Wichita eagle., 1888-06-16
LABORATORY TALES.
CHEMICAL EXPERTS CHAT ABOUT
CASES THEY HAVE OBSERVED.

CHEMICAL EXPERTS CHAT ABOUT
CASES THEY HAVE OBSERVED.
/ How . Kentuckian Came to Spit Fire.
A Pet Cats Troubles Adulteration
Most Observation-Disclosures an Accident.
"Od with q Bang"
"Some years ago." said Professor n. D.
/ Garrison, professor Of chemistry and physics
/ In the Chicago College of Pharmacy 81 was
lecturing on potassium A popularity Of
this element Is that it takes fire on coming
/ in contact with water l held IN my hand
! pill made OF the metal and was cutting it
/ into fine shavings with my knife The shaw
/ ings fell In little pile before me, and after
/ the lecture one Of the students, a TALL iank
fellow from Kentucky, came up to the desk,
and. picking up the shavings, dropped them
! on bis tongue He had habit of tasting
everything. The saliva on the young mans
i tongue was enough to fire the potassium, and
| the way that Kentuckian did spit fire and
I yell for the next FIVE minutes was enough to
strike terror to any mans heart who didn't
/ know what allied him.
"Yes," said the professor. 81 have devoted
}
| Is comparatively new art or science. Its
possibilities were never dreamed Of For
merry minutes were required to make tie
picture, now the one-thousandth part OF
second Is ample to do the work Ii the sun
light Is strong Recently l exposed but one
eighth Of my lens with results just as perfect
as though the other seven-eighths had been
shown. As for the time required, one-thou-
Z Ar - - I hall 81
Chemistry has brought up the plates and the
material that Ia used to the highest point OF
perfection"
Said Professor Galloway, the secretary Of
the college and director Of the chemical lab
oratory: 81 had more fun once than l bar
gained for. In lecturing ON phosphorus
usually show that it is soluble in bi-sulphide
Of carbon. Such solution being placed on
paper and exposed to the air few minutes
spontaneously innames and continues to burn
until the phosphorus Is all consumed. The
same solution will spontaneously infame if
placed upon fur or clothing. One night at
my home we had company and was anxious
to entertain them The lights were lowered
and l retired to the kitchen, where my
mothers black cat was sleeping. Picking up
the animal produced bottle Of the phos-
streak the cat with what our guests would
regard as liquid fire when l turned the cat
into the darkened parlor. Suddenly the door
opened, and in my haste to conceal my mix
ture split the whole business on the back of
the black cat She made one bound through
the dining room into the parlor, and there
began such caterwauling as that neighbor-
hood never heard before She was fairly
~ IN nd IL,
looked like ball Of fire as big as bushel
basket
"Her first break was for my mother, whom
she regarded as her best friend Her best
friend didn't recognize her, and when my
mother began to scream and break for the
ball door the guests took tho alarm and q
small panic ensued was so broken up with
laughter myself that dropped to the dining
room floor helpless 1t took me five minutes
to explain the situation to my sister and ask
her to throw some water on the cat. Finally,
after she had called my mother and the beast
had been drenched, we thought the trouble
was over, but it wasn't The phosphorus had
settled into the hide. and as soon as the cat
began to dry of the fire broke out again
Three times that night we had to douse that
cat, and when l went to bed left my indig-
nant mother sitting by the stove with her
pet cat done up in her lap in damp shawl"
"Once," said another professor, "a man
brought me some pepper to analyze. At
least he had purchased it for ground pepper
l worked on II for several days and found
that the pure pepper had been mixed with
ground leather of old shoes. There's adul-
teration for you with vengeance"
~ worked three weeks once" said Profes-
sor Stuart, ION a compound which tobacco
merchant brought me- He said the stuff had
been used to initiate tobacco. There was
burdock, cabbage and variety Of common
leaf plant in the stuff. Frequently / have
analysed food whose discoloration is due to
incipient decomposition; also pinltish pork;
sometimes pinkish color appears in starch
kilns, which is due to the growth Of fungus"
Ibid you ever have any explosions~
ayes, they are quite common They are
liable to occur in testing for arsenic. a mix
ture Of hydrogen and air will explode Hy-
drogen alone will not explode. Beginners do
not allow time enough for the air to be dis
placed by the hydrogen. was once expert
nenting in Oberlin college with a galvanic
battery by new process Of estimating the
amount OF lead In solution by passing the
current Of electricity through the solution
UOllCc0 III LiC DOIcpA1 VI IUc lASSSh q itlIS
low globule Like oil didn't know what i.
was and asked the professor. He said it re-
sembled chloride Of nitrogen, and at once
threw the flask out Of the window. When it
struck the ground there was an explosion
which tore up the earth. Chloride Of nitro
gen Is 80 extremely explosive that a touch
with feather tip viii set it of. l had unin-
tentionally and ignorantly formed this
destructive agency. Had it exploded in the
laboratory it would have shattered the
building
"When anything breaks In a laboratory
everybody shouts five dollarsP that is be-
cause tnat amount is generally assessed as the
penalty which the careless student pays for
smashing things l knew q young lady who
pursued the study Of chemistry under diff
cultes. She was so short Of stature she was
compelled to stand On box to work She
had an explosion, and jumping oil the box
backward, landed on the back OF the male
student behind her, who happened 70 be In q
stopping position at the time When We
rescued her We found her bangs full Of ace
tate Of zinc"
That was an explosion that went of with
q bang" said Professor Stuart, as he rang
the gong which dismissed the class |
Herald |
Ironcl2d Ships Condemned.
The new metal turrets with which !