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every kind of woollen ftuff,) a kind of foap which cofts little, and which may be easily made in every woollen manufactory.

"In all manufactories of cloth, blankets, and other woollen goods, it is the custom to full the stuff, as foon as it comes from the loom. The intention of this operation is, not only to scour the cloth, &c. but alfo to render it more compact; and, in performing it, about thirty pounds of foft-foap are ufed to eighty pounds of woollen stuff. Ia the fouth of France, before the revolution, foft-foap coft twenty livres the hundred weight. A great part of our oil, and alfo that of Italy, is confumed in making it; fo alfo are the wood-afhes of the fires ufed for domestic purposes, in those countries where it is made.

"From what has been faid, it is obvious how advantageous it would be to the manufacturer, and to commerce in general, to be able to fupply conveniently the place of fott-foap, by an article, the preparation of which is neither difficult nor expenfive. Besides the faving which would take place in the manufacturing of woollen goods, great advantage would arife from the athes of our wood-fires being left either for domeftic ufes, or for falt-works, or for manufactories of green glafs; and at the fame time, the oil now ufed in making foap would remain to be wholly employed for purposes wherein it is impoffible to find a fubftitute for it. In all times, both the manu

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facturer and the government have fought how to get rid of the abovementioned inconveniences. Fullers earth, pure alkalies, and other things, have by turns been made ufe of. The first performs the operations of bleaching and fulling very imperfectly: the fecond diffolve the cloth; and the manufacturers of Lodeve ftill recollect, with terror, a quack sent there by the government, fome years ago, who propofed to make ufe of mineral alkali or barilla, inftead of soap.

"To the inconveniences already mentioned we may add, that instead of rendering the cloth fufficiently foft and pliable, the substitutes juft fpoken of leave it in a degree of harfinefs, which nothing but foap completely removes. It is neceffary, therefore, that any substance propofed to be used instead of softfoap, fhould poffefs the power of fcouring, of fulling, and of foftening the cloth. The compofition I am now about to describe unites all thefe advantages: experiments have, by my defire, been made with it, at Lodeve, by M.Michel Fabriguette; a perfon as well verfed in philofophical purfuits as in manufacturing of cloth.

"The whole process confifts in making a cauftic alkali ley or lixivium, with wood-afhes or potafli; in caufing the ley to boil; and then diffolving therein as great a quantity of old woollen rags, or fhreds of cloth, as the ley will diffolve. By this means a kind of foftfoap is produced of a greyish-green

"3. If the barilla-ley is too ftrung, the oil is apt to fwim on its surface; it must then be diluted with a proper quantity of water.

4. Fat oil is moft fit for this purpose: fine light oils should not be used.

5. When the faponaceous liquor is greafy, and the linens washed in it are fo likewife, they must be paffed through a pure barilla-ley, to have their greafiness removed; which ley should first be warmed a little to increase its effect.

6. When the water which was poured upon the barilla is all used, fresh water may be poured upon the remaining barilla. This water will acquire a faline tafte, like the first: thus, the fame barilla may ferve for feveral fucceffive operations.

colour,

colour, the ingredients of which are well combined with each other, and which is very foluble in water. It has an animal fmell, which, however, the cloths get rid of, by being washed, and expofed to the air.

"The various experiments I have made on this fubject have been attended with the following refults:

1. As foon as the wool is thrown into the boiling ley, its fibres adhere to each other, and a very flight degree of agitation is fufficient to render its folution complete.

"2. In proportion as fresh wool is added, the ley gradually acquires colour and confiftence.

"3. The foap has more or lefs colour in proportion to the cleannefs and whitenefs of the wool made ufe of.

"4. Hair of a coarser kind, which happens to be mixed with the old wool, is diffolved with more difficulty.

"5. The quantity of wool which ley is capable of diffolving depends upon its ftrength, its caufticity, and its degree of heat. Two pounds, three ounces, and three quarters, of cauftic alkaline ley, at twelve degrees of concentration, and at the boiling-heat, diffolved ten ounces and a half of wool. The foap, when cold, weighed one pound and four ounces.

"A fimilar quantity of alkaline ley, of the fame degree of caufticity and heat, in which I diffolved four ounces of wool, did not thereby acquire fufficient confiftence to be capable of being used for the various purposes for which this foap is intended.

"Another fimilar quantity of ley, of four degrees of concentraon, could not diffolve more than

two ounces and feven drams of wool. The foap was of a good confiftence, and, when cold, weighed fourteen ounces.

