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| author | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 04:49:33 -0700 |
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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/16728-8.txt b/16728-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..25b2612 --- /dev/null +++ b/16728-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11345 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of A Catechism of Familiar Things; Their +History, and the Events Which Led to Their Discovery, by Benziger Brothers + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: A Catechism of Familiar Things; Their History, and the Events Which Led to Their Discovery + With a Short Explanation of Some of the Principal Natural + Phenomena. For the Use of Schools and Families. Enlarged + and Revised Edition. + +Author: Benziger Brothers + +Release Date: September 20, 2005 [EBook #16728] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A CATECHISM OF FAMILIAR *** + + + + +Produced by Suzanne Shell, Sankar Viswanathan, and the +Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + + [Illustration: THE AURORA BOREALIS IN THE ARCTIC REGIONS.] + + + A + CATECHISM + OF + FAMILIAR THINGS; + + THEIR HISTORY, AND THE EVENTS WHICH LED TO + THEIR DISCOVERY. + + + _WITH A SHORT EXPLANATION OF SOME OF THE PRINCIPAL_ + + NATURAL PHENOMENA. + + + + FOR THE USE OF SCHOOLS AND FAMILIES. + + Enlarged and Revised Edition. + + + + NEW YORK, CINCINNATI, AND ST. LOUIS: + BENZIGER BROTHERS + PRINTERS TO THE HOLY APOSTOLIC SEE. + + + + + + COPYRIGHT, 1881, BY BENZIGER BROTHERS. + + + + +PREFACE. + + +This book, a reprint of a successful English publication, has been so +enlarged as to be to all intents and purposes new. It has been +carefully revised by a Reverend gentleman, who for some time filled +the chair of Physics and Chemistry in one of our colleges. + +Recent inventions and improvements are described in a simple, popular +style, so as to be easily understood by all, and short notices are +given of prominent inventors and scientists. The paragraphs relating +to doctrinal matters conform in every respect to the teachings of the +Church. + +A feature which will commend the book to every teacher is the +definitions of difficult words and terms, following the paragraphs in +which such words occur. + +Technical language is avoided as much as possible, so as to enable +young pupils to become familiarly acquainted with the various +phenomena of nature, the leading characteristics and general history +of the objects of the animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms, and the +fundamental truths of the arts and sciences. + +The illustrations are of a superior order, and a very complete Index, +which will be appreciated by every teacher, supplements the book. In a +word, no pains have been spared to enhance the value of the work, and +render it an important auxiliary in the dissemination of useful and +entertaining knowledge. + +The publishers beg to acknowledge their obligations to the Sisters of +Mercy, Loretto, Pa., to whose kindness they are indebted for many +valuable suggestions. + +In the hope that the book may be found suited to the accomplishment of +its aim, it is respectfully submitted to schools and instructors of +youth, who are the best judges of its merits. + + + + +CONTENTS. + + CHAPTER + + I. Dew, Water, Rain, Snow, Hail, Atmosphere, Wind, Lightning, + Thunder, Electricity, Twilight, and the Aurora + Borealis + + II. Corn, Barley, Pearl Barley, Oats, Rye, Potatoes, Tea, + Coffee, and Chocolate + + III. Calico, Cotton, Cloth, Wool, Baize, Linen, Flax, Hemp, + Diaper, Holland, Canvas, and Flannel + + IV. Cocoa, Toddy, Cherries, Bark, Cork, Cochineal, Cloves, + Cinnamon, and Cassia + + V. Bombazine, Crape, Camlet, Cambric, Lace, Silk, Velvet, + and Mohair + + VI. Currants, Raisins, Figs, Rice, Sugar, Sugar Candy, &c., + Sago, Millet, Ginger, Nutmeg, Mace, Pimento or Allspice, + Pepper, and Cayenne Pepper + + VII. Glass, Mirrors, Earthenware, Porcelain, Needles, Pins, + Paper, Printing, Parchment, and Vellum + + VIII. Capers, Almonds, Oranges, Lemons, Citrons, Limes, Olives, + Oils, Melons, Tamarinds, and Dates + + IX. Hats, Stockings, Shoes, Gloves, Leather, Furs, and Ink + + X. Asbestus, Salt, Coal, Iron, Copper, Brass, Zinc, and Lapis + Calaminaris + + XI. Yams, Mangoes, Bread-Fruit, Shea or Butter Tree, Cow + Tree, Water Tree, Licorice, Manna, Opium, Tobacco, + and Gum + + XII. Spectacles, Mariner's Compass, Barometer, Thermometer, + Watches, Clocks, Telescope, Microscope, Gunpowder, + Steam Engine, and Electro-Magnetic Telegraph + + XIII. Soap, Candles, Tallow Tree, Spermaceti, Wax, Mahogany, + India Rubber or Caoutchouc, Sponge, Coral, + Lime, Carbon, Oxygen, Nitrogen, Gas, Hydrogen, + Chalk, and Marble + + XIV. Gold, Silver, Lead, Tin, Platina, Sulphur, Gems or + Precious Stones--as Diamonds, Rubies, Emeralds, + Turquois, Pearls, Mother-of-Pearl, and Ivory + + XV. Starch, Arrow-root, Tapioca, Isinglass, Caviare, the + Vine, Wine, Gin, Rum, Brandy, Vinegar, Indigo, + Gamboge, Logwood, Tar, Pitch, Camphor, Musk, + Myrrh, Frankincense, and Turpentine + + XVI. Bricks, Mortar, Granite, Slate, Limestone, or Calcareous + Rocks, Steel, Earths, Volcanoes, and Earthquakes + + XVII. Architecture, Sculpture, Use of Money, and Navigation + + XVIII. Music, Painting, Poetry, Astronomy, Arts and + Sciences, Art of Writing, and Chemistry + + XIX. Attraction, Tides, Gravity, Artesian Wells, Air, + Aneroid Barometer, Ear-Trumpet, Stethoscope, + Audiphone, Telephone, Phonograph, Microphone, + Megaphone, Tasimeter, Bathometer, Anemometer, + Chronometer + + XX. Light, Lime Light, Magnesium Light, Electric Light, + Rainbow, Prism, Spectrum, Colors, Photography, + Camera Obscura, Stereoscope, Kaleidoscope + + XXI. Electricity, Electric Currents, Electric Battery, Electrotyping, + Stereotyping, Telegraph, Ocean Cable, + Lightning Rod, The Gulf Stream, The Mt. Cenis + Tunnel, The Suez Canal, Suspension Bridges, Eminent + Americans + + + + +A CATECHISM + +OF + +FAMILIAR THINGS. + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +DEW, WATER, RAIN, SNOW, HAIL, ATMOSPHERE, WIND, LIGHTNING, +THUNDER, ELECTRICITY, TWILIGHT, AND THE AURORA BOREALIS. + + +What is Dew? + +Moisture collected from the atmosphere by the action of cold. During +the day, the powerful heat of the sun causes to arise from the earth +and water a moist vapor, which, after the sun sinks below the horizon, +is condensed by the cold, and falls in the form of dew. Dews are more +copious in the Spring and Autumn than at any other season; in warm +countries than in cold ones: because of the sudden changes of +temperature. Egypt abounds in dews all the summer; for the air being +too hot to condense the vapors in the day-time, they never gather into +clouds and form rain. + + _Horizon_, the line which bounds the view on all sides, so + that the earth and sky appear to meet. A Greek word, from + the verb signifying to mark boundaries. + + _Temperature_, degree of heat or cold. + + _Condense_, to cause the particles of a body to approach or + unite more closely. + + +What are its uses? + +It cools and refreshes the vegetable creation, and prevents it from +being destroyed by the heat of the sun. All hot countries where there +is little or no rain are therefore blessed with this provision by the +all-bountiful Creator, to render them luxuriant and inhabitable; and +the dews which fall are so copious, that the earth is as deeply soaked +with them during the night as if a heavy rain had fallen. For this +reason also it is, that we so often read in the Bible of the "dew of +Heaven" being promised to the Israelites as a signal favor. + + _Luxuriant_, fertile, flourishing. + + _Signal_, remarkable, eminent. + + +From what does the vapor originate? + +Vapor is water, combined with a still greater quantity of +caloric,--that is, an imponderable and subtile form of matter, which +causes the sensation of heat; and which, driving asunder the particles +of the water, renders it aëriform. + + _Imponderable_, without sensible weight. + + _Subtile_, thin, not dense, or compact. + + _Particle_, a small portion of matter. + + _Aëriform_, having the form of air. + + +What is Water? + +The fluid which covers more than three-fifths of the surface of our +globe, and which is necessary for the life and health of the animal +and vegetable creation; for without water there would be neither rain +nor dew, and everything would perish. It is likewise a necessary +beverage for man and the inferior animals. + + _Beverage_, drink, liquor for drinking. + + +In how many states do we find Water? + +In four: 1st, solid, as in ice, snow, hail, &c.; 2d, fluid, as in its +common form; 3d, aëriform, as in steam; and 4th, in a state of union +with other matter. Its most simple state is that of ice, which is +water deprived of a certain portion of its caloric: crystallization +then takes place, and the water becomes solid and is called ice. + + _Crystallization_, the process by which the parts of a solid + body, separated by solution or fusion, are again brought + into the solid form. If the process is slow, the figure + assumed is regular and bounded by plane and smooth surfaces. + + _Solution_, the diffusion of a solid through some liquid. + + _Fusion_, melting, or rendering fluid by heat. + + +From what cause is the Water deprived of its caloric? + +From the coldness of the atmosphere: underneath the poles of our globe +it is mostly solid; there it is similar to the hardest rocks, and may +be cut with a chisel, like stone or marble. This great solidity is +occasioned by the low temperature of the surrounding air; and in very +cold countries ice may be ground so fine as to be blown away by the +wind, and will still be ice. + + _Poles_, the extremities or ends of the axis, an imaginary + line, supposed to be drawn through the centre of the earth; + or when applied to the heavens, the two points directly over + them. + + +Is ice the only instance of Water existing in a state of solidity? + +No; it is found in a solid state in many minerals, as in marble, &c., +and is then called _water of Crystallization_. It is essential, in +many cases, to their solidity and transparency. + + _Essential_, necessary. + + _Transparency_, clearness, the power of transmitting light. + + +Does Nature decompose Water in any of her operations? + +Yes: every living vegetable has the power of decomposing water, by a +secret process peculiar to itself. Fish, too, and all cold-blooded +amphibious animals are gifted with the same power. + + _Decomposing_, separating a mixed body into its several + parts. + + _Amphibious_, able to live both in water and out of it. + + +Of what use is this power to vegetables? + +The water which they decompose affords them nourishment for the +support of their vital juices, and enables them, by combining the +fluid gases which compose it with those of the air and the soil, to +form their different products; while the superfluous gas is abundantly +given out by their leaves, to refresh the spent air, and render it +wholesome for the animals that breathe it. + + _Vital_, belonging to life, necessary to existence. + + _Superfluous_, unnecessary, not wanted. + + +What is Rain? + +The condensed aqueous vapors raised in the atmosphere by the sun and +wind, converted into clouds, which fall in rain, snow, hail, or mist: +their falling is occasioned by their own weight in a collision +produced by contrary currents of wind, from the clouds passing into a +colder part of the air, or by electricity. If the vapors are more +copious, and rise a little higher, they form a mist or fog, which is +visible to the eye; higher still they produce rain. Hence we may +account for the changes of the weather: why a cold summer is always a +wet one--a warm, a dry one. + + _Aqueous_, watery; consisting of water. + + _Collision_, a striking together, a clash, a meeting. + + _Electricity_, a natural agent existing in all bodies (see + page 18). + + +What seasons are more liable to rain than others? + +The Spring and Autumn are generally the most rainy seasons, the vapors +_rise_ more plentifully in Spring; and in the Autumn, as the sun +recedes from us and the cold increases, the vapors, which lingered +above us during the summer heats, _fall_ more easily. + + _Recede_, to fall back, to retreat. + + +What is Snow? + +Rain congealed by cold in the atmosphere, which causes it to fall to +the earth in white flakes. Snow fertilizes the ground by defending the +roots of plants from the intenser cold of the air and the piercing +winds. + + _Congealed_, turned by the force of cold from a fluid to a + solid state; hardened. + + _Fertilize_, to render fruitful. + + _Intenser_, raised to a higher degree, more powerful. + + +What is Hail? + +Drops of rain frozen in their passage through cold air. Hail assumes +various figures according to the degrees of heat or cold through which +it passes, being sometimes round, flat, &c. + + +What is the Atmosphere? + +The mass of aëriform fluid which encompasses the earth on all sides: +it extends about fifty miles above its surface. Air is the elastic +fluid of which it is composed. + + _Elastic_, having the power of springing back, or recovering + its former figure after the removal of any external pressure + which has altered that figure. When the force which + compresses the air is removed, it expands and resumes its + former state. + + +What are the uses of air? + +It is necessary to the well-being of man, since without it neither he +nor any animal or vegetable could exist. If it were not for +atmospheric air, we should be unable to converse with each other; we +should know nothing of sound or smell; or of the pleasures which arise +from the variegated prospects which surround us: it is to the presence +of air and carbonic acid that water owes its agreeable taste. Boiling +deprives it of the greater part of these, and renders it insipid. + + _Variegated_, diversified, changed; adorned with different + colors. + + _Insipid_, tasteless. + + +What is Wind? + +Air in motion with any degree of velocity. + + +What is Lightning? + +The effect of electricity in the clouds. A flash of lightning is +simply a stream of the electric fluid passing from the clouds to the +earth, from the earth to the clouds, or from one cloud to another. +Lightning usually strikes the highest and most pointed objects, as +high hills, trees, spires, masts of ships, &c. + + +What is Thunder? + +The report which accompanies the electrical union of the clouds: or +the echoes of the report between them and the earth. Thunder is caused +by a sudden discharge of electrical matter collected in the air, by +which vibrations are produced, which give rise to the sound. + + +What is Electricity? + +One of those agents passing through the earth and all substances, +without giving any outward signs of its presence, when at rest; yet +when active, often producing violent and destructive effects. It is +_supposed_ to be a highly elastic fluid, capable of moving through +matter. Clouds owe their form and existence, probably, to it; and it +passes through all substances, but more easily through metals, water, +the human body, &c., which are called conductors, than through air, +glass, and silk, which are called _non_-conductors. When bodies are +not surrounded with non-conductors, the electricity escapes quickly +into the earth. + + +To what part of bodies is Electricity confined? + +To their surfaces, as the outside may be electric, and the inside in a +state of neutrality. The heat produced by an electric shock is very +powerful, but is only accompanied by light when the fluid is +obstructed in its passage. The production and condensation of vapor is +a great source of the atmospheric electricity. + + _Condensation_, the act of making any body dense or compact; + that is, of bringing its parts into closer union. + + +In what other sense is the term Electricity employed? + +This term is also employed to designate that important branch of +knowledge which relates to the properties shown by certain bodies when +rubbed against, or otherwise brought in contact with, each other, to +attract substances, and emit sparks of fire. + + _Designate_, to point out by some particular token. + + _Emit_, to send forth, to throw out. + +[Illustration: CUTTING AND GATHERING ICE, ON THE HUDSON RIVER, NEW +YORK.] + + +Whence is the word derived? + +From _electron_, the Greek word for amber, a yellow transparent +substance, remarkable for its electrical power when rubbed: amber is +of a resinous nature, and is collected from the sea-shore, or dug from +the earth, in many parts of the world. It is employed in the +manufacture of beads and other toys, on account of its transparency; +is of some use in medicine, and in the making of varnishes. + + _Transparent_, clear, capable of being seen through. + + _Resinous_, containing resin, a gummy vegetable juice. + + +Name a few substances possessing this remarkable property. + +Silks of all kinds; the hair and fur of animals, paper, sulphur, and +some other minerals; most of the precious stones; the paste of which +false gems are made; and many other substances used by us in the +common affairs of life, are susceptible of electrical excitement; +among domestic animals the cat furnishes a remarkable instance. When +dry and warm, the back of almost any full-grown cat (the darker its +color the better) can be excited by rubbing it with the hand in the +direction of the hair, a process which is accompanied with a slight +snapping noise, and in the dark by flashes of pale blue light. When a +piece of glass is rubbed with silk, or a stick of red sealing-wax with +woollen cloth, each substance acquires the property of attracting and +repelling feathers, straws, threads of cotton, and other light +substances; the substances just mentioned as highly electric are, +however, merely specimens. All objects, without exception, most +probably are capable of being electrically excited; but some require +more complicated contrivances to produce it than others. + + _Electric_, having the properties of electricity. + + _Susceptible_, disposed to admit easily. + + _Repelling_, the act of driving back. + + _Complicated_, formed by the union of several parts in one. + + +Is there not a machine by which we are enabled to obtain large +supplies of electric power at pleasure? + +Yes; the electrical machine. It is made of different forms and sizes: +for common purposes those of the simplest form are the best. A common +form of the machine consists of a circular plate of glass, which can +be turned about a horizontal axis by means of a suitable handle. This +plate turns between two supports, and near its upper and lower edges +are two pairs of cushions, usually made of leather, stuffed with +horse-hair and coated with a mixture of zinc, tin, and mercury, called +an _amalgam_. These cushions are the rubbers for producing friction, +and are connected with the earth by means of a metal chain or rod. Two +large hollow cylinders of brass with globular ends, each supported by +two glass pillars, constitute the reservoir for receiving the +electricity. They are called the _prime conductors_, and are supplied +with U-shaped rods of metal, furnished with points along their sides, +called _combs_, for the purpose of receiving the electricity from the +glass plate, the arms of the U being held upon either side. The other +ends of the conductors are connected by a rod from the middle of which +projects another rod terminating in a knob, for delivering the spark. + +On turning the plate, a faint snapping sound is heard, and when the +room is darkened, a spark is seen to be thrown out from the knob +projecting from the _prime conductors_. + +Many curious and interesting experiments may be performed by means of +the machine, illustrating the general properties of electricity. For +instance: a person standing on an insulated bench, that is, a bench +with glass legs, or having the legs resting on glass, and having one +hand on the conductor, can send sparks, with the other hand, to +everything and everybody about. This illustrates communication of +electricity by contact. A wooden head, covered with long hairs, when +placed on the conductor, illustrates electrical repulsion, by the +hairs standing on end. + +If the hand is held to the knob, sparks will pass from it in rapid +succession, causing in the hand a sensation of pain. This is called an +_electric shock_, and is caused by the electric fluid occasioning a +sudden motion by the contraction of the muscles through which it +passes. The force of the shock is in proportion to the power of the +machine. + + +What are the Muscles? + +Bundles of thin fleshy fibres, or threads, fastened to the bones of +animals, the contraction and expansion of which move the bones or +perform the organic functions of life. + + _Organic_, relating to organs or natural instruments by + which some process is carried on. + + _Functions_, employments or offices of any part of the body. + + _Contraction_, drawing in or shortening. + + _Expansion_, extending or spreading out. + + +What is Twilight? + +The light from the first dawning of day to the rising of the sun; and +again between its setting and the last remains of day. Without +twilight, the sun's light would appear at its rising, and disappear at +its setting, instantaneously; and we should experience a sudden +transition from the brightest sunshine to the profoundest obscurity. +The duration of twilight is different in different climates; and in +the same places it varies at different periods of the year. + + _Instantaneously_, done in an instant, in a moment's time. + + _Obscurity_, darkness, want of light. + + +How is it produced? + +By the sun's refraction--that is, the variation of the rays of light +from their direct course, occasioned by the difference of density in +the atmosphere. + + _Variation_, change. + + _Density_, closeness of parts, compactness. + + +What is the poetical name for the morning Twilight? + +Aurora, the goddess of the morning, and harbinger of the rising sun: +whom poets and artists represent as drawn by white horses in a +rose-colored chariot, unfolding with her rosy fingers the portals of +the East, pouring reviving dew upon the earth, and re-animating plants +and flowers. + + _Harbinger_, a forerunner. + + _Portals_, gates, doors of entrance. + + _Reanimating_, invigorating with new life. + + +What remarkable phenomenon is afforded to the inhabitants of the polar +regions? + +The Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights, a luminous appearance in the +northern parts of the heavens, seen mostly during winter, or in frosty +weather, and clear evenings; it assumes a variety of forms and hues, +especially in the polar regions, where it appears in its perfection, +and proves a great solace to the inhabitants amidst the gloom of their +long winter's night, which lasts from one to six months, while the +summer's day which succeeds it lasts in like manner for the same +period of time. + + +Of what nature is the Aurora Borealis? + +It is decidedly an electrical phenomenon which takes place in the +higher regions of the atmosphere. It is somehow connected with the +magnetic poles of the earth; and generally appears in form of a +luminous arch, from east to west, but never from north to south. + + _Phenomenon_, an extraordinary appearance. The word is from + a Greek one, signifying, to show or appear. + + _Magnetic_, belonging to the magnet, or loadstone. + + _Luminous_, bright, shining. + + +In what country is it seen constantly from October to Christmas? + +In Siberia, where it is remarkably bright. On the western coast of +Hudson's Bay, the sun no sooner disappears, than the Aurora Borealis +diffuses a thousand different lights and colors with such dazzling +beauty, that even the full moon cannot eclipse it. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +CORN, BARLEY, PEARL BARLEY, OATS, RYE, POTATOES, TEA, COFFEE, AND +CHOCOLATE. + + +What is Corn? + +Corn signifies a race of plants which produce grain in an ear or head, +fit for bread, the food of man; or the grain or seed of the plant, +separated from the ear. + + +What is generally meant by Corn? + +In this country, maize, or Indian corn, is generally meant; but, in a +more comprehensive sense, the term is applied to several other kinds +of grain, such as wheat, rye, barley, oats, &c. + + +Where was Corn first used? + +It is uncertain. The Athenians pretend that it was amongst them it was +first used; the Cretans, Sicilians, and Egyptians also lay claim to +the same. From the accounts in the Bible, we find that its culture +engaged a large share of the attention of the ancient Hebrews. + + _Culture_, growth, cultivation. _Hebrews_, the children of + Israel, the Jews + + +Who were the Athenians? + +Inhabitants of Athens, the capital city of Greece. + + +Who were the Cretans? + +The inhabitants of Crete, an island of the Archipelago. + + +Who were the Sicilians? + +Inhabitants of Sicily, the largest island of the Mediterranean Sea, +now a part of Italy, and separated from the mainland by the Strait of +Messina. + + +Where do the Egyptians dwell? + +In Egypt, a country of Africa. It is extremely fertile, producing +great quantities of corn. In ancient times it was called the dry nurse +of Rome and Italy, from its furnishing with corn a considerable part +of the Roman Empire; and we are informed, both from sacred and +profane history, that it was anciently the most fertile in corn of all +countries of the world. The corn of Syria has always been very +superior, and by many classed above that of Egypt. + + +For what is Barley generally used? + +It is very extensively used for making malt, from which are prepared +beer, ale, porter, &c.; in Scotland it is a common ingredient in +broths, for which reason its consumption is very considerable, barley +broth being a dish very frequent there. + + _Ingredient_, a separate part of a body consisting of + different materials. + + +What is Pearl Barley? + +Barley freed from the husk by a mill. + + +What are Oats? + +A valuable grain, serving as food for horses. Oats are also eaten by +the inhabitants of many countries, after being ground into meal and +made into oat cakes. Oatmeal also forms a wholesome drink for +invalids, by steeping it in boiling water. + + +What are the uses of Rye? + +In this and some other countries it is much used for bread, either +alone or mixed with wheat; in England principally as food for cattle, +especially for sheep and lambs, when other food is scarce in winter. +Rye yields a strong spirit when distilled. + + _Distilled_, subjected to distillation--the operation of + extracting spirit from a substance by evaporation and + condensation. + + +Of what country is the Potato a native? + +Potatoes grew wild in Peru, a country of South America; whence they +were transplanted to other parts of the American continent, and +afterwards to Europe. The honor of introducing this useful vegetable +into England is divided between Sir Francis Drake, in 1580, and Sir +Walter Raleigh, in 1586, some ascribing it to the former, and others +to the latter. It is certain they were obtained from Virginia in the +time of Raleigh; they were cultivated only in the gardens of the +nobility, and were reckoned a great delicacy. They now constitute a +principal article of food in most of the countries of Europe and +America; in Ireland, they have long furnished nearly four-fifths of +the entire food of the people. + + +What part of the plant is eaten? + +The root, which, when roasted or boiled, affords a wholesome and +agreeable meal. + + +What is Tea? + +The leaves of an evergreen shrub, a native of China and Japan, in +which countries alone it is extensively cultivated for use. The +tea-plant was at one time introduced into South Carolina, where its +culture appears to have been attended with but little success. It may +yet become a staple production of some portions of the United States. + + _Evergreen_, retaining its leaves fresh and green through + all seasons. + + +How is it prepared for use? + +By carefully gathering the leaves, one by one, while they are yet +small, young, and juicy. They are then spread on large flat iron pans, +and placed over small furnaces, when they are constantly shifted by +the hand till they become too hot to be borne. + + +What is next done? + +They are then removed with a kind of shovel resembling a fan, and +poured on mats, whence they are taken in small quantities, and rolled +in the palm of the hand always in one direction, until they cool and +retain the curl. + + +How often is this operation repeated? + +Two or three times, the furnace each time being made less hot. The tea +is then placed in the store-houses, or packed in chests, and sent to +most of the countries in Europe and America. + + +Describe the appearance of the Tea-tree. + +The Tea-tree when arrived at its full growth, which it does in about +seven years, is about a man's height; the green leaves are narrow, and +jagged all round; the flower resembles that of the wild rose, but is +smaller. The shrub loves to grow in valleys, at the foot of mountains, +and on the banks of rivers where it enjoys a southern exposure to the +sun; though it endures considerable variation of heat and cold, as it +flourishes in the northern clime of Pekin, where the winter is often +severe; and also about Canton, where the heat is sometimes very great. +The best tea, however, grows in a temperate climate, the country about +Nankin producing better tea than either Pekin or Canton, between which +two places it is situated. + + +What produces the difference between Green and Bohea, or Black? + +There are varieties of the plant, and the difference of the tea arises +from the mode of preparation. + + +What nation first introduced it into Europe? + +The Dutch in 1610; it was introduced into England in 1650 + + +What is Coffee? + +The berry of the coffee-tree, a native of Arabia. The coffee-tree is +an evergreen, and makes a beautiful appearance at all times of the +year, but especially when in flower, and when the berries are red, +which is usually during the winter. It is also cultivated in Persia, +the East Indies, Liberia on the coast of Africa, the West Indies, +Brazil and other parts of South America, as well as in most tropical +climates. + + _Tropical_, being within the tropics, that is, in the Torrid + Zone. + + +Who was the original discoverer of Coffee, for the drink of man? + +It is not exactly known: the earliest written accounts of the use of +Coffee are by Arabian writers in the 15th century; it appears that in +the city of Aden it became, in the latter half of that century, a very +popular drink, first with lawyers, studious persons, and those whose +occupation required wakefulness at night, and soon after, with all +classes. Its use gradually extended to other cities, and to those on +the eastern shores of the Mediterranean. Towards the end of the +seventeenth century, it was carried to Batavia where it was soon +extensively planted, and at last young trees were sent to the +botanical garden at Amsterdam. + + +Who introduced it into France and England? + +Thevenot, the traveller, brought it into France, and a Greek servant +named Pasqua (taken to England by Mr. Daniel Edwards, a Turkey +merchant, in 1652, to make his coffee,) first set up the profession of +coffee-man, and introduced the drink among the English. + + +How is it prepared? + +The berries are roasted in a revolving metallic cylinder, till they +are of a deep brown color, and then ground to powder, and boiled. + + _Metallic_, consisting of metal. + + +What is Chocolate? + +A kind of cake or paste, made of the kernel of the cacao-nut. + + +Describe the Cacao-nut Tree. + +It resembles the cherry tree, and grows to the height of fifteen or +sixteen feet. The cacao-nut tree bears leaves, flowers, and fruit, all +the year through. + + +Where does it grow? + +In tropical regions, where it is largely cultivated. + + +Of what form is the fruit? + +It is somewhat like a cucumber, about three inches round, and of a +yellowish red color. It contains from ten to forty seeds, each covered +with a little rind, of a violet color; when this is stripped off, the +kernel, of which they make the chocolate, is visible. + + +How do they make it into a drink? + +By boiling it with water or milk. There are various newly-invented +ways of preparing chocolate, so that it may be made in a few minutes, +by only pouring boiling water upon it. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +CALICO, COTTON, CLOTH, WOOL, BAIZE, LINEN, FLAX, HEMP, DIAPER, +HOLLAND, CANVAS, AND FLANNEL. + + +What is Calico? + +A kind of printed cotton cloth, of different colors. + + +From what place did it take its name? + +From Calicut, a city on the coast of Malabar, where it was first made; +much is now manufactured in the United States, England, and many other +countries. + + +What is Cotton? + +A downy or woolly substance, enclosed in the pod, or seed-vessel, of +the cotton-plant. The commercial classification of cotton is +determined--1, by cleanliness or freedom from sand, dry leaf, and +other impurities; 2, by absence of color; both subject also to +character of staple, length, and strength and fineness of fibre. These +together determine relative value. There are two general +classifications, long-stapled and short-stapled. Of the former the +best is the sea island cotton of the United States. The _short staple +cotton_, grows in the middle and upper country; the long staple is +cultivated in the lower country near the sea, and on the islands near +the coasts. + + +How is it cultivated? + +The seeds are sown in ridges made with the plough or hoe; when the +plants are mature, the pods open, and the cotton is picked from them. + + +Where did Cotton anciently grow, and for what was it used? + +In Egypt, where it was used by the priests and sacrificers, for a very +singular kind of garment worn by them alone. + + +In what manufacture is it now used? + +It is woven into muslins, dimities, cloths, calicoes, &c.; and is +also joined with silks and flax, in the composition of other stuffs, +and in working with the needle. + + +How is the Cotton separated from the seed? + +By machines called _cotton gins_, of which there are two kinds; the +_roller-gin_, and the _saw-gin_. In the former, the cotton, just as +gathered from the plant, is drawn between two rollers, placed so +closely together as to permit the passage of the cotton, but not of +the seeds, which are consequently left behind. In the _saw-gin_, the +cotton is placed in a receiver, one side of which consists of a +grating of parallel wires, about an eighth of an inch apart; circular +saws, revolving on a common axis between these wires, entangle in +their teeth the cotton, and draw it from the seeds, which are too +large to pass between the wires. + + +How is it made into Calico, &c.? + +The cotton having been separated from the seed, is spun by a machine +for the purpose. It is next woven, then dressed, and printed. + + +What is Cloth? + +The word, in its general sense, includes all kinds of stuffs woven in +the loom, whether the threads be of wool, cotton, hemp, or flax. + + +To what is it more particularly applied? + +To a web or tissue of woollen threads. + + _Web_, any thing woven. + + +What is Wool? + +The covering or hair of sheep. To prepare it for the weaver, it is +first shorn, washed, and dried, then carded or combed by machinery +into fibres or threads: formerly this was always performed by the +hand, by means of an instrument, called a comb, with several rows of +pointed teeth; this, though not much used now, is still occasionally +employed, except in large factories. This combing is repeated two or +three times, till it is sufficiently smooth and even for spinning. +Spinning or converting wool, or cotton, silk, &c. into thread, was +anciently performed by the distaff and spindle: these we find +mentioned in sacred history, and they have been used in all ages, and +in all countries yet discovered. The natives of India, and of some +other parts of the world, still employ this simple invention. + + +What was the next improvement? + +The invention of the hand-wheel. In 1767, a machine called the +spinning-jenny was invented by a weaver named Hargreaves; but the +greatest improvement in the art of spinning was effected by Mr. +Arkwright, in 1768: these two inventions were combined, and again +improved upon in 1776; so that by the new plan, the material can be +converted into thread in a considerably shorter space of time than in +the ancient mode; leaving to man merely to feed the machine, and join +the threads when they break. The sheep, whose wool forms the material +for nearly all woollen clothing, came originally from Africa. + + +Does weaving differ according to the material used? + +The principle of weaving is the same in every kind of fabric, and +consists in forming any kind of thread into a flat web, or cloth, by +interlacing one thread with another; the various appearances of the +manufacture arise as much from the modes in which the threads are +interwoven, as from the difference of material. + + +Is not the employment of Wool in the manufacture of Clothing of great +antiquity? + +In the earliest records we possess of the arts of mankind, wool is +mentioned as forming a chief article in the manufacture of clothing; +it is spoken of in the Bible, as a common material for cloth, as early +as the time of Moses. The ancient Greeks and Romans are well known to +have possessed this art. At the beginning of the thirteenth century, +the manufacture was established in many parts of Europe, particularly +in Spain, from which country it extended itself to France and Italy. +There is no doubt that it was introduced into England by its +conquerors the Romans, a manufactory being established at Winchester, +sufficiently large to supply the Roman army. + + _Manufactory_, a place where things are made or + manufactured; derived from the Latin _manus_, a hand, and + the verb _facio_, to do or make. + + +What circumstance contributed to the progress of this manufacture +among the English? + +In 1330, the English, being desirous of improving their woollen +manufacture, invited over the Flemings, by the offer of various +privileges, to establish manufactories there. The skill of these +people soon effected a great improvement in the English fabrics, so +that there no longer remained any occasion for the exportation of +English wool into Flanders, to be manufactured into fine cloth; and a +law was passed by the government to forbid it. Both the cotton and +woollen manufactures have, of late years, arisen to great importance +in the United States. + + +What country affords the best Wool? + +The wool of Germany is most esteemed at the present day: that of Spain +was formerly the most valuable, but the Spanish breed of sheep, having +been introduced into Germany, succeeded better there than in Spain, +and increased so rapidly, that the Spanish wool trade has greatly +diminished. Australia is one of the principal wool-growing countries +in the world, for the breed of sheep sent out to that country and +Tasmania has succeeded remarkably well. + + +What part of the world is meant by Australia? + +A British Island in the South Pacific Ocean, comprising the Colonies +of Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, and Western +Australia. It is the principal of the group of large islands, in the +Oriental Archipelago. Tasmania is another of the same group, separated +from New South Wales by a channel called Bass's Strait, and also +belongs to Great Britain. + + +What is meant by an Archipelago? + +A part of a sea studded with numerous islands; but the term is more +particularly applied to that lying between Europe and Asia, which +contains the Greek Islands. The word is a corruption from the Greek, +signifying the Ægean Sea. + + +Is the Wool of the sheep all of one quality? + +No; it varies according to the species of sheep, the soil on which +they are fed, and the part of the animal from which it is taken: the +chief distinction is between the long and the short wool; the long +wool is employed in the manufacture of carpets, crapes, blankets, &c.; +and the finer and shorter sorts for hosiery, broadcloths &c. + + +Where were Carpets originally made? + +Carpets are of oriental origin, and are made of different sorts of +stuffs; they are woven in a variety of ways. Persian and Turkey +carpets are most esteemed; they are woven in a piece, in looms of a +very simple construction. Formerly the manufacture of these carpets +was confined to Persia and Turkey; but they are now successfully made, +both in Europe and the United States, &c. Great Britain is the +principal seat of the carpet manufacture of the world. Brussels, +Wilton, and Kidderminster carpets derive their names from the places +where they were invented. + + +Is not the art of weaving very ancient? + +It appears to have been known from a period as early as the time of +Abraham and Jacob; its inventor is not known, but it is possible that +men took a lesson from the ingenious spider, which weaves its web +after the same manner. The ancient Egyptians appear to have brought it +to great perfection, and were even acquainted with the art of +interweaving colors after the manner of the Scottish plaid. + + +What is Baize? + +A coarse, open, woollen stuff, with a long nap. It is chiefly made in +the United States, England, France, &c. + + +What is Linen? + +There are various kinds of linen, made from cotton, flax, and hemp; +but the term is chiefly applied to that woven with the two last +mentioned. Linen means cloth of flax; hence its derivation from the +Latin word _linum_, flax. + + +What is Flax? + +An annual plant, the fibres of which are beaten into threads, spun, +and afterwards woven into linen; it is extensively cultivated in the +United States, Russia, and some other countries of Europe. Hemp is a +plant of a similar nature, equally used with flax, in the manufacture +of linens. Russian hemp is cultivated to a larger extent than that of +any other country, and is considered the best that is grown. + + +How long has the use of Hemp and Flax been known? + +Those plants are said to be natives of Persia, and introduced from +some parts of the East into Europe, over which it is now widely +distributed: it existed both in a wild and cultivated state, in some +parts of Russia, as early as five centuries before Christ These +products form a considerable article of exportation, besides the +quantity used in Russia itself; a considerable part is wrought into +linens, diapers, canvas, and other manufactures; and even the seeds +are exported, both in their natural state and as oil. In various parts +of Russia, hemp-seed oil and flax-seed (or linseed) oil are prepared +in very large quantities. + + +What is Diaper? + +A sort of linen cloth, woven in flowers, and other figures; it is said +to have received its name from d'Iper, now Ypres, a town of Belgium, +situated on a river of the same name, where it was first made. + + +What is Holland? + +A fine, close, even, linen cloth, used for sheets, &c. It obtained its +name from being principally made in Holland. + + +What is Canvas? + +A hempen cloth, so loosely woven as to leave interstices between the +threads, in little squares. It is used for working in patterns upon it +with wools, &c.; by painters for a ground work on which they draw +their pictures; for tents, sails, and many other purposes. There are +several sorts, varying in the fineness of their texture. + + +What is Damask? + +A sort of silken stuff, having some parts raised on its surface to +represent flowers or figures. It took its name from Damascus, in +Syria, whence it was first brought. + + +Is there not another sort of Damask? + +Yes, made from linen; and so called because its large flowers resemble +those of damask roses. It was first made in Flanders, and is used for +table linen, &c. + + +What is Flannel? + +A slight, loose, woollen stuff, used for warm clothing; it was +originally made in Wales, where it still continues to be manufactured +in great perfection. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +COCOA, TODDY, CHERRIES, BARK, CORK, COCHINEAL, CLOVES, CINNAMON, +AND CASSIA. + + +Of what form is the tree which bears those large nuts, called Cocoa +nuts? + +It is tall and straight, without branches, and generally about thirty +or forty feet high; at the top are twelve leaves, ten feet long, and +half a foot broad; above the leaves, grows a large excrescence in the +form of a cabbage, excellent to eat, but taking it off kills the tree. +The cocoa is a species of Palm. + + +Is not the Indian liquor called Toddy, produced from the Cocoa Tree? + +Yes, between the leaves and the top arise several shoots about the +thickness of a man's arm, which, when cut, distil a white, sweet, +and agreeable liquor; while this liquor exudes, the tree yields no +fruit; but when the shoots are allowed to grow, it puts out a large +cluster or branch, on which the cocoa nuts hang, to the number of ten +or twelve. + + _Distil_, to let fall in drops. + + _Exude_, to force or throw out. + +[Illustration: THE CATHEDRAL OF MILAN, ITALY.] + + +How often does this tree produce nuts? + +Three times a year, the nuts being about the size of a man's head, and +of an oval form. + + +Of what countries is it a native? + +Of Asia, the Indies, Africa, Arabia, the Islands of the Southern +Pacific, and the hottest parts of America. + + +What are the uses of this Tree? + +The leaves of the tree are made into baskets; they are also used for +thatching houses: the fibrous bark of the nut, and the trunk of the +tree, are made into cordage, sails, and cloth; the shell, into +drinking bowls and cups; the kernel affords a wholesome food, and the +milk contained in the shell, a cooling liquor. + + +From what country was the Cherry Tree first brought? + +From Cerasus, a city of Pontus, in Asia, on the southern borders of +the Black Sea; from which place this tree was brought to Rome, in the +year of that city 680, by Lucullus; it was conveyed, a hundred and +twenty-eight years after, into Great Britain, A.D. 55. + + +What is the meaning of A.D.? + +A short way of writing Anno Domini, Latin words for _in the year of +our Lord_. + + +Who was Lucullus? + +A renowned Roman general. + + +Is the wood of the Cherry Tree useful? + +It is used in cabinet-making, for boxes, and other articles. + + +What is Bark? + +The exterior part of trees, which serves them as a skin or covering. + + _Exterior_, the outside. + + +Does it not undergo some change during the year? + +Each year the bark of a tree divides, and distributes itself two +contrary ways, the outer part gives towards the skin, till it becomes +skin itself, and at length falls off; the inner part is added to the +wood. The bark is to the body of a tree, what the skin of our body is +to the flesh. + + +Of what use is Bark? + +Bark is useful for many things: of the bark of willows and linden +trees, ropes are sometimes made. The Siamese make their cordage of the +cocoa tree bark, as do most of the Asiatic and African nations; in the +East Indies, they make the bark of a certain tree into a kind of +cloth; some are used in medicines, as the Peruvian bark for Quinine; +others in dyeing, as that of the alder; others in spicery, as +cinnamon, &c.; the bark of oak, in tanning; that of a kind of birch is +used by the Indians for making canoes. + + +What are Canoes? + +Boats used by savages; they are made chiefly of the trunks of trees +dug hollow; and sometimes of pieces of bark fastened together. + + +How do the savages guide them? + +With paddles, or oars; they seldom carry sails, and the loading is +laid in the bottom. + + +Are not the savages very dexterous in the management of them? + +Yes, extremely so; they strike the paddles with such regularity, that +the canoes seem to fly along the surface of the water; at the same +time balancing the vessels with their bodies, to prevent their +overturning. + + _Dexterous_, expert, nimble. + + +Do they leave their canoes in the water on their return from a voyage? + +No, they draw them ashore, hang them up by the two ends, and leave +them to dry; they are generally so light as to be easily carried from +place to place. + + +Were not books once made of Bark? + +Yes, the ancients wrote their books on the barks of many trees, as on +those of the ash and the lime tree, &c. + + +Which part did they use? + +Not the exterior or outer bark, but the inner and finer, which is of +so durable a texture, that there are manuscripts written on it which +are still extant, though more than a thousand years old. + + +Is it not also used in Manure? + +Yes, especially that of the oak; but the best oak bark is used in +tanning. + + +What is Cork? + +The thick, spongy, external bark of the Cork Tree, a species of oak. +There are two varieties of this tree, the broad-leaved and the narrow: +it is an evergreen, and grows to the height of thirty feet. The Cork +Tree attains to a very great age. + + +Where is the Tree found? + +In Spain, Italy, France, and many other countries. The true cork is +the produce of the broad-leaved tree. + + +What are its uses? + +Cork is employed in various ways, but especially for stopping vessels +containing liquids, and, on account of its buoyancy in water, in the +construction of life boats. It is also used in the manufacture of life +preservers and cork jackets. The greatest quantities are brought from +Catalonia, in Spain. The uses of Cork were well known to the ancients. + + +To what particular use did the Egyptians put it? + +They made coffins of it, lined with a resinous composition, which +preserved the bodies of the dead uncorrupted. + + +What is Cochineal? + +A drug used by the dyers, for dyeing crimsons and scarlets; and for +making carmine, a brilliant red used in painting, and several of the +arts. + + +Is it a plant? + +No, it is an insect. The form of the Cochineal is oval; it is about +the size of a small pea, and has six legs armed with claws, and a +trunk by which it sucks its nourishment. + + +What is its habitation? + +It breeds in a fruit resembling a pear; the plant which bears it is +about five or six feet high; at the top of the fruit grows a red +flower, which when full blown, falls upon it; the fruit then appears +full of little red insects, having very small wings. These are the +Cochineals. + + +How are they caught? + +By spreading a cloth under the plant, and shaking it with poles, till +the insects quit it and fly about, which they cannot do many minutes, +but soon tumble down dead into the cloth; where they are left till +quite dry. + + +Does the insect change its color when it is dead? + +When the insect flies, it is red; when it is fallen, black; and when +first dried, it is greyish; it afterwards changes to a purplish grey, +powdered over with a kind of white dust. + + +From what countries is the Cochineal brought? + +From the West Indies, Jamaica, Mexico, and other parts of America. + + +What are Cloves? + +The dried flower-buds of the Clove Tree, anciently a native of the +Moluccas; but afterwards transplanted by the Dutch (who traded in +them,) to other islands, particularly that of Ternate. It is now found +in most of the East Indian Islands. + + +Describe the Clove Tree. + +It is a large handsome tree of the myrtle kind; its leaves resemble +those of the laurel. Though the Clove Tree is cultivated to a great +extent, yet, so easily does the fruit on falling take root, that it +thus multiplies itself, in many instances, without the trouble of +culture. The clove when it first begins to appear is white, then +green, and at last hard and red; when dried, it turns yellow, and then +dark brown. + + +What are its qualities? + +The Clove is the hottest, and most acrid of aromatic substances; one +of our most wholesome spices, and of great use in medicine; it also +yields an abundance of oil, which is much used by perfumers, and in +medicine. + + _Acrid_, of a hot, biting taste. + + _Aromatic_, fragrant, having an agreeable odor. + + +What is Cinnamon? + +An agreeable, aromatic spice, the bark of a tree of the laurel kind; +the Cinnamon tree grows in the Southern parts of India; but most +abundantly in the island of Ceylon, where it is extensively +cultivated; its flowers are white, resembling those of the lilac in +form, and are very fragrant; they are borne in large clusters. The +tree sends up numerous shoots the third or fourth year after it has +been planted; these shoots are planted out, when nearly an inch in +thickness. + + +How is the bark procured? + +By stripping it off from these shoots, after they have been cut down; +the trees planted for the purpose of obtaining cinnamon, throw out a +great number of branches, apparently from the same root, and are not +allowed to rise higher than ten feet; but in its native uncultivated +state, the cinnamon tree usually rises to the height of twenty or +thirty feet. + + +How is the Cinnamon Tree cultivated? + +By seed, sown during the rains; from shoots cut from large trees; and +by transplanting old stumps. The cinnamon tree, in its wild state, is +said to be propagated by means of a kind of pigeons, that feed on its +fruit; in carrying which to their nests, the seeds fall out, and, +dropping in various places, take root, spring up, and become trees. + + _Propagated_, spread, extended, multiplied. + + +What else is obtained from this tree? + +The bark, besides being used as a spice, yields an oil highly +esteemed, both as a medicine and as a perfume; the fruit by boiling +also produces an oil, used by the natives for burning in lamps; as +soon as it hardens, it becomes a solid substance like wax, and is +formed into candles. Camphor is extracted from the root. Cassia is +cinnamon of an inferior kind. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +BOMBAZINE, CRAPE, CAMLET, CAMBRIC, LACE, SILK, VELVET, AND +MOHAIR. + + +What is Bombazine? + +A stuff composed of silk and wool woven together in a loom. It was +first made at Milan, and thence sent abroad; great quantities are now +made in England and other countries. + + +Where is Milan situated? + +In Italy, and is noted for its cathedral. + + +For what is Bombazine used? + +For dresses. Black bombazine is worn entirely for mourning. The +original bombazine has, however, become much less used than formerly, +on account of the numerous newly-invented fabrics of finer or coarser +qualities, composed of the same materials mixed in various degrees, as +Mousselines de laine, Challis, &c. + + +What is Crape? + +A light, transparent stuff, resembling gauze, made of raw silk very +loosely woven, or of wool; by raw silk is meant, silk in the state in +which it is taken from the silk worm. + + +Where was Crape first made? + +At Bologna, a city of Italy. + + +What city of France was long celebrated for its manufacture? + +Lyons, the second city of France, where there are large silk +manufactories. Great quantities are also made in England, principally +in the city of Norwich, which has long been distinguished for the +beauty of its crapes. + + +What is Camlet? + +A stuff made sometimes of wool, sometimes of silk and hair, especially +that of goats. The oriental camlet is made of the pure hair of a sort +of goat, a native of Angora, a city of Natolia, in Turkey. The +European camlets are made of a mixture of woollen thread and hair. + + +What countries are most noted for them? + +England, France, Holland, and Flanders; the city of Brussels, in +Belgium, exceeds them all in the beauty and quality of its camlets; +those of England are the next. + + +What is Cambric? + +A species of linen made of flax; it is very fine and white. + + +From whence did it take its name? + +From Cambray, a large and celebrated city of French Flanders, where it +was first made; it is now made at other places in France; and also in +England, Scotland, Ireland, the United States, &c. + + +What is Lace? + +A work composed of many threads of fine linen or silk, interwoven one +with another according to some particular pattern. Belgium, France, +and England are the principal countries in which this manufacture is +carried on; vast quantities of the finest laces were formerly made in +Flanders. + + +From what is Silk produced? + +From the silk-worm, an insect not more remarkable for the precious +matter it furnishes, than for the many forms it assumes before and +after it envelopes itself in the beautiful ball, the silken threads of +which form the elegant texture which is so much worn. + + _Texture_, a web or substance woven. + + +What are the habits of this insect, and on what does it feed? + +After bursting from the egg, it becomes a large worm or caterpillar of +a yellowish white color, (which is its first state;) this caterpillar +feeds on the leaves of the mulberry tree, till, arriving at maturity, +it winds itself up in a silken bag or case, called a cocoon, about the +size and shape of a pigeon's egg, and becomes a chrysalis; in which +state it lies without signs of life; in about ten days it eats its way +out of its case, a perfect butterfly, which lays a number of eggs and +then dies. In the warmth of the summer weather, these eggs are +hatched, and become worms, as their parents did at first. + + _Maturity_, ripeness, perfection + + +How much silk is each ball said to contain? + +Each ball consists of a very fine, soft, bright, delicate thread, +which being wound off, extends in length six miles. + + +What is meant by Chrysalis? + +The second state into which the insect passes before it comes to be a +butterfly. The maggot or worm having ceased to eat, fixes itself in +some place till its skin separates, and discovers a horny, oblong +body, which is the chrysalis. + + +Where was Silk first made? + +The culture and manufacture of silk was originally confined to China. +The Greeks, under Alexander the Great, brought home, among other +Eastern luxuries, wrought silks from Persia, about 323, B.C. +It was not long unknown to the Romans, although it was so rare, that +it was even sold weight for weight with gold. The Emperor Aurelian, +who died in 275, B.C. refused the Empress, his wife, a suit +of silk which she solicited with much earnestness, merely on account +of its dearness. Heliogabalus, the Emperor, who died half a century +before Aurelian, was the first who wore a _holosericum_ or garment all +of silk. + + +Who introduced the Silk Worm itself into Europe? + +Two monks, engaged as missionaries in China, obtained a quantity of +silk worms' eggs, which they concealed in a hollow cane, and conveyed +in safety to Constantinople in 552; the eggs were hatched in the +proper season by the warmth of manure, and the worms fed with the +leaves of the wild mulberry tree. These worms in due time spun their +silk, and propagated under the care of the monks, who also instructed +the Romans in the whole process of manufacturing their production. +From the insects thus produced, proceeded all the silk worms which +have since been reared in Europe, and the western parts of Asia. The +mulberry tree was then eagerly planted, and on this, their natural +food, they were successfully reared in Greece; and the manufacture was +established at Thebes, Athens, and Corinth, in particular. The +Venetians, soon after this time commencing a trade with the Greeks, +supplied all the Western parts of Europe with silks for many +centuries. + + +Where were the cities of Thebes and Athens situated? + +Thebes was an ancient city of Beotia, in Greece, founded by Cadmus, a +Phenician, though of Egyptian parentage. Sailing from the coast of +Phenicia, he arrived in Beotia, and built the city, calling it Thebes, +from the city of that name in Egypt. To this prince is ascribed the +invention of sixteen letters of the Greek Alphabet. Athens was the +capital of Attica, founded by Cecrops, an Egyptian. It was the seat of +learning and the arts, and has produced some of the most celebrated +warriors, statesmen, orators, poets, and sculptors in the world. Since +the emancipation of Greece from the cruel bondage of its conquerors +the Turks, who had oppressed it for three centuries, Athens has been +chosen as its capital, and is still a considerable town adorned with +splendid ruins of the beautiful buildings it once possessed. Thebes +and Corinth, another celebrated city, are now only villages. + + _Warrior_, a soldier. + + _Statesmen_, men versed in the arts of government. + + _Orator_, a public speaker. + + _Poet_, one who composes poetry. + + _Sculptor_, one who cuts figures in stone, marble, or ivory. + + +Who were the Venetians? + +Inhabitants of Venice, a city of Italy. + + +Did this manufacture continue to be confined to the Greeks and +Venetians? + +By no means. The rest of Italy, and Spain, by degrees learnt the art +from some manufactories in Sicily; and about the reign of Francis the +First, the French became masters of it. It, however, long remained a +rarity; their King, Henry the Second, is supposed to have worn the +first pair of knit silk stockings. The Fourth Henry encouraged the +planting of mulberry trees; his successors also did the same, and the +produce of silk in France is now very considerable. + + +When was the manufacture of silk introduced into England? + +There was a company of silk women in England as early as the year +1455; but they probably were merely employed in needlework of silk and +thread, for Italy supplied England with the broad manufacture during +the chief part of the fifteenth century. The great advantage this new +manufacture afforded, made King James the First very desirous for its +introduction into England, particularly in 1608, when it was +recommended, in very earnest terms, to plant mulberry trees for the +rearing of silk worms; but unhappily without effect. However, towards +the latter end of this reign, the broad silk manufacture was +introduced, and with great success. The revocation of the Edict of +Nantes contributed greatly to its promotion, by the number of French +workmen who took refuge in England; to them the English are indebted +for the art of manufacturing many elegant kinds of silks, satins, +velvets, &c., which had formerly been imported from abroad up to the +year 1718. The silk manufacture has also been successfully introduced +into some portions of the United States. + + _Revocation_, act of recalling, repeal. + + _Imported_, brought into. + + +What was the Edict of Nantes? + +A law made in favor of the Protestants, the repealing of which drove +many of their most skilful workmen to take refuge in England. They +were kindly received, and settled in Spitalfields, and many other +parts of England as well as Ireland, where they carried on a +flourishing and ingenious manufacture. + + +Were the attempts to rear Silk Worms in England successful? + +No; after many trials, all of which failed, attention was directed to +the establishments for procuring both raw and wrought silks, in the +settlements in India belonging to Britain; this was attended with +complete success, the climate being extremely favorable, and the price +of labor cheap. Raw silk is imported in quantities from India, China, +Italy, &c. + + +How is the Silk taken from the Worm? + +The people who are employed in the care of these insects collect the +golden balls from off the mulberry trees, (to the leaves of which the +insects glue their silk) and put them into warm water, that the +threads may unfasten and wind off more easily; having taken off the +coarse woolly part which covers the balls, they take twelve or +fourteen threads at a time, and wind them off into skeins. In order to +prepare this beautiful material for the hand of the weaver to be +wrought into silks, stuffs, brocades, satins, velvets, ribbons, &c., +it is spun, reeled, milled, bleached, and dyed. + + _Milled_, worked in a kind of mill. + + _Bleached_, whitened. + + +What is Velvet? + +A rich kind of stuff, all silk, covered on the outside with a close, +short, fine, soft shag; the wrong side being very strong and close. +The principal number, and the best velvets, were made in France and +Italy; others in Holland; they are now brought to great perfection in +England. An inferior kind is made by mixing cotton with the silk. +Velvet has been known in Europe for some centuries, but its +manufacture was long confined to some of the chief cities of Italy. +From that country the French learned the art, and greatly improved it. + + +Whence is the word Velvet derived? + +From the Italian word _velluto_, signifying velvet, which comes from +_vellus_, hair or fleece. + + +What is Mohair? + +The hair of a kind of goat, common about Angora, in Turkey. It is used +in the manufacture of various kinds of stuffs, shawls, &c. + + +Is there not another animal much celebrated for the material it +furnishes in the making of shawls? + +Yes; the Thibet goat. The wool is sent to Cashmere, where it is spun +and dyed. Cashmere is situated in the north-west extremity of India, +and has long been celebrated for the beautiful and valuable shawls +bearing its name which are manufactured there. The goats are beautiful +creatures, with long, fine, wavy hair, reaching nearly to the ground, +so as almost to conceal their legs. The material of which the shawls +are made is a fine silky down, which grows under the long hair, next +to the skin. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +CURRANTS, RAISINS, FIGS, RICE, SUGAR, SUGAR CANDY, &C., SAGO, +MILLET, GINGER, NUTMEG, MACE, PIMENTO OR ALLSPICE, PEPPER, AND CAYENNE +PEPPER. + + +What are Currants? + +A kind of small raisins or dried grapes. + + +Whence are they brought? + +From several islands of the Archipelago, particularly Zante and +Cephalonia; and from the Isthmus of Corinth, in Greece. + + +Do they grow on bushes like our Currants? + +No, on vines like other grapes, except that the leaves are somewhat +thicker, and the grapes much smaller: they have no pips, and are of a +deep red, or rather black color. + + +When are they gathered, and how are they dried? + +They are gathered in August, and laid on the ground in heaps till dry; +they are then cleaned, and put into magazines, from which they are +taken and packed in barrels for exportation. + + +What do you mean by Exportation? + +The act of conveying goods for sale from one country to another. + + +What are Raisins? + +Grapes prepared by drying them in the sun, or by the heat of an oven. +Raisins of Damascus, so called from the capital city of Syria, near +which they are cultivated, are very large, flat, and wrinkled on the +surface; soft and juicy inside, and nearly an inch long. Raisins of +the sun, or jar raisins, so called from being imported in jars, are +all dried by the heat of the sun; they are of a reddish blue color, +and are the produce of Spain, whence the finest and best raisins are +brought. There are several other sorts, named either from the place in +which they grow, or the kind of grape of which they are made, as those +of Malaga, Valencia, &c. + + +In what manner are they dried? + +The common way of drying grapes for raisins, is to tie two or three +bunches of them together while yet on the vine, and dip them into a +lye made of hot wood-ashes, mixed with a little olive oil. This makes +them shrink and wrinkle: after this they are cut from the branches +which supported them, but left on the vine for three or four days, +separated on sticks, in an upright position, to dry at leisure. +Different modes, however, are adopted, according to the quality of the +grape. The commonest kinds are dried in hot ovens, but the best way is +that in which the grapes are cut when fully ripe, and dried by the +heat of the sun, on a floor of hard earth or stone. + + _Lye_, a liquor made from wood-ashes; of great use in + medicine, bleaching, sugar works, &c. + + +What are Figs? + +A soft, luscious fruit, the produce of the fig-tree. The best figs are +brought from Turkey, but they are also imported from Italy, Spain, and +the southern part of France. The islands of the Archipelago yield an +inferior sort in great abundance. In this country they are sometimes +planted in a warm situation in gardens, but, being difficult to ripen, +they do not arrive at perfection. The figs sent from abroad are dried +by the heat of the sun, or in furnaces for the purpose. + + _Luscious_, sweet to excess, cloying. + + +What is Rice? + +A useful and nutritious grain, cultivated in immense quantities in +India, China, and most eastern countries; in the West Indies, Central +America, and the United States; and in southern Europe. It forms the +principal food of the people of eastern and southern Asia, and is more +extensively consumed than any other species of grain, not even +excepting wheat. + + _Nutritious_, wholesome, good for food. + + +Does it not require a great deal of moisture? + +Yes, it is usually planted in moist soils, and near rivers, where the +ground can be overflowed after it is come up. The Chinese water their +rice-fields by means of movable mills, placed as occasion requires, +upon any part of the banks of a river; the water is raised in buckets +to a proper height, and afterwards conveyed in channels to the +destined places. + + +What is Sugar? + +A sweet, agreeable substance, manufactured chiefly from the Sugar +Cane,[1] a native of the East and West Indies, South America and the +South Sea Islands; it is much cultivated in all tropical countries. +The earliest authentic accounts of sugar, are about the time of the +Crusades,[2] when it appears to have been purchased from the Saracens, +and imported into Europe. + +[Footnote 1: Most of the sugar in Europe is made from beets.] +[Footnote 2: See Chapter XVII., article Navigation.] + + _Authentic_, true, certain. + + _Crusades_, holy wars. + + _Saracens_, Turks or Arabs. + + +How is it prepared? + +The canes are crushed between large rollers in a mill, and the juice +collected into a large vessel placed to receive it; it is then boiled, +and placed in pans to cool, when it becomes imperfectly crystallized, +in which state we use it. This is called raw or soft sugar: loaf +sugar, or the hard white sugar, is the raw brown sugar, prepared by +refining it till all foreign matter is removed. + + +Is the Sugar Cane the only vegetable that produces Sugar? + +All vegetables contain more or less sugar, but the plant in which it +most abounds is the sugar-cane. In the United States, a large quantity +of sugar is prepared from the sap of the Sugar Maple Tree. The trees +are tapped at the proper season by a cut being made in the bark, and +the juice runs into a vessel placed to receive it; it is then prepared +in the same manner as the juice of the sugar cane. + + +What is Sugar Candy? + +Sugar purified and crystallized. + + +What is Barley Sugar? + +Sugar boiled till it is brittle, and cast on a stone anointed with oil +of sweet almonds, and then formed into twisted sticks. + + +What is Sago? + +A substance prepared from the pith of the Sago Palm, which grows +naturally in various parts of Africa and the Indies. The pith, which +is even eatable in its natural state, is taken from the trunk of the +tree, and thrown into a vessel placed over a horse-hair sieve; water +is then thrown over the mass, and the finer parts of the pith pass +through the sieve; the liquor thus obtained is left to settle. The +clear liquor is then drawn off, and what remains is formed into +grains by being passed through metal dishes, with numerous small +holes; it is next dried by the action of heat, and in this state it is +exported. The Sago Palm also produces sugar. + + +What is Millet, and in what countries does it grow? + +Millet is an esculent grain, originally brought from the Eastern +countries. It is cultivated in many parts of Europe, but most +extensively in Egypt, Syria, China, and Hindostan, whence we are +furnished with it, it being rarely cultivated among us, except as a +curiosity. + + _Esculent_, good for food. + + +For what is Millet used? + +It is in great request amongst the Germans for puddings; for which it +is sometimes used amongst us. The Italians make loaves and cakes of +it. + + +What is Ginger? + +The root of a plant cultivated in the East and West Indies, and in +America; it is a native of South-eastern Asia and the adjoining +islands. + + +Describe its nature and use. + +It is a warm aromatic, much used in medicine and cookery. The Indians +eat the root when green as a salad, chopping it small with other +herbs; they also make a candy of it with sugar. The ginger sold in the +shops here is dried, which is done by placing the roots in the heat of +the sun or in ovens, after being dug out of the ground. Quantities not +only of the dried root, but also of the candied sugar, are imported. + + +What are Nutmegs? + +A delicate aromatic fruit or spice, brought from the East Indies. The +nutmeg tree greatly resembles our pear tree, and produces a kind +of nut, which bears the same name as the tree. + +[Illustration: GLASS BLOWING AT THE GLASS-WORKS, PITTSBURGH, PA.] + + +What is the appearance of the Nutmeg? + +Its form is round, and its smell agreeable. The nutmeg is inclosed +in four different covers; the first, a thick fleshy coat, (like our +walnut,) which opens of itself when ripe; under this lies a thin +reddish network, of an agreeable smell and aromatic taste, called +mace; this wraps up the shell, which opens as the fruit grows. The +shell is the third cover, which is hard, thin, and blackish; under +this is a greenish film of no use; and in the last you find the +nutmeg, which is the kernel of the fruit. + + +What are its uses? + +The nutmeg is much used in our food, and is of excellent virtue as a +medicine. It also yields an oil of great fragrance. + + +Is the Mace used as a spice? + +Yes, it is separated from the shell of the nutmeg, and dried in the +sun. It is brought over in flakes of a yellow color, smooth and +net-like, as you see it in the shops. Its taste is warm, bitterish, +and rather pungent; its smell, aromatic. It is used both in food and +medicine, as the nutmeg, and also yields an oil. + + _Pungent_, of a hot, biting taste. + + +What is Pimento or Allspice? + +The dried unripe berry or fruit of a tree growing in great abundance +in Jamaica, particularly on the northern side of that island, on hilly +spots, near the coast; it is also a native of both Indies. The Pimento +Tree is a West Indian species of Myrtle; it grows to the height of +twenty or thirty feet; the leaves are all of a deep, shining green, +and the blossom consists of numerous branches of small, white, +aromatic flowers, which render its appearance very striking; there is +scarcely in the vegetable world any tree more beautiful than a young +Pimento about the month of July, when it is in full bloom. + + +When is the time to gather the spice? + +About the month of September, not long after the blossoms are fallen, +the berries are gathered by the hand; one laborer on the tree, +employed in gathering the small branches, will give employment to +three below (who are generally women and children) in picking the +berries. They are then spread out thinly, and exposed to the sun at +its rising and setting for some days; when they begin to dry, they are +frequently winnowed, and laid on cloths to preserve them better from +rain and dew; by this management they become wrinkled, and change from +green to a deep reddish brown color. Great quantities are annually +imported. + + +What are its uses? + +It forms a pleasant addition to flavor food; it also yields an +agreeable essential oil, and is accounted the best and mildest of +common spices. + + _Essential_, pure; extracted so as to contain all the + virtues of the spice in a very small compass. + + +Why is it called Allspice? + +Because it has been supposed to combine the flavor of cloves, nutmegs, +and cinnamon; the French call it _round clove_, from its round shape, +and the taste being somewhat like that spice. + + +What is Pepper? + +The product of a creeping shrub, growing in several parts of the East +Indies, Asia, and America. + + +In what manner does Pepper grow, and what part of the shrub is used? + +Pepper is the fruit of this shrub, and grows in bunches or clusters, +at first green; as it ripens it becomes reddish, until having been +exposed for some time to the heat of the sun, (or probably gathered +before perfectly ripe,) it becomes black, as in the condition we have +it. There are two sorts, the black and the white. + + +What is the White Pepper? + +The white pepper is merely the black deprived of its outside skin. For +this purpose the finest red berries are selected, and put in baskets +to steep, either in running water, or in pits dug for the purpose, +near the banks of rivers. Sometimes they are only buried in the +ground. In any of these situations, they swell and burst their skins, +from which, when dry, they are carefully separated by rubbing between +the hands, or fanning. + + +What is Cayenne Pepper? + +The dried fruit of a plant called bird pepper, a native of both +Indies. It is more pungent than the other sorts. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +GLASS, MIRRORS, EARTHENWARE, PORCELAIN, NEEDLES, PINS, PAPER, +PRINTING, PARCHMENT, AND VELLUM. + + +What is Glass? + +A transparent, solid, brittle, factitious body, produced by fusing +sand with an alkali. The essential ingredients of glass are silex and +potash, or soda; a few other substances are sometimes added. Silex is +found nearly pure in rock crystal, flint, and other varieties of +quartz; for the manufacture of the better kinds of glass in this +country, it is generally obtained from sand, especially the white sand +of New Jersey. + + _Factitious_, made by art, not found in a state of nature. + + +What is Potash? + +The saline matter obtained from the ashes of wood, by causing water to +pass through them; the water imbibes the salt, which is then obtained +from it by evaporation. When purified by calcination, it is termed +pearlash. In countries where there are vast forests, as in America and +Russia, it is manufactured on a very large scale. + + +What can you say of the origin of Glass? + +The period of its invention is quite unknown. Pliny relates that some +merchants, driven by a storm to the coast of Phenicia, near the river +Belus, made a large fire on the sand to dress some food, using as +fuel some of the plant Kali, which grew there in great abundance; an +imperfect glass was thus formed by the melting of the sand and ashes +together. This production was picked up by a Syrian merchant, who, +attracted by its great beauty, examined the cause of its origin, and, +after many attempts, succeeded in its manufacture. + + +Who was Pliny? + +A celebrated Roman naturalist and historian. + + +At what place was Glass first made? + +Some authors mention Sidon in Syria, which became famous for glass and +glass-houses; but others maintain that the first glass-houses noticed +in history were built at Tyre; which, they add, was the only place +where glass was made for many ages. It is certain that the art was +known to the Egyptians. + + +What is Phenicia? + +A sub-division of Syria in Asia. + + +What is an author? + +A person who writes a book. + + +What is signified by a glass-house? + +A building erected for the making and working of glass. + + +What countries had glass windows first? + +Italy, then France and England; they began to be common about the year +1180. + + +In what year, and where, was the making of glass bottles begun? + +In 1557, in London. The first glass plates for mirrors and +coach-windows were made at Lambeth, in 1673. + + +What is a Mirror? + +A body which exhibits the images of objects presented to it by +reflection. The word mirror is more peculiarly used to signify a +smooth surface of glass, tinned and quicksilvered at the back,[3] +which reflects the images of objects placed before it. + +[Footnote 3: See Chapter XII., article Mercury.] + + +Are they a modern invention? + +The use of mirrors is very ancient; mention is made of brazen mirrors +or looking-glasses in Exodus, the 38th chapter and 8th verse. Some +modern commentators will not admit the mirrors themselves to have been +of brass, but of glass set or framed in brass; but the most learned +among the Jewish rabbins say that in those times the mirrors made use +of by the Hebrew women in dressing their heads were of metal, and that +the devout women mentioned in this passage made presents to Moses of +all their mirrors to make the brazen laver for the Tabernacle. It +might likewise be proved that the ancient Greeks made use of brazen +mirrors, from many passages in the ancient poets. + + _Commentators_, explainers of passages in the Bible, &c. + + _Rabbins_, doctors among the Jews, their learned men or + teachers. + + +What nation invented the large looking-glass plates now in use? + +The French. + + +What city of Italy excelled all Europe for many years in the making of +fine glass? + +Venice. The manufacture of fine glass was first introduced into +England by Venetian artists in 1078. + + +Of what is Earthenware composed? + +Of clay, and those earths which are capable of being kneaded into a +paste easily receiving any form, and acquiring solidity by exposure to +fire: sand, chalk, and flint are likewise mixed with clay. + + +In what manner is it formed into such a variety of shapes? + +The flint or sand, and soft clay, are mixed together in various +proportions for the different kinds of ware; this paste is afterwards +beaten till it becomes fit for being formed at the wheel into plates, +dishes, basins, &c. These are then put into a furnace and baked; after +which they are glazed. + + +What nation so greatly excelled in the manufacture of a beautiful +species of Earthenware? + +The Chinese,--who, as far as can be ascertained, were its inventors. +Porcelain is a fine sort of earthenware, chiefly made in China, whence +it was called China or China-ware; it is also brought from many parts +of the East, especially from Japan, Siam, Surat, and Persia. The art +of making porcelain was one of those in which Europe had been excelled +by oriental nations; but for many years past earthenwares have been +made in different parts of Europe, so like the oriental, that they +have acquired the name of porcelain. The first European porcelains +were made in Saxony and France, and afterwards in England, Germany, +and Italy, all of which differed from those of Japan and China, but +each possessing its peculiar character. They are now brought to great +perfection in Europe, particularly in England, France and Prussia. + + +Before the invention of Earthenware, what supplied its place to the +early inhabitants of the world? + +The more civilized the inhabitants of any country became, the more +they would perceive the convenience of possessing vessels of various +descriptions for holding or preparing their food; some of the objects +which first presented themselves would be the larger kinds of shells; +and, in hot climates, the hard coverings of the cocoa-nut or gourd. In +some cases the skins of beasts were used, as they still are in the +East, where they are sewed together, and formed into a kind of bottle +to hold milk, wine, &c.; but the people of colder climates would not +be able to avail themselves of these natural productions, and would be +obliged to make use of other substances. + + +What, then, would they employ? + +Clay, which in many countries is found in great abundance, from its +adhesive property, and its retaining its form when dry, and becoming +insoluble in water after having been baked in the fire, would +naturally attract the attention of an improving people: from this it +arises that the early remains of culinary and other vessels which have +been discovered have been formed of this material. Among the remains +of ancient Egypt, numerous vessels have been found formed of common +clay baked in the fire; and, though of rude workmanship, extremely +elegant in form. + + _Adhesive_, sticky; apt or tending to adhere. + + _Insoluble_, not capable of being dissolved. + + _Culinary_, belonging to cooking or domestic purposes. + + +Of what are Needles made? + +Of steel; and though exceedingly cheap, they go through a great number +of operations before they are brought to perfection. It was in the +reign of Queen Elizabeth that the English learnt the art of making +needles. + + +Of what are Pins made? + +Of brass wire, blanched with tin. They are manufactured in England, +France, the United States, and other countries. Though there is +scarcely any commodity cheaper than pins, there is no other which +passes through the hands of a greater number of workmen; more than +twenty persons being successively employed in the manufacture of each, +from the drawing of the brass wire to the sticking of the pin in the +paper. Pins are supposed to have been made in England about 1543, or +even earlier. Before this art was invented, the ladies made use of +wooden skewers. + + _Blanched_, whitened. + + +Of what is Paper made? + +Of linen and cotton rags beaten to a pulp in water; also from straw, +wood, and many plants. + + +What materials were used for writing, before the invention of Paper? + +Various were the materials on which mankind in different ages and +countries contrived to write: stones, bricks, the leaves of herbs and +trees, and their rinds or barks; tablets of wood, wax, and ivory; +plates of lead, silk, linen rolls, &c. At length the Egyptian paper +made of the papyrus, was invented; then parchment; and lastly, paper +manufactured of cotton or linen rags. There are few sorts of plants +which have not at some time been used for paper and books. In Ceylon, +for instance, the leaves of the talipot; in India, the leaves of the +palm (with which they commonly covered their houses,) were used for +books. In the East Indies, the leaves of the plantain tree, dried in +the sun, were used for the same purpose. In China, paper is made of +the inner bark of the mulberry, the bamboo, the elm, the cotton, and +other trees. + + +What is Papyrus? + +A large rush, chiefly growing in Egypt, on the banks of the Nile. The +ancient Egyptians made sails, ropes, mats, blankets, and canvas, of +the stalks and fibres of the papyrus. Their priests also wore shoes +made of it; and even sugar was extracted from this plant. Moses, the +deliverer raised by God to rescue the Israelites from the bondage of +Egypt, was exposed to the Nile in a basket of papyrus. The plant is +now, however, exceedingly scarce. + + +Where was the first Paper Mill erected in England? + +At Dartford, by a German named Spilman, in 1588. The only sort made, +however, was the coarse brown; and it was not till 1690, when the +French protestant refugees settled in England, that their own +paper-makers began to make white writing and printing paper. The +manufacture has been brought to great perfection, both for beauty and +substance, in England and the United States. + + _Protestant_, a name given in Germany to those who adhered + to the doctrines of the apostate monk, Martin Luther, + because they protested against a decree of Charles V. and + applied to a general council. + + _Refugee_, from refuge, a place of safety from danger; an + asylum. Here it more particularly means those French + Protestants who quit their homes and sought other countries, + after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, which deprived + them of their religious liberty. + +[Illustration: THE DOME OF PISA, ITALY; WITH THE FAMOUS LEANING TOWER, +IN THE DISTANCE.] + + +Is it known to whom we are indebted for the invention of Linen Paper? + +Not exactly. It has long been disputed among the learned when, and +by whom, it was invented; some authors say it was discovered by the +Germans, others by the Italians; others ascribe it to some refugee +Greeks at Basil, who took the idea from the making of cotton paper in +their own country; some, that the Arabs first introduced it into +Europe. Perhaps the Chinese have the best title to the invention, +inasmuch as they have for many ages made paper, and in some provinces +of the same materials as are now used by us in its manufacture. + + +In what place was the art of Printing first practised? + +Who were the inventors of Printing, in what city, and in what year it +was begun, has long been a subject of great dispute. Mentz, Harlem, +and Strasburg, cities of Germany, all lay claim to the invention, but +Mentz seems to have the best title to it. + + +What was the first Book that was printed from metal types? + +A copy of the Holy Scriptures, which made its appearance between the +years 1450 and 1452. + + +Who introduced Printing into England? + +William Caxton, a merchant of London, who had acquired a knowledge of +it in his travels abroad. + + +Of what does Printing consist? + +Of the art of taking impressions with ink, from movable characters and +figures made of metal, &c., upon paper or parchment. + + +What is Parchment? + +Sheep or goat's skin, prepared after a peculiar manner, which renders +it proper for several uses, especially for writing on, and for the +covering of books. The ancients seem to have used the skins of animals +as a writing material, from a remote period. + + +From what is the word Parchment taken? + +From Pergamena, the ancient name of this manufacture, which it is said +to have taken from the country of Pergamus; and to Eumenes, king of +that country, its invention is usually ascribed, though in reality, +that prince appears to have been the improver, rather than the +inventor of parchment; since some accounts refer its invention to a +still earlier period of time. Herodotus, an ancient Greek historian, +who lived about 450 years before Christ, relates that the ancient +Ionians made use of sheep and goat-skins in writing, many ages before +the time of Eumenes; the Persians of old, too, wrote all their records +on skins, and probably such skins were prepared and dressed for that +purpose, after a manner not unlike our parchments, though not so +artificially. + + +Who were the Ionians? + +The inhabitants of Ionia, an ancient country in the western part of +Asia Minor. + + +In what manner is Parchment now prepared? + +The sheep-skins are smeared over with lime[4] on the fleshy side, +folded, laid in heaps, and thus left for some days; they are next +stretched very tight on wooden frames, after having been washed, +drained, and half dried. The flesh is then carefully taken off with +iron instruments constructed on purpose, and the skin cleansed from +the remaining hairs that adhere to it. After having gone through +several operations till it is perfectly clean and smooth, it is fit +for writing upon. + +[Footnote 4: See Chapter XVI., article Lime.] + + +What are the uses of Parchment? + +Parchment is of great use for writings which are to be preserved, on +account of its great durability; the writing on it remaining perfect +for a great number of years. It is also used for the binding of books, +and various other purposes. + + +What is Vellum? + +A finer sort of parchment than the former, but prepared in the same +manner, except that it is not passed through the lime-pit. It is made +of the skins of very young calves: there is also a still finer sort +made of the skins of sucking lambs, or kids; this is called _virgin_ +parchment, and is very thin, fine, and white, and is used for +fancy-work, such as ladies' fans, &c. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +CAPERS, ALMONDS, ORANGES, LEMONS, CITRONS, LIMES, OLIVES, OILS, +MELONS, TAMARINDS, AND DATES. + + +What are Capers? + +The full-grown flower-buds of the Caper Tree, a small shrub, generally +found growing out of the fissures of rocks, or among rubbish, on old +walls and ruins, giving them a gay appearance with its large white +flowers. It is a native of Italy: it is also common in the south of +France, where it is much cultivated. + + +How are they prepared, and for what are they used? + +They are gathered, and dried in the shade; then infused in vinegar, to +which salt is added; after which they are put in barrels, to be used +as a pickle, chiefly in sauces. + + +What are frequently substituted for Capers? + +The buds of broom pickled in the same manner, or the berries of the +nasturtium, an American annual plant, with pungent fruit. + + +What are Almonds? + +The nut of the Almond Tree, a species of the peach, growing in most of +the southern parts of Europe; there are two kinds, the bitter and the +sweet. + + +What are their qualities and use? + +The sweet almonds are of a soft, grateful taste, and much used by the +confectioner in numerous preparations of sweet-meats, cookery, &c. +Both sorts yield an oil, and are useful in medicine. + + +Of what country is the Orange a native? + +It is a native of China, India, and most tropical countries; but has +long been produced in great perfection in the warmer parts of Europe +and America. Oranges are imported in immense quantities every year, +from the Azores, Spain, Portugal, Italy, &c. They are brought over in +chests and boxes, packed separately in paper to preserve them. The +oranges in common use with us are the bitter or Seville, the China or +sweet orange, and those from Florida. + + +Where are the Azores situated? + +In the Atlantic Ocean, about 800 miles west of Portugal. These islands +are very productive in wine and fruits. + + +Where is Seville? + +In Spain; it is an ancient and considerable city, the capital of the +province of Andalusia. The flowers of the Seville orange are highly +odoriferous, and justly esteemed one of the finest perfumes. Its fruit +is larger than the China orange, and rather bitter; the yellow rind or +peel is warm and aromatic. The juice of oranges is a grateful and +wholesome acid. + + _Odoriferous_, sweet-scented, fragrant; having a brisk, + agreeable smell which may be perceived at a distance. + + +Who first introduced the China Orange into Europe? + +The Portuguese. It is said that the very tree from which all the +European orange trees of this sort were produced, was still preserved +some years back, at the house of the Count St. Laurent, in Lisbon. In +India, those most esteemed, and which are made presents of as +rarities, are no larger than a billiard ball. The Maltese oranges are +said by some to be the finest in the world. + + +Who are the Maltese? + +The inhabitants of Malta, an island of the Mediterranean, situated +between Africa and Sicily. + + +Whence are Lemons brought? + +The Lemon is a native of Eastern Asia, whence it was brought to +Greece, and afterwards to Italy; from Italy it was transplanted to +Spain, Portugal, and the South of France, whence lemons are imported +in great plenty. + + +What is the Citron? + +The fruit of the Citron Tree, resembling the lemon, but somewhat +larger, and having a finer pulp. The citron was also brought +originally from the East of Asia, but has since been produced in the +warm parts of Europe, like the orange and lemon; Genoa especially is +the greatest nursery for them. Its rind is principally brought to this +country in a candied state, and is applied by confectioners to various +purposes. + + +Where is Genoa? + +A city of Northern Italy, on the Mediterranean, between the rivers +Bisagno and Polcevera. + + +What is the Lime? + +The Lime is by some thought to be a species of lemon, by others not; +it is a smaller fruit, and in the West Indies is greatly preferred to +the lemon. It is cultivated in the South of Europe, the West Indies, +and the warm parts of America. The agreeable scent called Bergamot is +prepared from the rind of a small species of lime. + + +What are Olives? + +The fruit of the Olive Tree, an evergreen, now common in the woods of +France, Spain, and Italy; but in the wild state producing a small +fruit of no value; when cultivated, however, (which it is extensively, +both for the fruit and the quantity of oil which it yields,) it forms +one of the richest productions of Southern Europe. The olive came +originally from Asia. Its use is very ancient; it is frequently spoken +of in the Bible, both as in a wild and cultivated state. The promised +land of the Israelites was "a land of oil, olive, and honey." From the +time that the dove returned to Noah in the Ark with an "olive leaf +plucked off," in all ages and countries, wherever this tree is known, +down to the present day, has an olive-branch been the favorite emblem +of peace. + + +What nation holds the olive in great repute? + +This tree was a great favorite with the ancient Greeks, and scarcely +an ancient custom existed in which the olive was not in some way +associated: at their marriages and festivals, all parts of their +dwellings, especially the doors, were ornamented with them, and the +same custom prevails at the present day, both in public and private +rejoicings. It was also scarcely less a favorite with the Romans, +although it was not held in the same sacred light as amongst the +Greeks. The olive-branch has likewise been universally considered the +emblem of plenty, and as such, is found on the coins of those +countries of which it is _not_ a native. Two centuries after the +foundation of Rome, both Italy and Africa were strangers to this +useful plant; it afterwards became naturalized in those countries, and +at length arrived in Spain, France, &c. Olive trees sometimes attain a +great age. + + +How are the Olives eaten? + +The olives while on the tree are intolerably bitter, without any of +that peculiar taste which gains them admittance at the richest tables; +to fit them for which they are pickled. Ripe olives are eaten in the +Eastern countries, especially amongst the Greeks, as an article of +food, particularly in Lent. The oil, which they yield in great +quantities, is very highly esteemed; being that chiefly used for +salads, &c., in medicine, and in various manufactures. + + _Lent_, a time of fasting; the time from Ash-Wednesday to + Easter. + + +How is the Oil drawn from the Olive? + +By presses or mills made for the purpose. The sweetest and best olive +oil comes from the South of France, from Naples, Florence, and Lucca; +quantities are also brought from Spain and the Ionian Islands. + + +Where is Naples? + +In the South of Italy. + + +Where are Florence and Lucca situated? + +In Italy. Florence is a very ancient, large, and celebrated city, the +capital of Italy; Lucca, formerly a republic, belongs now to the +kingdom of Italy. + + _Republic_, a state in which the supreme power of government + is lodged in representatives chosen by the people, instead + of being vested in an emperor or king. + + +You said that the olive is an Evergreen: to what plant or shrub is the +term particularly applied? + +To any shrub or tree whose leaves continue fresh and green all the +year round, winter and summer, as the laurel, pine, cedar, holly, &c., +which do not shed their leaves in autumn as other trees. + + +Is oil a production confined to the Olive alone? + +By no means. Oil is a fatty, inflammable matter, drawn from many +vegetable and animal bodies. The oils in common use are of three +different kinds. The first are mere _oily_ or fatty bodies, extracted +either by pressure, or by decoction: of the first kind are those of +almonds, nuts, olives, &c.; and of the other, those of different +berries, &c., which are procured by boiling the substance in water, +which causes the oil to collect on the top. + + _Decoction_, act of boiling--a chemical term. + + +What are the second and third kinds of Oils? + +The second are those drawn from vegetables by common distillation in +the alembic, with the aid of water; these contain the _oily_ and +volatile part of the plant, and are called _essential_ oils. The third +sort are those produced by distillation, but of a different kind in an +open vessel, and without the help of water. They are likewise divided +into _vegetable_ oils, _animal_ oils, and _mineral_ oils; which last +are those drawn from amber, and a few other substances partaking both +of the vegetable and mineral natures, as Petroleum, commonly known as +kerosene or coal oil. + + _Alembic_, a chemical vessel used in distilling. It consists + of a vessel placed over a fire, containing the substance to + be distilled; the upper part, which receives and condenses + the steam, is called the head; the beak of this is fitted to + a vessel called a receiver. + + _Volatile_, easily escaping, quickly flying off. + + +Whence is the word Oil derived? + +From the Latin _oleum_, formed from _olea, olive-tree_, the fruit of +which abounds in oil. + + +What immense fish is it that furnishes us with a quantity of _animal_ +oil? + +The Whale, the largest and noblest inhabitant of the waters. It is +protected from the cold by a case or coating of blubber, that is, a +thick oily fat from which the oil is made; numbers of them are caught +for the sake of that. Ambergris, highly prized in perfumery, is a +product of the sperm whale. + + +In what seas are they found? + +Chiefly in the Northern Seas: extensive whale fisheries are carried on +by the Americans, English, Dutch, &c., and numbers of vessels are sent +out for the purpose of taking the fish: they usually sail in the +latter end of March, and begin fishing about May. The whale fishery +continues generally from that time till the latter end of June or +July. There are also other fishes and animals which afford us oils of +different kinds, which are used for various purposes in medicine and +the arts. + + +Is the oil called _castor_, which is so much used in medicine, the +product of an animal or a plant? + +Castor oil is expressed from a West Indian shrub, called Palma +Christi; and especially from the ripe seeds, which are full of this +oil. It is prepared by collecting these ripe seeds, and freeing them +from the husks; then bruising and beating them into a paste; they are +next boiled in water, when the oil rising to the surface is skimmed +off as it continues to appear. The Castor-oil plant is found growing +abundantly in Sumatra, particularly near the sea-shore. + + +Where is Sumatra situated? + +In the Oriental Archipelago, off the south eastern part of the +continent of Asia. + + +In what other countries is this plant found? + +In some parts of Africa, Syria, and Egypt. It was anciently cultivated +in the two last-mentioned countries in large quantities, the seeds +being used for the oil they yielded, which was burnt in lamps. + +[Illustration: BEAVERS BUILDING THEIR HUTS.] + + +Is not the Palma Christi much affected by soil and situation? + +Greatly so. In some places it attains the stature of a tree, and is +not a biennial plant, but endures for many years, as in the warm +plains of Irak, Arabia, and some parts of Africa. + + _Biennial_, lasting for the space of two years only. + + +What are Melons? + +A species of the Cucumis, a genus of plants to which the cucumber +belongs. There are great varieties of this fruit cultivated in +different parts of the world; that sort called the Cantaleup (so named +from being cultivated at a place of that name in the neighborhood of +Rome, whither it was brought from Armenia,) is a species of +musk-melon; the mature fruit is juicy, and delicately flavored. + + +Where is Armenia situated? + +Armenia is a large country situated in Asiatic Turkey, to the west of +the Caspian Sea. + + +What species of Melon is that which almost makes up for a scarcity of +good water in hot countries? + +The water-melon, which affords a cool, refreshing juice, and quenches +the thirst produced by the excessive heats. It requires a dry, sandy +soil, and a warm climate; the pulp of the fruit is remarkably rich and +delicious. + + +What are Tamarinds? + +The fruit of the Tamarind Tree, a native of both the Indies, Asia, +Africa, &c. It is of a roundish form, and composed of two pods +inclosed one within the other, between which is a soft pulpy +substance, of a tart but agreeable taste; the inner pod contains the +seeds or stones. + + _Tart_, sharp, acid. + + +For what are they used? + +We use them only as medicine; but the Africans, and many of the +Oriental nations, with whom they are common, make them into a kind of +preserve with sugar, which they eat as a delicacy, and which cools +them in the violent heats of their climate. + + +From what nation was the knowledge of their use in medicine obtained? + +From the Arabians. + + +What does the word Oriental signify? + +Belonging to the East; therefore those countries of the globe situated +in the East are called Oriental, those in the West, Occidental, from +_Oriens_, signifying East, and _Occidens_, West. + + +What are Dates? + +The fruit of the Palm, a beautiful and graceful tree, peculiar to the +warmer regions of the globe; the growth of the palm is extremely +singular, for although some species attain to the height of the +largest forest trees, their structure differs materially from that of +a tree, properly so called. The leaves of the young plant arise +directly from the surface of the ground, and there is no appearance of +any stem for several years; this stem once formed, never increases in +size, the growth of the plant being always upward, so that the stem +itself is formed by the prior growth of the green portions of the +palm. + + _Structure_, the manner of formation. + + +How often does this tree cast its circle of leaves? + +Every year; so that the number of years a palm has existed is known by +the scars which are left by their falling off. The palm is an +evergreen. + + +What are the uses of this Tree? + +The Palm is of the utmost importance to the inhabitants of the +tropical regions; the fruit and sap providing them with food, the +fibrous parts with clothing, and the leaves forming the greater part +of their slightly-constructed huts; the leaves of some species are +formed into fans, hats, and parasols; others are written on, in the +same manner that we write on paper; artificial flowers are made of +the pith of some; the light and supple rattan walking-cane is the +slender shoot of another kind; and solid and useful utensils are made +of the shell of the cocoa-nut. The fibres of the Date Palm are formed +into ropes and twine; a liquor is drawn from the trunk, called palm +wine; the trunks of the old trees furnish a hard and durable wood; and +even the nuts or stones of the fruit are useful for feeding cattle; a +wholesome flour is also made of the fruit, when dried and reduced to +powder. + + _Constructed_, put together. + + +Whence is its name derived? + +From the Latin word _palma_, a hand, given to these productions of the +vegetable world, from the supposed resemblance of their broad leaves +to the human hand. The Date, the fruit of the Date Palm, derives its +name from the Greek _dactylus_, a finger, from its mode of growing in +clusters spreading out like the fingers of the hand. The Palm +sometimes forms impenetrable forests; but more frequently is found in +small groups of two or three, or even singly, beside springs and +fountains of water, affording a kindly shade to the thirsty traveller. + + _Impenetrable_, not easily penetrated or got through. + + +From what countries are Dates brought? + +From Egypt, Syria, Persia, Africa, and the Indies. Among the Egyptians +and Africans, they make a principal article of food. Dates, when ripe, +are of a bright coral red, of an oblong form, and possess a sharp +biting taste: they are usually gathered in autumn, before being +perfectly ripe. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +HATS, STOCKINGS, SHOES, GLOVES, LEATHER, FURS, AND INK. + + +Of what are Hats made? + +Of felt and wool. Dress hats for men's wear, were formerly made of +beaver-fur, but the increasing scarcity of this article led to the +introduction of silk plush as a substitute, and the result is that +beaver is entirely superseded, and plush is used altogether. They +possess many advantages over the beaver hat, as they are light, +glossy, and durable. Hats are also made of straw, plaited and sewed +together. + + +When did Hats come into general use? + +The first mention made of hats is about the time of the Saxons, but +they were not worn except by the rich. Hats for men were invented at +Paris, by a Swiss, in 1404. About the year 1510, they were first +manufactured in London, by Spaniards. Before that time both men and +women in England commonly wore close, knitted, woollen caps. They +appear to have become more common in the reign of Queen Elizabeth. It +is related, that when Charles the Second made his public entry into +Rouen, in 1449, he wore a hat lined with red velvet, surmounted with a +plume or tuft of feathers; from which entry, or at least during his +reign, the use of hats and caps is to be dated; and from that time +they took the place of chaperons and hoods, that had been worn before +in France. + + +Where is Rouen? + +In the province of Lower Seine, in France; it was formerly the capital +of Normandy. + + +Describe the Castor, or Beaver, and its habits. + +The Beaver has a broad, flat tail, covered with scales, serving as a +rudder to direct its motion in the water; the toes of its hind feet +are furnished with membranes, after the manner of water-fowl; the fore +feet supply the place of hands, like those of the squirrel. The +Beaver has two kinds of hair, of a light brown color, one long and +coarse, the other short and silky. The teeth resemble those of a rat +or squirrel, but are longer, and admirably adapted for cutting timber +or stripping off the bark from trees. + + _Membranes_, thin, flexible, expanded skins, connecting the + toes of water-fowl and amphibious animals, and thus enabling + them to swim with greater ease. + + +Where do Beavers usually fix their habitations? + +Their houses are always situated in the water; they are composed of +clay, which they make into a kind of mortar with their paws: these +huts are of an oval figure, divided into three apartments raised one +above the other, and erected on piles driven into the mud. Each beaver +has his peculiar cell assigned him, the floor of which he strews with +leaves or small branches of the pine tree. The whole building is +generally capable of containing eight or ten inhabitants. + + +On what does the Beaver feed? + +Its food consists of fruit and plants; and in winter, of the wood of +the ash and other trees. The hunters and trappers in America formerly +killed vast numbers for their skins, which were in great demand, as +they were used in making hats, but as the only use they are now put to +is for trimming, and for men's gloves and collars, the demand has +fallen off. + + +Of what are stockings made? + +Of cotton, silk, or wool, woven or knitted. Anciently, the only +stockings in use were made of cloth, or stuff sewed together; but +since the invention of knitting and weaving stockings of silk, &c., +the use of cloth has been discontinued. + + +From what country is it supposed that the invention of silk knitted +stockings originally came? + +From Spain, in 1589. The art of weaving stockings in a frame was +invented by William Lee, M.A., of St. John's College, Cambridge, +England. + + +Explain the signification of M.A. + +Master of Arts, a degree of honor conferred by the Universities. + + +What are Shoes? + +A covering for the foot, now usually made of leather. In different +ages and countries, shoes have been made of various materials, as raw +skins, rushes, broom, paper, silk, wool, iron, silver, and gold. + + +What nation wore Shoes made of the bark of the papyrus? + +The Egyptians. The Turks always take off their shoes, and leave them +at the door, when they enter Mosques or dwelling-houses. The same +custom also prevails in other Eastern nations. + + +What is a Mosque? + +A Mahomedan church or temple. + + +What is meant by Mahomedan? + +Belonging to the religion of Mahomed, the warrior and prophet of +Arabia and Turkey, who was its founder. He was born at Mecca, a city +of Arabia, in 571; and died in 631, at Medina, a city situated between +Arabia Felix and Arabia Deserta. His creed maintains that there is but +one God, and that Mahomed is his Prophet; it enjoins the observance of +prayers, washings, almsgiving, fasting, sobriety, pilgrimage to Mecca, +&c. + + +What do the appellations of Felix and Deserta signify? + +Arabia, a country of Asia, lying on the borders of the Red Sea, is +divided into Petræa, Deserta, and Felix; Petræa, signifying the Stony; +Deserta, the Desert; and Felix, the fortunate or fruitful. + + +What is Leather? + +The skins of various animals, as oxen, cows, calves, &c., dressed and +prepared for use. + + +How is the Leather prepared? + +By tanning; that is, steeping the skins in an infusion of tan, by +which they are rendered firm, durable, and, in a great degree, +impervious to water. + + _Infusion_, a liquor made by steeping anything in water, or + other liquids, without boiling. + + +What is Tan? + +The bark of the oak-tree, &c., ground by a mill into a coarse powder. + + +What is Lime?[5] + +A white, soft, friable, earthy substance, prepared from marble, chalk, +and other lime-stones, or from shells, by burning in a kiln. + +[Footnote 5: For a further account of it, see Chapters XIII. & XVI.] + + _Friable_, easily powdered. + + +For what is it used? + +Its greatest use is in the composition of mortar for building; it is +also much used by tanners, skinners, &c., in the preparation of +leather; by soap-boilers in the manufacture of soap; and by +sugar-bakers for refining sugar. + + +What is a Kiln? + +A fabric of brick or stone, formed for admitting heat in order to dry +or burn materials placed in it. + + +Of what are Gloves made? + +Of leather, silk, thread, cotton, worsted, &c. + + +What skins are generally used for Gloves? + +Those of the chamois, kid, lamb, dog, doe, and many other animals. + + +What are Furs, and how are they prepared? + +Furs are the skins of wild animals, dressed with the hair on, and used +as apparel, either for warmth, ornament, or distinction of rank or +dignity. + + +Name a few of the principal furs in use. + +The fur of the ermine, an animal inhabiting the cold regions of Europe +and America, is highly valued, and much used for ornamental purposes. +In summer, the upper part of the body is of a yellowish-brown color; +the under parts white, slightly tinged with yellow. It is then called +a _stoat_. In winter, the fur is closer and finer, and is of a snowy +white color; the tip of the tail is black throughout the year. In +Europe the fur is much used for ornamenting the state robes of +sovereigns and nobles. The sable is another animal much prized for its +rich fur; it is a native of Northern Europe and America. The skins of +the marten, found in North America, as well as in Northern Asia and +the mountains of Kamtschatka; and also of the bear, fox, raccoon, +badger, lynx, musk-rat, rabbit, hare, and squirrel, which are all +procured in North America, are valuable. One of the most valuable +descriptions of fur is that of the seal. + + +How is it procured? + +By hunting the animals, which is the employment both of natives and +settlers from other countries; the hunters sell the skins for money, +to a company established for the purpose of trading in furs, or more +frequently exchange them for clothes, arms, and other articles. The +Alaska Commercial Company of San Francisco is granted by the United +States Government the exclusive privilege of catching the fur seal. + + +What is Alum? + +A kind of mineral, of a strong, sharp taste. It dissolves both in cold +and boiling water, but best in the latter. It is of some use in +medicine; a principal ingredient in dyeing and coloring, neither of +which can be well performed without it, as it sets and brightens the +colors, and prevents them from washing out. It is also extremely +useful in many arts and manufactures. + + +Are there not different sorts of this material? + +The principal kinds are native alums: _viz._ those prepared and +perfected underground by the spontaneous operations of nature; as the +roch, commonly called rock alum, from Rocha, in Syria, whence it is +brought. + + _Spontaneous_, unassisted by art. + + _Orientals_, inhabitants of the Eastern parts of the world. + + +What is Ink? + +A liquor used in writing on paper or parchment, made of copperas, +galls; and gum arabic[6] mixed together. There are likewise several +plants that may serve for the making of ink, as oak-bark, red roses, +log-wood, &c. It is also made from an infusion of oak galls and iron +filings: there are also many other ways, as well as materials, +employed in the making of this useful article. Ink is the name applied +to all liquids used in writing, of whatever color they may be, as red, +blue, &c., though black is the most used for common purposes. The ink +of the ancients seems to have been of a thick, oily nature, unlike the +modern ink; it consisted of nothing more than a species of soot, or +ivory black, mixed with one fourth of gum. + +[Footnote 6: See Chapter XI.] + + +What is Copperas? + +A kind of vitriol. Copperas is the name given to green vitriol, which +is a preparation from iron. The blue vitriol is a sulphate of copper, +and the white vitriol a sulphate of zinc. + + +For what is Vitriol used? + +In the making of glass, to color it; in many arts and manufactures; +and in medicine. + + +What are Galls? + +Excrescences formed on a kind of oak tree in certain warm climates; +perforations are made by an insect into the bark of the tree, whence +issues a liquid which hardens by exposure. They are used in dyeing, +making ink, and other compositions. There are two sorts of oak galls +in our shops, brought from the Levant, and the southern parts of +Europe. + + +What does the word Levant signify? + +A country to the eastward. It is applied to the countries of Turkey, +Greece, Asia Minor, Syria, Egypt, &c., which are washed by the eastern +part of the Mediterranean. + + +Is the Ink used in Printing the same as writing Ink? + +No; it is more of the nature of paint, being thicker and more +glutinous: it chiefly consists of a mixture of oil and lamp-black, or +some other ingredient, according to the color required; and is +remarkable for the ease with which it adheres to paper that is +moistened. + + _Glutinous_, gummy, resembling glue. + + +What is Indian, or Chinese Ink? + +An admirable composition, not liquid like our ink, but solid, and made +into cakes somewhat like the mineral colors we use in painting. It is +made into all sorts of figures, usually long, and about an inch thick; +sometimes gilt with the figures of birds, flowers, &c. To use this +ink, it must be rubbed with water, on stone or earthenware, till it +produces a beautiful, liquid, shining black. It is used in drawing, +&c., and is brought from China. It is composed of lamp-black and size, +or animal glue, or gum, to which perfumes and other substances are +sometimes added. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +ASBESTUS, SALT, COAL, IRON, COPPER, BRASS, ZINC, AND LAPIS +CALAMINARIS. + + +What is the name of the remarkable stone of which a cloth has been +made, that resists the action of fire? + +The Asbestus, a mineral substance of a whitish or silver color. There +are several species of this mineral, which are distinguished by +different names, according to the appearance of each, as fibrous +asbestus, hard asbestus, and woody asbestus; it is the fibrous sort +which is most noted for its uses in the arts. It is usually found +inclosed within very hard stones; sometimes growing on their outside, +and sometimes detached from them. + + _Fibrous_, full of fibres or threads. + + +What are its qualities? + +It is insipid; will not dissolve in water; and exposed to the fire, it +neither consumes nor calcines. The industry of mankind has found a +method of working upon this untoward mineral and employing it in +making cloth and paper; the process is, however, difficult. + + _Insipid_, without taste. + + +Was not this curious mineral better known to the ancients than it is +at present? + +The linen made from it was highly esteemed by them; it was not only +better known, but more common, than among us, being equally valuable +with the richest pearls; but the superiority of all other cloths to +this in every respect, except the resistance to fire, has caused +incombustible cloth to be regarded in modern times merely as a +curiosity, but it is still employed in chemical preparations. + + _Incombustible_, remaining undestroyed in fire. + + +To what use did they put it? + +In royal funerals, it formed the shroud to wrap the body in that its +ashes might be prevented from mingling with the wood, &c., that +composed the pile. Some of the ancients made themselves clothes of it, +particularly the Brahmins among the Hindoos; it formed wicks for their +perpetual lamps; thread, ropes, nets, and paper were also made of it. +Pliny, the Roman naturalist, says he has seen napkins of asbestus +taken soiled from the table after a feast, which were thrown into the +fire, and by that means better scoured than if they had been washed +with water. + + _Naturalist_, a person who studies nature, especially in + what relates to minerals, vegetables, and animals. + + _Brahmins_, Hindoo priests. + + +Where is the Asbestus found? + +This mineral is found in the greatest quantity in the silver mines of +Saxony; at Bleyburg, in Carinthia; in Sweden, Corsica, and sometimes +in France, England, and the United States; also in Tartary and +Siberia. + + +What method is used in preparing the Asbestus? + +The stone is laid in warm water to soak, then opened and divided by +the hands, that the earthy matter may be washed out. This washing is +several times repeated, and the flax-like filaments collected and +dried; these are easily spun with the addition of flax. The cloth when +woven is best preserved by oil from breaking or wasting; on exposure +to the fire, the flax and the oil burn out, and the cloth remains of a +pure white. The shorter threads, which separate on washing the stone, +may be made into paper in the usual manner. + + +What is Salt? + +A saline crystallization of a sharp, pungent taste, and cleansing +quality, used to season flesh, fish, butter, &c., and other things +that are to be kept. It is distinguished, with reference to the +general sources from which it is most plentifully derived, into three +different sorts, namely, fossil, or rock salt; sea, or marine salt; +and spring salt, or that drawn from briny springs and wells. + + _Marine_, belonging to the sea. + + _Saline_, consisting of salt. + + _Briny_, consisting of brine; which means water tasting of + salt; it is used to signify the waters of the sea, or any + salt water. + + +What is Fossil or Rock Salt? + +That which is found in large beds in the bowels of the earth, and +which has not undergone any artificial preparation; it is sometimes +colorless, but more frequently red, yellow, or blue, and mixed with +earthy impurities; this salt was entirely unknown to the ancients, who +by rock salt meant that which adheres to the rocks above high-water +mark, being lodged there by the spray of the sea, which is evaporated +by the heat of the sun; this is the purest salt, and is to be found on +the rocks of Sicily, and several islands of the West Indies. + + _Artificial_, produced by art, and the labor of man. + + _Evaporated_, converted into vapor and dissipated. + + +What is Marine Salt? + +That which is made from sea-water, concentrated by repeated +evaporations, and at length crystallized. + + +What is Spring Salt? + +That salt which is not made from sea-water, but from the water of salt +wells or springs; large quantities of this salt are made in the United +States, in some parts of which saline springs are numerous. + + +In what manner is it obtained? + +The means employed for extracting the salt from the water vary +according to circumstances. In hot countries, the water is merely +exposed to the action of the sun, until the water is evaporated; the +salt procured in this manner is considered the best. + + +What method is usually employed in countries where the sun's heat is +not sufficiently powerful? + +In climates where the rays of the sun do not afford sufficient heat, +the water, which has been partly evaporated in large shallow +reservoirs formed in the earth, called salt-pans, is poured into +enormous coppers and boiled for four or five hours: when the contents +of the copper are wasted to half the quantity, the liquid begins to be +crystallized; the vessel is again filled up, and the brine again +boiled and purified: this is repeated three or four times. After the +last purifying the fire is kept very low for twelve or fourteen hours, +and when the moisture is nearly evaporated the salt is removed, and, +after the remaining brine has drained off, is placed in the +store-houses. + + +In what countries is Salt generally found? + +This substance, so necessary to the comfort of mankind, is widely +distributed over the face of the earth, and nothing, except, perhaps, +the air we breathe, is more easily placed within our reach. The ocean +is an exhaustless store-house of this valuable article. Those nations +of the earth which are placed at a distance from the sea, find +themselves provided with magazines of salt, either in solid masses, or +dissolved in the waters of inland lakes, or issuing from the solid +rocks in springs of brine. At Salina, Syracuse, and other places in +Onondaga Co., New York, salt springs are remarkably abundant, and +yield annually several millions of bushels; immense quantities are +also obtained from the salt-wells on the Great and Little Kanawha, and +other places in Western Virginia; it is also extensively manufactured +in the western part of Pennsylvania, and throughout the Western +States. + + +Name the countries most noted for mines of Salt. + +Poland, Upper Hungary, and the mountains of Catalonia, have extensive +salt mines; those in the village of Wieliczca, in Poland, about five +leagues from Cracow, are of a surprising depth and size. In the +interior of Hindostan, there is a remarkable salt lake; and in several +parts of the globe there are spots of ground impregnated entirely with +this substance: an island of the East Indies contains a singular kind +of fossil, or native dry salt; the soil there is in general very +fruitful, but in certain parts of the island, there are spots of +ground entirely barren, without the appearance of anything vegetable +upon them; these spots taste very much of salt, and abound with it in +such quantities, as to supply not only the whole island, but the +greater part of the adjacent continent. In Utah Territory, especially +in the neighborhood of the Mormon city, at the Great Salt Lake, are +found extensive plains thus impregnated with salt, which is procured +in great abundance. + + _Fossil_, the remains of minerals or shells dug from the + earth. + + _Impregnated_, filled, saturated. + + _Catalonia_, a considerable province of Spain, situated to + the north-east. + + _Adjacent_, adjoining, lying near, or contiguous. + + +To what use did the ancient inhabitants of Africa and Arabia put this +substance? + +The large slabs of rock salt, with which their country abounds, were +employed by them instead of stones, in building their dwellings, the +pieces being easily cemented together by sprinkling the joints with +water, which, melting the parts of the two surfaces that opposed each +other, formed the whole, when dry, into one solid block. + + +Does Rock Salt undergo any preparation before it is used? + +Yes; when taken from the earth it is dissolved in cold water, and +afterwards drawn off into salt-pans, and refined in the same manner as +the sea salt. + + +What is Coal? + +A hard, black, sulphurous and inflammable substance, dug out of the +earth, serving in many countries as fuel. It is common in most of the +countries of Europe and America. In some parts of the United States, +it is found in beds having an area of several thousand square miles. + + +From what is Coal supposed to have originated? + +Its origin is supposed to be derived from gigantic trees which +flourished in the swamps and forests of the primeval earth. These +having been torn away from their native bed, by storms and +inundations, were transported into some adjacent lake, river, or sea. +Here they floated on the waters until, saturated with them, they sank +to the bottom, and being buried in the lower soil of adjacent lands, +became transformed into a new state among the members of the mineral +kingdom. A long interment followed, during which a course of chemical +changes, and new combinations of their vegetable elements, converted +them to the mineral condition of coal. + + _Primeval_, original, existing before the flood. + + _Gigantic_, extremely large, greater than the usual size. + + _Interment_, burial under the ground. + + _Elements_, the several parts or principles of which bodies + are composed. + + +What is a Coal Mine? + +A subterraneous excavation, from which coal is obtained. + + +Do the terms Coal and Charcoal signify the same substance? + +No; Charcoal is an artificial fuel, made in imitation of coal, by +burning wood covered with earth so as partially to exclude the air. It +is used for various purposes, as the making of gunpowder,[7] polishing +brass and copper, &c., and when a clear and bright fire is required, +as it burns with little or no smoke; it is dangerous, however, for one +to remain many hours in a close room with a charcoal fire, as the +fumes it throws out are hurtful, and would destroy life. Charcoal, in +fact, is the coaly residuum of any vegetables burnt in close vessels; +but the common charcoal is that prepared from wood, and is generally +black, very brittle, light, and destitute of taste or smell. It is a +powerful antiseptic, unalterable and indestructible. + +[Footnote 7: See Chapter XII.] + + _Residuum_, the remaining part, that which is left. + + _Antiseptic_, that which prevents putrefaction. + + +What is Iron? + +One of the most useful and abundant metals; being found in all mineral +earths, and stones; in plants, and animal fluids; and is the chief +cause of the varieties of color in all. Iron is found in great masses, +in various states, in the bowels of the earth; it is usually, however, +compounded with stone, from which it is separated by the action of +fire. In some parts of the world, whole mountains are formed of iron; +among these may be mentioned the Pilot Knob and the Iron Mountain, in +Missouri, being unsurpassed by anything of the kind found elsewhere. + + +What are its characteristics? + +It is hard, fusible, not very malleable, but extremely ductile, and +very tenacious; it is of a greyish color, and nearly eight times +heavier than water. Without iron, society could make no progress in +the cultivation of the ground, in mechanical arts or trades, in +architecture or navigation; it is therefore of the greatest use to +man. Iron tools have been used in all European countries as long as +their histories have existed; this metal appears likewise to have been +known and used by the inhabitants of the world in the earliest ages, +being frequently mentioned in the Holy Scriptures. In the fourth +chapter of Genesis, Tubalcain is spoken of as "a hammerer and +artificer in every work of brass and iron," and thus their existence +was evidently known at that early period of the world. + + _Artificer_, one who works or makes. + + _Fusible_, capable of being melted by fire. + +[Illustration: THE SALT MINES OF WIELICZCA.] + + +What do you mean by Metals? + +Useful substances dug from the bowels of the earth, being sometimes +found pure, but mostly combined with other matter. They are +distinguished by their weight, tenacity, hardness, opacity, color, and +peculiar lustre, known as the metallic lustre; they are fusible by +heat, and good conductors of heat and electricity; many of them are +malleable, and some extremely ductile. Those which were first known +are gold, silver, iron, copper, mercury, lead, and tin. + + _Tenacity_, the firmness with which one part adheres to + another. + + _Opacity_, want of transparency or clearness. + + +What are Metals called in their natural state? + +Ores; so named because the metal contained in them is either mixed +with other metals, or with mineral earths, from which they are +separated and purified by various means: such as washing, roasting, +&c., but the method is always regulated by the nature of the ore. + + +What is Copper? + +A hard, heavy, ductile metal, found native, and in many ores; of these +the most important is _copper pyrites_, which is a sulphuret of +copper. Next to gold, silver, and platinum, copper is the most +malleable and ductile of metals; it may be drawn into wires as fine as +hair, or beaten into leaves as thin as those of silver. The rust of +copper is very poisonous. Copper, mixed with a certain quantity of +tin, forms bell-metal. With a smaller proportion, it forms bronze, a +substance used in sculpture for casting figures and statues. It is an +abundant metal, and is found in various parts of the world. Native +oxides of copper are found in Cornwall, Siberia, and in North and +South America. + + _Oxide_, a substance combined with Oxygen,[8] in a + proportion not sufficient to produce acidity. + + _Sulphuret_, a combination of sulphur with a base. + +[Footnote 8: See Chapter XIII., article Oxygen.] + + +What are the uses of Copper? + +They are too various to be enumerated. In sheets it is much used to +sheathe the bottoms of ships, for boilers, and other utensils. Copper +coin was the only money used by the Romans till the 485th year of +their city, when silver began to be coined. In Sweden, houses are +covered with this metal. + + +What is a Mine? + +A cavity under ground, formed for the purpose of obtaining metals, +&c.; mines are often very deep and extensive. The descent into them is +by a pit, called a shaft; the clues by which mines are discovered, +are, mineral springs, the discoloration of vegetables, the appearance +of pieces of ore, &c. + + _Clues_, signs or means by which things hidden are brought + to light. + + +What is Brass? + +A factitious metal, consisting of copper and zinc. Brass is lighter +and harder than pure copper, and less subject to rust; owing to these +properties, together with its beautiful color, it is extremely useful +in the manufacture of many utensils. + + _Factitious_, made by art, not found in a natural state. + + +What is Zinc? + +A metal of a brilliant bluish white color. Its name was unknown to the +ancient Greeks and Arabians. It is mixed with other substances in the +ore, from which it is obtained by smelting in the furnace. It has +never yet been found native or pure. + + +For what is Zinc used? + +From its readiness to dissolve in all acids, and unite with other +metals, it is used in alloy with them in the composition of brass, &c. +Thin sheets of zinc are also used to cover roofs of houses, and in the +manufacture of various household utensils. + + +What is Lapis Calaminaris? + +Lapis Calaminaris, or calamine stone, is a native carbonate of zinc, +of some use in medicine, but chiefly in founding. It is, sometimes +brownish, as that found in Germany and England, or red, as that of +France. It is dug out of mines, usually in small pieces; generally out +of those of lead. Calamine is mostly found in barren, rocky soils. + +_Founding_, the art of casting metals. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +YAMS, MANGOES, BREAD-FRUIT, SHEA OR BUTTER TREE, COW TREE, WATER +TREE, LICORICE, MANNA, OPIUM, TOBACCO, AND GUM. + + +What are Yams? + +The roots of a climbing plant growing in tropical climates. The root +of the yam is wholesome and well-flavored; nearly as large as a man's +leg, and of an irregular form. Yams are much used for food in those +countries where they grow; the natives either roast or boil them, and +the white people grind them into flour, of which they make bread and +puddings. The yam is of a dirty brown color outside, but white and +mealy within. + + +What are Mangoes? + +The fruit of the Mango Tree, a native of India and the south-western +parts of Asia; it also grows abundantly in the West Indies and Brazil. +It was introduced into Jamaica in 1782; where it attains the height of +thirty or forty feet, with thick and wide-extended branches. The +varieties of the mango are very numerous,--upwards of eighty are +cultivated; and the quality of these varies according to the countries +and situations in which they grow. The mangoes of Asia are said to be +much better than those of America. + + +Describe the appearance of the Mango Tree. + +The flowers of this tree are small and whitish, formed in pyramidal +clusters. The fruit has some resemblance to a short thick cucumber, +about the size of a goose's egg; its taste is delicious and cooling; +it has a stone in the centre, like that of a peach. At first this +fruit is of a fine green color, and some varieties continue so, while +others change to a fine golden or orange color. The mango tree is an +evergreen, bearing fruit once or twice a year, from six or seven years +old to a hundred. + +_Pyramidal_, resembling a pyramid. + + +How is this fruit eaten? + +When ripe, it is eaten by the natives either in its natural state, or +bruised in wine. It is brought to us either candied or pickled, as the +ripe fruit is very perishable; in the latter case, they are opened +with a knife, and the middle filled up with fresh ginger, garlic, +mustard, salt, and oil or vinegar. The fruit of the largest variety +weighs two pounds or upwards. The several parts of this tree are all +applied to some use by the Hindoos: the wood is consecrated to the +service of the dead; from the flour of the dried kernels different +kinds of food are prepared; the leaves, flowers, and bark, are +medicinal. + +_Medicinal_, fit for medicine, possessing medical properties. + +_Consecrated_, separated from a common to a sacred use. + + +Is there not a tree which bears a fruit that may be used for bread? + +Yes; the Bread-fruit Tree, originally found in the southeastern parts +of Asia and the islands of the Pacific Ocean, though introduced into +the tropical parts of America. It is one of the most interesting, as +well as singular productions of the vegetable kingdom, being no less +beautiful than it is useful. This tree is large and shady; its leaves +are broad and indented, like those of the fig tree--from twelve to +eighteen inches long, rather fleshy, and of a dark green. The fruit, +when full-grown, is from six to nine inches round, and of an oval +form--when ripe, of a rich, yellow tinge; it generally hangs in +clusters of two or three, on a small thick stalk; the pulp is white, +partly farinaceous, and partly fibrous, but when ripe, becomes yellow +and juicy. + + _Indented_, toothed like the edge of a saw. + + _Farinaceous_, mealy, consisting of meal or flour; from + _farina_, flour. + + +How is the Bread-Fruit eaten? + +It is roasted until the outside is of a brown color and crisp; the +pulp has then the consistency of bread, which the taste greatly +resembles; and thus it forms a nourishing food: it is also prepared in +many different ways, besides that just mentioned. The tree produces +three, sometimes four crops in a year, and continues bearing for fifty +years, so that two or three trees are enough for a man's yearly +supply. Its timber, which at first is of a rich yellow, but afterwards +assumes the color of mahogany, is used in the building of houses and +canoes; the flowers, when dried, serve as tinder; the sap or juice +serves for glue; the inner bark is made, by the natives of some of the +islands of the Pacific Ocean, into a kind of cloth; and the leaves are +useful for many purposes. One species of the bread-fruit, called the +Jaca tree, grows chiefly on the mainland of Asia. + + _Mainland_, the continent. + + +Describe the Jaca Tree. + +This kind grows to the same, if not a larger size than the bread-fruit +of the islands, but is neither so palatable nor so nutritious; the +fruit often weighs thirty pounds, and contains two or three hundred +seeds, each four times as large as an almond. December is the time +when the fruit ripens; it is then eaten, but not much relished; the +seeds are also eaten when roasted. There are also other trees in +different parts of the world, mostly of the palm species, which yield +bread of a similar kind. + + +Is there not a tree which produces a substance resembling the Butter +which we make from the milk of the cow? + +The Shea, or Butter Tree, a native of Africa: it is similar in +appearance to the American oak, and the fruit, (from the kernel of +which the butter is prepared,) is somewhat like an olive in form. The +kernel is inclosed in a sweet pulp, under a thin, green rind. + + +How is the Butter extracted? + +The kernel, being taken out and dried in the sun, is boiled in water; +by which process a white, firm, and rich-flavored butter is produced, +which will keep for a whole year without salt. The growth and +preparation of this commodity is one of the first objects of African +industry, and forms a principal article of their trade with one +another. + + +You have given me an account of a useful Butter prepared from a plant; +is there not also a tree which can supply the want of a cow? + +In South America there is a tree, the juice of which is a nourishing +milk; it is called the Cow Tree. This tree is very fine; the leaves +are broad, and some of them ten inches long; the fruit is rather +fleshy, and contains one or two nuts or kernels. The milk is very +abundant, and is procured by incisions made in the trunk of the tree; +it is tolerably thick, and of a glutinous quality, a pleasant taste, +and agreeable smell. The negroes and people at work on the farms drink +it, dipping into it their bread made of maize. + + _Glutinous_, having the quality of glue,--an adhesive, gummy + substance, prepared from the skins of animals: it is used in + joining wood, &c., and for many other purposes. + + +What time of the day is the best for drawing the juice? + +Sunrise; the blacks and natives then hasten from all quarters with +large bowls to receive the milk; some drink it on the spot, others +carry it home to their families. + + +What island possesses a remarkable substitute for the want of springs +of Water? + +Ferro, one of the Canary Isles, situated in the Atlantic Ocean. In +this island there is no water, except on a part of the beach which is +nearly inaccessible; to supply the place of a fountain, Nature has +bestowed on the island a particular kind of tree, unknown in other +parts of the world. It is of a moderate size, with straight, long, +evergreen leaves; on its top a small cloud continually rests, which so +drenches the leaves with moisture, that it perpetually distils upon +the ground a stream of clear water. To these trees, as to perennial +springs, the inhabitants of Ferro repair, and are supplied with +abundance of water for themselves and cattle. + + _Perennial_, lasting through the year, perpetual. + + +What is Licorice? + +A plant, the juice of which is squeezed from the roots, and then +boiled with sugar, and used as a remedy for coughs, &c. Great +quantities are exported from Spain, Italy, &c. The dried root is of +great use in medicine, and makes an excellent drink for colds and +other affections of the lungs by boiling it with linseed. + + +What are the Lungs? + +The organs of respiration in man and many other animals. There are two +of these organs, one on each side of the chest. + + _Respiration_, breathing; the act of inhaling air into the lungs, + and again expelling it, by which animal life is supported. + + +What is Manna? + +A sweet, white juice, oozing from the branches and leaves of a kind of +ash tree, growing chiefly in the southern parts of Italy, during the +heats of summer. When dry, it is very light, easily crumbled, and of a +whitish, or pale yellow color, not unlike hardened honey. + + +Is Manna peculiar to the Ash Tree of Southern Italy? + +No. Manna is nothing more than the nutritious juices of the tree, +which exude during the summer heats; and what confirms this is, that +the very hot summers are always those which are most productive of +manna. Several different species of trees produce a kind of manna; the +best and most used is, however, that of Calabria, in Italy. + + +What are its uses? + +It was much esteemed formerly in medicine, but it has now gone nearly +into disuse. The peasants of Mount Libanus eat it as others do honey. +The Bedouin Arabs consume great quantities, considering it the +greatest dainty their country affords. In Mexico, they are said to +have a manna which they eat as we do cheese. At Briançon, in France, +they collect it from all sorts of trees that grow there, and the +inhabitants observe, that such summers as produce the greatest +quantities of manna are very fatal to the trees, many of them +perishing in the winter. + + +Is there not another tree which produces Manna? + +Yes: the Tamarisk, a tree peculiar to Palestine and parts of Arabia. +This remarkable substance is produced by several trees, and in various +countries of the East. On Mount Sinai there is a different species of +Tamarisk that yields it. It is found on the branches of the tree, and +falls on the ground during the heat of the day. + + +Where is Mount Libanus? + +Mount Libanus, or Lebanon, is situated in Asiatic Turkey; it was +anciently famous for its large and beautiful cedar trees. The "Cedars +of Lebanon" are frequently mentioned in Holy Writ. There are now +scarcely any remaining of superior size and antiquity, but they vary +from the largest size down to mere saplings; and their numbers seem to +increase rather than diminish, there being many young trees springing +up. + + +How is Manna gathered? + +From August to September, the Italians collect it in the following +manner, _viz._: by making an incision at the foot of the tree, each day +over that of the preceding, about four inches from one another: these +cuts, or incisions, are nearly two inches long, and half an inch deep. +When the cut is made, the manna directly begins to flow, at first like +clear water, but congealing as it flows, it soon becomes firm: this +they collect in baskets. Manna has been found to consist of two +distinct substances one nearly resembling sugar, the other similar to +a gum or mucilage. + + +What nation was fed with a kind of Manna? + +The Children of Israel, when wandering in the desert wilderness, where +no food was to be procured, were fed by a miraculous supply of manna, +showered down from Heaven every morning on the ground in such +quantities as to afford sufficient food for the whole host. + + +What is Opium? + +A narcotic, gummy, resinous juice, drawn from the head of the white +poppy, and afterwards thickened; it is brought over in dark, reddish +brown lumps, which, when powdered, become yellow. + + _Narcotic_, producing sleep and drowsiness. + + +In what countries is it cultivated? + +In many parts of Asia, India, and even the southern parts of Europe, +whence it is exported into other countries. The Turks, and other +Eastern nations, chew it. With us it is chiefly used in medicine. The +juice is obtained from incisions made in the seed-vessels of the +plant; it is collected in earthen pots, and allowed to become +sufficiently hard to be formed into roundish masses of about four +pounds weight. In Europe the poppy is cultivated mostly for the seeds. +Morphia and laudanum are medicinal preparations of opium. + + +What is Tobacco? + +An herbaceous plant which flourishes in many temperate climates, +particularly in North America; it is supposed to have received its +name from Tabaco, a province of Mexico; it is cultivated in the West +Indies, the Levant, on the coast of Greece, in the Archipelago, Malta, +Italy, France, Ceylon, &c. It was not known in Europe till the +discovery of America by the Spaniards; and was carried to England +about the time of Queen Elizabeth, either by Sir Francis Drake or Sir +Walter Raleigh. Tobacco is either taken as snuff, smoked in pipes or +in the form of cigars, or chewed in the mouth like opium. There are +many different species of this plant, most of them natives of America, +some of the Cape of Good Hope and China. Tobacco contains a powerful +poison called nicotine. + + _Herbaceous_, like an herb or plant, not a shrub or tree. + + +What part of the plant is used? + +The leaves, which are stripped from the plant, and after being +moistened with water, are twisted up into rolls; these are cut up by +the tobacconist, and variously prepared for sale, or reduced into a +scented powder called snuff. + + +Who was Sir Francis Drake? + +Sir Francis Drake was a distinguished naval officer, who flourished in +the reign of Elizabeth. He made his name immortal by a voyage into the +South Seas, through the Straits of Magellan; which, at that time, no +Englishman had ever attempted. He died on board his own ship in the +West Indies, 1595. + + +Who was Sir Walter Raleigh? + +Sir Walter Raleigh was also an illustrious English navigator and +historian, born in 1552. He performed great services for Queen +Elizabeth, particularly in the discovery of Virginia, and in the +defeat of the Spanish Armada; he lived in honor and prosperity during +her reign, but on the accession of James the First, was stripped of +his favor at court, unaccountably accused of high treason, tried, and +condemned to die; being reprieved, however, he was imprisoned in the +Tower of London many years, during which time he devoted himself to +writing and study. Receiving, at last, a commission to go and explore +the gold mines at Guiana, he embarked; but his design having been +betrayed to the Spaniards, he was defeated: and on his return to +England, in July, 1618, was arrested and beheaded, (by order of the +King, on his former attainder,) October 29; suffering his fate with +great magnanimity. + + _High Treason_, in England, means an offence committed + against the sovereign. In the United States it consists in + levying war against the government, adhering to its enemies, + and giving them aid and comfort. + + _Reprieved_, respited from sentence of death. + + _Magnanimity_, greatness of mind, bravery. + + +What is Gum? + +A mucilaginous juice, exuding from the bark of certain trees or +plants, drawn thence by the warmth of the sun in the form of a +glutinous matter; and afterwards by the same cause rendered firm and +tenacious. There are many different gums, named after the particular +tree or plant from which they are produced. + + _Mucilaginous_, consisting of mucilage. + + _Tenacious_, adhering closely. + + +What is the character of Gum? + +Gum is capable of being dissolved in water, and forming with it a +viscid transparent fluid; but not in vinous spirits or oil; it burns +in the fire to a black coal, without melting or catching fire; and +does not dissolve in water at boiling heat. The name of _gum_ has been +inaccurately given to several species of gum-resins, which consist of +resin and various other substances, flowing from many kinds of trees, +and becoming hard by exposure to the air. These are soluble in dilute +alcohol. Gum is originally a milky liquor, having a greater quantity +of water mixed with its oily parts, and for that reason it dissolves +in either water or oil. Another sort is not oily, and therefore +dissolves in water only, as gum Arabic, the gum of the cherry-tree, +&c. + + _Viscid_, thick, ropy. + + _Vinous_, having the qualities of wine. + + +Are the last-mentioned sorts properly called Gums? + +No, though commonly called gums, they are only dried mucilages, which +were nothing else than the mucilaginous lymph issuing from the vessels +of the tree, in the same manner as it does from mallows, comfrey, and +even from the cucumber; the vessels of which being cut across, yield a +lymph which is plainly mucilaginous, and if well dried, at length +becomes a kind of gum, or rather, a hardened mucilage. + + _Lymph_, transparent fluid. + + +What is Gum Arabic? + +The juice of a small tree of the Acacia tribe, growing in Egypt, +Arabia Petræa, Palestine, and in different parts of America. + + +Are there other plants or trees which produce Gum, besides those +already mentioned? + +A great number, though not all commonly in use. The leaves of rhubarb, +the common plum, and even the sloe and the laurel, produce a clear, +tasteless gum; there are also a number of different gums, brought from +foreign countries, of great use in medicine and the arts. Most of the +Acacias produce gums, though the quality of all is not equally good. + + +What is Rhubarb? + +A valuable root growing in China, Turkey, and Russian Tartary. +Quantities of it are imported from other parts of the world: that from +Turkey is esteemed the best. Rhubarb is also cultivated in our +gardens, and the stalks of the leaves are often used in tarts; but the +root, from the difference of climate, does not possess any medicinal +virtue. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + +SPECTACLES, MARINER'S COMPASS, BAROMETER, THERMOMETER, WATCHES, +CLOCKS, TELESCOPE, MICROSCOPE, GUNPOWDER, STEAM ENGINE, AND +ELECTRO-MAGNETIC TELEGRAPH. + + +When were Spectacles invented, and who was their inventor? + +It is supposed that they were first known about the thirteenth +century, and invented by a monk of Pisa, in Italy, named Alexander de +Spina. Spectacles are composed of two circular pieces of glass set in +a frame. + + +What are these glasses called? + +Lenses. They are either convex or concave, according to the kind of +sight requiring them. Old people, and those who can only see things at +a distance, from the flatness of the eye, which prevents the rays of +light converging so as to meet in the centre, require convex lenses. +People who can only distinguish objects when viewed closely, from the +eye being too convex, require concave lenses to counteract it by +spreading the rays, and thus rendering vision distinct. + + _Convex_, rising outwardly in a circular form; opposite to + concave. + + _Concave_, hollow; round, but hollow, as the inner curve of + an arch, &c. + + _Converging_, tending to one point from different parts. + + _Vision_, the faculty of seeing. + + +What is the Mariner's Compass? + +A most useful and important instrument, by the aid of which the +navigator guides his ship on the sea, and steers his way to the place +of his destination. The inventor of the Mariner's Compass is not +known, nor the exact time of its introduction; it was employed in +Europe in navigation about the middle of the thirteenth century, and +has been in use more than five hundred years. The Chinese are said to +have been acquainted with it much earlier, but no reliance can be +placed on their dates. The power of the loadstone to attract iron was +known to the ancient Egyptians, but it was not applied to any +practical purpose. + + _Navigator_, one who guides a ship. + + _Steer_, to direct or guide a vessel in its course. + + _Destination_, the place to which a person is bound. + + _Practical_, capable of practice, not merely speculative. + + +What is the Loadstone? + +An ore of iron which possesses the peculiar property of attracting +iron, namely, of drawing it in contact with its own mass, and holding +it firmly attached by its own power of attraction. A piece of +loadstone drawn several times along a needle, or a small piece of +iron, converts it into an artificial magnet; if this magnetized needle +is carefully balanced, it will turn round of itself, till its end +points towards the North. The magnetized needle also possesses the +power of attracting iron, and of communicating this power to another +piece of iron or steel, similar to that of the loadstone itself. + + _Contact_, touch. + + _Magnetized_, rendered magnetic. + + +Describe the Mariner's Compass. + +The Mariner's Compass consists of a circular box, enclosing a +magnetized bar of steel, called the _needle_, carefully balanced on an +upright steel pivot, and having that end which points to the North +shaped like the head of an arrow; attached to this needle, and turning +with it, is a card on which are printed the divisions of North, South. +East, and West; called the points of the compass. By simply looking at +the position of the needle, the mariner can see the direction in which +his vessel is sailing, and regulate his helm accordingly. + + _Helm_, the instrument by which a ship is steered, + consisting of a rudder and tiller. + + +What is a Barometer? + +An instrument for measuring the weight of the atmosphere, which +enables us to determine the changes of the weather, the height of +mountains, &c. It consists of a glass tube hermetically sealed at one +end, filled with mercury, and inverted in a basin of mercury; +according to the weight of the atmosphere, this mercury rises or +falls. + + +How is the Hermetic seal formed? + +By heating the edges of a vessel, till they are just ready to melt, +and then twisting them closely together with hot pincers, so that the +air may be totally excluded. The word is taken from Hermes, the Greek +name for Mercury, the heathen god of arts and learning, and the +supposed inventor of chemistry,[9] which is sometimes called the +hermetical art; or perhaps from Hermes, an ancient king of Egypt, who +was either its inventor, or excelled in it. + +[Footnote 9: See Chapter XVIII., article Chemistry.] + + +What is Mercury? + +Quicksilver, or mercury, is a white fluid metal, the heaviest except +platina and gold; it readily combines with nearly all other metals, +and is used in the manufacture of looking-glasses, barometers, +thermometers, &c.; in some of the arts, and in the preparation of +several powerful medicines. It is found in California, Hungary, +Sweden, Spain, China, and Peru. The quicksilver mine of Guança Velica, +in Peru, is one hundred and seventy fathoms in circumference, and four +hundred and eighty deep. In this profound abyss are seen streets, +squares, and a chapel, where religious worship is performed. The +quicksilver mines of Idria, a town of Lower Austria, have continually +been wrought for more than 300 years. The vapor which is continually +arising from the mercury is very hurtful to the miners, who seldom +survive many years. + + _Abyss_, a gulf, a depth without bottom. + + +In what state is Mercury usually found? + +Either native, or in the form of ore; it is often found mixed with +silver, but more frequently with sulphur in the form of sulphuret, +which is decomposed by distillation. Running mercury is found in +globules, in America, and is collected from the clefts of the rocks. +Mercury has the appearance of melted silver; it is neither ductile nor +malleable in this state; it is a substance so volatile, when heated, +that it may be evaporated like water; it is always seen in a fluid +state, even in temperate climates, as a very small portion of heat is +sufficient to preserve its fluidity. It is used to separate gold and +silver from the foreign matter found with those metals. Calomel, a +valuable medicine, and vermilion, a color, are both preparations of +mercury. + + _Globules_, small particles of matter having the form of a + ball or sphere. + + +What is a Thermometer? + +An instrument for measuring temperature. It consists of a fine glass +tube, terminated at one end in a bulb, usually filled with mercury, +which expands or contracts according to the degree of heat or cold. On +the scale of the Fahrenheit thermometer, the freezing point of water +is marked 32° and the boiling point at 212°. In both the Centigrade +and the Reaumur scales the freezing point is at 0, and the boiling +point at 100° in the Centigrade and at 80° in Reaumur's. The invention +of this instrument dates from about the close of the sixteenth +century; but it is not known by whom it was first brought into use. + + _Terminated_, finished, ended. + + +When and by whom were Watches and Clocks invented? + +Watches were invented about the year 1500, but who was the inventor is +disputed. They were, however, of little value as time-keepers, before +the application of the spiral spring as a regulator to the balance; +the glory of this excellent invention lies between Dr. Hooke and M. +Huygens; the English ascribing it to the former, the Dutch, French, +&c., to the latter. Some assert that pocket-watches were first made +about 1477, at Nuremberg, in Germany. The most ancient clock of which +we possess any certain account, was made in 1634 by Henry de Wycke, a +German artist; it was erected in a tower of the palace of Charles V., +king of France. The pendulum was applied by Huygens, in 1656. + + +What is a Pendulum? + +A weight so suspended from a fixed point that it may easily swing +backward and forward; its oscillations are always performed in equal +times, provided the length of the pendulum and the gravity remain the +same. It is said that the idea of employing the pendulum for the +measurement of time, was first conceived by Galileo, while a young +man, upon his observing attentively the regular oscillations of a lamp +suspended from the roof of a church in Pisa. It was not, however, till +the time of Huygens that a method was devised of continuing its +motions, and registering the number of its oscillations. + + _Oscillation_, a swinging backward and forward. + + _Gravity_, the tendency of a body toward the centre of the + earth. + + _Registering_, recording. + +[Illustration: CHARCOAL BURNING.] + +[Illustration: GOLD MINERS WASHING ORE.] + + +To whom is the invention of Gunpowder ascribed? + +Most authors suppose it was invented by Bartholdus Schwartz, a monk of +Goslar, a town of Brunswick, in Germany, about the year 1320; it +appears, however, that it was known much earlier in many parts of the +world, and that the famous Roger Bacon, who died in 1292, knew its +properties; but it is not certain that he was acquainted with its +application to fire-arms. + + +Who was Roger Bacon? + +A learned Franciscan, born at Ilchester, England, in 1214. He studied +at Oxford, and afterwards became professor at that great University. +He was familiar with every branch of human knowledge, but was +especially distinguished for his extraordinary proficiency in the +natural sciences. To him we owe the invention of the telescope; that +of gunpowder is ascribed to him, as stated above, although we have no +evidence to show whether he discovered its ingredients himself, or +whether he derived the knowledge from some ancient manuscripts. Bacon +suffered some from the ignorance of the age in which he lived, many of +his experiments being looked upon as magic. He died at Oxford in the +year 1294. + + +What is understood by Magic? + +Magic is a term used to signify an unlawful and wicked kind of +science, depending, as was pretended, on the assistance of superhuman +beings and of departed souls. The term was anciently applied to all +kinds of learning, and in particular to the science of the Magi or +Wise Men of Persia, from whom it was called magic. _Natural_ magic is +no more than the application of natural active causes to passive +things or subjects, to produce effects apparently supernatural. + + _Supernatural_, beyond the powers of nature; miraculous. + + +Of what is Gunpowder composed? + +Of saltpetre,[10] sulphur, and charcoal, mixed together and powdered; +its explosive force when fired, is owing to the instantaneous and +abundant liberation of gaseous matter by the intense heat resulting +from the action of the combustibles upon the saltpetre. It is not +known by whom it was first applied to the purposes of war, but it is +certain that it was used early in the fourteenth century. Cannons were +used at the battle of Cressy, in 1346; small guns, or muskets, were +introduced into the Spanish army in 1521. + +[Footnote 10: See Chapter XIII.] + + _Explosive_, bursting out with violence and noise. + + _Liberation_, a setting at liberty. + + +Is not Gunpowder highly combustible? + +So combustible is gunpowder, that a single spark of fire, lighting +upon any of it, will cause it to explode with immense force; and +instances have occurred, when any store or magazine of it has taken +fire, that have been attended with the most fatal effects. It is +useful to the miner and engineer as a ready means of overcoming the +obstacles which are presented in their search for mineral treasures, +and in procuring materials for building. From many passages in the +ancient authors, there is reason to suppose that gunpowder, or a +composition extremely like it, was known to them; but it does not +appear to have been in general use, and the invention of fire-arms is +comparatively modern. Dynamite, a recent invention, has a still +greater explosive force than gunpowder. + + _Engineer_, one who works or directs an engine. + + _Obstacles_, hinderances, obstructions. + + +What is Saltpetre? + +A bitter kind of salt, called by the ancients nitre, but more commonly +among us saltpetre. It is composed of nitric acid and potassa.