438 
PHARMACEUTICAL MEETING. 
theory, oxygen exists in three different states or conditions, viz. ozone, anto- 
zone, and ordinary oxygen ; and wherever ozone and antozone (which may 
both be considered more or less active) are brought together, they unite and 
neutralize each other as it were, forming passive or common oxygen. 
To return to the composition of the powder, we are not compelled to use 
precisely those ingredients mentioned, but may substitute analogous com¬ 
pounds. Peroxide of barium might be replaced by any other peroxide capa¬ 
ble of forming binoxide of hydrogen, of which there are several,—peroxide of 
potassium, sodium, strontium, and calcium, but all these at the present time 
are practically useless, peroxide of barium being the only one that can be easily 
and cheaply prepared. Bichromate of potash may be substituted by rnanga- 
nate or permanganate of potash, binoxide of manganese, or binoxide of lead; 
the cost of the two first-mentioned forbids their present use, and the one 
selected is by far preferable to the others. With regard to the acids, either 
of the mineral class will do, but I prefer sulphuric acid. 
The next question demanding our notice is, in a commercial point of view, 
a most important one ; however much this method may be admired for its 
simplicity, and the ease with which the operation may be conducted, its ulti¬ 
mate success or failure must depend on the cost. Can the oxygennesis there¬ 
fore be manufactured and sold at a price sufficiently low to make it an article 
of commerce ? I believe it can be, and be made available for all purposes 
whenever oxygen is required to the extent of some gallons. One of the in¬ 
gredients of this compound, peroxide of barium, has never yet been produced 
and sold as a commercial article, and from the trouble in making a small 
quantity, but few, even practical chemists, care to prepare it for themselves. 
It can hardly therefore be expected that a compound of this nature can at 
once be manufactured and sold at a price it must ultimately be reduced to, 
if extensively used and produced in quantity. Eive shillings per pound, the 
price hitherto charged, would, I admit, be a barrier to its general adoption ; but 
I am happy to say we have now made the necessary arrangements to lessen 
the cost of production, and have at the same time reduced the price to three 
shillings for the one-pound bottle, and less if a larger quantity is required. 
Some of the baryta compounds are found abundantly in nature, and are but 
of small value in the market, but up to the present time but few uses have 
been made of them; they now promise a much more extensive application. 
Mr. Kuhlman has perhaps done more than any one else to develope their uses 
and value in the arts. 
In the ‘ Chemical News,’ Nov. 28, 1863, will be found some interesting ex¬ 
tracts from Dr. Hofmann’s Deport, one of the jurors of the Great Interna¬ 
tional Exhibition, on chemical products and processes. He says, “ Should 
the valuable property of baryta to absorb oxygen from the atmospheric air 
at a low red-heat, and to release it as a gas at a higher temperature, be ren¬ 
dered available to supply oxygen at a cheap rate for manufacturing purposes, 
a great impulse will be given to what is termed furnace chemistry, and our 
power over the more refractory provinces of the mineral kingdom be propor¬ 
tionately increased. This source of oxygen has hitherto remained practically 
■closed in consequence of the decline which takes place after a few repetitions 
of the process in the power of the baryta alternately to incorporate and ex¬ 
hale the oxygen. This decline depends probably upon a modification rather 
in the physical than in the chemical condition of the baryta; and, if so, 
means probably exist to remedy the evil and render the operation perfect. 
“ A cheap process for the preparation of caustic baryta, and its derivative 
the peroxide of barium, would probably lead to the extensive manufacture of 
peroxide of hydrogen,—a compound whose powerful bleaching and oxidizing 
properties would render it an invaluable adjunct in many manufacturing pro- 
