A HISTORY OF THE SODA MANUFACTURE. 251 



decomposition of common salt for that purpose. Mr. Losh was born in 

 1770, and finished his education on the Continent, where he was a fellow 

 collegian with the renowned Humboldt. He was resident in France 

 when the French Republic was established, and had to fly from thence 

 with others of his countrymen. On his return to this country, he com- 

 menced some experiments, at Walker, on the river Tyne, for the manu- 

 facture of soda crystals (which were then obtained from kelp, and sold 

 at 60Z. per ton, the present price being 41. 10s., or about one-fourteenth 

 part) ; and during the short peace of Amiens, in 1802, he again visited 

 France, and obtained a more complete knowledge of Le Blanc's pro- 

 cesses. 



After Mr. Losh's return, he applied to Government for permission 

 to avail himself of a spring of weak brine (which he had discovered 

 to exist at Walker) for the manufacture of soda ; being permitted 

 to use this, without any payment for salt duty, and having asso- 

 ciated himself with Lord Dundonald, Lord Dundas, and some other 

 gentlemen, he proceeded to erect a vitriol chamber and to apply sul- 

 phuric acid to the decomposition of salt contained in the weak brine, 

 so as to produce sulphate of soda, and from this to manufacture 

 soda-crystals by Le Blanc's process. The extent of these proceed- 

 ings were necessarily limited by the use of weak brine in the place of 

 ury salt. 



Notwithstanding these previous essays, 1823 may be considered as 

 the natal year of the soda-trade, as a special manfacture in Great 

 Britain ; and my enquiries lead me to the conclusion, that the county 

 of Lancaster was its birthplace as a special trade. In that year common 

 salt being relieved from fiscal impost, Mr. James Muspratt commenced 

 the erection of works at Liverpool, wherein salt was decomposed by 

 sulphuric acid, specially for the production of sulphate of soda to be 

 used for the manufacture of carbonate of soda. Mr. Muspratt at once 

 adopted Le Blanc's processes in their entirety, and thus led to the 

 establishment of the most important chemical manufacture of the pre- 

 sent day. As might be expected, Mr. Muspratt had to contend with 

 many difficulties, but these were overcome by indomitable energy and 

 perseverance, and it is gratifying to know that he has realized a satis- 

 factory reward. 



About the same time, and subsequently, other manufacturers, who 

 had been working with mixed sulphates, commenced to make sulphate 

 of soda, by the special decomposition of common salt, for the purpose 

 of making soda ; and it has since been found advantageous to adapt this 

 method of working to the production of bleaching powder by using 

 hydro-chloric acid so obtained to generate chlorine by its action on 

 oxide of manganese. 



In the early days of the soda-trade, the decomposition of salt was 

 effected in open furnaces, without any attempt to condense the liberated 



