Chapter 89

LEDUM PALUSTRE. This plant is employed in Russia to tan the skins of goats, calves, and sheep, into a reddish leather of an agreeable smell; as also in the preparation of the oil of birch, for making what is commonly called Russia leather.

LEGUMINE, is the name of a vegeto-alkali supposed to exist in leguminous plants.

LEMONS. SeeCitric Acid, andOils, Essential.

LEVIGATION, is the mechanical process whereby hard substances are reduced to a very fine powder.

LEUCITE, is a hard Vesuvian mineral, consisting of silica, 54; alumina, 23; potash, 23.

LEUCINE, is a white crystalline substance produced by acting upon flesh with sulphuric acid.

LEWIS, is the name of one kind of shears used in cropping woollen cloth.

LIAS, is a fine-grained argillaceous limestone, whose geological position is under the oolite; it is the proper lithographic stone.

LIBAVIUS,Liquor of, is the bichloride of tin, prepared by dissolving that metal with the aid of heat, inaqua regia, or by passing chlorine gas through a solution of muriate of tin till no more gas be absorbed, evaporating the solution, and setting it aside to crystallize. The anhydrous bichloride is best prepared by mixing four parts of corrosive sublimate with one part of tin, previously amalgamated with just so much mercury as to render it pulverizable; and by distilling this mixture with a gentle heat. A colourless fluid, the dry bichloride of tin, or the proper fuming liquor of Libavius, comes over. When it is mixed with one-third of its weight of water it becomes solid. The first bichloride of tin is used in calico-printing.

LICHEN. SeeArchil.

LIGNEOUS MATTER, is vegetable fibre. SeeFibrous Matter.

LIGNITE, is one of the most recent geological formations, being the carbonaceous remains of forest trees. From this substance, as found in the neighbourhood of Cologne, the brown colours, calledumberandearth of Cologne, are prepared.

LILAC DYE. SeeCalico-printing and Dyeing.

