152 On Chinese Vermilion. [April, 



The coarse cinnabar, of the second quality, needs to be purified 

 by the fire, when it forms mercury. 



The cinnabar of the first quality is found by digging the ground at a 

 depth of 70 feet. The presence of the mineral is indicated by the ap- 

 pearance of small white granular stones. The largest pieces are of the 

 size of an egg. The second sort does not enter into any pharmaceutic 

 preparation. It is ground up and used by the painters and colorists 

 in the same manner as that which is prepared directly from mercury. 

 Its matrix does not always appear under the form of white stones, 

 but has sometimes a mixture of blue and yellow. It is found about 20 

 feet below the other. Sometimes it is met with in a stratified sandy 

 soil, and then the stony and sandy gangue is easily separated. This 

 kind of cinnabar is found in abundance at Koucitchou Ssein, at Thoung- 

 Jin, &c. also in great quantities at Changtcheou and at Tsintcheou. 



The cavities from which the second sort is collected, have a whitish 

 aspect. When recently extracted, it may be separated without the 

 necessity of previous pounding. This cinnabar, on first coming 

 from the mine, has a brilliant surface, which soon tarnishes on contact 

 with the air. 



To prepare the vermilion, they take the cinnabar, and pound it 

 in an iron mortar shaped like a boat, with a stone pestle of a flat- 

 tened spherical form, and placed at the end of a vertical lever moved 

 by four men, by means of a bar which passes through it. The powder 

 is thrown into clean water, and left to soak for three days and three 

 nights. One part falls to the bottom of the vessel, the other, light- 

 er, floats on the surface : this is removed with a skimming ladle and 

 placed in a second vessel. It is then called Eult chou, or second red. 

 The cinnabar which was deposited in the first vessel, is taken out, 

 dried in the sun, and is then called Theout chou or first red. 



To obtain quicksilver from the ores, either the second quality, infe- 

 rior cinnabar, white and newly extracted, or the deposit, or the skum 

 separated on the surface of the water, are employed. 



Thirty pounds of one of the above ores is put into an iron vessel, 

 with a convex head of the same metal, having a small opening in its 

 centre : the two are carefully luted together, and a curved iron tube 

 fitted hermetically into the aperture at top, with hemp and luting. 



Thirty pounds of charcoal are necessary for the distillation : when 

 the retort becomes hot, one end of the iron tube is plunged into cold 

 water, so that the vapour which rises from the metal pot distils over 

 through the tube, and condenses in the water. In five hours the 

 whole of the cinnabar is transformed into mercury, which is taken 

 out of the water after having been suffered to repose for 24 hours. 



