Torbern Bergman

“ They who would make several Genera out of one primitive earth, must separate the glassy, red, white, horny silver ores, and other different compositions into as many Genera, or else act inconsistently with their own principles. ”

“ But as the chief object of the science is to render fossils subservient to the uses of man, it is evident that that method must be the best which displays their component parts: for these being well understood, we know what to expect from them; we accommodate our designs to their nature, and spend not our labour and money in vain attempts inconsistent with their inherent qualities. ”

“ Most of them, when melted in a common way, and exposed to the air, have an earthy crust formed upon the surface, which cannot again be reduced to metal without the addition of some inflammable matter. The base metals, eleven in number, have this property: but the noble metals, platina, gold and silver, are so firmly connected to the phlogiston, that they never calcine under fusion, however long continued; and after being changed into a calx in the liquid way, when melted in the fire, they re-assume their metallic form, without any other phlogiston than what is contained in the matter of heat. ”

“ The specific gravity of this earth, is 1,975. The particles, when first precipitated, occupy, in water, at least twelve times the space that they do when dried; so that, when sufficiently fine, they may remain suspended therein; nay, when vehemently heated in a close vessel, they may be dissolved. No acid, except that of fluor spar 60 (§ 30) has any action upon this earth. Fixed alkalies unite with it in the liquid way, but in the dry way they seize it with great vehemence, and convert twice their weight of it into a permanent transparent glass. ”

“ The nitrous acid perfectly dissolves it; the muriatic more difficultly; the vitriolic hardly at all, for the vitriol of lead being insoluble in water incrusts the metal, and prevents its solution. After calcination the weakest vegetable acids dissolves it, and acquire a sweet taste. The phlogiston necessary to be taken away in order that it may dissolve may be called 43, which is less than that of any other metal. Hence we understand why the calx of lead may be reduced with a very minute quantity of inflammable matter. ”

“ The value of a thing must likewise be considered. Minerals containing gold or silver must be ranked with those noble metals although they hold three, four, or more times the quantity of heterogeneous matter. Not to mention other examples, pyrites are placed under the genus copper although they contain a much greater quantity of iron. This custom, established with the universal consent of mineralogists, wants indeed a natural foundation, but it seems useful to miners to retain it ”

“ ALKALI FOSSIL, only in part saturated with a peculiar acid is called tinkal; after depuration, borax. It is dug out of the earth in the kingdom of Thibet [25] . Borax takes nearly an equal weight of acid before the alkaline properties entirely disappear [26] .
I believe no one has yet found the acid of borax united either to the vegetable or volatile alkalies.
§ 54. ALKALI VEGETABILE aeratum (mild vegetable alkaly) is hardly ever found native, unless in the neighbourhood of woods destroyed by fire. ”

“ TERRA PONDEROSA aerata, (heavy earth) has a specific gravity of 3, 773 [38] . 100 parts of it contain about 28 of water, 7 of aerial acid, and 65 of pure earth. It effervesces with acids: with the vitriolic acid forms heavy spar, not soluble in water; with the nitrous and muriatic acids, it yields chrystals, not very readily soluble; but with the vegetable acid the chrystals deliquesce.
When free from all contamination of acid or alkaly it scarcely melts in the fire, but loses 35⁄100 of its weight. ”

“ Earth of alum, precipitated by a caustic alkali, and thrown into lime water, presently loses its pellucid and spongy texture, turns white, and condenses, absorbing the lime from the water, and forming an union not to be separated but by chemical means.
49From these considerations, I dare not venture to exclude doubtful species.
We say a thing is contaminated by another, when the mixture is of the mechanical kind; but when things are joined by the stronger power of attraction, we say they are united.
50 MAGNESIA. ”

“ Such is its affinity to alkalies, that it imparts to clay, which is always loaded with it, the power of separating some of the acid from nitre and common salt. When pure, it is refractory in the fire.
Although siliceous earth is not altogether simple, yet, in mineralogy, it must be considered as primitive, until decisive experiments shew us from which of the preceding earths it is derived [49] . ”

