1799. ] Ficaiedines of the National Infiitute, 4th of Fuly, 1798. 37 
analyfes of this chemift prove that the 
emerald is compofed of filex of alumine, 
of a particular earth, to which they have 
given the name of glucina, of lime, and 
of oxide of chrome. Hence it appears, 
that the emerald, and the beryl] or aigue- 
marine, are two {tones perieétly fimilar, 
compofed of the fame principles, with the 
exception of the golouring matter. 
By a {cientific application of chemical 
“experiments to the art of dying, Citizen 
CHAPTAL has difcovered a fimple procefs 
of ealy execution, to give cotton a yellow 
fhamoy colour, more or leds intente. It 
is particularly by mixing alumine with 
oxide of iron, that this chemift imprefles 
on his colours a foft velvety glofs, which 
is never given by oxide employed alone. 
He has examined the different proceffes 
by which the fame oxide is combined with 
the red of madder, to form the violet 
colour, and has reduced fome very com- 
plicated operations to fimple principles. 
He has alfo explained the reafons why no 
other vegetable fubftance can be. fubftituted 
in dying cetton to the gall-nut, whatever 
quantity of it may be applied. 
To give a ftuff the beautiful red colour 
known by the name of Andrinople red, 
they make ufe in the operation of kali, 
or foda, oil, gall-nuts, fumach, madder, 
fulphur mineral, and many other fub- 
ftances. Citizen CHAPTAL has invelti- 
gated the action of the three principal 
mordicants, oil, gall-nuts, and allum, 
employed in dyimy cotton red. After- 
wards treating .of the more complicated 
and ob{cure operations of the art of dying, 
he has fumifhed a new proof of what 
chemiftry may do for the improvement 
of the arts, when it is directed by a fimple 
and luminous theory. 
Ixali or foda is not confined to the 
Operations of dying cotton only. Soap- 
manufattories, glafs-houfes for white 
glais, and bleaching fields have a demand 
and occafion for Spanifh kali. France 
imports of it annually to the amount of 
four millions, by the ports in the Medi- 
terranean only. It was neceffary there- 
fore to encourage amongft us the culture 
ef the plant which furnifhes the kali of 
Alicant, in order to fecure on the {pot, 
fupplies for our moft valuable manufac- 
tures, and to enrich agriculture and com- 
merce with an annual produét of four mil- 
tions. This is what Citizens CHaPpTaL 
and TExieR have performed; the firit by 
proving, from a feries of many years’ 
experiments, that the plant which fur- 
nifhes the kali of Alicant, may be culti- 
yated with fuccels on the fouthern coatts 
of France, and that the kali produced by 
it is precifely of the fame quality as that 
of Spain: the fecond by laying down all 
the neceffary inftructions hitherto wanted, 
relative to the culture and combutftion of 
this plant, for the fabrication of kali. 
,Some years ago Citizen CLOUVET, an 
affociate member of the inftitute, had an- 
nounced the poffibility of converting ircn 
into cait-fteel, without having recourfe to 
any preliminary cementation. ‘This pro- 
¢eis which he has brought to perfection, 
is fo much the more valuable for the arts 
in which caft-fleel is employed, as it may 
be procured by this means without having 
recourfe to cementation, or to natural 
{ieel, wherever there 1s to be found good 
iron, a maixture of alumine and filex, and 
chalk, 
The goodnefs of a piece of artillery is 
well known to depend effentially on the 
operations connected with the alloy and 
the fufion of the metal. The pewter 
which enters into its cempofition fome- 
times acquires {o much heat during the 
fervice as to enter into fufion, which has 
a tendency to injure the cannon. To re- 
medy this inconvenience, Citizen BEAUME 
propoles to harden the copper with nickel 
or with what was formerly called regulus 
of antimony ; neither of thefe fubftances 
being fo fufible as pewter. 
Experiments made at Rambouilet and 
in different parts of France, have already 
demonftrated the poffibility of propagating: 
and prejerving in all its purity the race of 
Spanifh fheep on the foil of the French re- 
puodlic. Citizen GitBpeERT has communi- 
cated the moft copious initruétions.on this 
important point of rural ceconomy, and has 
furnifhed grounds for the beft founded 
hopes relative to the naturalization in 
France of thofe valuable fheep, whole 
race is perpetuating without any dege- 
neracy. 
The conquefts which we owe to our 
army of the north, by augmenting the 
riches of the mufeum of natural hiftory at 
Paris, have given Citizen LAMARCK an 
opportunity of tracing with precifion the 
diftinétive charagters of the cuttlefih, (/¢ 
jeche) the calmar, and the pulp, (/a 
poulpe) which had been confounded ard 
blended into one fingle kind. He has ex- 
pofed an error prevalent among fome nze- 
turalifts, who had mitaken a pulp, which 
has a habit of lodging in the fhell of ‘the 
argonaut or the papyraceous nautilus, for 
that animal itfelf; there is a {pecies cf 
cray-fifh called Bernard the Hermit (Ber- 
nard L’ Hermite) which lodges, in a fimilar. 
manner, in different forts of fhell-fith. 
We 
