BEING AN ESSAY ON THE EIGHTEENTH-
CENTURY CHEMIST IN HIS LABORATORY,
WITH A DICTIONARY OF OBSOLETE
CHEMICAL TERMS OF THE PERIOD

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P^SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN   HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY     •     NUMBER 33
®1(^ (3lnc0mpkat ©Ifgmfet
BEING AN ESSAY ON THE EIGHTEENTH-
CENTURY CHEMIST IN HIS LABORATORY,
WITH A DICTIONARY OF OBSOLETE
CHEMICAL TERMS OF THE PERIOD
lion ^felunh

SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION PRESS
City of Washington
1975

OFFICIAL TUBUCATION DATE is handstamped in a limited number of initial copies and is recorded
in the Institution's annual report, Smithsonian  Year.    SI PRESS NUMBER 5214.
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Eklund, Jon.
The incompleat chymist.
(Smithsonian studies in history and technology, no. 3,8)
Supt. of Docs, no.: SI 1.28:33
1. Chemistry—History.   2. Chemistry—Dictionaries.   I. Title.   II. Series: Smithsonian Institution.
  Smithsonian studies in history and technology, no. 33.
QD14.E38    .540'.9'O33    74-13368
For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing OfRce
Washington, D.C. 20402—Price .SI.3.")
Stock Number 047-001-00125-7

®t{^ (3lnt0mpkat OII{gntfet
BEING AN ESSAY ON THE EIGHTEENTH-
CENTURY CHEMIST IN HIS LABORATORY,
WITH A DICTIONARY OF OBSOLETE
CHEMICAL TERMS OF THE PERIOD
lion ^klunh

INTRODUCTION
  It would be preferable to be able to call this
work "The Compleat Chymist," but the existing
title reflects an unfortunate reality. The truth is
that our knowledge of the aspirations and activi-
ties of chemists in the eighteenth century is woe-
fully incomplete. That this is so suggests first that
we have an insufficient number of interested his-
torians of chemistry; and if this remains so it may
signify something unfortunate about current his-
toriographic trends.
  Specifically, there has been a tendency of late to
treat eighteenth-century chemistry as an almost ex-
clusively cerebral science. This is in part an under-
standable reaction to an earlier historiographic
mode which is perhaps best described as Whig-
inductivist. Although there were variations, the
chemical variety of the basic Whig-inductivist
scheme was to describe the experiment, give its
contemporary interpretation, translate the phenom-
enon into modern terms, give the modern interpre-
tation, and then make a normative judgment on
the basis of the closeness of fit between the original
and the modern interpretation. Sometimes the
judgment was omitted, and the work became pri-
marily a series of descriptions of important reac-
tions. Even here, however, there was an implicit
judgment in  the selection process—those experi-
]on Eklund, Department of Science and Technology, National
Museum of History and Technology, Smithsonian Institution,
Washington, D.C. 20560.

ments most relevant to modern textbook schemes
were the ones chosen for exegesis.
  Surely it isn't necessary here to once again beat
down the presumed phoenix of Whig-inductivism,
as its evils seem well understood and agreed upon.
But to be repelled by the narrow normative exces-
ses of an earlier historiography is one thing; to
shun all its practices uncritically is quite another.
Thus, it seems to me a non sequitur to arrive at the
idea that narratives of experiments are necessarily
bad or that all translations of the results into
modern terms (assuming one can avoid the all-too-
obvious pitfalls) are useless.
  More dangerous still is the tendency for histo-
rians to largely ignore the details of practice. With-
out doing an injustice to the intellectual content
of the chemistry of that time, such an oversight
seems to me to create a serious historical im-
balance. Indeed, for historians to assume that the
chemists of the eighteenth century were primarily
concerned with theory may be to ignore most of
their working hours. Certainly by far the greatest
portion of the literature in contemporary journals
was not concerned with theories of matter but
with specific empirical problems related to the
determination of chemical composition. Since they
were personal vehicles which allowed greater
depth, even treatises which one logically would
expect to contain discussions of a more philosoph-
ical nature were composed, for the most part, of
the details of chemical experiments. Surely we
must characterize the chemistry of that period in
  
1

SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY

accordance with the actual record left by the chem-
ists of the time.
  Although this work is concerned principally
with the laboratory settings, equipment, and prac-
tices of French and British chemists of the period
1690-1770, nothing seen in the chemical literature
of any country seriously weakens the remarks made
above. On the contrary, the more one reads, the
more one realizes that to overemphasize the theo-
retical in this chemistry is to commit an anachro-
nism. Those who felt themselves to be primarily
concerned with chemistry were insistent on the
importance of the operations of chemistry; indeed,
they were virtually unanimous in stressing the
active, operational nature of their science. Thus,
for example, the well-known seventeenth-century
French chemist Nicolas Le Fevre (1615-1669)
grandly defined chemistry as "the Art and Knowl-
edge of Nature itself," and he made its operative
aspects definite by adding that it was "A practical
and operative science of things natural" and by
pointing out that "by her means we examine the
principles out of which natural bodies do consist
and are compounded." ^ The great German chem-
ist and physician and author of the phlogiston con-
cept, Georg Ernst Stahl (1660-1734), saw chemistry
as "the art of resolving mixt, compound or aggre-
gate Bodies into their Principles and of [re]com-
posing such bodies from those Principles." - The
author of the most successful French chemistry text
of the late seventeenth century and early eight-
eenth century, Nicolas Lemery (1645-1715), called
chemistry "an art which teaches how to separate
the different substances which are found in a
compound." ^
  This emphasis on the operations of chemistry
continued into the eighteenth century. Wilhelm
Homberg (1652-1715) of the French Academy of
Sciences characterized chemistry early in the cen-
tury as "the art of reducing compounds into their
principles by means of fire, and composing new
substances in the fire by the mixture of different
materials." "* The gieat Dutch physician and chem-
ist Herman Boerhaave (1668-1738) was more pro-
lix but less specific when he defined chemistry as
. . . that Art, that teaches us how to perform certain physical
operations, by which bodies that are discernible by the senses
. . . may by suitable instruments be so changed, that particu-
lar determin'd effects may be thence produced, and the causes
of those effects understood by the effects themselves."
But in beginning his volume on the practice of

chemistry Booerhave insisted that "natural consti-
tuent parts . . . only should be extracted, which
being afterwards properly compounded together
. would again produce exactly the very same
body." ^
  Although he greatly admired Boerhaave, the
English physician and chemist Peter Shaw (1694-
1763) was more definite than the continental
chemist in his view that chemistry was an active
empirical discipline:
  Philosophical Chemistry we define, a rational Art of (1)
dividing or resolving all the Bodies within our Power (2) by
means of all the Instruments we can procure; (3) as well into
integrant as constituent parts; and (4) joining these parts
together again; (5) so as to discover the Principles, Relations,
and Changes of Bodies; (6) make various Resolutions, Mix-
tures and Compositions; (7) find out the Physical causes of
physical Effects; and (8) hence improve the State of natural
Knowledge, and the Arts thereon depending.'^
  While Shaw suggested the importance of synthe-
sis in chemical analysis in the phrases which he
numbered (4) and (5), later chemists in France
such as G. F. Rouelle (1703-1770), P.-J. Macquer
(1718-1784), and Antoine Baume (1728-1804)
were even more insistent on synthesis as both a cri-
terion for proper analysis and an integral part of
their definition of chemistry. Rouelle's definition
made this particularly clear:
  Chemistry is a physical art which, by means of certain
operations and instruments, teaches us to sepai'ate the various
substances which enter into the composition of bodies, and
to recombine these again, either to reproduce the former
bodies, or to form new ones from them.®
In order that no one missed his point, Rouelle
quickly gave an example of the proper way that
chemistry seeks its facts:
  If, for example, one asks [of chemistry], "What is cin-
nabar?" it responds that [cinnabar] is a compound (compose)
of sulfur and mercury. To prove it, [chemistry] extracts these
two substances from [cinnabar], and shows them separated. It
does more—it composes a true cinnabar with sulfur and mer-
cury."
  Macquer was as adamant as Rouelle on the im-
portance of chemical analysis as he described his
own conception of chemistry in the first edition
of his Elemens cle chimie theorique:
  The object and principle end of chemistry is to separate
the different substances that enter into the composition of
bodies; to examine each [of these substances] separately; to
discover their properties and relations; to decompose, if pos-
sible,   these   [component]   substances;   to  compare   them   to-
  
NUMBER 33

gather, and combine them with others; and to reunite them
into the original substance with all of its properties.i"
  Baume concurred in this opinion. Noting that
chemistry involved both decomposition and recom-
position, he added that "analysis [in the narrow
sense of "decomposition"] has as its goal the sepa-
ration of the principles which make up a substance,
and composition, on the contrary, has as its object
the reunification of principles which have been
separated by analysis, to reform the compounds just
as they were before." ii Baume saw the goal of na-
ture itself as composition and recomposition, so it
was natural that human art should follow in na-
ture's wake in attempting to understand the nature
and properties of natural bodies.^^
  Macquer's definition was the most specific and,
at the same time, most comprehensive of all. It
seems peculiar the first time it is seen, for the
modern reader will tend to interpret it not as a
definition of chemistry but of chemical analysis in
the modern sense of that term.^^ Taken literally,
Macquer's definition would have kept every chem-
ist at his table and furnace throughout the work-
ing day, busy at the task of determining the
chemical composition of all known substances and
synthesizing new ones.
  As the above definitions demonstrate, the prac-
tice of chemistry with its apparatus and operations
must somehow be made an integral part both of
narrative and of interpretation in the history of
that science in that time. No more is attempted
here than to encourage solution to the problem by
making the reader more familiar with this aspect
of eighteenth-century chemistry. It is a beginning,
not the end, of a more fitting equilibrium between
theory and practice in the history of chemistry.
  I do not wish to create the impression that the
drift away from the empirical is due to purely arbi-
trary or perverse decisions by historians. It seems
to me that there are at least two reasons for that
drift. First of all, the circumstance that impelled
the chemist-historians of previous generations to-
ward a recounting of the empirical was their own
professional experience, and most of them were
experimentalists. In contrast, the general back-
ground and specific professional training of most
historians—including historians of science—are
seldom long on laboratory experience. Bottles and
boltheads seem dull stuff next to visions of atoms,
thus, and the unpalatable inductivism of the tradi-
tional studies adds additional impetus away from

the unfamiliar.
  The second reason for the drift from the empiri-
cal is a fact of history rather than an accident of
biography. Prior to the reform of chemistry by
Antoine Lavoisier (1743-1794) and his followers
in the last quarter of the eighteenth century, the
nomenclature of chemistry was a hodgepodge of
idiosyncratic practices and the residue of alchemy.
Often, for example, there were several names for
the same substance and, worse, each name was
thought to represent something different. Thus,
one requires a great deal of additional research in
the nomenclature before he can read even the most
basic literature with comprehension,  if not ease.
  To encourage others, then, to attempt the fur-
ther studies of eighteenth-century chemistry that
are so desperately needed, this essay attempts to
provide a reasonably accurate impression of the
activities typical of a chemist of the period and to
describe in terms of his apparatus, operations, and,
to some extent, his own feelings of what it was like
to really practice chemistry at that time. The basic
terminology associated with chemical experiments
is presented in a context of chemical operations as
they were likely to occur in chemical analysis. For
further clarification, several actual contemporary
research efforts are analyzed to give substance and
meaning to the terms introduced and discussed in
the body of the text.
  Finally, appended to the essay is a short diction-
ary of the most common chemical terms used in
Britain during the eighteenth century. These terms
include a number of Latin words, a reflection not
only of the still important (though declining)
place of Latin in science during this period but
also of the long-term relationships among chemis-
try, medicine, and pharmacy. Readers interested in
French and German equivalents for the terms
given here are advised to consult Macquer's impor-
tant Dictionnaire de Chemie in the original edi-
tions (1766, 177-) or Leonardi's heavily annotated
German translation.^^
THE EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY CHEMIST
IN HIS LABORATORY
  Pierre-Joseph Macquer has left us a giaphic de-
scription of what it was like to pursue actively the
art of chemistry in the eighteenth century. The
first requirement, of course, is to have a place in
which to work—a laboratory. Almost all contempo-
  
SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY

rary illustrations of eighteenth-century laboratories
usually reveal a confusing conglomeration of fur-
naces, bric-a-brac, vessels, etc. While some of the
confusion shown in such sources may be attributed
to artistic license, Macquer tells us that the eight-
eenth-century chemist, absorbed by his work, was
likely to have a laboratory as disorderly as that of
a chemist of any other era:
  It is true that it is extremely disagreeable and difficult to
continually stop in the midst of the most interesting re-
searches, and to use considerable precious time in cleaning
vessels, arranging them, putting on inscriptions etc. These
things are quite capable of cooling or retarding the progress
of genius. They are tedious and disgusting, but they are
necessary.^^
  For purely practical reasons, however, no chemist
can long afford such careless lapses. As the work
progresses, the amount and kinds of accumula-
tion—and thus confusion—increase. In the midst
of his efforts, moreover, our hero is likely to forget
possible complications:
  He thinks he shall easily know again the products of previ-
ous operations, so he takes no time to put them in order. He
pushes on with the latest experiments, but the vessels used,
the glasses, the bottles filled so multiply and accumulate that
the laboratory is full of them. He can no longer distinguish
them or at least there is doubt and uncertainty about many
of the earlier products. It is even worse if a new work sud-
denly spreads through the laboratory or if other occupations
oblige him to leave the laboratory for some time. All is con-
fused and falls more and more into ruin. From this it often
happens that he loses the fruits of much labor and throws
away almost all the products of his experiments."
  In the midst of exciting research, of course, this
carelessness may be understood, if not forgiven:
  When one has a certain ardor, the experiments follow one
after the other rapidly. Some are found to be striking and
appear to decide the question or give birth to new ideas. He
cannot stop himself from making [these experiments] immedi-
ately and he is led, without thinking, from one to the other."
Then, as now, such high points were unusual. The
days in the laboratory were not always so pleasant.
Indeed, there probably were a greater number of
days in which the work seemed "tedious and dis-
gusting."
  If the time in the laboratory was to be as pleas-
ant and profitable as possible, a number of techni-
cal problems had to be solved. Laboratories on the
ground-floor level, for example, often had serious
problems with moisture. Upper-floor installations
had  an  inconvenience  in   that  water  had  to  be

transported up somehow, but they were preferable
since the ventilation was usually better, especially
if the chimney had a good draught.
  Given good ventilation and freedom from mois-
ture, the next requirement was a convenient and
sufficient surface area for work. A large central
table for general use, one or more small movable
tables, and perhaps a bench or stool provided the
basic furnishings. Over time, the active chemist
would fit up the remainder of the room with those
vital trifles which allowed him to retain his sanity
while carrying out experiments: pegs, hooks, and
shelves for the storage of chemicals, apparatus,
and bottles full of half-completed reactions.^^
  An illustration (Figure 1) from the Commer-
cium Philosophico-Technicum of William Lewis
gives an idea of the wide range possible in the
chemist's laboratory. The laboratory as shown
here seems less than ideal for general chemical
work as the surface area for work or storage seems
inadequate. This facility, which at least approxi-
mates his own laboratory, reflected Lewis' interest
in applied chemistry.^^ It was especially suited for
assaying and for metallurgical and mineralogical
work since it included a wide variety of furnaces
and weighing apparatus but relatively little glass-
ware.
  Given the place in which to work, the eigh-
teenth-century chemist's next requirements, aside
from material on which to experiment, were meth-
ods or devices for effecting chemical change. As
Homberg's definition of chemistry (quoted above)
implies, the primary method or "instrument" was
fire. The use of fire to effect chemical change prob-
ably has been the most constant characteristic of
chemistry. In the heyday of alchemy one of the
primary requirements of the adept was that he
know his heats, both high and low.-** Le^Fevre calls
fire "the most potent Agent that Nature hath
furnished us withall under Heaven, to perform the
Anatomy [decomposition] of Mixt Bodies [com-
pounds]." -^ Although Robert Boyle had attacked
the slavish reliance on fire of chemists in the late
seventeenth century, Nicolas Lemery defended
its use, noting that "indeed, almost all of the chemi-
cal operations are made to occur by means of
fire." -- Boerhaave and Macquer were somewhat
more sophisticated in their admiration of the effi-
cacy of fire. Boerhaave, in particular, noted the
many pitfalls for the unwary in the use of fire,
particularly   its   ability   to   produce   contradictory
  

NUMBER 33

FIGURE I. A chemical laboratory of the mid-eighteenth century. This particular facility was
designed for assaying, with metallurgical or mineralogical work in mind, as it had an unusually
wide variety of furnaces and weighing apparatuses yet relatively little glassware. It falls some-
what short of having the ideal amount of surface area for work or storage. [From William Lewis,
Commercium Philosophico-Technicum or the Philosophical Commerce of the Arts (London,
1765), frontispiece.]

SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY

analytical results on the same material when other
conditions were altered.23 Macquer worried less
about these difficulties. With the advantage of al-
most two generations of work by the German anal-
ytic school, he had a great advantage in interpreta-
tion of difficult results, though little in terms of
advances in technique. Nevertheless, he maintained
that "as all chemical operations may be reduced to
decompositions and combinations, fire is therefore
in chemistry, as in nature, a universal agent." --^
  If fire was the central instrument of the chemist,
then the operational heart of the chemical labora-
tory was the furnace (or furnaces) and the chim-
ney.25 There were many types and sizes of furnaces.
The design of a given furnace depended on a num-
ber of factors, including the range of temperature
desired, the size of vessels to be accommodated, and
the whim of the chemist, for these furnaces were
built by hand. Many chemical treatises gave rather
detailed instructions for their construction. Later

in the eighteenth century there were more compli-
cated devices of cast metal construction, and these
had to be contrived by specialists.^*^
  The most common type of furnace was the re-
verberatory furnace, which had a heating chamber
with a hemispherical top in which the heat was
supposedly reflected or "reverberated." Boerhaave
recommended the simple "student's furnace"
(shown in Figure 2) because of its simple con-
struction and general applicability.^^ Lemery sug-
gested that several reverberatory furnaces of differ-
ent sizes be available to accommodate the various
vessels.-^ Two or three furnaces were the minimum
desirable number, but the number in any one labo-
ratory was limited since they involved some ex-
pense and considerable work to construct and
maintain.
  The importance of the furnace reflected the
seventeenth and early eighteenth century practice
of performing reactions in the "dry way," where
  

  
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FIGURE 2. A simple furnace design. The vessel to be heated was placed in the upper or draft
chamber. The fire in the lower chamber was controlled through its own construction (banking)
and by opening or closing the four draft holes (X) with stoppers (Z). [From Elements of Chem-
istry, Peter Shaw's translation of Herman Boerhaave's Elementa Chemiae of 1732 (London, 1741),
volume I, plate 13.]

NUMBER 33

the temperature requirements were higher. It also
reflected the large role played by distillation in the
chemistry of this period. While heat was   (and is)
a  common  requirement  for  most  reactions,   the
temperature ranges were considerable. On the one
hand, there were reactions involving minerals  (es-
pecially dry distillation of minerals as in the prep-
aration of spirit of sulphur from green vitriol or
the extraction of some of the metals) that required
a high degree of heat or even the hot blast pro-
vided by bellows. On the other hand, it had long
been  recognized   that  slower  and  more  delicate
organic  processes  called  for  carefully  controlled
heat where it was necessary to avoid direct contact
of the reaction vessel with the flame. This was ac-
complished by several means. There was the water
bath or  balneo mariae in which the water kept
the temperature constant because of its latent heat
of vaporization; and some of the larger and more
complicated furnaces had chambers heated by cur-
rents of hot air from the fire box. There was also
the sand  bath,  which,   though  it  required  more
alertness to maintain constant temperature, could
work at a higher range than the water or steam
baths.
  For temperatures between these limits, furnaces
were controlled by means of flues which regulated
the draft on the fuel, the selection of the fuel itself,
and the construction of the fire. Charcoal produced
high heats, wood gave lower ones, and special
mixed or dilute fuels could lower the temperatures
still further. Some furnaces had a number of sepa-
rate chambers at various distances from the fire to
give several degrees of heat at one time.
  It is clear that the control of temperature at this
time was a major art which could be learned only
through practice with an expert. Lemery listed
four degrez du feu that were differentiated by
such criteria as three versus four lighted coals; and
these might even have given heats which were
tres-petite or endurable by the hand for some
time.29 Boerhaave rejected this sort of "very ob-
scure account." He could well afford to do so, for
he had access to the excellent thermometers of
Daniel Fahrenheit (1686-1736). Using these along
with physical indicators for temperatures above
600°, Boerhaave defined six degrees of "chemical
fire." 30 The importance of this development de-
pended not on the number of these "degrees of
heat" but on the use of the instrument itself, al-
though few chemists followed Boerhaave in  this

practice.31 Macquer himself was strongly influenced
by Boerhaave's views on fire, but he did not use the
latter's formal division of chemical fire into ranges
or "degrees" of fire. Instead, he was content to
note that chemists "have sought and found the
means of procuring any degree of heat, from the
weakest to the strongest, by using different inter-
mediates and even more by the careful use and
construction of furnaces." ^~ Since the furnaces
described by Macquer do not differ significantly
from those of his predecessors, it is clear that there
had been little technological advance in that
area."*'^ Nevertheless, it is equally clear that the
chemists of this period had succeeded in solving
their basic problems of supplying controlled heat
for their reactions.
  With the furnace ready, the eighteenth-century
chemist might then look for a suitable vessel in
which to perform the first reaction in the analytic
procedure. I have used the general term "vessel"
to emphasize the severe limitations of glass tech-
nology in the eighteenth century that forced the
use of other types of materials. It was not mere
whim or slavish habit that led chemists to use ma-
terials other than glass. Macquer, for example, was
wistfully cognizant of what good glassware should
be:
  Vessels intended for chemical operations should, to be per-
fect, be able to bear without breaking the sudden application
of great heat and cold, be inpenetrable to every substance
and inalterable to any solvent, be unvitrifiable and capable
of enduring the most violent fire without fusing. But up to
the present no vessels are known which combine all of these
qualities.^*
  Under conditions of extreme heat or great
changes in temperature, vessels of metal or earthen-
ware were substituted for glass. The disadvantages
of metal vessels lay in their reactions with com-
mon reagents such as acids. Earthenware vessels,
on the other hand, tended to be porous, trapping
reactants and products into the fabric of the vessel
itself. Aside from the loss of material into the
pores, the problem of contamination in later ex-
periments could render the vessel unfit for further
use. Some of these problems could be reduced by
tinning the metal vessels and glazing the earthen-
ware ones, but tin is still reactive to a number of
acids and bases, and glazing renders a vessel more
brittle.
  Thus, glass vessels were used wherever possible
"because they neither change, add or take away
  
SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY


NUMBER 33

from the Bodies they contain; and whilst they are
exposed to the action of the Fire, they suffer noth-
ing to transude through them from within, nor
admit any thing from without, except fire, and
Magnetism." ^5 in addition, as Macquer pointed
out, "because they are transparent, [glass vessels]
allow the chemist to freely observe what is happen-
ing in their interiors, which is always useful and
interesting." ^e The best glass was the so-called
"German green glass,'' which Boerhaave claimed
could resist heat at least up to 600° and was there-
fore suitable for use at fairly high heat in distilla-
tions of corrosive materials.^'^
  Several types of vessels were in common use in
the eighteenth-century chemical laboratory, and
many were modifications of the wide variety of
vessels used by the alchemists.^^ With the passage
of time these were standardized so that, as Macquer
noted, "the vessels which are needed in a labora-
tory are now few and simple." ^^ The most com-
mon of these, and of widest general use, was the
"matrass," which closely resembled the modern
florence flask. It could have a round or a flat bot-
tom, and was adaptable to a wide variety of uses
as a reaction vessel or as part of a distillation ap-
paratus.
  There were three basic types of apparatus for
distillation (Figure 3). The "alembic," used in
general-purpose distillation work, consisted of three
parts: the body or cucurbit, which might be a
matrass; the neck (if there were not already a neck
on the cucurbit); and an upper condensation
chamber called the head. The head might not be
permanently attached to the neck, depending on
whether the vapors were particularly subtle and
thus liable to escape at joints. If they were, a one-
piece glass alembic was usually employed.  Alem-
FicuRE 3. Distillation apparatus. "Fig. 1" and "Fig. 2" are
"retorts." The former has the shape most commonly associated
with the term "retort," but the latter's tear-drop shape also
was common. "Figs. 3-5, 8" are "alembics." The first three
are of glass, and they vary only in the relative dimensions of
their parts or in the number of separate pieces. "Fig. 8" is
an alembic made of metal. Its principal parts are as follows:
A, the "cucurbite'' or "matrass"; c, the "capital" or "bolt-
head"; G, the "receiver." "Fig. 6" shows one version of the
"pelican." "Figs 9-11" are parts and accessories for metal-
lurgical furnace work. In "Fig. 12" the degree of sophistica-
tion of eighteenth-century apparatus is suggested. [From
Dictionary of Chemistry, 2nd English edition of Andrew
Kier's translation of Pierre-Joseph Macquer's Dictionnaire
de chymie of 1766  (London, 1777), volume 3, plate 1.]