LIMESTONE (Calcaire, Fr.;Kalkstein, Germ.); may be classed under the following heads:—1.Calcareous sparoccurs in colourless crystals or crystalline masses; dissolves with effervescence in muriatic acid; is scratched by soft iron, but not by the nail; specific gravity 2·7; loses 46 per cent. by the expulsion of carbonic acid, and calcines into quicklime.2.Calcsinter,or stalactitic carbonate of lime, called also concretionary limestone, because formed of zones more or less undulated, and nearly parallel. These zones have a fibrous structure, arising from the successive deposits of the crystalline limestone from its solvent water. The long conical pieces called stalactites, show fibres converging to the axis. The tubercular consists of irregular lumps often sprinkled over with small crystals, and associated so as to exhibit the appearance of cauliflower. The stratiform, commonly called stalagmite, or alabaster limestone, represents zones not concentric, but spread out, waving, and parallel; its texture is sometimes lamellar, and sometimes fibrous. These waving strata are distinguishable from one another by their different densities, and by their degrees of translucency. This stalagmitic mass bears the name of oriental alabaster, when it is reddish-yellow with distinct zones, and is susceptible of a fine polish. Stalactites are formed in the large excavations of calcareous rocks. The water percolating down through them, and dropping from the roofs of the caverns, is usually charged with carbonate of lime held in suspension by an excess of carbonic acid. The exposure to air, the motion, and the consequent diminution of pressure, cause the precipitation of the carbonate of lime in the solid state. Each drop of water, on falling through the vault, abandons a small film of limestone, which enlarges by degrees, and forms either a cylinder or solid mass. This alabaster differs from marble in its parallel and waving layers, and its faint degree of transparency.This alabaster serves for the decoration of public buildings, and is occasionally introduced into certain pieces of furniture. The fine Egyptian alabaster was anciently brought from the mountains of the Thebaid, between the Nile and the Red Sea, near a town called Alabastron, whence probably the name. Very fine red alabaster, of great hardness, was found at one time in the quarries of Montmartre, but the stock was soon exhausted.The incrusting concretionary limestonediffers little from the preceding except in the rapidity of its formation, and in being moulded upon some body whose shape it assumes. These deposits from calcareous springs, form equally on vegetable bodies, on stones, metals, within pipes of cast iron, wood, or lead. The incrustations on vegetable and animal substances are vulgarly called petrifactions, as the organic fibres are replaced by stone. One of the most curious springs of this nature is at the baths of Saint Philip, in Tuscany, where the water flows in almost a boiling state, over an enormous mass of alabaster which it has produced. The carbonate of lime seems to be held in solution here by sulphuretted hydrogen, which flies off when the water issues to the day. Dr. Vegny has taken advantage of this property of the spring, to obtain basso-relievo figures of great whiteness and solidity. He makes use of sulphur moulds.Calcareous tufconsists of similar incrustations made by petrifying rivulets running over mud, sand, vegetable remains, &c. It is porous, even cellular, somewhat soft, impure, and of a dirty gray colour. Its surface is wavy, rough, and irregular. These incrustations or deposits are, however, sometimes so abundant, and the resulting stony matters so hard that buildings may be constructed with them. The stone with which the town of Pasti, in Italy, is built has been calledpipe-stoneby the Italians; and it has apparently derived its origin from incrustations upon large reeds.Thetravertino, which served to construct all the monuments of Rome, appears to have been formed by the deposits of the Anio and the solfatara of Tivoli. The temples of Pæstum, which are of extreme antiquity, have been built with atravertinoformed by the sediment of the waters which still flow in this territory. All these stones acquire great hardness in the air, and M. de Breislak thinks that it is to the happy union of travertino and pouzzolana in the same spot, that the monuments of Rome owe their great solidity.Spongy limestone, usually calledAgaric mineral, stone marrow, &c., belongs to this kind of formation. It has a very white colour, a very fine grain, is soft to the touch, very tender, and light enough to float for an instant on water. It occurs in rather thin layers, in the crevices of calcareous rocks, and is so common in Switzerland as to be employed for whitening houses.3.Compact limestone, is of a grain more or less fine, does not polish, nor afford large blocks free from fissures, has a conchoidal, or uneven scaly fracture. Colours very various. Its varieties are;a, Thesub-lamellar, compact, with some appearance of a foliated texture.b,Compact fine-grained limestone, the zechstein of the Germans, to which M. Brongniart refers the lithographic stone in his classification of rocks (Dictionnairedes Sciences Naturelles,) but the English geologists place the locality of the famous lithographic quarry of Solenhofen much higher in the plane of secondary superposition. Its fracture is conchoidal; colour from gray to whitish;c,Compact common limestone. Grain of middle size; earthy aspect; uneven fracture; perfectly opaque; colour, whitish to pale gray, yellow, or reddish. The limestones of the Jura formation are referred to this head, as well as most of those interspersed among the coal strata.d, Thecoarse compact, or Cornbrash; texture somewhat open, earthy aspect, rough to the touch, ragged fracture, colour yellow, gray, or dirty red.e,Compact cellular, the Rauchekalk and Holekalk of the Germans, on account of the numerous holes or caverns distributed through it.4.Oolite or roe-stone.—It consists of spherical grains of various size, from a millet seed, to a pea, or even an egg; texture compact; fracture even; colours, whitish, yellow, gray, reddish, brownish. The larger balls have almost always a foreign body for their centre or nucleus.5.Chalk; texture earthy; grains fine, tender, friable; colours white, grayish, or pale yellowish.6.Coarse-grained limestone; an earthy texture, in large particles, often loose; fracture foliated, uneven; colour pale and dirty yellow. Coarse lias has has been referred to this head.7.Marly limestone; lake and fresh-water limestone formation; texture fine-grained, more or less dense; apt to crumble down in the air; colour white or pale yellow; fracture rough-grained, sometimes conchoidal; somewhat tenacious. Texture occasionally cavernous; with cylindrical winding cavities. This true limestone must not be confounded with the lime-marl, composed of calcareous matter and clay.8.Siliceous limestone; of a compact texture; scratching steel, and scratched by it; leaves a siliceous residuum after the action of muriatic acid.9.Calp; texture compact; fine-grained; schistose structure; hard, as the preceding; not burning into quicklime, affording to dilute muriatic acid a copious residuum of clay and silica; colour blackish; found in beds in the transition district near Dublin.10.Luculliteor stinkstone; texture compact or sub-lamellar, colour grayish; emits the smell of sulphuretted hydrogen by friction or a blow. It occurs at Assynt, in Sutherlandshire; in Derbyshire; counties of Kilkenny, Cork, and Galway.11.Bituminous limestone; black or blackish colour; diffusing by the action of fire a bituminous odour, and becoming white.Of all common limestones the purity may most readily be determined by the quantity of carbonic acid which is evolved during their solution in dilute nitric or muriatic acid. Perfect carbonate of lime loses in this way 46per cent.; and if any particular limestone loses only 23per cent., we may infer that it contains only one half its weight of calcareous carbonate. This method is equally applicable tomarls, which are mixtures in various proportions of carbonate of lime, clay, and sand, and may all be recognized by their effervescing with acids.The chief use of calcareous stones is for procuring quicklime by calcination in proper furnaces; and they are all adapted to this purpose provided they are not mixed with too large a proportion of sand and ferruginous clay, whereby they acquire a vitrescent texture in a high heat, and will not burn into lime. Limestone used to be calcined in a very rude kiln, formed by enclosing a circular space of 10 or 15 feet diameter, by rude stone walls 4 or 5 feet high, and filling the cylindrical cavity with alternate layers of turf or coal and limestone broken into moderate pieces. A bed of brushwood was usually placed at the bottom, to facilitate the kindling of the kiln. Whenever the combustion was fairly commenced, the top, piled into a conical form, was covered in with sods, to render the calcination slow and regular. This method being found relatively inconvenient and ineffectual, was succeeded by a permanent kiln built of stones or brickwork, in the shape of a truncated cone with the narrow end undermost, and closed at bottom by an iron grate. Into this kiln, the fuel and limestone were introduced at the top in alternate layers, beginning of course with the former; and the charge was either allowed to burn out, when the lime was altogether removed at a door near the bottom, or the kiln was successively fed with fresh materials, in alternate beds, as the former supply sunk down by the calcination, while the thoroughly burnt lime at the bottom was successively raked out by a side door immediately above the grate. The interior of the lime kiln has been changed of late years from the conical to the elliptical form; and probably the best is that of an egg placed with its narrow end undermost, and truncated both above and below; the ground plot or bottom of the kiln being compressed so as to give an elliptical section, with aneyeor draft-hole towards each end of that ellipse. A kiln thus arched in above gives a reverberatory heat to the upper materials, and also favours their falling freely down in proportion as the finished lime is raked out below; advantageswhich the conical form does not afford. The size of the draft-notes for extracting the quicklime, should be proportionate to the size of the kiln, in order to admit a sufficient current of air to ascend with the smoke and flame, which is found to facilitate the extrication of the carbonic acid. The kilns are calledperpetual, because the operation is carried on continuously as long as the building lasts; anddraw-kilns, from the mode of discharging them by raking out the lime into carts placed against the draft-holes. Three bushels of calcined limestone, or lime-shells, are produced on an average for every bushel of coals consumed. Such kilns should be built up against the face of a cliff, so that easy access may be gained to the mouth for charging, by making a sloping cart road to the top of the bank.Lime kilnLime kilnFig. 638, 640 enlarged(311 kB)Fig. 639, 641 enlarged(259 kB)Figs.638,639,640,641.represent thelime-kilnof Rüdersdorf near Berlin, upon the continuous plan, excellently constructed for economizing fuel. It is triple, and yields a threefold product.Fig.640.is a view of it as seen from above;fig.641., the elevation and general appearance of one side;fig.638, a vertical section, andfig.639.the ground plan in the lineA B C Doffig.638.The inner shaftfig.638.has the form of two truncated cones, with their larger circular ends applied to each other; it has the greatest width at the level of the fire-doorb, where it is 8 feet in diameter; it is narrower below at the discharge door, and at the top orifice, where it is about 6 feet in diameter. The interior walld, of the upper shaft is built with hewn stones, to the height of 38 feet, and below that for 25 feet, with fire-bricksd′d′, laid stepwise. This inner wall is surrounded with a mantlee, of limestones, but between the two there is a small vacant space of a few inches filled with ashes, in order to allow of the expansion of the interior with heat taking place without shattering the mass of the building.The fire-grateb, consists of fire-tiles, which at the middle, where the single pieces press together, lie upon an arched supportf. The fire-door is also arched, and is secured by fire-tiles.gis the iron door in front of that orifice. The tiles which form the grate have 3 or 4 slits of an inch wide for admitting the air, which enters through the canalh. The under part of the shaft from the fire to the hearth, is 7 feet, and the outer enclosing wall is constructed of limestone, the lining being of fire-bricks. Here are the ash-piti, the discharge outleta, and the canalk, in front of the outlet. Each ash-pit is shut with an iron door, which is opened only when the spaceibecomes filled with ashes. Theseindeed are allowed to remain till they get cool enough to be removed without inconvenience.The discharge outlets are also furnished with iron doors, which are opened only for taking out the lime, and are carefully luted with loam during the burning. The outer wallsl m nof the kiln, are not essentially necessary, but convenient, because they afford room for the lime to lie in the lower floor, and the fuel in the second. The several stories are formed of groined archeso, and platformsp, covered over with limestone slabs. In the third and fourth stories the workmen lodge at night. Seefig.641.Some enter their apartments by the upper doorq; others by the lower doors.ris one of the chimneys for the several fire-places of the workmen.t u vare stairs.As the limestone is introduced at top, the mouth of the kiln is surrounded with a strong iron balustrade to prevent the danger of the people tumbling in. The platform is laid with railsw, for the waggons of limestone, drawn by horses, to run upon.xis another rail-way, leading to another kiln. Such kilns are named after the number of their fire-doors, single, twofold, threefold, fourfold, &c.; from three to five being the most usual. The outer form of the kiln also is determined by the number of the furnaces; being a truncated pyramid of equal sides; and in the middle of each alternate side there is a fire-place, and a discharge outlet. A cubic foot of limestone requires for burning, one and five-twelfths of a cubic foot of wood, and one and a half of turf.When the kiln is to be set in action, it is filled with rough limestones, to the heightC D, or to the level of the firing; a wood fire is kindled ina, and kept up till the lime is calcined. Upon this mass of quicklime, a fresh quantity of limestones is introduced, not thrown in at the mouth, but let down in buckets, till the kiln be quite full; while over the top a cone of limestones is piled up, about 4 feet high. A turf-fire is now kindled in the furnacesb. Whenever the upper stones are well calcined, the lime under the fire-level is taken out, the superior column falls in, a new cone is piled up, and the process goes on thus without interruption, and without the necessity of once putting a fire intoa; for in the spaceC B, the lime must be always well calcined. The discharge of lime takes place every 12 hours, and it amounts at each time in a threefold kiln, to from 20 to 24 Prussiantonnesof 6 imperial bushels each; or to 130 bushels imperial upon the average. It is found by experience, that fresh-broken limestone which contains a little moisture, calcines more readily than what has been dried by exposure for some time to the air; in consequence of the vapour of water promoting the escape of the carbonic acid gas; a fact well exemplified in distilling essential oils, as oil of turpentine and naphtha, which come over with the steam of water, at upwards of 100 degrees F. below their natural term of ebullition. Six bushels of Rüdersdorf quicklime weigh from 280 to 306 pounds.When coals are used for fuel in a well-constructed perpetual, or draw kiln, about 1 measure of them should suffice for 4 or 5 of limestone.The most extensive employment of quicklime is in agriculture, on which subject instructive details are given in Loudon’s Encyclopædias of Agriculture and Gardening.Quicklime is employed in a multitude of preparations subservient to the arts; for clarifying the juice of the sugar-cane and the beet-root; for purifying coal gas; for rendering the potash and soda of commerce caustic in the soap manufacture, and in the bleaching of linen and cotton; for purifying animal matters before dissolving out their gelatine; for clearing hides of their hair in tanneries; for extracting the pure volatile alkali from muriate or sulphate of ammonia; for rendering confined portions of air very dry; for stopping the leakage of stone reservoirs, when mixed with clay and thrown into the water; for making a powerful lute with white of egg or serum of blood; for preparing a depilatory pommade with sulphuret of arsenic, &c. Lime water is used in medicine, and quicklime is of general use in chemical researches. Next to agriculture the most extensive application of quicklime is toMortar-Cements, which see.

LIMESTONE (Calcaire, Fr.;Kalkstein, Germ.); may be classed under the following heads:—

1.Calcareous sparoccurs in colourless crystals or crystalline masses; dissolves with effervescence in muriatic acid; is scratched by soft iron, but not by the nail; specific gravity 2·7; loses 46 per cent. by the expulsion of carbonic acid, and calcines into quicklime.

2.Calcsinter,or stalactitic carbonate of lime, called also concretionary limestone, because formed of zones more or less undulated, and nearly parallel. These zones have a fibrous structure, arising from the successive deposits of the crystalline limestone from its solvent water. The long conical pieces called stalactites, show fibres converging to the axis. The tubercular consists of irregular lumps often sprinkled over with small crystals, and associated so as to exhibit the appearance of cauliflower. The stratiform, commonly called stalagmite, or alabaster limestone, represents zones not concentric, but spread out, waving, and parallel; its texture is sometimes lamellar, and sometimes fibrous. These waving strata are distinguishable from one another by their different densities, and by their degrees of translucency. This stalagmitic mass bears the name of oriental alabaster, when it is reddish-yellow with distinct zones, and is susceptible of a fine polish. Stalactites are formed in the large excavations of calcareous rocks. The water percolating down through them, and dropping from the roofs of the caverns, is usually charged with carbonate of lime held in suspension by an excess of carbonic acid. The exposure to air, the motion, and the consequent diminution of pressure, cause the precipitation of the carbonate of lime in the solid state. Each drop of water, on falling through the vault, abandons a small film of limestone, which enlarges by degrees, and forms either a cylinder or solid mass. This alabaster differs from marble in its parallel and waving layers, and its faint degree of transparency.

