PERIODIC very truly, UND IN TENNESSEE. J. W. FOSTER. SALEM, MARION COUNTY, Oregon, t of some though not of great moment. That n East Tennessee, on Lick creek, near its juncGreene county, six miles north of Warrensburg. feet high, covers an area of half an acre or more, steep, and flat on its apex. It is a made mound, next the creek. There is an excavation near, rth removed is that of which is formed the mound. xamined, of human bones and carbonized wood. seem to have been thrown in promiscuously. We I of slain in battle. The skeletons are larger than and strong when disinterred, but soon crumble on and sunken in the centre. Our informant, Mr. the martyr, Anthony Bewley, dug down some a burnt, smooth surface, under which, in sinking, oal and considerable ashes. Mr. Bewley's father lace, some fifty years ago. How long it had been med. The cause of our informant digging down osity. This mound has no name that we know of. on, hoping you may make known this, we think, ing of this mound might lead to more than mere enlightened race. The earth seems to have been This shows some advance in the race who did it. mportant facts. We think the mound should be mination of the lacustrian cities led to? To imogist. And might not some good result from an this mound? We think so, and therefore urge it. e cause of science-the light that may flow from reck mound, near the junction of Lick creek with We have here some relics of Indians, as stone oints, stone axes, stone scrapers, or knives, &c. the Smithsonian Institution? If so, please write THE idolatry of classical a sciences. It would be easy of the admirers of the olden alone; and, although our preordinate importance, yet thes separation between our own ti ideas so much of the time and The colors of azure and p as the most highly prized pr its weight in gold, and the lat powerful; its use was in some Highest rank on pain of deathl change; being no longer limi the most apparently unpromi whole community what could The contrast is certainly sugg a As early as three hundred a rastus drew a distinction be which, he tells us, was manuf ever, that the terms natural or the less degree of care wit stone which we call Lapis la phire. While in some cases others, probably, the coloring in our own day. The Lapis lazuli, or sapphi Bucharest, Thibet, China, and Of old, as at the present day, almost the only member of the This distinction it owes to the for the use of the painter one unaffected by air or heat; tha I As lately as the commence blue, was not simply a fine troublesome process. The sto this first step in the process w The pieces, of the size of a ha then made red-hot, and after acid. The cohesion of the par from six to ten times before tl It is afterwards rendered still painter, having been first mi treated with the ley of the asl der is next compounded into 25 S SLATED FOR THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION FROM THE GERMAN PERIODICAL, "AUS DER NATUR," &c. es. E idolatry of classical antiquity finds its chief antagonism in the natural It would be easy to show how many illusions, nestling in the heads e admirers of the olden time, have been dispelled by modern chemistry ; and, although our present purpose is to deal with two objects of subte importance, yet these also serve to show how very broad is the line of ation between our own times and the remote ages, to whose languages and so much of the time and training of our youth are commonly devoted. he colors of azure and purple were among the most highly priced as well e most highly prized productions of antiquity. The former was sold for eight in gold, and the latter was especially reserved for the noble and the erful; its use was in some ages even forbidden to all beneath those of the est rank on pain of death. Science and art have wrought here a striking ge; being no longer limited to the direct gifts of nature, we are able, from most apparently unpromising raw material, to furnish for the use of the le community what could then be but scantily produced for the ruling few e contrast is certainly suggestive. As early as three hundred and fifteen years before the Christian era, Theophus drew a distinction between natural and artificial azure, the latter of ch, he tells us, was manufactured in Egypt. It seems most probable, howr, that the terms natural and artificial indicate in this case only the greater the less degree of care with which the color was prepared from the beautiful ne which we call Lapis lazuli, to which the ancients gave the name of sapre. While in some cases the stone was merely reduced to a fine powder, in ers, probably, the coloring matter was more carefully separated, as is done our own day. The Lapis lazuli, or sapphire, is found in the least accessible parts of Little charest, Thibet, China, and Siberia, in layers or strata of granite or limestone. old, as at the present day, it was polished and wrought as a gem, and it is nost the only member of the large family of gems that has an intrinsic value. is distinction it owes