The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1839-04-30 00:00:00

Friday next.

It may be as well, in conclusion, to state, that in no
instance but one did the proprietors of this journal
mutilate Mr. S.'s leading articles, as alleged by him.
In one article he classed the Methodists among the
enemies of the Church of England. This being noto-
riously contrary to fact, the article was slightly altered.
We have reluctantly entered upon these explanations,
not because we were afraid that Mr. Sleigh's statements
would have any effect upon that portion of the public
whose opinions we respect, but to show the liberals of
the Town Council what sort of person it is that now
comes before them, cap-in-hand, as a candidate for
corporate patronage.

CORRESPONDENCE.

WEIGHING PAPER WITH GROCERIES.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD.
Silt,—ln consequence of several paragraphs having ap-
peared in the different papers respecting the illegality of
weighing the paper with raw sugar, I, for one, should be
glad to know by what authority these notices have been given.
The sugar-bakers weigh both paper and cord with their
lumps, and surely the retailer cannot afford to weigh it out
without the paper. It is illegal to mix chicory with coffee,
and sell the same for. coffee, but I never knew before that it
was illegal to weigh the paper with sugar. By giving inser-
tion to the above, you will oblige
A CONSTANT READER.
April 29th, 1839.

" THE NEW ART."
ON THE SOLAR INFLUENCE IN PRODUCING PHOTOGENIC

DRAWINGS.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD.
SlR,—Having read your interesting article on the above
subject, in the Standard of Friday last, I beg your insertion
of the following remarks, which may not be uninteresting at
the present time. Having, about ten years since, been en-
gaged in an extensive series of experiments, while investi-
gating the phenomena of " Solar Phosphori," I was naturally
led to the correlative subject of the influence of solar light on
MtAtiblttileeti illiu. -
be happy to furnish you with the experimental results ; but
for the present shall confine myself to the " New Art," as it
is called. The discovery of this property of light is not so
new as is generally imagined ; for we find that the subject
was investigated by Scheele, the celebrated Swedish chemist,
who died in 1786, after conducting an elaborate series of ex-
periments on the solar influence on the salts of gold ; though,
I believe, he never proposed its application for copying draw-
ings ; but to the capacious mind of our own illustrious Davy
the application at once suggested itself. Among the papers
of the Philosophical transactions of the period (about twenty
years since), he distinctly describes a mode of copying paint-
ings on glass, and transferring them to white leather or paper.
The paper or leather is directed to be stained with a solution
of nitrate of silver, in the proportion of about 10 of water to
lof the salt. On paper, leather, and ivory so prepared, the
solar light was transmitted through red, yellow, green, blue,
and purple glass. The red was found to have little effect ;
the yellow and green were more efficacious ; but the blue and
violet were found to produce the most decided effects. The
prepared substances were placed behind the painting, and
both submitted to the action of the sun. The rays of light
transmitted through the differently painted surfaces, pro-
ducing tints of brown or black, sensibly differing in intensity,
according to the shades of the picture. Sir H. Davy also
found that the images of small objects produced by means of
the solar microscope might be copied without difficulty on
paper thus prepared ; the paper being placed at a small dis-
tance from the lens. Mr. Wedgwood also made experiments
on solar light, and proposed its application as a means of co-
pying drawings. My own experiments were made with the
view of ascertaining if silver was the only metal that could be
thus acted upon. I operated with mercury, bismuth, lead,
tungsten, and gold (in solution), applied to paper as above,
with all of which I produced effects more or less distinct; an
account of which I shall be happy to furnish you ; but as they
are rather lengthy, I must defer them for the present, and
shall feel obliged by your correcting the following typogra-
phical errors, which appear in my letter of last week on the
" Analysis of Carbonate of Barytes,"—the word " focusses"
being thrice used instead of " forceps ;" for " ferrocyanureta
of potassium," read " ferrocyanuret ;" for " ginelins," read
" Gmelins" (the professor's name) ; for " nitrade of baryta,"
read " nitrate of baryta ;" for " percelain," read " porcelain
crucible ;" and for " Charels," read " Charles."—l am, &c.
CHARLES FLUDE.
Liverpool, April 29th, 1839.

CARBONATE OF BARYTES.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD.

Sir,—Having observed in your paper of Friday last, a
long rambling letter, addressed to me by a person signing
himself " Charles Flude, Practical Chemist," I beg the
favour of being allowed a brief reply.
Though I do not hold myself responsible for the various
statements reported by chemical adventurers, who desire to
push themselves into notoriety, by publishing their obtruded
discussions with me, yet the arrogance and inflated vanity of
this chemical champion, demands exposure.
That portion of the public who may have seen his letter,
and are interested in chemical analyses, I would refer to the
works quoted to convince themselves that the " Practical
Chemist" cannot read correctly, or his comprehension of
the author's meaning is very imperfect.
The real object of Flude's letter is to excite public atten-
tion to the Barytes mine therein named ; to effect which a
most extraordinary course has been adopted,—that of pub-
lishing the opinions elicited in conversation, from a private
individual ingeniously distorting and perverting those
opinions with the view of publicly exhibiting himself. It is
too well known to require mention here, that wherever pure
Carbonate of Barytes exists, whether in nature, or as an
artificial product, the atomic proportions of its constituents,
oxide of barium and carbonic acid, must prevail and be
identical ; the difference that may exist in the quantity of
carbonic acid, depending on adventitious matters combined
with any given specimen, whether lead, strontian, lime, or
any other ; these admixtures being very common, led me to
state that no native carbonate of barytes, with its various
impurities, was found to contain more than 20 per cent. of
carbonic acid in 100 parts ; and it needed not the elaborate
display of " Fludes's" analysis to convince me, or any por-
tion of the chemical world, of the fact. The probability of
such an analysis having been performed by Mr. F. is very
equivocal ; for, although the description of its performance,
and the language is fastidiously scientific, he does himself
permanent dishonour, and libels the science of chemistry,
by making sulphuretted hydrogen, and hydro-sulphuric acid
synonimous; by puffing himself into notice, in blowing
respired air through a tube, to rid an alkaline base of carbo-
nic acid ; by styling Thomson (Thompson) —by giving
Klaproth's analysis as Thomson's, whereas it has been copied
into his Outlines of Mineralogy, Geology. &c., from
Beitrage, vol. 1. 271, and by his incorrect terms.
If the " Practical Chemist" shall have hurt the spleen of
any " Tyro " through laughter at the perusal of his folly,
doubtless he will be chargeable with the consequence.—l
am, Sir, yours, &c. SAMUEL TAYLOR.
Seddon-street. April 29, 1839.

DOUBLE MAIL TO DUBLIN.-It was fully intended that
the morning and the evening mail-boats to Dublin should
commence running on the Ist of May, and the City of Dublin
Company were ready to fulfil their part of the contract. The
Post-office authorities have, however, postponed the com-
mencement of the double mail until the Ist of June. The
London and Birmingham Railway Company will not, it is
supposed, be ready to expedite the mail trains, which are in-
tended to be in connexion with the steamers, so early as had
been expected.

A CASE OF STABBING.—Another of these oft-repeated
practises occurred on Saturday, in Drury-lane. While a
young lad, named William Cross, was passing along, he met
another, at whom he made a playful thrust with a stick. The
other boy immediately took out his penknife, with which he
made several thrusts at Cross, and at last succeeded in
piercing his chest nearly over the heart. The blood flowed
freely, but no immediate danger was apprehended. Two or
three hours after the receipt of the injury, violent inflamma-
tion of the chest came on ; but on Sunday his medical at-
tendant, Mr. Hutchinson, of Mill-street, gave a favourable
account of him.