PROCEEDINGS OF THE COTTESWOLD CLUB 207 



one-third of the woollen mills in the kingdom, and bring 

 distress upon the West Riding of Yorkshire. 



Whilst on the subject of wool, I would call your atten- 

 tion to a discovery, the credit of which belongs wholly to 

 our French neighbours, and which is one of the most 

 singular in the history of Agriculture. Sheep draw from 

 the land on which they graze a considerable quantity of 

 Potash, much of which is uhimately excreted through the 

 skin and adheres to the fleece. It was pointed out by a 

 French savant, that this peculiar Potash compound, called 

 by him " suint," forms no less than one-third of the 

 weight of raw merino wool, whilst of ordinary wools it 

 constitutes about 15 per cent, of the weight of the fresh 

 fleece. As the suint may be extracted by mere im- 

 mersion in cold water, it is easy for the manufacturers 

 to produce more or less concentrated solutions from 

 which the potash may be recovered by appropriate 

 treatment ; these are evaporated until a perfectly dry 

 and somewhat charred residue is obtained. This is 

 placed in retorts and distilled very much in the same 

 manner that coal is distilled at gas works, and the 

 result is that while much gas is evolved which is used for 

 illuminating the factory, and much ammonia is expelled 

 which is collected and utilized in many ways, there re- 

 mains a residue consisting chiefly of carbonate, sulphate, 

 and chloride of potassium. These three sahs are sepa- 

 rated by the usual method, and then pass into commerce. 

 The wool manufacturers of Rheims Elboeuf and Fourmies 

 annually wash the fleeces of nearly 7,000,000 sheep, and 

 the amount of Potash which these fleeces would yield, if 

 subjected to the new process, would represent a value of 

 ^80,000. It has been computed that there are in France 

 seven times as many sheep as are included in this esti- 

 mate, and this will enable us to judge of the enormous 

 loss in potassic constituents which the soil of an agricul- 

 tural district has to sufl'er ; and besides teaching us, as 

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