VITRIOLIC ACID. 



of Germany, from the fame fubftance, in the manner dc- 

 fcribed under Sulphuric Add. Accordinc;ly, when the 

 component parts neither of the fait nor of the acid were 

 known, it was very naturallv called " oil of vitriol ;" ac- 

 quiring this denomination probably from its rcfemblance to 

 oil in adhering to the fides of a vcfiel containing it, and 

 from its pafiing gently, or with little noife, from one veflel 

 to another. However, as the name tends to give erroneous 

 ideas of the nature of the acid, which is now known to be 

 formed only of fulpliur, oxygen, and water, it ought to be 

 expurged. On account of the inconvenience and expence 

 attending the method of procuring this acid from fulphate 

 of iron, and the time required for the procefs, the manu- 

 fafturers were led to the bafe itfelf, or the fulphur ; which, 

 in conjunftion with nitre, was burnt in very large globes of 

 glafs, and the produft was concentrated by boihng it in 

 Ktorts or other glafs veffels, till the fluid was of a fuf- 

 ficient ftrength for fale. See Sui.phukic Acid. 



Mr. Parkes informs us (Chemical ElTays, vol. ii.) that 

 the procefs of forming fulphuric acid by the combullion of 

 fulphur, was firft adopted in this country by Dr. Ward, 

 well known by his analeptic pill, white drop, and fome 

 other noftrums which bore liis name. Fourcroy, however, 

 attributes this important difcovery to two French chemifts, 

 Lefcvre and Leniery. Dr. Ward obtained a patent for his 

 method of preparing it, and the article which he procured 

 was denominated, by way of diftindtion, " oil of vitriol 

 made by the bell." It is needlefs to defcribe his method, 

 though it gave him for fome time a monopoly of this Britilh 

 manufafture : until at length chambers of lead were em- 

 ployed for the combuftion of the fulphur and nitre, fo con- 

 trived that the floor of each might be conftantly covered 

 with a (heet of water, capable of abforbing the fulphuric 

 acid gas at the time of its formation. The introduftion of 

 this leaden apparatus ferved to facilitate the manufnfture of 

 this acid, and in a fhort time reduced the price to about 

 a quarter of its former rate. This important improve- 

 ment is afcribed by Mr. Parkes to the late Dr. Roebuck, 

 an eminent phyfician of Birmingham, who, in conjunftion 

 with his partner, the late Mr. Samuel Garbett, erefted, not- 

 withftanding a violent oppofition on tlie part of Dr. Ward, 

 the lirll leaden chamber for this purpofe at Birmingham, 

 about the year 1746 : and the fame works are now ( 1815), 

 fays Mr. Parkes, in the occupation of their fuccelTors, 

 Meffrs. Alflon and Armitage. The confumption, how- 

 ever, was at firil reftrifted, on account of local circum- 

 flances, to Birmingham and its vicinity. The manufac- 

 turers, therefore, with a view to a more extenfive demand, 

 and to the introduftion of the article produced for the pur- 

 pofe of bleaching in tlic linen manufaftorics of Scotland and 

 Ireland, eftablifhed, on an extenfive fcalc, in the year 1749, 

 works at Prcfton-Pans, on the eaftern coaft of Scotland. 

