Orleans independent standard. [volume] (Irasburgh, Vt.) 1856-1871, 1857-08-07
From Household Words.
100000 TONS OF SILVER.

The future historian OF Great Britain
will doubtless relate, among the fashions
of the nineteenth century, the rise and
of aquariums Show ladies,
grown weary of buying and losing and
losing and rebuying their eats and dogs,
drowned their sorrows in salt water, and
transferred their affections to q lively
shrimp. But while they are exploring
the living wonders of the deep, scientific
men have been ransackigg the sea for
treasures, if not as interesting, at least
as valuable as the beautiful zoophytes
and their experiments have led them to
the conclusion that the ocean lDlds dis
solved two million tons silver.
To three French chemists the liscov-
cry is due. They took gallons of water
from the coast of St. Malo, few le;gues
from land, and analysed it in two ways.
A portion of the water they acted lpon
by the usual tests on silver, and the pres
ence of the precious metal was clearly
ascertained. The remainder of the wa
ter they evaporated, and the salt tey
obtained they boiled with lead.
He gave them a button of impure
lead, which they subjected to what is
called cupeldation. This rather grand
word depotes very simple process. The
button is placed upon little tiny saucer
made of lime, and is submitted to heat
sufficient to melt lead, but not high
enough to affect the silver, should any be
present. The lead soon begins to melt,
and, as it melts, it is sucked up by the
porous little saucer or cupel; it grows
smaller and smaller, until no lead re-
mains, and in its place is brilliant spec
far brighter than the boiling lead. The
cupel is then removed from the fire, anG
as it cools the red-hot sparks cool too, ant
you have homeopathic globule of silver
very much like one of those small pill
that druggists delude smokers into buy
ing TO take away the smell of the fra
grant weed. The operation, as I havt
said, is very simple, and is the ordinary
mode of procuring silver from the ore
Analyses are being made in this wa,
every day at the mint. When the pres
ence Of silver is doubtful the work
most exciting. saw an English ore S
tested the other day, and sure enough
after few minutes of anxious watching
shone forth bright spark about the siz
/ of pins head, for which our eyes wer
longing. The ore proved very ric
one, and we shall most likely hear NOR
2 about it.
But we must not forget our Frenc
friends. Again and again they repeate
i the experiments with the same success
Then they sat down and made the calcl
r Iation that a cubic mile of ocean contain
$ two pounds and three quarters weight
u silver. After this they made anoth,
t. series of experiments; they gathered st
h weeds, preferring those known to bot
n nists as fuel; because, as those plan
have no roots to insert into the rock
they must derive all their ailments fro
i the sea. These they analyzed, and four
them twenty-six times richer than Il
II water itself.
. The results attracted the attention
ar English chemist, Mr.. Frederick Fiel
:. who is engaged in assaying silver
- Chill they induced him to commence
=. course Of experiments upon the copp
- ore or yellow metal with which the hu
of vessels are sheathed. His knowled
-, of chemistry told him that if the S
: contained silver, he would in all prof.
/, bility find the metal on the bottom
:. vessels that had been at sea. He so
! had an opportunity to test the correctn'
of his surmise. The Ana Guimarea
d large vessel under the Chilian fl
was hauled down TO be repaired ne
Coquimbo, where Mr.. Field resides.
., The ship had been several years at S
and trading the whole of the time in
Pacific Ocean; so that if silver exist
as in any ships bottom it certainly would
a the Ana Guimareans A few ounces
the metal sheathing were taken and af
cd careful analysis, Mr.. Field obtain
ba from 5000 grains a trife more than t
grains of silver, which is equal to {
pound, one ounce, two pennyweigl
ted fifteen grains, in the ton. There was
e. yellow metal on board the ship by VIII
comparison could be made with t
tor which had been exposed to the salt y
or ter. But shortly afterward another Y
sci came into dock, and from her ca
piece of metal was taken which
for never been exposed to sea water, and
r .srsaN