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JAMES WOODHOUSE 

A PIONEER IN CHEMISTRY 
1770-1809 

By 
EDGAR F. SMITH 

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PBOVOBT OF THJ3 UNTVIBSITT OF PENNSYLVANIA 




PUBLISHED IN PHILADELPHIA BY 
THE JOHN C. WINSTON COMPANY 

1918 



To 

M. A. S. 



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PREFACE 

Offering to readers the biography of a man 
who ceased to live one hundred and nine years 
ago may call for explanation; if so, the reasons 
are at hand. First, the subject of this sketch 
was a chemist; second, the status of chemical 
science in our country, at present, is excellent, 
and in the future is bound to rise to an even 
more exalted position, so it is hoped that the 
student of its history, upon inquiring as to its 
rise and development, will welcome the facts 
pertaining to the labors and successes of its 
earliest pioneers. However, the records of 
these are widely scattered, and what is more, 
are rapidly disappearing. To assemble those 
still extant would require much time and endur- 
ing patience. The material presented in the 
life-story of James Woodhouse has been gathered 
through many years, and as it has grown and 
been studied there shone forth in it innumerable 
evidences of a splendid, masterly leadership, 
with data of exceptional value. For instance, 
if chemists were to pause and ask — were there 
chemists on these shores who took an interest 
and participated in the struggle waged about 
the new chemistry, as set forth by Lavoisier 
and his associates, when it was arrayed against 



iv PREFACE 

the strange doctrine promulgated by Becher, 
Stahl and hosts of devoted experimenters in 
many lands, the answer, so far as we are con- 
cerned, would be found in the labors of Wood- 
house, who was foremost in establishing the 
teachings of the French School upon American 
soil? And, he was also a genuine leader in 
other lines of chemical endeavor, for he was a 
real investigator, who independently isolated 
potassium and published facts of unusual impor- 
tance. Today, it is true, many of his observa- 
tions would be held as trivial, but compared 
with contemporaneous contributors at home 
and abroad they rank exceedingly high. Fur- 
ther, Woodhouse introduced Robert Hare, Ben- 
jamin Silliman and others into chemical science; 
and it is conceded that they, too, became leaders 
in this field of research. 

The writer has long cherished the hope that 
the rising generations of American chemists 
would seriously interest themselves in the labors 
of their earlier brothers, and as a slight con- 
tribution to that end he submits this story of 
the achievements of James Woodhouse, a pioneer 
in Chemistry. 

E. F. S. 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 

A PIONEER IN CHEMISTRY 
1770—1809 

Philadelphia has always been a city of interest 
to people in every walk of life. History of every 
variety has been made in the City of Brotherly 
Love. Scientists turn to it to read the early 
records of their specialties; and to none does it 
appeal more strongly than to chemists, especially 
to those who cherish the past and the humble 
beginnings of their science. 

It was in Philadelphia, then, that American 
chemistry laid its first foundations. It is gen- 
erally conceded that this was in large measure 
due to the fact that Joseph Priestley, on his 
way to his exile home, tarried long in Philadel- 
phia; and later, at intervals, found his way from 
Northumberland to gather with congenial spirits 
in the city. Indeed, Priestley sojourned here 
for weeks and months at a time that he might 
deliver a "series of lectures on the evidences 
of revelation to crowded audiences, including 
most of the members of the United States Con- 
gress, at that time sitting in Philadelphia, and of 
the executive officers of the Government." 

(5) 



6 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

"As many were obliged to stand as sit, and the 
doorways were crowded," wrote Priestley. 

In this way and by other means he influenced 
the thought of the day, particularly that per- 
taining to the science of Chemistry. The 
young men of the city met and conversed with 
him. Elsewhere, it has been observed that 
Robert Hare, in the beginning of his experi- 
mental career, enjoyed the privilege of exhibiting 
his oxy-hydrogen blow-pipe to Priestley, and 
Silliman, the elder, notes with evident pleasure 
his meeting with Priestley in the home of the 
distinguished Dr. Wistar; while Thomas Twin- 
ing {Travels in America 100 Years Ago) wrote, 
"We proceeded to Dr. Priestley's house in the 
upper part of High Street, in a row of small 
houses between Sixth and Seventh streets, 
remarkable for their pleasant appearance, 
standing back a few yards from the footpath, 
and having small gardens, separated by painted 
rails, before them. ... It was here that the 
English philosopher, the benefactor of his coun- 
try and of mankind by his discoveries in useful 
science, had taken up his abode. Having passed 
through the garden of one of the first houses, 
the door was soon opened by a female servant, 
who, saying that the Doctor was at home, con- 
ducted us into a small room by the side of the 
passage, looking toward the street. ... In 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 7 

a few minutes the Doctor, having quitted, prob- 
ably, his studies, entered the room, and I was, 
at once relieved from a sort of uneasiness which 
precedes an introduction to a great man, his 
countenance being exceedingly mild and good- 
natured, and his manner no less easy and concili- 
ating. His person, short and slender, his age 
apparently about sixty, with an unaffected 
cheerfulness. . . . The Doctor received me 
with hearty kindness. He placed me near the 
fire, and took a chair by my side. I soon found 
that he was as inquisitive as he had been repre- 
sented to be. . . . He passed from general to 
particular questions. . . . Finally, I took leave, 
much gratified with this personal introduction 
to a celebrated man, of whom I had heard a 
great deal, when a boy at school; his system 
of Chemistry — his phlogiston and anti-phlogiston 
and fixed air — then making much noise, and 
leading to various experiments upon balloons, 
etc., in which boys at that time, I among others, 
took a part." 

This delightful visit of Mr. Twining was 
doubtless but a prototype of the hours spent 
by young scientists of Philadelphia in the com- 
pany of the man who thus unconsciously 
inspired and to a great degree, molded their 
scientific proclivities. 

The purpose of these pages is to present the 



8 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

life-story of one who had been so influenced. 
It constitutes a very definite chapter in the 
development of Chemistry in this country, 
and the impression, after its perusal, will surely 
be that an acquaintance with James Woodhouse 
and his work is worth while. He was born in 
Philadelphia, November 17, 1770. His father, 
William Woodhouse, came in 1766 to Philadel- 
phia from Alnwick, England. He had been an 
officer in the army of the young Pretender, 
and fought for the Stuart cause at Preston 
Pans. His mother was Anne Martin, daughter 
of Dr. William Martin of Edinburgh. Imme- 
diately after the marriage of the parents they 
came to America, making their home at No. 6 
South Front Street, Philadelphia, where the 
father began business as a bookseller and sta- 
tioner, and was esteemed "an industrious, 
worthy citizen." The mother was reputed to 
have been a most excellent woman, discharging 
all her social and family duties with fidelity and 
zeal. 

James was the second son in the family. 
Records fail as to the others. Woodhouse 
himself never made any reference to his family. 
Rumor had it that he had become estranged 
from all his kindred. Be that as it may, careful 
inquiry in comparatively recent years has 
brought nothing to light. A collateral heir 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 9 

disclaimed any knowledge of the family history, 
and assumed utter ignorance of the life experi- 
ences of the subject of this sketch; so that 
such facts as are at hand come from the writ- 
ings of acquaintances, or from fragmentary 
records of former students. There seems, 
however, to have been an earnest desire on 
the part of the parents of Woodhouse to have 
their children enjoy the benefits of a liberal 
education, for James was enrolled as a pupil 
first in a private school, then in the grammar 
school of the University of Pennsylvania. In 
due course of time he entered the University 
(1784), receiving the honor of Bachelor of 
Arts with the Class of 1787. Three years 
later the Master's degree was conferred in 
course. He began, therefore, his academic 
life at the age of fourteen. 

In those days the School of Medicine in the 
University was closely allied to the College; 
it had not completely severed itself from the 
collegiate work. Hence, it was natural that 
Woodhouse should have known the famous 
Doctor Benjamin Rush. In fact, he became 
his student, and was soon deeply attached to 
his preceptor, whose reputation and position 
in the medical world were beyond dispute. 
In the scientific and social circles of those 
early days Rush wielded a marvelous influence, 



10 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

and reigned almost supreme. He had been 
of that brave group of fifty-six who affixed 
their signatures to the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence. He was a striking, outstanding 
character, and once said: 

"Medicine is my wife; science is my mistress; 
my books are my companions; my study is my 
grave; here I lie buried, the world forgetting, 
by the world forgot." 

Rush had been under the instruction of 
Joseph Black and was an able exponent of the 
doctrines taught by that renowned Scotch 
teacher, which partly explains how he came 
to be the first occupant of the Chair of Chemistry 
in the Medical School of the University of 
Pennsylvania (1769). 

Woodhouse evinced a decided preference for 
chemistry very early in life, neglecting often 
other studies that he might engage in experi- 
mental work; this, and the knowledge that 
Rush was, indeed, an eminent scientist as well 
as a leader in strictly medical subjects, influ- 
enced Woodhouse, no doubt, in his decision 
to place himself under his supervision and 
preceptorship ; and so he became a student of 
medicine. 

In 1791, however, prior to the completion 
of his medical course, he determined to apply 
for the situation of surgeon in the army, then 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 11 

assembling under the command of the late 
General St. Clair, and destined to chastise the 
Indians on our frontiers, who had committed 
repeated murders upon the citizens of the 
United States; and, upon the resignation of 
his fellow student, Dr. James Mease, who had 
been appointed surgeon, but who changed 
his mind, he received his commission. The 
horrors of that campaign have been often given 
to the public. Luckily, Woodhouse escaped 
the dangers of the dreadful defeat which the 
United States troops suffered on the 4th of 
November (1791), having been ordered to 
accompany the first regiment which was sent 
after sixty militia deserters, four days before 
the battle, and to meet a convoy of provisions 
which was daily expected. 

During his military service communications 
passed from time to time to his friend and 
preceptor. Some of these have been discovered 
in the Rush collections, on file in the Ridgway 
Library. They are intensely interesting be- 
cause, among others, they give evidence of 
Woodhouse's keen desire to learn everything 
possible of subjects pertaining to his profession. 

The first of the letters was 



12 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

Addressed to Dr. Benjamin Rush in Walnut 
Street one door from the 
corner of Third Street 
Philadelphia 

and reads as follows: 

Carlisle, May 27th 1791 
Dear Sir, 

It was with some difficulty I procured a small quantity 
of the Poison vine, which will be delivered to you by a 
waggoner who sets off from this place in a few days. I 
have enclosed as particular an account of it, as I have 
been able to collect, if you think it is worthy a place in 
the Museum or Magazine you will oblige me by pub- 
lishing it. 

If I have anything worth communicating, I shall write 
you from Pittsburgh, I am Sir, your very 

humble servant, 

James Woodhouse 
D r Benj. Rush. 

The sketch of the poison vine referred to 
follows: 

An Account of the Effects of the Rhus 
Radicans or Poison Vine in the Con- 
sumption, by James Woodhouse 

"When we reflect that the intermittent fever & the 
venereal diseases were once as incurable as the consumption 
is at present, we have every reason to expect, a remedy 
may be found, that will one day strike off the latter from 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 13 

the list of those diseases, that are now said to be the 
reproach of medicine. 

"Before my arrival at this place I heard of the good 
effects of the Poison vine in consumption, & have since 
had the good fortune of hearing the report confirmed by 
the patients themselves — the confidence they placed in 
the remedy induced me to inquire particularly into its 
effects and publish the following account from which if 
any person gives it a fair trial, & it is found to fail, I can 
only say, it will add to the numerous medicines that have 
been celebrated for a day, & have as soon fallen into 
disrepute. 

"This vine is found in the woods running straight up 
the sides of trees, & grows in great plenty in swampy 
ground & the sides of creeks. It adheres very close & is 
with difficulty disengaged from the trees. It is estimated 
by a number of the inhabitants about Carlisle as an 
effectual remedy in the consumption. The method of 
using it is to scrape off the external bark, cut about a 
handful of the inner bark & heart of the vine in small 
pieces, boil them in a quart of water down to a pint of 
which a half pint is to be taken daily. 

"It always keeps the bowells gently open, relieves the 
pain in the breast & in two cases increased the secretion of 
saliva to a great degree. The inner bark has a taste con- 
siderably saccharine, the heart of the vine has little sen- 
sible effect on the tongue, if any, it is that of being slightly 
astringent. It should be prepared fresh every other day 
as it ferments by keeping. 

"A M a Smith near the blue mountain, a W* Elliott 
near the river Juniatta, have been perfectly cured by it. 

"Jonathan Foster, a shoemaker by trade, is asthmatic 
& at times afflicted with a pain in his breast, he is now 
using the poison vine & experiences great relief from it. 



14 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

"Hiram Gardiner, a shoemaker by trade, at the age of 
seventeen was afflicted with a pain in his breast, night 
sweats & tickling cough, he was said, by his attending 
physicians to be in a consumption, & by his own account, 
they could do nothing for him, he took to the use of the 
Poison vine, & by persevering in the use of it for a con- 
siderable time was perfectly cured. 

"He now works at his trade in Carlisle, & is ready to 
relate his case to any person who pleases to wait upon him. 

"I am informed the poison vine grows in great plenty 
down in the neck near Philadelphia." 

Carlisle May 27 th 1791 

Camp near Fort Pitt July 19 th 1791 
Dear Doctor, 

Having an opportunity I send you a small quantity of 
the extract of Poison vine, with a specimen of the bark of 
a bitter aromatic vine, which grows in abundance on the 
banks of the Ohio. 

Concerning the effects of the Poison vine I have but 
one fact worth communicating, a gentleman, who used it in 
the consumption had an eruption produced over the whole 
surface of the body & and was perfectly cured by it. 

The aromatic vine is not generally known by the inhabi- 
tants of Pittsburgh, even their Physicians are unac- 
quainted with its virtues; the aroma & bitterness resides 
altogether in the external bark, the internal leaves 
scarcely any visible effect on the tongue. 

Major who gave me the first information con- 
cerning this vine, informed me Dr. Thoa carried a 

large quantity of it to Europe; unfortunately, I have had 
near fifty weight of it spoiled in drying. I shall gather 
more of it in a few days & send it to you by the first 
opportunity. 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 15 

Our Hospital at present is a large Kentucky boat 
anchored in the Allegheny River, this answers three good 
purposes — first — it deprives our patients of the use of 
whiskey which, in my return to the Contractor I have 
exchanged for vinegar and soap — secondly — it prevents 
any contagious disease from spreading in the camp & 
thirdly — the dread of going to the boat prevents many 
from making imaginary complaints. 

The epidemic which prevails at present is the Dysentery 
— blisters to the wrists after the fifth day never fail in 
giving a check to the disease. 

On the 4 th of July Brown & myself were called to an 
unfortunate soldier, who had the metacarpal & part of the 
carpal bones carried away by the bursting of a musquet — 
Brown was too timid to attempt the operation — I ampu- 
tated the hand at the wrist in the presence of Col. Gibson, 
the officers of the army & several gentlemen from town. 
I dress him twice a day & he is in a fair way for recovering. 
I have a patient now under my care, with the symptoms 
of a Tetanus, from a wound which he received five weeks 
ago across the tendons of the fore arm in attempting to 
force a Sentinel; he complains of rigid & strong contrac- 
tions of the muscles of the neck; used the mecurial oint- 
ment to his jaw & have given him as much bark & vine 
as he can drink. 

When I mentioned this case, in the presence of Gen. 
Butler, Col. Gibson & Major Rodgrow, one of them said 
you were indebted to MacKnight for the discovery — I 
attempted to convince them of the contrary, & inform'd 
them of the certificate you receiv'd from Col. Stone. 
\ v ; Brown is acting the impostor — he has practiced Physic 
in the ^ East Indies — was offered the Professorship of 
Botany in the college of New York & can tell the genus 
& species of a Butterfly flying. By such little arts does 



16 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

he attempt to support the little reputation he has gained, 
he has decieved the weak & the ignorant, but men of 
penetration have found him out. Breckenridge says 
"he knows too much to know anything" 
Sir, 

When I left Philadelphia I understood that no appoint- 
ment, higher than that of a Surgeon's Mate was to take 
place in the Medical Department, since that I have been 
informed by gentlemen of very respectable characters, 
that new arrangements have taken place & a Surgeon is to 
be appointed to each regiment. I have written to Gen. 
Knox for the appointment you will confer an obligation 
on me by waiting upon that gentleman, & favouring me 
with a letter of introduction, to General Butler, General 
Sinclair, & any gentlemen you are acquainted with in 
Pittsburgh. The Surgeon's Mates are as ignorant as 
their patients. 

We have no news concerning the Indians. 

Please to present my compliments to M™ Rush & 
family & students in the shop & believe me to be 
Your very 
H ble Serv 1 
Doctor Benj n Rush James Woodhouse 

Camp near Fort Pitt August 10 th 1791 
Dear Doctor, 

I take this opportunity of sending you a few pounds of 
the aromatic bark I promised you in my last letter. I 
have enclosed a piece of the vine along with the bark as 
there is something curious in its structure, being spungy, 
and at the same time pealing into many layers. 

I have been in quest of the cancer root said to have 
been used by Dr. Martin & am now trying the lobelia as 
a ? 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 17 

Brown has attempted to rob you of your discovery of 
the method of ? Dropsius (?), he told me he was of 
your opinion a long time, & gave you the first hint — he 
expects you will acknowledge yourself indebted to him 
when you publish — he has told the same to D r Bedford, 
who means to speak to him before a witness & write to 
you concerning it. 

My patient who had the lockjaw is perfectly cured, & 
my respects to M w Rush & the gentlemen in the shop 

I am yours, etc. 

Jas. Woodhouse 
D r Benj. Rush 



The curative effect of the poison vine in 
the case of consumption must have impressed 
Rush profoundly. He had himself suffered 
from the "white plague" and written exten- 
sively upon it throughout his life, for he had 
really cured himself. 

The reputation Rush had attained in the 
use of mercurial preparations was so great that 
this medicament was recognized on all sides 
as having originated with him. Probably he 
smiled complacently on learning of the speeches 
of Surgeon Brown, who was led to send the 
following cruel, parting blow at Woodhouse: 

Fort Washington Nov r 18 th 1791 
Woodhouse has behaved so ill to me, that had it not 
been for the respect I have for you, he should have been 



18 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

sent home under an arrest, he was fourty miles off at the 
time of the battle and of course received no injury. 
(Letter from P. Browne — Surgeon 2 d Reg. U. S. to 
Dr. Benj. Rush) 



How could Woodhouse have participated in 
the battle when he had been detailed four days 
earlier to attend to other pressing duties? 

On the return of Woodhouse to the University, 
after an absence of four months from Phila- 
delphia, his medical studies were promptly 
resumed, and in May, 1792, having passed 
rigid oral, public examinations with the pre- 
sentation of a thesis, he was admitted to the 
degree of Doctor of Medicine. The title of 
his inaugural dissertation was On the Chemical 
and Medical Properties of the Persimmon Tree, 
and the Analysis of Astringent Vegetables. It was 
encompassed in thirty-four printed octavo pages. 
In appearance it recalls the doctoral theses 
of the German universities. His father's name 
appears on the title page as publisher. 

Much importance was attached to these 
publications in the earlier years of the Medical 
School of the University of Pennsylvania. Its 
library contains hundreds of such efforts at 
independent research. Indeed, in 1805, Cald- 
well selected twelve of these inaugural theses 
and published them in an octavo volume. 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 19 

They were largely experimental in character. 
It was contended that public recognition "must 
have a powerful influence on the minds of the 
students in their endeavors to perfect their 
dissertations, and thereby render them worthy 
of such an honorable distinction." This plan 
was pursued for several years. Many of the 
theses were exceedingly meritorious. To this 
class belonged the dissertation of Woodhouse, 
which was "dedicated as a grateful tribute 
of respect" to Benjamin Rush, who in turn 
was pleased to write Woodhouse: 

My dear Friend: 

I beg you would permit me, to make use of a small 
part of a page, of your inaugural publication, on the 
Persimmon Tree, and the Analysis of astringent vegetables, 
as the vehicle of my acknowledgements, of the great 
pleasure I derived, from witnessing the zeal and industry, 
with which you conducted the experiments and studies, 
that have led you to the valuable discoveries, contained 
in your dissertation. I hope your success in those experi- 
ments, will animate you to direct your inquiries into other 
branches of Chemistry and Medicine, and that your 
eminence and usefulness in life may be equal to the 
ability and integrity with which you have discharged 
your duty to your 

Affectionate Preceptor, 
Benjamin Rush 
May 8 rd , 1792. 

In the introductory remarks Woodhouse tells 



20 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

that he chose the Persimmon tree for a thesis 
because "he wished on the one hand to avoid 
a thread-bare, worn out subject" and on the 
other that he might have "an opportunity of 
saying something on a tree, of which, little 
more is known than the name." He acknowl- 
edges also that he is "as yet, a Tyro in Chem- 
istry." 

The history of the tree is given and then 
attention is directed to the expressed juice 
of the unripe fruit, a substance of a singular 
nature. Seventeen different experiments were 
made upon it and commented upon by Wood- 
house in these words : 

"From the first of these experiments, it 
appears, that the juice of the Persimmon, 
contains the same acid, as all astringent vege- 
tables; and from the second, we find it may 
be employed, as a nice test, for detecting the 
presence of iron, in mineral waters. In the 
third, it decomposed the iron, separating its 
principle of inflammability. In the fifth, we 
find a large quantity, of a transparent, brown, 
astringent gummy substance produced, which 
from some of the succeeding experiments, 
appears to be a gum-resin, with a proportion 
of excrementitious matter. The resin is a 
mild substance, generally containing a small 
proportion of the acid, and may be separated 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 21 

from the gum, by precipitating the basis of 
the astringent, by the vegetable or volatile 
alkali, filtering the solution, and adding the 
marine or vitriolic acids. The gum is com- 
posed of the gallic acid, and the astringent 
basis, which is earth of alum. 

"The property of forming a saline gum, 
with the earth of alum, is not peculiar to the 
gallic acid. The distilled acid of sugar, accord- 
ing to Schrickel, and the acid of tartar, have 
the same effect on that earth.* A gum resin 
appears to exist in almost every vegetable, 
which has the property of striking black, with 
the solutions of iron, differing in the degree 
of solubility, in different menstrua, and in the 
proportion of gum and resin. It constitutes 
the astringent and bitter quality in peruvian 
bark, it may be extracted from the leaves and 
bark of the Persimmon, galls yield it to a watery 
menstruum, in the proportion of four drachms 
to the ounce, and it may be obtained, in con- 
siderable quantities, from the common pig-nut. 

"Morveau supposes the acid in astringents, 
is formed of this resin and pure air. The twelfth 
experiment clearly confutes this opinion, for 
the resin is there seen, in large transparent 
globules, when the iron, the ponderous earth, 
and the mercury were precipitated by the acid. 

* Keir't Chemical Dictionary, article, acid of tartar and sugar. 



22 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

"To succeed in this experiment, with galls, 
and other astringents, it is necessary to have 
a strong infusion of them, for it does not take 
place, after the resin has been extracted by one 
or two infusions, altho' the astringency remains. 

"The precipitate formed, by adding the 
alkalies, to vegetable astringents, has been 
mistaken by some authors for the astringent 
principle. In Keir's chemical Dictionary, and 
in the last edition of the Encyclopaedia Brit- 
tanica, a number of observations may be seen, 
relating to this principle. It is there said, when 
redissolved in water, it blackened a solution of 
vitriol but faintly, and in no other manner, 
than what arose, from a small quantity of acid 
remaining, which is proved it contains by distil- 
ling it. The author of these observations has 
been mistaken, and it is not a difficult matter, 
to point out in what manner he has been de- 
ceived. The astringent taste arose from a 
quantity of acid, which he acknowledges it 
contains, its solubility in water, arose from the 
same cause, for after it is several times washed, 
and the water filtered, it does not blacken a 
solution of vitriol, but when diffused in water, 
and added to a solution of that salt, the color 
is immediately changed, for its solubility in 
water, like alum and the calcareous phosphat 
of urine, is owing to a superabundant acid. 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 23 

"When spread with a feather, over an ancient, 
decayed writing, it restored the legibility of the 
letters. Various methods have been recom- 
mended, by different authors, for this purpose; 
among others, the distilled liquor of galls, in 
Caneparious's collection de atramentis, and 
the phlogisticated alkali, by Dr. Blagden, in 
the Philosophical transactions, for the year, 
1787. The unripe juice of the Persimmon, 
possesses two advantages over these fluids; 
it is a more powerful test for detecting the 
presence of iron, and forms a gummy resinous 
coat over the letters, defending them forever, 
against the action of air and moisture. 

"The matter formed by the junction of the 
astringent juice and steel filings, and the pre- 
cipitated faecula of green vitriol, possesses the 
same properties. 

"The twelfth, and following experiments, 
naturally lead us to say a few words, on the 
changes which take place, in the precipitates 
of iron, by the vegetable astringents. 

"On this subject, Messieurs Macquer, Mon- 
net, Gianotti and the academicians of Dijon, 
have been particularly engaged. The two 
former, and the greater part of chemists, con- 
sider the precipitate of ink, to be united with 
a principle in the gall-nut, in an oily state. 
Mr. Gianotti thought, that the iron was united 



24 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

with the astringent principle; and that it 
was in the state of a neutral salt. The gentle- 
men of the academy of Dijon, suppose the 
astringents direct their action to the vitriolic 
acid, and precipitate the iron pure. 

"My experiments have induced me to draw 
a different conclusion, from those gentlemen. 
I have clearly proved, that a neutral salt 
exists readily formed in astringent vegetables, 
composed of a peculiar acid and the earth of 
alum, independent of a resin, which most of 
them contain. 

"In the making of ink then, a double elective 
attraction takes place; the gallic acid unites 
with the iron of green vitriol, while the vitriolic 
acid unites with the earth of alum. In an 
acid solution of green vitriol, no precipitate 
happens, because the vitriolic dissolves the iron 
as salt, as it is precipitated; but, if a sufficient 
quantity of an alkali is added, to saturate the 
vitriolic acid, the precipitate remains suspended 
in the liquor; still continue to add the alkali, 
and you saturate both the gallic and the vitriolic 
acid, and the iron is precipitated, of a dirty 
color. 

"This theory points out the necessity of 
having a vitriol, exactly saturated with acid, 
in the making of ink: the propriety of adding 
a small quantity of the vegetable alkali or 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 25 

steel filings, to the common ink powder of the 
shops, and the improper practice which some 
people have, of using vinegar as a menstruum, 
to extract its virtues. 

"It shows the propriety of Mr. Clegg's pro- 
posal, for employing vegetable alkali, as a 
substitute for verdigise in the black dye, for 
which he received a silver medal and ten guineas, 
from a society instituted in London, for the 
encouragement of arts and manufacturers, in 
the year 1783. 

"It accounts for the phenomena, which 
happened in a number of experiments made 
by Drs. Skeets and Irwin, in which magnesia, 
lime, chalk and the alkalies were triturated 
with peruvian bark, and added to a solution 
of green vitriol; and which Irwin accounted 
for, by supposing the presence of fixed air. 

"The fallacy, of triturating astringent gum 
resins, with different substances, and adding 
them to a solution of green vitriol, and making 
the intensity of the color struck, a proof of 
the strength of the solvent power, is here 
pointed out. 

"It explains the reason, why in the precipi- 
tates of iron by the nut-gall, the coalition of 
particles is successive, and remains suspended 
in the fluid, and why in the uva ursi, the pig- 
nut, and the Persimmon, they concrete together, 



26 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

in large particles, and fall to the bottom of the 
vessel. In the first case, the resin being con- 
tained in a small quantity, and united to a 
portion of the acid, is readily soluble in water; 
in the second case, the resin is contained in a 
large proportion, and is insoluble in water. 

"It likewise explains to us the cause of 
increased blackness of ink, in the common 
practice which school boys have of adding 
chalk, lime, &c, to the fluid. 

"The doctrine of astringents, serves as a 
key to many of the experiments of Dr. Percival, 
and accounts for the manner in which acids 
neutralize astringents ; by destroying the affinity 
between gallic acid, and the earth of alum. 

"In short, it simplifies the Materia Medica, 
it is an interesting addition of chemistry, and 
in future it is probable, the whole catalogue 
of astringents will yield to one or two of the 
most powerful, and the author queries, whether 
even the peruvian bark, will not give place, 
to the more powerful combination, of galls 
and gentian, or the Persimmon and centaury. 

"The acid of galls, forming an ink with 
green vitriol, may be offered as an objection 
to this theory, and it may be asked, why does 
not the vitriolic acid, in this case, dissolve 
the iron? The answer to this question is easy, 
the vitriolic acid is too w r eak to act on the 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 27 

iron, and an ink made in this manner, though 
at first of a deep black colour, yet is not durable. 5 ' 



After describing the resin or rather the method 
of getting it for pharmaceutical purposes, Wood- 
house discusses its efficacy in medicine for 
fevers, for hemorrhoids, for dysentery, for 
diabetes, for "spungy, swelled gums and loose 
teeth," for "stone in the urinary passages," 
and for chronic ulcers, indicating also its use 
in the arts under the following heads : 

1. In the Tanning of Leather 

"The greater the quantity of resin con- 
tained in any vegetable astringent, the greater 
the ease with which the leather may be impreg- 
nated with it, and its greater degree of insolu- 
bility in water afterwards, so much the more 
valuable is it, in this important branch of 
manufacturers. 

"The use of tanning, says Dr. Macbride, 
is to prevent the leather from rotting, and 
to render it impervious to water. Any astringent 
vegetable substance, is powerful enough to 
accomplish the first purpose, but to render 
the leather impervious to water, requires one 
containing a large proportion of gummy resinous 
matter. 



28 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

"The superiority of oak bark over other 
astringents, is owing to this property. The 
famous essence of this substance, is no more 
than an extract made by infusion, and was 
first proposed as a substitute for oak bark, 
in a memoir delivered to the Bath Society, 
in the year 1773. 

"The unripe juice of the Persimmon, pro- 
vided it could be obtained in sufficient quan- 
tities, and for a price w^hich would not greatly 
enhance the value of leather, must be prefer- 
able to oak bark, for reasons evident to every 
chemical mind. 

"Allowing every tree to produce four bushels 
of fruit, though Mr. Bartram says, he has seen 
some which produce six, and suppose three 
hundred of these trees cultivated; the quantity 
of gum resin which would be produced, would 
be 1800 pounds, as I have ascertained by 
experiment, computing six pounds to a tree. 
The quantity of juice would be several hundred 
gallons, which might be kept in barrels till 
wanted for use. 

"North Carolina is the only state, in which 
the Persimmon is cultivated; it is a common 
practice there to ingraft it on the apple, by 
which means the rapidity of its growth is 
greatly increased. 

''When we oppose the cleanliness of the 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 29 

process, if the Persimmon could be used, the 
strength of the astringent, the small number 
of hands required, the small capital to begin 
and little labour requisite to carry on the 
business, the trifling piece of ground which a 
tan-yard would occupy, the value of the leather 
and shortness of time necessary to finish it; 
to the large capital at present required, the 
number of hands employed, the quantity of 
labour, the immense loads of bark, the annual 
expense of a horse and price of instruments 
to grind it, and the length of time necessary 
to finish the leather, we may conclude, the 
experiment is well worthy the attention of 
some philosophical tanner. 



2. As an Ingredient in the Black Dye 

"The black dye in common use, is no more 
than an ink, made by adding a vegetable 
astringent to a solution of green vitriol, altho' 
realgar, antimony, litharge, arsenic, orpiment 
and other substances have been added to the 
ingredients. 

"In the Swedish transactions for the year 
1753, a fine black is said to be dyed, with the 
leaves of the uva ursi, the black matter con- 
cretes together in large particles, which is 
supposed to be of great advantage to the black 



30 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

dye, as the largeness of the colouring particles, 
which concrete in the pores of the cloth, may 
render them more fixed, consequently less of the 
colouring matter is wasted in the liquor. To 
this cause, says Dr. Lewis, may be attributed 
a quality of the uva ursi dye, mentioned by 
the Swedish author, that the cloth is cleaner, 
than after the other black dyes, or requires 
less washing to free it from the loose colour. 

"The juice of the Persimmon, precipitates 
iron in the same manner as the uva ursi, in 
large particles, which fall to the bottom of the 
vessel. I have dyed silk with an ink made 
of this substance, which was as black, and 
bore washing as well, as that dyed with galls, 
logwood, and fifty other ingredients. 

"It is astonishing to think, an exorbitant 
price is still paid for galls and logwood, when 
bushels of a substitute superior to either, may 
be had for the trouble of carrying them away. 



3. In the Making of Ink 

"The great defect in an ink, made from 
the juice of the Persimmon, is that, the pre- 
cipitated iron, concretes together in large par- 
ticles, and falls to the bottom of the vessel; 
this takes place in a greater or less degree, 
in every precipitate of iron, by a vegetable 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 31 

astringent. In some inks this circumstance 
may be prevented by the addition of gum 
arabic, and the colouring matter kept sus- 
pended in the fluid; I have attempted it in 
vain, in ink made from the Persimmon, the 
letters always appearing as if written by char- 
coal diffused in water. An ink has likewise 
been made from the precipitated iron mixed 
with water, and kept suspended by the addition 
of gum arabic; when made in this manner, 
tho' it is durable, yet the letters may be washed 
off from the paper as easily as if written with 
any black powder diffused in water. 

"In the latter end of October, and in Novem- 
ver, the astringent gum of the Persimmon, 
is converted into a sweet nutritious substance, 
which remains on the trees 'till January, and 
serves as food to squirrels, rabbits, raccoons, 
and other animals. 

"The manner in which this change is pro- 
duced, would lead to an inquiry, as curious 
as it would be useful. It appears to be a 
process, analogous to a mortification in the 
extremities of the human body, and brought 
on by the same cause. An extinction of life, 
from a languid circulation, caused by the 
debilitating power of cold. In what manner 
this quality acts, in producing a decomposi- 
tion, is difficult to determine: the constituent 



32 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

principles appear not to be changed, they are 
only modified; the gum resin is principally 
composed of acid, oil, earth and water: the 
ripe fruit contains the same principles, and 
even when changed into a vinous liquor and 
distilled, the composition is still acid, oil, and 
water. Here we must rest satisfied with the 
fact, for it is not the business of Chemistry, 
to wander in the boundless regions of conjec- 
ture. Perhaps some future experiments, may 
throw light on this mysterious process, which 
at present only proves, that nature herself 
is a great Chemist. 



4. To Make Spirit of the Persimmon 

"For this purpose a certain quantity of 
water is to be added to the Persimmon w T hen 
ripe, and the whole put into a proper vessel 
to which a certain quantity of yeast is to be 
added, to promote a fermentation. Every 
bushel of fruit treated in this manner, will 
yield one gallon of spirit, of an agreeable flavour. 
If beer is preferred to spirit, the fruit boiled 
in water, which is afterwards strained, and 
set to ferment; hops are then added to prevent 
the fermentation from proceeding too far, and 
it is bottled for use. 

"Those who would wish to collect large 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 33 

quantities of the fruit for distillation, may 
consult a memoir published by Mr. Bartram, 
in the first volume of the American Philosophical 
Transactions/ 5 



5. To Make Persimmon Bread 

"When freed from the stones, they are to 
be mixed with flour as potatoes generally are 
and baked in the same manner. Bread when 
made in this way, is not only very nutritious, 
but has the advantage of economy to recom- 
mend it." 



The very critical person will doubtless have 
smiled on perusing this maiden production 
of Woodhouse — but the period, the general 
knowledge of chemical substances at the time, 
the state of our own country must be con- 
templated before hastily and testily consigning 
the dissertation to the waste-paper basket. 
It represents a beginning and, from the best 
information at hand, it was a most serious 
beginning. Let it then rather be viewed as a 
pioneer step and let the student of the present 
rejoice that as early as 1792 the spirit of research 
was abroad in the infant Republic and that men 
were striving to discover the truth. They gave 
themselves whole-heartedly to their pursuits. 



