Miscellanies. 391 



22. Oil from White Fish. 



Madison, September 12, 1838. 

 To Prof. Silliman. — Respected ^ir — The question has often been 

 proposed to me, whether by some chemical or natural process, the oil 

 contained in our " white" fish might not be extracted without material 

 detriment to them as a manure. You are probably aware that in our vi- 

 cinity we rely in a great measure upon these fish as a manure for the 

 " worn out lands." For this purpose, at least one hundred and fifty of 

 our most active men are in the season engaged in taking them. The 

 number taken yearly is, upon average, fifteen millions. It has been as- 

 certained by repeated experiment, that these fish contain half a gill of 

 pure oil apiece. By those who made the experiment, (who at the time 

 consulted you upon the subject, viz. 1814 or '15,) the remnants, after the 

 extraction, were applied, side by side, with fish just taken, and no mate- 

 rial difference noticed in the crops. They at that time extracted from 7000 

 fish, value $7, a barrel of oil, value at that time $25 ; the process was very 

 tedious and filthy. From these premises, sir, I wish to ask of you, whether 

 the oil contained in these fish can be purified from the other matters. Does 

 the principle of manure consist in the solid material parts of the substances 

 used, or in a gas arising from the decomposition of such materials ? Is 

 the oil the principal source of manure, and if so, in what ratio ? I have 

 been induced to solicit your opinion in this matter from a conviction that 

 a very large profit may be realized from a disposition of the fish in the 

 manner suggested, provided any method can be devised for effectually 

 separating the oil from the other parts. 



Yours with great respect, 



W. W. Wilcox, A. M., 

 Prec. Lee's Academy. 



Being unable to suggest any thing satisfactory in reply to the letter of 

 Mr. Wilcox, we give it publicity, in the hope that it may elicit informa- 

 tion from others. — Eds. 



23, Calcium. — We learn from Prof Robert Hare, that he has recently, 

 by a new process, obtained calcium, the metal of lime, in considerable 

 quantity. His process is new, and we will not presume on a private letter 

 for any of the details of procedure, or of the properties of the metal, of 

 which, we trust, the public may, ere long, receive a notice from Dr. Hare 

 himself. 



24. N. Dumi's Chinese collection at Philadelphia, communicated. 

 — It would be difficult to name a subject that has puzzled the learned 

 world so much and so long, as the accurate delineation of the char- 

 acter of that wonderful and unchanging people, the Chinese. The 



