Cooley's Cyclopaedia of Practical Receipts Volume I Part 271

=GROATS.= _Syn._ GRITS; GRUTELLUM, AVENA DECORTICATA, AVENae SEMINA, AVENA (Ph. L.), L. Common oats, deprived of their exterior integuments or husks.

This is generally effected in a mill, which, at the same time, cuts them into two or three pieces. When crushed flat, they are denominated EMBDEN GROATS.

=GROUT.= Mortar reduced to a thin paste with water, used to fill up the joints of masonry and brickwork. A finer kind is used to 'finish off' the best ceilings.

=GRUEL.= _Syn._ OATMEAL GRUEL, WATER G.; DECOCTUM AVENae, L. Oatmeal or groats boiled with water to a proper consistence, and strained. It is variously flavoured to suit the palate; but the addition of a little white sugar, and finely powdered Jamaica ginger, with or without a gla.s.s of wine, is the least likely to offend the stomach. Nutmegs, cinnamon, &c., frequently disagree with invalids. Sometimes milk or b.u.t.ter is added.

Embden groats require less boiling than the common groats. Of oatmeal, the Scotch is commonly said to be the best.

The following directions for making gruel from oatmeal are given by Dr A.

T. Thomson: "Oatmeal, 2 oz.; cold water, 1-1/2 pint; rub the meal in a basin, with the back of a spoon, in some of the water, pouring off the fluid after the grosser particles have subsided, but whilst the milkiness remains; repeat this with fresh water, unite the was.h.i.+ngs, and boil until a soft, thick mucilage is formed."

=GUA'IACIN.= _Syn._ GUAIACIC ACID, PURE GUAIAc.u.m RESIN. A substance having the nature of an acid, discovered by Trommsdorff in the wood and bark of _Guaiac.u.m officinale_.

_Prep._ The tincture of guaiac.u.m is treated with hydrate of lime, and the guaiacate of lime thus formed is decomposed with dilute sulphuric acid; it is purified by dissolving it in alcohol.

_Prop., &c._ Insoluble in water; soluble in alcohol and ether; it unites with the caustic alkalies, forming alkaline guaiacates (guaiac.u.m soaps); air and light turn it green; gluten, mucilage of gum Arabic, &c., turn it blue; nitric acid and chlorine turn it successively green, blue, and brown; tincture of guaiacin, added to hydrocyanic acid and sulphate of copper, produces an intense blue colour. (Pagenstecher.) A delicate photographic paper may be formed by was.h.i.+ng unsized paper with an alcoholic solution of guaiac.u.m resin, and afterwards with one of neutral acetate of lead. (Johnston.)

=GUA'IAc.u.m.= _Syn._ GUAIAC, GUM GUAIAc.u.m, GUAIAc.u.m RESIN; GUAIAc.u.m (Ph.

L.), (GUAIAC RESIN, GUAIACA RESINA, B. P.). The resin prepared by means of fire from the wood of _Guaiac.u.m officinale_, by natural exudation, by incision, or by heat. (B. P.) This substance is often adulterated. When pure, its "fresh fracture is red, slowly pa.s.sing to green; the tincture slowly strikes a lively blue colour on the inner surface of a thin paring of raw potato." (B. P.) Adulteration with resin may be generally discovered by the odour evolved when the guaiac.u.m is heated. An alcoholic tincture of guaiac.u.m, rendered milky with water, recovers its transparency on the addition of caustic pota.s.sa in excess; but this is not the case when resin is present.

Guaiac.u.m is stimulant, sudorific, and alterative.--_Dose_, 10 to 30 gr., either in powder or pills; in chronic rheumatism, gout, obstinate chronic skin disease, scrofula, syphilis, &c. It forms the active ingredient of the once celebrated 'CHELSEA PENSIONER,' and the 'GOUT SPECIFIC' of Mr Emerigon. The latter was made by digesting 2 oz. of guaiac.u.m resin in 48 fl. oz. of rum, for seven or eight days. The dose of this was a table-spoonful every morning, fasting, for a twelvemonth. Its other properties are similar to those of GUAIACIN, but are less marked. Sp. gr.

120 to 122.

