\ s. V LESSONS COMMON THINGS; FOR THE USE OF SCHOOLS AND FAMILIES. ON THE BASIS OF DR. MAYO'S LESSONS ON OBJECTS. EDITED BY JOHN FROST, LL. D. >^ __j. PHILADELPHIA: ^' ^"^ J. B. LIPPINCOTT & CO. 1857. Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1857, by J. B. LIPPINCOTT & CO., in the Clerk's OfBce of the District Court of the United States for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. ADVERTISEMENT OF THE AMERICAN EDITOR, PREFIXED TO THE FIRST EDITION. The following work is an improved edition of an English book entitled Lessons on Objects, originally published by the teachers of a Pesta- lozzian school, in which the lessons were given for many years before their publication. In presenting them to the American public, the Editor has found it necessary, besides frequently changing hard and Latinized words for common ones, to remove one fault existing in almost every English school-book; which is an apparently studied neglect of this country. With the ex- ception of works on Geography, it would be difficult to find a book of this class in which the existence of the United States of America as one of the nations of the earth is recognized. The removal of this objection in a work treating of productions and manufactures, was a matter of obvious necessity. It is presumed that the mere announcement of the subject and design of the present work, will arrest the attention of all those who are desirous of improving the methods of instruction. A de- monstrative, explanatory, thorough system, in all the different stages of instruction, is now de- manded by the public. The foundation of such a system must be laid in Lessons on Things. 1* ADVERTISEMENT TO THE THIRD EDITION. Many instructors have used this book without giving it out to the classes. Others have made a more successful experiment by using it as a class book, allowing each pupil to have a copy, and learn his lesson from the book as well as from the objects. By possessing this double advantage, the pupil acquires more definite ideas of the mean- ing of words, and the exact properties and quali- ties they indicate, than he does by the usual mode of committing to memory the pages of a " De- finer." CONTENTS. riRST SERIES Page Introductory Reaiarks 19 Lesson I. Glass 22 II. Indian Rubber 25 III. Leather 25 IV. Loaf Sugar 26 V, A Piece of Gum Arabic 26 VI. Sponge 27 VIL Wool 28 VIII. Water 28 IX. A Piece of Wax 29 X. Camphor 30 XL Bread 30 Xll. Sealing Wax 31 XIII. Whalebone 32 XIV. Ginger 32 XV. Blotting Paper 33 XVL A Piece of Willow 33 XVII. Milk 34 XVIII. Rice 34 XIX. Salt 35 XX. Horn 35 XXI. Ivorv . . . > 36 XXII. Chalk 36 XXIII. A Piece of the Bark of the Oak Tree 37 SECOND SERIES. Introductory Remarks 40 Lbsson I. A Pin 41 II. A Cube of Wood 42 HI. An uncut Lead Pencil 42 IV. A Pen 43 V. A Wax Candle 44 tnil CONTENTS. Page Lesson VI. A Chair , 45 VII. A Book 46 VIII. An Egg 47 IX. A Thimble 47 X. A Penknife 48 XI. A Key 49 XII. A Cup 49 XIII. A Grain of Coffee 50 XIV. A Pair of Scissors 50 THIRD SERIES. Introductory Remarks 54 Lesson I. A Quill 54 II. A Cent 57 III. Mustard Seed 58 IV An Apple 59 V. A Glass of a Watch 61 VI. Brown Sugar 61 VII. An Acorn 62 VIII. A Piece of Honey-Comb 63 IX. Refined Sugar 64 X. A Butter-Cup 65 XL A Lady-Bird 66 XIL An Oyster 67 XIIL A Fir or Pino Cone 68 XIV. A Fur 68 XV A Laurel Leaf 69 XVL A Needle 69 XVII A Sione 70 FOURTH SERIES ON THE SENSES. Introductory Remarks 79 Lesson I. Feeling or Touch 81 IL Sight 84 in. Hearing 85 IV. Smell 86 V. Taste 87 i ON THE SPICES. Page Lesson VI. Pepper 88 VII. Nutmeg 89 VIII. Mace 91 IX. Cinnamon 93 X. Ginger 94 XI. Allspice 95 XII. Cloves 96 ON LIQUIDS. XIII. Water 99 XIV. Oil 101 XV. Beer 102 XVI. Vinegar 104 XVII. Foreign White Wine 105 XVIII. Ink 106 XIX. Milk 107 FIFTH SERIES. Introductory Remarks 113 .jESson I. Leather 114 II. Cork 115 III. Indian Rubber, or Gum Elastic. . . . 116 IV. Sponge 117 V. Camphor 118 VI. Horn 118 VII. Shell Lac 119 VIIL Wax Candle 119 IX. Glue 120 X. Coffee 121 XI. Tea 122 XIL Sago 122 XIIL Rice 123 XIV. Paper 124 XV. Parchment 127 XVL Glass 128 XVII. Whalebone 129 XVin. Bread 130 XIX. Sugar 131 JC CONTENTS. Lesson XX. Hemp ] 32 XXI. F]ax 133 XXII. Cotton 135 XXIII. Wool 135 XXIV. Silk.. 137 XXV. Court Plaster 138 XXVI. Saffron 139 XXVII. Butter 140 XXVIII. Cheese 141 XXIX. Putty 141 XXX. Starch 142 XXXI. Felt 142 XXXII. Porcelain 144 ON THE METALS. Introductory Remarks 146 Lesson XXXIII. Gold 146 XXXIV. Silver 151 XXXV. Quicksilver, or Mercury 154 XXXVI. Lead 158 XXXVIL Copper 162 XXXVIIL Iron 166 XXXIX. Tin 170 XL. Comparisons of the Metals 173 XLI. On Metals in general 174 Questions on the Metals 176 ON EARTHS. Lesson XLII. Lime 180 XLIII. Silica 184 XLIV. Alumine, or Argil 186 Questions on the Earths 189 Lesson XLV. Coal 191 XLVL Granite 194 XLVIL Salt 195 XLVIIL Slate 199 XLIX. Coral 200 Dictionary 202 11 FIRST SERIES. IVORY. r^5^ The teeth of Elephants, Walruses, &c. are call- ed ivory. Ivory is very serviceable in the useful and ornamental arts ; and the quantity of it which IS annually consumed for various purposes is very considerable. There is said to be a marked dif- ference in the texture and quality of the ivory of the Asiatic and African Elephants. That of the Walrus is much superior to either, and was much used by dentists before the invention of porcelain teeth. 12 FIRST SERIES. LEATHER. ^^^ -^TT^-^ss «iK^ry^ When enjoying the pleasures of a sleigh-ride, we may be forcibly reminded of the many uses of leather. Not only our riding-caps and boots, hut many other parts of our dress, as well as our whip and harness, are made of this material ; and their presence suggests many other applications of this every-day article, which will readily occur to the youthful reader. 13 FIRST SERIES. WATER. It were an endless task to enumerate the uses of water, since it is indispensable in almost every operation of the useful and scientific arts. Not only the mill and the steamboat are set in motion by its agency, but all the mechanical business of life, and all the changes w^hich are going forward in the kingdoms of nature, depend on the presence of water, in the ocean, the river, the earth, and the air* 2 14 FIRST SERIES. BREAD. .,=:^ _.^.J#. Bread, emphatically called the staff of life, i* produced by the labour of the husbandm*;*." Flour, which makes the finest bread, is made of wheat ground in a mill, and bolted through fine sieves wh'.ch separate it from the coarser part o/ the grain, which is called bran. 15 FIRST SERIES. SALT. Most of the salt which we use is produced from the water of the sea. By exposing sea water to heat, the water is driven off in the shape of vapour, and the salt which was held in solution (dissolved) in it, becomes solid. Salt is also found in a solid state in the earth ; and is dug out thence in gre'at quantities. 16 FIRST SERIES. HORN. The horn used for making combs, powder- flasks, &c. is that of animals of the ox kind. That which is used for the handles of knives and forks is taken from the deer 17 FIRST SERIES. GLASS, Nothing illustrates the utility of glass more finely than the green-house. By this happy con- trivance we are.enabled to enjoy, in the depths of winter, the flowers of spring, and the fruits of summer and autumn, and to bring to perfection m our northern climates the productions of the tropical regions. 2* IS FIRST SERIES. BARK OF THE OAK TREE. The bark of the oak tree is much used for the purpose of tanning leather. It is also consumed for fuel in those parts of our country where it is abundant. There are many varieties of the oak in the United States. The live oak, which is con- sidered the best for constructing ships of war, is produced in Florida. LESSONS ON THINGS, FIRST SERIES. INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. To lead children to observe with attention the objects by which they are surrounded, and then to describe with accuracy the impressions which they have received, appears to be the first busi- ness of education. The ceaseless activity of the perceptive facul- ties, which characterizes the period of childhood, will convince those who would act in harmony with nature, that this is the best course of instruc- tion to be adopted. It gives animation to the dull, and precision to the lively ; it promotes thai clearness of apprehension, which is the solid ba- sis of after-attainment, without which our judg- ments are unsound, and our reasonings inconclu- sive. As the sphere of observation is enlarged, and the pages of history, or the fields of science, are explored, the mind accustomed to accurate investigation will not rest content with less than satisfactory evidence, eithe'in morals or in sci- ence. 20 FIRST SERIES. This work consists of five series cf lessons, in- creasing in difficulty as the pupil advances. The order observed in them is the result of some ex- perience, and of several trials, which have pro- duced a strong conviction of the importance and value of a methodical arrangement, and of a very gradual progression. It is therefore recommended that no step in the course should be altogether omitted, though the age and talents of the chil- dren must regulate the time bestowed on each. The first series presents a selection of miscel- laneous objects, each of which possesses some distinguishing quality, yet so arranged as to have an obvious connexion with what has preceded. The children should be practised in remarking those qualities observable by the simple operation of the external senses, deferring those requiring a higher exercise of mind till a more advanced period. One lesson is drawn out fully as a specimen of the manner in which the others should be given. It would have extended the volume to an unne- cessary length, and filled it with needless repeti- tions, had each been made out with equal mi- nuteness. Much information might have been thrown into the preliminary set, but as the end proposed was rather to excite the mental powers to activity, than to provide them with food, it has been purposely avoided. It may perhaps be necessary to guard against the error of expecting, in a work like the present, anything more than hints as to the mode of ar- ranging and imparting knowledge. The Teacher must be previously well grounded, in order to meet the inquiries which the active minds of INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 21 children continually suggest. Their questions will generally point out the best mode of treat- ing a subject, or of leading them to the discovery of any truth. Precise unvarying rules may be laid down for mechanical operations, but mind alone can act upon mind, and bring it into vig- orous exercise. All instruction must be dry and uninteresting which has not undergone some mod- ification from the person by whom it is communi- cated. One principal fault, into which Teachers are liable to fall, is that of telling too much to their pupils, who welcome the information with pleasure, but allow their minds to remain almost passive, and thus acquire the habit of receiving impressions from others, at a time when they ought to be gaining strength, by an exertion of their own powers. Another is that of giving a term, before the pupil has felt his want of it. When the idea of any quality has been formed in his mind, without his being able to express it, the name given under such circumstances fixes it on the memory : thus, when a child observes that whalebone, after having been bent, returns to its original position, he may be told that this prop- erty which he has discovered is called elastic. The following pages were written originally with no view to publication, but merely for the use of the school in which they were given ; and the information they contain was drav/n from va- rious sources. No memorandum being made at the time, it would be now impossible to assign each passage to its respective author, though it is probable that those acquainted Avith the popu- lar works on the subjects here treated of, may detect, in some places, almost literal quotations. 22 FIRST SERIES. LESSON I. GLASS. Glass has been selected as the first substance to be presented to the children, because the qualities which characterize it are quite obvious to the senses. The pupils should be arranged before a black board or slate, upon which the result of their observation should be written The utility of having- the lesson presented to the eyes of each child, with the power of thus recall- ing attention to what has occurred, will very soon be appreciated by the instructor. The glass should be passed round the party to be examined by each individual.* Teacher. What is that which I hold in my hand ? Children. A piece of glass. Teacher. Can you spell the word " glass" ? (The teacher then writes the word " glass" upon the slate, which is thus presented to the whole class as the subject of the lesson.) You have all examined this glass ; what do you observe ? What can you say that it is ?f Children. It is bright. * By this means each individual in the class is called upon to exercise his own powers on the object presented ; the sub- sequent questions of the teacher tend only to draw out the ideas of the children, and to correct them if wrong. t This question is put instead of asking, " What are its qualities?" because the children would not yet, iu all proba- bility, understand the meaning.of the term, but by its frequent application to the answers to this question, they will shortly become familiarized with it. LESSON I. GLASS. 23 Teacher. (Teacher having written the word *' qualities," writes under it — It is bright.) Take it in your hand and feel* it. Children. It is cold. (Written on the board under the former quality.) Teacher. Feel it again, and compare it with the piece of sponge that is tied to your slate, and then tell me what you perceive in the glass. f Children. It is smooth — it is hard. Teacher. Is there any other glass in the room ? Children. Yes. The windows. Teacher. (Closes the shutters) Can you see the garden now 1 Children. No. Teacher. Why cannot you 1 Children. We cannot see through the shutters. Teacher. What can you say then of the glass ? Children. We can see through it. Teacher. Can you tell me any word that will express this quality 1 Children. No. Teacher. I will tell you then; pay attention, that you may recollect it. It is transparent.:^ * The art of the teacher is to put such questions as may lead successively to the exercise of the different senses. t The object of the teacher here is to lead the pupil to the observation of the quality smooth, and he does so by making him contrast it with the opposite quality in another substance ; a mode of suggestion, of which frequent use may be made. X The fact of the glass being transparent is so familiar to the children, that they will probably not observe it, till its great use in consequence of that quality brings it forcibly before their minds. They then feel the want of a term to express the idea thus formed, and the teacher gives them the word, as a sign for it, and in order to impress it upon their minds. To ascertain whether they have rightly comprehended 24 FIRST SERIES. What shall you now understand when I tell you that a substance is transparent? Children. That you can see through it. Teacher. You are right.* Try and recollect something that is transparent. Children. Water. Teacher. If I were to let this gla 's fall, or you were to throw a ball at the wind >w, what would be the consequence ? Children. The glass would be broken. It is brittle. Teacher. Could I in the same manner break the shutter? Children. No. Teacher. Could I break it if I used great force ? Children. Yes. Teacher. Would you therefore call the wood brittle ? Children. No. Teacher. What substances then do you call brittle ? Children. Those which are easily broken. These are probably as many qualities as would occur to children at their first attempt, which being arranged on the slate form an exercise in spelling. They should then be effaced, and if the pupils are able to write, they may endeavour to remember the lesson, and put it down on their slates. the meaning of the word, they are called upon to give ex- amples of its application. * It is but too common a practice to call a child good be- cause he gives a right answer, thus confounding intellectual truth and moral virtue. LESSON II. III. INDIAN RUBBER LEATHER. 25 LESSON II. INDIAN RUBBER. This substance has been chosen that the class may observe the qualities opaque, elastic^ in- Jlammable» The first would be made clear to them by contrasting the Indian rubber with the glass of the preceding lesson ; the second, by stretching it, and allowing it to resume its former shape ; the third, by setting it on fire. Qualities of Indian Rubber. It is opaque. elastic, inflammable, tough, smooth. Uses. — To rub out pencil marks — to form balls and shoes. LESSON III. LEATHER* Ideas to be developed by the examination of this Buhstdince— flexible, odorous, durable. Qualities of Leather. It is flexible, odorous, tough, ^ooth. durable, opaque. 3 26 FIRST SERIES. Uses.^— For shoes, gloves, reins, saddles, port- manteaus — for binding books — covering trunks. LESSON IV. LOAF SUGAR. Ideas to be developed by this lesson, soluble, fusible, sparkling. Qualities of Loaf Sugar, It is soluble, or dissolvable in water, fusible,* or may be melted by heat, brittle, hard, sv^eet. white, solid, opaque. Use. — To sweeten our food. LESSON V. A PIECE OF GUM ARABIC. Ideas to be developed by this lesson, semi- transparent, adhesive. * The difference between fusibility and solubility may be rendered obvious to the children by dissolving one piece of sugar in water and holding another over the candle. If any experiment be necessary to exhil^it me quality of an object, the operation should be performed before the children, that they may themselves observe it. LESSON V. VI. GUM ARABIC, SPOXGE. 27 Qualities of Gum Arabic, It is hard, bright, yellow^ semi-transparent, dissolvable, or soluble in water, sticky when melted, solid. Use* — To unite light thin substances. LESSON VI. SPONGE. Ideas to be developed by this lesson, porousy absorbent. Qualities of Sponge. It is porous. absorbent.* soft, tough, opaque. elastic, or springy, flexible, or easily bent, light brown. Use.'— 'For washinor. * The quality of absorbing will be made obvious to the class, by showing that the sponge sucks up any liquid. It possesses this quality in consequence of its being full of pores. The use to which an object is applied, often leads to the ob- servation of the quality upon which the use is dependent. 2d FIRST SERIES. LESSON VIL ' WOOL. Qualities of WooL It is soft. absorbent. flexible. elastic. tough. durable. opaque. dry. light. Uses. — For making cloth, flannels, blankets, carpets, stockings, &c. LESSON vin. WATER. Ideas to be developed by this lesson, liquid^ reflective, glassy, tasteless, inodorous. Qualities of Water. It is liquid. reflective.* colorless, or clear, inodorous,"!" or without smell. * Reflecting images, like a looking-glass. t In order to direct the attention of the class to the force of the syllables less and in, the teacher would ask, — What is meant by tasteless ? Having no taste. What is meant by in- LESSON VIII. IX.— WATER, WAX. 29 It is tasteless, insipid, without any taste. ^ transparent, heavy, bright, wholesome, purifying. Uses. — To cleanse, to fertilize, to drink, for culinary purposes, for moving water-wheels. LESSON IX. A PIECE OF WAX. This substance is here introduced, because it possesses many of the qualities already remarked. Qualities of Wax* It is solid, opaque, tough, fusible, sticky, yellowish, hard, odorous, smooth. Use. — To make candles and tapers. odorous ? Having no odor. In what are these words alike ? They both tell us what the substance is not. They mark then the absence of a quality. What syllables of the words mark this absence of the quality ? less and in. Give examples of words in which less and in are so used. 3* 30 FIRST SERIES. LESSON X. ^ CAMPHOR. Ideas to be developed by this lesson, aromatic, friable, volatile* Qualities of Camphor, It is aromatic, i. e. spicy or fragrant, easily crumbling or friable, white. semi-tran sparent. bright. soluble in spirits. hard, solid. very inflammable, medicinal, light, volatile, flying or evaporating. Uses. — For medicine. To prevent infection, to preserve Cabinets from small insects, and clothes from moths. LESSON XI. BREAD. Ideas to be developed by this lesson, eatable, wholesome, nutritious. Qualities of Bread. It is porous, absorbent LESSON XI. XII. BREAD, SEALING-WAX. 31 It is opaque, solid. wholesome, nutritious, eatable. The crumb is yellowish white, soft when new. moist. The crust is hard, brittle, brown. Use. — To nourish. LESSON XII. SEALING WAX. Idea to be developed by this lesson — impressible- Qualities of Sealing Wax, It is hard, bright, brittle, fusible, opaque. soluble in spirits, light, solid, smooth, colored.* inflammable, odorous. • The color may be determined by the specimen presented. 32 FIRST SERIES. When fused it is soft. impressible, or easily marked. adhesive, or sticky. Use* — To seal letters and packages. LESSON XIII. WHALEBONE. Idea to be developed — -fibrous* Qualities of WTialebone. It is elastic* durable, hard. fibrous or stringy, opaque, bright, stiff. Uses.^-'As a stiffener. For whips, bludgeons, umbrellas, dec. LESSON XIV. GINGER. Idea to be developed by this lesson j'— pungent. Qualities of Ginger. It is pungent, or acrid to the taste, hard, dry. fibrous, aromatic. * The class should be led to compare the elasticity of whalebone, with that of Indian Rubber, and to observe the difference. LESSON XV. XVI. BLOTTING PAPER, WILLOW. 33 It is tough, opaque, wholesome, medicinal, light brown. Uses. — ^To flavor food. For medicine. LESSON XV. BLOTTING PAPER. Ideas to be developed by this lesson, — pinkish. Ish added to words expressive of quality, generally denotes the presence of the quality, but in a moderate degree. Qualities of Blotting Paper. It is absorbent, porous, soft, pinkish, pliable, dull. inflammable, easily torn. Use. — To suck up the superfluous ink. LESSON XVI. A PIECE OF WILLOW. Qualities 'of Willow. It is hard. inflammable, or easily set on fire, fibrous. 34 FIRST SERIES. It is opaque, solid, elastic, flexible, white, odorous. TJses^ — To make hats, and bonnets, and to burn for fuel. LESSON XVII. MILK. Qualities of Milk* It is white, fluid, liquid, opaque, wholesome, greasy, nutritious, sweet. Uses.-— To make cheese, butter, puddings, and to drink. LESSON XVIII. RICE. Qualities of Rice* It is white, hard, opaque, smooth, stiff; LESSON XIX. XX. SALT, MILK. 35 It is bright, solid, porous, absorbent, wholesome, nutritious. Uses* — To nourish, to make drawing paper. LESSON XIX. SALT. Ideas to be developed by this lesson, granulous, saline, sapid. Qualities of Salt. It is white. sparkling. granulous, or full of grains. salt, or saline. hard. opaque. soluble. fusible. It has taste (or is sapid.) Uses, — To flavor food, to preserve from putre- faction, to manure land. LESSON XX. A HORN. Qualities of a horn. It is hard, uneven, hollow. 36 FIRST SERIES. It is odorous when burnt, tapering, opaque, stiff. yellowish brown, fibrous. JJses* — To make combs, glue, lanterns, handles to knives and forks. LESSON XXI. IVORY. Qualities of Ivory. It is hard, white, smooth, bright, opaque, solid, durable. LESSON xxn. CHALK. Idea to be developed by this lesson — efervescent.