[11] It +is found in earthy substances; sometimes native or pure, in the form +of a shapeless salt. Vast quantities are found in several of the +marly earths of the East Indies, China, Persia, and also in South +America. In India it is found naturally crystallized, and forming thin +crusts upon the surface of the earth. It is especially abundant in the +United States, being found in immense quantities in the limestone +caves in the south-western States. + +[Footnote 11: See Potash, Chapter VII., article Glass.] + + +What do you mean by _Marly_? + +Consisting of marl, a kind of earth composed of different proportions +of clay and carbonate of lime; it is much used for manure. There are +several different-colored marls, each possessing different qualities. +The most common are the red and the white, though there are grey, +brown, blue, and yellow colored marls. + + +What is a Telescope? + +An optical instrument, which serves for discovering and viewing +distant objects, either directly by glasses, or by reflection. The +invention of the telescope is one of the noblest and most useful of +which modern ages can boast, since by means of this instrument the +wonderful motions of the planets and fixed stars, and all the heavenly +bodies, are revealed to us. The honor of the invention is much +disputed; it is certain, however, that the celebrated Galileo was the +first who improved the telescope so as to answer astronomical +purposes. The name is formed from two Greek words, one signifying +_far_, the other _to observe_. + + _Optical_, relating to Optics, the science of vision. + + _Astronomical_, relating to Astronomy. + + +Who was Galileo? + +A most eminent astronomer and mathematician, born at Florence, in +Italy. His inventions and discoveries in Astronomy, Geometry, and +Mechanics, contributed much to the advancement of those sciences. He +died in 1642. + + _Astronomer_, one versed in Astronomy. + + _Mathematician_, one versed in Mathematics; a science which + treats of magnitude and number. + + +What is Astronomy?[12] + +That science which teaches the knowledge of the heavenly bodies, with +the nature and causes of their various phenomena. + +[Footnote 12: See Chapter xviii.] + + +What is Geometry? + +An ancient, perfect, and beautiful science, which treats of the +relations and properties of lines, surfaces, and solids. + + +What is meant by Mechanics? + +The science which investigates the laws of forces and powers, and +their action on bodies, either directly or by machinery. When the term +_mechanic_ is applied to a _person_, it means one skilled in +mechanics, accustomed to manual labor. + + _Investigate_, to search, to inquire into. + + _Manual_, performed by the hand. + + +What is a Microscope? + +An optical instrument, by means of which very minute objects are +represented exceedingly large, and viewed very distinctly according to +the laws of refraction or reflection. Nothing certain is known +respecting the inventor of microscopes, or the exact time of their +invention, but that they were first used in Germany, about 1621. + + _Minute_, small, diminutive. + + _Refraction_, a change in the direction of a ray of light, + when it passes through transparent substances of different + densities. + + _Reflection_, a turning back of a ray of light after + striking upon any surface. + + +What is the Steam Engine? + +A machine that derives its moving power from the force of the steam +produced from boiling water, which is very great, especially when, as +in the steam engine, it is confined within a limited compass: this +useful machine is one of the most valuable presents that the arts of +life have received from the philosopher, and is of the greatest +importance in working mines; supplying cities with water; in working +metals; in many mechanical arts; and in navigation. By the aid of +steam, vessels are propelled with greater swiftness than those which +are wholly dependent on the winds and tides; and thus trade is +facilitated, and we are enabled to communicate with distant lands in a +much shorter space of time than was formerly consumed. On land, +railroads are constructed, on which steam carriages run with +astonishing rapidity, so that a journey which by coach and horses +formerly required two or more days, may now be performed in four or +five hours. + + _Mechanical_, belonging to Mechanics. + + +To whom are we indebted for its invention? + +Its invention is by most writers ascribed to the Marquis of Worcester, +an Englishman, about 1663; but it does not appear that the inventor +could ever interest the public in favor of this, or his other +discoveries. The steam engine of Captain Savery, also an Englishman, +is the first of which any definite description has been preserved. It +was invented in 1698. Since that period it has been successively +improved by various persons, but it is to Mr. Watt and Mr. Boulton, of +England, that it is indebted for much of its present state of +perfection. + + +By whom was the Steam Engine first applied to the purposes of +Navigation? + +By John Fitch, of Pennsylvania. From papers in the historical +collections of Pennsylvania, it appears that the first successful +experiments were made at Philadelphia, in 1785, three years before the +attempts at Falkirk, and on the Clyde, in Scotland. The boat made +several trips on the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers, but owing to +repeated accidents to her machinery, and the want of funds and +competent mechanics for the necessary repairs, she was abandoned. In +1807, Robert Fulton, also of Pennsylvania, made his first experimental +trip on the Hudson River, with complete success. To this distinguished +and ingenious American justly belongs the honor of having brought +navigation by steam to a state of perfection. In 1819, the first +steamship crossed the Atlantic from Savannah to Liverpool; and in +1838, a regular communication by steamship was established between +Great Britain and the United States. Since that period, ocean +navigation by steam-vessels has made rapid progress, and, at the +present time, numbers of steamers connect our various seaports with +those of other nations, and with each other. + + +What is the Electro-Magnetic Telegraph? + +An instrument, or apparatus, by means of which intelligence is +conveyed to any distance with the velocity of lightning. The electric +fluid, when an excess has accumulated in one place, always seeks to +transfer itself to another, until an equilibrium of its distribution +is fully restored. Consequently, when two places are connected by +means of a good conductor of electricity, as, for instance, the +telegraphic wire; the fluid generated by a galvanic battery, if the +communication be rendered complete, instantaneously traverses the +whole extent of the wire, and charges, at the distant station, an +electro-magnet; this attracts one end of a lever, and draws it +downward, while the other extremity is thrown up, and, by means of a +style, marks a slip of paper, which is steadily wound off from a +roller by the aid of clock-work. If the communication is immediately +broken, only one wave of electricity passes over, and a _dot_ is made +upon the paper; if kept up, a _line_ is marked. These dots and lines +are made to represent the letters of the alphabet, so that an operator +employed for the purpose can easily read the message which is +transmitted.--The Electro-Magnetic Telegraph was first introduced upon +a line between Baltimore and Washington, by Professor Morse, in 1844; +at the present time, it is in successful operation between nearly all +the important cities and towns of the United States and of Europe. + + An _Electro-Magnet_ is a piece of soft iron, rendered + temporarily magnetic by being placed within a coil of wire + through which a current of electricity is passing. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +SOAP, CANDLES, TALLOW TREE, SPERMACETI, WAX, MAHOGANY, INDIAN +RUBBER OR CAOUTCHOUC, SPONGE, CORAL, LIME, CARBON, OXYGEN, NITROGEN, +GAS, HYDROGEN, CHALK, AND MARBLE. + + +Of what is Soap composed? + +Of soda or potash, and various oily substances; it is so useful for +domestic and other purposes, that it may be regarded as one of the +necessaries of life; immense quantities of it are consumed in all +civilized countries. Soft soap is generally made of a lye of +wood-ashes and quicklime, boiled up with tallow or oil; common +household soap of soda and tallow, or of potash and tallow; when +potash is used, a large portion of common salt, which contains soda, +is added to harden it. The finest white soaps are made of olive oil +and a lye consisting of soda and quicklime; perfumes are sometimes +added, or various coloring matters stirred in to give the soap a +variegated appearance. The ancient Greeks and Hebrews appear to have +been acquainted with the art of making soap, or a composition very +similar to it; and also the ancient Gauls and Germans. A soap-boiler's +shop, with soap in it, was found in the city of Pompeii, in Italy, +which was overwhelmed by an eruption of Mount Vesuvius, A.D. 79. + + +What is Soda? + +Soda, or barilla, is obtained from the ashes of marine plants, and by +the decomposition of common salt; its great depository is the ocean, +soda being the basis of salt. The marine plants from which the soda is +obtained, are endowed with the property of decomposing the sea-salt +which they imbibe, and of absorbing the soda which it contains. It is +found native in Egypt, and is there called _natron_; a name similar to +that which it bore among the Jews and Greeks. + + _Depository_, store-house, place where anything is lodged. + + _Imbibe_, to drink in, to absorb. + + +Of what are Candles made? + +Of Tallow, which means animal fat melted and clarified, that is, +cleansed or purified from filth. Tallow is procured from many animals, +but the most esteemed, and the most used, is that made from oxen, +sheep, swine, goats, deer, bears, &c.; some of which tallows or fats +are used in medicine, some in making soap, and dressing leather; +others in the manufacture of candles, &c. For the last-mentioned +article, that of sheep and oxen is most used; candles of a better sort +are likewise made of wax and spermaceti. Candles are kept burning by +means of a wick of cotton or rush, placed in the centre of the tallow, +which is moulded into a cylindrical form. + + _Cylindrical_, having the form of a cylinder. + + +Is there not a tree which yields a vegetable Tallow? + +Yes; China possesses a tree producing a substance like our tallow, of +which the Chinese make their candles; this tallow is extracted from +the stone of the fruit, the tallow being a white pulp which surrounds +it. In America, likewise, there is a shrub, a native of the temperate +parts, especially towards the sea-side, the seeds of which contain a +waxy substance used for the same purpose, and which is extracted by +boiling; this shrub is a species of myrtle, and does not attain to any +great size. + + _Extracted_, drawn from. + + +What is Spermaceti? + +A whitish, flaky, unctuous substance, prepared from an oil of the same +name, drawn from a particular kind of whale, distinguished from the +common whale by having teeth, and a hunch on its back. + + _Flaky_, having the nature of flakes. + + +What is Wax? + +A soft, yellow, concrete matter, collected from vegetables by the +bee, of which this industrious and useful insect constructs its cell. +Wax forms a considerable article of trade; it is of two kinds, the +yellow and the white; the yellow is the native wax as it is taken from +the hive, and the white is the same washed, purified, and exposed to +the air. + + _Concrete_, grown together, solid. + + +What Tree produces the beautiful and well-known wood so much used in +making the various articles of household furniture? + +The Mahogany Tree, growing in America, and the East and West Indies; +it frequently grows in the crevices of rocks, and other places of the +same description. This wood was not used for making furniture till +near the end of the seventeenth century. A London physician had a +brother, the captain of a West India ship, who, on his return to +England, having on board several logs of mahogany for the purpose of +ballast, made him a present of the wood, he being engaged in a +building project; his carpenter, however, threw it aside, observing +that it was too hard to be wrought. Some time after, the lady of the +physician being in want of a box to hold candles, the cabinet-maker +was directed to make it of this wood; he also made the same objection, +and declared that it spoiled his tools. Being urged, however, to make +another trial, he at length succeeded; when the box was polished, the +beautiful color of the wood was so novel, that it became an object of +great curiosity. Before this time, mahogany had been used partially in +the West Indies for ship-building, but this new discovery of its +beauty soon brought it into general use for making furniture. + + _Crevice_, a rent, a crack. + + _Ballast_, the heavy matter placed in the hold of a vessel + to keep it steady. + + +What is India Rubber or Caoutchouc? + +An elastic, resinous substance, produced from a tree, growing +abundantly at Cayenne, Quito, and other parts of South America; and +also in some parts of the Indies. The tree which produces it is +large, straight, and about sixty feet high. There is, however, a small +species found in Sumatra and Java, and some of the neighboring +islands. + + +How is the Caoutchouc obtained from the Tree? + +By making incisions in the trunk of the tree, from which the fluid +resin issues in great abundance, appearing of a milky whiteness at +first, but gradually becoming of a dark reddish color, soft and +elastic to the touch. + + +To what use is this substance put? + +The Indians make of it boots, shoes, bottles, flambeaux, and a species +of cloth. Amongst us it is combined with sulphur, forming the +vulcanized rubber of commerce, which is used for many purposes. A +greater proportion of sulphur, produces vulcanite, a hard black +substance, resembling jet. + + _Flambeaux_, torches burnt to give light. + + +What is Sponge? + +A marine substance, found adhering to rocks and shells under the +sea-water, or on the sides of rocks near the shore. Sponge was +formerly imagined by some naturalists to be a vegetable production; by +others, a mineral, or a collection of sea-mud, but it has since been +discovered to be the fabric and habitation of a species of worm, or +polypus. + + +What do you mean by Polypus? + +A species of animals called Zoophytes, by which are meant beings +having such an admixture of the characteristics of both plants and +animals, as to render it difficult to decide to which division they +properly belong. They are animal in substance, possessed indeed of a +stomach, but without the other animal characteristics of +blood-vessels, bones, or organs of sense; these creatures live chiefly +in water, and are mostly incapable of motion: they increase by buds or +excrescences from the parent zoophyte, and if cut off will grow again +and multiply; each part becoming a perfect animal. Myriads of the +different species of zoophytes reside in small cells of coral, sponge, +&c., or in forms like plants, and multiply in such numbers as to +create rocks and whole islands in many seas, by their untiring +industry. Polypus signifies having many feet, or roots; it is derived +from the Greek. + + _Myriads_, countless numbers. + + +Whence are the best and greatest number of Sponges brought? + +From the Mediterranean, especially from Nicaria, an island near the +coast of Asia: the collection of sponges forms, in some of these +islands, the principal support of their inhabitants. They are procured +by diving under water, an exercise in which both men, women, and +children are skilled from their earliest years. The fine, small +sponges are esteemed the best, and usually come from Constantinople; +the larger and coarser sorts are brought from Tunis and Algiers, on +the coast of Africa. Sponge is very useful in the arts, as well as for +domestic purposes. + + +What is Coral? + +A substance which, like sponge, was considered as a vegetable +production, until about the year 1720, when a French gentleman of +Marseilles commenced (and continued for thirty years,) a series of +observations, and ascertained that the coral was a living animal of +the Polypus tribe. The general name of zoophytes, or plant animals, +has since been applied to them. These animals are furnished with +minute glands, secreting a milky juice; this juice, when exuded from +the animal, becomes fixed and hard. + + _Series_, a course or continued succession. + + _Glands_, vessels. + + _Exuded_, from exude, to flow out. + + +Is this substance considered by naturalists as the habitation of the +Insect? + +Not merely as the habitation, but as a part of the animal itself, in +the same manner that the shell of a snail or an oyster is of those +animals, and without which they cannot long exist. By means of this +juice or secretion, the coral insects, at a vast but unknown depth +below the surface of the sea, attach themselves to the points and +ridges of rocks, which form the bottom of the ocean; upon which +foundation the little architects labor, building up, by the aid of the +above-mentioned secretion, pile upon pile of their rocky habitations, +until at length the work rises above the sea, and is continued to such +a height as to leave it almost dry, when the insects leave building on +that part, and begin afresh in another direction under the water. Huge +masses of rocky substances are thus raised by this wonderful little +insect, capable of resisting the tremendous power of the ocean when +agitated to the highest pitch by winds or tempests. + + _Architect_, one who builds. + + +How do these Coral Rocks become Islands? + +After the formation of this solid, rocky base, sea-shells, fragments +of coral, and sea-sand, thrown up by each returning tide, are broken +and mixed together by the action of the waves; these, in time, become +a sort of stone, and thus raise the surface higher and higher; +meanwhile, the ever-active surf continues to throw up the shells of +marine animals and other substances, which fill up the crevices +between the stones; the undisturbed sand on its surface offers to the +seeds of trees and plants cast upon it by the waves, a soil upon which +they rapidly grow and overshadow the dazzling whiteness of the +new-formed land. Trunks of trees, washed into the sea by the rivers +from other countries and islands, here find a resting-place, and with +these come some small animals, chiefly of the lizard and insect tribe. +Even before the trees form a wood, the sea-birds nestle among their +branches, and the stray land-bird soon takes refuge in the bushes. At +last, man arrives and builds his hut upon the fruitful soil formed by +the corruption of the vegetation, and calls himself lord and master of +this new creation. + + _Surf_, the white spray or froth of the sea waves. + + +Where is the Coral Insect found? + +In nearly all great seas; but particularly in the Mediterranean, where +it produces Corallines of the most beautiful forms and colors: it is +in the Pacific Ocean, however, where these tiny workmen are effecting +those mighty changes, which exceed the most wonderful works of man. + + +What is that part of the Pacific called, where the Coral Rocks are +most abundant? + +The Coral Sea, from the number of coral reefs and sunken islands, with +which it abounds; it includes a region of many miles in extent, the +whole of which is studded with numberless reefs, rocks, islands, and +columns of coral, continually joining and advancing towards each +other. All navigators who have visited these seas, state that no +charts or maps are of any service after a few years, owing to the +number of fresh rocks and reefs which are continually rising to the +surface. The wonderful instinct of these animals leads them to +continue working without ceasing, until their labors are finished, or +their lives extinct. + + _Reef_, a chain or line of rocks lying near the surface of + the water. + + _Extinct_, at an end, dead. + + +What are the names of the principal islands of Coral formation? + +The New Hebrides, the Friendly Isles, the Navigator's Isles, the +Society Islands, the Marquesas, the Gambier group, and others. These +groups are separated from each other by channels or seas, wider than +those which divide the individual islands which form the respective +groups; but all these waters abound with shoals and minor islets, +which point out the existence of a common base, and show that the work +by which they will afterwards be united above the level of the sea is +continually going forward. + + _Shoals_, shallows; places where the water is of little + depth. + + _Minor_, less, smaller than others. + + _Existence_, being. + + +What is a singular characteristic of the Coral Islands? + +On all of them a plentiful supply of sweet and fresh water may be +obtained by digging three or four feet into the coral; and even within +one yard of high-water mark such a supply is to be found. They are +mostly covered with a deep rich soil, and well wooded with trees and +evergreens of different kinds. These islands vary in extent, as well +as in the degree of finish to which they have arrived; some of the +largest being about 30 miles in diameter, and the smallest something +less than a mile;--all of various shapes, and all formed of living +coral. + + _Diameter_, a straight line through the middle of a circle. + + +Is Coral put to any use by man? + +White Coral, which is nowhere so abundant as about the shores of +Ceylon, and others of the neighboring Indian coasts, is employed as +lime by the inhabitants of that part of the world, for building +houses, &c., by burning it after the manner of our lime. This coral +lies in vast banks, which are uncovered at low water. Coral, +particularly the beautiful red sort, is likewise made into various +ornaments, as necklaces, &c. + + +Of what is our Lime composed? + +Of a useful earth, which absorbs moisture and carbonic acid, and +exists as limestone, or in marble and chalk, which, when burnt, become +lime: in its native state it is called carbonate of lime, and is burnt +to disengage the carbonic acid; when made into a paste, with one part +water and three parts lime,[13] and mixed with some other mineral or +metallic substances, it forms plastic cements and mortars; and +afterwards, imbibing carbonic acid from the atmosphere, it becomes +again carbonate of lime, as hard as at first; and hence its use in +building. + +[Footnote 13: See Chapter XVI., article Lime.] + + _Plastic_, yielding, capable of being spread out or moulded. + + +What do you mean by Carbon? + +A simple substance, whose most common form is purified charcoal: it +is, in fact, the base of charcoal, divested of all impurities; +combined with oxygen, it forms _carbonic acid_ gas, formerly called +fixed air. It is diffused through all animal and vegetable bodies; and +may be obtained by exposing them to a red heat. In its pure, +crystallized state, it constitutes the diamond, and as graphite, is +used in making the so-called lead-pencils.[14] + +[Footnote 14: See Chapter XIV., article Diamond.] + + +What is Oxygen? + +Air, mentioned in the first chapter of this work as the gaseous +substance which composes the atmosphere, is formed by a mixture of two +distinct elements, one called Nitrogen, or Azote, the other Oxygen. +Oxygen is, therefore, an element or simple substance diffused +generally through nature, and its different combinations are essential +to animal life and combustion. It is, in fact, the most active agent +in nature, and the principle of acidity and combustion. So wholesome +and necessary is oxygen to life, that it is often called vital air. + + _Agent_, an actor; a person or thing possessing the faculty + of action. + + _Essential_, necessary. + + +What are the properties of Nitrogen or Azote? + +Nitrogen is a substance also generally diffused through nature, and +particularly in animal bodies, and causes great changes in those +absorbing or exposed to it. This gas, combined with oxygen and +hydrogen, produces neither light, heat, nor combustion, but serves to +dilute the others: of itself, it is hurtful to animal life. Nitrogen +makes the principal part of the salt we call _nitre_. + + +What is meant by Combustion? + +The decomposition of bodies by the action of fire; the union of +combustible bodies with the oxygen of the atmosphere. The greater +access the air has to a burning body, the more rapid and complete is +the process. + + _Combustible_, capable of taking fire. + + _Access_, the means or liberty of approach to anything. + + +Are all bodies equally combustible? + +No; some are more so than others, and burn with a bright flame; as +wood, dry vegetables, resins, oils, fats, &c.; others with difficulty, +and without any sensible flame, as soot, coal, the ashes of plants, +&c. There are bodies, also, which are incombustible--that is, +incapable of taking fire, as some alkalies, earths, &c. + + +What is Caloric? + +Caloric is that invisible agent which produces the sensation of heat. +It exists in all bodies; it is a force we are ever in want of, and +thus it is hid in everything around us, and penetrates all matter, +however different may be its nature or properties. + + +What is meant by Gas? + +All highly elastic fluids are called gases. Some are salutary, but +many extremely noxious, especially such as those arising from the +putrefaction of animal bodies; the burning of charcoal; corrupted air +at the bottom of mines, cellars, &c. The inflammable gas, which lights +our streets, churches, shops, &c., is procured chiefly from coal, +burnt in furnaces for the purpose the gas being passed through metal +pipes, conveyed underground to the places where the light is required: +escaping at the orifice prepared for it, it is lighted when wanted, +and burns with, a brilliant flame. This gas consists of hydrogen and +carbon; and the oxygen of the air, combined with the hydrogen, causes +light as long as hydrogen and oxygen exist and combine. + + _Salutary_, wholesome, healthful. + + _Noxious_, hurtful, unwholesome. + + _Putrefaction_, decay. + + _Orifice_, opening, hole. + +[Illustration: DIAMOND CUTTING AND POLISHING.] + + +What is Hydrogen? + +One of the most abundant principles in nature; one part of it, and +eight of oxygen, form water. It is only met with in a gaseous form; +it is also very inflammable, and is the gas called the fire-damp, so +often fatal to miners; it is the chief constituent of oils, fats, +spirits, &c.; and is produced by the decomposition of water. + + _Constituent_, that which forms an essential part of + anything. + + +What is Chalk? + +A white fossil substance, by some reckoned a stone, but of a friable +kind, which cannot, therefore, be polished as marble; by others, more +properly ranked among the earths. It is of two sorts, one a hard dry +chalk, used for making lime; the other a soft, unctuous kind, used in +manuring land, &c. Chalk always contains quantities of flint-stone, +and the fossil remains of shells, coral, animal bones, marine plants, +&c.; from which circumstance there can be no doubt that _chalk is the +deposited mud of a former ocean_. The chemical name of chalk is +carbonate of lime. It effervesces strongly with an acid. + + _Effervesce_, to froth or foam up. + + _Deposited_, placed on anything. + + +Where is Chalk found? + +In large beds or strata in the earth. Chalk, on account of its +abundance in England, forms an important feature in the scenery and +geology of that country; it causes the whiteness of its sea-cliffs. +Scotland and Wales are entirely without chalk. The white chalk is +found, with interruptions, over a space above eleven hundred miles +long, extending from the north of Ireland, through England, France, +Belgium, Germany, Poland, and Southern Russia, to the Crimea, with a +breadth of more than eight hundred miles. The Island of Crete, now +called Candia, situated in the Mediterranean, was formerly noted for +its chalk. This substance is very useful in many of the arts and +manufactures. + + +Where is the Crimea? + +The peninsula of the Crimea is a part of Russia, lying on the Black +Sea, by which it is bounded on the west and south. + + +Are there any other kinds of this earth besides the common white +chalk? + +Yes; there are various kinds of chalk, distinguished by their +different colors, as white, black, red, &c., found in various parts of +the world, of great use to the painter, both in oil and water colors, +and for drawing on paper, &c. + + +What is Marble? + +A kind of stone remarkable for its hardness and firm grain, and for +being susceptible of the finest polish. It is dug in great masses from +pits or quarries; and is much used in ornamental buildings, and for +statues, altars, tombs, chimney-pieces, &c. The word is derived from +the French _marbre_, marble. Marble is supposed to be formed, deep +within the bowels of the earth, from a loose and porous carbonate of +lime, subjected to enormous heat and pressure. + + _Susceptible_, easily admitting anything additional. + + _Porous_, full of holes, or interstices. + + +Are there different sorts of this Stone? + +Marbles are of many different kinds, usually named either from their +color or country; some of one simple color, as white, or black; others +streaked or variegated with different colors. They are classified as +ancient and modern: the ancient are those found in quarries now lost +or inaccessible to us, and of which there are only some wrought pieces +remaining;--the modern, those from quarries still open, and out of +which blocks of marble continue to be taken. + + +In what countries is Marble found? + +The United States, Great Britain, France, Spain, Italy, Africa, Egypt, +and many other countries, produce marbles of different colors and +qualities; some more beautiful, valuable, and more highly esteemed +than others, as those of Egypt, Italy, &c. Those, also, of different +places in the same country frequently differ from each other in +quality and appearance Of the European marbles, that of Italy is the +most valuable. + + +What kind appears to have been held in the greatest esteem by the +ancients? + +A beautiful white marble, called the Parian; of which the Grecian +statues were mostly made. By some, it is supposed to have taken its +name from the Isle of Paros, in the Mediterranean; but by others from +Parius, a famous statuary, who made it celebrated by cutting in it a +statue of Venus. Parian marble is often mentioned by ancient authors. + + _Statues_, figures of men, animals, &c., cut in stone or + marble. + + _Statuary_, one who makes statues. + + +Who was Venus? + +The goddess of love and beauty, who was an object of adoration in the +idolatrous ages, when men ignorantly knelt down and worshipped stocks +and stones, which their own hands had fashioned after the likeness of +things on the earth, or imaginary creations of their fancy;--or, +again, the sun, moon, and stars, instead of the one and only true God. +In those times, every nation had its peculiar deities, to whom were +paid divine rites and honors, and to whose names costly temples were +dedicated: these deities were divided into two classes, superior and +inferior. Venus was one of the Grecian goddesses, supposed by them to +have sprung from the froth of the sea. Kings and celebrated warriors, +and sages too, after death, frequently received divine honors; as +Confucius, the founder of the Chinese empire, who, after death, was +worshipped by that people as a god. Romulus, the first king of Rome, +likewise, was thus adored by the Romans; and many similar instances of +the same species of idolatry amongst other nations might be recorded. + + _Deities_, fabulous gods or goddesses. + + _Idolatrous_, given to the worship of idols. + + _Superior_, higher in rank. + + _Inferior_, of a lower rank. + + _Sage_, a wise man. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + +GOLD, SILVER, LEAD, TIN, PLATINA, SULPHUR, GEMS OR PRECIOUS +STONES, AS DIAMONDS, RUBIES, EMERALDS, TURQUOIS, PEARLS, +MOTHER-OR-PEARLS, AND IVORY. + + +What is Gold? + +The purest and most precious of metals: it is sometimes found in solid +masses, as in California, Peru, Hungary, &c.; in a shape resembling +the branches of plants; in thin plates covering other bodies, as in +Siberia; sometimes in a crystal form. It, however, generally occurs in +a metallic state, and most commonly in the form of grains. + + +What is it called when found in a perfect metallic form? + +Native gold: it is, however, seldom met with perfectly pure, being +frequently alloyed with silver, copper, iron, or platina; sometimes +concealed in other minerals; from which, if sufficiently abundant, it +is extracted by art. + + +Where and in what manner is Gold generally found? + +All parts of the earth afford gold; though with great difference in +point of purity and abundance. It is chiefly obtained from mines. Many +rivers contain gold in their sands, especially those of California and +Guinea. Gold mines are of rare occurrence in Europe, but the metal is +found in some of its rivers; among its mines, those of Upper Hungary +are the most considerable. China and Japan are rich in this metal; +many parts of Asia also possess it. Australia produces quantities of +the metal. It is also found in the eastern parts and interior of +Africa, where gold dust is collected in great quantities from earth +deposited by the rivers. But it is in America that gold is found in +the greatest abundance, particularly in the State of California, and +in some parts of South America, as Brazil, Peru, Chili, &c. + + _Guinea_, a country of Western Africa. + + +What are the uses of Gold? + +It is used for money, jewelry, plate, &c. It is also employed in +various ways in the arts. + + +What is the character of Gold? + +Gold is so ductile and malleable, that an ounce of it may be drawn +into a thread of 73 leagues in length; or beaten into 160 leaves of 9 +inches square, and thin enough to be carried away by the slightest +wind. It readily assumes any form that human art can bestow upon it: +its color is unalterable, and the beautiful polish of which it is +susceptible, renders it the best of all metals for ornamental +purposes. It is indestructible by air, water, or fire. Gold is the +heaviest of all metals, except platina; it is neither very elastic, +nor very hard. + + _League_, a measure of length containing three miles. + + _Indestructible_, incapable of being destroyed. + + +Is not the use of Gold quite ancient? + +Yes; it appears to have been very early known to the inhabitants of +the world. In the 13th Chapter of Genesis, Abram is spoken of as very +rich in silver and gold; and in the 2d Chapter of the same book, the +"land of Hevilath" (now in the eastern part of Arabia Felix,) is +pointed out as having gold. Arabia was famed for the fineness and +quality of its gold. In the time of Solomon, the gold of Ophir seems +to have been much esteemed, as it is recorded that the gold used in +the building of the Temple was brought from that place by the +merchant-vessels of Hiram, King of Tyre. Ophir is supposed to have +been situated somewhere in the East Indies. + + +What is Silver? + +A beautiful white shining metal, next to gold in value, and, like that +precious substance, of great antiquity. It is found in Sweden, Norway, +and the polar latitudes: when it occurs in hot climates, it is +generally amidst mountains, covered with perpetual snow. + + _Latitude_, breadth, width; in Geography, the distance of a + place in degrees, north or south, from the Equator. + + +Where are the richest Silver Mines found? + +In South America, especially among the Andes; the mines of Mexico, and +those of Nevada, also, are rich in this metal. The richest and most +important silver mines in Europe are those of Königsberg, in Norway, +and of Andalusia, in Spain. With the exception of gold, silver is the +most ductile of all metals: a single grain may be extended into a +plate 126 inches long, and half an inch broad. It is capable of still +further extension, but its tenacity is inferior even to that of iron +or copper. A silver wire one-tenth of an inch thick will scarcely bear +a weight of 290 pounds, whilst a gold wire of the same thickness will +support nearly double that weight. Like some other metals, it is +unalterable by air or moisture, but by an intense heat may be +volatilized, being sometimes found in the soot of chimneys where large +quantities are melted. + + _Volatilized_, made to fly off by evaporation. + + +In what state is Silver usually found? + +It is rarely found in a state of purity, being generally mixed with +other metals, as gold, lead, &c. Masses of native silver are of no +determinate form; being found sometimes in small branches, sometimes +in threads, or very frequently in leaves, as in the Siberian mines. +Native, or pure silver is chiefly found in the mines of Potosi. Silver +was used as money in commerce 1100 years before the foundation of +Rome. + + _Commerce_, trade of one nation with another, or different + persons, &c. with each other. + + +What is Tin? + +A white metal, softer than any other excepting lead, more elastic, and +more sonorous. Though tin is the lightest of all metals, its ore is, +when rich, the heaviest of all metallic ores. It has both smell and +taste; is less ductile than some harder metals, though it may be +beaten into very thin leaves; and it fuses so quickly, that it +requires a heat much less than is sufficient to make it red-hot. + + +Was not the use of Tin very early known? + +Tin was found in Britain from the earliest ages; the Phenicians traded +to Cornwall for this metal 600 years before Christ. + + +Where are the principal Tin Mines? + +In Saxony, Cornwall, and Bohemia. Tin is also found in Spain, Sumatra, +Siam, Mexico, and Chili. A few specimens have been found at Goshen, in +Massachusetts. + + _Specimens_, samples. + + +In what state is Tin generally found? + +Tin is sometimes found native or pure, but most frequently alloyed +with other metals: the working of tin mines is attended with much +difficulty, on account of their great depth, and the hard rocks which +obstruct the progress of the miners, who are often obliged to cut +through them. This metal is very useful in the making of domestic +utensils, for coating the inside of copper and iron vessels, and for +various other purposes. + + _Obstruct_, to stand in the way. + + +What is Lead? + +A coarse, heavy metal, of a bluish grey color: it is so soft and +flexible, that it is easily cut with a knife, and rolled out into +sheets, &c.; it is very fusible and inelastic, but less ductile and +sonorous, than any other metal. Next to gold, platina, and mercury, it +is the heaviest of the metals, being eleven times heavier than an +equal bulk of water. This metal loses its malleability in proportion +as it is heated: as soon as it melts it calcines, and greyish-colored +ashes are formed on its surface; when returning from a fluid to a +solid state, it is easily divided into small grains or powder, or +formed into shot, &c. Lead was in common use among the ancients. + + _Flexible_, yielding, easily bent. + + _Sonorous_, giving sound when struck. + + +Where is Lead found? + +In various countries; but it abounds principally in Great Britain and +Spain; the lead mines of Illinois, Wisconsin, and Iowa, are among the +richest in the world. Lead is a metal of great utility; it easily +melts and mixes with gold, silver, and copper; hence it is employed in +refining gold and silver, as it separates all the dirt and impurities +from them; it is much used in building, particularly for covering +gutters, pipes, &c.; lead is also used in varnishes and oil-painting, +and makes the basis of the glazing of all the earthen and pottery +wares. + + _Refining_, cleansing, purifying. + + _Varnishes_, preparations for beautifying and preserving + various articles. + + +What is peculiar to the ore of Lead? + +The ore of this metal is so poisonous, that the steam arising from the +furnaces in which it is smelted infects the grass of all the +neighboring places, and kills the animals which feed on it: culinary +vessels lined with a mixture of tin and lead, are apt to convey +pernicious qualities to the food prepared in them. There are various +preparations of lead, serving for different purposes. + + _Infects_, corrupts. + + _Culinary_, adapted to the purposes of cooking. + + _Pernicious_, hurtful, dangerous. + + _Ore_, the mineral soil, earth, or stone dug out of the + mines, which contains the metal. + + +What is Black Lead? + +It is a kind of mineral, of a deep shining black or bluish color, soft +and unctuous to the touch; it is insoluble in acids, and infusible by +fire. Black lead has been found in many parts of the world, in a state +of greater or less purity, but it is the English black lead which is +the most esteemed. + + _Insoluble_, incapable of dissolving. + + _Infusible_, not capable of being melted. + + +Is Black Lead a proper term for this mineral? + +No; because, in reality, there is not a particle of lead in it. On the +spot where it is procured, it is called by two or three different +names, but the most usual is Plumbago. + + +Where is the best Black Lead found? + +The best and greatest quantity is found in England, in a mine near +Keswick, in Cumberland. It is much used for pencils or crayons, for +writing, drawing, &c.; for this purpose it is sawn into slips, and +fitted into a groove in a strip of soft wood, as cedar, &c., over +which another is placed and fastened with glue. + + +What is Platina? + +A metallic substance, more recently discovered than the metals already +described; and analogous to the perfect metals, especially gold,--many +of whose properties it possesses. + + _Analogous_, bearing a resemblance. + + +Whence is its name derived? + +It is the diminutive of _plata_, silver, to which it appears very +similar; platina being a silver-colored metal, in small grains. + + _Diminutive_, a word lessening the meaning of the original. + + +Whence is it obtained? + +Mostly from Russia, and, also from South America. Its color does not +tarnish by exposure to the air, and appears to be equally permanent +with that of pure gold; the metal is indestructible by fire. Platina +is capable of being alloyed with all metals; is fused with difficulty, +but by great labor may be rendered malleable: it is also the heaviest +metal, being 21 times heavier than water. + + _Permanent_, lasting. + + +Are there any other Metals besides those already mentioned? + +In addition to the metals known and used by the ancients, the chemical +science of later ages has, by decomposing other earths, added more +than thirty to the number of metals, some of them more curious than +useful; several of these are lighter than water. All the metals +possess different and distinct properties from each other. They are +divided into two classes, the malleable and the brittle metals. These +last may be again divided into two others,--namely, those which are +easily, and those which are with difficulty fused. + + +What do you mean by Metallurgy? + +The art of obtaining metals from their ores, comprising the processes +of assaying, refining, smelting, &c. By assaying is meant, the +particular manner of examining an ore or mixed metal, according to its +nature, so as to discover not only what metals and what proportions of +metal may be obtained from it, but also what other mineral substances +or earths may be contained in it. + + +What do the terms Refining and Smelting signify? + +Refining is the art of rendering the metal free from all impurities. +Smelting means the melting of a metal from its ore in a smelting +furnace, in order to separate the metallic parts from the sulphur, +arsenic, and the earthy and stony substances with which they may be +combined. + + +What is Sulphur? + +An inflammable, fossil substance, of a dry, solid, friable nature, +melting with a small proportion of heat;--when fired in the open air, +burning almost entirely away with a blue flame and noxious vapor. It +is abundantly diffused in many places, especially where metallic +minerals are found; but more particularly in those districts where +subterranean fires and volcanoes exist. It is also found combined with +many different substances. + + +Describe the nature of Sulphur, and the places where it is mostly +found. + +Sulphur almost pure, called native or virgin sulphur, is found in +volcanoes and grottoes, in the form of transparent crystals; but the +greatest quantity which exists naturally is combined with metals in +ores. Sulphur is both fusible and volatile,--which qualities enable us +to procure it from those minerals by the process of sublimation: it +unites easily, in different degrees, with all metallic matters, +excepting gold, platina, and zinc. + + _Sublimation_, the act of bringing a solid substance into + the state of vapor by heat, and condensing it again by cold. + + +Are not its uses very extensive? + +Yes, both in the arts and in chemistry: it is well known to be a +principal ingredient in the preparation of gunpowder and fire-works; +it is also used for whitening wool, straw, silk, &c.; many other +matters exposed to the vapors of sulphur when burning, quickly lose +their color, which no other substance had been able to destroy. +Sulphur is also frequently found in mineral waters. + + +Whence are the greatest quantities of Sulphur brought? + +The largest quantities are brought from Saxony, in irregular masses, +which are afterwards melted and cast into small rolls. There are about +four species of sulphur; namely, the yellow native sulphur, which in +its purest state is clear, and of a pale straw color, found in the +gold mines of Peru; in Hungary, and some other places: the green +native sulphur, which is harder than the other, is found in small +crust-like masses; this sort is chiefly confined to Mount Vesuvius: +and the grey native sulphur, common in Iceland and many other places. +Native sulphur is also found at the coal mines, near Richmond, +Virginia; in Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and other parts of the United +States. + + +Which is the most rare and beautiful of all the kinds? + +The red native sulphur; it is mostly of a fine glowing red, very +bright and transparent; it is found, like the first-mentioned sort, in +the gold mines of Peru. Common sulphur, such as is used in trade and +the arts, is of a pale yellow color; and possesses a peculiar and +disagreeable smell, particularly when heated or rubbed. This is mostly +extracted from the metallic sulphurets, and is commonly called +brimstone. It is the sort employed in making matches. + + +Is there not another substance also employed in the manufacture of +matches? + +Yes: Phosphorus, a peculiar substance, chiefly of animal origin. It is +mostly procured by the decomposition of the phosphoric acid which is +found in bones. It was accidentally discovered at Hamburgh, in 1669, +by an alchemist named Brandt. + + _Alchemist_, one skilled in Alchemy.[15] + +[Footnote 15: See Chapter XVIII., article Chemistry.] + + +What is the nature of Phosphorus? + +It is a solid, inflammable substance, which burns when in contact with +atmospheric air. It is used in various chemical experiments, and for +making matches; for various kinds of fire-works, &c. It will combine +with all metals except gold and zinc; and also with some earths. Some +animals, as the glow-worm, possess very peculiar phosphorescent +qualities. + + _Phosphorescent_, having a phosphoric property, emitting + peculiar light like phosphorus. + + +What is Arsenic? + +A heavy metallic substance, very volatile, and highly inflammable; so +caustic or corrosive to animals, as to become a violent poison in all +its states. In its metallic state it is used in several of the arts: +it is employed in the manufacture of factitious metals: it is of use +to the dyer in forming some of his colors; and for that purpose is +generally combined with potassa. It is used in the making of small +shot, and also in the manufacture of glass, to which it gives +transparency; in whitening copper; in calico printing; in the +preparation of colors for the painter; and in the working of platina, +and some other metals, to render them more easily fusible. + + _Caustic_, dry, burning. + + _Corrosive_, apt to corrode, to eat away, to penetrate. + + +How is the white powdered arsenic prepared? + +By submitting the ore to a strong heat in a peculiar kind of furnace; +this produces a dark grey powder, which is again heated in close iron +vessels; this separates it from its impurities, and the arsenic is +obtained in thick, solid masses; these, by exposure to the air, fall +into a fine, white powder. + + +From what is the word Arsenic derived? + +From a Greek word, signifying _masculine_--powerful (as a poison). +Arsenic is dug out of mines in Saxony, near Goslar; in Bohemia; in +England, in the Mendip Hills, in great quantities. It has so strong a +corrosive quality as sometimes to burn the hands and feet of the +miners; it is a deadly poison for all known animals. This poisonous +mineral is not found native in its perfect form, being generally +united with metallic ores. + + +What do you mean by Gems? + +The word gem is used as a common name for all precious stones or +jewels; they consist of the siliceous earths; and are much valued for +their lustre, transparency, color, hardness, and rarity. There are +many different kinds of precious stones, each distinguished by its +peculiar character. + + +How are they divided? + +Into the pellucid gems, which are of great lustre, and extremely hard, +as the diamond; the semi-pellucid, those which are not so transparent, +but yet of great beauty; those of one color, as the emerald or +turquois; and those variegated or veined with different colors. Gems +are sometimes found of regular shapes, with a natural polish, near the +beds of rivers after great rains; these are of the pebble kind. +Sometimes they are found of irregular shapes, with a rough coat, in +mines and the clefts of rocks. Pearls, though not stones, are also +ranked among the number of gems. + + _Pellucid_, clear as a drop of water. + + _Semi-pellucid_, half pellucid. + + +Describe the Diamond. + +The diamond is a precious stone, the first in rank of all the gems, +and valued for its beautiful lustre; it is the hardest of all stones, +as well as the most valuable. The most esteemed are colorless. A +diamond in its natural state as it comes out of the mine, and before +it is cut, is called rough, because it has no brilliancy, but is +covered with an earthy crust. The diamond is the Adamant of the +ancients; hence the expression "hard as adamant," from its being the +hardest substance in nature. The cutting of diamonds is a work of +labor, and requires great skill; the polishing is performed by a mill +of simple construction. + + +Where are they mostly found? + +In yellow ochreous earths; in mines; and likewise in torrents, which +have torn them from their beds. In former times, all the diamonds that +were known were brought from the famous mines of Golconda, in +Hindostan; the islands of Molucca and Borneo have also produced many +valuable stones. The diamond mines of Golconda are now so exhausted, +that they are not thought worth the expense of working; these gems are +now brought chiefly from Brazil, in South America. + + +What is meant by Ochreous? + +Consisting of ochre, a kind of earth with a rough and dusty surface, +composed of fine, soft, clayey particles, which readily separate in +water. There are various colored ochres, as red, yellow, blue, green, +&c.; they are very useful in many of the arts. + + +What term is used to denote the quality of the Diamond? + +In speaking of the value of diamonds, we distinguish them as "diamonds +of the first water," meaning those which possess the greatest +perfection and purity, which ought to be that of the clearest drop of +water: when they fall short of this perfection, they are said to be +"of the second or third water," and so on till the stone may be +properly called a colored one. + + +What is the Ruby? + +A beautiful gem of a red color; in its perfect state it is of great +value. The ruby is often found perfectly pure and free from all spots +or blemishes; but its value is much more frequently lessened by them, +especially in the larger stones. It is very hard, being second only to +the diamond in this respect; and is often naturally so bright and pure +on the surface as to need no polishing; it is often worn in rings, +&c., in its rough or native state. The color of rubies varies from the +deepest to the palest red, all having more or less of a purplish +tinge, which is more plainly perceived in the deeper colored specimens +than in the paler ones. + + +Where are Rubies found? + +They are mostly found in gold mines. We have the true rubies only from +the East. The Isle of Ceylon has long been celebrated for these gems; +they are found in a river which descends from the mountains; they are +brighter and more beautiful than those obtained in other parts, but +are very rare. Some crystals are frequently found tinged with the true +color of the ruby, but these want its lustre and hardness. + + +Describe the Emerald. + +It is a precious stone of a beautiful transparent green color, and, +when in a state of perfection, nearly equal to the ruby in hardness. +The finest and best are found in America, especially among the +mountains of Peru; they are also obtained from a few places in the +East. These gems are often counterfeited, as are most of the precious +stones, there being even false diamonds; the genuine may be known by +their extreme hardness and brilliancy. + + _Counterfeited_, imitated with a view to defraud. + + _Genuine_, true, real. + + +What is the Turquois? + +A beautiful blue stone; it is one of the softest of the gems, and some +varieties are often used for seals, as they admit of being engraved +upon. The turquois is easily imitated, and that often so perfectly as +to render it very difficult to distinguish the counterfeit from the +true gem. + + +In what countries are they found? + +The Oriental Turquois comes from Persia, the Indies, and some parts of +Turkey; the turquois is also found in various parts of Europe, as +Germany, Spain, and France. + + +What is Engraving? + +The art of cutting metals or precious stones, and representing thereon +figures, letters, and devices; the term is, however, more particularly +applied to the art of producing figures or designs on metal, &c., for +the purpose of being subsequently printed on paper. The ancients are +well known to have excelled in engraving on precious stones; many +specimens have been preserved, which surpass anything of the kind +produced by the moderns. This art is frequently alluded to in the +Bible. Engraving on wood, according to some authors, was introduced +into Europe from China by Venetian merchants; it is certain the art +was practised in eastern and northern Italy as early as the thirteenth +century. The invention of copper-plate engraving has been ascribed to +a goldsmith of Florence, about the year 1460. + + _Device_, that which is formed by design. + + _Design_, a representation of a thing by an outline; a + sketch. + + +Describe Wood Engraving. + +The subject is drawn on a block of box or pear-tree wood with a +black-lead pencil, or with a pen and Indian ink; the wood is then cut +away, so as to leave the lines which have been drawn, as raised parts. +The ink is next applied, and by pressing damp paper upon the block, +the impressions are obtained. Albert Durer, a celebrated painter of +Germany, brought the art of engraving on wood and metal, and taking +off impressions on paper, &c., to great perfection. + + +How is engraving on copper, steel, &c., performed? + +This sort of engraving is performed with a sharp-pointed instrument +called a _graver_, by means of which figures, landscapes, &c., are +traced upon a flat surface of the metal: the lines are then filled +with ink or a similar composition, and the paper pressed on the plate. +When taken off, an exact copy of the plate is impressed upon its +surface. + +[Illustration: COCHINEAL INSECTS AND PLANTS.] + + +What is Lithography? + +A species of engraving on stone, from which impressions can be taken +much more expeditiously and economically than from metal. The process +depends upon the following principles:--First, the facility with which +calcareous stones imbibe water; second, the power of oily substances +to repel water. When drawings are executed upon the stone with crayons +composed of oily materials, and the surface of the stone is washed +over with water, the moisture is imbibed by the stone, but repelled +from the engraving; and when the ink, which also contains oily +substances, is applied, it adheres only to the drawing, and not to the +other portions of the stone. The block is then passed through a press, +and the impressions are taken off; as many as 70,000 perfect copies +have been obtained from a single stone. + + _Expeditiously_, with celerity or dispatch. + + _Economically_, with economy; with frugality. + + +You describe Pearls as being ranked among the number of Gems, although +they are not Stones; what kind of substance are they? + +Pearls are excrescences found in the shells of a large species of +oyster, which are supposed to be produced by a disease of the fish. +The best pearls are generally taken from the most fleshy part of the +oyster, near the hinge of the shell, but inferior kinds are found in +all parts of the fish, and adhering to the shells. Pearls, from many +allusions made to them in the Old Testament, were not only known to +the ancients, but were regarded by them as costly and precious gems. + + +How do they get the Oysters which contain them? + +By diving under water and picking the oysters from the large beds at +the bottom of the sea; or the rocks to which they adhere. The divers +cast all the oysters they take into their boats, and carry them +ashore, where they deposit them in heaps; they are then left till they +become putrid, this being necessary in order to remove the pearls +easily from the rough matter by which they are surrounded. + + +What sea produces the best and greatest number of Pearls? + +The finest and greatest quantities are obtained off the coast of +Ceylon; the pearl oyster is also found in the seas of the East Indies; +in those of America, and in some parts of the European seas; but these +last are much inferior. The Oriental pearls are the finest on account +of their size, color, and beauty, being of a silvery white; while the +Occidental pearls are smaller, and frequently tinged with a yellow or +blackish hue. + + _Tinged_, slightly colored. + + +Does not the Pearl Oyster produce a substance called Mother-of-Pearl? + +No; the beautiful substance so much used for inlaying boxes, and for +ornamental knife-handles, &c., is produced from the shell, not of the +pearl oyster, but of another sea-fish of the oyster kind. + + +What is Inlaying? + +The art of ornamenting a plain surface of wood, or other material, +with thin slices or leaves of a finer wood, of a different kind; as +mahogany inlaid with ebony, &c., or with ivory, and other substances. +There are two kinds of inlaying; one, of the more ordinary sort, which +consists only of compartments of different kinds of wood, inlaid with +one another; the other, requiring greater skill, represents flowers, +birds, and other figures. The thin plates of wood or other substance, +being sawed into slips, and cut into the required forms, are carefully +joined, and afterwards strongly glued down on the block of wood, &c., +intended to be thus ornamented. + + _Compartment_, a division, a separate part. + + +What is Ebony? + +A hard, black-colored wood, growing in the countries of the Levant, +&c.; there are, however, several black woods of different kinds which +are also called ebony. + + +What is Ivory? + +The tooth or tusk of the Elephant, which grows on each side of his +trunk; it is somewhat like a horn in shape. Ivory is much esteemed for +its beautiful white color, polish, and fine grain when wrought. It has +been used from the remotest ages of antiquity; in the Scriptures we +read of Solomon's ivory throne, and also of "vessels of ivory," and +"beds of ivory:" by which it appears to have been a chief article of +luxury, as well as of trade. + + _Remotest_, most distant. + + +Of what countries is the Elephant an inhabitant? + +Of many parts of Asia and Africa. The elephant is the largest +quadruped now in existence; it is extremely sagacious, docile and +friendly: in the countries where they live they are trained to useful +labor, and by their great strength are enabled to perform tasks which +a man or horse could not accomplish: among the native princes they +were, and even still are, used in war: with them the inhabitants are +able to hunt and destroy the lion, tiger, and other beasts of prey. +With their long trunk, or proboscis, they can perform almost +everything which man can with his hands. + + _Quadruped_, an animal with four feet. + + + + +CHAPTER XV. + +STARCH, ARROW-ROOT, TAPIOCA, ISINGLASS, CAVIARE, THE VINE, WINE, +GIN, RUM, BRANDY, VINEGAR, INDIGO, GAMBOGE, LOGWOOD, TAR, PITCH, +CAMPHOR, MUSK, MYRRH, FRANKINCENSE, AND TURPENTINE. + + +What is Starch? + +A white, powdery sediment procured from the bottom of vessels in which +flour or meal has been steeped in water. Pure starch is of a fine +white color, without taste or smell; it will not dissolve in cold +water, but with warm forms a jelly, in which form it is generally +used; it is made by crushing, soaking, and fermenting the grains of +the cereals, and then washing in pure water; the water is then +evaporated, leaving behind the starch. + + _Sediment_, matter subsided to the bottom of liquors. + + +For what is Starch used? + +To stiffen linen after washing; to make hair powder; and for other +purposes in the arts. + + +From what vegetables is Starch obtained? + +All farinaceous vegetable substances afford it, as the potato, +horse-chestnut, &c. Starch being the nutritive part of the vegetable, +forms an excellent food for invalids, and constitutes the principal +part of arrow-root, tapioca, &c.; the different flavor of these +substances being derived from the mixture of a small portion of +foreign matter peculiar to the plants which yield them. Starch is +procured from potatoes by crushing them to powder, and then proceeding +as in the manufacture of wheat starch. + + +What is Arrow-root? + +The starch obtained from the root of an American plant by +pulverization. It is often adulterated with potato starch, and the +latter is even sold instead of it, for the two kinds resemble each +other so closely that they can hardly be distinguished. + + _Pulverization_, the act of reducing to powder. + + _Adulterated_, corrupted by foreign mixture. + + +What is Tapioca? + +Tapioca is another kind of starch, obtained from the root of the +manioc plant, which is cultivated in most hot climates, in Asia, +Africa, and America. A flour is also prepared from it, which is used +for making bread. It is particularly cultivated in the tropical parts +of America, and in the West India islands, where it forms a very +important article of food for the Negro population. + + _Negro_, a name given to the black inhabitants of Africa and + their descendants. + + _Population_, inhabitants of a place or country. + + +What is Isinglass? + +One of the purest and finest of _animal_ glues. It is the produce of +several kinds of fish, but especially of the sturgeon, which inhabits +the seas of Northern Europe and America. + + +From what part of the fish is it prepared? + +From the air-bladder, and certain parts of the entrails; these are +taken out while fresh, cut open, washed, and exposed to the air a +short time to stiffen; the outside skin is then taken off, and the +remaining part formed into rolls, fastened together with pegs, and +hung up to dry. The isinglass is then separated into threads of +different sizes, or formed into flakes. Immense quantities are +annually prepared in this manner in Russia. + + +What are its uses? + +Dissolving readily in water or milk, it yields a mild nutriment for +the sick, and enters into the composition of many delicacies for the +table, such as jellies, &c. It is mixed with gum to give lustre to +silk and satin; it is also used in making court plaster, and for +clarifying various liquors. Gelatine, now much used on account of its +being less expensive, is a similar preparation, but of an inferior +quality. + + +What else does the Sturgeon supply? + +Its roe furnishes the delicacy called Caviare, which is in fact merely +that part of the fish separated from the membranes and washed in +vinegar and white wine, and dried in the air. It is then well salted, +and packed up in barrels ready for sale. This is the method of +preparing it in Russia, where large quantities of it are consumed. It +is largely exported to Italy, where it is highly esteemed. It is +unwholesome, and at present the demand for it, except in Russia and +Italy, is very limited. The best is dry and of a brown color, and is +eaten with lemon juice on bread. + + +To what other uses is the fruit of the Vine applied besides drying it +for raisins, as described in the sixth chapter? + +The well-known plant, called the Vine, has been an object of culture +from the earliest ages of the world, for the sake of the fermented +liquor obtained from its fruit; soon after the flood, Noe, who appears +to have been the first "husbandman," is mentioned as having "planted a +vineyard," and drank of the juice of the grape; in all those countries +where it flourishes, it is inseparably connected with their religious +rites, and wine, like corn, formed one of the principal articles which +they offered on their altars to the gods whom they worshipped. + + _Husbandman_, one who cultivates the fruits of the earth. + + _Altar_, the place where sacrifices were anciently offered + to some deity. + + +What countries produce the best Wines? + +The wines of France are generally admitted to be the finest; the +principal ones are Champagne, Burgundy, and Claret. Of each of these, +there are several varieties, celebrated for their peculiar flavor; +they are generally named after the places where they are made. Spain, +Portugal, Italy, Germany, Hungary, Sicily, Greece, and California, +also produce their various sorts of wine, each esteemed in its kind. + + +May Wine be extracted from other vegetable bodies? + +The word is appropriated in a more particular manner to the fermented +juice of the grape; but nearly all vegetable productions may be made +to afford wine. That produced from Apples is called Cider; that from +Pears, Perry. A kind of wine, called Mead, is prepared from honey and +water. + + _Appropriated_, applied to. + + +What is Honey? + +A sweet vegetable juice, collected from the flowers of various plants +by the bees. + + +What Honey was reckoned by the ancients the best in the world? + +The honey of Hybla, on the east coast of Sicily, and of Hymettus, a +mountain of Greece, near Athens. + + +What other fluid is drawn from Wine? + +Spirits; by this term is understood, a volatile fluid called spirits +of wine, or alcohol, obtained by distillation from wine, beer, and all +fermented liquors. It is colorless, and of a strong penetrating taste +and smell. It is of great use in chemistry; in dyeing to prepare the +stuff for receiving colors; and in many of the arts. + + +What is the vessel called which is used in Distilling? + +A Still. It is a vessel so formed as to collect the vapor, which is +the spirit, or alcohol, separated from the liquid from which it is +drawn. This liquid product is itself returned to the still; and the +same process is several times repeated, till the alcohol or spirit is +sufficiently strong and pure. There are three principal spirits used +in this country, as gin, rum, and brandy. + + _Product_, thing produced. + + +What is Gin? + +A spirit procured from raw barley, oats, and malt, mixed together in +certain proportions: there are several varieties of this spirit, all +obtained from grain. The peculiar flavor of gin is given by infusing a +few hops and some of the berries of the juniper fir. + + +What is Malt? + +Malt is barley prepared by being steeped in water and fermented, and +then dried in a kiln. It is used for making beer, &c. + + +Of what are Hops the produce? + +Of a graceful climbing plant, the blossoms of which are used in making +beer, to preserve it and improve its flavor. + + +What is Rum? + +A spirit obtained from molasses, the fluid which drains from sugar +while it is crystallizing. + + +What is Brandy? + +A spirit distilled from any wine; but the best is procured from weak +French wines, which are unfit for exportation. Brandy, from whatever +wine it has been obtained, is at first colorless; different methods +are employed to give it the color by which it is distinguished. + + _Exportation_, the act of sending articles from one country + to another. + + +What is Vinegar? + +An agreeable, acid, penetrating liquor, prepared from wine, beer, &c. +To make vinegar, the wine or beer is made to undergo a second +fermentation, called the _acid_ or _acetous_ fermentation; the first +which the vegetable juice had to undergo, in order to convert it into +wine or beer, being called the _vinous_ fermentation. Vinegar is of +great use in cookery and medicine; the word is derived from the French +for wine, _vin_, and _aigre_, sour. The ancients had several kinds of +vinegar, which they used as drinks; but it is most likely that these +vinegars were different from that so called among us, and were more +probably a kind of wine. + + _Acetous_, sour. + + _Vinous_, wine-like. + + +What materials are used for the dyeing and coloring of our +manufactures? + +There are many mineral and vegetable earths which furnish mankind with +different colors for beautifying their various manufactures, and +assisting them in the arts, &c. Some species of insects also come to +their aid, as for instance, the cochineals; these insects are killed +by the application of heat, and thus form the drug used for giving red +colors, especially crimson and scarlet, and for making carmine. The +beautiful and permanent blue called Indigo, is the produce of a small +shrub, two or three feet in height. + + +From what part is the Dye obtained? + +From the leaves; the color is produced by soaking them some hours in +water, in large vessels constructed for the purpose; the sediment of +the blue liquor drawn from them is afterwards dried and sold in the +form of small grains For the painter, they are mixed with oil, or +diluted and made up into small cakes with gum water. + + +In what countries is Indigo cultivated? + +It is native in both Indies, and in South America, where its +cultivation affords employment to many of the inhabitants. It also +grows wild in parts of Palestine, and is much cultivated both in Syria +and Egypt. It once formed one of the staples of the Southern States, +but has in a great measure given way to the cultivation of cotton. + + +Has Indigo been long known? + +The culture and preparation of indigo were known to the Oriental +nations long before it was introduced into Europe. The inhabitants of +ancient Britain painted their bodies with the blue dye which they +obtained from woad, a plant which grows wild in France and along the +shores of the Baltic, and which greatly resembles indigo in all its +properties, except its brilliancy of color. + + _Brilliancy_, brightness. + + +What is Gamboge? + +The concrete resinous juice of a species of gum-tree, growing in +Cambodia, and other parts of the Indies. It is brought over in large +cakes or rolls of a yellowish brown color outside, and inside of a +deep yellow or orange, which changes to a pale bright yellow on being +moistened. + + +What are the uses of Gamboge? + +Dissolved in water, it forms a beautiful and useful color for the +painter. It is also used in medicine. Gamboge is soluble in either +water or spirits of wine. Mixed with a blue color, it forms green, in +various shades according to the different proportions of the +ingredients. + + +What is Logwood? + +The wood of a tree which grows in parts of America and the West +Indies. It is imported in great quantities, and employed in dyeing +purple and the finest blacks. + + +What is Tar? + +A coarse, resinous liquor issuing from the wood and bark of pine or +fir-trees; it is in fact the oily juices of the sap thickened and +colored by the heat of the sun or by age; it is extracted for use by +burning the wood of the trees under a heavy covering of turf or earth; +the tar exudes during the slow combustion, and is collected into a +cavity dug in the ground for the purpose. Tar is exported in great +quantities from Norway, Sweden, and our Southern States. + + +What are its uses? + +It is applied to the sides of ships and boats and their rigging, to +preserve them from the effects of the weather; it is used instead of +paint for palings, &c.; and sometimes also in medicine. A kind, called +_mineral_ tar, is also drawn from coal by the process of distillation. +Mineral tar is also found native in some parts of the earth. + + +What is Pitch? + +A kind of juice or gum, likewise drawn from unctuous woods, chiefly +those of the pine and fir; it is used for nearly the same purposes as +tar in shipping, medicine, and various other arts. Pitch is properly a +juice of the wild pine, or pitch tree; it is of a glossy black color, +dry brittle, and less bitter and pungent than the liquid tar. + + +What is Camphor? + +A vegetable substance, chiefly procured from a kind of laurel, (Laurus +Camphora,) growing in Borneo, Japan, and many East Indian islands; it +is also produced from other plants and shrubs, though in very small +quantities. + + +How, and from what part of the tree is it taken? + +All parts of the tree are impregnated with camphor; but it is +principally extracted from the roots and trunk, by distillation; it is +white, and of a crystal form: its odor is extremely fragrant. In this +state it is called _rough_ camphor, and is thus exported. The Greeks +and Romans do not appear to have been acquainted with this valuable +drug; and we are indebted to the Arabians for a knowledge of it. + + +What are the properties and uses of Camphor? + +It is a firm, dry, crystal matter, with a hot, sharp, aromatic taste. +It is highly odorous, and so inflammable as to burn and preserve its +flame in water; it totally vanishes or evaporates in the open air, and +in Spirits of Wine it entirely dissolves. Camphor has various uses--as +in fire-works, &c.; it is an excellent preservative of animal and +vegetable bodies, as it resists worms and other insects. In the courts +of Eastern princes it is burnt at night with wax. Its principal use +with us is in medicine. + + _Preservative_, a preventive of decay. + + +What is Musk? + +A dry, friable substance of a dark color, taken from a little bag +under the belly of a small animal called the Thibet Musk, which is a +native of the Indies, Tonquin, and China. It inhabits the woods and +forests, where the natives hunt it down. Musk is so strong a perfume +as to be agreeable only in the smallest quantities, or when mingled +with some other scent; it is used in perfumery, &c. + + +Is there not another Animal which produces a similar scent? + +Yes; an animal of Arabian origin produces an odoriferous substance +called Civet, from which it takes its name of Civet Cat; there are +several species of this animal which produce it, but it is from the +Civet Cat that it is most commonly taken. Civets are found in all the +warm parts of Asia and Africa, in Madagascar, and the East Indian +Islands. It was formerly in high esteem, but is at present very little +used, except to increase the power of other perfumes. + + +What is Myrrh? + +A kind of gum-resin, issuing from the trunk of a tree growing in +Arabia, Egypt, and Abyssinia; it flows either naturally, or by +incision; and is sent to us in small lumps of a reddish brown or +yellow color. Its smell is strong, but not disagreeable. Our myrrh is +the same drug that was used by the ancients under the above name. Its +chief use now is in medicine. The ancient Egyptians employed it as an +ingredient in the embalming of dead bodies. + + _Embalming_, preserving the bodies of the dead from decaying + or putrefying, by impregnating them with aromatics and other + substances which resist putrefaction. + + +Where is Abyssinia? + +Abyssinia is a large kingdom situated in Eastern Africa. + + +What is Frankincense? + +An odoriferous, aromatic gum-resin, which distils, in the heat of +summer, from incisions made in the bark of the tree which produces it: +notwithstanding the great use of the gum, both in ancient systems of +religious worship and in modern medicine, authors have been much +divided in opinion with regard to the kind of tree from which it is +obtained; it is a species of turpentine tree belonging to an order of +resinous and fragrant trees and shrubs inhabiting the tropical parts +of the world. + + +For what was it formerly used? + +The ancients burnt it in their temples as a perfume, and to do honor +to the divinities that were worshipped in them: it appears to have +been applied to the same purposes by people of all religions. Myrrh +and Frankincense were reckoned by the Eastern nations amongst their +most costly perfumes. We are informed by St. Matthew's Gospel in the +New Testament, that the wise men who came to Bethlehem to worship our +Saviour at his birth, brought gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. +Many of the primitive Christians were put to death because they would +not offer incense to idols. In the Catholic Church we still retain its +use in many ceremonies. + + _Primitive_, early. + + _Incense_, perfumes burnt in religious rites, or as an + offering to some deity. + + +What is the appearance of Frankincense? + +It is generally imported in white or yellowish pieces, or drops, +which possess a bitter, disagreeable taste; it is very inflammable, +and burns with a strong, and pleasant odor. That brought from the +Indies is inferior to that from Arabia, and inclines to a reddish +color. The common frankincense is softer, more resinous, and possesses +less value than the former. + + +What is Turpentine? + +The resinous juice of many trees, as the pine, larch, fir, &c.; it is, +in fact, the juice that renders them evergreen, and when in an +over-abundant quantity, bursts through their bark, and oozes out. +Common turpentine is that procured by incisions from the wild pine; +there are several kinds of turpentine procured from various resinous +trees; some are of use in medicine, and most of them in making +different kinds of varnishes, for preserving and beautifying boxes, +paintings, &c. + + _Ooze_, to flow gently. + + +Is there not a tree more particularly designated the Turpentine Tree? + +Yes, the Terebinth or Turpentine Tree of Palestine and the East. It is +one of the most common forest trees of those regions, and is regarded +with respect and distinction similar to that awarded to the oak in +England. + + +What part of it produces the Gum? + +The gum, or rather the resin, distils from the trunk. It is called +Cyprus or Chian Turpentine, much of it being brought from the isles of +Cyprus and Scio, or Chios, and is procured, by incision, about the +month of July. This turpentine, owing to its superior quality, as well +as its scarcity, each tree seldom yielding over two or three pounds, +is very costly. + + _Incision_, a cutting. + + _Costly_, expensive. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + +BRICKS, MORTAR, GRANITE, SLATE, LIMESTONE, OR CALCAREOUS ROCKS, +STEEL, EARTHS, VOLCANOES, AND EARTHQUAKES. + + +Of what are Bricks composed? + +Of clay, dried by the heat of the sun, or burnt in kilns; their color +varies with the different degrees of heat to which they are subjected +in burning. In the East, bricks were baked in the sun; the Romans used +them crude, only laying them to dry in the air for a long space of +time. + + _Crude_, in the rough, unbaked state, just as they were + formed. + + +How long have Bricks been in use for building? + +Bricks appear to have been in use at a very remote period of +antiquity, both from the account of them in the Holy Scriptures, and +from the remains of them which have been found; the Tower of Babel and +the walls of Babylon were built of them. They were in early use among +the Egyptians, as appears from the history of the Jews before their +deliverance by Moses. In the book of Exodus, we are told that this +captive people were compelled to make bricks for that nation. The +Romans, under their first kings, built with massive square stones; but +towards the end of the Republic they began to use brick, borrowing the +practice from the Greeks; and the greatest and most durable buildings +of the succeeding Emperors were composed of them, as the Pantheon, &c. + + _Massive_, bulky and heavy. + + +By whom was the Tower of Babel erected, and why? + +By the descendants of Noe's three sons, Sem, Cham, and Japheth; they +were extremely numerous, and dwelt in the land of Sennaar; becoming +ambitious of distinguishing themselves, they set about building a +tower whose summit might reach to heaven. Sennaar was the original +name of the country about Babylon. + + _Descendants_, those descended from a particular person or + family. + + +What remarkable event followed their foolish pride? + +The Almighty suddenly frustrated their purpose by confusing their +language and causing them all to express their words by different +sounds; hence arose the numbers of different languages spoken by the +nations of the earth; and thus what they imagined would be a monument +of glory, was made an awful memento of their pride and folly. + + _Frustrated_, prevented. + + _Monument_, anything by which the memory of persons or + things is preserved. + + _Memento_, a hint to awaken the memory of anything; that + which reminds. + + +What good effect did this event produce? + +God, who at all times can bring good out of evil, by this means caused +the other parts of the earth to be peopled; for this visitation having +effectually broken up their scheme, they emigrated in parties, and +dispersed themselves over different parts of the world. + + _Scheme_, plan, intention. + + _Emigrated_, removed from one country to another. + + _Dispersed_, separated. + + +Where was Babylon? + +This celebrated city, so often mentioned in Holy Writ, (and remarkable +for the minuteness with which its destruction was foretold by the +Prophets,) was the capital of the Assyrian Empire, and situated on the +river Euphrates. After the destruction of Nineve, the ancient capital +of this empire, Babylon became the most famous city of the East. + + _Minuteness_, particularity. + + +What is meant by the Assyrian Empire? + +The country of Assyria, in Asia. + + +For what was this city particularly celebrated? + +For its hanging gardens, palaces, temples, and walls, the latter of +which are said to have been three hundred and fifty feet high, and so +broad that six chariots could go abreast upon them. The city was so +strongly fortified, both by nature and art, as to be thought +impregnable. + + _Fortified_, defended. + + _Impregnable_, incapable of being taken or destroyed by an + enemy. + + +By whom was it destroyed, and when? + +By Cyrus, 538 years before the birth of Christ, just fifty years after +Nabuchodonosor had destroyed the city of Jerusalem and its temple. + + +Who was Cyrus? + +The founder of the Persian Empire. + + +Who was Nabuchodonosor? + +The King of Babylon. + + +What was the Pantheon? + +A temple of a circular form which was dedicated to all the Gods, or +all the Saints. That of all others the most celebrated, is the +Pantheon of ancient Rome, and its remains are the most perfect amongst +the wonders of that city at the present day. + + _Circular_, having the form of a circle, round. + + +By whom was it built? + +By Agrippa, the Consul of Rome, twenty-five years before Christ; it +was dedicated by him to Jupiter: the name Pantheon was given on +account of the great number of statues of the Gods ranged in niches +all round it; and because it was built in a circular form to represent +heaven, the residence of the Gods. It was afterwards converted into a +church by Pope Boniface IV, and dedicated to the Blessed Virgin and +all the Martyrs, under the title of "Our Lady of the Rotunda." Agrippa +likewise built the Pantheon at Athens, which was but little inferior +to that of Rome. The Greek Christians afterwards converted it into a +church, dedicating it to the Blessed Virgin; but the Turks, when they +subdued Greece, changed it into a mosque. + + _Dedicated_, appropriated to a particular person, or to a + sacred use. + + _Residence_, dwelling, habitation. + + _Martyr_, one who is put to death for the cause of religion. + + _Mosque_, a Mahommedan temple. + +[Illustration: A SLATE QUARRY.] + + +What is understood by a Consul? + +The chief magistrate of the Roman republic or commonwealth. After the +Romans had expelled their kings, they were governed by two Consuls; +these were established in the year of Rome 245. The Consuls were the +head of the senate; they commanded the armies of the republic, and +judged all the differences between the citizens: they held their +office for the space of a year; at the end of which time, new ones +were elected. Consuls were even continued under the Emperors after the +republic was destroyed; but it was then little more than an honorary +title, and at last was totally abolished. + + _Expelled_, turned out. + + _Abolished_, annulled, made void. + + +To what is the term Consul applied at the present time? + +To an officer established by a commission from a king or state, to +reside in foreign countries of any considerable trade, to facilitate +and despatch business, protect the merchants of the state, &c. + + _Commission_, a trust imposed, command, authority. + + _Facilitate_, to render easy. + + +What is meant by a Senate? + +An assembly or council of senators, that is, of the principal +inhabitants of a state, who have a share in the government. + + +What is the government of the United States? + +It is one of limited and definite powers, defined by a written +constitution. + + +How are the legislative powers, granted to the government, vested? + +In a Congress, consisting of a Senate of two Senators from each state, +chosen by the legislature thereof; and a House of Representatives, +consisting of one or more members from each state, elected by the +people in equal electoral districts. + + _Legislative_, giving or enacting laws + + +How are our laws made? + +Bills passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate, on +receiving the sanction of the President, become laws; or, if vetoed by +the President, may be passed by two-thirds of both Houses. + + _Vetoed_, withheld assent to. + + +Who was Jupiter? + +The principal deity of the Pagan world. + + +What is used to cement bricks firmly together? + +Mortar; a composition of lime, sand, gravel, &c., mixed up with water; +the ancients had a kind of mortar so very hard and binding, that, even +to this day, it is next to impossible to separate the parts of some of +their buildings. + + +What is Granite? + +A rock which has been formed by the union of three different minerals +in a state of fusion; these, on cooling, have crystallized and become +distinct from each other in the mass. It is remarkable for the beauty +of its colors, its hardness and durability. There are granites of many +different colors, as red or rose-colored, grey, green, variegated, &c. + + _Fusion_, a melted state. + + _Mass_, a body, a lump. + + +What form does it bear? + +Granite does not, generally, form one extensive mass, but remains in +separate and large fragments, rudely compacted together; besides the +three minerals of which it is composed, particles of other stones, or +metallic earths, are often accidentally mixed with it. It is called +granite from its granulous structure. + + _Compacted_, joined together. + + _Granulous_, consisting of small grains. + + +Where is Granite found? + +Granite occurs in all the larger mountain ranges, and in isolated +masses in every country; not being a stratified rock, and being +excessively hard, it is difficult to get it out in manageable masses. +In Arabia Petræa, the whole country abounds in masses of different +granites. + + _Isolated_, alone, separated, detached. + + _Stratified_, consisting of strata or beds. + + +What mode is usually employed in this country in obtaining it? + +Blasting, or blowing up with gunpowder; the force of which detaches +pieces from the rock, which are hewn roughly into forms on the spot by +a small pickaxe. Granite is also quarried by cutting a deep line some +yards long, and placing strong iron wedges at equal distances along +this line; these wedges are struck in succession with heavy hammers, +till the mass splits down. Another method of detaching masses of rock, +is by driving wooden wedges into a deep artificial or natural crack, +or fissure; the wedges are then wet, and, in consequence of swelling, +burst the rock asunder. + + _Quarried_, from _to quarry_, a term used for the getting of + stone from a quarry, or place where stones are dug from the + earth, or detached from a large mass of rock. + + _Detach_, to separate. + + +For what is this Rock used? + +On account of its great hardness, it is used for large public +structures, as bridges, churches, &c. The ancient temples and other +buildings in Egypt, Asia, and Italy, were built of different colored +granites, especially the beautiful Oriental red granite. + + +What is Slate? + +The common name for a bluish fossil stone, very soft when dug out of +the quarry, and easily cut or split into thin plates,--a property +which renders it invaluable for a variety of purposes. + + _Invaluable_, extremely valuable. + + +For what is it used? + +Slate has superseded the use of lead for covering roofs, even of the +largest buildings; being lighter and more durable, it is preferable to +tile: it is also employed for slabs to form cisterns, shelves for +dairies, and other purposes, on account of its strength, coolness, and +the ease with which it can be cleaned; the latter quality renders it +also of great value in the business of education, as a cheap +substitute for paper. The ancients were unacquainted with the use of +slate. + + +What other kinds of stone are used in building? + +Limestone, or the calcareous rocks of the geologist: of these there +are many varieties. Those which are easily cut and polished are termed +marbles, and are used in sculpture and in ornamental architecture. The +coarser marbles are used for the common purposes of building. + + _Calcareous_, partaking of the nature of calx or lime,--a + term employed to describe chalk, marble, and all other + combinations of lime with carbonic acid. + + _Geologist_, one who studies the science of Geology. + + +Of what do Calcareous Earths or Stones consist? + +Calcareous earths, stones, or rocks consist of lime, or pure +calcareous earth, carbonic acid, and water. + + +What is Quick-Lime? + +Limestone deprived of its carbonic acid and water by being subjected +to an intense heat in a kiln. + + +How are these Stones wrought? + +To whatever purpose the stones are to be applied, the larger blocks +obtained from the quarry must be cut into smaller and more manageable +pieces by sawing: the saw used is a long blade of steel, without +teeth, fixed in a heavy wooden frame. These huge saws are worked by +one or two men who sit in boxes to shelter them from the weather; +water is caused to drip constantly into the cut, to facilitate the +motion of the saw, and keep it cool, so as to prevent it from losing +its temper. + + _Huge_, very large. + + _Temper_, hardness; in speaking of metals it signifies the + state to which they are reduced, especially with regard to + their hardness. + + +What is Steel? + +Iron combined with a small portion of carbon; its chemical name is +_Carburet of Iron_. It is not so malleable as iron in its ordinary +state; but is much harder, more elastic, and susceptible of a higher +polish. Of this material are manufactured knives, swords, and all +kinds of cutting instruments and edge tools, used for domestic +purposes and in the arts, from the ponderous pit-saw to the finest +lancet. Good steel is much more ductile than iron; and a finer wire +may be drawn from it than from any other metal. The excellence of +edge-tools depends upon their temper. + + _Ponderous_, heavy. + + +You say that a Geologist is one who studies Geology: what is meant by +this term? + +A science which enables us to read, in the simple language of nature, +the changes which have taken place on the surface of the earth, in its +structure and mineral constitution. It describes the different +materials and the strata of which the crust of the earth is composed, +and investigates the causes of its physical features. + + _Simple_, easily read. + + +What are Strata? + +Layers of rocks and other substances of which the whole earth seems to +be composed. These rocks are found lying one above another in regular +order; beneath them are the _unstratified_ rocks, which seem to form +the basis or foundations upon which the others have been deposited. +The various layers seem to have been formed during progressive stages +of vegetable and animal organization. These rocks and strata are +divided into five classes or formations. + + _Progressive_, moving forwards. + + _Organization_, formation or structure of bodies. + + +Name them. + +The Primitive, or lower formations, supposed to have been formed in +the chaotic state of the earth, because they have no trace of +organized beings or petrifactions; they are chiefly composed of +silicious and argillaceous earths, as granite, slate, &c.--Transition +rocks, supposed to have been formed during the transition of the earth +into a habitable state; they differ from the primitive, in containing +the remains of marine animals:--the Secondary rocks, containing the +remains of animals and vegetables, and consequently formed after their +creation;--the Tertiary formation, composed of layers of clay, sand, +gravel, and marl, and containing peculiar organic remains;--and the +Alluvial formation, constituted of parts of previous rocks separated +by water, &c., and deposited in beds. + + _Petrifaction_, an animal or vegetable substance turned to + stone. + + _Silicious_, consisting of flint. + + _Transition_, change from one state to another. + + _Argillaceous_, clayey, consisting of clay. + + _Chaotic_, resembling chaos, confused. + + _Chaos_, confusion, a mingled heap; a term used in speaking + of the world while yet without form; a Greek word, + signifying a confused mass. + + _Alluvial_, deposited from water. + + +Of what is this last compounded? + +The Alluvial formation is composed of sand, gravel, loam, clay, turf, +&c., and contains plants, roots, moss, bones, petrified wood, and +skeletons of animals. It is distinguished from the Tertiary formation +chiefly by its superior position, and by extending over regions where +existing streams or other causes now in action could have produced it. +Some geologists mention another formation called the Volcanic, because +composed of minerals thrown from the crater of a volcano, such as +pumice stones, lava, &c. + + _Crater_, the mouth or opening of a volcano. + + _Petrified_, hardened into stone. + + +You mentioned Silicious and Argillaceous Earths: is not, then, the +earthy covering of our globe of one common character? + +No; by earth is understood a combination of many distinct bodies. +Chemists, by separating earths from each other, and from foreign +matters connected with them, have discovered nine or ten primitive +earths; all of these, except silex, are compounds of oxygen with +metallic bases. + + _Chemist_, one who understands the science of chemistry. + + +Of which of these Simple or Primitive Earths are the solid portions of +the globe principally composed? + +Of flint or silex, lime or calcareous earth, and clay or argil, in +various degrees of combination, the greatest parts of the mountains +and plains, and the whole of what we commonly understand by soil, +mould, earth, &c. are composed. These, however, though forming nearly +all of the solid portions of the world, are constantly mixed with +foreign matters, as metals, (particularly iron,) and acids, (as +carbonic acid.) + + +What are the properties of Silex? + +Silex, or pure flint, will not dissolve in water, nor can it be melted +by itself in any heat; but combined with alkalies, as soda or potash, +it forms glass. It is the principal ingredient of most of the precious +stones. + + +What are the chief uses of Silex? + +It is the most durable article for the formation of roads; a necessary +ingredient in earthenware, porcelain, and cements; and the principal +material of glass and vitreous substances. The making of pastes or +artificial gems is a branch of the art of glass-making; the basis used +is a very hard and pure silex. + + _Basis_, that part of any mixture which is the ground or + base; the first principle or element of a substance. + + +Describe the properties of Lime. + +It is of a white color, and possesses a hot, caustic taste. It forms +peculiar salts with acids; changes vegetable blues to green; will not +fuse; gives out a quantity of caloric when united with water; and +absorbs carbonic acid when exposed to air. Lime is very useful in the +arts and manufactures, in medicine, &c. The farmers use it as manure +to fertilize land. + + _Caustic_, burning, corroding: a term applied to substances + which eat away and burn any thing with which they are + brought in contact. + + +In what state is Lime found in nature? + +Never native, but combined with other substances;--generally with an +acid, and most plentifully with carbonic acid, as in chalk, marble, +&c. It is also found in vegetables, and is the basis of animal bones; +it likewise occurs in the water of the ocean, and in that of all +springs and rivers. The method of procuring _lime_, from chalk, +marble, limestone, oyster-shells, &c., has already been described in a +former chapter. + + +What are the properties of Clay? + +Argil, or pure clay, also called _alumina_, from its being the basis +of alum, is soft to the touch, adhesive, and emits a peculiar odor +when moistened;--forms a paste with water, and hardens in the fire. +Its uses are so various and important, that it would have been almost +impossible for man to have attained his present degree of +civilization, if it had not been given him by nature in such +abundance. Its uses have already been described in the arts of +brick-making, pottery, &c. Besides these three principal primitive +earths just described, there are seven others, having several +properties in common, yet each possessing its different and specific +properties, and evidently designed by nature for different purposes of +utility. + + _Specific_, belonging to its particular species. + + _Utility_, usefulness. + + +What is a Volcano? + +An opening in the surface of the earth, or in a mountain, from which +are ejected smoke, flames, stones, lava, &c. Beneath the outer crust +of the earth inflammable materials appear to exist, which different +causes excite into combustion. Volcanoes are supposed to owe their +origin to the metals and minerals which form the basis of earths and +alkalies; and which, when ignited, expand,--shake the rocky +foundations,--and sometimes, bursting through, produce all the +destructive effects of earthquakes. They break forth under the sea, as +well as the land, and throw up mountains which rise above the level of +the water. During an eruption of Vesuvius, A.D. 79, three cities, +Herculaneum, Pompeii, and Stabiæ, were overwhelmed, and lay buried +beneath the matter ejected from the volcano until within a few years, +when excavations were made and many relics discovered;--streets, +houses, papyri, (manuscripts,) grain, fruit, bread, medicines, &c. +&c., all in a remarkable state of preservation, have been found just +as they were left by the terrified inhabitants at the time of the +eruption! + + _Eruption_, an issuing or breaking forth with violence. + + _Ejected_, thrown out. + + +Are there many Volcanoes? + +There are upwards of two hundred volcanoes upon the globe; more than +one half of them are in America and Oceanica The most noted volcanoes +in America are Cotopaxi (the highest in the world), near Quito; +Popocatapetl, in Mexico; Cosiguina, and the Water Volcano, in +Guatemala. In France, Spain, Portugal, and many other countries, there +are districts which show the former existence of volcanoes, which have +long been extinct; near Naples, in an area of two hundred square +miles, there are sixty craters, some of them larger than Vesuvius; in +one of these, the town of Cumea has stood for three thousand years. + + +What can you say of new islands formed by Volcanic Agency? + +Many examples of new islands rising out of the sea by volcanic action +are on record. Some of them are permanent, but others, after a time, +disappear. Teneriffe, Iceland, Sicily, St. Helena; part of Sumatra, +Java, Japan; and the Sandwich Islands, seem to have been upheaved by +volcanic agency; Hawaii, the largest of the last-named group, contains +an area of four thousand square miles, and rises eighteen thousand +feet above the ocean. + + +What are Earthquakes? + +Shakings or vibrations of the ground; sometimes accompanied by rents, +and rockings or heavings of the surface, so as to overthrow buildings, +and swallow up towns and large tracts of country. They are attended +with a terrible subterranean noise, like thunder, and sometimes with +an eruption of fire or water, or else of smoke or winds. + + _Subterranean_, underground. + + +What is supposed to cause them? + +An electrical action between the atmosphere and some deep sub-strata; +or the sudden formation of gaseous matter beneath the surface of the +earth by internal volcanic fires. Many hot countries, where much +electrical disturbance takes place, are very subject to them: +earthquakes almost always precede volcanic eruptions; an open volcano, +also, probably diminishes the force of earthquakes, by the vent which +it affords. Earthquakes, at different times, have been productive of +the most terrific effects: towns and cities have been swallowed up, +and thousands of people destroyed by them. The island of Jamaica is +remarkable for the earthquakes which frequently happen there. + + _Precede_, to go before. + + _Vent_, opening. + + _Terrific_, full of terror, dreadful. + + +Where is Jamaica situated? + +In the West Indies,--a large group of fertile islands which lie +between North and South America. Jamaica is the principal one of those +which belong to the English. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII. + +ARCHITECTURE, SCULPTURE, USE OF MONEY, NAVIGATION. + + +What is meant by Architecture? + +The art of building or erecting edifices fit for the habitation of +man, to defend him from the weather, and for his domestic comfort and +convenience; for devotion, trade, and other purposes, and for the use +of civilized life in every capacity. + + _Capacity_, state, condition. + + +Is not this an art of great antiquity? + +It is almost as ancient as human society; the changes of the seasons +first led men to build themselves huts or cabins, into which they +might retire for shelter; in process of time, their manner of building +gradually improved, and habitations were constructed of more stately +forms and elegant proportions, and greater skill and variety were +displayed in their ornaments Hence arose the Five Orders or manners of +building. + + +Of what were the first huts composed? + +Probably of the branches of trees driven into the ground, and covered +with mud and stubble; at length, as men became more expert, they +placed trunks of trees upright, and laid others across them to sustain +the outer coverings; from this they took the hint of a more regular +architecture, and built edifices of brick and stone; the trunks of +trees which supported their dwellings gave them a notion of pillars or +columns, which they afterwards erected of more durable materials. +Among uncivilized tribes at this day, some reside underground, having +their dirty dwellings entirely closed during the winter months; in +warmer regions, their habitations are built of stakes, leaves, and +turf, in the shape of a soldier's tent. In Africa, their kraals or +huts are constructed in this manner, but of a circular form, with a +hole at the top to let out the smoke. In many of the South Sea +Islands, the natives, when first discovered, had progressed still +further, having learnt to elevate the roofs on poles, and to fill in +the sides of their houses with boughs or rushes, mud or sods. + + _Probably_, most likely. + + _Edifice_, a building. + + _Notion_, idea. + + _Durable_, lasting. + + +What people are represented by the ancient writers as having brought +the art of Building to a greater state of perfection? + +The inhabitants of the city of Tyre, to whom Solomon had recourse for +workmen to build the Temple. Isaias, in his twenty-third chapter, +speaks of the Tyrians and Egyptians, as having brought it to a great +degree of magnificence; as may be drawn from the various accounts +handed down to us, and the remains of their obelisks, pyramids, &c. + + +What is an Obelisk? + +A very high and slender four-sided pyramid, raised as an ornament in +some public place; and frequently covered with inscriptions and +hieroglyphics.[16] This kind of monument appears to be very ancient; +they were first made use of to declare to posterity the principal +precepts of philosophy; to mark the hours of the day by the shadows +which they cast on the ground; and, in after-times, to immortalize the +actions of heroes, and perpetuate the memory of persons beloved. + +[Footnote 16: See Chapter XIV.] + + _Inscription_, something written or engraved. + + _Hieroglyphics_, emblems by which words were implied. They + were used before the invention of alphabets. + + _Implied_, signified, denoted. + + _Posterity_, succeeding generations, descendants. + + _Immortalize_, to render immortal,--which means never-dying; + to perpetuate the memory of anything. + + +What is a Pyramid? + +A solid, massive edifice, rising from a square, triangular, or other +base, gradually diminishing in size till it ends in a point at the +top. Like the obelisk, pyramids were sometimes erected to preserve the +memory of singular events, or to transmit to future ages the glory and +magnificence of princes; but oftener as funeral monuments and +receptacles for the dead, particularly kings. + + _Triangular_, three-sided, having three angles. + + _Diminishing_, growing smaller. + + _Receptacle_, the place in which a thing is deposited. + + +Is it known who were the erectors of these Buildings? + +No; it is a curious fact that the Egyptian pyramids, so celebrated for +their size and great antiquity, should have the time of their erection +and the names of their founders wrapt in such complete mystery. All +the different authors who have written concerning them, disagree in +their accounts of those who built them, and nothing certain is known +of their history. + + _Founder_, one who establishes or erects. + + _Mystery_, profound secresy. + + +What other nations excelled in the art of Building? + +The Greeks and Romans, from whom we derive it, also greatly excelled +in this art. Grecian architecture was in its highest glory under +Pericles. Among the Romans, it arrived at its greatest perfection +under the Emperor Augustus. The five orders of ornamental architecture +invented by the ancients, at different times, and on different +occasions, are of Grecian and Italian origin. They are the Tuscan, the +Doric, the Ionic, the Corinthian, and the Composite; each possessing +its peculiar form and beauty, and found in all the principal buildings +of the Christian world. + + _Christian_, professing the religion of Christ; the term is + applied to those who believe our Lord Jesus Christ to be the + only true God and Saviour of the world. + + +Who was Pericles? + +A celebrated Athenian statesman, orator, and general, who gained +several victories over the Lacedemonians and other enemies of his +country. + + +Are all the species of ornamental building confined to those nations +already mentioned? + +By no means; besides the Grecian and Roman orders, other civilized +nations possess their separate styles; as the Hindoos, Chinese, Moors, +&c.; and nothing can be more grand, harmonious, and picturesque, than +each of these in the beautiful specimens which are to be seen in their +several countries. The Saxons, also, had a simple style of +architecture, distinguished by semi-circular arches, and massive plain +columns; the Normans, too, invented a beautiful kind called the +Gothic, distinguished by its lightness and the number of its +ornaments, and by its pointed arches and pillars carved to imitate +several combined together; the Gothic style is found in many old +cathedrals. + + _Hindoos_, inhabitants of Hindostan, in India. + + _Moors_, inhabitants of Morocco, a kingdom of Barbary, in + Africa. + + _Harmonious_, corresponding in all its parts with equal + beauty and elegance. + + _Picturesque_, like a picture. + + _Saxons_, inhabitants of Saxony, a portion of Germany. + + _Semi-circular_, only half circular. + + +Describe the Five Orders of Architecture. + +The Tuscan (from Tuscany,) is the most simple and devoid of ornament, +and its columns or pillars are plain and massive. The Doric (from the +Dorians, in Greece,) is durable and noble in appearance, having its +columns plain like the Tuscan, but the upper parts more ornamental. +The Ionic, (from Iona, in Greece,) is neither so plain as the Doric, +nor so richly elegant as the Corinthian; but is distinguished from the +first two orders by having its columns or pillars fluted instead of +plain, and the upper part of them (called the capitals,) adorned by +the figures of rams' horns carved on them. The Corinthian is very rich +and delicate, with fluted pillars, and the tops beautifully ornamented +with leaves, &c. The invention of this order is ascribed to +Callimachus, a Corinthian sculptor. The Composite is compounded of the +other four; it is very much like the Corinthian, and is also called +the Roman or Italian order. + + _Devoid_, free from, destitute. + + +What is Sculpture? + +The art of cutting or carving wood, stone, and other materials; and +forming of them various figures or representations of men, beasts and +other objects. The term is mostly limited to carving images or statues +in stone. This art is of great antiquity; the sacred writings inform +us of it in many passages, as for instance in those in which are +mentioned Laban's images, carried away by Rachel; the golden calf of +the Israelites, &c. Sculpture as an art is probably more ancient than +painting. + + +What country was the most highly celebrated for its sculpture? + +Greece, which produced many celebrated sculptors, of whom the most +eminent were Phidias, an Athenian, the great master of this art, who +lived in the time of Pericles, 408 years before Christ; Lysippus, a +native of Sicyon, near Corinth; and Praxiteles, a native of Magna +Grecia. + + +What event proved fatal to this art? + +The death of Alexander the Great was followed by a visible decline in +all the fine arts; but the fatal blow to their existence was given by +the success of the conquering Romans, who reduced Greece to a Roman +province. + + +Was Sculpture always performed in Stone? + +No; at first statues and other figures were formed of wood or baked +clay, afterwards of stone, marble and metals; though these last were +not brought to any degree of perfection, till about three hundred +years before Christ. The Greeks were famous for their works in ivory; +the great master of the art of carving statues in it was Phidias. + + +What progress did the Romans make in Sculpture? + +Sculpture, during their early history, existed rather as a plant of +foreign growth, partially cultivated by them, than as a native +production of their own land. They collected, indeed, some of the most +exquisite samples of Grecian sculpture, and invited to their capital +the yet remaining sculptors of Greece, by whose labors not only Rome +itself was embellished, but also many of the cities of Asia Minor, +Spain, and Gaul, then under the Roman dominion; yet the taste for +sculpture does not appear to have been cultivated in any measure +corresponding with the advantages thus afforded them in the study of +the best models of the art. The best works were produced by Greek +artists, and chiefly Athenian, while the attempts of the Romans were +unskilfully executed. + + _Gaul_, the ancient name of France. + + _Model_, pattern. + + +Did it always continue thus? + +No; from the time of the Emperor Constantine, sculpture, and the rest +of the fine arts, gradually revived. While inspired, perhaps, with a +taste for sculpture by means of the scattered remains of Grecian art, +the Roman artists drew, at the same time, from their own resources, +and were by no means servile copyists of the sculptors of a former +age. The first academy of the art was founded at Florence, in 1350, +and at the close of the same century, sculpture was firmly established +in Italy, and itinerant sculptors, not unskilful in their art, +wandered from thence to Germany, France, and even to England. The most +eminent master of the art was Michael Angelo, born in 1474, who was +also a painter and architect; from his time, to the latter end of the +last century, sculpture again gradually declined, but under Canova, a +native of Possagno, in the Venetian Alps, it revived. He was born in +1757. Besides the above mentioned, were a number of others of various +degrees of talent, as well as some still living. + + _Servile_, slavish, mean. + + _Itinerant_, wandering. + + +When was the knowledge of Sculpture introduced into England? + +At the time of its conquest by the Romans; but the art appears to have +been very rude and imperfect. From the time of the Norman invasion, +and still further in the time of the Crusades, an improvement, +however, began to show itself in British sculpture. But it is probable +that most of their best architectural and sculptural works were +executed by foreigners, members of those societies of wandering +sculptors before mentioned. Under Edward the Third, the art appears to +have been much cultivated by Englishmen. It is well known that two +Italian sculptors were employed in England during the sixteenth +century. John of Padua, a pupil of Michael Angelo, was master of works +to Henry the Eighth. In the reign of Charles the First, English +sculptors flourished, although their works are of a very low order. + + _Invasion_, hostile entrance upon the rights or possessions + of another. + + _Architectural_, belong to Architecture. + + _Sculptural_, belonging to Sculpture. + +[Illustration: GATHERING TURPENTINE BY SCRAPING.] + +[Illustration: DISTILLING TURPENTINE.] + + +With whom may the School of British Sculptors be considered as +commencing? + +With Banks, born in 1738, and Bacon, born in 1740; these were in every +respect English artists. But the most eminent worker in the art which +that country has yet produced, was John Flaxman, born in 1755. Our own +country also may boast of sculptors of superior talents, and from the +beautiful specimens of the art which have appeared, the attainment of +a high degree of excellence in it is to be anticipated. + + _Attainment_, the act of arriving at or reaching. + + _Anticipated_, expected, foreseen. + + +Give me a short account of this art in Germany, France, and Spain. + +In these countries, as in England and the United States, during their +early history, many of the best works were executed by Italians. +Germany appears to have made little progress in sculpture before the +seventeenth century; since that period, it has produced sculptors of +some eminence, although it is more celebrated for its writers on the +art, than for artists of eminence in its practice. In France, +sculptors of some talent are mentioned as early as the sixteenth +century. Girardon and Puget were the most celebrated artists of this +period. Spanish history gives a long list of native sculptors, from +the commencement of the same century, but many of them are but little +known beyond their own country. Berruguete, a pupil of Michael Angelo, +appears to have founded the first regular school of the art. Paul de +Cespides, and in the eighteenth century, Philip de Castro, were the +most eminent among them. + + +When was the use of Money first introduced? + +It is not known with certainty: there is, however, reason to believe +that both gold and silver were very early used as money in Egypt and +Asia: it was afterwards introduced into Carthage and Greece; whence it +was brought to Rome; and from that city spread gradually westward, +through all the Roman dominions. Before the use of money was +introduced, the only means of trade was by barter, or the exchange of +one commodity for another, a custom long retained by uncivilized +nations. In time, however, men discovered the necessity of something +which would enable them to trade with greater facility; the first +mention of money is in the time of Abraham, who, we are told in the +Bible, paid "four hundred sides of silver of common current money," +for a burying place. + + _Current_, generally received, passing from hand to hand. + + +Where was Carthage? + +Carthage, now Tunis, was a commercial city, situated on the Northern +Coast of Africa, which long contended for the dominion of the +Mediterranean with the Romans; but, after three wars, it was taken and +destroyed by the Roman general, Scipio Africanus, in the year 251 +before Christ. + + _Commercial_, carrying on commerce or trade. + + +Of what substances was Money usually made? + +Of metals, especially the precious metals, because they possess great +value in small bulk; may be kept for any length of time without loss; +and their value, although not altogether invariable, yet, generally +speaking, changes only by slow degrees, and is less susceptible of +fluctuation than that of most other articles. At different times, and +amongst various nations, however, other things, in the scarcity of +metal, have been substituted for it, as shells, wood, leather, paper, +or even pasteboard on extraordinary occasions. + + _Fluctuation_, unsteadiness; a wavering. + + +Of what form was money generally made? + +The form of money has been more various than its materials; the +ancient Britons used as money, rings or bars of iron or tin; the +Lacedemonians used iron bars quenched with vinegar. The money of most +nations usually bore an impression peculiar to themselves, as, for +instance, the sicle of the Jews was marked with the golden pot of +manna on one side, and Aaron's rod on the other; other coins with the +figures of animals, &c.; in shape, coins were either round, irregular, +or square. + + +Have the terms Money and Coin the same signification? + +Not exactly; by money is understood any matters, such as metal, wood, +leather, glass, horn, paper, fruits, shells, &c., which have currency +as a medium in commerce. Coin is a particular species always made of +metal, and struck off according to a certain process called coining; +it is not of equal antiquity with money. In fact, the very commodities +themselves were the first moneys, that is, were current one for +another by way of exchange. Coin is a piece of metal converted into +money, by the impression of certain marks or figures thereon. The +first coining of silver took place at Rome, two hundred and +sixty-nine, and of gold, two hundred and six years before Christ: the +Romans, after the commonwealth, stamped their coins with the image of +the reigning emperor, which custom was followed by most civilized +nations. Coins were, and are, frequently, struck in commemoration of a +particular event or celebrated person. + + +When was the use of stamped coin introduced into Britain? + +After the arrival of the Romans in that island, the natives imitated +them, coining both gold and silver with the images of their kings +stamped upon them; but the Romans, when they subdued the nation, +suppressed also their coins, and obliged them to use their own; hence +the number of Roman coins found among the relics of antiquity in that +island. + + _Suppressed_, put aside, hindered from circulation. + + _Relics_, remains. + + +What does the first coined money in ancient Britain appear to have +been? + +Copper money; but after the arrival of the Saxons in England, scarcely +any copper money was used for many centuries, nor did it become common +till 1672; it was first used in Scotland and Ireland in 1340. + + +What is a Mint? + +A place established by public authority for coining money. In the +United States, the first mint was in Philadelphia; branches have been +established in other parts of the Union. In most countries, the +privilege of coining money is regarded as a prerogative of the +sovereign power. Formerly, in Great Britain, cities, towns, and even +individuals, were allowed to coin money for the convenience of trade; +but now this is forbidden, except at the Mint in the Tower of London. + + +What is meant by Navigation? + +The science or art by which the mariner is taught to conduct his ship +from one place to another. Some, perhaps, will consider the formation +and use of the Ark, as a first step towards the invention of this art; +but it is an erroneous idea, because the direction and means for +accomplishing this immense work were afforded by God, for the +preservation of righteous Noe and his family. Besides, nothing is +recorded of any means or of any necessity for its occupants +_navigating_ it to any particular place, or from one place to another; +no intention of this sort is apparent, the ark being merely a vast +shelter, rendered capable of floating on the water. + + _Erroneous_, wrong, in error. + + _Apparent_, manifest, made to appear. + + +What probably gave the first idea of Navigation? + +Accident most likely showed that wood always floats; and on the fallen +trunk of a tree, perhaps, some one ventured beyond his depth, away +from the land. The trunk of a tree, hollowed out, for a more +convenient position of the body, formed the canoe, usually found among +uncivilized nations to this day. From this rude beginning, at great +intervals of time, and a slow pace of improvement, the art has at +length arrived at its present state of advancement. + + +What nation first applied this art to the purposes of Trade? + +The Phenicians (especially those of Tyre, their capital city, and +Sidon,) were the first who adapted it to the purposes of commerce, +and constructed vessels fit to make voyages to foreign countries; the +poverty and narrowness of their land, as well as their vicinity to two +or three good ports, and their natural genius for traffic, urging them +to seek foreign supplies. We hear of them trading to Arabia, India, +Persia, Greece, Africa, Spain, and even as far as Britain. + + _Vicinity_, nearness, neighborhood. + + _Traffic_, Trade, commerce. + + +Who were the Phenicians? + +The inhabitants of Phenicia, a country of Syria, in Asia. + + +Which was the more ancient city, Tyre or Sidon? + +Sidon,--having been built, as is supposed, soon after the Flood, by +Sidon, the eldest son of Chanaan. Tyre, about 25 miles to the south, +was built about the year 1252 before Christ, by a colony from Sidon. +The Phenicians planted numerous colonies on the shores of the +Mediterranean and the Atlantic, and diffused, to a great extent, among +their uncivilized neighbors the arts and improvements of civilized +life. One of their most celebrated colonies was that founded by them +on the northern coast of Africa; and it was this colony that built the +famous city of Carthage. + + _Diffused_, spread abroad, scattered. + + +Did not Carthage afterwards become as flourishing as the parent city +of Tyre? + +In time, Carthage not only equalled Tyre itself, but surpassed +it,--pursuing the course the Phenicians had begun, and sending its +merchant fleets through Hercules' Pillars, (now the Straits of +Gibraltar,) along the western coast of Africa, and northwards, along +the coast of Europe, visiting particularly Spain, Gaul, &c. They even +undertook voyages, the sole object of which was to discover new +countries and explore unknown seas. The Carthaginians appear to have +been the first who undertook voyages solely for the sake of +discoveries. + + +Were not both these celebrated cities destroyed? + +Tyre, whose immense riches and power were the subject of many ancient +histories, was destroyed by the Grecian Emperor Alexander the Great, +and its navigation and commerce transferred by him to Alexandria, a +new city which he meditated making his capital. Alexandria, in a short +time, became the most important commercial city in the world. Thus +arose navigation among the Egyptians; it was afterwards so +successfully cultivated by them, that Tyre and Carthage (which last, +as before mentioned, was subdued by the Romans,) were quite forgotten. + + _Transferred_, removed. + + _Capital_, chief city or town in a state or kingdom. + + +Who was Alexander the Great? + +The son of Philip, King of Macedonia, in Greece; he was celebrated for +his great ambition, and the number of his conquests; he overturned the +Persian empire, and subdued many cities and provinces in the East. + + +Did not Alexandria undergo the same fate as Tyre and Carthage? + +Egypt was at last reduced to a Roman province, after the battle of +Actium, and its trade and navigation fell into the hands of the +Emperor Augustus, in whose time Alexandria was little inferior to +Rome; and the magazines of the capital of the world were supplied with +merchandise from the capital of Egypt. Alexandria, however, at last +underwent the fate of Tyre and Carthage, being surprised by the +Saracens, who overran the northern parts of Africa; and though it +continued, for a while, to enjoy a considerable portion of the +commerce of the Christian merchants, it afterwards remained in a +languishing condition: but still, even at this day, it is a place of +considerable trade. + + +Who were the Saracens? + +A Mahommedan nation, occupying a portion of what is now called Arabia. +They extended their conquests over a large portion of Asia, northern +Africa, and Spain. Their name is derived from the word _Sara_, a +desert. + + +What effect had the Fall of the Roman Empire on Navigation? + +The fall of the Roman empire not only drew along with it its learning +and the polite arts, but also the art of navigation; the Barbarians, +into whose hands the empire fell, contenting themselves with enjoying +the spoils of those whom they had conquered, without seeking to follow +their example in the cultivation of those arts and that learning which +had rendered Rome and its empire so famous. + + +What other people, about this period, distinguished themselves in the +art of Navigation? + +The Saracens or Arabians, whose fleets now rode triumphant in the +Mediterranean; they had taken possession of Cyprus, Rhodes, and many +of the Grecian islands, and extended their commerce and their +discoveries in the East, far beyond the utmost knowledge of their +ancestors. + + +What other circumstance also prevented commercial intercourse from +ceasing altogether? + +Constantinople, though often threatened by the fierce invaders, who +spread desolation over Europe, was so fortunate as to escape their +destructive rage. In this city, the knowledge of ancient arts and +discoveries was preserved; and commerce continued to flourish there, +when it was almost extinct in every other part of Europe. + + _Desolation_, destruction, ruin. + + +Did the citizens of Constantinople confine their trade to the Islands +of the Archipelago, and the adjacent coast of Asia? + +No, they took a wider range; and, following the course which the +ancients had marked out, imported the productions of the East Indies +from Alexandria. When Egypt was torn from the Roman Empire by the +Arabians, the industry of the Greeks discovered a new channel by which +the productions of India might be conveyed to Constantinople. + + +Did not the Barbarians, after a while, turn their attention to +Navigation and Commerce? + +No sooner were the brave among these nations well settled in their new +provinces--some in Gaul, as the Franks; others in Spain, as the Goths; +and others in Italy, as the Lombards,--than they began to learn the +advantages of these arts, and the proper methods of managing them, +from the people they had subdued; and that with so much success, that +they even improved upon them, and set on foot new institutions for +their advantage. To the Lombards, in particular, is usually ascribed +the invention and use of banks, book-keeping, and exchanges. Thus the +people of Italy, and particularly those of Venice and Genoa, have the +glory of restoring to Europe the advantages that had been destroyed by +their own ravages. + + _Institutions_, laws, regulations. + + _Exchange_, a species of mercantile transactions by which + the debts due to persons at a distance are paid by order, + draft, or bill of exchange, without the transmission either + of money or goods. + + +Who were the Franks? + +A people who settled in Gaul; from them it took the name of Franconia, +or France. + + +Who were the Goths? + +An ancient people, who inhabited that part of Sweden called Gothland; +and afterwards spread themselves over great part of Europe. + + +Who were the Lombards? + +The Lombards, or Longobardi, were, like the Franks, a nation of +Germany; who, upon the decline of the Roman Empire, invaded Italy, +and, taking the city of Ravenna, erected a kingdom. + + +Where is Ravenna? + +In Central Italy. It is the capital of a province of the same name; it +is an ancient town, and the see of an archbishop. + + _See_, the seat of episcopal power; the diocese of a bishop. + + _Episcopal_, belonging to a bishop. + + _Archbishop_, the presiding bishop of a province. + +[Illustration: THE GRAND CANAL, VENICE, ITALY.] + + +What was the origin of the city of Venice? + +In the Adriatic Sea were a great number of marshy islands, separated +only by narrow channels, but well screened and almost inaccessible, +inhabited by a few fishermen. To these islands the people of Veneti (a +part of Italy, situated along the coasts of the gulf,) retired when +Alaric, King of the Goths, ravaged Italy. These new Islanders, little +imagining that this was to be their fixed residence, did not, at +first, think of forming themselves into one community, but each of the +72 islands continued a long while under its respective masters, and +formed a distinct commonwealth. + + _Adriatic Sea_, a name given to the Gulf of Venice. + + _Commonwealth_, a republic, a government in which the + supreme power is lodged in the people. + + +What circumstance caused them to unite? + +Their commerce becoming considerable enough to awaken the jealousy of +their neighbors, they united in a body for their mutual protection: +this union, first begun in the 6th century and completed in the 8th, +laid the foundation of the future grandeur of the state of Venice. +From the time of this union, fleets of their merchantmen sailed to all +the ports of the Mediterranean; and afterwards to those of Egypt, +particularly to Cairo, a new city, built by the Saracen princes, on +the banks of the Nile, where they traded for spices, &c. The Venetians +continued to increase their trade by sea and their conquests on land +till 1508, when a number of jealous princes conspired against them to +their ruin; which was the more easily effected in consequence of their +East Indian commerce, of which the Portuguese and French had each +obtained a share. + + _Conspired_, united together in a plot. + + +What is the signification of Mediterranean? + +Inclosed within land, or remote from the ocean. It is more +particularly used to signify the sea which flows between Europe and +Africa. + + +Had not Venice a formidable rival in a neighboring republic? + +Genoa, which had applied itself to navigation at the same time with +Venice, and with equal success, was long its dangerous rival, disputed +with it the empire of the sea, and shared with it the trade of Egypt, +and other parts, both of the East and West. Jealousy soon broke out; +and, the two republics coming to blows, there was almost continual war +between them for three centuries: at length, towards the end of the +14th century, the strife was ended by the fatal battle of Chioza; the +Genoese, who till then had usually the advantage, lost all, and the +Venetians, almost become desperate, at one decisive blow, beyond all +expectation, secured the empire of the sea and their superiority in +commerce. + + _Decisive_, final, conclusive. + + +Where is Genoa situated? + +In the north-western part of Italy. It was formerly a flourishing +republic, but belongs now to Italy. + + +What event likewise contributed to the more rapid progress and +diffusion of Navigation and Commerce? + +The Crusades: for the Genoese, Pisans, and Venetians, furnished the +fleets which carried those vast armies, composed of all the nations of +Europe, into Asia, upon this wild undertaking, and also supplied them +with provisions and military stores. Other travellers, also, besides +those whom religious zeal sent forth to visit Asia, ventured into +remote countries, from motives either of commercial advantage, or +those of mere curiosity. + + _Zeal_, devotion, enthusiasm. + + +Who were the Pisans? + +Inhabitants of Pisa, an ancient town of Tuscany; it was once a great +independent republic, and is still adorned with noble edifices. Pisa +has long been celebrated for its remarkable leaning tower. Tuscany is +a beautiful and fruitful territory of Italy; its capital, until the +year 1859, was Florence. + + +What were the Crusades? + +Holy wars, or expeditions, undertaken by the Christians against the +Turks and Saracens, to recover Palestine, between the years 1100 and +1400. + + +What causes led to these wars? + +Many circumstances contributed to give rise to them. They were +undertaken, first, with a view to protecting the devout Christian +pilgrims, who were in the habit of frequenting the venerable places +where our Saviour had lived, taught, suffered, and triumphed, from the +fury and avarice of the heathens; secondly, with a view to getting +possession of the Holy Land itself, and of annexing it to Christendom; +and thirdly, to break down the power of Mohammedanism, and to elevate +the Cross in triumph and victory over Palestine. + + _Avarice_, an excessive desire of gain. + + _Annexing_, adding, joining. + + +What badge or sign was worn by those who engaged in the Crusades? + +They distinguished themselves by crosses of different colors, worn on +their clothes; from which they took the name of Croisés, or +Cross-bearers; each nation wore different colors: for instance, the +English had white crosses, the French red, and so on. + + +To what invention is the art of Navigation much indebted? + +To that of the Mariner's Compass, in the beginning of the 14th +century; and from this period may be dated the present perfection of +this useful art. + + +You have given me an account of the restoration of Navigation in +Southern Europe: did not the inhabitants of the North also turn their +attention to it? + +Yes: about the same time, a new society of merchants was formed in the +northern parts, which not only carried commerce to the greatest +perfection of which it was capable, till the discovery of the Indies, +but also formed new codes of useful laws for its regulation. + + _Codes_, books or writings setting forth certain laws or + rules respecting particular subjects; books of civil laws. + + +Are Navigation and Commerce inseparably connected with each other? + +It may be considered as a general maxim, that their union is so +intimate, that the fall of one inevitably draws after it that of the +other; and that they will always either flourish or decline together +may be seen, by examining the reason of their passing successively +from the Venetians, Genoese, &c., to the Portuguese and Spaniards, and +from them to the English, Dutch, &c. + + _Maxim_, rule, an established principle. + + _Intimate_, close. + + _Inevitably_, without possibility of escape, unavoidably. