SUL 



SUL 



sulphur in plants, especially the cru- 

 citerous and lei^urninoiis families. It 

 would appear that plants possess the 

 property of deconipo.sini; the sul- 

 phates, for they chielly require the 

 sulphur, which is an ingredient of 

 fil)rin, casein, and albumen, as well 

 as some oils. The sulphate of cop- 

 per is of great value as a steep, and 

 a solution of sulphate of iron, or green 

 vitriol, is much used in Switzerland 

 to i\\ tlie ammonia of putrescent ma- 

 nures. 



SULPHITES. Salts of sulphurous 

 acid. 



SULPHOCYAXATE OF POTAS- 

 SIUM. A solution of this body is 

 used to detect iron, with which it 

 forms a brownish-red colour. 



SULPHOSLXAPISIN. A pungent 

 body obtained from mustard, contain- 

 ing both sulphur and nitrogen. 



SULPHUR. Brimstone. A solid, 

 fusible, insoluble, yellow element- 

 ary b )dy ; equivalent, 161: symbol 

 S : specific gravity, 19. It is a non- 

 eonducfor of electricity, and power- 

 fully electro- positive in its com- 

 pounds. It is very inflammable, uni- 

 ting with oxygen, and forming the 

 white, suffocating vapours of sul- 

 phurous acid. With three equiva- 

 lents of oxygen it forms sulphuric 

 acid, or oil of vitriol ; a dense, oily 

 acid, of great causticity, and well 

 known in the arts : equivalent, 40 I. 

 Sulphur unites directly with metals 

 at a heat below redness, forming sul- 

 phurets. The gaseous compound of 

 1 equivalent of sulphur with 1 of hy- 

 drogen, or sulphuretted hydrogen, is 

 remarkable for its great Icetor ; it is 

 given off by decaymg organic mat- 

 ters containing sulphur, and, with the 

 sulphurct of ammonium, constitutes 

 the principal cause of the stench of 

 putrefying animal matters. 



Sulphur is abundant in the mineral 

 kingd(UTi about volcanoes. It is pres- 

 ent in all vegetables, existing in al- 

 bumen, casein, and analogous bodies. 

 It has been used to destroy insects, 

 and when made into an ointment 

 with lard and applied to the parts, 

 is often effective. When burned, the 

 pungent, sulphurous acid destroys 



T T T 



life, but is also injurious to vegeta- 

 tion. It has the property of bleach- 

 ing many colours, and especially that 

 of straw. A solution, formed by boil- 

 ing equal parts of quicklime and sul- 

 phur in twenty or thirty times their 

 weight of water, is extremely foetid 

 and poisonous to insects : it is called 

 the Injdrosulpkurct of lime. 



SULPHURETS. Compounds of 

 sulphur with metals. 



SULPHURETTED. Containing 

 sulphur chemically united. A solu- 

 tion of sulphuretted hydrogen gas in 

 water is much used as a test for 

 metals in solution. 



SULPHURIC ACID, OIL OF VIT- 

 RIOL. It is procured in commerce 

 by burning sulphur and nitre togeth- 

 er in chambers made of lead. The 

 vapours are condensed in water, 

 which is afterward boiled down in 

 platina boilers until the solution be- 

 comes of the appearance of oil, and 

 specific gravity 1-8. It should be col- 

 ourless, but is often brown ; is dread- 

 fully caustic, destroying the skin in- 

 stantly. ^^'hen water is added, the 

 mixture becomes quite hot, and will 

 often break glass vessels. It com- 

 bines with all oxides, forming sul- 

 phates. Sulphuric acid, mixed with 

 500 parts of water, has been applied 

 to clover and grass with advantage, 

 but is not better than gypsum, and 

 much more expensive and difficult to 

 manage. It is now used to dissolve 

 bones, but is inferior to muriatic acid. 

 100 pounds of the best acid dissolve, 

 after much time and with repeated 

 stirrings, about 200 pounds of fine 

 bone dust, converting it in part into 

 a sulphate of lime (gypsum), and into 

 a superphosphate of lime, which is 

 soluble : the solution is enough for an 

 acre, and should be diluted with 200 

 parts of water, and applied as a top- 

 dressing. The solution must be made 

 in an earthen-ware vessel with great 

 care, lest the acid be spilled. 



SULPHURIC -ETHER. Common 



36t.llGr 



SULPHUROUS ACID. It is com- 

 posed of sulphur 16 1, oxygen 16. It 

 is a gas readily condensed, soluble in 

 I water, and very sour, with the odour 



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