=Guaiac.u.m Wood.= _Syn._ LIGNUM VITae, GUAIACI LIGNUM (Ph. L.), L. The wood of _Guaiac.u.m officinale_. This is employed under the form of shavings, raspings, and sawdust, in decoctions only. See DECOCTION and BALSAM.

=GUA'NO.= _Syn._ HUANHO, Peruv. This substance, now so extensively used in agriculture, is the partially decomposed excrement of certain aquatic birds, chiefly the common penguin, which congregate in countless numbers on the barren and uninhabited islets and rocks on the western coasts of South America and the coasts of Africa. It abounds in ammonia and the phosphates, and is undoubtedly the richest natural manure known. Under judicious application the increase of the crops of grain, turnips, potatoes, and gra.s.s consequent upon its use is said to be about 33%.

"Guano is peculiarly adapted to horticultural and floricultural improvement, by its relative cleanliness and facility of application."

(Ure.)

"According to Denham Smith,[339] South American guano, as imported, presents itself in three distinct states, the three varieties being not unfrequently mixed together in the same bag; the first variety is damp and pulverulent; the second exists as large concretions, presenting various aspects when broken; the third is heavy and crystalline, and is termed 'stone' by the labourers. These three varieties differ widely in composition, as the following comprehensive a.n.a.lysis, by Smith, will show:--

[Footnote 339: 'Proceedings of the Chem. Soc.,' vol. ii.]

+--------------------------------------------------------------+ _Soluble in Water._ +-----------------------------+------------+---------+---------+ I. II. III. Pulverulent. Concrete. Saline. +------------+---------+---------+ Water 22200 25000 9700 Chloride of ammonium 2550 -- 3030 Sulphate of potash 8000 -- -- " soda traces 25844 19177 Oxalate of ammonia 7400 9390 -- " soda -- -- 10563 Phosphate of ammonia 6330 6124 -- " potash -- 7732 4947 " soda 120 -- 360 Chloride of sodium -- 2922 28631 " pota.s.sium -- -- 4163 Organic matter 1500 668 2553 Urate of ammonia 15418 -- -- Uric acid 2516 -- -- Ammonia phosphate of magnesia 564 784 133 Animal matter 1180 860 756 _Insoluble in Water._ +-----------------------------+------------+---------+---------+ I. II. III. Pulverulent. Concrete. Saline. +------------+---------+---------+ Oxalate of lime 2560 10958 -- Phosphate of lime 19930 6270 13223 " magnesia 2030 874 2580 Oxide of iron -- -- 156 Humus and organic matters 6092 800 1836 Sand 1560 720 420 Loss 50 1054 778 +------------+---------+---------+ 100000 100000 100000 +-----------------------------+------------+---------+---------+

"Several of the South American guano beds are now exhausted, but new varieties are constantly being introduced; and although the qualities are continually varying, guanos, on the whole, may be divided into two cla.s.ses, the one characterised by the abundance of ammonia, the other by that of phosphates, the Peruvian and Angamos being characteristic of the former, and the Saldanha Bay and Bolivian of the latter. In selecting a guano, the following points (Anderson) ought to be attended to by the farmer:--

"1st. The guano should be light coloured and dry, colouring very slightly when squeezed together, and not gritty.

"2nd. It should not have too powerful an ammoniacal smell, and should contain lumps which, when broken, appear of a paler colour than the powder.

"3rd. A bushel should not weigh more than from 56 to 60 pounds.

"These characters are, however, imitated with great skill, so that they cannot be implicitly relied upon, and they are applicable to Peruvian guano only."[340]

[Footnote 340: The above particulars are from an elaborate paper by Dr H.

M. Noad, in the 'Chemist and Druggist,' vol. ii.]

_Purity, Adulteration._ Guano, owing to its high price, is very commonly adulterated, or is in an advanced stage of decomposition when sold. Much of what is vended under the name is altogether a fict.i.tious article. These artificial mixtures are made to look so like genuine guano, that the mere practical man, who goes only by their appearance, is very often deceived by them, and, owing to the failure of his crops in consequence, is led to distrust the efficacy of guano as a manure. A sample of pretended guano examined by Johnstone was found to contain, in the state in which it was sold, more than half its weight of gypsum, the rest being peat or coal ashes, with a little common salt, crude sulphate of ammonia, and either dried urine or the refuse of the glue manufactories, to give it a smell.

