Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1888-09-27

ABOUT QUICKSILVER.
One of the Chief Sources of the Great In /
come of the RothScbilds


come of the RothSchilds
Everybody knows what quicksiIT yer Is.
but very few people knowauyt thing about
it, said chemist, to New York Mail
and Express man. sit is ona of the six
of seven primary substances knozn in
matter and is the ouly liquid metal. Ii
is found in considerable Quantities only
in two places on earth, the entire find
cuisine of those two places being less
than per cent. of the supply the world
has. These two places are Almadan. IN
Spain, and New Almadan, in Mexico.
''In the mines in both places, Is is found
N vast beds of cinnabar, which is the
common name for sui phurate of mercury
or Quicksilver. Both mines are owned,
and have been owned for many years,
by the Rothschiid family, and forms one
of the chief sources of their royal in
come. As thei. output is more than
nInete en-tGentieths of the entire supply
OF the world, they are able to fix the
price of the metal in ali markets, and
they extract about 100000 year from
the Spanish mine, AID about 81, SOC, coo
from the Mexican mines, This is net
profit, she gross sales being greatly in ex-
cess Of those figures.
Mercury is the deadliest of metals.
You know how often you hear people say
iodide of mercury and
When the reporter recovered con-
seriousness the chemist was still babbling
out: Mercury is an active poison in
every known form, which is not the case
with lead. 1t is used in very numerous
variety of industries, but it is so poison
Gus that the the workmen who handle it
in any form live only six or seven years
after they begin the handling. It has,
naturally, been very carefully studied by
| chemists, and for every case of acciden-
tai poisoning by its use; there is speci-
| fic antidote, but for the cumulative
poisoning that comes from constantly
using it there is no cure. The victims
suffer always in the same manner; frs
from CHASTITY and loathsome ulcers, then
from a gradual rotting away of the bones
and hard tissues of the body, and then
| from death, results from entire debilita
ton"
'TO tell all its uses would fill a book
The commonest are in the manufacture
| of thermometers and barometers, the
backing of mirrors, the amalgamation OF
| gold and silver, the manufacture of cor
rosive sublimate, calomel, blue mass, and
other drugs, the making of cclors, ETC.
In colors, iodide of mercury makes the
most brilliant vernillion known. In
another form, with the sulphate of cya-
hide, il forms the basis of those queer
toys that swell and squirm like worms
| when ignited. They are called Pharo's
eggs and are exceedingly amusing play
things. The nitrate is used as 4 caustic
"a new use for the iodide farm has
been recently discovered in the leather
industry. The addition of a small guam
tity of it to skins has been to effectually
prevent fermentation setting in, and at
the same time to produce no injurious
effects in the subsequent tanning opera
tiops. It is said that the mercury salts
act as preventative of the constituents
of the tanning liquors, and the leather
produced from skins that have been pre-
viously treated in this manner, is superior
to that tanned in the ordinary way.
Messrs. Colin & Renoist, the French
chemists, who have experimental with
this anti-ferment, states that it com
pletely prevents the liquefactioD of the
gelatine, which takes place in purifying
hides, and thus saves them from this
loss. saving is also effected by its use
in 4he prevention of the decomposition
of the tanning in the tanning liquid,
which is usually fastened by the intro
duction of the hides when in state of
decomposition. The amount of iodide
of mercury required is so small that it is
claimed that there is no appreciate
danger from poisoning, either to the
workmen or to those subsequently using
the leather.
''In some respects, however, mercury is
not as important factor in human in
dustry as it was formerly The best
mirrors for example, are now made with
a metallic backing of silver, which is pre-
cipitated with sugar. In medical science
it has been to some extent superseded by
Edison's inventions, and in metallurgy
by wet assaying and certain new German
processes"