THE CHEMICAL GAZETTE, OR, JOURNAL OF PRACTICAL CHEMISTRY, IN ALL ITS AFPLICATIONS TO PHARMACY, ARTS AND MANUFACTURES. CONDUCTED BY WILLIAM FRANCIS AND HENRY CROFT, LATE STUDENTS IN THE UNIVERSITIES OF BERLIN AND GIESSEN. VOLUME I. 1842-1843. LONDON: PUBLISHED BY RICHARD AND JOHN E. TAYLOR, PREFACE. AT the completion of this our first volume we may be allowed the indulgence usually granted to editors of addressing a few lines to those who have kindly given us their support in our somewhat arduous undertaking. The great success which has hitherto attended our endeavours, and the favourable notice taken of our Journal, both in our own country and in America, have afforded proofs of the truth of the assertion which we ventured to make in the Introduction, that some such vehicle was wanted for communicating at a moderate expense the progress of chemical science, both theoretical and applied. In the early part of the year 1841, in conjunction with my friend Mr. Croft, I commenced a series of reports of the progress of chemical science on the Continent, which were forwarded nearly every month from Berlin, and subsequently from Giessen, for insertion in the Philosophical Magazine; but the space allotted to us in that valuable Journal, whose pages are occupied with memoirs of the highest scientific character, allowed us only to notice the most important discoveries bearing upon theory; and we were compelled to leave wholly untouched the immense mass of information pertaining to applied chemistry, with which the German Journals in particular abounded. Feeling how important it was that the practical chemists of England should be made early acquainted with the improvements and new processes suggested or adopted on the Continent, we resolved, on our return to our native country, to see how far an attempt to lay these before the public in an English dress would meet with support. The experiment was made, and it has succeeded far beyond our expectations. Although unfortunately soon deprived of the valuable and efficient assistance of my friend and fellow-student Mr. Croft, who, before the fourth number made its appearance, was called to the Professorship of Chemistry at King's College, Toronto, I do not fear to submit to the judgement of the public the volume now completed. Every Foreign Journal has been ransacked to furnish information for the readers of the Gazette; and many are the valuable articles that have appeared exclusively in its pages. In conclusion, I beg to return my sincere thanks to the Subscribers, many of whom have contributed largely to the success of this undertaking by their advice, and by making it known among their friends. They may be assured it will always be my endeavour, however laborious the task, to increase the value of the Journal, and to render it a complete report of the progress of chemical science in all its branches. There will be as heretofore a Stamped Edition, the usefulness of which has been satisfactorily proved from its affording the means of furnishing early intelligence to many correspondents in remote parts of the British Empire, to whom, were it issued in a different form, its transmission would be tardy and uncertain. A copious Index has been given, which it is hoped will add much to the usefulness of the volume. WILLIAM FRANCIS. THE CHEMICAL GAZETTE. No. I.-Nov. 1, 1842. INTRODUCTION. AT the present day, when, from the rapid strides which Chemistry is making, it is extending its branches through the other sciences, and making its influence and utility felt, not merely by those who are practically employed in it, but also by those who are engaged in numerous occupations connected with many of the various and most important arts of life, it has seemed desirable that there should exist in this country some vehicle for bringing before the public the earliest accounts of all new discoveries, and their applications, whether to Medicine and Pharmacy, Arts and Manufactures, or to Agriculture. A work of this kind appears to be still a desideratum among us: not so on the Continent. In Germany we find the Journal für praktische Chemie and the Pharmaceutische Central-Blatt, supplying those engaged in chemical pursuits with abundance of new, and, to them, most valuable facts; and the French Pharmacien finds in the Journal de Pharmacie a vehicle for imparting and receiving knowledge of the same kind. To this circumstance, perhaps, we may ascribe, in some degree, the present advanced state of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, and indeed of Chemistry in general, compared with that which exists in England; for who are more able to contribute to the advancement of a science than those practically engaged in it? In those countries we find many of the most celebrated and able chemists belonging to the Pharmaceutical profession. In our own country we have recently seen the establishment of the Chemical Society and of the Pharmaceutical Society, indicating that Chemistry is here also engaging increased attention, and proving the desire of those who are professionally connected with the science both to witness and to promote its advancement. To point out to the Pharmaceutist all new methods of forming his preparations, to make known to the Manufacturer the new processes described on the Continent, and to acquaint him with the Chem. Gaz. B |