to the fact that, in addition to its great beauty, it yields r the use of the painter one of his most beautiful colors, which, moreover, is affected by air or heat; that color is ultramarine. As lately as the commencement of the present century, ultramarine, or azure ue, was not simply a fine powder of the gem, but the result of a long and oublesome process. The stone was first broken into small pieces, and even is first step in the process was no easy one, the stone being exceedingly hard. The pieces, of the size of a hazelnut, were cleaned by means of lukewarm water, hen made red-hot, and afterwards slacked in a mixture of water and acetic cid. The cohesion of the particles is so great that this process must be repeated rom six to ten times before the mineral can be transformed into a fine powder. t is afterwards rendered still finer by trituration with the muller stone of the painter, having been first mixed with water, honey, and dragon's blood, then reated with the ley of the ashes of the grapevine, and finally dried. The powHer is next compounded into a mass with turpentine, rosin, wax, and linseed oil, of producing that color, doubly precious to the s permanency; but so invariable from different attempts in that direction that the solution of the ed of, when hope was as suddenly as accidentally that in France a sandstone furnace for the melting beautiful colored substance, never seen there beemarked, that formerly the furnace for the melting tructed, not of sandstone, but of brick. The mass is examined by Vauquelin, who observed in its oints of great resemblance with ultramarine; but uide him through the perplexities of the investiwere made in other soda manufactories, as, for öubeck, who had thrown away above a hundred nd in a similar furnace when the latter was pulled Lille. We shall not venture to decide whether or ioned by Goethe in his "Italian Travels," (1781,) in Sicily, and used for the adornment of altars eneous with this product of the soda furnace, and artificially and accidentally produced ultramarine. I unanswered, how was this substance in the case In what did it originate? At length, in 1828, the estion was found and published by Professor C. ring eighteen years he had been occupied with uli" and its kindred minerals, the products of the 18. Reflecting on the recent circumstance, he was standing there had been so many unsuccessful an artificial ultramarine was not an impossibility. coloring substance disclosed to him the sulphurous and holding that clue he at length succeeded in tramarine. of those who may make it the a report to the French Academ Whether the method of Guin cannot be determined, for, while particular, Guimet, on the contra day. In so far as profit is conce tained the advantage over Gmeli with made his discovery lucrativ same year, 1828, he had erected artificial ultramarine, which he so per pound, while the natural art Gaimet succeeded in having his tiful ceilings of the museum of C In 1834 the price had risen to fr but in 1844 had again fallen, and third per pound, though the bes dollars and forty cents. The ch demand, and the product of Gui Band to one hundred and twenty pounds were exported to foreign mense wealth; he was the recip French "Society for the Encoura of 5.000 francs, and medals from this as early as 1834, when the re have been scarcely appreciated. received the large gold medal. nother German chemist, the well-known "Doebetrue nature of the coloring principle of ultramarine. assert that it was to be attributed to sulphur alone. glimpse of this beautiful discovery, other occupallowing it up. A very few more experiments, and ly in possession of it. Gmelin was scarcely more ce of this additional jewel in his scientific crown use. It is not in the nature of a true savant to in plainer terms, "to make money by it;" though hese days of extravagant projects, it is not impose head of some speculating manufactory, to the on gives a substantial guarantee. Men of science ch sought after by industrial speculators, yet the ect my assertion as to the general disinterestedness an savant.* He, for the most part, when, in the neans confined to German savants, but is shared by most e of artificial ultramarine, and I have also added some hints for the use e who may make it their object to manufacture this color on a larger I have now only to desire that others in like manner may unreservedly their experience on the subject, so that the production of this article s early as possible, attain to the highest degree of perfection. We canis true, when an important technical discovery has been made, which es large profits, fairly blame any one for keeping it a secret until he has ed that great and justifiable aim of all mankind, security against want; yond this, no one has a right to maintain secrecy that he may secure And it is very much to be regretted that by the withholding of so many eries (often buried with those who make and conceal them) science has hindered in its progress, and an obstacle thrown in the way