It is the business of operative industry to produce, transform, and
distribute all such material objects as are suited to satisfy the wants
of mankind. The primary production of these objects is assigned to the
husbandman, the fisherman, and the miner; their transformation to the
manufacturer and artisan; and their distribution to the engineer,
shipwright, and sailor.[1] The unworked or raw materials are
derived,--1. from the organic processes of vegetables and animals,
conducted either without or with the fostering care of man; 2. from the
boundless stores of mineral and metallic wealth, arranged upon or within
the surface of the earth by the benignant Parent of our being, in the
fittest condition to exercise our physical and intellectual powers in
turning them to the uses of life.
[1] For correct and copious information upon _agricultural_
production, I have great pleasure in referring my readers to Mr.
Loudon’s elaborate _Encyclopedias of Agriculture, Gardening, and
Plants_; and for _mercantile_ production and distribution, to Mr.
M’Culloch’s excellent _Dictionary of Commerce and Commercial
Navigation_.
The task which I have undertaken in the present work, is to describe and
explain the transformations of these primary materials, by mechanical
and chemical agencies, into general objects of exchangeable value;
leaving, on the one hand, to the mechanical engineer, that of
investigating the motive powers of transformation and transport; and, on
the other hand, to the handicraftsman, that of tracing their
modifications into objects of special or local demand. Contemplated in
this view, an art or manufacture may be defined to be that species of
industry which effects a certain change in a substance, to suit it for
the general market, by combining its parts in a new order and form,
through mechanical or chemical means. Iron will serve the purpose of
illustrating the nature of the distinctions here laid down, between
mechanical engineering; arts and manufactures; and handicraft trades.
The engineer perforates the ground with a shaft, or a drift, to the
level of the ore, erects the pumps for drainage, the ventilating, and
hoisting apparatus, along with the requisite steam or water power; he
constructs the roads, the bridges, canals, railways, harbours, docks,
cranes, &c., subservient to the transport of the ore and metal; he
mounts the steam or water power, and bellows for working the
blast-furnaces, the forges, and the cupolas; his principal end and aim
on all occasions being to overcome the forces of inertia, gravity, and
cohesion. The ores extracted and sorted by the miner, and transported by
the engineer to the smelting station, are there skilfully blended by the
iron-master (manufacturer), who treats them in a furnace appropriately
constructed, along with their due proportions of flux and fuel, whereby
he reduces them to cast iron of certain quality, which he runs off at
the right periods into rough pigs or regular moulds; he then transforms
this crude metal, by mechanical and chemical agencies, into bar and
plate iron of various sizes and shapes, fit for the general market; he
finally converts the best of the bars into steel, by the cementation
furnace, the forge, and the tilt-hammer; or the best of the plates into
tin-plate. When farther worked by definite and nearly uniform processes
into objects of very general demand in all civilized countries, these
iron and steel bars still belong to the domain of manufactures; as, for
example, when made into anchors, chain-cables, files, nails, needles,
wire, &c.; but when the iron is fashioned, into ever varying and
capricious forms, they belong either to the general business of the
founder and cutler, or to the particular calling of some handicraft, as
the locksmith, gratesmith, coachsmith, gunsmith, tinman, &c.
Such are the principles which have served to guide me in selecting
articles for the present volume. By them, as a clue, I have endeavoured
to hold a steady course through the vast and otherwise perplexing
labyrinth of arts, manufactures, and mines; avoiding alike engineering
and mechanical arts, which cause no change in the texture or
constitution of matter,--and handicraft operations, which are multiform,
capricious, and hardly susceptible of scientific investigation. In fact,
had such topics been introduced into the volume, it would have presented
a miscellaneous farrago of incongruous articles, too numerous to allow
of their being expounded in a manner either interesting or instructive
to the manufacturer and the metallurgist. I readily acknowledge,
however, that I have not been able to adhere always so rigorously as I
could have wished to the above rule of selection; having been
constrained by intelligent and influential friends to introduce a few
articles which I would gladly have left to the mechanical engineer. Of
these _Printing_ is one, which, having had no provision made for it in
my original plan, was too hastily compiled to admit of my describing,
with suitable figures, the flat-printing automatic machine of Mr.
Spottiswoode, wherewith the pages of this volume were worked off; a
mechanism which I regard as the most elegant, precise, and productive,
hitherto employed to execute the best style of letter press.