This alabaster serves for the decoration of public buildings, and is occasionally introduced into certain pieces of furniture. The fine Egyptian alabaster was anciently brought from the mountains of the Thebaid, between the Nile and the Red Sea, near a town called Alabastron, whence probably the name. Very fine red alabaster, of great hardness, was found at one time in the quarries of Montmartre, but the stock was soon exhausted.

The incrusting concretionary limestonediffers little from the preceding except in the rapidity of its formation, and in being moulded upon some body whose shape it assumes. These deposits from calcareous springs, form equally on vegetable bodies, on stones, metals, within pipes of cast iron, wood, or lead. The incrustations on vegetable and animal substances are vulgarly called petrifactions, as the organic fibres are replaced by stone. One of the most curious springs of this nature is at the baths of Saint Philip, in Tuscany, where the water flows in almost a boiling state, over an enormous mass of alabaster which it has produced. The carbonate of lime seems to be held in solution here by sulphuretted hydrogen, which flies off when the water issues to the day. Dr. Vegny has taken advantage of this property of the spring, to obtain basso-relievo figures of great whiteness and solidity. He makes use of sulphur moulds.

Calcareous tufconsists of similar incrustations made by petrifying rivulets running over mud, sand, vegetable remains, &c. It is porous, even cellular, somewhat soft, impure, and of a dirty gray colour. Its surface is wavy, rough, and irregular. These incrustations or deposits are, however, sometimes so abundant, and the resulting stony matters so hard that buildings may be constructed with them. The stone with which the town of Pasti, in Italy, is built has been calledpipe-stoneby the Italians; and it has apparently derived its origin from incrustations upon large reeds.

Thetravertino, which served to construct all the monuments of Rome, appears to have been formed by the deposits of the Anio and the solfatara of Tivoli. The temples of Pæstum, which are of extreme antiquity, have been built with atravertinoformed by the sediment of the waters which still flow in this territory. All these stones acquire great hardness in the air, and M. de Breislak thinks that it is to the happy union of travertino and pouzzolana in the same spot, that the monuments of Rome owe their great solidity.

Spongy limestone, usually calledAgaric mineral, stone marrow, &c., belongs to this kind of formation. It has a very white colour, a very fine grain, is soft to the touch, very tender, and light enough to float for an instant on water. It occurs in rather thin layers, in the crevices of calcareous rocks, and is so common in Switzerland as to be employed for whitening houses.

3.Compact limestone, is of a grain more or less fine, does not polish, nor afford large blocks free from fissures, has a conchoidal, or uneven scaly fracture. Colours very various. Its varieties are;a, Thesub-lamellar, compact, with some appearance of a foliated texture.b,Compact fine-grained limestone, the zechstein of the Germans, to which M. Brongniart refers the lithographic stone in his classification of rocks (Dictionnairedes Sciences Naturelles,) but the English geologists place the locality of the famous lithographic quarry of Solenhofen much higher in the plane of secondary superposition. Its fracture is conchoidal; colour from gray to whitish;c,Compact common limestone. Grain of middle size; earthy aspect; uneven fracture; perfectly opaque; colour, whitish to pale gray, yellow, or reddish. The limestones of the Jura formation are referred to this head, as well as most of those interspersed among the coal strata.d, Thecoarse compact, or Cornbrash; texture somewhat open, earthy aspect, rough to the touch, ragged fracture, colour yellow, gray, or dirty red.e,Compact cellular, the Rauchekalk and Holekalk of the Germans, on account of the numerous holes or caverns distributed through it.

4.Oolite or roe-stone.—It consists of spherical grains of various size, from a millet seed, to a pea, or even an egg; texture compact; fracture even; colours, whitish, yellow, gray, reddish, brownish. The larger balls have almost always a foreign body for their centre or nucleus.

5.Chalk; texture earthy; grains fine, tender, friable; colours white, grayish, or pale yellowish.

6.Coarse-grained limestone; an earthy texture, in large particles, often loose; fracture foliated, uneven; colour pale and dirty yellow. Coarse lias has has been referred to this head.

7.Marly limestone; lake and fresh-water limestone formation; texture fine-grained, more or less dense; apt to crumble down in the air; colour white or pale yellow; fracture rough-grained, sometimes conchoidal; somewhat tenacious. Texture occasionally cavernous; with cylindrical winding cavities. This true limestone must not be confounded with the lime-marl, composed of calcareous matter and clay.

8.Siliceous limestone; of a compact texture; scratching steel, and scratched by it; leaves a siliceous residuum after the action of muriatic acid.

9.Calp; texture compact; fine-grained; schistose structure; hard, as the preceding; not burning into quicklime, affording to dilute muriatic acid a copious residuum of clay and silica; colour blackish; found in beds in the transition district near Dublin.

10.Luculliteor stinkstone; texture compact or sub-lamellar, colour grayish; emits the smell of sulphuretted hydrogen by friction or a blow. It occurs at Assynt, in Sutherlandshire; in Derbyshire; counties of Kilkenny, Cork, and Galway.

11.Bituminous limestone; black or blackish colour; diffusing by the action of fire a bituminous odour, and becoming white.

Of all common limestones the purity may most readily be determined by the quantity of carbonic acid which is evolved during their solution in dilute nitric or muriatic acid. Perfect carbonate of lime loses in this way 46per cent.; and if any particular limestone loses only 23per cent., we may infer that it contains only one half its weight of calcareous carbonate. This method is equally applicable tomarls, which are mixtures in various proportions of carbonate of lime, clay, and sand, and may all be recognized by their effervescing with acids.

The chief use of calcareous stones is for procuring quicklime by calcination in proper furnaces; and they are all adapted to this purpose provided they are not mixed with too large a proportion of sand and ferruginous clay, whereby they acquire a vitrescent texture in a high heat, and will not burn into lime. Limestone used to be calcined in a very rude kiln, formed by enclosing a circular space of 10 or 15 feet diameter, by rude stone walls 4 or 5 feet high, and filling the cylindrical cavity with alternate layers of turf or coal and limestone broken into moderate pieces. A bed of brushwood was usually placed at the bottom, to facilitate the kindling of the kiln. Whenever the combustion was fairly commenced, the top, piled into a conical form, was covered in with sods, to render the calcination slow and regular. This method being found relatively inconvenient and ineffectual, was succeeded by a permanent kiln built of stones or brickwork, in the shape of a truncated cone with the narrow end undermost, and closed at bottom by an iron grate. Into this kiln, the fuel and limestone were introduced at the top in alternate layers, beginning of course with the former; and the charge was either allowed to burn out, when the lime was altogether removed at a door near the bottom, or the kiln was successively fed with fresh materials, in alternate beds, as the former supply sunk down by the calcination, while the thoroughly burnt lime at the bottom was successively raked out by a side door immediately above the grate. The interior of the lime kiln has been changed of late years from the conical to the elliptical form; and probably the best is that of an egg placed with its narrow end undermost, and truncated both above and below; the ground plot or bottom of the kiln being compressed so as to give an elliptical section, with aneyeor draft-hole towards each end of that ellipse. A kiln thus arched in above gives a reverberatory heat to the upper materials, and also favours their falling freely down in proportion as the finished lime is raked out below; advantageswhich the conical form does not afford. The size of the draft-notes for extracting the quicklime, should be proportionate to the size of the kiln, in order to admit a sufficient current of air to ascend with the smoke and flame, which is found to facilitate the extrication of the carbonic acid. The kilns are calledperpetual, because the operation is carried on continuously as long as the building lasts; anddraw-kilns, from the mode of discharging them by raking out the lime into carts placed against the draft-holes. Three bushels of calcined limestone, or lime-shells, are produced on an average for every bushel of coals consumed. Such kilns should be built up against the face of a cliff, so that easy access may be gained to the mouth for charging, by making a sloping cart road to the top of the bank.

