The Sun.
London, England, 1856-08-12 00:00:00

lowever, as we have intimated, decidedly

limited, and having faith in the existence of laten
powers in nature whereby may be removed moun
tains, the chemist pursues his toil depressed by the
knowledge of how little faith there is in his powers
and in the promise of the pursuit to which his
time and energies are devoted. The loss, how-
ever, is more the loss of the world than his own ;
and if the former is not benefited by his researches
as it might be, it has itself, in a large measure, to
thank for it. Of all the doman of science the field
of chemistry may fairly be said to be richest in
those treasures which are calculated to benefit
mankind, and improve the material condition of
the world. It would not be an altogether vain
belief that the great benefactor, humanly speak-
ing, of the rising generation will be the chemist.
Dr. DAUBENY, in his inaugural address as Pre-
sident of the British Association, to which we the
other day drew attention, throws some useful
light on what may be expected from chemistry.
To the discovery of artificial manures has suc-
ceeded, our readers would perceive, the discovery
that manure may be dispensed with altogether in
the cultivation of the soi'. That the innumerable
particles of which the soil is composed have only
to be exposed to atmospheric influences to be
re-endowed with the elements of fertility. A
discovery well calculated to dissipate all appre-
hension as to the failure of the supply of natural
or artificial composts, and holding out to labour
the prospect of better and more constant
employment. A discovery, though it may seem
to contradict, actually confirming the assertion
of Mr. MECHI, that she soil of England is capable
of yielding, under proper culture, an adequate
supply of grain for the wants of the entire popu-
lation. From grain to animal food the transition
is easy ; and in connection with the supply of
this necessary but too much restricted article of
diet the chemist presents us with cheering intelli-
gence. While so many of our poor are unable
to purchase anything like the quantity of animal
food they require, and what they do get is bad in
quality or lapsed from wholesomeness into poison,
tons of flesh are cast aside as worthless in South
America and at the antipodes. Want here and
waste there the chemist will not away with ; and
in the concentrated juice of this hitherto wasted
flesh-meat, obtained by boiling, he suggests the
means whereby it may make acquaintance with
grateful English stomachs, to the improvement of
their digestion. From food we may naturally
enough turn to cookery, and here we find the
chemist beforehand with us as a public benefactor.
One of the principal earths of which the globe is
composed contains, he tells us, " a metal as light
as glass, as ductile and malleable as copper, and
as little liable to rust as silver," and presumably
adapted, in fact, to supersede
cheap—admirably
coarser metals, and to restore a lost zest
to the results or culinary operations to the
advantage of the many. By this discovery, too,
the advantages or disadvantages of locality are
likely to be equalised, and metallurgy thrown open
as an employment to all. Nor do the discoveries
noticed by the learned President end here.
Among others are a dye eliminated from guano—
positively from guano—bright as the Tyrian of
old, and likely enough to supersede the use of
cochineal, and—what will the Teetotaller say ?
alcohol from the distillation of coal ! From
small things the mind is accustomed to ascend
by degrees to greater, and the reader, we pre'
, burne, will be led by the instances before Wm to