148 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
Young 1 Men’s Department. 
Chemical Catechism—Chapter V. 
OF EARTHS. 
What are the principal characters of the earths l 
The earths are incombustible bodies, and in gene¬ 
ral are unalterable in the fire. Till lately, they were 
thought to be unsusceptible of decomposition; they 
are insoluble in water, or nearly so, when combined 
with carbonic acid, and are of a specific gravity ne¬ 
ver exceeding five times that of water. 
How many earths are there ! 
_ There are nine distinct earths known at present, 
viz. silica, alumina, zirconia, glucina, yttria, barytes, 
strontites, lime and magnesia.* The four I have enu¬ 
merated last, are generally called alkaline earths. 
Why are some of these earths called alkaline earths ? 
Barytes, strontites and lime, are called alkaline, be¬ 
cause they agree with the alkalies in taste, causticity, 
solubility in water, and in their effect upon vegetable 
colors ;f magnesia agrees with the alkalies in the lat¬ 
ter property only. 
What is the nature of silica , and what are its chief 
properties ! 
Silica, or pure flint, is a white, inodorous, and insi¬ 
pid earth; it is insoluble in water, and in every acid 
except the fluoric ; it endures the strongest heat with¬ 
out alteration ; but, when mixed with soda, or potash, 
becomes fusible in a strong fire into glass. Its spe¬ 
cific gravity is 2.65. 
In what stale is silica found native ? 
Silica is found in almost all mineral substances, 
particularly in gravel, sand, quartz and flint, of which 
it forms nearly the whole substance.]; It is also the 
chief ingredient of those rocks which constitute the 
most bulky materials of the solid parts of our globe.§ 
What are the chief uses of silica 1 
Silica is the the most durable article, in the state 
of gravel for the formation of roads ; it is a necessary 
ingredient in earthen ware, porcelain and cements; 
is the basis of glass, and of all vitrious substances; 
and is an indispensable article in many of our chemi¬ 
cal furnaces and utensils. 
What is the use of silica in glass making ! 
Silica is the chief ingredient in glass. It is ren¬ 
dered fusible by a due mixture of alkali, which acts as 
a flux to the silica, and renders the whole transpa¬ 
rent. 
Are these the only articles necessary to form glass'! 
In Holland, and some other parts of Europe, glass 
is manufactured with sand and alkali only; but in 
England, [and in the United States,] flint glass is 
made by a mixture of red lead with those substances ; 
which gives the glass great weight, and makes it 
more useful for all common purposes.|| 
* To a cursory observer, the earth appears indefinitely di¬ 
versified; so ranch so, that lie would probably think the dif¬ 
ferent kinds innumerable. However, notwithstanding the 
varied appearance of the earth under our feet, of that of the 
furrows of the field, and of the mountainous parts of the 
world, whose diversified strata present to our view substan¬ 
ces of every texture and of every shade, the whole is com¬ 
posed of only nine primitive earths; and as three of these oc¬ 
cur but seldom, the variety which is produced by the other 
six, becomes the more remarkable. This may fairly be ad¬ 
duced as one instance of the infinite skill of the Deity, as it 
“ bespeaks an artist, master of his work, acquainted with his 
materials.” 
To give a still greater variety to the works of nature, these 
earths are endowed with an affinity for acids and metallic 
oxides, whence arise the spars and gems, and precious stones, 
of every color and every species. 
“ Th' unfruitful rock itself, impregnated by Thee, 
In dark retirement forms the lucid stone.” 
f Barytes, strontites, lime and magnesia, are found in na¬ 
ture always combined with acids. None of the combinations 
are very hard, as either of them may be scratched with a 
knife. The acids which are found by nature united with 
these alkaline earths, are generally the carbonic, (as in lime,) 
sulphuric, (as in gypsum,) the fluoric, (as in Derbyshire spar,) 
the boraeic and the phosphoric. 
t In 1760, the F.mperor of Germany caused, by permission 
of the Grand Turk, one of the timbers which supported Tra¬ 
jan’s bridge over the Danube, below' Belgrade, to be taken up 
and examined. The outer part of this bridge, to the depth of 
half an inch, was found to he converted to an agate; the in¬ 
ner parts were slightly petrified, and the central were still 
wood. The agate is a mineral, composed of silica and alu¬ 
mina, but chiefly silica. These timbers had been buried in 
the waters of the Danube nearly 2,000 years. 
