elastica. 
 
 355 Hill Sissoo. Dalbergia Sissa. 
 
 356 Sissoo. Dalbergia Sissa. 
 
 357 Bier, or Baer. Zizyphus jujuba. 
 
 358 Dhamnoo. Grewia elastica. 
 
 359 Walnut. Juglans regia. 
 
 360 Sal. Shorea robusta. 
 
 361 Toon. CedrelaTuna. 
 
 362 Deodar. Pinus Deodara. 
 
 363 Fir, untapped. Pinus longifolia ; the Chir of the hills. 
 
 364 Bheal. Grewia oppositifolia. 
 
 365 Khier-Khuer. Mimosa Catechu. 
 
186 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 366 Bakla. Conocarpus latifolia. See 323. 
 
 367 Huldoo. Nauclea cordifolia. 
 
 368 Toot, or Toort. Morus tatarica. 
 
 369 Oak. Quercus robur. 
 
 370 Cheela. Cascaria vareca. 
 
 371 Jumbooa. Syzygum lateriflorum. 
 
 372 Churrowlee. Buchanania latifolia. See 293. 
 
 373 Saul, untapped. Shorea robusta. 
 
 374 Teendoo. Diospyros lanceolata. 
 Ebony, fr. Coromandel. 
 
 375 Seereess. Acacia serissa. 
 
 376 Howla. Phyllanthus emblica. 
 
 377 Babool. Acacia vera. 
 
 378 Hurra. Terminalia chebula. 
 
 379 Padub. Bignonia suaveolens. 
 
 380 Catteea. Bradleia bifaria. 
 
 381 Syne-Suen. Pentaptera tomentosa. 
 
 From Australia. 
 
 382 Cork-wood. 
 
 383 Cedar, white ; Melia azedarach. Red, Cedrela tuna. 
 
 384 Cypress Pine, two kinds. Callitris pyramidalis. 
 
 385 Huon River Pine, two kinds. Dacrydium. 
 
 386 Box. Eucalyptus. 
 
 387 Beech, two kinds. Fagus sylvatica. 
 
 388 Light wood, two kinds. Ceratopetalum gummiferum. 
 
 389 Black But. Eucalyptus. 
 
 Tough, good for shafts of gigs, &o. 
 
 390 Iron-bark. Eucalyptus. 
 
 391 Stringy -bark. Eucalyptus. 
 
 392 Blue gum. Eucalyptus piperita. 
 
 393 Water-gum. 
 
 394 Hickory. 
 
 395 Honeysuckle. Banksia integrifolia. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 187 
 
 396 Cherry-tree. Exocarpus cupressiformis. 
 
 397 Pear-tree. Xylomelium pyriforme. 
 
 398 Apple. Achras australis ; also Metrosideros cordifolia. 
 
 399 Mountain Ash. Fraxinus excelsior. 
 
 400 Turpentine. Tristania albicans. 
 
 401 Lignum-vitse. 
 
 Much lighter than the real. 
 
 402 Mangrove. 
 
 From Pit cairn s Islands. 
 
 403 Tou. 
 
 A very fine wood, large, heavy, light-coloured. 
 
 404 Amse. 
 
 An inferior wood. 
 
 405 Amy. 
 
 Hard and ponderous. 
 
 406 Tonga. 
 
 Used as a dye-wood. 
 
 407 Pooloo. 
 
 Light and frangible. 
 
 408 Toomee na. 
 
 A coarse light wood. 
 
 409 Tiari. 
 
 Small tree, wood light, and coarse-grained. 
 
 410 Apiri. 
 
 Good heavy wood, but small. 
 
 411 Tutu. 
 
 Good fine-grained wood, of a light colour. 
 
 412 Ateiri. 
 
 Small wood, of no value. 
 
 413 Doodooy. 
 
 Wood light and spongy ; bark used for dyeing. 
 
 414 Miro. 
 
 Wood small, but close-grained. 
 
 415 Mape. 
 
 Wood small, light-coloured, of inferior quality. 
 
188 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 From Naghpore. 
 
 416 Zamin. 
 
 417 Sid. 
 
 418 Jam. See 7. 
 
 419 Hooarah. 
 
 420 Booarah. 
 
 421 Seorah. See 23, 103. 
 
 422 Chau. 
 
 423 Gundroee. 
 
 424 Goojunga. 
 
 425 Hotah. 
 
 426 Kurul. 
 
 427 Kudum. 
 
 428 Hoorta. 
 
 429 Mallee. 
 
 430 Julia. Cedrela Tuna ? 
 
 431 Agswar. 
 
 432 Pooarah. 
 
 433 Chameea. 
 
 434 Singra. 
 
 435 Aodal. 
 
 436 Moorooe. 
 
 437 Chakma. 
 
 438 Row. 
 
 439 Dowee. 
 
 440 Jageea. 
 
 441 Boora. 
 
 442 Chiuta. 
 
 443 Badkoor. 
 
 444 Sirchumea. 
 
 445 Ping. 
 
 446 Jomdeea. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 189 
 
 447 Duleea. 
 
 448 Teylo. 
 
 449 Deng*a. 
 
 450 Seendrine. 
 
 451 Bora. 
 
 452 Nagee-sar. 
 
 No. III. 
 
 In the Appendix to the first part of this volume, p. 226, 
 is a letter addressed to R. H. Solly, Esq. by N. B. Ward, 
 Esq. respecting his method of growing ferns and other 
 plants, which thrive best in a humid atmosphere, by 
 planting them in a box filled with moist earth, and covered 
 with a glazed frame, rendered as nearly air-tight as pos- 
 sible. In this situation they will flourish, even in the 
 smoky atmosphere of London, the junctures of the box 
 being close enough to exclude the particles of soot, smoke, 
 and dust, which are constantly floating in the air of the 
 metropolis, and to which Mr. Ward, with great pro- 
 bability, attributes the sickly condition of all plants that 
 are exposed to its action. 
 
 The same kind of boxes have been applied by their 
 inventor to a much more important service, namely, that 
 of conveying living plants, by long sea voyages, from one 
 country and climate to another, with singular success, 
 and without the necessity of those minute precautions of 
 regulating the admission of air and light, and of duly 
 supplying them with water, which are absolutely necessary 
 if the usual mode is had recourse to. 
 
 Mr. Ward's letter, subjoined, together with the letters 
 addressed to that gentleman by Captain Mallard, from 
 
190 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Hobart Town and from Sydney, and by Mr. Trailli from 
 Cairo, shew the success which has attended this novel 
 and very important discovery. 
 
 Sir, Wellclose Square, December 29, 1835. 
 
 I have sent you copies of the original letters, with 
 which you may do what you like. With respect to the 
 New Holland cases, they were received on board Captain 
 Mallard's ship in the first week in June 1833, and arrived 
 at their destination, as you will perceive by Captain M.'s 
 letters, in the following January. So much for the out- 
 ward-bound voyage. I have, however, two observations 
 to make on Captain Mallard's letters : the one relates to 
 the sprinkling of the plants near the equator, which was 
 certainly superfluous ; and the other regards the apparent 
 death of two or three of the ferns : now, these were ferns 
 with annual fronds, which fronds, having run their race, 
 withered, their roots remaining alive in the mould. 
 
 The homeward-bound voyage was even more interest- 
 ing. The cases were refilled at Sydney in February 1834, 
 chiefly with ferns (one or two of which had not previously 
 been introduced into this country), and two or three 
 flowering plants. The thermometer then being between 
 90° and 100°. In rounding Cape Horn, about two or 
 three months after, the thermometer was observed as low 
 as 20° at 8 p.m., and the decks were a foot deep in snow. 
 A fortnight after this they were in the harbour of Rio 
 Janeiro. In crossing the line, the thermometer rose to 
 120°; and upon the arrival of the ship in the British 
 Channel, in the beginning of November, the thermometer 
 was as low as 40°. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 191 
 
 These cases occupied the same station as on the out- 
 ward-bound voyage. The plants were not once watered, 
 and received no protection, either by day or night ; and 
 yet arrived here in the most flourishing state, after their 
 eight months' confinement. 
 
 As the above experiments were made chiefly with 
 ferns, I think it will be interesting to you to mention one 
 other, in which plants of a higher order of developement 
 were the subject of trial. Ibrahim Pacha, being anxious 
 to obtain useful and ornamental tropical plants for his 
 garden near Cairo, commissioned his agents in this 
 country to send out what could be procured from our 
 nurseries ; which commission was given to me to execute. 
 These plants were shipped on board the Nile steamer in 
 August 1834, and were about two months on their 
 passage. 
 
 I have inclosed you the letter from his gardener (which 
 I shall feel much obliged by your taking care of), which 
 will give you an account of the state in which they arrived, 
 and where you will find a list of the plants sent. Various 
 other equally successful trials have been made to Para, 
 Calcutta, and other places. 
 
 I am, Sir, &c. &c. 
 A. Aikjn, Esq. N. B. Ward. 
 
 Secretary, &>'C. fyc. 
 
 Sir, Hobart Town, Nov. 23, 1833. 
 
 You will, I am sure, be much pleased to hear, that 
 your experiment for the preservation of plants alive, with- 
 out the necessity of water, or open exposure to the air, 
 has fully succeeded. 
 
 The two boxes entrusted to my care, containing ferns, 
 mosses, grasses, &c. are now on the poop of the ship 
 
192 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 (where they have been all the voyage), and the plants 
 (with the exception of two or three ferns, which appear 
 to have faded) are all alive and vigorous. 
 
 During the very hot weather near the equator, I gave 
 them once a light sprinkling of water ; and that is all 
 they have received during the passage. 
 
 All the plants have grown a great deal, particularly 
 the grasses, which have been attempting to push the top 
 of the box off. I shall carry them forward to Sydney, 
 according to your instructions, and have no doubt of 
 delivering them into the hands of Mr. Cunningham in the 
 same flourishing state in which they are at present. 
 
 Allow me, in conclusion, to offer you my warm con- 
 gratulations upon the success of this simple but beautiful 
 discovery for the preservation of plants in the living state 
 upon the longest voyages ; and I feel not a little pride in 
 having been the instrument by which the truth of your 
 new principle has been fully proved by experiment. 
 
 I am, Sir, &c. &c. 
 
 Charles Mallard, 
 
 Barque Persian, at Sydney, 
 Sir, Jan. 18 th, 1834. 
 
 I have the happiness to inform you that the plants 
 (ferns, mosses, &c.) contained in the two glazed cases 
 entrusted to my care, were landed here at the Botanical 
 Garden about three weeks ago, nearly the whole of them 
 alive and flourishing. They have since been transplanted 
 by Mr. M'Lean, who has charge of the garden in the 
 absence of Mr. Cunningham (gone to New Zealand 
 botanizing), and are all doing well. 
 
 The complete success of your interesting experiment 
 has been decidedly proved ; and whilst offering you my 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 193 
 
 congratulations upon this agreeable result, I cannot but 
 feel some little degree of pride and pleasure in having 
 been the instrument selected to put to the proof so im- 
 portant a discovery to the botanical world. 
 
 I am, Sir, &c. &c. 
 
 Charles Mallard. 
 
 P. S. I ought to have mentioned that, during the 
 voyage, the plants were watered but once, and that but a 
 light sprinkling near the Equator, and were on deck (on 
 the poop) the whole passage. 
 
 Sir, Cairo, April 30th, 1835. 
 
 I beg to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of 
 2d ultimo, wherein you request information as to the state 
 of the plants sent out by you in the Nile steamer. The 
 collection consisted, I believe, of 173 species, contained in 
 six glazed cases, two of which only were forwarded to me 
 from Alexandria. The one which you mention as having 
 been fitted up with talc, together with three others, were 
 sent on to Syria immediately on their arrival in Alex- 
 andria, so that I had no opportunity of seeing them. 
 
 I have, however, the pleasure to inform you, that the 
 Egyptian portion of the collection was received here in the 
 very best condition : the plants, when removed from the 
 cases, did not appear to have suffered in the slightest 
 degree ; they were in a perfectly fresh and vigorous state, 
 and, in fact, hardly a leaf had been lost during their 
 passage. Your plan I think decidedly a good one, and 
 ought to be made generally known. 
 
 I am, Sir, &c. &c. 
 
 J. Traill. 
 
 o 
 
194 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 List of Plants contained in 
 
 Anona cherimoyer. 
 Laurus cassia. 
 Laurus cinnamomum. 
 Myrtus Pimenta. 
 Zingiber officinalis. 
 Cycas revoluta. 
 Latania borbonica. 
 Gomutus saccharifera. 
 Caryota urens. 
 Oreodoxa regia. 
 Ficus elastica. 
 Pandanus odorata. 
 Curcuma longa. 
 Doryanthes excelsa. 
 Passiflora racemosa. 
 Psidium chinense. 
 Alpinia nutans. 
 Vanilla planifolia. 
 Terminalia angustifolia. 
 Maranta arundinacea. 
 Maranta zebrina. 
 Maranta bicolor. 
 Dracaena edulis. 
 Dracaena terminalis. 
 Diospyros cordifolia. 
 Melaleuca cajeputi. 
 
 the two Cases sent to Egypt. 
 
 Combretum comosum. 
 Bombax gossypium. 
 Cedrela odorata. 
 Mimusops elengi. 
 Uvaria odoratissima. 
 Dalbergia scandens. 
 Dimocarpus Litchi. 
 Achras Sapota. 
 Jatropha pandursefolia. 
 Melastoma Fothergilli. 
 Menispermum cocculus. 
 Morus tinctoria. 
 Flacourtia cataphracta. 
 Piper nigrum. 
 Piper Betle. 
 Diospyros edulis. 
 Diospyros embryopteris. 
 Aleurites triloba. 
 Ixora coccinea. 
 Bignonia venusta. 
 Franciscea uniflora. 
 Erythrina crista-galli. 
 Brexia spinosa. 
 Croton variegatum. 
 Jonesia pinnata. 
 
143 
 
 ON SACCHARINE SUBSTANCES. 
 No. I. 
 
 By THE SECRETARY. 
 Read 9th February, 1830. 
 
 Of the sensations that we receive through the organ of 
 taste, there is one to which we give the name of sweet. 
 This, like all other simple and primary sensations, is in- 
 capable of being defined ; and the only way by which any 
 one can give an idea of the meaning attached by him to 
 the word, is by naming some substance which eminently 
 excites the sensation in one's self, assuming that it will 
 produce a similar sensation on the nerves of taste in an- 
 other person. 
 
 But the sensation of sweet may, under particular cir- 
 cumstances, be produced, not merely by the contact of 
 * a sweet substance with the nervous papillae of the tongue 
 and palate, but by contact of a perfectly neutral or insipid 
 substance, after the nerves have been over-excited by that 
 sensation which is the opposite to sweet. This opposite is 
 bitter ; or, more properly speaking, acerb. If the mouth 
 is washed out with a moderately strong solution of some 
 bitter saline substance, such as sulphate of magnesia, or 
 with a strong infusion of gall-nuts, and then distilled 
 water, or even common spring-water, be taken into the 
 mouth, such water will excite the sensation of sweetness 
 in a degree about equal to that of new milk. This is 
 
144 
 
 ON SACCHARINE SUBSTANCES. 
 
 perfectly analogous to, and, no doubt, may be explained on 
 precisely the same principle as, those very curious optical 
 phenomena first noticed by a French philosopher, and 
 afterwards, under the name of ocular spectra, described 
 by Dr. Darwin, in a paper printed in the Transactions of 
 the Royal Society. 
 
 In the sandy deserts of Syria and Arabia, and in those 
 which insulate the valley of the Nile, the springs are not 
 only scanty, but impregnated, more or less, with bitter 
 salts ; in some cases so as to be entirely undrinkable, and 
 often nauseous to such a degree, that nothing but absolute 
 necessity can reconcile travellers to their use. Hence, 
 when a caravan, after toiling through these deserts, stifled 
 by the dust, scorched by the heat, and with their thirst 
 rather inflamed than allayed by a scanty allowance of 
 bitter, brackish water, arrives at length at the unstinted 
 plenty of the Jordan, or of the Nile, the first copious 
 draughts of fresh water are to each palate, not meta- 
 phorically, but actually and literally, sweet and delicious 
 as milk. This, probably, is the reason why, in the coun- 
 tries just mentioned, natural waters have always been 
 distinguished as the bitter and the sweet ; while in our 
 own, and in the other countries of Europe, where potable 
 water is every where abundant, we characterise waters, 
 according to their taste, rather into fresh and salt; the 
 former being a negative term, and implying merely the 
 absence of saltness. 
 
 The sensation of sweetness is naturally and essentially 
 agreeable to the palate, as the prismatic colours are to the 
 eye ; so much so, that, in all languages, the term has 
 been applied, with great metaphorical laxityy to a variety 
 of qualities and actions, in themselves agreeable, and little 
 liable to, perhaps little capable of, excess. The word 
 
ON SACCHARINE SUBSTANCES. 
 
 145 
 
 sweet is applied, with least deviation from its original 
 meaning, to certain odours which, in their natural state, 
 cannot be so accumulated as to become unpleasant : thus, 
 with perfect propriety we speak of the sweetness of a hay- 
 field, of a rose, and, in the words of Shakespeare, of " the 
 sweet south that breathes upon a bank of violets." 
 
 We apply the same word, also, to impressions received 
 from the other senses, when we say a sweet voice, a sweet 
 strain of music, a sweetly coloured picture, a piece of 
 metal that turns sweetly in the lathe. We also charac- 
 terise intellectual qualities by the same term, when we 
 speak of a sweet temper. 
 
 The Hindoos represent their Cupid as armed with a 
 bow of sugar-cane strung with bees ; whence we may 
 conclude that they, as well as the western nations of the 
 old world, have given a metaphorical extension to this 
 simple sensation of taste, and for the same reason. 
 
 It is worth while, therefore, to know something of 
 those substances which are capable of thus agreeably im- 
 pressing the palate ; to inquire whether the same prin- 
 ciple, variously modified, has produced all the different 
 kinds of sweets, and to consider the methods by which it 
 may be separated from the compounds in which it 
 naturally exists. 
 
 Every one knows, by personal experience, that various 
 animal and vegetable substances are sweet ; but every one 
 is not aware, that the same quality is found in several 
 purely chemical substances. These latter I shall first 
 mention, but very briefly, as they do not form any part of 
 human food. 
 
 All the soluble salts of lead are sweet; one of them, 
 the acetate, so- remarkably, as to have acquired, among 
 the old chemists, the name of sugar of lead. 
 
 vol. li. • l 
 
146 
 
 ON SACCHARINE SUBSTANCES. 
 
 There are two other metallic salts, of modern dis- 
 covery — the hyposulphates of silver and of copper, in 
 which the sweetness is so concentrated as to be almost 
 disagreeable. 
 
 Lastly, a particular earth exists in the emerald, of 
 which it forms about sixty per cent, that has obtained the 
 name of Glucine, from its property of forming sweet salts 
 with acids. 
 
 These substances differ very essentially in composition, 
 and in all their other properties, from the sweets of animal 
 and vegetable origin ; nor is it necessary to say any thing 
 more about them on the present occasion. I pass on, 
 therefore, to the sweets obtained from the animal kingdom. 
 
 The muscular parts of all quadrupeds, birds, and 
 fishes, if boiled or roasted soon after death, will be found 
 to have a decided though slight degree of sweetness. On 
 the commencement of that spontaneous change which 
 ends in the putrefactive decomposition, this sweetness dis- 
 appears ; for meat or fish, when dressed after being a 
 little too long kept, is perfectly insipid. It is not in the 
 muscular fibre that this sweet taste resides, for it is ca- 
 pable of being extracted from flesh by boiling water, in 
 which muscular fibre is not soluble ; as we know from 
 the very familiar instance of meat-broths, which, when 
 recent and simply prepared, are considerably sweet. No 
 attempts have been made, that I am aware of, to obtain 
 this sweet matter in a separate state ; and, therefore, we 
 are ignorant whether it agrees in essential character with 
 any of the other sweets contained in, or obtainable from, 
 the products of animal and vegetable organization. 
 
 Another sweet substance, called by modern chemists 
 Glycerine, may be obtained from most of the fats or ex- 
 pressed oils, whether animal or vegetable, by the process 
 
ON SACCHARINE SUBSTANCES. 
 
 147 
 
 of saponification, or combining them with fixed alkali ; 
 being either an essential constituent of oils, or produced 
 from them. In its purest state, it is in the form of a 
 syrup, of a decidedly sweet taste, but .not capable of crys- 
 tallizing or of undergoing the vinous fermentation. 
 
 Two other species, or varieties, of sugar, of animal 
 origin, remain to be mentioned. The first of these is 
 sugar of milk. 
 
 The sweet taste of new milk is owing to the sugar 
 which it contains ; a substance which, having found some 
 medical reputation on the Continent, is prepared in con- 
 siderable quantity in some parts of Switzerland. The 
 whey produced in making cheese is first heated, to sepa- 
 rate the butter from it, and is then boiled down to the 
 consistence of syrup : it is then poured into earthen pots, 
 and exposed to the sun till it becomes nearly solid. The 
 mass is then put into water, and heated till the sugar is 
 dissolved; and the hot liquor being poured through a 
 linen filter, the insoluble impurities are for the most part 
 separated : it is then clarified with white of egg, is again 
 evaporated, and deposits, on cooling, a whitish crystalline 
 mass, which is the sugar of milk. Although in its che- 
 mical analysis this substance differs but little from vege- 
 table sugar, yet it is much less soluble in water ; and the 
 solution, though mixed with yeast, and placed in circum- 
 stances favourable for the vinous fermentation, will not 
 undergo this change. Even entire milk ferments with 
 great difficulty, although there can be no doubt of its 
 being capable, by proper management, of passing into this 
 state; because the Tartars are in the constant habit of 
 preparing a fermented liquor from mare's milk : it is 
 called by them kumis, and affords alcohol by distillation. 
 
 The other animal sugar is found in the urine of per- 
 
148 
 
 ON SACCHARINE SUBSTANCES. 
 
 sons labouring under a kind of dropsy called diabetes 
 mellitus. It is, of course, only obtained for chemical exa- 
 mination, and is prepared by evaporating the urine to the 
 consistence of a thick brown syrup, and then keeping it 
 in a warm place for several days. An irregularly crystal- 
 line mass is deposited, from which most of the colouring 
 matter may be separated by washing with cold alcohol : 
 the residue is then to be mixed with animal charcoal and 
 digested in boiling alcohol, and the solution by cooling 
 will afford white crystals of sugar. 
 
 This sugar, in taste, and in all its sensible qualities, 
 bears a perfect resemblance to cane-sugar. It is capable 
 of the vinous fermentation, and differs from the latter 
 substance only in being of animal origin. 
 
 From the purely animal sugars I now proceed to two 
 others, which hold an intermediate place between them 
 and those of vegetable origin. The honey-dew, or aphis 
 sugar, and the honey of the bee, resemble each other, in 
 being vegetable juices modified by digestion in the sto- 
 mach of insects. I shall treat of them separately, begin- 
 ning with the aphis sugar. 
 
 Aphides are small insects, commonly known by the 
 name of smother-fly, which, in hot and dry summers, 
 appear in countless myriads on most culinary vegetables, 
 on field crops of beans and peas, on roses and other shrubs, 
 and on certain trees. By their trunks, inserted into the 
 bark, they feed on the sap or common juices of plants; 
 and when they void their excrement, it appears in the 
 form of a minute drop of clear pellucid liquor, as sweet as 
 syrup, which is ejaculated to a considerable distance from 
 the animal's body. The upper surface of leaves is often 
 found smeared over with this viscid juice, which is then 
 called honey-dew ; as if, like dew, it were deposited from 
 
ON SACCHARINE SUBSTANCES. 
 
 149 
 
 the atmosphere. The coccinella, or lady-bird, greedily 
 devours the insects themselves ; whereas the ants are pas- 
 sionately fond of their honied superfluities. All that 
 we know of this substance is, that it is sweet and clammy, 
 it not being possible to collect a quantity sufficient for the 
 purposes of experiment. I therefore proceed to another 
 much more abundant variety of saccharine matter, the 
 honey of the bee. 
 
 Honey is a sweet juice obtained from the nectaries, or 
 honey-cups, of flowers. Each flower, generally speaking, 
 contains so small a quantity of this juice, that it is not 
 possible to collect it by hand, even for chemical examina- 
 tion. We know nothing, therefore, of the substance, 
 except its sweet taste, till after it has been elaborated into 
 honey. This is done by certain species of bees, one of 
 which has been for ages domesticated by man, and is 
 called the hive-bee. This animal creeps into a flower, 
 and sucks out, by means of its trunk, the sweet juice con- 
 tained in the nectary, which it then pours into its mouth 
 and swallows ; part serving as food for the animal, and 
 part passing into an enlargement of the gullet, which, 
 when distended with honey, is about the size of a pea. 
 The honey-bag being filled, the insect returns to the hive, 
 and disgorges its contents into one of the hexagonal waxen 
 cells that constitute the comb : finally, the cell, when 
 filled, is closed by a thin covering of wax. The process 
 called taking the honey, is the removal of such part of 
 the comb as is filled with honey. A slice is then cut off 
 each surface of the comb, so as to unseal the cells ; after 
 which it is laid on a sieve, to allow the honey to flow out. 
 The honey obtained in this way is the purest and best 
 flavoured ; but generally, in order to save time, the comb 
 is broken down and submitted to pressure, whereby a 
 
150 
 
 ON SACCHARINE SUBSTANCES. 
 
 greater quantity of honey is obtained, but mingled with 
 wax, and fouled by the juice of those bee-maggots which 
 happened to be in the comb, and which are consequently 
 crushed by the force necessary to squeeze out the honey. 
 
 In its purest state, honey is an uniform transparent 
 syrup, varying considerably in colour, intensely sweet to 
 the taste, and of a peculiar flavour, independently of the 
 odour and flavour that characterize particular varieties of 
 this substance. It is susceptible of the vinous ferment- 
 ation, though with difficulty ; so that, in making mead, 
 it is usual to add to the honey a certain proportion of 
 infusion of malt. By keeping for a few weeks, honey 
 generally grows thick, from the formation of soft crystal- 
 line grains, which usually remain intermixed with the 
 more fluid parts, and give to the whole a thicker con- 
 sistence and a semi-opacity. The same effect is produced 
 by a cold temperature. The lighter coloured, and, probably, 
 purer kinds of honey, seem to be the most liable to granu- 
 late ; which is, perhaps, an objection to them : at least the 
 ancients, who, from their want of sugar, may be reckoned 
 better connoisseurs of honey than the moderns, esteemed 
 liquid honey far above that which had become candied. 
 
 As we are not acquainted with the properties of honey 
 while it yet remains in the nectaries of flowers, it is im- 
 possible to state accurately what are those, if any, which 
 it derives from the insects which gather it. We are abso- 
 lutely sure, however, that many of its properties are re- 
 ceived from the plants by which it is secreted, because 
 bees that have access to certain flowers always produce 
 honey of a certain quality. 
 
 The different species of heath which cover large tracts 
 of hilly country in our own island, and overspread the 
 sandy wastes of Brandenburg, Pomerania, and, generally, 
 
ON SACCHARINE SUBSTANCES. 
 
 151 
 
 of the north of Germany, afford a considerable quantity of 
 reddish brown honey, of a strong odour and flavour, and 
 very liable to disagree with those who are unaccustomed 
 to it. In the market it bears the lowest price, and, I 
 believe, no demand exists for it in London. It is, no 
 doubt, the same as the heath-honey {ericceum mel) of the 
 Romans, which, according to Pliny, is the worst of all 
 {Hist. Nat. j xi. 4). Of Corsican honey we hear nothing at 
 present ; among the ancients it was celebrated, or rather, 
 infamous, for its bitterness, which it was supposed to receive 
 from the blossoms of the yew, or, more probably, the box ; a 
 tree which abounds in that island. The honey of Mount 
 Hymettus, in Attica, bore the highest rank in the ancient 
 world ; and next, and nearly equal to it, was the honey 
 of Hybla, in Sicily : the Cretan and Cypriot honey was 
 also in high estimation. Egypt furnished considerable 
 quantities, of fair quality ; and, no doubt, in Palestine, 
 " the land flowing with milk and honey," this product 
 must have been very abundant, although I do not find 
 any notice of it in the classical writers. 
 
 As the refinements of luxury increased, the Romans 
 became more curious about the quality of their honey ; 
 and, accordingly, previous to the flowering of any parti- 
 cular plant that was considered to afford remarkably fine 
 honey, they were in the habit of removing from the hives 
 all the comb already filled, in order that that about to be 
 gathered might not be mingled with other of inferior qua- 
 lity. This practice, according to Prof. Pallas, is at pre- 
 sent followed in some parts of European Russia ; by means 
 of which the inhabitants obtain, in a separate state, the 
 honey of the lime-tree blossom, remarkable for its pale 
 greenish yellow colour and the purity of its flavour. 
 
 Since the general use of sugar in Europe, the demand 
 
152 
 
 ON SACCHARINE SUBSTANCES. 
 
 for honey has necessarily diminished ; but the finer kinds, 
 ranking as articles of luxury, still bear a high price. The 
 two varieties in most estimation are from Narbonne and 
 Minorca. 
 
 The Narbonne honey is of a very pale colour, and, on 
 keeping, deposits larger and harder granulations than 
 common j and is also characterised by the flavour or odour 
 of orange-flowers. This latter, however, is probably ad- 
 ventitious, for oranges are not, I believe, grown in any 
 part of France, except in the islands of Hieres and the 
 coast immediately adjoining. 
 
 The Minorca honey is also very white, and, when 
 recent, has the odour of rosemary, it being chiefly ga- 
 thered from the rosemary and other aromatic shrubs that 
 grow in that island. The honey of Murcia, Valencia, and 
 Catalonia, is of the same kind. A softer, less crystalline, 
 pale coloured, and nearly flavourless honey, is collected in 
 Switzerland, and goes in our shops by the name of Cha- 
 mouni honey. 
 
 The common honey of England and of France, being 
 chiefly derived from agricultural crops or wild plants of 
 the leguminous kind, such as clover and beans, gorse and 
 broom, is, when pure, of good quality, though not equal 
 to those already mentioned : in the softness and fineness 
 of its concretions it resembles the Swiss honey, and when 
 obtained from districts free from heath, although it may 
 be defective in odour, has, at least, none that is unpleasant. 
 
 There is a shallow valley in Shropshire, extending 
 from Wenlock towards Ludlow, which, from time imme- 
 morial, has borne the name of Apesdale, from the 
 number of hives formerly kept by the cottagers and small 
 farmers who inhabit it, and who are said to have paid to 
 the Priory of Wenlock a considerable part of their rents 
 
ON SACCHARINE SUBSTANCES. 
 
 153 
 
 in honey. The soil is entirely calcareous, and during the 
 whole summer it is covered with flowers. Select specimens 
 of its honey, several of which I have seen, bear a close 
 resemblance, in colour and hardness of granulation, to 
 that of Narbonne : it wants, indeed, the odour of this 
 latter, which, however, as I have already mentioned, is, 
 in my opinion, not natural to it. 
 
 I ought not to quit this part of my subject without 
 taking some notice of the poisonous honey which is pro- 
 duced in some countries. The earliest mention that I 
 find made of it is in Xenophon's history of the retreat of 
 the 1 0,000 Greek mercenaries after the battle of Cynaxa, 
 in which the younger Cyrus, whose claims to the Persian 
 throne they had supported, was slain. " At the distance 
 of two days 5 march from Trebizond, on the south shore of 
 the Euxine Sea, they encamped in a district abounding in 
 hives; but as many of them as ate of the honey were 
 seized with delirium, accompanied with violent vomiting 
 and purging, so that they could not stand. Those who 
 had taken but little were like drunken persons ; those who 
 had taken much lost their senses, and some seemed to be 
 at the point of death : they lay like the dead when an 
 army has been routed, and great was the grief of their 
 comrades. On the following day, however, it was found 
 that no one had died, and the delirium, after lasting about 
 twenty-four hours, at length ceased ; but it was not till 
 the third and fourth day that they were able to rise, being 
 exhausted as if they had taken medicine of violent opera- 
 tion." — (Ssv. Ava(3. iv.) 
 
 Pliny, in his Natural History (xxi. 45), says, " A 
 poisonous honey is produced near Heraclea, and also 
 among the people called Sanni ; the latter is supposed to 
 be gathered by the bees from the flower of the rhodo- 
 
154 
 
 ON SACCHARINE SUBSTANCES. 
 
 dendron, which abounds in that country." The country 
 here mentioned is the same as that where the accident 
 related by Xenophon occurred; and the truth of the 
 statement by Pliny was confirmed sixteen centuries after- 
 wards, by the celebrated botanist Tournefort, who, being at 
 Trebizond, ascertained that all the country about abounds 
 in two flowering shrubs nearly allied to each other, the 
 Rhododendron ponticum and Azalea pontica. The Kalmia 
 latifolia, a shrub nearly allied to the two former, and 
 growing abundantly in most of the Atlantic states of the 
 American Union, has also been found to yield poisonous 
 honey. Dr. Smith Barton has stated, that in 1790 this 
 honey proved fatal to several persons in Philadelphia. 
 Humboldt, also, in his voyage down the Orinoco, met 
 with poisonous honey. The colour of such is said to be 
 high orange, and it has a peculiar rank odour. 
 
 I now proceed to the sugars, or saccharine juices, 
 entirely of vegetable origin. 
 
 1 might begin by noticing those processes, natural and 
 artificial, by which starch is converted into sugar in the 
 germination of barley and other seeds ; in the exposure of 
 certain tuberous roots, as the potato, to the action of 
 frost ; in the heating of certain farinaceous seeds, as the 
 chestnut ; and in the long- continued boiling of starch 
 with water and a little sulphuric acid. But this investi- 
 gation, although extremely interesting, would involve me 
 in chemical details not likely to be understood by a mixed 
 audience, and, therefore, not interesting to them. I must, 
 therefore, restrict myself to those cases in which sugar 
 exists in vegetables ready formed. 
 
 There are several trees the sap of which contains sugar 
 in sufficient abundance for human use. Two such, the 
 sycamore and the birch, are natives of our own country ; 
 
ON SACCHARINE SUBSTANCES. 
 
 155 
 
 and although the sugar which they yield is not sufficient 
 to repay the expense of its manufacture, yet the sap, par- 
 ticularly of the latter, is, in many country places, fer- 
 mented into a very palatable but thin vinous liquor. 
 There is, however, a species of sycamore, called the sugar- 
 maple (Acer saccharinum), which abounds in and cha- 
 racterises the richer soils in the south of Canada, and in 
 the northern parts of the United States, the sap of which 
 is rich enough to supply a considerable quantity of sugar 
 sufficiently pure for domestic use, though seldom met with 
 as an article of general commerce. 
 
 Some time before the breaking up of the frost, the 
 neighbouring farmers assemble in the uncleared country 
 occupied by the sugar-maples, and commence operations 
 by boring each tree with an augre to the depth of about 
 two inches. A stick is placed in the hole in a slanting 
 position, and a vessel of any kind is set below to receive 
 the sap as it trickles down. In the meantime the boilers 
 are fixed in very inartificial fireplaces ; and as soon as a 
 sufficient quantity of liquor is collected, it is boiled down 
 to about one-third of its original quantity. Being now 
 allowed to cool, a few whites of eggs, well beaten, are 
 stirred in ; and, on increasing the heat, the albumen 
 coagulates and rises to the top, forming a thick scum, 
 and carrying with it the impurities. The clarified liquor 
 is then evaporated to the consistence of a thick syrup, and 
 placed in coolers till the crystallizable sugar has concreted. 
 The whole is then put into boxes with holes at the bottom, 
 through which the melasses drop, leaving the solid sugar 
 in a state fit for use, though brown and soft from the im- 
 perfect separation of the syrup. It is capable, by further 
 clarification, of being made into loaf-sugar ; but this is a 
 process which it seldom undergoes. The season for pre- 
 
156 
 
 ON SACCHARINE SUBSTANCES. 
 
 paring maple sugar lasts about six weeks, from the end of 
 February to the middle of April, after which time the sap 
 becomes scanty, and more watery than at first. A tree 
 of moderate size affords, according to Dr. Rush, from 
 twenty to thirty gallons of sap, from which five pounds 
 of soft sugar may be obtained. The largest quantity of 
 maple sugar is made in the country between Lakes Huron 
 and Michigan, in the neighbourhood of the town of 
 Michilimackinac. 
 
 Most of the trees belonging to the natural family of 
 palms afford large quantities of sweet sap, which some- 
 times is fermented into wine or vinegar, but is often boiled 
 down to a moderately solid viscid sugar. The juice of 
 the date-tree was so treated in early times, as this kind 
 of sugar is mentioned by Josephus ; who also states, that 
 it was reckoned inferior to honey. Dr. Shaw, likewise, 
 in his Travels in Barbary, mentions the same kind of 
 sugar as being in use there in his time. # 
 
 It appears, also, that the sap of another kind of palm 
 is very extensively used for making sugar at present in 
 Ava. Mr. Crawford, in his account of his embassy to 
 that country, mentions, that on the upper part of the 
 great river Irawaddy are immense groves of Palmyra- 
 trees, grown for the manufacture of sugar. He does not 
 give the process of its preparation, but states, that at 
 Pakhokko, the great mart for this article, he found it 
 selling for less than a penny a pound. 
 
 Another species of sugar obtained from the sap of 
 trees, but by a simpler process, is called manna. There 
 
 * Palm-sugar is called dibs, and, perhaps, is the same as that mentioned 
 by Pliny, xiii. 7 : In Arabia languide dulces traduntur esse Palmae : quan- 
 quam Juba apud Scenitas Arabas praefert omnibus saporibus quam vocunt 
 dablan. 
 
ON SACCHARINE SUBSTANCES. 
 
 157 
 
 is a certain kind of ash (Fraxinus rotundifolia) which 
 grows wild on several parts of the Mediterranean coast 
 of Europe, especially at the foot of the Calabrian moun- 
 tains, and in Sicily. Early in the summer horizontal in- 
 cisions are made in the stem, in each of which a leaf is 
 inserted. The sap oozes out upon the leaf, and there 
 concretes by the heat of the sun into flakes of manna. 
 Sometimes it exudes spontaneously, not only from the 
 stem but from the leaves, as appears to be the case, like- 
 wise, with the sap of some other trees when exposed to 
 the concurrent action of drought and great heat. Manna, 
 however, differs in some respects from sugar. From its 
 analysis by Dr. Prout, it holds an intermediate situation, 
 as to composition, between cane-sugar and honey ; and 
 it is said not to be susceptible of the vinous fermentation. 
 It is also decidedly, but moderately, purgative. The 
 pure saccharine priniciple of this substance, when sepa- 
 rated from the other matters with which it is mixed, is 
 by modern chemists called mannite. Mr. Madden, in his 
 Travels into Syria and Arabia (ii. 219), mentions a species 
 of manna, that seems to be the subject of considerable 
 attention at the present day. ' ' The tamarisks in Wady 
 Amara," says he, " and near Gibel Tor (the ancient 
 Mount Sinai), produce manna, called at present by the 
 Arabs mann. It exudes in the month of June, during the 
 night, from the thorns of the tree on the leaves and twigs 
 beneath, but if exposed to the heat of the day it melts. 
 The Arabs boil it, and, after straining it, put it into 
 leathern bags, to preserve it for use. It has the appear- 
 ance of honey." 
 
 Besides occurring in the sap, sugar is also found in 
 most ripe fruits; using this latter word in its common, not its 
 botanical meaning. Unripe fruits are, for the most part, 
 
158 
 
 ON SACCHARINE SUBSTANCES. 
 
 sour ; when mature, they are sweet, and, in many cases, 
 become insipid and mealy, or gelatinous, before they 
 decay. The fig, the date, and the plantain, are probably 
 the sweetest of all fruits ; and, as they contain no sensible 
 quantity of acid, it may, perhaps, be wondered at that 
 sugar has not been attempted to be made from, at least, 
 the former of them ; since, besides, it is very cheap and 
 abundant, and becomes covered with small crystals of 
 sugar in drying. The mucilage, however, of the fig 
 would probably offer very serious obstacles to the pro- 
 fitable extraction of granulated sugar from it. 
 
 The grape, also, contains a large quantity of saccharine 
 mucilage ; and as, during the process of drying it into 
 raisins, a considerable part of the sugar concretes and 
 separates spontaneously from the other component parts 
 of the fruit, the complete purification of this sugar might 
 seem to be a process of no great difficulty. The rob of 
 grapes ; that is, the juice boiled down to the consistence 
 of honey, has been long known in Syria and Egypt. Dr. 
 Shaw, when in those countries, ascertained that two thou- 
 sand quintals of this article are annually exported to 
 Egypt from the neighbourhood of Hebron alone ; and 
 he is inclined to attribute a very high antiquity to the 
 invention of this preparation. Dr. Russell, in his History 
 of Aleppo, mentions it under the name of dibbs (being the 
 same name that is applied to date-sugar), and represents 
 it as a common article of food at that place. 
 
 The first attempt, however, to separate, in a concrete 
 form, the sugar of grapes from the other vegetable prin- 
 ciples with which it is naturally mixed or combined, was 
 made by an eminent modern chemist, now dead, of the 
 name of Proust. He was at that time in the service of 
 the King of Spain ; and, observing that in that country 
 
ON SACCHARINE SUBSTANCES. 
 
 159 
 
 many thousand tons of grapes are annually wasted, ima- 
 gined that this superfluous produce might be rendered of 
 advantage to the public and to individuals, by making it 
 the basis of sugar manufactories. The endeavours of M. 
 Proust were to a certain degree successful ; that is, he 
 obtained a solid sugar of coarse quality, but at an expense 
 that the price of the commodity, as compared with com- 
 mon sugar, could not bear. The political troubles of 
 Spain soon afterwards began, aud put an end to all further 
 attempts. The war between England and France was, 
 however, still raging ; and the latter country having been 
 deprived of her sugar colonies, it became an object of 
 great interest to the French government to supply the 
 want of sugar by some native product. Parmentier was 
 named the chief of a commission for this purpose ; and 
 great efforts were made to produce a sugar from grapes 
 applicable to the same uses as cane-sugar, and cheap 
 enough for general consumption. Three great obstacles 
 to success were immediately observed : first, the strong 
 tendency of the juice, when first expressed from the 
 grapes, to ferment ; secondly, its great liability to contract 
 an empyreumatic flavour while boiling down ; thirdly, 
 the difficulty of separating the tartar which all grape- 
 juice contains. It was, moreover, found that the sugar, 
 when obtained in a solid state, is soft, mealy, and liable 
 to become damp. 
 
 By the judicious use of sulphurous acid, the tendency 
 to fermentation was prevented ; and the same substance, by 
 assisting the clarification of the liquor, also diminished 
 the hazard of its burning to the bottom of the pan. The 
 separation of the tartar was found to be impracticable ; 
 and little advantage appearing to be obtained by separating 
 the solid sugar from the uncrystallizable portion, this part 
 
160 
 
 ON SACCHARINE SUBSTANCES. 
 
 of the process was abandoned, and the manufacturers con- 
 tented themselves with reducing the juice to the consist- 
 ence of a thick syrup. In this state, for want of better, 
 and by great efforts on the part of the government, grape 
 syrup was pretty extensively used in France ; but was 
 gladly abandoned, when the return of peace allowed the 
 introduction of cane-sugar. 
 
 It is unnecessary to follow the manufacture of this 
 article step by step ; but a short and general account of 
 the method of proceeding may not be unacceptable. 
 
 The juice of white grapes was preferred to that of 
 black ones, as yielding more sugar, and containing a 
 smaller proportion of impurities. The first process was 
 the addition of sulphurous acid, to prevent fermentation, 
 which was made, either by stirring into the cold liquor 
 sulphite of lime, in the proportion of ] to 400 or 500 of 
 the liquor, according to its apparent richness ; or by fill- 
 ing a tub with sulphurous acid gas, and then pouring in 
 the liquor through a colander, in order to separate it into 
 a number of streams, and thus facilitate the absorption of 
 the gas. It was then allowed to remain quiet for a day 
 or two, during which time a great deposit of insoluble 
 matter took place. The clear liquor, being drawn off, 
 was immediately boiled, if it had been treated with sul- 
 phite of lime, or was previously mixed with chalk, if sul- 
 phurous acid gas had been employed. After evaporation 
 to a certain degree, the liquor was clarified either by 
 blood, or by white of egg, or by the conjoint action of 
 animal charcoal and white of egg. This latter process, 
 though more expensive, was considered as the best. The 
 liquor, boiling hot, was run through a filter, and then 
 was further boiled down to the consistence of a thick 
 syrup. If the manufacturer wanted to obtain the sugar 
 
ON SACCHARINE SUBSTANCES. 
 
 161 
 
 in a solid state, he boiled it down a little more than in the 
 former case ; kept it in a cool place for a fortnight, at 
 the end of which time it had taken the consistence of 
 candied honey : and from this, by pressure, about one-third 
 of its weight was obtained of soft, solid sugar, of an agree- 
 able flavour, but meally, and apt to become moist in damp 
 weather. Even in this state it was very liable to curdle 
 hot milk, and, therefore, was inapplicable to many culi- 
 nary preparations, and also to sweetening coffee. 
 
 There are many roots, chiefly of the tuberous or 
 fleshy kind, in which sugar is contained, and from which 
 it has been found advantageous to procure it, either in 
 the state of an extract, containing all the ingredients of 
 the root that are soluble in water ; or in a purer form, 
 separated more or less perfectly from other matter. 
 
 Two alone of the sweet extracts require particular 
 notice ; and of these, the only important one is liquorice. 
 This sweet root, for such is the meaning of the word, is 
 obtained from two species of Glycyrrhiza, the glabra and 
 echinata, which grow wild abundantly on the banks of the 
 Wolga, near Astrachan, and also in Spain and Sicily. The 
 plant is a low papillionaceous shrub, every part of which is 
 more or less sweet; but especially the long, somewhat 
 fleshy, tap-root. It is largely cultivated in Spain ; and the 
 decoction of the root boiled down to the form of a black 
 solid extract, is known to every one by the familiar name 
 of Spanish juice. A better kind comes from Italy. In 
 this country, it is grown in the neighbourhood of Mitcham, 
 in Surrey, and of Pomfret, in Yorkshire. The root is 
 used in medicine ; and the only avowed employment of 
 the extract, is as a cheap domestic remedy for coughs 
 and colds. Great quantities, however, of it are imported 
 from Spain and Italy ; and there is no doubt of its being 
 
 VOL. li. m 
 
162 
 
 ON SACCHARINE SUBSTANCES, 
 
 one of the ingredients of certain kinds of malt liquor. 
 It differs in some of its properties from cane-sugar ; but, 
 like that, is susceptible of the vinous fermentation. 
 
 An extract precisely resembling liquorice in flavour, 
 is obtained, or, I should rather say, used to be obtained, 
 in the Highlands of Scotland from the tubers of a per- 
 ennial plant, of the same natural family as the liquorice, 
 and called by botanists, Orobus tuberosus, or heath-pea. 
 It abounds in the dry, stony moors of the Mid-Highlands ; 
 and its tubers, which are about the size of a small marble, 
 have been had recourse to as sustenance in seasons of 
 scarcity. These are considerably sweet, though not in so 
 great a degree as liquorice ; and a decoction of them, boiled 
 down to the state of a dry, brown extract, is prepared by 
 some families as an agreeable and useful article of domestic 
 materia medica. 
 
 Many of the fleshy roots employed as food for man 
 and cattle are considerably sweet : such are the carrot, 
 the parsnip, the beet, and the turnip ; and as these are 
 the objects of extensive cultivation in most of the countries 
 of Europe, it is not to be wondered at, that ingenious men 
 should have attempted to procure, in a separate state, the 
 sugar that they contain, as a succedaneum for the cane- 
 sugar of commerce. 
 
 An eminent Prussian chemist, of the name of Marg- 
 graf, first called the attention of the public to this subject, 
 by an elaborate memoir printed in the Transactions of the 
 Academy of Berlin for 1747. The roots selected by him 
 for experiment, were the skirret (a variety of parsnip), 
 the white beet, and the red. He found, that when slices 
 of these were dried by a very gentle heat, small spicular 
 crystals of sugar might be observed in them by a micro- 
 scope. Next, he reduced the dried root to powder, and 
 
ON SACCHARINE SUBSTANCES. 
 
 163 
 
 digested it in boiling alcohol, by which the whole of the 
 sugar was dissolved, and the mucilage, starch, and most of 
 the other impurities were left behind. The alcoholic solu- 
 tion, by long rest, deposited crystals of sugar, which, by 
 re-solution and crystallisation, were obtained quite white, 
 amounting in quantity to from one-twenty-fifth to one- 
 sixteenth of the weight of the dried root. He also found 
 that the white beet loses by drying three-fourths of its 
 weight, and the red beet seven-eighths. 
 
 He next made an attempt to manufacture sugar from 
 these roots ; for which purpose, having broken down the 
 texture of the skirret by bruising it in a mortar, and of 
 the beet by grating it, he pressed out the liquor, and 
 kept it at rest for forty-eight hours in a cool cellar. It 
 here deposited most of the feculence ; and the clear 
 liquor was drawn off. It was then clarified with white of 
 egg, boiled down, and the syrup, after some months, 
 afforded brown crystals intermixed with syrup. The crys- 
 talline part was again dissolved, crystallised anew, and 
 afforded a concrete viscid mass, from which the syrup 
 drained off by degrees, and left the rest nearly in the state 
 of muscovado, or raw cane-sugar. 
 
 The experiments of Marggraf were, several years after- 
 wards, resumed by M. Achard, at the desire of the Prus- 
 sian government. He followed the general process pointed 
 out by his predecessor, except that he boiled the beet pre- 
 vious to pressing it, — a change obviously for the worse, as 
 he thus rendered soluble most of the starch, and intro- 
 duced an additional embarrassment in the subsequent 
 operations. 
 
 After the failure in France of the attempt to make 
 grape-sugar, the attention of Chaptal, at that time Mi- 
 nister of the Interior, and a manufacturing chemist of 
 
164 
 
 ON SACCHARINE SUBSTANCES. 
 
 considerable eminence, was directed to the half-successful 
 attempts which had been made in Prussia, and other parts 
 of Germany, to obtain sugar from beet-root, and which I 
 have already mentioned. A manufactory was established 
 by M. Chaptal at Amboise, on the Loire ; and by sub- 
 stituting a crop of beet, in the rotation of his farm, in- 
 stead of a naked fallow, and by feeding sheep and cattle 
 on the fibrous residue of the roots, after having pressed 
 out the sweet liquor, he obtained his raw material at a 
 very easy price. The subsequent treatment of the juice 
 differed in no material degree from that employed by 
 Marggraf, except that, instead of at first standing to settle, 
 it was directly run into the boiler, where it was mixed 
 with quicklime. The other processes were also much ex- 
 pedited ; and the result, according to the statement of 
 M. Chaptal, was a profit of sufficient magnitude to en- 
 courage the extension of the manufacture. At the end 
 of 1825, there had been twenty-six establishments founded 
 in the north of France for the preparation of beet-sugar ; 
 and from that time to the present, the number appears to 
 have been continually increasing, and the quality of their 
 products improving. This has been the result of several 
 advantageous modifications of the original process. 
 
 The juice, after being pressed from the pulp, under- 
 goes its first defecation in a boiler, where it is mixed, 
 while cold, with a small quantity of dilute sulphuric acid. 
 After this latter is judged to have acted sufficiently, it is 
 neutralized by the addition of slacked lime ; and the fire 
 is then lighted. When the liquor has been heated up to 
 about 100° Fahr., animal charcoal is first stirred into it, 
 and then blood diluted with water. As the heat increases, 
 the blood coagulates and involves all the impurities float- 
 ing in the liquor, which, after filtration through a woollen 
 
ON SACCHARINE SUBSTANCES. 
 
 165 
 
 cloth, is clear, bright, and of a very pale yellow colour. 
 It is now put into a shallow boiler, and evaporated at a 
 heat never exceeding 200°, for fear of burning it, till it is 
 brought to the consistence of syrup. It is then filtered, 
 is further reduced by boiling, and then is transferred to a 
 cistern, where it is stirred continually till it granulates, 
 and is got sufficiently cool to be poured into cones of 
 earthenware ; after which, it is treated precisely as cane- 
 sugar. 
 
 It has been, however, observed, that the lime em- 
 ployed in the process of defecation, injured the sugar in 
 the subsequent boiling ; to prevent which, the manufac- 
 turers are now in the habit of adding the lime to the raw 
 liquor, and afterwards saturating it, or very nearly so, 
 with sulphuric acid. 
 
 It appears, on a general average, that the beet used 
 by the French manufacturers yields seventy per cent of 
 juice ; and that one hundred parts of the entire beet 
 afford from two to two and a half of common loaf-sugar. 
 The mel asses, or uncrystallisable syrup, when fermented 
 and distilled, yield a spirit, which, on account of its pe- 
 culiar and disagreeable flavour, is only employed in the 
 composition of varnishes and other similar uses. 
 
166 
 
 ON SACCHARINE SUBSTANCES. 
 No. II. 
 BY THE SECRETARY. 
 
 Read 23d February, 1830. 
 
 At our last meeting I gave an account of most of the 
 natural saccharine substances of animal and of vegetable 
 origin, with the exception of cane-sugar, which, on account 
 of its importance, I have reserved for the subject of the 
 present evening's illustration. 
 
 Every one, probably, knows from his own personal 
 experience, that the stems of several of our native grasses 
 are sensibly, though in no great degree, sweet to the taste. 
 The maize, or Indian corn, which is one of the few solid 
 stemmed grasses, contains a considerable quantity of 
 sweetish juice, from which, by boiling down, a saccharine 
 extract has occasionally been obtained. But the plant 
 which, beyond all others, abounds in sweet juice, is a 
 solid stemmed grass, a native of the tropical regions of 
 Asia, and known by the common name of sugar-cane. 
 In the writings of systematic botanists, it is at present 
 called Saccharum officinarum. Being one of those plants 
 which has been cultivated for many ages, it is now by no 
 means easy to ascertain the original type of the plant, and 
 to determine whether the different kinds of sugar-cane 
 have originated from one or from more wild species. 
 
 The plant has the usual habit of other tall upright 
 grasses. From a simple woody root, beset with fibres, 
 arise from one to seven or eight jointed stems, with a pair 
 of leaves at each joint. The stem is terminated by a 
 
ON SACCHARINE SUBSTANCES. 
 
 167 
 
 broad panicle of chaffy flowers, which, however, do not 
 produce perfect seeds. As the plant grows the lower 
 leaves wither and are stripped off, so that, when it has 
 attained about two-thirds of its growth, the leaves are 
 chiefly confined to the upper joints, the lower part of the 
 plant consisting of a bare knotted stem. 
 
 The size of the plant, and the proportions of its parts, 
 vary much, depending partly on soil, partly on variety, 
 and probably also on a specific difference. 
 
 In some parts of Bengal the canes are not much thicker 
 than the finger, rise to the height of about three or four 
 feet, are of a dark brown colour, and give a sweet juice, 
 capable of being boiled down into a soft, blackish extract, 
 but not affording any crystal lizable sugar. This plant is 
 probably rather a distinct species than a mere variety of 
 the common sugar-cane. 
 
 All the other sorts may, apparently, be distributed into 
 two families, — the first characterised by the yellow or 
 pale colour of the stem, and by the distance between the 
 knots, and, generally, by the height of the stem ; the 
 second, by the red or reddish brown or purple colour of 
 the stem, by the knots being much nearer to each other 
 than in the yellow canes of equal diameter, and by their 
 inferior height. 
 
 The yellow canes are generally softer and more suc- 
 culent, and afford a larger quantity of juice, than the 
 others ; the juice is paler coloured, and affords a whiter 
 sugar, but in less proportion, than the red canes. The 
 canes of China and Cochin China may be considered as 
 the types of this family, the space between the joints 
 amounting to from six to nine inches, and the diameter of 
 the stem to two inches. The Otaheite cane, and those in 
 common cultivation in the West Indies, are also of the 
 
168 
 
 ON SACCHARINE SUBSTANCES. 
 
 same family ; whereas most of those from which sugar is 
 obtained in Hindostan appear to belong to the second 
 family, as also does a short purple cane cultivated in some 
 parts of Java. 
 
 There is no doubt that the first knowledge possessed 
 by the European nations of the sugar-cane and its pro- 
 duce, came through the medium of the Greek trade to 
 India. Dioscorides, Pliny, and Galen, speak of a sub- 
 stance called by them saccharon, obtained from certain 
 reeds in India ; it was of a white colour, crackled like 
 salt between the teeth, was sweet like honey, and was in 
 lumps not exceeding the size of a hazle-nut. This de- 
 scription corresponds with that of the white sugar-candy 
 at present made in Cochin China. It was employed by 
 the Greeks and Romans only as a medicine : thus Paulus 
 Egineta recommends that a piece of the Indian salt, which 
 is sweet like honey, should be put in the mouth in order 
 to keep it moist during fevers. 
 
 The word sugar, by which this substance is signified 
 in all modern European languages, is manifestly derived 
 from the Greek saccharon, as this latter is only the Arabic 
 word saccar with the neuter Greek termination ; and the 
 Arabic word is the same as the Bengalee shukkur, by 
 which one of the kinds of sugar is even at present fami- 
 liarly known in India. 
 
 On account of the high price of this white crystallised 
 sugar, it appears to have been confined to medical uses 
 even among the Arabians ; nor was any other kind of sugar 
 known on this side of India for several centuries. At 
 length, by what means and at what precise time we are 
 not informed, the sugar-cane itself was introduced into 
 Arabia and Persia. Early in the tenth century, it was 
 cultivated in the neighbourhood of Ormuz on the Persian 
 
ON SACCHARINE SUBSTANCES. 
 
 169 
 
 Gulf, whence, no doubt, it was carried into Mesopotamia, 
 a country celebrated for sugar in the time of the crusades. 
 Hence it spread into Syria, new Tyre being famous for its 
 excellent sugar in the twelfth century ; and was carried 
 by the Saracens into Egypt, Rhodes, Cyprus, Sicily, and 
 the south of Spain. In 1420, the Portuguese introduced 
 the sugar-cane into their recently discovered island of 
 Madeira, whence it was transferred to their colonies on 
 the coast of Africa, and, very early in the sixteenth cen- 
 tury, to Brazil. 
 
 With regard to the introduction of the sugar-cane 
 into the West Indies, the authorities are apparently con- 
 tradictory, but may, I think, be reconciled. It seems that 
 Columbus, in his seeond voyage, carried over many Euro- 
 pean plants and animals for the use of the colony that he 
 was about to found, and among these was the sugar-cane. 
 It does not appear, however, that any other use was made 
 of this plant than as an esculent garden vegetable, the 
 stem being eaten, or rather sucked or chewed, in a raw 
 state, after being simply peeled, as is still the practice in 
 China, Java, and other of the East Indian islands. The 
 cultivation of the sugar-cane, for this use, spread more or 
 less among the natives, and will account for the notices 
 respecting it that occur in the journals of navigators, who 
 have mentioned its being in use among the inhabitants of 
 certain West Indian islands some years previous to the 
 establishment, in those countries, of the first plantation 
 for the manufacture of sugar. 
 
 But it has been said that the sugar-cane is a native of 
 the tropical parts of America, as well as of the Old World ; 
 and the statements of early travellers are cited who cer- 
 tainly very explicitly declare that the sugar-cane grows 
 wild at Rio de Janeiro, on the banks of the Plata, and 
 
170 
 
 ON SACCHARINE SUBSTANCES, 
 
 near the mouth of the Mississippi. The correctness of 
 these assertions is, however, disproved by the sugar-cane 
 not being found at present wild in those situations. Cane 
 brakes, as they are called, are common enough on the 
 banks of the Mississippi, in swampy situations ; but these 
 canes are totally different from the sugar cane, although 
 an ignorant sanguine traveller might, at a distance, mistake 
 them for such. 
 
 It is stated, apparently on good authority, that while 
 the chief attention of the Spaniards in the New World was 
 turned to the discovery of the precious metals, the Portu- 
 guese in Brazil devoted themselves chiefly to the cultivation 
 of the cane and the extraction of its sugar. For some time 
 the Portuguese possessed almost the entire supply of the 
 European demand for this commodity, till, by the enter- 
 prise of individuals, plantations on the Brazilian plan 
 were established in the Spanish settlements of Hispaniola, 
 Mexico, Peru, and Chili. In 1641, this profitable art 
 was conveyed from Brazil to Barbadoes, the earliest of 
 the English acquisitions in the West Indian sea; and 
 from that time to the present, chiefly by the exertions of 
 the French and British planters, the West Indian islands 
 and colonies have continued to furnish the chief supplies 
 of sugar to the European markets. 
 
 I now proceed to describe, as fully and accurately as 
 the time and my means of information will allow, the 
 various forms in which cane-sugar is brought to market, 
 and processes by which it is prepared. In so doing, I 
 shall begin with the methods practised on the continent of 
 India, as being, on the whole, the most simple, both in 
 themselves and in the apparatus employed, and also as 
 being of unquestionably higher antiquity than the rest. 
 
 The most favourable soil for the cultivation of the cane 
 
ON SACCHARINE SUBSTANCES. 
 
 171 
 
 is a deep loam of a yellowish colour, rather inclining to 
 clay than to sand, situated high enough to be out of reach 
 of floods, and low enough to admit of artificial watering. 
 The previous crop being cleared in the month of August, 
 the land receives from twelve to twenty successive plough- 
 ings in two months, and is manured as well as the means 
 of the cultivator will allow ; lastly, parallel furrows are 
 drawn over its surface, for the reception of the cane 
 plants. These latter are truncheons of ripe canes, with 
 two or three knots to each, and either laid down in the 
 furrow without any previous preparation, or such as have 
 been for a few weeks planted in richly manured seed-beds, 
 and have acquired two or three shoots a few inches long. 
 Water is then freely let into the furrows till the soil about 
 the young plants is of the consistence of mud. From this 
 time, as long as the shoots remain upright, the attention 
 of the farmer is confined to clearing the crop from weeds, 
 manuring, and occasional irrigations. When the shoots 
 begin to straggle, the lower leaves are taken off, and are 
 employed in tying together all the shoots from each root. 
 As they increase in height, the wind and rains have more 
 power upon them, and it becomes necessary, for their 
 security, either to support them by props of bamboo, or, 
 which is the common practice, to tie together by their 
 tops three or four adjacent bunches of stems. This latter 
 method, though cheaper in the first instance, has the dis- 
 advantage of preventing the crop from being accurately 
 weeded, and likewise affords excellent shelter to the wild 
 hogs and jack alls, who are excessively fond of the canes 
 as soon as they become sweet. 
 
 In October or November, that is, twelve or thirteen 
 months after they have been planted, the canes, though 
 not ripe, abound in sweet juice; and, at this time, many 
 
172 
 
 ON SACCHARINE SUBSTANCES. 
 
 of the cultivators, from poverty, are obliged to begin 
 cutting them. The juice of such canes, however, yields 
 less sugar and of a smaller grain than those which are 
 allowed to stand to the end of December, and even as long 
 as the beginning of February. A few of the canes, from 
 over ripeness or a precocious constitution, throw up their 
 flowering stems, and, by so doing (although the seeds 
 never ripen), expend a large proportion of their sweetness. 
 
 The canes are cut down at such a rate as to keep the 
 pressing-mill continually supplied, day and night ; the 
 green top is taken off, and the rest of the stem, either 
 entire or cut into pieces according to the kind of mill 
 employed, is ready to be pressed. 
 
 The mill is a pair of fluted wooden rollers, placed 
 horizontally in a frame and turned, each in a contrary 
 direction, by means of levers fixed on the axis. One 
 man, in a sitting position, works each roller, and two 
 others are employed in passing the canes one by one 
 through the mill ; the juice, as it is squeezed out, drops 
 into a basin placed below to receive it. 
 
 Another kind of mill consists of two upright rollers, 
 with spiral threads, that work into the intervals of each 
 other. One of these rollers has a lever on its axis, to the 
 other end of which is yoked a pair of oxen, whose labour 
 works the machine. 
 
 A third kind of mill consists of a log of tamarind 
 wood set upright in the ground, having its upper part 
 hollowed out into the form of a cone or funnel, opening 
 below into a hollow ball, from which proceeds a curved 
 tubular opening for the discharge of the juice; a pestle, 
 with a globular end, is put into the hollow, so that its 
 extremity is in the ball, while the part immediately above 
 rests obliquely on the side of the cone, and, being car- 
 
ON SACCHARINE SUBSTANCES. 
 
 173 
 
 ried round by any moving power, crushes the cane by 
 pressing it between itself and the side of the cone. For 
 this purpose, however, the cane must be cut into bits not 
 more than an inch long. 
 
 The juice, as it is collected, is strained, to separate 
 the coarser impurities, and is then immediately trans- 
 ferred to the boiling-house. This is a shed containing 
 an iron boiler placed over a closed fire-place, the flue 
 from which is carried horizontally, and has four or five 
 round openings in its top, in each of which an earthen 
 pot is inserted. The boiler being filled with juice, and a 
 little being put into each of the earthen pots, the fire is 
 lighted, and the workman removes the scum as it rises. 
 When this is done, part of the hot liquor is laded into the 
 earthen pots, to prevent it from boiling over ; and, as 
 the evaporation proceeds, the liquor thus reserved is re- 
 turned to the boiler. When so thick as to begin to get 
 viscid, the juice is poured out into a large earthen pot 
 set in the ground, where it is stirred about with a stick 
 till it becomes cool. Some boiled juice that has already 
 concreted, is then smeared over the inside of the pot, and 
 thus forms a nucleus on which the concretion of the juice 
 may begin. After five or six days the whole is converted 
 into a blackish, soft, viscid mass called jaggery, or, more 
 properly, goor. From six to eight measures of cane-juice 
 give one of goor. If the goor is intended for further 
 clarification, it is simply boiled down as already described ; 
 but, if intended for consumption in its present state, a 
 small quantity of quick-lime is added to the juice previous 
 to boiling, the consequence of which is, that the goor 
 becomes harder and drier, and will admit of being cast 
 into cakes or lumps for the convenience of sale. 
 
 The goor is refined by putting it into a coarse cloth, 
 
174 
 
 ON SACCHARINE SUBSTANCES. 
 
 and subjecting it to continued pressure for about three or 
 four days, by which process from one-third to one-half of 
 its weight of syrup, called mhaut, is obtained, and the 
 remainder is, of course, dryer, and lighter coloured ; in 
 this state it is generally called shuckur or khand, and 
 much of it, as well as of the syrup, is sold without further 
 preparation. 
 
 To bring the shuckur to the next state of fineness, it 
 is dissolved in lime-water, and when blood warm, ley of 
 wood-ashes and milk are added ; this, as the liquor gets 
 hotter, throws up a scum, which is removed, and the 
 alternate addition of alkali, and milk, and scumming, are 
 continued, till no further impurities rise to the surface. 
 The liquor is then rapidly evaporated, and, when of a due 
 consistence, is transferred to an earthen jar, pointed at 
 bottom, in which a stopper is inserted. In this jar it is 
 stirred about incessantly till it is cool and begins to gra- 
 nulate; it is then left quiet for two or three days, after 
 which the stopper is taken out, and the syrup, called sote, 
 drops into a vessel placed to receive it. After the sugar 
 has thus been drained, the top of the mass is covered with 
 some succulent aquatic plant (of which several species are 
 employed), and the moisture, slowly draining from it, is 
 absorbed by the porous sugar, carries down with it the 
 greater part of the syrup, and thus renders the surface 
 much whiter than at first. The leaves are removed, and 
 the sugar, as far as it has been whitened, is scraped off. 
 A second application of the leaves whitens a further quan- 
 tity of the sugar, which being also scraped off, a third ap- 
 plication of the leaves finishes the remainder. This sugar 
 is then dried in the sun, and bears the name of chenee. 
 It undergoes no further purification, except that, at Be- 
 nares and Culpee on the Jumna, some of it is made into 
 
ON SACCHARINE SUBSTANCES. 
 
 175 
 
 sugar-candy, by no means, however, equal to that which 
 is made in Cochin China. The East India sugar, in the 
 state in which it is brought to England, is chenee, and 
 an acre of canes of fair quality will produce about 4J cwt. 
 of it. 
 
 It is not necessary to go further into the minutiae of 
 sugar-making in India. Enough has been stated to point 
 out the causes of the generally acknowledged inferiority of 
 East Indian compared with West Indian raw, or as it 
 is technically called, muscovado sugar, especially for the 
 use of the refiner. The principal cause appears to consist 
 in the employment of milk and potash as clarifiers ; the 
 oil of the milk may probably combine with the alkali into 
 a soap, and although the curd will come away in the form 
 of scum, the sugar of milk and other ingredients of the 
 whey will remain in the liquor, and will be very likely to 
 impede its granulation.* 
 
 I am not aware that we possess any sufficiently de- 
 tailed account of the method of manufacturing sugar in 
 China and in Cochin China. We know, however, that 
 in the former country the process of claying is employed, as 
 in Europe, for the separation of the melasses ; and that in 
 Cochin China, the same effect is produced by making a 
 pile of brown sugar and of slices of the cellular part of 
 the plantain stem in alternate layers : the consequence of 
 which arrangement is, that the coloured syrup drains into 
 the slices of plantain, leaving the interposed sugar very 
 light, porous, and white. From this sugar, boiled with 
 water to the consistence of a thick syrup, the white sugar- 
 candy of that country is prepared, by putting into the 
 
 * A convincing proof of the inferiority of Bengal sugar is, that it is 
 excluded from the Asiatic markets by the sugar of China and of Batavia. 
 
176 
 
 ON SACCHARINE SUBSTANCES. 
 
 syrup small sticks of bamboo or leaves, on which the sugar 
 crystallizes by cooling and repose. 
 
 It will be observed that, in the description which I 
 have now given, no mention is made of any kind of sugar 
 corresponding to the loaf-sugar of the present day ; and 
 in fact, this latter kind is altogether an European inven- 
 tion, having been discovered by a Venetian about the year 
 1500. 
 
 I now proceed to the method of manufacturing sugar 
 in the British colonies, and of refining it in this country. 
 
 With regard to the culture of the cane, the chief dif- 
 ferences between the West Indian and Oriental practice 
 are, that artificial irrigation is not employed in the West 
 Indies, and that the same canes are made to furnish three 
 crops in as many successive years, instead of being an 
 annual crop. Those of the first year are called plant 
 canes; those of the two next years are called rattoons, 
 being a corruption of the French word rejettons (sprouts). 
 An acre of plant canes yields more sugar than the first 
 crop of rattoons, and this than the second crop of rattoons. 
 
 If it be asked, why this system of cultivation has been 
 adopted in preference to the Oriental ? the answer will be, 
 that no West Indian estate possesses strength enough in 
 slaves to plant all the cane-ground every year. 
 
 The common sugar-cane of the West Indies belongs 
 to the family of yellow canes. Its height varies from three 
 feet to twelve, according to the depth and richness of the 
 soil in which it grows ; but its usual height may be stated 
 at from four to six feet. Of late years, the Otaheite cane 
 has superseded it in many places, as it affords a some- 
 what larger proportion of sugar, is fit to cut at the age of 
 ten months, and the juice is less highly coloured and more 
 easily clarified. There is also a red cane occasionally met 
 
ON SACCHARINE SUBSTANCES. 
 
 177 
 
 with, especially in the French islands and in the Caraccas, 
 which, although it does not produce more or better sugar 
 than the common cane, is said to yield rum of a very fine 
 flavour. 
 
 The canes being ripe, are cut down, bound in bundles, 
 and taken without delay to the mill, the pressing part 
 of which consists of three upright rollers. The canes 
 are put in between the first and second, and return be- 
 tween the second and third roller, having undergone so 
 powerful a compression as to be reduced to dry splinters. 
 The juice runs into a large cistern called the receiver, 
 whence it is conveyed along a gutter, lined with lead, into 
 each of the three clarifiers in turn, as they happen to be 
 ready to receive it. 
 
 The raw juice is so exceedingly fermentable, that, in 
 the climate of the West Indies, it will scarcely remain 
 longer than twenty minutes before this change commences ; 
 and, as the least degree of fermentation materially affects 
 both the quantity and quality of the sugar, it is necessary 
 that the clarifier should be large enough to work off the 
 liquor with great expedition. 
 
 The clarifiers are flat-bottomed coppers, capable of 
 holding from 300 to 400 gallons, and furnished with a 
 cock or syphon for drawing off the liquor. When the 
 clarifier is charged, some quicklime brought to the con- 
 sistence of cream, by mixture with a little cane -juice, is 
 stirred in. As the liquor becomes hot, a crust or thick 
 scum begins to rise, and when it has reached within a few 
 degrees of the boiling point, the damper of the fire-place 
 is closed, and the liquor remains undisturbed for about an 
 hour, in order that all the impurities may have time to 
 rise to the top. The liquor is now drawn off by a syphon, 
 or is let out by the cock ; it ought to be bright, clear, and 
 
 VOL. LI. n 
 
178 
 
 ON SACCHARINE SUBSTANCES, 
 
 of a yellow wine colour. The scum subsides unbroken, is 
 removed, and the clarifier is carefully cleaned, previous 
 to receiving a fresh charge. The clarified liquor passes 
 into the great evaporating copper, where it is made to 
 boil, and, in so doing, throws up a small quantity of scum, 
 which is carefully removed. If the liquor is not suf- 
 ficiently bright, it is diluted with limewater, which, by 
 rendering the impurities insoluble, throws them up into 
 the scum. From the great evaporating copper, the liquor, 
 now considerably reduced in quantity, is transferred to a 
 smaller copper; and, when still further evaporated in 
 this, passes into the smallest, technically called the teache. 
 Here the boiling is continued till the liquor is sufficiently 
 condensed to allow the sugar to granulate ; and this is 
 judged of either by the touch, that is, by taking up a 
 little on the thumb, applying the finger to it, and then 
 separating it, in order to find how long a thread may be 
 drawn before it breaks, or by observing the granulations 
 as they form on the back of the ladle with which the liquor 
 is stirred. 
 
 From the teache it is laded into one of the coolers, a 
 wooden vessel, capable of holding a hogshead of sugar, 
 and generally about eleven inches deep, seven feet long, 
 and five or six wide. Here the liquor cools ; and that 
 portion of sugar which is not capable of being held in 
 solution by the small quantity of fluid that now remains, 
 concretes in small crystalline grains, separated from one 
 another by the viscid melasses in which they are im- 
 bedded. 
 
 When all the sugar appears to have grained, the mass 
 is taken to the curing-house, an airy building, containing 
 a large cistern, with open joist-work above, on which are 
 placed a number of upright casks, without headings. In 
 
ON SACCHARINE SUBSTANCES. 
 
 the bottom of each, eight or ten holes are bored, and the 
 foot-stalk of a plantain-leaf is thrust into each hole. The 
 sugar from the cooler being put into one of these casks, 
 the molasses gradually drain from the granular part, 
 percolating through the pores of the plantain-stalk, and 
 dropping into the cistern below. In about three weeks 
 the sugar is sufficiently cleared, when it is packed into 
 hogsheads, and exported as muscovado. 
 
 On comparing the East and West Indian processes, it 
 is evident that the mass in the coolers corresponds nearly 
 with the goor of Bengal, and the muscovado with the 
 shuckur. g 
 
 I regret my inability to give a satisfactory account of 
 the chemical changes that take place in the raw cane- 
 juice during the process of separating from it the crystal - 
 lizable sugar. But we possess no analysis, nor v'even an 
 approximation to an analysis, of the juice, and therefore, 
 in our almost total ignorance of its contents, it, would be 
 mere affectation to pretend to describe, with any minute- 
 ness, the changes that happen, or the causes of them. 
 
 I apprehend that raw juice from perfectly sound canes 
 does not contain any free acid ; but Mr. Guilding, in his 
 paper on insects that infest the sugar-cane, published in 
 the 46th Volume of the Society's Transactions, states that 
 the parts of the cane adjacent to the perforations made by 
 the insect called the borer, are very sensibly acid, as, 
 indeed, might be expected from the red colour which they 
 assume. In proportion, therefore, as the canes are thus 
 affected, the juice will be found to be more or less acidu- 
 lous. Also, if the juice has been allowed to remain so 
 long in the receiver that fermentation has begun, a quan- 
 tity of free carbonic acid will be found in it. There is, 
 doubtless, more or less of the substance called vegetable 
 
180 
 
 ON SACCHARINE SUBSTANCES. 
 
 albumen in the cane-juice, because it is found in the entire 
 expressed juices of all plants: as, however, it abounds 
 more in the green than in the other parts, it is evident 
 that the cane-juice contains less albumen than it would 
 do if the top or flag of the cane were not cut off previous 
 to the pressing. Other ingredients that we are certain 
 must form part of the juice, are sugar, mucilage, and 
 colouring matter. 
 
 Now, if a watery fluid containing the above-mentioned 
 substances were exposed to a graduated heat, the carbonic 
 acid would be driven off in gas ; the albumen would coagu- 
 late, and rise to the top in form of a scum, involving and 
 carrying with it all extraneous impurities floating in the 
 liquor, as well as part of the colouring matter, for which 
 it has a very strong attraction. The clear liquor being 
 separated from the scum, and boiled with chalk, any free 
 acid that it might contain would be neutralized, and the 
 excess of chalk would be perfectly inert with regard to 
 the sugar. 
 
 By the present mode of adding lime to the raw liquor, 
 the separation of the albumen is rendered imperfect, the 
 colour is deepened, part of the sugar is converted into 
 mucilage, and the granulation of the remainder, according 
 to Mr. Daniell's experiments, is impeded. The only ad- 
 vantage stated by that gentleman to counterbalance these 
 inconveniences, is, that the syrup or melasses is rendered 
 somewhat more fluid, and therefore more easily separable 
 from the sugar. 
 
 In Brazil, and in some of the French colonies, the raw 
 sugar is subjected to the process of claying, which is 
 effected by pressing it into inverted conical pots, having a 
 small hole at the point. Some clay mixed with water to 
 the consistence of cream is poured on the surface of the 
 
ON SACCHARINE SUBSTANCES. 
 
 181 
 
 sugar, and the water, draining gradually from the clay, 
 enters the pores of the sugar, dissolves a part of it, and, 
 by means of its superincumbent pressure, forces out the 
 coloured syrup through the point of the cone, leaving the 
 sugar much whiter than before. In this state it is called 
 Lisbon sugar, or clayed moist sugar, and is employed in 
 many parts of America and of Europe for the same uses 
 as loaf-sugar is with us. This clayed sugar is in the same 
 state as that imported from India, and called in that 
 country, chenee. 
 
 A process analogous to that just described, but superior 
 to it both in efficacy and in expedition, is now coming into 
 use in the British West Indian plantations. It is the 
 subject of a patent belonging to Mr. Innes, and consists 
 in submitting the raw sugar, after being cured in the 
 usual way, to the action of a vacuum filter. This machine 
 consists of a cavity or reservoir, the upper part of which 
 forms the perforated bottom of a shallow box ; a lateral 
 pipe connects the reservoir with an air-pump, and in the 
 bottom of one of the sides is fixed a valve, opening out- 
 wards. A hair cloth being laid on the bottom of the box, 
 it is filled up with muscovado sugar, mixed with a small 
 quantity of water, after which the air-pump is put in 
 action, in order to produce a vacuum more or less perfect 
 in the reservoir, and consequently a corresponding atmos- 
 pheric pressure on ' the surface of the sugar : the air, 
 under these circumstances, entering the pores of the 
 sugar, rapidly drives before it the coloured syrup into the 
 reservoir, and thus separates from the sugar the greater 
 part of its colouring matter. The pump being now 
 stopped, the reservoir fills with air; and, while the box is 
 emptying of the filtered sugar, and receiving a fresh 
 charge, the weight of the syrup presses the valve out- 
 
182 
 
 ON SACCHARINE SUBSTANCES. 
 
 wards, and the syrup flows into any vessel placed to 
 receive it. 
 
