Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1868-12-30

and favoring confectionery, is prepared by
the action of nitric acid on the fetid oils
of gastar. Many a fair forehead is dampec
with the oil de millefeurs- without know
ing that its essential ingredient is de-
rived from the drainage of the cow-house
The winter-green oil imported from New
Jersey. being produced from a plant indl-
genous there, is arti6cially made from
willows, and a body procured from dis
tilation of wood. All these are direct
modern appliance of science to an industri-
al purpose, and imply an acquaintance
with the highest investigations of organic
chemistry. Let us recollect that the oil
of lemon, turpentine, oil of juniper, oil of
roses, oil of copaiba. oil of rosemary, and
many other oils, are identical in compost
ton. and it is not difficult to conceive that
perfumery may derive still further aid
from chemistry"
Dyes are often derived from the most
repulsive sources gas tar gives the mag
enta and mauve so fashionable of late !;
picric acid, from the same source, produces
orange and yellow tones. The beautiful
color ultra marine was formerly made Of
Iapis-lazuli. and was far too precious an
article to be used by the calieo-printers !;
but the modern chemist, having discovered
the elements of which it is made, now
builds it up arti6cially. This is one of
the most striking results of scientific
knowledge. and was probably the first
triumph of synthetical chemistry. The
costly pigment that we treasured up is now
made artifcially at Is. per pound The
method Of applying it to cloth is very in
genious As it is insoube, how was it to
be made to adhere to the material ?
Chemists answered the question by mixing
it with albumen. which. coagulating by
heat, fixed it firmly on the fabric to which
it was applied. The waste heaps of spent
madder were formerly great nuisance,
and were often thrown away, of course in
to those great carriers. streams and rivers !:
hence the water in the neighborhood of
dye-works was always polluted; it is now
found that at least one-third of this hith-
erto waste product can be saved by being
treated with hot acid Prussian blue is
made from pieces of horsc-hoof. or refuse
woolen material, by fusion with iron and
alkali A few years ago the scientific
world was startled by the announcement
that means had been arrived at of ex-
tracing the green coloring matter (chlo-
rophyll) from grass, leaves, etc. 10 utilize
the bloom Of spring was indeed n daring
idea, and by no means impossible of ac-
complishment but that excellent inten-
tion has been baffled by the extreme alter
ability of the color in question.
Perhaps the most important refuse pro-
duct that can be mentioned as proceeding
from systematic manufacturing process
is that known as soda waste" Large
quantities of this substance are rejected as
useless By most alkali-works; and it has
been for many years at once a problem
and reproach to chemistry. The magni-
tude of our loss may be imagined when
We reflect upon the fact that almost the
whole of the sulphur employed in washing
soda is removed. in chemical combination,
as constituent of this waste Such
circumstance did not, of course escape the
attention of scientific men: and many
some of them extremely ingenious
were devised for the recovery of the sui
phur. All of these, though succeeding
from a chemical point of view,
shared in one important defect-they did
not pay the manufacturer. The offensive
heaps, therefore, continued to be a most
serious local annoyance, by envolving foul
and injurious gases. and were a source of
litigation until, within only the last few
years, the fual removal of the nuisance
was satisfactorily accomplished. and
declared to be profitable undertaking.
The processes in actual employment would
not be understood by non-technical
reader; but we may state that none of
them involve the introduction of any ma
terial which the works themselves do not
at present tur1ish France has, perhaps,
taken the lead in this matter but several
English manufactures are busy. and sue
cessful, at the new processes. Some of
the sulphur thus prepared was shown at
the last exposition in Paris but much of
it is covered into hyposulphites, another
form in which it has several times exhib-
tied. Both the sulphur and hyposulphites
thus produced are now made on a very
arge scale. and the recovery is complete.
We may then congratulate ourselves on
having witnessed this important and, in
Iced. necessary victory.-LOndo7a Quarter
g Rerieac.