34 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

One pauses on reading the contributions 
of the early alchemists and endeavors to put 
himself in their place and to recall their aims; 
but this is easier of accomplishment in the 
instance of Woodhouse's work, performed long 
after, but yet in a period still quite distant 
from the present — -for it all occurred in the 
closing decade of the eighteenth century and 
in the beginning of the nineteenth century. 

Shortly after graduation in medicine, Wood- 
house (1792) conveyed a considerable portion 
of land in Northumberland County to his 
former preceptor for a very nominal sum. 
It would be interesting to know whether this 
was out of gratitude for the many kindnesses 
shown him by Dr. Rush, or whether it may 
have been in the nature of a fee for the pre- 
ceptorial privileges enjoyed under his patron. 

A copy of the deed follows. It was dis- 
covered among letters and documents of Rush 
mentioned on page 11. 

"Know all men by these Presents, that I James Wood- 
house for and in Consideration of the Sum of five shillings 
to me in hand, well and truly paid by Dr. Benjamin Rush 
the Receipt whereof I do hereby acknowledge; and for 
other good causes and valuable Considerations me there- 
unto moving, have granted, bargained, sold, released, 
assigned, conveyed, and confirmed, and by these Presents 
do grant, bargain, sell, release, assign, convey, and con- 
firm unto the said D r Benf Rush his Heirs, Executors, 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 35 

Administrators and Assigns for ever, all my Right, Title, 
Interest, Property, Claim, and Demand whatsoever, of, 
in, and to a certain Warrant, by me obtained out of the 
Land office for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, 
bearing date for the Quantity of 

four hundred Acres of Land (be they more or less) on the 
waters of Loyal Creek on North* County — adjoining land 
granted April 9 th 1792 to James Mease and likewise all my 
Right, Title, Interest, Property, Claim or Demand what- 
soever, of, in, and to any Return that is or may be made 
on the said Warrant, or of, in, and to the Patent or any 
Part or Parcel of the said four hundred Acres of Land 
patent, located, surveyed, or to be patent, located, or 
surveyed, or held in Pursuance of the said warrant with 
all of the Appurtenances thereunto belonging, to the only 
proper Use and Behoof of the said Doctor Benjamin 
Rush — his Heirs, Executors, Administrators and Assigns 
for ever, under the Reservations to the Commonwealth 
of Pennsylvania due, or to become due, therefore and 
other Charges and Taxes on the said Warrant or Land, to 
be paid at the Cost and Charge of the said Doctor Benjamin 
Rush — his Executors, Administrators or Assigns: and I 
the said James Woodhouse for myself, my Heirs, Executors, 
and Administrators, shall and will at any and all time or 
times hereafter, upon the reasonable Request and Cost of 
the said D r Benjamin Rush — his Heirs, Executors, or 
Assigns, make, do, and Execute, Acknowledge and 
Deliver or cause to be done all and every such further 
and other Conveyances and Assurances in the Law for 
the better granting and conveying the said Land and 
Premises with all the Appurtenances unto the said 
D r Benjamin Rush Heirs, Executors, Administrators, or 
Assigns as by his Council learned in the Law shall be 
devised, advised, or required. IN WITNESS whereof 



36 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

I have hereunto set my Hand and Seal, this twenty-fifth 

Day of May in the year of our Lord one Thousand Seven 

Hundred and ninety two. 

Signed, Sealed 1 

and delivered , XTr 

. ., t, > James Woodhousb 

in the rresance [ 

of J 

Warner Washington Jun* 

Jn° F. Hall 

Received the 25th Day of May the Sum of five shillings 
being in full, for the consideration Money above men- 
tioned. 

Witness James Woodhousb 

Jn° F. Stall 

And on the inside page of this deed, there is 
written : 

"For a valuable consideration which I hereby acknowl- 
edge to have received, I do hereby assign & transfer to 
Joseph Priestley Jun r all my right, title, interest, claim & 
demand whatever to the anexed deed poll or instrument 
of writing. In testimony whereof I have hereunto set 
my hand & seal this 18 of February 1794. 

Benjamin Rush 
Witnesses present 
Edw" Fisher 
Abby Stockton 

On the 20 th day of February 1794 came before me 
Rob* Martin Justice of peace in the county of North d 
Dr. Benjamin Rush & acknowledged the above assign- 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 37 

ment or transfer to be his Act, and deed & desired it 
might be recorded as such. Witness my hand & seal 

Rob t Martin 



Joseph Priestley, Jr., came to America some 
years prior to the arrival of his father. He 
and other Englishmen had traversed consider- 
able portions of the State of Pennsylvania 
in search of a site suitable for an English com- 
munity — sufficiently removed from other pioneer 
settlements. Such a spot was found on the 
North branch of the Susquehanna River in 
Northumberland County, but in some mysteri- 
ous way the scheme failed, and Priestley, the 
younger, sought a home for himself. The 
conveyance, just cited, shows clearly his final 
decision, and it was on that site that he later 
received his father, who, when in Philadelphia 
in 1794, showed such eagerness to reach North- 
umberland, conscious that a home was awaiting 
him there. Little did "the honest old heretic" 
realize or suspect that in this new home he 
would prosecute the cause of phlogiston on 
territory once owned by young Woodhouse 
who, in a few short years, was to become one 
of his most ardent opponents. 

One wonders whether having become a medical 
doctor, yet possessed of such great love for 



38 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

Chemistry, Woodhouse would devote himself 
to medical practice or to chemical pursuits. 
It has been said that "after his graduation 
he confined almost his entire attention to 
Chemistry." This seems correct, but he did 
do some medical work, for on March 16, 1792, 
he reported a case of Hydrocephalus in which 
he remarked: 

"Future experiments and observations must 
determine, whether bleeding is preferable to 
the common method of treating the hydro- 
cephalus . . . altho' there can be no doubt 
of the propriety of bleeding in preventing 
disease." 

Again, on September 1, 1792, he wrote of 
the case of an infant of five years — that it was 
originally remitting fever "which terminated 
in hydrocephalus, proves the fallacy of the 
symptom of worms, and confirms the idea of 
Butler, that the worm fever of authors, is no 
other than the infantile remitting fever." 



One of the popular agencies for the encour- 
agement of chemical studies in the infancy of 
our Republic was the Chemical Society of 
Philadelphia. It enlisted the sympathies of a 
wide circle of specialists. 

A great deal has been said regarding it. 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 39 

It is certain that it was a very serious under- 
taking on the part of its supporters, that it 
promoted research in every possible way, en- 
couraging its membership by all means in its 
power to have the Society become a vehicle 
of bringing to the country the latest and most 
useful information on chemical subjects. 

It must have been a source of pride to Wood- 
house, for he conceived it and was the real 
founder of the Society — the first Chemical 
Society in the world. Its stated meetings 
were held weekly in the Philadelphia Laboratory 
in Anatomical Hall. It was constantly advising 
the citizens of its desire and readiness to aid 
them and, therefore, requested that all objects 
requiring analysis should be promptly sent 
them. Annual lectures of considerable impor- 
tance were delivered before it. In the address 
of one of its Vice-Presidents flattering reference 
is made to Woodhouse — its founder, its first 
and only President — in these words: 

"I must notice . . . in our worthy President, 
that science has not only gained a strenuous 
vindicator of its doctrines, but also a liberal 
inquirer after truth, an elegant and successful 
experimenter/ 5 

In all this there is sufficient evidence that 
Chemistry claimed Woodhouse's serious thought. 
Presumably, he used medicine to obtain the 



40 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

means necessary to prosecute his purely chemical 
studies. He was surely a devotee of the science, 
as indicated by his introductory words on 
facing an audience on one occasion: 

"Let Miss Chemistry be your only mistress 
— the only object of your devotion and homage." 

To revert, briefly, to the Chemical Society: 
There is abundant evidence that under the 
inspiring presidency of Woodhouse it made 
praiseworthy contributions and was most favor- 
ably regarded throughout the Republic. For 
example, the American Mineralogical Society 
(New York), modeled after the Chemical 
Society, announced that the older Society 
had "laudably set the example it hoped to 
imitate by soliciting information upon the 
resources of our Country" and that it was 
especially helpful in furnishing at least "one 
article of great national importance." In 
glancing through the publication {The Weekly 
Magazine, 2 (1798), pp. 329 and 374) describ- 
ing the article, the thought suggested itself 
that the contribution possessed an appropriate- 
ness for the reader of the present, when the 
chemists of our country are so largely engaged 
in caring for the national defence. Their 
representatives in the days of Woodhouse also, 
inspired by lofty patriotism, devoted them- 
selves to the interests of the country, and we 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 41 

can but admire their zeal and be grateful for 
their achievements, however humble their char- 
acter. The Society had made a public request 
that "any person who may possess informa- 
tion relative to the manufacturing of nitre 
forward it to them." In answer to the inquiry 
there came this reply : 

"In the present critical situation of our coun- 
try few subjects claim a more serious attention 
than those which essentially contribute to its 
defence. We may erect fortifications and 
procure ordnance, but if we are not provided 
with ammunition our guns will be useless and 
our forts of little consequence. From these 
considerations a few hints on nitre, and the 
best means of manufacturing it in America 
may be offered. 

"Nitre is well known to be the basis of 
gun-powder, a substance of indispensable neces- 
sity even in defensive war. At present we 
depend almost wholly upon foreign countries 
for this article: our navigation is already much 
impaired and if actual war should take place 
the difficulty of obtaining nitre would be 
encreased so greatly that it might not be 
possible to procure sufficient quantities from 
abroad to answer the immense expenditure 
which must necessarily ensue. 

"Most governments have paid attention to 



42 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

the sources from whence nitre may be obtained 
and in general their researches have been 
crowned with success. There is scarcely a 
part of the inhabited globe where this salt 
may not be made. In some countries it is 
collected with very little trouble or expence 
while in others much attention is necessary 
to procure it even at considerable cost and, 
as it has generally been managed, great incon- 
venience to the inhabitants. In England for- 
merly and in France, now, the salt-petre makers 
have the power of entering the houses of the 
inhabitants, obliging them to suffer their stables 
and cellars to be dug up and the earth carried 
away for the use of the state. 

"In India there are considerable districts 
of country abounding in nitre. The lixiviation 
of the soil, evaporation of the lixivium, and 
crystallization constitute the whole art of nitre- 
making; hence nitre can be brought ten thou- 
sand miles and sold at a price considerably 
below what it can be made for here. Lands 
possessing the same property are found in 
Spain and in South America; in France cer- 
tain stones are discovered which by an easy 
process yield nitre in abundance. It is highly 
probable that lands impregnated with this 
salt exist in our own country; none such, 
it is true, have yet been discovered, at least 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 43 

on this side the mountains; and it is perhaps 
equally true that the investigation has never 
been made with sufficient accuracy. But though 
there is reason to regret the want of energy 
in an enquiry so important to the public, 
and the success of which would at once set 
the discoverer beyond the reach of poverty, 
there still remains a source from which nitre 
may be procured in quantities sufficient to 
meet every exigency. This subject offers to 
men of enterprise and activity the most flatter- 
ing prospects of wealth, and has, besides, the 
advantage of public utility combined with 
individual emolument: The simplicity of the 
process renders this source of riches accessible 
to men of the most moderate capacity, and 
its public utility ought to stimulate the patriotic. 
Most manufactories require an extensive capital 
to be employed or they cannot be carried on 
with advantage; but from this inconvenience 
the making of nitre is exempted. The few 
buildings necessary, are constructed with as 
little expence as the sheds of a brick-yard: 
the utensils are chiefly made of the cheapest 
materials, and the substances from which nitre 
is to be extracted cost little more than the 
trouble of collecting them. 

"It is a fact well known to chymists that 
nitre is produced in great abundance by the 



44 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

decomposition of animal and vegetable sub- 
stances by putrefaction. The animal matters 
afford azotic gas in a fit state to combine with 
the oxygen of the atmosphere and produce 
nitric acid, while the decaying vegetables furnish 
potash with which the acid unites to form nitre. 
All that is necessary, therefore, is to collect 
a sufficient quantity of these materials and 
place them in circumstances favourable to the 
development of the principles from which nitre 
originates and when the salt is formed to 
extract it from the mass through which it is 
diffused. 

"To make nitre with advantage no depend- 
ence is to be placed upon the scanty supply 
which stables and cellars afford and which 
cannot be procured without difficulty and ill- 
will. What are called nitre-beds are formed 
by digging a long and wide ditch in the earth, 
filling this ditch with putrefying animal and 
vegetable materials, and erecting a shed over 
them which must be left open at the sides 
that the air may have free access. The vicinity 
of larger cities is the proper place to construct 
nitre-beds for here the supply of materials is 
inexhaustible. The sweepings of the streets, 
the rubbish of old buildings, the cleanings of 
cellars, and the refuse vegetables, of Phila- 
delphia for instance, would furnish more nitre- 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 45 

beds than there are now brick-yards. When 
the beds are formed they are to be watered 
from time to time with the most putrid w r ater 
in the neighborhood and of which in the environs 
of cities there is seldom a scarcity, and stirred 
occasionally to expose fresh surfaces to the air. 
To judge when the bed is sufficiently impreg- 
nated with salt to be worked with advantage 
a small quantity, the weight of which must be 
ascertained, is lixiviated and the salt obtained by 
evaporation and crystallization. The weight of 
the salt compared with that of the compost from 
which it was procured determines the question. 
"Having decided on the propriety of pro- 
ceeding to extract the nitre, a number of large 
tubs, similar to those used by soap-boilers, 
must be procured each of which should have a 
hole in the bottom stopt by a plug. Some 
sticks must be spread on the bottom of each 
tub and a little loose straw thrown over them. 
The nitrous earth must then be put in so as 
to fill about two-thirds of each, and a stratum 
of wood-ashes and lime in the quantity of 
one fourth of the whole mass laid at top: 
boiling water is then to be poured on till the 
tubs are full. The water should remain twenty- 
four hours and the mixture stirred from time 
to time, after which the plug is to be taken 
out and the lev drawn off. 



46 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

"The ley thus obtained requires to be clarified, 
which is done by mixing some blood or eggs 
with it and gently boiling. The impurities 
will be entangled with the blood, which coagu- 
lates by heat, and will rise to the top in a thick 
scum, which must be carefully taken off. After 
the fluid is thus prepared it must be put into 
boilers, which for convenience may be fixed 
in brick work as in pot-ash manufactories, 
and evaporated until a drop let fall on any 
cold substance, becomes solid: it is now to be 
poured into large earthen pans and set in a 
cool cellar to shoot. At the end of two days, 
or sooner, a great number of crystals will 
be formed which will be of a brownish colour 
and very impure owing to a mixture of sea- 
salt, several salts with earthy bases and some 
extractive matter: this is called nitre of the 
first boiling, to purify which it must be dis- 
solved in clean water, evaporated and crystalized 
as before; and the same process repeated a 
third time. Nitre of the third boiling is not 
absolutely pure, but it is sufficiently so for the 
making of gun-powder, and most other pur- 
poses: it is only for some nice chemical experi- 
ments and in medicine that greater purity is 
required and this may be obtained by repeating 
the solutions and crystalizations. 

"It is to be observed that all the salt is not 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 47 

extracted from the materials by the first water: 
a second quantity is therefore to be poured on 
and, after remaining a day, drawn off as at 
first. This ley is not sufficiently strong to be 
evaporated with profit but is used instead of 
simple water to extract the salt from fresh 
materials; and the fluid that remains in the 
pans after the first crystalization contains a 
great deal of nitre which may be obtained by 
further evaporation and cooling." 



In 1769 there appeared an article from the 
pen of Dr. Percival "On Bitters and Astrin- 
gents." It passed through four editions and 
was translated into foreign languages. Several 
chemists had essayed to "controvert some of 
the principles" set forth by Dr. Percival, and 
Woodhouse, being deeply interested in the 
facts set forth by Percival but differing radically 
from him issued "Observations on the Combi- 
nation of Acids, Bitters and Astringents" in 
1793, in which, declaring his sole "object, 
the establishment of the truth" he wrote thus: 

"Dr. Percival . . . having infused a quantity 
of powdered Peruvian bark in vinegar and 
water, and added some of the infusion to a 
chalybeate solution, he found at first no change 
of colour take place, though in a few minutes 
a slight black tinge appeared. 



48 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

"The result of this experiment, induced 
him to make further trials of the effects of 
acids on vegetable astringents, and having 
added some white wine vinegar to an infusion 
of chamomile flowers, and a triturated infusion 
of the bark, and added these infusions to a 
solution of sal martis, he found no change of 
colour produced. Afterwards having made 
ink, with an infusion of galls, and a solution 
of sal martis, he discharged the black colour 
by the acid of vitriol, and then restored the 
original blackness with the spirit of hartshorne. 

"From these experiments he supposed an 
affinity between acids, bitters and astringents, 
and this suggested to him an idea, that they 
might possibly neutralize each other, and form 
what the chy mists call a tertium quid. This 
point he attempted to ascertain by adding 
vinegar to infusions of the bark, Aleppo galls 
and gentian, and concluded from his experi- 
ments, that acids, bitters and astringents neu- 
tralize each other. 

"Having given this summary of the experi- 
ments of Dr. Percival, I shall 

"1. Take notice of the best method of dis- 
covering an astringent quality in vegetables. 

"2. Shew that change which takes place, 
upon adding a vegetable astringent to a solution 
of green vitriol. 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 49 

"3. Point out the manner in which the 
doctor was deceived, and 

"4. Relate several decisive experiments, in 
which mineral and vegetable acids, were added 
to bitters, and astringents. 

"1. The property of striking a black colour 
with a solution of green vitriol, has long been 
regarded as an indubitable test of astringency, 
but as this is owing to the gallic acid uniting 
with the iron of the green vitriol, as many 
vegetables contain this acid, which are not 
astringent, as the black colour produced is 
not in proportion to the astringency, as it 
does not happen when the astringency is not 
destroyed by the acids, and it takes place when 
the astringent principle is completely destroyed 
by magnesia or the alkalies, it follows that the 
property by which vegetables strike a black 
colour, with a solution of green vitriol, cannot 
be considered as a proof of their astringency. 



"2. Upon adding a vegetable astringent to a 
solution of sal martis, a black colour is produced. 

"There have been many different explanations 
of this fact; the opinion to which Dr. Percival 
seems to have adhered, is that the astringent prin- 
ciple was united to the iron of the green vitriol. 



50 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

"3. Dr. Percival was deceived, first, from 
using a fallacious test of astringency, secondly, 
from being under the influence of a precon- 
ceived opinion, and thirdly, from being ignorant 
of that change which takes place, upon adding 
a vegetable astringent to a solution of sal 
martis. As he thought he had proved, that 
acids neutralize astringents, so when he added 
the vitriolic acid, to a decoction of galls and a 
solution of sal martis, he supposed the acid 
neutralized the astringent principle, whereas, 
it only dissolved the ferrugenious particles, 
that this is actually the case may be proved 
by adding the pure gallic acid, which is not 
astringent, to a solution of green vitriol, and 
then discharging the black colour, by dissolving 
the precipitate, with the vitriolic or marine 
acid. 

"4. I shall relate a few experiments, in which 
mineral and vegetable acids, were added to 
bitters and astringents, and take notice of the 
result. 

Experiment I. 

"Different portions of the vitriolic, nitrous 
and marine acids, vinegar and lime juice, 
were separately added to solutions of gentian, 
chamomile flowers and columbo root; the 
bitter principle always predominated to the 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 51 

taste, a piece of paper stained blue, was in 
every instance turned to a red colour. 

Experiment II. 

"Different portions of the vitriolic, nitrous, 
marine acids, vinegar and lime juice, were 
separately added to solutions of galls, Spanish 
oak and Peruvian bark; in no one instance 
was the astringent principle neutralized; the 
solution of galls was more pleasant to the 
taste, the astringency of the oak bark appeared 
to be increased; upon adding the vegetable 
alkali to it, a more copious precipitation took 
place, than from the watery solution alone. 

Experiment III. 

"Alum added to a solution of galls and 
Spanish oak bark, caused a precipitate, partly 
insoluble in the vitriolic acid. 

"This experiment was suggested by reading 
an essay intitled 'Consideration in different 
materials as objects of the art of dyeing'; by 
Mr. Henry, published in the third volume of 
the Manchester memoirs, wherein he asserts 
a complete decomposition of alum takes place 
when added to a solution of galls, which is 
by no means the case, as the alum may be 
obtained by chrystallization after the addition. 

"The insoluble precipitate is the resin of the 



52 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

galls, which may be thrown down, by using a 
solution of columbo root, instead of alum, 
but which will not take place with chamomile 
flowers or gentian, or by adding the alum to 
a solution of Peruvian bark. 

"The frequent opportunities Dr. Percival 
had of observing the effects, arising from a 
combination of green vitriol and astringents, 
naturally led him to examine into the principles 
of ink, and from a number of fallacious experi- 
ments, he was led to differ materially from 
Dr. Lewis, who has paid particular attention 
to this subject. 

"Having immersed a piece of polished iron, 
into a cold infusion of the Peruvian bark, made 
with distilled water, he found the liquor in 
three hours just preceptibly tinged black; while 
the same piece of iron wiped clean, and immersed 
in another infusion of the cortex, made with 
common spring water, in less time gave a deep 
purple colour to the liquor. 

"The spring water employed, he tells us, 
contained a considerable portion of selenitic 
salt, and hence, by dissolving the iron immersed 
in it, formed a perfect sal martis, from which 
he inferred an acid is essentially necessary in 
the formation of ink, and having afterwards 
prosecuted the subject, concluded 'whatever 
deprives green vitriol of its acid, whether it be 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 53 

heat, the addition of an alkali, or repeated 
affusions of water, destroys its power of striking 
a black colour, with vegetable astringents/ 

"The experiments detailed by the Doctor, 
by no means justify this conclusion; he did 
not attempt to make ink, with a calx of iron, 
precipitated from green vitriol by an alkali, 
and it clearly appears it made use of the earth, 
which never fails to be mixed with green vitriol, 
in the decomposition of the pyrites instead of a 
calx of iron, and which separates from it by 
solution in water, in the form of a yellow ochre, 
or he never would have thought of depriving 
green vitriol of its acid, by ' repeated affusions 
of water. 5 

"To put this matter beyond a doubt: 

Experiment IV. 

"A quantity of the calx of iron, thrown down 
from green vitriol by the vegetable alkali, 
being several times washed, until the water 
was insipid to the taste, and produced no 
further precipitation upon the addition of an 
alkali, when added to a solution of galls, pro- 
duced an ink, equal to that made with common 
green vitriol. 

"Having thus taken a summary of part, 
and the most important part, of the essay on 
bitters and astringents, pointed out the taste 



54 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

as the least fallacious test of astringency, shewn 
the manner in which Dr. Percival was deceived, 
and confuted him in several particulars, we may 
conclude : 

"1. Acids and bitters do not neutralize each 
other. 

"2. Acids by a superior affinity to the base 
of the astringent principle, by detaching the 
gallic acid, decompose, but do not neutralize 
astringents, forming salts or saline gums of 
different degrees of astringency, according to 
the acids employed. 

"The astringency of the oak bark was in- 
creased by the vitriolic acid, because it con- 
tains a large proportion of earth unsaturated 
by the gallic acid, hence the copious precipi- 
tation, upon the addition of the alkali, after 
adding the vitriolic acid. 

"By spontaneous evaporation in the open 
air, an acid salt is produced, and during the 
chrystallization, micaceous spangles, resembling 
drops of tar thrown into water, appear swimming 
on the surface of the fluid. 

"The bark of an oak tree may be considered 
as a coat of pure argillacious earth; to prove 
this, let a small quantity of the ashes which 
falls upon a log of wood, after the combustion 
of the bark be collected, and they will be found 
insipid to the taste, upon adding weak vitriolic 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 55 

acid once or twice, and washing the mixture 
in water, the phlogistic matter will be destroyed, 
and the pure white earth may be obtained, 
mixed with a small proportion of silex. Alum 
in this case will not be formed, as the solution 
will not take place in the cold. 

"The argillacious earth which is found in 
common ashes, comes principally from the 
bark, the vegetable alkali, from the body of 
the wood, though no doubt in the latter case, 
argill and silex may be obtained, but in no 
proportion to the vast quantities contained 
in the bark. 

" 3. The vitriolic acid, according to the opinion 
of Dr. Lewis, and contrary to the opinion of 
Dr. Percival, is not necessary in the formation 
of ink." 

That Woodhouse in no wise considered him- 
self infallible is seen from the following lines: 
"The author . . . has but one object, the 
establishment of truth; as he has made free 
with the opinions of his predecessors, he wishes 
his own may be diligently scrutinized, for he 
is as equally liable to be deceived, as others 
of his Medical brethren/ 5 



The monotony of medical practice may have 
irked Woodhouse as it has others who have 



56 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

come through medicine to chemistry. It was, 
however, the only course open in those days to 
chemical aspirants. Thousands since have 
pursued this course. Many chemists, too, 
have come through pharmaceutical training to 
chemistry and have made their presence as 
teachers and investigators very appreciably 
felt. However, the day of Woodhouse's release 
from his distasteful pursuits was rapidly ap- 
proaching; indeed, how it all came about may 
now be set forth; but before narrating the 
manner in which the change occurred it may 
not be out of place to introduce a few facts, 
even though a bit remote to the subject. First, 
it was said in after life by Silliman and again 
by Rush that Woodhouse was an infidel, an 
atheist. If this was true it was probably due 
to his environment. Let us not forget that 
the year 1793 was the most eventful one during 
the decade. Citizen Genet had just arrived in 
Philadelphia accompanied by numerous fol- 
lowers. The saturnalia of license and revelry, 
which ensued, surpassed anything similar wit- 
nessed in the City of Brotherly Love before 
or since. Several thousand French refugees 
came shortly thereafter from San Domingo. 
And it has been asserted that from the moment 
the notorious Genet and his admirers entered 
the home city of Woodhouse on May 16, 1793, 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 57 

pandemonium broke loose. He was welcomed 
by prominent citizens, feted at the State House 
and overwhelmed with extravagant attentions 
on all sides. Soon Philadelphia became infected 
with the Gallic craze. . . . French names 
and customs prevailed . . . the vices of the 
Latin became firmly seated in the city on the 
Delaware. The newspapers were filled with 
French advertisements — dancing schools, French 
lessons, fencing academies, pastry shops, French 
brandy, etc. Children were instructed in the 
wild dance and French song known as the 
Carmagnola, etc. Even the staid, thrifty 
business and professional men were swept from 
their feet and fell into conduct and views dia- 
metrically opposed to their strict Colonial 
teaching. It is not improbable that Woodhouse 
yielded to the spirit of the day and may have 
carried through life some of the ideas then 
absorbed. 

But the tragic feature of the year 1793 must 
not be forgotten. This was nothing less than 
the fearful visitation of yellow fever — that 
deadly scourge which carried away by death 
5,000 souls from August 1st until November 9th. 
It was then that mourners went about the 
streets — friend after friend having been stricken 
with the fearful malady, and people scarcely 
dared meet to pray together — when doctors 



58 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

were dead — nurses fled — the poor neglected; 
but Woodhouse remained, heroically supporting 
his chief, Rush, and performing his duty amidst 
surroundings which literally tried men's souls. 
It was a magnificent exhibition of his sturdy, 
unselfish character. And it was of this man 
that it was said, "his opinions and conduct 
were regulated by Rochefoucault's maxims — 
an open and rude infidel." 

But to return to the immediate subject, 
and his promotion. It was also in 1793 that 
James Hutchinson, Professor of Chemistry in 
the Medical School of the University of Pennsyl- 
vania, died, and on Tuesday, January 7, 1794, 
Dr. John Carson was chosen his successor. 
Unfortunately, before he could deliver a lecture 
the Grim Messenger summoned him hence. 

On June 4, 1794, the renowned Priestley 
arrived in New York. Upon his landing he 
was welcomed by many distinguished persons. 
He received addresses from learned societies, 
among them the ancient American Philosophical 
Society, and on his arrival in Philadelphia, 
he was greeted with the greatest cordiality. 
Priestley himself said, "My reception is too 
flattering, no form of respect being omitted. 
I have received formal addresses; more, they 
say, are coming; and almost every person 
of the least consequence in the place has been, 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 59 

or is coming, to call upon me." And, again: 
"Whether it be the effect of liberty or some 
other cause, I find more clever men, capable 
of conversing with propriety and fluency on 
all subjects relating to government than I have 
met with anywhere in England." 

So favorably impressed with Priestley were 
the Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania 
that a minute of the Board for November 11, 
1794, reads: 

"The Board, according to order proceeded 
to the election of a Professor of Chemistry 
in the room of Dr. John Carson, Deceased, 
when the ballots being taken and counted, 
it appeared that Dr. Joseph Priestley was 
unanimously elected." 

In the Memoirs of Priestley (p. 167) it is 
stated that this professorship "would probably 
have yielded him 3000 dollars per annum, 
there being generally about 200 students in 
Medicine of whom about 150 attend the Chemi- 
cal lectures . . . but he thought that if he 
undertook the duties of a professor, he should 
not be so much at liberty to follow his favorite 
pursuits . . . but what had greater weight 
with him than anything else was that my 
mother, who had been harrassed in her mind 
ever since the riots in Birmingham, thought 
that by living in the country, at a distance 



60 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

from the cities, she should be more likely to 
obtain that quiet of which she stood so much 
in need." This quotation explains the following 
minute of the Trustees for March 3, 1795: 

"Mr. Chief Justice (McKean) informed the 
Board that Dr. Joseph Priestley had declined 
the Professorship of Chemistry, to which he 
was elected in this institution the 11th of 
November last." 

Whereupon Rush, solicitous for his protege 
and eager that he should have the advantages 
accruing from so important a position, promptly 
indited the following letter: 

To the Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania. 
Gentlemen: 

The bearer, Dr. James Woodhouse, was my pupil for 
four years, during which he employed much of his time in 
chemical research and experiments. He has since devoted 
himself with great ardour to the study of Chemistry. 
From his talents, industry and knowledge, I believe him 
to be amply qualified to fill the Chemical Chair in the 
University of Pennsylvania. Benjamin Rush 

May 20, 1795. 

This cordial recommendation is of more 
than passing interest in the light of the follow- 
ing letter addressed by Rush to his friend 
John Redman Coxe on November 4, 1794: 

"... Dr. Carson died a few days ago. The Pro- 
fessorship of Chemistry will be offered to Dr. Priestley. 
What say you to qualifying yourself to succeed him? 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 61 

His (Priestley's) age will prevent his discharging the duties 
of that Chair more than eight or nine years. . . ." 

Coxe, at the time, was in London and Rush 
did not anticipate a declination on the part 
of Priestley, so when this came he seized upon 
his favorite pupil as a suitable candidate for 
the vacancy, as it was evidently his purpose 
to place a friend in the position. Hence the 
election of Woodhouse on Tuesday, July 7, 
1795, in the room of Joseph Priestley must have 
gratified him immensely, for he was quick to 
write again to Coxe : 

Philad a July 18 th 1795 
My dear Friend: 

I have great pleasure in informing you that Dr. Wood- 
house is elected Professor of Chemistry in our University. 
The votes were 10 in his favor 6 for Barton & one for 
D r Ross (?). The appointment gives great pleasure to all 
the students of medicine. To me it is a cordial. His 
conduct as my pupil, and above all, his kindness, human- 
ity, sympathy, & services to me during the glowing 
autumn of 1793 had endeared him to me in a high degree. 
In soliciting votes for him I told some of the trustees, that 
I was only paying a debt of gratitude I owed him. I 
have only to add that I wish in the Course of my life I 
may have it in my power to acknowledge my obligations 
as forcibly & successfully to you & W* 1 Fisher — D r Wood- 
house has entered upon his preparatory studies for his 
course with great spirit. His laboratory is already clear 
and in order. I have no fears for his success and reputa- 
tion. He has genius, industry, knowledge & great steadi- 



62 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

ness of Character — Barton is sorely mortified. He was 
so sure of the appointment that he sat at the feet of the 
Stairs of the university while the election was held, 
ready to receive notice of it. Poor fellow! He is much to 
be pitied. His talents, directed by principle and indus- 
try, would have made him respectable. . . . 

Whereupon Coxe wrote in the following vein : 

London, September 5, 1795 
Dearest Sir: 

I was much rejoiced by a letter from M* Fisher a few 
days ago — to find that Dr. Woodhouse has gained the 
Chemical Chair exclusive of his abilities etc. which will 
render his Professorship so beneficial; I was not a little 

pleased with the disappointment and chagrin of the 

in being unable to establish their candidate in that 
situation. 



Woodhouse's election ushered him into a 
goodly company of distinguished men who con- 
stituted the faculty of the Medical School at 
the time. They had all attained the highest 
rank in their several specialties and enjoyed a 
world-wide reputation. They were also his 
seniors in years. However, his course among 
them, during the period of his activity won 
their confidence and admiration. It was not 
long until he was intrusted with the deanship 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 63 

of the School. All his duties were discharged 
with the greatest care. Students, also, came to 
know him well and gave him their confidence. 
Many of their inaugural theses were* dedicated 
to him. Among these was a rather notable 
contribution "On the Medical and Chemical 
Properties of Tobacco/ 5 the author of which 
said in his dedicatory lines, besides other things, 

Suffer me at the same time to declare that a grateful 
remembrance of the many favors you have conferred will 
be ever retained by 

Yr. affectionate friend, 

Edward Brailsford. 

John Gough likewise dedicated his thesis 
"On Cantharides, etc./' to Woodhouse, and 
besides the friendly acknowledgment of assist- 
ance took particular pains to announce that 
"Dr. Woodhouse has discovered two other 
species of this fly." 

Further, Joseph Klapp of Albany wrote : 

"To you this imperfect essay is dedicated not with the 
vain expectation of giving fame to a reputation already 
established, but solely for the purpose of expressing my 
thanks for the friendly attention which you have bestowed 
upon me while in this city; and the high sentiments which 
I shall ever cherish for your unrivalled talents as an able 
instructor and scientific chemist." 

Robert M. Patterson, Professor of Chemistry 



64 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

in the College of the University, Vice-Provost 
of the latter, and subsequently Director of the 
U. S. Mint, attended Dr. Woodhouse's course 
in Chemistry, and said, "It was there I acquired 
my taste for this science." 

Additional proofs could be offered, showing 
clearly the esteem in which he was held. 

In 1796, Woodhouse was elected to member- 
ship in the American Philosophical Society, 
and was active in its affairs until his death, 
serving at various times as secretary and 
councillor. On one occasion he was chosen 
annual orator, and at another meeting, upon 
request of the Society, repeated a series of 
experiments in connection with a communication 
presented by E. J. Dupont de Nemours, "On 
the utility of the oxygenated muriatic acid 
gas in recovering animals from asphyxia." 

Despite his evident interest in the proceed- 
ings of the Society, much of his thought, energy 
and time were given to the Chemical Society 
of Philadelphia, which was, so far as can be 
ascertained, his own child. It was in its meet- 
ings that most of his communications were 
probably made and discussed. 

It is exasperating to the student of the 
history of Chemistry in this country that more 
cannot be learned about this pioneer Society. 
The fragmentary items discovered from time 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 65 

to time become fairly tantalizing. It can only 
be hoped that by creating a live interest in 
the early Chemistry of Philadelphia someone 
may be imbued with a spirit strong enough 
to search out the old nooks and corners in 
neglected libraries — private and public — in this 
quest. 

But, to leave this digression and return 
again to the fall of 1795, following close upon 
Woodhouse's elevation to such a dignified and 
important post, interesting comments will be 
noted. He was, as previously mentioned, the 
particular choice of Rush. His opponent or 
competitor was the very able, competent Adam 
Seybert, whom Wistar strenuously sought to 
have elected, but he was even set aside for 
Barton. The personal feeling of antagonism 
between Rush and Wistar was very marked. 
They were almost open enemies, hence Wood- 
house's selection gave the followers of Rush 
unfeigned delight. 