* Qualities of Chalk. It is white, friable. effervescent in acids, opaque. ♦ This quality may be made apparent to the children by putting the chalk in vinegar. LESSON XXIII. BARK. 3? It is dull, hard, solid. dry. * soluble. LESSON XXIII. PIECE OF THE BARK OF THE OAK TREE. Qualities* It is brown, rugged, opaque, dry. inflammable, stiff. inside smooth, solid, durable, fibrous, dull. S8 SECOND SERIES. FAMILIAR OBJECTS. ^ A Cube of Wood. A Grain of Coffee. A Penknife. A Chair. A Pin. A Key. ^m A Thimble. APeiL 39 SECOND SERIES. FAMILIAR OBJECTS. A Pair of Scissors. A Book. A Pencil in use. An Egg A Candle. A Cup. SECOND SERIES. INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. In this series the children should be much ex- ercised upon the qualities already remarked, but which should now be presented to them in other objects. This repetition combines with the ad- vantage of fixing the knowledge acquired, that of enabling them to form the abstract idea of the quality. Having had all their senses brought into action, they may be led to determine by the exercise of which any particular property was observed : thus, How did you find out that glass was transparent? By my eyes. What can you do with your eyes ? See. Seeing is called a sense. Can you obtain an idea of a quality except by the sense of sight? Will your sight discover to you that a rose is odorous? How would you ascertain this quality? By what sense ? By smelling. The sense of smell- ing. By similar questions the class will gain a clear conception of the several senses, and their operations. They may next proceed to the ob' servation of the organs of sense. Thus, By what natural instrument are you able to see, hear, &c. ? By eyes, ears, &c. Any natural instrument by which something is performed^ is called an organ. What are the eyes? Organs. Organs of what sense 1 Organs of sight, &ic* LESSON I. A PIN. 41 It will be a useful exercise for the children to classify the various qualities, with which their minds are now stored, under the heads of the different senses by which they are discerned. They will soon perceive that some may be dis- covered by either of two senses ; for example, fluid, solid, rough and the varieties of form, which may be ascertained, either by sight or feeling : these should constitute another division. It is obvious, that children thus trained from their earli- est years to arrange their ideas, would acquire a great readiness in making use of their knowledge, and a facility in producing new combinations. In this series, they may also be practised in distin- guishing and naming the parts of objects. LESSON I. A PIN. A pin has been chosen for the first lesson, because the parts are simple, clearly marked, and few. Parts. Qualities. The head. It is hard. shank. opaque. point. white. bright. solid. useful. smooth. cold. the head is round. the point is sharp. the shank is straight. taper. 42 SECOND SERIES. Uses. — To keep together the parts of our dress ; or whatever we wish to be united only for a time. LESSON II. A CUBE OF WOOD. The cube will convey to the class a good idea of a surface ; they will observe that the outside is divided into several parts, and may learn that the boundaries of a solid are called surfaces. Parts, Qualities, The surfaces. It is hard, edges. light. corners. solid, brown, smooth, inflammable, opaque, the surfaces are flat. square, the edges are straight, the corners are sharp. LESSON III. AN UNCUT LEAD-PENCIL. The new ideas presented to the children in this lesson are the ends, which are flat surfaces and the curved surface : from this object they therefore become acquainted with the form cylin- drical. Parts. Qualities. The surfaces. It is hard, ends. odorous. LESSON IV. A PEN. 43 Parts. Qualities. exterior or outside. long, interior or inside. solid, middle. opaque, lead. inflammable, wood. dry. reddish, veined, one surface is curved, the ends are flat. circular, form cylindrical, the lead is black, brittle, friable, bright. Uses. — For writing, drawing, &;c. Let the children point out on v.hat occasions a pencil i3 preferable to a pen. LESSON IV. A pen leads to the observation of many parts, and also presents opposite qualities in its diflferent parts. Parts. Qualities. The quill. The quill is transparent. shaft. cylindrical feather. hollow. laminae, or parts of the feather. bright. pith. hard. nib. elastic. split. yellowisi. 44 SECOND SERIES. Parts. shoulders, surfaces, skin, groove, inside. the shaft Qualities. horny, is opaque, angular, solid, white. outside. stiff, hard. the pith grooved, is white, spongy, porous, elastic, compressible, soft. LESSON V. A WAX CANDLE. This object recalls the idea of the form cylin- drical, gained in a previous lesson, and presents the peculiar parts of the candle itself. Parts. Qualities. The wick. It is cylindrical. wax. hard. surfaces. opaque. ends. yellowish white. curved surface. Wax is sticky. edges. fusible. top. The wick is inflammable. bottom. tough. middle. white. inside. porous. outside. flexible. Use. — To give light. LESSON VI. A CHAIR. 45 LESSON VI. A CHAIR. This, and several of the succeeding lessons, are chosen on account of the great variety of the parts of the objects. Parts. The back, front, seat, top. bottom, frame, legs, straw, edges. upper part of seat, under part of seat, bars, surfaces, corners. It is obvious that the qualities are not named, as they would depend so entirely upon the kind of chair chosen for the lesson. It is a useful exercise to make the children compare the relative proportions and situations of the different parts of an object. Thus, in the chair, the depth of the seat is about one-half the height of the chair ; the legs are rather shorter than the back ; the scat is narrower at the back than the front, &;c. The legs are perpendicular, the seat horizontal, the back slanting, the bars hori- zontal and parallel. 46 SECOND SERIES. LESSON VIL A BOOK. Parts* The outside, inside, edges, corners, binding, paper, back, sides. top. bottom. title-page, preface, introduction, contents, end. leaves, pages, margin, beginning, type, letters, numbers, stops, words, sentences, syllables, title, lettering, stitching, lines. LESSON VIII. AN EGG, A THIMBLE. 47 LESSON VIII. AN EGG. Parts. Qualities. The shell. It is oval. skin. white. white. hard. yolk. edible. interior. nutritious. exterior. opaque. surface. shell is brittle. smooth. thin. The white is liquid when raw. solid when boiled. semi-transparent when raw, opaque when boiled. adhesive. sticky. insipid. Yolk is yellow. liquid. soft. opaque. odorous. sapid. LESSON IX. A THIMBLE. Parts. Qualities. The inside. It is hollow. outside silver. 49 SECOND SERIES. Parts. Qualities. top. cylindrical. bottom. white. rim. bright. border. opaque. indenta tions. hard. curved. Inside is smooth. Outside is rough. Outside is rough. Use.'— To preserve the middle finger from being pricked in working with a needle. LESSON X. A PEN-KNIFE. Parts. Qualities. The handle. The blade is steel, blade. bright, plates. cold, grooves. hard, back of the handle. reflective, back of the blade. opaque, point. brittle, edge. the front edge is thin, spring. sharp, rivets. the back edge is blunt, pivot. thick, heel. handle hoilow. flat. Use. — To cut. The otiier qualities depend upon the kind of tnife shown. LESSOX XI [. XII .\ KEY, A CUP. -1 T.KSSON XL A KEY. Parts. Qualities. The ring. It is hard. barrel. steel, or iron. wards. bright. grooves. cold. edges. opaque. surfaces. smooth. corners. stiff. liable to rust. part of the barrel is hollow the barrel is cylindrical. the ring is curved. ] r.KSSON XII. A CUP. Parts, Qualities. The bowl. It is hollow. handle. hard. upper rim. glossy. lower rim. curved. bottom. smooth. inside. glazed. outside. cold. edges. brittle. surfaces. thin. useful. The rim is circular 40 50 SECOND SERIES. LESSON XIII. A GRAIN OF COFFEE. Parts. Qualities. The surfaces. If roasted it is brown. curved sii irfaces. hard. flat surface. ciisp. groove. sapid. edge. aromatic. stimulating. agreeable to the taste. pulverable, or may be turned into powder. solid. If unroasted, dingy yellow inodorous. without smell. disagreeable to the taste. Use.— To make a beverage, or drink. LESSON XIV. A PAIR OF SCISSARS. Parts. Qualities, The limbs. It is steel. bows. bright. blades. reflective. LESSON XIV. SCISSARS. 51 Parts* Qualities, shanks. It is l»ard. rivets. opaque. pivot. cold, points. useful, surfaces. solid. the blades are pointed. one surface flat. the other curved. front edge sharp. back blunt. bows are curved, should name the scissars will cut, and kind . — The children of materials which out the different manner in which knives and scissars cut. pouit 52 THIRD SERIES. FAMILIAR OBJECTS. An Acorn. A Pine Cone. A Laurel Leaf. An Oyster. A Butter-Cup. THIRD SERIES. FAMILIAR OBJECTS. Refined Sugar. A Needle in use. A Quill. A Piece of Honey-Comb A Cent A Watch-Glass. THIRD SERIES. INTROT)UCTORY REMARKS. In this series the children may be guided to the discovery of qualities which call into exercise the judgment in connexion with the senses. Thus by showing them at the same time an object in its natu-al and in its artificial state, as wool and woollen cloth, and questioning them as to the difference of the two, they will readily conceive the ideas of natural and artificial. In this manner they may be led to remark the distinction between foreign and native, exotic and indigenous, animal, vegetable, mineral, &:c. Having also been long exercised in observing and naming the qualities of objects, they may now be called upon to give an explanation of the terms they use, and by assisting them to trace their derivations, the teacher will add to the interest of the lesson. For the use of the in- structor a few explanations adapted to the capacities of children are given at the end of the Volume. LESSON I. A QUILL. Ideas to be developed by this lesson — natural^ artificial, animal, vegetable, animate, inanimate* A pen should be shown at the same time with the quill. Then the children being questioned LESSON I. A QUILL. 55 as to what constitutes the essential difference between the two, will understand the terms natural and artificial. If some fruits or flowers are placed by the quill, their attention may be directed to the distinction between animal and vegetable sub- stances. The comparison of the quill with an insect, will elicit the ideas of animate and inani- mate. Parts. Qualities, As in a preceding lesson. It is long. stiff. useful. natural. inanimate. animal produc- tion. The barrel is transpa- rent. hard. elastic,or springy. bright. yellowish. cylindrical. hollow. light. The shaft is feathered. white. stiff. hard. opaque. solid. angular grooved. 56 THIRD SERIES. Children may be led to remark the difference which heat produces on animal and vegetable substances both in appearance and smell. The teacher now requires the class to give an explanation in their own words, of the terms they used. Teacher. " Useful." Give me examples of words of the same termination. Children. Careful, &c. Teacher. What is the force of that termina- tion? Children. It expresses the quality in a great degree. Teacher. What is the opposite of useful? Children. Useless. Teacher. Give examples of this termination. Teacher. From what is natural derived? Children. Nature. Teacher. From what is " inanimate" derived? Children. From in, which has the sense of not, and animate. Teacher. Animate is derived from animal a Latin word, which signifies life. Transparent is derived from trans, through ; and parens, appear- ing. Give other words derived from parens, ap- pearing. Children. Apparent, Apparition. Teacher. "Cylindrical." From what is it derived ? Children. From cylinder. Teacher. Cylinder is derived from the Greek xuXjv^w. (Jculindo) I roll. LESSO?^ II A CENT. 57 LESSON 11. A CENT. Ideas to be developed in this lesson, mineral, metallic. Parts, Qualities, surfaces. It is round. edges. flat. impression. mineral. image. metallic. superscription. opaque. reverse. bright. date. copper. cold. reddish brown. fusible. hard. odorous. artificial.* useful. heavy. durable. uneven. Made from copper ore, the sulphur forced off* by smelting. Stampt by a die which is caused to fall upon the coin with great violence. * The class should be led to remark, that though the work- manship is artificial, the substance is natural. 5^ THIRD SERIES. Remarks on words* " Mineral," from what derived? Mine. « Metallic," Metal. « Fusible," to fuse. " Artificial," lat. Arte, by an art ; and lat. facere, to make. * Durable," lat. durare, to last. Teacher. Do you know any other words de- rived from durare 1 Children. Duration, during, endure. LESSON III. MUSTARD SEED. Ideas to be developed by this lesson, — indigen- ous, pulverable. Qualities. It is pungent, dull, yellow, opaque, hard, dry. pulverable. natural, indigenous, vegetable, spherical, solid, stimulating. LESSON IV AN APPLE. 59 Remarks on Words^ " Pungent," from what derived ? Lat. pungere, to prick. " Pulverable," from Lat. pulvis, dust. ** Indigenous," from the Latin indigena, native, or produced in a country. LESSON IV. AN APPLE. Parts, Qualities. The eye. It is spherical. core. bright. pips, or seeds. odorous. peel. colored. pulp. opaque. juice. natural. stalk. vegetable. surface. juicy. inside. hard. outside. nice. solid. pleasant. The eye is dry. brown. shrivelled. The pips or seeds are brown on the outside when ripe. white in the inside. pointed oval. hard. bright. 60 TJIIRD SERIES. The core is thin, stiff, yellow, hard. semi-transparent, cellular, or divided into cells. Remarks on Words. "Spherical," from what derived? Sphere. Teacher. Give instances of similar termina- tions ? Children. Cylindrical, critical, conical. "Odorous," from what derived? Lat. odor^ scent. Teacher. Give instances of similar termina- tions ? Children. Porous, numerous. " Vegetable," from what derived ? Lat. vege- tare, to grow as a plant. Teacher. Name other words derived from this '^ Children. To vegetate, vegetation. " Juicy," from what derived? Juice. Teacher. Give some other instances in which the names of qualities are derived from those oi substances in a similar manner? Children. Stone, stony ; milk, milky ; water, watery. " Semi-transparent," from what derived ? Semiy trans, through, and parens, appearing. Teacher. What is the meaning of semi 7 Children. Half. LBSSOW V. VI. GLASS OF A WATCH, SUGAR. 61 LESSON V. GLASS OF A WATCH. Ideas to be developed by this lesson, — concave, and convex. Parts.* Qualities. It is artificial, transparent, brittle, bright, thin, hard, clear, cold, curved, useful. Upper surface convex. Under surface concave. Edge circular. Uses. — To preserve the hands of the watch from being injured, and to keep the works from dust. LESSON VL BROWN SUGAR. Ideas to be developed, foreign, imported. Qualities. It is brown, granulous. • The children should he asked whether there are any parts to this object peculiar to it ; and as there are not, the consideration of the parts had bo .ter be omitted. 6 62 THIRD SERIES. It is sweet, soluble, fusible, opaque, useful. vegetable substance, artificial, foreign, sticky, imported, moist. Use. — To sweeten our food. Obtained from the Sugar Cane, which is culti- vated in the East and West Indies, and in the Southern States. RemarJts upon Words. " Granulous," derived from granule, a small grain. " Imported," hRt'm portare, to carry, and in, into. " Exported," from ex, out, and portare. " Soluble," from Lat. solvere, to loosen, because the particles may be loosened from each other by 'iquids. LESSON VII. AN ACORN. Parts. Qualities. The cup. berry, stalk. It is vegetable, inanimate, natural. LESSO? f VIII.- — HONEYCOMB. Parts, Qualities, The point of the nut. hard. scar. scales. inside. green, opaque, nut is oval. outside. bright. surfaces. solid. edges. cup is brown, the inside is concave. smooth. the outside is rough. brownish. the scaly, edge is circular. LESSON VIII. 63 A PIECE OF HONEYCOMB. Parts, Cells. divisions. edges. bottom, or base of cells. corners. Qualities. It is natural. animal producCon. light. fusible. sticky. semi-transparent. yellowish. thin. compressible, cells hexagonal, or six- cornered. regular. hollow. ^4 THIED SEEIES. LESSON IX. REFINED SUGAR. Ideas to be developed by this lesson, are crys- talline, amorphous. Parts, Qttalities. The surfaces. It is white, edges. sweet. middle. sparkling, crystals. crystalline, grains. solid, pores. fusible, soluble. shapeless or amorphous, hard, refined, nutritious, useful, friable, opaque, artificial, vegetable, brittle. Brought from the Indies in its raw state. Re- fined by sugar-bakers, and sold by grocers in loaves of a conical form. Remarks on Words. " Crystalline," derived from crystal. " Amorphous," Greek a (a) not, and fAop^ij (morphe) shape. " Nutritious," Lat. nutrio, I nourish. LESSO:^ X. A SUTTER CUP. 65 LESSON X BUTTER CUP. Parts* Qualities, Petals. It is vegetable. margins or edges. inanimate. cup. concave. leafits of cup. natural. stamens. odorous. pistils. petals are yellow. stalk. glossy in the inside. place of insertion. dull on the outside. inside. circular. outside. pointed at the place surfaces. of insertion. striped. opaque. pliable. Leafits greenish. thin. membranaceous. semi-transparent. pointed. Stalk green. grooved. angular. stiff. fibrous. 6* 6& THIRD SERIES. LESSON XI. LADY BIRD. Parts. Qualities. The Head. It is animate, eyes. natural, feelers or palpi. hemispherical, horns or antennas, elytra are red. wings. spotted, wing cases or elytra. bright. thorax. hard. legs. brittle. body, back. opaque, stiff. spots. outside convex. surfaces. inside concave. margin, daws. one margin straight, the other curved. the wings are membraneous. pliable, thin. transparent, fragile, the body oval, black. the legs are jointed, short. black. LESSOW XII. AN OYSTER. 67 LESSON XIL AN OYSTEE. Parts* Qualities* Tlie valves. It is animal, hinge. opaque, outside. marine, inside. natural, margin. valves circular, impressions. hard, mollusca, the living part, stiff, scales or laminas. pulverable. outsides rough. scaly or laminated. irregular. dull. dingy brown. uneven, inside pearly. bright. smooth. slightly concaveu cold, mollusca soft. edible. nutritious. cold. smooth. lubricious. 68 THIRD SERIES. LESSON XIII. A FIR OR PINE CONE. Parts, Qualities. Scales. It is brown. seeds. opaque. top. hard. place of insertion. vegetable. fibres. natural. outside. conical. inside. inflammable. surfaces. odorous. stalk. scales hard. outside brown. pointed at the top. rough. inside of scales chestnut-color. shaded. T.KSSON XIV. FUR. Parts. Qualities. Hair It is animal. surface. hairy. points of hair. inanimate. hairs flexible. slender. soft. straight. pointed. The color and other peculiarities to be decided by the specimen presented. LB6S0N iV. XVI. A LEAF, A NEEDLE. 69 LESSON XV. A LAUREL LEAF. Parts, Upper surface, under surface, edge or margin, point or termination veins, middle rib. base, etaik. Qualities* Upper surface bright, under surface dull, oval, smooth, pointed, vegetable, odorous, opaque, bitter, stiff. slightly toothed, long, margin curved, rib straight. raised, or keeled on the under side, grooved on the upper side, veins curved. LESSON XVI. A NEEDLE. Parts. The eye. shank, point. Qualities* It is mineral, metallic, artificial. 70 TlilllD SEKIES. The middle, top. It is opaque, bright, cold. taper. pointed. slender. useful. fusible. gray or steel color, hard. brittle. solid. steel. Made of steel, which is a preparation of iron, having been subject to great extremes of heat and cold LESSON XVII. A STONE. Idea to be developed'-— inorganized. To give the class an idea of " organized" and " inorganized," a plant might be shown with the stone ; and similar questions to the following given. Teacher. If I put these two into the earth, and visit them in a month, what great difference should I perceive in them ? Children. The plant will have grown ; the stone will have remained the same size. Teacher. How did the plant increase ? Children. It absorbed moisture. Teacher. By what means 1 LESSON XVII. A STONE. 71 Children. Through its roots and pores. Teacher. Did this nourish only the roots and pores 1 Children. No. Teacher. You are right; the sap was pro- duced, which circulated through the plant by means of vessels. You remember why we called the eyes, ears, &;c. organs ? Children. They are natural instruments, by which something is effected. Teacher. What would you therefore call the pores, vessels, &c. of vegetables? Children. They are organs. Teacher. A body possessing organs is called organized : name some organized bodies. Children. A tree, an insect. Teacher. What syllable, placed before a word, expresses the absence of a quality 1 Children. In. Teacher. What would you call a body which is destitute of organs ? Children. Inorganized. Teacher. Mention some inorgfanized sub- stances. Children. Earth, water. Qualities of Stone* It is hard, cold. inorganized. opaque, mineral, solid, natural. '&"■ 73 THIRD SERIES. It is shapeless or amorphous, inanimate. Remarks on Words^. " Inorganized," derived from Greek o^avo* (organon) an instrument. 73 FOURTH SERIES. SPICES, (GROWING.) The Cinnamon, 7 FOURTH SERIES. SPICES, (GROWING.; Nutmes". Pepper. FOURTH SERIES. BEER. Beer is extensively manufactured in nnost of our great cities and towns. Ale and Porter, which are manufactured from nearly the same materials, are very much used in all parts of our country ; and the use of malt liquors will probably increase in proportion as ardent spirits are laid aside. 70 FOURTH SERIES. OIL. The oil used for lamps is generally obtaine.i from the whale ; although the oil of other animals IS sometimes used for this purpose. The hardy whalemen of Nantucket and New Bedford pene- trate the remotest parts of the Pacific Ocean in search of whales, and encounter a great variety of dangers, and " hair-breadth escapes" in cap. turing them. FOURTH SERIES. INK. 77 hj I 't .gsfe. 'J SI: ';' '■' mi How little are we accustomed to reflect on the utility of this liquid ! Ink is indeed a necessary article in civilized life, inasmuch as it is made the means of preserving nearly all that we hold valu- able. Could all the ink at present on paper be instantly annihilated, the world would be thrown into a state of confusion more terrible than was ever occasioned by war, famine, or pestilence. 7* 7S FOURTH SERIES. MILK. Milk is one of the most useful of all articles of food. It is our chief nourishment in infancy and debility ; and it is used in the composition of some of the most grateful aliments with which our tables are furnished. — The possession of a cow has often saved a poor family from utter fa- mine. We should look upon the gentle and harm- less animal to whom we are indebted for this ar- ticle of food, as one of the real benefactors of man. FOURTH SERIES. INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. The chief aim proposed in this series is, to ex- ercise the children in arranging and classifying objects ; thus developing a higher faculty than that of simply observing their qualities. The complex operation of connecting things by their points of resemblance, at the same time individu- ally distinguishing them by their points of dis- similarity, is one of the highest exercises of our reason. Yet this habit may be cultivated in chil- dren much more early than is usually imagined, by training them to arrange their ideas. With this view the spices have been chosen as forming a connected series of objects. The metals, liquids, different kinds of wood, grains, &;c. are good subjects for similar lessons. The children may now be led to consider more fully the senses themselves, having already de- termined by which of them they discover the pres- ence of any quality. The first lesson is drawn out for the use of the teacher, the substance only of the others is given. Teacher. Do you understand how you gained the knowledge of various qualities? Children. By our senses. 80 FOURTH SERIES. Teacher. How do you know when a thing is red or blue? Children. By sight. Teacher. If you were blind, could you form a correct idea of color? Is there any other means of gaining this knowledge ? Children. No. Teacher. True ; and to ascertain this point, a blind person was once questioned as to what no- tion he had of scarlet : he said he thought that it must be like the sound of a trumpet, it is obvi- ous he had no correct idea of a quality discovera- ble by the sight, and he could only compare it with one that he had acquired through the medium of another sense. Can you tell me the reason why persons born deaf cannot speak ? Children. They cannot imitate sounds, be- cause they never heard any. Teacher. Since then deaf persons have no correct ideas of sound, nor blind persons of color, how did we acquire them? Children. By means of the senses of seeing and hearing. Teacher. How then do you suppose our minds become stored with ideas? Children. ' By the exercise of our senses.'* Teacher. I think we may compare the mind of an infant in some respects to an empty box ca- pable of containing many things, and into this the different senses empty the treasures which they collect from the objects upon which they act. * It is probable that children wouM not at once arrive at this conclusion ; the Ter.cher must in that case lead them to k by easy questions. LESSON I. FEELING OR TOUCH. 