Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1893-01-05
An Interesting Chapter on Charcoal,

yves lut IpI!o"iHS interesting Ialh on
charcoal. How many people use char
coal in the different departments Of
business without giving thought 10 IL
chemical composition 1t i species
Of carbon produced by burning wood,
vegetable and animal substances with
out contact with the air We use it as
black, inodorous. brittle subsistence
where quick hot fire is required. 1t is
used by blacksmiths and for various
household and domestic purposes 1t is
made by piIing billets of wood together
in roneshaped heap, covering the
pile with earth TO prevent the air from
reaching II. The mass is burnt slowly,
with 8 Slight access Of air The usual
process is carried out in forests where
wood is plentiful. About IS per cent. of
the weight of wood is left as charcoal.
Charcoal seems soft and pliabe, but
if the fine powdered charcoal is put be-
tween plates Of glass, and the glass
rubbed together, there will appear par
ticles Of coal SO very hard that they
will cut the glass, scratching il as read
lily as diamond, which is one of the
hardest substances known. Charcoal is
also very combustIble, and is exceed
ingly valuable in many industrial bust
ness departments 1t is extensively
used for fuel in cities; it burns almost
without flame. Ii is found to be quickly
ignited, ard when in a state OF com
bustion it is partially decomposed into
hydrogen, or carbonatcd hydrogen,
which burns without flame or very lit
tie Illuminating power. A cubic foot Of
charcoal made from soft pine wood
weighs upon an average from eight TO
nine pounds, and from hard oak or
rock maple the weight is increased
from twelve to thirteen pounds. Hence
the hardwood charcoal is the most val
liable and is best adapted for producing
great heat III a small space. One pound
Of dry charcoal will heat seventy-tive
pounds OF water from ice to a boiling
point. Charcoal is very useful in many
ways.
In the first place il is very unchange-
able. and an indestructible SUBSTANCE.
and Is not affected lin common tenn
perature) by either air Or moisture At
the time Of the great eruption Of Nesu-
wins. when HercuIaneurn was over
whelmed with burning lava. stone a1d
birthstone, the beams of the great the
atre and other large buildings were
converted INTO solid charcoal; and
though done 100 years or more ago,
they remained as eutire and perfect as
they were in The beginning. And il
was found that charrirg wood upon its
surface protects the wood from the ef-
feet Of moisture and contact with the
earth. All the houses and large build
lngs In Venice are said to have been
preserved by charring the timbers be-
fore they were driven into the damp
soil. This rendered them beyond the
reach Of decay. Oak beams and stakes
were found in the led OF the Thames
River, supposed to have been driven
there at the time OF the Roman inva-
sion by julius Caesar. They were
charred deeply and their hearts were
like stone. a lost art evidently in the
preservation oftimber
Charcoal possesses the power of alb
sorbing different gases and condensing
them within its pores 1t will take up
and absorb ninety times its weight and
bulk of ammonia, thirty-five times its
bulk of carbonc acid, nine times its
bulk in oxygen, seven times its bulk in
nitrogen. When charcoal is saturated
with one gas and is put into another, it
Will give out a portion of the gas al
ready absorbed and take up a certain
amount of the new gas.
Charcoal taken from the heap as
soon as the fire is extinguished will take
the moisture and watery vspor from
the atmosphere rapidly as if greedy to
get the whole. Expose the newly
burned charcoal week to the atmos-
phere and it will increase in weight by
the exposure to the air from 10 to 20
per cent. 1t pays to keep it thus ex-
posed, as the charcoal makers nearly
double their money.
Chemists have discovered that char
coal is capable of varying its quality
OF absorption according to the different
kinds of coal and wood from which it
is made. Some qualities are fine while
others are loose and spongy and absorb
more moisture than those of finer
grades.
There are many great principles
worthy Of remembering in charcoal. 1t
is noted for removing offensive odors,
and will check putrefaction-or gan
CREME. 1t will also serve as a powerful
antiseptic. 1t will restore tainted meats
if powdered and rubbed and carefully
washed off. Sailors going to sea can
burn the inside of water casks, for by
thus charring them, the water will keep
pure and sweet for many weeks. Char
coal can be made useful for preserving
many vegetable substances containing
much moisture. Potatoes when watery
can be made dry, and completely pre-
served, by the use of charcoal. Bad
odors can be removed from cloths by
wrapping them in powdered charcoal.
Bone black is made of charcoal from
bones. Ivory black. and many other
useful things are made of this charcoal.
In clarifying and refining sugar, also
for wines, vinegars and syrups, differ
ent qualities of charcoal are used. The
beneicent use of charcoal on the soils
of the earth, in manufacturing fertili-
zers-pulverizing with lime and other
phosphates-is not generally enough
understood. No power has YET meas
ured its qualities and chemical actions
with other materials for plant food, es-
pecially where alkalies and other min