Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1874-07-22
Scientific.

The OccURRENCE AND USE OF NICKEL.
Nickel was discovered by Cronstedt
in l75l. In color it is between q yel-
lowish white and steel gray; it has
a bright luster which it retains even
in moist air it is as hard as iron, Is
perfectly malleable and ductile, fuses
at temperature but little lower than
wrought iron, is magnetic, and has a
specific gravity of S-S. 1t does not
occur native, and is on the whole quite
rare, being generally found combined
with arsenic. The following statistics
of the production of nickel are from the
Berg and HuttenDaartytischen Zeituno
for 1871 and 1872:
The production of the Prussian nickel
works was, in 1869, abont 434 tons,
worth over $3.50, 900 in 1870, 463 tons,
worth S4OO, 200. This quantity was
produced in eight establishments, en-
ploying $50 workmen. The total pro-
duction of nickel ores of Prussia in 1870
was only 62 cwt., worth 1856. Saxony
produced, in 1870, 81 tons of nickel,
worth 500, III. Austria produced but
very little in 1870, her nickel, cobalt
and antimony only amounting to III
tons, worth s., 2S9. Hungary is larger
producer of nickel, yielding, In 1869,
440 tons of cobalt and nickel products.
Norway in the same year produced 60
tons nickel ores and 5000 pounds nickel,
and Sweden, In 1868 yielded 120 tons OF
ore and 1900 pounds of nickel
Great Britain shows as good as none.
In 1870, 1000 pounds were obtained,
worth Sl35. Belgium produced 81 tons,
worth Sc, 500. The largest nickel mine
in the world is the La Motto mine in
Pennsylvania, where copper and lead
ores are also found. A deposit 8 feet
thick extends for long distance. The
pig iron from the lead furnaces there
are rich in nickel.
The Chinese have long employed
nickel with copper and zinc to make an
alloy called packfong- In Europe
nickel has only been used for about
fifty years. an alloy known as argentan
or German silver being made of copper,
zinc and nickel. The principal centers
of the German silver (Neusilber) were
manufactured at Berlin, Altena, Iser-
lohn, Hanover outside of Germany,
Paris, Vienna and Birmingham are the
principal places for its production. In
Vienna 1t is known as packing, China
silver, or alpaca silver. The French
call an alloy of copper, zinc and nickel,
packfong or cuivre blanc, also maille
chort, after an Englishman named
Maillet, who patented it in 1927.
Nickel is also used alone for axles
and other parts of machinery for chi
rurgical instruments, in Matchmaking, |
&c. 1t also serves for covering other
metals, or nickel plating.
Another use for nickel, which is at |
tracting much attention now, Is for |
coins, the new German coinage law pre- |
scribing lis use in certain small coins, |
in which it follows the examples not |
only of the United States, but also of |
Belgium and Switzerland. This has |
caused an immense increase In the price |
of nickel abroad, and greatly disturbed |
the market price of German silver.
EFFECT OF BEEF TEA-In an article |
in one of the popular London journals, |
DIR. kimmerich ascribes the effect of
beef tea not to its aromatic and com
bustible ingredients, but to the potash
salts which it contains, and concerning |
which it is well known that If given III |
larger doses an injurious effect is exer-
cised on the organism nevertheless,
potash salts are an element of all arti-
cles of food, forming not only the chief
ingredients of the salts of every sort of
flesh, including that of fish, but like
wise all other food. In medical prac-
tice says Dr. Kimmerich, wine, ether,
camphor, and musk are invigorating
and refreshing remedies, and compared
to these, beef tea occupies of course, a
subordinate position If, however, it Is
necessary to preserve the exhausted
body from protracted illness, then there
is no other remedy in the whole rich
storehouse of medicine, which can
afford such assistance for regenerating
the deceased organism as repeated
doses of beef tea.
GLYCYRRHIzIN, OR LIoUoRICE JUICE
1t has oeen suspected that sugar, ex-
tracted from liquorice root, has been
used for the purpose of adulterating
beer, and yet the opinion of chemists
has been that such sugar is not fer
mentable. Glycyrrhizin is glycoside,
which, on boiling with acids, decom-
poses into glycyrretin and sugar. Even
after boiling il with water, sugar may
be detected by Fehling's test. The
sugar obtained in this manner was
treated with yeast, and after three days
the fermentation was complete, and
alcohol was found in large quantity by
means of the well known reaction con-
verting it into iodoform. During the
latter stage of the fermentation pecu-
liarly disagreeable putrid odor was
|
it passed over into the distillate the
taste of some German
beers is doubtless owing to this body.
JAPAN LAcQUER.-It has been gene
rally supposed that the beauty of Japan
lacquer work was due to ingredients
derived from unknown plants, and that
the secret was confined to the Oriental
workmen. Recently, however. in Hol-
Iand, objects of art have been produced,
Iacquered and covered with mother Of
pearl, in pieces facsimiles of those made
In Japan. The lacquer used is prepared
from the hardest varieties of gum copal,
principally that of Zanzibar, which is
colored black with India ink. The arti-
,les are covered with several layers of this ,
upon which, while still wet,
Dr. rather pssty, the mother-of-pearl Ii
nlaid. Drying in furnace follows,
another coat of lacquer is applied, ther
more drying, and smoothing with
oounce. These operations are repeated
lntil the surfaces are perfectly united
and smooth, when a final polish Is given
With tripoli.
POWER OF ExPLosIvEs.-Somee expert
nents have been made recently in a
herman iron mine at Hamm, to ascer- 4
ain the relative efficiency of powder !
md some of the nitro-glycerin COM !
pounds for blasting purposes. The :
were the results obtained: :
Ordinary saltpeter gunpowder, unit !
If force extra best powder, with excess !
If saltpeter and cherry tree charcoal, !
made by L. Ritter at Hamm, units /
lualin, obtained from Herr Dittmar,
lieutenant of artillery, Charlottenburg.