As to Adam Seybert it should be mentioned 
that he was one of the very first Americans to 
enjoy a training in the School of Mines of Paris 
in the closing years of the eighteenth century. 
He was a skilful chemist, especially along 
analytical lines. It was he, who, early in 
eighteen hundred, performed the office of his 
great namesake in the Garden of Eden, by 



66 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

naming the few minerals, then forming the 
collection of Yale College, when submitted to 
him by Silliman, the elder. 

It has been averred that neither Rush nor 
Wistar felt any special regard for his chosen 
candidate, except from the consideration that 
he would be his own retainer, and, as such, 
would aid in giving him party strength in the 
institution. The respective claims of the two 
candidates having been vigorously pushed for 
several weeks, the day of the election at length 
arrived, the vote was taken, and, as mentioned 
before, Woodhouse was chosen, though Seybert 
was, at the time, the more experienced chemist. 

A graphic account of the course pursued by 
Woodhouse, close upon his election, is given 
in the autobiography of Dr. Charles Caldwell. 
The latter was an adherent of Rush. He was 
also plainly an egotist and a captious critic. 
Nevertheless, the picture he has handed to 
posterity, relative to Woodhouse and the career 
opened before him, is very readable and also 
illuminating. It reads : 

"Upon the appointment of Dr. Woodhouse 
to the professorship at the University of Pennsyl- 
vania, he began immediately to prepare him- 
self for the duties of his new and promising 
career. He became, in a short time, so expert 
and successful an experimenter, as to receive 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 67 

from Dr. Priestley, who had just arrived in 
the United States, very flattering comments 
on his dexterity and skill. That distinguished 
gentleman, on seeing him engaged in the busi- 
ness of his laboratory, did not hesitate to pro- 
nounce him equal, as an experimenter, to anyone 
he had seen in either England or France. . . . 
At times, his devotion to chemistry and the 
labor he sustained in the cultivation of it were 
perfectly marvelous — not to say preternatural. 
. . . During an entire summer, (one of the 
hottest I have ever experienced) he literally 
lived in his laboratory, and clung to his experi- 
ments with an enthusiasm and persistency 
which at length threw him into a paroxysm 
of mental derangement, marked by the most 
extravagant hallucinations and fancies. He 
even believed, and on one occasion, proclaimed, 
in a company of ladies and gentlemen, that, 
by chemical agency alone, he could produce 
a human being. 

"The special object of his experiments at 
that time was the decomposition and recom- 
position of water. The agent employed in 
his processes was of course caloric. And no 
alchymist in pursuit of the alcahest, or the 
philosopher's stone, ever labored in his voca- 
tion with a wilder enthusiasm, a more sublimated 
intensity, or a perseverance more stubborn, 



68 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

than he did, immersed in a temperature intoler- 
able to any human being possessed of natural 
and healthful sensibility. 

"As already mentioned the weather was 
almost unprecedently hot; and his laboratory 
was in sundry places perpetually glowing with 
blazing charcoal, and red-hot furnaces, crucibles, 
and gun-barrels, and often bathed in every 
portion of it with the steam of boiling water. 
Rarely, during the day, was the temperature 
of this atmosphere lower than from 110° to 
115° of Fahrenheit — at times, perhaps, even 
higher. 

"Almost daily did I visit the professor in 
that salamander's home, and uniformly found 
him in the same condition — stripped to his 
shirt and summer pantaloons, his collar un- 
buttoned, his sleeves rolled up above his elbows, 
the sweat streaming copiously down his face 
and person, and his whole vesture dripping 
wet with the same fluid. He, himself, more- 
over, being always engaged in either actually 
performing or closely watching and super- 
intending his processes, was stationed for the 
most part in or near to one of the hottest spots 
in his laboratory. 

"My salutation to him on entering his semi- 
Phlegethon of heat not infrequently was : ' Good 
God, Doctor, how can you bear to remain so 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 69 

constantly in so hot a room? It is a perfect 
purgatory.' To this half interrogatory, half 
exclamation, the reply received was usually 
to the same purport. 'Hot, sir — hot! do you 
call this a hot room? Why, sir, it is one of 
the coolest rooms in Philadelphia. Exhalation, 
sir, is the most cooling process. And do you 
not see how the sweat exhales from my body, 
and carries off all the caloric? Do you not 
know, sir, that by exhalation, ice can be pro- 
duced under the sun of the hottest climates?' 
"Such was the professor's doctrine; nor 
have I the slightest doubt of his belief in its 
correctness. So deep is the hallucination in 
which alchemy first, and afterwards chemistry, 
its lineal descendant, have, in many cases, 
involved the minds of their votaries and rendered 
them permanently wild and visionary in their 
actions. It is not, I think, to be doubted that 
alchemy and chemistry have deranged a greater 
number of intellects than all the other branches 
of science united. Even at the present day 
it is hardly short of lunacy to contend, as many 
chemists do, that chemical and vital forces 
are identical." 

Another contemporary wrote: "Woodhouse 
went to work with a zeal and delivered a course 
of lectures with great applause; and as almost 



70 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

the whole of his time was devoted to the study 
of his favorite science, he added to the number, 
variety, and brilliancy of his experiments." 

Again: 

"Nor is it aught but justice to him to say, 
that his improvement in the science he was 
destined to teach was signally rapid. He 
became so expert and successful as an experi- 
menter as to receive very flattering compli- 
ments, on all sides, on his dexterity and skill. 
For Chemistry, he retained until his death, 
a predilection and fondness which were denomi- 
nated with sufficient aptitude, in technical 
language, his 'elective attraction. 5 To every- 
thing but experimental chemistry he became 
comparatively dull and indifferent." 

"His lectures," adds a third, "were replete 
with a number of brilliant experiments and 
were received with great applause." 

Knowing that the eyes of the scientific world 
of America were upon him, Woodhouse attacked 
his problems with energy. He was well launched 
upon his real academic career, and during the 
short fourteen years of its continuance, accom- 
plished vastly more than even many moderns 
are able to achieve with all their up-to-date 
conveniences. 

The petty annoyances, arising at times among 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 71 

his colleagues in Medicine, as exhibited in the 
subjoined letters must have wearied him greatly. 
Thus Rush wrote to Coxe on December 8, 
1795: 

"The lancet has at last become less un- 
popular in our city. It is introducing Griffiths, 
Physick, Dewees, Woodhouse and a Dr. Gal- 
lagher rapidly into business. ..." 

The lancet refers, of course, to blood-letting 
— bleeding — a favorite procedure with Rush; 
and on April 28, 1796, the latter, again address- 
ing Coxe, said: 

"Dr. Barton has succeeded Griffiths as Pro- 
fessor of Materia Medica in our University. 
Dr. James Woodhouse was opposed to him. 
He lost the appointment by three votes. Dr. 
Shippen was Barton's open friend, and the 
other professors (Woodhouse and myself ex- 
cepted) did not oppose him — hence his success! 
I consider him as a recruit to the enemies of 
the new System of Medicine and that he will 
be supported in proportion as he barks at me." 

The Barton thus alluded to was the eminent 
botanist, Benjamin Smith Barton, who received 
his medical degree from the University of 
Goettingen in the year 1789. It was in the 
field of Materia Medica that he won for him- 
self the high professional reputation he enjoyed 



72 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

in medicine. He was termed the Father of 
American Materia Medica, an honor which 
no one hesitated to accord him. 

Woodhouse's opposition to Barton very prob- 
ably sprang from a desire to please Rush to 
whom he felt deeply obligated. 

This incident was, so far as can be ascer- 
tained, the last of those internal disturbances 
in which Woodhouse participated. They were 
far from his ordinary attitude and likes. The 
irony of fate often is very striking. It was 
so in the instance of Barton and Rush, for 
upon the demise of the latter, the former was 
chosen as his successor in the chair of the 
Practice of Physic. 

The constant activity of Woodhouse in chemi- 
cal pursuits, the knowledge that it was possible, 
under his direction, to conduct actual laboratory 
work had their effect. Not only students of 
medicine, but also students who preferred 
chemistry, seeking advancement in it alone, 
gradually caused a goodly company of eager, 
capable young men to gather around him in 
search of new light in their favorite subject. 
Among these was Robert Hare, destined in 
later years, to become a commanding figure in 
chemical and physical science, of whose early 
success Woodhouse was enthusiastically proud 
and of whom he once said, "that he was much 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 73 

gratified in witnessing the taste for Chemistry 
had rapidly increased not only among students 
of Medicine, but also among Gentlemen engaged 
in other pursuits 55 — and added that he knew 
"few if any who had acquired a more accurate 
knowledge of Chemistry than Robert Hare." 

And in time, came Benjamin Silliman, from 
New Haven. From his diary are culled these 
interesting items. They will aid us in visualiz- 
ing Woodhouse's work shop and the happenings 
in those days : 

"The lectures of Dr. James Woodhouse . . . 
were given in a small building in South Fifth 
Street, opposite to the State-House yard. 
Above, over the laboratory, was the Anatomical 
Hall. Neither of these establishments was 
equal to the dignity and importance of the 
School, and the accommodations in both were 
limited; the lecture rooms were not capacious 
enough for more than one hundred or one 
hundred and twenty pupils, and there was a 
great deficiency of extra room for the work, 
which was limited to a few closets. The 
chemical lectures were important to me, who 
had as* yet seen few chemical experiments. 
Those performed by Dr. Woodhouse were 
valuable, because every fact, with its proof, 
was an acquisition to me. The apparatus 
was humble, but it answered to exhibit some 



74 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

of the most important facts in the science; 
and our instructor delighted in the performance 
of experiments. He had no proper assistant, 
and the work was imperfectly done; but still 
it was a treasure to me. Our Professor had not 
the gift of a lucid mind, nor of high reasoning 
powers, nor of a fluent diction; still, we could 
understand him, and I soon began to interpret 
phenomena for myself and to anticipate the 
explanations. Dr. Woodhouse was wanting 
in personal dignity, and was, out of lecture 
hours, sometimes jocose with the students. 
He appeared, when lecturing, as if not quite 
at his ease, as if a little fearful that he was not 
highly appreciated, — as indeed he was not very 
highly. 

"In his person he was short, with a florid 
face. He was always dressed with care; gener- 
ally he wore a blue broadcloth coat with metal 
buttons; his hair was powdered, and his appear- 
ance was gentlemanly. His lectures were 
quite free from any moral bearing, nor as far 
as I can remember, did he ever make use of 
any of the facts revealed by chemistry, to 
illustrate the character of the Creator as seen 
in His works. At the commencement of the 
course he treated with levity and ridicule 
the idea that the visitations of the yellow 
fever (1793) might be visitations of God for 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 75 

the sins of the people. He imputed them to 
material agencies and physical causes — for- 
getting that physical causes may be the moral 
agents of the Almighty. His treatment of 
myself was courteous. I dined with him 
in his snug little bachelor's establishment, — 
for he had no family, and a matron house- 
keeper superintended his small establishment. 
I should add respecting his lectures that they 
were brief. He generally occupied a fourth 
or a third of the hour in recapitulating the 
subject of the preceding lecture, and thus he 
advanced at the rate of about forty or forty- 
five minutes in a day." 

It is not easy to reconcile the statement of 
Silliman relative to the non-appreciation of 
Woodhouse with others previously cited, for 
almost all other estimates of him are very 
complimentary. Silliman had come out of 
cold, stern New England, and finding many 
things in the early capital of our country so 
vastly different from those to which he was 
accustomed, may have permitted his criticism 
to extend even to his teacher, for elsewhere 
he wrote: 

"I had not reason to regret that I attended 
on the lectures of Dr. Woodhouse. He supplied 
the first stepping stones by which I was enabled 
at no distant day to mount higher/' 



76 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

Caldwell, whose picture of Woodhouse is 
drawn on another page (66), is the authority 
for the following statement: 

"Dr. Woodhouse's didactic lectures rarely 
occupied, each of them, more than forty minutes 
. . . and often not near so much. And when 
interrogated on the subject, the reason he 
rendered for such brevity was that 'no man 
could dwell, in discussion, on a single topic more 
than five minutes without talking nonsense. 5 " 

Caldwell speaks in his hypercritical way of 
Woodhouse's delivery "as dull and monoto- 
nous." 

Having heard that students came to Wood- 
house's laboratory to engage in laboratory 
instruction prompts the query as to whether 
a bit of injustice has not been committed by 
these two students — Silliman and Caldwell. 
Laboratory work is claimed as one of the 
great virtues of the later chemical teaching. 
It is a distinguishing feature of modern scientific 
training; yet Woodhouse resorted to this method. 
It proved, in his hands, to be a powerful attrac- 
tion, and this fact should be remembered. 
It is one of the directions in which he figured 
in the rdle of pioneer. It is to be presumed 
that there were few if any other laboratories 
of the Woodhouse type. It explains the presence 
of Silliman in Philadelphia in 1802-1803-1804. 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 77 

Further, the value of direct experimentation 
surely explains Woodhouse's reason for pub- 
lishing in 1797, "The Young Chemist's Pocket 
Companion; connected with a Portable Labora- 
tory." This, as elsewhere remarked,* was 
"in all probability, the first published guide 
in experimentation for chemical students." It 
afforded the means of carrying forward his 
laboratory students with more ease. Anyone 
working privately could easily pursue a most 
valuable course with the aid of this guide. 
It deserves and will repay an examination by 
present day students of chemistry. Teachers 
cannot fail to be interested. It shows how 
from the humblest efforts mighty results accrue. 
It is an inspiration. It was a small volume, 
covering just fifty-six octavo pages. How it was 
received in 1797 is evident from the review 
which was published in the first volume of the 
Medical Repository for that year: 

"The performance before us affords a new 
proof of the prevalence of a taste for chemical 
researches in the United States. And it is 
one of the circumstances of recommendation 
to the Young Chemist's Pocket Companion 9 
that it is intended to advance the knowledge 
of that science, by facilitating the means of 
making experiments, and of interpreting and 

* Chemistry in America, p. 76, D. Appleton & Co. 



78 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

understanding them. So laudable are all 
attempts of this kind, that we cannot forbear 
thinking the author has done service to his 
favourite branch of philosophy, by the present 
publication, which may induce many persons 
to make themselves acquainted with the chemi- 
cal action of bodies, and thus become able 
experimenters. Elementary and practical essays 
of this kind, are highly useful for initiating 
beginners, and we are pleased to find Professor 
Woodhouse condescend to collect and arrange 
a series of experiments, calculated to allure 
the mind along from object to object, and 
beguile it, as it were, into an acquaintance 
with the principles of some of the most interest- 
ing phenomena of Nature. 

"The author has prefixed to this work, a 
catalogue of the substances and apparatus 
for making experiments, contained in the port- 
able chest, connected with it. And the number 
and variety of these are such as to permit a 
great number of experiments to be made. 
A collection of so many chemical preparations, 
in so compact and handy an arrangement, 
may be exceedingly useful to almost every 
person who is fond of these kinds of researches. 

"The number of detailed experiments which 
Professor Woodhouse has given, is one hundred; 
in which he explains the properties of air or 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 79 

gases, of alkalies, of acids, of earths and metals. 
The explanations are concise and generally 
correct. At the end of the experiments, is an 
advertisement of the Professor's lectures, given 
annually in the University of Pennsylvania. 

"As the work is intended for those who 
wish to become practically acquainted with the 
science of chemistry, we recommend it, and the 
Portable Laboratory, to the students and culti- 
vators of experimental physics; not doubting 
that the younger class of inquirers will be 
considerably aided by it, especially if they 
peruseit, in connection with such systemati- 
cal works as those of Lavoisier, Fourcroy and 
Chaptal." 

As a matter of interest the following abstracts 
from this historical brochure are here intro- 
duced : 

"Of Iron/ 5 Woodhouse writes: 

"Iron is a metal of a white livid color; 
obedient to the magnet; gives fire with the 
flint; is susceptible of a fine polish, and is very 
difficult of fusion. 

"Experiment LXVI 

"Drop some iron filings through the flame 
of a candle, and the metal will inflame. 

"The sulphuric acid will not act upon iron, 
unless it is diluted with water. 



80 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

" Experiment LXVII 

"Put some iron filings in a vial, and pour 
upon them a small quantity of the sulphuric 
acid, and no action will ensue. 

"Experiment LXVIII 

"Add a quantity of water, equal to four or 
five times the bulk of the sulphuric acid, to the 
sulphuric acid and iron filings, and a high degree 
of heat will be evolved, and a discharge of 
foetid hydrogenous gas will take place, as may 
be proved by applying a lighted taper to the 
mouth of the vial. 

"The salt formed by the union of the acid 
and metal, is sulphate of iron, green vitriol or 
copperas. 

"Experiment LXIX 

"Let fall a few drops of this solution of iron 
into some water in a wine glass, and add a 
small quantity of the solution of potash to it, 
and the iron will be precipitated. 

"Experiment LXX 

"Add a few drops of the sulphuric acid to 
the precipitated iron, and sulphate of iron will 
be recomposed. 

"Black ink is made by an union of the gallic 
acid and iron, which form a black insoluble 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 81 

salt, that is kept suspended in water, by the 
addition of a gummy matter. 

"Experiment LXXI 

"Let fall a few drops of the solution of sul- 
phate of iron, into a wine glass containing some 
water, to which add a few drops of the alcohol 
of galls, and a black color will be produced. 

"The gallic acid of the alkohol of galls, 
unites to the iron, and forms a black insoluble 
salt. 

"Experiment LXXII 

"Add a few drops of the sulphuric, nitric, 
or muriatic acid, to the precipitated iron, and 
it will be redissolved, and a sulphate, nitrate, 
or muriate of iron will be formed. 

"Experiment LXXIII 

"Pour a small quantity of the solution of 
sulphate of iron, into a wine glass containing 
water, and add to it a few drops of the sul- 
phuric, nitric, or muriatic acid, and no change 
will take place. Let fall a few drops of the 
alcohol of galls into the solution, and there 
will still be no alteration. Pour in some of the 
solution of pot-ash, and the mixture will assume 
a black color. 

"The mineral acids prevent the action of 
the gallic acid on the iron, by having a superior 



82 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

attraction to the metal. The pot-ash neu- 
tralises them, and so permits the gallic acid to 
unite with the iron. 

"Experiment LXXIV 

"Write on paper with the solution of the 
sulphate of iron and dry the letters; and they 
will be invisible. Dip the end of a feather 
into the alcohol of galls, and rub it over the 
letters, and they will become black. 

"Experiment LXXV 

"Dip the end of a feather into the sulphuric, 
nitric, or muriatic acid, diluted with water, 
and rub it over the letters, and they will dis- 
appear. 

"Prussian blue is a combination of the 
prussic acid and iron. The prussiate of lime 
is made, by digesting lime water upon this 
substance. 

"Experiment LXXVI 

"Put two drachms of the best Prussian 
blue, in fine powder, into an eight ounce vial, 
and fill it up with lime water. Let the mixture 
stand near the fire, and in a short time the lime 
water will be tinged yellow. 

"Experiment LXXVII 
"Let fall a few drops of the solution of sul- 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 83 

phate of iron into some water in a wine glass, 
and add to it a small portion of the prussiate 
of lime, and a blue color will be produced. 

"The prussic acid of the prussiate of lime, 
unites to the iron, and forms a blue insoluble 
compound, while the sulphuric acid of the 
sulphate of iron, unites to the lime and forms 
sulphate of lime. 

"Prussiate of pot-ash, is composed of the 
prussic acid and pot-ash. 

"Experiment LXXVIII 

"Put two drachms of the best Prussian blue 
into a four ounce vial, and add to it one drachm 
of caustic pot-ash, dissolved in three ounces 
of water; set the mixture near the fire, and 
in a short time the liquor will become a yellow 
color. 

"The pot-ash unites to the prussic acid, 
of the prussiate of iron, and forms prussiate of 
pot-ash, while the iron is left behind in the form 
of a brown salt. 

"This solution contains a portion of iron, 
which may be set free, by the addition of an 
acid. 

"Experiment LXXIX 

"Add a few drops of the sulphuric, nitric 
or muriatic acid, to some of the prussiate of 



84 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

pot-ash in a wine glass, and the iron will be 
thrown down of a blue color. 

"The acids combine with the pot-ash, by 
which means the prussic acid is detached from 
its alkaline base, and permitted to act on the 
iron, held in solution in the liquor. 

"Experiment LXXX 

"Write upon paper, with the solution of the 
sulphate of iron, as in the seventy fourth experi- 
ment. 

"Experiment LXXXI 

"Dip the end of a feather in the prussiate 
of pot-ash, and rub it over the letters written 
with the sulphate of iron, and they will become 
of a blue color." 



The laboratory of the Chemical Society of 
Philadelphia had invited citizens of the Republic 
to forward to it any "fossils" upon which they 
wished information and as President Wood- 
house was active in the work of the laboratory 
there fell to his lot a rock from North Carolina, 
submitted by Rev. James Hall. This was in 
the year 1798. Woodhouse's examination and 
reply to Hall were published in the Medical 
Repository. They are so intensely interesting, 
particularly to the master of chemical analysis, 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 85 

that the communication is submitted in una- 
bridged form : 

"Sir, 

"I have read your account of a supposed 
artificial wall, discovered under the surface 
of the earth, in North Carolina, with great 
attention. 

"I am well satisfied, from several specimens 
of the stones which I have seen composing 
this wall, that it consists of a mineral substance 
called basaltes, and that it is a production 
of nature, and not of art. 

"My reasons for this opinion are as follows: 

"The stones answer the description of basaltes 
given by various writers. They are found of 
an irregular form, in prisms consisting of several 
sides, are of different sizes ; some being so small 
as to weigh no more than one ounce, while 
the others exceed the weight of twelve pounds. 
The angles fit each other exactly like the 
basaltes, and appear as if joined by the hand 
of a skilful workman. 

"There is a brown ochreous matter found 
upon the surface of these stones, exactly like 
that on some of the basaltes of other countries. 
This ochre arises from a chemical decomposi- 
tion of the stone, called by some spontaneous 
calcination, and by others efflorescence. 



86 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

"The decomposition is owing to the iron 
contained in the stones, and its calcination by 
air and water. 

"Fourcroy has improperly attributed the 
brown crust with which the stones are covered, 
to water depositing different kinds of earth 
between the sides of the basaltic columns; 
and in Nicholson's Chemical Dictionary it is 
called cement with equal impropriety. Columns 
of the Giant's Causeway, says the compiler 
of the Dictionary, fit accurately together, 
being, in some instances, united by a strong 
cement. 

"That the brown crust which adheres to the 
stones, and the fine white friable matter with 
which you suppose the wall has been plastered, 
are owing to chemical decomposition, appears 
evident from the following circumstances: If 
the brown ochre is carefully scraped off from the 
stone, the surface will be found to be not of so 
firm a texture as the internal part; and the 
white powder, brown crust, and internal part 
of the stone, are composed of the same principle, 
in nearly the same proportions. 

"In some countries the basaltes are so much 
calcined as to fall to pieces on being removed. 

"The regularity of the wall, and the number 
of small stones which appear as if slipped in 
between the ends of the stones, are no proofs 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 87 

of its being a production of art. The basaltes, 
in Italy, appear like piles of wood of equal 
thickness throughout, and extend to a con- 
siderable distance. The small stones may have 
been carried down from the surface of the 
earth by rain, and deposited in the places 
where they are now found. 

"I do not suppose that the rock which 
embraces the wall, and which, from the specimen 
you have shewn me, is granite, was formed 
after the wall, granite being among the first 
formed substances in nature. The rock has 
probably been burst asunder by the wall, 
which is, perhaps, of volcanic origin. 

"In Cronstedt's Mineralogy there is an 
account, by Mr. Latrobe, of a rock of granite 
in Upper Lusatia, which has been rent asunder 
by a vein of concentric basaltes. In Italy 
basaltes are often found resting upon a bed 
of granite. 

"That there have been volcanoes in North 
Carolina appears from some specimens of lava 
sent from that part to this city. 

"The following experiments were made in 
order to ascertain the component parts of the 
American basaltes: 

"Experiment I 
"One hundred grains of the solid stones 



88 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

were reduced into an impalpable powder, and 
boiled half an hour in half an ounce of nitric 
acid, diluted with one ounce of water. The 
whole was placed upon a filter, and distilled 
water was added until it passed through the 
filter — insipid to the taste. The powder re- 
maining upon the filter was siliceous earth, 
and when dry, weighed exactly fifty-eight 
grains. 

" Experiment II 



<< 



'A solution of potash was added to the 
fluid which passed through the filter until no 
precipitation took place. The precipitated 
matter was carefully washed in a large quantity 
of distilled water, and, when dried, weighed 
forty grains. 

"Experiment IV 

"That part of the dried precipitate, men- 
tioned in the second experiment, which was 
not acted upon by the vinegar, weighed twenty- 
nine grains. It was dissolved in diluted nitric 
acid, and a solution of the prussiate of potash 
was added until no precipitation took place. 
The prussiate of iron was separated by a filter, 
boiled in a solution of pot-ash, washed well 
with distilled water, and dried, when it weighed 
ten grains. 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 89 

"Experiment V 

"A solution of pot-ash was added to the 
filtered liquor of the last experiment, until no 
precipitation took place. The precipitate, which 
was alumine, was well washed in distilled water, 
and when dry, weighed sixteen grains. 

"The proportions of the ingredients composing 
the American basaltes, from these experiments, 
are fifty-eight parts of siliceous earth, sixteen 
of argillaceous, three of magnesia, and ten 
of iron, which added together, make eighty- 
seven. Counting two grains lost in the first 
experiment, and five in the other, we will 
have ninety-four grains, which, with six allowed 
for the lime, will make one hundred grains. 

"One hundred grains of the white friable 
matter called cement, and the same quantity 
of the ochreous crust, when subjected to the 
same kind of experiments, gave the following 
result: 

Silex Alumiwe Lime Mag. Ibom Loss 

White friable powder. . . 55 16 5 S 12 9 
Brown ochreous crust. . . 54 15 6 3 11 11 
Powdered stone 58 16 6 3 10 7 

"Upon comparing this analysis with those of 
Bergman, Mongez, and Faujas de Saint Fond, 
no great difference will be found in the propor- 
tion of the ingredients composing the American 
basaltes and those of other countries. 



90 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

"Analysis by Bergman, Mongez, Faujas de 
Saint Fond: 

Silex 52 56 46 

Argillaceous earth 15 15 30 

lame 8 4 10 

Iron 25 25 8 

6 Magnesia 

100 100 100 



«r 



This wall is certainly a great curiosity, 
and will afford ample room for the speculation 
of philosophers. 

"I should be happy to receive any further 
information upon the subject. 

" I am, Sir, with the greatest respect, 

"Your most obedient and humble servant, 

"James Woodhouse 
"Rev. James Hall, 
June, 1798' ' 



Chemists who have had occasion to study 
Klaproth's Beitrdge zur chemischen Kenntniss 
der Mineralkorper will not regard the observa- 
tions of Woodhouse as unworthy of attention. 
They reveal the crude state of analysis existing 
then; but despite this they are worth recording. 
Any student of present day analysis will see 
merit in this early work. 

The report of Woodhouse called forth objec- 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 91 

tions from the Rev. Zechariah Lewis. In reply, 
Woodhouse addressed him, through the editors 
of the Medical Repository, in these words : 

"Gentlemen, 

"If Mr. Zechariah Lewis had seen my reply 
to the Rev. Mr. Hall's account of the celebrated 
subterranean wall of North Carolina, published 
in the Medical Repository, vol. ii, p. 275, he 
could not have asserted, that the opinion that 
the wall was basaltic was hastily adopted, from 
a single corresponding property having been 
discovered between the stones composing the 
wall and basaltes. When he reads that reply, 
he will find various reasons brought forward 
in support of the opinion there advanced; 
several authors who have written on the subject 
in question quoted; an accurate analysis made 
of the external and internal part of the stones, 
and of what is improperly called the cement, 
and compared with the results of the experi- 
ments of Bergman, Mongez, and Faujas de 
Saint Fond, on the basaltes of other countries. 

"Having made these necessary observations, 
I will proceed to consider the arguments pro- 
duced by Mr. Lewis, to prove, that the wall 
is a production of art. 

"First, It may be remarked, that the opinion 
that the wall was constructed by some en- 



92 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

lightened antediluvian nation, or some civilized 
people, who may have wandered from the 
eastern continent; or that it was built for the 
purpose of inclosing a prison, a garden, or a city; 
or that the small stream which runs near the 
wall was once a large river, and that the wall 
was erected to guard against the rise of its 
waters, has no foundation but in the imagination 
of the reverend writer. 

"Secondly. He thinks that the fine white 
powder, called cement, with which the wall 
is supposed to have been plastered, may have 
been manufactured from the shells of muscles, 
great quantities of which are found in the 
neighborhood of the wall. Mr. Probly, he says, 
assured him, that he burnt the shells, dried 
the cement, and upon comparing the two, 
could find no difference between them. 

"Muscle shells, exposed to the action of fire, 
are almost entirely converted into quick lime; 
but in one hundred parts of this cement, there 
is no more than five parts of this earth. Muscle 
shells contain no iron, but there is a considerable 
portion of the metal in the cement. 

"One hundred grains of these shells will not 
afford, like the cement, fifty-five grains of 
silex, sixteen of alumine, and three of magnesia. 
Mr. Probly has not favoured us with any chemi- 
cal experiments, to prove that there is no 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 93 

difference between burnt muscle shells and the 
cement; the only proper method of proving 
a similarity between these bodies. 

"Thirdly. At a small distance from the 
wall, Mr. Lewis informs us, there is a species 
of clay resembling fuller's earth of which the 
cement may likewise have been made. What 
is called fuller's earth, never turns of a white 
colour like the cement; and the clays of this 
country, with few exceptions, burn of a red 
colour. The cement retains its whiteness, 
when exposed to a heat insufficient to melt it. 
In order to prove that the cement is composed 
of fuller's earth, or this kind of earth mixed 
with burnt muscle shells, it will be necessary 
to show that a mechanical mixture of these 
substance gives the same principles by analysis 
as the cement. 

"Fourthly. He says the wall is perfectly 
regular, and has every possible appearance 
of an artificial production. 

"In my letter to Mr. Hall it was expressly 
mentioned, that the regularity of the wall 
was no proof of its being a production of art; 
for the basaltes of Italy appear like piles of 
wood, of equal thickness throughout, and extend 
to a considerable distance. 

"The following account of the cave of Fingal, 
extracted from Garnet's tour through Scotland, 



94 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

will show how little regularity of the wall con- 
tributes to prove that it has been the production 
of a civilized people. 

" 'As we turned the southern point of the 
island of Staffa, the blasaltic pillars became 
vastly more regular, and the view of this side 
of the island was grand beyond conception: 
it appeared like the end of an immense cathedral, 
whose massy roof was supported by stupendous 
pillars, formed with all the regularity of art. 
Proceeding still further along the same side 
of the island, we had a view of Fingal's cave, 
one of the most magnificent sights the eye 
ever beheld. It appears like the inside of a 
cathedral, of immense size, but superior to any 
work of art, in grandeur and sublimity, and 
equal to any in regularity. 

"'Regularity is the only part in which art 
pretends to excel nature; but here nature has 
shewn, that when she pleases she can set man 
at nought, even in this respect, and make 
him sensible of his own littleness. Her works 
are, in general, distinguished by a grand sub- 
limity, in which she disdains the similar position 
of parts, called by mankind, regularity, but 
which, in fact, may be another name for 
narrowness of conception, and poverty of 
idea; but here in a playful mood, on a scale 
so immense, as to make all the temples built 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 95 

by the hand of man hide their diminished 
heads/ " 

"Dr. Van Triol, speaking on the same sub- 
ject, says — 'This piece of nature's architecture 
far surpassed every thing that invention, luxury, 
or taste, ever produced among the Greeks/ 

"Fifthly. An extract is made from the 
British Encyclopaedia, to show that basaltes 
is always found standing up in the form of 
regular angular columns. 

"This is not true. The strata of the basaltes 
of some parts of France run in an horizontal 
direction.* Mr. Strange in an essay published 
in the sixty-fifth volume of the London Philo- 
sophical Transactions, asserts, that they some- 
times are found running in this manner. 

"Sixthly. He says there is nothing between 
the basaltic columns of other countries, resem- 
bling the cement of the wall. 

"This observation is not just. A cement 
of a beautiful white colour is found between 
the basaltic pillars, in the cave of Fingal.f 

"Seventhly. It is another property of ba- 
saltes, adds he, that it is fusible, per se, by a 
moderate fire. This is not the fact with the 
wall, consequently it cannot be basaltes. 

"To this I reply, that I have fused the stones 

* Historic Naturelle de la France Meridionale, par M. L'Abbe Giraud Soulavie, torn, 
ii, p. 52. 
t Garnet's Tour through the Highlands, p. 224. 



96 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

of the wall, in half an hour, with the greatest 
ease, and that they melt into a black glass. 

"Eighthly. Neither stones, nor other mineral 
substances, our author informs us, are covered 
with rust, unless they have been exposed to 
the action of the aerial acid. On the supposi- 
tion that the wall is basaltes, the individual 
stones could never have been exposed to the 
air. The stones are covered with rust, conse- 
quently the wall cannot be basaltes. 

"The first part of this observation is not 
accurate. Mr. Lewis has not proved, that 
the rust of the stones contains the aerial acid, 
which he ought not to have taken for granted. 
The word rust is a vague term, and conveys 
no precise idea to the mind. The brown ochreous 
matter, with which the stones are covered, 
has been formed by the agency of water, acting 
upon the iron they contain, which has decom- 
posed or calcined them. The aerial acid has 
no action in the business. The same kind 
of rust is found on the basaltes of other coun- 
tries.* 

"Ninthly. The stones composing the wall 
are certainly basaltic, as every mineralogist 
can tell by inspecting them, because they 
exactly answer the description of basaltes given 

• French Encyclopaedia, and Nicholson's Chemical Dictionary — article Basaltes. 
Vide also Fourcroy's Chemistry. 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 97 

by various writers; and because the white 
powder, improperly called cement, the external 
and internal parts of the stones, contain the 
same principles, and nearly in the same pro- 
portions as the basaltes of other countries. 

"I shall conclude this letter, by remarking, 
that the supposition that the North Carolina 
wall has been constructed by an enlightened 
antediluvian nation, is as unphilosophical as 
the belief of some of the common people of 
Scotland, that the cave of Fingal is artificial, 
and was built by a race of giants, for their 
celebrated chief, Fion-Mac-Cool, the father of 
Ossian. 

"I have the honour to be, 

"Gentlemen, 
"Yours sincerely, 
"James Woodhouse." 

Some years afterwards (1803), Woodhouse 
felt called upon to advert again to the com- 
ments of the Rev. Lewis. This was done 
through the Medical Repository. 

"Gentlemen: 

"Since my return from Europe to America, 
I have not met with anything which has afforded 
me more entertainment than the reply of the 
Rev. Mr. Lewis to my letter concerning the 
subterranean wall of North Carolina. When 



98 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

this subject was brought before the public, 
in the year 1798, two questions were involved: 

"First. Whether the stones composing the 
wall were basaltic: and, 

"Secondly. Whether the wall was a pro- 
duction of nature or of art. 

"In a postscript to a letter of Mr. Lewis's 
published in the fourth volume of the Medical 
Repository, p. 233, he pronounces in the most 
positive manner, that the stones composing 
it are not basaltic. He concludes his remarks, 
in four places, in the following words: ' conse- 
quently the wall cannot be basaltes/ But 
in his reply to my observations, in the fifth 
volume, p. 404, he says, 'the question in dispute 
is not, whether the materials are basaltic, but 
whether the wall is a work of art or of nature. 5 

"It is not my intention to bring forward 
any arguments, in addition to those already 
published, to prove that this wall is basaltic. 
A mineralogist can distinguish basaltes from 
any other stone merely by inspecting them, 
as well as any other person can tell an apple 
from an orange, a pear from a peach, or any 
one of the common productions of nature from 
another. 

