by the assumed destruction of some elementary
part of the substances under examination, or
the formation of a new portion from the air,
which was, as Professor Crookes aptly says,
looked upon not “as the common instance of
a condition to which all master could be re
duced, but a something very closely bordering
upon nothing.” With such vague and false
notions, it is not wonderful that many of the
most common facts escaped observation, or
were misinterpreted. Manufactures were car
ried on according to traditional rules of thumb.
Physiological processes were explained wholly
by the activity of a mysterious vital force, and
medicinal treatment was very largely on a par
in rationality with Indian incantation. The
physicist was hindered in the study of mechan
ical problems by the mysterious behavior of
that “imponderable matter,” heat.
Hut the studies of a century have brought
about many radical changes in the popularly
accepted ideas of matter. Now, it is regarded
as something which no finite being can, by
any process create or destroy; both matter
and force, although their essential nature may
be as little known as ever, are far more sharply
distinguished as factors in phenomena; further
more, much that early physiologists attributed
to the action of vital force, is now admitted to
be satisfactorily explained by purely chemical
and physical laws.
Professor Crookes summarizes the important
points directly established by chemical re
search, in the following words:—“We see
that to chemistry we owe the notions of the
permanence of matter, of the gaseous condition,
of the nature of the atmosphere, of combustion
and of oxidation, of elements, of composition
and decomposition in definite proportions, and
of organic synthesis.”
Limited space prohibits the discussion of
the relation of chemical research to the im
provement and extension of the experimental
method to other fields of investigation, the re
lation of the acceptance of the idea of the con-
THE FREE LANCE.
servation of matter, to the fruitful generaliza
tion of the conservation of energy.
Let us for a moment, turn our attention to
the effect of the ideas gathered from chemical
research, upon the practical methods of manu
facture as far as they relate to the utilization of
waste products.
Although the past fifty years have been
marked by the development df many new
manufactures, and the addition of hundreds of
new chemical products to trade lists, sage ob
servers remark that this period is even more
distinguished by economy in production, and
by the utilization of by-products of manufact
ure. It is claimed by many that the rich pros
perity which has attended the manufacturing
development of the past half-century, is chiefly
due to the increased economy rigidly practiced.
As far as chemistry is concerned, there are
two elements in this economy: In the first
place, by careful study of attendant condition,
the manufacturer is able to apply the law of
definite proportion to the preparation of pro
duct on a large scale, thereby reducing waste,
and obtaining a purer and more uniform pro
duct. The charge for the iron furnace is cal
culated with as much accuracy as that for the
assayer’s crucible, and similar statements may
be made of numerous other important indus
trial operations.
The seco.nd element in this economy is the
utilization of by-products formerly thrown
aside as useless. Thus in the beet-sugar industry,
not only is the sugar more completely ex
tracted from the pulp, but the latter is used for
cattle-food; the scums front the juice are
filtered, washed free from sugar, and the pot
ash extracted, or are used directly as a fertili
zer; the molasses, unfit for table consumption
is converted into alcohol; the animal char
used in refining, is frequently revivified by igni
tion, and again applied. The use of bones for
the manufacture of soap-fat, glue, animal char
coal, and of bone-ash and dissolved bone as
fertilizers; as well as that of butchers’ waste