116 



SCIENTIFIC INTELLIGENCE. 



[1852. 



acted Btill more rapidly. On the . .tlier hand, uo action toolc place on 

 the employment merely of dilute sulphuric acid. — Artizan. 



TnE Cloves of GoirjiERCE.— The article known in commerce as 

 cloves, .ire the unopened flowers of a small evergreen that resembles in 

 appearance the laurel of the bay. It is a native of the Molucca, or 

 8pice Islands, but has been carried to all the warmer parts of the world, 

 iud is largely cultivated in the tropical regions of America. The 

 flowers ai'C small in size, and grow in large numbers in clusters at the 

 very ends of the branches. The cloves we use are the flowers gathered 

 before they are opened, and whilst they are stLU green. After being 

 gathered, thoy ai'e smoked by a wood fire, and then dried in the sun. 

 Each clove consists of two parts, a round head, which is the four petals 

 or leaves of the flower rolled up, inclosing a number of small stalks or 

 filaments. The other part of the clove is terminated with four points, 

 and is, in fact, the flower-cup, and the unripe seed-vesseL All these 

 parts may be distinctly shown if a few leaves are soaked for a short 

 time in hot water, when the leaves of the flower soften, and readily 

 unroll. The smeU of cloves is very strong and aromatic, but not 

 unpleasant. Their taste is pungent, acrid, and lasting. Both the taste 

 and sraeU depend on the quantity of oil they contain. Sometimes the 

 oil is separated from the cloves befoi'e they are sold, aud the odor and 

 taste in consequence is much weakened by this proceeding. 



Liquid Glue.— i?^ if. Sc. DamouVm. — Chemists well know that heat- 

 ing aud cooling I'epeatedly a solution of glue (gelatine) in contact with 

 the air, it loses its property of becoming a jelly. M. Gemelin has 

 shown, that a solution of fish-glue in a sealed tube, placed in a water 

 bath heated to the boiling point for several daj's, exhibits the same 

 phenomenon i.e, the glue remains liquid, does not gelatinize upon cooling. 



The change eff'ected, is one of the most difficult problems to resolve, 

 of organic chemistry. It appears to be a p.oduct of the action of the 

 oxygen of the air and the water, upon the glue as demonstrated from 

 the action of a small quantity of nitric acid, on a solution of strong 

 glue. We know that on ti-eating gelatine with an excess of this acid 

 in the presence of heat, it is converted into malic and oxalic acids, tat, 

 tannin, Ac. This does not occur when we treat the glue dissolved in 

 its weight of water, with a very small quantity of nitric acid, we ob- 

 tain onlv a sti'ong glue which preserves a long time its primitive qual- 

 ities, and which no longer has the property of gelatinizing. In this 

 manner the glue sold in France uniler the name of liquid and un- 

 changeable glue, is fabricated. This glue is exceedingly convenient 

 for cabinet-makers, joiners, pasteboard manufacturers, toj'-makers, &c., 

 since it can be used cold. It is prepared as follows : — 



Dissolve 2 pounds of stroug glue in one quart of water in a glue- 

 kettle, or in a water-bath, when the glue is entirely melted, add httle 

 by Uttle, to the amount of 10 ounces of sti'ong nitric acid. This addi- 

 tion produces an effervescence due to the disengagement of hypo-nitJ'ic 

 acid, when the whole of the acid is added, remove the vessel from the 

 fire, and leave it to cool I have preserved glue thus prepared, more 

 than two v'ears in a stoppered flask, without its undergoing any alter- 

 ation. This liquid glue is very convenient in chemical operations. I 

 have employed it with advantage in my laboratory, for the preserva- 

 tion of different gasses, the same as lute, covering the little bands of 

 hnen with the glue. — Comptus Rctulus, Sept. 27, 1-52. 