"6. In proportion as the wool is diffolved in the ley, the folvent power of the alkali grows weak, and at last it will diffolve no more. When we obferve that the wool, upon being ffirred in the liquor, is no longer diffolved, it is then time to ftop the procefs.

"I fhall now point out what means are to be employed, in every woollen manufactory, to prepare the foap which will be wanted in it.

"On the Choice and Preparation of the Materials.

"The materials requifite to form this foap are only two; alkaline fubftances, and wool.

"The alkaline fubftances may be procured from the ahes of any fires where wood is burnt; and the ley is to be made according to the common well-known procefs.-Quick-line is to be faked with a finall quantity of water, and the pafte formed thereby is to be mixed with the aftes, (they being first paffed through a fieve,) in the proportion of one-tenth part of quicklime, by weight, to the quantity of alhes made ute of. The mixture fhould be put into a ftone veffel; (as wooden veffels not only colour the ley, but are themselves much injured by it;) and water is then to be poured upon it, in fuch quality as to cover it, and rise fome inches above it. Thefe are to be left together for a certain time, and then the ley is to be drawn off, by an aperture made for that purpose, at the bottom of the veffel. It is best not to draw off the ley, till the moment when it is to be ufed: its ftrength should be from four to fif13

teen

teen degrees; but the degree of concentration is a matter of very little confequence, fince all the difference that refults from making ufe of a weak ley or ftrong one, is, that a greater or a lefs quantity of wool will be diffolved.

"The pot-afh of commerce may alfo be made ufe of; it is to be employed in the fame manner as the wood afhes, but with one third of its weight of quick-lime.

"With respect to the choice of the wool, every, one knows, that in the making of woollen cloths, blankets, and all other kinds of woollen goods, a feries of operations is performed, from the first washing of the wool to the finishing of the cloth, &c. in each of which there occurs a lofs, more or lefs confiderable, of a portion of the original material. The water in which the wool is wafae the floor on which it is spread, and the warehoufe in which it is depofited, exhibit fuffi cient proofs of this; fo alfo do the operations of beating, carding, fpinning, and weaving the wool, and thofe of hearing, combing, and fulling the cloth. It is indeed true that the fcattered wool, produced from thefe various proceffes, is collected with fome care; but many of them are of fuch a nature, that the waste wool resulting from them, either is dirty, and mixed with other fubftances, or it is cut fo fhort, that it is rendered incapable of being again ufed: in either cafe, the manufacturer throws it on the dunghill. The making of the foap here defcribed furnishes him with the means of bringing all these into ufe; nothing more being requifite than to collect them in the baskets in which the wool is washed, and to wash them carefully; as well for the fake of cleaning them, as to feparate from them all foreign fub

ftances. When washed they may be laid by till wanted.

"We may also, with equal advantage, make ufe of the cuttings and fhreds of woollen cloth, which are found in the shops of woodendrapers, tailors, &c. and likewife of all forts of garments, or other woollen articles, after they have been worn till they will ferve no longer.

"On the Preparation of the Soap.

"When the ley is made and the wool procured, nothing remains to be done, but to bring the ley to a boiling heat in a common caldron. When it is brought to that degree of heat, the wool is to be thrown in, a little at a time, and the mixture is to be stirred, that the folution may go on the faster. A fresh quantity of wool should not be added, until the preceding quantity is diffolved; and the procefs fhould be stopped, as foon as we find that the liquor will not diffolve any more wool.

"It has been afcertained, by trials in the large way, made by Michel Fabriguette, with foap of this kind, which he prepared according to my inftructions, that fuch foap fcours the cloths, felts them, and foftens them, perfectly well; but there are fome obfervations to be made, respecting its ufe, which are too important to be omitted.

"First, when this foap is not prepared with fufficient care, or when it is made with dirty or coloured wool, it is apt to give the cloths, &c. a greyish tinge, which it is very difficult to remove. If the cloth is intended to be dyed, this tinge is of no confequence; but it would injure that fine white colour, which, in certain cafes, is intended to be given, or to be preferved.

This tinge, however, may be prevented, by a very careful felection of the materials for making the foap which is meant to be employed for fuch delicate purposes.

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Cloths, &c. fulled with this foap, acquire, as was faid before, an animal finell, which, without be ing very ftrong, is nevertheless unpleafant; but water and air never fail to remove it.

"Having fucceeded in fulling woollen cloths by the use of this foap, I attempted to use foda, in the place of pot-afli, and thus to form (according to the procefs above de fcribed) a hard foap, fit for the operations of dying cottons; and my experiments fucceeded beyond my expectations.

