The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1836-12-16 00:00:00

LEXITURE IX.

. , .
On Wednesday evening Mr•. Hetmning continued.
W'eliaVe now to consider the various distinguishing properties
off-those bodies called metals. These are a numerous and im-
portant class of substances, amounting so far as at present
known, to forty-two, in number. Some of these, it is true,ltave
not yet been reduced from their earthly state, as for instance,
Yttrium, Thoriuniiiind ,Zircorium, but we are led from several
circumstances tO7tfppose, that they possess a metallic base.
We find on deconiposition, that they combine with mercury,
from which they cannot be however, separated in the metallic
state. - We have another proof that they are metals, which is
this, if we throw the amalgam into water, hydroge❑ gas will
arise. It appears in this instance that the bases of these bodies
are like those of the alkalies. because they, combine with the
oxygen, and release the'tydrogen of water. Some have never
been discovered in the separate state. Gold, silver, mercury,
copper. tin, iron, and lead were known to the ancients in early
times. The iron and copper known at these periods were not,
however, similar to those which we are now acquainted with.
The iro❑ was in that state which we call cast iron, and the cop-
per was alloyed with zinc, silver, tin, or other metals. At that
period the tools, and the spears, and other warlike weapons,
were notformed of iron or steel, but of copper, and some alloy
like our bell metal. or gun metal. In the remains of Hercu-
laneum nod Pompeii, various implements are daily found con-
taining a certain alloy which renders them durable, hard, and
sharp. We find the term brass used in scripture, but it refers
to this alloy, for copper is one of the most difficult metals to
reduce to a state of purity. In like manner iron is difficult to
reduce, it is easy to convert iron ore into cast iron, hut nut into
wrought iron. We are, therefore, sure that the ancients were-
not acquainted with pure copper, or with wrought iron. bun
was first used in a wrought state;- in the reign of King Solomon,
the mode.of so manufacturing:it haiing been discoved by some
Pheenician workmen. •At that, time,Pcedaltithand Cadmus in-
vented the gimlet; and Saw, and lathe, which enabled Minor to
build a fleet, and reign ttioniphant as king of the "Ws. It is
remarkable that the -majority of the .ancient- .metals. are found
in their native state, gold and silver especiel/Y; wereury is found
in such a-state as by distillation in be easily terratafed from the
ore which contains it. In like manner copper is found in
native state. Lead is not found in the native state, but chiefly,_
as a sulphurot. The seven metals known' to ancients were
distinguished by the different symbols 'applied to the 'seven
planets. Thus gold was typified as the am by a circle; silver
as the moon, bt a crescent; copper was tvpif►ed by a circle with

a cross underneath; the emblem of the looking glass of Venus.
Melly W. 14 represented by a diduceus like figure, consisting
nita L a,circle and half a circle one over another, enible-
inatiCal'of Ntereury. Iron was represented by the shield and
dsrt, used to represent Mars. .'Pin was typified by a figure in-
tended to represent the lightening of Jupiter, and lend by a
symbotetuuleinatical of the seYthe of Saturn.. All the remain-
ing metals have been discovered within the last two or three
centuries.,'

- •
The metals all possess certain general properties, viz , lustre.
opacity, combustibility, and fusibility; they reflect light and
heat, and are conductors of electricity and heat; many of them
have the properties of malleability and ductility. Before no.
tieing these properties inure at large it may be useful to say a
levrwords of them as they exist in the mineral state. The use-
ful metals are seldom found in their metallic state near the sur-

face of the earth. They generally abound iu mountainous and
hilly countries, and here the previous remark will not apply, for
by sinking a shaft near the base of mountains we arrive some-