The hquid glue prepared as above directed, we can recommend from 

 our own experience ; it is readily aud cheaply made, aud nuist prove 

 an invaluable substitute for solutions of gum-arabic, jiaste, etc. The 

 proportions mentioned are those best adapted for ordinary use, one 

 need not however be very particular on this point. If the glue should 

 gelatinize in the cold, the shghtest warmth willliquefy it again. — Br.Pa. 

 Presekvatiox ok Eggs. — By M. P. ChamhorrJl. — By sn.bmitting a 

 thin stratum of the white and yoke of eggs, about one-twefth of an in. 

 thick, upon glass or porcelain plates, to the heat of an oven, a mass 

 will be obtained aftei 21 hours drying, readily pulverized, and whicli 

 is not altered hy the acticm nf the air after diying again a day. Each 

 pound of powdered egg thus prepai-ed, when desired for use requires 

 two pounds of cold water, witli which it is to be beaten up, and is 

 equivalent to 50 eggs, and may be used for omelettes, pasti'ies, or other 

 culinary purposes. — Belgiqno Induslrieltc. 



The New Railw.vt Locomotive. — ifr. MfCn}inr!/'s. h;i Fairhairn, of 

 Mnnrhrstrr. — The first cx]icrimental trip made willi liii locomotive 

 on the Ijondon ami Ncirtli-Western lino, fmin Wulvr Imh to Lon- 

 don, was perfectly f,ili^racliiry, and no doubt was uuliitaiucd that 

 the distance from l.nii.l..ii In Hirmingham could easily be accomplished 

 in the time srggf>lr.l— iw.i ln.urs. The engine being new, the highest 

 speed obt.ained was (ifl mills per hour. One peculi.ir novelty is that 

 tlie steam pipe presents a broad flat surface to the heated air as it 

 pa-sses the tuucs, so that it is "dried" as it passes into the cylinder. 

 The pistons aud rods are in one piece of wrought-irnn, thus diminish- 

 ing the weight from ,'i to 2 cwts,, reducing the reciprocating resistance 

 at a velocity of fiO miles ])e<-hour, from 1-10 tons to about !(() tons per 

 minute. The springs are ot India-rubber, on Coleman's patent ; ithag 

 a Bourdon's steam-pressure meter, showing the pressure of steam in the 

 boiler ; and a Canett and Marshall's steam-pump, to enable the driver 



to supply the boiler when not in motion. The cylinder-covers are of 

 Wrought-iron, only half the usual weight ; and the axles are tubular, 

 reducing the weight one-third. 



New Method of PitoPEtLixo Vessels. — Professor A. Crestadoro has 

 just secured, under the new patent law, an interesting scheme 

 for propelUng vessels. He eonsidere the use of paddles or 

 blades to be a mistake similar to that which prevailed so 

 long in the application of locomotives or vaih-oads, aud which materi- 

 ally retarded the progress ot that invention, when, taking for granted 

 the inability of the plain chcumference of the wheels to propel 

 the carriage, much labour and skill had been wasted m the 

 contrivance of levers which acted on the road in a manner somewhat 

 resembling the feet of horses. Now, as the apprehended insuffi- 

 ciency of the adhesion of the plain circumference of the wheels with 

 the road to propel the carriage has been proved a feUacy, so he con- 

 siders the necessity of paddles or blades, of whatever description they 

 may be, as altogether fallacious, and that the best and cheapest mode 

 of improving the propeller is to use simply the plain circumference of 

 cylindrical drums. It is a natural supposition tliat a plain round sur- 

 face should have no tractic adhesion with the water ; but, on close 

 examination it will be found that not only such is not the case, but, 

 what is even more surprising, the tractic adhesion of a plain cj'liudri- 

 cal drum is far greater than that of a paddle wheel of equal size. 