Lime kiln

Lime kilnFig. 638, 640 enlarged(311 kB)Fig. 639, 641 enlarged(259 kB)

Fig. 638, 640 enlarged(311 kB)

Fig. 639, 641 enlarged(259 kB)

Figs.638,639,640,641.represent thelime-kilnof Rüdersdorf near Berlin, upon the continuous plan, excellently constructed for economizing fuel. It is triple, and yields a threefold product.Fig.640.is a view of it as seen from above;fig.641., the elevation and general appearance of one side;fig.638, a vertical section, andfig.639.the ground plan in the lineA B C Doffig.638.The inner shaftfig.638.has the form of two truncated cones, with their larger circular ends applied to each other; it has the greatest width at the level of the fire-doorb, where it is 8 feet in diameter; it is narrower below at the discharge door, and at the top orifice, where it is about 6 feet in diameter. The interior walld, of the upper shaft is built with hewn stones, to the height of 38 feet, and below that for 25 feet, with fire-bricksd′d′, laid stepwise. This inner wall is surrounded with a mantlee, of limestones, but between the two there is a small vacant space of a few inches filled with ashes, in order to allow of the expansion of the interior with heat taking place without shattering the mass of the building.

The fire-grateb, consists of fire-tiles, which at the middle, where the single pieces press together, lie upon an arched supportf. The fire-door is also arched, and is secured by fire-tiles.gis the iron door in front of that orifice. The tiles which form the grate have 3 or 4 slits of an inch wide for admitting the air, which enters through the canalh. The under part of the shaft from the fire to the hearth, is 7 feet, and the outer enclosing wall is constructed of limestone, the lining being of fire-bricks. Here are the ash-piti, the discharge outleta, and the canalk, in front of the outlet. Each ash-pit is shut with an iron door, which is opened only when the spaceibecomes filled with ashes. Theseindeed are allowed to remain till they get cool enough to be removed without inconvenience.

The discharge outlets are also furnished with iron doors, which are opened only for taking out the lime, and are carefully luted with loam during the burning. The outer wallsl m nof the kiln, are not essentially necessary, but convenient, because they afford room for the lime to lie in the lower floor, and the fuel in the second. The several stories are formed of groined archeso, and platformsp, covered over with limestone slabs. In the third and fourth stories the workmen lodge at night. Seefig.641.Some enter their apartments by the upper doorq; others by the lower doors.ris one of the chimneys for the several fire-places of the workmen.t u vare stairs.

As the limestone is introduced at top, the mouth of the kiln is surrounded with a strong iron balustrade to prevent the danger of the people tumbling in. The platform is laid with railsw, for the waggons of limestone, drawn by horses, to run upon.xis another rail-way, leading to another kiln. Such kilns are named after the number of their fire-doors, single, twofold, threefold, fourfold, &c.; from three to five being the most usual. The outer form of the kiln also is determined by the number of the furnaces; being a truncated pyramid of equal sides; and in the middle of each alternate side there is a fire-place, and a discharge outlet. A cubic foot of limestone requires for burning, one and five-twelfths of a cubic foot of wood, and one and a half of turf.

When the kiln is to be set in action, it is filled with rough limestones, to the heightC D, or to the level of the firing; a wood fire is kindled ina, and kept up till the lime is calcined. Upon this mass of quicklime, a fresh quantity of limestones is introduced, not thrown in at the mouth, but let down in buckets, till the kiln be quite full; while over the top a cone of limestones is piled up, about 4 feet high. A turf-fire is now kindled in the furnacesb. Whenever the upper stones are well calcined, the lime under the fire-level is taken out, the superior column falls in, a new cone is piled up, and the process goes on thus without interruption, and without the necessity of once putting a fire intoa; for in the spaceC B, the lime must be always well calcined. The discharge of lime takes place every 12 hours, and it amounts at each time in a threefold kiln, to from 20 to 24 Prussiantonnesof 6 imperial bushels each; or to 130 bushels imperial upon the average. It is found by experience, that fresh-broken limestone which contains a little moisture, calcines more readily than what has been dried by exposure for some time to the air; in consequence of the vapour of water promoting the escape of the carbonic acid gas; a fact well exemplified in distilling essential oils, as oil of turpentine and naphtha, which come over with the steam of water, at upwards of 100 degrees F. below their natural term of ebullition. Six bushels of Rüdersdorf quicklime weigh from 280 to 306 pounds.

When coals are used for fuel in a well-constructed perpetual, or draw kiln, about 1 measure of them should suffice for 4 or 5 of limestone.

The most extensive employment of quicklime is in agriculture, on which subject instructive details are given in Loudon’s Encyclopædias of Agriculture and Gardening.

Quicklime is employed in a multitude of preparations subservient to the arts; for clarifying the juice of the sugar-cane and the beet-root; for purifying coal gas; for rendering the potash and soda of commerce caustic in the soap manufacture, and in the bleaching of linen and cotton; for purifying animal matters before dissolving out their gelatine; for clearing hides of their hair in tanneries; for extracting the pure volatile alkali from muriate or sulphate of ammonia; for rendering confined portions of air very dry; for stopping the leakage of stone reservoirs, when mixed with clay and thrown into the water; for making a powerful lute with white of egg or serum of blood; for preparing a depilatory pommade with sulphuret of arsenic, &c. Lime water is used in medicine, and quicklime is of general use in chemical researches. Next to agriculture the most extensive application of quicklime is toMortar-Cements, which see.

LINEN. SeeFlax, andTextile Fabrics.

LINSEED (Graine de lin, Fr.;Leinsame, Germ.); contains in its dry state, 11·265 of oil; 0·146 of wax; 2·488 of a soft resin; 0·550 of a colouring resinous matter; 0·926 of a yellowish substance analogous to tannin; 6·154 of gum; 15·12 of vegetable mucilage; 1·48 of starch; 2·932 of gluten; 2·782 of albumine; 10·884 of saccharine extractive; 44·382 of envelopes, including some vegetable mucilage. It contains also free acetic acid; some acetate, sulphate, and muriate of potash, phosphate and sulphate of lime; phosphate of magnesia; and silica. SeeOils, Unctuous.

LIQUATION (Eng. and Fr.;Saigerung, Germ.); is the process of sweating out, by a regulated heat, from an alloy, an easily fusible metal from the interstices of a metal difficult of fusion. Lead and antimony are the metals most commonly subjected to liquation; the former for the purpose of carrying off by a superior affinity the silver present in any complex alloy, a subject discussed underSilver; the latter will be considered here, as referred to from the articleAntimony.Antimonial liquation furnaceFig. 642 enlarged(193 kB)Figs.642,643,644.represent the celebrated antimonial liquation furnaces of Malbosc, in the department of Ardèche, in France.Fig.642.is a ground plan taken at the level of the draught holesg g,fig.643., and of the dotted lineE F;fig.643.is a vertical section through the dotted lineA B, offig.642.; andfig.644.is a vertical section through the dotted lineC Doffig.642.In the three figures, the same letters denote like objects,a b care three grates upon the same level above the floor of the works, 41⁄2feet long, by 101⁄2inches broad; between which are two rectangular galleries,d e, which pass transversely through the whole furnace, and lie at a level of 12 inches above the ground. They are separated by two walls from the three fire places. The walls have three openings,f g h, alternately placed for the flames to play through. The ends of these galleries are shut in with iron doorsi i, containing peep holes. In each gallery are two conical cast-iron cruciblesk k, into which theeliquatingsulphuret of antimony drops. Their height is from 12 to 14 inches, the width of the mouth is 10 inches, that of the bottom is 6, and the thickness four-tenths of an inch. They are coated over with fire clay, to prevent the sulphuret from acting upon them; and they stand upon cast-iron pedestals with projecting ears, to facilitate their removal from the gallery or platform. Both of these galleries are lined with tiles of fire-clayl l, which also serve as supports to the vertical liquation tubesm m, made of the same clay. The tiles are somewhat curved towards the middle, for the purpose of receiving the lower ends of these tubes, and have a small hole atn, through which the liquid sulphuret flows down into the crucible.The liquation tubes are conical, the internal diameter at top being 10 inches, at bottom 8; the length fully 40 inches, and the thickness six-tenths of an inch. They have at their lower ends notches or slitso,fig.644., from 3 to 5 inches long, which look outwards, to make them accessible from the front and back part of the furnaces through small conical openingsp p, in the walls. These are closed during the operation with clay stoppers, and are opened only when the gangue, rubbish, and cinders are to be raked out. The liquation tubes pass across the arch of the furnaceq q, the space of the arch being wider than the tubes; they are shut in at top with fire-coversr r.s s, the middle part of the arch, immediately under the middle grate, is barrel-shaped, so that both arches are abutted together. The flames, after playing round about the sides of the liquation tubes, pass off through three openings and flues into the chimneyt, about 13 feet high;ubeing the one opening, andvthe two others, which are provided with register plates. In front of the furnace is a smoke fluew, to carry off the sulphureous vapours exhaled during the clearing out of the rubbish and slag; anotherx, begins overy y, at the top of the tubes; a wallz, separates the smoke flue into halves, so that the workmen upon the one side may not be incommoded by the fumes of the other. This wall connects at the same time the front fluewwith the chimneyt.a′a′andb′b′are iron and wooden bearer beams and rods for strengthening the smoke-flue,c′c′are arches upon both sides of the furnace, which become narrower from without inwards,and are closed with well-fitted platesd′d′. They serve, in particular circumstances, to allow the interior to be inspected, and to see if either of the liquation furnaces be out of order.Each tube being charged with about 500 lbs. of the antimonial ore, previously warmed upon the roof of the furnace, in a short time the sulphuret of a blue colour begins to flow out. Whenever the liquation ceases, the cinders are raked out by the side openings, and the tubes are charged afresh. The luted iron crucibles are suffered to become three-fourths full, are then drawn out from the galleries, left to cool, and emptied. The ingots weigh about 85 pounds. The charging is renewed every three hours, and, when the process is in good train, 100 lbs. of sulphuret of antimony are obtained every hour. The average duration of the tubes is 3 weeks, though in some cases it may be 40 days. The product from the ore is from 40 to 50 per cent. The above plan of operation is remarkable for the small consumption of fuel, the economy of labour, and the complete exhaustion of the ore.