times quickly at the Solid ore. This is found in veins contain-
ing the matrix: of the ore, which matrix performs a very im-
portant part in veducing the ore to the solid state. This de-
scription will not apply to all the metals, as some of them are
obtained without this difficulty. The ore is reduced, in most
eases, to a coarse powder, and then it is placed on an inclined
surface, and partly separated from the matrix by washing, which,
being lighter than the metal, is carried away with the water.
After this the ore is roasted in order to drive off as much as pos-
sible of the arsenic and sulphur, fur mist of the metallic ores
contain a quantity of these substances. In the course of this
roasting or torrefaction the ore imbibes a portion of oxygen,
vvtlich we then have to separate from the metal by fitsion. An
intense heat is applied, and carbonaceous matter introduced to
..quite with the oxygen, by which means we obtain the metal in
I,t.t, separate state,..and the lime•or other earths/ material floats on
,the surf;ic of time metal( and prevents' oxidation from taking
-place, whieN,watild ntherwise he.'the,ease were the metal ex,
•o*.akisto the :actitin of the at inasii•liere.s ,The nte'tals when loan tl.
finagle state q(ailltiert4s-Albtays -bear 1 name indiCative :nr.their
.putnpv„sivon.Ainis, wheniweestiy,a-stietal is f,ptind in fis.rilitise
~,:late :it is eonsidieredla native metal.' Gold is always ftititieni,
:ithl3B6initi•Ps liaiLl called. tyltiie lgoid. But .We' soirtnuei,
'lave-metal clip-came.witliothek• they qtra then called native:
alloys ; if they4tilie sonal4netl-fwitir'inerctiry thny -are '.called
it.oAtippy; if„eon•&in el vtitli.sti!phus-, sulpha rots- -ir ivitti irsiii;
1
icirartirets ;' if with. phimphirrus, plpishurits • aid so on, -..-
41sAiestilfsti of Jte, niedalli prop.4rt iSS' is itb4i t luStre. . All' .of
tl44tiiwisstefisa.c, nein ,dag e rdNitstres And - this %St re; unlike
llacleAresot ii# . lsub.stau ed. iv,r. are..aequainted. with; is not
i.,,ttogtfifjiii -,.i4,,i,t! ery'rples. he.alole!nrussta -If we' iake'a. nietal
h
.;impcji.btetti it,, oi cutl it, ; e shell find the lustre` isuniformjhroug hoist ft the, holet.unts .., lA' ale. atquai n te4: .itith many
suliStiniees 'maiden the' rue • .wlik hex h i bit a ' lifer:6;lo Very
t‘i
.te4Texcept tlie
~Iniials otts4 .aupiaternal.fmttret 'llle lustre of
A metal , may *,,le ,tn are seil.lay, artificial. mea n .8;11611 polishing.
. Nickel and cobalt have thelleast lustre of all the metals. 'The
lustre of at metal is :very soon lost by exposure to .the atinos-
phere.., Sometimes the metal loses its lustre on exposure to the
atmosphere by combining with oxygen; this is the case with
iron, especially in damp weather. Gold and silver soon
loose their lustre by exposure, and: become what is called
tarnished. Now, thia.tarnish is ili4ll(t iti 13+ owing to the action
of sulphuretted hydrogen with the metal.. l Mr.-'-lemming here
exhibited a leaf of silver which displayed the satne- hue as cop-
per
in consequence,of being .exposed in his 'laboratory to the
flumes of sulphuretted hydrogen gas. In countries where there
are many silver images of.saints, especially in the Netherlands,
flakes of.sulphuret• of silver tire ',cOntinwilly dropping on the
floors of the churches. Platinumi is not acted'upon by either of
