164 TRANSACTIONS OF THE CANADIAN INSTITUTE. [VoL. VIII. 
yields a financial return sufficient to cover the entire cost of the process. 
At London, Ontario, the Canada Chemical Manufacturing Company 
turns out about fifteen tons of sulphuric acid per day; brimstone, imported 
from the States, is used, and is preferred to the Sicilian sulphur. This 
company does not use pyrites on account of the arsenic it contains. The 
process employed is the chamber one, indeed, as far as the writer knows, 
the ‘“‘contact”’ process has not yet been tried in Canada. Sulphuric acid 
is used by many manufacturers, such as tack, screw, nail, leather and fer- 
tilizer makers, wholesale druggists, dyers and oil-refiners. Phosphates 
of calcium and sodium are also made by this company, native phosphates 
and the animal charcoal (bone black) rejected by sugar refiners serving as 
sources of phosphorus. The acid phosphate of calcium is employed in the 
baking-powder trade instead of cream of tartar, and is claimed to be less 
costly, to keep better, and to restore to the flour the phosphates which, by 
the modern methods of milling, have been removed from the wheat. 
Sulphites, bisulphites, crude acetic acid from the grey acetate of lime, 
chlorides of zine and iron and Glauber’s salts are likewise made. 
By the destructiye distillation of wood, acetic acid, wood alcohol and 
charcoal are obtained; hence Canada, with its enormous supply of wood 
of all kinds, should be able to take a prominent place in the production 
of acetic acid and wood spirit. At the present time the residual charcoal 
from the retorts does not find a ready market, owing to the comparatively 
high rates for transport as compared with other fuels, weight for weight. 
The outlook in this direction is, however, brightening. Among the firms 
engaged in this manufacture might be mentioned the Standard Chemical 
Company, with plants at Fenelon Falls, Deseronto and Longford, Ontario, 
and Cookshire, Quebec; the Canada Paint Company, Montreal and Toronto; 
and the Lake Superior Power Company, which is said to have the largest 
retort plant in the world. Very keen competition has to be faced in this 
connection with the United States, as a combination of some 175 manu- 
facturers practically controls the market. The crude acetate of lime pro- 
duced in the distillation process is converted into acetic acid, some of which 
is sold for dye and colour-making purposes, while a considerable portion 
is exported to Europe and Australia. 
The wood alcohol, obtained at the same time as the acetic acid, sup- 
plies the home market and is also exported largely to Great Britain, France; 
Germany, Holland, Japan, and Australia. It may be of interest to know 
that timber is imported from Canada by makers of wood alcohol in the 
United States.”9 
(29) Mr. Webster, of the Standard Chemical Co. 