§ A granite mountain, about thirty miles from the Cape of 
Good Hope, called the Pearl Diamond, rises out of the ground, 
to the height of four hundred feet, being half a mile in cireum 
ference, and formed of a single block of granite. .Silica also 
constitutes two-thirds of the asbestos, so valued by the an¬ 
cients for wrapping up the dead before they were committed 
to the funeral pile. They discovered the method of drawdng 
the fibres of the mineral into thread, and afterwards weaving 
it into cloth. In consequence of its incombustibility, it pre¬ 
served the ashes of the body from mixing w'ith those of the 
wood, upon which it was laid to be burnt. [Samples of pa¬ 
per, indestructible by fire, were presented to the Conductor, 
some thirty years ago, by Mr. Benjamin, who then owned 
and managed a paper mill at Catskill.] 
|| The common bottle glass is made with a large portion of 
the ashes of vegetables, or soap-boiler’s waste ashes, instead 
of pure alkali. The portion of iron, w'hich is generally found 
in vegetable substances, gives it the green colour 
What are the chief properties of alumina ! 
Alumina, or pure clay, is soft to the touch ; adhe¬ 
sive to the tongue; emits a peculiar odor when mois¬ 
tened ; forms a paste with water; has great affinity 
for coloring matter; will unite with most acids ; and 
acquires great hardness, and contracts in the fire.* 
Like silica, it is soluble in caustic potash, or soda. 
Its specific gravity is 2.00. 
In what state is alumina found native! 
Alumina is distributed over the face of the earth in 
the form of clay, and from this circumstance, acquired 
the name of argil; it is found also in a state of crys- 
talization in the sapphire, and other precious stones, 
and is united to the oxide of iron in the ochres. It 
obtained the name of alumina from being the base of 
salts called alum. 
What are the chief uses to which alumina has been 
applied ? 
Alumina, on account of its aptitude for moulding 
into different forms, and its property of hardening in 
the fire, is employed in various ways, such as for 
making bricks, earthen ware, porcelain,! crucibles, 
&c. but the alumina which is made use of for these 
purposes, is always impure, as it is employed in the 
state of clay, and often as it is taken from the bowels 
of the earth, without any previous preparation what¬ 
soever. 
Is alumina employed informing any direct chemical 
combinations ! 
Aluminous earth is employed for various purposes 
by the dyer and calico printer, especially in its com¬ 
bination with acetic acid, as a mordant for fixing mad¬ 
der reds, and some other colors, on calico; and upon 
the continent, it is artificially combined with sulphu¬ 
ric acid, in order to form alum; but we possess the 
compound, or alum slate, ready formed, in abundance. 
Why do potters employ a mixture of alumina and 
silica for earthen ware 1 
In making earthen ware, a due proportion of both 
these earths are necessary ; for, if alumina alone were 
used, the ware would not be sufficiently burnt without 
shrinking too much, and even cracking; and a great 
excess of silica would weaken the tenacity, and ren¬ 
der the ware brittle. 
What is the nature of that very hard species of pot¬ 
tery, called stone-ware ! 
Stone-ware, like other pottery, is chiefly composed 
of alumina and silica; but a certain quantity of old 
pottery, finely ground, is generally introduced into its 
composition. The difference, however, between this 
and common earthen ware, chiefly consists in the 
burning and glazing; stone-ware being always sub¬ 
mitted to a much higher degree of heat, and in its 
being glazed with muriate of soda, (common salt,) in¬ 
stead of the oxide of lead. On account of the supe¬ 
rior strength of stone-ware, its very compact texture, 
and the wholesome nature of its glaze, it is greatly 
to be wished that its use be considerably extended, 
and that every article for culinary purposes were to 
be manufactured from it. 
What constitutes the difference between earthen ware 
and porcelain ! 
Porcelain is not esteemed good, unless it be very 
compact, quite white and semi-transparent ;J indeed, 
it is chiefly the last quality that constitutes the prin¬ 
cipal difference, for earthen ware is always opaque. 
He that would govern his actions by the laws of 
virtue, must regulate his thoughts by those of rea¬ 
son ; he must keep guilt from the recesses of his 
heart, and remember that the pleasures of fancy, and 
the emotions of desire, are more dangerous as they 
are more hidden, since they escape the awe of obser¬ 
vation, and operate equally in every situation, with¬ 
out the concurrence of external opportunities.—S. 
Johnson. 
Nature is said to be a mother to some people, and 
a step-dame to others; but the real truth is, that pro¬ 
vidence is kind to all alike, and it is industry only that 
makes a difference between nations and individuals ; 
for those who contemplate her gifts, and study how 
to make use of them, very rarely fail of finding their 
pains rewarded, even beyond their expections.— Dr. 
