The Pennsylvania journal, or, Weekly advertiser — Philadelphia, Pa., 1776-03-27 00:00:00, page 3

many virtues and accomplitT.ments, that it would be very dif
ficult to draw a chattel of her, which would not appear ei
ther the effect of partiallily, to those who were Grangers to
her,Gr an imperfect expression of her worth, to those who
were acquainted with her. On Sunday, her remains were In
terred in the burying ground belonging to friends in Trenton.
Mefeurs Bradfords.
THE manufacture ot fah-petre has for many months past
J. been an object of great attention among the inhabitants
’ of the United Colonies, the necefiby of manufacturing our
own ammunition, and the many advantages that muff arise
f:om producing its chief ingredient among us, has induced
many communities and private performs to make experiments
and publilli to the colonies their proctfs and success : no
thing perhaps has so much retarded the growth of this manu
foame among families aad planters, (who have so great ad
vantages for carrying it on) as the want ofthe defer)ption of
the mod Ample and fuccefsful process; for toe benefit there
fore of those who have a disposition to serve themselves and
their oppressed country by making Saltpetre, the billowing
method is again published, and offers itfelf to the attention
and practice of all Americans with the ftrengeft of all recom
mendation, indif,ratable fcccefs: many perlons had laboured
in vain to extract Salopette flora those earths, which all
^eferiptien determined to be impregnated with it and others
peoduced it in such small quantities as to discourage their pro
ceeding ; but it is incontettibly evident that homediatviy af
ter the publication of the following method, that great num
bers by pradtifingit, produced Saltpetre from the fame kisd
of earth from which before they could extract none; large
quantities in many of the towns of New-England have been
made during the frofts of the winter, from such earth as they
could coßea in that season; public works arc crested, and
private families in great numbers find success from this fimpm
method, k is hoped therefore, that all who have conveniency
will immediately set about it and communicate the know
ledge of this raethod to those who otherwise would not be
informed of it: the whole method as drawn up by the au
thor, is published for the fatisfe&ion of the judicious, but it
may cafily be abridged for ths benefit of those who will not
enquire into the reason of it. The publisher hereof hath no
predilection to this method from any other motive than the
very great and unfailing success that has attended it, if any
petfon has discovered a method more Ample, fuccefsful or
profitable, their love to the American cause will induce them
to communicate it; to suppose the above method Will admit
cfno improvements, would be iuconfiftent with the design
of the publication, if the principle upon which it is founded
be the true one, there may he many better methods of apply
ing it. It is only wished that this method may be used till
experiment, that touchstone of natural phirofopby, has ascer
tained a better one.
" The Committee for'propagatingthe manufacturing of Salt
petre, in the colony of Massachusetts-Bay, having been so
hippy as to difeover an easy, Ample, and fuccefsfiri me hod
of making that article with earth from under old buildings,
are fufficiently warranted (from their own experience) to re
commend the following process as cafv and infallible
“ The fubferiber has himfelf assisted in makingtity weight
cf good Salt-Petre in five days by this method, and that from
forty brfit els of earth only, taken from under ope old house;
and I know of no perlon who has tried the following method,
but what have had nearly the fame success; and whoever
tries the experiment, will meet with success greatly to bis fa
tisfa&ion, provided his earth be good. For that purpose
take earth from under any old building (whether meeting
house, dwelling house, barn, liable or other building) where
the earth has been long covered from the weather; dig not
above fix or eight inches deep, and a little experience will
teach you to chafe that which is loose, light and crumbly,
and has a birterifhor sourish allum-like taste upon the tongue;
light sandy < r loomy earth, such as water easily penetrates,
works the kindest. Fill your leech-tubs with those earths,
observing to run all your liquor through three leeches, one
after another, before you bale it, pouring water on to the
fecund and third leeches, until all the nitre is extracted,
which you muff judge of by thetafte. When you have col
leaed a fufficient quantity of this liquor for boiling, you
inuft have also in readioefs a quantity of common lie drawn
from alhes, of the strength of about five gallons of lie drawn
from a bulhel of allies; mix theft two liquors together (in a
proper veffcl) in the proportion of three paty.of the former
to one of the latter, and you will immediately perceive a
turbidnefs to arise, and the liquor to look like ow beer;
let it (land quiet a few hours and an earthy fedimem will
fettle to the bottom, leaving the liquor clear; remove this li
quor (carefully from the sediment) into year kettle, either by
drawing it off at a tap three or four inches from th: bottom of
your fritting-nib, or by carefully dipping it off as yen pteafe;
boil down this liquor until you find (by feeing a little in a
cool place) it moots pretty full of chrillab. then dip it out
into a tub, let it stand one er 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 front the chriftak; the liquor you pour
off (called the mother of Salt-Petre) you may either boil
down again until it will chfiftalize, or (which is lets w üble)
you may mix it with your next liquor while it is fettling ; if
you have a mind for a large crop from one boiling, you may
continue to fill the kettle you intend r 6 bob off in wi<h hot
liquor from' your other kettle, and that wish cold liquor
from your fettling tub until you think proper to bail off,
obfirting ail other directions as above; except you observe.