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + +MUSIC, PAINTING, POETRY, ASTRONOMY, ARTS AND SCIENCES, ART OF +WRITING, AND CHEMISTRY. + + +What are the earliest accounts of Musical Instruments on record? + +The earliest accounts of music which we possess are to be found in the +Bible, in which the state of the world before the flood is noticed. +Jubal is said to have been "the father of them that play upon the harp +and organ;" but it is not to be supposed that these instruments at all +resembled the harp and organ of modern times. Musical instruments, in +the times of David and Solomon, were used in religious services; and +music was certainly employed by the Jews on many other occasions, as +at funerals and weddings, at harvest home, and at festivals of all +kinds. + + _Modern_, opposed to ancient, pertaining to the present + time, or time not long past. + + _Festival_, a rejoicing, a feast, a season dedicated to + mirth. + + +What nation was particularly celebrated for musical talents? + +The ancient Egyptians; who were so celebrated for their talents in +music, that the distinguished philosophers of Greece braved many +dangers, in order to study the science in Egypt; and this, at a period +when the Egyptians were far from being in the same high state of +civilization as their forefathers had been in earlier times. The +history and monuments of ancient Egypt have many accounts and +representations of musical instruments, and remains of these have +lately been discovered, so that we have ocular demonstration both of +their existence and form. + + _Civilization_, freedom from barbarity, polish, politeness, + possession of knowledge and the arts of life. + + _Ocular_, known or seen by the eye. + + _Demonstration_, the act of proving with certainty. + + +In how many divisions may musical instruments be arranged? + +There are three kinds, namely, _wind_ instruments, as the trumpet, and +the organ;--_stringed_ instruments, as the harp or lyre, violin, &c.; +and instruments of _concussion_, in which the sound is produced by +striking a sonorous body, as for instance the drum, bells, &c. + + +Which of these three kinds was the first invented? + +It is impossible, at the present day, to decide which; but it is most +probable that instruments with strings were the last invented of the +three kinds; and it is most likely, that of those in which sound is +produced by the application of wind, the trumpet or horn was first +used. This instrument, in its rudest form, was ready fashioned to the +hand of man; the horn of a ram or of an ox, or some of the larger +kinds of sea-shells, were soon discovered to possess the power of +producing sound, by being blown into through a small hole at the +pointed end. + + +What improvement in this instrument would naturally follow? + +Mankind having discovered the property possessed by a hollow tube of +producing a certain sound, soon found that the note varied according +to the length and capacity of the tube. A much greater improvement +soon after took place; it was discovered that one tube answered the +purpose of many by boring holes in the course of its length, and +producing various musical sounds by stopping with the fingers certain +of these holes. Most of our modern wind instruments are but +improvements on the ancient inventions. + + _Tube_, a pipe; a long hollow body. + + +Was not Vocal Music used before the invention of Instrumental? + +_Vocal_ music, namely, that produced by the human voice, (so called to +distinguish it from _instrumental_, that produced by instruments,) was +undoubtedly the first: for man had not only the various tones of his +own voice to make his observations on, before any art or instrument +was found out; but the various natural strains of birds to give him a +lesson in improving it, and in modulating the sounds of which it is +capable. + + _Modulating_, forming sound to a certain key. + + +To what circumstance did an ancient poet ascribe the invention of +stringed instruments? + +To the observation of the winds whistling in the hollow reeds. As for +other kinds of instruments, there were so many occasions for cords or +strings, that men were not long in observing their various sounds, +which might give rise to stringed instruments. Those of concussion, as +drums and cymbals, might result from the observation of the naturally +hollow noise made by concave bodies when struck. + + +What are the most ancient stringed instruments? + +The most ancient instruments of this kind, whose form is known, are +those of the ancient Egyptians; among these the harp stands +pre-eminent. One of the most celebrated representations of an Egyptian +harp was drawn from a painting discovered in one of the caverns in +the mountains of Egyptian Thebes, by some travellers: it is called the +Theban harp, and has thirteen strings; its form is extremely elegant. +This harp is supposed to be one of the kind in use before and at the +time of Sesostris. Remains of Egyptian harps of a more simple +construction, with only four strings, have likewise been discovered. +Among the monuments of ancient Rome, there are representations of +stringed instruments resembling the harp, but not equal in beauty of +form to the famous Egyptian harp already mentioned. + + _Pre-eminent_, surpassing others. + + +Who was Sesostris? + +A King of Egypt, who is said to have reigned some ages before the +siege of Troy. He appears to have been celebrated for his conquests, +and for the number of edifices he erected to perpetuate his fame. + + _Perpetuate_, to preserve from extinction; to continue the + memory of a person or event. + + +Where was Troy? + +Troy, anciently called Ilium, was the capital of Troas, in Asia. It +became famous for the ten years' siege it sustained against the +Greeks; the history of this event is commemorated in the poems of +Homer and Virgil. + + +Is not the harp an instrument of high antiquity in Great Britain? + +Yes: it was a favorite instrument with the ancient Saxons in Great +Britain. The celebrated Alfred entered the Danish camp disguised as a +harper, because the harpers passed through the midst of the enemy +unmolested on account of their calling. The same deception was +likewise practised by several Danish chiefs, in the camp of Athelstan, +the Saxon. The bards, or harpers of old, were the historians of the +time; they handed down from generation to generation the history of +remarkable events, and of the deeds and lineage of their celebrated +chiefs and princes. The harpers of Britain were formerly admitted to +the banquets of kings and nobles: their employment was to sing or +recite the achievements of their patrons, accompanying themselves on +the harp. No nations have been more famous for their harps and harpers +than the Welsh and Irish. + + _Recite_, to repeat or chant in a particular tone or manner. + + _Achievement_, a great or heroic deed. + + _Patron_, benefactor, one who bestows favors. + + +What instrument was famous among the ancient Greeks? + +The Lyre: the invention, or rather discovery, of this instrument is +ascribed by them to their most celebrated deities. It is supposed to +have originated from the discovery of a dead tortoise, the flesh of +which had dried and wasted, so that nothing was left within the shell +but sinews and cartilages: these, tightened and contracted, on account +of their dryness, were rendered sonorous. Some one, Mercury or Apollo, +they affirm, in walking along, happening to strike his foot against +the tortoise, was greatly pleased with the sound it produced: thus was +suggested to him the first idea of a lyre, which he afterwards +constructed in the form of a tortoise, and strung with the dried +sinews of dead animals. The stringed instruments already described +were made to give out musical sounds, by causing a vibratory motion in +their strings by means of the fingers. + + _Sinew_, a tendon; that which unites a muscle to a bone. + + _Cartilage_, a gristly, smooth, solid substance, softer than + bone. + + _Vibratory_, shaking. + + +Who was Mercury? + +The heathen god of eloquence, letters, &c., and the messenger of the +other gods. + + +Who was Apollo? + +The god of music, poetry, medicine, and the fine arts. + +[Illustration: PICKING COTTON.] + +[Illustration: GATHERING TEA.] + + +What is a Tortoise? + +A well-known animal, with a thick shelly covering, belonging to the +order of reptiles; there are two species, the sea and the land +tortoise; the first named is called a turtle, and affords delicious +food; land tortoises live to a very great age. It is only one sort +which furnishes the beautiful shell so much prized. Tortoises are +found in many parts of the world. The turtles on the Brazilian shore +are said to be so large as to be enough to dine fourscore men: and in +the Indian sea, the shells serve the natives for boats. + + +Of what are the strings of the Lyre, &c., composed? + +Sometimes of either brass or silver wire, &c., but most commonly of +catgut. + + +What is Catgut? + +The intestines of sheep or lambs, dried or twisted, either singly or +several together. Catgut is also used by watch-makers, cutlers, and +other artificers, in their different trades. Great quantities are +imported from France and Italy. + + +Are there no other kind of Instruments besides those already +described? + +Yes, music and musical instruments have progressively improved; and it +would be a needless task to enumerate the numbers of instruments of +each kind now in use; many, as for instance the organ, the piano, +musical boxes, &c., are exceedingly complex and ingenious in their +construction, as well as remarkable for the sweetness of their various +sounds; some, as the two first-named, are played with the fingers, and +produce any melody or combination of sound at the will of the +performer; others, as the musical-box, barrel-organ, &c., produce a +particular melody, or a certain number of melodies, by means of +machinery. In the use of the last-named the performer is not at all +indebted to his own musical skill, as he has only to turn the handle +which sets the machinery in motion, and the musical box, or +barrel-organ, will continue playing till it has finished the tunes to +which it is set. + + +Upon what principle do these last-mentioned instruments perform? + +The barrel-organ and musical box both play on nearly the same +principle, though the former is turned by a handle, and the latter +only requires a certain spring to be touched, in order to set it off +or to stop it. Their machinery consists of a barrel pricked with brass +pins; when the barrel revolves, these ping lift a series of steel +springs of different lengths and thicknesses, and the vibration of +these springs when released, produces the different notes. + + +What is Painting? + +The art of representing objects in nature, or scenes in human life, +with fidelity and expression, either in oil or water colors, &c. + + _Fidelity_, truth, faithfulness. + + _Oil Colors_, those colors which are mixed up with oil, as + the others are with water. + + +Is not this art of great antiquity? + +There is not the slightest doubt of it; but to name the country where +it was first practised, or the circumstances attending its origin, is +beyond the power of the historian. About a century after the call of +Abraham, Greek and Egyptian tradition tells us of a colony planted at +Sicyon, by an Egyptian, who brought with him the knowledge of painting +and sculpture, and founded the earliest and purest school of Greek +art. The walls of Babylon were adorned with paintings of different +kinds of animals, hunting expeditions, combats, &c. Allusions to this +custom of the Babylonians, of decorating their walls with paintings, +are found in the Bible. + + _Tradition_, a history or account delivered from mouth to + mouth without written memorials; communication from age to + age. + + _Allusion_, reference. + + _Decorating_, ornamenting. + + _Sicyon_, a kingdom of Peloponnesus, in ancient Greece. + + +Were the Egyptians acquainted with this art? + +It is now little doubted that, although painting and sculpture existed +in Egypt, and were probably at their highest condition, eighteen +centuries before the Christian era, yet, at a still earlier period, +these arts were known in the kingdom of Ethiopia; and it is considered +likely, that the course of civilization descended from Ethiopia to +Egypt. There is, however, no record of any Egyptian painter in the +annals of the art; and it does not appear that it ever flourished in +that country, or that other nations were much indebted to Egypt for +their knowledge of it. + + _Era_, age, period. + + _Ethiopia_, the ancient name of the kingdoms of Nubia and + Abyssinia, in Africa. + + _Annal_, record, history. + + _Exploit_, action, achievement, deed of valor. + + +Have we any notice of this art among the Hebrews? + +There is no allusion made to the existence of painting among this +people, and no proof that it was cultivated among them: it is supposed +that the neglect of this art arose from their not being permitted to +represent any object by painting. + + +What progress did the generality of the Eastern nations make in this +art? + +The art of painting among the Phenicians, Persians, and other Eastern +nations, advanced but slowly. The Chinese appear, until a very recent +period, to have contented themselves with only so much knowledge of +the art as might enable them to decorate their beautiful porcelain and +other wares; their taste is very peculiar, and though the pencilling +of their birds and flowers is delicate, yet their figures of men and +animals are distorted, and out of proportion; and of perspective they +seem to have but little idea. Latterly, however, a change has taken +place in Chinese art, and proofs have been given of an attempt to +imitate European skill. The Japanese figures approach more nearly to +beauty of style than Chinese productions of a similar kind. + + _Distorted_, having a bad figure. + + _Perspective_, the science by which things are represented + in a picture according to their appearance to the eye. + + +Who are the Japanese? + +The inhabitants of Japan, an empire of Eastern Asia, composed of +several large islands. They are so similar in feature, and in many of +their customs and ceremonies, to the Chinese, as to be regarded by +some, as the same race of men. The Japanese language is so very +peculiar, that it is rarely understood by the people of other +nations. Their religion is idolatrous; their government a monarchy, +controlled by the priesthood. The people are very ingenious, and the +arts and sciences are held in great esteem by them. In all respects, +Japan is an important and interesting empire. + + _Monarchy_, a government in which the power is vested in a + king or emperor. + + +By what nations was the art of painting practised with great success? + +By the Greeks and Romans. Greece produced many distinguished painters, +among whom Apelles was one of the most celebrated; he was a native of +Cos, an island in the Archipelago, rather north of Rhodes; he +flourished in the time of Alexander the Great, and witnessed both the +glory and the decay of ancient art: the leading features of his style +were beauty and grace. But painting was not at any period so +completely national in Greece, as sculpture, its sister art; the names +of one hundred and sixty-nine eminent sculptors are recorded, while +only fifteen painters are mentioned. Zeuxis, of Heraclea, was another +famous Greek painter, who flourished 400 years before Christ. The +Romans were not without considerable masters in this art, in the +latter times of the republic, and under the first emperors. + + +What nation is supposed to have known and practised this art even +before the foundation of Rome? + +The Etruscans, inhabitants of Etruria, whose acquaintance with the +arts has excited great astonishment among those who have most deeply +searched into their history, and traced their progress by means of the +beautiful specimens of their works still extant. Their early works +were not superior to those of other nations; but either from their +intercourse with Greece, or the original genius of the people, they +had attained considerable eminence in the arts of painting, sculpture, +&c., before Rome was founded. Pliny speaks of some beautiful pictures +at Ardea and Lanuvium, which were older than Rome: and another author +also says that before Rome was built, sculpture and painting existed +among them. + + +Where was Etruria situated? + +In Italy, on the west of the Tiber, which separated it from the +territory of ancient Rome, to which it was afterwards annexed by +conquest. Etruria was the ancient name of Tuscany. + + _Annexed_, united. + + +Was not the art greatly obscured for some centuries? + +The irruption of Barbarians into Italy and Southern Europe, proved +fatal to painting, and almost reduced it to its primitive state; it +was not until after a long period that it was fully restored. The +first certain signs of its revival took place about the year 1066, +when Greek artists were sent for to adorn several of the cities of +Italy. Cimabue, a native of Florence, in the thirteenth century, +caught the inspiration of the Greek artists, and soon equalled their +works. He was both a painter and an architect. + + _Irruption_, inroad, invasion. + + +To what did this revolution in its history give rise? + +It caused it to be distinguished into ancient and modern. The ancient +painting comprehends the Greek and Roman: the modern has formed +several schools, each of which has its peculiar character and merit. +The first masters who revived the art were greatly surpassed by their +scholars, who carried it to the greatest state of perfection, and +advanced it not only by their own noble works, but also by those of +their pupils. + + +Who were the principal masters of the Italian school? + +Raphael and the celebrated Michael Angelo Buonarotti; the former is +regarded as the prince of modern painters, and is often styled "the +divine Raphael;" he was born at Urbino, in 1483. Michael Angelo was +born at Florence, in 1564, and united the professions of painter, +sculptor, architect, poet, and musician. Besides these there were many +other illustrious Italian painters, the principal of whom were +Leonardo da Vinci, Titian, Correggio, the three Caracci, Guido, +Parmegiano, Salvator Rosa, &c. + + +Was not Raphael also reckoned as excellent an architect as he was a +painter? + +He was not only esteemed the best painter in the world, but also the +best architect; he was at least so admired for skill and taste in +architecture, that Leo the Tenth charged him with the building of St. +Peter's Church at Rome. + + +Who was Leo the Tenth? + +A great Pope, who was an ardent lover and patron of learning and the +arts. He was born at Florence, in 1475, and died in 1521. + + +Give me a list of some of the most celebrated painters besides those +already mentioned. + +The great painters of the _German_ school were Albert Durer, Holbein, +Kneller and Mengs, with several others. + +Of the _Dutch_ school, were Rembrandt, Gerard Dow, Mieris, Ostade, +Polemberg, Berghem, and Wouvermans. + +Of the _Flemish_, Rubens, Teniers, Jordaens, and Vandyck. + +The admired painters of the _French_ school, were Claude, Poussin, Le +Brun, and many others. + +The _Spaniards_ also have had their Murillo, Velasquez, &c. + +The _English_, Hogarth, Wright, Reynolds, Wilson, Northcote, +Gainsborough, Morland, Barry, and others. + +The _Americans_, Washington Allston, Benjamin West, Gilbert Stuart, +John Singleton Copley, John Trumbull, G. Stuart Newton, Thomas Cole, +Henry Inman, and a number of others; besides many now living, or but +recently deceased. + + +Upon what materials did the ancients paint their works? + +Principally upon wood; the boards or tables were prepared with a thin +ground of chalk and size of some kind. Linen cloth or canvas was also +employed, but there is no evidence of its use before the reign of +Nero. Parchment, ivory and plaster were the other materials. + + _Evidence_, testimony, record. + + +Who was Nero? + +One of the Roman Emperors, a monster of cruelty, extravagance, and +debauchery; he raised a dreadful persecution against the Christians, +in which St. Paul was beheaded, and St. Peter crucified. At last, +being deserted by his army and the senate, he destroyed himself, after +a reign of fourteen years. + + _Debauchery_, wickedness. + + +What is Poetry? + +The glowing language of impassioned feeling, generally found in +measured lines, and often in rhyme. Most ancient people had their +poets. + + _Glowing_, warm, energetic. + + _Impassioned_, full of passion, animated. + + _Rhyme_, the correspondence of the last sound of one verse + to the last sound or syllable of another. + + +Name a few of the ancient poets. + +David was an inspired poet of the Hebrews: Homer, one of the earliest +poets of the Greeks: Ossian, an ancient poet of the Scots: Taliesen, +an ancient poet of the Welsh: and Odin, an early poet of the +Scandinavians. + + +Who were the Scandinavians? + +The inhabitants of Scandinavia, the ancient name of Denmark, Sweden, +and Norway. + + +What people are regarded as the Fathers of Poetry? + +The Greeks. Homer was the first and the prince of poets; he celebrated +the siege of Troy in the Iliad and Odyssey, two epic poems which have +never been surpassed. In the same kind of composition he was followed, +nine hundred years after, by Virgil, in the Eneid; by Tasso, after +another fifteen hundred years, in the 'Jerusalem Delivered.' The +Greeks also boasted of their Pindar and Anacreon in lyric poetry; and +of Aristophanes, Euripides, Sophocles, and Eschylus, in dramatic +poetry. + + +Did the Romans possess any distinguished Poets? + +Yes; among the epic poets were Ovid and Tibullus; among dramatists, +Plautus and Terence; of didactic and philosophic poets, Lucretius, +Virgil, Horace, and Silius Italicus. All these were so many miracles +of human genius; and their works afford the models of their respective +species of composition. Most of the works of the ancients have in +sentiment, if not in spirit, been translated into English. + + _Miracles_, wonders. + + _Genius_, natural talent. + + _Respective_, particular. + + _Sentiment_, thought, meaning. + + +Did not the same revolution which undermined the Greek and Roman +empires, and destroyed learning, the arts and sciences, and the taste +for elegance and luxury, also prove fatal to Poetry? + +It did; the hordes of barbarians who overran Europe wiped out +civilization in their progress, and literature, art, and science fled +before the wild conquerors to find a refuge in the monastery and the +convent. Here knowledge was fostered with the love and ardor which +religion alone can impart. Finally, when the rude barbarians were +converted, it was to the religious Orders that the world turned for +the establishment of schools, and it is to the Church alone, in the +person of her popes, her bishops, and her monks that we are indebted +for the preservation of learning, and its revival in the fifteenth +century. + + +What celebrated Poets marked this revival? + +In Italy, Dante, Ariosto, Petrarch and Tasso. These were followed, in +France, by Racine, Corneille, Boileau, Voltaire, La Fontaine and +Delille; in England, by Chaucer, Spenser, Shakspeare, Milton, Dryden, +Pope, Thomson, Young, Collins, Gray, Byron, Coleridge, &c; in +Scotland, by Sir Walter Scott; in Ireland, by Thomas Moore; in +Germany, Klopstock, Goethe and Schiller. + + +Name some of the distinguished poets of our own country. + +Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, William Cullen Bryant, James Russell +Lowell, John G. Whittier, Fitz-Greene Halleck, and many others whose +meritorious works will be impartially judged by a future age. + + _Impartially_, justly, without prejudice. + + +Name the different kinds of Poetry. + +Epic, or historical; dramatic, or representative,--from drama, the +name of all compositions adapted to recitation on the stage--in which +are displayed, for instruction and amusement, all the passions, +feelings, errors, and virtues of the human race in real life; lyric +poetry, or that suited to music, as songs, odes, &c; didactic, or +instructive; elegiac, or sentimental, and affecting; satirical, or +censorious; epigrammatic, or witty and ludicrous; and pastoral, or +descriptive of country life. + + _Historical_, relating to history. + + _Lyric_, pertaining to a lyre. + + _Didactic_, doctrinal; relating to doctrines or opinions. + + _Elegiac_, relating to elegy; mournful, sorrowful. + + _Elegy_, a mournful song: a funeral composition; a short + poem without points or affected elegance. + + _Satirical_, severe in language; relating to satire. + + _Satire_, a poem in which wickedness or folly is censured. + + _Epigrammatic_, relating to epigram,--a short poem ending in + a particular point or meaning, understood but not expressed. + + _Pastoral_, from _pastor_, a shepherd; relating to rural + employments and those belonging to shepherds. + + +What is Astronomy? + +The science which treats of the heavenly bodies, their arrangement, +magnitudes, distances and motions. The term Astronomy is derived from +two Greek words, signifying the _law_ of the _stars_; _astron_ being +the Greek for star. + + +What can you say of its origin? + +Its origin has been ascribed to several persons, as well as to +different nations and ages. Belus, King of Assyria; Atlas, King of +Mauritania; and Uranus, King of the countries situated on the shores +of the Atlantic Ocean, are all recorded as the persons to whom the +world is indebted for this noble science. Its origin is generally +fixed in Chaldea. Some choose, however, to attribute it to the +Hebrews; others to the Egyptians,--from whom, they say, it passed to +the Greeks. + + +What country is meant by Mauritania? + +Mauritania is the name formerly given to a country in the northern +part of Africa. Chaldea is the ancient name for Babylonia, now called +Irak Arabi, a district of Asiatic Turkey. + + +By whom were the heavenly bodies first divided into Constellations or +groups? + +By the ancients. The phenomena of the heavens were studied in very +early ages by several nations of the East. The Chaldeans, the Indians, +the Chinese and the Egyptians have all left evidence of the industry +and ingenuity with which their observations were conducted. + + _Phenomena_, appearances. + + _Ingenuity_, skilfulness. + + +What progress did they make in Astronomy? + +They built observatories,--invented instruments for observing and +measuring with correctness,--separated the stars into different groups +or constellations, for the more easily finding any particular +star,--gave particular names to most of the moving stars or planets, +and noted the periods which each took to move through its apparent +path in the heavens; and in many other ways the ancients helped to lay +the foundations of that mass of astronomical knowledge which men of +later ages have brought to more maturity. + + _Constellation_, a cluster of fixed stars; an assemblage of + stars. + + _Observatory_, a place so built as to command a view of the + heavens. + + +Who first taught the true system of the Universe? + +Pythagoras, one of the most distinguished philosophers of antiquity. +He is thought to have been a native of Samos, an island in the +Archipelago; he flourished about 500 years before Christ, in the time +of Tarquin, the last King of Rome. Pythagoras was the first among the +Europeans who taught that the Earth and Planets turn round the Sun, +which stands immovable in the centre;--that the diurnal motion of the +Sun and Fixed Stars is not real, but apparent,--arising from the +Earth's motion round its own axis, &c. After the time of Pythagoras, +Astronomy sunk into neglect. + + _Philosopher_, one who studies philosophy. + + _Philosophy_, all knowledge, whether natural or moral. The + term is derived from the Greek, _philos_, lover, and + _sophia_, wisdom. + + +By whom was it revived? + +By the family of the Ptolemies, kings of Egypt, who founded a school +of astronomy at Alexandria, which produced several eminent +astronomers, particularly one named Hipparchus. The Saracens, on their +conquest of Egypt, became possessed of the knowledge of Astronomy, +which they carried with them out of Africa into Spain; and thus, after +a long exile, it was introduced afresh into Europe. + + +Did not Astronomy from this time make great progress? + +Yes; it made considerable advances, being cultivated by the greatest +geniuses, and patronized by the greatest princes. The system of the +Ptolemies, called the Ptolemaic, had hitherto been used, with some +slight alterations; but Copernicus, an eminent astronomer, born at +Thorn, in Polish Prussia, in 1473, adopted the system which had been +taught by Pythagoras in Greece, five or six hundred years before the +time of Ptolemy. About the same time with Copernicus flourished Tycho +Brahe, born in Denmark, 1546. + + _Geniuses_, men gifted with superior mental faculties. + + _Mental_, belonging to the mind. + + _Faculties_, powers of doing anything, whether menial or + bodily; abilities; powers of the mind. + + +What next greatly forwarded this interesting science? + +The introduction of telescopes by Galileo, who by their means +discovered the small stars or satellites which attend the planet +Jupiter; the various appearances of Saturn; the mountains in the Moon; +the spots on the Sun; and its revolution on its axis. + + _Satellites_, attendants. + + +What celebrated Astronomer arose in England? + +The immortal Sir Isaac Newton, born in 1642, at Woolsthorpe, in +Lincolnshire, who has, perhaps, contributed more to the advancement of +this science than any one who had before existed. Dr. William +Herschel, a native of Hanover, in Germany, born in 1738, likewise +made many useful discoveries in Astronomy: it was he who first +discovered the seventh primary planet, which he named, in honor of +King George the Third, the Georgium Sidus. George the Third took him +under his especial patronage, and constituted him his astronomer, with +a handsome pension. He resided at Slough, near Windsor, where he died, +in 1822. + + _Patronage_, support, favor. + + _Constituted_, appointed to any particular office or rank. + + _Pension_, yearly allowance of money. + + +What other circumstance contributed to the advancement of Astronomy? + +The increasing perfection of our astronomical instruments,--by means +of which, the most important and interesting discoveries with regard +to the heavens have been made. It is now supposed that the myriads of +the heavenly bodies are all distinct worlds; it is certain, from +observations made by the aid of the telescope, that the moon has its +mountains, valleys, and caverns. One of the greatest astronomers of +our day was the eminent Father Secci. + + +What are generally meant by the Arts? + +Systems of rules designed to facilitate the performance of certain +actions; in this sense, it stands opposed to science. The terms _art_ +and _science_ are often incorrectly used. Science relates to +principles, and art to practice. The word art is derived from a Greek +word signifying utility, profit. Arts are divided into liberal and +mechanical. + + +What are the Liberal Arts? + +The liberal arts are those that are noble and ingenious, or which are +worthy of being cultivated without any immediate regard to the +pecuniary profit arising from them. They are Poetry, Music, Painting, +Sculpture, Architecture, Grammar, Logic, Rhetoric, Astronomy, and +Navigation. The arts which relate more especially to the sight and +hearing are also called Fine Arts. + + _Pecuniary_, relating to money. + + _Military_, belonging to soldiers, or to arms. + + +What do the Fine Arts usually include? + +All those which are more or less addressed to the sentiment of taste, +and whose object is pleasure; these are more especially Music, +Painting, Sculpture, and Poetry. + + +What are the Mechanical Arts? + +Those in which the hand and body are more concerned than the mind, and +which are chiefly cultivated for the sake of the profit attending +them. To this class belong those which furnish us with the necessaries +of life, and which are commonly called trades, as carpentry, weaving, +printing, &c. There are also many other arts, as the art of writing, +&c. + + +When was the art of Writing invented? + +It is supposed that the art was invented before the Deluge: it was +certainly practised long before the time of Moses. There were, +doubtless, many steps taken in slow succession before the invention of +alphabetic writing. Perhaps the earliest method might have been that +which is still employed among the untutored tribes of North American +Indians, who record events by picture-painting of the rudest +description. Picture-painting was afterwards gradually converted into +the hieroglyphical system, which is still the only kind of writing +among the Chinese. It is not known who invented the alphabetic system +of writing. + + _Deluge_, a flood: the term used in particular to denote + that mighty flood of water with which God swept away the + first nations of the earth for their wickedness. + + _Alphabetic_, from alphabet, the series of written signs of + language called letters. The word is formed from _alpha_, + _beta_, the names of the first two letters of the Greek + alphabet. + + _Untutored_, ignorant, unlearned. + + +Were not the Egyptians quite early acquainted with this art? + +Yes, they were acquainted with two or three kinds of writing, as well +as the one in which symbolical characters were employed, which was not +used for common purposes. On the contrary, such symbols had something +of a sacred character about them, being unknown to the common people, +and only to be deciphered by the priests. Obelisks and pyramids were +the great national records; and on these the hieroglyphics were +constantly used, because unintelligible to the people, until expounded +by those who had the exclusive office of explaining them. + + _Symbolical_, having the nature of signs or symbols--that + is, representations of different things. + + _Deciphered_, read, understood, made out. + + _Unintelligible_, that cannot be understood. + + _Expounded_, explained, interpreted. + + +Were Hieroglyphics employed before or after Alphabetic Writing? + +They were undoubtedly employed at first from necessity, not from +choice or refinement; and would never have been thought of, if +alphabetical characters had been known. This style of writing must be +reckoned as a rude improvement upon picture-writing, which had +previously been used. Hieroglyphics were employed by the Egyptian +priests in after times, as a kind of sacred writing, peculiar to +themselves, and serving to give an air of mystery to their learning +and religion, though fallen into disuse for other purposes. + + +What materials were employed by ancient nations in Writing? + +The Eastern nations used tables of stone, brass, and wood, so that the +characters were engraved instead of being written in the usual manner. +The instrument used in writing on wood, was made of metal, and called +a _style_. For stone, brass, &c., a chisel was employed. When the bark +and leaves of trees, skins, and other materials of a more pliant +nature, superseded the above-named tables, the chisel and the style, +or stylus, gave way to the reed and cane, and afterwards to the quill, +the _hair_ pencil (as now used by the Chinese,) and the convenient +lead pencil. + + _Engraved_, inscribed with the graver, a tool used in + engraving on stone, &c. + + _Pliant_, yielding, easily bent. + + +Have not the various nations among whom this useful art has been +cultivated, adopted different ways of arranging their written +characters? + +Yes. The Hebrews, Chaldeans, Syrians, Arabians, and Egyptians, begin +each line on the right side, and write towards the left. The Greeks, +Latins, and all European nations, write from left to right. The +natives of China, Japan, Cochin China, Corea, &c., write from the top +to the bottom of the page. + + +Where are Cochin China, and Corea? + +Cochin China is a country situated in Eastern Asia. Corea is a +peninsula of Asia, subject to China. + + +What is meant by Science? + +A clear and certain knowledge of anything founded on self-evident +principles, or demonstration. The term is, however, more particularly +applied to a systematic arrangement of the principles relating to any +branch of knowledge, and is employed in this sense in opposition to +art: thus the theoretical knowledge of chemistry is ranked as a +science, but the practical part is called an art; thus it is sometimes +spoken of as a science, sometimes as an art. + + _Practical_, relating to action, not merely speculative. + + +What is Chemistry? + +A science which enables us to discover the peculiar properties of +natural bodies, either in their simple or compound state, and the +elementary or first principles of which they are composed, by the +processes of analysis and combination. Chemistry treats of those +changes in natural bodies which are not accompanied by _sensible_ +motions. + + _Compound_, mixed. + + _Analysis_, a separation of a compound body into the several + parts of which it consists. + + +Is not the knowledge of Chemistry very ancient? + +Chemistry, as far as it regards the separating of metals from foreign +matters in the ore, smelting and refining them, is of the highest +antiquity; it is even supposed to have been understood and practised +in the antediluvian world. + + _Antediluvian_, before the flood. + + +What nation appears to have excelled in Chemistry in early times? + +The Egyptians were no mean proficients in many chemical operations, +especially in the arts of working metals, softening ivory, vitrifying +flints, and imitating precious stones. Chemistry, however, experienced +the common fate of all the arts, at the decline of the Eastern empire. + + _Proficients_, those who have made great progress in any art + or science. + + +By whom was it revived? + +After having long lain buried, the famous Roger Bacon revived it; and +from his time to the present day it has gradually progressed to a +state of perfection. In former times, the art of chemistry consisted +only in the knowledge of working metals, &c.; but in latter ages, its +bounds have been greatly enlarged. The knowledge of Chemistry leads to +many interesting and important discoveries, and the arts and +manufactures are greatly indebted to its aid; indeed, it is requisite +to be a good chemist, in order to attain to perfection in many of +them. + + _Requisite_, necessary. + + +By what other name has Chemistry been known? + +It was sometimes called _Alchemy_; by which is properly understood a +refined and mysterious species of chemistry, formerly much practised. + + +What were its objects? + +The discovery of the art of converting metals into gold, including the +search after the "Philosopher's Stone," by which this change was to be +effected; and the discovery of a panacea or medicine for the cure of +all diseases. + + +What was the Philosopher's Stone? + +A substance, for numbers of years eagerly sought for, which was to +convert metals, such as lead, copper, &c. into gold. This unknown +substance was called the Philosopher's Stone, probably on account of +the number of learned men who engaged in the search after it. + +[Illustration: UNITED STATES SIGNAL STATION, PIKE'S PEAK, COLORADO.] + + +Was this search successful? + +No; but the delusion lasted several centuries, notwithstanding the +failures, losses, and disappointments of those engaged in it. Indeed, +so severe and ruinous were these, in many instances, that laws were +passed to forbid the study. In Germany, many of the alchemists who had +the unfortunate reputation of possessing this wonderful stone were +imprisoned and furnished with apparatus till they should purchase +their liberty by making an ounce of gold. + + _Delusion_, an error arising from false views. + + _Apparatus_, a complete set of instruments or tools, by + which anything is made, or any operation performed. + + +Was any gold ever produced by this method? + +Not a particle; the story of a stone having the property of converting +the baser metals into gold being merely an absurd fable: yet, although +the pursuits of Alchemy were the most preposterous that can be +conceived, the ardor with which they were followed, and the amazing +number of experiments made in consequence, led to the discovery of +many facts to which Chemistry is highly indebted. + + _Preposterous_, absurd, foolish; contrary to nature or + reason. + + +You inform me that Chemistry enables us to discover the properties of +bodies by means of _analysis_ and _combination_: what do these terms +imply? + +If a chemist wishes to examine the properties of a compound body, he +proceeds by analysis--that is, by a separation of the substance to be +examined into its constituent parts. The chemical examination of +bodies is generally effected by producing a change in the _nature_ or +_state_ of the body under examination. This change is frequently +brought about by the addition of some _other_ substance which forms a +combination with a part of the substance examined, and leaves the +remainder in a detached state. + + +By what _means_ do Chemists effect a change in the qualities or states +of natural bodies? + +It is generally effected by means of _heat_, which has a tendency to +separate the particles of bodies from each other; or by the _mixture_ +or _combination_ of some other matter with the matter intended to be +examined. The mixture of two or more compounds often produces a +decomposition by means of chemical _affinity_, a property which +different species of matter have to unite with each other; and which +is sometimes called _elective affinity_. Thus it may be observed, +chemists have not only the power of decomposing natural bodies, but of +producing by combination various other substances, such as are not +found in the kingdom of nature. + + +What do you mean by _decomposition_? + +In chemical language, it means the separation of a compound body into +its simple elements. + + +Give me an example. + +Water may be decomposed, and reduced into oxygen and hydrogen,--both +of them simple substances incapable of further decomposition. + + +Is not the work of decomposition perpetually going forward? + +Yes; and _combustion_ is one of the great agents in this work. By it +animal and vegetable substances are converted into water and carbonic +acid, by the union of their hydrogen and carbon with the oxygen of the +air. These, in time, are again absorbed by vegetables, and again +decomposed to set the oxygen at liberty to produce fresh combustions. + + +Of what use are the two remaining substances, Hydrogen and Carbon? + +These are appropriated by the vegetative organs to their growth and +nourishment, while the oxygen with which the carbon was combined is +abundantly given off to purify the air and render it fit for the +respiration of animals. + + +Give me an idea of the mode in which Chemists ascertain the _affinity_ +of bodies, by relating an experiment. + +Dissolve a tea-spoonful of sugar of lead in water, and pour the clear +solution into a decanter or large glass bottle. Then take a small +piece of zinc, and twist round it some brass or copper wire, so as to +let the ends of the wire depend from it in any agreeable form. Suspend +the zinc and wire in the solution which has been prepared; in a short +time, metallic lead will deposit itself on the zinc and along the +wire. This is a beautiful illustration of chemical affinity; the acid, +which constitutes a part of the sugar of lead, has a stronger affinity +for the zinc than for the lead, and, consequently, will combine with +the zinc, and form a compound which remains in solution, while the +lead is precipitated on the zinc and wire in the form of a brilliant +tree of metal. + + _Affinity_, in chemistry, that attraction which takes place + between the elements of bodies, and forms compounds. + + +What does the word Nature signify? + +In the above sense, the system of the universe; the creation, the +works of God. By the kingdom of nature is meant the world and all +things in it: nature is divided into three kingdoms, the animal, +vegetable, and mineral. + + +What are the different states of natural bodies? + +All bodies are either solid, liquid, or aeriform. By solid bodies are +meant those whose parts unite so firmly as to resist the impression or +penetration of other bodies; by liquid, those substances whose parts +do not unite firmly, but have free motion among themselves; by +aeriform, fluid substances, having the form or nature of air. Liquid +substances are nothing more than solids converted into liquids by +heat, a certain increase of which would convert the liquids into +vapor. + + +What other name is given to Liquids? + +They are likewise called fluids: we call the air, also, a fluid, +because it flows like a fluid, and light substances will float in it. + + +What is the cause of bodies floating on liquids? + +It is an established law of nature, that all substances which weigh +less than an equal bulk of any liquid, will float on the surface of +this liquid. Thus a cork will float on water, while a stone sinks to +the bottom. The cork will not float in the air, though lighter than +water; and the stone is not heavier than the _whole_ of the water, but +more so than a portion of water of its _own bulk_,--and thus it sinks +in it. Stones also differ in their weight or gravity: for instance, +some of the asbestus kind are _lighter_ than water. Iron, brass, +indeed, nearly all substances, except gold and platina, will float +upon mercury, because they are lighter than this liquid. + + +What is the cause of bodies being either solid, liquid, or aeriform? + +When the principle of _attraction_ prevails, it causes them to become +solid; when caloric prevails, they become aeriform. Fluidity is, +apparently, a medium between the two. + + +How is the state of Solidity in bodies accounted for? + +The particles of all bodies are subject to two opposite powers, +_repulsion_ and _attraction_; between which they remain in +equilibrium. While the _attractive_ force remains strongest, the body +remains in a state of solidity; but if heat destroys this force, the +particles lose their cohesion, and the body ceases to be solid. + + _Cohesion_, act of sticking together, union of the + constituent parts of a body. + + +Which is supposed to be the most natural state of all bodies? + +Solidity; for by the _combination_ of caloric with them we can reduce +most substances to the fluid state; while the greatest number of +_liquid_ substances take a _solid_ form by the loss of caloric. Thus, +water congeals and forms ice; and even the gases show this disposition +to become solid, when they lose their _elasticity_ by forming some +_combination_. + + +Explain the terms _Repulsion_ and _Attraction_. + +Repulsion is a peculiar property in the particles of matter, which +gives them a constant tendency to recede from each other. Attraction +is an unknown force, which causes bodies or their particles to +approach each other. The particles of all bodies possess this +property, which causes them to adhere, and preserves the various +substances around us from falling in pieces. + + +What different kinds of Attraction can you mention? + +Attraction may be distinguished into that which takes place between +bodies at sensible distances, and that which manifests itself between +the _particles_ of matter at insensible distances. + + +Give an example of the first kind of attraction. + +One of the most familiar instances of attraction at sensible distances +is seen in the descent of heavy bodies to the ground. When a stone is +lifted up in the hand, the earth's attraction, which previously caused +it to remain at its surface, is overcome; but, as soon as the hand is +withdrawn, the stone falls to the earth. The force which causes this +is called the _attraction of gravitation_, or simply _gravitation_. + + +How is the second kind of attraction, or that between the particles of +bodies, subdivided? + +Into the _attraction of aggregation_, or _cohesion_; and _chemical +attraction_, or _affinity_. The former takes place between particles +which are _similar_, and the latter between those which are +_dissimilar_. All the operations of chemistry are founded upon the +force of affinity which Nature has established between the particles +of different kinds of matter, and which enables the chemist to produce +_new_ compounds differing more or less from the substances by whose +union they were formed. + + +Is it, then, necessary for chemists to understand the relative nature +of all substances? + +Yes; because the basis of this science consists in an _analytical_ +examination of the works of Nature; an investigation of the properties +and uses of all substances we are acquainted with; and the study of +the effects of _heat_ and _mixture_, in order that we may find out +their general and subordinate laws. + + _Analytical_, relating to analysis. + + _Investigation_, act of searching, or tracing out. + + _Subordinate_, inferior in nature, dignity or power. + + +Relate a few more of the advantages obtained by a knowledge of +Chemistry. + +Many of the wonderful operations of Nature, and the changes which take +place in substances around us, are, by its means, revealed to us. In +every manufacture, art, or walk of life, the chemist possesses an +advantage over his unskilled neighbor. It is necessary to the farmer +and gardener, as it explains the growth of plants, the use of manures, +and their proper application: and indispensable to the physician, that +he may understand the animal economy, and the _effects_ which certain +_causes_ chemically produce; and the nature of animal, vegetable, and +mineral poisons. The study is, therefore, an invaluable branch in the +education of youth: it is useful, not only in the active, but the +_moral_ life, by laying the foundation of an ardent and inquiring +mind. Even an everyday walk in the fields can be productive of +instruction, by a knowledge of it;--and let us always remember, that +"Knowledge is Power." + + _Indispensable_, necessary, not to be done without. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX. + +ATTRACTION, TIDES, GRAVITY, ARTESIAN WELLS, AIR, ANEROID +BAROMETER, EAR-TRUMPET, STETHOSCOPE, AUDIPHONE, TELEPHONE, PHONOGRAPH, +MICROPHONE, MEGAPHONE, TASIMETER, BATHOMETER, ANEMOMETER, +CHRONOMETER. + + +What is Attraction? + +By attraction is meant that property or quality in the particles of +bodies which makes them tend toward each other. + + +Are there several kinds of attraction? + +Yes. Attraction has received different names, according to the +circumstances under which it acts: The force which keeps the particles +of matter together to form bodies or masses, is called attraction of +_cohesion_; that which makes bodies stick together only on their +surfaces, is called _adhesion_; that which inclines different masses +toward each other, as the earth and the heavenly bodies, is called +_gravitation_; that which forces the particles of substances of +different kinds to unite, is known under the name of _chemical +attraction_; that which causes the needle of the compass to point +constantly toward the poles of the earth, is _magnetic attraction_; +that which is excited by friction in certain substances, is known as +_electrical attraction_. + + +How do you know that attraction exists through the whole universe? + +This great universal law was first discovered by Sir Isaac Newton. The +sun and planets and other heavenly bodies are only guided in their +path by gravitation. + + +Do we experience this attraction upon our earth? + +Yes; because our earth is carried around the sun by it; and, further, +the tides show it very clearly. + + +What are the Tides? + +The ebbing and flowing of the sea, which regularly takes place twice +in twenty-four hours. The cause of the tides is the attraction of the +sun, but chiefly of the moon, acting on the waters of the ocean. + + +What is Gravity? + +Gravity is the attraction between the earth and the bodies on the +earth, which makes what we call weight of bodies. + + +What do you understand by specific weight or gravity? + +It means the weight of a body as compared with the weight of an equal +bulk of some other body taken as a standard--commonly water. + + +Why do we say that certain metals--as, for example, platina or +gold--are heavier than others, say, lead or iron? + +Because the former have a greater specific gravity. + + +But is not a pound of gold as heavy as a pound of lead? + +Yes; but a lump of gold will be heavier than a lump of lead of equal +bulk. + + +Can we explain by this what we call floating? + +A body will float in water if its gravity is less than that of water; +for example, wood floats for this reason in water, and a balloon in +the air. + + +Why does a portion of the floating body sink below the surface of the +water? + +Because the body in order to float must displace a portion of water +equal in weight to the whole floating body. + + +But why do iron steamers float--iron being heavier than water? + +Because the steamer is not a solid piece of iron, but is hollow, and +so increased in bulk; for that reason the weight of the vessel and its +contents is less than that of an equal bulk of water. + + +How can you ascertain that air has weight? + +We can do it by the barometer and by very many experiences in daily +life. If one end of a straw be dipped into a vessel of water and the +other end be sucked, the liquid will rise to the mouth. There we see +the pressure of the outside air forces the liquid through the straw +where the air was removed by sucking. + + +Can you show the same by another instrument? + +Yes; the common water pump demonstrates the same as the straw. A tube +is placed into the water, the air is sucked out from the tube by the +movement of the pump, and the outside air presses the water through +the tube. + + +What are Artesian wells? + +Wells so named because they were made first at Artois, in France. They +work on the principle that every liquid seeks its level. Of the rain +which falls, a part soaks into the soil of mountains, until, coming to +a layer of rocks or clay through which it cannot pass, it will collect +and be stored up. If a hole be bored into this reservoir the water +will rise in it. + + +Do you know some other properties of air? + +It is the most necessary substance for our life; it is the vehicle of +all odors and smells; it is the medium of all sounds, and brings to +our ear and so to our mind an immense knowledge of the outside world; +it is the cause of the beauty of the blue firmament or sky, of the +aurora and twilight; it is the great nurse of the whole vegetable +kingdom by clouds, rain, and dew. + + +What is an Aneroid Barometer? + +It is a barometer in the construction of which no quicksilver or other +liquid is used. It consists of a metal box, exhausted of air, the top +of which is of thin metal, so elastic that it readily yields to +alterations in the pressure of the atmosphere. When the pressure +increases, the top is pressed inwards; when, on the contrary, it +decreases, the elasticity of the lid, aided by a spring, tends to move +it in the opposite direction. These motions are transmitted by +delicate levers to an index which moves on a scale. This barometer has +the advantage of being portable. + + +What is the Ear-trumpet? + +A trumpet-like instrument used to aid deaf persons in hearing. Its +form is conical, and the larger end is of a bell shape; the small end +is placed in the ear, and the person talks in the large end. It acts +by concentrating the voice on the listener's ear. + + +What is a Stethoscope? + +An instrument used by physicians for ascertaining the action of the +lungs, judging by the sound of their motion whether they are healthy +or not. + + +Describe the Audiphone. + +It is a fan-shaped instrument to help deaf people, and is made of +flexible carbonized rubber. Fine silk cords attached to the upper edge +bend it over, and are fastened by a wedge in a handle. The top edge of +this fan rests upon the upper teeth, and the sound waves strike its +surface; the vibrations are thus conveyed by the teeth and the bones +of the face to the acoustic nerve in the ear. + + +Describe the Telephone. + +It is an instrument by which conversation may be carried on at a +distance, and is composed of three parts--a thin disk of soft metal, a +small coil or bobbin of silk-covered copper wire, and a small bar +magnet about four inches long. The bobbin is placed on one pole of the +magnet, so that the wire is as it were steeped in the magnetic space +round the pole. The metal disk is placed face close to the pole and +bobbin, so that when it vibrates in front of the pole a series of wave +currents will be set up in the coil of wire on the bobbin. The whole +is encased in wood, and a mouth-piece is provided for speaking against +the disk. The coil of wire on the bobbin is of course connected by its +two ends into the circuit of a telegraph line. + + +Who invented the Telephone? + +It was invented, almost simultaneously, by Alex. Graham Bell, a +native of Scotland, and Professor of Vocal Physiology in the Boston +University, and Elisha Gray, of Chicago. + + +What is a Phonograph? + +It is an instrument for recording the vibrations of sounds, and +consists of a revolving cylinder covered with tin-foil. To this +cylinder is attached a mouth-piece, fitted with a thin plate or disk, +on the outer side of which, next to the cylinder, is a needle or +point. The cylinder runs on a screw, so that the whole length of it, +from end to end, may pass under the point. On speaking into the +mouth-piece the voice causes the disk to vibrate, and the point to +trace marks corresponding to these vibrations on the tin-foil. By +turning the cylinder so that the point again passes into the marks in +the tin-foil, the sounds that entered at the mouth-piece can be +reproduced at any time. + + +By whom was the phonograph invented? + +By Thomas A. Edison, who was born in Ohio in 1847. Mr. Edison is the +inventor of many improvements in telegraphy, which have been adopted +into general use, and are to him the source of a large income. To him, +also, we are indebted for the megaphone, microphone, tasimeter, an +improvement in the telephone, a system of electric lighting, and many +other inventions. + + +What is a Microphone? + +This instrument is a variety of telephone by means of which faint +sounds can be heard at a very great distance. It consists of a small +battery for generating a weak current of electricity, a telephone for +the receiving instrument, and a speaking or transmitting instrument. +The last is a small rod of gas carbon with the ends set loosely in +blocks of the same material. The blocks are attached to an upright +support, glued into a wooden base board. This instrument is connected +with the battery and the telephone. So wonderfully sensitive is it, +that the ticking of a watch, the walking of a fly across a board, or +the brush of a camel's-hair pencil can be heard even though it be +hundreds of miles distant. + + +Will you describe the Megaphone? + +It is a substitute for the ear and speaking trumpet. It consists of +three paper funnels placed side by side. The two larger ones are about +6 feet 8 inches long and 27-1/2 inches in diameter, and are each +provided with a flexible tube, the ends of which are held to the ear. +The centre funnel, which is used as a speaking-trumpet, does not +differ materially from an ordinary trumpet, except that it is larger +and has a larger bell mouth. Two persons, each provided with a +megaphone, can, without other apparatus, carry on a conversation at a +distance of one and a half or two miles. + + +What is the Tasimeter? + +It is an instrument, sensitive to the smallest degree of heat, and is +mostly used in astronomy. Attached to a telescope it will show the +heat coming from the stars. + + +What is a Bathometer? + +This ingenious instrument, the invention of Prof. Siemens of London, +enables those on board of ships to read from an index the depths of +the ocean beneath them. It consists of a highly sensitive steel spring +to which a heavy piece of metal is attached. The changes in weight to +which the latter is subject in consequence of the variations of +attractive force (the deeper the ocean the smaller the latter, and +vice versa) are registered on a scale by the indicator that is in +connection with the steel spring. + + +What is an Anemometer? + +An instrument for measuring the velocity and force of the wind, and by +which storms, at a distance, can be predicted. + + +What is a Chronometer? + +A time-piece of delicate and exact construction, chiefly employed by +astronomers and navigators. It differs only from an ordinary watch in +its delicate springs, in not being so much influenced by heat and +cold, and consequently in its accuracy in giving the time. + + + + +CHAPTER XX. + +LIGHT, LIME LIGHT, MAGNESIUM LIGHT, ELECTRIC LIGHT, RAINBOW, +PRISM, SPECTRUM, COLORS, PHOTOGRAPHY, CAMERA OBSCURA, STEREOSCOPE, +KALEIDOSCOPE. + + +Do you know something about the nature of Light? + +Light is a mere form of vibration like sound, and like sound it +requires some source to set this vibration going, and some medium to +carry this vibration as air carries sound. + + +Is not the air this medium? + +No, it is supposed that there is an elastic fluid called "ether" which +pervades all space and matter, and if the molecules of a body are in +motion they have the power of setting this ether in motion. The +movement thus produced will appear either as heat or light according +to its velocity. + + +What sources of light do you know? + +We are told that the principal source of light on earth is the sun, +either directly with its own beams or indirectly by supplying us with +combustibles to produce light; for oil, gas, candles, and most of the +substances used for producing light and heat when burning are but +sending forth in another form the rays of the sun which were stored up +in nature's economy. + +Another source of light is the result of chemical action, such as the +lime, magnesium, and electric light. A third source of light is +phosphorescence, as we see it in the glow-worm and fireflies. + + +What is the Drummond or Lime Light? + +It is one of the most brilliant of artificial lights. When a stream of +oxygen and one of hydrogen under pressure are brought together and +mixed within a few inches of the end of a blowpipe, the mixture on +lighting burns with a colorless flame possessing intense heat. If this +flame be made to play upon a ball of carbonate of lime, the lime on +becoming white hot gives off a powerful incandescence. + + _Incandescence_, the glowing whiteness of a body caused by + intense heat. + + +What is a Blowpipe? + +A tube, usually bent near the end, terminated with a finely-pointed +nozzle, for blowing through the flame of a lamp or gas-jet, producing +thereby a small conical flame possessing intense heat. It is used in +soldering silver, brass, etc. A mixture of oxygen and hydrogen when +ignited constitutes the hydrogen blowpipe, invented by Dr. Hare of +Philadelphia. + + +What is Magnesium Light? + +When the metal magnesium is rolled out into a fine ribbon and heated +to red heat it burns with a dazzling light. + + +Which is the most powerful artificial light? + +The so-called Electric light. This light, whether produced by a series +of galvanic cells or by dynamic power, is the most brilliant and +useful. + + +What is a Rainbow? + +The rainbow is that beautiful semi-circular band or arc of different +colors in the clouds during the occurrence of rain in sunshine. When +the clouds opposite the sun are very dark and rain is falling from +them, the rays of the sun are divided by the raindrops as they would +be by a prism. There are often two rainbows at the same time, because +the primary bow is again reflected to another layer of clouds. + + +What is a Prism? + +A triangular solid piece of glass, on which if a ray of light be cast +it will be distinctly divided into the seven colors we see in a +rainbow. By this fact we see that white light is composed of different +rays which have different reflective susceptibilities. + + +What is a Spectrum? + +It is this beautiful band of seven colors obtained by the refraction +of a ray of light through the prism. + + +Whence come the colors in the objects we see in nature? + +They all come from light; every object has a power to absorb certain +rays and to reflect others. A red cloth, for example, absorbs all the +other colored rays except red, and this it gives off, thus appearing +red. + + +Why are the leaves of plants green? + +Because a peculiar chemical substance called chlorophyl, formed within +their cells, absorbs all other rays of light, reflecting only blue and +yellow--which mixture produces the different green tints. + + +What is Photography? + +The word means "light drawing." It is a mode of fixing on certain +substances the lights and shades of any object by means of a lens +inserted in a camera obscura. This process was first called +Daguerreotype from the name of the inventor, Daguerre. A plate of +copper thinly coated with silver is exposed to the vapor of iodine, +then placed in a camera obscura, where an image of the object to be +presented through a lens is cast upon it. Ambrotype is the same +application to glass. There are now different variations of method in +the use of the same agents. Now photography consists in taking the +images on what is called a negative--that is, a glass coated with a +silvered collodion (gun-cotton dissolved in alcohol and ether) film. +From this plate another image is taken on silvered paper, which we +call the positive image. There are also other chemicals used instead +of silver. + + +What is a Camera Obscura? + +A small box or dark room into which the light is admitted through a +lens. + + +What is a Stereoscope? + +It is an instrument exhibiting the effects and advantages of seeing +with two eyes. The instrument is so constructed that from a flat +picture we may see the solid body in its reality in nature. + + +What is a Kaleidoscope? + +An instrument invented by Sir David Brewster, consisting of a tube +with slips of reflecting glass so arranged in the interior that small +beads, bits of colored glass, and similar things are, by revolving the +tube, thrown into an endless variety of beautiful shapes. + + + + +CHAPTER XXI. + +ELECTRICITY, ELECTRIC CURRENTS, ELECTRIC BATTERY, ELECTROTYPING, +STEREOTYPING, TELEGRAPH, OCEAN CABLE, LIGHTNING ROD, THE GULF STREAM, +THE MT. CENIS TUNNEL, THE SUEZ CANAL, SUSPENSION BRIDGES, EMINENT +AMERICANS. + + +What is the nature of Electricity? + +A form of energy into which all other forms can readily be converted. + + +What is an Electric current? + +Electricity manifests itself in a variety of ways, but all may be +arranged under two heads, _viz._, 1, as a charge; 2, as a current. By +means of friction, many bodies become electrified--that is, have +acquired an electrical charge. If this charge is in great quantity we +call it high tension. When a body containing an electrical charge is +brought in contact with other bodies through which electricity is +capable of passing, there ensues a current of electricity. Such bodies +are called conductors. + + +What are the sources of currents? + +There are currents produced by chemical action called voltaic +currents; by the action of heat, or thermo-electric currents; by the +motion of magnets, or magneto-electric currents. + +[Illustration: REMOVING THE EARTH FROM THE CANAL BY MEANS OF +DROMEDARIES.] + +[Illustration: OPENING THE SUEZ CANAL--PROCESSION OF SHIPS.] + + +What is positive and what negative electricity? + +No difference in electricity in itself. When a body has more than its +natural amount of electricity, it is said to be charged positively; +when it has less than its natural amount it is negatively charged. + + +What is a Cell; what a Battery? + +If a piece of zinc and copper joined by a wire be dipped in a +liquid--generally weak sulphuric acid--which will act chemically on +the metals, a current is produced. Such an arrangement is called a +couple, or cell. If many cells are connected, then it is called a +battery. + + +What is Thermo-electricity? + +If two bars of any unlike metal--for example, antimony and bismuth--be +soldered together at one end, and the other ends be connected by a +wire and then the soldered end heated, a current will flow. + + +What effects are produced by currents? + +They produce heat, light, decomposition and combination in liquid +chemical compounds; they melt all metals, excite magnetism, and in the +animal body excite movements of the muscles. + +Can you specify these effects? + +A strong battery produces heat in such a degree that all metals can be +melted. Light is produced in flashes, or if the end of the leading +wires are connected with two pencils of hard carbon, and brought very +near together, then a brilliant light, or arc, called the voltaic arc, +is produced. This is the dazzling bright light which we call electric +light. The chemical effect of a current in decomposing compound +substances is called electrolysis. In this way water can be decomposed +into its compounds, hydrogen and oxygen; copper sulphate into sulphur +and metallic copper, etc. In this way we can deposit strong adherent +films of metal on the surface of any conductor; for if the article to +be coated be attached to the negative electrode of a battery, and +dipped into a solution of the metal with which we desire to coat the +article, say copper or silver, and the positive electrode be attached +to a plate of copper and also dipped into a liquid, when the current +passes, the metal will be decomposed and deposited in a uniform layer +over the article at the negative electrode. This process is called +_electro-plating_. + + +What is Electrotyping? + +It is the process of copying medals, type, wood-cuts, engraved copper +and steel plates, etc., by means of electrical deposition. It is +chiefly used for making, from the ordinary movable types, plates of +fixed metallic types, for printing books. + + +Describe the process. + +The article to be copied is first covered with black-lead, and then a +mould is made of it in wax or gutta-percha. This mould is placed in a +solution of sulphate of copper, and attached to the negative pole of +the battery, while a plate of copper is hung from the positive pole. +The electric current decomposes the copper, which is deposited in a +thin film upon the mould. This film is removed and stiffened by being +backed with metal. + + +What is the difference between Electrotyping and Stereotyping? + +In stereotyping, a plaster of Paris mould is taken from the types, and +upon this mould melted type-metal is poured, which, when hardened, +makes a solid plate. + + +Is there any other method of stereotyping? + +Yes; that known as the paper process. A uniform sheet of soft matter +is formed by pasting together sheets of thin, tough tissue paper. The +types are oiled, and the soft, moist sheet is placed on them and +beaten down with a stiff brush until it receives an impression of the +type-form. Both are then run through a press, and on being taken out +the paper is found to form a perfect mould. Into this mould the +type-metal is poured and the plate formed. + + +Can you tell me some magnetic effects of the current? + +All conductors become magnetic during the passage of a current through +them, and thereby acquire all the properties of a magnet. There are +bodies which are natural magnets, and they are called permanent +magnets. Those which become magnets only during the passage of a +current are called electro-magnets. + + +Do you know any application of those magnets? + +They are employed in a great variety of electrical apparatus, +principally in telegraphy. + + +When was the first telegraph established? + +It was made in 1836, being invented by Prof. Steinheil, of Munich, and +adopted by the government of Bavaria. It was 12 miles long, and the +signals were made by small bells. + + +Who was the inventor of the telegraph in this country? + +Samuel F.B. Morse, who was born at Charlestown, Mass., April 27, 1791. +He began life as a painter, but did not give his whole attention to +art--chemistry and experiments in electricity and galvanism claiming +much of his time. He first conceived the idea of the telegraph in +1832, and exhibited his invention to Congress in 1837. He struggled on +with scanty means, and was about to give up in despair when Congress +appropriated $30,000 for an experimental line, which was opened on May +12, 1844, between Washington and Baltimore. Prof. Morse died in 1872, +but not before he had reaped honors and fortune from his invention. + + +How rapidly does the electric current travel through the wires? + +From experiments made it appears to be about 15,400 miles in a second. + + +Can more than one message be sent at the same time on the same wire? + +Yes; it is possible now to send several messages at the same time. + + +What is a Cable? + +It is a telegraph wire under water. Prof. Morse, in 1842, laid a wire +insulated by a covering of hemp coated with pitch-tar and India-rubber +between Governor's Island and the Battery, New York. Several attempts +were made in other countries. + + +What was the greatest telegraphic undertaking? + +That of connecting Europe with America by a submarine cable spanning +the ocean, which was commenced in 1857 and completed August 5, 1858. + + +To whom do we owe this grand undertaking? + +This honor is entirely due to Mr. Cyrus W. Field. Mr. Field was born +at Stockbridge, Mass., on November 30th, 1819. In 1853 he became +interested in ocean telegraphy, and after many reverses succeeded in +laying the first cable in August, 1858. The message sent by Queen +Victoria to the President of the United States, consisting of 99 +words, occupied 67 minutes in transmitting. In September of the same +year this cable ceased to work, but the energy of Field restored +confidence, and another cable was made and laid down in July, 1865, +but after 1200 miles were deposited it was lost. In 1866 another was +made and successfully laid in July. In August the lost cable was found +and spliced, and carried to the western shore. + + +What is a Dynamo-electric machine? + +A machine by which very powerful currents can be obtained directly +from mechanical power. In these, by means of a steam-engine or other +power, a number of coils of wire called the armature are set into +rapid revolution between the poles of powerful electro-magnets. All +currents are caused to flow from the armature in one direction by +means of a contrivance called the commutator. Very successful machines +of this sort are the Gramme machine, the Siemens, and, principally, +the so-called Brush machine. By these the electric light is now +generally produced. + + +What is a Lightning Rod? + +It is a rod of iron placed against a building to protect it from +lightning. Three or four feet of one end is in the moist ground or in +water, while several feet of the other end extend above the highest +part of the building. The upper end of the rod is pointed with copper +or some other metal which will not easily corrode. + + +By whom was it invented? + +By Benjamin Franklin, and first announced by him in his "Poor +Richard's Almanac" for 1753. Franklin was born at Boston, Mass., in +1706. By his talents, prudence, and honesty he rose from humble +beginnings to be one of the foremost men of his time. He was one of +the committee of five chosen by Congress to prepare the "Declaration +of Independence" which he with other patriots afterwards signed. +Towards the close of the year 1776 he was sent as ambassador to the +French Court, and remained in Europe some time. He returned home in +1785, and died at Philadelphia on the 17th of April, 1790. + + +What is the Gulf Stream? + +It is a warm current in the Atlantic Ocean. + + +What is its origin? + +It may be considered as beginning on the west coast of Africa, within +the region of the trade winds. These cause a westward flow, known as +the equatorial current. On reaching the coast of Brazil, the greater +portion of this current bends northward, carrying with it the waters +of the Amazon and Orinoco, and passes through the Caribbean Sea into +the Gulf of Mexico. Here it is further heated, and rushes out through +the only outlet, the Straits of Florida. + + +Describe its course. + +Deep and narrow, it runs by Florida with a velocity varying from two +to five miles an hour, and pressed by the cold current between it and +the shore, flows parallel to the coast as far as Cape Hatteras. +Meeting shoals near this point, the banks of sand extending as far as +Newfoundland, it there turns abruptly to the east, and with diminished +speed and increased width, rolls onward towards the coast of Europe. +Before long it divides into two great branches--the northern and +southern. The former extends as far as Spitzbergen; the latter, +sweeping along by the Madeira and Canary Islands, returns to the +equator, completing the circuit. + + +What influence has the Gulf Stream on the climate of Europe? + +Various opinions have been expressed as to this. It has been estimated +that the amount of heat arising from the stream on a winter's day, is +sufficient to raise the atmosphere over the British Isles from the +freezing point to a summer temperature. + + +How may the Gulf Stream be distinguished? + +It can be distinctly traced in the ocean by its dark indigo color, its +temperature, and the swiftness of its waters. + + +Which is the largest tunnel in the world? + +The Mt. Cenis Tunnel, or the tunnel of Col de Frejus, by both of which +names it is known. It is the longest subterranean route for commerce +and travel yet constructed, being 7-1/4 miles in length. It is on the +crest of the Cottian Alps, about 16 miles south-west of the summit of +Mt. Cenis Pass. It was begun in 1857, and finished in 1871. + + _Col_, a defile. + + +What other great engineering work can you mention? + +The Suez Canal, a ship canal running across the Isthmus of Suez, and +connecting the Mediterranean with the Red Sea. The canal is 100 miles +in length, and through it an uninterrupted communication is +established whereby large sailing vessels and steamers may pass from +sea to sea, and thus avoid the long and dangerous voyage around the +Cape of Good Hope. + + +To whom is the world indebted for this canal? + +This great work owes its inception and completion to the enterprise +and indomitable energy of Ferdinand de Lesseps, who was born at +Versailles, France, on the 19th November, 1805. In January, 1856, he +obtained a charter from the Egyptian Government for a company to +construct the canal, and began work in 1859. Though beset by many +difficulties, the persistent energy of De Lesseps fought its way to +success, and in 1869 he had the satisfaction of seeing the waters of +the Mediterranean and the Red Sea mingle in the Bitter Lakes. He has +since been engaged in many engineering projects, the latest being a +canal across the Isthmus of Panama to connect the Atlantic and Pacific +oceans. + + _Inception_, beginning. + + _Indomitable_, not to be subdued. + + _Persistent_, inclined to hold firm. + + +What is a Suspension Bridge? + +A bridge supported by wires, ropes, or chains, which usually pass over +high piers or columns at each end, and are secured in the ground +below. + + +Name some of the largest bridges of this kind. + +That at Niagara, those over the Allegheny at Pittsburg and the Ohio at +Cincinnati, and the great East River bridge, which connects New York +and Brooklyn. + + +Who planned these bridges? + +John A. Roebling, who was born at Mulhausen, Prussia, June 12, 1806. +In 1831 he emigrated to this country, and to his genius we are +indebted for the bridges above named. The reports, plans, and +specifications of the East River bridge were completed, and the work +begun, when Roebling was severely injured in the foot while directing +his work. Lockjaw succeeding amputation, he died in Brooklyn, July 22, +1869. + + +To what great Civil Engineer has the West given birth? + +James B. Eads. Born at Lawrenceburg, Indiana, May 28, 1820, he began +life as a clerk on a Mississippi river steam-boat. In 1842 he entered +a firm engaged in recovering sunken property, and with such success +that he retired with a fortune in 1857. During the civil war he +devised a plan for the defence of the Western waters, and constructed +several iron gun-boats with many novel features of his own invention. +He has since acquired reputation as projecting and constructing +engineer of the Illinois and St. Louis bridge, and by building jetties +at the South Pass of the Mississippi, by which the depth of the river +is increased, and it is made more navigable. These jetties are +projecting dikes of brush, fascines, and stone. + + _Fascines_, bundles of rods or of small sticks of wood, + bound at both ends and at intermediate points, used in + filling ditches, etc. + + +Give the names of some distinguished American inventors. + +Eli Whitney, the inventor of the Cotton Gin, born in Westborough, +Mass., 1765; died 1825. Jethro Wood, the inventor of the modern +cast-iron plow, born at White Creek, N.Y., 1774; died 1834. Cyrus H. +McCormick, inventor of the mowing machine, born at Walnut Grove, +Virginia, in 1809. + + +Who was the inventor of the Sewing Machine? + +Elias Howe. He was born at Spencer, Mass., July 9, 1819. When a boy he +worked in a cotton mill at Lowell, but afterwards entered a machine +shop in Boston. Here he conceived the idea of the sewing machine, and +after long days of labor, part of which time he and his family lived +on the kindness of a friend, he completed his invention. After many +struggles, his talent, industry, and perseverance were rewarded, and +long before his death, which occurred in October, 1867, he had +acquired a large fortune. + + + + +INDEX. + + + + Abyssinia, 142 + + Adhesion, 201 + + Affinity, Chemical, 197, 199 + + Air, 17 + fixed, 112 + + Albert Durer, 130 + + Alchemy, 194 + + Alcohol, 137 + + Alexander, 161 + + Alexandria, 168 + + Allspice or Pimento, 51 + + Alluvial formations, 152 + + Almonds, 61 + + Alphabet, invention of, 43 + + Alum, 74 + + Alumina, 154 + + Amalgam, 20 + + Amber, 18 + + Ambergris, 66 + + Analysis and Combination, 195 + + Anemometer, 206 + + Angelo, Michael, 162 + + Anno Domini, 35 + + Apelles, 182 + + Apollo, 178 + + Arabic, gum, 94 + + Arabia, Felix and Deserta, 72 + + Archipelago, 32 + + Architecture, 156 + orders of, 159, 160 + + Argil, 154 + + Armenia, 67 + + Arrow-root, 134 + + Arsenic, 126 + + Artesian Wells, 203 + + Arts, 190 + liberal, 190 + fine, 191 + mechanical, 191 + + Art of writing, 191 + + Asbestus, 76, 78 + + Astronomy, science of, 187 + + Athenians, 23 + + Atmosphere, 17 + + Attraction, 201 + + Audiphone, 204 + + Aurora, the, 21 + + Aurora Borealis, 22 + + Australia, 31 + + Author, 54 + + Azores, islands of, 62 + + Azote gas, 113 + + + Babel, tower of, 144 + + Babylon, 145 + + Bacon, Roger, 99 + + Baize, 32 + + Barbarians, 170, 183 + + Barilla or Soda, 105 + + Bark, 35 + Peruvian, 36 + + Barley, 24 + sugar, 49 + + Barometer, 96 + Aneroid, 203 + + Barrel organ, 179 + + Bathometer, 206 + + Beaver, 70, 71, 74 + + Bell, A.G., 204 + + Black lead, 122 + + Blowpipe, 208 + + Bodies, natural, 197 + + Bombazine, 40 + + Books first printed, 59 + + Books, of what made, 37, 57 + + Bottles, 54 + + Box, musical, 179 + + Brandy, 137 + + Brass, 84 + + Bread-fruit, 86 + + Bricks, 144 + + Butter, vegetable, 87 + tree, 87 + + + Cable, 214 + + Cacao-nut tree, 27 + + Cadmus, 43 + + Calaminaris, Lapis, 84 + + Calcareous rocks, 150 + + Calico, 28 + + Caloric, 14, 114 + + Calomel, 97 + + Cambray, 41 + + Cambric, 41 + + Camera Obscura, 209 + + Camlet, 41 + + Camphor, 140 + + Candles, 106 + + Candy, Sugar, 49 + + Cannon, 100 + + Canoe, 36 + + Cantaleup, 67 + + Canvas, 33 + + Caoutchouc, 107 + + Capers, 61 + + Carbon, 112 + + Carbonic acid, 112 + + Carmine, 138 + + Carpets, 32 + + Carthage, 164 + + Cashmere shawls, 46 + + Cassia, 40 + + Castor or beaver, 70 + + Castor oil, 66 + + Cat, civet, 141 + domestic, singular property of its fur, 19 + gut, 179 + + Caviare, 135 + + Cayenne pepper, 53 + + Chaldea, 187 + + Chalk, 115 + + Charcoal, 81 + + Chemistry, 193-200 + + Cherry-tree, 35 + + Chinese or India ink, 76 + + China orange, 62 + + Chocolate, 27 + + Chronometer, 206 + + Chrysalis, 42 + + Cider, 136 + + Cinnamon, 39 + + Citrons, 62 + + Clay or argil, 154 + + Clocks, 98 + + Cloth, 29 + + Cloves, 38, 39 + + Coal, 81 + + Cochineal, 37, 38, 138 + + Cocoa-nut tree, 34 + + Coffee, 26 + + Cohesion, 201 + + Coin, 165 + + Combustion, 113 + + Compass, Mariners', 95 + + Commerce, 170 + + Constellations, 188 + + Consul, Roman, 147 + + Copernicus, 189 + + Copper, 83 + + Copperas, 75 + + Coral, 109-112 + + Cork, 37 + + Corn, 23 + + Cotton, 28 + gins, 29 + + Cow-tree, 88 + + Crape, 40 + + Cretans, 23 + + Crimson, 138 + + Crusades, 172, 173 + + Crystallization, 14 + + Currants, 46 + + Cyrus, 146 + + + Damask, 34 + + Dates, 68, 69 + + Decomposition, 196 + + Deluge, 191 + + Dew, 13, 14 + + Diamond, 127 + + Diaper, 33 + + Distillation, process of, 137 + + Drake, Sir Francis, 92 + + Dyeing, things used in, 138 + + Dynamite, 100 + + Dynamo-electric machine, 214 + + + Eads, Jas. B, 218 + + Earths, 151 + argillaceous, 152 + calcareous, 150 + silicious, 152 + + Earthenware, 55 + + Earthquakes, 155 + + Ear-trumpet, 204 + + Ebony, 132 + + Edison, Thos. A., 205 + + Egyptian Pyramids, 158 + + Egyptians, 23 + + Electrical machine, 19 + properties in bodies, 19 + + Electricity, 18, 210 + + Electric Battery, 211 + Current, 210 + + Electro-Magnet, 104 + Magnetic Teleg'ph., 104, 213 + + Electron, 18 + + Electrotyping, 212 + + Elephant, 133 + + Emerald, 129 + + Engraving, 130 + + Ermine, 73 + + Etruscans, 182 + + Evergreen, 65 + + + Fermentation, acetous, 138 + vinous, 138 + + Ferro, 88 + + Field, Cyrus W., 214 + + Figs, 48 + + Fine arts, 191 + + Fitch, John, 103 + + Flannel, 34 + + Flax, 33 + + Flint, 153 + + Floating, 202 + + Florence, 64 + + Fossil or rock salt, 78 + + Franks, 170 + + Frankincense, 142 + + Franklin, Benj., 215 + + Fulton, Robert, 103 + + Fur, 73 + + + Galileo, 101, 189 + + Galls, 75 + + Gamboge, 139 + + Gas, 114 + hydrogen, 114 + nitrogen or azote, 113 + oxygen, 113 + + Gelatine, 135 + + Gems, 127 + + Genoa, 63, 172 + + Geologist, 151 + + Geology, 151 + + Geometry, 102 + + Gin, 137 + + Ginger, 50 + + Glass, 53 + house, 54 + windows, 54 + looking, 55 + + Gloves, 73 + + Goat, Angora, 41 + + Gold, 118 + + Goths, 170 + + Granite, 148, 149 + + Gravitation, 201 + + Gravity, 202 + + Gray, Elisha, 205 + + Gulf Stream, 215 + + Gum, 93 + arabic, 94 + + Gunpowder, 99, 100 + + Guns, 100 + + + Hail, 16 + + Harp, 176 + + Hats, 70 + + Hemp, 33 + + Herculaneum, 154 + + Hermetic Seal, 96 + + Herschel, Sir William, 190 + + Hieroglyphics, 191 + + Holland, 33 + + Honey, 136 + + Hops, 137 + + Howe, Elias, 218 + + Hybla, 136 + + Hydrogen, 114 + + Hymettus, 136 + + + Ice, 15 + + Idria, quicksilver mines of, 97 + + India rubber, 107 + or Chinese ink, 76 + + Indigo, 138 + + Ink, 74 + used by the ancients, 75 + + Inlaying, 132 + + Insect, coral, 109-111 + + Ionians, 60 + + Iron, 82 + + Isinglass, 132 + + Islands, Volcanic, 155 + + Ivory, 135 + + + Jaca tree, 87 + + Japanese, 181 + + Jetties of the Mississippi, 218 + + Jupiter, 148 + + + Kaleidoscope, 210 + + Kiln, 73 + + + Lace, 41 + + Lapis calaminaris, 84 + + Laudanum, 91 + + Laws, How made, 148 + + Lead, 121 + black, 122 + + Leather, 72 + + Legislative Powers, 147 + + Lemon, 62 + + Lenses, 95 + + Leo the Tenth, 184 + + Lesseps, Ferd. de, 217 + + Levant, 75 + + Libanus, Mount, 90 + + Licorice, 89 + + Light, 207 + Drummond, 207 + Electric, 208, 211 + Lime, 207 + Magnesium, 208 + + Lightning, 17 + Rod, 215 + + Lime, a fruit, 63 + + Lime, an earth, 73, 112 + quick, 150 + + Linen, 32 + + Liquids, 197, 198 + + Lithography, 131 + + Loadstone, 95 + + Logwood, 139 + + Lombards, 170 + + Lucca, 64 + + Lucullus, 35 + + Lungs, 89 + + Lyre, 178 + + + McCormick, Cyrus H., 218 + + Mace, 51 + + Magic, 99 + + Mahogany, 107 + + Malt, 137 + + Maltese orange, 62 + + Mangoes, 85 + + Manioc plant, 134 + + Manna, 89, 90 + + Marble, 116 + Parian, 117 + + Mariners' compass, 95 + + Marine salt, 78 + + Marl, 101 + + Mathematics, 101 + + Mead, 136 + + Mechanics, 102 + + Mediterranean, 171 + + Megaphone, 206 + + Melons, 67 + + Mercury, 97 + the god, 178 + + Metals, primitive, 83 + + Metallurgy, 123 + + Microphone, 205 + + Microscope, 102 + + Milan, 40 + + Millet, 50 + + Mineral oil, 65 + tar, 140 + + Mines, 84 + coal, 81 + + Mint, 166 + + Mirrors, 54, 55 + + Mohair, 46 + + Mahomed, 72 + + Money, 163 + + Morphia, 91 + + Mortar, 148 + + Morse, S.F.B., 213 + + Mosque, 72 + + Mother-of-pearl, 132 + + Mt. Cenis Tunnel, 216 + + Muscles, 21 + + Music, vocal, 176 + + Musical instruments, 174 + boxes, 179 + + Musk, 141 + + Myrrh, 141 + + + Nantes, Edict of, 45 + + Natron, 105 + + Nature, kingdom of, 197 + + Navigation, 166-174 + + Nabuchodonosor, 146 + + Needles, 57 + + Nero, 185 + + New South Wales, 31 + + Newton, Sir Isaac, 189 + + Nicotine, 92 + + Nitre, 100 + + Nitrogen, 113 + + Northern Lights, 22 + + Nutmegs, 50 + + + Oats, 24 + + Obelisk, 158 + + Oils, 65 + + Oil, olive, 64 + + Oil, castor, 66 + mineral, 65 + + Olives, 63, 64 + + Olive branch, the emblem of Plenty, 64 + + Opium, 91 + + Orange, 61 + + Ore, 83 + + Organ, barrel, 179 + + Oxide, 83 + + Oxygen, 113 + + + Painters, celebrated, 184 + + Painting, art of, 180 + + Palm, 68, 69 + + Palma Christi, 66, 67 + + Pantheon, 146 + + Paper, invention of, 57 + mill, 58 + linen, 58 + + Papyrus, 58 + + Parchment, 59 + + Pearls, 131 + + Pearl oyster, 131 + barley, 24 + + Pendulum, 98 + + Pepper, 52 + cayenne, 53 + + Pericles, 159 + + Perry, 136 + + Petroleum, 65 + + Phenicia, 54 + + Philosopher's stone, 194, 195 + + Phonograph, 205 + + Phosphorus, 125 + + Photography, 209 + + Pins, 57 + + Pimento, 51 + + Pisa, 172 + + Pitch, 140 + + Platina, 123 + + Pliny, 54, 182 + + Plumbago, 122 + + Poetry, 185-187 + + Poets, celebrated, 186 + + Polypus, 108 + + Pompeii, 154 + + Porcelain, 56 + + Potash, 53 + + Potatoes, 24 + + Primitive Earths, 153 + + Printing, 59 + + Prism, 208 + + Protestant, 58 + + Ptolemies, 189 + + Pyramid, 158 + + Pythagoras, 188 + + + Quicksilver, 97 + + + Rabbins, 55 + + Rain, 16 + + Rainbow, 208 + + Raisins, 47 + + Raleigh, Sir Walter, 92 + + Raphael, 183, 184 + + Refugee, 58 + + Republic, 65 + + Resin, gum, 93 + + Rhubarb, 94 + + Rice, 48 + + Rock or fossil salt, 78 + calcareous, 150 + transition, 151 + + Roebling, John A., 217 + + Rubies, 128 + + Rum, 137 + + Rye, 24 + + + Sable, 74 + + Sago, 49 + palm, 50 + + Salt, 78, 79 + marine, 78 + rock, 78 + spring, 79 + + Saltpetre, 100 + + Saracens, 168 + + Scarlet, 138 + + Schools of painting, 184 + + Sciences, Arts and, 190 + + Sculpture, 160 + + Seal, an animal, 74 + + Senate, 147 + + Sesostris, 177 + + Seville orange, 62 + + Shoes, 72 + + Sicilians, 23 + + Sidon, 167 + + Silex, 153 + + Silicious earths, 152 + + Silk, 41, 45 + worm, 42-43 + + Silver, 119 + + Slate, 149 + + Snow, 16 + + Soap, 105 + + Soda, 105 + + Specific Weight, 202 + + Spectacles, 94 + + Spectrum, 208 + + Spermaceti, 106 + + Spinning-jenny, 30 + + Spirits of wine, 137 + + Sponge, 108 + + Starch, 133 + + Steam engine, 102 + navigation, 103 + + Steel, 150 + + Stethoscope, 204 + + Stereoscope, 209 + + Stereotyping, 212 + + Still, 137 + + Stockings, 71 + + Strata, 151 + + Suez Canal, 216 + + Sugar, 48 + candy, 49 + barley, 49 + maple, 49 + + Sulphur, 124 + + Sumatra, 66 + + Suspension Bridges, 217 + + + Tallow, 106 + tree, 106 + + Tamarinds, 67 + + Tan, 73 + + Tapioca, 134 + + Tar, 139 + + Tasimeter, 206 + + Tasmania, 31 + + Tea, 25 + + Telegraph, 104, 213 + + Telephone, 204 + + Telescope, 101 + + Thebes, 43 + + Thermometer, 97 + + Thermo-Electricity, 211 + + Thibet Goat, 46 + + Thunder, 17 + + Tides, 201 + + Tin, 120 + + Tobacco, 91 + + Toddy, 34 + + Tortoise, 178 + + Tower, leaning of Pisa, 172 + + Troy, 177 + + Turpentine, 143 + + Turquois, 129 + + Tuscans, 182 + + Twilight, 21 + + Tyre, 167 + + + United States Government, 147 + + + Vapor, 14 + + Vellum, 60 + + Velvet, 45 + + Venice, 171 + + Venus, 171 + + Vine, 136 + + Vinegar, 138 + + Vitriol, 75 + + Volcanic formations, 152 + + Volcano, 154 + + Vulcanite, 108 + + + Watches, 98 + + Water, 14 + melon, 67 + decomposition of by vegetables, 15 + tree, 88 + + Wax, 106 + + Weaving, 30-32 + + Whale, 66 + + Whitney, Eli, 218 + + Wieliczca, 80 + + Wind, 17 + + Windows, 54 + + Wine, 136 + + Woad, 139 + + Wood, Jethro, 218 + + Wood engraving, 130 + + Wool, 29-31 + + Writing, art of, 191 + + + Yams, 85 + + + Zinc, 84 + + Zoophytes, 108 + + + +THE END. + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of A Catechism of Familiar Things; Their +History, and the Events Which Led to Their Discovery, by Benziger Brothers + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A CATECHISM OF FAMILIAR *** + +***** This file should be named 16728-8.txt or 16728-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/6/7/2/16728/ + +Produced by Suzanne Shell, Sankar Viswanathan, and the +Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: A Catechism of Familiar Things; Their History, and the Events Which Led to Their Discovery + With a Short Explanation of Some of the Principal Natural + Phenomena. For the Use of Schools and Families. Enlarged + and Revised Edition. + +Author: Benziger Brothers + +Release Date: September 20, 2005 [EBook #16728] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A CATECHISM OF FAMILIAR *** + + + + +Produced by Suzanne Shell, Sankar Viswanathan, and the +Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + +</pre> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1"></a>[1]</span></p> + + + + +<p class="center"><img src="images/image_01.jpg" alt=""THE AURORA BOREALIS IN THE ARCTIC REGIONS."" width="370" height="617" /><br /> +<span class="caption">THE AURORA BOREALIS IN THE ARCTIC REGIONS.</span></p> +<h1>A<br /> +CATECHISM<br /> +OF<br /> +FAMILIAR THINGS;</h1> + +<h3><span class="smcap">Their History, and the Events which Led to<br /> +Their Discovery.</span></h3> + +<h4><i>WITH A SHORT EXPLANATION OF SOME OF THE PRINCIPAL</i></h4> + +<h2>NATURAL PHENOMENA.</h2> + +<h3>FOR THE USE OF SCHOOLS AND FAMILIES.</h3> + +<h3>Enlarged and Revised Edition.</h3> +<p class="center"><img src="images/image_02.jpg" alt="Decorative Image" width="250" height="125" /></p> +<h4><span class="smcap">New York, Cincinnati, and St. Louis:</span></h4> +<h3>BENZIGER BROTHERS</h3> +<h4>PRINTERS TO THE HOLY APOSTOLIC SEE.</h4> + + + + +<h4><span class="smcap">Copyright, 1881, by</span> BENZIGER BROTHERS.</h4> + + + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="PREFACE" id="PREFACE"></a>PREFACE.</h2> + + +<p>This book, a reprint of a successful English publication, has been so +enlarged as to be to all intents and purposes new. It has been +carefully revised by a Reverend gentleman, who for some time filled +the chair of Physics and Chemistry in one of our colleges.</p> + +<p>Recent inventions and improvements are described in a simple, popular +style, so as to be easily understood by all, and short notices are +given of prominent inventors and scientists. The paragraphs relating +to doctrinal matters conform in every respect to the teachings of the +Church.</p> + +<p>A feature which will commend the book to every teacher is the +definitions of difficult words and terms, following the paragraphs in +which such words occur.</p> + +<p>Technical language is avoided as much as possible, so as to enable +young pupils to become familiarly acquainted with the various +phenomena of nature, the leading characteristics and general history +of the objects of the animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms, and the +fundamental truths of the arts and sciences.</p> + +<p>The illustrations are of a superior order, and a very complete Index, +which will be appreciated by every teacher, supplements the book. In a +word, no pains have been spared to enhance the value of the work, and +render it an important auxiliary in the dissemination of useful and +entertaining knowledge.</p> + +<p>The publishers beg to acknowledge their obligations to the Sisters of +Mercy, Loretto, Pa., to whose kindness they are indebted for many +valuable suggestions.</p> + +<p>In the hope that the book may be found suited to the accomplishment of +its aim, it is respectfully submitted to schools and instructors of +youth, who are the best judges of its merits.</p> + + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CONTENTS" id="CONTENTS"></a>CONTENTS.</h2> + + +<table summary="Contents"> + <tr> + + <td colspan="3" style="text-align:center;">Chapter</td> + <td class="tocpg">Page</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" style="text-align:center;"> </td> + <td class="tocpg"> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tocch">I</td> + <td class="tocch"> </td> + <td><a href="#CHAPTER_I">Dew, Water, Rain, Snow, Hail, Atmosphere, Wind, Lightning, +Thunder, Electricity, Twilight, and the Aurora +Borealis</a></td> + <td class="tocpg">13</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tocch">II</td> + <td class="tocch"> </td> + <td><a href="#CHAPTER_II">Corn, Barley, Pearl Barley, Oats, Rye, Potatoes, Tea, +Coffee, and Chocolate</a></td> + <td class="tocpg">23</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tocch">III</td> + <td class="tocch"> </td> + <td><a href="#CHAPTER_III">Calico, Cotton, Cloth, Wool, Baize, Linen, Flax, Hemp, +Diaper, Holland, Canvas, and Flannel</a></td> + <td class="tocpg">28</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tocch">IV</td> + <td> </td> + <td><a href="#CHAPTER_IV">Cocoa, Toddy, Cherries, Bark, Cork, Cochineal, Cloves, +Cinnamon, and Cassia</a></td> + <td class="tocpg">34</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tocch">V</td> + <td> </td> + <td><a href="#CHAPTER_V">Bombazine, Crape, Camlet, Cambric, Lace, Silk, Velvet, +and Mohair</a></td> + <td class="tocpg">40</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tocch">VI</td> + <td> </td> + <td><a href="#CHAPTER_VI">Currants, Raisins, Figs, Rice, Sugar, Sugar Candy, &c., +Sago, Millet, Ginger, Nutmeg, Mace, Pimento or Allspice, +Pepper, and Cayenne Pepper</a></td> + <td class="tocpg">46</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tocch">VII</td> + <td> </td> + <td><a href="#CHAPTER_VII">Glass, Mirrors, Earthenware, Porcelain, Needles, Pins, +Paper, Printing, Parchment, and Vellum</a></td> + <td class="tocpg">53</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tocch">VIII</td> + <td> </td> + <td><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">Capers, Almonds, Oranges, Lemons, Citrons, Limes, Olives, +Oils, Melons, Tamarinds, and Dates</a></td> + <td class="tocpg">61</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tocch">IX</td> + <td> </td> + <td><a href="#CHAPTER_IX">Hats, Stockings, Shoes, Gloves, Leather, Furs, and Ink</a></td> + <td class="tocpg">70</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tocch">X</td> + <td> </td> + <td><a href="#CHAPTER_X">Asbestus, Salt, Coal, Iron, Copper, Brass, Zinc, and Lapis +Calaminaris</a></td> + <td class="tocpg">76</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tocch">XI</td> + <td> </td> + <td><a href="#CHAPTER_XI">Yams, Mangoes, Bread-Fruit, Shea or Butter Tree, Cow +Tree, Water Tree, Licorice, Manna, Opium, Tobacco, +and Gum</a></td> + <td class="tocpg">85</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tocch">XII</td> + <td> </td> + <td><a href="#CHAPTER_XII">Spectacles, Mariner's Compass, Barometer, Thermometer, +Watches, Clocks, Telescope, Microscope, Gunpowder, +Steam Engine, and Electro-Magnetic Telegraph</a></td> + <td class="tocpg">94</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tocch">XIII</td> + <td> </td> + <td><a href="#CHAPTER_XIII">Soap, Candles, Tallow Tree, Spermaceti, Wax, Mahogany, +India Rubber or Caoutchouc, Sponge, Coral, +Lime, Carbon, Oxygen, Nitrogen, Gas, Hydrogen, +Chalk, and Marble</a></td> + <td class="tocpg">105</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tocch">XIV</td> + <td> </td> + <td><a href="#CHAPTER_XIV">Gold, Silver, Lead, Tin, Platina, Sulphur, Gems or +Precious Stones—as Diamonds, Rubies, Emeralds, +Turquois, Pearls, Mother-of-Pearl, and Ivory</a></td> + <td class="tocpg">118</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tocch">XV</td> + <td> </td> + <td><a href="#CHAPTER_XV">Starch, Arrow-root, Tapioca, Isinglass, Caviare, the +Vine, Wine, Gin, Rum, Brandy, Vinegar, Indigo, +Gamboge, Logwood, Tar, Pitch, Camphor, Musk, +Myrrh, Frankincense, and Turpentine</a></td> + <td class="tocpg">133</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tocch">XVI</td> + <td> </td> + <td><a href="#CHAPTER_XVI">Bricks, Mortar, Granite, Slate, Limestone, or Calcareous +Rocks, Steel, Earths, Volcanoes, and Earthquakes</a></td> + <td class="tocpg">144</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tocch">XVII</td> + <td> </td> + <td><a href="#CHAPTER_XVII">Architecture, Sculpture, Use of Money, and Navigation</a></td> + <td class="tocpg">156</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tocch">XVIII</td> + <td> </td> + <td><a href="#CHAPTER_XVIII">Music, Painting, Poetry, Astronomy, Arts and +Sciences, Art of Writing, and Chemistry</a></td> + <td class="tocpg">174</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tocch">XIX</td> + <td> </td> + <td><a href="#CHAPTER_XIX">Attraction, Tides, Gravity, Artesian Wells, Air, +Aneroid Barometer, Ear-Trumpet, Stethoscope, +Audiphone, Telephone, Phonograph, Microphone, +Megaphone, Tasimeter, Bathometer, Anemometer, +Chronometer</a></td> + <td class="tocpg">201</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tocch">XX</td> + <td> </td> + <td><a href="#CHAPTER_XX">Light, Lime Light, Magnesium Light, Electric Light, +Rainbow, Prism, Spectrum, Colors, Photography, +Camera Obscura, Stereoscope, Kaleidoscope</a></td> + <td class="tocpg">207</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tocch">XXI</td> + <td> </td> + <td><a href="#CHAPTER_XXI">Electricity, Electric Currents, Electric Battery, Electrotyping, +Stereotyping, Telegraph, Ocean Cable, +Lightning Rod, The Gulf Stream, The Mt. Cenis +Tunnel, The Suez Canal, Suspension Bridges, Eminent +Americans</a></td> + <td class="tocpg">210</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> </td> + <td> </td> + <td><a href="#INDEX">Index</a></td> + <td class="tocpg">219</td> + </tr> +</table> + + + + + + + + + + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13"></a>[13]</span></p> +<h2><a name="A_CATECHISM" id="A_CATECHISM"></a>A CATECHISM<br /> + +OF<br /> + +FAMILIAR THINGS.</h2> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I"></a>CHAPTER I.</h2> + +<h3><span class="smcap">Dew, Water, Rain, Snow, Hail, Atmosphere, Wind, Lightning, +Thunder, Electricity, Twilight, and the Aurora Borealis.</span></h3> + + +<p><b>What is Dew?</b></p> + +<p>Moisture collected from the atmosphere by the action of cold. During +the day, the powerful heat of the sun causes to arise from the earth +and water a moist vapor, which, after the sun sinks below the horizon, +is condensed by the cold, and falls in the form of dew. Dews are more +copious in the Spring and Autumn than at any other season; in warm +countries than in cold ones: because of the sudden changes of +temperature. Egypt abounds in dews all the summer; for the air being +too hot to condense the vapors in the day-time, they never gather into +clouds and form rain.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Horizon</i>, the line which bounds the view on all sides, so +that the earth and sky appear to meet. A Greek word, from +the verb signifying to mark boundaries.</p> + +<p><i>Temperature</i>, degree of heat or cold.</p> + +<p><i>Condense</i>, to cause the particles of a body to approach or +unite more closely.</p></div> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14"></a>[14]</span></p> + + +<p><b>What are its uses?</b></p> + +<p>It cools and refreshes the vegetable creation, and prevents it from +being destroyed by the heat of the sun. All hot countries where there +is little or no rain are therefore blessed with this provision by the +all-bountiful Creator, to render them luxuriant and inhabitable; and +the dews which fall are so copious, that the earth is as deeply soaked +with them during the night as if a heavy rain had fallen. For this +reason also it is, that we so often read in the Bible of the "dew of +Heaven" being promised to the Israelites as a signal favor.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Luxuriant</i>, fertile, flourishing.</p> + +<p><i>Signal</i>, remarkable, eminent.</p></div> + + +<p><b>From what does the vapor originate?</b></p> + +<p>Vapor is water, combined with a still greater quantity of +caloric,—that is, an imponderable and subtile form of matter, which +causes the sensation of heat; and which, driving asunder the particles +of the water, renders it aëriform.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Imponderable</i>, without sensible weight.</p> + +<p><i>Subtile</i>, thin, not dense, or compact.</p> + +<p><i>Particle</i>, a small portion of matter.</p> + +<p><i>Aëriform</i>, having the form of air.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What is Water?</b></p> + +<p>The fluid which covers more than three-fifths of the surface of our +globe, and which is necessary for the life and health of the animal +and vegetable creation; for without water there would be neither rain +nor dew, and everything would perish. It is likewise a necessary +beverage for man and the inferior animals.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Beverage</i>, drink, liquor for drinking.</p></div> + + +<p><b>In how many states do we find Water?</b></p> + +<p>In four: 1st, solid, as in ice, snow, hail, &c.; 2d, fluid, as in its +common form; 3d, aëriform, as in steam; and 4th, in a state of union +with other matter. Its most simple state is that of ice, which is +water deprived of a certain portion of its caloric: crystallization +then takes place, and the water becomes solid and is called ice.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Crystallization</i>, the process by which the parts of a solid +body, sepa<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15"></a>[15]</span>rated by solution or fusion, are again brought +into the solid form. If the process is slow, the figure +assumed is regular and bounded by plane and smooth surfaces.</p> + +<p><i>Solution</i>, the diffusion of a solid through some liquid.</p> + +<p><i>Fusion</i>, melting, or rendering fluid by heat.</p></div> + + +<p><b>From what cause is the Water deprived of its caloric?</b></p> + +<p>From the coldness of the atmosphere: underneath the poles of our globe +it is mostly solid; there it is similar to the hardest rocks, and may +be cut with a chisel, like stone or marble. This great solidity is +occasioned by the low temperature of the surrounding air; and in very +cold countries ice may be ground so fine as to be blown away by the +wind, and will still be ice.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Poles</i>, the extremities or ends of the axis, an imaginary +line, supposed to be drawn through the centre of the earth; +or when applied to the heavens, the two points directly over +them.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Is ice the only instance of Water existing in a state of solidity?</b></p> + +<p>No; it is found in a solid state in many minerals, as in marble, &c., +and is then called <i>water of Crystallization</i>. It is essential, in +many cases, to their solidity and transparency.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Essential</i>, necessary.</p> + +<p><i>Transparency</i>, clearness, the power of transmitting light.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Does Nature decompose Water in any of her operations?</b></p> + +<p>Yes: every living vegetable has the power of decomposing water, by a +secret process peculiar to itself. Fish, too, and all cold-blooded +amphibious animals are gifted with the same power.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Decomposing</i>, separating a mixed body into its several +parts.</p> + +<p><i>Amphibious</i>, able to live both in water and out of it.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Of what use is this power to vegetables?</b></p> + +<p>The water which they decompose affords them nourishment for the +support of their vital juices, and enables them, by combining the +fluid gases which compose it with those of the air and the soil, to +form their different products; while the superfluous gas is abundantly +given out by their leaves, to refresh the spent air, and render it +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16"></a>[16]</span>wholesome for the animals that breathe it.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Vital</i>, belonging to life, necessary to existence.</p> + +<p><i>Superfluous</i>, unnecessary, not wanted.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What is Rain?</b></p> + +<p>The condensed aqueous vapors raised in the atmosphere by the sun and +wind, converted into clouds, which fall in rain, snow, hail, or mist: +their falling is occasioned by their own weight in a collision +produced by contrary currents of wind, from the clouds passing into a +colder part of the air, or by electricity. If the vapors are more +copious, and rise a little higher, they form a mist or fog, which is +visible to the eye; higher still they produce rain. Hence we may +account for the changes of the weather: why a cold summer is always a +wet one—a warm, a dry one.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Aqueous</i>, watery; consisting of water.</p> + +<p><i>Collision</i>, a striking together, a clash, a meeting.</p> + +<p><i>Electricity</i>, a natural agent existing in all bodies (see + <a href="#Page_18">page 18</a>).</p> +</div> + + +<p><b>What seasons are more liable to rain than others?</b></p> + +<p>The Spring and Autumn are generally the most rainy seasons, the vapors +<i>rise</i> more plentifully in Spring; and in the Autumn, as the sun +recedes from us and the cold increases, the vapors, which lingered +above us during the summer heats, <i>fall</i> more easily.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Recede</i>, to fall back, to retreat.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What is Snow?</b></p> + +<p>Rain congealed by cold in the atmosphere, which causes it to fall to +the earth in white flakes. Snow fertilizes the ground by defending the +roots of plants from the intenser cold of the air and the piercing +winds.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Congealed</i>, turned by the force of cold from a fluid to a +solid state; hardened.</p> + +<p><i>Fertilize</i>, to render fruitful.</p> + +<p><i>Intenser</i>, raised to a higher degree, more powerful.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What is Hail?</b></p> + +<p>Drops of rain frozen in their passage through cold air. <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17"></a>[17]</span>Hail assumes +various figures according to the degrees of heat or cold through which +it passes, being sometimes round, flat, &c.</p> + + +<p><b>What is the Atmosphere?</b></p> + +<p>The mass of aëriform fluid which encompasses the earth on all sides: +it extends about fifty miles above its surface. Air is the elastic +fluid of which it is composed.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Elastic</i>, having the power of springing back, or recovering +its former figure after the removal of any external pressure +which has altered that figure. When the force which +compresses the air is removed, it expands and resumes its +former state.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What are the uses of air?</b></p> + +<p>It is necessary to the well-being of man, since without it neither he +nor any animal or vegetable could exist. If it were not for +atmospheric air, we should be unable to converse with each other; we +should know nothing of sound or smell; or of the pleasures which arise +from the variegated prospects which surround us: it is to the presence +of air and carbonic acid that water owes its agreeable taste. Boiling +deprives it of the greater part of these, and renders it insipid.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Variegated</i>, diversified, changed; adorned with different +colors.</p> + +<p><i>Insipid</i>, tasteless.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What is Wind?</b></p> + +<p>Air in motion with any degree of velocity.</p> + + +<p><b>What is Lightning?</b></p> + +<p>The effect of electricity in the clouds. A flash of lightning is +simply a stream of the electric fluid passing from the clouds to the +earth, from the earth to the clouds, or from one cloud to another. +Lightning usually strikes the highest and most pointed objects, as +high hills, trees, spires, masts of ships, &c.</p> + + +<p><b>What is Thunder?</b></p> + +<p>The report which accompanies the electrical union of the clouds: or +the echoes of the report between them and the earth. Thunder is caused +by a sudden discharge of electrical matter <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18"></a>[18]</span>collected in the air, by +which vibrations are produced, which give rise to the sound.</p> + + +<p><b>What is Electricity?</b></p> + +<p>One of those agents passing through the earth and all substances, +without giving any outward signs of its presence, when at rest; yet +when active, often producing violent and destructive effects. It is +<i>supposed</i> to be a highly elastic fluid, capable of moving through +matter. Clouds owe their form and existence, probably, to it; and it +passes through all substances, but more easily through metals, water, +the human body, &c., which are called conductors, than through air, +glass, and silk, which are called <i>non</i>-conductors. When bodies are +not surrounded with non-conductors, the electricity escapes quickly +into the earth.</p> + + +<p><b>To what part of bodies is Electricity confined?</b></p> + +<p>To their surfaces, as the outside may be electric, and the inside in a +state of neutrality. The heat produced by an electric shock is very +powerful, but is only accompanied by light when the fluid is +obstructed in its passage. The production and condensation of vapor is +a great source of the atmospheric electricity.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Condensation</i>, the act of making any body dense or compact; +that is, of bringing its parts into closer union.</p></div> + + +<p><b>In what other sense is the term Electricity employed?</b></p> + +<p>This term is also employed to designate that important branch of +knowledge which relates to the properties shown by certain bodies when +rubbed against, or otherwise brought in contact with, each other, to +attract substances, and emit sparks of fire.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Designate</i>, to point out by some particular token.</p> + +<p><i>Emit</i>, to send forth, to throw out.</p></div> + + +<p class="center"><img src="images/image_03.jpg" alt="CUTTING AND GATHERING ICE, ON THE HUDSON RIVER, NEW YORK." width="581" height="286" /><br /> + <span class="caption">CUTTING AND GATHERING ICE, ON THE HUDSON RIVER, NEW +YORK.</span></p> + +<p><b>Whence is the word derived?</b></p> + +<p>From <i>electron</i>, the Greek word for amber, a yellow transparent +substance, remarkable for its electrical power when rubbed: amber is +of a resinous nature, and is collected from the sea-shore, or dug from +the earth, in many parts of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19"></a>[19]</span> world. It is employed in the +manufacture of beads and other toys, on account of its transparency; +is of some use in medicine, and in the making of varnishes.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Transparent</i>, clear, capable of being seen through.</p> + +<p><i>Resinous</i>, containing resin, a gummy vegetable juice.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Name a few substances possessing this remarkable property.</b></p> + +<p>Silks of all kinds; the hair and fur of animals, paper, sulphur, and +some other minerals; most of the precious stones; the paste of which +false gems are made; and many other substances used by us in the +common affairs of life, are susceptible of electrical excitement; +among domestic animals the cat furnishes a remarkable instance. When +dry and warm, the back of almost any full-grown cat (the darker its +color the better) can be excited by rubbing it with the hand in the +direction of the hair, a process which is accompanied with a slight +snapping noise, and in the dark by flashes of pale blue light. When a +piece of glass is rubbed with silk, or a stick of red sealing-wax with +woollen cloth, each substance acquires the property of attracting and +repelling feathers, straws, threads of cotton, and other light +substances; the substances just mentioned as highly electric are, +however, merely specimens. All objects, without exception, most +probably are capable of being electrically excited; but some require +more complicated contrivances to produce it than others.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Electric</i>, having the properties of electricity.</p> + +<p><i>Susceptible</i>, disposed to admit easily.</p> + +<p><i>Repelling</i>, the act of driving back.</p> + +<p><i>Complicated</i>, formed by the union of several parts in one.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Is there not a machine by which we are enabled to obtain large +supplies of electric power at pleasure?</b></p> + +<p>Yes; the electrical machine. It is made of different forms and sizes: +for common purposes those of the simplest form are the best. A common +form of the machine consists of a circular plate of glass, which can +be turned about a horizontal axis by means of a suitable handle. This +plate turns <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20"></a>[20]</span>between two supports, and near its upper and lower edges +are two pairs of cushions, usually made of leather, stuffed with +horse-hair and coated with a mixture of zinc, tin, and mercury, called +an <i>amalgam</i>. These cushions are the rubbers for producing friction, +and are connected with the earth by means of a metal chain or rod. Two +large hollow cylinders of brass with globular ends, each supported by +two glass pillars, constitute the reservoir for receiving the +electricity. They are called the <i>prime conductors</i>, and are supplied +with U-shaped rods of metal, furnished with points along their sides, +called <i>combs</i>, for the purpose of receiving the electricity from the +glass plate, the arms of the U being held upon either side. The other +ends of the conductors are connected by a rod from the middle of which +projects another rod terminating in a knob, for delivering the spark.</p> + +<p>On turning the plate, a faint snapping sound is heard, and when the +room is darkened, a spark is seen to be thrown out from the knob +projecting from the <i>prime conductors</i>.</p> + +<p>Many curious and interesting experiments may be performed by means of +the machine, illustrating the general properties of electricity. For +instance: a person standing on an insulated bench, that is, a bench +with glass legs, or having the legs resting on glass, and having one +hand on the conductor, can send sparks, with the other hand, to +everything and everybody about. This illustrates communication of +electricity by contact. A wooden head, covered with long hairs, when +placed on the conductor, illustrates electrical repulsion, by the +hairs standing on end.</p> + +<p>If the hand is held to the knob, sparks will pass from it in rapid +succession, causing in the hand a sensation of pain. This is called an +<i>electric shock</i>, and is caused by the electric fluid occasioning a +sudden motion by the contraction of the muscles through which it +passes. The force of the shock is in proportion to the power of the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21"></a>[21]</span>machine.</p> + + +<p><b>What are the Muscles?</b></p> + +<p>Bundles of thin fleshy fibres, or threads, fastened to the bones of +animals, the contraction and expansion of which move the bones or +perform the organic functions of life.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Organic</i>, relating to organs or natural instruments by +which some process is carried on.</p> + +<p><i>Functions</i>, employments or offices of any part of the body.</p> + +<p><i>Contraction</i>, drawing in or shortening.</p> + +<p><i>Expansion</i>, extending or spreading out.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What is Twilight?</b></p> + +<p>The light from the first dawning of day to the rising of the sun; and +again between its setting and the last remains of day. Without +twilight, the sun's light would appear at its rising, and disappear at +its setting, instantaneously; and we should experience a sudden +transition from the brightest sunshine to the profoundest obscurity. +The duration of twilight is different in different climates; and in +the same places it varies at different periods of the year.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Instantaneously</i>, done in an instant, in a moment's time.</p> + +<p><i>Obscurity</i>, darkness, want of light.</p></div> + + +<p><b>How is it produced?</b></p> + +<p>By the sun's refraction—that is, the variation of the rays of light +from their direct course, occasioned by the difference of density in +the atmosphere.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Variation</i>, change.</p> + +<p><i>Density</i>, closeness of parts, compactness.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What is the poetical name for the morning Twilight?</b></p> + +<p>Aurora, the goddess of the morning, and harbinger of the rising sun: +whom poets and artists represent as drawn by white horses in a +rose-colored chariot, unfolding with her rosy fingers the portals of +the East, pouring reviving dew upon the earth, and re-animating plants +and flowers.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Harbinger</i>, a forerunner.</p> + +<p><i>Portals</i>, gates, doors of entrance.</p> + +<p><i>Reanimating</i>, invigorating with new life.</p></div><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22"></a>[22]</span></p> + + +<p><b>What remarkable phenomenon is afforded to the inhabitants of the polar +regions?</b></p> + +<p>The Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights, a luminous appearance in the +northern parts of the heavens, seen mostly during winter, or in frosty +weather, and clear evenings; it assumes a variety of forms and hues, +especially in the polar regions, where it appears in its perfection, +and proves a great solace to the inhabitants amidst the gloom of their +long winter's night, which lasts from one to six months, while the +summer's day which succeeds it lasts in like manner for the same +period of time.</p> + + +<p><b>Of what nature is the Aurora Borealis?</b></p> + +<p>It is decidedly an electrical phenomenon which takes place in the +higher regions of the atmosphere. It is somehow connected with the +magnetic poles of the earth; and generally appears in form of a +luminous arch, from east to west, but never from north to south.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Phenomenon</i>, an extraordinary appearance. The word is from +a Greek one, signifying, to show or appear.</p> + +<p><i>Magnetic</i>, belonging to the magnet, or loadstone.</p> + +<p><i>Luminous</i>, bright, shining.</p></div> + + +<p><b>In what country is it seen constantly from October to Christmas?</b></p> + +<p>In Siberia, where it is remarkably bright. On the western coast of +Hudson's Bay, the sun no sooner disappears, than the Aurora Borealis +diffuses a thousand different lights and colors with such dazzling +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23"></a>[23]</span>beauty, that even the full moon cannot eclipse it.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II"></a>CHAPTER II.</h2> + +<h3><span class="smcap">Corn, Barley, Pearl Barley, Oats, Rye, Potatoes, Tea, Coffee, and +Chocolate.</span></h3> + + +<p><b>What is Corn?</b></p> + +<p>Corn signifies a race of plants which produce grain in an ear or head, +fit for bread, the food of man; or the grain or seed of the plant, +separated from the ear.</p> + + +<p><b>What is generally meant by Corn?</b></p> + +<p>In this country, maize, or Indian corn, is generally meant; but, in a +more comprehensive sense, the term is applied to several other kinds +of grain, such as wheat, rye, barley, oats, &c.</p> + + +<p><b>Where was Corn first used?</b></p> + +<p>It is uncertain. The Athenians pretend that it was amongst them it was +first used; the Cretans, Sicilians, and Egyptians also lay claim to +the same. From the accounts in the Bible, we find that its culture +engaged a large share of the attention of the ancient Hebrews.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Culture</i>, growth, cultivation. <i>Hebrews</i>, the children of +Israel, the Jews</p></div> + + +<p><b>Who were the Athenians?</b></p> + +<p>Inhabitants of Athens, the capital city of Greece.</p> + + +<p><b>Who were the Cretans?</b></p> + +<p>The inhabitants of Crete, an island of the Archipelago.</p> + + +<p><b>Who were the Sicilians?</b></p> + +<p>Inhabitants of Sicily, the largest island of the Mediterranean Sea, +now a part of Italy, and separated from the mainland by the Strait of +Messina.</p> + + +<p><b>Where do the Egyptians dwell?</b></p> + +<p>In Egypt, a country of Africa. It is extremely fertile, producing +great quantities of corn. In ancient times it was called the dry nurse +of Rome and Italy, from its furnishing with corn a considerable part +of the Roman Empire; and we are informed, <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24"></a>[24]</span>both from sacred and +profane history, that it was anciently the most fertile in corn of all +countries of the world. The corn of Syria has always been very +superior, and by many classed above that of Egypt.</p> + + +<p><b>For what is Barley generally used?</b></p> + +<p>It is very extensively used for making malt, from which are prepared +beer, ale, porter, &c.; in Scotland it is a common ingredient in +broths, for which reason its consumption is very considerable, barley +broth being a dish very frequent there.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Ingredient</i>, a separate part of a body consisting of +different materials.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What is Pearl Barley?</b></p> + +<p>Barley freed from the husk by a mill.</p> + + +<p><b>What are Oats?</b></p> + +<p>A valuable grain, serving as food for horses. Oats are also eaten by +the inhabitants of many countries, after being ground into meal and +made into oat cakes. Oatmeal also forms a wholesome drink for +invalids, by steeping it in boiling water.</p> + + +<p><b>What are the uses of Rye?</b></p> + +<p>In this and some other countries it is much used for bread, either +alone or mixed with wheat; in England principally as food for cattle, +especially for sheep and lambs, when other food is scarce in winter. +Rye yields a strong spirit when distilled.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Distilled</i>, subjected to distillation—the operation of +extracting spirit from a substance by evaporation and +condensation.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Of what country is the Potato a native?</b></p> + +<p>Potatoes grew wild in Peru, a country of South America; whence they +were transplanted to other parts of the American continent, and +afterwards to Europe. The honor of introducing this useful vegetable +into England is divided between Sir Francis Drake, in 1580, and Sir +Walter Raleigh, in 1586, some ascribing it to the former, and others +to the latter. It is certain they were obtained from Virginia in the +time of Raleigh; they were cultivated only in the gardens of the +nobility, and were reckoned a great delicacy. They now constitute a +principal article of food <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25"></a>[25]</span>in most of the countries of Europe and +America; in Ireland, they have long furnished nearly four-fifths of +the entire food of the people.</p> + + +<p><b>What part of the plant is eaten?</b></p> + +<p>The root, which, when roasted or boiled, affords a wholesome and +agreeable meal.</p> + + +<p><b>What is Tea?</b></p> + +<p>The leaves of an evergreen shrub, a native of China and Japan, in +which countries alone it is extensively cultivated for use. The +tea-plant was at one time introduced into South Carolina, where its +culture appears to have been attended with but little success. It may +yet become a staple production of some portions of the United States.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Evergreen</i>, retaining its leaves fresh and green through +all seasons.</p></div> + + +<p><b>How is it prepared for use?</b></p> + +<p>By carefully gathering the leaves, one by one, while they are yet +small, young, and juicy. They are then spread on large flat iron pans, +and placed over small furnaces, when they are constantly shifted by +the hand till they become too hot to be borne.</p> + + +<p><b>What is next done?</b></p> + +<p>They are then removed with a kind of shovel resembling a fan, and +poured on mats, whence they are taken in small quantities, and rolled +in the palm of the hand always in one direction, until they cool and +retain the curl.</p> + + +<p><b>How often is this operation repeated?</b></p> + +<p>Two or three times, the furnace each time being made less hot. The tea +is then placed in the store-houses, or packed in chests, and sent to +most of the countries in Europe and America.</p> + + +<p><b>Describe the appearance of the Tea-tree.</b></p> + +<p>The Tea-tree when arrived at its full growth, which it does in about +seven years, is about a man's height; the green leaves are narrow, and +jagged all round; the flower resembles that of <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26"></a>[26]</span>the wild rose, but is +smaller. The shrub loves to grow in valleys, at the foot of mountains, +and on the banks of rivers where it enjoys a southern exposure to the +sun; though it endures considerable variation of heat and cold, as it +flourishes in the northern clime of Pekin, where the winter is often +severe; and also about Canton, where the heat is sometimes very great. +The best tea, however, grows in a temperate climate, the country about +Nankin producing better tea than either Pekin or Canton, between which +two places it is situated.</p> + + +<p><b>What produces the difference between Green and Bohea, or Black?</b></p> + +<p>There are varieties of the plant, and the difference of the tea arises +from the mode of preparation.</p> + + +<p><b>What nation first introduced it into Europe?</b></p> + +<p>The Dutch in 1610; it was introduced into England in 1650</p> + + +<p><b>What is Coffee?</b></p> + +<p>The berry of the coffee-tree, a native of Arabia. The coffee-tree is +an evergreen, and makes a beautiful appearance at all times of the +year, but especially when in flower, and when the berries are red, +which is usually during the winter. It is also cultivated in Persia, +the East Indies, Liberia on the coast of Africa, the West Indies, +Brazil and other parts of South America, as well as in most tropical +climates.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Tropical</i>, being within the tropics, that is, in the Torrid +Zone.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Who was the original discoverer of Coffee, for the drink of man?</b></p> + +<p>It is not exactly known: the earliest written accounts of the use of +Coffee are by Arabian writers in the 15th century; it appears that in +the city of Aden it became, in the latter half of that century, a very +popular drink, first with lawyers, studious persons, and those whose +occupation required wakefulness at night, and soon after, with all +classes. Its use gradually extended to other cities, and to those on +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27"></a>[27]</span>the eastern shores of the Mediterranean. Towards the end of the +seventeenth century, it was carried to Batavia where it was soon +extensively planted, and at last young trees were sent to the +botanical garden at Amsterdam.</p> + + +<p><b>Who introduced it into France and England?</b></p> + +<p>Thevenot, the traveller, brought it into France, and a Greek servant +named Pasqua (taken to England by Mr. Daniel Edwards, a Turkey +merchant, in 1652, to make his coffee,) first set up the profession of +coffee-man, and introduced the drink among the English.</p> + + +<p><b>How is it prepared?</b></p> + +<p>The berries are roasted in a revolving metallic cylinder, till they +are of a deep brown color, and then ground to powder, and boiled.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Metallic</i>, consisting of metal.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What is Chocolate?</b></p> + +<p>A kind of cake or paste, made of the kernel of the cacao-nut.</p> + + +<p><b>Describe the Cacao-nut Tree.</b></p> + +<p>It resembles the cherry tree, and grows to the height of fifteen or +sixteen feet. The cacao-nut tree bears leaves, flowers, and fruit, all +the year through.</p> + + +<p><b>Where does it grow?</b></p> + +<p>In tropical regions, where it is largely cultivated.</p> + + +<p><b>Of what form is the fruit?</b></p> + +<p>It is somewhat like a cucumber, about three inches round, and of a +yellowish red color. It contains from ten to forty seeds, each covered +with a little rind, of a violet color; when this is stripped off, the +kernel, of which they make the chocolate, is visible.</p> + + +<p><b>How do they make it into a drink?</b></p> + +<p>By boiling it with water or milk. There are various newly-invented +ways of preparing chocolate, so that it may be made in a few minutes, +by only pouring boiling water upon it.</p><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28"></a>[28]</span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III"></a>CHAPTER III.</h2> + +<h3><span class="smcap">Calico, Cotton, Cloth, Wool, Baize, Linen, Flax, Hemp, Diaper, +Holland, Canvas, and Flannel.</span></h3> + + +<p><b>What is Calico?</b></p> + +<p>A kind of printed cotton cloth, of different colors.</p> + + +<p><b>From what place did it take its name?</b></p> + +<p>From Calicut, a city on the coast of Malabar, where it was first made; +much is now manufactured in the United States, England, and many other +countries.</p> + + +<p><b>What is Cotton?</b></p> + +<p>A downy or woolly substance, enclosed in the pod, or seed-vessel, of +the cotton-plant. The commercial classification of cotton is +determined—1, by cleanliness or freedom from sand, dry leaf, and +other impurities; 2, by absence of color; both subject also to +character of staple, length, and strength and fineness of fibre. These +together determine relative value. There are two general +classifications, long-stapled and short-stapled. Of the former the +best is the sea island cotton of the United States. The <i>short staple +cotton</i>, grows in the middle and upper country; the long staple is +cultivated in the lower country near the sea, and on the islands near +the coasts.</p> + + +<p><b>How is it cultivated?</b></p> + +<p>The seeds are sown in ridges made with the plough or hoe; when the +plants are mature, the pods open, and the cotton is picked from them.</p> + + +<p><b>Where did Cotton anciently grow, and for what was it used?</b></p> + +<p>In Egypt, where it was used by the priests and sacrificers, for a very +singular kind of garment worn by them alone.</p> + + +<p><b>In what manufacture is it now used?</b></p> + +<p>It is woven into muslins, dimities, cloths, calicoes, &c.; and <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29"></a>[29]</span>is +also joined with silks and flax, in the composition of other stuffs, +and in working with the needle.</p> + + +<p><b>How is the Cotton separated from the seed?</b></p> + +<p>By machines called <i>cotton gins</i>, of which there are two kinds; the +<i>roller-gin</i>, and the <i>saw-gin</i>. In the former, the cotton, just as +gathered from the plant, is drawn between two rollers, placed so +closely together as to permit the passage of the cotton, but not of +the seeds, which are consequently left behind. In the <i>saw-gin</i>, the +cotton is placed in a receiver, one side of which consists of a +grating of parallel wires, about an eighth of an inch apart; circular +saws, revolving on a common axis between these wires, entangle in +their teeth the cotton, and draw it from the seeds, which are too +large to pass between the wires.</p> + + +<p><b>How is it made into Calico, &c.?</b></p> + +<p>The cotton having been separated from the seed, is spun by a machine +for the purpose. It is next woven, then dressed, and printed.</p> + + +<p><b>What is Cloth?</b></p> + +<p>The word, in its general sense, includes all kinds of stuffs woven in +the loom, whether the threads be of wool, cotton, hemp, or flax.</p> + + +<p><b>To what is it more particularly applied?</b></p> + +<p>To a web or tissue of woollen threads.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Web</i>, any thing woven.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What is Wool?</b></p> + +<p>The covering or hair of sheep. To prepare it for the weaver, it is +first shorn, washed, and dried, then carded or combed by machinery +into fibres or threads: formerly this was always performed by the +hand, by means of an instrument, called a comb, with several rows of +pointed teeth; this, though not much used now, is still occasionally +employed, except in large factories. This combing is repeated two or +three times, till it is sufficiently smooth and even for spinning. +Spinning or converting wool, <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30"></a>[30]</span>or cotton, silk, &c. into thread, was +anciently performed by the distaff and spindle: these we find +mentioned in sacred history, and they have been used in all ages, and +in all countries yet discovered. The natives of India, and of some +other parts of the world, still employ this simple invention.</p> + + +<p><b>What was the next improvement?</b></p> + +<p>The invention of the hand-wheel. In 1767, a machine called the +spinning-jenny was invented by a weaver named Hargreaves; but the +greatest improvement in the art of spinning was effected by Mr. +Arkwright, in 1768: these two inventions were combined, and again +improved upon in 1776; so that by the new plan, the material can be +converted into thread in a considerably shorter space of time than in +the ancient mode; leaving to man merely to feed the machine, and join +the threads when they break. The sheep, whose wool forms the material +for nearly all woollen clothing, came originally from Africa.</p> + + +<p><b>Does weaving differ according to the material used?</b></p> + +<p>The principle of weaving is the same in every kind of fabric, and +consists in forming any kind of thread into a flat web, or cloth, by +interlacing one thread with another; the various appearances of the +manufacture arise as much from the modes in which the threads are +interwoven, as from the difference of material.</p> + + +<p><b>Is not the employment of Wool in the manufacture of Clothing of great +antiquity?</b></p> + +<p>In the earliest records we possess of the arts of mankind, wool is +mentioned as forming a chief article in the manufacture of clothing; +it is spoken of in the Bible, as a common material for cloth, as early +as the time of Moses. The ancient Greeks and Romans are well known to +have possessed this art. At the beginning of the thirteenth century, +the manufacture was established in many parts of Europe, particularly +in Spain, from which country it extended itself to France and Italy. +There is no doubt that it was introduced into England by its +conquer<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31"></a>[31]</span>ors the Romans, a manufactory being established at Winchester, +sufficiently large to supply the Roman army.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Manufactory</i>, a place where things are made or +manufactured; derived from the Latin <i>manus</i>, a hand, and +the verb <i>facio</i>, to do or make.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What circumstance contributed to the progress of this manufacture +among the English?</b></p> + +<p>In 1330, the English, being desirous of improving their woollen +manufacture, invited over the Flemings, by the offer of various +privileges, to establish manufactories there. The skill of these +people soon effected a great improvement in the English fabrics, so +that there no longer remained any occasion for the exportation of +English wool into Flanders, to be manufactured into fine cloth; and a +law was passed by the government to forbid it. Both the cotton and +woollen manufactures have, of late years, arisen to great importance +in the United States.</p> + + +<p><b>What country affords the best Wool?</b></p> + +<p>The wool of Germany is most esteemed at the present day: that of Spain +was formerly the most valuable, but the Spanish breed of sheep, having +been introduced into Germany, succeeded better there than in Spain, +and increased so rapidly, that the Spanish wool trade has greatly +diminished. Australia is one of the principal wool-growing countries +in the world, for the breed of sheep sent out to that country and +Tasmania has succeeded remarkably well.</p> + + +<p><b>What part of the world is meant by Australia?</b></p> + +<p>A British Island in the South Pacific Ocean, comprising the Colonies +of Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, and Western +Australia. It is the principal of the group of large islands, in the +Oriental Archipelago. Tasmania is another of the same group, separated +from New South Wales by a channel called Bass's Strait, and also +belongs to Great Britain.</p> + + +<p><b>What is meant by an Archipelago?</b></p> + +<p>A part of a sea studded with numerous islands; but the term <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32"></a>[32]</span>is more +particularly applied to that lying between Europe and Asia, which +contains the Greek Islands. The word is a corruption from the Greek, +signifying the Ægean Sea.</p> + + +<p><b>Is the Wool of the sheep all of one quality?</b></p> + +<p>No; it varies according to the species of sheep, the soil on which +they are fed, and the part of the animal from which it is taken: the +chief distinction is between the long and the short wool; the long +wool is employed in the manufacture of carpets, crapes, blankets, &c.; +and the finer and shorter sorts for hosiery, broadcloths &c.</p> + + +<p><b>Where were Carpets originally made?</b></p> + +<p>Carpets are of oriental origin, and are made of different sorts of +stuffs; they are woven in a variety of ways. Persian and Turkey +carpets are most esteemed; they are woven in a piece, in looms of a +very simple construction. Formerly the manufacture of these carpets +was confined to Persia and Turkey; but they are now successfully made, +both in Europe and the United States, &c. Great Britain is the +principal seat of the carpet manufacture of the world. Brussels, +Wilton, and Kidderminster carpets derive their names from the places +where they were invented.</p> + + +<p><b>Is not the art of weaving very ancient?</b></p> + +<p>It appears to have been known from a period as early as the time of +Abraham and Jacob; its inventor is not known, but it is possible that +men took a lesson from the ingenious spider, which weaves its web +after the same manner. The ancient Egyptians appear to have brought it +to great perfection, and were even acquainted with the art of +interweaving colors after the manner of the Scottish plaid.</p> + + +<p><b>What is Baize?</b></p> + +<p>A coarse, open, woollen stuff, with a long nap. It is chiefly made in +the United States, England, France, &c.</p> + + +<p><b>What is Linen?</b></p> + +<p>There are various kinds of linen, made from cotton, flax, and hemp; +but the term is chiefly applied to that woven with the <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33"></a>[33]</span>two last +mentioned. Linen means cloth of flax; hence its derivation from the +Latin word <i>linum</i>, flax.</p> + + +<p><b>What is Flax?</b></p> + +<p>An annual plant, the fibres of which are beaten into threads, spun, +and afterwards woven into linen; it is extensively cultivated in the +United States, Russia, and some other countries of Europe. Hemp is a +plant of a similar nature, equally used with flax, in the manufacture +of linens. Russian hemp is cultivated to a larger extent than that of +any other country, and is considered the best that is grown.</p> + + +<p><b>How long has the use of Hemp and Flax been known?</b></p> + +<p>Those plants are said to be natives of Persia, and introduced from +some parts of the East into Europe, over which it is now widely +distributed: it existed both in a wild and cultivated state, in some +parts of Russia, as early as five centuries before Christ These +products form a considerable article of exportation, besides the +quantity used in Russia itself; a considerable part is wrought into +linens, diapers, canvas, and other manufactures; and even the seeds +are exported, both in their natural state and as oil. In various parts +of Russia, hemp-seed oil and flax-seed (or linseed) oil are prepared +in very large quantities.</p> + + +<p><b>What is Diaper?</b></p> + +<p>A sort of linen cloth, woven in flowers, and other figures; it is said +to have received its name from d'Iper, now Ypres, a town of Belgium, +situated on a river of the same name, where it was first made.</p> + + +<p><b>What is Holland?</b></p> + +<p>A fine, close, even, linen cloth, used for sheets, &c. It obtained its +name from being principally made in Holland.</p> + + +<p><b>What is Canvas?</b></p> + +<p>A hempen cloth, so loosely woven as to leave interstices between the +threads, in little squares. It is used for working in patterns upon it +with wools, &c.; by painters for a ground work on which they draw +their pictures; for tents, sails, and <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34"></a>[34]</span>many other purposes. There are +several sorts, varying in the fineness of their texture.</p> + + +<p><b>What is Damask?</b></p> + +<p>A sort of silken stuff, having some parts raised on its surface to +represent flowers or figures. It took its name from Damascus, in +Syria, whence it was first brought.</p> + + +<p><b>Is there not another sort of Damask?</b></p> + +<p>Yes, made from linen; and so called because its large flowers resemble +those of damask roses. It was first made in Flanders, and is used for +table linen, &c.</p> + + +<p><b>What is Flannel?</b></p> + +<p>A slight, loose, woollen stuff, used for warm clothing; it was +originally made in Wales, where it still continues to be manufactured +in great perfection.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV"></a>CHAPTER IV.</h2> + +<h3><span class="smcap">Cocoa, Toddy, Cherries, Bark, Cork, Cochineal, Cloves, Cinnamon, +and Cassia.</span></h3> + + +<p><b>Of what form is the tree which bears those large nuts, called Cocoa +nuts?</b></p> + +<p>It is tall and straight, without branches, and generally about thirty +or forty feet high; at the top are twelve leaves, ten feet long, and +half a foot broad; above the leaves, grows a large excrescence in the +form of a cabbage, excellent to eat, but taking it off kills the tree. +The cocoa is a species of Palm.</p> + + +<p><b>Is not the Indian liquor called Toddy, produced from the Cocoa Tree?</b></p> + +<p>Yes, between the leaves and the top arise several shoots about the +thickness of a man's arm, which, when cut, distil a white,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35"></a>[35]</span>sweet, +and agreeable liquor; while this liquor exudes, the tree yields no +fruit; but when the shoots are allowed to grow, it puts out a large +cluster or branch, on which the cocoa nuts hang, to the number of ten +or twelve.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Distil</i>, to let fall in drops.</p> + +<p><i>Exude</i>, to force or throw out.</p></div> + +<p class="center"> <a href="images/image_04_1.jpg"><img src="images/image_04_2.jpg" alt="THE CATHEDRAL OF MILAN, ITALY. Please click to view a larger image." width="555" height="312" title="Please click to view a larger image."/></a><br /> +<span class="caption">THE CATHEDRAL OF MILAN, ITALY.</span></p> + + +<p><b>How often does this tree produce nuts?</b></p> + +<p>Three times a year, the nuts being about the size of a man's head, and +of an oval form.</p> + + +<p><b>Of what countries is it a native?</b></p> + +<p>Of Asia, the Indies, Africa, Arabia, the Islands of the Southern +Pacific, and the hottest parts of America.</p> + + +<p><b>What are the uses of this Tree?</b></p> + +<p>The leaves of the tree are made into baskets; they are also used for +thatching houses: the fibrous bark of the nut, and the trunk of the +tree, are made into cordage, sails, and cloth; the shell, into +drinking bowls and cups; the kernel affords a wholesome food, and the +milk contained in the shell, a cooling liquor.</p> + + +<p><b>From what country was the Cherry Tree first brought?</b></p> + +<p>From Cerasus, a city of Pontus, in Asia, on the southern borders of +the Black Sea; from which place this tree was brought to Rome, in the +year of that city 680, by Lucullus; it was conveyed, a hundred and +twenty-eight years after, into Great Britain, <span class="smcap">a.d.</span> 55.</p> + + +<p><b>What is the meaning of A.D.?</b></p> + +<p>A short way of writing Anno Domini, Latin words for <i>in the year of +our Lord</i>.</p> + + +<p><b>Who was Lucullus?</b></p> + +<p>A renowned Roman general.</p> + + +<p><b>Is the wood of the Cherry Tree useful?</b></p> + +<p>It is used in cabinet-making, for boxes, and other articles.</p> + + +<p><b>What is Bark?</b></p> + +<p>The exterior part of trees, which serves them as a skin or covering.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Exterior</i>, the outside.</p></div><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36"></a>[36]</span></p + + +><p><b>Does it not undergo some change during the year?</b></p> + +<p>Each year the bark of a tree divides, and distributes itself two +contrary ways, the outer part gives towards the skin, till it becomes +skin itself, and at length falls off; the inner part is added to the +wood. The bark is to the body of a tree, what the skin of our body is +to the flesh.</p> + + +<p><b>Of what use is Bark?</b></p> + +<p>Bark is useful for many things: of the bark of willows and linden +trees, ropes are sometimes made. The Siamese make their cordage of the +cocoa tree bark, as do most of the Asiatic and African nations; in the +East Indies, they make the bark of a certain tree into a kind of +cloth; some are used in medicines, as the Peruvian bark for Quinine; +others in dyeing, as that of the alder; others in spicery, as +cinnamon, &c.; the bark of oak, in tanning; that of a kind of birch is +used by the Indians for making canoes.</p> + + +<p><b>What are Canoes?</b></p> + +<p>Boats used by savages; they are made chiefly of the trunks of trees +dug hollow; and sometimes of pieces of bark fastened together.</p> + + +<p><b>How do the savages guide them?</b></p> + +<p>With paddles, or oars; they seldom carry sails, and the loading is +laid in the bottom.</p> + + +<p><b>Are not the savages very dexterous in the management of them?</b></p> + +<p>Yes, extremely so; they strike the paddles with such regularity, that +the canoes seem to fly along the surface of the water; at the same +time balancing the vessels with their bodies, to prevent their +overturning.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Dexterous</i>, expert, nimble.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Do they leave their canoes in the water on their return from a voyage?</b></p> + +<p>No, they draw them ashore, hang them up by the two ends, and leave +them to dry; they are generally so light as to be easily carried from +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37"></a>[37]</span>place to place.</p> + + +<p><b>Were not books once made of Bark?</b></p> + +<p>Yes, the ancients wrote their books on the barks of many trees, as on +those of the ash and the lime tree, &c.</p> + + +<p><b>Which part did they use?</b></p> + +<p>Not the exterior or outer bark, but the inner and finer, which is of +so durable a texture, that there are manuscripts written on it which +are still extant, though more than a thousand years old.</p> + + +<p><b>Is it not also used in Manure?</b></p> + +<p>Yes, especially that of the oak; but the best oak bark is used in +tanning.</p> + + +<p><b>What is Cork?</b></p> + +<p>The thick, spongy, external bark of the Cork Tree, a species of oak. +There are two varieties of this tree, the broad-leaved and the narrow: +it is an evergreen, and grows to the height of thirty feet. The Cork +Tree attains to a very great age.</p> + + +<p><b>Where is the Tree found?</b></p> + +<p>In Spain, Italy, France, and many other countries. The true cork is +the produce of the broad-leaved tree.</p> + + +<p><b>What are its uses?</b></p> + +<p>Cork is employed in various ways, but especially for stopping vessels +containing liquids, and, on account of its buoyancy in water, in the +construction of life boats. It is also used in the manufacture of life +preservers and cork jackets. The greatest quantities are brought from +Catalonia, in Spain. The uses of Cork were well known to the ancients.</p> + + +<p><b>To what particular use did the Egyptians put it?</b></p> + +<p>They made coffins of it, lined with a resinous composition, which +preserved the bodies of the dead uncorrupted.</p> + + +<p><b>What is Cochineal?</b></p> + +<p>A drug used by the dyers, for dyeing crimsons and scarlets; and for +making carmine, a brilliant red used in painting, and several of the +arts.</p> + + +<p><b>Is it a plant?</b></p> + +<p>No, it is an insect. The form of the Cochineal is oval; it <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38"></a>[38]</span>is about +the size of a small pea, and has six legs armed with claws, and a +trunk by which it sucks its nourishment.</p> + + +<p><b>What is its habitation?</b></p> + +<p>It breeds in a fruit resembling a pear; the plant which bears it is +about five or six feet high; at the top of the fruit grows a red +flower, which when full blown, falls upon it; the fruit then appears +full of little red insects, having very small wings. These are the +Cochineals.</p> + + +<p><b>How are they caught?</b></p> + +<p>By spreading a cloth under the plant, and shaking it with poles, till +the insects quit it and fly about, which they cannot do many minutes, +but soon tumble down dead into the cloth; where they are left till +quite dry.</p> + + +<p><b>Does the insect change its color when it is dead?</b></p> + +<p>When the insect flies, it is red; when it is fallen, black; and when +first dried, it is greyish; it afterwards changes to a purplish grey, +powdered over with a kind of white dust.</p> + + +<p><b>From what countries is the Cochineal brought?</b></p> + +<p>From the West Indies, Jamaica, Mexico, and other parts of America.</p> + + +<p><b>What are Cloves?</b></p> + +<p>The dried flower-buds of the Clove Tree, anciently a native of the +Moluccas; but afterwards transplanted by the Dutch (who traded in +them,) to other islands, particularly that of Ternate. It is now found +in most of the East Indian Islands.</p> + + +<p><b>Describe the Clove Tree.</b></p> + +<p>It is a large handsome tree of the myrtle kind; its leaves resemble +those of the laurel. Though the Clove Tree is cultivated to a great +extent, yet, so easily does the fruit on falling take root, that it +thus multiplies itself, in many instances, without the trouble of +culture. The clove when it first begins to appear is white, then +green, and at last hard and red; when dried, it turns yellow, and then +dark brown.</p><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39"></a>[39]</span></p> + + +<p><b>What are its qualities?</b></p> + +<p>The Clove is the hottest, and most acrid of aromatic substances; one +of our most wholesome spices, and of great use in medicine; it also +yields an abundance of oil, which is much used by perfumers, and in +medicine.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Acrid</i>, of a hot, biting taste.</p> + +<p><i>Aromatic</i>, fragrant, having an agreeable odor.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What is Cinnamon?</b></p> + +<p>An agreeable, aromatic spice, the bark of a tree of the laurel kind; +the Cinnamon tree grows in the Southern parts of India; but most +abundantly in the island of Ceylon, where it is extensively +cultivated; its flowers are white, resembling those of the lilac in +form, and are very fragrant; they are borne in large clusters. The +tree sends up numerous shoots the third or fourth year after it has +been planted; these shoots are planted out, when nearly an inch in +thickness.</p> + + +<p><b>How is the bark procured?</b></p> + +<p>By stripping it off from these shoots, after they have been cut down; +the trees planted for the purpose of obtaining cinnamon, throw out a +great number of branches, apparently from the same root, and are not +allowed to rise higher than ten feet; but in its native uncultivated +state, the cinnamon tree usually rises to the height of twenty or +thirty feet.</p> + + +<p><b>How is the Cinnamon Tree cultivated?</b></p> + +<p>By seed, sown during the rains; from shoots cut from large trees; and +by transplanting old stumps. The cinnamon tree, in its wild state, is +said to be propagated by means of a kind of pigeons, that feed on its +fruit; in carrying which to their nests, the seeds fall out, and, +dropping in various places, take root, spring up, and become trees.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Propagated</i>, spread, extended, multiplied.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What else is obtained from this tree?</b></p> + +<p>The bark, besides being used as a spice, yields an oil highly +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40"></a>[40]</span>esteemed, both as a medicine and as a perfume; the fruit by boiling +also produces an oil, used by the natives for burning in lamps; as +soon as it hardens, it becomes a solid substance like wax, and is +formed into candles. Camphor is extracted from the root. Cassia is +cinnamon of an inferior kind.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V"></a>CHAPTER V.</h2> + +<h3><span class="smcap">Bombazine, Crape, Camlet, Cambric, Lace, Silk, Velvet, and +Mohair.</span></h3> + + +<p><b>What is Bombazine?</b></p> + +<p>A stuff composed of silk and wool woven together in a loom. It was +first made at Milan, and thence sent abroad; great quantities are now +made in England and other countries.</p> + + +<p><b>Where is Milan situated?</b></p> + +<p>In Italy, and is noted for its cathedral.</p> + + +<p><b>For what is Bombazine used?</b></p> + +<p>For dresses. Black bombazine is worn entirely for mourning. The +original bombazine has, however, become much less used than formerly, +on account of the numerous newly-invented fabrics of finer or coarser +qualities, composed of the same materials mixed in various degrees, as +Mousselines de laine, Challis, &c.</p> + + +<p><b>What is Crape?</b></p> + +<p>A light, transparent stuff, resembling gauze, made of raw silk very +loosely woven, or of wool; by raw silk is meant, silk in the state in +which it is taken from the silk worm.</p> + + +<p><b>Where was Crape first made?</b></p> + +<p>At Bologna, a city of Italy.</p> + + +<p><b>What city of France was long celebrated for its manufacture?</b></p> + +<p>Lyons, the second city of France, where there are large silk +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41"></a>[41]</span>manufactories. Great quantities are also made in England, principally +in the city of Norwich, which has long been distinguished for the +beauty of its crapes.</p> + + +<p><b>What is Camlet?</b></p> + +<p>A stuff made sometimes of wool, sometimes of silk and hair, especially +that of goats. The oriental camlet is made of the pure hair of a sort +of goat, a native of Angora, a city of Natolia, in Turkey. The +European camlets are made of a mixture of woollen thread and hair.</p> + + +<p><b>What countries are most noted for them?</b></p> + +<p>England, France, Holland, and Flanders; the city of Brussels, in +Belgium, exceeds them all in the beauty and quality of its camlets; +those of England are the next.</p> + + +<p><b>What is Cambric?</b></p> + +<p>A species of linen made of flax; it is very fine and white.</p> + + +<p><b>From whence did it take its name?</b></p> + +<p>From Cambray, a large and celebrated city of French Flanders, where it +was first made; it is now made at other places in France; and also in +England, Scotland, Ireland, the United States, &c.</p> + + +<p><b>What is Lace?</b></p> + +<p>A work composed of many threads of fine linen or silk, interwoven one +with another according to some particular pattern. Belgium, France, +and England are the principal countries in which this manufacture is +carried on; vast quantities of the finest laces were formerly made in +Flanders.</p> + + +<p><b>From what is Silk produced?</b></p> + +<p>From the silk-worm, an insect not more remarkable for the precious +matter it furnishes, than for the many forms it assumes before and +after it envelopes itself in the beautiful ball, the silken threads of +which form the elegant texture which is so much worn.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Texture</i>, a web or substance woven.</p></div> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42"></a>[42]</span></p> + + +<p><b>What are the habits of this insect, and on what does it feed</b>?</p> + +<p>After bursting from the egg, it becomes a large worm or caterpillar of +a yellowish white color, (which is its first state;) this caterpillar +feeds on the leaves of the mulberry tree, till, arriving at maturity, +it winds itself up in a silken bag or case, called a cocoon, about the +size and shape of a pigeon's egg, and becomes a chrysalis; in which +state it lies without signs of life; in about ten days it eats its way +out of its case, a perfect butterfly, which lays a number of eggs and +then dies. In the warmth of the summer weather, these eggs are +hatched, and become worms, as their parents did at first.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Maturity</i>, ripeness, perfection</p></div> + + +<p><b>How much silk is each ball said to contain?</b></p> + +<p>Each ball consists of a very fine, soft, bright, delicate thread, +which being wound off, extends in length six miles.</p> + + +<p><b>What is meant by Chrysalis?</b></p> + +<p>The second state into which the insect passes before it comes to be a +butterfly. The maggot or worm having ceased to eat, fixes itself in +some place till its skin separates, and discovers a horny, oblong +body, which is the chrysalis.</p> + + +<p><b>Where was Silk first made?</b></p> + +<p>The culture and manufacture of silk was originally confined to China. +The Greeks, under Alexander the Great, brought home, among other +Eastern luxuries, wrought silks from Persia, about 323, <span class="smcap">b.c.</span> +It was not long unknown to the Romans, although it was so rare, that +it was even sold weight for weight with gold. The Emperor Aurelian, +who died in 275, <span class="smcap">b.c.</span> refused the Empress, his wife, a suit +of silk which she solicited with much earnestness, merely on account +of its dearness. Heliogabalus, the Emperor, who died half a century +before Aurelian, was the first who wore a <i>holosericum</i> or garment all +of silk.</p><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43"></a>[43]</span></p> + + +<p><b>Who introduced the Silk Worm itself into Europe?</b></p> + +<p>Two monks, engaged as missionaries in China, obtained a quantity of +silk worms' eggs, which they concealed in a hollow cane, and conveyed +in safety to Constantinople in 552; the eggs were hatched in the +proper season by the warmth of manure, and the worms fed with the +leaves of the wild mulberry tree. These worms in due time spun their +silk, and propagated under the care of the monks, who also instructed +the Romans in the whole process of manufacturing their production. +From the insects thus produced, proceeded all the silk worms which +have since been reared in Europe, and the western parts of Asia. The +mulberry tree was then eagerly planted, and on this, their natural +food, they were successfully reared in Greece; and the manufacture was +established at Thebes, Athens, and Corinth, in particular. The +Venetians, soon after this time commencing a trade with the Greeks, +supplied all the Western parts of Europe with silks for many +centuries.</p> + + +<p><b>Where were the cities of Thebes and Athens situated?</b></p> + +<p>Thebes was an ancient city of Beotia, in Greece, founded by Cadmus, a +Phenician, though of Egyptian parentage. Sailing from the coast of +Phenicia, he arrived in Beotia, and built the city, calling it Thebes, +from the city of that name in Egypt. To this prince is ascribed the +invention of sixteen letters of the Greek Alphabet. Athens was the +capital of Attica, founded by Cecrops, an Egyptian. It was the seat of +learning and the arts, and has produced some of the most celebrated +warriors, statesmen, orators, poets, and sculptors in the world. Since +the emancipation of Greece from the cruel bondage of its conquerors +the Turks, who had oppressed it for three centuries, Athens has been +chosen as its capital, and is still a considerable town adorned with +splendid ruins of the beautiful buildings it once possessed. Thebes +and Corinth, another celebrated city, are now only villages. +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44"></a>[44]</span> +</p> +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Warrior</i>, a soldier.</p> + +<p><i>Statesmen</i>, men versed in the arts of government.</p> + +<p><i>Orator</i>, a public speaker.</p> + +<p><i>Poet</i>, one who composes poetry.</p> + +<p><i>Sculptor</i>, one who cuts figures in stone, marble, or ivory.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Who were the Venetians?</b></p> + +<p>Inhabitants of Venice, a city of Italy.</p> + + +<p><b>Did this manufacture continue to be confined to the Greeks and +Venetians?</b></p> + +<p>By no means. The rest of Italy, and Spain, by degrees learnt the art +from some manufactories in Sicily; and about the reign of Francis the +First, the French became masters of it. It, however, long remained a +rarity; their King, Henry the Second, is supposed to have worn the +first pair of knit silk stockings. The Fourth Henry encouraged the +planting of mulberry trees; his successors also did the same, and the +produce of silk in France is now very considerable.</p> + + +<p><b>When was the manufacture of silk introduced into England?</b></p> + +<p>There was a company of silk women in England as early as the year +1455; but they probably were merely employed in needlework of silk and +thread, for Italy supplied England with the broad manufacture during +the chief part of the fifteenth century. The great advantage this new +manufacture afforded, made King James the First very desirous for its +introduction into England, particularly in 1608, when it was +recommended, in very earnest terms, to plant mulberry trees for the +rearing of silk worms; but unhappily without effect. However, towards +the latter end of this reign, the broad silk manufacture was +introduced, and with great success. The revocation of the Edict of +Nantes contributed greatly to its promotion, by the number of French +workmen who took refuge in England; to them the English are indebted +for the art of manufacturing many elegant kinds of silks, satins, +velvets, &c., which had formerly been imported from abroad up to the +year 1718. The silk manu<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45"></a>[45]</span>facture has also been successfully introduced +into some portions of the United States.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Revocation</i>, act of recalling, repeal.</p> + +<p><i>Imported</i>, brought into.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What was the Edict of Nantes?</b></p> + +<p>A law made in favor of the Protestants, the repealing of which drove +many of their most skilful workmen to take refuge in England. They +were kindly received, and settled in Spitalfields, and many other +parts of England as well as Ireland, where they carried on a +flourishing and ingenious manufacture.</p> + + +<p><b>Were the attempts to rear Silk Worms in England successful?</b></p> + +<p>No; after many trials, all of which failed, attention was directed to +the establishments for procuring both raw and wrought silks, in the +settlements in India belonging to Britain; this was attended with +complete success, the climate being extremely favorable, and the price +of labor cheap. Raw silk is imported in quantities from India, China, +Italy, &c.</p> + + +<p><b>How is the Silk taken from the Worm?</b></p> + +<p>The people who are employed in the care of these insects collect the +golden balls from off the mulberry trees, (to the leaves of which the +insects glue their silk) and put them into warm water, that the +threads may unfasten and wind off more easily; having taken off the +coarse woolly part which covers the balls, they take twelve or +fourteen threads at a time, and wind them off into skeins. In order to +prepare this beautiful material for the hand of the weaver to be +wrought into silks, stuffs, brocades, satins, velvets, ribbons, &c., +it is spun, reeled, milled, bleached, and dyed.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Milled</i>, worked in a kind of mill.</p> + +<p><i>Bleached</i>, whitened.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What is Velvet?</b></p> + +<p>A rich kind of stuff, all silk, covered on the outside with a close, +short, fine, soft shag; the wrong side being very strong and close. +The principal number, and the best velvets, were made in France and +Italy; others in Holland; they are now<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46"></a>[46]</span> brought to great perfection in +England. An inferior kind is made by mixing cotton with the silk. +Velvet has been known in Europe for some centuries, but its +manufacture was long confined to some of the chief cities of Italy. +From that country the French learned the art, and greatly improved it.</p> + + +<p><b>Whence is the word Velvet derived?</b></p> + +<p>From the Italian word <i>velluto</i>, signifying velvet, which comes from +<i>vellus</i>, hair or fleece.</p> + + +<p><b>What is Mohair?</b></p> + +<p>The hair of a kind of goat, common about Angora, in Turkey. It is used +in the manufacture of various kinds of stuffs, shawls, &c.</p> + + +<p><b>Is there not another animal much celebrated for the material it +furnishes in the making of shawls?</b></p> + +<p>Yes; the Thibet goat. The wool is sent to Cashmere, where it is spun +and dyed. Cashmere is situated in the north-west extremity of India, +and has long been celebrated for the beautiful and valuable shawls +bearing its name which are manufactured there. The goats are beautiful +creatures, with long, fine, wavy hair, reaching nearly to the ground, +so as almost to conceal their legs. The material of which the shawls +are made is a fine silky down, which grows under the long hair, next +to the skin.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI"></a>CHAPTER VI.</h2> + + +<h3><span class="smcap">Currants, Raisins, Figs, Rice, Sugar, Sugar Candy, &c., Sago, +Millet, Ginger, Nutmeg, Mace, Pimento or Allspice, Pepper, and Cayenne +Pepper.</span></h3> + + +<p><b>What are Currants?</b></p> + +<p>A kind of small raisins or dried grapes.</p> + + +<p><b>Whence are they brought?</b></p> + +<p>From several islands of the Archipelago, particularly Zante and +Cephalonia; and from the Isthmus of Corinth, in Greece.</p><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47"></a>[47]</span></p> + + +<p><b>Do they grow on bushes like our Currants?</b></p> + +<p>No, on vines like other grapes, except that the leaves are somewhat +thicker, and the grapes much smaller: they have no pips, and are of a +deep red, or rather black color.</p> + + +<p><b>When are they gathered, and how are they dried?</b></p> + +<p>They are gathered in August, and laid on the ground in heaps till dry; +they are then cleaned, and put into magazines, from which they are +taken and packed in barrels for exportation.</p> + + +<p><b>What do you mean by Exportation?</b></p> + +<p>The act of conveying goods for sale from one country to another.</p> + + +<p><b>What are Raisins?</b></p> + +<p>Grapes prepared by drying them in the sun, or by the heat of an oven. +Raisins of Damascus, so called from the capital city of Syria, near +which they are cultivated, are very large, flat, and wrinkled on the +surface; soft and juicy inside, and nearly an inch long. Raisins of +the sun, or jar raisins, so called from being imported in jars, are +all dried by the heat of the sun; they are of a reddish blue color, +and are the produce of Spain, whence the finest and best raisins are +brought. There are several other sorts, named either from the place in +which they grow, or the kind of grape of which they are made, as those +of Malaga, Valencia, &c.</p> + + +<p><b>In what manner are they dried?</b></p> + +<p>The common way of drying grapes for raisins, is to tie two or three +bunches of them together while yet on the vine, and dip them into a +lye made of hot wood-ashes, mixed with a little olive oil. This makes +them shrink and wrinkle: after this they are cut from the branches +which supported them, but left on the vine for three or four days, +separated on sticks, in an upright position, to dry at leisure. +Different modes, however, are adopted, according to the quality of the +grape. The commonest kinds are dried in hot ovens, but the best way is +that in which <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48"></a>[48]</span>the grapes are cut when fully ripe, and dried by the +heat of the sun, on a floor of hard earth or stone.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Lye</i>, a liquor made from wood-ashes; of great use in +medicine, bleaching, sugar works, &c.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What are Figs?</b></p> + +<p>A soft, luscious fruit, the produce of the fig-tree. The best figs are +brought from Turkey, but they are also imported from Italy, Spain, and +the southern part of France. The islands of the Archipelago yield an +inferior sort in great abundance. In this country they are sometimes +planted in a warm situation in gardens, but, being difficult to ripen, +they do not arrive at perfection. The figs sent from abroad are dried +by the heat of the sun, or in furnaces for the purpose.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Luscious</i>, sweet to excess, cloying.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What is Rice?</b></p> + +<p>A useful and nutritious grain, cultivated in immense quantities in +India, China, and most eastern countries; in the West Indies, Central +America, and the United States; and in southern Europe. It forms the +principal food of the people of eastern and southern Asia, and is more +extensively consumed than any other species of grain, not even +excepting wheat.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Nutritious</i>, wholesome, good for food.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Does it not require a great deal of moisture?</b></p> + +<p>Yes, it is usually planted in moist soils, and near rivers, where the +ground can be overflowed after it is come up. The Chinese water their +rice-fields by means of movable mills, placed as occasion requires, +upon any part of the banks of a river; the water is raised in buckets +to a proper height, and afterwards conveyed in channels to the +destined places.</p> + + +<p><b>What is Sugar?</b></p> + +<p>A sweet, agreeable substance, manufactured chiefly from the Sugar +Cane,<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> a native of the East and West Indies, South America and the +South Sea Islands; it is much cultivated in all tropical countries. +The earliest authentic accounts of sugar, are <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49"></a>[49]</span>about the time of the +Crusades,<a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a> when it appears to have been purchased from the Saracens, +and imported into Europe.