I have embodied in this work the results of my long experience as a
Professor of Practical Science. Since the year 1805, when I entered at
an early age upon the arduous task of conducting the schools of
chemistry and manufactures in the Andersonian Institution, up to the
present day, I have been assiduously engaged in the study and
improvement of most of the chemical and many of the mechanical arts.
Consulted professionally by proprietors of factories, workshops, and
mines, of various descriptions, both in this country and abroad,
concerning derangements in their operations, or defects in their
products, I have enjoyed peculiar opportunities of becoming familiar
with their minutest details, and have frequently had the good fortune to
rectify what was amiss, or to supply what was wanting. Of the stores of
information thus acquired, I have availed myself on the present
occasion; careful, meanwhile, to neglect no means of knowledge which my
extensive intercourse with foreign nations affords.
I therefore humbly hope that this work will prove a valuable
contribution to the literature of science, serving--
_In the first place_, to instruct the Manufacturer, Metallurgist, and
Tradesman, in the principles of their respective processes, so as to
render them in reality the masters of their business, and to emancipate
them from a state of bondage to operatives, too commonly the slaves of
blind prejudice and vicious routine.
_Secondly_, to afford to Merchants, Brokers, Drysalters, Druggists, and
Officers of the Revenue, characteristic descriptions of the commodities
which pass through their hands.
_Thirdly_, by exhibiting some of the finest developments of chemistry
and physics, to lay open an excellent practical school to students of
these kindred sciences.
_Fourthly_, to teach Capitalists, who may be desirous of placing their
funds in some productive bank of industry, to select judiciously among
plausible claimants.
_Fifthly_, to enable Gentlemen of the Law to become well acquainted with
the nature of those patent schemes which are so apt to give rise to
litigation.
_Sixthly_, to present to our Legislators such a clear exposition of our
staple manufactures, as may dissuade them from enacting laws which
obstruct industry, or cherish one branch of it to the injury of many
others: and,
_Lastly_, to give the General Reader, intent chiefly on intellectual
cultivation, a view of many of the noblest achievements of science, in
effecting those grand transformations of matter to which Great Britain
owes her paramount wealth, rank, and power among the kingdoms.
The latest statistics of every important object of manufacture is given,
from the best, and, usually, from official authority, at the end of each
article.[2]
[2] The statistics of agriculture, trade, and manufactures is ably and
fully discussed in Mr. M’Culloch’s _Dictionary_ already referred to.
The following summary of our manufactures is extracted from Mr.
Macqueen’s _General Statistics of the British Empire_, published in
1836. It shows the amount of capital embarked in the various
departments of manufacturing industry, and of the returns of that
capital:--
+----------------------------------+-----------+-----------+
| | Capital. | Produce. |
| +-----------+-----------+
| | _£_ | _£_ |
|Cotton manufactures | 40,973,872| 52,513,586|
|Woollen ditto | 36,000,000| 44,250,000|
|Silk ditto | 8,000,000| 10,000,000|
|Linen ditto | 12,000,000| 15,421,186|
|Leather ditto | 13,000,000| 16,000,000|
|Iron ditto, to making pig iron| 10,000,000| 7,098,000|
|Ditto, hardware, cutlery, &c. | 25,000,000| 31,072,600|
|Copper and brass ditto | 3,600,000| 4,673,186|
|China, glass, &c. | 8,600,000| 10,892,794|
|Paper, furniture, books, &c. | 10,000,000| 14,000,000|
|Spirits (British), ales, soap, &c.| 37,600,000| 47,163,847|
|Sundries additional | | 9,000,000|
| +-----------+-----------+
| Totals |204,773,872|262,085,199|
+----------------------------------+-----------+-----------+
In consequence of an arrangement with Mr. William Newton, patent agent,
and proprietor of the _London Journal of Arts, Sciences, and
Manufactures_, I have been permitted to enrich this Dictionary with many
interesting descriptions and illustrative figures of modern patent
inventions and improvements, which I could not otherwise have presented
to my readers. Mr. Newton has lately enhanced the value of his Journal
by annexing to it a _catalogue raisonnée_, entitled “An Analytical Index
to the Subjects contained in the 23 Volumes,” which constitute the first
and second series. The subsequent 13 volumes, of his Conjoined Series,
are of still superior interest; and the whole form a vast storehouse of
Mechanical and Chemical Invention.