 The muscovado sugar, on arriving in England, is 
 disposed of to the refiners and to the grocers. That pur- 
 chased by the former is to be further purified, and made 
 into loaf-sugar or candy ; and such samples as have the 
 largest, coarsest, sharpest grain, are selected. That pur- 
 chased by the grocers is for consumption in its present 
 state ; and, therefore, the cleanness of the sugar, that is, 
 its freedom from dirt, its bright colour and dryness, are 
 more looked to than the hardness and sharpness of the 
 grain. 
 
 The refining of the sugar commences by mixing in a 
 large copper, lime-water, muscovado sugar, and some of 
 the purer syrup. The fire is then lighted, and the sugar 
 being constantly stirred is soon dissolved. When it has 
 become sensibly warm, fresh bullock's blood, in small 
 quantities, is poured in and thoroughly mixed with the 
 liquor. The efficacious part of the blood is the serum, 
 which consists chiefly of albumen ; the other part, the clot, 
 does no injury, as it is not soluble in the liquor, and 
 comes away readily in the scum. As the temperature 
 approaches to boiling, the serum coagulates, entangles all 
 the impurities floating in the liquor, and rises to the top, 
 forming a tough scum, which is carefully removed. The 
 liquor is now boiled, a considerable part of the fluid is 
 evaporated, and the remainder is poured through a thick 
 woollen filter which detains and separates the bits of scum 
 that could not be otherwise separated. The liquor is now 
 transferred to a smaller pan, and is boiled down very 
 briskly till of a proper consistence for graining. It is 
 then let into a kind of vat, and as it cools is worked about 
 with oars till it becomes quite thick with granulations. 
 
ON SACCHARINE SUBSTANCES. 
 
 183 
 
 It next is laded into conical pots, in which it is stirred 
 about from time to time to prevent the crystals from 
 forming* and attaching themselves to the sides of the pot. 
 When cool and fully granulated, the plug which has 
 closed the hole in the point of the pot is opened, and the 
 syrup begins to drain out : clay mixed with water is then 
 poured on the top of the sugar and carries down the 
 greater part of the coloured syrup, as already described. 
 Two, three, or more clayings, are applied according to the 
 size of the pot, the cake of clay resulting from the pre- 
 vious claying being removed before another charge is 
 poured on. 
 
 The loaves of sugar thus obtained are of two sizes ; 
 the smaller and purer are intended for sale as common 
 loaf, or single refined sugar, and require only to be dried 
 in a stove and papered to fit them for the market. The 
 larger loaves, technically called lumps, are intended for 
 double refined sugar. For this purpose, being crushed, 
 they are put into a pan and dissolved, either in clean 
 water or in limewater ; white of egg beaten up with sugar 
 and water, is then stirred in ; and when the liquor has 
 attained a proper heat, a grayish scum rises which is 
 carefully removed : a small quantity of indigo reduced to 
 fine powder and mixed with syrup, is then added, the 
 effect of which is to throw up a slight scum, and by its 
 blue colour to neutralise the wine-yellow colour of the 
 liquor. The processes of filtering, cooling, beating, potting, 
 claying, and stoving, are successively employed as already 
 described, after which the sugar is fit to be sent to market 
 as double refined sugar. 
 
 If the refiner had an equally ready vent for his syrups 
 as for his loaves, his business would be very simple : but, 
 as this is not the case, he is obliged to work his syrup* 
 
184 
 
 ON SACCHARINE SUBSTANCES. 
 
 over and over again, in order to obtain from them all the 
 solid sugar that they will yield. This produces the loaf- 
 sugars and lumps of inferior qualities, the lowest of which, 
 called bastards, are generally ground and form the coarser 
 kinds of moist sugar. The syrup from which the bastards 
 have granulated, and which is incapable, by the usual 
 processes, of yielding any more solid sugar, is common 
 treacle. 
 
 The process of refining that I have now briefly de- 
 scribed is that which was in general use some fifteen or 
 twenty years ago, when particular circumstances, un- 
 necessary here to mention, had rendered me considerably 
 familiar with it. Since that time many modifications and 
 improvements have been introduced, and are used by 
 certain houses, though not, perhaps, generally. 
 
 The muscovado is sometimes, as a preliminary process, 
 submitted to the action of the hydraulic press after being 
 mixed with water to the consistence of mortar ; by this 
 method the greater part of the melasses is extracted with 
 but little loss of sugar, and the sugar is now capable of 
 yielding loaf equal to double refined, by one process. # 
 
 By some refiners, animal charcoal, that is, distilled 
 bones ground to a fine powder, is used, together with 
 
 * The result of an actual experiment was as follows : 
 
 cvvt. qrs. lbs. 
 
 Sugar 5 0 0 
 
 Water 0 1 0 
 
 5 1 0 
 
 When put into such bagging as is used for oil, and pressed, it gave 
 
 Dry sugar 4 2 8|r 
 
 Melasses and water , 0 1 9 
 
 Absorbed by the bags and mats 0 1 3£ 
 Waste 0 0 7 
 
ON SACCHARINE SUBSTANCES. 
 
 185 
 
 blood, in the clarifying process with very good effect. 
 The application of this substance to sugar-refining was, I 
 believe, at first made by Messrs. Taylor and Martineau. 
 From experiments on the mode of action of this substance 
 in the manufacture of beet sugar, it appears not only to 
 attract to itself the colouring matter of the sugar, and to 
 destroy the peculiar flavour by which one kind of sugar is 
 distinguished from another, but it seems also to have the 
 property of removing much of the mucilage, and thus 
 facilitating the crystallization of the pure saccharine part. # 
 In boiling down the clarified liquor, the nearer it 
 approaches to the granulating point the more viscid it 
 becomes, the higher heat is required to keep it in a state 
 of ebullition, and, therefore, the more liable is it to be 
 injured in colour and in other respects by any accidental 
 excess of heat. To prevent this, various expedients have 
 been had recourse to, the object of all of them being to 
 regulate the temperature, and to prevent it from exceeding 
 a certain quantity, by the interposition of heated vapour 
 or liquid between the fire and the bottom of the sugar-pan. 
 Steam, at a certain known degree of compression, is 
 employed in many cases with good effect ; oil has been 
 used for the same purpose, likewise the vapour of naphtha. 
 The late Mr. Howard obtained the same end by boiling 
 in vacuo ; for, the pressure of the air being taken off, 
 water which, under common circumstances, will not boil 
 at a less heat than 212°, requires only a heat of 88° ; and 
 a saturated solution of sugar may be boiled in this appa- 
 
 * Of late, animal charcoal has been used with great advantage in clari- 
 fying the cane-juice itself, and thus obtaining a raw sugar nearly equal to 
 brown sugar-candy. 
 
186 
 
 ON SACCHARINE SUBSTANCES, 
 
 ratus at 150°. He thereby escapes all the injury, what- 
 ever that may amount to, which the liquor receives from 
 high boiling, and produces very beautiful sugar. 
 
 If the syrup, whether for single or double refined 
 sugar, after being properly boiled, were poured directly 
 into the earthen cones instead of being previously well 
 beaten while in the cooler, the crystallization, which is 
 purposely disturbed by the beating, would take place re- 
 gularly, and the result would be a mass of crystals ; but 
 sugar, in so crystallizing, does not exclude the whole of 
 the colouring matter, nor could the process of claying be 
 employed, under such circumstances, with any good effect. 
 There exists, however, a small demand for crystallized 
 sugar, or candy, as it is called, in the market. 
 
 Of candy there are two kinds, the brown and the 
 white ; they differ from one another only in colour, and 
 this is occasioned by a less perfectly clarified syrup being 
 employed for the former than for the latter. 
 
 The form of the crystal is an oblique, compressed, six- 
 sided prism ; and these, variously grouped and aggregated, 
 form the sugar-candy of the shops. 
 
 The syrup from which candy is made is thinner, that 
 is, evaporated in a less degree, than for loaf sugar, in 
 order that the laminae which compose the crystals may 
 not be prevented, by the viscidity of the solution, from 
 applying themselves to one another in a regular manner ; 
 a high degree of temperature is also maintained during 
 the process for the same reason ; threads in Europe, pieces 
 of bamboo and leaves in China, are also put into the 
 liquor, to afford a basis on which the crystals may form : 
 lastly, the most perfect quiet is preserved, it being found 
 that a very slight degree of agitation in the liquor will 
 
ON SACCHARINE SUBSTANCES. 
 
 187 
 
 very materially diminish the size of the crystals (or of the 
 stone, as it is technically called). In the few London 
 houses that make candy, the syrup is poured into oblong 
 boxes, in which a light, horizontal frame, strung from end 
 to end with fine pack-thread, has been previously placed ; 
 the box or mould is then removed to the drying stove, 
 where it remains several days, till the deposition of crystals 
 has ceased. The finest are those which have formed on 
 the threads, but the whole inside of the box is found lined 
 with crystals. 
 
 Candy is more transparent and much harder than loaf 
 sugar. Its hardness renders it less soluble, and therefore 
 it is often represented as less sweet than loaf sugar, for 
 the same reason that this latter is popularly reckoned less 
 sweet than muscovado sugar. But there appears no ground 
 whatever for supposing that sweetness is not the essential 
 character of sugar, and, therefore, that the purer it is— 
 the more completely it is disembarrassed from mucilage* 
 and other matters with which it is mingled in the juice of 
 the cane — the more perfectly is its sweetness brought out. 
 It is not, however, wholesome in proportion to its purity, ^ 
 for, in truth, no vegetable principle of itself is capable of 
 becoming a nutritious food to animals ; and persons who 
 indulge in large quantities of pure sugar are very liable 
 to suffer from indigestion. The native juice of the cane 
 is certainly exceedingly nutritious. All through the east 
 it is largely consumed in its raw state ; and during crop 
 time in the West Indies, notwithstanding the severity of 
 labour which is then imposed both on the negroes and the 
 cattle, they all improve in plumpness and vigour in con- 
 sequence of the cane-juice and raw sugar which at that 
 season enter largely into their diet. The annual importa- 
 
188 
 
 ON SACCHARINE SUBSTANCES. 
 
 tion into England of muscovado sugar amounts to between 
 four and five million cwt., of which about three millions 
 are consumed in the country, either as raw or refined 
 sugar, and contribute essentially both to the enjoyment 
 and health of every class of society. 
 
108 
 
 ON CORN-MILLS. 
 
 Bv THE SECRETARY. 
 Read 23d March, 1830. 
 
 In choosing the subjects for our illustration?, I have been 
 guided by a wish to lay before you such as are not only 
 interesting from their importance, but also admit of being 
 diversified by historical and literary details, in order to 
 relieve the weariness consequent on mere technical de- 
 scription. In this point of view there is, perhaps, no 
 topic better worth investigation than that which I am 
 at present about to bring before your notice. It belongs 
 to all times, and to most countries. In very simple forms 
 of society, it is a part of the daily domestic employments 
 of the female sex ; in communities where the distinction 
 of ranks is more strongly marked, it is abandoned to the 
 labour of slaves ; by the advance of mechanical skill and 
 science, the yoke is transferred from the neck of the 
 human being to that of cattle ; and, at length, even these 
 are dismissed from the servitude, and are replaced by 
 the general powers of nature, — the motion of water and 
 wind, and the expansive force of steam. It bears, there- 
 fore, directly and very influentially on the civilisation and 
 moral improvement of mankind, and is one of the few 
 
ON COKN-MILLS. 
 
 109 
 
 cases in which the substitution of machinery for human 
 labour has been followed entirely by good, without any 
 sensible quantity of partial evil. 
 
 When we consider how tasteless the farinaceous grains 
 are, how little there is in them to tempt the appetite, and 
 how small they are individually even in a cultivated state, 
 it may excite our surprise that seeds, which seem to have 
 been intended for the sustenance of the smaller birds, 
 should ever have been selected as human food ; and 
 we might be inclined to consider the grateful devotion 
 paid by the civilised nations of antiquity to the inventress 
 of corn, as derived from some early tradition that it was 
 not a human discovery, but was communicated to some 
 one of the tillers of the earth while the human race yet 
 formed but one family. Hunger, however, is very in- 
 genious, and it might well be, that, during a scarcity of 
 game, or of spontaneous fruits, the starving population 
 would have recourse to the tedious collection of small 
 insipid grains, induced by the example of the birds, and 
 would again abandon their use when food was met with 
 more savoury or more easily collected. Such is the prac- 
 tice at the present day of the savage tribes that roam 
 over the shores of the Canadian lakes. The shallow 
 margins of these waters are overgrown with an aquatic 
 grass, the Zizania aquatica of botanists, the seeds of which 
 bear a considerable resemblance to some small or starved 
 varieties of rice ; of these the natives avail themselves 
 during the absence of game or fish, but only as an oc- 
 casional supply, and never think of attempting its cul- 
 tivation. So, also, in cases of severe famine that have 
 occasionally occurred in this country, and on the con- 
 tinent of Europe, some alleviation has been derived from 
 collecting the small seeds of one of our aquatic grasses, 
 
110 
 
 ON CORN-MILLS. 
 
 the Festuca fluitans, the sweet taste of which has ob- 
 tained for them the name of manna-seeds. 
 
 As long as wild grain was employed as human food 
 casually, and only in the absence of more agreeable 
 nutriment, the simplest means of preparing it would, of 
 course, be resorted to. Rubbing the seeds between the 
 hands in order to separate the loose chaff, and afterwards 
 scorching or toasting them over the fire, would be all 
 the preparation or cookery that they would receive or 
 want; but when different kinds of grain began to be 
 cultivated, and their value as a permanent article of 
 food came to be experienced, they would be arranged 
 really, though not formally, into two classes ; one, com- 
 prehending those which, after they have been separated 
 from the loose chaffy covering in which they are en- 
 closed, are, without any farther process, fit to be cooked ; 
 the other class, consisting of those grains which have a 
 hard chaffy or horny kind of covering, so closely ad- 
 herent to the grain as not to be separated by mere rub- 
 bing. Wheat, rye, naked barley, as well as maize, 
 originally a native of America, belong to the former 
 class ; common barley, rice and oats, to the latter. 
 
 Grain, when full grown, but yet soft and milky, is 
 more palatable than the same when dry and ripe ; and the 
 species with naked seeds are often consumed in this state 
 by persons in low or very simple conditions of society, 
 without any farther preparation than merely toasting 
 them. Ears of maize are thus treated by farmers in the 
 United States of America ; the cultivators of Egypt treat 
 their durra in the same manner ; and Hasselquist, in his 
 " Travels in Palestine," speaks of unripe ears of wheat 
 toasted by the shepherds for food. 
 
 After the grains have become ripe, the same process 
 
ON CORN-MILLS. 
 
 Ill 
 
 of parching renders them crisp and brittle, easily chewed 
 and digested, and also communicates an agreeable flavour. 
 Such parched corn formed an essential article of the 
 food of ancient nations, and, no doubt, from its simplicity, 
 preceded all other modes of preparing grain. The 
 ancient Romans seem to have used corn hardly in any 
 other state except parched, and as polenta, for the art of 
 making bread was introduced among them by the Greeks. 
 In the ancient Jewish history, we meet with frequent 
 mention of parched corn, as well as of peas, lentiles, and 
 other leguminous seeds, prepared in the same manner. 
 
 But those species of corn, the grain of which is 
 covered by a husk, require that husk to be removed in 
 order to bring the corn to an eatable state. Mere rub- 
 bing between the hands, or beating it with sticks, will 
 not effect the intended purpose ; and the ancient mode 
 seems to have been, first to scorch it, and then to rub it 
 in a mortar, taking care not to bruise the grains, but 
 only to separate the husk thus made brittle, and in part 
 detached by the action of the fire. Such was the method 
 practised by the ancient Romans, according to Pliny. 
 The same mortar that served to decorticate their barley, 
 answered also for reducing it and their other grains to 
 powder, especially as they had been rendered brittle by 
 previous toasting. But corn that has been toasted, is no 
 longer susceptible of fermentation ; and, therefore, as 
 long as the Romans adhered to this mode of preparing 
 their grain (which was introduced by Numa, one of their 
 early kings, and represented by him as a kind of religious 
 duty), it was impossible that they should have any other 
 bread than mere cakes, or biscuits of baked dough. 
 
 Both mortars and pestles were at first made of wood, 
 no doubt the hardest and most compact that could be 
 
112 
 
 ON CORN-MILLS. 
 
 found. This material was afterwards superseded by 
 stone; and the Etrurians seem to have given it a deeper 
 and more cylindrical form than usual ; they likewise 
 furrowed the sides with longitudinal scores, and cut the 
 bottom into rays like a star : that part of the pestle which 
 entered the mortar was roughened, and was terminated 
 by an iron spike, intended probably to be placed in a 
 hole in the centre of the star just mentioned : the pestle 
 was worked in an upright position, and seemingly by a 
 rotatory movement on its axis. This mortar, or mill, as 
 it may without much impropriety be called, was in- 
 tended, however, only to husk the grain, not to reduce it 
 to powder. 
 
 If the corn-mills generally used in Italy in the later 
 times of the Roman republic, and during the reigns of 
 the first emperors, were of the same form as those which 
 have been found at Pompeii, it is evident that the Italian 
 corn-mill differed entirely from those used in Greece and 
 in Asia, being in principle nothing more than the Etru- 
 rian mortar reversed. It consists of a stone post (the 
 pestle) fixed in the ground, and terminated by a cone, 
 having its point cut off: a hollow cone (the mortar), also 
 with its point cut off, is laid upon the solid one, and the 
 sides of the former being somewhat less sloped than those 
 of the latter, it is manifest that they will touch only at 
 their lower edge, and from that part will diverge upwards, 
 leaving an angular space between them, the width .of 
 which will be regulated by the difference of slope in the 
 exterior and interior cones : this space will be the grind- 
 ing surface. To the upper part of the outer cone, is fixed 
 a funnel-shaped hopper, and two opposite horizontal beams 
 also project from it, to which are attached the animals 
 by whose strength the mill is turned. The corn being 
 
ON CORN-MILLS. 
 
 113 
 
 delivered from the hopper into the space between the two 
 cones, is there ground by the rotation of the outer one, 
 and the meal drops out at the bottom, where the edges 
 of the cones come in contact. The labour of slaves was 
 at first employed to work these mills, and was often im- 
 posed as a punishment on refractory ones ; afterwards 
 asses, cattle, or horses, were used, generally the former, 
 the size of the mills not requiring the work of two 
 horses, and being more conveniently wrought by two 
 animals than by one. The discontinuance of the use of 
 slaves in mills is stated to have occurred about the end of 
 the third century, in the reign of Theodosius ; this, how- 
 ever, in all probability, applies only to public slaves. It 
 does not appear that hand-mills, on this or any other con- 
 struction, were in use among the Romans. The material 
 of the mills found at Pompeii, is a black cellular lava, 
 such as is used at present for the same purpose in that 
 part of Italy ; but other stones, both harder and softer 
 than this, were also employed, as I shall have occasion 
 to notice presently. 
 
 Hand-mills originated in the East at a period pre- 
 ceding that of the earliest historical records. Three 
 measures of fine meal kneaded and made into cakes on 
 the hearth, form part of the hospitality of the patriarch 
 Abraham (Gen. xviii. 6). Mills, therefore, for grinding 
 corn were already in use ; and that these were hand-mills 
 we may be assured, because the Jewish people seem never 
 to have employed any other kind ; and because, even to 
 the present day, the Arabians, and inhabitants of Syria, 
 though not entirely without cattle-mills and water-mills 
 in some of their largest towns, seem generally to retain 
 the old custom of grinding their corn at home, and thus 
 making it a regular daily domestic occupation. Working 
 
 VOL. LII. I 
 
114 
 
 ON CORN-MILLS. 
 
 at these hand-mills has, for the most part, fallen to the 
 lot of the women ; and, as it is both irksome and labori- 
 ous, devolves, of course, to the slaves, and even to the 
 lowest classes of them in opulent families. It was quite 
 accordant with the simplicity of ancient times, that the 
 wife of the patriarch, a man rich in servants and in cattle, 
 should herself prepare the bread for his guests ; but it 
 would have been quite out of character to demand from 
 her the serv ile labour of grinding at the mill. In ancient 
 Egypt, the same kind of hand-mill seems to have been 
 used, and was worked also by the lowest class of female 
 slaves: so exclusively was this labour appropriated to 
 them, that, in order to comprehend every rank of the 
 Egyptian people, we find the historian making use of the 
 expression, " From Pharaoh that sitteth on his throne, 
 to the maid-servant that is behind the mill." And the 
 Jewish prophets employ the same figure as typifying the 
 lowest state of degradation : " Virgin daughter of Baby- 
 lon, thou shalt no longer be called tender and delicate ; 
 sit in the dust, take the millstones, and grind meal." 
 Criminals and public slaves, when treated the most 
 harshly, were condemned to the mill. Thus Samson, when 
 made captive, and blinded and fettered, was set to. grind 
 in the prison-house. Generally one, but sometimes two 
 persons were employed at each mill, which consisted 
 essentially of two flat stones, the lower one the hardest, 
 and probably also the heaviest. In many respects, the 
 customs of the Oriental people seem to have undergone 
 hardly any change ; and modern travellers inform us that 
 hand-mills are still in use very generally, and of a form 
 and construction differing in no respect (as far as we can 
 judge) from the ancient ones. Dr. Shaw, in his " Travels 
 in Barbary," says — " Most families grind their wheat and 
 
ON CORN-MILLS. 
 
 115 
 
 barley at home, having two portable millstones for that 
 purpose ; the uppermost whereof is turned round by a 
 small handle of wood or iron that is placed in the rim. 
 When this stone is large, or expedition is required, then 
 a second person is called in to assist ; and it is usual for 
 the women alone to be concerned in this employment, 
 who seat themselves opposite to each other, with the 
 millstones between them." 
 
 The observations of Sir J. Chardin are to the same 
 purpose. " In the East," says he, " they grind their 
 corn at break of day ; and when one goes out in a 
 morning, one hears every where the noise of the mill. 
 The employment is extremely laborious, and esteemed 
 the lowest in the house, about which they set their black 
 servants only, and such as are the least fit for any thing 
 else." 
 
 Hand-mills of precisely the same form and construction 
 are at present used in India, as the specimens demon- 
 strate which are now before you, having been obtained 
 from the East India Museum, by the liberality of the 
 Court of Directors. 
 
 Greece received its earliest civilization from Phoenicia 
 and Egypt ; and the traditions which preceded the poet- 
 ical history of that country, allude to the first introduction 
 of agriculture, and to the substitution of corn for acorns 
 and other wild productions of the forest. Bread and 
 flour are frequently mentioned by Homer, the earliest of 
 their extant writers, and, consequently, imply the exist- 
 ence of corn- mills. If we were entirely destitute of any 
 account of the mill used in those times, we should yet be 
 justified in supposing it to be the same as that in use in 
 the countries from which the Greeks derived their know- 
 ledge of corn. What, in such circumstances, would only 
 
116 
 
 ON CORN-MILLS, 
 
 be a very probable conjecture, is reduced to matter of fact 
 by two passages in the Odyssey — a poem at once de- 
 lightful, from its narrative, and invaluable as a record of 
 domestic life, in what may be termed the semi-heroic age 
 of Greece. The female servants of the chief of Phseacia 
 are represented as fifty in number, some of whom were 
 employed in turning the corn-mills. The mills, also, of 
 Ulysses himself, were twelve iri number, turned by as 
 many female ' slaves, grinding wheat and barley with 
 great labour. 
 
 A hand-mill, also, of the same form as the Oriental 
 one, was, for many centuries, employed in the British 
 islands. It was called a quern ; may possibly have been 
 introduced by the Phoenicians, or by those tribes, who- 
 ever they were, who first brought into the country the 
 arts of agriculture. Its use in the western islands of 
 Scotland has been obsolete* for hardly more than fifty 
 years. It was worked by one or two women, as repre- 
 sented by Mr. Pennant in his " Tour in Scotland." 
 Shakspeare speaks of " labouring in the quern ;" and 
 Hakluyt, in his " History of Voyages and Travels," men- 
 tions the use of the quern on board ship for grinding 
 mustard-seed. It was, therefore, no doubt, made of 
 various sizes, according to the use for which it was in- 
 tended ; and was, evidently, not entirely discontinued in 
 England as late as the reign of Queen Elizabeth. 
 
 It is not known to whom the invention of water-mills 
 is owing. Strabo, in an obscure passage, seems to speak 
 of one set up by Mithridates. There is, however, satis- 
 factory evidence that a corn -mill, driven by water, 
 was set up at Rome, soon after the conquest of Mith- 
 ridates by Pompey. ' The novelty of the invention, and 
 the anticipation of the benefits to humanity likely to 
 
ON CORN-MILLS. 
 
 117 
 
 result from its adoption, are expressed in a beautiful copy 
 of verses by Antipater, a Greek poet and contemporary, 
 of which the following is a translation : — 
 
 u Cease your work, ye maidens, who laboured in the 
 mill ; sleep now, and let the birds sing to the ruddy 
 morning ; for Ceres has commanded the water nymphs 
 to perform your task. Obedient to her call, they throw 
 themselves on the wheel, force round the axle, and thus 
 turn the heavy millstone." 
 
 A more scientific account of the machine is to be 
 found in the " Architecture of Vitruvius," who, probably, 
 lived in the reign of Augustus. From this work we learn 
 that the mill, that is, the running stone, was supported on 
 the end of an upright shaft, which served also as the axis 
 of a flat toothed wheel ; this latter wheel worked in 
 another fixed at the upper end of the great axis, to the 
 lower end of which the water-wheel was fixed. This 
 latter, therefore, was horizontal, or nearly so, and was 
 turned round by the force of the stream in which it was 
 immersed. 
 
 As the machinery of water-mills for grinding corn 
 became improved, hand-mills, though not entirely aban- 
 doned, fell into great disuse. This, however, was occa- 
 sioned not merely by the greater cheapness and expe- 
 dition with which the former did their work, but, also, by 
 certain rights and obligations imposed by the feudal 
 system on lords of manors. The lord was obliged to be 
 at the expense of erecting a mill, worked by water or 
 wind, for the use of his tenants ; and they, in return, 
 were obliged to take their corn to be ground at the 
 lord's mill, paying him a certain toll for the conve- 
 nience. Thus, the interest of the lord, or, at least, of the 
 miller whom he employed, was directly concerned in 
 
118 
 
 ON CORN-MILLS. 
 
 discountenancing any private mills, and in thus removing 
 one of the strongest motives to, and excuses for, domestic 
 slavery. 
 
 Windmills are said, by Wenceslaus, author of the 
 " Chronicle of Bohemia," to have been common in that 
 country before the year 728. The common opinion is, 
 that they were introduced into Europe by those who 
 returned from the crusades ; and, therefore, an Asiatic 
 origin has been attributed to them. This opinion, how- 
 ever, is not very likely, because they are of rare occur- 
 rence in the East, and are mentioned, without any note 
 of their being newly invented or introduced, in a diploma 
 granted to an abbey in France, only two years after the 
 commencement of the first crusade. 
 
 It is unnecessary to say more respecting the history 
 of corn-mills ; nor, indeed, would the time permit me, 
 without trespassing unduly on what remains to be said 
 respecting the practical part of my subject. I must 
 begin by disclaiming all intention of entering into the 
 consideration of those parts and particulars of con- 
 struction and management that are common to all kinds 
 of water-mills, windmills, and steam-mills, whatever may 
 be the uses to which they may be applied, and shall 
 restrict myself to the description* of those parts only of 
 these machines which are concerned in the cleaning, 
 grinding, and dressing of corn. 
 
 Although corn, when it goes out of the farmer's hands, 
 has already been winnowed, sifted, and cleaned, yet 
 careful millers again pass it through a sifter, in* order 
 completely to separate the dust and small seeds. The 
 sitter is a cylindrical frame, covered with wire cloth ; it is 
 placed obliquely, and has, within, a spiral rib, which 
 makes two or three turns round the cylinder in its 
 
ON CORN-MILLS. 
 
 119 
 
 course from one end to the other. The sifter being made 
 to revolve, the corn enters at its upper end, and, by 
 means of the rib just mentioned, is detained long enough 
 in passing through the cylinder, to allow all the dust, 
 small seeds, and other impurities, to fall through the wire 
 cloth ; the friction, also, of the grains against each other 
 has a tendency to clear their surface, and render them 
 bright. 
 
 In Scotland this preparatory operation is performed 
 in a much more elaborate manner, by means of a machine 
 called a shealing, i.e. shelling-mill. The grain is de- 
 livered from a hopper on to the upper part of a sloping 
 trough, made of wire-cloth, and kept continually in a 
 state of tremulous motion : here the dust and small seeds 
 are separated ; it then passes between two millstones, set 
 so wide apart as to avoid crushing the grains, yet close 
 enough to take off more or less of the outer cuticle : from 
 the stones, it passes over another inclined wire trough 
 into a box, where is a fanner in rapid motion ; the scales 
 of the cuticle, or the bran, are thus separated from the 
 wheat, which is now ready to be ground. The grinding 
 part consists essentially of a feeder, and a pair of mill- 
 stones. The position of the stones is horizontal ; the 
 low r er one is fixed, being supported by a strong beam, 
 and brought, by means of wedges, to a truly horizontal 
 position. It requires to be examined from time to time, 
 because the continued tremulous motion communicated to 
 it by the act of grinding has a tendency to start the 
 wedges, and throw the stone a little oblique : it has a 
 hole through its centre, to receive the upright iron 
 spindle that carries and gives motion to the upper or 
 running stone. The spindle rests in a metal socket, in- 
 serted in the upper side of a strong cross beam, called 
 
120 
 
 ON CORN-MILLS. 
 
 the bridge ; one end of which is supported by a bracket 
 projecting from one of the main walls of the building, 
 while the other end is pierced by a round hole, through 
 which passes an iron bar, supported from above, and 
 screwed at its lower end : a nut, with a winch handle, is 
 put upon the screw, by turning which, in one or in the 
 opposite direction, the end of the bridge that rests upon 
 it may be raised or lowered, and with it the spindle, 
 which is supported by the bridge, and, consequently, also 
 the upper stone, which is suspended upon the spindle. 
 Thus, the distance between the two stones is adjusted. 
 On the spindle, between the bridge and the upper stone, 
 is fixed a pinion, the teeth of which are bevelled or 
 oblique, and take into those on the face of a vertical 
 wheel; which latter derives its motion, in a simple 
 manner, from the prime mover, whatever that be. The 
 upper stone hangs on two arms, diverging from the 
 spindle at right angles to each other, and is brought, by 
 wedges, to an even bearing. A little above these arms 
 are two opposite side pieces, projecting from the spindle, 
 and called the damsel : the top of the spindle is received 
 in a socket in a cross-beam. The spout that conveys the 
 grain from the hopper to the eye or centre of the upper 
 millstone, rests against the spindle, just at the damsel, 
 and thus receives an alternate back and forward motion, 
 which, with the oblique position of the spout, keeps the 
 grains continually advancing towards its lower part; and 
 the rate at which they -proceed, and, consequently, the 
 feeding of the mill, is regulated by the obliquity of the 
 spout, which may be raised more or less by means of 
 a stiin°\ 
 
 o 
 
 If I have succeeded in making myself understood, 
 you will perceive that the mode by which the motions of 
 
ON CORN-MILLS. 
 
 121 
 
 the several parts and their adjustments are performed, is 
 very simple. 
 
 1 now proceed to make some observations on the 
 stones that are employed in grinding. According to 
 Pliny, the millers of his day used three different kinds 
 of stones ; one appears to have been a hard quartz rock, 
 another a compact limestone, and the third a stone 
 with green spots, bearing some resemblance to that which 
 he calls Ophites. It is worthy of remark, that at this 
 very day the Tuscan millers employ three kinds of stone, 
 greatly resembling, perhaps the very same as, those 
 mentioned by Pliny. One is a hard, granular, talcose 
 quartz, with imbeded garnets ; the second is a compact, 
 porcellanous limestone ; and the third is an aggregate of 
 green crystals of diallage embedded in compact felspar. 
 Specimens of these were brought from Tuscany some 
 years ago by Mr. H. W. Reveley, and were presented to 
 the Society. In his paper on the subject, inserted in our 
 40th Volume of Transactions, he states, that when the upper 
 and lower stones are both of quartz rock, brown flour is 
 produced ; but that, with a runner of diallage rock and 
 a bed-stone of limestone, the flour comes out exceedingly 
 white, and the bran is broad and clean. Granite is some- 
 times used for millstones ; and a hard, pebbly sandstone, 
 called, from this very application of it, rnillstone-grit, 
 was, formerly, in considerable use in England. A black 
 cellular lava, from the quarries of Mayen, near Ander- 
 nach, on the Rhine, and commonly known by the name 
 of Cologne millstone, was largely employed in this 
 country, and is still used for crushing peas, malt, &c. 
 though not for grinding wheat. The stone, however, 
 which, by universal consent, is regarded as decidedly the 
 best, is French Buhr. This is a rock found in the Paris 
 
122 
 
 on corn-mills: 
 
 basin, among the beds of freshwater limestone that lie 
 above the chalk. It is «. chalcedonic hornstone ; very 
 hard, tough, and sharp ; sometimes porous, sometimes 
 compact. It is quarried in rough pieces, each of small 
 size, and varying considerably in quality. The first thing 
 to be done is to sort them ; for, a millstone composed of 
 pieces, some compact and others porous, never works 
 satisfactorily, because it wears unequally. The pieces are 
 then dressed, forming five smooth faces in each ; after 
 which they are placed within a circular band of iron, the 
 rough face of each upwards, and are cemented together 
 by plaster of Paris, the upper part being brought to an 
 even surface by a covering of plaster with bits of stone. 
 The eye, or hole in the centre of the stone, is then formed, 
 and the part for a few inches round the eye is made 
 a little concave, so as to admit the grains of wheat freely 
 between the stones : some millers also keep the outer 
 edges gradually rounded off a little lower than the 
 general face for about one inch and a half all round the 
 margin. The rest of the face is to be quite flat, and conse- 
 quently the grinding surfaces of both stones are perfectly 
 parallel to each other. The next operation is cracking 
 the stones ; by which is meant, covering their surface 
 with shallow parallel channels, put in by a tool called a 
 mill-bill, which become so many blunt edges, to crush 
 the grains as they get between them. The diameter of 
 millstones varies considerably, being from 3 feet 8 inches 
 to 5 feet 6 inches. From 4 feet to 4 feet 2 inches, may 
 be reckoned the average size : the thickness is from 6 to 
 10 inches ; and when worn to about 5 inches, the stone 
 becomes unserviceable. 
 
 The peculiar quality of the Buhr stones, when put 
 into a good face by a skilful miller, is to produce a 
 
ON CORN-MILLS. 
 
 123 
 
 greater quantity of fine flour from a given quantity of 
 wheat, and of a better colour, than other millstones. If 
 the grinding has been properly performed, the meal, as 
 it falls from the stones, has a peculiar soft silky feel 
 when rubbed between the fingers, whilst the bran is in 
 the form of large flakes, completely stripped of flour. 
 When the stones are in bad face the bran is cut, and some 
 of it so comminuted as to pass the bolting cloths along 
 with the flour, and thus injure its colour. More or less, 
 also, of the meal adheres to the larger pieces of bran and 
 is lost; and another portion, instead of being reduced to 
 an impalpable powder, is only granulated : this latter, 
 when separated from the fine flour by the dressing ma- 
 chine, is called sharps, and must be either sold at an 
 inferior price, or be ground a second time. 
 
 The best velocity for stones 4 feet 2 inches in diame- 
 ter, is 120 revolutions in a minute ; for smaller stones a 
 greater number of revolutions, and for larger ones a 
 smaller number ; so that the velocity of the circum- 
 ference in all shall be nearly equal. The rate of feeding, 
 or the quantity of meal produced, is much influenced by 
 the state of the corn ; the drier this is, the closer the 
 stones may be set, and the greater velocity may be given 
 to them. A pair of stones 4 feet 6 inches in diameter, 
 and running 130 rounds in a minute, have been known 
 to grind in an hour 22 bushels of kiln-dried wheat, and 
 from 6 to 9 bushels of wheat very dry, but not kiln-dried. 
 Stones 4 feet 2 inches in diameter, and running J 20 
 rounds in a minute, will grind about five bushels in an 
 hour of good dry wheat ; but many of the millers in the 
 neighbourhood of London, from fear of over-heating their 
 meal, have reduced the produce to 2 \ or 3 bushels per 
 hour. 
 
124 
 
 ON CORN-MILLS. 
 
 A horse, while at work, will grind at the rate of a 
 bushel an hour, but will not be able to labour more than 
 6 hours out of 24. 
 
 A well-constructed watermill, with an effective fall 
 of 10 feet, will grind one bushel per hour, by an expendi- 
 ture of about 52 cubic feet of water per minute employed 
 on a breast wheel : if dressing the meal be added to the 
 grinding, 10 cubic feet more of water will be required. 
 A good steam-engine will grind at the rate of about 10 
 bushels an hour for every bushel of coals consumed in 
 that time ; a peck and a half of coals, therefore, are equi- 
 valent, at this work, to the daily labour of a horse. 
 
 Sometimes, after every possible care has been taken 
 to suspend the upper stone so that its grinding surface 
 shall in every part be equidistant from the surface of the 
 lower one, the stones will chatter ; that is, the upper one 
 will lose its perfect parallelism with the lower one, and 
 will become oblique ; so that on one side the stones will 
 knock against each other, and on the opposite side will be 
 too far apart to make good meal. This is a very serious 
 defect, as it is scarcely possible to remedy it. When 
 at rest, the two stones are correctly parallel, and it. is 
 only when in motion that the grinding surface of the 
 runner becomes oblique. To Mr. Donkin I am indebted 
 for a very probable explanation of the phenomenon. 
 From the very irregular size and form of the pieces 
 of Buhr, and from their being cemented together by 
 plaster — a substance that differs much in specific gravity 
 from the Buhr itself — it is evident that the weight must 
 be very unequally distributed through the mass : the 
 consequence of this will -be, that the plane of rotation 
 will never strictly coincide with the horizontal plane, to 
 which, alone, can the grinding surfaces be adjusted ; and 
 
ON CORN-MILLS. 
 
 125 
 
 when these planes differ by a certain angular amount, 
 the runner will come in contact with the bed-stone, in one 
 part of its rotation, and produce chattering. The only 
 very obvious remedy for this evil is, great attention to 
 sorting the pieces of Buhr, and to arranging them within 
 the frame of the stone, that the cement required shall be 
 distributed as evenly as possible. The stones work 
 within a box or case, which receives the meal as it escapes 
 from their circumference, and delivers it by a spout into 
 a bin or sack, placed to receive it. The friction produced 
 in the act of grinding always occasions a sensible degree 
 of warmth in the meal. It is known, by experience, 
 that the cooler the meal comes from the stones the better 
 is the flour, and the lighter the bread made of such flour. 
 Meal that has been thus over-heated is technically said to 
 be killed ; and it will be produced both when the runner is 
 going too rapidly, and when the mill is fed with corn 
 too quick. While the meal continues warm, the moisture 
 will be exhaling from its interior in vapour, and will be 
 condensed on its surface, making that part of the meal 
 damp, and therefore more likely to be attacked by 
 insects, to become tainted, or mouldy. It is also inca- 
 pable of being dressed or bolted with so much accuracy 
 as meal of a proper state of dryness is, from the adhesion 
 of the particles, to one another. It might be thought, 
 that if the meal fell into the bin from a greater height, 
 and in a more- dispersed state, it would be completely 
 cooled ; and so, probably, it would : but we know that 
 oatmeal is a very hygrometric substance, and, probably, 
 wheat-meal is so likewise. The consequence, therefore, 
 of cooling .it by more free exposure to the air would, 
 probably, be no improvement in dryness, but quite the 
 
126 
 
 ON CORN-MILLS. 
 
 contrary ; and the more the meal had previously been 
 heated, the more hygrometric would it become. 
 
 From the receiving -bin the corn is transferred to the 
 cooling-bins, which are at the top of the building ; and 
 when it has completely cooled to the temperature of the 
 air, it is dressed. This is performed by passing it through 
 an oblique cylinder, covered with wire-cloth of different 
 degrees of fineness, the finest being at the upper, and the 
 coarsest at the lower, end. For the London market, the 
 coarsest cloth has 45 to 56 wires per inch ; the middle 
 has from 56 to 60 wires, and the finest has from 60 to 70 
 wires. The flour that comes through the latter is put 
 into a cylinder of frame-work, covered with a bolting- 
 cloth, and having a rapid rotatory motion given to it. 
 What is thus forced through the interstices in the bolting 
 cloth is the finest flour. 
 
 The popular charges against millers and bakers of 
 adulterating flour, whether false or true, become, from 
 time to time, epidemically prevalent ; and then all the 
 world runs wild for hand or family mills, as they are 
 called. It is worth while, therefore, to consider what 
 may fairly be expected of such mills. The main object 
 proposed by the use of domestic mills, namely, an un- 
 adulterated material for bread, is unquestionably obtained. 
 If the grinding is performed between stones, the meal, 
 although coarse, harsh to the feel, and ill-ground in 
 many respects, from want of the necessary knowledge 
 and attention, which can only be expected of those who 
 are millers by trade, will be sufficiently performed to 
 allow of most of the bran being separated by the sieve, 
 leaving a flour from which perfectly wholesome, though 
 coarse brown bread may be made. The bran, with a 
 
ON CORN-MILLS. 
 
 127 
 
 considerable quantity of flour still adherent to it for want 
 of being properly ground, remains; and in private fami- 
 lies, resident in town, there exists no use to which it can 
 be applied. When, therefore, the loss in the article of 
 bran and of flour not separable from the bran, is added 
 to the current cost of labour for grinding and the prime 
 cost of the mill itself, it will soon appear at what a price 
 a family so supplied eat their bread : for the labour of 
 the mill is such as not to admit of its being imposed as 
 an extra on the ordinary duties of modern domestic 
 servants. The noise, too, of the grinding, is a nuisance 
 that deserves to be taken into account, unless it can be 
 performed in an outhouse, where the labourer employed 
 being out of inspection, has it in his power to adulterate 
 your wheat with inferior grain, in the same degree as is 
 charged upon the miller. 
 
 All the objections that I have just enumerated, apply 
 to the use of steel mills ; with this in addition, that, as 
 the action of metal plates is to cut rather than to rub 
 down or grind the grain, a much larger proportion of 
 flour will be left adherent to the bran, and a much larger 
 proportion of this latter will be cut so fine as to pass 
 through the sieve with the flour ; the only way, therefore, 
 at all consistent with economy, of employing the meal 
 produced by a steel mill is to use it entire, without any 
 attempt at separating even the bran. I have had bread 
 made of such meal, and, though dark in colour, and 
 coarse to the look, it rose, with the usual quantity of 
 yeast, quite as well as homemade bread of finer quality, 
 and was not deficient either in palatableness or in whole- 
 someness. 
 
 As far as I can judge, by experiments made in my 
 
128 
 
 ON CORN-MILLS. 
 
 own family, and from those that have come to my know- 
 ledge made by others, it will take about two hours' con- 
 tinued hard labour for one man, to grind a bushel of 
 wheat ; and if to this be added the time and labour of 
 sifting and dressing the meal by hand, I believe that an 
 average day's work will rarely exceed two bushels. 
 
129 
 
 ON LIMESTONE AND CALCAREOUS 
 CEMENTS. 
 
 By THE SECRETARY. 
 Read 10th March, 1835. 
 
 When men began to assemble themselves in Society, and 
 to occupy fixed habitations, the first great work on which 
 to employ their common exertions would be, surrounding 
 the space covered by their huts by a mound or wall, in 
 order to keep out wild beasts and their still more dan- 
 gerous human enemies. With this view, the most fa- 
 vourable situation that could be chosen would be a de- 
 tached rocky hill, of moderate height, flat-topped, and 
 having its flanks more or less protected by inaccessible 
 precipices. On the more gently sloping sides a wall 
 would be raised by collecting the largest blocks lying 
 about, and laying them on one another ; at the same 
 time so adapting their irregular surfaces as to leave 
 between them the least possible spaces, and filling up 
 these spaces with smaller pieces of stone. Walls of this 
 kind, if skilfully built, and with blocks of large dimen- 
 sions, even if not united into one mass by the use of 
 cement, oppose, by the mere magnitude and weight of 
 their ingredients, great impediments to disintegration, 
 either from natural causes or external violence. If the 
 hill thus occupied were massive in its structure, like 
 
 VOL. LII, K 
 
130 ON LIMESTONE AND CALCAREOUS CEMENTS. 
 
 granite or basalt, the blocks furnished by it would be of 
 very indeterminate figures, and the face of the wall 
 would present the appearance of irregular polygons, which 
 would require, on the part of the builders, considerable 
 skill to arrange without interstices. But, if the hill 
 were composed of beds or strata, lying over one another, 
 then the blocks would offer at least two parallel faces, 
 and thus would be far more easy to arrange as a wall. 
 Examples of this very antique mode of building, generally 
 known by the name of Cyclopean, are by no means un- 
 frequent in Greece and in Italy, especially in that part of 
 it formerly called Etruria. Mycene, in Peloponnesus, is 
 very remarkable for its gateway and walls of Cyclopean 
 architecture, which we know to have resisted the utmost 
 efforts of the Argians to demolish, at -the time they took 
 the city, and have since, for a long series of centuries, 
 continued to brave the destructive rage of barbarians and 
 of the elements. Even in more regular and elaborate 
 structures of hewn stone, where the blocks are large, and 
 the surfaces of pressure well levelled, the use of cement 
 may be dispensed with, as is the case in the antique 
 temples of Upper Egypt. 
 
 But where, from choice or necessity, the materials of 
 building are pieces of small size, whether regular or 
 irregular in figure, it is impossible to make of them solid 
 and durable constructions without the use of cement of 
 some kind interposed between the pieces, in order to 
 bind them together. Every one who has travelled 
 through the hilly districts of this country, must have 
 observed the dry stone walls by which the fields are in- 
 closed, and probably have personally experienced the 
 ease with which a breach may be made, even in those 
 that are the most carefully and solidly built. We know, 
 
ON LIMESTONE AND CALCAREOUS CEMENTS. 
 
 131 
 
 from the concurrence of sacred and profane history, 
 that one of the earliest seats of the human race was the 
 alluvial plain watered and periodically inundated by the 
 Euphrates. In this district neither rocky strata nor de- 
 tached blocks of stone are to be found, but a tenacious 
 and silty soil offers to the ingenuity of man materials 
 capable of being moulded into artificial stone, tfcat is, 
 bricks, of any desirable form. It is impossible to make 
 bricks of very large dimensions, as the clay would infal- 
 libly crack in drying, as well as in baking. While, 
 therefore, we learn from historical authority that the 
 structures of ancient Babylon were raised in brick, we 
 know, from the testimony of modern travellers, who 
 have examined the ruins, that these bricks are not more 
 than about 13 inches square by about three inches thick. 
 From this fact we might infallibly conclude, even in the 
 absence of all direct evidence, that cement of some 
 sort must have been employed in raising walls and 
 other solid buildings of such materials. Bitumen, in a 
 melted state, was, as we are informed by Herodotus, and 
 by the author of the book of Genesis, the substance made 
 use of on this occasion ; and this statement is confirmed 
 by recent observers, who not only inform us that at Hit, 
 a district a little higher up the river than the ruins of 
 Babylon, there are even now numerous springs of petro- 
 leum ; but that what seem to be the oldest parts of the 
 ruins themselves, are constructed of layers of unburn t 
 brick, faced by layers of burnt ones ; the whole cemented 
 together by bitumen and mats made of reeds. But the 
 knowledge and use of calcareous cements was either 
 contemporary with that of bitumen, or was invented 
 shortly after ; for, among these very ruins occur many 
 parts built of burnt brick set in lime-mortar, which latter, 
 
132 ON LIMESTONE AND CALCAREOUS CEMENTS. 
 
 even at the present day, is of extreme toughness and 
 hardness. 
 
 But no ancient people seem to have made so much 
 use of calcareous cements as "the Romans, for, with the 
 exception of the cloaca maxima, or great sewer — a 
 prodigious subterranean vaulted tunnel, constructed, in 
 the re^gn of their king Tarquinius Superbus, of blocks 
 of a light and porous stone, without any cement what- 
 ever — with the exception, I say, of this great work, all 
 the other public structures appear to have been of brick 
 or stone, cemented by lime-mortar. Nor was it in raising 
 buildings alone, in the usual acceptation of the term, that 
 calcareous cements were employed by the Romans ; the 
 chief of their military roads and highways were pave- 
 ments resting on a foundation of rough stones consoli- 
 dated into one mass by liquid mortar or grout, which, 
 beginning at Rome itself, accompanied and facilitated 
 the march of her conquering legions to the very remotest 
 extremities of the empire. The port of Ostia, at the 
 mouth of the Tiber, was a place of immense consequence, 
 as commanding the whole water communication of the 
 capital with the provinces, and great exertions were 
 made, by the construction of moles and jetties, to convert 
 the naturally hazardous and exposed entrance of the river 
 into a secure and capacious harbour. The fashion, also, 
 among the more opulent classes, of quitting Rome during 
 the heats of summer, for a residence in the numerous 
 villas on the shores of the bays of Naples and Baiae, and 
 which were frequently constructed on moles actually 
 projecting into the sea, rendered necessary the invention 
 of a cement capable of preserving its efficacy even under 
 water. Accident or experiment, discovered near the town 
 of Puteoli (itself situated on the bay of Baiee) a bed of 
 
ON LIMESTONE AND CALCAREOUS CEMENTS. 133 
 
 porous, half concreted ' matter, which, when reduced to 
 powder and mixed with lime, or with common mortar, 
 gave to it the property of hardening under water. The 
 substance described by Vitruvius and by Pliny, by the 
 name of powder of Puteoli (Pulvis Puteolanus), still 
 retains essentially the same appellation ; only, as the 
 name of the town has been modernized into Pozzuoli, 
 so that of the substance has .passed into that of puz- 
 zolana. 
 
 If the description given by Julius Csesar of the towns 
 in the south-eastern part of Britain, which, from its 
 vicinity to the continent of Europe was also the most 
 civilized, be at all correct, it is highly probable that the 
 use of calcareous cements was not known in this country 
 till after its conquest by the Romans. Of the buildings 
 erected by them the greater part have now perished from 
 the effects of time and of violence ; but some of the 
 simpler kinds still remain sufficiently entire to shew their 
 style of building, and the durability of their materials. 
 The most ancient limestone quarries in the kingdom, and 
 which continue still in full activity, having been originally 
 opened by the Romans, are at Tadcaster, in Yorkshire, 
 the name of which place in the Roman itineraries is, 
 from this circumstance, called Calcariae. 
 
 The essential ingredient of all calcareous cements is 
 lime, a substance which never occurs naturally in a pure 
 state, being always combined with some other body, as 
 well as mechanically mixed with impurities of various 
 kinds. The usual state in which it is found is as an 
 earthy salt, called, when crystallized, calcareous spar; 
 and, when massive, limestone, being combined with car- 
 bonic acid in the proportion of about 54 of lime to 46 of 
 carbonic acid in the 100 parts. 
 
134 
 
 ON LIMESTONE AND CALCAREOUS CEMENTS. 
 
 The natural state of carbonic acid, under the ordinary 
 atmospheric pressure and temperature, is a gas, or per- 
 manently elastic fluid ; and as this gas is but sparingly 
 soluble in water, it follows that when we put a piece of 
 limestone in a glass, and cover it with water, and then 
 add any substance capable, by combining with the lime, 
 of separating the carbonic acid, this latter will rise 
 through the water in a stream of bubbles, producing that 
 appearance which the chemist calls effervescence. Most 
 acids, when dissolved in water, will separate carbonic 
 acid from lime in the way I have just described ; and 
 hence we are furnished with an easy test for distinguish- 
 ing limestone from sandstone, and from other usually 
 occurring rocks, by its almost entire solubility, accom- 
 panied by effervescence, in cold dilute muriatic, or nitric 
 acid ; the proportion that remains undissolved indicating 
 with considerable, through not perfect, accuracy, the 
 amount of impurities. 
 
 Every kind of limestone is not equally adapted to the 
 use of the bricklayer ; and, as these differences depend 
 partly on mechanical and partly on chemical properties, 
 it becomes necessary to describe somewhat in detail the 
 principal varieties of limestone, as far as their economical 
 use is thereby affected. With this view they may con- 
 veniently be arranged into four families. 
 
 ■The first includes those limestones which are, for the 
 most part, of a pale colour, and burn to a white lime, 
 containing very little foreign matter. 
 
 Of these, the purest is white granular or statuary 
 marble, which contains hardly any impurities, except a 
 little silicious earth. This is actually used by the che- 
 mist, when he wants a lime purer than usual ; but as, 
 when heated, it is very liable, on account of its granular 
 
ON LIMESTONE AND CALCAREOUS CEMENTS. 135 
 
 crystalline structure, to fall into a coarse powder, it is 
 manifestly incapable of being burnt in a common lime- 
 kiln, and therefore is of no use as a material for mortar. 
 
 White chalk is another of this family, which, on 
 account of its softness and porousness, is easily quarried, 
 and requires less fuel and a shorter time for its burning 
 than common gray limestone does. It has, however, 
 this disadvantage, namely, that the cores or centres of 
 those pieces that have been only superficially burnt, are 
 easily broken down with the back of a spade, and there- 
 fore are often mixed up with the other ingredients of the 
 mortar, instead of being scrupulously rejected, as they 
 ought to be. 
 
 Oolite is another limestone of this family, and derives 
 its name from the small round grains or concretions of 
 which it is principally composed, and which were for- 
 merly supposed to be the eggs of fish in a petrified state. 
 In hardness, and other qualities, it holds a place inter- 
 mediate between chalk and gray limestone. 
 
 Gray limestone, itself, includes all those beds in 
 mountain limestone and in transition limestone which, 
 with a structure passing from scaly into compact, are de- 
 cidedly harder than the preceding, and require the assist- 
 ance of gunpowder to detach them from the quarry, 
 unless where they occur in very thin beds. They take, in 
 burning, a longer time and somewhat greater quantity of 
 fuel than the preceding, and are often mere aggregates 
 of corals and other organic remains. The amount of 
 impurity, chiefly sand and clay, rarely exceeds four or 
 five per cent, and the darker varieties usually furnish the 
 whitest lime, shewing the colour to be chiefly carbo- 
 naceous. 
 
 The second family includes the swinestones and bitu- 
 
136 ON LIMESTONE AND CALCAREOUS CEMENTS. 
 
 minous limestones; tbe first name being given -to them 
 from the fetid smell, like that of a pig-sty, produced 
 by rubbing them against any hard substance. Their 
 colour is dark brown, passing into black ; all the varieties 
 of black marble being of this kind. When heated red- 
 hot, the carbonaceous colouring matter begins to re-act 
 on the carbonic acid, converts it into another gas called 
 carbonic oxide, which, having no attraction for lime, flies 
 off, leaving behind the lime itself, of a snow-white colour, 
 and rendered perfectly caustic, in a shorter time, and by 
 a less expenditure of fuel, than is required for any 
 other kind of limestone. Being, when burnt, more 
 porous than any other of the compact limestones, it falls 
 down into an exceedingly fine powder, by the action 
 of water, or on exposure to the air ; a quality which 
 renders it particularly valuable to the farmer, as well as 
 to the builder. 
 
 The third family is that of the magnesian limestone. 
 Its chief repository in this country is that very extensive 
 formation called the new red sandstone, which, in the 
 natural series, lies immediately above the coal measures : 
 here it occurs in thick beds, as well as occasionally in the 
 mountain limestone. Its colour is sometimes reddish, but 
 usually is of a pale yellowish brown. Many varieties have 
 so greatly the aspect of fine grained sandstone, that they 
 were for a long time considered as such ; but a minute 
 inspection will shew that they are an aggregate of small 
 rhomboidal crystals, which on analysis prove to be com- 
 pounds of carbonate of lime and carbonate of magnesia, 
 the relative proportions of which, though subject to con- 
 siderable variation, may be stated at about three-fifths car- 
 bonate of lime, and two-fifths carbonate of magnesia. If a 
 piece of this limestone be put into cold dilute nitric acid, it 
 
ON LIMESTONE AND CALCAREOUS CEMENTS. 137 
 
 will dissolve very slowly, with hardly any sensible effer- 
 vescence, although in hot acid the effervescence will be 
 as vigorous as with common limestone. When burnt to 
 lime, it retains its causticity for a much longer period 
 than common lime does; and, therefore, no doubt mo- 
 difies to a certain degree the properties of the mortar 
 into the composition of which it enters, although its pre- 
 cise action has hitherto been very little investigated. 
 
 The fourth and last family includes those limestones 
 which contain in their composition so large a proportion 
 of iron and clay as to enable them to form cements, which 
 have the property of becoming solid under water, and, 
 therefore, are peculiarly valuable in subaqueous con- 
 structions. 
 
 One of these is the gray chalk, or chalk-marl. The 
 bottom bed of the great deposit of chalk is considerably 
 thicker than the upper ones, and contains no flints; in 
 colour it is of a less pure white or gray, and is consider- 
 ably harder than the upper chalk, so that many parts of 
 it make a tolerably good building stone. In composition 
 it is not uniform ; the proportion of slightly ferruginous 
 clay that it contains, notably increasing from the top to 
 the bottom of the bed : the lower parts moulder by ex- 
 posure to weather ; and the lowest of all not only moulder, 
 but are more or less slaty in structure ; that is, are in the 
 state of true marl. That part of the gray chalk which is 
 used for water cement, contains various proportions of 
 clay, from 6 or 8, up to about 25 per cent, and after burn- 
 ing has a pale brownish yellow colour. It is known in 
 the London market by the name of Dorking lime, there 
 being very extensive quarries of it near that town, as well 
 as at Merstham and Hailing. 
 
 Another and still more valuable variety of limestone 
 
138 ON LIMESTONE AND CALCAREOUS CEMENTS. 
 
 for water cement, is the blue limestone, which is generally 
 of a dark dove colour, and of a dull earthy aspect : by 
 long exposure to weather it becomes, superficially at least, 
 of a liver brown, and when burnt into lime is of a buff 
 colour. It forms occasional beds in the transition and 
 mountain limestone deposits, but constitutes nearly the 
 whole of the lias limestone. This latter is one of the 
 most remarkable of the English strata. Its geological 
 position is between the lower oolite, and the new red 
 sandstone. It passes obliquely through the country in 
 a direction from N.E. to S.W. ; from the sea coast at 
 Whitby, to the cliffs at Lyme-Regis in Dorsetshire, on the 
 British channel. In its course southward it passes to the 
 east of York, and crosses the Humber near the junction 
 of the Trent and Ouse ; thence it passes through the 
 western edge of Lincolnshire, and traverses the counties 
 of Nottingham, Leicester, Warwick, and Gloucester ; its 
 breadth in this part of its course being pretty uniformly 
 about six miles. Hence the main body proceeds in nearly 
 a southerly direction through Somersetshire to the coast 
 of Dorset, while a broken line of the same skirts along 
 the southern shore of the Bristol channel as far as 
 Watchet, and appears on the northern shore in detached 
 patches in the. counties of Monmouth and Glamorgan. 
 The entire thickness of this deposit is perhaps about 250 
 feet ; the middle part consists of beds of blue limestone 
 alternating with blackish slaty marl ; the upper and lower 
 parts being less calcareous than the middle, are composed 
 chiefly of beds of marl, in which are harder masses of a 
 compressed globular figure, less clayey than the slaty 
 marl in which they are found, but less calcareous than 
 the blue limestone. The quarries of W^atchet, Aberthaw, 
 and Barrow, in Leicestershire, were long celebrated for 
 
ON LIMESTONE AND CALCAREOUS CEMENTS. 139 
 
 the excellent water lime which they produce, before it had 
 been ascertained from geological surveys that they are 
 only on different parts of the same deposit. From an 
 analysis by Mr. Smeaton of the blue limestone of Watchet, 
 Aberthaw, and Bath, the proportion of iron and clay in 
 each appears to be the same, or -about 11| per cent. The 
 blue lime of Barrow, according to Mr. Marshall, contains 
 about 14, and according to Smeaton, 21*3 per cent of 
 the same ingredient, and that of Westbury, 9 per cent. 
 The lias limestone used by the London builders, is brought 
 from Lyme-Regis, but is little used in the metropolis, 
 being about 25 per cent dearer than Dorking lime, the 
 difference in cost depending, in part at least, on the 
 longer time and greater quantity of fuel required in 
 burning; it. 
 
 The balls which I have mentioned as occurring in 
 the upper and lower beds of the lias formation, are not 
 peculiar to it, but appear to be formed in all deposits of 
 bluish slaty clay that contain carbonate of lime, but not 
 sufficient to separate from the rest of the ingredients into 
 distinct beds of limestone. Thus, in several of the beds 
 of blue clay that lie above the chalk in that district called 
 the London Basin, are to be found layers of compressed 
 spheroidal balls, known by the name of septaria, or 
 cement stone. The outer part of them consists of ob- 
 scurely slaty concentric layers, with an excess of clay, 
 and which peel off by long exposure to the air ; the in- 
 terior part is more compact, and is not unfrequently 
 divided into nearly cubical pieces by cracks generally 
 filled or lined with calcareous spar. They may be ob- 
 served in the cliffs of London clay that form the eastern 
 coast of the island of Sheppy, also in the low cliff at 
 Southend, at the mouth of the Thames ; and they have 
 
140 ON LIMESTONE AND CALCAREOUS CEMENTS. 
 
 been dug up wherever excavations have been made in 
 the London clay, as at the archway road at Highgate, 
 and in the deep cutting and tunnelling now going on for 
 the London and Birmingham railway, near Primrose Hill. 
 Of late years these stones, burnt and reduced to powder, 
 have been very extensively used in all water building and 
 other masonry requiring particular care, with such suc- 
 cess as to have entirely superseded the employment of 
 puzzolana, and of Dutch tarras. With this concludes 
 my survey of the calcareous raw materials employed in 
 the construction of cements, in which I have begun from 
 the purest kinds of limestone, and have terminated with 
 those that contain the smallest proportions of carbonate 
 of lime. 
 
 Two other sorts of materials now require a short 
 notice. The first comprehends a few non-calcareous sub- 
 stances, the essential ingredients of which appear to be 
 oxid of iron and burnt clay, which have the power of 
 giving to mortar made of white lime the property of be- 
 coming extraordinarily hard, and of setting under water. 
 
 Of these, puzzolana is volcanic ashes, thrown out of 
 Vesuvius during its eruptions, and concreted, on the 
 places where it has fallen, into a cellular mass of a rusty 
 colour, and of slight cohesion. 
 
 Tarras, or trass, is a bluish black cellular trap or 
 lava, quarried at Andernach on the Rhine, into mill- 
 stones ; the fragments produced in making which are 
 sent to Holland, where they are ground into powder ; 
 and when mixed with lias lime form a cement, extensively 
 used in the dykes and other water buildings of that 
 country. 
 
 In England, Rowley rag, a basalt obtained from the 
 Rowley Hills in Warwickshire, and in composition pro- 
 
ON LIMESTONE AND CALCAREOUS CEMENTS. 141 
 
 bably very similar to the Andernach stone, has been used 
 for the same purposes with good effect. 
 
 The other non-calcareous ingredient employed in the 
 composition of mortar is sand, which, with reference to 
 this use of it, may be divided into the pure and the 
 clayey, the coarse and fine-grained, the round and the 
 sharp-angled. Smeaton has shewn, by actual experiment, 
 that raw clay sensibly impairs the hardness of mortar ; it 
 is obvious, therefore, that the use of pit-sand, which is 
 generally dirty, should be avoided where it is possible, 
 unless it has been previously cleaned by washing till it no 
 longer troubles the clearness of the water. As the action 
 of sand in mortar seems to be merely mechanical, that 
 which is sharp-angled is evidently better than that which 
 is round, as offering a better surface for the adhesion of 
 the lime ; it is likewise manifest that a due admixture of 
 coarse and fine sand will fill a space, leaving the smallest 
 interstices, and, therefore, capable of greater resistance to 
 external pressure. Where chalybeate springs rise out of 
 sand, the colour of this latter is yellow, from the inter- 
 mixture of ochre ; and such sands, if free from clay, pro- 
 duce a cement of extraordinary hardness. 
 
 Limestone, even when reduced to the finest powder, is 
 wholly inefficacious in the composition of mortar, and it is 
 only useful for this purpose when the carbonic acid has 
 been driven off from it by a high heat continued a suf- 
 ficient length of time. The fetid limestones, as I have 
 already mentioned, may be wholly deprived of their car- 
 bonic acid at a lower heat than is required for the other 
 limestones. In these latter it is probable that no dif- 
 ference in intensity of heat is required, but a longer con- 
 tinuance of it, according as the limestone under operation 
 is more or less clayey, and more or less compact. The 
 
142 ON LIMESTONE AND CALCAREOUS CEMENTS. 
 
 separation of the carbonic acid begins from the outside of 
 the pieces, and so proceeds to the centre. The size, there- 
 fore, of the pieces before burning should be as small as is 
 consistent with the expense of breaking them. -It may 
 easily be judged whether a kiln of limestone has been 
 perfectly burnt by taking a few samples, and selecting a 
 piece as big as a pea from the middle of each, and then 
 dropping them separately into a glass containing weak 
 muriatic acid. If no effervescence ensues, the burning 
 has been complete, and the degree of its incompleteness 
 may be estimated by the vigour of the effervescence as 
 compared with that of an equal piece of the same lime- 
 stone un burnt. 
 
 As soon as the lime has grown cold, it begins to re- 
 absorb carbonic acid ; and, in course of time, will fall to 
 pieces, and return to the state of carbonate ; there is, 
 therefore, an obvious advantage in using lime as soon as 
 possible after it has been burnt ; there is, however, a 
 considerable difference in the rate at which different limes 
 recover their carbonic acid, the white limes take it up the 
 most rapidly, and the argillaceous and magnesian ones 
 the most slowly. In an experiment by Mr. Marshall, 
 a piece of white Bristol lime, kept in a drawer, was found, 
 in seven days, to have increased in weight 33 per cent ; 
 while a piece of blue lias from Westbury, in the same 
 time, and in the same place, had increased no more than 
 I.0J- per cent. In close casks, the Has lime will keep 
 good for a long time. Smeaton's experience goes as far 
 as seven years ; but, in this case, the lime was previously 
 reduced to powder by slacking with water, and then was 
 trodden hard down into the casks. 
 
 When cold water is poured on a piece of perfectly 
 well -burnt lime, it is rapidly absorbed, and in great 
 
ON LIMESTONE AND CALCAREOUS CEMENTS. 143 
 
 abundance ; the piece becomes warm, then cracks, gets 
 hotter than the hand can bear, exhales a large quantity 
 of steam, and finally falls down into a dry powder, almost 
 as fine and impalpable as flour. To appearance, the whole 
 of the water is evaporated; but the great heat produced, 
 shews that very energetic chemical action has taken place ; 
 and, on weighing the lime, it will be found to have in- 
 creased in weight 24*2 per cent, which increase is nothing 
 but water combined with the lime into a solid substance, 
 and which no heat short of redness will separate from it. 
 This compound is called hydrate of lime, or slacked lime ; 
 and it is this, and not lime itself, which enters into the 
 composition of mortar. Lime will not combine with 
 water if it retains its carbonic acid ; and, therefore, those 
 pieces that are very imperfectly burnt, remain as lumps 
 or cores after the rest has fallen to powder ; and if these 
 lumps are too hard to be broken by a blow of a spade, 
 the mortar is all the better for their exclusion. 
 
 By the addition of a little water, hydrate of lime may 
 be made into a stiff paste, which, in a short time, will 
 become dry, and will retain its form, although it possesses 
 scarcely any hardness or tenacity, and a shower of rain 
 will wash it all away. It is only by the admixture of 
 sand and other hard substances that it acquires the pro- 
 perties of a mortar or cement. The proportion of sand 
 that can be incorporated into mortar, depends partly on 
 the fineness or coarseness of the sand itself, and partly 
 on the nature of the lime ; but, as the sand is the cheaper 
 ingredient, there is always a temptation to excess on this 
 side. Pliny mentions that the failure of buildings at 
 Rome in his time, was owing to a deficiency of lime in 
 the mortar ; the proportions being 1 of lime to 4 of sharp 
 pit-sand, and J of lime to 3 of round-grained sand from 
 
144 ON LIMESTONE* AND CALCAREOUS CEMENTS. 
 
 the sea or river : he likewise adds, that the quality of the 
 mortar is greatly improved by the addition of a third part 
 of pounded tiles. The common London mortar is made 
 of 1 part white chalk lime, and 2J of clean sharp river 
 sand ; but, not unfrequently, dirty pit sand is substi- 
 tuted for the latter, and the lime itself being very im- 
 perfectly burnt, a mixture is the result which never 
 becomes hard, and has only a very imperfect adhesion to 
 the bricks. White lime, when really good, will take a 
 larger proportion of sand than the brown limes will, but, 
 in the London practice, the reverse generally prevails ; 
 an additional proof of the badness of common chalk lime. 
 Although it be certain that lime has a considerable 
 chemical attraction for silica in a state of solution, or, 
 perhaps, of very fine division, yet it seems improbable 
 that any action should exist between the two, when the 
 silica is in grains of sand, especially considering their 
 hardness, and, consequently, the strong adhesion between 
 the particles of which they are composed ; yet there are 
 certain facts and points of practice which can hardly be 
 explained, unless this be admitted. The cohesion of a 
 paste of hydrate of lime is not greater than that of a 
 paste of carbonate of lime or chalk, and if the action of 
 sand were merely mechanical, it is not easy to understand 
 why it should form, with hydrate of lime, a strong 
 cement, and not with chalk. It was an ancient law in 
 Rome, that after the ingredients of mortar had been 
 rubbed together with a little water, the mass should be 
 kept in a covered pit for three years before being used ; 
 and we are expressly informed by Pliny, that buildings 
 erected during the operation of that law were not liable 
 to cracks. It was likewise an ancient practice (and 
 Smeaton has confirmed the advantage of it by his own 
 
ON LIMESTONE AND CALCAREOUS CEMENTS. 145 
 
 experience) to beat the mortar for a long time with a 
 heavy pestle, just before being used ; the effect of which 
 would be, not only more thoroughly to mix the ingre- 
 dients, but to rub off from the outside of the grains of 
 sand the compound of lime and silica, if such had been 
 formed, and, by incorporating it with the mass, dispose 
 it the more rapidly to consolidate. Mr. Smeaton also 
 found . that mortar made with white lime, is far more 
 improved by repeated beating, than cement formed of 
 argillo-ferruginous lime, which is satisfactorily accounted 
 for by assuming (and it may be done with great pro- 
 bability) that the combination of part of the lime with the 
 clay is effected in these latter limestones during the 
 process of burning. The same excellent observer also 
 found that if two samples — one of well-beaten mortar, 
 and the other of mortar mixed only in the usual way — be 
 afterwards diluted with water to the state of grout, the 
 former will set sooner and become harder than the latter, 
 which is all in favour of chemical action taking place 
 between the ingredients. This combination of lime and 
 silica (perhaps, I ought only to say this supposed com- 
 bination) appears, however, to be decomposable by the 
 carbonic acid of the atmosphere, just as silicate of potash 
 is ; for, by long exposure, the lime in mortar will regain 
 the greater part, but, probably, not the whole of its 
 original carbonic acid. Thus Mr. Tennant found that 
 common mortar, which had been exposed to the air for a 
 year and three quarters, had regained only 63 per cent 
 of its full quantity of carbonic acid ; and Mr. Marshall 
 found that some mortar from Pickering Castle, some cen- 
 turies old, had regained not more than 86 per cent of its 
 carbonic acid. I may also mention, as having some 
 relation to this question, that many attempts have been 
 VOL. lii. l 
 
146 ON LIMESTONE AND CALCAREOUS CEMENTS. 
 
 made to burn old mortar, with the expectation of bringing 
 it again into a state capable of forming a cement when 
 mixed with water, but without the smallest success. 
 
 Of water cements there is a great variety, both as 
 relates to the ingredients themselves and their compo- 
 sition ; some of the principal of which I shall now pro- 
 ceed to notice. The only cement employed by the Roman 
 builders, in the erection of moles and other structures in 
 the sea, was 1 of lime, and 2 of puzzolana. 
 
 Mr. Smeaton's cement, which he employed in build- 
 ing the Eddystone Lighthouse, was equal measures of 
 Aberthaw lime in the state of hydrate and in fine pow- 
 der, and of puzzolana, also in fine powder ; proportions 
 which, if reduced to weight, and due allowance be made 
 for 24 per cent of water in the lime, differ not materially 
 from those recommended by Vitruvius. The cement was 
 also well beaten, till it had acquired its utmost degree of 
 toughness, and, probably, therefore, till chemical action 
 had begun to take place. 
 
 The gray chalk of Dorking forms the basis' of a 
 number of excellent cements, for use both in water and 
 on land. The composition of that which is most gene- 
 rally used is 1 of lime to 3 or 3J of sharp river-sand ; 
 and for filling-in the interstices of thick walls, 1 of lime 
 to 4 of coarse gravelly sand. 
 
 The piece of brick-work on the table is part of the 
 boundary wall of the East India Dock, built in 1804, and 
 taken down in 1834. It was cut off a large block, 
 carried away on a truck, and afterwards chiselled into 
 shape, without the cement giving way in the slightest 
 degree. It was composed of 1 part Merstham lime, 
 and 4 parts gravelly sand dug out of the excavation of 
 the dock ; and if this sand was, like that dug out of the 
 
ON LIMESTONE AND CALCAREOUS CEDENTS. 147 
 
 London Docks, deeply coloured with yellow ochre, the 
 extraordinary goodness of it is very satisfactorily accounted 
 for, and it differs from two other specimens before you 
 only in the circumstance that the former of these con- 
 tains 2 of the same kind of sand, and the other 5. 
 
 . To the same class of cements belong a specimen com- 
 posed of 1 lime, and 3 J of sand dredged out of the 
 Thames, and two concretes or pebble mortars ; the former 
 of which was composed of 1 lime and 7 river ballast, and 
 the latter of 1 lime and 8 clean-washed shingle. 
 
 Tarras mortar, made of white lime and tarras, re- 
 quires long and repeated beatings to bring it to per- 
 fection ; probably, in consequence of the tarras not hav- 
 ing previously been roasted. And the evidence of che- 
 mical action among the ingredients of this cement is 
 unquestionable, by its growing, as the workmen call it, in 
 the joints of the masonry, owing, no doubt, to the ex- 
 pansion of the tarras, in proportion as it is acted on by 
 the lime. 
 
 In the cements made with Has, or argillo-ferruginous 
 limestone, the clay and oxide of iron seem to haye com- 
 bined with the lime during the burning, forming a com- 
 pound capable of uniting with great firmness, and with- 
 out much difficulty, with an additional portion of sand, 
 or of burnt ferruginous clay ; the quantity of this latter 
 admissible into the cement being probably the less, as 
 the amount of the same in the lime itself is the greater. 
 Lias is but little used in London, on account of the 
 greater cheapness of yellow chalk, which answers nearly 
 the same purpose, but is not so strong. It was, however, 
 employed in the cement used for setting the bricks that 
 form the facing of the London Docks, to the depth of 
 
148 ON LIMESTONE AND CALCAREOUS CEMENTS. 
 
 L4 or 18 inches from the outside. The precise com- 
 position of the cement was 
 
 4 lias lime, 
 
 6 river sand, 
 
 1 puzzolana, 
 
 1 calcined iron stone. 
 
 12. 
 
 The celebrated ash-mortar, or cendree of Tournay, may 
 be mentioned as, perhaps, the best of the lias cements. 
 It is thus prepared. After the large pieces of lias are 
 withdrawn from the kiln, there remain a quantity of 
 small fragments, mixed with the ashes, of the very slaty 
 coal, which is the fuel employed, in the average pro- 
 portion of 3 of ashes and 1 of lime. Of this mixture, 
 about a bushel at a time is taken, and is sprinkled with 
 water only sufficient to slack the lime ; the whole quan- 
 tity, thus treated, is then put into a pit and covered with 
 earth, where it remains for some weeks. It is then taken 
 out, and well beaten by an iron pestle for half an hour, 
 which brings it to the consistence of soft mortar; it is 
 then laid in the shade for a day or two to dry, and again 
 beaten till it becomes soft. This is repeated three or four 
 times, till, at length, it is only just sufficiently soft for 
 use ; being then applied to brick or stone, it forms, in a 
 few minutes, a very compact mass, and, after twenty-four 
 hours, has acquired a stony hardness. 
 
 The process and its effects are well worthy of notice. 
 The coal-ash is chiefly burnt clay, in a state of fine 
 division, and, therefore, well fitted to combine rapidly 
 with the argillo-ferruginous lime. By bringing the lime 
 
ON LIMESTONE AND CALCAREOUS CEMENTS. 149 
 
 to the state of hydrate, and allowing it to remain for 
 some time in contact with the ash, a, commencement of 
 combination in all probability takes place ; this is carried 
 farther by the process of beating, during which the lime 
 parts with its water, and combines with the ash; and 
 when, by a continuance of this process, no increase of 
 moisture is produced, it may be presumed that nearly 
 perfect combination of the lime and ash has happened, 
 and the cement is then ready to set and become solid. 
 
 I have already explained what the balls are of which 
 Roman cement is formed, namely, a limestone more 
 highly charged with ferruginous clay than even lias lime- 
 stone; so that they may, without impropriety, be con- 
 sidered as containing not only the calcareous ingredient, 
 but the ferruginous clay also required for the composition 
 of cement. On this account it is that, when burnt, so 
 little of their lime is in a state to become hydrate, that, 
 though when moistened with water the mass will heat, 
 it will not fall to powder, but requires to be ground, and, 
 when afterwards beaten, it will form a hard cement 
 without any further addition. It is, however, capable of 
 combining into a firm mortar, with a considerable pro- 
 portion of sand, either alone or mixed with yellow chalk 
 lime, which considerably reduces the cost, and, at the 
 same time, produces an excellent cement, either for land 
 or water building. The cement stones are prepared for 
 use by making a judicious selection of them, breaking 
 them into pieces about two inches cube, stratifying them 
 with coal in a kiln, and burning them for several hours. 
 One bushel of coals, with careful management, will roast 
 eight bushels of cement. The kiln is kept in constant 
 activity, and the roasted stones are taken immediately 
 from the kiln to a mill, where they are ground to powder. 
 
150 ON LIMESTONE AND CALCAREOUS CEMENTS. 
 
 This powder is then, without delay, to be packed in tight 
 casks, as exposure to the air much weakens it, although 
 it may be kept for many months in an open place, without 
 becoming quite effete. The best cement powder, when 
 mixed and prepared for use, has a dusky green colour, 
 and I am informed that some of the manufacturers are 
 in the habit of mixing the burnt stone, before grinding, 
 with certain proportions of copper slag, a substance con- 
 sisting chiefly of sulphuret of iron and oxide of iron, and, 
 therefore, an exceedingly valuable addition, if not too 
 liberally employed. The two bricks on the table have 
 been cemented with a compound of 1 yellow lime, and 2J 
 of pulverised copper slag ; and I observe, on the surface 
 of the cement, a saline efflorescence, which, in stucco and 
 other dry work, might prove detrimental. 
 
 Oxide of iron in almost any state, but especially when 
 not fully oxidized, such as smiths' scales, roasted iron ore, 
 &c. is also a very useful ingredient, giving firmness and 
 the property of setting under water to mortars made of 
 white lime, and adding to the peculiar characteristic ex- 
 cellences of those made with brown or yellow lime. 
 
