Analyses of the constituents of the flax plant, and of the soils on which the plants had been grown / by J.E. Mayer and J.S. Brazier.

  • Mayer, J. E.
Date:
[1850?]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Analyses of the constituents of the flax plant, and of the soils on which the plants had been grown / by J.E. Mayer and J.S. Brazier. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    ANALYSES OF THE CONSTITUENTS OF THE FLAX PLANT, AND OF THE SOILS ON WHICH THE PLANTS HAD BEEN GROWN. By Messrs. J. E. MAYER and J. S. BRAZIER, Of the Royal College of Chemistry, London. The daily increasing extent to which flax is cultivated by the farmer, necessarily directed the attention of chemists to the analysis of this plant, soon after the importance of the mineral constituents, strangely neglected for a considerable period, had been generally ac¬ knowledged by the scientific agriculturist. We owe to Sir Robert Kane two excellent papers, containing the analyses both of the ashes of different specimens of flax, and of the soils on which they had been cultivated * These specimens had been grown principally in Belgium and Holland, where the greatest care is taken in preparing and manuring the land. The analyses which we intend to communicate in the following pages, were made with different specimens of Russian growth. They were supplied to us by Dr. Hofmann,t under whose guidance we have worked throughout. The localities from which we have obtained our specimens of Flax, are the Russian districts known as Esthonia or Estland, Livonia or Lievland, Courland, and Lithuania. The first of these districts, with the second and third mentioned, are situated on the eastern shores of the Baltic ; the fourth, Lithuania, is the only inland country. These countries extend from 48^^ to 60° north latitude, and from 2:2° to 28° east longitude. The plan we adopted for the preparation of the ash, was the following :—A handful of stems, after being inflamed, were held over a porcelain dish, and allowed to burn gently. The ashes collected in the dish by this process, in one or two instances, were remarkably white ; however, in order to free them still more from the remaining carbon, they were placed, small quantities at a time, in a platinum dish over a gentle gas flame. In this manner also the sulphides, formed in the process of combustion, were entirely reconverted into sulphates. This conversion was proved by experiment previous to analysis. In order to hasten the latter part of the process, the Lith¬ uanian and Estland ashes were burned with protoxide of mercury. The general analyses were performed in the usual manner:—the experimental numbers in Table I. show the quantities of substance employed, the results from which are exhibited in Table 11. * Philosophical Magazine, Tol. xxxi. p. 43. + 1 am indebted for these specimens to the kindness of Mr. Arthur Marshall, of Leeds, who had them sent from Russia for analysis, being originally intended to supply the material for a continuation of Sir Robert Kane’s researches ; and it was only in consequence of Sir Robert’s other avocations preventing him from follow¬ ing up the investigation any further, that Mr. Marshall sent them to the Labora¬ tory of the Royal College of Chemistry.—Dr. A. W. Hofmann, D