THE CULTIVATOR. 
143 
Preserving Wood by Lime Water. 
We find the following article in (English) Mechanics’ Ma¬ 
gazine. 
“ Sir—I some years ago called the attention of the readers 
of your instructive periodical, to Sir Charles Steward Men- 
teith’s (of Closeburn, Dumfrieshire,) simple unpatented me¬ 
thod of preserving timber; I think it so valuable a process 
that it cannot be too often published. It is as follows:— 
After cutting the timber to the size it will be wanted, it is 
steeped in a pond of lime and water for a fortnight, or more 
or less time, according to the size of the wood. Sir Charles 
has now some farm-buildings on his estate, the timber of the 
roofs of which is the common young Scotch fir, but having 
undergone the lime water process, it is as sound, after a lapse 
of forty years, as the day it w'as put up: the same timber, 
under ordinary circumstances, and in similar situations, would 
rot in from three to seven years. The carpenters find, in 
working the wood thus, treated., that the edges of their plane- 
irons soon become dull’; on examination, it is found that the 
acid contained in the wood is chrystallized by combining with 
the alkali of the lime. Yours faithfully, 
“ ARTHUR TREVELYAN. 
“ Wallington, Newcastle, Tyne, 7th May, 1839.” 
Use of Lime. 
Lockhart, in his Life of Sir Walter Scott, relates the fol¬ 
lowing anecdote: 
“ There see,” he continued, “ that farm there at the foot 
of the hill, is occupied by a respectable enough tenant of 
mine; I told him I had a great desire for him to try the effect 
of lime on his land. He said he doubted its success, and 
could not venture to risque so much money as it would cost. 
Well, said I, fair enough; but as I wish to have the experi¬ 
ment tried, you shall have the lime for the mere carting; you 
may send to the place where it is to be bought, and at the 
term day you shall strike off the whole value of the lime from 
the rent due to me. When the pay day came, my friend the 
farmer came with his whole rent, which he laid down on the 
table before me, without deduction. “ How’s this my man; 
you are to deduct for the lime, you know.” “ Why, Sir 
Walter,” he replied, “my conscience will not let me impose 
upon you so far—the lime you recommended me to try, and 
which but for your suggestion I would never have tried, has 
produced more than would have purchased the lime half a 
dozen times over, and I cannot think of making a deduc¬ 
tion.” 
Young Men’s Department, 
Chemical Catechism—Chapter VIII. 
[From Parkes ’ Chemical Catechism.] 
OF SALTS.— [CONTINUED.] 
What is meant by the deliquescence of a salt ? 
Some salts have so great an affinity for water, that they 
absorb it with avidity from the atmosphere. Such salts 
thereby become moist or liquid, and are said to deliquesce, 
by exposure to atmospheric air.* * * * * § 
What is meant by the efflorescence of a salt ? 
Some salts, having less affinity for water than atmospheric 
air has, lose their water of crystallization by exposure, and 
readily fall into powder: such salts are said to effloresce. 
The crystals of sub-carbonate of soda and of sulphate of soda 
are good examples of this property. 
Are salts carp able ofuny other changes besides efflorescence and 
deliquescence ? 
Yes: salts have the properties of solubility] and fusibility. 
* Table of the action of atmospheric air on some of the 
most common salts. 
Pure potash, ... 
•-soda, - 
Carbonate of potash, - 
Bi-cardonate of potash, - 
Carbonate of soda, 
-ammonia, 
--— lime, - 
-magnesia, 
Sulphate of potash, - 
--soda, - 
-lime, ... 
-ammonia, 
-magnesia, 
Nitrate of potash, - 
-soda, ... 
-ammonia, 
-barytes, - - - 
-lime, - 
-magnesia, 
Muriate of potash, - 
-soda, ... 
-- lime, - - - 
-ammonia, 
—--barytes, 
- magnesia, 
f Table of the comparative 
mon salts. 
Deliquesces. 
Deliquesces. 
Deliquesces. 
Remains unchanged. 
Effloresces. 
Do. 
Unchanged. 
Do. 
Do. 
Effloresces. 
Unchanged. 
Sub-deliquesces. 
Unchanged. 
Do. 