"I could not satisfy myself that it contained a particle of real guano."[341] Vessels which sail hence for the guano stations are now very commonly ballasted with rough gypsum or plaster of Paris. This substance is mixed with the guano as it is loaded, and enables the importers to deliver from the vessel a "nice-looking, light-coloured article."

Purchasers of guano are very desirous of having it delivered from the vessel, as they believe they thus obtain it pure. The favourite material for the adulteration of guano, at the present moment, is a variety of umber, which is brought from Anglesea in large quant.i.ties. The rate of admixture is said to be about 15 cwt. of umber to about 5 cwt. of Peruvian guano, from which an excellent-looking article is manufactured, which is sold under the name of 'African guano.'

[Footnote 341: 'Elem. of Agric. Chem.']

Pure guano has a pale-brown colour, a more or less offensive odour, and the average sp. gr. of 163 to 164. If the sp. gr. exceed 175, it is either damaged or adulterated; and if it is less than 162, it contains an undue quant.i.ty of moisture. The best is neutral to test-paper, and sometimes has even an acid reaction; but that of commerce has generally an alkaline reaction, owing to the presence of free ammonia, and, in consequence, turns turmeric paper brown, and gives white fumes when a gla.s.s rod dipped in hydrochloric acid is held over it. Triturated with quicksilver or caustic pota.s.sa, good guano evolves a powerful odour of ammonia; digested in water, fully one half of it is dissolved; dried by the heat of boiling water, it does not lose more than from 7 to 9% in weight; and burned upon a red-hot shovel, it leaves a white ash, not a red or dark-coloured one. (See directions for selecting guano given _above_, also _below_.)

_a.n.a.lysis_ or _a.s.say_. The quant.i.tative a.n.a.lysis of guano, so as to exhibit the names and proportions of all its numerous component substances, is an extremely tedious and difficult matter in the hands of persons unaccustomed to chemical manipulations. As, however, its value to the agriculturist depends chiefly on its richness in ammonia, pota.s.sa, and phosphoric acid, the a.n.a.lysis of guano for practical purposes may be reduced to an a.s.say for these articles. Indeed, the presence of ammonia (the most valuable of them), in the proper quant.i.ty, may be fairly taken as evidence of the presence of the rest. The following methods of testing guano are both simple and accurate, and are so arranged as to permit its per-centage richness in one or more of its leading const.i.tuents to be determined without much trouble or expense.

1. _a._ 100 gr. of the sample for examination (fairly selected) are crushed to a powder, and placed on a small, weighed, and perfectly dry paper filter, and then desiccated, by exposure for 2 or 3 hours to the heat of boiling water. The loss in weight, taken in grains, after deducting 9, indicates the quant.i.ty per cent. of water or moisture which the sample contains in excess of that present in good or pure guano.[342]

[Footnote 342: According to Dr Noad, the proportion of water in genuine guanos ranges from 7 to 20%.]

_b._ The paper filter, with its contents, is next suspended for some time over concentrated sulphuric acid (oil of vitriol) contained in a wide-mouthed bottle or jar, by means of a thread attached to the cork or stopper, care being taken to exclude the external air. The exposure in this way is continued until the guano ceases to diminish in weight, which is ascertained by weighing it at intervals after the first 3 or 4 hours.

When this point is arrived at, the filter and its contents are very carefully weighed. The difference between its present weight and its original weight (before the desiccation in _a_), taken in grains, gives the gross quant.i.ty of water per cent.

_c._ The dried guano from _b_ is next placed in a weighed, smooth crucible or capsule, and exposed to a low red heat until all the organic matter is completely destroyed, and the whole is reduced to a white ash, which is weighed as soon as it has become cold. This weight, in grains, gives the gross weight per cent. of non-volatile matter (fixed alkaline and earthy chlorides, phosphates, and sulphates); the total loss of weight by combustion denotes the gross per-centage of combustible and volatile matter (urea, uric acid, ammoniacal salts, and organic matter). The latter should not be less than 55 to 60%.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

2. _a._ A second 100 gr. of the guano, selected as before, is distilled along with about 75 gr. of fresh-slaked quicklime, and a little water, in a small matra.s.s connected with a tubular, triple bulb-condenser, containing cold distilled water, and immersed in a basin of ice-cold water. (See _engr._) The condenser is charged by plunging one of its extremities into the water, and sucking at the other, until the liquid reaches the level indicated in the margin. A very gentle heat only, cautiously increased, need be employed. After the process is over, the strength of the solution of ammonia found in the condenser is tested, either by taking its density in a small specific-gravity bottle, or by determining its saturating power in the manner described under ALKALIMETRY. This furnishes the per-centage of ready formed ammonia sufficiently accurate for all ordinary purposes, provided proper care is taken.