of the noblest t of man, that, namely, of increasing knowledge and diffusing civilization." , literally, was the practice of Gmelin. While at Paris, in 1827, and preto the publication of his discovery, he unreservedly communicated his on the artificial production of ultramarine to several chemists, especially y Lussac. And, behold! on the 4th of February, 1828, Gay Lussac made port to the French Academy that Guimet, at Toulouse, had succeeded in ufacturing ultramarine of all kinds. Did the discovery originate in the open disinterested communication of Gmelin, or did it not? Who shall decide? net, it is but just to say, warmly defended himself against such a suspicion; affirms that he was prompted to his experiments by the examinations of is lazuli, made by Desormes and Clement, and claims that he had produced ficial ultramarine before Gmelin's visit to Paris. Whether the method of Guimet is essentially different from that of Gmelin not be determined, for, while the latter published his discoveries with every ticular, Guimet, on the contrary, has kept his method a secret to the present 7. In so far as profit is concerned, Guimet, it must be confessed, has mainhed the advantage over Gmelin, and France over Germany; for Guimet forthh made his discovery lucrative to himself and others. As early even as the ne year, 1828, he had erected a manufactory at Paris for the production of ificial ultramarine, which he sold at two dollars and sixty-six and a half cents r pound, while the natural article was a little more than double that price. imet succeeded in having his product adopted for the painting of the beauul ceilings of the museum of Charles X, and thenceforth his fortune was made. 1834 the price had risen to from four to five and one-third dollars per pound, it in 1844 had again fallen, and ranged from two and one-sixth to two and oneird per pound, though the best quality for oil painting was still sold at six ollars and forty cents. The cheapness of the ordinary article enhanced the emand, and the product of Guimet's factory speedily rose from twenty thou and to one hundred and twenty thousand pounds, of which twenty thousand ounds were exported to foreign countries. Not only did Guimet amass imense wealth; he was the recipient also of many public honors. From the French "Society for the Encouragement of Industry" he received a premium f 5,000 francs, and medals from various French industrial exhibitions; and his as early as 1834, when the real importance of this eminent discovery could have been scarcely appreciated. In 1851, at the London exhibition, Guimet received the large gold medal. e green into the blue article by roasting the former, air. as taught by the accidental bursting of a crucible. lent enabled him to master the whole process, and ssue. To the manufacture on an extensive scale, ed upon by Gmelin of perfect or chemical purity in potter's clay employed, continued to present an count of the delay and difficulty in bringing the self raised the question whether the production of both of them being components of potter's clay, , and he experimented upon various specimens of g the maximum of 43 per cent. of iron. But he e experiments unsatisfactory, on account of the portion of iron. From a porcelain clay containing indeed, a very beautiful ultramarine, which he coning, especially for landscapes. But even this procompared to the natural and most beautiful kind. retained a scarcely perceptible tinge of green and 1, on which depends the peculiar brilliancy of the nting. This difference was especially noticeable bbed in oil. The circumstance that Gmelin aspired d would not content himself with mere mediocrity, uction of this article into German industry, and s introduced. Still, the first German manufactory process commenced working in 1834, under the of Wermelskirchen, and very soon occasioned a ce and the popularity of the article. rench chemist, Dumas, in his "Manual of Chemision that chemical purity of materials might very the manufacture of artificial ultramarine, and that provided it did not contain too much iron. Prolytechnic School, Nuremberg, while translating the an, was especially impressed by that statement, make new experiments, but his labors were termid obtained any positive and satisfactory results. Leykauf, continued the deceased professor's experinough to succeed, where all previously had failed. Glauber's salt, and coal, he manufactured the most renowned manufactuory of Ley Rauf, Heyne & Co., y few years the firm counted its wealth by millions. of industry acquired such an extension; being diversified activities of Nuremberg, and justifying, in this article. uremberg railroad depot, the attention of the obre to be attracted by a stately and spacious mass ed sandstone. The long rows of structures, with a space of some eighteen acres. Surrounded as the mises which were previously in —a stru Three rows of the buildings About 200 laborers are cons We have spoken of the rem What we have said of this s At the Parisian exhibition |