Although I am conscious of having used much diligence for many years in
collecting information for this work, from every quarter within my
reach, the utmost pains in preparing it for publication, and incessant
vigilance during its passage through the press, yet I am fully aware
that it must contain several errors and defects. These I shall study to
rectify, should the Public deem this volume worthy of a supplement. In
this hope, I earnestly solicit the suggestions of my readers; trusting
that ere long our Post Office system will cease to be such an obstacle
as it has long been to the collection and diffusion of useful knowledge,
and a tax upon science which the remuneration of its literature cannot
by any means bear.
Since this book is not a Methodical Treatise, but a Dictionary, one
extensive subject may be necessarily dispersed through many articles.
Thus, for example, information upon the manufacture of _Colours_ will be
found under azure; black pigment; bone-black; bronze; brown dye;
calico-printing; carmine; carthamus; chromium; cochineal; crayons;
dyeing; enamels; gold; gilding; gamboge; gray dye; green dye; green
paints; indigo; kermes; lac dye; lakes; madder; massicot; mercury,
periodide of; Naples yellow; orange dye; orpiment; paints, grinding of;
ochres; paper-hangings; pastes; pearl white; Persian berries; pottery
pigments; Prussian blue; purple of Cassius; red lead; rouge; Scheele’s
green; Schweinfurth green; stained glass; terra di Sienna; ultramarine;
umber; verditer; vermilion; vitrifiable colours, weld, white lead; woad;
yellow, king’s.
A casual consulter of the Dictionary, who did not advert to this
distribution, might surmise it to be most deficient, where it is in
reality most copious.
The elaborate and costly Encyclopedias, and Dictionaries of Arts, which
have appeared from time to time in this country, and abroad, have, for
the most part, treated of the mechanical manufactures, more fully and
correctly than of the chemical. The operations of the former are, in
fact, tolerably obvious and accessible to the inspection of the curious;
nor are they difficult to transfer into a book, with the aid of a
draughtsman, even by a person but moderately versed in their principles.
But those of the latter are not unfrequently involved in complicated
manipulations, and depend, for their success, upon a delicate play of
affinities, not to be understood without an operative familiarity with
the processes themselves. Having enjoyed the best opportunities of
studying the chemical arts upon the greatest scale in this kingdom and
on the Continent, I may venture, without the imputation of arrogance, to
claim for my work, in this respect, more precision and copiousness than
its predecessors possess. I have gone as far in describing several
curious processes, hitherto veiled in mystery, as I felt warranted,
without breach of confidence, to go; regarding it as a sacred duty never
to publish any secret whatever, without the consent of its proprietor.
During my numerous tours through the factory districts of Great Britain,
France, &c., many suggestions, however, have been presented to my mind,
which I am quite at liberty to communicate in private, or carry into
execution, in other districts too remote to excite injurious competition
against the original inventors. I am also possessed of many plans of
constructing manufactories, of which the limits of this volume did not
permit me to avail myself, but which I am ready to furnish, upon
moderate terms, to proper applicants. I conclude by pointing attention
to the very insecure tenure by which patents for chemical or
chemico-mechanical inventions are held; of which there is hardly one on
record which may not be readily evaded by a person skilled in the
resources of practical chemistry, or which could stand the ordeal of a
court of law directed by an experienced chemist. The specifications of
such patents stand in need of a thorough reform; being for the most part
not only discreditable and delusive to the patentees, but calculated to
involve them in one of the greatest of evils--a chancery suit.
LONDON:
13. Charlotte Street, Bedford Square,
March 1. 1839.
DR. URE is preparing for publication, in one large volume, 8vo.,
CHEMISTRY IN THEORY AND PRACTICE; embodying a New System of Research, of
such facility and precision, as will enable chemical manufacturers of
every class, medical practitioners, metallurgists, farmers, merchants,
brokers, druggists, drysalters, officers of the revenue, as well as
general students, to analyze their respective objects in much less time
than is usually required at present by professional chemists. A
descriptive Index will be annexed for converting this systematic work
into a Dictionary of Chemical Science.
A
DICTIONARY
OF
ARTS, MANUFACTURES, AND MINES.
ABB-WOOL. Among clothiers, this term signifies the _woof_ or _weft_.