“ From analogy, it is probable that every metal contains a radical acid of a peculiar nature, which, with a certain quantity of phlogiston, is coagulated into a metallic calx; but with a larger quantity, sufficient to saturate it, forms a compleat metal. The radical acid retains the coagulating phlogiston much more 105strongly than that which is necessary to the saturation. But different metallic acids retain both with different degrees of attraction. Hence the noble metals cannot be calcined in the dry way; it is only by acid menstrua that they can be brought into that form ”

“ The alkaline basis previously exists in the plants [19] , but the origin of the acid is not so well understood: whether it lies concealed in the vegetable acid, and by means of the putrefactive process sufficiently dephlogisticating it, is evolved; or whether the purer part of the atmospheric air contains nitrous acid fully saturated with phlogiston, which [20] upon the alkaly being separated by the putrefaction is attracted and extricated by it, and upon losing its inflammable principle assumes its accustomed form. Nature perhaps operates in both ways ”

“ Boracic ACID, (acid of borax, or sedative salt.) Many people still think this to be an artificial production, but not long since Mr. Hoefer [17] found it in a lake near Sienna in the great dutchy of Hetruria, and it has long been known to be united to the fossil alkaly in native borax. It acts like an acid, though very feebly. It melts in the fire and volatilizes with water. Its specific gravity is 1,480.
§ 36. Amber ACID, is a concrete salt obtained from amber; it acts like a feeble acid. It is yet doubtful whether amber be of vegetable origin; many reckon it fossil. ”

“ In a pure state, as was before observed of acids, their attraction to other substances is so strong that they cannot long remain uncombined; and if other acids were wanting, the aerial acid, every where present in the atmosphere, would unite with them: therefore they are always found in a state of combination, unless prepared by art.
§ 39. New acids are daily detected, but no additions have been made to the three species of alkaly long since known.
§ 40. Vegetable fixed ALKALY, deprived of every acid is not found on the face of the earth ”

“ CALX nitrata (nitre of lime; terrene nitre) is sometimes found in water, but very sparingly. It is said that the chalk hills in some parts of France become spontaneously impregnated with nitrous acid, which may be washed out, and after a certain time they will become impregnated with it again.
§ 61. CALX Salita (fixed ammoniac) occurs very frequently in waters.
§ 62. CALX aerata (marble, limestone, chalk, spar) is very commonly found dissolved in waters in consequence of an excess of the aerial acid. When it greatly abounds, the water is said to be hard (cruda) . ”

“ After burning, it unites to acids without effervescence; but heat is produced, and the union is more tardy than when it is in a mild state [39] .
When caustic, it expels the volatile alkaly from sal ammoniac, and forms a hepar with sulphur, the watery solution of which is but imperfectly decomposed by the nitrous or muriatic acids, 42upon account of the remarkable attraction betwixt this earth and the acid of the sulphur, which it even takes from the vegetable alkaly [40] . ”

“ Fossils externally resembling animals or vegetables, originate from foreign matters, which by some peculiar process are changed in the bosom of the earth, or are so impregnated by mineral particles gradually occupying the place of those which have putrified, that they no longer resemble organic substances, except in figure.—These are commonly called Petrefactions.
§ 263. The harder shells of animals exposed to the weather, are not always exempt from destruction; for their gelatinous matter being gradually destroyed by putrefaction, they become brittle, and in a manner calcined. ”

“ Deprived of its superfluous water it assumes an aerial form, for phlogiston seems to be one of its constituent parts [9] .
It has never been found uncombined (unless perhaps like the nitrous acid in water precipitated from the atmosphere [10] ) [11] but united to alkalies (§§ 46, 49, 52) , to earths (§§ 61, 65) , or to metals (§§ 74, 161, 175, 191) .
§ 30. Fluor ACID, is obtained by art; its specific gravity never exceeds 1,500, it is very volatile. Its vapours when hot, corrode glass; and meeting with moisture generate, or at least deposit siliceous earth. ”