"The chemical analysis, likewise, of the 
solid stones, and what is improperly called rust 
and cement, demonstrates in a satisfactory 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 99 

manner, to chemists, that the stones are basaltic 
and there can be no appeal from the experi- 
ments, except by showing that they have been 
made in an improper manner, 

"Mr. Lewis asserted, on authority which 
he says is too direct and respectable to admit, 
for a moment, a doubt of its correctness, that 
I reported, after his reading my reply to his 
letter, that he was convinced of his error, and 
had published a retraction of his sentiments. 
No such report ever was propagated by me. 
When in New York, in the year 1801, I was 
informed that he did not relish my reply; 
and I might have said that he would regret 
having written any thing upon the subject 
of the wall; for so powerful is self-love, that 
few men are pleased with being caught in an 
error, or with having their opinions publicly 
called in question, much less with having 
them refuted. 

"Thus, in the year 1712, Dr. Cotton Mather, 
having inspected some large fossil bones and 
teeth, found at Albany, in New York, wrote 
to his friend, Dr. John Woodward, in England, 
that they belonged to American giants, whom 
he supposed to have existed before the deluge, 
and of whose height he made a calculation.* 

• Philosophical Transactions for 1713 and 1714, Vol. XXVm or the Abridgment, 
Vol. V. Part 2. 



100 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

"Were this gentleman now alive, and were 
he to behold the skeleton of the mammoth in 
Mr. Peale's museum in this city, he would be 
convinced that they were really the bones and 
teeth of a similar huge quadruped; and he 
might feel a little mortified that he had ever 
written to Europe that they belonged to 
the Brobdignagian biped of the antediluvian 
world. 

"An accurate account of this celebrated 
wall will form an important article in the 
mineralogical history of this country; and 
Mr. Lewis will oblige the friends of science 
by devoting a part of his time to a further 
investigation of this curious subject. 

"As he has found out that the stones compos- 
ing it are not basaltic, that the decomposed 
granite, which embraces it, and of which speci- 
mens were brought to Philadelphia by the Rev. 
Mr. Hall, and one of which is now before me, is 
nothing but 'sand and gravel'; he will, perhaps, 
next discover that the supposed cement with 
which the sides of it are covered is the plaster of 
Paris. 

"If he does, I will believe with him that 
the wall was built by antediluvians, to enclose 
a garden, a prison, or a city, or for any other 
purpose which he pleases. 

'I thus, gentlemen, take leave of the wall, 



«i 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 101 

and of the Rev. Mr. Lewis; and am with great 
respect, "Yours sincerely, 

"James Woodhouse" 



That the problems considered by Woodhouse 
varied in their nature is shown, for example, 
in a contribution made by him (1799) on the 
non-action of nitric acid on the metals, silver, 
copper, and tin. Having occasion to prepare 
silver nitrate "several thin pieces of silver 
were digested forty-eight hours, in a small 
quantity of the most pure and concentrated 
acid, prepared by distilling strong sulphuric 
acid in nitre, from which the water of crystal- 
lization had been thrown off by means of 
heat, and the metal was not dissolved. The 
temperature of the air varied between 75 and 
90 degrees of Fahrenheit's thermometer." 

This behavior greatly surprised Woodhouse. 
It was quite contrary to his expectations. 
"According to the chemists of all nations" 
the nitric acid should have dissolved the silver 
"with the utmost rapidity." It occurred to 
him that the non-action of the acid might be 
due to the fact that the metal was "in small 
masses." Accordingly the "filings of silver 
were tried, but no solution took place in the 
space of two days." His mind was set some- 



102 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

what at rest in a very simple manner: "having 
then added a small quantity of water to the 
acid, the silver was dissolved in a few minutes." 

This, now familiar, behavior of metals with 
this particular acid is here set forth for the 
first time, but cautiously Woodhouse proceeds 
to ascertain whether the same deportment 
would be observed with other metals; and 
selecting copper continues; "nitric acid was 
poured upon copper and no action was pro- 
duced; but, upon the addition of water, solution 
immediately commenced, and oxygenous and 
nitrous air were discharged; the latter holding 
a portion of the copper in solution, as appeared 
by immersing a lighted taper in the nitrous 
acid gas, when it burned with an enlarged, 
vivid and blue flame. The flame of the taper 
was frequently blown out, and rekindled by 
dipping it into the air." 

Not fully satisfied, he drew tin into the circle 
of experimentation and investigation, after which 
he was constrained to write: "some concen- 
trated nitric acid was then poured upon tin 
foil, when it remained in a quiescent state for 
one week; but upon the addition of water, 
the whole was instantly converted into a white 
oxyd, with the production of a high degree of 
heat." 

There is every reason to suppose that Wood- 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 103 

house was more or less perturbed by these 
observations ; yet he knew no reason to question 
their correctness, and boldly declared : 

"The errors of chemists, in regard to the 
action of nitric acid upon tin, will be seen more 
clearly by extracting what has been said upon 
the subject. 

"Chaptal tells us the nitric acid devours tin, 
that the decomposition is speedy, and that the 
metal is instantly precipitated in the form of a 
white oxyd. The same author says, Mr. Baume 
even pretends that the nitric does not dissolve 
tin; but Kunckel and the famous Rouelle 
have maintained the contrary. 

"Fourcroy declares that tin decomposes nitric 
acid, even in the cold, with amazing rapidity, 
and that this is one of the most astonishingly 
rapid solutions in all chemistry. 

"From what has been said, it appears that 
Mr. Baume is right, and that Fourcroy, Chaptal, 
Rouelle, and Kunckel, used an acid diluted 
with water. 55 

Aware that his observations would arouse 
inquiry as to the course of the reaction he 
immediately put to himself this query: "In 
what manner does water act in these experi- 
ments? 55 

"Dr. Priestley supposes that no air can be 
produced without water, and that it is neces- 



104 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

sary to the constitution of every kind of air; 
but this throws little light upon the subject, 
and does not account for the manner in which 
water acts in promoting the solution of silver, 
copper, and tin, in the nitric acid; and nitrous 
air may be obtained from zinc and bismuth 
by the acid, however concentrated. 

"It may be supposed, that the water merely 
produces heat by uniting with the acid, and 
so dissolves the metals; but this is not the 
case; for if the acid is diluted with water, and 
stands until it is cool, it will speedily dissolve 
them. 

"It is a common thing with the teachers of 
chemistry to fold up a portion of the dry nitrate 
of copper in the tinfoil, and to let it remain, 
for some time, in contact with the tin, to 
show that it will not act upon the metal in 
the dry state. The tinfoil is then unfolded, 
and a little water is added to the nitrate of 
copper, and it is again enclosed in the tin, 
when a violent action ensues, accompanied 
with sparks of fire, and a discharge of nitrous air. 

"The intention of this experiment is to show 
that bodies do not act upon each other in a 
dry state — corpora non agunt nisi soluta. But 
from the experiments which have been related, 
of the non-action of the nitric acid on tin, 
the^explanation of what takes place must be 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 105 

sought for in the action of water on the nitric 
acid of the nitrate of copper. 

"Some writers have taken notice of the 
production of ammoniac, when nitrous acid 
is added to copper and tin. As the concen- 
trated acid has no action on these metals, 
the ammoniac must be produced by the hydrogen 
of the water uniting with the azote of the 
nitric acid, while its oxygen, and that of the 
water, unites to the tin and copper, and con- 
verts them into oxyds. 

"Having related these facts, the language 
of chemists, in the future, ought to be — The 
nitric acid has no action on silver, copper, and 
tin; but if water be added to the acid, solution 
speedily takes place. 

"Dr. Hope has taken notice of the non- 
action of the nitric acid on strontian earth; 
and Mr. Leonhardi tells us, that it quickly 
destroys wool and silk, but that linen may 
remain immersed in a bottle of the strong acid 
a whole day without injury. 5 ' 

Today, the youngest chemist would promptly 
explain these reactions. The science was long 
in comprehending them and present-day dis- 
sociation theories would have staggered Wood- 
house. His communication might be called 
worthless by some. Would they not err in so 
designating it? Is it not rather to be prized 



106 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

because it is a sign board indicating the road 
or path by which chemists have arrived at 
their present views? 

Some years later (1801) there appeared 
(Medical Repository, Vol. Ill, p. 415) what 
purported to be a denial of Woodhouse's views. 
It read: 

"The more nearly the nitric acid approaches 
to purity, the more powerfully Mr. Carrendeffez 
finds it acted upon by silver, copper and tin, 
notwithstanding its strength and concentration, 
provided its water of liquidity be not too much 
diminished. 5 ' 

To this Woodhouse immediately answered: 

"I have since frequently repeated these 
experiments, and still adhere to my former 
opinion, which I consider as just. 

"If nitric acid, prepared from the common 
oil of vitriol and nitre of the shops, can be kept, 
for weeks or months, over silver, copper and 
tin, without affecting those metals, and if they 
are acted upon in a most violent manner in- 
stantly when water is added to it, certainly 
we ought to conclude that the acid will not 
affect them, and that water is necessary to its 
action. 

"The phenomena which accompany the solu- 
tion of each of these metals, in the acid, are 
considerably different. 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 107 

"When the diluted acid is added to tin, a 
most violent commotion ensues, accompanied 
with a discharge of common nitrous and depblo- 
gisticated nitrous air, and the formation of the 
nitrates of tin and ammoniac, and a large 
quantity of the white oxyd of tin. 

"This experiment affords us a strong andele- 
gant proof in favour of the decomposition of water, 
the corner stone of the new theory of chemistry. 

"The hydrogen of the water unites to part 
of the azote of a portion of the nitric acid, and 
generates ammoniac, w r hich joins to some of the 
nitric acid, and makes nitrate of ammoniac. 
A second part of the azote of the acid lays hold 
of part of the oxygen of the acid and water, 
and produces common nitrous air. The re- 
mainder of the azote seizes upon another portion 
of the oxygen of the water and acid, which 
gives rise to the dephlogisticated nitrous air. 
A third part of the oxygen of the acid and 
water joins to the tin, converts it into a white 
calx, which makes the nitrate of tin. 

"If water is so essential to the action of the 
nitric acid on tin, in what manner is the 
ammoniac produced, or from whence comes 
the hydrogen which enters into the composition 
of this substance? It is necessary to add lime, 
pot-ash or soda to the solution of tin in nitric 
acid, to disengage the alkaline gas/ 5 



108 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

Silliman, the elder, states in his Elements of 
Chemistry, p. 233, relative to tin and nitric acid: 

"When cold there is no action; a strip of 
tin foil may be kept in a bottle of the acid for 
years, without being corroded, provided the 
air be excluded/' and in a footnote adds, "this 
was first mentioned by the late Dr. James 
Woodhouse of Philadelphia, at the time when 
I was his pupil in 1802-3 and 4." 

Silliman records that he kept tin-foil in a 
bottle of the strongest nitrous acid for years, 
without any action, the tin remaining bright." 



When Woodhouse distilled a quantity of 
the bones of horses and cows in a distilling 
apparatus, formed of iron, which communicated 
with the worm of a refrigeratory, to which a 
large glass receiver was annexed, on applying 
a high degree of heat, "three ounces of volatile 
alkaline spirit, impregnated with the black 
animal oil of Dippel, were obtained in three 
hours. The receiver was closely luted to the 
worm, and the air in it was perfectly transparent. 
Upon taking away a part of the lute, in such 
a manner as to permit the air of the atmosphere 
to enter the receiver, it became immediately 
filled with a thick brown yellow cloud of smoke. 

"Having made a variety of comparative 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 109 

experiments, to determine the difference in 
the quantity of the product, by distilling with 
and without the lute, it was found that five 
times as much of the volatile alkaline spirit 
could be obtained by carrying on the distillation 
without the lute, as could be procured, in the 
same space of time, with the application of the 
lute. 

"Lavoisier supposes, that when ammoniac 
is obtained from animal substances, the hydrogen 
and the azote of these bodies unite together, 
and form the volatile alkali; but it appears 
from what has been said, that the azotic air 
of the atmosphere enters into the worm of the 
refrigeratory, joins the hydrogen of the bones, 
and so forms the ammoniac. 

"Manufacturers of the volatile spirit of sal 
ammoniac may take some valuable hints from 
these experiments/ ' 



Practical problems of this sort were certain 
to arrest his attention. He had the interests 
of the public in mind, for he wrote, when "a 
quart of the most putrid urine, and of as yellow 
a colour as gamboge, was exposed, two nights, 
to intense cold, it became perfectly sweet, and 
was as colourless as rock-water." This cir- 
cumstance occasioned this inquiry: 



110 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

"May not this wonderful change be attributed 
to the agency of the oxygen gas of the cold 
atmospheric air? 

"The acid of citrons not only neutralizes 
the volatile alkali of putrid substances, but 
completely destroys the nauseous smell which 
exists, independent of the ammoniac. The 
sulphuric and muriatic acids have no such 
effect. Does the oxygen of the citric acid 
act here likewise? Lowitz, a Russian chemist, 
supposes that charcoal neutralizes the putrid 
effluvia of animal bodies; but, in my opinion, 
it acts mechanically, in preventing the putrid 
particles of matter from flying into the air/ 5 



In discussing the fruit of the Horse Chestnut 
(Aesculus Pa via), particularly in connection 
with the starch obtained from it, Woodhouse 
wrote: 

"In the 29th number of the Repertory of Arts, 
there is an account of a patent, obtained by 
Lord William Murray, for making starch from 
the fruit of the aesculus hippocastanum. A 
writer in the London Monthly Magazine for 
1798, says he has repeatedly, and in various 
ways, endeavoured to make starch of the 
fruit, but always unsuccessfully; but it turns 
to a yellow colour." 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 111 

He continues: "The fruit of our aesculus 
pavia is much larger than that of the aesculus 
hippocastanum, and is of a white colour; that 
of the hippocastanum is yellow. 

"A single nut, dried, weighed half an ounce 
and twenty-five grains, and yielded forty-four 
grains of fine starch. 

"I prepared half a pound of this starch from 
the nuts of the aesculus pavia, and have kept 
it two years, and the white colour is in no way 
impaired. It is superior to the finest Poland 
starch, and has been used, by several ladies, 
to starch various articles of dress, without 
imparting any yellow colour to them. 

"The method of preparing it is, to take off 
the shells from the nuts with a knife; grate 
them in a vessel of water which will hold the 
fine particles of the starch suspended, when 
they are to be decanted into another vessel, 
which must remain at rest until the starch 
subsides to the bottom. The water is then to 
be poured off, and fresh is to be added, and 
the starch is to be well stirred about in it, when 
it must again be permitted to subside. The 
water is then to be thrown away, and the starch 
is to be dried in the sun. 

"The water of the first washing holds a 
poisonous matter in solution, which, when 
evaporated to the consistence of an extract, 



112 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

and mixed with dough, will intoxicate and 
swell the bellies of small fishes." 



The chemistry of plants was a constant 
source of interest to Woodhouse. He was 
ready at any moment to institute inquiries 
regarding them either as a whole, or of particular 
parts; hence there is nothing strange when 
he writes of Aromatic Oils, obtained from the 
Pellicle which envelopes the Seeds of the Laurus 
Sassafras and Laurus Benzoin, and recom- 
mends that "the method of obtaining these 
oils is to boil the pellicle which surrounds the 
seeds of the sassafras and Benjamin-tree in 
water, when they float upon its surface, from 
which they may be skimmed with a spoon. 

"That of the sassafras differs materially from 
the oil obtained from the bark of the root of this 
tree. Its aroma is different, it is much lighter, 
and it congeals in a higher degree of heat. 

"The oil of the benzoin-tree is a delightful 
aromatic, is very inflammable, and might be 
used as a spice in a food, and in all those diseases 
in which the aromatic oils are useful. It has 
been tried with success, as an external applica- 
tion, in a severe case of chronic rheumatism. 
One half pound of the pellicle of the seeds will 
yield several ounce measures of oil." 



JAMES WOODHOUSE US 

Woodhouse's views of the eudiometer were 
quite interesting for he wrote: "the eudi- 
ometer is an useless instrument in ascertaining 
the purity of atmospheric air; 

"1st. Because nitrous air can never be 
obtained of the same degree of strength. 

"2ndly. When one measure of nitrous air 
is added to one measure of atmospheric air, 
the absorption will be great or small, according 
to the time the air remains over the water, 
or is agitated in it. 

"Having made seven trials with this instru- 
ment, with the same atmospheric air, I obtained 
a diminution, at the first experiment of 



60 

2nd 56 

3rd 95 

4th 87 

5th 90 

6th 93 

7th 100 



"From this it is evident, that Dr. Davidson 
was deceived in supposing that the air of Mar- 
tinique was much purer than the air of Europe, 
and that the error lay in his instrument. The 
nitrous air which I used was procured from 
nitric acid diluted with water and copper." 



114 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

A discovery, "the best which has been made 
for many years/' is the language in which 
Woodhouse characterized an observation of 
Mr. William Lambe " on the Base of the Muriatic 
Acid." Lambe attempted to prove "that 
sulphurated hydrogen is the base of muriatic 
acid." He got oxy-muriatic acid gas by drop- 
ping sulphuric acid upon the residuum left 
after evaporating water which had been im- 
pregnated with hepatic gas, in which iron and 
manganese had been digested." And Wood- 
house published that he had "performed this 
experiment, and the result is exactly as stated 
by Mr. Lambe." 

His procedure was: "Two drachms of the 
filings of bar-iron were placed in twenty-two 
ounce measures of distilled water, which had 
been impregnated with sulphurated hydrogen 
gas, in Nooth's apparatus. In five days twelve 
ounce measures of inflammable air escaped 
from the water. Six ounces of the clear fluid 
evaporated to dryness, left a residuum, con- 
sisting of dephlogisticated muriate of iron, 
which attracted the moisture of the atmosphere. 
A few drops of sulphuric acid, let fall upon it, 
produced an effervescence, and white clouds of 
oxy-muriatic gas escaped, as was very evident 
from the smell, and from the tests generally 
used to detect the presence of this gas." 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 115 

Here the modern chemist will take issue with 
Woodhouse; at least, he will be very skeptical, 
asking what really happened on letting water 
charged with hydrogen sulphide act upon the 
filings? If hydrogen escaped, did iron sulphide 
remain? Could it possibly have been dis- 
solved in the "six ounces of clear fluid/' which 
on evaporation to dryness, gave a residue of 
muriate of iron? Muriate of iron is iron chloride. 
Could it be present under the existing condi- 
tions just given? It is hardly likely. 

Perhaps the original printed document does 
not contain all that Woodhouse had in mind 
to say. Again, the distilled w^ater may not 
have been free of halides. No account is given 
of the modus operandi in preparing the distilled 
water. Nor can any one be altogether certain 
of the " filings. " The abstract has little value 
although there may be those who will regard 
it as a reflection upon Woodhouse's keenness 
of observation, or upon his scientific acumen. 



Had the reader been permitted to converse 
with Woodhouse, there seems little doubt but 
that he would have found him interested not 
only in all pertaining to chemistry but also in 
geological subjects, and, as will be observed 
later, in minerals, in plants, in insects, in short, 



116 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

in broad, general science topics, so that the 
following communication relative to "Blister- 
ing Flies" peculiar to America, will be con- 
sidered as legitimate subject-matter even for 
one holding himself as a chemist in particular. 

"I have discovered two other blistering 
meloes besides that described in the Medical 
Repository. The one I would call Meloe Clema- 
tidis, as it is particularly fond of several species 
of this plant. It is larger than the one described 
by Dr. Chapman, and the female is nearly 
twice the size of the male. The head, thorax, 
elytra, and antennae are black; the elytra 
only edged with white. The abdomen is of a 
light ash-colour. The upper part of the abdo- 
men, under the wings, is marked by two longi- 
tudinal streaks of a bright clay-colour. The 
asters are sometimes black with these flise, 
and the leaves are entirely destroyed by them. 

"The other I would call Meloe Nigra, the 
Pennsylvanica of Linnaeus. It is not more 
than half the size of Chapman's fly. The 
whole of it is black. It feeds upon the prunella 
vulgaris, or self-heal, and ambrosia trifida, 
or stick weed. 

"I applied a small blister of these flies to 
my skin, and lost the plaister in half an hour. 
In twelve hours after a fine blister was pro- 
duced. A watery extract of the flies blistered 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 117 

in six hours. Distilled in a retort, they yield 
an acid, whose properties have not yet been 
examined. 

"Besides these three kinds of meloe, there 
is another found in this country, mentioned 
by Kalm, and called by Linnaeus meloe majalis; 
but it is not yet known whether it will blister; 
for Shoepf expressly asks the question, 'an 
mel. vesicatorio (cantharid, officinal.) substi- 
tuendus?' 

"We then know for certainty of three kinds 
of indigenous blistering flies — Meloe Chapmani, 
Meloe clematidis, and Meloe nigra. Meloe 
majalis, doubtful." 



The closing years of the eighteenth century 
and the very early years of the nineteenth 
century were momentous ones in chemical 
circles in this country; particularly in Phila- 
delphia, where the scientific atmosphere was 
charged with phlogiston. It could scarcely 
have been otherwise with Priestley actively 
advocating the existence of "that principle 
which is sometimes heavy, sometimes it is not; 
sometimes it is fire combined with the earthy 
element; sometimes it passes through the 
pores of the vessels, and sometimes they are 
impenetrable to it; it explains at once causticity 



118 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

and non-causticity, transparence and opacity, 
colors and the absence of colors. It is a veritable 
Proteus which changes its form every moment. 55 

It was that strange doctrine — our first chemi- 
cal theory — which had dominated chemical 
thought from 1720 to 1789, and while it led 
to experimentation, placing new facts, as they 
were obtained, under definite view-points and 
correlating them, yet it had been found insuffi- 
cient and had been gradually abandoned by 
its supporters. Thenard wrote of the Phlogiston 
Theory : 

"StahPs theory of Combustion, although a 
great error deserves from its important results 
to be ranked with the grander discoveries of 
Chemistry. 55 

And, another writer said, before the Chemical 
Society of Philadelphia in 1798 : 

"That theory, which but a few years since 
commanded the undissenting voice of the chemi- 
cal world, is now almost wholly forsaken. 
Still, however, the tottering dome of this once 
mighty fabric is supported by one solitary 
pillar, so well constructed as by its single force 
to uphold it against the warring elements, 
nor can it ever fall till this pillar is removed. 
Neither can the doctrine of phlogiston be said 
to be totally destroyed, until it shall cease to rank 
among its supporters the name of Priestley. 55 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 119 

In other lands the anti-phlogistic views, 
as enunciated by the great Lavoisier, had 
gained adherents and may be said to have 
become established, for even in Germany where 
national prejudice declared in favor of 
phlogiston, the renowned Klaproth, having 
performed the experiments of Lavoisier before 
the Academy of Berlin, and convinced of their 
truth, adopted in 1792, in conjunction with 
other eminent scientists of his country, the 
teachings of the French School. 

As accurately as could be ascertained a 
question so burning as that of the existence 
or non-existence of phlogiston commanded very 
earnest thought in this new land, and there 
appears to have been a leaning toward the 
newer views, but the advent of Priestley devel- 
oped fresh interest in the problem. His stormy 
life in the last years of his residence in England 
gave him little opportunity to conduct his 
scientific inquiries, but "being settled at North- 
umberland with his mind at peace, and at 
ease in his circumstances, he seriously applied 
himself to those studies which he had long 
been compelled to desist from. . . . His studies 
were very varied." 

About the year 1799, the friends of liberty 
in America were greatly alarmed by the advance- 
ment of principles disgraceful to America, 



120 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

and by a practice less liberal in many respects 
than under the monarchical form of the British 
Government. 

Priestley's son wrote: "Nothing else was the 
subject of conversation, and my father though 
never active in politics, at the same time never 
concealed his sentiments. . . . The consequence 
was that all the bigotry and party zeal of that 
violent period was employed to injure him, 
and misrepresent his words and actions. . . . 
It was intimated to my father, from Mr. Adams 
himself, that he wished he would abstain from 
saying anything on politics, lest he should get 
into difficulty . . . . " 

And in Political Tracts many disagreeable 
things were said of him by Peter Porcupine.* 
For example: 

"Of all the English arrived in these States 
(since the War) no one was ever calculated to 
render them less service than Dr. Priestley; 
and what is more, perhaps no one (before or 
since, or even in the War) ever intended to 
render them less : his preference to the American 
Government is all affectation: his emigration 
was not voluntary: he staid in England until 
he saw no hopes of recovering a lost reputation; 
and then bursting with envy and resentment, 

•The pen name of William Cobbett, an interesting character. A confirmed pam- 
phleteer. 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 121 

he fled into what the Tammany Society, very 
justly call 'banishment/ covered with the 
universal detestation of his countrymen. . . . 
He is a bird of passage that has visited us, 
only to avoid the rigour of an inclement season: 
when the reanimating sunshine of revolution 
shall burst forth oil his nlative clime, we may 
see him prune his wings, and take his flight 
from the dreary battks of the Susquehattnah 
to those of the Thames or the Avon." 

This gives a picture of some of the experi- 
ences of Priestley, but in the midst of them 
all he experimented and published his treatise 
in defense of Phlogiston (1800). And his son 
said: "But the last four years of his life he 
lived under an administration, the principles 
and practices of which he perfectly approved, 
and with Mr. Jefferson, the head of that adminis- 
tration, he frequently corresponded, and they 
had for each other a mutual regard and esteem. 
He enjoyed the esteem of the wisest and best 
men in the country, particularly at Philadelphia, 
where his religion and politics did not prevent 
his being kindly and cheerfully received by 
great numbers of opposite opinions in both, 
who thus paid homage to his knowledge and 
virtue/ 5 

American chemists, of all ages, will find ample 
justification for congratulation that their fore- 



122 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

fathers, not only in Philadelphia, but throughout 
the cities of the young Republic, were among 
those who kindly received and "paid homage" 
to the sturdy defender of a lost cause — the 
sage and philosopher — who gave so much of 
himself to conferring happiness upon his fellow- 
men. 

Among his closest friends in chemical circles 
were McNevin of New York (1764-1841), 
author of a neat, favorably received volume 
entitled "An Exposition of the Atomic Theory/ 5 
Mitchill (1764-1831) of Columbia University, 
a learned man who, it is said, first taught 
in this country the nomenclature of Lavoisier, 
and Woodhouse, who in his quiet, just way 
endeavored to convince old Doctor Priestley 
of the erroneous nature of his views, but through 
the entire controversy maintained the happiest 
relations with this mighty Nestor in chemical 
science. One develops a strong affection for 
Woodhouse on observing his magnanimous atti- 
tude toward Priestley. Whatever faults he 
may have had, he surely was a man of sound 
judgment who thought long and well before 
acting. He was, it is true, very human, yet 
always quite ready to concede that the thoughts 
and views of others were entitled, at least to 
respect, hence it was not to be wondered that 
his friendship for Franklin's "heretic" was 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 123 

unimpaired. This is beautifully exhibited in 
a record made by one of Woodhouse's students: 

"I happened to be in Philadelphia, as a 
pupil of Dr. Woodhouse when Dr. Priestley 
came in person to the laboratory of Dr. Wood- 
house, who was himself a disciple of Lavoisier, 
and who performed various experiments on 
this topic, at that time keenly controverted. 
It was the last effort to sustain the doctrine 
of phlogiston, and to produce from metals 
and inflammables a real substance, to which 
it was supposed that the name of phlogiston 
could be applied. Hydrogen had been before 
called phlogiston, but it was impossible to 
prove its existence in all inflammable bodies 
and metals (unless the discovery of this gas 
should establish it), and it was distinctly 
proved that it forms water by its combustion. 
Indeed, Dr. Priestley was one of the first to 
perform that interesting experiment, but he 
did not eventually admit the conclusion." 

And Caldwell (p. 67) has expressly declared 
that in the earliest years of Woodhouse's 
laboratory activity it was along lines pertaining 
to the formation of water and its decomposition. 

Did these early American chemists dream 
that as the years went on their problems, 
wrought with the expenditure of so much 
nervous and physical energy, would come to be 



124 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

little regarded? The remarkable synthesis of 
an organic body — urea — from inorganic mate- 
rial, no longer excites astonishment when con- 
trasted with the syntheses of sugar, alcohol, 
indigo, alkaloids, etc. And, so too, what was 
early executed in establishing the constitution 
of water fades away on studying such epoch- 
making researches as those of E. W. Morley 
and Theodore W. Richards, who in our own 
generation have built so superbly upon the early 
and crude efforts of Woodhouse and the men of 
his and immediately succeeding generations. 

How will the conquests of the present be 
viewed by chemists one hundred years hence? 
Today it is generally thought that prevailing 
ideas and accepted work represent almost the 
final word. Doubtless the men of 1800 enter- 
tained very similar thoughts. They were 
wrong and we would find, on our return a 
century or two hence, if it were possible, the 
chemists of that far-away date, to be little 
excited over our efforts, considering them only 
as links in the great chain of inquiry leading 
to the Truth. 

The phlogiston controversy on American 
soil was precipitated by Priestley himself. In 
1796 he issued a pamphlet of thirty-nine pages 
bearing the title, "Considerations on the Doc- 
trine of Phlogiston and the Decomposition of 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 125 

Water." In this connection Mitchill remarked: 
"it must give pleasure to every philosophical 
mind to find the United States becoming the 
theatre of such interesting discussions." And 
further, "we feel a degree of satisfaction in 
ascribing a considerable part of the increasing 
taste and prevailing fashion for chemical pur- 
suits in this country, within a year or two, 
to the influence and example of Priestley." 

In his first paper, Priestley confessed that 
he had nothing particularly new to offer on 
the subject of phlogiston, but desired "to make 
one appeal more to the philosophical world," 
so he aimed to present as a complete picture 
the more important objections to the anti- 
phlogistic system, "with the intention of bring- 
ing forward the favourers of the new doctrine, 
to the explanation of these difficulties, by the 
aid of additional facts and more cogent argu- 
ments that have hitherto appeared." Priestley 
had seen his friends and acquaintances desert- 
ing phlogiston, not merely one by one, but 
frequently going over to the other side in whole 
troops, while he remained firm to the doctrine 
of Stahl. As his views may be gleaned from 
the fasciculus noted above, they will not be 
here reproduced. Let it suffice to observe 
that a prompt reply came from Adet, the 
ci-devant Minister of the French Republic to 



126 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

the United States, just before his departure 
from Philadelphia to France, which induced 
one writer to observe "we cannot but think 
he (Adet) has usefully employed the interval 
of leisure which the jarring politics of two 
governments afforded him." 

Priestley's constant objection to the facts 
attending the composition and decomposition 
of water amazed Adet, for the anti-phlogistic 
chemists had repeated and verified the experi- 
ment so many times, and therefore he felt 
driven to state once again: " (1) that in causing 
water to pass through a red-hot gun barrel, 
the iron becomes oxydated by the oxygen of 
the water; (2) notwithstanding the difference 
which exists between the black oxyd of iron, 
produced by the decomposition of water, and 
the common red oxyd of the same metal, they 
are still both of them oxyds, for these reasons; 
that, like other oxyds, they both dissolve in 
acids without disengaging anything, and metallic 
bodies are incapable of combining with acids 
unless they are previously united to oxygen; 
(3) although there is some difference between 
this oxyd and the common red oxyd, it does 
not follow that they are not both oxyds; the 
difference between the two being only owing 
to the different circumstances under which 
they have combined with oxygen." 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 127 

Adet asserted that all of Priestley's objections 
to the water problem were explainable without 
the introduction of the phlogiston idea. The 
participation in a chemical problem by one so 
eminent in diplomacy as Adet was justly 
esteemed a marked tribute to the science. 

Another respondent to the brochure of Priest- 
ley was John Maclean, the honored professor 
of chemistry at Princeton. He had not been 
aware of Adet's communication. However, he 
deemed the subject of such importance that 
he placed his communication before his students 
in the course of his customary lectures. He 
answered Priestley, point by point. The zeal 
he exhibited will be best understood by reading 
his work. He confidently recommended the 
anti-phlogiston chemistry to his students in 
these words: 

"From the view which has been given of 
the different explanations of the phenomena 
of combustion, it appears that Becher's is 
incomplete; Stahl's though ingenious, is defec- 
tive; the antiphlogistic is simple, consistent, 
and sufficient; while Dr. Priestley's resembling 
Stahl's but in name, is complicated, contra- 
dictory, and inadequate. You, doubtless, there- 
fore will be inclined to prefer the anti-phlogistic 
doctrine: Indeed, you may adopt it with safety; 
for, from being a plain relation of facts, it is 



128 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

founded on no ideal principle, on no creature 
of the imagination; it is propped by no vague 
supposition, by no random conjecture; it is 
dependent upon nothing whose existence can- 
not be actually demonstrated; whose properties 
cannot be submitted to the most rigorous exam- 
ination; and whose quantity cannot be deter- 
mined by the tests of weights and measures/ 5 
Mitchill endeavored to reconcile the opposing 
views and the existing differences, but plainly 
was unsuccessful. In a compromising attitude 
he wrote Priestley "your opposition to the 
new doctrine has been serviceable to the cause 
of science. It has prevented too easy and 
sudden an acquiescence in the novel system 
of the antiphlogistians, where difficulties and 
paradoxes had been admitted by many, with- 
out having been subjected to due examination. 
You have prompted more vigorous inquiry 
into these matters than would probably other- 
wise have been made. . . . Perhaps even now 
my labors are but of little avail; or, if they 
were capable of bringing about a coalition of 
parties, I might say to you after all, in the 
words of Prior to his Alma: 

"For, Dick, if we could reconcile 
Old Aristotle with Gassendus, 
How many would admire our toil! 

And yet how few would comprehend us!" 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 129 

Priestley wrote his thanks to Mitchill for 
his attempts to "promote a peace between the 
present belligerent powers in chemistry; but 
I much fear your labors will be in vain/ 5 and 
he adds that he would be obliged "if you will 
inform me w r hen he (Maclean) replies to my 
last pamphlet. He did not treat me with the 
civility to which I think I am entitled as a 
veteran in the science. Had he been the vic- 
torious Buonaparte, I as an old Wurmser, 
should have been treated with respect, though 
vanquished. But this Mantua has not sur- 
rendered yet." And in a postscript wrote: 
"Dr. Maclean did not, as the laws of war 
require, ever send me a copy of his pamphlet; 
and as I never saw it advertised, it was only 
by the accident of my son's being in Philadelphia 
that I got it." 

Priestley wrote at least eight letters in favor 
of the doctrine of phlogiston, practically repeti- 
tions of earlier arguments. To some of these 
Mitchill replied, always in the most apologetic 
vein, and with the earnest purpose of bringing 
an agreement among the opponents. "It 
would give me great satisfaction," he said on 
one occasion, "that we could settle the points 
of variance on this subject; though even as 
it is, I am flattered by your allowing my attempt 
to reconcile the two theories to be ingenious, 



130 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

plausible and well-meant. Yet, after all I 
have written, I fear you still think they cannot 
be reconciled; consequently the labour of those 
who undertake it is thrown away; they toil 
to no purpose: 

In vain, tho' by their powerful art they bind 

Volatile Hermes, and call up, unbound, 

In various shapes, old Proteus from the Sea." 

Maclean protested in a very animated fashion 
against the views of Priestley. The reader 
of the present will observe much animus in 
his remarks. It is difficult to explain this 
course unless he thought the observations, 
explanations, and experimental work of Priestley 
rather beneath his contempt. 

Woodhouse had remained a silent observer 
of the course events took. He knew, as a 
matter of fact, everything that was going 
on, but was busily engaged in his laboratory, 
seeking evidence against the phlogistians. 
Priestley, having access to him in the midst 
of his work and probably contending on the 
spot with Woodhouse, the latter quickly learned 
to appreciate the genuine character of Priestley, 
and therefore could not be other than irritated 
by Maclean's writings. This state of Wood- 
house's mind would easily explain the following 
epistle to Maclean : 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 131 

"Sir, 

"As there are several assertions in your 
examination of Dr. Priestley's consideration on 
the doctrine of phlogiston and decomposition of 
water, relating to some important parts of chem- 
istry, which are absolutely erroneous, I think it 
necessary to call your attention to the subject. 