ACETATE. (_Acétate_, Fr.; _Essigsäure_, Germ.) Any saline compound of
which the acetic is the acid constituent; as acetate of soda, of iron,
of copper, &c.
ACETATE OF ALUMINA, see RED LIQUOR and MORDANT; of COPPER, see COPPER;
of IRON, see IRON; of LEAD, see LEAD; of LIME, see PYROLIGNOUS ACID.
ACETIC ACID (_Acide Acétique_, Fr.; _Essigsäure_, Germ.) is the name of
the sour principle which exists in vinegar. It occurs, ready formed, in
several products of the vegetable kingdom, and is generated during the
spontaneous fermentation of many vegetable and animal juices. The
_sambucus nigra_, or black elder, the _phœnix dactilifera_, and the
_rhus typhinus_ are plants which afford a notable quantity of vinegar.
It is found, likewise, in the sweat, urine, milk, and stomach of
animals. All infusions of animal or vegetable matters in water, when
exposed for some time to the air, at a moderate temperature, ferment
into vinegar; and most vegetables, when subjected to decomposition by
fire, give off condensable vapours of acetic acid. All liquids
containing alcohol are susceptible of passing into the state of vinegar;
but the pre-existence of alcohol is not necessary to this change, as we
learn from the acetification of vegetable soups, infusion of cabbage,
starch--paste, &c.
Vinegar may be distinguished into four varieties, according to the mode
of its production, though all of them are capable of being converted, by
chemical means, into one identical acetic acid. 1. Wine vinegar. 2. Malt
vinegar. 3. Sugar vinegar. 4. Wood vinegar, or pyrolignous acid.
Fermentation is the source of the acid in the first three varieties.
Here alcohol is first generated, and is next converted into vinegar by
the influence of the air at a genial temperature; a change which will be
investigated under FERMENTATION. But the conversion of spirit of wine
into acetic acid may be demonstrated by direct experiment. When the
vapour of alcohol is brought into contact in the atmosphere with the
black powder obtained by mixing muriate of platina, potash, and alcohol,
vinegar is rapidly formed at the expense of the alcohol. In Germany,
where crude alcohol bears a low price, the manufacture of vinegar has
been arranged upon that principle, which, as throwing some light on the
process of acetification, I shall briefly describe. See PLATINUM _for
the mode of preparing the above powder_.
Under a large case, which for experimental purposes may be made of
glass, several saucer-shaped dishes of pottery or wood are to be placed
in rows, upon shelves over each other, a few inches apart. A portion of
the black platina powder moistened being suspended over each dish, let
as much vinous spirits be put into them as the oxygen of the included
air shall be adequate to acidify. This quantity may be inferred from the
fact, that 1000 cubic inches of air can oxygenate 110 grains of absolute
alcohol, converting them into 122 grains of absolute acetic acid, and
64-1/2 grains of water.
The above simple apparatus is to be set in a light place (in sunshine,
if convenient), at a temperature of from 68° to 86° Fahr., and the
evaporation of the alcohol is to be promoted by hanging several leaves
of porous paper in the case, with their bottom edges dipped in the
spirit. In the course of a few minutes, a most interesting phenomenon
will be perceived. The mutual action of the platina and the alcohol will
be displayed by an increase of temperature, and a generation of acid
vapours, which, condensing on the sides of the glass-case, trickle in
streams to the bottom. This striking transformation continues till all
the oxygen of the air be consumed. If we wish, then, to renew the
process, we must open the case for a little, and replenish it with air.
With a box of 12 cubic feet in capacity, and with a provision of 7 or 8
ounces of the platina powder we can, in the course of a day, convert
one pound of alcohol into pure acetic acid, fit for every purpose,
culinary or chemical. With from 20 to 30 pounds of the platina powder
(which does not waste), we may transform, daily, nearly 300 pounds of
bad spirits into the finest vinegar. Though our revenue laws preclude
the adoption of this elegant process upon the manufacturing scale in
this country, it may be regarded as one of the greatest triumphs of
chemistry, where art has rivalled nature in one of her most mysterious
operations.
To readers acquainted with chemical symbols, the following numerical
representation of the conversion of alcohol into acetic acid may be
acceptable:--
580·64 parts by weight of alcohol = H¹² C⁴ O² consist of
74·88 of hydrogen = H¹²
305·76 of carbon = C⁴
200·00 of oxygen = O²