Sub-deliquesces. 
Deliquesces. 
Slightly efflorescent. 
Deliquesces. 
Deliquesces. 
Unchanged. 
Do. 
Deliquesces. 
Sub-deliquesces. 
Unchanged. 
Deliqueces. 
solubility of some of the con 
Solubility in 100 parts of water 
SALTS. 
at 69°. 
at 212°. 
Sulphate of potash, - 
6.25 
20. 
-soda, ... 
37. 
125. 
-lime, - - - - 
0.22 
0.2 
-ammonia, 
50. 
100. 
--magnesia, 
100. 
133. 
Nitrate of potash, - 
14.25 
100. 
-- soda, - 
33. 
100. 
Muriate of potash, - 
33-42 
-soda, - 
35. 
36.16 
-lime, ... 
200- 
-ammonia, - 
Carbonate of potash, 
33- 
25- 
83.33 
-soda, - 
50. 
100. 
ammonia, 
50. 
100. 
What is meant by the solubility of a salt ? 
It is its capacity to unite with and remain dissolved in wa¬ 
ter; but the different salts possess different degress of solubi¬ 
lity,* requiring more or less of this fluid for their solution. 
What is meant by the fusibility of a salt ? 
Salts have not only the property of dissolving in water, 
but will melt by exposure to great heat. The different salts 
require different degrees of heat to put them in a state of 
fusion. 
Have the different salts any action upon each other ? 
Yes: we have many instances of salts mutually decompos¬ 
ing each other. 
What takes place in these decompositions ? 
When such salts are mixed in solution, the acid of first 
and the base of the second having more affinity for each other 
than for the base and acid with which they are respectively 
combined, double decomposition, as it is termed, ensues. 
The acid of the first unites with the base of the second, and 
consequently the base of the first combines with the acid of 
the second; so that two new salts are produced, differing in 
appearance, and possessing properties different from those of 
the original salts. 
What is the cause of this effect 1 
It is occasioned by mutual chemical attraction, and the 
operation itself is called double decomposition, or the effect 
of compound affinities. 
Can you give a i example of this double decomposition ? 
Yes: If you add a transparent solution of sulphate of soda, 
or Glauber’s salt, to one of muriate of lime, the solution is 
immediately rendered turbid, and two new salts are formed. 
The sulphuric acid of the sulphate of soda combines with 
the lime of the muriate of lime and forms sulphate of lime or 
gypsum, and the soda which was combined with the sulphu¬ 
ric acid seizes the muriatic acid previously united to the 
lime and forms muriate of soda, or common salt, which con¬ 
tinues in the solution, but may be obtained in a dry form by 
evaporation and crystallization. The white powder which 
precipitates, is the newly formed sulphate of lime. 
What other use is made of these decompositions ? 
By these means many valuable salts are procured for the 
use of the chemist and the manufacturer, which can be form¬ 
ed in no other way. 
What knowledge have we attained respecting the native salts ? 
Many of the salts are found native; and since the science 
of mineralogy has been so much cultivated, great attention 
has been paid to these natural productions. 
What salts are furnished by nature in the greatest abundance ? 
The carbonates, the sulphates, and the muriates are most 
abundant; but some of the nitrates, borates, &c. are also 
found native. 
Which of the carbonates have been found native ? 
Of carbonate of lime] there are immense mountains in 
most parts of the world: carbonate of barytes has been found 
in Lancashire and elsewhere; carbonate of strontites, at 
Strontian in Scotland; carbonate of soda in the natron beds 
of Egypt, in the East Indies; and carbonate of potash, as 
well as the carbonate of soda, has been discovered in some 
spring waters. 
What sulphuric salts are found native ? 
Sulphate of soda is found in some salt springs; sulphate of 
magnesia, in spring water;] the sulphate of alumina is 
abundant at Whitby and Glasgow; sulphate of barytes, in 
Derbyshire and other parts of the world; the sulphate of 
strontites abounds in some parts of Gloucestershire; and few 
salts are more copiously disseminated than the sulphate of 
lime, particularly in the vicinity of Paris, and hence its 
name Plaster of Paris. 
What native muriatic salts are there ? 