Antimonial liquation furnaceFig. 642 enlarged(193 kB)

Fig. 642 enlarged(193 kB)

Figs.642,643,644.represent the celebrated antimonial liquation furnaces of Malbosc, in the department of Ardèche, in France.Fig.642.is a ground plan taken at the level of the draught holesg g,fig.643., and of the dotted lineE F;fig.643.is a vertical section through the dotted lineA B, offig.642.; andfig.644.is a vertical section through the dotted lineC Doffig.642.In the three figures, the same letters denote like objects,a b care three grates upon the same level above the floor of the works, 41⁄2feet long, by 101⁄2inches broad; between which are two rectangular galleries,d e, which pass transversely through the whole furnace, and lie at a level of 12 inches above the ground. They are separated by two walls from the three fire places. The walls have three openings,f g h, alternately placed for the flames to play through. The ends of these galleries are shut in with iron doorsi i, containing peep holes. In each gallery are two conical cast-iron cruciblesk k, into which theeliquatingsulphuret of antimony drops. Their height is from 12 to 14 inches, the width of the mouth is 10 inches, that of the bottom is 6, and the thickness four-tenths of an inch. They are coated over with fire clay, to prevent the sulphuret from acting upon them; and they stand upon cast-iron pedestals with projecting ears, to facilitate their removal from the gallery or platform. Both of these galleries are lined with tiles of fire-clayl l, which also serve as supports to the vertical liquation tubesm m, made of the same clay. The tiles are somewhat curved towards the middle, for the purpose of receiving the lower ends of these tubes, and have a small hole atn, through which the liquid sulphuret flows down into the crucible.

The liquation tubes are conical, the internal diameter at top being 10 inches, at bottom 8; the length fully 40 inches, and the thickness six-tenths of an inch. They have at their lower ends notches or slitso,fig.644., from 3 to 5 inches long, which look outwards, to make them accessible from the front and back part of the furnaces through small conical openingsp p, in the walls. These are closed during the operation with clay stoppers, and are opened only when the gangue, rubbish, and cinders are to be raked out. The liquation tubes pass across the arch of the furnaceq q, the space of the arch being wider than the tubes; they are shut in at top with fire-coversr r.s s, the middle part of the arch, immediately under the middle grate, is barrel-shaped, so that both arches are abutted together. The flames, after playing round about the sides of the liquation tubes, pass off through three openings and flues into the chimneyt, about 13 feet high;ubeing the one opening, andvthe two others, which are provided with register plates. In front of the furnace is a smoke fluew, to carry off the sulphureous vapours exhaled during the clearing out of the rubbish and slag; anotherx, begins overy y, at the top of the tubes; a wallz, separates the smoke flue into halves, so that the workmen upon the one side may not be incommoded by the fumes of the other. This wall connects at the same time the front fluewwith the chimneyt.a′a′andb′b′are iron and wooden bearer beams and rods for strengthening the smoke-flue,c′c′are arches upon both sides of the furnace, which become narrower from without inwards,and are closed with well-fitted platesd′d′. They serve, in particular circumstances, to allow the interior to be inspected, and to see if either of the liquation furnaces be out of order.

Each tube being charged with about 500 lbs. of the antimonial ore, previously warmed upon the roof of the furnace, in a short time the sulphuret of a blue colour begins to flow out. Whenever the liquation ceases, the cinders are raked out by the side openings, and the tubes are charged afresh. The luted iron crucibles are suffered to become three-fourths full, are then drawn out from the galleries, left to cool, and emptied. The ingots weigh about 85 pounds. The charging is renewed every three hours, and, when the process is in good train, 100 lbs. of sulphuret of antimony are obtained every hour. The average duration of the tubes is 3 weeks, though in some cases it may be 40 days. The product from the ore is from 40 to 50 per cent. The above plan of operation is remarkable for the small consumption of fuel, the economy of labour, and the complete exhaustion of the ore.

LIQUEURS, LIQUORISTE; names given by the French to liquors compounded of alcohol, water, sugar, and different aromatic substances; and to the person who compounds them. I shall insert here a few of their most approved recipes.Infusion of the peels of fruits.—The outer skin pared off with a sharp knife, is to be dropped into a hard glazed jar, containing alcohol of 34° B., diluted with half its bulk of water, and the whole is to be transferred into well-corked carboys. After an infusion of six weeks, with occasional agitation, the aromatized spirit is to be distilled off. In this way are prepared the liquors of cedrat, lemons, oranges,limettes(a sort of sweet lemon),poncires(the large citron), bergamots, &c.Infusion of aromatic seeds.—These must be pounded, put into a carboy, along with alcohol diluted as above, infused with agitation for six weeks, and then distilled.Infusions of aromatic woodsare made in the same way.The liquorist should not bring his infusions and tinctures into the market till six months after their distillation.Liqueurs have different titles, according to their mode of fabrication.Thuswatersare liquors apparently devoid of viscidity;creamsandoilspossess it in a high degree.Water ofcedrat, is made by dissolving six pounds of sugar in seven quarts of water; adding two quarts of spirit ofcedrat, and one of spirit of citron. Boil the whole for a minute, and filter hot through a proper bag. Set it for a considerable time aside in a corked carboy, before it be bottled.Oil or cream of cedrat.—Take eight quarts of river water, two of spirit of cedrat, one of spirit of citron, and as much rich syrup as is necessary to give the mixture an oily consistence. Stir it well and set it aside in carboys. Should it be at all clouded, it must be filtered till it be perfectly pellucid.Balm of Molucca, is made by infusing for ten days, in a carboy capable of holding fully four gallons, 10 pounds of spirits of 18° B., 4 pounds of white sugar, 4 pounds of river water, 4 drachms of pounded cloves, and 48 grains of pounded mace. The mixture is to be shaken 3 or 4 times daily, coloured with caramel (burnt sugar), filtered at the end of ten days, and set aside in bottles.Tears of the widow of Malabar, are compounded with the preceding quantity of spirits, sugar, and water, adding 4 drachms of ground cinnamon, 48 grains of cloves, and a like quantity of mace, both in powder. It may be slightly coloured with caramel.The delight of the Mandarins.—Take spirit, sugar, and water, as above, adding 4 drachms ofanisum Chinæ, (Gingi), as muchambrette(seeds of thehibiscus abelmoschus, Lin.) all in powder; 2 drachms of safflower.The sighs of love.—Take spirits, water, and sugar, as above. Perfume with essence (otto) of roses; give a very pale pink hue with tincture of cochineal, filter and bottle up.Crème de macarons.—Add to the spirit, sugar, and water as above, half a pound of bitter almonds, blanched and pounded; cloves, cinnamon, and mace in powder, of each 48 grains. A violet tint is given by the tinctures of turnsole and cochineal.Curaçoa.—Put into a large bottle nearly full of alcohol oftrente-six(34° Baumé), the peels of six smooth Portugal oranges, (Seville?) and let them infuse for 15 days; then put into a carboy 10 pounds of spirits of 18° B., 4 pounds of white sugar, and 4 pounds of river water. When the sugar is dissolved, add a sufficient quantity of the orangezestesto give flavour, then spice the whole with 48 grains of cinnamon, and as much mace, both in powder. Lastly introduce an ounce of ground Brazil wood, and infuse during 10 days, agitating 3 or 4 times daily. A pretty deep hue ought to be given with caramel.Swiss extract of wormwood, is compounded as follows:—Tops of the absinthium majus 4 pounds;Ditto, absinthium minus 2 pounds;Roots of angelica,-of each a few grains at pleasure;Calamus aromaticus,Seeds ofanisum Chinæ,Leaves of the dittany of Crete,Alcohol of 20° B., four gallons Imp.Macerate these substances during eight days, then distil by a gentle fire; draw off two gallons of spirits, and add to it 2 drachms of essential oil of anise-seed. The two gallons left in the still serve for preparing thevulnerary spirituous water.Of colouring theliqueurs.Yellowis given with the yellow colouring matter of safflower (carthamus,) which is readily extracted by water.Fawnis given bycaramel, made by heating ground white sugar in an iron spoon over a charcoal fire, till it assumes the desired tint, and then pouring it into a little cold water.Redis given by cochineal alone, or with a little alum.Violetis given by good litmus (turnsole).Blueandgreen.—Sulphate of indigo gives the first. After saturating it nearly with chalk, alcohol being digested upon it, becomes blue. This tincture mixed with that of carthamus forms a good green.

