The Sun.
London, England, 1848-06-16 00:00:00

INDUSTRIAL. SCIENCES.

SUlnLPnlioUcßou—n
many benefits conferred upon the Eats and
manu-
factures by the science of chemistry; and we intend
it
country S more SOURCES
than
here to submit for the consideration of our readersa
few of the applications of sulphur and its combina-
tions, as an example of what we have stated. Few
i nA N E APPLICATIONS.GreatBritain
are
80
persons, who have not given it their attention, would
believe how many benefits are conferred upon our trade
and commerce by the manufacture of sulphuric acid
alone, which has reached in this country to
the highest
state of perfection.
Sulphur, commonly known by the name of brim-
stone, was well known to the ancients, and it is
termed by the chemists an elementary non-metallic
body—that is, by no process with which we are at present
acquainted can it be further resolved. It is found abun-
dantly in nature in its pure state, and also in various states
of combination with the metals. The principal source of
its derivation for commercial purposes is the volcanic dis-
tricts, and especially Solfatara, near Naples. The mines
of Sicily have been worked for several centuries; but it is
only since 1820 that any considerable quantity was pre-
pared for exportation. Subsequently to 1833, the trade
with this country increased so much, that the export of
sulphur to the United Kingdom rose from about
20,000 tons in that
_year to 38,654 tons in 1838.
In the autumn of that year the Neapolitan Govern-
ment established a monopoly in the trade, at the
suggestion of a Frenchman named Tait, the imme-
diate consequence of which was to cause a rise in
the price of sulphur from 61. or 71. a ton to double
that amount. In 1839 the importation to this
country fell from 44,000 tons to one half that
quantity. To show what effect this injudicious move
of the Sicilian government had upon science, we cannot
do better than quote the following extract from an inte-
resting little work by the celebrated German chemist
and philosopher, Justice Liebig, entitled " Familiar
Letters on Chemistry."

" Reflecting upon the important influence which the
price of sulphur oxoruiaae tipon the cost of production of
bleached and printed cotton stuffs, soap, glass, &c., and
remembering that Great Britain supplies America, Spain,
Portugal, and the east with these, exchanging them tor
raw cotton, silk, wine, raisins, indigo, &c., we can under-
stand why the English Government should have resolved
to resort to war with Naples, in order to abolish the
sulphur monopoly, which the latter power attempted re-
cently to establish. Nothing could be more opposed to
the true interests of Sicily than such a monopoly ;
indeed, had it been maintained for a few years, it is
highly probable that sulphur, the source of her wealth,
would have been rendered perfectly valueless to her.
Science and industry form a power to which it is
dangerous to present impediments. It was not diffi-
cult to perceive that the issue would be the entire
cessation of the exportation of sulphur from Sicily.
In the short period that the sulphur monopoly
lasted, fifteen patents were taken out for methods to
obtain back the sulphuric acid used for making soda.
Admitting that these fifteen processes were not per-
fectly successful, there can be no doubt that it
would, ere lung, have been accomplished. But then
in gypsum (sulphate of lime), and in heavy spar
(sulphate of barytes), we possess mountains of sul-
phuric acid; in galena (sulphuret of lead), and in
iron pyrites, we have no less abundance of sulphur.
The problem is, how to separate the sulphuric acid
or the sulphur from these native stores. Hundreds
of thousands of pounds weight of sulphuric acid
were prepared from iron pyrites while the high price
of sulphur consequent upon the monopoly lasted.
We should probably, ere long, have triumphed, over
all difficulties and have separated it from gypsum. The
impulse has been given, the possibility of the process
proved, and it may happen in a few years that the in-
considerate financial speculation of Naples may deprive
her that of that lucrative commerce."
Through the intervention of the British Govern
ment in 1840, the sulphur trade with Sicily was
placed on the same fboting as previously to 1838,
and in that state it still continues, though the quan-
tity now imported is very considerably reduced, in
consequence of the extraction of it from some of the
ores of iron and copper, termed pyrites. By far the
most considerable applications are in the preparations
of sulphuric acid, 'and of gunpowder, which is a mix-
ture of sulphur, nitre, and charcoal. An enormous
quantity is also consumed in the preparation of
matches, lucifers, and fireworks; it is employed in
medicine extensively; in the preparation of vermilion,
which is a combination of mercury and sulphur;
to cement iron bars into stone; am( also for bleach-
ing and disinfecting. The last mentioned are how-
ever applications of sulphurous acid, one of the com-
binations of sulphur and oxygen, which we shall
hereafter have to notice. It has been recently estimated
that about 5,000,000,000 lucifer matches are annually
consumed in Great Britain alone, and one maker con-
sumes I,OOOL worth of American pine in manufacturing
them.

The success that has attended the various manu-
factures of our country, almost entirely dependent on
tho science of chemistry, should teach us how dill:
gent search after new truths, however remote they
may at first appear from any direct practical applica-
tion, may, in the course of time, lead to results of
the greatest importanee, and that no well-ascertained
fact in natural science is ever barren.— Trades' Weekly
Messenger.