 The general theory that seems to me to explain with 
 fewest difficulties the nature of calcareous cements is the 
 following : — 
 
 In the white limes, or nearly pure carbonates of 
 lime, the only effect of burning them is to drive off the 
 carbonic acid. By slacking, the lime becomes a hydrate, 
 and, in this state, is capable of acting chemically, though 
 feebly, on the surface of pure siliceous sand. This com- 
 bination causes the first setting of the mortar, which is 
 also strengthened by the mere mechanical action of the 
 sand. The greater part, however, of the lime has not 
 combined with the sand, but remains in the state of 
 
ON LIMESTONE AND CALCAREOUS CEMENTS. 151 
 
 hydrate ; in proportion as it absorbs carbonic acid from 
 the air, it gives out its water and passes to the state of 
 carbonate : such mortar, therefore, acquires its final 
 induration and dryness when the whole of the hydrate 
 has been decomposed, and the water replaced by carbonic 
 acid. In losing 22 per cent of water, it combines with 
 46 per cent of carbonic acid, and, therefore, the mortar 
 becomes the more solid and strong. 
 
 In the blue limes, part of the calcareous matter com- 
 bines, during the burning, with the intimately mixed 
 ferruginous clay, forming a compound that gives to the 
 cement made of it the property of setting speedily in the 
 air or under water. The rest "of the lime passes, by 
 slacking, into the state of hydrate ; and, if only siliceous 
 sand is present, acts on it in the same manner as white 
 lime does ; but if ferruginous sand, or burnt ferruginous 
 clay be present, the hydrate acts more rapidly and power- 
 fully on the clay, sooner gives out its water, and con- 
 solidates : whether this latter compound is afterwards 
 decomposable, by exposure to the carbonic acid of the air, 
 I do not presume to determine. 
 
 In those limes that contain naturally so much fer- 
 ruginous clay as, after burning, to form cements without 
 the addition of sand or other ingredient, the greater part 
 of the lime is probably combined with the clay in the act 
 of burning, a very small quantity of hydrate will be 
 formed, and very little carbonic acid will be reabsorbed. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 23] 
 
 No. V. 
 
 HONE-STONES, Sec. 
 
 The Thanks of the Society were voted to JR. Knight, 
 Esq., for a Collection' of Hone- Stones and Grind- 
 Stones, presented by him ; together with the following 
 Descriptive Catalogue of them. 
 
 Sir, Foster Lane. 
 
 In compliance with your request, I have sent, for the 
 Society's acceptance, a collection of all the principal stones 
 used in the mechanical arts, and of which the following 
 is the catalogue. I have arranged them under two heads, 
 viz. arenaceous and schistose : the few that do not come 
 under either of these heads are separately described, and 
 I shall be happy to give you any further information I am 
 able on the subject. 
 
 I am, &c. &c. 
 
 Richard Knight. 
 
 1. Grit or Sandstone. — Of this variety the univer- 
 sally known and justly celebrated Newcastle grind-stones 
 are formed. It abounds in the coal-districts of Northum- 
 berland, Durham, Yorkshire, and Derbyshire ; and is 
 selected of different degrees of density and coarseness, best 
 suited to the various manufactures of Sheffield and Bir- 
 mingham, for grinding and giving a smooth and polished 
 surface to their different wares. 
 
 2. Is a similar description of stone, of great excellence, 
 
232 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 It is of a lighter colour, much finer, and of a very sharp 
 nature, and at the same time not too hard. It is confined 
 to a very small spot, of limited extent and thickness, in 
 the immediate vicinity of Bilston, in Staffordshire, where 
 is lies above the coal, and is now quarried entirely for the 
 purpose of grind-stones. 
 
 3. Is a hard close variety, known by the name of 
 carpenters' rub-stone ; being used as a portable stone for 
 sharpening tools by rubbing them on the flat stone in- 
 stead of grinding. It is also much employed for the 
 purpose of giving a smooth and uniform surface to copper- 
 plates for the engraver. 
 
 4. Is a much softer variety of sand-stone, usually 
 cut into a square form, from eight to twelve inches long, 
 in which state they are used dry by shoe-makers, cork- 
 cutters, and others, for giving a sort of coarse edge to their 
 bladed knives, and instruments of a similar description. 
 
 5. A stone of similar properties, but of a more compact 
 and harder description, and therefore better adapted for 
 sharpening agricultural instruments, and may be used 
 with or without water. 
 
 6. A porous fine-grained sand-stone, in considerable 
 repute, from the quarries of Black Down Cliffs, near Col- 
 lumpton, and well known by the name of Devonshire 
 Batts. 
 
 7. Is a variety called Yorkshire Grit. It is not at 
 all applied as a whet-stone, but is in considerable use as a 
 polisher of marble, and of copper-plates for engravers. 
 
 8. Is a very similar stone, of a softer nature, and made 
 use of by the same description of workmen, and is called 
 Congleton Grit. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 233 
 
 HONE SLATES. 
 
 9. Norway rag-stone. This is the coarsest variety of 
 the hone slates. It is imported in very considerable quan- 
 tity from Norway in the form of square prisms, from nine 
 to twelve inches long, and one to two inches diameter, 
 gives a finer edge than the sand-stones, and is in very 
 general use. 
 
 10. Charley Forest-stone is one of the best substitutes 
 for the Turkey oil-stone, and much in request by joiners 
 and others, for giving a fine edge. It has hitherto been 
 found only on Charnwood Forest, near Mount Sorrel, in 
 Leicestershire. 
 
 11. Ayr-stone, Scotch-stone, or snake-stone, is most 
 in request as a polishing stone for marble and copper- 
 plates ; but the harder varieties have of late been employed 
 as whet-stones. 
 
 12. Idwall, or Welsh oil-stone, is generally harder, 
 but in other respects differs but little as a whet-stone from 
 the Charley Forest ; but in consequence of its being more 
 expensive, is in less general use. It is obtained from the 
 vicinity of Llyn Idwall, in the Snowdon district of North 
 Wales. 
 
 13. Devonshire oil-stone is an excellent variety for 
 sharpening all kind of thin-edged broad instruments, as 
 plane-irons, chisels, &c, and deserves to be better known. 
 This stone was first brought into notice by Mr. John 
 Taylor, who met with it in the neighbourhood of Tavi- 
 stock, and sent a small parcel to London for distribution ; 
 but for want of a constant and regular supply, it is entirely 
 out of use here. 
 
 14. Cutler's green hone is of so hard and close a na- 
 ture, that it is only applicable to the purposes of cutlers 
 
234 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 and instrument-makers, for giving the last edge to the 
 lancet, and other delicate surgical instruments. It has 
 hitherto been only found in the Snowdon mountains of 
 North Wales. 
 
 15. German razor-hone. This is universally known 
 throughout Europe, and generally esteemed as the best 
 whet-stone for all kinds of the finer description of cutlery. 
 It is obtained from the slate mountains in the neighbour- 
 hood of Ratisbon, where it occurs in the form of a yellow 
 vein running virtually into the blue slate, sometimes not 
 more than an inch in thickness, and varying to twelve 
 and sometimes eighteen inches, from whence it is quar- 
 ried, and then sawed into thin slabs, which are usually 
 cemented into a similar slab of the slate, to serve as a 
 support, and in that state sold for use. That which is 
 obtained from the lowest part of the vein is esteemed the 
 best, and termed old rock. 
 
 16. The same, with the hone in natural contact with 
 the slate. 
 
 17. Is a dark slate of very uniform character; in 
 appearance not at all laminated ; is in considerable use 
 among jewellers, clock-makers, and other workers in 
 silver and metal, for polishing off their work, and for 
 whose greater convenience it is cut into lengths of about 
 six inches, and from a quarter of an inch to an inch or 
 more wide, and packed up in small bundles of from six 
 to sixteen in each, and secured by means of withes of 
 osier, and in that state imported for use, and called blue 
 polishing stones. 
 
 18. Is a stone of very similar properties, but of a some- 
 what coarser texture and paler colours, and thence termed 
 grey polishing-stone. Its uses are the same, and they are 
 manufactured near Ratisbon. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 235 
 
 19. Is a soft variety of hone-slate, the use of which is 
 confined to curriers, and by them employed to give a fine 
 smooth edge to their broad and straight-edged knives for 
 dressing leather. They are always cut of a circular form, 
 and are called Welsh clearing-stone. 
 
 20. Turkey oil-stone. This stone can hardly be con- 
 sidered a hone-slate, having nothing of a lamellar or 
 schistose appearance. As a whet-stone, it surpasses every 
 other known substance, and possesses, in an eminent de- 
 gree, the property of abrading the hardest steel, and is at 
 the same time of so compact and close a nature, as to 
 resist the pressure necessary for sharpening a graver, 
 or other small instruments of that description. Little 
 more is known of its natural history than that it is found 
 in the interior of Asia Minor, and brought down to Smyrna 
 for sale. 
 
 21. The French Burr mill-stone, so justly esteemed 
 as the best material for forming mill-stones for grinding 
 bread-corn, having the property of separating a larger 
 proportion of flour from the bran than can be effected by 
 stones formed from any other material. 
 
 22. Conway mill - stone very much resembles the 
 French in appearance. A quarry of this was opened 
 near Conway, about twenty years since, which at first 
 appeared very promising ; but it was soon discovered that 
 it was the upper stratum only that possessed the porous 
 property so essential, the lower stratum being found too 
 close and compact to answer the purpose. 
 
 23. Cologne mill-stone. This substance is an exceed- 
 ingly tenacious porous lava. Mill-stones are made of this 
 material in great quantity near Cologne, and transported 
 by the Rhine to most parts of Europe. Smaller stones, 
 from eighteen inches to thirty, are much used for hand 
 
236 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 mills in the West Indies for grinding Indian corn, for 
 which purpose they are well adapted. 
 
 24. Emery-stone. No substance is better known, or 
 has been subservient to the arts for a longer period, than 
 this. The gigantic columns, statues, and obelisks of 
 Egypt owe their carved and polished forms and surfaces 
 to the agency of emery. It is obtained almost entirely 
 from the island of Naxos, where it occurs in considerable 
 abundance, in detached irregular masses. It is reduced 
 to the state of powder by means of rolling or stamping- 
 mills, and afterwards by sieves and levigation. 
 
 25. Pumice-stone is a volcanic product, and is obtained 
 principally from the Campo Bianco, one of the Lipari 
 islands, which is entirely composed of this substance. It 
 is extensively employed in various branches of the arts, 
 and particularly in the state of powder, for polishing the 
 various articles of cut glass ; it is also extensively used 
 in dressing leather, and in grinding and polishing the 
 surface of metallic plates, &c. 
 
 26. Rotten-stone is a variety of Tripoli almost peculiar 
 to England, and proves a most valuable material for giv- 
 ing polish and lustre to a great variety of articles, as 
 silver, the metals, glass, and even, in the hands of the 
 lapidary, to the hardest stones. It is found in consider- 
 able quantities both in Derbyshire and South Wales. 
 
 27. Yellow Tripoli, or French Tripoli, although of a 
 less soft and smooth nature, is better adapted to parti- 
 cular purposes, as that of polishing the lighter descrip- 
 tion of hard woods, such as holly, box, &c. 
 
 28. Touch-stone is a compact black basalt or Lydian- 
 stone, of a smooth and uniform nature, and is used prin- 
 cipally by goldsmiths and jewellers as a ready means of 
 determining the value of gold and silver by the touch, as 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 237 
 
 it is termed — that is, by first rubbing the article under 
 examination upon the stone, its appearance forms some 
 criterion ; and, as a further test, a drop of acid, of known 
 strength, is let fall upon it, and its effect upon the metal 
 denotes its value. 
 
 29. Blood-stone is a very hard, compact variety of 
 hematite iron ore, which, when reduced to a suitable 
 form, fixed into a handle, and well polished, forms the 
 best description of burnisher for producing a high lustre 
 on gilt coat-buttons, which is performed in the turning- 
 lathe by the Birmingham manufacturers. The gold on 
 china ware is burnished by its means. Burnishers are 
 likewise formed of agate and flint ; the former substance 
 is preferred by bookbinders, and the latter for gilding on 
 wood, as picture-frames, &c. 
 
 Additions made by direction of the Committee of Cor- 
 respondence and Papers to Part II. Vol. XLIX. 
 
 Page 92, line 9, after placed, add which stopcocks 
 must be alternately open and shut as the vessel to which 
 each is attached comes in its turn to be the uppermost 
 or undermost. 
 
 Page 111, after the description of Mr Whitelaw's 
 method of feeding a high-pressure boiler, add — 
 
 Another method of effecting the same purpose, illus- 
 trated by a drawing, was proposed by Mr. Whitelaw, of 
 which the following is an abstract : — 
 
 A small iron vessel is attached to the outside of the 
 steam-boiler at the height at which the water ought 
 to stand within the boiler. From this vessel proceed 
 
 VOL. L. R 
 
238 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 two open- pipes, one to the top and the other to the 
 bottom of the boiler. It is evident, therefore, that the 
 water will stand at the same level in the iron vessel and 
 in the boiler. This iron vessel opens into a chest, and the 
 chest into the hot-water pipe. A valve opening into the 
 iron vessel separates this latter from the chest, and 
 another valve opening into the chest separates this latter 
 from the hot-water pipe. These valves are opened alter- 
 nately by means of a wiper connected with the engine. 
 Now, suppose the chest to be empty, it is evident that 
 water will flow from the hot-water pipe into it as soon 
 as the valve which separates the two is opened, and that 
 the water will pass entirely or in part into the iron 
 vessel, and thence into the boiler, as soon as the valve 
 between the chest and the iron vessel is open, and that 
 this will continue till the level of the water in the boiler is 
 as high as the top of the chest : in this latter case, it is 
 evident that no water can run out of the chest into the 
 boiler till by evaporation the level of the water in the boiler 
 is reduced below that of the water in the iron vessel. 
 
 LONDON: 
 PRINTED BY JAMES MO YES, 
 Castle Street, Leicester Square. 
 
120 
 
 ON ARTIFICIAL LIGHT 
 
 FROM 
 
 SOLID SUBSTANCES, AND THE MANUFACTURE 
 OF CANDLES. 
 
 By THE SECRETARY. 
 
 Read December 11, 1832. 
 
 If the discovery of artificial, domestic, or culinary fire, 
 ranks amongst the most useful (and probably among the 
 very earliest) of human inventions, that of artificial light 
 stands in the next degree of importance. Even in the 
 tropical regions, where the diurnal revolution of the earth 
 distributes light and darkness in alternate portions of 
 twelve hours each, it would be extremely irksome and 
 inconvenient to have to pass all the hours of night in a 
 state of darkness. The body wearied with labour, and 
 the mind with sensation and with thinking, are restored 
 to vigour at a far less cost than half the time of human 
 life. But if the interchange of light and darkness by 
 equal alternations would be attended by so much loss of 
 active existence, and therefore of so much usefulness and 
 enjoyment, still greater would be the loss suffered by 
 those whose lot had been cast in countries beyond the 
 tropics, and therefore nearer to the poles ; for here the 
 intervals of light and darkness not being equal through 
 the year, a winter's night drawn out to sixteen hours 
 or more, would leave only one-third of the time at such 
 
ON ARTIFICIAL LIGHT. 
 
 121 
 
 seasons applicable to the demands of active life, whether 
 of necessary labour or agreeable recreation. 
 
 This seeming niggardliness of nature in the article of 
 light, has, from the very first beginnings of human 
 society, been stimulating the wit of man to find out 
 better and better substitutes for the light of day, and 
 capable from their portability of being brought into mines, 
 cellars, and other places where even the light of the sun 
 cannot penetrate. 
 
 All the common methods of producing warmth are 
 only modifications of combustion ; and, as combustion 
 implies not merely the evolution of heat, but of light 
 also, the inventor of fire was likewise the inventor of 
 artificial light. In the mythology of the Greeks, Pro- 
 metheus, an impersonation of wisdom greater than human, 
 conveyed by stealth from the celestial regions the first 
 fire, and bestowed on wretched mortals the splendid and 
 invaluable gift. But whensoever and by the ministry of 
 whomsoever artificial fire was derived to men, together 
 with the art of preserving it by due supplies of fuel, from 
 the same time began the discovery of artificial light. At 
 first, men would be satisfied with the light of a blazing 
 fire fed with pine, or other resinous wood. It would 
 then be discovered that the roots of such trees, being 
 richer in resin than the trunks and branches, might be 
 conveniently reserved for use when a brighter light than 
 common was wanted. The art of tearing these roots up 
 into strips and making of them portable lights, would 
 speedily follow ; an art in use, even at the present day, in 
 some of the poorest and most remote districts of our 
 own country. In the western islands of Scotland, and 
 the western parts of Ireland, the roots of fir found in the 
 peat-mosses are actually applied to this very purpose. 
 
122 
 
 ON ARTIFICIAL LIGHT. 
 
 The invention of torches — that is, of staves of combustible 
 wood smeared over with resin, would be the next stage 
 of improvement ; and, in the poems of Homer, we find 
 no mention of artificial light at that time in use except of 
 torches, held by attendants or by statues. Thus, the great 
 hall in the palace of Menelaus at Lacedemon, which is 
 represented as exceedingly splendid, was lighted by 
 torches placed in the hands of statues. The hall of 
 Ulysses in Ithaca was lighted by three braziers filled with 
 billet- wood, assisted by some torches. Penelope works 
 her web by torch-light ; people go to bed by torch-light. 
 In short, whenever an artificial light is wanted, it is 
 obtained either by burning wood, or by a torch. 
 
 The combustibility of animal fat was also, no doubt, 
 well known at that time ; but, it being the custom to 
 burn, in gratitude to the gods, a part of every domestic 
 animal slaughtered for food, nearly the whole of the 
 interior fat, or suet, was thus employed ; so that, after 
 reserving the supply necessary for domestic use, it is 
 probable that none would remain applicable as a material 
 for light. 
 
 In the valleys of the Euphrates and the Nile, the 
 cradles in all likelihood of human civilisation, the annual 
 inundation of the rivers, although extremely favourable 
 to an exuberant fertility of agricultural produce, is not 
 kindly to the growth of trees, especially of the resinous 
 sorts. Here, therefore, it was that the art of extracting 
 oil by pressure from the seeds of the sesamum, and of 
 other plants cultivated for this purpose, was perhaps 
 invented, as well as the method of burning them for light 
 by means of a wick. 
 
 When the art of making candles was first discovered, 
 I do not know ; but both the name and the thing were 
 
ON ARTIFICIAL LIGHT. 
 
 123 
 
 familiar to the Romans in the time of Trojan, as is evident 
 from the Natural History of Pliny, and from other 
 authorities. They were first made of strings dipped in 
 resin, or coated with wax ; afterwards, for wicks, were 
 employed a thin roll of papyrus ; and, lastly, the com- 
 mon rush, with the rind or outer skin peeled off, exactly 
 as it is used at present for those slow-burning candles 
 called watch, or rush-lights. For funeral ceremonies, 
 wax candles were employed ; for domestic use, tallow 
 candles. 
 
 On the present occasion I shall treat of the manufac- 
 ture of candles, and on some other matters closely con- 
 nected with this branch of our subject. It will, of course, 
 be understood that I do not profess to teach the art of 
 making candles, but only to give such a general view 
 of the manufacture as may satisfy a liberal curiosity, and 
 communicate the information necessary to enable you to 
 understand the remarks with which I shall conclude. 
 
 For the practical details on the manufacture of tallow 
 candles, I am chiefly indebted to Mr. Barton of Bishops- 
 gate ; and for those on the manufacture of spermaceti 
 and wax candles, together with several of the specimens 
 now exhibited, I am indebted to Mr. Miller of Compton 
 Street. 
 
 Nearly the whole of our imported tallow comes from 
 Russia. In the year 1829, 58,890 tons were entered at 
 the custom-house, the greater part of which, I apprehend, 
 is used by the candle-makers. The quality of imported 
 tallow varies greatly, the inferior kinds being employed 
 in lubricating machinery, and for other similar purposes : 
 that which is of a yellow colour, and free from rancidity, 
 is the fittest for candles. A large quantity, also, of candle 
 tallow (estimated at about double the amount of that 
 
124 
 
 ON ARTIFICIAL LIGHT. 
 
 which is imported), is of home growth. This latter is 
 fitted for use by the tallow Tenderer, who chops into pieces 
 the fat and suet, as it is received from the butchers, and 
 boils it in water ; the greater part of the fat is thus 
 melted out from the membranes in which it is naturally 
 contained, and floats on the surface of the water. The 
 membraneous part is then collected and submitted to the 
 graduated action of a strong press, by which the rest of 
 the fat is squeezed out. What remains is a cake or block 
 of a dark colour, going by the name of graves, and con- 
 sisting chiefly of condensed membrane : by maceration 
 in warm water it softens and swells, and in this state is 
 a palatable and wholesome food for many domestic 
 animals. The poultry, both chickens and ducks, fatted 
 for the London market, are fed in part on this substance. 
 
 The wicks are made of loose-spun cotton-yarn. That 
 which is employed for common candles is American 
 cotton, spun in London ; but, for mould candles of the 
 best quality, yarn imported in bales from Turkey is used. 
 This latter is dearer than the other, but is considered to 
 have a better body, and, being spun by hand, is also 
 better, being looser twisted. 
 
 The tallow, being mixed so as to suit the quality of 
 the candles intended to be made, is put into a boiler with 
 some water, to prevent it from being over-heated, and is 
 here melted at a temperature of about 90°. Some water is 
 then sprinkled into it, which determines the subsidence 
 of the dregs : the clear tallow is let out by a cock, and 
 when sufficiently cooled, but still retaining its perfect 
 transparent fluidity, is fit for use. There is, no doubt, 
 a considerable difference in the temperature at which 
 tallow melts. The fat about the kidneys in all animals is 
 harder and less fusible than that contained in the cells 
 
ON ARTIFICIAL LIGHT. 
 
 125 
 
 of the bones, and especially than the half-oily fat which 
 is found in the muscles and other soft parts. The fat from 
 the same parts of the body is also harder in some animals 
 than in others ; that of the sheep and deer, for example, 
 congealing much more quickly than that of the ox and 
 horse. Now, in proportion as any particular sample of 
 tallow is made up of the kinds of fat above enumerated, 
 will be its fusibility ; and, therefore, the temperature of 
 92°, which is generally stated to be the melting point of 
 tallow, although no doubt correct with regard to that 
 particular specimen which was the subject of examination, 
 is by no means so as applied to all kinds of tallow. I 
 saw, the other day, a boiler full of tallow, not only per- 
 fectly fluid at 72°, but even then not sufficiently cool to 
 be made into candles ; nor was its fusibility considered 
 as at all remarkable : whence we may conclude that 
 tallow, made into candles and exposed to the air, loses 
 much of its fusibility. 
 
 The proportion of wick in dipped candles varies from 
 2 to 2 J oz. for every 12 pounds of tallow ; whereas, for 
 mould candles, 1J to If oz. is sufficient; whence it 
 follows, that the latter are made of better — that is, of 
 less fusible tallow, than the former ; for, in proportion to 
 the fusibility of the tallow is the thickness of wick re- 
 quired to prevent the candle from guttering. 
 
 In making dipped candles, the wicks are strung by 
 their looped end on wooden rods, and are then let down 
 gently and perpendicularly into the melted tallow, a layer 
 of which in crusts each wick all round ; after two or three 
 dips, the rods are exposed to the air, till the tallow has 
 become quite cold and firm ; the dipping is then to be 
 repeated, and so on successively till the candles have 
 acquired their proper thickness. Hence, when a dipped 
 
126 
 
 ON ARTIFICIAL LIGHT. 
 
 candle is broken across, it will be found to be composed 
 of as many concentric layers as there have been dips. 
 
 Mould candles are made in cylindrical pewter moulds, 
 open at top and terminating below in a cone or blunt 
 point, the extremity of which is perforated. Ten or a 
 dozen of them are fixed perpendicularly in two rows in 
 a wooden frame, the top of which is a shallow quad- 
 rangular trough. A hooked wire is passed down the 
 mould till it comes out at the perforated end, the loop of 
 the wick is hung on the hook, and by means of it is drawn 
 upwards till only about half an inch of the wick remains 
 on the outside. The hook is then disengaged, and a 
 horizontal wire is thrust through all the loops of one 
 row, which holds the wicks stretched and perpendicular 
 in the axis of their respective moulds. The melted tallow 
 is then poured into the trough, whence it runs down and 
 fills every mould. The tallow remaining in the trough 
 is then scraped out, and as soon as the moulds have got 
 sufficiently cool, the candles are drawn out by their looped 
 ends, which are afterwards cut off; for the candles are 
 cast in an inverted position, the conical end being the 
 top of the candle. 
 
 A recently made candle of good quality is of a yellow 
 colour, is soft, and will be found to spit or sputter when 
 set fire to, and to give a comparatively feeble light, the 
 two latter qualities shewing that it contains a little water. 
 If kept for three or four months in a box placed in a 
 cellar (for the presence of the sun's light is by no means 
 necessary), the candle will be found bleached both inside 
 and outside, will be harder than at first, and will now 
 burn with a clear flame undisturbed by any sputtering : 
 it is evident, therefore, that the water has been evapo- 
 rated, and it is also extremely probable that the water, 
 
ON ARTIFICIAL LIGHT. 
 
 127 
 
 or the air which the water holds in solution, has acted 
 chemically on the tallow, bleaching and, at the same time, 
 hardening it. This bleaching process goes on slowly in a 
 cold and damp atmosphere, it being found that autumn- 
 made candles hardly ever bleach to a good colour, al- 
 though in three or four months they are fit for use. 
 Candles made in March, bleach the best of any ; for the 
 three or four months during which they are kept in the 
 manufacturer's store, are usually both dry and warm. 
 
 Another article employed in the manufacture of 
 candles is spermaceti. This is the produce of a large 
 animal of the tribe of whales, called Physeter macro- 
 cephalus, or Cachalot whale. It is of quite a different 
 genus from the Greenland whale, having strong conical 
 teeth in both jaws, whereas the latter animal has none. At 
 present, its principal places of resort are near the Seychel- 
 les islands, the Japanese seas, and especially the sea to 
 the south of Van Dieman's Land. The adventurers from 
 the latter place have of late been very successful, the 
 whole importation of rough spermaceti oil last year 
 amounting to about 7000 tons, which is 1000 tons more 
 than the usual average ; a redundancy that has occasioned 
 a reduction in the wholesale price of spermaceti of near 
 forty per cent. The blubber of the cachalot — that is, 
 the fat which covers the body, contains about one-seventh 
 of its weight of spermaceti ; but the oil contained in a 
 large triangular cavity in the head of the animal, yields 
 about two-fifths of the same. The common opinion, that 
 it is the brain, is quite a mistake, there being no con- 
 nexion between the cavity containing the brain and that 
 in which the spermaceti is found. 
 
 The first process in bringing the spermaceti to a state 
 fit for the candle-maker is to separate it from the oil by 
 
128 
 
 ON ARTIFICIAL LIGHT. 
 
 pouring the mixture into woollen bags. The oil which 
 thus drops through is sperm oil of the best quality ; and 
 the residue is a brown, greasy, scaly mass, called bag- 
 spermaceti. This latter is transferred to canvass bags 
 holding about six gallons ; several of these are laid one 
 upon another on the floor of a press, and are exposed for 
 several hours to a strong and slowly increasing pressure. 
 Most of the remaining oil is thus separated, but its quality 
 is considerablv inferior to the first runnings. What 
 remains in the bags is brown spermaceti; and, before 
 the happy thought of using it for candles occurred, the 
 only demand for spermaceti was as a medicine : this 
 demand was soon satisfied, and, a century ago, many 
 tons of this now valuable substance were every year 
 thrown into the Thames at Puddle Dock. 
 
 The brown spermaceti is now put into a boiler, where 
 it is heated with a mild alkaline lie for the purpose of 
 clearing it from the greater part of the colouring matter, 
 and of the oil that the press was unable to force out. 
 The alkali, even in its mild or carbonated state, is capable 
 of uniting with the oil and most of the impurities, while 
 it has no action (unless previously rendered caustic) on 
 the spermaceti. By this process, the alkaline solution 
 becomes of a dark brownish black colour, and the 
 spermaceti is carefully skimmed off the surface and cast 
 into cakes. These cakes, still brown, are ground to a 
 flaky powder, which is laid on coarse linen cloth, and 
 formed into perfectly even layers. The ends of the cloth 
 are folded over, so as to make a packet of uniform thick- 
 ness; a number of these packets are then laid edgewise 
 in a kind of trough alternately with flat plates of iron, 
 and are exposed to the action of a very powerful horizon- 
 tal press, by which a little more oil is got out. The 
 
ON ARTIFICIAL LIGHT. 
 
 129 
 
 cloths being then opened, the cakes of spermaceti are put 
 into a boiler and melted. When at the temperature of 
 240°, a little mild alkaline lie is thrown in, which converts 
 part of the remaining oil and colouring matter into an 
 imperfect soap ; and, a minute after, a cupful of cold 
 water is sprinkled in. This, as it descends through the 
 melted spermaceti, is soon converted into steam, and 
 rises again, exciting much frothing and effervescence, 
 and brings up with it all the brown soapy matter pro- 
 duced by the previously added alkali. By continuing 
 this process for several hours (a pan of 25 cwt. requiring 
 12 or 14 hours), the colouring matter and other im- 
 purities are completely got rid of, and the spermaceti in 
 fusion becomes beautifully clear and quite colourless, like 
 so much water. It is then cooled and poured into moulds, 
 where it becomes solid and crystallized within, forming 
 block spermaceti. 
 
 So strong is the tendency of this beautiful substance to 
 crystallize, that candles made entirely of it would be very 
 liable to crack longitudinally in cooling. To prevent this, 
 one ounce of white bees' wax is mixed with each pound of 
 spermaceti ; and the whole being melted together, pro- 
 duces a compound more compact and less crystalline than 
 pure spermaceti, and better fitted for the manufacture of 
 candles. The process of making spermaceti candles differs 
 in no respect from that used in the manufacture of tallow 
 moulds, already described. 
 
 Another solid oily substance, of which candles of the 
 very best quality are made, is bees' wax. 
 
 From inquiries that I have personally made, I learn 
 that the quantity of wax of home growth that finds its way 
 to market is exceedingly small ; nearly the whole supply of 
 this* commodity may therefore be said to be imported : the 
 
 VOL. LIII. K 
 
130 
 
 ON ARTIFICIAL LIGHT. 
 
 average yearly quantity is about 460 tons, but of this 
 about half is re-exported. More than one-third of the 
 whole comes from the western coast of Africa, chiefly from 
 Mogadore ; Cuba, Russia, and the Barbary states send, 
 together, about as much as Mogadore does : the remain- 
 der is brought in small quantities from the Netherlands, 
 France, and various other countries. 
 
 It comes to us in the state of crude yellow wax, and 
 requires to be purified and bleached before it is fit for the 
 candle-maker. The impurities are separated chiefly by 
 melting ; those that are heavy sinking to the bottom of 
 the boiler, and the light ones rising to the top, whence 
 they are removed by skimming. The bleaching is per- 
 formed by exposing the wax, in thin ribands or shavings, 
 to the sun and the dew ; and it is brought into the form 
 of ribands by pouring the melted wax in a thin stream on 
 a cylinder revolving in water. 
 
 Refined wax is liable to become brown, if melted by a 
 naked fire ; a steam heat is, therefore, very generally 
 used for this purpose. It is impossible to make wax 
 candles in moulds, as those of tallow and spermaceti are ; 
 because the wax, becoming solid, adheres so closely to the 
 mould as to make it a matter of extreme difficulty to get 
 it out. They are therefore made by a kind of dipping, in 
 the following way : — In the first place, a hollow cylinder 
 of tin pipe about an inch long, called a tag, is threaded 
 on to one end of the wick, the loop being at the other 
 end. The wicks so prepared are then hung by their loops 
 on hooks, attached to a hoop suspended in a horizontal 
 position, and capable of being turned round. The pan in 
 which the melted wax is contained is flattened out at the 
 rim, and over this rim the hoop is suspended. The work- 
 man, with one hand, turns the hoop round, and with the 
 
ON ARTIFICIAL LIGHT. 
 
 131 
 
 other pours melted wax over each wick in succession. 
 Part of the wax cools and sets as it runs down the wick, 
 forming a mass of an imperfectly conical figure. When 
 the candle has thus attained half its size, it is unhooked, 
 turned bottom upwards, and hung on again, the thick 
 part being now at the top : melted w r ax is then again 
 poured on each candle in succession, till it is brought to 
 the proper size, and has attained a more or less correct 
 cylindrical figure. It is then removed from the hoop, and 
 the conical form is given to the top of the candle by laying 
 it on a table, and pressing the end of a board, cut slanting, 
 on that part of the candle which is just below the tag, 
 giving it, at the same time, a rolling motion. The candle 
 is then finished by being rolled backwards and forwards, 
 three or four times, on a moist marble slab, being at the 
 same time pressed above by a smooth board ; this rectifies 
 the cylindrical figure of the candle, and gives it a degree 
 of glossiness or polish : finally, it is brought to the proper 
 length and weight, by cutting a piece off the end. 
 
 In rough spermaceti oil, simple inspection is sufficient 
 to shew that, at the common atmospheric temperature, it 
 consists of two distinct substances ; one of which is solid, 
 and in the form of scales, and the other liquid. At a less 
 heat than that required for the fusion of the spermaceti 
 separately, these scales melt, forming, with the part 
 already fluid, an uniform liquid. By lowering the heat, the 
 scales of spermaceti again separate from the oil ; and at 
 the temperature of freezing water, the oil itself becomes a 
 soft buttery solid. Modern discoveries have shewn that 
 many other oily substances, both animal and vegetable, 
 consist likewise of two ingredients, one less fusible than 
 the other ; a- id many attempts have been made, with more 
 or less success, to bring these discoveries made in the 
 
132 
 
 ON ARTIFICIAL LIGHT. 
 
 » 
 
 laboratories of chemists into practical use. Thus, common 
 tallow, though it appears to be a very homogeneous sub- 
 stance in the solid state, yet if a few gallons of it are 
 melted, and stirred gently while cooling, we shall see 
 that, previous to its consolidation, it consists of a fine 
 scaly matter diffused in a substance that is still liquid. 
 If, in this condition, it was poured into woollen bags, 
 placed in a room kept accurately at the proper tempera- 
 ture, there seems no reason to doubt that the oily part 
 would drip away, leaving behind the scaly matter ; and 
 that this latter, exposed afterwards to a regulated pressure, 
 might, like bagged spermaceti, be still further deprived 
 of its oil. By processes analogous, in all probability, to 
 those just mentioned, the less fusible part of tallow has 
 been actually separated, and, under the name of stearine, 
 has been employed as a material for candles. Though 
 more fusible than spermaceti, it is less so than entire 
 tallow, — is harder than this latter, and, being capable of 
 bearing a somewhat smaller wick, will afford a whiter light. 
 
 In like manner cocoa-nut oil, which, during summer, 
 even in our own climate, is perfectly fluid and capable of 
 being burnt in a lamp, becomes thick at a somewhat 
 lower temperature, being filled with white solid particles. 
 These being separated, by gradual pressure, from the 
 fluid portion, form a substance of about the same con- 
 sistence as common tallow ; and candles made of it will 
 retain their solidity at any natural heat, out of direct 
 sunshine, likely to occur in this country. 
 
 The cheapness, hardness, and great inflammability of 
 common rosin, have been the occasion of many attempts 
 to employ it as a material for candles, but with very 
 indifferent success; for, when melted, its viscidity is such 
 that it cannot readily rise, by capillary attraction, between 
 
ON ARTIFICIAL LIGHT. 
 
 133 
 
 the fibres of the wick ; and, in consequence, it is impossible 
 to prevent such candles from guttering to a very incon- 
 venient and wasteful degree. It has been endeavoured 
 to diminish the viscidity by the addition of tallow, but 
 this mixture is more fusible than tallow itself ; so that if 
 any advantage is gained on the one hand, it is lost on the 
 other. 
 
 Having now treated, as fully as the occasion requires, 
 of the manufacture of candles, and of the various inflam- 
 mable substances employed, or proposed to be employed, 
 in their composition, I proceed to consider the circum- 
 stances on which the good or ill burning of candles, and 
 the whiteness and brightness of the light given out by 
 them, appear mainly to depend. 
 
 According to the most accurate analysis of spermaceti, 
 this substance is composed of 77*5 carbon, 12 hydrogen, 
 and 9*5 oxygen. It is probable that the composition of 
 tallow and wax does not differ materially from the above. 
 The whole of the oxygen of the above compound will be 
 saturated or neutralized by 1*2 of hydrogen, producing 
 10*7 of water; there remains, therefore, a clear balance 
 of combustible matter to the amount of about 88*3, 
 namely, the whole of the carbon, 77*5, and 10*8 of 
 hydrogen. Pure hydrogen burns with a pale blue flame, 
 scarcely visible in daylight, but producing the most 
 intense heat with which we are acquainted ; there is, there- 
 fore, no proportion between the light and heat of a burning 
 body. Hydrogen is capable of combining with carbon in 
 two proportions, one the double of the other. With one 
 equivalent of the two ingredients, it forms a gas called 
 carburetted hydrogen, which burns with a pale bluish 
 yellow flame. With one equivalent of hydrogen, and 
 two of carbon, it produces a gas called bicarburet of 
 
134 
 
 ON ARTIFICIAL LIGHT. 
 
 hydrogen, or olefiant gas, which burns with a clear, 
 bright, white flame. The problem, therefore, to be re- 
 solved, is so to regulate the combustion of the candle as 
 to produce the greatest possible quantity of bicarburetted 
 hydrogen. Carbon and hydrogen, in the proportions 
 already mentioned, may produce, by their combination, 
 83*95 of bicarburet of hydrogen, 4*35 of hydrogen 
 remaining uncombined : by such an arrangement the 
 greatest possible quantity of bicarburet of hydrogen, and 
 therefore of white light, would be produced. But the 
 same materials, arranged in another way, would afford 
 no bicarburet of hydrogen at all ; but 83*95 of carbu- 
 retted hydrogen, and 4*35 of carbon, would be uncombined. 
 Such a mixture would give a yellow flame, with about 
 4 per cent of soot and smoke, and therefore would afford 
 the least possible light. Or, we may conceive the 
 materials arranged so as neither to produce smoke in 
 burning, nor any deposit of soot on the wick ; but to 
 yield 78*15 of carburetted hydrogen, and 10*15 of bicar- 
 buretted hydrogen, which would burn with a yellowish 
 white flame. 
 
 If we pass bicarburetted hydrogen through a red-hot 
 tube, it deposits half its carbon, and is reduced to car- 
 buretted hydrogen : the condition, therefore, for burning 
 a candle to the best advantage, as far as regards the 
 quantity of light produced, is, that the oily vapour or 
 bicarburetted gas should be burnt as soon as it is produced, 
 without being previously exposed to any increase of tem- 
 perature capable of decomposing it. 
 
 Bearing in mind these facts, let us now see what takes 
 place in burning a tallow candle. 
 
 When first lighted, the heat begins to melt the adjacent 
 solid tallow, which is absorbed by the capillary attraction 
 
ON ARTIFICIAL LIGHT. 
 
 135 
 
 of the wick: the end of the wick projects hardly at all 
 into the flame, and therefore the tallow ascends to the 
 end of the wick, having as yet undergone no decom- 
 position ; when there, it comes in contact with the lower 
 part of the flame, and whatever bicarburetted hydrogen 
 is produced immediately burns with its characteristic 
 white light, without undergoing any previous decom- 
 position. After a few minutes, the flame, though larger 
 than at first, gives less light, and assumes a decidedly 
 yellow tinge ; at this time so much of the tallow will have 
 been consumed, as to leave the naked part of the wick 
 considerably lengthened, — the flame, instead of hovering 
 as it were on the top, will have extended half an inch or 
 more down the sides, and will have increased both in 
 length and in diameter, assuming the appearance of a 
 thin film or hollow bladder, within which the vapour of 
 the tallow as it rises becomes more and more heated, and 
 consequently more and more decomposed. The film of 
 flame that incloses it prevents the access of air ; it cannot 
 therefore burn till it has reached the top or point of the 
 flame, and, by the time that it arrives here, much of it 
 will have been decomposed : so that instead of giving a 
 white light, without any residue, it will give a yellow 
 light, and the carbon that the gas has lost will have 
 attached itself to the top of the wick in the form of fungus- 
 looking clots. The larger or thicker the wick, the greater 
 is the cavity of the flame, and therefore the greater the 
 proportion of tallow that is thus unprofitably employed. 
 But in a candle made of so fusible a substance as tallow, 
 it is impossible to have a thin wick ; because, unless the 
 melted tallow is absorbed and consumed as fast as it is 
 melted, the little cup formed at top of the candle will 
 overflow : hence, the thickness of the wick must bear a 
 
136 
 
 ON ARTIFICIAL LIGHT. 
 
 certain proportion to that of the tallow, the inconvenience 
 and loss from a guttering candle being as great as a 
 diminution of its light. By snuffing off the burnt wick 
 when it gets too long, a limit is put to the yellowness and 
 smokiness of the flame ; and therefore, in using tallow 
 candles, the annoyance of snuffing them must of necessity 
 be submitted to. Count Rumford states, as the result of 
 his own experiments, that a tallow candle, which, when 
 just snuffed, is giving out a degree of light estimated at 
 100, after eleven minutes was producing light equal only 
 to 39 ; in nineteen minutes it was reduced to 23, and in 
 twenty-nine minutes to 16, being scarcely one-sixth of the 
 original quantity of light : on snuffing the candle, its light 
 immediately became 100. A candle is snuffed too low, 
 when the flame only just occupies the top of the wick ; for 
 in this case the absorption of the tallow being much dimi- 
 nished, while the heat is not diminished in the same 
 proportion, the melted tallow accumulates in the cup till 
 at length it runs over. 
 
 Spermaceti and wax are considerably less fusible than 
 tallow ; and therefore, as the ordinary heat of a candle 
 melts less of these substances in a given time than of 
 tallow, a thinner wick will be found sufficient to absorb 
 the wax or spermaceti, in proportion as they melt. But 
 there is another circumstance, besides the fusibility of the 
 material, that regulates the thickness of the wick; and 
 this is, the degree of fluidity which different liquids possess 
 at the same temperature ; for the rapidity with which 
 melted wax and spermaceti, for example, rise by capillary 
 attraction among the fibres of the wick, is in proportion 
 to their respective degrees of fluidity. Now, the latter of 
 these substances, when melted, is almost as limpid as 
 water, which is by no means the case with wax. Hence, 
 
ON ARTIFICIAL LIGHT. 
 
 137 
 
 although candles of wax and of spermaceti will, both of 
 them, bear a thinner wick than candles of tallow, on 
 account of their being less fusible, spermaceti admits of a 
 thinner wick than wax, as being the more limpid when in 
 fusion. 
 
 Several advantages arise from the use of a thin wick : 
 in the first place, the cavity within the film of flame is 
 less in proportion to the diminished diameter of the wick ; 
 and in the second place, the burnt wick, being very thin, 
 is not able to support itself upright ; it therefore twists on 
 one side till it pierces through the film of flame, and, 
 coming in contact with the air, is thus burnt off or snuffs 
 itself. The gas produced by the decomposition of tallow, 
 when burnt from a jet, produces as white a light as that 
 from wax or spermaceti ; the superiority, therefore, which 
 these substances possess over tallow, when made into 
 candles, depends entirely on their greater infusibility. 
 In a very small wick, the whole of the gas that escapes 
 from it comes immediately in contact with the air, and is 
 burnt while in the state of bicarburetted hydrogen : hence, 
 the thinner the wick the purer the light. On this account 
 it is that the flame from the wax watch-light is so exceed- 
 ingly white ; but the wick of this kind of candle is so thin 
 as not to absorb the whole of the wax as it melts, and 
 therefore a large proportion of the wax would be lost by 
 guttering, unless the following very ingenious contriv- 
 ance was had recourse to : — the candle, while burning, is 
 immersed in water nearly as high as the top of the wax, 
 and thus the heat produced is prevented from melting 
 .down the exterior rim of the wax, the outside of it being 
 in contact with the cold water. 
 
 I shall mention, before I conclude, two contrivances 
 to enable tallow or other candles, requiring thick wicks, 
 
138 
 
 ON ARTIFICIAL LIGHT. 
 
 to snuff themselves ; one is the subject of a patent, I 
 believe, taken out by Mr. Palmer. It consists in making 
 the wicks double, or in two divisions ; so that, in burning, 
 the two halves separate from one another, and generally 
 twist to opposite sides of the flame where they are burnt 
 to ashes. The other was first brought before the public 
 by Mr. E. Walker : it consists in inclining the candle at 
 such an angle, that the end of the burnt wick shall project 
 beyond the side of the flame, and so get consumed. The 
 flame is not so bright as if the candle were upright and 
 regularly snuffed, but is never so dull as it becomes 
 without snuffing. 
 
139 
 
 NATURAL HISTORY AND COMMERCIAL 
 HISTORY OF COTTON. 
 
 By THE SECRETARY. 
 Read January 13, 1835. 
 
 The word cotton has been adopted into modern Euro- 
 pean languages from an Arabic word meaning the same 
 thing, and which, when put into English letters, would 
 be pronounced kutun : in Egypt, it is called gotun. The 
 Spanish word, algodon, is evidently the Egypto-Arabic 
 word with the article al prefixed. The Germans, who in 
 general avoid intercalating into their language words of 
 foreign origin, call it baum-wolle, tree- wool. 
 
 The name employed by systematic botanists to desig- 
 nate the genus of plants that yield the several kinds 
 of true cotton is gossypium, which is the gossipion of 
 Pliny's " Natural History," with hardly any change. This 
 genus belongs to the Monadelphous class of Linnseus, 
 and to the natural order of Malvaceous plants. It is 
 characterised by the three long deeply cut segments into 
 which its outer calyx is divided ; by its large, handsome 
 blossoms of five petals, of a yellow, orange, or reddish 
 colour, with or without a central spot of a deeper tint ; 
 by its numerous stamens, united at their base ; by its 
 single style, with three or five stigmas ; by its seed-vessel, 
 divided into as many cells as there are stigmas ; and by 
 its seeds, of which several are contained in each cell, 
 
140 
 
 NATURAL HISTORY AND 
 
 being completely covered by long down closely adhering 
 to them. While the seeds are unripe, they remain covered 
 over with their membranous capsule ; but, after a time, 
 this latter splits from the top downwards ; and through 
 this opening the seeds, enveloped in their down, push out, 
 forming light balls of the purest white, or of pale yellow, 
 or of reddish brown of various shades, which, if not 
 gathered, are soon afterwards blown away by the winds 
 and dispersed. The leaves of the plant are set alternately, 
 are rather large, and are divided into three or five lobes, 
 often deeply cut, like vine-leaves. The plant itself is 
 sometimes herbaceous, sometimes shrubby, and sometimes 
 has the stature of a small tree. 
 
 The cotton plant is very impatient of cold ; and 
 is therefore found, whether in a wild or cultivated 
 state, only in the intertropical regions, and the warmest 
 parts of the temperate zones. Its extreme northern limit 
 in Asia is formed by the Himalaya mountains, the Cau- 
 casus, and the Black Sea. In Europe it is confined to* 
 the more southern of the Mediterranean islands, and to 
 a few sheltered districts on the shores of Spain, Italy, and 
 Greece. In America it is hardly found higher than 
 North Carolina. Its southern limits on the same con- 
 tinent are Chili and Brazil ; and in the Indian Ocean, 
 the islands north of New Holland. It is also found in 
 Otaheite, and in several other of the groups of small 
 islands that stud the surface of the southern Pacific 
 Ocean. 
 
 In the old world, cotton appears to be an original 
 native of the countries east of the Indus ; but at what 
 time it there began to be cultivated and manufactured 
 into cloth is, I believe, wholly unknown. In the account 
 given in the Book of Kings of the commerce of the Jews 
 
COMMERCIAL HISTORY OF COTTON. 
 
 141 
 
 in the reign of Solomon, it is stated that fine linen was 
 one of the imports from Egypt ; but, in the account given 
 of the commodities brought by the trading fleet of that 
 monarch on the Red Sea, there is no mention made of 
 any thing that can possibly be interpreted to mean either 
 raw or manufactured cotton. 
 
 The first distinct mention of cotton occurs in Herodo- 
 tus (iii. 106), in his description of the products by which 
 India was at that time characterised. " There are there, " 
 says he, " wild trees that bear wool on their fruit, which, 
 in beauty and goodness, excels that from sheep ; and 
 from these trees the Indians obtain the material of their 
 clothing." It does not appear that Herodotus himself ever 
 travelled into India, but he may have got the particulars 
 which he mentions concerning that country when he 
 was in Egypt. 
 
 The expedition of Alexander the Great added con- 
 siderably to the knowledge which the Greeks possessed 
 of India and its productions ; for that prince, after sub- 
 duing Persia, pushed on to the banks of the Indus,, 
 crossed that river, defeated the king of the adjacent 
 territory, built a fleet with which he personally explored 
 the Indus to its mouth, and then committed it to the care 
 of his admiral, Nearchus, who conducted it to the Persian 
 Gulf. Both Alexander and Theophrastus were pupils of 
 Aristotle, the father of scientific natural history ; and Theo- 
 phrastus derived, no doubt, from those who accompanied 
 Alexander, many interesting particulars respecting the 
 vegetable productions of India, which he has inserted in his 
 work on plants. He says (iv. ch. 4), "The trees from 
 which the Indians make cloth, have a leaf like that of 
 the mulberry : they plant them in the fields, arranged in 
 rows ; so that, at a distance, they look like vines." He 
 
142 
 
 NATURAL HISTORY AND 
 
 also (iv. ch. 7) notices the growth of cotton, not only in 
 India, hut in Arabia, and in the islands called Tylos 
 (now Bahrein), in the Persian Gulf. " The wool-hearing 
 trees," adds he, " which grow abundantly in this island, 
 have a leaf resembling that of the vine, only smaller ; 
 and the only fruit that they bear is a capsule, about the 
 size of the ^Xov sagwbv, which, when ripe, opens and 
 allows the wool to come out : this it is which is woven 
 into cloth of various qualities, some cheap and others 
 very costly." The testimony of Nearchus himself is also 
 preserved by Arrian and Strabo, to the following effect ; 
 namely, that " there are in India trees bearing, as it 
 were, flocks or bunches of wool ; that the natives, having 
 made it into cloth resembling linen, form of it their 
 dress, which consists of a shirt reaching to the middle of 
 the leg, a piece loosely folded about the shoulders, and a 
 turban rolled round the head ; and that this linen is finer 
 and whiter than any other." 
 
 Aristobulus, also, one of Alexander's generals, as quoted 
 by Strabo, mentions the wool-bearing tree of India, and 
 that its capsule contains seeds, which, being taken out, 
 what remains is combed like wool. 
 
 From the vicinity of Persia to India, it would naturally 
 be expected that fabrics of cotton should, in very early 
 times, be transmitted from the latter to the former of these 
 countries ; and, accordingly, the first notice extant of 
 manufactured cotton, appears in the Book of Esther 
 (ch. i.), about 500 years before the Christian era, and 
 170 years before the conquest of Persia by Alexander. 
 Ahasuerus, king of Persia, whose territories are stated 
 to have extended from India to Ethiopia, made a great 
 feast at Susa. Tents were pitched in the garden of 
 the palace, of " white, green, and blue," according to 
 
COMMERCIAL HISTORY OF COTTON. 
 
 143 
 
 our common English version. The word translated 
 " green," is in the original Karpas ; and this very word 
 is the Sanscrit name of cotton, and is also one of its 
 modern names at the present time in Bengal. The same 
 word also occurs in a Greek and Latin form (xa^acrog 
 and carbasus), in writers of the Augustan age, for cloth 
 brought from India and Persia ; and which, from the 
 context, cannot mean any thing than manufactured cotton 
 of fine quality, similar, probably, to Indian muslin. 
 
 The conquests of Lucullus, Sylla, and Pompey, which 
 added Asia Minor, Syria, and the adjacent territories, to 
 the possessions of Rome, introduced to that capital various 
 articles of luxury and convenience, and, among others, 
 that of cotton cloth; which, as I have just now men- 
 tioned, was designated by the Sanscrit and Persic word 
 karpas, put into a Latin form. Thus Cicero, in his 
 oration against Verres, cites, as a proof of his inordinate 
 luxury when praetor in Sicily, that he used tents with 
 curtains of carbasus or muslin. Strabo, likewise, in his 
 Geography, written in the reign of the Emperor Tiberius, 
 makes mention of xa^aaog as forming part of the dress 
 of the Indians. Finally, the author of the Periplus of the 
 Erythraean Sea, so ably commented by the late Dr. 
 Vincent, mentions that the countries on the Gulf of 
 Barygaza # in India, produce za^agog, and cloths made 
 of it, in which the word xa^aeog must be understood to 
 mean raw cotton. These cloths, according to the same 
 author, were imported into Egypt. 
 
 The last ancient writer that I shall cite on the present 
 occasion is the elder Pliny, who lived between the years 
 23 and 79 of the Christian era. In that part of his 
 
 * Baroche in Guzerat, where muslins and chintzes are still made. 
 
144 
 
 NATURAL HISTORY AND 
 
 Natural History in which he describes the vegetable pro- 
 ducts of India and the adjacent countries, after giving an 
 account from Theophrastus of the cotton trees of the 
 island of Tylos, he adds, probably from some Greek 
 author now lost, that they (the natives of Tylos, I pre- 
 sume) call these trees gossympines (Arbores vacant gossym- 
 pinos, xii. 21). Again, in his description of flax and its 
 manufacture, he introduces the following account of 
 cotton (xix. 2) : " In the upper part of Egypt, bordering 
 on Arabia, grows a shrub which some call gossipion, but 
 its more usual name is xylon, of which is made tree-flax 
 (lina xylina). It is of low growth, and bears a fruit not 
 unlike a filberd, from the inside of the shell of which is 
 obtained a down that is spun into thread, which yields 
 to none in whiteness and softness. Cloth made of this 
 material is preferred by the Egyptian priests to every 
 other." On this latter passage it may be remarked, that 
 no part of Upper Egypt can, properly speaking, be said 
 to be bordering on Arabia ; since these two countries are 
 separated at least by the Red Sea, even if the term Upper 
 Egypt be not confined to the valley of the Nile from the 
 point of the Delta to Syene, but be extended eastward to 
 the shore of the Red Sea, so as to make it commensurate 
 with the Roman limits of Upper Egypt. We are quite 
 certain, also, that neither in Upper nor in Lower Egypt 
 was cotton cultivated till many centuries later. It was 
 grown in Arabia and Syria before it was introduced into 
 Egypt ; and this was not from the unfitness of the soil or 
 climate for the growth of cotton, but for the obvious 
 reason that, while Egypt possessed the monopoly of the 
 Indian trade, manufactured cottons, and perhaps also 
 cotton wool, were imported at a price which might dis- 
 courage all attempts to raise the raw material in any part 
 
COMMERCIAL HISTORY OF COTTON. 
 
 145 
 
 of Egypt. That the passage above cited was written by 
 some one who had seen the cotton-plant actually growing, 
 is evident from his comparing the unripe seed-vessel to a 
 filberd or hazel-nut ; since the long and deeply divided 
 segments of its outer calyx bear no slight resemblance 
 to the husk of the nut. Pacatus, who, in the year 388, 
 addressed an oration to Theodosius the Great, takes 
 occasion in it to mention the luxury of Antony's army 
 in Egypt, previous to the battle of Actium ; describing 
 them as scarcely enduring a loose garment of cotton cloth 
 to protect them from the rays of the sun. # Now if there 
 is any authority for this statement, it is evident that, at 
 the time when Pliny wrote, cotton cloth must have been 
 sufficiently plentiful in Egypt for the use of the priests. 
 It is on the authority of this passage in Pliny that persons 
 have expected to find cotton cloth made use of as the 
 wrappings of Egyptian mummies ; presuming, with much 
 probability, that a material worn and highly esteemed by 
 the priests would have a certain degree of sacredness 
 attached to it, and therefore would be employed in pre- 
 ference to linen for wrapping up the embalmed bodies of 
 the dead. It does not, however, appear how long it was 
 before Pliny wrote that the Egyptian priests had begun 
 to wear cotton. The practice of embalming seems to 
 have gradually declined, and to have quite ceased about 
 a century before the death of Pliny ; if, therefore, the 
 priests of Egypt adopted the use of cotton not long before 
 the Roman conquest of that country, the above argument 
 or presumption does not apply. Many persons, however, 
 from their own personal examination of different mummy- 
 cloths, have been inclined to consider several of them as 
 
 * Vix leve carbasura vitando sole tolerantes Panegyr. Thedos. c. xxxiii. 
 
 VOL. LUI. L 
 
146 
 
 NATURAL HISTORY AND 
 
 made of cotton: of this opinion was M. Larcher, the 
 learned translator and commentator of Herodotus, and 
 the late Dr. Reinhold Forster, in his Tract " De Bysso 
 Antiquorum," not to mention many more modern author- 
 ities. The question, however, now seems to have been 
 set at rest by the joint labours of Mr. James Thompson 
 and Mr. Bauer, the result of which has lately been laid 
 before the Royal Society by the former of those gentle- 
 men, and to whose paper I am indebted for the following 
 observations. 
 
 After endeavouring, without success, to determine this 
 question by the aspect of the numerous specimens which, 
 he had an opportunity of examining, by their power of 
 conducting heat, and by other empirical modes, Mr. 
 Thompson had recourse to Mr. Bauer, expecting, from 
 that gentleman's skill in the use of the microscope, and 
 in delineating objects viewed under high magnifiers, to 
 obtain some specific and permanent characters which 
 should distinguish indubitably between the fibres of cotton 
 and of linen. In this expectation he appears not to have 
 been disappointed. Mr. Bauer found that the filament 
 of cotton, gathered before the seed ripens, is a transparent, 
 simple, cylindrical tube ; but, as soon as the seed is mature, 
 even before the bursting of the capsule, the tube collapses 
 longitudinally down the middle, so as to form two imper- 
 fect smaller tubes, the transverse section of which re- 
 sembles a figure of eight ; this gives to the fibre, when 
 viewed in a certain light, the appearance of a flat riband 
 with a raised border at each edge. These collapsed fibres 
 also twist in somewhat irregular spirals round their own 
 axis, the number of twists being from 300 to 800 in an 
 inch. The figure just described is retained by the fibre 
 of cotton through all the processes of carding, spinning, 
 
COMMERCIAL HISTORY OF COTTON. 
 
 147 
 
 weaving, bleaching, and dyeing, that it goes through ; nor 
 does it lose this characteristic form even after long wear 
 and being finally subjected to the rough treatment of the 
 paper-maker. 
 
 The ultimate fibre of flax, on the other hand, is a 
 transparent cylindrical tube, with transverse markings, 
 which form it preserves without variation. The result of 
 Mr. Bauer's examination of a multitude of specimens of 
 mummy-cloth is, that they are all entirely composed of 
 linen. I may add, that another equally satisfactory 
 character, not depending on the use of high magnifiers, 
 but obvious to every one, and of easy application, may be 
 derived from the length of the fibre. The staple or fibre 
 of cotton is never longer than an inch and a half or two 
 inches, while the fibres of flax, when combed and pre- 
 pared for spinning, are always several inches long. 
 
 Conceiving that it would add to the interest of this 
 part of our subject, I requested Mr. C. Varley to make 
 for me magnified drawings of some other vegetable fibres. 
 This he has obligingly done, and the drawings are now 
 before you. The first of these is the Ochroma lagopus, 
 formerly ranked as a species of Bombax, or silk-cotton ; 
 and, in its natural affinities, connected with the genus 
 Gossypium, or true cotton. The only circumstance of 
 difference necessary at present to be mentioned is, that 
 whereas in the cotton the down is closely adherent to the 
 seed, in the ochroma it adheres to the inner angles of the 
 capsule, covering the seeds, but not connected with them. 
 The drawing before you is from the species with brown 
 down, which is a native of the West Indies ; another 
 species, with white down, grows in China and other parts 
 of Southern Asia. In this you will observe that the fibre 
 is a hollow, cylindrical, or rather conical tube, that some 
 
148 
 
 NATURAL HISTORY AND 
 
 of the fibres, or parts of the fibre, present a circular figure 
 in the horizontal section, while others undergo a collapse 
 and get a spiral twist, much in the same manner as the 
 fibre of cotton does. 
 
 The second drawing represents a fibre of the seed- 
 down of a species of Asclepias, a native of Canada. Each 
 fibre is a transparent tube of one cell, which dries some- 
 times without any change of form, sometimes collapses on 
 one side, sometimes folds in small parallel longitudinal 
 plaits, and sometimes presents compound spiral plaits. 
 
 The third drawing shews the common cotton rush, as 
 it is generally called, the Eriophorum angustifolium of 
 botanists. It grows in the wettest parts of almost every 
 bog in the kingdom, especially in the northern counties. 
 The white shining hairs or down adhere to the bottom of 
 each seed, and, from their flattened, complex, cellular 
 figure, appear to have a structure nearly approaching to 
 that of leaves. 
 
 In another drawing is represented the fibre of raw 
 flax, cylindrical, and with transverse markings like Mr. 
 Bauer's, but differing from this latter in the comparative 
 smallness of its interior hollow, and in the ultimate 
 fibrous structure. 
 
 The fibre of the Phormium tenax, or New Zealand 
 flax, has a cylindrical form, and a hollow axis like common 
 flax ; but it is harder and more elastic, and exhibits 
 nothing of a fibrous structure. 
 
 The figure of the fibre of cotton was taken from a lock 
 to which the seed adhered, and, therefore, which had 
 never undergone any manipulation. 
 
 But, to return from this digression. 
 
 I have now laid before you the most important notices 
 which are to be found in the ancient classical authors, 
 
COMMERCIAL HISTORY OF COTTON. 149 
 
 respecting the growth of cotton in India and on the coast 
 of Arabia, and the importation of cotton fabrics of various 
 quality from India to Egypt, by the way of the Red Sea. 
 The next division of our subject is the establishment of 
 the culture of the cotton plant, on the coasts of the 
 Mediterranean : but, on this very interesting head of 
 inquiry, I have only a very few scattered notices to offer, 
 and I believe that more precise information is not extant. 
 The most western habitat of cotton, mentioned by ancient 
 writers, is the island of Tylos or Bahrein, in the Persian 
 Gulf, as I have already stated ; and, from Theophrastus's 
 description of the plant, it seems to have been the species 
 now called Gossypium arboreum, or tree-cotton. The island 
 Tylos being almost in the direct route from India to the 
 Red Sea, it is not improbable that this species of cotton 
 was the first the introduction of which was attempted : 
 and it is perhaps some confirmation of this supposition 
 that Belon, who visited Egypt about the middle of the 
 sixteenth century, describes this species of cotton as 
 growing in Arabia, near Mount Sinai. Prosper Alpinus, 
 who was in Egypt a few years later than Belon, mentions 
 that the Gossypium arboreum is grown in Egypt only in 
 gardens, and that its down is not used there for spinning ; 
 but that the Arabians make a cloth of it, which they call 
 Sessa. In fact, the down of this species of cotton is short, 
 and of a very inferior quality, which may account for its 
 very slow and partial introduction. Its inferiority to the 
 herbaceous cotton (Gossypium herbaceum) is evident from 
 a circumstance mentioned by Prosper Alpinus ; namely, 
 that while this was already growing in the gardens of 
 Egypt, the whole of the cotton used in that country was 
 imported from Syria and Cyprus, and was the produce of 
 the Gossypium herbaceum. 
 
150 
 
 NATURAL HISTORY AND 
 
 The culture of this herbaceous cotton seems first to 
 have passed from India into Persia, whence it spread into 
 Syria, into Asia Minor, especially the neighbourhood of 
 Smyrna, and finally into the islands of Cyprus, Crete, 
 Malta, Sicily, and some of the small islands of the 
 Archipelago. About the year 800, cotton was employed 
 in Greece as a material for paper . # It does not appear 
 that any of the Levant countries had the art of manufac- 
 turing the cotton grown by them into other than loose and 
 coarse cloths, for domestic use : for cotton, on account of 
 the shortness and tenderness of its staple, is, for spinning 
 by hand, decidedly inferior to flax, and also to wool, from 
 the straightness of its fibre, and its being incapable of 
 felting. 
 
 Cotton wool was imported by the Genoese and Vene- 
 tians into England and the Netherlands in the very 
 beginning of the fourteenth century, and perhaps earlier ; 
 but the use to which it was applied, except for candle- 
 wicks, is not known. In 1430, fustians were made, per- 
 haps invented, in Flanders ; being probably intended as 
 an imitation of the velvets manufactured in Italy. These 
 fustians, however, were of a mixed material, the warp 
 being linen thread, and the shoot only of cotton ; the 
 requisite firmness and closeness of texture being given by 
 the former, and the fullness and softness of feel by the 
 latter. In the year 1534, several ships from London and 
 Bristol traded to the Levant, and imported, among other 
 articles, cotton wool. It might be expected, therefore, 
 that at this time some cotton fabrics should have been 
 established in England : and this seems, at first sight, to 
 be confirmed by a statement in Leland's " Itinerary," in 
 
 * Parcamena Giaeca quae tit ex lana ligni — Theophyl. Presbyter. 
 
COMMERCIAL HISTORY OF COTTON. 
 
 151 
 
 the reign of Henry VIII., that cottons were made at 
 Bolton-le-Moors, in Lancashire, and the villages about ; 
 as also by the mention, in an act of parliament passed 
 in 1552 (Edward VI.), of Manchester, Lancashire, and 
 Cheshire cottons. The title of the act, however, is 44 for 
 the true making of woollen cloths ; " and Camden, in his 
 Survey, written in 1590, when speaking of Manchester, 
 says, it excels the towns around " by the glory of its 
 woollen cloths, which they call Manchester cottons." Also, 
 in an act of parliament passed in 1566 (8 Elizabeth), men- 
 tion is made of the drapers of Shrewsbury i( buying and 
 selling of Welsh cloth and linen, commonly called Welsh 
 cottons, frizes, and plains," which latter words, being 
 considered as explanatory of the term Welsh cottons, 
 seem to shew that they were woollen cloths ; and accord- 
 ingly the word cotton, used in the above expressions, has 
 been considered only as a corruption of the word coating, 
 just as a particular kind of woollen cloth is at present 
 called Bath coating. 
 
 I confess, however, that I am by no means satisfied 
 with this explanation. Raw cotton is always called cotton 
 wool; and although in Lancashire and Cheshire, where 
 this manufacture was established, they appear to have 
 distinguished by name cottons from woollen cloth, yet 
 they would naturally be willing enough to get cloth of 
 cotton wool confounded, in acts of parliament, with cloth 
 of sheep's wool, in order to place it in the same scale with 
 - this latter, with respect to the custom-house duties. # It 
 
 * The term " Welsh cottons," in the act of parliament above cited, is 
 evidently intended as an explanation of the preceding expression, " Welsh 
 cloth and linen and of these there were two kinds, the frized and the 
 plain. Mixed fabrics of linen and sheep's wool could not be here intended, 
 because there already existed the term linsey-woolsey, expressive of such ; 
 
152 NATURAL HISTORY AND 
 
 is, I think, a further confirmation of the opinion which I 
 have hazarded, that, when the manufacture of fustians 
 and dimities was introduced into this country in 1641, by 
 Protestant refugees from the Netherlands, they established 
 themselves in Bolton and Manchester, although they had 
 to convey from London, on the backs of pack-horses, the 
 cotton wool, and to return the manufactured article by the 
 same tedious and expensive conveyance ; and for which 
 there seems to be no assignable motive, except that in 
 those towns workmen were to be found already in the 
 habit of carding, spinning, and weaving cotton. 
 
 Of the two great geographical discoveries at the end 
 of the 15th century — namely, the discovery of the Ameri- 
 can continent, and of the passage to India by the Cape of 
 Good Hope — the latter began to affect, and soon extin- 
 guished, the East Indian commerce up the Red Sea, and 
 with it the importation into Europe of manufactured 
 cottons by that route. The former, although it offered to 
 the naturalist and to the manufacturer some new species 
 of cotton indigenous to that continent, seems to have pro- 
 duced no effect on the European cotton market for at least 
 150 years; for, in 1641, the importation of cotton into 
 England was exclusively from the Levant. From this 
 circumstance, some persons have doubted whether the 
 cotton, now found wild and cultivated in America, was 
 not conveyed thither from the East Indies, subsequent to 
 its discovery by Columbus ; but, in Gomara's history of 
 
 and I have little doubt that the cloths here mentioned were of the same 
 kind as those of which the Society possesses specimens from Upper Assam 
 and elsewhere, of which the shoot is a loose roving of cotton, and the warp a 
 coarse linen. Some of these have the nap raised, and therefore are frizes ; 
 others have not undergone this process, and are plains. They are of a 
 texture to serve as a tolerable substitute for light blankets. 
 
COMMERCIAL HISTORY OF COTTON. 
 
 153 
 
 the conquest of the West Indies by the Spaniards, it is 
 expressly stated that the corselets of the natives were 
 made of cotton wool, and that their priests were clothed 
 in white robes, like surplices, made of cotton cloth. 
 Pietro Martire also states, that the natives sleep on 
 w certain mattrasses made of the cotton of gossampine 
 trees, which grow plentifully in these islands. This 
 cotton," adds he, ' 6 the Spaniards call algodon." A still 
 more convincing proof that certain species of cotton are 
 indigenous in America, is afforded by Mr. Curnming's 
 discovery of raw cotton and of manufactured cotton in the 
 ancient tombs of the natives of Peru, specimens of which 
 I am enabled to exhibit this evening, by the kindness of 
 Dr. Robert Brown. In the latter half of the seventeenth 
 century, cotton began to be produced for the supply of 
 the European markets in the West Indies, in Brazil, and 
 in the Dutch, French, and Portuguese colonies in Guiana ; 
 and probably about this time the culture of the fine cotton 
 of Siam was introduced into America, as being of better 
 quality than the indigenous species, or than those that had 
 been transplanted from the Levant. But the European 
 demand was as yet very languid, and was chiefly supplied 
 from the Mediterranean ; the average annual importation 
 of cotton into Great Britain from all sources, between the 
 years 1700 and 1705, not amounting to 1,200,000 pounds 
 weight. 
 
 I have not access to any documents for ascertaining 
 the importation of cotton into Great Britain, from the 
 year 1705 to 1780, but up to 1760 it had increased very 
 slowly ; for the value of all the cotton goods manufactured 
 in Great Britain, in the course of that year, was not 
 estimated at more than £200,000. 
 
 As the great improvements in the machinery of cotton- 
 
154 
 
 NATURAL HISTORY AND 
 
 spinning commenced soon after this period, the present 
 seems to be the proper place to state, in a few words, the 
 difference between cotton fabrics from India and those 
 made in Europe, and especially in England, at that time. 
 The Indian cottons were entirely of this substance, both 
 warp and shoot ; the delicate and flexible fingers of the 
 Hindoos, assisted perhaps by a hereditary aptitude, 
 being able to produce, merely by the rock and distaff, 
 yarn of exquisite fineness, and yet strong enough to be 
 employed as warp: the cotton itself, too, was finer, of 
 longer staple, and more silky than that produced in the 
 Levant. The European fabrics, on the contrary, had all 
 of them a warp of flax, the shoot only being of cotton ; 
 and this latter was of so soft and loose a consistence, that 
 it would not answer even for shoot unless it was of a 
 certain thickness, the shortness of the staple and the 
 mode of spinning it being alike incapable of producing 
 fine yarn. 
 
 Mr. Hargreaves led the way in the great change that 
 was now about to take place, by the invention, in 1767, 
 of the spinning -jenny or engine, which draws several 
 threads at once; and, as it derives its principal motion 
 from a mechanical first mover, produces them more even 
 than had heretofore been done by hand. It was soon 
 discovered that an improved method of carding the cotton 
 before it was subjected to the action of the jenny, was 
 essential to the good performance of this machine ; this 
 was attempted, with some success, by Mr. Hargreaves, 
 was very much improved on by Mr. Peel, and was brought 
 to perfection in the carding machine of Mr. Arkwright, 
 invented by him in 1775. Previous to this, however, in 
 1771, Mr. Arkwright invented his spinning machine, 
 which, to all the advantages of the jenny, superadded the 
 
COMMERCIAL HISTORY OF COTTON. 
 
 155 
 
 power of twisting the yarn hard enough to serve for warp ; 
 the result of which was, that, in 1773, calicoes — that is, 
 cloths of moderate fineness, both the warp and shoot of 
 which were of cotton — first began to be manufactured in 
 England. Lastly, Mr. Crampton soon afterwards in- 
 vented the mule, a combination, as its name indicates, 
 of the jenny and spinning frame, capable of producing 
 fine yarn for weft or shoot, and thus laid the foundation 
 of the manufacture of British muslins. 
 
 These great inventions were all made in the course of 
 about ten years ; but it will be understood that almost each 
 succeeding year introduced subordinate improvements, by 
 simplifying and giving more precision to the machinery, 
 by economizing time, and improving the quality of the 
 produce. 
 
 The activity of those who engaged in the commercial 
 department of this new manufacture, as it may very 
 properly be called, soon enlarged prodigiously the do- 
 mestic market, and pushed its sale into all the countries 
 of the European continent. The consequence of this was 
 a greatly increased and rapidly augmenting demand for 
 the raw material, enriching the countries where cotton 
 was already cultivated, and encouraging enterprising 
 persons to attempt its culture wherever climate and local 
 situation offered a fair probability of success. In the 
 years 1781, 2, 3, the average annual importation of raw 
 cotton had increased to above eight million pounds weight; 
 and, in 1786, only three years after, to nearly twenty 
 million pounds. Of this latter supply, 5*8 millions were 
 from the British West Indies ; 5*5 millions, from the French 
 and Spanish colonies; 2 millions, from the Portuguese 
 colonies, chiefly Brazil; 1*6 millions, from the Dutch 
 colonies ; and 5 millions, from Smyrna and other parts of 
 the Turkish dominions. 
 
y 
 
 156 
 
 NATURAL HISTORY AND 
 
 Soon after the conclusion of the American war for 
 Independence, the planters of Georgia and Carolina began 
 to turn their attention to the growth of cotton ; and, in 
 the year 1790, they began for the first time to supply the 
 British market. It was found that the cotton grown on 
 certain parts of the sea-coast of these states, and on the 
 islands that border the shore, is superior in fineness of 
 fibre, lustre, and length of staple, to any that had hitherto 
 made its appearance in the European market. It goes 
 by the name of Sea-islands' cotton, and, when clean, com- 
 mands a price double that of any other, being used for 
 muslins and other fabrics of the highest quality. The 
 cotton grown in the interior of these States is called 
 upland, or bowed ; but the seed adheres to the fibre so 
 tenaciously, that the difficulty of separating it by the 
 common ginning machine seemed at first an insuperable 
 obstacle to its being cultivated with any adequate return 
 of profit. At length, however, Mr. Whitney, a native of 
 the United States, invented a machine called a saw-gin, 
 which overcomes the difficulty ; and as this cotton, toge- 
 ther with that grown in the valley of the Mississippi, and 
 known by the names of New Orleans and Alabama 
 cotton, is of a quality suitable to the better kinds of 
 calicoes, this discovery has proved of immense value to the 
 cotton planters, by far the greater part of the raw cotton 
 manufactured in Europe being now the produce of these 
 States. 
 
 In the year 1812, the import of cotton wool into Great 
 Britain amounted to above 63 million pounds weight ; 
 and, as the demand seemed continually increasing, some 
 of the private merchants trading to India brought the 
 next year, into the market, a small quantity of Surat 
 cotton. It proved to be much inferior in staple and in 
 cleanness to the American cotton, and was sold for a 
 
COMMERCIAL HISTORY OF COTTON. 
 
 157 
 
 proportionably low price. It answered, however, for the 
 lowest qualities of cotton cloth ; and the demand has gone 
 on steadily increasing, till at present it ranks the third 
 for quantity in the British market, with some improve- 
 ment both in quality and in cleanness. 
 
 In the year 1823, the amount of raw cotton imported 
 into Great Britain had increased to above 183 million 
 pounds weight ; and in this year, for the first time, 
 Egyptian cotton made its appearance in the English 
 market. It proved to be of a long, strong, and silky 
 staple, and has since been improved by the introduction of 
 seeds of the Sea-islands' cotton. It is employed in the 
 finer manufactures, but is of second quality, as it is more 
 difficult to bleach than other cotton, and, in consequence, 
 the colours that it takes in dying are somewhat inferior. 
 
 Since the year 1823, to the present time, the demand 
 for raw cotton in the British market has gone on pro- 
 gressively increasing. It is, however, unnecessary, con- 
 sidering to how slight a sketch of this important subject 
 my allotted time confines me, to cite the particulars of 
 any of the intervening years; I shall therefore conclude 
 by stating, in detail, the importation of cotton wool for the 
 last year (1834), which is as follows : — 
 
 252,885,000 Uplands and New Orleans } OQ2 3g5 Q m 
 9,500,000 Sea Islands ) 9 9 1 
 
 26,540,000 Brazil 
 11,570,000 Surat and Bengal 
 1,610,000 West Indies 
 1,540,000 Egypt 
 
 303,645,000 lbs. 
 
 On comparing the above with the importation of 1831, 
 
158 
 
 NATURAL HISTORY, ETC. 
 
 it appears that there is an increase in the last year in the 
 proportion of 303 to 288 ; but that the quantity furnished 
 from all the above-mentioned countries, except the United 
 States, has diminished. 
 
<0* 
 
334 
 
 ON 
 
 HORN AND TORTOISES HELL. 
 
 By THE SECRETARY. 
 
 Read 5th June, 1832. 
 
 The subject of the present evening's illustration is the 
 manufacture of horn and of tortoiseshell, to which I 
 shall add some particulars respecting whalebone — a sub- 
 stance which, in its physical and chemical properties, 
 bears a great resemblance to horn. 
 
 In the English language we have only one word to 
 express two quite different substances — namely, the 
 branched bony horns of the stag genus and the simple 
 laminated horns of the ox genus, and other kindred 
 genera. 
 
 The bony horns are called in French bois, from their 
 likeness to the branch of a tree : they are annually re- 
 newed, and are peculiar to the male sex, except in the 
 reindeer, the females of which likewise have horns, 
 though not nearly so large as those of the male. 
 
 The other sort of horn, to which the French appro- 
 priate the term come, and which is the subject of our 
 present inquiry, is found in the ox, the antelope, the 
 goat and sheep kinds. These are never branched or 
 palmated, but are always of a simple conical figure, more 
 or less curved, and, in some of the antelopes, spirally 
 
ON HORN AND TORTOISESHELL. 
 
 335 
 
 twisted : they are found in both sexes, but, in the goats 
 and sheep, are much larger in the male than in the 
 female. 
 
 In all these animals, a bony core, of a loose texture 
 and conical figure, rises from the bone of the forehead, 
 covered by a permanent vascular membrane, from the 
 surface of which are produced or secreted thin layers of 
 horn in constant succession. It is supposed that one 
 layer, or rather one set of layers, is produced every year ; 
 but, as the former layer remains closely adherent to the 
 new one, such horns are permanent, lamellar in texture, 
 and exfoliate only very slowly from the outside by ex- 
 posure to weather and friction. The structure of such 
 horns is that of a number of cones or sheaths inserted 
 into one another, the inner of which lies on the vascular 
 membrane that covers the bony core or base. The tip of 
 the horn — namely, that part which projects beyond the 
 core — is very dense, and the layers of which it is com- 
 posed can hardly be distinguished, whereas the lower 
 parts are of a looser structure, and the layers may readily 
 be seen from the successive terminations of them forming 
 prominent rings, which are very observable on the lower 
 part of the horn. Horn itself is quite insensible, like the 
 finger-nail ; and therefore the tip may be cut off while 
 the animal is alive without giving any pain ; but if the 
 section is made so low down as to include any part of the 
 core, blood follows, and the animal seems to suffer 
 greatly. 
 
