_a._ NARBONNE' B., SALICOR; from _salicor'nia ann'ua_ or _herba'cea_;
contains 14% to 15% of carbonate of soda.
_b._ B. OF AIGUEMORTES, BLANQUETTE; from mixed plants; contains 3% to 8%
of carbonate of soda. (Guibourt.)
_c._ NOR'MANDY B., N. SODA; from _fuci_.
SIC'ILY BARILLA (s[)i]s'-). Principally from _salso'la sati'va_; furnishes
55% of carbonate of soda. (Fée.)
Good barilla, on the average, contains about 20% of real or available
alkali, chiefly under the form of carbonate, besides sulphates, muriates,
&c.
_Assay._ See ALKALIMETRY.
_Uses, &c._ Barilla is chiefly used in the manufacture of soap and glass;
but the gross quantity imported, though annually increasing, only reached
54,608 _cwt._ in 1856; whilst the exports of soda in the same year reached
to about 1,500,000 _cwt._, and in 1859 to above 2,000,000 _cwt._ This
enormous quantity was chiefly furnished by our home manufactories.
Barilla is chiefly imported from Spain, Sicily, Teneriffe, and the Levant;
but since the introduction of Le Blanc's process for obtaining soda from
common salt, its importance and value has considerably lessened. See KELP,
SODA, &c.
=BARIUM.= Ba. A metallic radical or element, of which baryta is the chief
oxide, and somewhat extensively distributed. First obtained in 1808 by Sir
H. Davy. Prepared from baryta by strongly heating it in an iron tube,
through which the vapour of potassium is conveyed; the reduced barium
being subsequently extracted from the mixed residuum by quicksilver, which
is afterwards driven off in a small green-glass retort, in a vapour of
mineral naphtha.
_Prop., &c._ Greyish-white, approaching silver in colour and lustre;
decomposes water, and gradually oxidises in the air, with the formation of
the ordinary oxide (BARYTA). It is malleable, fusible under a red heat;
burns in contact with air with a deep red light, and has the sp. gr. 4·70.
_Salts._ Barium forms numerous salts, which are all either colourless or
white, except a few, whose acids are coloured, as the chromate, manganate,
&c. Some of them are soluble in water; one or two only are soluble in
alcohol, and that very sparingly; and (with the exception of the sulphate)
they are all extremely poisonous. They may be prepared by saturating
solutions of the acids with either baryta-water, or carbonate of barium;
and some of them may be prepared by double decomposition.
The various soluble barium salts are known by the following reactions, and
they are all (except the sulphate) soluble either in water or in dilute
hydrochloric acid, except the nitrate and chloride, which are not soluble
in aqueous solutions of their respective acids. Their solutions give an
immediate heavy white precipitate with dilute sulphuric acid, and with
solutions of the sulphates, which is insoluble in dilute acids and
solutions of the alkalies and of the salts of ammonia, that
with a solution of sulphate of lime being very sensitive, and
characteristic:--Hydrofluosilicic acid gives a very characteristic
colourless crystalline and quickly subsiding precipitate, only slightly
soluble in hydrochloric acid and nitric acid; alcohol, in equal volume,
being added, so hastens and completes the reaction, that the filtrate is
unaffected by sulphuric acid:--Chromate of potassium gives a bright yellow
precipitate in neutral solutions, soluble in hydrochloric acid and in
nitric acid, but insoluble in acetic acid:--Caustic potassa or soda (when
quite free from carbonate), and caustic ammonia, cause no precipitate,
except in highly concentrated solutions:--Alkaline carbonates give a heavy
white precipitate with baryta-water or a solution of baryta, and which is
all but insoluble in water, and freely soluble in dilute hydrochloric
acid:--Heated with proof spirit, or pyroxilic spirit, the barium salts
give a greenish-yellow tinge to the flame:--The barium salts, and
particularly the chloride, when exposed on a platinum wire to the inner
flame of the blowpipe, colour the outer flame yellowish-green:--Insoluble
sulphate of barium may be mixed with powdered charcoal, and exposed for a
short time to a full red heat, when sulphide of barium will be formed,
which is freely soluble in water, and which, after being neutralised with
hydrochloric acid, or acetic acid, will yield a solution suitable to the
application of the usual tests. The carbonate, and the salts of barium
with the organic acids, are all convertible into pure baryta by exposure
to a bright red heat.
Baryta is distinguished from lime and from magnesia by its great
solubility in hot water, and by the entire insolubility of its sulphate;
from strontia, by being precipitated by hydrofluosilicic acid, and by not
giving a red colour to the flame of alcohol; from alumina, by its
causticity and alkaline reaction, and by not being precipitated from its
solution in water by ammonium sulphydrate.