these agents, and we may expose it-to a fire or to an-avid with-
out any change. It is 'difficult to work, and so expensive, that
its use is limited. It hat;. been stated that these ores may be re-
duced to their natural states by a simple process; but it is stated
in the 4th chapter of Genesis. that '' Tuna( Cain was an in-
structor of every artificer, in brass and iron,'? We find that in
very earl tiines they found, the art of purifying and refining
gold, and also the ail of dissolving gold-in water. 'We have an
example of this in Exodus. During the temporary absence of •
Moses, Aaron was prevailed upon by the Ist seines to form them
a golden calf out of the ornaments. which they brought with
them out of Egypt. When Moses returned he was indignant
at their conduct, " And he took the calf which they had made,
andburnt it in the fire, and ground•it to powder, and strawedit I
'upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it."
' l'his passage of scripture. has given rise to much controversy
"amongst the learued. We know that gold may be exposed to
the ,triust intense heat for a length of time without' undergoing
'arty
'a sensible diminution of weight. • Gold has been boiled by
exposure to the Ischirnhausen burning lens, but it has merely
been converted int, vapour. It was conjectured by Soule that
Moses accomplished the, dissolution of ,•tlio 'gold by miraculous
interposition. Stahl, the Swedish chemist, wrote a work to
show that there was, no..tte.ed of miraculous interposition to ef-
fect this phenoineenn.„ Moses was skilledin ail the learning of
the Egyptians„aggihere is,l'un: doubt that he was acquainted
with sulphur, sett ago with, the alkali natron, for in those coun-
tries Ibis substance abounds ii If we heat gold with uatron and
sulphur we forrn.ajnixttire which may be reduced to powder, and
dissolved in .watcr:„lntleed;.io pin•fectiv dissolved is the gold,
that It will pas*threngh a filternig piper. .'Thereiß no doubt,
therefore, that .this' :Was the manner in, which, Moses dissolved
gold- when.*e compelled the Israelites to drink of' it. Gold is
very frenuently, combined with ;silver, as well as other metals.
It is eas'ylnseporate gold and silver from other metals, but the
same process will not separate the gold and silver from one
another. It appears that this was known. in early periods, and
that the method usually employed to separate these metals
was merely tq melt them with sulphur, when the sulphur com-
bined with the silver, but not with the gold. If the quantity of
silver be very small, we cannot separate it until we acid more
silver to the mass, when the sulphur will not only combine with
the silver we have added but also with what was in the gold be-
fore. This mode of refining gold .was known as early as 601)
years before Christ. • Isaiah, in his beautiful and 'peculiar lan-
guage, says, " Behold I have refined thee, but not with silver; I
have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction." Gold is the me-
tal here alluded to, as there is no other metal which can be re-
fined with silver. Metals lose their lustre by exposure to the '
atmosphere, the more so if exposed in a molten state: Lead
thus exposed for twenty-four hours becomes coated with a film
of oxide, and is converted into red lead. - i
:, .