 But it is not merely in the defences projecting from 
 the forehead of the genera already mentioned that horn 
 occurs : in the form of nails, claws, or hoofs, it protects 
 and arms the extremities of the toes in all warm-blooded 
 animals, and constitutes the leg-spurs of the cock and 
 
 / 
 
336 
 
 ON HORN AND TORTOISESHELL . 
 
 other gallinaceous birds. In the form of scales it covers 
 the body of the pangolin, of the armadillo, of the lizard 
 and serpent tribe, and of most fishes, and incloses the 
 tortoises in a kind of plate-armour. It also supplies the 
 hairy covering of the land mammalia, from the fine 
 down of the beaver to the bristles of the wild boar, 
 the horny hair of the elk and the musk, and the 
 spines of the hedgehog and porcupine. The horn of 
 the rhinoceros is not formed upon a bony core, but is 
 merely an aggregation of flattened hairs or bristles ad- 
 hering by their sides, and presenting longitudinal pores 
 or interstices of considerable magnitude at the base of 
 the horn, and which become smaller towards the point; 
 these interstices in the live animal are filled with a pulpy 
 matter. All feathers likewise, from the plumes of the 
 ostridge to the quills with which we write, and the wing- 
 spurs of the cassowary, are only modifications of horn ; 
 so that it may be considered as the general covering of 
 the most highly organised animals. 
 
 Horn also occurs, where it would not at first be 
 looked for, in the form of plates hanging down from the 
 palate or roof of the mouth in the Greenland whale, and 
 in those other cetaceous animals that are destitute of 
 teeth. This modification of it goes by the common name 
 of whalebone, of which I shall speak more at large 
 hereafter. 
 
 The membranous parts of the animal body are also 
 exceedingly similar to, if not identical with, horn, both in 
 structure and chemical composition : such are the cuticle 
 or scarf-skin which covers the whole body, and separates 
 from the true or sensitive skin on the application of a 
 blister. The intestines, the bladder, and other thin parts 
 which, on drying, become hard and transparent, are also 
 
ON HORN AND TORTOISESHELL. 
 
 337 
 
 of the same kind ; as likewise are the air-bladders of fish : 
 but these latter also contain jelly. 
 
 Certain animal fluids also bear a close analogy to 
 horn in their chemical composition: such are the serum 
 of blood and the white of egg. Both these substances 
 coagulate at a heat less than that of boiling-water, and 
 when afterwards dried, at the common atmospheric tem- 
 perature, become yellow, transparent, hard, and bear a 
 perfect resemblance to horn, except that their texture is 
 compact, not laminated. 
 
 To all the substances above enumerated, chemists give 
 the general name of albumen ; and it is distinguished by 
 the following properties from jelly and from fibre, the 
 two other principal organic elements of animal bodies. 
 It does not dissolve in boiling water and fix, on cooling, 
 as jelly does, and by its long resistance to putrefaction 
 it is distinguished from fibre. I may also mention that, 
 when exposed to a decomposing heat in close vessels, it 
 produces a large quantity of that gaseous compound 
 which forms the base of prussic acid ; on which account it 
 is that hoofs and the refuse parts of horn are in great 
 request among the manufactures of Prussian blue. 
 
 Almost the only kinds of horn that are the subject of 
 manufacture are those of the bull and cow, and the hoofs 
 of these animals ; the horns of the bullock being thin, 
 and of a very coarse texture, are used only for the most 
 ordinary purposes. Our domestic supply is by no means 
 equal to the demand, so that great quantities are im- 
 ported from Russia, the Cape of Good Hope, and South 
 America. 
 
 The first process is the separation of the true horn 
 from the bony core on which it is formed : for this pur- 
 pose the entire horns are macerated in water for a month 
 
338 
 
 ON HORN AND TORTOISESHELL. 
 
 or six weeks, according to the temperature ; during this 
 time the membrane which lies between the core and the 
 horn is destroyed by putrefaction, so that the core be- 
 comes loose, and can easily be extracted. The cores are 
 not thrown away, but are burnt to ashes, and in this 
 state form the best material for those small tests or cupels 
 employed by the assayers of gold and silver. 
 
 The next process is to cut off with a saw the tip of the 
 horn, that is, the whole of its solid part, which is used by 
 the cutlers for knife-handles, is turned into buttons, and 
 is applied to sundry other purposes. The remainder of 
 the horn is left entire or is sawn across into lengths, 
 according to the use to which it is destined. Next, it is 
 immersed in boiling water for half an hour, by which it 
 is softened ; and, while hot, is held in the flame of a coal 
 or wood fire, taking care to bring the inside as well as 
 the outside of the horn, if from an old animal, in contact 
 with the blaze. It is kept here till it acquires the 
 temperature of melting lead or thereabouts, and, in con- 
 sequence, becomes very soft. In this state it is slit 
 lengthways by a strong-pointed knife, like a pruning- 
 knife, and, by means of two pairs of pincers applied one 
 to each edge of the slit, the cylinder is opened nearly 
 flat. These flats are now placed on their edges between 
 alternate plates of iron, half an inch thick and eight 
 inches square, previously heated and greased, in a strong 
 horizontal iron trough, and are powerfully compressed 
 by means of wedges driven in at the ends. 
 
 The degree of compression is regulated by the use to 
 which the horn is to be afterwards applied : when it is 
 intended for leaves of lanterns, the pressure is to be 
 sufficiently strong (in the language of the workmen) to 
 break the grain : by which is meant separating, in a 
 
ON HORN AND TORTOISESHELL. 
 
 339 
 
 slight degree, the laminse of which it is composed, so 
 as to allow a round - pointed knife to be introduced 
 between them, in order to effect a complete separation. 
 
 The plates thus obtained are laid one by one on a 
 board covered with bull's hide, are fastened down by 
 a wedge, and are then scraped with a draw- knife 
 having a wire-edge turned by means of a steel rubber ; 
 when reduced to a proper thickness and smoothed, they 
 are polished by a woollen rag dipped in charcoal dust, 
 adding a little water from time to time, then are rubbed 
 with rotten-stone, and finished with horn shavings. The 
 longest and thinnest of the films cut off by the draw- 
 knife, when dyed and cut into various figures, are sold 
 under the name of sensitive Chinese leaves (being ori- 
 ginally brought from China), which, after exposure to a 
 damp air, will curl up as if they were alive when laid on 
 a warm hand or before the fire. 
 
 For combs, the plates of horn should be pressed as 
 little as possible, otherwise the teeth of the comb will 
 split at the points. They are shaped chiefly by means of 
 rasps and scrapers of various forms, after having been 
 roughed out by a hatchet or saw : the teeth are cut by a 
 double saw fixed in a back, the two blades being set to 
 different depths, so that the first cuts the tooth only half 
 way down, and is followed by the other which cuts to the 
 full depth ; the teeth are then finished and pointed by 
 triangular rasps. If a comb or other article is too large 
 to be made out of one plate of horn, two or more may be 
 joined together by the dexterous application of a degree 
 of heat sufficient to melt but not decompose the horn, 
 assisted by a due degree of pressure ; and when well 
 managed, the place of juncture cannot be perceived. 
 The Chinese are remarkably skilful in this kind of work, 
 
340 
 
 ON HORN AND TORTOISESHELL. 
 
 as may be seen in the large globular lantern in the 
 Museum at the East India House, about four feet dia- 
 meter, composed entirely of small plates of coloured and 
 painted horn. Horn combs are made in London, in 
 York, and in many other English towns ; but the chief 
 manufactory of them is at Kenilworth, in Warwick- 
 shire. 
 
 If a work in horn, such as one of the large combs 
 worn by women, is required to be of a curved or wavy 
 figure, it is finished flat, and is then put into boiling 
 water till it becomes soft, and is immediately transferred 
 to a die of hard wood, in which it is cautiously pressed, 
 and remains there till cold. # 
 
 Horn combs ornamented with open work are not 
 made in this country, because the expense of cutting 
 them would be more than the price of the article would 
 repay ; but great numbers of them are imported from 
 France. These, however, are not cut, but pressed in 
 steel dies made in London for the French manufacturers ; 
 and from an examination of these combs, it is evident 
 that the material must have been in a soft state, ap- 
 proaching to fusion, when put into the die. On re- 
 ferring to French authorities, I find it stated that horn 
 steeped for a week in a liquor, the active ingredient of 
 which is caustic fixed alkali, becomes so soft that it may 
 easily be moulded into any required shape. Horn 
 shavings subjected to the same process become semi- 
 gelatinous, and may be pressed in a mould into the form 
 of snuff-boxes and other articles. Horn, however, so 
 treated becomes hard and very brittle, probably in con- 
 
 Combs among the Romans were made of box-wood. 
 Quid faciet nullos hie inventura Capillos 
 
 Multifido Buxus quae tibi dente datur Mart. Epig. xiv. 25. 
 
ON HORN AND TORTOISESHELL. 
 
 341 
 
 sequence of its laminated texture being obliterated by the 
 joint action of the alkali and strong pressure. 
 
 Drinking cups of horn are thus made. The horn 
 being sawn to the required length is scalded and roasted 
 over the fire, as already described ; but instead of being 
 slit and opened, is placed while hot in a conical mould of 
 wood ; a corresponding plug of wood is then driven hard 
 in, to bring the horn to shape. Here it remains till cold, 
 and is then taken out and fixed by the large end on the 
 mandril of a lathe, where it is turned and polished both 
 inside and outside, and a groove, or chime as the coopers 
 call it, is cut by a gage -tool within the small end for 
 receiving the bottom. The horn is then taken off" the 
 lathe and laid before the fire, where it expands and be- 
 comes somewhat flexible ; a round flat piece of horn, of 
 the proper size (cut out of a plate by means of a kind of 
 crown-saw), is dropped in, and forced down till it reaches 
 the chime, and becomes perfectly fixed in this situation 
 and water-tight by the subsequent contraction of the horn 
 as it cools. Capt. Bagnold informs me that he has seen 
 in South America a nest of such cups turned to a thick- 
 ness not exceeding that of a card, and accurately fitting 
 into each other, the outer one holding about a pint and 
 the inner one little more than an ounce. 
 
 Horn is easily dyed by boiling it in infusions of various 
 colouring ingredients, as we see in the horn lanterns made 
 in China. In Europe it is chiefly coloured of a rich, red 
 brown, to imitate tortoiseshell, for combs and inlaid work. 
 The usual mode of effecting this is to mix together pearl- 
 ash, quicklime, and litharge, with a sufficient quantity of 
 water and a little pounded dragon's-blood, and boil them 
 together for half an hour. The compound is then to be 
 applied hot on the parts that are required to be coloured, 
 
342 
 
 ON HORN AND TORTOISES HELL. 
 
 and is to remain on the surface till the colour has struck : 
 on those parts where a deeper tinge is required, the com- 
 position is to be applied a second time. For a blacker 
 brown, omit the dragon's blood. This process is nearly 
 the same as that employed for giving a brown or black 
 colour to white hair ; and depends on the combination of 
 the sulphur, which is an essential ingredient in albumen, 
 with the lead dissolved in the alkali, and thus introduced 
 into the substance of the horn. 
 
 In very early times bows were made of horn. Homer 
 describes the bow of Pandarus (27. iv.) as made of the 
 two horns of a wild goat united base to base, reduced 
 into proper form and polished, and then tipped with 
 gold. The bow of Ulysses was also of the same material 
 {Odyss. xxi.). The long-bow of the English archers was, 
 I believe, entirely of wood ; but in the East, even at the 
 present day, bows are made entirely, or in part, of horn. 
 To the kindness of Colonel Taylor I am indebted for the 
 opportunity of exhibiting to you a Chinese bow, made 
 partly of wood and partly of buffalo's horn. The same 
 gentleman likewise informs me, that he has bought in 
 Calcutta pretty good bows made entirely of buffaloes' 
 horn ; but the best Indian bows, those namely of Lahore, 
 are made of horn combined with wood, and strapped 
 round with sinew. Horn lanterns, were also used by the 
 ancients ; for we find one mentioned in the AmpJiitryo of 
 Plautus, # and in an epigram of Martial.f Pliny J also 
 
 * Quo ambulas tu, qui Vulcanum in cornu conclusum geris ? 
 
 Amphitry. Act i. 1. 185. 
 
 •f- Dux Laterna viae clausis feror aurea flammis 
 
 Et tuta est gremio parva lucerna meo — Mart. Epig. xiv. 61. 
 
 % Cornua apud nos in laminas secta translucent, atque etiam lumen 
 inclusum latius fundunt ; multasq. alias ad delicias conferuntur, nunc 
 tincta, nunc sublita, nunc quae cestrotae picturae genere dicuntur. — Hist. 
 Nat. xi. 45. 
 
ON HORN AND TORTOISESHELL. 
 
 343 
 
 speaks of horn-lanterns, and says that various other orna- 
 mental articles were made of dyed and painted horn. 
 
 Horn was also used as we now employ glass in win- 
 dows ; for which, however, it is not very well adapted, 
 as plates thin enough to be transparent would soon warp, 
 and be corroded by exposure to the weather . # 
 
 Horns are also of very ancient use as musical instru- 
 ments : the true bugle-horn was made of the horn of the 
 urus, or wild bull, tipped with silver, and slung in a 
 chain of the same material. 
 
 Another use to which horn has been applied is as a 
 material for defence. I remember to have seen, several 
 years ago, a complete suit of scale-armour made of horn. 
 It was said to have come from Arabia, and seemed very 
 capable of turning the edge of a sword or a pistol-bullet. 
 
 I now proceed to mention some particulars respecting 
 
 TORTOISESHELL. 
 
 The animal which produces this beautiful substance is 
 a marine tortoise, called the Testudo imbricata, or hawks- 
 bill turtle. Its Latin name is derived from the mode in 
 which the scales on its back are placed, overlapping one 
 another like the tiles on the roof of a house. In this 
 circumstance, it seems to differ from almost all others of 
 its genus ; the scales of other tortoises, both those which 
 are land animals and those which inhabit water, either salt 
 or fresh, generally adhering to each other by their edges, 
 like a piece of inlaid work. These plates, in all the tor- 
 toises, cover the bony arch of the back formed by the 
 ribs and spine united into one immovable convexity 
 
 * Corneum specular. — Tertull. de Anirna, liii. 
 
344 
 
 ON HORN AND TORTOISESHELL. 
 
 by flat bones stretching from rib to rib, and uniting 
 insensibly with the spine. 
 
 The hawksbill turtle is a native of the torrid zone, 
 and is found in the Indian seas as far as New Zealand, 
 on the coast of Africa, on that of New Granada, in South 
 America, and in many parts of the West Indies, especially 
 on the Mosquito shore and the promontory of Yucatan. 
 Its usual length is about three feet ; but specimens have 
 sometimes been found five feet long, and weighing five or 
 six hundred pounds. 
 
 The number of plates produced by each tortoise is 
 thirteen ; namely, five along the back, and a row of four 
 others on each side : there are also twenty-five, much 
 smaller ones, forming the margin of the shell. The size 
 and thickness of the plates depend on the magnitude and 
 age of the animal, a fresh layer being produced every 
 year ; and at the margin of the large plates may be seen 
 distinctly the edges of the layers as they thin off in suc- 
 cession. Sometimes, however, large plates are met with, 
 so thin as to consist, apparently, of only a single layer. 
 The cause of this anomaly I do not know ; but some of 
 the dealers in this article have an opinion that these thin 
 plates are the produce of full-grown tortoises that have 
 been stripped of their plates the year before, either pur- 
 posely or by accident. 
 
 The plates are separated by placing the arch of the 
 shell (all the other parts having been removed) over a 
 fire, which soon causes them to start from the bone, by 
 the help of a slender knife. The price of rough tortoise- 
 shell depends on its quality, that is, on its thickness, and 
 the vividness and distinctness of the colours. The present 
 price for fine shell is about three guineas a pound. Not 
 unfrequently the plates are considerably injured by bar- 
 
ON HORN AND TORTOISESHELL. 
 
 345 
 
 nacles, limpets, and other shell-fish, which fix themselves 
 on the animal while alive, and prevent the growth of the 
 tortoiseshell on that part which they occupy. Sometimes 
 one or more of the plates will be of a plain yellow colour ; 
 and such are in great request among the Spanish ladies, 
 who will give twelve or fourteen dollars for a comb of 
 plain tortoiseshell, while a similar one of the mottled 
 kind will not sell for more than six dollars. The belly- 
 plates of the tortoise are also yellow, and sometimes clear 
 enough to be made use of. 
 
 The general mode of manufacturing tortoiseshell is 
 the same as I have already described when treating of 
 horn. It is softened by boiling in water; but mere water 
 takes away much of the colour : an addition of common 
 salt prevents this injury ; but if too strong a brine is used 
 the shell will be very brittle. Two or more pieces of 
 tortoiseshell may be joined by laying their scraped or 
 thinned edges together, and then pressing them between 
 hot iron. If, however, the heat is too great, the colours 
 are much deepened so as to become almost black, as is 
 the case with moulded snuff-boxes; for tortoiseshell 
 being less fusible than horn, cannot be made soft enough 
 to be moulded without some injury to the colour. Ac- 
 cordingly the manufacturers, at least in England, never 
 attempt to produce tortoiseshell combs with ornamental 
 open work by means of dies, but in the following manner. 
 
 A paper being pasted over the tortoiseshell, the pat- 
 tern is drawn on the paper, and is then cut out by means 
 of drills and fine saws : the paper is then removed by 
 steeping in water, and the surface of the pattern is finished 
 by the graver. 
 
 In making small side-combs, it is found worth while, 
 in order to save a costly material, to employ a machine 
 
346 
 
 ON HORN AND TORTOISESHELL. 
 
 consisting of a cutter working straight up and down, and 
 of a bed (on which the shell is laid), to which is given a 
 motion advancing by alternate inclination, first to one side 
 and then to the other. By this means the teeth of two 
 combs are cut at the same time, those of the one occupy- 
 ing the intervals of the other. Such combs are called 
 parted, the saw not being used upon them ; and are often 
 made of fine stained horn instead of tortoiseshell. Tor- 
 toiseshell is also used for inlaying tables, cabinets, and 
 other ornamental articles, a metallic foil being placed 
 below it to give lustre and colour. This employment of 
 it appears to be coming at present considerably into 
 fashion. 
 
 Among the Romans of the Augustan age, this taste 
 was not so much a fashion as a fury. The frames of 
 the couches on which they reclined at table were covered 
 with the largest and most beautiful plates that could be 
 procured of tortoiseshell ; # and it was employed for 
 various other similar purposes : but I am not aware that 
 it was ever used by them as a material for combs. It 
 was brought by Indian and Arabian traders from the 
 islands in the Indian Sea to Adulis,f in Abyssinia, toge- 
 ther with ivory, rhinoceroses' horns, and hippopotamuses' 
 
 * Attonitus pro 
 Electro signisq. suis Phrygia columna 
 Atq. Ebore, et lata Testudine — Juven. xiv. 306. 
 Ut Testudineo tibi, Lentule, conopeo 
 
 Nobilis Euryalura myrmillonem exprimat infans. — Ibid. vi. 80. 
 
 Gemmantes prima fulgent Testudine lecti — Mart. xii. 66. 
 
 Et Testudineum mensus quater hexaclinon — Ibid. ix. 60. 
 
 Varios — pulcbra Testudine postes. — Georg. ii. 463. 
 f Opidum Aduliton — maximum hie emporium Trogloditarum, etiam 
 ./Ethioprum. — Deferunt plurimum Ebur, Rhinocerotum cornua, Hippopota- 
 morum coria, chelyon Testudinum. — Plin. Hist. Nat. vi. 34. 
 
ON HORN AND TORTOISESHELL. 
 
 347 
 
 hides. Here it was purchased by Egyptian merchants, 
 was transmitted to Alexandria, and thence passed to 
 Rome and the other great cities of the empire. For 
 modern uses, thick tortoiseshell is more valuable in pro- 
 portion than thin ; but among the Romans, where it was 
 used only for inlaying, veneers were cut out of it. This 
 art was the invention of one Corvilius Pollio, a man, as 
 Pliny J says, of singular sagacity in all things that 
 ministered to prodigal luxury. !• 
 
 Whalebone^ as I have already stated, may be con- 
 sidered as a kind of horn ; which latter substance it re- 
 sembles perfectly, both in its chemical and principal phy- 
 sical properties, and is particularly interesting as forming 
 the transition from horn to hair. 
 
 It is the substitute for teeth in the Greenland whale, 
 and in the black southern whale ; but is not found in any 
 of the cetaceous animals that have teeth. 
 
 The food of the Greenland whale is a small crusta- 
 ceous animal not so large as a common shrimp ; and 
 the whalebone forms the apparatus by which this huge 
 animal secures the minute prey that he lives on. From 
 the roof of the mouth hang down on each side the tongue 
 about three hundred blades of whalebone, all the blades 
 on one side being parallel to each other, and at right 
 angles to the jaw-bone. On account of the arched form 
 of the roof of the mouth, the blades about the middle of 
 
 * Testudinum putamina secare in laminas, lectosque et repositoria hts 
 vestire, Corvilius Pollio instituit, prodigi et sagacis ad lux.uvi?e instrumenta. 
 ingenii. — Plin. Hist. Nat. ix. 13. # 
 VOL. LII. A A 
 
348 
 
 ON HORN AND TORTOISESHELL, 
 
 the series are the longest, and they diminish gradually 
 towards each end. The average length of the middle 
 blades is about nine feet ; but they have occurred of the 
 length of fourteen or fifteen feet. These blades hang 
 down in the mouth so that the hairy side shall be the 
 innermost ; the hairs forming a net or filter through 
 which the water escapes, leaving the shrimps behind. 
 
 The surface of the blade is compact, and susceptible 
 of a high polish by mere friction. Its texture is lamellar 
 in the direction of its breadth, so that it easily splits and 
 divides in this direction, but not in that of the thickness 
 of the blade : the middle of the blade is of a looser texture 
 than the rest, and is technically called the grain, being 
 composed of coarse, bristly hairs. The general colour 
 of whalebone is a dusky greyish black, intermixed 
 with thin strips, or layers of a paler colour, which are 
 often almost white — very rarely the entire flake is milk- 
 white. 
 
 The preparation of the whalebone for use is very 
 simple. It is boiled in water for several hours, by which 
 it becomes soft enough to be cut up, while hot, in lengths 
 of different dimensions, according to the use to which it 
 is to be applied ; or, by means of a compound guarded 
 knife, is cut into fibres for brushes, which are at present 
 extensively used in stables for the first process in cleaning 
 a horse. Whalebone that has been boiled, and has be- 
 come cold again, is harder and of a deeper colour than 
 at first ; but the jet-black whalebone has been dyed. 
 The principal consumption of whalebone at present is for 
 stretchers to umbrellas and parasols: it is also used, 
 though not so much as formerly, in giving stiffness to 
 women's stays. Whips are also made of platted whale- 
 
ON HORN AND TORTOISESHELL, 
 
 349 
 
 bone, both black and white : the latter are very beautiful. 
 White whalebone has also been made into ladies' bonnets, 
 and likewise into artificial flowers, as its texture is well 
 adapted to this purpose ; and it will, by the usual dyeing 
 processes, take very bright and durable colours. 
 
BONE AND ITS USES IN THE ARTS. 
 
 By THE SECRETARY. 
 Read 13th November, 1838, and 8th January, 1839. 
 
 Most animal bodies are composed of soft and hard parts ; 
 of the latter, some are hard only when of a certain thick- 
 ness, but when thin are tough and more or less flexible 
 and elastic : such as the horns of all mammalia (except 
 of the stag tribe) ; the claws of the lion and tiger ; the 
 talons of the eagle ; the horn of the rhinoceros ; the 
 coriaceous covering of tortoises and crocodiles ; and the 
 scales of fishes. 
 
 All these, by exposure to a gradually increasing heat, 
 soften, enter into pasty fusion, give out the odour of 
 burnt feathers, burn with jets of flame, and are con- 
 sumed, leaving behind a very small proportion of earthy 
 matter. 500 grains of horn leave not more than from 
 0*25 to 2 of phosphate of lime. Boiling-water, after long 
 action, takes up from most of them scarcely any quantity 
 of soluble matter, but they are perfectly soluble in caustic 
 alkali, and the solution gives, with acids, a curdy pre- 
 cipitate. They are considered, therefore, as composed 
 of condensed membrane, or, in chemical language, of 
 albumen. 
 
ON BONE AND ITS USES IN THE ARTS. 351 
 
 Other hard parts are rigid, considerably harder than 
 the former : when dry, and in many cases when wet, they 
 are very slightly flexible or elastic ; and when struck by 
 a hammer, or when bent beyond their power of resist- 
 ance, break short with a splintery surface. When exposed 
 to a red heat, with access of air, the membranous or 
 animal part is destroyed ; but the earthy part remains in 
 sufficiently abundant quantity to retain the external form, 
 and generally the internal structure, of the entire sub- 
 stance, of which calcined bone and calcined oyster-shell 
 are examples. The original hardness of these parts is 
 owing to the abundance of earthy matter that enters into 
 their composition. When such parts are on the outside 
 of the body, they are called, in common language, shells, 
 horns, teeth, according to their position ; and the uses 
 for which they seem intended. When they occur within 
 the body, they are called bones. 
 
 If, however, we restrict the term bone to its common 
 meaning, we shall exclude the horns of the stag kind, 
 and the substance which forms the body of most teeth, 
 both which are truly bone, and shall include some sub- 
 stances, such as cuttle-fish bone, which is truly shell. 
 
 It is, therefore, necessary to enter into a more minute 
 examination and comparison of these hard substances, in 
 order to ascertain which of them are shell and which 
 bone ; and, as the result of our inquiry, we shall probably 
 find, with respect to this class of natural bodies as with 
 many others, that although the two extremes of the series 
 are readily enough distinguishable from each other, yet 
 they approach by such insensible intermediate grada- 
 tions, as to render it impossible to say where the one 
 begins and the other ends. 
 
 There is a class of shells comprising most of the uni- 
 
352 
 
 ON BONE AND ITS USES IN THE ARTS. 
 
 valves, which are harder than other shells, and when 
 broken present thick, parallel layers, the layers them- 
 selves having usually a finely fibrous structure at right 
 angles to the external surface. These fibres may often 
 be seen to be nothing more than the transverse section 
 of thin transparent parallel lamellae, which, when viewed 
 on their broad surfaces, often exhibit the usual natural 
 joints of calcareous spar. "When such a fracture is viewed 
 by the naked eye, it has a good deal the appearance of 
 porcelain, — whence their name of porcellanous shells. 
 When carefully cleansed from all remains of the animal 
 which inhabited them, they give out scarcely any per- 
 ceptible odour on being made red hot, though their 
 colour becomes somewhat grey. When unaltered they 
 dissolve in dilute acid with much effervescence of carbonic 
 acid gas, and a few hardly appreciable gelatinous flocks 
 remain undissolved. These latter, on being collected and 
 washed, give out, when heated, a faint odour of burnt 
 animal matter, and become black before they are con- 
 sumed. By proper chemical tests the soluble part of the 
 shell is proved to have been carbonate of lime or chalk, 
 the particles of which were cemented together with a 
 very minute portion of animal mucus. 
 
 Another class of shells is the nacreous, so called from 
 the varying and iridescent colours that they exhibit, re- 
 sembling those of nacre, or mother-of-pearl ; this very 
 substance being, indeed, only a part of a nacreous shell. 
 
 These, when heated in a crucible, give out the odour 
 of burnt feathers, often with a perceptible smoke, become 
 of a dark-grey colour; and when submitted in this state 
 to the action of acids, there remains undissolved a notable 
 quantity of charcoal. In the recent state they effervesce 
 with weak acids ; and when the calcareous matter has 
 
ON BONE AND ITS USES IN THE ARTS. 
 
 353 
 
 been removed, there remains a series of flexible, mem- 
 branous, or semigelatinous lamellae, lying parallel to 
 one another, and representing the form of the entire 
 shell. These lamellae have sometimes a distinctly fibrous 
 structure, parallel to the surface of the shell ; and though 
 quite flexible while moist, they shrivel on drying, and 
 become hard like horn, — a substance to which they bear 
 the greatest possible analogy. The nacreous shells, there- 
 fore, are always very finely lamellar in structure, and are 
 represented by some as composed of alternate layers of 
 membrane and carbonate of lime ; but the more probable 
 opinion is, that the calcareous matter is intimately mixed 
 with the membrane, rather than distinct from it. These 
 shells increase in size, in order to accommodate them- 
 selves to the growth of the animal, by the deposition of 
 new and larger layers from within ; and hence the exter- 
 nal surface is covered by concentric furrows or wrinkles, 
 marking the outer margin of each successive layer. 
 
 Between the two classes of shells that I have described 
 are others, the minute structure of which I am ignorant 
 of, but which differ considerably in the proportion and 
 condition of their membranous ingredient. 
 
 Thus it appears that all shells, how much soever they 
 may differ from one another in structure, agree in con- 
 taining carbonate of lime as their only earthy ingredient ; 
 and an animal substance, nearly resembling if not iden- 
 tical with, horn or membrane, as their consolidating or 
 agglutinating ingredient. 
 
 Exactly the same substances, namely, carbonate of 
 lime and membrane, in various proportions, form the 
 constituent materials of the madrepores and other hard 
 corals. 
 
 On examining the hard covering of aquatic crusta- 
 
354 
 
 ON BONE AND ITS USES IN THE ARTS. 
 
 ceous animals, such as the crabs and lobsters, we find, 
 after the action of acids, that there remains a whitish, soft, 
 elastic cartilage, which represents the original shape of 
 the part, and that the acid solution not only contains 
 lime that had been in the state of carbonate in the ori- 
 ginal shell or covering, but likewise phosphate of lime, 
 although in smaller proportion than the carbonate. The 
 presence of this earthy salt forms an essential difference 
 in chemical composition between proper shell and the 
 covering of the Crustacea, which latter substance may 
 thus be considered as holding an intermediate position 
 between shell and bone. 
 
 Some of the corallines, chiefly those belonging to the 
 genera Gorgonia and Antipathes, approach still nearer in 
 chemical composition to bone ; and, indeed, are hardly to 
 be distinguished from it, their earthy part being phos- 
 phate of lime with only a small admixture of carbonate, 
 their figure and structure being represented by dense 
 membrane, and, when boiled, they give out a notable 
 quantity of true jelly, which, like other kinds of animal 
 jelly, has the property of forming a precipitate with in- 
 fusion of galls or of oak-bark. 
 
 The proportion of membrane in these substances 
 varies considerably, so that while one species almost ex- 
 actly agrees in composition with the horn of the stag, 
 others contain so much membrane in proportion to earthy 
 matter, as to be nearly identical with the bone of the 
 cartilaginous fishes. 
 
 If a piece of true bone, in an unaltered state, be put 
 into weak acid (muriatic acid, on the whole, is the best), a 
 moderate degree of effervescence will take place, shewing 
 the presence of some carbonate. By a continuance of this 
 process for some days all effervescence and chemical action 
 
ON BONE AND ITS USES IN THE ARTS. 
 
 355 
 
 will cease : what remains undissolved will still represent 
 the size and form of the original bone ; but it will be semi- 
 transparent, will exhibit a distinctly cellular structure, will 
 be soft, flexible, and, to a certain degree, elastic. If, after 
 being washed, it is boiled in water, it will be found to be 
 in part soluble ; and the solution, when boiled down to a 
 proper consistence, will become viscid, and will gelatinize 
 on cooling, and by drying will be brought to the state of 
 hard glue. This jelly, when again dissolved in water, 
 will become curdy and will give a grey precipitate with 
 nutgall, and will exhibit all the other physical and che- 
 mical properties of gelatin : the remaining portion in- 
 soluble in water will become hard and somewhat brittle 
 by drying, will burn in the fire like a piece of horn, will 
 dissolve in caustic, fixed alkali forming a saponaceous 
 liquid, and will shew all the other properties of albumen 
 or membrane. 
 
 The acid in which the bone was first steeped will give 
 an abundant white precipitate of phosphate of lime by 
 means of caustic ammonia, and will give a much smaller 
 precipitate of carbonate of lime by carbonate of am- 
 monia. Thus, by the action of a few simple re-agents, 
 the essential constituents of bone are demonstrated. In 
 this summary I have taken no notice of the oil or fat 
 which is contained in the internal bones of all mam- 
 miferous animals, because it seems to be by no means an 
 essential part of bone ; the horn of the stag and of other 
 animals of the same kind being entirely free from it. 
 On this account it is that hartshorn jelly, made by 
 boiling the shavings of stags' horn in water, is often 
 recommended to persons of very weak digestion in pre- 
 ference to other animal jellies, as being absolutely free 
 from oil ; for, though hard fat is incapable of dissolving 
 
356 ON BONE AND ITS USES IN THE ARTS. 
 
 in jelly, yet the softer oily fats will combine with it in 
 small proportion. 
 
 But, although it is impossible to draw any marked 
 line of chemical distinction between true bone and the 
 indurated membranous textures that I have already 
 mentioned, yet the mode of their origin furnishes a real 
 and very important difference. 
 
 Of the organisation of coralline bodies, indeed, we 
 know nothing ; for scarcely any of them have been even 
 superficially examined when alive, and, when dried, all 
 trace of structure in the soft parts is completely 
 obliterated. 
 
 But with regard to the production of shell, both in 
 univalve and bivalve testacea, we are certain that it 
 never, as such, forms a constituent part of the living 
 animal. A viscid fluid is secreted by certain organs ; 
 and it is only when discharged from the body that it 
 assumes the consistence and other characters of shell : 
 therefore, although we may with perfect propriety speak 
 of the structure of shell, as we speak of the structure 
 (that is of the mechanical arrangement of constituent 
 particles) of a crystal, it would be a gross misapplication 
 of terms to speak of the organisation of shell ; this latter 
 meaning such an arrangement as is compatible with 
 and necessary for the performance of vital functions. 
 Shell is essentially a dead body, or rather one which 
 never was alive ; for though naturalists and collectors 
 well know the difference between what they call a dead 
 shell and another, they mean by this expression merely 
 to point out the difference between an empty shell and 
 one the inhabitant of which was alive at the time of its 
 capture. 
 
 The way in which the hard covering of the Crustacea 
 
ON BONE AND ITS USES IN THE ARTS. 357 
 
 is annually formed (for these creatures change their shell 
 every year) has not been sufficiently examined to ascer- 
 tain whether it is at first a mere exudation which hardens 
 out of the body of the animal, or is an induration of the 
 cuticle by the deposition in its pores of calcareous matter 
 conveyed thither by proper secreting vessels. If the 
 former is the case, the shell of the Crustacea is analogous 
 to that of the testacea ; if the latter, it somewhat resem- 
 bles bone in the mode of its formation. 
 
 With regard to bone itself, there is no doubt that it is 
 as truly organised and vital as any other part of the 
 body. As soon as the rudiments of a young animal can 
 be distinguished before its birth, the place of the future 
 bone is indicated by a soft or semi-fluid matter inclosed 
 in a delicate membrane : by degrees both the membrane 
 and the matter which it incloses become more dense and 
 cartilaginous ; opaque white spots then appear, which 
 soon after are penetrated by vessels carrying red blood : 
 the deposition of bone then begins, and at the same time 
 the cartilage seems to be gradually replaced by mem- 
 brane. The rudimental bone, which at first was solid, 
 now begins, at least in the long bones, to exhibit an 
 internal cavity or hollow axis ; thus shewing that, while 
 fresh matter is continually depositing to supply the 
 growth of the bone, that which had been already de- 
 posited is removed, and that this latter process takes 
 place in the interior of the bone at a greater rate than 
 the other does. The activity of the two vital processes of 
 deposition and removal, or, to speak in technical lan- 
 guage, of secretion and absorption, is, of course, pro- 
 portioned to the rapidity of growth ; so that, during the 
 early periods of life, the bones participate with the soft 
 parts of the body in the continual change and flux that 
 
358 
 
 ON BONE AND ITS USES IN THE ARTS. 
 
 is taking place within them. When the full stature of 
 the animal is attained, these two actions probably di- 
 minish in rapidity, but still are kept up sufficiently to 
 preserve the life of the part. As old age approaches, the 
 removal of the earthy ingredient of bone seems to become 
 more difficult ; its proportion, therefore, to the mem- 
 branous ingredient increases, and hence the bones of old 
 animals are harder, of greater specific gravity, and more 
 brittle than those of younger ones. 
 
 That very remarkable natural process, namely, the 
 annual renewal of the bony horns of the stag and other 
 animals of the deer tribe, is, perhaps, the most striking 
 example and illustration of the circumstances necessary 
 to the formation of bone. These horns arise from a short 
 process or pedestal projecting from a bone forming the 
 upper part of the skull, and called the frontal bone. At 
 the season of the year when the horns are about to be 
 renewed, an increase of vital action takes place in the 
 bone, and a faint red line, indicating the presence of 
 blood-vessels, will be perceived in making a longitudinal 
 section of the bottom of the horn and the base on which 
 it stands ; the situation of this red line, indicating pre- 
 cisely the boundary between the dead horn and the live 
 bone : absorption of part of the bone takes place, which 
 loosens the adhesion of the horn to it, in consequence of 
 which this latter falls by any accidental shock which it 
 receives. The spongy tissue of blood-vessels, w T hich may 
 now be seen covering the end of the bony base, is soon 
 entirely covered by the growth of the external skin ; and 
 this may be considered as terminating the first part of the 
 process. Soon afterwards a small tubercle arises from 
 the end of the bone, and presses upwards the skin which 
 covers it : the tubercle rapidly elongates, the skin ex- 
 
ON BONE AND ITS USES IN THE ARTS. 
 
 359 
 
 tends with it, and in the course of a few weeks it has 
 assumed the size and shape of the future horn : in this 
 state it is covered by the attenuated skin, which latter has 
 pushed out an abundant growth of short fine hairs re- 
 sembling the pile of velvet. Beneath this skin is a layer 
 of blood-vessels, the diameter of some of which is equal to 
 that of the little finger ; these rest on a thin layer of 
 dense membrane, of the same nature as that which covers 
 ordinary bones, and called the periosteum ; and within the 
 periosteum itself is a flexible cartilage, penetrated in all 
 directions by ramifications from the blood-vessels already 
 mentioned. 
 
 In this state the future horn is very tender and ex- 
 quisitely sensible, it bleeds when the skin is broken, and 
 the animal often suffers much in this part from the bites 
 of gadflies and other insects. When the cartilage has 
 attained its full growth, ossification begins by the de- 
 position of phosphate of lime, and goes on till the bone 
 or horn has acquired its complete hardness. During this 
 process, a ring of bony beads has been forming at the 
 base of the horn, in the intervals between which the main 
 trunks of the blood-vessels lie : these beads enlarge by 
 the continual addition of bony matter, and in so doing 
 compress the adjacent sides of the blood-vessels, and thus 
 diminish the supply of blood ; at length the sides of these 
 vessels are quite squeezed together, circulation ceases, 
 and all the soft parts die, shrivel, and dry up, and are 
 rubbed off by the animal against the bough of a tree, 
 leaving the dead bone, or horn, attached by its base to 
 the frontal bone ; till, after some months, the time for 
 shedding it again comes round, when a repetition of the 
 processes already described takes place. 
 
 Bones, even of the same animal, vary much in struc- 
 
360 
 
 ON BONE AND ITS USES IN THE ARTS, 
 
 ture and in hardness, and no doubt in the relative pro- 
 portion of their component parts, according to the si- 
 tuation in which they are placed and the use to which 
 they are put. Thus the shafts of the long bones, being 
 wanted chiefly for support, are more or less in the form 
 of a hollow cylinder, and the texture of the bone itself is 
 dense and compact. Those parts of bones that form the 
 joints or articulating surfaces by which one is hinged on 
 to another require a considerable space for the joint, and 
 for the attachment of ligaments ; but as a degree of 
 strength proportioned to its thickness is not wanted, the 
 structure becomes cellular. A similar structure is ob- 
 servable in the flat bones, which consist of two thin 
 parallel tables of dense bone, having a cellular part in- 
 terposed between them. Hence, in utensils made of 
 bone, the compact cylindrical ones are generally em- 
 ployed, both as being stronger and admitting of a more 
 uniform and higher polish. 
 
 The bones of animals belonging to the same general 
 class of nature are commonly observed to have certain 
 points of general resemblance, by which they may be 
 distinguished from one another, and are applied by man 
 to various uses corresponding with such differences. 
 Thus, the bones of fishes are softer > more flexible, and 
 contain a much larger proportion of jelly and membrane, 
 or, which comes to the same thing, a much smaller pro- 
 portion of earthy matter, than those of the mammalia or 
 warm-blooded quadrupeds ; and the bones of these latter, 
 comparatively dense and hard as they are, fall consi- 
 derably short in density and hardness of the bones of 
 birds, which, however, are generally too small and thin to 
 be applied to much use in the arts. 
 
 Bone undergoes, much more slowly than the soft 
 
ON BONE AND ITS USES IN THE ARTS. 361 
 
 parts of animals do, the process of spontaneous decom- 
 position ; meaning, by this term, that disintegration of a 
 compound which takes place either by the chemical re- 
 action of its ingredients on one another, or by means of 
 air, moisture, and common temperatures. The bones of a 
 human body buried in a churchyard are, perhaps, mostly 
 consumed in twenty or thirty years ; yet under favourable 
 circumstances they will endure for a much longer time 
 with but little change. Thus, in the charnel-house at 
 Morat in Switzerland, there still remain many bones of 
 the soldiers of Charles the Bold's army, who perished 
 there in 1438, being 401 years ago. When Sir Christopher 
 Wren was rebuilding .St. Paul's Church after the great 
 fire of London, the workmen in digging for the found- 
 ations came to the floor of a Roman temple, dedicated to 
 the goddess Diana, on which were the horns of stags and 
 bones of other animals. Tombs of the ancient inhabitants 
 of this island are occasionally opened, in which are found 
 bones that have been deposited there during many cen- 
 turies ; and I have the pleasure of exhibiting to you part 
 of a carved bone spoon (discoloured and passing to a 
 state of decomposition, it is true), which was found in 
 an Etrurian tomb at Vulsinum, in Italy, possibly as 
 ancient as the foundation of Rome. In the valley of the 
 Lea are many peat mosses, the remains of ancient forests, 
 now covered to the depth of several feet with alluvial 
 silt. Many of these have of late years been dug into* on 
 occasion of making docks and other excavations ; and in 
 or upon them have been found the osseous remains of 
 boars, stags, and other animals, which have lain there 
 from the time that these creatures roamed wild in the 
 immediate neighbourhood of London. Not only the re- 
 mains of individuals belonging to species now extant are 
 
362 
 
 ON BONE AND ITS USES IN THE ARTS. 
 
 still found, after being buried for centuries, but the bones 
 of species now extinct, and many of which, judging from 
 the habits of species nearly allied to them and now living, 
 can scarcely exist except in warm climates, are found 
 abundantly in the British islands, and in all parts of 
 Europe. Remains of a large animal of the ox tribe are 
 found in Essex. Elephants, hippopotamuses, and rhin- 
 oceroses, differing in many respects from any now known 
 to exist, are also found in the same county, and in other 
 places near London. Hysenas and tigers, also, of extinct 
 species, occur in the cavern of Kirkdale, in Yorkshire, 
 and in other caverns in the west of England ; and in 
 certain caverns in Germany are found the remains of two 
 species of bear, differing, in some anatomical details, 
 from any known living species of the same genus. There 
 is no evidence that the human race was Contemporary 
 with these creatures ; and yet, notwithstanding the 
 enormous length of time that must have elapsed since the 
 deposit of the animals in the places where their bones are 
 now found, many of them are in a state apparently of 
 almost perfect preservation. Membrane and jelly still 
 remain in the bones ; but the oil or fat, being uncom- 
 bined with earthy matter, has disappeared. 
 
 In what I have hitherto said, I have alluded very 
 slightly to the use of bone in the arts, which was the 
 ostensible object of the present illustration ; for I confess 
 that I have not unwillingly been tempted to enter into 
 the preceding physiological and other details, in order to 
 relieve the dryness of mere technical description. In 
 what remains I shall treat of the practical part of my 
 subject, beginning with an inquiry into the use of bones 
 as articles of food. 
 
 All animals that eat flesh will likewise eat bones, pro- 
 
ON BONE AND ITS USES IN THE ARTS. 
 
 363 
 
 vided they are of a size to be easily crushed and masti- 
 cated by them ; so when a lion or tiger has taken one of 
 the smaller antelopes, I presume he devours many of the 
 bones along with the flesh, leaving only the spine, skull, 
 and horns. But when he has pulled down a horse or 
 buffalo, the case is different ; the flesh alone of the animal 
 is sufficient for an ample repast ; the leg-bones and ribs 
 are not to be cracked by a single straightforward crush 
 of the jaw ; and the spine, from its awkward shape, as 
 well as by reason of the strong ligaments by which its 
 parts are bound together, may well resist the lazy efforts 
 of an animal already satiated with food^ — not to mention 
 that the great length of the canine-teeth in the larger 
 animals of the cat kind, as well as the small number of 
 their grinders, render the act of gnawing both difficult 
 and unnatural to them. The half-picked carcass, there- 
 fore, falls to the share of the wolves and hyaenas. The 
 former, after tearing off the ligaments of the joints, pro- 
 ceed to separate the bones from each other; and then, by 
 gnawing, grind off the softer parts of the spongy arti- 
 culating surfaces, in which they find a wholesome food. 
 The hysena, with far greater strength of jaw and of teeth 
 than any other animal of his size, goes to work bodily, 
 especially on the ribs and other flat bones, crushing them 
 into large, splintery fragments, and swallowing them in 
 this state, without fear of being choked or injured by 
 their sharp points and rough edges. These two animals, 
 therefore (including the dog, as a sub-species of wolf), are 
 eminently the bone-eaters : the membranous and gela- 
 tinous matter of the bone, being dissolved out by their 
 gastric juice from the earthy portion, undergoes the usual 
 process of digestion ; while the latter, apparently un- 
 altered, passes through the intestinal canal, giving to 
 
 VOL. LII. B B 
 
364 ON BONE AND ITS USES IN THE ARTS. 
 
 their excrements the well-known appearance of half-dried 
 mortar, arid may afterwards be applied to all or any of 
 the purposes for which bone-earth is used. 
 
 Man, the cooking animal, extracts nutriment from 
 bones in a different way. When very hard pressed, 
 indeed, he can stave off famine for a while, as Captain 
 Franklin and his party did more than once in their ex- 
 ploratory arctic expedition, by taking bones, which even 
 the wolves had left, and scorching them so as in some 
 degree to subdue their hardness ; and thus render it 
 possible to gnaw and masticate them as a succedaneum 
 for food, or, at least, as some alleviation of the agonies 
 of famine. 
 
 But the animal matter of bones is best extracted by 
 hot water. Every housekeeper knows that the nutritive 
 quality of meat soups is much increased by boiling the 
 bones together with the meat. In this way, however, 
 only a small proportion of the food contained in the 
 bones is made available ; for part of the gelatin is with 
 difficulty, and the membranous part is not at all, soluble 
 in common boiling water; much even of the fat is locked 
 up in cells of the bone, from which it cannot escape 
 except these cells are broken into. 
 
 The solid part of the long bones contains very little 
 soluble matter ; it would therefore, in most cases, be a 
 matter of economy to exclude them ; the advantage to be 
 derived from them by ordinary treatment not being equal 
 to the value of the fuel which they would require. It is 
 from the enlarged extremities of the long bones and their 
 articulating surfaces that the principal supply of nutritive 
 matter is to be derived : these parts, therefore, should be 
 sawed off from the rest and broken into pieces. From 
 the bones of young animals thus treated, boiling water 
 
ON BONE AND ITS USES IN THE ARTS. 
 
 365 
 
 will, in two or three hours, extract the whole or nearly 
 the whole of the soluble matter : but, in the bones of 
 older animals, the gelatin seems to be in a state of con- 
 densation approaching- to that in which it exists in skin, 
 and therefore requires the long- continued action of 
 boiling water for its separation. By way of experiment, 
 I had the leg-bone of an ox sawed longitudinally and 
 boiled for three or four hours. At the end of this time, 
 the whole of the fat and mucus had been extracted, with 
 part of the jelly. On applying the finger to the cellular 
 part of the bone when wiped dry, I found the surface to 
 be considerably sticky, and, on examining the cells, I 
 found many of them completely filled with a transparent 
 substance scarcely viscid, but much resembling pieces of 
 glue that had been put to soak in cold water ; by which, 
 as every one knows, the glue swells exceedingly by ab- 
 sorption of the water, without, however, becoming viscid. 
 A second boiling for three or four hours in fresh water 
 dissolved out a considerable proportion of the gelatin ; 
 but still the surface of the bone remained sticky, many of 
 the cells had a glazed surface, and, even after a third 
 repetition of the boiling, only a few even of the super- 
 ficial cells were quite empty. It is evident, therefore, 
 that we cannot avail ourselves, with any regard to eco- 
 nomy of fuel, of the whole of the nutritive matter con- 
 tained in bones by the action of boiling water applied in 
 the common way. But by means of a digester — that is, 
 a boiler with a steam-tight cover and a safety-valve — we 
 can without hazard raise the temperature of water from 
 212°, its boiling point in the open air, to 270° or 280°. 
 At a less heat than even the former of these, not only the 
 condensed gelatine but also the membranous part of 
 bones is dissolved, if the bones have previously been 
 
366 
 
 ON BONE AND ITS USES IN THE ARTS. 
 
 reduced to small pieces, and the undissolved residue will 
 be found to be a friable crumbling mass with scarcely any 
 remains of animal matter. It appears that bone soups 
 are thus prepared at present at some of the hospitals and 
 military head-quarters in France, and memoirs have been 
 published, stating the advantage of making a collection 
 of dry bones as part of the provisions of a garrison in 
 case of siege, being a kind of food scarcely susceptible of 
 decomposition or of destruction by rats or mice, and 
 which would require no other magazine than simply 
 making them into stacks and covering them with a roof 
 of thatch or any other material. Complaints, it is true, 
 are made of the burnt flavour which such soups are liable 
 to have, and perhaps it may not be very easy to regulate 
 the temperature of the water in the digester so as to avoid 
 the empyreumatic flavour, and at the same time completely 
 to extract from the bones the animal matter. On this 
 account it is that another scheme has been proposed, 
 namely, to put the bones, after soup has been made of 
 them by boiling in the common way, into a stone trough, 
 and then pour on them very dilute muriatic acid. By 
 repeating this process in the cold a sufficient number of 
 times, the whole of the earthy matter will be dissolved 
 out, and probably without much, if any, injury to the 
 animal matter, which will remain in the form of a porous 
 membrane : by repeated percolations of water the acid 
 would be washed out ; or, if a little should remain, a last 
 sprinkling with a solution of carbonate of soda would 
 convert the acid into common salt. The membrane 
 being now dried in the air will acquire a horny hardness, 
 by which it will be rendered almost incapable of spon- 
 taneous decomposition, and would probably be found to 
 be much more easily convertible into palatable human 
 
ON BONE AND ITS USES IN THE ARTS. 
 
 367 
 
 food by the common processes of cooking than the entire 
 bone. The plan, to say the least of it, is plausible, pro- 
 vided muriatic acid may be had, as it now may be, at a 
 very small cost. 
 
 There is, however, a whole class of animals, the bones 
 of which, without any chemical preparation, are presented 
 to us by nature in a state capable, with very little trouble, 
 of being converted into nourishment. I mean the whole 
 class of fishes. The bones of these creatures contain so 
 little earth, that, by drying and grinding them, a powder 
 is obtained which, when made into cakes with meal, has 
 proved a valuable resource to the people of Norway and 
 Sweden in times of scarcity; and some of them, by simply 
 browning on a gridiron, become quite friable, and, when 
 treated with a proper quantity of pepper and salt, form a 
 very palatable article of food. 
 
368 
 
 ON 
 
 HORN, TORTOISESHELL, AND BONE. 
 
 By THE SECRETARY. 
 
 With regard to the mechanical uses of bone, it may be 
 observed, that the spinous bones in the back-fins and 
 tail of certain fishes, especially the serrated tail-spine of 
 the sting-ray, and of some others of the same species, 
 from their size, sharpness, hardness, and toughness, have 
 been used for pointing arrows or spears by some of the 
 ancient nations, as they are at present by many savage 
 tribes, forming weapons of the most formidable description, 
 from the jagged, lacerated wounds which they produce. 
 The serrated teeth of sharks, inserted on the edge of a 
 staff of heavy wood, afford another instance of animal 
 bone, unchanged in figure by the use of any tool, being 
 employed as the essential part of offensive arms. 
 
 The interior bones of animals are also used for the 
 same purpose ; but to adapt them to this use, they re- 
 quire to be fashioned by rasps and other tools into simple 
 or jagged points. Fish-hooks are also very ingeniously 
 made of the same materials by the inhabitants of some 
 of the South Sea Islands, as well as by the Esquimaux. 
 The latter people, indeed, from their almost total want 
 of wood, are obliged to find substitutes for it in the bones 
 
ON HORN, TORTOISESHELL, AND BONE. 
 
 369 
 
 of whales and the tusks of the walrus, which, accordingly, 
 are the material of many of their domestic and other im- 
 plements. Bone, when thin, has a considerable degree 
 of elasticity ; and this property is ingeniously taken 
 advantage of by the Esquimaux in their fish-spears. 
 
 The bones of fine texture, especially the teeth or tusks 
 of the hippopotamus, the elephant, the walrus, and the 
 narwahl, are an excellent material on which to exercise 
 the arts of carving or sculpture, and of turning in the 
 lathe ; and which has been taken advantage of by many 
 nations in very different states of civilisation. Phidias is 
 said to have used ivory, among other materials, in fabri- 
 cating the colossal statue of Minerva at Athens ; but 
 ivory was not a material on which the sculptors of ancient 
 Greece were fond of exercising their skill. 
 
 The Romans seem to have used ivory, rather as a 
 material for inlaying and otherwise ornamenting fur- 
 niture than for sculpture. The artists of India and China 
 have immemorially been celebrated for their exquisite 
 and intricate sculptures of ivory and bone ; and speci- 
 mens of beautiful chain-work in the same material illus- 
 trate the skill of the artists of Archangel. Other north- 
 ern tribes of the Russian empire amuse themselves, pro- 
 bably during the long leisure of their winters, by repre- 
 senting in rude sculpture the bear, the fox, and other wild 
 animals of the polar regions. In this country ivory and 
 bone are not sculptured, but are turned in the lathe or 
 fashioned by means of other tools into various articles of 
 ornament and use. Thus, tooth and nail-brushes, handles 
 of knives, combs, paper-knives, and a variety of smaller 
 articles, are made of ivory or bone, the latter of which 
 has the advantage of being harder, whiter, and little 
 liable to become yellow with age, and, when employed 
 
370 
 
 ON HORN, TORTOIS ESHELL, AND BONE. 
 
 on small objects, may be had of a grain nearly as fine as 
 ivory. 
 
 The scrapings, shavings, or sawdust of bone is an 
 article that bears a good price in the market, being much 
 used by pastrycooks and others as a material for jelly, 
 which it readily gives out to boiling water. The jelly 
 thus produced is probably quite as good as that from 
 calf's foot ; and the shavings, when dry, have the ad- 
 vantage over calf's foot of not suffering any change by 
 keeping. Another use, of considerable importance, to 
 which bone-shavings are applied, is in case-hardening 
 small articles of steel. 
 
 Bones have always been used as one of the ingredients 
 of that multifarious mixture of offal of all kinds — a dung- 
 hill; but it is only of late years that their extraordinary 
 value as a manure has been fully ascertained. About 
 forty years ago, an acquaintance of mine was cultivating 
 a small estate of his own, and, from not having been 
 originally brought up to farming, was the more ready to 
 try novel experiments. A pack of hounds was kept in 
 his neighbourhood ; and this furnished him with an op- 
 portunity of obtaining at small cost the bones of the old 
 horses and other animals that were slaughtered for food 
 to the dogs. He invented, or got made for him, a ma- 
 chine for crushing the bones ; and then spread them, as 
 a top-dressing, on a grass field, the soil of which was a 
 sour, red clay, that produced nothing but dyers'- broom, 
 and the other weeds that usually grow on such soil along 
 with the coarsest grasses. The effect produced by the 
 bones was strikingly evident in the next spring: the 
 dyers'-broom and other weeds had mostly disappeared, 
 and a close undergrowth of clover and fine grasses was 
 making its appearance. The animal matter of the bones 
 
ON HORN, TORTOISESHELL, AND BONE. 
 
 371 
 
 no doubt contributed much to this striking amelioration ; 
 but the earth of the bones, especially the phosphate of lime, 
 also bore its share in it, as this earthy salt is found in the 
 ashes of clover, and probably of other plants. Many of 
 our limestones are little else than a congeries of the or- 
 ganic remains of corals and other animals ; and the late 
 Professor Turner detected the presence of phosphate of 
 lime in the Saurian remains thnt abound in the lias 
 limestone. Many of the corallines, as I have already 
 stated, contain as much phosphate of lime as the bones 
 of mammalia do : it is probable, therefore, that in the 
 coralline limestones also phosphate of lime might be found 
 if it was specially searched for ; and to the presence of 
 this, if authenticated, may, perhaps, be attributed some 
 of the effects on vegetation which agricultural chemists 
 are in the habit of accounting for by the action of caustic 
 lime, or of its carbonate. 
 
 I do not know if bones are valued as a manure in 
 any part of the continent of Europe ; but it is certain 
 that of late years they have attracted, in a very particular 
 degree, the attention of the English farmer. Bones are 
 collected in the streets of London, and other great towns, 
 and after being sorted, those that are not required for 
 other purposes are used as manure. In the Thames, 
 above London Bridge, may almost always be seen a few 
 sloops and cutters, chiefly from Hull, which are occupied 
 in this trade. They take the bones on board generally 
 in a more or less putrid state, and stow them in bulk in 
 the hold : here they soon begin to ferment, giving out an 
 odour by which the bone-ships are detected at a consider- 
 able distance ; and when the cargo is discharged at Hull, 
 it is frequently reeking and smoking hot from decom- 
 position. This probably softens the texture of the bones, 
 
372 
 
 ON HORN, TORTOISESHELL, AND BONE. 
 
 and renders them more easy to be crushed in the mill 
 through which they are passed previous to disposing of 
 them to the farmers. They are employed chiefly in two 
 ways, either as a top-dressing to grass land, or are drilled 
 with turnip-seed, the plants from which, under the stimu- 
 lating elFect of this powerful manure, quickly pass through 
 their first stage into the rough leaf, and thus, in a great 
 measure, avoid the attacks of the fly and other insects by 
 which young turnip-plants of tardy growth are often en- 
 tirely cut off. Our native supply of bones is not at pre- 
 sent sufficient to answer the large and increasing demand 
 for them for agricultural use ; and bones are now im- 
 ported from South America and other parts. It is even 
 said that some of the celebrated battle-fields of our own 
 time have furnished considerable supplies of this now 
 valuable commodity. 
 
 I now proceed to describe the action of heat on bones ; 
 first, in the open air, and secondly, in close vessels. 
 
 If we throw into the fire a bone, even of the most 
 solid kind, and from which all oily matter has been care- 
 fully separated (an old toothbrush will serve for an 
 example), it will be found first to crack, and then to 
 burn with a large and bright flame, in consequence of the 
 combustible gases into which the animal matter of the 
 bone is in part resolved. If the bone is taken out of the 
 fire as soon as it ceases to flame, it will be found to be of 
 a bluish-black colour, from the charcoal which is the re- 
 sidue of the decomposition of the animal membrane. If 
 the blackened bone be returned to the fire, the whole of 
 the charcoal is at length consumed, and nothing remains 
 but the white earth of the bone, commonly called bone- 
 ash. 
 
 If instead of a single one a heap of bones is employed, 
 
ON HORN, TORTOISESHELL, AND BONE. 373 
 
 and a fire is kindled in one part, it will spread by degrees 
 to the whole heap, giving out more or less flame and a 
 strong heat; and in the treeless steppes ofTartary, and 
 the pampas of South America, the inhabitants make up 
 for the want of other fuel by burning the bones of their 
 cattle, it being considered that the bones of an ox will 
 produce heat enough to cook its flesh by. This, there- 
 fore, is another to be added to the many uses of bone. 
 But by burning bone in an open fire, no other product is 
 obtained from it except the ashes, while the horribly 
 noisome odour of the gas which escapes combustion, 
 renders this process a sore nuisance in any inhabited 
 neighbourhood. 
 
 The decomposition of bone by heat in close vessels, 
 whereby the action of atmospheric air is excluded, is well 
 worthy of minute attention, both in consequence of the 
 large scale on which it is carried on as a process of che- 
 mical manufacture, of the importance of the products 
 obtained, and of the interest which it possesses in a 
 scientific point of view. I shall, therefore, conclude this 
 evening's illustration by examining this part of my sub- 
 ject with some minuteness, avoiding, as far as I can, 
 mere chemical details, as being little suited to a miscel- 
 laneous audience. 
 
 The animal matter of bone is the only constituent 
 part of this substance susceptible of decomposition by a 
 heat brought up to low redness : in considering, there- 
 fore, the action of close heat on bone, the earthy ingre- 
 dients may be considered as passive. The animal matter 
 is either a substance analogous to skin, or is a mixture of 
 membrane and jelly : the former opinion is supported by 
 some of the most eminent modern chemists, but it is of 
 no sort of importance to our present purpose which 
 
374 ON HORN, TORTOISESHELL, AND BONE. 
 
 opinion is adopted, as all three substances are composed 
 of the same ultimate elements and nearly in the same 
 proportions. The four simple substances, then, of which 
 the animal matter of bone is composed, are carbon, 
 hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen ; and of these the three 
 latter, when in an uncombined state and at the usual 
 temperature and atmospheric pressure, are in the form of 
 gas. Now, when it happens that three substances, ha- 
 bitually gaseous, are combined with one naturally solid, 
 and when these four substances are likewise capable of 
 uniting together by twos and threes, or, in other words, 
 of forming binary and ternary compounds, the attraction 
 that holds together all the four is easily disturbed by a 
 moderate increase of temperature ; in consequence of 
 which the same elements, by arranging themselves differ- 
 ently, produce two or more different substances. 
 
 This is the case in the present instance. On exposing 
 bone shavings even to a lamp heat, they are observed 
 immediately to become black; shewing that the new 
 compounds that are the result of this decomposition are 
 not capable of combining with the whole of the carbon, 
 but that part remains in the state of charcoal intimately 
 mixed with the earthy matter. This mixture goes by the 
 name of bone-black, or animal charcoal, the uses of which 
 I shall detail by and by. 
 
 Part of the carbon combines with part of the oxygen, 
 and forms carbonic acid, while part of the hydrogen and 
 part of the nitrogen produce ammonia; the carbonic acid 
 and the ammonia, as they are formed, combine and pro- 
 duce carbonate of ammonia, which, therefore, is another 
 of the useful substances resulting from the decomposition 
 of bone. Part of the oxygen and hydrogen combine and 
 produce water; and part of the oxygen, the hydrogen, 
 
ON HORN, TORTOISESHELL, AND BONE. 
 
 375 
 
 and carbon, by combining, produce a volatile oil of a 
 strong and peculiar odour, which goes by the name of 
 animal oil. The remainder of the carbon and hydrogen, 
 with probably some nitrogen, combine and produce an 
 inflammable gas. Thus the decomposition in close vessels 
 of the single substance, bone, produces five new sub- 
 stances; namely, animal charcoal, carbonate of ammonia, 
 animal oil, water, and an inflammable gas. A low red 
 heat volatilises all these substances, except the first; which, 
 therefore, when the process is performed on a large scale 
 in iron vessels, remains in the retort separated from the 
 other four compounds. The water, the carbonate of am- 
 monia, and part of the oil, are condensed, and remain in 
 the receiver; the inflammable gas, holding in solution 
 another part of the oil from which it derives an incon- 
 ceivably nauseous odour, passes off through a pipe, and is 
 either conveyed into the ash-pit of the furnace, whence it 
 is drawn up among the burning fuel and is consumed, or 
 is set fire to as it issues from the mouth of the pipe ; by 
 either of which methods its noisome smell is for the most 
 part avoided. The ammoniacal liquor likewise combines 
 with a little of the oil, from which, however, it may for 
 the most part be separated by redistillation ; enough, 
 however, of the oil remains united with it to produce 
 that particular modification of odour by which spirit of 
 hartshorn (for so this substance is commonly called) is 
 distinguished from pure ammonia ; or, by other processes, 
 unnecessary here to mention, the ammonia is obtained 
 entirely free from the oil. 
 
 I now return to the animal charcoal, which I have al- 
 ready briefly mentioned. When obtained from bone, it is 
 called bone-black ; when from ivory, ivory-black ; the 
 difference between these two being merely that of texture 
 
376 ON HORN, TORTOISESHELL, AND BONE. 
 
 and some slight tint of colour, for they both are an in- 
 timate mixture of carbonate and phosphate of lime with 
 charcoal, resulting from the decomposition of animal 
 matter. Till of late, the only use to which this substance 
 was put was as the basis of black pigments, ivory-black 
 having been first so applied by the celebrated Greek 
 painter, Apelles. 
 
 Some years ago, a German chemist, of the name of 
 Lowitz, settled at Petersburg, discovered that common 
 charcoal, when fresh burnt and in fine powder, has the 
 property of taking away the colour of common vinegar 
 and of several other liquids, and likewise of removing the 
 odour proceeding from vegetable and animal substances 
 in a state of spontaneous decomposition. This interesting 
 and valuable fact was soon applied to the clarification of 
 various liquors in pharmacy, and as an auxiliary in the 
 art of refining sugar. About the year 1811, M. Figuier, 
 of Montpellier, ascertained that charcoal from animal 
 substances not only is equally efficacious when used in 
 considerably smaller proportion than vegetable charcoal, 
 but that it is capable of decolouring many liquors, on 
 which the latter has no sensible effect whatever. This 
 discovery created immediately a demand for bone-black 
 in this country, and in all the other manufacturing coun- 
 tries of Europe, those especially in which refined sugar is 
 obtained either from brown cane-sugar or from the juice 
 of the beet. A considerable difference in efficacy was 
 soon perceived between different parcels of bone charcoal; 
 and chemists of no mean name set themselves to work in 
 order to discover the theory of the decolouring action of 
 charcoal, and some method, if possible, of increasing the 
 efficacy of the inferior varieties of it. It is certain that 
 the more finely divided any given weight of the charcoal 
 
ON HORN, TORTOISESHELL, AND BONE. 
 
 377 
 
 is, the more powerful is its decolouring effect ; and thus 
 the inferiority of those kinds of charcoal that break with 
 a glossy fracture, when compared with those of a dull 
 fracture, is accounted for : the particles of the former 
 being assumed to be nearly solid, and those of the latter 
 to be porous, or, in other words, more minutely divided. 
 In bone charcoal the carbonaceous particles are separated 
 from each other by the large quantity of earth with 
 which they are mixed, and hence the superiority of this 
 to vegetable charcoal seems to resolve itself into a case of 
 very minute division. Still, however, the question re- 
 mains to be answered, What kind of action, chemical or 
 otherwise, is it that exists between charcoal and certain 
 colouring and odorant substances ; and what is the nature 
 of the compounds or mixtures resulting from this action ? 
 It has been ascertained as a fact, though the reason is yet 
 to seek, that wood charcoal ground to fine powder, and 
 then mixed with carbonate of potash and exposed to a 
 red heat, becomes, after the alkali has been washed out 
 from it, nearly as efficacious as bone charcoal ; and that this 
 latter, by a similar treatment, has its clarifying power 
 greatly increased. 
 
 For many uses the presence of the earthy part of 
 bone charcoal is no hinderance, but in those cases in 
 which it would be inconvenient or injurious, it is ne- 
 cessary to steep the charcoal, previously pulverised, in 
 dilute muriatic acid for a day or two, by which the whole 
 of the earth will be dissolved, and may be separated by 
 filtration and subsequent washing from the merely car- 
 bonaceous part, which will be found to have sustained no 
 deterioration of its clarifying power by this treatment. 
 
 A few words yet remain to be said concerning the 
 earthy basis of bones. This, as I have already stated, is a 
 
378 ON HORN, TORTOISES HELL, AND BONE. 
 
 mixture of carbonate and phosphate of lime, the latter 
 salt being in by much the largest proportion. 
 
 Many are the uses to which bone- ash is applied. 
 When ground to moderately fine powder, it is the ma- 
 terial of which the cupels of the gold and silver assayers 
 are made* being at the same time very infusible and 
 sufficiently porous to absorb the litharge and other im- 
 purities, while the fine metal remains on its surface. 
 
 When levigated and washed over, it forms an ex- 
 ceedingly useful polishing powder for plate and other 
 articles. It is likewise the only material from which 
 phosphorus is at present prepared. Part of the phos- 
 phoric acid is separated by the action of sulphuric acid 
 from the lime with which it is combined in the bone-ash ; 
 and this portion, when mixed with charcoal powder and 
 strongly heated in an earthen retort, is decomposed ; the 
 phosphorus is liberated in the form of vapour, and is 
 consolidated by coming in contact with the cold water in 
 which the beak of the retort dips. It is afterwards 
 purified by filtration through leather in hot water, and is 
 finally melted, likewise under water, in conical moulds, 
 by which it assumes the usual appearance of stick 
 phosphorus. 
 
 Many are the things thrown away as useless which, 
 when circumstances allow of their being collected in 
 considerable quantities, are found to be applicable to a 
 variety of useful purposes ; and in none is this observation 
 more remarkably exemplified than in the subject of the 
 present illustration. I have shewn that bone contains a 
 considerable quantity of valuable nutriment, which may 
 be extracted with greater or less ease in proportion as its 
 cohesion is more or less overcome — that in its entire 
 state it forms excellent handles for small brushes, and is 
 
ON HORN, TORTOISESHELL, AND BONE. 379 
 
 also applicable to a variety of other similar uses — that 
 the worker in steel employs it for case-hardening small 
 and delicate articles — that, in proportion to its weight, it 
 is the most valuable and active of all manures, and con- 
 tributes in no inconsiderable degree to improve and 
 increase the agricultural produce of all the districts 
 where it is employed — that, in the absence of other com- 
 bustibles, it may be and is largely used as fuel in the 
 plains of Tartary and South America — that, by its de- 
 composition in close vessels, it produces hartshorn, am- 
 monia, and animal charcoal — and that, when burnt to 
 ashes, it becomes useful to the assayer, furnishes a va- 
 luable polishing powder, and is the material from which 
 phosphorus, that curious and interesting substance, the 
 most combustible of all solids, is produced. 
 
 VOL. LIT. 
 
 cc 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 No. I. 
 
 ON MEANS OF PRESERVING LIFE IN 
 CASES OF SHIPWRECK. 
 
 By the Secretary. 
 
 Nov. 8, 1843. 
 
 T. HOBLYN, ESQ., F.R.S., V.P., IN THE CHAIR. 
 
 Abstract. 
 
 The great loss of valuable lives every year on the 
 British shores attracted the attention of the Society of 
 Arts to this important subject at an early period of its 
 existence, and premiums were accordingly offered by the 
 Society for the discovery of the most effectual means of 
 diminishing the frequency of such distressing calamities. 
 It is agreed by all those who have given their attention 
 to the subject, that the most frequent cases of shipwreck 
 happen within a short distance of shore. 
 
 Lieutenant Bell, in 1791, received fifty guineas from 
 the Society for his method of throwing a line from a 
 stranded ship to the shore ; experiments to test the merit 
 of which were made by a Committee of the Society, by 
 desire of the master-general of the Ordnance. 
 
 The trials were made with a mortar fixed in a boat, 
 moored in the Thames, at about 250 yards from the shore. 
 The mortar was charged with a cast-iron shell filled with 
 lead, to which was attached, by a ring, a deep sea-line 
 to be thrown on shore. The mortar was fixed at an 
 ^ angle of 45°, and the charge of powder was equal to fif- 
 
60 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 teen ounces. On the first trial the ball fell at a distance 
 of 150 yards from the river, and was buried about 18 
 inches in the ground. Lieutenant Bell and a friend, by 
 means of the rope, pulled themselves on shore on a raft 
 formed of a seaman's chest, attached to four casks. 
 
 The next mode brought under notice, of forming a 
 communication between a stranded ship and the shore, 
 was that by means of Captain Dansey's kite, which is 
 composed of a sheet ofholland, 9 feet square, extended 
 by two spars, furnished with a tail five times the length 
 of the kite, and formed of a double cord whipped at equal 
 distances with packthread, so as to form a succession of 
 loops or eyes, into which pieces of wood are thrust to give 
 the required weight. It is also furnished with an appara- 
 tus, including a messenger, which is used for the purpose 
 of causing the kite to fall in a convenient position on the 
 land. Captain Dansey received the Gold Medal for this 
 invention. 
 
 Captain Man by, who is so favourably known to the 
 world for his great exertions in this humane cause, re- 
 ceived the Society's Gold Medal in 1808, for his method 
 of forming a communication between the shore and 
 stranded vessels, which is similar in principle to that of 
 Lieutenant Bell, but is rendered more efficient by im- 
 proved implements and appliances, the chief of which 
 are fully described in the communication. 
 
 His mode of giving signals from the shore to the ship, 
 by means of gestures of the human body, is particularly 
 deserving of attention, and should be introduced gene- 
 rally in the British navy, as well as in the merchant ser- 
 vice. As an instance. A man on shore holding his right 
 arm extended at right angles to his body, means, — " look 
 out for the rope." The same gesture made by a person 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 61 
 
 on board is an acknowledgment that the signal is under- 
 stood ; and so on. 
 
 Another mode of sending a line from a vessel to the 
 shore, or vice versa, is by means of a rocket, to the stick 
 of which is attached a mackarel line. The rocket is fired 
 from a musket. 
 
 From experiments made by the Society of Arts, it 
 was shewn that a rocket, 1 f inches in diameter, will carry 
 a cord quite across the Serpentine River in Hyde Park. 
 
 This invention is due to Mr. Trengrouse of Helston, 
 in Cornwall, for which he received the Society's large 
 Silver Medal and thirty guineas, in 1820. 
 
 The cliff-crane of Mr. Harrison for raising ship- 
 wrecked persons from the beach to the top of inaccessible 
 cliffs, as well as that of J. Johnson, Esq., of Brighton, 
 are also described. 
 
 The beacon on the long sand in the port of Lynn, put 
 up by Mr. Holditch in 1820, and that of Captain Bullock, 
 similar to the above, erected more recently on the Good- 
 win Sands, are also fully described. 
 
 The life-boats or life-rafts of Mr. Shipley (founder of 
 the Society) in 1776 ; of Mr. Boyce in 1814 ; of T. Grant, 
 Esq., in 1817; of Lieutenant Rodger and of Lieutenant 
 T. Cook, in 1818 and 1819; of Captain Gordon, R.N., 
 in 1822; of Lieutenant Ackerly in 1828; of Mr. Can- 
 ning in 1831 ; of Mr. Soper and Commander Rorie, in 
 1837 ; of Commander Beadon in 1843 ; and, lastly, of a 
 very simple buoy by J. Johnston, Esq., of Brighton, are all 
 included in the paper. The several inventors, except Mr. 
 Johnston, have been rewarded by the Society. 
 
 An account of the air-jacket of Mr. Daniell, who re- 
 ceived the Society's Gold Medal in 1807, is described, 
 and also the more improved articles of dress on the same 
 principle, by Mr. Pigot, which are coming into very ex- 
 
62 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 tensive use on account of their simplicity and the small 
 cost at which they are supplied. 
 
 Lieutenant Irvine's floatable trunk is, in the last 
 place, described, which is calculated, not only to preserve 
 apparel, letters, papers, &c, perfectly dry, in case of being 
 thrown overboard, but is also capable of being used as a 
 life-buoy. The largest exhibited before the Society, 
 which is lined with metal, is capable of floating thirty 
 persons. The frame is made of wood, filled in flush with 
 cork, within which is an air casing, extending all over 
 the bottom, top, and sides, and, for ordinary purposes, 
 the interior is lined with Mackintosh cloth. Handles are 
 fixed on the outside for persons immersed in the water to 
 lay hold of. 
 
 No. II. 
 
 ON ELKINGTON'S PROCESS OF COATING IRON 
 WITH ZINC, COPPER, ETC. 
 
 By F. Pellatt. 
 
 Nov. 22, 1843. 
 
 T. HOBLYN, ESQ., F.R.S., V.P., IN THE CHAIR. 
 
 Our present object is to detail the method of pro- 
 tecting iron by coating it with other metals, by means 
 of depositing them from their solutions by an electric 
 current. Iron, from its strength and cheapness, is 
 perhaps the most valuable of all metals, and its appli- 
 cation is now universal ; it seems as essential to the con- 
 venience of man as air or water to his physical wants. 
 The abundant supply of the mineral ore, in connexion 
 with coal, the necessary agent for making it useful, has 
 done much to raise our country to the high standard 
 of political importance it now enjoys among nations. 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 63 
 
 Valuable, however, as this metal is, it has this drawback, 
 that it is subject to decay under almost every circum- 
 stance in which it can be placed, from its strong affinity 
 for oxygen ; and, as this agent is present in air, earth, 
 and water, iron is ever liable to be acted upon by this 
 destructive element. 
 
 Combining with oxygen, iron becomes what we term 
 rusted, and so insinuating and destructive is this agent, 
 that no sooner is one layer of oxide formed than another 
 begins and undermines it, and so on till the iron is com- 
 pletely corroded. 
 
 Seeing how susceptible this metal is of deterioration 
 and decay, it might be thought that much attention had 
 been paid to secure some mode of protecting it, but this 
 has not been the case, probably owing to the extreme 
 cheapness of iron, rendering it necessary that the pro- 
 tecting coating should have, not only the property of 
 indestructibility, but should not add much to the cost 
 of the iron, otherwise it would, in many instances, be 
 cheaper to reinstate it. 
 
 The only means of protecting iron, hitherto in use, 
 are paint and tinning ; both of these methods possess the 
 advantage of cheapness, but not durability. Paint is 
 very easily destroyed, especially if moisture be present, 
 and, therefore, is not fit to protect iron for any length of 
 time, even when exposed to the atmosphere only. 
 
 The coating with tin would be a very efficient method 
 of protecting iron, were it not for the electrical properties 
 of these two metals. Tin is electrically negative to iron, 
 and, by the law of electricity, when metals are in contact, 
 the negative metal is protected at the expense of the 
 positive, and therefore the tin is protected whilst the iron 
 is more readily destroyed by its contact with it ; besides, 
 
64 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 when two metals are in contact, the negative is made 
 more negative, and the positive more positive. 
 