81 But you must not suppose that these materials remain there unemployed ; the mind works upon them. Thus if you have once had the idea of a dog formed in your mind, by seeing such an ani- mal, when a dog is mentioned you can recall the idea, and fancy one immediately, as if it were present ; your mind will also perform the same operation when a quality is spoken of which you had previously seen in some object. Again, if you see a dog unlike any you have observed be- fore, you compare it with the species with which you are acquainted, and mark the difference be- tween them. If I say that I have some green paper, cannot you at once imagine the color of which 1 speak ? Children. Yes. Teacher. Did you then exercise your sight ? Children. No. Teacher. How then could you have the idea of green 1 Children. It was in our minds. Teacher. By what means did you first obtain the idea? Children. By seeing something green. Teacher. And what retained it in your minds 1 Children. Our memory. Teacher. We will now consider each sense separately. LESSON I. feeling or touch. Teacher, What part of your body is the or gan of this sense ? 82 FOURTH SERIES. Children. It seems all over our body. Teacher. Do you not find some parts that do not possess the sense of feeling? Children. Yes, our hairs, nails, teeth. Teacher. And in other animals what parts are found destitute of sensation ? Children. The hoofs, horns, claws, feathers, wool, hair, &c. Teacher. What word would you use to ex- press the absence of sensation? What syllable prefixed to a word gives it a negative meaning ? Children. In, Teacher. Well, what word will express the absence of sensation ? Children. Insensibility. Teacher. The parts then you have named are insensible, and with the exception of these, the sense of feeling exists everywhere throughout the body. Tell me what qualities we can discover in objects by this sense. Children. That they are hard, soft, rough, smooth, long, short, sharp, blunt, round, square, cylindrical, conical, heavy, light, fluid, liquid, dry, wet, hot, cold, dec. Teacher. By what general term would you express such qualities as round, square, coni- cal, &c. ? Children. By shape. Teacher. By wdiat general term would you express such qualities as large, small, &c. ? Children. By size. Teacher. By what general term would you express such qualities as rough, smooth, &;c. ? Children. By kind of surface. Teacher. By what general term would you LESSON I. FEELING OR TOUCH. 83 express such qualities as hard, soft, fluid, tena- cious, &;c. ? Children. By kind of substance. Teacher. By what general term would you express such qualities as heavy, light, &;c. ? Children. By weight. Teacher. Now arrange the qualities which you discover by your Feeling, under these five general heads of shape, size, kind of surface, kind of substance, weight. The children having performed this part, the Teacher may mention the following facts. Teacher. The quickness and accuracy of this sense of Feeling, is, we find, much increased by exercise. This is exemplified in blind persons ; many of whom are enabled, in a great measure, to compensate their defect of sight by an exquisite sensitiveness of touch. Bats also appear to pos- sess this in a remarkable degree. They have been observed, even after the loss of sight, and with their ears and nostrils stopt up, to fly through intricate windings and passages without striking against the walls, and also to avoid lines and cords placed in their way. The expanded membrane that serves them for wings is probably the seat of this delicate sense of feeling; it fits them for nocturnal and dark abodes. The palpi or feelers of insects possess the same quality very acutely, and this enables them to explore the surfaces of bodies in search of food, and warns them also of the approach of danger. The class should be required, at the conclusion of the lesson, to draw up some account of this sense, mentioning where it resides, what qualities 84 FOURTH SERIES. fall within its cognizance, and to recapitulate any incidental information received during the lesson. LESSON II. SIGHT. The eyes are the organs of sight, and are Deautifully adapted for the office which they have to perform. They are so constructed as to allow us to see things at a distance, or near ; to confine ourselves to the inspection of one object, or to take at once a large sphere of vision. The part of the eye which admits the light may be ex- panded or contracted, according as the rays are more or less powerful. This is remarkably ex- emplified in the eyes of the cat and of the owl. Indeed nothing afl'ords a more striking proof of the kind providence of God than the peculiar forma- tion of the eyes of different animals, each exactly suited to their peculiar modes of life ; those of moles, fishes, and birds, are remarkable illustra- tions of this fact.* Of all the senses, that of sight is in most fre- quent and continual exercise. It fills the mind with the greatest variety of ideas, which it gathers both from the works of nature, and the writings of the wise and good of all ages. The qualities we discover by this sense are : transparent, semi-transparent, translucent, opaque, glimmering, bright, dark, sparkling, dull, and the * The Teacher should here fully explain to the class the circumstances referred to, and give other similar instances. LESSON III. HEARIXG. 85 v; ious modifications, of color, size, and shape. Many may be ascertained either by touch or sight ; as those of size, form, kind of surface, and substance. LESSON ni. HEARING. The ears are the organs of this sense : in many animals the external form is that of a trumpet, which is best adapted for gathering the sound, and bringing it to a focus ; in man it contains many convolutions and channels which receive the vibra- tions of air in every direction, and convey them to the drum of the ear which is the actual seat of this sense. The formation of the ears of animals is beau- tifully accommodated to their peculiar habits of life. In beasts of prey the trumpet part is in- clined forwards, easily to catch the sounds of those they are pursuing. But in those animals whose chief means of protection is flight, these organs are turned backwards, that they may be readily apprized of the approach of their enemies. The ears are the medium through which all sensations of sound reach the mind : without them we should be deprived of the advantages of verbal instruction, the pleasures of conversation, and the charms of music. The motion of the parts of a body, or the col- lision of one body against another, occasions a vi- bration in the air which is similar to the effect produced on water when a stone is thrown into it Circle succeeds circle till the power of motion is 8 86 FOURTH SERIES. exhausted : and just as any light substance within the influence of these undulations is agitated by them, so when our ear is within reach of these vibrations of air, the sensation of sound is produ- ced.* The chirping noise of the cricket is occa- sioned simply by the constant friction of a little membrane against its wings. When two bodies are rubbed or struck together, we are in many cases able to determine, by the sounds emitted, the nature of the substances brought into contact. Different sounds are occasioned by the collision of metals and that of wood, the sound produced from hollow bodies from that resulting from solid ones. There are various kinds of sounds : as shrill, deep, grating, harsh, loud, soft, harmonious, sweet. Animals produce different sounds. The cat mews, the dog barks, the lion roars, the ass brays, the cow lows, the horse neighs, the rook caws, the goose cackles, the cock crows, the fly buzzes, the bee hums. Man speaks, laughs, cries, shouts, groans, whistles, sings. LESSON IV. SMELL. The nose is the organ of this sense ; its cavi- ties are lined with a thin membrane which is sup- plied with nerves connected with a principal one which is essential to the perception of smell. * This account may appear, at the first sight, above the comprehension of children : a class, however, which had gone through the preceding exercises, was found fully capab.e of understanding it. LESSON V. TASTE. 87 From this source we derive all our ideas of odor. Though not so important to man as the other senses, yet it adds much to his pleasure ; and to many animals it is essential, directing them in the search of their food. The scent of dogs is peculiarly fine, and on this account they are em- ployed in the chase. Odor is produced by exceedingly small parti- cles called effluvia, which escape from odorous bodies ; these diffuse themselves in the atmo- sphere, and whenever they reach the oltactory nerves, they occasion the sensation of smell. Heat promotes the escape of these particles, which are of a volatile nature; hence when the sun shines brightly, vegetation scents the air with its fragrance. LESSON V. The mouth is the organ of taste. The skin within the mouth is fine and more delicate than that of the rest of the body : it is supplied with a great number of blood vessels, and covered with innumerable papillae, or small protuberances. Sapid bodies, or bodies which have a flavor, however, before they excite the sensation of taste, require to be moistened by the saliva. In grass- eating animals, the papillag are defended from the action of the stiff bristles of grass and corn by a strong skin, which being full of holes, allows the dissolved juice to reach vhe seat of taste. The principal qualities discoverable by the taste are bitter, sweet, acid, pungent, acrid, luscious. 88 FOURTH SERIES. There are many others which derive their names from the substances in which they exist. Many of the animals have some one of the senses in greater perfection than man has, but there is no animal in which they all occur in the same degree. SPICES. LESSON VI. PEPPER. Qualities of Pepper, It is hard. vegetable. foreign.* tropical production. wrinkled. spherical. rough. black. • Teacher. If it come from a foreign country, how do we get it ? Children. It comes in a ship. Teacher. This is called importing ; and sending out ot" our own country is called exporting. What do we call thif exchange of productions ? Children. Trade or corimerce. Teacher. And what are the people called who carry il on? Children. Merchants. LESSON VH. NUTMEG. 89 It is conservative, or fit to preserve things, dry. dull, sapid, pungent, odorous, aromatic, medicinal, wholesome, useful, stimulating. The pepper plant is a creeping shrub requiring support, and is therefore generally planted near some thorny bush, among the branches of which it creeps like ivy. It produces berries, which grow in clusters: they are first green, become red as they ripen, and black when dried. It grows in the countries which lie between the tropics. LESSON VII. NUTMEG. Qualities* It is sapid. hard. oval. dingy brown dull. opaque. dry. Surface uneven. It is vegetable. 8* 90 FOURTH SERIES. It is natural, inanimate, foreign. tropical production, pungent, conservative, pulverable. agreeable flavor, aromatic, odorous. Nutmegs are the kernels of a fruit growing in several islands in the East Indies ; they are sur- rounded by the spice called mace, and externally by a husk, about half an inch in thickness. When the fruit is ripe, the husk opens at the end, and displays a network of scarlet mace. After the mace is carefuly stripped off, there still remains a woody shell, which surrounds the nutmeg. The husks are taken off in the woods; and the mace carefully removed with a knife. The nuts are first dried in the sun, and then placed on a frame of bamboos over a slow fire, until the ker- nels, on being shaken, rattle in their shells. Remarks on words. " Odorous," " aromatic." Teacher. Why is nutmeg said to be odorous ? Children. Because it has a smell. Teacher. Why aromatic ? Children. Because it has that pungent smell distinguished by the name aromatic. Teacher. Are all things that are aromatic also odorous 1 LESSON Vm. ^MACE. 91 Children. Yes. Teacher. Are all things that are odorous also aromatic 1 Children. No. Teacher. Is an onion odorous? Children. Yes. Teacher. Is a rose odorous ? Children. Yes. Teacher. Are these smells alike? Children. No. Teacher. Does the term odorous include every kind of smell ? Children. Yes. Teacher. A term which includes all the va- rieties of one kind of quality or substance, is called a generic term, whilst that which marks one of the species is called a specific term. Thus in natural history, the term dog stands for the genus, and Spaniel is a species of that genus. Give examples of generic terms, and of a spe- cific term applicable to each of them. Children. Odorous, fragrant — colored, red — foreign, Chinese productions. The class should determine in succeeding les- sons what terms are generic, and what specific. LESSON VIII. MACE. Qualities. It is pungent. agreeable flavor, aromatic. 92 FOURTH SEBIES. It is orange color, dull, opaque, thin, fibrous, brittle, foreign, tropical, natural, inflammable, medicinal, dry. pulverable. membranaceous, or composed of membranes, conservative, imported, sapid, stimulating. Mace is the covering between the shell of the nutmeg and its external husk. Remarks on Words. Teacher. " Foreign." Should you call mace a foreign production, if you were in the place of its growth ? Children. No. Teacher. Should you call it pungent and aro- matic, if you were there? Children. Yes. Teacher. Can it be mace without being for- eign? Children. Yes. LESSON IX. CINNAMON. 93 Teacher. Can it be mace without being pun- gent and aromatic ? Children. No. Those qualities which determine any thing to be what it is, are called essential, from the Latin esse, to be. Qualities which are not essential are called accidental. What qualities of mace are essential? What qualities of mace are accidental 1 LESSON IX. CINNAMON. Qualities. It is light brown, and gives name to a color, thin, brittle, conservative, aromatic, pungent, agreeable flavor, opaque, hard, sweet. inflammable, dry. vegetable, natural, foreign, inanimate, light. 94 FOURTH SERIES. It is pulverable. medicinal. stimulating. Cinnamon is the under bark of the branches of a tree of the laurel tribe, growing in Ceylon and Malabar. The branches of three years old furnish the best cinnamon. The outside bark is scraped off; the branches are then ripped up lengthways with a knife, and the bark is gradually loosened till it can be entirely taken off. It is then exposed to the sun, which has the effect of curling it up. The pieces of bark so curled are called quills, and the smaller ones are inserted into the larger. Remarks on Words, " Inflammable" is derived from Latin jlamma, a flame. Medicinal from medicine. LESSON X. GINGER. Qualities, It is fibrous, knotty sapid, rough, jagged, inanimate, vegetable, tropical. LESSON XI. ALLSPJCE. 95 It is foreign. aromatic. pungent. dry. dull. solid. hard. conservative. light. yellowish brown. pulverable. medicinal. stimulating. wholesome. opaque. inflammable. Ginger is the root of a plant resembling a reed, which grows both in the East and West Indies. The root does not strike to a considerable depth, but spreads wide. When first dug up it is soft, and eaten by the Indians as a salad. That in- tended for exportation is placed in bundles, to be dried in the sun. LESSON XI. ALLSPICE. Parts. Qualities. The inside. It is aromatic. outside. odorous. skin. pungent, seeds. spherical, partition of seed-vessel. brown, point of insertion. speckled, 96 FOURTH SERIES. organized. natural. vegetable. inanimate. dry. opaque. tropical. imported. dull. stimulating. hard. inflammable. friable. sapid. wrinkled. conservative. Allspice or Pimento is the dried berry of a spe- cies of myrtle indigenous in the West Indies ; it is a most beautiful and fragrant tree, producing numerous bunches of white flowers, to which suc- ceed the berries ; these are gathered by the hand and spread out in the sun to dry. In this opera- tion they lose their former color and become brown. When the seeds rattle in the shell they are known to be sufficiently dry, and are packed in bags for exportation. Pimento is considered in its flavor to unite that of several other spices, and has thence been called allspice. LESSON XII. CLOVES. Parts. Qualities. The calyx or cup. It is aromatic. tube. odorous. LESSON XII.— clo\t:s. 07 leafits of cup. pungent. points of leafits brown. bud. organized. surfaces. natural. edges. vegetable, inanimate, dry. opaque, tropical, imported, dull. stimulating, hard. inflammable, conservative. bud spherical, tube long, leafits pointed. Cloves are the unexpanded flower-buds and calyx of a species of laurel which grows in the West Indies. At a certain season of the year, the clove-tree produces a profusion of flowers in clusters : they are gathered before the flower opens, when the four points of the calyx project, and the petals are folded one over the other, forming a bud about the size of a pea. After they are gathered they are exposed for some time to the smoke of a wood fire, and then to the rays of the sun. At the conclusion of the lessons on the spices, the children should be called upon to mention those qualities which they had found common to all J as aromatic, pungent, dry, tropical, stimulat- 9 98 FOURTH SERIES. ing, vegetable. Then let some other similar sub stance be presented to them as mustard. Teacher. Is this a spice ? Children. No. Teacher. Why not ? Children. It has not the qualities of a spice? Teacher. If I showed you a substance with which you were not previously acquainted, and you found that it possessed the essential qualities of the spices you have examined, what would you consider it to be? Children. A spice. Teacher. To what then do you apply the term spice 1 Children. To a set of natural productions possessing certain qualities. Teacher. When a number of things are arranged together, each having similar qualities, what would you call the collection ? What would you call a number of boys who are placed to- gether because they are nearly equal in know- ledge 1 Children. A class. Teacher. What then may you call a collec- tion of substances that possess the same qualities? Children. A class. Teacher. What may you call all substances which are aromatic, pungent, tropical, &c. ? Children. A class. Teacher. And what is the name of that class ? Children. Spice. Teacher. What then does the term spice express ? Children. A class of substances possessing the qualities aromatic, pungent, &;c. LESSON XIII. WATER. 99 Teacher. Tell me all the substances belong- ing to that class. Children. Pepper, nutmeg, mace, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, cloves. Teacher. Are all the substances of this class alike in all respects 1 Children. No. Teacher. How can you tell one spice from another ? Children. They all differ in some particular. Teacher. Name the particular circumstance which distinguishes each. Children. Ginger is a root ; pepper is a berry ; nutmeg is a kernel ; mace is the mem- branaceous covering of that kernel ; cinnamon is a bark ; pimento is a seed-vessel j clove is a cup and flower-bud. OX LIQUIDS. Idea to be developed, incompressible. LESSON XIII. WATER. Qualities of Water* It is fluid. transparent, clear, colorless, liquid. 100 FOURTH SERIES. It is useful, bright. incompressib. e. reflective, drinkable, wholesome, tasteless, cold. inodorous, natural, solvent, refreshing, inanimate, penetrating, purifying, cooling, fertilizing, heavy, some waters medicinal. Different kinds of Water rain. spring. sea or salt. river. medicinal. hot springs. stagnant. Different States of Water, ice. snow. hail. LESSON XIV. OIL. 101 rain. mist. fogs. cloud. vapor. dew. steam. Natural Collections of Water, Ocean. sea. lake. rivers. ponds. springs. Operations of Water. — It purifies, evaporates, freezes, quenches thirst, cools, finds its own level, penetrates, fertilizes, is a solvent, ebbs, flows, extinguishes fire, separates easily into parts which assume a spherical form. LESSON XIV. Qualities of Oil. It is fluid. yellowish, semi-transparent, soft, liquid, penetrating, emollient, or softening. 9* 108 FOURTH SERIES. It is greasy, useful, light, thick. inflammable. Some oils are vegetable. Some are animal. When bad, rancid, odorous. The vegetable oil is expressed or pressed out from olives, and comes chiefly from Italy and the south of France. It is also expressed from nuts and other fruits and seeds. The animal oil comes from the whale and seal, and is contained in the blubber or fat. Birds are furnished with little bags of oil ; this they apply to their feathers, and the wet trickles off. This provision is very important to those birds which are much in the water, preventing it from pene- trating their feathers, and thus keeping them lighter than the element in which they reside. Remarks on Words* " Emollient," derived from Lat. mollis^ soft. LESSON XV. BEER. Qualities. It is liquid, fluid. LESSON XV. BEER. 103 It is orange color, fermented, artificial, useful. vegetable production, odorous. semi-transparent, slightly intoxicating. Beer is composed of malt, hops, and water boiled together. Hops are the blossoms of a creeping plant, very much cultivated in Kent : the place where it grows is called a hop-yard. The tub in which the malt is first steeped is called a mashing-tub ; that which holds the beer when made, a vat. Malt is made of barley by the following pro- cess. A quantity of barley is soaked in water for two or three days ; the water being afterwards drained off, the grain heats spontaneously, swells, bursts, becomes sweet, and is in a state of fer- mentation. Vegetables, in the process of decom- position, undergo several degrees of fermenta- tion ; the first — that above described — is called the saccharine fermentation, from the sweetness it produces. In consequence of this decompo- sition, which is similar to that which takes place in seed in the ground, the barley begins to sprout, but this vegetation is stopped by putting it into a kiln, where it is well dried by a gentle heat. 104 FOURTH SERIES. LESSON XVI. VINEGAR. Qualities.. It is acid. orange brown color. liquid. fluid. yielding to the touch. penetrating. stimulating. vegetable. solid, as occupying space. artificial. medicinal. odorous. useful. conservative. semi-transparent. Uses. — To flavor food ; for pickling ; for medi- cine. It is called Vinegar, from the French, Vinai' gre. Fm, wine — aigre, sour; because it is fre- quently procured from wine. The fermentation by which this acidity is produced, is called the acetous fermentation, from Lat. acetum, vinegar. LESSON XVII- ^WINE. 105 LESSON XVII. FOREIGN WHITE WINE. Qualities. ft is yellowish, bright fluid, liquid, fermented, spirituous, intoxicating, heating, vegetable, artificial, semi-transparent, sapid, medicinal, stimulating- clear. strengthening, solid, occupying a spac^ yielding to the touch. Wine is made from the grape, the fruit of the vine, which is cultivated in Vineyards. The season of its gathering is called the Vintage. The grapes, when gathered, are placed in a wine- press, by which the juice is expressed : this juice undergoes a fermentation, and becomes wme. This, which is the second fermentation vegetable matter undergoes, is called the tiuous fermenta- tion^ from its producing wine. 1^6 FOURTH SERIES. LESSON XVIII. INK. Qualities. It is black, bright, useful, opaque, artificial, liquid. astringent, or contracting, fluid. solid, as occupying a space- yielding to the touch, poisonous. Ink is made of galls, gum, sulphate of iron, and water. Galls are excrescences, or bunches taken from the oak ; they are occasioned by an insect, which wounds the bark of the tree, and lays its eggs in the aperture. The torn vessels of the tree discharge some of their contents, which hard- ening, form a protuberance, which becomes a de- fensive covering for the eggs. The insect having burst from the egg, feeds, during its larvae state, on this substance, through which it eats its way, whilst assuming its perfect form. Sulphate of iron is a dissolution of iron in sulphuric acid, and when applied to the acid of the galls, it becomes quite black, upon which quality the great utility of ink depends. LESSON XIX. MILK. 107 LESSON XIX. MILK. Qualities* It is white, fluid, liquid, wholesome, nice. animal substance, natural, opaque, soft, smooth. yielding to the touch, emollient. solid, as occupying a space, when fresh, warm. nutritious. Uses. — For animals to feed their young (all animals that do so belong to the class Mammalia); for making cheese, butter, to drink. Cows are the animals that in general supply milk to man. Invalids drink the milk of asses. In Tartary they use the milk of mares; in Switzerland that of goats; in the northern countries that of rein-deers ; in Arabia that of camels. The Teacher would find it a very improving and interesting exercise, occasionally to take two substances, and compare them together— as wator 108 FOURTH SERIES. and milk, and desire the class to find out in what respect they are both alike. They are both fluid, liquid, cold, incompressible, penetrating, natural, &;c. And then to mention by what qualities they are distinguished from each other. The water is transparent, the milk is opaque; the water is colorless, the milk is white ; the water is tasteless, the milk is sweet, &;c. Liquids are distinguished by qualities that separate them very definitely from other sub- stances. They may all become solid, they are all fluid, incompressible ; their parts easily sepa- rate, forming into spheres or drops ; they pene- trate into the pores of substances ; and they find their own level. This circumstance can easily be proved to the pupils by means of a syphon. Having named the properties common to all liquids, the class should also be required to men- tion the qualities peculiar to each, as in the lesson on spices FIFTH SERIES. METALS, &c. 109 A Specimen of Native Copper. A Specimen of Mercury in the form of Sulphuret. A Specimen of Native Gold. A Specimen of Silica or Flint. 