The Abbeville banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1847-1869, 1856-11-13

such voice and with such effect. l shall at.
tempt 10 description, however.
| ~e.s$
BTTUMEN-TTS USES.
This is name employed to denote vari'
Gus inAammablc substances found in the
earth. There are number of different
kinds of it, most Of which pass into one or
other, from petroleum-thc most fuid-to
asphalt, which is sometimes too hard TO be
scratched with the finger nail. Extensive
magazines Of it are found in various parts
Of the world. Elastic Litumen'' is of a
brown color, and grasses pencil marks like
India rubber, hence it is called mineral ca
outchouc. "Compact bitumen," or asphalt,
is extensively disseminated, and is found in
great abundance in some Of the West In
dia Islands, and New brunswick, n. A. 1t
Is black, and Of Il hard rcsnous appearance.
The Pitch Lake Of Trinidad, yields Litumcn
in all conditions. Petroleum is fluid btu
men it is of a dark color, and oozes from
certain rocks and creviccs in the earth, and
becomes solid 10y exposure to the atmos-
pllerc. Naphtl'a, or mineral oil is another
variety of it, Which becomes petroleum by
exposure to the air. Petroleum is common
i'll various parts of the United States, such
as at kcnawha, Va, Scottsville, Ky, Oil
Creek, Pa, Liverpool, o., IIins,lalc, n. V,
and 1t WAS ut one time collected by the
Seneca Indians and sold in the market as a
lotion for rheumatic affections and bruizes.
1t is i'll the form of petroleum that Litumcn
Is most common i'll our country, and but
very little use is made Of it, owing, we sup
pose, TO its pungent smell. In Burlnah it
is used for fuel and illumination and mixed
with soap, is said to form al excellent rem
edy for many cutaneous diseases, protec-
tive against the prickiy heat Of warm coun-
tries A; and WAS supposed, at one time, to be
remedy against cholera.
1t is a remarkable fact in the history of
the useful arts, that asphalt, which WAS once
SO generally employed AS a durable cement,
! should have almost fallen into dsuse for
thousands of years. 1t rcsists the passage
of air and moisture, and has, therefore, a
most valuable quality for lining cistcrns and
the interior of deep cellars. Bricks or
stones coated with hot Litumcn resist mois-
turc, and arc rendered proof agaus: decay
Ly changes Of weather. Possessing these
valuable characteristics, it is wonderful that
it Is so little used. Some attempts have
been made in this city to make Il concrete
pavement ot it, such rs at the building Oh
the corner Of Brckman and Cliff streets,
but for this purpose it is evidently not equal
TO stone flags, because it has had to be re-
laid, and now huge cracks are again seen
in different parts of it. On the other hand
some beautiful mosaic asphalt pavement,
has been laid down in the streets of Paris,
and is said to he perfectly successful. All
the volatile oil and water should be expelled
from bitumen by boiling, before it is applied
as cement, or it will not resist the Cham
gcs Of heat and cold well. Many failures
in the employment Of pitch and Litumcn
for cement, have been caused by neglccting
to boil it thoroughly. 1t is our opinion
that iron pipes, coated inside and out will,
hot bitumen, especially the elastic kind, will
prevent incrustation inside, aud render them
very durable And may not this substance
bc so manipulated, that it can become a sub.
stitute for India rubber and gutta percha |
These vegetable resin gums are becoming
dcarcr year after year, and are only obtain.
ed i'll limited quantities and at considerable
expense. On the other hand Litumen i:
found in exhaustloss quantities, and is very
cheap. Can it not by some chemical pro
cess, be rendered as elastic rs these gun
resins, and as capable of vucanization.-
Here is field. We think, Of great exten
for chemical experiment, to which we invit,
attention.-.Scient;fc american.
Gold from Marrow Boncs.-In Aust ra
Iia, Mr.. Mooney las been delivering lee
ture OIL the origin of gold, concerning
which he propounded the following move
theory: lie set out by declaring his belle
that gold is the petriied remains of matte
which was once animate; and accompanie,
as it generally is by ocean pebbles, quartz
; crystal, and other saline and marine debris
he was OF opinion that gold is the petrife,
fat or marrow Of n peculiar fish, whicl