bics made of metal were used primarily for organic
extractions, where there was less chance of cor-
rosion.
  The head itself was often equipped with a spout
or beak to direct the condensed vapors to some
other vessel. If it were not so endowed, it was
known as a "blind head." A matrass could be
equipped with a head for use in distillation. This
gave the chemist some flexibility in separating
volatile fractions since the length of the neck of
the alembic was the determining factor in the
"subtlety" of the vapors reaching the head. If the
neck were rather long, only the most "subtle" va-
pors would be captured. With progressively shorter
necks, more and more of the heavier fractions
would be included in the distillate*"
  The second basic type of distillation apparatus,
the "pelican," has become familiar through recent
studies of Lavoisier's experiment to test the trans-
mutation of water into earth.^^ By the time it was
employed by Lavoisier, however, the pelican had
enjoyed a long history as a common piece of al-
chemical apparatus. It was a reflux device, which
means that a portion of the reactants was kept in
the vapor phase if it were thought that such a pro-
cedure would favor the reaction. In particular,
the pelican was the natural choice where it was
suspected that the reaction required a long time
for completion.'*- The action of the device was
simple: the vapors condensed in the head and re-
turned to the liquid in the bottom of the vessel via
the two curved beaks which connected the head to
the cucurbit. As we know now, if the desired re-
action took place primarily in the vapor phase the
condensed vapors would be relatively rich in prod-
uct. The process continued until someone de-
cided that the liquid in the cucurbit contained a
sufficient amount of product. After stopping the
process, the chemist faced the problem of sepa-
rating the newly formed product from whatever
quantity of reactant remained. The task might be
relatively easy, depending on the respective chemi-
cal and physical properties of reactant and product
and to what extent the reaction went to comple-
tion. On the other hand, it might be impossible
to get really meaningful data from distillation
products of complicated animal and vegetable
substances.■*'^
  The distillation of "heavy'' or less volatile liq-
uids was done in the third basic type of distillation
apparatus, the "retort." Here the principal move-
  
10

SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY






NUMBER 33

11



ment of vapor was lateral rather than vertical. In
the one-piece retort the primary problem was to
introduce the substance to be distilled. It had to be
loaded by means of tubes or long ladles. Some re-
torts were made with a flange opening at the top
that was sealed by means of a glass stopper. While
these "tubulated retorts" were easier to load, it
was necessary to seal the stopper in order to pre-
vent the escape of the vapor. Thus, the tubulated
retorts usually were employed only for processes
in which it was absolutely necessary to add one or
more reactants during the reaction. Clearly, un-
sealing and resealing a hot glass vessel required a
great deal of skill.
  The problems of handling expanding vapors and
preventing them from escaping were partially
solved by using an oversized vessel as a "receiver"
at the end of the spout on the distilling head.
These larger varieties of receiver, commonly
known as "balloons" (French, ballon), resembled
the modern short-necked, round-bottomed flask.
For extra volume as well as greater condensation,
small receivers, called "adopters" (French, al-
longe), with a neck at each end were so con-
structed that two or more could be connected in
tandem between the spout of the distilling head
and the receiver. While its primary function was to
receive and collect the product of the distillation
process, the receiver also served to correct the prob-
lem of heat control (see above). Distillation, es-
pecially when there were several fractions, was
(and is) a delicate process. If the heat were too
low, little or no vapor reached the head and the
process was inexorably slow if it proceeded at all.
On the other hand, if the heat were too high the
distilling head might be unable to condense all the
vapor which reached it, and some of the vapor
might escape. To avoid such loss, eighteenth-
century  chemists   (1)   used  oversized  receivers   to
FIGURE 4. An apparatus sampler. From top, left to right:
i, k, I, an alembic; g, h, a vessel with a paper cone suspended
over it to collect sublimated "flowers of benzoin"; m, n, an
apparatus for preparing "spirit of sulfur" (sulfuric acid
anhydride) by burning sulfur under a bell in a humid atmos-
phere; /, mortar and pestle; a-e, 2L fusion furnace; y, a. mold
for "pierre infernale" (fused silver nitrate); u, x, a stack of
"aludels" with a head on top; o, a general-purpose mold; s,
an apparatus for refluxing; p, q, r, a copper alembic. The
bucket-like item at lower left is a small furnace, and above
it are two "coupels," metal vessels for testing precious metals.
[From Nicolas Lemery, Cours de chymie, 6th edition (Paris,
1687), plate 2.]

contain the vapors and (2) increased the distance
between the receiver and the head by means of
adopters which lowered the temperature of the
receiver and increased the secondary condensation
which occurred after the head.'**
  If the product of a distillation were a finely di-
vided solid (usually referred to as "flowers," e.g.,
"flowers of sulfur") a series of earthenware distilling
heads without beaks was used. Such heads were
called "aludels." Except for the top aludel, which
was open only at the bottom, these vessels had a
fitted opening at top and bottom so they could be
stacked. This increased the flexibility of the device,
for if the reaction had a high yield or if much prod-
uct were wanted, a larger number of units could be
put into the stack.
  Besides specialized vessels such as those described
above, there was a wide variety of dishes, bottles,
basins, etc. An appreciation of the varieties of ap-
paratus can be gained from Figure 4. A mortar
and pestle were standard equipment, of course, as
was the crucible. Macquer recommended that cru-
cibles be made of the same kind of earth as the
pots in which butter was brought from Brittany.
In fact, "ces pots eux-memes sont de fort bons
creusets." *^
  In addition, there were the odds and ends of
everyday chemical use that one could easily imag-
ine but that, as far as I know, have been listed to-
gether only by Macquer. These included glass stir-
ring rods, spatulas of various materials (including
ivory), thin pieces of board for collecting material
that had been crushed and giound fine, white
paper for keeping notes and for use in filtrations,
and "a good supply of clean straw, cut to a length
of eight to ten inches (pouces), which serve to stir
mixtures in glass [vessels], and to support filter
papers in glass funnels." ^^
  A major problem for the chemists of the time was
the jointure of two or more vessels, especially
those made of glass. Since the glassware of this
period was hand blown, there was no possibility of
producing standard fittings like those in use today.
The problem was not due to an inability to pro-
duce individual, ground-glass joints but because
such construction was both fragile and expensive
and each joint was unique.^'^ One of the most
striking aspects of contemporary illustrations of
eighteenth-century apparatus is the rarity of glass
tubing in connecting individual pieces. But in the
absence  of rubber  tubing there was little  to be
  
12

SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY



gained by such connections. Instead, most pieces
of apparatus that were designed to be connected
with others were provided with tapered flanges,
spouts, beaks, etc. In this way, the closest mechani-
cal fit possible was obtained (considering that both
the male and the female fittings were usually out
of round). Once the mechanical fit was obtained,
the joint was sealed with various substances having
the generic name "lutes."
  The ideal lute was a substance soft enough to be
worked into and around the joint to form a vapor-
tight (later, a gas-tight) seal and, at the same time,
of sufficient mechanical strength to endure the
rigors of the experiment. Apparently there were
no permanently pliable substances which met all
of these requirements. Those that had mechanical
strength tended to dry into a brittle mass, while the
most pliable of lutes—the "fat lute"—required
separate mechanical support. Some lutes had clay as
a base since it was the right consistency when wet
to work into the joint. To offset the brittleness of
the clay when it dried, other substances were added
to the clay to endow it with the right consistency.-*^
  The preparation of lutes was something of an
art. The recipes varied from such a simple expe-
dient as wet paper strips to the more exotic ar-
canum of "soft cheese, Lime and Rye flower." ^^
Simple seals for noncorrosive or nonpenetrating
vapors were made with strips of paper or cloth
soaked in flour paste. Stronger seals were obtained
from strips of bladder soaked for a long time in
water. The soaking process apparently elicited some
sort of sticky gelatinous matter similar to the active
ingredient of animal hide glues.
  In extremes, the chemist of the period could
call upon the "fat lute," the term given to a mix-
ture of fine clay and boiled linseed oil. The advan-
tage of the fat lute was that it did not harden and
thus would not shrink or become brittle. Unfortu-
nately, all surfaces had to be almost perfectly dry
or the fat lute would not adhere. Because it did
not harden, fat lute was totally lacking in mechan-
ical strength and had to be covered with a second
lute of linen strips soaked in a mixture of quick-
lime and egg white. This latter concoction also was
used as a lute by itself.^o
  For joints that were not reached by heat, various
mixtures of beeswax and resins were employed as
lutes.
  The problem of joining pieces of glass apparatus
remained with chemists over a long period. A com-

parison of Macquer's recommendations for prepar-
ing lutes in 1766 with those of Le Fevre in 1670 or
Lavoisier in 1789 shows far more similarities than
differences.•'^i Because of the technical problem in-
volved, individual pieces of apparatus had to be
closely coupled, with one piece joined to another
by means of short, strong connections and, there-
fore, heavy joints. As a result, the apparatus of this
period has an awkward appearance to anyone fa-
miliar with its modern counterparts. As Lavoisier's
elegant and expensive later apparatus ^- shows, this
was not due to a lack of design ingenuity. But
until the development of extrusion processes for
glass and rubber in the mid-nineteenth century
made standardized rubber and glass tubing possi-
ble, the construction of more complicated appara-
tus remained a special problem.
  Along with glassware and hardware, the chemist
of this period usually had at his disposal a number
of chemical reagents. In the ordinary laboratory
one might expect to find all of the common min-
eral acids: vitriolic (sulfuric), nitrous (nitric), and
marine (hydrochloric).^^ Similarly, the common
alkalis were useful to have on hand, including solu-
tions of alkalis rendered caustic by treatment with
quicklime (which changed the carbonates to hy-
droxides). Such solutions would include vegetable
alkali (potassium carbonate), mineral alkali or
soda (sodium carbonate), fixed alkali of tartar
(also potassium carbonate), and vegetable alkali
(ammonia).
  Limewater (calcium hydroxide) and quicklime
(calcium oxide), although not classed as alkalis ar
the time, were common reagents. Of substances
which now would be classed as organic reagents,
there were distilled vinegar (which contained acetic
acid), vitriolic ether (diethyl ether), oils of various
substances including turpentine and olives, soap,
and, of course, the purest and most highly rectified
(i.e., having undergone several distillations) spirit
of wine   (ethanol).
  Common sulfur and as many metals and semi-
metals as possible also were required.
  This selection of materials was sufficient to pre-
pare a large niunber of common compounds, parti-
cularly neutral salts. Some of these compounds,
particularly those that were commonly available
from the apothecary shop, probably would have
been on hand in most laboratories. These would
include common salt, alum, borax, blue and green
vitriol (copper and iron sulfates), sedative salt (boric
  
NUMBER 33

13



acid), sal ammoniac (ammonium chloride), chalk
(calcium carbonate), marble (also calcium car-
bonate), sand, and such common industrial chemi-
cals as ceruse (lead carbonate), minium (red lead
oxide, PbgOi), litharge (yellow lead oxide, PbO)
and corrosive sublimate (mercuric chloride).
  In addition to these reagents, several substances
had come into standard use for definitive tests for
the presence of important compounds or classes of
compounds. Many of these tests for acids and alka-
lis had been invented or compiled by Robert Boyle.
The substances most commonly used in these tests
were oak galls, turnsole, and syrup of violets.^^
  Besides physical appointments and reagents, a
number of recognized procedures were a standard
part of the laboratory repertoire of the eighteenth-
century chemist. For convenience we classify these
as preparative, reactive, separative, and purificative
and will treat them in that order.5''
  Solids usually were first prepared by "division' :
a separation of the parts of the substances by
purely mechanical means. Then, as now, the pur-
pose was to facilitate solution or to speed up a re-
action being carried out "in the dry way" by in-
creasing the surface area. Another term for this
separation was "trituration" although more often
it was used to signify grinding or pulverizing sev-
eral substances simultaneously to prepare mixtures
for reaction in the dry way. Metals were divided
by pouring the molten metal slowly into water that
was continuously agitated. This resulted in small
particles or shot. Filing also was possible, but it
was not recommended because of the possibility of
introducing iron impurities.
  Soluble substances often were put into solution
directly by "extraction": the separation of a sub-
stance from a mixture by means of a solvent or
"menstruum." If no heat were involved, the prod-
uct of this process was called an infusion; if the
solids and solvent were heated, the result was a
"decoction." Other processes related to these in-
cluded "maceration," which was essentially the
same as infusion, and "digestion," which, though
sometimes used in a way similar to decoction,
usually implied a spontaneous reaction that needed
the aid of prolonged moderate heat.^** Digestion,
often carried out in the matrass, was felt to be
"useful to favor the action of certain substances
upon each other." ^'' It also was used as a prepara-
tive procedure "to soften and open certain bodies,"
especially in the animal and vegetable realms.
  
Organic liquids also were prepared by the purely
mechanical method of "expression" or squeezing
in a press.
  A solution that might be too dilute when first
prepared would have to be concentrated by evap-
oration in large open earthen dishes or, in some
cases, by distillation. The term "dephlemation"
was used synonymously with "concentration" for
removing excess watery parts of a solution, but it
often had the specific meaning of making an acid
more concentrated.
  Although there were no adequate criteria for
purity, there was a sense of freeing a substance or
separating it from unwanted foreign bodies. Thus,
when a chemist separated a solid substance from
acids by washing it with cold water, the process
was known as "edulcoration." It was preferable to
have an insoluble solid for this operation, but with
care even a somewhat soluble substance could be
made milder in this way.
  Some reactions proceeded spontaneously to a
satisfactory product, but for those that did not the
chemist had recourse to several reactive processes.
Perhaps the best known was "calcination," a gen-
eral term for exposing a solid reactant to the ac-
tion of fire to produce some change in it. Less well
known is the fact that the term calcination also
was applied somewhat loosely to a variety of opera-
tions in which volatile principles were carried off
but not collected as they were in distillation. Such
a process was regarded as intermediate between the
physical and chemical. In this sense, calcination
could be carried out in the absence of air, although
the presence of air was recommended since it had
the ability to mix with and help carry off volatile
matters.^^
  In the sense that calcination involved a destruc-
tion of the properties of a substance through the
loss of an essential component, "reduction" (or
"revivification") was its opposite. Reduction was
the restoration of the substance to its natural state.
As in calcination, reduction usually referred to
metals. The calx was believed to have lost phlogis-
ton, so the obvious cure was to restore the phlogis-
ton by action with a substance that was rich in
this principle. Carbon was the common choice for
restoring phlogiston to metals, but other sub-
stances such as liver of sulphur could be employed
in reactions involving relatively small quantities
of calx. As with calcination, there was a second
sense  of   the   term   "reduction."   That   term   also
  
14

SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY



meant the restoration of a substance to its natural
state through a removal of heterogenous matters
which had combined with the original substance
to alter or mask its natural state.^'^
  Another important process was "dulcification"
in which caustic and corrosive substances were
rendered "milder" by being combined with another
substance. Instead of thinking of this process as
producing an entirely new substance—a product per
se—most chemists viewed it as a method for vary-
ing the properties of the original substance which,
though still present after the process was complete,
was to their intents and purposes harmless.^"
  Aside from simple heating and distillation, fur-
ther reactions in the liquid state were performed
by "cohobation," which is analogous to the modern
method of refluxing. We have noted this process
before in the discussion of the apparatus known
as the pelican. It was not recognized at this time
that the reaction really occurred in the vapor phase
as the vapors went through the evaporation and
condensation cycle. For early chemists the primary
virtue of the process appears to have been the
length of time it took. By the eighteenth century,
however, the mystical advantages which sur-
rounded any long-term process seem to have lost
their charms somewhat, for Macquer commented
that cohobation "is one of those operations which
the ancient chemists practised with great patience
and zeal, and which are now neglected." ^^ Sad to
say, this may have been because "the modern chem-
ists have not so much patience as the ancient chem-
ists had for making long experiments.""- A second
use for cohobation, and one which was not so neg-
lected, was for dissolving a substance which nor-
mally went into solution with difficulty.
  The process known as "detonation" was used not
only to describe reactions of explosive force but
also to apply to the often spectacular and violent
inflammation of nitre with various combustible
substances."^^
  The increasing importance of solution chemistry
is reflected in the fact that "precipitation" was re-
garded as a true reaction (i.e., a process in which
a new substance was formed). Indeed, Macquer
saw precipitation as "one of the most general and
most important oj^erations of chemistry." ^'^ It was
seen as a chemical decomposition caused by an
intermediate substance.
  Once a reaction was complete, it usually was
necessary   to  separate   the   products   from  the  re-

action solution, if any, or from each other. In the
case of liquid products, or a solid-liquid mixture,
the usual choice was distillation, still attractive
albeit venerable.
  If there were only one liquid product, or if the
supernatant liquid which remained after the com-
pletion of a reaction were required for further
work, "decantation" was used. Although distillation
has acquired a considerable sophistication over the
years, decantation has not; thus, decantation pro-
vides a methodological link with eighteenth-century
chemistry.
  A more bothersome but more complete method
than decantation for separating liquids from solids
was (as now) "filtration." ^'' Standard commercial
paper (classified then by color—brown, white, or
gray), free from paste or sizing, was used. If a large
quantity was to be filtered, various kinds of cloth
stretched over a wooden frame were preferred.
Caustic substances represented a greater problem.
Sand could be used for these if one were willing
to put up with great difficulty in recovering the
desired solid substances after filtration. If a non-
corrosive substance was difficult to filter, it was
heated to make the liquid less thick.
  In a mixture (or sometimes even a substance
assumed to be a compound) in which the soluble
portion was desired, the process of "lixiviation"
was used. This process consisted of treating the
substance with a menstruum for a rather Ions:
period of time and then separating the solution
from any remaining solids. It is not clear what cri-
teria differentiate lixiviation from infusion, al-
though in the latter the mixture often was pre-
pared for use in another reaction rather than just
to prepare a liquid product.**•'•
  If the liquid part of the solution was of little
interest, the solid might be collected by "evapora-
tion to dryness" in large open dishes. This process
differed from crystallization in that the latter usu-
ally was used for purification.
  The problem of "purification" loomed large in
eighteenth-century chemistry. Purification was de-
fined as "any chemical operation by which sub-
stances required to be obtained pure and single are
.separated from other heterogeneous matters with
which they happen to be mixed." But the opera-
tional criteria by which a body could be judged
pure were ill-defined at best. The process of purifi-
cation used almost  all  of the  other  processes of
  
NUMBER 33

15



chemistry, but particularly "rectification," "subli-
mation," and "crystallization."
  Rectification simply was repeated distillation.
Chemists had long recognized that liquids such as
spirit of wine (ethanol) came over free from
obvious foreign particles in the first phases of dis-
tillation.c^ Thus, Baume, for example, could re-
commend that the first fifteen or so pints of the
distillate from 300 pints of aqua vitae (crude alcohol
from fermentation) could be regarded as spirit of
wine in the purest form possible."^ The only cri-
teria mentioned to test the effectiveness of the
rectification of spirit of wine involved sight, smell,
and taste. There was no chemical test felt to be
reliable at that time.*59
  Although technically one could have used the
boiling point to test the quality of liquid substances
such as spirit of wine, the thermometer was not
commonly found in chemical laboratories of the
eighteenth century. While processes that required
control of heat were difficult in conjunction with
furnaces, as we have noted, they were hardly im-
possible. Yet in spite of several suggestions for its
use, the thermometer was not employed even in
distillation.■^o In fact, the thermometer, like the
ordinary analytical balance, was not even given an
entry in the first edition of Macquer's Dictionnaire,
although by that rather late date (1766) adequate
thermometers had long been available.
  In spite of the lack of adequate criteria for deter-
mining purity, to obtain pure substances in many
cases was possible because a number of the inherent
physical properties of the processes could produce
nearly pure substances if reasonable care were
taken. Distillation, as mentioned above, was one
such process; another was "sublimation." Although
that term now refers to the production of the
vapor phase directly from a solid, in the eighteenth
century it had a wider meaning. Sublimation in-
cluded, for example, reactive processes in which
all volatile matter driven off from solids was
chemically combined in the vapor phase and col-
lected separately as it condensed. The term some-
times even described the production of volatile sub-
stances which condensed as liquids, but the termi-
nology was not entirely consistent here and such
processes usually were simply called distillation.
The primary technical problem in sublimation
was removing the product after it had condensed
as a solid. If the solid product were soluble, there
was little difficulty; if it were not soluble, however,

the   condensing  apparatus   sometimes   had   to   be
broken to remove the product.'^ ^
  Certainly the most important purificative process
was "crystallization." As we know now, most sub-
stances crystallize out of solution in an almost pure
form. In many cases this is true even in a mixture
of salts, although the problems become much more
complicated. In general, however, if the crystalliza-
tion is stopped well before the solution is evaporated
to dryness, the principal component in the crystal-
lized solid mass will be the substance which is least
soluble. In rare cases where two or more of the sub-
stances in the solution are isomorphic, a mixed
species such as alum can be formed, but if other
processes are available for purification such mixed
crystals can be detected. Excluding this problem,
repeated crystallization was, then, perhaps the best
method of obtaining pure solids, and particularly
salts.
  There is, of course, more to crystallization than
evaporation. There is a strong temperature depend-
ence in the solubility of many salts, so that one salt
may crystallize out of a given solution at one tem-
perature but another will do so later at a lower
temperature. Concentration is a factor as well.
  Eighteenth-century chemists were well aware of
these factors in crystallization. Macquer recom-
mended repeated crystallizations as the primary
method for obtaining pure salts.'''- To separate mix-
tures of two salts, Antoine Baume used various
properties which offset crystallization. The para-
digm case was a mixture of nitre (potassium ni-
trate) and sea-salt (sodium chloride). Depending
on the relative concentrations of these two salts,
Baume's method of alternately evaporating and
cooling the solution to encourage the crystalliza-
tion of first sea-salt and then nitre produced not
only a separation but nearly pure salts as well. The
difficult properties of the solution aptly illustrate
Baume's ingenuity in separating the desired prod-
ucts. "'■■'^
  The process of alternately cooling and evaporat-
ing to separate out fractions of NaCl and KNO;^
must, of course, be repeated a number of times be-
fore either fraction can be regarded as pure.
  Thus properly armed with a vocabulary and a pic-
ture of the eighteenth-century chemist's tools and
surroundings, we may consider examples of chemi-
cal research in that period. The first is a short work
by the masterful German chemist A.-S. Marggiaf
(1709-1782).  In  1746  Marggraf reported the sue-
  
16

SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY



cess of some attempts to dissolve silver and mercury
in such weak vegetable acids as vinegar, Rhine
wine, and citron.'''^
  Early investigations on the nature of phospho-
rous had led Marggraf to the discovery of various
ammoniacal salts from urine. These salts would
react with silver and gold to produce precipitates
which in turn could be dissolved in some of the salts
of strong acids. It was reasonable, then, for Marg-
graf to see if these and other alkaline precipitates,
which were thought to be related to these salts from
urine, could be dissolved in the weaker vegetable
acids.
  Although this was a logical, if minor, step in
Margraf's investigations, his style and organization
make the paper appear to be a self-motivated unit.
This standard practice often makes it difficult, of
course, to determine the motivation for a given
piece of work. Marggraf tied it to the claims of
such earlier chemists as Borrichius, Becher, and
Henckel that the precious metals, properly treated,
could be dissolved in vinegar.'^'^ Of these, only a
chemist named Kessler gave definite instructions on
the procedure, and Marggiaf's careful repetition of
Kessler's manipulations gave a product which, when
tested by the usual methods, showed no sign of
silver.
  But our goal here must be to understand Marg-
graf's procedure in detail, looking over his shoul-
der as it were.''''' Marggiaf began by preparing a
solution of silver in the conventional way, dissolving
it in nitric acid solution. But Marggraf's elaborate
efforts to insure that the silver be "the purest and
very free of copper" were definitely not conven-
tional. Similarly, he demanded that the spirit of
nitre be of the "best purity," the water distilled,
and the vinegar used in a later operation not only
to be distilled but concentrated by the glacial
method.
  To the silver solution, Marggraf added a specially
prepared solution of the salt of urine (primarily
ammonia) drop by drop until no more precipitate
was formed. The precipitate was yellow, and Marg-
graf edulcorated it "perfectly" with boiling distilled
water and separated it out (perhaps by filtering).
He then let it go to dryness.
  One dram of the precipitate was divided into a
fine powder in mortar and pestle and transferred
to a narrow-mouth bottle. Four ounces of distilled
vinegar, "perfectly" concentrated,'^''' was jDOured in
and the mixture of solids and solvent was digested

in a sand bath until "coction." The mixture was
allowed to cool and then was filtered. The proce-
dure was repeated on the solids, this time with six
ounces of the vinegar.
   Marggraf then concentrated the solution in a
glass retort down to I14 ounces. It was now the
characteristic gray-brown of a finely divided silver
suspension, which was Marggraf's interpretation
of the result. Filtering the mixture to remove the
suspended silver once again, he found the liquor
to be yellowish.
  The remaining yellow solids, which had not dis-
solved in the vinegar, were edulcorated in boiling
water, dried, and weighed. They had decreased in
weight "by one scruple and several grains."
  But weighing was, for Marggraf, only an indirect
test for dissolution. For a direct test for the pres-
ence of silver, he added common salt. The precipi-
tate proved to be good horn silver (silver chlo-
ride). In addition, two other tests—reducing the
silver with a blowpipe and precipitating it through
displacement with solid copper—provided further
confirming evidence in case anyone doubted the
first results.'^**
  The strategy of this investigation is quite straight-
forward. Marggraf had produced the precipitate of
silver before. He had dissolved it with various dis-
solving agents before. Clearly the compound had
reactive properties which the metal, a notably inert
substance, did not have. "Everything lies," he said,
"in the exact preparation of the silver precipitate;
it is this [process] which prepares this metal to
allow entry to the vegetable acids." '^
  To maximize the likelihood of dissolution, Marsf-
graf divided the precipitate into a fine powder. To
further aid the hoped-for dissolution, he digested
it thoroughly. In case the precipitate were only
slightly soluble, Marggraf would repeat the process.
In either case, he then concentrated the resulting
solution. Great care was taken throughout to use
pure substances in order to minimize the possibility
for unknown side reactions which might inhibit or
mask any dissolution. Finally, out of elegance as
much as caution, Marggraf used not one but three
tests to demonstrate beyond any doubt the presence
of the silver.
  In his insistence on purity and his care in devel-
oping evidence, Marggraf must be seen as rather an
exception. His attention to details and the care in
which he wrapped even such a relatively simple
investigation as this suggest that we should view
  