 In proof of this, we have only to refer to the cele- 
 brated experiments of Sir H. Davy. Copper, when 
 alone, is readily acted upon by sea-water ; but in contact 
 with zinc or iron, metals positive to it, they are destroyed, 
 and destroyed much more quickly by their contact with 
 the copper, whilst that metal is rendered more negative 
 by its connexion, and consequently protected. A proof 
 of the operation of this law of electricity may be seen 
 every day, in the state of iron railings which have been 
 let into stone-work with lead, a metal negative to the 
 iron ; it will always be found that the parts in contact 
 or adjacent to the lead are much more corroded than 
 any other part, and this from the lead being negative to 
 the iron, and thus destroying it. It has long been 
 known that zinc, being electrically positive to iron, 
 would by its galvanic influence protect it ; but the in- 
 superable difficulty was the mode of applying it ; for, 
 although zinc melts at a temperature of 773°, it very 
 readily forms an oxide at this high temperature which 
 does not melt. Still, from the importance of the subject, 
 some attention during the last few years has been 
 directed to it, especially in France, and about the year 
 1837 a patent was taken out in that country for covering- 
 iron with zinc, or what was termed galvanising iron ; 
 in this country, a joint-stock company was formed for 
 carrying out the process, some of the leading iron- 
 masters being interested in it ; and so great was the im- 
 portance of the subject then considered, that the enor- 
 mous sum of 100,000/. was to be given for the patent 
 if the process succeeded. After many fruitless attempts 
 to carry it out, it was abandoned, from the difficulty 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 65 
 
 experienced in maintaining the zinc in an unaltered fluid 
 state. This process, however, is now being carried on, 
 and therefore it is probable that improvements h'ave been 
 made in conducting it. The method of operating by this 
 process is by plunging the iron into melted zinc, whereby 
 a certain portion combines with, and is retained upon, 
 the surface, in the same manner that iron is tinned. 
 Many practical as well as theoretical objections present 
 themselves to this process, and, in a report made upon 
 the subject to the French Academy, M. Dumas says, 
 " The zincing of iron made by steeping iron in a bath of 
 melted zinc has many inconveniences ; besides, the iron 
 combining with the zinc constitutes a very brittle super- 
 ficial alloy, the iron loses its tenacity, — a circumstance 
 which is not perceived, however, except in trying to zinc 
 fine iron-wire, or very thin plate ; besides, the surface, 
 being covered with a layer of not very fusible metal, is 
 always ill-formed. Thus fine iron-wire cannot be zinced 
 by this process, as it becomes fragile and deformed ; 
 bullets cannot be zinced, as they become mishapen and 
 no longer of the same calibre." In order to prove the 
 correctness of M. Dumas' account of the tenacity of iron 
 zinced by the hot process, we procured 18 lengths of 
 No. 18 wire, all from one hank, 6 being zinced by the 
 hot process, 6 by the electro process, and 6 not zinced, 
 and submitted them to tension. The 18 inches' length of 
 wire not zinced stretched to 22 inches ; that zinced by 
 the electro process, to 22J inches ; and that zinced by 
 the hot process, to only 19 J inches : shewing that, whilst 
 the hot process materially interfered with the tenacity of 
 the wire, and entirely altered its condition, the electro 
 process rather added to its tenacity. 
 
 The above is the mean of the results given by 
 
 F 
 
66 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 experiments upon 6 pieces of each. Another peculiar 
 property of zinc when hot is the fact that zinc heated to 
 300° becomes tough and ductile, and is at that heat 
 rolled into sheets ; but above 400° it becomes brittle, and 
 just below the melting point is so brittle that it may be 
 pounded in a mortar like marble. Now zinc put upon 
 iron at such a temperature has these evils : that portion 
 which combines with the iron, for which it has a very 
 great affinity, forms a very brittle alloy ; and also that 
 portion of zinc which adheres to this alloy, or coats 
 it, does not possess the tenacity of ordinary zinc ; besides, 
 the contraction of hot zinc and iron being nearly as 3 
 to 1, the zinc being 3, the iron resists its contraction, so 
 that the molecules of the metal have not the freedom of 
 arranging themselves in that position necessary to duc- 
 tility ; for which reasons, zinc put upon iron by the hot 
 process is brittle, and breaks by bending. Another ob- 
 jection is, that the zinc used in this process is not pure, 
 not only from the presence of foreign matters required to 
 keep the zinc in fusion, but from the impossibility, except 
 at an enormous cost, of obtaining pure zinc ; but, sup- 
 posing these objections overcome, the alloy which the 
 zinc forms with the iron at a melting heat destroys its 
 protecting qualities. Impurities in ordinary metals tend, 
 to a certain extent, to deteriorate their value ; but im- 
 purities in zinc are its destruction, and this arises, as we 
 have before stated, from the electro-positive qualities of 
 zinc, and by which it protects other metals at the expense 
 of itself. 
 
 Thus, supposing an atom of zinc to be surrounded 
 with atoms of impurities, these, when brought into con- 
 nexion and exposed to a fluid or moisture, form a gal- 
 vanic battery, the zinc being destroyed by this galvanic 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 67 
 
 action, the time such destruction takes to be effected 
 depending altogether upon the circumstances in which it 
 is placed, whether in contact with moist air, water, or 
 acid. This is the reason why the ordinary zinc of com- 
 merce does not last so long as might be reasonably 
 expected from the known properties of that metal. 
 
 The hot process of zincing is also ill suited to the 
 coating of articles of large dimensions, and all articles of 
 minute workmanship must be necessarily injured by it, 
 the melted zinc entering and filling up the outlines of the 
 work. Before speaking of the electro process of zincing, 
 we may say a few words upon the properties of zinc when 
 in a state of purity. Dr. Kane says, " Zinc preserves the 
 other metals, even if it be iron, from oxidation ; and 
 again, zinc, when exposed to the air, even in presence of 
 water, becomes covered with a varnish of a grey sub- 
 stance, probably a definite suboxide which is not further 
 altered by exposure." Professor Graham, alluding to 
 iron in water, says, " Articles of iron may be completely 
 defended from the injury occasioned in this way by the 
 more positive metal zinc, while the protecting metal itself 
 wastes away slowly." And further speaking of zinc, 
 " When exposed to air, or placed in water, its surface 
 becomes covered with a grey film of suboxide, which 
 does not increase; and this film is better calculated to 
 resist both the mechanical and chemical effects of other 
 bodies than the metal itself, and preserves it." And 
 Professor Daniell in his last work says, " that a plate of 
 pure zinc, when immersed in water, speedily becomes 
 dulled by the formation of a thin coat of oxide, but the 
 oxidation proceeds no further, because the adhesion of 
 the metal prevents a renewed contact of the metal and 
 the water." We therefore see that, not only has zinc the 
 
68 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 property of protecting metals galvanically negative to it, 
 but, unlike many other metals, becomes itself protected 
 by its own oxide. We have before alluded to the diffi- 
 culty of obtaining zinc in a state of purity except at a 
 great cost, as well as the great difficulties, when so 
 obtained, of applying it to iron ; the electro process 
 fortunately saves us ail trouble on these accounts, as 
 impurities, though they may exist in the solution used, 
 are thrown to the bottom, the pure metal only being- 
 deposited upon the iron. In the report to the French 
 Academy we have before noticed, M. Dumas, in speaking 
 of the electro process for the deposition of zinc, says, 
 " Manufacturers, and those concerned in military affairs 
 and the fine arts, will learn with interest that these 
 processes enable us to zinc in an economical manner 
 iron, steel, and cast-iron, by means of the pile or battery, 
 with the solution of zinc, by operating without heat, and 
 consequently not interfering with the tenacity of the 
 metal, by applying it in thin layers, and by thus pre- 
 serving the general forms of the pieces, and even the 
 appearance of their minutest details. The thinnest plate 
 may receive this preparation without becoming brittle, 
 and may be turned to account in roofing buildings." 
 
 This process is very simple. We take ordinary crys- 
 tallised sulphate of zinc, dissolving it in water, in the pro- 
 portion of one pound of the sulphate to one gallon of 
 water, which forms our zincing solution. The iron to 
 be zinced is first thoroughly cleaned by allowing it to 
 remain for a short time in dilute sulphuric acid, and 
 afterwards well scoured with sand : it is then placed in 
 the zinc solution, attached to the negative pole of the gal- 
 vanic battery (plates of zinc being attached to the oppo- 
 site pole which face the articles in the solution), and the 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS, 
 
 69 
 
 deposit takes place. After being a short time in the 
 solution, the article should be taken out and scoured or 
 brushed all over, so that any portion which may not have 
 been very properly cleaned, and to which the zinc has 
 not perfectly adhered in consequence, may be discovered. 
 It is then returned to the solution and allowed to remain 
 therein until a covering of the required substance is ob- 
 tained. The advantages of this process are its simplicity, 
 the absence of all injurious effect upon the iron, and the 
 securing a coating of pure zinc. The largest articles can 
 with facility be zinced, and articles of the most minute 
 and elaborate workmanship are uninjured by the process. 
 The operation may be intrusted to any one of ordinary 
 capacity, and, what is of some importance in large opera- 
 tions, may be carried on any where. 
 
 It is not improbable that the practical details and 
 manipulations of this process may be improved, but, in 
 principle, we aver it is perfect. We need not particu- 
 larise the uses to which iron so protected may be applied .* 
 to all the purposes for which iron is used it would be of 
 advantage, particularly where it is exposed out of doors. 
 The iron-work of all agricultural implements, harness 
 and cart-fittings, fencing and hurdling, the iron-work of 
 hot and green-houses, latches, bolts, and hinges, bres- 
 summers of buildings, &c, &c. ; in fact, its uses ^,re in- 
 finite, and the application of the process only requires to 
 be known to secure its general adoption. 
 
 We shall now say a few words upon copper as a coat- 
 ing for iron. 
 
 Copper is another metal which may be used with 
 great advantage to protect iron, especially for ornamental 
 purposes. It was probably the deposit of this metal from 
 
70 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 the sulphate of copper, in DanielFs battery, which first 
 suggested to Spencer the application of the decomposi- 
 tion of metallic salts by the agency of the battery. Since 
 that period, the science of electro-deposition has been 
 gradually developing itself, year after year adding to our 
 knowledge, and, at the same time, shewing us how little 
 we know of the subject in comparison with what yet re- 
 mains to be discovered. Long before the discovery of 
 deposition by an electric current, it was well known 
 that a piece of iron or steel placed in a solution of sulphate 
 of copper became completely covered with metallic copper ; 
 and iron has been long used for collecting the copper from 
 water impregnated with it, both in Wales, Cornwall, and 
 Ireland. Following un this practical result without being 
 acquainted with the cause of copper being deposited upon 
 iron, many were induced to follow out the process of 
 coating iron by electricity with the sulphate of copper, 
 and, finding that the coating thus obtained had no ad- 
 hesion to the iron, considered their experience a rule, and 
 thus originated the prejudice against coppered iron. 
 The coating of copper received upon iron, when placed in 
 the sulphate (or other acid solution) of copper, is not 
 from any galvanic action, as many have supposed, but 
 from a chemical substitution only ; the iron having a 
 greater affinity for the sulphuric acid of the solution, it 
 leaves the copper for the iron, and the portion of copper 
 thus thrown out of solution becomes loosely attached to 
 the iron. And even the addition of a galvanic battery 
 effects no change in the condition of the metals, the che- 
 mical action preceding the galvanic ; and, although a 
 coating may be forced on by the power of the battery, it 
 is never in direct contact with the iron, but there is 
 interposed a portion of oxide, and the copper thus de- 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 71 
 
 posited may be removed with the slightest friction ; so 
 that the trials made with iron so coated have failed. 
 So strongly has the prejudice thus created operated, that 
 we have heard it asserted, within these few days, that it 
 was impossible to give to iron a permanent coating of 
 copper. In March 1840, a patent was obtained for se- 
 curing perfect and permanent coatings of copper upon 
 iron, alkaline instead of acid solutions being used. 
 Those we have found less suited to the purpose are 
 the cyanides and ferro-cyanides, and what we have lately 
 adopted is the ferro-cyanide of copper dissolved in the 
 cyanide of potassium. 
 
 After the iron has been properly cleaned it is placed 
 in this solution, heated to about 120°, in connexion with 
 the battery : in from two to five minutes it will be found 
 completely coated. The iron should then be scoured 
 with sand, and placed in an acid solution (by prefer- 
 ence for cheapness the sulphate) ; if any portion of the 
 iron should not have been coated in the alkaline solution, 
 such part will immediately turn black, in which case it 
 should be cleaned and returned to the alkaline solution 
 for one or two minutes. 
 
 By this process any article of iron- work, whether 
 cast or wrought, may be firmly coated with copper. To 
 test the adhesion of the metals, we have had many iron 
 bolts, of thirty inches long, driven through African oak of 
 twenty-four inches thick, and with a very tight drift, 
 without in the least disturbing the coating of copper ; we 
 have also heated them to a heat far above redness, and 
 then plunged them into cold water, without any injury 
 arising from the difference of expansion and contraction of 
 the metals. 
 
 We are aware that an objection may be made to the 
 use of copper as a preserving coating to iron, viz. that, 
 
72 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 the copper being the negative metal, the galvanic action 
 is against the iron. We admit this ; but, if the coating of 
 copper is perfect, this cannot be the case, as no galvanic 
 action can possibly take place unless the metals are both 
 together exposed to the fluid. The resisting qualities of 
 copper to oxidation, when exposed to water and vegetable 
 acids, render it a valuable protection to iron under all or- 
 dinary circumstances. 
 
 For ornamental work copper is best adapted, as it 
 takes a beautiful bronze, either by exposure to the atmos- 
 phere or by artificial means. A great saving might also 
 be effected by casting statues and other ornamental work 
 in iron, and afterwards coppering it. The iron castings 
 of the Colebrook Dale Works cannot be surpassed for 
 sharpness and effect. 
 
 Works of art in iron, plasters, terra cotta, wood, and 
 other substances, may be thus made to resemble antique 
 bronzes, and the process may be advantageously adapted 
 to machinery, especially that which is exposed in damp 
 situations. 
 
 We may add that iron either zinced or coppered sol- 
 ders with great facility. 
 
 No. III. 
 
 ON THE SMOKELESS ARGAND FURNACE OF 
 CHARLES WYE WILLIAMS, Esq. 
 By Henry Dircks, Furnace Architect and Engineer. 
 Nov. 22, 1843. 
 
 THOMAS HOBLYN, ESQ., F.R.S., V.P., IN THE CHAIR. 
 
 There can be no doubt, from the great advancement 
 made of late years in the attainment of a practical know- 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 73 
 
 ledge of the chemistry of combustion, that we are on 
 the eve of an important change in the mode of con- 
 ducting the combustion of coal, in steam-engine boiler 
 and other furnaces, to avoid the loss of its gaseous pro- 
 ducts, for heating purposes. It must be admitted, 
 indeed, that manufacturers are becoming more than ever 
 alive to the merits of this subject ; the information that 
 chemical science affords, demonstrating a positive loss, as 
 evidenced by the formation of dense volumes of smoke, 
 and the consequent very partial combustion of the coal- 
 gas and carbonic oxide, generated in the furnace ; no 
 provision being made for the combustion of these gaseous 
 products of , the fuel in furnaces as ordinarily con- 
 structed. 
 
 No one has ever doubted the discomfort, if not posi- 
 tive insalubrity, of an atmosphere surcharged with coal- 
 smoke. In our own country we find the amiable Evelyn 
 in his " Fumi Fugium," published so early as 1661, giving 
 an elaborate account of " the inconvenience of the air 
 and smoke of London ;" proposing as a remedy the entire 
 removal of the manufactories. There seems to be no 
 mitigation of the nuisance in London, comparing what 
 Evelyn says of the seventeenth with what we know 
 to exist in the nineteenth century ; and, as a single illus- 
 tration, the following fact may be adduced, as stated by 
 Dr. D. B. Reid, in his evidence before the Parliamentary 
 Committee on Smoke Prevention, July 1843. He says: 
 " The impurity produced by the imperfect combustion 
 which generates smoke is of a much more offensive 
 nature, in particular by producing those black portions of 
 soot that every one is familiar with, and which annoy us 
 (for instance at the houses of parliament) to such an 
 extent that I have been under the necessity of putting up 
 
74 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 a veil, about forty feet long and twelve feet deep, on 
 which, on a single evening, taking the worst kind of 
 weather for the production of soot, we can count occasion- 
 ally 200,000 visible portions of soot excluded at a single 
 sitting. We count with the naked eye the number of 
 pieces entangled upon a square inch." — Report, p. 28. 
 
 That an unseemly nuisance of this nature, interfering 
 as it does with the purity of the air, should, after existing 
 for nearly two centuries, have excited the attention of the 
 legislature, and called into exercise mechanical ingenuity, 
 is only naturally to be expected. It is, however, to the 
 latter alone we shall bend our attention. 
 
 To a casual, uninformed observer, nothing can appear 
 more simple or easy than, by a little contrivance, to 
 completely burn and get rid of all the smoky vapour 
 usually observed escaping from a chimney-top. Fasci- 
 nated by the apparent facility of attaining this long- 
 desired object, an infinite number of mechanical arrange- 
 ments have been projected, and much labour in vain has 
 been expended in following this ignis fatuus. Nothing can 
 be more plain than that all merely mechanical plans, con- 
 structed irrespective of certain known chemical conditions 
 to be attained, must lead to an erroneous application of 
 talent. Until we know the end to be attained, how can 
 we, by any thing short of blind chance, stumble on the 
 best method of favouring such a wonderful, complicated, 
 yet exact, chemical process as that of combustion? The 
 consequence has been what might be expected ; ingenious 
 mechanics and others who have attempted " smoke- 
 burning," have, by running counter to nature, opposed 
 her immutable laws, and been met only by disappoint- 
 ments at every step of their progress. 
 
 The Society of Arts has for upwards of sixty years 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 75 
 
 published a premium for a plan for the " Prevention of 
 Smoke." Offering their gold medal " For a method 
 superior to any in use, and verified by practice, of pre- 
 venting the emission of dense smoke from the chimneys 
 of furnaces and fire-places." 
 
 Watt's celebrated patent for smoke-burning bears date 
 June 1785 ; the object of his invention being to cause the 
 smoke to pass " through, over, or among, fuel which has 
 already ceased to smoke, or which is converted into coke, 
 charcoal, or cinders, and which is intensely hot." The 
 inutility of this " intense heat," apart from other con- 
 siderations, when applied to gaseous combustion, is suc- 
 cessfully proved by Mr. C. W. Williams in his treatise 
 on the Combustion of Coal. " This erroneous notion," 
 he says, " of the supposed combustion of the gases (or 
 smoke), by bringing them into contact with a mass of 
 ' glowing coals,' appears to have originated with Watt ; 
 and, having been adopted by Tredgold and others, has 
 since passed into a recognised principle ; thus by in- 
 ducing a conventional mode of speaking on the economy 
 of fuel, the error has been perpetuated. It appears 
 strange," he goes on to say, " that, while so many have 
 taken this as their text, or adopted it as their starting- 
 point, none of these inventors have examined, or even 
 doubted, its correctness. Yet any chemical work of 
 authority would have informed them of the well- 
 established fact, that decomposition, not combustion, is 
 the result of a high temperature applied to the hydro- 
 carbon gases ; that no possible degree of heat can consume 
 carbon, and that its combustion is merely produced by, 
 and is, in fact, its union with oxygen, which latter, how- 
 ever, they take little care to provide." — P. 127. 
 
 Dr. Kane, of Dublin, in a laboratory process, well 
 
76 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 describes, on a small experimental scale, what " smoke- 
 burners" effect on the large scale of the furnace by 
 their unscientific adjustments. He states, that " when 
 defiant gas is passed through tubes heated to bright 
 redness, it deposits half its carbon, and, without 
 changing its volume, is converted into light carburetted 
 hydrogen. If it be frequently passed backward and for- 
 ward through the tube, it deposits all its carbon, and the 
 residual gas (the volume of which is doubled) is found to 
 be pure hydrogen." 
 
 Now when, in the furnace, it is brought to this latter 
 stage by a " smoke-burning" process for bringing what 
 was originally coal-gas into contact with a body of "glow- 
 ing incandescent fuel" the conditions of the furnace, and 
 this laboratory experiment are analogous ; a deposition of 
 carbon results, the carburetted hydrogen undergoing 
 decomposition (not combustion), hydrogen gas is pro- 
 duced, and uniting with what oxygen the close furnace 
 affords, vapour of water is formed, of course invisible, or 
 nearly so. Confining our attention to this single opera- 
 tion, we trace in three processes : — 
 
 1. By smoke-burning — an escape of nearly in- 
 
 visible steam. 
 
 2. By the smoke not being burnt — an escape of 
 
 black smoke. 
 
 3. By a judicious admission of atmospherical 
 
 oxygen to satisfy the requisite chemical con- 
 ditions — an escape of carbonic acid, mixed 
 with some steam, and both wholly or nearly 
 invisible. 
 
 The first process is a loss by a chemical decomposi- 
 tion ; the second is a loss by what we understand by im- 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 77 
 
 perfect or incomplete combustion ; the third, or correct 
 chemical process favouring the conditions required for 
 entire combustion, is attended with a saving, the amount 
 of oxygen taken up being greater in the third than in 
 either of the other .methods ; and which, though not 
 strictly an invariable rule, is, nevertheless, a safe criterion 
 of superior benefit gained. This is so nearly an axiom 
 with chemists, that Dr. Kane observes : "The quantity 
 of heat evolved in the burning of any body is propor- 
 tional to the quantity of oxygen absorbed, and it is 
 hence the interest of the operator to use as much oxygen 
 as possible, instead of the reverse." 
 
 It is not the object of this paper to enter at length into 
 any chemical details, otherwise some curious and interest- 
 ing facts might be stated, shewing the source of loss by 
 the absorption of heat to effect smoke-burning, which, 
 when attained, is again a further loss. Indeed, the whole 
 process of combustion, complex as it may to some appear, 
 is quite intelligible and comprehensible in all its main 
 bearings when chemically considered. 
 
 How, therefore, any one totally ignorant of the con- 
 stitution of the atmosphere, the composition of coal, the 
 decompositions effected by combustion, and the recom- 
 positions which follow, is to provide the needful mechan- 
 ical means for balancing the one against the other, and 
 assist rather than thwart the course of nature, does 
 not appear, neither is it a likely accident to befall any 
 who are so situated. But, once having a certain end in 
 view, the means to the attainment of that end may de- 
 pend much upon mere mechanical skill. The desire to 
 burn smoke led to a variety of forms of furnaces, 
 grates, bars, and even boilers, each inventor striving to 
 burn the largest quantity of fuel with the least quantity of 
 
78 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 air. On the part of Mr. Williams, on the contrary, his 
 attention was entirely directed to the combustion of the 
 great body of gas, which he considered must obtain, in 
 ordinary furnaces, a very limited supply of air. With 
 him, therefore, it was a question how to get air to the 
 gas, or gas to the air. So completely was he imbued 
 with a conviction of the errors of the smo&e-consuming 
 principle, that he states, "The mere enunciation of a 
 plan for consuming smoke is prima facie evidence that the 
 inventor has not sufficiently considered the subject in its 
 chemical relations." And he does ample justice to the 
 memory of Watt, when he says, " It is not his fault that 
 the errors he committed should continue to be repeated ; 
 he would have been among the first to benefit by and 
 apply the more correct principles of combustion deve- 
 loped by the rapid improvement of chemical science in 
 subsequent years." Nothing, certainly, can be more ill 
 judged than to trammel the progress of improvement by 
 that reverential reliance on the authority of great names 
 rather than go with the current of more advanced know- 
 ledge, " restricting rather than extending the realms of 
 science." 
 
 Mr. Galloway, a popular writer on the steam-engine, 
 nearly twenty years back, in taking notice of the " smoke- 
 burning" expedients of his day, makes a remark which, 
 whatever may have been thought of its justice at the 
 time, certainly agrees with all later experience, and 
 offers one among many convincing proofs of the insta- 
 bility of ingenious attempts founded on unsound prin- 
 ciples. " Numerous," says he, " were the plans tried 
 to consume the smoke, and, although some were partially 
 successful, they were found generally either inconvenient 
 or occasioning a greater consumption of fuel, so as to 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 79 
 
 lead to no advantageous result to the proprietors, how- 
 ever the public might be benefited by their adoption. 
 These circumstances led to the abandonment of most of 
 the plans, except in those instances wherein' the pro- 
 prietors were compelled to their adoption and continu- 
 ation by indictments for public nuisances." 
 
 In 1839, Charles Wye Williams, Esq., of Liverpool, 
 patented a peculiar mode of admitting air to furnaces, a 
 plan better known as the smokeless Argand furnace, 
 from its near approach to the principle of the Argand 
 gas lamp. Mr. Williams is also the author of the well- 
 known treatise on the " Combustion of Coal," a work of 
 great merit, and, indeed, the only one on the subject in 
 our language. Mr. Williams in his treatise gives a con- 
 cise view of the chemical theory of combustion ; and by 
 his furnace has clearly demonstrated the successful appli- 
 cation of known chemical principles to practical purposes. 
 Lest, however, I should be misunderstood by any who 
 may suppose that this statement is not strictly correct, 
 imagining that Mr. Williams entertains a theory entirely 
 his own, a reference to his own observations on this head 
 will at once clear up any doubt. He says, " In under- 
 taking myself to lead others, and to avoid the imputation 
 of presumption, I observe, in limine, that I do not affect to 
 give any new view of the nature of combustion, much less 
 do I make any claim to discovery." No language can be 
 clearer; therefore those who dispute the principles he 
 has laid down are not so much disputing Mr. Williams's 
 doctrines, as they are finding fault with the fundamental 
 laws of chemistry itself. 
 
 To proceed with the quotation, Mr. Williams adds : 
 " What I take credit for is the practical application, on 
 the large scale of the furnace, of those chemical truths 
 
80 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 which are taught by the ablest chemist of the day, and so 
 well known in every laboratory. I also take credit for 
 bringing together the detailed and scattered facts and 
 illustrations of such authorities as bear on the subject 
 before us, and of so arranging and applying them as will, 
 I trust, enable practical men, without going deeper into 
 the science than is compatible with their time and other 
 avocations, to understand that part which chemistry has 
 to act in the construction, arrangements, and working of 
 our furnaces." Mr. Williams has shewn much originality 
 not only in his writings, but also in his illustrative dia- 
 grams, given with a view of exemplifying the atomic 
 theory of Dr. Dalton, and familiarising to the less in- 
 formed that important doctrine of chemical science ; and, 
 from this subject being limited to the Combustion of Coal, 
 the index to the after combinations, in accordance with 
 the Daltonian theory, is very simple. 
 
 When satisfied on this head, the next subject of 
 inquiry is the diffusion (not separation) of gases ; that 
 process by which a light gas, as hydrogen, will not 
 remain permanently on the surface of the dense gas, car- 
 bonic acid, even though separated by a diaphragm of 
 plaster of Paris ; this mingling, this intermixture of the 
 gases the one with the other, until a portion of the 
 hydrogen has descended and become incorporated 
 with the carbonic acid, and vice versa, is an im- 
 portant chemical law, but it is, as thus conducted, an 
 exceedingly slow process ; agitation, pressure, the driving 
 of one gas into the other in jets, as gas is pressed through 
 the apertures of the Argand burner, are all means by 
 which the process of perfect diffusion (incorporation) 
 is obtained, only with considerable facility and despatch. 
 Now as, in the operations of the furnace, time is an object 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 81 
 
 of the first consideration, Mr. Williams bent all li is at- 
 tention on ascertaining the most available means for 
 attaining this incorporation of the air and impure gases 
 in the furnace. 
 
 In his treatise Mr. Williams has well explained the 
 successive steps by which he arrived at the happy con- 
 trivance and simple arrangements of the Argand furnace. 
 He remarks that : — C{ In looking for a remedy for the 
 evils arising: out of the hurried state of things which the 
 interior of a furnace naturally presents, and observing 
 the means by which the gas is effectually consumed in 
 the Argand lamp, it seemed manifest that, if the gas in 
 the furnace could be presented by means of jets to an 
 adequate quantity of air, as it is in the lamp, the result 
 would be the same ; namely, a quicker and more in- 
 timate mixture and diffusion, and, consequently, a more 
 extensive and perfect combustion. The difficulty of 
 effecting a similar distribution of the gas in the furnace 
 by means of jels, however, seemed insurmountable ; one 
 alternative alone remained, namely, that since the gas 
 could not be introduced by jets into the body of air, the 
 air might he introduced by jets into the body of gas" 
 
 The whole theory being thus far perfected, and every 
 way strictly agreeing with known facts and laboratory 
 experiments, it remained to be ascertained how far 
 chemical theory was available in practice with large 
 steam-engine boilers [the great and sole object of Mr. 
 Williams's investigations] ; feeling deeply concerned in 
 the inquiry, from his intimate connexion with two exten- 
 sive steam-boat companies, and how far he was qualified 
 for the task, his early education under Dr. Higgins, the 
 father of the Atomic theory (though elaborated by Dr. 
 Dalton, and, as appears most likely, with him original); 
 
 G 
 
82 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 his chemical knowledge, further enlarged while conduct- 
 ing an extensive bleaching establishment, and not less 
 his chemical writings, offer the best, and certainly most 
 conclusive evidence. 
 
 While making these remarks, it may be as well to 
 observe that Mr. Williams's attention has been mainly 
 directed to marine-boilers. The material difference be- 
 tween the construction of marine and land engine-boilers 
 is very considerable ; there is, certainly, some approxi- 
 mation between a marine and Cornish boiler, the furnace 
 of both being within the boiler and surrounded by water : 
 not so, however, with waggon and round or cylindrical 
 boilers ; they have the furnace underneath them, set in 
 brickwork. The only reason for my noticing this appa- 
 rently trifling particular is to observe that, although Mr. 
 Williams writes in pretty general terms, it is easy to 
 understand how his long experience with the one class 
 of boilers would lead to some trifling disparity, otherwise 
 of no moment than when unfairly stretched to make his 
 statements and practice appear contradictory. What I 
 allude to is, a foolish and almost unaccountable statement 
 that Mr. Williams admits air at the hridge'm jets — always 
 at the bridge, and nowhere else. It will, perhaps, 
 scarcely be credited that, with the patent specification 
 before them, any one would be so regardless of facts as 
 to make such a statement ; the precise words employed 
 being, " I do not confine myself to the particular number, 
 dimension, or situation of the several parts." It so 
 happens, that in marine and Cornish boilers no alterna- 
 tive is left but to put the apparatus behind the bridge, 
 but in almost every other plan of boiler it is a matter of 
 choice ; while in some furnaces without boilers, as 
 annealing furnaces, there is, again, no choice but to give 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 83 
 
 the air before the bridge. It would, indeed, have been 
 strange, if, while advocating the principle of diffusion, he 
 should thus have trammelled his theory and practice by 
 a needless limitation. 
 
 Without going into lengthy chemical details it may 
 suffice to observe, to shew, and impress on the memory, 
 the necessity for this division of the air, that at the time 
 coal-gas is being evolved, every cubic inch of that gas 
 requires ten cubic inches of air to obtain therefrom the 
 requisite saturating dose of oxygen : this Mr. Williams 
 further illustrates by his chemical diagrams; or the pro- 
 cess may be given thus : — 
 
 BKFORE COMBUSTION'. 
 
 Weigh . 
 3 Carbuietted Hydrogen- 
 
 XEMENTAEY MIXTL'I 
 
 144 Atmospheric Air 
 
 r 1 Carbon • • 
 ' 1 Hydrogen 
 (. 1 Hydrogen 
 f 1 Oxygen . . 
 
 1 Oxygen . . 
 ■ 1 Oxygen • • 
 
 1 Oxygen • . 
 
 U Nitrogen 
 
 Weight. 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 3 
 
 112 
 
 152 
 
 PRODUCTS OF COMBUSTION, 
 
 '22 Cnrbonic Acid. 
 9 Steam. 
 9 Steam. 
 
 112 Uncombined Nitrogen. 
 
 Taken by volume, after the manner of Berzelius, the 
 several gases of the furnace require, for the obtaining of 
 sufficient oxygen : — 
 
 Bicarburetted Hydrogen, or Olifiant Gas 
 Carburetted Hydrogen, or Coal Gas 
 Carbonic Oxide, or Coke Gas 
 
 15 Volumes of Air. 
 10 ditto. 
 5 ditto. 
 
 Bearing in mind that the air and gas have to be 
 incorporated, that no time must be lost, that we have 
 here 15, 10, and 5 volumes of air to combine with one 
 measure of each of the gases, can a doubt exist that, 
 if we have these two aeriform bodies in bulk, mixture 
 will not be so intimate, perfect, and, above all, so rapid 
 as when, instead of a single stream, there are some 
 hundreds of small jets, or films of air, each entering 
 a hot gaseous atmosphere, and mingling therewith, 
 
84 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 producing most effective mixture, — what we may call 
 gasified air, not crude air and gas, but the two in 
 intimate union, well milled and mixed together, — a me- 
 chanical compound of chemical ingredients, highly com- 
 bustible, and burning free from smoke, under proper 
 adjustment? These preparatory conditions are analogous 
 to the nature of gunpowder, the ingredients of which, 
 loosely thrown together, however exact the proportions, 
 are neither explosive nor yet are they gunpowder, until 
 very intimately incorporated . The more nice and exact the 
 contact of atom to atom, mechanically, the better ; the most 
 exact contact here is chemical, the result of combustion. 
 
 The mechanical arrangements of the Argand furnace 
 are simple, without machinery ; and, what is much 
 in its favour, is capable of very general application to 
 existing furnaces, without much detention or heavy alter- 
 ations. The air-distributing apparatus is made of either 
 brick or iron, and is placed in such part of the furnace 
 as local circumstances render most available. By means 
 of sight-holes the clear flame may be seen in the flues, 
 and the lighting or extinguishing of the gas-flame follows 
 the opening and closing of the apparatus. By a pyro- 
 meter formed of a rod of round iron, three-eighths or 
 half-inch thick, the full length of the furnace, pass- 
 ing through the flue, screwed up tight at the back 
 end, but protruding and moving through the brick-work 
 in front, the temperature of the flues may be ascertained 
 by making the expanding or contracting rod act on 
 a proper lever as an index, moving over a suitable 
 graduated scale. This is the form of the ingenious pyro- 
 meter of Henry Houldsworth, Esq. of Manchester, who 
 has published his pyrometric tables, and who read a 
 paper on this important subject at the meeting of the 
 British Association when held in Manchester* 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 85 
 
 Mr. Williams's attention to furnaces naturally led 
 him to the improvement of boilers, with a view to in- 
 creased evaporative effect. This he has attained by 
 studding' the outside of boilers, where exposed in the 
 flues, with iron pins three-quarters of an inch in thickness, 
 and two or three inches long* ; they are made to taper, so 
 that they may be safely driven from the inside, through 
 holes drilled for the purpose. 
 
 This invention may not seem to have much relation 
 to the furnace, nor has it so far as the subject of mere 
 smoke nuisance is concerned, but it is an improvement 
 which, though calculated to be of considerable benefit, 
 requires a stnoheless furnace to render it most efficient in 
 its operation. The pins, if acted on by the elongated 
 smoky flame of ordinary furnaces, would become col- 
 lectors of soot, and their utility much diminished. To 
 the manufacturer, then, to whom, abstractedly, smoke 
 is a matter of no consideration, it is of consequence 
 not to waste his gaseous fuel, not to decompose instead 
 of burning it, and allow it to escape bodily, or improperly 
 decomposed ; it is also of consequence to him to prevent 
 the fouling of his boilers or pans ; and it is further of 
 importance to have a smokeless furnace, if the additional 
 improvement of increasing the heating surface, by using 
 these conductor pins, is ever so distantly contemplated. 
 
 We certainly live in an age when discoveries and 
 improvements are multiplied in such quick succession, 
 that if we are sometimes doubtful of their truth we are, 
 perhaps, as often in equal uncertainty whether we have 
 yet attained the best form or application of what is new. 
 Experience is the best criterion ; and all experience in- 
 forms us that effective practice, based on sound scientific 
 principles, has always gained the ascendancy and been 
 triumphant. 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 No. IV. 
 
 THE PATENT METALLIC CEMENT. 
 By C. K. Dyer. 
 November 29th, 1843. 
 
 BENJAMIN ROTCH, ESQ. V.P. IN THE CHAIR. 
 
 Abstract. 
 
 The difficulty of obtaining- the Italian pozzolano, the 
 value of which as an hydraulic cement is well known to 
 the civil engineer and architect, renders the introduction 
 of the British metallic sand of considerable importance to 
 all persons connected with building. It is produced from 
 copper slag, which is obtained at Swansea in large quan- 
 tities, being ground by means of powerful machinery. 
 
 In chemical analysis the metallic sand is very similar 
 to the pozzolano, consisting of iron, zinc, arsenic, and 
 silica, the iron predominating. In point of durability it 
 is found to be quite equal to the latter. It enters readily 
 into combination with blue lias lime, which has been 
 used with the metallic cement for hydraulic works ; and 
 the indurating quality of the sand, after many years' ex- 
 posure to the atmosphere, have been fully tested. 
 
 Several specimens of work executed with the metallic 
 sand were laid on the table. 
 
 No. V. 
 
 CHANTER'S MOVABLE FIRE-BARS AND 
 SMOKE-CONSUMING APPARATUS. 
 
 Abstract. 
 
 Mr. Chanter explained his movable fire-bar, the ob- 
 ject of which is to prevent the accumulation of clinker 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 87 
 
 in the grate, and to keep the air-channels at all times 
 open. 
 
 The principle of the invention consists in moving the 
 alternate bars longitudinally in contrary directions, which 
 is effected by a system of levers, moved either by hand or 
 by a connexion with a steam-engine. For a 30-horse 
 boiler, J-horse power is required to effect the regular and 
 continuous movement of the bars. 
 
 Mr. Chanter afterwards explained, by means of large 
 sectional drawings, the application of his smoke-con- 
 suming apparatus, which is applied in a variety of forms 
 to different kinds of boilers. Instead of cold air, Mr. 
 Chanter introduces jets of warm air behind the bridge of 
 the furnace. 
 
 The result of a series of experiments with Mr. Chanter's 
 apparatus, made in July 1843, at the great cloth-works 
 of Messrs. Thompson, brothers, at Clitheroe, Lancashire, 
 shews a saving of fuel of 16 per cent for steam-boilers, 
 30 per cent on singeing-plates, and nearly 38 per cent in 
 blanket- drying stoves. 
 
 No. VI. 
 ON LOCKS. 
 December 6th, 1843. 
 
 W. TOOKE, ESQ. V.P. IN THE CHATR. 
 
 Mr. Solly and Mr. Varley explained by means of 
 models a variety of ingenious and useful locks, most of 
 which have been rewarded by the Society, including the 
 Arab lock of wood, supposed to have been found in one 
 of the pyramids of Egypt, and which lock is now in the 
 Society's possession ; the alarm-lock of Mr. Meigham ; 
 
88 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Mr. Mackinnon's permutation lock ; and an excellent 
 street-door lock, as fixed on the front door of the So- 
 ciety's premises. 
 
 No. VII. 
 
 A PLAN OF FORMING A FIXED BREAKWATER, 
 By J. Johnston, Esq. 
 Dec. 13, 1843. 
 
 BENJAMIN BOND CABBELL, ESQ. F.R.S. V.P. IN THE CHATR. 
 
 Abstract, 
 
 The plan is as follows. A series of distinct and sepa- 
 rate caissons, each representing in external form one half 
 of the pier of a bridge, with its cutwater presented to the 
 sea, is to be formed in five to six-fathom water, according 
 to any particular locality. Each caisson is to consist of cast- 
 iron plates of large size, coated with coal-tar in order to 
 prevent corrosion, and bolted together by means of four- 
 inch flanges ; the whole to be filled with concrete, gra- 
 nite, or other suitable material : the lower part of each 
 caisson, to the height of thirty-two feet, having a found- 
 ation platform of wood, to be completed on shore, and, 
 when prepared, to be launched and towed out to its de- 
 stined position (as were the caissons of Westminster and 
 BlaekfHars' bridges), and then lowered into their final 
 position : the whole to be secured to the bed of the sea by 
 means of cast-iron piles, driven through tubes of the same 
 material. As the upper part of the caisson is put toge- 
 ther, so is the interior to be filled up with the solid ma- 
 terials : a coping of well-cramped masonry is to be fixed all 
 round each caisson. The wei°ht of each caisson com- 
 plete would be about 4500 tons, and the cost of a break- 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 89 
 
 water on this principle, extending to nearly a mile in 
 length, is estimated at 297,800/. 
 
 No. VIII. 
 
 THE PROGRESS AND PRESENT STATE OF THE 
 DAGUERREOTYPE ART. 
 
 By M. Claudet. 
 
 The discovery of a new art founded upon some start- 
 ling* facts in science, however perfect it may appear at 
 the beginning, and little subject to improvement, rarely 
 remains long stationary ; and still more rarely can we 
 foresee all its useful applications. 
 
 As this observation applies particularly to the in- 
 genious and curious discovery of Daguerre, it may be 
 interesting at the present moment to examine the pro- 
 gress it has made during the last four years, and to 
 determine its present state, in order that we may be 
 able to compare, at given periods, the various stages of 
 improvement through which photography has passed. 
 
 The daguerreotype has opened two extensive fields of 
 inquiry : the one, for the investigation of facts, by which 
 the sciences are to enrich themselves, and by which some of 
 the phenomena of the laws of nature may be explained ; 
 the other for the advantage of society, in reference to the 
 creation of a new branch of manufacture, and to a new 
 art, which are destined to give employment to many 
 persons ; to which may be added the improvements that 
 the daguerreotype will introduce in the fine arts. 
 
 It has been remarked that the discovery of photo- 
 graphy was as great a step in the fine arts as that of 
 the steam-engine in the mechanical arts. There is no 
 exaggeration in this observation ; and certainly our age 
 
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 (which is the era, not of wars and conquests, but of 
 social improvements, of emulation in the arts, sciences, 
 and manufactures), will be celebrated in future times 
 for this extraordinary invention. 
 
 It is curious to observe how rapidly sometimes new 
 discoveries are followed by other important discoveries, 
 forming the links of a mysterious and infinite chain, one 
 end of which approaches the great Creator of all things. 
 
 In the year 1811, Courtois discovered the chemical 
 substance called Iodine, and, as late as 1826, Balard 
 discovered Bromine ; these two elements are the only 
 substances which in the daguerreotype form with the 
 silver a compound sufficiently sensitive to the rays of 
 light, and without which substances the daguerreotype 
 could not have existed. Such is the progress of science, 
 that there is no fact, however insignificant it may appear 
 at first, which does not aid the advancement of philo- 
 sophy, and the improvement of mankind. 
 
 When these new elements were first discovered, how 
 little was it thought that they would so soon become the 
 source of the magic invention of the daguerreotype, which 
 again will undoubtedly lead to other discoveries, perhaps 
 far more important than itself! 
 
 There are some persons who, although admiring the 
 daguerreotype in its effects, perceive nothing beyond the 
 mere spontaneous, although beautiful, reproduction of 
 objects, — the representation of a building or a landscape 
 in their minutest detail, and in the portraying of human 
 features : but this is only the useful and immediate appli- 
 cation of the art in its state of infancy ; its destinies are 
 of a much higher order. 
 
 It may be said that already optical science has been 
 much benefitted by it. Never before has it been found 
 
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 91 
 
 so necessary to construct object-glasses with the shortest 
 possible focus, without increasing their aberration ; this 
 has now been clone, and we have double achromatic 
 object-glasses refracting a perfectly well-defined image 
 upon a screen of seven inches in diameter, although the 
 focal length is not more than eight or nine inches : this 
 improvement in the object-glasses of the camera obscura 
 being also applicable to the construction of telescopes, 
 will enable opticians to make powerful instruments of a 
 considerably smaller bulk. 
 
 The science of optics, the study of which was confined 
 almost exclusively to professional opticians and astro- 
 nomers, is now in the hands of a thousand operators in 
 photography, who are constantly studying and endea- 
 vouring to correct the imperfections of their apparatus ; 
 and their researches and investigations will, no doubt, 
 ultimately lead to many useful discoveries. 
 
 In passing from the practical part of optics to that 
 which is purely theoretical, that which treats of the 
 various rays emanating from the sun, of their laws and 
 properties, and of the principles and phenomena of light, 
 considered as a whole, or a compound of various kinds 
 of matter (if I may be allowed the expression), as being 
 produced by emission or by undulation ; if these inte- 
 resting points are ever better explained and understood 
 than they are at present, it appears highly probable that 
 the daguerreotype will be the instrument leading to these 
 results : at least it is certain that, in experiments and re- 
 searches upon this subject, philosophers will be greatly 
 assisted by the innumerable facts collected in the da- 
 guerreotype operation. 
 
 The existence of invisible or chemical rays is proved 
 by the various processes of photography ; for, in speaking 
 
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 of the daguerreotype, we cannot omit to mention the 
 beautiful discovery of Mr. Talbot, which he has called 
 the Calotype. Neither must we omit the curious dis- 
 coveries of Sir John Herschel, forming another step in 
 photography, which is called by that learned astronomer 
 Crysotype. 
 
 The experiments made in these various photographic 
 processes all agree in the fact, that the rays which pro- 
 duce a change upon the sensitive screen are not the 
 rays of light, but other rays travelling with light, and 
 emanating from the same source, which are sometimes 
 more refrangible than the violet rays, and less refrangible 
 than the red rays under other circumstances ; by which it 
 would appear that there exist chemical rays on each 
 extremity of the spectrum : but many facts seem to prove 
 that there is also another kind of ray, which is refracted 
 to all parts of the spectrum according to the dispersive 
 power of the lens, and following certain laws of refraction 
 which are different to the laws regulating the other rays ; 
 so that different kinds of glasses may have the same power 
 of dispersion for the apparent rays, and be endowed with 
 different dispersive powers for the invisible photographic 
 rays. 
 
 I am not prepared to develope the facts by which I 
 have aimed at this conclusion, because my experiments 
 are not yet complete enough to furnish a sufficiently 
 plausible and satisfactory explanation of this phenomenon. 
 
 From the application of the daguerreotype to the ad- 
 vancement of practical and theoretical optical science, let 
 us consider how this art is likely to benefit chemistry. 
 
 In this respect, is it not sufficient to call to mind that 
 some of the elements we have alluded to, viz. iodine and 
 bromine, have been very little investigated by chemists, 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 93 
 
 and that all their properties are not yet known, neither 
 have the whole of their compounds been ascertained 1 
 
 Now that they are so much employed by every pho- 
 tographer, and their effects minutely studied, is it not 
 reasonable to expect that in the hands of the chemist, 
 also, the daguerreotype may become the medium of 
 scientific research ? 
 
 After having enumerated the advantages which se- 
 veral branches of science have already derived from the 
 daguerreotype, and having hinted at those which they are 
 still likely to derive from new investigations arising out 
 of the same subject, we shall now refer to its connexion 
 with the fine arts. 
 
 There is a singular anomaly in the history of the pro- 
 gress of human discoveries. They frequently seem to 
 follow each other in an inverted order, and very often 
 the ingenuity and perseverance of man, through immense 
 labour and research, have produced works which pre- 
 viously existed in nature, and which, had nature been 
 first studied, would have been executed in much greater 
 perfection, with the saving of an immensity of trouble. 
 
 After ages of civilisation, it is only within the last two 
 centuries that Battista Porta, being in a dark room, ob- 
 served that an inverted image of outward objects was 
 represented on the wall, opposite to a small hole in the 
 window-shutter ; to the hole he applied a convex lens, 
 and then, instead of a diffused and indistinct image > he 
 was able to obtain a well-defined and clear picture. 
 
 This accidental discovery was the origin of the ca* 
 mera obscura. Yet in nature such instruments have 
 existed since the creation of man, for the eye is nothing 
 more than a perfect camera obscura. 
 
 If philosophers had only turned their attention to the 
 
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 construction of the human eye, if they had been able to 
 examine its beautiful arrangements, the camera obscura 
 would have been discovered at a much earlier period. 
 The same observation applies to the discovery of galvanic 
 electricity, and the apparatus by which this principle is 
 developed. There exists in nature the most perfect and 
 complete galvanic battery ; and if philosophers had been 
 able to examine the Gymnotas electricus, or electrical eel, 
 it would not have been left to chance and ingenuity to 
 discover one of the most splendid phenomena in the circle 
 of science. 
 
 In all cases we find, that whatever we at first consider 
 as a new invention existed before in nature : therefore, 
 man invents nothing, he merely discovers that which has 
 long before been produced by the hand of the Creator ; 
 and, as Bacon asserts, " man is only the interpreter of 
 natu re." 
 
 By the judicious combination of black lines or black 
 dots upon white paper, or white lines and white dots on 
 black paper, artists have been able to represent all 
 objects visible to the eye ; the effect is complete and 
 identical. 
 
 The laws of perspective are well understood by this 
 simple means. 
 
 We thought that such a work was quite artificial, 
 a calculated imitation of nature which was not true, but 
 that we learned, as it were, to read by habit. We 
 thought that a child could no more understand a 
 picture than read a book. But here again art has been 
 invented, and it is only lately that we have found that 
 nature operated exactly as art, and produced the very 
 same effects. 
 
 The daguerreotype represents the objects which we 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 95 
 
 see by the same rules, by the very same means, and 
 proves that the objects cannot be represented otherwise 
 than as the painters had represented them before. 
 
 If the daguerreotype had been invented before the 
 art of painting, than we should have never doubted its 
 accuracy, and we should not have thought that we were 
 deceived or taken by delusion. 
 
 The daguerreotype plate is etched in by nature, exactly 
 (although in a more perfect manner) as is the plate of 
 copper or of steel by the ingenuity of the engraver. 
 
 When we submit a daguerreotype plate to the mag- 
 nifying power of the microscope, we observe upon its 
 surface an infinite number of small white dots, which 
 are more or less close to each other, according to the 
 predominance of light or shadow in the picture. In fact, 
 the magnified surface of the plate has the appearance 
 of the sky on a bright night ; the white parts present an 
 agglomeration of bright dots, similar to the milky way 
 seen through a telescope, which to the eye appears as 
 a white drapery or belt thrown across the sky. 
 
 It would not, therefore, have been surprising if the 
 arts of drawing and painting had been the consequence 
 of the daguerreotype ; but it is really wonderful that, 
 without the help and the labours of the daguerreian 
 process, drawing and painting should have attained the 
 perfection so conspicuous in the works of the great 
 masters. Indeed that single fact proves, more than any 
 thing else, the greatness of their genius* 
 
 However, it was only given to a very few to grasp 
 nature, but henceforward young artists, of less genius, 
 will be able, by studying the effects of the daguerreotype, 
 to produce works of great merit. 
 
 We may also assert that the great masters would 
 
96 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 have been still more perfect in their imitations of nature 
 if the daguerreotype had been known to them. When 
 Paul Delaroche, the celebrated painter, was asked his 
 opinion of the invention of Daguerre, he unhesitatingly 
 declared that " the process of M. Daguerre had given to 
 art many conditions so essential to its perfection, that 
 they would become, even to the most skilful artists, sub- 
 jects of observation and study;" and, further, that "this 
 admirable discovery was an immense service rendered to 
 the fine arts." 
 
 Is it, then, surprising that the announcement of the 
 discovery of Daguerre created among philosophers and 
 enlightened men so great an interest ? that it was re- 
 ceived with such amazement and admiration ? Is it sur- 
 prising that the government of a great nation should 
 have proposed to its parliament to award to the dis- 
 coverer a national recompense ? 
 
 Two centuries ago the daguerreotype art would have 
 been looked upon as the work of witchcraft, but in our 
 age of improvement we are accustomed to extraordinary 
 discoveries ; we are capable of admiring and appreciating 
 these huge efforts of genius, and nothing surprises us. 
 The steam-engine, that perfect machine so well organised 
 (which, as an animal, requires only to be fed to work by 
 itself, and to produce continuous motion), has been cre- 
 ated almost in our own time and under our own obser- 
 vation. 
 
 After such a triumph of the genius of man and of 
 modern science, we see no limit to human discovery ; 
 and, indeed, we might believe that the word impossible 
 should be erased from language. 
 
 The year 1839 gave birth to two discoveries, which, 
 from the similarity of their properties and results, may, 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 97 
 
 with propriety, be called sister arts. These are the 
 daguerreotype and the electrotype, both of which re- 
 produce and multiply in the greatest perfection ; the one 
 acting under the influence of light, the other under 
 the influence of electricity ; these two mysterious agents 
 seem, in fact, to constitute the soul of nature. 
 
 In the case of the daguerreotype light draws — in that 
 of the electrotype electricity models ; and although their 
 work seems, at first sight, to have no connexion, still the 
 two act in unison. The daguerreotype image may be 
 repeated to any extent by precipitating metal upon it by 
 the action of electricity, producing another plate upon 
 which the original is imprinted in its various tints ; in 
 fact, the two images are so identical in their effect, that it 
 would be impossible, without knowing previously of 
 what metal they were respectively composed, to decide 
 which was the original and which the copy. This carious 
 phenomenon may assist in explaining the nature of the for- 
 mation of the daguerreotype image ; it proves, undoubtedly, 
 that the light and the mercury acting together upon the 
 iodide of silver, alters the arrangement of the molecules 
 of the surface, so that minute crystals are produced, 
 which, like cut diamonds, present in almost every direc- 
 tion a favourable angle of reflection to the eye, from 
 which cause they assume a white appearance ; the elec- 
 trotype surface, moulded upon these crystals, receives 
 exactly their counterpart, and the two surfaces are to 
 each other as the relief is to the matrix which has pro- 
 duced it ; so that parallel faces having the same angle of 
 reflection for the eye, corresponding parts of the image 
 present identically the same effect ; and this curious re- 
 production of the electrotype illustrates better than any 
 other effect the great perfection of these metallic de- 
 
 H 
 
98 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 posits, and also the infinite minuteness of the particles of 
 metal reduced by the galvanic agency. 
 
 The original process of Daguerre consisted in sub- 
 mitting a polished plate of silver to the vapour of iodine, 
 until by the chemical combination of the two a com- 
 pound was found exquisitely sensitive to the influence of 
 light, so that when the image at the focus of a camera 
 obscura was thrown upon a plate thus prepared, the 
 design was invisible, though certainly impressed ; and 
 this latent image was afterwards brought out by the 
 action of the vapour of mercury. This was his process in 
 all its simplicity ; and it seemed at first to be but little 
 susceptible of improvement ; in fact there appeared to be 
 scarcely any room for alteration, at least to advantage. 
 Nevertheless, the manipulation recommended by Daguerre 
 has been greatly simplified, and rendered more effective ; 
 although, strictly speaking, the invention has remained 
 the same, the changes consisting chiefly in modifications 
 of the original operations. 
 
 It is always a surface of silver, coated with iodine, 
 exposed to the influence of light in the camera obscura, 
 and then submitted to the vapour of mercury for the 
 purpose of bringing out the image, after which it is 
 immersed in a solution of hyposulphate of soda, to remove 
 by solution all traces of the iodine from its surface. Up 
 to the present time it has never been found possible to 
 alter materially any of these fundamental principles. 
 
 The improvements introduced have been chiefly in 
 the instruments employed, and in some additions to the 
 chemical part of the operation ; by the first means greater 
 artistic effect has been given to these pictures, they have 
 been rendered more forcible and defined in detail; and, 
 by the last-named improvement, the plates have been 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 99 
 
 made much more sensitive to light, so that the time of 
 the operation has been amazingly diminished. With the 
 original process it was considered impossible to apply the 
 daguerreotype to the production of portraits ; for, with 
 the iodine alone, and the long-focused camera obscura 
 which was at first employed, no picture could be taken, 
 even under favourable circumstances, in less than about 
 a quarter of an hour ; and as the correctness of a portrait 
 produced by this art depends upon perfect immobility 
 during; the whole of the sitting, the mere idea of such an 
 application of photography was looked upon as altogether 
 absurd. 
 
 But the fact that an image could be obtained in a 
 quarter of an hour, gave the hope that, by improving 
 either the optical arrangements of the camera, or the 
 chemical preparation of the plate, means could be de- 
 vised to arrive at the grand desideratum, viz. the appli- 
 cation of the daguerreotype to portraiture. 
 
 It was, however, soon found that, by constructing 
 object-glasses having a shorter focus, the operation could 
 be reduced nearly in proportion to the reduction of the 
 length of the focus, so that, by applying to the camera an 
 object-glass of three inches' focus instead of twelve, the 
 operation was four times shorter, or reduced to about 
 four minutes. 
 
 From that moment portraits were taken by the 
 daguerreotype ; but still few persons could remain in 
 perfect quiescence during such a length of time, and, if 
 they were able to do so, it was only by submitting them- 
 selves to a painful constraint, which unavoidably gave to 
 the countenance a most unpleasant expression. Never- 
 theless this was a step which encouraged the idea of 
 further improvements ; and about this time an ingenious 
 
100 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 optician of New York, Mr. Woolcott, thought of sub- 
 stituting for the refracting glasses a concave mirror of 
 such an aperture, that a greater amount of light from 
 the object might be concentrated at its focus, where he 
 placed the sensitive plate. By this means he could 
 operate much more quickly than by a refracting appa- 
 ratus, and thus reduce the time of sitting. 
 
 This was another interesting step in the improvement 
 of the art, but such a process was subject to many diffi- 
 culties and defects, which rendered it inferior to the 
 refracting apparatus. If the mirror was made of metal, 
 it was subject to corrosion, by being constantly exposed 
 to the changes of the atmosphere ; if it was of glass, 
 then two images of different focus were formed; the 
 one from the silvered surface, and the other from the 
 surface of the glass, so that a sharp and well-defined 
 image could not be produced. Another material defect, 
 however, of this process was that by necessity, in placing 
 the plate between the object and the mirror it was abso- 
 lutely necessary to operate upon a very sm#ll size, or else 
 the plate would have screened the greater part of the 
 aperture, and the advantage of the increased reflecting 
 area would be lost. Besides the rays producing the best 
 definition and the most correct image are reflected from 
 the centre of the mirror, and are precisely those which 
 are lost by the unavoidable position of the plate. 
 
 Nevertheless, the invention of Mr. Woolcott was at 
 the time a great improvement, and deserves to be re- 
 corded in the history of the daguerreotype as a very clever 
 and very ingenious arrangement. The effect of the da- 
 guerreotype picture is formed by a very slight film similar 
 to the bloom of the grape or the down of the wing of the 
 butterfly, so delicate that it may be wiped off or de- 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 101 
 
 stroyed by the slightest touch. This fragility induced 
 many persons to endeavour to discover some method of 
 fixing the design. Mr. Dumas, the celebrated chemist, 
 discovered a vegetable varnish which, dissolved in boiling- 
 water, could easily be applied to the surface of the pic- 
 ture, and, when dried, was a perfect protection to the 
 image. But it was left to Mr. Fizeau to discover what 
 has proved one of the greatest improvements in the da- 
 guerreotype process, and which consists in fixing the deli- 
 cate image by means of a transparent coating of gold, 
 applied by boiling upon the plate a solution of chloride of 
 gold, which not only renders the image more durable, 
 but has the advantage of increasing the tint, so that a 
 picture fixed by Mr. Fizeau's process is rendered more 
 forcible, and the mirror-like effect is almost destroyed. 
 Some time after Mr. Fizeau had made his discovery, 
 I was fortunate enough to devise a means of increasing 
 the sensitiveness of the prepared tablets. This I accom- 
 plished by exposing it, previously coated with iodine, to 
 the vapour of a compound of chlorine and iodine, or chlo- 
 rine and bromine, which second exposure so modified the 
 chemical coating of the plate, that its sensitiveness was 
 increased to at least fifty or sixty times, and from that 
 moment it became possible to take portraits without 
 difficulty with the ordinary apparatus. 
 
 With iodine alone, and a camera furnished with an 
 achromatic object-glass of the shortest focus, it recpiired 
 about five minutes, though, by the simple addition of the 
 vapour of chloride of iodine, I at once attained the power 
 of operating in as many seconds, and under the most 
 favourable circumstances, in much shorter time ; for it 
 has been found possible to reproduce moving objects. 
 
102 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 In one word, the operation has (by the introduction of 
 this improvement) been literally instantaneous. 
 
 Daguerre recommended that the plate should be ex- 
 posed to the mercury at an angle of forty-five degrees, 
 supposing that the vapour received upon it at that incli- 
 nation would cause the developement of the picture with 
 greater effect. But this operation is equally effective and 
 rapid in any other position, and I have not only succeeded 
 in producing the image in a vertical or horizontal posi- 
 tion, but, even when the coppered side of the plate was 
 turned downwards or towards the mercury, I have found 
 the effect to be precisely the same in all these various 
 positions. 
 
 I have also ascertained that the mercurial vapour 
 does not enter into combination with the surface of the 
 plate, unless it has previously been exposed to the influ- 
 ence of light. x\ plate was exposed to the mercury be- 
 fore and after it had been coated with iodine, but the 
 operation in the camera was not affected by this prema- 
 ture exposition to the mercury, so that it is absolutely 
 necessary that the mysterious influence of the light should 
 be exerted upon the plate before any degree of affinity 
 exists between it and the vapour of mercury with which 
 it is brought in contact. 
 
 The knowledge of this fact led me to a curious modifi- 
 cation of the process of Daguerre. 
 
 Having ascertained that the mercury did not injure 
 the sensitiveness of the plate (before exposure to the light), 
 it occurred to me that it would be possible to conduct 
 simultaneously the operations of the camera and the mer- 
 cury-box, which I did by placing in the camera a cup 
 containing mercury previously heated by a spirit-lamp. 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 103 
 
 The plate was thus constantly immersed in the mercurial 
 vapour during the exposure to the image of the camera. 
 
 As soon as the light had begun to operate, the vapour 
 of mercury was combining with the iodine of silver, and, 
 by means of a light striking through a piece of yellow 
 glass, I was able to study the progress of the operation. 
 For it is a curious fact, as I shall endeavour to shew pre- 
 sently, that yellow, green, and red rays of light scarcely 
 produced any effect upon the prepared plate of the da- 
 guerreotype ; and it is still more extraordinary that yellow 
 light operates upon the plate in a manner perfectly ana- 
 logous to that of mercury in the developement of the in- 
 visibly impressed image, so that the light admitted into 
 the camera obscura, so far from injuring the operation, 
 was accelerating the developement of the image. This 
 effect of the yellow rays was first noticed by Mr. 13 e- 
 querel, and, from this property, he has called them " con- 
 tinuating rays." Some photogenic paper had been exposed 
 to light in a camera, and was afterwards submitted to the 
 action of yellow rays by being covered with a piece of 
 glass of that colour, and the image was soon made ap- 
 parent by the specific action of the above-mentioned 
 rays. Some time after, Mr. Gaudin repeated the same 
 experiment upon a daguerreotype plate, and he also suc- 
 ceeded in producing the image by yellow light without 
 any exposure to the action of the mercury. The effect 
 produced by these two processes are so analogous, that it 
 would be difficult, perhaps impossible, to decide which 
 had been produced by mercury and which by yellow 
 light. If the yellow rays perform in the developement 
 of the image the same action as the vapour of mercury, 
 how are we to account for the effect? Yellow rays pro- 
 
104 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 duce upon the plate those white microscopic dots or 
 crystals which were assigned to the comhination of mer- 
 cury ; but it is supposed that yellow rays cannot form a 
 compound, that they can only modify the arrangements of 
 the molecules of the surface, and produce a sort of crystal- 
 lisation. And why should not mercury, by some electrical 
 property, occasion a similar modification or crystallisation 
 without itself combining chemically with the plate. Al- 
 ready Dr. Moser, in his beautiful researches, has offered 
 a theory upon the formation of the image by the vapours 
 of mercury, in stating that these vapours develope latent 
 yellow light, and that it is only as continuating yellow 
 rays that the mercury brings out the image. 
 
 But it is more probable that the whole effect of the 
 daguerreotype image is due to some electrical influence 
 of light, and that mercury and yellow rays produce a 
 like state of electricity. 
 
 Daguerre also recommended that we should raise the 
 vapours of mercury by means of a spirit lamp, which 
 heated the metal to a temperature of 165°, from which it 
 was to cool gradually to 120°. But I have found that 
 the temperature is quite immaterial, provided it is not 
 raised to a degree which would cause sublimation. It 
 has been ascertained that mercury evaporates at all tem- 
 peratures above its freezing point, and those vapours are 
 at all times sufficient to bring out the daguerreotype 
 image. The only difference is the length of time re- 
 quired for the operation, this depending of course upon 
 greater or less developement of vapours. I have found 
 that during the month of December, at a temperature of 
 45°, the image was brought out in two hours without 
 heating the mercury, and I have been able, at the same 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 105 
 
 temperature, to cause the development of the image in 
 ten minutes, by placing the plate in the vacuum of an air- 
 pump containing a small quantity of mercury. 
 
 I consider that the daguerreotype image is begun and 
 finished by some electrical influence of light, that all the 
 coloured rays, as we have before mentioned, carry with 
 them invisible rays which operate upon the plate, that 
 the largest quantity of these accompany the blue rays, a 
 lesser quantity the yellow, and a still less quantity the 
 red. Thus the yellow ray is not entirely destitute of che- 
 mical power, although it operates very slightly upon the 
 parts which have received the strong effect from the rays 
 accompanying the blue, and, though enough to continue 
 the effect begun, it is not enough to bite upon the parts 
 not already affected. So that the operation begun by the 
 invisible rays through the blue medium is completed by 
 the small quantity of chemical rays accompanying the 
 vellow light. 
 
 Without being able to decide which of the various 
 kinds of rays emanating from the sun are those pro- 
 ducing the photogenic effect, it is a well-known fact that 
 they travel with all the rays of the spectrum, but that by 
 far the largest proportion have a degree of refrangibility 
 nearly agreeing with that of the blue rays, that the por- 
 tion found with the yellow is considerably less, and still 
 smaller with the red. In interposing a blue glass be- 
 tween the object and the image, the effect is nearly as 
 great as if there was no medium ; by the interposition of 
 yellow glass the effect is considerably reduced, and almost 
 totally impeded by red glass. 
 
 The great number of elements acting in the daguerreo- 
 type process, the ignorance in which we are concerning 
 all their properties, the influence of various unknown 
 
106 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 causes, which undoubtedly perform a part in the opera- 
 tion, render the process very difficult and uncertain. 
 So many conditions are requisite to a successful operation, 
 that, indeed, it might be said that failure is the rule, and 
 success the exception. This renders the task most delicate 
 and arduous. The operator has constantly to overcome 
 new difficulties, and the greatest is, perhaps, the want of 
 power to appreciate the amount of operating rays existing 
 at every moment. No photometer can be constructed ; 
 for the acting rays are not always in the same ratio to 
 the intensity of light. It is true that, if it were possible 
 to measure the comparative quantity of blue, yellow, and 
 red lights, at all times, then it would be of considerable 
 assistance in judging of the amount of photogenic light. 
 But even this test would not be sufficient, for the acting 
 rays are not strictly identical with the blue rays. Still 
 to be able to ascertain that there were no yellow or red 
 vapours in the atmosphere, making, as it were, screens of 
 those colours between the sun and the object, would be, 
 no doubt, an important assistance. 
 
 It is to the influence of these vapours that the differ- 
 ence found by operators in various climates is due, which 
 difference seemed at first irrational, but which can now 
 easily be explained. 
 
 When the daguerreotype was first discovered, it was 
 expected that southern climates would be more favour- 
 able than northern for the process, and that, in countries 
 where the sun constantly shines, the operation would be 
 considerably shorter. This has not been proved to be 
 the fact, and the following reason may be given for such 
 an apparent anomaly. Light is more intense in the 
 northern latitudes up to a certain degree, on account of 
 its being reflected in all directions by the clouds dis- 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 107 
 
 seminated in the atmosphere ; whilst in the drier climates 
 the open sky, instead of reflecting light, absorbs a great 
 quantity of it. Of course, in speaking of clouds, it 
 cannot be meant that a completely covered sky is more 
 favourable than a sky without any clouds, for in this case 
 the sun is entirely obscured. But still there are days 
 when, although the disk of the sun is not seen from any 
 part of the horizon, the thin clouds allow a much more 
 considerable quantity of photogenic rays to be diffused and 
 retained in the lower strata of the atmosphere than when 
 there are no clouds, and that by some imperceptible 
 vapours the light has a yellow or red tint. 
 
 There is a curious fact which would seem to corro- 
 borate the argument in favour of greater intensity of 
 light in northern climates. It is known that, by a pro- 
 vision of nature, all races of men are constitutionally 
 adapted to the climates in which they are destined to 
 live, that the inhabitants of the tropics can bear a much 
 higher temperature than the inhabitants of the north. 
 May it not be the same for light ? The eyes of the in- 
 habitants of the cloudy and snowy countries are adapted 
 to bear a stronger light than those living in the south. 
 In the course of my daguerreotype experience, I have 
 observed that there is a comparatively greater number of 
 Englishmen, than of Frenchmen, Spaniards, and Italians, 
 capable of sitting for their portraits in a strong light, 
 without being much incommoded. If this fact is correct, 
 such a provision of nature would prove that generally 
 light is more intense in the northern climates, and that it 
 decreases gradually towards the equator. 
 
 It was at first expected that the climate of England, 
 and countries similarly situated, would be unsuitable to 
 
108 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 the daguerreotype operation ; nevertheless, it has turned 
 out that tli is is one of the most favourable climates for 
 the practice of the process. Putting* out of the question 
 the greatest part of the months of November and De- 
 cember, when the fog mixed with the smoke obstructs all 
 light in London, I assert, from my own experience, that 
 the climate of this metropolis is generally more pro- 
 pitious than that of Paris to photographic operations, 
 for the representation of near objects, and for taking 
 portraits. Of course, this observation does not apply to 
 general views taken at a distance ; for, in this case, al- 
 though the light is photogenic, still the misty vapours 
 which generally prevail in England are an obstacle to 
 the formation of clear images. In such a case, the sensi- 
 tive surface has quickly and fully been affected, but not 
 in a clear and defined manner. 
 
 There is another curious fact connected with the pho- 
 togenic operation, which is, that on the summits of high 
 mountains the action of light upon the plate is not so in- 
 tense as in the lower regions. A clever operator was sent 
 two years ago from Paris into Italy to take daguerreotype 
 views of the most interesting spots of that country. After 
 having visited Rome, Florence, Naples, Venice, and other 
 towns, and succeeded in producing a beautiful and curious 
 collection, he wished, in crossing the Alps on his journey 
 home, to obtain some views of the glaciers, and other 
 Alpine scenes ; but, what was his surprise in finding 
 that he could not obtain in one hour, and one hour and 
 a half, in full sunshine, an image of these snowy moun- 
 tains, having the same degree of force and distinctness as 
 views which he had produced in less than fifteen minutes 
 in the lower countries which he had just visited. The 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 109 
 
 skill of this operator was great. ; lie tried several times, 
 and always with the same difficulty, and at length he 
 abandoned the idea of bringing with him a perfect 
 specimen. 
 
 The cause of this fact may be ascribed to the reason 
 given before, that a sky without clouds absorbs a great 
 quantity of light, and that upon high mountains the 
 rarity of the atmosphere would occasion a certain loss of 
 lig-ht. But it remains to be ascertained to what degree 
 the light is absorbed, or otherwise affected by the vari- 
 ation in the density of the air at great elevation above 
 the surface of the earth. 
 
 Before concluding, I must speak of a very important 
 improvement lately applied to the daguerreotype art, 
 which has not as yet been published. I allude to a new 
 process by which the daguerreotype plate may be en- 
 graved by a chemical operation, and formed into a me- 
 tallic plate, from which may be printed an unlimited 
 number of copies. 
 
 Since the discovery of the daguerreotype, the attention 
 of many ingenious persons has been turned to this inte- 
 resting subject ; Mr. Donne, in Paris, Dr. Berres, at 
 Vienna, and Professor Grove, in England, have all sepa- 
 rately made several attempts. The first two gentlemen 
 have not published an account of their processes ; but 
 they have produced specimens which shew that en- 
 graving by the daguerreotype is not altogether a despe- 
 rate case. 
 
 The process of Professor Grove consists in dissolving 
 by the electrotype process the parts of the picture which 
 consist of pure silver : thus the plate is etched in, and 
 transformed into an engraved plate for printing. This 
 process is very ingenious, and creditable to the inventor ; 
 
110 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS, 
 
 but it appears that the action of the galvanic battery 
 sometimes extends to those parts which should remain 
 unattached. 
 
 Mr. Fizeau, to whom the daguerreotype is already 
 indebted for one of its greatest improvements, viz. the 
 fixing of the image, is the fortunate discoverer of this 
 new mode of engraving by a chemical operation. 
 
 By his process an unlimited number of copies may be 
 obtained without impairing the plate. This discovery 
 seems to complete the art, and to render it really useful. 
 
 Now, sculpture, painting, architecture, models from 
 life, — all the productions of the fine arts, — portraits, &c. 
 will be reproduced in their reality, while works of litera- 
 ture and science will be illustrated, not by wood-cuts, not 
 by artistic engraved steel or copper-plates, but by the 
 exact copies of the daguerreotype image. 
 
 Although the daguerreotype has hardly been in ex- 
 istence four years, it already ranks as one of the most 
 prominent inventions of the present day, leaving scarcely 
 any thing to look for in the way of improvement. It is 
 true that it remains to find the means of reproducing the 
 natural colours of objects ; but, although there seems no 
 dream too marvellous in the progress of discovery, still 
 the idea of fixing the colours of the object in the camera 
 obscura is so little in accordance with the present state 
 of science and with the properties of the known elements, 
 that we must be satisfied with the process as it is. 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Ill 
 
 No. IX. 
 
 HIGG'S IMPROVED MONOCHORD. 
 December 20, 1843. 
 
 W. HUGHES HUGHES, ESQ. E.S.A. V.P. IN THE CHAIR. 
 
 In Mr. Higg's improved instrument measurement has 
 been applied to sound, and the actual relation of one 
 tone to another is shewn on an accurately divided scale 
 of two feet. The open note c being precisely the length 
 of the organ-pipe, from which the same sound is ob- 
 tained, the proper and exact length of every organ-pipe 
 may be ascertained. The diatonic and chromatic scales 
 are deduced by mathematical divisions alone, without the 
 assistance of the ear, but, being tested by that organ, are 
 found to be perfectly correct. 
 
 It will be seen, by an attentive examination of these 
 scales, that a string being divided into two equal parts 
 gives the octave of the original note ; into three parts, 
 the fifth of the scale ; into four parts the fourth ; five 
 parts will give the major third ; six parts the minor third ; 
 in fact, this investigation thus carried out is eminently 
 calculated to afford insight into the nature of concords 
 and discords. The explanation thus far relates to the 
 diatonic and chromatic scales only : the next portion 
 belongs to the enharmonic divisions, and demonstrates 
 the exact relation of the thirty-two intervals in the 
 octave, to express which the thirteen keys of the organ 
 or pianoforte are used ; it will, therefore, practically 
 explain the meaning of the term temperament in refer- 
 ence to those instruments, and it will prove the absolute 
 perfection of tone to be expressed by such instruments as 
 
112 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 the violin and violoncello. The last scale is that marked 
 pianoforte temperament, and is intended for the assist- 
 ance of persons in remote parts, where the aid of a skilful 
 tuner cannot be obtained ; for by it any lady or gentle- 
 man possessed of a correct ear, though totally ignorant 
 of the art of tuning, may put an instrument into perfect 
 order. 
 
 The instrument may be said to be capable of facilitating 
 the practice of singing, the teaching of theory, and the 
 tuning of organs and pianofortes. 
 
 No. X. 
 
 TAYLOR'S FIRE-ESCAPES. 
 
 Mr. Taylor's fire-escapes are of two kinds. One 
 being constructed of canvass, extended on a jointed frame, 
 into which persons may precipitate themselves from a 
 window or any elevated position in cases of fire ; and the 
 other consisting of two ropes, one of which running round 
 friction-wheels, within a wooden upright chest, and over 
 a pulley in a jointed crane-jib, prevents the car or 
 canvass-bag from descending too rapidly, while the other 
 is required for drawing up the car again when the first 
 descent has been effected. The whole of the apparatus is 
 contained in a neat ornamental pedestal, which may stand 
 in a dressing-room or bed-room close to a window, and 
 may be used at a minute's notice, without any assistance 
 being required from a second party. 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 113 
 
 No. XL 
 
 HUGHES'S METHOD OF TEACHING THE BLIND 
 TO READ AND WRITE. 
 
 Mr. Hughes, who has been blind for seven years, 
 explained his new system of stenographic embossing', by 
 which the blind may readily be taught to read and write 
 with great facility. 
 
 The system consists of the formation of two dots, the 
 one smooth and the other rough, which, with the aid of 
 a guide-line, are so arranged that all the letters of 
 the alphabet, as also the numerals, are readily repre- 
 sented, merely by impressing the paper either with the 
 smooth end or rough end of the embossing instrument in 
 squares regulated by what Mr. Hughes calls the formula, 
 which consists of a brass frame, furnished with vertical 
 and horizontal bars, placed at equal distances. 
 
 No. XII. 
 
 ON THE MEANS OF CLEANSING DAILY THE 
 STREETS OF THE METROPOLIS. 
 
 By the Secretary. 
 Jan. 10, 1844. 
 
 DR. ROGET, SEC. R.S. V.P. IN THE CHAIR. 
 
 Abstract. 
 
 The attention of the author was first drawn to this 
 subject in 1821, in which year he prepared a short 
 account of the method he proposed of partially employing 
 the poor in daily sweeping the streets, and of thus 
 
 i 
 
114 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 abolishing one of the greatest nuisances in the metro- 
 polis. 
 
 There are three ways by which this desirable object 
 may be attained. 
 
 1. By machine-work only. 
 
 2. By manual labour only ; and 
 
 3. By machine-work and manual labour conjointly. 
 The machine for cleansing streets, invented by Mr. 
 
 Whitworth of Manchester (a model of which was placed 
 before the meeting), consists of a cart formed of two 
 distinct parts ; the lower part, which contains the soil, is 
 suspended from the cart-axle by chains, the weight of the 
 loaded part is confined to the axle, having no tendency to 
 decrease the action of the sweeping apparatus, to which 
 motion is given by a cog-wheel attached to the offside 
 wheel of the cart ; the chains, to which brooms are 
 attached, are carried round two corresponding wheels or 
 sheaves, and as the cart moves forward, each brush in 
 succession meets the ground, and sweeps a quantity of 
 soil up an inclined trough into the lower portion of the 
 cart, which when filled can be removed, and an empty 
 receptacle substituted. 
 
 The whole extent of carriage-way included in the 
 metropolitan districts proposed to be cleansed daily, em- 
 braces an area of 6,246,902 superficial yards, and as one 
 machine is capable of sweeping 19,280 superficial yards 
 in eight hours (from midnight till eight in the morning), 
 it would require 324 machines to perform the whole 
 work daily. 
 
 The cost of sweeping the streets by machine-work, and 
 transporting the soil to the depots or lay-stalls, would be, 
 on an average, about Is. 6d, per 1000 yards swept by the 
 machine, so that the daily cost would amount to 468/., 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 115 
 
 or 170,8:20/. per annum. The ashes from the 65,790 
 houses in the districts included, would realise about 
 100,000/. a-year, reducing the net cost therefore to 
 70,820/. a-year, or rather under 22s. per house. 
 
 If manual labour only were employed for cleansing 
 the same extent of surface, it would require 3120 men to 
 do the work daily, which at 2s. each per day, or 14s. per 
 week, would make 113,880/., or net 3880/. which is 
 exclusive of transporting the soil to the laystalls or 
 depots. 
 
 The foot-pavement in the same districts extends over 
 about 1,041,150 superficial yards, which at Is. 3d. per 
 thousand yards cleansed, would cost annually 23,743/. ; 
 and taking the whole of the carriage and footways, the 
 cost per house would not, on an average, exceed 1 /. 8s. 
 8d, per annum. 
 
 The most effectual and economical way, however, of 
 effecting the object would be by machine-work and 
 manual labour jointly ; for it is found that when a street 
 is once thoroughly cleansed by a machine, and after- 
 wards kept continually swept by manual labour, the aid 
 of such machine is only required occasionally, as after 
 drizzling rain, or snow, &c. 
 
 March 6, 1844. 
 
 BENJAMIN ROTCH, ESQ. V.P. IN THE CHAIR. 
 
 The results of an experiment made in parts of Regent 
 Street and Oxford Street, conducted by a committee of 
 the inhabitants, and assisted by the Practical and scientific 
 Association for the promotion of improved street-paving, 
 cleansing, &c. was laid before the society. 
 
116 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 The experiment was commenced on the 2d of Jan- 
 nary in the present year, for the purpose of ascertaining 
 the cost of cleansing parts of Regent Street and Oxford 
 Street, which was continued until the 20th of the same 
 month inclusive, being nineteen days ; 35 men and 3 89 
 boys were, on an average, daily employed, at the rate of 
 twelve hours a-day. 
 
