Knight's cyclopædia of the industry of all nations, 1851 / [edited by George Dodd].

Date:
[1851]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Knight's cyclopædia of the industry of all nations, 1851 / [edited by George Dodd]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    44/1000
    ADULTERATION. 24 of the linen liacl made upon its surface. Tlie bones, which were surrounded hy this matter, had no sohdity, hut were readily broken by sudden pressure. The head was envu'oned \vith this pecnUar matter; the face Avas no longer distinguishable; the mouth was dis- organized; no ti-ace remained of the vis- cera of the thorax and abdomen, which were all confused together, and converted into this fatty matter; and this was also invariably the case Avith the brain. None of this ma,tter was foimd in bodies isolated from each other, but only in those accumulated in the common graves. Erom various observations it was found that this fatty matter was capable of endm-ing in these bmying-places for tlurty or forty years, but that ulthuately it became cor- rupted and was dissipated. The substance thus presented for examina- tion under such remarkable circumstances, is considered by M. Fourcroy as an ammoniacal soap, formed of a pecuhar oil combined Avith ammonia. It melts at about 180° Eahr.; by a strong heat it is decomposed with the solu- tion of ammonia. There would of course be something repugnant in using such materials in manufactures ; but French and German chemists have made attempts to convert the dead bodies of cattle into adipocu-e, for candle and soap-maldng. It is, however, found that adipocire proceeds solely from the pre-existing fat of the dead body, and not from the flesh and cartUeges ; and the attempts to produce adipocire artificially have not been commer cially successful. ADIPOSE SUBSTANCE, or fat, is an animal oil, which resembles, in its essential properties, the vegetable oils. It is wholly inorganic, though contained in an organized tissue. It varies in its consistence, or rather in the temperatiu-e at which it becomes solid. In general, it forms a pretty firm solid, con- stituting suet, which, when divested of the membrane m which it is contained, is caUed tallow ; but there are animals in Avhich, at the ordinary temperature of the atmosphere, it al- ways remains fluid, as in the cetacea. At the temperatm-e of the human body, it is fluid. It consists of two substances which are capable of being separated from each other, and ob- tained in a distinct form. Of these substances, one, at the ordinaiy temperature of the atmos- phere, is solid ; the other fluid. Stearine, the soUd portion of fat, is a substance colourless, tasteless, nearly inodorous, soluble in alcohol separable from tliis solution in the foi-m of smaU silky needles, and preserving its solidity at a temperature of 99° Fahrenheit. Ekiino, the oUy principle of fat, is fluid at tlie tempe- rature of 60° Fahrenheit; it is of a yellow colour, Avithout odour, lighter than water, its specific gravity being 0.918, and easily soluble in alcohol. Fat is the chief ingredient in se- veral important manufactures, especially Can- dles and Soap ; to which ailicles, and to Tallow, it may suffice here to refer. ADIT, or DELFT, is the hoiizontal passage which gives entrance to some mines. [Mining.] ADJUTAGE, or AJUTAGE, is a name given to a tube, generally not exceeding a few inches in length, which may be appUed to a vessel or reservoir, in order to facihtate the discharge of a fluid from such vessel. ADEIANO'PLE, the second city in Em-o- pean Turkey, is in the province of Romania or Eumeha, 135 miles N. W. of Constantino- ple. An aqueduct supphes the baths, mosques, and fountains mth water. The manufactm-es of Adrianople are silk, woollen, and cotton stufis ; it has also establishments for dyeing, and distilhng rose-water and other perfumes. ADRIATIC SEA, sometimes called the Gulf of Venice, is a large bay of the Mediter- ranean, between Italy and Tui-key. The na- vigation is easy and safe, the numerous islands on the Dalmatian coast affording exceUent shelter in the most violent gales. It has re- cently become one of the great Imes of com- munication between India and Western Eu- rope, by the route through Egypt, steam-ves- sels passing from Alexandria to Trieste. It is near the mouth of the Adriatic, that the two small Greek islands are situated, which formed a disputed point in the momentous Greek question of 1850. ADULTERATION, is the use of ingre- dients in the production of any ai-ticle which are cheaper and not so good, or whicli are not considered so desu-able by the consumer, as other or genuine ingrecUents for which they are substituted. The law does not generally consider adulteration as an offence, but relies apparently on an evil of this natm-e being corrected by the discrimination and good sense of the pubhc. Any one acquainted with modern shop-keeping, however, especially on the ' cheap ' system, has good cause to laiow and to lament the difficulty of detectmg such nefaiious practices. The morals of trade are sadly neglected by many who would spm-n a charge of direct dishonesty. In Pans, mal- practices connected Avith the adulteration of food ai-e investigated by the Conseil de Salu- brite, acting under the authority of the prefect of police. In this country, also, whenever the interests of the revenue are concerned, strict regulations have been resorted to in order to prevent adulteration. Tobacco, beer, drugs, tea, coff^ce, cocoa, pepper, and bread, are aU more or less protected against adulteration, so