NUMBER 33

17



his work as the upper boundary in elegant chemi-
cal analysis. Moreover, although more complicated
examples of Marggraf's work could be analyzed, this
particular piece of work is not as pedestrian as it
might at first seem. Dissolution was becoming
more and more important as chemistry moved
away from simple distillation analysis and the lim-
ited method of performing reactions in the dry
way. To do reactions in solution one must, obvi-
ously enough, get the reactants into solution. More-
over, the solubility properties of a substance were
an important defining characteristic. Many chem-
ists, notably those who admired Stahlian chemistry,
saw dissolution (quite properly) as a reaction, i.e., as
a chemical rather than a physical process. At any
rate, solubility was used at least implicitly as a de-
fining characteristic for a chemical species.
  Although it is not really fair to compare English
chemists of that time with Marggraf or with any of
a dozen or so skillful French scientists, one ought
to look at one example of English chemistry for
the sake of completeness if nothing else. To soften
the blow to English pride a bit, for our second
example of eighteenth-century chemical research
we consider an excellent piece of work by William
Lewis (1708-1781).80 Lewis was widely read in
chemistry, including pharmacy. He translated and
rearranged the lectures of Stahl's pupil and follower,
Caspar Neumann, into English and thus was in-
strumental in carrying phlogiston chemistry to
England.81
  Sometime in the early 1750s, Lewis obtained a
sample of the substance usually called platina, a
heterogeneous mixture of ore residues from cer-
tain gold ores in the Spanish West Indies. The
analysis of ore samples was one of the most com-
mon and important tasks of the eighteenth-century
chemist. Orderly and controlled, Lewis' approach
to the analysis can be viewed as reflecting organiza-
tion and training rather than genius. This particu-
lar investigation also has intrinsic interest as one
of the first studies on platinum in English.^2
  The so-called platina (Spanish, "little silver")
was identified physically as "white shining grains"
of definite crystalline figure. By physical means the
investigators separated the grains from the hetero-
geneous mixture of granular mineral matter. To
clean the separated grains chemically, Lewis chose
the (German) industrial technique for cleaning
metals by treating them first with aqua fortis (nitric
acid)  and  then  with  sal  ammoniac   (ammonium

chloride) rather than with aqua regia directly. The
intent was the same: to cleanse the metal of
foreign chemical matter by a reaction in solution.
  Lewis determined the most important physical
parameter—specific gravity—for both the cleaned
grains and the heterogeneous mixture. Other
physical characteristics such as malleability and
friability also were tested. Also, there was some
evidence of magnetic properties.
  Fire was the chemist's most basic tool, and it
usually was the first treatment for any metal or ore.
Lewis' approach was no exception. Gradually in-
creasing the quantity and duration of the fire, Lewis
attempted without success to fuse (melt) the metal-
lic substance.83 After using the hottest fire he could
obtain, he subjected the platina grains to various
reducing mixtures, then in increasing order of
effectiveness, to all the fluxes commonly used. Such
techniques came from a long history of metallurgy,
of melting and reducing hard metals and refrac-
tory ores. When they failed, as they did, it was clear
to Lewis that he was seeking a metal unlike any
which had been seen before.
  Having exhausted the efficiency of fire, Lewis
"proposed to examine the effect of acid spirits,
simple and compound, applied after various man-
ners." Clearly these substances served him as chem-
ical instruments to define the nature of the new
metal, "to determine not only its relation or habi-
tus to them, but likewise its less obvious agreement
or disagreement with the metallic bodies, whose
history is more known." Although Lewis does not
specify the specific gravity of his acids or the
amount of dilution, it is highly probable that he
was using well-defined solutions, "both concen-
trated, and diluted with different proportions of
water.84 Usually even the most refractory sub-
stances, save gold, yielded to one of the three min-
eral acids or to such related compounds as nitre or
corrosive sublimate (mercuric chloride). But no
mode of application of these substances, dilute or
concentrated, cool or boiling, could affect the
platina.
  As with many contemporary chemists testing the
effects of both fire and acids, Lewis used change in
weight of reactants when seeking positive indica-
tion that a chemical process had occurred.
  Lewis' conclusion after applying these techniques
for fusing or dissolving gold was that the platina
was "nearly as ponderous as gold [and] equally
fixed   and   permanent   in   the   fire" 85   and  that
  
1!

SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY



"equally with gold [it] resists the force of the vitri-
olic, marine and nitrous acids, tho' apply'd in such
a manner as to be capable of perfectly dissolving
all other known metallic bodies." 8c
  The array of techniques used by Lewis gave fur-
ther indications that the new metal was similar to
gold. It was not affected by sulphur and nitre, but it
dissolved in liver of sulphur.87
  The next logical step for anyone who suspected
that this strange metal had properties analogous
to those of gold would be to subject it to the gentle
persuasion of aqua regia.^^ It worked! It worked
for every variety and dilution of that gieat solvent.
But more important than the new knowledge that
platina had yet another of gold's properties was the
actual existence of a solution of the new metal.
  The reason for Lewis' perseverance and energetic
pursuit of a solvent soon becomes apparent. Since
gold clearly seemed an appropriate substance
against which the new metal could be compared,
what more could a chemist ask than to continue
the comparative process by utilizing the extensive
solution chemistry of gold? For economic reasons,
few substances had been subjected to such inten-
sive study as gold, but for chemical reasons these
labors had produced little of interest to the philo-
sophical chemist. Now at last a new substance had
arrived which cried out for comparison to and con-
trast with the long-known reactions of gold. Cer-
tainly a situation which would send any chemist—
save those whose operations were limited to the
"salon"—to his bottles and bench.
  Thus Lewis ran quickly through the standard
gold reactions but used dissolved platinum instead
of gold solution. Hot marble, skin, feathers, and
ivory did not stain as they did in the gold solution.
These hoary and honorable indicator tests for gold
would not serve for platina. There was a reaction
with tin plates, however, though nothing like the
distinctive purple tint which characterized solution
of gold. The solution turned a rather disappointing
olive brown, letting down a reddish brown precipi-
tate and then losing its color again. Altogether, it
was not a satisfactory result; that is, it was not a
result on which he could establish a definitive test
for use by later investigators.
  But on balance, the similarities and differences
between the solution chemistry of gold and platina
were enough to provide the all-important opera-
tional definition of the new substance. Aside from
the properties discussed above,  Lewis wrote  that

it differs from gold ... in not being revived from its solu-
tions by inflammable spirits, not being totally precipitible by
alcaline sales: that in certain circumstances [platina] throws
out gold from its solutions	that platine is precipitated
from its solutions by the vitriolic acid, and by the metallic
substances, which precipitated gold, though scarcely totally
by any; And that its precipitates resist vitrification and this
perhaps in a more perfect manner than precipitates of gold
itself.*"
  Specifically, these observations from experiment
were able to afford "means of distinguishing a small
proportion of gold mixed with a large one of pla-
tina, or a small proportion of platina mixed with a
large one of gold." Since the latter condition was
common in nature, the result was most useful. One
thing was certain from these investigations: "the
common methods of assaying or purifying gold by
aqua fortis, aqua regis, or the regal cement can no
longer be depended on." ^^
  Continuing in a metallurgical vein, Lewis ex-
plored the relationship between platina and each
of the other known metals and nonmetals. The
most startling general result was that, in spite of
its refractory nature, the platina melted into each
of the metals, "occasioning remarkable alterations
in their colour, texture and hardness." ^'^ The
many and varied metallurgical properties of pla-
tina, though interesting, added little to what has
already been said. They did, however, serve to de-
fine the new metal better.
  Our third example of chemical research of the
period is an investigation carried out by a French
chemist. Compared to the work of Marggraf and
Lewis, it is somewhat more complex in its tech-
niques, both in terms of apparatus and operations.
The author was Francois de Tellier, Marquis de
Courtanvaux (1718-1781), and the subject was the
synthesis of "marine ether"   (ethyl chloride).
  The reactions of vitriolic acid and nitrous acid
on spirit of wine to produce vitriolic ether (diethyl
ether) and nitrous ether (ethyl nitrate) led natu-
rally to attempts to produce a marine either with
marine acid and spirit of wine. But a number of
chemists, including Baume, had only slightly en-
couraging results with the simple and direct ap-
proach of mixing the two substances and then
distilling.'^^ £)g Courtanvaux applied the reasonable
next step—the use of a preparation that included
the marine acid, the "fuming liquor of Libavius."
His explanation for this choice was plausible. Be-
cause they were extremely volatile, spirit of wine
and spirit of salt could not take on the degree of
  
NUMBER 33

19



heat necessary to let the combination be made
simply and directly. The tin in the fuming liquor
gave it a greater density and weight, causing it "to
take on a greater degree [amount] of heat during
the distillation than spirit of salt alone. This brings
a greater activity to the decomposition of the spirit
of wine, and consequently to the formation of the
ether." ^^ Whether that reasoning was a priori or
ad hoc is difficult to say. Certainly it is possible that
de Courtanvaux hit upon the fuming liquor of
Libavius after trying a number of substances con-
taining spirit of salt. Moreover, this substance was
known at the time as a good source of marine
acid.94
  De Courtanvaux revealed his theoretical sympa-
thies by preparing the fuming liquor according to
the method of Stahl.^s Adding small portions of a
known weight of the fuming liquor to a known
volume of spirit of wine and mixing carefully after
each hissing, boiling, smoking bit of the reaction
subsided, de Courtanvaux found himself with a
retort partially full of hot, amber liquid. As receiv-
ers, he fitted two balloons, apparently in tandem,
to the neck of the retort.^^ The second balloon
had a tubulature for pressure relief. The jointure
was made by using the fat lute, strengthened with
linen strips soaked in quicklime and egg white.
For the best condensation possible, each balloon
was fitted into a shallow earthenware vessel by
sitting it on the handy ubiquitous straw ronds
or woven rings and fastening the neck with cord
across the open top. Crushed ice cooled the lower
part of each balloon while ice-cold towels (changed
every few minutes) performed the same service for
the exposed areas.
  To distill the ether, de Courtanvaux heated the
retort in a sand bath. The air in the apparatus was
allowed to escape until there was a distinct odor
of spirit of wine, then the tubulature of the second
balloon was sealed. In the actual experiment, the
ice was added after this last step. Using these proce-
dures, de Courtanvaux could do most of his distilla-
tion without having to open the system. The tech-
nical reason for this was that the liquid condensing
in the balloon kept the pressure at low level.
When the chemist judged that it was time to re-
lieve the pressure in the balloon, de Courtanvaux
recommended that he put a bottle over the mouth
of the tubulature in the second flask "to evaluate
the loss approximately." ^"^
  The mixture in the retort had the nasty habit of
boiling up suddenly if the heat were allowed to

rise too high. To control this, de Courtanvaux
would open some of the flues in the furnace and
drop the fire, or rearrange or remove some of the
sand around the flask.
  When no more vapor seemed to be coming over,
the vessels were cooled, unluted, and their con-
tents combined. The "ether non-purifi^" weighed
one pound, two ounces, six gros. Also, there were
one ounce of an oily liquid and two pounds four-
teen ounces of residue. But this product was highly
acidic, and to obtain a pure ether it had to be
neutralized by adding base until blue indicator
paper no longer turned red. The neutral solution
then was rectified in the usual way by distilling it
several times. From two pounds of the "impure"
ether (the additional amount was from another
preparation), only one pound two ounces of the
purified marine ether was finally obtained.
  The procedure described above was the one
which gave the maximum yield. Departures from
the quantities of reactants, from the procedures, or
even from the apparatus gave poorer yields of
ether.
  On analysis, de Courtanvaux found that the resi-
due was a butter of tin (primarily stannic chloride)
with excess acid   ("surabondance d'acide").^8
  By any reasonable standards, the Marquis de
Courtanvaux had done in admirable piece of
work; and the same must be said of Lewis and the
incomparable Marggraf. But there is more to these
investigations than demonstrations of the impres-
sive skill of some eighteenth-century chemists. Not
only chemical theory but chemical epistomology was
being changed and refined at the hands—literally
—of such men. In choosing to work with solutions,
in accepting precipitations and liquid color
changes as reliable indications of the presence of a
chemical species, in developing operations whose
purpose was to define substances in terms of their
relationship with other substances rather than the
unitary operations so common to classical distilla-
tion analysis—in all these things, such men were
effecting a change in the old order.
  Moreover, many of the features seen here—such
as measuring and weighing, giving some attention
to purity, performing a series of operations on a
given substance, and a fairly sophisticated ap-
proach to handling "vapours" or other subtile,
elastic fluids—were, if not the rule, at least not the
exception. Since these characteristics are usually
associated with the chemistry of Lavoisier, they
are particularly worthy of note.
  
      A Dictionary of British
Eighteenth-Century Chemical Terms
  Just as Samuel Johnson pointed out that no dictionary of a living language
can be perfect, so it must be argued that no dictionary for a living historical
discipline will initially be complete or free from errors. The purpose of our
dictionary is to make it easier for students to become acquainted with an esoteric
and often confused nomenclature in order to more clearly interpret the technical
activities of eighteenth-century chemists. This first effort is not truly multilingual,
though it includes Latin and French phrases that were common in British
journals and treatises. Those who wish to determine French and German equiva-
lents usually can do so by finding parallel sections in the French, English, and
German editions of Macquer's original Dictionnaire de Chymie,^^ though it is
hoped that an expanded, multilingual edition may be prepared for publication
sometime in the future. In any event, readers are encouraged to communicate
additions and corrections to the present dictionary.
  For a full discussion of the significance of chemical nomenclature in the
history of chemistry, the reader is urged to consult Maurice Crosland's classic
Historical Studies in the Language of Chemistry.^^'^
  
ABSORBENT EARTHS:  Chalk, marble, and clays. No
specific formulas. Generally carbonates, silicates,
  and sulfates.
ACESUNT: Any substance which is slightly acid, or
   turning sour.
AcETATED  EARTHS,   METALS,  ETC.:   Acetates
   (-C^H.Oo-).
ACETOUS ACID: Impure acetic acid from vinegar.
ACETUM: Referring to vinegar, or to a compound
  made from vinegar, as in "acetum radicatum."
ACID AIR  (Priestley): Hydrogen chloride   (HCl).
ACID FROM ANTS: Formic acid (HCOOH).
ACID, NITRI PHLOGISTIC: See Nitrous Air.
ACID OF AMBER:  Succinic acid
   (CiHcO^).
ACID   OF   APPLES:    Malic   acid    (C^HfjO-,).
ACID OF ARSENIC: Arsenic acid (HgAsOj).
ACID OF BARBERRY: Malic acid.
ACID OF BENZOIN: Benzoic acid   (CeHrjCOOH).
ACID OF BORAX: Boric acid  (H3BO3).
ACID OF BURNING SULPHUR: Sulfurous acid (HoSO-,).
ACID  OF  FLOUR  SPAR:   Hydrofluoric  acid   (mixed
  usually with silicon fluoride)  (HF; SiF4).
ACID OF LEMONS: Citric acid (CcHgO^).

ACID OF MILK: Lactic acid (CgH^Os)
ACID OF MILK-SUGAR: Mucic acid
  (COOH (CHOH)4COOH).
ACID OF MOLYBDAENA: Molybdic acid  (HoMoO^).
ACID OF NITRE: Nitric acid (HNO3).
ACID OF PHOSPHORUS: Phosphoric acid  (H3NO4).
ACID OF SALT: Hydrochloric acid (HCl).
ACID OF SEA-SALT: Hydrochloric acid, alone, or in
  a compound  (i.e., the C\- radical).
ACID OF SORREL: Oxalic acid  (COOH COOH).
ACID OF SUGAR: Oxalic acid  (COOH COOH).
ACID OF TAMARINDS: Tartaric acid  (C4HCO6).
ACID OF TARTAR: Tartaric acid.
ACID OF URINE: Phosphoric acid  (H3PO4).
ACID OF VINEGAR: Acetic acid (CH3COOH).
ACID OF VITRIOL: Sulfuric acid  (H0SO4).
ACIDUM AEREUM: Carbon dioxide  (COo).
ACIDUM MEPHITICUM: Carbon dioxide  (COo).
ACIDUM PINGUE: J. F. Meyer's hypothesized "fatty
  acid."
ACIDUM SACCHARI: Oxalic acid  (COOH COOH).
ACID   VITRIOLATED   TARTAR:   Potassium   hydrogen
  sulphate   (KHSO4).
ADOPTERS:   Small,   circular  vessels  with  a  necked
  
20

NUMBER 33

21



opening and a spout opposite. They were con-
nected   between   the   distilling   head   and   the
receiver. See text, page 11.
ADURATION: A union or combination into one.
AERATED   ALKALI:   Any   alkali   carbonate    (e.g.,
K2CO3).
"AERATED" COMPOUNDS (Bergman): Carbonates
(-CO3-2).
AERATED LIME: Calcium carbonate  (CaC03).
AERATED WATER: Water containing dissolved car-
bon dioxide.
AER HEPATICUS: Hydrogen sulfide  (HoS).
AERIAL ACID: Carbon dioxide (COo).
AERUGO (AERUCA) (RUST OF COPPER): See Verdigris.
AER URINOSUM: Ammonia  (NH3).
AETHIOPS MERCURIALES: See Aethiops Mineralis.
AETHIOPS MINERALIS (AETHIOPS MERCURIALES):
Black mercuric sulphide (HoS).
AIR: Generally, any substance in gaseous state.
AIR (Priestley): A gaseous substance which could
not be liquified by cold.
AIR, DEPHLOGISTICATED: Oxygen  (Oo).
AIR, FIXED: Carbon dioxide  (COo).
AIR, HEPATIC: Hydrogen sulphide  (HoS).
AIR, INFLAMMABLE: Hydrogen  (Ho).
AIR, MARINE ACID: Hydrogen chloride  (HCl).
AIR, MEPHITIC: Carbon dioxide (COo).
AIR, PHLOGISTICATED: Nitrogen (N2).
AIR, VITAL: Oxygen  (Oo).
AIR OF FLOUR SPAR: Hydrofluoric acid gas (usually
with silicon fluoride)  (HF).
AIR OF VITRIOL: Sulphur dioxide (SOo).
ALAUNERDE: Alumina  (AloOg).
ALCOHOL: Usually spirit of wine (CH3CH0OH)
(sometimes ajiy very fine powder).
ALEMBIC: A type of distillation apparatus. See text,
page 9.
ALEXIPHARMIC: A remedy or preservative against
poison.
ALICANT KELP: Crude sodium carbonate (NaoCOa).
ALK. MIN. VITRIOL: Sodium sulphate   (Na2S04).
ALKAHEST: Originally, the universal solvent (al-
chemical term).
ALKAHEST GLAUBERI: See Fixed vegetable alkali
(K0CO3).
ALKAHEST OF REAPOUR: See Fixed vegetable alkali
(K2CO3).
ALKAHEST OF VAN HELMONT (GLAUBER'S ALKAHEST):
Concentrated potassium carbonate   (K0CO3).
ALKALESCENT: Any substance which is slightly alka-
line or turning alkaline.

ALKALI, CAUSTIC: Hydroxides  ( —OH-).
ALKALI, COMMON MINERAL: Sodium carbonate
(NaoCOa • lOHoO).
ALKALI, CONCRETE VOLATILE: Ammonium carbon-
ate    (NH4)oC03).
ALKALI, FOSSIL: Sodium carbonate  (NaoCOa).
ALKALI, MARINE: Sodium carbonate (NaoCOg).
ALKALI, MILD: Carbonates  ( —CO3).
ALKALI, VEGETABLE, FIXED: Potassium carbonate
(K0CO3).
ALKALI, VEGETABLE, MILD: Potassium carbonate
(K0CO3).
ALKALI, VOLATILE: Ammonia (NH3).
ALKALI OF SODA: Sodium carbonate  (NaoCOs).
ALKALI OF TARTAR: Potassium carbonate  (K0CO3).
ALKALI OF WINE LEES: Potassium carbonate
(K0CO3).
ALKALI VEG. SALITUM: Potassium chloride  (KCl).
ALKALI VEG. VITRIOLAT.: Potassium sulphate
(K2SO4).
ALKALINE AIR  (Priestley): Ammonia gas   (NH3).
ALKALIZED NITRE: See Fixed Nitre.
ALLAY: Alloy.
ALLONGE: See Adopters.
ALTERANT: Anything which alters or changes the
state of another.
ALUDELS: A unit of a multiple-head, earthenware
distilling apparatus. Usually used for sublima-
tions. See text, page 11.
ALUM: Mixed double salts of aluminum sulphate
with potassium sodium or ammonium sulfate.
(The potassium salt, when pure, was most com-
monly called "alum."). (AL (S04)3 • KoSO^ •
24HoO); (Alo(S04)3 ' (NH4)2S04 ' 24HoO);
(Alo (S04)3 • NaoS04 • 24HoO).
ALUMEN: Aluminum sulfate  (AL (S04)3.
ALUMEN USTUM (BURNT ALUM): Alum dehydrated
by heating.
AMALGAM: Any mercury alloy.
AMMONIACAL   NITRE:   Ammonium   nitrate
(NH4NO3).
AMMONIUM FIXATUM (FIXED AMMONIAC): The resi-
due on heating sal ammoniac with lime, i.e., cal-
cium chloride  (CuClo).
AMMONIUM NITROSUM: Ammonium nitrate
(NH4NO3).
ANIMAL ALKALI: Ammonium carbonate ((NH4)o
CO3).
ANODYNE: A medicine or drug which alleviates
pain.

22

SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY



ANTICHLOR: Hydrated sodium thiosulfate (NaoSoO^
• 5HoO).
ANTIMONIAL CAUSTIC: Antimony trichloride (SbClg).
ANTIMONIUM DIAPHORETICUM: Mixture of anti-
mony oxide and potassium antimoniate (Sbo03;
KSbOs).
ANTIMONY: Antimony sulfide (SboSg) (pre-
eighteenth century). Pure antimony was called
"regulus of antimony."
ANTIZEUMIC: Opposed to fermentation.
AQUA FORTIS: Concentrated nitric acid  (HNO3).
AQUA PHAGADENA or PHAGADENICA: A mixture of
corrosive sublimate and limewater.
AQUA REGIA: Mixture of HCl and HNO3. Various
proportions were used, depending on the mate-
rial to be dissolved. Commonly, more nitric acid
than hydrochloric was employed.
AQUA SECUNDA: Dilute nitric acid, often used for
cleaning metals and minerals.
ARDENT SPIRIT: Ethyl alcohol obtained after re-
peated distillations   (CH3CH0OH).
ARGILLACEOUS EARTH: Clay.
AROMATIC OIL: Any "oil" with a sweet or exotic
odor. Often an "essential" oil.
ARSENIC: Arsenic trioxide (AS0O3).
ARSENICAL SAL AMMONIAC: Ammonium arsenate
(NH4)HAs04.
ASH, BLACK: Impure sodium carbonate   (NaoC03).
AsH, PEARL: See Pearl Ash.
AsH, POT: See Potash.
ASHES OF TIN: Stannic oxide (SnOo).
ASSAY: A quantitative determination of the metal
in an ore or alloy.
ATRAMENTUM: Ferrous sulfate  (FeS04).
ATTRITION: The action of rubbing one body against
another; mutual friction.
AURIPIGMENTUM: Arsenic trisulfide  (AS0S3).
AuRUM FULMINANS: An explosive gold compound
prepared from gold dissolved in "Aqua Regia''
and a solution of ammonium carbonate. The
exact formula is still in doubt.
AVOLATION: Evaporation, escape, act of "flying
away."
AZOTE: Nitrogen  (No).
AZURE: A blue pigment from cobalt.
AZURITE: Basic copper (cupric) carbonate
(2CUCO3 • Cu(OH)o.
BAKING SODA: Sodium bicarbonate  (NaHCOg).
BALLOONS:   Vessels  used   to  receive  condensation
products in distillation. See text, page 11.

