WHITE LEAD 



6274 



WHITE MOUNTAINS 



front has an Ionic portico. The first White 

 House was begun in 1792, and was taken pos- 

 session of by John Adams in 1800. In 1814 

 it was largely destroyed by the British, ami 

 four years later the present one was built. 

 There have been alterations and additions since 

 that time, the chief one consisting of the erec- 

 tion of wings containing the business offices of 

 the President and his secretaries. 



The main part of the White House is 170 

 feet by 86 feet. The lower floor is given up 

 largely to reception halls, including the famous 

 East Room, 80 by 40 feet, in which public 

 receptions are held; the Blue Room, in which 

 diplomats are received; the Red Room, used 

 chiefly by the ladies of the household for social 

 affairs and for the reception' of callers; and the 

 Green Room, with its interesting portraits of 

 the Presidents. In addition, there are on this 

 floor the state dining room and the conserva- 

 tory- On the second floor are the private 

 apartments of the President and his family. 



The White House is surrounded with a park 

 made attractive by rolling lawns, beautiful 

 trees and plants and fine walks. During the 

 summer months a Marine Band furnishes music 

 there at stated times. It is not an easy mat- 

 ter for a stranger to gain access to the Presi- 

 dent. No one is admitted at the main en- 

 trance except those known personally to the 

 family; those desiring to see the President on 

 business must go to the offices in the wing, 

 where they are met and interviewed by the 

 President's secretaries. 



See panel headings of articles relating to the 

 Presidents of the United States for illustrations 

 of the White House at different periods in the 

 country's history. Consult Singleton's Story of 

 The White House. 



WHITE LEAD, a compound of lead and car- 

 bon dioxide, extensively used in the manufac- 

 ture of white paint. It is prepared by several 

 processes, the most recent being one in which 

 electricity is employed. A lead plate is at- 

 tached to the anode (positive) pole, and a cop- 

 per plate to the cathode (negative) pole, and 

 both are placed in a solution of sodium nitrate 

 (saltpeter). The current sets free the nitric 

 acid in the solution, and this attacks the lead, 

 forming lead nitrate. The sodium is set free 

 and decomposes the water. The hydrogen 

 thus set free unites with the lead and forms a 

 compound which is changed to white lead, 

 when treated with sodium bicarbonate. 



The oldest, or Dutch, process consists in plac- 

 ing coils of sheet lead in earthen pots which 



contain a weak solution of acetic acid. The 

 pots are then buried in spent tan bark in a 

 chamber where steam and air act upon the 

 substances. In the course of two or three 

 months all the lead is changed to white lead, 

 which is in the form of powder. This is then 

 ground in linseed oil to form the white paint 

 of commerce. White lead forms a durable 

 paint, and is used as the body of many colored 

 paints, as well as for white paint. When ex- 

 posed to gases containing sulphur it turns 

 black. See PAINT. 



WHITE MOUNTAINS, "the top of New 

 England," a comparatively short range in the 

 Appalachian system, extending from Southern 

 Maine into New Hampshire in a southwesterly 

 direction. Towering above verdant hills are 

 precipitous, rocky peaks, which, reflecting the 

 sun on their bare surfaces, have the appearance 

 of snow-capped summits and have given the 

 range its name, the "Marvelous Crystal Hills," 

 or the "White Mountains." The irregular, 

 rocky domes rise from a plateau about 1,600 

 feet above the sea. This hilly table-land is 

 deeply scarred with the notches made by swift 

 streams as they have cut their way to the 

 ocean, descending the hills in a series of cata- 

 racts. The meadowed alpine parks are crossed 

 by many brooks, trickling over stony beds to 

 join the busy torrents, or pausing in some 

 shady dell in a deep pool to lure the fisherman. 

 Tiny villages cling to the lower slopes and 

 towns nestle in the foothills. 



From the northern boundary of New Hamp- 

 shire the range rises rapidly to the lofty ^Presi- 

 dential Mountains: Here Mount Washington, 

 the highest peak east of the Rockies, with the 

 exception of Mount Mitchell in North Caro- 

 lina, lifts its shining summit 6,293 feet above 

 the sea. Six other peaks in this range, Adams, 

 Jefferson, Clay, Monroe and Madison, rise 

 more than 5,000 feet, while Franklin, Pleasant, 

 Clinton and Webster have altitudes of 4,000 feet 

 or more. Mount Washington, whose summit is 

 reached both by excellent roads and by a rail- 

 way the first cog railway ever built has be- 

 come a popular summer resort. On its sum- 

 mit a weather bureau and a fine hotel have 

 been built, and many villas and inns border 

 its woodland trails. One of the most interest- 

 ing features in this region is Crawford Notch, 

 a narrow gorge fifteen miles in length, with 

 cliffs rising 2,000 feet above the roaring Saco 

 River. 



West of the Presidential Range, or the White 

 Mountains proper, is the Franconia Range, 