 The average area of surface swept daily by Whit- 
 worth's machines amounted to 1841 superficial yards, 
 and the quantity of soil, slop, &c. removed by the 
 machines averaged rather more than three loads per 
 day, or at the rate of one load for 613 superficial yards 
 swept by the machine. The average cost per day was at 
 the rate of 8Z. 13s. 9±d. 
 
 The total area kept continually clean during the nine- 
 teen days experiment, amounted to 27,000 superficial 
 yards, and taking the boys at two to a man, the average 
 area kept clean continually by each man, with the occa- 
 sional aid of the machines at night, was equal to 730 
 superficial yards. 
 
 The expense for effecting this desirable object 
 was found to be at the rate of Is. 2d, per house per 
 week ; but it is evident that if a complete system of 
 cleansing the metropolitan streets daily were carried into 
 effect, the cost would be materially reduced, as a large 
 proportion of the mud collected during the experiment, 
 was transferred from the adjacent macadamised roads. 
 
 On the 9th of January, the eighth day of the ex- 
 periment, it was found that only half a load was collected 
 by the machine throughout the district ; shewing that 
 if a regular system were perfectly carried out, the cost for 
 machine-work would be very trifling indeed. 
 
 On the 12th of January an experiment of cleansing 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 117 
 
 the wood pavement by means of washing was tried; the 
 water was supplied by means of a stand-pipe and hose, 
 connected with the West Middlesex water mains, and 
 the liquified mud was brushed off into the sewers. If 
 water could be procured at a cheap rate, there can be no 
 doubt that this would be the most effectual mode of 
 gaining so desirable an object. 
 
 No. XIII. 
 THOMPSON'S FIRE-ESCAPE. 
 January 17, 1844. 
 
 WILLIAM POLE, ESQ. F.R.S. V.P. IN THE CHAIR. 
 
 This contrivance consists of two ropes, each of suffi- 
 cient length to reach from the street to the top windows 
 of the loftiest houses. These ropes are joined together. 
 An iron hook is secured to the ropes at the point of 
 junction, and which is elevated to the window of the 
 house from which the inmates are to be rescued, by 
 means of a pole, consisting of several lengths put to- 
 gether, after the manner of a fishing-rod ; it is then 
 to be secured, by means of the hook, to some heavy 
 piece of furniture, the two other ends remaining in the 
 street ; a belt to buckle round the body, having two 
 small iron wheels, or sheaves, secured upon it by strong- 
 iron rivets, is so constructed that it may be moved upon 
 the ropes from the street to the window, or vice-versa, 
 the ends of the rope being passed inside the sheaves, 
 and pulled apart in the street, so as to form a consider- 
 able angle, and kept tight, and at such a distance as 
 occasion may require ; thus persons may ascend and 
 
118 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 descend readily, and without any clanger of accident, 
 owing to the operation being performed with too great 
 rapidity, which has been a defect in other machines of 
 the kind, with only a single rope. 
 
 In the year 1829 the Society presented to Mr. D. 
 Da vies their large silver medal for a somewhat similar 
 contrivance (an account of which is published in their 47th 
 vol.), by which, however, the descent only is provided 
 for. An apparatus on Mr. Davies's plan may be seen in 
 the Society's repository. 
 
 No. XIV. 
 ON THE HYGRO-BAROMETER. 
 By Andrew Ross. 
 January 24th, 1844. 
 
 I>AYIJ> POLLOCK, ESQ. F.R.S. V.I\ IN THE CHAIR. 
 
 Of all the instruments employed in meteorological 
 observations, the hygrometer and barometer are the most 
 important ; and as progress in the science of meteorology 
 mainly depends on the accumulation of well-observed 
 and well-registered facts, the hygro-barometer has been 
 so arranged that the height of the barometric column and 
 the depression of the dew-point may be registered from 
 mere inspection, while these may be combined, as will 
 hereafter be described, to exhibit in a popular manner the 
 real state of the weather. 
 
 The three most remarkable fluctuations which occur 
 in the atmosphere, are its temperature, its weight, and its 
 dryness, and these are measured with the instruments 
 which compose the hygro-barometer. The electrical state 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 119 
 
 of the atmosphere depends in a degree upon these fluctua- 
 tions, and it is probable that to them, in combination 
 with electricity, currents, winds, and storms, are wholly 
 attributable. 
 
 The connexion which has been observed between 
 fluctuations of the barometer and changes of the wea- 
 ther has given rise to the practise of engraving on 
 that instrument the words, "Fair," "Rain," &c, in a 
 manner which would imply more precision in such pre- 
 dictions than is really found to exist. A great de- 
 pression in the barometer will, doubtless, bo followed 
 by wind, because such a sinking in the body of the 
 atmosphere as is marked by a fall of one or two inches 
 of mercury, will be speedily restored by a rush of air 
 from other parts of the globe ; and there is always a 
 probability that wind will be accompanied by rain, be- 
 cause warmer air charged with moisture may be brought 
 to our colder regions, where the moisture will be con- 
 densed into rain, or colder air may be brought to mix 
 with that already existing, and cause it, therefore, to 
 precipitate part of its moisture. The first, however, is 
 the more common cause of rain. Winds from the east 
 and west, not differing greatly in temperature from our 
 own air, affect us principally from the circumstance that 
 the western gales passing over the Atlantic are more 
 charged with moisture than the eastern which have tra- 
 versed the continents of Asia and Europe. This shews 
 the necessity of combining the indications of the hygro- 
 meter with those of the barometer in our prognostications 
 of the weather. 
 
 The hygro-barometer by which these indications can 
 be combined, comprises a barometer of the usual con- 
 struction and two thermometers. One of the thermome- 
 
120 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 ters is of the ordinary kind, the other has its bulb kept 
 constantly moist by a small skein of silk immersed in 
 water, contained in the fountain bottle placed between the 
 two thermometers. These are employed to measure the 
 quantity of moisture in the atmosphere. 
 
 Numerous contrivances have been applied to the baro- 
 meter for this purpose, principally of animal and vege- 
 table tissues and fibres, such as whalebone and the beard 
 of the wild oat, which are peculiarly affected by changes of 
 dryness and moisture. These, however, only exhibit the 
 change, they do not measure it. Professor Daniell was the 
 first to invent an instrument by which the absolute quantity 
 of water in the atmosphere could be ascertained. It points 
 out the temperature to which the existing atmosphere 
 must be reduced before it will begin to deposit its moist- 
 ure ; and this temperature is called the dew-point. As 
 an exact scientific instrument, Darnell's hygrometer can- 
 not be surpassed, but the time occupied and the nicety 
 required in making the observations, render it too tedious 
 for popular use ; but Dr. Apjohn having compared the 
 difference of temperature as obtained by the wet and dry 
 bulb thermometers with the indications of Daniell's hy- 
 grometer, has given a formula for the computation of the 
 dew point below the temperature of the atmosphere, 
 which affords the means of readily obtaining this differ- 
 ence ; and it is satisfactory to know that Dr. Apjohn's 
 empirical formula is corroborated by the result of a 
 purely theoretical investigation made by Professor 
 Kupffer. 
 
 In the centre of the frame is an engraved table of 
 figures, the object of which is to give the number shew- 
 ing the depression of the dew-point below the existing 
 temperature, and is computed from the formula before 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 121 
 
 mentioned. It consists of two columns of figures; the 
 one headed temperature, and the other difference of tem- 
 perature. The figures of the first column, headed " tem- 
 perature," direct to horizontal columns of figures on the 
 right, and refer to the ordinary thermometer ; the other 
 column of figures is headed "difference of temperature,' , 
 and the large figures in the upper line refer to the dif- 
 ference of the indications of the two thermometers, and 
 head perpendicular columns of figures below them. 
 
 Above this table is an ivory sliding scale on the right 
 hand, and a fixed scale on the left; that on the right 
 refers to the barometer, and is marked with divisions 
 corresponding to tenths of inches on the scale for mea- 
 suring the height of the column of mercury in the or- 
 dinary barometer ; and that on the left refers to the 
 hygrometer, and is marked with divisions corresponding 
 to degrees of depression of the dew-point as given by 
 the table. There is a brass index sliding in and moving 
 with the sliding barometer scale ; also a blackened index 
 sliding in the fixed scale. The brass index points to 
 the fixed hygrometric scale, which has the usual words, 
 " Rain," " Changeable," and " Fine," engraved upon 
 it. The blackened index is merely to register the ob- 
 servation. 
 
 The places of the various states of the weather, 
 " Rain," " Changeable," and " Fine," on the hygro- 
 metric scale, have been fixed from a mean of three years' 
 Meteorological Journals of the Royal Society, and were 
 obtained as follows: — where the height of the barometer 
 was 30 inches, and the column of remarks indicated 
 changeable, the depression of the dew-point was taken 
 from its column, and the mean of all cases during the 
 three years gave 6 for the mean depression of the dew- 
 
122 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 point; and the place of "Changeable" is accordingly 
 placed opposite the division 6 on the hygrometric scale. 
 The place of " Fine," which is opposite the division 12, 
 was obtained in the same manner ; and the place of 
 " Rain " is 6, or where there is no difference between 
 the existing temperature and the dew-point, as then the 
 moisture of the atmosphere will begin to be deposited. 
 
 The barometer, as before mentioned, is of the ordinary 
 construction, the height of the mercury being indicated, 
 as usual, by inches and parts ; but the corresponding 
 numbers on the sliding scale have variable spaces, for 
 upon comparing the column of remarks in the before 
 mentioned journals with the variations of the height 
 of mercury in the barometer (the dew-point being con- 
 stant) it was seen that the probability of rain was in an 
 increased proportion, with equal decrements of the co- 
 lumn of mercury below 30 inches ; also, that above 30 
 inches the probabilities of fine weather were in a dimi- 
 nishing proportion with equal increments of the column, 
 and the divisions below and above 30 inches on the 
 sliding scale arc accordingly in these increasing and 
 diminishing proportions. 
 
 The manner of using the instrument so as to combine 
 the indications of the hygrometer with those of the baro- 
 meter, is as follows : — 
 
 Adjust the sliding ivory scale so that the number 30 
 coincides with the fixed index division on the frame of the 
 ivory scale. 
 
 Ascertain the temperature of the air by the ordinary 
 or dry bulb thermometer, also the difference of tem- 
 perature as indicated by the wet and dry bulb thermo- 
 meters ; then refer to the table, and where the vertical 
 column and horizontal row of figures under these num.- 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 123 
 
 bcrs intersect, a number will be found, which is the de- 
 pression of the dew-point below the temperature of the 
 atmosphere. Now adjust the brass index to point to this 
 number on the hygrometric scale, and this will indicate 
 the state of the weather due to the hygrometric state of 
 the atmosphere. Next ascertain the number indicating* 
 the height of the mercury in the barometer, and adjust 
 the sliding scale so that this number may coincide with 
 the index division on the edge of the frame. As the 
 brass index moves with this slide it will be carried away 
 from its former position with the sliding scale, which will 
 combine the barometric influence, and the index will now 
 point out the state of the weather due to the combined 
 influences of both the hygrometric and barometric states 
 of the atmosphere. 
 
 No. XV. 
 
 ON STOVES. 
 
 The following stoves were exhibited and described by 
 their respective inventors. 
 
 1. Jones's portable and economical stove. 
 
 2. Wright's, formerly known as Joyce's, stove, 
 
 3. Nettleton's safety-pedestal stove. 
 
 4. Brown and Green's ventilating stove. 
 
 5. Walker's self-feeding phoenix stove. 
 
 6. Edwards', or Dr. Arnott's stove. 
 
 7. Nott's patent stove. 
 
124 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 No. XVI. 
 
 ON THE PRINCIPAL CAUSE OF THE ROCKING 
 MOTION OF LOCOMOTIVE ENGINES AND 
 CARRIAGES, AND OTHER MACHINERY. 
 
 By George Heaton, of Birmingham. 
 January 31st, 1844. 
 
 THOMAS IIOBLTN, ESQ. E.R.S. V.P. IN THE CHAIR. 
 
 Abstract. 
 
 "My particular attention," observes the author, "was 
 accidentally called to this subject in the spring- of 1838, 
 while employed in the inspection of a steam-engine and 
 machinery used for making " use iron," boiler plates, and 
 rolled bars. 
 
 Several years prior to the time in question the steam- 
 engine had had a larger steam cylinder put to it than the 
 one it originally possessed, and the two fly-wheels had been 
 rehung and made to revolve more truly on the edges than 
 previously. These fly-wheels when running quickly had, 
 for a considerable period, made a rumbling noise ; the 
 light one, or quick wheel, would sometimes jump as high 
 as the gland or bearings would allow it, and appeared to 
 spring the sills to which it was fastened, so much so as 
 to cause the whole building to be shaken. The large 
 wheel had no gland upon its neck, it having been con- 
 sidered useless when the works were erected. To lift 
 this end of the shaft, with its fly-wheel, spur-wheels, and 
 cam-rings, it required six times as much force as the en- 
 gine was able to exert simply in pulling ; but, neverthe- 
 less, from its momentum, the larger wheel frequently 
 jumped two or three inches high from its bearings, and 
 fell down again with a tremendous blow. 
 
 Several engineers and millwrights had been consulted 
 on the subject, the millwrights affirming that it must be 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 125 
 
 the engine, which, by pulling irregularly, caused the 
 jumping motion ; the engineers, on the contrary, that it 
 must be in the machinery of the forge, for the engine 
 seemed to act very regularly. The large fly-wheel had a 
 spur-wheel of about 9 feet diameter, with 84 teeth, 1 1 
 inches wide on the face, and 4g inches pitch, and the 
 crank pin, for the connecting rod of the engine, was 
 fixed in one of its arms. The spur-wheel, worked into a 
 nut or pinion of 25 teeth, fixed upon the smaller fly- 
 wheel shaft, it being what is called rising gear, the fric- 
 tion upon some of the teeth was so considerable as to re - 
 move from them every particle of grease immediately it 
 was put on, and as soon as the teeth were dry it made 
 them appear as if they had been left from a coarse file : 
 the sparks of fire produced by the friction were fre- 
 quently seen to fly up at least 2 feet. 
 
 Although there were 25 teeth, or what is called a 
 hunting tooth, in the nut, the principal wear and tear 
 occurred upon four of the teeth on one side, and 5 on the 
 opposite side, leaving the hard skin from the casting 
 upon many of the other teeth of the pinion, even when 
 some of these 9 teeth had had nearly J of an inch worn 
 off them. This nut weighed about 11 cwt., and being in 
 use both night and day, seldom lasted more than three 
 months before the teeth were worn so thin and had so 
 much play as to cause them to strike a sufficiently hard 
 blow to break the teeth off the large wheel. 
 
 I examined the steam-engine and considered it to be 
 in fair working order> and that the fault lay in the fly- 
 wheels, they being heavier on one side than on the other, 
 thus causing their jumping motion. On hearing this 
 opinion the proprietors of the mill were much astonished, 
 and one of them immediately asked me if I thought it 
 
126 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 possible "that those wheels, having, together with their 
 shafts, the respective weights of 12 and 20 tons, could be 
 so heavy-sided as to jump up and down 2 to 3 inches at 
 a time, and that from 40 to 60 times in a minute, with- 
 out such motion being distinctly perceptible." My an- 
 swer was in the affirmative, and 1 cited various instances 
 in which smaller machinery was subject, in the same 
 manner, to irregularities and deficiencies of action, 
 simply from want of equipoise. 
 
 It was agreed that, from the simplicity of my sugges- 
 tion, it should be tried ; the wheels were accordingly 
 thrown out of gear, so that it could be ascertained ex- 
 perimentally how much it required to set each wheel in 
 motion, in each direction, separately. 
 
 The smaller fly-wheel, which was 16 feet in diameter, 
 required 1601bs. more on one side than on the opposite 
 to set it in motion. A piece of iron, weighing 1601bs., 
 was accordingly fixed inside the ring of the wheel, which 
 made about 70 revolutions per minute. When the large 
 fly-wheel (which was 18 feet in diameter) was examined, 
 it was found to require 322 lbs. more on one side than the 
 other to set it in motion. The 322 lbs. weight was accord- 
 ingly fixed inside its periphery. 
 
 The wheels having been thus altered, the forge was 
 set to work; the wheels ran steadily and pleasantly, the 
 grease kept upon the teeth, the nut was not more worn at 
 the end of four years and two months work than some of 
 the teeth had been with only three months' use, and the 
 works ran altogether so quietly that you may now pass 
 close to the walls of the premises and scarcely hear that 
 there is any machinery in motion, whereas before they 
 wore balanced the noise was frequently heard at the 
 distance of a mile and a half. The proprietors assure me 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 127 
 
 that their present repairs are as nothing to what they 
 were formerly, and they can now do much more work 
 with the engine than before the wheels were balanced. 
 
 From the consideration of the foregoing circum- 
 stances, I had not the least doubt but that the twisting 
 and rocking motions of railway-engines were caused by 
 the crank and gearing at the moment of their reversing 
 their centres ; and I determined to test the matter in the 
 modes I shall at once explain." 
 
 Mr. Ileaton then proceeded to exhibit experimentally 
 to the Society some of the causes of oscillation in railway- 
 carriages, incidental to the want of equilibrium in their 
 various revolving parts, such as the wheels, axles, cranks, 
 Sec. These sources of error were made manifest by means 
 of five different models, so constructed as to be capable of 
 being put either in or out of equilibrium at pleasure, by 
 the attachment or removal of small weights. The seve- 
 ral models were put in rapid motion by the descent of a 
 weight, by the action of a train of wheels, as in the com- 
 mon roasting-jack, and by other modes. When the 
 whole of the parts of the models that were in motion were 
 strictly in equilibrium, they performed their various re- 
 volutions in a quiescent manner, whereas, on the con- 
 trary, when the equilibrium of the masses was disturbed 
 by the annexation of the small weights, the models re- 
 ceived various disturbing motions illustrative of the jump- 
 ing, rocking, and twisting movements or disturbances to 
 which railway-engines and carriages are occasionally 
 subject. It was also shewn that the irregular motion 
 caused wasteful expenditure of the primary power, as the 
 motions uniformly endured longer when the models were 
 in accurate equipoise. 
 
 The several results were made abundantly manifest 
 
 \ 
 
128 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 both to the eyes and ears of the auditory ; but without the 
 aid of diagrams and explanations, beyond the limit of 
 this report of the proceedings of the evening, justice 
 could not be rendered to the truthfulness of the experi- 
 ments, the several results of which are recorded in a 
 tabular form. The whole went to prove most satisfac- 
 torily, that whether machinery be large or small, the 
 want of strict equilibrium in the parts subject to rapid 
 circulation is a source of paramount mischief, and that in 
 railway travelling the want of true equipoise elicits many 
 of the inconveniences felt in this important method of 
 locomotion. # 
 
 No. XVII. 
 
 ON THE PATENT CANNABIC COMPOSITION. 
 
 By B. Albano, C.E. 
 Feb. 7, 1844. 
 
 W. TOOKE, ESQ. F.R.S. HON. V.P. IN THE CHAIR. 
 
 The author of this communication having been ap- 
 plied to by the inventor, a native of Rome, to assist him 
 in the mechanical part of the manufacture of this new com- 
 position, was so struck with the beauty of the invention 
 that he became interested therein by taking out the En- 
 glish patent for the same. 
 
 Its chief ingredient is hemp, which, in connexion 
 with sevaral other materials, undergoes a chemical pro- 
 
 * The original paper and tables may be inspected in the Society's 
 Library by those who desire to learn the exact nature of the models 
 and of the experiments made therewith ^ 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 129 
 
 cess before its conversion, by means of machinery, into 
 sheets of from six to seven feet in length, and of about 
 forty inches in width. It may be moulded into any 
 required shape, and is peculiarly adapted for mouldings, 
 cornices, &c. 
 
 This material is only about one-sixth of the weight of 
 the composition ordinarily used, and less than half the 
 weight of papier machee. The composition ordinarily 
 used requires a long time before it is ready to receive 
 paint and gilding, and, if hurried by artificial heat, will 
 crack to a very considerable extent. The least blow will 
 cause fractures in it, whereas the new material is exceed- 
 ingly tough, and may be thrown on the ground without 
 receiving injury. 
 
 No. XV1IT. 
 MARTIN'S CHIROGYMNAST. 
 February 14, 1844. 
 
 GEORGE MOORE, ESQ. F.R.S. V.P. IN THE CHAIR. 
 
 Mr. Martin explained the chirogymnast, or finger- 
 exerciser, the object of which is to facilitate the action of 
 the fingers, by exercising them in modes corresponding 
 with those required in the art of music, so as to give 
 them more independence and equality of movement, and 
 to obtain, at the same time, by a series of exercises, that 
 whicli may be called a " distinct individuality " for each 
 finger, together with increased agility, extension, and 
 force. 
 
 The chirogymnast is applicable to nine different gym- 
 nastic exercises, whicli are intended to prepare the hand 
 
130 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 for the practice of all kinds of musical instruments, but 
 particularly of the pianoforte. The mechanical arrange- 
 ments for governing the exercises are attached to a piece 
 of mahogany or other wood, which is nineteen inches 
 long, by twelve and a half wide, and one inch in thick- 
 ness, and which is fitted with various levers, springs, 
 straps, keys, &c, in such a way as to render it easy of 
 adjustment to a hand of any size, and to constrain the 
 hand to follow the action required in musical practice, 
 attention being particularly directed to the fourth finger, 
 which is the least susceptible of free and independent 
 motion. As the whole of the apparatus does not weigh 
 more than six pounds, it is very portable ; and from its 
 nature it is noiseless, so that the exercises may be prac- 
 tised without interruption to persons situated in the same 
 or adjoining apartments. 
 
 No. XIX. 
 
 DR. ROTH'S CALCULATING MACHINE. 
 By Mr. Wertheimber. 
 
 The automaton calculator, invented by Dr. Roth of 
 Paris, and laid before the Society by Mr. Wertheimber, is 
 an instrument by which various sums, either simple or 
 compound, may be rapidly and accurately added to- 
 gether, provided the whole amount does not exceed 
 999,999, or 999,999/. 19s. ilf#. 
 
 The instrument consists of an oblong mahogany box, 
 fifteen and a half inches long, and two and a half inches 
 wide, and one inch thick, having a metal plate at top, in 
 which are nine semiannular perforations, beneath which 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 131 
 
 are fixed the requisite trains of wheels ; round the per- 
 forations are engraved the index figures, opposite to 
 which, in the perforations, are the teeth of the corre- 
 sponding wheels. 
 
 Under the indices are nine circular holes, in which 
 the numbers set down appear as if written on paper or a 
 slate. 
 
 To set down any required figure, a pointer is inserted 
 in the notch corresponding with that figure on the index, 
 and, by pressing the pointer against the left-hand tooth 
 of the notch, it is moved down to the left extremity of 
 the annular perforation, and the figure is at once exhi- 
 bited in the circular hole beneath. When the operation 
 of adding up any amount within the range already men- 
 tioned is finished, it is requisite that 0 should be shewn 
 in each of the nine circular holes before another opera- 
 tion can be performed. This is done by pulling out a 
 slide at the left end of the instrument, which slide gives 
 999,999/. 19s. lljd, and, by adding \d., the nine O's are 
 exhibited at once. 
 
 No. XX. 
 
 ELLIS'S TURN-TABLE* 
 By B. Rotch, Esq. V.P. 
 March 6, 1844. 
 
 B. ROTCH, ESQ. V.P. IN THE CHAIR. 
 
 This ingenious invention obviates one of the greatest 
 objections to the turn-table, which is, its being supported 
 on numerous small friction-rollers under its outer edge, 
 as well as on a central pillar. The object of these rollers 
 
132 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 is to facilitate the turning of the table when the heavy 
 weight of an engine or carriage is upon it ; but this 
 weight is so excessive, that coming, when passing over 
 the table unequally, first on one edge, as it enters upon 
 it, and then on the other, as it passes from it, the 
 table gets pressed down, first on one side, and then on 
 the other, with such rapidity and violence of strain as to 
 cause a great noise of successive jarring blows, and a 
 constant derangement and damaging of the rollers. 
 
 Ellis's turn-table prevents all this, by doing away 
 with these rollers, and allowing the outer edge of the 
 table to rest firmly, and without rollers, on a solid sup- 
 port or circular bed made to receive it. It is also 
 supported on a central pillar, on which the centre of 
 the table bears firmly and steadily at the same time. 
 When the table is left in this condition, which may be 
 called its position of rest, the bearings are so firm that 
 the engines and carriages roll steadily over it without 
 noise or jar, just as if it were a part of the railway itself ; 
 but the central pillar is so arranged as to be easily acted 
 upon by a compound lever, on the principle of the lever 
 of a weighing machine, and the table may, in fact, be made 
 into a weighing machine, by adapting a steelyard and 
 weights to this compound lever ; and, when it is required 
 to turn a carriage or engine on the table, it is rolled on to 
 it while remaining firmly and steadily in its rest position, 
 and, when the weight is placed on its centre, and so has 
 an equal bearing over the table, the table is lifted from 
 its circular bearing all round the outer edge by the com- 
 pound lever, and thrown entirely on the centre pillar, 
 the bottom of which resting on a pivot, the whole 
 may be turned round with the greatest ease the distance 
 required, and the table then let firmly down again on its 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 133 
 
 solid circumferential and central bearing, or to what is 
 called its rest position. 
 
 This plan is very simple, very effective, and saves an 
 immense amount of wear and tear in the item of turn- 
 tables. It has already been extensively adopted. 
 
 No. XXI. 
 
 THE NURSING SYPHON FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 
 Invented by B. Rotch, Esq. V.P. 
 
 The objections to the old spout cup, and other 
 contrivances of the sort, are that none of them con- 
 veniently allow of feeding from them, when the patient is 
 lying flat on his back, — a position often necessary, par- 
 ticularly in cases of accident. 
 
 The nursing syphon is made of glass, and its short 
 leg will hang conveniently over the edge of any tumbler 
 or other vessel, while its long leg, descending consider- 
 ably below the tumbler, and bent into a short curve at 
 its lower end, may be introduced into the mouth in what- 
 ever position the patient may be lying, while the tumbler, 
 being far above the patient (whether the liquor contained 
 in it be cold or hot), need never come in contact with 
 any part of the person of the invalid, — a great annoyance 
 in some cases where the old feeding-apparatus is used. 
 The quantity of liquid to be administered is entirely 
 under the control of the nurse, and it only flows so long- 
 as the finger is kept on the air-tube, while the flow 
 ceases on removing the finger, without withdrawing the 
 vessel containing the liquid from the mouth, the point 
 at which nursing-difficulties often arise, particularly 
 where the patients are children. A small portion of 
 compressed air will always remain between the finger 
 
134 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 and the surface of the liquid in the syphon, which pre- 
 vents the fluid ever coming in contact with the finger. 
 Though apparently a trifling invention, its importance 
 and comfort will he fully appreciated in the chamber of 
 the invalid. 
 
 No. XXII. 
 
 ROBSON'S PATENT SIGNAL-LIGHTS. 
 By the Secretary. 
 
 These lights are especially useful for night-signals at 
 sea, but they are equally applicable in many other cases, 
 as will be afterwards explained. The principal ad- 
 vantages which they possess over other signal -lights 
 hitherto used is the extreme simplicity of the mode of 
 ignition, together with very great safety and more per- 
 fect combustion, as little or no dross falls from them 
 while burning. Another important feature of the inven- 
 tion is, that these lights may be so varied as to produce 
 a complete code of signals. 
 
 Another advantage is that, from the nature of the 
 composition, they cannot possibly absorb moisture, even 
 although kept in a damp place. 
 
 The lights are of different colours, viz. white, red, and 
 green ; there are also projectile lights, and rockets may 
 be fired on the same principle. 
 
 The manner in which ignition is produced is by means 
 of a small glass globule of sulphuric acid, placed in an 
 aperture in the handle of the light, and immediately 
 above which is placed a small cake of oxymuriate of 
 potash, divided from the globule by means of a tin slide, 
 and in the aperture is fitted a wooden screw. 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS, 
 
 135 
 
 When required for use, the tin slide must be with- 
 drawn, and the screw turned, so as to break the glass 
 globule, and bring the acid and oxymuriate of potash 
 into contact, the fire then runs to the top of the charge 
 by means of a quick-match carried through the centre. 
 
 The time these lights may be made to burn varies 
 with their length ; a three-inch light will burn two 
 minutes, and its cost is one shilling. 
 
 The quick-match ordinarily used is lamp- cotton 
 soaked in gunpowder, which is liable to the objection of 
 absorbing moisture from the atmosphere. In the quick- 
 match used by Mr. Rohson this defect is entirely obvi- 
 ated, and at the same time, when inclosed in a tube, 
 causes the ignition to be almost instantaneous. 
 
 The mode of practically applying these lights to a 
 universal system of numeral signals, as proposed by Mr. 
 Whishaw, is as follows. No. 1 is shewn by moving, either 
 by hand or a frame of wood, the white light up and down 
 in a vertical direction ; 2, by moving the same light in a 
 horizontal direction ; 3, by moving the same light in 
 the form of a semicircle, backwards and forwards ; 4, by 
 moving the red light in a vertical direction as before ; 5, 
 in a horizontal direction ; 6, in a semicircular ; 7, the 
 green light in a vertical position ; 8, in a horizontal posi- 
 tion ; 9, in a semicircular direction ; and 0, by moving 
 either of the lights in a circle. Thus a complete com- 
 munication may be effected between ships at sea, between 
 the men at the different fire-brigade stations of the me- 
 tropolis, for general telegraphic purposes, &c. To give 
 notice, a projectile light is used, from which various balls 
 are thrown up a considerable height above the operator ; 
 and, for particular signals, cases containing the three 
 colours are used. 
 
136 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 No. XXIII. 
 
 ON GEORGE FORRESTER AND CO.'S IMPROVED 
 DOUBLE-CYLINDER MARINE ENGINE, IN- 
 VENTED BY B. HICK, ESQ. 
 
 By B. Hick (of the above firm), Engineer. 
 March 20, 1844. 
 
 BENJAMIN BOND CABBELL, ESQ. F.R.S. V.P. IN THE CHAIR. 
 
 The engine, of which the following* is a description, 
 is one of a pair lately constructed by Messrs. George 
 Forrester and Co. for the Helen M,ac Gregor, Hull 
 and Hamburg steamer. The collective power of the 
 engines is 220 horses', the tonnage of the boat being 573. 
 The engines are of the form usually denominated " direct 
 action," and, without making any comparison between 
 this and the various other forms of direct-action engines 
 hitherto made (some of them possessing much that is 
 admirable in the ingenuity of their arrangement and the 
 compactness of their different parts), I will endeavour 
 plainly to describe the construction and principle of the 
 above-named engine, and to state wherein I conceive its 
 advantages will be found, in practice, as suitable for sea- 
 going steamers. The following short account will serve 
 to explain the different working parts of the engine. 
 
 The engine consists of two inverted cylinders, act, 
 standing upon four strong wrought-iron columns, b b y &c, 
 which rest on, and are secured to, the foundation-plate c, 
 and which, passing through suitable bosses, on the sides 
 of the cylinders, support the entablature-plate d and 
 crank-pedestals above. The cylinders are placed " athwart 
 ships," with their stuffing-boxes ee below them, and at 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS, 
 
 137 
 
 sufficient height from the bottom of the vessel to allow of 
 the main cross-bar /, which connects together the two 
 piston-rods gg y working the full length of its stroke 
 below them ; the stuffing-boxes e e are of double form, or, 
 In other words, they have a space for packing both at 
 top and bottom, being furnished with self-acting oil-cups 
 for lubricating the rods. The power is transmitted di- 
 rectly, from the main cross-bar /below, to the cranks it 
 above the cylinders, by the connecting-rod h. The two 
 piston-rods g g, and the connecting cross-bar/, are further 
 secured, and made to work uniformly together, by means 
 of a strong vibrating frame of cast-iron, forming part of 
 the parallel motion, and which, with the side-levers k, 
 serves also to work the air-pump Z, as well as the feed, 
 bilge, and brine-pumps. There is nothing new in the 
 paddle-wheels, shafts, or bearings. 
 
 Each cylinder is furnished with a separate slide-valve, 
 which two are connected together by a cross-bar common 
 to both, being worked by the same eccentric motion. 
 The object of thus dividing the valve is to shorten the 
 lengths of the " steam ports," the valves being brought 
 much closer up to the face of their respective cylinders 
 than would be the case if one only were used for both. 
 The condenser m is placed immediately underneath the 
 slide-valve case, and the air-pump, foot, and discharge- 
 valves, are similar in construction to those of the ordinary 
 side-lever engines. The air-pump I and condenser m are 
 connected together by a passage underneath the founda- 
 tion-plate. The waste water is discharged from the 
 hot well o by an overflow-pipe through the side of the 
 vessel. 
 
 In order more clearly to explain the principle of this 
 arrangement, and its applicability to u sea-going steamers," 
 
138 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS, 
 
 it will be necessary to advert to the following parts, 
 which form the chief features, or novelty, in the engine. 
 
 1st. The cylinders and their position. 
 
 The application of two cylinders to one engine, having 
 their piston-rods connected together, was first introduced 
 by Messrs. Maudslay and Field, of London, for marine 
 purposes, and is described in a patent taken out by 
 them. 
 
 The advantage of the use of two cylinders, instead of 
 one of double the capacity, has been much questioned ; 
 and, independently considered, such an arrangement 
 would seem to involve at first sight only a useless com- 
 plexity of parts, but, when it is remembered that in using 
 two cylinders there may be considerable advantage de- 
 rived from the simplification of the remaining parts of 
 the engine, their introduction may be regarded as a very 
 valuable addition to the various improvements which the 
 steam-engine has from time to time undergone. 
 
 Although it is hardly to be supposed that in engines 
 of the largest class there will ever be required a cylinder 
 of larger dimensions than is practicable to be constructed 
 all in one, yet it has been found in practice that there is 
 considerable difficulty in making cylinders of very large 
 diameter as perfectly true as those of more moderate 
 dimensions, and in regard to pistons, two of forty-eight 
 or fifty inches diameter are stronger (upon the same 
 weight), and less liable to accident than one of double the 
 area. The use of two cylinders to one engine enables the 
 manufacturer to undertake the construction of engines of 
 double the power, without incurring an increased outlay 
 for new tools, and greatly increases the facility for re- 
 pairs at the government stations abroad, as there will 
 rarely be an instance of a cylinder, or other casting of 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 139 
 
 the double-cylinder engine, too large to be constructed in 
 a moderate-sized establishment. 
 
 In the engine above described, the use of two cylinders 
 is indispensable to the arrangement ; they are here placed 
 in a line below the crank-shaft, clear of the sweep of the 
 cranks, the centre of each cylinder is in a line with the 
 centre of the "shaft journals, and the main columns, upon 
 which they are mounted, pass upwards and are secured 
 by nuts on their upper end to the crank-shaft pedestals 
 immediately above them (as before described). 
 
 The "proximity of the cylinders to the crankshaft 
 journals renders the rest of the engine perfectly free from 
 the strain of its power. 
 
 In every description of engine, and more particularly 
 of those used for marine purposes, this principle is of the 
 greatest importance, as, the farther removed the cylinder 
 is from the point to which its power has to be communi- 
 cated, the more liable to breakage are all the parts of 
 the framing between the cylinder and the crank, and the 
 greater the friction arising from an increased number of 
 working journals required to communicate the power 
 from one to the other. 
 
 In some of the roughest seas, so well known between 
 Hull and Hamburg, the engines in the Helen Mac 
 Gregor do not seem to suffer the slightest strain in 
 working. There is some novelty also in the mode of se- 
 curing the cylinders in their places. Two bosses cast 
 upon each cylinder, and extending from top to bottom, 
 are accurately bored out to fit the main upright columns 
 which pass through them, and rest upon projecting shoul- 
 ders in the columns, being simply lowered down upon 
 them without any holding-down bolt in the cylinder, and 
 the entablature-plate and pedestals are secured imme- 
 
140 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 diately above them by nuts and cotters in the column 
 tops. This mode of fastening prevents any strain on the 
 cylinder during erection, which frequently occurs in bolt- 
 ing them down in the ordinary way even when the great- 
 est care is observed, as it is well known that a cylinder 
 generally deviates from the truth of the boring-mill when 
 the main cement-joint is made between its lower flange 
 and the foundation-plate on which it rests, as in the or- 
 dinary engine. 
 
 The cylinders have loose covers at each end, and from 
 the upper ends the pistons are accessible without the in- 
 tervention of the piston-rods, so that there is double 
 space for examining and adjusting them without dis- 
 turbing the lower covers, or disconnecting any of the 
 working parts of the engine. 
 
 The elevated position of the cylinders entirely obvi- 
 ates the danger sometimes arising from water running 
 over into the cylinders from the boilers, as they are here 
 at a higher level than the water-line, and an accident 
 from this cause cannot occur. The cylinders are also so 
 much higher than the condensers, that they are kept per- 
 fectly free from water in this respect, — an advantage well 
 known to engineers who have the charge of marine 
 engines. 
 
 2. In the length of the connecting-rod and mode of 
 connexion between the pistons and the cranks, I think 
 there is some advantage. The connecting-rod is three 
 times the length of the stroke, and there is only one main 
 working-joint besides that of the crank-pin through 
 which the power is transmitted from the cross-head be- 
 low ; at this joint the motion is so slight, owing to the great 
 length of the connecting-rod, that the friction upon it must 
 be very inconsiderable. For the same reason the engine 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 141 
 
 maintains its power over a large paddle-wheel with more 
 equality during the whole of its stroke. Engines with 
 short connecting-rods are comparatively powerless, for a 
 considerable portion of the stroke over the top centres. 
 
 In the engines of the Helen Mac Gregor the maxi- 
 mum speed is at the rate of twenty-four revolutions 
 per minute in smooth water, and in the heaviest sea and 
 with a head wind they have never fallen below eighteen 
 or nineteen, and the little diminution which is produced 
 upon the speed of the engines, by any sudden resistance 
 to the wheels, seems to be attributable, in some measure, 
 to the length of the connecting-rod and the slight 
 angle it forms with the crank when in the middle of its 
 stroke. 
 
 3. In the arrangement of the air-pump and condenser 
 there is a great facility afforded for getting about them. 
 
 The foot and delivery-valves are even more accessible 
 than in those of the beam-engine, and the up-3troke of 
 the air-pump is effected while the pistons are descending. 
 It is worked simply by two of the side-levers, which form 
 part of the parallel motion, and the feed and the bilge- 
 pumps are worked from the ends of the air-pump cross- 
 head, in the usual way. 
 
 The position of the condenser with respect to the 
 cylinders is such as has been found in practice the best, 
 being entirely below them and the slide-valve casing. 
 The injection-pipe plays directly up its centre, and the 
 waste water, falling through its entire depth, effects an 
 immediate and perfect condensation. 
 
 The use of a separate air-pump to each engine should 
 be regarded as an indispensable requisite in all engines of 
 large power, as well as such an arrangement of the steam 
 and other pipes and connexions as will allow one engine 
 
142 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 to be worked entirely free from the other in case of need : 
 this is the case with the engine before us. 
 
 In the improved engine, all the working parts are 
 within reach of the engineer from the lower floor of the 
 engine-room, and there is nothing in motion, save the 
 cranks and shafts above, at a greater height than can 
 be reached from this level, even in engines of the largest 
 class: this will greatly reduce the expense of attending 
 the engine. It has been found that the cost of engineers' 
 wages is greatly increased in beam-engines of large power, 
 requiring a second story and an increased number of 
 hands, whilst no such provision will be required by the 
 present arrangement. 
 
 All the moving parts, as the piston-rods, cross-heads, 
 &c. are below the water-line, and, being the most vulner- 
 able parts of the engine, are thus entirely out of the 
 reach of shot, as in the steam-frigate, whilst from the 
 cylinders, which are decidedly the strongest parts of the 
 engine, nothing is to be apprehended from this cause, as 
 the construction of the engine is such that, if even the 
 outer cylinder were disabled, the other one could be kept 
 at work. There is no projection above deck except the 
 ordinary crank-hatches ; and the crank and paddle-shafts 
 are precisely similar to those of the ordinary side-lever 
 engine. 
 
 The reduction of weight and space as compared with 
 the ordinary engine is very great, and much additional 
 room in the vessel is made available for cargo. The 
 additional length of engine-room that would have been 
 necessary if the ordinary beam-engines and common 
 boilers had been used in the Helen Mac Gregor, in lieu 
 of the improved engines and tubular boilers with which 
 she is fitted, is 25 feet. I beg to annex a few of the 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 143 
 
 principal dimensions of the Helen Mac Gregor's en- 
 gines, &c. : — 
 
 Cylinders, 42 inches diameter; length of stroke, 
 4 feet 6 inches. 
 
 Air-pump, 33J inches diameter ; length of stroke, 
 2 feet 4 1 inches. 
 
 Capacity of condenser, including passage to air-pump, 
 44 cubic feet. 
 
 Capacity of hot well, 36 cubic feet. 
 
 Wheel, 23 feet 6* inches diameter to the outside of 
 floats. 
 
 Number of revolutions, 23 J. 
 
 Average pressure of steam in cylinder, 3 J lbs. 
 
 No. XXIV. 
 
 ON EDGE'S IMPROVED WATER-METER. 
 By A. Wright. 
 Abstract. 
 
 The meter consists of a rectangular box, 14 inches 
 long, 13 inches wide and 12 inches high, divided into 
 two chambers by a partition, in the top of which is an 
 aperture forming a communication between the two 
 chambers. A four- way cock is fixed in the partition, the 
 longer end of wliicb opens into one chamber, and the 
 smaller end into the other ; the water is conducted to 
 and from this cock by means of tubes passing through 
 one of the chambers. 
 
 Parallel with the centre of the cock is a spindle 
 Working in upright standards ; the spindle carries a 
 
144 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 driver, which acts upon projections on the plug of the 
 cock, and also carries a metal cylinder hermetically 
 sealed, in which is a heavy ball, less in diameter than 
 the cylinder itself, so that it may freely roll within it. 
 In the upper part of one of the chambers is a float 
 working upon an axis, w T hich carries a pendent arm, 
 having upon its end a friction-pulley. 
 
 As the float rises and falls by the action of the water, 
 the arm vibrates, and, acting alternately on the inner 
 sides of two teeth of the spindle, causes the lower end 
 of the cylinder to be raised, and thus the ball rolls to the 
 opposite end of the cylinder, which by its weight moves 
 the spindle suddenly round, and causes a change of inlet 
 and outlet by the motion communicated to the plug of the 
 cock ; upon the axis are two teeth working into a crown- 
 wheel, so that the vibrations of the axis give rotary motion 
 to the upright spindle, which is connected with a counting 
 apparatus, also of an improved description. 
 
 No. XXV. 
 
 WRIGHT'S IMPROVED BAROMETER. 
 
 The barometer as commonly constructed is liable to 
 three sources of error, viz. first, from the ever-varying 
 level of the mercury in the cistern, which receives a cer- 
 tain portion of liquid from the tube at every diminution 
 of, or addition to, pressure ; secondly, from capillary 
 attraction, the effect of which is to depress the column 
 below its true level, in proportion to the diameter of the 
 tube and the length of the column ; and, thirdly, from 
 the variation in the density of the mercury caused by the 
 change of temperature. 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 145 
 
 The mode of correcting such errors is by means of 
 certain formulae, which it would be irrelevant now to 
 enter upon, but which may be found in " Turner's Ele- 
 ments of Chemistry," and other works of the kind ; most 
 minute directions and tables for their correction may also 
 be found in a pamphlet published by the Royal Society 
 for the encouragement of more correct meteorological 
 observations. 
 
 To those who are not aware of the importance of the 
 slightest error in this instrument, it will only be necessary 
 to mention that mercury is in this instance employed 
 to measure the density of a fluid which is about 11,058 
 times lighter than itself, and that a column of thirty 
 inches of mercury may be supposed to stand in the oppo- 
 site balance to a column of forty miles of air. 
 
 It is not surprising that many attempts have been 
 made to render this instrument accurate in its action, 
 since it would give truth to the observations of those who 
 neglected the errors, and save much time and calculation 
 to those who were in the habit of rectifying them. I am 
 not aware that any of them have been successful ; none 
 of them, however, have come into general use, and we 
 are therefore led to infer their practical failure. 
 
 The instrument I am about to describe is similar to 
 the pediment barometer in its arrangement, consisting of 
 a straight inverted tube, with the cistern at bottom and 
 the scale and vernier at top, the improvements consisting 
 in the relative areas of the tube and cistern, a certain de- 
 parture from what may be termed accurate measurement 
 in the scale, the inches being less than inches, and the 
 tenths less than tenths, and also in the tenth lines being- 
 arranged angularly instead of horizontally. 
 
 First, with regard to the variation of the level of the 
 
 L 
 
146 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 cistern. If the atmospheric pressure be equal to 30 
 inches, the common barometer will be correct in its indi- 
 cations, for, at that point, it is exactly 30 inches from 
 the level of the mercury in the cistern to the top of 
 the column; if the column falls 1 inch, the indication 
 will then be 29 inches. This, however, is not correct, 
 for the 1 inch of mercury which fell from the tube will 
 have raised the mercury in the cistern in proportion to 
 their relative areas. Thus, if they were equal in area, the 
 mercury in the cistern would have risen just as much as 
 that in the tube had fallen, and the true indication would 
 be 28 inches ; if the tube were T i<y of the area of the cis- 
 tern, the true indication would be 28 inches and T %%, 
 being 1 inch and t Jq of a fall, instead of 1 inch as in- 
 dicated. To remedy this error, it is customary to make 
 the tubes of barometers very small, and thereby to increase 
 the difference between the areas of the tube and cistern, 
 and render this error less in amount. This does not, 
 however, altogether do away with it, for if the cistern 
 were as large as the ocean, and the tube as fine as a 
 needle, it could still be demonstrated that a fall of the one 
 would cause a rise in the other ; besides this, it entails 
 upon the instrument another evil, the great increase of 
 capillary attraction, and, consequently, a less delicate 
 action. 
 
 In instruments which are used in meteorological ob- 
 servations, this error is corrected by means of a sliding- 
 rod attached to the scale, having a pointer at bottom 
 which is brought in contact with the surface of the mer- 
 cury in the cistern, at every observation, by means of a 
 rack and pinion ; the scale is thereby raised and lowered 
 as much as the mercury rises or falls. 
 
 The method which I have adopted is to make the 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS, 
 
 147 
 
 area of the cistern exactly 50 times larger than the area 
 of the tube ; and as it is evident that a fall of 1 inch in 
 the tube will give a rise of-\ T of an inch in the cistern, 1 
 have shewn each inch on the scale T \ less than an inch, and 
 each tenth less than a tenth ; so that if the column 
 falls of an inch, the cistern will be raised 3L, making 
 1 inch ; the upper and under levels have thereby ap- 
 proached each other, which will be indicated on the scale. 
 By these means a large tube may be used, and a sliding- 
 scale dispensed with, and, I believe, a more accurate re- 
 sult obtained by one observation than by two (which is 
 the case when the gauge-point is used) ; for I cannot sup- 
 pose the human eye capable of distinguishing much less 
 than T qVo of an inch, whereas calculation may be said to 
 be correct to infinity. 
 
 The next improvement is with respect to capillary at- 
 traction. It is, perhaps, necessary to premise that, ac- 
 cording to the diameter of the tube, a certain amount of 
 attraction is exercised upon the mercury, the effect of 
 which is to depress it. This attraction is greater in the 
 small tube than in the large one, and also increases in 
 proportion to the length of the column ; it is, likewise, 
 greater in the unboiled than in the boiled tubes, being 
 rather more than double. Thus, a column of T % of an 
 inch in diameter, and 30 inches long, boiled, would suffer 
 a depression of T ffo of an inch, while a column of of 
 an inch in diameter, the same length, and also boiled, 
 would suffer a depression of T Vo°o of an inch : either of the 
 aforesaid columns, if one-half the length, would be de- 
 pressed only one half as much, or, if unboiled, would be 
 depressed rather more than double. 
 
 There are no means of correcting this error in ordinary 
 barometers ; those, however, which are used for meteorolo- 
 
148 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 gical purposes have the diameters of the tube engraved 
 upon them, and are corrected by calculation or by reference 
 to tables. I have again, in this instance, resorted to the 
 expedient already referred to in the correction from the 
 variation of the cistern -levels, by deducting as much 
 from each inch in the scale as the column is depressed by 
 the force of capillary attraction, thereby rendering it self- 
 corrected for this error, merely by means of the original 
 measurement of the scale. 
 
 The barometer is now correct in its indications so long- 
 as the temperature remains at 32° of Fahrenheit. Any 
 increase to or decrease from this point alters the density of 
 the column, and as columns of equal lengths and different 
 densities give different pressures, so this gives rise to ano- 
 ther error, which is corrected by a calculation, based upon 
 the known expansion of mercury. 
 
 I will endeavour to explain the means I have em- 
 ployed to accomplish this object. It has been found, by 
 accurate experiments, that mercury expands for every 
 degree of Farh. thermometer, -^-gVo" P art °f i* s volume at 
 32° ; now the expansion of a column 30 inches long, 
 from 32° to 100°, will, at this rate, amount to -205 inch. 
 I think it will be evident that, if the horizontal line 
 which stands opposite 30 inches in the scale of the or- 
 dinary barometer, be raised -205 inch at one end, it will 
 form an angular line representing the expansion of a 
 column of mercury, 30 inches long, from 32° to 100°, the 
 lower point being that at 32°, and the upper that at 
 100°. And if this line be divided into 68 parts, or inter- 
 secting lines, that being the number of degrees between 
 32° and 100°, such lines will shew the expansion of a 
 30-inch column for all the degrees between 32° and 100°. 
 This angular line is, therefore, transferred to the scale, 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 149 
 
 and all the other inches and tenths are calculated in the 
 same manner, those above giving a greater, and those 
 below a lesser angle. Thus the expansion of a 31 -inch 
 column, from 32° to 100°, amounts to "211 inch, and a 
 27-inch column to *184 inch. I have not, however, in- 
 tersected the angular lines on the scale with 68 lines, 
 but (what will answer the same purpose in a more simple 
 manner) divided the top of the vernier into 68 parts or 
 lines, corresponding to the various degrees. In taking 
 observations it is necessary that the degree on the ver- 
 nier which the thermometer indicates at the time should 
 be made to impinge upon that angular line, either at 
 or immediately below the top of the barometric column. 
 This will give the height in inches and tenths of inches. 
 If the column is a little above, there is a small dial and 
 pointer in the centre of the vernier, which, on being 
 raised upwards, gives the hundredths and thousandths, 
 thereby giving the height corrected for temperature with- 
 out calculation. 
 
 It gives me pleasure to state that, in this last improve- 
 ment connected with the temperature, I have been as- 
 sisted by Mr. John Clarke, now in the office of Messrs. 
 Newton and Sons, of Chancery Lane. 
 
 There are several minute matters in this calculation 
 which I have entirely left out for the sake of rendering it 
 more intelligible. I have had the barometer in action for 
 nearly twelve months, and have frequently corrected its 
 indications by calculation, and found it answer excel- 
 lently. Indeed, as the tube and cistern are exactly simi- 
 lar to those in common use, it is not liable to any contin- 
 gency which is not common to all. It can be made at a 
 price less than the standard barometers of the best kind ; 
 and, judging from the desire of the Admiralty to ensure 
 
150 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 greater accuracy on the part of masters of ships in their 
 observations, I conceive it would be to them of some ser- 
 vice, as well as to scientific men in general. 
 
 No. XXVI. 
 
 ON RENDERING PAPER-HANGINGS USEFUL 
 AS WELL AS ORNAMENTAL. 
 
 By the Secretary. 
 
 Paper-hangings are of several kinds, some of which 
 are made in imitation of velvet, damask, chintzes, &c, 
 while others are in imitation of marbles, stucco-work, &c. 
 
 There are three methods by which paper-hangings 
 are painted. The first by printing on the colours, the 
 second by means of the stencil, and the third by using the 
 pencil as in other kinds of painting. 
 
 In the first method the impression is made by wooden 
 blocks, in which the patterns are cut, the parts to be 
 shewn being made to project from the surface by cutting 
 away all the other parts. The blocks being charged 
 with the required colour, properly tempered, are pressed 
 on the paper prepared with a proper ground of colour or 
 varnish. 
 
 The colour to be used by the printer is spread on oil- 
 cloth, laid on a flat block a little larger than the print ; 
 this operation is performed by an attendant, who spreads 
 the colour with a brush on the block, between every 
 stroke and impression made by the printer. 
 
 When the sheet is printed throughout, it is hung up 
 to dry, and the operation is repeated with another piece 
 of paper. 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 151 
 
 For each separate colour in a particular pattern there 
 is a separate block, so that a piece of paper has to 
 pass under the printer's hands as many times as there 
 are distinct colours in the pattern to be produced ; some 
 modern papers have required as many as seventy-two 
 separate blocks. The placing of the different blocks in 
 the exact position on the paper requires considerable skill 
 on the part of the printer. 
 
 The second method, which is adopted for common 
 paper-hangings, is merely to print the outlines, and fill in 
 the colours by stencilling. 
 
 The stencils are either of leather or oil-cloth, and 
 are cut out to correspond with all the figures to be 
 printed in one colour, and, being placed flat on the paper 
 to be printed, the colour is rubbed over the upper side, 
 thus passing through all the parts cut out, and giving the 
 proper impression on the paper below. 
 
 This method is only applicable for patterns of the 
 most common description, it being impossible to represent 
 fine lines by the stencilling process. 
 
 The third method, viz., by pencilling, is only used for 
 the more costly hangings in imitation of Chinese and 
 Indian papers, and is performed in the same manner 
 as other paintings in water or varnish ; sometimes the 
 outline is printed, and then the colouring performed by 
 pencilling. The first of the three methods which I have 
 endeavoured briefly to describe is the one in ordinary 
 use, in which the order of printing is first to lay on the 
 ground colour, next the various shades, then the lights, 
 and lastly the outline. Very fine lines and points, or 
 dots, are introduced by means of rules and points of the 
 particular forms required, which are let into the wooden 
 blocks, as types are let into the small blocks used for 
 printing illustrations to books. 
 
152 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 The above is only an outline of the ordinary methods 
 used ; but, as my object is to introduce a system of useful 
 paper-hangings, I need not enter more into detail with 
 regard to methods in practice of producing the finest 
 specimens of hangings, but proceed at once to the object 
 of this communication. 
 
 My mind has long been impressed with the idea of 
 rendering the modern hangings of walls useful as well as 
 ornamental. 
 
 For this purpose I have proposed that useful infor- 
 mation should, in the more ornamental patterns, be so 
 blended with the design as not to disfigure it, and thus 
 ornament, with amusement and instruction combined, 
 would add greatly to the value of paper-hangings, and 
 often serve as a ready mode of reference for information 
 desired. When wanted especially for use, without any 
 regard to ornamental appearance — as, for instance, Sun- 
 day and other schools, for the lecture-room of colleges 
 and seminaries — I propose to introduce the information in 
 panels. 
 
 I have arranged, mixed with several ordinary patterns, 
 some specimens illustrative of my proposition ; and I 
 think it will be allowed that in one or two of them the 
 patterns are not disfigured by the introduction of the 
 useful information they contain in the shape of historical 
 and other facts. 
 
 In one pattern I have introduced words in several 
 languages, which would be e*. xially useful if carried 
 out to a sufficient extent. 
 
 The greatest — indeed I believe the only — objection 
 which has been raised against the introduction of these 
 useful paper-hangings is the cost. 
 
 Now, for patterns likely to be extensively used in 
 infant and other schools and seminaries, it would be 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 153 
 
 worth while to cut out the writing in wood-blocks, or fix 
 in metal letters for each particular sentence to be intro- 
 duced. 
 
 Another mode I propose is, to have movable types 
 introduced into a frame, so arranged as to form a substi- 
 tute for one of the numerous blocks required in cases 
 where the pattern is made up of a variety of colours. 
 Thus, when as many copies as are likely to be required at 
 the time have been printed, the type is to be distributed, 
 and again set up for another piece of information, while 
 the rest of the pattern is printed with the different blocks 
 as usual. 
 
 A third mode which I propose is to print the 
 patterns complete in the ordinary way, leaving, however, 
 spaces for the writing to be inserted according to the 
 style and fancy of individuals. This is by no means 
 so expensive a method as persons unacquainted with the 
 process would be led to suppose. 
 
 No. XXVII. 
 
 ON A PLAN OF ECONOMISING FUEL IN THE 
 BOILERS OF LOCOMOTIVE ENGINES. 
 By C. Tetley. 
 April 3, 1844. 
 
 WILLIAM POLE, ESQ. E.R.S. V.P. IN THE CHAIE. 
 
 Abstract. 
 
 " The evaporating power of a boiler," observes the 
 author, " is dependent chiefly on three causes: — 
 
 "1. The amount of boiler surface exposed to the 
 reception of heat. 
 
154 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 " 2. (And very materially) On the shape of the 
 
 boiler ; and 
 " 3. On the intensity of the heat. 
 
 " The heat derived from that part of the boiler imme- 
 diately over and about the fire, 1 call (according to usage) 
 radiating heat, while the heat derived from the tubes or 
 flues I call carried heat. 
 
 " The improvement in boilers for the rapid evaporation 
 of water, and for the economy of fuel, consists in dividing 
 the boiler into two or more compartments, of different 
 heating temperatures, having channels for feeding the 
 compartments from that or those containing water of a 
 lower temperature. 
 
 " The first partition is placed vertically over the water- 
 space at the back of the boiler, the top of which reaches 
 somewhat above the water-line, and the bottom below 
 the level of the fire-bars, but leaving a passage for the 
 water beneath it. 
 
 " The second partition reaches from the bottom of the 
 tubular part of the boiler to a little above the level of the 
 fire-box, and removed but a short distance from the first 
 partition. 
 
 " The third partition is placed in the middle of the 
 tubular boiler, and, as the first, runs up above the water- 
 level. 
 
 " A communication is formed for the supply of water 
 by a pipe running from the compartment nearest the 
 chimney-box into the middle compartment, the top of 
 such pipe being fixed just below the water-level, and the 
 bottom thereof at a point near the lower part of the 
 middle compartment. 
 
 " On evaporation taking place, the steam will diffuse 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 155 
 
 itself over the top of the partitions nearest to the fire- 
 box and that nearest to the smoke-box, so as to main- 
 tain the same pressure on the surface of all the water ; 
 thus the water contained over the top, and in the water- 
 spaces at the front, back, and sides, of the fire-box, is all 
 exposed to the direct action of the fire, or to radiating 
 heat, and separated from that which receives only carried 
 heat. On the other hand, the water contained in that 
 part of the boiler between the partition introduced nearer 
 to the fire-box and the end of the boiler by the smoke- 
 box is exposed only to the reception of carried heat, 
 or heat of a lower temperature than in the part last 
 described ; the consequence is that evaporation com- 
 mences, first in that part over the fire-box, and, as the 
 water there becomes wasted, more to supply its place 
 passes from the second compartment down between the 
 two partitions nearest the fire-box. Now, as this feed- 
 water to supply the first division is received from the sur- 
 face of the water between the partition nearest the fire- 
 box and that nearest the smoke-box, it will be charged 
 with heat almost or entirely at the evaporating point 
 before it enters the first compartment, because, as the 
 separate particles become heated in the second division 
 above the surrounding portion, they rise to the surface, 
 and, as the middle partition has its upper edge below the 
 water-level, the surface-water passes over it, and descends 
 to the bottom of the fire-box partition and passes under it. 
 As the water leaves the second compartment, either by 
 evaporation, or to feed the first, that loss or waste is re- 
 placed by water descending from the upper regions of the 
 water in the third compartment down the pipe or channel, 
 by virtue of its tendency to preserve its own level. The 
 third compartment is again fed through another pipe by 
 
156 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 a force-pump, or other usual means ; this pipe may be 
 joined in any convenient part of the said compartment, 
 but it is preferred that it should be at or near the bottom. 
 Any suitable number of partitions may be similarly intro- 
 duced, although in this description of boiler, when of 
 moderate length, I am of opinion that two compartments 
 are enough to serve all purposes of economy. 
 
 " If we examine, for the sake of contrast, what takes 
 place in the same boiler when constructed without such 
 divisions, we shall find an operation to take place as 
 follows : the boiler being filled to its proper height with 
 water, and the fire lighted, the water immediately sur- 
 rounding the fire-box receives its heat with greater ra- 
 pidity, in the proportion of 3 to 1 of each square foot of the 
 fire-box, as compared with the same extent of the tubular 
 part ; now, as each particle of water around the fire-box 
 becomes charged with heat, it becomes specifically lighter, 
 and, therefore, rises into the higher regions, and inter- 
 mixes with the water in the tubular part, until at the last 
 the whole is brought up to the evaporating point. The 
 engine being then set to work, a continual injection of 
 fresh water takes place to supply the loss arising from 
 evaporation. This feed-water, being colder than that 
 already heated in the boiler, is of greater specific gravity, 
 in virtue of which it will find its way to the lowest level 
 in the boiler, namely, around the fire-box. A circulation 
 is thus established by which a current of the coldest 
 portion of water is continuously driven into the spaces 
 around the fire-box, there receiving a surcharge of heat, 
 the excess of which converts a portion of the water into 
 vapour, while the remaining portion, not converted into 
 steam, ascends into the tubular part. It is evident that 
 the feed-water by this process is charged with heat to the 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 157 
 
 evaporating point by the fire-box, and not by the tubes, 
 that is all feed-water entering the boiler after the engine 
 is set to work. The tubular part is therefore supplied 
 continuously with water heated in the fire-box. Now the 
 question is, what loss of fuel -arises from this? 
 
 " To solve this, let us call to mind the circumstance, 
 that the quantity of heat contained in a pound of steam 
 never varies ; it is always the same in quantity, whatever 
 be the density and temperature of such steam, and about 
 1200° is fully more than the average allowed by different 
 experimenters. Now let us suppose the feed-water to be 
 injected at a temperature of 60°, and also that the steam 
 be drawn off at a pressure of 60 lbs. per inch, which 
 would give a temperature for the water in the boiler of 
 305° before evaporation could proceed ; the water in the 
 whole boiler, the tubular part as well as around the fire- 
 box, would have received 305° — 60° for the tem- 
 perature of the feed-water, or 245° from the fire-box. 
 The water surrounding the tubes being thus charged 
 with heat by the fire-box, till it reaches the temperature 
 of 305°, it could receive no further accession of heat from 
 the tubes, unless their temperature exceeded 305° ; but, 
 if the tubes did exceed that temperature, then the water 
 would be ready to abstract the excess above 305° ; there- 
 fore 305° must always be deducted from the actual tem- 
 perature of the flues, as waste for heat which is passing 
 into the chimney unabsorbed by the water. But if the 
 operation be reversed, and the feed-water injected at the 
 said temperature of 60°, and kept separated from the 
 water surrounding the fire-box, then it will abstract all 
 the heat of a higher temperature than 60°. Hence it is 
 evident that 245° more heat is now abstracted from the 
 tubes than was abstracted in the former case. In the 
 
158 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 former case 245° passed into the chimney which is now 
 passing into the water. If this water, which in the last 
 case abstracted 245° from the tubes, be now conducted 
 into the spaces around the fire-box, it will require 245° 
 less to convert it into steam. If a total heat of 1200° are 
 required for its constitution as steam, then deduct 60° 
 from 1200° and we have 1140° as the amount of heat 
 required from the fire-box. If out of 1140° we effect a 
 saving of 245°, we save 21 per cent of fuel. 
 
 " By this improvement, therefore, we prevent the de- 
 posit of sediment amongst the tubes to the same extent 
 that we remove the evaporation from that part to the 
 fire-box, which latter may be more easily cleaned and 
 repaired, if constructed with that view. 
 
 " Secondly, we get up steam much more rapidly. 
 
 £< Thirdly, we have in one compartment water free from 
 turbulent emotion, in consequence of which the action of 
 a float for regulating a feed-apparatus will be much more 
 certain. 
 
 " And, lastly, we have an important saving in fuel." 
 
 No. XXVIII. 
 
 ON WROUGHTON'S SELF-ACTING GLASS 
 VENTILATOR. 
 
 Wroughton's self-acting glass ventilator consists of a 
 mahogany vertical frame, seventeen inches high, and 
 fourteen inches wide, standing on a platform fourteen 
 inches long and eighteen inches wide. In the frame 
 is fixed a plate of glass, in which are ten horizontal 
 apertures, each two inches and a half long, and half an 
 inch wide. On the internal side of the .glass are four 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS, 
 
 159 
 
 vertical brass slides, in which work as many pieces of 
 glass, fixed in a brass case, as there are apertures in the 
 plate, but somewhat larger, in order entirely to cover 
 them when necessary. 
 
 The two sets of glass covers are suspended from a 
 small brass beam, working on a pivot attached to the 
 glass. A small ivory piston, working with a nut and 
 screw in a glass bent tube, is attached to one set of glass 
 covers. 
 
 The glass tube contains a column of mercury, alto- 
 gether about twelve inches in length, but divided at top 
 into two arms, over which are two vertically placed glass 
 tubes, about ten inches in length, and bent over at top, 
 and returning down to the bottom of, and close to, the 
 first tubes ; these tubes are filled with spirits of wine, 
 which, when expanded by heat, acts in conjunction with 
 the mercury (with which it is in contact) to elevate and 
 depress the glass-covers, so as to admit fresh air in pro- 
 portion to the amount required to keep the temperature 
 of the apartments at a fixed point, which is ascertained 
 by a scale marked on the glass plate. 
 
 No. XXIX. 
 
 ON THE NATURAL BREAKWATER OF THE 
 PORT OF PISA. 
 
 By Major Parlby. 
 April 17, 1844. 
 
 DR. ROGET, SEC. R.S. V.P. IN THE CHAIR. 
 
 The object of the author in his communication of 
 April 8, 1844, addressed to the Society, is to shew that 
 
160 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 the principle of constructing floating breakwaters, for 
 which he was last year rewarded by the Society, is 
 correct. The following, which was continued in the com- 
 munication above alluded to, is a literal translation of a 
 description of the Port of Pisa frum Claudius Rutilius, 
 an ancient writer and member of an illustrious family at 
 Rome : — 
 
 " The harbour is celebrated as the emporium of Pisa, 
 and for its marine riches. The appearance of the place 
 is remarkable, for the coast is an open one, and exposed 
 to every wind ; there are no promontories to protect it 
 from storms ; but a long sea- weed rises from the bottom 
 of the sea, which defends it without injuring the vessels 
 which pass over and through it, and yet is sufficient, by 
 rising and falling with the waves, to abate their fury, 
 and to prevent their rolling in from the sea in dangerous 
 masses. 
 
 No. XXX. 
 ON THE MANAGEMENT OF BEES. 
 By the Secretary. 
 Continued May 15th ; 1844. 
 
 SIR J. JOHN GUEST, BART. M.P. V.P. IN THE CHAIR. 
 
 On the evenings of the 17th April and 15th May, the 
 secretary submitted to the Society the interesting subject 
 of the management of bees, the chief materials for which 
 were furnished by Mr. Milton, Mr. Sholl, and Mr. 
 Neighbour, from whom were received various hives and 
 models to illustrate the subject. The Society's repository 
 also supplied several models, and their volumes much 
 valuable and useful information. 
 
 The first accounts of bees which Mr. Milton has dis- 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 161 
 
 covered are contained in the writings of Varro, Pliny, 
 Columella, and others. By Columella, who was a cele- 
 brated writer on husbandry in the reign of Claudius 
 Ceesar, the subject is treated at considerable length ; he 
 has, in fact, embodied all that had been written on the sub- 
 ject before his time. The directions which he gives with 
 regard to the choice of situation, and the requisite care 
 and attention necessary to be observed, are worthy the 
 attention of every apiarian of the present day. We find 
 that in this country, however, all his remarks are not 
 quite applicable; but we must take into consideration that 
 the quantity of honey and wax was in those days con- 
 sidered of more consequence than their quality, also that 
 the writers already mentioned lived in climates differing 
 essentially from that of England. Virgil has inspired 
 every lover of bees by his elegant and classic description 
 of the habits and customs of the apiarian tribe in his 
 fourth Georgic. And the following extracts are from Mr. 
 Ring's translation, published in 1820. 
 
 The proper situation is first pointed out thus :— » 
 
 " First for thy bees a peaceful station find, 
 Secure from storms and all access of wind, 
 Where no rude sheep the verdant lawn shall tread, 
 No goat shall wanton o'er the flowery mead : 
 No painted lizard must approach the ground, 
 Nor birds intrude, — 
 
 Let mossy fountains, and a purling stream, 
 And trees to shelter from the sultry beam, 
 The portal grace. 
 
 Round this abode let verdant cassia bloom; 
 And thyme and savory breathe a rich perfume ; 
 
 M 
 
162 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Let mingled fragrance every valley fill, 
 And beds of vi'lets drink the fresh'ning rill." 
 
 Next as to the construction of the hives : — 
 
 " Nor let the walls with needless fissure cleave, 
 Lest summer's heat, or winter's piercing cold, 
 Too much dissolve or freeze the liquid gold. 
 The bees, alike afraid of both extremes, 
 Employ soft wax to close the sever'd seams." 
 
 Then as to swarming : — 
 
 " Whene'er a swarm in summer shall be seen 
 Sublimely sailing through the blue serene, 
 Like dusky clouds, and floating on the wind 
 That slowly wafts their wond'rous length behind, 
 Contemplate well : they seek the shady bowers, 
 The crystal fountains and the fragrant flowers ; 
 Then strew sweet savours for the flying train, 
 Strew pounded balm and woodbines on the plain, 
 Strike tinkling brass, and let the cymbal sound, 
 To call from far the scattered swarms around. 
 So shall they light on their alluring seat, 
 And, led by nature, to the cells retreat. 
 
 But if uncertain of their course they fly 
 Through liquid air, and revel in the sky, 
 Disdain the hive, disdain their humble dome, 
 And the cold cells of their neglected home, 
 Forbid the fruitless pastime, and control 
 The vain delight of their inconstant soul, — 
 A task not arduous; only clip the wings, 
 And check the bold excursions of their kings ; 
 Lure them with gardens grateful to the sight, 
 And let the breath of saffron blooms unite ; 
 Let every swain, who makes the hive his care, 
 Sweet thyme and pines from lofty mountains bear.'* 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 163 
 
 Then, as to obtaining the honey from the grand 
 pavilion, — 
 
 " If you their grand pavilion would unseal, 
 And all their treasures to the light reveal, 
 First, holding water in your mouth, like rain 
 With sudden effort sprinkle it again ; 
 Then to the cells the sable tenants drive 
 With hostile smoke, and fumigate the hive. 
 Twice iu each year they squeeze the pregnant comb, 
 And twice they bring the joyful harvest home." 
 
 Looking to the cruelty of thus taking the honey, the 
 apiarian is thus warned : — 
 
 " If an unfriendly season you presage, 
 And hoary winter comes in all his rage, 
 Oh, spare the spoils, and to the pining brood, 
 In pity, leave them only future food!" 
 
 As to getting rid of vermin : — 
 
 " Yet who will fumes of healing thyme delay, 
 Or doubt to pare superfluous wax away 1 
 There lizards prey, conceal'd from human sight, 
 And beetles lodge, and shun detecting light; 
 Or at his banquet sits the lazy drone, 
 And reaps the fruit of labours not his own ; 
 Or the fierce hornet sounds the dread alarms, 
 And joins in combat with unequal arms ; 
 There hungry moths, a direful race, abound." 
 
 The following translation from Varro, in his " De Re 
 Rustica," b. iii. chap. 16, is curious, and worthy of 
 being known even at the present day : — 
 
 " Of the fruit or profit, I have not only a witness, who 
 says lie lets out his bees for five thousand pounds of 
 
164 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 honey by the year, but also our friend Varro, who had 
 with him in Spain two rich brothers, soldiers, to whom 
 their father left a small country-house, and a little field 
 of about one acre near to the house ; they formed an 
 apiary, and also a garden, which was planted with thyme, 
 cytisus, and balm. Taking one year with another, their 
 profit from bee-keeping never amounted to less than 
 ten thousand sesterces," equal to 83/. 6s. Sd. of English 
 money. 
 
 About the sixteenth century the subject of bees at- 
 tracted the attention of many persons in various parts of 
 Europe, particularly the authors of " Maison Rustique," in 
 1529, whose work was translated into English by several 
 persons, Gervase Mark ham, Lawson, Stephens, Sufflet, 
 and others. In Italy, Rucellai, a poet of distinction, pro- 
 duced, in 1539, a considerable sensation by his classic 
 poem " Api." Following these, we find in England 
 Mr. Thomas Hyll, Edmund Southorn, and two or three 
 others of less note. In 1609, Dr. Charles Butler, of 
 Magdalen Hall, Oxford, was engaged upon the subject ; 
 he published the " Feminine Monarchic," a small work 
 written in a humorous style, but containing many ori- 
 ginal remarks, and some very correct observations on 
 the instinct and habits of bees : he has been styled the 
 father of English apiarians. In 1655, Mr. S. Ilartlib, in 
 a series of letters addressed to Mr. Mew, a clergyman in 
 Gloucestershire, excited attention by calling on all per- 
 sons who kept bees to examine their works through glass 
 hives and boxes. In this little work Mr. Milton was 
 agreeably surprised to find that our great architect Sir 
 
 Wren had been engaged upon the subject of bees, and 
 has left us a representation of his box-hive. In the same 
 book there is a plate of Dr. Brown's box-hive. Sir 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 165 
 
 Christopher Wren's hive of 1654 consisted of three octa- 
 gonal boxes of similar shape and size, each having a hole 
 in the top, which is similar in each box ; there is a cover 
 (the same for each top) turning on a pin, and a wire to close 
 the opening by drawing the cover over it when necessary. 
 The doorways may be opened or closed at pleasure by 
 small slides. The upper edges of each box are sloped 
 away convexly, and the bottom edges concavely, that 
 either box may fit into the other. In the sides immediately 
 opposite to those containing the doors are fixed glass for 
 windows, having shutters hung on the outside with locks, 
 so that the apiarian may view the interior when required. 
 Each box is lined with rush mat. The whole stands in a 
 case of stone. 
 
 It is to be observed, that Dr. Butler and all before his 
 time used only the common hives made either with reeds 
 or straw ; these are the first hives, therefore, recorded by 
 which the works of the bees could be seen during the 
 time they were collecting materials, honey, &c. Soon 
 after, there appeared to be a general inquiry on the sub- 
 ject, possibly produced by Maraldi, in France, and also 
 by Swammerdam, in Holland. These great naturalists 
 made discoveries that seem to have been overlooked in 
 the inquiries of their predecessors. Again, in 1075, 
 Dr. Gedde in this country made improvements in box- 
 hives ; then followed Dr. Warder, in 1680, and the 
 Rev. John Thorley, in 1744 : in all these box-hives there 
 is evidence of considerable mechanical improvement being- 
 effected in their construction ; in their adaptation, however, 
 to the habits of the bee there is but little to approve 
 of. In 1756, the Rev. S. White introduced a new system, 
 that of working the bees in boxes placed side by side, or 
 collaterally; and next we hear of a lady in Switzerland, 
 
166 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Madame Vicat, using boxes upon the same plan ; that 
 lady also introduced into her boxes ventilation and a 
 thermometer : there is not any difference between the 
 boxes used upon this plan and those of Mr. White. 
 
 In 1763, Sir Charles Whitworth presented to the So- 
 ciety an apparatus invented by the Rev. John Thorley, of 
 Oxford, of which the following is a description, and this 
 apparatus is still in the Society's collection of models : — 
 
 It consists of an octagonal box of wood, having within 
 two cross perches for the bees to attach the comb to at 
 the bottom ; on one side is the entrance, and in the top is 
 an opening, with a slide to close it when necessary. On 
 the top of the octagonal box is placed a straw hive with 
 an opening in it ; and above is placed a glass apart- 
 ment, which it is requisite to cover over with a straw 
 case, or otherwise. 
 
 " When," says Mr. Thorley, " the glass is completely 
 filled with honey, a tin plate is to be placed between it and 
 the hive or box ; in half an hour the glass may be re- 
 moved with safety, the bees remaining within it will 
 readily go to their companions. A complete apparatus 
 for the purposes above mentioned may be seen at the 
 Society's office in the Strand." 
 
 In 1765, the Society offered a premium for preserving 
 the lives of bees, and the words of the advertisement are 
 as follows :—" Whereas the usual method of savins; the 
 honey from stocks or hives is by destroying the bees, and 
 whereas it is found by experience that the honey and wax 
 may be obtained and the bees preserved at the same 
 time, by which much larger quantities of both wax and 
 honey are collected, the Society will give a sum, not ex- 
 ceeding 200/. for collecting wax and preserving the lives of 
 the bees, in the following proportion. To every person 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 167 
 
 who shall collect from stocks of bees, his own property, 
 within the year 1767, ten pounds of clear merchantable 
 wax, without destroying the bees, leaving a sufficient 
 quantity of honey for their winter sustenance, 57. 
 
 " But, in case there should be above forty claimants, 
 then the sum of 200Z. shall be distributed among the 
 candidates in proportion to the number of claimants." 
 
 Thomson, in his " Autumn," has beautifully described 
 the cruel practice of destroying bees : — 
 
 " Ah, see, where robb'd and murder'd in that pit, 
 Lies the still heaving hive ! At evening snatch'd, 
 Beneath the cloud of guilt-concealing night, 
 And fix'd o'er sulphur : while, not dreaming ill, 
 The happy people, in their waxen cells 
 Sat tending public cares, and planning schemes 
 Of temperance for winter poor, rejoiced 
 To mark, full flowing round, their copious stores. 
 Sudden the dark oppressive steam ascends ; 
 And, used to milder scents, the tender race, 
 By thousands, tumble from their honied domes 
 Convolved, and agonising in the dust. 
 And was it then for this you roamed the spring 
 Intent from flower to flower ? — for this you toil'd 
 Ceaseless the burning summer heats away ? 
 For this in autumn search'd the blooming waste, 
 Nor lost one sunny gleam ? — for this sad fate ? 
 Oh, man ! tyrannic lord ! how long — how long 
 Shall prostrate Nature groan beneath your rage, 
 Awaiting renovation ? — when oblig'd, 
 Must you destroy ? Of their ambrosial food 
 Can you not borrow, and, in just return, 
 Afford them shelter from the wintry winds?" 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 The notice which this Society took, about the year 
 1765, of the importance of saving the hives of bees, 
 caused Mr. John Mills, who was a fellow of the Royal 
 Society, to write an essay on the subject, which he in- 
 scribed to the members of this excellent institution. 
 
 The Society's Silver Ceres Medal was presented to 
 Isaac Espinasse, Esq., in 1818, for his method of ma- 
 naging bees. Mr. Espinasse lived at Bexley, in Kent, 
 in the Vale of Cray, within a mile of which, to the east, 
 is Dartford Heath, while Bexley Heath is two and a half 
 miles to the north-west, affording abundance of pabulum 
 for the bees in the blossoms of the heath, furze, and 
 wild thyme. For eighteen years previously to receiving 
 the Society's medal, Mr. Espinasse had been master of 
 a large stock of bees, which he had watched, observed, 
 and studied, and had protected from every thing that 
 could injure them. 
 
 " Those who are unacquainted," observes Mr. Espi- 
 nasse, " with the insect suppose that he possesses the 
 fee-simple of every flower. It is very far otherwise, and 
 when poetry makes it light upon a rose, and inhale its 
 sweets, the truth is, it never sucks it at all, or many other 
 flowers, in fact, all whose cups are so deep that its 
 sucker cannot reach the bottom of it, where the honey is 
 deposited." 
 
 Mr. Espinasse found lemon thyme peculiarly grate- 
 ful to his bees, and, therefore, had it abundantly planted 
 in his garden. 
 
 " Every bee-house," continues Mr. Espinasse, "should 
 be so constructed that the hives may be brought forward 
 or pushed back, as the weather serves. In summer they 
 cannot be brought too far forward into the light and 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 169 
 
 heat, which rouses them into life and stimulates their 
 industry, nor, in winter, be too far removed from the ex- 
 treme wet and cold. 
 