BALNEUM MARIAE: The water bath used for heat-
ing more delicate materials such as animal and
vegetable matter. See text, page 7.
BALSAM: Light oily aromatic extracts from trees
which cure into resins.
BARILLA: Impure soda extracted from soap-wort
(impure NaoCOs).
BARITE, BARYTE(S): Barium sulfate   (BaSOj).
BARYTA: Barium oxide (BaO).
BASIS or BASE: Any substance "A" which (1) is
dissolved by a substance "B"; (2) receives "B"
and "fixes" it;  (3) forms a compound of "B."
BATH METAL: A 4:1 alloy of copper and zinc, re-
spectively.
BAY SALT: Sodium chloride (NaCl).
BEAK: A tube, usually tapered, attached to a vessel
to allow the exit of its contents. See text, page 9.
BERLIN BLUE: Ferric ferrocyanide   (Fe4[Fe (CN)(5]3.
BERLIN  GREEN:  Ferric ferricyanide   (Fe[Fe (CN)(j].
BERTHOLLET'S SALT: Potassium chlorate (KCIO3).
BEZOARDICUM MINERALE: See Bezoar Mineral.
BEZOAR MINERAL: Antimonic acid  (H3Sb04).
BISMUTH CORNE: Bismuth oxychloride  (BiOCl).
BITTER CATHARTIC SALT: Magnesium sulfate
(MgS04).
BITTER EARTH: Magnesium oxide or carbonate
(MgO; MgCO,).
BITTERN: Liquor remaining after salt-boiling; a
solution containing magnesium salts.
BITTER SALT: Magnesium sulphate (MgS04 *
7HoO).
BITTER SPAR: "Dolomite"—Calcium and magne-
sium carbonate  (CaC03 • MgCOg).
BITUMENS: An amorphous grouping of resinous and
petroleum products: crude oil, amber, asphaltum,
coal.
BLACK ASH: Impure sodium carbonate (impure
NaoC03).
BLACK COPPER: Copper sulfide (CuS).
BLACK FLUX: A mixed product from the deflagra-
tion of charcoal, metal filings, nitre, and excess
tartar.
BLACK JACK: See Blend.
BLACK LEAD: Natural graphite of the sort used in
pencils.
BLACK WAD: Manganese dioxide.
BLEND: A mineral which looks very much like
galena (PbS) and thus sometimes called "false
galena." Now known as sphalerite. Primarily zinc
sulfide (ZnS).
BLIND HEAD: The top portion of a distilling ap-

NUMBER 33

23



paratus which is not equipped with a beak or
spout. See text, page 9.
BLUE VITRIOL: Copper sulfate  (CUSO4).
BOLE (OR BOLAR EARTH): Clays which adhere to the
tongue when applied dry and which are colored
yellow and red by a ferruginous (iron oxide)
earth.
BORAX: Sodium tetraborate (NaoB407 • lOHoO).
BRASS; An alloy of copper and zinc.
BRAUSTEIN: Manganese dioxide (MnOo).
BRIMSTONE: Sulphur (S).
BRONZE: An alloy of copper and tin.
BuDDLiNG DISH: A flat pan or vat used in washing
ores.
BURNING SPIRIT OF SATURN: Impure acetone
(CH3COCH3).
BURNT ALUM: Exsiccated alum (AlK (S04)o. Prod-
uct of heating potassium alum.
BURNT LIME: See Quicklime.
BUTTER OF ANTIMONY: Deliquescent antimony tri-
chloride  (SbCls).
BUTTER OF ARSENIC: Arsenic trichloride (AsClg).
BUTTER OF TIN: Stannic chloride (SnCl4).
BUTTER OF ZINC: Zinc chloride  (ZnClo).
BuTYRUM ANTIMONII: See Butter of Antimony.
CADMIA: A term used for various forms of several
substances, including cobalt. Minerals containing
carbonates of zinc and various compounds of
iron, among other things, were often called cad-
mia or "calamine."
CALAMINE: In its purest form, zinc carbonate
(ZnC03).
CALAMY (CALAMINE): Zinc carbonate (ZnC03),
sometimes (ZnoSi04 " H2O).
CALCAREOUS EARTH: Usually chalk (CaCOg). Also
possible: magnesia and/or alumina and/or
barytes. Also lime.
CALCARIUM POTENTIALE: Potassium carbonate
(K0CO3).
CALCIC LIVER OF SULFUR: Calcium sulfide  (CaS).
CALCINATION: The action of fire on mineral sub-
stances in which the reactants (a) often lose a
noticeable amount of weight, (b) acquire a white
color, (c) become friable (easily crumbled or
pulverized). Almost always, a very high heat is
employed. See text, page 13.
CALCINED METALS: Oxides.
CALCITE: Calcium carbonate (CaCOg).
CALLUS: Any hard formation on the surface of a
liquid or another solid.

CALOMEL: Mercurous chloride (HgoClo).
CALX: Any powder obtained by strongly heating a
substance in air. Almost always an oxide.
CALX ACETOSELL: Calcium oxalate  (CaC204).
CALX AERATA: Calcium carbonate (CaC03).
CALX CITRATA: Calcium citrate (Cag (C6H5C7)2 '
4H2O).
CALX   MOLYBDAENATA:    Calcium   molybdate
(CaMo04).
CALX OF ANTIMONY:  Antimony trioxide   (SbsOg).
CALX OF GOLD: Not a true compound, but small
discolored pieces of gold formed after exposure
to relatively high heat.
CALX OF STONE: Calcium oxide (CaO).
CALX PLUMBI AERATA: See White Lead.
CALX SACCHARATA: Calcium oxalate   (CaC204).
CALX TARTARISATA: Calcium tartrate (CaC4H40o *
4HoO).
CALX VIVA: Quicklime  (CaO).
CAMPHIRE (CAMPHORA, CANFORA, ETC.): See Cam-
phor.
CAMPHOR: An aromatic extract from the sap of
certain trees found in Brazil and the Far East.
CAPUT MORTUM: Most commonly signifies any solid
residue remaining after dry distillation. Some-
times used for ferric oxide  (FeoO^).
CARBONATE OF LIME: Calcium carbonate  (CaCOg).
CARBONIC ACID: Carbon dioxide  (CO2).
CARBONIC OXIDE: Carbon monoxide  (CO).
CARBURETTED HYDROGEN GAS: Methane  (CH4).
CATHARTIC SALT OF GLAUBER: Sodium sulphate
(Na2S04).
CAUSTIC ALKALIS: Hydroxides ( — OH").
CAUSTIC BARYTA: Barium hydroxide (Ba (OH)o *
8H2O).
CAUSTIC CALCAREOUS EARTH: Calcium hydroxide
(Ca(OH)2).
CAUSTIC LEY (CAUSTIC LEES, ETC.): See Caustic Lye.
CAUSTIC LYE: Since "lye" had several meanings,
this phrase was often used to refer specifically to
the three strong mineral (NaOH, KOH, and
NH4OH) bases and usually meant potassium hy-
droxide   (KOH).
CAUSTIC PONDEROUS EARTH: Hydrated barium hy-
droxide  (Ba (OH)2 • 8H2O).
CAUSTICUM ANTIMONIALE: Probably antimony tri-
chloride  (SbClg).
CAWK: Barium sulphate (BaS04).
CEMENTATION: Any process by which a solid is
caused to penetrate and combine with another
substance.

24

SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY



CENDRES GRAVELLEES: Potassium carbonate (K2CO3).
CERUSE  (CERUSSA)  (CERUSSE): See White Lead.
CERUSSE ANTIMONY: White antimony trioxide
(Sb203).
CHALK: Calcium carbonate (CaCOg).
CHALYBEATE (WATER): Any water which is impreg-
nated or flavored with iron.
CHALYBS CUM SULPHURE PREPARATUS: Ferrous sul-
fide (FeS).
CHALYBS TARTAR (TARTARIFIED IRON): A substance
produced by the action of cream of tartar on iron
filling. Probably   (FeC4H406).
CHYMIST'S SPIRIT: Any solution of ammonia
(NH4OH).
CINERES CLAVELLATI: Potassium carbonate (K2CO3).
CINNABAR: Mercuric sulfide (HgS).
CINNABAR OF ANTIMONY: Mercuric sulphide (HgS),
when produced by heating together mercuric
chloride and crude antimony (antimony trisul-
fide).
CIRCULATION: Cyclic distillation or refluxing.
CITRATED ALKALIES: Citrates.
CLAYS: Any stiff but malleable and sticky mineral
solid.
CLYSSUS: Any vapors from the detonation of nitre
with other substances which have been condensed
and collected, as in "clyssus of sulphur."
COAGULATION: Reducing fluids to solid form.
COAGULUM: A precipitate.
COBALT: Cobalt ore. Pure cobalt was "regulus of
cobalt"  (CoAsS).
COCHINEAL: A scarlet dye made from the insect
Coccus cacti, native to Mexico and Central
America.
COCTION: Any process in which heat was applied
over a long period. This term usually implied
less strenuous applications of heat than calcina-
tion, but it was used more broadly than "decoc-
tion."
COHOBATION: Repeated distillations, or any cyclic
process in which a liquid is vaporized and con-
densed as, for example, in refluxing. See text,
page 14.
COLCOTHARS: Any colorless sulfates (vitriols) in
which the water of hydration was removed
(-SO4).
COLCOTHAR: Ferric oxide  (Fe203).
CoLCOTHAR VITRIOLI: Red oxide of iron (Fe203 •
FeO) produced by heating green vitriol.
COLLATURE: Filtration through a relatively coarse
filter, e.g., a hair sieve, woolen cloth, etc.

COLOPHONY: A resinous substance from distillation
  of light oil from turpentine.
COMMON AMMONIAC:  Ammonium chloride
  (NH4CI).
COMMON   CAUSTIC:   Potassium  hydroxide  or,   less
  often, sodium hydroxide.
COMMON   MAGNESIA:   Magnesium  carbonate
(MgCOg).
COMMON MINERAL ALKALI: Sodium carbonate
(Na2C03).
COMMON NITRE (SALTPETER): Potassium nitrate
(KNO3).
COMMON SALT: Sodium chloride   (NaCl).
CONCENTRATION: Any process in which the solute/
solvent ratio is increased. Less often, this term
was used to describe the separation of a sub-
stance "A" from a substance "B" by joining it
to a third substance, "C." See text, page 13.
CONCRETED: Solidified, congealed, coagulated, or
(as verb) to unite, combine physically, as in
solidity. Very rarely used for chemical combina-
tions.
CONCRETE VOLATILE ALKALI: Ammonium carbon-
ate    ((NH4)oC03).
COPPERAS: Originally blue vitriol. Later sometimes
used for the entire class of vitriols (sulfates). Also
sometimes ferrous sulfate  (FeS04 • 7H2O).
CORNEOUS   (HORN) LEAD: Lead chloride   (PbCU).
CORNING: Any process in which a whole or coarsely
ground substance is granulated.
CoRNu    CERVI:     Impure    ammonium    carbonate
((NH4)2C03).
CORROSIVE SUBLIMATE: Mercuric chloride   (HgCU).
CORUSCATE: To give off intermittent flashes of light,
to sparkle.
CREAM OF LIME: Fine precipitate of calcium hy-
droxide  (Ca (OH)2) from water.
CREAM OF TARTAR (TARTAR): Potassium hydrogen
tartrate  (KHC4H4O).
CREECH: Calcium sulfate (CaS04).
CREMOR: Any scum gathering at or ne'ar top of a
liquid. Also, a thickening or change in color or
consistency on top or within a liquid.
CRETA ALBA: Gypsum (calcium sulfate dihydrate)
(CaS04 • 2HoO).
CROCUS: Any solid of a saffron or reddish color, as
in "Crocus of Mars."
CROCUS MARTIS: Ferric oxide (FcoOg).
CROCUS OF IRON: Ferric oxide.
CROCUS OF MARS: Ferric oxide.
CROCUS SATURNI: Red lead  (minium)   (Pb304).

NUMBER 33

25



CRUDE ANTIMONY: Natural antimony sulfide (SbaSg).
CRUDE FLUX: Nitre and tartar mixed in any pro-
portion without detonation.
CRYSTALLINE EARTHS: Any solid which is (1) not
attached in acids, (2) friable, (3) hard enough to
strike fire with steel.
CRYSTALLISED ALKALI: Sodium carbonate (NaoCOg).
CRYSTALLISED ALKALI OF TARTAR: Potassium hydro-
gen carbonate (KHCOg).
CRYSTALLISED FIXED ALKALI: Sodium carbonate
(NasCOg).
CRYSTALLISED VERDIGRIS: Cupric acetate
(Cu(C2H30o)2 • H2O).
CRYSTALLISED VOLATILE ALKALI: Ammonium car-
bonate   (NH4)2C03.
CRYSTALLIZATION: Any process in which crystals are
formed from a liquid. Usually accomplished
through concentrating and/or cooling a solution.
CRYSTALS OF COPPER:  Mostly copper acetate
(CU (CoH302)2).
CRYSTALS OF SILVER (LUNAR CRYSTALS): Silver ni-
trate, usually as a powder  (AgNOg).
CRYSTALS OF VENUS: Copper acetate (Cu(C2H302)o).
CUBIC NITRE: Crystallized sodium nitrate (NaNOg).
CUCURBIT: The lower part of an alembic. Shorter,
more squat and ovoid than a matrass.
CYPRIAN VITRIOL: Copper sulfate  (CUSO4).
DAMPS: Any dangerous "vapors" in caves, mines,
etc.
DECANTATION: TO separate the supernatant liquid
from a solid precipitate by pouring the liquid
off, being careful that all of the solid remains in
the vessel.
DECOCTION: Continuous application of boiling heat
to a reaction mixture.
DECOMPOUNDED: Doubly compounded, or composed
of three or more substances.
DECREPITATION: Rapid physical decomposition of
some crystals when heated. Characterized by a
crackling noise.
DEFLAGRATION: TO cause a substance to burn ra-
pidly, with flame.
DELIQUESCENCE: The property some crystalline sub-
stances have of dissolving spontaneously in liquid
absorbed from the air.
DELIQUIUM: Change of a salt from a solid to a
fluid state by contact with air only.
DEMI-METAL: See Semi-Metals.
DEPHLEGMATION: To remove water from a solution,
usually one of an acid or alcohol.  There is  a

sense of refining or purifying about the term, as
opposed to simple concentration.
DEPHLOGISTICATED ACID OF SALT: Chlorine  (CI2).
DEPHLOGISTICATED AIR: Oxygen (O2).
DEPHLOGISTICATED CALX OF IRON: Ferrous oxide
(hydroxide)   (FeO or Fe (OH)2).
DEPHLOGISTICATED MARINE ACID: Chlorine  (CI2).
DEPURATION: TO free from impurities, purify.
DESQUAMATION: The process of removing scaly
crusts which form on a surface.
DETONATION: Any rapid chemical reaction accom-
panied by noise and often by heat and light, e.g.,
explosions.
DIAPHORETIC: Any substance which induces perspir-
ation when administered to a patient.
DIAPHORETIC ANTIMONY (DIAPHORETIC MINERAL):
Mixture of antimony oxide and potassium anti-
monate  (Sb203; KSb03).
DIGESTION: The process in which heat is continu-
ously applied to a substance without boiling it
(usually in open vessels).
DIGESTIVE SALT: Potassium chloride (KCl).
DIGESTIVE SALT OF SYLVIUS: Potassium chloride
(KCl).
DIMINISHED NITROUS AIR (Priestley): Nitrous oxide
(N2O).
DISTILLATION: A process in which all or some por-
tion of a substance is vaporized and then con-
densed and collected.
DISTILLATION PER ASCENSUM: Distillation with the
collecting vessel above the heated vessel.
DISTILLATION PER DECENSUM: Any distillation where
the collecting vessel is below the heated vessel.
DISTILLATION PER OBLIQUIUM: Distillation in a re-
tort used for substances of (a) relatively low
vapor pressure and (b) other properties that
make the distillation difficult, e.g., honey.
DISTILLATION WITH ADDITION: Adding some sub-
stance prior to distillation that will aid the proc-
ess by (1) loosening the desired volatile product
chemically from its compound; (2) "fixing" the
product not desired, thus retaining it in the ves-
sel; (3) by adding a volatile substance to a fixed
substance desired, thus making the fixed sub-
stance volatile  (addition of properties).
DIURETIC SALT: Potassium acetate  (KC2H3O2).
DIVISION: Any process in which mixtures are sepa-
rated into their homogeneous components by me-
chanical means.
DOCIMACY: Assaying.
DRY WAY: Term used for all operations that are

26

SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY



conducted without adding a liquid medium. Re-
actions done through fusion, however, are still
regarded as in "the dry way."
DULCIFICATION: Any process in which a caustic sub-
stance is rendered less corrosive.
[AN] EARTH: Usually a carbonate, oxide or hydrox-
ide. "Earths" were originally classified by physi-
cal properties as "absorbent," "crystalline," and
"talky." They also were described variously as
"dry," "insipid," "not inflammable," "fusible"
solids which often recovered their original tex-
ture after fusion.
EARTH, CALCAREOUS, CAUSTIC: Calcium hydroxide
(Ca(OH)2).
EARTH, CALCAREOUS, MILD: Calcium carbonate
(CaCOa).
EARTH, MAGNESIAN, MILD: Magnesium carbonate
(MgC03).
EARTH, SILICIOUS: Silica  (Si02).
EARTH OF RHUBARB: Calcium oxalate  (CaCo04).
EARTHY SALTS: Compound of acids and "earths."
EAU FORTE (STRONG WATER): Usually concentrated
nitric acid (HNO3), sometimes (1) spirit of wine
(ethanol),  (2) caustic soda solution.
EBULLITION (EBULITION): The agitating, bubbling
action of a liquid that is undergoing rapid, active
boiling.
EDULCORATED    QUICKSILVER:    Mercurous    chloride
(Hg2Cl2).
EDULCORATION: The washing of a solid (often a
precipitate) with water to free it from soluble
impurities such as salts and acids. Because of
the latter, there are overtones of "sweetening,"
"purification," and "softening" with this term.
See text, page 13.
ELAEO.SACCHARUM: A mixture of an oil and sugar.
Used to make "oils" soluble in water, wines,
spirits, etc.
ELECTUARIES: Medicinals in the form of a paste or
conserve.
ELIXATION: The action of boiling or stewing.
ELUTRIATION (ELEUTRIATION): Separation and puri-
fication of a mixture of gianular solids with
water by (a) decanting, (b) straining, or (c)
washing.
EMETIC: Any substance that induces vomiting.
EMETIC POWDER: Potassium antimonyl tartrate
(KSbC4H407 • I/2H2O).
EMPLASTRUM   SIMPLEX:   Impure   lead  oleate
(Pb(C,8H330o)o).

EMPYREUMATIC: Tasting or smelling of burnt or-
ganic matter.
EMPYREUMATIC OILS: Liquid oils that (a) are acid,
(b) are soluble in ardent spirits, (c) do not retain
the taste and odor of the substance from which
they are obtained, (d) have a taste and/or odor
of burnt organic matter.
ENFILADED BALLOON: A spherical vessel with op-
posed, necked openings.
ENGLISH LAXATIVE SALT: Magnesium sulphate
(MgS04).
ENGLISH SALT: See Bitter Salt.
ENS MARTIS: A mixture probably consisting of iron
chlorides and ammonium chloride. Used as a
medicine.
ENS VENERIS: A mixture probably consisting of cop-
per chlorides and ammonium chloride. Used as
a medicine.
EPSOM SALTS: Magnesium sulfate (MgS04).
ESSAY: See Assay.
ESSENCE: Any essential oil.
ESSENTIAL OIL: Any "oil" that smells the same as
the vegetable from which it was obtained and
has a low boiling point  (below that of water).
ESSENTIAL OIL OF TURPENTINE: The most volatile
portion of turpentine.
ETAIN DE GLACE: Bismuth  (Bi).
ETHER: In the 18th century, alkyl chlorides and ni-
trates often were confused with true ethers, such
as ethyl ether (CH3CH2-O-CH2CH3).
ETHER OF BENZOIN: Ethyl benzoate
(C0H10O2).
ETHER OF NITRE: Mainly ethyl nitrite  (C2H5NO2).
ETHER OF VINEGAR:  Ethyl acetate
(C4H8O2).
ETHER  OF  VITRIOL:   Ethyl   ether
(C4H10O).
ETHIOPS MINERAL: Mostly black mercury sulfide
(Hg2S).
EVAPORATION: Any process in which the liquid por-
tion of a solution or mixture is vaporized, often
with the help of heat.
[To] EXALT: TO make more spiritous, volatile, or
generally more active; to activate.
EXSICCATE: TO dry; remove moisture.
EXHALATION: When parts of substances are sepa-
rated by heat from the solid and fly off into the
air. Used as a tool to obtain "fixed parts" as well
as "volatile parts." This includes calcination,
distillation, etc.

NUMBER 33

27



EXPRESSION: TO separate a component from organic
matter or any other solids or semisolids by
squeezing the material in a press. A mechanical
rather than a chemical means of separation.
EXTEMPORANEOUS ALKALI: See white flux.
EXTRACTION: TO separate one substance from
others by using solvents.
EXTRACT OF LEAD: Impure lead actetate
(Pb (C2H302)2).
EXTRACT OF MARS: Solid ferrous tartrate
(FeC4H406).
EXTRAVASATION: The escape of an organic fluid
(e.g., blood, sap) from its proper vessels into sur-
rounding tissues.
FAINTS: The second identifiable, thin, and light
liquid fraction from distillation.
FEARCE: TO pulverize or mascerate.
FEBRIFUGAL SALT: Potassium sulphate (K2SO4).
FEBRIFUGAL SALT OF SYLVIUS: Potassium chloride
(KCl).
[A] FERMENT: A substance actually fermenting, in-
clined to ferment, or used to cause fermentation,
e.g., yeast.
FETID OIL: Any oil substance that was "empyreu-
matic," i.e., had the odor of burned animal mat-
ter.
FILTRATION: TO separate a liquid from a particu-
late solid by passing the liquid through a porous
material, e.g., cloth or paper.
FINERY CINDER: Iron oxide  (Fe304).
FIRE AIR:  (Scheele): Oxygen (Oo).
FIXED AIR: Carbon dioxide (COo).
FIXED ALKALI (SODA): Sodium carbonate (Na2C03).
FIXED ALKALI SALT: Solid potassium carbonate
(K2CO3).
FIXED AMMONIAC (FIXED SAL AMMONIAC): Calcium
chloride   (CaCla).
FIXED NITRE: Usually potassium carbonate; some-
time potassium sulfate  (K2CO3; K0SO4).
FIXED SULPHUR OF ANTIMONY: Oxides of antimony,
probably primarily the trioxide (SboOg) which
forms when antimony ore (Sb2S3) is heated in air.
Antimony calx.
FIXED VEGETABLE ALKALI: Potassium carbonate
(K2CO3).
FLXITY: The degree of solidity of a substance as
measured by the ability of that substance to re-
sist the action of fire. The opposite of volatility.
FLORES: See Flowers.
FLORES AC VITRUM ANTIMONY: Probably antimony

trioxide (Sb203) with small amounts of anti-
mony trisulfide  (Sb2S3).
FLORES ANTIM.: See Flowers of Antimony.
FLORES BENZOINI: Benzoic acid  (CgHgCOOH).
FLORES MARTIALES (ENS VENERIS): Impure am-
monium chloride (NH4CI). Also includes iron
filing used in the reaction, with possibly some
chlorides of iron.
FLORES SULPHURIS: See Flowers of Sulfur.
FLORES VIRIDIS  AERIS:   Crystallized  cupric  acetate
(Cu (C2H302)2).
FLORES ZINC: See Flowers of Zinc.
FLOWERS (FLORES): Any solid product of sublima-
tion. Usually a powder.
FLOWERS OF ANTIMONY: Antimony trioxide (Sb203).
FLOWERS OF ARSENIC (WHITE ARSENIC): Arsenious
oxide (AS0O3).
FLOWERS OF BENJAMIN: See Flowers of Benzoin.
FLOWERS OF BENZOIN: Benzoic acid  (CgHgCOOH).
FLOWERS OF PHOSPHORUS: Volatile oxides of phos-
phorous (P0O3; P2O5).
FLOWERS OF SULFUR: Sublimed and condensed sul-
fur vapors   (S).
FLOWERS OF ZINC: Volatile zinc oxide  (ZnO).
FLUOR: (as adjective): "Flowing," an adjective indi-
cating that the substance cannot be made solid,
e.g., "fluor volatile alkali"; or, in referring to a
mineral, a solid that is easily fusible.
FLUOR ACID AIR: Silicon fluoride  (SiF4).
FLUORSPAR: Calcium fluoride  (CaF2).
Focus OF A FURNACE: That part of a furnace where
the fuel is actually burned.
FOLIATED EARTH OF TARTAR: Potassium acetate
(KC2H0O2).
FOSSIL: Any mineral substance.
FOSSIL ALKALI: Sodium carbonate (NaoCOg).
FOSSIL CADMIA: A cobalt mineral, probably co-
baltite (CoAsS).
FOSSIL OIL: Clear, distilled crude oil.
FRIGORIFIC: Having property of producing cold.
Fucus: A substance which can act as a (usually
opaque) surface coloring agent.
FULGINOSITY: Soot or any black deposit from flames
of oily substances.
FULMINATION: Any very rapid reaction which pro-
duces heat, light, and noise; e.g., explosions.
FUMING LIQUOR OF BOYLE: Ammonium polysulfide
((NH4)2S,).
FUMING LIQUOR OF LIBAVIOUS: Stannic chloride
solution (SnCl4).

28

SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY



FUSION: Changing a solid body to a liquid by the
action of fire.
GALENA: Lead sulfide (PbS).
GALLEY: A type of furnace in which several vessels
are heated side by side simultaneously.
GALLS: Parasitic giowths, commonly found on oaks,
which, when dried, ground, and dissolved were
useful as chemical indicators for iron.
GENTLE CALX OF LEAD: Lead nitrate (Pb (N03)2.
GERMAN ASH: Potassium carbonate (K2CO3).
GERMAN POTASH: Probably a mixture of potassium
carbonate and oxide.
GERMAN VITRIOL: An ore with both copper and
ferrous sulfates  (CUSO4; FeS04).
GLACIAL OIL OF ANTIMONY (BUTTER OF ANTIMONY):
Antimony trichloride (SbCl3).
GLASS OF (A SUBSTANCE): The fused form of the
substance, especially if semitransparent.
GLASS OF ANTIMONY: Probably antimony oxysulfate
(Sb202S04). Prepared by fusion of antimony sul-
fide, antimony, and an oxide of antimony.
GLASS OF BORAX: Fused borax.
GLASS OF LEAD: Any fused lead compound (espe-
cially ceruse, minium, or litharge).
GLAUBER'S ALKAHEST (ALKAHEST OF VAN HEL-
MONT): Concentrated potassium carbonate solu-
tion  (KoC03(aq)).
GLAUBER'S  SAL AMMONIAC:   Ammonium  sulphate
(NH4)2S04).
GLAUBER'S SALT (SAL MIRABILE): Sodium sulphate
(NaoS04).
GLAUBER'S SPIRIT OF NITRE: Fuming nitric acid
(HNO3).
GLOBULI MARTIALES: Iron powder boiled in cream
of tartar solution. Presumably contains some fer-
rous tartrate (FeC4H406). A pharmaceutical
preparation of iron.
GLUCINUM: Beryllium  (Be).
GOLDEN SPIRIT OF SULPHUR: Ammonium sulphide
((NH4)2S).
GRAVES: The residue left after extracting oils from
animal fat by means of heat and moderate pres-
sure.
GRAVID: Heavy or dense.
GREEN VITRIOL (VITRIOL OF MARS): Ferrous sulfate
(FeS04).
GRUME (S) (GRUMOUS): (1) Viscous, clotty; (2)
heap (s), clusters.
GuAic (GUYAC, GUAICUM): A tropical wood, some-
times used for the resinous extract of that wood.