“ The compounds of earths and acids which possess solubility mentioned at § 20, are decomposed and precipitated by mild, but not by phlogisticated alkalies.
§ 58. TERRA PONDEROSA vitriolata, (heavy spar, marmor metallicum, calk) is placed with the earths (§ 89.) Terra ponderosa nitrata i. e. terra ponderosa united to the nitrous acid, perhaps exists somewhere, but has never been met with; neither has the terra ponderosa united to the aerial acid, yet been found [31] . ”

“ At the places about Wednesbury and Bilston, in Staffordshire, where the coal pits are on fire, this substance sublimes to the surface, and may be collected in considerable quantity during dry or frosty weather. I cannot be certain that this is a true chemical union, but the eye cannot distinguish the parts. Perhaps the sulphur volatilizes the alum and so becomes intimately mixed with it. The excess of vitriolic acid keeps it in a deliquescent state.
I believe a similar compound substance sublimes at the Solfaterra near Naples. W.
36§ 79. ”

“ These, being properly interpreted, shew us their native situations in the former state of the surface of the earth, and teach us the unbounded empire of the sea, and the consequent changes. By them we learn to distinguish the ancient and modern foundations of the mineral kingdom; for those which are not formed of petrefactions, and never contain them, are doubtless of greater antiquity than animals or vegetables ”

“ If gypsum forms the matrix of any metal, it must be placed here.
Earths with Earths.
§ 251. To this head belong most of the saxa (stones) , enumerated by Mr. Cronstedt, which form the immense bulk of mountains, and deserve our particular attention, in order that, being better acquainted with the nature and structure of the shell of the earth, we may be able to point out the coverings of minerals, and convert them all to our use. ”

“ To this head we refer all fossils containing phlogiston in such great abundance, that under proper management they are inflammable. The Genera are obviously very few, and accurately speaking there is only one Genus. But since phlogiston is so very subtle as not by itself to become the object of our senses, it will perhaps be adviseable to consider its more simple combinations as Genera: this has long been done so far as respects the metals, by universal consent.
64 SULPHUR.
§ 133. ”

“ There is a power implanted by the creator in organized bodies, which, upon the acquisition of proper nutriment, unfolds and evolves the structure which before lay concealed in the fecundated egg or seed. Similar vessels, in each species, absorb, convey, and assimilate the nourishment in the same manner ”

“ In cold-short iron, a brittle metal exists, readily uniting to ductile iron, by the assistance of heat, but rendering it brittle when cold. This substance, dissolved in acids, forms Prussian blue with phlogisticated alkaly, but it is not magnetic: it 97affords a white calx, richer in phlogiston than the yellow calx of good iron. ”

“ Native salts are either acid, alkaline, neutral, earthy or metallic.
§ 25. Acids may be distinguished by their proper taste; they effervesce with mild alkalies; and change the blue juices of vegetables and tincture of heliotropium to a red colour [6] .
We are acquainted with many species of acids, but they are hardly ever found pure in the bowels of the earth, nor can we expect to find them so when we consider how soon such powerful menstrua 15must meet with substances to saturate them. ”

“ The natural compositions of acids with the earths, forming substances not soluble in 1000 times their weight of boiling water, and which may be called saline earths, must be added to the species, as they are certainly chemical combinations. ”

“ It has never yet been decomposed by the liquid analysis [52] ; and when exposed to the fire in an open vessel, it is wholly consumed, burning with a lambent flame. This deflagration, though slow, shews decidedly its affinity to the inflammables: besides, in the focus of a burning glass, it leaves traces of soot [53] . When further experiments teach us better, I shall willingly correct my error. ”

“ Alkali vegetabile vitriolatum (tartar of vitriol) seldom occurs spontaneously, unless where tracts of wood have been burnt down.
§ 45. Alkali vegetabile nitratum (common nitre) forms upon the surface of the earth where vegetables, especially when mixed with animal substances, putrify. ”

“ Dissolve the grains of native platina that are least magnetic, in aqua regia. Precipitate the iron by means of phlogisticated fixed alkaly. Then precipitate whatever else will fall, by caustic vegetable alkaly. Saturate the liquor with caustic fossil alkaly, and set it by to chrystallize. The yellow chrystals thus obtained are to be hammered together at a welding heat, and the metallic parts will unite. W. ”