The next of the general properties of the metals appears to be
capacity. There appears to be no general exception to this pro-
perty. We are acquainted with a great variety of substances
which are impervious to light in the mass, but not in a state of
fine diviiion •, thus if a shaving were cut from a board it would
allow the light to pass throught it. A sheet of paper will do the
minute than any other substance; aCCrirdingl7:•-•;:i;inr, ii"Ye'a .72
gold can be fabricated 1-360-000th part of an inch in thickness,
and yet they will not allow the light to pass through them. If
we hold a leaf of gold near the candle, we see agreenish ray of
light, but this is no proof of transparency, for it is possible that
the 'aniline of the gold may be separated,from one another by
the beating they have undergone, and the'iays of light may not
pass through the gold, but between its particles. Silver may be
reduced to 1-100,000 th part of an inch in thickness, and yet it
will exclude light. The metals are transparent, however, in a
state of solution. _

The next of the general properties is combustibility. All the
metals are .combustible, if we apply sufficient heat to them.
Many require an intense degree of heat to effect this. Platina
requires the greatest heat that a chemist can produce—either by
means of the ox yhydrogen blow-pipe, or from the voltaic battery.
It is • remarkable that metals, otherwise refractory, will sponta-
neously take fire When immersed in chlorine gas. Mr. Hem-
ming then ekhibited the combustion of platina, iron,copper, and
read,' by means of the °Xs-hydrogen blow-pipe, as well As the
fittrititin and diksiriation.of,gidd,silyer and, copper leaf, and tin:'
foil, by means of the y.oltilic battery, remarking, en pos./tit, that
site troWer of 'the voltaic battery, is greatly.increased if .a.little
suiphAte- of .04per tie :added to the acid iind .water in which the
Plates of cOpper ;and .iinc are • immersed. The metals we then
tra4e'seen.are.att cqinbustible„ The next property which. they
:nstsSes's they.nndergo at rations heats. Many
vfahtim'when state of fusion, combine wild oxygen: •
.:The nest 4,roe:ge,neri&properties of metals is their power of
e-myeyingc,heataind electricity, These the's, pOssess ie differ:grit
44krees. trespect;:io heat. some are bail ciinductins of it :
platissum4s heiym rst._ It is a llitficultmetterto uscert lilt
11,)?itila is the hest couslucter becanse the progress
litlefeidricity is o:instllntarteons•;- rmyerthelqsa -there is reason
•,to:lo.4ll,ie.thEit subm,of„ them are better than otheis,
anil-ritietilits4'tirertint Possessed' by all inetiils.
bleaucta Is it re'rollkitiirikilstiVi,ts h passi lig them between
fO/16:su diminishing spaCcs between them. When a metal
ikrequirect.to be made thinnerlliiiit accomplished.by this
process, it is beaten .otit, Gritlt liteiity'fiammets to the required
size. The term durtiWicused'fri ilescribe; the capability of
a metal for being drawn': Ole wire! `-5 Most 40s, 0 metals which
in are malleable,are ductile; aorigSt`, these !irk wild, silver, pia-,
tina, and'copper, and iron to a certalit ftteki 11.titind lead can tie
brought,into a state of leaf; but neitfAYMlfese bmlies, is capa-
ble of twin.. drawn into fine wire.. .I).t.i4illVa aoptls:tip:ou the
,
tenacity or strength of the•rnetat''' The -in'etal is 'drawn into
wire by passing a rod of considerable thickness through aper-
tures continually diminishing in size, wail t he:wire becomes of
the required diameter. In this process the metals become brit-
tle. an&WOilltlW .if not Unnea led'lry: heat ing them, to restore
the properties of 'the wire. But we may, by a vcry ingenious
process, Obtain platintirit Wire 1,30,000 th of an inch in diameter.
rile 'Mode rif doing. this was tliscoVereti- by Dr. Wollaston. Gold
and platinum cannot he, dissolved except by means of nitro-
munatic acid, whilst the other metals are all soluble in nitric
aeid. Dr. Wollaston therefore enclosed a fine platinum wire in
the cstntre of a rod of silver, and drew the united wires to as tine
a-state as possible. Ile then dissolved the silver in nitric acid,
when the platinum wire remained of the aboyementioned thick-
nesst;' •' I •
'Platinum was discovered by Don Antonio Ulloa, in 1735, and
was first. brought to England by Mr. Charles Wood, in 1741.
It is found in South America, at Choc°, and Santafe, and also
at St. Domingo, and the Brazils. It has since been found in
the Georgian mountains, Indeed, so abundantly is it found
in die Russian dominions, that it is used for coin. It is found'
in the state of grains containing a great variety of foreign
mapiaditli,tiffiedrti.,,uusiinut, s
cproe
atiun
s(l,jlest, lasri,::
tann:,tinionv, bisniouth, &e., and also iridium,.
rhodium. In order to separate these,
be resorted to, which Mr. Ileinniin
minutely explained. Platinum is the heaviest of metals, being
‘jl,times heavier than water. It is the most durable and un-
changeable of all metals we are itcqua ted with, as it is not liable
to be affected by fire, water, or acid. We require the greatest
heat, of a wind furnace to melt it. It is invaluable to the la-
boratory in the manufactory of articles which are exposed to an
' intense heat, as well as for its bad conducting power, and its
little expansibility Ity heat. The ends of the collie wires are
tiPtied with platinum, otherwise oxygen would combine with
them. In a spougy.state.itiikfieated to redness by hydrogen
gas, which it inflames. Itiltasl,bcen used of late years for the
purposo of coneentrating no simple acid will act upon
it. The expense of a runiffhpiwziepoirsed of it will
amount to between £SOO and ,411P001Ahaugh it is merely used as
a thin lining .or. ,11:00.„ boiler. The expense
arises from the heiiyla:„if w,At,,qt' metal„, and its great value,
its price being 355, per ow.mrj ,pA9oyiqultanding its expense,
such is its iltirabilitVlh4O44; much
,cheaper than lead or
glass boiiers, and huts
tliis,„viOtage, that it will always be
worth nearly as Much as cost.
Tu-inorrow evening Mr Irimmin, will resume the subject of
metallurgy-