Infusion of the peels of fruits.—The outer skin pared off with a sharp knife, is to be dropped into a hard glazed jar, containing alcohol of 34° B., diluted with half its bulk of water, and the whole is to be transferred into well-corked carboys. After an infusion of six weeks, with occasional agitation, the aromatized spirit is to be distilled off. In this way are prepared the liquors of cedrat, lemons, oranges,limettes(a sort of sweet lemon),poncires(the large citron), bergamots, &c.

Infusion of aromatic seeds.—These must be pounded, put into a carboy, along with alcohol diluted as above, infused with agitation for six weeks, and then distilled.

Infusions of aromatic woodsare made in the same way.

The liquorist should not bring his infusions and tinctures into the market till six months after their distillation.

Liqueurs have different titles, according to their mode of fabrication.

Thuswatersare liquors apparently devoid of viscidity;creamsandoilspossess it in a high degree.

Water ofcedrat, is made by dissolving six pounds of sugar in seven quarts of water; adding two quarts of spirit ofcedrat, and one of spirit of citron. Boil the whole for a minute, and filter hot through a proper bag. Set it for a considerable time aside in a corked carboy, before it be bottled.

Oil or cream of cedrat.—Take eight quarts of river water, two of spirit of cedrat, one of spirit of citron, and as much rich syrup as is necessary to give the mixture an oily consistence. Stir it well and set it aside in carboys. Should it be at all clouded, it must be filtered till it be perfectly pellucid.

Balm of Molucca, is made by infusing for ten days, in a carboy capable of holding fully four gallons, 10 pounds of spirits of 18° B., 4 pounds of white sugar, 4 pounds of river water, 4 drachms of pounded cloves, and 48 grains of pounded mace. The mixture is to be shaken 3 or 4 times daily, coloured with caramel (burnt sugar), filtered at the end of ten days, and set aside in bottles.

Tears of the widow of Malabar, are compounded with the preceding quantity of spirits, sugar, and water, adding 4 drachms of ground cinnamon, 48 grains of cloves, and a like quantity of mace, both in powder. It may be slightly coloured with caramel.

The delight of the Mandarins.—Take spirit, sugar, and water, as above, adding 4 drachms ofanisum Chinæ, (Gingi), as muchambrette(seeds of thehibiscus abelmoschus, Lin.) all in powder; 2 drachms of safflower.

The sighs of love.—Take spirits, water, and sugar, as above. Perfume with essence (otto) of roses; give a very pale pink hue with tincture of cochineal, filter and bottle up.

Crème de macarons.—Add to the spirit, sugar, and water as above, half a pound of bitter almonds, blanched and pounded; cloves, cinnamon, and mace in powder, of each 48 grains. A violet tint is given by the tinctures of turnsole and cochineal.

Curaçoa.—Put into a large bottle nearly full of alcohol oftrente-six(34° Baumé), the peels of six smooth Portugal oranges, (Seville?) and let them infuse for 15 days; then put into a carboy 10 pounds of spirits of 18° B., 4 pounds of white sugar, and 4 pounds of river water. When the sugar is dissolved, add a sufficient quantity of the orangezestesto give flavour, then spice the whole with 48 grains of cinnamon, and as much mace, both in powder. Lastly introduce an ounce of ground Brazil wood, and infuse during 10 days, agitating 3 or 4 times daily. A pretty deep hue ought to be given with caramel.

Swiss extract of wormwood, is compounded as follows:—

Macerate these substances during eight days, then distil by a gentle fire; draw off two gallons of spirits, and add to it 2 drachms of essential oil of anise-seed. The two gallons left in the still serve for preparing thevulnerary spirituous water.

Of colouring theliqueurs.

Yellowis given with the yellow colouring matter of safflower (carthamus,) which is readily extracted by water.

Fawnis given bycaramel, made by heating ground white sugar in an iron spoon over a charcoal fire, till it assumes the desired tint, and then pouring it into a little cold water.

Redis given by cochineal alone, or with a little alum.

Violetis given by good litmus (turnsole).

Blueandgreen.—Sulphate of indigo gives the first. After saturating it nearly with chalk, alcohol being digested upon it, becomes blue. This tincture mixed with that of carthamus forms a good green.

LIQUID AMBER, is obtained from theliquidambar styraciflua, a tree which grows in Mexico, Louisiana, and Virginia. Some specimens are thin, like oil, and others are thickish, like turpentine. It is transparent, amber coloured, has an agreeable and powerful smell, and an aromatic taste, which feels pungent in the throat. Boiling alcohol dissolves it almost entirely. It contains a good deal of benzoic acid, some of which effloresces whenever the liquid amber hardens with keeping.

LITHARGE (Eng. and Fr.;Glätte, Germ.); is the fused yellow protoxide of lead, which on cooling passes into a mass consisting of small six-sided plates, of a reddish yellow colour, and semitransparent. It generally contains more or less red lead, whence the variations of its colour; and carbonic acid, especially when it has been exposed to the air for some. time. SeeLead, andSilver, for its mode of preparation.

LITHIA, is a simple earthy or alkaline substance, discovered not many years ago, in the minerals called petalite and triphane. It is white, very caustic, reddens litmus, and red cabbage, and saturates acids with great facility. When exposed to the air it attracts humidity and carbonic acid. It is more soluble in water than baryta; and has such a strong affinity for it, as to be obtained only in the state of a hydrate. It forms neutral salts with all the acids. It is most remarkable for its power of acting upon, or corroding platinum.

LITHIUM, is the metallic basis of Lithia; the latter substance consists of 100 of metal, and 123 of oxygen.