</p> +<div class="footnotes"> +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> Most of the sugar in Europe is made from beets.</p></div> +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> See Chapter XVII., article <a href="#NAVIGATION">Navigation</a>.</p> +</div></div> + + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Authentic</i>, true, certain.</p> + +<p><i>Crusades</i>, holy wars.</p> + +<p><i>Saracens</i>, Turks or Arabs.</p></div> + + +<p><b>How is it prepared?</b></p> + +<p>The canes are crushed between large rollers in a mill, and the juice +collected into a large vessel placed to receive it; it is then boiled, +and placed in pans to cool, when it becomes imperfectly crystallized, +in which state we use it. This is called raw or soft sugar: loaf +sugar, or the hard white sugar, is the raw brown sugar, prepared by +refining it till all foreign matter is removed.</p> + + +<p><b>Is the Sugar Cane the only vegetable that produces Sugar?</b></p> + +<p>All vegetables contain more or less sugar, but the plant in which it +most abounds is the sugar-cane. In the United States, a large quantity +of sugar is prepared from the sap of the Sugar Maple Tree. The trees +are tapped at the proper season by a cut being made in the bark, and +the juice runs into a vessel placed to receive it; it is then prepared +in the same manner as the juice of the sugar cane.</p> + + +<p><b>What is Sugar Candy?</b></p> + +<p>Sugar purified and crystallized.</p> + + +<p><b>What is Barley Sugar?</b></p> + +<p>Sugar boiled till it is brittle, and cast on a stone anointed with oil +of sweet almonds, and then formed into twisted sticks.</p> + + +<p><b>What is Sago?</b></p> + +<p>A substance prepared from the pith of the Sago Palm, which grows +naturally in various parts of Africa and the Indies. The pith, which +is even eatable in its natural state, is taken from the trunk of the +tree, and thrown into a vessel placed over a horse-hair sieve; water +is then thrown over the mass, and the finer parts of the pith pass +through the sieve; the liquor thus obtained is left to settle. The +clear liquor is then drawn off, <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50"></a>[50]</span>and what remains is formed into +grains by being passed through metal dishes, with numerous small +holes; it is next dried by the action of heat, and in this state it is +exported. The Sago Palm also produces sugar.</p> + + +<p><b>What is Millet, and in what countries does it grow?</b></p> + +<p>Millet is an esculent grain, originally brought from the Eastern +countries. It is cultivated in many parts of Europe, but most +extensively in Egypt, Syria, China, and Hindostan, whence we are +furnished with it, it being rarely cultivated among us, except as a +curiosity.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Esculent</i>, good for food.</p></div> + + +<p><b>For what is Millet used?</b></p> + +<p>It is in great request amongst the Germans for puddings; for which it +is sometimes used amongst us. The Italians make loaves and cakes of +it.</p> + + +<p><b>What is Ginger?</b></p> + +<p>The root of a plant cultivated in the East and West Indies, and in +America; it is a native of South-eastern Asia and the adjoining +islands.</p> + + +<p><b>Describe its nature and use.</b></p> + +<p>It is a warm aromatic, much used in medicine and cookery. The Indians +eat the root when green as a salad, chopping it small with other +herbs; they also make a candy of it with sugar. The ginger sold in the +shops here is dried, which is done by placing the roots in the heat of +the sun or in ovens, after being dug out of the ground. Quantities not +only of the dried root, but also of the candied sugar, are imported.</p> + + +<p><b>What are Nutmegs?</b></p> + +<p>A delicate aromatic fruit or spice, brought from the East Indies. The +nutmeg tree greatly resembles our pear tree, and produces a kind +of nut, which bears the same name as the tree.</p> + +<p class="center"><img src="images/image_05.jpg" alt="GLASS BLOWING AT THE GLASS-WORKS, PITTSBURGH, PA." width="568" height="314" /><br /> +<span class="caption">GLASS BLOWING AT THE GLASS-WORKS, PITTSBURGH, PA.</span></p> + + +<p><b>What is the appearance of the Nutmeg?</b></p> + +<p>Its form is round, and its smell agreeable. The nutmeg is +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51"></a>[51]</span> inclosed +in four different covers; the first, a thick fleshy coat, (like our +walnut,) which opens of itself when ripe; under this lies a thin +reddish network, of an agreeable smell and aromatic taste, called +mace; this wraps up the shell, which opens as the fruit grows. The +shell is the third cover, which is hard, thin, and blackish; under +this is a greenish film of no use; and in the last you find the +nutmeg, which is the kernel of the fruit.</p> + + +<p><b>What are its uses?</b></p> + +<p>The nutmeg is much used in our food, and is of excellent virtue as a +medicine. It also yields an oil of great fragrance.</p> + + +<p><b>Is the Mace used as a spice?</b></p> + +<p>Yes, it is separated from the shell of the nutmeg, and dried in the +sun. It is brought over in flakes of a yellow color, smooth and +net-like, as you see it in the shops. Its taste is warm, bitterish, +and rather pungent; its smell, aromatic. It is used both in food and +medicine, as the nutmeg, and also yields an oil.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Pungent</i>, of a hot, biting taste.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What is Pimento or Allspice?</b></p> + +<p>The dried unripe berry or fruit of a tree growing in great abundance +in Jamaica, particularly on the northern side of that island, on hilly +spots, near the coast; it is also a native of both Indies. The Pimento +Tree is a West Indian species of Myrtle; it grows to the height of +twenty or thirty feet; the leaves are all of a deep, shining green, +and the blossom consists of numerous branches of small, white, +aromatic flowers, which render its appearance very striking; there is +scarcely in the vegetable world any tree more beautiful than a young +Pimento about the month of July, when it is in full bloom.</p> + + +<p><b>When is the time to gather the spice?</b></p> + +<p>About the month of September, not long after the blossoms are fallen, +the berries are gathered by the hand; one laborer on the tree, +employed in gathering the small branches, will give employment to +three below (who are generally women and <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52"></a>[52]</span>children) in picking the +berries. They are then spread out thinly, and exposed to the sun at +its rising and setting for some days; when they begin to dry, they are +frequently winnowed, and laid on cloths to preserve them better from +rain and dew; by this management they become wrinkled, and change from +green to a deep reddish brown color. Great quantities are annually +imported.</p> + + +<p><b>What are its uses?</b></p> + +<p>It forms a pleasant addition to flavor food; it also yields an +agreeable essential oil, and is accounted the best and mildest of +common spices.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Essential</i>, pure; extracted so as to contain all the +virtues of the spice in a very small compass.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Why is it called Allspice?</b></p> + +<p>Because it has been supposed to combine the flavor of cloves, nutmegs, +and cinnamon; the French call it <i>round clove</i>, from its round shape, +and the taste being somewhat like that spice.</p> + + +<p><b>What is Pepper?</b></p> + +<p>The product of a creeping shrub, growing in several parts of the East +Indies, Asia, and America.</p> + + +<p><b>In what manner does Pepper grow, and what part of the shrub is used?</b></p> + +<p>Pepper is the fruit of this shrub, and grows in bunches or clusters, +at first green; as it ripens it becomes reddish, until having been +exposed for some time to the heat of the sun, (or probably gathered +before perfectly ripe,) it becomes black, as in the condition we have +it. There are two sorts, the black and the white.</p> + + +<p><b>What is the White Pepper?</b></p> + +<p>The white pepper is merely the black deprived of its outside skin. For +this purpose the finest red berries are selected, and put in baskets +to steep, either in running water, or in pits dug for the purpose, +near the banks of rivers. Sometimes they are only buried in the +ground. In any of these situations, they <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53"></a>[53]</span>swell and burst their skins, +from which, when dry, they are carefully separated by rubbing between +the hands, or fanning.</p> + + +<p><b>What is Cayenne Pepper?</b></p> + +<p>The dried fruit of a plant called bird pepper, a native of both +Indies. It is more pungent than the other sorts.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII"></a>CHAPTER VII.</h2> + +<h3><span class="smcap">Glass, Mirrors, Earthenware, Porcelain, Needles, Pins, Paper, +Printing, Parchment, and Vellum.</span></h3> + + +<p><b><a name="GLASS" id="GLASS"></a>What is Glass?</b></p> + +<p>A transparent, solid, brittle, factitious body, produced by fusing +sand with an alkali. The essential ingredients of glass are silex and +potash, or soda; a few other substances are sometimes added. Silex is +found nearly pure in rock crystal, flint, and other varieties of +quartz; for the manufacture of the better kinds of glass in this +country, it is generally obtained from sand, especially the white sand +of New Jersey.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Factitious</i>, made by art, not found in a state of nature.</p></div> + + +<p><b><a name="POTASH" id="POTASH"></a>What is Potash?</b></p> + +<p>The saline matter obtained from the ashes of wood, by causing water to +pass through them; the water imbibes the salt, which is then obtained +from it by evaporation. When purified by calcination, it is termed +pearlash. In countries where there are vast forests, as in America and +Russia, it is manufactured on a very large scale.</p> + + +<p><b>What can you say of the origin of Glass?</b></p> + +<p>The period of its invention is quite unknown. Pliny relates that some +merchants, driven by a storm to the coast of Phenicia, near the river +Belus, made a large fire on the sand to dress <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54"></a>[54]</span>some food, using as +fuel some of the plant Kali, which grew there in great abundance; an +imperfect glass was thus formed by the melting of the sand and ashes +together. This production was picked up by a Syrian merchant, who, +attracted by its great beauty, examined the cause of its origin, and, +after many attempts, succeeded in its manufacture.</p> + + +<p><b>Who was Pliny?</b></p> + +<p>A celebrated Roman naturalist and historian.</p> + + +<p><b>At what place was Glass first made?</b></p> + +<p>Some authors mention Sidon in Syria, which became famous for glass and +glass-houses; but others maintain that the first glass-houses noticed +in history were built at Tyre; which, they add, was the only place +where glass was made for many ages. It is certain that the art was +known to the Egyptians.</p> + + +<p><b>What is Phenicia?</b></p> + +<p>A sub-division of Syria in Asia.</p> + + +<p><b>What is an author?</b></p> + +<p>A person who writes a book.</p> + + +<p><b>What is signified by a glass-house?</b></p> + +<p>A building erected for the making and working of glass.</p> + + +<p><b>What countries had glass windows first?</b></p> + +<p>Italy, then France and England; they began to be common about the year +1180.</p> + + +<p><b>In what year, and where, was the making of glass bottles begun?</b></p> + +<p>In 1557, in London. The first glass plates for mirrors and +coach-windows were made at Lambeth, in 1673.</p> + + +<p><b>What is a Mirror?</b></p> + +<p>A body which exhibits the images of objects presented to it by +reflection. The word mirror is more peculiarly used to signify a +smooth surface of glass, tinned and quicksilvered at the back,<a name="FNanchor_3_3" id="FNanchor_3_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor" >[3]</a> +which reflects the images of objects placed before it.</p> + +<div class="footnotes"><p><a name="Footnote_3_3" id="Footnote_3_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> See Chapter XII., article <a href="#MERCURY">Mercury</a>.</p> +</div><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55"></a>[55]</span></p> + + +<p><b>Are they a modern invention?</b></p> + +<p>The use of mirrors is very ancient; mention is made of brazen mirrors +or looking-glasses in Exodus, the 38th chapter and 8th verse. Some +modern commentators will not admit the mirrors themselves to have been +of brass, but of glass set or framed in brass; but the most learned +among the Jewish rabbins say that in those times the mirrors made use +of by the Hebrew women in dressing their heads were of metal, and that +the devout women mentioned in this passage made presents to Moses of +all their mirrors to make the brazen laver for the Tabernacle. It +might likewise be proved that the ancient Greeks made use of brazen +mirrors, from many passages in the ancient poets.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Commentators</i>, explainers of passages in the Bible, &c.</p> + +<p><i>Rabbins</i>, doctors among the Jews, their learned men or +teachers.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What nation invented the large looking-glass plates now in use?</b></p> + +<p>The French.</p> + + +<p><b>What city of Italy excelled all Europe for many years in the making of +fine glass?</b></p> + +<p>Venice. The manufacture of fine glass was first introduced into +England by Venetian artists in 1078.</p> + + +<p><b>Of what is Earthenware composed?</b></p> + +<p>Of clay, and those earths which are capable of being kneaded into a +paste easily receiving any form, and acquiring solidity by exposure to +fire: sand, chalk, and flint are likewise mixed with clay.</p> + + +<p><b>In what manner is it formed into such a variety of shapes?</b></p> + +<p>The flint or sand, and soft clay, are mixed together in various +proportions for the different kinds of ware; this paste is afterwards +beaten till it becomes fit for being formed at the wheel into plates, +dishes, basins, &c. These are then put into a furnace and baked; after +which they are glazed.</p> + + +<p><b>What nation so greatly excelled in the manufacture of a beautiful +species of Earthenware?</b><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56"></a>[56]</span></p> + + +<p>The Chinese,—who, as far as can be ascertained, were its inventors. +Porcelain is a fine sort of earthenware, chiefly made in China, whence +it was called China or China-ware; it is also brought from many parts +of the East, especially from Japan, Siam, Surat, and Persia. The art +of making porcelain was one of those in which Europe had been excelled +by oriental nations; but for many years past earthenwares have been +made in different parts of Europe, so like the oriental, that they +have acquired the name of porcelain. The first European porcelains +were made in Saxony and France, and afterwards in England, Germany, +and Italy, all of which differed from those of Japan and China, but +each possessing its peculiar character. They are now brought to great +perfection in Europe, particularly in England, France and Prussia.</p> + + +<p><b>Before the invention of Earthenware, what supplied its place to the +early inhabitants of the world?</b></p> + +<p>The more civilized the inhabitants of any country became, the more +they would perceive the convenience of possessing vessels of various +descriptions for holding or preparing their food; some of the objects +which first presented themselves would be the larger kinds of shells; +and, in hot climates, the hard coverings of the cocoa-nut or gourd. In +some cases the skins of beasts were used, as they still are in the +East, where they are sewed together, and formed into a kind of bottle +to hold milk, wine, &c.; but the people of colder climates would not +be able to avail themselves of these natural productions, and would be +obliged to make use of other substances.</p> + + +<p><b>What, then, would they employ?</b></p> + +<p>Clay, which in many countries is found in great abundance, from its +adhesive property, and its retaining its form when dry, and becoming +insoluble in water after having been baked in the fire, would +naturally attract the attention of an improving people: from this it +arises that the early remains of culinary and other vessels which have +been discovered have been formed of this material. Among the remains +of ancient Egypt, numerous vessels have been found formed of common +clay baked in the fire; and, though of rude workmanship, extremely +elegant in form. +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57"></a>[57]</span></p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Adhesive</i>, sticky; apt or tending to adhere.</p> + +<p><i>Insoluble</i>, not capable of being dissolved.</p> + +<p><i>Culinary</i>, belonging to cooking or domestic purposes.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Of what are Needles made?</b></p> + +<p>Of steel; and though exceedingly cheap, they go through a great number +of operations before they are brought to perfection. It was in the +reign of Queen Elizabeth that the English learnt the art of making +needles.</p> + + +<p><b>Of what are Pins made?</b></p> + +<p>Of brass wire, blanched with tin. They are manufactured in England, +France, the United States, and other countries. Though there is +scarcely any commodity cheaper than pins, there is no other which +passes through the hands of a greater number of workmen; more than +twenty persons being successively employed in the manufacture of each, +from the drawing of the brass wire to the sticking of the pin in the +paper. Pins are supposed to have been made in England about 1543, or +even earlier. Before this art was invented, the ladies made use of +wooden skewers.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Blanched</i>, whitened.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Of what is Paper made?</b></p> + +<p>Of linen and cotton rags beaten to a pulp in water; also from straw, +wood, and many plants.</p> + + +<p><b>What materials were used for writing, before the invention of Paper?</b></p> + +<p>Various were the materials on which mankind in different ages and +countries contrived to write: stones, bricks, the leaves of herbs and +trees, and their rinds or barks; tablets of wood, wax, and ivory; +plates of lead, silk, linen rolls, &c. At length the Egyptian paper +made of the papyrus, was invented; then parchment; and lastly, paper +manufactured of cotton or linen <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58"></a>[58]</span>rags. There are few sorts of plants +which have not at some time been used for paper and books. In Ceylon, +for instance, the leaves of the talipot; in India, the leaves of the +palm (with which they commonly covered their houses,) were used for +books. In the East Indies, the leaves of the plantain tree, dried in +the sun, were used for the same purpose. In China, paper is made of +the inner bark of the mulberry, the bamboo, the elm, the cotton, and +other trees.</p> + + +<p><b>What is Papyrus?</b></p> + +<p>A large rush, chiefly growing in Egypt, on the banks of the Nile. The +ancient Egyptians made sails, ropes, mats, blankets, and canvas, of +the stalks and fibres of the papyrus. Their priests also wore shoes +made of it; and even sugar was extracted from this plant. Moses, the +deliverer raised by God to rescue the Israelites from the bondage of +Egypt, was exposed to the Nile in a basket of papyrus. The plant is +now, however, exceedingly scarce.</p> + + +<p><b>Where was the first Paper Mill erected in England?</b></p> + +<p>At Dartford, by a German named Spilman, in 1588. The only sort made, +however, was the coarse brown; and it was not till 1690, when the +French protestant refugees settled in England, that their own +paper-makers began to make white writing and printing paper. The +manufacture has been brought to great perfection, both for beauty and +substance, in England and the United States.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Protestant</i>, a name given in Germany to those who adhered +to the doctrines of the apostate monk, Martin Luther, +because they protested against a decree of Charles V. and +applied to a general council.</p> + +<p><i>Refugee</i>, from refuge, a place of safety from danger; an +asylum. Here it more particularly means those French +Protestants who quit their homes and sought other countries, +after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, which deprived +them of their religious liberty.</p></div> + +<p class="center"> <a href="images/image_06_1.jpg"><img src="images/image_06_2.jpg" alt="THE DOME OF PISA, ITALY; WITH THE FAMOUS LEANING TOWER, IN THE DISTANCE. Please click to view a larger image." width="559" height="317" title="Please click to view a larger image."/></a><br /> + <span class="caption">THE DOME OF PISA, ITALY; WITH THE FAMOUS LEANING TOWER, +IN THE DISTANCE.</span></p> + +<p><b>Is it known to whom we are indebted for the invention of Linen Paper?</b></p> + +<p>Not exactly. It has long been disputed among the learned<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59"></a>[59]</span> when, and +by whom, it was invented; some authors say it was discovered by the +Germans, others by the Italians; others ascribe it to some refugee +Greeks at Basil, who took the idea from the making of cotton paper in +their own country; some, that the Arabs first introduced it into +Europe. Perhaps the Chinese have the best title to the invention, +inasmuch as they have for many ages made paper, and in some provinces +of the same materials as are now used by us in its manufacture.</p> + + +<p><b>In what place was the art of Printing first practised?</b></p> + +<p>Who were the inventors of Printing, in what city, and in what year it +was begun, has long been a subject of great dispute. Mentz, Harlem, +and Strasburg, cities of Germany, all lay claim to the invention, but +Mentz seems to have the best title to it.</p> + + +<p><b>What was the first Book that was printed from metal types?</b></p> + +<p>A copy of the Holy Scriptures, which made its appearance between the +years 1450 and 1452.</p> + + +<p><b>Who introduced Printing into England?</b></p> + +<p>William Caxton, a merchant of London, who had acquired a knowledge of +it in his travels abroad.</p> + + +<p><b>Of what does Printing consist?</b></p> + +<p>Of the art of taking impressions with ink, from movable characters and +figures made of metal, &c., upon paper or parchment.</p> + + +<p><b>What is Parchment?</b></p> + +<p>Sheep or goat's skin, prepared after a peculiar manner, which renders +it proper for several uses, especially for writing on, and for the +covering of books. The ancients seem to have used the skins of animals +as a writing material, from a remote period.</p> + + +<p><b>From what is the word Parchment taken?</b></p> + +<p>From Pergamena, the ancient name of this manufacture, which it is said +to have taken from the country of Pergamus; and to Eumenes, king of +that country, its invention is usually ascribed, though in reality, +that prince appears to have been the improver, rather than the +inventor of parchment; since <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60"></a>[60]</span>some accounts refer its invention to a +still earlier period of time. Herodotus, an ancient Greek historian, +who lived about 450 years before Christ, relates that the ancient +Ionians made use of sheep and goat-skins in writing, many ages before +the time of Eumenes; the Persians of old, too, wrote all their records +on skins, and probably such skins were prepared and dressed for that +purpose, after a manner not unlike our parchments, though not so +artificially.</p> + + +<p><b>Who were the Ionians?</b></p> + +<p>The inhabitants of Ionia, an ancient country in the western part of +Asia Minor.</p> + + +<p><b>In what manner is Parchment now prepared?</b></p> + +<p>The sheep-skins are smeared over with lime<a name="FNanchor_4_4" id="FNanchor_4_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a> on the fleshy side, +folded, laid in heaps, and thus left for some days; they are next +stretched very tight on wooden frames, after having been washed, +drained, and half dried. The flesh is then carefully taken off with +iron instruments constructed on purpose, and the skin cleansed from +the remaining hairs that adhere to it. After having gone through +several operations till it is perfectly clean and smooth, it is fit +for writing upon.</p> + +<div class="footnotes"><p><a name="Footnote_4_4" id="Footnote_4_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_4"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> See Chapter XVI., article <a href="#LIME">Lime</a>.</p> +</div> + + +<p><b>What are the uses of Parchment?</b></p> + +<p>Parchment is of great use for writings which are to be preserved, on +account of its great durability; the writing on it remaining perfect +for a great number of years. It is also used for the binding of books, +and various other purposes.</p> + + +<p><b>What is Vellum?</b></p> + +<p>A finer sort of parchment than the former, but prepared in the same +manner, except that it is not passed through the lime-pit. It is made +of the skins of very young calves: there is also a still finer sort +made of the skins of sucking lambs, or kids; this is called <i>virgin</i> +parchment, and is very thin, fine, and white, and is used for +fancy-work, such as ladies' fans, &c.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61"></a>[61]</span></p> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII"></a>CHAPTER VIII.</h2> + +<h3><span class="smcap">Capers, Almonds, Oranges, Lemons, Citrons, Limes, Olives, Oils, +Melons, Tamarinds, and Dates.</span></h3> + + +<p><b>What are Capers?</b></p> + +<p>The full-grown flower-buds of the Caper Tree, a small shrub, generally +found growing out of the fissures of rocks, or among rubbish, on old +walls and ruins, giving them a gay appearance with its large white +flowers. It is a native of Italy: it is also common in the south of +France, where it is much cultivated.</p> + + +<p><b>How are they prepared, and for what are they used?</b></p> + +<p>They are gathered, and dried in the shade; then infused in vinegar, to +which salt is added; after which they are put in barrels, to be used +as a pickle, chiefly in sauces.</p> + + +<p><b>What are frequently substituted for Capers?</b></p> + +<p>The buds of broom pickled in the same manner, or the berries of the +nasturtium, an American annual plant, with pungent fruit.</p> + + +<p><b>What are Almonds?</b></p> + +<p>The nut of the Almond Tree, a species of the peach, growing in most of +the southern parts of Europe; there are two kinds, the bitter and the +sweet.</p> + + +<p><b>What are their qualities and use?</b></p> + +<p>The sweet almonds are of a soft, grateful taste, and much used by the +confectioner in numerous preparations of sweet-meats, cookery, &c. +Both sorts yield an oil, and are useful in medicine.</p> + + +<p><b>Of what country is the Orange a native?</b></p> + +<p>It is a native of China, India, and most tropical countries; but has +long been produced in great perfection in the warmer parts of Europe +and America. Oranges are imported in immense quantities every year, +from the Azores, Spain, Portugal, <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62"></a>[62]</span>Italy, &c. They are brought over in +chests and boxes, packed separately in paper to preserve them. The +oranges in common use with us are the bitter or Seville, the China or +sweet orange, and those from Florida.</p> + + +<p><b>Where are the Azores situated?</b></p> + +<p>In the Atlantic Ocean, about 800 miles west of Portugal. These islands +are very productive in wine and fruits.</p> + + +<p><b>Where is Seville?</b></p> + +<p>In Spain; it is an ancient and considerable city, the capital of the +province of Andalusia. The flowers of the Seville orange are highly +odoriferous, and justly esteemed one of the finest perfumes. Its fruit +is larger than the China orange, and rather bitter; the yellow rind or +peel is warm and aromatic. The juice of oranges is a grateful and +wholesome acid.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Odoriferous</i>, sweet-scented, fragrant; having a brisk, +agreeable smell which may be perceived at a distance.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Who first introduced the China Orange into Europe?</b></p> + +<p>The Portuguese. It is said that the very tree from which all the +European orange trees of this sort were produced, was still preserved +some years back, at the house of the Count St. Laurent, in Lisbon. In +India, those most esteemed, and which are made presents of as +rarities, are no larger than a billiard ball. The Maltese oranges are +said by some to be the finest in the world.</p> + + +<p><b>Who are the Maltese?</b></p> + +<p>The inhabitants of Malta, an island of the Mediterranean, situated +between Africa and Sicily.</p> + + +<p><b>Whence are Lemons brought?</b></p> + +<p>The Lemon is a native of Eastern Asia, whence it was brought to +Greece, and afterwards to Italy; from Italy it was transplanted to +Spain, Portugal, and the South of France, whence lemons are imported +in great plenty.</p> + + +<p><b>What is the Citron?</b></p> + +<p>The fruit of the Citron Tree, resembling the lemon, but <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63"></a>[63]</span>somewhat +larger, and having a finer pulp. The citron was also brought +originally from the East of Asia, but has since been produced in the +warm parts of Europe, like the orange and lemon; Genoa especially is +the greatest nursery for them. Its rind is principally brought to this +country in a candied state, and is applied by confectioners to various +purposes.</p> + + +<p><b>Where is Genoa?</b></p> + +<p>A city of Northern Italy, on the Mediterranean, between the rivers +Bisagno and Polcevera.</p> + + +<p><b>What is the Lime?</b></p> + +<p>The Lime is by some thought to be a species of lemon, by others not; +it is a smaller fruit, and in the West Indies is greatly preferred to +the lemon. It is cultivated in the South of Europe, the West Indies, +and the warm parts of America. The agreeable scent called Bergamot is +prepared from the rind of a small species of lime.</p> + + +<p><b>What are Olives?</b></p> + +<p>The fruit of the Olive Tree, an evergreen, now common in the woods of +France, Spain, and Italy; but in the wild state producing a small +fruit of no value; when cultivated, however, (which it is extensively, +both for the fruit and the quantity of oil which it yields,) it forms +one of the richest productions of Southern Europe. The olive came +originally from Asia. Its use is very ancient; it is frequently spoken +of in the Bible, both as in a wild and cultivated state. The promised +land of the Israelites was "a land of oil, olive, and honey." From the +time that the dove returned to Noah in the Ark with an "olive leaf +plucked off," in all ages and countries, wherever this tree is known, +down to the present day, has an olive-branch been the favorite emblem +of peace.</p> + + +<p><b>What nation holds the olive in great repute?</b></p> + +<p>This tree was a great favorite with the ancient Greeks, and scarcely +an ancient custom existed in which the olive was not in some way +associated: at their marriages and festivals, all <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64"></a>[64]</span>parts of their +dwellings, especially the doors, were ornamented with them, and the +same custom prevails at the present day, both in public and private +rejoicings. It was also scarcely less a favorite with the Romans, +although it was not held in the same sacred light as amongst the +Greeks. The olive-branch has likewise been universally considered the +emblem of plenty, and as such, is found on the coins of those +countries of which it is <i>not</i> a native. Two centuries after the +foundation of Rome, both Italy and Africa were strangers to this +useful plant; it afterwards became naturalized in those countries, and +at length arrived in Spain, France, &c. Olive trees sometimes attain a +great age.</p> + + +<p><b>How are the Olives eaten?</b></p> + +<p>The olives while on the tree are intolerably bitter, without any of +that peculiar taste which gains them admittance at the richest tables; +to fit them for which they are pickled. Ripe olives are eaten in the +Eastern countries, especially amongst the Greeks, as an article of +food, particularly in Lent. The oil, which they yield in great +quantities, is very highly esteemed; being that chiefly used for +salads, &c., in medicine, and in various manufactures.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Lent</i>, a time of fasting; the time from Ash-Wednesday to +Easter.</p></div> + + +<p><b>How is the Oil drawn from the Olive?</b></p> + +<p>By presses or mills made for the purpose. The sweetest and best olive +oil comes from the South of France, from Naples, Florence, and Lucca; +quantities are also brought from Spain and the Ionian Islands.</p> + + +<p><b>Where is Naples?</b></p> + +<p>In the South of Italy.</p> + + +<p><b>Where are Florence and Lucca situated?</b></p> + +<p>In Italy. Florence is a very ancient, large, and celebrated city, the +capital of Italy; Lucca, formerly a republic, belongs now to the +kingdom of Italy.</p><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65"></a>[65]</span></p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Republic</i>, a state in which the supreme power of government +is lodged in representatives chosen by the people, instead +of being vested in an emperor or king.</p></div> + + +<p><b>You said that the olive is an Evergreen: to what plant or shrub is the +term particularly applied?</b></p> + +<p>To any shrub or tree whose leaves continue fresh and green all the +year round, winter and summer, as the laurel, pine, cedar, holly, &c., +which do not shed their leaves in autumn as other trees.</p> + + +<p><b>Is oil a production confined to the Olive alone?</b></p> + +<p>By no means. Oil is a fatty, inflammable matter, drawn from many +vegetable and animal bodies. The oils in common use are of three +different kinds. The first are mere <i>oily</i> or fatty bodies, extracted +either by pressure, or by decoction: of the first kind are those of +almonds, nuts, olives, &c.; and of the other, those of different +berries, &c., which are procured by boiling the substance in water, +which causes the oil to collect on the top.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Decoction</i>, act of boiling—a chemical term.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What are the second and third kinds of Oils?</b></p> + +<p>The second are those drawn from vegetables by common distillation in +the alembic, with the aid of water; these contain the <i>oily</i> and +volatile part of the plant, and are called <i>essential</i> oils. The third +sort are those produced by distillation, but of a different kind in an +open vessel, and without the help of water. They are likewise divided +into <i>vegetable</i> oils, <i>animal</i> oils, and <i>mineral</i> oils; which last +are those drawn from amber, and a few other substances partaking both +of the vegetable and mineral natures, as Petroleum, commonly known as +kerosene or coal oil.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Alembic</i>, a chemical vessel used in distilling. It consists +of a vessel placed over a fire, containing the substance to +be distilled; the upper part, which receives and condenses +the steam, is called the head; the beak of this is fitted to +a vessel called a receiver.</p> + +<p><i>Volatile</i>, easily escaping, quickly flying off.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Whence is the word Oil derived?</b></p> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66"></a>[66]</span></p> + +<p>From the Latin <i>oleum</i>, formed from <i>olea, olive-tree</i>, the fruit of +which abounds in oil.</p> + + +<p><b>What immense fish is it that furnishes us with a quantity of <i>animal</i> +oil?</b></p> + +<p>The Whale, the largest and noblest inhabitant of the waters. It is +protected from the cold by a case or coating of blubber, that is, a +thick oily fat from which the oil is made; numbers of them are caught +for the sake of that. Ambergris, highly prized in perfumery, is a +product of the sperm whale.</p> + + +<p><b>In what seas are they found?</b></p> + +<p>Chiefly in the Northern Seas: extensive whale fisheries are carried on +by the Americans, English, Dutch, &c., and numbers of vessels are sent +out for the purpose of taking the fish: they usually sail in the +latter end of March, and begin fishing about May. The whale fishery +continues generally from that time till the latter end of June or +July. There are also other fishes and animals which afford us oils of +different kinds, which are used for various purposes in medicine and +the arts.</p> + + +<p><b>Is the oil called <i>castor</i>, which is so much used in medicine, the +product of an animal or a plant?</b></p> + +<p>Castor oil is expressed from a West Indian shrub, called Palma +Christi; and especially from the ripe seeds, which are full of this +oil. It is prepared by collecting these ripe seeds, and freeing them +from the husks; then bruising and beating them into a paste; they are +next boiled in water, when the oil rising to the surface is skimmed +off as it continues to appear. The Castor-oil plant is found growing +abundantly in Sumatra, particularly near the sea-shore.</p> + + +<p><b>Where is Sumatra situated?</b></p> + +<p>In the Oriental Archipelago, off the south eastern part of the +continent of Asia.</p> + + +<p><b>In what other countries is this plant found?</b></p> + +<p>In some parts of Africa, Syria, and Egypt. It was anciently cultivated +in the two last-mentioned countries in large quantities,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67"></a>[67]</span>the seeds +being used for the oil they yielded, which was burnt in lamps.</p> + +<p class="center"> <img src="images/image_07.jpg" alt="BEAVERS BUILDING THEIR HUTS." width="348" height="581" /><br /> +<span class="caption">BEAVERS BUILDING THEIR HUTS.</span></p> + + +<p><b>Is not the Palma Christi much affected by soil and situation?</b></p> + +<p>Greatly so. In some places it attains the stature of a tree, and is +not a biennial plant, but endures for many years, as in the warm +plains of Irak, Arabia, and some parts of Africa.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Biennial</i>, lasting for the space of two years only.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What are Melons?</b></p> + +<p>A species of the Cucumis, a genus of plants to which the cucumber +belongs. There are great varieties of this fruit cultivated in +different parts of the world; that sort called the Cantaleup (so named +from being cultivated at a place of that name in the neighborhood of +Rome, whither it was brought from Armenia,) is a species of +musk-melon; the mature fruit is juicy, and delicately flavored.</p> + + +<p><b>Where is Armenia situated?</b></p> + +<p>Armenia is a large country situated in Asiatic Turkey, to the west of +the Caspian Sea.</p> + + +<p><b>What species of Melon is that which almost makes up for a scarcity of +good water in hot countries?</b></p> + +<p>The water-melon, which affords a cool, refreshing juice, and quenches +the thirst produced by the excessive heats. It requires a dry, sandy +soil, and a warm climate; the pulp of the fruit is remarkably rich and +delicious.</p> + + +<p><b>What are Tamarinds?</b></p> + +<p>The fruit of the Tamarind Tree, a native of both the Indies, Asia, +Africa, &c. It is of a roundish form, and composed of two pods +inclosed one within the other, between which is a soft pulpy +substance, of a tart but agreeable taste; the inner pod contains the +seeds or stones.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Tart</i>, sharp, acid.</p></div> + + +<p><b>For what are they used?</b></p> + +<p>We use them only as medicine; but the Africans, and many <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68"></a>[68]</span>of the +Oriental nations, with whom they are common, make them into a kind of +preserve with sugar, which they eat as a delicacy, and which cools +them in the violent heats of their climate.</p> + + +<p><b>From what nation was the knowledge of their use in medicine obtained?</b></p> + +<p>From the Arabians.</p> + + +<p><b>What does the word Oriental signify?</b></p> + +<p>Belonging to the East; therefore those countries of the globe situated +in the East are called Oriental, those in the West, Occidental, from +<i>Oriens</i>, signifying East, and <i>Occidens</i>, West.</p> + + +<p><b>What are Dates?</b></p> + +<p>The fruit of the Palm, a beautiful and graceful tree, peculiar to the +warmer regions of the globe; the growth of the palm is extremely +singular, for although some species attain to the height of the +largest forest trees, their structure differs materially from that of +a tree, properly so called. The leaves of the young plant arise +directly from the surface of the ground, and there is no appearance of +any stem for several years; this stem once formed, never increases in +size, the growth of the plant being always upward, so that the stem +itself is formed by the prior growth of the green portions of the +palm.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Structure</i>, the manner of formation.</p></div> + + +<p><b>How often does this tree cast its circle of leaves?</b></p> + +<p>Every year; so that the number of years a palm has existed is known by +the scars which are left by their falling off. The palm is an +evergreen.</p> + + +<p><b>What are the uses of this Tree?</b></p> + +<p>The Palm is of the utmost importance to the inhabitants of the +tropical regions; the fruit and sap providing them with food, the +fibrous parts with clothing, and the leaves forming the greater part +of their slightly-constructed huts; the leaves of some species are +formed into fans, hats, and parasols; others are written on, in the +same manner that we write on paper; arti<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69"></a>[69]</span>ficial flowers are made of +the pith of some; the light and supple rattan walking-cane is the +slender shoot of another kind; and solid and useful utensils are made +of the shell of the cocoa-nut. The fibres of the Date Palm are formed +into ropes and twine; a liquor is drawn from the trunk, called palm +wine; the trunks of the old trees furnish a hard and durable wood; and +even the nuts or stones of the fruit are useful for feeding cattle; a +wholesome flour is also made of the fruit, when dried and reduced to +powder.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Constructed</i>, put together.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Whence is its name derived?</b></p> + +<p>From the Latin word <i>palma</i>, a hand, given to these productions of the +vegetable world, from the supposed resemblance of their broad leaves +to the human hand. The Date, the fruit of the Date Palm, derives its +name from the Greek <i>dactylus</i>, a finger, from its mode of growing in +clusters spreading out like the fingers of the hand. The Palm +sometimes forms impenetrable forests; but more frequently is found in +small groups of two or three, or even singly, beside springs and +fountains of water, affording a kindly shade to the thirsty traveller.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Impenetrable</i>, not easily penetrated or got through.</p></div> + + +<p><b>From what countries are Dates brought?</b></p> + +<p>From Egypt, Syria, Persia, Africa, and the Indies. Among the Egyptians +and Africans, they make a principal article of food. Dates, when ripe, +are of a bright coral red, of an oblong form, and possess a sharp +biting taste: they are usually gathered in autumn, before being +perfectly ripe.</p><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70"></a>[70]</span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IX" id="CHAPTER_IX"></a>CHAPTER IX.</h2> + +<h3><span class="smcap">Hats, Stockings, Shoes, Gloves, Leather, Furs, and Ink.</span></h3> + + +<p><b>Of what are Hats made?</b></p> + +<p>Of felt and wool. Dress hats for men's wear, were formerly made of +beaver-fur, but the increasing scarcity of this article led to the +introduction of silk plush as a substitute, and the result is that +beaver is entirely superseded, and plush is used altogether. They +possess many advantages over the beaver hat, as they are light, +glossy, and durable. Hats are also made of straw, plaited and sewed +together.</p> + + +<p><b>When did Hats come into general use?</b></p> + +<p>The first mention made of hats is about the time of the Saxons, but +they were not worn except by the rich. Hats for men were invented at +Paris, by a Swiss, in 1404. About the year 1510, they were first +manufactured in London, by Spaniards. Before that time both men and +women in England commonly wore close, knitted, woollen caps. They +appear to have become more common in the reign of Queen Elizabeth. It +is related, that when Charles the Second made his public entry into +Rouen, in 1449, he wore a hat lined with red velvet, surmounted with a +plume or tuft of feathers; from which entry, or at least during his +reign, the use of hats and caps is to be dated; and from that time +they took the place of chaperons and hoods, that had been worn before +in France.</p> + + +<p><b>Where is Rouen?</b></p> + +<p>In the province of Lower Seine, in France; it was formerly the capital +of Normandy.</p> + + +<p><b>Describe the Castor, or Beaver, and its habits.</b></p> + +<p>The Beaver has a broad, flat tail, covered with scales, serving as a +rudder to direct its motion in the water; the toes of its hind feet +are furnished with membranes, after the manner of water-fowl; the fore +feet supply the place of hands, like those <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71"></a>[71]</span>of the squirrel. The +Beaver has two kinds of hair, of a light brown color, one long and +coarse, the other short and silky. The teeth resemble those of a rat +or squirrel, but are longer, and admirably adapted for cutting timber +or stripping off the bark from trees.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Membranes</i>, thin, flexible, expanded skins, connecting the +toes of water-fowl and amphibious animals, and thus enabling +them to swim with greater ease.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Where do Beavers usually fix their habitations?</b></p> + +<p>Their houses are always situated in the water; they are composed of +clay, which they make into a kind of mortar with their paws: these +huts are of an oval figure, divided into three apartments raised one +above the other, and erected on piles driven into the mud. Each beaver +has his peculiar cell assigned him, the floor of which he strews with +leaves or small branches of the pine tree. The whole building is +generally capable of containing eight or ten inhabitants.</p> + + +<p><b>On what does the Beaver feed?</b></p> + +<p>Its food consists of fruit and plants; and in winter, of the wood of +the ash and other trees. The hunters and trappers in America formerly +killed vast numbers for their skins, which were in great demand, as +they were used in making hats, but as the only use they are now put to +is for trimming, and for men's gloves and collars, the demand has +fallen off.</p> + + +<p><b>Of what are stockings made?</b></p> + +<p>Of cotton, silk, or wool, woven or knitted. Anciently, the only +stockings in use were made of cloth, or stuff sewed together; but +since the invention of knitting and weaving stockings of silk, &c., +the use of cloth has been discontinued.</p> + + +<p><b>From what country is it supposed that the invention of silk knitted +stockings originally came?</b></p> + +<p>From Spain, in 1589. The art of weaving stockings in a frame was +invented by William Lee, M.A., of St. John's College, Cambridge, +England.</p><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72"></a>[72]</span></p> + + +<p><b>Explain the signification of M.A.</b></p> + +<p>Master of Arts, a degree of honor conferred by the Universities.</p> + + +<p><b>What are Shoes?</b></p> + +<p>A covering for the foot, now usually made of leather. In different +ages and countries, shoes have been made of various materials, as raw +skins, rushes, broom, paper, silk, wool, iron, silver, and gold.</p> + + +<p><b>What nation wore Shoes made of the bark of the papyrus?</b></p> + +<p>The Egyptians. The Turks always take off their shoes, and leave them +at the door, when they enter Mosques or dwelling-houses. The same +custom also prevails in other Eastern nations.</p> + + +<p><b>What is a Mosque?</b></p> + +<p>A Mahomedan church or temple.</p> + + +<p><b>What is meant by Mahomedan?</b></p> + +<p>Belonging to the religion of Mahomed, the warrior and prophet of +Arabia and Turkey, who was its founder. He was born at Mecca, a city +of Arabia, in 571; and died in 631, at Medina, a city situated between +Arabia Felix and Arabia Deserta. His creed maintains that there is but +one God, and that Mahomed is his Prophet; it enjoins the observance of +prayers, washings, almsgiving, fasting, sobriety, pilgrimage to Mecca, +&c.</p> + + +<p><b>What do the appellations of Felix and Deserta signify?</b></p> + +<p>Arabia, a country of Asia, lying on the borders of the Red Sea, is +divided into Petræa, Deserta, and Felix; Petræa, signifying the Stony; +Deserta, the Desert; and Felix, the fortunate or fruitful.</p> + + +<p><b>What is Leather?</b></p> + +<p>The skins of various animals, as oxen, cows, calves, &c., dressed and +prepared for use.</p> + + +<p><b>How is the Leather prepared?</b></p> + +<p>By tanning; that is, steeping the skins in an infusion of tan, by +which they are rendered firm, durable, and, in a great degree, +impervious to water.</p><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73"></a>[73]</span></p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Infusion</i>, a liquor made by steeping anything in water, or +other liquids, without boiling.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What is Tan?</b></p> + +<p>The bark of the oak-tree, &c., ground by a mill into a coarse powder.</p> + + +<p><b>What is Lime?</b><a name="FNanchor_5_5" id="FNanchor_5_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_5_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a></p> + +<p>A white, soft, friable, earthy substance, prepared from marble, chalk, +and other lime-stones, or from shells, by burning in a kiln.</p> + +<div class="footnotes"><p><a name="Footnote_5_5" id="Footnote_5_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_5_5"><span class="label">[5]</span></a> For a further account of it, see Chapters<a href="#CHAPTER_XIII"> XIII</a>. & <a href="#CHAPTER_XVI">XVI</a>.</p> +</div> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Friable</i>, easily powdered.</p></div> + + +<p><b>For what is it used?</b></p> + +<p>Its greatest use is in the composition of mortar for building; it is +also much used by tanners, skinners, &c., in the preparation of +leather; by soap-boilers in the manufacture of soap; and by +sugar-bakers for refining sugar.</p> + + +<p><b>What is a Kiln?</b></p> + +<p>A fabric of brick or stone, formed for admitting heat in order to dry +or burn materials placed in it.</p> + + +<p><b>Of what are Gloves made?</b></p> + +<p>Of leather, silk, thread, cotton, worsted, &c.</p> + + +<p><b>What skins are generally used for Gloves?</b></p> + +<p>Those of the chamois, kid, lamb, dog, doe, and many other animals.</p> + + +<p><b>What are Furs, and how are they prepared?</b></p> + +<p>Furs are the skins of wild animals, dressed with the hair on, and used +as apparel, either for warmth, ornament, or distinction of rank or +dignity.</p> + + +<p><b>Name a few of the principal furs in use.</b></p> + +<p>The fur of the ermine, an animal inhabiting the cold regions of Europe +and America, is highly valued, and much used for ornamental purposes. +In summer, the upper part of the body is of a yellowish-brown color; +the under parts white, slightly tinged with yellow. It is then called +a <i>stoat</i>. In winter, the <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74"></a>[74]</span>fur is closer and finer, and is of a snowy +white color; the tip of the tail is black throughout the year. In +Europe the fur is much used for ornamenting the state robes of +sovereigns and nobles. The sable is another animal much prized for its +rich fur; it is a native of Northern Europe and America. The skins of +the marten, found in North America, as well as in Northern Asia and +the mountains of Kamtschatka; and also of the bear, fox, raccoon, +badger, lynx, musk-rat, rabbit, hare, and squirrel, which are all +procured in North America, are valuable. One of the most valuable +descriptions of fur is that of the seal.</p> + + +<p><b>How is it procured?</b></p> + +<p>By hunting the animals, which is the employment both of natives and +settlers from other countries; the hunters sell the skins for money, +to a company established for the purpose of trading in furs, or more +frequently exchange them for clothes, arms, and other articles. The +Alaska Commercial Company of San Francisco is granted by the United +States Government the exclusive privilege of catching the fur seal.</p> + + +<p><b>What is Alum?</b></p> + +<p>A kind of mineral, of a strong, sharp taste. It dissolves both in cold +and boiling water, but best in the latter. It is of some use in +medicine; a principal ingredient in dyeing and coloring, neither of +which can be well performed without it, as it sets and brightens the +colors, and prevents them from washing out. It is also extremely +useful in many arts and manufactures.</p> + + +<p><b>Are there not different sorts of this material?</b></p> + +<p>The principal kinds are native alums: <i>viz.</i> those prepared and +perfected underground by the spontaneous operations of nature; as the +roch, commonly called rock alum, from Rocha, in Syria, whence it is +brought.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Spontaneous</i>, unassisted by art.</p> + +<p><i>Orientals</i>, inhabitants of the Eastern parts of the world.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What is Ink?</b></p> + +<p>A liquor used in writing on paper or parchment, made of <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75"></a>[75]</span>copperas, +galls; and gum arabic<a name="FNanchor_6_6" id="FNanchor_6_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_6_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a> mixed together. There are likewise several +plants that may serve for the making of ink, as oak-bark, red roses, +log-wood, &c. It is also made from an infusion of oak galls and iron +filings: there are also many other ways, as well as materials, +employed in the making of this useful article. Ink is the name applied +to all liquids used in writing, of whatever color they may be, as red, +blue, &c., though black is the most used for common purposes. The ink +of the ancients seems to have been of a thick, oily nature, unlike the +modern ink; it consisted of nothing more than a species of soot, or +ivory black, mixed with one fourth of gum.</p> +<div class="footnotes"><p><a name="Footnote_6_6" id="Footnote_6_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_6_6"><span class="label">[6]</span></a> See <a href="#CHAPTER_XI">Chapter XI</a>.</p> +</div> + +<p><b>What is Copperas?</b></p> + +<p>A kind of vitriol. Copperas is the name given to green vitriol, which +is a preparation from iron. The blue vitriol is a sulphate of copper, +and the white vitriol a sulphate of zinc.</p> + + +<p><b>For what is Vitriol used?</b></p> + +<p>In the making of glass, to color it; in many arts and manufactures; +and in medicine.</p> + + +<p><b>What are Galls?</b></p> + +<p>Excrescences formed on a kind of oak tree in certain warm climates; +perforations are made by an insect into the bark of the tree, whence +issues a liquid which hardens by exposure. They are used in dyeing, +making ink, and other compositions. There are two sorts of oak galls +in our shops, brought from the Levant, and the southern parts of +Europe.</p> + + +<p><b>What does the word Levant signify?</b></p> + +<p>A country to the eastward. It is applied to the countries of Turkey, +Greece, Asia Minor, Syria, Egypt, &c., which are washed by the eastern +part of the Mediterranean.</p> + + +<p><b>Is the Ink used in Printing the same as writing Ink?</b></p> + +<p>No; it is more of the nature of paint, being thicker and more +glutinous: it chiefly consists of a mixture of oil and lamp<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76"></a>[76]</span>black, or +some other ingredient, according to the color required; and is +remarkable for the ease with which it adheres to paper that is +moistened.</p> + + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Glutinous</i>, gummy, resembling glue.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What is Indian, or Chinese Ink?</b></p> + +<p>An admirable composition, not liquid like our ink, but solid, and made +into cakes somewhat like the mineral colors we use in painting. It is +made into all sorts of figures, usually long, and about an inch thick; +sometimes gilt with the figures of birds, flowers, &c. To use this +ink, it must be rubbed with water, on stone or earthenware, till it +produces a beautiful, liquid, shining black. It is used in drawing, +&c., and is brought from China. It is composed of lamp-black and size, +or animal glue, or gum, to which perfumes and other substances are +sometimes added.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_X" id="CHAPTER_X"></a>CHAPTER X.</h2> + +<h3><span class="smcap">Asbestus, Salt, Coal, Iron, Copper, Brass, Zinc, and Lapis +Calaminaris.</span></h3> + + +<p><b>What is the name of the remarkable stone of which a cloth has been +made, that resists the action of fire?</b></p> + +<p>The Asbestus, a mineral substance of a whitish or silver color. There +are several species of this mineral, which are distinguished by +different names, according to the appearance of each, as fibrous +asbestus, hard asbestus, and woody asbestus; it is the fibrous sort +which is most noted for its uses in the arts. It is usually found +inclosed within very hard stones; sometimes growing on their outside, +and sometimes detached from them.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Fibrous</i>, full of fibres or threads.</p></div><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77"></a>[77]</span></p> + + +<p><b>What are its qualities?</b></p> + +<p>It is insipid; will not dissolve in water; and exposed to the fire, it +neither consumes nor calcines. The industry of mankind has found a +method of working upon this untoward mineral and employing it in +making cloth and paper; the process is, however, difficult.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Insipid</i>, without taste.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Was not this curious mineral better known to the ancients than it is +at present?</b></p> + +<p>The linen made from it was highly esteemed by them; it was not only +better known, but more common, than among us, being equally valuable +with the richest pearls; but the superiority of all other cloths to +this in every respect, except the resistance to fire, has caused +incombustible cloth to be regarded in modern times merely as a +curiosity, but it is still employed in chemical preparations.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Incombustible</i>, remaining undestroyed in fire.</p></div> + + +<p><b>To what use did they put it?</b></p> + +<p>In royal funerals, it formed the shroud to wrap the body in that its +ashes might be prevented from mingling with the wood, &c., that +composed the pile. Some of the ancients made themselves clothes of it, +particularly the Brahmins among the Hindoos; it formed wicks for their +perpetual lamps; thread, ropes, nets, and paper were also made of it. +Pliny, the Roman naturalist, says he has seen napkins of asbestus +taken soiled from the table after a feast, which were thrown into the +fire, and by that means better scoured than if they had been washed +with water.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Naturalist</i>, a person who studies nature, especially in +what relates to minerals, vegetables, and animals.</p> + +<p><i>Brahmins</i>, Hindoo priests.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Where is the Asbestus found?</b></p> + +<p>This mineral is found in the greatest quantity in the silver mines of +Saxony; at Bleyburg, in Carinthia; in Sweden, Corsica, and sometimes +in France, England, and the United States; also in Tartary and +Siberia.</p><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78"></a>[78]</span></p> + + +<p><b>What method is used in preparing the Asbestus?</b></p> + +<p>The stone is laid in warm water to soak, then opened and divided by +the hands, that the earthy matter may be washed out. This washing is +several times repeated, and the flax-like filaments collected and +dried; these are easily spun with the addition of flax. The cloth when +woven is best preserved by oil from breaking or wasting; on exposure +to the fire, the flax and the oil burn out, and the cloth remains of a +pure white. The shorter threads, which separate on washing the stone, +may be made into paper in the usual manner.</p> + + +<p><b>What is Salt?</b></p> + +<p>A saline crystallization of a sharp, pungent taste, and cleansing +quality, used to season flesh, fish, butter, &c., and other things +that are to be kept. It is distinguished, with reference to the +general sources from which it is most plentifully derived, into three +different sorts, namely, fossil, or rock salt; sea, or marine salt; +and spring salt, or that drawn from briny springs and wells.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Marine</i>, belonging to the sea.</p> + +<p><i>Saline</i>, consisting of salt.</p> + +<p><i>Briny</i>, consisting of brine; which means water tasting of +salt; it is used to signify the waters of the sea, or any +salt water.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What is Fossil or Rock Salt?</b></p> + +<p>That which is found in large beds in the bowels of the earth, and +which has not undergone any artificial preparation; it is sometimes +colorless, but more frequently red, yellow, or blue, and mixed with +earthy impurities; this salt was entirely unknown to the ancients, who +by rock salt meant that which adheres to the rocks above high-water +mark, being lodged there by the spray of the sea, which is evaporated +by the heat of the sun; this is the purest salt, and is to be found on +the rocks of Sicily, and several islands of the West Indies.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Artificial</i>, produced by art, and the labor of man.</p> + +<p><i>Evaporated</i>, converted into vapor and dissipated.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What is Marine Salt?</b></p> + +<p>That which is made from sea-water, concentrated by repeated +evaporations, and at length crystallized.</p><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79"></a>[79]</span></p> + + +<p><b>What is Spring Salt?</b></p> + +<p>That salt which is not made from sea-water, but from the water of salt +wells or springs; large quantities of this salt are made in the United +States, in some parts of which saline springs are numerous.</p> + + +<p><b>In what manner is it obtained?</b></p> + +<p>The means employed for extracting the salt from the water vary +according to circumstances. In hot countries, the water is merely +exposed to the action of the sun, until the water is evaporated; the +salt procured in this manner is considered the best.</p> + + +<p><b>What method is usually employed in countries where the sun's heat is +not sufficiently powerful?</b></p> + +<p>In climates where the rays of the sun do not afford sufficient heat, +the water, which has been partly evaporated in large shallow +reservoirs formed in the earth, called salt-pans, is poured into +enormous coppers and boiled for four or five hours: when the contents +of the copper are wasted to half the quantity, the liquid begins to be +crystallized; the vessel is again filled up, and the brine again +boiled and purified: this is repeated three or four times. After the +last purifying the fire is kept very low for twelve or fourteen hours, +and when the moisture is nearly evaporated the salt is removed, and, +after the remaining brine has drained off, is placed in the +store-houses.</p> + + +<p><b>In what countries is Salt generally found?</b></p> + +<p>This substance, so necessary to the comfort of mankind, is widely +distributed over the face of the earth, and nothing, except, perhaps, +the air we breathe, is more easily placed within our reach. The ocean +is an exhaustless store-house of this valuable article. Those nations +of the earth which are placed at a distance from the sea, find +themselves provided with magazines of salt, either in solid masses, or +dissolved in the waters of inland lakes, or issuing from the solid +rocks in springs of brine. At Salina, Syracuse, and other places in +Onondaga Co., <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80"></a>[80]</span>New York, salt springs are remarkably abundant, and +yield annually several millions of bushels; immense quantities are +also obtained from the salt-wells on the Great and Little Kanawha, and +other places in Western Virginia; it is also extensively manufactured +in the western part of Pennsylvania, and throughout the Western +States.</p> + + +<p><b>Name the countries most noted for mines of Salt.</b></p> + +<p>Poland, Upper Hungary, and the mountains of Catalonia, have extensive +salt mines; those in the village of Wieliczca, in Poland, about five +leagues from Cracow, are of a surprising depth and size. In the +interior of Hindostan, there is a remarkable salt lake; and in several +parts of the globe there are spots of ground impregnated entirely with +this substance: an island of the East Indies contains a singular kind +of fossil, or native dry salt; the soil there is in general very +fruitful, but in certain parts of the island, there are spots of +ground entirely barren, without the appearance of anything vegetable +upon them; these spots taste very much of salt, and abound with it in +such quantities, as to supply not only the whole island, but the +greater part of the adjacent continent. In Utah Territory, especially +in the neighborhood of the Mormon city, at the Great Salt Lake, are +found extensive plains thus impregnated with salt, which is procured +in great abundance.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Fossil</i>, the remains of minerals or shells dug from the +earth.</p> + +<p><i>Impregnated</i>, filled, saturated.</p> + +<p><i>Catalonia</i>, a considerable province of Spain, situated to +the north-east.</p> + +<p><i>Adjacent</i>, adjoining, lying near, or contiguous.</p></div> + + +<p><b>To what use did the ancient inhabitants of Africa and Arabia put this +substance?</b></p> + +<p>The large slabs of rock salt, with which their country abounds, were +employed by them instead of stones, in building their dwellings, the +pieces being easily cemented together by sprinkling the joints with +water, which, melting the parts of the two surfaces that opposed each +other, formed the whole, when dry, into one solid block.</p><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81"></a>[81]</span></p> + + +<p><b>Does Rock Salt undergo any preparation before it is used?</b></p> + +<p>Yes; when taken from the earth it is dissolved in cold water, and +afterwards drawn off into salt-pans, and refined in the same manner as +the sea salt.</p> + + +<p><b>What is Coal?</b></p> + +<p>A hard, black, sulphurous and inflammable substance, dug out of the +earth, serving in many countries as fuel. It is common in most of the +countries of Europe and America. In some parts of the United States, +it is found in beds having an area of several thousand square miles.</p> + + +<p><b>From what is Coal supposed to have originated?</b></p> + +<p>Its origin is supposed to be derived from gigantic trees which +flourished in the swamps and forests of the primeval earth. These +having been torn away from their native bed, by storms and +inundations, were transported into some adjacent lake, river, or sea. +Here they floated on the waters until, saturated with them, they sank +to the bottom, and being buried in the lower soil of adjacent lands, +became transformed into a new state among the members of the mineral +kingdom. A long interment followed, during which a course of chemical +changes, and new combinations of their vegetable elements, converted +them to the mineral condition of coal.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Primeval</i>, original, existing before the flood.</p> + +<p><i>Gigantic</i>, extremely large, greater than the usual size.</p> + +<p><i>Interment</i>, burial under the ground.</p> + +<p><i>Elements</i>, the several parts or principles of which bodies +are composed.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What is a Coal Mine?</b></p> + +<p>A subterraneous excavation, from which coal is obtained.</p> + + +<p><b>Do the terms Coal and Charcoal signify the same substance?</b></p> + +<p>No; Charcoal is an artificial fuel, made in imitation of coal, by +burning wood covered with earth so as partially to exclude the air. It +is used for various purposes, as the making of gunpowder,<a name="FNanchor_7_7" id="FNanchor_7_7"></a><a href="#Footnote_7_7" class="fnanchor">[7]</a> polishing +brass and copper, &c., and when a clear and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82"></a>[82]</span> bright fire is required, +as it burns with little or no smoke; it is dangerous, however, for one +to remain many hours in a close room with a charcoal fire, as the +fumes it throws out are hurtful, and would destroy life. Charcoal, in +fact, is the coaly residuum of any vegetables burnt in close vessels; +but the common charcoal is that prepared from wood, and is generally +black, very brittle, light, and destitute of taste or smell. It is a +powerful antiseptic, unalterable and indestructible.</p> + +<div class="footnotes"><p><a name="Footnote_7_7" id="Footnote_7_7"></a><a href="#FNanchor_7_7"><span class="label">[7]</span></a> See <a href="#CHAPTER_XII">Chapter XII.</a></p> +</div> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Residuum</i>, the remaining part, that which is left.</p> + +<p><i>Antiseptic</i>, that which prevents putrefaction.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What is Iron?</b></p> + +<p>One of the most useful and abundant metals; being found in all mineral +earths, and stones; in plants, and animal fluids; and is the chief +cause of the varieties of color in all. Iron is found in great masses, +in various states, in the bowels of the earth; it is usually, however, +compounded with stone, from which it is separated by the action of +fire. In some parts of the world, whole mountains are formed of iron; +among these may be mentioned the Pilot Knob and the Iron Mountain, in +Missouri, being unsurpassed by anything of the kind found elsewhere.</p> + + +<p><b>What are its characteristics?</b></p> + +<p>It is hard, fusible, not very malleable, but extremely ductile, and +very tenacious; it is of a greyish color, and nearly eight times +heavier than water. Without iron, society could make no progress in +the cultivation of the ground, in mechanical arts or trades, in +architecture or navigation; it is therefore of the greatest use to +man. Iron tools have been used in all European countries as long as +their histories have existed; this metal appears likewise to have been +known and used by the inhabitants of the world in the earliest ages, +being frequently mentioned in the Holy Scriptures. In the fourth +chapter of Genesis, Tubalcain is spoken of as "a hammerer and +artificer in every work of brass and iron," and thus their existence +was evidently known at that early period of the world.</p> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83"></a>[83]</span></p> +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Artificer</i>, one who works or makes.</p> + +<p><i>Fusible</i>, capable of being melted by fire.</p></div> + +<p class="center"><img src="images/image_08.jpg" alt="THE SALT MINES OF WIELICZCA." width="384" height="615" /><br /> +<span class="caption">THE SALT MINES OF WIELICZCA.</span></p> + +<p><b>What do you mean by Metals?</b></p> + +<p>Useful substances dug from the bowels of the earth, being sometimes +found pure, but mostly combined with other matter. They are +distinguished by their weight, tenacity, hardness, opacity, color, and +peculiar lustre, known as the metallic lustre; they are fusible by +heat, and good conductors of heat and electricity; many of them are +malleable, and some extremely ductile. Those which were first known +are gold, silver, iron, copper, mercury, lead, and tin.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Tenacity</i>, the firmness with which one part adheres to +another.</p> + +<p><i>Opacity</i>, want of transparency or clearness.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What are Metals called in their natural state?</b></p> + +<p>Ores; so named because the metal contained in them is either mixed +with other metals, or with mineral earths, from which they are +separated and purified by various means: such as washing, roasting, +&c., but the method is always regulated by the nature of the ore.</p> + + +<p><b>What is Copper?</b></p> + +<p>A hard, heavy, ductile metal, found native, and in many ores; of these +the most important is <i>copper pyrites</i>, which is a sulphuret of +copper. Next to gold, silver, and platinum, copper is the most +malleable and ductile of metals; it may be drawn into wires as fine as +hair, or beaten into leaves as thin as those of silver. The rust of +copper is very poisonous. Copper, mixed with a certain quantity of +tin, forms bell-metal. With a smaller proportion, it forms bronze, a +substance used in sculpture for casting figures and statues. It is an +abundant metal, and is found in various parts of the world. Native +oxides of copper are found in Cornwall, Siberia, and in North and +South America.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Oxide</i>, a substance combined with Oxygen,<a name="FNanchor_8_8" id="FNanchor_8_8"></a><a href="#Footnote_8_8" class="fnanchor">[8]</a> in a +proportion not sufficient to produce acidity.</p> + +<p><i>Sulphuret</i>, a combination of sulphur with a base.</p></div> + +<div class="footnotes"><p><a name="Footnote_8_8" id="Footnote_8_8"></a><a href="#FNanchor_8_8"><span class="label">[8]</span></a> See Chapter XIII., article <a href="#OXYGEN">Oxygen</a>.</p> +</div><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84"></a>[84]</span></p> + + +<p><b>What are the uses of Copper?</b></p> + +<p>They are too various to be enumerated. In sheets it is much used to +sheathe the bottoms of ships, for boilers, and other utensils. Copper +coin was the only money used by the Romans till the 485th year of +their city, when silver began to be coined. In Sweden, houses are +covered with this metal.</p> + + +<p><b>What is a Mine?</b></p> + +<p>A cavity under ground, formed for the purpose of obtaining metals, +&c.; mines are often very deep and extensive. The descent into them is +by a pit, called a shaft; the clues by which mines are discovered, +are, mineral springs, the discoloration of vegetables, the appearance +of pieces of ore, &c.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Clues</i>, signs or means by which things hidden are brought +to light.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What is Brass?</b></p> + +<p>A factitious metal, consisting of copper and zinc. Brass is lighter +and harder than pure copper, and less subject to rust; owing to these +properties, together with its beautiful color, it is extremely useful +in the manufacture of many utensils.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Factitious</i>, made by art, not found in a natural state.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What is Zinc?</b></p> + +<p>A metal of a brilliant bluish white color. Its name was unknown to the +ancient Greeks and Arabians. It is mixed with other substances in the +ore, from which it is obtained by smelting in the furnace. It has +never yet been found native or pure.</p> + + +<p><b>For what is Zinc used?</b></p> + +<p>From its readiness to dissolve in all acids, and unite with other +metals, it is used in alloy with them in the composition of brass, &c. +Thin sheets of zinc are also used to cover roofs of houses, and in the +manufacture of various household utensils.</p> + + +<p><b>What is Lapis Calaminaris?</b></p> + +<p>Lapis Calaminaris, or calamine stone, is a native carbonate of zinc, +of some use in medicine, but chiefly in founding. It <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85"></a>[85]</span>is, sometimes +brownish, as that found in Germany and England, or red, as that of +France. It is dug out of mines, usually in small pieces; generally out +of those of lead. Calamine is mostly found in barren, rocky soils. +</p> +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Founding</i>, the art of casting metals.</p></div> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XI" id="CHAPTER_XI"></a>CHAPTER XI.</h2> + +<h3><span class="smcap">Yams, Mangoes, Bread-fruit, Shea or Butter Tree, Cow Tree, Water +Tree, Licorice, Manna, Opium, Tobacco, and Gum.</span></h3> + + +<p><b>What are Yams?</b></p> + +<p>The roots of a climbing plant growing in tropical climates. The root +of the yam is wholesome and well-flavored; nearly as large as a man's +leg, and of an irregular form. Yams are much used for food in those +countries where they grow; the natives either roast or boil them, and +the white people grind them into flour, of which they make bread and +puddings. The yam is of a dirty brown color outside, but white and +mealy within.</p> + + +<p><b>What are Mangoes?</b></p> + +<p>The fruit of the Mango Tree, a native of India and the south-western +parts of Asia; it also grows abundantly in the West Indies and Brazil. +It was introduced into Jamaica in 1782; where it attains the height of +thirty or forty feet, with thick and wide-extended branches. The +varieties of the mango are very numerous,—upwards of eighty are +cultivated; and the quality of these varies according to the countries +and situations in which they grow. The mangoes of Asia are said to be +much better than those of America.</p> + + +<p><b>Describe the appearance of the Mango Tree.</b></p> + +<p>The flowers of this tree are small and whitish, formed in <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86"></a>[86]</span>pyramidal +clusters. The fruit has some resemblance to a short thick cucumber, +about the size of a goose's egg; its taste is delicious and cooling; +it has a stone in the centre, like that of a peach. At first this +fruit is of a fine green color, and some varieties continue so, while +others change to a fine golden or orange color. The mango tree is an +evergreen, bearing fruit once or twice a year, from six or seven years +old to a hundred. +</p> +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Pyramidal</i>, resembling a pyramid.</p></div> + + +<p><b>How is this fruit eaten?</b></p> + +<p>When ripe, it is eaten by the natives either in its natural state, or +bruised in wine. It is brought to us either candied or pickled, as the +ripe fruit is very perishable; in the latter case, they are opened +with a knife, and the middle filled up with fresh ginger, garlic, +mustard, salt, and oil or vinegar. The fruit of the largest variety +weighs two pounds or upwards. The several parts of this tree are all +applied to some use by the Hindoos: the wood is consecrated to the +service of the dead; from the flour of the dried kernels different +kinds of food are prepared; the leaves, flowers, and bark, are +medicinal. +</p> +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Medicinal</i>, fit for medicine, possessing medical properties.</p> + +<p><i>Consecrated</i>, separated from a common to a sacred use.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Is there not a tree which bears a fruit that may be used for bread?</b></p> + +<p>Yes; the Bread-fruit Tree, originally found in the southeastern parts +of Asia and the islands of the Pacific Ocean, though introduced into +the tropical parts of America. It is one of the most interesting, as +well as singular productions of the vegetable kingdom, being no less +beautiful than it is useful. This tree is large and shady; its leaves +are broad and indented, like those of the fig tree—from twelve to +eighteen inches long, rather fleshy, and of a dark green. The fruit, +when full-grown, is from six to nine inches round, and of an oval +form—when ripe, of a rich, yellow tinge; it generally hangs in +clusters of two or three, on a small thick stalk; the pulp is white, +partly <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87"></a>[87]</span>farinaceous, and partly fibrous, but when ripe, becomes yellow +and juicy.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Indented</i>, toothed like the edge of a saw.</p> + +<p><i>Farinaceous</i>, mealy, consisting of meal or flour; from +<i>farina</i>, flour.</p></div> + + +<p><b>How is the Bread-Fruit eaten?</b></p> + +<p>It is roasted until the outside is of a brown color and crisp; the +pulp has then the consistency of bread, which the taste greatly +resembles; and thus it forms a nourishing food: it is also prepared in +many different ways, besides that just mentioned. The tree produces +three, sometimes four crops in a year, and continues bearing for fifty +years, so that two or three trees are enough for a man's yearly +supply. Its timber, which at first is of a rich yellow, but afterwards +assumes the color of mahogany, is used in the building of houses and +canoes; the flowers, when dried, serve as tinder; the sap or juice +serves for glue; the inner bark is made, by the natives of some of the +islands of the Pacific Ocean, into a kind of cloth; and the leaves are +useful for many purposes. One species of the bread-fruit, called the +Jaca tree, grows chiefly on the mainland of Asia.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Mainland</i>, the continent.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Describe the Jaca Tree.</b></p> + +<p>This kind grows to the same, if not a larger size than the bread-fruit +of the islands, but is neither so palatable nor so nutritious; the +fruit often weighs thirty pounds, and contains two or three hundred +seeds, each four times as large as an almond. December is the time +when the fruit ripens; it is then eaten, but not much relished; the +seeds are also eaten when roasted. There are also other trees in +different parts of the world, mostly of the palm species, which yield +bread of a similar kind.</p> + + +<p><b>Is there not a tree which produces a substance resembling the Butter +which we make from the milk of the cow?</b></p> + +<p>The Shea, or Butter Tree, a native of Africa: it is similar in +appearance to the American oak, and the fruit, (from the kernel of +which the butter is prepared,) is somewhat like an <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88"></a>[88]</span>olive in form. The +kernel is inclosed in a sweet pulp, under a thin, green rind.</p> + + +<p><b>How is the Butter extracted?</b></p> + +<p>The kernel, being taken out and dried in the sun, is boiled in water; +by which process a white, firm, and rich-flavored butter is produced, +which will keep for a whole year without salt. The growth and +preparation of this commodity is one of the first objects of African +industry, and forms a principal article of their trade with one +another.</p> + + +<p><b>You have given me an account of a useful Butter prepared from a plant; +is there not also a tree which can supply the want of a cow?</b></p> + +<p>In South America there is a tree, the juice of which is a nourishing +milk; it is called the Cow Tree. This tree is very fine; the leaves +are broad, and some of them ten inches long; the fruit is rather +fleshy, and contains one or two nuts or kernels. The milk is very +abundant, and is procured by incisions made in the trunk of the tree; +it is tolerably thick, and of a glutinous quality, a pleasant taste, +and agreeable smell. The negroes and people at work on the farms drink +it, dipping into it their bread made of maize.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Glutinous</i>, having the quality of glue,—an adhesive, gummy +substance, prepared from the skins of animals: it is used in +joining wood, &c., and for many other purposes.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What time of the day is the best for drawing the juice?</b></p> + +<p>Sunrise; the blacks and natives then hasten from all quarters with +large bowls to receive the milk; some drink it on the spot, others +carry it home to their families.</p> + + +<p><b>What island possesses a remarkable substitute for the want of springs +of Water?</b></p> + +<p>Ferro, one of the Canary Isles, situated in the Atlantic Ocean. In +this island there is no water, except on a part of the beach which is +nearly inaccessible; to supply the place of a fountain, Nature has +bestowed on the island a particular kind <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89"></a>[89]</span>of tree, unknown in other +parts of the world. It is of a moderate size, with straight, long, +evergreen leaves; on its top a small cloud continually rests, which so +drenches the leaves with moisture, that it perpetually distils upon +the ground a stream of clear water. To these trees, as to perennial +springs, the inhabitants of Ferro repair, and are supplied with +abundance of water for themselves and cattle. +</p> +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Perennial</i>, lasting through the year, perpetual.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What is Licorice?</b></p> + +<p>A plant, the juice of which is squeezed from the roots, and then +boiled with sugar, and used as a remedy for coughs, &c. Great +quantities are exported from Spain, Italy, &c. The dried root is of +great use in medicine, and makes an excellent drink for colds and +other affections of the lungs by boiling it with linseed.</p> + + +<p><b>What are the Lungs?</b></p> + +<p>The organs of respiration in man and many other animals. There are two +of these organs, one on each side of the chest. +</p> +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Respiration</i>, breathing; the act of inhaling air into the lungs, and +again expelling it, by which animal life is supported.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What is Manna?</b></p> + +<p>A sweet, white juice, oozing from the branches and leaves of a kind of +ash tree, growing chiefly in the southern parts of Italy, during the +heats of summer. When dry, it is very light, easily crumbled, and of a +whitish, or pale yellow color, not unlike hardened honey.</p> + + +<p><b>Is Manna peculiar to the Ash Tree of Southern Italy?</b></p> + +<p>No. Manna is nothing more than the nutritious juices of the tree, +which exude during the summer heats; and what confirms this is, that +the very hot summers are always those which are most productive of +manna. Several different species of trees produce a kind of manna; the +best and most used is, however, that of Calabria, in Italy.</p><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90"></a>[90]</span></p> + + +<p><b>What are its uses?</b></p> + +<p>It was much esteemed formerly in medicine, but it has now gone nearly +into disuse. The peasants of Mount Libanus eat it as others do honey. +The Bedouin Arabs consume great quantities, considering it the +greatest dainty their country affords. In Mexico, they are said to +have a manna which they eat as we do cheese. At Briançon, in France, +they collect it from all sorts of trees that grow there, and the +inhabitants observe, that such summers as produce the greatest +quantities of manna are very fatal to the trees, many of them +perishing in the winter.</p> + + +<p><b>Is there not another tree which produces Manna?</b></p> + +<p>Yes: the Tamarisk, a tree peculiar to Palestine and parts of Arabia. +This remarkable substance is produced by several trees, and in various +countries of the East. On Mount Sinai there is a different species of +Tamarisk that yields it. It is found on the branches of the tree, and +falls on the ground during the heat of the day.</p> + + +<p><b>Where is Mount Libanus?</b></p> + +<p>Mount Libanus, or Lebanon, is situated in Asiatic Turkey; it was +anciently famous for its large and beautiful cedar trees. The "Cedars +of Lebanon" are frequently mentioned in Holy Writ. There are now +scarcely any remaining of superior size and antiquity, but they vary +from the largest size down to mere saplings; and their numbers seem to +increase rather than diminish, there being many young trees springing +up.</p> + + +<p><b>How is Manna gathered?</b></p> + +<p>From August to September, the Italians collect it in the following +manner, <i>viz.</i>: by making an incision at the foot of the tree, each day +over that of the preceding, about four inches from one another: these +cuts, or incisions, are nearly two inches long, and half an inch deep. +When the cut is made, the manna directly begins to flow, at first like +clear water, but congealing as it flows, it soon becomes firm: this +they collect in baskets. Manna has been found to consist of two +distinct substances <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91"></a>[91]</span>one nearly resembling sugar, the other similar to +a gum or mucilage.</p> + + +<p><b>What nation was fed with a kind of Manna?</b></p> + +<p>The Children of Israel, when wandering in the desert wilderness, where +no food was to be procured, were fed by a miraculous supply of manna, +showered down from Heaven every morning on the ground in such +quantities as to afford sufficient food for the whole host.</p> + + +<p><b>What is Opium?</b></p> + +<p>A narcotic, gummy, resinous juice, drawn from the head of the white +poppy, and afterwards thickened; it is brought over in dark, reddish +brown lumps, which, when powdered, become yellow.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Narcotic</i>, producing sleep and drowsiness.</p></div> + + +<p><b>In what countries is it cultivated?</b></p> + +<p>In many parts of Asia, India, and even the southern parts of Europe, +whence it is exported into other countries. The Turks, and other +Eastern nations, chew it. With us it is chiefly used in medicine. The +juice is obtained from incisions made in the seed-vessels of the +plant; it is collected in earthen pots, and allowed to become +sufficiently hard to be formed into roundish masses of about four +pounds weight. In Europe the poppy is cultivated mostly for the seeds. +Morphia and laudanum are medicinal preparations of opium.</p> + + +<p><b>What is Tobacco?</b></p> + +<p>An herbaceous plant which flourishes in many temperate climates, +particularly in North America; it is supposed to have received its +name from Tabaco, a province of Mexico; it is cultivated in the West +Indies, the Levant, on the coast of Greece, in the Archipelago, Malta, +Italy, France, Ceylon, &c. It was not known in Europe till the +discovery of America by the Spaniards; and was carried to England +about the time of Queen Elizabeth, either by Sir Francis Drake or Sir +Walter Raleigh. Tobacco is either taken as snuff, smoked in pipes or +in the form <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92"></a>[92]</span>of cigars, or chewed in the mouth like opium. There are +many different species of this plant, most of them natives of America, +some of the Cape of Good Hope and China. Tobacco contains a powerful +poison called nicotine.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Herbaceous</i>, like an herb or plant, not a shrub or tree.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What part of the plant is used?</b></p> + +<p>The leaves, which are stripped from the plant, and after being +moistened with water, are twisted up into rolls; these are cut up by +the tobacconist, and variously prepared for sale, or reduced into a +scented powder called snuff.</p> + + +<p><b>Who was Sir Francis Drake?</b></p> + +<p>Sir Francis Drake was a distinguished naval officer, who flourished in +the reign of Elizabeth. He made his name immortal by a voyage into the +South Seas, through the Straits of Magellan; which, at that time, no +Englishman had ever attempted. He died on board his own ship in the +West Indies, 1595.</p> + + +<p><b>Who was Sir Walter Raleigh?</b></p> + +<p>Sir Walter Raleigh was also an illustrious English navigator and +historian, born in 1552. He performed great services for Queen +Elizabeth, particularly in the discovery of Virginia, and in the +defeat of the Spanish Armada; he lived in honor and prosperity during +her reign, but on the accession of James the First, was stripped of +his favor at court, unaccountably accused of high treason, tried, and +condemned to die; being reprieved, however, he was imprisoned in the +Tower of London many years, during which time he devoted himself to +writing and study. Receiving, at last, a commission to go and explore +the gold mines at Guiana, he embarked; but his design having been +betrayed to the Spaniards, he was defeated: and on his return to +England, in July, 1618, was arrested and beheaded, (by order of the +King, on his former attainder,) October 29; suffering his fate with +great magnanimity.</p><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93"></a>[93]</span></p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>High Treason</i>, in England, means an offence committed +against the sovereign. In the United States it consists in +levying war against the government, adhering to its enemies, +and giving them aid and comfort.</p> + +<p><i>Reprieved</i>, respited from sentence of death.</p> + +<p><i>Magnanimity</i>, greatness of mind, bravery.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What is Gum?</b></p> + +<p>A mucilaginous juice, exuding from the bark of certain trees or +plants, drawn thence by the warmth of the sun in the form of a +glutinous matter; and afterwards by the same cause rendered firm and +tenacious. There are many different gums, named after the particular +tree or plant from which they are produced.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Mucilaginous</i>, consisting of mucilage.</p> + +<p><i>Tenacious</i>, adhering closely.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What is the character of Gum?</b></p> + +<p>Gum is capable of being dissolved in water, and forming with it a +viscid transparent fluid; but not in vinous spirits or oil; it burns +in the fire to a black coal, without melting or catching fire; and +does not dissolve in water at boiling heat. The name of <i>gum</i> has been +inaccurately given to several species of gum-resins, which consist of +resin and various other substances, flowing from many kinds of trees, +and becoming hard by exposure to the air. These are soluble in dilute +alcohol. Gum is originally a milky liquor, having a greater quantity +of water mixed with its oily parts, and for that reason it dissolves +in either water or oil. Another sort is not oily, and therefore +dissolves in water only, as gum Arabic, the gum of the cherry-tree, +&c.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Viscid</i>, thick, ropy.</p> + +<p><i>Vinous</i>, having the qualities of wine.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Are the last-mentioned sorts properly called Gums?</b></p> + +<p>No, though commonly called gums, they are only dried mucilages, which +were nothing else than the mucilaginous lymph issuing from the vessels +of the tree, in the same manner as it does from mallows, comfrey, and +even from the cucumber; the vessels of which being cut across, yield a +lymph which is plainly mucilaginous, and if well dried, at length +becomes a kind of gum, or rather, a hardened mucilage.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Lymph</i>, transparent fluid.</p></div><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94"></a>[94]</span></p> + + +<p><b>What is Gum Arabic?</b></p> + +<p>The juice of a small tree of the Acacia tribe, growing in Egypt, +Arabia Petræa, Palestine, and in different parts of America.</p> + + +<p><b>Are there other plants or trees which produce Gum, besides those +already mentioned?</b></p> + +<p>A great number, though not all commonly in use. The leaves of rhubarb, +the common plum, and even the sloe and the laurel, produce a clear, +tasteless gum; there are also a number of different gums, brought from +foreign countries, of great use in medicine and the arts. Most of the +Acacias produce gums, though the quality of all is not equally good.</p> + + +<p><b>What is Rhubarb?</b></p> + +<p>A valuable root growing in China, Turkey, and Russian Tartary. +Quantities of it are imported from other parts of the world: that from +Turkey is esteemed the best. Rhubarb is also cultivated in our +gardens, and the stalks of the leaves are often used in tarts; but the +root, from the difference of climate, does not possess any medicinal +virtue.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XII" id="CHAPTER_XII"></a>CHAPTER XII.</h2> + +<h3><span class="smcap">Spectacles, Mariner's Compass, Barometer, Thermometer, Watches, +Clocks, Telescope, Microscope, Gunpowder, Steam Engine, and +Electro-Magnetic Telegraph.</span> +</h3> + +<p><b>When were Spectacles invented, and who was their inventor?</b></p> + +<p>It is supposed that they were first known about the thirteenth +century, and invented by a monk of Pisa, in Italy, named <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95"></a>[95]</span>Alexander de +Spina. Spectacles are composed of two circular pieces of glass set in +a frame.</p> + + +<p><b>What are these glasses called?</b></p> + +<p>Lenses. They are either convex or concave, according to the kind of +sight requiring them. Old people, and those who can only see things at +a distance, from the flatness of the eye, which prevents the rays of +light converging so as to meet in the centre, require convex lenses. +People who can only distinguish objects when viewed closely, from the +eye being too convex, require concave lenses to counteract it by +spreading the rays, and thus rendering vision distinct.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Convex</i>, rising outwardly in a circular form; opposite to +concave.</p> + +<p><i>Concave</i>, hollow; round, but hollow, as the inner curve of +an arch, &c.</p> + +<p><i>Converging</i>, tending to one point from different parts.</p> + +<p><i>Vision</i>, the faculty of seeing.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What is the Mariner's Compass?</b></p> + +<p>A most useful and important instrument, by the aid of which the +navigator guides his ship on the sea, and steers his way to the place +of his destination. The inventor of the Mariner's Compass is not +known, nor the exact time of its introduction; it was employed in +Europe in navigation about the middle of the thirteenth century, and +has been in use more than five hundred years. The Chinese are said to +have been acquainted with it much earlier, but no reliance can be +placed on their dates. The power of the loadstone to attract iron was +known to the ancient Egyptians, but it was not applied to any +practical purpose.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Navigator</i>, one who guides a ship.</p> + +<p><i>Steer</i>, to direct or guide a vessel in its course.</p> + +<p><i>Destination</i>, the place to which a person is bound.</p> + +<p><i>Practical</i>, capable of practice, not merely speculative.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What is the Loadstone?</b></p> + +<p>An ore of iron which possesses the peculiar property of attracting +iron, namely, of drawing it in contact with its own mass, and holding +it firmly attached by its own power of attraction. A piece of +loadstone drawn several times along a needle,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96"></a>[96]</span> or a small piece of +iron, converts it into an artificial magnet; if this magnetized needle +is carefully balanced, it will turn round of itself, till its end +points towards the North. The magnetized needle also possesses the +power of attracting iron, and of communicating this power to another +piece of iron or steel, similar to that of the loadstone itself.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Contact</i>, touch.</p> + +<p><i>Magnetized</i>, rendered magnetic.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Describe the Mariner's Compass.</b></p> + +<p>The Mariner's Compass consists of a circular box, enclosing a +magnetized bar of steel, called the <i>needle</i>, carefully balanced on an +upright steel pivot, and having that end which points to the North +shaped like the head of an arrow; attached to this needle, and turning +with it, is a card on which are printed the divisions of North, South. +East, and West; called the points of the compass. By simply looking at +the position of the needle, the mariner can see the direction in which +his vessel is sailing, and regulate his helm accordingly.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Helm</i>, the instrument by which a ship is steered, +consisting of a rudder and tiller.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What is a Barometer?</b></p> + +<p>An instrument for measuring the weight of the atmosphere, which +enables us to determine the changes of the weather, the height of +mountains, &c. It consists of a glass tube hermetically sealed at one +end, filled with mercury, and inverted in a basin of mercury; +according to the weight of the atmosphere, this mercury rises or +falls.</p> + + +<p><b>How is the Hermetic seal formed?</b></p> + +<p>By heating the edges of a vessel, till they are just ready to melt, +and then twisting them closely together with hot pincers, so that the +air may be totally excluded. The word is taken from Hermes, the Greek +name for Mercury, the heathen god of arts and learning, and the +supposed inventor of chemistry,<a name="FNanchor_9_9" id="FNanchor_9_9"></a><a href="#Footnote_9_9" class="fnanchor">[9]</a> which is sometimes called the +hermetical art; or perhaps + +from Hermes, an +ancient king of Egypt, who was either its inventor, or excelled in it.</p> +<div class="footnotes"><p><a name="Footnote_9_9" id="Footnote_9_9"></a><a href="#FNanchor_9_9"><span class="label">[9]</span></a> See Chapter XVIII., article <a href="#CHEMISTRY">Chemistry</a>.</p> +</div> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97"></a>[97]</span></p> + + +<p><b><a name="MERCURY" id="MERCURY"></a>What is Mercury?</b></p> + +<p>Quicksilver, or mercury, is a white fluid metal, the heaviest except +platina and gold; it readily combines with nearly all other metals, +and is used in the manufacture of looking-glasses, barometers, +thermometers, &c.; in some of the arts, and in the preparation of +several powerful medicines. It is found in California, Hungary, +Sweden, Spain, China, and Peru. The quicksilver mine of Guança Velica, +in Peru, is one hundred and seventy fathoms in circumference, and four +hundred and eighty deep. In this profound abyss are seen streets, +squares, and a chapel, where religious worship is performed. The +quicksilver mines of Idria, a town of Lower Austria, have continually +been wrought for more than 300 years. The vapor which is continually +arising from the mercury is very hurtful to the miners, who seldom +survive many years.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Abyss</i>, a gulf, a depth without bottom.</p></div> + + +<p><b>In what state is Mercury usually found?</b></p> + +<p>Either native, or in the form of ore; it is often found mixed with +silver, but more frequently with sulphur in the form of sulphuret, +which is decomposed by distillation. Running mercury is found in +globules, in America, and is collected from the clefts of the rocks. +Mercury has the appearance of melted silver; it is neither ductile nor +malleable in this state; it is a substance so volatile, when heated, +that it may be evaporated like water; it is always seen in a fluid +state, even in temperate climates, as a very small portion of heat is +sufficient to preserve its fluidity. It is used to separate gold and +silver from the foreign matter found with those metals. Calomel, a +valuable medicine, and vermilion, a color, are both preparations of +mercury.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Globules</i>, small particles of matter having the form of a +ball or sphere.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What is a Thermometer?</b></p> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98"></a>[98]</span></p> + +<p>An instrument for measuring temperature. It consists of a fine glass +tube, terminated at one end in a bulb, usually filled with mercury, +which expands or contracts according to the degree of heat or cold. On +the scale of the Fahrenheit thermometer, the freezing point of water +is marked 32° and the boiling point at 212°. In both the Centigrade +and the Reaumur scales the freezing point is at 0, and the boiling +point at 100° in the Centigrade and at 80° in Reaumur's. The invention +of this instrument dates from about the close of the sixteenth +century; but it is not known by whom it was first brought into use.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Terminated</i>, finished, ended.</p></div> + + +<p><b>When and by whom were Watches and Clocks invented?</b></p> + +<p>Watches were invented about the year 1500, but who was the inventor is +disputed. They were, however, of little value as time-keepers, before +the application of the spiral spring as a regulator to the balance; +the glory of this excellent invention lies between Dr. Hooke and M. +Huygens; the English ascribing it to the former, the Dutch, French, +&c., to the latter. Some assert that pocket-watches were first made +about 1477, at Nuremberg, in Germany. The most ancient clock of which +we possess any certain account, was made in 1634 by Henry de Wycke, a +German artist; it was erected in a tower of the palace of Charles V., +king of France. The pendulum was applied by Huygens, in 1656.</p> + + +<p><b>What is a Pendulum?</b></p> + +<p>A weight so suspended from a fixed point that it may easily swing +backward and forward; its oscillations are always performed in equal +times, provided the length of the pendulum and the gravity remain the +same. It is said that the idea of employing the pendulum for the +measurement of time, was first conceived by Galileo, while a young +man, upon his observing attentively the regular oscillations of a lamp +suspended from the roof of a church in Pisa. It was not, however, till +the time of Huygens that a method was devised of continuing its +motions, and registering the number of its oscillations.</p> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99"></a>[99]</span></p> +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Oscillation</i>, a swinging backward and forward.</p> + +<p><i>Gravity</i>, the tendency of a body toward the centre of the +earth.</p> + +<p><i>Registering</i>, recording.</p></div> + +<p class="center"><img src="images/image_09.jpg" alt="CHARCOAL BURNING." width="527" height="383" /><br /> +<span class="caption">CHARCOAL BURNING.</span></p> + +<p class="center"><img src="images/image_10.jpg" alt="GOLD MINERS WASHING ORE." width="526" height="391" /><br /> +<span class="caption">GOLD MINERS WASHING ORE.</span></p> + +<p><b>To whom is the invention of Gunpowder ascribed?</b></p> + +<p>Most authors suppose it was invented by Bartholdus Schwartz, a monk of +Goslar, a town of Brunswick, in Germany, about the year 1320; it +appears, however, that it was known much earlier in many parts of the +world, and that the famous Roger Bacon, who died in 1292, knew its +properties; but it is not certain that he was acquainted with its +application to fire-arms.</p> + + +<p><b>Who was Roger Bacon?</b></p> + +<p>A learned Franciscan, born at Ilchester, England, in 1214. He studied +at Oxford, and afterwards became professor at that great University. +He was familiar with every branch of human knowledge, but was +especially distinguished for his extraordinary proficiency in the +natural sciences. To him we owe the invention of the telescope; that +of gunpowder is ascribed to him, as stated above, although we have no +evidence to show whether he discovered its ingredients himself, or +whether he derived the knowledge from some ancient manuscripts. Bacon +suffered some from the ignorance of the age in which he lived, many of +his experiments being looked upon as magic. He died at Oxford in the +year 1294.</p> + + +<p><b>What is understood by Magic?</b></p> + +<p>Magic is a term used to signify an unlawful and wicked kind of +science, depending, as was pretended, on the assistance of superhuman +beings and of departed souls. The term was anciently applied to all +kinds of learning, and in particular to the science of the Magi or +Wise Men of Persia, from whom it was called magic. <i>Natural</i> magic is +no more than the application of natural active causes to passive +things or subjects, to produce effects apparently supernatural.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Supernatural</i>, beyond the powers of nature; miraculous.</p></div><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100"></a>[100]</span></p> + + +<p><b>Of what is Gunpowder composed?</b></p> + +<p>Of saltpetre,<a name="FNanchor_10_10" id="FNanchor_10_10"></a><a href="#Footnote_10_10" class="fnanchor">[10]</a> sulphur, and charcoal, mixed together and powdered; +its explosive force when fired, is owing to the instantaneous and +abundant liberation of gaseous matter by the intense heat resulting +from the action of the combustibles upon the saltpetre. It is not +known by whom it was first applied to the purposes of war, but it is +certain that it was used early in the fourteenth century. Cannons were +used at the battle of Cressy, in 1346; small guns, or muskets, were +introduced into the Spanish army in 1521.</p> + +<div class="footnotes"><p><a name="Footnote_10_10" id="Footnote_10_10"></a><a href="#FNanchor_10_10"><span class="label">[10]</span></a> See <a href="#CHAPTER_XIII">Chapter XIII</a>.</p> +</div> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Explosive</i>, bursting out with violence and noise.</p> + +<p><i>Liberation</i>, a setting at liberty.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Is not Gunpowder highly combustible?</b></p> + +<p>So combustible is gunpowder, that a single spark of fire, lighting +upon any of it, will cause it to explode with immense force; and +instances have occurred, when any store or magazine of it has taken +fire, that have been attended with the most fatal effects. It is +useful to the miner and engineer as a ready means of overcoming the +obstacles which are presented in their search for mineral treasures, +and in procuring materials for building. From many passages in the +ancient authors, there is reason to suppose that gunpowder, or a +composition extremely like it, was known to them; but it does not +appear to have been in general use, and the invention of fire-arms is +comparatively modern. Dynamite, a recent invention, has a still +greater explosive force than gunpowder.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Engineer</i>, one who works or directs an engine.</p> + +<p><i>Obstacles</i>, hinderances, obstructions.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What is Saltpetre?</b></p> + +<p>A bitter kind of salt, called by the ancients nitre, but more commonly +among us saltpetre. It is composed of nitric acid and potassa.<a name="FNanchor_11_11" id="FNanchor_11_11"></a><a href="#Footnote_11_11" class="fnanchor">[11]</a> It +is found in earthy substances; sometimes native or pure, in the form +of a shapeless salt. Vast quantities <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101"></a>[101]</span>are found in several of the +marly earths of the East Indies, China, Persia, and also in South +America. In India it is found naturally crystallized, and forming thin +crusts upon the surface of the earth. It is especially abundant in the +United States, being found in immense quantities in the limestone +caves in the south-western States.</p> + +<div class="footnotes"><p><a name="Footnote_11_11" id="Footnote_11_11"></a><a href="#FNanchor_11_11"><span class="label">[11]</span></a> See <a href="#POTASH">Potash</a>, Chapter VII., article <a href="#GLASS">Glass</a>.</p> +</div> + +<p><b>What do you mean by <i>Marly</i>?</b></p> + +<p>Consisting of marl, a kind of earth composed of different proportions +of clay and carbonate of lime; it is much used for manure. There are +several different-colored marls, each possessing different qualities. +The most common are the red and the white, though there are grey, +brown, blue, and yellow colored marls.</p> + + +<p><b>What is a Telescope?</b></p> + +<p>An optical instrument, which serves for discovering and viewing +distant objects, either directly by glasses, or by reflection. The +invention of the telescope is one of the noblest and most useful of +which modern ages can boast, since by means of this instrument the +wonderful motions of the planets and fixed stars, and all the heavenly +bodies, are revealed to us. The honor of the invention is much +disputed; it is certain, however, that the celebrated Galileo was the +first who improved the telescope so as to answer astronomical +purposes. The name is formed from two Greek words, one signifying +<i>far</i>, the other <i>to observe</i>.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Optical</i>, relating to Optics, the science of vision.</p> + +<p><i>Astronomical</i>, relating to Astronomy.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Who was Galileo?</b></p> + +<p>A most eminent astronomer and mathematician, born at Florence, in +Italy. His inventions and discoveries in Astronomy, Geometry, and +Mechanics, contributed much to the advancement of those sciences. He +died in 1642.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Astronomer</i>, one versed in Astronomy.</p> + +<p><i>Mathematician</i>, one versed in Mathematics; a science which +treats of magnitude and number.</p></div><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102"></a>[102]</span></p> + + +<p><b>What is Astronomy?</b><a name="FNanchor_12_12" id="FNanchor_12_12"></a><a href="#Footnote_12_12" class="fnanchor">[12]</a></p> + +<p>That science which teaches the knowledge of the heavenly bodies, with +the nature and causes of their various phenomena.</p> + +<div class="footnotes"><p><a name="Footnote_12_12" id="Footnote_12_12"></a><a href="#FNanchor_12_12"><span class="label">[12]</span></a> See <a href="#CHAPTER_XVIII">Chapter XVIII</a>.</p> +</div> + +<p><b>What is Geometry?</b></p> + +<p>An ancient, perfect, and beautiful science, which treats of the +relations and properties of lines, surfaces, and solids.</p> + + +<p><b>What is meant by Mechanics?</b></p> + +<p>The science which investigates the laws of forces and powers, and +their action on bodies, either directly or by machinery. When the term +<i>mechanic</i> is applied to a <i>person</i>, it means one skilled in +mechanics, accustomed to manual labor.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Investigate</i>, to search, to inquire into.</p> + +<p><i>Manual</i>, performed by the hand.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What is a Microscope?</b></p> + +<p>An optical instrument, by means of which very minute objects are +represented exceedingly large, and viewed very distinctly according to +the laws of refraction or reflection. Nothing certain is known +respecting the inventor of microscopes, or the exact time of their +invention, but that they were first used in Germany, about 1621.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Minute</i>, small, diminutive.</p> + +<p><i>Refraction</i>, a change in the direction of a ray of light, +when it passes through transparent substances of different +densities.</p> + +<p><i>Reflection</i>, a turning back of a ray of light after +striking upon any surface.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What is the Steam Engine?</b></p> + +<p>A machine that derives its moving power from the force of the steam +produced from boiling water, which is very great, especially when, as +in the steam engine, it is confined within a limited compass: this +useful machine is one of the most valuable presents that the arts of +life have received from the philosopher, and is of the greatest +importance in working mines; supplying cities with water; in working +metals; in many mechanical arts; and in navigation. By the aid of +steam, vessels <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103"></a>[103]</span>are propelled with greater swiftness than those which +are wholly dependent on the winds and tides; and thus trade is +facilitated, and we are enabled to communicate with distant lands in a +much shorter space of time than was formerly consumed. On land, +railroads are constructed, on which steam carriages run with +astonishing rapidity, so that a journey which by coach and horses +formerly required two or more days, may now be performed in four or +five hours.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Mechanical</i>, belonging to Mechanics.</p></div> + + +<p><b>To whom are we indebted for its invention?</b></p> + +<p>Its invention is by most writers ascribed to the Marquis of Worcester, +an Englishman, about 1663; but it does not appear that the inventor +could ever interest the public in favor of this, or his other +discoveries. The steam engine of Captain Savery, also an Englishman, +is the first of which any definite description has been preserved. It +was invented in 1698. Since that period it has been successively +improved by various persons, but it is to Mr. Watt and Mr. Boulton, of +England, that it is indebted for much of its present state of +perfection.</p> + + +<p><b>By whom was the Steam Engine first applied to the purposes of +Navigation?</b></p> + +<p>By John Fitch, of Pennsylvania. From papers in the historical +collections of Pennsylvania, it appears that the first successful +experiments were made at Philadelphia, in 1785, three years before the +attempts at Falkirk, and on the Clyde, in Scotland. The boat made +several trips on the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers, but owing to +repeated accidents to her machinery, and the want of funds and +competent mechanics for the necessary repairs, she was abandoned. In +1807, Robert Fulton, also of Pennsylvania, made his first experimental +trip on the Hudson River, with complete success. To this distinguished +and ingenious American justly belongs the honor of having brought +navigation by steam to a state of perfection. In 1819, the first +steamship crossed the Atlantic from Savannah <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104"></a>[104]</span>to Liverpool; and in +1838, a regular communication by steamship was established between +Great Britain and the United States. Since that period, ocean +navigation by steam-vessels has made rapid progress, and, at the +present time, numbers of steamers connect our various seaports with +those of other nations, and with each other.</p> + + +<p><b>What is the Electro-Magnetic Telegraph?</b></p> + +<p>An instrument, or apparatus, by means of which intelligence is +conveyed to any distance with the velocity of lightning. The electric +fluid, when an excess has accumulated in one place, always seeks to +transfer itself to another, until an equilibrium of its distribution +is fully restored. Consequently, when two places are connected by +means of a good conductor of electricity, as, for instance, the +telegraphic wire; the fluid generated by a galvanic battery, if the +communication be rendered complete, instantaneously traverses the +whole extent of the wire, and charges, at the distant station, an +electro-magnet; this attracts one end of a lever, and draws it +downward, while the other extremity is thrown up, and, by means of a +style, marks a slip of paper, which is steadily wound off from a +roller by the aid of clock-work. If the communication is immediately +broken, only one wave of electricity passes over, and a <i>dot</i> is made +upon the paper; if kept up, a <i>line</i> is marked. These dots and lines +are made to represent the letters of the alphabet, so that an operator +employed for the purpose can easily read the message which is +transmitted.—The Electro-Magnetic Telegraph was first introduced upon +a line between Baltimore and Washington, by Professor Morse, in 1844; +at the present time, it is in successful operation between nearly all +the important cities and towns of the United States and of Europe.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>An <i>Electro-Magnet</i> is a piece of soft iron, rendered +temporarily magnetic by being placed within a coil of wire +through which a current of electricity is passing.</p></div> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105"></a>[105]</span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIII" id="CHAPTER_XIII"></a>CHAPTER XIII.</h2> + +<h3><span class="smcap">Soap, Candles, Tallow Tree, Spermaceti, Wax, Mahogany, Indian +Rubber or Caoutchouc, Sponge, Coral, Lime, Carbon, Oxygen, Nitrogen, +Gas, Hydrogen, Chalk, and Marble.</span></h3> + + +<p><b>Of what is Soap composed?</b></p> + +<p>Of soda or potash, and various oily substances; it is so useful for +domestic and other purposes, that it may be regarded as one of the +necessaries of life; immense quantities of it are consumed in all +civilized countries. Soft soap is generally made of a lye of +wood-ashes and quicklime, boiled up with tallow or oil; common +household soap of soda and tallow, or of potash and tallow; when +potash is used, a large portion of common salt, which contains soda, +is added to harden it. The finest white soaps are made of olive oil +and a lye consisting of soda and quicklime; perfumes are sometimes +added, or various coloring matters stirred in to give the soap a +variegated appearance. The ancient Greeks and Hebrews appear to have +been acquainted with the art of making soap, or a composition very +similar to it; and also the ancient Gauls and Germans. A soap-boiler's +shop, with soap in it, was found in the city of Pompeii, in Italy, +which was overwhelmed by an eruption of Mount Vesuvius, A.D. 79.</p> + + +<p><b>What is Soda?</b></p> + +<p>Soda, or barilla, is obtained from the ashes of marine plants, and by +the decomposition of common salt; its great depository is the ocean, +soda being the basis of salt. The marine plants from which the soda is +obtained, are endowed with the property of decomposing the sea-salt +which they imbibe, and of absorbing the soda which it contains. It is +found native in Egypt, and is there called <i>natron</i>; a name similar to +that which it bore among the Jews and Greeks.</p><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106"></a>[106]</span></p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Depository</i>, store-house, place where anything is lodged.</p> + +<p><i>Imbibe</i>, to drink in, to absorb.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Of what are Candles made?</b></p> + +<p>Of Tallow, which means animal fat melted and clarified, that is, +cleansed or purified from filth. Tallow is procured from many animals, +but the most esteemed, and the most used, is that made from oxen, +sheep, swine, goats, deer, bears, &c.; some of which tallows or fats +are used in medicine, some in making soap, and dressing leather; +others in the manufacture of candles, &c. For the last-mentioned +article, that of sheep and oxen is most used; candles of a better sort +are likewise made of wax and spermaceti. Candles are kept burning by +means of a wick of cotton or rush, placed in the centre of the tallow, +which is moulded into a cylindrical form.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Cylindrical</i>, having the form of a cylinder.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Is there not a tree which yields a vegetable Tallow?</b></p> + +<p>Yes; China possesses a tree producing a substance like our tallow, of +which the Chinese make their candles; this tallow is extracted from +the stone of the fruit, the tallow being a white pulp which surrounds +it. In America, likewise, there is a shrub, a native of the temperate +parts, especially towards the sea-side, the seeds of which contain a +waxy substance used for the same purpose, and which is extracted by +boiling; this shrub is a species of myrtle, and does not attain to any +great size.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Extracted</i>, drawn from.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What is Spermaceti?</b></p> + +<p>A whitish, flaky, unctuous substance, prepared from an oil of the same +name, drawn from a particular kind of whale, distinguished from the +common whale by having teeth, and a hunch on its back.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Flaky</i>, having the nature of flakes.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What is Wax?</b></p> + +<p>A soft, yellow, concrete matter, collected from vegetables by <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107"></a>[107]</span>the +bee, of which this industrious and useful insect constructs its cell. +Wax forms a considerable article of trade; it is of two kinds, the +yellow and the white; the yellow is the native wax as it is taken from +the hive, and the white is the same washed, purified, and exposed to +the air.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Concrete</i>, grown together, solid.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What Tree produces the beautiful and well-known wood so much used in +making the various articles of household furniture?</b></p> + +<p>The Mahogany Tree, growing in America, and the East and West Indies; +it frequently grows in the crevices of rocks, and other places of the +same description. This wood was not used for making furniture till +near the end of the seventeenth century. A London physician had a +brother, the captain of a West India ship, who, on his return to +England, having on board several logs of mahogany for the purpose of +ballast, made him a present of the wood, he being engaged in a +building project; his carpenter, however, threw it aside, observing +that it was too hard to be wrought. Some time after, the lady of the +physician being in want of a box to hold candles, the cabinet-maker +was directed to make it of this wood; he also made the same objection, +and declared that it spoiled his tools. Being urged, however, to make +another trial, he at length succeeded; when the box was polished, the +beautiful color of the wood was so novel, that it became an object of +great curiosity. Before this time, mahogany had been used partially in +the West Indies for ship-building, but this new discovery of its +beauty soon brought it into general use for making furniture.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Crevice</i>, a rent, a crack.</p> + +<p><i>Ballast</i>, the heavy matter placed in the hold of a vessel +to keep it steady.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What is India Rubber or Caoutchouc?</b></p> + +<p>An elastic, resinous substance, produced from a tree, growing +abundantly at Cayenne, Quito, and other parts of South America; and +also in some parts of the Indies. The tree which <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108"></a>[108]</span>produces it is +large, straight, and about sixty feet high. There is, however, a small +species found in Sumatra and Java, and some of the neighboring +islands.</p> + + +<p><b>How is the Caoutchouc obtained from the Tree?</b></p> + +<p>By making incisions in the trunk of the tree, from which the fluid +resin issues in great abundance, appearing of a milky whiteness at +first, but gradually becoming of a dark reddish color, soft and +elastic to the touch.</p> + + +<p><b>To what use is this substance put?</b></p> + +<p>The Indians make of it boots, shoes, bottles, flambeaux, and a species +of cloth. Amongst us it is combined with sulphur, forming the +vulcanized rubber of commerce, which is used for many purposes. A +greater proportion of sulphur, produces vulcanite, a hard black +substance, resembling jet.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Flambeaux</i>, torches burnt to give light.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What is Sponge?</b></p> + +<p>A marine substance, found adhering to rocks and shells under the +sea-water, or on the sides of rocks near the shore. Sponge was +formerly imagined by some naturalists to be a vegetable production; by +others, a mineral, or a collection of sea-mud, but it has since been +discovered to be the fabric and habitation of a species of worm, or +polypus.</p> + + +<p><b>What do you mean by Polypus?</b></p> + +<p>A species of animals called Zoophytes, by which are meant beings +having such an admixture of the characteristics of both plants and +animals, as to render it difficult to decide to which division they +properly belong. They are animal in substance, possessed indeed of a +stomach, but without the other animal characteristics of +blood-vessels, bones, or organs of sense; these creatures live chiefly +in water, and are mostly incapable of motion: they increase by buds or +excrescences from the parent zoophyte, and if cut off will grow again +and multiply; each part becoming a perfect animal. Myriads of the +different species of zoophytes reside in small cells of coral, sponge, +&c., or in forms <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109"></a>[109]</span>like plants, and multiply in such numbers as to +create rocks and whole islands in many seas, by their untiring +industry. Polypus signifies having many feet, or roots; it is derived +from the Greek.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Myriads</i>, countless numbers.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Whence are the best and greatest number of Sponges brought?</b></p> + +<p>From the Mediterranean, especially from Nicaria, an island near the +coast of Asia: the collection of sponges forms, in some of these +islands, the principal support of their inhabitants. They are procured +by diving under water, an exercise in which both men, women, and +children are skilled from their earliest years. The fine, small +sponges are esteemed the best, and usually come from Constantinople; +the larger and coarser sorts are brought from Tunis and Algiers, on +the coast of Africa. Sponge is very useful in the arts, as well as for +domestic purposes.</p> + + +<p><b>What is Coral?</b></p> + +<p>A substance which, like sponge, was considered as a vegetable +production, until about the year 1720, when a French gentleman of +Marseilles commenced (and continued for thirty years,) a series of +observations, and ascertained that the coral was a living animal of +the Polypus tribe. The general name of zoophytes, or plant animals, +has since been applied to them. These animals are furnished with +minute glands, secreting a milky juice; this juice, when exuded from +the animal, becomes fixed and hard.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Series</i>, a course or continued succession.</p> + +<p><i>Glands</i>, vessels.</p> + +<p><i>Exuded</i>, from exude, to flow out.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Is this substance considered by naturalists as the habitation of the +Insect?</b></p> + +<p>Not merely as the habitation, but as a part of the animal itself, in +the same manner that the shell of a snail or an oyster is of those +animals, and without which they cannot long exist. <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110"></a>[110]</span>By means of this +juice or secretion, the coral insects, at a vast but unknown depth +below the surface of the sea, attach themselves to the points and +ridges of rocks, which form the bottom of the ocean; upon which +foundation the little architects labor, building up, by the aid of the +above-mentioned secretion, pile upon pile of their rocky habitations, +until at length the work rises above the sea, and is continued to such +a height as to leave it almost dry, when the insects leave building on +that part, and begin afresh in another direction under the water. Huge +masses of rocky substances are thus raised by this wonderful little +insect, capable of resisting the tremendous power of the ocean when +agitated to the highest pitch by winds or tempests.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Architect</i>, one who builds.</p></div> + + +<p><b>How do these Coral Rocks become Islands?</b></p> + +<p>After the formation of this solid, rocky base, sea-shells, fragments +of coral, and sea-sand, thrown up by each returning tide, are broken +and mixed together by the action of the waves; these, in time, become +a sort of stone, and thus raise the surface higher and higher; +meanwhile, the ever-active surf continues to throw up the shells of +marine animals and other substances, which fill up the crevices +between the stones; the undisturbed sand on its surface offers to the +seeds of trees and plants cast upon it by the waves, a soil upon which +they rapidly grow and overshadow the dazzling whiteness of the +new-formed land. Trunks of trees, washed into the sea by the rivers +from other countries and islands, here find a resting-place, and with +these come some small animals, chiefly of the lizard and insect tribe. +Even before the trees form a wood, the sea-birds nestle among their +branches, and the stray land-bird soon takes refuge in the bushes. At +last, man arrives and builds his hut upon the fruitful soil formed by +the corruption of the vegetation, and calls himself lord and master of +this new creation.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Surf</i>, the white spray or froth of the sea waves.</p></div> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111"></a>[111]</span></p> + + +<p><b>Where is the Coral Insect found?</b></p> + +<p>In nearly all great seas; but particularly in the Mediterranean, where +it produces Corallines of the most beautiful forms and colors: it is +in the Pacific Ocean, however, where these tiny workmen are effecting +those mighty changes, which exceed the most wonderful works of man.</p> + + +<p><b>What is that part of the Pacific called, where the Coral Rocks are +most abundant?</b></p> + +<p>The Coral Sea, from the number of coral reefs and sunken islands, with +which it abounds; it includes a region of many miles in extent, the +whole of which is studded with numberless reefs, rocks, islands, and +columns of coral, continually joining and advancing towards each +other. All navigators who have visited these seas, state that no +charts or maps are of any service after a few years, owing to the +number of fresh rocks and reefs which are continually rising to the +surface. The wonderful instinct of these animals leads them to +continue working without ceasing, until their labors are finished, or +their lives extinct.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Reef</i>, a chain or line of rocks lying near the surface of +the water.</p> + +<p><i>Extinct</i>, at an end, dead.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What are the names of the principal islands of Coral formation?</b></p> + +<p>The New Hebrides, the Friendly Isles, the Navigator's Isles, the +Society Islands, the Marquesas, the Gambier group, and others. These +groups are separated from each other by channels or seas, wider than +those which divide the individual islands which form the respective +groups; but all these waters abound with shoals and minor islets, +which point out the existence of a common base, and show that the work +by which they will afterwards be united above the level of the sea is +continually going forward.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Shoals</i>, shallows; places where the water is of little +depth.</p> + +<p><i>Minor</i>, less, smaller than others.</p> + +<p><i>Existence</i>, being.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What is a singular characteristic of the Coral Islands?</b></p> + +<p>On all of them a plentiful supply of sweet and fresh water <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112"></a>[112]</span>may be +obtained by digging three or four feet into the coral; and even within +one yard of high-water mark such a supply is to be found. They are +mostly covered with a deep rich soil, and well wooded with trees and +evergreens of different kinds. These islands vary in extent, as well +as in the degree of finish to which they have arrived; some of the +largest being about 30 miles in diameter, and the smallest something +less than a mile;—all of various shapes, and all formed of living +coral.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Diameter</i>, a straight line through the middle of a circle.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Is Coral put to any use by man?</b></p> + +<p>White Coral, which is nowhere so abundant as about the shores of +Ceylon, and others of the neighboring Indian coasts, is employed as +lime by the inhabitants of that part of the world, for building +houses, &c., by burning it after the manner of our lime. This coral +lies in vast banks, which are uncovered at low water. Coral, +particularly the beautiful red sort, is likewise made into various +ornaments, as necklaces, &c.</p> + + +<p><b>Of what is our Lime composed?</b></p> + +<p>Of a useful earth, which absorbs moisture and carbonic acid, and +exists as limestone, or in marble and chalk, which, when burnt, become +lime: in its native state it is called carbonate of lime, and is burnt +to disengage the carbonic acid; when made into a paste, with one part +water and three parts lime,<a name="FNanchor_13_13" id="FNanchor_13_13"></a><a href="#Footnote_13_13" class="fnanchor">[13]</a> and mixed with some other mineral or +metallic substances, it forms plastic cements and mortars; and +afterwards, imbibing carbonic acid from the atmosphere, it becomes +again carbonate of lime, as hard as at first; and hence its use in +building.</p> + +<div class="footnotes"><p><a name="Footnote_13_13" id="Footnote_13_13"></a><a href="#FNanchor_13_13"><span class="label">[13]</span></a> See Chapter XVI., article <a href="#LIME">Lime</a>.</p> +</div> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Plastic</i>, yielding, capable of being spread out or moulded.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What do you mean by Carbon?</b></p> + +<p>A simple substance, whose most common form is purified charcoal: it +is, in fact, the base of charcoal, divested of all impurities; +combined with oxygen, it forms <i>carbonic acid</i> gas, <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113"></a>[113]</span>formerly called +fixed air. It is diffused through all animal and vegetable bodies; and +may be obtained by exposing them to a red heat. In its pure, +crystallized state, it constitutes the diamond, and as graphite, is +used in making the so-called lead-pencils.<a name="FNanchor_14_14" id="FNanchor_14_14"></a><a href="#Footnote_14_14" class="fnanchor">[14]</a></p> + +<div class="footnotes"><p><a name="Footnote_14_14" id="Footnote_14_14"></a><a href="#FNanchor_14_14"><span class="label">[14]</span></a> See Chapter XIV., article <a href="#DIAMOND">Diamond.</a></p> +</div> + + +<p><b><a name="OXYGEN" id="OXYGEN"></a>What is Oxygen?</b></p> + +<p>Air, mentioned in the first chapter of this work as the gaseous +substance which composes the atmosphere, is formed by a mixture of two +distinct elements, one called Nitrogen, or Azote, the other Oxygen. +Oxygen is, therefore, an element or simple substance diffused +generally through nature, and its different combinations are essential +to animal life and combustion. It is, in fact, the most active agent +in nature, and the principle of acidity and combustion. So wholesome +and necessary is oxygen to life, that it is often called vital air.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Agent</i>, an actor; a person or thing possessing the faculty +of action.</p> + +<p><i>Essential</i>, necessary.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What are the properties of Nitrogen or Azote?</b></p> + +<p>Nitrogen is a substance also generally diffused through nature, and +particularly in animal bodies, and causes great changes in those +absorbing or exposed to it. This gas, combined with oxygen and +hydrogen, produces neither light, heat, nor combustion, but serves to +dilute the others: of itself, it is hurtful to animal life. Nitrogen +makes the principal part of the salt we call <i>nitre</i>.</p> + + +<p><b>What is meant by Combustion?</b></p> + +<p>The decomposition of bodies by the action of fire; the union of +combustible bodies with the oxygen of the atmosphere. The greater +access the air has to a burning body, the more rapid and complete is +the process.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Combustible</i>, capable of taking fire.</p> + +<p><i>Access</i>, the means or liberty of approach to anything.</p></div> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114"></a>[114]</span></p> + + +<p><b>Are all bodies equally combustible?</b></p> + +<p>No; some are more so than others, and burn with a bright flame; as +wood, dry vegetables, resins, oils, fats, &c.; others with difficulty, +and without any sensible flame, as soot, coal, the ashes of plants, +&c. There are bodies, also, which are incombustible—that is, +incapable of taking fire, as some alkalies, earths, &c.</p> + + +<p><b>What is Caloric?</b></p> + +<p>Caloric is that invisible agent which produces the sensation of heat. +It exists in all bodies; it is a force we are ever in want of, and +thus it is hid in everything around us, and penetrates all matter, +however different may be its nature or properties.</p> + + +<p><b>What is meant by Gas?</b></p> + +<p>All highly elastic fluids are called gases. Some are salutary, but +many extremely noxious, especially such as those arising from the +putrefaction of animal bodies; the burning of charcoal; corrupted air +at the bottom of mines, cellars, &c. The inflammable gas, which lights +our streets, churches, shops, &c., is procured chiefly from coal, +burnt in furnaces for the purpose the gas being passed through metal +pipes, conveyed underground to the places where the light is required: +escaping at the orifice prepared for it, it is lighted when wanted, +and burns with, a brilliant flame. This gas consists of hydrogen and +carbon; and the oxygen of the air, combined with the hydrogen, causes +light as long as hydrogen and oxygen exist and combine.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Salutary</i>, wholesome, healthful.</p> + +<p><i>Noxious</i>, hurtful, unwholesome.</p> + +<p><i>Putrefaction</i>, decay.</p> + +<p><i>Orifice</i>, opening, hole.</p></div> + +<p class="center"><img src="images/image_11.jpg" alt="DIAMOND CUTTING AND POLISHING." width="534" height="299" /><br /> +<span class="caption">DIAMOND CUTTING AND POLISHING.</span></p> + + +<p><b>What is Hydrogen?</b></p> + +<p>One of the most abundant principles in nature; one part of it, and +eight of oxygen, form water. It is only met with in a <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115"></a>[115]</span>gaseous form; +it is also very inflammable, and is the gas called the fire-damp, so +often fatal to miners; it is the chief constituent of oils, fats, +spirits, &c.; and is produced by the decomposition of water.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Constituent</i>, that which forms an essential part of +anything.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What is Chalk?</b></p> + +<p>A white fossil substance, by some reckoned a stone, but of a friable +kind, which cannot, therefore, be polished as marble; by others, more +properly ranked among the earths. It is of two sorts, one a hard dry +chalk, used for making lime; the other a soft, unctuous kind, used in +manuring land, &c. Chalk always contains quantities of flint-stone, +and the fossil remains of shells, coral, animal bones, marine plants, +&c.; from which circumstance there can be no doubt that <i>chalk is the +deposited mud of a former ocean</i>. The chemical name of chalk is +carbonate of lime. It effervesces strongly with an acid.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Effervesce</i>, to froth or foam up.</p> + +<p><i>Deposited</i>, placed on anything.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Where is Chalk found?</b></p> + +<p>In large beds or strata in the earth. Chalk, on account of its +abundance in England, forms an important feature in the scenery and +geology of that country; it causes the whiteness of its sea-cliffs. +Scotland and Wales are entirely without chalk. The white chalk is +found, with interruptions, over a space above eleven hundred miles +long, extending from the north of Ireland, through England, France, +Belgium, Germany, Poland, and Southern Russia, to the Crimea, with a +breadth of more than eight hundred miles. The Island of Crete, now +called Candia, situated in the Mediterranean, was formerly noted for +its chalk. This substance is very useful in many of the arts and +manufactures.</p> + + +<p><b>Where is the Crimea?</b></p> + +<p>The peninsula of the Crimea is a part of Russia, lying on the Black +Sea, by which it is bounded on the west and south.</p><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116"></a>[116]</span></p> + + +<p><b>Are there any other kinds of this earth besides the common white +chalk?</b></p> + +<p>Yes; there are various kinds of chalk, distinguished by their +different colors, as white, black, red, &c., found in various parts of +the world, of great use to the painter, both in oil and water colors, +and for drawing on paper, &c.</p> + + +<p><b>What is Marble?</b></p> + +<p>A kind of stone remarkable for its hardness and firm grain, and for +being susceptible of the finest polish. It is dug in great masses from +pits or quarries; and is much used in ornamental buildings, and for +statues, altars, tombs, chimney-pieces, &c. The word is derived from +the French <i>marbre</i>, marble. Marble is supposed to be formed, deep +within the bowels of the earth, from a loose and porous carbonate of +lime, subjected to enormous heat and pressure.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Susceptible</i>, easily admitting anything additional.</p> + +<p><i>Porous</i>, full of holes, or interstices.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Are there different sorts of this Stone?</b></p> + +<p>Marbles are of many different kinds, usually named either from their +color or country; some of one simple color, as white, or black; others +streaked or variegated with different colors. They are classified as +ancient and modern: the ancient are those found in quarries now lost +or inaccessible to us, and of which there are only some wrought pieces +remaining;—the modern, those from quarries still open, and out of +which blocks of marble continue to be taken.</p> + + +<p><b>In what countries is Marble found?</b></p> + +<p>The United States, Great Britain, France, Spain, Italy, Africa, Egypt, +and many other countries, produce marbles of different colors and +qualities; some more beautiful, valuable, and more highly esteemed +than others, as those of Egypt, Italy, &c. Those, also, of different +places in the same country frequently differ from each other in +quality and appearance Of the European marbles, that of Italy is the +most valuable.</p><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117"></a>[117]</span></p> + + +<p><b>What kind appears to have been held in the greatest esteem by the +ancients?</b></p> + +<p>A beautiful white marble, called the Parian; of which the Grecian +statues were mostly made. By some, it is supposed to have taken its +name from the Isle of Paros, in the Mediterranean; but by others from +Parius, a famous statuary, who made it celebrated by cutting in it a +statue of Venus. Parian marble is often mentioned by ancient authors.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Statues</i>, figures of men, animals, &c., cut in stone or +marble.</p> + +<p><i>Statuary</i>, one who makes statues.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Who was Venus?</b></p> + +<p>The goddess of love and beauty, who was an object of adoration in the +idolatrous ages, when men ignorantly knelt down and worshipped stocks +and stones, which their own hands had fashioned after the likeness of +things on the earth, or imaginary creations of their fancy;—or, +again, the sun, moon, and stars, instead of the one and only true God. +In those times, every nation had its peculiar deities, to whom were +paid divine rites and honors, and to whose names costly temples were +dedicated: these deities were divided into two classes, superior and +inferior. Venus was one of the Grecian goddesses, supposed by them to +have sprung from the froth of the sea. Kings and celebrated warriors, +and sages too, after death, frequently received divine honors; as +Confucius, the founder of the Chinese empire, who, after death, was +worshipped by that people as a god. Romulus, the first king of Rome, +likewise, was thus adored by the Romans; and many similar instances of +the same species of idolatry amongst other nations might be recorded.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Deities</i>, fabulous gods or goddesses.</p> + +<p><i>Idolatrous</i>, given to the worship of idols.</p> + +<p><i>Superior</i>, higher in rank.</p> + +<p><i>Inferior</i>, of a lower rank.</p> + +<p><i>Sage</i>, a wise man.</p></div><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118"></a>[118]</span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIV" id="CHAPTER_XIV"></a>CHAPTER XIV.</h2> + +<h3><span class="smcap">Gold, Silver, Lead, Tin, Platina, Sulphur, Gems or Precious +Stones, as Diamonds, Rubies, Emeralds, Turquois, Pearls, +Mother-or-Pearls, and Ivory.</span></h3> + + +<p><b>What is Gold?</b></p> + +<p>The purest and most precious of metals: it is sometimes found in solid +masses, as in California, Peru, Hungary, &c.; in a shape resembling +the branches of plants; in thin plates covering other bodies, as in +Siberia; sometimes in a crystal form. It, however, generally occurs in +a metallic state, and most commonly in the form of grains.</p> + + +<p><b>What is it called when found in a perfect metallic form?</b></p> + +<p>Native gold: it is, however, seldom met with perfectly pure, being +frequently alloyed with silver, copper, iron, or platina; sometimes +concealed in other minerals; from which, if sufficiently abundant, it +is extracted by art.</p> + + +<p><b>Where and in what manner is Gold generally found?</b></p> + +<p>All parts of the earth afford gold; though with great difference in +point of purity and abundance. It is chiefly obtained from mines. Many +rivers contain gold in their sands, especially those of California and +Guinea. Gold mines are of rare occurrence in Europe, but the metal is +found in some of its rivers; among its mines, those of Upper Hungary +are the most considerable. China and Japan are rich in this metal; +many parts of Asia also possess it. Australia produces quantities of +the metal. It is also found in the eastern parts and interior of +Africa, where gold dust is collected in great quantities from earth +deposited by the rivers. But it is in America that gold is found in +the greatest abundance, particularly in the State of California, and +in some parts of South America, as Brazil, Peru, Chili, &c.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Guinea</i>, a country of Western Africa.</p></div><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119"></a>[119]</span></p> + + +<p><b>What are the uses of Gold?</b></p> + +<p>It is used for money, jewelry, plate, &c. It is also employed in +various ways in the arts.</p> + + +<p><b>What is the character of Gold?</b></p> + +<p>Gold is so ductile and malleable, that an ounce of it may be drawn +into a thread of 73 leagues in length; or beaten into 160 leaves of 9 +inches square, and thin enough to be carried away by the slightest +wind. It readily assumes any form that human art can bestow upon it: +its color is unalterable, and the beautiful polish of which it is +susceptible, renders it the best of all metals for ornamental +purposes. It is indestructible by air, water, or fire. Gold is the +heaviest of all metals, except platina; it is neither very elastic, +nor very hard.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>League</i>, a measure of length containing three miles.</p> + +<p><i>Indestructible</i>, incapable of being destroyed.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Is not the use of Gold quite ancient?</b></p> + +<p>Yes; it appears to have been very early known to the inhabitants of +the world. In the 13th Chapter of Genesis, Abram is spoken of as very +rich in silver and gold; and in the 2d Chapter of the same book, the +"land of Hevilath" (now in the eastern part of Arabia Felix,) is +pointed out as having gold. Arabia was famed for the fineness and +quality of its gold. In the time of Solomon, the gold of Ophir seems +to have been much esteemed, as it is recorded that the gold used in +the building of the Temple was brought from that place by the +merchant-vessels of Hiram, King of Tyre. Ophir is supposed to have +been situated somewhere in the East Indies.</p> + + +<p><b>What is Silver?</b></p> + +<p>A beautiful white shining metal, next to gold in value, and, like that +precious substance, of great antiquity. It is found in Sweden, Norway, +and the polar latitudes: when it occurs in hot climates, it is +generally amidst mountains, covered with perpetual snow.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Latitude</i>, breadth, width; in Geography, the distance of a +place in degrees, north or south, from the Equator.</p></div><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120"></a>[120]</span></p> + + +<p><b>Where are the richest Silver Mines found?</b></p> + +<p>In South America, especially among the Andes; the mines of Mexico, and +those of Nevada, also, are rich in this metal. The richest and most +important silver mines in Europe are those of Königsberg, in Norway, +and of Andalusia, in Spain. With the exception of gold, silver is the +most ductile of all metals: a single grain may be extended into a +plate 126 inches long, and half an inch broad. It is capable of still +further extension, but its tenacity is inferior even to that of iron +or copper. A silver wire one-tenth of an inch thick will scarcely bear +a weight of 290 pounds, whilst a gold wire of the same thickness will +support nearly double that weight. Like some other metals, it is +unalterable by air or moisture, but by an intense heat may be +volatilized, being sometimes found in the soot of chimneys where large +quantities are melted.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Volatilized</i>, made to fly off by evaporation.</p></div> + + +<p><b>In what state is Silver usually found?</b></p> + +<p>It is rarely found in a state of purity, being generally mixed with +other metals, as gold, lead, &c. Masses of native silver are of no +determinate form; being found sometimes in small branches, sometimes +in threads, or very frequently in leaves, as in the Siberian mines. +Native, or pure silver is chiefly found in the mines of Potosi. Silver +was used as money in commerce 1100 years before the foundation of +Rome.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Commerce</i>, trade of one nation with another, or different +persons, &c. with each other.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What is Tin?</b></p> + +<p>A white metal, softer than any other excepting lead, more elastic, and +more sonorous. Though tin is the lightest of all metals, its ore is, +when rich, the heaviest of all metallic ores. It has both smell and +taste; is less ductile than some harder metals, though it may be +beaten into very thin leaves; and it fuses so quickly, that it +requires a heat much less than is sufficient to make it red-hot.</p><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121"></a>[121]</span></p> + + +<p><b>Was not the use of Tin very early known?</b></p> + +<p>Tin was found in Britain from the earliest ages; the Phenicians traded +to Cornwall for this metal 600 years before Christ.</p> + + +<p><b>Where are the principal Tin Mines?</b></p> + +<p>In Saxony, Cornwall, and Bohemia. Tin is also found in Spain, Sumatra, +Siam, Mexico, and Chili. A few specimens have been found at Goshen, in +Massachusetts.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Specimens</i>, samples.</p></div> + + +<p><b>In what state is Tin generally found?</b></p> + +<p>Tin is sometimes found native or pure, but most frequently alloyed +with other metals: the working of tin mines is attended with much +difficulty, on account of their great depth, and the hard rocks which +obstruct the progress of the miners, who are often obliged to cut +through them. This metal is very useful in the making of domestic +utensils, for coating the inside of copper and iron vessels, and for +various other purposes.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Obstruct</i>, to stand in the way.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What is Lead?</b></p> + +<p>A coarse, heavy metal, of a bluish grey color: it is so soft and +flexible, that it is easily cut with a knife, and rolled out into +sheets, &c.; it is very fusible and inelastic, but less ductile and +sonorous, than any other metal. Next to gold, platina, and mercury, it +is the heaviest of the metals, being eleven times heavier than an +equal bulk of water. This metal loses its malleability in proportion +as it is heated: as soon as it melts it calcines, and greyish-colored +ashes are formed on its surface; when returning from a fluid to a +solid state, it is easily divided into small grains or powder, or +formed into shot, &c. Lead was in common use among the ancients.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Flexible</i>, yielding, easily bent.</p> + +<p><i>Sonorous</i>, giving sound when struck.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Where is Lead found?