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On the ingots of copper obtained by solution
AMERICAN MECHAN'ICS5 MA(]AZIh'E.
~41
The Chinese, far exceed even the ancient Romans, in the care they bestow upon the propagation of the finny tribe. At cm~ain seasons of the year, they carefull~ collect all the ova as fast as it is deposited by the fishes, to prevent Its bein~ devoured by the other tribes; they then.procure, so~}m eg.gs, am|, after makin~ a'hole in each end~ and blowing the ms~ae ot It through, the ova is introduced ; and the ends bein~ closed, the egg is placed in an oven of a certain temperature, unti[the young fi'y nearly make their appearance, when the shell is broken," " and the. contents put into watez" 1. warmer] bv4 the sun's r~a~.~,~ Mrhen the young brood, procured by this means, attain a certain size, a portion o~"it is applied for the pro'poses of food for the larger species of fish, and the remainder is destined for the table. Your obedient servant, N. MILI~.
On the Ingots of Copper obtained by solution. By M. C L E ~ T . The beautiful experiments of Sir James Hall, have demonstrated that pulverized carbonate of lime, a substance eminently decomposable by heat, may be fused, under great pressure, without losin~ its carbonic acid, and afford, when cold, a solid mass similar to marble. In like manner, as it was heretofore imagined, that that mineral was necessarily formed by deposition, from its aqueous solution, and could, by no means, be a product of heat ; so, at present, it is generally believeci, that a solid mass of metallic copper, capable of exten' sion, under .the ~hammer, must have undergone igneous fusion, and have acquired its cohesion by cooling. Copper, precipitated from its solution, by whatever agent, is always in the state of a fine loose powder. The fi)llowing fact, however, will show that an ingot of copper may be formed rid humid& I am indebted to M. Mollerat for the observation, which he communicated to me a short time since, on my visiting his fine manuf~actory tbr making vinegar t~om wood, in Bm'gundy. " In a series of operations for preparing sulphate of copper by ca|clning copper with sulphur, solutions of the sulphate are obtained, which become turbid by the separation of an insoluble subsulphate. They_ are placed in a tub, half buried in the ground, in order to becom,~ clear. It is against the interior sides of this tub, and always at tht. junction of two staves, that small buttons (ehampignons).of metallic copper are observed to form, which gradually increase m size, and wot~Id, doubtless, ultimately become considerable masses, I have some specimens, which I detached fl-om the tub, with a portion of the w.ood adhering to them. On one side we find these bits of copper moulded on the wood of the tub~ whose strim are impressed on their surlkce ; on tim o)her, they have the form of mammellm with very minute, brilliant, cr3 stalline facets. One of these specimens weighs more than 73 grammes (nearly 9.~. o~,- English.) Vm~. I . ~ N o . 4.~APnlI,, 18~6, 81
~4~,
TIIE FItANKLIN JOURNAL AND
The che~nical action, by which the copper iSure(vleVsC~lo~S a ~i~sily exulained the protosul|)hate of copper, whiclb q " b y, exists "l : n e s "o t'u tqon , in ~assm~ to the state of deutosulphate, deposits its . ~ -base, which gives up ~fs oxygen, and acid, to torm the.new salt. Itis evident that the revival of the copper may be effected, in this manner, without the assistance of any iron, and, in thct, there are no traces of that metal in the interior of the tub. It is not, however, this part of the phenomenon, that appears to me most remarkable, but the cohesion, acquired by the copper, so precipitated, from the midst of a solution ; a cohesion, which is so great as to allow the metal to be hammered in the cold~ and reduced to thin leaves ; and whose specific gravity is equal to that of fused copper, viz. 8.78. ! have, moreover, fried a morsel of this copper, and have produced a surface as brilliant, and free from pores, as could have been obtained, by similar means, with an ingot of common copper. [dlnnale8 de Chimie. In
1"
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~
On the Struet~tre of Pearls, and on the Chinese Mode of producingthem of a large Size, and regular aVbrm. By JoitN Enw,u~l) GI~A~ MGS, ~ (TO TH]~ :E~DITOIIS 0~" THE AI~'~AI,9 OF pHILOSOPI~Y.)
Gentlemen,mPearls are merely the internal pearly coat of tile shell, which has assumed, from some extraneous cause, a spherical tbrm ; they art, like the shell, composed of concentric coats, tbrmed of perpendicular fibres; consequently, when broken, they exhibit concentric rings and fibres, radiating from a central nucleus, usually consisting of a grain of sand, or some other body which has irritated the animal1. A pearl having been once formed, the animal continues to increase its size, by the addition of fresh eoats~ perhaps more rapidly deposited on it, than On the rest of the shell, as tl~e prominence remains a source of irritation. The pea,-ls are usually of the colour of the part of the shell to which they are attached. I have observed them white, rose coloured, pro'pie, and black, and they are said to be sometimes of a green colour; they have also been found of two colours, that is, white, with a dark nucleus; which is occasioned by their being first formed on the dark margin of the shell, before it is covered with the white am[ pearly coat of the disk, which, when it becomes extended over them and the margin, gives them that appearance. Pearls vary greatly in their transparency. The pink are the most transparent ; and in this particular, they agree with the internal coat of the shell fl'om which they: are formed, .f°r these p.earls art only formed on the pinnm, which internally are pink, and sem~transparelxt; aml the black and purple specimens are, generally, more or less opaque. Their lustre, which is derived fi'om the reflection of the light from their peculiar surface, produced by the curious disposition of their fibres, and from their semitransparency and form~ greatly depends or,
~41
The Chinese, far exceed even the ancient Romans, in the care they bestow upon the propagation of the finny tribe. At cm~ain seasons of the year, they carefull~ collect all the ova as fast as it is deposited by the fishes, to prevent Its bein~ devoured by the other tribes; they then.procure, so~}m eg.gs, am|, after makin~ a'hole in each end~ and blowing the ms~ae ot It through, the ova is introduced ; and the ends bein~ closed, the egg is placed in an oven of a certain temperature, unti[the young fi'y nearly make their appearance, when the shell is broken," " and the. contents put into watez" 1. warmer] bv4 the sun's r~a~.~,~ Mrhen the young brood, procured by this means, attain a certain size, a portion o~"it is applied for the pro'poses of food for the larger species of fish, and the remainder is destined for the table. Your obedient servant, N. MILI~.