"As you wrote your dissertation expressly 
to prevent the youth of Princeton college from 
falling even into temporary delusion, and as 
public controversy is always favourable to 
the cause of truth, you can have no rational 
objection to this letter. 

"A judgment may be formed how well you 
have accomplished your purpose, and what 
right you have to condemn the experiments 
of Dr. Priestley in the authoritative manner 
you have done, having made none yourself, from 
the following particulars. You are not yet, Doc- 
tor, the conqueror of this veteran in philosophy. 

"You agree with the French chemists, that 
turbith mineral is an oxyde of mercury, and 
have asserted, that any substance into which 
it may be converted by a red heat, does not 
require any addition to constitute it a metal. 

"Now, the very contrary of this is true; 
for we have the most conclusive proofs, that 
turbith mineral is not an oxyde, but a sulphate 
of mercury. 



132 JAMES WOODHOUSE 



ii 



1st. If pure turbith mineral is exposed 
to a red heat, in a long glass tube, a quantity 
of the sulphate of mercury, of a white colour 
and strong acrid taste, sublimes from it, and 
adheres to the sides of the vessel. 

"2dly. If a solution of caustic pot-ash is 
boiled upon the turbith, it suffers a consider- 
able loss in weight, and loses its bright yellow 
colour, and is converted into a calx of the 
colour of brick dust. The solution, by spon- 
taneous evaporation in the open air, will yield 
chrystals of vitriolated tartar. 

"3dly. If distilled water is boiled upon the 
turbith, and renewed from time to time, the 
water will always precipitate a solution of 
muriated barytes. 

" These experiments incontestibly prove, that 
turbith mineral is not an oxyde, but a sulphate 
of mercury. 

"It is no objection to this opinion, that the 
turbith, when exposed to a red heat, yields 
oxygenous gas, and that running mercury is 
obtained; for the sulphuric acid leaves one 
part of it and joins to another, which sublimes 
in the form of a white salt. That part which 
the acid deserts is converted into an oxyde, 
is revived without addition and yields pure air. 

"This sulphate of mercury is the supposed 
calx to which Dr. Priestley refers. It is some- 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 133 

times obtained of a red colour, owing to some 
substance which deprives a part of the sulphuric 
acid of its oxygenous gas, and converts it into 
sulphur, which, uniting with the fluid mercury, 
sublimes in the form of cinnabar, and gives 
the whole of the salt a red colour. 

"This is what you ought to have ascertained, 
if you intended to have acquired the character 
of an accurate investigator. 

"Your next assertion is, that red lead con- 
tains more oxygene than a calx of iron, from 
which circumstance you suppose, that the 
former calx oxygenates the muriatic acid, and 
the latter does not, as it contains but a small 
quantity of pure air. 

"Your words are: 'it certainly does not 
follow, because muriatic acid can separate a 
certain portion of oxygene from lead, when 
this is combined with a great quantity of this 
substance, that it should likewise separate 
oxygene from iron, when this is united to a 
comparatively small quantity/ 

4 You will grant, that when a pure metallic 
calx is heated in hydrogenous gas, that the 
oxygene of the calx unites to the hydrogene, 
and forms water; consequently those calces 
which make the greatest quantity of inflammable 
air disappear, contain the most oxygene. 

"Having heated one drachm of red lead by 



134 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

a burning lens, eleven inches in diameter, in 
hydrogenous gas; obtained from the sulphuric 
acid diluted with water, and malleable iron, 
and which had been well washed in lime-water, 
it made ten ounce measures of the air disappear. 

"One drachm of the precipitate of iron, 
from green vitriol by ammoniac, or a solution 
of mild pot-ash and the common rust of iron, 
heated in the same manner, made thirty-six 
ounce measures of the air vanish. One drachm 
of the filings of bar-iron, melted in oxygenous 
gas, absorbed twenty-six ounce measures of 
this air. 

"One hundred grains of well dried red lead, 
according to Lavoisier, contain 89.93 metal, 
and 7.64 oxygene; 25.39 water, and the same 
quantity of the precipitate of iron, from green 
vitriol, by caustic pot-ash, according to Gadolin, 
contains 58.48 metal, 15.91 oxygene. One 
hundred parts of the yellow calx of iron, accord- 
ing to Lavoisier, 68.66 metal, and 32.24 oxygene. 

"Your opinion, then, according to these 
experiments, in regard to the quantity of 
oxygene which the calces of iron and lead con- 
tain, is void of foundation. 

"The true reason that red lead will oxygenate 
muriatic acid, and that a calx of iron will not, 
is that the former readily gives it oxygene to 
the acid, and the latter does not, owing to a 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 135 

difference in the elective attractions subsisting 
between the acid, oxygene and the two metals. 

"It is evident, that the oxygenation of the 
muriatic acid does not merely depend upon 
the quantity of oxygene contained in the calx; 
for one drachm of manganese, which has been 
exposed to a red heat, and parted with most 
of its pure air, will oxygenate the acid to a 
greater degree than an ounce of the calx obtained 
from boiling a solution of the caustic alkali 
upon turbith mineral, which contains thirty 
times the quantity of oxygenous gas, 

"You have also declared that Dr. Priestley 
is mistaken, in saying that finery cinder will 
not acquire rust, and assert that it contracts 
rust sooner than common iron. 

"To determine this question a quantity 
of the scales which blacksmiths strike off from 
red-hot iron, reduced to an impalpable powder, 
were exposed to the action of the air more 
than twelve months, and were sprinkled with 
water several hundred times, and, at the end 
of this time, were as free from rust as when 
first exposed. 

"The rust which finery cinder appears to 
contract is owing to iron filings with which it is 
frequently mixed. The pure scales will never 
acquire rust; for, when bar-iron is converted 
into finery cinder, it parts with the small 



136 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

quantity of coal it contained, and absorbs 
oxygene and water. 

"You have answered the Doctor, on this 
part of the controversy by informing him, 
that inflammable air is a constituent part of 
other bodies besides water; that hydrogene 
is retained with great force, by coal; that 
unglazed earthen vessels absorb moisture; and, 
lastly, you tell him in what manner the experi- 
ment ought to have been performed, and 
declare it is of no value, as reported in his 
experiments on different kinds of air. 

"I have repeated this famous experiment, 
and the result is exactly as stated by Dr. 
Priestley. 

"One ounce of the scales of iron, and the 
same quantity of charcoal, were separately 
exposed, in two covered crucibles, in an air- 
furnace, well supplied with fuel for five hours. 
They were then taken out of the fire, and 
mixed, while red-hot, in a red-hot iron mortar — 
were triturated with a red-hot iron pestle, formed 
of an iron ram-rod — were poured upon a red- 
hot piece of sheet-iron, and instantly put into 
a red-hot gun-barrel, which was fixed in one of 
Lewis's black lead furnaces, and communicated 
with the worm of a refrigeratory, a part of a 
hydropneumatic apparatus. Immediately after, 
luting the gun-barrel to the worm, one hundred 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 137 

and forty-two ounce measures of inflammable 
air came over in torrents, mixed with a tenth 
part of carbonic acid gas. 

"This experiment has puzzled every person 
to whom it has been mentioned. 

"For my part, I do not think it affects the 
anti-phlogistic system, for the scales of iron 
contain water, and retain it in so obstinate 
a manner as not to part with it upon the appli- 
cation of heat; but when coal is added to the 
finery cinder, it takes away the water, by having 
a greater affinity to it than to the calx of iron. 
The coal decomposes this water; its oxygen 
is united to part of the coal, to carbonic acid; 
while its hydrogene is separated, dissolves 
another part of the coal, and forms the car- 
bonated hydrogene gas. 

"Dr. Priestley's explanation of this experi- 
ment is very unsatisfactory; for he says, the 
phlogiston of the charcoal contributes to revive 
the iron; but the Doctor ought to have re- 
membered that an oxyde of iron cannot be 
revived in one of Lewis's small black lead 
furnaces. 

"There are other substances besides finery 
cinder, which, when mixed w T ith coal, which 
has ceased to yield air, give inflammable air 
in large quantities. It may be obtained from 
any precipitate of iron or zinc, or from the 



138 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

flowers of zinc mixed with red-hot coal; and 
the hydrogene gas procured will always be in 
proportion to the water which the calces con- 
tain, and the metals will not be revived. 

"Should you consider the objections of Dr. 
Priestley once more, and advance nothing 
but what is founded upon your own experi- 
ments, you may hear from me again; and 
I promise not to be the first to drop the subject. 

"Mere assertions only serve to fix errors 
deeply in the mind, and do not advance the 
cause of truth. 

"Hoping that I do not intrude upon the 
precious moments of your time, which is more 
agreeable, and, perhaps, more usefully employed 
than in discussing this subject, 

"I am, Sir, with consideration, 
"Yours, etc. 

"James Woodhouse. 
"Dr. John Maclean. " 

Maclean's answer to this communication 
was very unsatisfactory. It consisted of quib- 
blings. It presented no new facts. Indeed, 
it was undignified, in witness whereof one 
needs merely to ponder thfe subjoined quota- 
tion; for it seems Woodhouse had emphasized 
his intention of pursuing Maclean unless he 
would offer real facts. So the latter said: 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 139 

"At the same time be informed, you will 
write to one who is far from being a punctual 
correspondent; even his friends complain their 
letters are unanswered; so that, it is more 
than probable, he will take no notice of your 
criticisms. 

"Do not understand from this that I mean 
to deter you from writing to me. Your letter 
has afforded me not a little entertainment; 
and, if you can always furnish me with the 
like, it will be very acceptable. 55 

Woodhouse made no reply to Maclean. The 
latter dropped out of the controversy. As he 
had no convincing facts to submit, this was 
quite the proper thing for him to do. But 
with Woodhouse conditions were vastly other- 
wise. While following the discussions in print 
he was prosecuting, as has been said, his labora- 
tory experiments unceasingly. He experi- 
mented and repeated experiments, as did 
Michael Faraday long after, when he strove 
to establish the fundamentals of electro-chem- 
istry. He seemed possessed of but one thought, 
viz. — that experimental results, and these only, 
could give final decision upon the various 
topics brought forward in the discussions. 
Accordingly, he sent forth his observations 
in a memorable contribution, which consti- 
tuted the 72d essay of the Fourth Volume of 



140 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

the Transactions of the American Philosophical 
Society, from which it passed into other journals 
at home and abroad. Its purpose was to 
answer the arguments advanced by Priestley 
against the antiphlogistic system. The effort 
was made to review each point made by Priestley 
in its order of presentation. 

He therefore discussed : 

1st. — The revival of a metallic calx in inflam- 
mable air. "When the focus of a burning 
lens is thrown upon a calx of mercury, con- 
fined in hydrogenous gas, according to the 
antiphlogistic theory of chemistry, the oxygen 
of the calx unites to the hydrogen, and forms 
water; but, according to Dr. Priestley, the 
hydrogen enters into the metal, while the 
oxygen is found mixed with that part of the 
hydrogenous gas which remains behind. 

"The Doctor declares, in support of this 
opinion, that, in several of his experiments, 
the pure air, expelled by the heat of the lens 
from the mercurial calx, was found mixed with 
the remainder of the inflammable air, as 
appeared by the test of nitrous air, and by 
some disagreeable explosions which happened 
in the process. 

"Having performed the experiment of the 
revival of red precipitate in hydrogenous gas, 
twenty times, without having met with an 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 141 

explosion, I concluded that Dr. Priestley's 
inflammable air must have been mixed with 
atmospheric air. I was of this opinion, because 
I never could detect any pure air mixed with 
inflammable air, after the revival of a mercurial 
calx in it, by the test of nitrous air." 

2d. — The calcination of a metal in pure and 
" atmospherical" air. — The oxygen employed 
in the many experiments under this rubric 
was exceedingly pure, because "the whole of 
it was devoured by the nitrous test." 

3d. — Carbonic acid or fixed air. This was 
really a consideration of the various means 
of preparing "fixed air." Priestley had said 
"that large quantities of it could be obtained 
from heating a mixture of iron filings and red 
precipitate," concluding with the statement 
that the experiment had never failed with him, 
to which Woodhouse rejoined — "and I say 
it has never succeeded with me" . . . and 
adds, "in my opinion, the proofs that fixed 
air (CO2) is composed of oxygen and carbon, 
are as strong as that Glauber's salt is com- 
posed of sulphuric acid and soda." It seems 
that Priestley had said that fixed air was com- 
posed of "inflammable air" and " dephlogisti- 
cated" air, which prompted Woodhouse to 
ask then, "why is it not obtained by exploding 
pure air and the 'inflammable' air from malle- 



142 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

able iron?" He showed that if Priestley really 
got "fixed air" in this way it was because the 
"inflammable air" from cast iron filings "holds 
coal [carbon] in solution." 

4th. — Finery cinder or the scales of iron. 
This substance seemed to have vexed many 
chemists. Woodhouse knew that fixed air 
and "carbonated inflammable air" resulted 
upon heating it with charcoal; he therefore 
wrote: 

"In considering what takes place in this 
process, we must call to our aid the decomposi- 
tion of water, the clue which leads us through 
all the labyrinths of the antiphlogistic system 
of chemistry. The carbonated inflammable 
air is formed by the hydrogen of the water, 
which is supplied by the finery cinder, dis- 
solving part of the coal [carbon], while the 
oxygen of the water and finery cinder, uniting 
with another part of the coal, make the fixed air. 

"We are under the necessity of admitting 
the presence of water in the finery cinder. 
It cannot be in the coal, where Berthollet, 
Fourcroy, and other chemists find it; for, in 
my experiments, the coal has ceased to yield 
air, and, consequently, could not contain water." 

To explain this he thought he was obliged 
to admit the presence of water in the finery 
cinder. 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 143 

5th. — Here he described "the precipitation 
of one metal by another 5 ' and cited the fact 
that when zinc is introduced into a solution 
of sugar of lead "inflammable air is produced." 
He observed that he also got the air by the 
interaction of zinc filings and copper sulphate, 
etc. He declared the French chemists were 
ignorant of this. 

6th. — Here Woodhouse remarked in connec- 
tion with the air contained in the pores of 
charcoal which has been exposed to a red heat: 

"Dr. Priestley says that charcoal contains 
azotic gas, but I have always found it to be 
atmospherical air. One measure of the air 
obtained from coal, by means of water, gave, 
with the nitrous test, an absorption of 90." 

Much excellent experimentation was pre- 
sented in Woodhouse's argumentation upon the 
preceding topics. All that he did possessed a 
pronounced bearing and value in arriving at 
the truth. 

Close upon this document came letters 
addressed to the editors of the Medical Reposi- 
tory in which were presented additional observa- 
tions to certain objections made by Priestley 
to the antiphlogistic system of chemistry. He 
said at the outstart that mistakes may have 
been made by Priestley as well as by the French, 
and "should any be made by myself, I shall 



144 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

always acknowledge them, for nothing is more 
desirable than truth in science. Following 
the laudable example of Dr. Priestley, I shall 
endeavor to imitate his well-known candor 
and strict adherence to matter of fact — 

"Non ita certandi cupidus, quam propter amorem 
Quod eum imitari aveo." — Ltjcret. 

After which he resumed the old subject 
of "the calces of metals and coal exposed to a 
red heat." He continued to maintain the 
presence of water in "finery cinder" giving 
his experimental proofs, and saying that "oxygen 
is also one of its component parts, which Dr. 
Priestley will not allow." The patience exer- 
cised in the execution of innumerable experi- 
ments is astounding. The constant resort 
to quantitative conditions is also striking and 
highly creditable. Every student of chemistry 
will admire these important features of Wood- 
house's effort. It is an exhaustive study. 
It was most meritorious although in many 
points it led to erroneous views or conclusions. 
Various oxides were mixed with coal and then 
heated. The results were given in the utmost 
detail. Curiously enough, he writes at one 
place: 

"The flowers of zinc, yielding no fixed air 
when subjected to heat with coal, or the fixed 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 145 

air which is sometimes obtained being in 
proportion to the water, which is united to the 
calx, is agreeable to the theory of Dr. Priestley, 
and cannot be accounted for as vitriolic acid and 
water were added to it, to dissolve any particles 
of iron it might contain, and it was well washed 
in pure water. 

"The focus of a lens was thrown upon a 
portion of this metal, confined in fifty-six ounce 
measures of oxygenous gas, which had been 
washed in lime water, and was of the purity 
of 155, until nineteen ounce measures were 
absorbed. The remaining air was of the purity 
of 140, and contained tp parts fixed air. 

"The copper calcined in this operation was 
then revived, by heating it in forty-eight ounce 
measures of hydrogenous gas, from malleable 
iron, when eighteen ounce measures of the 
air disappeared. The remainder of the inflam- 
mable air contained no fixed air. 

"The revived metal was then melted in 
fifteen ounce measures of pure air, of the strength 
of 140, until eight ounce measures were absorbed. 
The remaining air was of the purity of 125, 
and contained tk parts fixed air. The calcined 
metal was again heated in forty-four ounce 
measures of hydrogenous gas, until sixteen 
ounce measures disappeared. The remaining 
air contained no fixed air." 



146 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

Other metals were experimented upon in a 
similar manner, when Woodhouse said: 

"When fixed air is generated by heating in 
pure air copper, which has been revived by 
inflammable air from the calx of copper . . . 
the only source of coal can be from particles 
of dust which accidently became mixed with 
the copper, and which it is difficult to exclude. 
The disinterested must decide whether this 
explanation is completely satisfactory." 

Other subjects of discussion were the effect 
of "hydrogenous gas" on fresh manganese, 
and upon that oxide remaining after the expul- 
sion of its "pure air." Again, he was successful 
in refuting the thought of Priestley. The 
effect of heating finery cinder in "carbonated 
hydrogenous gas" was another problem from 
which Woodhouse came victorious, bringing 
with him facts of great interest to all chemists. 
Thus the controversy proceeded with the honors 
falling in almost all instances upon the young 
American investigator. 



The controversial activity of Woodhouse 
must certainly have interested his students. 
They witnessed the experiments and doubtless 
discussed the various lines of argument. Only 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 147 

one, as far as can be learned indirectly, referred 
to the work. This hint has been already given 
on p. 123. For a portion of this period of storm 
and stress Robert Hare was under the tutelage 
of Woodhouse, but nowhere in his writings 
does one discover any reference to the subject 
which so completely absorbed the thought of 
his elders. Perhaps, his own devotion to the 
remarkable behavior of hydrogen and oxygen 
overshadowed all else. It was his effort to 
improve the ordinary blow-pipe which eventually 
culminated in the oxyhydrogen flame torch, 
but who knows but that his daily contact with 
hydrogen and oxygen, as they were handled 
by Woodhouse, may have been the unconscious 
force which prompted him to apply their use? 
However, the atmosphere about him and about 
all other American chemists was being quite 
rapidly filled with other ideas. Volta had 
evolved his battery. Dalton had just enun- 
ciated, among a wide circle of friends, his views 
relative to atoms and their combination with 
one another; and the various participants in 
the great struggle were strong in their convic- 
tions with reference to the soundness of the 
views of Lavoisier and his followers, so that 
interest in the stoutly maintained ideas of 
Priestley began to wane and contestants grad- 
ually directed their endeavors to other fields. 



148 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

At last, Priestley, weary of the contest, declares 
that he had become too old to wage further 
war, but that he thought there remained still 
some unsettled points, the explanation and 
elucidation of which he willingly assigned to 
his much younger and more aggressive antago- 
nist, who was so amply equipped for this final 
task. Thus practically ended the memorable 
contest which had extended itself through so 
many years. Woodhouse, however, appears 
to have been deeply stirred by Priestley's final 
declarations on "Phlogiston Established " and 
was averse to letting them pass without a final 
word from himself. Granting much to his 
adversaries, he continues steadfast in his early 
views, so that while his concluding document 
is somewhat lengthy it must be given inasmuch 
as it represents Woodhouse's final thoughts, 
and the results of numerous and tedious experi- 
ments. He styles the contribution an answer 
to Priestley's ideas on the doctrine of phlogiston, 
and the decomposition of water, but plainly 
aims to make his views as conclusive as possible 
by adding that what he announced was "founded 
upon demonstrative experiments/ ' He dis- 
cusses the subject by topics; thus, 

"1. Of the Constitution of Metals. 

"Dr. Priestley, in two publications, attacked 
that theory of chemistry, which is at present 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 149 

adopted by a large majority of chemists, in 
different parts of the world. 

"The doctor adheres to the doctrine of 
phlogiston, and believes that metals are com- 
pound bodies, formed of this substance and 
a peculiar base or calx. 

"On the contrary, the antiphlogistic chemists 
reject phlogiston. 

"First. Because it appears to be a mere 
creature of the imagination, whose existence 
has never been proved. 

"Secondly. Because all the phenomena of 
chemistry, can be satisfactorily explained, with- 
out the aid of this hypothesis. 

"They believe metals to be simple substances, 
because they have never been proved to be 
compound bodies. 

"They consider a metallic calx, to be a union 
of a metal and the base of a vital air, called by 
them oxygen, as it is the principle of universal 
acidity. The proofs that metals in being con- 
verted into calces, absorb oxygen, are, 

"First. That all calces of mercury give out 
oxygenous gas when exposed to a red heat, 
without any addition. 

"Secondly. If a metal is calcined in oxy- 
genous gas, the whole of it will be absorbed. 

" Thirdly. If the process of calcination is 
performed in a variety of gases, containing some 



150 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

oxygenous air, the oxygen only will be imbibed 
by the metal, and the others will be left un- 
altered. 

"Fourthly. If any substance is added to a 
metallic oxyd, and the calx is revived, a com- 
pound body will be produced, formed of the 
agent used and the oxygen contained in the calx. 

"Thus, if the filings of pure bar iron are 
mixed with red precipitate, and exposed to a 
red heat, the iron will be converted into a calx 
and the mercury will be revived. If pure 
charcoal is mixed with the precipitate, carbonic 
acid will be produced; and if the mercurial 
calx is revived in hydrogenous gas, water will 
be formed. 

"The first objection of Dr. Priestley, to this 
theory of the calcination of metals, is as follows : 

"He says, if turbith mineral is exposed to a 
red heat, a calx remains which cannot be revived 
in any degree of heat, without the aid of some 
substance, supposed to contain phlogiston. 
Before we proceed any further in this investi- 
gation, it is absolutely necessary to determine 
the real composition of turbith mineral. 

"According to the French philosophers, this 
substance is a pure oxyd of mercury. 

"Fourcroy and Baume declare, that it does 
not contain one particle of sulphuric acid. 
Dr. Priestley is doubtful whether it is a salt 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 151 

or a calx; and in the Edinburgh Dispensatory 
and London Pharmacoepia Chirurgica, it is 
called hydrargyrus vitriolatus flavus. 

"The following experiments were made, to 
ascertain the composition of this substance: 

"First. One ounce of pure turbith mineral 
was exposed to a red heat, in a long glass tube, 
which communicated with an hydropneumatic 
apparatus, when thirty-three ounce measures 
of oxygenous gas were obtained. Upon breaking 
the glass, a quantity of fluid mercury was found 
in the tube. Two drachms of the sulphate of 
mercury, of a white colour and a strong acrid 
taste, had sublimed on the sides of the glass. 
A part of the sulphate of mercury, was coloured 
by an immense number of minute particles of 
revived mercury, which gave it the appearance 
of mercurius cinereus. 

"Secondly. One ounce of turbith mineral, 
was boiled fifteen times, six hours each time, 
in half a pint of distilled water, which was 
renewed every time; and it could not be freed 
from the sulphuric acid, for the water always 
precipitated a solution of muriated barytes. 

" Thirdly. One ounce of turbith mineral 
was boiled three hours in a solution of caustic 
pot-ash, when it lost its yellow colour, and 
was converted into a calx of the colour of 
brick dust. Upon being dried it was found 



152 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

to have lost one hundred and sixty grains in 
weight. 

"The liquor in which it was boiled by sponta- 
neous evaporation in the open air, gave chrystals 
of vitriolated tartar. 

"These experiments were repeated with tur- 
bith mineral, made by precipitating a solution 
of the sulphate of mercury by pot-ash, with the 
same result. 

"They clearly prove, contrary to what has 
been advanced by Lavoisier, Monnet, Bucquet, 
Fourcroy, Chaptal and other French chemists, 
that turbith mineral, is not a pure oxyd of 
mercury, but contains sulphuric acid, and may 
be considered as a sulphate of mercury. 

"The reason that those gentlemen were 
deceived in regard to the composition of this 
substance must have been, either that they 
did not break the vessels in which their experi- 
ments were made, to discover any residuum, 
or from the circumstance, of obtaining oxy- 
genous gas from the turbith, equally as good as 
from any acknowledged calx of mercury. 

"The reason that turbith mineral yields 
oxygenous gas, when it is exposed to red heat, 
is, that the sulphuric acid quits one part of it 
and joins to another, which sublimes in the 
form of a white salt. That part which the 
sulphuric acid leaves, is converted into a calx, 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 153 

is revived without addition, and yields oxygenous 
gas. 

"Thus sulphate of mercury is the supposed 
calx to which Dr. Priestley refers. It is some- 
times obtained of a red colour, owing to some 
impure matter contained in the turbith mineral, 
which by depriving a part of the sulphuric 
acid of its pure air, converts it into sulphur, 
which uniting with part of the revived mercury, 
forms cinnabar, which gives the whole of the 
sublimed salt a red colour. 

"That it is a sulphate of mercury, we have 
an additional proof, from an experiment of 
Dr. Priestley, for he procured ethiops mineral, 
by heating this supposed calx in inflammable 
air, by means of a burning lens, which he could 
not have obtained from a pure calx of mercury, 
treated in the same manner. 

"The size of the vessel, in which turbith 
mineral is heated, will vary the result of the 
experiment. No residuum can be obtained 
by exposing it in a crucible to a red heat, for 
the whole of it flies away, and leaves only a 
mark on the bottom of the vessel. The same 
circumstance will take place, if a short glass 
tube is used. 

"Having thus determined, that the substance 
which remains after exposing turbith mineral 
to a red heat, is a neutral salt, coloured red by 



154 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

cinnabar, and not a metallic calx, we see that 
the first objection of Dr. Priestley, to the 
theory of the calcination of metals, adopted 
by the antiphlogistic chemists, loses all its 
force, for certainly it does not follow, that 
because the sulphate of mercury requires to be 
deproved of its sulphuric acid, before running 
mercury can be procured from it, that there- 
fore all mercurial calces require the addition 
of phlogiston, to be converted into mercury. 

"The second objection of Dr. Priestley, 
to the new theory of chemistry is, that when 
a metal is reduced to a calx, it throws out some- 
thing which forms phlogisticated air. He 
says, that when the focus of a burning lens, 
is thrown upon iron confined in atmospheric 
air, the dephlogisticated air is not merely sepa- 
rated from the phlogisticated air, but that the 
phlogiston from the iron, unites with the 
dephlogisticated air, and forms azotic gas. 

"In order to see if this assertion was just, 
the focus of the burning lens belonging to our 
society [Chemical Society of Philadelphia], which 
is eleven inches in diameter, was thrown upon 
ninety grains of the filings of bar iron, filed 
for the purpose, confined in thirty-two ounce 
measures of oxygenous gas, which had been 
well washed in lime water, and which was so 
pure, that nearly the whole of it was devoured 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 155 

by the test of nitrous air. Twenty -eight ounce 
measures of the pure air were absorbed by the 
iron, which was reduced to a calx. 

"The quantity of carbonic acid produced, 
which was formed by a small quantity of coal, 
which all iron of commerce contains, uniting 
to a part of the pure air, amounted to one 
ounce measure. 

"When the fixed air was absorbed by washing 
it in lime water, the remaining air was in no 
manner injured. 

"The focus of the lens was likewise thrown, 
upon sixty grains of the filings of copper, con- 
fined in sixteen ounce measures of oxygenous 
gas. Twelve ounce measures of the pure 
air were absorbed by the metal, which was 
converted into a calx. No carbonic acid or 
azotic gas was formed, and the remaining 
air was perfectly pure. These experiments 
prove, contrary to what has been said by 
Dr. Priestley, that when a metal, containing no 
foreign substance, is calcined in oxygenous gas, 
the pure air only is imbibed, no substance is emit- 
ted from the metal, and no azotic gas is formed. 

"2. Of the Solution of Iron in the Diluted 
Sulphuric and Muriatic Acids. 

"The next thing which engages the attention 
of Dr. Priestley, is the solution of iron, in the 
diluted sulphuric and muriatic acids. 



156 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

"The question to be decided is, whether the 
hydrogenous gas, which is produced, comes 
from the iron, or from the water which the 
acids contain. 

"The antiphlogistic chemists contend, that 
it comes from the water, for the following 
reasons : 

"First. If concentrated sulphuric acid is 
boiled upon iron filings, sulphurous gas is pro- 
duced, but no inflammable air, and the sul- 
phuric acid suffers a decomposition and a loss 
in weight. 

"Secondly. If the sulphuric acid is digested 
upon iron in the cold, it remains in a quiescent 
state, but the instant water is added, a violent 
action ensues, accompanied by a discharge of 
hydrogenous gas. 

"Thirdly. They believe that the hydro- 
genous gas comes from the water, because no 
inflammable air, can be produced from iron 
without water, and the hydrogenous gas obtained 
is in strict proportion to the water, which the 
acids contain. 

"Fourthly. They believe, water is decom- 
posed in dissolving iron in the diluted sul- 
phuric acid, that its oxygen calcines the metal, 
while the hydrogen escapes, and that the acid 
acts upon the calcined metal without being 
decomposed, for it will saturate as much alkali, 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 157 

after the process of solution, as it did before. 

"Fifthly. They prove that water is com- 
posed of oxygen and hydrogen. 

"Dr. Priestley's objection to this explanation 
is, that as one hundred parts of water, according 
to the advocates of the new system of chemistry, 
are composed of eighty-seven parts of oxygen 
and thirteen of hydrogen, which is nearly seven 
times as much of the former as of the latter, 
there must be a great deposition of oxygen 
somewhere, when iron is dissolved in diluted 
sulphuric acid, which he cannot discover. 

"He denies that it unites to the metal, and 
declares there is no addition of oxygen in the 
process, and consequently that there is no 
decomposition of water in the case. 

"That there is a quantity of oxygen, which 
unites to the metals, when dissolved in acids, 
I think can be easily proved. 

"In order to do this I will shew, that when 
pure metallic calces, which are acknowledged 
by Dr. Priestley to contain oxygen, are heated 
in hydrogenous gas, that the oxygen of the 
calces unites to the hydrogen and forms water, 
and that the disappearance of the inflammable 
air, is always in strict proportion to the pure 
air which the calces contain. 

"I will then prove that the calces of copper 
and iron, obtained from the sulphates of these 



158 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

metals by ammoniac, have this property of 
making large quantities of inflammable air 
disappear. The oxyds which are acknowledged 
to contain oxygen are mercury, lead and 
manganese. 

"The focus of the lens was thrown upon 
two drachms of red precipitate, confined in 
thirty-two ounce measures of hydrogenous gas, 
obtained from the sulphuric acid diluted with 
water and the filings of bar iron, which had 
been well washed in lime-water. Twenty- 
two ounce measures of the inflammable air 
disappeared, the mercury was revived and no 
carbonic acid gas was produced. The air 
which remained behind was not altered. 

"According to Dr. Priestley, fixed air should 
have been formed in this process, for he says, 
when any substance known to contain oxygen, 
is heated in inflammable air, fixed air is found, 
but this is not the case. 

"I agree with the Doctor, that carbonic 
acid gas will be obtained by reviving minium, 
or mercurius precipitatus per se in inflammable 
air, for these calces generally contain it, but if 
the minium be converted into massicot, no 
fixed air will be generated. 

"Here we have a strong proof of the position 
we are endeavouring to establish. 

"Two drachms of red lead, make twenty 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 159 

ounce measures of inflammable air disappear, 
when heated in it by the burning lens, but 
when converted into massicot, only eight ounce 
measures. 

"Now, if Dr. Priestley's theory was true, 
that the metal imbibed the air, massicot ought 
to absorb more inflammable air than minium, 
as it contains more lead than an equal weight of 
minium. 

"In making red lead into massicot, nothing 
but pure air with a small quantity of fixed 
air escapes, and the loss of the pure air is the 
true reason, that one calx of the same metal, 
will make more inflammable air disappear than 
another. 

"But we have still stronger proofs, to prove 
that our ideas on this subject are just. 

"The focus of the lens was thrown upon one 
drachm of the oxyd of manganese, confined 
in thirty ounce measures of hydrogenous gas, 
w T hen twenty-two ounce measures of the gas 
disappeared, and the metal was not revived. 
How then could the inflammable air have 
entered into its composition? 

"A quantity of the oxyd of manganese, 
was exposed to a red heat for three hours, and 
a part of its pure air was driven off, when upon 
throwing the focus of the lens upon one drachm 
of it confined in inflammable air, none of the 



160 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

air disappeared, whereas if this quantity of 
the oxyd, had not been exposed to a red heat, 
twenty-two ounce measures of the air would 
have vanished. 

"Some manganese was also precipitated from 
its solution, in the muriatic acid by ammoniac, 
and when fresh made it would never make any 
inflammable air disappear, when heated in it by 
the burning lens, but after being exposed a 
few days to the action of atmospheric air, one 
drachm of it made four ounce measures of 
inflammable air disappear. In all these cases 
we evidently see the operation of oxygen. 
Not knowing the exact quantity of pure air, 
which iron and copper absorbed, one drachm 
of the filings of bar iron were melted by the 
burning lens in oxygenous gas when twenty- 
six ounce measures were imbibed by the iron, 
and the same quantity of the filings of copper 
heated in the same manner gave an absorption 
of thirteen ounce measures. 

"One drachm of the precipitate of iron, 
from a solution of the sulphate of iron by 
ammoniac, was then heated in forty-six ounce 
measures of hydrogenous gas, when thirty-six 
ounce measures of the air disappeared. 

"The same quantity of the common rust 
of steel, and the carbonate of iron, obtained 
from green vitriol by a solution of mild pot-ash, 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 161 

and what Dr. Priestley calls a nitrated calx 
of iron formed by adding nitric acid to a calx 
of iron and exposing it to a red heat, when 
treated in the same manner, made exactly as 
much air vanish. 

"One drachm of the precipitate of copper, 
from a solution of blue vitriol by ammoniac, 
exposed to the action of the lens in hydro- 
genous gas, made eighteen ounce measures 
of the air disappear. 

"Here then are two metals, one of which 
the iron, absorbs twice as much oxygen, when 
melted in it, as the copper, and its calx follow- 
ing the same proportion when heated in hydro- 
genous gas, makes exactly twice as much of 
the air disappear. 

"After one drachm of the calx of iron, had 
made thirty-six ounce measures of inflammable 
air disappear, it was exposed to the action 
of the lens in oxygenous gas, when four 
ounce measures of the air were absorbed, 
and after this being again heated in hydro- 
genous gas, six ounce measures of the air 
vanished. 

"In all these experiments nothing but water 
was produced. The carbonic acid gas was not 
obtained, unless it previously existed in the 
calces. 

"It is not however denied, that fixed air 



162 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

may be generated by heating a pure metallic 
calx, in a particular kind of inflammable air. 
Thus it may be made by reviving red precipitate 
in hydrogenous gas, obtained from exposing 
the flowers of zinc and coal to a red heat, or 
from passing alcohol over red hot iron, but 
none will be procured from that made by the 
diluted sulphuric acid and malleable iron, or 
from that obtained by passing the steam of 
water over malleable iron. 