110 4 FIFTH SERIES. METALS, &c A Specimen of Rock Crystal, (Silica). A Specimen of Native Silver. A Specimen of Sparry Lead Ore. FIFTH SERIES. Ill CORK. iM. .^^'^':^. '^^^^ Cork is the external bark of a species of oak whicli grows in Spain, Portugal, and other south- ern countries of Europe, and is distinguished by the fungous texture of its bark, and the leaves being evergreen, oblong, somewhat oval, downy underneath, and waved. The principal supply of cork is obtained from Catalonia in Spam. The above cut represents a cork tree. 112 FIFTH SERIES. WOOL. •^i:$j^^^:\ W^WjsSEWm ':=^-' *-wt^ /L«<v*- Wool is one of the most extensively usefjl ar- ticles in existence. The Sheep which furnish wool are raised chiefly in the northern and tem- perate regions of the earth. Much attention has been paid in the United States to improving our Sheep, by the introduction of foreign varieties ; and the Merinoes and Saxon Sheep have now be- come quite common. Still immense quantities of wool continue to be imported from foreign countries, for the supply of our numerous factories of woollen cloths. FIFTH SERIES. INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. These lessons are intended as a first exercise in composition. Tlie object should be presented to the children, and they should continue, as before, to make their own observations upon it. They are then interrogated as to what they know concerning the substance ; and all the information which can be obtained from them is collected by the Teacher, who may then communicate any further particulars on the subject, calculated to interest or instruct. The materials thus obtained should then be arranged, and repeated to them. After this, the class should be examined upon all that has passed, and finally required to draw up a written account themselves. Children, from eight to ten years of age, have derived great improve- ment from this exercise. It not only serves to stimulate their attention during the progress of the lesson, but also furnishes a test of their hav- ing well understood it; and leads them to arrange and express their ideas wnth clearness and facility. In this course the substance should be exhibited 10* 114 FIFTH SERIES. both in its raw, and in its manufactured state. Thus, in the lesson on flax, the plant itself, the fibres when separated from the stem, the thread when spun, and the various substances into which it is made, may be brought before the class, and likewise pictures of the machinery employed in these operations. Many of the lessons in the following series will contain too much matter to be presented at one time to the pupils, and must therefore be divided. LESSON I. LEATHER. Leather is the prepared skin of animals ; that of cows, oxen, and horses, is chiefly used for shoes ; that of kids, goats, and dogs, for gloves, and also shoes ; and that of calves for bookbind- ing, saddles, harness, &c. The unprepared skin is called a hide ; the first operation it undergoes is soaking in lime-water to cleanse it from grease and other impurities ; the hairs are then removed by a kind of knife, the oil and grease are afterwards more completely extracted by alkali, or diluted sulphuric acid. After this it is taken to the tan-yard, stretched ■over a pit and covered with tan ; in this state it remains about two months. But if the leather be intended for the upper part of shoes, seats of saddles, and such purposes as do not require it to be very strong or water-proof, it is first sent to the currier : his work is to scrape it, reducing LESSON II. CORK. 115 it all to an equal degree of thickness, and also to render it supple by oil or grease. The skins are then tanned. Tan is the bark of the oak, pos- sessing a remarkable degree of astringency ; it consequently contracts the pores of the leather, and renders it impervious to wet. The quality which the leather thus obtains from the tanning, combined with its durability and suppleness, par- ticularly adapts it for shoes, boots, &c. LESSON II. CORK. Cork is the bark of a kind of oak, growing chiefly in Spain. When it is taken from the tree, the bark is cut longitudinally, and at the extrem- ities of the slit, incisions are made round the trunk ; it is then easily stripped off by means of a curved knife, with a handle at both ends. When the bark is taken from the tree, it is piled up in a ditch or pond, and heavy stones are placed upon it in order to flatten it. After being dried, it is slightly burnt, then packed for exportation. One principal use of cork is to stop bottles, for which purpose it is fitted by its elasticity ; a piece rather larger than the neck of the bottle, being inserted into it, the tendency it has to resume its former shape causes it completely to fill up the aperture, and exclude the air. Being lighter than water it is very useful to those who are learning to swim, by buoying them up ; it is also employed in the construction of life-boats, aiid the floats of fishing nets. The Spaniards 116 FIFTH SERIES. make lampblack of it. The men employed in cuttin^^ and preparing it for sale are called cork- cutters. LESSON III. INDIAN RUBBER, OR GUM ELASTIC. Indian Rubber is the thickened or hardened juice of a tree which grows in South America. In order to procure it, the Indians make incisions through the bark of the tree in wet weather, and a milky juice oozes out, which is spread over moulds of clay ; when this is dry, a second layer of the liquid is put on it; this operation is re- peated till the Indian Rubber is of the thickness required. After this it is placed over the smoke of burning vegetables, which hardens and darkens it. The Indians convert it into bottles, boots, and flambeaux. The principal uses to which indian rubber is applied here, are, for the effacing of black-lead marks, for cricket-balls, shoes, for flexible tubes, syringes, and other instruments used by surgeons and chemists. Cloth of all kinds may be made impenetrable to water, if im- pregnated with the fresh juice of the indian rubber tree. Indian rubber cut very thin, is now also used to sheath the bottom of vessels, and is an eflfectual preservative from the injuries of shell- fish. LESSON IV. SPONGE. 117 LESSON IV. SPONGE. Sponge is a marine production ; it was formerly supposed to be a vegetable, but the opinion now generally entertained is, that it is a habitation constructed by a little worm, one of the species considered to occupy the lowest rank in the animal kingdom. It is found adhering to various marine substances at the bottom of the sea, especially in the Mediterranean ; it is procured by divers, who are early trained to this hazard- ous employment. Sponge absorbs fluids rapidly, and yields them again when compressed ; this property occasioned it to be frequently saturated with myrrh and wine, and given to persons suffer- ing the punishment of crucifixion, in order to alleviate their pain, and subdue the intolerable thirst which is the consequence of their agony. To this custom the sacred historian refers in the history of our blessed Lord ; but his unrelenting persecutors, instead of offering him the enlivening portion of myrrhed wine, which was rarely denied to the vilest malefactor, " filled a sponge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth." The offer of vinegar was considered, among the Jews, as an intolerable outrage to their feelings. It is alluded to in the following passage, which at the same time, foretold the future sufferings of the Redeemer of mankind. '' Reproach hath broken mine heart, and I am full of heaviness ; and I looked for some to take pity, 118 FIFTH SERIES. Uut there was none; and for comforters, but I found none. They gave me also gall for my meat, and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink." Psalm Ixix. 20, 21. LESSON V. CAMPHOR. Camphor is the peculiar juice of a species of laurel called the camphor tree, which is abundant in China, in Borneo, and in Ceylon. It becomes thick or concrete by exposure to the air. It is remarkably inflammable, and is used by the Indian princes to give light in their rooms. It is pungent, volatile, acrid, and strongly aromatic. These qualities have rendered it useful as a medicine, and in sick-rooms to prevent contagion. It is also placed in collections to keep off the small insects that prey upon the specimens. LESSON VL HORN. Horn is the hard substance that forms the front- al projections of horned animals ; these are aV graminivorous,* i. e. eating grass. This sub- stance, when boiled, becomes a soft jelly, and can be moulded into any shape. By a peculiar pro- cess it is rendered semi-transparent, and when * From Lat. gramen, grass, voro, I eat i.ESSON VII. VIII. SHELL LAC, WAX CANDLE. 119 formed into thin laminae or plates, is employed instead of glass for lanterns. It was the first transparent substance used for windows. It is now chiefly employed for combs, handles to knives and forks, occasionally for drinking uten- sils and inkhorns. It was formerly in much higher request than now, glass having been sub- stituted for it. LESSON VII. SHELL LAC. Shell lac is the production of a little insect called coccus lacca, which feeds on the Indian fig-tree ; on this plant it also places its eggs, forming a cell around them from a viscid liquid, which is contained in its own body ; it hardens in the sun, and in this state is the substance called stick lac ; when broken into small grains, it is called seed lac ; and, if melted and formed into thin laminae or folia, is shell lac. It is the prin- cipal ingredient in sealing-wax and varnish, and is employed in japanning. Its usefulness arises from its being fusible, soluble, and adhesive. LESSON VIIL WAX CANDLE. Wax is the produce of the industrious bee ; it is a substance which is secreted in their bodies, and of which they construct their cells. When the honey is taken out of the comb, the latter is 120 FIFTH SERIES. melted, and afterwards bleached by exposure to the air. In making candles of it, wax in a liquid state is poured into leaden moulds in the centre of which the wick has been previously fixed. The wick is made of cotton or flax, and when lighted the melting wax rises up its fibres and feeds the flame.* LESSON IX. GLUE. Glue is a sticky substance, used as a cement. The best is obtained from the skins of animals, generally the shavings, parings and strips, which have been rejected by the currier. An inferior kind is procured from the hoofs, sinews, &;c. of animals. It is prepared by steeping the skin foi two or three days in water, then boiling it till it becomes a thick jelly ; whilst hot, it is strained through osier baskets: the pure glue passes through the interstices, leaving the impurities in the baskets. It is then melted a second time, poured into square frames or moulds, and placed in the air gradually to cool and congeal. When used it is melted again. Glue is used by car- penters, joiners, hatters, bookbinders, &c. A glue prepared from fish, particularly the whale, is called isinglass, and is used for culinary purposes, and for refining wine. * The teacher will find this a favorable opportunity of ex- plaining the nature of capillary attraction. LESSON X. COFFEE. LESSON X. COFFEE. 121 Coffee is the seed of a plant growing princi- pally in Arabia and the West Indies ; the flower resembles white jessamine, and the leaves are evergreen ; the fruit when ripe is like the cherry ; it generally contains two cells, sometimes only one, and each cell has a single seed, which is of a hemispherical shape. When matured, it is either gathered by the hand or shaken from the trees, and placed on floors for the sun to dry the pulpy substance which surrounds the seeds. The skin is broken by heavy rollers, and afterwards removed by winnowing. In order to prepare the coffee for a beverage, it must be roasted till it be- comes of a dark brown color and extremely odorous, after which it is ground, and either in- fused or boiled in water. It is remarkable for its very stimulating property, which is said to have led to its discovery. Some goats, who browsed upon this plant, were observed by the goatherd to be exceedingly wakeful, and often to caper about in the night; the prior of a neighboring monas- tery, wishing to keep his monks awake at their matins, tried if it would produce the same effect npon them as it was observed to do upon the goats : his success led to the appreciation of its value. 11 122 FIFTH SEKIES. LESSON XI. Tea is an infusion of the leaves of a plant grow ing in China and Japan. It bears a flower re- sembling the wild rose ; the leaves are narrow, pointed, and serrated. The plant grows only in a stony soil, and at the foot of mountains and rocks, exposed to a southern aspect. There is great art exercised in gathering and drying the leaves, which are afterwards subjected to the va- pors of boiling water, to moisten them. In this state they are laid upon plates of metal, which being exposed to great heat, cause the leaves to curl up in the manner they appear when brought into our market. Green tea is the produce of the same plant as black ; the difference of its qualities arises from the leaves being gathered in a different stage of their growth, and dried upon plates of copper. LESSON XIL SAGO. Sago is the pitch of the sago palm, a tree indi- genous to Japan and the rocky dry mountains of Malabar. It is hardly possible to imagine a plant more graceful in its foliage, or more beautiful when in fruit than this species of palm. The foliation, which slightly resembles that of the fern, is placed LESSON XII. XIII. SAGO, RICE. 123 on the stem in the manner of the feathers of a shuttlecock, forming a gigantic basket of the most graceful form ; at the bottom of this is the salmon- colored fruit, resembling, both in shape and texture, the coxcomb, but of a pale buff color, inclining to brown. The fruit is a drupa, that is, a nut surrounded by a pulpy substance (as a plum.) The nut is eatable. The growth of this plant at first is slow : it appears for some time a shrub thickly set with prickles ; as it increases in height, it loses its thorns. When the tree has reached its maturity, a whitish powder passes through the pores of the leaves, and sticks to their extremities. On this intimation of the trees being filled with pith, the Malays cut them down near their roots, and divide them into several sections, which are split into quarters. The bark is woody and about an inch in thickness ; in the centre of the stem is a fat or gummy pith, which forms the sago. This pithy substance being scooped out, is diluted in pure water, and strained through a bag of fine cloth, which separates the gummy from the mealy matter. This latter having evaporated part of its moisture, is put in earthen vessels, where it dries and hardens into little globules. Sago is extremely nutritious and wholesome, and forms an excellent light diet for invalids. . LESSON XIII. RICE. Rice is the grain of a kind of corn which grows very abundantly in China, the West Indies, the Southern States of North America, and in 124 FIFTH SEKIES. South America. It will not thrive without much moisture, and therefore comes to the greatest per- fection in marshy lands. The cultivators of rice always inundate their grounds, and the higher the water rises the higher the plant grows, the ear always appearing above the water. It requires as much heat to mature the seed, as it does moisture to nourish the plant. Rice grows in a spike resembling oats. In India the women thresh and prepare the rice, which is a very laborious employment. Brahmins live almost entirely upon it, their religion forbidding them the use of animal food. Rice serves not only for food, but is also manufactured into paper, and vessels which resemble china or alabaster. LESSON XIV. PAPER. There are several kinds of paper, viz. Egyptian paper, made of a reed called Papyrus, growing on the banks of the Nile, from which paper takes its name. Bark paper is made of the inner rind of trees. Cotton paper cotton. Incombustible paper asbestos. European paper linen rags. Indian paper silk rags. Rice paper rice. Coarse brown paper the ends of ropes. American straw paper straw. LESSON XIV. PAPER. 125 Linen paper was first introduced into England in the fourteenth century. It is made of linen rags ; these are first carefully picked and sorted, according to their quality ; they are then reduced to a pulp by a machine, which consists of a solid cylindrical piece of wood, into which are fastened plates of steel, ground very sharp : this is fixed in a trough into which the rags are put with a sufficient quantity of water. At the bottom of the trough is a plate with steel bars also ground sharp : the engine being turned round with considerable velocity, and the rags passing through the two sets of iron plates are torn to pieces, and in the course of four hours are re- duced to a pulp. The motion of the engine causes the water in the trough to circulate, and by that means constantly returns the stuff to the engine. The trough is fed with clear water at one end, while the dirty water is carried off at the other through a hole defended with wire grating to pre- vent the escape of the pulp also. From this, which is called the ic ashing -engine, the pulp passes in a state of purity and whiteness to another engine similarly constructed, and called the heating- engine. The only difference of this operation from the former is, that the velocity is increased, and that it is no longer necessary to introduce fresh water, the pulp having been already cleansed from its impurities. From hence it passes into a large vat connected with boilers, and the heat produces a degree of consistency : it is afterwards conveyed into smaller vessels, in each of which is a wheel called an agitator, which prevents the pulp from sinking to the bottom. Into these 11* 126 FIFTH SERIES. vessels a workman dips a mould, a kind of sieve the size of the paper to be made, and about an inch deep; the bottom is formed of fine brass wires through which the superfluous water passes. The skill of the workman consists in taking up just so much pulp as is necessary to form the paper of a proper thickness. Another workman is stationed to receive from the first the mould, out of which he turns the sheet upon a felt or woollen cloth ; another woollen cloth is placed upon it ready to receive the next sheet. Thus they proceed, placing alternately paper and felt till they have made six quires of paper. This is then wheeled to the press, where great force is applied, and the water is squeezed from it. After this the paper is separated from the felt, one sheet is laid upon another, and it undergoes a second pressure. This operation is repeated five or six times before it is sized, and the sheets are separated from one another between each a{)plication of the screw press. They are afterwards liung up to dry in rooms where there is a fresh current of air. In this state the paj)er is absorbent like blotting paper; to fit it for writing, it is sized. Size is made of vellum* shavings boiled m water, with white vitriol, and alum finely pounded. After the paper is sized, it is again pressed four or five times, and hung up to dry as before. It is then told into (juires, ajid sent to the stationer, who prepares it for sale. It is probable that skins were the first substance upon which characters were written. * Vellum is the prepared skin of young calves LESSON XV. PARCHMENT. 127 LESSON XV. PARCHMENT. Parchment is the skin of sheep or goats, pre- pared in the following manner. The wool is stripped oft' the skin, which is then taken to the lime-pit; after this it is stretched as tight as a drum upon a frame, and the remaining flesh pared off with a keen-edged instrument; a kind of white stone or chalk reduced to a fine powder is then spread upon the surface, and a large pumice stone flat at bottom is rubbed over it, which scours off* the remainder of the flesh. The knife is once more applied to the skin, which is moistened and rubbed again with the pumice stone, until the inner side is smooth. The outside then under- goes a similar operation. It is now left to dry, and afterwards is taken oft" the frame, and given to the parchment maker. He first scrapes it dry on an instrument called a summer, (wiiich is a calf's skin well stretched on a frame,) with a sharp iron tool, until one half of the thickness of the skin is pared off; the pumice stone is next passed over it on both sides, till it is rendered quite smooth. Parchment was in use long before the invention of paper. Wills, and other documents, interided to be preserved for any length of time, are written on it. It IS also used for drums. 128 FIFTH SEEIES. LESSON XVI. GLASS. Glass is marie from an alkali and sand or flint, which are subjected to the action of fire. This mixture is said to have been discovered accident- ally in Syria by some merchants, who were driven by stress of weather upon its shores. They had lighted a fire upon the sands to cook their food ; the fire was made of the plant called kali, which grows on the sea-shore ; the sand mixed with its ashes, became vitrified by the heat, and glass was produced The merchants observed the effect of the union of these two substances, and thus was furnished the first hint for the making of glass, which has since been carried to such great per- fection. The first place where the manufacture of glass was carried on was Sidon in Syria. Eng- land is now much celebrated for its glass. The qualities which render glass so valuable are, that it is hard, transparent, incorrosive, not being af- fected by any substance but fluoric acid, and that when fused it becomes so ductile and plastic that it may be moulded into any form, which it will retain when cool. It can be cut by the diamond only. There are three sorts of furnaces used in making glass. One to prepare the frit, a second to work the glass, and a third to anneal it. After having properly mixed the ashes and sand, they are put into the first furnace where they are burned or calcined for a suflicient time, and be- come what is called frit. This being boiled LESSON XVII. WHALEBONE. 