THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



86 



sorption of water, but it also absorbs carbonic 

 acid from the air, and instead of being simply 

 a hydrate of lime, as when water slaked, it is 

 a definite compound of hydrate and carbonate 

 ©f lime, 42.6 per cent, of the former, and 57.4 

 of the latter. Air slaked lime, therefore, is far 

 from being so caustic as water slaked — upwards 

 of one-half of it being reconverted into the 

 same chemical state it was in before burning. 



After the lime has absorbed sufficient water 

 and is completely fallen to pieces, carbonic acid 

 is absorbed much less rapidly, especially in 

 damp situations. In fact, though there is a 

 constant tendency in lime to return to the state 

 of carbonate in which it existed previous to 

 burning, yet, by mere exposure to the air it 

 does not attain this state in any assignable 

 time. In some walls six hundred years old, 

 the lime has been found to have absorbed ooly 

 one-fourth of the carbonic acid necessary to 

 convert the whole into carbonate; in others, 

 built by the Romans eighteen hundred years 

 ago, the proportion absorbed has not exceeded 

 three-fourths of the quantity contained in na- 

 tural limestone. 



When slaked in the ordinary way, by the 

 application of water, lime falls to pieces with 

 the absorption of but little, if any, carbonic 

 acid. But when slaked and exposed to the air 

 the absorption of carbonic acid is at first very 

 rapid, but it gradually becomes more slow, and 

 probably the same definite compound of hy- 

 drate and carbonate of lime is formed as in 

 the case of air slaked lime. 



The original limestone, or any other form of 

 carbonate of lime, then, is perfectly mild. By 

 driving off the carbonic acid by heat, we get 

 lime which is very caustic. By slaking this 

 with water, we get a less caustic substance — 

 hydrate of lime. By allowing it to air slake, 

 we get a still less caustic compound, a definite 

 compound of hydrate and carbonate of lime. 

 And by exposing it to the air for a sufficient 

 length of time, we ultimately get the whole re- 

 converted again into its original mild form of 

 carbonate of lime. — Rural Nevj Yorker. 



LIMEWATER IN BAKING BREAD. 



In bread-making, the vineous fermentation 

 sometimes passes into the acid, thus rendering 

 the bread sour and disagreeable. Liebig has 

 lately performed a series of experiments to im- 

 prove the preparation of bread, from which he 

 comes to the conclusion, that the only effective 

 and innocuous means of improving the quali- 

 ties of wheat and rye bread, is limewater. In 

 making dough he advises one pint of clear lime- 

 water to be used for every five pounds of flour. 



The limewater is first added to the flour, after 

 which a sufficient quantity of common water m 

 added to work the whole into good common 

 dough — the leaven being mixed with water can 

 be prepared by stirring some quicklime in a 

 vessel containing pure cold water, then allowing 

 the sediment to settle. The clear is then to be 

 poured off, and kept in bottles for use. No 

 care is required' respecting the quantity of lime- 

 to be stirred in the water, as it will only take 

 up a certain quantity of lime, and no mora 

 Those who use saleratus (bicarbonate of soda) 

 in the raising of bread, are recommended to 

 cease its use, and employ pure baker's yeasfc 

 and a little limewater, Our bones are com- 

 posed of the phosphate of lime, and those who 

 use fine Hour require for their health a little 

 more lime than is contained in their food. 

 Cream of tartar and carbonate of soda are in- 

 ferior to common yeast for making healthy 

 bread. — Scientific American, 



CHEAP SOAP. 



A correspondent of the " Southern Banner" 

 gives the following recipe for soap-making, and 

 adds, that it would be worth one thousand dol- 

 lars in the hands of a selfish person, and the 

 world would have to untie the purse string to 

 get it, but here it is free gratis : 



Take six pounds of potash 75 



Four pounds of lard 

 One-fourth pound of rosin 



50 



OK 



All amounting to - - - $1 50 

 Beat up the rosin, mix all together well, and 

 set aside for five days, then put the whole into 

 a ten gallon cask of warm water and stir twice 

 a day for ten days, at the expiration of which, 

 time, or sooner, you will have one hundred 

 pounds of excellent soap for $1 50< 



AMERICAN HORSES FOR BRITISH CAVALRY. 



During the Canadian rebellion, the English, 

 sent over to those provinces a considerable body 

 of cavalry. Many of these horses died on the 

 voyage, and they were compelled to mount their 

 men by purchases in New York, Vermont and 

 New Hampshire, along the borders of Canada. 

 These animals I saw in Montreal, in exercise. 

 They were specimens of the middling- sized 

 Morgan, with striking marks of blood; and 

 Col. Shirley, of the 7th Hussars, informed me 

 in 1842 that they were the best cavalry horses 

 for all work that he had ever seen; so good, he 

 said, that they were not to be sold when the 

 regiment went home, but to be taken to Eng- 

 land for urg. — Address of J. Vrescotl TJalL 