 " The bee-house should open by folding-doors at the 
 back, by which every hive can be easily got at for any pur- 
 pose required. The floors should be made accurately 
 level, for the purpose of feeding the bees if necessary. 
 
 " Of all the numerous enemies which bees have to 
 encounter the most daring is the wasp." 
 
 The mode of closing the entrance to the hive, against 
 the admission of the rapacious wasp, as adopted by Mr. 
 Espinasse, is worthy of notice. It consists of two small 
 pieces of wood, an inch and a half in length, and one- 
 sixth of an inch broad, and of the same thickness. There 
 is a groove in each to receive a sliding piece of board 
 about one inch and a quarter wide, in which are cut two 
 small doors wide enough to admit one bee at a time 
 only. 
 
 The two pieces of wood are fixed to the side of the 
 opening cut in the hive itself, and fastened thereto 
 by large pins. The sliding piece is then placed in the 
 grooves, and raised up or lowered at pleasure. 
 
 Mr. Espinasse was a decided advocate for feeding 
 bees during the winter, having ascertained the utility and 
 advantage of the practice. 
 
 The composition which he recommends, from experi- 
 ence, is moist sugar and sweet beer, boiled to the consist- 
 ence of treacle. This is placed in a small trough or 
 scoop, made of wood. 
 
 Mr. Espinasse had, in 1817, fifty-six stocks of bees, 
 previously to his beginning to take them in August of 
 that year. 
 
 " With regard to the common straw-hive," observes 
 
170 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Mr. Milton, "it is well known that care must be taken 
 to make these hives of good and clean straw, and that 
 they are also of a suitable thickness; for some are made 
 so thin and loose that it takes the bees two or three days 
 of their valuable time to render them fit for use." 
 
 " All the hives should be as nearly of the same size as 
 possible, say about thirteen inches in diameter in the 
 clear, and ten inches high inside. The old plan of rub- 
 bing the inside of the hives with beer and sugar, or with 
 honey, is beneficial. It entices and amuses the bees, and 
 they take to them more quickly. Some put sticks across 
 the inside, thinking they strengthen the combs, which is 
 true ; but then the bees build in so many pieces, and so 
 irregularly, that when you wish to take out some of the 
 combs you cannot fail to break them." 
 
 " A good swarm will, or ought, to fill the hive to 
 within two or three rims of the bottom." 
 
 " When the hive is placed where it is intended to re- 
 main, it must be sheltered from the rain and wind, for, 
 if once the wet penetrates the hives, it affects the combs, 
 and the bees, getting a distaste for their home, will work 
 but slowly, and, not unfrequently, will desert it altoge- 
 ther. On the contrary, if they have a hive to their liking, 
 they will soon furnish it with comb and honey." 
 
 "The resting board should project several inches in 
 front of the hive, in order to allow the bees plenty of 
 space to alight upon, and the hives should be secured to 
 the stand, so that in case of accident they may not be 
 thrown down." 
 
 Milton's straw hive, with revolving top, is of simple 
 construction and easy management. It has two boards 
 on the top, with corresponding holes in each, which can 
 be opened or closed at pleasure by turning one of the 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 171 
 
 boards. It is made to support four bell-shaped glasses 
 on the top, which are readily removed when filled. It 
 also keeps the bees more secure during the months they 
 are not occupied in providing for the support of the hive. 
 Some hives similar to these were used by Wild man, but 
 they were not furnished with the revolving-top. 
 
 In the year 182G, the Society of Arts awarded to 
 Mr. Milton their Silver Ceres Medal, for the invention 
 of his double revolving-top. He has always used this 
 form, and is not aware of any straw hive that offers so 
 many advantages. It requires neither smoke nor fumes 
 of any kind, nor is there any necessity to drive the bees. 
 When it is required to get them from another hive into 
 this, the former is simply to be placed upon the top, 
 taking care that there may be but one entrance. The 
 bees will then go clown into the hive without using any 
 irritating means. 
 
 By these revolving hives the finest honey is obtained 
 at all times of the honey-gathering season ; they are also 
 useful for working the bees out of old and decayed hives. 
 Their construction obviates the necessity for smoking or 
 driving, or, in short, of using any but the most gentle 
 means. It is desirable to impress this upon the mind of 
 the apiarian, for, however much he may be able to con- 
 trol these tiny insects, he must do so as gently as possible. 
 Mr. Milton has found by experience that the most trivial 
 alterations, if clone during certain stages of the brood, 
 will totally change, nay, perhaps entirely destroy, their 
 means of perpetuating their species. 
 
 A given number of days is required by them to pro- 
 duce young. This, also, depends in a great measure 
 upon the temperature of the hive, as well as upon the 
 attention of the bees ; therefore, if a sudden disturbance 
 
172 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 or alteration is made, it may possibly interfere with the 
 regularity of the process. One of Mr. Milton's experi- 
 ments so disturbed the economy of the hive that only 
 drones were produced. 
 
 To put a swarm into the hive, the board on the top is 
 to be turned so as entirely to cover the holes in the one 
 underneath, and the thumb-screw is to be tightened ; then 
 hive the swarm into it, and as soon as the bees are settled 
 remove it where it is to remain permanently, whether in 
 a garden or bee-house. The glasses should then be placed 
 on, the thumb-screw loosened, and the upper board 
 turned so that the holes may correspond with those in 
 the lower board. Thus the bees will be admitted into the 
 glasses, and will commence building combs. 
 
 The glasses should be connected to the hive with a 
 little mortar ; this keeps them firm. The bees always do 
 this on the inside with a kind of gum or resin, which they 
 apply for this and many other purposes. 
 
 The glasses should be kept covered with a. common or 
 straw hive for two or three days, without being disturbed. 
 It is easily known when the glasses are full of honey by 
 the cells being sealed. When you wish to take away 
 any of the full glasses it is not requisite to turn the board, 
 but with a knife remove the plaster outside the glass, and 
 then put the knife underneath, and loosen it from the 
 board ; take it away on a zinc plate, placing an empty 
 glass over the whole immediately. The middle of a fine 
 day is the best time for removing full glasses. The second 
 glasses are often more speedily filled than the first, some- 
 times even in a few days. It is not desirable in most 
 seasons to take away honey in this manner after the end 
 of July, because the remaining part of the season some- 
 times proves unfavourable for the bees> and prevents 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 173 
 
 them from procuring a sufficiency of honey for their 
 winter support : therefore, about this time, remove all 
 the glasses and caps, turn the board, and fix the screw, 
 this will leave them in safety for the winter months. 
 Glasses that are only partly filled with comb should be 
 carefully put by, to be again placed over the holes in the 
 following April. 
 
 Should the bees require feeding, these partly filled 
 glasses will be found very useful for the purpose. April 
 is the usual month in which to commence placing on 
 glasses and caps. The stock-hive is at this period full of 
 combs and brood, and, if the season proves favourable, you 
 may expect to have your glasses filled several times, and, 
 likewise, the same every corresponding season. The 
 management of hives in this manner does not hinder the 
 bees from swarming, and the number of the hives can be 
 increased. 
 
 Honey obtained by means of glasses fresh from the 
 hive will be of the finest quality and perfectly free from 
 young brood. It will possess the flavour and fragrance 
 of the flowers then in blossom ; it will be clear and far 
 superior to that taken from the common hives. An 
 essential quality possessed by this hive is, that honey can 
 be taken at pleasure without injuring the bees or resort- 
 ing to that painful process of partially killing them by 
 fumigation, which also deteriorates the quality of the 
 honey. 
 
 Box- Hive, with Interior Boxes. 
 
 This, like most other hives, has undergone a great 
 many changes before it could be brought to its present 
 state of efficiency. It is now acknowledged, and most 
 justly, as the best hive for practical utility* 
 
174 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Its form is that of a square, having angles inside, 
 which nearly complete a hexagon. It is divided through 
 the middle horizontally, by a board on which rest four 
 small boxes for the bees to work in ; these can be readily 
 removed when filled. It forms a complete dwelling for the 
 bees, and the whole is under lock and key for security. 
 
 I 1 he Hub er- Hive. 
 
 The Huber, or leaf-hive, combines all that is deemed re- 
 quisite for affording the apiarian opportunity of pursuing 
 his researches in order to discover the hidden secrets of 
 this wonderful tribe. 
 
 It is composed of eight vertical frames, the material of 
 which is cedar-wood of suitable thickness. The frames 
 are about ten inches in height, nine in dej^th, and one 
 and a quarter in width, the two centre ones being rather 
 wider than the rest ; the whole is very exact, and its pro- 
 portion in accordance with the habits of the insect. 
 Each frame has a pair of hinges, in the whole there are 
 twenty-four pairs. There is a glass window in each end 
 and two smaller ones in the centre, also openings in the 
 top for the purpose of withdrawing humidity ; these 
 openings also afford opportunity of working the bees in 
 glasses and of feeding them when necessary. By means 
 of the windows and the facility with which the frames 
 are opened, the interior of the hive may be inspected 
 when in full operation. 
 
 French naturalists are justly proud of the inde- 
 fatigable Huber; they regard him as the most accurate 
 depictor of the domestic economy of the bee. He assisted 
 to remove many vulgar errors, and his discoveries and 
 statements have often been confirmed, and are at this 
 time well established. 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 175 
 
 The Unicomb Observatory Hive. 
 
 The means of obtaining; this hive were afforded to 
 Mr. Milton by Mr. Jesse, author of that interesting 
 work, "Gleanings in Natural History." 
 
 This ingeniously constructed hive, perhaps more than 
 any other, affords the apiarian an opportunity of fre- 
 quently seeing the queen bee. It is composed of two 
 distinct parts, the lower of which is a box with hexagonal 
 sides, having a window in the back ; the top of the box 
 is flat, and has an opening, or round hole, in the centre. 
 Upon this rests the other part, which is in shape like 
 a cross, and is made to revolve. It is so exact in pro- 
 portion that it enables, or rather compels, the bees to 
 build one uniform comb in each of the four parts of the 
 cross. Upon the upper surface of this cross there are 
 five holes, in order that bell-shaped glasses may be placed 
 over them. This hive, when in full operation, affords 
 a most pleasing sight ; it may be deprived of the surplus 
 honey with great ease. 
 
 Storified Box-Hive. 
 
 Storified box-hives have been constructed upon plans 
 recommended by Mr. Keys, of Bee Hall, Herefordshire, 
 author of " The Bee-Master's Farewell," and Dr. Bevan. 
 These box-hives are intended to be placed one upon 
 another : a set consists of three boxes* Each box is 
 made about eleven inches square, and seven inches deep 
 on the inside, the thickness of the wood being one inch. 
 There are three windows in each, the side over the 
 entrance being left blank. Each box is provided with a 
 movable board, also on the top of each box are six 
 
176 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 movable bars ; the boards are to be placed one between 
 each box, which will prevent the bees from uniting the 
 combs of one box to those of another ; the upper, or top 
 board, is so prepared that, by moving it a little, glasses 
 can be put on the top if required. To take away a box 
 when full (it must always be the uppermost) the same 
 method is used as for a glass, or small hive, but, the 
 boxes being much larger than glasses, a divider is used, 
 and two would be more convenient ; these dividers are 
 plates of iron or zinc, stout enough to keep perfectly flat, 
 which should be pushed underneath the top box, and left 
 for about an hour. At the expiration of this time, if 
 the bees in the lower boxes are quiet, you may safely 
 take away your box, leaving one of the dividers ; after 
 you have taken away the box liberate the bees, and tbey 
 gladly join their companions. 
 
 American Transparent Bee- Palace, 
 
 It is divided into three equal parts, and presents in 
 appearance something like a collateral hexagon. The 
 three parts have each an opening, thereby allowing the 
 bees to pass freely from one chamber to another ; on the 
 top are placed three glass boxes to be filled with honey, 
 which are removable at pleasure ; there are glass windows 
 in the sides and at each end, which admit of the whole of 
 the interior being inspected while the bees are at work. 
 A novel but very important feature in this hive is its 
 peculiar entrance ; this occupies the whole length of the 
 underneath part, and, from the singular construction of 
 the hive, it is very beneficial to the bees, as it materially 
 assists them in keeping the hive clear of all extraneous 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 177 
 
 matter, at the same time allowing them to enter any 
 part they choose, without having to go first into one 
 part before they can pass into another. 
 
 Up to this period apiarians do not appear to have 
 directed their attention to any systematic mode of venti- 
 lation in the hives, which is now considered by many 
 essential. 
 
 JYutt's Improved Hive for the Humane Management 
 of Honey-Bees 
 
 Consists of the pavilion, which is to be stocked by a 
 swarm of bees: it is the middle box, and is similar 
 to a cottage-hive. There are tin slides, or doors, at the 
 ends of the pavilion, which must remain closed until the 
 swarm nearly fills that compartment ; if any symptoms 
 of swarming should appear, the natural conclusion is a 
 want of room, the sliding tin beneath the bell-glass is 
 then to be drawn out, which will immediately admit of a 
 new room being added for their use. But if by mistake 
 the manager should draw up either of the collateral slides, 
 the bees will refuse to go up into the glass compartments 
 above, and will continue their works in the collateral 
 box in preference, so well aware are they of the incon- 
 venience attending the carrying of their treasures into an 
 upper story ; their natural movements have demonstrated 
 this fact year after year. This materially assists venti- 
 lation, for by dividing the labours of the bee we purify their 
 works. To provide a place of safety for the queen-bee 
 suggested the propriety of this movement, because she 
 requires a certain situation to carry on the work of pro- 
 pagation ; she will not propagate her young whilst under 
 the influence and command of human ingenuity, and 
 altogether prefers the middle box either to the side boxes 
 
 N 
 
178 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 or to the glass for her work. This reason is apparent: by 
 the cylindrical ventilation-tins, the atmospheric air which 
 is admitted so cools the temperature that they are not 
 in the situation nature requires to bring the young larvse 
 to perfection ; yet the collateral boxes can be kept at 
 such a temperature as to make them desirable store- 
 rooms for the treasured sweets : by this mode of manage- 
 ment the necessity of swarming is avoided, and the hate- 
 ful system of destruction is wholly abolished. A ther- 
 mometer is used with this hive to regulate the tempera- 
 ture, and is placed in the middle compartment. 
 
 Neighbour s Improved Single Box-Hive 
 
 Consists of a box in which is to be put a swarm of 
 bees, having a cover for bell-glass and a feeding-drawer. 
 In this hive are placed a thermometer, which is a correct 
 indicator at all seasons of the interior of the hive, and a 
 ventilator to admit air between the bell-glass and stock, 
 or parent hive, the advantages of which are that the 
 bees may be for a longer period prevented from swarm- 
 ing, and the queen effectually prevented from depositing 
 her eggs therein, so that this glass invariably is filled 
 with combs of the most delicate colour and purest quality. 
 
 The respective merits of straw hives and boxes have 
 been often the subject of discussion. Those of straw 
 have a decided superiority over those of wood in their 
 capability of maintaining an equable temperature, from 
 the non-conducting material of which the former are con- 
 structed ; but the latter are much more easily kept clean, 
 are more durable, afford a greater facility for operating 
 experimentally, and for studying the interesting habits 
 of the inmates. Hives of wood will also admit of greater 
 variety of form and structure than those made with straw. 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 179 
 
 Neighbour s Improved Cottage- Hive, 
 
 On which are worked five bell-glasses, is, in prin- 
 ciple, similar to the single box-hive, from which a glass 
 of the purest honey may be taken during the most 
 vigorous period of the gathering season with the greatest 
 facility. It has three windows in the lower hive, with a 
 thermometer affixed to the centre one ; the temperature 
 of this hive can be easily reduced if required, by raising 
 the ventilator on the top of the straw cover ; this hive 
 will be found to possess many practical advantages over 
 the cottage-hives in ordinary use, and presents a tasteful 
 appearance in the garden among foliage, either singly or 
 in a row, and is preferred by many to wooden hives on 
 the same plan on account of the material. 
 
 Neighbour s Ladies' Observatory-Hive 
 
 Is made of stout glass, and consists of a lower hive 
 for the parent stock, with a glass above, which may be 
 removed (as in ordinary hives on the humane system) as 
 often as filled with the delicious treasure ; it has a cover 
 of straw, which protects the whole, and may be removed 
 at pleasure. By this mode the lady apiarian may con- 
 template her favourites at leisure without disturbing 
 them, and without the slightest danger of her being- 
 annoyed by them. In a short time the admission of light 
 will not disturb them. The construction of this observa- 
 tory-hive is admirably adapted for advancing, and it may 
 be perfecting, the knowledge of the habits and economy 
 of the honey-bee. 
 
 A conspicuous feature of these hives is that by a 
 single movement may be effected the immediate separa- 
 
180 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 tion of any part of the produce without danger or incon- 
 venience. 
 
 Cottage Hives. 
 
 A cottage hive of the most simple and least expensive 
 form, intended for the use of cottagers, consists of three 
 hives, made of straw, with floor-board attached. It is 
 recommended to the notice of those apiarians and clergy- 
 men who are desirous of setting their poorer neighbours 
 an example in the way of keeping bees on the improved 
 and humane principle. 
 
 SholVs Hive. 
 
 Mr. Sholl's cottager's-hive may be thus described : — 
 The stand is of wood, consisting of five pieces, which are 
 so arranged that they may be taken to pieces readily 
 if required, and put away in the hive to send it to 
 a distance. A common American flour-barrel forms 
 the outworks of the hive. The pavilion is formed of 
 wood, and may be either square or circular, and is placed 
 at the bottom of the barrel. It is furnished with a wire- 
 gauze door, fixed in the bottom, which answers the 
 purpose of a ventilator; two cross-bars are fixed at the 
 top of the pavilion, to which the inhabitants attach the 
 comb. The entrance to the pavilion is circular, and 
 placed towards the top of it, as Mr. Sholl considers it 
 advantageous to admit the bees there in preference to 
 the bottom, as in most of the hives ; to effect which a 
 metal tube is carried through the wall of the house or 
 barrel, which is furnished with a sliding shield at the outer 
 entrance, also of metal, to keep them in when necessary : 
 this slide is perforated so as to assist the ventilation. 
 
 The pavilion, which can be removed from the house 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 181 
 
 or barrel at pleasure, stands upon four legs, and is 
 ventilated by the wire-gauze door before described. For 
 the purpose of fully ventilating the space between the 
 outer walls of the house or barrel, is another aperture 
 furnished with wire-gauze. On the top of the pavilion 
 is a folding partition by which it is entirely covered ; 
 this partition contains six or any greater number of 
 circular apertures that may be required, to each of which 
 is a plug of wood with a tin cover ; each plug is attached 
 to a string, which is secured to the side of the barrel, so 
 that when the plugs are removed from the apertures they 
 may not be lost. The use of these apertures is to admit 
 the bees when necessary into the surplus cases above. 
 A small window is fixed in the partition to ascertain the 
 state of the bees at any time. These cases, six or more 
 in number, are also constructed of thin wood, nearly 
 fitting the sides of the barrel or house ; each case is of 
 a segmental form, and open at bottom to admit the bees, 
 and is lighted by a small window at top. When the bees 
 have filled the pavilion with honey, as far as possible, 
 admission is afforded them to one or more of the surplus 
 cases or additional apartments, in which they deposit new 
 combs. The pavilion remains undisturbed so far as re- 
 moving honey is concerned, the additional apartments 
 being provided for that purpose. When a case is ascer- 
 tained to be filled with honey, it is removed to a distance 
 from the barrel, carefully turned on one side, and, the 
 bees returning to the pavilion, the apartment may be 
 entirely cleared of the honey accumulated, and another 
 case may be immediately inserted in its place. It is 
 readily ascertained which surplus apartment is occupied 
 by the bees, as the admission-plug from the pavilion will 
 be found placed on the top of it. The cover or roof of 
 
182 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS, 
 
 the bee-house or barrel is hung with common hinges, 
 and secured either by a common lock or padlock, and 
 the whole may be formed and painted in any ornamental 
 manner. 
 
 Mr. Sholl states his objects in this arrangement of 
 hives to have been, — 
 
 1st. A system of self-acting ventilation, requiring 
 little or no attention to regulate or keep it in 
 order, by which the health and value of the bees 
 are materially improved. 
 2d. The leaving to themselves the uninterrupted pos- 
 session of their pavilion or hive for the purpose 
 of breeding and food, by which the necessity of 
 swarming is rendered unnecessary. 
 3rd. The taking their surplus produce of honey and 
 wax without destroying them, or interruption to 
 their working, as is already done in the arrange- 
 ments of other expensive hives. And, 
 4th. The great economy and facility with which these 
 advantages may be obtained by the humblest cot- 
 tager, as any box or tub may be thus arranged at 
 a small expense. 
 It may be remarked that, in a flour-barrel fitted up as 
 described, Mr. Sholl brought over from America a swarm 
 of bees, which are now in health and working in this 
 country, and that at the distribution of rewards given by 
 the Society in June last, his Royal Highness Prince 
 Albert, the President, examined a working hive, which 
 had been for some time on their premises in the Adelphi, 
 and he has since ordered several hives of this construction, 
 some of which are already in use at Windsor. 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 183 
 
 No. XXXI. 
 
 ON MEANS OF EXTENDING THE RAILWAY 
 SYSTEM INTO EVERY PORTION OF 
 THE UNITED KINGDOM. 
 
 May 1, 1844. 
 
 By Francis Whishaw, c.e. m.i.c.e. sec. soc. arts. 
 
 The subject of the first illustration for this evening- 
 has not been inappropriately chosen. This clay the Great 
 Western Trunk Railway to Exeter, 193 miles from Lon- 
 don, has been opened throughout to the public, as also 
 that from Norwich to Yarmouth, 18 J miles in length ; 
 the latter is a single way, and is one of the first pas- 
 senger-lines of so great a length constructed on this 
 principle. 
 
 My attention was first drawn to the subject of rail- 
 ways in 1831, being* consulted professionally in that year 
 as to a proposed railway from Truro to Perran, in the 
 county of Cornwall ; since which period I have devoted 
 much time to this important subject, and have been con- 
 nected with some of the great lines now in full operation. 
 
 Before giving an account of the two economical sys- 
 tems of laying out railways, which I consider most likely 
 to supersede the extravagant plans hitherto almost uni- 
 versally adopted, I will give a slight sketch of the rise 
 and general progress of the railway system. 
 
 The success of the Stockton and Darlington Railway, 
 originally intended to be worked by horse-power, and the 
 first work of the kind executed, by Mr. Stephenson, 
 caused the enterprising and wealthy people of Liverpool 
 and Manchester to turn their attention to the subject of 
 railways, and the consequence was the construction of 
 
184 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 the " grand experimental line between Liverpool and 
 Manchester." The Leeds and Selby was the next in 
 order ; and the London and Birmingham, Grand Junc- 
 tion, and Great Western soon followed. 
 
 In the session of 1836, twenty-six railway acts were 
 obtained, including the Birmingham and Gloucester, the 
 Bristol and Exeter, the Hull and Selby, the North Mid- 
 land, Manchester and Leeds, and York and North Mid- 
 land. Four of the twenty-six have not been executed. In 
 the same year, twenty-seven other railway schemes were 
 laid before parliament, all of which were thrown out. 
 
 The rage for railways was, however, for a while com- 
 pletely checked, owing to the heavy deposit required to 
 be made by parties intending to introduce railway-bills, 
 added to the enormous estimates and extravagant system 
 of executing railways, as practised by a few engineers 
 who seemed to have the whole matter in their own hands, 
 but who are now generally fully alive to the necessity 
 of practising economy, and who, from the dearly bought 
 experience of past years, are enabled considerably to re- 
 duce the original outlay, even with the " double way." 
 
 The following is a list of English railways in full 
 operation : — 
 
 No. 
 
 Title. 
 
 Power Employed. 
 
 Length in 
 Miles. 
 
 1 
 
 
 Locomotive 
 
 7-00 
 
 2 
 
 Birmingham and Derby Junction 
 
 Locomotive 
 
 38-75 
 
 3 
 
 Birmingham and Gloucester .... 
 
 Locomotive 
 
 55-00 
 
 4 
 
 Bishop Auckland and Weardale 
 
 Locomotive 
 
 8-33 
 
 5 
 
 
 Locomotive 
 
 14-75 
 
 6 
 
 
 Locomotive 
 
 9-75 
 
 7 
 
 
 Locomotive 
 
 10-00 
 
 8 
 
 
 Locomotive 
 
 23-00 
 
 9 
 
 
 Locomotive 
 
 37-5Q 
 
No- 
 10 
 11 
 
 12 
 13 
 14 
 15 
 
 16 
 17 
 18 
 
 19 
 
 20 
 21 
 22 
 23 
 24 
 25 
 26 
 27 
 28 
 29 
 30 
 31 
 
 32 
 33 
 34 
 35 
 36 
 37 
 38 
 39 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Title. 
 
 Canterbury and Whitstable .... 
 
 Chester and Birkenhead 
 
 Chester and Crewe 
 
 Clarence 
 
 Durham and Sunderland 
 
 Eastern Counties and Northern 
 
 and Eastern 
 
 Grand Junction 
 
 Great North of England 
 
 Great Western (London to Exeter) 
 
 and Cheltenham Branch 
 
 Hull and Selby 
 
 Lancaster and Preston 
 
 Leeds and Selby 
 
 Leicester and Swannington .... 
 
 Liverpool and Manchester 
 
 London and Birmingham 
 
 London and Blackwall 
 
 London and Brighton 
 
 London and Croydon 
 
 London and Greenwich 
 
 London and South Western .... 
 Gosport Branch from Bishopstoke 
 Manchester and Birmingham to 
 
 Crewe 
 
 Manchester and Bolton 
 
 Manchester and Leeds 
 
 Maryport and Carlisle 
 
 Midland Counties 
 
 Newcastle and Carlisle 
 
 Newcastle and Darlington 
 
 Newcastle and North Shields 
 
 North Midland 
 
 Power Employed. 
 
 Stationary 
 
 Locomotive 
 
 Locomotive 
 
 Locomotive 
 
 Stationary 
 
 Locomotive 
 Locomotive 
 Locomotive 
 
 Locomotive 
 
 Locomotive 
 
 Locomotive 
 
 Locomotive 
 
 Locomotive 
 
 Locomotive 
 
 Locomotive 
 
 Stationary 
 
 Locomotive 
 
 Locomotive 
 
 Locomotive 
 
 Locomotive 
 
 Locomotive 
 
 Locomotive 
 Locomotive 
 Locomotive 
 Locomotive 
 Locomotive 
 Locomotive 
 Locomotive 
 Locomotive 
 Locomotive 
 
186 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Title. 
 
 North Union 
 
 Norwich and Yarmouth (single 
 
 way) 
 
 Preston and Wyre 
 
 Sheffield, Ashton, and Manchester 
 
 (part completed) 
 
 Sheffield and Rotherham 
 
 South Eastern, from Red Hill, 
 
 Reigate 
 
 Taff Vale 
 
 Stockton and Darlington 
 
 Stockton and Hartlepool ...... 
 
 Whitby and Pickering 
 
 York and North Midland 
 
 Power Employed. 
 
 Locomotive 
 
 Locomotive 
 Locomotive 
 
 Locomotive 
 Locomotive 
 
 Locomotive 
 
 Locomotive 
 
 Locomotive 
 
 Locomotive 
 
 Horse 
 
 Locomotive 
 
 Length in 
 Miles. 
 
 22-00 
 
 18-25 
 22-00 
 
 11-00 
 
 5-25 
 
 66-7.5 
 
 30- 00 
 35-00 
 
 8-00 
 24-00 
 
 31- 00 
 
 1735 45 
 
 The following lines which I considered requisite to be 
 continued for completing the railway system of England 
 were laid down in my Railway Map of 1841 : — 
 
 Miles. 
 
 From Newcastle to the East of Morpeth, Alnwick, and 
 
 Belford, by Berwick and Dunbar to Edinburgh 117-00 
 
 From Lancaster, by Kendal, Orton, and Penrith, to 
 
 Carlisle 70-25 
 
 From Darlington, by Richmond, Brough, and Appleby, 
 to join the Lancaster and Penrith Railway at 
 Penrith 62 00 
 
 From the Manchester and Leeds Railway atTodmorden, 
 
 by Burnley and Blackburn, to Preston 29*00 
 
 From Gloucester, by Ross, Monmouth, Abergavenny, 
 Crickhowel, Brecknock, Trecastle, ' Llandovery, 
 Llandilo-vaur, and Carmarthen, to Fishguard .. 130*00 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 187 
 
 From Ross to Hereford, Leominster, Ludlow, Bridge- Miles. 
 
 north, and ShifTnal , 63-00 
 
 From Nottingham, by Newark, to Lincoln. 35*00 
 
 From Bishops-Stortford to Cambridge 24*50 
 
 From Cambridge, by Peterborough, Market-Deeping, 
 Bourn, Donnington, Lincoln, Gainsborough, 
 
 Thome, Snaith, and Selby, to York 140*75 
 
 From Market-Deeping, by Spalding, to Boston 22*00 
 
 From Cambridge, by Thetford, to Norwich 60*00 
 
 From Colchester to Ipswich, Woodhide, Saxmundham, 
 
 Southwold, Lowestoft, and Yarmouth 64*00 
 
 From Colchester to Harwich 17*50 
 
 From Cambridge to St. Neott's, Bedford, Ampthill, Wo- 
 
 burn, and Leighton Buzzard 48*00 
 
 From Aylesbury to Oxford 22*00 
 
 From York, by New Malton, to Scarborough, and 
 
 Branch to Pickering ^ . . . . 44*00 
 
 Chester and Holyhead 82*00 
 
 From Leeds to Bradford 13*50 
 
 From the Grand Junction Railway, by Wolverhampton, 
 
 ShifTnal, and Wellington, to Shrewsbury 32*00 
 
 From Shrewsbury, by Oswestry, Chirk, and Ruabon, to 
 
 Chester 42*00 
 
 From Shrewsbury, by Welsh-pool, Newton, and Llanid- 
 loes, to Aberystwith 63*00 
 
 North Kent, from the Greenwich line at Deptford, by 
 
 Gravesend, to Stroud 30*00 
 
 From the South Eastern Railway to Canterbury, Rams- 
 gate, and Margate 33*00 
 
 From Ashford, on the South Eastern Railway, to Rye, 
 Winchelsea, Hastings, Bexhill, East Bourn, 
 
 Seaford, Newhaven, and Brighton 46*00 
 
 From Shoreham to Worthing, Arundel, Chichester, Ha- 
 vant, and Fareham, to the Portsmouth Junction 
 
 Railway , 41*00 
 
188 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 From Salisbury to Heytesbury, Warminster, Frome, Miles, 
 
 and Bath 39-00 
 
 From the South Western Railway, near Winchester, to 
 Salisbury, Blandford, Dorchester, Bridport, Ax- 
 minster, Honiton, and Exeter 109*00 
 
 From the Bristol and Exeter Railway, near Exeter, to 
 Oakhampton, Launceston, Bodmin, St. Austel, 
 
 Truro, Penryn, and Falmouth 106*00 
 
 From Crediton, on the proposed Devon and Cornwall 
 Line, by Chudleigh, South Molton, and Barn- 
 staple, to Ilfracombe 39*00 
 
 1624*50 
 
 Several of the above-mentioned lines have been sanc- 
 tioned by the legislature, viz. 
 Berwick to Edinburgh. 
 Lancaster to Carlisle. 
 Chester to Holyhead. Also, 
 
 Exeter to Plymouth (not laid down in the map above 
 alluded to). 
 
 The lines included in the foregoing list which have 
 been opened for traffic are 
 
 Darlington to Newcastle. 
 Steventon to Oxford. 
 South Eastern to Maidstone. 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 189 
 
 The following lines in Scotland are now in opera- 
 tion : — 
 
 Title. 
 
 Power Employed. 
 
 Miles. 
 
 
 Locomotive 
 
 15-00 
 
 
 Locomotive 
 
 5-50 
 
 j 
 
 Locomotive 
 
 6-00 
 
 
 Locomotive 
 
 16-75 
 
 
 c Locomotive & 
 
 12-00 
 
 
 ( Stationary 
 
 
 Horse 
 
 8-25 
 
 
 Locomotive 
 
 46-00 
 
 
 Locomotive 
 
 2-00 
 
 
 Locomotive 
 
 8-00 
 
 Glasgow, Paisley, and Ayr .... 
 
 Locomotive 
 
 51-00 
 
 Glasgow, Paisley, and Greenock 
 
 Locomotive 
 
 22-50 
 
 
 Locomotive 
 
 3-00 
 
 
 Locomotive 
 
 23-00 
 
 219-00 
 
 The following still require to be made to complete the 
 main lines of railway communication in Scotland :-— 
 
 Miles. 
 
 From near Falkirk (on Edinburgh and Glasgow Rail- 
 way), by Stirling and Dumblane, west of Ochill 
 Hills, to Auchterarder, and thence to Perth, and 
 from Perth, by Errol, to Dundee 65 
 
 From Arbroath and Forfar Railway to Brechin, west 
 of Laurence Kirk and Stonehaven, thence to 
 Aberdeen 45 
 
 From Aberdeen, by Kin tore, Inverury, Huntley, Keith, 
 
 Fochabars, Elgin, and Nairne, to Inverness . . 100 
 
 210 
 
190 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 The following lines in Ireland are now in opera- 
 tion : — 
 
 Title. 
 
 Power Employed . 
 
 Miles. 
 
 
 Locomotive 
 
 6-00 
 
 
 Atmospheric 
 
 1-75 
 
 
 Locomotive 
 
 30-00 
 
 Ulster (as far as Portadown) .... 
 
 Locomotive 
 
 25-00 
 
 
 Horse 
 
 6-00 
 
 68-75 
 
 The following are the lines which are considered ne- 
 cessary to complete the railway communications of that 
 
 kingdom : — 
 
 Miles. 
 
 Extension to Bray and Wicklow 24-00 
 
 Dublin, by Naas, Athy, and Carlow, to Kilkenny .... 73-00 
 
 From Carlow, by Enniscorthy, to Wexford 42 00 
 
 Dublin, by Navan, (26 J), Carrickmacross, to Armagh. . 80 00 
 
 Armagh to Coleraine 56-00 
 
 Navan, by Kells, Virginia, Cavan, Enniskillen (65), 
 
 Lifford, to Londonderry (50) 1 15-00 
 
 From the Dublin and Kilkenny Line (16 miles from 
 Dublin), by Portarlington, Maryborough, Holy 
 Cross (32) and Limerick (18), to Tarbut, on the 
 
 south bank of the Shannon 148-50 
 
 From Holy Cross (83 miles from Dublin), by Cashell, 
 
 Michelstown, Mallow (53), to Cork (18) 71-00 
 
 From north of Cork (48 miles from Dublin), by Ma- 
 croon, to north side of Bantry Bay r . 64-00 
 
 From Waterford, by Carrick -on-Suir and Clonmell, to 
 join the Dublin and Limerick Line (98| miles 
 
 from Dublin) 51-00 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 191 
 
 From the Dublin and Limerick Line, near Colbridge, 
 (16 miles from Dublin), by Mullingar (36|), 
 
 Athlone, and Galway (47±) , 112*00 
 
 From Mullingar (52| miles from Dublin) by Longford 
 26-|) and Carrick-on-Shannon (20), to Sligo 
 
 (281) 75 . 00 
 
 911-50 
 
 The British railways, therefore, at present in opera- 
 tion extend over 2023-20 miles, as follows : — 
 
 Miles. 
 
 In England 1735-45 
 
 In Scotland „ 219-00 
 
 In Ireland 68*75 
 
 To complete the railway communication of the United 
 Kingdom, as already proposed, there is a general exten- 
 sion required of 2745*50 miles, as follows : — • 
 
 Miles. 
 
 In England 1624-50 
 
 In Scotland 210-00 
 
 In Ireland 911*00 
 
 So that but half the extent of railway communication 
 that may be expected is at present in operation. To 
 complete the main British lines, therefore, it will require 
 the sum of 41,182,500/., even taking 15,000/. a mile as 
 an average estimate. 
 
 In order to keep the cost per mile at a maximum of 
 15,000/., I propose that all future railways should be 
 either executed according to the reciprocating plan, or 
 a modification thereof, or by the atmospheric plan, unless 
 some other still more economical system should be dis- 
 covered. 
 
192 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Reciprocating Plan. 
 
 In 1839, I laid my plan of working single lines before 
 the Institution of Civil Engineers ; and, in 1840, after 
 completing a detailed survey of all the railways of the 
 United Kingdom, and making practical experiments to 
 the extent of 5,000 miles as to the working of the trains 
 on all the British railways at that time open to the public, 
 revised and corrected my plan, and then submitted it for 
 the consideration of the public. Since that period, the 
 " single way " has made considerable progress, and en- 
 gineers are now laying out some of the principal lines on 
 this plan in a modified form. 
 
 The mode of working a railway by this plan, with any 
 amount of traffic, may be thus described : — 
 
 Suppose the distance between the terminal and the 
 nearest principal intermediate station, and between the 
 two principal intermediate stations to be twenty miles re- 
 spectively, this distance is made up of two engine-runs 
 of equal length meeting together at the half-way stations. 
 
 To illustrate the mode of exchanging the trains, which 
 takes place at the exchange stations nearly simultaneously 
 every hour, we need only describe this process between 
 one of the terminal stations and the first principal inter- 
 mediate station. An engine (No. 1) starts from the 
 terminal station a, and another (No. 2) from the first 
 principal intermediate station d, as the clock strikes 8, 
 at an average speed of 25 miles an hour, including stop- 
 pages, the engines Nos. 1 and 2 will arrive by 24 
 minutes after 8 at the exchange station c, where each 
 engine- run is furnished with a large turn-table, capable 
 of holding the engine and tender together ; an engine 
 (No. 3) is already on the up-line ready to proceed with 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 193 
 
 the up- train, and another (No. 4) on the down-line ready 
 to proceed with the down-train. The engines Nos. 1 
 and 2, which have just arrived, are turned into the 
 engine-sheds on either side, and the engines Nos. 3 and 4 
 are connected with the up and down-trains respectively, 
 and proceed forward precisely at 8h. 30m., there being 
 6 minutes (for the sake of example) allowed for the ex- 
 change, for attaching or detaching carriages, &c, and 
 for receiving and disembarking passengers. At 8h. 54m. 
 engine No. 3 with the up-train will reach the arrival 
 platform of the terminal station a, where the passengers 
 and luggage will be despatched by omnibuses, &c. In 
 the mean time the 9 o'clock down-train is preparing to 
 start with engine No. 5, which has its steam up, and 
 is waiting for the 9 o'clock bell to be rung, or bugle 
 sounded. The clocks at each station throughout are 
 required to be of uniform construction and by first-rate 
 makers, and regulated twice in 24 hours by means of 
 the electro -galvanic telegraph, which is considered a 
 necessary appendage to all main lines of railway. At 24 
 minutes past 9, engine No. 5 will arrive with the second 
 down-train at exchange station c, and engine No 6 will 
 also arrive, within a minute before or after, with a second 
 up-train at the same station ; as on the first exchange, so 
 again engines Nos. 1 and 2 are ready to proceed, on the 
 signal being given at 9h. 30m., with the up and down- 
 trains respectively. Engines Nos. 5 and 6 are turned 
 into the engine-sheds as before, and prepared to make 
 the next exchange ; at 9h. 54m. engine No. 1 arrives at 
 the terminal station a, as before, and engine No. 3 is 
 again ready to start with the 10 o'clock train, and so 
 the reciprocating process is continued throughout the 24 
 hours at each of the intermediate exchange stations. 
 
 o 
 
194 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Intervals of one hour each for the starting of the trains, 
 and also ten-mile runs, are taken for the sake of easy 
 illustration; but intervals of 90 minutes, which would 
 give 16 daily trains, and longer runs according to each 
 particular case, would answer equally well. 
 
 The estimated cost of constructing and finishing com- 
 pletely a line 60 miles in length, through a difficult country, 
 taking the prices throughout on a liberal scale, including 
 stations, furnishings, plant, &c. is 926,107/. 8s. 2d. 9 or 
 altogether at the average rate of 15,435Z. 2s. 5d. per mile. 
 
 The Atmospheric Plan. 
 
 An experimental line on this principle was laid down 
 at Wormwood Scrubbs, on an embankment formed near 
 the crossing of the Great Western Railway for the Bir- 
 mingham, Bristol, and Thames Junction line, now called 
 the West London Railway. 
 
 The length of this line was about half a mile, the two 
 inclinations respectively on which the vacuum pipe was laid 
 are 1 in 120 and 1 in 115 ; the diameter of the pipe was 
 9 inches internally ; the exhausting pump 37 J inches 
 diameter, with a stroke of 22| inches. The pump was 
 worked by a 16-horse power steam-engine. 
 
 Most railway engineers visited this line, and some of 
 the most eminent have expressed a very favourable opi- 
 nion of the suitableness of the system to difficult districts 
 of country, and also to lines of frequent passenger traffic. 
 Mr. Pirn, treasurer of the Dublin and Kingston Railway, 
 in a letter to the Right Hon. the Earl of Ripon, President 
 of the Board of Trade in 1842, observes : — 
 
 " In practice, and to work economically, it will be 
 sufficient to produce an exhaustion of air in the pipe 
 equal to causing a pressure from the atmosphere, upon 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 195 
 
 or behind the travelling portion, of 8 lbs. per square 
 inch, which is only about one half of the pressure due to 
 a vacuum. Supposing' the main pipe to be of 18 inches 
 internal diameter, it will receive a piston of 254 superficial 
 inches area, on which, with the above pressure, a tractive 
 force of 2032 lbs. is consequently obtained, and this is 
 capable of propelling a train weighing 45 tons (say 8 or 
 9 loaded carriages) at the rate of 30 miles an hour, up an 
 acclivity of 1 in 100, or 53 feet per mile. 
 
 " The composition has stood the effect of exposure to 
 the seasons and of continued use for nearly 18 months. 
 
 " The tallow lining of the pipe produces a smoothness 
 over its interior infinitely cheaper, and probably more 
 effectual, than the most finished boring. 
 
 " When it becomes necessary to stop or retard the 
 carriages, in addition to the use of a common break, a 
 valve in the travelling piston may be opened by the 
 guard of the train, whereby the external air being ad- 
 mitted, in advance of the piston, into the exhausted por- 
 tion of the pipe, the propelling power is brought under 
 perfect control. 
 
 " The separating valves in the main, between each sec- 
 tion or division of a line, may be made self-acting, so that 
 there will be neither occasion to stop nor even to retard 
 the movement of a train in passing from one division of 
 the pipe to another on an extended line, as the air is ne- 
 cessarily exhausted by the stationary power placed at the 
 proper interval ; the carriages, may therefore, pass con- 
 tinually at any required velocity as if drawn by a locomo- 
 tive engine, whereas by all other systems of traction de- 
 rived from stationary power, a stoppage and change at 
 each engine is unavoidable. 
 
 " The great advantage," continues Mr* Pirn, " of the 
 
196 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 atmospheric system will be to obviate the waste of power 
 and consequent absorption of profits arising from trans- 
 porting useless weight and overcoming unnecessary fric- 
 tion." 
 
 " If," say Messrs. Samuda (the patentees of the pre- 
 sent atmospheric railway), " for sake of argument, the 
 expense of working the Birmingham Railway were to 
 remain unaltered, but by the adoption of some other mode 
 of obtaining power, the necessity of carrying the locomo- 
 tive engine and tender (say 20 tons) with each train was 
 obviated, the company would be able to transport with 
 each train, for the same cost as at present, 20 tons gross, 
 say 15 tons nett, of profitable merchandize additional, 
 which, at 21. per ton, would add to the revenue 301. per 
 journey, or about 225,000/. a-year, equal to an addi- 
 tional dividend of 51. per cent to the subscribers." 
 
 The atmospheric plan as above described has been 
 carried out between Kingston and Dalkey in Ireland, the 
 safe working of which is aided by the electric telegraph of 
 Messrs. Cook and Wheatstone. 
 
 The experimental line at Wormwood Scrubbs I ex- 
 amined with a view of ascertaining the state of the junc- 
 tions of the main after considerable traffic had been 
 on it. 
 
 I also travelled to and fro on the line, and found 
 the motion easy while moving at a considerable speed. 
 
 It appears to me that the greatest difficulty in the 
 practical application of the system to new lines will be 
 in keeping the joints of the main perfectly sound on 
 embankments, owing to the great subsidence which takes 
 place in these works for a very long time after the per* 
 manent rails are laid. 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 197 
 
 No. XXXII. 
 
 ON ROBINSON'S PATENT DRYING MACHINE, 
 By J. Robinson. 
 
 This machine was first used in the manufactories of 
 France for the purpose of drying fabrics of wool, cotton, 
 and linen, and was found to produce a great improvement 
 in the colour and appearance of the articles passed through 
 it, as well as a considerable saving of labour and fuel. 
 
 It has been used with equal success in this country, 
 as by means of the machine all kinds of scoured and 
 dyed wool, woollen cloths, flannels, stuffs, mousselines de 
 laine, merinos, printed cottons and silks, dyed worsted 
 yarns, &c. &c, as well as all articles requiring bleaching 
 (put into it quite wet), will be sufficiently dry in six 
 minutes to work and finish off, leaving a suppleness of 
 texture and brilliancy of colour unattainable by heat. 
 
 Trials of the machine have been made at the Royal 
 Naval Hospitals at Haslar and Plymouth, the officers of 
 which establishments report most favourably of it. At 
 Haslar Hospital the result was 
 
 1st Trial. 6 Blankets 1 . . From the pe- 
 
 j- wrung in 4 minutes r iod the ma- 
 
 ' chine reached 
 
 2 Flannels wiu^miiimimes noa tne ma 
 
 2d Trial. 9 Sheets ) .... I its velocity, 
 
 ~, . , ; wrung in 8 minutes ' J 
 
 28 Shirts j fe 
 
 3d Trial. 15 Blue Coats 1 
 
 > wrung in 4 minutes 
 21 pairs ot Stockings J 
 
 and every part 
 of the articles 
 equally dried 
 or wrung. 
 
 From hanging up in the drying-room, thermometer 
 101°. 
 
198 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 A Blanket, thoroughly dried and fit 
 
 for use, in 1 hour, 23 minutes. 
 
 A Sheet 41 „ 
 
 A Shirt 57 
 
 A Blue Coat 1 „ 45 
 
 55 
 
 At Plymouth Hospital the result was — 
 
 1st Trial. 6 Blankets 1 wrun in 6 minutes 
 
 15 Pairs of Stockings] wiun £ m mmu es - 
 2d Trial. 10 Coats 
 
 10 Trowsers 
 
 3d Trial. 11 Sheets 
 20 Shirts 
 
 i • 
 
 The machine consists of two boxes revolving on an 
 axis with great rapidity, the number of revolutions when 
 at its full velocity being at the rate of 300 per minute. 
 It is set in motion either by cog-wheels or a strap and 
 pulley with an ordinary handle. The boxes arc inclosed 
 in an outer case to prevent the water from flying about, 
 through which case the air enters by means of openings 
 at the sides and ends. 
 
 No. XXXIII. 
 THE VICTORIA LAMP. 
 
 (A Victoria Lamp ivas placed on the table by Mr. Taylor.) 
 May 15th, 1844. 
 
 SIR J. JOHN GUEST, BART. M.P. V.I\ IN THE CHAIR. 
 
 It consists of a reservoir for the tallow, kitchen-stuff, 
 &c, into which the circular wick is inserted. The grease 
 reservoir is surrounded by an annular cistern, into which 
 boiling water is poured when the lamp is required to be 
 used, for the purpose of keeping the tallow, &c, in a 
 liquid state. The light produced is stated to be equal to 
 that of ten mould candles, and at the cost of about one 
 halfpenny per hour. 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 199 
 
 No. XXXIV. 
 
 ON A PNEUMATIC APPARATUS FOR VALUING 
 THE RESPIRATORY POWERS WITH RELA- 
 TION TO HEALTH. 
 
 By John Hutchinson, Surgeon, F.S.S. 
 
 May 29, 1844. 
 
 W. H. BODKIN, ESQ. M.P. V.P. IN THE CHAIR. 
 
 Abstract. 
 
 Mr. Hutchinson's apparatus'* for valuing the respi- 
 ratory organs consists of two instruments, the one for 
 measuring " volume," or the numher of cubic inches of 
 air thrown out of the chest, and the other for estimating 
 the <e power" by which that air can he drawn in and 
 given out. 
 
 The instrument for measuring the volume is called 
 the "breathing machine;" other names have been given 
 to it, as " stethonieter," or u pulmometer ;" hut as the 
 stethoscope is sometimes strangely miscalled, and as 
 those who have been submitted to its application have 
 been said to have been " stereotyped," the author thought 
 it better to denominate this machine by some more in- 
 telligible appellation. 
 
 It consists of two cylinders, one within the other, 
 similar to the great receivers used in gas-works. The 
 outer cylinder contains water, while the inner cylinder, 
 being inverted, is intended to receive the breath, and 
 hence is termed the receiver ; the breath raises the inner 
 
 * A paper, by Mr. Hutchinson, on the results obtained by means 
 of the pneumatic apparatus, was read before the Statistical Society of 
 London on the evening of June 17th, 1844, and which is contained in 
 the "Quarterly Journal" of that Society for September last, 
 
200 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 cylinder according to the air thrown out of the 
 lungs. The receiver is carefully counterbalanced by two 
 weights, contained in two vertical brass tubes or hollow 
 columns. There are also two other hollow columns 
 standing in the same line, and on the same base as 
 those containing the weights, but nearer to the cylin- 
 ders. These inner hollow columns have each a slot, in 
 which the cross-head of the receiver works vertically up 
 and down; a cord is fastened to each end of the cross-head, 
 and, passing over pulleys, is attached to the weights 
 already mentioned. These weights form the counter- 
 balance of the receiver, which counter-balance is made 
 rather heavier than the receiver, in order that there may be 
 no strength unnecessarily lost by the individual under ex- 
 amination, so that muscular exertion is required only to 
 contract the chest, and not to elevate the receiver ; thus 
 the counterbalance weights may be considered to act as a 
 suction-pump, by drawing the breath out of the lungs. 
 The receiver, being elevated by the breath, and it being- 
 desirable to ascertain how much air has been given out, a 
 scale is attached to the receiver, which ascends and 
 descends with it. This scale is graduated with lines cor- 
 responding with cubic inches, calculated according to the 
 contents of the receiver ; according, therefore, to the ele- 
 vation of the receiver from the surface of the reservoir, 
 there must be so many cubic inches in the receiver, and 
 the level of the water must be taken as the standard line 
 from which the number of cubic inches is to be deter- 
 mined. The arrangement for accomplishing this is by 
 bringing a glass tube up in front of the scale, the water 
 in which tube is connected with that in the reservoir, 
 and hence the water in the tube must be at the 
 same level with that in the reservoir ; the operator 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 201 
 
 has, therefore, only to ascertain what degree on the 
 scale the water in the tube corresponds with, which 
 degree being numbered determines the total number of 
 cubic inches contained in the reservoir at any elevation. 
 The whole apparatus is levelled before taking an obser- 
 vation by means of proper adjusting screws. The breath 
 enters the receiver by a tube which passes up through the 
 reservoir water, and when the experiment is concluded, 
 and the receiver is to be drawn down again, the air is 
 discharged by a second tube. Sometimes the water in 
 the reservoir is liable to be wasted by injudicious manage- 
 ment, as by endeavouring to press down the receiver 
 without allowing the air to escape by the air tube ; to 
 avoid such an inconvenience, the cylinder, which contains 
 the reservoir water, is surrounded by a casing, which 
 allows a space between, into which the water under such 
 neglect will be discharged, and the resistance caused by 
 the water of the reservoir, in case of such error being 
 committed, immediately arouses the attention of the ope- 
 rator, so that no water can be actually wasted. A ther- 
 mometer is fixed in the top of the receiver to note the 
 temperature of the expired air after an observation, the 
 temperature of this expired air is always corrected, and 
 reduced or raised, as the case may require, to 60°. The 
 temperature of the breath is always the same as that of 
 the reservoir, which varies but little, hence the correction 
 to be made is generally trifling ; for this reason a large 
 quantity of water is used. 
 
 Three taps are introduced at the bottom of the 
 machine ; one fixed on the left side is for drawing off the 
 water when it is desired to empty the reservoir, and one 
 on the right is connected with the tube used for dis- 
 charging the breath through ; and as the individual under 
 
202 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 examination does sometimes by mistake the very reverse 
 of what he ought to do by drawing air into his chest from 
 the breathing machine, it follows that the water of the 
 reservoir will fall into the vertical tubes, to remove which 
 a third tap is fixed midway between| the right-hand and 
 left-hand tap. 
 
 The machine for valuing the power by inspiration 
 and expiration, is of a very different order of construction 
 to the "breathing machine." The principle adopted is 
 that of elevating, by the power of the muscles of inspira- 
 tion and expiration, a column of mercury, and according 
 to the inches of elevation to determine the relative power 
 exerted by these muscles. 
 
 It consists of a dial-plate, graduated into inches and 
 tenths of inches ; the plate is divided by a line perpen- 
 dicularly, the left half is graduated for measuring inspi- 
 ration, the right half for that of expiration. Certain 
 words are engraved on each side thereof, but which do 
 not correspond with each other in numerical value, be- 
 cause the power of expiration is stronger than that of 
 inspiration. 
 
 The following table represents these words, opposite 
 to which are marked the figures ; those on the left as 
 Inspiration, and those on the right as Expiration, 
 
 Inspiration. Expiration. 
 
 Inches. Inches. 
 
 1- 5 Weak 2-0 
 
 2- 0 Ordinary 2-5 
 
 2- 5 Strong 3-5 
 
 3- 5 .... Very Strong 4-5 
 
 4- 5 Remarkable 5-8 
 
 5*5 .... Very Remarkable .... 7-0 
 
 6*0 .... Extraordinary 8*5 
 
 7*0 .... Very Extraordinary .. 10*0 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 203 
 
 These expressions of power are obtained from the 
 results of nearly 1200 observations. 
 
 Mercury is contained in a bent tube, one end of which 
 is surmounted by a flexible tube, having a nose-piece 
 attached, which is made of Indian-rubber, so cut and 
 perforated as to allow the breath to pass through it with- 
 out any escape taking place, even under the most violent 
 exertion. iJpon the surface of the mercury is a weight, 
 to which is attached a silk thread ; this thread is carried 
 upwards, and taking one turn and a half round a wheel 
 placed opposite the centre of and behind the dial-plate, 
 and thence passing downwards, is secured to a counter- 
 balance weight. Upon blowing into the tube the mercury 
 is depressed in one of its legs, while it is elevated in the 
 other, at the same time carrying with it a weight ; while 
 the counterbalance weight sinking, causes the wheel to 
 revolve, and thus moves the pointer attached thereto, 
 which indicates the inches of elevation on the dial-plate. 
 The dial and tube are supported upon an upright piece of 
 wood, maintained in that position by cross-feet. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 OX MR. WILLIAMS'S METHOD OF MANUFACTURING 
 PATENT FELTED CLOTH. 
 
 By J. Duncan, Esq. 
 
 The process of manufacturing cloth by felting alone may be 
 described as follows: — Supposing it to be required to make a 
 carpet, twenty-seven yards in length, and six quarters, or fifty-four 
 inches wide, of coarse wool, and of stout substance. A carding- 
 engine, of the width of eighty inches, is, in this case, to be fed with 
 about forty-five pounds of wool. The wool having passed through 
 the card arrives at the last cylinder, from which the ordinary sliver 
 is combed off as usual by the dofFer. This sliver, which is very 
 similar to a large and wide cobweb, is received upon an endless 
 travelling web, also eighty inches wide, and about thirfy-seven 
 yards in length, the carded wool overlaying it ; and when the revo- 
 lution, or journey of thirty-seven yards, is accomplished, one sheet 
 of sliver, eighty inches broad, is spread over the entire surface of 
 the web ; the operation having been repeated for about twenty 
 times, or until the whole of the wool is thus combed, the layer, of 
 thirty-seven yards in length, and of about twenty slivers in 
 thickness, forms what is called a bat of wool. 
 
 The bat is then cut, coiled on a roller, and carried to a machine, 
 called the " Hardener," which consists of two or more pairs of 
 rollers lying upon each other, and having perforated steam -pipes 
 between them. The bat passes down between these rollers, being 
 moved forward by their action, while the steam from the perforated 
 pipes is driven into the wool, which is thereby heated and moistened 
 at the same time; all the top rollers have a slight alternating 
 motion, which rubs the bat slightly, and causes an entanglement of 
 the fibre, and thus the felting commences. By the time the bat has 
 passed once through these rollers it has become thinner, and of 
 considerable texture and strength, from the locking together and 
 entanglement of the fibres ; its second passage through the machine 
 further improves its texture. 
 
 The next part of the process is to pass the hardened bat, or 
 partly formed felt, through a machine, consisting of rollers in two 
 tiers, each roller of the upper tier resting between two rollers of the 
 
158 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 under tier, the whole being immersed in a trough, or bath of 
 soap and water ; and the upper rollers have the alternating motion 
 already adverted to, as they first revolve — say an inch, and then 
 retrograde half an inch, and so on. 
 
 The felt having been thus well pressed, and further advanced 
 towards completion, may be said to be in a state comparable with 
 that of woollen cloth made with threads by the loom in the ordinary 
 way, and like it, it is carried to the fulling or felting mill in which, 
 after having been subjected to beating for eight hours, it becomes 
 a firm cloth, and is ready for dyeing or printing as may be required, 
 and, when tentered and pressed, is fit for the market. The felted 
 cloth becomes reduced in the process to about two-thirds the size 
 of the bale of wool, or from thirty-seven yards long by eighty 
 inches wide, to twenty-seven yards long by fifty-four inches wide. 
 
 ON A SCREW-JOINT FOR WATER-PIPES, &c. 
 By Mr. A. M. Perkins. 
 
 The mode employed for joining wrought-iron gas-pipes is to 
 cut a right-hand screw upon each extremity of every pipe, and to 
 have corresponding sockets screwed at both ends with right-hand 
 threads ; so that a socket having been screwed on the first pipe, the 
 overhanging part of the socket serves for the reception of the 
 second pipe, and so on. But the pipes do not come into contact. 
 
 Mr. Perkins, in his apparatus for warming buildings by a 
 circulation of warm water, employs a right-hand screw on the one 
 end, and a left-hand screw on the other end, of every pipe, and uses 
 sockets which are tapped with a right and left-hand thread at their 
 opposite extremities. 
 
 Those ends of the pipe which are cut right-hand are left square, 
 whereas, those ends cut left-hand are each formed as the frustrum 
 of a cone, in other words, they have sharp or V formed edges. 
 Therefore, when the differently formed extremities of two neigh- 
 bouring pipes are held at rest by means of gas tongs, and the 
 socket alone is turned round, the pipes simultaneously enter the 
 socket, and ultimately forcibly meet, so that the sharp edge of 
 the one pipe is indented into the flat surface of the adjoining. The 
 joints thus produced have been found capable of sustaining every 
 pressure to which they have been applied, and the pipes themselves 
 endure, without bursting, an expansive force of 3000 lbs. on the 
 square inch. 
 
 The same principle is applied to cast-iron pipes for water-mains, 
 &c, the right and left-hand screws being cast on each pipe, and 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 159 
 
 the sockets are also cast in iron. In these cases a mill-board 
 annular washer, soaked in oil, is placed between the flat ends of 
 the two pipes, which are screwed together by the double nut as in 
 the former case. 
 
 DESCRIPTION OF AN IMPROVED CHAIN FOR CABLES, 
 AND FOR MINING, AND OTHER PURPOSES. 
 
 The novelty and improvement in Mr. Cutler's chain consist in 
 having, on one moiety of the links composing the chain, hollow 
 cylindrical projections, called pummels, and, on the other portion 
 of the chain, cylindrical cups or sockets, which, when put together, 
 form a joint working upon its axis or fulcrum, such axis being the 
 pin passing through the hollow part of the pummels and sockets, 
 giving, at the same time, much greater strength and durability, with 
 less bulky joints than heretofore. 
 
 In all former chains of this description, the strength of 
 the chain depended on the pin running through cylindrical 
 holes in the ends of the links ; this pin may be called the 
 joint - pin, and is introduced through the ends of the links 
 in the exact centre, and such pin is secured in its place, 
 either by a head at one end and a screwed nut at the other, 
 or by a head at one end and riveted at the other, and by this 
 means the several links forming the breadth of the chain are 
 kept together. It is clear from this that, the strength depending 
 alone on the pin, if such pin were to break, the chain must separate. 
 The cylindrical projections in Mr. Cutler's chain fitting into the 
 cylindrical cavities or sockets obviate this ; for if the pin passing 
 through them and forming the axis were to break, the bearing of 
 the cylindrical projections or pummels in the cylindrical cavities or 
 sockets would afford a sufficient support, the chain being held in 
 that position by a pin passing through the middle portion of the 
 link, consequently the chain would not separate, the pummels 
 forming a sort of pin of much greater strength than the real pin ; 
 and the pummels, cups or sockets, being perfectly cylindrical, the 
 tendency of its component parts to lateral separation is very little, 
 and the chain being so constructed, it can accommodate itself to 
 any sinuosities, however irregular, which may at any time be re- 
 quired, and, in fact, very much more than it is even probable or 
 possible may ever occur, as the links will traverse through an area 
 of 180°, and this is much greater than will be at any time required. 
 
 The strength of this chain was tested against a piece of the 
 chain now in regular use for mines, and both of the same weight, 
 
160 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 by Mr. William Tongue, Engineer, formerly an apprentice to the 
 late James Watt, and for several years afterwards foreman of his 
 works. The ordinary chain broke at a pressure of 15 tons, while 
 Mr. Cutler's chain broke, through a flaw in one of the links, while 
 sustaining 36 tons. 
 
 ON A PATENT TUBE FOR LOCOMOTIVE AND MARINE 
 
 BOILERS. 
 
 By Mr. Job Cutler. 
 
 Tubes were first introduced into steam-engine boilers by M. 
 Seguin ; it has since been found that the cost of the original tubes, 
 and also that of repairing them, has been excessive, and that every 
 engine, according to Tredgold and our best authorities, has re- 
 quired to have the whole of the tubes removed and replaced by 
 new ones about once in every two years ; and this, exclusive of the 
 tubes used in the intermediate time for repairing or replacing 
 those tubes which, from being nearest the fire, had been worn out 
 in one quarter the time of the others. 
 
 Mr. Cutler's tubes may be made of common iron, but he prefers 
 that they should be made of what is termed best or charcoal iron, 
 as they would be rendered easier to work and more durable. The 
 tubes may be welded in the ordinary way, only, instead of making 
 them (as iron tubes have heretofore been welded, for gas and other 
 purposes) with a jump joint, he makes them with a lap-over joint, 
 which presents a stronger resistance to the force of both fire and 
 steam than does the former. After the tubes have been welded he 
 inserts a bright steel mandril or triblet, and then draws them through 
 a hole or wortel, commonly called a die or bed, and which is placed 
 upon a draw-bench ; the drawing is performed by the end of the 
 tube being inserted through the hole or bed, and then grasped by 
 a pair of pliers attached to an endless chain, and the motion being 
 thrown on, it is drawn through in the usual way. The whole length 
 of the mandril over which the tube is drawn does not pass through 
 the hole or wortel, as in this case there might be a slight difficulty 
 in extracting it, or, at least, it would occupy some time in so doing, 
 but it is made stationary, with the triblet end passing a few inches 
 through the hole or wortel, and the tube is drawn down and off the 
 mandril. This process has the effect of straightening the tube, 
 laying smooth any blister which may have risen upon the iron in 
 its hot state, rendering it perfectly cylindrical, and laying the grain 
 all one way, and rendering it closer, thereby increasing the con- 
 sistency and durability of the tube. By this method, also, the tubes 
 may be rendered bright, and have a polished appearance, or, after 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 161 
 
 having been so drawn as above described, they may be blued in the 
 usual manner, and which appearance is mostly preferred by en- 
 gineers. The end upon which has been placed the gripe being then 
 cut off, the tube is tit for use. These tubes are sold at about 6d. 
 per lb., which is a reduction of Sd. per lb. upon the price charged 
 for brass tubes. The following calculation is presented, as repre- 
 senting the nature and amount of the saving : — 
 
 Brass Tubes. £ s. d. £ s. d. 
 
 One set of 130 tubes, 30 cwt. at Is. 2d. per lb 196 0 0 
 
 Say, during two years, 50 required for repairs,") h q « n 
 
 12 cwt. at is. 2d. per lb J /a a u 
 
 274 8 0 
 
 Iron Tubes. 
 
 One set of 130 tubes, 23 cwt. 24 lbs. at 6d. per lb. 65 0 0 
 Required for repairs, 30 tubes, 5 cwt. 1 qr. 12 lbs. 7 . _ n _ 
 
 at 6d J 15 u 0 
 
 80 0 0 
 
 Difference per engine £194 8 0 
 
 The great difference in weight is caused by the difference in 
 the specific gravity of the two metals, and also by the difference in 
 thickness, as the iron, being of a much more durable nature, 
 can be made much thinner ; as if brass is used at 12 of the wire- 
 gauge, iron tubes may be made of 13 or 14 of the wire-gauge; but 
 even supposing the weight to be the same, the difference in a set 
 of tubes would be — 
 
 £ s. d. 
 
 Brass tubes, 30 cwt. at 15. 2d. per lb 196 0 0 
 
 Iron tubes, 30 cwt. at 6 d. per lb 84 0 0 
 
 Being a saving of tubing, in every engine, of .... £112 0 0 
 
 So that if the London and Birmingham Railway Company have 
 100 engines, and use in each engine, every four years, only 30 cwt. 
 of tubes, the saving to them, by using iron tubes, would be, for the 
 four years, 1 1,200/. 
 
 An object which Mr. Cutler considers of great importance 
 is, that in consequence of the iron being thinner and so much 
 better a conductor of heat than brass, the steam would be gene- 
 rated much quicker, thereby effecting a great saving of fuel, and 
 affording a greater capability of raising the steam at any period in 
 a shorter space of time, when wanted in a hurry, or when, by an 
 injection of too great a quantity of cold water, the rarefaction of 
 the steam is lessened. 
 
 VOL. LIV. 
 
 M 
 
162 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 ON THE CONSTRUCTION OF FLUES, &c. 
 By J. Sylvester, Esq. 
 
 To remedy the evils attendant upon the ordinary construction of 
 flues, fire-places, and grates, Mr. Sylvester proposes to build every 
 flue perfectly vertical ; each flue for every fire-place, in all the 
 stories, not only to ascend to the chimney-top on the outside, but 
 to be continued down into the basement in lines parallel to each 
 other from top to bottom, the fire-places or grates not being under 
 the flues, but projecting in front of the chimney breast. The 
 smoke from the fire is made to pass through an aperture into the 
 flue at the back, which opening can, when the fire is not in use, 
 be closed by an air-tight sliding door, while another, opening into 
 the flue under the fire-grate, allows the ashes, dust, and other 
 residue from the fire, to be cleared away into the descending or 
 tail-flue, whence it falls to the bottom thereof in the basement 
 story. 
 
 The flues being built perfectly straight and smooth, all lodg- 
 ment of soot is prevented, and, consequently, the evils attendant on 
 the contraction of the flue and falling of dirty matter into the 
 apartment, have no longer existence, while the defective action of 
 the chimneys, arising from this cause, is, as a necessary conse- 
 quence, done away with. 
 
 This concerns the flue considered as a means of carrying away 
 the smoke, and causing the perfect action of the fire ; but an 
 equal, if not a greater advantage consists in doing away with the 
 necessity of sweeping each flue into the fire-place of the room it 
 belongs to, with the accompanying evil of a long preparation of 
 the room by taking up carpets, covering furniture and books, 
 removing ornaments, &c, &c, to the great destruction of comfort 
 and loss of time. 
 
 All these formidable evils are completely avoided, since by this 
 means it is merely necessary when a chimney requires sweeping 
 to close the door at the top of the grate with which the flue com- 
 municates, and the sweep may go into the basement story, open 
 the door at the bottom of the tail or descending flue, and take away 
 the soot and ashes there collected. He may then, by the use of the 
 machine, since climbing boys are no longer permitted, brush down, 
 from top to bottom, any small portions of soot that may hang to 
 the flue, when the whole can be removed without the slightest 
 interference with the room to which the flue belongs. The whole 
 of the flues in a stack may be swept at the same time with as little 
 inconvenience as one., since they all descend into one chamber and 
 open at the same level. 
 
 It is worthy of remark that the flues being quite straight, 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 163 
 
 there are no shoulders, as in tortuous flues, for the soot to lodge 
 upon, and, consequently, the operation of sweeping will not be 
 required nearly so often as with the ordinary chimneys, and the 
 removal of ashes may take place at any distant intervals of time, 
 instead of two or three times a-day ; for instead of the ashes being 
 carried through the rooms, they are made to descend the tail-flue, 
 and are thence carried away with the soot. 
 
 ON KEENE'S MARBLE CEMENT. 
 By G. F. White, Esq. 
 
 The composition denominated Keene's marble cement, from its 
 novelty and valuable qualities, whether for strictly useful or for 
 decorative purposes, seems to afford advantages which are not 
 supplied by any analogous material in use at the present time. 
 
 A cement, having for one of its ingredients marble dust, was, as 
 is well known, used by the ancients for coating the walls and 
 columns of their edifices, and which, in Italy and other genial 
 climates, though exposed to the external air, was found to be by no 
 means inferior in durability to the native marble. But while 
 Keene's cement bears a relation to the ancient stucco in hardness 
 and some other respects, the resemblance does not extend further, 
 as marble does not enter into its composition, neither is it adapted 
 for exterior or hydraulic purposes. 
 
 The component parts of Keene's cement are sulphate of lime 
 or gypsum, and sulphate of alumina or alum. The former is, as in 
 the case of plaster, deprived of its water of crystallisation by being 
 baked, and then steeped in a solution of alum-water of given 
 strength ; then, by a second process, of being subjected to intense 
 heat, the properties of the two compounds become so intimately 
 mixed and exchanged, that the result is a cement unequalled in 
 hardness and in the delicacy of its nature. 
 
 The finer kind of this cement is susceptible of a beautiful 
 polish, and very nearly approaches the appearance of statuary 
 marble. The same degree of hardness and lustre can be obtained 
 in any tint which may desired ; and the fact, that the sulphate of 
 lime is the base on which most colours are struck, and that alum is 
 used as a mordant to fix them, affords sufficient proof of its 
 aptitude for the imitation of any description of coloured marble or 
 granite. 
 
164 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 ON THE MANUFACTURE OF IRON- WIRE ROPE 
 FOR BRIDGES, AND FOR MINING AND OTHER PURPOSES, 
 
 By Andrew Smith, Esq. 
 
 Iron-wire possesses, in proportion to its weight and size, nearly 
 the greatest strength of any material yet known. This strength is 
 produced by the important change which the material undergoes in 
 its transformation from rod into wire. 
 
 For instance, by means of alternately annealing the wire in a 
 close retort heated by charcoal, and afterwards drawing it through 
 a proportionate number of holes in the wire-drawing plate, the wire 
 is reduced from about -xgths in diameter, until it arrives at No. 16 
 wire-gauge, which is about T ^th of an inch in diameter, and the 
 size mostly manufactured by Mr. Smith. The wire is then twenty- 
 five times longer, and, by comparison, three times more tenacious, 
 than at first ; and this country fortunately possesses enough of the 
 raw material for the supply of the whole world with iron-wire. 
 
 The wire-ropes are made of the ordinary kinds known as sel- 
 vigee, hawser-laid, and cable-laid ropes, and their manufacture is 
 much after the manner of similarly named hempen ropes, if it is 
 considered that each hempen yarn is exchanged for a single 
 metallic wire. 
 
 Selvigee wire-ropes are made of wires laid parallel and without 
 twist, and covered or served spirally with hemp, which is prepared 
 with an Indian-rubber solution to exclude wet. 
 
 Hawser-laid wire-ropes consist of three, four, five, six, or more 
 strands, in which case each strand is previously twisted, and in the 
 centre of each strand there is a hempen cord saturated with the above 
 preparation. The strands are then laid or twisted together, and in 
 the spaces between the several strands are placed larger saturated 
 hempen cords, which serve to diffuse the Indian-rubber preparation 
 throughout the wire, to preserve it from oxidation, and also to serve 
 as a cushion for the better accommodation of the strands amongst 
 themselves. 
 
 Cable-laid wire-ropes, which are less frequently made, consist 
 of three or more of the ordinary hawser ropes laid together, and 
 twisted the reverse way, as usual ; larger hempen cords being 
 interposed as in the hawser ropes. 
 
 Flat wire-ropes or bands are made of three or more small 
 hawser ropes placed side by side, and kept in contact by a covering 
 of hemp or wire woven around the several lines, which are alter- 
 nately made with a right-hand and left-hand twist, to preserve the 
 band flat or from curling round. The flat ropes are principally 
 used for the whims or lifting tackle of mines. 
 
 Annexed to the original paper on the wire-rope are several 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 165 
 
 tables, of which the titles and a few extracts are given. The first 
 table, " Tests of the strength of single wires" contains the breaking 
 weight of wire from No. 10 to No. 26 gauge, as denoted by the 
 testing machine. No. 10 wire broke with a strain of 798 lbs.; 
 No. 16 with 210 lbs. ; and No. 26 with 18 lbs. 4 oz. 
 
 The next table, the " tests of patent wire selvigee rigging rope, 
 and hemp-rope " was made in 1837 by order of the Lords of the 
 Admiralty. 
 
 The test was applied to "government hemp ropes," varying 
 from 3 inches to 12 inches in circumference. The 3-inch rope 
 was 4 feet 10 \ inches long, stretched 10J inches, and broke with 
 2 \ tons; the 5-inch rope was 11 feet 3 inches long, stretched I 
 foot 7 inches, and broke with 5 tons ; the 12-inch rope was 12 
 feet long, stretched 3 feet, and broke with 22 tons. 
 
 Mr. Smith's rope of" 17 wire-gauge" and 3 inches in circum- 
 ference, was 11 feet 1 inch long, stretched 2 J inches, and broke 
 with 15^ tons. 
 
 The third table shews the " comparative difference between 
 patent wire selvigee rigging rope, hempen rope, and chain, as re- 
 gards size, strength, weight, and priced 
 
 The breaking strain of wire-rope of 1 inch circumference is 
 stated to be 1 ton, the weight per fathom 12 oz., and the price per 
 fathom 5d. Hempen rope of the same strength, and 2 inches circum- 
 ference, weighs 1 lb. 1 oz. per fathom, and costs b\d. per fathom, and 
 chain of equal strength, or of \ inch diameter, weighs 3 lbs., and 
 costs Is. 6d. per fathom. 
 
 The table states that the breaking strain of wire-rope of 6 inches 
 circumference is 54 tons, weight 34 lbs., and price 18s. 6d. per 
 fathom. Hempen rope of 15 inches circumference, and of the 
 same strength as the 6-inch wire-rope, weighs 47 lbs. 8 oz., and 
 costs \l. 0s. 9±d. per fathom, and chain of the same strength, and 
 l T 7 g- inches diameter, weighs 115 lbs., and costs 1/. 4s. per fathom. 
 
 A comparison is also made between the wire-rigging of Mr. 
 Smith's manufacture, and the ordinary hempen rigging as proposed 
 for the iron ship " John Garrow," the total w 7 eight of the wire-rig- 
 ging for this ship being calculated at 5336 lbs. whereas that of the 
 hempen would be 1 1,974 lbs. ; taking the former at 60s. per cwt., 
 the total cost of the wire-rigging would be 142/. 18s. 6d., whereas 
 the hemp-rigging, at 21. 6s. per cwt., would amount to 245/. 17s. 9d. 
 
 Mr. Smith has also applied copper wires as lightning-con- 
 ductors to ships in Her Majesty's navy, that metal being preferred 
 from its superior facility of conducting electricity ; and a similar 
 copper wire-rope, from its pliancy, also serves for the sash-lines of 
 windows. 
 
166 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 MR. HIGGS' MONOCHORD. 
 
 The monochord is an oblong, rectangular box, made of maho- 
 gany, 26 inches long, 2 \ inches wide, and 2 J inches high. On the 
 upper surface are marked the diatonic and chromatic scales ; a 
 single wire is extended lengthwise over a bridge at either end of 
 the instrument, and the different notes are produced by moving a 
 third bridge along the top of the instrument with the right hand, 
 while the wire is touched with one finger of the left hand. Unlike 
 the tuning-fork, which is capable of producing only one tone or 
 note, the monochord produces any of the notes either of the 
 diatonic or any other scale. It also gives a correct idea of vibration 
 and the theory of sound. 
 
 AN ACCOUNT OF MESSRS. CARMICHAEL, FAIRBANKS, 
 AND CO.'S AMERICAN EXCAVATING MACHINE. 
 
 By W. Newton, Jun. Esq. 
 
 The machine is composed of the following parts, viz. first, a 
 strong wooden platform placed upon wheels, in order to be moved 
 along a temporary railway previously constructed for that purpose. 
 Second, a strong crane placed at one end of the platform, to which 
 it is firmly connected at its base. This crane is so constructed 
 that it may be turned round beyond a right angle either to the 
 right or left of the platform. Third, an instrument, which may 
 be termed a shovel, bucket, scraper, excavator, or digging tool, 
 for removing and collecting the earth ; this shovel or excavator, 
 being suspended from the jib of the crane, is raised or lowered at 
 pleasure, by means of chains which are in connexion with the 
 steam-engine by which the machinery is actuated. Fourth, an 
 arrangement of wheelwork communicating with the steam-engine, 
 which is fixed on the platform, and put in motion thereby, and by 
 means of which wheelwork or gearing the attendants who work the 
 machine may direct its movements with the greatest precision. 
 The motion of the platform is also effected by the same engine. 
 
 The bucket or excavator will hold about 1J cubic yards of 
 earth, the lower side is rounded and indented with a series of sharp 
 steel points, similar to those of a ploughshare, the sides and upper 
 part being square. This bucket is hung by the middle upon braces 
 fastened to a stout wooden arm of any required length, which is 
 rigged out or drawn in by chains connected with the steam-engine 
 machinery. The depth to which the bucket is thrust is regulated 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 167 
 
 by a person standing on the crane platform ; this person elevates or 
 depresses the mouth of the bucket according to the nature and 
 position of the soil. The bucket is worked by a chain passing 
 over two purchase wheels, and thence to an iron barrel or windlass 
 which is turned by the steam-engine. When the bucket has been 
 filled and drawn up, the crane is swung round by a chain passing 
 round the drum, and is stopped at the place where it is to be 
 discharged; a bolt is then drawn from the bottom of the bucket, 
 and its contents run through into the earth wagon ; * this man also 
 governs the movements of the shovel. The machinery being in 
 motion, the man at the crane raises one of his levers, and the shovel 
 descends by its own gravity, while he holds his thrusting lever fast, 
 by which means the bottom of the shovel becomes, uppermost, and 
 the lower or long side at an angle of about 45°., As the shovel 
 strikes the earth, at any required point, he gives power to the thrust- 
 ing motion, and at the same time slight force is applied to the main 
 chain, from which causes the shovel receives power from both 
 chains, and performs a curve in the earth at the pleasure of the 
 attendant, according to circumstances. As the shovel is filled the 
 man raises his thrusting lever, and the shovel, now in a more 
 upright position runs back perpendicular with the chain by its own 
 gravity. The engine-man, by means of a lever, conveys power to 
 the turning round motion, when the crane swings round with the 
 shovel over the earth -wagon, then by the short lever on the 
 thrusting arms, the crane-man withdraws the bolt securing the 
 bottom of the shovel, which is suspended on hinges, and the earth 
 slides into the car intended to receive it; reverse power is immedi- 
 ately given to the crane, which is brought round again, and the 
 shovel is caused to strike at any desired point for another load, 
 forming in its descent a direct line with its position over the earth- 
 car ; at the same time the bottom swings again to its place, always 
 closing with a catch and spring to secure it. 
 