the liquor to look of a darkish colour, in that case dip it out
into your fettling tub, and after a proper time pour it off
from the sediments into your kettle and boil it down and
chtiflalize as above. It was in this way that fomade fifty
weight in five days. If you carefully observe the foregoing
directions, your firft chriOals will be so clean, tint (for fui
thcr clarifying) they will need only to be put into a clean
kettle, cover them about two incites with pure water, raise
the heat until they are ditTolved, remove them from the fire
let them ftsud about fifteen minutes to fettle, pour it again
into your coolers and set it a fide, when it will again droot
into cbriftals; the liquor you peur off you may boil down
and chrdlalize again and again, until all the water is evapo
rated. This method of clari6ng Sak-Peueii very e/y, and
if yen find once doing it not fuflicieni to render your Salt-
Petre pure, you .may repeat it as often as you pteafe, and
your Sait-Petre will lefe nothing but its filth; arid I think
this method preferable to thu hazardous one of fluxing the
Salt-Petre with a vein meet five.
" I have met with ft veratfgeDtiemen who olject to the fore
going (nethod, on account of the large proportion of alkabne
lie made use of. Suppe ling that the falt-pcirt thus produced,
may contain so much of the alkaline fait as to render it unfit
for the important purpose for which it is defined : There
fore, left this opinion fhoufd so far prevail as to prevent
people from entering fully into the'practice of this fuccefsful
method, let it be observed, that nitre (properly so called) is
a spirituous fluid matter, and will never become fohd un
til it is fixed to and blended with fotne other fubtiance,
whiah muff serve it as a bags., and becomes the can of its
elidity ; and when it is imbibed by the above earths, it
adheres to and becomes intimately blended with certain ar
ticles, which is called its terrenue basis ; and the only fe
crec in making falt-petre (from these earths) consists in fepi
rating from the nitre, this terrenue bad,, and in furnishing it
with a vegitable alkaline ball., and thus is formed that neu
tral fall, called falt-petre. This separation and addition is
performed by mixing the two lies as above mentioned, up
on which mixing, the nitre (having a grea er fondnefs for
the alkaline falls, than for its former earthy basis) indaM
tanioufly forfakes its terrenne, balls, and unites with the
alkaline faits, and this earthy matter (being thus forfaken
of the nitre) subsides to the bottom of the veffcl, in form
of a light earthy substance ; aod when this fepararion is
thus performed, there is niching mere needful but to con
centrate the nitre, by evaporating the water to a proper
degree (and without the lead difficulty) the whole of the
nitre will shoot into falt-petre ch dials, provided the lie
had fufficiently furnisher it with an alkaline balls , for it is
absolutely certain, that the nitre will forfike its terrene
balls and form into falt-petre as far as it finds this alka
line basis to form upon, and no further, and the want of
a Efficient quantity of these alkaline salts his been the sole
reason why great numbers of performs have either not been
able to reduce their liquor to chriftals at all, or else their
chriftals have been final! in quantity and very foul—there
fore ihould your nitre lie be very hr ng yon may add one
third aft lie instead of one quarter, fliould the proportion
be a little oveiplus it will not in the lead injure your Salt
petre. W.WhitIN G, Chairman of the falt-peoc committee."