</b></p> + +<p>In various countries; but it abounds principally in Great Britain and +Spain; the lead mines of Illinois, Wisconsin, and Iowa, are among the +richest in the world. Lead is a metal of <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122"></a>[122]</span>great utility; it easily +melts and mixes with gold, silver, and copper; hence it is employed in +refining gold and silver, as it separates all the dirt and impurities +from them; it is much used in building, particularly for covering +gutters, pipes, &c.; lead is also used in varnishes and oil-painting, +and makes the basis of the glazing of all the earthen and pottery +wares.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Refining</i>, cleansing, purifying.</p> + +<p><i>Varnishes</i>, preparations for beautifying and preserving +various articles.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What is peculiar to the ore of Lead?</b></p> + +<p>The ore of this metal is so poisonous, that the steam arising from the +furnaces in which it is smelted infects the grass of all the +neighboring places, and kills the animals which feed on it: culinary +vessels lined with a mixture of tin and lead, are apt to convey +pernicious qualities to the food prepared in them. There are various +preparations of lead, serving for different purposes.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Infects</i>, corrupts.</p> + +<p><i>Culinary</i>, adapted to the purposes of cooking.</p> + +<p><i>Pernicious</i>, hurtful, dangerous.</p> + +<p><i>Ore</i>, the mineral soil, earth, or stone dug out of the +mines, which contains the metal.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What is Black Lead?</b></p> + +<p>It is a kind of mineral, of a deep shining black or bluish color, soft +and unctuous to the touch; it is insoluble in acids, and infusible by +fire. Black lead has been found in many parts of the world, in a state +of greater or less purity, but it is the English black lead which is +the most esteemed.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Insoluble</i>, incapable of dissolving.</p> + +<p><i>Infusible</i>, not capable of being melted.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Is Black Lead a proper term for this mineral?</b></p> + +<p>No; because, in reality, there is not a particle of lead in it. On the +spot where it is procured, it is called by two or three different +names, but the most usual is Plumbago.</p> + + +<p><b>Where is the best Black Lead found?</b></p> + +<p>The best and greatest quantity is found in England, in a mine near +Keswick, in Cumberland. It is much used for pencils or crayons, for +writing, drawing, &c.; for this purpose it is sawn <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123"></a>[123]</span>into slips, and +fitted into a groove in a strip of soft wood, as cedar, &c., over +which another is placed and fastened with glue.</p> + + +<p><b>What is Platina?</b></p> + +<p>A metallic substance, more recently discovered than the metals already +described; and analogous to the perfect metals, especially gold,—many +of whose properties it possesses.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Analogous</i>, bearing a resemblance.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Whence is its name derived?</b></p> + +<p>It is the diminutive of <i>plata</i>, silver, to which it appears very +similar; platina being a silver-colored metal, in small grains.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Diminutive</i>, a word lessening the meaning of the original.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Whence is it obtained?</b></p> + +<p>Mostly from Russia, and, also from South America. Its color does not +tarnish by exposure to the air, and appears to be equally permanent +with that of pure gold; the metal is indestructible by fire. Platina +is capable of being alloyed with all metals; is fused with difficulty, +but by great labor may be rendered malleable: it is also the heaviest +metal, being 21 times heavier than water.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Permanent</i>, lasting.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Are there any other Metals besides those already mentioned?</b></p> + +<p>In addition to the metals known and used by the ancients, the chemical +science of later ages has, by decomposing other earths, added more +than thirty to the number of metals, some of them more curious than +useful; several of these are lighter than water. All the metals +possess different and distinct properties from each other. They are +divided into two classes, the malleable and the brittle metals. These +last may be again divided into two others,—namely, those which are +easily, and those which are with difficulty fused.</p> + + +<p><b>What do you mean by Metallurgy?</b></p> + +<p>The art of obtaining metals from their ores, comprising the <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124"></a>[124]</span>processes +of assaying, refining, smelting, &c. By assaying is meant, the +particular manner of examining an ore or mixed metal, according to its +nature, so as to discover not only what metals and what proportions of +metal may be obtained from it, but also what other mineral substances +or earths may be contained in it.</p> + + +<p><b>What do the terms Refining and Smelting signify?</b></p> + +<p>Refining is the art of rendering the metal free from all impurities. +Smelting means the melting of a metal from its ore in a smelting +furnace, in order to separate the metallic parts from the sulphur, +arsenic, and the earthy and stony substances with which they may be +combined.</p> + + +<p><b>What is Sulphur?</b></p> + +<p>An inflammable, fossil substance, of a dry, solid, friable nature, +melting with a small proportion of heat;—when fired in the open air, +burning almost entirely away with a blue flame and noxious vapor. It +is abundantly diffused in many places, especially where metallic +minerals are found; but more particularly in those districts where +subterranean fires and volcanoes exist. It is also found combined with +many different substances.</p> + + +<p><b>Describe the nature of Sulphur, and the places where it is mostly +found.</b></p> + +<p>Sulphur almost pure, called native or virgin sulphur, is found in +volcanoes and grottoes, in the form of transparent crystals; but the +greatest quantity which exists naturally is combined with metals in +ores. Sulphur is both fusible and volatile,—which qualities enable us +to procure it from those minerals by the process of sublimation: it +unites easily, in different degrees, with all metallic matters, +excepting gold, platina, and zinc.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Sublimation</i>, the act of bringing a solid substance into +the state of vapor by heat, and condensing it again by cold.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Are not its uses very extensive?</b></p> + +<p>Yes, both in the arts and in chemistry: it is well known to <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125"></a>[125]</span>be a +principal ingredient in the preparation of gunpowder and fire-works; +it is also used for whitening wool, straw, silk, &c.; many other +matters exposed to the vapors of sulphur when burning, quickly lose +their color, which no other substance had been able to destroy. +Sulphur is also frequently found in mineral waters.</p> + + +<p><b>Whence are the greatest quantities of Sulphur brought?</b></p> + +<p>The largest quantities are brought from Saxony, in irregular masses, +which are afterwards melted and cast into small rolls. There are about +four species of sulphur; namely, the yellow native sulphur, which in +its purest state is clear, and of a pale straw color, found in the +gold mines of Peru; in Hungary, and some other places: the green +native sulphur, which is harder than the other, is found in small +crust-like masses; this sort is chiefly confined to Mount Vesuvius: +and the grey native sulphur, common in Iceland and many other places. +Native sulphur is also found at the coal mines, near Richmond, +Virginia; in Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and other parts of the United +States.</p> + + +<p><b>Which is the most rare and beautiful of all the kinds?</b></p> + +<p>The red native sulphur; it is mostly of a fine glowing red, very +bright and transparent; it is found, like the first-mentioned sort, in +the gold mines of Peru. Common sulphur, such as is used in trade and +the arts, is of a pale yellow color; and possesses a peculiar and +disagreeable smell, particularly when heated or rubbed. This is mostly +extracted from the metallic sulphurets, and is commonly called +brimstone. It is the sort employed in making matches.</p> + + +<p><b>Is there not another substance also employed in the manufacture of +matches?</b></p> + +<p>Yes: Phosphorus, a peculiar substance, chiefly of animal origin. It is +mostly procured by the decomposition of the phosphoric acid which is +found in bones. It was accidentally <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126"></a>[126]</span>discovered at Hamburgh, in 1669, +by an alchemist named Brandt.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Alchemist</i>, one skilled in Alchemy.<a name="FNanchor_15_15" id="FNanchor_15_15"></a><a href="#Footnote_15_15" class="fnanchor">[15]</a></p></div> + +<div class="footnotes"><p><a name="Footnote_15_15" id="Footnote_15_15"></a><a href="#FNanchor_15_15"><span class="label">[15]</span></a> See Chapter XVIII., article <a href="#CHEMISTRY">Chemistry</a>.</p> +</div> + +<p><b>What is the nature of Phosphorus?</b></p> + +<p>It is a solid, inflammable substance, which burns when in contact with +atmospheric air. It is used in various chemical experiments, and for +making matches; for various kinds of fire-works, &c. It will combine +with all metals except gold and zinc; and also with some earths. Some +animals, as the glow-worm, possess very peculiar phosphorescent +qualities.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Phosphorescent</i>, having a phosphoric property, emitting +peculiar light like phosphorus.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What is Arsenic?</b></p> + +<p>A heavy metallic substance, very volatile, and highly inflammable; so +caustic or corrosive to animals, as to become a violent poison in all +its states. In its metallic state it is used in several of the arts: +it is employed in the manufacture of factitious metals: it is of use +to the dyer in forming some of his colors; and for that purpose is +generally combined with potassa. It is used in the making of small +shot, and also in the manufacture of glass, to which it gives +transparency; in whitening copper; in calico printing; in the +preparation of colors for the painter; and in the working of platina, +and some other metals, to render them more easily fusible.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Caustic</i>, dry, burning.</p> + +<p><i>Corrosive</i>, apt to corrode, to eat away, to penetrate.</p></div> + + +<p><b>How is the white powdered arsenic prepared?</b></p> + +<p>By submitting the ore to a strong heat in a peculiar kind of furnace; +this produces a dark grey powder, which is again heated in close iron +vessels; this separates it from its impurities, and the arsenic is +obtained in thick, solid masses; these, by exposure to the air, fall +into a fine, white powder.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127"></a>[127]</span></p> + +<p><b>From what is the word Arsenic derived?</b></p> + +<p>From a Greek word, signifying <i>masculine</i>—powerful (as a poison). +Arsenic is dug out of mines in Saxony, near Goslar; in Bohemia; in +England, in the Mendip Hills, in great quantities. It has so strong a +corrosive quality as sometimes to burn the hands and feet of the +miners; it is a deadly poison for all known animals. This poisonous +mineral is not found native in its perfect form, being generally +united with metallic ores.</p> + + +<p><b>What do you mean by Gems?</b></p> + +<p>The word gem is used as a common name for all precious stones or +jewels; they consist of the siliceous earths; and are much valued for +their lustre, transparency, color, hardness, and rarity. There are +many different kinds of precious stones, each distinguished by its +peculiar character.</p> + + +<p><b>How are they divided?</b></p> + +<p>Into the pellucid gems, which are of great lustre, and extremely hard, +as the diamond; the semi-pellucid, those which are not so transparent, +but yet of great beauty; those of one color, as the emerald or +turquois; and those variegated or veined with different colors. Gems +are sometimes found of regular shapes, with a natural polish, near the +beds of rivers after great rains; these are of the pebble kind. +Sometimes they are found of irregular shapes, with a rough coat, in +mines and the clefts of rocks. Pearls, though not stones, are also +ranked among the number of gems.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Pellucid</i>, clear as a drop of water.</p> + +<p><i>Semi-pellucid</i>, half pellucid.</p></div> + + +<p><b><a name="DIAMOND" id="DIAMOND"></a>Describe the Diamond.</b></p> + +<p>The diamond is a precious stone, the first in rank of all the gems, +and valued for its beautiful lustre; it is the hardest of all stones, +as well as the most valuable. The most esteemed are colorless. A +diamond in its natural state as it comes out of the mine, and before +it is cut, is called rough, because it has no brilliancy, but is +covered with an earthy crust. The diamond <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128"></a>[128]</span>is the Adamant of the +ancients; hence the expression "hard as adamant," from its being the +hardest substance in nature. The cutting of diamonds is a work of +labor, and requires great skill; the polishing is performed by a mill +of simple construction.</p> + + +<p><b>Where are they mostly found?</b></p> + +<p>In yellow ochreous earths; in mines; and likewise in torrents, which +have torn them from their beds. In former times, all the diamonds that +were known were brought from the famous mines of Golconda, in +Hindostan; the islands of Molucca and Borneo have also produced many +valuable stones. The diamond mines of Golconda are now so exhausted, +that they are not thought worth the expense of working; these gems are +now brought chiefly from Brazil, in South America.</p> + + +<p><b>What is meant by Ochreous?</b></p> + +<p>Consisting of ochre, a kind of earth with a rough and dusty surface, +composed of fine, soft, clayey particles, which readily separate in +water. There are various colored ochres, as red, yellow, blue, green, +&c.; they are very useful in many of the arts.</p> + + +<p><b>What term is used to denote the quality of the Diamond?</b></p> + +<p>In speaking of the value of diamonds, we distinguish them as "diamonds +of the first water," meaning those which possess the greatest +perfection and purity, which ought to be that of the clearest drop of +water: when they fall short of this perfection, they are said to be +"of the second or third water," and so on till the stone may be +properly called a colored one.</p> + + +<p><b>What is the Ruby?</b></p> + +<p>A beautiful gem of a red color; in its perfect state it is of great +value. The ruby is often found perfectly pure and free from all spots +or blemishes; but its value is much more frequently lessened by them, +especially in the larger stones. It is very hard, being second only to +the diamond in this respect; and is often naturally so bright and pure +on the surface as to <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129"></a>[129]</span>need no polishing; it is often worn in rings, +&c., in its rough or native state. The color of rubies varies from the +deepest to the palest red, all having more or less of a purplish +tinge, which is more plainly perceived in the deeper colored specimens +than in the paler ones.</p> + + +<p><b>Where are Rubies found?</b></p> + +<p>They are mostly found in gold mines. We have the true rubies only from +the East. The Isle of Ceylon has long been celebrated for these gems; +they are found in a river which descends from the mountains; they are +brighter and more beautiful than those obtained in other parts, but +are very rare. Some crystals are frequently found tinged with the true +color of the ruby, but these want its lustre and hardness.</p> + + +<p><b>Describe the Emerald.</b></p> + +<p>It is a precious stone of a beautiful transparent green color, and, +when in a state of perfection, nearly equal to the ruby in hardness. +The finest and best are found in America, especially among the +mountains of Peru; they are also obtained from a few places in the +East. These gems are often counterfeited, as are most of the precious +stones, there being even false diamonds; the genuine may be known by +their extreme hardness and brilliancy.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Counterfeited</i>, imitated with a view to defraud.</p> + +<p><i>Genuine</i>, true, real.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What is the Turquois?</b></p> + +<p>A beautiful blue stone; it is one of the softest of the gems, and some +varieties are often used for seals, as they admit of being engraved +upon. The turquois is easily imitated, and that often so perfectly as +to render it very difficult to distinguish the counterfeit from the +true gem.</p> + + +<p><b>In what countries are they found?</b></p> + +<p>The Oriental Turquois comes from Persia, the Indies, and some parts of +Turkey; the turquois is also found in various parts of Europe, as +Germany, Spain, and France.</p><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130"></a>[130]</span></p> + + +<p><b>What is Engraving?</b></p> + +<p>The art of cutting metals or precious stones, and representing thereon +figures, letters, and devices; the term is, however, more particularly +applied to the art of producing figures or designs on metal, &c., for +the purpose of being subsequently printed on paper. The ancients are +well known to have excelled in engraving on precious stones; many +specimens have been preserved, which surpass anything of the kind +produced by the moderns. This art is frequently alluded to in the +Bible. Engraving on wood, according to some authors, was introduced +into Europe from China by Venetian merchants; it is certain the art +was practised in eastern and northern Italy as early as the thirteenth +century. The invention of copper-plate engraving has been ascribed to +a goldsmith of Florence, about the year 1460.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Device</i>, that which is formed by design.</p> + +<p><i>Design</i>, a representation of a thing by an outline; a +sketch.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Describe Wood Engraving.</b></p> + +<p>The subject is drawn on a block of box or pear-tree wood with a +black-lead pencil, or with a pen and Indian ink; the wood is then cut +away, so as to leave the lines which have been drawn, as raised parts. +The ink is next applied, and by pressing damp paper upon the block, +the impressions are obtained. Albert Durer, a celebrated painter of +Germany, brought the art of engraving on wood and metal, and taking +off impressions on paper, &c., to great perfection.</p> + + +<p><b>How is engraving on copper, steel, &c., performed?</b></p> + +<p>This sort of engraving is performed with a sharp-pointed instrument +called a <i>graver</i>, by means of which figures, landscapes, &c., are +traced upon a flat surface of the metal: the lines are then filled +with ink or a similar composition, and the paper pressed on the plate. +When taken off, an exact copy of the plate is impressed upon its +surface.</p> +<p class="center"><img src="images/image_12.jpg" alt="COCHINEAL INSECTS AND PLANTS." width="382" height="534" /><br /> +<span class="caption">COCHINEAL INSECTS AND PLANTS.</span></p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131"></a>[131]</span></p> + + + +<p><b>What is Lithography?</b></p> + +<p>A species of engraving on stone, from which impressions can be taken +much more expeditiously and economically than from metal. The process +depends upon the following principles:—First, the facility with which +calcareous stones imbibe water; second, the power of oily substances +to repel water. When drawings are executed upon the stone with crayons +composed of oily materials, and the surface of the stone is washed +over with water, the moisture is imbibed by the stone, but repelled +from the engraving; and when the ink, which also contains oily +substances, is applied, it adheres only to the drawing, and not to the +other portions of the stone. The block is then passed through a press, +and the impressions are taken off; as many as 70,000 perfect copies +have been obtained from a single stone.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Expeditiously</i>, with celerity or dispatch.</p> + +<p><i>Economically</i>, with economy; with frugality.</p></div> + + +<p><b>You describe Pearls as being ranked among the number of Gems, although +they are not Stones; what kind of substance are they?</b></p> + +<p>Pearls are excrescences found in the shells of a large species of +oyster, which are supposed to be produced by a disease of the fish. +The best pearls are generally taken from the most fleshy part of the +oyster, near the hinge of the shell, but inferior kinds are found in +all parts of the fish, and adhering to the shells. Pearls, from many +allusions made to them in the Old Testament, were not only known to +the ancients, but were regarded by them as costly and precious gems.</p> + + +<p><b>How do they get the Oysters which contain them?</b></p> + +<p>By diving under water and picking the oysters from the large beds at +the bottom of the sea; or the rocks to which they adhere. The divers +cast all the oysters they take into their boats, and carry them +ashore, where they deposit them in heaps; they are then left till they +become putrid, this being necessary in order to remove the pearls +easily from the rough matter by which they are surrounded.</p><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132"></a>[132]</span></p> + + +<p><b>What sea produces the best and greatest number of Pearls?</b></p> + +<p>The finest and greatest quantities are obtained off the coast of +Ceylon; the pearl oyster is also found in the seas of the East Indies; +in those of America, and in some parts of the European seas; but these +last are much inferior. The Oriental pearls are the finest on account +of their size, color, and beauty, being of a silvery white; while the +Occidental pearls are smaller, and frequently tinged with a yellow or +blackish hue.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Tinged</i>, slightly colored.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Does not the Pearl Oyster produce a substance called Mother-of-Pearl?</b></p> + +<p>No; the beautiful substance so much used for inlaying boxes, and for +ornamental knife-handles, &c., is produced from the shell, not of the +pearl oyster, but of another sea-fish of the oyster kind.</p> + + +<p><b>What is Inlaying?</b></p> + +<p>The art of ornamenting a plain surface of wood, or other material, +with thin slices or leaves of a finer wood, of a different kind; as +mahogany inlaid with ebony, &c., or with ivory, and other substances. +There are two kinds of inlaying; one, of the more ordinary sort, which +consists only of compartments of different kinds of wood, inlaid with +one another; the other, requiring greater skill, represents flowers, +birds, and other figures. The thin plates of wood or other substance, +being sawed into slips, and cut into the required forms, are carefully +joined, and afterwards strongly glued down on the block of wood, &c., +intended to be thus ornamented.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Compartment</i>, a division, a separate part.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What is Ebony?</b></p> + +<p>A hard, black-colored wood, growing in the countries of the Levant, +&c.; there are, however, several black woods of different kinds which +are also called ebony.</p> + + +<p><b>What is Ivory?</b></p> + +<p>The tooth or tusk of the Elephant, which grows on each side <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133"></a>[133]</span>of his +trunk; it is somewhat like a horn in shape. Ivory is much esteemed for +its beautiful white color, polish, and fine grain when wrought. It has +been used from the remotest ages of antiquity; in the Scriptures we +read of Solomon's ivory throne, and also of "vessels of ivory," and +"beds of ivory:" by which it appears to have been a chief article of +luxury, as well as of trade.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Remotest</i>, most distant.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Of what countries is the Elephant an inhabitant?</b></p> + +<p>Of many parts of Asia and Africa. The elephant is the largest +quadruped now in existence; it is extremely sagacious, docile and +friendly: in the countries where they live they are trained to useful +labor, and by their great strength are enabled to perform tasks which +a man or horse could not accomplish: among the native princes they +were, and even still are, used in war: with them the inhabitants are +able to hunt and destroy the lion, tiger, and other beasts of prey. +With their long trunk, or proboscis, they can perform almost +everything which man can with his hands.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Quadruped</i>, an animal with four feet.</p></div> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XV" id="CHAPTER_XV"></a>CHAPTER XV.</h2> + +<h3><span class="smcap">Starch, Arrow-Root, Tapioca, Isinglass, Caviare, the Vine, Wine, +Gin, Rum, Brandy, Vinegar, Indigo, Gamboge, Logwood, Tar, Pitch, +Camphor, Musk, Myrrh, Frankincense, and Turpentine.</span> +</h3> + +<p><b>What is Starch?</b></p> + +<p>A white, powdery sediment procured from the bottom of vessels in which +flour or meal has been steeped in water. Pure starch is of a fine +white color, without taste or smell; it will <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134"></a>[134]</span>not dissolve in cold +water, but with warm forms a jelly, in which form it is generally +used; it is made by crushing, soaking, and fermenting the grains of +the cereals, and then washing in pure water; the water is then +evaporated, leaving behind the starch.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Sediment</i>, matter subsided to the bottom of liquors.</p></div> + + +<p><b>For what is Starch used?</b></p> + +<p>To stiffen linen after washing; to make hair powder; and for other +purposes in the arts.</p> + + +<p><b>From what vegetables is Starch obtained?</b></p> + +<p>All farinaceous vegetable substances afford it, as the potato, +horse-chestnut, &c. Starch being the nutritive part of the vegetable, +forms an excellent food for invalids, and constitutes the principal +part of arrow-root, tapioca, &c.; the different flavor of these +substances being derived from the mixture of a small portion of +foreign matter peculiar to the plants which yield them. Starch is +procured from potatoes by crushing them to powder, and then proceeding +as in the manufacture of wheat starch.</p> + + +<p><b>What is Arrow-root?</b></p> + +<p>The starch obtained from the root of an American plant by +pulverization. It is often adulterated with potato starch, and the +latter is even sold instead of it, for the two kinds resemble each +other so closely that they can hardly be distinguished.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Pulverization</i>, the act of reducing to powder.</p> + +<p><i>Adulterated</i>, corrupted by foreign mixture.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What is Tapioca?</b></p> + +<p>Tapioca is another kind of starch, obtained from the root of the +manioc plant, which is cultivated in most hot climates, in Asia, +Africa, and America. A flour is also prepared from it, which is used +for making bread. It is particularly cultivated in the tropical parts +of America, and in the West India islands, where it forms a very +important article of food for the Negro population.</p><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135"></a>[135]</span></p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Negro</i>, a name given to the black inhabitants of Africa and +their descendants.</p> + +<p><i>Population</i>, inhabitants of a place or country.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What is Isinglass?</b></p> + +<p>One of the purest and finest of <i>animal</i> glues. It is the produce of +several kinds of fish, but especially of the sturgeon, which inhabits +the seas of Northern Europe and America.</p> + + +<p><b>From what part of the fish is it prepared?</b></p> + +<p>From the air-bladder, and certain parts of the entrails; these are +taken out while fresh, cut open, washed, and exposed to the air a +short time to stiffen; the outside skin is then taken off, and the +remaining part formed into rolls, fastened together with pegs, and +hung up to dry. The isinglass is then separated into threads of +different sizes, or formed into flakes. Immense quantities are +annually prepared in this manner in Russia.</p> + + +<p><b>What are its uses?</b></p> + +<p>Dissolving readily in water or milk, it yields a mild nutriment for +the sick, and enters into the composition of many delicacies for the +table, such as jellies, &c. It is mixed with gum to give lustre to +silk and satin; it is also used in making court plaster, and for +clarifying various liquors. Gelatine, now much used on account of its +being less expensive, is a similar preparation, but of an inferior +quality.</p> + + +<p><b>What else does the Sturgeon supply?</b></p> + +<p>Its roe furnishes the delicacy called Caviare, which is in fact merely +that part of the fish separated from the membranes and washed in +vinegar and white wine, and dried in the air. It is then well salted, +and packed up in barrels ready for sale. This is the method of +preparing it in Russia, where large quantities of it are consumed. It +is largely exported to Italy, where it is highly esteemed. It is +unwholesome, and at present the demand for it, except in Russia and +Italy, is very limited. The best is dry and of a brown color, and is +eaten with lemon juice on bread.</p> + + +<p><b>To what other uses is the fruit of the Vine applied besides drying it +for raisins, as described in the sixth chapter?</b></p> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136"></a>[136]</span></p> + +<p>The well-known plant, called the Vine, has been an object of culture +from the earliest ages of the world, for the sake of the fermented +liquor obtained from its fruit; soon after the flood, Noe, who appears +to have been the first "husbandman," is mentioned as having "planted a +vineyard," and drank of the juice of the grape; in all those countries +where it flourishes, it is inseparably connected with their religious +rites, and wine, like corn, formed one of the principal articles which +they offered on their altars to the gods whom they worshipped.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Husbandman</i>, one who cultivates the fruits of the earth.</p> + +<p><i>Altar</i>, the place where sacrifices were anciently offered +to some deity.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What countries produce the best Wines?</b></p> + +<p>The wines of France are generally admitted to be the finest; the +principal ones are Champagne, Burgundy, and Claret. Of each of these, +there are several varieties, celebrated for their peculiar flavor; +they are generally named after the places where they are made. Spain, +Portugal, Italy, Germany, Hungary, Sicily, Greece, and California, +also produce their various sorts of wine, each esteemed in its kind.</p> + + +<p><b>May Wine be extracted from other vegetable bodies?</b></p> + +<p>The word is appropriated in a more particular manner to the fermented +juice of the grape; but nearly all vegetable productions may be made +to afford wine. That produced from Apples is called Cider; that from +Pears, Perry. A kind of wine, called Mead, is prepared from honey and +water.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Appropriated</i>, applied to.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What is Honey?</b></p> + +<p>A sweet vegetable juice, collected from the flowers of various plants +by the bees.</p> + + +<p><b>What Honey was reckoned by the ancients the best in the world?</b></p> + +<p>The honey of Hybla, on the east coast of Sicily, and of Hymettus, a +mountain of Greece, near Athens.</p><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137"></a>[137]</span></p> + + +<p><b>What other fluid is drawn from Wine?</b></p> + +<p>Spirits; by this term is understood, a volatile fluid called spirits +of wine, or alcohol, obtained by distillation from wine, beer, and all +fermented liquors. It is colorless, and of a strong penetrating taste +and smell. It is of great use in chemistry; in dyeing to prepare the +stuff for receiving colors; and in many of the arts.</p> + + +<p><b>What is the vessel called which is used in Distilling?</b></p> + +<p>A Still. It is a vessel so formed as to collect the vapor, which is +the spirit, or alcohol, separated from the liquid from which it is +drawn. This liquid product is itself returned to the still; and the +same process is several times repeated, till the alcohol or spirit is +sufficiently strong and pure. There are three principal spirits used +in this country, as gin, rum, and brandy.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Product</i>, thing produced.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What is Gin?</b></p> + +<p>A spirit procured from raw barley, oats, and malt, mixed together in +certain proportions: there are several varieties of this spirit, all +obtained from grain. The peculiar flavor of gin is given by infusing a +few hops and some of the berries of the juniper fir.</p> + + +<p><b>What is Malt?</b></p> + +<p>Malt is barley prepared by being steeped in water and fermented, and +then dried in a kiln. It is used for making beer, &c.</p> + + +<p><b>Of what are Hops the produce?</b></p> + +<p>Of a graceful climbing plant, the blossoms of which are used in making +beer, to preserve it and improve its flavor.</p> + + +<p><b>What is Rum?</b></p> + +<p>A spirit obtained from molasses, the fluid which drains from sugar +while it is crystallizing.</p> + + +<p><b>What is Brandy?</b></p> + +<p>A spirit distilled from any wine; but the best is procured from weak +French wines, which are unfit for exportation. <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138"></a>[138]</span>Brandy, from whatever +wine it has been obtained, is at first colorless; different methods +are employed to give it the color by which it is distinguished.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Exportation</i>, the act of sending articles from one country +to another.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What is Vinegar?</b></p> + +<p>An agreeable, acid, penetrating liquor, prepared from wine, beer, &c. +To make vinegar, the wine or beer is made to undergo a second +fermentation, called the <i>acid</i> or <i>acetous</i> fermentation; the first +which the vegetable juice had to undergo, in order to convert it into +wine or beer, being called the <i>vinous</i> fermentation. Vinegar is of +great use in cookery and medicine; the word is derived from the French +for wine, <i>vin</i>, and <i>aigre</i>, sour. The ancients had several kinds of +vinegar, which they used as drinks; but it is most likely that these +vinegars were different from that so called among us, and were more +probably a kind of wine.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Acetous</i>, sour.</p> + +<p><i>Vinous</i>, wine-like.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What materials are used for the dyeing and coloring of our +manufactures?</b></p> + +<p>There are many mineral and vegetable earths which furnish mankind with +different colors for beautifying their various manufactures, and +assisting them in the arts, &c. Some species of insects also come to +their aid, as for instance, the cochineals; these insects are killed +by the application of heat, and thus form the drug used for giving red +colors, especially crimson and scarlet, and for making carmine. The +beautiful and permanent blue called Indigo, is the produce of a small +shrub, two or three feet in height.</p> + + +<p><b>From what part is the Dye obtained?</b></p> + +<p>From the leaves; the color is produced by soaking them some hours in +water, in large vessels constructed for the purpose; the sediment of +the blue liquor drawn from them is afterwards dried and sold in the +form of small grains For the painter, they are mixed with oil, or +diluted and made up into small cakes with gum water.</p><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139"></a>[139]</span></p> + + +<p><b>In what countries is Indigo cultivated?</b></p> + +<p>It is native in both Indies, and in South America, where its +cultivation affords employment to many of the inhabitants. It also +grows wild in parts of Palestine, and is much cultivated both in Syria +and Egypt. It once formed one of the staples of the Southern States, +but has in a great measure given way to the cultivation of cotton.</p> + + +<p><b>Has Indigo been long known?</b></p> + +<p>The culture and preparation of indigo were known to the Oriental +nations long before it was introduced into Europe. The inhabitants of +ancient Britain painted their bodies with the blue dye which they +obtained from woad, a plant which grows wild in France and along the +shores of the Baltic, and which greatly resembles indigo in all its +properties, except its brilliancy of color.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Brilliancy</i>, brightness.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What is Gamboge?</b></p> + +<p>The concrete resinous juice of a species of gum-tree, growing in +Cambodia, and other parts of the Indies. It is brought over in large +cakes or rolls of a yellowish brown color outside, and inside of a +deep yellow or orange, which changes to a pale bright yellow on being +moistened.</p> + + +<p><b>What are the uses of Gamboge?</b></p> + +<p>Dissolved in water, it forms a beautiful and useful color for the +painter. It is also used in medicine. Gamboge is soluble in either +water or spirits of wine. Mixed with a blue color, it forms green, in +various shades according to the different proportions of the +ingredients.</p> + + +<p><b>What is Logwood?</b></p> + +<p>The wood of a tree which grows in parts of America and the West +Indies. It is imported in great quantities, and employed in dyeing +purple and the finest blacks.</p> + + +<p><b>What is Tar?</b></p> + +<p>A coarse, resinous liquor issuing from the wood and bark of <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140"></a>[140]</span>pine or +fir-trees; it is in fact the oily juices of the sap thickened and +colored by the heat of the sun or by age; it is extracted for use by +burning the wood of the trees under a heavy covering of turf or earth; +the tar exudes during the slow combustion, and is collected into a +cavity dug in the ground for the purpose. Tar is exported in great +quantities from Norway, Sweden, and our Southern States.</p> + + +<p><b>What are its uses?</b></p> + +<p>It is applied to the sides of ships and boats and their rigging, to +preserve them from the effects of the weather; it is used instead of +paint for palings, &c.; and sometimes also in medicine. A kind, called +<i>mineral</i> tar, is also drawn from coal by the process of distillation. +Mineral tar is also found native in some parts of the earth.</p> + + +<p><b>What is Pitch?</b></p> + +<p>A kind of juice or gum, likewise drawn from unctuous woods, chiefly +those of the pine and fir; it is used for nearly the same purposes as +tar in shipping, medicine, and various other arts. Pitch is properly a +juice of the wild pine, or pitch tree; it is of a glossy black color, +dry brittle, and less bitter and pungent than the liquid tar.</p> + + +<p><b>What is Camphor?</b></p> + +<p>A vegetable substance, chiefly procured from a kind of laurel, (Laurus +Camphora,) growing in Borneo, Japan, and many East Indian islands; it +is also produced from other plants and shrubs, though in very small +quantities.</p> + + +<p><b>How, and from what part of the tree is it taken?</b></p> + +<p>All parts of the tree are impregnated with camphor; but it is +principally extracted from the roots and trunk, by distillation; it is +white, and of a crystal form: its odor is extremely fragrant. In this +state it is called <i>rough</i> camphor, and is thus exported. The Greeks +and Romans do not appear to have been acquainted with this valuable +drug; and we are indebted to the Arabians for a knowledge of it.</p><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141"></a>[141]</span></p> + + +<p><b>What are the properties and uses of Camphor?</b></p> + +<p>It is a firm, dry, crystal matter, with a hot, sharp, aromatic taste. +It is highly odorous, and so inflammable as to burn and preserve its +flame in water; it totally vanishes or evaporates in the open air, and +in Spirits of Wine it entirely dissolves. Camphor has various uses—as +in fire-works, &c.; it is an excellent preservative of animal and +vegetable bodies, as it resists worms and other insects. In the courts +of Eastern princes it is burnt at night with wax. Its principal use +with us is in medicine.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Preservative</i>, a preventive of decay.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What is Musk?</b></p> + +<p>A dry, friable substance of a dark color, taken from a little bag +under the belly of a small animal called the Thibet Musk, which is a +native of the Indies, Tonquin, and China. It inhabits the woods and +forests, where the natives hunt it down. Musk is so strong a perfume +as to be agreeable only in the smallest quantities, or when mingled +with some other scent; it is used in perfumery, &c.</p> + + +<p><b>Is there not another Animal which produces a similar scent?</b></p> + +<p>Yes; an animal of Arabian origin produces an odoriferous substance +called Civet, from which it takes its name of Civet Cat; there are +several species of this animal which produce it, but it is from the +Civet Cat that it is most commonly taken. Civets are found in all the +warm parts of Asia and Africa, in Madagascar, and the East Indian +Islands. It was formerly in high esteem, but is at present very little +used, except to increase the power of other perfumes.</p> + + +<p><b>What is Myrrh?</b></p> + +<p>A kind of gum-resin, issuing from the trunk of a tree growing in +Arabia, Egypt, and Abyssinia; it flows either naturally, or by +incision; and is sent to us in small lumps of a reddish brown or +yellow color. Its smell is strong, but not disagreeable. Our myrrh is +the same drug that was used by the ancients under <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142"></a>[142]</span>the above name. Its +chief use now is in medicine. The ancient Egyptians employed it as an +ingredient in the embalming of dead bodies.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Embalming</i>, preserving the bodies of the dead from decaying +or putrefying, by impregnating them with aromatics and other +substances which resist putrefaction.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Where is Abyssinia?</b></p> + +<p>Abyssinia is a large kingdom situated in Eastern Africa.</p> + + +<p><b>What is Frankincense?</b></p> + +<p>An odoriferous, aromatic gum-resin, which distils, in the heat of +summer, from incisions made in the bark of the tree which produces it: +notwithstanding the great use of the gum, both in ancient systems of +religious worship and in modern medicine, authors have been much +divided in opinion with regard to the kind of tree from which it is +obtained; it is a species of turpentine tree belonging to an order of +resinous and fragrant trees and shrubs inhabiting the tropical parts +of the world.</p> + + +<p><b>For what was it formerly used?</b></p> + +<p>The ancients burnt it in their temples as a perfume, and to do honor +to the divinities that were worshipped in them: it appears to have +been applied to the same purposes by people of all religions. Myrrh +and Frankincense were reckoned by the Eastern nations amongst their +most costly perfumes. We are informed by St. Matthew's Gospel in the +New Testament, that the wise men who came to Bethlehem to worship our +Saviour at his birth, brought gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. +Many of the primitive Christians were put to death because they would +not offer incense to idols. In the Catholic Church we still retain its +use in many ceremonies.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Primitive</i>, early.</p> + +<p><i>Incense</i>, perfumes burnt in religious rites, or as an +offering to some deity.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What is the appearance of Frankincense?</b></p> + +<p>It is generally imported in white or yellowish pieces, or drops, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143"></a>[143]</span>which possess a bitter, disagreeable taste; it is very inflammable, +and burns with a strong, and pleasant odor. That brought from the +Indies is inferior to that from Arabia, and inclines to a reddish +color. The common frankincense is softer, more resinous, and possesses +less value than the former.</p> + + +<p><b>What is Turpentine?</b></p> + +<p>The resinous juice of many trees, as the pine, larch, fir, &c.; it is, +in fact, the juice that renders them evergreen, and when in an +over-abundant quantity, bursts through their bark, and oozes out. +Common turpentine is that procured by incisions from the wild pine; +there are several kinds of turpentine procured from various resinous +trees; some are of use in medicine, and most of them in making +different kinds of varnishes, for preserving and beautifying boxes, +paintings, &c.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Ooze</i>, to flow gently.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Is there not a tree more particularly designated the Turpentine Tree?</b></p> + +<p>Yes, the Terebinth or Turpentine Tree of Palestine and the East. It is +one of the most common forest trees of those regions, and is regarded +with respect and distinction similar to that awarded to the oak in +England.</p> + + +<p><b>What part of it produces the Gum?</b></p> + +<p>The gum, or rather the resin, distils from the trunk. It is called +Cyprus or Chian Turpentine, much of it being brought from the isles of +Cyprus and Scio, or Chios, and is procured, by incision, about the +month of July. This turpentine, owing to its superior quality, as well +as its scarcity, each tree seldom yielding over two or three pounds, +is very costly.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Incision</i>, a cutting.</p> + +<p><i>Costly</i>, expensive.</p></div> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144"></a>[144]</span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVI" id="CHAPTER_XVI"></a>CHAPTER XVI.</h2> + +<h3><span class="smcap">Bricks, Mortar, Granite, Slate, Limestone, or Calcareous Rocks, +Steel, Earths, Volcanoes, and Earthquakes.</span> +</h3> + +<p><b>Of what are Bricks composed?</b></p> + +<p>Of clay, dried by the heat of the sun, or burnt in kilns; their color +varies with the different degrees of heat to which they are subjected +in burning. In the East, bricks were baked in the sun; the Romans used +them crude, only laying them to dry in the air for a long space of +time.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Crude</i>, in the rough, unbaked state, just as they were +formed.</p></div> + + +<p><b>How long have Bricks been in use for building?</b></p> + +<p>Bricks appear to have been in use at a very remote period of +antiquity, both from the account of them in the Holy Scriptures, and +from the remains of them which have been found; the Tower of Babel and +the walls of Babylon were built of them. They were in early use among +the Egyptians, as appears from the history of the Jews before their +deliverance by Moses. In the book of Exodus, we are told that this +captive people were compelled to make bricks for that nation. The +Romans, under their first kings, built with massive square stones; but +towards the end of the Republic they began to use brick, borrowing the +practice from the Greeks; and the greatest and most durable buildings +of the succeeding Emperors were composed of them, as the Pantheon, &c.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Massive</i>, bulky and heavy.</p></div> + + +<p><b>By whom was the Tower of Babel erected, and why?</b></p> + +<p>By the descendants of Noe's three sons, Sem, Cham, and Japheth; they +were extremely numerous, and dwelt in the land of Sennaar; becoming +ambitious of distinguishing themselves, they set about building a +tower whose summit might <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145"></a>[145]</span>reach to heaven. Sennaar was the original +name of the country about Babylon.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Descendants</i>, those descended from a particular person or +family.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What remarkable event followed their foolish pride?</b></p> + +<p>The Almighty suddenly frustrated their purpose by confusing their +language and causing them all to express their words by different +sounds; hence arose the numbers of different languages spoken by the +nations of the earth; and thus what they imagined would be a monument +of glory, was made an awful memento of their pride and folly.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Frustrated</i>, prevented.</p> + +<p><i>Monument</i>, anything by which the memory of persons or +things is preserved.</p> + +<p><i>Memento</i>, a hint to awaken the memory of anything; that +which reminds.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What good effect did this event produce?</b></p> + +<p>God, who at all times can bring good out of evil, by this means caused +the other parts of the earth to be peopled; for this visitation having +effectually broken up their scheme, they emigrated in parties, and +dispersed themselves over different parts of the world.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Scheme</i>, plan, intention.</p> + +<p><i>Emigrated</i>, removed from one country to another.</p> + +<p><i>Dispersed</i>, separated.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Where was Babylon?</b></p> + +<p>This celebrated city, so often mentioned in Holy Writ, (and remarkable +for the minuteness with which its destruction was foretold by the +Prophets,) was the capital of the Assyrian Empire, and situated on the +river Euphrates. After the destruction of Nineve, the ancient capital +of this empire, Babylon became the most famous city of the East.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Minuteness</i>, particularity.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What is meant by the Assyrian Empire?</b></p> + +<p>The country of Assyria, in Asia.</p> + + +<p><b>For what was this city particularly celebrated?</b></p> + +<p>For its hanging gardens, palaces, temples, and walls, the latter of +which are said to have been three hundred and fifty <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146"></a>[146]</span>feet high, and so +broad that six chariots could go abreast upon them. The city was so +strongly fortified, both by nature and art, as to be thought +impregnable.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Fortified</i>, defended.</p> + +<p><i>Impregnable</i>, incapable of being taken or destroyed by an +enemy.</p></div> + + +<p><b>By whom was it destroyed, and when?</b></p> + +<p>By Cyrus, 538 years before the birth of Christ, just fifty years after +Nabuchodonosor had destroyed the city of Jerusalem and its temple.</p> + + +<p><b>Who was Cyrus?</b></p> + +<p>The founder of the Persian Empire.</p> + + +<p><b>Who was Nabuchodonosor?</b></p> + +<p>The King of Babylon.</p> + + +<p><b>What was the Pantheon?</b></p> + +<p>A temple of a circular form which was dedicated to all the Gods, or +all the Saints. That of all others the most celebrated, is the +Pantheon of ancient Rome, and its remains are the most perfect amongst +the wonders of that city at the present day.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Circular</i>, having the form of a circle, round.</p></div> + + +<p><b>By whom was it built?</b></p> + +<p>By Agrippa, the Consul of Rome, twenty-five years before Christ; it +was dedicated by him to Jupiter: the name Pantheon was given on +account of the great number of statues of the Gods ranged in niches +all round it; and because it was built in a circular form to represent +heaven, the residence of the Gods. It was afterwards converted into a +church by Pope Boniface IV, and dedicated to the Blessed Virgin and +all the Martyrs, under the title of "Our Lady of the Rotunda." Agrippa +likewise built the Pantheon at Athens, which was but little inferior +to that of Rome. The Greek Christians afterwards converted it into a +church, dedicating it to the Blessed Virgin; but the Turks, when they +subdued Greece, changed it into a mosque.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Dedicated</i>, appropriated to a particular person, or to a +sacred use.</p> + +<p><i>Residence</i>, dwelling, habitation.</p> + +<p><i>Martyr</i>, one who is put to death for the cause of religion.</p> + +<p><i>Mosque</i>, a Mahommedan temple.</p></div> + + +<p class="center"><img src="images/image_21.jpg" alt="A SLATE QUARRY." width="363" height="611" /><br /> +<span class="caption">A SLATE QUARRY.</span></p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147"></a>[147]</span> + <b>What is understood by a Consul?</b></p> + +<p>The chief magistrate of the Roman republic or commonwealth. After the +Romans had expelled their kings, they were governed by two Consuls; +these were established in the year of Rome 245. The Consuls were the +head of the senate; they commanded the armies of the republic, and +judged all the differences between the citizens: they held their +office for the space of a year; at the end of which time, new ones +were elected. Consuls were even continued under the Emperors after the +republic was destroyed; but it was then little more than an honorary +title, and at last was totally abolished.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Expelled</i>, turned out.</p> + +<p><i>Abolished</i>, annulled, made void.</p></div> + + +<p><b>To what is the term Consul applied at the present time?</b></p> + +<p>To an officer established by a commission from a king or state, to +reside in foreign countries of any considerable trade, to facilitate +and despatch business, protect the merchants of the state, &c.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Commission</i>, a trust imposed, command, authority.</p> + +<p><i>Facilitate</i>, to render easy.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What is meant by a Senate?</b></p> + +<p>An assembly or council of senators, that is, of the principal +inhabitants of a state, who have a share in the government.</p> + + +<p><b>What is the government of the United States?</b></p> + +<p>It is one of limited and definite powers, defined by a written +constitution.</p> + + +<p><b>How are the legislative powers, granted to the government, vested?</b></p> + +<p>In a Congress, consisting of a Senate of two Senators from each state, +chosen by the legislature thereof; and a House of Representatives, +consisting of one or more members from each state, elected by the +people in equal electoral districts.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Legislative</i>, giving or enacting laws</p></div> + + +<p><b>How are our laws made?</b></p> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148"></a>[148]</span></p> + +<p>Bills passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate, on +receiving the sanction of the President, become laws; or, if vetoed by +the President, may be passed by two-thirds of both Houses.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Vetoed</i>, withheld assent to.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Who was Jupiter?</b></p> + +<p>The principal deity of the Pagan world.</p> + + +<p><b>What is used to cement bricks firmly together?</b></p> + +<p>Mortar; a composition of lime, sand, gravel, &c., mixed up with water; +the ancients had a kind of mortar so very hard and binding, that, even +to this day, it is next to impossible to separate the parts of some of +their buildings.</p> + + +<p><b>What is Granite?</b></p> + +<p>A rock which has been formed by the union of three different minerals +in a state of fusion; these, on cooling, have crystallized and become +distinct from each other in the mass. It is remarkable for the beauty +of its colors, its hardness and durability. There are granites of many +different colors, as red or rose-colored, grey, green, variegated, &c.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Fusion</i>, a melted state.</p> + +<p><i>Mass</i>, a body, a lump.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What form does it bear?</b></p> + +<p>Granite does not, generally, form one extensive mass, but remains in +separate and large fragments, rudely compacted together; besides the +three minerals of which it is composed, particles of other stones, or +metallic earths, are often accidentally mixed with it. It is called +granite from its granulous structure.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Compacted</i>, joined together.</p> + +<p><i>Granulous</i>, consisting of small grains.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Where is Granite found?</b></p> + +<p>Granite occurs in all the larger mountain ranges, and in isolated +masses in every country; not being a stratified rock, and being +excessively hard, it is difficult to get it out in manageable masses. +In Arabia Petræa, the whole country abounds in masses of different +granites.</p><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149"></a>[149]</span></p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Isolated</i>, alone, separated, detached.</p> + +<p><i>Stratified</i>, consisting of strata or beds.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What mode is usually employed in this country in obtaining it?</b></p> + +<p>Blasting, or blowing up with gunpowder; the force of which detaches +pieces from the rock, which are hewn roughly into forms on the spot by +a small pickaxe. Granite is also quarried by cutting a deep line some +yards long, and placing strong iron wedges at equal distances along +this line; these wedges are struck in succession with heavy hammers, +till the mass splits down. Another method of detaching masses of rock, +is by driving wooden wedges into a deep artificial or natural crack, +or fissure; the wedges are then wet, and, in consequence of swelling, +burst the rock asunder.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Quarried</i>, from <i>to quarry</i>, a term used for the getting of +stone from a quarry, or place where stones are dug from the +earth, or detached from a large mass of rock.</p> + +<p><i>Detach</i>, to separate.</p></div> + + +<p><b>For what is this Rock used?</b></p> + +<p>On account of its great hardness, it is used for large public +structures, as bridges, churches, &c. The ancient temples and other +buildings in Egypt, Asia, and Italy, were built of different colored +granites, especially the beautiful Oriental red granite.</p> + + +<p><b>What is Slate?</b></p> + +<p>The common name for a bluish fossil stone, very soft when dug out of +the quarry, and easily cut or split into thin plates,—a property +which renders it invaluable for a variety of purposes.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Invaluable</i>, extremely valuable.</p></div> + + +<p><b>For what is it used?</b></p> + +<p>Slate has superseded the use of lead for covering roofs, even of the +largest buildings; being lighter and more durable, it is preferable to +tile: it is also employed for slabs to form cisterns, shelves for +dairies, and other purposes, on account of its strength, coolness, and +the ease with which it can be cleaned; the latter <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150"></a>[150]</span>quality renders it +also of great value in the business of education, as a cheap +substitute for paper. The ancients were unacquainted with the use of +slate.</p> + + +<p><b>What other kinds of stone are used in building?</b></p> + +<p>Limestone, or the calcareous rocks of the geologist: of these there +are many varieties. Those which are easily cut and polished are termed +marbles, and are used in sculpture and in ornamental architecture. The +coarser marbles are used for the common purposes of building.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Calcareous</i>, partaking of the nature of calx or lime,—a +term employed to describe chalk, marble, and all other +combinations of lime with carbonic acid.</p> + +<p><i>Geologist</i>, one who studies the science of Geology.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Of what do Calcareous Earths or Stones consist?</b></p> + +<p>Calcareous earths, stones, or rocks consist of lime, or pure +calcareous earth, carbonic acid, and water.</p> + + +<p><b>What is Quick-Lime?</b></p> + +<p>Limestone deprived of its carbonic acid and water by being subjected +to an intense heat in a kiln.</p> + + +<p><b>How are these Stones wrought?</b></p> + +<p>To whatever purpose the stones are to be applied, the larger blocks +obtained from the quarry must be cut into smaller and more manageable +pieces by sawing: the saw used is a long blade of steel, without +teeth, fixed in a heavy wooden frame. These huge saws are worked by +one or two men who sit in boxes to shelter them from the weather; +water is caused to drip constantly into the cut, to facilitate the +motion of the saw, and keep it cool, so as to prevent it from losing +its temper.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Huge</i>, very large.</p> + +<p><i>Temper</i>, hardness; in speaking of metals it signifies the +state to which they are reduced, especially with regard to +their hardness.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What is Steel?</b></p> + +<p>Iron combined with a small portion of carbon; its chemical name is +<i>Carburet of Iron</i>. It is not so malleable as iron in its ordinary +state; but is much harder, more elastic, and susceptible of a higher +polish. Of this material are manufactured knives, <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151"></a>[151]</span>swords, and all +kinds of cutting instruments and edge tools, used for domestic +purposes and in the arts, from the ponderous pit-saw to the finest +lancet. Good steel is much more ductile than iron; and a finer wire +may be drawn from it than from any other metal. The excellence of +edge-tools depends upon their temper.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Ponderous</i>, heavy.</p></div> + + +<p><b>You say that a Geologist is one who studies Geology: what is meant by +this term?</b></p> + +<p>A science which enables us to read, in the simple language of nature, +the changes which have taken place on the surface of the earth, in its +structure and mineral constitution. It describes the different +materials and the strata of which the crust of the earth is composed, +and investigates the causes of its physical features.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Simple</i>, easily read.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What are Strata?</b></p> + +<p>Layers of rocks and other substances of which the whole earth seems to +be composed. These rocks are found lying one above another in regular +order; beneath them are the <i>unstratified</i> rocks, which seem to form +the basis or foundations upon which the others have been deposited. +The various layers seem to have been formed during progressive stages +of vegetable and animal organization. These rocks and strata are +divided into five classes or formations.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Progressive</i>, moving forwards.</p> + +<p><i>Organization</i>, formation or structure of bodies.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Name them.</b></p> + +<p>The Primitive, or lower formations, supposed to have been formed in +the chaotic state of the earth, because they have no trace of +organized beings or petrifactions; they are chiefly composed of +silicious and argillaceous earths, as granite, slate, &c.—Transition +rocks, supposed to have been formed during the transition of the earth +into a habitable state; they differ from <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152"></a>[152]</span>the primitive, in containing +the remains of marine animals:—the Secondary rocks, containing the +remains of animals and vegetables, and consequently formed after their +creation;—the Tertiary formation, composed of layers of clay, sand, +gravel, and marl, and containing peculiar organic remains;—and the +Alluvial formation, constituted of parts of previous rocks separated +by water, &c., and deposited in beds.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Petrifaction</i>, an animal or vegetable substance turned to +stone.</p> + +<p><i>Silicious</i>, consisting of flint.</p> + +<p><i>Transition</i>, change from one state to another.</p> + +<p><i>Argillaceous</i>, clayey, consisting of clay.</p> + +<p><i>Chaotic</i>, resembling chaos, confused.</p> + +<p><i>Chaos</i>, confusion, a mingled heap; a term used in speaking +of the world while yet without form; a Greek word, +signifying a confused mass.</p> + +<p><i>Alluvial</i>, deposited from water.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Of what is this last compounded?</b></p> + +<p>The Alluvial formation is composed of sand, gravel, loam, clay, turf, +&c., and contains plants, roots, moss, bones, petrified wood, and +skeletons of animals. It is distinguished from the Tertiary formation +chiefly by its superior position, and by extending over regions where +existing streams or other causes now in action could have produced it. +Some geologists mention another formation called the Volcanic, because +composed of minerals thrown from the crater of a volcano, such as +pumice stones, lava, &c.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Crater</i>, the mouth or opening of a volcano.</p> + +<p><i>Petrified</i>, hardened into stone.</p></div> + + +<p><b>You mentioned Silicious and Argillaceous Earths: is not, then, the +earthy covering of our globe of one common character?</b></p> + +<p>No; by earth is understood a combination of many distinct bodies. +Chemists, by separating earths from each other, and from foreign +matters connected with them, have discovered nine or ten primitive +earths; all of these, except silex, are compounds of oxygen with +metallic bases.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Chemist</i>, one who understands the science of chemistry.</p></div> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153"></a>[153]</span></p> + + +<p><b>Of which of these Simple or Primitive Earths are the solid portions of +the globe principally composed?</b></p> + +<p>Of flint or silex, lime or calcareous earth, and clay or argil, in +various degrees of combination, the greatest parts of the mountains +and plains, and the whole of what we commonly understand by soil, +mould, earth, &c. are composed. These, however, though forming nearly +all of the solid portions of the world, are constantly mixed with +foreign matters, as metals, (particularly iron,) and acids, (as +carbonic acid.)</p> + + +<p><b>What are the properties of Silex?</b></p> + +<p>Silex, or pure flint, will not dissolve in water, nor can it be melted +by itself in any heat; but combined with alkalies, as soda or potash, +it forms glass. It is the principal ingredient of most of the precious +stones.</p> + + +<p><b>What are the chief uses of Silex?</b></p> + +<p>It is the most durable article for the formation of roads; a necessary +ingredient in earthenware, porcelain, and cements; and the principal +material of glass and vitreous substances. The making of pastes or +artificial gems is a branch of the art of glass-making; the basis used +is a very hard and pure silex.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Basis</i>, that part of any mixture which is the ground or +base; the first principle or element of a substance.</p></div> + + +<p><b><a name="LIME" id="LIME"></a>Describe the properties of Lime.</b></p> + +<p>It is of a white color, and possesses a hot, caustic taste. It forms +peculiar salts with acids; changes vegetable blues to green; will not +fuse; gives out a quantity of caloric when united with water; and +absorbs carbonic acid when exposed to air. Lime is very useful in the +arts and manufactures, in medicine, &c. The farmers use it as manure +to fertilize land.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Caustic</i>, burning, corroding: a term applied to substances +which eat away and burn any thing with which they are +brought in contact.</p></div> + + +<p><b>In what state is Lime found in nature?</b></p> + +<p>Never native, but combined with other substances;—generally with an +acid, and most plentifully with carbonic acid, as in <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154"></a>[154]</span>chalk, marble, +&c. It is also found in vegetables, and is the basis of animal bones; +it likewise occurs in the water of the ocean, and in that of all +springs and rivers. The method of procuring <i>lime</i>, from chalk, +marble, limestone, oyster-shells, &c., has already been described in a +former chapter.</p> + + +<p><b>What are the properties of Clay?</b></p> + +<p>Argil, or pure clay, also called <i>alumina</i>, from its being the basis +of alum, is soft to the touch, adhesive, and emits a peculiar odor +when moistened;—forms a paste with water, and hardens in the fire. +Its uses are so various and important, that it would have been almost +impossible for man to have attained his present degree of +civilization, if it had not been given him by nature in such +abundance. Its uses have already been described in the arts of +brick-making, pottery, &c. Besides these three principal primitive +earths just described, there are seven others, having several +properties in common, yet each possessing its different and specific +properties, and evidently designed by nature for different purposes of +utility.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Specific</i>, belonging to its particular species.</p> + +<p><i>Utility</i>, usefulness.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What is a Volcano?</b></p> + +<p>An opening in the surface of the earth, or in a mountain, from which +are ejected smoke, flames, stones, lava, &c. Beneath the outer crust +of the earth inflammable materials appear to exist, which different +causes excite into combustion. Volcanoes are supposed to owe their +origin to the metals and minerals which form the basis of earths and +alkalies; and which, when ignited, expand,—shake the rocky +foundations,—and sometimes, bursting through, produce all the +destructive effects of earthquakes. They break forth under the sea, as +well as the land, and throw up mountains which rise above the level of +the water. During an eruption of Vesuvius, A.D. 79, three cities, +Herculaneum, Pompeii, and Stabiæ, were overwhelmed, and lay buried +beneath the matter ejected from the volcano until within a few years, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155"></a>[155]</span>when excavations were made and many relics discovered;—streets, +houses, papyri, (manuscripts,) grain, fruit, bread, medicines, &c. +&c., all in a remarkable state of preservation, have been found just +as they were left by the terrified inhabitants at the time of the +eruption!</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Eruption</i>, an issuing or breaking forth with violence.</p> + +<p><i>Ejected</i>, thrown out.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Are there many Volcanoes?</b></p> + +<p>There are upwards of two hundred volcanoes upon the globe; more than +one half of them are in America and Oceanica The most noted volcanoes +in America are Cotopaxi (the highest in the world), near Quito; +Popocatapetl, in Mexico; Cosiguina, and the Water Volcano, in +Guatemala. In France, Spain, Portugal, and many other countries, there +are districts which show the former existence of volcanoes, which have +long been extinct; near Naples, in an area of two hundred square +miles, there are sixty craters, some of them larger than Vesuvius; in +one of these, the town of Cumea has stood for three thousand years.</p> + + +<p><b>What can you say of new islands formed by Volcanic Agency?</b></p> + +<p>Many examples of new islands rising out of the sea by volcanic action +are on record. Some of them are permanent, but others, after a time, +disappear. Teneriffe, Iceland, Sicily, St. Helena; part of Sumatra, +Java, Japan; and the Sandwich Islands, seem to have been upheaved by +volcanic agency; Hawaii, the largest of the last-named group, contains +an area of four thousand square miles, and rises eighteen thousand +feet above the ocean.</p> + + +<p><b>What are Earthquakes?</b></p> + +<p>Shakings or vibrations of the ground; sometimes accompanied by rents, +and rockings or heavings of the surface, so as to overthrow buildings, +and swallow up towns and large tracts of country. They are attended +with a terrible subterranean noise, like <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156"></a>[156]</span>thunder, and sometimes with +an eruption of fire or water, or else of smoke or winds.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Subterranean</i>, underground.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What is supposed to cause them?</b></p> + +<p>An electrical action between the atmosphere and some deep sub-strata; +or the sudden formation of gaseous matter beneath the surface of the +earth by internal volcanic fires. Many hot countries, where much +electrical disturbance takes place, are very subject to them: +earthquakes almost always precede volcanic eruptions; an open volcano, +also, probably diminishes the force of earthquakes, by the vent which +it affords. Earthquakes, at different times, have been productive of +the most terrific effects: towns and cities have been swallowed up, +and thousands of people destroyed by them. The island of Jamaica is +remarkable for the earthquakes which frequently happen there.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Precede</i>, to go before.</p> + +<p><i>Vent</i>, opening.</p> + +<p><i>Terrific</i>, full of terror, dreadful.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Where is Jamaica situated?</b></p> + +<p>In the West Indies,—a large group of fertile islands which lie +between North and South America. Jamaica is the principal one of those +which belong to the English.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVII" id="CHAPTER_XVII"></a>CHAPTER XVII.</h2> + +<h3><span class="smcap">Architecture, Sculpture, Use of Money, Navigation</span>.</h3> + + +<p><b>What is meant by Architecture?</b></p> + +<p>The art of building or erecting edifices fit for the habitation of +man, to defend him from the weather, and for his domestic comfort and +convenience; for devotion, trade, and other purposes, and for the use +of civilized life in every capacity.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Capacity</i>, state, condition.</p></div> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157"></a>[157]</span></p> + + +<p><b>Is not this an art of great antiquity?</b></p> + +<p>It is almost as ancient as human society; the changes of the seasons +first led men to build themselves huts or cabins, into which they +might retire for shelter; in process of time, their manner of building +gradually improved, and habitations were constructed of more stately +forms and elegant proportions, and greater skill and variety were +displayed in their ornaments Hence arose the Five Orders or manners of +building.</p> + + +<p><b>Of what were the first huts composed?</b></p> + +<p>Probably of the branches of trees driven into the ground, and covered +with mud and stubble; at length, as men became more expert, they +placed trunks of trees upright, and laid others across them to sustain +the outer coverings; from this they took the hint of a more regular +architecture, and built edifices of brick and stone; the trunks of +trees which supported their dwellings gave them a notion of pillars or +columns, which they afterwards erected of more durable materials. +Among uncivilized tribes at this day, some reside underground, having +their dirty dwellings entirely closed during the winter months; in +warmer regions, their habitations are built of stakes, leaves, and +turf, in the shape of a soldier's tent. In Africa, their kraals or +huts are constructed in this manner, but of a circular form, with a +hole at the top to let out the smoke. In many of the South Sea +Islands, the natives, when first discovered, had progressed still +further, having learnt to elevate the roofs on poles, and to fill in +the sides of their houses with boughs or rushes, mud or sods.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Probably</i>, most likely.</p> + +<p><i>Edifice</i>, a building.</p> + +<p><i>Notion</i>, idea.</p> + +<p><i>Durable</i>, lasting.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What people are represented by the ancient writers as having brought +the art of Building to a greater state of perfection?</b></p> + +<p>The inhabitants of the city of Tyre, to whom Solomon had recourse for +workmen to build the Temple. Isaias, in his <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158"></a>[158]</span>twenty-third chapter, +speaks of the Tyrians and Egyptians, as having brought it to a great +degree of magnificence; as may be drawn from the various accounts +handed down to us, and the remains of their obelisks, pyramids, &c.</p> + + +<p><b>What is an Obelisk?</b></p> + +<p>A very high and slender four-sided pyramid, raised as an ornament in +some public place; and frequently covered with inscriptions and +hieroglyphics.<a name="FNanchor_16_16" id="FNanchor_16_16"></a><a href="#Footnote_16_16" class="fnanchor">[16]</a> This kind of monument appears to be very ancient; +they were first made use of to declare to posterity the principal +precepts of philosophy; to mark the hours of the day by the shadows +which they cast on the ground; and, in after-times, to immortalize the +actions of heroes, and perpetuate the memory of persons beloved.</p> + +<div class="footnotes"><p><a name="Footnote_16_16" id="Footnote_16_16"></a><a href="#FNanchor_16_16"><span class="label">[16]</span></a> See <a href="#CHAPTER_XIV">Chapter XIV</a>.</p> +</div> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Inscription</i>, something written or engraved.</p> + +<p><i>Hieroglyphics</i>, emblems by which words were implied. They +were used before the invention of alphabets.</p> + +<p><i>Implied</i>, signified, denoted.</p> + +<p><i>Posterity</i>, succeeding generations, descendants.</p> + +<p><i>Immortalize</i>, to render immortal,—which means never-dying; +to perpetuate the memory of anything.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What is a Pyramid?</b></p> + +<p>A solid, massive edifice, rising from a square, triangular, or other +base, gradually diminishing in size till it ends in a point at the +top. Like the obelisk, pyramids were sometimes erected to preserve the +memory of singular events, or to transmit to future ages the glory and +magnificence of princes; but oftener as funeral monuments and +receptacles for the dead, particularly kings.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Triangular</i>, three-sided, having three angles.</p> + +<p><i>Diminishing</i>, growing smaller.</p> + +<p><i>Receptacle</i>, the place in which a thing is deposited.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Is it known who were the erectors of these Buildings?</b></p> + +<p>No; it is a curious fact that the Egyptian pyramids, so celebrated for +their size and great antiquity, should have the time of their erection +and the names of their founders wrapt in such complete mystery. All +the different authors who have written <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159"></a>[159]</span>concerning them, disagree in +their accounts of those who built them, and nothing certain is known +of their history.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Founder</i>, one who establishes or erects.</p> + +<p><i>Mystery</i>, profound secresy.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What other nations excelled in the art of Building?</b></p> + +<p>The Greeks and Romans, from whom we derive it, also greatly excelled +in this art. Grecian architecture was in its highest glory under +Pericles. Among the Romans, it arrived at its greatest perfection +under the Emperor Augustus. The five orders of ornamental architecture +invented by the ancients, at different times, and on different +occasions, are of Grecian and Italian origin. They are the Tuscan, the +Doric, the Ionic, the Corinthian, and the Composite; each possessing +its peculiar form and beauty, and found in all the principal buildings +of the Christian world.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Christian</i>, professing the religion of Christ; the term is +applied to those who believe our Lord Jesus Christ to be the +only true God and Saviour of the world.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Who was Pericles?</b></p> + +<p>A celebrated Athenian statesman, orator, and general, who gained +several victories over the Lacedemonians and other enemies of his +country.</p> + + +<p><b>Are all the species of ornamental building confined to those nations +already mentioned?</b></p> + +<p>By no means; besides the Grecian and Roman orders, other civilized +nations possess their separate styles; as the Hindoos, Chinese, Moors, +&c.; and nothing can be more grand, harmonious, and picturesque, than +each of these in the beautiful specimens which are to be seen in their +several countries. The Saxons, also, had a simple style of +architecture, distinguished by semi-circular arches, and massive plain +columns; the Normans, too, invented a beautiful kind called the +Gothic, distinguished by its lightness and the number of its +ornaments, and by its pointed arches and pillars carved to imitate +several combined together; the Gothic style is found in many old +cathedrals.</p><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160"></a>[160]</span></p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Hindoos</i>, inhabitants of Hindostan, in India.</p> + +<p><i>Moors</i>, inhabitants of Morocco, a kingdom of Barbary, in +Africa.</p> + +<p><i>Harmonious</i>, corresponding in all its parts with equal +beauty and elegance.</p> + +<p><i>Picturesque</i>, like a picture.</p> + +<p><i>Saxons</i>, inhabitants of Saxony, a portion of Germany.</p> + +<p><i>Semi-circular</i>, only half circular.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Describe the Five Orders of Architecture.</b></p> + +<p>The Tuscan (from Tuscany,) is the most simple and devoid of ornament, +and its columns or pillars are plain and massive. The Doric (from the +Dorians, in Greece,) is durable and noble in appearance, having its +columns plain like the Tuscan, but the upper parts more ornamental. +The Ionic, (from Iona, in Greece,) is neither so plain as the Doric, +nor so richly elegant as the Corinthian; but is distinguished from the +first two orders by having its columns or pillars fluted instead of +plain, and the upper part of them (called the capitals,) adorned by +the figures of rams' horns carved on them. The Corinthian is very rich +and delicate, with fluted pillars, and the tops beautifully ornamented +with leaves, &c. The invention of this order is ascribed to +Callimachus, a Corinthian sculptor. The Composite is compounded of the +other four; it is very much like the Corinthian, and is also called +the Roman or Italian order.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Devoid</i>, free from, destitute.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What is Sculpture?</b></p> + +<p>The art of cutting or carving wood, stone, and other materials; and +forming of them various figures or representations of men, beasts and +other objects. The term is mostly limited to carving images or statues +in stone. This art is of great antiquity; the sacred writings inform +us of it in many passages, as for instance in those in which are +mentioned Laban's images, carried away by Rachel; the golden calf of +the Israelites, &c. Sculpture as an art is probably more ancient than +painting.</p> + + +<p><b>What country was the most highly celebrated for its sculpture?</b></p> + +<p>Greece, which produced many celebrated sculptors, of whom <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161"></a>[161]</span>the most +eminent were Phidias, an Athenian, the great master of this art, who +lived in the time of Pericles, 408 years before Christ; Lysippus, a +native of Sicyon, near Corinth; and Praxiteles, a native of Magna +Grecia.</p> + + +<p><b>What event proved fatal to this art?</b></p> + +<p>The death of Alexander the Great was followed by a visible decline in +all the fine arts; but the fatal blow to their existence was given by +the success of the conquering Romans, who reduced Greece to a Roman +province.</p> + + +<p><b>Was Sculpture always performed in Stone?</b></p> + +<p>No; at first statues and other figures were formed of wood or baked +clay, afterwards of stone, marble and metals; though these last were +not brought to any degree of perfection, till about three hundred +years before Christ. The Greeks were famous for their works in ivory; +the great master of the art of carving statues in it was Phidias.</p> + + +<p><b>What progress did the Romans make in Sculpture?</b></p> + +<p>Sculpture, during their early history, existed rather as a plant of +foreign growth, partially cultivated by them, than as a native +production of their own land. They collected, indeed, some of the most +exquisite samples of Grecian sculpture, and invited to their capital +the yet remaining sculptors of Greece, by whose labors not only Rome +itself was embellished, but also many of the cities of Asia Minor, +Spain, and Gaul, then under the Roman dominion; yet the taste for +sculpture does not appear to have been cultivated in any measure +corresponding with the advantages thus afforded them in the study of +the best models of the art. The best works were produced by Greek +artists, and chiefly Athenian, while the attempts of the Romans were +unskilfully executed.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Gaul</i>, the ancient name of France.</p> + +<p><i>Model</i>, pattern.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Did it always continue thus?</b></p> + +<p>No; from the time of the Emperor Constantine, sculpture, and the rest +of the fine arts, gradually revived. While inspired, <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162"></a>[162]</span>perhaps, with a +taste for sculpture by means of the scattered remains of Grecian art, +the Roman artists drew, at the same time, from their own resources, +and were by no means servile copyists of the sculptors of a former +age. The first academy of the art was founded at Florence, in 1350, +and at the close of the same century, sculpture was firmly established +in Italy, and itinerant sculptors, not unskilful in their art, +wandered from thence to Germany, France, and even to England. The most +eminent master of the art was Michael Angelo, born in 1474, who was +also a painter and architect; from his time, to the latter end of the +last century, sculpture again gradually declined, but under Canova, a +native of Possagno, in the Venetian Alps, it revived. He was born in +1757. Besides the above mentioned, were a number of others of various +degrees of talent, as well as some still living.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Servile</i>, slavish, mean.</p> + +<p><i>Itinerant</i>, wandering.</p></div> + + +<p><b>When was the knowledge of Sculpture introduced into England?</b></p> + +<p>At the time of its conquest by the Romans; but the art appears to have +been very rude and imperfect. From the time of the Norman invasion, +and still further in the time of the Crusades, an improvement, +however, began to show itself in British sculpture. But it is probable +that most of their best architectural and sculptural works were +executed by foreigners, members of those societies of wandering +sculptors before mentioned. Under Edward the Third, the art appears to +have been much cultivated by Englishmen. It is well known that two +Italian sculptors were employed in England during the sixteenth +century. John of Padua, a pupil of Michael Angelo, was master of works +to Henry the Eighth. In the reign of Charles the First, English +sculptors flourished, although their works are of a very low order.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Invasion</i>, hostile entrance upon the rights or possessions +of another.</p> + +<p><i>Architectural</i>, belong to Architecture.</p> + +<p><i>Sculptural</i>, belonging to Sculpture.</p></div> + +<p class="center"><img src="images/image_13.jpg" alt="GATHERING TURPENTINE BY SCRAPING." width="483" height="330" /><br /> +<span class="caption">GATHERING TURPENTINE BY SCRAPING.</span></p> + +<p class="center"><img src="images/image_14.jpg" alt="DISTILLING TURPENTINE." width="482" height="332" /><br /> +<span class="caption">DISTILLING TURPENTINE.</span></p> + + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163"></a>[163]</span></p> + + +<p><b>With whom may the School of British Sculptors be considered as +commencing?</b></p> + +<p>With Banks, born in 1738, and Bacon, born in 1740; these were in every +respect English artists. But the most eminent worker in the art which +that country has yet produced, was John Flaxman, born in 1755. Our own +country also may boast of sculptors of superior talents, and from the +beautiful specimens of the art which have appeared, the attainment of +a high degree of excellence in it is to be anticipated.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Attainment</i>, the act of arriving at or reaching.</p> + +<p><i>Anticipated</i>, expected, foreseen.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Give me a short account of this art in Germany, France, and Spain.</b></p> + +<p>In these countries, as in England and the United States, during their +early history, many of the best works were executed by Italians. +Germany appears to have made little progress in sculpture before the +seventeenth century; since that period, it has produced sculptors of +some eminence, although it is more celebrated for its writers on the +art, than for artists of eminence in its practice. In France, +sculptors of some talent are mentioned as early as the sixteenth +century. Girardon and Puget were the most celebrated artists of this +period. Spanish history gives a long list of native sculptors, from +the commencement of the same century, but many of them are but little +known beyond their own country. Berruguete, a pupil of Michael Angelo, +appears to have founded the first regular school of the art. Paul de +Cespides, and in the eighteenth century, Philip de Castro, were the +most eminent among them.</p> + + +<p><b>When was the use of Money first introduced?</b></p> + +<p>It is not known with certainty: there is, however, reason to believe +that both gold and silver were very early used as money in Egypt and +Asia: it was afterwards introduced into Carthage and Greece; whence it +was brought to Rome; and from that city spread gradually westward, +through all the Roman domin<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164"></a>[164]</span>ions. Before the use of money was +introduced, the only means of trade was by barter, or the exchange of +one commodity for another, a custom long retained by uncivilized +nations. In time, however, men discovered the necessity of something +which would enable them to trade with greater facility; the first +mention of money is in the time of Abraham, who, we are told in the +Bible, paid "four hundred sides of silver of common current money," +for a burying place.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Current</i>, generally received, passing from hand to hand.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Where was Carthage?</b></p> + +<p>Carthage, now Tunis, was a commercial city, situated on the Northern +Coast of Africa, which long contended for the dominion of the +Mediterranean with the Romans; but, after three wars, it was taken and +destroyed by the Roman general, Scipio Africanus, in the year 251 +before Christ.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Commercial</i>, carrying on commerce or trade.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Of what substances was Money usually made?</b></p> + +<p>Of metals, especially the precious metals, because they possess great +value in small bulk; may be kept for any length of time without loss; +and their value, although not altogether invariable, yet, generally +speaking, changes only by slow degrees, and is less susceptible of +fluctuation than that of most other articles. At different times, and +amongst various nations, however, other things, in the scarcity of +metal, have been substituted for it, as shells, wood, leather, paper, +or even pasteboard on extraordinary occasions.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Fluctuation</i>, unsteadiness; a wavering.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Of what form was money generally made?</b></p> + +<p>The form of money has been more various than its materials; the +ancient Britons used as money, rings or bars of iron or tin; the +Lacedemonians used iron bars quenched with vinegar. The money of most +nations usually bore an impression peculiar to themselves, as, for +instance, the sicle of the Jews was marked <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165"></a>[165]</span>with the golden pot of +manna on one side, and Aaron's rod on the other; other coins with the +figures of animals, &c.; in shape, coins were either round, irregular, +or square.</p> + + +<p><b>Have the terms Money and Coin the same signification?</b></p> + +<p>Not exactly; by money is understood any matters, such as metal, wood, +leather, glass, horn, paper, fruits, shells, &c., which have currency +as a medium in commerce. Coin is a particular species always made of +metal, and struck off according to a certain process called coining; +it is not of equal antiquity with money. In fact, the very commodities +themselves were the first moneys, that is, were current one for +another by way of exchange. Coin is a piece of metal converted into +money, by the impression of certain marks or figures thereon. The +first coining of silver took place at Rome, two hundred and +sixty-nine, and of gold, two hundred and six years before Christ: the +Romans, after the commonwealth, stamped their coins with the image of +the reigning emperor, which custom was followed by most civilized +nations. Coins were, and are, frequently, struck in commemoration of a +particular event or celebrated person.</p> + + +<p><b>When was the use of stamped coin introduced into Britain?</b></p> + +<p>After the arrival of the Romans in that island, the natives imitated +them, coining both gold and silver with the images of their kings +stamped upon them; but the Romans, when they subdued the nation, +suppressed also their coins, and obliged them to use their own; hence +the number of Roman coins found among the relics of antiquity in that +island.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Suppressed</i>, put aside, hindered from circulation.</p> + +<p><i>Relics</i>, remains.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What does the first coined money in ancient Britain appear to have +been?</b></p> + +<p>Copper money; but after the arrival of the Saxons in England, scarcely +any copper money was used for many centuries, nor did it become common +till 1672; it was first used in Scotland and Ireland in 1340.</p><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166"></a>[166]</span></p> + + +<p><b>What is a Mint?</b></p> + +<p>A place established by public authority for coining money. In the +United States, the first mint was in Philadelphia; branches have been +established in other parts of the Union. In most countries, the +privilege of coining money is regarded as a prerogative of the +sovereign power. Formerly, in Great Britain, cities, towns, and even +individuals, were allowed to coin money for the convenience of trade; +but now this is forbidden, except at the Mint in the Tower of London.</p> + + +<p><b>What is meant by <a name="NAVIGATION" id="NAVIGATION"></a>Navigation?</b></p> + +<p>The science or art by which the mariner is taught to conduct his ship +from one place to another. Some, perhaps, will consider the formation +and use of the Ark, as a first step towards the invention of this art; +but it is an erroneous idea, because the direction and means for +accomplishing this immense work were afforded by God, for the +preservation of righteous Noe and his family. Besides, nothing is +recorded of any means or of any necessity for its occupants +<i>navigating</i> it to any particular place, or from one place to another; +no intention of this sort is apparent, the ark being merely a vast +shelter, rendered capable of floating on the water.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Erroneous</i>, wrong, in error.</p> + +<p><i>Apparent</i>, manifest, made to appear.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What probably gave the first idea of Navigation?</b></p> + +<p>Accident most likely showed that wood always floats; and on the fallen +trunk of a tree, perhaps, some one ventured beyond his depth, away +from the land. The trunk of a tree, hollowed out, for a more +convenient position of the body, formed the canoe, usually found among +uncivilized nations to this day. From this rude beginning, at great +intervals of time, and a slow pace of improvement, the art has at +length arrived at its present state of advancement.</p> + + +<p><b>What nation first applied this art to the purposes of Trade?</b></p> + +<p>The Phenicians (especially those of Tyre, their capital city, and +Sidon,) were the first who adapted it to the purposes of <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167"></a>[167]</span>commerce, +and constructed vessels fit to make voyages to foreign countries; the +poverty and narrowness of their land, as well as their vicinity to two +or three good ports, and their natural genius for traffic, urging them +to seek foreign supplies. We hear of them trading to Arabia, India, +Persia, Greece, Africa, Spain, and even as far as Britain.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Vicinity</i>, nearness, neighborhood.</p> + +<p><i>Traffic</i>, Trade, commerce.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Who were the Phenicians?</b></p> + +<p>The inhabitants of Phenicia, a country of Syria, in Asia.</p> + + +<p><b>Which was the more ancient city, Tyre or Sidon?</b></p> + +<p>Sidon,—having been built, as is supposed, soon after the Flood, by +Sidon, the eldest son of Chanaan. Tyre, about 25 miles to the south, +was built about the year 1252 before Christ, by a colony from Sidon. +The Phenicians planted numerous colonies on the shores of the +Mediterranean and the Atlantic, and diffused, to a great extent, among +their uncivilized neighbors the arts and improvements of civilized +life. One of their most celebrated colonies was that founded by them +on the northern coast of Africa; and it was this colony that built the +famous city of Carthage.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Diffused</i>, spread abroad, scattered.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Did not Carthage afterwards become as flourishing as the parent city +of Tyre?</b></p> + +<p>In time, Carthage not only equalled Tyre itself, but surpassed +it,—pursuing the course the Phenicians had begun, and sending its +merchant fleets through Hercules' Pillars, (now the Straits of +Gibraltar,) along the western coast of Africa, and northwards, along +the coast of Europe, visiting particularly Spain, Gaul, &c. They even +undertook voyages, the sole object of which was to discover new +countries and explore unknown seas. The Carthaginians appear to have +been the first who undertook voyages solely for the sake of +discoveries.</p> + + +<p><b>Were not both these celebrated cities destroyed?</b></p> + +<p>Tyre, whose immense riches and power were the subject of <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168"></a>[168]</span>many ancient +histories, was destroyed by the Grecian Emperor Alexander the Great, +and its navigation and commerce transferred by him to Alexandria, a +new city which he meditated making his capital. Alexandria, in a short +time, became the most important commercial city in the world. Thus +arose navigation among the Egyptians; it was afterwards so +successfully cultivated by them, that Tyre and Carthage (which last, +as before mentioned, was subdued by the Romans,) were quite forgotten.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Transferred</i>, removed.</p> + +<p><i>Capital</i>, chief city or town in a state or kingdom.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Who was Alexander the Great?</b></p> + +<p>The son of Philip, King of Macedonia, in Greece; he was celebrated for +his great ambition, and the number of his conquests; he overturned the +Persian empire, and subdued many cities and provinces in the East.</p> + + +<p><b>Did not Alexandria undergo the same fate as Tyre and Carthage?</b></p> + +<p>Egypt was at last reduced to a Roman province, after the battle of +Actium, and its trade and navigation fell into the hands of the +Emperor Augustus, in whose time Alexandria was little inferior to +Rome; and the magazines of the capital of the world were supplied with +merchandise from the capital of Egypt. Alexandria, however, at last +underwent the fate of Tyre and Carthage, being surprised by the +Saracens, who overran the northern parts of Africa; and though it +continued, for a while, to enjoy a considerable portion of the +commerce of the Christian merchants, it afterwards remained in a +languishing condition: but still, even at this day, it is a place of +considerable trade.</p> + + +<p><b>Who were the Saracens?</b></p> + +<p>A Mahommedan nation, occupying a portion of what is now called Arabia. +They extended their conquests over a large portion of Asia, northern +Africa, and Spain. Their name is derived from the word <i>Sara</i>, a +desert.</p><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169"></a>[169]</span></p> + + +<p><b>What effect had the Fall of the Roman Empire on Navigation?</b></p> + +<p>The fall of the Roman empire not only drew along with it its learning +and the polite arts, but also the art of navigation; the Barbarians, +into whose hands the empire fell, contenting themselves with enjoying +the spoils of those whom they had conquered, without seeking to follow +their example in the cultivation of those arts and that learning which +had rendered Rome and its empire so famous.</p> + + +<p><b>What other people, about this period, distinguished themselves in the +art of Navigation?</b></p> + +<p>The Saracens or Arabians, whose fleets now rode triumphant in the +Mediterranean; they had taken possession of Cyprus, Rhodes, and many +of the Grecian islands, and extended their commerce and their +discoveries in the East, far beyond the utmost knowledge of their +ancestors.</p> + + +<p><b>What other circumstance also prevented commercial intercourse from +ceasing altogether?</b></p> + +<p>Constantinople, though often threatened by the fierce invaders, who +spread desolation over Europe, was so fortunate as to escape their +destructive rage. In this city, the knowledge of ancient arts and +discoveries was preserved; and commerce continued to flourish there, +when it was almost extinct in every other part of Europe.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Desolation</i>, destruction, ruin.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Did the citizens of Constantinople confine their trade to the Islands +of the Archipelago, and the adjacent coast of Asia?</b></p> + +<p>No, they took a wider range; and, following the course which the +ancients had marked out, imported the productions of the East Indies +from Alexandria. When Egypt was torn from the Roman Empire by the +Arabians, the industry of the Greeks discovered a new channel by which +the productions of India might be conveyed to Constantinople.</p><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170"></a>[170]</span></p> + + +<p><b>Did not the Barbarians, after a while, turn their attention to +Navigation and Commerce?</b></p> + +<p>No sooner were the brave among these nations well settled in their new +provinces—some in Gaul, as the Franks; others in Spain, as the Goths; +and others in Italy, as the Lombards,—than they began to learn the +advantages of these arts, and the proper methods of managing them, +from the people they had subdued; and that with so much success, that +they even improved upon them, and set on foot new institutions for +their advantage. To the Lombards, in particular, is usually ascribed +the invention and use of banks, book-keeping, and exchanges. Thus the +people of Italy, and particularly those of Venice and Genoa, have the +glory of restoring to Europe the advantages that had been destroyed by +their own ravages.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Institutions</i>, laws, regulations.</p> + +<p><i>Exchange</i>, a species of mercantile transactions by which +the debts due to persons at a distance are paid by order, +draft, or bill of exchange, without the transmission either +of money or goods.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Who were the Franks?</b></p> + +<p>A people who settled in Gaul; from them it took the name of Franconia, +or France.</p> + + +<p><b>Who were the Goths?</b></p> + +<p>An ancient people, who inhabited that part of Sweden called Gothland; +and afterwards spread themselves over great part of Europe.</p> + + +<p><b>Who were the Lombards?</b></p> + +<p>The Lombards, or Longobardi, were, like the Franks, a nation of +Germany; who, upon the decline of the Roman Empire, invaded Italy, +and, taking the city of Ravenna, erected a kingdom.</p> + + +<p><b>Where is Ravenna?</b></p> + +<p>In Central Italy. It is the capital of a province of the same name; it +is an ancient town, and the see of an archbishop.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>See</i>, the seat of episcopal power; the diocese of a bishop.</p> + +<p><i>Episcopal</i>, belonging to a bishop.</p> + +<p><i>Archbishop</i>, the presiding bishop of a province.</p></div> + + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171"></a>[171]</span></p> + +<p class="center"><a href="images/image_15_1.jpg"><img src="images/image_15_2.jpg" alt="THE GRAND CANAL, VENICE, ITALY. Please click to view a larger image." width="581" height="337" title="Please click to view a larger image."/></a><br /> +<span class="caption">THE GRAND CANAL, VENICE, ITALY.</span></p> + +<p><b>What was the origin of the city of Venice?</b></p> + +<p>In the Adriatic Sea were a great number of marshy islands, separated +only by narrow channels, but well screened and almost inaccessible, +inhabited by a few fishermen. To these islands the people of Veneti (a +part of Italy, situated along the coasts of the gulf,) retired when +Alaric, King of the Goths, ravaged Italy. These new Islanders, little +imagining that this was to be their fixed residence, did not, at +first, think of forming themselves into one community, but each of the +72 islands continued a long while under its respective masters, and +formed a distinct commonwealth.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Adriatic Sea</i>, a name given to the Gulf of Venice.</p> + +<p><i>Commonwealth</i>, a republic, a government in which the +supreme power is lodged in the people.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What circumstance caused them to unite?</b></p> + +<p>Their commerce becoming considerable enough to awaken the jealousy of +their neighbors, they united in a body for their mutual protection: +this union, first begun in the 6th century and completed in the 8th, +laid the foundation of the future grandeur of the state of Venice. +From the time of this union, fleets of their merchantmen sailed to all +the ports of the Mediterranean; and afterwards to those of Egypt, +particularly to Cairo, a new city, built by the Saracen princes, on +the banks of the Nile, where they traded for spices, &c. The Venetians +continued to increase their trade by sea and their conquests on land +till 1508, when a number of jealous princes conspired against them to +their ruin; which was the more easily effected in consequence of their +East Indian commerce, of which the Portuguese and French had each +obtained a share.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Conspired</i>, united together in a plot.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What is the signification of Mediterranean?</b></p> + +<p>Inclosed within land, or remote from the ocean. It is more +particularly used to signify the sea which flows between Europe and +Africa.</p><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172"></a>[172]</span></p> + + +<p><b>Had not Venice a formidable rival in a neighboring republic?</b></p> + +<p>Genoa, which had applied itself to navigation at the same time with +Venice, and with equal success, was long its dangerous rival, disputed +with it the empire of the sea, and shared with it the trade of Egypt, +and other parts, both of the East and West. Jealousy soon broke out; +and, the two republics coming to blows, there was almost continual war +between them for three centuries: at length, towards the end of the +14th century, the strife was ended by the fatal battle of Chioza; the +Genoese, who till then had usually the advantage, lost all, and the +Venetians, almost become desperate, at one decisive blow, beyond all +expectation, secured the empire of the sea and their superiority in +commerce.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Decisive</i>, final, conclusive.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Where is Genoa situated?</b></p> + +<p>In the north-western part of Italy. It was formerly a flourishing +republic, but belongs now to Italy.</p> + + +<p><b>What event likewise contributed to the more rapid progress and +diffusion of Navigation and Commerce?</b></p> + +<p>The Crusades: for the Genoese, Pisans, and Venetians, furnished the +fleets which carried those vast armies, composed of all the nations of +Europe, into Asia, upon this wild undertaking, and also supplied them +with provisions and military stores. Other travellers, also, besides +those whom religious zeal sent forth to visit Asia, ventured into +remote countries, from motives either of commercial advantage, or +those of mere curiosity.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Zeal</i>, devotion, enthusiasm.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Who were the Pisans?</b></p> + +<p>Inhabitants of Pisa, an ancient town of Tuscany; it was once a great +independent republic, and is still adorned with noble edifices. Pisa +has long been celebrated for its remarkable leaning tower. Tuscany is +a beautiful and fruitful territory of Italy; its capital, until the +year 1859, was Florence.</p><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173"></a>[173]</span></p> + + +<p><b>What were the Crusades?</b></p> + +<p>Holy wars, or expeditions, undertaken by the Christians against the +Turks and Saracens, to recover Palestine, between the years 1100 and +1400.</p> + + +<p><b>What causes led to these wars?</b></p> + +<p>Many circumstances contributed to give rise to them. They were +undertaken, first, with a view to protecting the devout Christian +pilgrims, who were in the habit of frequenting the venerable places +where our Saviour had lived, taught, suffered, and triumphed, from the +fury and avarice of the heathens; secondly, with a view to getting +possession of the Holy Land itself, and of annexing it to Christendom; +and thirdly, to break down the power of Mohammedanism, and to elevate +the Cross in triumph and victory over Palestine.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Avarice</i>, an excessive desire of gain.</p> + +<p><i>Annexing</i>, adding, joining.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What badge or sign was worn by those who engaged in the Crusades?</b></p> + +<p>They distinguished themselves by crosses of different colors, worn on +their clothes; from which they took the name of Croisés, or +Cross-bearers; each nation wore different colors: for instance, the +English had white crosses, the French red, and so on.</p> + + +<p><b>To what invention is the art of Navigation much indebted?</b></p> + +<p>To that of the Mariner's Compass, in the beginning of the 14th +century; and from this period may be dated the present perfection of +this useful art.</p> + + +<p><b>You have given me an account of the restoration of Navigation in +Southern Europe: did not the inhabitants of the North also turn their +attention to it?</b></p> + +<p>Yes: about the same time, a new society of merchants was formed in the +northern parts, which not only carried commerce to the greatest +perfection of which it was capable, till the dis<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174"></a>[174]</span>covery of the Indies, +but also formed new codes of useful laws for its regulation.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Codes</i>, books or writings setting forth certain laws or +rules respecting particular subjects; books of civil laws.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Are Navigation and Commerce inseparably connected with each other?</b></p> + +<p>It may be considered as a general maxim, that their union is so +intimate, that the fall of one inevitably draws after it that of the +other; and that they will always either flourish or decline together +may be seen, by examining the reason of their passing successively +from the Venetians, Genoese, &c., to the Portuguese and Spaniards, and +from them to the English, Dutch, &c.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Maxim</i>, rule, an established principle.</p> + +<p><i>Intimate</i>, close.</p> + +<p><i>Inevitably</i>, without possibility of escape, unavoidably.</p></div> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVIII" id="CHAPTER_XVIII"></a>CHAPTER XVIII.</h2> + +<h3><span class="smcap">Music, Painting, Poetry, Astronomy, Arts and Sciences, Art of +Writing, and Chemistry.</span></h3> + + +<p><b>What are the earliest accounts of Musical Instruments on record?</b></p> + +<p>The earliest accounts of music which we possess are to be found in the +Bible, in which the state of the world before the flood is noticed. +Jubal is said to have been "the father of them that play upon the harp +and organ;" but it is not to be supposed that these instruments at all +resembled the harp and organ of modern times. Musical instruments, in +the times of David and Solomon, were used in religious services; and +music was certainly employed by the Jews on many other occasions, as +at funerals and weddings, at harvest home, and at festivals of all +kinds.</p><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175"></a>[175]</span></p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Modern</i>, opposed to ancient, pertaining to the present +time, or time not long past.</p> + +<p><i>Festival</i>, a rejoicing, a feast, a season dedicated to +mirth.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What nation was particularly celebrated for musical talents?</b></p> + +<p>The ancient Egyptians; who were so celebrated for their talents in +music, that the distinguished philosophers of Greece braved many +dangers, in order to study the science in Egypt; and this, at a period +when the Egyptians were far from being in the same high state of +civilization as their forefathers had been in earlier times. The +history and monuments of ancient Egypt have many accounts and +representations of musical instruments, and remains of these have +lately been discovered, so that we have ocular demonstration both of +their existence and form.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Civilization</i>, freedom from barbarity, polish, politeness, +possession of knowledge and the arts of life.</p> + +<p><i>Ocular</i>, known or seen by the eye.</p> + +<p><i>Demonstration</i>, the act of proving with certainty.</p></div> + + +<p><b>In how many divisions may musical instruments be arranged?</b></p> + +<p>There are three kinds, namely, <i>wind</i> instruments, as the trumpet, and +the organ;—<i>stringed</i> instruments, as the harp or lyre, violin, &c.; +and instruments of <i>concussion</i>, in which the sound is produced by +striking a sonorous body, as for instance the drum, bells, &c.</p> + + +<p><b>Which of these three kinds was the first invented?</b></p> + +<p>It is impossible, at the present day, to decide which; but it is most +probable that instruments with strings were the last invented of the +three kinds; and it is most likely, that of those in which sound is +produced by the application of wind, the trumpet or horn was first +used. This instrument, in its rudest form, was ready fashioned to the +hand of man; the horn of a ram or of an ox, or some of the larger +kinds of sea-shells, were soon discovered to possess the power of +producing sound, by being blown into through a small hole at the +pointed end.</p> + + +<p><b>What improvement in this instrument would naturally follow?</b></p> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176"></a>[176]</span></p> + +<p>Mankind having discovered the property possessed by a hollow tube of +producing a certain sound, soon found that the note varied according +to the length and capacity of the tube. A much greater improvement +soon after took place; it was discovered that one tube answered the +purpose of many by boring holes in the course of its length, and +producing various musical sounds by stopping with the fingers certain +of these holes. Most of our modern wind instruments are but +improvements on the ancient inventions.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Tube</i>, a pipe; a long hollow body.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Was not Vocal Music used before the invention of Instrumental?</b></p> + +<p><i>Vocal</i> music, namely, that produced by the human voice, (so called to +distinguish it from <i>instrumental</i>, that produced by instruments,) was +undoubtedly the first: for man had not only the various tones of his +own voice to make his observations on, before any art or instrument +was found out; but the various natural strains of birds to give him a +lesson in improving it, and in modulating the sounds of which it is +capable.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Modulating</i>, forming sound to a certain key.</p></div> + + +<p><b>To what circumstance did an ancient poet ascribe the invention of +stringed instruments?</b></p> + +<p>To the observation of the winds whistling in the hollow reeds. As for +other kinds of instruments, there were so many occasions for cords or +strings, that men were not long in observing their various sounds, +which might give rise to stringed instruments. Those of concussion, as +drums and cymbals, might result from the observation of the naturally +hollow noise made by concave bodies when struck.</p> + + +<p><b>What are the most ancient stringed instruments?</b></p> + +<p>The most ancient instruments of this kind, whose form is known, are +those of the ancient Egyptians; among these the harp stands +pre-eminent. One of the most celebrated representations of an Egyptian +harp was drawn from a painting disco<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177"></a>[177]</span>vered in one of the caverns in +the mountains of Egyptian Thebes, by some travellers: it is called the +Theban harp, and has thirteen strings; its form is extremely elegant. +This harp is supposed to be one of the kind in use before and at the +time of Sesostris. Remains of Egyptian harps of a more simple +construction, with only four strings, have likewise been discovered. +Among the monuments of ancient Rome, there are representations of +stringed instruments resembling the harp, but not equal in beauty of +form to the famous Egyptian harp already mentioned.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Pre-eminent</i>, surpassing others.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Who was Sesostris?</b></p> + +<p>A King of Egypt, who is said to have reigned some ages before the +siege of Troy. He appears to have been celebrated for his conquests, +and for the number of edifices he erected to perpetuate his fame.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Perpetuate</i>, to preserve from extinction; to continue the +memory of a person or event.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Where was Troy?</b></p> + +<p>Troy, anciently called Ilium, was the capital of Troas, in Asia. It +became famous for the ten years' siege it sustained against the +Greeks; the history of this event is commemorated in the poems of +Homer and Virgil.</p> + + +<p><b>Is not the harp an instrument of high antiquity in Great Britain?</b></p> + +<p>Yes: it was a favorite instrument with the ancient Saxons in Great +Britain. The celebrated Alfred entered the Danish camp disguised as a +harper, because the harpers passed through the midst of the enemy +unmolested on account of their calling. The same deception was +likewise practised by several Danish chiefs, in the camp of Athelstan, +the Saxon. The bards, or harpers of old, were the historians of the +time; they handed down from generation to generation the history of +remarkable events, and of the deeds and lineage of their celebrated +chiefs <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178"></a>[178]</span>and princes. The harpers of Britain were formerly admitted to +the banquets of kings and nobles: their employment was to sing or +recite the achievements of their patrons, accompanying themselves on +the harp. No nations have been more famous for their harps and harpers +than the Welsh and Irish.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Recite</i>, to repeat or chant in a particular tone or manner.</p> + +<p><i>Achievement</i>, a great or heroic deed.</p> + +<p><i>Patron</i>, benefactor, one who bestows favors.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What instrument was famous among the ancient Greeks?</b></p> + +<p>The Lyre: the invention, or rather discovery, of this instrument is +ascribed by them to their most celebrated deities. It is supposed to +have originated from the discovery of a dead tortoise, the flesh of +which had dried and wasted, so that nothing was left within the shell +but sinews and cartilages: these, tightened and contracted, on account +of their dryness, were rendered sonorous. Some one, Mercury or Apollo, +they affirm, in walking along, happening to strike his foot against +the tortoise, was greatly pleased with the sound it produced: thus was +suggested to him the first idea of a lyre, which he afterwards +constructed in the form of a tortoise, and strung with the dried +sinews of dead animals. The stringed instruments already described +were made to give out musical sounds, by causing a vibratory motion in +their strings by means of the fingers.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Sinew</i>, a tendon; that which unites a muscle to a bone.</p> + +<p><i>Cartilage</i>, a gristly, smooth, solid substance, softer than +bone.</p> + +<p><i>Vibratory</i>, shaking.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Who was Mercury?</b></p> + +<p>The heathen god of eloquence, letters, &c., and the messenger of the +other gods.</p> + + +<p><b>Who was Apollo?</b></p> + +<p>The god of music, poetry, medicine, and the fine arts.</p> + +<p class="center"><img src="images/image_16.jpg" alt="PICKING COTTON." width="500" height="368" /><br /> +<span class="caption">PICKING COTTON.</span></p> + +<p class="center"><img src="images/image_17.jpg" alt="GATHERING TEA." width="500" height="365" /><br /> +<span class="caption">GATHERING TEA.</span></p> + + +<p><b>What is a Tortoise?</b></p> + +<p>A well-known animal, with a thick shelly covering, belonging to the +order of reptiles; there are two species, the sea and the land +tortoise; the first named is called a turtle, and affords delicious +food; land tortoises live to a very great age. It is only +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179"></a>[179]</span> one sort +which furnishes the beautiful shell so much prized. Tortoises are +found in many parts of the world. The turtles on the Brazilian shore +are said to be so large as to be enough to dine fourscore men: and in +the Indian sea, the shells serve the natives for boats.</p> + + +<p><b>Of what are the strings of the Lyre, &c., composed?</b></p> + +<p>Sometimes of either brass or silver wire, &c., but most commonly of +catgut.</p> + + +<p><b>What is Catgut?</b></p> + +<p>The intestines of sheep or lambs, dried or twisted, either singly or +several together. Catgut is also used by watch-makers, cutlers, and +other artificers, in their different trades. Great quantities are +imported from France and Italy.</p> + + +<p><b>Are there no other kind of Instruments besides those already +described?</b></p> + +<p>Yes, music and musical instruments have progressively improved; and it +would be a needless task to enumerate the numbers of instruments of +each kind now in use; many, as for instance the organ, the piano, +musical boxes, &c., are exceedingly complex and ingenious in their +construction, as well as remarkable for the sweetness of their various +sounds; some, as the two first-named, are played with the fingers, and +produce any melody or combination of sound at the will of the +performer; others, as the musical-box, barrel-organ, &c., produce a +particular melody, or a certain number of melodies, by means of +machinery. In the use of the last-named the performer is not at all +indebted to his own musical skill, as he has only to turn the handle +which sets the machinery in motion, and the musical box, or +barrel-organ, will continue playing till it has finished the tunes to +which it is set.</p> + + +<p><b>Upon what principle do these last-mentioned instruments perform?</b></p> + +<p>The barrel-organ and musical box both play on nearly the same +principle, though the former is turned by a handle, and <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180"></a>[180]</span>the latter +only requires a certain spring to be touched, in order to set it off +or to stop it. Their machinery consists of a barrel pricked with brass +pins; when the barrel revolves, these ping lift a series of steel +springs of different lengths and thicknesses, and the vibration of +these springs when released, produces the different notes.</p> + + +<p><b>What is Painting?</b></p> + +<p>The art of representing objects in nature, or scenes in human life, +with fidelity and expression, either in oil or water colors, &c.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Fidelity</i>, truth, faithfulness.</p> + +<p><i>Oil Colors</i>, those colors which are mixed up with oil, as +the others are with water.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Is not this art of great antiquity?</b></p> + +<p>There is not the slightest doubt of it; but to name the country where +it was first practised, or the circumstances attending its origin, is +beyond the power of the historian. About a century after the call of +Abraham, Greek and Egyptian tradition tells us of a colony planted at +Sicyon, by an Egyptian, who brought with him the knowledge of painting +and sculpture, and founded the earliest and purest school of Greek +art. The walls of Babylon were adorned with paintings of different +kinds of animals, hunting expeditions, combats, &c. Allusions to this +custom of the Babylonians, of decorating their walls with paintings, +are found in the Bible.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Tradition</i>, a history or account delivered from mouth to +mouth without written memorials; communication from age to +age.</p> + +<p><i>Allusion</i>, reference.</p> + +<p><i>Decorating</i>, ornamenting.</p> + +<p><i>Sicyon</i>, a kingdom of Peloponnesus, in ancient Greece.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Were the Egyptians acquainted with this art?</b></p> + +<p>It is now little doubted that, although painting and sculpture existed +in Egypt, and were probably at their highest condition, eighteen +centuries before the Christian era, yet, at a still earlier period, +these arts were known in the kingdom of Ethiopia; and it is considered +likely, that the course of civilization descended from Ethiopia to +Egypt. There is, however, no record of any <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181"></a>[181]</span>Egyptian painter in the +annals of the art; and it does not appear that it ever flourished in +that country, or that other nations were much indebted to Egypt for +their knowledge of it.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Era</i>, age, period.</p> + +<p><i>Ethiopia</i>, the ancient name of the kingdoms of Nubia and +Abyssinia, in Africa.</p> + +<p><i>Annal</i>, record, history.</p> + +<p><i>Exploit</i>, action, achievement, deed of valor.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Have we any notice of this art among the Hebrews?</b></p> + +<p>There is no allusion made to the existence of painting among this +people, and no proof that it was cultivated among them: it is supposed +that the neglect of this art arose from their not being permitted to +represent any object by painting.</p> + + +<p><b>What progress did the generality of the Eastern nations make in this +art?</b></p> + +<p>The art of painting among the Phenicians, Persians, and other Eastern +nations, advanced but slowly. The Chinese appear, until a very recent +period, to have contented themselves with only so much knowledge of +the art as might enable them to decorate their beautiful porcelain and +other wares; their taste is very peculiar, and though the pencilling +of their birds and flowers is delicate, yet their figures of men and +animals are distorted, and out of proportion; and of perspective they +seem to have but little idea. Latterly, however, a change has taken +place in Chinese art, and proofs have been given of an attempt to +imitate European skill. The Japanese figures approach more nearly to +beauty of style than Chinese productions of a similar kind.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Distorted</i>, having a bad figure.</p> + +<p><i>Perspective</i>, the science by which things are represented +in a picture according to their appearance to the eye.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Who are the Japanese?</b></p> + +<p>The inhabitants of Japan, an empire of Eastern Asia, composed of +several large islands. They are so similar in feature, and in many of +their customs and ceremonies, to the Chinese, as to be regarded by +some, as the same race of men. The Japanese language is so very +peculiar, that it is rarely under<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182"></a>[182]</span>stood by the people of other +nations. Their religion is idolatrous; their government a monarchy, +controlled by the priesthood. The people are very ingenious, and the +arts and sciences are held in great esteem by them. In all respects, +Japan is an important and interesting empire.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Monarchy</i>, a government in which the power is vested in a +king or emperor.</p></div> + + +<p><b>By what nations was the art of painting practised with great success?</b></p> + +<p>By the Greeks and Romans. Greece produced many distinguished painters, +among whom Apelles was one of the most celebrated; he was a native of +Cos, an island in the Archipelago, rather north of Rhodes; he +flourished in the time of Alexander the Great, and witnessed both the +glory and the decay of ancient art: the leading features of his style +were beauty and grace. But painting was not at any period so +completely national in Greece, as sculpture, its sister art; the names +of one hundred and sixty-nine eminent sculptors are recorded, while +only fifteen painters are mentioned. Zeuxis, of Heraclea, was another +famous Greek painter, who flourished 400 years before Christ. The +Romans were not without considerable masters in this art, in the +latter times of the republic, and under the first emperors.</p> + + +<p><b>What nation is supposed to have known and practised this art even +before the foundation of Rome?</b></p> + +<p>The Etruscans, inhabitants of Etruria, whose acquaintance with the +arts has excited great astonishment among those who have most deeply +searched into their history, and traced their progress by means of the +beautiful specimens of their works still extant. Their early works +were not superior to those of other nations; but either from their +intercourse with Greece, or the original genius of the people, they +had attained considerable eminence in the arts of painting, sculpture, +&c., before Rome was founded. Pliny speaks of some beautiful pictures +at Ardea <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183"></a>[183]</span>and Lanuvium, which were older than Rome: and another author +also says that before Rome was built, sculpture and painting existed +among them.</p> + + +<p><b>Where was Etruria situated?</b></p> + +<p>In Italy, on the west of the Tiber, which separated it from the +territory of ancient Rome, to which it was afterwards annexed by +conquest. Etruria was the ancient name of Tuscany.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Annexed</i>, united.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Was not the art greatly obscured for some centuries?</b></p> + +<p>The irruption of Barbarians into Italy and Southern Europe, proved +fatal to painting, and almost reduced it to its primitive state; it +was not until after a long period that it was fully restored. The +first certain signs of its revival took place about the year 1066, +when Greek artists were sent for to adorn several of the cities of +Italy. Cimabue, a native of Florence, in the thirteenth century, +caught the inspiration of the Greek artists, and soon equalled their +works. He was both a painter and an architect.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Irruption</i>, inroad, invasion.</p></div> + + +<p><b>To what did this revolution in its history give rise?</b></p> + +<p>It caused it to be distinguished into ancient and modern. The ancient +painting comprehends the Greek and Roman: the modern has formed +several schools, each of which has its peculiar character and merit. +The first masters who revived the art were greatly surpassed by their +scholars, who carried it to the greatest state of perfection, and +advanced it not only by their own noble works, but also by those of +their pupils.</p> + + +<p><b>Who were the principal masters of the Italian school?</b></p> + +<p>Raphael and the celebrated Michael Angelo Buonarotti; the former is +regarded as the prince of modern painters, and is often styled "the +divine Raphael;" he was born at Urbino, in 1483. Michael Angelo was +born at Florence, in 1564, and united the professions of painter, +sculptor, architect, poet, and musician. Besides these there were many +other illustrious Italian painters, <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184"></a>[184]</span>the principal of whom were +Leonardo da Vinci, Titian, Correggio, the three Caracci, Guido, +Parmegiano, Salvator Rosa, &c.</p> + + +<p><b>Was not Raphael also reckoned as excellent an architect as he was a +painter?</b></p> + +<p>He was not only esteemed the best painter in the world, but also the +best architect; he was at least so admired for skill and taste in +architecture, that Leo the Tenth charged him with the building of St. +Peter's Church at Rome.</p> + + +<p><b>Who was Leo the Tenth?</b></p> + +<p>A great Pope, who was an ardent lover and patron of learning and the +arts. He was born at Florence, in 1475, and died in 1521.</p> + + +<p><b>Give me a list of some of the most celebrated painters besides those +already mentioned.</b></p> + +<p>The great painters of the <i>German</i> school were Albert Durer, Holbein, +Kneller and Mengs, with several others.</p> + +<p>Of the <i>Dutch</i> school, were Rembrandt, Gerard Dow, Mieris, Ostade, +Polemberg, Berghem, and Wouvermans.</p> + +<p>Of the <i>Flemish</i>, Rubens, Teniers, Jordaens, and Vandyck.</p> + +<p>The admired painters of the <i>French</i> school, were Claude, Poussin, Le +Brun, and many others.</p> + +<p>The <i>Spaniards</i> also have had their Murillo, Velasquez, &c.</p> + +<p>The <i>English</i>, Hogarth, Wright, Reynolds, Wilson, Northcote, +Gainsborough, Morland, Barry, and others.</p> + +<p>The <i>Americans</i>, Washington Allston, Benjamin West, Gilbert Stuart, +John Singleton Copley, John Trumbull, G. Stuart Newton, Thomas Cole, +Henry Inman, and a number of others; besides many now living, or but +recently deceased.</p> + + +<p><b>Upon what materials did the ancients paint their works?</b></p> + +<p>Principally upon wood; the boards or tables were prepared with a thin +ground of chalk and size of some kind. Linen cloth or canvas was also +employed, but there is no evidence of its use before the reign of +Nero. Parchment, ivory and plaster were the other materials.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Evidence</i>, testimony, record.</p></div><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185"></a>[185]</span></p> + + +<p><b>Who was Nero?</b></p> + +<p>One of the Roman Emperors, a monster of cruelty, extravagance, and +debauchery; he raised a dreadful persecution against the Christians, +in which St. Paul was beheaded, and St. Peter crucified. At last, +being deserted by his army and the senate, he destroyed himself, after +a reign of fourteen years.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Debauchery</i>, wickedness.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What is Poetry?</b></p> + +<p>The glowing language of impassioned feeling, generally found in +measured lines, and often in rhyme. Most ancient people had their +poets.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Glowing</i>, warm, energetic.</p> + +<p><i>Impassioned</i>, full of passion, animated.</p> + +<p><i>Rhyme</i>, the correspondence of the last sound of one verse +to the last sound or syllable of another.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Name a few of the ancient poets.</b></p> + +<p>David was an inspired poet of the Hebrews: Homer, one of the earliest +poets of the Greeks: Ossian, an ancient poet of the Scots: Taliesen, +an ancient poet of the Welsh: and Odin, an early poet of the +Scandinavians.</p> + + +<p><b>Who were the Scandinavians?</b></p> + +<p>The inhabitants of Scandinavia, the ancient name of Denmark, Sweden, +and Norway.</p> + + +<p><b>What people are regarded as the Fathers of Poetry?</b></p> + +<p>The Greeks. Homer was the first and the prince of poets; he celebrated +the siege of Troy in the Iliad and Odyssey, two epic poems which have +never been surpassed. In the same kind of composition he was followed, +nine hundred years after, by Virgil, in the Eneid; by Tasso, after +another fifteen hundred years, in the 'Jerusalem Delivered.' The +Greeks also boasted of their Pindar and Anacreon in lyric poetry; and +of Aristophanes, Euripides, Sophocles, and Eschylus, in dramatic +poetry.</p> + + +<p><b>Did the Romans possess any distinguished Poets?</b></p> + +<p>Yes; among the epic poets were Ovid and Tibullus; among <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186"></a>[186]</span>dramatists, +Plautus and Terence; of didactic and philosophic poets, Lucretius, +Virgil, Horace, and Silius Italicus. All these were so many miracles +of human genius; and their works afford the models of their respective +species of composition. Most of the works of the ancients have in +sentiment, if not in spirit, been translated into English.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Miracles</i>, wonders.</p> + +<p><i>Genius</i>, natural talent.</p> + +<p><i>Respective</i>, particular.</p> + +<p><i>Sentiment</i>, thought, meaning.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Did not the same revolution which undermined the Greek and Roman +empires, and destroyed learning, the arts and sciences, and the taste +for elegance and luxury, also prove fatal to Poetry?</b></p> + +<p>It did; the hordes of barbarians who overran Europe wiped out +civilization in their progress, and literature, art, and science fled +before the wild conquerors to find a refuge in the monastery and the +convent. Here knowledge was fostered with the love and ardor which +religion alone can impart. Finally, when the rude barbarians were +converted, it was to the religious Orders that the world turned for +the establishment of schools, and it is to the Church alone, in the +person of her popes, her bishops, and her monks that we are indebted +for the preservation of learning, and its revival in the fifteenth +century.</p> + + +<p><b>What celebrated Poets marked this revival?</b></p> + +<p>In Italy, Dante, Ariosto, Petrarch and Tasso. These were followed, in +France, by Racine, Corneille, Boileau, Voltaire, La Fontaine and +Delille; in England, by Chaucer, Spenser, Shakspeare, Milton, Dryden, +Pope, Thomson, Young, Collins, Gray, Byron, Coleridge, &c; in +Scotland, by Sir Walter Scott; in Ireland, by Thomas Moore; in +Germany, Klopstock, Goethe and Schiller.</p> + + +<p><b>Name some of the distinguished poets of our own country.</b></p> + +<p>Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, William Cullen Bryant, James Russell +Lowell, John G. Whittier, Fitz-Greene Halleck, <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187"></a>[187]</span>and many others whose +meritorious works will be impartially judged by a future age.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Impartially</i>, justly, without prejudice.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Name the different kinds of Poetry.</b></p> + +<p>Epic, or historical; dramatic, or representative,—from drama, the +name of all compositions adapted to recitation on the stage—in which +are displayed, for instruction and amusement, all the passions, +feelings, errors, and virtues of the human race in real life; lyric +poetry, or that suited to music, as songs, odes, &c; didactic, or +instructive; elegiac, or sentimental, and affecting; satirical, or +censorious; epigrammatic, or witty and ludicrous; and pastoral, or +descriptive of country life.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Historical</i>, relating to history.</p> + +<p><i>Lyric</i>, pertaining to a lyre.</p> + +<p><i>Didactic</i>, doctrinal; relating to doctrines or opinions.</p> + +<p><i>Elegiac</i>, relating to elegy; mournful, sorrowful.</p> + +<p><i>Elegy</i>, a mournful song: a funeral composition; a short +poem without points or affected elegance.</p> + +<p><i>Satirical</i>, severe in language; relating to satire.</p> + +<p><i>Satire</i>, a poem in which wickedness or folly is censured.</p> + +<p><i>Epigrammatic</i>, relating to epigram,—a short poem ending in +a particular point or meaning, understood but not expressed.</p> + +<p><i>Pastoral</i>, from <i>pastor</i>, a shepherd; relating to rural +employments and those belonging to shepherds.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What is Astronomy?</b></p> + +<p>The science which treats of the heavenly bodies, their arrangement, +magnitudes, distances and motions. The term Astronomy is derived from +two Greek words, signifying the <i>law</i> of the <i>stars</i>; <i>astron</i> being +the Greek for star.</p> + + +<p><b>What can you say of its origin?</b></p> + +<p>Its origin has been ascribed to several persons, as well as to +different nations and ages. Belus, King of Assyria; Atlas, King of +Mauritania; and Uranus, King of the countries situated on the shores +of the Atlantic Ocean, are all recorded as the persons to whom the +world is indebted for this noble science. Its origin is generally +fixed in Chaldea. Some choose, however, to attribute it to the +Hebrews; others to the Egyptians,—from whom, they say, it passed to +the Greeks.</p><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188"></a>[188]</span></p> + + +<p><b>What country is meant by Mauritania?</b></p> + +<p>Mauritania is the name formerly given to a country in the northern +part of Africa. Chaldea is the ancient name for Babylonia, now called +Irak Arabi, a district of Asiatic Turkey.</p> + + +<p><b>By whom were the heavenly bodies first divided into Constellations or +groups?</b></p> + +<p>By the ancients. The phenomena of the heavens were studied in very +early ages by several nations of the East. The Chaldeans, the Indians, +the Chinese and the Egyptians have all left evidence of the industry +and ingenuity with which their observations were conducted.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Phenomena</i>, appearances.</p> + +<p><i>Ingenuity</i>, skilfulness.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What progress did they make in Astronomy?</b></p> + +<p>They built observatories,—invented instruments for observing and +measuring with correctness,—separated the stars into different groups +or constellations, for the more easily finding any particular +star,—gave particular names to most of the moving stars or planets, +and noted the periods which each took to move through its apparent +path in the heavens; and in many other ways the ancients helped to lay +the foundations of that mass of astronomical knowledge which men of +later ages have brought to more maturity.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Constellation</i>, a cluster of fixed stars; an assemblage of +stars.</p> + +<p><i>Observatory</i>, a place so built as to command a view of the +heavens.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Who first taught the true system of the Universe?</b></p> + +<p>Pythagoras, one of the most distinguished philosophers of antiquity. +He is thought to have been a native of Samos, an island in the +Archipelago; he flourished about 500 years before Christ, in the time +of Tarquin, the last King of Rome. Pythagoras was the first among the +Europeans who taught that the Earth and Planets turn round the Sun, +which stands immovable in the centre;—that the diurnal motion of the +Sun and Fixed Stars is not real, but apparent,—arising from the +Earth's motion round its own axis, &c. After the time of Pythagoras, +Astronomy sunk into neglect.</p><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189"></a>[189]</span></p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Philosopher</i>, one who studies philosophy.</p> + +<p><i>Philosophy</i>, all knowledge, whether natural or moral. The +term is derived from the Greek, <i>philos</i>, lover, and +<i>sophia</i>, wisdom.</p></div> + + +<p><b>By whom was it revived?</b></p> + +<p>By the family of the Ptolemies, kings of Egypt, who founded a school +of astronomy at Alexandria, which produced several eminent +astronomers, particularly one named Hipparchus. The Saracens, on their +conquest of Egypt, became possessed of the knowledge of Astronomy, +which they carried with them out of Africa into Spain; and thus, after +a long exile, it was introduced afresh into Europe.</p> + + +<p><b>Did not Astronomy from this time make great progress?</b></p> + +<p>Yes; it made considerable advances, being cultivated by the greatest +geniuses, and patronized by the greatest princes. The system of the +Ptolemies, called the Ptolemaic, had hitherto been used, with some +slight alterations; but Copernicus, an eminent astronomer, born at +Thorn, in Polish Prussia, in 1473, adopted the system which had been +taught by Pythagoras in Greece, five or six hundred years before the +time of Ptolemy. About the same time with Copernicus flourished Tycho +Brahe, born in Denmark, 1546.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Geniuses</i>, men gifted with superior mental faculties.</p> + +<p><i>Mental</i>, belonging to the mind.</p> + +<p><i>Faculties</i>, powers of doing anything, whether menial or +bodily; abilities; powers of the mind.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What next greatly forwarded this interesting science?</b></p> + +<p>The introduction of telescopes by Galileo, who by their means +discovered the small stars or satellites which attend the planet +Jupiter; the various appearances of Saturn; the mountains in the Moon; +the spots on the Sun; and its revolution on its axis.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Satellites</i>, attendants.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What celebrated Astronomer arose in England?</b></p> + +<p>The immortal Sir Isaac Newton, born in 1642, at Woolsthorpe, in +Lincolnshire, who has, perhaps, contributed more to the advancement of +this science than any one who had before existed. Dr. William +Herschel, a native of Hanover, in Ger<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190"></a>[190]</span>many, born in 1738, likewise +made many useful discoveries in Astronomy: it was he who first +discovered the seventh primary planet, which he named, in honor of +King George the Third, the Georgium Sidus. George the Third took him +under his especial patronage, and constituted him his astronomer, with +a handsome pension. He resided at Slough, near Windsor, where he died, +in 1822.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Patronage</i>, support, favor.</p> + +<p><i>Constituted</i>, appointed to any particular office or rank.</p> + +<p><i>Pension</i>, yearly allowance of money.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What other circumstance contributed to the advancement of Astronomy?</b></p> + +<p>The increasing perfection of our astronomical instruments,—by means +of which, the most important and interesting discoveries with regard +to the heavens have been made. It is now supposed that the myriads of +the heavenly bodies are all distinct worlds; it is certain, from +observations made by the aid of the telescope, that the moon has its +mountains, valleys, and caverns. One of the greatest astronomers of +our day was the eminent Father Secci.</p> + + +<p><b>What are generally meant by the Arts?</b></p> + +<p>Systems of rules designed to facilitate the performance of certain +actions; in this sense, it stands opposed to science. The terms <i>art</i> +and <i>science</i> are often incorrectly used. Science relates to +principles, and art to practice. The word art is derived from a Greek +word signifying utility, profit. Arts are divided into liberal and +mechanical.</p> + + +<p><b>What are the Liberal Arts?</b></p> + +<p>The liberal arts are those that are noble and ingenious, or which are +worthy of being cultivated without any immediate regard to the +pecuniary profit arising from them. They are Poetry, Music, Painting, +Sculpture, Architecture, Grammar, Logic, Rhetoric, Astronomy, and +Navigation. The arts which relate more especially to the sight and +hearing are also called Fine Arts.</p><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191"></a>[191]</span></p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Pecuniary</i>, relating to money.</p> + +<p><i>Military</i>, belonging to soldiers, or to arms.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What do the Fine Arts usually include?</b></p> + +<p>All those which are more or less addressed to the sentiment of taste, +and whose object is pleasure; these are more especially Music, +Painting, Sculpture, and Poetry.</p> + + +<p><b>What are the Mechanical Arts?</b></p> + +<p>Those in which the hand and body are more concerned than the mind, and +which are chiefly cultivated for the sake of the profit attending +them. To this class belong those which furnish us with the necessaries +of life, and which are commonly called trades, as carpentry, weaving, +printing, &c. There are also many other arts, as the art of writing, +&c.</p> + + +<p><b>When was the art of Writing invented?</b></p> + +<p>It is supposed that the art was invented before the Deluge: it was +certainly practised long before the time of Moses. There were, +doubtless, many steps taken in slow succession before the invention of +alphabetic writing. Perhaps the earliest method might have been that +which is still employed among the untutored tribes of North American +Indians, who record events by picture-painting of the rudest +description. Picture-painting was afterwards gradually converted into +the hieroglyphical system, which is still the only kind of writing +among the Chinese. It is not known who invented the alphabetic system +of writing.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Deluge</i>, a flood: the term used in particular to denote +that mighty flood of water with which God swept away the +first nations of the earth for their wickedness.</p> + +<p><i>Alphabetic</i>, from alphabet, the series of written signs of +language called letters. The word is formed from <i>alpha</i>, +<i>beta</i>, the names of the first two letters of the Greek +alphabet.</p> + +<p><i>Untutored</i>, ignorant, unlearned.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Were not the Egyptians quite early acquainted with this art?</b></p> + +<p>Yes, they were acquainted with two or three kinds of writing, as well +as the one in which symbolical characters were employed, which was not +used for common purposes. On the <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192"></a>[192]</span>contrary, such symbols had something +of a sacred character about them, being unknown to the common people, +and only to be deciphered by the priests. Obelisks and pyramids were +the great national records; and on these the hieroglyphics were +constantly used, because unintelligible to the people, until expounded +by those who had the exclusive office of explaining them.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Symbolical</i>, having the nature of signs or symbols—that +is, representations of different things.</p> + +<p><i>Deciphered</i>, read, understood, made out.</p> + +<p><i>Unintelligible</i>, that cannot be understood.</p> + +<p><i>Expounded</i>, explained, interpreted.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Were Hieroglyphics employed before or after Alphabetic Writing?</b></p> + +<p>They were undoubtedly employed at first from necessity, not from +choice or refinement; and would never have been thought of, if +alphabetical characters had been known. This style of writing must be +reckoned as a rude improvement upon picture-writing, which had +previously been used. Hieroglyphics were employed by the Egyptian +priests in after times, as a kind of sacred writing, peculiar to +themselves, and serving to give an air of mystery to their learning +and religion, though fallen into disuse for other purposes.</p> + + +<p><b>What materials were employed by ancient nations in Writing?</b></p> + +<p>The Eastern nations used tables of stone, brass, and wood, so that the +characters were engraved instead of being written in the usual manner. +The instrument used in writing on wood, was made of metal, and called +a <i>style</i>. For stone, brass, &c., a chisel was employed. When the bark +and leaves of trees, skins, and other materials of a more pliant +nature, superseded the above-named tables, the chisel and the style, +or stylus, gave way to the reed and cane, and afterwards to the quill, +the <i>hair</i> pencil (as now used by the Chinese,) and the convenient +lead pencil.</p><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193"></a>[193]</span></p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Engraved</i>, inscribed with the graver, a tool used in +engraving on stone, &c.</p> + +<p><i>Pliant</i>, yielding, easily bent.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Have not the various nations among whom this useful art has been +cultivated, adopted different ways of arranging their written +characters?</b></p> + +<p>Yes. The Hebrews, Chaldeans, Syrians, Arabians, and Egyptians, begin +each line on the right side, and write towards the left. The Greeks, +Latins, and all European nations, write from left to right. The +natives of China, Japan, Cochin China, Corea, &c., write from the top +to the bottom of the page.</p> + + +<p><b>Where are Cochin China, and Corea?</b></p> + +<p>Cochin China is a country situated in Eastern Asia. Corea is a +peninsula of Asia, subject to China.</p> + + +<p><b>What is meant by Science?</b></p> + +<p>A clear and certain knowledge of anything founded on self-evident +principles, or demonstration. The term is, however, more particularly +applied to a systematic arrangement of the principles relating to any +branch of knowledge, and is employed in this sense in opposition to +art: thus the theoretical knowledge of chemistry is ranked as a +science, but the practical part is called an art; thus it is sometimes +spoken of as a science, sometimes as an art.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Practical</i>, relating to action, not merely speculative.</p></div> + + +<p><b><a name="CHEMISTRY" id="CHEMISTRY"></a>What is Chemistry?</b></p> + +<p>A science which enables us to discover the peculiar properties of +natural bodies, either in their simple or compound state, and the +elementary or first principles of which they are composed, by the +processes of analysis and combination. Chemistry treats of those +changes in natural bodies which are not accompanied by <i>sensible</i> +motions.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Compound</i>, mixed.</p> + +<p><i>Analysis</i>, a separation of a compound body into the several +parts of which it consists.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Is not the knowledge of Chemistry very ancient?</b></p> + +<p>Chemistry, as far as it regards the separating of metals from <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194"></a>[194]</span>foreign +matters in the ore, smelting and refining them, is of the highest +antiquity; it is even supposed to have been understood and practised +in the antediluvian world.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Antediluvian</i>, before the flood.