When extreme accuracy is required, the condenser is charged with a weighed quant.i.ty of dilute hydrochloric acid of a known strength, instead of water, and after the process is over, this is tested as before. The quant.i.ty of ammoniacal test-liquor (see ALKALIMETRY) now taken to saturate it, deducted from what it would have taken before the exposure in the condenser, gives the per-centage sought.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

Another method, giving very accurate results, is to use a rather strong hydrochloric acid (sp. gr. about 113) for the condenser; after the operation is over, the contents of the latter are poured into a gla.s.s or porcelain capsule, a solution of b.i.+.c.hloride of platinum is added, in excess, and the whole is then gently evaporated to dryness; the residuum is rubbed to powder, and exhausted with a mixture of two measures of alcohol and one measure of ether; the undissolved portion is next dried at a heat not exceeding 212 Fahr., and weighed. The weight, in grains, of the ammonia chloride of platinum thus obtained, multiplied by 0763, gives the per-centage of ready-formed ammonia, as before. When hydrochloric acid is used for the condenser, a simple U-tube and beaker gla.s.s may be employed, if a bulb-condenser is not at hand. (See _engr._) The advantages resulting from the use of acid instead of water for the condenser is, that with the former no ammonia can possibly escape being absorbed, whilst little care is required to keep the condenser cool.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

_b._ 25 gr. of the guano are next weighed, and after being slightly moistened with a little dilute hydrochloric acid, are thoroughly dried by the heat of boiling water; the dried sample is then mixed in a warm unglazed porcelain mortar with 10 times its weight of a mixture of 2 parts of quicklime to 1 part of hydrate of soda (both quite dry). This mixture is introduced into a combustion tube of hard Bohemian gla.s.s, about 16 or 18 inches long, and 3/4 of an inch in diameter (see _engr._) The mortar is rubbed out with a little of the soda-lime mixture, which is also introduced into the tube with that already put there; a little plug of ignited asbestos is then loosely placed over the whole, and the tube is immediately connected with a tubular bulb-condenser, containing moderately strong hydrochloric acid, great care being taken that the joints are made air-tight, which may be determined by the operator sucking a few bubbles out of the apparatus. If, after suction, the liquid remains at a higher level in the furthest bulb (_b_), it is a sign that the connection is sound. This being done, heat is applied to the combustion-tube, by means of spirit-lamps; or, more conveniently, by means of the furnace now usually employed in organic a.n.a.lysis (see _engr._) The tube is next gradually surrounded with red-hot charcoal, by s.h.i.+fting by degrees the screen (_c_), and adding more charcoal, so as to gradually expel the ammonia. The disengagement of gas should take place uninterruptedly, but not too rapidly, in order that the acid may not ascend into the combustion-tube and spoil the experiment. The non-condensable volatile matters which pa.s.s off furnish a key to the progress of the operation. The heat is at length increased to a full red. When gas ceases to be evolved, and the mixture in the tube has become quite white, the experiment is at an end. The point (_a_) of the combustion-tube is broken off, and the ammonia which remains in the tube is expelled by sucking gently at the extremity (_b_) of the bulb-condenser. The latter is then disconnected with the apparatus, and emptied into a gla.s.s or porcelain capsule, in order to be tested, as directed under 2, _a_. The quant.i.ty of ammonia, in grains, thus found, multiplied by 4, gives the WHOLE QUANt.i.tY of AMMONIA per cent., both actual and potential, producible from the sample of guano examined.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

_c._ The quant.i.ty of ready-formed ammonia (see 2, _a_) deducted from the quant.i.ty last found (see 2, _b_) gives the quant.i.ty of LATENT or POTENTIAL AMMONIA that will be slowly developed by the decomposition of the guano in the soil, and become available for the food of plants. This is the most valuable product of this substance as a manure, and can only be obtained in quant.i.ty from well-preserved, dry guano.

