170 HENRY DEACON 



patented improvements of the same process, 

 and in a small works in Whitechapel they 

 tried to carry it out as a commercial under- 

 taking. As such, however, it was not a 

 success, the loss of ammonia was their stum- 

 bling block. The chemical reactions were 

 complete, but they failed in the adaptation of 

 their plant. Muspratt followed in the foot- 

 steps of Dyar and Hemming, and under the 

 superintendence of the skilled chemist, James 

 Young, he put up a works at Newton, on the 

 banks of the canal, between St. Helens and 

 Warrington, but after an expenditure of about 

 ^8,000, and two years' experience, it was 

 abandoned in favour of the Leblanc process. 

 Chemists were not disheartened by these 

 failures ; Kunheim, Seybel, Bowker, Gossage, 

 Turck, Schloesing, and Deacon, discerned 

 the great value of the invention, and persis- 

 tently worked at it. 



The year 1854 saw a revival of the en- 

 deavours to displace the Le Blanc process. 

 On the 2ist February in that year, William 

 Gossage led the way with his patent for 

 producing the carbonate and sesquicarbonate 

 of soda and potash, and the bicarbonate or 

 sesquicarbonate of ammonia in aqueous solu- 

 tion. He was followed by Turck on the 26th 



