Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1844-01-26

ganCSc, ana sick, SuIpnur, ana phosphorus
Here is "A long list. Long as it is, perhaps
it will be thought worth learning, when you
are told that these are the names of all the
substances found in plants, every substance
which they want. Out of these is made
every plant. Every part of every plant,
from the hyssop on the wall TO the mountain
cedar, contains some or all of these. BE
not dislleartened. Look over, reader, the
list again carefully; see how many are old
names of things winch you know. OF the
fourteen, you know nearly one-haIf by
name and by nature. These are, potash,
soda, lime, magnesia, iron, sulphur. Per-
haps you will add, that you know carbon is
coal, or rather coal carbon. You have
heard, from some travelling lecturer at your
town lyceum, that oxygen and hydrogen to-
gether form water; that oxygen and nitrogen
form the air you breathe that nitrogen and
hydrogen form ammonia, or sal volatile,
winch gives the sharp smell to the smelling
bottle. Besides, the thing has been said so
often, that you must have heard it, that chic
rine, the substance which bIeeches ia bleach
ing salts, united to soda makes common salt.
or if chlorine is united to ammonia, sal am
moniac is formed. Now, by changes and
combinations among these fourteen things,
nature makes every thing we find in plants.
Many of these are invisible to us, as is the
air. The substance called chlorine, perhaps
you have never seen, but if you ever smell
it you will never forget it. 1t is often
smelt in a piece of bleaclled cotton, when
opened IN the shops. 1t gives the smell to
bleaching powder, used to d%isinfect the air
during cholera and other diseases. If You
could see it, it would appear merely IA faint
yellowish green air. 1t is all-powerful on
vegetation. AS it forms a part of common
salt, say half its weight, we may dismiss the
further consideration of it by saying, that,
in some shape or other, chlorine is u%niver-
sally dillrscd in soil and plants.
The list above may be divided as follows:
first, the airy or volatile secondly, the
carths and metals thirdly, the alkalics
%tourlIly the lnllammables. Only the third
and fourth divisions require to be explained
or defined. The substances called potash
and soda, are termed alkalies. They are
said to have alkaline properties. Touch
Your tongue with a bit of qulck-Iime, it has
IA hot, burning, bitter taste. These are
called alkaline properties. Besides these,
they have the power OF combining with,
and taking the sour out of, all sour liquids or
acids-thnt is, the acid and the alkali neu-
tralizc eacl, other. This word alkali is of
Arabic origin its very name shows one of
the properties of alkalies. "Kali" is. the
Arabic word for bitter, and ''ai' is like one
word snper-we say fine and supcrfne; so
kali is bitter; al-kali, superlatiycly bitter,
or truly alkali means the "dregs of bitter
ness"
wish, reader, for your own sake, as well
as my own, that you should fix in your mind
what | have said about alkaIi and alkaline
properties. Alkali is a general term. i,
includes all those substances which have an
action like the ley of wood ashes, which you
use for soap-making. If this ley is boiled
down dry, You know it forms potash. Now
lime fresh slaked has the alkaline properties
of potash, bnt weaker, and so has the cal
cined magnesia of the shops, but IN less de-
gree than lime. Here we have two sub
stances, earthly in their look, having alkaline
properties. They are called, therefore, al
kaline earths. But what we understand
chiefly by the term alkalies, means potash,
soda, and ammonia. Potash is the alkali OF
land plants soda is the alkali of sea plants /;
and ammonia is the alkali of animal SUBJ
stances. Potash and soda are fixed, that is,
not easily raised in vapor by fire. Ammo
MIA always exists as vapor, unless fixed by
something else. Hence we have a distinc-
ton among alkalies which is easily remem-
bered. This distinction is founded on
the source from which they are procured
and upon their nature when heated. Pot.
ash is vegetable alkali, derived from land
plants; soda is marine alkali, derived from
sea plants; ammonia is animal alkali, de-
rived from animal substances.
Potash and soda are fixed aIkalies; am.
monia is a volatile alkali. Potash make.
soft soap with grease, and soda forms hare
soap. Ammonia forms neither hard nor sof
, 1t makes with oil "A kind of ointment uset
TO rub a sore throat with, under the name o
volatile linimcnt. But though there be thes,
!. three olkulies, and two alkaline eartls,
want you to fix in your mind, reader, tina
they all have common properties, called al
> kallne, and which will enable you to under
stand their action without more ado abou
b their chemistry.
- VI Jul lOuitu ulNISlUH
are sulphur and phosphorus; both used il
G making friction matches. The phosphoru
first takes fire by rubbing, and this sets tn
It sulphur burning. Now, the smoke arisin
), from these is only the sulphur and phospho
}, rus united to the vital part of the commol
air, or oxygen, as it is called, and innamma
c bles, forms acids, called sulphurlc and phos
g plloric acids So if you burn coal or car
bon, it is well known you form fixed air, o
carbonic acid. That is, by burning, tn
coal or carbon unites with the oxygen O
v vital part Of common air, and forms carbon
e ic acid. The heavy, deadly air, whic
n arises from burning charcoal, has all tn
J. properties of an acid. And now let US Sc
n what these properties are.
All acids unite or combine with the aka
IS lies, alkaline earlhs, and the metals. Whe
acids and alkalies do thus unite, they eac
lose their Distinguishing properties. The
is form a new substance, called a salt. 1t