 Taking for instance the steam-vessel Atlantic, whose paddle-wheels 

 are of 35 feet diameter, and length of paddles 1 2 feet 6 inches, sup- 

 posing a moderate immersion of 5 feet paddles — one pair of drums of 

 equal size at equal immersion would displace a pair of cubic segments 

 of about 135631 Hjs. of water ; or, what amounts to the same thing, a 

 pressure of not less than 60 tons would act upon the drums as a tractic 

 adhesion, which is by far superior to that afforded by the best method 

 of paddle-wheels in the most favourable circumstances. Now the 

 cylindrical propeller has tlie substantial advantage that it can be, when 

 reduced to a moderate diameter, appliefl as well totally immersed, if 

 it be (as proposed by the patentee) fitted into a serai-cylindrical case, 

 with only such a clearance as is just sufficient to let the drum have a 

 proper action, the other half-drum or semi-cylinder projecting out of 

 the case for the propelling action, — European Times, {Liverpool,) Nov. 



12, 1852. 



New System of Alanufacturing Sugar. 



We have been favoured, says the London Times, with an opportunity 

 of witnessing an improved process for making sugar, recently invented 

 and put in operation byMr.H.Bessemer, civil engineer, at his premises, 

 Baxter-house, Old St. Pancras-road, aud, in common with several gen- 

 tlemen practically conversant with the subject who were present, have 

 to express the high gratification we experieuced at the results brought 

 under our notice. In the present condition of our West India colonies 

 every improvement in the manufacture of sugar, and everything that 

 tends to cheapen its production, cannot fail to excite interest ; and a 

 brief description of this new process may not the efore be unacceptable 

 to the reader. This we shall attempt to do in language as free from 

 technicaUties as the nature of the subject will admit of In the manu- 

 facture of sugiir from the cane the saccharine juice is by the usual 

 system expressed by a roller-mill, wh ch, on an average, obtains from 

 50 to 55 per cent, of juice ; whereas the cane, according to the most 

 eminent writers, contains 90 per cent, the remaining 35 or 40 per cent. 

 being left in the " cane trash," Mr. Bessemer, by a great improvement 

 on his original invention of the cane-press, is now enabled to obtain, 

 b}' a principal of continuous pressure, from 75 to 80 per cent, without 

 any additional cost. In order to produce granulated sugar from the 

 juice of the cane, it is necessary to separate a large portion of the 

 water in which the saccli.arine matter is held in sohition. This has 

 hitherto been effected by boiling, the water passing off in the form of 

 steam. It has, however, been discovered, that the heat necessary to 

 produce ebullition effects a rapid chemical decimiposition of a large 

 portion of the sugar under operation, which assumes a dark brown or 

 blackish colour, aud is perfectly uucrystallizable, in which condition 

 sugar is commonly known under the name of molasses or treacle, and 

 amounts to 40 per cent, of the entire quantity of saccharine matter 

 present in the juice. In the new process just patented by Mr, Bessemer, 

 this separation of the aquccuis portion of the fluid is uo longer elTected 

 by boiling, but is dependent imi that l)cautiful law of mature by which 

 evaporation is carried on s|)(inl;mei>nsly, and every shower of rain again 

 vaporized, and caused to asi-cml in llie atmosphere. To carry this into 

 practice, a small pan only is rcpiin-d, in which is placed a screw of 

 peoiliar cnnstriictimi, presrntinu' aliniit (i.OflO suporfioial feet of surface, 

 which is kejit wetted liy slowly revolving in the fluiil lo be evaporated ; 

 and in contact with tliis wet surface some 10,1100 cubic IVot of warm 

 atmospheric air is forced per minute by a common blowing fan. The 

 aqueous portions of the solution are thus rapidly absort>ed by the air, 

 a ,d pass oft' as a perfectly invisible vapor, while the tcni]ieraturc of the 

 fluid is only UO degrees' Falu'enheit, The most remarkable fa.-t is that 

 the evaporation at this low temperature is equal to that of firepans of 

 the same dimensions with a powerful fire beneath them, A vast amount 

 of fuel is thus saved ; and a still more important result obtained from 