"Upon reviving three drachms of red pre- 
cipitate, in thirty-six ounce measures of hydro- 
genous gas, from the flowers of zinc and coal, 
which had been well washed in lime water, 
there was an absorption of only two ounce 
measures. 

"After the operation, there was a great 
production of carbonic acid gas. Water was 
not formed in this process, for the coal held 
in solution in the hydrogenous gas, had a 
stronger attraction to the pure, than to the 
inflammable air, and consequently fixed air 
was generated. 

"Had the same quantity of precipitate been 
revived in inflammable air, from malleable 
iron, upwards of thirty ounce measures of the 
air would have vanished. 

"Dr. Priestley, supposing that the inflam- 
mable air, or the phlogiston it contains, enters 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 163 

into the composition of metals, has made a 
calculation of the quantity of this air absorbed 
by an ounce of several of them. He calculates 
from the metal actually revived. According 
to him, one ounce of mercury absorbs three 
hundred and sixty-two ounce measures of hydro- 
genous gas. The quantity mentioned here, 
is far too great. One drachm of red precipitate, 
which contains more than fifty grains of mercury, 
makes twelve ounce measures of inflammable 
air disappear. 

"It is a difficult matter to be exact in this 
experiment, for some of the precipitate always 
disperses in reviving the mercury, and a part 
of the metal sublimes, and adheres to the 
sides of the vessel which is used. 

"As I believe, that when a metallic calx 
is heated in hydrogenous gas, the oxygen of 
the calx, unites to the hydrogen and forms 
water, I always calculate from the quan- 
tity of hydrogenous gas that disappears, 
from heating a given quantity of a calx in 
this air. 

"According to my experiments, one ounce 
of red precipitate, mercurius precipitatus per se, 
and the calx obtained by boiling a solution 
of caustic pot-ash in turbith mineral, makes 
112 ounce measures of inflammable air dis- 
appear, when heated in it by burning lens. 



164 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

Red Lead 88 

Massicot 82 

Litharge 82 

Manganese 192 

Copper 144 

Iron 288 

"Upon dissolving half a drachm of the 
precipitate of iron, which had made sixteen 
ounce measures of hydrogenous gas disappear, 
in diluted sulphuric acid, as much inflammable 
air was obtained, as two grains of the filings 
of malleable iron would have produced. 
According to this experiment, were I to cal- 
culate in the same manner as Dr. Priestley, 
I would say, that one ounce of bar iron absorbs 
3,840 ounce measures of inflammable air, but 
this quantity of the metal by solution in the 
sulphuric acid and water will yield no more 
than 365 ounce measures of hydrogenous gas. 

"If an ounce of mercury absorbs 362 ounce 
measures of inflammable air, it ought to give 
out this air when dissolved in an acid, or some 
substance into which it enters as a constituent 
part. But mercury revived from red precipitate 
by inflammable air, boiled in sulphuric acid 
gives sulphureous gas, and when added to 
nitric acid, nitrous air, neither of which con- 
tains inflammable air. 

"It should also exhibit some properties, 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 165 

when subjected to the action of chemical agents, 
different from that which is revived from a 
mercurial calx merely by an increase of its 
temperature, which is not the case; and if 
mercury absorbs inflammable air, that which 
is revived without addition, when heated in 
inflammable air should absorb some of it which 
it will not do. 

"It certainly is not probable, that an ounce 
of mercury containing more than twelve quarts 
of hydrogenous gas, should have the same 
external appearance, and exhibit the same 
chemical properties, as that which does not 
contain one particle of this air. 

"Dr. Priestley not only believes, that when 
red precipitate is heated in hydrogenous gas, 
the inflammable air enters into the metal, 
but that, the pure air of the metallic calx is 
diffused through the hydrogenous gas which 
remains behind. 

"As a proof of this he mentions an explosion, 
which happened from reviving red precipitate, 
in inflammable air. I have performed this 
experiment with different proportions of red 
precipitate, twenty times, and have never 
met with any accident (p. 140). 

"The inflammable air that Dr. Priestley used, 
must have been mixed with atmospheric air, 
or an explosion would not have happened. 



166 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

That the pure air of the metallic calx is not 
diffused through the inflammable air which 
remains behind, appears evident from the follow- 
ing circumstances. 

"If one drachm of red precipitate, is revived 
in sixteen ounce measures of hydrogenous gas, 
twelve ounce measures of the inflammable 
air will disappear, and the remaining four 
ounce measures, will not be diminished by the 
test of nitrous air. 

"This circumstance has happened in some 
of the experiments of Dr. Priestley. 

"Another objection brought forward by Dr. 
Priestley is, that if hydrogen be nothing more 
than a component part of water, it never would 
be produced, but in circumstances in which 
either water itself, or something into which 
water is known to enter is present. He tells 
us, that upon heating finery cinder together 
with charcoal, inflammable air is produced, 
though according to the new theory no water 
is concerned. 

"The antiphlogistic chemists never said, that 
hydrogenous gas could not be produced with- 
out water; for it is a constituent part of other 
bodies, as alcohol and ammoniac. 

"To ascertain the quantity of hydrogenous 
gas, afforded by charcoal and finery cinder 
exposed to a high degree of heat, an ounce of 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 167 

the scales of iron and the same quantity of 
charcoal, both reduced to a very fine powder, 
were separately exposed in covered crucibles, 
in an air furnace, well supplied with fuel, for 
five hours. They were then taken out of the 
fire, and mixed while red hot in a red hot iron 
mortar, triturated with a red hot pestle, formed 
of an iron ramrod, were poured upon a red 
hot piece of sheet iron, and instantly put into 
a red hot gun barrel, which was fixed in one 
of Lewis's black lead furnaces, and which com- 
municated with the worm of a refrigeratory, 
a part of a hydropneumatic apparatus. Imme- 
diately after luting one end of the gun barrel 
to the worm, one hundred and forty-ounce 
measures of inflammable air came over in 
torrents, mixed with one-tenth part of carbonic 
acid gas (p. 136). 

"This experiment has puzzled all the advo- 
cates of the antiphlogistic system, to whom 
it has been mentioned. Many consider it as a 
powerful blow at the new doctrine, and every 
person explains it in a different manner. 

"Dr. Priestley's theory of it is very unsatis- 
factory, for he says that the water from the 
finery cinder, uniting with the charcoal makes 
the inflammable air, at the same time that 
part of the phlogiston from the charcoal con- 
tributes to revive the iron. 



168 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

"This explanation will not do, for the iron 
is not revived, and it will not account for the 
production of carbonic acid. 

"By considering the scales of iron, as a com- 
bination of iron, oxygen and water, there will 
be no difficulty in the business. The finery 
cinder supplies the coal with water, which is 
decomposed; its oxygen unites with the coal 
and forms carbonic acid, while its hydrogen 
escapes, dissolves part of the coal, and forms 
the carbonated hydrogen gas. 

"The celebrated Mrs. Fulhame, a lady 
whom I am proud to quote on this occasion, 
is the only person I know, who seems properly 
impressed with the idea of the agency of water, 
in many chemical operations. This distin- 
guished lady, who is equally an example to 
her sex, and an ornament to science, has properly 
considered a metallic oxyd as a combination 
of a metal, oxygen and water. 

"There are other substances besides finery 
cinder, which mixed with coal and exposed 
to a red heat, yield hydrogenous gas and car- 
bonic acid, in large quantities. These airs 
may be obtained from the common rust of 
iron, or from any precipitate of iron, and coal 
which has ceased to yield air. They may 
also be procured from the flowers of zinc, and 
red-hot coal. 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 169 

"One drachm of the flowers of zinc and twelve 
grains of red hot coal, which had ceased to yield 
air, being exposed to a red heat gave forty- 
eight ounce measures of hydrogenous gas, every 
portion of which was mixed with some carbonic 
acid. 

"One drachm of the precipitate of zinc, from 
a solution of white vitriol by ammoniac, exposed 
to a red heat half an hour, when mixed while 
red hot, with red hot coal, which had ceased 
to yield air, gave fourteen ounce measures of 
inflammable air, mixed with carbonic acid. 

"The flowers and precipitate of zinc in these 
cases, supplied the coal with water which was 
decomposed. The metal was not revived. 

"3. Of Finery Cinder of the Scales of Iron. 

"The antiphlogistic chemists consider the 
scales, which blacksmiths strike off from red 
hot iron, to be iron partially oxygenated. 

"On the contrary, Dr. Priestley supposes, 
that when iron is heated in oxygenous gas, 
it parts with its phlogiston, and is converted 
into a substance resembling finery cinder, but 
he will not allow that the air which disappears 
in this process, is imbibed in the iron, but only 
the water which is its base, while the oxygenous 
gas, he says, always goes to form the fixed air 
which is found in the experiment. 

"He declares that the quantity of carbonic 



170 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

acid, is quite sufficient to take all the oxy- 
genous gas that disappears in this process. 

"That the Doctor's ideas are not just on 
this subject, we have the most conclusive 
evidence. 

"If half a drachm of the filings of bar iron, 
are melted in twenty ounce measures of pure 
air, thirteen ounce measures of the air will 
be absorbed by the iron, which will be con- 
verted into finery cinder. Half an ounce 
measure of carbonic acid gas will be produced. 

"Lavoisier tells us, if the iron is pure, no 
fixed air will be obtained; and certainly Dr. 
Priestley will not say, that thirteen ounce 
measures of oxygenous gas enter into the 
composition of half an ounce measure of fixed 
air, which must be the case if his theory is true. 

"Here then are twelve and a half ounce 
measures of pure air, which cannot be accounted 
for according to the system of Dr. Priestley, 
and when we see a substance produced, by 
melting iron in oxygenous gas, resembling 
the scales of iron in every property, and can- 
not account for the air which disappears but 
by supposing it is imbibed by the iron, can we 
hesitate to pronounce, that the scales of iron 
contain oxygen? 

"The Doctor likewise supposes, that if oxygen 
was lodged' in a calx of iron, it would dephlo- 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 171 

gisticate the muriatic acid which minium in- 
stantly does, and which we grant does not 
contain a third as much pure air as a calx of iron. 

"To determine if finery cinder would dephlo- 
gisticate the muriatic acid, four ounces of the 
acid, were distilled upon three ounces of the 
powdered scales of iron, without success. 

"An attempt was also made to dephlogisticate 
the acid, by distilling two ounces of the sulphuric 
acid, upon three ounces of common salt, and 
as much of the scales of iron, without effect. 
The quantity of oxygen contained in these 
scales, must have been several hundred 
measures. 

"These trials however do not invalidate 
anything which has been advanced by the 
antiphlogistic chemists, for the oxygenation 
of the muriatic acid, does not depend so much 
upon the quantity of pure air contained in a 
calx, as upon its readiness to give out this air 
to the acid; when the attraction between the 
oxygen and metal is greater than between the 
oxygen and the acid, the acid will not be oxy- 
genated. This is the case with iron. 

"A proof that the oxygenation of the muriatic 
acid, does not depend merely upon the quantity 
of oxygen contained in a calx is, that a drachm 
of manganese, which has been exposed several 
hours to a red heat, and parted with the greatest 



172 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

part of its pure air, will oxygenate the muriatic 
acid to a greater degree, than one ounce of 
mercurius cinereus, or the calx obtained by 
boiling caustic alkali upon turbith mineral, 
which contains thirty times as much pure air. 

"The Doctor likewise observes, if finery cinder 
was iron partially oxygenated, it would go on to 
attract more oxygen from the atmosphere, and 
in time be converted into a rust of iron. 

"In order to determine if finery cinder 
would attract oxygen, the focus of the lens 
was thrown upon a quantity of it, confined 
in pure air, which was not absorbed. 

"The steam of water was also passed over 
it for several hours, when red hot in an iron 
tube, but it suffered no alteration. 

"One ounce of it reduced to a fine powder, 
was exposed to the action of atmospheric air 
upwards of twelve months, and sprinkled with 
water several hundred times, and at the end 
of this time, was as free from rust, as when 
first exposed, while an ounce of iron filings 
moistened with water, were covered with rust 
in three days. 

"I acknowledge that finery cinder cannot 
be converted into rust, but cannot see in what 
manner this makes against the antiphlogistic 
system. When bar iron is converted into 
finery cinder, it parts with the small quantity 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 173 

of coal it contained, and absorbs oxygen and 
water. 

"The rust of iron differs from it materially, 
for it contains a portion of carbonic acid, and 
although the French chemists consider this 
preparation as a carbonate of iron, I do not 
think it is entitled to this appellation, for one 
ounce of it yields but four ounces of fixed air, 
whereas the same quantity of the precipitate 
from green vitriol by the common pot-ash 
of the shops, yields thirty-two ounce measures, 
and deserves this character with more propriety. 

"A strong proof that finery cinder contains 
oxygen is, that when it is heated in hydro- 
genous gas, it makes a large quantity of it 
disappear, and I have shewn, that when metallic 
calces are heated in this air, that the disappear- 
ance of the inflammable air, is always in strict 
proportion to the pure air which they contain. 

"4. Of Carbonic Acid or Fixed Air. 

"According to the advocates of the anti- 
phlogistic system, the carbonic acid or fixed 
air, is a combination of charcoal and oxygen. 
They are of this opinion for two reasons. 

"First. If charcoal be plunged in a vessel 
of oxygen gas, the whole of it will be consumed, 
and carbonic acid gas will be produced. 

"Secondly. It is well known, that all the 
calces of mercury may be reduced without any 



174 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

addition and will afford oxygenous gas, but if 
charcoal be mixed with them, the carbonic 
acid gas will be formed, and the charcoal will 
be consumed. 

"Dr. Priestley, in opposition to this opinion, 
declares, that large quantities of fixed air have 
been procured in his experiments, where neither 
charcoal nor anything containing it was con- 
cerned. 

"He says, when the purest malleable iron is 
heated in dephlogisticated air, a considerable 
quantity of fixed air is formed. He tells us, 
in the first edition of his works, that there is 
but a small portion of fixed air, formed in this 
process. 

"Four experiments were made to determine 
this question. 

"Melting by the burning lens, half a drachm 
of the filings of bar iron, filed for the purpose, 
in twenty-four ounce measures of oxygenous 
gas, which had been well washed in lime water, 
eleven ounce measures of the air were imbibed 
by the metal, and half an ounce measure of 
carbonic acid gas was produced. 

"One drachm of the same kind of filings, 
melted in thirty-six ounce measures of oxy- 
genous gas, gave one ounce measure; one 
drachm and a half, an ounce and the eighth 
of an ounce measure; and two drachms, one 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 175 

ounce and the sixth part of an ounce measure 
of carbonic acid gas. 

"One ounce of this iron in small pieces, 
dissolved the sulphuric acid and water, left a 
residuum of one-half grain of charcoal. 

"There was evidently then not a sufficient 
quantity of coal, contained in this iron, to 
account for the carbonic acid produced, by 
melting the iron in oxygenous gas, according 
to this analysis, which is certainly, not imperfect. 

"The inflammable air, produced by dis- 
solving bar iron, in diluted sulphuric acid, 
holds a portion of charcoal in solution, which 
is not easily detected, owing to the very small 
quantity of coal, being equally diffused through 
a large quantity of hydrogenous gas, for the 
portion of coal cannot be more than three 
grains, in three hundred and sixty-five ounce 
measures of inflammable air. 

"That the carbonic acid produced in this 
process, does actually proceed from the charcoal 
contained in the metal, we have the most con- 
clusive proofs, for the quantity of it obtained, 
is always in proportion to the coal obtained in 
iron. 

"Bar iron contains a very small quantity 
of coal, compared to cast iron, and by heating 
cast iron in hydrogenous gas, much more car- 
bonic acid may be produced than from bar-iron. 



176 JAMES ^WOODHOUSE 

"Dr. Priestley says, that the plumbago con- 
tained in iron, could not be disengaged from 
it in this process, and if it could, it would not 
yield the hundredth part of the fixed air that is 
produced. 

"The charcoal contained in plumbago, can 
certainly be disengaged from it with the greatest 
ease, for every particle of it, is exposed to a 
high degree of heat in oxygenous gas. 

"Two other arguments used by the Doctor, 
to prove that fixed air may be procured without 
charcoal, are: 

"That a great quantity of this kind of air, 
may be produced from heating a mixture of 
iron filings and red precipitate, or iron filings 
and turbith mineral. 

"Five attempts were made to obtain car- 
bonic acid gas, by exposing from half an ounce 
to an ounce of red precipitate, mixed with an 
ounce and two ounces, of the filings of bar iron, 
filed for the purpose, to a red heat, in a clean 
iron tube, without success. The mercury of 
the precipitate was revived, no air was obtained, 
and the iron was reduced to a calx. 

"Mixing five drachms of the same kind of 
filings, and as much turbith mineral, and expos- 
ing the whole to a red heat, the same result 
happened. 

"Having then recourse to cast iron half an 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 177 

ounce of red precipitate was mixed with an 
ounce of the borings of cannon, and thirty -two 
ounce measures of air were obtained, eleven 
of which were fixed, and twenty-one inflam- 
mable. 

"One ounce of this iron, without any red 
precipitate, exposed to a red heat, gave forty 
ounce measures of air, eight of which were 
fixed and thirty -two inflammable. 

"One ounce of these borings, dissolved in 
sulphuric acid and water, left a residuum of 
thirty-four grains, eighteen of which were coal 
and sixteen siliceous earth. 

"The carbonic acid gas obtained in these 
experiments, evidently proceeded from the coal, 
contained in the cast iron. 

"The Doctor also obtained carbonic acid, 
by heating the charcoal of copper in dephlo- 
gisticated air. This charcoal of copper is made 
by passing the steam of alkohol over red hot 
copper, and as it consists principally of carbon, 
which is one of the component parts of alkohol, 
no argument can be adduced from it, in support 
of his hypothesis. 

"He also supposes that the fixed air, pro- 
cured in animal respiration, is formed without 
charcoal, but as we feed upon vegetable sub- 
stances, which contain coal, the carbonic acid, 
thrown out of the lungs, must be formed of 



178 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

this coal, uniting to the pure air taken into 
this viscus in inspiration. 

"5. Of the Nitric Acid. 

"It is unnecessary to refer Dr. Priestley, 
to the experiments of various chemists, to 
prove that nitric acid is composed of oxygen 
and azote, as he must be well acquainted with 
everything that has been done upon this subject. 

"As the Doctor obtains this acid at pleasure, 
by decomposing by the electric spark, a mixture 
of oxygenous and hydrogenous gases, in the 
proportion of a little more than one measure 
of the former to two of the latter, he supposes 
that the acid is formed of these airs. But let 
us attend strictly, to what takes place in experi- 
ments of this kind. 

"Thirty-two ounce measures of oxygenous 
gas, obtained from red lead and sulphuric acid, 
and sixty-four ounce measures of hydrogenous 
gas, procured from the borings of cannon and 
diluted sulphuric acid, both of which had 
been well washed in lime water, were intro- 
duced into a copper tube, and decomposed 
by the electric spark. About one ounce of 
water, remained in the tube, which after the 
explosion, was filled with an immense number 
of fine particles of matter, and which being 
collected upon a filter and analyzed, turned 
out to be copper. 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 179 

"The water was of a pale blue color, and 
did not turn litmus paper red. Evaporated 
to dryness, it yielded one grain and a half 
of the nitrate of copper. 

"This experiment was repeated with the 
same kind of airs, and gave the same result. 

"Trying the hydrogenous gas from muriatic 
acid and zinc, and oxygenous gas, from red 
lead and sulphuric acid in the same propor- 
tions, no difference took place. 

"Increasing the quantity of oxygenous gas to 
forty ounce measures, and reducing the hydro- 
genous gas to fifty-six ounce measures,and ex- 
cluding the water, nitrous acid was produced. 

"Repeating this experiment over distilled 
water, with the same quantity of oxygenous 
gas, obtained from red precipitate, and hydro- 
genous gas from malleable iron and diluted 
sulphuric acid, the same quantity of nitrous 
acid was produced, and no muriatic acid was 
formed, as appeared by the acid not precipi- 
tating a solution of silver in nitric acid. 

"Introducing into the tube, thirty-two ounce 
measures of azotic gas, forty of oxygenous gas, 
obtained from the sulphuric acid and man- 
ganese, and twenty-four of hydrogenous gas, 
from malleable iron by the diluted sulphuric 
acid, the quantity of nitric acid did not appear 
to be increased. 



180 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

"Repeating the experiment with sixteen ounce 
measures of azotic gas, fifty-six of oxygenous 
gas from red precipitate, and twenty-four of 
hydrogenous gas, from malleable iron and 
the diluted sulphuric acid, the greatest quantity 
of nitric acid was produced. 

"The acid obtained in any of these experi- 
ments, was not equal to three grains of con- 
centrated nitric acid, consequently the theory 
of Dr. Priestley must be wrong, for it is not 
probable, that fifty-six ounce measures of oxy- 
genous gas, enter into the composition of three 
grains of nitric acid. 

"The Doctor is certainly right when he says, 
if phlogisticated air be purposely introduced 
into the mixture of dephlogisticated and inflam- 
mable air, it will not be affected by the process. 
It is necessary, however, to have regard to the 
quality and proportion of the oxygenous and 
hydrogenous gases; when these airs are pure, 
and contain no azotic gas, which is scarcely 
ever the case, water only will be formed. When 
azotic air is mixed with them, which it almost 
always is, that part of the oxygen, which does 
not unite to the hydrogen gas and form water, 
joins with the azotic gas and forms the nitric acid. 

"When carbonated hydrogen gas is used, 
carbonic acid, water and nitric acid will be 
generated. 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 181 

"That inflammable air does not enter into 
the composition of nitric acid is evident, for 
none of it, nor anything into which it enters, 
as a constituent part, can be procured from 
the nitric acid, nor any combination of this 
acid with alkalies, earths or metals. 

"On the other hand, nitric acid may be 
separated into its elementary parts, oxygenous 
and azotic gas; and if the acid was composed 
of pure and inflammable air, it could be made 
by heating red precipitate in inflammable air. 

"Mr. Keir who analyzed the liquor obtained 
by Dr. Priestley, from the explosion of pure 
and inflammable air, supposed that the muriatic 
acid was always generated along with the 
nitrous. 

"As no muriatic acid was obtained in my 
experiment, when made over distilled water, 
it is probable that Dr. Priestley filled his tube 
with pump water, containing sea salt, or that 
the water of his hydropneumatic tube con- 
tained some marine acid. 

"I cannot conclude this dissertation, without 
acknowledging my obligations to Dr. Priestley, 
for his polite attention in shewing me a variety 
of experiments, when at his house in North- 
umberland, and for the instruction derived 
from reading his very valuable dissertation, 
on different kinds of air. 



182 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

"Although I do not agree with the Doctor, 
in the theory which he has adopted, yet I con- 
ceive his entrance, on that branch of philosophy, 
denominated pneumatic chemistry, will ever 
be considered, as marking an era in the science. " 



This "last dissertation" is practically a 
resume of all that Woodhouse offered at various 
times. It may almost be regarded as the final 
word on the subject of the contention. The 
declining years of Priestley demanded a cessation 
of hostilities (p. 148), and all others were abun- 
dantly satisfied on the points at issue; so the 
subject ceased to occupy any space in the 
journals of that time. 

Of Priestley one writer has said: "Thus was 
the ingenious man effectually entangled in his 
errors, his ingenuity helping him to deceive 
himself by evading the force of truth. To 
err is human. If Priestley saw through a 
glass darkly, and but dimly discerned the truth, 
he at least strove, so far as in him lay, to reach 
the light. Posterity forgives, and may well 
forget, his errors in grateful recognition of the 
many noble services he rendered to our common 
humanity, and in humbling recollection of the 
suffering and sacrifice with which those services 
were requited." 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 183 

To Woodhouse chemists of America owe a 
debt of gratitude for all that he did in order 
that the newer doctrine might prevail in this 
land. As Klaproth (p. 119) led the German 
scientists away from that strange entity, phlo- 
giston, so did Woodhouse guide his contem- 
poraries and the rising generation of American 
chemists into the true path. His efforts, crude 
when judged in the superior knowledge of the 
present, were however the rungs of the ladder 
by which chemistry mounted to its present 
lofty position in our Republic. The services 
of Woodhouse will not perish, though they may 
be forgotten in the great mass of chemical 
discoveries made since he gave himself so 
completely to the tasks he had assumed. His 
place becomes truly unique among American 
chemists and he will always be held in loving 
remembrance as a worthy pioneer in American 
chemistry. Now, however, the time has arrived 
to follow him for awhile along other lines. 

In glancing through a collection of old Uni- 
versity letters, attention was arrested by one, 
addressed to the Trustees, from Woodhouse, 
Dean of the Medical School. It bore the 
date, March 2, 1802, and suggested as its main 
purpose that the medical professors would 
find it agreeable, no one objecting, to examine 
all candidates for medical honors on the twelfth 



184 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

of that month, and then came the paragraph 
of paramount interest in this story. It read: 

"Contemplating a voyage to London, to 
collect information relating to the Arts, and 
to make a collection of Fossils (minerals), I 
request leave of absence from the Commence- 
ment. ... I shall return to Philadelphia, 
before the month of November." 

This visit was fraught with much value to 
him. He made it a point to meet Davy and 
other prominent English chemists, as well 
as to devote a portion of his time to Paris 
and its savants. 

With these he established most cordial rela- 
tions and profited much. That he favorably 
impressed all with whom he came in contact, 
was everywhere conceded. Silliman mentions 
that "just before leaving London, in November, 
1805, I visited again the Royal Institution 
under the introduction of Mr. Accum, who had 
formerly been assistant operator to Professor 
Davy. My principal object was to see that 
celebrated man, whom we found in his labora- 
tory in the basement of the building (in 
Albemarle Street) beneath the lecture room 
. . .," and adds that Davy made cordial 
inquiry about Dr. Woodhouse, "who was here 
in 1802." It will be recollected that Silliman 
had joined the ranks of Woodhouse's students 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 185 

late in 1802, and in his diary notes that Wood- 
house "had just returned from London, where 
he had been with Davy and other prominent 
men. He brought with him a galvanic battery 
of Cruikshank's construction . . . the first I 
had ever seen . . . but as it contained only 
fifty pairs of plates, it produced little effect." 
A fact of still greater moment to chemists — 
particularly American chemists — is that on 
this sojourn to Paris and London, Woodhouse 
took occasion to address the editor of Nicholson's 
Journal: 

"Pater Noster Row, May 27, 1802. 
"Sir, 

"I enclose for the Philosophical Journal, the results of 
various experiments, made in Philadelphia in the year 
1801, upon the seeds, leaves, etc. of a variety of plants, 
which seem to prove, that growing vegetables, contrary to 
an opinion almost universally adopted, do not purify 
atmospherical air; and that whenever they appear to afford 
oxygenous gas, it is by devouring the coal of carbonic 
acid for food, and leaving its oxygen in the form of 
pure air." 

Priestley and Ingenhouz had announced at 
various times "the property of vegetables 
growing in the light to correct impure air." 
This had been seriously doubted by Wood- 
house who by a series of bold and well-devised 
experiments, as elaborately communicated in 



186 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

the communication to Nicholson, to which 
reference has just been made, contends that 
plants in growing and seeds in germinating 
do not purify the air we breathe; but when- 
ever they appear to afford oxygen, it is by 
devouring the coal of the carbonic acid gas 
for food, and leaving its oxygen in the form 
of pure air. He also made experiments on the 
effects produced by leaves of plants in air, 
impregnated with carbonic acid gas, and exposed 
to sunlight; the carbonic acid disappeared, 
and the "oxygenous" gas increased. "And 
from trials made with the fresh leaves of many 
different plants, exposed in sunshine in pump- 
water, Schuylkill water, and this latter charged 
with carbonic acid," he is confirmed in the 
same conclusion. Hence Woodhouse felt justi- 
fied in denying that vegetables either decompose 
water, emit oxygen, or absorb azote, "as has 
been sometime the fashion to believe." 

The Woodhouse communication is character- 
ized by an abundance of experimental data. 
It must have been most convincing to all 
who perused it. To indicate the mode of 
procedure a brief quotation may find place here. 

"On July 8, 1801, the day a little hazy, 
although the sun shone constantly, the leaves 
of Seriodendra tulipisiera, Cercis canadensis, 
Tilia Americana, Salix babylonica, Polygonium 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 187 

persicarie, Phytolacca decandria, Platarius occi- 
dentalis, Allea rosea, Helianthus annus, Amyg- 
dalus persica, Conferva fontenalis, Zea maiz, 
Acer Glaucium were immersed in Schuylkill 
River water, impregnated with four quarts 
of the water, saturated with carbonic acid 
gas, from carbonate of lime and the sulphuric 
acid. The leaves produced in this menstruum 
seventy-seven drachm measures of oxygenous 
gas, of a very high degree of purity, whereas 
the leaves of the same plants, separately exposed 
in forty ounce measures of the water of the 
river alone, produced about ten drachm measures 
of an air, the principal part of which was 
azotic gas." 

Even at this remote date these endeavors 
of Woodhouse are worthy of sympathetic study. 
He shows in all of them his power as an experi- 
menter. His devotion to experimentation was 
contagious. His associates could not fail to 
imitate him, or else cease criticism because 
of lack of facts. 

In this experimental undertaking there is 
every proof of Woodhouse's ability. He was 
a quiet but forceful leader. He possessed the 
originative faculty and applied it unstintedly. 

Having practically silenced all opposition 
to the French views on combustion, on the 
composition and decomposition of water, he 



188 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

again appears as a victorious contender in 
still another subtle problem which also reveals 
him as one very familiar with the science of 
botany. There is every evidence that he 
had been broadly trained, and brought to 
his several tasks a mind open, but provided 
with that wide knowledge which is so essential 
for the real investigator. Though young, 
compared with his foremost competitors, he 
was blest with unusual gifts, and best of all 
used them, despite the derogatory words of 
such men as Caldwell who said he was "phleg- 
matic and saturnine . . . displaying . . . the 
crotchets, which characterize genius." Per- 
haps in the last analysis the best answer to 
such remarks was that the success attained 
by Woodhouse was assured. His record remains 
unsullied, and in minutest details may be 
scrutinized with satisfaction and pride. 

To digress for a moment, it is scarcely neces- 
sary to remind chemists of the intense excite- 
ment which prevailed in 1807 on the isolation 
of the metals, potassium and sodium, by Davy, 
using the Voltaic current. In this country 
also a profound impression was made by the 
discovery. It is known that efforts, with 
electricity as agent, were instituted to solve 
a number of other problems. These, however, 
do not belong here. The preceding facts have 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 189 

been alluded to for the purpose of directing 
the reader's attention to the way in which 
these two new metals had been obtained, and 
to add that in the year following (1808) history 
reports their separation from the alkaline bases 
by Gay-Lussac and Thenard, on exposing these 
bodies to a white heat. Curaudau accomplished 
the same thing by substituting carbon for 
iron. It is remarkable that in the same year 
(1808) James Woodhouse observed, on expos- 
ing a half pound of soot in powder, mixed 
with two pounds of pearlash, in a covered 
crucible, to the intense heat of an iron-furnace, 
for two hours, that he got a mass which, when 
cold, was emptied upon a plate and when it 
was covered with a small quantity of cold 
water, "immediately caught fire." In the 
course of his remarks, relative to the behavior 
of the mass, he asked, "could it be due to the 
peculiar metal, which Professor Davy has 
discovered?" Again he got the metal by 
employing potash. Here, then, in the New 
World was a student liberating potassium, 
by an entirely novel method, for it is certain 
that Woodhouse was unacquainted with the 
discoveries of Gay-Lussac and Thenard, and 
that of Curaudau. Their publications could 
not have reached him at the time he reported 
his experiences. Nowhere in chemical litera- 



190 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

ture is credit given Woodhouse for this dis- 
covery. Thomas Cooper who came out to 
America with Priestley, living with him for 
awhile, on one occasion wrote his son-in-law, 
Dr. Manners, of Philadelphia, that he knew 
of Woodhouse's isolation of potassium. It 
may be argued that Woodhouse did not realize 
the significance of his experiment, and did 
not recognize his potassium as such. If this 
was true at first, he did later certainly com- 
prehend the problem in all its phases, and 
therefore deserves honor equally with Gay- 
Lussac, and Thenard, as well as with Curaudau. 
In fact it was his method which Brunner subse- 
quently employed to get potassium, a method 
on which Robert Hare wrote rather extensively 
and which in many points he decidedly 
improved. To go further, it was the method 
especially applied by Berzelius and Wohler; 
and was continued for years to obtain large 
quantities of the metal. Pains are here taken 
to disclose this piece of Woodhouse's work 
that due recognition may be accorded him. 
It should be a matter of pride and joy to 
American chemists. True, it is another instance, 
where the real originators of methods or dis- 
coverers are overlooked in the haste with which 
work is sometimes done. It is a late day 
to speak of all this, but there is no desire to 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 191 

detract from the work of any others, it being 
merely desired to record Woodhouse's activities 
as fully, carefully and truthfully as possible. 

It seems even more proper to emphasize this 
observation in the light of the keen interest 
displayed at that time by scientists throughout 
the world, which is quite clearly set forth 
in an article dated Paris, March 4, 1808. It 
was from the pen of Professor Frederick Hall 
of Vermont, who addressed it to the editor 
of the Philadelphia Medical and Physical Journal, 
Vol. 3, p. 7. It reads: 

" I have lately received a letter from Sir 
Charles Blagden, formerly secretary of the 
Royal Society of London, in which he gives 
an account of an important chemical discovery, 
which Mr. Davy, a lecturer in the Royal Insti- 
tution, has recently made. This indefatigable 
professor has, by means of Volta's galvanic 
pile, discovered the bases of potash and soda. 
'He has obtained them, separately, 5 says Sir 
Charles, 'and they look like metals, both in 
their solid and fluid form. They also combine 
with metals, preserving their metallic appear- 
ance. With oxygen they recompose potash 
and soda/ 

"The French chemists, with eagerness, caught 
this intelligence, repeated the necessary experi- 
ments, and found a result similar to that of 



192 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

Mr. Davy. Messrs Thenard and Gay-Lussac, 
two of the most persevering and distinguished 
chemists of the age, have continued to torture 
these substances in a variety of ways, and 
have, at length, learned that they can be 
decomposed by a chemical process, without 
the aid of galvanism. The decomposition is 
effected by combining these alkalies with carbon 
and iron, by means of a very high temperature. 
From a combination of carbon and potash 
or soda, results a black mass, which suddenly 
inflames when placed in contact with the air, 
or plunged into water. The metal is obtained 
perfectly pure, when iron is employed instead 
of carbon. 

"Messrs. Thenard and Gay-Lussac have 
already submitted the metal to a number of 
interesting trials, the success of which will 
soon be made public. Much is expected 
from their labours; and indeed, it is generally 
believed, here, that this discovery will gradually 
lead to others of equal, and perhaps, superior 
importance. As the metals of potash and 
soda can now be easily procured, in abundance, 
the relations, which they sustain to other sub- 
stances, will undoubtedly be made the subject 
of chemical investigation. 

"It is Mr. Davy's opinion, 'that all the 
different earths consist of bases of a peculiar 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 193 

metallic nature, having a very strong affinity 
for oxygen, by uniting with which, they form 
those earths respectively.' He believes that 
he has already made visible, by the assistance 
of galvanism, the basis of the one called barytes. 
"I make this communication, Sir, in hope 
that the subject may be sufficiently interesting 
to engage you, and other philosophers on your 
side the Atlantic, to unite your labours with 
those of the English and French in this new 
field of physical inquiry." 



Having followed Woodhouse in his wrestlings 
with the problems presented by phlogiston; 
in his interesting experiences in discovering 
what plants do in the way of purifying air; 
and lastly having looked in upon his highly 
novel way of setting potassium free from its 
hydroxide, the remainder of his experiences 
cannot fail to attract even more strongly. 

He had established himself firmly in the 
affections of his colleagues and students, who 
realized the earnestness with which he devoted 
himself to the problems chosen for study; 
and they had all confidence in the results sub- 
mitted by him to the public. 