GUM: Resinous or musiloginous extracts from
plants, shrubs, or trees.
GUM ACACIA: Like gum arable, but thought to be
distinguishable from it; the dried resinous exuda-
tion of certain varieties of the acacia tree.
GUM ARABIC: The dried exudation of certain va-
rieties of the acacia tree.
GUM BENZOIN: The dried resin of the tree Styrax
benzoin.
GUM DRAGON: See Gum Tragacanth.
GUM LAC: Dark-red resinous incrustation produced
in certain trees by the insect Carteria lacca.
When refined by certain processes it becomes
"shell-lac'' or "shellac."
GUM TRAGACANTH (GUM DRAGON): Dried, gummy
exhudation of the tree Astragalus gummifer and
related species.
GYPSEOUS EARTHS: Used for both gypsum or the
"earth" contained in it, i.e., calcium oxide. Some-
times the oxide was confused with carbonate as
the "earth" of gypsum.
GYPSEOUS SUBSTANCES: Solid substances which (a)
are not soluble in acids, (b) are not hard enough
to strike fire from steel, (c) when mixed with
water may form a paste which hardens into a
solid, and (d) becomes powdery when exposed
to fire.
GYPSUM: Calcium sulfate dihydrate (CaS04 •
2H2O).
HALITUS: Matter in a very subtile form, as a
"vapor"' or "exhalation." Like these, a "halitus"
was often hypothesized if a phenomenon was
ascribed to material causes, but no material could
be detected by known means.
HARTSHORN (HART'S HORN): Ideally, the horn of
the male European red deer, but the horns of
other deer species were acceptable substitutes.
HARTSHORN CALCINED TO WHITENESS: Hartshorn
subjected to heat over a long period and develop-
ing into a white substance.
HARTSHORN PREPARED PHILOSOPHICALLY: Much like
hart's horn calcined to whiteness, but usually
with less heat and for a longer period.
HEAD: The upper part of a distillation apparatus.
Also, the bulb or other enlargement at the end
of a tube.
HEAVY CARBURETTED HYDROGEN: Ethylene  (C2H4).
HEAVY EARTH: Barium oxide (BaO). Also barium
hydroxide and barium carbonate.
HEAVY INFLAMMABLE AIR:  Used at various times

NUMBER 33

29



for (a) carbon monoxide (CO), (b) water gas (a
mixture of H2 and CO), or  (c) methane  (CH4).
HEAVY SPAR: Barium sulfate (BaS04).
HELLEBORE: A plant of the genus Helleborus. Usu-
ally Helleborus niger, the so-called "Christmas
rose." The poisonous extract was used in dilute
preparations as a medicinal in the 17th and 18th
centuries.
HEMLOCK: The vulgar name for the poisonous
plant Conium maculatum and/or its extract.
HENNA: The plant Lawsonia inermis. The dried
and powdered shoots and leaves were used as a
dye or, with suitable medium, a cosmetic.
HEPAR ANTIMONII: Antimony trisulfide   (SboS3).
HEPAR CALCIS: Calcium sulfide  (CaS).
HEPARS: Sulfides  ( —S-^).
HEPAR SULPHURIS (LIVER OF SULPHUR): Produced
by heating potassium carbonate with sulphur.
Not a true compound, it was a metastable
mixture of potassium polysulfides and sulfate
(K2S, K2S2, K2S3, K2S4, K2S5, K2SO4).
HEPATIC AIR: Hydrogen sulfide gas  (H2S).
HESSIAN CRUCIBLE: A type of crucible made in
Hesse, Germany, of a mixture of native clay and
fine sand. Such crucibles were noted for being
able to withstand sudden changes in tempera-
ture.
HOMBERG'S (SEDATIVE) SALT: Boric acid (H3BO3
(ortho); H2B4O7  (tetra)).
HORN (CORNEOUS) LEAD: Lead chloride  (PbCl2).
HORN   MERCURY:   Chloride   of   mercury    (HgCU;
Hg2Cl2).
HORN SILVER (LUNA CORNEA): Fused silver chloride
  (AgCl).
HORN TIN: Stannous chloride  (SnCU).
HUNGARIAN    VITRIOL:     Usually    ferrous    sulfate
  (FeS04) but also used for copper sulfate (CUSO4).
HYDROMEL:  Mixture of honey and water, usually
in equal proportions. Ferments into "mead."
ICELAND SPAR (CALCITE): A particular crystal form
of calcium carbonate   (CaCOg).
ICY BUTTER: Antimony chloride   (SbCls).
IMBIBITION: TO soak or saturate with a liquid.
INFERNAL STONE: An alkali hydroxide (NaOH,
KOH). [Not to be confused with the French term
pierre infernale.]
INFLAMMABLE AIR: Usually hydrogen (H2), though
the usage is not constant among Priestley, Watt,
Lavoisier, or Berthollet. Sometimes carbon mon-
oxide (CO).

INFLAMMABLE AIR FROM METALS: Hydrogen (H2).
INFLAMMABLE AIR OF SULPHUR: Hydrogen sulphide
(H2S).
INFUSION: The extraction of chemical substances by
soaking them in a solvent, usually water. Some-
times boiling water was poured on a mixture of
substances and then allowed to cool in order to
aid the extraction; but if the heat were used, the
temperature could not exceed that of boiling
water.
INSOLATION: Digestion in which the heat was sup-
plied by the sun rather than a furnace.
INSPISSATE: To thicken or condense.
INTERMEDIATE SALT OF THE LEY OF BLOOD: Potas-
sium ferrocyanide  (K4Fe (CH)6).
INTERMEDIATE SALTS: Usually normal salts; occa-
sionally acid salts.
INTERMEDIUM: Any reagent or reactant believed to
be necessary for a reaction but which does not
always appear on the product.
INTUMESCENCE: The process of swelling up.
IPECACUANHA: A preparation from the root of the
South American plant Cephaelis Ipecacuanha.
IRON OCHRE: A mixture of silica, clay, and various
oxides of iron. In red ochre the oxide is simple
Fe203; in yellow ochre it is Fe203 • HoO.
IRON VITRIOL: Ferrous sulphate  (FeS04).
ISINGLASS: In the first half of the eighteen century
a gelatinous substance extracted from the air-
bladders of certain fish. Later, a synonym for
sheet mica.
IVORY-BLACK: A black pigment prepared by the
calcination of ivory in a closed vessel.
JALAP: A powder from the dried roots of the Mexi-
can plant Exogonium purga. Used as a purgative.
JAMES' POWDER: A powder prepared by Dr. Robert
James (1703-1776) that was used to reduce fevers.
JAPANNING: The coating of an object with a very
dark varnish. The original varnish came from
Japan, but substitutes were later found.
JOVE (OF JOVE): Tin, or some compound or alloy
of tin.
KA-LI: The plant Salsola kali or glasswort from
which, oddly enough, "mineral" alkali (sodium
carbonate) was extracted by calcination. Also
sometimes used for crude sodium carbonate.
KAOLIN: A fine, white clay used in the manufacture
of porcelain.
KELP:   Impure  soda   (Na2C03)  from seaweed.  In

30

SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY



Britain, the term was sometimes used for crude
sodium carbonate from any source.
KERMES MINERAL: A natural mixture of antimony
sulphide and antimony oxide or a mixture ob-
tained in the laboratory by the action of potas-
sium carbonate on antimony sulphide.
LAC (LAQUE): A relatively thick solution of a color-
ant or coating.
LAC SULPHURIS: See Milk of Sulfur.
LAPIS CALAMINARIS (CALAMINE): Mineral form of
zinc carbonate  (ZnC03).
LAPIS HAEMATITES: Hematite  (Feo03).
LAPIS INFERNALIS: Fixed vegetable alkali, i.e., potas-
sium carbonate  (KoCOg).
LAPIS PHILOSOPHORUM: A mixture of fused alum,
vitriol, bolus, cerussa, camphor, vinegar.
LAPIS PONDEROSUS: Calcium tungstate   (CaWOj).
LAPIS SEPTICUS: Potassium hydroxide  (KOH).
LAPIS SERPENTIN: A mineral chiefly characterized
by the presence of hydrous magnesium silicate
(Mg3Si205 (OH)4).
LAQUE: See Lac.
LAUDANUM: Any medicinal preparation with opiuin
as a primary ingredient.
LEAD-GLANCE: Lead sulphide  (PbS).
LEY OF (OX-)BLOOD: The lixiviate from the residue
produced by igniting blood with potashes.
LEY OF SOAPBOILERS: Potassium hydroxide  (KOH).
LIGHT CARBURETTED HYDROGEN: Marsh gas or
methane   (CH4).
LIGHT INFLAMMABLE AIR: Hydrogen  (Ho).
LIGNUM NEPHRITICUM: Two distinct woods were
known as lignum nephriticum: (1) the small
Mexican tree or shrub Eysenharcltia polystachya
and the large Philippine tree Pterocarpus indica.
In the sixteenth, seventeenth, and early eight-
eenth centuries, cups, powders, and dried ex-
tracts of this wood were thought to have great
medicinal powers. The infusion was fluorescent.
LIGNUM VITAE: "Tree of life." The wood, and
sometimes the resin, of several semi tropical trees,
but most often referring to Guaiacum.
LIMATION: Filing on a metal piece to reduce it to
filings. Sometimes used for simply polishing an
object.
LIME: Calcium oxide  (CaO).
LIME, CARBONATE OF: Calcium carbonate  (CaCOg).
LIME, QUICK: Calcium oxide  (CaO).
LIME, SLAKED: Calcium hydroxide  (Ca (OH)o).

LIMESTONE: Calcium carbonate   (CaCOg).
LIME WATER: A solution of calcium carbonate
(CaCOg).
LIQUESCENT (SALTS): See Deliquescence.
LIQUOR FUMANS BOYLE (SPIRITUS FUMANS BOYLE):
Ammonium polysulphide  ((NH4)S2;   (NH4)oS5).
LIQUOR FUMANS LIBAVII (FUMING LIQUOR OF LI-
BAVIUS): Stannic chloride  (SnCl4).
LIQUOR OF FLINTS: See Liquor Silicum.
LIQUOR OF HOFFMAN: A mixture of ethanol and
ether.
LIQUOR OF LIRAVIUS: See Smoking Spirit of Libavius.
LIQUOR SILICUM (LIQUOR OF FLINTS): A solution of
potassium silicate (KoSiOg). Sometimes used for
other soluble silicates.
LITHARGE: Yellow lead oxide   (PbO).
LITHOMARGE: Soft, claylike substances, such as
kaolin.
LITMUS: A blue pigment extracted from certain
lichens. It is acid sensitive, turning red in the
presence of an acid. The red form turns blue
again when a base is added.
LIVER OF ANTIMONY': Fused antimony sulfide
(SboSg). Usually produced from the detonation of
equal parts of crude antimony and potassium
nitrate.
LIVER OF ARSENIC: Fused mixture of potassium car-
bonate and (white) arsenic. May have contained
some potassium arsenate.
LIVER OF SULPHUR (HEPAR SULPHURIS): Produced
by heating potassium carbonate with sulphur.
Not a true compound, it is a metastable mixture
of potassium polysulfides and sulfate. (K2S, KoSo,
KoSg,    K2S4,    KoS-,,    K0SO4).
LixiviAL SALTS: Salts prepared by lixiviation.
LIXIVIATE OF MARS (IRON): Possibly a tincture of
iron, of which there were many different prepara-
tions. Typically, these were solutions of salts of
iron to which rectified spirit of wine (ethanol,
CHgCHoOH) was added.
LIXIVIATION: Separation of soluble from unsoluble
solid substances by soaking the mixture of solids
and removing the resulting solution which con-
tained the soluble material. See text, p. 14.
LIXIVIUM: A solution produced by lixiviation.
Sometimes used as a general synonym for "solu-
tion."
LIXIVIUM OF TARTAR: A solution of potassium car-
bonate   (KoCOg).
LOAD (LODE) : Any ore.
LOGWOOD: The American tree Haematoxylon Cam-

NUMBER 33

31



pechionum, used in dying. It produces dark
shades: blacks, blues, and dark grays.
LUCILLITE: A variety of limestones.
LUNA CORNEA (HORN SILVER): Fused silver chloride
(AgCl).
LUNAR CAUSTIC: Fused silver nitrate  (AgNOg).
LUNAR CRYSTALS: Finely divided parts of silver
nitrate (AgNOg). In preparing these crystals
great care was taken to use only the purest silver
and nitric acid possible.
LUNAR NITRE: Silver nitrate (AgNOg).
MACERATION: The softening and weakening of a
solid sample, even to the point of partial decom-
position, by soaking it in a liquid. See text, p 13.
MAGISTERIUM TARTARI VITRIOLATI: Probably potas-
sium sulfate  (K2SO4).
MAGISTERY OF (ANY SUBSTANCE): A precipitate of
any substance, i.e., a pure form of the substance
which has been separated by precipitation.
MAGISTERY OF BISMUTH: Basic bismuth nitrate
(BiONOg • HoO); sometimes the oxide (BiO) or
even the oxychloride  (BiOCl).
MAGISTERY OF CORAL: Calcium carbonate (CaCOg).
MAGISTERY OF SULFUR: Precipitated milk of sulphur
(S).
MAGISTRY: Any substance prepared from the basic
elements of that substance without impurities. A
magistry was supposed to be closer to the ideal
for a substance than was usual for real chemi-
cal preparations.
MAGNESIA: Magnesium carbonate (MgCOg). [Mod-
ern magnesia = magnesium oxide (MgO)]. Some
chemists called magnesium (Mg) by the name
"magnesia."
MAGNESIA AERATA: Magnesium carbonate (MgCOg).
MAGNESIA ALBA: Magnesium carbonate (MgC03).
MAGNESIA NIGRA: Manganese dioxide (Mn02).
MAGNESIA SALITA: Magnesium chloride (MgCL).
MALACHITE: Basic copper carbonate (CUCO3 *
Cu (OH)2).
MALIC ACID: An acid extracted from apples and
various other fruits. Pure malic acid is C4HCO5.
MALT: Barley or other suitable grains after a prepa-
ration for brewing or distilling that usually in-
cluded soaking, germination, and drying.
MANGANESE: Manganese dioxide (MnOs). Manga-
nese as we know it was called "regulus of man-
ganese."
MANNA MERCURII: Mercurous chloride (HgaCL).

MARBLE: A hard, crystalline, mineral form of cal-
cium carbonate  (CaCOg).
MARCASITA PLUMBEA: Antimony (Sb).
MARCASITES: Minerals similar in appearance or
properties to iron pyrites (FeS2). Later, a general
term for pyrites. Sometimes the term was used
for sulfides of arsenic  (AS2S0, AS2S3, AsaSg).
MARCHPANE: See Marzipan.
MARINE ACID: Hydrochloric acid (HCl).
MARINE ACID AIR: Hydrogen chloride (HCl).
MARINE ALKALI: Sodium carbonate  (NaoCOg).
MARL (MARLE): A loose soil of clays and calcium
carbonate (CUCO3).
MARS (OF MARS): A substance related in some way
to iron.
MARSH GAS: Methane  (CH4).
MARTIAL BALLS: A mixture of iron filings (Fe) and
cream of tartar  (KHC4H4OC).
MARTIAL ETHIOPS: Hydrated ferrosoferric oxide
(Fe304 * XH2O). Usually made by the action of
water on finely divided iron.
MARTIAL EXTRACT: Concentrated tincture of mars.
A concentrated solution, the chief component of
which   may  have  been   ferrous   hydroxide
(Fe(OH)2).
MARZIPAN: A confection of pounded almonds,
sugar, and other ingredients.
MATRASS: A vessel with a round bottom and long,
slender neck. Used as part of several common
types of distillation apparatus. See text p. 9.
MENSTRUUM: A solvent. See text p. 13.
MEPHITIC (as adjective): Noxious; poisonous or
pestilential.
MEPHITIC ACID: Carbonic acid  (H2CO3).
MEPHITIC AIR: Carbon dioxide (CO2).
MERCURIUS CALCINATUS: Mercuric oxide  (HgO).
MERC.   CALCIN.   NITRAT.:    Mercuric   nitrate
(Hg(NOg)2).
MERCURIUS CORROSIVUS: Mercuric chloride HgCU.
MERCURIUS    CORRISIVUS   RUBER:    Mercuric   oxide
  (HgO).
MERCURIUS   DULCIS    (CALOMEL,   MERCURIOUS   SUB-
LiMATus   DULCIS,   MILD   MERCURY):   Mercurous
  chloride (HgoCU).
MERCURIUS PRAECIPITATUS PER SE:  Mercuric oxide
  (HgO).
MERCURIUS PRAECIPITATUS RUBER:  Mercuric oxide
  (HgO).
MERCURIUS    SOLUBILIS    HAHNEMANNI:    Mercurous
  oxide  (HgsO).
MERCURIUS  SUBLIMATUS  DULCIS   (CALOMEL,   MER-
  
32

SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY



cuRius DULCIS, MILD MERCURY): Mercurous chlo-
ride (HgsCL).
MERCURIUS SUBLIMATUS RUBEUS NON CORROSIVAS:
Mercuric oxide  (HgO).
MERCURIUS VITAE: Mixture of antimony oxychlo-
ride and antimony oxides (SboOg; Sbo04, SboOj,
SbOCl). In some contexts the term may mean
just antimony oxychloride  (SbOCl).
MERCURIUS VITAE ANTIMONII: Mixture of antimony
oxychloride and antimony oxide (SboOg; Sb204;
SboOs, SbOCl).
MERCURY OF LIFE: See Mercurious Vitae.
METALLIC SALT: Compound of a metal and an acid.
MIASMA (MIASMATA): A noxious or infectious sub-
tle material (e.g., a vapor or exhalation) thought
to be from decaying organic matter. Sometimes
used for any unseen poisonous or infectious sub-
stance.
MICA: A mixed mineral form composed mostly of
aluminum silicate but with silicates of other
metals. Several complicated minerals are vari-
ously, and in combination, referred to as mica;
e.g., biotite K (Mg,Fe)3AlFeSi30^o (OH,F)o.
MiCRocosMic SALT: Sodium ammonium phosphate
(NaNH4HP04 • 4HoO).
MILD ALKALI: Alkalies which produce effervescence
with acids; i.e., carbonates ( —COg--).
MILD CALCAREOUS EARTH: Calcium carbonate
(CaCOg).
MILD   MAGNESIAN   EARTH:   Magnesium   carbonate
(MgCOg).
MILD MERCURY: Mercurous chloride  (HgoCL).
MILD   VEGETABLE   ALKALI:    Potassium   carbonate
(K2COg).
MILK OF LIME: Calcium hydroxide (suspension)
(Ca(OH)2).
MILK OF SULFUR: Finely divided sulfur (S) in solu-
tion. Usually the product of the reaction between
a soluble sulfide and an oxidizing acid.
MINDERER'S SPIRIT: A solution of ammonium ace-
tate  (NH4C2H3O2).
MINERAL ALKALI: Sodium carbonate   (NaoCOg).
MINERAL ANODYNE OF HOFFMAN (LIQUOR OF HOFF-
MAN): A mixture of ethanol and ether (C0H5OH),
(CHgCHoOCHoCHg).
MINERAL CRYSTAL: Sal prunella = potassium ni-
trate with a small admixture of potassium sulfate
(HNO3; K2SO4).
MINIUM (RED LEAD): Lead tetroxide (Pbg04).
MIXT: A chemical union of two or more true "ele-
ments"   or   "principles."   Later,   any   substance

which could be resolved into constituent parts
only by chemical means. Although the term had
greater philosophical complexities, it was roughly
equivalent to our term "compound," but the
latter is not to be considered a synonym.
MIXTURA SALINA: Saline mixture prepared by sat-
urating potassium carbonate with lemon juice
and adding syrup of black currants, julep.
MOFETTE: An exhalation or vapor of a mephitic
(noxious or poisonous) gas.
MOHR'S SALT: Ferrous ammonium sulfate (FeS04 '
(NH4)2S04 • 6H0O).
MOLYBDAENA: Native molybdenum sulfide  (MoSo).
MORDANT: Any substance which fixes or holds a
colorant in the material to be dyed.
MORTIFY: To change or destroy the normal, ex-
ternal form or appearance of a substance.
MOSAIC GOLD: Stannic sulfide  (SnS2).
MUCILAGENOUS MATTER: Any semisolid material
that was soft, moist, and viscous.
MuNDic (MuNDiCK): Iron pyrites (FeSo). Sometimes
used for other pyrites or as a general term for
pyrites.
MURIATES: Chlorides   ( — CI").
MURIATIC ACID: Hydrochloric acid (HCl).
MURIATIC ETHER:  Probably impure ethyl chloride
(CHgCHoCl).
NAPLES YELLOW: Lead antimoniate   (Pbg (Sb04)2).
NAPTHA: Any highly inflammable, volatile, natu-
rally occuring mixture of hydrocarbons. Also
could be obtained as the "lightest" fraction in
the distillation of asphalts, bitumens, and petro-
leum.
NATRIUM: Sodium.
NATRON (NATRUM): Sodium sesquicarbonate, a
naturally occurring combination of sodium car-
bonate (NaoCOg) and sodium bicarbonate
NaHCOg) in the ratio 1:1 (Na2COg • NaHCOg *
2H2O).
NEUTRAL ARSENICAL SALT OF MACQUER: Potassium
dihydrogen arsenate  (KH2A3O4).
NEUTRAL SALTS: Salts resulting from the reaction
of an acid and a base (hydroxide) but having no
characteristics of either acid or base.
NIHIL ALBUM (sometimes just NIHIL): Flowers of
zinc: zinc oxide  (ZnO).
NITRATED EARTHS, METALS, ETC.: Nitrates ( —NO3).
NITRE (COMMON NITRE): Potassium nitrate (KNO3).
NITRE FIXED BY TARTAR: A mixture of nitre and
tartar left after reaction between the two.

NUMBER 33

33



NITRE WITH AN EARTHY BASIS: Usually calcium ni-
trate (Ca(N03)2).
NITREUM  (Bergman): Nitrous acid  (HNO2).
NITRO-AERIAL SPIRIT: The hypothetical subtle sub-
stance which was thought by some to be responsi-
ble for the ability of nitre to support combustion
and to be a key component of detonations.
NITROUS ACID: Nitric acid (HNO3).
NITROUS ACID VAPOR (Priestley): Nitrogen dioxide
(NO2).
NITROUS AIR (Priestley): Nitric oxide (NO).
NITROUS ETHER: Ethyl nitrite  (CHgCH2NOo).
NITROUS GAS  (Lavoisier): Nitric oxide  (NO).
NiTRUM AEGYPTICUM: Sodium carbonate (Na2C03).
NiTRUM ANTIMONIATUM: Product containing potas-
sium nitrate, nitrite, and antimonate.
NiTRUM COMMUN: See Common Nitre,
NiTRUM CUBIC: See Cubic Nitre.
NiTRUM   FiXATUM    (NiTRUM   FiXUM,   FiXED   NITRE):
An often impure preparation of potassium car-
bonate (K2CO3). Usually prepared by deflagrat-
ing charcoal and saltpeter (KNO3).
NITRUM FLAMMANS: Ammonium nitrate (NH4NOg).
NiTRUM REGENERATUM: Potassium nitrate (KNOg).
NITRUM SATURNI: Lead nitrate (Pb (N03)2).
NITRUM STIBNATUM: Probably antimony nitrate
2Sb203 • N2O5).
NITRUM SULPHURE PURGATUM: Mixture of potas-
sium nitrate and potassium sulfate (KNOg;
K2SO4).
NITRUM VITRIOLATUM: Mixture of potassium sul-
phate and potassium bisulfate  (K2SO4; KHSO4).
NON METALS: A term used by William Cullen and
his students for the following group of sub-
stances: zinc (Zn), antimony (Sb), bismuth (Bi),
arsenic (As), platinum (Pt), cobalt (Co), nickel
(Ni).
OCHRE: A class of mineral solids which, in pow-
dered form, were commonly used as pigments.
Their colors varied from yellow to brown, in-
cluding reddish hues. Chemically, the ochres are
iron oxides, or mixtures of iron ovides, in vary-
ing states of hydration. For example, red ochre is
primarily FegOg. Silicates, carbonates, sulfates,
etc., also were commonly present with these
oxides.
OCHROITE: Cerium oxide  (Ce02).
OFFA HELMONTII:  Potassium carbonate   (K2CO3).
OIL: Any relatively insoluble, inflammable, some-
what viscous liquid.

