I 



DISCOVEKY OF TRIPOLI OR POLTSHINO POWDER. 



T (iiilioeou*) 

 helievsil to 

 BioKle ciihio 

 la ttoine mil- 

 tn Ket anine 

 if multiplU 

 ittle pi»ntii. 

 areas and 

 * no inoon- 

 >b«. 



rMM. 



u the Dia- 

 alist, and I 

 thom from 

 a witneaaea 

 'he depoaila 

 nade up of 

 inisms; one 

 inala.chief- 

 ttomaceoua 

 il. To the 

 >f Lawlora' 

 en exposed 

 ' examina- 

 1 (iperati. 3 

 D with the 

 y. To the 

 cently dia- 



. John in 

 may hope 

 Vm. Mor- 

 bific atudy 



conceals 

 ^he atudy 

 >rtance,na 

 le former 

 OKivein- 



throu)(h 

 face eni- 

 the Poat- 

 ry of the 

 ered over 

 rhood (as 

 contain), 

 evation, 

 at lower 

 >rd8 may 



in their 

 <heir be- 

 icceaaive 

 ea which 

 ier^fone. 

 are of 

 by far 



on the 



connex- 



/ 





ion FitKiferald Lake will kIvo a atartinR point 

 whii:h will aiite-date by ver;/ many veara the 

 IwKiooiiiK of the d«|>oait in the lorrvburn 

 Lake, aa the former lake atanda on the plateau 

 in the 



LOCH LOMOND VALLEY 

 on which are the Loch Lomond Lakea them- 

 selvea and a nuiiil)er of amaller lakea nearer St. 

 John. Thia plateau ia at an elevation of 300 

 feet or more abcive the preaent aea level, where- 

 aa the Torryburn bavin i-< only about 70 feet 

 a)M>ve thirt line. At a future time I ho|)e to 

 briuK l)«fiite tlii^ Society the reault of tht* 

 atutlyof depiiait in the 'lorryburn Lakea, but 

 now proceed to aay a few worda about the 

 econonomical value of diatomaceoua depoaita 

 xenerally. 



One of the earliest uaea to which diatomace- 

 oua earth waa applied, waa that of polinhinK 

 metala and other hard aubatancea. It haa lon^' 

 been known in commerce under the name 

 of 



TRIPOLI, OB ROTTEN STONE, 



and Dr. Alliaon haa referred you t4) a number 

 of localitiea where it haa been found in lar^e 

 quantitiea. In later yeara varioua other uaea 

 have lM>eu found for thia article, beaidea the 

 original one of grindinK or polisthing. Silicic 

 acid or Silica, occura lar^^ely in nature, in two 

 cimditiona— nioatly aa inaoluble ailica or ordin- 

 ary quartz, but alao aa a hydrate. In the lat- 

 ter condition it ia eaaily attacked by atronK 

 acida and cauatic alkalis and Keiatiniuia com- 

 pounda and liqti da are produced from it which 

 are uaeful in the arta. By the uae of a atrong 

 alkali (aoda) ailicate of Hoda ia produced from 

 thia Boluble form of ailica. Thia article ia im- 

 ported into Canada from Great Britain and the 

 United Statea in conaiderable quantitiea. It 

 ia largely uaed in the preparation of ailicated 

 aoap, aa an ingredient in certain painta, aa an 

 iuipervioua covering for wood, bricka, etc, and 

 aa a cement in 



MAKINr. AHTIKICIAL STONE. 



