Ashtabula telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1874-1880, 1875-12-31

The lagoons of Tuscany are unique
in Europe, if not IN the world.
Their product is an article of great
Importance 20 Great Britain as an
article Of import, and to Tuscany as
an export. They are spread over a
surface Of thirty square miles. As
one approaches the lagoons the
eirsh seems to pour out boiling
water. as if from volcanoes. The
ground is parched and cracked, and
from isures great and small, waite
~ vapors, mixed with salts and acids,
with rushing, mighty force go
Kissing in the air; the ground is
hot, and shakes with rumb-
ling sound, which. with the kissing
steam and sulphurous smell, makes
the traveller think he is approaching
the door of hell. The whole scene
is one of terrible violence and confu-
sion the noisy oltbreak of the
squirting water, the kissing steam,
the rumbling noise, lie quivering
ground, the fparclIed and rugged
surface, and the wild waters rushing
down from bleak and solitary noun
tains with ali overhung with steam
and suIphurous YapOr.
The ground which burns and
shakes beneath the feet is covered in
many places by crystalIzations ofsul-
phur. while beneath is black mari,
striated with carbonate Of lime, Civ.
inc it, at short distance, the appear
ance Of variegated marble The.
peasantry never pass the place
without terror, and SO for ages this
great mine poured out its liquid
treasure, more valuable than any
mineof Mexico or Peru, without be-
ing utilized.
Not many years ago Count Lard
erel, learning that the spouting wa
ter and Kissing vaper which is in
eessantly emitted from the ground
was largely impregnated with borae-
ic acid, he determined to utilize it,
and he bought the'entire lagoon es-
tate. The Count threw mp the earth
around each spouting and Kissing
stream, and thus formed pools or
basins, In which the water was. re-
tanned. The stream and Yapor rush
ing through the water in the pools
boiled it with fierce and thorough
ebolitio n. By this means the water
was evaporated, and the beracic
acid was formed in crystal fakes on
the sides and bottom of the pools
Nagoons). This crude boraeic acid
was then put in iron pans, and there
refined by conducting one of the
large Jets of steam emitted from the
earth at a temperature of 2l2. F.
peneath the pans, and the crude
acid was refined for market.
These refining pans were placed be-
low The large lagoons, SO that when
the workmen raked the crude acid
out, it fell into the refining pans.
Over four million pounds Of refined
boracic acid is shipped from these
lagcons annually; but few workmen
are employed, and the tremendous
mechanical force exerted without
artificial machinery or single pound
of fuel.
1t may truly be said that Count
Larderei has entered the very jaws
of death. and bearded the lion in his
| den. Boracic acid is composed of
two equivalents of boron and three
equivalent of oxygen. The acid is
exported to Great Britain and there
boiled in carbonate of soda /; the car
Donate is decomposed, biborate of
soda is formed, earbonic acid is dis
engaged and the borax erystailizes
as the liquid cools in this manner
all of the commercial borax of the
present day is manufactured. This
process has cheapened the cost, and
| purified the product to such de-
| gree as to drive all of the native
borax out of the market,
The spouting water, kissing steam
and roaring yapors have been inces,
sently emitted from the lagoons Of
Tuscany for countless ages in the
past, which seems to me to indicate
the continuity of the gas wells Of
Pennsylvania. sas
~