OIL GAS: Mixture of methane, carbon monoxide,
and butylene (CH4; CO; C4H8).
OIL OF ANTIMONY (BUTTER OF ANTIMONY): Anti-
mony trichloride (SbClg).
OIL OF ARSENIC: Arsenic trichloride  (AsClg).
OIL OF CALAMINE: Concentrated zinc chloride solu-
tion (ZnCl2).
OIL OF CHALK: Calcium chloride solution  (CaCU).
OIL OF CLOVES: An oily substance extracted from
the buds and flower stalks of the clove tree Caryo-
phyllus aromaticus. Used as a medicinal.
OIL OF DIPPEL: The insoluble, viscous fraction
from decomposed animal matter that has gone
through repeated distillations.
OIL OF HARTSHORN: A crude animal oil obtained
from the destructive distillation of bones.
OIL OF LIME: A solution of calcium chloride
(CaClo).
OIL OF RUE: The oil extracted from evergreens of
the genus Ruta. Used as a medicinal.
OIL OF SULPHUR: Concentrated sulfuric acid. Some-
times the term was used for alkaline sulphide of
ammonia   ((NH4)2S).
OIL OF TARTAR: Concentrated potassium carbonate
solution   (K2CO3).
OIL OF TARTAR PER IDELIQUIUM: Potassium car-
bonate, which is hydroscopic, dissolved in the
water which it extracts from the air.
OIL OF VENUS: Concentrated solution of copper
nitrate  (Cu (N03)2).
OIL OF VITRIOL: Sulfuric acid (H2SO4).
OIL OF WINE: A hypothetical component of alcohol
thought to give it its odor and inflammability.
OLEA TEREBINTHINE: Terpentine.
OLEFIANT GAS: Ethylene (C2H4).
OLEUM ANIMALE: Any of the liquid oils (triglycer-
ides) that could be extracted from animal matter.
OLEUM DULCE: See Oil of Wine.
OLEUM SULPHURIS PER CAMPANUM: Sulfuric acid
(H2SO4) prepared by burning sulfur under a bell
jar and later concentrating and purifying the
product by heating to drive off water and sulfur
dioxide.
OLEUM     SUCCINI:     Concentrated     succinic     acid
  (HOOCCH2CH0COOH).
OLEUM TARTAR PER DELIQUIUM: See Oil of Tartar
  per Deliquium.
OLEUM VITRIOLI: Oil of vitriol.
ORPIMENT: Arsenic trisulfide  (AS2S3).
OXYCARBURETTED HYDROGEN: Water gas, mixture of
  
34

SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY



hydrogen (H2), carbon monoxide (CO), and car-
bon dioxide  (CO2).
OxYMURiATic ACID: Chlorine  (CU).
PANACEA: Potassium sulfate  (K2SO4).
PAN-STONE: Calcium sulfate (CUSO4).
PARTING: The operation by which gold and silver
are separated from each other.
PEARL ASH: The whitest potassium carbonate
(K2CO3) extracted from calcined plants. In a
sense, then, pearl ash is purified potash.
PEARL WHITE: Bismuth oxychloride [BiOCl].
PELICAN: A special distillation apparatus. The con-
densing head had two curved tubes emerging on
opposite sides. These tubes led down and entered
the lower section or body of the vessel; thus, the
condensed liquid ran back to the heated section
where it was revaporized, giving a cyclic action.
The pelican was especially effective for reactions
that took place in the vapor phase. See text,
p. 9.
PELLICLE: Any thin saline crust that forms on a
solution.
PER CAMPANUM: Any process carried out under a
glass bell jar.
PER DELIQUIUM: A hygroscopic salt was said to "run
per deliquium" when it changed from solid to
liquid by extracting water from the air.
PERLATE SALT: Sodium phosphate  (Na3P04).
PERSPIRATION: Spontaneous evaporation or (less
often) vaporization through heating. Also used to
indicate condensation of moisture on a relatively
cool body.
PERSPIRATIVE: A medicinal which promoted perspir-
ation.
PETROLIA: Liquid bitumens.
PETUNTSE: A white mineral solid used in the manu-
facture of porcelain.
PEWTER: An alloy of tin. Originally with up to one-
fifth lead, but later bismuth and copper were
substituted for lead.
PHILOSOPHER'S WOOL: Zinc oxide  (ZnO).
PHILOSOPHICAL  FLOWERS   OF   VITRIOL:   Boric   acid
(HgBOg).
PHILOSOPHICAL FOLIATED EARTH: Potassium acetate
(KC2H3O0).
PHILOSOPHICAL MERCURY: An alchemical term sig-
nifying the property-bearing principle of chemi-
cal activity.
PHILOSOPHICAL SAL AMMONIAC: Ammonium sulfate
((NH4)2S04).

PHILOSOPHICAL SPIRIT OF NITRE: Nitric acid pre-
pared by distilling saltpeter with oil of vitriol
(HNOg).
PHILOSOPHICAL SPIRIT OF TARTAR: Potassium hydro-
gen tartrate  (KHC4H4O6) distilled with wine.
PHILOSOPHICAL SPIRIT OF VITRIOL: Hydrochloric
acid (HCl).
PHILOSOPHICAL SPIRIT OF WINE: Spirit of wine (al-
cohol) concentrated by freezing  (CH0CH3OH).
PHILOSOPHICAL WATER: Aqua regia. A solution of
hydrochloric and nitric acids, usually in ratios
from 2:1 to 4:1  (HCl to HNOg).
PHLEGM: A general term for any aqueous fraction
of a distillation.
PHLOGISTICATED ACID OF NITRE: Nitrous acid
(HNOo).
PHLOGISTICATED ACID OF VITRIOL: Sulphurous acid
(HoSOg).
PHLOGISTICATED AIR: Nitrogen  (N2).
PHLOGISTICATED ALKALI: Potassium ferrocyanide
(K4Fe (CN)c • 3HoO).
PHLOGISTICATED CALX OF IRON: Ferrous oxide (hy-
droxide)   (FeO).
PHLOGISTICATED EARTH OF MOLYBDAENA: The solid
reduction product of molybdic acid.
PHLOGISTICATED MANGANESE: Manganous carbonate
(MnCOg).
PHLOGISTICATED NITRE: Impure potassium nitrite
(KNOo).
PHLOGISTICATED NITROUS ACID: Nitrous acid
(HNO2).
PHLOGISTICATED   VITRIOLIC   ACID:   Sulfurous   acid
(H2SOg).
PHLOGISTON: A hypothetical substance originally
used to account for the property of inflamma-
bility. It later was made to carry many more
properties and formed a central point for the
theoretical beliefs of a number of eighteenth-
century chemists.
PHLOGISTON ELASTICUM: Hydrogen  (H2).
PHOSPHORATED IRON: Ferric phosphate (FeP04).
PHOSPHORATED MERCURY: Mercuric phosphate
(Hgg  (P04)2).
PHOSPHORATED VEGETABLE ALKALI: Potassium phos-
phate   (KgP04).
PHOSPHOROUS: Sometimes used for any phosphor-
escent substance.
PHOSPHOROUS OF BALDWIN: Calcium nitrate
(Ca (NOg)o).
PHOSPHOROUS OF HOMBERG: Calcium chloride
(CaClo).

NUMBER 33

35



PHOSPHOROUS OF URINE: AS the name implies, a
form of phosphorous  (P) extracted from urine.
PIERRE INFERNALE: Fused silver nitrate (Ag (NOg)).
[Not to be confused with "Infernal Stone."]
PINCHBECK: A gold-colored alloy of about five parts
copper (Cu) to one part zinc (Zn).
PiNGuious (PINGUINOUS): Fatty, oily.
PLASTER: Any semisolid plastic mixture that could
be applied to a surface and then spontaneously
cured or hardened. One of the oldest plasters is
a mixtvire of slaked lime (Ca (OH)o), sand, and
hair. The term also was used to refer to impure
lead oleate   (Pb (Ci8Hg30o)2).
PLASTER OF PARIS: Calcium sulfate monohydrate
((CaS04)2 • HoO).
PLATINA: Platinum (Pt.), or sometimes the usually
impure form of platinum found in nature that
is alloyed with other exotic metals.
PLUMBAGO: Carbon (C) in the form of graphite.
PLUMBUM ALBUM: Basic lead carbonate (2PbC03 *
Pb (OH)2). Sometimes the term was applied to
basic lead acetate (Pb (C2HgOo) ' Pb (OH)2 '
H2O).
PLUMBUM CINEREUM: Bismuth  (Bi).
PLUMBUM CORNEUM (HORN LEAD): Lead chloride
(PbCla).
PLUMBUM STRIDENS: Tin (Sn).
PNEUMATIC: Pertaining to subtle, rarified, or vapor-
ous substances such as air. In modern terms, gas-
eous.
PNEUMATIC TROUGH: An apparatus developed over
the eighteenth-century from John Mayow (1641-
1679) through Stephen Hales (1677-1761) to An-
toine Lavoisier (1743-1794). The trough was any
large pan or vat in which inverted bottles full of
water could be supported. Glass tubes conducted
the gases from the vessels in which they were
generated outside the trough to the inverted bot-
tle in the trough, where the gases were trapped
and held.
POINT OF SATURATION: The instant when the exact
proportions of the two "saline principles" (one
from an acid, the other from a base) unite to
form a perfectly neutral salt.
POMPHOLIX: Flowers of zinc (ZnO).
PONDEROUS SPAR: Barium sulfate (BaS04).
POT ASH: Potassium carbonate (K0CO3).
POWDER OF ALGAROTH: Antimony oxychloride
(SbOCl).
PRECIPITANT: A substance serving as intermediary
to separate two other substances from each other.

PRAECIPITATE PER SE: Mercuric oxide (HgO).
PRAECIPITATUS ALBUS: Mercurous chloride (Hg2Cl2).
PRAECIPITATUS VIGONIS: Mercuric oxide  (HgO).
PRECIPITATE OF SULFUR: Precipitated milk of sulfur
(S).
PRECIPITATION: The phenomenon in which a solid
is formed within a solution and falls to the bot-
tom of the vessel in which the solution was con-
tained. See text, p. 14.
PRIMUS METAL: See Prince Rupert's Metal.
PRINCE RUPERT'S METAL (BATH METAL, PRIMUS
METAL, PRINCES METAL): A brass alloy in which
the ratios of copper (Cu) to Zinc (Zn) are ap-
proximately 4 to 1.
PRINCE'S METAL: See Prince Rupert's Metal.
PRINCIPLE: One of the simplest forms of matter,
from which other substances are formed through
combinations with other principles or other
combinations of principles. Although there are
similarities to the modern term "element," the
two are not truly synonymous.
PROXIMATE PRINCIPLES: Components obtained
through chemical analysis which themselves are
compounds but presumed to be simpler than the
original substance.
PRUSSIAN BLUE: Ferric ferrocyanide (Fe4[Fe(CN)6]3).
PRUSSIC ACID: Hydrocyanic acid  (HCN).
PuLVis ALGAROTHI: Antimonious oxychloride
(SbOCl).
PuLvis FULMINANS: An explosive mixture made
from potassium nitrate, potassium carbonate, and
sulfur.
PUMICE: A light, porous stone of mixed silicates.
PURE CLAY: Alumina. Aluminum oxide  (AI2O3).
PURE PONDEROUS EARTH: Baryta. Barium oxide
(BaO).
PURIFICATION: Any process in which one substance
is rendered free, or relatively free, of any other
substance. Common methods included distilla-
tion, crystallization, and precipitation. See text,
p. 14.
PYRITES: Originally, any mineral which could strike
sparks from steel. The term was often used to
refer to iron pyrites   (FeSo).
PYROLIGNEOUS ACID: Crude acetic acid from wood
(HC0H3O0).
PYROLIGNEOUS SPIRIT: Methyl alcohol   (CHgOH).
QUADRANGULAR NITRE: Sodium nitrate   (NaNOg).
QUARTATION: The process of combining gold  (Au)
and silver  (Ag) in the ratio 1:3. When the com-

36

SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY



bination is dissolved in nitric acid, the silver is
dissolved and the gold is separated,  free  from
  impurities.
QUARTZ: A mineral whose primary component is
silicon dioxide (Si02). Its color and other aspects
of its appearance  depended  on  the  impurities
  present.
QUICKLIME: Calcium oxide  (CaO).
QUICKSILVER: Mercury (Hg).
QUICKSILVER   CALCINED   PER   SE:   Mercuric   oxide
  (HgO).
QUINTESSENCE:  A mixture of an essential oil and
  alcohol.
QUINTESSENCE OF LEAD: Acetone (CH3COCH3).
RABEL'S WATER: The liquid obtained by macerat-
ing poppy flowers in a mixture of sulphuric acid
and alcohol for some days and then filtering.
RAMOUS: (1) Individual (fundamental) particles of
viscous or rigid bodies; (2) branching or filiment-
like parts of a liquid mixture.
REALGAR: Arsenic disulfide  (AS2S2).
RECEIVER: The vessel attached to the condensing
part of a distillation apparatus in order to re-
ceive the condensed products from the distilla-
tion. See text, p. 11.
RECREMENT: Solid waste or refuse from a chemical
operation, e.g., scoria.
RECTIFICATION: The purifying or refining of a sub-
stance by one or (usually) more distillations. See
text, p. 15.
RED ARSENIC (REALGAR): Native arsenic disulphide
(AS2S2).
RED BOLE: A red clay that contained silicates of
iron and aluminum. Used as a red pigment and
as a base for gilding.
RED FLOWERS OF ANTIMONY: Probably antimony
sulfide (Sb2S5).
RED LEAD  (MINIUM): Lead tetroxide   (Pb304).
RED OCHRE: A mineral solid approximately 95
percent red iron oxide (Fe203). An old and im-
portant pigment.
RED PRECIPITATE: See Red Precipitate of Mercury.
RED PRECIPITATE OF MERCURY: Impure mercuric
oxide (HgO).
RED SAUNDERS (RED SANDERS): The wood from the
tree Pterocarpus santalinus, commonly called red
sandlewood. Used in dyeing.
REDUCTION: The returning of a substance to a pre-
vious or original condition; e.g., the restoring of
a metal to the metallic state from its oxide. See
  
text, p. 13.
REFRACTORY EARTHS:   Mineral  substances  that do
  not fuse under the action of fire.
REFRIGORATORY: A vessel at the top or head of some
stills that is surrounded by or filled with cold
water to condense any vapors in tubes or vessels
  within it.
REGENERATED   MARINE   SALT:   Potassium   chloride
  (KCl).
REGENERATED SEA SALT: Potassium chloride  (KCl).
REGENERATED TARTAR: Potassium acetate
(KC2Hg02).   In   this  form,   the  compound  was
  made from distilled vinegar and salt of tartar.
REGULINE CAUSTIC: Potassium carbonate   (K2CO3).
REGULUS: The pure form of a metal, e.g., regulus
  of antimony.
RESINS: A vegetable product, almost always viscous
and sticky, formed within a plant or tree. Resins
usually are obtained as natural exudations,  by
incisions into the tree, or by treating the wood
  chemically.
RETORT: A vessel with a long neck bent down at
the point where it joins the body of the vessel.
Especially suited for the distillation of substances
  under low heat. See text, p. 9.
REVIVIFICATION: The restoration of a metal to the
metallic state from one of its compounds. Similar
to, but broader in scope, than "reduction." See
  text, p. 13.
RISIGALLUM: See Realgar.
ROB: A sort of conserve in which the juice of a
fruit is extracted, condensed, and preserved with
sugar.
ROCHE ALUM: See Rock Alum.
ROCHELLE SALT   (SEIGNETTE  SALT):   Potassium  so-
dium tartrate (KNaC4H406 • 4H2O).
ROCK ALUM: Usually larger crystals or formations
of  potassium  aluminum  sulfate   (KAl (S04)2   '
I2H2O). Alum of this quality often was imported
from Italy.
ROCK-CRYSTAL: Pure, colorless, transparent, crystal-
line quartz occurring naturally in large prismatic
  crystals. Silicon dioxide   (SiOj).
ROG: Concentrated native vegetable acid. From the
usual preparations, it would be primarily citric
  acid  (CGHSOT).
ROMAN   VITRIOL:    Copper   sulfate    (CUSO4).   In
Britain this term was sometimes used for ferrous
  sulfate   (FeS04).
RUSSIAN POT ASH: Potassium carbonate (K0CO3).
RUST OF COPPER: See Verdigris.
  
NUMBER 33

37



SACCHARATED LIME: Calcium oxalate   (CaC204).
SACCHARUM SATURNI: Lead acetate (Pb (C2H302)2).
SAFFRON: A range of orange-yellow colors. The
color called saffron comes from the dye of the
same name, which is an extract of the plant
Crocus sativus.
SAFFRON OF GOLD: See Aurum Fulminans.
SAFFRON OF IRON: See Saffron of Mars.
SAFFRON OF MARS: Any yellowish iron compound,
e.g., hydrated ferroso ferric oxide (Fe304 * XH2O)
or ferric sulfide  (Fe2S3).
SAFFRON OF METAL: A mixture of antimony sulfide
(Sb2S3), nitre (KNO3), and antimony sulfate
(Sbo (804)3).
SAL ABSINTHI (SALT OF WORMWOOD): Mostly potas-
sium carbonate  (K2CO3).
SAL ALBUS: Borax (sodium tetraborate) (Na2B407 •
lOHoO).
SAL ALKALI VITRIOLATUM: Potassium sulfate
(K2SO4).
SAL ALKALINUS VEGETABLIS: Potassium carbonate
(K2CO3).
SAL AMARUM: Magnesium sulfate (MgS04).
SAL AMMONIAC (SAL ARMONIAC): Ammonium chlo-
ride (NH4CI). Sometimes used for other am-
monium salts.
SAL AMMONIACUM FIXUM: Calcium chloride
(CaCla).
SAL AMMONIACUM VOLATILIS: A term variously used
for any salt solution that gave off the odor of
ammonia. When referring to solid salts the term
meant ammonium carbonate ((NH4)oC03).
SAL ANGLICUM (EPSOM SALT): Magnesium sulfate
(MgS04).
SAL CATHARTICUM: Magnesium sulfate   (MgS04).
SAL CATHARTICUM AMARUM: Magnesium sulfate
(MgS04).
SAL CATHOLICUM: Potassium sulfate  (K2SO4).
SAL DE DUOBUS: Potassium sulfate  (K2SO4).
SAL DE SEIGNETTE (SAL DE SOINETTE): See Seignette's
Salt.
SAL DIGESTIV: Potassium chloride (KCl).
SAL DI MODENA: Magnesium sulfate  (MgS04).
SAL DIURETICUS: Potassium acetate  (KC2H3O2).
SAL DUPLICATUM: Potassium sulphate (K2SO4).
SAL ENIXUM: Potassium sulfate  (K2SO4).
SAL EPSOM: (EPSOM SALT): Magnesium sulfate
MgS04).
SALES MEDII: See Sal Medium.
SALES SALSI: See Sal Salsam.
SAL GEMME (SAL GEM): Sodium chloride (NaCl).

SAL GENTIANAE: Mostly potassium carbonate
(K2CO3).
SAL GLAUBER (GLAUBER'S SALT): Sodium sulfate
(Na2S04).
SAL GUAIACI EX LIGNO: Mostly potassium carbonate
(K2CO3).
SALINE BODIES (Cullen): Substances which are (a)
sapid, (b) miscible with water, and (c) nonin-
flammable.
SALITED EARTHS, METALS, ETC.: Chlorides  (Cl~).
SAL JUNIPERI: Mostly potassium carbonate (K2CO3).
SAL KALI  (SODIUM CARBONATE): Soda  (Na2C03).
SAL MARINUS: Sea salt; mostly sodium chloride
(NaCl).
SAL MARINUS FONTAN: Sodium chloride (NaCl) as
found in or near landlocked bodies of water.
SAL MARINUS REGENERATUS: Potassium chloride
(KCl).
SAL MARTIS: Ferrous sulfate (FeS04).
SAL MEDIUM (SAL SALSUM) (SALES MEDII): Any
neutral salt that would not precipitate solutions
made with acid or alkaline salts and would not
change the color of syrup of violets.
SALMIAC: See Sal Ammoniac.
SAL MIRABILE (GLAUBER'S SALT): Sodium sulphate
(Na2S04).
SAL NITRIFORME INFLAMMABLE: Probably am-
monium nitrate  ((NH4)N03).
SAL NITRII: Potassium nitrate  (KNO3).
SAL PERLATUM: Sodium phosphate (Na3P04).
SAL POLYCHRESTUM: Potassium sulphate  (K2SO4).
SAL POLYCHRESTUM ANGLORUM (SAL POLYCHRESTUM
GLASERI): Potassium sulfate  (K2SO4).
SAL POLYCHRESTUM DE ROCHELLE: See Sal Poly-
chrestum de Seignette.
SAL POLYCHRESTUM DE SEIGNETTE: Potassium sodium
tartrate  (NaKC4H406).
SAL POLYCHRESTUM E NITRO ET SULPHURE: Potas-
sium sulfate (K2SO4).
SAL   POLYCHRESTUM   GLASERI:    Potassium   sulfate
(K2SO4).
SAL PRUNELLAE: A mixture of potassium nitrate
and potassium sulfate  (KN03;K2S04).
SAL RUPELLENSIS (ROCHELLE SALT): Hydrated po-
tassium sodium tartrate (KNaC4H406 * 4H2O).
SAL SALSAM: (1) Any neutral combination of an
acid with an absorbent earth; (2) any neutral
combination of acid with alkali. (See also Neu-
tral Salts, Sal Medium, or Salts.)
SAL SAPIENTIAE: Potassium sulfate (K2SO4).
SAL SATURNI: Lead acetate (PbC2Hg02).

38

SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY



SAL SEDIVATUS (SEDATIVE SALT): Boracic or boric
acid, (H3BO3) or (H2B4O7).
SAL SENNERTI: Potassium acetate  (KC2HgOo).
SAL SODA (SALT SODA, SODA): Sodium carbonate
(NaoCOg).
SAL SUCCINI (SALT OF AMBER): Succinic acid
(HO0CCH2CH2CO2H).
SALT: In the 16th and 17th centuries this term de-
noted a group of solid, soluble, noninflammable
substances with characteristic tastes. In the 18th
century salts gradually became to be thought of
in terms of process, as, for example, the product
of the reaction between acids and bases, acids
and other salts, or between two salts, etc. Some
chemists regarded acids and bases themselves as
salts or at least saline substances. In general,
salts were increasingly recognized as the largest
and most important class of substances as the
eighteenth century progressed.
SALT ALEMBROTH: A mixture of equal parts of cor-
rosive sublimate (mercuric chloride, HgClo) and
sal ammoniac (NH4CI). Used as a flux for
metals.
SAL TARTARI: Potassium carbonate (K2COg). It
usually was produced by strongly heating tartar.
SALT ASH: Magnesium chloride   (MgClo).
SALT OF AMBER: Succinic acid (C4H(;04).
SALT OF ART: See Salt Alembroth.
SALT OF BENZOIN: Benzoic acid  (CcH^COOH).
SALT OF CENTAURY: Solid residues obtained from
the calcination of any of the plant species of the
genus Centaurea.
SALT OF CHALK: Calcium acetate  (Ca (CoH30o)o).
SALT OF COLCOTHAR: Probably impure ferric hy-
droxide (Fe(OH)3).
SALT OF CORAL:  Calcium acetate   (Ca (CoHgOo)o).
SALT OF CRAB'S EYES:  Calcium acetate
(Ca (CoH302)o).
SALT OF ENGLAND: Ammonium carbonate
((NH4)2COg).
SALT OF EPSOM: See Epsom Salt.
SALT OF GALL-NUTS: Tannic acid (C-^c,^520-iG)-
SALT OF GLASS: A mixture of the various salts found
in raw materials used in glassmaking. These in-
cluded fixed alkali (potassium carbonate), com-
mon salt (sodium chloride), Glauber's salt
(sodium sulfate), vitriolated tartar (potassium
sulfate), etc.
SALT    OF    HARTSHORN:     Ammonium    carbonate
((NH4)2COg).
SALT OF HUMAN BLOOD: A mixture of ammonium

salts, including ammonium hydroxide (NH4OH),
and various organic solids.
SALT OF LEAD (SUGAR OF LEAD) (SAL SATURNI):
Lead acetate   (Pb (CoHg02)2).
SALT OF LIME: Calcium carbonate (CaCOg) precipi-
tated from limewater (calcium hydroxide solu-
tion, Ca (OH)o) by a carbonate compound.
SALT OF MARS: Most often used for ferrous sulfate
(FeS04). Occasionally used as a general term for
any iron salt and as a specific name for ferrous
acetate  (Fe (C2H302)o).
SALT OF MILK: Probably calcium lactate
(Ca(C3H503)2).
SALT OF OXBONE: Impure ammonium salts from
bone extracts of cattle (NH4OH).
SALT OF SCIENCE: See Salt Alembroth.
SALT OF SEDLITZ: See Sedlitz Salt. (Sometimes sed-
litz salt was confused with Glauber's salt.)
SALT OF SODA: See Soda.
SALT OF SORREL: Acid potassium oxylate (KHC0O4).
SALT OF STEEL: Loosely applied to various iron
salts. Most commonly applied to martial vitriol.
(Ferrous sulfate; FeS04).
SALT OF SULPHUR: Impure potassium sulfate
(K0SO4).
SALT OF SYLVIUS (FEBRIFUGAL SALT OF SYLVIUS): Po-
tassium chloride  (KCl).
SALTS OF TACHENIUS: Impure potassium and sodium
carbonates (K2C03,Na2C03) obtained from the
incomplete combustion of plant products. These
salts contained organic impurities.
SALT OF TARTAR: Potassium carbonate  (K2CO3),
SALT OF URINE: Impure ammonium salts extracted
from urine.
SALT OF VINEGAR: Impure potassium sulfate. Prob-
ably mixed with acetates and citrates.
SALT OF WISDOM: See Salt Alembroth.
SALT OF WORMWOOD: Mostly potassium carbonate
(KoCOg).
SAL VITRIOLI: Ferrous sulfate  (FeS04).
SAL VOLATILE FIXATUM: Ammonium sulfate
((NH4)2S04).
SAL VOLATILE OLEOSI: Any solid extracted from
animal or vegetable matter containing am-
monium salts, e.g., salt of hartshorn, etc.
SANDARACH: (1) See Realgar; (2) a resin from the
tree Callitris quadrivalvis.
SANDIVER (GLASS GALL): A solution containing a
mixture of salts found on the surface of glass
after vitrification.
SAPHIRE: See Sapphire.

NUMBER 33

39



SAPID: TO have a decided, yet pleasant taste.
SAPONACEOUS: TO be soapy, slippery, sometimes
foaming.
SAPPHIRE (SAPHIRE): A clear blue gem material
which is like ruby, a crystalline form of alumina
(AI2O3).
SARCOCOLLA: A gum resin imported from the Mid-
dle East.
SARSPARILLA: The roots of plants of the family
Smilaceae from which gummy and resinous ex-
tracts are obtained.
SASSAFRAS: A term applied both to the tree Sassa-
fras officinale and to its bark when dried and
prepared.
SATURATION: The action by which a "perfect" union
between an acid and an alkali is accomplished.
Its product is a neutral salt.
SATURN (OF SATURN): Used in referring to lead or
to compounds containing lead.
SAUNDERS: See Red Saunders.
SCAMMONY: A gummy, resinous juice from the root
of the plant Convolvulvus scammonia.
SCHEELE'S GREEN: Cupric hydrogen arsenite
(CuHAsOg).
SCHORL: A black mineral. Now known as a variety
of tourmaline.
SCHWARTZ BLEI WEISS (BLACK WHITE-LEAD): Plum-
ago (graphite) (C^).
SCORDIUM: The plant Teucrium scordium from
which gummy and resinous extracts are obtained.
It has an odor of garlic.
SCORIA: The undesirable solid residues or slag
which remain after a metal has been separated
from an ore.
SCORIFICATION: Any process which produces scoria
or slag. Sometimes used for processes which yield
metal or semimetals. Scorification usually in-
volved the addition of other substances to the
ore, then heating.
SECRET FIXED SULPHUR OF THE PHILOSOPHERS: Cal-
cined residue when sulfur is distilled with linseed
oil.
SECRET SAL AMMONIAC (GLAUBER'S SECRET SAL
AMMONIAC): Ammonium sulfate  ((NH4)2S04).
SEDATIVE SALT: Usually boric acid, but sometimes
sodium tetraborate (Na2B407).
SEDATIVE SPAR: Calcium borate (CaB407).
SEDLITZ SALT (EPSOM SALT): Magnesium sulphate
(MgS04).
SEIGNETTE'S SALT: Sodium potassium tartrate (Ro-
chelle salt)  (NaKC4H406).