LITHOGRAPHY. Though this subject belongs rather to the arts of taste and design than to productive manufactures, its chemical principles fall within the province of this Dictionary.The termlithographyis derived from λιθος,a stone, and γραφη,writing, and designates the art of throwing off impressions upon paper, of figures and writing previously traced upon stone. The processes of this art are founded:—1. Upon the adhesion to a smoothly-polished limestone, of an encaustic fat which forms the lines or traces.2. Upon the power acquired by the parts penetrated by this encaustic, of attracting to themselves, and becoming covered with a printer’s ink, having linseed oil for its basis.3. Upon the interposition of a film of water, which prevents the adhesion of the ink in all the parts of the surface of the stone not impregnated with the encaustic.4. Lastly, upon a pressure applied by the stone, such as to transfer to paper the greater part of the ink which covers the greasy tracings of the encaustic.The lithographic stones of the best quality are still procured from the quarry of Solenhofen, a village at no great distance from Munich, where this mode of printing had its birth. They resemble in their aspect the yellowish white lias of Bath, but their geological place is much higher than the lias. Abundant quarries of these fine-grained limestones occur in the county of Pappenheim, along the banks of the Danube, presenting slabs of every required degree of thickness, parted by regular seams, and ready for removal with very little violence. The good quality of a lithographic stone is generally denoted by the following characters; its hue is of a yellowish gray, and uniform throughout; it is free from veins, fibres, and spots; a steel point makes an impression on it with difficulty; and the splinters broken off from it by the hammer, display a conchoidal fracture.The Munich stones are retailed on the spot in slabs or layers of equal thickness; they are quarried with the aid of a saw, so as to sacrifice as little as possible of the irregularedges of the rectangular tables or plates. One of the broad faces is then dressed, and coarsely smoothed. The thickness of these stones is nearly proportional to their other dimensions; and varies from an inch and two-thirds to 3 inches.In each lithographic establishment, the stones receive their finishing, dressing, and polishing; which are performed like the grinding and polishing of mirror plate. The work is done by hand, by rubbing circularly a movable slab over another cemented in a horizontal position, with fine sifted sand and water interposed between the two. The style ofworkthat the stone is intended to produce, determines the kind of polish that it should get. For crayon drawing the stone should be merely grained more or lessfineaccording to the fancy of the draughtsman. The higher the finish of the surface, the softer are the drawings; but the printing process becomes soonerpasty, and a smaller number of impressions can be taken.Works in inkrequire the stone to be more softened down, and finally polished with pumice and a little water. The stones thus prepared are packed for use with white paper interposed between their faces.Lithographic crayons.—Fine lithographic prints cannot be obtained unless the crayons possess every requisite quality. The ingredients composing them ought to be of such a nature as to adhere strongly to the stone, both after the drawing has undergone the preparation of the acid, and during the press-work. They should be hard enough to admit of a fine point, and trace delicate lines without risk of breaking. The following composition has been successfully employed for crayons by MM. Bernard and Delarue, at Paris:—Pure wax, (first quality)4Dry white tallow soap2White tallow2Gum lac2Lamp black, enough to give a dark tint1Occasionally copal varnish1The wax is to be melted over a gentle fire, and the lac broken to bits is then to be added by degrees, stirring all the while with a spatula; the soap is next introduced in fine shavings; and when the mixture of these substances is very intimately accomplished, the copal-varnish, incorporated with the lamp black, is poured in. The heat and agitation are continued till the paste has acquired a suitable consistence; which may be recognised by taking out a little of it, letting it cool on a plate, and trying its quality with a penknife. This composition, on being cut, should afford brittle slices. The boiling may be quickened by setting the rising vapours on fire, which increases the temperature, and renders the exhalations less offensive. When ready, it is to be poured into a brass mould, made of two semi-cylinders joined together by clasps or rings, forming between them a cylindric tube of the crayon size. The mould should be previously smeared with a greasy cloth.M. Lasteyrie prescribes a more simple composition, said to be equally fit for the lithographer’s use:—Dried white tallow soap6parts.White wax6—Lamp black1—The soap and tallow are to be put into a small goblet and covered up. When the whole is thoroughly fused by heat, and no clots remain, the black is gradually sprinkled in with careful stirring.Lithographic ink is prepared nearly on the same principles:—Wax16parts.Tallow6—Hard tallow soap6—Shell-lac12—Mastic in tears8—Venice turpentine1—Lamp black4—The mastic and lac, previously ground together, are to be heated with care in the turpentine; the wax and tallow are to be added after they are taken off the fire, and when their solution is effected, the soap shavings are to be thrown in. Lastly, the lamp black is to be well intermixed. Whenever the union is accomplished by heat, the operation is finished; the liquor is left to cool a little, then poured out on tables, and, when cold, cut into square rods.Lithographic ink of good quality ought to be susceptible of forming an emulsion so attenuated, that it may appear to be dissolved when rubbed upon a hard body in distilledor river water. It should be flowing in the pen, not spreading on the stone; capable of forming delicate traces, and very black to show its delineations. The most essential quality of the ink is to sink well into the stone, so as to re-produce the most delicate outlines of the drawing, and to afford a great many impressions. It must therefore be able to resist the acid with which the stone is moistened in the preparation, without letting any of its greasy matter escape.M. de Lasteyrie states that after having tried a great many combinations, he gives the preference to the following:—Tallow soap, dried30parts.Mastic, in tears30—White soda of commerce30—Shell-lac150—Lamp black12—The soap is first put into the goblet and melted over the fire, to which the lac being added fuses immediately; the soda is then introduced, and next the mastic, stirring all the while with a spatula. A brisk fire is applied till all these materials be melted completely, when the whole is poured out into the mould.The inks now prescribed may be employed equally with the pen and the hair pencil, for writings, black-lead drawings,aqua tinta, mixed drawings, those which represent engravings on wood (wood cuts), &c. When the ink is to be used it is to be rubbed down with water, in the manner of China ink, till the shade be of the requisite depth. The temperature of the place ought to be from 84° to 90° Fahr., or the saucer in which the ink-stick is rubbed should be set in a heated plate. No more ink should be dissolved than is to be used at the time, for it rarely keeps in the liquid state for 24 hours; and it should be covered or corked up.Autographic paper.—Autography, or the operation by which a writing or a drawing is transferred from paper to stone, presents not merely a means of abridging labour, but also that ofreverting the writings or drawings into the direction in which they were traced, whilst, if executed directly upon the stone, the impression given by it isinverted. Hence, a writing upon stone must be inverted from right to left to obtain direct impressions. But the art of writing thus is tedious and difficult to acquire, while, by means of the autographic paper and the transfer, proofs are obtained in the same direction with the writing and drawing.Autographic ink.—It must be fatter and softer than that applied directly to the stone, so that though dry upon the paper, it may still preserve sufficient viscidity to stick to the stone by mere pressure.To compose this ink, we take—White soap100parts.White wax of the best quality100—Mutton suet30—Shell-lac50—Mastic50—Lamp black30 or 35—These materials are to be melted as above described for the lithographic ink.Lithographic ink and paper.—The following recipes have been much commended:Virgin or white wax8partsWhite soap2—Shell-lac2—Lamp black3table-spoonsful.Preparation.—The wax and soap are to be melted together, and before they become so hot as to take fire, the lamp black is to be well stirred in with a spatula, and then the mixture is to be allowed to burn for 30 seconds; the flame being extinguished, the lac is to be added by degrees, carefully stirring all the time; the vessel is to be put upon the fire once more in order to complete the combination, and till the materials are either kindled or nearly so. After the flame is extinguished, the ink must be suffered to cool a little, and then put into the moulds.With the ink crayons thus made, lines may be drawn as fine as with the point of the graver, and as full as can be desired, without risk of its spreading in the carriage. Its traces will remain unchanged on paper for years before being transferred.Some may think it strange that there is no suet in the above composition, but it has been found that ink containing it is only good when used soon after it is made, and whenimmediately transferred to the stone, while traces drawn on paper with the suet ink become defective after 4 or 5 days.Lithographic paper.—Lay on the paper, 3 successive coats of sheep-feet jelly,Lithographic paper.—Lay on the paper,1 layer of white starch,Lithographic paper.—Lay on the paper,1 layer of gamboge.The first layer is applied with a sponge dipped in the solution of the hot jelly, very equally over the whole surface, but thin; and if the leaf be stretched upon a cord, the gelatine will be more uniform. The next two coats are to be laid on, until each is dry. The layer of starch is then to be applied with a sponge, and it will also be very thin and equal. The coat of gamboge is lastly to be applied in the same way. When the paper is dry, it must be smoothed by passing it through the lithographic press; and the more polished it is, the better does it take on the ink in fine lines.Transfer.—When the paper is moistened, the transfer of the ink from the gamboge is perfect and infallible. The starch separates from the gelatine, and if, after taking the paper off the stone, we place it on a white slab of stone, and pour hot water over it, it will resume its primitive state.The coat of gamboge ought to be laid on the same day it is dissolved, as by keeping, it becomes of an oily nature; in this state it does not obstruct the transfer, but it gives a gloss to the paper which renders the drawing or tracing more difficult, especially to persons little habituated to lithography.The starch paste can be employed only when cold, the day after it is made, and after having the skin removed from its surface.A leaf of such lithographic paper may be made in two minutes.In transferring a writing, an ink drawing, or a lithographic crayon, even the impression of a copper-plate, to the stone, it is necessary, 1. that the impressions be made upon a thin and slender body like common paper; 2. that they may be detached and fixed totally on the stone by means of pressure; but as the ink of a drawing sinks to a certain depth in paper, and adheres pretty strongly, it would be difficult to detach all its parts, were there not previously put between the paper and the traces, a body capable of being separated from the paper, and of losing its adhesion to it by means of the water with which it is damped. In order to produce this effect, the paper gets a certain preparation, which consists in coating it over with a kind of paste ready to receive every delineation without suffering it to penetrate into the paper. There are different modes of communicating this property to paper. Besides the above, the following may be tried. Take an unsized paper, rather strong, and cover it with a varnish composed of:—Starch120partsGum arabic40—Alum20—A paste of moderate consistence must be made with the starch and some water, with the aid of heat, into which the gum and alum are to be thrown, each previously dissolved in separate vessels. When the whole is well mixed, it is to be applied, still hot, on the leaves of paper, with a flat smooth brush. A tint of yellow colour may be given to the varnish, with a decoction of the berries of Avignon, commonly called French berries by our dyers. The paper is to be dried, and smoothed by passing under the scraper of the lithographic press.Steel pens are employed for writing and drawing with ink on the lithographic stones.

LITHOGRAPHY. Though this subject belongs rather to the arts of taste and design than to productive manufactures, its chemical principles fall within the province of this Dictionary.

The termlithographyis derived from λιθος,a stone, and γραφη,writing, and designates the art of throwing off impressions upon paper, of figures and writing previously traced upon stone. The processes of this art are founded:—

1. Upon the adhesion to a smoothly-polished limestone, of an encaustic fat which forms the lines or traces.

2. Upon the power acquired by the parts penetrated by this encaustic, of attracting to themselves, and becoming covered with a printer’s ink, having linseed oil for its basis.

3. Upon the interposition of a film of water, which prevents the adhesion of the ink in all the parts of the surface of the stone not impregnated with the encaustic.

4. Lastly, upon a pressure applied by the stone, such as to transfer to paper the greater part of the ink which covers the greasy tracings of the encaustic.