129 afterwards in pots or crucibles of pipe clay in the second furnace, is fit for the operation of blowing; the annealing furnace is intended to cool the glass very gradually, for if it be exposed to the cold air immediately after being formed into utensils, it will fall into a thousand pieces, as if struck by a hammer. Before glass was invented, thin folia of mica were used for windows. LESSON XVII. WHALEBONE. Whalebone is taken from the jawbone of the whale, the largest animal that now inhabits our globe, and whose mouth occupies a third part of its body. The whales are caught in the following manner. When the vicinity of the fish is ascer- tained by the water which it spouts up, six boats are dispatched from the vessels employed in this fishery, with six rowers in each, and a man called an harpooner, armed with a forked instrument called a harpoon ; to this is affixed a rope, at the other end of which is a gourd ; this instrument having been darted into the whale, the gourd marks the spot where the wounded animal disap- pears. The whale when struck dives with such velocity into the sea, that it is necessary to wet the rope which he draws over the sides of the boat to prevent its taking fire, and the fishermen find it necessary to let go the rope for a time, till the whale be spent, otherwise he would sink the boat by his extreme violence. The whale cannot 130 FIFTH SERIES. remain long under water; he soon reappears spouting up blood, and is again attacked by the harpooners, who, after repeated efforts, dispatch him. When dead, they cut him up; the fat which is called blubber is stowed into casks, and oil is afterwards procured from it. The bone is used as a stiffener, for whips, bows, bludgeons, &;c. The chief whale fisheries are on the coast of Greenland, and in other parts of the northern seas. LESSON XVIII. BREAD. Bread is composed of flour, yeast, and a little salt, kneaded together with water into a soft paste called dough. Flour is most frequently made of wheat, which when taken from the barn is first thrashed ; the instrument employed for this pur- pose is either a flail, or a thrashing-machine ; the grain is next separated from the chaft' by winnow- ing, and the former is conveyed to the mill, where by grinding it is converted into flour; the skin of the grain when separated is called bran, when left with the flour, it makes the flour brown- er and coarser. The yest is the fermentation which rises to t-he top of new beer ; it penetrates the dough, disunites the particles, causes them to rise, and thus makes the bread light. It is simi- lar in its effects to the leaven mentioned in Scrip- ture, which is sour dough penetrating and chang- ing the state of the whole mass. Our Savior calls LESSON XIX. SUGAR. 131 himself the bread of life, the nourishment bread affords our bodies, representing in a faint degree the nourishment He affords our souls when he feeds them with the hidden manna of his word. Bread from its nutritious and wholesome proper- ties is often termed the staff of life, and is fre- quently used to signify food in general. A man is thus said to earn his bread, and we pray for our daily bread. Rye, oats, and barley, Indian corn and buck- wheat, are sometimes made into bread. LESSON XIX. SUGAR. Sugar is the produce of the sugar-cane, a plant growing principally in the East and West Indies, and the southernmost states of the Union. A field of canes in blossom presents a beautiful sight ; the stem is a jointed culmus or reed ; when ripe it is of a bright golden hue, growing amidst long narrow pendent leaves. The flowers appear like a plume of white feathers tinged with lilac. The leaves afford food for the cattle ; when ripe, the cane or stem is gathered and conveyed to the mill, where it is pressed between two iron cylinders; the juice is received into a trough, and from thence it is conveyed to a boiler, into which some quick-lime is thrown; this, uniting with the oleaginous particles and the superabundant acid, rises with them to the surface and is skimmed off. When the sugar nearly boils, it is strained off 132 FIFTH SERIES. into another boiler, where it undergoes the same process as before. This is repeated six or seven times, when it is received into coolers which are shallow wooden vessels. In these the sugar forms into grains, separating itself from the mo- lasses ; when dry, it is called raw sugar, and is barrelled for exportation. The process of con- verting it into white or refined sugar, is the business of the sugar-refiner or baker; he boils it over again, putting bullocks' blood and white of eggs into it to cleanse it from its impurities. The planter is the cultivator of the sugar-canes. The merchant imports it. The sugar-refiner con- verts it into white sugar. The grocer sells the sugar in retail quantities. LESSON XX. HEMP. Hemp is obtained from an annual plant which thrives in a rich moist soil in temperate climates. It is much cultivated in some parts of England and the United States ; and in Russia it forms one of the chief articles of commerce. The stalk mainly consists of a tissue of fibres joined together by a soft substance which easily rots. At the proper season it is gathered and steeped in water ; then beaten in order to loosen the bark from the fibres. This is completed by an operation called carding, performed with an instrument resem- bling a comb. It is next spun, and then passes into the hands of the ropemaker or weaver, ac- cording to the use for which it is designed. LESSON XXI. FLAX» 133 The extreme toughness, pliability, and dura- bility of hemp, fit it peculiarly for purposes where great strength is required, as the cordage and tackle of our vessels, and fishing nets. It is computed that the sails and cordage of a first-rate man of war, require as much hemp for their con- struction, as would be the yearly produce of four hundred and twenty-four acres of land. LESSON XXI. FLAX. Flax is a slender annual plant with a hollow fibrous stem, and bearing a delicate blue flower. From its fibrous bark we procure the comfort of linen, the beauty of lace ; our vessels by its means are wafted across the ocean, and even its rags are made into paper. In the book of Genesis we read that Noah slept beneath a tent. Egypt also very early attained a wonderful perfection in the manufacture of Linen. The seeds of the flax are much liked by birds, and produce an oil called linseed oil ; from Linum the botanical name of the plant. When the flax is gathered, it is exposed for some time to the influence of the sun to ripen the seeds ; which are afterwards thrashed out, and the oil is pressed out, or ex- pressed from them. The stalks are then loosely tied in bundles fastened to poles, and placed in stagnant pools, where they are left to steep for about fifteen days. By the fermentation which ensues, the bark or flaxy substance becomes sepa- rated, when the stalks are thinly spread on the 12 134 FIFTH SERIES. grass, in which state they exhale a very disagree- able and pernicious odor. After this operation they are beaten with a mallet, which removes the pulpy substance and loosens the fibres ; these" are then drawn through a comb with coarse iron teeth, and afterwards through one with finer teeth. The refuse is called tow, and is the substance used to make packing cloths, and for the calking of ships. The operation of spinning which next succeeds, is drawing out several of the fibres and twisting them; this was formerly done by means of a distaff, but now it is performed in a more expeditious manner by machinery. Weaving is the final operation; it may be regarded as a finer kind of matting. To perform it, the threads which compose the length of a piece of cloth are first disposed in order, and strained by weights to a proper tightness; this is called the warp. These threads are separated by an instrument called a reed, into two sets, each composed of every other thread ; and while by the working of a treadle, each set of threads is thrown alternately up and down, the cross threads called the woof or JDeft are inserted between them, by means of a little instrument, sharp at both ends, called a shuttle, which the weaver briskly throws from one hand to the other, and which carries the thread with it. This is the most simple kind of weaving. The quality of the flax depends upon the soil in which it is cultivated : but the fineness of the thread in some degree also upon the dexterity of the spinner. LESSON XXII. XXIII. COTTOX, WOOL. 135 LESSON XXII. COTTOIV. The cotton plant is cultivated in the East and West Indies ; it produces a beautiful yellow flower ; and the seed vessel is a pod containing a white downy substance which surrounds the seed. This is picked by the hand, and separated from the seeds by a machine which at the same time loosens its fibres ; afterwards it is packed in large bags, and sent by the planter to the manufacturer. It is then carded ; that is, wound upon cylindrical cards worked by machinery ; afterwards it is roved, by which process the loose fibres are re- moved with an instrument resembling a comb; it is then twisted and drawn out into threads or yarn, and sent to the weaver. It is made into muslins, calicoes, stockings, quilts, corderoys, &c. The machinery employed in the United States in carding, roving, and spinning, is quite admirable, and occasions our cotton goods to be much sought after. In India and China some of the plants produce a buff cotton, of which nankeens are manufactured. LESSON XXIII. WOOL. The clothing manufactured from wool, is par- ticularly adapted to cold countries ; it does not 138 FIFTH SERIES. communicate warmth, but being a non-conductor of heat, it prevents that of our bodies from es- caping. Wool is the hairy covering of sheep, and is taken from the living animal in the sum- mer season ; the operation is called sheep-shear- i?ig, and the wool in this state the f.eece. The wool of the Spanish sheep is particularly fine ; in that country a flock often contains a thousand sheep. The first operation performed on the raw wool is to pick and sort it; this is particularly needful, as the same sheep produces wool of various qualities. It is next cleansed from its impurities and committed to the wool-comber, who by means of iron spiked combs of different degrees of fine- ness draws out the fibres, smooths, and straightens them. It is then prepared for the spinner who forms it into threads, the more twisted of W'hich are called worsted, and the less twisted yarn. It is then employed in the manufacture of every description of hosiery, stuffs, carpets, flannels, blanket, and cloths. England manufactures so much woollen clothing, that it was formerly con- sidered the staple commodity of that country, and to mark the estimation in which it was held, the Lord Chancellor sits upon a woolsack. The woollen manufactures of the United States are becoming very important. LESSON XXIV. SILK. 137 LESSON XXIV. SILK. Silk is the production of a caterpillar, and con stitutes the covering in which it envelopes itself, when it changes from the larva state to that of the chrysalis. From this inanimate condition it emerges as a moth, and having laid its eggs, it soon ceases to exist. When we consider that our most luxurious and splendid attire is the pro- duction of a worm, how are we led to admire the power and wisdom of that Being, who works by- such insignificant means ! The cocoon or web of the silk-worm is an oval ball of silk, which it has spun out of a substance secreted in its own body. The shades of the silk vary from the palest straw-color to deep yellow. In a state of nature the silk-worms form their co- coons upon the Mulberry -tree itself, where they shine like golden fruits amidst the leaves; but the colder climates of Europe will not allow of their being reared in the open air. They are in conseo^uence kept in warm but airy rooms, and fed with mulberry-leaves till they are fully grown. They change their skin several times while they are in the caterpillar state ; at length thoy become so full of the silky matter that it gives them a yellowish tinge ; they then cease to eat. Twigs are now placed over them upon little stages of wickerwork, on which they immediately begin to foim their webs. When these are finished, the 12* 138 FIFTH SERIES. silk is wound off, which when unravelled, measures from seven hundred to one thousand feet. After separating the downy matter on the outside called fos^ the cocoons are thrown into warm water to dissolve the glutinous particles which had caused the silk to adhere, and the ends of the threads being found, several are joined together and wound upon a reel ; this is called raw silk. It next undergoes some operation to cleanse it, and render it more supple, after which it is twisted into threads of different degrees of fineness as re- quired by the weaver ; in this state it is called thrown silk. The excellence of silk as a material consists in its strength, lightness, lustre, and its being capable of taking the finest dyes. Silk may be made into substances varying in thick- ness, from the finest transparent gauze, to the richest velvets and brocades. The English manu- facturers are chiefly supplied with silk from China, Persia, and Italy. France is the most northern climate in which silk is produced in any quantity. The manufacture of silk is already commenced in the United States. LESSON XXV. COURT PLASTER. Court-plaster is a black, adhesive, thin sub- stance, applied to wounds on the skin, to protect them from the injurious effects of the air. The fol- lowing is the manner of preparing it : a thin black yarsnet is stretched on a frame ; a warm solution LESSON XXVI. SAFFROX. 139 of isinglass (a glutinous substance prepared from the bones of fish, particularly the whale) is ap- plied with a brush equally over the surface — v/hen dry, this is repeated a second or third time. It is next washed over with some Benzoin dis- solved in spirits of wine. Benzoin is a resinous gum, which is found on a tree growing in Suma- tra. It possesses an aromatic perfume, and acts as a styptic, i. e. stanches blood. It is also the chief ingredient in Friar's Balsam, and gives it the healing virtue it possesses. LESSON XXVI. SAFFRON. Saffron is the orange-colored pistil of a species of crocus, the leaves of which appear in spring, and the blossoms in autumn. It abounds in the neighborhood of Saffron Walden, in Essex, Eng- land, which takes its name from that circum- stance. It is also common in our American gar- dens. The flowers are gathered every morning just before they expand, and as they continue to open in succession for several weeks, the saffron harvest lasts a considerable time. When the flowers are gathered, they are spread on a table : the upper part of the pistil only is of any value. When a sufficient quantity of these are collected, they are dried upon a kind of portable kiln ; over this a hair cloth is stretched, and upon it a few sheets of white paper ; the saffron is placed upon these to the thickness of two or three inches ; the 140 FIFTH SERIES. whole is then covered with white paper, over which is placed a coarse blanket or canvas bag filled with straw. When the fire has heated the kiln, a board, on which is a weight, is placed upon the blanket and presses the saffron together. It is used as a medicine, serving as a slight tonic, and to exhilarate the spirits, also to flavor cakes, and to form a yellow dye. LESSON XXVII. BUTTER. Butter is an unctuous substance prepared from the milk of the cows. "When milk has been al- lowed to stand a few hours, a thick rich substance called cream rises to the surface. This is skim- med off, and by being briskly agitated is converted into butter. The instrument by which this ope- ration is performed is called a churn ; a certain degree of heat assists the process. The butter that is required to be kept any length of time, is salted and packed in small tubs or barrels. Be- sides the butter there is another substance re- maining in the churn, which is called hvttcrmilk. The person who tends the cattle is called a cow- herd : and the place where the milk is kept is a dairy. LESSON XXVIII. XXIX. CHEESE, PUTTY. 141 4 LESSON XXVIII. CHEESE. Cheese is prepared from milk which is coagu- lated by mixing it with a liquor called rennet, which is made by steeping the inner membrane of a calf's stomach in water ; the curds thus formed are a white solid substance ; they are separated from the whey or watery particles, and then pressed and dried. A color is usually given to cheese by saflfron or by a substance called annatto^ which is the seed-vessel of a shrub grow- ing: in the West Indies. LESSON XXIX. 4 PUTTY. Putty is a soft unctuous substance which hardens by exposure to the air, and is used by glaziers to cement the glass to window-frames. It is composed of linseed oil and whiting, some- times with the addition of white lead. The whiting is ground into a fine powder, and the oii and wiiite lead are worked into it, till all the sub- stances are thoroughly incorporated together. 142 FIFTH SERIES. LESSON XXX. Starch is a substance obtained from several mealy vegetables ; it is generally prepared from wheat by the following process. The wheat is put into tubs of water, and exposed for some days to the heat of the sun, which brings on a degree of fermentation : the water is changed twice a day. Having by this process become sufficiently softened, it is poured into large canvas bags, which are worked or beaten, in order to separate the husks from the mealy particles, which are received into an empty vessel. Fresh water is again poured upon them, and after this has been well shaken, it is left to settle; the water is poured off, and the sediment which remains at the bottom of the Vessel is starch : this is formed into small pieces and dried. Starch, with the addition of smalt or stone blue, is used to stiffen linen ; it is also formed into a powder for the hair. Starch or Fecula is the nutritive part of most grains and roots ; it may be extracted in con- siderable quantities from potatoes. LESSON XXXL FELT. Felt is the substance of which hats are made. It is composed of hairs ; those of the beaver are LESSON XXXI. PELT. 143 chiefly used by hatters. The operation of felting depends upon a peculiar construction in all hairs, which however smooth and even they may appear, have in reality a tiled or scaly texture on the surface. The scales are so placed, that they yield to the finger drawn along the hair from the root to the point, but present a resistance when moved in a contrary direction. In consequence of this peculiarity, if a hair be seized in the middle between the two fingers and rubbed, the root will gradually recede and the point will ap- proach the fingers, exhibiting a progressive motion towards the root ; the imbricated surface, prevent- ing all motion in the opposite way. From this property, hairs, when beaten or pressed together, begin to move in the direction of the root, and are disposed to catch hold and twist round each other, and thus to stick into a close mass, which is called Felt. Curled hairs entwine themselves more closely into one another than those which are straight though flexible, as these latter recede from the root in a direct line. The hatter how- ever finds them very useful : he spreads them over the surface of his coarser cloth, and when pressed, these fine straight hairs moving in the direction of their roots form a coating; their base being inserted in the felt, while their extrem- ities remain free. It is in consequence of this tendency to felt, that woollen cloths increase in thickness, and contract in length and breadth, by being washed; and that they do not ravel out when cut. The Zetlanders, availing themselves of this peculiar construction of hairs, felt their wool by putting it into narrow inlets of the sea, 144 FIFTH SERIES. where it is exposed to the continual motions of the tides. LESSOi\ XXXII. PORCELAIN. Clay and flint are the chief ingredients in the manufacture of porcelain, from the coarsest pot- tery to the finest semi-transparent china. The clay makes it work easily into shape, the flint makes it hard and a little glassy. The following is the usual process carried on in the English manufactories of Chinaware. The flints are first reduced to powder by the action of fire, then mixed in certain proportions witli Cornish gran- ite,* and ground to a very fine powder; water is poured upon this mixture, and it is twice strained through silken seives. It is then boiled till it is of the consistency of cream, and the watery particles being evaporated, it becomes a tough paste. A portion of this substance is then placed upon a turning wheel ; and moulded by the hand with a precision and rapidity, that practice only can give. This is the manner in which vessels of a circular shape are formed, as bowls, plates, cups, and saucers. Utensils of other forms are made in moulds of gypsum, the pores of which absorbing the moisture of the clay, the vessels are contracted in size, and thus * The two principal ingredients of granite are silex and alamine. LESSON XXXII. PORCELAIN. 145 easily loosened from the mould. Each vessel thus fcvmed is placed in a separate clay case. The furnace is filled with these, and then bricked closely up, and they are subjected to a red heat for sixty hours. The temperature is then gradually lowered, and when the porcelain is withdrawn, which in this state is called biscuit, it is a white, dull, porous substance. This process greatly diminishes the size of the vessels ; which in this state readily receive the blue color, called cobalt ; it has the appearance of a dirty grey till glazed. The glazing consists of lead and glass, ground to a very fine powder, mixed in water with some other ingredients which are kept secret. The biscuit is merely dipped into the glazing, and is then baked again for forty hours. It is now ready to receive all the other colors, and the gilding, which the pattern may require. It is then baked a third time for ten hours or more. Lastly, the gilding is burnished with bloodstone or agate, and the china is ready for the ware-room. The colors are changed by baking, appearing very different when first laid on. 13 146 FIFTH SERIES. INTRODUCTORY RExMARKS ON METALS. In these lessons on the common metals, it is necessary to present the specimens to the class in their several natural and artificial states, that is to say, the native, the ores, and the manufactured metals. The teacher would find the interest of he pupils awakened by the examination of the everal substances, and consequently that they would be more inclined to receive with profit the information conveyed. The plan of writing down the list of qualities has been again adopted with the metals, as they lead to a new range of ideas, and form so decidedly the characteristic distinc- tions of the substances. LESSON xxxin. GOLD. Qualities. It is perfect as a met'al. malleable.* 1. * A solid piece of gold and some leaf-gold should be pre- ■ented to the class, and the extreme lightness and thinness of the leaf may be felt. Teacher. How was the gold made so thin? Children. It was beaten out. LESSON XXXIII. GOLD. 147 It is ductile. 2. tenacious, — holding together strongly. 8. heavy. 4. indestructible, i. e. it cannot be destroyed. fusible. incombustible, i. e. it cannot be burnt ex cept by electricity, soft, compared with other metals, pliable, compact, yellow, solid, opaque, brilliant, reflective, sonorous, metallic. Not affected by any acid, but aqua regia,* Teacher. With what ? Children. With a hammer. All things that can thus be extended by beating, are called malleable, from Lat. Malleus, a hammer. Teacher. Could glass be thus beaten out? Could, chalk? Camphor? What quahty prevents them from being malleable ? Children. Glass is brittle. Chalk friable. Teacher. What quality in gold then renders it malleable \ Children. Its being tenacious. Teacher. What other quahty in gold arises from its be- ing tenacious? Children. It is ductile ? Teacher. Ductile is derived from Lat. Duco, I lead. Aqua regia (royal water) is a mixture of muriatic acid and nitric acid. 148 FIFTH SERIES. It is a perfect metal, because it does not lose any of its weight when fused. When the children understand fully the differ- ent qualities, the teacher may mention to them the facts that illustrate the extraordinary degree m which the peculiar qualities exist. 1. " Malleable." A grain of gold the size of a pin's head, may be beaten out to cover a space of 50 square inches. 2. "Ductile." A grain of gold can be drawn out to cover a wire of 352 feet in length; a guinea can be drawn out to reach nine miles and a half. 3. " Tenacious." A wire of an inch in di- ameter will support 500 pounds without breaking. 