_Pois., &c._ The sulphate, owing to its insolubility, is the only salt of
barium which is not poisonous.--_Symp._ Nausea, vomiting, pains in the
head, ringing in the ears, vertigo, and intermitting cramps and
convulsions; the respiration is frequently suspended for several moments,
and the pupil is generally dilated. The symptoms, however, often vary, and
are not very distinctive.--_Treatm., Ant., &c._ Vomiting, followed by
copious draughts of water soured with sulphuric acid, or sulphate of soda
(Glauber-salt) or sulphate of magnesia (Epsom-salt), dissolved in a large
quantity of water. When carbonate of barium has been swallowed, a mixture
of one of the above sulphates and weak vinegar should be taken after the
vomiting, in order that a soluble barium salt may be first formed, on
which the alkaline sulphate will act more readily. Subsequent irritation
may be soothed by opium or morphia, and antiphlogistics.
=Barium, Ac'etate of.= Ba(C_{2}H_{3}O_{2}). _Syn._ BARY'TÆ ACE'TAS, L.
_Prep._ From dilute sulphuric acid, neutralised with carbonate of barium,
and the solution evaporated and crystallised. Very soluble in water;
insoluble, or nearly so, in rectified spirit.--_Uses, Dose, &c._ Same as
the chloride. It is seldom employed.
=Barium, Arse''niate of.= Ba_{3}(PO_{4})_{2}. _Syn._ BARY'TÆ ARSE''NIAS,
L. _Prep._ A solution of chloride of barium is added to another of
arseniate of potassium or sodium, and the precipitate collected, washed,
and dried. By dissolving this salt in a solution of arsenic acid, and
crystallising, BINARSE''NIATE OF BARIUM is obtained. Has been recommended
in certain skin diseases, and in phthisis complicated with
scrofula.--_Dose_, 1/16 to 1/4 gr.
=Barium, Ar'senite of.= Ba(AsO_{2})_{2}. _Syn._ BARY'TÆ AR'SENIS, L. Very
slightly soluble.--_Use, &c._ As the last.
=Barium, Bromide of.= BaBr_{2}. _Syn._ BA''RII BROMI'DUM, L.; BROMURE DE
BARYUM, &c., Fr. _Prep._ Boil a solution of protobromide of iron with
moist carbonate of barium, in slight excess; filter, evaporate to dryness,
and heat the residuum to redness. By careful evaporation of its aqueous
solution it may be obtained in crystals. It is soluble in both alcohol and
water, and its physiological properties resemble those of iodide of
barium.
=Barium, Carbonate of.= BaCO_{3}. _Syn._ CARBONATE OF BARY'TA; BARY'TÆ
CAR'BONAS, L.; CARBONATE DE BARYTE, &c., Fr.; KOHLENSAURES, BARYT, &c.,
Ger. A heavy white mass or powder, very nearly insoluble in water, and
decomposed by nearly all the acids. It is found in the crude state
abundantly in nature, but can only be obtained absolutely pure by adding
an alkaline carbonate to a solution of chloride of barium, or by
saturating the hydrate with carbonic anhydride, and in either case washing
and drying the precipitate. Native carbonate of barium (_witherite_) is
ordered in the pharmacop[oe]ias, and is sufficiently pure for making the
barium salts, the only purpose to which it is therein applied.
_Uses._ In _pharmacy_, &c., chiefly to prepare barium salts. In
_chemistry_, to separate certain metallic oxides when occurring together
in solutions. In the _arts_, as a base for certain delicate colours, as an
ingredient in plate-glass, in the manufacture of beet sugar, &c. It is not
used in medicine. It is extremely poisonous.
=Barium, Bisulphide.= This substance may be obtained as a fine
yellow-coloured product by shaking a solution of barium chloride with a
mixture of ammonium sulphide and carbon disulphide. It is insoluble in
alcohol, soluble in water, and rapidly dissolved by slightly acidulated
water.
=Barium, Chloride of.= BaCl_{2}.2Aq. _Syn._ CHLORIDE OF BARIUM; BARII
CHLORIDUM, L.; CHLORURE DE BARYUM, CHLORHYDRATE DE BARYTE, &c., Fr.;
SALZSÄURE SCHWERERDE, CHLORBARIUM, Ger. Neutralise a hot dilute solution
of hydrochloric acid with carbonate of barium, evaporate down, and
crystallise. Sulphide of barium can be substituted for the carbonate. If
required chemically pure, gaseous hydrochloric acid is transmitted through
a concentrated solution of common or impure chloride of barium, as long as
a precipitate forms; the resulting crystalline powder, which is nearly the
whole of the chloride of barium present, is collected on a filter, and,
after draining, is washed repeatedly with small quantities of pure
hydrochloric acid, until the washings, diluted with water, and
precipitated with sulphuric acid, give a filtrate which, upon evaporation
in a platinum capsule or a watch-glass, leaves no residue; the last traces
of acid having been removed by a little alcohol applied in a like manner,
the powder is at once dried, and then carefully preserved from the
air.--Used in analysis.