FLOUR PROM FROZEN POTATOES.—III our paperof last week,
we published a very remarkable statement by Mr Johnston,
factor to the Earl of Glasgow, that potatoes whiCh have been
frosted to such a degree as even to resemble pulp, will still yield
by proper treatment, farina of a 'perfectly pure and pleasant
kind. A gentleman in our own.neighbourhood having observed
this paragraph in our journal last Friday, determined instantly
to try the experiment. Having gone to a field where the pota
toes had been raised and the land harrowed previous to the se-
vere frosts'in the end of October, lie there picked up a number
of potatoes that had been left on the surface as useless, and had
lain bleaching through all the rains and frosts We since have
had. None of them were so fresh and firm'that he could not
have g rushed them into a jelly with his hand. Very well ; he
put them through the timid
process of flour or starch making;
and the result. was, as in Mr. Johnson's recorded case, a farina
perfectly wholesome and good. A parcel of the potato flour,
thus obtained b) him, be brought to our Herald office, on Wed.
nesday, and, as we supped on it that same evening, we can bear
testimony to its excellence. 'We trust that none who see
this corrobative statement will be so foolish as to throw away
their frown potatoes.—Dumfrier Herald.

LITERARY, SCIENTIFIC, AND COMMERCIAL

INSTITUiIoW:

The second anneal meeting ut the friends of this institution
, was held on Tuesday evening Lost, at the Music-hall, in Bold:
street, Mr. Charles Horstall, president of the society, in the
chair. The report, which appeared to give much satisfaction,
stated that the fiumber of menitierm who had subscribed during
the la.t half year amounted to 594, namely, 3 honorary mem-
bers, 9 life subscribers, 6 donors of various sums of £5 and up-
wards, constituting members; 576 hat f-v,strly subscribers.
rile language classes still continued to be numerously attend-
ed, particularly that of the Erench. The committee regretted
that the nature of Mr. Black's engagements prevented his
valuable services from being secured to the institution, at the
same time the inconvenience had been to a great degree ob-
viated by the appointment of Mr. Hubert, whose exertions to
promote the improvement of his pupils had given the highest
satisfaction both to the committee,and to the members generally.
The Spanish languit4e class still continued under the able
superintendence of M. Vidal. The drawing class continued to
answer the most sanguine expectations of its original pro-
moters. The committee felt that it would be unnecessary to
speak in terms of praise of the recognised talents of the pro::
lessor, Mr. George Pickering, the rapid improvement of his
pupils in this interesting and elegant accomplishment, and the
unabated attendance at the class-room, being.'sufficielt proofs
of the ability of the teacher and the popular nature of the study.
The library+ had been increased by 801) volumes, 204 of which
had been presented by the friends and members of the institu-
tion. Mr. William Potter had presented the magnificent do-
nation of a Effin plete series of the Annual Register, comprising
in the whole 76 splendidly-hound volumes. 'l' wentv-nine vols.
had also been presented by John Eden, E q., and 40 by James
s Parker, Kq.- The whole number of volumes in the library was
.
-now _ •__ •