Campbell. 
* Common clay is a mixture of alumina and silica. Fuller’s 
earth is alumina combined with very fine silica. It is owing 
to the affinity which alumina has for greasy substances, that 
this article is so useful in scouring cloth. Hence pipe-clay is 
frequently used for the same purpose. 
f The beautiful colors which are seen upon porcelain and 
earthen ware, are given by metallic oxides. Purple is given 
by gold; red by the oxide of iron; yellow by the oxide of 
silver; green by copper; blue by cobalt; and violet by man¬ 
ganese. 
f Porcelain is an artificial compound of great durability. 
There is an octagon tower at Nankin, in China, called the 
porcelain tower, which is entirely covered with the most beau¬ 
tiful china. It is a building of nine stories, nearly 300 feet 
high, and each story decreases in breadth as it rises in height. 
It retains its beauty, though exposed to the action of the sun 
and weather for more than 400 years. 
Choice Scraps. 
To have become possessed of riches, is, to many, 
not the end of their miseries, but merely a change in 
them; the fault is not, however, in the riches, but in 
the mind.— Seneca. 
There are many men who appear struggling against 
adversity, and yet are happy; but yet more, who, al¬ 
though abounding in wealth, are miserable.— Tacitus. 
I consider that man to be undone who is insensible 
to shame.— Plaut. 
Such is the affinity for water, in some earths and 
alkalies, that pure allumine (clay) will retain a tenth 
of its weight of that fluid, according to Saussure, 
even though it be submitted to a heat that will luse 
iron. And potash, according to Darcet, submitted to 
a red heat, retains 13 per cent of water, and soda 
nearly 19 per cent. 
For lineage, ancestry, and all other things which 
we have not ourselves acquired, can scarcely be called 
our own.— Ovid. Every man should feel more pride 
in acquisitions obtained by his own merit, than in ho¬ 
norary distinctions earned by his ancestors. 
Nature has placed the means of happiness within 
every man’s reach, if we did but make a proper use 
of her gifts.— Claud. It is from our abuse of those 
things which Providence has bestowed as blessings, 
that most of the calamities arise which affect man¬ 
kind. 
Avarice, (as also ambition and other evil passions,) 
when it has once passed the proper limits, knows no 
bounds.— Seneca. New gratifications only excite new 
desires. 
Nothing flies so swiftly as calumny—nothing is so 
easily propagated—nothing is more readily received 
—nothing is more widely disseminated.— Cicero. 
“ On eagle’s wings immortal scandals fly.” 
It is not that which is commonly considered as a 
woman’s decory, that I estimate as such, but her chas¬ 
tity, modesty and controlable passions.— Plaut. 
Moneys received during the last month, in sums of Jive dollars 
and over. The total receipts are included from post-offices 
marked with an asterisk.* 
Appling, Jeff. 
Bethlehem, 
"Baltimore, 
*Boston, 
"Coxsackie, Gr. 
''Cincinnati, 
"Cheraw, 
"Chicago, 
Chester, Ora. 
"Cleaveland, Os. 
Elba, 
"Enfield, 
*Easton, 
Essex, Essex, 
Greensborongh, 
"Georgetown X R’ 
*Iihaca, Tomp. 
"Johnson’s Springs, 
Jones, 
"Jeffersonton, 
Jerusalem, 
No. Vols. 
No. Vols. 
6 
*Kanawha C. H. 
<< 
38 
ct. 
5 
Lewisberry, 
Pa. 
5 
Md. 
97 
"Middletown, 
Ct. 
13 
Mass. 
104 
Manhattan, 
Ia. 
5 
23 
"Newark, 
O. 
21 
O. 
14 
New-Orieans, 
La. 
130 
S. C. 
37 
"New-York city, 
148 
Ill. 
]9 
*Newburgh, Ora. 
18 
5 
*Nashville, 
Tern. 
129 
16 
"New-Brunswick, 
N. J. 
37 
Mich. 
5 
^Philadelphia, 
Pa. 
124 
Ct. 
17 
Preston, 
Ct. 
18 
Md. 
20 
Port Deposite, 
Md. 
22 
5 
^Richmond, 
Va. 
125 
Ga. 
20 
St. Johnsbury, 
Vt. 
9 
s, Md. 
26 
"Sandisfield, 
Mass. 
13 
13 
"Terra Haute, 
Ia. 
44 
Va. 
52 
Toronto, 
U. C. 
5 
11 
5 
VVarfieldsburgh, 
Md. 
9 
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16 
Winchester, 
Va. 
5 
It 
22 
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Mass. 
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