4. "Weight." It is nineteen times heavier than water of the same bulk. Uses of Gold. When alloyed* with copper, gold is used as coin and for ornamental purposes ; its beauty, and its not being liable to rust, fit it for the latter purpose. The gold used in coinage, called standard gold, consists of a mixture of gold and copper. Gold thread is made by covering silk or silver with gold beaten very thin. * The combinations of metals with each other are called in chemistry, alloys, but this term is commonly employed to designate those substances which lessen the value of any with which they are united. LESSON XXXIir. GOLD. 149 Gilding is the art of covering the surface of a substance with gold : this is effected by applying it either in the state of a leaf, or liquid gold. Quicksilver dissolves gold, and unites with it, and has from this circumstance been used in gild- ing buttons, an effect which is produced very rapidly by the following process. The metals are mixed together, and the buttons immersed in the compound. They are then exposed to great heat, by which the mercury is evaporated, and the gold is left upon the buttons. The purple color used in porcelain is obtained from gold. Gold is beaten into leaves upon a smooth block of marble fitted into a wooden frame about two feet square ; on three sides there is a high ledge, and the front has a flap of leather attached to it which the workman uses as an apron to preserve the fragments that fall off. There are three kinds of animal membrane used in the operation. For interlaying with the gold the smoothest and closest vellum is procured ; and when the gold becomes thin, this is exchanged for much finer skin made of the entrails of oxen prepared for this purpose, and hence called gold beaters' skin, and the whole is covered with parchment to pre- vent the hammer from injuring it. After the gold has been reduced to a sufficient degree of thinness, it is put between paper which has been well smoothed and rubbed with red bole* in order to prevent it adhering to the gold. * Bole, a kind of earth. 13* 150 FIFTH SERIES. Geographical and Geological situation of Gold. Gold is found principally in hot climates, either native or as an ore. A metal is called native when it occurs in nature pure, and an ore when mixed with other substances. Gold is found in mines in Brazil, Peru, and Mexico. Part of the western coast of Africa is called the Gold Coast, from the gold dust brought down by the natives to trade with. A great quantity of gold is ob- tained in the form of fine sand from American and African rivers ; and in small quantities from the Danube, the Rhine, and the Rhone : it is supposed to be washed down by the mountain torrents. The wandering tribes of gypsies em ploy themselves in washing it from the beds of the European rivers. The Himlaya mountains in Asia are rich in gold. It sometimes occurs in the veins which run through the mountains, and sometimes in rounded masses in soils that are evidently the ruins of rocks. The mines which formerly yielded the largest quantities of gold were those of Peru and Lima ; the principal of Europe are those of Hungary and Saltzburg. The mode of extracting gold from the ore, is by re- ducing the whole to fine powder and mixing it with quicksilver. The latter unites with every particle of the gold, but being incapable of form- ing a combination with any but metallic sub- stances, it separates the gold from the earth- with which it is intermixed. The quicksilver which has absorbed the gold, is then evaporated by means of heat, leaving the pure metal in the LESSON XXXIV. SILVER. 151 vessel. Certain parts of the States of North and South Carohna, and Georgia, have recently been found to abound in gold. LESSON XXXIV. SILVER. Qualities. It is malleable. 1. ductile. 2. tenacious. 3. heavy. 4. indestructible, fusible, soft, flexible, perfect metal, opaque, white, solid, compact, natural. subterraneous production, brilliant, reflective, sweetly sonorous, not affected by common acids. 1. "Malleable." Silver can be reduced to a thinness nearly equal to that of which gold is capable. 152 FIFTH SERIES. 2. " Ductile." It can also be drawn out to the finest wire. 3. " Tenacious." A wire one-tenth of an inch in thickness will support 277 pounds without breaking. 4. " Weight." It is about eleven times heavier than water. Uses of Silver, Silver is combined with copper for coin, to render it harder and better adapted to receive a fine and sharp impression on being cast. The same alloy is employed for ornamental purposes. Silver is used much as a casing to copper uten- sils, to prevent the injurious effects of acids, or to render them more pleasing to the sight. The most permanent plating is effected by taking two thin plates of silver and copper, the former in the pro- portion of one to twelve of the latter ; a little pow- dered borax is placed between them to promote the fusion of the two metals, which after being exposed to a white heat, will be found firmly united; this is passed between rollers till the whole is of the proper thickness for the intended manufacture. Silver dissolved in aqua fortis (nitric acid) yields crystals, which being afterwards melted in crucibles, form what is called lunar caustic. This preparation, is of considerable value in surgical operations being employed to burn away proud f!esh ; and also for consuming warts, wens, and other excrescences on the skin. Indelible or per- manent marking ink, used for marking bnen, is LESSON XXXIV. SILVER. 153 made by dissolving nitrate of silver (lunar caustic) in water, and adding gum. The yellow color employed in porcelain painting is obtained from silver. Geological and Geographical situation of Silver, Silver is found native and as an ore, in mines and veins. America is the country richest in silver mines. It is also found in Saxony, Bohe- mia, Norway, Hungary, and England ; but the mines of Mexico and Peru furnish annually ten times more than all those of Europe together. So poisonous are the exhalations from the mines of Peru, that many thousands of Indians have perish- ed in them, and the cattle that graze on the out- side are affected by their malignant vapors. The quantity found in England is not great ; it is taken from the lead mines of Cumberland, Corn- wall, and Yorkshire. A large block was found at Freyburg in Saxony, upon which Duke Albert took his dinner. When melted, it yielded 44,000 pounds of pure silver. The ores of silver are very numerous, and va- rious methods are employed in different countries to separate it from the ore. In Mexico and Peru the mineral is pounded, roasted, washed, and then mixed Avith mercury, in vessels filled with water, a mill being employed for the purpose of more perfectly agitating it, which thus causes them to combine. The silver unites with the mercury, and being submitted to heat, the latter IS evaporated. The pure metal is then melted e-jid cast into bars or ingrots. 154 FIFTH SERIES. LESSON XXXV. QUICKSILVER OR MERCURY. Qualities, It is heavy. 1. fluid. 2. cold. 3. divisible. 4. *volatile when heated, white. brilliant. 5. opaque. least tenacious of all bodies, dilatable by heat, medicinal, natural, inanimate, mineral. 1. "Weight." Nearly fourteen times heavier than water — the heaviest known fluid. 2. "Fluid." It always retains its fluidity in our temperature, but in countries near the poles it congeals, and then is malleable, ductile and tenacious. 3. " Cold." It is the coldest of all fluids, and the hottest when boiling. * Volatile, from Lat. Volure, to fly. LESSON XXXV. QUICKSILVER. 155 4. It is capable of division, by the slightest effort, into an indefinite number of particles, each of a spherical shape. 5. The brilliancy of metals is so peculiar and great, that it is called the metallic lustre. Uses of Quicksilver. Quicksilver penetrates and soften? other metals, losing its own fluidity and forming a kind of paste called an Amalgam. This affinity or attraction that it has for the other metals makes it exceed- ingly useful in separating them from substances with which they are found combined ; they leave these to unite with the mercury, and this being volatilized, the pure metal remains. It is easily affected by the atmosphere, and is on this account used in Thermometers and Barometers.* The Thermometer is an instrument constructed in the following manner: — a tube of glass terminating in a hollow ball which contains mercury, is plunged into boiling water, which causes the mercury to expand and rise to a certain height. At this point, which is called boiling heat, the tube is broken off and hermetically sealed ;t the * Barometer from Papos {baros) weight and [icrpov (metron) a measure. Thermometer from ^ep[ios (hot). t In order to seal any thing hermetically, the neck of a glass tube is heated till on the point of melting, an-\ then with a pair of hot pincers it is closely twisted together, by which means the air is excluded. Hermetically is derived from Hermes, a name of Mercury, the deity of ancient mythology who was thought to preside over the arts, particularly chem- istry 156 FIFTH SERIES. freezing point is then ascertained, and marked, and the intervening space graduated. The Ther- mometer, by thus marking the expansion and contraction of the quicksilver, indicates the in- crease and decrease of heat and cold in the at- mosphere. To form the Barometer a glass tube open at one end, and filled with quicksilver, is immersed in a bowl containing some of the same fluid. Part of the mercury in the tube flows into the cup, leaving a space to which the air cannot gain access, consequently there is a vacuum. The at- mosphere, when heavy, acts upon the mercury in the bowl, causing it to rise in the tube, and when light, the pressure being removed, allowing it to descend. The Barometer, by thus showing the weight of the air, indicates the probability of wet or dry weather. For when the atmosphere is light, it no longer supports the vapor and clouds which float in it, and they consequently descend towards the earth ; but when the air is more dense, they are borne up, and we have fine weather. The elevation of mountains is also as- certained by means of the Barometer, for as it is known that the rarity of the atmosphere increases in proportion to the ascent, the height is easily calculated. Quicksilver is also used for coating mirrors. This process is eflected in the following manner : a sheet of tin foil the size of the plate of glass is placed evenly on a smooth block of stone; over this is poured some quicksilver, which is carefully spread upon it with a feather or rubber of linen. Tin in amalgamating with mercury quickly forms an oxide of a black appearance ,* LESSON XXXV. QUICKSILVER. 157 this being removed, more of the fluid is poured upon it. The glass is then held horizontally, and carefully slid over the amalgam, sweeping before it the superfluous mercury, and any more oxide that may have formed. Weights are then placed upon the glass, and after having remained several days, the mixture adheres firmly and forms the mirror. Vermilion, used in coloring sealing-wax, and the medicine called calomel, are preparations of this metal. Geographical and Geological situation of Mercury. Mercury is found in the native state in globules or drops in the cavities of mines ; but it is most frequently combined with sulphur, forming the mineral called cinnabar, which is of a red color. The quicksilver mines of Idrea are said to yield annually 100 tons; those of Spain still more; but the mines of Peru are the richest. The mines of Idrea were accidentally dis- covered about three hundred years since. That part of the country was then much inhabited by coopers; and one of the men, when retiring from work in the evening, placed a new tub under a dropping spring, to try if it would hold water, and whon he came in the morning he found it so heavy that he could scarcely move it. On examination, he found a shining ponderous fluid at the bottom, which proved to be quicksilver. When this circumstance was made known, a 14 158 FIFTH SERIES. society was formed to discover and work the mine from whence the mercury had issued. In some parts of the mine, it flows in small streams, so that in six hours as much as thirty-six pounds have been collected. In other parts of the mine it is diffused in small globules. LESSON XXXVI. LEAD. Qualities* It is heavy. 1 fusible. 2. bright, when first melted or cut. malleable, ductile, very soft. 3. pliable. livid, bluish gray, easily calcined, that is, reduced by heat to a friable substance, solid. sometimes amorphous, crystallized, opaque, mineral, tarnishes easily, inelastic, natural. It makes a gray streak on paper. It boils and evaporates at a great heat. • LESSON XXXVI. LEAD. 159 1. Weight — It is eleven times heavier than water ; rather heavier than silver. 2. It melts at a much lower temperature than the other metals. 3. It is the softest of all metals. Uses of Lead. The calx* of lead is the basis of many colors, which are obtained from it by different degrees of heat. Red lead and white lead, so much used in paints, are the calces of lead. They are soluble in oil, and are all very poisonous, and occasion the ill-health to which painters are sub- ject. Any acid will extract a poison from lead, and therefore the use of it should be avoided in culinary operations. It is employed in glazing and pottery. When rolled between iron cylinders to a re- quisite degree of thinness and uniformity, lead is employed to cover the roofs of houses and churches ; though, in case of fire, its melting is attended with much danger. It is also used for gutters and pipes of houses, and for cisterns and reservoirs for water, because it does not rust. Rust is occasioned by the oxygen uniting with a metal ; but the oxygen of the water having a greater affinity for hydrogen, its other constituent. * Calx is the dross formed on the surface of lead, when melted. This name is now generally applied by chemists to those substances which have been reduced by burning to a friable state. The operation by which this effect is produced is called calcination. 160 FIFTH SERIES. than for lead, it does not separate from the water to unite with this metal. The great softness of lead, and its being so easily fused, are the properties which have brought it so much into use. The persons who work it are called Plumbers, from the Latin, plumbum, lead. The solder they use as a cement is an alloy of lead and tin, in the proportion of two parts of the former to one of the latter. Great quantities of lead are consumed in making shot. The metal for this purpose is alloyed with arsenic, to render it more hard and brittle, and capable of assuming a perfectly spherical shape. Shot are formed by dropping the melted alloy into water, through an iron or copper frame, perforated with round holes, which are larger or smaller, according to the size the shot are required to be. Mixed with antimony, lead is used for printing-types j and, with tin and copper, it forms pewter. Geological and GeograpJdcal situation of Lead. Lead abounds in England, particularly in the counties of Derby, Northumberland, Somerset, Cornwall, and Devon, and in Wales. It is plenti- ful also in Scotland, Germany, France, and America. It is very much doubted whether it is ever found native ; it occurs frequently combined with sulphur, when it is called galena. The lead mines of Missouri are perhaps the most important in the world. When the ore is brought out of the mine, it is sorted and washed, LESSOX XXXVI. LEAD. 161 to free it from dirt and rubbish ; it is then spread, and the best pieces are separated. After the ore, by picking and washing, has been sufficiently cleansed from extraneous matter, it is roasted* in a kind of kiln, to free it from the sulphur usually combined with it. The next process is to mix it with a quantity of coke,j" and submit it to the smelting furnace. In this there are tap-holes, and when the lead is melted these are opened, to allow it to run in a fluid state into an iron vessel. The dross which floats on its surface is skimmed off", and the metal is taken out by ladles, and poured into cast-iron moulds with round ends. It is then called pig-lead, and is fit for use. * Roasting is the process by which the volatile parts of an ore are evaporated. Smelihig is that by which the pure metal is separated from the earthy particles combined with it in the ore. This is done by throwing the whole into a furnace, and mixing with it substances that will combine with the earthy parts ; the metal being the heaviest, falls to the bottom, and runs out by the proper openings, in its pure metallic state. t Coke is fuel, made by burning pit-coal under earth, and quenching the cinders ; as charcoal is made with wood. 14* 162 FIFTH SERIES. LESSON xxxvn. COPPER. Qualities, It is heavy. 1. tenacious. 2. very sonorous. 3. fusible. 4. elastic. 5. capable of extreme divisibility. 6. malleable, ductile, compact, opaque. orange brown color, mineral. sometimes crystallized, amorphous, brilliant, reflective. hard. odorous. solid. medicinal. easily corroded useful. LIISSON XXXVII. COPPER. 163 1. " Weight." Copper is eight times heavier than water. 2. " Tenacious." A wire one-tenth of an inch in thickness will support two hundred and ninety- nine pounds and a half without breaking. 3. It is the most deeply sonorous of all metals. 4. It is more easily fused than iron, but less so than gold or silver. 5. It is the most elastic metal next to iron. 6. A grain dissolved in an alkali will give a perceptible color to more than 500,000 times its weight of water. Uses of Copper, The uses of copper are numerous and im- portant. When rolled into sheets between iron cylinders, it is used to cover the roofs of houses, especially arsenals and manufactories, where there is liability to fire. The bottoms of ships are coppered, in order to make them sail faster and to prevent shell-fish from perforating the wood. Plates of copper are used for engravings; which is done with a sharp instrument or by corroding them with aqua fortis.* The copper is covered with wax, and the design sketched upon it with a pointed instrument , the aqua fortis reaches the copper just in those places where the wax has been removed by the sketching, and eats into it. Copper is much used for cooking utensils, but great care is necessary, for should any acid or * Aqua forlis (strong water) is nitric acid diluted with water. 164 FIFTH SERIES. even water be allowed to stand any time in the vessels, a poison is extracted ; but while boiling, this evil does not arise. It is customary, in order to prevent any danger, to line copper vessels with tin. Verdigris is a rust or oxide of copper, usually prepared from that metal by corroding it with vinegar. There is a large manufactory at Mont- pelier in France, where verdigris is prepared in the following manner : — copper plates and husks of grapes are placed alternately one upon anotlier; the latter speedily corrodes the surface of the metal. The verdigris thus formed is scraped off as it collects on the copper ; it is afterwards dried and packed in casks or bags. It is chiefly em- ployed in dying, and is a most virulent poison. Copper is used in the manufactories of gunpowder, because it does not like iron give out sparks by collision. There are several alloys of copper. Brass is the most important : it is compounded of zinc and copper, in the proportion of three pa-rts of the former to one of the latter. This is a very beautiful and useful substance ; it does not rust so easily as copper ; is more ductile than either that metal or iron, and is therefore used in the construction of musical and mathematical instru- ments, and in clock work. Sieves and bJnds are woven of brass wire of extreme fineness. Brass is used bot'i* for purposes of ornament and use. Bronze and the metal of which cannon are made are alloys of copper with tin. Bell metal is three parts copper and one tin. LESSON XXXVII. COPPER. 165 Geographical and Geological situation of Copper, Copper is found in Sweden, Saxony, America, and Great Britain. It was well known to the an- cients ; the Bible speaks of the workers of brass before the flood. It is found in a great variety of forms ; some- times in masses of pure metal, but more frequently combined with other substances, particularly sul- phur. The copper mines of Anglesea are very productive ; they are situated on the top of a mountain, and form an enormous cavity more than 500 yards long, 100 broad, and 100 deep. The ore is obtained from the mine either by pick- axes or by blasting the rock with gunpowder. It is then broken with a hammer into small pieces, an operation which chiefly employs women and children. After this it is piled on a kiln, to the upper parts of which flues are attached, that com- municate with sulphur chambers. The kiln is covered, and the fibres lighted in dilferent parts that the ore may undergo the process of roasting. The whole mass gradually kindles, and the sul- phur which is combined with the ore is expelled in fumes by the heat, and is conveyv^d through the flues to the sulphur chamber. This process occupies from three to ten months, according to the size of the kilns. When the operation is complete or the ore is freed from the sulphur, it is submitted to the smelting-houses, where, by the intense heat it undergoes, the pure metal is forced ofl" in a fluid state. 166 FIFTH SERIES. LESSON XXXVIII. IRON. Qualities. It is elastic. 1. ductile. 2. heavy. 3. tenacious. 4. malleable, liable to rust. 5. sonorous, mineral, fusible. hard. very fusible, livid gray-color, bright, reflective, solid. susceptible of a high polish, cold. sometimes amorphous, crystallized. 1. In the state of steel it is the most elastic of all metals. 2. Iron is more ductile than gold ; it may be drawn into a wire as fine as the human hair. LESSON XXXVIII. IRON. 167 3. It is the lightest of the common metals ex- cept tin ; between seven and eight times heavier than water. 4. Most tenacious of the metals. A wire about one-tenth of an inch in diameter will support 550 pounds without breaking. 