432 



by Mr. T. Storry Ilunt, of tho Geological Survey, in Canada, from whoso report tho 

 following extract is mado : 



' In tho township of Joly there occurs a very interesting spring on the banks of tho 

 Ruisseau Magnenat, a branch of the Riviere Souci, about five miles from the mills of 

 Methot at Saint Croix. The spring furnishes three or four gallons a minute of a 

 water which is sulphurous to the taste and smell, and deposits a white matter along 

 its channel, which exhibits the purple vegetation generally met with in sulphur springs. 

 The temperature of this spring in tho evening of one 7th of July was 46 F., the air 

 being 62 F. The water is not strongly saline, but when concentrated is very alka- 

 line and salt to the taste. It contains, besides chlorides, sulphates, and carbonates, 

 a considerable proportion of boracic acid, which is made evident by its power of 

 reddening paper coloured by turmeric, after being supersaturated with hydrochloric 

 acid. . . . The analysis of 1,000 parts of the water gave as follows : 



Chloride of sodium . . . . . . . 0-3818 



,, potassium 0-0067 



Sulphate of soda 0-0215 



Carbonate and borate of do. . . . . . 0-2301 



of lime 0-0620 



magnesia ...... 0*0257 



Silica^ . 0-0245 



Alumina . , a trace 



0-7523 



The amount of boracic acid estimated was found to be equal to 0*0279.' 



The following is the mode of purifying borax. The crude crystals are to be broken 

 into small lumps, and spread upon a filter lined with a lead grating, under which a 

 piece of cloth is spread upon a wooden frame. The lumps are piled up to the height 

 of 12 inches, and washed with small quantities of caustic soda -lye of 5 B. (specific 

 gravity 1-033) tintil the liquor comes off nearly colourless ; they are then drained, and 

 put into a large copper of boiling water, in such quantities that the resulting solu- 

 tion stands at 20 B. (specific gravity 1-160). Carbonate of soda equivalent to 12 

 per cent, of the borax must now be added ; the mixed solution is allowed to settle, 

 and the clear liquid is syphoned off into crystallising vessels. Whenever the mother- 

 waters get foul, they must be evaporated to dryness in cast-iron pots, and roasted, to 

 burn away the viscid colouring matter. 



The following process for refining the native Indian borax, or tincal, has been pub- 

 lished by MM. Robiquet and Marchand : 



It is put into large tubs, covered with water for 3 or 4 inches above its surface, and 

 stirred through it several times during six hours. For 400 Ibs. of the tincal there 

 must now be added 1 Ib. of quicklime diffused through two quarts of water. Next 

 day the whole is thrown upon a sieve, to drain off the water with the impurities, con- 

 sisting, in some measure, of the fatty matter combined with the lime, as an insoluble 

 soap. The borax, so far purified, is to be dissolved in 2 times its weight of boiling 

 water, and 8 Ibs. of muriate of lime are to be added for the above quantity of borax. 

 The liquor is now filtered, evaporated to the density of 18 or 20 B. (1-14 to 1-16 

 specific gravity), and set to crystallise in vessels shaped like inverted pyramids, and 

 lined with lead. At the end of a few days, the crystallisation being completed, tho 

 mother-waters are drawn off, the crystals are detached and dried. The loss of weight 

 in this operation is about 20 per cent. 



Borax is sometimes adulterated with alum and common salt : the former addition 

 may be readily detected by a few drops of water of ammonia, which will throw down 

 its alumina ; and the latter by nitrate of silver, which will give with it a precipitate 

 insoluble in nitric acid. 



The native boracic acid obtained from tho lakes of Tuscany, being manufactured in 

 France into borax, has greatly lowered the price of this article of commerce. When 

 MM. Payen and Cartier first began the business, they sold tho crystals at the same price 

 as the Dutch, viz., 7 francs the kilogramme (2| Ibs. avoird.) ; but, in a few years, 

 they could only obtain 2 francs and 60 centimes, in consequence of the market getting 

 overstocked. Tho mode of making borax from the acid is as follows : The lake water 

 is evaporated in graduation houses, and then concentrated in boilers till it crystallises, 

 In that state it is carried to Marseilles. About 1,100 Ibs. of water are mado to boil 

 in a copper, and 1,320 Ibs. of crystallised carbonate of soda are dissolved in it by 

 successive additions of about 40 Ibs. The solution being maintained at nearly the 

 boiling point, 1,100 Ibs. of the crystallised boracic acid of Tuscany are introduced, in 

 successive portions. At each addition of about 22 Ibs. a lively effervescence ensues, 

 on which account the copper should be of much greater capacity than is sufficient to 



