Anonymous

“ A work composed of many threads of fine linen or silk, interwoven one with another according to some particular pattern. Belgium, France, and England are the principal countries in which this manufacture is carried on; vast quantities of the finest laces were formerly made in Flanders.
From what is Silk produced?
From the silk-worm, an insect not more remarkable for the precious matter it furnishes, than for the many forms it assumes before and after it envelopes itself in the beautiful ball, the silken threads of which form the elegant texture which is so much worn. ”

“ Many of the wonderful operations of Nature, and the changes which take place in substances around us, are, by its means, revealed to us. In every manufacture, art, or walk of life, the chemist possesses an advantage over his unskilled neighbor. It is necessary to the farmer and gardener, as it explains the growth of plants, the use of manures, and their proper application: and indispensable to the physician, that he may understand the animal economy, and the effects which certain causes chemically produce; and the nature of animal, vegetable, and mineral poisons. ”

“ Is not the employment of Wool in the manufacture of Clothing of great antiquity?
In the earliest records we possess of the arts of mankind, wool is mentioned as forming a chief article in the manufacture of clothing; it is spoken of in the Bible, as a common material for cloth, as early as the time of Moses. The ancient Greeks and Romans are well known to have possessed this art. At the beginning of the thirteenth century, the manufacture was established in many parts of Europe, particularly in Spain, from which country it extended itself to France and Italy. ”

“ Next to gold, silver, and platinum, copper is the most malleable and ductile of metals; it may be drawn into wires as fine as hair, or beaten into leaves as thin as those of silver. The rust of copper is very poisonous. Copper, mixed with a certain quantity of tin, forms bell-metal. With a smaller proportion, it forms bronze, a substance used in sculpture for casting figures and statues. It is an abundant metal, and is found in various parts of the world. Native oxides of copper are found in Cornwall, Siberia, and in North and South America. ”

“ We are told that the principal source of light on earth is the sun, either directly with its own beams or indirectly by supplying us with combustibles to produce light; for oil, gas, candles, and most of the substances used for producing light and heat when burning are but sending forth in another form the rays of the sun which were stored up in nature's economy. ”

“ The making of pastes or artificial gems is a branch of the art of glass-making; the basis used is a very hard and pure silex.
Basis, that part of any mixture which is the ground or base; the first principle or element of a substance.
Describe the properties of Lime.
It is of a white color, and possesses a hot, caustic taste. It forms peculiar salts with acids; changes vegetable blues to green; will not fuse; gives out a quantity of caloric when united with water; and absorbs carbonic acid when exposed to air. Lime is very useful in the arts and manufactures, in medicine, &c. ”

“ Gold mines are of rare occurrence in Europe, but the metal is found in some of its rivers; among its mines, those of Upper Hungary are the most considerable. China and Japan are rich in this metal; many parts of Asia also possess it. Australia produces quantities of the metal. It is also found in the eastern parts and interior of Africa, where gold dust is collected in great quantities from earth deposited by the rivers. But it is in America that gold is found in the greatest abundance, particularly in the State of California, and in some parts of South America, as Brazil, Peru, Chili, &c. ”

“ The particles of all bodies are subject to two opposite powers, repulsion and attraction; between which they remain in equilibrium. While the attractive force remains strongest, the body remains in a state of solidity; but if heat destroys this force, the particles lose their cohesion, and the body ceases to be solid. ”

“ The inhabitants of Japan, an empire of Eastern Asia, composed of several large islands. They are so similar in feature, and in many of their customs and ceremonies, to the Chinese, as to be regarded by some, as the same race of men. The Japanese language is so very peculiar, that it is rarely under [182] stood by the people of other nations. Their religion is idolatrous; their government a monarchy, controlled by the priesthood. The people are very ingenious, and the arts and sciences are held in great esteem by them. In all respects, Japan is an important and interesting empire. ”

“ Nitrogen is a substance also generally diffused through nature, and particularly in animal bodies, and causes great changes in those absorbing or exposed to it. This gas, combined with oxygen and hydrogen, produces neither light, heat, nor combustion, but serves to dilute the others: of itself, it is hurtful to animal life. Nitrogen makes the principal part of the salt we call nitre. ”

“ Is there not a tree which yields a vegetable Tallow?
Yes; China possesses a tree producing a substance like our tallow, of which the Chinese make their candles; this tallow is extracted from the stone of the fruit, the tallow being a white pulp which surrounds it. In America, likewise, there is a shrub, a native of the temperate parts, especially towards the sea-side, the seeds of which contain a waxy substance used for the same purpose, and which is extracted by boiling; this shrub is a species of myrtle, and does not attain to any great size. ”

“ What is positive and what negative electricity?
No difference in electricity in itself. When a body has more than its natural amount of electricity, it is said to be charged positively; when it has less than its natural amount it is negatively charged.
What is a Cell; what a Battery?
If a piece of zinc and copper joined by a wire be dipped in a liquid—generally weak sulphuric acid—which will act chemically on the metals, a current is produced. Such an arrangement is called a couple, or cell. If many cells are connected, then it is called a battery. ”

“ In the interior of Hindostan, there is a remarkable salt lake; and in several parts of the globe there are spots of ground impregnated entirely with this substance: an island of the East Indies contains a singular kind of fossil, or native dry salt; the soil there is in general very fruitful, but in certain parts of the island, there are spots of ground entirely barren, without the appearance of anything vegetable upon them; these spots taste very much of salt, and abound with it in such quantities, as to supply not only the whole island, but the greater part of the adjacent continent. ”