5. The air is composed of two ingredients, oxygen and nitrogen ; the former having a greater affinity for iron than for nitrogen, attaches itself to it, and then forms the oxide of iron, commonly called rust. Uses of Iron. Iron is the most useful of all the metals, and man very early became acquainted with its value. Moses speaks of furnaces of iron and of the ores from which it was extracted. By means of this metal the earth has been cultivated, houses and cities built, and w^ithout it few arts could be prac- tised. Iron is used in three states, cast iron, wrought iron, and steel. When reduced to a liquid by the action of the smelting-furnace, it is received in furrows made in a bed of sand : the larger masses which have flowed into the main furrows are called sows, the smaller pigs, of iron. In this state it takes the name of cast iron, and from the process it has undergone it is become extremely hard, and having lost its tena- city, it resists the hammer and the file, and is very brittle ; it is of a dark gray or blackish color. It is used for the backs of chimneys, grates, boil- ers, pipes, rail-roads and common cannon-balls. Cast iron is converted into icrovght iron by a process called blooming ; it is thrown into a fur- 168 FIFTH SERIES. nace and kept melted by the fire produced by combustibles ; it remains in this situation for about two hours, a workman being continually employed in stirring it, until, notwithstanding the heat to which it is exposed, it acquires by degrees consistency and tenacity, and congeals into a mass which is now malleable. It is taken out of the furnace while hot, and violently beaten by a large hammer, worked by machinery ; in this manner it is formed into bars of iron. The value of wrought iron in machinery, and tools of all de- scriptions, is incalculable. Steel is prepared from wrought iron in the fol- lowing manner: the bars of iron are kept in con- tact with burning charcoal for several hours in earthen crucibles, from which the air is excluded. Steel, if heated to redness and then suffered to cool slowly, becomes soft and pliable; if plunged while hot into cold water, it is rendered suscepti- ble of a high polish, and acquires such extreme hardness as even to scratch glass, while at the same time it becomes elastic and brittle. Its soft- ness and ductility may however be restored by heating it again and cooling it slowly. Steel va- ries in color under the influence of heat; first it assumes a straw color, then a light yellow, purple, violet, red ; deep blue succeeds, and last of all a bright blue. These hues indicate the different tempers which steel acquires, from that proper for common files, to that requisite for the finely elastic spring of watches. Steel is used for all kinds of edged tools, in which keenness is neces- sary : it is also much employed for ornamental pur- poses, on account of the elegant polish which it is capable of taking. In medicine steel is valua- LESSON XXXVIII. IROX. 169 ble as a tonic. Waters which pass over iron and become impregnated with it, are called chalybeate waters : those of Tiinbridge and Hampstead are of this nature. Steel is a combination of iron, and a small portion of carbon. Cast iron contains a greater proportion of carbon, and is probably sat- urated with it. Cast iron is converted into wrought iron, by burning away the carbon, and wholly depriving it of its oxygen. Plumbago or black lead, which is employed in the manufacture of pencils, is an ore of iron, con- taining nine parts of carbon to one of the metal : sufficient is found in Cumberland to supply the trade of England. The bronze color used in Porcelain painting is an oxide of iron. Meteoric stones, which have been the subject of so much conjecture, and which are now generally believed to be ejected from volcanoes in the moon, are a species of iron ore. Iron is very valuable from the magnetical prop- erties it may acquire. By these it enables the mariner to steer across the ocean, the traveller to direct his course with safety in the pathless desert, and the miner to guide his researches after sub- terraneous treasures. The loadstone or natural magnet, is an oxide of iron ; it communicates its powers to bars of iron or steel, when placed in contact with them. The artificial magnet is now always used ; as it possesses and retains all the properties of the loadstone. The qualities which render it useful, are 1st, its attracting iron, and 2d, its polarity, or the power by which it points to the poles when freely suspended. One end in- variably turns to the North, and the other to the South, except when it approaches the pole, when 15 170 FIFTH SERIES. the directive power ceases altogether, which cir- cumstance constitutes one of the great difficulties in navigating the Arctic Regions. The opposite poles when presented to each other, are attracted at one end and mutually re- pelled at the other. The mariner's compass is a circular box, in which a magnetic needle is placed in such a man- ner that it can move in every direction. Geological and Geographical situation of Iron. Iron is the most universally diffused of the metals. It is everywhere produced in greater or less quantities ; but England, France, Sweden, and Russia, are richer in this metal than the other countries of Europe. It is very rarely if ever found in a native state, but generally as an oxide, or in combination with Sulphuric or Carbonic Acid. LESSON XXXIX. TIN. Qualities. It is heavy. 1. soft. 2. malleable. 3. ductile, fusible, white. LESSON XXXIX. TIX. 171 It is opaque, solid, brilliant. very little elastic, useful, pliable. easily calcined, natural, mineral, reflective. sonorous, making a crackling noise dilatable by heat. 1. It is seven times heavier than water, though lightest of the ductile metals. 2. It is softer than silver, but harder than lead. 3. Tin may be beaten into sheets the 1000th part of an inch in thickness. Uses of Tin, Tin is chiefly employed in the manufacture of culinary utensils; they are not however made of solid tin, but of what is called tin plate, which is thus prepared. Thin iron plates are first cleansed completely, by washing them in water and sand ; they are then dipped into melted tin, afterwards steeped in water mixed with sulphuric acid. This process causes the tm not only to cover the surface of the iron plate, but to pene- trate it so that the whole mass becomes of a whitish color. Pins are made of brass wire tinned. When the pin is formed, a vessel is filled with strata or layers of tin plates between the 172 FIFTH SERIES. brass pins ; the vessel is then filled with water and some tartaric acid, by means of which the tin is dissolved, and after five or six hours' boiling, the pins are found uniformly tinned. It is the zinc of the brass which has an affinity for the tin, and forms the union which takes place. The pins are afterwards polished, by throwing them into a tub containing a quantity of bran, which is set in motion by turning a shaft that runs through its centre, and by means of friction they become perfectly bright. The uses of tin in economical purposes are very various, particularly when laid over other metals, as in stirrups, buckles, &c. The oxide of tin is used in dying. Tin forms alloys with several other metals. These compounds have been mentioned before ; as bell-metal, pewter, bronze. Tin leaves amal- gamated with mercury, are used for silvering and plating other metals. Geographical and Geological situation of Tin. Native Tin is never found, and its ore is of less common occurrence than that of iron. England, Germany, Chili, and Mexico, produce the largest quantity of this metal. The tin mines of Corn- w^all were well known to the ancients ; and the Phenicians traded with the Britons for it long before the birth of our Savior. It is always found as an oxide, or mixed with sulphur and copper. It occurs chiefly in veins running through granite and other rocks. When it is taken from the mine, it is broken into small pieces, and streams of water passed over it, to free it from the earthy particles with which it is intermixed ; it is then LESSON XL. COMPARISOlVr OF METALS. 173 roasted and smelted, when the metal is poured out into quadrangular moulds of stone, and re- ceives the name of block tin. LESSON XL. COMPAEISON OF METALS. Gold, a perfect metal, is the most precious. most compact. heaviest. Its weight is between nineteen and twenty times that of water. Silver, a perfect metal, is next in value to gold and more useful ; its weight is between ten and eleven times that of water. Quicksilver is fluid. easily volatilized. immalleable. Its weight is between thirteen and fourteen times that of water. Copper is the most sonorous. elastic except iron. Its weight is between eight and nine times .that of water. Iron is the most elastic. tenacious, useful, ductile. Its weight is between seven and eight times that of water. *15 174 FIFTH SERIES. Lead is the softest. most easily fused. Its weight is between eleven and twelve times that of water. Tin, next to lead, is the softest of the metals ; it dilates most by heat; it is the lightest, its weight being only seven times that of water. LESSON XLL ON METALS IN GENERAL. Metals are simple elementary bodies, distin- guished by being heavier than all other sub- stances, — by possessing a peculiar lustre which is called the metallic lustre — by reflecting light and heat, — by their being opaque, fusible, malle- able, tenacious, ductile, and generally elastic. Upon this last quality seems to depend their fit- ness for exciting sound, or sonorousness. Metals are capable of uniting with one another in a state of fusion ; this union is called an alloy. It is remarkable that by these combmations, metals undergo a considerable change in their properties, and acquire new ones not belonging to either of them When not united. Thus the weight of the alloy, or the two metals in combination, is some- times very different from the weight of both the metals taken separately : an alloy of silver with copper or tin, or one of silver or gold with lead, is heavier than the same quantities of those metals uncombined. Their ductility and malle- ability are changed and generally impaired, the LESSON XH. ON METALS IN GENERAL. 175 alloy becoming brittle. This is very remarkably the case with gold and lead, when united, the latter of which even in the trivial proportion of half a grain to an ounce of gold, renders the mass quite destitute of tenacity. The hardness of metals is varied by combina- tion. Gold, by combination with a small quantity of copper, and silver, by a minute proportion of the same metal, acquire such an increase of hard- ness, that these additions are always made to gold or silver which is to be exposed to wear. By a small addition of gold, iron is said to gain so much hardness, as to he even superior to steel for the fabrication of cutting instruments. Change of color is a common effect of the union of metals with each other. Arsenic, for example, which resembles steel, and copper, which has a red color, afford by their union a compound, which has nearly the whiteness of silver. In order to ascertain how far the children had retained the knowledge communicated to them in these lessons, the following questions were given them to answer in writing. 176 FIFTH SERIES. QUESTIONS ON THE METALS. GOLD. 1. What are the chief qualities of gold? 2. What is its weight? 3. Give a proof of its ductility. 4. tenacity. 5. malleability. 6. Upon what other quality does its malleability depend 1 7. What qualities are directly opposed to malleability ? 8. What is an alloy 1 9. Why is gold alloyed for the purpose of coinage ? 10. What metal is used as its alloy ? 11." How are buttons gilt? 12. Describe the manner of forming leaf gold. 13. In what states is gold found? 14. What is an ore? 15. What is meant by a native metal ? 16. In what countries is gold found? 17. What people employ themselves in sepa- rating it from the sands of the European rivers? SILVER. 1. What are the chief properties of silver? 2. What is its weight? QUESTIONS ON THE METALS. 177 3. What degree of tenacity does it possess ? 4. What are the chief uses of silver? 5. Upon what qualities do the uses of silver depend? 6. Describe the operation of plating. 7. What is lunar caustic ? and what are its uses? 8. Give a geographical and geological account of silver? 9. Why are gold and silver called perfect metals ? QUICKSILVER. 1. What are the uses and properties of quick- silver ? 2. What is its weight? 3. In what respect is it remarkable as a liquid ? 4. What effect does heat produce upon it ? 5. Under what circumstances does a change in its qualities take place ? and what is the change ? 6. What is an amalgam? 7. Mention the uses of quicksilver. 8. What are the ])roperties that fit it for a barometer ? 9. What for a thermometer? IC. How is a barometer made? and what is its use ? 11. How is a thermometer made? and what is its use? 12. What color is obtained from quicksilver? 13. Where is quicksilver found? 13. What circumstance led to the discovery of the mines of Idria ? 178 FIFTH SERIES. LEAD. 1. What are the remarkable qualities of lead? 2. What is its weight ? 3. What are the different effects of heat upon lead? 4. What are the chief uses of lead ? 5. Why is it used for reservoirs of water ? 6. How are shot made ? 7. What is the use of the oxides of lead ? 8. What are its alloys ? 9. In what state is lead found ? 10. What is lead called when found united with sulphur. 11. Where is lead most abundant? 12. Describe the process of roasting and smeltmg COPPER. 1. What are the chief qualities of copper? 2. What is its weight and degree of tenacity? 3. How is it proved to be capable of extreme divisibility? 4. What are the uses of copper ? 5. What is verdigris ? and how is it made ? 6. What is the danger incurred by employing copper in kitchen utensils ? 7. What are the alloys of copper ? 8. In what respect is brass preferable to copper ? 9. Where is copper found, and in what states ? 10. Describe the copper mines in Anglesea, and the manner of extracting the metal from the ore. QUESTIONS ON THE METALS. 179 IRON. 1. What are the chief qualities of iron? 2. What quality does it possess in a higher degree than any other metal? 3. What is its weight and tenacity ? 4. What are the different states in which iron is used ? 5. How is cast iron prepared ? 6. What are its qualities and uses ? 7. How is wrought iron prepared? 8. What are its qualities and uses ? 9. How is steel prepared ? 10. What are its qualities and uses? 11. What is meant by the temper of steel? 12. What is plumbago ? and what quality makes It useful? 13. What is the geographical situation of iron? and in what state is it found ? TIN. 1. What are the chief qualities of tint 2. What are the uses of tin ? 3. How is it prepared for use ? 4. How are pins tinned? 5. What is block tin ? 180 FIFTH SERIES. ON EARTHS. LESSON XLII. The substance called Lime is never found pure in nature, owing to its great affinity for carbonic acid* and water. All the earths of which lime forms the basis are called calcareous, from calx, the Latin for lime. It is the most universally diffused of all substances, and one of the most abundant ; it is computed that it constitutes one eighth of the crust of the earth. In this dis- tribution w^e have great cause to admire the gracious providence of our Heavenly Father, as the utility of lime in various arts, in agriculture, in manufactures, and in medicine, is very great. Lime united with carbonic acid in different pro- portions, forms common lime-stone, chalk, marble, &;c. ; with sulphuric acid, it constitutes gypsum or alabaster ; and with fluoric acid, fluor or Derbyshire spar. These are its most interesting combinations with mineral substances. It enters also into the composition of animal matter, as shells, bones, and the hard coverings of insects ; * Carbon is charcoal in its purest state ; it is raost abundant in the vegetable kingdom, and is chiefly obtained from. wood. United with oxygen, it forms carbouic acid. LESSON XLII. LIME. ISl our bones contain 80 parts in 100 lime ; and tlie ego-.shells of birds, 9 parts in 10. Pure lime is procured from chalk, or limestone, by means of burning. For this purpose alternate layers of calcareous earth and fuel are arranged in a kiln ; a fire being kindled, the carbonic acid and water become volatilized, and are driven off' leaving the lime pure. In this state it is called quick-lime, and is white, caustic, acrid, pungent, infusible; corroding'and destroying animal mat- ter. When water is poured upon it, it swells, falls into a powder, and gives out great heat. This last operation is called slacldng the lime. The water combining with the lime becomes solid, and the heat is occasioned by its changing from a fluid to a solid state, for in doing this it parts with its caloric. The uses of lime are numerous and important. It is formed into mortar, the cement used in building. The lime, being slacked, is made into a paste by tempering it with water ; to this is added sand, and sometimes chopped hairs; as it dries it becomes solid, hard, and durable. Examples have been known, of buildings a thousand years old, in which the mortar is as hard as the stones which it unites. As a manure, lime is useful in loosening the tenacious nature of some soils, and rendering them more friable and receptive of vegetable fibres; it also facilitates the dissolution and putrefaction of animal and vegetable substances of which mould is chiefly composed, and gives it a power of acquiring and retaining moisture, so necessary to the growth of vegetables. Lime is 16 182 FIFTU SERIES. also employed in the manufacture of sugar, to deprive it of a portion of its acid. Tanners use it in removing hairs from the hides, and cleansing them from fat and grease. Carbonate of Lime, Lime occurs most frequently combined with carbonic acid in different proportions. The gen- eric term for these substartces is Carbonate of Lime. They vary much in appearance, but all agree in the following properties; they readily yield to the knife; neutralize acids (the charac- teristic properties of each being destroyed ;) and have a weight two or three times greater than that of water. Limestone occurs in almost every country, and produces hills of some eminence ; it is very abundant in England ; it is used for making mor- tar, forming roads, &lc. Different kinds of Lime- stone are used in building, as Portland stone, Bath stone Oolite. The former has been much employed in several of the principal buildings in London, as St. Paul's, the Monument, and some of the bridges. Some limestones are soft, when first taken from the quarry, but become hard when long exposed to the air. Calcareous spar is the purest carbonate of lime. It occurs both amorphous and crystallized, is transparent, shows a double refraction, or makes a small object seen through it, appear double, and takes the form of the rhombohedron, occurring in eight hundred varieties of this figure. Carbonate of lime is often found in stalactites, which are Jong pendulous masses. They are deposited LESSON XLII. LIME. 183 from water loaded with particles of carbonate of lime ; this trickles through fissures in rocks, or crevices in the roofs of caverns, &c. The water evaporates, and the particles of lime gradually harden ; drop succeeds drop, till a long irregular tube is suspended of a most grotesque appearance. When carbonate of lime occurs of a very close- grained texture, it is called ??iar5Ze/ being sus- ceptible of a high polish, it is much used for or- namental purposes, as chimney-pieces, pillars, and statuary. Chalk is another carbonate of lime, not so generally occurring as limetone, but very abun- dant in the south-eastern counties of England, along which it stretches in a continued line forming its noted white cliffs, and passing over to France appears on the opposite coast. It forms hills of a moderate elevation, characterized by their gentle slopes and rounded summits, arising from this substance being of too soft a nature to resist the effects of the weather upon it. There are two beds of chalk, the upper one distinguish- ed by containing parallel horizontal layers of flint with many petrifactions ; and the lower being destitute of both. Chalk is white, dull, friable, meager to the touch, adheres to the tongue, is of an earthy fracture; always amorphous, and opaque. It is usually dug from pits ; but in some parts of Kent they undermine the sides of the hill, then dig a trench which is filled with water, this soak- ing in, loosens the ma:sses, which consequently fall. Most of the uses of chalk are nearly the same as those of limestone ; when freed from its coarser particles, it forms whiting. Water impregnated with calcareous substances. 184 FIFTH SERIES. is occasionally deposited on vegetables, clothing- them with a stony coat ; this incrustation is call- ed Tufa. Gypsum is a sulpliate of lime : i. e. a combina- tion of sulphuric acid with lime. It is much softer than marble and more easily worked: it is sometimes of a beautiful transparent whiteness, when it is called alabaster, and is made into vases and other ornaments. The gypsum, which is very abundant in the neighborhood of Paris, is of a yellowish color. When heated it pulverizes, and water poured over it, is quickly absorbed, forming a paste which dries and hardens very rapidly. This is the Plaster of Paris so much used for casts, statues, &;c. Wlicn mixed wnth glutinous substances, it forms stucco and plaster. LESSON XLIII. SILICA. A large number of the rocks with which the earth abounds, and a great proportion of com- pound earthy substances and minerals, have silex for their chief ingredient. It seems to form the solid basis of the crust of the globe, giving firm- ness and durability to the mountains by which they have resisted the various revolutions that the earth has undergone. It is found in its greatest purity in rock-crystal and quartz. It is the basis of almost all the mineral substances, which are sufficiently hard to strike fire with steel. These substances are called silicious, from the latin silex a flint, because flint is almost entirely composed LESSON XLIII. SILICA. 185 of silicious earth. Si lex forms a large portion of granite, enters in considerable proportion into the composition of slate ; it is also the substance which constitutes sand and generally the shingle of the sea-shore. It is very hard, striking fire with steel, and scratching glass ; it has neither taste nor smell; when perfectly pure (in which state it is, however, never found in nature) it is infusible, but when heated with an alkali, it unites with it, melts and forms glass. In consequence of this property, silica has also been called vitrifi- able earth, from vitrum, the Latin for glass. It is not affected by any of the acids except the fluoric. Common sand is a granulated silex, generally of a white or yellow color. In the torrid regions of Africa and Asia there are immense tracts of desert covered only with sand so fine and dry as to be movable with the wind, and forming into waves like those of the sea. The wind sweeping the sand from the surface continually, the succes- sive waves form mountains of sand. These are incessantly shifting, and often overwhelm the travelling caravans. Sand is of great utility. It enters into the composition of mortar. It pro- duces the vitrification of glass and porcelain, and its hardness has caused it to be much used in scouring kitchen utensils. In agriculture, it is valued as a manure; it gives lightness to clayish and heavy soils, and assists in the work of filtra- tion. Sandstone is formed of grains of silex cemented together, producing a solid rock, though of a very friable nature. Common Jfint contains of silica ninety -seven parts in one hundred. It is generally of a grayish 16* 166 FIFTH SERIES. color, approaching often to black, it is opaque, but translucent at its edges. It strikes fire by collision, and is on this account used in gun-locks. From its being one of the hardest substances in nature, it is often taken as an emblem of moral hardness. It is found principally in beds or strata in chalk formations. It is used in the manu- facture of glass and porcelain, in the construction of buildings and walls, and it also forms excellent roads. LESSON XLIV. ALUMINE OR ARGIL. This substance obtained the name of Alumine, from its forming the base of common alum, and argil, from the Latin argilla, clay, on account of its being the constituent of all clays, which are therefore termed argillaceous earths. Their dis- tinguishing qualities are, that they have an earthy texture, g'ive out a peculiar odor when breathed upon, which has been thence called the argilla- ceous odor; they adhere to the tongue ; are never found crystallized, but sometimes slaty ; are gen- erally opaque, and their weight is about twice as great as that of water. When tempered with water, most argillaceous substances become soft, tenacious, and plastic,* but shrink and harden by the application of heat. Alumine is never found pure in nature : it is considered to be the most plentiful earth next to silex. * Plastic, from TrAao-o-w (plasso) to form, means here, easily i^v)ulded into various forms. LESSON LXIV. ARGIL. 