The lithographic stones of the best quality are still procured from the quarry of Solenhofen, a village at no great distance from Munich, where this mode of printing had its birth. They resemble in their aspect the yellowish white lias of Bath, but their geological place is much higher than the lias. Abundant quarries of these fine-grained limestones occur in the county of Pappenheim, along the banks of the Danube, presenting slabs of every required degree of thickness, parted by regular seams, and ready for removal with very little violence. The good quality of a lithographic stone is generally denoted by the following characters; its hue is of a yellowish gray, and uniform throughout; it is free from veins, fibres, and spots; a steel point makes an impression on it with difficulty; and the splinters broken off from it by the hammer, display a conchoidal fracture.

The Munich stones are retailed on the spot in slabs or layers of equal thickness; they are quarried with the aid of a saw, so as to sacrifice as little as possible of the irregularedges of the rectangular tables or plates. One of the broad faces is then dressed, and coarsely smoothed. The thickness of these stones is nearly proportional to their other dimensions; and varies from an inch and two-thirds to 3 inches.

In each lithographic establishment, the stones receive their finishing, dressing, and polishing; which are performed like the grinding and polishing of mirror plate. The work is done by hand, by rubbing circularly a movable slab over another cemented in a horizontal position, with fine sifted sand and water interposed between the two. The style ofworkthat the stone is intended to produce, determines the kind of polish that it should get. For crayon drawing the stone should be merely grained more or lessfineaccording to the fancy of the draughtsman. The higher the finish of the surface, the softer are the drawings; but the printing process becomes soonerpasty, and a smaller number of impressions can be taken.Works in inkrequire the stone to be more softened down, and finally polished with pumice and a little water. The stones thus prepared are packed for use with white paper interposed between their faces.

Lithographic crayons.—Fine lithographic prints cannot be obtained unless the crayons possess every requisite quality. The ingredients composing them ought to be of such a nature as to adhere strongly to the stone, both after the drawing has undergone the preparation of the acid, and during the press-work. They should be hard enough to admit of a fine point, and trace delicate lines without risk of breaking. The following composition has been successfully employed for crayons by MM. Bernard and Delarue, at Paris:—

The wax is to be melted over a gentle fire, and the lac broken to bits is then to be added by degrees, stirring all the while with a spatula; the soap is next introduced in fine shavings; and when the mixture of these substances is very intimately accomplished, the copal-varnish, incorporated with the lamp black, is poured in. The heat and agitation are continued till the paste has acquired a suitable consistence; which may be recognised by taking out a little of it, letting it cool on a plate, and trying its quality with a penknife. This composition, on being cut, should afford brittle slices. The boiling may be quickened by setting the rising vapours on fire, which increases the temperature, and renders the exhalations less offensive. When ready, it is to be poured into a brass mould, made of two semi-cylinders joined together by clasps or rings, forming between them a cylindric tube of the crayon size. The mould should be previously smeared with a greasy cloth.

M. Lasteyrie prescribes a more simple composition, said to be equally fit for the lithographer’s use:—

The soap and tallow are to be put into a small goblet and covered up. When the whole is thoroughly fused by heat, and no clots remain, the black is gradually sprinkled in with careful stirring.

Lithographic ink is prepared nearly on the same principles:—

The mastic and lac, previously ground together, are to be heated with care in the turpentine; the wax and tallow are to be added after they are taken off the fire, and when their solution is effected, the soap shavings are to be thrown in. Lastly, the lamp black is to be well intermixed. Whenever the union is accomplished by heat, the operation is finished; the liquor is left to cool a little, then poured out on tables, and, when cold, cut into square rods.

Lithographic ink of good quality ought to be susceptible of forming an emulsion so attenuated, that it may appear to be dissolved when rubbed upon a hard body in distilledor river water. It should be flowing in the pen, not spreading on the stone; capable of forming delicate traces, and very black to show its delineations. The most essential quality of the ink is to sink well into the stone, so as to re-produce the most delicate outlines of the drawing, and to afford a great many impressions. It must therefore be able to resist the acid with which the stone is moistened in the preparation, without letting any of its greasy matter escape.

M. de Lasteyrie states that after having tried a great many combinations, he gives the preference to the following:—

The soap is first put into the goblet and melted over the fire, to which the lac being added fuses immediately; the soda is then introduced, and next the mastic, stirring all the while with a spatula. A brisk fire is applied till all these materials be melted completely, when the whole is poured out into the mould.

The inks now prescribed may be employed equally with the pen and the hair pencil, for writings, black-lead drawings,aqua tinta, mixed drawings, those which represent engravings on wood (wood cuts), &c. When the ink is to be used it is to be rubbed down with water, in the manner of China ink, till the shade be of the requisite depth. The temperature of the place ought to be from 84° to 90° Fahr., or the saucer in which the ink-stick is rubbed should be set in a heated plate. No more ink should be dissolved than is to be used at the time, for it rarely keeps in the liquid state for 24 hours; and it should be covered or corked up.

Autographic paper.—Autography, or the operation by which a writing or a drawing is transferred from paper to stone, presents not merely a means of abridging labour, but also that ofreverting the writings or drawings into the direction in which they were traced, whilst, if executed directly upon the stone, the impression given by it isinverted. Hence, a writing upon stone must be inverted from right to left to obtain direct impressions. But the art of writing thus is tedious and difficult to acquire, while, by means of the autographic paper and the transfer, proofs are obtained in the same direction with the writing and drawing.

Autographic ink.—It must be fatter and softer than that applied directly to the stone, so that though dry upon the paper, it may still preserve sufficient viscidity to stick to the stone by mere pressure.

To compose this ink, we take—

These materials are to be melted as above described for the lithographic ink.

Lithographic ink and paper.—The following recipes have been much commended:

Preparation.—The wax and soap are to be melted together, and before they become so hot as to take fire, the lamp black is to be well stirred in with a spatula, and then the mixture is to be allowed to burn for 30 seconds; the flame being extinguished, the lac is to be added by degrees, carefully stirring all the time; the vessel is to be put upon the fire once more in order to complete the combination, and till the materials are either kindled or nearly so. After the flame is extinguished, the ink must be suffered to cool a little, and then put into the moulds.

With the ink crayons thus made, lines may be drawn as fine as with the point of the graver, and as full as can be desired, without risk of its spreading in the carriage. Its traces will remain unchanged on paper for years before being transferred.

Some may think it strange that there is no suet in the above composition, but it has been found that ink containing it is only good when used soon after it is made, and whenimmediately transferred to the stone, while traces drawn on paper with the suet ink become defective after 4 or 5 days.

Lithographic paper.—Lay on the paper, 3 successive coats of sheep-feet jelly,Lithographic paper.—Lay on the paper,1 layer of white starch,Lithographic paper.—Lay on the paper,1 layer of gamboge.

The first layer is applied with a sponge dipped in the solution of the hot jelly, very equally over the whole surface, but thin; and if the leaf be stretched upon a cord, the gelatine will be more uniform. The next two coats are to be laid on, until each is dry. The layer of starch is then to be applied with a sponge, and it will also be very thin and equal. The coat of gamboge is lastly to be applied in the same way. When the paper is dry, it must be smoothed by passing it through the lithographic press; and the more polished it is, the better does it take on the ink in fine lines.

Transfer.—When the paper is moistened, the transfer of the ink from the gamboge is perfect and infallible. The starch separates from the gelatine, and if, after taking the paper off the stone, we place it on a white slab of stone, and pour hot water over it, it will resume its primitive state.

The coat of gamboge ought to be laid on the same day it is dissolved, as by keeping, it becomes of an oily nature; in this state it does not obstruct the transfer, but it gives a gloss to the paper which renders the drawing or tracing more difficult, especially to persons little habituated to lithography.

The starch paste can be employed only when cold, the day after it is made, and after having the skin removed from its surface.

A leaf of such lithographic paper may be made in two minutes.

In transferring a writing, an ink drawing, or a lithographic crayon, even the impression of a copper-plate, to the stone, it is necessary, 1. that the impressions be made upon a thin and slender body like common paper; 2. that they may be detached and fixed totally on the stone by means of pressure; but as the ink of a drawing sinks to a certain depth in paper, and adheres pretty strongly, it would be difficult to detach all its parts, were there not previously put between the paper and the traces, a body capable of being separated from the paper, and of losing its adhesion to it by means of the water with which it is damped. In order to produce this effect, the paper gets a certain preparation, which consists in coating it over with a kind of paste ready to receive every delineation without suffering it to penetrate into the paper. There are different modes of communicating this property to paper. Besides the above, the following may be tried. Take an unsized paper, rather strong, and cover it with a varnish composed of:—

A paste of moderate consistence must be made with the starch and some water, with the aid of heat, into which the gum and alum are to be thrown, each previously dissolved in separate vessels. When the whole is well mixed, it is to be applied, still hot, on the leaves of paper, with a flat smooth brush. A tint of yellow colour may be given to the varnish, with a decoction of the berries of Avignon, commonly called French berries by our dyers. The paper is to be dried, and smoothed by passing under the scraper of the lithographic press.

Steel pens are employed for writing and drawing with ink on the lithographic stones.

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