It is evident that the above method relates only to the ex
tracting Salt petre from earth already impregnated; but as
that may loon be worked up, it is necclJary to fcarcb out arid
put in practice the belt methods of making compositions of
materials the best adopted io produce Salt-pctrc, which by be
",] properly placed and managed may be much sooner tit to
yield Salt-petre than the common earth we find under build
ings, this not being in its nature the bed adapted, nor the
bed situated to collect Salt petre may be a longtime before
it is futheient'y impregnated; the method univcrfally reccra
mepded seems to be this, viz. take good earth, (he earth
from which Salt-petre has been exhaled is laid to be bed)
dirt from under (tables in which dung and urine is mixed,
and from unde thogfties, dung of fewb, all k : nd of herbs
and weeds, cfpecially the bitter ones, tobacco tra.th, and any
thing that is putrefciblc, rubbish of old buildings, Sweepings
of Greets, a proportion of allies arid lime, these or such of
them as can be conveniently get, be them be worked up to
gether and moiftued well with urine of any fore or with
water if that cannot be ^ot, let this tompoft belaid lofc in
a bed under a (hed, or in feme place that is defended from
the rain but exposed to a free current of air, and once in a
month let it be worked over, and always kept meift with
urine or water, this in a few months will be fish of Salt- pette,
but it may be well to try fume of it before you determine to
work upthe whole The pumfcible natter must be well
rolled before it will produce the lead effects and h^ com
post as er the Salt pete is extracted from it with a irtuli ad
dition cf lime and allies, is more fujtable to colle& Salt-p&fe
again than any new compost : In fume places they make the
above ingredients into walls or fences, wide enough at b^t
tora to hand, ^nd tapering to 4 or 5 inches on the top, -nd
about 5 feet high, and placed along in rows at a convenient
diftauce to pari between; this method is preferred by some
as a greater futface is expofid to the air, aud they do not take
so much room as if the fame matter was laid in beds, bu # the
top of the wail Ihould be covered with a b,/d or a ibaw
mat to prevent the heavy rains from walking theu, and the
furface of them should be made as iote as may be, to give
admifiion to the air, and should be wet trequentiy with mine
or water. When these walls are fund 10 b/ fuff© nt,
impregnated (which is supposed to be in § r 6 months)
the Salt-petre is to be extracted as from other earth, other
by taking down the whole of the will, or by fetap ng off the
thickness of an iuah from the furfaecs of them, apd wuking
that up and leaving the remainder of the walls to be further
impregnated ; experience will shew which is bill as it ado
may lead the careful obfervar to many ccnveniamcics in mak
ing this valuable and heceffary article, whieh as yet are not
known.
Extras of a letter from a gentleman of diflinfliov In Newbury
Port, Feb, 13th, 1776.
" The last post banded me your favour of the 29th uh. de
siring a minute account of the state of the m;cuf h ar.res of
Salt Petre in this town, I h?ve in confequntce, vetoed every
principal work, and from the most cxa& nd particular intel
ligence, find, that the fourteen work, already erected h^e,
have refined and sent to the colonial Commtffah, five huodvd
eighty-eight pounds good Saltpetre—Tha they have in he
ruff twelve hundred pounds, which, when defined will neat
nine hundred pounds genuine, tweny-tive per cue being the
average loss in purifying. They turn out one hundred pounds
per diem, aud, from the dirt they have engaged, arc confi^edt
or doing the fame every day till the firft da, of April—Which,
deducting the twenty-five per cent lots <n refi^ng. will give,
with what is already fen: to Watertown, 46381 b. of genuine
Saltpetre. After the tirft of April they export to enercafe
the Qjsntity nearly double, by the feverby of the seas n's
abating and by being able to co h:& moc and better earth
from under buddings which people are unwib.ng to op a
while frofts.continue.- Beside rhe ab ve maxy iambics are
making Saltpetre in their 6;< metrics sufficient for then pri
vatu (onfumptiue, and powder. I have h % pedu to add,
as a i*a, tha y u may expect ^>m ^- to^ns of Newbury,
Rowley, Bradford, 4.bnfbury and Sxbfbury, as much fgt-pytre
as I have set dost, from this— They have caught the spirit,
and are ptufuing to good advantage.