 It is obfervcd, however, that Dr. Roebuck was not i\\fifole 

 founder of the works at Preilon-Pans, or of the great iron- 

 works at Carron. (See Carhon.) Of Dr. Roebuck, an 

 account of whom has been by accident omitted under his 

 name, it will be fufficient to obferve, that he was a man of 

 very fuperior talents, very confiderable acquirements, and 

 very amiable manners, highly elteem.cd at Birmingham, 

 where he refidcd, and honoured with a peculiar intimacy 

 with the celebrated Dr. Black. He died, much regretted, 

 on the 17th of .Inly, 1794. After thia digrcfllon, we pro- 

 ceed to relate, that the doftor and his three brothers, to- 

 gether with Mr. Garbett, and Meffrs. Cadell and Sons, of 

 Cockenzie, near Prellon-Pans, were the original projeftors 

 and founders of the vaft works at Carron, to the great pre- 

 judice of their refpcdiivc fortunes. This circumflance, 



together with an unfortunate concern in a colliery at Bor- 

 rovvftoncfs, brought ruin on all the dottor's fair profpefts 

 in life. With refpeft to the manufafture of fulphuric acid, 

 we obferve, that for feveral years Meffrs. Roebuck and 

 Garbett carried on their works in England and Scotland 

 fuccefsfully and unoppofed ; and, befides fupplying the 

 demands of Great Britain and Ireland, exported very large 

 quantities of fulphuric acid to the continent. At length, in 

 the year 1756, their profpefts were beclouded by the con- 

 duct of a fervant, who had the art to induce a Mr. Rhodes, 

 of Bridgenorth, to embark in the bufinefs. This perfon, 

 abandoning Mr. Rhodes, conncfted himfelf with Mi". Skey, 

 of Bewdley, who had commenced a manufaftory of ful- 

 phuric acid on a much larger fcale than that at Bridge- 

 north ; and this was the third manufaftory for producing 

 the acid by the combuftion of fulphur in leaden chambers. 

 In the year 1772, a manufaftory was ellabliflied at Bat- 

 terfea, near London ; and upon the failure of this, ano- 

 ther manufaftory was inftituted at Pitfworth-Moor, near 

 Eccles, in Lancathire. Soon afterwards another work 

 was eftablifhed at Leeds ; and at length fimilar works 

 have been founded in various parts of England, Scotland, 

 and Ireland : and it is faid, that there are now no fewer than 

 eight coiiliderable manufaftories of fulphuric acid at and 

 near Birmingham. When the new method of bleaching by 

 oxymuriatic acid was introduced, about the ye.ir 1788, 

 the demand for fulphuric acid was very confiderably aug- 

 mented, fo that chambers for the combuftion of fulphur of 

 much larger extent than thofe firft conftrufted became ne- 

 cefiary. Chaptal, in his " Chemiftry applied to the Arts," 

 (vol. iii.) fays, that chambers about 20 feet broad, 25 long, 

 and 15 high, feem to be the moft advantageous : and it is 

 obferved, that the fize of the leaden chamber in modern 

 ufe, is from 20 feet in length and I2 feet in width, to 40 or 

 60 feet long and 16 or 18 feet wide. One manufac- 

 turer in Lancafhirc, however, fays Mr. Parkes, has a leaden 

 chamber of the enormous dimenfions of 120 by 40 feet, and 

 20 feet high, thus forming a fpace of 96,000 cubic feet. 

 Thefe leaden chambers are technically called " houfes," and 

 in fome diftrifts "leaden veffels." The fulphuric acid annually 

 confumed in thefe kingdoms is faid to amount to upwards 

 of 30CO tons, the greater part of which is ufed in a ftatc 

 of dilution, in which ftate it is confumed in large quan- 

 tities by bleachers, and by calico-printers, for making what 

 they call " fours ;" and alio for the purpofe of difl'olving 

 iron or zinc when diluted with at leall five or fix times its 

 weight of water. 



The ufes of fulphuric acid are very numerous. It is 

 employed in large quantities for preparing the bleaching 

 fait ; by dyers for diffolving indigo, and for other pur- 

 pofes ; by calico-printers for preparing fours ; and by the 

 manufafturing and the philofophical chemift, as a tell for 

 lead and barytes, and for a great variety of other pur- 

 pofes, fome of which only can be enumerated. 



'I'he makers of the nitrous and muriatic acids are large 

 confumcrs of fulphuric acid ; as alfo are the makers of ful- 

 phate of zinc, fal ammoniac, phofph.ite of foda, Glauber 

 and other falts ; as well as the manufafturcrs of Roman 

 vitriol, PrulTian blue, and fome other colours. 



Sulpluiric acid is likewife employed by fome modem 

 farmers in the preparation of their feed-wheat, to prevent 

 what is called the fmut ; by the people who purify lemon- 

 juice, when united to lime, in order to i'eparate its acid in a 

 cryftalline form for the ufe of calico-printers and others ; 

 and by the makers of glafs to convert tiie muriate of pot- 

 afh, which is one of their refiduums, into fulphate of potafs, 

 and which has lately been ufed by them as a fubftitutc for 

 Q q 2 foda. 



