The Pennsylvania evening post — Philadelphia, Pa., 1776-01-20 00:00:00, page 1

The PENNSYLVANIA EVENING POST.
From the ESSEX GAZET T E, of January 4.
Watertown, December 25, 1775.
rr^HE Committee for propogating the manufacturing
of SALTPETRE-, in the colony of Maflachuletts-
I Bay, having been so happy as to difeover an easy,
simple, and fuccefsful method of making that arti
cle with earth from under old buildings, are luiiiciently war
ranted, from their own experience, to recommend the fol
lowing precess as easy and infallible.
The fu bferiber has himfelf assisted in making fifty weight
of good Saltpetre in five days by this method, and that from
forty buihels of earth only taken from under one old lioufe;
and l know of no person who has tried the following method,
but what has had nearly the fame success ; and whoever tries
the experiment, will meet with success greatly to his fatisfac
tion, provided his earth be good. For that purpose take earth
from under any old bujldipg(whether meeting-houfe,dwelling
houle, barn, liable or other building) where the earth has
been long covered from the weather ; dig about fix or eight
inches deep, and a little experience will teach you to choose
that which is loole, light and crumbly, and has a bitterifh or
fourilh alum-like taste upon the tongue ; light fandyor loomy
earth, fucli as water easily penetrates, works the kindest. Fill
your leech-ttibs witli thole earths, observing to run all your
liquor through three leeches one after another, before you
bale it , pouring water on the second and third leeches, until
all the nitre is extra&ed, which you muff judge of by the taste.
When you have collected a fufticient quantity of this liquor
for boiling, you mull have also in readiness a quantity of com
mon lie drawn from ashes, of the strength of about five gal
lons of lie drawn from a bushel of affies, mix these two liquors
together (in a proper velfel) in the proportion of three parts
of the former to one of the latter, and you will immediately
perceive a turbidnefs to arise, and the liquor to loole like new
bter; let it hand quiet a few hours, and an earthy sediment
will iettle to the bottom, leaving the liquor clear ; remove
this liquor, carefully from the sediment, into your kettle, ei
ther by drawing it off at a tap three or-four inches from the
bottom of your fettling tub, or by carefully dipping it off as
you please ; boil down, this liquor until you find, by fitting
a little in a cool place, it Ihoots pretty full of cryllals, then
dip it out into a tub, let it Rand one or two hours to fettle,
then pour it off into wooden trays previously wet with cold
water, and set them in a'cool place, and in twenty-four hours
you may pour off the liquor from the chryftals ; the liquor
you pour off (called the mother of Saltpetre) you may either
boil down again until it will chryftalize, or, which is less
trouble, you may mix it with your next liquor while it is
January 20, 1776.
ALL persons indebted to Doftor WILLIAM ADAMS,
late of tne city of Philadelphia, are hereby desired to
make speedy payment to GEORGE MOORE, of the city
atorefaid, who is wholly empowered to receive the fame.
Thole who have any demands against the Doctor, are desired
to fend in their accounts that they may be lettled, by
GEORGE MOORE.
Vol. ll.]
Price only Pavo Coppers.
SATURDAY, JANUARY 20, 1776.
-Published every Tuesday, Pburfday, and Saturday Evenings.
35
I have met with several gentlemen who objected to the fore
going method on account of the large proportion of alkaline
lie made use of, supposing that the Saltpetre thus produced
may contain so much of the alkaline salt, as to render it unfit
for the important purpose for which it is designed. There
fore, left this opinion mould so far prevail as to prevent peo
ple from entering fully into the practice of this fuccefsful me
thod, let it be observed, that nitre (proper so called) is a fpi
ritbus fluid matter, and will never become solid until it is
fixed to and blended with some solid substance, which must
ferveit as a basis, and becomes the cause of its solidity ; and
when it is imbibed by the above earths, it adheres to and be
comes intimately blended with certain particles which are
called its terrene basis ; and the only secret in making Salt
petre (from these earths) consists in separating from the nitre
this terrene basis, and.in fufnifhing it with a Vegetable aid
kaline basis, and thus is formed that neutral felt, called
Saltpetre. This separation an,addition is performed by mix
ing the two lies as abovementioned, upon which mixing, the
nitre (having a greater fondnefs for che alkaline fasts than fir
its former earthy biffs) inftaftaneoufly forfakes it, terrene 3
basis, and unites with the alkaline faffs, and this earthy mat
ter (being thus forfaken of the nitre)" Ebiides to th^ bottom of
the veflel, in form cf a light earthy substance ; -and when this
separation is. thus performed, there is nothing more needful
but to concentrate the nitre, by evaporating*tiie water to a
proper degree; and, without the least difficulty, the whole of
the nitre will (hoot into Saltpetre chryttals, provided the lie
had Efficiently furnifhed it with an alkaline basis, for it is
absolutely certain that the nitre will forfake its terrene basis
and form into Saltpetre as far as it finds this alkaline basis to
form upon, apd no farther, and the want of a fufficient quan
tity of these alkaline salts has been the sole nafon why great
numbers of perlons have either hot been able to deduce their
fettling. If you have a mind for a large crop from one boil
ing, you may continue to fill the kettle you intend to boll off
in with hot liquor from your other kettle, and that with cold
liquor from your fettling tub, until you think proper to bail
off, observing all other directions as above, except you ob
serve the liquor to look of a darkish colour, in that case dip
itout into your fettling tub, and after a proper time pour it
off from the sediment into your kettle, and boil it down and
chryftalize as above. It was in this way that I made fifty
weight in five days. If you carefully observe the foregoing
directions, your fifit chryilals will be so clean that (for far
ther clarifying) they will need only to be put into a clean
kettle, cover them about two inches witl pure water, raise
the heat until they are dissolved, remove them, from the fire,
let them hand about fifteen minutes to fettle, pour it again in
to your coolers and set it aside, when it will again ihoot into
chryilals ; the liquor you pour off you may boil down and
chryftalize again and again, until all the water is evaporated.
This methodof clarifying Saltpetre is very easy, and if you find
once doing it not fufficient to render your Saltpetre pure, you
may repeat it as often as you please, and your Saltpetre will
lose nothing but its filth ; and I think this method preferable
to that hazardous one of fluxing the Saltpetre with a vehe
ment fire.
[Num. 156.