A NOVEL CURE FoR A SNAKE BITE.—The Syd-
ney Morning Chronicle relates a successful, but some-
what novel mode of curing the bite of a snake, the par-
ticulars of which may be found useful. The wife of an
Irishman, who was very partial to whisky, having been
bit in the leg by a snake of a very venomous
description, and no surgeon being at hand, the
husband flew to his favourite for a remedy.
Taking a bottle of whisky he applied it mouth down-
ward to the wound, and kept it fast in that position till
the surgeon arrived, On being questioned by the latter
as to the reason of this application, the man replied that,
as whisky was good for everything, he thought it would
be good for a snake bite. The bottle was removed, and it
was found that the liquor had become darker, while there
was a corresponding decrease in the discoloration surroun-
ing the wound. Seeing that the spirits had acted so well
more was upplied in the same manner, until the liquor
came from the a ound pure and untainted, by which means
the patient was totally recovered. If a cure can really be
effected in this way, it is probable that one kind of spiri-
tuous liquor will suffice as well as another for the pur-
pose, and the remedy is one which may in most instances
be obtained when surgical aid is not procurable.
EXTRACT OF A LETTER FROM OSTEND.--TUESDAY,
NINE A.M., JUNE 13.—This town and neighbourhood
was visited by one of the most terrific thunder storms that
has ever been known to take place within 'the memory
of the oldest inhabitant. The morning was unusually
fine until one or two o'clock, P.M., when the heat be. came close and oppressive; yet, notwithstanding, the
sea wall or dike, and outskirts of the town, , during
the whole afternoon, were covered with the holiday
folks. Suddenly, about six o'clock, a few slight
dark clouds began to overshadow the sky, parti-
cularly towards the north. Of course, a -regular
sauve qui pent ensued, and the fashionablepro-
menades were soon cleared. This cloudiness of the
air was accompanied by a warm and very gentle
wind; after which not a breath of air stirred, as though
the elements were taking a few minutes repose in order to
be able to burst forth with greater violence; as, in a few
minutes, flash after flash of the most vivid forked lightning
shone forth in rapid succession, followed by loud peels of
thunder. At this moment the view on the sea was awfully
grand; the lightning was flitting about here and there, and
might be compared in its movements to fiery snakes twist-
ing and writhing as it' they were in agony. In a few
minutes a shower, not of hail-stones, but of pieces of ice,
came down with the greatest violence, striking on the roofs
of the low huuses, and rebounding with great force against
the windows of their opposite neighbours; in fact, they fell
with such power as to cut holes in the centre of the glass
similar to a bullet. Several of these pieces of ice were
picked up from the floor of the lower rooms, and on
examining them they appeared to be all of the same
form, being smooth and flat at the bottom (as if they
had been rubbed against some hard substance in order
to polish them), and round, not unlike a water caraffe,
varying in weight from one to three ounces. I was
shown ono specimen of a piece of ice, which was
then as large as a small egg, although the indi-
vidual had brought it in his warm hand from the
railway station, where he had picked it up, being a
good five minutes' walk from the place where I was
examining the ice ball. I fear to-morrow's post will
bring with it sad tidings of the damage done in the
country. About half-past eight the thunder, lightning,
and rain recommenced, and continued with great vio-
lence, about twenty minutes after which the moon rose
in all her majestic splendour, and at present the air is
soft, the sky clear and starlight, and no one would ever
suppose
that such an awful storm had just been wit-
nessed, which was of thirty minutes' duration.
THE NEw FORTIFICATIONS AT StIEERNESS.—These
extensive works, together with the repair and heighten-
ing of the old fortificatious, are now complete, and the
guns are all mounted, the last gun having been hoisted
on to the carriage !ay. week. The entire line of fortifi-
cations is one mile and a quarter, and the number of
guns 118, some of which are of a most extraordinary
large size, weighing from 80 to 90 cwt. At several
places along the line nearest to the sea the battery con-
sists of very thick brickwork, and thee() parts are called
the musketry batteries, there being a great number of
apertures through the brickwork, designed for the
pointing of muskets. Tho whole line is surrounded by
a deep moat, which is crossed at only one place, where
the fortifications cross the high road, and here there is
some outer work, consisting of a bastion and a raveline,
and a second moat, and there are also two drawbridges
and two pairs of strong gates. A concrete foundation
had been laid down for the erection of new barracks, and
piles are now being driven for the erection of several
powder magazines.— Canterbury Journal.
GERMAN HosFlTAL.—Yesterday, at noon, a fancy
fair, for the benefit of the above named institution,
was opened in the spacious grounds connected with
the establishment in the Layton-road, Dalston. The
fair will continue until Saturday evening. On Wed-
nesday their Royal Highnesses the Duke and Duchess
of Cambridge visited the Hospital, and made an ex-
ceedingly handsome present in aid of the funds of the
charity.