SELENITE: The various mineral forms of Calcium
sulphate (CaS04).
SELENITIC SPAR: Any mineral assigned to the family
of "spars" that could be calcined like gypsum
(CaS04 • 2H2O).
SEMI-METALS: Substances which have the properties
characteristic of metals except for ductility and
which sublime. Different chemists had different
lists, but most included antimony (Sb), arsenic
(As); bismuth (Bi), cobalt (Co), and Zinc (Zn).
Some included mercury (Hg) and, later in the
century, nickel   (Ni).
SENA (SENNA): Several similar plants of the genus
Cassia from the leaves of which gummy and
resinous extracts were obtained.
SENEGAL: A gum extract from the root of the North
American species Polygala senega.
SENNA: See Sena.
SEPARATING-GLASS: A vessel narrow at the top, then
bellying out in the center, and narrowing again
to a hollow tube or stem. Shaped somewhat like
the modern separatory funnel and often used for
similar purposes.
SERPENTINE: A steatite, usually green.
SHOOT: When crystals appeared, especially suddenly
in a saturated solution, they were said to "shoot."
SIDERUM: Iron phosphide (FcgP).
SiLEx: Silicon dioxide  (Si02).
SILICIOUS EARTH  (SILICA): Silicon dioxide  (Si02).
SIMILOR: A copper zinc alloy with a color approxi-
mating that of real gold.
SLAKED LIME: Calcium hydroxide   (Ca (OH)2).
SMALT: A blue, glassy substance used as a pigment.
The blue comes from cobaltous oxide (CuO).
Smalt also contains silica  (Si02).
SMELTING: The process of extracting a metal from
its ore.
SMO(A)KING SPIRIT OF LIBAVIUS: Primarily stannous
chloride (SnCl2) but with chlorides of mercury
mixed in.
SMO(A)KING SPIRIT OF NITRE: Concentrated nitric
acid  (HNOg).
SNOW OF ANTIMONY: See Flowers of Antimony.
SOAP: In general, any chemical combination of
acids, bases, or salts with oils that exhibit deter-
gent action. Common soap was the product of
sodium hydroxide with an oil or fat.
SOAP OF GLASS: Manganese dioxide (Mn02) in its
role of agent to remove color bodies from glass
while the glass was molten.
SoAP-RocK: See Steatites.

40

SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY



SOAPSTONE: See Steatite.
SODA: Sodium carbonate (Na2C03).
SODA BARYLLIA (Spanish): Sodium carbonate
(Na2C03).
SODA HISPANICA (WASHING SODA): Sodium car-
bonate   (Na2C03).
SOLDER: Any fusible metal alloy used for joining
two pieces of metal. Most types were alloys of tin
and lead.
SOLUBLE TARTAR: Normal potassium tartrate. Prob-
ably (K2C4H4O6).
SOLUTION: Any liquid in which one component
called the "solute" is dispersed in a second com-
ponent called the "solvent."
SoLVEND (Cullen): Solute.
SOOT: Carbon and hydrocarbon deposits from in-
complete combustion of fuels.
SORREL: Various plants of the genus Rumex from
which an acid salt (acid potassium acetate) was
extracted.
SPANISH EARTH: Vitriols (mixture) (CuS04;FeS04).
SPANISH GREEN: Basic copper carbonate (2CUCO3 •
Cu (OH)2).
SPANISH WHITE: Bismuth oxychloride (or oxyni-
trate)  (BiOCl;BiON03).
SPAR: A class of compounds characterized by a
crystalline form that features shiny reflective
plate surfaces.
SPATH (SPAT) STONE: A naturally occurring mineral
solid containing mostly calcium sulfate  (CaS04).
SPATHIC IRON ORE: Ferrous carbonate  (FeCOg).
SPECIFICUM PURGANS PARACELSI: Potassium sulfate
(K2SO4).
SPERMACETI: The white fatty substance obtained
from the head of the sperm whale. Used in
pharmaceuticals and candles.
SPHACELATED: Gangrenous.
SPIKENARD: The aromatic extract from the Indian
plant Nardostachys jalamansi. The term was also
used for the plant itself.
SPIRIT: (1) Any liquor obtained from another sub-
stance by distillation; (2) later, any subtle sub-
stance dissolved in another substance. The con-
cept gradually veered toward what we now call
the gaseous state.
SP. AMMON. CUM CALCE VIVA: Ammonium car-
bonate   ((NH4)2C03).
SPIRIT. AMMON. SAL. VOL.: Mostly ammonium car-
bonate    ((NH4)2COg).
SPIRIT OF ALUM: Sulfuric acid (H2SO4) obtained
from the destructive distillation of alum

(KAl (S04)2 • 12HoO).
SPIRIT OF HARTSHORN: Strong solution of ammonia
produced by the distillation of hartshorn
(NH4O4).
SPIRIT OF LIBAVIUS: Stannic chloride  (SnCl4).
SPIRIT OF MINDERERUS: Ammonium acetate solu-
tion    (NH4 (C2Hg02).
SPIRIT OF WINE: Ethanol (ethyl alcohol) (C2H5OH).
SPIRITUS ACETI: The acetic acid (HC2Hg02) ob-
tained from distilling any fermented material
which produces this acid, e.g., vinegar.
SPIRITUS BEGUINI: Ammonium polysulfide (fuming
liquor of Boyle)  ((NH4)2S).
SPIRITUS CC: Ammonium carbonate  ((NH4)2C03).
SPIRITUS NITRI COAGULATUS: Potassium nitrate
(KNO3).
SPIRITUS NITRI DULCIS (SWEET SPIRIT OF NITRE):
Ethyl nitrite   (C2H5NO2).
SPIRITUS SAL AMMONIACUM: See Spirit of Sal Am-
moniac.
SPIRITUS SALIS AMMONIACI CUM SALE ALKALI PA-
RATA: Ammonium carbonate ((NH4)2C03).
SPIRITUS SALIS COAGULATUS: Potassium chloride
(KCl).
SPIRITUS SULPHURIS: See Spirit of Vitriol or Spirit
of Sulphur.
SPIRITUS SULPHURIS VOLATILUS BEGUINII: Ammo-
nium polysulphide   ((NH4)2S).
SPIRIT VENERIS: Sulfuric acid  (H2SO4).
SPIRITUS VITRIOLI: See Spirit of Vitriol.
SPIRITUS VITRIOLI COAGULATUS: Potassium sulfate
(K2SO4).
SP. MIND.: See Spirit of Mindererus.
SPOUT: Any hollow projection from a vessel that is
used to direct the liquid flow while pouring.
This term was most commonly applied to the
spout on an alembic.
SPUMA Lupi: The mineral from which tungsten
was extracted.
STAGNANT GAS  (MARSH GAS): Methane  (CH4).
STAMPING: Crushing of ores.
STANNUM ANGLICI: Tin (Sn) from England.
STANNUM GLACIALE: Bismuth  (Bi).
STARKEY'S SOAP: Saponaceous substance from the
reaction between potassium carbonate and essen-
tial oil of turpentine.
STEATITE: A mineral substance composed mostly of
various    forms    of    magnesium    silicate,    e.g.,
(Mg3Si40n   •  H2O).
STEEL: Regarded as a form of iron which (a) con-
tained a larger portion of the inflammable prin-

NUMBER 33

41



ciple and  (b) had fewer chemical impurities.
STIBIATED TARTAR: Potassium antimonyl tartrate
(KSbC4H407).
STIBIUM: Antimony sulfide (Sb2S3).
STICK LAQUE: See Lac.
STINKING SULPHUREOUS AIR: Hydrogen sulphide
(H2S).
STONE OF BOLOGNA: A variety of barium sulfate
(BaS04) that became phosphorescent when cal-
cined.
SPIRIT OF NITER "BESOARDIQUE" : Nitric acid added
to "Butter of Antimony" and the mixture dis-
tilled to get a liquor which holds the "Regulus
of Antimony" in solution.
SPIRIT OF NITRE: Dilute nitric acid   (HNO3).
SPIRIT OF SAL AMMONIAC: Ammonia (NH3), or
ammonium hydroxide solution (NH4OH).
SPIRIT OF SALT: Hydrochloric acid (HCl).
SPIRIT OF SATURN: Impure acetone made from lead
acetate  (CH3COCH3).
SPIRIT OF SEA-SALT: Hydrochloric acid (HCl).
SPIRIT OF SULPHUR: Mixture of sulfuric and sulfur-
ous acids  (H2SO4; H2SO3).
SPIRIT OF TARTAR: Potassium hydrogen tartrate
(KHC4H4O6). Product of the dry distillation of
crude tartar.
SPIRIT OF URINE: Ammonium carbonate
((NH4)2C03). Derived from an impure solution
of ammonia obtained by the distillation of urine.
SPIRIT OF VENUS: Concentrated and relatively pure
acetic acid (HC2H3O2).
SPIRIT OF VERDIGRIS: Acetic acid (HC0H3O2).
SPIRIT OF VINEGAR: Impure acetic acid obtained by
distilling vinegar  (HC2H3O2).
SPIRIT OF VITRIOL: Dilute sulfuric acid (H2SO4)
and/or sulfurous acid  (H2SO3).
STRONTIA: Strontium oxide  (SrO).
SUBLIMATE: Solid or concrete products of sublima-
tion. Not powder.
SUBLIMATION: A property possessed by some sub-
stances enabling their going directly from the
solid to the gaseous state without passing through
the liquid phase. (See text, p. 15).
SUBSTANTIA FERREA VITRIOLI: Ferric oxide  (Fe203).
SUCCINUM: Amber.
SUDORIFIC: Any medicinal substance which pro-
moted, or was believed to promote, sweating.
SUGAR OF (A SUBSTANCE): Usually signifying an ace-
tate (-C2Hg02-).
SUGAR OF LEAD: Lead acetate (Pb (C2H302)2)-
SULPHUR:   (a) As a "principle," in the seventeenth

and early eighteenth centuries the substantive
causes of the properties of inflammability, color,
and odor; (b) in the doctrine of phlogiston, a
compound composed of vitriolic (sulfuric) acid
and the inflammable principle, "phlogiston."
SULPHUR ALBUM FIXUM: Potassium nitrate (KNOg).
SULPHURATED IRON: Ferrous sulphide (FeS).
SULPHUR MINERALE: Solid mineral sulphur (S).
SULPHUR OF ANTIMONY (GOLDEN SULPHUR OF ANTI-
MONY): The orange sulfide of antimony, usually
a mixture of the trisulfide (Sb2S3) with some of
the pentasulfide (Sb2S5).
SULPHUREOUS SALT OF STAHL: Impure potassium
sulfite  (K2SO3).
SULPHUREOUS ACID: Sulfuric acid (H2SO4).
SuLPHURETs: Sulfides ( —S).
SULPHUREUM (Bergman): Sulfurous acid (H2SO3).
SULPHUROUS ACID (Pre-Lavoisier): Sulfuric acid
(H2SO4).
SULPHUR VIVUM: Naturally occurring sulphur   (S).
SuPEROLEFiANT GAS  (Dalton): Butylene  (C4Hg).
SWEDISH ACID: Hydrofluoric acid  (HF).
SWEETENED SPIRIT OF SALT:  Ethyl chloride
(C2H5CI).
SWEET MERCURY (MERCUREOUS DULCIS): Mercurous
chloride  (HgaCls).
SWEET PRINCIPLE FROM OILS AND FATS: Glycerol
(HOCH2CHOHCH2OH).
SWEET SUBLIMATE:  Mercurous chloride   (HgoCl2).
SYMPATHETIC INK: Any solution that is colorless
but becomes dark (and thus visible) by heating,
by addition of other chemicals, etc.
SYRUP OF VIOLETS: A water extract of the petals of
violets.
SYRUPUS VIOLARUM: See Syrup of Violets.
TABASHEER (TABACHIR): A white powder formed
at the joints of bamboo shoots. Imported from
the Orient and used as a medicinal.
TALC: A mixture of magnesium metasilicilate
(Mg3H2 (8104)3) "with magnesium silicate
(Mg3Si40ii   •   H2O).
TALKY EARTHS: (a) fibrous earths; (b) earths that
suffer no change from the action of acids or fire;
(c) earths that do not become viscid or hard when
made into aqueous paste, e.g., asbestos.
TANNIN: Any astringent vegetable substance that
can react with animal hyde and convert it to
leather. The most common tannin was tannic
acid extracted from oak-galls.
TAR:   The   dense,   black,   inflammable   liquid   or

42

SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY



semisolid obtained from the distillation of vari-
ous woods or coal. A complex mixture of hydro-
carbons and other organic compounds.
TARTAR: Potassium hydrogen tartrate (KHC4H4O6).
TARTARATED ALKALI OF TARTAR: Potassium tartrate
(K2C4H40e).
TARTAR EMETIC (STIBIATED TARTAR): Potassium
antimonyl tartrate  (KSbC4H407).
TARTARIFIED IRON: See Chalybs Tartar.
TARTARIFIED TARTAR: See Soluble Tartar.
TARTARIFIED TINCTURE OF IRON: Ferrous tartrate
solution (FeC4H406).
TARTARIN: A term occasionally used for potassium
carbonate (K0CO3).
TARTARIZED TARTAR: Potassium tartrate
(K2C4H4O6).
TARTARIZED TINCTURE OF MARS: Not a true alcohol
solution, this medicinal was dubbed a tincture
largely because of its deep color. Probably iron
tartrate  (FeC4H406) with various impurities.
TARTARUM REGENERATUM (REGENERATED TARTAR):
Potassium acetate (KC2H3O3) for the most part,
but also used for assorted potassium salts. Not
very well defined.
TARTARUM SOLUBUS (SOLUBLE SALT OF TARTAR):
Potassium tartrate  (K2C4H4O6).
TARTARUM TARTARISATUM: Potassium tartrate
(K2C4H4O6).
TARTARUM VITRIOLATUM (VITRIOLATED TARTAR).
Potassium sulphate   (K2SO4).
TARTARUS CITRATUS: Potassium citrate (KgCgHgOy •
H2O).
TARTARUS NITRATUS: Potassium nitrate  (KNOg).
TARTARUS TARTARISATUS: Potassium tartrate
(K2C4H4O6).
TARTARUS VITRIOLATUS: Potassium sulfate (K2SO4).
TARTRE STYBIE (TARTAR EMETIC): Potassium anti-
monyl tartrate (KSbC4H407).
TAR WATER: A solution of the water-soluble com-
ponents of tar. Mostly alcohols and polar organic
materials.
TECTUM ARGENTI: Bismuth (Bi).
TEREBINTH: The resin from the terebinth tree
Pistacia terebinthus.
TEREBINTHACEOUS: Impregnated with turpentine,
having turpentine as a component, or just simi-
lar to turpentine.
TEREBINTHINE: The refined portion or the "spirit"
of the resin from the terebinth and other trees
having similar resins. Very similar to what we
now call turpentine.

TERRA ANGLICA RUBRA: Ferric oxide (Fe203).
TERRA   FOLIATA   NITRI:   Potassium   acetate
(KC2H3O2).
TERRA FOLIATA TARTARI: See Regenerated Tartar.
TERRA FOLIATA TARTARI CRYSTALLISABILIS: Sodium
acetate   (NaC2H302).
TERRA FOLIATA SECRETISSIMA: Solid potassium ace-
tate (KC2H3O2).
TERRA FRANCISCA: Assorted sulfates (e.g., FeS04,
CUSO4).
TERRA MOLYBDAENAE: Molybdic acid
(H2M0O4 • H2O).
TERRA PONDEROSA: Barium sulfate  (BaS04).
TERRA PONDEROSA ACETATE:  Barium acetate
(Ba (CoH302)2).
TERRA PONDEROSA AERATA: Barium carbonate
(BaCOg).
TERRA PONDEROSA MOLYBDAENATA: Barium molyb-
date (BaMo04).
TERRE FOLIEE ANIMALE: Ammonium acetate
(NH4C2H3O2).
TERRE FOLIEE CRYSTALLISEE: Sodium acetate
(NaCoHg02).
TEST: A large cupel used for refining substantial
quantities of gold and silver by means of lead.
TESTACEOUS EARTHS: Mineral solids that came from
or were chemically similar to shells. Thus, "tes-
taceous powders" were prepared from shells.
TESTING: The operation of refining gold and silver
by means of lead.
THERIAC: A general term for an antidote for the
poison of a venomous snake.
TiNCAL (TINKAL): Crude borax imported from
India.
TiNCT. TARTARI: Solution of potassium hydroxide
(KOH) in alcohol.
TINCTURA ANTIMONII: See Tincture of Antimony.
TINCTURE: A solution in which ethanol is the pri-
mary solvent. The term was applied most often
to colored solutions.
TINCTURE OF ANTIMONY: A medicinal prepared
from antimony metal and liver of sulphur (po-
tassium polysulfides).
TINCTURE OF CORAL: Crude acetone (CH3COCH3).
TINCTURE OF MARS: A general term for various
medicinal preparations Involving iron salts. Com-
mon components included ferrous hydroxide and
mixed tartrates and oxides.
TINCTURE OF MARS OF MYNSICHT: An alcohol solu-
tion in which the solute is primarily ferric chlo-
ride (FeClg).

NUMBER 33

43



TIN-GLASS: Bismuth (Bi).
TINGING: When one substance tinges or slightly
colors another.
TORREFACTION: Roasting of ores in the hope of re-
moving impurities.
TOURMALINE (TOURMALIN, ASH-STONE): A mineral
solid consisting of various forms of silicoborate,
including the black mineral "Schorl."
TOURNESOLE: See Turnsol.
TRIPLE SALTS: Salts which seemed to have three
components rather than the usual two; e.g., alum
(KA1(S04)2 • 12HoO).
TRIPOLI (INFUSORIAL EARTH, ROTTEN-STONE): A
finely divided mineral solid used for polishing.
Obtained from the shells of diatoms.
TRITORIUM: A vessel used for the separation of im-
miscible liquids. It was often shaped somewhat
like two modern separatory funnels cut near their
tops and fused together. Basically the same as a
separating glass.
TRITURATION: Mechanical breakdown or division
of solid substances through grinding; e.g., with
mortar and pestle, in a mill, etc.  (See text, p. 13).
TRITURE: See Trituration.
TRONA: Naturally occurring sodium carbonate
(NaaCOs). It usually had some bicarbonate
(NaHCOg) in it as well.
TUBULATED RETORT: A retort which had a scalable
opening in the top to allow addition or removal
of material without changing the position of the
retort. See text, p. 11.
TUNG SPAT: See Heavy Spar.
TUNGSTEN (SCHEELITE): Native calcium tungstate
(CaW04).
TuRMARic: A powder made from the root of the
imported East Indian plant Curcuna longa.
TURNER'S YELLOW: Yellow lead oxychloride (PbCU *
3PbO).
TURNSOL(E): The bluish purple substance from the
plant lichen Crozophora tinctoria. Used as an
indicator. Synonymous with litmus.
TURPENTINE: A resinous liquid extracted from vari-
ous trees. Originally the extract of the terebinth
tree Distacia terebinthus.
TuRPETH MINERAL (TURBETH MINERAL): Basic
mercuric sulphate  (HgS04 * 2HgO).
TUTENAG (CHINESE COPPER): A term occasionally
applied to zinc (Zn). Also used for a white metal
alloy (Chinese copper) which consisted primarily
of copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), and nickel (Ni). Used
to alloy silver in coins and jewelry items.

TuTiA: See Tutty.
TUTTY: Zinc oxide (ZnO).
ULIGINOUS: Any watery, oozing matter like that in
a swamp.
ULMIN: A mucilagenous substance from the inner
bark of the elm.
ULTRAMARINE: A blue pigment made from the gem
mineral lapis lazuli. The relative composition of
ultramarine is not fixed, but the largest com-
ponent is a sodium aluminum silicate combined
with sulphur.
UMBER: A mineral solid which exists in a range of
brown hues. Chemically, umber is mostly a mix-
ture of hydrous ferric oxide (Fe20g * XHoO)
and manganese dioxide (MnOo). It was believed
by many in the eighteenth century to be a fossil
wood originally found in Umbria near Spoleto
in Italy.
UNCTUOUS: Oily; i.e., viscous, adherent and lubri-
cating.
UNCTUOUS OILS: Oils that have little or no taste or
odor but are relatively "oily"; i.e., are viscous,
adherent, and lubricating.
URINOUS SALTS: Usually any ammonium salt. Some-
times any of the alkali carbonates.
USTULATION: The loss of volatile components of a
substance without loss of texture or body. Cf.
Calcination.
VAGUE ACID OF MINES: An aeriform fluid which was
probably largely sulphur dioxide (SOo).
VAPOUR: Rather loosely applied to any aeriform
substance or phase. Perhaps the best eighteenth-
century definition was any aeriform substance
that could be liquefied by cold.
VAPOUR OF ARSENIC: Arsenious oxide  (As20g).
VARNISH: A resin in solution. "Spirit" varnishes
were resins dissolved in turpentine or alcohol.
"Oil" varnishes were resins dissolved in linseed
and/or other oils.
VEGETABLE ACID: Any acidic substance extracted
from whole or fermented vegetable matter. Thus,
the term was applied to acetic (CHgCOOH),
citric (CoHgOy), and tartaric (C4HCOG) acids,
etc.
VEGETABLE ACID, FERMENTATIVE: Primarily acetic
acid from vinegar  (HC2H3O2).
VEGETATIVE ACID,  NATIVE:   Citric acid   (CBHSOT).
VEGETABLE ALKALI (POTASH): Potassium carbonate
(K0CO3).

44

SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY



VEGETABLE AMMONIACAL SALT:   Solid  ammonium
  acetate   (NH4C2H3O2).
VEGETABLE SALT: See Tartarified Tartar or Soluble
  Tartar.
VENUS (OF VENUS): Usually suggested either copper
or a compound of copper. Sometimes it simply
   indicated an acetate ( —CoH30o~).
VERDIGRIS    (VERDEGRISE):   A  basic   copper  acetate
(Cu(C2H302)2   •   2Cu(OH)2).   Long  used  as  a
   green pigment.
VERDITER   (BLUE VERDITER;   BLUE  BICE):   A  blue
pigment  made  from  a  basic  copper  carbonate
(2CUCO3 •  Cu(OH)2) which is chemically the
  same as azurite.
VERMILLION: The red pigment made from cinnabar
   (mercuri sulfide, HgS). See Cinnabar.
VINE BLACK:  A preparation of carbon from the
twigs and wood of vines. Used as a black pig-
ment.
VINEGAR OF LEAD: Primarily lead acetate
(Pb (C2H302)2).
VITAL AIR: Oxygen (O2).
VITIATED AIR: Air from which oxygen has been re-
moved, thus mainly nitrogen.
VITRESANT (VITRIFIABLE): Any solid that could be
made into "glass."
VITRIFIABLE EARTHS (VITREOUS EARTHS): Mineral
substances which fuse under the action of fire.
VITRIFICATION: The chemical part of the process of
making glass or of any high-temperature process
which produced a glass-like substance.
VITRIOL: Used mainly for ferrous sulphate (FeS04),
but a generic term for sulfates. As with many old
terms, the usage varied; e.g., some used the term
for nitrates of silver and copper.
VITRIOL, BLUE: Copper sulphate (CUSO4).
VITRIOL, GREEN: Ferrous (or iron) sulphate (FeS04).
VITRIOL, WHITE: Zinc sulphate  (ZnS04).
VITRIOL (OR VITRIOLIC) ACID: Sulphuric acid
(H2SO4).
VITRIOLATED EARTHS, METALS, ETC.: Sulphates.
VITRIOLATED ETHER: Diethyl ether  (C4H10O).
VITRIOLATED TARTAR:  Potassium sulfate   (K2SO4).
VITRIOLIC ETHER: Diethyl ether (C4H10O).
VITRIOL OF GOSLAR (WHITE VITRIOL): Zinc sulfate
(ZnS04).
VITRIOL OF JOVE: Stannous sulphate   (SnS04).
VITRIOL OF JUPITER:   Stannous acetate
(Sn (C2H302)2).
VITRIOL OF MARS (GREEN VITRIOL): Ferrous sulfate
(FeS04).