Silica, aa it occura in the exuvia, or akeletona 

 of the diatoma, ia in thia hydroua, or aoluble 

 condition, and therefore can be readily availed 

 of in the production of ailicate of aoda. Va- 

 rioua aubatancea are brought into Canada for 

 the purpose of adulterating aoap and improv- 

 ing ita appearance, among them a white pow- 

 der, which, in connexion with the aubject be- 

 fore ua thia evening, I have submitted to mi- 

 croscopic examination. It ia not of the nature 

 of a diatomaceoua earth, aa it ia compoaed of 

 angular, glaaay parliclea, not by any meana aa 

 fine aa the diatomaceoua material from Fitz- 

 gerald Lake and other localitiea in New Bruna- 

 wick. It ia either ground quarta or glaaa, and 

 therefore aimply an adulterant; and while it 

 would probably have detergent ({ualitiea on ac- 

 count of the aharp, angular condition of the 

 particles which go to nake up ita aubatance, 

 ita harahneaa would be apt to have aninjurioua 

 effect upon textile fabrica. It is claimed how- 

 ever that the aubatance improves the color and 

 appearance of the soap. Silicate of s<>da, which ia 

 alao uaed for increasing the bulk and weight of 

 aoap, haa not theae harsh qualities which are 

 BO objectionable in the ground ailix or white 

 powder referred to. The diatomaceoua earths of 



UIIR rREHHWATEH LAKES 

 could be made uae of for the |)r<Hiuction of 

 ailicate of aoda, which is largely uaed in the 

 loanufacture of ailicated aoapa, aa well as for 

 the produ(;tion of other articles of commerce, 

 referred to in connexion with the deacription 

 of certain depoaita of thia earth which exist in 

 the eaatern part of King's County. These 

 were found not long aince bv Mr. it. W. ICIla, 

 (of the ('Muadian Geological Survey), at Pidlet 

 Kiver Lake, in King'a ('ounty, and in another 

 lake aix milea to the southwest of it. These 

 earths are deacribed at page '2i\, D, of the Re- 

 port of I'rogreaa of the Geographical Survey, 

 for 1H78 <J; and at page 4, H, Mr. C'hriatian 

 Hoffman, the chemist of the aurvey, aientiona 

 ita ({ualities and uaes. It is just such a ma- 

 terial aa occura in the Fitzgerald Lake, and 

 omtaina ainiiUr genera of diatoms. The analy- 

 sis of the Pollet Lake earth gave : - 



silica 80 49 



Aluinins 3 16 



Kurrio oxide 96 



Lime 84 



MaKiieaia 28 



Carbonic acid 01 



Water combined and hygruavopic and organic 



matter 13.82 



08 64 

 As regards the uaea of thia aubatance Mr. 

 Hoffman remarka " that it may be said to con- 

 stitute an 



EXCELLENT I'ULISHINU MATERIAL, 



and although no experiments have been made 

 to determine ita abaorbent power, it may 

 reaaohably l)e expected to prove well adapted 

 for the prcparat,i(m of dynamite. Again, the 

 extreme facility with which it ia diaaolved by 

 cauatic alkalies (potaah or aoda) would auggest 

 ita advantageoua employment for the manufac- 

 ture of wha<. is commonly known aa water 

 gla!<s or aoluble glaaa, a preparation which 

 meeta with many important applicationa in 

 the arta, as for instance aa a cement for the 

 manufacture of artificial atone; for the hardeu- 

 iuK and preaerving of buildint; atone; in fixing 

 fre««co colora by the proceas of stereochromy; as 

 an addition to aoap in the preparation of the 

 so-called ailicated aoaps," etc. Mr. Murdock 

 states that Fitzgerald lake has a 

 surface area of about seventy acres 

 in extent, and that he has on sounding 

 found the deposits in all parts of the lake. 

 Around the shores it ia thin and the hard bot- 

 tom below can he eaaily reached by aounding, 

 but at a abort distance out from the shore a 

 ten-foot pole finds 



NO BOTTOM IN THE DEPOSIT ; 

 hence he infers that the mass has at least this 

 depth, but he does not yet know whether 

 the whole thickness of the depoait in 

 diatomaceoua. 



The basin of Fitzgeral<l lake is divided from 

 the valley of Little River, from which the 

 water supply of the city is drawn, only by 

 gravel banks and ridges, which could eaaily be 

 cut through, and the water which covers the 

 diatomaceoua earth drawn off. Were thia 

 done a large maas of this useful material, 

 situated within a few miles of Saint John, and 

 eaaily accessible, could be made available for 

 commercial purposes. 