Extrafl of a Ie ter from a geutkmj^ in Mffich?fctts-l>a,, dated
Febr^ag 11, 1776.
" The making filtpet e bas had a rapid spread through the
province since the difeovery made by the Saltpetre Committee
at Newbury port; there is Scarce a down in it but has 3 4, or
more faltpetre m kers, who meet with greu success fr m c^rth
taken from under old bonfes, &c. I have made-La pounds of
fahpetre out of 15 bushels of earth that wa, taken rum under
our meeting huufe, and I suppose the whole of the earth ta
ken from thence has made not k,fs han 60 pounds: Two
persons in t^wu have made 100 weight, and sundry others
are employed in the business; in fine, the process being so
generally known, every person with half a grain of common
sense can now make fa tpetre equal to the abled ebymift."
T O BE S O L D,
A Very NEAT NEW PHAETON, with Harness complcat
_ f 1 .vo Harles. Enquire at Mr. SHEPHERD'S Li
very : ; ^ in - v. h Ull , a liptealwve Market-street. ||
? be .th r, and entcied on directly,
r ,"E Noted Tavern in Germantown, the KING PRUS
-1 SfA, wuhß cres of land, „grereft part of tfhi?h is
orcha d, w ; ri barn, (b.hles; ihade, &c. &'c. Enquire of
Paul Cox ui Fr^Dt-brett) below> Walnut- street.
N. B. None need apply but such as would keep tavern. ^
X^/HEREAS a certain Pl.iiip Feos or S-a fb> g town-
V, chip, and a certain folil B wman, of Cadoras : n
fhtp, on the third of March instant obtained each a bond
from the fubferiber for tl^ sum of Twenty Nine Pounds,
with a certain Francis B< wman, as ficurity, payable in
March next ; an" s the fai^ bonds were obtained in an un
fair manner a;d wlh tit any confidcratiun, the ftibferiber
warias al p<fons not to tak any alignment ot said bonds,
a, he does not conceive bimfclf liable in law or equity to
pay the fame. 5 JOHN WINE, Miller.
Yo k Much TI, 1776.
— - — ~—i^^
PROPOSALS
For PRiNTiNGby Subscription, A TREATISE of
MILITARY DISCIPLINE;
CALCULATED FOR THE USE OF THE
AMERICAN S,
In which every thing cffeutial to them is contained, and
such manoeuvres as ate only calculated for fliew omitted.
'THIS work will be prin ed in a du<d<cimo volume,
I iliuftrated by TEN COPPER PLATES, and bound
in flieep skin; the price tb^ee quarters of a dollar I is
ready and will be put in the piefs as toon as 300 arc
subscribed for.
The Author is preparing a translation of the Chevalier
de Chirac's Ingenitur de C onpagne. or Field Engineer;
a work highly tftermed by the military, and which none
of that profeffi n 1 (hov!d be unprovided with, particularly
in this county To render it of more general use the
translator intends prefixing an xplanation of all the tecni
cal terms, and adding feme remarks on batteries for the de
fence of haib urs, and a febeme for remedying their
defects.
Subferiprions are received in Philadelphia, at the bar of
the London Coffee-Houfe, and by Lewis Nicoh; at Cam
bridge by Thomas Mifflin, Esq; Qyartet-mafta General,
and in New-York by Mr. Ebenezer Hazard,
k u-N-u OAY trm the fubicnbes, living in Ports Grove,
j\ Philadelphia county, on the 16th instant March, a
Scotch Servant boy, named JOHN MORRISON, aged r 5 or
16 years, fraall of visage, has remarkable light eyes, and a
fear along the upper part of his nose dark hair, fair com
plexion, has a very good countenance : Had 00 ^hen he
w n away, an old dark grey coatee, a spotted foanikin
jacket, and good bucklkm breeches, with blue horn buttons
at ih knees, mixt blue yarn dockings, good (hoes, and fleel
buckles: It is thought he has gone towards the weftefti ;art
ot Lancaster county, as be has a father that lives in that
par f die cou, try Whoever apprehends said servant, and
feru/rs him, so that the fubferiber gets him again, shall have
TEN DOLLARS reward. ANNA CARMICK.