Great quantities of oxygen were needed 
in the many experiments executed by Wood- 



194 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

house. He recommended two methods for the 
preparation of it. Speaking of the expense 
attending the use of potassium chlorate as 
a real drawback he said, "turbith mineral, 
on which a solution of potash has been boiled 
to free it from sulphuric acid, which cannot 
be separated by water alone, affords oxygen 
gas in a state of purity equal to that derived 
from the oxy-muriate of potash (KC10 3 ). One 
ounce of oxide of mercury prepared in this 
way and submitted to a red heat in an iron tube, 
yielded forty cubic inches of oxygenous gas." 

A second procedure consisted in digesting 
finely divided manganese peroxide with diluted 
sulphuric acid, "when oxygenous gas was 
obtained in an equal state of purity with the 
oxide of mercury, or the oxy-muriate of potash." 
These methods were given wide publicity in 
the home and foreigp journals. Doubtless 
this may be explained on the basis of the 
excessive price of chlorate which was prohibi- 
tive. How differently chemists are now situ- 
ated! The desired oxygen may be had in 
any amount by any one of three or four excel- 
lent methods. Indeed, something has been 
accomplished in the one hundred and twenty 
years since Woodhouse was compelled to give 
attention to this subject ! 

It has already been stated (p. 185) that upon 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 195 

Woodhouse's return from England he brought 
with him a Cruikshank battery and that this 
gave him a decided distinction. Colleagues 
from all sections were desirous of seeing it. 
It also impressed his students greatly. And 
who can say but that a study of it, with the 
results from it before his eyes, was not an 
incentive to Robert Hare in his efforts to 
improve the Volta cell, and give eventually 
to the world his calorimotor and then the 
deflagrator; for after all it was under Wood- 
house's supervision and guidance that Hare, 
and to some degree Silliman, were initiated 
into their scientific careers. It was said of 
Davy, that probably his greatest discovery 
was Faraday; would it be too much to assert 
of Woodhouse that his greatest discovery was 
Robert Hare? 

The use of the Cruikshank battery by Wood- 
house might well be expected to have led him 
to endeavor to inaugurate, by means of it, 
lines of inquiry, but there is only a single 
instance preserved among his papers which 
shows anything of this kind. It is a paper 
"on galvanic experiments/' Some of the facts 
are briefly that: 

"The doctor having placed a quantity of 
mercury in a plate, covered it to the depth of 
an inch, with distilled water. 



196 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

"He then introduced an iron wire, connected 
with the copper pole, of an apparatus, formed 
of sixty plates of copper and zinc, four inches 
square, into the mercury, and immersed the 
other wire, applied to the zinc pole, into the 
water, so as to bring it as nearly as possible 
in contact with the mercury, without touching it. 

"Immediately a constant stream of vivid 
and intense light, issued from the end of the 
wire, which could be kept up any length of 
time. 

"It was accompanied with a hissing noise, 
and an oxidation of the iron. 

"The light produced from wires of platina, 
gold, silver, copper, zinc and tin, and from the 
zinc and copper poles, and was visible in sper- 
maceti oil, oil of turpentine, spirit of wine, 
sulphuric acid, carbonic acid gas, azotic air, 
nitrous gas and pure inflammable air, when 
placed over mercury. 

"It was not greater in oxygen air, than in 
carbonic acid gas, and was of the colour of the 
electric light. 

"When a piece of fine iron wire, half an inch 
in length, was laid upon the mercury, covered 
with water, and the copper pole wire was 
immersed in mercury, and the zinc pole wire 
was introduced into the water over the wire, 
it was repelled with great velocity, and the 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 197 

whole of the mercury was violently agitated, 
and when any light substances were found 
swimming on its surface, they were dispersed 
in all directions. 

"By means of gold wires, placed in a solu- 
tion of pure caustic potash, or of the pearl ash 
of the shops, Woodhouse obtained five cubic 
inches of oxygen and hydrogen gas, of a high 
degree of purity, in fifteen minutes; whereas 
pump-water, tried under the same circum- 
stances, for the same time, yielded but a fourth 
of a cubic inch of these airs, contaminated with 
forty per cent azotic gas. 

"The agent Woodhouse used, to excite the 
galvanic influence, which had never been tried 
in Europe, was a solution of the sulphate of 
copper or blue vitriol. It acted in the same 
manner as the nitric or sulphuric acids, by 
giving oxygen to the zinc, but was preferable 
to them, as it did not produce either nitrous 
air or hydrogen gas. 

"He considered the galvanic influence, as 
depending altogether upon oxygen, without 
which it could not be produced." 

It is just possible that these observations 
were in consequence of a letter which Mr. 
W. H. Pepys, Jr., of London wrote Woodhouse 
in these words: 

"We have been extremely interested lately, 



198 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

with some galvanic experiments made by Mr. 
Humphrey Davy. 

"The negative or the positive end of the 
trough of Cruickshank, has the power of com- 
pletely decomposing all chemical compounds, 
solid or fluid. 

"The method of making those on solids, 
is by drilling two holes in two pieces of sulphate 
of lime or plaister of Paris. For instance, 
they are placed upright, filled with distilled 
water and the positive gold wire is put in one, 
and the negative gold wire in the other: a 
syphon or communication is then made between 
the two, by a piece of fibrous gypsum or 
asbestos. 

"In a few minutes by the test papers, an 
acid is found in one and an alkali in the other. 
The experiment being continued, gives sul- 
phuric acid in one, and a solution of lime in 
the other. The acids arranging themselves 
on the positive side, while the alkalies and 
metallic oxides go to the negative. 

"Metallic wire not oxidable, and pure 
distilled water should be used to have the 
effect. 

"Some of the decompositions are attended 
with deflagrations, as the concentrated nitrate 
of ammoniac. Gold cones or cups, containing 
about eight or ten drops of solution, with an 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 199 

asbestos syphon, are extremely useful for these 
experiments/ 5 



Association with Davy, it would be thought, 
would have prompted Woodhouse, on his return 
from England to try the exhilarating effects of 
nitrous oxide. Its properties could not have 
failed to be the subject of comment when 
Davy and he were together, or when Wood- 
house was in the company of other chemists. 
It is scarcely conceivable that he could have 
escaped Davy's enthusiasm. "Having inhaled 
the gas himself to learn whether it would 
increase his stock of divine afflatus, Davy 
advised his friends, Southey and Coleridge 
that he walked amidst the scenery of the 
Avon, rendered exquisitely beautiful by bright 
moonshine and with a mind, filled with pleasur- 
able feelings, breathed the gas and indited the 
following effusion: 

"Not in the ideal dreams of wild desire 

Have I beheld a rapture-awakening form; 
My bosom burns with no unhallowed fire, 
Yet is my cheek with my blushes warm, 
Yet are my eyes with sparkling lustre filled; 

Yet is my mouth replete with murmuring sound; 
Yet are my limbs with inward transport filled, 
And clad with new-born brightness around." 



200 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

"Whether Davy ever again essayed to tempt 
the Muse when under the influence of nitrous 
oxide is doubtful." 

Silliman narrates that " Woodhouse attempted 
to exhibit the exciting effects of Davy's nitrous 
oxide, but failed for want of a sufficient quantity 
of gas, and the tubes were too narrow for com- 
fortable respiration." He then proceeds to 
recount: "An amusing occurrence which hap- 
pened one day in the laboratory. Hydrogen 
gas was the subject, and its relation to life. 
It was stated that an animal confined in it 
would die; and a living hen was, for the experi- 
ment, immersed in the hydrogen gas, with 
which a bell-glass was filled. The hen gasped, 
kicked, and lay still. c There, gentlemen/ 
said Woodhouse, 'y° u see she is dead;' but 
no sooner had the words passed from his lips, 
than the hen with a struggle overturned the 
bell-glass, and with a loud scream flew across 
the room, flapping the heads of the students 
with her wings, while they were convulsed 
with laughter." 

From Woodhouse himself, relative to the 
effects of nitrous oxide, came this printed state- 
ment: 

"In the year 1802, 1 prepared a large quantity 
of the nitrous oxide or dephlogisticated air, 
from the nitrate of ammoniac, made by decom- 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 201 

posing nitre, by the sulphate of ammoniac, 
and by adding the nitric acid to sal ammoniac. 

"A great number of gentlemen, belonging 
to my chemical class, who intended to breathe 
the gas, were present in the morning, when 
I was filling my air-holders with it, and saw 
all the operations going forward. 

"In the afternoon, being alone at my labora- 
tory, at two o'clock the air was examined, 
and found to be extremely impure, having 
made use of too great a degree of heat in generat- 
ing it. 

"Expecting the gentlemen at three o'clock, 
the impure air was thrown away, and the air 
holders filled with atmospheric air. 

"This air was breathed by a variety of persons, 
under the impression that it was nitrous oxide, 
and the greater part of them were affected 
by quickness of pulse, dizziness, vertigo, tinnitus 
aurium, difficulty of breathing, anxiety about 
the breast, &c." 

"The following is a letter received from 
one of the gentlemen: 

'The nitrous oxide produced no sensible 
effect, for perhaps the space of a minute after 
I began to respire it. Soon after I was affected 
with a tinnitus aurium, which affected the 
sense of hearing, in the same manner as water, 
in a state immediately preceding ebullition 



202 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

does. At the same time I had a sensation 
similar to that produced by swinging; after- 
wards a difficulty of breathing gradually came 
on, which at length necessitated me to dis- 
continue the respiration of the air. The 
difficulty of breathing and the tinnitus then 
soon subsided, but the peculiar sensation in 
my breast, continued sometime longer, which 
was succeeded by slight nausea, which con- 
tinued six or eight hours.' 

"A short account of the effects of the 
atmospheric air was sent to Dr. Mitchill of 
New York, who published it in the fifth volume 
of the Medical Repository. 

"For many years after this, not finding 
the experiments of Mr. Humphrey Davy on 
this subject, confirmed by other chemists, 
I believed that the influence of the imagination, 
caused all the effects ascribed to the nitrous 
oxide. 

"In the winter of 1806, having prepared a 
quantity of this gas, extremely pure, from 
the nitrate of ammoniac, made by a direct 
combination of the nitric acid and the carbonate 
of ammoniac; two quarts of it were adminis- 
tered to Mr. Henry Latrobe, fourteen years 
of age, who breathed it in a very fair manner. 
In a minute he was most violently affected. 
He walked up and down the laboratory with 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 203 

a quick step, elevating his legs, then suddenly 
throwing them down on the earth. He rubbed 
his hands rapidly over each other, and laughed 
immoderately and convulsively. The tears 
rolled down his cheeks in large drops, and 
he frothed at the mouth. 

"Witnessing these effects, and knowing the 
impossibility of counterfeiting such symptoms, 
I immediately resolved to try the effects of the 
gas on other persons. 

"Doses of two and four quarts were always 
administered. 

"Mr. J. D. McClean upon breathing the 
gas, fainted and recovered in about three 
minutes. 

"Mr. George Thornton looked wild, jumped 
over a high railing, and the effect suddenly 
ceased. 

"Mr. Martin raised his hands over his head 
and jumped about the room. 

"Mr. Pope placed his arms a-kimbo, and 
surveyed the audience with great contempt. 

"Mr. William Barton was very much 
deranged. He ran about the laboratory, bel- 
lowed like a mad bull, and struck at every 
person near him. A week after, the gas being 
administered to him a second time, produced 
the same effect. He felt an increase of strength, 
after recovering from the effects of the air. 



204 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

It was with great difficulty that I could remove 
the mouth piece of the bladder from his mouth. 

"Mr. N. S. Allison fainted, but recovered 
in a few minutes. Upon breathing the air seven 
days afterward the same effect was produced. 

"Mr. Thomas Prioleau exclaimed, 'I am in 
heaven, ye gods, stars, comets, meteors, 
Mohamet's jackass, the Elysian fields are hell 
compared with this/ and then fainted. 

"Mr. Robert Patterson was affected with 
violent laughter. 

"Mr. Samuel Jackson in the same manner. 

"Mr. Peter Curtis laughed very heartily. 

"A week after, having a large air holder, 
filled with atmospheric air, standing along side 
of two others containing nitrous oxide, the 
atmospheric air was given to him, but it pro- 
duced no effect. 

"Mr. Gerard Snowden fainted, but soon 
recovered. 

"Mr. William Handy laughed and fainted. 

"Mr. William Tyler fainted and recovered 
in four minutes. Seven days after, breathing 
the air a second time, the same effect was 
produced. 

"Mr. Cornelius Dupont laughed and fainted. 

"Baron John de Bretton experienced pleasur- 
able sensations. 

"Mr. Benjamin Kugler laughed; upon giving 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 205 

him atmospheric air a week afterwards, he 
was not affected. 

"Mr. Thomas Lewis was much enraged. 
He caught me by the collar, pulled at my cravat, 
tore my coat, ran about the room and struck 
at every person near him. 

"Mr. Evans breathed atmospheric air; it 
produced no effect. 

"Mr. Wheaton after taking four quarts of 
the nitrous oxide into his lungs, was beginning 
to be affected; he cried out in a very rapid 
manner, 'Give me another bottle, give me 
another bottle/ 

"The gas was tried upon fifteen other persons, 
without producing any effect. Some of them 
breathed it in a very fair manner; others were 
much frightened, and mixed it with the air 
of the atmosphere. 

"I am not perfectly convinced, that the 
gas produces all the effects ascribed to it, by 
the justly celebrated Mr. Humphrey Davy, 
who first took it into his lungs; and I am 
happy in having this opportunity, of confirming 
his experiments/ 5 

It may not be out of place to include here 
an experience with this gas, transmitted by an 
early student of the old Philadelphia laboratory, 
after administering it to a young man, just 
taking up chemical studies: "He was a tall, 



206 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

handsome youth, with gentle manners, and 
was a general favorite. He inhaled the gas 
freely, and then with the greatest gentleness 
and affection of manner imaginable, put his 
arms around my neck and placed his cheek 
to mine, first one side and then the other; 
when I remarked that such evidence of affec- 
tionate regard was a full compensation for the 
pugnacious treatment I had before received, 
and, by the time I had entirely finished my 
sentence, he left me and embraced the stove- 
pipe with equal affection!" 

And another wrote: "One of our gravest 
citizens, a man of thirty-eight or forty years 
of age, was made to caper about like a monkey, 
with all the extravagant gestures of a tragedian, 
and the grimaces of a harlequin. Some effect 
was produced upon all that breathed the gas, 
and the full effect was manifested in six instances 
out of eight. One of these took place before 
many spectators, and was so marked as to 
banish every doubt." 

At present, students of chemistry do not 
include the inhalation of this gas among their 
laboratory experiences! They are more apt 
to hear of it as an anesthetic, quite benign in 
its effects and preferred in numerous operations 
by surgeons. The gas, as known to every- 
one, constituted one of Priestley's distinguished 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 207 

discoveries, and as observed, Woodhouse meets 
him again on his own ground; but in the 
delightful words of T. E. Thorpe: 

"If by some evil chance the cold and damp 
of this coming winter should drive some of you 
to the dentist, and if after seating you in that 
awful chair and harrowing your distracted 
nerves with the sight of his murderous tools, 
he humanely offers to send you to sleep with 
his nitrous oxide, by all means let him, and, 
when you wake with the sweet consciousness 
that "it is all over/ give a passing benediction 
to the memory of Priestley, for he first told 
us of the existence of that gas." 



Reviewing the publications of Woodhouse, 
other than those pertaining to his experimental 
investigations, these present themselves : 

1. The Young Chemist 9 s Pocket Companion 
(1797), to which ample reference has been 
made (p. 77). 

2. Parkinson's Chemical Pocket Book (1802), 
which is a revision of the London second edition 
(1801). It is a striking volume, with a great 
mass of facts concisely set forth, and contains 
"a delineation and account of another chemical 
apparatus invented by Woodhouse. The maker 
of experiments will find this to be simple, cheap 



208 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

and applicable to a great variety of processes." 
As this apparatus, termed the "Economical 
Laboratory" or "Economical Apparatus" of 
Woodhouse, is pictured in very many of the 
books devoted to chemistry, which appeared 
shortly after 1800, it is here reproduced. Its 
construction and uses will be quite readily 
understood from the following paragraphs: 

Plate 1 

"Fig. 1. A is a stand, made of tin, thirteen 
inches high, consisting of a flat bottom, from 
which proceeds four upright pieces, of the 
same metal, one inch broad, which are riveted 
to the top, in which there is a round aperture, 
three inches in diameter, to receive the bottom 
of a retort or oil flask. B is one of Argand's 
lamps; C, a retort, luted to a receiver D, 
which is supported by a frame of wood E. 
The case F, which is placed over the retort, 
to confine the heat of the lamp, is formed of 
two pieces of tin which include a column of 
atmospheric air one inch thick between them. 
It is ten inches in height; the opening in the 
side is three and a half inches, and the internal 
diameter is seven inches. 

"Fig. 2. A is a cylindrical vessel of tin, 
thirteen inches high, and twenty-one in cir- 
cumference, open at A, so as to admit a lamp, 



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JAMES WOODHOTJSE 209 

with a round aperture in the top, three inches 
in diameter. B is a circular case, four inches 
high, formed of two pieces of the same metal, 
which include a column of atmospheric air, 
one inch thick, at the top and on the sides. 

"The lower part has an opening five inches 
in diameter, and in the middle of the upper 
part, there is an aperture, to receive the neck 
of an oil flask. C is a flask, from which pro- 
ceeds the tube D, which enters the bottle E. 

"In using this apparatus, the flask, con- 
taining the subject of the operation, must be 
placed on the cylindrical body A. The case 
B is then to be put over the flask, and the tube 
D, which enters a perforated cork, luted to 
it with a strip of paper, covered with a paste, 
made of flour and water. The atmospheric 
air which B contains, is a bad conductor of 
heat, hence upon applying an Argand lamp 
to the bottom of the flask, the heat is accumu- 
lated round its sides, and thus prevented from 
flying off, into the air. 

"Fig. 3. A is a cylindrical vessel of tin, 
E the case containing the atmospheric air, 
and F an oil flask, on the neck of which, the 
head of an alembic B, made of tin or copper, 
seven inches high, is placed. C, the neck of 
this vessel, thirteen inches long, enters an oil 
flask D. 



210 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

"To use this apparatus, the flask must be 
placed on the top of the cylindrical body A. 
The vessel containing the atmospheric air, 
is then to be placed over the flask, and the 
head of the alembic fixed to its neck. G, the 
part over the top of the head of the alembic, 
may be filled with cold water. 

"This economical apparatus may be used: 

"First. In obtaining gases from certain 
substances, which require the application of 
heat; as oxygenous air, from manganese or 
red lead and the sulphuric acid; or ammoniacal 
gas, from lime and sal ammoniac; or oxygenated 
muriatic gas from manganese and the marine 
acid, &c. 

"Secondly. In making ammoniac, and the 
liquid and concrete carbonate of ammoniac; 
in uniting sulphur with potash, soda and 
lime; to compose sulphuret of potash, soda 
and lime; to form fulminating mercury, silver 
and gold, and the prussiates of lime, potash, &c. 

"Thirdly. In procuring several of the acids, 
as the nitric, muriatic, oxy-muriatic, oxalic, 
fluoric, acetic, &c. 

"Fourthly. In distilling water, and spirit- 
uous liquors to form alcohol &c, and uniting 
the sulphuric acid and alcohol, to make ether, &c. 

"Fifthly. In the drying of powders, and in 
evaporating water, and some of the acids from 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 211 

saline solutions. A vessel of tin, copper, or 
glass, or a queens-ware saucer, may be placed 
on the top of either of the stands, for this 
purpose. 

"Sixthly. In making experiments upon all 
kinds of dyeing, drugs, and 

"Seventhly. In analyzing earths and the 
ores of metals, in the humid way. 

"This apparatus is preferable to that of 
Guy ton in many respects. 

"First. It is less expensive. The lamp of 
Guyton, is one of the worst of the kind for a 
Chemical Laboratory. There is no occasion 
for a number of screws, to elevate or depress 
the retort or lamp, for a great or low heat may 
be made, merely by raising or lowering the wick. 

"Secondly. It would be no very easy matter, 
to place an oil flask on the ring of Guyton's 
apparatus, so as to connect a long tube with 
it, to obtain oxygenated muriatic acid gas, 
ammonical gas, &c. And in the winter season, 
the cold air, acting on the belly of the vessel 
placed there, would deprive it of a portion 
of heat, and if the ore of a metal was boiled 
with an acid, in an oil flask, it would keep 
jumping from the ring. 

"When the case lined with coal is placed 
over a flask, the heat is accumulated round it, 
and the vessel is kept steady in one position. 



212 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

Retorts are also procured with difficulty, at 
this time, even in the great cities of the United 
States. It is of great consequence then to 
procure a substitute for them. The head of 
the copper or tin alembic, Fig. 3, fixed on an 
oil flask, and its neck communicating with 
another, form a distilling apparatus, which may 
be used, in a great many chemical operations. 
"These observations are the result of experi- 
ence. 

Plate 2 

"Fig. 1. The furnace A is formed of thick 
sheet iron, is ten inches high from the grate, 
and ten inches in diameter. There are two 
holes in its sides, to admit an earthen, iron or 
copper tube, a,nd a door on one side to put in 
fuel, when a still, or any other piece of apparatus 
is placed on its top. B is a brass funnel, and 
C a wire of the same metal, which enters into 
the tube of the funnel D, which is screwed to 
the gun-barrel E. F is a bent tube made of 
glass, tin or copper, which is fixed in the mouth 
of the gun-barrel, and which enters under the 
shelf H, of the hydropneumatic tub G, which 
should be made of cedar, and the size of a 
common washing tub, but of an oval form. 
I is a thumb screw, to fix another shelf J to the 
tub. K is a bell-glass. 






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JAMES WOODHOUSE 213 

"If water or any other fluid is put in the 
funnel B, it may, by turning the wire, be made 
to pass drop by drop, over any substance, 
confined in the gun-barrel, and the aerial product 
will be received in the bell glass K. 

"Fig. 2. A is a chafing dish, a few inches 
larger than the common size, containing a gun- 
barrel cut in two parts, and closed at one end 
by welding. B, a bent tube, which enters 
under the shelf of the hydropneumatic box C. 
D, a bell glass. 

"Fig. 3. A is a subliming vessel, shaped 
flat like a turnip, and having a projecting 
neck, two or three inches in length, with an 
aperture in it, about an inch in diameter. 

"Fig. 4. A is a cast iron matrass, sixteen 
inches in circumference, and about a foot 
long, into the mouth of which the gun-barrel 
B is well ground, for making oxygen gas, car- 
bonated hydrogen gas, oxyd of carbon, &c. 

"Fig. 5. A is an eight ounce vial, into the 
mouth of which the bent tube B enters, for 
making hydrogen gas, nitrous air, carbonic 
acid gas, &c." 

3. Parke's Chymical Catechism was revised 
in 1807 by Woodhouse. It "is embellished 
with a frontispiece of his Economical Labora- 
tory. 5 ' It is really a very attractive book. 



214 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

"The object of this publication/' said Nicholson's 
Magazine, "is to unfold the Science of Chy- 
mistry to Artizans and Young People by way 
of question and answer/ 5 It contains an 
address to parents in which chemistry is por- 
trayed as never occurs in these modern days. 
For example: 

"As some persons may not be apprised of 
the value of chymical knowledge, it may be 
necessary to enumerate a few of the advantages 
which arise from its acquisition; for, in order 
to induce that general attention to the science 
which it deserves, its utility must be demon- 
strated : 

"It would be no difficult matter to show 
that the world might derive great advantages 
even from the diffusion of a theoretical knowl- 
edge of philosophy and chymistry. An instance 
or two will place this assertion in a clear point 
of view. Two thousand years ago, Archimedes 
was ridiculed for his attention to mathematics 
and the abstruse sciences; yet, owing to this 
knowledge, he was enabled to invent such 
mechanical engines as were sufficient to resist 
the whole Roman army. And such a dread 
had the soldiers of this man's knowledge, that 
if a rope only were hung down the walls of the 
city of Syracuse, the whole army would retire 
from before it in the utmost consternation. 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 215 

"A further proof of the importance of the 
dissemination of chymical knowledge may be 
taken from the construction of the Steam 
Engine; Mr. Watt having often acknowledged 
that his first ideas on this subject were acquired 
by his attendance on Dr. Black's Chymical 
Lectures, and from the consideration of his 
theory of latent heat and the expansibility of 
steam. 

"The well informed people of France are 
so satisfied of the importance of chymical 
knowledge, that chymistry is already become 
an essential part of education in their public 
schools. . . . The science that we are recom- 
mending to your regards, has for its objects 
every substance of the material world, and is 
therefore equally interesting to every civilized 
nation upon earth. 

"Is your son born to opulence, — is he the 
heir to an extensive domain; make him an 
analytical chymist, and you enable him to 
appreciate the real value of his estate, and to 
turn every acre of it to the best account. Has 
he a barren tract of country, which has been 
unproductive from generation to generation, 
he will explore its bowels with avidity for 
hidden treasures, and will probably not explore 
it in vain. By analyzing the minerals which 
he discovers, he will ascertain with facility and 



216 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

exactness what proportion of metal they con- 
tain, and which of them may be worked to 
profit. Thus he will operate on sure grounds, 
and will be prevented from engaging in expen- 
sive and unprofitable undertakings. 

"Chymistry will teach him also how to 
improve the cultivated parts of his estate; 
and, by transporting and transposing the differ- 
ent soils, how each may be rendered more 
productive. The analysis of the soils will be 
followed by that of the waters which rise 
upon, or flow through, them; by which means 
he will discover which are proper for irrigation; 
a practice, the value of which is sufficiently 
known to every good agriculturist. 

"Will he occupy his own estate, and become 
the cultivator of his own land; he must of 
necessity be a chymist, before he can be an 
economical farmer. It will be his concern 
not only to analyze the soils on the different 
parts of his farm, but the peat, the marl, the 
lime, and the other manures must be subjected 
to experiment, before he can avail himself 
of the advantages which might be derived 
from them, or before he can be certain of 
producing any particular effect. The necessity 
of analysis to the farmer is evident, from a 
knowledge of the circumstance, that some 
kind of lime is injurious to land, and would 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 217 

render land hitherto fertile actually sterile. 
Besides, a knowledge of the first principles of 
chymistry will teach him when to use lime 
hot from the kiln, and when slacked; how to 
promote the putrefactive process in his com- 
posts, and at what period to check it, so as 
to prevent the fertilizing particles becoming 
effete, and of little value. It will teach him 
moreover the difference in the properties of 
marl, lime, peat, dung, mud, ashes, alkaline 
salt, soap waste, sea water, etc., etc., and, 
consequently, which are most suitable for the 
different kinds of land. A knowledge of the 
chymical properties of bodies will thus give 
a new character to the agriculturist, and render 
his employment rational and respectable. 

"Are you a Practitioner of Medicine, and 
have acquired great and deserved reputation 
in your profession, — if you are not a chymist, 
you must recollect many painful disappoint- 
ments, and must have witnessed very unex- 
pected results from the effects of medicine, 
when you have administered two or more 
powerful remedies in conjunction. A slight 
knowledge of chymistry would have informed 
you, that many of the formulae in the Phar- 
macopeia, which are salutary and efficacious, 
are rendered totally otherwise, if given with 
certain other medicines, — not to say often 



218 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

destructive. Many instances of these chymical 
changes might be adduced, but one will suffice. 
Mercury and oxymuriatic acid have both been 
administered by medical men, and, separately, 
either of them may be taken without any 
injury to the animal economy; but if a physi- 
cian, ignorant of the chymical operation of 
bodies on each other, should give these sub- 
stances in conjunction, the most dreadful 
consequences might ensue, as oxymuriate of 
mercury is a most corrosive poison. 

"Does your son wish to follow your pro- 
fession, charge him, when he walks the hospitals, 
to pay particular attention to the Lectures 
on Chymistry, and to make himself master 
of the chymical affinities which subsist between 
the various articles of the Materia Medica. 
This will inspire him with professional confi- 
dence; and he will be as sure of producing 
any particular chymical effect upon his patient 
as he would if he were operating in his own 
laboratory. Besides, the human body is itself 
a laboratory, in which, by the varied functions 
of secretion, absorption, etc., composition, and 
decomposition, are perpetually going on; how, 
therefore, could he expect to understand the 
animal economy, if he were unacquainted with 
the effects which certain causes chymically 
produce? Every inspiration we take, and 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 219 

every pulse that vibrates within us, effects a 
chymical change upon the animal fluids, the 
nature of which requires the acuteness of a 
profound chymist to perceive and understand. 
Neither can a physician comprehend the nature 
of the animal, vegetable, or mineral poisons, 
without the aid of chymistry. Many thousand - 
lives have been lost by poison, which might 
have been saved if the physician had been in 
possession of the knowledge which he may 
now acquire by a cultivation of chymical 
science. And, though the operation of many 
of the poisons upon the system be in these 
days well understood, nothing but a knowledge 
of chymistry can enable the practitioner to 
administer such medicines as will counteract 
their baneful effects. 

"If we look to the Manufactures . . . there 
is scarcely one of any consequence that does 
not depend upon chymistry, for its establish- 
ment, its improvement, or for its successful 
and beneficial practice. In order to see the 
connection which subsists between chymistry 
and the arts, it will be necessary to take a 
short view of the principal trades. 

"One of the staple trades ... is the manu- 
facture of iron; and it will be found, that 
from the smelting of the ore to the conversion 
of it into steel, every operation is the effect of 



220 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

chymical affinities. In the first place, it requires 
no small share of chymical knowledge to be 
able to appreciate the value of the different 
ores, or to erect furnaces for their reduction, 
which shall be contrived in the best possible 
manner for facilitating their fusion, and for 
producing good pigs. The subsequent pro- 
cesses to convert it into malleable iron, are 
entirely chymical, and will be conducted to 
the best advantage only by those who have 
acquired a knowledge of the chymical changes 
which take place in these operations. The 
making of cast steel, which has been kept so 
profound a secret, is now found to be a simple 
chymical process, and consists merely in impart- 
ing to the metal a portion of carbon, by means 
of fusing it in crucibles with carbonate of lime. 
"The manufacturers of utensils, etc., in 
cast iron (called iron founders) will also acquire 
some valuable information by the study of 
chymistry; as it will teach them how to mix 
the different kinds of metals; how to appor- 
tion the carbonaceous and calcareous matter; 
and how to reduce the old metal, which they 
often receive in exchange; many hundred tons 
of which are annually sent away as ballast for 
ships, for want of that knowledge, which 
would enable them to convert it into good 
salable iron. 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 221 

"The woollen, the cotton, and the calico 
manufactures are also become of great impor- 
tance. ... In order to preserve these sources 
of national wealth, the utmost attention must 
be paid to the beauty, the variety, and the 
durability of their several colours. Now of 
all the arts, none are more dependent upon 
chymistry than those of dyeing and calico 
printing. Every process is chymical; and not 
a colour can be imparted, but in consequence 
of the affinity which subsists between the 
cloth and the dye, or the dye and the mordant 
which is employed as a bond of union between 
them. It is surely then evident how valuable 
a chymical education must be to that youth 
who is designed for either of these trades, and 
how necessary is that portion of knowledge 
which shall enable him in a scientific manner 
to analyse his different materials and to deter- 
mine the kind and the quantity necessary for 
each process. After all, his colours will be 
liable to vary, if he do not take into the account, 
and calculate upon, the changes which take 
place in them by the absorption of oxygen. 
A knowledge of which, and of the different 
degrees of oxidizement, which the several dyes 
undergo, requires no small share of chymical 
skill; and yet this skill is absolutely neces- 
sary, to enable either the dyer or the calico 



222 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

printer to produce in all cases permanent 
colours of the shade which he intends. More- 
over, these artists must be indebted to 
chymistry for any valuable knowledge which 
they may acquire of the nature of the articles 
they use in their several processes; not to 
say that they are wholly dependent upon this 
science, for the artificial production of their 
most valuable mordants, and for some of their 
most beautiful and brilliant colours. 

"The art of bleaching, which is so intimately 
connected with calico printing, has also received 
such great improvement from the science of 
chymistry, that no man is now capable of 
conducting it to the best advantage without 
a knowledge of the principles on which the 
present practice is established. 

"The manufactures of earthen wares and 
porcelain, which were so much improved and 
extended by the industrious and ingenious 
Wedgwood, and give employment to thousands 
of the community, are dependent upon chymis- 
try for the successful management of all their 
branches, from the mixture of the materials 
which form the body of the ware, to the pro- 
duction of those brilliant colours which give 
a value to the manufactures by their permanency 
and beauty. 

"Mr. Wedgwood was so sensible of the 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 223 

importance of chymistry to these arts, that 
he not only applied to the study of the science 
himself, but upon the death of the celebrated 
Dr. Lewis ... he actually engaged his assist- 
ant, a Mr. Chisolme, to experimentalize with 
him, and to devote his whole time to the 
improvement of the manufacture by the appli- 
cation of his chymical knowledge, of which 
perhaps few men at that time had a larger 
share. A faint idea of the advantages which 
he derived from these sources may be con- 
ceived from the following circumstance. Dr. 
Bancroft in his Philosophy of permanent colours, 
when treating iron, says, 'I remember having 
been told, by Mr. Wedgwood, that nearly 
all the fine diversified colours applied to his 
pottery were produced only by the oxides 
of this single metal. 5 This one fact is sufficient 
to show with what assiduous application he 
must have studied chymical science, and how 
insufficient every attempt to bring his manu- 
facture to the perfection which it has now at- 
tained, would have been, without this attention. 
"The sister art of making glass is also entirely 
chymical, consisting in the fusion of silicious 
earth with the oxides of lead and alkali. In 
this trade, as well as in many others, the 
chymical manufacturer, and the man of en- 
lightened experience, will have many advantages. 



224 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

He will not only know how to analyse his 
alkalies and to ascertain their exact value 
before he purchases, but he will be enabled, 
on chymical principles, to ascertain the exact 
quantity necessary for any fixed portion of 
silex, which with others must always in the 
first instances be a matter of uncertainty, 
and must repeatedly subject them to losses 
and disappointment. 

"The tanning of hides is a process which 
was formerly carried on by persons who merely 
followed a routine of operations to which 
they had been accustomed without knowing 
the real cause of any of the changes produced 
on these substances. This art, which con- 
sists in impregnating the animal matter with 
a peculiar principle taken from the vegetable 
kingdom, which enables it to resist moisture, 
and gives it great strength and firmness, has 
been well explained by Mr. Sequin. According 
to him, the gallic acid of the bark deoxidizes 
the skin, and as the skin loses its oxygen the 
tan combines with it, and forms it into leather. 
It is now known, that many substances, besides 
oak bark, contain tan, and to modern chymistry 
we are indebted for the means of discovering 
with accuracy the quantity of tan which the 
several astringent vegetables contain The 
arts will owe a further obligation to this science 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 225 

whenever it shall lead the way to the discovery 
of a cheap substitute for oak bark. At present 
the demand is so great that it is not only im- 
ported from the continent, but trees are cut 
down in this country on purpose for the bark, 
which are of no other use whatever. Should 
the chymical tanner not be fortunate enough 
to make a discovery of the kind just mentioned, 
he will at least be able to analyse the sub- 
stances now in use, and to appreciate their 
relative value; a matter of no small moment 
to a man who operates upon a large scale. 