Muriate of lime occurs with rock-salt, and muriate of mag¬ 
nesia is found in abundance in sea-water; muriate of ammo¬ 
nia appears in the neighborhood of volcanos; and muriate of 
soda not only exists in immense quantities in the ocean, but 
vast mountains in different parts of the world are entirely 
formed of this salt.§ 
* We generally denominate all salts as insoluble, which 
require for solution more than 1000 times their weight of wa¬ 
ter. An opinion may in some measure be formed of the so¬ 
lubility of a salt by its force. Those salts which have the 
most taste are generally the most soluble in water. Thus 
Epsom salt dissolves in its own weight of water at the com¬ 
mon temperature of the atmosphere, and the solution con¬ 
tinues perfectly fluid and transparent; while sulphate of lime 
requires 500 times its own weight of water to hold it in so¬ 
lution. 
f Chalk, limestone, and marble, are all included in the 
term, carbonate of lime. The late experiments of Sir James 
Hall have thrown great light on the formation of these na¬ 
tural productions. See Edinburgh Philosophical Transac¬ 
tions, vol. iv. 
Carbonate of lime is found also in a crystallized state, in a 
mineral called calcareous spar. It has never yet been crys¬ 
tallized by art. This process of Nature may require many 
ages to effect, for aught we know. 
[ Sulphate of magnesia and sulphate of lime are both very 
common in our spring waters; the last salt and supercarbo¬ 
nate of lime are the chief causes of what we call hard waters, 
which are very unwholsome, and unfit for washing. When 
soap is used with these waters a double decomposition takes 
place; the sulphuric acid of the selenite unites with the al¬ 
kali of the soap and forms sulphate of potash or sulphate 
of soda, which remains in solution; while the magnesia or 
lime unites with the tallow, and forms an insoluble com¬ 
pound which swims upon the surface of the water like curds. 
In this way hard waters require much more soap for any 
given purpose than rain water, or waters which do not con¬ 
tain these earthy saljs. Such waters are also unfit for boil¬ 
ing any esculent vegetable; but they may be rendered soft 
by adding to them a very little carbonate of soda, or carbon¬ 
ate of potash, 24 hours previous to their use. By this addi¬ 
tion a decomposition will be effected, and the carbonate of 
lime, a very insoluble salt, precipitated. 
§ The salt mines near Cracow in Poland, which have 
been worked ever since the middle of the thirteenth century, 
contain an immense store of muriate of soda. The excava¬ 
tions have been made with so much regularity and beauty, 
that these mines are visited by travellers as one of the great¬ 
est curiosities in the world. Eight hundred workmen are 
employed in them, who raise 168,000 quintals of salt annu¬ 
ally. Through the enormous mass of salt, which presents 
Which of the nitric salts are found native ? 
Nitrate of potash is collected in various parts of the globe; 
nitrate of magnesia sometimes occurs in combination with 
that salt; and nitrate of lime is found also in the same com¬ 
bination, and likewise in mineral springs: these are the only 
nitric salts that have been seen native in any large quanti¬ 
ties. 
Are any other of the salts found native 1 
Yes: vast rocks in Derbyshire and elsewhere are formed 
of fluate of lime; borate of soda is found in a crystallized 
state in the kingdom of Thibet; borate of magnesia at Lune- 
burg in the kingdom of Hanover; and phosphate of lime, 
which is the basis of all animal bones, exist native in Hun¬ 
gary, and composes several entire mountains in Spain. 
How do you imagine that these immense masses of salts have 
been formed by nature ? 
Tlie huge mountains of salts we have been speaking 
of, and which occur in various parts of the earth, were pro¬ 
bably formed in very remote ages, and by processes of which 
we can form no idea. It may indeed be supposed that these 
changes have been slow and gradual, for several of the na¬ 
tive salts exhibit marks of regularity and beauty in their 
crystallization, which cannot be imitated by art.* 
Have geologists attempted to account for the production of 
the immense quantities and varieties of salts found in different 
states in various parts of the earth ? 
