Star.
London, England, 1820-03-04 00:00:00

7104":**
4 t •

. .

• steal of Mr. Watt. A defence 'of de. Prony hail
been published in the Philasophkal..4frwazine' for
this month, from which it appears very cleirly, that
the biog,rapher of Mr. Watt has been guilty et a
great nastake ; and that M. de Pron.), does in his
werk state Ur. Watt to have been the inventor, and
that the improied engine was introduced into France
I from England, by Ur. Perrier—which is the fact.

CONVERSION OF RAGS INTO SCGAR,
We find this is no joke. We have-just read in the
Annals de Chitnie, a long and very circumstantial
account, from the pea of M. Henry Bracrinuot, of
Geneva, of the whole process of this singular disco-
very ; and are now so well satisfied that there is no-
thing of " pleasantry" in the matter, as at first sight
appealed to many, that should we be told to-morrow
that, as linen may be converted into its constituent
principle, Sugar—(a piece of fine hish linen into a
loaf of double tofine4-,...50 may wool be converted
into its constituent principle, fat—(an old threadbare
Co a into a bason of fine gra% v-soup !)—we shall be pre.
pared to look quite grave at the announcement. We
sees every day, more and more -season to be convinced
that ere are as yet but on the very threshold .of know-
ledge ; and that instead of there being an truth in
the old adage, that " there is nothing new under Jte
sun," that every day brings up its fresh wonder.
" The conversion of wood into sugar (says M.
Braconnot) will, no doubt, appear teniarkable; and
when persons not familiar with chemical speclJations
are told, t:..1 a pound w eight of rags can be con-
verted into more than a pound of sugar, they may
regard the statement as a piece of pleasantry, though
nothing can be more real."
The agent in making this wonderful conversion is
sulphuric acid, and those to whom it may not be
enough to know that the thing can be done, wilt find
ample directions as to the taodus operandi in M. Bra-
connoi.'s Memoir. We shall content ourselves here

with one extract :
. I made the,e 359. Bgr. of sugary matter (ob-
tained froth old cloth well dried) into the consistency
of syrup ; at the end of twenty-four hours it began
to crystalize ; and some days after, the whole was,
solidified into a tingle mass of crystalized sugar,
which was pressed strongly between several folds of
old cloth ; crystalized a second time, this sugar was
passably pure; but treated with animal charcoal, is
became o 1 a shi.ling whiteness. The crystals were in
spherical groupes, which appear to be formed by the
union of small diverging and unequal plates. They
are fusible at the temperature of boiling water. This
sugar, of a fresh and agreeable flavour, produced in
the mouth a slight sensation of coolness. It dissolves
in hot alcohol, and crystalizes by cooling. Dissolved
in water, and mixed with a little yeast, it fermented.;
the vinous liquor which resulted furnished alcohol
by distillation. Burnt with potash, and its charcoal
washed with diluted nitric acid, it yielded a fluid not
troubled by nitrate of barytes. It would be useless
to insist farther on the properties of this sugar ; it is
evident that it is perPctlli identical with the sugar
of grapes or of starch."