 In removing rocks, when they are too large to be caught on the 
 shovel, chains are passed around the stone and secured to the 
 pulley-block of the main chain, when they are raised and swung 
 round as before. 
 
 These machines are particularly advantageous for day and 
 night work, and their operations are not affected by the weather, 
 except when the process of transporting the earth is impeded or 
 
 * The boiler in which the steam is generated is of the vertical tubular form, the 
 pressure of steam being 60 pounds on the square inch. The attendance required to 
 keep the machine at work comprises an engine-man, a stoker, a brakesman, and a 
 labourer. The quantity of stiff clay which has been excavated and received in 
 wagons on the Eastern Counties Railway, near Brentwood, in 12 hours, is equal to 
 1080 cubic yards ; the consumption of coke in the same time is stated to have been 
 1680 lbs. or 1*55 lbs. per cubic yard of clay excavated. — F . W. 
 
]68 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 rendered impossible by that cause. The machines are particularly 
 well calculated for canal -digging, as well as redeeming marshy 
 lands, alluvial irrigated soils, and uncovering mining rocks, and, it 
 is believed, chalk-cliff excavations. 
 
 MESSRS. YOUNG AND DELCAMBRE'S TYPE-SETTING 
 MACHINE. 
 
 By the Secretary. 
 
 It may be well to give a short explanation of the ordinary 
 mode of setting up type before describing the mechanical contriv- 
 ance for the same purpose by Messrs. Young and Delcambre. 
 
 The various letters and figures to be used in any composition 
 are arranged in trays technically called cases. These cases have 
 small compartments or boxes, differing in size according to the 
 recurrence of the letters ; thus e, the letter most used, requires the 
 largest compartment. The boxes next in size are for the letters 
 c, d, i, m, o, r, t, and u, and so on. The type-case stands upon a 
 sloping frame of sufficient elevation for a man of ordinary height to 
 pick out the letters or types from the various boxes. This person 
 is called a compositor, and holds in his left hand what is called a 
 composing-stick. In this composing-stick or metal trough (the 
 length of which is adjustable to serve for lines of every length), he 
 places the letters and the various spaces, quadrats, &c. which sepa- 
 rate the words. It must be borne in mind that the same person 
 who composes the type also justifies the page, that is, leaves it in a 
 fit state to go into the printing-press, by adjusting each line to the 
 exact length required for the width of the page on which he is 
 engaged. 
 
 When the composing-stick is filled with eight or twelve lines of 
 type, the mass is removed to and placed upon a galley or long tray, 
 and the compositor again sets about refilling his stick. Of course, 
 to make up a sheet it requires a number of pages, the arrangement 
 of which is called imposing. But it is not here required to explain 
 the operations of the printing-office further. 
 
 The upper part of Messrs. Young and Delcambre's machine 
 consists of the type-reservoirs or grooves, each of which is 
 T 3 & ths of an inch in width, and of a depth equal to the length of 
 the type, or nearly one inch. 
 
 These reservoirs are placed in a slightly inclined position to 
 prevent the letters from falling out, the longest reservoirs in use 
 
APPENDIX* 
 
 169 
 
 correspond with the largest compartments of the ordinary composi- 
 tor's case, already noticed. 
 
 Immediately below the reservoirs are as many levers or cutters, 
 the use of which is to cut off or displace laterally the bottom letter 
 of each column of type. The cutters are worked by vertical steel 
 rods, which are connected with the keys in front of the machine, 
 and which latter are similar in appearance to the keys of a piano- 
 forte. 
 
 The movement to effect the displacement of the types is one of 
 the most beautiful contrivances in the whole apparatus. By press- 
 ing on any one of the keys, its vertical rod is drawn down, and the 
 button at the top of the rod is pressed against the side of the 
 contiguous lever or cutter, which is moved laterally and horizontally 
 on a pivot ; and the lever pressing against the lowest letter of the 
 superincumbent column of type, pushes it through a lateral aper- 
 ture, just as wide as the thickness of one type, which, thus 
 liberated, is placed at the top of an inclined plate extending 
 throughout the width of the machine at the back, and runs down a 
 curvilinear track or groove, to take its place next the type previ- 
 ously sent down. 
 
 The inclined plate is constructed of brass, and contains several 
 tracks or channels, clown which the letters glide at intervals, 
 regulated by the manipulation of the performer. The first curvi- 
 linear channel to the right hand serves for the letters a and b, the 
 second for c and d, and so on, as the letter a is pushed towards the 
 right hand, and b towards the left, so as to make each channel 
 serve for two kinds. The forty-eight channels, therefore, serve 
 for ninety-six kinds of type, and all the channels lead into each 
 other in a serpentine manner, somewhat as in railway tracks, or the 
 tracery of Gothic architecture, so as to converge into one single 
 outlet at the bottom of the incline. These curvilinear channels are 
 of equal length from the many points of delivery at the top of the 
 incline, to the one single point of discharge at the bottom of the 
 same, so that the types descend in equal times, and in the exact 
 order in which the pianoforte keys are depressed. 
 
 At the point of discharge is an eccentric movement, worked by 
 a treadle, to regulate the admission of the stream of type into a 
 long open trough or channel, leading to the composing-stick, 
 which is situated, as it were, at the end of the galley containing the 
 column of the composed matter. The assistant slides so much of 
 the long stream of type into the composing-stick as will form one 
 line ; the requisite spaces are then adjusted to make the line 
 of the exact length, and, by a lever movement, the bottom of the 
 composing-stick is withdrawn, which deposits the line of type on 
 those previously set up in the galley ; and, lastly, the long column 
 of type, as that of a newspaper, is made up into pages as usual. 
 
170 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 In this apparatus there are altogether ninety-six keys, of which 
 seventy-two correspond with small Roman letters, figures, stops, &c, 
 and the remaining twenty -four with the small- caps or capitals, which 
 have reservoirs apart from the rest, and which are placed in the 
 back of the machine. 
 
 When in full work as many as 8000 letters, &c. have been set 
 up by this machine in an hour, whereas, by the ordinary mode, a 
 good compositor can, on the average, only set up about 1700 letters 
 in the same time ; the wages paid in each case being nearly the 
 same in amount. 
 
 HUGHES'S METALLIC LATH SUN-BLINDS. 
 
 These blinds are made either of brass-wire gauze, or iron-wire 
 gauze painted. 
 
 The pulley lath is of the ordinary construction, but the mov- 
 able laths present the novelty for which a license has been 
 granted to Mr. Hughes for three years. Each of the movable 
 laths is made of two thicknesses of the gauze ; the upper thickness 
 being lapped over the top edge of the under, with a space between 
 them of about xoths of an inch. The ends of the laths are bound 
 with brass. 
 
 The cost of these blinds, if made of brass-wire gauze, and 
 including the wooden frames, is at the rate of 10s. 6d. per foot 
 superficial ; but if of iron- wire gauze painted, at the rate of 3s. 6d. 
 per foot superficial. 
 
 ON THE APPLICATION OF ELECTRICITY TO THE 
 TRANSMISSION OF TELEGRAPHIC SIGNALS. 
 By the Secretary. 
 
 The application of electricity to the transmission of signals by 
 means of Messrs. Cooke and Wheatstone's telegraph is already in 
 daily use on the Blackwall, Edinburgh and Glasgow, and Man- 
 chester and Leeds Railways. From the well-known experiments of 
 Professor Wheatstone, it is ascertained that the electric current 
 travels at the rate of 200,000 miles in a second of time ; availing 
 themselves of this important property, Professor Wheatstone and Mr. 
 Cooke, who had both been labouring in the same field of extensive 
 usefulness for a long time previously to their being associated as 
 joint patentees of the invention, convinced the scientific world of 
 the truth of their proposition, by laying down their telegraph, in 
 the first instance, on the Great Western Railway, between Pad- 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 171 
 
 dington and West Drayton, on which line it has been clearly 
 established that electro-telegraphic communications may be trans- 
 mitted to a distance of seventy-eight miles without any inter- 
 mediate station. By extensive experiments lately made by Mr. 
 Cooke at his own expense near Blackheath, he is enabled to lay 
 down the telegraph at something like half the original cost, the 
 iron tubing for protecting the wires from injury being dispensed 
 with, and the insulated wires, suspended either from wooden or 
 iron standards, ranged at any convenient intervals along the 
 railway. 
 
 The mode of working the Blackwall Railway is of so compli- 
 cated a nature that it would be impossible, without the aid of this 
 or some other equally efficient system of transmitting communica- 
 tions between all the different officers of the railway, to carry on 
 the traffic with any degree of safety. As it is, millions of passen- 
 gers have been carried along that line without any accident having 
 occurred worthy of notice. 
 
 The signals are given by pointers, each suspended vertically 
 upon an axis moving freely through the face of a dial. Behind the 
 dial a light-bar magnet is fixed on the same axis as the pointer, so 
 that both move together. A portion of the. conducting wire is 
 coiled many times round a frame on which the magnet moves, 
 so as to subject the magnet to the multiplied deflecting force of the 
 voltaic current passed through the wire. The motion of the magnet 
 is limited on both sides by fixed stops. 
 
 We may suppose three of these very simple instruments in- 
 cluded in the same conducting wire, and consequently, an electric 
 current passing through the convolutions of wire surrounding the 
 respective magnets, deflects those magnets with a sudden and de- 
 cided motion to one of the stops, and causes the pointers to indi- 
 cate corresponding and simultaneous signals upon the dials of each 
 of the instruments at the Minories, Limehouse, and Blackwall 
 stations. 
 
 Each instrument is provided with a battery and a handle, by 
 which a porter or policeman is enabled at pleasure to connect the 
 conducting wire with his battery. 
 
 By moving the handle to the right or left, either of the signals 
 can be instantaneously transmitted from any one of the instruments to 
 all the others, which, by means of their own handles, have the power 
 of sending back signals in reply. Correctness is insured by the 
 simultaneous appearance of the signal in the instrument of the 
 operator and that of the recipient. Eight signals can be given by 
 means of the instruments used on the Edinburgh and Glasgow 
 Railways, in each of which there are two needles like those above 
 described. Each needle is worked by its distinct handle. 
 
 If the signal answering to No. 1 is to be transmitted, then the 
 
172 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 two pointers are made to converge upwards at the same instant. 
 If the signal answering either to No. 2 or 3 is required, then the 
 left-hand pointer will effect the object. If the signal corresponding 
 either with 4 or 5 is wanted, then the right-hand pointer is moved 
 towards the one or the other of these figures as may be required. 
 
 If the pointers are made to rest diagonally in one direction, 
 the signal corresponding with 6 is indicated, and if in the other, 
 that corresponding with 7 is transmitted. And, lastly, the signal 
 corresponding with 8 is effected by causing the pointers to con- 
 verge downwards at the same time. 
 
 Thus by different arrangements of the figures or letters in the 
 dials any required number of signals may be given. 
 
 I now proceed to describe generally the improved mode of con- 
 ducting the wires, as invented by Mr. Cooke, and introduced by 
 that gentleman on the Great Western Railway. 
 
 COOKE'S IMPROVED ARRANGEMENTS OF THE 
 CONDUCTING ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH. 
 (second communication.) 
 By the Secretary. 
 
 On the evening of May 17th, Mr. Cooke's improved practical 
 electric telegraph, as used on the Great Western Railway, was fully 
 described and illustrated by a complete telegraph at work in the 
 Society's rooms, the manipulators being two of the young men who 
 daily work the telegraph on the Blackwall Railway. On the table 
 were placed specimens of the different kinds of wire used, and 
 models of the winding and drawing apparatus, and also of the 
 drawing and intermediate posts ; and one of Mr. Cooke's detectors, 
 by which injuries to the wires, &c, may be discovered at any 
 part of the line, though the wires be buried in the earth ; diagrams 
 were also exhibited to assist the explanation. 
 
 The practical electric telegraph comprises two modes of apply- 
 ing electricity to telegraphic purposes, the " galvanometer form, 
 which acts by the deflecting power of galvanometer coils on mag- 
 netic needles," and the " mechanical form which gives its signals 
 through the agency of the electro-magnet on mechanism." Every 
 instrument yet employed may be classed under one or other of 
 these heads. 
 
 Mr. Cooke first adopted the plan of laying the telegraph wires 
 in iron tubing on the Great Western Railway ; he afterwards laid 
 down a double line on the Blackwall Railway, and others on the 
 Manchester and Leeds, and Edinburgh and Glasgow Railways. 
 This plan, though perfectly successful, was extremely costly and 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 173 
 
 difficult to repair when injured, though by aid of the detector less 
 difficulty than could be supposed offered itself to the detection of 
 the injured parts. 
 
 More recently he has invented, and after extensive experiments 
 at his own residence carried out on the Great Western Railway, a 
 plan of suspending the conducting wires in the open air from lofty 
 poles, the leading advantages of which are, — 
 
 1. Diminished cost, 
 
 2. Superior insulation, and 
 
 3. Facility of repair. 
 
 The total cost of laying down a telegraph by the original plan, 
 may be stated at 300/. per mile, whereas by the improved system 
 the cost is reduced to 150/., making a reduction of 50 per cent, 
 with a still greater advantage in favour of the permanency of the 
 work. 
 
 The present method of proceeding in laying down the telegraph, 
 is first to fix firmly into the ground, at every 500 or 600 yards, 
 strong posts of timber, 16 to 18 feet in height, by 8 inches square 
 at bottom, and tapering off to 6 by 7 inches at top, fixed into stout 
 sills, and properly strutted. Attached to the heads of these posts are 
 a number of winding apparatus, corresponding with the number of 
 conducting wires to be employed, and between every two such posts 
 upright wooden standards are fixed, about 60 or 70 yards apart. A 
 ring of iron-wire (No. 7 or 8), which has been formed by welding 
 together the short lengths in which it is made, is then placed upon 
 a reel carried on a hand-barrow, and one end being attached to the 
 winder at one draw-post, the wire is extended to the adjoining 
 draw-post, and fixed to its corresponding winder; by turning the 
 pin of the ratchet-wheel with a proper key, the wire is tightened to 
 the necessary degree; thus the greatest accuracy may be attained 
 in drawing the wires up, till they hang perfectly parallel with each 
 other. 
 
 To sufficiently insulate the wires so suspended at the point of 
 contact with the posts is an object of indispensable importance, as 
 the dampness of the wood, during rainy weather, would otherwise 
 allow the electric fluid to pass off freely into the earth, or into an 
 adjoining wire, and thus complete the circuit without reaching the 
 distant terminus at which the telegraphic effect is intended to be 
 produced. In this, indeed, lies an important feature in Mr. Cooke's 
 invention, as the mere idea of supporting wires in the open air from 
 poles, trees, or church-steeples, is the oldest on record. 
 
 For long distances Mr. Cooke employs glass or earthenware 
 pulleys for his insulation, over which the wires pass ; and cast-iron 
 standards, with ash tops, as drawing and suspending posts. 
 
 Another point in connexion with this very important step in 
 
174 
 
 APPENDIX* 
 
 the invention is the very perfect insulation from the earth. This 
 allows of the employment of the earth as half of the conducting 
 circuit, without risk of the current rinding a shorter course through 
 some imperfectly insulated point. 
 
 For nearly two years Mr. Cooke has tried this plan successfully 
 on the Blackwall Railway, and lately on the Manchester and Leeds 
 line. Two important advantages arise from the employment of the 
 earth as a conductor : — 
 
 }. One wire is saved in each circuit, thus diminishing com- 
 plexity and cost ; and, 
 
 2. The earth acting as a vast reservoir of electricity, the 
 resistance offered to the transmission of electricity is 
 vastly diminished, and the battery is able to work 
 through a much greater distance with a smaller con- 
 ducting wire. 
 
 It is thus that each telegraph now in use on the Great Western 
 Railway can be made to work with two wires only. 
 
 HULLMANDEL'S LITHOTINT PROCESS. 
 
 By B. Rotch, Esq. V.P. 
 
 From the time of Senefelder, who invented lithography in 1796, 
 up to the present day, this beautiful art has gone on gradually 
 improving ; but, in no instance, has so important a step been made 
 as in that of Mr. Hullmandel's process of producing original draw- 
 ings or fac-simile copies as may be required. Previously to the 
 lithotint process being introduced, crayons made of a composition 
 of grease, wax, shel-lac, soap, and black, were used for a similar 
 purpose. 
 
 Mr. Hullmandel's process, which is the result of numerous 
 experiments, may be thus described : — 
 
 The drawing having been sketched, tinted, and finished by the 
 artist on the stone with lithographic ink mixed with water to 
 produce the various shades, which is as easily done as on paper, is 
 covered over with gum-water, and weak nitric acid to fix it. After 
 remaining a sufficient time to dry, a solution of rosin in spirits of 
 wine is poured over the stone, and as this ground contracts by 
 drying, it cracks into thousands of reticulations, which can only 
 be discovered . by the use of a microscope. Very strong acid is 
 then poured over the aquatint coating, which, entering all the 
 fissures, produces the same effect on the stone as the granulations 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 175 
 
 of the chalk by the ordinary process. The rosin protects the 
 drawing in every part except in the cracks. The acid having 
 remained a sufficient time to act on the unprotected parts of the 
 drawing, is removed, the ground is washed off, and all appearance 
 of the subject on the stone vanishes, until ink being applied by a 
 roller in the ordinary way, it is reproduced, and ready for taking 
 off the required number of impressions, which, in some cases, have 
 extended to the number of two thousand. 
 
 JUCKES'S PATENT FURNACE. 
 
 The fire-bars of this furnace are formed into an endless chain, 
 passing over two drums, one in the front and the other at the back 
 of the furnace, and are moved forward either by hand or by a strap 
 from the steam-engine. 
 
 If not attached by a strap to the steam-engine, the attendance 
 of a boy is sufficient to keep it in motion : the rate of speed 
 being equal to six feet in an hour. 
 
 The fuel is let into the furnace underneath the door, which, 
 being suspended, instead of hung in the ordinary way, forms a 
 gauge for the coals, which are thus equally spread over the bars. 
 The fuel is admitted in front of the furnace, and carried in by 
 the motion of the bars ; the consequence of which is, that 
 the fresh fuel becomes ignited from that already on fire. No 
 fresh fuel is thrown on the burning coals, and the smoke, passing 
 in its passage towards the chimney across the ignited and red- 
 hot fuel, becomes entirely consumed. The bars are subjected to 
 the intensity of the furnace during a very short period, and are 
 kept perfectly clear from clinkers. Any small quantity of clinker 
 which may be formed is carried out under a stop at the back of 
 the furnace, and falls into an iron box mounted on wheels, which is 
 easily drawn forward when required, as the wheels run on rails 
 fixed for the purpose. 
 
 The fire-bars come out hot, and enter quite cool, and are thus 
 prevented from being rapidly destroyed by the continuous action of 
 intense heat at one part. Small coal is advantageously used in this 
 furnace. 
 
176 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 ARITIIMO GRAPH Y. 
 By the Secretary. 
 
 Although particular rules and observations which are imme- 
 diately applicable to one tongue or language are different from 
 those of another, according to the mode or idiom of speech to 
 which they are applied, yet as regards the general relation which 
 things have to their modes, qualities, motions, or passions, all the 
 languages in the world are exactly the same ; for whatever is a 
 substantive or verb in one language is the same in any other, 
 although expressed in different forms or symbols. 
 
 If, therefore, instead of writing down the word man, which is 
 only understood by those who are acquainted with the English 
 language, we substitute a certain conventional sign, and which sign 
 is set opposite to the word man in an English dictionary, to homo 
 in a Latin dictionary, and to avd^a7rog in a Greek lexicon, it is evi- 
 dent that a person understanding the Latin tongue, but not being 
 acquainted with either the English or Greek languages, yet wishing 
 to discover the English or Greek words answering to homo, would 
 be able to find them in both cases by looking for the conventional 
 sign in the English and Greek arithmographical dictionaries 
 respectively. 
 
 This, which is the case in regard to one word, would apply to 
 all others, and by prefixing similar signs or figures to corresponding 
 words in the dictionaries of different languages, a complete system 
 of reference would be effected. Thus, an Englishman might cor- 
 respond with a German, or a Welshman with an Italian, although 
 neither understood the language of the other, nor were in possession 
 of any other than his own arithmographical dictionary. 
 
 To effect so desirable an object as the construction and publi- 
 cation of an arithmographical dictionary for each of the European 
 and other countries of the world where Arabic numerals are in daily 
 use, would no doubt be attended with considerable difficulty; 
 nevertheless, it is a subject worthy of consideration in so enlightened 
 an age as the present. 
 
 Numeral characters are either letters or figures ; the kinds now 
 chiefly in use are the common and the Roman. The common cha- 
 racter is that ordinarily termed Arabic, as supposed to have been 
 invented by the Arab astronomers, though the Arabs themselves 
 call it the Indian character, as if they had borrowed it from the 
 people of India. The Arabic characters are ten in number, viz. 
 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 0, the last being called a cipher. The 
 Arabic is used almost throughout Europe, and that on almost all 
 occasions, whether for purposes of commerce, monetary affairs, 
 mensuration, astronomy, &c. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 177 
 
 On this account I have thought the Arabic numerals best suited 
 for a complete system of arithmographical writing for the use of 
 the people of Europe generally, and for those of other parts of the 
 world where the Arabic numerals are in use. 
 
 I was led to the consideration of this subject in 1837 by my 
 invention of the Hydraulic Telegraph, which, I need scarcely say, is 
 now superseded by that beautiful contrivance, the electric telegraph 
 of Messrs. Cooke and Wheatstone, the application of which for the 
 purpose of transmitting signals I described in a paper lately read 
 before this Society. In that paper, however, I did not enter into 
 the arithmographical part of the subject, without which the telegraph 
 would be of no use whatever. 
 
 Several systems of telegraphic signals for practical purposes 
 have been published at different times, but, with the exception of a 
 telegraphic dictionary printed at the expense of the East India 
 Company, at a cost of something like 1000Z., I am not aware of 
 any thing even approaching to a general arithmographical lexicon 
 having been constructed until the one I have already mentioned, 
 which was merely prepared for my own use, as I was unable to 
 obtain a copy of that belonging to the East India Company. 
 
 This dictionary contains 12,200 w r ords, including many terms 
 of art, &c, and in an appendix there are 7326 names of persons, 
 places, kingdoms, provinces, and principal rivers of the world. 
 The appendix has a different mode of reference to the body of the 
 dictionary, for the sake of simplicity and brevity, as I shall here- 
 after mention. 
 
 The principal parts of speech are nouns and verbs. A noun 
 substantive I distinguish by the first figure being larger than the 
 rest, as 3 in 3442, representing the word " carriage." A verb I 
 distinguish by the last figure being larger than the rest, as 4 in 
 9034, " to ride." The cases of a noun I distinguish by prefixing a 
 small figure to each, as — 
 
 5 7042 oh ! man, homo, 
 
 "7042 ( b y> from > OT 1 homine. 
 with, a man,j 
 
 In the plural, the cases are numbered in like manner : 
 7 for the nominative, 8 for the genitive, 9 for the dative, 10 for the 
 accusative, 11 for the vocative, and 12 for the ablative. 
 
 This will also apply to adjectives, as : 
 
 7042 2 5841 2 4039. 
 " A man of good constitution." 
 
 J 7042 a man, homo. 
 
 2 7 042 of a man, hominis. 
 
 3 7042 to a man, homini. 
 
 4 7042 a man, hominem. 
 
 In which the small figure 2 is prefixed to 5841 (adj "good"), to 
 
 VOL. LIV. N 
 
178 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 shew its case and agreement with the genitive case of the noun 
 substantive. 
 
 2 4039, signifying " constitution." 
 
 The tenses of verbs I distinguish by small figures prefixed in 
 order, as : 
 
 1 For the present tense, indica- 
 
 tive mood. 
 
 2 Imperfect. 
 
 3 Future imperfect. 
 
 4 Perfect. 
 
 5 Pluperfect. 
 
 6 Future perfect. 
 
 7 For the present tense of the 
 
 potential ; and so on. 
 
 The persons I distinguish by placing small figures after the 
 word, as : 
 
 Present Tense, 
 
 H^Ol 1 Hove. 
 !639l 2 Thou lovest. 
 
 !639i 4 We love. 
 3 6391 5 Ye love. 
 
 J 639l 3 He loves. ^39 1 6 They love. 
 
 An example of tense and person : 
 
 4 639l 6 They loved. 
 
 Being the perfect or fourth tense, and the third person plural 
 agreeing with the small number 6. 
 
 Passive verbs are distinguished simply by placing two similar 
 figures representing the person after the number representing the 
 words, as : 
 
 1 639l| I am loved. 
 
 In which the small 2's are affixed to 6391. 
 
 When names of persons or places are represented, a line is 
 placed under the figures designating the particular name or 
 place, as : 
 
 5124 "Pompey." 4841 " Peterborough." 
 
 I have already stated that the names of persons and places are 
 separated in the arithmographical dictionary from the body of the 
 work for ease of reference. 
 
 In order to distinguish numbers from words, a line is drawn 
 over the figures, which are to be read as numerals, as : 
 
 2000 7861 or, " two thousand people." 
 
 In writing or printing a long communication by the arithmo- 
 graphical system much less space is required than by the ordinary 
 method. As an example, in the sentence " twenty-two gentlemen, 
 &c." (as under), there are eighty-seven letters, while forty-seven 
 figures answer the same purpose ; and in the sentence " the Duke 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 179 
 
 of Norfolk," &c. there are fifty letters, while the same is represented 
 arithmographically by thirty-one figures only. 
 
 Examples : 
 " I am going to Marseilles." 
 1 5829 1 3 646. 
 
 " The Society of Arts of Scotland has a royal charter." 
 9865 81109 2 9352 6056 3 4 9l27 4 3589. 
 " Twenty-two gentlemen were proposed as members of the 
 Society of Arts on Wednesday evening, 22d February." (Eighty- 
 seven letters.) 
 
 22 75767 4 8464e 7 7l63 2 9865 8 1109 7554 11873. 
 5262 22 5509. (Forty-seven figures.) 
 
 " The Duke of Norfolk, one of the new members of the Society 
 of Arts." (Fifty letters.) 
 
 2 4931 2 4322 I 8 7399 8 7l63 2 9865 8 ll09. (Thirty-one 
 figures.) 
 
 PROSSER'S PROCESS OF MAKING BRICKS, TILES, AND 
 TESSERiE, FROM A NEW MATERIAL. 
 By J. M. Blashfield, Esq. 
 
 The Roman tessellated pavements, described by Vitruvius 
 (specimens of which may be seen in the British Museum), are com- 
 posed of coloured marbles of various kinds, and of different degrees 
 of compactness and durability. By Mr. Prosser's invention the 
 want of uniformity in the shape and size of the tesserae employed 
 by the Romans is entirely obviated. 
 
 Three years ago Mr. Prosser discovered that, by subjecting a 
 mixture of pulverised felspar and fine clay to a strong pressure be- 
 tween steel dies, the powder was compressed into about one-fourth 
 of its bulk, and became a compact body much harder and con- 
 siderably less porous than the common porcelain. 
 
 The first application of this discovery was to the manufacture 
 of buttons, which are much more durable and considerably less 
 expensive than those in ordinary use. 
 
 One of the principal uses to which this invention is applied is 
 that of constructing tesserae for pavements, and which was sug- 
 gested by Mr. Blashfield, who, in conjunction with Messrs. Wyatt, 
 Parker, and Co., has already carried out the invention to a con- 
 siderable extent in the construction of tesserae of various shapes, 
 sizes, and colours, which being made in steel dies of exactly simi- 
 
180 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 lar form, can be put together in the most complicated designs 
 with extreme accuracy. 
 
 The machine for making the tesserae is very simple. A verti- 
 cal screw, worked by a horizontal handle twenty-four inches in 
 length, is furnished with a steel die at the bottom, of the same 
 shape as the intended tesserae. Immediately below this die is a 
 cavity formed in the bed of the machine 11 inch in depth, and 
 corresponding in plan with the die which works into it. 
 
 The cavity being filled with the powder in as dry a state as 
 possible, pressure is applied by turning the handle of the screw 
 rapidly round, and the bulk of powder is thus reduced in thickness 
 from 1 J to -J of an inch, the surface being, moreover, rendered 
 very smooth and polished. Each tessera when formed is raised 
 from the bottom of the cavity by a movable bed or die worked by 
 a vertical rod attached to a treadle, and when removed from the 
 press the tesserae are placed in an oven to undergo the process of 
 baking. The tesserae thus formed will bear a pressure of forty 
 tons, and have been put to the most severe test in respect to the 
 effect of frost, having been first immersed in boiling water, and 
 immediately afterwards exposed to a temperature of 32°. They 
 may likewise be exposed to a considerable degree of heat, so that 
 flues may be constructed below the tessellated pavements, formed of 
 this material, without causing any injury to them. 
 
 Blue or green colours are given to the tesserae by means of 
 metallic oxides in the process of baking ; but other colours are 
 mixed up with the powder before it is submitted to pressure. 
 
 Very compact and durable bricks are likewise made by a simi- 
 lar process, but are necessarily subjected to a much greater pres- 
 sure, which is effected by the use of the hydraulic press. 
 
 Slabs of elaborate design and richly inlaid with brilliantly 
 coloured designs, suitable for chimney-pieces, &c, are also made by 
 this process, each slab being submitted to a pressure of 250 tons 
 before baking. 
 
 BRAITHWAITE'S PROCESS OF PRODUCING IMITATIONS 
 OF CARVING IN WOOD. 
 
 This invention was first produced in France, but has not been 
 carried out to any great extent in that country. 
 
 In the carving of wood, as usually performed, two persons are 
 employed, the one to cut out the intended subject in the rough, and 
 the other to finish it. When a particular design is required to be 
 executed by Mr. Braithwaite's process, a mould is made of cast-iron 
 of the intended pattern, which is then heated to "cherry-red;" the 
 heated mould being placed ready to receive the wood, viz. oak, 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 181 
 
 chestnut, or other hard wood, to be acted on ; the piece of wood is 
 then rapidly, and with a power of from ten to thirty tons, according 
 to the depth of the ornament pressed into the mould by means of a 
 lever press; and this is repeated until the full relief is obtained. 
 The wood is then thrown into cold water, the charred surface being 
 afterwards scraped or brushed off, after each application to the 
 mould. After about 250 impressions have been taken off the 
 mould requires chasing ; the whole number of impressions that 
 may be taken from one mould is from 400 to 500. 
 
 MR. WILSON'S DOUBLE-ACTING SAFETY-VALVE FOR 
 STEAM-BOILERS. 
 
 By Mr. Wilson. 
 
 The object of Mr. Wilson's safety-valve is to supersede the 
 necessity of having two detached valves by combining them very 
 neatly in one structure. The larger valve, to be used only in 
 cases of emergency, is a conical disc, kept in its seat on the boiler 
 by a weight suspended within the same ; the smaller valve, intended 
 for general use, has a solid conical plug, which fits an aperture in 
 the centre of the larger or annular valve cover. The smaller valve 
 is of about half the diameter of the larger, and is loaded at the or- 
 dinary pressure, either by spiral or elliptical springs, or if small, 
 by weights as usual, whereas the load on the large valve is from 
 half to one pound per square inch above ordinary pressure, so as 
 only to be lifted when the smaller aperture is insufficient for the 
 escape of a large volume of steam. 
 
 CASELLA'S PLU VI AMETER . 
 
 The pluviameter, or rain-gauge, invented by Mr. Casella, con- 
 sists of a hollow cylindrical vessel, 23 inches high, and 3 T 7 ^th 
 inches in diameter, mounted upon a hollow base forming the seg- 
 ment of a cone, whose lower diameter is 13 inches, upper diameter 
 3 T 7 ^th inches, and height 8 inches ; this may be filled with dry 
 sand, or other substance, to give steadiness to the apparatus, which 
 is furnished with three pointed legs for the purpose of fixing it into 
 the ground when required. At the top of the vertical cylinder is 
 an open basin, of the same form and size as the base, perforated in 
 the bottom with an aperture, equal to -j^tb. of an inch in diameter, 
 through which the rain collected in the basin descends to the 
 bottom of the cylinder, and the height of the column of water so 
 
182 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 collected is shewn by a graduated glass tube attached to the cylinder, 
 and communicating with it at the bottom. The tube is half an 
 inch in diameter internally, and the graduation on the tube is in 
 inches and tenths of an inch. 
 
 The collective areas of the cylinder and glass tube being equal 
 to -joth the area of the basin at the top, a scale is readily formed 
 for ascertaining the depth fallen on the surface in a given time ; 
 and Mr. Casella intends to graduate the scales in future so as to 
 shew at once the actual depth of rain fallen without any reference 
 to a table. 
 
 The mode of adjusting the pluviameter is to fill the cylindrical 
 vessel exactly up to zero on the scale, the rain falling into the 
 basin, and descending into the cylinder, elevates the water in the 
 cylinder and glass tube simultaneously, and thus the depth is found 
 by an inspection of the scale. 
 
 On adjusting the gauge for a second experiment, it is merely 
 required to draw off the water to zero by the cock fixed in the side 
 of the cylinder. 
 
 MR. TAUNTON'S ELEGANT AND ELABORATELY 
 CONSTRUCTED UMBRELLA, 
 
 INTENDED AS A PRESENT FROM THE TURKISH AMBASSADOR 
 RESIDENT IN ENGLAND TO THE SULTAN. 
 
 The stick and frame generally are made of standard gold, and 
 the handle of ivory, having on its exterior richly carved repre- 
 sentations of military trophies. The silk is of Spitalfields manu- 
 facture, and beautifully worked ; the pattern being a basket of 
 flowers, which is repeated in each gore. Within the stick and 
 handle are contained the following articles, viz. a telescope, a watch, 
 a pencil-case with watch-key, a case containing pencil-points, a 
 sun-dial, a thermometer, a botanical microscope, and a knife with 
 two blades. The whole weight of the umbrella is thirty -six 
 ounces, and the value is stated to be five hundred guineas. 
 
 ON THE PROCESS OF PRINTING WARPS TO PRODUCE 
 FABRICS TERMED "CLOUDED," OR "CHINE." 
 
 By G. T. Kemp, Esq. 
 
 The art of clouding silk has been practised upwards of a 
 century, but until lately was conducted in a very rude manner, and 
 at a very considerable cost. 
 
 The technical term to "cloud," or, as in French, "chiner," 
 denotes the partial colouring of the threads of silk, or other mate- 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 183 
 
 rial, previously to their being woven ; producing an irregular 
 speckled appearance, or assuming a more definite design at the 
 will of the operator, but always characterised by a softened, shaded, 
 or irregular outline. 
 
 In 1839 a process, then in active operation at Lyons, was in- 
 troduced into this country by Mr. Kemp, which afterwards proved 
 to be nearly identical with that described in Mr. W Ion's patent, 
 taken out in 1825. In 1840 and following years the process was 
 very generally applied to manufactures of broadsilks, ribands, shawls, 
 and other articles of silk, as also to mixed fabrics of cotton, 
 linen, or wool. 
 
 The process is as follows. The warp, or " cane," generally 
 of white, is " turned on," and s< twisted in" in the ordinary manner 
 for introduction to a common loom, provided with a harness of the 
 width and richness of the work to be manufactured. The " porry," 
 or surface of silk stretched or exposed in the loom, is then carefully 
 " picked," or cleared, from rough or hairy threads, and other imper- 
 fections. A firm heading, or " tab," about two inches in width, is 
 first woven, after which a small rod is introduced in the shed, for 
 the purpose of attaching the warp to the " cloth beam." " Cross- 
 strings," are then woven in, to enable the workmen to twist the 
 warp in with facility after being printed. The weaver next pro- 
 ceeds to draw about 12 inches of the cane through the harness, and 
 weaves a strip of plain cloth, containing about 60 shoots, in 
 f of an inch. After winding about 12 inches of the warp on the 
 cloth beam, he repeats the strip of plain cloth, continuing the pro- 
 cess, picking or clearing the cane throughout, until the whole warp 
 has been thus prepared, the end of which he secures with a firm 
 heading, as at the beginning. The shoot best fitted to weave in the 
 strips of plain cloth is Italian singles, 12 or 14 deniers in size, with 
 the usual Arganzine spin. This silk should be boiled off, al- 
 lowing by its fineness the colouring matter to penetrate the warp in 
 printing. If a fine and delicate pattern is required, the interval of 
 12 inches cannot be exceeded with safety ; but when the pattern 
 is large, and the outline irregular, a longer space may be left 
 between the strips. The cloth-beam, which needs not be more than 
 three inches in diameter, requires a ring or flange of wood or cast- 
 iron, to be fixed at each end of the warp, to support the sides when 
 it begins to rise on the beam or roll. The frequent introduction 
 of a set of smooth laths strung together, and encompassing, or 
 casing the beam, and wound on with the warp, are found to answer 
 the same purpose as the flanges. It is important here to remark 
 that the warping and turning-on should be performed in the best 
 manner, and the picking, or clearing the cane very carefully 
 watched, as it is obvious that mending any threads after the print- 
 ing must inevitably mark the work. 
 
184 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 The object of forming the temporary fabric just described is to 
 keep the threads of the warp in their proper positions during the 
 subsequent operations of printing, steaming, washing, drying, and 
 weaving, so as to preserve the pattern when woven. 
 
 The cloth beam with the warp thereon being delivered to the 
 printer, he fixes it in a frame, in which it is supported horizontally on 
 its axis, he then draws off a sufficient length of the partially woven 
 warp, which is passed over the printing table, at the end of which 
 it is attached to two parallel lengths of tape, about fifteen yards 
 long, which pass over a series of rollers to an empty beam, which 
 may be termed the printer's beam, to which they are attached, and 
 which is placed near to and above the cloth beam, so as to enable 
 the printer at the same time to let off the necessary length of warp 
 from the cloth beam, and wind a corresponding length on to the 
 printer's beam as the printing of the warp proceeds. 
 
 When extended over the table the warp is printed with blocks, 
 in the ordinary manner as used by calico-printers, being kept close 
 down to the surface of the table by means of a roller at each end, 
 under which the warp passes, and which rollers are capable of 
 being raised or depressed as circumstances require. The printing 
 table is covered with a blanket surmounted with an oiled or 
 painted cover, between which and the warp a piece of calico is 
 spread, of which a fresh length must be substituted every time a 
 table-length of the warp has been printed. The neglect of this 
 would cause the superfluous colour received by the calico to smear 
 the warp. 
 
 Each table-length of warp, when printed, is liberated from the 
 table by raising the movable rollers, and is then drawn by the 
 tapes over the series of rollers to the printer's beam, on which it is 
 wound. During this passage of about fifteen yards in length (as 
 before stated), a sufficient opportunity is given for drying the 
 colouring matter on the warp, so as to prevent any smearing or 
 marking off when rolled on the printer's beam. To assist the 
 drying a certain degree of artificial heat with good ventilation is 
 maintained. 
 
 The warp, thus printed, is wound off the printer's beam and 
 formed into a large skein of from eight to ten feet in circum- 
 ference, and next undergoes the operation of steaming to fix the 
 colouring matter, great care being taken to prevent any conden- 
 sation of moisture on the silk. 
 
 It is then thoroughly washed in a stream of cold water, to 
 remove the extraneous colouring matter, and also the thickening 
 ingredients with which the colour is mixed. During washing, the 
 silk is protected by a covering of loose canvass in which it is 
 sewn up. 
 
 After drying, which is most advantageously effected without 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 185 
 
 artificial heat if the weather is favourable, the warp is given to the 
 weaver to be rewoven into the ultimate figured cloth required. 
 
 In winding the warp again on the weaver's beam, the ordinary 
 means of spreading it, by passing it through a coarse reed or 
 wraithe, are inapplicable, on account of the strips of cloth which 
 have been woven across it ; the process, however, is readily effected 
 by stretching these strips to their full extent by hand, and thus 
 guiding it on to the beam or roll. The weaver pursues the ordinary 
 method of manufacturing the piece of goods, drawing out as he 
 proceeds in weaving the weft which has been woven in, to form the 
 small strips of cloth before mentioned. No subsequent finish or 
 dressing is required, and the work is ready for sale when it leaves 
 the loom. 
 
 ELKINGTON'S PROCESS OF ELECTRO - PLATING AND 
 
 GILDING. 
 
 By Mr. Pellatt. 
 
 It is immaterial what metal is used for articles to be plated by 
 this process ; a compound metal composed principally of nickel, 
 however, is preferred, which, when plated with silver, can scarcely 
 be distinguished from the solid metal. 
 
 The first thing before plating or gilding is thoroughly to 
 cleanse the articles from all grease or oxide, and this is done by 
 boiling them in caustic alkali, and scouring them with sand and 
 dilute acid ; they are then washed and dried, and a copper wire 
 being attached to them, they are placed in a metallic solution of 
 the metal required to be deposited, the wire being connected with 
 the negative pole, while a silver plate suspended in the same so- 
 lution is connected with the positive pole of the battery. 
 
 The process of gilding is similar to that of silvering, except 
 that the gold solution requires to be heated while the process is 
 proceeding. 
 
 Great care is required in the arrangement of the batteries, the 
 object being to decompose the solution easily, and at the same time 
 to produce a firm, smooth, and regular deposit of the metal. The 
 secret of the manipulation consists in the correct balance of power 
 between the battery, on the one hand, and the strength of the 
 solutions, and the number of articles to be deposited on, on the 
 other. 
 
 The solution for gilding is prepared by dissolving the gold in a 
 mixture of pure nitric and muriatic acids, the product being a 
 chloride of gold ; after evaporation, this is converted, by means of 
 an alkali, into the oxide, which oxide is dissolved in pure cyanide 
 of potassium. 
 
186 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 The solution of silver is prepared by dissolving pure silver in 
 nitric acid diluted with distilled water, and similarly treated with 
 the cyanide of potassium, as in the gold solution. 
 
 In forming articles of solid silver, the following process is 
 employed : — 
 
 Upon a wax model is first deposited a copper surface by the 
 electro-process ; the wax is then melted out, and thus a perfect 
 mould of copper is obtained, into which is deposited silver of any 
 substance that may be required. The copper is then removed by 
 dissolving it with acid, and the article required is obtained. 
 
 If the original model is in metal, an elastic mould made of glue 
 and treacle is used, by pouring the composition in a liquid state 
 upon the model. 
 
 By a late improvement the proprietors have the means of giving 
 a metallic conducting medium to this composition, and to other 
 substances, without the use of any external application, as black 
 lead, &c. 
 
 MR. JOHN THOMAS DAVIS'S PATENT 
 STEREOPRISMATIC COMBINATION APPLICABLE TO 
 WOOD-PAVEMENTS AND OTHER PURPOSES. 
 
 This combination has already been practically applied in paving 
 part of the carriage-way of Lombard Street towards the west end. 
 
 The mode of forming the paving-blocks is by cutting a piece 
 of timber 6 inches wide and 5j inches thick into lengths of 9 
 inches ; the angle at which the blocks are cut being 86°. In each 
 side, and in the sloped ends, rectangular grooves are cut j 
 of an inch in depth, and of a similar width ; the bottoms of 
 the grooves being 2 inches from the lower face of the block. 
 Into these grooves are inserted wooden keys 3| inches in length, 
 J inch thick, and 1^ inches in width, the use of which is to tie the 
 blocks together both longitudinally and laterally. A triangular 
 groove, j inch wide and T 5 g inch deep, is cut in the upper surface 
 of each block in the direction of its length, to give a footing to the 
 horses, and each row of blocks is put together so as to break joint 
 throughout the work. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 187 
 
 GREAT PYRAMID OF GIZEH. 
 By the Secretary. 
 From information furnished by J. K. Perring, Esq. 
 
 The Great Pyramid of Gizeh originally occupied an area equal 
 to 588,939,595 superficial feet, or about 13^ English acres, the side 
 of the square being 767,424 feet. 
 
 The original perpendicular height of this structure was 479 640 
 feet, and the total contents of solid masonry equal to about 
 89,418,806 cubic feet, weighing nearly 6,878,369 tons. Taking 
 the masonry at only one shilling per cubic foot, including carriage, 
 materials, and workmanship, the cost of such a structure would be 
 4,470,940/. 
 
 Again, the masonry contained in the Great Pyramid of Gizeh 
 would be sufficient for the erection of 1120 columns, each 20 feet 
 square, and of the height of the monument of London, which is 202 
 feet. 
 
 The blocks of which this great work is composed are roughly 
 squared, but built in regular courses, varying from 4 feet 10 inches 
 to 2 feet 2 inches in thickness, the joints being properly broken 
 throughout. 
 
 The stone used for the casing of the exterior and for the lining 
 of the chambers and passages was obtained from the Gebel Mokat- 
 tam, on the Arabian side of the valley of the Nile. It is a 
 compact limestone, called by geologists swinestone or stinkstone, 
 from emitting a fetid odour when struck. Whereas, the rocks on 
 the Libyan side of the valley where the pyramids stand, and of 
 which the interior is formed, are of a loose, granulated texture, 
 abounding with marine fossils, and consequently unfit for fine work, 
 and liable to decay when exposed to the action of the atmosphere. 
 
 The mortar used for the casing and for the lining of the passages 
 was composed entirely of lime ; but that in the body of the pyramid 
 was compounded of ground-red brick, gravel, Nile earth, and 
 crushed granite, or of calcareous stone and lime ; and, in some 
 parts, a grout or liquid mortar of desert sand and gravel only has 
 been used. 
 
 JEFFERY'S PATENT MARINE GLUE. 
 
 Mr. Jeffery, the inventor and proprietor of the marine glue, 
 and one of the early producers of copper-plates by galvanic action, 
 subsequently turned his attention to the application of the same 
 process to copper-sheathing for vessels ; " but, finding that he 
 
188 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 could not reduce the cost of production below that of plates made 
 by the ordinary method, and that the waste by oxidation on the 
 one hand, and the mischief of foul bottoms when oxidation was 
 checked on the other, were insuperable barriers to his success," he 
 gave up any further attempt. Nevertheless, his investigations on 
 the subject suggested the idea of employing resins insoluble in 
 water as an effectual protection to ships' bottoms. Moreover, he 
 considered that, by combining elastic with non-elastic substances, 
 and adding to the composition certain ingredients which are known 
 to be destructive both to animal and vegetable life, he might 
 readily attain his object. The Teredo Navalis, or ship-worm, he 
 especially had in view, as the greatest enemy to be overcome. 
 
 In the course of a series of experiments which Mr. Jeffery tried 
 with various substances, he succeeded in discovering the compo- 
 sition to which he has given the name of " marine glue," the 
 peculiar properties of which are its being insoluble in, and imper- 
 vious to, water ; elastic, so as to expand or contract according 
 to the strain on the timber or the changes of temperature ; 
 sufficiently solid to fill up the joints, and add strength to the timber 
 construction ; and adhesive, so as to connect the timbers firmly 
 together. 
 
 To make the marine glue : — A solution is first made of caout- 
 chouc of good quality with coal naphtha, in the proportion of one 
 pound of the caoutchouc to five gallons of the naphtha. The 
 caoutchouc is cut into thin shreds before being used ; and the 
 mixture is stirred until the caoutchouc is so dissolved as to bring it 
 to the consistence of thick cream. Mr. Jeffery finds that the 
 caoutchouc is sufficiently dissolved in about ten or twelve days. 
 
 One part by weight of the above described solution, and two 
 parts by weight of shel-lac, are then put into an iron vessel. The 
 whole is then heated and stirred until thoroughly amalgamated : 
 and this substance constitutes the marine glue. 
 
 SILVER PLATING AS PRACTISED AT SHEFFIELD. 
 By Mr. Potter, Jun. 
 
 Plating on copper was first introduced in the year 1742 by 
 Mr. Thomas Bolsover, a member of the Corporation of Cutlers at 
 Sheffield, who, when repairing a knife-handle, composed partly of 
 silver and partly of copper, suddenly thought that it might be pos- 
 sible so to unite the two metals as to form a cheap substance, which, 
 presenting an exterior of silver, might be used for the manufacture 
 of several articles hitherto made entirely of that metal. It was not 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 189 
 
 till about forty years after the introduction of Mr. Bolsover s plan 
 that the ornamented parts of plated articles, called mountings, were 
 constructed of silver. This great improvement caused the manu- 
 facture of plated wares to become one of the staple trades of 
 Sheffield. 
 
 There are two important features in the process of silver- 
 plating, the one a perfect adhesion of the two metals, the other a 
 protection from wear of the prominent edges by friction. 
 
 The process of manufacturing plated articles may be described 
 as follows : — 
 
 An ingot of copper being cast and the surfaces carefully pre- 
 pared by filing, so as to remove all blemishes, and a piece of 
 silver, also having one surface perfectly cleaned, are tied together 
 by means of iron-wire. A paste of borax and water is then passed 
 round the edges with a quill, and the mass being placed in a 
 common air-furnace, is heated to a proper temperature, which is 
 ascertained by means of a small aperture in the door. As soon as 
 the union of the two bodies is effected (which is known by the 
 oozing of the metal when the fusion of the two metals has taken 
 place), the bar is removed from the furnace. The quality of the 
 silver used in this process is what is termed standard, containing 
 about 18 dwts. of copper, to the pound troy. The effect of this 
 alloy is to render the articles harder, and consequently more 
 durable. 
 
 The ingot being thus prepared, the next operation is to form it 
 into sheets, which is effected by passing the bar several times 
 through large cylindrical rollers, generally moved by steam-power; 
 the lamination which the silver undergoes during the operation of 
 rolling shews the perfect union of the two metals. 
 
 The dies for forming the ornamental parts of plated articles 
 consist of blocks of steel, on the face of which the pattern of the 
 ornament is accurately drawn, after which the dies are moderately 
 heated in an open fire, and then placed upon a leathern sandbag ; 
 the die-sinker then proceeds to cut out the ornaments with hammer 
 and chisel. When sunk to the proper depth, the surface of the 
 sinking is dressed off and prepared for the ornaments to be stamped 
 in. 
 
 The stamping machine (of which a small working model was 
 exhibited) consists of a vertical frame of iron, the uprights of which 
 are formed with grooves in which the hammer or drop slides. The 
 foundation of this machine consists of a square stone, on the upper 
 surface of which is fixed an iron anvil, to which the uprights are 
 firmly attached. The hammer is raised by a rope passing over a 
 pulley fixed in the head-piece of the frame. The die is placed on 
 the anvil immediately under the hammer, and kept in its proper 
 position by screws. A luting of oil and clay is placed round the 
 
190 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 edge of the sink of the die, and melted lead is then poured into the 
 cavity. When cool, the hammer is allowed to fall upon the lead, 
 to which it firmly adheres by means of a plate roughed as a rasp, 
 which is called the lick-up. 
 
 The silver used for the purpose of the mountings is also of 
 standard quality, and is rolled to the required thickness; several 
 pieces of the requisite size are then placed between pieces of copper 
 of the same, substance, and put upon the face of the die. The 
 hammer is then raised and allowed to fall gently upon them. This 
 operation is continued for some time, gradually increasing the fall 
 of the hammer, and diminishing the number of pieces struck, until 
 they are forced to the bottom of the die ; it is necessary occasionally 
 to anneal the mountings. 
 
 The mounts being struck as described are now filled with solder, 
 consisting of tin and lead, and afterwards secured by wires to the 
 article to be ornamented, the body being covered with a mixture of 
 glue and whiting to prevent the solder from staining the surface ; 
 they are then soldered on by means of a gas blowpipe. 
 
 The article is next boiled in a solution of pearl-ash or soda, and 
 scoured with fine Calais sand. The mounts are polished by a lathe, 
 as in the case of silver articles, with rotten-stone and oil, then 
 cleaned with whiting, and finished with rouge ; a scratch-brush of 
 brass-wire is used for deadening the parts required, and the plain 
 surfaces are burnished with tools of blood-stone or steel, soap and 
 water being used in this operation, which is performed by women. 
 
 ON SPADE- HUSBANDRY. 
 By H. Fardon, Esq. 
 
 The object of this communication is to shew the importance, in 
 a national point of view generally throughout the country, of an 
 improved mode of cultivation by means of spade-husbandry. 
 
 After entering into details with respect to the two systems of 
 agriculture chiefly pursued throughout the kingdom, which are 
 known as the low system and the high system, the former being 
 based on the system of annual tenancy, the latter on that of grant- 
 ing leases ; the writer proceeds with an examination of the third 
 system, or spade-husbandry, and quotes, among others, the following 
 case, as shewing the great profit to be realised by its judicious 
 adoption : — 
 
 The experiment was made on two acres of land for twenty-seven 
 years, and on two other acres of land for fifteen years, alternate 
 crops of wheat and potatoes being regularly produced, and the land, 
 which is stiff clay, turned up with a fork ten inches deep. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 191 
 
 The cost of the wheat crop, including sowing, keeping clean, 
 reaping, and thrashing, was at the rate of 1/. 17s. per acre; and of 
 the potato-crop, including breast-ploughing, wheat-stubble, forking 
 land, planting, cleaning, getting-up, and harvesting, 61. 1 5s. 2d. 
 per acre, the average being 41. 6s. l\d. per acre; while the annual 
 produce realised the sura of 93/., being 69/. 5s. 6d. above the 
 expenses,* or at the rate of 17/. 6s. 4\d. per acre surplus, subject 
 only to deductions for rent and parochial taxes. It must be re- 
 marked, that this enormous profit was effected by the sale of a great 
 part of the produce; and not by its consumption on the land, which 
 is the prevailing custom. 
 
 As a further proof of the adequate productive powers of the 
 system the writer advocates, he adduces the well-known case of 
 Mrs. Davies Gilbert, of Eastbourne, who, through her benevolent 
 exertions, has succeeded in establishing self-supporting national 
 schools, by receiving rent for the land occupied by the master, who 
 instructs the children in the usual course of education in the morn- 
 ing, and employs them on his land in the afternoon. 
 
 Mr. Fardon strenuously recommends that a portion of land 
 should be attached to every country union, to be cultivated by the 
 able-bodied poor, according to the third system, the effect of which 
 would necessarily be to reduce the poor's-rate in every parish 
 where the plan might be carried into effect. 
 
 He further suggests, that the redundancy of manufacturing 
 labour might be well turned to account in the cultivation of the 
 soil by spade-husbandry. 
 
 ME. LEE'S SAFETY RAILWAY CARRIAGE. 
 
 The object of Mr. Lee's invention is to prevent railway acci- 
 dents, arising either from the breaking of axles, or from carriages 
 running off the rails. To obtain these important desiderata, Mr. 
 Lee introduces bearings of a different construction to those in 
 
 £ s. d. £ s. d. 
 
 * 24 Tons of potatoes at 50s 60 0 0 
 
 80 Bushels of wheat at 7s 28 0 0 
 
 2 Tons of straw at 50s 5 0 0 
 
 93 0 0 
 
 Deduct — 
 
 Manual wages as above detailed, at 4Z. 6s. lhd. per acre 17 4 6 
 
 Seed-potatoes for 2 acres 5 0 0 
 
 Seed- wheat 1 10 0 
 
 23 14 6 
 
 69 5 6 
 
192 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 ordinary use, for the axles of the wheels, and forms each axle in 
 two parts, so arranged as to obtain the requisite stiffness, and at 
 the same time to enable either half of the axle, which may become 
 fractured or otherwise made unfit for use, to be readily removed 
 without disturbing the other or uninjured half. 
 
 Another important point is the application of very powerful 
 brakes, to check, when required, the action of all the wheels, 
 though the train may be proceeding at full speed. These brakes 
 are adapted to act simultaneously, as well on the rails on which 
 the wheels run, as on the tires of the wheels themselves, and are 
 therefore called compound brakes, and which may be brought into 
 action in three different ways : — 
 
 1. By allowing the collision of the carriages to act on the 
 
 brakes, by an arrangement of rods, cranks, &c, some- 
 what as in the ordinary buffers. 
 
 2. By a windlass under the control of the guard of each 
 
 carriage. 
 
 3. By the addition to each carriage of a small steam 
 
 cylinder, the piston of which acts on the system of 
 brakes for the four or six wheels. In this case a 
 continuous steam-pipe runs from the boiler of the 
 engine with a branch to each carriage of the train; 
 the connexions of this pipe being formed, by universal 
 joints, to allow of the train passing round curves. 
 
 To prevent the carriages running off the rails Mr. Lee pro- 
 poses to attach to the underframing of each carriage six wooden 
 cheeks, having metal flanches. In the event of the common axles 
 being broken, and even all the wheels removed from the carriage, 
 the latter cannot run off the rails, aS the flanches of the cheeks 
 reach to a level sufficiently below the tops of guard-rails fixed 
 along the line, or, in particular parts, between the usual rails of 
 the way. The projector considers this latter plan to be particu- 
 larly applicable to the crossing of ravines, rivers, embankments, 
 &c. 
 
 PROFESSOR FARADAY'S INVENTION FOR THE PERFECT 
 VENTILATION. OF LAMP-BURNERS. 
 
 By James Faraday. 
 
 In consequence of the injury sustained by the books in the 
 library at the Athenaeum Club, amounting almost to the entire 
 destruction of the bindings, and the complaints of the members of 
 the vitiated state of the air in the rooms, causing headache, oppres- 
 sive breathing, and other unpleasant sensations, Professor Fara- 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 193 
 
 day's attention, as a member of the club, was drawn to the subject 
 of ventilating lamp-burners in houses, and he was induced to 
 suggest the trial of various plans for effecting the removal of the 
 products of combustion produced by sources of artificial light. All 
 substances used for the purposes of illumination may be repre- 
 sented by oil and coal-gas ; although tallow and wax are also em- 
 ployed to a considerable extent, yet as until they are rendered fluid, 
 like oil, they cannot be burnt. Now oil and gas both contain carbon 
 and hydrogen, and it is by the combination of these elements with 
 the oxygen of the air that the light is evolved. The carbon pro- 
 duces carbonic acid, which is deleterious in its nature, and oppres- 
 sive in its action in closed apartments, and the hydrogen produces 
 water. A pound of oil contains about 0*12 of a pound of hydrogen, 
 
 0- 78 lb. of carbon, and 0-1 lb. of oxygen ; when burnt it produces 
 
 1- 06 lb. of water, and 2*86 lb. of carbonic acid; and the oxygen it 
 takes from the atmosphere is equal to that contained in 13*27 cubic 
 feet of air. A pound of London coal-gas contains, on an average, 
 03 lb. of hydrogen, and 07 lb. of carbon; produces when burnt 
 2*7 lbs. of water, and 2*56 lbs. of carbonic acid gas ; consumes 4*26 
 cubic feet of oxygen, equal to the quantity contained in 19-3 cubic 
 feet of air. So a pint of oil when burnt produces 1| pint of water, 
 and a pound of gas produces above 2^ pints of water ; the increase 
 of weight being due to the absorption of oxygen from the atmo- 
 sphere, 1 part of hydrogen taking 8 by weight of oxygen to form 
 water. A London Argand gas-lamp, in a close shop-window, will 
 produce in four hours 2J pints of v/ater, to condense or not, ac- 
 cording to circumstances, upon the glass or the goods, as it may 
 happen. Also a pound of oil produces nearly 3 lbs. of carbonic 
 acid, and a pound of gas 2J lbs. of carbonic acid. Now carbonic 
 acid is a poison, an atmosphere containing even -^th of it is soon 
 fatal to animal life. 
 
 Mr. Leblanc has recently analysed carefully the confined air of 
 inhabited places, and concludes, as stated in his memoir, that the 
 proportion of carbonic acid gas in such places may be regarded as 
 measuring with sufficient exactness the insalubrity of the air ; that 
 in the proportion of 1 part to 100 of air, ventilation is indispens- 
 able for the prevention of injury to the health; that the proportion 
 of carbonic acid gas had better not exceed a 500th part, though it 
 may rise without inconvenience to a 200th part. If a lighted 
 taper be applied to the top of a lamp chimney it will be instantly 
 extinguished, or a glass jar held over it will become immediately 
 filled with air in which a light cannot burn. Also sulphurous and 
 sulphuric acid are contained in the water which results from the 
 combustion of coal-gas, and are products injurious to metals and 
 articles of furniture. 
 
 The object sought to be obtained in the ventilation of lamp- 
 vol. liv. o 
 
194 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 burners is the entire removal of all the noxious products of com- 
 bustion, and with this view, at Professor Faraday's suggestion, 
 the gas-lights of the chandelier in the library at the Athenaeum 
 were ventilated by pipes dipping into the lamp-glasses and conjoin- 
 ing, at a short distance upwards, into one central pipe, which car- 
 ried away all the burnt air from the room. In this first practical 
 experiment many things were learned as to the mode of arranging 
 the pipes, the disposal, when the pipes were very long, of the 
 water produced, &c, &c. ; but the objects sought for by the venti- 
 lation were at once and perfectly obtained. 
 
 Next arose the desire of modifying the system by removing the 
 ascending flue from its place over the lamp, not from any defi- 
 ciency in action, but for appearance sake only ; and finding there 
 was sufficient ascension power in the main part of the metal chim- 
 ney to allow of a descending draught over the lamp, the tube, in 
 place of going directly upwards, was made to turn short over the 
 edge of the glass, to descend to the arm or bracket, to pass along 
 it, and then ascend at the central part of the chandelier, or against 
 the wall, if applied to a single light. The gas-light has its chim- 
 ney as usual, but the glass-holder is so constructed as to sustain 
 not merely the chimney but an outer cylinder of glass, larger and 
 taller than the first, and closed at the top by a plate of mica, or, 
 still better, by two plates of mica, one resting on the top of the 
 glass and the other dropping a short way into it, and connected 
 together with a metal screw and nut, which also keeps them a little 
 apart from each other ; thus forming a stopper which cannot be 
 shaken off, but is easily lifted on and off by a small metal ring or 
 knob at the top. The glass-holder has an aperture in it connected 
 by a mouth-piece with a metal tube, which serves as a ventilating flue, 
 and which, after passing horizontally to the centre of the chandelier, 
 thence ascends to produce draught and carry off the burnt air. Now, 
 with a lamp burning in the ordinary way, the products of com- 
 bustion issue out as a torrent of aerial impurity from above ; 
 but if the above arrangement be applied on closing the top 
 of the outer glass cylinder by the plate of mica, all the soot, water, 
 carbonic acid, sulphurous and sulphuric acid, and a portion of the 
 heat, are entirely carried away and discharged into a chimney or 
 the open air; and the air in rooms may thus be kept in the same 
 wholesome condition and as fit for the purposes of respiration as if 
 artificial light were not being used. 
 
 A curious but important result of the enclosed lamp is the 
 increase of light produced, amountingto from ten to twenty per cent, 
 according to circumstances, the same quantity of gas being con- 
 sumed as before. If the current of air through a lamp-glass, when 
 the gas is burning in the usual manner, be diminished, the flame 
 rises in height and the light is increased in amount, but is of a 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 195 
 
 redder colour : the combustion, in fact, is not so intense, because 
 the access of air is retarded, the particles of carbon which 
 give the light are not so highly ignited, but are more abundant, 
 and are ignited for a longer time, thereby causing an increase of 
 light. 
 
 STEPHEN'S LIFE-PRESERVER, OR PORTABLE 
 LIFE-BALL AND LINE. 
 
 This apparatus consists of a hollow metal ball, about five 
 inches in [diameter, to which are brazed or riveted three eyes, and 
 a line fixed, of about twenty fathoms or upwards in length, of half- 
 inch Hambro' layed rope, having a sliding thimble to form the 
 noose. In order to prevent its being damaged, it is quilted over 
 with net-work, similar to a child's ball, being, however, first cased 
 with cork, so as to render it more buoyant. Through one of the 
 eyes is rove the line which passes round the ball, and is again 
 brought through the eye in the opposite direction ; both parts are 
 then seized together outside the eye, leaving sufficient line, with a 
 thimble in the end, to form a bight. The standing part of the line 
 is then passed through the thimble, and a noose formed sufficiently 
 large to admit of it passing over a person's shoulders, to fasten 
 round his waist. The other two eyes are placed opposite to each 
 other, through which a piece of line is rove round the ball, and 
 seized in four places, so as to form grummetts or handles to the 
 " life-ball," in order that it may be the more readily held or caught 
 hold of. 
 
 The life-ball, from its portability, can be carried to any part of 
 the vessel, and thrown in the direction of the person overboard ; 
 whereas the life-buoy, when put in operation on a casualty occur- 
 ring, although it may be immediately let go and dropped, yet from 
 its nature will remain stationary in the wake of the ship, and unless 
 the person be a good swimmer it is almost impossible he can reach 
 it, particularly should he happen to fall overboard to leeward, a 
 circumstance which more frequently happens than otherwise. 
 
 MR. DEFRIES' DRY GAS-METER. 
 
 The description of this ingenious machine will be facilitated by 
 comparing it with the double-acting steam-engine, with which it is 
 closely analogous, although the corresponding parts move with so 
 little friction, that the trifling pressure of one or two pounds per 
 square inch, thrown on the gas in the mains, is sufficient to move 
 
196 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 the entire apparatus ; and the gas consumed is estimated by the 
 number of movements of the expanding chambers of the meter, the 
 cubical contents of which are known. 
 
 In the ordinary steam-cylinder, with its slide-valve, the steam 
 is admitted into the top of the cylinder during the time the steam 
 at the bottom of the cylinder proceeds into the air, in high-pressure 
 engines, and into the condenser in those of lower pressure. When 
 the slide-valve is moved, the conditions are reversed. 
 
 In Mr. Defries' dry gas-meter, the office of the cylinder is ful- 
 filled by three rhomboidal cavities, each with a flexible diaphragm, 
 which, by its bending, expands the one chamber and contracts the 
 other (in effect like the piston of the ordinary steam-cylinder), and 
 the meter is provided with slide-valves and appropriate mechanism, 
 which unites the three pairs of chambers into one system, so that 
 the action is continuous and successive. 
 
 The external form of Mr. Defries' apparatus is that of a 
 hexagonal prism placed on end ; a horizontal diaphragm divides the 
 hexagon into two principal parts, the lower and larger of which is 
 subdivided into three rhomboidal compartments, meeting in the 
 centre ; each of these is bisected by a square, perpendicular, and 
 flexible partition, formed of four triangular metal plates, hinged 
 together at their edges by a skin of calf-leather, properly prepared, 
 somewhat as in the sides of organ-bellows. Attached to the centre 
 of each flexible partition is a parallel motion, connected with a per- 
 pendicular shaft, which passes through a proper stuffing-box into 
 the superior chamber, where the shaft terminates in an arm which 
 communicates with a central crank ; and as there are three such 
 attachments, the expansion and contraction of the moving par- 
 titions communicate a rotary motion to the crank, without the 
 necessity of a fly-wheel. Connected with the crank are three rods, 
 moving the three pairs of slide-valves, placed on an annular cham- 
 ber, into which the gas first enters; the slide-valves lead it into 
 those compartments which are expanding, and out of those which 
 are contracting, into the general reservoir. 
 
 The pressure of gas on one side of the partition causes the con- 
 tents of its fellow-compartment to be discharged into the common 
 chamber above, from which the measured gas passes direct to the 
 burner. Below the crank of the central spindle, and upon the 
 central axis, is fixed an endless screw, working in a vertical cog- 
 wheel, communicating by a horizontal spindle with the index-train 
 of wheels, by which the number of cubic feet of gas consumed in a 
 given time is registered on a dial fixed outside the meter. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 197 
 
 ME. AUSTIN'S APPARATUS FOE FITTING SHIPS' BOATS 
 AS LIFE-BOATS, EST CASES OF SHIPWRECK, AND 
 FOR RAISING SUNKEN VESSELS. 
 
 Mr. Austin, formerly Harbour-Master at the island of Heli- 
 goland, suggests the following plan as sufficiently simple to be 
 within the reach of every vessel in such emergencies : — 
 
 When a vessel is driven on the rocks, sands, or shore, or 
 founders at sea, in getting the boats over the side they are fre- 
 quently stove alongside the wreck before the tackles can be un- 
 hooked, and, even if cleared off the tackles, it too often occurs that 
 they are stoved, swamped, or upset, when brought alongside to receive 
 the passengers and crew. To avoid such calamities, Mr. Austin 
 recommends that every boat, before she is launched over the side, 
 should be fitted as a life-boat, with canvass cases on each side, of 
 the whole length of the boat, having a round head at either end 
 marled on to a good hawser or small chain, and secured round her 
 at light-water mark, tautened up by nettles to the gunwale. The 
 cases may be cut out of good topsails or courses, and made from 
 two to three feet in diameter ; another case of lighter cloth, of 
 duck, or even of calico, should be made, rather larger in dimen- 
 sions, and placed within the stout canvass case, each case having 
 three flexible tubes or pipes inserted at the bottom part, one near 
 to each head, and one in midships, made of raw hide, India-rubber 
 cloth, or several thicknesses of canvass, about a fathom in length, 
 and half an inch in diameter, with a mouth-piece or pipe to be 
 blown into, and stopped or corked. The long-boat and skiff should 
 be placed on two spars projected over the side, for the purpose of 
 launching them; the cases well saturated with water, filled with 
 air, stopped, and the boat launched, with plenty of warp slack 
 under foot, and not brought up with less than half a cable, each 
 boat having only two hands in her when launched, with a line 
 passed round them and stopped to the thwart, to bale her out, and 
 to receive the passengers and crew, who should have a smaller 
 similar case placed round each of them. 
 
 The boats so fitted would contain with safety double the num- 
 ber of persons they could possibly hold under ordinary circum- 
 stances, and would not be upset in a heavy sea, and on going on a 
 lee-shore would hold together and drive well up. 
 
 If the weather and sea should admit of the boats being brought 
 alongside the wreck, the cases being filled with air would serve as 
 flexible fenders, and allow her taking in a number of persons to be 
 removed to the other boats. 
 
198 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Raising Sunken Vessels. 
 
 According to Lloyd's List, taking an average of three years, 
 not fewer than 557 vessels are sunk or altogether lost annually. 
 
 A vessel having gone down, the first operation is to ascertain 
 her position as nearly as possible, by sweeping with a rope of suf- 
 ficient length, having two leads fixed thereto, at about sixty 
 fathoms apart, the object of which is to draw the rope along the 
 bottom till it meets with an obstruction. It is easily ascertained by 
 sounding whether the obstruction to the progress of the sweeping- 
 rope is caused by the vessel, or by an anchor or other object ; if it 
 be the vessel, it is necessary to ascertain the position in which she 
 lies ; this is done by again sweeping the vessel with a small working 
 chain, properly buoyed at equal distances, which will shew her 
 length and beam. To ascertain if the bowsprit is still standing, it 
 is necessary to sound again at each end of the vessel. The pur- 
 chase-chain is next passed round the vessel, having a sufficient 
 number of collapsed air-cases (formed as above described) shackled 
 on to it, and when tautened round her by means of other cases, or 
 purchase-lighters, the chain is effectually secured round the vessel 
 by stoppers. The operation of filling the air-cases is next pro- 
 ceeded with, which is effected by powerful air-pumps on board a 
 steam-vessel taken out for the purpose, and as the displacement of 
 the water is going on the vessel is gradually being raised from her 
 bed, and by the time they are filled she will be above the surface of 
 the water, and ready to be towed to shore by the steamer. 
 
 ON THE ATMOSPHERIC BUDE-LIGHT. 
 By John Bethell, Esq. 
 
 The invention of the Bude-Light is due to Goldsworthy Gurney, 
 Esq. of Bude, in the county of Cornwall, who, for the last twenty 
 years, has been endeavouring to obtain, by numerous experiments, 
 a powerful and beautiful light. In 1822, he invented the Oxy- 
 hydrogen Light, which he fully explained in his lectures delivered 
 in Cornwall in 1822, and subsequently published in his book on 
 Chemistry in 1823. This light was the result of his experiments on 
 the oxyhydrogen blowpipe. 
 
 Some years afterwards Mr. Gurney invented another powerful 
 light, which was effected by passing a stream of pure oxygen gas 
 through the wick of an oil-lamp, whereby a most intense and 
 beautiful light was produced. This light, which was originally 
 called the Bude-Light, was put up at the Trinity House, and 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 199 
 
 afterwards adopted for the House of Commons. Difficulties, how- 
 ever, occurred in the practical working of this light, and Mr. 
 Gurney determined on still further prosecuting his experiments ; 
 and the result of which was, the production of the present, or what 
 may be called the Atmospheric Bude-Light. 
 
 The mechanical arrangement by which the light is produced 
 consists of a series of concentric rings, perforated on the upper 
 surface for the escape of the gas, placed at equal distances from 
 each other, and so arranged as to regulate the quantity of atmo- 
 spheric air, and to communicate by conduction and radiation 
 sufficient heat to raise the temperature of the gas to a given point, 
 so as to effect the separation of its charcoal immediately on its 
 leaving the burner, and then, by an arrangement above, to bring 
 fresh atmospheric air to the proper points of the flame. A perfect 
 lamp will deposit the charcoal in the flame the instant it passes the 
 jet. If so imperfect as to deposit too soon, charcoal will be found 
 in the rings; if too late, then high up in the flame. There is a 
 point of accuracy required which practice has determined. This 
 mechanical arrangement brings about a series of chemical changes 
 involved in the evolution of light and heat which are very interest- 
 ing. The rapidity of chemical union governs the respective 
 quantities of heat and light. By a too rapid combination, heat 
 without light may be produced. 
 
 By the concentration of a mass of light a powerful illuminating 
 effect can be diffused over the whole apartment, without shadows 
 incidental to many lights, which may be softened down by glass 
 shades to any pitch, and tinted, if desired, with any colour. 
 
 Its economy has been proved to be very great. The evidence 
 given by the scientific gentlemen examined before the Committee of 
 the House of Commons proves that, for the same quantity of light, 
 the saving for using the Bude burner is equal to fifty per cent. 
 
 The Committee, in their report to the House, state that the 
 saving effected upon the lighting the House by the introduction 
 of this light was 484/. 95. per session. Its effect in the different 
 churches where it has been placed is most excellent. Clapham 
 New Church is lighted by one burner of eleven inches diameter, 
 which is composed of five concentric rings. 
 
 The importance of ventilation has, until of late, been very much 
 neglected, notwithstanding all that has been said on the subject by 
 our medical gentlemen of eminence. An ordinarily sized person 
 breathes about ten cubic feet of air per hour, and contaminates by 
 the exhalations from his body as much more ; and one oil-lamp 
 consumes about forty cubic feet of air in the same time. So that, 
 in a room filled with twenty persons and lighted by four oil lamps, 
 as much as 360 cubic feet of air per hour is rendered not only 
 unfit for respiration, but absolutely poisonous. The air thus heated 
 
200 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 rises to the upper part or ceiling of the room, and would escape if 
 there were any outlet for it. But in most of our private dwellings 
 there are none to be found. Builders seem to suppose that the 
 fireplace, with the chimney, is the only ventilator necessary. This 
 supposition is decidedly incorrect. The greater part of the air 
 which goes up the chimney is drawn from the lower stratum of air 
 in the room — from that which is the coldest, and purest portion, 
 leaving the hot and impure air to collect in the upper part of the 
 room. The Atmospheric Bude-Light remedies this important de- 
 fect. It is always fixed high up in the room, with a large escape- 
 pipe over it, leading to the chimney, which entirely carries off the 
 products of the combustion of the gas. Without this pipe it is 
 considered that London gas cannot be pleasantly burnt in the 
 rooms of private dwellings. 
 
 BE ALE'S EOTARY ENGINE. 
 
 Mr. Beale, the inventor of the rotary engine, which it is the 
 purpose of this short notice to describe, has endeavoured for the 
 last twenty-five years to obtain that which has ever been con- 
 sidered an important desideratum, viz. a perfectly steam-tight 
 rotary engine, subject in all its parts to comparatively little friction, 
 and capable of revolving at very high velocities. 
 
 An engine of Mr. Beale's last construction is in daily opera- 
 tion at his engineering works, at East Greenwich. The outer 
 cylinder of the engine measures 14 inches in diameter, and 
 inches long, internally. The piece serving as the piston is a 
 cylinder of 12 inches diameter, placed excentrically within the 
 former of 14 inches, so that the two cylinders nearly touch at one 
 part, and are 2 inches distant at the opposite point ; the mean trans- 
 verse area of the excentric annulus being 14 square inches. The 
 piston has 4 segmental indents, for the reception of as many rollers, 
 each of 4J inches in diameter, and 9| inches long, which rest in 
 contact with one side of the respective indents, and with the 
 interior of the great or stationary cylinder, and divide the annulus 
 into four chambers. The steam enters by a pipe from the boiler 
 at top of the engine, and passing down the left-hand or ingress 
 channel impinges against part of the roller which is nearest to tb ; 
 bottom of the channel ; the roller is thus moved forward with a 
 rolling motio?i in contact iciili the inside of the cylinder ; and luring 
 passed the egress passage in the opposite side of the cylindr , the 
 escape of the steam commences, either into the atmosphere or into 
 the condenser, as the case may be. The engines are generally 
 formed with three or four rollers acted upon in turn, and so a con- 
 tinuous rotary motion is produced ; and the power is given off by 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 201 
 
 the central shaft of the engine, which revolves with the interior 
 drum or piston. 
 
 This engine revolves 225 times in a minute, the pressure of 
 steam being 20 lbs. on the square inch, and the mean area against 
 which it is exerted being, as stated, 14 square inches ; Mr. Beale 
 estimates the power of the engine at 7 horses. This engine is 
 sufficient to drive the twenty heavy lathes and machines employed 
 at his establishment. 
 
 The boiler used in conjunction with this engine is of cylindrical 
 form, being 3 feet in diameter, and containing 290 half-inch ver- 
 tical tubes of wrought-iron, each of 39 inches in length ; the whole 
 height, from the top of the ash-pit to the dome-cover, is 5 feet, and 
 the entire area of fire-box and tubes exposed to heat is stated to 
 be 111 superficial feet. The fire is urged by a fan of 22 inches in 
 diameter, and five inches in width, the area of its blast-pipe being 
 equal to 10 inches. 
 
 A similar rotary engine to that which is above described is 
 fitted in Mr. Beale's iron pinnace. The pinnace is 38 feet long ; 
 beam, 8 feet 6 inches ; and depth, 4 feet ; draught of water at 
 midships, 2 feet : midships immersed section, 9 feet superficial ; 
 when in motion, the vessel drops at her stern 12 inches. She is 
 built with a double bottom, which forms a chamber for condensing 
 the steam, so that the same water may be continually used, and a 
 valve is fixed in the bottom to introduce a supply for waste. 
 
 The propeller is composed of four cylindrical arms, and four 
 segments of a screw, forming the outer part of a four-threaded 
 screw, its diameter being 25^ inches ; the propelling surface is 
 equal to -§ths the midship section of the vessel. At 10 miles an 
 hour, the propeller makes 222 revolutions per minute. 
 
 The following notes were made by the Secretary of the Society 
 of Arts, during an experimental trip in the pinnace on the river 
 Thames, with fourteen persons on board besides the supply of fuel: — 
 
 The fuel used on the occasion of the river trip was anthracite ; 
 the pressure of steam beingsimilar to that used for locomotive engines, 
 viz. 60 lbs. on the square inch. Against a strong tide, we ran up 
 from the Adelphi Pier to Putney, a distance of 5 \ miles, in 61 
 minutes. From Putney to Hammersmith Bridge, with the tide in 
 our favour, we made the distance of 3 miles in 17 minutes, being 
 at the rate of rather more than 10 miles an hour. 
 
 On our return home, we left at eight minutes past seven, and 
 ft n Hammersmith Bridge to Greenwich, we accomplished the 
 d ^ce of 1.5 J miles, the tide being contrary, in 1 hour 57 minutes, 
 which is at the rate of about 8 miles an hour. 
 
 The ease with which the pinnace passed between the various 
 steamers, and other vessels in the pool, is not the least of her 
 advantages.