704 SULPHUR PRODUCE OF ITALY. 



SWEDEN AND NORWAY. 



The loss occasioned by the formation of sulphur- 

 ous acid has been greatly reduced by the new 

 process. The production is increased by one- 

 lifth, and the new heaps can be placed in the 

 vicinity of houses and gardens without objec- 

 tion. Under the old system it was necessary 

 to keep the heaps several miles away from 

 dwellings and vegetation. The further advan- 

 tage of the -process is, that the heaps may be 

 fired at any time, instead of large masses of ore 

 being kept in. reserve for ignition at a particu- 

 lar season of the year. Beyond this the pro- 

 cess, which formerly was one of the most 

 deadly nature, has been converted into one 

 almost free from danger to the workmen. 



A large portion of the island of Sicily is oc- 

 cupied by the gypsum and sulphur-bearing 

 formation, which extends from Mount .Etna to 

 the neighborhood of Trapani. The rate of 

 productiveness diminishes toward Trapani, 

 Caltanisetta and Girgenti boasting the best 

 mines, Catania and Palermo those nest in im- 

 portance, whilst the least yielding are in the 

 province of Trapani. In Sicily, as well as in 

 the Romagna, the gypsum formation . includes 

 limestones, clays which are more or less marly, 

 and beds of gypsum. In the latter rock, as 

 well as in the limestones, the sulphur is found 

 as a uniform or irregular mixture, sometimes 

 concentrated in small parallel seams, and occa- 

 sionally crystallized. In the latter case it is 

 often associated with sulphate of strontia or 

 celestine. The sulphur occurs in a diiferent 

 manner in the clays and slates, being found 

 concentrated in globular masses. This method 

 of occurrence is also common to all the sulphur 

 mines of the Continent which are contained in 

 argillaceous strata, Only a small portion of 

 the sulphur obtained is refined on the island, 

 the greater part being exported in the crude 

 state. For commercial purposes it is classified 

 into three general qualities, which are further 

 divided into seven sub-classes. There are about 

 fifty mines at present at work in Sicily, and 

 the number of hands employed is over twenty 

 thousand. 



The Romagna Sulphur-Mining Company pos- 

 sesses eight mines, five of which are in the prov- 

 ince of Forli, Romagna, whilst three are at 

 Monte Feltre, in the province of Urbino and 

 Pessaro, in the Marches. The refined produce 

 is exported chiefly from Rimini, where the 

 refining-works are situated, .to the principal 

 centres of consumption among the large towns 

 of Italy. Refined sulphur is 'Used in various 

 manufactories for making sulphuric acid, and 

 for several years past a new use has been found 

 for it in the sulphuration of vines. In the 

 course of scientific progress the general process, 

 to which we have already alluded, has been 

 improved in many minor details. But beyond 

 this, an entirely new process is just reported to 

 have been introduced by M. Brunfaut, a Bel- 

 gian. The average composition of the sulphur- 

 stone of Romagna is, for every 100 parts, 30.60 

 of sulphur, 26.80 of lime, 41.20 of alumina and 



silica, and 1.40 of water. By the ordinary 

 method of extraction, only 10 of the 30 parts 

 of sulphur are obtained ; there is, therefore, a 

 loss of upward of 20 per cent., which, of course, 

 must influence not only the profits, but also the 

 pricettr^rB^article. These defects in the sys- 

 tem appear to have been completely obviated 

 by M. Brunfaut, who is said to obtain a yield 

 of 25 per cent, instead of 10. 



As already observed, the sulphur is contained 

 only in a state of mixture in the Romagna 

 stone, and, not being in chemical combination 

 with any substance, is easily separated by 

 fusion. The melting point of sulphur being 

 extremely low, fusion may be effected by hot 

 air or by steam, instead of in kilns or even 

 heaps, where the excess of heat converts a 

 large proportion of the substance into sulphur- 

 ous acid. Taking advantage of this property 

 of sulphur, M. Brunfaut employs an apparatus 

 which consists of a horizontal cylinder, con- 

 taining an archimedean screw throughout its 

 whole length. The cylinder is made to revolve 

 more or less slowly, according to the nature of 

 the mineral to be treated. The sulphur ore is 

 poured in through a funnel at one end of the 

 cylinder, and when it has sufficiently undergone 

 the action of the apparatus it is let out at the 

 other end. The temperature in the cylinder is 

 maintained by hot air or steam, which is intro- 

 duced under a pressure of three atmospheres. 

 By this machine 150 cubic metres of the min- 

 eral are reported to be disposed of in twenty- 

 four hours. This economical method of ex- 

 tracting sulphur from its minerals is a matter 

 of great importance to Italy, which is so rich 

 in that valuable substance. 



SWEDEN and NORWAY, two kingdoms 

 in Northern Europe, united under one king. 

 Present King, Charles XV., born May 3, 1826 ; 

 succeeded his father on July 8, 1859. Area of 

 Sweden and Norway, 292,440 square miles. 

 Population of Sweden, according to the census 

 of 1866, 4,160,677. The capital, Stockholm, 

 had, in 1866, 138,189 inhabitants. (Accord- 

 ing to former censuses, the population was, in 

 1748, 1,736,482; in 1810, 2,377,851; in 1855, 

 3,641,011 ;<in 1860, 3,859,728.) The population 

 of Norway was, according to the census of 1865, 

 1,701,478. The capital, Christiania, had 65,- 

 513 inhabitants. The Swedish Island of St. 

 Bartholomew, in the West Indies, had, in 1866, 

 2,898 inhabitants. In the Swedish budget for 

 1868, the revenue was estimated at 37,461,270 

 rix dollars, the ordinary expenditures at 34,054- 

 300; and the extraordinary expenditures at 

 7,438,621; probable deficit, 3,031,651. Public 

 debt, in 1865, 74,068,000 rix dollars. The 

 Swedish army consisted, in 1866, of 124,807 

 men. The fleet, in August, 1867, consisted of 

 17 armed steamers, carrying 132 guns. The 

 imports, in 1865, were valued at 105,863,000, 

 and the exports at 108,086,000 rix dollars. 

 Number of vessels entering the Swedish ports, 

 in 1865, 4,946; together of 164,637 lasts; 

 number pf clearances 9,458, together of 438,- 



