166 
in German) it deferves the next place to 
the fugar-cane, and the natives call’it the 
fweetherb or Ratfe. According to Gmelin (Flo- 
xa Sibirica, s. x. p. 214) it does not differ from 
our common cow-parfnep, but others think it 
a particular fpecies, to which they give the 
name of Sphoadylium Panaces. The inhabi< 
tants of Kamtfhatka gather the ftalks of this 
plant in June, and having ftripped off the 
leaves, they fhaveoff the outer fkin with muf- 
cle fhells, and dry them in the fun, and after- 
wards they are chewed for the fake of fucking 
eut the faccharine matter. In drying, the 
furface of the {talks it is covered with a white 
faccharine powder, which they ,feparate by 
fhaking them ina leather bag 3 but 40 pounds 
of them afford only a quarter of a pound of 
this powder fugar, which therefore is confi- 
dered as agreatrarity. Betides this, the Q@alks 
and roots of the plants are employed for ob- 
taining a fortof brandy. 1 was fupplied with 
fome frefh plants of the Heracleum fibiricum 
for my experiments, but finding that the ftalks 
were by no means fo rich in fugar, as it is re- 
lated of thofe plants growing in Sibiria, 1 
tried the roots, of which I get four pounds, 
whofe tafte is fweetifh, like that of parineps. 
_ Having freed them from the outer fkin, they 
were dried, but no faccharine cruft appeared - 
onthe furface. ‘They weretherefore ground ; 
and being mixed with water, the juice was 
_epreffed, which tafted fweetifh, but a little 
acrid. Being boiled with the white of eggs; 
and clarified, it was thickened to the confif- 
tence of a fyrup, of which fix ounces were got 
wherein aftera {pace of three months, a brown 
grainy fugar had cryftallized, which however, 
was not quite free from a difagreeable flavour. 
Though it is fhown by thefe experiments, that 
fagar may be obtained from that plant, yet 
the preparation of the fugar is too expenfive, 
for making ufe of it in economy. It is how- 
ever probable, that the foil has a great influ- 
ence upon the plant, and that therefore thofe 
growing in Sibiria are richer in fugar. 4 
Experiments to cbtain Sugar from the Muff of 
Wine. 
Tt might be prefumed from the tafte of muft 
obtained from ripe grapes, that a confiierable 
quantity of faccharine matter is contained in 
it, though involved by mucilage. To try 
whether a true fugar could be extraéted from 
it, fome experiments were undertaken. Eight 
Berlin quarts of muft, from ripe fweet grapes, 
were fecthed with the white of eggs, clarified 
and filtered. The fluid being evaporated, 
gave three pounds of an agreeable but acidu- 
lous fyrup. Totake away this free acid, the 
fyrup was diffolved again in limewater, and fo 
“much of it added, till no acid was perceived 
by reagents. The. fluid being again clarified 
and evaporated, avery agreeable fyrup was ob- 
tained, from which it was by no means pof- 
fible to exhibit cryftallized fugar. However, 
this fyrup would, atthe high price of muf, 
not be very profitable. 
(To be coutinned.) 
Literary and Philofephical Intelligence. 
fSept. I, 
Anatysis of all the permanently valuable 
Papers which have appeared in the 
JouRNAL ne Puysique, from its 
Commencement to the prefent Time ; con- 
tinued from our Magazine for Fuly. 
page 590. F 
The GERMAN METHOD Of preparing PRUS- 
SIAN BLUE. vol. xill. p. 312. By M, 
BANNACH, APOTHECARY 0 the MiLI- 
TARY HOSPITAL of METZ. 
- NY quantity of horns and hoofs is 
mixed with an equal weight of chip. 
pings ot leather, and the whole fubmitted 
to diftillation in a large iron ‘tetort fixed 
in a reveiberatory furnace: the oil and 
impure.ammonia refulting from this pro- 
cefs are collected in a receiver, and the 
diftiliation is carried on at a high heat till 
no fluid cr vapours of any kind come over. 
The oil and alkali are difpofed of to diffe- 
rent manufaéturers, and the black {pongy 
coal remaining in the retort is the. only 
part made ule of in the preparation of the 
Praffian blue. Ten pounds of this coal, 
and thirty pounds of common potafh, ars 
reduccd together to a coarfe powder, and 
heated to rednefs in an iron pot: by de- 
grees, the mafs is brought into a ftate of 
femifufion, mm which it is fuffered to con- 
tinue nearly twelve hours; at the end of 
this time, when the matter gives out a 
firong odour of liver of fulphur, it is 
taken out red-hot, and thrown into a boiler 
of water, where it undergoes ebullition for - 
about half an hour. The clear liquor is 
feparated by filtration, and the refidue is 
boiled in frefh parcels of water till all the 
faline matter is extracted: thefe different 
lixiviums are then mixed together. -Four 
pounds of alum and one and a half of 
green vitriol are d:flolved in warm water, 
and this falution is added to the former: 
a copious whitith precipitate is immediate- 
ly depofited, which, being collected and 
wafhed acquires by an cxpofure to the air, 
a beautiful biue colour. 
A methed, differing in fome degree 
from the above, is praétifed in a few mae 
nufaGories. Six pounds of clippings of 
leather, fix pounds of hoofs or horns, and 
tenspounds of comimon potafh, are boiled 
together in an iron pot to drynets: the 
refidue is then mixed with two pounds of 
crude tartar, and by means of a ftrong 
fire brought into fufion. The lixiviation 
is conduéted in the ufual way ; anda folu- 
tion of five pounds of green vitriol, and 
fifteen of alum being adcedy a precipi- 
tate takes place, which is the Pruffian 
blue. 
The 