_Prop., &c._ Crystals, flat, four-sided tables, colourless and
transparent; sometimes double eight-sided pyramids; slightly efflorescent
in dry warm air, but otherwise permanent; decrepitate when heated, and
lose their water of crystallisation; fuse at a red heat; volatilise at a
white heat; insoluble in hydrochloric acid and in alcohol, slightly
soluble in rectified spirit, and very soluble in water; water at 60°
dissolves 43-1/2% of the crystals, and nearly 37% of the dry salt; and
when boiling 75% of the former, and about 66% of the latter; a saturated
boiling solution (223° Fahr.) contains 100 parts of water, and 78 parts of
the crystallised salt.
The crystals contain 2 atoms of water; and a formula of BaCl_{2} + 2Aq.
_Uses, Phys. eff., &c._ In _chemistry_, it is employed as a test for
sulphuric acid and the soluble sulphates. In _medicine_, it has been
employed, both internally and externally, as an alterative, resolvent, and
deobstruent, in scrofula, glandular swellings, and enlargements,
scirrhous cancer, skin diseases, &c.; and more particularly in the first
with marked benefit. In large doses it is poisonous. According to Sir B.
Brodie, its action on animals is analogous to that of arsenic. Locally, it
acts as an irritant. A very weak solution, used as a lotion, often proves
serviceable in herpetic eruptions, and as a collyrium in scrofulous
ophthalmia. _Dose_, 1/2 gr. thrice a day, in water, gradually increased to
2 or 3 gr.
=Barium, Chlorate of.= Ba(ClO_{3})_{2}. _Syn._ CHLORATE OF BARY'TA;
BARY'TÆ CHLO''RAS, L. _Prep._ From a solution of chloric acid neutralised
with freshly precipitated carbonate of barium; the resulting solution,
after filtration, being crystallised by evaporation.
By passing chlorine through strong milk of hydrate or of carbonate of
barium, in the same way as in making chlorate of potassium.
_Prop., &c._ Soluble in 4 parts of cold water. Used in pyrotechny, and to
make chloric acid.
=Barium, Ferrocy'anide of.= Ba_{2}FeC_{6}N_{6}. _Syn._ BA''RII
FERROCYANI'DUM, L. From pure ferrocyanide of iron digested in baryta
water. By careful evaporation, efflorescent prismatic crystals may be
obtained, soluble in 4-1/2 parts of water.
=Barium, Fluoride of.= BaF_{2}. _Syn._ BA''RII FLUORI'DUM, &c., L. A white
powder, formed by digesting freshly precipitated carbonate of barium in
hydrofluoric acid, in excess.
=Barium, Hydrate of.= Ba(HO)_{2}. _Syn._ HYDRATE OF BARYTA; BARYTÆ HYDRAS,
L. _Prep._ By digesting caustic baryta, or barium oxide, with a little
water, or igniting gently the crystallised hydrate. It can be obtained
crystallised as follows:
1. From a concentrated solution of either nitrate or chloride of barium,
precipitated with a rather strong solution of pure potassa, or of pure
soda, perfectly free from carbonic acid.
2. A strong solution of sulphide of barium is boiled with successive
portions of black oxide of copper, until it ceases to give a black
precipitate with a salt of lead; the liquid, after filtration, yields
crystals of the hydrate on cooling.
=Prop., Uses, &c.= Forms a bulky white powder, containing 10-1/2% of water
of hydration, which it retains even after ignition. In this state it is
soluble in 20 parts of cold water, and in 2 parts of boiling water. The
hot saturated solution, as it cools, deposits abundantly columnar crystals
(CRYS'TALLISED HYDRATE OF B.), which contain 51-1/2% of water, of which
they lose, by drying and ignition, 88-3/4% (= 4-3/4% of their weight),
being reduced to the state of the common or amorphous hydrate. Of all the
bases it has the strongest affinity for both sulphuric and carbonic acid,
and hence its solution (BARY'TA-WATER) and those of its neutral salts
(nitrate or chloride) form our most sensitive tests for these substances.
Sp. gr. 4·3 to 4·7. The crystallised hydrate is converted into the
ordinary hydrate at a gentle heat, and this last fuses at a low red heat
without losing its water of hydration, which it only slowly and with
difficulty begins to part with at higher temperatures. In _chemistry_, its
uses are, for the most part, similar to those of BARIUM, OXIDE OF.
=Barium, Iodide of.= Ba_{2}I. _Syn._ BA''RII IODI'DUM, L.; IODURE DE
BARYUM, &c., Fr.
_Prep._ 1. Dissolve sulphide of barium in water, and add iodine
(gradually) in excess; after the reaction is complete, filter, and either
evaporate to dryness, or crystallise.
2. Digest freshly precipitated carbonate of barium, in excess, in a hot
solution of protiodide of iron; filter and evaporate to dryness; then
re-dissolve and crystallise.