VITRIOL OF QUICK SILVER:   Mercuric nitrate
(Hg(NOg)2).
VITRIOL OF SATURN:  Lead acetate   (Pb (C2H3O2)).
VITRIOL OF SILVER: Occasionally, early in the cen-
tury, silver nitrate (AgNOg). As the century
progressed, the term was more reasonably applied
to silver sulfate  (Ag2S04).
VITRIOL OF VENUS: Cupric sulfate  (CUSO4).
ViTRioLUM ALBUM: See White Vitriol.
ViTRioLUM      AMMONIUM:      Ammonium      sulfate
((NH4)oS04).
ViTRioLUM ANGLICUM: Ferrous sulphate  (FeS04).
VITRIOLUM VENERIS CUM ALKALI FIXO PRAECIPITA-
TUM: Basic copper acetate (Cu(C2H302)2 * CuO *
6H2O).
ViTRiuM ANTIMONII (GLASS OF ANTIMONY): Fused
antimony oxide (Sbo03).
VIVIFYING SPIRIT: A hypothetical principle in the
air which, according to some early eighteenth-
century chemists, was the active agent in com-
bustion and respiration.
VOLATILE: An adjective usually used to indicate not
only that a substance naturally gave off some
aeriform component (as indicated by an odor)
but also that it decomposed easily and gave off
one or more aeriform components to the air on
heating.
VOLATILE ACID OF NITRE: Nitrous acid  (HNO2).
VOLATILE ACID OF SULFUR (PHLOGISTICATED VITRI-
OLIC ACID): Sulfurous acid  (H2SO3).
VOLATILE ALKALI: A term most commonly used for
solutions of ammonia; e.g., ammonium hydrox-
ide.
VOLATILE ALKALI IN ITS CONCRETE FORM: Ammo-
nium carbonate  (NH4COg).
VOLATILE LIVER OF SULPHUR: Volatile product from
heating sulphur with quicklime and ammonium
chloride.
VOLATILE SAL AMMONIAC: Ammonium hydroxide
solution.
VOLATILE  SALT:   Ammonium  carbonate
((NH4)2COg).
VOLATILE SALT OF AMBER: See Salt of Amber.
VOLATILE SALT OF HARTSHORN: Ammonium car-
bonate  (NH4CO3).
VOLATILE SPIRIT OF SAL AMMONIAC: Ammonium
hydroxide (NH4OH) obtained from quicklime
(calcium oxide) and sal ammoniac (ammonium
chloride).
VOLATILE SPIRIT OF SULPHUR: The aeriform product
from burning sulphur;  mostly sulphur dioxide

NUMBER 33

45



(SO2) with some sulphur trioxide   (SO3).  The
term was also applied to sulphurous acid.
VOLATILE   VITRIOL   OF   VENUS:    Copper    acetate
Cu (C2H302)2.
WASH: Any fermented mixture which, after dis-
tillation, would produce distilled spirits (ethanol,
CH3CH2OH, with impurities).
WATER GAS: Mixture of hydrogen (H2) and carbon
monoxide (CO).
WATER OF MINDERUS: A solution of ammonium
acetate (NH4C2H3O2).
WATER OF RABEL: A solution of ethyl ether
(CHgCH20CH2CH3) in ethanol   (CH3CH2OH).
WAX: A term referring to beeswax only, as the
hydrocarbon waxes were not available in the
eighteenth century.
WHEY: The liquid which remains after milk is
curdled, usually in the process of cheese-making.
WHITE ARSENIC: Arsenious oxide  (AS2O3).
WHITE CALX OF ANTIMONY: Mixture of antimony
oxide  (Sb203) and potassium oxide  (KgO).
WHITE COPPER: An alloy of arsenic (As), copper
(Cu), and zinc (Zn).
WHITE COPPERAS: Zinc sulfate  (ZnS04).
WHITE LEAD: Basic lead carbonate (Pb (COg)2 *
Pb (OH)2).
WHITE   MANGANESE:   Manganous  carbonate
(MnCOg).
WHITE PRECIPITATED MERCURY (PRECIPITATE OF
THE SUBLIMATE OF MERCURY): Mercurammonium
chloride (HgNH2Cl).
WHITE VITRIOL: Zinc sulfate  (ZnS04).
WIND FURNACE: A reverberating furnace. See text,
p. 6.
WINE: Often used more broadly by eighteenth-
century chemists to include any potable liquid
which had become "spiritous" through fermen-
tation; e.g., beer, cider, and mead.
WITHERITE: Barium carbonate (BaCOg).

Wo AD: A blue dye prepared from the leaves of the
plant Isatis tinctoria.
WOLFRAM: A mineral substance Spuma lupi that
was under investigation in the 18th century.
WOOD ASH: Potassium carbonate  (K2CO3).
WORM: A long, coiled tube, usually of copper, at-
tached to the head of a distillation apparatus for
the purpose of increasing condensation. A worm
commonly was used in distilling spirits.
WORMWOOD: The plant Artemisia absinthium, the
leaves of which were used to make an extract by
distilliation. Used as a medicinal.
WORT: An infusion of grain, usually malt, which
was fermented to produce beer.
WouLFE BOTTLE: A bottle with two or more necked
orifices that was used in distillation.
YELLOW: A yellow coloring agent produced by
treating indigo with dilute nitric acid. This sub-
stance proved to be unstable and seldom was
used as a dye.
YELLOW AQUA FORTIS: Concentrated nitric acid
(HNO3).
YELLOW ARSENIC: Arsenious sulphide (AS2S3).
YELLOW OCHRE: Hydrated ferric oxide (Fe20g *
H2O).
YTTRIA: A mixture of rare earth elements from the
mineral gadolinite. Primarily the trioxide of
yttrium  (Y20g).
ZAFFRE (SAFFRE): A gray or reddish powder com-
posed mostly of cobalt oxide  (CaO).
ZEOLITES: A group of mineral solids which are vari-
ous hydrated silicates, primarily of aluminum,
calcium, potassium, and sodium. Although not
really related, they shared the property of swell-
ing and "boiling" under the heat of the blow-
pipe.
ZINC (ZINCO, ZINETUM): Regarded in the eighteenth
century as a semi-metal because of its relative
brittleness.

es
Not

  ^ NICOLAS LE FEVRE, A Compleat Body of Chymistry (Lon-
don, 1670), part 1, pages 1-12.
  ^GEORGE ERNST STAHL, Philosophical Principles of Universal
Chemistry (London, 1730), page 1. This publication is a
translation by Peter Shaw of Stahl's Fundamenta Chymiae of
1723. The manuscript from which the original was published
predates Stahl's use of the phlogiston concept.
  ^ NICOLAS LEMERY, Cows de chimie, 8th edition (Paris,
1696), page 2.
  ^WILHELM HOMBERG, "Essais de chymie," Memoires de
I'Academie Royale des Sciences   (1702), page 33.
  ^HERMAN BOERHAAVE, Elements of Chemistry (London,
1735), volume 1, page 19. This publication is the authorized
translation by Timothy Dallowe.
® Ibid, volume, 2, page 2.
  ''PETER SHAW, Chemical Lectures, 2nd edition (London,
1755), page 1. Shaw's definition is closer to Boerhaave's than
might appear at first glance.
  ^ GUILLAUME-FRAN^OIS ROUELLE, "Cours de Chimie, ou
Lemons de Monsieur Rouelle, Recueilles pendant les annees
1754, 1755, et redigees en 1756. Revues, et corrigees, en 1757
et 1758" (manuscript. Science Library, Clifton College, Bris-
tol, England; micofilm copy courtesy Cornell University Li-
brary), page 1.
" Ibid., page 3.
  ^"PIERRE-JOSEPH MACQUER, Elemens de chymie theorique
(Paris, 1749), page 1.
  ^1 ANTOINE BAUME, Chymie experimentale et raisonnee
(Paris, 1773), volume 1, page 13.
^- Ibid., pages 2-7.
  " In the eighteenth century, "analysis" generally meant a
decomposition reaction rather than the determination of
chemical composition. I try to keep the two meanings straight
by using "decomposition" for analysis in the eighteenth-
century sense whenever there seems to be some possibility for
confusion.
  ^'MACQUER, Chymisches Worterbuch, oder Allgemeine
Begriffe der Chymie in alphabetischer Ordnung, 6 volumes
(Leipzig, 1781-1783). Translated and annotated by Johann
Gottfried Leonard!.
  ^'MACQUER, Dictionnaire de chymie (Paris, 1766), volume
2, page 9.
^"Ibid., page 10.
" Ibid.
  "As MACQUER {Dictionnaire, volume 2, page 4) observed,
"In a laboratory where many experiments are made one can-
not have too many shelves." Some scientific problems ap-
parently are immutable.
  "F. W. GiBBS, "William Lewis, M.B., F.R.S. (1708-1781),"
Annals of Science, volume 8   (1957) , pages 122-151.
  -"See, for example, JOHN READ, Prelude to Chemistry (Cam-
bridge, Massachusetts, 1966), especially pages 143-145.
  "LE FEVRE, A Compleat Body of Chymistry, part 1, page
75.

-- LEMERY, Cours de chimie, pages 2, 6-8.
  ^BOERHAAVE, Elements of Chemistry, volume 1, pages 237-
241.
-^MACQUER, Dictionnaire, volume 1, page 503.
  =^See, for example, the several illustrations of laboratories
in FRITZ FERCHL AND A. SUSSENGUTH, A Pictorial History of
Chemistry   (London: Whitefriars, 1939) , pages 170-178.
  -" A complicated but intriguing furnace was designed by
PETER SHAW (1694-1763) and exhibited in the appendix of
his translation (1741) of BOERH.'VAVE'S Elementa Chemiae
that was published in 1732. Essentially cylindrical in shape,
it was made in sections that could be stacked vertically on a
basic firebox. The upper sections were heating chambers that
could accommodate vessels of various sizes.
  -'BOERHAAVE, Elements of Chemistry, volume 1, pages 510-
511 and plate 13.
-^LEMERY, Cours de chimie, page 35.
=°Ibid., pages 68-69.
  ^"BOERHAAVE, Elements of Chemistry, volume 1, pages 241-
244. Henry Bolton has recorded that a Fahrenheit ther-
mometer graduated to 600° (not, of course, in exact corre-
spondence to our modern Fahrenheit scale) still survived in
Leyden about 1900. See HENRY CARRINGTON BOLTON, Evolu-
tion of the Thermometer, 1592-1743 (Easton, Pennsylvania:
The Chemical Publishing Co., 1900), page 77.
  ^^ The use of thermometers in chemistry was uncommon at
this time. Moreover, the great Swedish chemist Torbern
Bergman (1735-1784) could write in 1779 that he "knew a
chemist who considered thermometers, and such instrument,
as physical subtleties, superfluous and unnecessary in the
laboratory." TORBERN BERGMAN, Physical and Chemical Essays
(London, 1788), volume 1, page xxxiii. (This work is Ed-
mund Cullen's two-volume translation of Bergman's collected
works.)
''"MACQUER, Dictionnaire, volume 1, page 507.
  ^ The magnitude of their problems becomes even more
striking when one considers that the conditions outlined
above were ideal. For those not fortunate enough to have
access to a stable of furnaces there was only the fireplace, the
alcohol lamp, and the lowly candle. But as Joseph Priestley's
descriptions of his laboratory apparatus and operations
proves, the lack of the best facilities did not cripple an adept
experimenter.
  ^* MACQUER, Elemens de chimie theorique, page 275. For
those historians of technology of the Marxist persuasion, one
might remark that this is a very good description of modern
pyrex ware.
''^BOERHAAVE, Elements of Chemistry, volume 1, page 501.
^" MACQUER, Elemens de chemie theorique, page 277.
  "BOERHAAVE, Elements of Chemistry, volume 1, page 501.
For a good summary of problems and methods of contempo-
rary eighteenth-century glassmaking in France, see the article
"Vitrification" in MACQUER, Dictionnaire, volume 2, pages
650-673.
  
46

NUMBER 33

47



  ^^See, for example, FERCHL AND SUSSENGUTH, A Pictorial
History, passim; and READ, Prelude to Chemistry, especially
pages 75-80.
^MACQUER, Dictionnaire, volume 2, page 618.
  *°Cf. BOERHAAVE, Elements of Chemistry, volume 1, page
504 and plate 15.
  *^ See, for example, A. N. MELDRUM, "Lavoisier's early work
in science, 1763-1771," 75525, volume 20 (1934) , pages 396-425;
and DOUGLAS MCKIE, Antoine Lavoisier, the Father of Mod-
ern Chemistry  (Philadelphia, 1935).
  *^A favorite principle of the adept. After all, what truly
sublime substance could be prepared in a short time? This
view was reflected in Lavoisier's choice of a long experiment,
where the length of the process was felt to add to its credi-
bility.
  *^ See, for example, BOERHAAVE'S excellent example of the
extraction of cinnamon in his Elements of Chemistry, volume
1, pages 48-49; also pages 4-7 in volume 2 of the same work.
For a general review of the problems faced by chemists in
the early eighteenth century in their attempts to analyze
animal and vegetable matter, see Louis LEMERY, "Reflexions
physiques sur le defout et le peu d'utilite des analyses ordi-
naires des plantes et des animaux," Memoires de I'Academie
Royale des Sciences, 1719, pages 173-188; 1720,' pages 98-107
and 166-178.
  "BOERHAAVE, Elements of Chemistry, volume 1, pages 503-
507; MACQUER, Elemens de chimie theorique, pages 277-291;
and MACQUER, Dictionnaire, volume 2, pages 361-363.
*^ MACQUER, Elemens de chimie theorique, page 176.
" MACQUER, Dictionnaire, volume 2, page 5.
  "BOERHAAVE (Elements of Chemistry, volume 1, page 502) ,
for example, strongly recommended the use of a type of
bottle with a mouth "secured with a glass stopple, ground
nicely to the concavity of the Neck," for storing volatile
liquids.
  ^^LE FEVRE, A Compleat Body of Chymistry, pages 88-90;
Lemery, Cours de chimie, page 45.
*^ LE FEVRE, ibid.
  ^"BOERHAAVE, Elements of Chemistry, volume 1, pages 507-
515; MACQUER, Elemens de chymie theorique, pages 329-336;
MACQUER, Dictionnaire, volume 2, pages 31-32; BAUME,
Chymie experimentale et raisonnee, volume 1, pages cxviii-
cxxvii.
  "^MACQUER, Elemens de chimie theorique, pages 329-336;
LE FEVRE, A Compleat Body of Chemistry, pages 88-89; AN-
TOINE LAVOISIER, Oeuvres de Lavoisier (Paris, 1864-1893) ,
volume 1, pages 332-337.
  ^''See, for example, LAVOISIER, Elements of Chemistry (New
York: Dover, 1965), plate 10, figure 1; plate 11; and plate 12,
figure 8. (A reprint of the 1790 English translation of the
Traite elementaire de chymie by Robert Kerr.) Much of this
modern-looking apparatus was constructed of metal rather
than glass; moreover, Lavoisier had far greater economic
resources than most eighteenth-century chemists.
  ^* MACQUER, Dictionnaire, volume 2, page 6. Macquer rec-
ommended having both concentrated and dilute acids on
hand, but he gave no operational method for defining those
terms.
  "* Boyle's chemical tests were scattered throughout his writ-
ings. For a discussion of this  aspect of Boyle's  work, see

MARIE BOAS, Robert Boyle and Seventeenth Century Chem-
istry (Cambridge, 1958) , pages 126-141, and her introduction
to the reprint of BOYLE'S Experiments and Considerations
Touching Colours (New York: Johnson Reprint Corp., 1964) ,
pages vii-xxvi.
  ''= These headings admittedly are imperfect since many
chemical processes involved several steps. Thus, a separative
procedure might involve a reaction which, in turn, was in-
tended to prepare a substance for the next reaction, etc. For
most purposes, however, these useful classifications adequately
reflect the way in which these procedures were regarded by
the chemists of that time.
  ■^"Thus, fermentation was commonly associated with
(chemical)   digestion.
  "MACQUER, Dictionnaire, volume 1, p. 351; also NICOLAS
LEMERY, Cours de chymie, Baron edition (Paris, 1756) , page
42. The latter reference is to an edition prepared by Theo-
dore Baron with considerable notes and additions to bring it
up to date; as such, it is an interesting record of the growth
of eighteenth-century chemistry, though Baron has many
points of view not shared by other, contemporary chemists.
^^ See,  for  example,  BOERHAAVE,  Elements   of   Chemistry,
volume 2, pages 26, 280;  LEMERY, Cours de chymie. Baron
edition   (1756) ,  page  94  and  note;   MACQUER,  Elemens  de
chimie theorique, pages 61-63;  MACQUER, Dictionnaire, vol-
ume 1, pages 233-234.
^^ MACQUER, Elemens de chimie theorique, page 76.
"MACQUER, Dictionnaire, volume 1, page 364.
°^ BOERHAAVE,   Elements   of   Chemistry,   volume   2,   pages
48-51; LEMERY, Cours de chymie. Baron edition  (1756) , page
42; MACQUER, Dictionnaire, volume 1, page 271.
"-MACQUER, Dictionnaire, volume 2, pages 182-183.
"*Ibid.,  volume   1,  page  350;   LEMERY,  Cours  de chymie.
Baron edition  (1756), page 42.
" MACQUER, Dictionnaire, volume 2, page 306.
°° LEMERY, Cour5 de chymie. Baron edition (1756) , page 43;
BOERHAAVE, Elements of Chemistry, volume 2, pages 90-91;
MACQUER, Dictionnaire, volume 1, pages 508-511.
""MACQUER, Dictionnaire, volume 2, pages 18-19.
"'LEMERY, Cours de chymie. Baron edition   (1756), pages
44, 448, 725;  BOERHAAVE, Elements of Chemistry, volume 2,
pages 122-127; MACQUER, Dictionnaire, volume 2, pages 358-
363.
"' MACQUER, Dictionnaire, volume 2, page 358.
""Although Reaumur had made density measurements on
water and alcohol in  1733, the problem was not fully ex-
plored until publication of M.-J. BRISSON'S "Memoire sur le
rapport   des  differents  densites  de   I'esprit-de-vin,   avec  ses
difFerens degres de force," Memoires de L'Academie Royale
des Sciences   (1769 [1772]) , pages 433-452. Even then, satis-
factory physical means of evaluating alcohol  solutions  had
to await further work by Baume and Lavoisier.
  ™ Although Boerhaave is well known for his interest in
thermometers, neither he nor his illustrious student Crom-
well Mortimer really were able to apply thermometric tech-
niques to chemisty in a truly systematic manner. See CROM-
WELL MORTIMER, "Discourse Concerning the Usefulness of
Thermometers in Chemical Experiments," Philosophical
Transactions of the Royal Society of London, volume 44
(1747), pages 672-695.
  
48

SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY



  ''• LEMERY, Cours de chymie. Baron edition (1756), pages
45, 97, 203-206; MACQUER, Dictionnaire, volume 2, pages 511-
513.
"MACQUER, Dictionnaire, volume 2, pages 329-330.
  "A glance at the solubility versus temperature curves for
KNO3 and NaCl shows that at room temperature the two
plots cross (about 25° C) . Thus, in the normal course of
crystallization it would be extremely difficult to separate the
two solids by this method. Once this problem is recognized,
however, these two salts are ideal, for the sodium chloride
curve is almost flat over the range from zero to 100° C while
the curve for KNO3 rises sharply from about 12 g. per 100 g.
HoO at 0° C to about 140 g. per 100 g. HoO at 70° C. The
rise of the KNO3 curve is almost exponential, so a difference
of a few degrees above or below room temperature causes a
sharp difference in solubility.
  ''^ ANDRE SIGISMUND MARGGRAF, "Maniere aisee de dissoudrc
I'argent et le mercure dans les acides des vegetaux," Histoire
de I'Academie Royale des Sciences et Belles Lettres a Berlin
(1746 [1748]) , pages 58-64.
■"= Ibid., pages 58-59.
  "'"The informal, even intime style which was the standard
for scientific literature until the late nineteenth century
makes this possible, while modern, third-person passive,
which is now the accepted scientific style, does not.
  ■"By "perfectly," Marggraf here meant "totally," i.e., the
vinegar was as concentrated as one could make it by freezing
out the water. This was one more way of controlling quan-
tity, for the glacial method [coyicentre par la gelee) gave a
relatively uniform product.
  ''MARGGRAF, "Maniere aisee de di.ssoudrc I'argent et le
mercure," pages 60-61.
'"Ibid., page 60.
  ^ The first half of the eighteenth century was not England's
"finest hour" vis-a-vis experimental chemistry. It was in large
part dominated by intellectual exercises in Newtonian matter
theory and thus was relatively sterile save for the genius of
Stephen Hales. Parallel readings of the Philosophical Trans-
actions of London's Royal Society and the Histoire et
Memoires of the Academic Royale des Sciences of Paris pro-
vide a new dimension to the distinction between amateur
(English) and professional (French) . The limitations of
Newtonian matter theory are made clear by ARNOLD THACK-
RAY. Atoms and Powers (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard
University Press, 1971).
  *^For biographical details on Lewis, see F. W. GIBBS, "Wil-
liam Lewis," pages 122-151, and J. B. EKLUND, "William
Lewis" in Dictionary of Scientific Biography (New York:
Scribners, 1973) , vol. 8, pages 297-299.
  *-WILLIAM LEWIS, "Experimental Examination of a White
Metallic Substance . . ," Philosophical Transactions vol. 48,
part 2 (1754) , pages 638-689. Sec also WILLIAM BROWNRICG,
"Several Papers Concerning a New Semi-metal, Called Platina;
Communicated to the Royal Society by Mr. Wm. Watson,
F.R.S.," Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society,
volume 46 (1749-1750) , pages 584-596. Includes some related
communications by others.
  ^ BROWNRIGG (ibid., page 587) reported, however, that "the
Spaniards have a way of melting it down . . . and cast it into
sword hilts, buckles, snuff boxes and other utensils.''
  
''Only a few years later, Lewis, following Neumann, de-
fined oil of vitriol in terms of a specific gravity of about 1.87.
He clearly distinguished among such terms as "power," "ac-
tivity," and "strength" of acids. He was well aware, of course,
of the effect on concentration of a sulfuric acid solution of
the hydroscopic nature of the acid. See WILLIAM LEWIS, The
Chemical Works of Caspar Neumann, M. D. (London, 1759),
pages 160-163 and especially notes   (m)   and   (g) .
^ LEWIS, "Experimental Examination," page 645.
  '" Ibid., page 652. A comparison of Macquer's treatment of
the various metals both in his Elemens de chemie theorique
and in his Dictionnaire shows that fire and the three mineral
acids, and sulfur and nitre as well, serve as defining reagents
for these substances.
  "' "Liver of sulphur" has disappeared from chemical usage
in name as well as in body. Produced by a reaction of potas-
sium carbonate and sulphur, it was not a true compound but
an unstable mixture of potassium polysulfides and potassium
sulfate that tended to decompose ultimately into the sulfate.
J. R. Partington has suggested the following overall reaction:
16S -t- 12K„C03 = 8K„S -I- K„S, + 3K„SO, + 12COo. See J. R.
PARTINGTON, General a??d Inorganic Chemistry (London: Mac-
millan, 1946), page 721.
  '^ One easily becomes suspicious about the order of the ex-
periments as Lewis presents them. Any eighteenth-century
chemist of Lewis' experience would have tried aqua regia
long before the many variations of dissolution techniques
with "acid spirits' listed by him. In view of the refractory
nature of the metal, he may very well have tried it in aqua
regia after the first few failures in the furnace and then fol-
lowed up with other, more esoteric tests for completeness and
to obtain possible anomalies. The order of presentation
finally given must be in large part a matter of style, but this
is important in itself.
'"LEWIS, "Experimental Examination," pages 660-661.
""Ibid.
"Ubid., page 661.
  "-Although Partington ascribes this process to Rouelle,
Macquer claimed Rouelle was unsuccessful. The secretary of
the Academic Royale des Sciences, Condorcet, tightroped his
way through the problem by remarking that the "diflficulte
avoit ete reduite par Messrs. Rouelle'' and pointing out that
dc Courtanvaux had studied with G.-F. Rouelle and had been
assisted by H. M. Rouelle in the Marquis' laboratory at
Comombe. Courtanvaux himself gave Rouelle credit only for
the apparatus. See PARTINGTON, General and Inorganic Chem-
istry, volume 3, page 94; MACQUER, Dictio7i7iaire, volume 1,
pages 469-470; THE MARQUIS DE CONDORCET, "Elogc de M. le
Mis. de Courtanvaux," Histoire de L'Academie Royale des
Sciences (1781 [1784]) , pages 71-78; M. LE MARQUIS DE
COURTANVAUX, "Memoire sur I'ether marin,'' Memoires de
mathematique et de physique presentes a I'academie Royale
de sciences par divers savans (1768) , pages 19-36 (paper read
30 April 1762) .
  "*DE COURTANVAUX, "Memoire sur I'ether marin,'' pages 19,
22-23.
  "* Its acidity was known to MACQUER (see his Chymie
pratique, volume 1, pages 288-292) and Baron (LEMERY,
Cours de chymie. Baron edition, 1756, page 361, note "o") .
  
NUMBER 33

49



  "=DE COURTANVAUX, "Memoire sur I'ether marim," page 23.
For a supposed student of Rouelle, it is curious that the
Marquis employed phlogiston in ways his mentor did not.
  *"DE COURTANVAUX, "Mdmoire sur I'ether marin," page 25.
Curiously, de Courtanvaux did not use the term "allonge,"
although from his description that was what it was.
^'Ibid., page 26.
"8 Ibid., page 32.
  ""MACQUER, Dictionnaire de Chymie (Paris, 1766). Although
he published this work anonymously, Macquer hastened to
admit authorship when the Dictionnaire was well received.
For other editions and translations, see, for example, H. C.
BOLTON, "A Select Bibliography of Chemistry, 1492-1892,"
Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, volume 36 (1893) ,
pages 68-69. The most common English version of Macquer's
Dictionnaire usually is thought to be a translation of Mac-

quer's second and revised edition of 1778. However, a com-
parison of the English "second edition" with the original
French first edition reveals only minor changes. Thus, al-
though Robert Schofield has said that Macquer was sending
the English translator, James Kier, sections of the new edition
as fast as they were produced, it seems clear that Kier's
primary interest was in publishing his own revised notes and
additions to Macquer's work. In fact, the English second
edition appeared in 1777, a year before Macquer's revision
was published in France. Macquer's own additions and altera-
tions were published separately by JAMES KIER as Additions
to the Dictionary of Chemistry by M. Macquer (London,
1779).
  ^""MAURICE CROSLAND, Historical Studies in the Language
of Chemistry (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University
Press, 1962) .
  
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