58 On Citric Acid. 



the sun, where It remains till an opportunity offers for shipping 

 it*. It is therefore not surprising that so much is imported that 

 is musty and perished, and that the English merchants often 

 find it so had on its arrival in England as to create a difficulty in 

 procuring for it even the amount of the import duty." 



In a letter dated Messina, September 30, 180S, he says, 

 *' The pressing continues till the following March, the quantity 

 of juice produced increasing ^very month, in proportion as the 

 fruit become riper, and the necessity of gathering them greater. 

 The juice is sold by the salm, which is a measure equal to 21 

 gallons EngHsh." Again, April 1.5th, 1809. " I have hitherto 

 found no difficulty in saturating the chalk in any quantity ; but 

 the drying is extremely tedious and difficult ; it re(|uires very hot 

 and dry weather, which we have had little or none of as yet. I 

 have had parcels lie upwards of a fortnight before they became 

 perfectly dry. When spread out for this purpose it occupies a 

 vast deal of room ; and when the drying places are all full, I am 

 obliged to stand still, although I have procured the use of a vast 

 terrace belonging to a convent not far distant. The citrate, 

 when taken from the baskets in which I drain it, is of a con- 

 sistence and grain as fine as butter, and so delicate of touch when 

 about half dry, that if, as on some occasions, when the weather 

 looked uncertain, it became prudent to remove it into the ware- 

 house to be under cover, it could scarcely be touched without 

 breaking and crumbling into dust." 



May 8, 1809. — " I have had many difficulties to contend with 

 in bringing the preparation of the citrate of lime to any perfec- 

 tion ; and this chiefly in the drying it, an object of the most 

 material importance ; and so much have I been perplexed on 

 this score, that I have felt my expectations quite damped upon 

 the occasion. I observed to you before, that the weather had 

 not been settled enough to admit of any attempt at drying out of 

 doors ; for the high mountains hanging over us are until the 

 ]»resent month continually bringing down showers ; and the at- 

 mosphere, during this time, is very unfavourable to dryingf." " I 

 therefore made use of the upper rooms of my house for this pur- 

 pose, where I spread out the citrate, and constantly attended to 

 turning it and exposing it to the air for two months : it now 

 appeared perfectly dry, and as hard as in its original state of 

 chalk ; and wanting the rooms to bring forward more, I pro- 



• Goods are laid in here by the merchant in anticipation of a demand, for it 

 is not possible to purchase any quantity, whatever ma)' be the species, at the 

 moment you requ-'re them. The custom is to pay the sellers at the time of mak- 

 ing the contract, one third of the amount in advaace to enable them to bring- 

 their produce to market. You then make further payments in proportion as 

 they send in their goods, till the whole be delivered, and the contract com- 

 pleted. 



+ These facts and circumstances are inserted to moderate the too sanguine ex- 

 pectations of adventurers. 



ceeded 