On the Ingots of Copper obtained by solution. By M. C L E ~ T . The beautiful experiments of Sir James Hall, have demonstrated that pulverized carbonate of lime, a substance eminently decomposable by heat, may be fused, under great pressure, without losin~ its carbonic acid, and afford, when cold, a solid mass similar to marble. In like manner, as it was heretofore imagined, that that mineral was necessarily formed by deposition, from its aqueous solution, and could, by no means, be a product of heat ; so, at present, it is generally believeci, that a solid mass of metallic copper, capable of exten' sion, under .the ~hammer, must have undergone igneous fusion, and have acquired its cohesion by cooling. Copper, precipitated from its solution, by whatever agent, is always in the state of a fine loose powder. The fi)llowing fact, however, will show that an ingot of copper may be formed rid humid& I am indebted to M. Mollerat for the observation, which he communicated to me a short time since, on my visiting his fine manuf~actory tbr making vinegar t~om wood, in Bm'gundy. " In a series of operations for preparing sulphate of copper by ca|clning copper with sulphur, solutions of the sulphate are obtained, which become turbid by the separation of an insoluble subsulphate. They_ are placed in a tub, half buried in the ground, in order to becom,~ clear. It is against the interior sides of this tub, and always at tht. junction of two staves, that small buttons (ehampignons).of metallic copper are observed to form, which gradually increase m size, and wot~Id, doubtless, ultimately become considerable masses, I have some specimens, which I detached fl-om the tub, with a portion of the w.ood adhering to them. On one side we find these bits of copper moulded on the wood of the tub~ whose strim are impressed on their surlkce ; on tim o)her, they have the form of mammellm with very minute, brilliant, cr3 stalline facets. One of these specimens weighs more than 73 grammes (nearly 9.~. o~,- English.) Vm~. I . ~ N o . 4.~APnlI,, 18~6, 81
~4~,
TIIE FItANKLIN JOURNAL AND
The che~nical action, by which the copper iSure(vleVsC~lo~S a ~i~sily exulained the protosul|)hate of copper, whiclb q " b y, exists "l : n e s "o t'u tqon , in ~assm~ to the state of deutosulphate, deposits its . ~ -base, which gives up ~fs oxygen, and acid, to torm the.new salt. Itis evident that the revival of the copper may be effected, in this manner, without the assistance of any iron, and, in thct, there are no traces of that metal in the interior of the tub. It is not, however, this part of the phenomenon, that appears to me most remarkable, but the cohesion, acquired by the copper, so precipitated, from the midst of a solution ; a cohesion, which is so great as to allow the metal to be hammered in the cold~ and reduced to thin leaves ; and whose specific gravity is equal to that of fused copper, viz. 8.78. ! have, moreover, fried a morsel of this copper, and have produced a surface as brilliant, and free from pores, as could have been obtained, by similar means, with an ingot of common copper. [dlnnale8 de Chimie. In
1"
.
~
On the Struet~tre of Pearls, and on the Chinese Mode of producingthem of a large Size, and regular aVbrm. By JoitN Enw,u~l) GI~A~ MGS, ~ (TO TH]~ :E~DITOIIS 0~" THE AI~'~AI,9 OF pHILOSOPI~Y.)
Gentlemen,mPearls are merely the internal pearly coat of tile shell, which has assumed, from some extraneous cause, a spherical tbrm ; they art, like the shell, composed of concentric coats, tbrmed of perpendicular fibres; consequently, when broken, they exhibit concentric rings and fibres, radiating from a central nucleus, usually consisting of a grain of sand, or some other body which has irritated the animal1. A pearl having been once formed, the animal continues to increase its size, by the addition of fresh eoats~ perhaps more rapidly deposited on it, than On the rest of the shell, as tl~e prominence remains a source of irritation. The pea,-ls are usually of the colour of the part of the shell to which they are attached. I have observed them white, rose coloured, pro'pie, and black, and they are said to be sometimes of a green colour; they have also been found of two colours, that is, white, with a dark nucleus; which is occasioned by their being first formed on the dark margin of the shell, before it is covered with the white am[ pearly coat of the disk, which, when it becomes extended over them and the margin, gives them that appearance. Pearls vary greatly in their transparency. The pink are the most transparent ; and in this particular, they agree with the internal coat of the shell fl'om which they: are formed, .f°r these p.earls art only formed on the pinnm, which internally are pink, and sem~transparelxt; aml the black and purple specimens are, generally, more or less opaque. Their lustre, which is derived fi'om the reflection of the light from their peculiar surface, produced by the curious disposition of their fibres, and from their semitransparency and form~ greatly depends or,