3. _a._ A third quant.i.ty of 100 gr. of the guano, selected as before, is triturated and digested for some time with 12 times its weight of hot distilled water, and the whole being thrown on a filter, the undissolved portion is washed with a little warm distilled water; the solution and 'was.h.i.+ngs' are then mixed together, and acidulated with nitric acid; a solution of pernitrate of iron is next added, and afterwards solution of ammonia, in excess; the liquid is next heated for a short time, and the bulky reddish-brown precipitate is collected, washed with hot water, dried, ignited, and weighed. The weight, in grains, less the weight of the peroxide of iron in the pernitrate consumed, gives the weight of PHOSPHORIC ACID present in the soluble phosphates contained in the sample.

The pernitrate of iron is made by direct solution in hot strong nitric acid, of twice as much pure iron wire as there is phosphoric acid suspected to be present in the liquid. A slight excess will not alter the result. The number of grains of metallic iron used to form the solution, multiplied by 14286, gives the weight of the peroxide of iron which is to be deducted from the gross weight of the precipitate.

_b._ The filtrate and 'was.h.i.+ngs' left from 3 _a_ are mixed, and treated with a little oxalate of ammonia to throw down any lime, and then carefully evaporated to dryness and ignited; the residuum of the ignition, when cold, after being carefully weighed, is treated with the smallest portion of water that will dissolve it; the solution is acidified with hydrochloric acid, and a solution of b.i.+.c.hloride of platinum added, in excess; some strong alcohol is next poured in, the precipitate carefully collected on a filter, washed with rectified spirit, dried at 212 Fahr., and weighed. The weight, in grains, multiplied by 1940, gives the per-centage of POTa.s.sA sought.

_c._ The weight of the pota.s.sa multiplied by 1852, and deducted from the weight of the ignited residuum in 3 _b_ already found (see _above_), gives the quant.i.ty of CHLORIDE OF SODIUM or COMMON SALT (nearly).

4. _a._ The insoluble residuum from 3 _a_, dried, and ignited, or the ash from 1 _c_, is digested for 10 or 12 hours in 600 times its weight of water (to which a little common salt or sal-ammoniac may be added), after which the whole is thrown upon a filter; a solution of chloride of barium is then added to the filtrate as long as a precipitate (if any) forms; the latter is collected, washed, dried, ignited, and weighed. The weight, in grains, multiplied by 5843, denotes the quant.i.ty of GYPSUM or SULPHATE OF LIME which has been used to adulterate the sample.

_b._ The insoluble residuum last left on the filter is digested for some time in warm dilute hydrochloric acid; the whole is then thrown upon a filter, and the undissolved portion (SILICA or SAND, with, perhaps, a trace of ALUMINA) is washed, dried, ignited, and weighed. It should not weigh more than 3 to 3-1/2 gr. (3 to 3-1/2%).

_c._ The filtrate and 'was.h.i.+ngs' from _b_ are next mixed together; the mixed liquid is acidified with dilute sulphuric acid and heated until all the hydrochloric acid is expelled, and the whole reduced to a soft pasty ma.s.s; rectified spirit is now poured in, and after active stirring for some time, the mixture is thrown on a filter, and the solid portion washed with a little more rectified spirit; it is then dried, ignited, and weighed. The weight, in grains, multiplied by 7650, gives the quant.i.ty of PHOSPHATE OF LIME per cent. required.

_d._ The filtrate from _c_ is diluted with water, and after being boiled for a few minutes, ammonia is added in slight excess, followed by a solution of sulphate of magnesia (previously mixed with as much sal-ammoniac as will prevent ammonia producing a precipitate in it), slowly dropped in as long as it disturbs the liquor; the whole is now allowed to rest for 10 or 12 hours, when the precipitate is collected on a filter, and washed with water alkalised with ammonia, as long as the filtering liquid is rendered turbid by chloride of barium; it is next dried, submitted to intense ignition for some time in a covered platinum crucible, and, when cold, carefully weighed. The weight, in grains, multiplied by 6429, indicates the per-centage of PHOSPHORIC ACID in the insoluble phosphates (phosphates of lime, magnesia, &c.) in the sample examined.