187 Common clay is a nearly equal admixture of aliimine and silex : it is found in most countries, and is very valuable in various arts ; for these it is peculiarly fitted, as it may be moulded into any form, which it retains unchanged after ex- posure to heat. The beds of lakes, ponds, and springs, are almost entirely of clay : instead of allowing the filtration of water, as sand does, it forms an impenetrable bottom, and by this means water is accumulated in the caverns of the earth, producing those natural reservoirs, whence springs issue and spout out at the surface. Clayey soils in consequence of their absorbing and retaining moisture are heavy and sticky. Clay is often used by the poorest classes of society in forming their mud cottages. Loam is an argillaceous substance, containing a great proportion of sand, and is generally found upon a bed of sand. It is the substance of which bricks and tiles are con- structed ; when well baked in a kiln, or in the sun, it becomes very hard and durable. A proof of this is furnished in the existence at the present day of those mighty Egyptian Pyramids, which are generally supposed to have been the work of the Israelites in their bondage. Porcelain clay is that employed in our china manufactories ; it absorbs moisture rapidly, and becomes very tenacious when kneaded. It is distinguished from other clays by the fineness of its texture, its friability and meager touch. A coarser kind called Potters^ clay, is used in the making of common eathern ware. Another description of clay is called Pipe clay from its being used in the manufacture of pipes it is very plastic, and is east in a cylindrical 188 FIFTH SERIES. mould, a wire being afterwards run through it to form the hollow through which the fumes of the tobacco are inhaled ; when baked it becomes hard and white. This clay is also used in ex- tracting grease out of different substances. FuU lers* earth is another argillaceous substance simi- larly employed. The soil or mould which covers our fields and gardens, contains more or less of these three substances, alumine, silica, or lime. They occur in very different proportions; the best soils are those which are a mixture of all, for they correct and keep within their due proportion the qualities of each other ; thus in a clayey soil, filtration is carried on by means of sand, while clay on the other hand gives consistency to a sandy soil, and lime loosens the texture of heavy lands, and corrects the coldness which the retaining of water occasions. How beautifully may we thus trace through nature, contending and opposite qualities working together to form an harmonious whole. The fertilizing })roperty of our soils, however, greatly depends upon the admixture of decayed animal and vegetable matter. aUESTIONS ON THE EARTHS. 1S9 QUESTIONS ON THE EARTHS. LIME. 1. Why is lime never found pure in nature? 2. What name is given to the substances con- taining lime, and from what is the name derived? 3. Name the various minerals of which lime forms a principal part. 4. From wdiat substance is pure lime generally procured ? 5. Describe the process. 6. What is the operation of slacking lime, and the eflect produced ? 7. Name the different uses of lime, with the properties that fit it for those uses. 8. What is a carbonate of lime ? 9. Mention the different carbonates of lime. 10. What qualities do they all possess? 11. Describe the calcareous spar. 12. What are stalactites? describe their forma- tion. 13. What is marble, and how used ? 14. Describe chalk, its situation, qualities, and appearances. 15. What is calcareous tufa? 16. Name the limestones used in building. 17. What is gypsum, its qualities, and uses ? 190 FIFTH SERIES. 1. In what minerals is silica found in the greatest purity ? 2. Why was it called silica ? 2. What are the earths called that contain silica ? 4. What other name is sometimes given to them, and why ? 5. What are the distinguishing qualities of silicious earths ? 6. What are their chief uses ? 7. What is sand 1 8. Where does it abound, and to what misfor- tune are those liable who travel in the countries, where it abounds 1 9. Describe common flint, and name its uses. 10. In what geological situation is it found 1 ALUMINE OR ARGIL. 1. Why is clay called argil ? why alumine? 2. What are the distinguishing qualities ol alumine? 3. What qualities render it so useful in the arts ? 4. Name the different argillaceous earths. 5. Name their various uses. 6. What is loam, its situation and uses? 7. How is porcelain clay distinguished? 8. What clay is used in the manufacture of common earthenware, and how does it differ from porcelain clay ? LESSON XLV. COAL. 191 9. What clay is used in the manufacture of pipes, and how are they made ? 10. What clays are used for extracting grease 1 11. Why are clays used for the bottoms of lakes, canals, &c. ? 12. What kind of soil does clay form ? LESSON XLV. COAL. Coal may be considered as a mineral, both from its subterraneous situation, and the qualities which it possesses ; many circumstances however justify the now prevalent opinion that it is of vegetable origin ; the following are perhaps the most con- vincing. Carbon, which is the chief constituent of all vegetable matter, particularly wood, com- poses three-fourths of this substance. Coal is also found in the various stages of mineralization. Sometimes it possesses a complete.ly fibrous tex- ture and ligneous appearance, even the knots of wood being discernible, whilst the same bed pro- duces specimens of perfect mineral coal. That which preserves most distinctly the character of w^ood, is found at Bovey near Exeter. In confirmation of this opinion is the fact, that in Ireland a standing forest has been discovered at the depth of one hundred feet below the soil. To this we may add the inflammability of this substance, the numerous vegetable remains and impressions that accompany it, and that it has never been discovered above the line to which 192 FIFTH SERIES. vegetation reaches. It is of a black color, bright, and frequently iridescent,* the structure is slaty ; it occurs always amorphous ; it is very combusti- ble, a quality which few minerals possess. The places from whence it is taken, are called coal mines; they abound in many parts of England, and have mainly contributed to the wealth of our country. Both the persons employed m the mines, and the vessels which transport the coals, are called colliers ; the place where the trade is carried on, a colliery. The access to coal mines is generally through a narrow, perpendicular tun- nel, called a shaft, up which the workmen and coals are drawn by machinery. The mines at Whitehaven are some of the most extraordinary in the world. The principal entrance is Dy an opening at the bottom of a hill through a long sloping passage, which is hewn in the rock, and leads to the lowest vein or bed of coal: the de- scent is chiefly through spacious galleries inter- secting each other, formed by the excavation of the coal, larg^ pillars of which only are left to support the ponderous roof. These mines are very deep, and are extended under the bed of the sea, even to where the depth of the water is suf- ficiently great to admit ships of burden. In these mmes there are three strata of coal which lie considerably apart from one another, and are made to communicate by pits. Miners are fre- quently impeded in their progress by vems of hard rocks called dykes, and the coal is seldom found in a direct line en the other side of them: * Iridescent, exhibiting a variety of colors like the rainbow from Greek ipiSos- (iridos) of a rainbow. LESSON XLV. COAL. 193 to ascertain its precise situation is often a work of considerable labor and expense. Coal is gen- erally situated at the foot of mountains, and in hollows which vary much in extent : it rarely hes much above the level of the sea. Several dangers attend the labors of miners; the greatest is that arising from fii'e damp ; which is occasioned by the hydrogen gas or in- flammable air, produced in the mine, and which when mixed with atmospheric air, explodes with great violence if brought into contact with any lighted substance. To avoid this danger, safety- lamps are used, which were invented by Sir Humphry Davy. They are of a very simple construction, consisting of wire gauze, so closely interwoven as to prevent a sufBcient quantity of the gas from entering, and thus causing ignition. Another danger arises from the formation of car- bonic acid gas or fixed air, which, being heavier than the common air, occupies the lower part of mines, and occasions death by suffocation. Coal is used to raise the temperature of rooms, to cook food, to supply the fuel for manufactories, (particularly where steam is required) and in the working of metals. It is one of the substances from which gas is procured : when this has been extracted from the coal, the residue is called coke, which is employed where intense heat is requisite. Coal abounds in various parts of the United States, particularly on the banks of the Lehigh and Schuylkill rivers, in Pennsylvania. 17 194 FIFTH SERIES. LESSON XLVI. GRANITE. Granite is a compound rock, formed by an ag- gregation of the grains of quartz, felspar, and mi- ca. The proportions in which these component parts occur, vary much. Felspar is the predomi- nating, as mica is the least considerable of these ingredients. The grains are also of different magnitudes ; when they are large, the granite is of a very coarse texture ; but sometimes they are so small, as almost to give the appearance of a uniform mass. These circumstances occasion a great variety in the character of granite. When hornblende occurs in the place of mica, the rock is called Sienite. Some felspar is liable to de. composition, and when this is the prevailing sub- stance in the rocks, they yield to the effects of the weather, and become more or less of a rounded form : but when the granite is hard and close- grained, which is more usually the case, they rise in bold prominent peaks, giving grandeur and boldness to the scenery. Granite is found in most countries where there are mountains of any con- siderable elevation. It forms the lofty Grampian Hills in Scotland ; and the logan or rocking stones of Cornwall are immense blocks of this material. Granite is valuable on account of its great hard- ness and durability, is used for mill-stones, troughs, and steps, the streets of London are paved with it, and it is employed in architecture. Waterloo Bridge, one of the finest specimens of art, is con- structed of granite. LESSON XLVII. SALT. 195 LESSON XLMI. Salt is a mineral substance, beautifully white, sparkling', and crystalline ; it is soluble, fusible, granulous, and of a saline flavor. There are several varieties of this useful mineral which are distinguished by the different situations in which they are found. The principal are sea-salt, called also bay-salt, which is produced from the ocean ; the best comes from Portugal : salt drawn from brine springs : and rock salt, which is dug out of the earth. Amongst the most extensive salt mines hitherto discovered, are those at Wielizka, a pic- turesque little town situated on the sides of a gentle valley, about eight miles from Cracow, the chief city of Poland. The traveller who visits these subterraneous deposits of salt, being fur- nished with a guide and two lamp-bearers, is let down a shaft of about 150 feet by a rope. At the depth of 90 feet he arrives at the rock of pure salt of a dingy soot color, here and there glistening by the light of the lamps. The swing is now aban- doned, and the ear is assailed by the busy sound of spades, mattocks, and wheelbarrows, in every direction. This is the first Jf.oor of a large cavern containing in different parts the stable, and twenty horses, quantities of salt, some in bare masses, some in casks ready to be hoisted to the surface, stores of implements for the miners, &;c. This excavation is about 100 fee*- long and 80 196 FIFTH SERIES. broati, (beside the stable,) and about 20 feet high. From hence a long gallery 12 feet high by eight broad leads towards the interior of the mine, while lateral avenues branch off in various direc- tions, each named after some Austrian prince or princess, and resembling more in appearance the avenues of some subterraneous palace, than the passages of a mine. A flight of steps conducts down another 100 feet to the second foor ; in this descent the bed of salt is interrupted by a narrow stratum of pure clay, sometimes by a mixture of salt, and the same earth ; these strata are in places very curiously curved, as though a rolling wave had been arrested in its course and preserved in its original form. The miners are here found at work, some hewing pillars of salt from the rock, some cutting them into masses for home con- sumption, and some stowing the masses in barrels for exportation. The cavern on this floor is rather smaller than the first: it consists of one spacious hall, and has no pillar to support the roof. . Proceeding on this subterraneous journey, the traveller arives at a wooden platform, from whence he looks down upon an abyss, which the simple lights of the conductors fail to illuminate, though the spars of the mineral reflecting the rays of light, produce a novel and beautiful effect. When princes or other great personages visit the mines, a chandelier of crystal salt, which hangs in the centre, is furnished with 150 lights, and displays a stupendous cavern, having the appear- ance of a castle in ruins ; at the bottom are some rows of seats rising like the benches of a theatre, opposite to which is an orchestra ; here on grand LESSON XLVII. SALT. 197 occasions a small band play a few airs of slow and simple music, which has a most singular effect in harmony with the surrounding scene. Long galleries and flights of steps, all spacious enough to allow free course to the fresh air, lead deeper and deeper in the saline rock ; the scene now and then varied by a cavern full of workmen, and some along the galleries wheeling their little carts full of salt, each with its lamp in front. On the fourth foor there is a little subterraneous lake, about 80 feet long and 40 broad, over which illustrious personages are ferried on rafts of fir logs, lighted by numerous flambeaux. Here ter- minates the bed of green salt, the most common sort and easiest to be cut. That next to it is called spisa salt, which is harder and more close grained, and next succeeds a white and finer grained variety. This part of the mine is 700 feet below the surface of the earth ; 300 feet be- neath this lies the finest crystal salt, which is reached by long flights of steps and inclined planes. The cavern in which it is found is suf- fiiciently spacious for a regiment of soldiers to perform their manoeuvres in it. This is the deep- est part of the mine : the air is quite pure, rather cooler than that of the open day, but much warmer than it is about half-way down. The re- turn is through a different series of corridors and caverns. On the third floor is a simple tomb of salt with the name of the late Emperor of Austria inscribed with letters of wood neatly gilt. On the second floor is a large saloon with all the im- plements of mining and the mode of letting them down with men and horses exhibited in transpa- rency. On the first is a chapel, presenting an 17* 1^ FIFTH SERIES. altar, statue of the Virgin, crucifix, and figures of Cayimir I. and his wife, all cut out of the solid salt; before the chapel is a small pulpit in the Gothic style. To visit the whole of this extraor- dinary and extensive mine, with all its galleries and caverns, no less a distance than 300 miles must be traversed. The salt used in England is chiefly obtained from the sea, or salt brine springs. The saline water is admitted into open shallow trenches, and being exposed to the sun or artificial heat, the water is evaporated, and the salt is left in a crys- talline state. There are salt springs and extensive manufac- tories of salt at Salina in New-York and in vari- ous other places in the United States. The conservative properties of salt render it in- valuable for economical purposes, and its stimu- lating flavor in correcting the insipidity of food. When fused it is used in glazing pottery. It is valuable as a manure, on account of its promoting the growth of vegetation. It was employed in all the Jewish ceremonies, being emblematical of purity and incorruptibility. Our blessed Lord calls his disciples the salt of the earth, thereby signifying to them, that being seasoned with grace themselves, they should sea- son and purify others, communicating to them a principle which will preserve them from the cor- ruption that is in the world. LESSON XLVIII. SLATE. 199 LESSON XLVm. SLATE. Slate is a mineral substance ; it is never found crystallized, though it is of a foliated structure ; it is either of a gray, bluish, or blackish color ; and is opaque, dull and brittle. It consists chiefly of alumine, with a small quantity of silex. It is dug out of quarries ; when first taken from them, it is comparatively soft, but becomes hard by expo- sure to the air. It is used for writing, for whet- stones, and for roofing houses. In order to as- certain its fitness for the latter purpose, it is weighed as soon as it is excavated ; it is then put into water for some days : if after being well dried it is found to have increased in weight, it is laid aside as unsuitable for the purpose, the trial having proved that it was porous. Such slate would not only allow water to pass through it and so destroy the wood-work of buildings, but it would also be liable to be covered with lichens and moss, in consequence of the moisture which it retains. If its quality is ascertained to be good, it is split into thin plates for roofing. The tiles are fastened to the rafters by pegs driven through holes which have been previously made in them ; the edge of one is laid over the other in the same manner as the scales of fishes. Slate which is dark-colored, com- pact, and solid, is the best adapted for writing upon. In order to prepare the slate for this purpose, it is rendered smooth with an iron instrument, and it is then ground with sandstone, and slightly pol- ished. That which is softer and more friable is used for pencils. 200 FIFTH SERIES. LESSON XLIX. CORAL. Corals are the secretions made by polype in- sects inhabiting the deep. They sometimes as- sume the forms of branches of the most beautiful appearance : sometimes they resemble beads strung in a necklace ; whilst others present a more consolidated mass, but are all perforated with pores more or less minute, the habitations of the little architects. Among the various phenomena that the works of creation open to our view, there are perhaps none more calculated to excite astonishment and admiration than the vast coral reefs that rise up from the deep, and at times even constitute islands. They are produced from a calcareous matter which exudes from the coral worm., and harden- ing, forms at once their habitation and their mau- soleum. This creature is of the class of zoo- phytes, the lowest grade of animal life, the link between it and the vegetable kingdom. They only work under water, so that the coral reefs never rise above the level of the sea ; when the tide retires, they appear to be dry compact rock, rug- ged and perforated ; but when the returning wa- ters wash its sides, a most interesting spectacle of active life is presented ; and countless myriads of various shapes and colors protrude themselves from the orifices, and the whole edifice seems teeming with life and animation. LESSON XLIX. CORAL. 201 The growth of the coral ceases when the worm is no longer exposed to the washing of the sea ; the work is then commenced at the sides, and other parts rise in succession till they reach the same height, and form a level surface at the top, with steep precipitous sides. In this manner, and by such insignificant agents, atom deposited upon atom, the solid rock is at length produced; upon this the sea deposits sand, mud, and decayed sea-weed ; these prepare for mosses and lichens, which in their turn form a soil for more perfect vegetation ; till at last the island thus formed, be- comes a fit residence for man. As these rocks are constructed beneath the surface of the sea, they present no beacon to warn the mariner of their existence, and thus render navigation in those §eas in which they abound, exceedingly dangerous. 202 DICTIONARY. Absorbent, that which sucks up liquids, as sponge. A sub- stance is never absorbent without being at the same time porous, for if there were no pores the fluid could not enter the substance. All substances are in a degree porous» but we only attribute the quality to those in which it is obvious. Adhesive, that which is composed of particles, not only uniting firmly together, but which join themselves to other sul> stances. Thus gum, when placed between two pieces of paper, attaches itself to each, and causes a union between the two. Aromatic, that which has a pungent spicy smell. Astringe.Jif, contracting, causing soft substances to contract. Bright, shining. Brittle, that which is easily broken: hard substances only are brittle. Concave, any portion of the internal surface of a hollow sphere Conservative, that which preserves. Convex, any portion of the external surface of a sphere. Cylindrical, a form having two flat and one curved surface as a ruler. Ductile, that which is capable of being drawn out into length. Didl, that which absorbs the light instead of reflecting it. Edible or Eatable, that which is fit for food. Elastic, that which, when bent or stretched, returns to its original position. Effervescent, that which bubbles up from internal commotion. Exotic, that which is not produced in our own country. Exported, that which is sent out from our ports. Flat, a surface is flat that lies evenly between its boundaries : as the ceiling, floor, &c. Flexible, that which can be bent easily. Fluid, that which has parts easily separable, which flows about. Fragrant, that which* has an agreeable smell Friable, that which crumbles easily. Fusible, that which melts in fire. DICTIONARY. 203 Granulous, that which separates into grains or small particles as sand. Hard, that which presents a strong resistance to the touch. Imbricated, that which is arranged in the manner of the tiles of a house. Impressible, that which easily receives and retains an im- pression. Imported, that which is brought into our ports. Incompressible^ that which cannot be forced into a smaller compass. Indigenous, that which is the natural production of a country: this terra is applied to vegetables, as native is applied to men. Inodorous, that which has no smell. Laminated, that which is arranged in thin coats or laminae. Liquid, properly signifies that which is melted ; any thing which we can drink, or which forms into drops. Air is a fluid. Water is both fluid and liquid : when we speak of it as a stream or current, it is properly called a Jluid ; but when we speak of it as passing from a congealed to a dis- solved state, it should properly be called a liquid. Magnifying, that which malies things appear larger than they actually are. Malleable, that which is capable of great extension when beaten, without the particles being separated by the opera- tion. Thus a grain of gold can be beaten out to a sheet of extreme thinness. Metallic, that which has the nature of metals. Nutritious, that wliich contains much nourishment. Odorous, that which has any smell. Opaque, that through which nothing can be seen. Oval, the form of an egg. Pliable, that which can be folded easily into plaits. Thus a young tw ig is flexible, linen is pliable. Porous, that which is full of small pores or holes. Pulverable, that which can be reduced to a powder. Pungent, that which is warm to the taste. Reflective, reflecting or giving back an image; this quality depends upon the former. A river that is bright reflects its banks. Sapid, that which has a flavor. Semi-transparent, that which is seen through imperfectly 204 DICTIONARY. Soft^ that which yields to the touch. Solid, that which is composed of particles adhering closely together ; in this sense it is opposed to Jluid. Solid, that which fills up a space ; in this sense it is opposed to hollow. Soluble, that which melts in a fluid. Spherical, the form of a sphere or globe. Sparkling, that which does not present a continued brightness, but one interrupted, as in sugar. Tenacious, that which is composed of particles uniting firmly together. Thus gum being tenacious, the particles cannot easily be separated, and on this account it acts as a cement Glue being more tenacious acts as a still stronger cement. Tough, that which is capable of being bent or stretched with- out breaking Translucent, that through which light only can be seen Transparent, that which can be seen through. Tviular, a hollow cylinder THE EWa |Jun ^9, \8»7^4 CATALOaUE OF VALUABLE BOOKS, PUBLISHED Br J B. LIPPINCOTT & CO., (LATE LIPPINCOTT, GRAMBO & CO.) No. 20 NORTH FOTJRTH STREET, PHILADELPHIA; CONSISTING OP A LARGE ASSORTMENT OF BiBLES, PRAYER-BOOKS, COMMENTARIES, STANDARD POETS, MEDICAL, THEOLOGICAL, AND MISCELLANEOUS WORKS. ETC. PARTICULARLY SOTTABLE FOR PUBLIC AND PRIVATE LIBRARIES; For Sale by Booksellers and Country Merchants generally throughout the United States. 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