“ The condensed aqueous vapors raised in the atmosphere by the sun and wind, converted into clouds, which fall in rain, snow, hail, or mist: their falling is occasioned by their own weight in a collision produced by contrary currents of wind, from the clouds passing into a colder part of the air, or by electricity. If the vapors are more copious, and rise a little higher, they form a mist or fog, which is visible to the eye; higher still they produce rain. Hence we may account for the changes of the weather: why a cold summer is always a wet one—a warm, a dry one. ”

“ Even before the trees form a wood, the sea-birds nestle among their branches, and the stray land-bird soon takes refuge in the bushes. At last, man arrives and builds his hut upon the fruitful soil formed by the corruption of the vegetation, and calls himself lord and master of this new creation. ”

“ It is a precious stone of a beautiful transparent green color, and, when in a state of perfection, nearly equal to the ruby in hardness. The finest and best are found in America, especially among the mountains of Peru; they are also obtained from a few places in the East. These gems are often counterfeited, as are most of the precious stones, there being even false diamonds; the genuine may be known by their extreme hardness and brilliancy. ”

“ Water may be decomposed, and reduced into oxygen and hydrogen,—both of them simple substances incapable of further decomposition.
Is not the work of decomposition perpetually going forward?
Yes; and combustion is one of the great agents in this work. By it animal and vegetable substances are converted into water and carbonic acid, by the union of their hydrogen and carbon with the oxygen of the air. These, in time, are again absorbed by vegetables, and again decomposed to set the oxygen at liberty to produce fresh combustions. ”

“ The ancient painting comprehends the Greek and Roman: the modern has formed several schools, each of which has its peculiar character and merit. The first masters who revived the art were greatly surpassed by their scholars, who carried it to the greatest state of perfection, and advanced it not only by their own noble works, but also by those of their pupils. ”

“ By the kingdom of nature is meant the world and all things in it: nature is divided into three kingdoms, the animal, vegetable, and mineral.
What are the different states of natural bodies?
All bodies are either solid, liquid, or aeriform. By solid bodies are meant those whose parts unite so firmly as to resist the impression or penetration of other bodies; by liquid, those substances whose parts do not unite firmly, but have free motion among themselves; by aeriform, fluid substances, having the form or nature of air. ”

“ Not exactly; by money is understood any matters, such as metal, wood, leather, glass, horn, paper, fruits, shells, &c., which have currency as a medium in commerce. Coin is a particular species always made of metal, and struck off according to a certain process called coining; it is not of equal antiquity with money. In fact, the very commodities themselves were the first moneys, that is, were current one for another by way of exchange. Coin is a piece of metal converted into money, by the impression of certain marks or figures thereon. ”

“ The Palm is of the utmost importance to the inhabitants of the tropical regions; the fruit and sap providing them with food, the fibrous parts with clothing, and the leaves forming the greater part of their slightly-constructed huts; the leaves of some species are formed into fans, hats, and parasols; others are written on, in the same manner that we write on paper; arti [69] ficial flowers are made of the pith of some; the light and supple rattan walking-cane is the slender shoot of another kind; and solid and useful utensils are made of the shell of the cocoa-nut. ”

“ A machine that derives its moving power from the force of the steam produced from boiling water, which is very great, especially when, as in the steam engine, it is confined within a limited compass: this useful machine is one of the most valuable presents that the arts of life have received from the philosopher, and is of the greatest importance in working mines; supplying cities with water; in working metals; in many mechanical arts; and in navigation. ”

“ By means of this juice or secretion, the coral insects, at a vast but unknown depth below the surface of the sea, attach themselves to the points and ridges of rocks, which form the bottom of the ocean; upon which foundation the little architects labor, building up, by the aid of the above-mentioned secretion, pile upon pile of their rocky habitations, until at length the work rises above the sea, and is continued to such a height as to leave it almost dry, when the insects leave building on that part, and begin afresh in another direction under the water. ”

“ In the time of Solomon, the gold of Ophir seems to have been much esteemed, as it is recorded that the gold used in the building of the Temple was brought from that place by the merchant-vessels of Hiram, King of Tyre. Ophir is supposed to have been situated somewhere in the East Indies.
What is Silver?
A beautiful white shining metal, next to gold in value, and, like that precious substance, of great antiquity. It is found in Sweden, Norway, and the polar latitudes: when it occurs in hot climates, it is generally amidst mountains, covered with perpetual snow. ”

“ The diamond is a precious stone, the first in rank of all the gems, and valued for its beautiful lustre; it is the hardest of all stones, as well as the most valuable. The most esteemed are colorless. A diamond in its natural state as it comes out of the mine, and before it is cut, is called rough, because it has no brilliancy, but is covered with an earthy crust. The diamond [128] is the Adamant of the ancients; hence the expression "hard as adamant," from its being the hardest substance in nature. The cutting of diamonds is a work of labor, and requires great skill ”

“ Athens was the capital of Attica, founded by Cecrops, an Egyptian. It was the seat of learning and the arts, and has produced some of the most celebrated warriors, statesmen, orators, poets, and sculptors in the world. Since the emancipation of Greece from the cruel bondage of its conquerors the Turks, who had oppressed it for three centuries, Athens has been chosen as its capital, and is still a considerable town adorned with splendid ruins of the beautiful buildings it once possessed. Thebes and Corinth, another celebrated city, are now only villages. [44]
Warrior, a soldier. ”

“ The force which keeps the particles of matter together to form bodies or masses, is called attraction of cohesion; that which makes bodies stick together only on their surfaces, is called adhesion; that which inclines different masses toward each other, as the earth and the heavenly bodies, is called gravitation; that which forces the particles of substances of different kinds to unite, is known under the name of chemical attraction; that which causes the needle of the compass to point constantly toward the poles of the earth, is magnetic attraction ”