QUICKSILVER. 



BY JOSEPH STRUTHERS. 



[Joseph Struthers, mineralogist; born at New York city in 1865, and attended 

 the School of Mines, Columbia college (now Columbia university), graduating in 

 the course of chemistry in ISS."); for fifteen years after his graduation he was on the 

 staflf of instructors of the department of metallurgy at Columbia university; organ- 

 ized and conducted the first summer school in practical metallurgy of Columbia 

 university (1896), which was at Butte, Mont. Dr. Struthers has visited many 

 metallurgical j^lants in the United States and Europe, and he has carried on special 

 metallurgical investigations; he has written numerous articles for the Engineering 

 and Mining Journal, Mineral Resources of th(> United States, Twelfth Census of the 

 United States and School of Mines Quarterly, and is assistant editor of the Transac- 

 tions of the American Institute of Mining Engineers; appointed Field Assistant to 

 the United States Geological Survey for 1901 and 1902, and in May, 1903, special 

 agent for the United States census.] 



Mercury, or quicksilver, has been known to mankind from 

 very early times. No mention of it appears, however, in the 

 books of Moses or in the works of the early Greek writers. The 

 earliest known reference is in the writings of Theophrastus 

 (300 B. C), who speaks of hquid silver or quicksilver. Dios- 

 corides refers to artificial mercury as water silver; Pliny 

 gave it the name of hydrargyrum in contradistinction to 

 native mercury, which he called argent um vivum. The name 

 quicksilver was undoubtedly suggested by the liquid form and 

 silver color of the metal, while that of mercury was derived 

 from the name of the Greek god Mercury, probably in allusion 

 to the quickness and ease with which it flows in any direction. 

 The salts of mercury also were known at a veiy remote period. 

 The early Arabians were familiar with mercurous chloride 

 (HgaClo), or calomel, and murcuric oxide (HgO), the red oxide, 

 and the alchemists possessed a knowledge of mercuric chloride 

 (HgCL), corrosive subUmate. The mineral cinnabar, mer- 

 curic sulphide, has been used as a pigment from the most an- 

 cient times on account of its enduring vivid red color. By 

 reason of its peculiar physical properties in being liquid, very 

 hesivy, and not acted on by air, sulphuric acid, or hydrochloric 

 acid, mercur}^ perhaps more than aity other metal has excited 

 the attention and curiosity of experimenters. 



The symbol of mercury (Hg) is derived from the old Latin 



Vol. ft-19 289 