/, He ock a light boun great coat wth brass buttons
wrt'l 1 :n.
BY virtue of a writ to me dirc&cd on Thurtday the :Bth
of April next, at the house of Hutchefon, tavern
keeper in Cumberland township, in she county of Y %
wi'ibe exposed to public sale, the two following defenbed
tra&s of land, viz. One of them situate in Cumberland
township aforefaid, containing one hundred acres, more or
less. with a good dwelling house thereon created, aud joining
lands of James Murphy and Thomas Hofack.
The other of Aid tracts situate in Manallin towndrip, in
the County aforesaid, containing one hundred and fifty acres,
more or lcf», adjoining lands of James Dickson, James M'
Dowel, and others; seized and taken hi execution as the
Efface of said 'Thomas Hofack, and to be fold by
. ' I CHARLES LUKENS, Sheriff.
TWENTY DOLLARS Reward.
ON Sunday night lafl, wa. fir ; , |,fo e
of the fubferiber, in die Noir eru L ^r,^ >f
Philadelphia, a dark brown coloured HORSE, abmr 8m 9
years old, r; banms high, iLod all rfyuud, has a little 1;
one of his hind feet, and a little grizzle on the right lent
is a natural tiotter, and carries hunfclf high. Whoever
secures the said horse and thief, and returns the horse to the
owner, and prosecutes the thief to conviaion, fliall derive
the above reward, or EIGHT DOLLARS and r<- r m : ble
charges for horse only, from CHARLES THOMSON.
T O B~E L~E T,~-
t And entered on thc fifteenth of May next
THE houfe,,adjoining lot and wharf, now in the tenure of
dr. JOHN COX, in Water-street, between Arch and
Race-streets. For terms apply to THO. BARCLAY, ctf
RAN-AWAY from the fubferiber, living in Panon'town-
Oup, Lancaster county, the 14th instant. an English
indented servant man, named BURNET SAVAGE, about
2$ years of age, § feet 6 inches high, has dark brow: hair,
wears it sh o rt, and is pitted with the fmall-poxt Had on when
he went away, a final! caftor hat, bound with black, a white
coloured coat, with home made buttons, red flannel jacket,
bucklkin breeches, blue yarn flockings, half worn frocs, with
ftcel bu kies, is a ray lor by trade, and it is probable he may
change hts name, and want employment. Whoever secures
said servant, so that his matter may have him again, shall
haze FOR I Y SHILLINGS reward, and reafonalole charges
paid by f THOMAS MURRAY.
i„ virtue of a writ to me directed, on the 17th day of
) April next, at 10 o'clock in the forenoon will be exposed
to public sale, at the house of Thomas McCleary, in Cum
berland towufhip, in the county of York, a quantity of fliop
goods of sundry forts; hotfes, mares, cow-, calves, fhcep,
swine; one waggon and gears, and other implements of
bufbandry ; hay, wheat and rye in the barn; a quantity of
grain in the ground ; and sundry other things too tedious to
mention ; taken in execution, as the estate of laid Thomas
McCleary, and to be fold by
Match 27. § CHARLES LUKFNS. Sheriff
I{7 iflloßn lad night from the fubferibers, living in Erst
Y ' <Ma borough township, Chester county, a large black
MAR rising three years old, and bridle, (lie has a very
win at^ettn. a natural trotter carries well, bf the dray
breyL par r.^rho brand nor ear mark; was ftoltn at the
Hme time out of looms about thirty seven for eight yards of
tow lipen, filled wtih fiurft filling at the la^er end, three or
fan ya 0 of flriped liaf<y at tirft end ; likewise was ftolcn
aoru f fix yards r cambist of a light brown, better than
thre -quar err wide filled with red ° A reward of FORTY
SHIi LINGS tor du mare, TV ENTY set the crith, d
FOR fY for the hicf, or THIRTY SHILLING'S a piece if
more than one thief wif be feiv,o: by
T lOMAS WOODWARD, Jun. and
lAiOB HAYS §
FIVE POU ND S Reward.