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What nation appears to have excelled in Chemistry in early times?</b></p> + +<p>The Egyptians were no mean proficients in many chemical operations, +especially in the arts of working metals, softening ivory, vitrifying +flints, and imitating precious stones. Chemistry, however, experienced +the common fate of all the arts, at the decline of the Eastern empire.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Proficients</i>, those who have made great progress in any art +or science.</p></div> + + +<p><b>By whom was it revived?</b></p> + +<p>After having long lain buried, the famous Roger Bacon revived it; and +from his time to the present day it has gradually progressed to a +state of perfection. In former times, the art of chemistry consisted +only in the knowledge of working metals, &c.; but in latter ages, its +bounds have been greatly enlarged. The knowledge of Chemistry leads to +many interesting and important discoveries, and the arts and +manufactures are greatly indebted to its aid; indeed, it is requisite +to be a good chemist, in order to attain to perfection in many of +them.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Requisite</i>, necessary.</p></div> + + +<p><b>By what other name has Chemistry been known?</b></p> + +<p>It was sometimes called <i>Alchemy</i>; by which is properly understood a +refined and mysterious species of chemistry, formerly much practised.</p> + + +<p><b>What were its objects?</b></p> + +<p>The discovery of the art of converting metals into gold, including the +search after the "Philosopher's Stone," by which this change was to be +effected; and the discovery of a panacea or medicine for the cure of +all diseases.</p> + + +<p><b>What was the Philosopher's Stone?</b></p> + +<p>A substance, for numbers of years eagerly sought for, which<span class="pagenum"> +<a name="Page_195" id="Page_195"></a>[195]</span>was to +convert metals, such as lead, copper, &c. into gold. This unknown +substance was called the Philosopher's Stone, probably on account of +the number of learned men who engaged in the search after it.</p> + +<p class="center"><img src="images/image_18.jpg" alt="UNITED STATES SIGNAL STATION, PIKE'S PEAK, COLORADO." width="581" height="323" /><br /> +<span class="caption">UNITED STATES SIGNAL STATION, PIKE'S PEAK, COLORADO.</span></p> + + +<p><b>Was this search successful?</b></p> + +<p>No; but the delusion lasted several centuries, notwithstanding the +failures, losses, and disappointments of those engaged in it. Indeed, +so severe and ruinous were these, in many instances, that laws were +passed to forbid the study. In Germany, many of the alchemists who had +the unfortunate reputation of possessing this wonderful stone were +imprisoned and furnished with apparatus till they should purchase +their liberty by making an ounce of gold.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Delusion</i>, an error arising from false views.</p> + +<p><i>Apparatus</i>, a complete set of instruments or tools, by +which anything is made, or any operation performed.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Was any gold ever produced by this method?</b></p> + +<p>Not a particle; the story of a stone having the property of converting +the baser metals into gold being merely an absurd fable: yet, although +the pursuits of Alchemy were the most preposterous that can be +conceived, the ardor with which they were followed, and the amazing +number of experiments made in consequence, led to the discovery of +many facts to which Chemistry is highly indebted.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Preposterous</i>, absurd, foolish; contrary to nature or +reason.</p></div> + + +<p><b>You inform me that Chemistry enables us to discover the properties of +bodies by means of <i>analysis</i> and <i>combination</i>: what do these terms +imply?</b></p> + +<p>If a chemist wishes to examine the properties of a compound body, he +proceeds by analysis—that is, by a separation of the substance to be +examined into its constituent parts. The chemical examination of +bodies is generally effected by producing a change in the <i>nature</i> or +<i>state</i> of the body under examination. This change is frequently +brought about by the addition of some <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196"></a>[196]</span><i>other</i> substance which forms a +combination with a part of the substance examined, and leaves the +remainder in a detached state.</p> + + +<p><b>By what <i>means</i> do Chemists effect a change in the qualities or states +of natural bodies?</b></p> + +<p>It is generally effected by means of <i>heat</i>, which has a tendency to +separate the particles of bodies from each other; or by the <i>mixture</i> +or <i>combination</i> of some other matter with the matter intended to be +examined. The mixture of two or more compounds often produces a +decomposition by means of chemical <i>affinity</i>, a property which +different species of matter have to unite with each other; and which +is sometimes called <i>elective affinity</i>. Thus it may be observed, +chemists have not only the power of decomposing natural bodies, but of +producing by combination various other substances, such as are not +found in the kingdom of nature.</p> + + +<p><b>What do you mean by <i>decomposition</i>?</b></p> + +<p>In chemical language, it means the separation of a compound body into +its simple elements.</p> + + +<p><b>Give me an example.</b></p> + +<p>Water may be decomposed, and reduced into oxygen and hydrogen,—both +of them simple substances incapable of further decomposition.</p> + + +<p><b>Is not the work of decomposition perpetually going forward?</b></p> + +<p>Yes; and <i>combustion</i> is one of the great agents in this work. By it +animal and vegetable substances are converted into water and carbonic +acid, by the union of their hydrogen and carbon with the oxygen of the +air. These, in time, are again absorbed by vegetables, and again +decomposed to set the oxygen at liberty to produce fresh combustions.</p> + + +<p><b>Of what use are the two remaining substances, Hydrogen and Carbon?</b></p> + +<p>These are appropriated by the vegetative organs to their <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197"></a>[197]</span>growth and +nourishment, while the oxygen with which the carbon was combined is +abundantly given off to purify the air and render it fit for the +respiration of animals.</p> + + +<p><b>Give me an idea of the mode in which Chemists ascertain the <i>affinity</i> +of bodies, by relating an experiment.</b></p> + +<p>Dissolve a tea-spoonful of sugar of lead in water, and pour the clear +solution into a decanter or large glass bottle. Then take a small +piece of zinc, and twist round it some brass or copper wire, so as to +let the ends of the wire depend from it in any agreeable form. Suspend +the zinc and wire in the solution which has been prepared; in a short +time, metallic lead will deposit itself on the zinc and along the +wire. This is a beautiful illustration of chemical affinity; the acid, +which constitutes a part of the sugar of lead, has a stronger affinity +for the zinc than for the lead, and, consequently, will combine with +the zinc, and form a compound which remains in solution, while the +lead is precipitated on the zinc and wire in the form of a brilliant +tree of metal.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Affinity</i>, in chemistry, that attraction which takes place +between the elements of bodies, and forms compounds.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What does the word Nature signify?</b></p> + +<p>In the above sense, the system of the universe; the creation, the +works of God. By the kingdom of nature is meant the world and all +things in it: nature is divided into three kingdoms, the animal, +vegetable, and mineral.</p> + + +<p><b>What are the different states of natural bodies?</b></p> + +<p>All bodies are either solid, liquid, or aeriform. By solid bodies are +meant those whose parts unite so firmly as to resist the impression or +penetration of other bodies; by liquid, those substances whose parts +do not unite firmly, but have free motion among themselves; by +aeriform, fluid substances, having the form or nature of air. Liquid +substances are nothing more than solids converted into liquids by +heat, a certain increase of which would convert the liquids into +vapor.</p><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198"></a>[198]</span></p> + + +<p><b>What other name is given to Liquids?</b></p> + +<p>They are likewise called fluids: we call the air, also, a fluid, +because it flows like a fluid, and light substances will float in it.</p> + + +<p><b>What is the cause of bodies floating on liquids?</b></p> + +<p>It is an established law of nature, that all substances which weigh +less than an equal bulk of any liquid, will float on the surface of +this liquid. Thus a cork will float on water, while a stone sinks to +the bottom. The cork will not float in the air, though lighter than +water; and the stone is not heavier than the <i>whole</i> of the water, but +more so than a portion of water of its <i>own bulk</i>,—and thus it sinks +in it. Stones also differ in their weight or gravity: for instance, +some of the asbestus kind are <i>lighter</i> than water. Iron, brass, +indeed, nearly all substances, except gold and platina, will float +upon mercury, because they are lighter than this liquid.</p> + + +<p><b>What is the cause of bodies being either solid, liquid, or aeriform?</b></p> + +<p>When the principle of <i>attraction</i> prevails, it causes them to become +solid; when caloric prevails, they become aeriform. Fluidity is, +apparently, a medium between the two.</p> + + +<p><b>How is the state of Solidity in bodies accounted for?</b></p> + +<p>The particles of all bodies are subject to two opposite powers, +<i>repulsion</i> and <i>attraction</i>; between which they remain in +equilibrium. While the <i>attractive</i> force remains strongest, the body +remains in a state of solidity; but if heat destroys this force, the +particles lose their cohesion, and the body ceases to be solid.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Cohesion</i>, act of sticking together, union of the +constituent parts of a body.</p></div> + +<p><b>Which is supposed to be the most natural state of all bodies?</b></p> + +<p>Solidity; for by the <i>combination</i> of caloric with them we can reduce +most substances to the fluid state; while the greatest number of +<i>liquid</i> substances take a <i>solid</i> form by the loss of <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199"></a>[199]</span>caloric. Thus, +water congeals and forms ice; and even the gases show this disposition +to become solid, when they lose their <i>elasticity</i> by forming some +<i>combination</i>.</p> + + +<p><b>Explain the terms <i>Repulsion</i> and <i>Attraction</i>.</b></p> + +<p>Repulsion is a peculiar property in the particles of matter, which +gives them a constant tendency to recede from each other. Attraction +is an unknown force, which causes bodies or their particles to +approach each other. The particles of all bodies possess this +property, which causes them to adhere, and preserves the various +substances around us from falling in pieces.</p> + + +<p><b>What different kinds of Attraction can you mention?</b></p> + +<p>Attraction may be distinguished into that which takes place between +bodies at sensible distances, and that which manifests itself between +the <i>particles</i> of matter at insensible distances.</p> + + +<p><b>Give an example of the first kind of attraction.</b></p> + +<p>One of the most familiar instances of attraction at sensible distances +is seen in the descent of heavy bodies to the ground. When a stone is +lifted up in the hand, the earth's attraction, which previously caused +it to remain at its surface, is overcome; but, as soon as the hand is +withdrawn, the stone falls to the earth. The force which causes this +is called the <i>attraction of gravitation</i>, or simply <i>gravitation</i>.</p> + + +<p><b>How is the second kind of attraction, or that between the particles of +bodies, subdivided?</b></p> + +<p>Into the <i>attraction of aggregation</i>, or <i>cohesion</i>; and <i>chemical +attraction</i>, or <i>affinity</i>. The former takes place between particles +which are <i>similar</i>, and the latter between those which are +<i>dis-similar</i>. All the operations of chemistry are founded upon the +force of affinity which Nature has established between the particles +of different kinds of matter, and which enables the chemist to produce +<i>new</i> compounds differing more or less from the substances by whose +union they were formed.</p><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200"></a>[200]</span></p> + + +<p><b>Is it, then, necessary for chemists to understand the relative nature +of all substances?</b></p> + +<p>Yes; because the basis of this science consists in an <i>analytical</i> +examination of the works of Nature; an investigation of the properties +and uses of all substances we are acquainted with; and the study of +the effects of <i>heat</i> and <i>mixture</i>, in order that we may find out +their general and subordinate laws.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Analytical</i>, relating to analysis.</p> + +<p><i>Investigation</i>, act of searching, or tracing out.</p> + +<p><i>Subordinate</i>, inferior in nature, dignity or power.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Relate a few more of the advantages obtained by a knowledge of +Chemistry.</b></p> + +<p>Many of the wonderful operations of Nature, and the changes which take +place in substances around us, are, by its means, revealed to us. In +every manufacture, art, or walk of life, the chemist possesses an +advantage over his unskilled neighbor. It is necessary to the farmer +and gardener, as it explains the growth of plants, the use of manures, +and their proper application: and indispensable to the physician, that +he may understand the animal economy, and the <i>effects</i> which certain +<i>causes</i> chemically produce; and the nature of animal, vegetable, and +mineral poisons. The study is, therefore, an invaluable branch in the +education of youth: it is useful, not only in the active, but the +<i>moral</i> life, by laying the foundation of an ardent and inquiring +mind. Even an everyday walk in the fields can be productive of +instruction, by a knowledge of it;—and let us always remember, that +"Knowledge is Power."</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Indispensable</i>, necessary, not to be done without.</p></div> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201"></a>[201]</span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIX" id="CHAPTER_XIX"></a>CHAPTER XIX.</h2> + +<h3><span class="smcap">Attraction, Tides, Gravity, Artesian Wells, Air, Aneroid +Barometer, Ear-Trumpet, Stethoscope, Audiphone, Telephone, Phonograph, +Microphone, Megaphone, Tasimeter, Bathometer, Anemometer, +Chronometer.</span></h3> + + +<p><b>What is Attraction?</b></p> + +<p>By attraction is meant that property or quality in the particles of +bodies which makes them tend toward each other.</p> + + +<p><b>Are there several kinds of attraction?</b></p> + +<p>Yes. Attraction has received different names, according to the +circumstances under which it acts: The force which keeps the particles +of matter together to form bodies or masses, is called attraction of +<i>cohesion</i>; that which makes bodies stick together only on their +surfaces, is called <i>adhesion</i>; that which inclines different masses +toward each other, as the earth and the heavenly bodies, is called +<i>gravitation</i>; that which forces the particles of substances of +different kinds to unite, is known under the name of <i>chemical +attraction</i>; that which causes the needle of the compass to point +constantly toward the poles of the earth, is <i>magnetic attraction</i>; +that which is excited by friction in certain substances, is known as +<i>electrical attraction</i>.</p> + + +<p><b>How do you know that attraction exists through the whole universe?</b></p> + +<p>This great universal law was first discovered by Sir Isaac Newton. The +sun and planets and other heavenly bodies are only guided in their +path by gravitation.</p> + + +<p><b>Do we experience this attraction upon our earth?</b></p> + +<p>Yes; because our earth is carried around the sun by it; and, further, +the tides show it very clearly.</p> + + +<p><b>What are the Tides?</b></p> + +<p>The ebbing and flowing of the sea, which regularly takes <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202"></a>[202]</span>place twice +in twenty-four hours. The cause of the tides is the attraction of the +sun, but chiefly of the moon, acting on the waters of the ocean.</p> + + +<p><b>What is Gravity?</b></p> + +<p>Gravity is the attraction between the earth and the bodies on the +earth, which makes what we call weight of bodies.</p> + + +<p><b>What do you understand by specific weight or gravity?</b></p> + +<p>It means the weight of a body as compared with the weight of an equal +bulk of some other body taken as a standard—commonly water.</p> + + +<p><b>Why do we say that certain metals—as, for example, platina or +gold—are heavier than others, say, lead or iron?</b></p> + +<p>Because the former have a greater specific gravity.</p> + + +<p><b>But is not a pound of gold as heavy as a pound of lead?</b></p> + +<p>Yes; but a lump of gold will be heavier than a lump of lead of equal +bulk.</p> + + +<p><b>Can we explain by this what we call floating?</b></p> + +<p>A body will float in water if its gravity is less than that of water; +for example, wood floats for this reason in water, and a balloon in +the air.</p> + + +<p><b>Why does a portion of the floating body sink below the surface of the +water?</b></p> + +<p>Because the body in order to float must displace a portion of water +equal in weight to the whole floating body.</p> + + +<p><b>But why do iron steamers float—iron being heavier than water?</b></p> + +<p>Because the steamer is not a solid piece of iron, but is hollow, and +so increased in bulk; for that reason the weight of the vessel and its +contents is less than that of an equal bulk of water.</p> + + +<p><b>How can you ascertain that air has weight?</b></p> + +<p>We can do it by the barometer and by very many experiences in daily +life. If one end of a straw be dipped into a vessel of water and the +other end be sucked, the liquid will <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203"></a>[203]</span>rise to the mouth. There we see +the pressure of the outside air forces the liquid through the straw +where the air was removed by sucking.</p> + + +<p><b>Can you show the same by another instrument?</b></p> + +<p>Yes; the common water pump demonstrates the same as the straw. A tube +is placed into the water, the air is sucked out from the tube by the +movement of the pump, and the outside air presses the water through +the tube.</p> + + +<p><b>What are Artesian wells?</b></p> + +<p>Wells so named because they were made first at Artois, in France. They +work on the principle that every liquid seeks its level. Of the rain +which falls, a part soaks into the soil of mountains, until, coming to +a layer of rocks or clay through which it cannot pass, it will collect +and be stored up. If a hole be bored into this reservoir the water +will rise in it.</p> + + +<p><b>Do you know some other properties of air?</b></p> + +<p>It is the most necessary substance for our life; it is the vehicle of +all odors and smells; it is the medium of all sounds, and brings to +our ear and so to our mind an immense knowledge of the outside world; +it is the cause of the beauty of the blue firmament or sky, of the +aurora and twilight; it is the great nurse of the whole vegetable +kingdom by clouds, rain, and dew.</p> + + +<p><b>What is an Aneroid Barometer?</b></p> + +<p>It is a barometer in the construction of which no quicksilver or other +liquid is used. It consists of a metal box, exhausted of air, the top +of which is of thin metal, so elastic that it readily yields to +alterations in the pressure of the atmosphere. When the pressure +increases, the top is pressed inwards; when, on the contrary, it +decreases, the elasticity of the lid, aided by a spring, tends to move +it in the opposite direction. These motions are transmitted by +delicate levers to an index which moves on a scale. This barometer has +the advantage of being portable.</p><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204"></a>[204]</span></p> + + +<p><b>What is the Ear-trumpet?</b></p> + +<p>A trumpet-like instrument used to aid deaf persons in hearing. Its +form is conical, and the larger end is of a bell shape; the small end +is placed in the ear, and the person talks in the large end. It acts +by concentrating the voice on the listener's ear.</p> + + +<p><b>What is a Stethoscope?</b></p> + +<p>An instrument used by physicians for ascertaining the action of the +lungs, judging by the sound of their motion whether they are healthy +or not.</p> + + +<p><b>Describe the Audiphone.</b></p> + +<p>It is a fan-shaped instrument to help deaf people, and is made of +flexible carbonized rubber. Fine silk cords attached to the upper edge +bend it over, and are fastened by a wedge in a handle. The top edge of +this fan rests upon the upper teeth, and the sound waves strike its +surface; the vibrations are thus conveyed by the teeth and the bones +of the face to the acoustic nerve in the ear.</p> + + +<p><b>Describe the Telephone.</b></p> + +<p>It is an instrument by which conversation may be carried on at a +distance, and is composed of three parts—a thin disk of soft metal, a +small coil or bobbin of silk-covered copper wire, and a small bar +magnet about four inches long. The bobbin is placed on one pole of the +magnet, so that the wire is as it were steeped in the magnetic space +round the pole. The metal disk is placed face close to the pole and +bobbin, so that when it vibrates in front of the pole a series of wave +currents will be set up in the coil of wire on the bobbin. The whole +is encased in wood, and a mouth-piece is provided for speaking against +the disk. The coil of wire on the bobbin is of course connected by its +two ends into the circuit of a telegraph line.</p> + + +<p><b>Who invented the Telephone?</b></p> + +<p>It was invented, almost simultaneously, by Alex. Graham <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205"></a>[205]</span>Bell, a +native of Scotland, and Professor of Vocal Physiology in the Boston +University, and Elisha Gray, of Chicago.</p> + + +<p><b>What is a Phonograph?</b></p> + +<p>It is an instrument for recording the vibrations of sounds, and +consists of a revolving cylinder covered with tin-foil. To this +cylinder is attached a mouth-piece, fitted with a thin plate or disk, +on the outer side of which, next to the cylinder, is a needle or +point. The cylinder runs on a screw, so that the whole length of it, +from end to end, may pass under the point. On speaking into the +mouth-piece the voice causes the disk to vibrate, and the point to +trace marks corresponding to these vibrations on the tin-foil. By +turning the cylinder so that the point again passes into the marks in +the tin-foil, the sounds that entered at the mouth-piece can be +reproduced at any time.</p> + + +<p><b>By whom was the phonograph invented?</b></p> + +<p>By Thomas A. Edison, who was born in Ohio in 1847. Mr. Edison is the +inventor of many improvements in telegraphy, which have been adopted +into general use, and are to him the source of a large income. To him, +also, we are indebted for the megaphone, microphone, tasimeter, an +improvement in the telephone, a system of electric lighting, and many +other inventions.</p> + + +<p><b>What is a Microphone?</b></p> + +<p>This instrument is a variety of telephone by means of which faint +sounds can be heard at a very great distance. It consists of a small +battery for generating a weak current of electricity, a telephone for +the receiving instrument, and a speaking or transmitting instrument. +The last is a small rod of gas carbon with the ends set loosely in +blocks of the same material. The blocks are attached to an upright +support, glued into a wooden base board. This instrument is connected +with the battery and the telephone. So wonderfully sensitive is it, +that the ticking of a watch, the walking of a <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206"></a>[206]</span>fly across a board, or +the brush of a camel's-hair pencil can be heard even though it be +hundreds of miles distant.</p> + + +<p><b>Will you describe the Megaphone?</b></p> + +<p>It is a substitute for the ear and speaking trumpet. It consists of +three paper funnels placed side by side. The two larger ones are about +6 feet 8 inches long and 27-1/2 inches in diameter, and are each +provided with a flexible tube, the ends of which are held to the ear. +The centre funnel, which is used as a speaking-trumpet, does not +differ materially from an ordinary trumpet, except that it is larger +and has a larger bell mouth. Two persons, each provided with a +megaphone, can, without other apparatus, carry on a conversation at a +distance of one and a half or two miles.</p> + + +<p><b>What is the Tasimeter?</b></p> + +<p>It is an instrument, sensitive to the smallest degree of heat, and is +mostly used in astronomy. Attached to a telescope it will show the +heat coming from the stars.</p> + + +<p><b>What is a Bathometer?</b></p> + +<p>This ingenious instrument, the invention of Prof. Siemens of London, +enables those on board of ships to read from an index the depths of +the ocean beneath them. It consists of a highly sensitive steel spring +to which a heavy piece of metal is attached. The changes in weight to +which the latter is subject in consequence of the variations of +attractive force (the deeper the ocean the smaller the latter, and +vice versa) are registered on a scale by the indicator that is in +connection with the steel spring.</p> + + +<p><b>What is an Anemometer?</b></p> + +<p>An instrument for measuring the velocity and force of the wind, and by +which storms, at a distance, can be predicted.</p> + + +<p><b>What is a Chronometer?</b></p> + +<p>A time-piece of delicate and exact construction, chiefly employed by +astronomers and navigators. It differs only from an ordinary watch in +its delicate springs, in not being so much <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207"></a>[207]</span>influenced by heat and +cold, and consequently in its accuracy in giving the time.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XX" id="CHAPTER_XX"></a>CHAPTER XX.</h2> + +<h3><span class="smcap">Light, Lime Light, Magnesium Light, Electric Light, Rainbow, +Prism, Spectrum, Colors, Photography, Camera Obscura, Stereoscope, +Kaleidoscope.</span></h3> + + +<p><b>Do you know something about the nature of Light?</b></p> + +<p>Light is a mere form of vibration like sound, and like sound it +requires some source to set this vibration going, and some medium to +carry this vibration as air carries sound.</p> + + +<p><b>Is not the air this medium?</b></p> + +<p>No, it is supposed that there is an elastic fluid called "ether" which +pervades all space and matter, and if the molecules of a body are in +motion they have the power of setting this ether in motion. The +movement thus produced will appear either as heat or light according +to its velocity.</p> + + +<p><b>What sources of light do you know?</b></p> + +<p>We are told that the principal source of light on earth is the sun, +either directly with its own beams or indirectly by supplying us with +combustibles to produce light; for oil, gas, candles, and most of the +substances used for producing light and heat when burning are but +sending forth in another form the rays of the sun which were stored up +in nature's economy.</p> + +<p>Another source of light is the result of chemical action, such as the +lime, magnesium, and electric light. A third source of light is +phosphorescence, as we see it in the glow-worm and fireflies.</p> + + +<p><b>What is the Drummond or Lime Light?</b></p> + +<p>It is one of the most brilliant of artificial lights. When a stream of +oxygen and one of hydrogen under pressure are brought together and +mixed within a few inches of the end <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208"></a>[208]</span>of a blowpipe, the mixture on +lighting burns with a colorless flame possessing intense heat. If this +flame be made to play upon a ball of carbonate of lime, the lime on +becoming white hot gives off a powerful incandescence.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Incandescence</i>, the glowing whiteness of a body caused by +intense heat.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What is a Blowpipe?</b></p> + +<p>A tube, usually bent near the end, terminated with a finely-pointed +nozzle, for blowing through the flame of a lamp or gas-jet, producing +thereby a small conical flame possessing intense heat. It is used in +soldering silver, brass, etc. A mixture of oxygen and hydrogen when +ignited constitutes the hydrogen blowpipe, invented by Dr. Hare of +Philadelphia.</p> + + +<p><b>What is Magnesium Light?</b></p> + +<p>When the metal magnesium is rolled out into a fine ribbon and heated +to red heat it burns with a dazzling light.</p> + + +<p><b>Which is the most powerful artificial light?</b></p> + +<p>The so-called Electric light. This light, whether produced by a series +of galvanic cells or by dynamic power, is the most brilliant and +useful.</p> + + +<p><b>What is a Rainbow?</b></p> + +<p>The rainbow is that beautiful semi-circular band or arc of different +colors in the clouds during the occurrence of rain in sunshine. When +the clouds opposite the sun are very dark and rain is falling from +them, the rays of the sun are divided by the raindrops as they would +be by a prism. There are often two rainbows at the same time, because +the primary bow is again reflected to another layer of clouds.</p> + + +<p><b>What is a Prism?</b></p> + +<p>A triangular solid piece of glass, on which if a ray of light be cast +it will be distinctly divided into the seven colors we see in a +rainbow. By this fact we see that white light is composed of different +rays which have different reflective susceptibilities.</p> + + +<p><b>What is a Spectrum?</b></p> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209"></a>[209]</span></p> + +<p>It is this beautiful band of seven colors obtained by the refraction +of a ray of light through the prism.</p> + + +<p><b>Whence come the colors in the objects we see in nature?</b></p> + +<p>They all come from light; every object has a power to absorb certain +rays and to reflect others. A red cloth, for example, absorbs all the +other colored rays except red, and this it gives off, thus appearing +red.</p> + + +<p><b>Why are the leaves of plants green?</b></p> + +<p>Because a peculiar chemical substance called chlorophyl, formed within +their cells, absorbs all other rays of light, reflecting only blue and +yellow—which mixture produces the different green tints.</p> + + +<p><b>What is Photography?</b></p> + +<p>The word means "light drawing." It is a mode of fixing on certain +substances the lights and shades of any object by means of a lens +inserted in a camera obscura. This process was first called +Daguerreotype from the name of the inventor, Daguerre. A plate of +copper thinly coated with silver is exposed to the vapor of iodine, +then placed in a camera obscura, where an image of the object to be +presented through a lens is cast upon it. Ambrotype is the same +application to glass. There are now different variations of method in +the use of the same agents. Now photography consists in taking the +images on what is called a negative—that is, a glass coated with a +silvered collodion (gun-cotton dissolved in alcohol and ether) film. +From this plate another image is taken on silvered paper, which we +call the positive image. There are also other chemicals used instead +of silver.</p> + + +<p><b>What is a Camera Obscura?</b></p> + +<p>A small box or dark room into which the light is admitted through a +lens.</p> + + +<p><b>What is a Stereoscope?</b></p> + +<p>It is an instrument exhibiting the effects and advantages of seeing +with two eyes. The instrument is so constructed that <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210"></a>[210]</span>from a flat +picture we may see the solid body in its reality in nature.</p> + + +<p><b>What is a Kaleidoscope?</b></p> + +<p>An instrument invented by Sir David Brewster, consisting of a tube +with slips of reflecting glass so arranged in the interior that small +beads, bits of colored glass, and similar things are, by revolving the +tube, thrown into an endless variety of beautiful shapes.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXI" id="CHAPTER_XXI"></a>CHAPTER XXI.</h2> + +<h3><span class="smcap">Electricity, Electric Currents, Electric Battery, Electrotyping, +Stereotyping, Telegraph, Ocean Cable, Lightning Rod, The Gulf Stream, +The Mt. Cenis Tunnel, The Suez Canal, Suspension Bridges, Eminent +Americans.</span></h3> + + +<p><b>What is the nature of Electricity?</b></p> + +<p>A form of energy into which all other forms can readily be converted.</p> + + +<p><b>What is an Electric current?</b></p> + +<p>Electricity manifests itself in a variety of ways, but all may be +arranged under two heads, <i>viz.</i>, 1, as a charge; 2, as a current. By +means of friction, many bodies become electrified—that is, have +acquired an electrical charge. If this charge is in great quantity we +call it high tension. When a body containing an electrical charge is +brought in contact with other bodies through which electricity is +capable of passing, there ensues a current of electricity. Such bodies +are called conductors.</p> + + +<p><b>What are the sources of currents?</b></p> + +<p>There are currents produced by chemical action called voltaic +currents; by the action of heat, or thermo-electric currents; by the +motion of magnets, or magneto-electric currents.</p> + +<p class="center"><img src="images/image_19.jpg" alt="REMOVING THE EARTH FROM THE CANAL BY MEANS OF DROMEDARIES." width="481" height="418" /><br /> + <span class="caption">REMOVING THE EARTH FROM THE CANAL BY MEANS OF +DROMEDARIES.</span></p> + +<p class="center"><img src="images/image_20.jpg" alt="OPENING THE SUEZ CANAL—PROCESSION OF SHIPS." width="480" height="322" /><br /> +<span class="caption">OPENING THE SUEZ CANAL—PROCESSION OF SHIPS.</span></p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211"></a>[211]</span></p> + +<p><b>What is positive and what negative electricity?</b></p> + +<p>No difference in electricity in itself. When a body has more than its +natural amount of electricity, it is said to be charged positively; +when it has less than its natural amount it is negatively charged.</p> + + +<p><b>What is a Cell; what a Battery?</b></p> + +<p>If a piece of zinc and copper joined by a wire be dipped in a +liquid—generally weak sulphuric acid—which will act chemically on +the metals, a current is produced. Such an arrangement is called a +couple, or cell. If many cells are connected, then it is called a +battery.</p> + + +<p><b>What is Thermo-electricity?</b></p> + +<p>If two bars of any unlike metal—for example, antimony and bismuth—be +soldered together at one end, and the other ends be connected by a +wire and then the soldered end heated, a current will flow.</p> + + +<p><b>What effects are produced by currents?</b></p> + +<p>They produce heat, light, decomposition and combination in liquid +chemical compounds; they melt all metals, excite magnetism, and in the +animal body excite movements of the muscles.</p> + +<p><b>Can you specify these effects?</b></p> + +<p>A strong battery produces heat in such a degree that all metals can be +melted. Light is produced in flashes, or if the end of the leading +wires are connected with two pencils of hard carbon, and brought very +near together, then a brilliant light, or arc, called the voltaic arc, +is produced. This is the dazzling bright light which we call electric +light. The chemical effect of a current in decomposing compound +substances is called electrolysis. In this way water can be decomposed +into its compounds, hydrogen and oxygen; copper sulphate into sulphur +and metallic copper, etc. In this way we can deposit strong adherent +films of metal on the surface of any conductor; for if the article to +be coated be attached to the negative electrode of a battery, and +dipped into a solution of <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212"></a>[212]</span>the metal with which we desire to coat the +article, say copper or silver, and the positive electrode be attached +to a plate of copper and also dipped into a liquid, when the current +passes, the metal will be decomposed and deposited in a uniform layer +over the article at the negative electrode. This process is called +<i>electro-plating</i>.</p> + + +<p><b>What is Electrotyping?</b></p> + +<p>It is the process of copying medals, type, wood-cuts, engraved copper +and steel plates, etc., by means of electrical deposition. It is +chiefly used for making, from the ordinary movable types, plates of +fixed metallic types, for printing books.</p> + + +<p><b>Describe the process.</b></p> + +<p>The article to be copied is first covered with black-lead, and then a +mould is made of it in wax or gutta-percha. This mould is placed in a +solution of sulphate of copper, and attached to the negative pole of +the battery, while a plate of copper is hung from the positive pole. +The electric current decomposes the copper, which is deposited in a +thin film upon the mould. This film is removed and stiffened by being +backed with metal.</p> + + +<p><b>What is the difference between Electrotyping and Stereotyping?</b></p> + +<p>In stereotyping, a plaster of Paris mould is taken from the types, and +upon this mould melted type-metal is poured, which, when hardened, +makes a solid plate.</p> + + +<p><b>Is there any other method of stereotyping?</b></p> + +<p>Yes; that known as the paper process. A uniform sheet of soft matter +is formed by pasting together sheets of thin, tough tissue paper. The +types are oiled, and the soft, moist sheet is placed on them and +beaten down with a stiff brush until it receives an impression of the +type-form. Both are then run through a press, and on being taken out +the paper is found to form a perfect mould. Into this mould the +type-metal is poured and the plate formed.</p><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213"></a>[213]</span></p> + + +<p><b>Can you tell me some magnetic effects of the current?</b></p> + +<p>All conductors become magnetic during the passage of a current through +them, and thereby acquire all the properties of a magnet. There are +bodies which are natural magnets, and they are called permanent +magnets. Those which become magnets only during the passage of a +current are called electro-magnets.</p> + + +<p><b>Do you know any application of those magnets?</b></p> + +<p>They are employed in a great variety of electrical apparatus, +principally in telegraphy.</p> + + +<p><b>When was the first telegraph established?</b></p> + +<p>It was made in 1836, being invented by Prof. Steinheil, of Munich, and +adopted by the government of Bavaria. It was 12 miles long, and the +signals were made by small bells.</p> + + +<p><b>Who was the inventor of the telegraph in this country?</b></p> + +<p>Samuel F.B. Morse, who was born at Charlestown, Mass., April 27, 1791. +He began life as a painter, but did not give his whole attention to +art—chemistry and experiments in electricity and galvanism claiming +much of his time. He first conceived the idea of the telegraph in +1832, and exhibited his invention to Congress in 1837. He struggled on +with scanty means, and was about to give up in despair when Congress +appropriated $30,000 for an experimental line, which was opened on May +12, 1844, between Washington and Baltimore. Prof. Morse died in 1872, +but not before he had reaped honors and fortune from his invention.</p> + + +<p><b>How rapidly does the electric current travel through the wires?</b></p> + +<p>From experiments made it appears to be about 15,400 miles in a second.</p> + + +<p><b>Can more than one message be sent at the same time on the same wire?</b></p> + +<p>Yes; it is possible now to send several messages at the same time.</p><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214"></a>[214]</span></p> + + +<p><b>What is a Cable?</b></p> + +<p>It is a telegraph wire under water. Prof. Morse, in 1842, laid a wire +insulated by a covering of hemp coated with pitch-tar and India-rubber +between Governor's Island and the Battery, New York. Several attempts +were made in other countries.</p> + + +<p><b>What was the greatest telegraphic undertaking?</b></p> + +<p>That of connecting Europe with America by a submarine cable spanning +the ocean, which was commenced in 1857 and completed August 5, 1858.</p> + + +<p><b>To whom do we owe this grand undertaking?</b></p> + +<p>This honor is entirely due to Mr. Cyrus W. Field. Mr. Field was born +at Stockbridge, Mass., on November 30th, 1819. In 1853 he became +interested in ocean telegraphy, and after many reverses succeeded in +laying the first cable in August, 1858. The message sent by Queen +Victoria to the President of the United States, consisting of 99 +words, occupied 67 minutes in transmitting. In September of the same +year this cable ceased to work, but the energy of Field restored +confidence, and another cable was made and laid down in July, 1865, +but after 1200 miles were deposited it was lost. In 1866 another was +made and successfully laid in July. In August the lost cable was found +and spliced, and carried to the western shore.</p> + + +<p><b>What is a Dynamo-electric machine?</b></p> + +<p>A machine by which very powerful currents can be obtained directly +from mechanical power. In these, by means of a steam-engine or other +power, a number of coils of wire called the armature are set into +rapid revolution between the poles of powerful electro-magnets. All +currents are caused to flow from the armature in one direction by +means of a contrivance called the commutator. Very successful machines +of this sort are the Gramme machine, the Siemens, and, principally, +the so-called Brush machine. By these the electric light is now +generally produced.</p><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215"></a>[215]</span></p> + + +<p><b>What is a Lightning Rod?</b></p> + +<p>It is a rod of iron placed against a building to protect it from +lightning. Three or four feet of one end is in the moist ground or in +water, while several feet of the other end extend above the highest +part of the building. The upper end of the rod is pointed with copper +or some other metal which will not easily corrode.</p> + + +<p><b>By whom was it invented?</b></p> + +<p>By Benjamin Franklin, and first announced by him in his "Poor +Richard's Almanac" for 1753. Franklin was born at Boston, Mass., in +1706. By his talents, prudence, and honesty he rose from humble +beginnings to be one of the foremost men of his time. He was one of +the committee of five chosen by Congress to prepare the "Declaration +of Independence" which he with other patriots afterwards signed. +Towards the close of the year 1776 he was sent as ambassador to the +French Court, and remained in Europe some time. He returned home in +1785, and died at Philadelphia on the 17th of April, 1790.</p> + + +<p><b>What is the Gulf Stream?</b></p> + +<p>It is a warm current in the Atlantic Ocean.</p> + + +<p><b>What is its origin?</b></p> + +<p>It may be considered as beginning on the west coast of Africa, within +the region of the trade winds. These cause a westward flow, known as +the equatorial current. On reaching the coast of Brazil, the greater +portion of this current bends northward, carrying with it the waters +of the Amazon and Orinoco, and passes through the Caribbean Sea into +the Gulf of Mexico. Here it is further heated, and rushes out through +the only outlet, the Straits of Florida.</p> + + +<p><b>Describe its course.</b></p> + +<p>Deep and narrow, it runs by Florida with a velocity varying from two +to five miles an hour, and pressed by the cold current between it and +the shore, flows parallel to the coast <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216"></a>[216]</span>as far as Cape Hatteras. +Meeting shoals near this point, the banks of sand extending as far as +Newfoundland, it there turns abruptly to the east, and with diminished +speed and increased width, rolls onward towards the coast of Europe. +Before long it divides into two great branches—the northern and +southern. The former extends as far as Spitzbergen; the latter, +sweeping along by the Madeira and Canary Islands, returns to the +equator, completing the circuit.</p> + + +<p><b>What influence has the Gulf Stream on the climate of Europe?</b></p> + +<p>Various opinions have been expressed as to this. It has been estimated +that the amount of heat arising from the stream on a winter's day, is +sufficient to raise the atmosphere over the British Isles from the +freezing point to a summer temperature.</p> + + +<p><b>How may the Gulf Stream be distinguished?</b></p> + +<p>It can be distinctly traced in the ocean by its dark indigo color, its +temperature, and the swiftness of its waters.</p> + + +<p><b>Which is the largest tunnel in the world?</b></p> + +<p>The Mt. Cenis Tunnel, or the tunnel of Col de Frejus, by both of which +names it is known. It is the longest subterranean route for commerce +and travel yet constructed, being 7-1/4 miles in length. It is on the +crest of the Cottian Alps, about 16 miles south-west of the summit of +Mt. Cenis Pass. It was begun in 1857, and finished in 1871.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Col</i>, a defile.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What other great engineering work can you mention?</b></p> + +<p>The Suez Canal, a ship canal running across the Isthmus of Suez, and +connecting the Mediterranean with the Red Sea. The canal is 100 miles +in length, and through it an uninterrupted communication is +established whereby large sailing vessels and steamers may pass from +sea to sea, and thus <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217"></a>[217]</span>avoid the long and dangerous voyage around the +Cape of Good Hope.</p> + + +<p><b>To whom is the world indebted for this canal?</b></p> + +<p>This great work owes its inception and completion to the enterprise +and indomitable energy of Ferdinand de Lesseps, who was born at +Versailles, France, on the 19th November, 1805. In January, 1856, he +obtained a charter from the Egyptian Government for a company to +construct the canal, and began work in 1859. Though beset by many +difficulties, the persistent energy of De Lesseps fought its way to +success, and in 1869 he had the satisfaction of seeing the waters of +the Mediterranean and the Red Sea mingle in the Bitter Lakes. He has +since been engaged in many engineering projects, the latest being a +canal across the Isthmus of Panama to connect the Atlantic and Pacific +oceans.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Inception</i>, beginning.</p> + +<p><i>Indomitable</i>, not to be subdued.</p> + +<p><i>Persistent</i>, inclined to hold firm.</p></div> + + +<p><b>What is a Suspension Bridge?</b></p> + +<p>A bridge supported by wires, ropes, or chains, which usually pass over +high piers or columns at each end, and are secured in the ground +below.</p> + + +<p><b>Name some of the largest bridges of this kind.</b></p> + +<p>That at Niagara, those over the Allegheny at Pittsburg and the Ohio at +Cincinnati, and the great East River bridge, which connects New York +and Brooklyn.</p> + + +<p><b>Who planned these bridges?</b></p> + +<p>John A. Roebling, who was born at Mulhausen, Prussia, June 12, 1806. +In 1831 he emigrated to this country, and to his genius we are +indebted for the bridges above named. The reports, plans, and +specifications of the East River bridge were completed, and the work +begun, when Roebling was severely injured in the foot while directing +his work. Lockjaw succeeding amputation, he died in Brooklyn, July 22, +1869.</p><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218"></a>[218]</span></p> + + +<p><b>To what great Civil Engineer has the West given birth?</b></p> + +<p>James B. Eads. Born at Lawrenceburg, Indiana, May 28, 1820, he began +life as a clerk on a Mississippi river steam-boat. In 1842 he entered +a firm engaged in recovering sunken property, and with such success +that he retired with a fortune in 1857. During the civil war he +devised a plan for the defence of the Western waters, and constructed +several iron gun-boats with many novel features of his own invention. +He has since acquired reputation as projecting and constructing +engineer of the Illinois and St. Louis bridge, and by building jetties +at the South Pass of the Mississippi, by which the depth of the river +is increased, and it is made more navigable. These jetties are +projecting dikes of brush, fascines, and stone.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Fascines</i>, bundles of rods or of small sticks of wood, +bound at both ends and at intermediate points, used in +filling ditches, etc.</p></div> + + +<p><b>Give the names of some distinguished American inventors.</b></p> + +<p>Eli Whitney, the inventor of the Cotton Gin, born in Westborough, +Mass., 1765; died 1825. Jethro Wood, the inventor of the modern +cast-iron plow, born at White Creek, N.Y., 1774; died 1834. Cyrus H. +McCormick, inventor of the mowing machine, born at Walnut Grove, +Virginia, in 1809.</p> + + +<p><b>Who was the inventor of the Sewing Machine?</b></p> + +<p>Elias Howe. He was born at Spencer, Mass., July 9, 1819. When a boy he +worked in a cotton mill at Lowell, but afterwards entered a machine +shop in Boston. Here he conceived the idea of the sewing machine, and +after long days of labor, part of which time he and his family lived +on the kindness of a friend, he completed his invention. After many +struggles, his talent, industry, and perseverance were rewarded, and +long before his death, which occurred in October, 1867, he had +acquired a large fortune.</p><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219"></a>[219]</span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /><h2><a name="INDEX" id="INDEX"></a>INDEX.</h2> + + +<div class="index"> +<ul class="IX"> +<li>Abyssinia, Page <a href="#Page_142">142</a></li> + +<li>Adhesion, <a href="#Page_201">201</a> <br /></li> + +<li>Affinity, Chemical, <a href="#Page_197">197</a>, <a href="#Page_199">199</a></li> + +<li>Air, <a href="#Page_17">17</a><br /> +<ul class="IX"> +<li>fixed, <a href="#Page_112">112</a></li> +</ul></li> + +<li>Albert Durer, <a href="#Page_130">130</a></li> + +<li>Alchemy, <a href="#Page_194">194</a></li> + +<li>Alcohol, <a href="#Page_137">137</a></li> + +<li>Alexander, <a href="#Page_161">161</a></li> + +<li>Alexandria, <a href="#Page_168">168</a></li> + +<li>Allspice or Pimento, <a href="#Page_51">51</a></li> + +<li>Alluvial formations, <a href="#Page_152">152</a></li> + +<li>Almonds, <a href="#Page_61">61</a></li> + +<li>Alphabet, invention of, <a href="#Page_43">43</a></li> + +<li>Alum, <a href="#Page_74">74</a></li> + +<li>Alumina, <a href="#Page_154">154</a></li> + +<li>Amalgam, <a href="#Page_20">20</a></li> + +<li>Amber, <a href="#Page_18">18</a></li> + +<li>Ambergris, <a href="#Page_66">66</a></li> + +<li>Analysis and Combination, <a href="#Page_195">195</a></li> + +<li>Anemometer, <a href="#Page_206">206</a></li> + +<li>Angelo, Michael, <a href="#Page_162">162</a></li> + +<li>Anno Domini, <a href="#Page_35">35</a></li> + +<li>Apelles, <a href="#Page_182">182</a></li> + +<li>Apollo, <a href="#Page_178">178</a></li> + +<li>Arabic, gum, <a href="#Page_94">94</a></li> + +<li>Arabia, Felix and Deserta, <a href="#Page_72">72</a></li> + +<li>Archipelago, <a href="#Page_32">32</a></li> + +<li>Architecture, <a href="#Page_156">156</a><br /> +<ul class="IX"> +<li>orders of, <a href="#Page_159">159</a>, <a href="#Page_160">160</a><br /></li> +</ul></li> + +<li>Argil, <a href="#Page_154">154</a></li> + +<li>Armenia, <a href="#Page_67">67</a></li> + +<li>Arrow-root, <a href="#Page_134">134</a></li> + +<li>Arsenic, <a href="#Page_126">126</a></li> + +<li>Artesian Wells, <a href="#Page_203">203</a></li> + +<li>Arts, <a href="#Page_190">190</a><br /> +<ul class="IX"> +<li>liberal, <a href="#Page_190">190</a><br /></li> +<li>fine, <a href="#Page_191">191</a><br /></li> +<li>mechanical, <a href="#Page_191">191</a><br /></li> +</ul></li> + +<li>Art of writing, <a href="#Page_191">191</a></li> + +<li>Asbestus, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>, <a href="#Page_78">78</a></li> + +<li>Astronomy, science of, <a href="#Page_187">187</a></li> + +<li>Athenians, <a href="#Page_23">23</a></li> + +<li>Atmosphere, <a href="#Page_17">17</a></li> + +<li>Attraction, <a href="#Page_201">201</a></li> + +<li>Audiphone, <a href="#Page_204">204</a></li> + +<li>Aurora, the, <a href="#Page_21">21</a></li> + +<li>Aurora Borealis, <a href="#Page_22">22</a></li> + +<li>Australia, <a href="#Page_31">31</a></li> + +<li>Author, <a href="#Page_54">54</a></li> + +<li>Azores, islands of, <a href="#Page_62">62</a></li> + +<li>Azote gas, <a href="#Page_113">113</a></li> + +</ul> +<ul class="IX"> + +<li>Babel, tower of, <a href="#Page_144">144</a></li> + +<li>Babylon, <a href="#Page_145">145</a></li> + +<li>Bacon, Roger, <a href="#Page_99">99</a></li> + +<li>Baize, <a href="#Page_32">32</a></li> + +<li>Barbarians, <a href="#Page_170">170</a>, <a href="#Page_183">183</a></li> + +<li>Barilla or Soda, <a href="#Page_105">105</a></li> + +<li>Bark, <a href="#Page_35">35</a><br /> +<ul class="IX"> +<li>Peruvian, <a href="#Page_36">36</a><br /></li> +</ul></li> + +<li>Barley, <a href="#Page_24">24</a><br /> +<ul class="IX"> +<li>sugar, <a href="#Page_49">49</a><br /></li> +</ul></li> + +<li>Barometer, <a href="#Page_96">96</a><br /> +<ul class="IX"> +<li>Aneroid, <a href="#Page_203">203</a><br /></li> +</ul></li> + +<li>Barrel organ, <a href="#Page_179">179</a></li> + +<li>Bathometer, <a href="#Page_206">206</a></li> + +<li>Beaver, <a href="#Page_70">70</a>, <a href="#Page_71">71</a>, <a href="#Page_74">74</a></li> + +<li>Bell, A.G., <a href="#Page_204">204</a></li> + +<li>Black lead, <a href="#Page_122">122</a></li> + +<li>Blowpipe, <a href="#Page_208">208</a></li> + +<li>Bodies, natural, <a href="#Page_197">197</a></li> + +<li>Bombazine, <a href="#Page_40">40</a></li> + +<li>Books first printed, <a href="#Page_59">59</a></li> + +<li>Books, of what made, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>, <a href="#Page_57">57</a></li> + +<li>Bottles, <a href="#Page_54">54</a></li> + +<li>Box, musical, <a href="#Page_179">179</a></li> + +<li>Brandy, <a href="#Page_137">137</a></li> + +<li>Brass, <a href="#Page_84">84</a></li> + +<li>Bread-fruit, <a href="#Page_86">86</a></li> + +<li>Bricks, <a href="#Page_144">144</a></li> + +<li>Butter, vegetable, <a href="#Page_87">87</a><br /> +<ul class="IX"> +<li>tree, <a href="#Page_87">87</a><br /></li> +</ul></li> + +</ul><ul class="IX"> + +<li>Cable, <a href="#Page_214">214</a></li> + +<li>Cacao-nut tree, <a href="#Page_27">27</a></li> + +<li>Cadmus, <a href="#Page_43">43</a></li> + +<li>Calaminaris, Lapis, <a href="#Page_84">84</a></li> + +<li>Calcareous rocks, <a href="#Page_150">150</a></li> + +<li>Calico, <a href="#Page_28">28</a></li> + +<li>Caloric, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>, <a href="#Page_114">114</a></li> + +<li>Calomel, <a href="#Page_97">97</a></li> + +<li>Cambray, <a href="#Page_41">41</a></li> + +<li>Cambric, <a href="#Page_41">41</a></li> + +<li>Camera Obscura, <a href="#Page_209">209</a></li> + +<li>Camlet, <a href="#Page_41">41</a></li> +<li><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220"></a>[220]</span></li> +<li>Camphor, <a href="#Page_140">140</a></li> + +<li>Candles, <a href="#Page_106">106</a></li> + +<li>Candy, Sugar, <a href="#Page_49">49</a></li> + +<li>Cannon, <a href="#Page_100">100</a></li> + +<li>Canoe, <a href="#Page_36">36</a></li> + +<li>Cantaleup, <a href="#Page_67">67</a></li> + +<li>Canvas, <a href="#Page_33">33</a></li> + +<li>Caoutchouc, <a href="#Page_107">107</a></li> + +<li>Capers, <a href="#Page_61">61</a></li> + +<li>Carbon, <a href="#Page_112">112</a></li> + +<li>Carbonic acid, <a href="#Page_112">112</a></li> + +<li>Carmine, <a href="#Page_138">138</a></li> + +<li>Carpets, <a href="#Page_32">32</a></li> + +<li>Carthage, <a href="#Page_164">164</a></li> + +<li>Cashmere shawls, <a href="#Page_46">46</a></li> + +<li>Cassia, <a href="#Page_40">40</a></li> + +<li>Castor or beaver, <a href="#Page_70">70</a></li> + +<li>Castor oil, <a href="#Page_66">66</a></li> + +<li>Cat, civet, <a href="#Page_141">141</a><br /> +<ul class="IX"> +<li>domestic, singular property of its fur, <a href="#Page_19">19</a><br /></li> +<li>gut, <a href="#Page_179">179</a><br /></li> +</ul></li> + +<li>Caviare, <a href="#Page_135">135</a></li> + +<li>Cayenne pepper, <a href="#Page_53">53</a></li> + +<li>Chaldea, <a href="#Page_187">187</a></li> + +<li>Chalk, <a href="#Page_115">115</a></li> + +<li>Charcoal, <a href="#Page_81">81</a></li> + +<li>Chemistry, <a href="#Page_193">193-200</a></li> + +<li>Cherry-tree, <a href="#Page_35">35</a></li> + +<li>Chinese or India ink, <a href="#Page_76">76</a></li> + +<li>China orange, <a href="#Page_62">62</a></li> + +<li>Chocolate, <a href="#Page_27">27</a></li> + +<li>Chronometer, <a href="#Page_206">206</a></li> + +<li>Chrysalis, <a href="#Page_42">42</a></li> + +<li>Cider, <a href="#Page_136">136</a></li> + +<li>Cinnamon, <a href="#Page_39">39</a></li> + +<li>Citrons, <a href="#Page_62">62</a></li> + +<li>Clay or argil, <a href="#Page_154">154</a></li> + +<li>Clocks, <a href="#Page_98">98</a></li> + +<li>Cloth, <a href="#Page_29">29</a></li> + +<li>Cloves, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>, <a href="#Page_39">39</a></li> + +<li>Coal, <a href="#Page_81">81</a></li> + +<li>Cochineal, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>, <a href="#Page_138">138</a></li> + +<li>Cocoa-nut tree, <a href="#Page_34">34</a></li> + +<li>Coffee, <a href="#Page_26">26</a></li> + +<li>Cohesion, <a href="#Page_201">201</a></li> + +<li>Coin, <a href="#Page_165">165</a></li> + +<li>Combustion, <a href="#Page_113">113</a></li> + +<li>Compass, Mariners', <a href="#Page_95">95</a></li> + +<li>Commerce, <a href="#Page_170">170</a></li> + +<li>Constellations, <a href="#Page_188">188</a></li> + +<li>Consul, Roman, <a href="#Page_147">147</a></li> + +<li>Copernicus, <a href="#Page_189">189</a></li> + +<li>Copper, <a href="#Page_83">83</a></li> + +<li>Copperas, <a href="#Page_75">75</a></li> + +<li>Coral, <a href="#Page_109">109-112</a></li> + +<li>Cork, <a href="#Page_37">37</a></li> + +<li>Corn, <a href="#Page_23">23</a></li> + +<li>Cotton, <a href="#Page_28">28</a><br /> +<ul class="IX"> +<li>gins, <a href="#Page_29">29</a><br /></li> +</ul></li> + +<li>Cow-tree, <a href="#Page_88">88</a></li> + +<li>Crape, <a href="#Page_40">40</a></li> + +<li>Cretans, <a href="#Page_23">23</a></li> + +<li>Crimson, <a href="#Page_138">138</a></li> + +<li>Crusades, <a href="#Page_172">172</a>, <a href="#Page_173">173</a></li> + +<li>Crystallization, <a href="#Page_14">14</a></li> + +<li>Currants, <a href="#Page_46">46</a></li> + +<li>Cyrus, <a href="#Page_146">146</a></li> + +</ul><ul class="IX"> + +<li>Damask, <a href="#Page_34">34</a></li> + +<li>Dates, <a href="#Page_68">68</a>, <a href="#Page_69">69</a></li> + +<li>Decomposition, <a href="#Page_196">196</a></li> + +<li>Deluge, <a href="#Page_191">191</a></li> + +<li>Dew, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>, <a href="#Page_14">14</a></li> + +<li>Diamond, <a href="#Page_127">127</a></li> + +<li>Diaper, <a href="#Page_33">33</a></li> + +<li>Distillation, process of, <a href="#Page_137">137</a></li> + +<li>Drake, Sir Francis, <a href="#Page_92">92</a></li> + +<li>Dyeing, things used in, <a href="#Page_138">138</a></li> + +<li>Dynamite, <a href="#Page_100">100</a></li> + +<li>Dynamo-electric machine, <a href="#Page_214">214</a></li> + +</ul><ul class="IX"> + +<li>Eads, Jas. B, <a href="#Page_218">218</a></li> + +<li>Earths, <a href="#Page_151">151</a><br /> +<ul class="IX"> +<li>argillaceous, <a href="#Page_152">152</a><br /></li> +<li>calcareous, <a href="#Page_150">150</a><br /></li> +<li>silicious, <a href="#Page_152">152</a><br /></li> +</ul></li> + +<li>Earthenware, <a href="#Page_55">55</a></li> + +<li>Earthquakes, <a href="#Page_155">155</a></li> + +<li>Ear-trumpet, <a href="#Page_204">204</a></li> + +<li>Ebony, <a href="#Page_132">132</a></li> + +<li>Edison, Thos. A., <a href="#Page_205">205</a></li> + +<li>Egyptian Pyramids, <a href="#Page_158">158</a></li> + +<li>Egyptians, <a href="#Page_23">23</a></li> + +<li>Electrical machine, <a href="#Page_19">19</a><br /> +<ul class="IX"> +<li>properties in bodies, <a href="#Page_19">19</a><br /></li> +</ul></li> + +<li>Electricity, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a href="#Page_210">210</a></li> + +<li>Electric Battery, <a href="#Page_211">211</a><br /> +<ul class="IX"> +<li>Current, <a href="#Page_210">210</a><br /></li> +</ul></li> + +<li>Electro-Magnet, <a href="#Page_104">104</a> <br /> +<ul class="IX"> +<li>Magnetic Teleg'ph., <a href="#Page_104">104</a>, <a href="#Page_213">213</a><br /></li> +</ul></li> + +<li>Electron, <a href="#Page_18">18</a></li> +<li><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221"></a>[221]</span></li> +<li>Electrotyping, <a href="#Page_212">212</a></li> + +<li>Elephant, <a href="#Page_133">133</a></li> + +<li>Emerald, <a href="#Page_129">129</a></li> + +<li>Engraving, <a href="#Page_130">130</a></li> + +<li>Ermine, <a href="#Page_73">73</a></li> + +<li>Etruscans, <a href="#Page_182">182</a></li> + +<li>Evergreen, <a href="#Page_65">65</a></li> + +</ul><ul class="IX"> + +<li>Fermentation, acetous, <a href="#Page_138">138</a><br /> +<ul class="IX"> +<li>vinous, <a href="#Page_138">138</a><br /></li> +</ul></li> +<li>Ferro, <a href="#Page_88">88</a></li> + +<li>Field, Cyrus W., <a href="#Page_214">214</a></li> + +<li>Figs, <a href="#Page_48">48</a></li> + +<li>Fine arts, <a href="#Page_191">191</a></li> + +<li>Fitch, John, <a href="#Page_103">103</a></li> + +<li>Flannel, <a href="#Page_34">34</a></li> + +<li>Flax, <a href="#Page_33">33</a></li> + +<li>Flint, <a href="#Page_153">153</a></li> + +<li>Floating, <a href="#Page_202">202</a></li> + +<li>Florence, <a href="#Page_64">64</a></li> + +<li>Fossil or rock salt, <a href="#Page_78">78</a></li> + +<li>Franks, <a href="#Page_170">170</a></li> + +<li>Frankincense, <a href="#Page_142">142</a></li> + +<li>Franklin, Benj., <a href="#Page_215">215</a></li> + +<li>Fulton, Robert, <a href="#Page_103">103</a></li> + +<li>Fur, <a href="#Page_73">73</a></li> + +</ul> +<ul class="IX"> + +<li>Galileo, <a href="#Page_101">101</a>, <a href="#Page_189">189</a></li> + +<li>Galls, <a href="#Page_75">75</a></li> + +<li>Gamboge, <a href="#Page_139">139</a></li> + +<li>Gas, <a href="#Page_114">114</a><br /> +<ul class="IX"> +<li>hydrogen, <a href="#Page_114">114</a><br /></li> +<li>nitrogen or azote, <a href="#Page_113">113</a><br /></li> +<li>oxygen, <a href="#Page_113">113</a><br /></li> +</ul></li> + +<li>Gelatine, <a href="#Page_135">135</a></li> + +<li>Gems, <a href="#Page_127">127</a></li> + +<li>Genoa, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>, <a href="#Page_172">172</a></li> + +<li>Geologist, <a href="#Page_151">151</a></li> + +<li>Geology, <a href="#Page_151">151</a></li> + +<li>Geometry, <a href="#Page_102">102</a></li> + +<li>Gin, <a href="#Page_137">137</a></li> + +<li>Ginger, <a href="#Page_50">50</a></li> + +<li>Glass, <a href="#Page_53">53</a><br /> +<ul class="IX"> +<li>house, <a href="#Page_54">54</a><br /></li> +<li>windows, <a href="#Page_54">54</a><br /></li> +<li>looking, <a href="#Page_55">55</a><br /></li> +</ul></li> + +<li>Gloves, <a href="#Page_73">73</a></li> + +<li>Goat, Angora, <a href="#Page_41">41</a></li> + +<li>Gold, <a href="#Page_118">118</a></li> + +<li>Goths, <a href="#Page_170">170</a></li> + +<li>Granite, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>, <a href="#Page_149">149</a></li> + +<li>Gravitation, <a href="#Page_201">201</a></li> + +<li>Gravity, <a href="#Page_202">202</a></li> + +<li>Gray, Elisha, <a href="#Page_205">205</a></li> + +<li>Gulf Stream, <a href="#Page_215">215</a></li> + +<li>Gum, <a href="#Page_93">93</a><br /> +<ul class="IX"> +<li>arabic, <a href="#Page_94">94</a><br /></li> +</ul></li> + +<li>Gunpowder, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>, <a href="#Page_100">100</a></li> + +<li>Guns, <a href="#Page_100">100</a></li> + +</ul><ul class="IX"> + +<li>Hail, <a href="#Page_16">16</a></li> + +<li>Harp, <a href="#Page_176">176</a></li> + +<li>Hats, <a href="#Page_70">70</a></li> + +<li>Hemp, <a href="#Page_33">33</a></li> + +<li>Herculaneum, <a href="#Page_154">154</a></li> + +<li>Hermetic Seal, <a href="#Page_96">96</a></li> + +<li>Herschel, Sir William, <a href="#Page_190">190</a></li> + +<li>Hieroglyphics, <a href="#Page_191">191</a></li> + +<li>Holland, <a href="#Page_33">33</a></li> + +<li>Honey, <a href="#Page_136">136</a></li> + +<li>Hops, <a href="#Page_137">137</a></li> + +<li>Howe, Elias, <a href="#Page_218">218</a></li> + +<li>Hybla, <a href="#Page_136">136</a></li> + +<li>Hydrogen, <a href="#Page_114">114</a></li> + +<li>Hymettus, <a href="#Page_136">136</a></li> + +</ul><ul class="IX"> + +<li>Ice, <a href="#Page_15">15</a></li> + +<li>Idria, quicksilver mines of, <a href="#Page_97">97</a></li> + +<li>India rubber, <a href="#Page_107">107</a><br /> +<ul class="IX"> +<li>or Chinese ink, <a href="#Page_76">76</a><br /></li> +</ul></li> + +<li>Indigo, <a href="#Page_138">138</a></li> + +<li>Ink, <a href="#Page_74">74</a><br /> +<ul class="IX"> +<li>used by the ancients, <a href="#Page_75">75</a><br /></li> +</ul></li> + +<li>Inlaying, <a href="#Page_132">132</a></li> + +<li>Insect, coral, <a href="#Page_109">109</a>-<a href="#Page_111">111</a></li> + +<li>Ionians, <a href="#Page_60">60</a></li> + +<li>Iron, <a href="#Page_82">82</a></li> + +<li>Isinglass, <a href="#Page_132">132</a></li> + +<li>Islands, Volcanic, <a href="#Page_155">155</a></li> + +<li>Ivory, <a href="#Page_135">135</a></li> + +</ul><ul class="IX"> + +<li>Jaca tree, <a href="#Page_87">87</a></li> + +<li>Japanese, <a href="#Page_181">181</a></li> + +<li>Jetties of the Mississippi, <a href="#Page_218">218</a></li> + +<li>Jupiter, <a href="#Page_148">148</a></li> + +</ul><ul class="IX"> + +<li>Kaleidoscope, <a href="#Page_210">210</a></li> + +<li>Kiln, <a href="#Page_73">73</a></li> + +</ul><ul class="IX"> + +<li>Lace, <a href="#Page_41">41</a></li> + +<li>Lapis calaminaris, <a href="#Page_84">84</a></li> + +<li>Laudanum, <a href="#Page_91">91</a></li> + +<li>Laws, How made, <a href="#Page_148">148</a></li> + +<li>Lead, <a href="#Page_121">121</a><br /> +<ul class="IX"> +<li>black, <a href="#Page_122">122</a><br /></li> +</ul></li> + +<li>Leather, <a href="#Page_72">72</a></li> + +<li>Legislative Powers, <a href="#Page_147">147</a></li> +<li><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222"></a>[222]</span></li> +<li>Lemon, <a href="#Page_62">62</a></li> + +<li>Lenses, <a href="#Page_95">95</a></li> + +<li>Leo the Tenth, <a href="#Page_184">184</a></li> + +<li>Lesseps, Ferd. de, <a href="#Page_217">217</a></li> + +<li>Levant, <a href="#Page_75">75</a></li> + +<li>Libanus, Mount, <a href="#Page_90">90</a></li> + +<li>Licorice, <a href="#Page_89">89</a></li> + +<li>Light, <a href="#Page_207">207</a><br /> +<ul class="IX"> +<li>Drummond, <a href="#Page_207">207</a><br /></li> +<li>Electric, <a href="#Page_208">208</a>, <a href="#Page_211">211</a><br /></li> +<li>Lime, <a href="#Page_207">207</a><br /></li> +<li>Magnesium, <a href="#Page_208">208</a><br /></li> +</ul></li> + +<li>Lightning, <a href="#Page_17">17</a><br /> +<ul class="IX"> +<li>Rod, <a href="#Page_215">215</a></li> +</ul></li> + +<li>Lime, a fruit, <a href="#Page_63">63</a></li> + +<li>Lime, an earth, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>, <a href="#Page_112">112</a><br /> +<ul class="IX"> +<li>quick, <a href="#Page_150">150</a><br /></li> +</ul></li> + +<li>Linen, <a href="#Page_32">32</a></li> + +<li>Liquids, <a href="#Page_197">197</a>, <a href="#Page_198">198</a></li> + +<li>Lithography, <a href="#Page_131">131</a></li> + +<li>Loadstone, <a href="#Page_95">95</a></li> + +<li>Logwood, <a href="#Page_139">139</a></li> + +<li>Lombards, <a href="#Page_170">170</a></li> + +<li>Lucca, <a href="#Page_64">64</a></li> + +<li>Lucullus, <a href="#Page_35">35</a></li> + +<li>Lungs, <a href="#Page_89">89</a></li> + +<li>Lyre, <a href="#Page_178">178</a></li> + +</ul><ul class="IX"> + +<li>McCormick, Cyrus H., <a href="#Page_218">218</a></li> + +<li>Mace, <a href="#Page_51">51</a></li> + +<li>Magic, <a href="#Page_99">99</a></li> + +<li>Mahogany, <a href="#Page_107">107</a></li> + +<li>Malt, <a href="#Page_137">137</a></li> + +<li>Maltese orange, <a href="#Page_62">62</a></li> + +<li>Mangoes, <a href="#Page_85">85</a></li> + +<li>Manioc plant, <a href="#Page_134">134</a></li> + +<li>Manna, <a href="#Page_89">89</a>, <a href="#Page_90">90</a></li> + +<li>Marble, <a href="#Page_116">116</a><br /> +<ul class="IX"> +<li>Parian, <a href="#Page_117">117</a><br /></li> +</ul></li> + +<li>Mariners' compass, <a href="#Page_95">95</a></li> + +<li>Marine salt, <a href="#Page_78">78</a></li> + +<li>Marl, <a href="#Page_101">101</a></li> + +<li>Mathematics, <a href="#Page_101">101</a></li> + +<li>Mead, <a href="#Page_136">136</a></li> + +<li>Mechanics, <a href="#Page_102">102</a></li> + +<li>Mediterranean, <a href="#Page_171">171</a></li> + +<li>Megaphone, <a href="#Page_206">206</a></li> + +<li>Melons, <a href="#Page_67">67</a></li> + +<li>Mercury, <a href="#Page_97">97</a><br /> +<ul class="IX"> +<li>the god, <a href="#Page_178">178</a><br /></li> +</ul></li> + +<li>Metals, primitive, <a href="#Page_83">83</a></li> + +<li>Metallurgy, <a href="#Page_123">123</a></li> + +<li>Microphone, <a href="#Page_205">205</a></li> + +<li>Microscope, <a href="#Page_102">102</a></li> + +<li>Milan, <a href="#Page_40">40</a></li> + +<li>Millet, <a href="#Page_50">50</a></li> + +<li>Mineral oil, <a href="#Page_65">65</a><br /> +<ul class="IX"> +<li>tar, <a href="#Page_140">140</a><br /></li> +</ul></li> + +<li>Mines, <a href="#Page_84">84</a><br /> +<ul class="IX"> +<li>coal, <a href="#Page_81">81</a><br /></li> +</ul></li> + +<li>Mint, <a href="#Page_166">166</a></li> + +<li>Mirrors, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>, <a href="#Page_55">55</a></li> + +<li>Mohair, <a href="#Page_46">46</a></li> + +<li>Mahomed, <a href="#Page_72">72</a></li> + +<li>Money, <a href="#Page_163">163</a></li> + +<li>Morphia, <a href="#Page_91">91</a></li> + +<li>Mortar, <a href="#Page_148">148</a></li> + +<li>Morse, S.F.B., <a href="#Page_213">213</a></li> + +<li>Mosque, <a href="#Page_72">72</a></li> + +<li>Mother-of-pearl, <a href="#Page_132">132</a></li> + +<li>Mt. Cenis Tunnel, <a href="#Page_216">216</a></li> + +<li>Muscles, <a href="#Page_21">21</a></li> + +<li>Music, vocal, <a href="#Page_176">176</a></li> + +<li>Musical instruments, <a href="#Page_174">174</a><br /> +<ul class="IX"> +<li>boxes, <a href="#Page_179">179</a><br /></li> +</ul></li> + +<li>Musk, <a href="#Page_141">141</a></li> + +<li>Myrrh, <a href="#Page_141">141</a></li> + +</ul><ul class="IX"> + +<li>Nantes, Edict of, <a href="#Page_45">45</a></li> + +<li>Natron, <a href="#Page_105">105</a></li> + +<li>Nature, kingdom of, <a href="#Page_197">197</a></li> + +<li>Navigation, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>-<a href="#Page_174">174</a></li> + +<li>Nabuchodonosor, <a href="#Page_146">146</a></li> + +<li>Needles, <a href="#Page_57">57</a></li> + +<li>Nero, <a href="#Page_185">185</a></li> + +<li>New South Wales, <a href="#Page_31">31</a></li> + +<li>Newton, Sir Isaac, <a href="#Page_189">189</a></li> + +<li>Nicotine, <a href="#Page_92">92</a></li> + +<li>Nitre, <a href="#Page_100">100</a></li> + +<li>Nitrogen, <a href="#Page_113">113</a></li> + +<li>Northern Lights, <a href="#Page_22">22</a></li> + +<li>Nutmegs, <a href="#Page_50">50</a></li> + +</ul><ul class="IX"> + +<li>Oats, <a href="#Page_24">24</a></li> + +<li>Obelisk, <a href="#Page_158">158</a></li> + +<li>Oils, <a href="#Page_65">65</a></li> + +<li>Oil, olive, <a href="#Page_64">64</a></li> + +<li>Oil, castor, <a href="#Page_66">66</a><br /> +<ul class="IX"> +<li>mineral, <a href="#Page_65">65</a><br /></li> +</ul></li> + +<li>Olives, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>, <a href="#Page_64">64</a></li> + +<li>Olive branch, the emblem of Plenty, <a href="#Page_64">64</a></li> + +<li>Opium, <a href="#Page_91">91</a></li> +<li><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223"></a>[223]</span></li> +<li>Orange, <a href="#Page_61">61</a></li> + +<li>Ore, <a href="#Page_83">83</a></li> + +<li>Organ, barrel, <a href="#Page_179">179</a></li> + +<li>Oxide, <a href="#Page_83">83</a></li> + +<li>Oxygen, <a href="#Page_113">113</a></li> + +</ul><ul class="IX"> + +<li>Painters, celebrated, <a href="#Page_184">184</a></li> + +<li>Painting, art of, <a href="#Page_180">180</a></li> + +<li>Palm, <a href="#Page_68">68</a>, <a href="#Page_69">69</a></li> + +<li>Palma Christi, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>, <a href="#Page_67">67</a></li> + +<li>Pantheon, <a href="#Page_146">146</a></li> + +<li>Paper, invention of, <a href="#Page_57">57</a><br /> +<ul class="IX"> +<li>mill, <a href="#Page_58">58</a><br /></li> +<li>linen, <a href="#Page_58">58</a><br /></li> +</ul></li> + +<li>Papyrus, <a href="#Page_58">58</a></li> + +<li>Parchment, <a href="#Page_59">59</a></li> + +<li>Pearls, <a href="#Page_131">131</a></li> + +<li>Pearl oyster, <a href="#Page_131">131</a><br /> +<ul class="IX"> +<li>barley, <a href="#Page_24">24</a><br /></li> +</ul></li> + +<li>Pendulum, <a href="#Page_98">98</a></li> + +<li>Pepper, <a href="#Page_52">52</a><br /> +<ul class="IX"> +<li>cayenne, <a href="#Page_53">53</a><br /></li> +</ul></li> + +<li>Pericles, <a href="#Page_159">159</a></li> + +<li>Perry, <a href="#Page_136">136</a></li> + +<li>Petroleum, <a href="#Page_65">65</a></li> + +<li>Phenicia, <a href="#Page_54">54</a></li> + +<li>Philosopher's stone, <a href="#Page_194">194</a>, <a href="#Page_195">195</a></li> + +<li>Phonograph, <a href="#Page_205">205</a></li> + +<li>Phosphorus, <a href="#Page_125">125</a></li> + +<li>Photography, <a href="#Page_209">209</a></li> + +<li>Pins, <a href="#Page_57">57</a></li> + +<li>Pimento, <a href="#Page_51">51</a></li> + +<li>Pisa, <a href="#Page_172">172</a></li> + +<li>Pitch, <a href="#Page_140">140</a></li> + +<li>Platina, <a href="#Page_123">123</a></li> + +<li>Pliny, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>, <a href="#Page_182">182</a></li> + +<li>Plumbago, <a href="#Page_122">122</a></li> + +<li>Poetry, <a href="#Page_185">185</a>-<a href="#Page_187">187</a></li> + +<li>Poets, celebrated, <a href="#Page_186">186</a></li> + +<li>Polypus, <a href="#Page_108">108</a></li> + +<li>Pompeii, <a href="#Page_154">154</a></li> + +<li>Porcelain, <a href="#Page_56">56</a></li> + +<li>Potash, <a href="#Page_53">53</a></li> + +<li>Potatoes, <a href="#Page_24">24</a></li> + +<li>Primitive Earths, <a href="#Page_153">153</a></li> + +<li>Printing, <a href="#Page_59">59</a></li> + +<li>Prism, <a href="#Page_208">208</a></li> + +<li>Protestant, <a href="#Page_58">58</a></li> + +<li>Ptolemies, <a href="#Page_189">189</a></li> + +<li>Pyramid, <a href="#Page_158">158</a></li> + +<li>Pythagoras, <a href="#Page_188">188</a></li> + +</ul><ul class="IX"> + +<li>Quicksilver, <a href="#Page_97">97</a></li> + +</ul><ul class="IX"> + +<li>Rabbins, <a href="#Page_55">55</a></li> + +<li>Rain, <a href="#Page_16">16</a></li> + +<li>Rainbow, <a href="#Page_208">208</a></li> + +<li>Raisins, <a href="#Page_47">47</a></li> + +<li>Raleigh, Sir Walter, <a href="#Page_92">92</a></li> + +<li>Raphael, <a href="#Page_183">183</a>, <a href="#Page_184">184</a></li> + +<li>Refugee, <a href="#Page_58">58</a></li> + +<li>Republic, <a href="#Page_65">65</a></li> + +<li>Resin, gum, <a href="#Page_93">93</a></li> + +<li>Rhubarb, <a href="#Page_94">94</a></li> + +<li>Rice, <a href="#Page_48">48</a></li> + +<li>Rock or fossil salt, <a href="#Page_78">78</a><br /> +<ul class="IX"> +<li>calcareous, <a href="#Page_150">150</a><br /></li> +<li>transition, <a href="#Page_151">151</a><br /></li> +</ul></li> + +<li>Roebling, John A., <a href="#Page_217">217</a></li> + +<li>Rubies, <a href="#Page_128">128</a></li> + +<li>Rum, <a href="#Page_137">137</a></li> + +<li>Rye, <a href="#Page_24">24</a></li> + +</ul><ul class="IX"> + +<li>Sable, <a href="#Page_74">74</a></li> + +<li>Sago, <a href="#Page_49">49</a><br /> +<ul class="IX"> +<li>palm, <a href="#Page_50">50</a><br /></li> +</ul></li> + +<li>Salt, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>, <a href="#Page_79">79</a><br /> +<ul class="IX"> +<li>marine, <a href="#Page_78">78</a><br /></li> +<li>rock, <a href="#Page_78">78</a><br /></li> +<li>spring, <a href="#Page_79">79</a><br /></li> +</ul></li> + +<li>Saltpetre, <a href="#Page_100">100</a></li> + +<li>Saracens, <a href="#Page_168">168</a></li> + +<li>Scarlet, <a href="#Page_138">138</a></li> + +<li>Schools of painting, <a href="#Page_184">184</a></li> + +<li>Sciences, Arts and, <a href="#Page_190">190</a></li> + +<li>Sculpture, <a href="#Page_160">160</a></li> + +<li>Seal, an animal, <a href="#Page_74">74</a></li> + +<li>Senate, <a href="#Page_147">147</a></li> + +<li>Sesostris, <a href="#Page_177">177</a></li> + +<li>Seville orange, <a href="#Page_62">62</a></li> + +<li>Shoes, <a href="#Page_72">72</a></li> + +<li>Sicilians, <a href="#Page_23">23</a></li> + +<li>Sidon, <a href="#Page_167">167</a></li> + +<li>Silex, <a href="#Page_153">153</a></li> + +<li>Silicious earths, <a href="#Page_152">152</a></li> + +<li>Silk, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>, <a href="#Page_45">45</a><br /> +<ul class="IX"> +<li>worm, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>-<a href="#Page_43">43</a><br /></li> +</ul></li> + +<li>Silver, <a href="#Page_119">119</a></li> + +<li>Slate, <a href="#Page_149">149</a></li> + +<li>Snow, <a href="#Page_16">16</a></li> + +<li>Soap, <a href="#Page_105">105</a></li> + +<li>Soda, <a href="#Page_105">105</a></li> + +<li>Specific Weight, <a href="#Page_202">202</a></li> + +<li>Spectacles, <a href="#Page_94">94</a></li> +<li><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224"></a>[224]</span></li> +<li>Spectrum, <a href="#Page_208">208</a></li> + +<li>Spermaceti, <a href="#Page_106">106</a></li> + +<li>Spinning-jenny, <a href="#Page_30">30</a></li> + +<li>Spirits of wine, <a href="#Page_137">137</a></li> + +<li>Sponge, <a href="#Page_108">108</a></li> + +<li>Starch, <a href="#Page_133">133</a></li> + +<li>Steam engine, <a href="#Page_102">102</a><br /> +<ul class="IX"> +<li>navigation, <a href="#Page_103">103</a><br /></li> +</ul></li> + +<li>Steel, <a href="#Page_150">150</a></li> + +<li>Stethoscope, <a href="#Page_204">204</a></li> + +<li>Stereoscope, <a href="#Page_209">209</a></li> + +<li>Stereotyping, <a href="#Page_212">212</a></li> + +<li>Still, <a href="#Page_137">137</a></li> + +<li>Stockings, <a href="#Page_71">71</a></li> + +<li>Strata, <a href="#Page_151">151</a></li> + +<li>Suez Canal, <a href="#Page_216">216</a></li> + +<li>Sugar, <a href="#Page_48">48</a><br /> +<ul class="IX"> +<li>candy, <a href="#Page_49">49</a><br /></li> +<li>barley, <a href="#Page_49">49</a><br /></li> +<li>maple, <a href="#Page_49">49</a><br /></li> +</ul></li> + +<li>Sulphur, <a href="#Page_124">124</a></li> + +<li>Sumatra, <a href="#Page_66">66</a></li> + +<li>Suspension Bridges, <a href="#Page_217">217</a></li> + +</ul><ul class="IX"> + +<li>Tallow, <a href="#Page_106">106</a><br /> +<ul class="IX"> +<li>tree, <a href="#Page_106">106</a><br /></li> +</ul></li> + +<li>Tamarinds, <a href="#Page_67">67</a></li> + +<li>Tan, <a href="#Page_73">73</a></li> + +<li>Tapioca, <a href="#Page_134">134</a></li> + +<li>Tar, <a href="#Page_139">139</a></li> + +<li>Tasimeter, <a href="#Page_206">206</a></li> + +<li>Tasmania, <a href="#Page_31">31</a></li> + +<li>Tea, <a href="#Page_25">25</a></li> + +<li>Telegraph, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>, <a href="#Page_213">213</a></li> + +<li>Telephone, <a href="#Page_204">204</a></li> + +<li>Telescope, <a href="#Page_101">101</a></li> + +<li>Thebes, <a href="#Page_43">43</a></li> + +<li>Thermometer, <a href="#Page_97">97</a></li> + +<li>Thermo-Electricity, <a href="#Page_211">211</a></li> + +<li>Thibet Goat, <a href="#Page_46">46</a></li> + +<li>Thunder, <a href="#Page_17">17</a></li> + +<li>Tides, <a href="#Page_201">201</a></li> + +<li>Tin, <a href="#Page_120">120</a></li> + +<li>Tobacco, <a href="#Page_91">91</a></li> + +<li>Toddy, <a href="#Page_34">34</a></li> + +<li>Tortoise, <a href="#Page_178">178</a></li> + +<li>Tower, leaning of Pisa, <a href="#Page_172">172</a></li> + +<li>Troy, <a href="#Page_177">177</a></li> + +<li>Turpentine, <a href="#Page_143">143</a></li> + +<li>Turquois, <a href="#Page_129">129</a></li> + +<li>Tuscans, <a href="#Page_182">182</a></li> + +<li>Twilight, <a href="#Page_21">21</a></li> + +<li>Tyre, <a href="#Page_167">167</a></li> + +</ul><ul class="IX"> + +<li>United States Government, <a href="#Page_147">147</a></li> + +</ul><ul class="IX"> + +<li>Vapor, <a href="#Page_14">14</a></li> + +<li>Vellum, <a href="#Page_60">60</a></li> + +<li>Velvet, <a href="#Page_45">45</a></li> + +<li>Venice, <a href="#Page_171">171</a></li> + +<li>Venus, <a href="#Page_171">171</a></li> + +<li>Vine, <a href="#Page_136">136</a></li> + +<li>Vinegar, <a href="#Page_138">138</a></li> + +<li>Vitriol, <a href="#Page_75">75</a></li> + +<li>Volcanic formations, <a href="#Page_152">152</a></li> + +<li>Volcano, <a href="#Page_154">154</a></li> + +<li>Vulcanite, <a href="#Page_108">108</a></li> + +</ul><ul class="IX"> + +<li>Watches, <a href="#Page_98">98</a></li> + +<li>Water, <a href="#Page_14">14</a><br /> +<ul class="IX"> +<li>melon, <a href="#Page_67">67</a><br /></li> +<li>decomposition of by vegetables, <a href="#Page_15">15</a><br /></li> +<li>tree, <a href="#Page_88">88</a><br /></li> +</ul></li> + +<li>Wax, <a href="#Page_106">106</a></li> + +<li>Weaving, <a href="#Page_30">30-32</a></li> + +<li>Whale, <a href="#Page_66">66</a></li> + +<li>Whitney, Eli, <a href="#Page_218">218</a></li> + +<li>Wieliczca, <a href="#Page_80">80</a></li> + +<li>Wind, <a href="#Page_17">17</a></li> + +<li>Windows, <a href="#Page_54">54</a></li> + +<li>Wine, <a href="#Page_136">136</a></li> + +<li>Woad, <a href="#Page_139">139</a></li> + +<li>Wood, Jethro, <a href="#Page_218">218</a></li> + +<li>Wood engraving, <a href="#Page_130">130</a></li> + +<li>Wool, <a href="#Page_29">29-31</a></li> + +<li>Writing, art of, <a href="#Page_191">191</a></li> + +</ul><ul class="IX"> + +<li>Yams, <a href="#Page_85">85</a></li> + +</ul><ul class="IX"> + +<li>Zinc, <a href="#Page_84">84</a></li> + +<li>Zoophytes, <a href="#Page_108">108</a></li> +</ul> +</div> + + +<h3>THE END.</h3> + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of A Catechism of Familiar Things; Their +History, and the Events Which Led to Their Discovery, by Benziger Brothers + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A CATECHISM OF FAMILIAR *** + +***** This file should be named 16728-h.htm or 16728-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/6/7/2/16728/ + +Produced by Suzanne Shell, Sankar Viswanathan, and the +Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying 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b/16728.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..91f772b --- /dev/null +++ b/16728.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11345 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of A Catechism of Familiar Things; Their +History, and the Events Which Led to Their Discovery, by Benziger Brothers + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: A Catechism of Familiar Things; Their History, and the Events Which Led to Their Discovery + With a Short Explanation of Some of the Principal Natural + Phenomena. For the Use of Schools and Families. Enlarged + and Revised Edition. + +Author: Benziger Brothers + +Release Date: September 20, 2005 [EBook #16728] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A CATECHISM OF FAMILIAR *** + + + + +Produced by Suzanne Shell, Sankar Viswanathan, and the +Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + + [Illustration: THE AURORA BOREALIS IN THE ARCTIC REGIONS.] + + + A + CATECHISM + OF + FAMILIAR THINGS; + + THEIR HISTORY, AND THE EVENTS WHICH LED TO + THEIR DISCOVERY. + + + _WITH A SHORT EXPLANATION OF SOME OF THE PRINCIPAL_ + + NATURAL PHENOMENA. + + + + FOR THE USE OF SCHOOLS AND FAMILIES. + + Enlarged and Revised Edition. + + + + NEW YORK, CINCINNATI, AND ST. LOUIS: + BENZIGER BROTHERS + PRINTERS TO THE HOLY APOSTOLIC SEE. + + + + + + COPYRIGHT, 1881, BY BENZIGER BROTHERS. + + + + +PREFACE. + + +This book, a reprint of a successful English publication, has been so +enlarged as to be to all intents and purposes new. It has been +carefully revised by a Reverend gentleman, who for some time filled +the chair of Physics and Chemistry in one of our colleges. + +Recent inventions and improvements are described in a simple, popular +style, so as to be easily understood by all, and short notices are +given of prominent inventors and scientists. The paragraphs relating +to doctrinal matters conform in every respect to the teachings of the +Church. + +A feature which will commend the book to every teacher is the +definitions of difficult words and terms, following the paragraphs in +which such words occur. + +Technical language is avoided as much as possible, so as to enable +young pupils to become familiarly acquainted with the various +phenomena of nature, the leading characteristics and general history +of the objects of the animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms, and the +fundamental truths of the arts and sciences. + +The illustrations are of a superior order, and a very complete Index, +which will be appreciated by every teacher, supplements the book. In a +word, no pains have been spared to enhance the value of the work, and +render it an important auxiliary in the dissemination of useful and +entertaining knowledge. + +The publishers beg to acknowledge their obligations to the Sisters of +Mercy, Loretto, Pa., to whose kindness they are indebted for many +valuable suggestions. + +In the hope that the book may be found suited to the accomplishment of +its aim, it is respectfully submitted to schools and instructors of +youth, who are the best judges of its merits. + + + + +CONTENTS. + + CHAPTER + + I. Dew, Water, Rain, Snow, Hail, Atmosphere, Wind, Lightning, + Thunder, Electricity, Twilight, and the Aurora + Borealis + + II. Corn, Barley, Pearl Barley, Oats, Rye, Potatoes, Tea, + Coffee, and Chocolate + + III. Calico, Cotton, Cloth, Wool, Baize, Linen, Flax, Hemp, + Diaper, Holland, Canvas, and Flannel + + IV. Cocoa, Toddy, Cherries, Bark, Cork, Cochineal, Cloves, + Cinnamon, and Cassia + + V. Bombazine, Crape, Camlet, Cambric, Lace, Silk, Velvet, + and Mohair + + VI. Currants, Raisins, Figs, Rice, Sugar, Sugar Candy, &c., + Sago, Millet, Ginger, Nutmeg, Mace, Pimento or Allspice, + Pepper, and Cayenne Pepper + + VII. Glass, Mirrors, Earthenware, Porcelain, Needles, Pins, + Paper, Printing, Parchment, and Vellum + + VIII. Capers, Almonds, Oranges, Lemons, Citrons, Limes, Olives, + Oils, Melons, Tamarinds, and Dates + + IX. Hats, Stockings, Shoes, Gloves, Leather, Furs, and Ink + + X. Asbestus, Salt, Coal, Iron, Copper, Brass, Zinc, and Lapis + Calaminaris + + XI. Yams, Mangoes, Bread-Fruit, Shea or Butter Tree, Cow + Tree, Water Tree, Licorice, Manna, Opium, Tobacco, + and Gum + + XII. Spectacles, Mariner's Compass, Barometer, Thermometer, + Watches, Clocks, Telescope, Microscope, Gunpowder, + Steam Engine, and Electro-Magnetic Telegraph + + XIII. Soap, Candles, Tallow Tree, Spermaceti, Wax, Mahogany, + India Rubber or Caoutchouc, Sponge, Coral, + Lime, Carbon, Oxygen, Nitrogen, Gas, Hydrogen, + Chalk, and Marble + + XIV. Gold, Silver, Lead, Tin, Platina, Sulphur, Gems or + Precious Stones--as Diamonds, Rubies, Emeralds, + Turquois, Pearls, Mother-of-Pearl, and Ivory + + XV. Starch, Arrow-root, Tapioca, Isinglass, Caviare, the + Vine, Wine, Gin, Rum, Brandy, Vinegar, Indigo, + Gamboge, Logwood, Tar, Pitch, Camphor, Musk, + Myrrh, Frankincense, and Turpentine + + XVI. Bricks, Mortar, Granite, Slate, Limestone, or Calcareous + Rocks, Steel, Earths, Volcanoes, and Earthquakes + + XVII. Architecture, Sculpture, Use of Money, and Navigation + + XVIII. Music, Painting, Poetry, Astronomy, Arts and + Sciences, Art of Writing, and Chemistry + + XIX. Attraction, Tides, Gravity, Artesian Wells, Air, + Aneroid Barometer, Ear-Trumpet, Stethoscope, + Audiphone, Telephone, Phonograph, Microphone, + Megaphone, Tasimeter, Bathometer, Anemometer, + Chronometer + + XX. Light, Lime Light, Magnesium Light, Electric Light, + Rainbow, Prism, Spectrum, Colors, Photography, + Camera Obscura, Stereoscope, Kaleidoscope + + XXI. Electricity, Electric Currents, Electric Battery, Electrotyping, + Stereotyping, Telegraph, Ocean Cable, + Lightning Rod, The Gulf Stream, The Mt. Cenis + Tunnel, The Suez Canal, Suspension Bridges, Eminent + Americans + + + + +A CATECHISM + +OF + +FAMILIAR THINGS. + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +DEW, WATER, RAIN, SNOW, HAIL, ATMOSPHERE, WIND, LIGHTNING, +THUNDER, ELECTRICITY, TWILIGHT, AND THE AURORA BOREALIS. + + +What is Dew? + +Moisture collected from the atmosphere by the action of cold. During +the day, the powerful heat of the sun causes to arise from the earth +and water a moist vapor, which, after the sun sinks below the horizon, +is condensed by the cold, and falls in the form of dew. Dews are more +copious in the Spring and Autumn than at any other season; in warm +countries than in cold ones: because of the sudden changes of +temperature. Egypt abounds in dews all the summer; for the air being +too hot to condense the vapors in the day-time, they never gather into +clouds and form rain. + + _Horizon_, the line which bounds the view on all sides, so + that the earth and sky appear to meet. A Greek word, from + the verb signifying to mark boundaries. + + _Temperature_, degree of heat or cold. + + _Condense_, to cause the particles of a body to approach or + unite more closely. + + +What are its uses? + +It cools and refreshes the vegetable creation, and prevents it from +being destroyed by the heat of the sun. All hot countries where there +is little or no rain are therefore blessed with this provision by the +all-bountiful Creator, to render them luxuriant and inhabitable; and +the dews which fall are so copious, that the earth is as deeply soaked +with them during the night as if a heavy rain had fallen. For this +reason also it is, that we so often read in the Bible of the "dew of +Heaven" being promised to the Israelites as a signal favor. + + _Luxuriant_, fertile, flourishing. + + _Signal_, remarkable, eminent. + + +From what does the vapor originate? + +Vapor is water, combined with a still greater quantity of +caloric,--that is, an imponderable and subtile form of matter, which +causes the sensation of heat; and which, driving asunder the particles +of the water, renders it aeriform. + + _Imponderable_, without sensible weight. + + _Subtile_, thin, not dense, or compact. + + _Particle_, a small portion of matter. + + _Aeriform_, having the form of air. + + +What is Water? + +The fluid which covers more than three-fifths of the surface of our +globe, and which is necessary for the life and health of the animal +and vegetable creation; for without water there would be neither rain +nor dew, and everything would perish. It is likewise a necessary +beverage for man and the inferior animals. + + _Beverage_, drink, liquor for drinking. + + +In how many states do we find Water? + +In four: 1st, solid, as in ice, snow, hail, &c.; 2d, fluid, as in its +common form; 3d, aeriform, as in steam; and 4th, in a state of union +with other matter. Its most simple state is that of ice, which is +water deprived of a certain portion of its caloric: crystallization +then takes place, and the water becomes solid and is called ice. + + _Crystallization_, the process by which the parts of a solid + body, separated by solution or fusion, are again brought + into the solid form. If the process is slow, the figure + assumed is regular and bounded by plane and smooth surfaces. + + _Solution_, the diffusion of a solid through some liquid. + + _Fusion_, melting, or rendering fluid by heat. + + +From what cause is the Water deprived of its caloric? + +From the coldness of the atmosphere: underneath the poles of our globe +it is mostly solid; there it is similar to the hardest rocks, and may +be cut with a chisel, like stone or marble. This great solidity is +occasioned by the low temperature of the surrounding air; and in very +cold countries ice may be ground so fine as to be blown away by the +wind, and will still be ice. + + _Poles_, the extremities or ends of the axis, an imaginary + line, supposed to be drawn through the centre of the earth; + or when applied to the heavens, the two points directly over + them. + + +Is ice the only instance of Water existing in a state of solidity? + +No; it is found in a solid state in many minerals, as in marble, &c., +and is then called _water of Crystallization_. It is essential, in +many cases, to their solidity and transparency. + + _Essential_, necessary. + + _Transparency_, clearness, the power of transmitting light. + + +Does Nature decompose Water in any of her operations? + +Yes: every living vegetable has the power of decomposing water, by a +secret process peculiar to itself. Fish, too, and all cold-blooded +amphibious animals are gifted with the same power. + + _Decomposing_, separating a mixed body into its several + parts. + + _Amphibious_, able to live both in water and out of it. + + +Of what use is this power to vegetables? + +The water which they decompose affords them nourishment for the +support of their vital juices, and enables them, by combining the +fluid gases which compose it with those of the air and the soil, to +form their different products; while the superfluous gas is abundantly +given out by their leaves, to refresh the spent air, and render it +wholesome for the animals that breathe it. + + _Vital_, belonging to life, necessary to existence. + + _Superfluous_, unnecessary, not wanted. + + +What is Rain? + +The condensed aqueous vapors raised in the atmosphere by the sun and +wind, converted into clouds, which fall in rain, snow, hail, or mist: +their falling is occasioned by their own weight in a collision +produced by contrary currents of wind, from the clouds passing into a +colder part of the air, or by electricity. If the vapors are more +copious, and rise a little higher, they form a mist or fog, which is +visible to the eye; higher still they produce rain. Hence we may +account for the changes of the weather: why a cold summer is always a +wet one--a warm, a dry one. + + _Aqueous_, watery; consisting of water. + + _Collision_, a striking together, a clash, a meeting. + + _Electricity_, a natural agent existing in all bodies (see + page 18). + + +What seasons are more liable to rain than others? + +The Spring and Autumn are generally the most rainy seasons, the vapors +_rise_ more plentifully in Spring; and in the Autumn, as the sun +recedes from us and the cold increases, the vapors, which lingered +above us during the summer heats, _fall_ more easily. + + _Recede_, to fall back, to retreat. + + +What is Snow? + +Rain congealed by cold in the atmosphere, which causes it to fall to +the earth in white flakes. Snow fertilizes the ground by defending the +roots of plants from the intenser cold of the air and the piercing +winds. + + _Congealed_, turned by the force of cold from a fluid to a + solid state; hardened. + + _Fertilize_, to render fruitful. + + _Intenser_, raised to a higher degree, more powerful. + + +What is Hail? + +Drops of rain frozen in their passage through cold air. Hail assumes +various figures according to the degrees of heat or cold through which +it passes, being sometimes round, flat, &c. + + +What is the Atmosphere? + +The mass of aeriform fluid which encompasses the earth on all sides: +it extends about fifty miles above its surface. Air is the elastic +fluid of which it is composed. + + _Elastic_, having the power of springing back, or recovering + its former figure after the removal of any external pressure + which has altered that figure. When the force which + compresses the air is removed, it expands and resumes its + former state. + + +What are the uses of air? + +It is necessary to the well-being of man, since without it neither he +nor any animal or vegetable could exist. If it were not for +atmospheric air, we should be unable to converse with each other; we +should know nothing of sound or smell; or of the pleasures which arise +from the variegated prospects which surround us: it is to the presence +of air and carbonic acid that water owes its agreeable taste. Boiling +deprives it of the greater part of these, and renders it insipid. + + _Variegated_, diversified, changed; adorned with different + colors. + + _Insipid_, tasteless. + + +What is Wind? + +Air in motion with any degree of velocity. + + +What is Lightning? + +The effect of electricity in the clouds. A flash of lightning is +simply a stream of the electric fluid passing from the clouds to the +earth, from the earth to the clouds, or from one cloud to another. +Lightning usually strikes the highest and most pointed objects, as +high hills, trees, spires, masts of ships, &c. + + +What is Thunder? + +The report which accompanies the electrical union of the clouds: or +the echoes of the report between them and the earth. Thunder is caused +by a sudden discharge of electrical matter collected in the air, by +which vibrations are produced, which give rise to the sound. + + +What is Electricity? + +One of those agents passing through the earth and all substances, +without giving any outward signs of its presence, when at rest; yet +when active, often producing violent and destructive effects. It is +_supposed_ to be a highly elastic fluid, capable of moving through +matter. Clouds owe their form and existence, probably, to it; and it +passes through all substances, but more easily through metals, water, +the human body, &c., which are called conductors, than through air, +glass, and silk, which are called _non_-conductors. When bodies are +not surrounded with non-conductors, the electricity escapes quickly +into the earth. + + +To what part of bodies is Electricity confined? + +To their surfaces, as the outside may be electric, and the inside in a +state of neutrality. The heat produced by an electric shock is very +powerful, but is only accompanied by light when the fluid is +obstructed in its passage. The production and condensation of vapor is +a great source of the atmospheric electricity. + + _Condensation_, the act of making any body dense or compact; + that is, of bringing its parts into closer union. + + +In what other sense is the term Electricity employed? + +This term is also employed to designate that important branch of +knowledge which relates to the properties shown by certain bodies when +rubbed against, or otherwise brought in contact with, each other, to +attract substances, and emit sparks of fire. + + _Designate_, to point out by some particular token. + + _Emit_, to send forth, to throw out. + +[Illustration: CUTTING AND GATHERING ICE, ON THE HUDSON RIVER, NEW +YORK.] + + +Whence is the word derived? + +From _electron_, the Greek word for amber, a yellow transparent +substance, remarkable for its electrical power when rubbed: amber is +of a resinous nature, and is collected from the sea-shore, or dug from +the earth, in many parts of the world. It is employed in the +manufacture of beads and other toys, on account of its transparency; +is of some use in medicine, and in the making of varnishes. + + _Transparent_, clear, capable of being seen through. + + _Resinous_, containing resin, a gummy vegetable juice. + + +Name a few substances possessing this remarkable property. + +Silks of all kinds; the hair and fur of animals, paper, sulphur, and +some other minerals; most of the precious stones; the paste of which +false gems are made; and many other substances used by us in the +common affairs of life, are susceptible of electrical excitement; +among domestic animals the cat furnishes a remarkable instance. When +dry and warm, the back of almost any full-grown cat (the darker its +color the better) can be excited by rubbing it with the hand in the +direction of the hair, a process which is accompanied with a slight +snapping noise, and in the dark by flashes of pale blue light. When a +piece of glass is rubbed with silk, or a stick of red sealing-wax with +woollen cloth, each substance acquires the property of attracting and +repelling feathers, straws, threads of cotton, and other light +substances; the substances just mentioned as highly electric are, +however, merely specimens. All objects, without exception, most +probably are capable of being electrically excited; but some require +more complicated contrivances to produce it than others. + + _Electric_, having the properties of electricity. + + _Susceptible_, disposed to admit easily. + + _Repelling_, the act of driving back. + + _Complicated_, formed by the union of several parts in one. + + +Is there not a machine by which we are enabled to obtain large +supplies of electric power at pleasure? + +Yes; the electrical machine. It is made of different forms and sizes: +for common purposes those of the simplest form are the best. A common +form of the machine consists of a circular plate of glass, which can +be turned about a horizontal axis by means of a suitable handle. This +plate turns between two supports, and near its upper and lower edges +are two pairs of cushions, usually made of leather, stuffed with +horse-hair and coated with a mixture of zinc, tin, and mercury, called +an _amalgam_. These cushions are the rubbers for producing friction, +and are connected with the earth by means of a metal chain or rod. Two +large hollow cylinders of brass with globular ends, each supported by +two glass pillars, constitute the reservoir for receiving the +electricity. They are called the _prime conductors_, and are supplied +with U-shaped rods of metal, furnished with points along their sides, +called _combs_, for the purpose of receiving the electricity from the +glass plate, the arms of the U being held upon either side. The other +ends of the conductors are connected by a rod from the middle of which +projects another rod terminating in a knob, for delivering the spark. + +On turning the plate, a faint snapping sound is heard, and when the +room is darkened, a spark is seen to be thrown out from the knob +projecting from the _prime conductors_. + +Many curious and interesting experiments may be performed by means of +the machine, illustrating the general properties of electricity. For +instance: a person standing on an insulated bench, that is, a bench +with glass legs, or having the legs resting on glass, and having one +hand on the conductor, can send sparks, with the other hand, to +everything and everybody about. This illustrates communication of +electricity by contact. A wooden head, covered with long hairs, when +placed on the conductor, illustrates electrical repulsion, by the +hairs standing on end. + +If the hand is held to the knob, sparks will pass from it in rapid +succession, causing in the hand a sensation of pain. This is called an +_electric shock_, and is caused by the electric fluid occasioning a +sudden motion by the contraction of the muscles through which it +passes. The force of the shock is in proportion to the power of the +machine. + + +What are the Muscles? + +Bundles of thin fleshy fibres, or threads, fastened to the bones of +animals, the contraction and expansion of which move the bones or +perform the organic functions of life. + + _Organic_, relating to organs or natural instruments by + which some process is carried on. + + _Functions_, employments or offices of any part of the body. + + _Contraction_, drawing in or shortening. + + _Expansion_, extending or spreading out. + + +What is Twilight? + +The light from the first dawning of day to the rising of the sun; and +again between its setting and the last remains of day. Without +twilight, the sun's light would appear at its rising, and disappear at +its setting, instantaneously; and we should experience a sudden +transition from the brightest sunshine to the profoundest obscurity. +The duration of twilight is different in different climates; and in +the same places it varies at different periods of the year. + + _Instantaneously_, done in an instant, in a moment's time. + + _Obscurity_, darkness, want of light. + + +How is it produced? + +By the sun's refraction--that is, the variation of the rays of light +from their direct course, occasioned by the difference of density in +the atmosphere. + + _Variation_, change. + + _Density_, closeness of parts, compactness. + + +What is the poetical name for the morning Twilight? + +Aurora, the goddess of the morning, and harbinger of the rising sun: +whom poets and artists represent as drawn by white horses in a +rose-colored chariot, unfolding with her rosy fingers the portals of +the East, pouring reviving dew upon the earth, and re-animating plants +and flowers. + + _Harbinger_, a forerunner. + + _Portals_, gates, doors of entrance. + + _Reanimating_, invigorating with new life. + + +What remarkable phenomenon is afforded to the inhabitants of the polar +regions? + +The Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights, a luminous appearance in the +northern parts of the heavens, seen mostly during winter, or in frosty +weather, and clear evenings; it assumes a variety of forms and hues, +especially in the polar regions, where it appears in its perfection, +and proves a great solace to the inhabitants amidst the gloom of their +long winter's night, which lasts from one to six months, while the +summer's day which succeeds it lasts in like manner for the same +period of time. + + +Of what nature is the Aurora Borealis? + +It is decidedly an electrical phenomenon which takes place in the +higher regions of the atmosphere. It is somehow connected with the +magnetic poles of the earth; and generally appears in form of a +luminous arch, from east to west, but never from north to south. + + _Phenomenon_, an extraordinary appearance. The word is from + a Greek one, signifying, to show or appear. + + _Magnetic_, belonging to the magnet, or loadstone. + + _Luminous_, bright, shining. + + +In what country is it seen constantly from October to Christmas? + +In Siberia, where it is remarkably bright. On the western coast of +Hudson's Bay, the sun no sooner disappears, than the Aurora Borealis +diffuses a thousand different lights and colors with such dazzling +beauty, that even the full moon cannot eclipse it. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +CORN, BARLEY, PEARL BARLEY, OATS, RYE, POTATOES, TEA, COFFEE, AND +CHOCOLATE. + + +What is Corn? + +Corn signifies a race of plants which produce grain in an ear or head, +fit for bread, the food of man; or the grain or seed of the plant, +separated from the ear. + + +What is generally meant by Corn? + +In this country, maize, or Indian corn, is generally meant; but, in a +more comprehensive sense, the term is applied to several other kinds +of grain, such as wheat, rye, barley, oats, &c. + + +Where was Corn first used? + +It is uncertain. The Athenians pretend that it was amongst them it was +first used; the Cretans, Sicilians, and Egyptians also lay claim to +the same. From the accounts in the Bible, we find that its culture +engaged a large share of the attention of the ancient Hebrews. + + _Culture_, growth, cultivation. _Hebrews_, the children of + Israel, the Jews + + +Who were the Athenians? + +Inhabitants of Athens, the capital city of Greece. + + +Who were the Cretans? + +The inhabitants of Crete, an island of the Archipelago. + + +Who were the Sicilians? + +Inhabitants of Sicily, the largest island of the Mediterranean Sea, +now a part of Italy, and separated from the mainland by the Strait of +Messina. + + +Where do the Egyptians dwell? + +In Egypt, a country of Africa. It is extremely fertile, producing +great quantities of corn. In ancient times it was called the dry nurse +of Rome and Italy, from its furnishing with corn a considerable part +of the Roman Empire; and we are informed, both from sacred and +profane history, that it was anciently the most fertile in corn of all +countries of the world. The corn of Syria has always been very +superior, and by many classed above that of Egypt. + + +For what is Barley generally used? + +It is very extensively used for making malt, from which are prepared +beer, ale, porter, &c.; in Scotland it is a common ingredient in +broths, for which reason its consumption is very considerable, barley +broth being a dish very frequent there. + + _Ingredient_, a separate part of a body consisting of + different materials. + + +What is Pearl Barley? + +Barley freed from the husk by a mill. + + +What are Oats? + +A valuable grain, serving as food for horses. Oats are also eaten by +the inhabitants of many countries, after being ground into meal and +made into oat cakes. Oatmeal also forms a wholesome drink for +invalids, by steeping it in boiling water. + + +What are the uses of Rye? + +In this and some other countries it is much used for bread, either +alone or mixed with wheat; in England principally as food for cattle, +especially for sheep and lambs, when other food is scarce in winter. +Rye yields a strong spirit when distilled. + + _Distilled_, subjected to distillation--the operation of + extracting spirit from a substance by evaporation and + condensation. + + +Of what country is the Potato a native? + +Potatoes grew wild in Peru, a country of South America; whence they +were transplanted to other parts of the American continent, and +afterwards to Europe. The honor of introducing this useful vegetable +into England is divided between Sir Francis Drake, in 1580, and Sir +Walter Raleigh, in 1586, some ascribing it to the former, and others +to the latter. It is certain they were obtained from Virginia in the +time of Raleigh; they were cultivated only in the gardens of the +nobility, and were reckoned a great delicacy. They now constitute a +principal article of food in most of the countries of Europe and +America; in Ireland, they have long furnished nearly four-fifths of +the entire food of the people. + + +What part of the plant is eaten? + +The root, which, when roasted or boiled, affords a wholesome and +agreeable meal. + + +What is Tea? + +The leaves of an evergreen shrub, a native of China and Japan, in +which countries alone it is extensively cultivated for use. The +tea-plant was at one time introduced into South Carolina, where its +culture appears to have been attended with but little success. It may +yet become a staple production of some portions of the United States. + + _Evergreen_, retaining its leaves fresh and green through + all seasons. + + +How is it prepared for use? + +By carefully gathering the leaves, one by one, while they are yet +small, young, and juicy. They are then spread on large flat iron pans, +and placed over small furnaces, when they are constantly shifted by +the hand till they become too hot to be borne. + + +What is next done? + +They are then removed with a kind of shovel resembling a fan, and +poured on mats, whence they are taken in small quantities, and rolled +in the palm of the hand always in one direction, until they cool and +retain the curl. + + +How often is this operation repeated? + +Two or three times, the furnace each time being made less hot. The tea +is then placed in the store-houses, or packed in chests, and sent to +most of the countries in Europe and America. + + +Describe the appearance of the Tea-tree. + +The Tea-tree when arrived at its full growth, which it does in about +seven years, is about a man's height; the green leaves are narrow, and +jagged all round; the flower resembles that of the wild rose, but is +smaller. The shrub loves to grow in valleys, at the foot of mountains, +and on the banks of rivers where it enjoys a southern exposure to the +sun; though it endures considerable variation of heat and cold, as it +flourishes in the northern clime of Pekin, where the winter is often +severe; and also about Canton, where the heat is sometimes very great. +The best tea, however, grows in a temperate climate, the country about +Nankin producing better tea than either Pekin or Canton, between which +two places it is situated. + + +What produces the difference between Green and Bohea, or Black? + +There are varieties of the plant, and the difference of the tea arises +from the mode of preparation. + + +What nation first introduced it into Europe? + +The Dutch in 1610; it was introduced into England in 1650 + + +What is Coffee? + +The berry of the coffee-tree, a native of Arabia. The coffee-tree is +an evergreen, and makes a beautiful appearance at all times of the +year, but especially when in flower, and when the berries are red, +which is usually during the winter. It is also cultivated in Persia, +the East Indies, Liberia on the coast of Africa, the West Indies, +Brazil and other parts of South America, as well as in most tropical +climates. + + _Tropical_, being within the tropics, that is, in the Torrid + Zone. + + +Who was the original discoverer of Coffee, for the drink of man? + +It is not exactly known: the earliest written accounts of the use of +Coffee are by Arabian writers in the 15th century; it appears that in +the city of Aden it became, in the latter half of that century, a very +popular drink, first with lawyers, studious persons, and those whose +occupation required wakefulness at night, and soon after, with all +classes. Its use gradually extended to other cities, and to those on +the eastern shores of the Mediterranean. Towards the end of the +seventeenth century, it was carried to Batavia where it was soon +extensively planted, and at last young trees were sent to the +botanical garden at Amsterdam. + + +Who introduced it into France and England? + +Thevenot, the traveller, brought it into France, and a Greek servant +named Pasqua (taken to England by Mr. Daniel Edwards, a Turkey +merchant, in 1652, to make his coffee,) first set up the profession of +coffee-man, and introduced the drink among the English. + + +How is it prepared? + +The berries are roasted in a revolving metallic cylinder, till they +are of a deep brown color, and then ground to powder, and boiled. + + _Metallic_, consisting of metal. + + +What is Chocolate? + +A kind of cake or paste, made of the kernel of the cacao-nut. + + +Describe the Cacao-nut Tree. + +It resembles the cherry tree, and grows to the height of fifteen or +sixteen feet. The cacao-nut tree bears leaves, flowers, and fruit, all +the year through. + + +Where does it grow? + +In tropical regions, where it is largely cultivated. + + +Of what form is the fruit? + +It is somewhat like a cucumber, about three inches round, and of a +yellowish red color. It contains from ten to forty seeds, each covered +with a little rind, of a violet color; when this is stripped off, the +kernel, of which they make the chocolate, is visible. + + +How do they make it into a drink? + +By boiling it with water or milk. There are various newly-invented +ways of preparing chocolate, so that it may be made in a few minutes, +by only pouring boiling water upon it. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +CALICO, COTTON, CLOTH, WOOL, BAIZE, LINEN, FLAX, HEMP, DIAPER, +HOLLAND, CANVAS, AND FLANNEL. + + +What is Calico? + +A kind of printed cotton cloth, of different colors. + + +From what place did it take its name? + +From Calicut, a city on the coast of Malabar, where it was first made; +much is now manufactured in the United States, England, and many other +countries. + + +What is Cotton? + +A downy or woolly substance, enclosed in the pod, or seed-vessel, of +the cotton-plant. The commercial classification of cotton is +determined--1, by cleanliness or freedom from sand, dry leaf, and +other impurities; 2, by absence of color; both subject also to +character of staple, length, and strength and fineness of fibre. These +together determine relative value. There are two general +classifications, long-stapled and short-stapled. Of the former the +best is the sea island cotton of the United States. The _short staple +cotton_, grows in the middle and upper country; the long staple is +cultivated in the lower country near the sea, and on the islands near +the coasts. + + +How is it cultivated? + +The seeds are sown in ridges made with the plough or hoe; when the +plants are mature, the pods open, and the cotton is picked from them. + + +Where did Cotton anciently grow, and for what was it used? + +In Egypt, where it was used by the priests and sacrificers, for a very +singular kind of garment worn by them alone. + + +In what manufacture is it now used? + +It is woven into muslins, dimities, cloths, calicoes, &c.; and is +also joined with silks and flax, in the composition of other stuffs, +and in working with the needle. + + +How is the Cotton separated from the seed? + +By machines called _cotton gins_, of which there are two kinds; the +_roller-gin_, and the _saw-gin_. In the former, the cotton, just as +gathered from the plant, is drawn between two rollers, placed so +closely together as to permit the passage of the cotton, but not of +the seeds, which are consequently left behind. In the _saw-gin_, the +cotton is placed in a receiver, one side of which consists of a +grating of parallel wires, about an eighth of an inch apart; circular +saws, revolving on a common axis between these wires, entangle in +their teeth the cotton, and draw it from the seeds, which are too +large to pass between the wires. + + +How is it made into Calico, &c.? + +The cotton having been separated from the seed, is spun by a machine +for the purpose. It is next woven, then dressed, and printed. + + +What is Cloth? + +The word, in its general sense, includes all kinds of stuffs woven in +the loom, whether the threads be of wool, cotton, hemp, or flax. + + +To what is it more particularly applied? + +To a web or tissue of woollen threads. + + _Web_, any thing woven. + + +What is Wool? + +The covering or hair of sheep. To prepare it for the weaver, it is +first shorn, washed, and dried, then carded or combed by machinery +into fibres or threads: formerly this was always performed by the +hand, by means of an instrument, called a comb, with several rows of +pointed teeth; this, though not much used now, is still occasionally +employed, except in large factories. This combing is repeated two or +three times, till it is sufficiently smooth and even for spinning. +Spinning or converting wool, or cotton, silk, &c. into thread, was +anciently performed by the distaff and spindle: these we find +mentioned in sacred history, and they have been used in all ages, and +in all countries yet discovered. The natives of India, and of some +other parts of the world, still employ this simple invention. + + +What was the next improvement? + +The invention of the hand-wheel. In 1767, a machine called the +spinning-jenny was invented by a weaver named Hargreaves; but the +greatest improvement in the art of spinning was effected by Mr. +Arkwright, in 1768: these two inventions were combined, and again +improved upon in 1776; so that by the new plan, the material can be +converted into thread in a considerably shorter space of time than in +the ancient mode; leaving to man merely to feed the machine, and join +the threads when they break. The sheep, whose wool forms the material +for nearly all woollen clothing, came originally from Africa. + + +Does weaving differ according to the material used? + +The principle of weaving is the same in every kind of fabric, and +consists in forming any kind of thread into a flat web, or cloth, by +interlacing one thread with another; the various appearances of the +manufacture arise as much from the modes in which the threads are +interwoven, as from the difference of material. + + +Is not the employment of Wool in the manufacture of Clothing of great +antiquity? + +In the earliest records we possess of the arts of mankind, wool is +mentioned as forming a chief article in the manufacture of clothing; +it is spoken of in the Bible, as a common material for cloth, as early +as the time of Moses. The ancient Greeks and Romans are well known to +have possessed this art. At the beginning of the thirteenth century, +the manufacture was established in many parts of Europe, particularly +in Spain, from which country it extended itself to France and Italy. +There is no doubt that it was introduced into England by its +conquerors the Romans, a manufactory being established at Winchester, +sufficiently large to supply the Roman army. + + _Manufactory_, a place where things are made or + manufactured; derived from the Latin _manus_, a hand, and + the verb _facio_, to do or make. + + +What circumstance contributed to the progress of this manufacture +among the English? + +In 1330, the English, being desirous of improving their woollen +manufacture, invited over the Flemings, by the offer of various +privileges, to establish manufactories there. The skill of these +people soon effected a great improvement in the English fabrics, so +that there no longer remained any occasion for the exportation of +English wool into Flanders, to be manufactured into fine cloth; and a +law was passed by the government to forbid it. Both the cotton and +woollen manufactures have, of late years, arisen to great importance +in the United States. + + +What country affords the best Wool? + +The wool of Germany is most esteemed at the present day: that of Spain +was formerly the most valuable, but the Spanish breed of sheep, having +been introduced into Germany, succeeded better there than in Spain, +and increased so rapidly, that the Spanish wool trade has greatly +diminished. Australia is one of the principal wool-growing countries +in the world, for the breed of sheep sent out to that country and +Tasmania has succeeded remarkably well. + + +What part of the world is meant by Australia? + +A British Island in the South Pacific Ocean, comprising the Colonies +of Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, and Western +Australia. It is the principal of the group of large islands, in the +Oriental Archipelago. Tasmania is another of the same group, separated +from New South Wales by a channel called Bass's Strait, and also +belongs to Great Britain. + + +What is meant by an Archipelago? + +A part of a sea studded with numerous islands; but the term is more +particularly applied to that lying between Europe and Asia, which +contains the Greek Islands. The word is a corruption from the Greek, +signifying the AEgean Sea. + + +Is the Wool of the sheep all of one quality? + +No; it varies according to the species of sheep, the soil on which +they are fed, and the part of the animal from which it is taken: the +chief distinction is between the long and the short wool; the long +wool is employed in the manufacture of carpets, crapes, blankets, &c.; +and the finer and shorter sorts for hosiery, broadcloths &c. + + +Where were Carpets originally made? + +Carpets are of oriental origin, and are made of different sorts of +stuffs; they are woven in a variety of ways. Persian and Turkey +carpets are most esteemed; they are woven in a piece, in looms of a +very simple construction. Formerly the manufacture of these carpets +was confined to Persia and Turkey; but they are now successfully made, +both in Europe and the United States, &c. Great Britain is the +principal seat of the carpet manufacture of the world. Brussels, +Wilton, and Kidderminster carpets derive their names from the places +where they were invented. + + +Is not the art of weaving very ancient? + +It appears to have been known from a period as early as the time of +Abraham and Jacob; its inventor is not known, but it is possible that +men took a lesson from the ingenious spider, which weaves its web +after the same manner. The ancient Egyptians appear to have brought it +to great perfection, and were even acquainted with the art of +interweaving colors after the manner of the Scottish plaid. + + +What is Baize? + +A coarse, open, woollen stuff, with a long nap. It is chiefly made in +the United States, England, France, &c. + + +What is Linen? + +There are various kinds of linen, made from cotton, flax, and hemp; +but the term is chiefly applied to that woven with the two last +mentioned. Linen means cloth of flax; hence its derivation from the +Latin word _linum_, flax. + + +What is Flax? + +An annual plant, the fibres of which are beaten into threads, spun, +and afterwards woven into linen; it is extensively cultivated in the +United States, Russia, and some other countries of Europe. Hemp is a +plant of a similar nature, equally used with flax, in the manufacture +of linens. Russian hemp is cultivated to a larger extent than that of +any other country, and is considered the best that is grown. + + +How long has the use of Hemp and Flax been known? + +Those plants are said to be natives of Persia, and introduced from +some parts of the East into Europe, over which it is now widely +distributed: it existed both in a wild and cultivated state, in some +parts of Russia, as early as five centuries before Christ These +products form a considerable article of exportation, besides the +quantity used in Russia itself; a considerable part is wrought into +linens, diapers, canvas, and other manufactures; and even the seeds +are exported, both in their natural state and as oil. In various parts +of Russia, hemp-seed oil and flax-seed (or linseed) oil are prepared +in very large quantities. + + +What is Diaper? + +A sort of linen cloth, woven in flowers, and other figures; it is said +to have received its name from d'Iper, now Ypres, a town of Belgium, +situated on a river of the same name, where it was first made. + + +What is Holland? + +A fine, close, even, linen cloth, used for sheets, &c. It obtained its +name from being principally made in Holland. + + +What is Canvas? + +A hempen cloth, so loosely woven as to leave interstices between the +threads, in little squares. It is used for working in patterns upon it +with wools, &c.; by painters for a ground work on which they draw +their pictures; for tents, sails, and many other purposes. There are +several sorts, varying in the fineness of their texture. + + +What is Damask? + +A sort of silken stuff, having some parts raised on its surface to +represent flowers or figures. It took its name from Damascus, in +Syria, whence it was first brought. + + +Is there not another sort of Damask? + +Yes, made from linen; and so called because its large flowers resemble +those of damask roses. It was first made in Flanders, and is used for +table linen, &c. + + +What is Flannel? + +A slight, loose, woollen stuff, used for warm clothing; it was +originally made in Wales, where it still continues to be manufactured +in great perfection. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +COCOA, TODDY, CHERRIES, BARK, CORK, COCHINEAL, CLOVES, CINNAMON, +AND CASSIA. + + +Of what form is the tree which bears those large nuts, called Cocoa +nuts? + +It is tall and straight, without branches, and generally about thirty +or forty feet high; at the top are twelve leaves, ten feet long, and +half a foot broad; above the leaves, grows a large excrescence in the +form of a cabbage, excellent to eat, but taking it off kills the tree. +The cocoa is a species of Palm. + + +Is not the Indian liquor called Toddy, produced from the Cocoa Tree? + +Yes, between the leaves and the top arise several shoots about the +thickness of a man's arm, which, when cut, distil a white, sweet, +and agreeable liquor; while this liquor exudes, the tree yields no +fruit; but when the shoots are allowed to grow, it puts out a large +cluster or branch, on which the cocoa nuts hang, to the number of ten +or twelve. + + _Distil_, to let fall in drops. + + _Exude_, to force or throw out. + +[Illustration: THE CATHEDRAL OF MILAN, ITALY.] + + +How often does this tree produce nuts? + +Three times a year, the nuts being about the size of a man's head, and +of an oval form. + + +Of what countries is it a native? + +Of Asia, the Indies, Africa, Arabia, the Islands of the Southern +Pacific, and the hottest parts of America. + + +What are the uses of this Tree? + +The leaves of the tree are made into baskets; they are also used for +thatching houses: the fibrous bark of the nut, and the trunk of the +tree, are made into cordage, sails, and cloth; the shell, into +drinking bowls and cups; the kernel affords a wholesome food, and the +milk contained in the shell, a cooling liquor. + + +From what country was the Cherry Tree first brought? + +From Cerasus, a city of Pontus, in Asia, on the southern borders of +the Black Sea; from which place this tree was brought to Rome, in the +year of that city 680, by Lucullus; it was conveyed, a hundred and +twenty-eight years after, into Great Britain, A.D. 55. + + +What is the meaning of A.D.? + +A short way of writing Anno Domini, Latin words for _in the year of +our Lord_. + + +Who was Lucullus? + +A renowned Roman general. + + +Is the wood of the Cherry Tree useful? + +It is used in cabinet-making, for boxes, and other articles. + + +What is Bark? + +The exterior part of trees, which serves them as a skin or covering. + + _Exterior_, the outside. + + +Does it not undergo some change during the year? + +Each year the bark of a tree divides, and distributes itself two +contrary ways, the outer part gives towards the skin, till it becomes +skin itself, and at length falls off; the inner part is added to the +wood. The bark is to the body of a tree, what the skin of our body is +to the flesh. + + +Of what use is Bark? + +Bark is useful for many things: of the bark of willows and linden +trees, ropes are sometimes made. The Siamese make their cordage of the +cocoa tree bark, as do most of the Asiatic and African nations; in the +East Indies, they make the bark of a certain tree into a kind of +cloth; some are used in medicines, as the Peruvian bark for Quinine; +others in dyeing, as that of the alder; others in spicery, as +cinnamon, &c.; the bark of oak, in tanning; that of a kind of birch is +used by the Indians for making canoes. + + +What are Canoes? + +Boats used by savages; they are made chiefly of the trunks of trees +dug hollow; and sometimes of pieces of bark fastened together. + + +How do the savages guide them? + +With paddles, or oars; they seldom carry sails, and the loading is +laid in the bottom. + + +Are not the savages very dexterous in the management of them? + +Yes, extremely so; they strike the paddles with such regularity, that +the canoes seem to fly along the surface of the water; at the same +time balancing the vessels with their bodies, to prevent their +overturning. + + _Dexterous_, expert, nimble. + + +Do they leave their canoes in the water on their return from a voyage? + +No, they draw them ashore, hang them up by the two ends, and leave +them to dry; they are generally so light as to be easily carried from +place to place. + + +Were not books once made of Bark? + +Yes, the ancients wrote their books on the barks of many trees, as on +those of the ash and the lime tree, &c. + + +Which part did they use? + +Not the exterior or outer bark, but the inner and finer, which is of +so durable a texture, that there are manuscripts written on it which +are still extant, though more than a thousand years old. + + +Is it not also used in Manure? + +Yes, especially that of the oak; but the best oak bark is used in +tanning. + + +What is Cork? + +The thick, spongy, external bark of the Cork Tree, a species of oak. +There are two varieties of this tree, the broad-leaved and the narrow: +it is an evergreen, and grows to the height of thirty feet. The Cork +Tree attains to a very great age. + + +Where is the Tree found? + +In Spain, Italy, France, and many other countries. The true cork is +the produce of the broad-leaved tree. + + +What are its uses? + +Cork is employed in various ways, but especially for stopping vessels +containing liquids, and, on account of its buoyancy in water, in the +construction of life boats. It is also used in the manufacture of life +preservers and cork jackets. The greatest quantities are brought from +Catalonia, in Spain. The uses of Cork were well known to the ancients. + + +To what particular use did the Egyptians put it? + +They made coffins of it, lined with a resinous composition, which +preserved the bodies of the dead uncorrupted. + + +What is Cochineal? + +A drug used by the dyers, for dyeing crimsons and scarlets; and for +making carmine, a brilliant red used in painting, and several of the +arts. + + +Is it a plant? + +No, it is an insect. The form of the Cochineal is oval; it is about +the size of a small pea, and has six legs armed with claws, and a +trunk by which it sucks its nourishment. + + +What is its habitation? + +It breeds in a fruit resembling a pear; the plant which bears it is +about five or six feet high; at the top of the fruit grows a red +flower, which when full blown, falls upon it; the fruit then appears +full of little red insects, having very small wings. These are the +Cochineals. + + +How are they caught? + +By spreading a cloth under the plant, and shaking it with poles, till +the insects quit it and fly about, which they cannot do many minutes, +but soon tumble down dead into the cloth; where they are left till +quite dry. + + +Does the insect change its color when it is dead? + +When the insect flies, it is red; when it is fallen, black; and when +first dried, it is greyish; it afterwards changes to a purplish grey, +powdered over with a kind of white dust. + + +From what countries is the Cochineal brought? + +From the West Indies, Jamaica, Mexico, and other parts of America. + + +What are Cloves? + +The dried flower-buds of the Clove Tree, anciently a native of the +Moluccas; but afterwards transplanted by the Dutch (who traded in +them,) to other islands, particularly that of Ternate. It is now found +in most of the East Indian Islands. + + +Describe the Clove Tree. + +It is a large handsome tree of the myrtle kind; its leaves resemble +those of the laurel. Though the Clove Tree is cultivated to a great +extent, yet, so easily does the fruit on falling take root, that it +thus multiplies itself, in many instances, without the trouble of +culture. The clove when it first begins to appear is white, then +green, and at last hard and red; when dried, it turns yellow, and then +dark brown. + + +What are its qualities? + +The Clove is the hottest, and most acrid of aromatic substances; one +of our most wholesome spices, and of great use in medicine; it also +yields an abundance of oil, which is much used by perfumers, and in +medicine. + + _Acrid_, of a hot, biting taste. + + _Aromatic_, fragrant, having an agreeable odor. + + +What is Cinnamon? + +An agreeable, aromatic spice, the bark of a tree of the laurel kind; +the Cinnamon tree grows in the Southern parts of India; but most +abundantly in the island of Ceylon, where it is extensively +cultivated; its flowers are white, resembling those of the lilac in +form, and are very fragrant; they are borne in large clusters. The +tree sends up numerous shoots the third or fourth year after it has +been planted; these shoots are planted out, when nearly an inch in +thickness. + + +How is the bark procured? + +By stripping it off from these shoots, after they have been cut down; +the trees planted for the purpose of obtaining cinnamon, throw out a +great number of branches, apparently from the same root, and are not +allowed to rise higher than ten feet; but in its native uncultivated +state, the cinnamon tree usually rises to the height of twenty or +thirty feet. + + +How is the Cinnamon Tree cultivated? + +By seed, sown during the rains; from shoots cut from large trees; and +by transplanting old stumps. The cinnamon tree, in its wild state, is +said to be propagated by means of a kind of pigeons, that feed on its +fruit; in carrying which to their nests, the seeds fall out, and, +dropping in various places, take root, spring up, and become trees. + + _Propagated_, spread, extended, multiplied. + + +What else is obtained from this tree? + +The bark, besides being used as a spice, yields an oil highly +esteemed, both as a medicine and as a perfume; the fruit by boiling +also produces an oil, used by the natives for burning in lamps; as +soon as it hardens, it becomes a solid substance like wax, and is +formed into candles. Camphor is extracted from the root. Cassia is +cinnamon of an inferior kind. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +BOMBAZINE, CRAPE, CAMLET, CAMBRIC, LACE, SILK, VELVET, AND +MOHAIR. + + +What is Bombazine? + +A stuff composed of silk and wool woven together in a loom. It was +first made at Milan, and thence sent abroad; great quantities are now +made in England and other countries. + + +Where is Milan situated? + +In Italy, and is noted for its cathedral. + + +For what is Bombazine used? + +For dresses. Black bombazine is worn entirely for mourning. The +original bombazine has, however, become much less used than formerly, +on account of the numerous newly-invented fabrics of finer or coarser +qualities, composed of the same materials mixed in various degrees, as +Mousselines de laine, Challis, &c. + + +What is Crape? + +A light, transparent stuff, resembling gauze, made of raw silk very +loosely woven, or of wool; by raw silk is meant, silk in the state in +which it is taken from the silk worm. + + +Where was Crape first made? + +At Bologna, a city of Italy. + + +What city of France was long celebrated for its manufacture? + +Lyons, the second city of France, where there are large silk +manufactories. Great quantities are also made in England, principally +in the city of Norwich, which has long been distinguished for the +beauty of its crapes. + + +What is Camlet? + +A stuff made sometimes of wool, sometimes of silk and hair, especially +that of goats. The oriental camlet is made of the pure hair of a sort +of goat, a native of Angora, a city of Natolia, in Turkey. The +European camlets are made of a mixture of woollen thread and hair. + + +What countries are most noted for them? + +England, France, Holland, and Flanders; the city of Brussels, in +Belgium, exceeds them all in the beauty and quality of its camlets; +those of England are the next. + + +What is Cambric? + +A species of linen made of flax; it is very fine and white. + + +From whence did it take its name? + +From Cambray, a large and celebrated city of French Flanders, where it +was first made; it is now made at other places in France; and also in +England, Scotland, Ireland, the United States, &c. + + +What is Lace? + +A work composed of many threads of fine linen or silk, interwoven one +with another according to some particular pattern. Belgium, France, +and England are the principal countries in which this manufacture is +carried on; vast quantities of the finest laces were formerly made in +Flanders. + + +From what is Silk produced? + +From the silk-worm, an insect not more remarkable for the precious +matter it furnishes, than for the many forms it assumes before and +after it envelopes itself in the beautiful ball, the silken threads of +which form the elegant texture which is so much worn. + + _Texture_, a web or substance woven. + + +What are the habits of this insect, and on what does it feed? + +After bursting from the egg, it becomes a large worm or caterpillar of +a yellowish white color, (which is its first state;) this caterpillar +feeds on the leaves of the mulberry tree, till, arriving at maturity, +it winds itself up in a silken bag or case, called a cocoon, about the +size and shape of a pigeon's egg, and becomes a chrysalis; in which +state it lies without signs of life; in about ten days it eats its way +out of its case, a perfect butterfly, which lays a number of eggs and +then dies. In the warmth of the summer weather, these eggs are +hatched, and become worms, as their parents did at first. + + _Maturity_, ripeness, perfection + + +How much silk is each ball said to contain? + +Each ball consists of a very fine, soft, bright, delicate thread, +which being wound off, extends in length six miles. + + +What is meant by Chrysalis? + +The second state into which the insect passes before it comes to be a +butterfly. The maggot or worm having ceased to eat, fixes itself in +some place till its skin separates, and discovers a horny, oblong +body, which is the chrysalis. + + +Where was Silk first made? + +The culture and manufacture of silk was originally confined to China. +The Greeks, under Alexander the Great, brought home, among other +Eastern luxuries, wrought silks from Persia, about 323, B.C. +It was not long unknown to the Romans, although it was so rare, that +it was even sold weight for weight with gold. The Emperor Aurelian, +who died in 275, B.C. refused the Empress, his wife, a suit +of silk which she solicited with much earnestness, merely on account +of its dearness. Heliogabalus, the Emperor, who died half a century +before Aurelian, was the first who wore a _holosericum_ or garment all +of silk. + + +Who introduced the Silk Worm itself into Europe? + +Two monks, engaged as missionaries in China, obtained a quantity of +silk worms' eggs, which they concealed in a hollow cane, and conveyed +in safety to Constantinople in 552; the eggs were hatched in the +proper season by the warmth of manure, and the worms fed with the +leaves of the wild mulberry tree. These worms in due time spun their +silk, and propagated under the care of the monks, who also instructed +the Romans in the whole process of manufacturing their production. +From the insects thus produced, proceeded all the silk worms which +have since been reared in Europe, and the western parts of Asia. The +mulberry tree was then eagerly planted, and on this, their natural +food, they were successfully reared in Greece; and the manufacture was +established at Thebes, Athens, and Corinth, in particular. The +Venetians, soon after this time commencing a trade with the Greeks, +supplied all the Western parts of Europe with silks for many +centuries. + + +Where were the cities of Thebes and Athens situated? + +Thebes was an ancient city of Beotia, in Greece, founded by Cadmus, a +Phenician, though of Egyptian parentage. Sailing from the coast of +Phenicia, he arrived in Beotia, and built the city, calling it Thebes, +from the city of that name in Egypt. To this prince is ascribed the +invention of sixteen letters of the Greek Alphabet. Athens was the +capital of Attica, founded by Cecrops, an Egyptian. It was the seat of +learning and the arts, and has produced some of the most celebrated +warriors, statesmen, orators, poets, and sculptors in the world. Since +the emancipation of Greece from the cruel bondage of its conquerors +the Turks, who had oppressed it for three centuries, Athens has been +chosen as its capital, and is still a considerable town adorned with +splendid ruins of the beautiful buildings it once possessed. Thebes +and Corinth, another celebrated city, are now only villages. + + _Warrior_, a soldier. + + _Statesmen_, men versed in the arts of government. + + _Orator_, a public speaker. + + _Poet_, one who composes poetry. + + _Sculptor_, one who cuts figures in stone, marble, or ivory. + + +Who were the Venetians? + +Inhabitants of Venice, a city of Italy. + + +Did this manufacture continue to be confined to the Greeks and +Venetians? + +By no means. The rest of Italy, and Spain, by degrees learnt the art +from some manufactories in Sicily; and about the reign of Francis the +First, the French became masters of it. It, however, long remained a +rarity; their King, Henry the Second, is supposed to have worn the +first pair of knit silk stockings. The Fourth Henry encouraged the +planting of mulberry trees; his successors also did the same, and the +produce of silk in France is now very considerable. + + +When was the manufacture of silk introduced into England? + +There was a company of silk women in England as early as the year +1455; but they probably were merely employed in needlework of silk and +thread, for Italy supplied England with the broad manufacture during +the chief part of the fifteenth century. The great advantage this new +manufacture afforded, made King James the First very desirous for its +introduction into England, particularly in 1608, when it was +recommended, in very earnest terms, to plant mulberry trees for the +rearing of silk worms; but unhappily without effect. However, towards +the latter end of this reign, the broad silk manufacture was +introduced, and with great success. The revocation of the Edict of +Nantes contributed greatly to its promotion, by the number of French +workmen who took refuge in England; to them the English are indebted +for the art of manufacturing many elegant kinds of silks, satins, +velvets, &c., which had formerly been imported from abroad up to the +year 1718. The silk manufacture has also been successfully introduced +into some portions of the United States. + + _Revocation_, act of recalling, repeal. + + _Imported_, brought into. + + +What was the Edict of Nantes? + +A law made in favor of the Protestants, the repealing of which drove +many of their most skilful workmen to take refuge in England. They +were kindly received, and settled in Spitalfields, and many other +parts of England as well as Ireland, where they carried on a +flourishing and ingenious manufacture. + + +Were the attempts to rear Silk Worms in England successful? + +No; after many trials, all of which failed, attention was directed to +the establishments for procuring both raw and wrought silks, in the +settlements in India belonging to Britain; this was attended with +complete success, the climate being extremely favorable, and the price +of labor cheap. Raw silk is imported in quantities from India, China, +Italy, &c. + + +How is the Silk taken from the Worm? + +The people who are employed in the care of these insects collect the +golden balls from off the mulberry trees, (to the leaves of which the +insects glue their silk) and put them into warm water, that the +threads may unfasten and wind off more easily; having taken off the +coarse woolly part which covers the balls, they take twelve or +fourteen threads at a time, and wind them off into skeins. In order to +prepare this beautiful material for the hand of the weaver to be +wrought into silks, stuffs, brocades, satins, velvets, ribbons, &c., +it is spun, reeled, milled, bleached, and dyed. + + _Milled_, worked in a kind of mill. + + _Bleached_, whitened. + + +What is Velvet? + +A rich kind of stuff, all silk, covered on the outside with a close, +short, fine, soft shag; the wrong side being very strong and close. +The principal number, and the best velvets, were made in France and +Italy; others in Holland; they are now brought to great perfection in +England. An inferior kind is made by mixing cotton with the silk. +Velvet has been known in Europe for some centuries, but its +manufacture was long confined to some of the chief cities of Italy. +From that country the French learned the art, and greatly improved it. + + +Whence is the word Velvet derived? + +From the Italian word _velluto_, signifying velvet, which comes from +_vellus_, hair or fleece. + + +What is Mohair? + +The hair of a kind of goat, common about Angora, in Turkey. It is used +in the manufacture of various kinds of stuffs, shawls, &c. + + +Is there not another animal much celebrated for the material it +furnishes in the making of shawls? + +Yes; the Thibet goat. The wool is sent to Cashmere, where it is spun +and dyed. Cashmere is situated in the north-west extremity of India, +and has long been celebrated for the beautiful and valuable shawls +bearing its name which are manufactured there. The goats are beautiful +creatures, with long, fine, wavy hair, reaching nearly to the ground, +so as almost to conceal their legs. The material of which the shawls +are made is a fine silky down, which grows under the long hair, next +to the skin. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +CURRANTS, RAISINS, FIGS, RICE, SUGAR, SUGAR CANDY, &C., SAGO, +MILLET, GINGER, NUTMEG, MACE, PIMENTO OR ALLSPICE, PEPPER, AND CAYENNE +PEPPER. + + +What are Currants? + +A kind of small raisins or dried grapes. + + +Whence are they brought? + +From several islands of the Archipelago, particularly Zante and +Cephalonia; and from the Isthmus of Corinth, in Greece. + + +Do they grow on bushes like our Currants? + +No, on vines like other grapes, except that the leaves are somewhat +thicker, and the grapes much smaller: they have no pips, and are of a +deep red, or rather black color. + + +When are they gathered, and how are they dried? + +They are gathered in August, and laid on the ground in heaps till dry; +they are then cleaned, and put into magazines, from which they are +taken and packed in barrels for exportation. + + +What do you mean by Exportation? + +The act of conveying goods for sale from one country to another. + + +What are Raisins? + +Grapes prepared by drying them in the sun, or by the heat of an oven. +Raisins of Damascus, so called from the capital city of Syria, near +which they are cultivated, are very large, flat, and wrinkled on the +surface; soft and juicy inside, and nearly an inch long. Raisins of +the sun, or jar raisins, so called from being imported in jars, are +all dried by the heat of the sun; they are of a reddish blue color, +and are the produce of Spain, whence the finest and best raisins are +brought. There are several other sorts, named either from the place in +which they grow, or the kind of grape of which they are made, as those +of Malaga, Valencia, &c. + + +In what manner are they dried? + +The common way of drying grapes for raisins, is to tie two or three +bunches of them together while yet on the vine, and dip them into a +lye made of hot wood-ashes, mixed with a little olive oil. This makes +them shrink and wrinkle: after this they are cut from the branches +which supported them, but left on the vine for three or four days, +separated on sticks, in an upright position, to dry at leisure. +Different modes, however, are adopted, according to the quality of the +grape. The commonest kinds are dried in hot ovens, but the best way is +that in which the grapes are cut when fully ripe, and dried by the +heat of the sun, on a floor of hard earth or stone. + + _Lye_, a liquor made from wood-ashes; of great use in + medicine, bleaching, sugar works, &c. + + +What are Figs? + +A soft, luscious fruit, the produce of the fig-tree. The best figs are +brought from Turkey, but they are also imported from Italy, Spain, and +the southern part of France. The islands of the Archipelago yield an +inferior sort in great abundance. In this country they are sometimes +planted in a warm situation in gardens, but, being difficult to ripen, +they do not arrive at perfection. The figs sent from abroad are dried +by the heat of the sun, or in furnaces for the purpose. + + _Luscious_, sweet to excess, cloying. + + +What is Rice? + +A useful and nutritious grain, cultivated in immense quantities in +India, China, and most eastern countries; in the West Indies, Central +America, and the United States; and in southern Europe. It forms the +principal food of the people of eastern and southern Asia, and is more +extensively consumed than any other species of grain, not even +excepting wheat. + + _Nutritious_, wholesome, good for food. + + +Does it not require a great deal of moisture? + +Yes, it is usually planted in moist soils, and near rivers, where the +ground can be overflowed after it is come up. The Chinese water their +rice-fields by means of movable mills, placed as occasion requires, +upon any part of the banks of a river; the water is raised in buckets +to a proper height, and afterwards conveyed in channels to the +destined places. + + +What is Sugar? + +A sweet, agreeable substance, manufactured chiefly from the Sugar +Cane,[1] a native of the East and West Indies, South America and the +South Sea Islands; it is much cultivated in all tropical countries. +The earliest authentic accounts of sugar, are about the time of the +Crusades,[2] when it appears to have been purchased from the Saracens, +and imported into Europe. + +[Footnote 1: Most of the sugar in Europe is made from beets.] +[Footnote 2: See Chapter XVII., article Navigation.] + + _Authentic_, true, certain. + + _Crusades_, holy wars. + + _Saracens_, Turks or Arabs. + + +How is it prepared? + +The canes are crushed between large rollers in a mill, and the juice +collected into a large vessel placed to receive it; it is then boiled, +and placed in pans to cool, when it becomes imperfectly crystallized, +in which state we use it. This is called raw or soft sugar: loaf +sugar, or the hard white sugar, is the raw brown sugar, prepared by +refining it till all foreign matter is removed. + + +Is the Sugar Cane the only vegetable that produces Sugar? + +All vegetables contain more or less sugar, but the plant in which it +most abounds is the sugar-cane. In the United States, a large quantity +of sugar is prepared from the sap of the Sugar Maple Tree. The trees +are tapped at the proper season by a cut being made in the bark, and +the juice runs into a vessel placed to receive it; it is then prepared +in the same manner as the juice of the sugar cane. + + +What is Sugar Candy? + +Sugar purified and crystallized. + + +What is Barley Sugar? + +Sugar boiled till it is brittle, and cast on a stone anointed with oil +of sweet almonds, and then formed into twisted sticks. + + +What is Sago? + +A substance prepared from the pith of the Sago Palm, which grows +naturally in various parts of Africa and the Indies. The pith, which +is even eatable in its natural state, is taken from the trunk of the +tree, and thrown into a vessel placed over a horse-hair sieve; water +is then thrown over the mass, and the finer parts of the pith pass +through the sieve; the liquor thus obtained is left to settle. The +clear liquor is then drawn off, and what remains is formed into +grains by being passed through metal dishes, with numerous small +holes; it is next dried by the action of heat, and in this state it is +exported. The Sago Palm also produces sugar. + + +What is Millet, and in what countries does it grow? + +Millet is an esculent grain, originally brought from the Eastern +countries. It is cultivated in many parts of Europe, but most +extensively in Egypt, Syria, China, and Hindostan, whence we are +furnished with it, it being rarely cultivated among us, except as a +curiosity. + + _Esculent_, good for food. + + +For what is Millet used? + +It is in great request amongst the Germans for puddings; for which it +is sometimes used amongst us. The Italians make loaves and cakes of +it. + + +What is Ginger? + +The root of a plant cultivated in the East and West Indies, and in +America; it is a native of South-eastern Asia and the adjoining +islands. + + +Describe its nature and use. + +It is a warm aromatic, much used in medicine and cookery. The Indians +eat the root when green as a salad, chopping it small with other +herbs; they also make a candy of it with sugar. The ginger sold in the +shops here is dried, which is done by placing the roots in the heat of +the sun or in ovens, after being dug out of the ground. Quantities not +only of the dried root, but also of the candied sugar, are imported. + + +What are Nutmegs? + +A delicate aromatic fruit or spice, brought from the East Indies. The +nutmeg tree greatly resembles our pear tree, and produces a kind +of nut, which bears the same name as the tree. + +[Illustration: GLASS BLOWING AT THE GLASS-WORKS, PITTSBURGH, PA.] + + +What is the appearance of the Nutmeg? + +Its form is round, and its smell agreeable. The nutmeg is inclosed +in four different covers; the first, a thick fleshy coat, (like our +walnut,) which opens of itself when ripe; under this lies a thin +reddish network, of an agreeable smell and aromatic taste, called +mace; this wraps up the shell, which opens as the fruit grows. The +shell is the third cover, which is hard, thin, and blackish; under +this is a greenish film of no use; and in the last you find the +nutmeg, which is the kernel of the fruit. + + +What are its uses? + +The nutmeg is much used in our food, and is of excellent virtue as a +medicine. It also yields an oil of great fragrance. + + +Is the Mace used as a spice? + +Yes, it is separated from the shell of the nutmeg, and dried in the +sun. It is brought over in flakes of a yellow color, smooth and +net-like, as you see it in the shops. Its taste is warm, bitterish, +and rather pungent; its smell, aromatic. It is used both in food and +medicine, as the nutmeg, and also yields an oil. + + _Pungent_, of a hot, biting taste. + + +What is Pimento or Allspice? + +The dried unripe berry or fruit of a tree growing in great abundance +in Jamaica, particularly on the northern side of that island, on hilly +spots, near the coast; it is also a native of both Indies. The Pimento +Tree is a West Indian species of Myrtle; it grows to the height of +twenty or thirty feet; the leaves are all of a deep, shining green, +and the blossom consists of numerous branches of small, white, +aromatic flowers, which render its appearance very striking; there is +scarcely in the vegetable world any tree more beautiful than a young +Pimento about the month of July, when it is in full bloom. + + +When is the time to gather the spice? + +About the month of September, not long after the blossoms are fallen, +the berries are gathered by the hand; one laborer on the tree, +employed in gathering the small branches, will give employment to +three below (who are generally women and children) in picking the +berries. They are then spread out thinly, and exposed to the sun at +its rising and setting for some days; when they begin to dry, they are +frequently winnowed, and laid on cloths to preserve them better from +rain and dew; by this management they become wrinkled, and change from +green to a deep reddish brown color. Great quantities are annually +imported. + + +What are its uses? + +It forms a pleasant addition to flavor food; it also yields an +agreeable essential oil, and is accounted the best and mildest of +common spices. + + _Essential_, pure; extracted so as to contain all the + virtues of the spice in a very small compass. + + +Why is it called Allspice? + +Because it has been supposed to combine the flavor of cloves, nutmegs, +and cinnamon; the French call it _round clove_, from its round shape, +and the taste being somewhat like that spice. + + +What is Pepper? + +The product of a creeping shrub, growing in several parts of the East +Indies, Asia, and America. + + +In what manner does Pepper grow, and what part of the shrub is used? + +Pepper is the fruit of this shrub, and grows in bunches or clusters, +at first green; as it ripens it becomes reddish, until having been +exposed for some time to the heat of the sun, (or probably gathered +before perfectly ripe,) it becomes black, as in the condition we have +it. There are two sorts, the black and the white. + + +What is the White Pepper? + +The white pepper is merely the black deprived of its outside skin. For +this purpose the finest red berries are selected, and put in baskets +to steep, either in running water, or in pits dug for the purpose, +near the banks of rivers. Sometimes they are only buried in the +ground. In any of these situations, they swell and burst their skins, +from which, when dry, they are carefully separated by rubbing between +the hands, or fanning. + + +What is Cayenne Pepper? + +The dried fruit of a plant called bird pepper, a native of both +Indies. It is more pungent than the other sorts. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +GLASS, MIRRORS, EARTHENWARE, PORCELAIN, NEEDLES, PINS, PAPER, +PRINTING, PARCHMENT, AND VELLUM. + + +What is Glass? + +A transparent, solid, brittle, factitious body, produced by fusing +sand with an alkali. The essential ingredients of glass are silex and +potash, or soda; a few other substances are sometimes added. Silex is +found nearly pure in rock crystal, flint, and other varieties of +quartz; for the manufacture of the better kinds of glass in this +country, it is generally obtained from sand, especially the white sand +of New Jersey. + + _Factitious_, made by art, not found in a state of nature. + + +What is Potash? + +The saline matter obtained from the ashes of wood, by causing water to +pass through them; the water imbibes the salt, which is then obtained +from it by evaporation. When purified by calcination, it is termed +pearlash. In countries where there are vast forests, as in America and +Russia, it is manufactured on a very large scale. + + +What can you say of the origin of Glass? + +The period of its invention is quite unknown. Pliny relates that some +merchants, driven by a storm to the coast of Phenicia, near the river +Belus, made a large fire on the sand to dress some food, using as +fuel some of the plant Kali, which grew there in great abundance; an +imperfect glass was thus formed by the melting of the sand and ashes +together. This production was picked up by a Syrian merchant, who, +attracted by its great beauty, examined the cause of its origin, and, +after many attempts, succeeded in its manufacture. + + +Who was Pliny? + +A celebrated Roman naturalist and historian. + + +At what place was Glass first made? + +Some authors mention Sidon in Syria, which became famous for glass and +glass-houses; but others maintain that the first glass-houses noticed +in history were built at Tyre; which, they add, was the only place +where glass was made for many ages. It is certain that the art was +known to the Egyptians. + + +What is Phenicia? + +A sub-division of Syria in Asia. + + +What is an author? + +A person who writes a book. + + +What is signified by a glass-house? + +A building erected for the making and working of glass. + + +What countries had glass windows first? + +Italy, then France and England; they began to be common about the year +1180. + + +In what year, and where, was the making of glass bottles begun? + +In 1557, in London. The first glass plates for mirrors and +coach-windows were made at Lambeth, in 1673. + + +What is a Mirror? + +A body which exhibits the images of objects presented to it by +reflection. The word mirror is more peculiarly used to signify a +smooth surface of glass, tinned and quicksilvered at the back,[3] +which reflects the images of objects placed before it. + +[Footnote 3: See Chapter XII., article Mercury.] + + +Are they a modern invention? + +The use of mirrors is very ancient; mention is made of brazen mirrors +or looking-glasses in Exodus, the 38th chapter and 8th verse. Some +modern commentators will not admit the mirrors themselves to have been +of brass, but of glass set or framed in brass; but the most learned +among the Jewish rabbins say that in those times the mirrors made use +of by the Hebrew women in dressing their heads were of metal, and that +the devout women mentioned in this passage made presents to Moses of +all their mirrors to make the brazen laver for the Tabernacle. It +might likewise be proved that the ancient Greeks made use of brazen +mirrors, from many passages in the ancient poets. + + _Commentators_, explainers of passages in the Bible, &c. + + _Rabbins_, doctors among the Jews, their learned men or + teachers. + + +What nation invented the large looking-glass plates now in use? + +The French. + + +What city of Italy excelled all Europe for many years in the making of +fine glass? + +Venice. The manufacture of fine glass was first introduced into +England by Venetian artists in 1078. + + +Of what is Earthenware composed? + +Of clay, and those earths which are capable of being kneaded into a +paste easily receiving any form, and acquiring solidity by exposure to +fire: sand, chalk, and flint are likewise mixed with clay. + + +In what manner is it formed into such a variety of shapes? + +The flint or sand, and soft clay, are mixed together in various +proportions for the different kinds of ware; this paste is afterwards +beaten till it becomes fit for being formed at the wheel into plates, +dishes, basins, &c. These are then put into a furnace and baked; after +which they are glazed. + + +What nation so greatly excelled in the manufacture of a beautiful +species of Earthenware? + +The Chinese,--who, as far as can be ascertained, were its inventors. +Porcelain is a fine sort of earthenware, chiefly made in China, whence +it was called China or China-ware; it is also brought from many parts +of the East, especially from Japan, Siam, Surat, and Persia. The art +of making porcelain was one of those in which Europe had been excelled +by oriental nations; but for many years past earthenwares have been +made in different parts of Europe, so like the oriental, that they +have acquired the name of porcelain. The first European porcelains +were made in Saxony and France, and afterwards in England, Germany, +and Italy, all of which differed from those of Japan and China, but +each possessing its peculiar character. They are now brought to great +perfection in Europe, particularly in England, France and Prussia. + + +Before the invention of Earthenware, what supplied its place to the +early inhabitants of the world? + +The more civilized the inhabitants of any country became, the more +they would perceive the convenience of possessing vessels of various +descriptions for holding or preparing their food; some of the objects +which first presented themselves would be the larger kinds of shells; +and, in hot climates, the hard coverings of the cocoa-nut or gourd. In +some cases the skins of beasts were used, as they still are in the +East, where they are sewed together, and formed into a kind of bottle +to hold milk, wine, &c.; but the people of colder climates would not +be able to avail themselves of these natural productions, and would be +obliged to make use of other substances. + + +What, then, would they employ? + +Clay, which in many countries is found in great abundance, from its +adhesive property, and its retaining its form when dry, and becoming +insoluble in water after having been baked in the fire, would +naturally attract the attention of an improving people: from this it +arises that the early remains of culinary and other vessels which have +been discovered have been formed of this material. Among the remains +of ancient Egypt, numerous vessels have been found formed of common +clay baked in the fire; and, though of rude workmanship, extremely +elegant in form. + + _Adhesive_, sticky; apt or tending to adhere. + + _Insoluble_, not capable of being dissolved. + + _Culinary_, belonging to cooking or domestic purposes. + + +Of what are Needles made? + +Of steel; and though exceedingly cheap, they go through a great number +of operations before they are brought to perfection. It was in the +reign of Queen Elizabeth that the English learnt the art of making +needles. + + +Of what are Pins made? + +Of brass wire, blanched with tin. They are manufactured in England, +France, the United States, and other countries. Though there is +scarcely any commodity cheaper than pins, there is no other which +passes through the hands of a greater number of workmen; more than +twenty persons being successively employed in the manufacture of each, +from the drawing of the brass wire to the sticking of the pin in the +paper. Pins are supposed to have been made in England about 1543, or +even earlier. Before this art was invented, the ladies made use of +wooden skewers. + + _Blanched_, whitened. + + +Of what is Paper made? + +Of linen and cotton rags beaten to a pulp in water; also from straw, +wood, and many plants. + + +What materials were used for writing, before the invention of Paper? + +Various were the materials on which mankind in different ages and +countries contrived to write: stones, bricks, the leaves of herbs and +trees, and their rinds or barks; tablets of wood, wax, and ivory; +plates of lead, silk, linen rolls, &c. At length the Egyptian paper +made of the papyrus, was invented; then parchment; and lastly, paper +manufactured of cotton or linen rags. There are few sorts of plants +which have not at some time been used for paper and books. In Ceylon, +for instance, the leaves of the talipot; in India, the leaves of the +palm (with which they commonly covered their houses,) were used for +books. In the East Indies, the leaves of the plantain tree, dried in +the sun, were used for the same purpose. In China, paper is made of +the inner bark of the mulberry, the bamboo, the elm, the cotton, and +other trees. + + +What is Papyrus? + +A large rush, chiefly growing in Egypt, on the banks of the Nile. The +ancient Egyptians made sails, ropes, mats, blankets, and canvas, of +the stalks and fibres of the papyrus. Their priests also wore shoes +made of it; and even sugar was extracted from this plant. Moses, the +deliverer raised by God to rescue the Israelites from the bondage of +Egypt, was exposed to the Nile in a basket of papyrus. The plant is +now, however, exceedingly scarce. + + +Where was the first Paper Mill erected in England? + +At Dartford, by a German named Spilman, in 1588. The only sort made, +however, was the coarse brown; and it was not till 1690, when the +French protestant refugees settled in England, that their own +paper-makers began to make white writing and printing paper. The +manufacture has been brought to great perfection, both for beauty and +substance, in England and the United States. + + _Protestant_, a name given in Germany to those who adhered + to the doctrines of the apostate monk, Martin Luther, + because they protested against a decree of Charles V. and + applied to a general council. + + _Refugee_, from refuge, a place of safety from danger; an + asylum. Here it more particularly means those French + Protestants who quit their homes and sought other countries, + after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, which deprived + them of their religious liberty. + +[Illustration: THE DOME OF PISA, ITALY; WITH THE FAMOUS LEANING TOWER, +IN THE DISTANCE.] + + +Is it known to whom we are indebted for the invention of Linen Paper? + +Not exactly. It has long been disputed among the learned when, and +by whom, it was invented; some authors say it was discovered by the +Germans, others by the Italians; others ascribe it to some refugee +Greeks at Basil, who took the idea from the making of cotton paper in +their own country; some, that the Arabs first introduced it into +Europe. Perhaps the Chinese have the best title to the invention, +inasmuch as they have for many ages made paper, and in some provinces +of the same materials as are now used by us in its manufacture. + + +In what place was the art of Printing first practised? + +Who were the inventors of Printing, in what city, and in what year it +was begun, has long been a subject of great dispute. Mentz, Harlem, +and Strasburg, cities of Germany, all lay claim to the invention, but +Mentz seems to have the best title to it. + + +What was the first Book that was printed from metal types? + +A copy of the Holy Scriptures, which made its appearance between the +years 1450 and 1452. + + +Who introduced Printing into England? + +William Caxton, a merchant of London, who had acquired a knowledge of +it in his travels abroad. + + +Of what does Printing consist? + +Of the art of taking impressions with ink, from movable characters and +figures made of metal, &c., upon paper or parchment. + + +What is Parchment? + +Sheep or goat's skin, prepared after a peculiar manner, which renders +it proper for several uses, especially for writing on, and for the +covering of books. The ancients seem to have used the skins of animals +as a writing material, from a remote period. + + +From what is the word Parchment taken? + +From Pergamena, the ancient name of this manufacture, which it is said +to have taken from the country of Pergamus; and to Eumenes, king of +that country, its invention is usually ascribed, though in reality, +that prince appears to have been the improver, rather than the +inventor of parchment; since some accounts refer its invention to a +still earlier period of time. Herodotus, an ancient Greek historian, +who lived about 450 years before Christ, relates that the ancient +Ionians made use of sheep and goat-skins in writing, many ages before +the time of Eumenes; the Persians of old, too, wrote all their records +on skins, and probably such skins were prepared and dressed for that +purpose, after a manner not unlike our parchments, though not so +artificially. + + +Who were the Ionians? + +The inhabitants of Ionia, an ancient country in the western part of +Asia Minor. + + +In what manner is Parchment now prepared? + +The sheep-skins are smeared over with lime[4] on the fleshy side, +folded, laid in heaps, and thus left for some days; they are next +stretched very tight on wooden frames, after having been washed, +drained, and half dried. The flesh is then carefully taken off with +iron instruments constructed on purpose, and the skin cleansed from +the remaining hairs that adhere to it. After having gone through +several operations till it is perfectly clean and smooth, it is fit +for writing upon. + +[Footnote 4: See Chapter XVI., article Lime.] + + +What are the uses of Parchment? + +Parchment is of great use for writings which are to be preserved, on +account of its great durability; the writing on it remaining perfect +for a great number of years. It is also used for the binding of books, +and various other purposes. + + +What is Vellum? + +A finer sort of parchment than the former, but prepared in the same +manner, except that it is not passed through the lime-pit. It is made +of the skins of very young calves: there is also a still finer sort +made of the skins of sucking lambs, or kids; this is called _virgin_ +parchment, and is very thin, fine, and white, and is used for +fancy-work, such as ladies' fans, &c. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +CAPERS, ALMONDS, ORANGES, LEMONS, CITRONS, LIMES, OLIVES, OILS, +MELONS, TAMARINDS, AND DATES. + + +What are Capers? + +The full-grown flower-buds of the Caper Tree, a small shrub, generally +found growing out of the fissures of rocks, or among rubbish, on old +walls and ruins, giving them a gay appearance with its large white +flowers. It is a native of Italy: it is also common in the south of +France, where it is much cultivated. + + +How are they prepared, and for what are they used? + +They are gathered, and dried in the shade; then infused in vinegar, to +which salt is added; after which they are put in barrels, to be used +as a pickle, chiefly in sauces. + + +What are frequently substituted for Capers? + +The buds of broom pickled in the same manner, or the berries of the +nasturtium, an American annual plant, with pungent fruit. + + +What are Almonds? + +The nut of the Almond Tree, a species of the peach, growing in most of +the southern parts of Europe; there are two kinds, the bitter and the +sweet. + + +What are their qualities and use? + +The sweet almonds are of a soft, grateful taste, and much used by the +confectioner in numerous preparations of sweet-meats, cookery, &c. +Both sorts yield an oil, and are useful in medicine. + + +Of what country is the Orange a native? + +It is a native of China, India, and most tropical countries; but has +long been produced in great perfection in the warmer parts of Europe +and America. Oranges are imported in immense quantities every year, +from the Azores, Spain, Portugal, Italy, &c. They are brought over in +chests and boxes, packed separately in paper to preserve them. The +oranges in common use with us are the bitter or Seville, the China or +sweet orange, and those from Florida. + + +Where are the Azores situated? + +In the Atlantic Ocean, about 800 miles west of Portugal. These islands +are very productive in wine and fruits. + + +Where is Seville? + +In Spain; it is an ancient and considerable city, the capital of the +province of Andalusia. The flowers of the Seville orange are highly +odoriferous, and justly esteemed one of the finest perfumes. Its fruit +is larger than the China orange, and rather bitter; the yellow rind or +peel is warm and aromatic. The juice of oranges is a grateful and +wholesome acid. + + _Odoriferous_, sweet-scented, fragrant; having a brisk, + agreeable smell which may be perceived at a distance. + + +Who first introduced the China Orange into Europe? + +The Portuguese. It is said that the very tree from which all the +European orange trees of this sort were produced, was still preserved +some years back, at the house of the Count St. Laurent, in Lisbon. In +India, those most esteemed, and which are made presents of as +rarities, are no larger than a billiard ball. The Maltese oranges are +said by some to be the finest in the world. + + +Who are the Maltese? + +The inhabitants of Malta, an island of the Mediterranean, situated +between Africa and Sicily. + + +Whence are Lemons brought? + +The Lemon is a native of Eastern Asia, whence it was brought to +Greece, and afterwards to Italy; from Italy it was transplanted to +Spain, Portugal, and the South of France, whence lemons are imported +in great plenty. + + +What is the Citron? + +The fruit of the Citron Tree, resembling the lemon, but somewhat +larger, and having a finer pulp. The citron was also brought +originally from the East of Asia, but has since been produced in the +warm parts of Europe, like the orange and lemon; Genoa especially is +the greatest nursery for them. Its rind is principally brought to this +country in a candied state, and is applied by confectioners to various +purposes. + + +Where is Genoa? + +A city of Northern Italy, on the Mediterranean, between the rivers +Bisagno and Polcevera. + + +What is the Lime? + +The Lime is by some thought to be a species of lemon, by others not; +it is a smaller fruit, and in the West Indies is greatly preferred to +the lemon. It is cultivated in the South of Europe, the West Indies, +and the warm parts of America. The agreeable scent called Bergamot is +prepared from the rind of a small species of lime. + + +What are Olives? + +The fruit of the Olive Tree, an evergreen, now common in the woods of +France, Spain, and Italy; but in the wild state producing a small +fruit of no value; when cultivated, however, (which it is extensively, +both for the fruit and the quantity of oil which it yields,) it forms +one of the richest productions of Southern Europe. The olive came +originally from Asia. Its use is very ancient; it is frequently spoken +of in the Bible, both as in a wild and cultivated state. The promised +land of the Israelites was "a land of oil, olive, and honey." From the +time that the dove returned to Noah in the Ark with an "olive leaf +plucked off," in all ages and countries, wherever this tree is known, +down to the present day, has an olive-branch been the favorite emblem +of peace. + + +What nation holds the olive in great repute? + +This tree was a great favorite with the ancient Greeks, and scarcely +an ancient custom existed in which the olive was not in some way +associated: at their marriages and festivals, all parts of their +dwellings, especially the doors, were ornamented with them, and the +same custom prevails at the present day, both in public and private +rejoicings. It was also scarcely less a favorite with the Romans, +although it was not held in the same sacred light as amongst the +Greeks. The olive-branch has likewise been universally considered the +emblem of plenty, and as such, is found on the coins of those +countries of which it is _not_ a native. Two centuries after the +foundation of Rome, both Italy and Africa were strangers to this +useful plant; it afterwards became naturalized in those countries, and +at length arrived in Spain, France, &c. Olive trees sometimes attain a +great age. + + +How are the Olives eaten? + +The olives while on the tree are intolerably bitter, without any of +that peculiar taste which gains them admittance at the richest tables; +to fit them for which they are pickled. Ripe olives are eaten in the +Eastern countries, especially amongst the Greeks, as an article of +food, particularly in Lent. The oil, which they yield in great +quantities, is very highly esteemed; being that chiefly used for +salads, &c., in medicine, and in various manufactures. + + _Lent_, a time of fasting; the time from Ash-Wednesday to + Easter. + + +How is the Oil drawn from the Olive? + +By presses or mills made for the purpose. The sweetest and best olive +oil comes from the South of France, from Naples, Florence, and Lucca; +quantities are also brought from Spain and the Ionian Islands. + + +Where is Naples? + +In the South of Italy. + + +Where are Florence and Lucca situated? + +In Italy. Florence is a very ancient, large, and celebrated city, the +capital of Italy; Lucca, formerly a republic, belongs now to the +kingdom of Italy. + + _Republic_, a state in which the supreme power of government + is lodged in representatives chosen by the people, instead + of being vested in an emperor or king. + + +You said that the olive is an Evergreen: to what plant or shrub is the +term particularly applied? + +To any shrub or tree whose leaves continue fresh and green all the +year round, winter and summer, as the laurel, pine, cedar, holly, &c., +which do not shed their leaves in autumn as other trees. + + +Is oil a production confined to the Olive alone? + +By no means. Oil is a fatty, inflammable matter, drawn from many +vegetable and animal bodies. The oils in common use are of three +different kinds. The first are mere _oily_ or fatty bodies, extracted +either by pressure, or by decoction: of the first kind are those of +almonds, nuts, olives, &c.; and of the other, those of different +berries, &c., which are procured by boiling the substance in water, +which causes the oil to collect on the top. + + _Decoction_, act of boiling--a chemical term. + + +What are the second and third kinds of Oils? + +The second are those drawn from vegetables by common distillation in +the alembic, with the aid of water; these contain the _oily_ and +volatile part of the plant, and are called _essential_ oils. The third +sort are those produced by distillation, but of a different kind in an +open vessel, and without the help of water. They are likewise divided +into _vegetable_ oils, _animal_ oils, and _mineral_ oils; which last +are those drawn from amber, and a few other substances partaking both +of the vegetable and mineral natures, as Petroleum, commonly known as +kerosene or coal oil. + + _Alembic_, a chemical vessel used in distilling. It consists + of a vessel placed over a fire, containing the substance to + be distilled; the upper part, which receives and condenses + the steam, is called the head; the beak of this is fitted to + a vessel called a receiver. + + _Volatile_, easily escaping, quickly flying off. + + +Whence is the word Oil derived? + +From the Latin _oleum_, formed from _olea, olive-tree_, the fruit of +which abounds in oil. + + +What immense fish is it that furnishes us with a quantity of _animal_ +oil? + +The Whale, the largest and noblest inhabitant of the waters. It is +protected from the cold by a case or coating of blubber, that is, a +thick oily fat from which the oil is made; numbers of them are caught +for the sake of that. Ambergris, highly prized in perfumery, is a +product of the sperm whale. + + +In what seas are they found? + +Chiefly in the Northern Seas: extensive whale fisheries are carried on +by the Americans, English, Dutch, &c., and numbers of vessels are sent +out for the purpose of taking the fish: they usually sail in the +latter end of March, and begin fishing about May. The whale fishery +continues generally from that time till the latter end of June or +July. There are also other fishes and animals which afford us oils of +different kinds, which are used for various purposes in medicine and +the arts. + + +Is the oil called _castor_, which is so much used in medicine, the +product of an animal or a plant? + +Castor oil is expressed from a West Indian shrub, called Palma +Christi; and especially from the ripe seeds, which are full of this +oil. It is prepared by collecting these ripe seeds, and freeing them +from the husks; then bruising and beating them into a paste; they are +next boiled in water, when the oil rising to the surface is skimmed +off as it continues to appear. The Castor-oil plant is found growing +abundantly in Sumatra, particularly near the sea-shore. + + +Where is Sumatra situated? + +In the Oriental Archipelago, off the south eastern part of the +continent of Asia. + + +In what other countries is this plant found? + +In some parts of Africa, Syria, and Egypt. It was anciently cultivated +in the two last-mentioned countries in large quantities, the seeds +being used for the oil they yielded, which was burnt in lamps. + +[Illustration: BEAVERS BUILDING THEIR HUTS.] + + +Is not the Palma Christi much affected by soil and situation? + +Greatly so. In some places it attains the stature of a tree, and is +not a biennial plant, but endures for many years, as in the warm +plains of Irak, Arabia, and some parts of Africa. + + _Biennial_, lasting for the space of two years only. + + +What are Melons? + +A species of the Cucumis, a genus of plants to which the cucumber +belongs. There are great varieties of this fruit cultivated in +different parts of the world; that sort called the Cantaleup (so named +from being cultivated at a place of that name in the neighborhood of +Rome, whither it was brought from Armenia,) is a species of +musk-melon; the mature fruit is juicy, and delicately flavored. + + +Where is Armenia situated? + +Armenia is a large country situated in Asiatic Turkey, to the west of +the Caspian Sea. + + +What species of Melon is that which almost makes up for a scarcity of +good water in hot countries? + +The water-melon, which affords a cool, refreshing juice, and quenches +the thirst produced by the excessive heats. It requires a dry, sandy +soil, and a warm climate; the pulp of the fruit is remarkably rich and +delicious. + + +What are Tamarinds? + +The fruit of the Tamarind Tree, a native of both the Indies, Asia, +Africa, &c. It is of a roundish form, and composed of two pods +inclosed one within the other, between which is a soft pulpy +substance, of a tart but agreeable taste; the inner pod contains the +seeds or stones. + + _Tart_, sharp, acid. + + +For what are they used? + +We use them only as medicine; but the Africans, and many of the +Oriental nations, with whom they are common, make them into a kind of +preserve with sugar, which they eat as a delicacy, and which cools +them in the violent heats of their climate. + + +From what nation was the knowledge of their use in medicine obtained? + +From the Arabians. + + +What does the word Oriental signify? + +Belonging to the East; therefore those countries of the globe situated +in the East are called Oriental, those in the West, Occidental, from +_Oriens_, signifying East, and _Occidens_, West. + + +What are Dates? + +The fruit of the Palm, a beautiful and graceful tree, peculiar to the +warmer regions of the globe; the growth of the palm is extremely +singular, for although some species attain to the height of the +largest forest trees, their structure differs materially from that of +a tree, properly so called. The leaves of the young plant arise +directly from the surface of the ground, and there is no appearance of +any stem for several years; this stem once formed, never increases in +size, the growth of the plant being always upward, so that the stem +itself is formed by the prior growth of the green portions of the +palm. + + _Structure_, the manner of formation. + + +How often does this tree cast its circle of leaves? + +Every year; so that the number of years a palm has existed is known by +the scars which are left by their falling off. The palm is an +evergreen. + + +What are the uses of this Tree? + +The Palm is of the utmost importance to the inhabitants of the +tropical regions; the fruit and sap providing them with food, the +fibrous parts with clothing, and the leaves forming the greater part +of their slightly-constructed huts; the leaves of some species are +formed into fans, hats, and parasols; others are written on, in the +same manner that we write on paper; artificial flowers are made of +the pith of some; the light and supple rattan walking-cane is the +slender shoot of another kind; and solid and useful utensils are made +of the shell of the cocoa-nut. The fibres of the Date Palm are formed +into ropes and twine; a liquor is drawn from the trunk, called palm +wine; the trunks of the old trees furnish a hard and durable wood; and +even the nuts or stones of the fruit are useful for feeding cattle; a +wholesome flour is also made of the fruit, when dried and reduced to +powder. + + _Constructed_, put together. + + +Whence is its name derived? + +From the Latin word _palma_, a hand, given to these productions of the +vegetable world, from the supposed resemblance of their broad leaves +to the human hand. The Date, the fruit of the Date Palm, derives its +name from the Greek _dactylus_, a finger, from its mode of growing in +clusters spreading out like the fingers of the hand. The Palm +sometimes forms impenetrable forests; but more frequently is found in +small groups of two or three, or even singly, beside springs and +fountains of water, affording a kindly shade to the thirsty traveller. + + _Impenetrable_, not easily penetrated or got through. + + +From what countries are Dates brought? + +From Egypt, Syria, Persia, Africa, and the Indies. Among the Egyptians +and Africans, they make a principal article of food. Dates, when ripe, +are of a bright coral red, of an oblong form, and possess a sharp +biting taste: they are usually gathered in autumn, before being +perfectly ripe. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +HATS, STOCKINGS, SHOES, GLOVES, LEATHER, FURS, AND INK. + + +Of what are Hats made? + +Of felt and wool. Dress hats for men's wear, were formerly made of +beaver-fur, but the increasing scarcity of this article led to the +introduction of silk plush as a substitute, and the result is that +beaver is entirely superseded, and plush is used altogether. They +possess many advantages over the beaver hat, as they are light, +glossy, and durable. Hats are also made of straw, plaited and sewed +together. + + +When did Hats come into general use? + +The first mention made of hats is about the time of the Saxons, but +they were not worn except by the rich. Hats for men were invented at +Paris, by a Swiss, in 1404. About the year 1510, they were first +manufactured in London, by Spaniards. Before that time both men and +women in England commonly wore close, knitted, woollen caps. They +appear to have become more common in the reign of Queen Elizabeth. It +is related, that when Charles the Second made his public entry into +Rouen, in 1449, he wore a hat lined with red velvet, surmounted with a +plume or tuft of feathers; from which entry, or at least during his +reign, the use of hats and caps is to be dated; and from that time +they took the place of chaperons and hoods, that had been worn before +in France. + + +Where is Rouen? + +In the province of Lower Seine, in France; it was formerly the capital +of Normandy. + + +Describe the Castor, or Beaver, and its habits. + +The Beaver has a broad, flat tail, covered with scales, serving as a +rudder to direct its motion in the water; the toes of its hind feet +are furnished with membranes, after the manner of water-fowl; the fore +feet supply the place of hands, like those of the squirrel. The +Beaver has two kinds of hair, of a light brown color, one long and +coarse, the other short and silky. The teeth resemble those of a rat +or squirrel, but are longer, and admirably adapted for cutting timber +or stripping off the bark from trees. + + _Membranes_, thin, flexible, expanded skins, connecting the + toes of water-fowl and amphibious animals, and thus enabling + them to swim with greater ease. + + +Where do Beavers usually fix their habitations? + +Their houses are always situated in the water; they are composed of +clay, which they make into a kind of mortar with their paws: these +huts are of an oval figure, divided into three apartments raised one +above the other, and erected on piles driven into the mud. Each beaver +has his peculiar cell assigned him, the floor of which he strews with +leaves or small branches of the pine tree. The whole building is +generally capable of containing eight or ten inhabitants. + + +On what does the Beaver feed? + +Its food consists of fruit and plants; and in winter, of the wood of +the ash and other trees. The hunters and trappers in America formerly +killed vast numbers for their skins, which were in great demand, as +they were used in making hats, but as the only use they are now put to +is for trimming, and for men's gloves and collars, the demand has +fallen off. + + +Of what are stockings made? + +Of cotton, silk, or wool, woven or knitted. Anciently, the only +stockings in use were made of cloth, or stuff sewed together; but +since the invention of knitting and weaving stockings of silk, &c., +the use of cloth has been discontinued. + + +From what country is it supposed that the invention of silk knitted +stockings originally came? + +From Spain, in 1589. The art of weaving stockings in a frame was +invented by William Lee, M.A., of St. John's College, Cambridge, +England. + + +Explain the signification of M.A. + +Master of Arts, a degree of honor conferred by the Universities. + + +What are Shoes? + +A covering for the foot, now usually made of leather. In different +ages and countries, shoes have been made of various materials, as raw +skins, rushes, broom, paper, silk, wool, iron, silver, and gold. + + +What nation wore Shoes made of the bark of the papyrus? + +The Egyptians. The Turks always take off their shoes, and leave them +at the door, when they enter Mosques or dwelling-houses. The same +custom also prevails in other Eastern nations. + + +What is a Mosque? + +A Mahomedan church or temple. + + +What is meant by Mahomedan? + +Belonging to the religion of Mahomed, the warrior and prophet of +Arabia and Turkey, who was its founder. He was born at Mecca, a city +of Arabia, in 571; and died in 631, at Medina, a city situated between +Arabia Felix and Arabia Deserta. His creed maintains that there is but +one God, and that Mahomed is his Prophet; it enjoins the observance of +prayers, washings, almsgiving, fasting, sobriety, pilgrimage to Mecca, +&c. + + +What do the appellations of Felix and Deserta signify? + +Arabia, a country of Asia, lying on the borders of the Red Sea, is +divided into Petraea, Deserta, and Felix; Petraea, signifying the Stony; +Deserta, the Desert; and Felix, the fortunate or fruitful. + + +What is Leather? + +The skins of various animals, as oxen, cows, calves, &c., dressed and +prepared for use. + + +How is the Leather prepared? + +By tanning; that is, steeping the skins in an infusion of tan, by +which they are rendered firm, durable, and, in a great degree, +impervious to water. + + _Infusion_, a liquor made by steeping anything in water, or + other liquids, without boiling. + + +What is Tan? + +The bark of the oak-tree, &c., ground by a mill into a coarse powder. + + +What is Lime?[5] + +A white, soft, friable, earthy substance, prepared from marble, chalk, +and other lime-stones, or from shells, by burning in a kiln. + +[Footnote 5: For a further account of it, see Chapters XIII. & XVI.] + + _Friable_, easily powdered. + + +For what is it used? + +Its greatest use is in the composition of mortar for building; it is +also much used by tanners, skinners, &c., in the preparation of +leather; by soap-boilers in the manufacture of soap; and by +sugar-bakers for refining sugar. + + +What is a Kiln? + +A fabric of brick or stone, formed for admitting heat in order to dry +or burn materials placed in it. + + +Of what are Gloves made? + +Of leather, silk, thread, cotton, worsted, &c. + + +What skins are generally used for Gloves? + +Those of the chamois, kid, lamb, dog, doe, and many other animals. + + +What are Furs, and how are they prepared? + +Furs are the skins of wild animals, dressed with the hair on, and used +as apparel, either for warmth, ornament, or distinction of rank or +dignity. + + +Name a few of the principal furs in use. + +The fur of the ermine, an animal inhabiting the cold regions of Europe +and America, is highly valued, and much used for ornamental purposes. +In summer, the upper part of the body is of a yellowish-brown color; +the under parts white, slightly tinged with yellow. It is then called +a _stoat_. In winter, the fur is closer and finer, and is of a snowy +white color; the tip of the tail is black throughout the year. In +Europe the fur is much used for ornamenting the state robes of +sovereigns and nobles. The sable is another animal much prized for its +rich fur; it is a native of Northern Europe and America. The skins of +the marten, found in North America, as well as in Northern Asia and +the mountains of Kamtschatka; and also of the bear, fox, raccoon, +badger, lynx, musk-rat, rabbit, hare, and squirrel, which are all +procured in North America, are valuable. One of the most valuable +descriptions of fur is that of the seal. + + +How is it procured? + +By hunting the animals, which is the employment both of natives and +settlers from other countries; the hunters sell the skins for money, +to a company established for the purpose of trading in furs, or more +frequently exchange them for clothes, arms, and other articles. The +Alaska Commercial Company of San Francisco is granted by the United +States Government the exclusive privilege of catching the fur seal. + + +What is Alum? + +A kind of mineral, of a strong, sharp taste. It dissolves both in cold +and boiling water, but best in the latter. It is of some use in +medicine; a principal ingredient in dyeing and coloring, neither of +which can be well performed without it, as it sets and brightens the +colors, and prevents them from washing out. It is also extremely +useful in many arts and manufactures. + + +Are there not different sorts of this material? + +The principal kinds are native alums: _viz._ those prepared and +perfected underground by the spontaneous operations of nature; as the +roch, commonly called rock alum, from Rocha, in Syria, whence it is +brought. + + _Spontaneous_, unassisted by art. + + _Orientals_, inhabitants of the Eastern parts of the world. + + +What is Ink? + +A liquor used in writing on paper or parchment, made of copperas, +galls; and gum arabic[6] mixed together. There are likewise several +plants that may serve for the making of ink, as oak-bark, red roses, +log-wood, &c. It is also made from an infusion of oak galls and iron +filings: there are also many other ways, as well as materials, +employed in the making of this useful article. Ink is the name applied +to all liquids used in writing, of whatever color they may be, as red, +blue, &c., though black is the most used for common purposes. The ink +of the ancients seems to have been of a thick, oily nature, unlike the +modern ink; it consisted of nothing more than a species of soot, or +ivory black, mixed with one fourth of gum. + +[Footnote 6: See Chapter XI.] + + +What is Copperas? + +A kind of vitriol. Copperas is the name given to green vitriol, which +is a preparation from iron. The blue vitriol is a sulphate of copper, +and the white vitriol a sulphate of zinc. + + +For what is Vitriol used? + +In the making of glass, to color it; in many arts and manufactures; +and in medicine. + + +What are Galls? + +Excrescences formed on a kind of oak tree in certain warm climates; +perforations are made by an insect into the bark of the tree, whence +issues a liquid which hardens by exposure. They are used in dyeing, +making ink, and other compositions. There are two sorts of oak galls +in our shops, brought from the Levant, and the southern parts of +Europe. + + +What does the word Levant signify? + +A country to the eastward. It is applied to the countries of Turkey, +Greece, Asia Minor, Syria, Egypt, &c., which are washed by the eastern +part of the Mediterranean. + + +Is the Ink used in Printing the same as writing Ink? + +No; it is more of the nature of paint, being thicker and more +glutinous: it chiefly consists of a mixture of oil and lamp-black, or +some other ingredient, according to the color required; and is +remarkable for the ease with which it adheres to paper that is +moistened. + + _Glutinous_, gummy, resembling glue. + + +What is Indian, or Chinese Ink? + +An admirable composition, not liquid like our ink, but solid, and made +into cakes somewhat like the mineral colors we use in painting. It is +made into all sorts of figures, usually long, and about an inch thick; +sometimes gilt with the figures of birds, flowers, &c. To use this +ink, it must be rubbed with water, on stone or earthenware, till it +produces a beautiful, liquid, shining black. It is used in drawing, +&c., and is brought from China. It is composed of lamp-black and size, +or animal glue, or gum, to which perfumes and other substances are +sometimes added. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +ASBESTUS, SALT, COAL, IRON, COPPER, BRASS, ZINC, AND LAPIS +CALAMINARIS. + + +What is the name of the remarkable stone of which a cloth has been +made, that resists the action of fire? + +The Asbestus, a mineral substance of a whitish or silver color. There +are several species of this mineral, which are distinguished by +different names, according to the appearance of each, as fibrous +asbestus, hard asbestus, and woody asbestus; it is the fibrous sort +which is most noted for its uses in the arts. It is usually found +inclosed within very hard stones; sometimes growing on their outside, +and sometimes detached from them. + + _Fibrous_, full of fibres or threads. + + +What are its qualities? + +It is insipid; will not dissolve in water; and exposed to the fire, it +neither consumes nor calcines. The industry of mankind has found a +method of working upon this untoward mineral and employing it in +making cloth and paper; the process is, however, difficult. + + _Insipid_, without taste. + + +Was not this curious mineral better known to the ancients than it is +at present? + +The linen made from it was highly esteemed by them; it was not only +better known, but more common, than among us, being equally valuable +with the richest pearls; but the superiority of all other cloths to +this in every respect, except the resistance to fire, has caused +incombustible cloth to be regarded in modern times merely as a +curiosity, but it is still employed in chemical preparations. + + _Incombustible_, remaining undestroyed in fire. + + +To what use did they put it? + +In royal funerals, it formed the shroud to wrap the body in that its +ashes might be prevented from mingling with the wood, &c., that +composed the pile. Some of the ancients made themselves clothes of it, +particularly the Brahmins among the Hindoos; it formed wicks for their +perpetual lamps; thread, ropes, nets, and paper were also made of it. +Pliny, the Roman naturalist, says he has seen napkins of asbestus +taken soiled from the table after a feast, which were thrown into the +fire, and by that means better scoured than if they had been washed +with water. + + _Naturalist_, a person who studies nature, especially in + what relates to minerals, vegetables, and animals. + + _Brahmins_, Hindoo priests. + + +Where is the Asbestus found? + +This mineral is found in the greatest quantity in the silver mines of +Saxony; at Bleyburg, in Carinthia; in Sweden, Corsica, and sometimes +in France, England, and the United States; also in Tartary and +Siberia. + + +What method is used in preparing the Asbestus? + +The stone is laid in warm water to soak, then opened and divided by +the hands, that the earthy matter may be washed out. This washing is +several times repeated, and the flax-like filaments collected and +dried; these are easily spun with the addition of flax. The cloth when +woven is best preserved by oil from breaking or wasting; on exposure +to the fire, the flax and the oil burn out, and the cloth remains of a +pure white. The shorter threads, which separate on washing the stone, +may be made into paper in the usual manner. + + +What is Salt? + +A saline crystallization of a sharp, pungent taste, and cleansing +quality, used to season flesh, fish, butter, &c., and other things +that are to be kept. It is distinguished, with reference to the +general sources from which it is most plentifully derived, into three +different sorts, namely, fossil, or rock salt; sea, or marine salt; +and spring salt, or that drawn from briny springs and wells. + + _Marine_, belonging to the sea. + + _Saline_, consisting of salt. + + _Briny_, consisting of brine; which means water tasting of + salt; it is used to signify the waters of the sea, or any + salt water. + + +What is Fossil or Rock Salt? + +That which is found in large beds in the bowels of the earth, and +which has not undergone any artificial preparation; it is sometimes +colorless, but more frequently red, yellow, or blue, and mixed with +earthy impurities; this salt was entirely unknown to the ancients, who +by rock salt meant that which adheres to the rocks above high-water +mark, being lodged there by the spray of the sea, which is evaporated +by the heat of the sun; this is the purest salt, and is to be found on +the rocks of Sicily, and several islands of the West Indies. + + _Artificial_, produced by art, and the labor of man. + + _Evaporated_, converted into vapor and dissipated. + + +What is Marine Salt? + +That which is made from sea-water, concentrated by repeated +evaporations, and at length crystallized. + + +What is Spring Salt? + +That salt which is not made from sea-water, but from the water of salt +wells or springs; large quantities of this salt are made in the United +States, in some parts of which saline springs are numerous. + + +In what manner is it obtained? + +The means employed for extracting the salt from the water vary +according to circumstances. In hot countries, the water is merely +exposed to the action of the sun, until the water is evaporated; the +salt procured in this manner is considered the best. + + +What method is usually employed in countries where the sun's heat is +not sufficiently powerful? + +In climates where the rays of the sun do not afford sufficient heat, +the water, which has been partly evaporated in large shallow +reservoirs formed in the earth, called salt-pans, is poured into +enormous coppers and boiled for four or five hours: when the contents +of the copper are wasted to half the quantity, the liquid begins to be +crystallized; the vessel is again filled up, and the brine again +boiled and purified: this is repeated three or four times. After the +last purifying the fire is kept very low for twelve or fourteen hours, +and when the moisture is nearly evaporated the salt is removed, and, +after the remaining brine has drained off, is placed in the +store-houses. + + +In what countries is Salt generally found? + +This substance, so necessary to the comfort of mankind, is widely +distributed over the face of the earth, and nothing, except, perhaps, +the air we breathe, is more easily placed within our reach. The ocean +is an exhaustless store-house of this valuable article. Those nations +of the earth which are placed at a distance from the sea, find +themselves provided with magazines of salt, either in solid masses, or +dissolved in the waters of inland lakes, or issuing from the solid +rocks in springs of brine. At Salina, Syracuse, and other places in +Onondaga Co., New York, salt springs are remarkably abundant, and +yield annually several millions of bushels; immense quantities are +also obtained from the salt-wells on the Great and Little Kanawha, and +other places in Western Virginia; it is also extensively manufactured +in the western part of Pennsylvania, and throughout the Western +States. + + +Name the countries most noted for mines of Salt. + +Poland, Upper Hungary, and the mountains of Catalonia, have extensive +salt mines; those in the village of Wieliczca, in Poland, about five +leagues from Cracow, are of a surprising depth and size. In the +interior of Hindostan, there is a remarkable salt lake; and in several +parts of the globe there are spots of ground impregnated entirely with +this substance: an island of the East Indies contains a singular kind +of fossil, or native dry salt; the soil there is in general very +fruitful, but in certain parts of the island, there are spots of +ground entirely barren, without the appearance of anything vegetable +upon them; these spots taste very much of salt, and abound with it in +such quantities, as to supply not only the whole island, but the +greater part of the adjacent continent. In Utah Territory, especially +in the neighborhood of the Mormon city, at the Great Salt Lake, are +found extensive plains thus impregnated with salt, which is procured +in great abundance. + + _Fossil_, the remains of minerals or shells dug from the + earth. + + _Impregnated_, filled, saturated. + + _Catalonia_, a considerable province of Spain, situated to + the north-east. + + _Adjacent_, adjoining, lying near, or contiguous. + + +To what use did the ancient inhabitants of Africa and Arabia put this +substance? + +The large slabs of rock salt, with which their country abounds, were +employed by them instead of stones, in building their dwellings, the +pieces being easily cemented together by sprinkling the joints with +water, which, melting the parts of the two surfaces that opposed each +other, formed the whole, when dry, into one solid block. + + +Does Rock Salt undergo any preparation before it is used? + +Yes; when taken from the earth it is dissolved in cold water, and +afterwards drawn off into salt-pans, and refined in the same manner as +the sea salt. + + +What is Coal? + +A hard, black, sulphurous and inflammable substance, dug out of the +earth, serving in many countries as fuel. It is common in most of the +countries of Europe and America. In some parts of the United States, +it is found in beds having an area of several thousand square miles. + + +From what is Coal supposed to have originated? + +Its origin is supposed to be derived from gigantic trees which +flourished in the swamps and forests of the primeval earth. These +having been torn away from their native bed, by storms and +inundations, were transported into some adjacent lake, river, or sea. +Here they floated on the waters until, saturated with them, they sank +to the bottom, and being buried in the lower soil of adjacent lands, +became transformed into a new state among the members of the mineral +kingdom. A long interment followed, during which a course of chemical +changes, and new combinations of their vegetable elements, converted +them to the mineral condition of coal. + + _Primeval_, original, existing before the flood. + + _Gigantic_, extremely large, greater than the usual size. + + _Interment_, burial under the ground. + + _Elements_, the several parts or principles of which bodies + are composed. + + +What is a Coal Mine? + +A subterraneous excavation, from which coal is obtained. + + +Do the terms Coal and Charcoal signify the same substance? + +No; Charcoal is an artificial fuel, made in imitation of coal, by +burning wood covered with earth so as partially to exclude the air. It +is used for various purposes, as the making of gunpowder,[7] polishing +brass and copper, &c., and when a clear and bright fire is required, +as it burns with little or no smoke; it is dangerous, however, for one +to remain many hours in a close room with a charcoal fire, as the +fumes it throws out are hurtful, and would destroy life. Charcoal, in +fact, is the coaly residuum of any vegetables burnt in close vessels; +but the common charcoal is that prepared from wood, and is generally +black, very brittle, light, and destitute of taste or smell. It is a +powerful antiseptic, unalterable and indestructible. + +[Footnote 7: See Chapter XII.] + + _Residuum_, the remaining part, that which is left. + + _Antiseptic_, that which prevents putrefaction. + + +What is Iron? + +One of the most useful and abundant metals; being found in all mineral +earths, and stones; in plants, and animal fluids; and is the chief +cause of the varieties of color in all. Iron is found in great masses, +in various states, in the bowels of the earth; it is usually, however, +compounded with stone, from which it is separated by the action of +fire. In some parts of the world, whole mountains are formed of iron; +among these may be mentioned the Pilot Knob and the Iron Mountain, in +Missouri, being unsurpassed by anything of the kind found elsewhere. + + +What are its characteristics? + +It is hard, fusible, not very malleable, but extremely ductile, and +very tenacious; it is of a greyish color, and nearly eight times +heavier than water. Without iron, society could make no progress in +the cultivation of the ground, in mechanical arts or trades, in +architecture or navigation; it is therefore of the greatest use to +man. Iron tools have been used in all European countries as long as +their histories have existed; this metal appears likewise to have been +known and used by the inhabitants of the world in the earliest ages, +being frequently mentioned in the Holy Scriptures. In the fourth +chapter of Genesis, Tubalcain is spoken of as "a hammerer and +artificer in every work of brass and iron," and thus their existence +was evidently known at that early period of the world. + + _Artificer_, one who works or makes. + + _Fusible_, capable of being melted by fire. + +[Illustration: THE SALT MINES OF WIELICZCA.] + + +What do you mean by Metals? + +Useful substances dug from the bowels of the earth, being sometimes +found pure, but mostly combined with other matter. They are +distinguished by their weight, tenacity, hardness, opacity, color, and +peculiar lustre, known as the metallic lustre; they are fusible by +heat, and good conductors of heat and electricity; many of them are +malleable, and some extremely ductile. Those which were first known +are gold, silver, iron, copper, mercury, lead, and tin. + + _Tenacity_, the firmness with which one part adheres to + another. + + _Opacity_, want of transparency or clearness. + + +What are Metals called in their natural state? + +Ores; so named because the metal contained in them is either mixed +with other metals, or with mineral earths, from which they are +separated and purified by various means: such as washing, roasting, +&c., but the method is always regulated by the nature of the ore. + + +What is Copper? + +A hard, heavy, ductile metal, found native, and in many ores; of these +the most important is _copper pyrites_, which is a sulphuret of +copper. Next to gold, silver, and platinum, copper is the most +malleable and ductile of metals; it may be drawn into wires as fine as +hair, or beaten into leaves as thin as those of silver. The rust of +copper is very poisonous. Copper, mixed with a certain quantity of +tin, forms bell-metal. With a smaller proportion, it forms bronze, a +substance used in sculpture for casting figures and statues. It is an +abundant metal, and is found in various parts of the world. Native +oxides of copper are found in Cornwall, Siberia, and in North and +South America. + + _Oxide_, a substance combined with Oxygen,[8] in a + proportion not sufficient to produce acidity. + + _Sulphuret_, a combination of sulphur with a base. + +[Footnote 8: See Chapter XIII., article Oxygen.] + + +What are the uses of Copper? + +They are too various to be enumerated. In sheets it is much used to +sheathe the bottoms of ships, for boilers, and other utensils. Copper +coin was the only money used by the Romans till the 485th year of +their city, when silver began to be coined. In Sweden, houses are +covered with this metal. + + +What is a Mine? + +A cavity under ground, formed for the purpose of obtaining metals, +&c.; mines are often very deep and extensive. The descent into them is +by a pit, called a shaft; the clues by which mines are discovered, +are, mineral springs, the discoloration of vegetables, the appearance +of pieces of ore, &c. + + _Clues_, signs or means by which things hidden are brought + to light. + + +What is Brass? + +A factitious metal, consisting of copper and zinc. Brass is lighter +and harder than pure copper, and less subject to rust; owing to these +properties, together with its beautiful color, it is extremely useful +in the manufacture of many utensils. + + _Factitious_, made by art, not found in a natural state. + + +What is Zinc? + +A metal of a brilliant bluish white color. Its name was unknown to the +ancient Greeks and Arabians. It is mixed with other substances in the +ore, from which it is obtained by smelting in the furnace. It has +never yet been found native or pure. + + +For what is Zinc used? + +From its readiness to dissolve in all acids, and unite with other +metals, it is used in alloy with them in the composition of brass, &c. +Thin sheets of zinc are also used to cover roofs of houses, and in the +manufacture of various household utensils. + + +What is Lapis Calaminaris? + +Lapis Calaminaris, or calamine stone, is a native carbonate of zinc, +of some use in medicine, but chiefly in founding. It is, sometimes +brownish, as that found in Germany and England, or red, as that of +France. It is dug out of mines, usually in small pieces; generally out +of those of lead. Calamine is mostly found in barren, rocky soils. + +_Founding_, the art of casting metals. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +YAMS, MANGOES, BREAD-FRUIT, SHEA OR BUTTER TREE, COW TREE, WATER +TREE, LICORICE, MANNA, OPIUM, TOBACCO, AND GUM. + + +What are Yams? + +The roots of a climbing plant growing in tropical climates. The root +of the yam is wholesome and well-flavored; nearly as large as a man's +leg, and of an irregular form. Yams are much used for food in those +countries where they grow; the natives either roast or boil them, and +the white people grind them into flour, of which they make bread and +puddings. The yam is of a dirty brown color outside, but white and +mealy within. + + +What are Mangoes? + +The fruit of the Mango Tree, a native of India and the south-western +parts of Asia; it also grows abundantly in the West Indies and Brazil. +It was introduced into Jamaica in 1782; where it attains the height of +thirty or forty feet, with thick and wide-extended branches. The +varieties of the mango are very numerous,--upwards of eighty are +cultivated; and the quality of these varies according to the countries +and situations in which they grow. The mangoes of Asia are said to be +much better than those of America. + + +Describe the appearance of the Mango Tree. + +The flowers of this tree are small and whitish, formed in pyramidal +clusters. The fruit has some resemblance to a short thick cucumber, +about the size of a goose's egg; its taste is delicious and cooling; +it has a stone in the centre, like that of a peach. At first this +fruit is of a fine green color, and some varieties continue so, while +others change to a fine golden or orange color. The mango tree is an +evergreen, bearing fruit once or twice a year, from six or seven years +old to a hundred. + +_Pyramidal_, resembling a pyramid. + + +How is this fruit eaten? + +When ripe, it is eaten by the natives either in its natural state, or +bruised in wine. It is brought to us either candied or pickled, as the +ripe fruit is very perishable; in the latter case, they are opened +with a knife, and the middle filled up with fresh ginger, garlic, +mustard, salt, and oil or vinegar. The fruit of the largest variety +weighs two pounds or upwards. The several parts of this tree are all +applied to some use by the Hindoos: the wood is consecrated to the +service of the dead; from the flour of the dried kernels different +kinds of food are prepared; the leaves, flowers, and bark, are +medicinal. + +_Medicinal_, fit for medicine, possessing medical properties. + +_Consecrated_, separated from a common to a sacred use. + + +Is there not a tree which bears a fruit that may be used for bread? + +Yes; the Bread-fruit Tree, originally found in the southeastern parts +of Asia and the islands of the Pacific Ocean, though introduced into +the tropical parts of America. It is one of the most interesting, as +well as singular productions of the vegetable kingdom, being no less +beautiful than it is useful. This tree is large and shady; its leaves +are broad and indented, like those of the fig tree--from twelve to +eighteen inches long, rather fleshy, and of a dark green. The fruit, +when full-grown, is from six to nine inches round, and of an oval +form--when ripe, of a rich, yellow tinge; it generally hangs in +clusters of two or three, on a small thick stalk; the pulp is white, +partly farinaceous, and partly fibrous, but when ripe, becomes yellow +and juicy. + + _Indented_, toothed like the edge of a saw. + + _Farinaceous_, mealy, consisting of meal or flour; from + _farina_, flour. + + +How is the Bread-Fruit eaten? + +It is roasted until the outside is of a brown color and crisp; the +pulp has then the consistency of bread, which the taste greatly +resembles; and thus it forms a nourishing food: it is also prepared in +many different ways, besides that just mentioned. The tree produces +three, sometimes four crops in a year, and continues bearing for fifty +years, so that two or three trees are enough for a man's yearly +supply. Its timber, which at first is of a rich yellow, but afterwards +assumes the color of mahogany, is used in the building of houses and +canoes; the flowers, when dried, serve as tinder; the sap or juice +serves for glue; the inner bark is made, by the natives of some of the +islands of the Pacific Ocean, into a kind of cloth; and the leaves are +useful for many purposes. One species of the bread-fruit, called the +Jaca tree, grows chiefly on the mainland of Asia. + + _Mainland_, the continent. + + +Describe the Jaca Tree. + +This kind grows to the same, if not a larger size than the bread-fruit +of the islands, but is neither so palatable nor so nutritious; the +fruit often weighs thirty pounds, and contains two or three hundred +seeds, each four times as large as an almond. December is the time +when the fruit ripens; it is then eaten, but not much relished; the +seeds are also eaten when roasted. There are also other trees in +different parts of the world, mostly of the palm species, which yield +bread of a similar kind. + + +Is there not a tree which produces a substance resembling the Butter +which we make from the milk of the cow? + +The Shea, or Butter Tree, a native of Africa: it is similar in +appearance to the American oak, and the fruit, (from the kernel of +which the butter is prepared,) is somewhat like an olive in form. The +kernel is inclosed in a sweet pulp, under a thin, green rind. + + +How is the Butter extracted? + +The kernel, being taken out and dried in the sun, is boiled in water; +by which process a white, firm, and rich-flavored butter is produced, +which will keep for a whole year without salt. The growth and +preparation of this commodity is one of the first objects of African +industry, and forms a principal article of their trade with one +another. + + +You have given me an account of a useful Butter prepared from a plant; +is there not also a tree which can supply the want of a cow? + +In South America there is a tree, the juice of which is a nourishing +milk; it is called the Cow Tree. This tree is very fine; the leaves +are broad, and some of them ten inches long; the fruit is rather +fleshy, and contains one or two nuts or kernels. The milk is very +abundant, and is procured by incisions made in the trunk of the tree; +it is tolerably thick, and of a glutinous quality, a pleasant taste, +and agreeable smell. The negroes and people at work on the farms drink +it, dipping into it their bread made of maize. + + _Glutinous_, having the quality of glue,--an adhesive, gummy + substance, prepared from the skins of animals: it is used in + joining wood, &c., and for many other purposes. + + +What time of the day is the best for drawing the juice? + +Sunrise; the blacks and natives then hasten from all quarters with +large bowls to receive the milk; some drink it on the spot, others +carry it home to their families. + + +What island possesses a remarkable substitute for the want of springs +of Water? + +Ferro, one of the Canary Isles, situated in the Atlantic Ocean. In +this island there is no water, except on a part of the beach which is +nearly inaccessible; to supply the place of a fountain, Nature has +bestowed on the island a particular kind of tree, unknown in other +parts of the world. It is of a moderate size, with straight, long, +evergreen leaves; on its top a small cloud continually rests, which so +drenches the leaves with moisture, that it perpetually distils upon +the ground a stream of clear water. To these trees, as to perennial +springs, the inhabitants of Ferro repair, and are supplied with +abundance of water for themselves and cattle. + + _Perennial_, lasting through the year, perpetual. + + +What is Licorice? + +A plant, the juice of which is squeezed from the roots, and then +boiled with sugar, and used as a remedy for coughs, &c. Great +quantities are exported from Spain, Italy, &c. The dried root is of +great use in medicine, and makes an excellent drink for colds and +other affections of the lungs by boiling it with linseed. + + +What are the Lungs? + +The organs of respiration in man and many other animals. There are two +of these organs, one on each side of the chest. + + _Respiration_, breathing; the act of inhaling air into the lungs, + and again expelling it, by which animal life is supported. + + +What is Manna? + +A sweet, white juice, oozing from the branches and leaves of a kind of +ash tree, growing chiefly in the southern parts of Italy, during the +heats of summer. When dry, it is very light, easily crumbled, and of a +whitish, or pale yellow color, not unlike hardened honey. + + +Is Manna peculiar to the Ash Tree of Southern Italy? + +No. Manna is nothing more than the nutritious juices of the tree, +which exude during the summer heats; and what confirms this is, that +the very hot summers are always those which are most productive of +manna. Several different species of trees produce a kind of manna; the +best and most used is, however, that of Calabria, in Italy. + + +What are its uses? + +It was much esteemed formerly in medicine, but it has now gone nearly +into disuse. The peasants of Mount Libanus eat it as others do honey. +The Bedouin Arabs consume great quantities, considering it the +greatest dainty their country affords. In Mexico, they are said to +have a manna which they eat as we do cheese. At Briancon, in France, +they collect it from all sorts of trees that grow there, and the +inhabitants observe, that such summers as produce the greatest +quantities of manna are very fatal to the trees, many of them +perishing in the winter. + + +Is there not another tree which produces Manna? + +Yes: the Tamarisk, a tree peculiar to Palestine and parts of Arabia. +This remarkable substance is produced by several trees, and in various +countries of the East. On Mount Sinai there is a different species of +Tamarisk that yields it. It is found on the branches of the tree, and +falls on the ground during the heat of the day. + + +Where is Mount Libanus? + +Mount Libanus, or Lebanon, is situated in Asiatic Turkey; it was +anciently famous for its large and beautiful cedar trees. The "Cedars +of Lebanon" are frequently mentioned in Holy Writ. There are now +scarcely any remaining of superior size and antiquity, but they vary +from the largest size down to mere saplings; and their numbers seem to +increase rather than diminish, there being many young trees springing +up. + + +How is Manna gathered? + +From August to September, the Italians collect it in the following +manner, _viz._: by making an incision at the foot of the tree, each day +over that of the preceding, about four inches from one another: these +cuts, or incisions, are nearly two inches long, and half an inch deep. +When the cut is made, the manna directly begins to flow, at first like +clear water, but congealing as it flows, it soon becomes firm: this +they collect in baskets. Manna has been found to consist of two +distinct substances one nearly resembling sugar, the other similar to +a gum or mucilage. + + +What nation was fed with a kind of Manna? + +The Children of Israel, when wandering in the desert wilderness, where +no food was to be procured, were fed by a miraculous supply of manna, +showered down from Heaven every morning on the ground in such +quantities as to afford sufficient food for the whole host. + + +What is Opium? + +A narcotic, gummy, resinous juice, drawn from the head of the white +poppy, and afterwards thickened; it is brought over in dark, reddish +brown lumps, which, when powdered, become yellow. + + _Narcotic_, producing sleep and drowsiness. + + +In what countries is it cultivated? + +In many parts of Asia, India, and even the southern parts of Europe, +whence it is exported into other countries. The Turks, and other +Eastern nations, chew it. With us it is chiefly used in medicine. The +juice is obtained from incisions made in the seed-vessels of the +plant; it is collected in earthen pots, and allowed to become +sufficiently hard to be formed into roundish masses of about four +pounds weight. In Europe the poppy is cultivated mostly for the seeds. +Morphia and laudanum are medicinal preparations of opium. + + +What is Tobacco? + +An herbaceous plant which flourishes in many temperate climates, +particularly in North America; it is supposed to have received its +name from Tabaco, a province of Mexico; it is cultivated in the West +Indies, the Levant, on the coast of Greece, in the Archipelago, Malta, +Italy, France, Ceylon, &c. It was not known in Europe till the +discovery of America by the Spaniards; and was carried to England +about the time of Queen Elizabeth, either by Sir Francis Drake or Sir +Walter Raleigh. Tobacco is either taken as snuff, smoked in pipes or +in the form of cigars, or chewed in the mouth like opium. There are +many different species of this plant, most of them natives of America, +some of the Cape of Good Hope and China. Tobacco contains a powerful +poison called nicotine. + + _Herbaceous_, like an herb or plant, not a shrub or tree. + + +What part of the plant is used? + +The leaves, which are stripped from the plant, and after being +moistened with water, are twisted up into rolls; these are cut up by +the tobacconist, and variously prepared for sale, or reduced into a +scented powder called snuff. + + +Who was Sir Francis Drake? + +Sir Francis Drake was a distinguished naval officer, who flourished in +the reign of Elizabeth. He made his name immortal by a voyage into the +South Seas, through the Straits of Magellan; which, at that time, no +Englishman had ever attempted. He died on board his own ship in the +West Indies, 1595. + + +Who was Sir Walter Raleigh? + +Sir Walter Raleigh was also an illustrious English navigator and +historian, born in 1552. He performed great services for Queen +Elizabeth, particularly in the discovery of Virginia, and in the +defeat of the Spanish Armada; he lived in honor and prosperity during +her reign, but on the accession of James the First, was stripped of +his favor at court, unaccountably accused of high treason, tried, and +condemned to die; being reprieved, however, he was imprisoned in the +Tower of London many years, during which time he devoted himself to +writing and study. Receiving, at last, a commission to go and explore +the gold mines at Guiana, he embarked; but his design having been +betrayed to the Spaniards, he was defeated: and on his return to +England, in July, 1618, was arrested and beheaded, (by order of the +King, on his former attainder,) October 29; suffering his fate with +great magnanimity. + + _High Treason_, in England, means an offence committed + against the sovereign. In the United States it consists in + levying war against the government, adhering to its enemies, + and giving them aid and comfort. + + _Reprieved_, respited from sentence of death. + + _Magnanimity_, greatness of mind, bravery. + + +What is Gum? + +A mucilaginous juice, exuding from the bark of certain trees or +plants, drawn thence by the warmth of the sun in the form of a +glutinous matter; and afterwards by the same cause rendered firm and +tenacious. There are many different gums, named after the particular +tree or plant from which they are produced. + + _Mucilaginous_, consisting of mucilage. + + _Tenacious_, adhering closely. + + +What is the character of Gum? + +Gum is capable of being dissolved in water, and forming with it a +viscid transparent fluid; but not in vinous spirits or oil; it burns +in the fire to a black coal, without melting or catching fire; and +does not dissolve in water at boiling heat. The name of _gum_ has been +inaccurately given to several species of gum-resins, which consist of +resin and various other substances, flowing from many kinds of trees, +and becoming hard by exposure to the air. These are soluble in dilute +alcohol. Gum is originally a milky liquor, having a greater quantity +of water mixed with its oily parts, and for that reason it dissolves +in either water or oil. Another sort is not oily, and therefore +dissolves in water only, as gum Arabic, the gum of the cherry-tree, +&c. + + _Viscid_, thick, ropy. + + _Vinous_, having the qualities of wine. + + +Are the last-mentioned sorts properly called Gums? + +No, though commonly called gums, they are only dried mucilages, which +were nothing else than the mucilaginous lymph issuing from the vessels +of the tree, in the same manner as it does from mallows, comfrey, and +even from the cucumber; the vessels of which being cut across, yield a +lymph which is plainly mucilaginous, and if well dried, at length +becomes a kind of gum, or rather, a hardened mucilage. + + _Lymph_, transparent fluid. + + +What is Gum Arabic? + +The juice of a small tree of the Acacia tribe, growing in Egypt, +Arabia Petraea, Palestine, and in different parts of America. + + +Are there other plants or trees which produce Gum, besides those +already mentioned? + +A great number, though not all commonly in use. The leaves of rhubarb, +the common plum, and even the sloe and the laurel, produce a clear, +tasteless gum; there are also a number of different gums, brought from +foreign countries, of great use in medicine and the arts. Most of the +Acacias produce gums, though the quality of all is not equally good. + + +What is Rhubarb? + +A valuable root growing in China, Turkey, and Russian Tartary. +Quantities of it are imported from other parts of the world: that from +Turkey is esteemed the best. Rhubarb is also cultivated in our +gardens, and the stalks of the leaves are often used in tarts; but the +root, from the difference of climate, does not possess any medicinal +virtue. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + +SPECTACLES, MARINER'S COMPASS, BAROMETER, THERMOMETER, WATCHES, +CLOCKS, TELESCOPE, MICROSCOPE, GUNPOWDER, STEAM ENGINE, AND +ELECTRO-MAGNETIC TELEGRAPH. + + +When were Spectacles invented, and who was their inventor? + +It is supposed that they were first known about the thirteenth +century, and invented by a monk of Pisa, in Italy, named Alexander de +Spina. Spectacles are composed of two circular pieces of glass set in +a frame. + + +What are these glasses called? + +Lenses. They are either convex or concave, according to the kind of +sight requiring them. Old people, and those who can only see things at +a distance, from the flatness of the eye, which prevents the rays of +light converging so as to meet in the centre, require convex lenses. +People who can only distinguish objects when viewed closely, from the +eye being too convex, require concave lenses to counteract it by +spreading the rays, and thus rendering vision distinct. + + _Convex_, rising outwardly in a circular form; opposite to + concave. + + _Concave_, hollow; round, but hollow, as the inner curve of + an arch, &c. + + _Converging_, tending to one point from different parts. + + _Vision_, the faculty of seeing. + + +What is the Mariner's Compass? + +A most useful and important instrument, by the aid of which the +navigator guides his ship on the sea, and steers his way to the place +of his destination. The inventor of the Mariner's Compass is not +known, nor the exact time of its introduction; it was employed in +Europe in navigation about the middle of the thirteenth century, and +has been in use more than five hundred years. The Chinese are said to +have been acquainted with it much earlier, but no reliance can be +placed on their dates. The power of the loadstone to attract iron was +known to the ancient Egyptians, but it was not applied to any +practical purpose. + + _Navigator_, one who guides a ship. + + _Steer_, to direct or guide a vessel in its course. + + _Destination_, the place to which a person is bound. + + _Practical_, capable of practice, not merely speculative. + + +What is the Loadstone? + +An ore of iron which possesses the peculiar property of attracting +iron, namely, of drawing it in contact with its own mass, and holding +it firmly attached by its own power of attraction. A piece of +loadstone drawn several times along a needle, or a small piece of +iron, converts it into an artificial magnet; if this magnetized needle +is carefully balanced, it will turn round of itself, till its end +points towards the North. The magnetized needle also possesses the +power of attracting iron, and of communicating this power to another +piece of iron or steel, similar to that of the loadstone itself. + + _Contact_, touch. + + _Magnetized_, rendered magnetic. + + +Describe the Mariner's Compass. + +The Mariner's Compass consists of a circular box, enclosing a +magnetized bar of steel, called the _needle_, carefully balanced on an +upright steel pivot, and having that end which points to the North +shaped like the head of an arrow; attached to this needle, and turning +with it, is a card on which are printed the divisions of North, South. +East, and West; called the points of the compass. By simply looking at +the position of the needle, the mariner can see the direction in which +his vessel is sailing, and regulate his helm accordingly. + + _Helm_, the instrument by which a ship is steered, + consisting of a rudder and tiller. + + +What is a Barometer? + +An instrument for measuring the weight of the atmosphere, which +enables us to determine the changes of the weather, the height of +mountains, &c. It consists of a glass tube hermetically sealed at one +end, filled with mercury, and inverted in a basin of mercury; +according to the weight of the atmosphere, this mercury rises or +falls. + + +How is the Hermetic seal formed? + +By heating the edges of a vessel, till they are just ready to melt, +and then twisting them closely together with hot pincers, so that the +air may be totally excluded. The word is taken from Hermes, the Greek +name for Mercury, the heathen god of arts and learning, and the +supposed inventor of chemistry,[9] which is sometimes called the +hermetical art; or perhaps from Hermes, an ancient king of Egypt, who +was either its inventor, or excelled in it. + +[Footnote 9: See Chapter XVIII., article Chemistry.] + + +What is Mercury? + +Quicksilver, or mercury, is a white fluid metal, the heaviest except +platina and gold; it readily combines with nearly all other metals, +and is used in the manufacture of looking-glasses, barometers, +thermometers, &c.; in some of the arts, and in the preparation of +several powerful medicines. It is found in California, Hungary, +Sweden, Spain, China, and Peru. The quicksilver mine of Guanca Velica, +in Peru, is one hundred and seventy fathoms in circumference, and four +hundred and eighty deep. In this profound abyss are seen streets, +squares, and a chapel, where religious worship is performed. The +quicksilver mines of Idria, a town of Lower Austria, have continually +been wrought for more than 300 years. The vapor which is continually +arising from the mercury is very hurtful to the miners, who seldom +survive many years. + + _Abyss_, a gulf, a depth without bottom. + + +In what state is Mercury usually found? + +Either native, or in the form of ore; it is often found mixed with +silver, but more frequently with sulphur in the form of sulphuret, +which is decomposed by distillation. Running mercury is found in +globules, in America, and is collected from the clefts of the rocks. +Mercury has the appearance of melted silver; it is neither ductile nor +malleable in this state; it is a substance so volatile, when heated, +that it may be evaporated like water; it is always seen in a fluid +state, even in temperate climates, as a very small portion of heat is +sufficient to preserve its fluidity. It is used to separate gold and +silver from the foreign matter found with those metals. Calomel, a +valuable medicine, and vermilion, a color, are both preparations of +mercury. + + _Globules_, small particles of matter having the form of a + ball or sphere. + + +What is a Thermometer? + +An instrument for measuring temperature. It consists of a fine glass +tube, terminated at one end in a bulb, usually filled with mercury, +which expands or contracts according to the degree of heat or cold. On +the scale of the Fahrenheit thermometer, the freezing point of water +is marked 32 deg. and the boiling point at 212 deg.. In both the Centigrade +and the Reaumur scales the freezing point is at 0, and the boiling +point at 100 deg. in the Centigrade and at 80 deg. in Reaumur's. The invention +of this instrument dates from about the close of the sixteenth +century; but it is not known by whom it was first brought into use. + + _Terminated_, finished, ended. + + +When and by whom were Watches and Clocks invented? + +Watches were invented about the year 1500, but who was the inventor is +disputed. They were, however, of little value as time-keepers, before +the application of the spiral spring as a regulator to the balance; +the glory of this excellent invention lies between Dr. Hooke and M. +Huygens; the English ascribing it to the former, the Dutch, French, +&c., to the latter. Some assert that pocket-watches were first made +about 1477, at Nuremberg, in Germany. The most ancient clock of which +we possess any certain account, was made in 1634 by Henry de Wycke, a +German artist; it was erected in a tower of the palace of Charles V., +king of France. The pendulum was applied by Huygens, in 1656. + + +What is a Pendulum? + +A weight so suspended from a fixed point that it may easily swing +backward and forward; its oscillations are always performed in equal +times, provided the length of the pendulum and the gravity remain the +same. It is said that the idea of employing the pendulum for the +measurement of time, was first conceived by Galileo, while a young +man, upon his observing attentively the regular oscillations of a lamp +suspended from the roof of a church in Pisa. It was not, however, till +the time of Huygens that a method was devised of continuing its +motions, and registering the number of its oscillations. + + _Oscillation_, a swinging backward and forward. + + _Gravity_, the tendency of a body toward the centre of the + earth. + + _Registering_, recording. + +[Illustration: CHARCOAL BURNING.] + +[Illustration: GOLD MINERS WASHING ORE.] + + +To whom is the invention of Gunpowder ascribed? + +Most authors suppose it was invented by Bartholdus Schwartz, a monk of +Goslar, a town of Brunswick, in Germany, about the year 1320; it +appears, however, that it was known much earlier in many parts of the +world, and that the famous Roger Bacon, who died in 1292, knew its +properties; but it is not certain that he was acquainted with its +application to fire-arms. + + +Who was Roger Bacon? + +A learned Franciscan, born at Ilchester, England, in 1214. He studied +at Oxford, and afterwards became professor at that great University. +He was familiar with every branch of human knowledge, but was +especially distinguished for his extraordinary proficiency in the +natural sciences. To him we owe the invention of the telescope; that +of gunpowder is ascribed to him, as stated above, although we have no +evidence to show whether he discovered its ingredients himself, or +whether he derived the knowledge from some ancient manuscripts. Bacon +suffered some from the ignorance of the age in which he lived, many of +his experiments being looked upon as magic. He died at Oxford in the +year 1294. + + +What is understood by Magic? + +Magic is a term used to signify an unlawful and wicked kind of +science, depending, as was pretended, on the assistance of superhuman +beings and of departed souls. The term was anciently applied to all +kinds of learning, and in particular to the science of the Magi or +Wise Men of Persia, from whom it was called magic. _Natural_ magic is +no more than the application of natural active causes to passive +things or subjects, to produce effects apparently supernatural. + + _Supernatural_, beyond the powers of nature; miraculous. + + +Of what is Gunpowder composed? + +Of saltpetre,[10] sulphur, and charcoal, mixed together and powdered; +its explosive force when fired, is owing to the instantaneous and +abundant liberation of gaseous matter by the intense heat resulting +from the action of the combustibles upon the saltpetre. It is not +known by whom it was first applied to the purposes of war, but it is +certain that it was used early in the fourteenth century. Cannons were +used at the battle of Cressy, in 1346; small guns, or muskets, were +introduced into the Spanish army in 1521. + +[Footnote 10: See Chapter XIII.] + + _Explosive_, bursting out with violence and noise. + + _Liberation_, a setting at liberty. + + +Is not Gunpowder highly combustible? + +So combustible is gunpowder, that a single spark of fire, lighting +upon any of it, will cause it to explode with immense force; and +instances have occurred, when any store or magazine of it has taken +fire, that have been attended with the most fatal effects. It is +useful to the miner and engineer as a ready means of overcoming the +obstacles which are presented in their search for mineral treasures, +and in procuring materials for building. From many passages in the +ancient authors, there is reason to suppose that gunpowder, or a +composition extremely like it, was known to them; but it does not +appear to have been in general use, and the invention of fire-arms is +comparatively modern. Dynamite, a recent invention, has a still +greater explosive force than gunpowder. + + _Engineer_, one who works or directs an engine. + + _Obstacles_, hinderances, obstructions. + + +What is Saltpetre? + +A bitter kind of salt, called by the ancients nitre, but more commonly +among us saltpetre. It is composed of nitric acid and potassa.[11] It +is found in earthy substances; sometimes native or pure, in the form +of a shapeless salt. Vast quantities are found in several of the +marly earths of the East Indies, China, Persia, and also in South +America. In India it is found naturally crystallized, and forming thin +crusts upon the surface of the earth. It is especially abundant in the +United States, being found in immense quantities in the limestone +caves in the south-western States. + +[Footnote 11: See Potash, Chapter VII., article Glass.] + + +What do you mean by _Marly_? + +Consisting of marl, a kind of earth composed of different proportions +of clay and carbonate of lime; it is much used for manure. There are +several different-colored marls, each possessing different qualities. +The most common are the red and the white, though there are grey, +brown, blue, and yellow colored marls. + + +What is a Telescope? + +An optical instrument, which serves for discovering and viewing +distant objects, either directly by glasses, or by reflection. The +invention of the telescope is one of the noblest and most useful of +which modern ages can boast, since by means of this instrument the +wonderful motions of the planets and fixed stars, and all the heavenly +bodies, are revealed to us. The honor of the invention is much +disputed; it is certain, however, that the celebrated Galileo was the +first who improved the telescope so as to answer astronomical +purposes. The name is formed from two Greek words, one signifying +_far_, the other _to observe_. + + _Optical_, relating to Optics, the science of vision. + + _Astronomical_, relating to Astronomy. + + +Who was Galileo? + +A most eminent astronomer and mathematician, born at Florence, in +Italy. His inventions and discoveries in Astronomy, Geometry, and +Mechanics, contributed much to the advancement of those sciences. He +died in 1642. + + _Astronomer_, one versed in Astronomy. + + _Mathematician_, one versed in Mathematics; a science which + treats of magnitude and number. + + +What is Astronomy?[12] + +That science which teaches the knowledge of the heavenly bodies, with +the nature and causes of their various phenomena. + +[Footnote 12: See Chapter xviii.] + + +What is Geometry? + +An ancient, perfect, and beautiful science, which treats of the +relations and properties of lines, surfaces, and solids. + + +What is meant by Mechanics? + +The science which investigates the laws of forces and powers, and +their action on bodies, either directly or by machinery. When the term +_mechanic_ is applied to a _person_, it means one skilled in +mechanics, accustomed to manual labor. + + _Investigate_, to search, to inquire into. + + _Manual_, performed by the hand. + + +What is a Microscope? + +An optical instrument, by means of which very minute objects are +represented exceedingly large, and viewed very distinctly according to +the laws of refraction or reflection. Nothing certain is known +respecting the inventor of microscopes, or the exact time of their +invention, but that they were first used in Germany, about 1621. + + _Minute_, small, diminutive. + + _Refraction_, a change in the direction of a ray of light, + when it passes through transparent substances of different + densities. + + _Reflection_, a turning back of a ray of light after + striking upon any surface. + + +What is the Steam Engine? + +A machine that derives its moving power from the force of the steam +produced from boiling water, which is very great, especially when, as +in the steam engine, it is confined within a limited compass: this +useful machine is one of the most valuable presents that the arts of +life have received from the philosopher, and is of the greatest +importance in working mines; supplying cities with water; in working +metals; in many mechanical arts; and in navigation. By the aid of +steam, vessels are propelled with greater swiftness than those which +are wholly dependent on the winds and tides; and thus trade is +facilitated, and we are enabled to communicate with distant lands in a +much shorter space of time than was formerly consumed. On land, +railroads are constructed, on which steam carriages run with +astonishing rapidity, so that a journey which by coach and horses +formerly required two or more days, may now be performed in four or +five hours. + + _Mechanical_, belonging to Mechanics. + + +To whom are we indebted for its invention? + +Its invention is by most writers ascribed to the Marquis of Worcester, +an Englishman, about 1663; but it does not appear that the inventor +could ever interest the public in favor of this, or his other +discoveries. The steam engine of Captain Savery, also an Englishman, +is the first of which any definite description has been preserved. It +was invented in 1698. Since that period it has been successively +improved by various persons, but it is to Mr. Watt and Mr. Boulton, of +England, that it is indebted for much of its present state of +perfection. + + +By whom was the Steam Engine first applied to the purposes of +Navigation? + +By John Fitch, of Pennsylvania. From papers in the historical +collections of Pennsylvania, it appears that the first successful +experiments were made at Philadelphia, in 1785, three years before the +attempts at Falkirk, and on the Clyde, in Scotland. The boat made +several trips on the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers, but owing to +repeated accidents to her machinery, and the want of funds and +competent mechanics for the necessary repairs, she was abandoned. In +1807, Robert Fulton, also of Pennsylvania, made his first experimental +trip on the Hudson River, with complete success. To this distinguished +and ingenious American justly belongs the honor of having brought +navigation by steam to a state of perfection. In 1819, the first +steamship crossed the Atlantic from Savannah to Liverpool; and in +1838, a regular communication by steamship was established between +Great Britain and the United States. Since that period, ocean +navigation by steam-vessels has made rapid progress, and, at the +present time, numbers of steamers connect our various seaports with +those of other nations, and with each other. + + +What is the Electro-Magnetic Telegraph? + +An instrument, or apparatus, by means of which intelligence is +conveyed to any distance with the velocity of lightning. The electric +fluid, when an excess has accumulated in one place, always seeks to +transfer itself to another, until an equilibrium of its distribution +is fully restored. Consequently, when two places are connected by +means of a good conductor of electricity, as, for instance, the +telegraphic wire; the fluid generated by a galvanic battery, if the +communication be rendered complete, instantaneously traverses the +whole extent of the wire, and charges, at the distant station, an +electro-magnet; this attracts one end of a lever, and draws it +downward, while the other extremity is thrown up, and, by means of a +style, marks a slip of paper, which is steadily wound off from a +roller by the aid of clock-work. If the communication is immediately +broken, only one wave of electricity passes over, and a _dot_ is made +upon the paper; if kept up, a _line_ is marked. These dots and lines +are made to represent the letters of the alphabet, so that an operator +employed for the purpose can easily read the message which is +transmitted.--The Electro-Magnetic Telegraph was first introduced upon +a line between Baltimore and Washington, by Professor Morse, in 1844; +at the present time, it is in successful operation between nearly all +the important cities and towns of the United States and of Europe. + + An _Electro-Magnet_ is a piece of soft iron, rendered + temporarily magnetic by being placed within a coil of wire + through which a current of electricity is passing. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +SOAP, CANDLES, TALLOW TREE, SPERMACETI, WAX, MAHOGANY, INDIAN +RUBBER OR CAOUTCHOUC, SPONGE, CORAL, LIME, CARBON, OXYGEN, NITROGEN, +GAS, HYDROGEN, CHALK, AND MARBLE. + + +Of what is Soap composed? + +Of soda or potash, and various oily substances; it is so useful for +domestic and other purposes, that it may be regarded as one of the +necessaries of life; immense quantities of it are consumed in all +civilized countries. Soft soap is generally made of a lye of +wood-ashes and quicklime, boiled up with tallow or oil; common +household soap of soda and tallow, or of potash and tallow; when +potash is used, a large portion of common salt, which contains soda, +is added to harden it. The finest white soaps are made of olive oil +and a lye consisting of soda and quicklime; perfumes are sometimes +added, or various coloring matters stirred in to give the soap a +variegated appearance. The ancient Greeks and Hebrews appear to have +been acquainted with the art of making soap, or a composition very +similar to it; and also the ancient Gauls and Germans. A soap-boiler's +shop, with soap in it, was found in the city of Pompeii, in Italy, +which was overwhelmed by an eruption of Mount Vesuvius, A.D. 79. + + +What is Soda? + +Soda, or barilla, is obtained from the ashes of marine plants, and by +the decomposition of common salt; its great depository is the ocean, +soda being the basis of salt. The marine plants from which the soda is +obtained, are endowed with the property of decomposing the sea-salt +which they imbibe, and of absorbing the soda which it contains. It is +found native in Egypt, and is there called _natron_; a name similar to +that which it bore among the Jews and Greeks. + + _Depository_, store-house, place where anything is lodged. + + _Imbibe_, to drink in, to absorb. + + +Of what are Candles made? + +Of Tallow, which means animal fat melted and clarified, that is, +cleansed or purified from filth. Tallow is procured from many animals, +but the most esteemed, and the most used, is that made from oxen, +sheep, swine, goats, deer, bears, &c.; some of which tallows or fats +are used in medicine, some in making soap, and dressing leather; +others in the manufacture of candles, &c. For the last-mentioned +article, that of sheep and oxen is most used; candles of a better sort +are likewise made of wax and spermaceti. Candles are kept burning by +means of a wick of cotton or rush, placed in the centre of the tallow, +which is moulded into a cylindrical form. + + _Cylindrical_, having the form of a cylinder. + + +Is there not a tree which yields a vegetable Tallow? + +Yes; China possesses a tree producing a substance like our tallow, of +which the Chinese make their candles; this tallow is extracted from +the stone of the fruit, the tallow being a white pulp which surrounds +it. In America, likewise, there is a shrub, a native of the temperate +parts, especially towards the sea-side, the seeds of which contain a +waxy substance used for the same purpose, and which is extracted by +boiling; this shrub is a species of myrtle, and does not attain to any +great size. + + _Extracted_, drawn from. + + +What is Spermaceti? + +A whitish, flaky, unctuous substance, prepared from an oil of the same +name, drawn from a particular kind of whale, distinguished from the +common whale by having teeth, and a hunch on its back. + + _Flaky_, having the nature of flakes. + + +What is Wax? + +A soft, yellow, concrete matter, collected from vegetables by the +bee, of which this industrious and useful insect constructs its cell. +Wax forms a considerable article of trade; it is of two kinds, the +yellow and the white; the yellow is the native wax as it is taken from +the hive, and the white is the same washed, purified, and exposed to +the air. + + _Concrete_, grown together, solid. + + +What Tree produces the beautiful and well-known wood so much used in +making the various articles of household furniture? + +The Mahogany Tree, growing in America, and the East and West Indies; +it frequently grows in the crevices of rocks, and other places of the +same description. This wood was not used for making furniture till +near the end of the seventeenth century. A London physician had a +brother, the captain of a West India ship, who, on his return to +England, having on board several logs of mahogany for the purpose of +ballast, made him a present of the wood, he being engaged in a +building project; his carpenter, however, threw it aside, observing +that it was too hard to be wrought. Some time after, the lady of the +physician being in want of a box to hold candles, the cabinet-maker +was directed to make it of this wood; he also made the same objection, +and declared that it spoiled his tools. Being urged, however, to make +another trial, he at length succeeded; when the box was polished, the +beautiful color of the wood was so novel, that it became an object of +great curiosity. Before this time, mahogany had been used partially in +the West Indies for ship-building, but this new discovery of its +beauty soon brought it into general use for making furniture. + + _Crevice_, a rent, a crack. + + _Ballast_, the heavy matter placed in the hold of a vessel + to keep it steady. + + +What is India Rubber or Caoutchouc? + +An elastic, resinous substance, produced from a tree, growing +abundantly at Cayenne, Quito, and other parts of South America; and +also in some parts of the Indies. The tree which produces it is +large, straight, and about sixty feet high. There is, however, a small +species found in Sumatra and Java, and some of the neighboring +islands. + + +How is the Caoutchouc obtained from the Tree? + +By making incisions in the trunk of the tree, from which the fluid +resin issues in great abundance, appearing of a milky whiteness at +first, but gradually becoming of a dark reddish color, soft and +elastic to the touch. + + +To what use is this substance put? + +The Indians make of it boots, shoes, bottles, flambeaux, and a species +of cloth. Amongst us it is combined with sulphur, forming the +vulcanized rubber of commerce, which is used for many purposes. A +greater proportion of sulphur, produces vulcanite, a hard black +substance, resembling jet. + + _Flambeaux_, torches burnt to give light. + + +What is Sponge? + +A marine substance, found adhering to rocks and shells under the +sea-water, or on the sides of rocks near the shore. Sponge was +formerly imagined by some naturalists to be a vegetable production; by +others, a mineral, or a collection of sea-mud, but it has since been +discovered to be the fabric and habitation of a species of worm, or +polypus. + + +What do you mean by Polypus? + +A species of animals called Zoophytes, by which are meant beings +having such an admixture of the characteristics of both plants and +animals, as to render it difficult to decide to which division they +properly belong. They are animal in substance, possessed indeed of a +stomach, but without the other animal characteristics of +blood-vessels, bones, or organs of sense; these creatures live chiefly +in water, and are mostly incapable of motion: they increase by buds or +excrescences from the parent zoophyte, and if cut off will grow again +and multiply; each part becoming a perfect animal. Myriads of the +different species of zoophytes reside in small cells of coral, sponge, +&c., or in forms like plants, and multiply in such numbers as to +create rocks and whole islands in many seas, by their untiring +industry. Polypus signifies having many feet, or roots; it is derived +from the Greek. + + _Myriads_, countless numbers. + + +Whence are the best and greatest number of Sponges brought? + +From the Mediterranean, especially from Nicaria, an island near the +coast of Asia: the collection of sponges forms, in some of these +islands, the principal support of their inhabitants. They are procured +by diving under water, an exercise in which both men, women, and +children are skilled from their earliest years. The fine, small +sponges are esteemed the best, and usually come from Constantinople; +the larger and coarser sorts are brought from Tunis and Algiers, on +the coast of Africa. Sponge is very useful in the arts, as well as for +domestic purposes. + + +What is Coral? + +A substance which, like sponge, was considered as a vegetable +production, until about the year 1720, when a French gentleman of +Marseilles commenced (and continued for thirty years,) a series of +observations, and ascertained that the coral was a living animal of +the Polypus tribe. The general name of zoophytes, or plant animals, +has since been applied to them. These animals are furnished with +minute glands, secreting a milky juice; this juice, when exuded from +the animal, becomes fixed and hard. + + _Series_, a course or continued succession. + + _Glands_, vessels. + + _Exuded_, from exude, to flow out. + + +Is this substance considered by naturalists as the habitation of the +Insect? + +Not merely as the habitation, but as a part of the animal itself, in +the same manner that the shell of a snail or an oyster is of those +animals, and without which they cannot long exist. By means of this +juice or secretion, the coral insects, at a vast but unknown depth +below the surface of the sea, attach themselves to the points and +ridges of rocks, which form the bottom of the ocean; upon which +foundation the little architects labor, building up, by the aid of the +above-mentioned secretion, pile upon pile of their rocky habitations, +until at length the work rises above the sea, and is continued to such +a height as to leave it almost dry, when the insects leave building on +that part, and begin afresh in another direction under the water. Huge +masses of rocky substances are thus raised by this wonderful little +insect, capable of resisting the tremendous power of the ocean when +agitated to the highest pitch by winds or tempests. + + _Architect_, one who builds. + + +How do these Coral Rocks become Islands? + +After the formation of this solid, rocky base, sea-shells, fragments +of coral, and sea-sand, thrown up by each returning tide, are broken +and mixed together by the action of the waves; these, in time, become +a sort of stone, and thus raise the surface higher and higher; +meanwhile, the ever-active surf continues to throw up the shells of +marine animals and other substances, which fill up the crevices +between the stones; the undisturbed sand on its surface offers to the +seeds of trees and plants cast upon it by the waves, a soil upon which +they rapidly grow and overshadow the dazzling whiteness of the +new-formed land. Trunks of trees, washed into the sea by the rivers +from other countries and islands, here find a resting-place, and with +these come some small animals, chiefly of the lizard and insect tribe. +Even before the trees form a wood, the sea-birds nestle among their +branches, and the stray land-bird soon takes refuge in the bushes. At +last, man arrives and builds his hut upon the fruitful soil formed by +the corruption of the vegetation, and calls himself lord and master of +this new creation. + + _Surf_, the white spray or froth of the sea waves. + + +Where is the Coral Insect found? + +In nearly all great seas; but particularly in the Mediterranean, where +it produces Corallines of the most beautiful forms and colors: it is +in the Pacific Ocean, however, where these tiny workmen are effecting +those mighty changes, which exceed the most wonderful works of man. + + +What is that part of the Pacific called, where the Coral Rocks are +most abundant? + +The Coral Sea, from the number of coral reefs and sunken islands, with +which it abounds; it includes a region of many miles in extent, the +whole of which is studded with numberless reefs, rocks, islands, and +columns of coral, continually joining and advancing towards each +other. All navigators who have visited these seas, state that no +charts or maps are of any service after a few years, owing to the +number of fresh rocks and reefs which are continually rising to the +surface. The wonderful instinct of these animals leads them to +continue working without ceasing, until their labors are finished, or +their lives extinct. + + _Reef_, a chain or line of rocks lying near the surface of + the water. + + _Extinct_, at an end, dead. + + +What are the names of the principal islands of Coral formation? + +The New Hebrides, the Friendly Isles, the Navigator's Isles, the +Society Islands, the Marquesas, the Gambier group, and others. These +groups are separated from each other by channels or seas, wider than +those which divide the individual islands which form the respective +groups; but all these waters abound with shoals and minor islets, +which point out the existence of a common base, and show that the work +by which they will afterwards be united above the level of the sea is +continually going forward. + + _Shoals_, shallows; places where the water is of little + depth. + + _Minor_, less, smaller than others. + + _Existence_, being. + + +What is a singular characteristic of the Coral Islands? + +On all of them a plentiful supply of sweet and fresh water may be +obtained by digging three or four feet into the coral; and even within +one yard of high-water mark such a supply is to be found. They are +mostly covered with a deep rich soil, and well wooded with trees and +evergreens of different kinds. These islands vary in extent, as well +as in the degree of finish to which they have arrived; some of the +largest being about 30 miles in diameter, and the smallest something +less than a mile;--all of various shapes, and all formed of living +coral. + + _Diameter_, a straight line through the middle of a circle. + + +Is Coral put to any use by man? + +White Coral, which is nowhere so abundant as about the shores of +Ceylon, and others of the neighboring Indian coasts, is employed as +lime by the inhabitants of that part of the world, for building +houses, &c., by burning it after the manner of our lime. This coral +lies in vast banks, which are uncovered at low water. Coral, +particularly the beautiful red sort, is likewise made into various +ornaments, as necklaces, &c. + + +Of what is our Lime composed? + +Of a useful earth, which absorbs moisture and carbonic acid, and +exists as limestone, or in marble and chalk, which, when burnt, become +lime: in its native state it is called carbonate of lime, and is burnt +to disengage the carbonic acid; when made into a paste, with one part +water and three parts lime,[13] and mixed with some other mineral or +metallic substances, it forms plastic cements and mortars; and +afterwards, imbibing carbonic acid from the atmosphere, it becomes +again carbonate of lime, as hard as at first; and hence its use in +building. + +[Footnote 13: See Chapter XVI., article Lime.] + + _Plastic_, yielding, capable of being spread out or moulded. + + +What do you mean by Carbon? + +A simple substance, whose most common form is purified charcoal: it +is, in fact, the base of charcoal, divested of all impurities; +combined with oxygen, it forms _carbonic acid_ gas, formerly called +fixed air. It is diffused through all animal and vegetable bodies; and +may be obtained by exposing them to a red heat. In its pure, +crystallized state, it constitutes the diamond, and as graphite, is +used in making the so-called lead-pencils.[14] + +[Footnote 14: See Chapter XIV., article Diamond.] + + +What is Oxygen? + +Air, mentioned in the first chapter of this work as the gaseous +substance which composes the atmosphere, is formed by a mixture of two +distinct elements, one called Nitrogen, or Azote, the other Oxygen. +Oxygen is, therefore, an element or simple substance diffused +generally through nature, and its different combinations are essential +to animal life and combustion. It is, in fact, the most active agent +in nature, and the principle of acidity and combustion. So wholesome +and necessary is oxygen to life, that it is often called vital air. + + _Agent_, an actor; a person or thing possessing the faculty + of action. + + _Essential_, necessary. + + +What are the properties of Nitrogen or Azote? + +Nitrogen is a substance also generally diffused through nature, and +particularly in animal bodies, and causes great changes in those +absorbing or exposed to it. This gas, combined with oxygen and +hydrogen, produces neither light, heat, nor combustion, but serves to +dilute the others: of itself, it is hurtful to animal life. Nitrogen +makes the principal part of the salt we call _nitre_. + + +What is meant by Combustion? + +The decomposition of bodies by the action of fire; the union of +combustible bodies with the oxygen of the atmosphere. The greater +access the air has to a burning body, the more rapid and complete is +the process. + + _Combustible_, capable of taking fire. + + _Access_, the means or liberty of approach to anything. + + +Are all bodies equally combustible? + +No; some are more so than others, and burn with a bright flame; as +wood, dry vegetables, resins, oils, fats, &c.; others with difficulty, +and without any sensible flame, as soot, coal, the ashes of plants, +&c. There are bodies, also, which are incombustible--that is, +incapable of taking fire, as some alkalies, earths, &c. + + +What is Caloric? + +Caloric is that invisible agent which produces the sensation of heat. +It exists in all bodies; it is a force we are ever in want of, and +thus it is hid in everything around us, and penetrates all matter, +however different may be its nature or properties. + + +What is meant by Gas? + +All highly elastic fluids are called gases. Some are salutary, but +many extremely noxious, especially such as those arising from the +putrefaction of animal bodies; the burning of charcoal; corrupted air +at the bottom of mines, cellars, &c. The inflammable gas, which lights +our streets, churches, shops, &c., is procured chiefly from coal, +burnt in furnaces for the purpose the gas being passed through metal +pipes, conveyed underground to the places where the light is required: +escaping at the orifice prepared for it, it is lighted when wanted, +and burns with, a brilliant flame. This gas consists of hydrogen and +carbon; and the oxygen of the air, combined with the hydrogen, causes +light as long as hydrogen and oxygen exist and combine. + + _Salutary_, wholesome, healthful. + + _Noxious_, hurtful, unwholesome. + + _Putrefaction_, decay. + + _Orifice_, opening, hole. + +[Illustration: DIAMOND CUTTING AND POLISHING.] + + +What is Hydrogen? + +One of the most abundant principles in nature; one part of it, and +eight of oxygen, form water. It is only met with in a gaseous form; +it is also very inflammable, and is the gas called the fire-damp, so +often fatal to miners; it is the chief constituent of oils, fats, +spirits, &c.; and is produced by the decomposition of water. + + _Constituent_, that which forms an essential part of + anything. + + +What is Chalk? + +A white fossil substance, by some reckoned a stone, but of a friable +kind, which cannot, therefore, be polished as marble; by others, more +properly ranked among the earths. It is of two sorts, one a hard dry +chalk, used for making lime; the other a soft, unctuous kind, used in +manuring land, &c. Chalk always contains quantities of flint-stone, +and the fossil remains of shells, coral, animal bones, marine plants, +&c.; from which circumstance there can be no doubt that _chalk is the +deposited mud of a former ocean_. The chemical name of chalk is +carbonate of lime. It effervesces strongly with an acid. + + _Effervesce_, to froth or foam up. + + _Deposited_, placed on anything. + + +Where is Chalk found? + +In large beds or strata in the earth. Chalk, on account of its +abundance in England, forms an important feature in the scenery and +geology of that country; it causes the whiteness of its sea-cliffs. +Scotland and Wales are entirely without chalk. The white chalk is +found, with interruptions, over a space above eleven hundred miles +long, extending from the north of Ireland, through England, France, +Belgium, Germany, Poland, and Southern Russia, to the Crimea, with a +breadth of more than eight hundred miles. The Island of Crete, now +called Candia, situated in the Mediterranean, was formerly noted for +its chalk. This substance is very useful in many of the arts and +manufactures. + + +Where is the Crimea? + +The peninsula of the Crimea is a part of Russia, lying on the Black +Sea, by which it is bounded on the west and south. + + +Are there any other kinds of this earth besides the common white +chalk? + +Yes; there are various kinds of chalk, distinguished by their +different colors, as white, black, red, &c., found in various parts of +the world, of great use to the painter, both in oil and water colors, +and for drawing on paper, &c. + + +What is Marble? + +A kind of stone remarkable for its hardness and firm grain, and for +being susceptible of the finest polish. It is dug in great masses from +pits or quarries; and is much used in ornamental buildings, and for +statues, altars, tombs, chimney-pieces, &c. The word is derived from +the French _marbre_, marble. Marble is supposed to be formed, deep +within the bowels of the earth, from a loose and porous carbonate of +lime, subjected to enormous heat and pressure. + + _Susceptible_, easily admitting anything additional. + + _Porous_, full of holes, or interstices. + + +Are there different sorts of this Stone? + +Marbles are of many different kinds, usually named either from their +color or country; some of one simple color, as white, or black; others +streaked or variegated with different colors. They are classified as +ancient and modern: the ancient are those found in quarries now lost +or inaccessible to us, and of which there are only some wrought pieces +remaining;--the modern, those from quarries still open, and out of +which blocks of marble continue to be taken. + + +In what countries is Marble found? + +The United States, Great Britain, France, Spain, Italy, Africa, Egypt, +and many other countries, produce marbles of different colors and +qualities; some more beautiful, valuable, and more highly esteemed +than others, as those of Egypt, Italy, &c. Those, also, of different +places in the same country frequently differ from each other in +quality and appearance Of the European marbles, that of Italy is the +most valuable. + + +What kind appears to have been held in the greatest esteem by the +ancients? + +A beautiful white marble, called the Parian; of which the Grecian +statues were mostly made. By some, it is supposed to have taken its +name from the Isle of Paros, in the Mediterranean; but by others from +Parius, a famous statuary, who made it celebrated by cutting in it a +statue of Venus. Parian marble is often mentioned by ancient authors. + + _Statues_, figures of men, animals, &c., cut in stone or + marble. + + _Statuary_, one who makes statues. + + +Who was Venus? + +The goddess of love and beauty, who was an object of adoration in the +idolatrous ages, when men ignorantly knelt down and worshipped stocks +and stones, which their own hands had fashioned after the likeness of +things on the earth, or imaginary creations of their fancy;--or, +again, the sun, moon, and stars, instead of the one and only true God. +In those times, every nation had its peculiar deities, to whom were +paid divine rites and honors, and to whose names costly temples were +dedicated: these deities were divided into two classes, superior and +inferior. Venus was one of the Grecian goddesses, supposed by them to +have sprung from the froth of the sea. Kings and celebrated warriors, +and sages too, after death, frequently received divine honors; as +Confucius, the founder of the Chinese empire, who, after death, was +worshipped by that people as a god. Romulus, the first king of Rome, +likewise, was thus adored by the Romans; and many similar instances of +the same species of idolatry amongst other nations might be recorded. + + _Deities_, fabulous gods or goddesses. + + _Idolatrous_, given to the worship of idols. + + _Superior_, higher in rank. + + _Inferior_, of a lower rank. + + _Sage_, a wise man. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + +GOLD, SILVER, LEAD, TIN, PLATINA, SULPHUR, GEMS OR PRECIOUS +STONES, AS DIAMONDS, RUBIES, EMERALDS, TURQUOIS, PEARLS, +MOTHER-OR-PEARLS, AND IVORY. + + +What is Gold? + +The purest and most precious of metals: it is sometimes found in solid +masses, as in California, Peru, Hungary, &c.; in a shape resembling +the branches of plants; in thin plates covering other bodies, as in +Siberia; sometimes in a crystal form. It, however, generally occurs in +a metallic state, and most commonly in the form of grains. + + +What is it called when found in a perfect metallic form? + +Native gold: it is, however, seldom met with perfectly pure, being +frequently alloyed with silver, copper, iron, or platina; sometimes +concealed in other minerals; from which, if sufficiently abundant, it +is extracted by art. + + +Where and in what manner is Gold generally found? + +All parts of the earth afford gold; though with great difference in +point of purity and abundance. It is chiefly obtained from mines. Many +rivers contain gold in their sands, especially those of California and +Guinea. Gold mines are of rare occurrence in Europe, but the metal is +found in some of its rivers; among its mines, those of Upper Hungary +are the most considerable. China and Japan are rich in this metal; +many parts of Asia also possess it. Australia produces quantities of +the metal. It is also found in the eastern parts and interior of +Africa, where gold dust is collected in great quantities from earth +deposited by the rivers. But it is in America that gold is found in +the greatest abundance, particularly in the State of California, and +in some parts of South America, as Brazil, Peru, Chili, &c. + + _Guinea_, a country of Western Africa. + + +What are the uses of Gold? + +It is used for money, jewelry, plate, &c. It is also employed in +various ways in the arts. + + +What is the character of Gold? + +Gold is so ductile and malleable, that an ounce of it may be drawn +into a thread of 73 leagues in length; or beaten into 160 leaves of 9 +inches square, and thin enough to be carried away by the slightest +wind. It readily assumes any form that human art can bestow upon it: +its color is unalterable, and the beautiful polish of which it is +susceptible, renders it the best of all metals for ornamental +purposes. It is indestructible by air, water, or fire. Gold is the +heaviest of all metals, except platina; it is neither very elastic, +nor very hard. + + _League_, a measure of length containing three miles. + + _Indestructible_, incapable of being destroyed. + + +Is not the use of Gold quite ancient? + +Yes; it appears to have been very early known to the inhabitants of +the world. In the 13th Chapter of Genesis, Abram is spoken of as very +rich in silver and gold; and in the 2d Chapter of the same book, the +"land of Hevilath" (now in the eastern part of Arabia Felix,) is +pointed out as having gold. Arabia was famed for the fineness and +quality of its gold. In the time of Solomon, the gold of Ophir seems +to have been much esteemed, as it is recorded that the gold used in +the building of the Temple was brought from that place by the +merchant-vessels of Hiram, King of Tyre. Ophir is supposed to have +been situated somewhere in the East Indies. + + +What is Silver? + +A beautiful white shining metal, next to gold in value, and, like that +precious substance, of great antiquity. It is found in Sweden, Norway, +and the polar latitudes: when it occurs in hot climates, it is +generally amidst mountains, covered with perpetual snow. + + _Latitude_, breadth, width; in Geography, the distance of a + place in degrees, north or south, from the Equator. + + +Where are the richest Silver Mines found? + +In South America, especially among the Andes; the mines of Mexico, and +those of Nevada, also, are rich in this metal. The richest and most +important silver mines in Europe are those of Koenigsberg, in Norway, +and of Andalusia, in Spain. With the exception of gold, silver is the +most ductile of all metals: a single grain may be extended into a +plate 126 inches long, and half an inch broad. It is capable of still +further extension, but its tenacity is inferior even to that of iron +or copper. A silver wire one-tenth of an inch thick will scarcely bear +a weight of 290 pounds, whilst a gold wire of the same thickness will +support nearly double that weight. Like some other metals, it is +unalterable by air or moisture, but by an intense heat may be +volatilized, being sometimes found in the soot of chimneys where large +quantities are melted. + + _Volatilized_, made to fly off by evaporation. + + +In what state is Silver usually found? + +It is rarely found in a state of purity, being generally mixed with +other metals, as gold, lead, &c. Masses of native silver are of no +determinate form; being found sometimes in small branches, sometimes +in threads, or very frequently in leaves, as in the Siberian mines. +Native, or pure silver is chiefly found in the mines of Potosi. Silver +was used as money in commerce 1100 years before the foundation of +Rome. + + _Commerce_, trade of one nation with another, or different + persons, &c. with each other. + + +What is Tin? + +A white metal, softer than any other excepting lead, more elastic, and +more sonorous. Though tin is the lightest of all metals, its ore is, +when rich, the heaviest of all metallic ores. It has both smell and +taste; is less ductile than some harder metals, though it may be +beaten into very thin leaves; and it fuses so quickly, that it +requires a heat much less than is sufficient to make it red-hot. + + +Was not the use of Tin very early known? + +Tin was found in Britain from the earliest ages; the Phenicians traded +to Cornwall for this metal 600 years before Christ. + + +Where are the principal Tin Mines? + +In Saxony, Cornwall, and Bohemia. Tin is also found in Spain, Sumatra, +Siam, Mexico, and Chili. A few specimens have been found at Goshen, in +Massachusetts. + + _Specimens_, samples. + + +In what state is Tin generally found? + +Tin is sometimes found native or pure, but most frequently alloyed +with other metals: the working of tin mines is attended with much +difficulty, on account of their great depth, and the hard rocks which +obstruct the progress of the miners, who are often obliged to cut +through them. This metal is very useful in the making of domestic +utensils, for coating the inside of copper and iron vessels, and for +various other purposes. + + _Obstruct_, to stand in the way. + + +What is Lead? + +A coarse, heavy metal, of a bluish grey color: it is so soft and +flexible, that it is easily cut with a knife, and rolled out into +sheets, &c.; it is very fusible and inelastic, but less ductile and +sonorous, than any other metal. Next to gold, platina, and mercury, it +is the heaviest of the metals, being eleven times heavier than an +equal bulk of water. This metal loses its malleability in proportion +as it is heated: as soon as it melts it calcines, and greyish-colored +ashes are formed on its surface; when returning from a fluid to a +solid state, it is easily divided into small grains or powder, or +formed into shot, &c. Lead was in common use among the ancients. + + _Flexible_, yielding, easily bent. + + _Sonorous_, giving sound when struck. + + +Where is Lead found? + +In various countries; but it abounds principally in Great Britain and +Spain; the lead mines of Illinois, Wisconsin, and Iowa, are among the +richest in the world. Lead is a metal of great utility; it easily +melts and mixes with gold, silver, and copper; hence it is employed in +refining gold and silver, as it separates all the dirt and impurities +from them; it is much used in building, particularly for covering +gutters, pipes, &c.; lead is also used in varnishes and oil-painting, +and makes the basis of the glazing of all the earthen and pottery +wares. + + _Refining_, cleansing, purifying. + + _Varnishes_, preparations for beautifying and preserving + various articles. + + +What is peculiar to the ore of Lead? + +The ore of this metal is so poisonous, that the steam arising from the +furnaces in which it is smelted infects the grass of all the +neighboring places, and kills the animals which feed on it: culinary +vessels lined with a mixture of tin and lead, are apt to convey +pernicious qualities to the food prepared in them. There are various +preparations of lead, serving for different purposes. + + _Infects_, corrupts. + + _Culinary_, adapted to the purposes of cooking. + + _Pernicious_, hurtful, dangerous. + + _Ore_, the mineral soil, earth, or stone dug out of the + mines, which contains the metal. + + +What is Black Lead? + +It is a kind of mineral, of a deep shining black or bluish color, soft +and unctuous to the touch; it is insoluble in acids, and infusible by +fire. Black lead has been found in many parts of the world, in a state +of greater or less purity, but it is the English black lead which is +the most esteemed. + + _Insoluble_, incapable of dissolving. + + _Infusible_, not capable of being melted. + + +Is Black Lead a proper term for this mineral? + +No; because, in reality, there is not a particle of lead in it. On the +spot where it is procured, it is called by two or three different +names, but the most usual is Plumbago. + + +Where is the best Black Lead found? + +The best and greatest quantity is found in England, in a mine near +Keswick, in Cumberland. It is much used for pencils or crayons, for +writing, drawing, &c.; for this purpose it is sawn into slips, and +fitted into a groove in a strip of soft wood, as cedar, &c., over +which another is placed and fastened with glue. + + +What is Platina? + +A metallic substance, more recently discovered than the metals already +described; and analogous to the perfect metals, especially gold,--many +of whose properties it possesses. + + _Analogous_, bearing a resemblance. + + +Whence is its name derived? + +It is the diminutive of _plata_, silver, to which it appears very +similar; platina being a silver-colored metal, in small grains. + + _Diminutive_, a word lessening the meaning of the original. + + +Whence is it obtained? + +Mostly from Russia, and, also from South America. Its color does not +tarnish by exposure to the air, and appears to be equally permanent +with that of pure gold; the metal is indestructible by fire. Platina +is capable of being alloyed with all metals; is fused with difficulty, +but by great labor may be rendered malleable: it is also the heaviest +metal, being 21 times heavier than water. + + _Permanent_, lasting. + + +Are there any other Metals besides those already mentioned? + +In addition to the metals known and used by the ancients, the chemical +science of later ages has, by decomposing other earths, added more +than thirty to the number of metals, some of them more curious than +useful; several of these are lighter than water. All the metals +possess different and distinct properties from each other. They are +divided into two classes, the malleable and the brittle metals. These +last may be again divided into two others,--namely, those which are +easily, and those which are with difficulty fused. + + +What do you mean by Metallurgy? + +The art of obtaining metals from their ores, comprising the processes +of assaying, refining, smelting, &c. By assaying is meant, the +particular manner of examining an ore or mixed metal, according to its +nature, so as to discover not only what metals and what proportions of +metal may be obtained from it, but also what other mineral substances +or earths may be contained in it. + + +What do the terms Refining and Smelting signify? + +Refining is the art of rendering the metal free from all impurities. +Smelting means the melting of a metal from its ore in a smelting +furnace, in order to separate the metallic parts from the sulphur, +arsenic, and the earthy and stony substances with which they may be +combined. + + +What is Sulphur? + +An inflammable, fossil substance, of a dry, solid, friable nature, +melting with a small proportion of heat;--when fired in the open air, +burning almost entirely away with a blue flame and noxious vapor. It +is abundantly diffused in many places, especially where metallic +minerals are found; but more particularly in those districts where +subterranean fires and volcanoes exist. It is also found combined with +many different substances. + + +Describe the nature of Sulphur, and the places where it is mostly +found. + +Sulphur almost pure, called native or virgin sulphur, is found in +volcanoes and grottoes, in the form of transparent crystals; but the +greatest quantity which exists naturally is combined with metals in +ores. Sulphur is both fusible and volatile,--which qualities enable us +to procure it from those minerals by the process of sublimation: it +unites easily, in different degrees, with all metallic matters, +excepting gold, platina, and zinc. + + _Sublimation_, the act of bringing a solid substance into + the state of vapor by heat, and condensing it again by cold. + + +Are not its uses very extensive? + +Yes, both in the arts and in chemistry: it is well known to be a +principal ingredient in the preparation of gunpowder and fire-works; +it is also used for whitening wool, straw, silk, &c.; many other +matters exposed to the vapors of sulphur when burning, quickly lose +their color, which no other substance had been able to destroy. +Sulphur is also frequently found in mineral waters. + + +Whence are the greatest quantities of Sulphur brought? + +The largest quantities are brought from Saxony, in irregular masses, +which are afterwards melted and cast into small rolls. There are about +four species of sulphur; namely, the yellow native sulphur, which in +its purest state is clear, and of a pale straw color, found in the +gold mines of Peru; in Hungary, and some other places: the green +native sulphur, which is harder than the other, is found in small +crust-like masses; this sort is chiefly confined to Mount Vesuvius: +and the grey native sulphur, common in Iceland and many other places. +Native sulphur is also found at the coal mines, near Richmond, +Virginia; in Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and other parts of the United +States. + + +Which is the most rare and beautiful of all the kinds? + +The red native sulphur; it is mostly of a fine glowing red, very +bright and transparent; it is found, like the first-mentioned sort, in +the gold mines of Peru. Common sulphur, such as is used in trade and +the arts, is of a pale yellow color; and possesses a peculiar and +disagreeable smell, particularly when heated or rubbed. This is mostly +extracted from the metallic sulphurets, and is commonly called +brimstone. It is the sort employed in making matches. + + +Is there not another substance also employed in the manufacture of +matches? + +Yes: Phosphorus, a peculiar substance, chiefly of animal origin. It is +mostly procured by the decomposition of the phosphoric acid which is +found in bones. It was accidentally discovered at Hamburgh, in 1669, +by an alchemist named Brandt. + + _Alchemist_, one skilled in Alchemy.[15] + +[Footnote 15: See Chapter XVIII., article Chemistry.] + + +What is the nature of Phosphorus? + +It is a solid, inflammable substance, which burns when in contact with +atmospheric air. It is used in various chemical experiments, and for +making matches; for various kinds of fire-works, &c. It will combine +with all metals except gold and zinc; and also with some earths. Some +animals, as the glow-worm, possess very peculiar phosphorescent +qualities. + + _Phosphorescent_, having a phosphoric property, emitting + peculiar light like phosphorus. + + +What is Arsenic? + +A heavy metallic substance, very volatile, and highly inflammable; so +caustic or corrosive to animals, as to become a violent poison in all +its states. In its metallic state it is used in several of the arts: +it is employed in the manufacture of factitious metals: it is of use +to the dyer in forming some of his colors; and for that purpose is +generally combined with potassa. It is used in the making of small +shot, and also in the manufacture of glass, to which it gives +transparency; in whitening copper; in calico printing; in the +preparation of colors for the painter; and in the working of platina, +and some other metals, to render them more easily fusible. + + _Caustic_, dry, burning. + + _Corrosive_, apt to corrode, to eat away, to penetrate. + + +How is the white powdered arsenic prepared? + +By submitting the ore to a strong heat in a peculiar kind of furnace; +this produces a dark grey powder, which is again heated in close iron +vessels; this separates it from its impurities, and the arsenic is +obtained in thick, solid masses; these, by exposure to the air, fall +into a fine, white powder. + + +From what is the word Arsenic derived? + +From a Greek word, signifying _masculine_--powerful (as a poison). +Arsenic is dug out of mines in Saxony, near Goslar; in Bohemia; in +England, in the Mendip Hills, in great quantities. It has so strong a +corrosive quality as sometimes to burn the hands and feet of the +miners; it is a deadly poison for all known animals. This poisonous +mineral is not found native in its perfect form, being generally +united with metallic ores. + + +What do you mean by Gems? + +The word gem is used as a common name for all precious stones or +jewels; they consist of the siliceous earths; and are much valued for +their lustre, transparency, color, hardness, and rarity. There are +many different kinds of precious stones, each distinguished by its +peculiar character. + + +How are they divided? + +Into the pellucid gems, which are of great lustre, and extremely hard, +as the diamond; the semi-pellucid, those which are not so transparent, +but yet of great beauty; those of one color, as the emerald or +turquois; and those variegated or veined with different colors. Gems +are sometimes found of regular shapes, with a natural polish, near the +beds of rivers after great rains; these are of the pebble kind. +Sometimes they are found of irregular shapes, with a rough coat, in +mines and the clefts of rocks. Pearls, though not stones, are also +ranked among the number of gems. + + _Pellucid_, clear as a drop of water. + + _Semi-pellucid_, half pellucid. + + +Describe the Diamond. + +The diamond is a precious stone, the first in rank of all the gems, +and valued for its beautiful lustre; it is the hardest of all stones, +as well as the most valuable. The most esteemed are colorless. A +diamond in its natural state as it comes out of the mine, and before +it is cut, is called rough, because it has no brilliancy, but is +covered with an earthy crust. The diamond is the Adamant of the +ancients; hence the expression "hard as adamant," from its being the +hardest substance in nature. The cutting of diamonds is a work of +labor, and requires great skill; the polishing is performed by a mill +of simple construction. + + +Where are they mostly found? + +In yellow ochreous earths; in mines; and likewise in torrents, which +have torn them from their beds. In former times, all the diamonds that +were known were brought from the famous mines of Golconda, in +Hindostan; the islands of Molucca and Borneo have also produced many +valuable stones. The diamond mines of Golconda are now so exhausted, +that they are not thought worth the expense of working; these gems are +now brought chiefly from Brazil, in South America. + + +What is meant by Ochreous? + +Consisting of ochre, a kind of earth with a rough and dusty surface, +composed of fine, soft, clayey particles, which readily separate in +water. There are various colored ochres, as red, yellow, blue, green, +&c.; they are very useful in many of the arts. + + +What term is used to denote the quality of the Diamond? + +In speaking of the value of diamonds, we distinguish them as "diamonds +of the first water," meaning those which possess the greatest +perfection and purity, which ought to be that of the clearest drop of +water: when they fall short of this perfection, they are said to be +"of the second or third water," and so on till the stone may be +properly called a colored one. + + +What is the Ruby? + +A beautiful gem of a red color; in its perfect state it is of great +value. The ruby is often found perfectly pure and free from all spots +or blemishes; but its value is much more frequently lessened by them, +especially in the larger stones. It is very hard, being second only to +the diamond in this respect; and is often naturally so bright and pure +on the surface as to need no polishing; it is often worn in rings, +&c., in its rough or native state. The color of rubies varies from the +deepest to the palest red, all having more or less of a purplish +tinge, which is more plainly perceived in the deeper colored specimens +than in the paler ones. + + +Where are Rubies found? + +They are mostly found in gold mines. We have the true rubies only from +the East. The Isle of Ceylon has long been celebrated for these gems; +they are found in a river which descends from the mountains; they are +brighter and more beautiful than those obtained in other parts, but +are very rare. Some crystals are frequently found tinged with the true +color of the ruby, but these want its lustre and hardness. + + +Describe the Emerald. + +It is a precious stone of a beautiful transparent green color, and, +when in a state of perfection, nearly equal to the ruby in hardness. +The finest and best are found in America, especially among the +mountains of Peru; they are also obtained from a few places in the +East. These gems are often counterfeited, as are most of the precious +stones, there being even false diamonds; the genuine may be known by +their extreme hardness and brilliancy. + + _Counterfeited_, imitated with a view to defraud. + + _Genuine_, true, real. + + +What is the Turquois? + +A beautiful blue stone; it is one of the softest of the gems, and some +varieties are often used for seals, as they admit of being engraved +upon. The turquois is easily imitated, and that often so perfectly as +to render it very difficult to distinguish the counterfeit from the +true gem. + + +In what countries are they found? + +The Oriental Turquois comes from Persia, the Indies, and some parts of +Turkey; the turquois is also found in various parts of Europe, as +Germany, Spain, and France. + + +What is Engraving? + +The art of cutting metals or precious stones, and representing thereon +figures, letters, and devices; the term is, however, more particularly +applied to the art of producing figures or designs on metal, &c., for +the purpose of being subsequently printed on paper. The ancients are +well known to have excelled in engraving on precious stones; many +specimens have been preserved, which surpass anything of the kind +produced by the moderns. This art is frequently alluded to in the +Bible. Engraving on wood, according to some authors, was introduced +into Europe from China by Venetian merchants; it is certain the art +was practised in eastern and northern Italy as early as the thirteenth +century. The invention of copper-plate engraving has been ascribed to +a goldsmith of Florence, about the year 1460. + + _Device_, that which is formed by design. + + _Design_, a representation of a thing by an outline; a + sketch. + + +Describe Wood Engraving. + +The subject is drawn on a block of box or pear-tree wood with a +black-lead pencil, or with a pen and Indian ink; the wood is then cut +away, so as to leave the lines which have been drawn, as raised parts. +The ink is next applied, and by pressing damp paper upon the block, +the impressions are obtained. Albert Durer, a celebrated painter of +Germany, brought the art of engraving on wood and metal, and taking +off impressions on paper, &c., to great perfection. + + +How is engraving on copper, steel, &c., performed? + +This sort of engraving is performed with a sharp-pointed instrument +called a _graver_, by means of which figures, landscapes, &c., are +traced upon a flat surface of the metal: the lines are then filled +with ink or a similar composition, and the paper pressed on the plate. +When taken off, an exact copy of the plate is impressed upon its +surface. + +[Illustration: COCHINEAL INSECTS AND PLANTS.] + + +What is Lithography? + +A species of engraving on stone, from which impressions can be taken +much more expeditiously and economically than from metal. The process +depends upon the following principles:--First, the facility with which +calcareous stones imbibe water; second, the power of oily substances +to repel water. When drawings are executed upon the stone with crayons +composed of oily materials, and the surface of the stone is washed +over with water, the moisture is imbibed by the stone, but repelled +from the engraving; and when the ink, which also contains oily +substances, is applied, it adheres only to the drawing, and not to the +other portions of the stone. The block is then passed through a press, +and the impressions are taken off; as many as 70,000 perfect copies +have been obtained from a single stone. + + _Expeditiously_, with celerity or dispatch. + + _Economically_, with economy; with frugality. + + +You describe Pearls as being ranked among the number of Gems, although +they are not Stones; what kind of substance are they? + +Pearls are excrescences found in the shells of a large species of +oyster, which are supposed to be produced by a disease of the fish. +The best pearls are generally taken from the most fleshy part of the +oyster, near the hinge of the shell, but inferior kinds are found in +all parts of the fish, and adhering to the shells. Pearls, from many +allusions made to them in the Old Testament, were not only known to +the ancients, but were regarded by them as costly and precious gems. + + +How do they get the Oysters which contain them? + +By diving under water and picking the oysters from the large beds at +the bottom of the sea; or the rocks to which they adhere. The divers +cast all the oysters they take into their boats, and carry them +ashore, where they deposit them in heaps; they are then left till they +become putrid, this being necessary in order to remove the pearls +easily from the rough matter by which they are surrounded. + + +What sea produces the best and greatest number of Pearls? + +The finest and greatest quantities are obtained off the coast of +Ceylon; the pearl oyster is also found in the seas of the East Indies; +in those of America, and in some parts of the European seas; but these +last are much inferior. The Oriental pearls are the finest on account +of their size, color, and beauty, being of a silvery white; while the +Occidental pearls are smaller, and frequently tinged with a yellow or +blackish hue. + + _Tinged_, slightly colored. + + +Does not the Pearl Oyster produce a substance called Mother-of-Pearl? + +No; the beautiful substance so much used for inlaying boxes, and for +ornamental knife-handles, &c., is produced from the shell, not of the +pearl oyster, but of another sea-fish of the oyster kind. + + +What is Inlaying? + +The art of ornamenting a plain surface of wood, or other material, +with thin slices or leaves of a finer wood, of a different kind; as +mahogany inlaid with ebony, &c., or with ivory, and other substances. +There are two kinds of inlaying; one, of the more ordinary sort, which +consists only of compartments of different kinds of wood, inlaid with +one another; the other, requiring greater skill, represents flowers, +birds, and other figures. The thin plates of wood or other substance, +being sawed into slips, and cut into the required forms, are carefully +joined, and afterwards strongly glued down on the block of wood, &c., +intended to be thus ornamented. + + _Compartment_, a division, a separate part. + + +What is Ebony? + +A hard, black-colored wood, growing in the countries of the Levant, +&c.; there are, however, several black woods of different kinds which +are also called ebony. + + +What is Ivory? + +The tooth or tusk of the Elephant, which grows on each side of his +trunk; it is somewhat like a horn in shape. Ivory is much esteemed for +its beautiful white color, polish, and fine grain when wrought. It has +been used from the remotest ages of antiquity; in the Scriptures we +read of Solomon's ivory throne, and also of "vessels of ivory," and +"beds of ivory:" by which it appears to have been a chief article of +luxury, as well as of trade. + + _Remotest_, most distant. + + +Of what countries is the Elephant an inhabitant? + +Of many parts of Asia and Africa. The elephant is the largest +quadruped now in existence; it is extremely sagacious, docile and +friendly: in the countries where they live they are trained to useful +labor, and by their great strength are enabled to perform tasks which +a man or horse could not accomplish: among the native princes they +were, and even still are, used in war: with them the inhabitants are +able to hunt and destroy the lion, tiger, and other beasts of prey. +With their long trunk, or proboscis, they can perform almost +everything which man can with his hands. + + _Quadruped_, an animal with four feet. + + + + +CHAPTER XV. + +STARCH, ARROW-ROOT, TAPIOCA, ISINGLASS, CAVIARE, THE VINE, WINE, +GIN, RUM, BRANDY, VINEGAR, INDIGO, GAMBOGE, LOGWOOD, TAR, PITCH, +CAMPHOR, MUSK, MYRRH, FRANKINCENSE, AND TURPENTINE. + + +What is Starch? + +A white, powdery sediment procured from the bottom of vessels in which +flour or meal has been steeped in water. Pure starch is of a fine +white color, without taste or smell; it will not dissolve in cold +water, but with warm forms a jelly, in which form it is generally +used; it is made by crushing, soaking, and fermenting the grains of +the cereals, and then washing in pure water; the water is then +evaporated, leaving behind the starch. + + _Sediment_, matter subsided to the bottom of liquors. + + +For what is Starch used? + +To stiffen linen after washing; to make hair powder; and for other +purposes in the arts. + + +From what vegetables is Starch obtained? + +All farinaceous vegetable substances afford it, as the potato, +horse-chestnut, &c. Starch being the nutritive part of the vegetable, +forms an excellent food for invalids, and constitutes the principal +part of arrow-root, tapioca, &c.; the different flavor of these +substances being derived from the mixture of a small portion of +foreign matter peculiar to the plants which yield them. Starch is +procured from potatoes by crushing them to powder, and then proceeding +as in the manufacture of wheat starch. + + +What is Arrow-root? + +The starch obtained from the root of an American plant by +pulverization. It is often adulterated with potato starch, and the +latter is even sold instead of it, for the two kinds resemble each +other so closely that they can hardly be distinguished. + + _Pulverization_, the act of reducing to powder. + + _Adulterated_, corrupted by foreign mixture. + + +What is Tapioca? + +Tapioca is another kind of starch, obtained from the root of the +manioc plant, which is cultivated in most hot climates, in Asia, +Africa, and America. A flour is also prepared from it, which is used +for making bread. It is particularly cultivated in the tropical parts +of America, and in the West India islands, where it forms a very +important article of food for the Negro population. + + _Negro_, a name given to the black inhabitants of Africa and + their descendants. + + _Population_, inhabitants of a place or country. + + +What is Isinglass? + +One of the purest and finest of _animal_ glues. It is the produce of +several kinds of fish, but especially of the sturgeon, which inhabits +the seas of Northern Europe and America. + + +From what part of the fish is it prepared? + +From the air-bladder, and certain parts of the entrails; these are +taken out while fresh, cut open, washed, and exposed to the air a +short time to stiffen; the outside skin is then taken off, and the +remaining part formed into rolls, fastened together with pegs, and +hung up to dry. The isinglass is then separated into threads of +different sizes, or formed into flakes. Immense quantities are +annually prepared in this manner in Russia. + + +What are its uses? + +Dissolving readily in water or milk, it yields a mild nutriment for +the sick, and enters into the composition of many delicacies for the +table, such as jellies, &c. It is mixed with gum to give lustre to +silk and satin; it is also used in making court plaster, and for +clarifying various liquors. Gelatine, now much used on account of its +being less expensive, is a similar preparation, but of an inferior +quality. + + +What else does the Sturgeon supply? + +Its roe furnishes the delicacy called Caviare, which is in fact merely +that part of the fish separated from the membranes and washed in +vinegar and white wine, and dried in the air. It is then well salted, +and packed up in barrels ready for sale. This is the method of +preparing it in Russia, where large quantities of it are consumed. It +is largely exported to Italy, where it is highly esteemed. It is +unwholesome, and at present the demand for it, except in Russia and +Italy, is very limited. The best is dry and of a brown color, and is +eaten with lemon juice on bread. + + +To what other uses is the fruit of the Vine applied besides drying it +for raisins, as described in the sixth chapter? + +The well-known plant, called the Vine, has been an object of culture +from the earliest ages of the world, for the sake of the fermented +liquor obtained from its fruit; soon after the flood, Noe, who appears +to have been the first "husbandman," is mentioned as having "planted a +vineyard," and drank of the juice of the grape; in all those countries +where it flourishes, it is inseparably connected with their religious +rites, and wine, like corn, formed one of the principal articles which +they offered on their altars to the gods whom they worshipped. + + _Husbandman_, one who cultivates the fruits of the earth. + + _Altar_, the place where sacrifices were anciently offered + to some deity. + + +What countries produce the best Wines? + +The wines of France are generally admitted to be the finest; the +principal ones are Champagne, Burgundy, and Claret. Of each of these, +there are several varieties, celebrated for their peculiar flavor; +they are generally named after the places where they are made. Spain, +Portugal, Italy, Germany, Hungary, Sicily, Greece, and California, +also produce their various sorts of wine, each esteemed in its kind. + + +May Wine be extracted from other vegetable bodies? + +The word is appropriated in a more particular manner to the fermented +juice of the grape; but nearly all vegetable productions may be made +to afford wine. That produced from Apples is called Cider; that from +Pears, Perry. A kind of wine, called Mead, is prepared from honey and +water. + + _Appropriated_, applied to. + + +What is Honey? + +A sweet vegetable juice, collected from the flowers of various plants +by the bees. + + +What Honey was reckoned by the ancients the best in the world? + +The honey of Hybla, on the east coast of Sicily, and of Hymettus, a +mountain of Greece, near Athens. + + +What other fluid is drawn from Wine? + +Spirits; by this term is understood, a volatile fluid called spirits +of wine, or alcohol, obtained by distillation from wine, beer, and all +fermented liquors. It is colorless, and of a strong penetrating taste +and smell. It is of great use in chemistry; in dyeing to prepare the +stuff for receiving colors; and in many of the arts. + + +What is the vessel called which is used in Distilling? + +A Still. It is a vessel so formed as to collect the vapor, which is +the spirit, or alcohol, separated from the liquid from which it is +drawn. This liquid product is itself returned to the still; and the +same process is several times repeated, till the alcohol or spirit is +sufficiently strong and pure. There are three principal spirits used +in this country, as gin, rum, and brandy. + + _Product_, thing produced. + + +What is Gin? + +A spirit procured from raw barley, oats, and malt, mixed together in +certain proportions: there are several varieties of this spirit, all +obtained from grain. The peculiar flavor of gin is given by infusing a +few hops and some of the berries of the juniper fir. + + +What is Malt? + +Malt is barley prepared by being steeped in water and fermented, and +then dried in a kiln. It is used for making beer, &c. + + +Of what are Hops the produce? + +Of a graceful climbing plant, the blossoms of which are used in making +beer, to preserve it and improve its flavor. + + +What is Rum? + +A spirit obtained from molasses, the fluid which drains from sugar +while it is crystallizing. + + +What is Brandy? + +A spirit distilled from any wine; but the best is procured from weak +French wines, which are unfit for exportation. Brandy, from whatever +wine it has been obtained, is at first colorless; different methods +are employed to give it the color by which it is distinguished. + + _Exportation_, the act of sending articles from one country + to another. + + +What is Vinegar? + +An agreeable, acid, penetrating liquor, prepared from wine, beer, &c. +To make vinegar, the wine or beer is made to undergo a second +fermentation, called the _acid_ or _acetous_ fermentation; the first +which the vegetable juice had to undergo, in order to convert it into +wine or beer, being called the _vinous_ fermentation. Vinegar is of +great use in cookery and medicine; the word is derived from the French +for wine, _vin_, and _aigre_, sour. The ancients had several kinds of +vinegar, which they used as drinks; but it is most likely that these +vinegars were different from that so called among us, and were more +probably a kind of wine. + + _Acetous_, sour. + + _Vinous_, wine-like. + + +What materials are used for the dyeing and coloring of our +manufactures? + +There are many mineral and vegetable earths which furnish mankind with +different colors for beautifying their various manufactures, and +assisting them in the arts, &c. Some species of insects also come to +their aid, as for instance, the cochineals; these insects are killed +by the application of heat, and thus form the drug used for giving red +colors, especially crimson and scarlet, and for making carmine. The +beautiful and permanent blue called Indigo, is the produce of a small +shrub, two or three feet in height. + + +From what part is the Dye obtained? + +From the leaves; the color is produced by soaking them some hours in +water, in large vessels constructed for the purpose; the sediment of +the blue liquor drawn from them is afterwards dried and sold in the +form of small grains For the painter, they are mixed with oil, or +diluted and made up into small cakes with gum water. + + +In what countries is Indigo cultivated? + +It is native in both Indies, and in South America, where its +cultivation affords employment to many of the inhabitants. It also +grows wild in parts of Palestine, and is much cultivated both in Syria +and Egypt. It once formed one of the staples of the Southern States, +but has in a great measure given way to the cultivation of cotton. + + +Has Indigo been long known? + +The culture and preparation of indigo were known to the Oriental +nations long before it was introduced into Europe. The inhabitants of +ancient Britain painted their bodies with the blue dye which they +obtained from woad, a plant which grows wild in France and along the +shores of the Baltic, and which greatly resembles indigo in all its +properties, except its brilliancy of color. + + _Brilliancy_, brightness. + + +What is Gamboge? + +The concrete resinous juice of a species of gum-tree, growing in +Cambodia, and other parts of the Indies. It is brought over in large +cakes or rolls of a yellowish brown color outside, and inside of a +deep yellow or orange, which changes to a pale bright yellow on being +moistened. + + +What are the uses of Gamboge? + +Dissolved in water, it forms a beautiful and useful color for the +painter. It is also used in medicine. Gamboge is soluble in either +water or spirits of wine. Mixed with a blue color, it forms green, in +various shades according to the different proportions of the +ingredients. + + +What is Logwood? + +The wood of a tree which grows in parts of America and the West +Indies. It is imported in great quantities, and employed in dyeing +purple and the finest blacks. + + +What is Tar? + +A coarse, resinous liquor issuing from the wood and bark of pine or +fir-trees; it is in fact the oily juices of the sap thickened and +colored by the heat of the sun or by age; it is extracted for use by +burning the wood of the trees under a heavy covering of turf or earth; +the tar exudes during the slow combustion, and is collected into a +cavity dug in the ground for the purpose. Tar is exported in great +quantities from Norway, Sweden, and our Southern States. + + +What are its uses? + +It is applied to the sides of ships and boats and their rigging, to +preserve them from the effects of the weather; it is used instead of +paint for palings, &c.; and sometimes also in medicine. A kind, called +_mineral_ tar, is also drawn from coal by the process of distillation. +Mineral tar is also found native in some parts of the earth. + + +What is Pitch? + +A kind of juice or gum, likewise drawn from unctuous woods, chiefly +those of the pine and fir; it is used for nearly the same purposes as +tar in shipping, medicine, and various other arts. Pitch is properly a +juice of the wild pine, or pitch tree; it is of a glossy black color, +dry brittle, and less bitter and pungent than the liquid tar. + + +What is Camphor? + +A vegetable substance, chiefly procured from a kind of laurel, (Laurus +Camphora,) growing in Borneo, Japan, and many East Indian islands; it +is also produced from other plants and shrubs, though in very small +quantities. + + +How, and from what part of the tree is it taken? + +All parts of the tree are impregnated with camphor; but it is +principally extracted from the roots and trunk, by distillation; it is +white, and of a crystal form: its odor is extremely fragrant. In this +state it is called _rough_ camphor, and is thus exported. The Greeks +and Romans do not appear to have been acquainted with this valuable +drug; and we are indebted to the Arabians for a knowledge of it. + + +What are the properties and uses of Camphor? + +It is a firm, dry, crystal matter, with a hot, sharp, aromatic taste. +It is highly odorous, and so inflammable as to burn and preserve its +flame in water; it totally vanishes or evaporates in the open air, and +in Spirits of Wine it entirely dissolves. Camphor has various uses--as +in fire-works, &c.; it is an excellent preservative of animal and +vegetable bodies, as it resists worms and other insects. In the courts +of Eastern princes it is burnt at night with wax. Its principal use +with us is in medicine. + + _Preservative_, a preventive of decay. + + +What is Musk? + +A dry, friable substance of a dark color, taken from a little bag +under the belly of a small animal called the Thibet Musk, which is a +native of the Indies, Tonquin, and China. It inhabits the woods and +forests, where the natives hunt it down. Musk is so strong a perfume +as to be agreeable only in the smallest quantities, or when mingled +with some other scent; it is used in perfumery, &c. + + +Is there not another Animal which produces a similar scent? + +Yes; an animal of Arabian origin produces an odoriferous substance +called Civet, from which it takes its name of Civet Cat; there are +several species of this animal which produce it, but it is from the +Civet Cat that it is most commonly taken. Civets are found in all the +warm parts of Asia and Africa, in Madagascar, and the East Indian +Islands. It was formerly in high esteem, but is at present very little +used, except to increase the power of other perfumes. + + +What is Myrrh? + +A kind of gum-resin, issuing from the trunk of a tree growing in +Arabia, Egypt, and Abyssinia; it flows either naturally, or by +incision; and is sent to us in small lumps of a reddish brown or +yellow color. Its smell is strong, but not disagreeable. Our myrrh is +the same drug that was used by the ancients under the above name. Its +chief use now is in medicine. The ancient Egyptians employed it as an +ingredient in the embalming of dead bodies. + + _Embalming_, preserving the bodies of the dead from decaying + or putrefying, by impregnating them with aromatics and other + substances which resist putrefaction. + + +Where is Abyssinia? + +Abyssinia is a large kingdom situated in Eastern Africa. + + +What is Frankincense? + +An odoriferous, aromatic gum-resin, which distils, in the heat of +summer, from incisions made in the bark of the tree which produces it: +notwithstanding the great use of the gum, both in ancient systems of +religious worship and in modern medicine, authors have been much +divided in opinion with regard to the kind of tree from which it is +obtained; it is a species of turpentine tree belonging to an order of +resinous and fragrant trees and shrubs inhabiting the tropical parts +of the world. + + +For what was it formerly used? + +The ancients burnt it in their temples as a perfume, and to do honor +to the divinities that were worshipped in them: it appears to have +been applied to the same purposes by people of all religions. Myrrh +and Frankincense were reckoned by the Eastern nations amongst their +most costly perfumes. We are informed by St. Matthew's Gospel in the +New Testament, that the wise men who came to Bethlehem to worship our +Saviour at his birth, brought gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. +Many of the primitive Christians were put to death because they would +not offer incense to idols. In the Catholic Church we still retain its +use in many ceremonies. + + _Primitive_, early. + + _Incense_, perfumes burnt in religious rites, or as an + offering to some deity. + + +What is the appearance of Frankincense? + +It is generally imported in white or yellowish pieces, or drops, +which possess a bitter, disagreeable taste; it is very inflammable, +and burns with a strong, and pleasant odor. That brought from the +Indies is inferior to that from Arabia, and inclines to a reddish +color. The common frankincense is softer, more resinous, and possesses +less value than the former. + + +What is Turpentine? + +The resinous juice of many trees, as the pine, larch, fir, &c.; it is, +in fact, the juice that renders them evergreen, and when in an +over-abundant quantity, bursts through their bark, and oozes out. +Common turpentine is that procured by incisions from the wild pine; +there are several kinds of turpentine procured from various resinous +trees; some are of use in medicine, and most of them in making +different kinds of varnishes, for preserving and beautifying boxes, +paintings, &c. + + _Ooze_, to flow gently. + + +Is there not a tree more particularly designated the Turpentine Tree? + +Yes, the Terebinth or Turpentine Tree of Palestine and the East. It is +one of the most common forest trees of those regions, and is regarded +with respect and distinction similar to that awarded to the oak in +England. + + +What part of it produces the Gum? + +The gum, or rather the resin, distils from the trunk. It is called +Cyprus or Chian Turpentine, much of it being brought from the isles of +Cyprus and Scio, or Chios, and is procured, by incision, about the +month of July. This turpentine, owing to its superior quality, as well +as its scarcity, each tree seldom yielding over two or three pounds, +is very costly. + + _Incision_, a cutting. + + _Costly_, expensive. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + +BRICKS, MORTAR, GRANITE, SLATE, LIMESTONE, OR CALCAREOUS ROCKS, +STEEL, EARTHS, VOLCANOES, AND EARTHQUAKES. + + +Of what are Bricks composed? + +Of clay, dried by the heat of the sun, or burnt in kilns; their color +varies with the different degrees of heat to which they are subjected +in burning. In the East, bricks were baked in the sun; the Romans used +them crude, only laying them to dry in the air for a long space of +time. + + _Crude_, in the rough, unbaked state, just as they were + formed. + + +How long have Bricks been in use for building? + +Bricks appear to have been in use at a very remote period of +antiquity, both from the account of them in the Holy Scriptures, and +from the remains of them which have been found; the Tower of Babel and +the walls of Babylon were built of them. They were in early use among +the Egyptians, as appears from the history of the Jews before their +deliverance by Moses. In the book of Exodus, we are told that this +captive people were compelled to make bricks for that nation. The +Romans, under their first kings, built with massive square stones; but +towards the end of the Republic they began to use brick, borrowing the +practice from the Greeks; and the greatest and most durable buildings +of the succeeding Emperors were composed of them, as the Pantheon, &c. + + _Massive_, bulky and heavy. + + +By whom was the Tower of Babel erected, and why? + +By the descendants of Noe's three sons, Sem, Cham, and Japheth; they +were extremely numerous, and dwelt in the land of Sennaar; becoming +ambitious of distinguishing themselves, they set about building a +tower whose summit might reach to heaven. Sennaar was the original +name of the country about Babylon. + + _Descendants_, those descended from a particular person or + family. + + +What remarkable event followed their foolish pride? + +The Almighty suddenly frustrated their purpose by confusing their +language and causing them all to express their words by different +sounds; hence arose the numbers of different languages spoken by the +nations of the earth; and thus what they imagined would be a monument +of glory, was made an awful memento of their pride and folly. + + _Frustrated_, prevented. + + _Monument_, anything by which the memory of persons or + things is preserved. + + _Memento_, a hint to awaken the memory of anything; that + which reminds. + + +What good effect did this event produce? + +God, who at all times can bring good out of evil, by this means caused +the other parts of the earth to be peopled; for this visitation having +effectually broken up their scheme, they emigrated in parties, and +dispersed themselves over different parts of the world. + + _Scheme_, plan, intention. + + _Emigrated_, removed from one country to another. + + _Dispersed_, separated. + + +Where was Babylon? + +This celebrated city, so often mentioned in Holy Writ, (and remarkable +for the minuteness with which its destruction was foretold by the +Prophets,) was the capital of the Assyrian Empire, and situated on the +river Euphrates. After the destruction of Nineve, the ancient capital +of this empire, Babylon became the most famous city of the East. + + _Minuteness_, particularity. + + +What is meant by the Assyrian Empire? + +The country of Assyria, in Asia. + + +For what was this city particularly celebrated? + +For its hanging gardens, palaces, temples, and walls, the latter of +which are said to have been three hundred and fifty feet high, and so +broad that six chariots could go abreast upon them. The city was so +strongly fortified, both by nature and art, as to be thought +impregnable. + + _Fortified_, defended. + + _Impregnable_, incapable of being taken or destroyed by an + enemy. + + +By whom was it destroyed, and when? + +By Cyrus, 538 years before the birth of Christ, just fifty years after +Nabuchodonosor had destroyed the city of Jerusalem and its temple. + + +Who was Cyrus? + +The founder of the Persian Empire. + + +Who was Nabuchodonosor? + +The King of Babylon. + + +What was the Pantheon? + +A temple of a circular form which was dedicated to all the Gods, or +all the Saints. That of all others the most celebrated, is the +Pantheon of ancient Rome, and its remains are the most perfect amongst +the wonders of that city at the present day. + + _Circular_, having the form of a circle, round. + + +By whom was it built? + +By Agrippa, the Consul of Rome, twenty-five years before Christ; it +was dedicated by him to Jupiter: the name Pantheon was given on +account of the great number of statues of the Gods ranged in niches +all round it; and because it was built in a circular form to represent +heaven, the residence of the Gods. It was afterwards converted into a +church by Pope Boniface IV, and dedicated to the Blessed Virgin and +all the Martyrs, under the title of "Our Lady of the Rotunda." Agrippa +likewise built the Pantheon at Athens, which was but little inferior +to that of Rome. The Greek Christians afterwards converted it into a +church, dedicating it to the Blessed Virgin; but the Turks, when they +subdued Greece, changed it into a mosque. + + _Dedicated_, appropriated to a particular person, or to a + sacred use. + + _Residence_, dwelling, habitation. + + _Martyr_, one who is put to death for the cause of religion. + + _Mosque_, a Mahommedan temple. + +[Illustration: A SLATE QUARRY.] + + +What is understood by a Consul? + +The chief magistrate of the Roman republic or commonwealth. After the +Romans had expelled their kings, they were governed by two Consuls; +these were established in the year of Rome 245. The Consuls were the +head of the senate; they commanded the armies of the republic, and +judged all the differences between the citizens: they held their +office for the space of a year; at the end of which time, new ones +were elected. Consuls were even continued under the Emperors after the +republic was destroyed; but it was then little more than an honorary +title, and at last was totally abolished. + + _Expelled_, turned out. + + _Abolished_, annulled, made void. + + +To what is the term Consul applied at the present time? + +To an officer established by a commission from a king or state, to +reside in foreign countries of any considerable trade, to facilitate +and despatch business, protect the merchants of the state, &c. + + _Commission_, a trust imposed, command, authority. + + _Facilitate_, to render easy. + + +What is meant by a Senate? + +An assembly or council of senators, that is, of the principal +inhabitants of a state, who have a share in the government. + + +What is the government of the United States? + +It is one of limited and definite powers, defined by a written +constitution. + + +How are the legislative powers, granted to the government, vested? + +In a Congress, consisting of a Senate of two Senators from each state, +chosen by the legislature thereof; and a House of Representatives, +consisting of one or more members from each state, elected by the +people in equal electoral districts. + + _Legislative_, giving or enacting laws + + +How are our laws made? + +Bills passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate, on +receiving the sanction of the President, become laws; or, if vetoed by +the President, may be passed by two-thirds of both Houses. + + _Vetoed_, withheld assent to. + + +Who was Jupiter? + +The principal deity of the Pagan world. + + +What is used to cement bricks firmly together? + +Mortar; a composition of lime, sand, gravel, &c., mixed up with water; +the ancients had a kind of mortar so very hard and binding, that, even +to this day, it is next to impossible to separate the parts of some of +their buildings. + + +What is Granite? + +A rock which has been formed by the union of three different minerals +in a state of fusion; these, on cooling, have crystallized and become +distinct from each other in the mass. It is remarkable for the beauty +of its colors, its hardness and durability. There are granites of many +different colors, as red or rose-colored, grey, green, variegated, &c. + + _Fusion_, a melted state. + + _Mass_, a body, a lump. + + +What form does it bear? + +Granite does not, generally, form one extensive mass, but remains in +separate and large fragments, rudely compacted together; besides the +three minerals of which it is composed, particles of other stones, or +metallic earths, are often accidentally mixed with it. It is called +granite from its granulous structure. + + _Compacted_, joined together. + + _Granulous_, consisting of small grains. + + +Where is Granite found? + +Granite occurs in all the larger mountain ranges, and in isolated +masses in every country; not being a stratified rock, and being +excessively hard, it is difficult to get it out in manageable masses. +In Arabia Petraea, the whole country abounds in masses of different +granites. + + _Isolated_, alone, separated, detached. + + _Stratified_, consisting of strata or beds. + + +What mode is usually employed in this country in obtaining it? + +Blasting, or blowing up with gunpowder; the force of which detaches +pieces from the rock, which are hewn roughly into forms on the spot by +a small pickaxe. Granite is also quarried by cutting a deep line some +yards long, and placing strong iron wedges at equal distances along +this line; these wedges are struck in succession with heavy hammers, +till the mass splits down. Another method of detaching masses of rock, +is by driving wooden wedges into a deep artificial or natural crack, +or fissure; the wedges are then wet, and, in consequence of swelling, +burst the rock asunder. + + _Quarried_, from _to quarry_, a term used for the getting of + stone from a quarry, or place where stones are dug from the + earth, or detached from a large mass of rock. + + _Detach_, to separate. + + +For what is this Rock used? + +On account of its great hardness, it is used for large public +structures, as bridges, churches, &c. The ancient temples and other +buildings in Egypt, Asia, and Italy, were built of different colored +granites, especially the beautiful Oriental red granite. + + +What is Slate? + +The common name for a bluish fossil stone, very soft when dug out of +the quarry, and easily cut or split into thin plates,--a property +which renders it invaluable for a variety of purposes. + + _Invaluable_, extremely valuable. + + +For what is it used? + +Slate has superseded the use of lead for covering roofs, even of the +largest buildings; being lighter and more durable, it is preferable to +tile: it is also employed for slabs to form cisterns, shelves for +dairies, and other purposes, on account of its strength, coolness, and +the ease with which it can be cleaned; the latter quality renders it +also of great value in the business of education, as a cheap +substitute for paper. The ancients were unacquainted with the use of +slate. + + +What other kinds of stone are used in building? + +Limestone, or the calcareous rocks of the geologist: of these there +are many varieties. Those which are easily cut and polished are termed +marbles, and are used in sculpture and in ornamental architecture. The +coarser marbles are used for the common purposes of building. + + _Calcareous_, partaking of the nature of calx or lime,--a + term employed to describe chalk, marble, and all other + combinations of lime with carbonic acid. + + _Geologist_, one who studies the science of Geology. + + +Of what do Calcareous Earths or Stones consist? + +Calcareous earths, stones, or rocks consist of lime, or pure +calcareous earth, carbonic acid, and water. + + +What is Quick-Lime? + +Limestone deprived of its carbonic acid and water by being subjected +to an intense heat in a kiln. + + +How are these Stones wrought? + +To whatever purpose the stones are to be applied, the larger blocks +obtained from the quarry must be cut into smaller and more manageable +pieces by sawing: the saw used is a long blade of steel, without +teeth, fixed in a heavy wooden frame. These huge saws are worked by +one or two men who sit in boxes to shelter them from the weather; +water is caused to drip constantly into the cut, to facilitate the +motion of the saw, and keep it cool, so as to prevent it from losing +its temper. + + _Huge_, very large. + + _Temper_, hardness; in speaking of metals it signifies the + state to which they are reduced, especially with regard to + their hardness. + + +What is Steel? + +Iron combined with a small portion of carbon; its chemical name is +_Carburet of Iron_. It is not so malleable as iron in its ordinary +state; but is much harder, more elastic, and susceptible of a higher +polish. Of this material are manufactured knives, swords, and all +kinds of cutting instruments and edge tools, used for domestic +purposes and in the arts, from the ponderous pit-saw to the finest +lancet. Good steel is much more ductile than iron; and a finer wire +may be drawn from it than from any other metal. The excellence of +edge-tools depends upon their temper. + + _Ponderous_, heavy. + + +You say that a Geologist is one who studies Geology: what is meant by +this term? + +A science which enables us to read, in the simple language of nature, +the changes which have taken place on the surface of the earth, in its +structure and mineral constitution. It describes the different +materials and the strata of which the crust of the earth is composed, +and investigates the causes of its physical features. + + _Simple_, easily read. + + +What are Strata? + +Layers of rocks and other substances of which the whole earth seems to +be composed. These rocks are found lying one above another in regular +order; beneath them are the _unstratified_ rocks, which seem to form +the basis or foundations upon which the others have been deposited. +The various layers seem to have been formed during progressive stages +of vegetable and animal organization. These rocks and strata are +divided into five classes or formations. + + _Progressive_, moving forwards. + + _Organization_, formation or structure of bodies. + + +Name them. + +The Primitive, or lower formations, supposed to have been formed in +the chaotic state of the earth, because they have no trace of +organized beings or petrifactions; they are chiefly composed of +silicious and argillaceous earths, as granite, slate, &c.--Transition +rocks, supposed to have been formed during the transition of the earth +into a habitable state; they differ from the primitive, in containing +the remains of marine animals:--the Secondary rocks, containing the +remains of animals and vegetables, and consequently formed after their +creation;--the Tertiary formation, composed of layers of clay, sand, +gravel, and marl, and containing peculiar organic remains;--and the +Alluvial formation, constituted of parts of previous rocks separated +by water, &c., and deposited in beds. + + _Petrifaction_, an animal or vegetable substance turned to + stone. + + _Silicious_, consisting of flint. + + _Transition_, change from one state to another. + + _Argillaceous_, clayey, consisting of clay. + + _Chaotic_, resembling chaos, confused. + + _Chaos_, confusion, a mingled heap; a term used in speaking + of the world while yet without form; a Greek word, + signifying a confused mass. + + _Alluvial_, deposited from water. + + +Of what is this last compounded? + +The Alluvial formation is composed of sand, gravel, loam, clay, turf, +&c., and contains plants, roots, moss, bones, petrified wood, and +skeletons of animals. It is distinguished from the Tertiary formation +chiefly by its superior position, and by extending over regions where +existing streams or other causes now in action could have produced it. +Some geologists mention another formation called the Volcanic, because +composed of minerals thrown from the crater of a volcano, such as +pumice stones, lava, &c. + + _Crater_, the mouth or opening of a volcano. + + _Petrified_, hardened into stone. + + +You mentioned Silicious and Argillaceous Earths: is not, then, the +earthy covering of our globe of one common character? + +No; by earth is understood a combination of many distinct bodies. +Chemists, by separating earths from each other, and from foreign +matters connected with them, have discovered nine or ten primitive +earths; all of these, except silex, are compounds of oxygen with +metallic bases. + + _Chemist_, one who understands the science of chemistry. + + +Of which of these Simple or Primitive Earths are the solid portions of +the globe principally composed? + +Of flint or silex, lime or calcareous earth, and clay or argil, in +various degrees of combination, the greatest parts of the mountains +and plains, and the whole of what we commonly understand by soil, +mould, earth, &c. are composed. These, however, though forming nearly +all of the solid portions of the world, are constantly mixed with +foreign matters, as metals, (particularly iron,) and acids, (as +carbonic acid.) + + +What are the properties of Silex? + +Silex, or pure flint, will not dissolve in water, nor can it be melted +by itself in any heat; but combined with alkalies, as soda or potash, +it forms glass. It is the principal ingredient of most of the precious +stones. + + +What are the chief uses of Silex? + +It is the most durable article for the formation of roads; a necessary +ingredient in earthenware, porcelain, and cements; and the principal +material of glass and vitreous substances. The making of pastes or +artificial gems is a branch of the art of glass-making; the basis used +is a very hard and pure silex. + + _Basis_, that part of any mixture which is the ground or + base; the first principle or element of a substance. + + +Describe the properties of Lime. + +It is of a white color, and possesses a hot, caustic taste. It forms +peculiar salts with acids; changes vegetable blues to green; will not +fuse; gives out a quantity of caloric when united with water; and +absorbs carbonic acid when exposed to air. Lime is very useful in the +arts and manufactures, in medicine, &c. The farmers use it as manure +to fertilize land. + + _Caustic_, burning, corroding: a term applied to substances + which eat away and burn any thing with which they are + brought in contact. + + +In what state is Lime found in nature? + +Never native, but combined with other substances;--generally with an +acid, and most plentifully with carbonic acid, as in chalk, marble, +&c. It is also found in vegetables, and is the basis of animal bones; +it likewise occurs in the water of the ocean, and in that of all +springs and rivers. The method of procuring _lime_, from chalk, +marble, limestone, oyster-shells, &c., has already been described in a +former chapter. + + +What are the properties of Clay? + +Argil, or pure clay, also called _alumina_, from its being the basis +of alum, is soft to the touch, adhesive, and emits a peculiar odor +when moistened;--forms a paste with water, and hardens in the fire. +Its uses are so various and important, that it would have been almost +impossible for man to have attained his present degree of +civilization, if it had not been given him by nature in such +abundance. Its uses have already been described in the arts of +brick-making, pottery, &c. Besides these three principal primitive +earths just described, there are seven others, having several +properties in common, yet each possessing its different and specific +properties, and evidently designed by nature for different purposes of +utility. + + _Specific_, belonging to its particular species. + + _Utility_, usefulness. + + +What is a Volcano? + +An opening in the surface of the earth, or in a mountain, from which +are ejected smoke, flames, stones, lava, &c. Beneath the outer crust +of the earth inflammable materials appear to exist, which different +causes excite into combustion. Volcanoes are supposed to owe their +origin to the metals and minerals which form the basis of earths and +alkalies; and which, when ignited, expand,--shake the rocky +foundations,--and sometimes, bursting through, produce all the +destructive effects of earthquakes. They break forth under the sea, as +well as the land, and throw up mountains which rise above the level of +the water. During an eruption of Vesuvius, A.D. 79, three cities, +Herculaneum, Pompeii, and Stabiae, were overwhelmed, and lay buried +beneath the matter ejected from the volcano until within a few years, +when excavations were made and many relics discovered;--streets, +houses, papyri, (manuscripts,) grain, fruit, bread, medicines, &c. +&c., all in a remarkable state of preservation, have been found just +as they were left by the terrified inhabitants at the time of the +eruption! + + _Eruption_, an issuing or breaking forth with violence. + + _Ejected_, thrown out. + + +Are there many Volcanoes? + +There are upwards of two hundred volcanoes upon the globe; more than +one half of them are in America and Oceanica The most noted volcanoes +in America are Cotopaxi (the highest in the world), near Quito; +Popocatapetl, in Mexico; Cosiguina, and the Water Volcano, in +Guatemala. In France, Spain, Portugal, and many other countries, there +are districts which show the former existence of volcanoes, which have +long been extinct; near Naples, in an area of two hundred square +miles, there are sixty craters, some of them larger than Vesuvius; in +one of these, the town of Cumea has stood for three thousand years. + + +What can you say of new islands formed by Volcanic Agency? + +Many examples of new islands rising out of the sea by volcanic action +are on record. Some of them are permanent, but others, after a time, +disappear. Teneriffe, Iceland, Sicily, St. Helena; part of Sumatra, +Java, Japan; and the Sandwich Islands, seem to have been upheaved by +volcanic agency; Hawaii, the largest of the last-named group, contains +an area of four thousand square miles, and rises eighteen thousand +feet above the ocean. + + +What are Earthquakes? + +Shakings or vibrations of the ground; sometimes accompanied by rents, +and rockings or heavings of the surface, so as to overthrow buildings, +and swallow up towns and large tracts of country. They are attended +with a terrible subterranean noise, like thunder, and sometimes with +an eruption of fire or water, or else of smoke or winds. + + _Subterranean_, underground. + + +What is supposed to cause them? + +An electrical action between the atmosphere and some deep sub-strata; +or the sudden formation of gaseous matter beneath the surface of the +earth by internal volcanic fires. Many hot countries, where much +electrical disturbance takes place, are very subject to them: +earthquakes almost always precede volcanic eruptions; an open volcano, +also, probably diminishes the force of earthquakes, by the vent which +it affords. Earthquakes, at different times, have been productive of +the most terrific effects: towns and cities have been swallowed up, +and thousands of people destroyed by them. The island of Jamaica is +remarkable for the earthquakes which frequently happen there. + + _Precede_, to go before. + + _Vent_, opening. + + _Terrific_, full of terror, dreadful. + + +Where is Jamaica situated? + +In the West Indies,--a large group of fertile islands which lie +between North and South America. Jamaica is the principal one of those +which belong to the English. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII. + +ARCHITECTURE, SCULPTURE, USE OF MONEY, NAVIGATION. + + +What is meant by Architecture? + +The art of building or erecting edifices fit for the habitation of +man, to defend him from the weather, and for his domestic comfort and +convenience; for devotion, trade, and other purposes, and for the use +of civilized life in every capacity. + + _Capacity_, state, condition. + + +Is not this an art of great antiquity? + +It is almost as ancient as human society; the changes of the seasons +first led men to build themselves huts or cabins, into which they +might retire for shelter; in process of time, their manner of building +gradually improved, and habitations were constructed of more stately +forms and elegant proportions, and greater skill and variety were +displayed in their ornaments Hence arose the Five Orders or manners of +building. + + +Of what were the first huts composed? + +Probably of the branches of trees driven into the ground, and covered +with mud and stubble; at length, as men became more expert, they +placed trunks of trees upright, and laid others across them to sustain +the outer coverings; from this they took the hint of a more regular +architecture, and built edifices of brick and stone; the trunks of +trees which supported their dwellings gave them a notion of pillars or +columns, which they afterwards erected of more durable materials. +Among uncivilized tribes at this day, some reside underground, having +their dirty dwellings entirely closed during the winter months; in +warmer regions, their habitations are built of stakes, leaves, and +turf, in the shape of a soldier's tent. In Africa, their kraals or +huts are constructed in this manner, but of a circular form, with a +hole at the top to let out the smoke. In many of the South Sea +Islands, the natives, when first discovered, had progressed still +further, having learnt to elevate the roofs on poles, and to fill in +the sides of their houses with boughs or rushes, mud or sods. + + _Probably_, most likely. + + _Edifice_, a building. + + _Notion_, idea. + + _Durable_, lasting. + + +What people are represented by the ancient writers as having brought +the art of Building to a greater state of perfection? + +The inhabitants of the city of Tyre, to whom Solomon had recourse for +workmen to build the Temple. Isaias, in his twenty-third chapter, +speaks of the Tyrians and Egyptians, as having brought it to a great +degree of magnificence; as may be drawn from the various accounts +handed down to us, and the remains of their obelisks, pyramids, &c. + + +What is an Obelisk? + +A very high and slender four-sided pyramid, raised as an ornament in +some public place; and frequently covered with inscriptions and +hieroglyphics.[16] This kind of monument appears to be very ancient; +they were first made use of to declare to posterity the principal +precepts of philosophy; to mark the hours of the day by the shadows +which they cast on the ground; and, in after-times, to immortalize the +actions of heroes, and perpetuate the memory of persons beloved. + +[Footnote 16: See Chapter XIV.] + + _Inscription_, something written or engraved. + + _Hieroglyphics_, emblems by which words were implied. They + were used before the invention of alphabets. + + _Implied_, signified, denoted. + + _Posterity_, succeeding generations, descendants. + + _Immortalize_, to render immortal,--which means never-dying; + to perpetuate the memory of anything. + + +What is a Pyramid? + +A solid, massive edifice, rising from a square, triangular, or other +base, gradually diminishing in size till it ends in a point at the +top. Like the obelisk, pyramids were sometimes erected to preserve the +memory of singular events, or to transmit to future ages the glory and +magnificence of princes; but oftener as funeral monuments and +receptacles for the dead, particularly kings. + + _Triangular_, three-sided, having three angles. + + _Diminishing_, growing smaller. + + _Receptacle_, the place in which a thing is deposited. + + +Is it known who were the erectors of these Buildings? + +No; it is a curious fact that the Egyptian pyramids, so celebrated for +their size and great antiquity, should have the time of their erection +and the names of their founders wrapt in such complete mystery. All +the different authors who have written concerning them, disagree in +their accounts of those who built them, and nothing certain is known +of their history. + + _Founder_, one who establishes or erects. + + _Mystery_, profound secresy. + + +What other nations excelled in the art of Building? + +The Greeks and Romans, from whom we derive it, also greatly excelled +in this art. Grecian architecture was in its highest glory under +Pericles. Among the Romans, it arrived at its greatest perfection +under the Emperor Augustus. The five orders of ornamental architecture +invented by the ancients, at different times, and on different +occasions, are of Grecian and Italian origin. They are the Tuscan, the +Doric, the Ionic, the Corinthian, and the Composite; each possessing +its peculiar form and beauty, and found in all the principal buildings +of the Christian world. + + _Christian_, professing the religion of Christ; the term is + applied to those who believe our Lord Jesus Christ to be the + only true God and Saviour of the world. + + +Who was Pericles? + +A celebrated Athenian statesman, orator, and general, who gained +several victories over the Lacedemonians and other enemies of his +country. + + +Are all the species of ornamental building confined to those nations +already mentioned? + +By no means; besides the Grecian and Roman orders, other civilized +nations possess their separate styles; as the Hindoos, Chinese, Moors, +&c.; and nothing can be more grand, harmonious, and picturesque, than +each of these in the beautiful specimens which are to be seen in their +several countries. The Saxons, also, had a simple style of +architecture, distinguished by semi-circular arches, and massive plain +columns; the Normans, too, invented a beautiful kind called the +Gothic, distinguished by its lightness and the number of its +ornaments, and by its pointed arches and pillars carved to imitate +several combined together; the Gothic style is found in many old +cathedrals. + + _Hindoos_, inhabitants of Hindostan, in India. + + _Moors_, inhabitants of Morocco, a kingdom of Barbary, in + Africa. + + _Harmonious_, corresponding in all its parts with equal + beauty and elegance. + + _Picturesque_, like a picture. + + _Saxons_, inhabitants of Saxony, a portion of Germany. + + _Semi-circular_, only half circular. + + +Describe the Five Orders of Architecture. + +The Tuscan (from Tuscany,) is the most simple and devoid of ornament, +and its columns or pillars are plain and massive. The Doric (from the +Dorians, in Greece,) is durable and noble in appearance, having its +columns plain like the Tuscan, but the upper parts more ornamental. +The Ionic, (from Iona, in Greece,) is neither so plain as the Doric, +nor so richly elegant as the Corinthian; but is distinguished from the +first two orders by having its columns or pillars fluted instead of +plain, and the upper part of them (called the capitals,) adorned by +the figures of rams' horns carved on them. The Corinthian is very rich +and delicate, with fluted pillars, and the tops beautifully ornamented +with leaves, &c. The invention of this order is ascribed to +Callimachus, a Corinthian sculptor. The Composite is compounded of the +other four; it is very much like the Corinthian, and is also called +the Roman or Italian order. + + _Devoid_, free from, destitute. + + +What is Sculpture? + +The art of cutting or carving wood, stone, and other materials; and +forming of them various figures or representations of men, beasts and +other objects. The term is mostly limited to carving images or statues +in stone. This art is of great antiquity; the sacred writings inform +us of it in many passages, as for instance in those in which are +mentioned Laban's images, carried away by Rachel; the golden calf of +the Israelites, &c. Sculpture as an art is probably more ancient than +painting. + + +What country was the most highly celebrated for its sculpture? + +Greece, which produced many celebrated sculptors, of whom the most +eminent were Phidias, an Athenian, the great master of this art, who +lived in the time of Pericles, 408 years before Christ; Lysippus, a +native of Sicyon, near Corinth; and Praxiteles, a native of Magna +Grecia. + + +What event proved fatal to this art? + +The death of Alexander the Great was followed by a visible decline in +all the fine arts; but the fatal blow to their existence was given by +the success of the conquering Romans, who reduced Greece to a Roman +province. + + +Was Sculpture always performed in Stone? + +No; at first statues and other figures were formed of wood or baked +clay, afterwards of stone, marble and metals; though these last were +not brought to any degree of perfection, till about three hundred +years before Christ. The Greeks were famous for their works in ivory; +the great master of the art of carving statues in it was Phidias. + + +What progress did the Romans make in Sculpture? + +Sculpture, during their early history, existed rather as a plant of +foreign growth, partially cultivated by them, than as a native +production of their own land. They collected, indeed, some of the most +exquisite samples of Grecian sculpture, and invited to their capital +the yet remaining sculptors of Greece, by whose labors not only Rome +itself was embellished, but also many of the cities of Asia Minor, +Spain, and Gaul, then under the Roman dominion; yet the taste for +sculpture does not appear to have been cultivated in any measure +corresponding with the advantages thus afforded them in the study of +the best models of the art. The best works were produced by Greek +artists, and chiefly Athenian, while the attempts of the Romans were +unskilfully executed. + + _Gaul_, the ancient name of France. + + _Model_, pattern. + + +Did it always continue thus? + +No; from the time of the Emperor Constantine, sculpture, and the rest +of the fine arts, gradually revived. While inspired, perhaps, with a +taste for sculpture by means of the scattered remains of Grecian art, +the Roman artists drew, at the same time, from their own resources, +and were by no means servile copyists of the sculptors of a former +age. The first academy of the art was founded at Florence, in 1350, +and at the close of the same century, sculpture was firmly established +in Italy, and itinerant sculptors, not unskilful in their art, +wandered from thence to Germany, France, and even to England. The most +eminent master of the art was Michael Angelo, born in 1474, who was +also a painter and architect; from his time, to the latter end of the +last century, sculpture again gradually declined, but under Canova, a +native of Possagno, in the Venetian Alps, it revived. He was born in +1757. Besides the above mentioned, were a number of others of various +degrees of talent, as well as some still living. + + _Servile_, slavish, mean. + + _Itinerant_, wandering. + + +When was the knowledge of Sculpture introduced into England? + +At the time of its conquest by the Romans; but the art appears to have +been very rude and imperfect. From the time of the Norman invasion, +and still further in the time of the Crusades, an improvement, +however, began to show itself in British sculpture. But it is probable +that most of their best architectural and sculptural works were +executed by foreigners, members of those societies of wandering +sculptors before mentioned. Under Edward the Third, the art appears to +have been much cultivated by Englishmen. It is well known that two +Italian sculptors were employed in England during the sixteenth +century. John of Padua, a pupil of Michael Angelo, was master of works +to Henry the Eighth. In the reign of Charles the First, English +sculptors flourished, although their works are of a very low order. + + _Invasion_, hostile entrance upon the rights or possessions + of another. + + _Architectural_, belong to Architecture. + + _Sculptural_, belonging to Sculpture. + +[Illustration: GATHERING TURPENTINE BY SCRAPING.] + +[Illustration: DISTILLING TURPENTINE.] + + +With whom may the School of British Sculptors be considered as +commencing? + +With Banks, born in 1738, and Bacon, born in 1740; these were in every +respect English artists. But the most eminent worker in the art which +that country has yet produced, was John Flaxman, born in 1755. Our own +country also may boast of sculptors of superior talents, and from the +beautiful specimens of the art which have appeared, the attainment of +a high degree of excellence in it is to be anticipated. + + _Attainment_, the act of arriving at or reaching. + + _Anticipated_, expected, foreseen. + + +Give me a short account of this art in Germany, France, and Spain. + +In these countries, as in England and the United States, during their +early history, many of the best works were executed by Italians. +Germany appears to have made little progress in sculpture before the +seventeenth century; since that period, it has produced sculptors of +some eminence, although it is more celebrated for its writers on the +art, than for artists of eminence in its practice. In France, +sculptors of some talent are mentioned as early as the sixteenth +century. Girardon and Puget were the most celebrated artists of this +period. Spanish history gives a long list of native sculptors, from +the commencement of the same century, but many of them are but little +known beyond their own country. Berruguete, a pupil of Michael Angelo, +appears to have founded the first regular school of the art. Paul de +Cespides, and in the eighteenth century, Philip de Castro, were the +most eminent among them. + + +When was the use of Money first introduced? + +It is not known with certainty: there is, however, reason to believe +that both gold and silver were very early used as money in Egypt and +Asia: it was afterwards introduced into Carthage and Greece; whence it +was brought to Rome; and from that city spread gradually westward, +through all the Roman dominions. Before the use of money was +introduced, the only means of trade was by barter, or the exchange of +one commodity for another, a custom long retained by uncivilized +nations. In time, however, men discovered the necessity of something +which would enable them to trade with greater facility; the first +mention of money is in the time of Abraham, who, we are told in the +Bible, paid "four hundred sides of silver of common current money," +for a burying place. + + _Current_, generally received, passing from hand to hand. + + +Where was Carthage? + +Carthage, now Tunis, was a commercial city, situated on the Northern +Coast of Africa, which long contended for the dominion of the +Mediterranean with the Romans; but, after three wars, it was taken and +destroyed by the Roman general, Scipio Africanus, in the year 251 +before Christ. + + _Commercial_, carrying on commerce or trade. + + +Of what substances was Money usually made? + +Of metals, especially the precious metals, because they possess great +value in small bulk; may be kept for any length of time without loss; +and their value, although not altogether invariable, yet, generally +speaking, changes only by slow degrees, and is less susceptible of +fluctuation than that of most other articles. At different times, and +amongst various nations, however, other things, in the scarcity of +metal, have been substituted for it, as shells, wood, leather, paper, +or even pasteboard on extraordinary occasions. + + _Fluctuation_, unsteadiness; a wavering. + + +Of what form was money generally made? + +The form of money has been more various than its materials; the +ancient Britons used as money, rings or bars of iron or tin; the +Lacedemonians used iron bars quenched with vinegar. The money of most +nations usually bore an impression peculiar to themselves, as, for +instance, the sicle of the Jews was marked with the golden pot of +manna on one side, and Aaron's rod on the other; other coins with the +figures of animals, &c.; in shape, coins were either round, irregular, +or square. + + +Have the terms Money and Coin the same signification? + +Not exactly; by money is understood any matters, such as metal, wood, +leather, glass, horn, paper, fruits, shells, &c., which have currency +as a medium in commerce. Coin is a particular species always made of +metal, and struck off according to a certain process called coining; +it is not of equal antiquity with money. In fact, the very commodities +themselves were the first moneys, that is, were current one for +another by way of exchange. Coin is a piece of metal converted into +money, by the impression of certain marks or figures thereon. The +first coining of silver took place at Rome, two hundred and +sixty-nine, and of gold, two hundred and six years before Christ: the +Romans, after the commonwealth, stamped their coins with the image of +the reigning emperor, which custom was followed by most civilized +nations. Coins were, and are, frequently, struck in commemoration of a +particular event or celebrated person. + + +When was the use of stamped coin introduced into Britain? + +After the arrival of the Romans in that island, the natives imitated +them, coining both gold and silver with the images of their kings +stamped upon them; but the Romans, when they subdued the nation, +suppressed also their coins, and obliged them to use their own; hence +the number of Roman coins found among the relics of antiquity in that +island. + + _Suppressed_, put aside, hindered from circulation. + + _Relics_, remains. + + +What does the first coined money in ancient Britain appear to have +been? + +Copper money; but after the arrival of the Saxons in England, scarcely +any copper money was used for many centuries, nor did it become common +till 1672; it was first used in Scotland and Ireland in 1340. + + +What is a Mint? + +A place established by public authority for coining money. In the +United States, the first mint was in Philadelphia; branches have been +established in other parts of the Union. In most countries, the +privilege of coining money is regarded as a prerogative of the +sovereign power. Formerly, in Great Britain, cities, towns, and even +individuals, were allowed to coin money for the convenience of trade; +but now this is forbidden, except at the Mint in the Tower of London. + + +What is meant by Navigation? + +The science or art by which the mariner is taught to conduct his ship +from one place to another. Some, perhaps, will consider the formation +and use of the Ark, as a first step towards the invention of this art; +but it is an erroneous idea, because the direction and means for +accomplishing this immense work were afforded by God, for the +preservation of righteous Noe and his family. Besides, nothing is +recorded of any means or of any necessity for its occupants +_navigating_ it to any particular place, or from one place to another; +no intention of this sort is apparent, the ark being merely a vast +shelter, rendered capable of floating on the water. + + _Erroneous_, wrong, in error. + + _Apparent_, manifest, made to appear. + + +What probably gave the first idea of Navigation? + +Accident most likely showed that wood always floats; and on the fallen +trunk of a tree, perhaps, some one ventured beyond his depth, away +from the land. The trunk of a tree, hollowed out, for a more +convenient position of the body, formed the canoe, usually found among +uncivilized nations to this day. From this rude beginning, at great +intervals of time, and a slow pace of improvement, the art has at +length arrived at its present state of advancement. + + +What nation first applied this art to the purposes of Trade? + +The Phenicians (especially those of Tyre, their capital city, and +Sidon,) were the first who adapted it to the purposes of commerce, +and constructed vessels fit to make voyages to foreign countries; the +poverty and narrowness of their land, as well as their vicinity to two +or three good ports, and their natural genius for traffic, urging them +to seek foreign supplies. We hear of them trading to Arabia, India, +Persia, Greece, Africa, Spain, and even as far as Britain. + + _Vicinity_, nearness, neighborhood. + + _Traffic_, Trade, commerce. + + +Who were the Phenicians? + +The inhabitants of Phenicia, a country of Syria, in Asia. + + +Which was the more ancient city, Tyre or Sidon? + +Sidon,--having been built, as is supposed, soon after the Flood, by +Sidon, the eldest son of Chanaan. Tyre, about 25 miles to the south, +was built about the year 1252 before Christ, by a colony from Sidon. +The Phenicians planted numerous colonies on the shores of the +Mediterranean and the Atlantic, and diffused, to a great extent, among +their uncivilized neighbors the arts and improvements of civilized +life. One of their most celebrated colonies was that founded by them +on the northern coast of Africa; and it was this colony that built the +famous city of Carthage. + + _Diffused_, spread abroad, scattered. + + +Did not Carthage afterwards become as flourishing as the parent city +of Tyre? + +In time, Carthage not only equalled Tyre itself, but surpassed +it,--pursuing the course the Phenicians had begun, and sending its +merchant fleets through Hercules' Pillars, (now the Straits of +Gibraltar,) along the western coast of Africa, and northwards, along +the coast of Europe, visiting particularly Spain, Gaul, &c. They even +undertook voyages, the sole object of which was to discover new +countries and explore unknown seas. The Carthaginians appear to have +been the first who undertook voyages solely for the sake of +discoveries. + + +Were not both these celebrated cities destroyed? + +Tyre, whose immense riches and power were the subject of many ancient +histories, was destroyed by the Grecian Emperor Alexander the Great, +and its navigation and commerce transferred by him to Alexandria, a +new city which he meditated making his capital. Alexandria, in a short +time, became the most important commercial city in the world. Thus +arose navigation among the Egyptians; it was afterwards so +successfully cultivated by them, that Tyre and Carthage (which last, +as before mentioned, was subdued by the Romans,) were quite forgotten. + + _Transferred_, removed. + + _Capital_, chief city or town in a state or kingdom. + + +Who was Alexander the Great? + +The son of Philip, King of Macedonia, in Greece; he was celebrated for +his great ambition, and the number of his conquests; he overturned the +Persian empire, and subdued many cities and provinces in the East. + + +Did not Alexandria undergo the same fate as Tyre and Carthage? + +Egypt was at last reduced to a Roman province, after the battle of +Actium, and its trade and navigation fell into the hands of the +Emperor Augustus, in whose time Alexandria was little inferior to +Rome; and the magazines of the capital of the world were supplied with +merchandise from the capital of Egypt. Alexandria, however, at last +underwent the fate of Tyre and Carthage, being surprised by the +Saracens, who overran the northern parts of Africa; and though it +continued, for a while, to enjoy a considerable portion of the +commerce of the Christian merchants, it afterwards remained in a +languishing condition: but still, even at this day, it is a place of +considerable trade. + + +Who were the Saracens? + +A Mahommedan nation, occupying a portion of what is now called Arabia. +They extended their conquests over a large portion of Asia, northern +Africa, and Spain. Their name is derived from the word _Sara_, a +desert. + + +What effect had the Fall of the Roman Empire on Navigation? + +The fall of the Roman empire not only drew along with it its learning +and the polite arts, but also the art of navigation; the Barbarians, +into whose hands the empire fell, contenting themselves with enjoying +the spoils of those whom they had conquered, without seeking to follow +their example in the cultivation of those arts and that learning which +had rendered Rome and its empire so famous. + + +What other people, about this period, distinguished themselves in the +art of Navigation? + +The Saracens or Arabians, whose fleets now rode triumphant in the +Mediterranean; they had taken possession of Cyprus, Rhodes, and many +of the Grecian islands, and extended their commerce and their +discoveries in the East, far beyond the utmost knowledge of their +ancestors. + + +What other circumstance also prevented commercial intercourse from +ceasing altogether? + +Constantinople, though often threatened by the fierce invaders, who +spread desolation over Europe, was so fortunate as to escape their +destructive rage. In this city, the knowledge of ancient arts and +discoveries was preserved; and commerce continued to flourish there, +when it was almost extinct in every other part of Europe. + + _Desolation_, destruction, ruin. + + +Did the citizens of Constantinople confine their trade to the Islands +of the Archipelago, and the adjacent coast of Asia? + +No, they took a wider range; and, following the course which the +ancients had marked out, imported the productions of the East Indies +from Alexandria. When Egypt was torn from the Roman Empire by the +Arabians, the industry of the Greeks discovered a new channel by which +the productions of India might be conveyed to Constantinople. + + +Did not the Barbarians, after a while, turn their attention to +Navigation and Commerce? + +No sooner were the brave among these nations well settled in their new +provinces--some in Gaul, as the Franks; others in Spain, as the Goths; +and others in Italy, as the Lombards,--than they began to learn the +advantages of these arts, and the proper methods of managing them, +from the people they had subdued; and that with so much success, that +they even improved upon them, and set on foot new institutions for +their advantage. To the Lombards, in particular, is usually ascribed +the invention and use of banks, book-keeping, and exchanges. Thus the +people of Italy, and particularly those of Venice and Genoa, have the +glory of restoring to Europe the advantages that had been destroyed by +their own ravages. + + _Institutions_, laws, regulations. + + _Exchange_, a species of mercantile transactions by which + the debts due to persons at a distance are paid by order, + draft, or bill of exchange, without the transmission either + of money or goods. + + +Who were the Franks? + +A people who settled in Gaul; from them it took the name of Franconia, +or France. + + +Who were the Goths? + +An ancient people, who inhabited that part of Sweden called Gothland; +and afterwards spread themselves over great part of Europe. + + +Who were the Lombards? + +The Lombards, or Longobardi, were, like the Franks, a nation of +Germany; who, upon the decline of the Roman Empire, invaded Italy, +and, taking the city of Ravenna, erected a kingdom. + + +Where is Ravenna? + +In Central Italy. It is the capital of a province of the same name; it +is an ancient town, and the see of an archbishop. + + _See_, the seat of episcopal power; the diocese of a bishop. + + _Episcopal_, belonging to a bishop. + + _Archbishop_, the presiding bishop of a province. + +[Illustration: THE GRAND CANAL, VENICE, ITALY.] + + +What was the origin of the city of Venice? + +In the Adriatic Sea were a great number of marshy islands, separated +only by narrow channels, but well screened and almost inaccessible, +inhabited by a few fishermen. To these islands the people of Veneti (a +part of Italy, situated along the coasts of the gulf,) retired when +Alaric, King of the Goths, ravaged Italy. These new Islanders, little +imagining that this was to be their fixed residence, did not, at +first, think of forming themselves into one community, but each of the +72 islands continued a long while under its respective masters, and +formed a distinct commonwealth. + + _Adriatic Sea_, a name given to the Gulf of Venice. + + _Commonwealth_, a republic, a government in which the + supreme power is lodged in the people. + + +What circumstance caused them to unite? + +Their commerce becoming considerable enough to awaken the jealousy of +their neighbors, they united in a body for their mutual protection: +this union, first begun in the 6th century and completed in the 8th, +laid the foundation of the future grandeur of the state of Venice. +From the time of this union, fleets of their merchantmen sailed to all +the ports of the Mediterranean; and afterwards to those of Egypt, +particularly to Cairo, a new city, built by the Saracen princes, on +the banks of the Nile, where they traded for spices, &c. The Venetians +continued to increase their trade by sea and their conquests on land +till 1508, when a number of jealous princes conspired against them to +their ruin; which was the more easily effected in consequence of their +East Indian commerce, of which the Portuguese and French had each +obtained a share. + + _Conspired_, united together in a plot. + + +What is the signification of Mediterranean? + +Inclosed within land, or remote from the ocean. It is more +particularly used to signify the sea which flows between Europe and +Africa. + + +Had not Venice a formidable rival in a neighboring republic? + +Genoa, which had applied itself to navigation at the same time with +Venice, and with equal success, was long its dangerous rival, disputed +with it the empire of the sea, and shared with it the trade of Egypt, +and other parts, both of the East and West. Jealousy soon broke out; +and, the two republics coming to blows, there was almost continual war +between them for three centuries: at length, towards the end of the +14th century, the strife was ended by the fatal battle of Chioza; the +Genoese, who till then had usually the advantage, lost all, and the +Venetians, almost become desperate, at one decisive blow, beyond all +expectation, secured the empire of the sea and their superiority in +commerce. + + _Decisive_, final, conclusive. + + +Where is Genoa situated? + +In the north-western part of Italy. It was formerly a flourishing +republic, but belongs now to Italy. + + +What event likewise contributed to the more rapid progress and +diffusion of Navigation and Commerce? + +The Crusades: for the Genoese, Pisans, and Venetians, furnished the +fleets which carried those vast armies, composed of all the nations of +Europe, into Asia, upon this wild undertaking, and also supplied them +with provisions and military stores. Other travellers, also, besides +those whom religious zeal sent forth to visit Asia, ventured into +remote countries, from motives either of commercial advantage, or +those of mere curiosity. + + _Zeal_, devotion, enthusiasm. + + +Who were the Pisans? + +Inhabitants of Pisa, an ancient town of Tuscany; it was once a great +independent republic, and is still adorned with noble edifices. Pisa +has long been celebrated for its remarkable leaning tower. Tuscany is +a beautiful and fruitful territory of Italy; its capital, until the +year 1859, was Florence. + + +What were the Crusades? + +Holy wars, or expeditions, undertaken by the Christians against the +Turks and Saracens, to recover Palestine, between the years 1100 and +1400. + + +What causes led to these wars? + +Many circumstances contributed to give rise to them. They were +undertaken, first, with a view to protecting the devout Christian +pilgrims, who were in the habit of frequenting the venerable places +where our Saviour had lived, taught, suffered, and triumphed, from the +fury and avarice of the heathens; secondly, with a view to getting +possession of the Holy Land itself, and of annexing it to Christendom; +and thirdly, to break down the power of Mohammedanism, and to elevate +the Cross in triumph and victory over Palestine. + + _Avarice_, an excessive desire of gain. + + _Annexing_, adding, joining. + + +What badge or sign was worn by those who engaged in the Crusades? + +They distinguished themselves by crosses of different colors, worn on +their clothes; from which they took the name of Croises, or +Cross-bearers; each nation wore different colors: for instance, the +English had white crosses, the French red, and so on. + + +To what invention is the art of Navigation much indebted? + +To that of the Mariner's Compass, in the beginning of the 14th +century; and from this period may be dated the present perfection of +this useful art. + + +You have given me an account of the restoration of Navigation in +Southern Europe: did not the inhabitants of the North also turn their +attention to it? + +Yes: about the same time, a new society of merchants was formed in the +northern parts, which not only carried commerce to the greatest +perfection of which it was capable, till the discovery of the Indies, +but also formed new codes of useful laws for its regulation. + + _Codes_, books or writings setting forth certain laws or + rules respecting particular subjects; books of civil laws. + + +Are Navigation and Commerce inseparably connected with each other? + +It may be considered as a general maxim, that their union is so +intimate, that the fall of one inevitably draws after it that of the +other; and that they will always either flourish or decline together +may be seen, by examining the reason of their passing successively +from the Venetians, Genoese, &c., to the Portuguese and Spaniards, and +from them to the English, Dutch, &c. + + _Maxim_, rule, an established principle. + + _Intimate_, close. + + _Inevitably_, without possibility of escape, unavoidably. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + +MUSIC, PAINTING, POETRY, ASTRONOMY, ARTS AND SCIENCES, ART OF +WRITING, AND CHEMISTRY. + + +What are the earliest accounts of Musical Instruments on record? + +The earliest accounts of music which we possess are to be found in the +Bible, in which the state of the world before the flood is noticed. +Jubal is said to have been "the father of them that play upon the harp +and organ;" but it is not to be supposed that these instruments at all +resembled the harp and organ of modern times. Musical instruments, in +the times of David and Solomon, were used in religious services; and +music was certainly employed by the Jews on many other occasions, as +at funerals and weddings, at harvest home, and at festivals of all +kinds. + + _Modern_, opposed to ancient, pertaining to the present + time, or time not long past. + + _Festival_, a rejoicing, a feast, a season dedicated to + mirth. + + +What nation was particularly celebrated for musical talents? + +The ancient Egyptians; who were so celebrated for their talents in +music, that the distinguished philosophers of Greece braved many +dangers, in order to study the science in Egypt; and this, at a period +when the Egyptians were far from being in the same high state of +civilization as their forefathers had been in earlier times. The +history and monuments of ancient Egypt have many accounts and +representations of musical instruments, and remains of these have +lately been discovered, so that we have ocular demonstration both of +their existence and form. + + _Civilization_, freedom from barbarity, polish, politeness, + possession of knowledge and the arts of life. + + _Ocular_, known or seen by the eye. + + _Demonstration_, the act of proving with certainty. + + +In how many divisions may musical instruments be arranged? + +There are three kinds, namely, _wind_ instruments, as the trumpet, and +the organ;--_stringed_ instruments, as the harp or lyre, violin, &c.; +and instruments of _concussion_, in which the sound is produced by +striking a sonorous body, as for instance the drum, bells, &c. + + +Which of these three kinds was the first invented? + +It is impossible, at the present day, to decide which; but it is most +probable that instruments with strings were the last invented of the +three kinds; and it is most likely, that of those in which sound is +produced by the application of wind, the trumpet or horn was first +used. This instrument, in its rudest form, was ready fashioned to the +hand of man; the horn of a ram or of an ox, or some of the larger +kinds of sea-shells, were soon discovered to possess the power of +producing sound, by being blown into through a small hole at the +pointed end. + + +What improvement in this instrument would naturally follow? + +Mankind having discovered the property possessed by a hollow tube of +producing a certain sound, soon found that the note varied according +to the length and capacity of the tube. A much greater improvement +soon after took place; it was discovered that one tube answered the +purpose of many by boring holes in the course of its length, and +producing various musical sounds by stopping with the fingers certain +of these holes. Most of our modern wind instruments are but +improvements on the ancient inventions. + + _Tube_, a pipe; a long hollow body. + + +Was not Vocal Music used before the invention of Instrumental? + +_Vocal_ music, namely, that produced by the human voice, (so called to +distinguish it from _instrumental_, that produced by instruments,) was +undoubtedly the first: for man had not only the various tones of his +own voice to make his observations on, before any art or instrument +was found out; but the various natural strains of birds to give him a +lesson in improving it, and in modulating the sounds of which it is +capable. + + _Modulating_, forming sound to a certain key. + + +To what circumstance did an ancient poet ascribe the invention of +stringed instruments? + +To the observation of the winds whistling in the hollow reeds. As for +other kinds of instruments, there were so many occasions for cords or +strings, that men were not long in observing their various sounds, +which might give rise to stringed instruments. Those of concussion, as +drums and cymbals, might result from the observation of the naturally +hollow noise made by concave bodies when struck. + + +What are the most ancient stringed instruments? + +The most ancient instruments of this kind, whose form is known, are +those of the ancient Egyptians; among these the harp stands +pre-eminent. One of the most celebrated representations of an Egyptian +harp was drawn from a painting discovered in one of the caverns in +the mountains of Egyptian Thebes, by some travellers: it is called the +Theban harp, and has thirteen strings; its form is extremely elegant. +This harp is supposed to be one of the kind in use before and at the +time of Sesostris. Remains of Egyptian harps of a more simple +construction, with only four strings, have likewise been discovered. +Among the monuments of ancient Rome, there are representations of +stringed instruments resembling the harp, but not equal in beauty of +form to the famous Egyptian harp already mentioned. + + _Pre-eminent_, surpassing others. + + +Who was Sesostris? + +A King of Egypt, who is said to have reigned some ages before the +siege of Troy. He appears to have been celebrated for his conquests, +and for the number of edifices he erected to perpetuate his fame. + + _Perpetuate_, to preserve from extinction; to continue the + memory of a person or event. + + +Where was Troy? + +Troy, anciently called Ilium, was the capital of Troas, in Asia. It +became famous for the ten years' siege it sustained against the +Greeks; the history of this event is commemorated in the poems of +Homer and Virgil. + + +Is not the harp an instrument of high antiquity in Great Britain? + +Yes: it was a favorite instrument with the ancient Saxons in Great +Britain. The celebrated Alfred entered the Danish camp disguised as a +harper, because the harpers passed through the midst of the enemy +unmolested on account of their calling. The same deception was +likewise practised by several Danish chiefs, in the camp of Athelstan, +the Saxon. The bards, or harpers of old, were the historians of the +time; they handed down from generation to generation the history of +remarkable events, and of the deeds and lineage of their celebrated +chiefs and princes. The harpers of Britain were formerly admitted to +the banquets of kings and nobles: their employment was to sing or +recite the achievements of their patrons, accompanying themselves on +the harp. No nations have been more famous for their harps and harpers +than the Welsh and Irish. + + _Recite_, to repeat or chant in a particular tone or manner. + + _Achievement_, a great or heroic deed. + + _Patron_, benefactor, one who bestows favors. + + +What instrument was famous among the ancient Greeks? + +The Lyre: the invention, or rather discovery, of this instrument is +ascribed by them to their most celebrated deities. It is supposed to +have originated from the discovery of a dead tortoise, the flesh of +which had dried and wasted, so that nothing was left within the shell +but sinews and cartilages: these, tightened and contracted, on account +of their dryness, were rendered sonorous. Some one, Mercury or Apollo, +they affirm, in walking along, happening to strike his foot against +the tortoise, was greatly pleased with the sound it produced: thus was +suggested to him the first idea of a lyre, which he afterwards +constructed in the form of a tortoise, and strung with the dried +sinews of dead animals. The stringed instruments already described +were made to give out musical sounds, by causing a vibratory motion in +their strings by means of the fingers. + + _Sinew_, a tendon; that which unites a muscle to a bone. + + _Cartilage_, a gristly, smooth, solid substance, softer than + bone. + + _Vibratory_, shaking. + + +Who was Mercury? + +The heathen god of eloquence, letters, &c., and the messenger of the +other gods. + + +Who was Apollo? + +The god of music, poetry, medicine, and the fine arts. + +[Illustration: PICKING COTTON.] + +[Illustration: GATHERING TEA.] + + +What is a Tortoise? + +A well-known animal, with a thick shelly covering, belonging to the +order of reptiles; there are two species, the sea and the land +tortoise; the first named is called a turtle, and affords delicious +food; land tortoises live to a very great age. It is only one sort +which furnishes the beautiful shell so much prized. Tortoises are +found in many parts of the world. The turtles on the Brazilian shore +are said to be so large as to be enough to dine fourscore men: and in +the Indian sea, the shells serve the natives for boats. + + +Of what are the strings of the Lyre, &c., composed? + +Sometimes of either brass or silver wire, &c., but most commonly of +catgut. + + +What is Catgut? + +The intestines of sheep or lambs, dried or twisted, either singly or +several together. Catgut is also used by watch-makers, cutlers, and +other artificers, in their different trades. Great quantities are +imported from France and Italy. + + +Are there no other kind of Instruments besides those already +described? + +Yes, music and musical instruments have progressively improved; and it +would be a needless task to enumerate the numbers of instruments of +each kind now in use; many, as for instance the organ, the piano, +musical boxes, &c., are exceedingly complex and ingenious in their +construction, as well as remarkable for the sweetness of their various +sounds; some, as the two first-named, are played with the fingers, and +produce any melody or combination of sound at the will of the +performer; others, as the musical-box, barrel-organ, &c., produce a +particular melody, or a certain number of melodies, by means of +machinery. In the use of the last-named the performer is not at all +indebted to his own musical skill, as he has only to turn the handle +which sets the machinery in motion, and the musical box, or +barrel-organ, will continue playing till it has finished the tunes to +which it is set. + + +Upon what principle do these last-mentioned instruments perform? + +The barrel-organ and musical box both play on nearly the same +principle, though the former is turned by a handle, and the latter +only requires a certain spring to be touched, in order to set it off +or to stop it. Their machinery consists of a barrel pricked with brass +pins; when the barrel revolves, these ping lift a series of steel +springs of different lengths and thicknesses, and the vibration of +these springs when released, produces the different notes. + + +What is Painting? + +The art of representing objects in nature, or scenes in human life, +with fidelity and expression, either in oil or water colors, &c. + + _Fidelity_, truth, faithfulness. + + _Oil Colors_, those colors which are mixed up with oil, as + the others are with water. + + +Is not this art of great antiquity? + +There is not the slightest doubt of it; but to name the country where +it was first practised, or the circumstances attending its origin, is +beyond the power of the historian. About a century after the call of +Abraham, Greek and Egyptian tradition tells us of a colony planted at +Sicyon, by an Egyptian, who brought with him the knowledge of painting +and sculpture, and founded the earliest and purest school of Greek +art. The walls of Babylon were adorned with paintings of different +kinds of animals, hunting expeditions, combats, &c. Allusions to this +custom of the Babylonians, of decorating their walls with paintings, +are found in the Bible. + + _Tradition_, a history or account delivered from mouth to + mouth without written memorials; communication from age to + age. + + _Allusion_, reference. + + _Decorating_, ornamenting. + + _Sicyon_, a kingdom of Peloponnesus, in ancient Greece. + + +Were the Egyptians acquainted with this art? + +It is now little doubted that, although painting and sculpture existed +in Egypt, and were probably at their highest condition, eighteen +centuries before the Christian era, yet, at a still earlier period, +these arts were known in the kingdom of Ethiopia; and it is considered +likely, that the course of civilization descended from Ethiopia to +Egypt. There is, however, no record of any Egyptian painter in the +annals of the art; and it does not appear that it ever flourished in +that country, or that other nations were much indebted to Egypt for +their knowledge of it. + + _Era_, age, period. + + _Ethiopia_, the ancient name of the kingdoms of Nubia and + Abyssinia, in Africa. + + _Annal_, record, history. + + _Exploit_, action, achievement, deed of valor. + + +Have we any notice of this art among the Hebrews? + +There is no allusion made to the existence of painting among this +people, and no proof that it was cultivated among them: it is supposed +that the neglect of this art arose from their not being permitted to +represent any object by painting. + + +What progress did the generality of the Eastern nations make in this +art? + +The art of painting among the Phenicians, Persians, and other Eastern +nations, advanced but slowly. The Chinese appear, until a very recent +period, to have contented themselves with only so much knowledge of +the art as might enable them to decorate their beautiful porcelain and +other wares; their taste is very peculiar, and though the pencilling +of their birds and flowers is delicate, yet their figures of men and +animals are distorted, and out of proportion; and of perspective they +seem to have but little idea. Latterly, however, a change has taken +place in Chinese art, and proofs have been given of an attempt to +imitate European skill. The Japanese figures approach more nearly to +beauty of style than Chinese productions of a similar kind. + + _Distorted_, having a bad figure. + + _Perspective_, the science by which things are represented + in a picture according to their appearance to the eye. + + +Who are the Japanese? + +The inhabitants of Japan, an empire of Eastern Asia, composed of +several large islands. They are so similar in feature, and in many of +their customs and ceremonies, to the Chinese, as to be regarded by +some, as the same race of men. The Japanese language is so very +peculiar, that it is rarely understood by the people of other +nations. Their religion is idolatrous; their government a monarchy, +controlled by the priesthood. The people are very ingenious, and the +arts and sciences are held in great esteem by them. In all respects, +Japan is an important and interesting empire. + + _Monarchy_, a government in which the power is vested in a + king or emperor. + + +By what nations was the art of painting practised with great success? + +By the Greeks and Romans. Greece produced many distinguished painters, +among whom Apelles was one of the most celebrated; he was a native of +Cos, an island in the Archipelago, rather north of Rhodes; he +flourished in the time of Alexander the Great, and witnessed both the +glory and the decay of ancient art: the leading features of his style +were beauty and grace. But painting was not at any period so +completely national in Greece, as sculpture, its sister art; the names +of one hundred and sixty-nine eminent sculptors are recorded, while +only fifteen painters are mentioned. Zeuxis, of Heraclea, was another +famous Greek painter, who flourished 400 years before Christ. The +Romans were not without considerable masters in this art, in the +latter times of the republic, and under the first emperors. + + +What nation is supposed to have known and practised this art even +before the foundation of Rome? + +The Etruscans, inhabitants of Etruria, whose acquaintance with the +arts has excited great astonishment among those who have most deeply +searched into their history, and traced their progress by means of the +beautiful specimens of their works still extant. Their early works +were not superior to those of other nations; but either from their +intercourse with Greece, or the original genius of the people, they +had attained considerable eminence in the arts of painting, sculpture, +&c., before Rome was founded. Pliny speaks of some beautiful pictures +at Ardea and Lanuvium, which were older than Rome: and another author +also says that before Rome was built, sculpture and painting existed +among them. + + +Where was Etruria situated? + +In Italy, on the west of the Tiber, which separated it from the +territory of ancient Rome, to which it was afterwards annexed by +conquest. Etruria was the ancient name of Tuscany. + + _Annexed_, united. + + +Was not the art greatly obscured for some centuries? + +The irruption of Barbarians into Italy and Southern Europe, proved +fatal to painting, and almost reduced it to its primitive state; it +was not until after a long period that it was fully restored. The +first certain signs of its revival took place about the year 1066, +when Greek artists were sent for to adorn several of the cities of +Italy. Cimabue, a native of Florence, in the thirteenth century, +caught the inspiration of the Greek artists, and soon equalled their +works. He was both a painter and an architect. + + _Irruption_, inroad, invasion. + + +To what did this revolution in its history give rise? + +It caused it to be distinguished into ancient and modern. The ancient +painting comprehends the Greek and Roman: the modern has formed +several schools, each of which has its peculiar character and merit. +The first masters who revived the art were greatly surpassed by their +scholars, who carried it to the greatest state of perfection, and +advanced it not only by their own noble works, but also by those of +their pupils. + + +Who were the principal masters of the Italian school? + +Raphael and the celebrated Michael Angelo Buonarotti; the former is +regarded as the prince of modern painters, and is often styled "the +divine Raphael;" he was born at Urbino, in 1483. Michael Angelo was +born at Florence, in 1564, and united the professions of painter, +sculptor, architect, poet, and musician. Besides these there were many +other illustrious Italian painters, the principal of whom were +Leonardo da Vinci, Titian, Correggio, the three Caracci, Guido, +Parmegiano, Salvator Rosa, &c. + + +Was not Raphael also reckoned as excellent an architect as he was a +painter? + +He was not only esteemed the best painter in the world, but also the +best architect; he was at least so admired for skill and taste in +architecture, that Leo the Tenth charged him with the building of St. +Peter's Church at Rome. + + +Who was Leo the Tenth? + +A great Pope, who was an ardent lover and patron of learning and the +arts. He was born at Florence, in 1475, and died in 1521. + + +Give me a list of some of the most celebrated painters besides those +already mentioned. + +The great painters of the _German_ school were Albert Durer, Holbein, +Kneller and Mengs, with several others. + +Of the _Dutch_ school, were Rembrandt, Gerard Dow, Mieris, Ostade, +Polemberg, Berghem, and Wouvermans. + +Of the _Flemish_, Rubens, Teniers, Jordaens, and Vandyck. + +The admired painters of the _French_ school, were Claude, Poussin, Le +Brun, and many others. + +The _Spaniards_ also have had their Murillo, Velasquez, &c. + +The _English_, Hogarth, Wright, Reynolds, Wilson, Northcote, +Gainsborough, Morland, Barry, and others. + +The _Americans_, Washington Allston, Benjamin West, Gilbert Stuart, +John Singleton Copley, John Trumbull, G. Stuart Newton, Thomas Cole, +Henry Inman, and a number of others; besides many now living, or but +recently deceased. + + +Upon what materials did the ancients paint their works? + +Principally upon wood; the boards or tables were prepared with a thin +ground of chalk and size of some kind. Linen cloth or canvas was also +employed, but there is no evidence of its use before the reign of +Nero. Parchment, ivory and plaster were the other materials. + + _Evidence_, testimony, record. + + +Who was Nero? + +One of the Roman Emperors, a monster of cruelty, extravagance, and +debauchery; he raised a dreadful persecution against the Christians, +in which St. Paul was beheaded, and St. Peter crucified. At last, +being deserted by his army and the senate, he destroyed himself, after +a reign of fourteen years. + + _Debauchery_, wickedness. + + +What is Poetry? + +The glowing language of impassioned feeling, generally found in +measured lines, and often in rhyme. Most ancient people had their +poets. + + _Glowing_, warm, energetic. + + _Impassioned_, full of passion, animated. + + _Rhyme_, the correspondence of the last sound of one verse + to the last sound or syllable of another. + + +Name a few of the ancient poets. + +David was an inspired poet of the Hebrews: Homer, one of the earliest +poets of the Greeks: Ossian, an ancient poet of the Scots: Taliesen, +an ancient poet of the Welsh: and Odin, an early poet of the +Scandinavians. + + +Who were the Scandinavians? + +The inhabitants of Scandinavia, the ancient name of Denmark, Sweden, +and Norway. + + +What people are regarded as the Fathers of Poetry? + +The Greeks. Homer was the first and the prince of poets; he celebrated +the siege of Troy in the Iliad and Odyssey, two epic poems which have +never been surpassed. In the same kind of composition he was followed, +nine hundred years after, by Virgil, in the Eneid; by Tasso, after +another fifteen hundred years, in the 'Jerusalem Delivered.' The +Greeks also boasted of their Pindar and Anacreon in lyric poetry; and +of Aristophanes, Euripides, Sophocles, and Eschylus, in dramatic +poetry. + + +Did the Romans possess any distinguished Poets? + +Yes; among the epic poets were Ovid and Tibullus; among dramatists, +Plautus and Terence; of didactic and philosophic poets, Lucretius, +Virgil, Horace, and Silius Italicus. All these were so many miracles +of human genius; and their works afford the models of their respective +species of composition. Most of the works of the ancients have in +sentiment, if not in spirit, been translated into English. + + _Miracles_, wonders. + + _Genius_, natural talent. + + _Respective_, particular. + + _Sentiment_, thought, meaning. + + +Did not the same revolution which undermined the Greek and Roman +empires, and destroyed learning, the arts and sciences, and the taste +for elegance and luxury, also prove fatal to Poetry? + +It did; the hordes of barbarians who overran Europe wiped out +civilization in their progress, and literature, art, and science fled +before the wild conquerors to find a refuge in the monastery and the +convent. Here knowledge was fostered with the love and ardor which +religion alone can impart. Finally, when the rude barbarians were +converted, it was to the religious Orders that the world turned for +the establishment of schools, and it is to the Church alone, in the +person of her popes, her bishops, and her monks that we are indebted +for the preservation of learning, and its revival in the fifteenth +century. + + +What celebrated Poets marked this revival? + +In Italy, Dante, Ariosto, Petrarch and Tasso. These were followed, in +France, by Racine, Corneille, Boileau, Voltaire, La Fontaine and +Delille; in England, by Chaucer, Spenser, Shakspeare, Milton, Dryden, +Pope, Thomson, Young, Collins, Gray, Byron, Coleridge, &c; in +Scotland, by Sir Walter Scott; in Ireland, by Thomas Moore; in +Germany, Klopstock, Goethe and Schiller. + + +Name some of the distinguished poets of our own country. + +Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, William Cullen Bryant, James Russell +Lowell, John G. Whittier, Fitz-Greene Halleck, and many others whose +meritorious works will be impartially judged by a future age. + + _Impartially_, justly, without prejudice. + + +Name the different kinds of Poetry. + +Epic, or historical; dramatic, or representative,--from drama, the +name of all compositions adapted to recitation on the stage--in which +are displayed, for instruction and amusement, all the passions, +feelings, errors, and virtues of the human race in real life; lyric +poetry, or that suited to music, as songs, odes, &c; didactic, or +instructive; elegiac, or sentimental, and affecting; satirical, or +censorious; epigrammatic, or witty and ludicrous; and pastoral, or +descriptive of country life. + + _Historical_, relating to history. + + _Lyric_, pertaining to a lyre. + + _Didactic_, doctrinal; relating to doctrines or opinions. + + _Elegiac_, relating to elegy; mournful, sorrowful. + + _Elegy_, a mournful song: a funeral composition; a short + poem without points or affected elegance. + + _Satirical_, severe in language; relating to satire. + + _Satire_, a poem in which wickedness or folly is censured. + + _Epigrammatic_, relating to epigram,--a short poem ending in + a particular point or meaning, understood but not expressed. + + _Pastoral_, from _pastor_, a shepherd; relating to rural + employments and those belonging to shepherds. + + +What is Astronomy? + +The science which treats of the heavenly bodies, their arrangement, +magnitudes, distances and motions. The term Astronomy is derived from +two Greek words, signifying the _law_ of the _stars_; _astron_ being +the Greek for star. + + +What can you say of its origin? + +Its origin has been ascribed to several persons, as well as to +different nations and ages. Belus, King of Assyria; Atlas, King of +Mauritania; and Uranus, King of the countries situated on the shores +of the Atlantic Ocean, are all recorded as the persons to whom the +world is indebted for this noble science. Its origin is generally +fixed in Chaldea. Some choose, however, to attribute it to the +Hebrews; others to the Egyptians,--from whom, they say, it passed to +the Greeks. + + +What country is meant by Mauritania? + +Mauritania is the name formerly given to a country in the northern +part of Africa. Chaldea is the ancient name for Babylonia, now called +Irak Arabi, a district of Asiatic Turkey. + + +By whom were the heavenly bodies first divided into Constellations or +groups? + +By the ancients. The phenomena of the heavens were studied in very +early ages by several nations of the East. The Chaldeans, the Indians, +the Chinese and the Egyptians have all left evidence of the industry +and ingenuity with which their observations were conducted. + + _Phenomena_, appearances. + + _Ingenuity_, skilfulness. + + +What progress did they make in Astronomy? + +They built observatories,--invented instruments for observing and +measuring with correctness,--separated the stars into different groups +or constellations, for the more easily finding any particular +star,--gave particular names to most of the moving stars or planets, +and noted the periods which each took to move through its apparent +path in the heavens; and in many other ways the ancients helped to lay +the foundations of that mass of astronomical knowledge which men of +later ages have brought to more maturity. + + _Constellation_, a cluster of fixed stars; an assemblage of + stars. + + _Observatory_, a place so built as to command a view of the + heavens. + + +Who first taught the true system of the Universe? + +Pythagoras, one of the most distinguished philosophers of antiquity. +He is thought to have been a native of Samos, an island in the +Archipelago; he flourished about 500 years before Christ, in the time +of Tarquin, the last King of Rome. Pythagoras was the first among the +Europeans who taught that the Earth and Planets turn round the Sun, +which stands immovable in the centre;--that the diurnal motion of the +Sun and Fixed Stars is not real, but apparent,--arising from the +Earth's motion round its own axis, &c. After the time of Pythagoras, +Astronomy sunk into neglect. + + _Philosopher_, one who studies philosophy. + + _Philosophy_, all knowledge, whether natural or moral. The + term is derived from the Greek, _philos_, lover, and + _sophia_, wisdom. + + +By whom was it revived? + +By the family of the Ptolemies, kings of Egypt, who founded a school +of astronomy at Alexandria, which produced several eminent +astronomers, particularly one named Hipparchus. The Saracens, on their +conquest of Egypt, became possessed of the knowledge of Astronomy, +which they carried with them out of Africa into Spain; and thus, after +a long exile, it was introduced afresh into Europe. + + +Did not Astronomy from this time make great progress? + +Yes; it made considerable advances, being cultivated by the greatest +geniuses, and patronized by the greatest princes. The system of the +Ptolemies, called the Ptolemaic, had hitherto been used, with some +slight alterations; but Copernicus, an eminent astronomer, born at +Thorn, in Polish Prussia, in 1473, adopted the system which had been +taught by Pythagoras in Greece, five or six hundred years before the +time of Ptolemy. About the same time with Copernicus flourished Tycho +Brahe, born in Denmark, 1546. + + _Geniuses_, men gifted with superior mental faculties. + + _Mental_, belonging to the mind. + + _Faculties_, powers of doing anything, whether menial or + bodily; abilities; powers of the mind. + + +What next greatly forwarded this interesting science? + +The introduction of telescopes by Galileo, who by their means +discovered the small stars or satellites which attend the planet +Jupiter; the various appearances of Saturn; the mountains in the Moon; +the spots on the Sun; and its revolution on its axis. + + _Satellites_, attendants. + + +What celebrated Astronomer arose in England? + +The immortal Sir Isaac Newton, born in 1642, at Woolsthorpe, in +Lincolnshire, who has, perhaps, contributed more to the advancement of +this science than any one who had before existed. Dr. William +Herschel, a native of Hanover, in Germany, born in 1738, likewise +made many useful discoveries in Astronomy: it was he who first +discovered the seventh primary planet, which he named, in honor of +King George the Third, the Georgium Sidus. George the Third took him +under his especial patronage, and constituted him his astronomer, with +a handsome pension. He resided at Slough, near Windsor, where he died, +in 1822. + + _Patronage_, support, favor. + + _Constituted_, appointed to any particular office or rank. + + _Pension_, yearly allowance of money. + + +What other circumstance contributed to the advancement of Astronomy? + +The increasing perfection of our astronomical instruments,--by means +of which, the most important and interesting discoveries with regard +to the heavens have been made. It is now supposed that the myriads of +the heavenly bodies are all distinct worlds; it is certain, from +observations made by the aid of the telescope, that the moon has its +mountains, valleys, and caverns. One of the greatest astronomers of +our day was the eminent Father Secci. + + +What are generally meant by the Arts? + +Systems of rules designed to facilitate the performance of certain +actions; in this sense, it stands opposed to science. The terms _art_ +and _science_ are often incorrectly used. Science relates to +principles, and art to practice. The word art is derived from a Greek +word signifying utility, profit. Arts are divided into liberal and +mechanical. + + +What are the Liberal Arts? + +The liberal arts are those that are noble and ingenious, or which are +worthy of being cultivated without any immediate regard to the +pecuniary profit arising from them. They are Poetry, Music, Painting, +Sculpture, Architecture, Grammar, Logic, Rhetoric, Astronomy, and +Navigation. The arts which relate more especially to the sight and +hearing are also called Fine Arts. + + _Pecuniary_, relating to money. + + _Military_, belonging to soldiers, or to arms. + + +What do the Fine Arts usually include? + +All those which are more or less addressed to the sentiment of taste, +and whose object is pleasure; these are more especially Music, +Painting, Sculpture, and Poetry. + + +What are the Mechanical Arts? + +Those in which the hand and body are more concerned than the mind, and +which are chiefly cultivated for the sake of the profit attending +them. To this class belong those which furnish us with the necessaries +of life, and which are commonly called trades, as carpentry, weaving, +printing, &c. There are also many other arts, as the art of writing, +&c. + + +When was the art of Writing invented? + +It is supposed that the art was invented before the Deluge: it was +certainly practised long before the time of Moses. There were, +doubtless, many steps taken in slow succession before the invention of +alphabetic writing. Perhaps the earliest method might have been that +which is still employed among the untutored tribes of North American +Indians, who record events by picture-painting of the rudest +description. Picture-painting was afterwards gradually converted into +the hieroglyphical system, which is still the only kind of writing +among the Chinese. It is not known who invented the alphabetic system +of writing. + + _Deluge_, a flood: the term used in particular to denote + that mighty flood of water with which God swept away the + first nations of the earth for their wickedness. + + _Alphabetic_, from alphabet, the series of written signs of + language called letters. The word is formed from _alpha_, + _beta_, the names of the first two letters of the Greek + alphabet. + + _Untutored_, ignorant, unlearned. + + +Were not the Egyptians quite early acquainted with this art? + +Yes, they were acquainted with two or three kinds of writing, as well +as the one in which symbolical characters were employed, which was not +used for common purposes. On the contrary, such symbols had something +of a sacred character about them, being unknown to the common people, +and only to be deciphered by the priests. Obelisks and pyramids were +the great national records; and on these the hieroglyphics were +constantly used, because unintelligible to the people, until expounded +by those who had the exclusive office of explaining them. + + _Symbolical_, having the nature of signs or symbols--that + is, representations of different things. + + _Deciphered_, read, understood, made out. + + _Unintelligible_, that cannot be understood. + + _Expounded_, explained, interpreted. + + +Were Hieroglyphics employed before or after Alphabetic Writing? + +They were undoubtedly employed at first from necessity, not from +choice or refinement; and would never have been thought of, if +alphabetical characters had been known. This style of writing must be +reckoned as a rude improvement upon picture-writing, which had +previously been used. Hieroglyphics were employed by the Egyptian +priests in after times, as a kind of sacred writing, peculiar to +themselves, and serving to give an air of mystery to their learning +and religion, though fallen into disuse for other purposes. + + +What materials were employed by ancient nations in Writing? + +The Eastern nations used tables of stone, brass, and wood, so that the +characters were engraved instead of being written in the usual manner. +The instrument used in writing on wood, was made of metal, and called +a _style_. For stone, brass, &c., a chisel was employed. When the bark +and leaves of trees, skins, and other materials of a more pliant +nature, superseded the above-named tables, the chisel and the style, +or stylus, gave way to the reed and cane, and afterwards to the quill, +the _hair_ pencil (as now used by the Chinese,) and the convenient +lead pencil. + + _Engraved_, inscribed with the graver, a tool used in + engraving on stone, &c. + + _Pliant_, yielding, easily bent. + + +Have not the various nations among whom this useful art has been +cultivated, adopted different ways of arranging their written +characters? + +Yes. The Hebrews, Chaldeans, Syrians, Arabians, and Egyptians, begin +each line on the right side, and write towards the left. The Greeks, +Latins, and all European nations, write from left to right. The +natives of China, Japan, Cochin China, Corea, &c., write from the top +to the bottom of the page. + + +Where are Cochin China, and Corea? + +Cochin China is a country situated in Eastern Asia. Corea is a +peninsula of Asia, subject to China. + + +What is meant by Science? + +A clear and certain knowledge of anything founded on self-evident +principles, or demonstration. The term is, however, more particularly +applied to a systematic arrangement of the principles relating to any +branch of knowledge, and is employed in this sense in opposition to +art: thus the theoretical knowledge of chemistry is ranked as a +science, but the practical part is called an art; thus it is sometimes +spoken of as a science, sometimes as an art. + + _Practical_, relating to action, not merely speculative. + + +What is Chemistry? + +A science which enables us to discover the peculiar properties of +natural bodies, either in their simple or compound state, and the +elementary or first principles of which they are composed, by the +processes of analysis and combination. Chemistry treats of those +changes in natural bodies which are not accompanied by _sensible_ +motions. + + _Compound_, mixed. + + _Analysis_, a separation of a compound body into the several + parts of which it consists. + + +Is not the knowledge of Chemistry very ancient? + +Chemistry, as far as it regards the separating of metals from foreign +matters in the ore, smelting and refining them, is of the highest +antiquity; it is even supposed to have been understood and practised +in the antediluvian world. + + _Antediluvian_, before the flood. + + +What nation appears to have excelled in Chemistry in early times? + +The Egyptians were no mean proficients in many chemical operations, +especially in the arts of working metals, softening ivory, vitrifying +flints, and imitating precious stones. Chemistry, however, experienced +the common fate of all the arts, at the decline of the Eastern empire. + + _Proficients_, those who have made great progress in any art + or science. + + +By whom was it revived? + +After having long lain buried, the famous Roger Bacon revived it; and +from his time to the present day it has gradually progressed to a +state of perfection. In former times, the art of chemistry consisted +only in the knowledge of working metals, &c.; but in latter ages, its +bounds have been greatly enlarged. The knowledge of Chemistry leads to +many interesting and important discoveries, and the arts and +manufactures are greatly indebted to its aid; indeed, it is requisite +to be a good chemist, in order to attain to perfection in many of +them. + + _Requisite_, necessary. + + +By what other name has Chemistry been known? + +It was sometimes called _Alchemy_; by which is properly understood a +refined and mysterious species of chemistry, formerly much practised. + + +What were its objects? + +The discovery of the art of converting metals into gold, including the +search after the "Philosopher's Stone," by which this change was to be +effected; and the discovery of a panacea or medicine for the cure of +all diseases. + + +What was the Philosopher's Stone? + +A substance, for numbers of years eagerly sought for, which was to +convert metals, such as lead, copper, &c. into gold. This unknown +substance was called the Philosopher's Stone, probably on account of +the number of learned men who engaged in the search after it. + +[Illustration: UNITED STATES SIGNAL STATION, PIKE'S PEAK, COLORADO.] + + +Was this search successful? + +No; but the delusion lasted several centuries, notwithstanding the +failures, losses, and disappointments of those engaged in it. Indeed, +so severe and ruinous were these, in many instances, that laws were +passed to forbid the study. In Germany, many of the alchemists who had +the unfortunate reputation of possessing this wonderful stone were +imprisoned and furnished with apparatus till they should purchase +their liberty by making an ounce of gold. + + _Delusion_, an error arising from false views. + + _Apparatus_, a complete set of instruments or tools, by + which anything is made, or any operation performed. + + +Was any gold ever produced by this method? + +Not a particle; the story of a stone having the property of converting +the baser metals into gold being merely an absurd fable: yet, although +the pursuits of Alchemy were the most preposterous that can be +conceived, the ardor with which they were followed, and the amazing +number of experiments made in consequence, led to the discovery of +many facts to which Chemistry is highly indebted. + + _Preposterous_, absurd, foolish; contrary to nature or + reason. + + +You inform me that Chemistry enables us to discover the properties of +bodies by means of _analysis_ and _combination_: what do these terms +imply? + +If a chemist wishes to examine the properties of a compound body, he +proceeds by analysis--that is, by a separation of the substance to be +examined into its constituent parts. The chemical examination of +bodies is generally effected by producing a change in the _nature_ or +_state_ of the body under examination. This change is frequently +brought about by the addition of some _other_ substance which forms a +combination with a part of the substance examined, and leaves the +remainder in a detached state. + + +By what _means_ do Chemists effect a change in the qualities or states +of natural bodies? + +It is generally effected by means of _heat_, which has a tendency to +separate the particles of bodies from each other; or by the _mixture_ +or _combination_ of some other matter with the matter intended to be +examined. The mixture of two or more compounds often produces a +decomposition by means of chemical _affinity_, a property which +different species of matter have to unite with each other; and which +is sometimes called _elective affinity_. Thus it may be observed, +chemists have not only the power of decomposing natural bodies, but of +producing by combination various other substances, such as are not +found in the kingdom of nature. + + +What do you mean by _decomposition_? + +In chemical language, it means the separation of a compound body into +its simple elements. + + +Give me an example. + +Water may be decomposed, and reduced into oxygen and hydrogen,--both +of them simple substances incapable of further decomposition. + + +Is not the work of decomposition perpetually going forward? + +Yes; and _combustion_ is one of the great agents in this work. By it +animal and vegetable substances are converted into water and carbonic +acid, by the union of their hydrogen and carbon with the oxygen of the +air. These, in time, are again absorbed by vegetables, and again +decomposed to set the oxygen at liberty to produce fresh combustions. + + +Of what use are the two remaining substances, Hydrogen and Carbon? + +These are appropriated by the vegetative organs to their growth and +nourishment, while the oxygen with which the carbon was combined is +abundantly given off to purify the air and render it fit for the +respiration of animals. + + +Give me an idea of the mode in which Chemists ascertain the _affinity_ +of bodies, by relating an experiment. + +Dissolve a tea-spoonful of sugar of lead in water, and pour the clear +solution into a decanter or large glass bottle. Then take a small +piece of zinc, and twist round it some brass or copper wire, so as to +let the ends of the wire depend from it in any agreeable form. Suspend +the zinc and wire in the solution which has been prepared; in a short +time, metallic lead will deposit itself on the zinc and along the +wire. This is a beautiful illustration of chemical affinity; the acid, +which constitutes a part of the sugar of lead, has a stronger affinity +for the zinc than for the lead, and, consequently, will combine with +the zinc, and form a compound which remains in solution, while the +lead is precipitated on the zinc and wire in the form of a brilliant +tree of metal. + + _Affinity_, in chemistry, that attraction which takes place + between the elements of bodies, and forms compounds. + + +What does the word Nature signify? + +In the above sense, the system of the universe; the creation, the +works of God. By the kingdom of nature is meant the world and all +things in it: nature is divided into three kingdoms, the animal, +vegetable, and mineral. + + +What are the different states of natural bodies? + +All bodies are either solid, liquid, or aeriform. By solid bodies are +meant those whose parts unite so firmly as to resist the impression or +penetration of other bodies; by liquid, those substances whose parts +do not unite firmly, but have free motion among themselves; by +aeriform, fluid substances, having the form or nature of air. Liquid +substances are nothing more than solids converted into liquids by +heat, a certain increase of which would convert the liquids into +vapor. + + +What other name is given to Liquids? + +They are likewise called fluids: we call the air, also, a fluid, +because it flows like a fluid, and light substances will float in it. + + +What is the cause of bodies floating on liquids? + +It is an established law of nature, that all substances which weigh +less than an equal bulk of any liquid, will float on the surface of +this liquid. Thus a cork will float on water, while a stone sinks to +the bottom. The cork will not float in the air, though lighter than +water; and the stone is not heavier than the _whole_ of the water, but +more so than a portion of water of its _own bulk_,--and thus it sinks +in it. Stones also differ in their weight or gravity: for instance, +some of the asbestus kind are _lighter_ than water. Iron, brass, +indeed, nearly all substances, except gold and platina, will float +upon mercury, because they are lighter than this liquid. + + +What is the cause of bodies being either solid, liquid, or aeriform? + +When the principle of _attraction_ prevails, it causes them to become +solid; when caloric prevails, they become aeriform. Fluidity is, +apparently, a medium between the two. + + +How is the state of Solidity in bodies accounted for? + +The particles of all bodies are subject to two opposite powers, +_repulsion_ and _attraction_; between which they remain in +equilibrium. While the _attractive_ force remains strongest, the body +remains in a state of solidity; but if heat destroys this force, the +particles lose their cohesion, and the body ceases to be solid. + + _Cohesion_, act of sticking together, union of the + constituent parts of a body. + + +Which is supposed to be the most natural state of all bodies? + +Solidity; for by the _combination_ of caloric with them we can reduce +most substances to the fluid state; while the greatest number of +_liquid_ substances take a _solid_ form by the loss of caloric. Thus, +water congeals and forms ice; and even the gases show this disposition +to become solid, when they lose their _elasticity_ by forming some +_combination_. + + +Explain the terms _Repulsion_ and _Attraction_. + +Repulsion is a peculiar property in the particles of matter, which +gives them a constant tendency to recede from each other. Attraction +is an unknown force, which causes bodies or their particles to +approach each other. The particles of all bodies possess this +property, which causes them to adhere, and preserves the various +substances around us from falling in pieces. + + +What different kinds of Attraction can you mention? + +Attraction may be distinguished into that which takes place between +bodies at sensible distances, and that which manifests itself between +the _particles_ of matter at insensible distances. + + +Give an example of the first kind of attraction. + +One of the most familiar instances of attraction at sensible distances +is seen in the descent of heavy bodies to the ground. When a stone is +lifted up in the hand, the earth's attraction, which previously caused +it to remain at its surface, is overcome; but, as soon as the hand is +withdrawn, the stone falls to the earth. The force which causes this +is called the _attraction of gravitation_, or simply _gravitation_. + + +How is the second kind of attraction, or that between the particles of +bodies, subdivided? + +Into the _attraction of aggregation_, or _cohesion_; and _chemical +attraction_, or _affinity_. The former takes place between particles +which are _similar_, and the latter between those which are +_dissimilar_. All the operations of chemistry are founded upon the +force of affinity which Nature has established between the particles +of different kinds of matter, and which enables the chemist to produce +_new_ compounds differing more or less from the substances by whose +union they were formed. + + +Is it, then, necessary for chemists to understand the relative nature +of all substances? + +Yes; because the basis of this science consists in an _analytical_ +examination of the works of Nature; an investigation of the properties +and uses of all substances we are acquainted with; and the study of +the effects of _heat_ and _mixture_, in order that we may find out +their general and subordinate laws. + + _Analytical_, relating to analysis. + + _Investigation_, act of searching, or tracing out. + + _Subordinate_, inferior in nature, dignity or power. + + +Relate a few more of the advantages obtained by a knowledge of +Chemistry. + +Many of the wonderful operations of Nature, and the changes which take +place in substances around us, are, by its means, revealed to us. In +every manufacture, art, or walk of life, the chemist possesses an +advantage over his unskilled neighbor. It is necessary to the farmer +and gardener, as it explains the growth of plants, the use of manures, +and their proper application: and indispensable to the physician, that +he may understand the animal economy, and the _effects_ which certain +_causes_ chemically produce; and the nature of animal, vegetable, and +mineral poisons. The study is, therefore, an invaluable branch in the +education of youth: it is useful, not only in the active, but the +_moral_ life, by laying the foundation of an ardent and inquiring +mind. Even an everyday walk in the fields can be productive of +instruction, by a knowledge of it;--and let us always remember, that +"Knowledge is Power." + + _Indispensable_, necessary, not to be done without. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX. + +ATTRACTION, TIDES, GRAVITY, ARTESIAN WELLS, AIR, ANEROID +BAROMETER, EAR-TRUMPET, STETHOSCOPE, AUDIPHONE, TELEPHONE, PHONOGRAPH, +MICROPHONE, MEGAPHONE, TASIMETER, BATHOMETER, ANEMOMETER, +CHRONOMETER. + + +What is Attraction? + +By attraction is meant that property or quality in the particles of +bodies which makes them tend toward each other. + + +Are there several kinds of attraction? + +Yes. Attraction has received different names, according to the +circumstances under which it acts: The force which keeps the particles +of matter together to form bodies or masses, is called attraction of +_cohesion_; that which makes bodies stick together only on their +surfaces, is called _adhesion_; that which inclines different masses +toward each other, as the earth and the heavenly bodies, is called +_gravitation_; that which forces the particles of substances of +different kinds to unite, is known under the name of _chemical +attraction_; that which causes the needle of the compass to point +constantly toward the poles of the earth, is _magnetic attraction_; +that which is excited by friction in certain substances, is known as +_electrical attraction_. + + +How do you know that attraction exists through the whole universe? + +This great universal law was first discovered by Sir Isaac Newton. The +sun and planets and other heavenly bodies are only guided in their +path by gravitation. + + +Do we experience this attraction upon our earth? + +Yes; because our earth is carried around the sun by it; and, further, +the tides show it very clearly. + + +What are the Tides? + +The ebbing and flowing of the sea, which regularly takes place twice +in twenty-four hours. The cause of the tides is the attraction of the +sun, but chiefly of the moon, acting on the waters of the ocean. + + +What is Gravity? + +Gravity is the attraction between the earth and the bodies on the +earth, which makes what we call weight of bodies. + + +What do you understand by specific weight or gravity? + +It means the weight of a body as compared with the weight of an equal +bulk of some other body taken as a standard--commonly water. + + +Why do we say that certain metals--as, for example, platina or +gold--are heavier than others, say, lead or iron? + +Because the former have a greater specific gravity. + + +But is not a pound of gold as heavy as a pound of lead? + +Yes; but a lump of gold will be heavier than a lump of lead of equal +bulk. + + +Can we explain by this what we call floating? + +A body will float in water if its gravity is less than that of water; +for example, wood floats for this reason in water, and a balloon in +the air. + + +Why does a portion of the floating body sink below the surface of the +water? + +Because the body in order to float must displace a portion of water +equal in weight to the whole floating body. + + +But why do iron steamers float--iron being heavier than water? + +Because the steamer is not a solid piece of iron, but is hollow, and +so increased in bulk; for that reason the weight of the vessel and its +contents is less than that of an equal bulk of water. + + +How can you ascertain that air has weight? + +We can do it by the barometer and by very many experiences in daily +life. If one end of a straw be dipped into a vessel of water and the +other end be sucked, the liquid will rise to the mouth. There we see +the pressure of the outside air forces the liquid through the straw +where the air was removed by sucking. + + +Can you show the same by another instrument? + +Yes; the common water pump demonstrates the same as the straw. A tube +is placed into the water, the air is sucked out from the tube by the +movement of the pump, and the outside air presses the water through +the tube. + + +What are Artesian wells? + +Wells so named because they were made first at Artois, in France. They +work on the principle that every liquid seeks its level. Of the rain +which falls, a part soaks into the soil of mountains, until, coming to +a layer of rocks or clay through which it cannot pass, it will collect +and be stored up. If a hole be bored into this reservoir the water +will rise in it. + + +Do you know some other properties of air? + +It is the most necessary substance for our life; it is the vehicle of +all odors and smells; it is the medium of all sounds, and brings to +our ear and so to our mind an immense knowledge of the outside world; +it is the cause of the beauty of the blue firmament or sky, of the +aurora and twilight; it is the great nurse of the whole vegetable +kingdom by clouds, rain, and dew. + + +What is an Aneroid Barometer? + +It is a barometer in the construction of which no quicksilver or other +liquid is used. It consists of a metal box, exhausted of air, the top +of which is of thin metal, so elastic that it readily yields to +alterations in the pressure of the atmosphere. When the pressure +increases, the top is pressed inwards; when, on the contrary, it +decreases, the elasticity of the lid, aided by a spring, tends to move +it in the opposite direction. These motions are transmitted by +delicate levers to an index which moves on a scale. This barometer has +the advantage of being portable. + + +What is the Ear-trumpet? + +A trumpet-like instrument used to aid deaf persons in hearing. Its +form is conical, and the larger end is of a bell shape; the small end +is placed in the ear, and the person talks in the large end. It acts +by concentrating the voice on the listener's ear. + + +What is a Stethoscope? + +An instrument used by physicians for ascertaining the action of the +lungs, judging by the sound of their motion whether they are healthy +or not. + + +Describe the Audiphone. + +It is a fan-shaped instrument to help deaf people, and is made of +flexible carbonized rubber. Fine silk cords attached to the upper edge +bend it over, and are fastened by a wedge in a handle. The top edge of +this fan rests upon the upper teeth, and the sound waves strike its +surface; the vibrations are thus conveyed by the teeth and the bones +of the face to the acoustic nerve in the ear. + + +Describe the Telephone. + +It is an instrument by which conversation may be carried on at a +distance, and is composed of three parts--a thin disk of soft metal, a +small coil or bobbin of silk-covered copper wire, and a small bar +magnet about four inches long. The bobbin is placed on one pole of the +magnet, so that the wire is as it were steeped in the magnetic space +round the pole. The metal disk is placed face close to the pole and +bobbin, so that when it vibrates in front of the pole a series of wave +currents will be set up in the coil of wire on the bobbin. The whole +is encased in wood, and a mouth-piece is provided for speaking against +the disk. The coil of wire on the bobbin is of course connected by its +two ends into the circuit of a telegraph line. + + +Who invented the Telephone? + +It was invented, almost simultaneously, by Alex. Graham Bell, a +native of Scotland, and Professor of Vocal Physiology in the Boston +University, and Elisha Gray, of Chicago. + + +What is a Phonograph? + +It is an instrument for recording the vibrations of sounds, and +consists of a revolving cylinder covered with tin-foil. To this +cylinder is attached a mouth-piece, fitted with a thin plate or disk, +on the outer side of which, next to the cylinder, is a needle or +point. The cylinder runs on a screw, so that the whole length of it, +from end to end, may pass under the point. On speaking into the +mouth-piece the voice causes the disk to vibrate, and the point to +trace marks corresponding to these vibrations on the tin-foil. By +turning the cylinder so that the point again passes into the marks in +the tin-foil, the sounds that entered at the mouth-piece can be +reproduced at any time. + + +By whom was the phonograph invented? + +By Thomas A. Edison, who was born in Ohio in 1847. Mr. Edison is the +inventor of many improvements in telegraphy, which have been adopted +into general use, and are to him the source of a large income. To him, +also, we are indebted for the megaphone, microphone, tasimeter, an +improvement in the telephone, a system of electric lighting, and many +other inventions. + + +What is a Microphone? + +This instrument is a variety of telephone by means of which faint +sounds can be heard at a very great distance. It consists of a small +battery for generating a weak current of electricity, a telephone for +the receiving instrument, and a speaking or transmitting instrument. +The last is a small rod of gas carbon with the ends set loosely in +blocks of the same material. The blocks are attached to an upright +support, glued into a wooden base board. This instrument is connected +with the battery and the telephone. So wonderfully sensitive is it, +that the ticking of a watch, the walking of a fly across a board, or +the brush of a camel's-hair pencil can be heard even though it be +hundreds of miles distant. + + +Will you describe the Megaphone? + +It is a substitute for the ear and speaking trumpet. It consists of +three paper funnels placed side by side. The two larger ones are about +6 feet 8 inches long and 27-1/2 inches in diameter, and are each +provided with a flexible tube, the ends of which are held to the ear. +The centre funnel, which is used as a speaking-trumpet, does not +differ materially from an ordinary trumpet, except that it is larger +and has a larger bell mouth. Two persons, each provided with a +megaphone, can, without other apparatus, carry on a conversation at a +distance of one and a half or two miles. + + +What is the Tasimeter? + +It is an instrument, sensitive to the smallest degree of heat, and is +mostly used in astronomy. Attached to a telescope it will show the +heat coming from the stars. + + +What is a Bathometer? + +This ingenious instrument, the invention of Prof. Siemens of London, +enables those on board of ships to read from an index the depths of +the ocean beneath them. It consists of a highly sensitive steel spring +to which a heavy piece of metal is attached. The changes in weight to +which the latter is subject in consequence of the variations of +attractive force (the deeper the ocean the smaller the latter, and +vice versa) are registered on a scale by the indicator that is in +connection with the steel spring. + + +What is an Anemometer? + +An instrument for measuring the velocity and force of the wind, and by +which storms, at a distance, can be predicted. + + +What is a Chronometer? + +A time-piece of delicate and exact construction, chiefly employed by +astronomers and navigators. It differs only from an ordinary watch in +its delicate springs, in not being so much influenced by heat and +cold, and consequently in its accuracy in giving the time. + + + + +CHAPTER XX. + +LIGHT, LIME LIGHT, MAGNESIUM LIGHT, ELECTRIC LIGHT, RAINBOW, +PRISM, SPECTRUM, COLORS, PHOTOGRAPHY, CAMERA OBSCURA, STEREOSCOPE, +KALEIDOSCOPE. + + +Do you know something about the nature of Light? + +Light is a mere form of vibration like sound, and like sound it +requires some source to set this vibration going, and some medium to +carry this vibration as air carries sound. + + +Is not the air this medium? + +No, it is supposed that there is an elastic fluid called "ether" which +pervades all space and matter, and if the molecules of a body are in +motion they have the power of setting this ether in motion. The +movement thus produced will appear either as heat or light according +to its velocity. + + +What sources of light do you know? + +We are told that the principal source of light on earth is the sun, +either directly with its own beams or indirectly by supplying us with +combustibles to produce light; for oil, gas, candles, and most of the +substances used for producing light and heat when burning are but +sending forth in another form the rays of the sun which were stored up +in nature's economy. + +Another source of light is the result of chemical action, such as the +lime, magnesium, and electric light. A third source of light is +phosphorescence, as we see it in the glow-worm and fireflies. + + +What is the Drummond or Lime Light? + +It is one of the most brilliant of artificial lights. When a stream of +oxygen and one of hydrogen under pressure are brought together and +mixed within a few inches of the end of a blowpipe, the mixture on +lighting burns with a colorless flame possessing intense heat. If this +flame be made to play upon a ball of carbonate of lime, the lime on +becoming white hot gives off a powerful incandescence. + + _Incandescence_, the glowing whiteness of a body caused by + intense heat. + + +What is a Blowpipe? + +A tube, usually bent near the end, terminated with a finely-pointed +nozzle, for blowing through the flame of a lamp or gas-jet, producing +thereby a small conical flame possessing intense heat. It is used in +soldering silver, brass, etc. A mixture of oxygen and hydrogen when +ignited constitutes the hydrogen blowpipe, invented by Dr. Hare of +Philadelphia. + + +What is Magnesium Light? + +When the metal magnesium is rolled out into a fine ribbon and heated +to red heat it burns with a dazzling light. + + +Which is the most powerful artificial light? + +The so-called Electric light. This light, whether produced by a series +of galvanic cells or by dynamic power, is the most brilliant and +useful. + + +What is a Rainbow? + +The rainbow is that beautiful semi-circular band or arc of different +colors in the clouds during the occurrence of rain in sunshine. When +the clouds opposite the sun are very dark and rain is falling from +them, the rays of the sun are divided by the raindrops as they would +be by a prism. There are often two rainbows at the same time, because +the primary bow is again reflected to another layer of clouds. + + +What is a Prism? + +A triangular solid piece of glass, on which if a ray of light be cast +it will be distinctly divided into the seven colors we see in a +rainbow. By this fact we see that white light is composed of different +rays which have different reflective susceptibilities. + + +What is a Spectrum? + +It is this beautiful band of seven colors obtained by the refraction +of a ray of light through the prism. + + +Whence come the colors in the objects we see in nature? + +They all come from light; every object has a power to absorb certain +rays and to reflect others. A red cloth, for example, absorbs all the +other colored rays except red, and this it gives off, thus appearing +red. + + +Why are the leaves of plants green? + +Because a peculiar chemical substance called chlorophyl, formed within +their cells, absorbs all other rays of light, reflecting only blue and +yellow--which mixture produces the different green tints. + + +What is Photography? + +The word means "light drawing." It is a mode of fixing on certain +substances the lights and shades of any object by means of a lens +inserted in a camera obscura. This process was first called +Daguerreotype from the name of the inventor, Daguerre. A plate of +copper thinly coated with silver is exposed to the vapor of iodine, +then placed in a camera obscura, where an image of the object to be +presented through a lens is cast upon it. Ambrotype is the same +application to glass. There are now different variations of method in +the use of the same agents. Now photography consists in taking the +images on what is called a negative--that is, a glass coated with a +silvered collodion (gun-cotton dissolved in alcohol and ether) film. +From this plate another image is taken on silvered paper, which we +call the positive image. There are also other chemicals used instead +of silver. + + +What is a Camera Obscura? + +A small box or dark room into which the light is admitted through a +lens. + + +What is a Stereoscope? + +It is an instrument exhibiting the effects and advantages of seeing +with two eyes. The instrument is so constructed that from a flat +picture we may see the solid body in its reality in nature. + + +What is a Kaleidoscope? + +An instrument invented by Sir David Brewster, consisting of a tube +with slips of reflecting glass so arranged in the interior that small +beads, bits of colored glass, and similar things are, by revolving the +tube, thrown into an endless variety of beautiful shapes. + + + + +CHAPTER XXI. + +ELECTRICITY, ELECTRIC CURRENTS, ELECTRIC BATTERY, ELECTROTYPING, +STEREOTYPING, TELEGRAPH, OCEAN CABLE, LIGHTNING ROD, THE GULF STREAM, +THE MT. CENIS TUNNEL, THE SUEZ CANAL, SUSPENSION BRIDGES, EMINENT +AMERICANS. + + +What is the nature of Electricity? + +A form of energy into which all other forms can readily be converted. + + +What is an Electric current? + +Electricity manifests itself in a variety of ways, but all may be +arranged under two heads, _viz._, 1, as a charge; 2, as a current. By +means of friction, many bodies become electrified--that is, have +acquired an electrical charge. If this charge is in great quantity we +call it high tension. When a body containing an electrical charge is +brought in contact with other bodies through which electricity is +capable of passing, there ensues a current of electricity. Such bodies +are called conductors. + + +What are the sources of currents? + +There are currents produced by chemical action called voltaic +currents; by the action of heat, or thermo-electric currents; by the +motion of magnets, or magneto-electric currents. + +[Illustration: REMOVING THE EARTH FROM THE CANAL BY MEANS OF +DROMEDARIES.] + +[Illustration: OPENING THE SUEZ CANAL--PROCESSION OF SHIPS.] + + +What is positive and what negative electricity? + +No difference in electricity in itself. When a body has more than its +natural amount of electricity, it is said to be charged positively; +when it has less than its natural amount it is negatively charged. + + +What is a Cell; what a Battery? + +If a piece of zinc and copper joined by a wire be dipped in a +liquid--generally weak sulphuric acid--which will act chemically on +the metals, a current is produced. Such an arrangement is called a +couple, or cell. If many cells are connected, then it is called a +battery. + + +What is Thermo-electricity? + +If two bars of any unlike metal--for example, antimony and bismuth--be +soldered together at one end, and the other ends be connected by a +wire and then the soldered end heated, a current will flow. + + +What effects are produced by currents? + +They produce heat, light, decomposition and combination in liquid +chemical compounds; they melt all metals, excite magnetism, and in the +animal body excite movements of the muscles. + +Can you specify these effects? + +A strong battery produces heat in such a degree that all metals can be +melted. Light is produced in flashes, or if the end of the leading +wires are connected with two pencils of hard carbon, and brought very +near together, then a brilliant light, or arc, called the voltaic arc, +is produced. This is the dazzling bright light which we call electric +light. The chemical effect of a current in decomposing compound +substances is called electrolysis. In this way water can be decomposed +into its compounds, hydrogen and oxygen; copper sulphate into sulphur +and metallic copper, etc. In this way we can deposit strong adherent +films of metal on the surface of any conductor; for if the article to +be coated be attached to the negative electrode of a battery, and +dipped into a solution of the metal with which we desire to coat the +article, say copper or silver, and the positive electrode be attached +to a plate of copper and also dipped into a liquid, when the current +passes, the metal will be decomposed and deposited in a uniform layer +over the article at the negative electrode. This process is called +_electro-plating_. + + +What is Electrotyping? + +It is the process of copying medals, type, wood-cuts, engraved copper +and steel plates, etc., by means of electrical deposition. It is +chiefly used for making, from the ordinary movable types, plates of +fixed metallic types, for printing books. + + +Describe the process. + +The article to be copied is first covered with black-lead, and then a +mould is made of it in wax or gutta-percha. This mould is placed in a +solution of sulphate of copper, and attached to the negative pole of +the battery, while a plate of copper is hung from the positive pole. +The electric current decomposes the copper, which is deposited in a +thin film upon the mould. This film is removed and stiffened by being +backed with metal. + + +What is the difference between Electrotyping and Stereotyping? + +In stereotyping, a plaster of Paris mould is taken from the types, and +upon this mould melted type-metal is poured, which, when hardened, +makes a solid plate. + + +Is there any other method of stereotyping? + +Yes; that known as the paper process. A uniform sheet of soft matter +is formed by pasting together sheets of thin, tough tissue paper. The +types are oiled, and the soft, moist sheet is placed on them and +beaten down with a stiff brush until it receives an impression of the +type-form. Both are then run through a press, and on being taken out +the paper is found to form a perfect mould. Into this mould the +type-metal is poured and the plate formed. + + +Can you tell me some magnetic effects of the current? + +All conductors become magnetic during the passage of a current through +them, and thereby acquire all the properties of a magnet. There are +bodies which are natural magnets, and they are called permanent +magnets. Those which become magnets only during the passage of a +current are called electro-magnets. + + +Do you know any application of those magnets? + +They are employed in a great variety of electrical apparatus, +principally in telegraphy. + + +When was the first telegraph established? + +It was made in 1836, being invented by Prof. Steinheil, of Munich, and +adopted by the government of Bavaria. It was 12 miles long, and the +signals were made by small bells. + + +Who was the inventor of the telegraph in this country? + +Samuel F.B. Morse, who was born at Charlestown, Mass., April 27, 1791. +He began life as a painter, but did not give his whole attention to +art--chemistry and experiments in electricity and galvanism claiming +much of his time. He first conceived the idea of the telegraph in +1832, and exhibited his invention to Congress in 1837. He struggled on +with scanty means, and was about to give up in despair when Congress +appropriated $30,000 for an experimental line, which was opened on May +12, 1844, between Washington and Baltimore. Prof. Morse died in 1872, +but not before he had reaped honors and fortune from his invention. + + +How rapidly does the electric current travel through the wires? + +From experiments made it appears to be about 15,400 miles in a second. + + +Can more than one message be sent at the same time on the same wire? + +Yes; it is possible now to send several messages at the same time. + + +What is a Cable? + +It is a telegraph wire under water. Prof. Morse, in 1842, laid a wire +insulated by a covering of hemp coated with pitch-tar and India-rubber +between Governor's Island and the Battery, New York. Several attempts +were made in other countries. + + +What was the greatest telegraphic undertaking? + +That of connecting Europe with America by a submarine cable spanning +the ocean, which was commenced in 1857 and completed August 5, 1858. + + +To whom do we owe this grand undertaking? + +This honor is entirely due to Mr. Cyrus W. Field. Mr. Field was born +at Stockbridge, Mass., on November 30th, 1819. In 1853 he became +interested in ocean telegraphy, and after many reverses succeeded in +laying the first cable in August, 1858. The message sent by Queen +Victoria to the President of the United States, consisting of 99 +words, occupied 67 minutes in transmitting. In September of the same +year this cable ceased to work, but the energy of Field restored +confidence, and another cable was made and laid down in July, 1865, +but after 1200 miles were deposited it was lost. In 1866 another was +made and successfully laid in July. In August the lost cable was found +and spliced, and carried to the western shore. + + +What is a Dynamo-electric machine? + +A machine by which very powerful currents can be obtained directly +from mechanical power. In these, by means of a steam-engine or other +power, a number of coils of wire called the armature are set into +rapid revolution between the poles of powerful electro-magnets. All +currents are caused to flow from the armature in one direction by +means of a contrivance called the commutator. Very successful machines +of this sort are the Gramme machine, the Siemens, and, principally, +the so-called Brush machine. By these the electric light is now +generally produced. + + +What is a Lightning Rod? + +It is a rod of iron placed against a building to protect it from +lightning. Three or four feet of one end is in the moist ground or in +water, while several feet of the other end extend above the highest +part of the building. The upper end of the rod is pointed with copper +or some other metal which will not easily corrode. + + +By whom was it invented? + +By Benjamin Franklin, and first announced by him in his "Poor +Richard's Almanac" for 1753. Franklin was born at Boston, Mass., in +1706. By his talents, prudence, and honesty he rose from humble +beginnings to be one of the foremost men of his time. He was one of +the committee of five chosen by Congress to prepare the "Declaration +of Independence" which he with other patriots afterwards signed. +Towards the close of the year 1776 he was sent as ambassador to the +French Court, and remained in Europe some time. He returned home in +1785, and died at Philadelphia on the 17th of April, 1790. + + +What is the Gulf Stream? + +It is a warm current in the Atlantic Ocean. + + +What is its origin? + +It may be considered as beginning on the west coast of Africa, within +the region of the trade winds. These cause a westward flow, known as +the equatorial current. On reaching the coast of Brazil, the greater +portion of this current bends northward, carrying with it the waters +of the Amazon and Orinoco, and passes through the Caribbean Sea into +the Gulf of Mexico. Here it is further heated, and rushes out through +the only outlet, the Straits of Florida. + + +Describe its course. + +Deep and narrow, it runs by Florida with a velocity varying from two +to five miles an hour, and pressed by the cold current between it and +the shore, flows parallel to the coast as far as Cape Hatteras. +Meeting shoals near this point, the banks of sand extending as far as +Newfoundland, it there turns abruptly to the east, and with diminished +speed and increased width, rolls onward towards the coast of Europe. +Before long it divides into two great branches--the northern and +southern. The former extends as far as Spitzbergen; the latter, +sweeping along by the Madeira and Canary Islands, returns to the +equator, completing the circuit. + + +What influence has the Gulf Stream on the climate of Europe? + +Various opinions have been expressed as to this. It has been estimated +that the amount of heat arising from the stream on a winter's day, is +sufficient to raise the atmosphere over the British Isles from the +freezing point to a summer temperature. + + +How may the Gulf Stream be distinguished? + +It can be distinctly traced in the ocean by its dark indigo color, its +temperature, and the swiftness of its waters. + + +Which is the largest tunnel in the world? + +The Mt. Cenis Tunnel, or the tunnel of Col de Frejus, by both of which +names it is known. It is the longest subterranean route for commerce +and travel yet constructed, being 7-1/4 miles in length. It is on the +crest of the Cottian Alps, about 16 miles south-west of the summit of +Mt. Cenis Pass. It was begun in 1857, and finished in 1871. + + _Col_, a defile. + + +What other great engineering work can you mention? + +The Suez Canal, a ship canal running across the Isthmus of Suez, and +connecting the Mediterranean with the Red Sea. The canal is 100 miles +in length, and through it an uninterrupted communication is +established whereby large sailing vessels and steamers may pass from +sea to sea, and thus avoid the long and dangerous voyage around the +Cape of Good Hope. + + +To whom is the world indebted for this canal? + +This great work owes its inception and completion to the enterprise +and indomitable energy of Ferdinand de Lesseps, who was born at +Versailles, France, on the 19th November, 1805. In January, 1856, he +obtained a charter from the Egyptian Government for a company to +construct the canal, and began work in 1859. Though beset by many +difficulties, the persistent energy of De Lesseps fought its way to +success, and in 1869 he had the satisfaction of seeing the waters of +the Mediterranean and the Red Sea mingle in the Bitter Lakes. He has +since been engaged in many engineering projects, the latest being a +canal across the Isthmus of Panama to connect the Atlantic and Pacific +oceans. + + _Inception_, beginning. + + _Indomitable_, not to be subdued. + + _Persistent_, inclined to hold firm. + + +What is a Suspension Bridge? + +A bridge supported by wires, ropes, or chains, which usually pass over +high piers or columns at each end, and are secured in the ground +below. + + +Name some of the largest bridges of this kind. + +That at Niagara, those over the Allegheny at Pittsburg and the Ohio at +Cincinnati, and the great East River bridge, which connects New York +and Brooklyn. + + +Who planned these bridges? + +John A. Roebling, who was born at Mulhausen, Prussia, June 12, 1806. +In 1831 he emigrated to this country, and to his genius we are +indebted for the bridges above named. The reports, plans, and +specifications of the East River bridge were completed, and the work +begun, when Roebling was severely injured in the foot while directing +his work. Lockjaw succeeding amputation, he died in Brooklyn, July 22, +1869. + + +To what great Civil Engineer has the West given birth? + +James B. Eads. Born at Lawrenceburg, Indiana, May 28, 1820, he began +life as a clerk on a Mississippi river steam-boat. In 1842 he entered +a firm engaged in recovering sunken property, and with such success +that he retired with a fortune in 1857. During the civil war he +devised a plan for the defence of the Western waters, and constructed +several iron gun-boats with many novel features of his own invention. +He has since acquired reputation as projecting and constructing +engineer of the Illinois and St. Louis bridge, and by building jetties +at the South Pass of the Mississippi, by which the depth of the river +is increased, and it is made more navigable. These jetties are +projecting dikes of brush, fascines, and stone. + + _Fascines_, bundles of rods or of small sticks of wood, + bound at both ends and at intermediate points, used in + filling ditches, etc. + + +Give the names of some distinguished American inventors. + +Eli Whitney, the inventor of the Cotton Gin, born in Westborough, +Mass., 1765; died 1825. Jethro Wood, the inventor of the modern +cast-iron plow, born at White Creek, N.Y., 1774; died 1834. Cyrus H. +McCormick, inventor of the mowing machine, born at Walnut Grove, +Virginia, in 1809. + + +Who was the inventor of the Sewing Machine? + +Elias Howe. He was born at Spencer, Mass., July 9, 1819. When a boy he +worked in a cotton mill at Lowell, but afterwards entered a machine +shop in Boston. Here he conceived the idea of the sewing machine, and +after long days of labor, part of which time he and his family lived +on the kindness of a friend, he completed his invention. After many +struggles, his talent, industry, and perseverance were rewarded, and +long before his death, which occurred in October, 1867, he had +acquired a large fortune. + + + + +INDEX. + + + + Abyssinia, 142 + + Adhesion, 201 + + Affinity, Chemical, 197, 199 + + Air, 17 + fixed, 112 + + Albert Durer, 130 + + Alchemy, 194 + + Alcohol, 137 + + Alexander, 161 + + Alexandria, 168 + + Allspice or Pimento, 51 + + Alluvial formations, 152 + + Almonds, 61 + + Alphabet, invention of, 43 + + Alum, 74 + + Alumina, 154 + + Amalgam, 20 + + Amber, 18 + + Ambergris, 66 + + Analysis and Combination, 195 + + Anemometer, 206 + + Angelo, Michael, 162 + + Anno Domini, 35 + + Apelles, 182 + + Apollo, 178 + + Arabic, gum, 94 + + Arabia, Felix and Deserta, 72 + + Archipelago, 32 + + Architecture, 156 + orders of, 159, 160 + + Argil, 154 + + Armenia, 67 + + Arrow-root, 134 + + Arsenic, 126 + + Artesian Wells, 203 + + Arts, 190 + liberal, 190 + fine, 191 + mechanical, 191 + + Art of writing, 191 + + Asbestus, 76, 78 + + Astronomy, science of, 187 + + Athenians, 23 + + Atmosphere, 17 + + Attraction, 201 + + Audiphone, 204 + + Aurora, the, 21 + + Aurora Borealis, 22 + + Australia, 31 + + Author, 54 + + Azores, islands of, 62 + + Azote gas, 113 + + + Babel, tower of, 144 + + Babylon, 145 + + Bacon, Roger, 99 + + Baize, 32 + + Barbarians, 170, 183 + + Barilla or Soda, 105 + + Bark, 35 + Peruvian, 36 + + Barley, 24 + sugar, 49 + + Barometer, 96 + Aneroid, 203 + + Barrel organ, 179 + + Bathometer, 206 + + Beaver, 70, 71, 74 + + Bell, A.G., 204 + + Black lead, 122 + + Blowpipe, 208 + + Bodies, natural, 197 + + Bombazine, 40 + + Books first printed, 59 + + Books, of what made, 37, 57 + + Bottles, 54 + + Box, musical, 179 + + Brandy, 137 + + Brass, 84 + + Bread-fruit, 86 + + Bricks, 144 + + Butter, vegetable, 87 + tree, 87 + + + Cable, 214 + + Cacao-nut tree, 27 + + Cadmus, 43 + + Calaminaris, Lapis, 84 + + Calcareous rocks, 150 + + Calico, 28 + + Caloric, 14, 114 + + Calomel, 97 + + Cambray, 41 + + Cambric, 41 + + Camera Obscura, 209 + + Camlet, 41 + + Camphor, 140 + + Candles, 106 + + Candy, Sugar, 49 + + Cannon, 100 + + Canoe, 36 + + Cantaleup, 67 + + Canvas, 33 + + Caoutchouc, 107 + + Capers, 61 + + Carbon, 112 + + Carbonic acid, 112 + + Carmine, 138 + + Carpets, 32 + + Carthage, 164 + + Cashmere shawls, 46 + + Cassia, 40 + + Castor or beaver, 70 + + Castor oil, 66 + + Cat, civet, 141 + domestic, singular property of its fur, 19 + gut, 179 + + Caviare, 135 + + Cayenne pepper, 53 + + Chaldea, 187 + + Chalk, 115 + + Charcoal, 81 + + Chemistry, 193-200 + + Cherry-tree, 35 + + Chinese or India ink, 76 + + China orange, 62 + + Chocolate, 27 + + Chronometer, 206 + + Chrysalis, 42 + + Cider, 136 + + Cinnamon, 39 + + Citrons, 62 + + Clay or argil, 154 + + Clocks, 98 + + Cloth, 29 + + Cloves, 38, 39 + + Coal, 81 + + Cochineal, 37, 38, 138 + + Cocoa-nut tree, 34 + + Coffee, 26 + + Cohesion, 201 + + Coin, 165 + + Combustion, 113 + + Compass, Mariners', 95 + + Commerce, 170 + + Constellations, 188 + + Consul, Roman, 147 + + Copernicus, 189 + + Copper, 83 + + Copperas, 75 + + Coral, 109-112 + + Cork, 37 + + Corn, 23 + + Cotton, 28 + gins, 29 + + Cow-tree, 88 + + Crape, 40 + + Cretans, 23 + + Crimson, 138 + + Crusades, 172, 173 + + Crystallization, 14 + + Currants, 46 + + Cyrus, 146 + + + Damask, 34 + + Dates, 68, 69 + + Decomposition, 196 + + Deluge, 191 + + Dew, 13, 14 + + Diamond, 127 + + Diaper, 33 + + Distillation, process of, 137 + + Drake, Sir Francis, 92 + + Dyeing, things used in, 138 + + Dynamite, 100 + + Dynamo-electric machine, 214 + + + Eads, Jas. B, 218 + + Earths, 151 + argillaceous, 152 + calcareous, 150 + silicious, 152 + + Earthenware, 55 + + Earthquakes, 155 + + Ear-trumpet, 204 + + Ebony, 132 + + Edison, Thos. A., 205 + + Egyptian Pyramids, 158 + + Egyptians, 23 + + Electrical machine, 19 + properties in bodies, 19 + + Electricity, 18, 210 + + Electric Battery, 211 + Current, 210 + + Electro-Magnet, 104 + Magnetic Teleg'ph., 104, 213 + + Electron, 18 + + Electrotyping, 212 + + Elephant, 133 + + Emerald, 129 + + Engraving, 130 + + Ermine, 73 + + Etruscans, 182 + + Evergreen, 65 + + + Fermentation, acetous, 138 + vinous, 138 + + Ferro, 88 + + Field, Cyrus W., 214 + + Figs, 48 + + Fine arts, 191 + + Fitch, John, 103 + + Flannel, 34 + + Flax, 33 + + Flint, 153 + + Floating, 202 + + Florence, 64 + + Fossil or rock salt, 78 + + Franks, 170 + + Frankincense, 142 + + Franklin, Benj., 215 + + Fulton, Robert, 103 + + Fur, 73 + + + Galileo, 101, 189 + + Galls, 75 + + Gamboge, 139 + + Gas, 114 + hydrogen, 114 + nitrogen or azote, 113 + oxygen, 113 + + Gelatine, 135 + + Gems, 127 + + Genoa, 63, 172 + + Geologist, 151 + + Geology, 151 + + Geometry, 102 + + Gin, 137 + + Ginger, 50 + + Glass, 53 + house, 54 + windows, 54 + looking, 55 + + Gloves, 73 + + Goat, Angora, 41 + + Gold, 118 + + Goths, 170 + + Granite, 148, 149 + + Gravitation, 201 + + Gravity, 202 + + Gray, Elisha, 205 + + Gulf Stream, 215 + + Gum, 93 + arabic, 94 + + Gunpowder, 99, 100 + + Guns, 100 + + + Hail, 16 + + Harp, 176 + + Hats, 70 + + Hemp, 33 + + Herculaneum, 154 + + Hermetic Seal, 96 + + Herschel, Sir William, 190 + + Hieroglyphics, 191 + + Holland, 33 + + Honey, 136 + + Hops, 137 + + Howe, Elias, 218 + + Hybla, 136 + + Hydrogen, 114 + + Hymettus, 136 + + + Ice, 15 + + Idria, quicksilver mines of, 97 + + India rubber, 107 + or Chinese ink, 76 + + Indigo, 138 + + Ink, 74 + used by the ancients, 75 + + Inlaying, 132 + + Insect, coral, 109-111 + + Ionians, 60 + + Iron, 82 + + Isinglass, 132 + + Islands, Volcanic, 155 + + Ivory, 135 + + + Jaca tree, 87 + + Japanese, 181 + + Jetties of the Mississippi, 218 + + Jupiter, 148 + + + Kaleidoscope, 210 + + Kiln, 73 + + + Lace, 41 + + Lapis calaminaris, 84 + + Laudanum, 91 + + Laws, How made, 148 + + Lead, 121 + black, 122 + + Leather, 72 + + Legislative Powers, 147 + + Lemon, 62 + + Lenses, 95 + + Leo the Tenth, 184 + + Lesseps, Ferd. de, 217 + + Levant, 75 + + Libanus, Mount, 90 + + Licorice, 89 + + Light, 207 + Drummond, 207 + Electric, 208, 211 + Lime, 207 + Magnesium, 208 + + Lightning, 17 + Rod, 215 + + Lime, a fruit, 63 + + Lime, an earth, 73, 112 + quick, 150 + + Linen, 32 + + Liquids, 197, 198 + + Lithography, 131 + + Loadstone, 95 + + Logwood, 139 + + Lombards, 170 + + Lucca, 64 + + Lucullus, 35 + + Lungs, 89 + + Lyre, 178 + + + McCormick, Cyrus H., 218 + + Mace, 51 + + Magic, 99 + + Mahogany, 107 + + Malt, 137 + + Maltese orange, 62 + + Mangoes, 85 + + Manioc plant, 134 + + Manna, 89, 90 + + Marble, 116 + Parian, 117 + + Mariners' compass, 95 + + Marine salt, 78 + + Marl, 101 + + Mathematics, 101 + + Mead, 136 + + Mechanics, 102 + + Mediterranean, 171 + + Megaphone, 206 + + Melons, 67 + + Mercury, 97 + the god, 178 + + Metals, primitive, 83 + + Metallurgy, 123 + + Microphone, 205 + + Microscope, 102 + + Milan, 40 + + Millet, 50 + + Mineral oil, 65 + tar, 140 + + Mines, 84 + coal, 81 + + Mint, 166 + + Mirrors, 54, 55 + + Mohair, 46 + + Mahomed, 72 + + Money, 163 + + Morphia, 91 + + Mortar, 148 + + Morse, S.F.B., 213 + + Mosque, 72 + + Mother-of-pearl, 132 + + Mt. Cenis Tunnel, 216 + + Muscles, 21 + + Music, vocal, 176 + + Musical instruments, 174 + boxes, 179 + + Musk, 141 + + Myrrh, 141 + + + Nantes, Edict of, 45 + + Natron, 105 + + Nature, kingdom of, 197 + + Navigation, 166-174 + + Nabuchodonosor, 146 + + Needles, 57 + + Nero, 185 + + New South Wales, 31 + + Newton, Sir Isaac, 189 + + Nicotine, 92 + + Nitre, 100 + + Nitrogen, 113 + + Northern Lights, 22 + + Nutmegs, 50 + + + Oats, 24 + + Obelisk, 158 + + Oils, 65 + + Oil, olive, 64 + + Oil, castor, 66 + mineral, 65 + + Olives, 63, 64 + + Olive branch, the emblem of Plenty, 64 + + Opium, 91 + + Orange, 61 + + Ore, 83 + + Organ, barrel, 179 + + Oxide, 83 + + Oxygen, 113 + + + Painters, celebrated, 184 + + Painting, art of, 180 + + Palm, 68, 69 + + Palma Christi, 66, 67 + + Pantheon, 146 + + Paper, invention of, 57 + mill, 58 + linen, 58 + + Papyrus, 58 + + Parchment, 59 + + Pearls, 131 + + Pearl oyster, 131 + barley, 24 + + Pendulum, 98 + + Pepper, 52 + cayenne, 53 + + Pericles, 159 + + Perry, 136 + + Petroleum, 65 + + Phenicia, 54 + + Philosopher's stone, 194, 195 + + Phonograph, 205 + + Phosphorus, 125 + + Photography, 209 + + Pins, 57 + + Pimento, 51 + + Pisa, 172 + + Pitch, 140 + + Platina, 123 + + Pliny, 54, 182 + + Plumbago, 122 + + Poetry, 185-187 + + Poets, celebrated, 186 + + Polypus, 108 + + Pompeii, 154 + + Porcelain, 56 + + Potash, 53 + + Potatoes, 24 + + Primitive Earths, 153 + + Printing, 59 + + Prism, 208 + + Protestant, 58 + + Ptolemies, 189 + + Pyramid, 158 + + Pythagoras, 188 + + + Quicksilver, 97 + + + Rabbins, 55 + + Rain, 16 + + Rainbow, 208 + + Raisins, 47 + + Raleigh, Sir Walter, 92 + + Raphael, 183, 184 + + Refugee, 58 + + Republic, 65 + + Resin, gum, 93 + + Rhubarb, 94 + + Rice, 48 + + Rock or fossil salt, 78 + calcareous, 150 + transition, 151 + + Roebling, John A., 217 + + Rubies, 128 + + Rum, 137 + + Rye, 24 + + + Sable, 74 + + Sago, 49 + palm, 50 + + Salt, 78, 79 + marine, 78 + rock, 78 + spring, 79 + + Saltpetre, 100 + + Saracens, 168 + + Scarlet, 138 + + Schools of painting, 184 + + Sciences, Arts and, 190 + + Sculpture, 160 + + Seal, an animal, 74 + + Senate, 147 + + Sesostris, 177 + + Seville orange, 62 + + Shoes, 72 + + Sicilians, 23 + + Sidon, 167 + + Silex, 153 + + Silicious earths, 152 + + Silk, 41, 45 + worm, 42-43 + + Silver, 119 + + Slate, 149 + + Snow, 16 + + Soap, 105 + + Soda, 105 + + Specific Weight, 202 + + Spectacles, 94 + + Spectrum, 208 + + Spermaceti, 106 + + Spinning-jenny, 30 + + Spirits of wine, 137 + + Sponge, 108 + + Starch, 133 + + Steam engine, 102 + navigation, 103 + + Steel, 150 + + Stethoscope, 204 + + Stereoscope, 209 + + Stereotyping, 212 + + Still, 137 + + Stockings, 71 + + Strata, 151 + + Suez Canal, 216 + + Sugar, 48 + candy, 49 + barley, 49 + maple, 49 + + Sulphur, 124 + + Sumatra, 66 + + Suspension Bridges, 217 + + + Tallow, 106 + tree, 106 + + Tamarinds, 67 + + Tan, 73 + + Tapioca, 134 + + Tar, 139 + + Tasimeter, 206 + + Tasmania, 31 + + Tea, 25 + + Telegraph, 104, 213 + + Telephone, 204 + + Telescope, 101 + + Thebes, 43 + + Thermometer, 97 + + Thermo-Electricity, 211 + + Thibet Goat, 46 + + Thunder, 17 + + Tides, 201 + + Tin, 120 + + Tobacco, 91 + + Toddy, 34 + + Tortoise, 178 + + Tower, leaning of Pisa, 172 + + Troy, 177 + + Turpentine, 143 + + Turquois, 129 + + Tuscans, 182 + + Twilight, 21 + + Tyre, 167 + + + United States Government, 147 + + + Vapor, 14 + + Vellum, 60 + + Velvet, 45 + + Venice, 171 + + Venus, 171 + + Vine, 136 + + Vinegar, 138 + + Vitriol, 75 + + Volcanic formations, 152 + + Volcano, 154 + + Vulcanite, 108 + + + Watches, 98 + + Water, 14 + melon, 67 + decomposition of by vegetables, 15 + tree, 88 + + Wax, 106 + + Weaving, 30-32 + + Whale, 66 + + Whitney, Eli, 218 + + Wieliczca, 80 + + Wind, 17 + + Windows, 54 + + Wine, 136 + + Woad, 139 + + Wood, Jethro, 218 + + Wood engraving, 130 + + Wool, 29-31 + + Writing, art of, 191 + + + Yams, 85 + + + Zinc, 84 + + Zoophytes, 108 + + + +THE END. + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of A Catechism of Familiar Things; Their +History, and the Events Which Led to Their Discovery, by Benziger Brothers + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A CATECHISM OF FAMILIAR *** + +***** This file should be named 16728.txt or 16728.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/6/7/2/16728/ + +Produced by Suzanne Shell, Sankar Viswanathan, and the +Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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