"Forty-fix pounds of foda-ley (of eight degrees) diffolved, in a boil ing-heat, five pounds of wool; and afforded, when cold, fixteen pounds fourteen ounces of foap, fufficiently hard to keep its form.

"The firft quantities of wool thrown into the foda-ley are easily diffolved; but it may be obferved, that the liquor gradually grows thicker, and that the diffolution becomes more difficult and flower. "The ley, by the wool first diffolved in it, acquires a green colour; it afterwards grows black; and the foap, when cold, ftill retains a blackish green colour.

"This foap has been made ufe of, in every different manner, and under every form in my manufactory for dying cottons; and I am now fatisfied that it may be employed, inftead of the faponaceous liquor we are accustomed to make from ley of foda and oil, for the purpose of preparing the cottons. I have conftantly obferved, that if fuch a quantity of this foap be diffolved in cold water as will render the water milky, and the cotton be worked

therein, in the ufual well-known manner, it will, by being paffed three times through the liquor, and dried each time, be as ftrongly dif pofed to receive the dye, as cotton which has been feven times paffed through the faponaceous liquors commonly ufed. This will not be thought very aftonishing, when it is confidered that animal fubftances are very fit for difpofing thread and cotton to receive the colours with which they are to be dyed; and that the intention of feveral of the operations performed upon them, previous to their being dyed, is merely to impregnate them with fuch fubftances.

"It is neceffary to remark, that cotton, by being paffed through a folution of this foap, acquires a grey tinge, very much like that which is given to it by aluming; although the common faponaceous liquors give it a beautiful white colour. This grey colour, however, is no difadvantage to cotton which is intended to be dyed, as we have already remarked with refpect to woollen cloths.

"In confirmation of what I have faid above, refpecting the advantage to be derived from making ufe of this foap, I may add, that after having impregnated fome cotton with it, according to the ufual method, I made it pafs through all the proceffes which wool undergoes, in order to be dyed of a scarlet colour. The confequence was, that the cotton was thereby dyed of a deep and very agreeable flesh-colour; whereas cotton which had not been prepared in that manner, came out of the bath almoft of its natural colour. This first trial promifes advantages which I mean to pursue.

"It may be right to observe, that this foap of wool may advantageoufly be made ufe of, instead of 14

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common foap, for domestic purpofes. I have employed it with the greatest fuccefs, in washing li nen; and it is particularly efficaci. ous in fcouring woollen garments, &c. I have no doubt that the facility and economy with which its preparation is attended, will caufe its ufe to be extended to many other purpofes; in the mean time, I thought it right to give an account

of the various ways in which I have applied it.

"I fhall only add, that as the foap here described gives the woollens and cottons a grey tinge, which is very difficult to remove, it foliows that it cannot be used for washing linen, unless it be made of white wool, carefully felected, and well washed."

INTERESTING ACCOUNT of the EFFECTS produced on the HUMAN BODY, by the INTERNAL USE of NITROUS ACID, and of the BENEFIT derived from it in the CURE of DISEASES, by Mr. SCOTT of BOMBAY.

[From Drs. DUNCANS' ANNALS OF MEDICINE for the Year 1796.] "EE following interefting ar- The acid that I now employ for in

not probably fallen into the hands of many of our readers; and to all of them it will, we doubt not, appear fo fingular as to deferve particular attention. If the obfervations made by Mr. Scott fhall be confirm ed by the experience of others, the nitric acid will afford a most valuable remedy for combating difeafes, against which the remedies commonly employed are often attended with fo much inconvenience.

LETTER TO SIR JOSEPH BANKS.

Bombay, 6th May, 1796. "I embrace an opportunity of fending you a fhort account, that I have juft published, of the effects of the nitrous acid on the human body. As I have long made ufe of this active agent, and in a great variety of cafes, I am perfuaded that I have not been deceiving myself. Another paper will fhortly be publifhed on this fubject, which I fhall allo take the liberty of fending you.

ture of three parts of alum, and one of nitre. I have no objection to my name being used on this fubject; for I really believe that fuch a remedy would be highly useful to mankind, if judicioully employed, especially in warm climates, where a tendency to animalization gives a particular character to all our difeafes.

I am, &c.

W. SCOTT. Account of the Effects of the Nitrous Acid on the Human Body, extra&ied from the Bombay Courier, April 30, 1796.

The following attempt to extend a little the limits of the healing art, is infcribed as a tribute of refpect to the character of Dr. James Anderfon, phyfician-general at Madras.

"In Auguft 1793, I employed myfelf for fome time in making experiments on the bile, a fecretion that is connected in a great degree

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