The cause of this order of things can only be referred to 
the will of the Creator,] who has seen fit, in the composi¬ 
tion of many of the mountainous parts of the globe, to pre¬ 
fer these compound substances to the more simple and inert 
earths. 
to the eye no interruption in its saline texture, and at the 
depth of 450 feet, flows a stream of pure, fresh and transpa¬ 
rent water, which is received in large wooden vessels, where 
the workmen and horses of these subterranean regions 
quench their thirst. As it was impossible that this spring 
could filter through the salt, Nature, who buries her master¬ 
pieces in the bowels of the deepest mountains, has placed in 
this monstrous mass a stratum of clay sufficiently thick to 
allow the stream of w T ater, destined to refresh the workmen, 
to pass through it in such a manner as to be protected from 
the action of the salt, of which a very small quantity would 
injure its salubrity. 
* In order to account for these productions of Nature, va¬ 
rious theories of the world have been formed by philosophers 
in different periods. Some of these have had many support¬ 
ers. Thus we have had the theories of Burnet, Woodward, 
Whiston, Buffon, Whitehurst, Laplace, and other noted geo¬ 
logist who have written on the subject since their time. 
The theories which divide the opinions of the philosophers 
of the present day, are those of Hutton and Werner. The 
former supposes the agency of heat, and is called the Pluto¬ 
nian system; the latter, which attributes all the present ap¬ 
pearances of the globe to the effect of water, is called the 
Nepturian system. 
! We have abundant reason to believe that nothing is for¬ 
tuitous, but that every thing upon this fair world of ours is 
the effect of design; for every thing around us bears evident 
marks of the skill and beneficence of its Omnipotent Author. 
Is it not then reasonable to infer, that the formation of the 
whole of the globe entered into the divine plan; and that 
the constitution of the interior of its mountains resulted from 
the determination of infinite wisdom, and must have impor¬ 
tant uses in some future period of the world?— 
“For, lives the man whose universal eye 
Hath swept at once the unbounded scheme of things; 
Mark’d their dependence so; and firm accord, 
As with unfaltering accent to conclude 
That this availeth naught?” 
It is probable indeed, that the profusion of earthy and al¬ 
kaline salts which occur in the more elevated parts of the 
earth may, among other purposes, have been intended as 
magazines for the future renovation of the soils in their vi¬ 
cinities. They are in general of a nature to be washed down 
by the rains; and, by means of rivers, &c. are sometimes 
transported to considerable distances from their native beds. 
It is remarkable that these salts are generally found only in 
the secondary mountains, the materials of the primitive rocks 
being entirely different. These latter contain no remains of 
organic bodies whatever, and are composed, for the most 
part, only of five ingredients, viz: silica, alumina, lime, 
magnesia, and iron; of which silica is by far the most abun¬ 
dant, and universal. Though a comparative softness has 
been given to the secondary mountains, which thus appear 
to have been designed for the successive production of allu¬ 
vial depositions, for the renovation of soils, &c.—the rocks 
of granite, the foundations of the globe, are so extremely 
hard, that it is imagined they would resist the constant 
wash of the ocean for ages without any apparent diminution. 
Where they were originally fixed by the hand of Nature— 
“ They still remain, 
Amid the flux of many thousand years, 
That oft has swept the toiling race of men 
And all their labor’d monuments away.” Thomson. 
In this arrangement we perceive nothing like a fortuitous 
concourse of atoms, but, on tlie contrary, the same satisfac¬ 
tory marks of contrivance, which force themselves upon our 
notice whenever we contemplate the various pliaenomena of 
the world, or study any of the great operations of nature. 
Wealth. —Wealth in this country may be traced back to 
industry and frugality; the paths which lead to it are open 
to all; and such is the joint operation of the law and the cus¬ 
toms of society, that the wheel of fortune is in constant re¬ 
volution, and the poor of one generation furnishes the rich 
of the next. 
In business, the keeping close to the matter procureth dis¬ 
patch; and true dispatch is a rich thing. 
Without frugality, none can be rich—and with it few 
would be poor. 
Daily value of Sunshine •—The editor of the Genesee Far¬ 
mer rates the agricultural products of the United States at 
five hundred millions of dollars annually, the perfection of 
which depends on the weather of four months, June, July, 
August and September. Without sunshine the crops would 
be a failure, either totally or partially, and hence we may 
estimate its average value at four millions of dollars daily. 