1 T n
he adoption of the report was then moved by' Mr. GtoGF.
1-lot.T, seconded by Mr. Wir.uams, and unanimously carried.
M.r• -HENRY LAWRENCE, after drawing attention to the utility
of the institution; as affording an advantageous opportunity for
.
improvement to`the vaunt; men of the town, 'during their .nu-'
occupied time:Concluded by proposing A resolution folbeCifect•
that institutions of-this nature were calculated to advance the
moral and intellectual character of the members, which was
seconded by Mr. ATK INSON, the .eecretary to 11143
and unanimously adopted. .
Mr. J. C. EwattT proposed a vote of thanks to the Patrons
and Vice-Patrons of the institution,. which was ably seconded
by Mr. DOWDALL, and unanimously adopted.
A vote of thanks to the President and Bonorasy Cffirers of
the institution, on the motion of Mr. RA Tel. witg; secOnded by
Mr. CuaasEariaocon, was then unanimously carried.
Mr. JAMES LEWIN proposed a vote of thanks to Dr. Jeffrey,
president of the discussion class, of whose services he spoke iii
warm terms.

Mr. J. E. GL4DSTONE, in an eloquent speech, seeonded- the
resolution, which was unanimously carried.
The (batiks of the meeting to the Managing Committee wire
then moved by Mr. CuAemAN and seconded by Mr. GA W.
T HOR PR, and carried.

Mr. C. TINLING moved a vote of thanks to the donors to the
institution, which was seconded by Mr. D. I.Ensost and carried_
Mr. It. E. LaWIN expatiated on the merits of several phito
sophieal and literary authors of the present day, and concluded
with proposing that they be added to the list of the members of
the institute, which was seconded by Mr. STithi. and carried.

A vote of thanks was then proposed to the Chairman by Mr
Collet, and after Ito had returned thanks the tneetingseparated,

EXAMINATION OF THE PUPILS OF THE ROYAL'
INSTITUTION.

Yesterday the annual examination of the pupils of this In-
stitution was held in the Theatre of the Royal Institution. The
following are the pieces recited by the different pupils.
Master BitooKEs....Battle of the Antels 11i/troi.
„ Fa ECK LIVION' . Retrospect of .`shoot Days.. Gray. Ode
on Else.
„ FLaTema..Changing Quarters
„ SW A INSOM .. Defence of Milo. -. Cicero.
„ BANNER. Siege of Corinth.. Lord Blown.
„ . BA n a.. Sot:Tates appeals ti hi, Judg,s Plate.
RustfToN—Orestes Killed in a Chariot Race :nuns-
luted from Sophocies.
~ PICK HIVING .. Dido's Suicide Dryden's' Virgil.
~ Gkoom.. Ditto - Virgil.
„ RA MSS Y.. Medea's Soliloquy .. --Ent ipide.e.
~ 13. BititricKEß..The Immuring of Constance,...Secti

The manner in which the various p►eces were delivered, was
highly creditable, and spoke much for the care and attention
bestowed upon the tuition of the pupils by the Rev. Mr. Iliff
the master, and his assistants. The Theatre was exceedingly
crowded by the friends and relations of the young orators, who
appeared highly delighted with their juvenile effsits, The hol-
lowing is a list of the prizes which were awarded after the reci
tations, by the Rev. Rector Brooks :—For Classical Compo-
sition, the President's prize, Master Swanson. The Master's
prize, Master Groom. For Mathematics—The President's
prize, Master Swainson ; the Master's prize, Masters Fletcher
and Groom, equal. General Prizes—Masters Ramsay, Glad-
stone, A. Robertson, and Aspinall. The Presideet'S report
read after the recitation spoke in very gratifying terms of
the. progress of the institution, and of its increasing utility. The
new buildings connected with this institution, which are very
commodious, and rendered now necessary from the increase of
the members, will be opened after the vacation.