"The manufacture cf soap, a trade of con- 
siderable importance, . . . has in general been 
conducted, like many of the foregoing, with- 
out any regard to system; and yet, perhaps, 
there is no art which may be benefitted in such 
various ways by chymistry as this. To those 
who are designed for this trade I have no 
hesitation in recommending the study of the 
science as a matter of the first importance. 
Many thousands per annum, which are now 
lost to the community, would be saved, if the 
trade was in general carried on upon scientific 
principles. Make a soap boiler a good chymist, 
and you teach him how to analyse barilla, kelp, 
potash, etc., so as to ascertain the proportion 
of alkali in each, and which is the most advan- 
tageous for him to purchase; a matter of 



226 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

mere guess with the common manufacturer. 
When these articles are at an exorbitant price, 
he will have recourse to various residuums, 
which he will decompose by chymical means, 
and make use of as substitutes. He will learn, 
in choosing his tallows, how to avoid those 
which contain a large proportion of sebacic 
acid, which require much more barilla than 
good tallow, and yet produce less soap. He 
will know how to oxidize the common oils and 
oil dregs, so as to give them consistence, and 
render them good substitutes for tallow. He 
will know how to apportion his lime so as to 
make his alkali perfectly caustic, without using 
an unnecessary quantity of that article. He 
will be aware of the advantage which may be 
derived from oxygenating the soap while boil- 
ing; a knowledge of the chymical affinities 
will teach him how, at a cheap rate, to make 
as good and as firm a soap with potash, as 
with the mineral alkali; and how to take up 
the heterogeneous salts so as to give the alkali 
full opportunity of forming a chymical combi- 
nation with the oils, tallows, etc. And lastly, 
he will know how to make use of the waste 
lies so as to decompose the salts which they 
contain, and convert them to good and service- 
able alkali, to be used in future operations. 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 227 

"The brewing of fermented liquors, which 
is a trade of considerable consequence ... is 
a chymical process altogether. To those per- 
sons, whose concerns are so large that it would 
require a princely fortune to purchase even 
the utensils, it must surely be of the utmost 
importance to acquire some knowledge of the 
principles of bodies, and of the nature of those 
changes which take place in the materials 
upon which they operate. I would therefore 
say to such persons, Give your sons a chymical 
education, and you will fit them for conducting, 
in the best possible manner, the business 
which you have established. Hence, they 
will learn how the barley, in the first instance, 
is converted to a saccharine substance by 
malting; how the fermentative process con- 
verts the saccharine to a spirituous substance; 
and how the latter, by a continuation of the 
process, becomes changed into vinegar. The 
nature of fermentation (which till lately was 
entirely unknown) will be studied and under- 
stood; and they will not only have learnt 
the means of promoting and encouraging 
this process, but how to retard and check 
it, whenever it is likely to be carried 
too far; so that the scientifick brewer 
will be as sure of uniformly obtaining sat- 
isfactory results, as he would if he were 



228 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

operating on matter by mere mechanical 
means. 

"The refining of sugar is also a chymical 
process; every branch of which depends upon 
laws well known to chy mists. The separation 
of the sugar from the molasses; the absorption 
of the superabundant acid; the granulation 
of the purified sugar; and the chrystallization 
of candy; will all be conducted most econom- 
ically, and with the least difficulty, by those 
who have studied the science with a view to 
the improvement of their art. 

"It has been objected to the teaching of 
chymistry to youth, that it is a science difficult 
to acquire; and that the terms are an insuper- 
able bar to its early attainment; but I am of 
opinion, that the elements of chymical knowl- 
edge may be taught much earlier than is 
imagined by many who never made the attempt; 
and that, instead of any difficulty arising 
from the technical language of the science, 
the preceptor will find the new nomenclature 
a considerable auxiliary, greatly facilitating 
the communication and reception of its general 
doctrines. 

"Moreover, it is the necessary consequence 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 229 

of an attention to this science, that it gives 
the habit of investigation, and lays the founda- 
tion of an ardent and inquiring mind. If a 
youth has been taught to receive nothing as 
true, but what is the result of experiment, 
he will be in little danger of ever being led 
away by the insidious arts of sophistry, or of 
having his mind bewildered by fanaticism or 
superstition. The knowledge of facts is what 
he has been taught to esteem, and no reason- 
ing, however, specious, will ever induce him 
to receive as true what appears incongruous, 
or cannot be recommended by demonstration 
or analogy." 

The entire article would delight the enthu- 
siasts of the science. One wonders how those 
early champions of the usefulness of chemistry 
would regard the evidences of its powers as 
exhibited in the warring countries of 1914-18. 



4. Chaptal's Elements of Chemistry (1807). 
This was a work written by a former Minister 
of the Interior in France. It was a famous 
book. Four American editions were printed, 
the lapt by "the learned and indefatigable 
professor of chemistry in Pennsylvania, who 
added numerous notes, containing information 
not embraced by the original." The additions 



230 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

were, indeed, "great and improved." Present 
day students of chemistry would profit very 
much if they were to examine these two volumes 
with care. The evidence of Woodhouse's wide 
range of knowledge is seen in his voluminous 
footnotes. The time consumed in reading 
these volumes would not be lost. Just as 
a matter of curiosity it may be here said that 
in Volume I, p. 218, mention is made of agustina, 
"an earth found in the Beryl of Saxony, and 
is so called, because it has the property of 
forming salts, which are nearly destitute of 
taste." Is this to be in contradiction to beryl 
or glucina, indicating sweet, a property of its 
salts? According to Tromsdorff the properties 
of agustina are: 

"1. It is white and insipid, and when pure 
resembles alumine. 

"2. It combines with acids, and forms with 
them salts, which have little or no 
taste. 

"3. It does not combine either in the humid 
or dry way, with alkalies or their 
carbonates. 

"4. It retains carbonic acid but feebly; and 

"5. It is insoluble in water." 

Agustina constitutes another of the long line 
of defunct elements. 

Woodhouse's edition will always be of value 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 231 

to the student of chemical history. Without 
question he expended his very best powers 
in its production, and hence it was justly 
prized in chemical circles of the first decade 
of the nineteenth century. 



Among Woodhouse's contributions to Ameri- 
can mineralogy was one on "a very curious 
ore of titanium one of the newly discovered 
metals. 55 It had been found in New Jersey. 
A rather large specimen of it had found its 
way to Dr. Mitchill of Columbia University, 
who in turn passed it to Woodhouse for analysis. 
At first it was thought to be a zinc ore. Bruce, 
the able American mineralogist was not so 
minded. His views were shared by European 
correspondents. "Their united opinion was 
that it is chiefly the oxide of titanium com- 
bined with that other form of the metal which, 
from its having been found in the valley of 
Menachan, in Cornwall, England, has been 
called Menachanite." Accordingly, Woodhouse 
engaged in its analysis, reporting the results 
to his friend Mitchill in these words: 

"The specific gravity of this metal is 5.28. 
When viewed, it has the appearance of black 
spots, the size of duck shot, surrounded by a 
red substance; and streaks of a white powder, 



232 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

which is lithomarge, are dispersed through it. 
Upon looking at it through a microscope, a 
crystal of titanium was seen adhering to it. 
One hundred graing of it, reduced to an impal- 
pable powder, and exposed one hour to the 
intense heat of an air-furnace, lost fifteen grains 
in weight, and from a brown, was turned of 
a black colour. 

"One hundred grains of it, submitted to 
heat in the same manner with charcoal, pro- 
duced a great number of small globules of 
pure iron. This metal can be separated from 
the powder by a magnet. 

"One hundred grains of it, boiled in aqua 
regia, was totally soluble in this agent, which 
proves it contains no silex. 

"The Prussiate of potash, added to this 
solution, yielded a blue precipitate, which, 
when dried, weighed three hundred grains. 
Now if we divide this sum by six, we shall 
have the quantity of metallic iron in the hundred 
grains of the ore, which is fifty. 

"A portion of lime was thrown down from 
a solution of the mineral, in aqua regia, by the 
oxalate of potash. Carbonate of ammoniac, 
and a solution of pot-ash, produced a copious 
white and gelatinous precipitate. 

"One hundred grains of it were mixed with 
six hundred of pot-ash, and submitted to 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 233 

intense heat one hour, in a black lead crucible. 
The part remaining in the crucible was powdered, 
boiled in water, and filtered. Upon adding a 
small portion of muriatic acid to the water, 
a white precipitate was thrown down, which 
was supposed to be the titanium. Upon col- 
lecting it, and mixing it with a small portion 
of spermaceti oil and charcoal, it was exposed 
to the heat of a blacksmith's forge, when 
nothing was obtained but a shiny heavy black 
substance, of the appearance of glass. 

"When the muriatic acid was added in 
excess to the filtered water obtained, by boiling 
the residue, which remained in the crucible, 
in water, no precipitate was produced, until 
a solution of pot-ash was added to neutralize 
the acid. 

"The solution of the mineral in nitric acid 
is astringent to the taste. 

"The ore appears to be composed of iron, 
titanium, lime, alumine, and no silicious earth; 

"I wish you to inform me in what part of 
New Jersey I can procure some of the mineral. 
Have you any to spare of the specimen in your 
possession? for I wish to continue the experi- 
ments upon it." 

This analysis is a real curiosity. At present 
it would not pass muster. Those who have 
analyzed titaniferous ores will fail to perceive 



234 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

in it the course they would pursue in arriving 
at the composition of this well-known sub- 
stance. The fact that iron appears to have 
been regularly determined in those days, first 
by precipitation as ferrocyanide and this then 
decomposed with alkali is worthy of thought. 
As late as 1822, this method found preference 
in Buff's Quantitative Analysis. It was con- 
sidered the best procedure for the separation 
of iron from aluminium and magnesium. The 
study of the gradual development of analytical 
methods should receive consideration from the 
student of chemistry. There is in it an educa- 
tional evolution deserving attention. 

Shortly after concluding the preceding study, 
Woodhouse wrote to the editor of the Medical 
Museum that a Mr. Rutland of Philadelphia 
had put into his hands, "a specimen of a black 
coloured mineral . . . found in the County 
of Northampton . . . about thirty miles from 
Bethlehem, in the neighborhood of the Lehigh, 
and informed me that it might be easily pro- 
cured, in great quantities, at that place." This 
ore was in reality, as will be seen, the mineral 
pyrolusite. In massive form it is almost impos- 
sible to distinguish it from psilomelane, an 
allied substance which occurs in the same 
locality. Nearly one hundred years later the 
crystallized mineral, in unmistakeable form, 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 235 

was reported from the adjacent county of 
Lehigh. 

But not to overlook Woodhouse's observa- 
tion, his language may be inserted at this place. 

"Having subjected this substance to a variety 
of experiments, it was discovered to be Man- 
ganese of the first quality, containing little 
extraneous matter; and far superior to most 
of that which is sold in the shops of the druggists, 
considerable quantities of which I have fre- 
quently been obliged to throw away after pur- 
chasing it, from the impurity of the material. 

"The oxygen air obtained from this native 
ore, was equal in purity to that which was 
afforded by a specimen of the foreign, sent to 
me by the late Dr. Priestley, the discoverer 
of this gas, who informed me, that it yielded 
an air as pure as any he had ever procured 
during the course of his life. 

"Manganese is useful to the physician, in 
consequence of the air it affords, and to which 
some of the most violent diseases to which the 
human body is subject, have given way; to 
the bleacher, paper maker, and manufacturer 
of glass, as a destroyer of colouring matter, 
when combined with the marine acid; to the 
potter, as giving a black colour, and assisting 
in glazing his earthen ware; and to the philoso- 
pher and artist, as containing a gas, which, 



236 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

combined with certain combustible bodies, will 
generate a degree of heat unattainable by other 
means. 

"As the science of mineralogy is little attended 
to in the United States, the intention of this 
communication is, to induce gentlemen residing 
in the country, to pay some attention to the 
mineral productions of their fields, by which 
means they may greatly profit themselves, 
and render the most important services to 
the arts, yet in their infancy in this part of the 
world. 

"Any person desirous of information, con- 
cerning any of our native fossils (minerals), 
by applying to me, shall be gratified, as far 
as it is in my power; and if the mineral sent 
to me is thought to be of any use to society, 
an accurate analysis of it shall be made free of 
expense. 

"P. S. — Since writing the above, I have 
examined another specimen of this manganese, 
weighing one pound. 

"Two ounces of it reduced to powder, heated 
in an iron tube, in one of Lewis's black lead 
furnaces, yielded eighty cubic inches of oxy- 
genous gas, which tested by phosphorus in the 
eudiometer of Fantana, left behind about three 
per cent azotic gas. 

"One measure of the oxygen gas, passed 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 237 

up over lime water, gave a portion of carbonate 
of lime, barely perceptible. 

"One ounce measure of muriatic acid, heated 
upon one ounce, by weight, of it over water, 
afforded forty -five cubic inches of oxy-muriatic 
gas, in which leaf copper, commonly called 
Dutch metal, immediately inflamed. 

"Its specific gravity, at the temperature of 
62° of Fahrenheit's thermometer, and before 
it had absorbed water, was 3.4193. After 
(and the absorption accelerated by thirty 
minutes boiling in water), it rose to 3.7667. 

"Like all the other ores of manganese, it 
is combined with iron, siliceous earth, etc. 
A deep blue precipitate takes place, upon 
adding the prussiate of pot-ash to a solution 
of it in the muriatic acid." 



In 1807 Wobdhouse sent a most interesting 
account of the zinc mine at Perkiomen to the 
Medical Museum. He gave an exhaustive 
analysis of the ore which was sphalerite. The 
mines in that vicinity were subsequently 
operated but it will be recalled that the large 
quantity of this mineral proved a serious detri- 
ment, because no market could be found for 
the same in this country. . . . How different 
the situation within the recollection of the 



238 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

generation still living! These facts, in mind, 
the subjoined communication takes on an 
added interest: 
"Sir, 

"The zinc mine, an account of which you 
have requested for the Medical Museum, is 
situated on the side of a high hill, on the bank 
of Perkiomen creek, about twenty miles from 
Philadelphia. The miners have made excava- 
tion to a considerable distance, on the side of 
the hill, in which a man can walk in a stooping 
posture. They have also nearly completed a 
shaft on the top of the hill. The surface of 
the earth is covered with large masses of com- 
pact and laminated sulphate of barytes, iron 
pyrites, rock chrystal, quartz, etc., which have 
been dug up from the bowels of the earth, 
in sinking the shaft, and making the excavation. 

"Three varieties of ore are found in the 
mine; the lead coloured, the yellow, and the 
deep black. 

"The specific gravity of the lead coloured 
(which is the most abundant), at 60° Fahrenheit, 
is 5.3121. 

"Two thousand grains of this ore, reduced 
to an impalpable powder, and exposed two 
hours to the intense heat of an air-furnace, 
lost 900 grains in weight, which consisted of 
water and sulphur. 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 239 

"One thousand grains of the powdered ore 
were boiled an hour in an oil flask, with two 
ounce measures of sulphuric acid. Water 
was added to this mixture, which being filtered 
and evaporated, produced a compact mass of 
sulphate of zinc or white vitriol, weighing 1,730 
grains. A residuum was left in the flask, 
which weighed 508 grains; upon exposing 
it to heat, 262 grains of sulphur sublimed from 
it, and the residuum in the subliming vessel 
weighed 246 grains, which, boiled in an ounce 
measure of sulphuric acid, yielded 200 grains 
of white vitriol. 

"The residuum from the 246 grains was 
mixed with potash and exposed to heat, when 
it formed a brown mass, which being powdered 
and dissolved in water, formed the liquor of 
flints from which the silex was precipitated 
by the muriatic acid. 

"One hundred grains of the ore were dis- 
solved in an ounce and a half measure of nitric 
acid, diluted with an equal quantity of pure 
water. Ten grains of a residuum remained, 
which, when viewed through a microscope, 
appeared to consist of fragments of grey quartz, 
mixed with globules of sulphur. The zinc 
was precipitated from this nitric solution by 
mild potash, and, when dry, it weighed 140 
grains. 



240 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

"It is said by chemists, that the weight of 
the oxide of zinc, precipitated by mild alkali 
from its solution, will amount to 193 grains, 
for every hundred of the metal it represents. 

"According to this calculation, one hundred 
grains of the Perkiomen ore, must contain 72 
of the metallic zinc. 

"The white vitriol obtained from 1,000 grains 
of the ore, was dissolved in pure water. 

"Plates of metallic zinc were left in this 
water, for several days, when 26 grains of 
metallic iron were precipitated. 

"Metallic zinc was procured from the ore 
mixed with charcoal, by exposing the two sub- 
stances to the heat of an air-furnace, in a 
coated earthen retort, to the neck of which a 
tin tube was luted, which communicated with 
water, in order to keep off the action of the 
oxygenous portion of the atmosphere. 

"Brass was manufactured by mixing the 
powdered ore with charcoal, and laying pieces 
of copper on the surface of the coal, and expos- 
ing the whole to the heat of an air-furnace, in 
a covered crucible, for several hours. 

"Similar experiments were performed on the 
black ore, with nearly the same results. 

"According to these experiments, 100 grains 
of the Perkiomen ore consists of about 72 
parts zinc, 22 sulphur, 3 iron, and 3 silex. 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 241 

Some specimens of it contain a portion of 
lead. 

" These proportions are not given as just, for 
it is almost impossible to analyse a zinc ore 
with perfect accuracy. We can only approxi- 
mate to the truth. 

"It is not exactly fair to deduce. the quantity 
of metal a zinc ore may contain, from the 
weight of it precipitated by a mild alkali, as 
recommended by Nicholson; for this weight 
will vary with the quantity of water which may 
adhere to it. 

"If we attempt to analyse the ore by manu- 
facturing it into brass, as recommended by 
Accum, who considers this process as tolerably 
accurate, we lose a large quantity of the metal, 
which escapes in the form of flowers of zinc." 

For curiosity's sake contrast the analysis of 
Woodhouse jusUgiven with that of a sample of 
the ore from the same locality made by J. 
Lawrence Smith, ninety years later: 



WoODHOUBI 

Quartz (silex) 3.00 

Sulphur 22.00 83.82 

Zinc 72.00 64.39 

Cadmium 0.98 

Copper 0.32 

Lead (sometimes) 0.78 

Iron 3.00 



242 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

And Woodhouse continues: "Can this ore 
be worked to advantage in the United States? 

"No information on this subject can be 
obtained from any book with which I am ac- 
quainted. Dr. Meade, a * gentleman possessed 
of extensive knowledge on mineralogy, informed 
me that it is never worked in England. Dr. 
Bruce, professor of this science, in the college 
of physicians, New York, told me it is reduced 
in Wales; and Mr. Godon, of Boston, who is 
extremely well acquainted with subjects relat- 
ing to this business, has declared that zinc 
cannot be obtained from this kind of ore in the 
large way, but with the utmost difficulty." 

The analytical portion of this paper is in 
accord with that of the day. It will cause the 
young analyst to smile. The method of arriv- 
ing at the sulphur content of the ore will stagger 
him. It is quite certain that the introduction of 
"plates of metallic zinc ... in this water, for 
several days . . . precipitated '26 grains of 
metallic iron' M will develop criticism. Could 
Woodhouse have examined that deposit? Is it 
not probable that lead was in the metal thus 
obtained? It is quite well known that cadmium 
salt solutions have been deprived of lead in the 
manner described. 

An unhappy conclusion, attending Wood- 
house's communication on the zinc ore, was 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 243 

that it called forth a cruel criticism from Dr. A. 
Seybert, who must have harbored unkind feel- 
ing toward Woodhouse, who years before had 
been his competitor for the professorship of 
chemistry (p. 00). Seybert's life conduct was, as 
a rule, so exalted that this outburst in the 
Medical Museum was most unworthy of him. 
Hence it will be passed over. Its nature will be 
sufficiently indicated by reading between the 
lines of Woodhouse's reply: 

"In a work dedicated to the interests of 
science, it ought certainly to be expected that 
those whose leisure or opportunities permit 
them, occasionally, to throw in their contribu- 
tions to the general stock of knowledge, would 
discard everything like asperity in their remarks 
on the opinions advanced by others; and that 
the little passigns of envy and jealousy would 
never actuate the minds of those, whose real 
object is the pursuit of truth. 

"It was, therefore, with surprise, mingled 
with regret, that I perused the paper inserted 
in your last number by Dr. Seybert, on the 
subject of the Perkiomen mine. 

"As it is of little consequence to the public 
whether or not Dr. S. knew that blende or the 
sulphuret of zinc was found near Perkiomen in 
1806; and it is equally immaterial, whether or 
not, in 1807, when shown a specimen of this 



244 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

same ore, he declared it to be lead ore; I shall 
proceed to show that his essay, improperly 
entitled "Facts (when it entirely consists of 
quotations) to prove that this metallic ore can 
be worked to advantage in the United States," 
proves nothing, except the doctor's misplaced 
rancour against myself, and which my former 
essay has furnished him a pretext for exhibiting. 

"Without entering into a comparison of the 
doctor's patriotism with my own; without pre- 
tending that my attachment to my natale 
solum is as strong as his; or that I should be 
disposed to make as great sacrifices, either 
personal or pecuniary, for my native country 
as Dr. Seybert would, I shall show, 

"1st. That there is an evident want of 
candour in the conclusions he has drawn from 
my publication. 

"2nd. That some of his quotations from 
chemical writers are unfairly given. 

"3rd. That what he has advanced bears no 
direct relation to the subject in question. 

"4th. That the observations in his conclud- 
ing paragraphs are highly personal and improper; 
and 

Lastly, I shall annex correct extracts from the 
best modern writers to show that the blendes, 
though they abound, are seldom worked in 
Europe. 



JAMES WOODHOUSE £45 

"In the first place there is a want of candour 
because the doctor asserts that I have main- 
tained that this American ore will yield 72 per 
cent of metal; whereas I expressly mentioned 
that this quantity was not given as accurate, 
from the difficulty of analyzing the ores of zinc, 
and the reasons are assigned. 

"An erroneous conclusion is drawn from what 
I have published on this subject. In order to 
place this in a clear point of view, I will insert 
the two paragraphs which have so much excited 
the irascibility of the doctor, and let the reader 
compare them with his remarks. 

"Can this ore be worked to advantage in the 
United States? 

"No information on this subject can be 
obtained from any book with which I am 
acquainted. Mr. Meade, a gentleman possessed 
of extensive knowledge on mineralogy, informed 
me that it is never worked in England. Dr. 
Bruce, professor of that science in the College 
of Physicians, New York, told me that it is 
reduced in Wales; and Mr. Godon, of Boston, 
who is extremely well acquainted with subjects 
relating to this business, has declared that zinc 
cannot be obtained from this kind of ore, but 
with the utmost difficulty." 

"For thus merely stating the information 
derived from three men of eminence, without 



246 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

advancing any opinion of my own, Dr. Seybert 
has taken the liberty of asserting that I assume 
the principle that blende is not and cannot be 
worked anywhere to advantage. 

"Secondly, The quotations from some writers 
are not fairly stated. This will appear from the 
following extract from Dr. Seybert's essay, 
when compared with what has been said by 
Bishop Watson, and the celebrated Chaptal, on 
the same subject. 

" 'At Rammelsberg, near Goslar, there is a 
considerable manufacture of brass. I visited it 
in 1794. Here they form this important alloy 
(cadmia) a sublimed oxide of zinc which is 
obtained by proper management during the 
roasting of the lead ores and blendes, in a 
reverberatory furnace.' 

"Here an incorrect idea is held forth, that a 
mine of blende is worked near Goslar in Germany, 
but the fact is, that the mine at that place is 
wrought for the lead and silver it affords; and 
as no additional expense is incurred from the 
purchase of fuel, the oxide of zinc is obtained 
at the same time; and the mine is a lead, and 
not a zinc mine. 

"Now let us examine what Chaptal and 
Bishop Watson actually do say on the subject, 
when divested of the doctor's alloy. 

"Chaptal, vol. 2, p. 46, 4th Amer. edit.: 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 247 

'Zinc is sometimes mixed with lead, and in the 
working of this last metal, the former is occa- 
sionally obtained. Such is the ore worked at 
Ranimelsberg, near Goslar. Great part of the 
zinc is dissipated, but a portion of this metal is 
obtained by a very ingenious process.' 

"Watson's Chemical Essays, vol. 4, p. 40: 
'At Goslar, in Germany, they smelt an ore 
which contains lead, silver, copper, iron, and 
zinc, in the same mass. The ore is smelted to 
procure the silver and lead; but, by a particular 
contrivance, they obtain a portion of zinc in 
substance.' 

"The slightest observation will show that 
Dr. S. has taken as much from Bishop Watson's 
work, as would suit his purpose, without any 
regard to conyeying the true meaning of the 
author. 

"It is true, the Bishop says, vol. 4, p. 20: 
'The sulphuret of zinc has for many years been 
used, as well as calamine, for the making of 
brass at Bristol;' but, in p. 40 of the same 
essay, he informs us, that 'as to this ore of 
zinc, it is not so commonly used as calamine 
for the making of brass at Bristol. Several 
ship-loads of it were sent, a few years ago, from 
Cornwall to this town. Upon the whole, how- 
ever, experience has not brought it into reputa- 
tion at this place.' 



248 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

"But Dr. S. infers, that because a lead mine 
in Germany, which is worked for the silver and 
lead it contans, affords a portion of zinc, that 
therefore a zinc mine, containing little lead and 
no silver, can be worked to advantage in the 
United States. 

"Thirdly, What the doctor has advanced in 
near eight octavo pages, bears no direct relation 
to the subject in question. It is not by quota- 
tions from foreign writers that we can deter- 
mine whether metallic zinc, or any substance 
into which it enters as a component part, can 
be worked with advantage in the United States; 
but by taking into consideration the extent of 
the ore; the quantity of metal it will afford 
when worked on a large scale (which can only 
be ascertained by an experiment with several 
hundred weight of the ore) ; the price of labour 
in this country; the cost of fuel to throw off 
the sulphur, and afterwards to extract the 
metal; the demand for the zinc, and the price 
for which it can be manufactured abroad and 
imported into this country. Not one of these 
circumstances has been considered by Dr. Sey- 
bert; and yet, with a kind of self-complacency, 
as if the consideration of these points was 
beneath his dignity, he says, 'I DO MAINTAIN 
that the Perkiomen blende can be worked in 
America with advantage/ There is a trifling 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 249 

difference, however, between assertion and proof. 

"The question is not whether the blendes 
are, or are not worked in Europe, but, whether 
we can manufacture metallic zinc, or com- 
pounds into which it enters, cheaper than they 
can be imported from England, France, Ger- 
many, and the East Indies. 

"Calamine, an ore of zinc, which can be 
easily and profitably wrought, abounds in Great 
Britain. 'As we have greater plenty of calamine 
in England,' says Bishop Watson, 'and that of 
a better sort, than most other nations have, 
there is no fear of our losing the advantage in 
this article of trade, which we are now possessed 
of/ Essays, vol. 4, p. 7. 

"The blendes of Perkiomen also differ, mate- 
rially, from those of other countries; and they 
all differ from each other. 

" 'The nature of the sulphurets of zinc', says 
Fourcroy, vol. 5, p. 519, 'is not well known, and 
Bergmann found such great difference between 
them, from different countries, that the ores 
seemed to possess no identical properties or 
composition.' 

"Fourthly, The observations in the conclud- 
ing paragraphs are highly personal and improper. 
Although I had advanced no opinion, the doctor 
has undertaken to denounce me as one 'exciting 
unfounded doubts, propagating erroneous opin- 



250 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

ions, and attempting to paralize the wise efforts of 
a judicious public/ (although no efforts have 
ever been made by the public, to work the 
Perkiomen mine), 'and at a time when the 
political situation of our country is such, that 
its foreign relations are interrupted, and much 
is expected from an energetic application of its 
internal resources/ 

"In France, during the gloomy periods of the 
revolution such a denunciation would have been 
sufficient to bring the object of it to the guil- 
lotine, and, were it true, it ought, even here 
justly to excite the hatred of my fellow -citizens 
against me. But I repel the insinuation with 
the contempt it deserves. In every analysis I 
have made, public utility has been my sole 
object, and to that object my attention has 
always cheerfully been devoted, without any 
regard to labour or expense. 

"Correct extracts from the most celebrated 
modern writers are annexed, which prove that 
the blendes or sulphurets of zinc are seldom 
worked in Europe. 

"The abbe Hauy, whom Fourcroy, the great 
and enlightened historian of chemical science, 
very justly styles 'the last, most learned and 
accurate author on mineralogy', after mention- 
ing that the sulphurets of zinc abound in the 
mines of Saxony, Bohemia, Hungary; that they 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 251 

are found in Sweden, Norway, England, France, 
etc., and that, in general, zinc is one of the most 
common of the metals, informs us, that 'this 
metallic substance is scarcely an object to seek 
after, and that it is casually extracted in the 
melting of minerals with which it is associated, 
and particularly the sulphur ets of lead. 5 

'The sulphurets of zinc are scarcely worked 
by themselves, or with the sole intention of 
extracting the metal. It is most frequently by 
fusion with the ores of lead, mixed with the sul- 
phuret of zinc, that the latter metal is obtained/ 
Fourcroy, vol. 5, p. 522. 

'Blende is sometimes, although extremely 
rarely, worked as an ore of zinc.' Jamieson's 
Mineralogy, vol. 2, article Zinc. 

'Zinc is obtained adventitiously, in the melt- 
ing of such copper and lead ores as contain 
zinc or blende.' Weigleb, p. 419. 

" '7 do not know any country where blende is 
wrought to obtain zinc' Chaptal, Amer. edit., 
vol. 2, p. 46. 

" 'As the consumption of zinc is very limited, 
it has not been worked.' Chemistry applied to 
the Arts and Manufactures, by Chaptal, vol. 2, 
p. 209. 

" 'Calamine is the ore of zinc that is always 
worked. The extraction of zinc from blende is at- 
tempted, but not often.' Murray, vol. 3, p. 34. 



252 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

" 'No mines are worked in order to extract 
zinc. In fusing lead ore, mixed with blende, 
the metal is obtained in the state of an oxide/ 
Lagrange, vol. 2, p. 34. 

"I might swell this list of quotations with 
extracts from other eminent chemical authors; 
but I shall forebear, as I should, no doubt, 
meet with this conclusive answer from Dr. 
Seybert, that 'those authors do not know all that 
is done in this way!' 

"The reason that the blendes are not worked, 
is the great difficulty of throwing off the sulphur 
they contain. The following experiments have 
lately been made: 

"One pound of the Perkiomen ore, reduced to 
a fine powder, was exposed eight hours in a 
blast furnace to the heat of the Lehigh coal, 
which is much greater than can be excited by any 
other kind of fuel, and it lost only three ounces 
in weight. Aqua regia was then added to an 
ounce of it, and a quantity of sulphur imme- 
diately separated and swam on the surface of 
the fluid. When washed and dried it weighed 
150 grains. 

"Eight ounces of this roasted ore, mixed 
with the powder of charcoal, were submitted in 
a proper manner to the same heat for ten hours, 
and an inconsiderable quantity of metallic 
zinc was procured. 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 253 

"An unsuccessful attempt was also made to 
manufacture the sulphate of zinc, or white 
vitriol, in the same manner as they do in some 
parts of Europe, by submitting a lump of ore, 
weighing two pounds, to an intense red-heat, 
repeatedly extinguishing it in water, and evap- 
orating this fluid to dryness. 

"As Dr. S. has made no experiments on the 
Perkiomen ore, it is absurd for him to pretend 
to give information to others on this subject, 
when he possesses none himself. 

"For my part, I would sincerely rejoice to 
see this or any other metallic substance wrought 
to advantage in this country; coinciding freely in 
the opinion of the illustrious Chaptal, 'That 
although AGRICULTURE is the basis of the 
public welfare, the ARTS and COMMERCE 
form the glory, the ornament, and the riches of 
every polished nation/ 

"I shall now conclude my reply to Dr. Sey- 
bert by introducing a letter on this subject, 
which has been addressed to me by a mineralo- 
gist, who, in that science, is second to none, 
either in this or any other country. 
"'Sib, 

6 The question at present between you and 
Dr. Seybert is, whether it be possible to use, 
with advantage, the blende of Perkiomen in the 
manufacture of zinc and brass. It appears to 



254 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

me that the solution of this question is beyond 
the limits of chemistry, and mineralogy, and 
become a question merely of speculation. On 
this point, I think the quotations from European 
authors perfectly useless, for none of them 
declare positively that any benefit has resulted 
to those who have tried this experiment. Be- 
sides, their authority must pass for nothing as 
regards America, where circumstances are so 
different from those of Europe. I have no 
hesitation in giving my opinion against a manu- 
facture intended for the transformation of 
blende into artificial calamine, in a country 
where I am as yet unacquainted with any mine 
of copper being in actual exploration; but my 
idea on this subject may be susceptible of some 
modification, as I am not sufficiently advanced 
in a knowledge of the country, to have ascer- 
tained the price of various articles necessary to 
the manufacture, and to render it really ser- 
viceable/ 

"Dr. S. anticipates the near approach of a 
time, when we shall see the articles of zinc and 
copper, as forming interesting items in the list 
of articles exported from the United States. 
If this should prove correct as to brass, it cer- 
tainly never can be so as to zinc. I have always 
seen that metal at so low a price, and in so little 
demand in Europe, that it is very doubtful 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 255 

whether that part of the world (the only place 
to export to) will ever present an advantageous 
market for zinc manufacturers in America. 
But if, in fact, Dr. Seybert has a good opinion 
of the utility of exploring this mine, a natural 
proof presents itself corroborating his own 
opinion, and proving that what he advances to 
the public is the fruit of reflection. It is said he 
is wealthy; let him furnish the funds, and his 
information towards an object of which he has 
so high an idea, and which ought now to afford 
a greater prospect of success, as a mine of 
copper, of which he had no knowledge at the time 
of publishing his essay, has just been discovered 
near that containing this blende. For my part, 
I sincerely hope that this business may succeed; 
but so far I see no reason to change my opinion. " 

Would that these scientists could have lived to 
see the working of zinc ores in Missouri, Penn- 
sylvania, New Jersey, and elsewhere. Changes 
do come with time and further knowledge! 

A striking feature of Woodhouse's character, 
manifest in all his work, was an overweaning 
ambition to serve his country. 



Curiously, the examination of the literary 
remains of even the most eminent chemists of 
the earlier days, reveals that at some time they 



256 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

suggested the making of inks of various sorts. 
Woodhouse Was no exception. He did not 
believe that it in any wise compromised his 
dignity as investigator or professor. Thus it 
happened that in response to a desire of John 
Redman Coxe of the Medical Museum, who 
became in time his successor, he wrote, "a 
receipt for making an indelible ink, superior 
to that imported from London. 5 9 Perhaps it 
may have a present value, for which reason it 
is here incorporated. 

"Dissolve four drachms of the nitrate of 
silver or lunar caustic of the shops, in four 
ounce measures of rain or river water, and when 
the solution is clear, add to it sixty drops of 
an infusion of galls, made by pouring a gill of 
boiling water, on two drachms of powdered 
galls. 

"Dissolve one ounce of pearl-ash in four 
ounce measures of water, and let it stand until 
the solution becomes clear. 

"Dip a flat stick in the solution of pearl-ash, 
and impregnate the article in the part to be 
marked with it, and let it be well dried. Then 
write over it, with a clean pen, having a stiff 
nib, dipped in the solution of lunar caustic, 
holding the gallate of silver suspended, and the 
letters will be formed of a black colour. 

"When an infusion of galls is added to a solu- 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 257 

tion of the nitrate of silver, the gallic acid 
unites to a portion of the oxide of silver of the 
nitric solution, and forms gallate of silver, 
which remains for a short time suspended in the 
solution, and makes the ink, which consists of 
gallate and nitrate of silver, flow from the pen 
in an equable manner. 

"When the ink comes in contact with muslin, 
linen or cotton, impregnated with the solution 
of pearl-ash, a double elective attraction takes 
place. The gallic and nitric acids, unite with 
the pearl-ash and form gallate and nitrate of 
pearl-ash; the carbonic acid of the pearl-ash 
joins the oxide of silver, and makes carbonate of 
silver, which is deposited upon the part written. 

"When articles marked with this indelible 
ink, are washed, the gallate and nitrate of pot- 
ash, being soluble in water, are carried away, 
and the carbonate of silver remains behind. 

"When the gallate of silver has fallen to the 
bottom of the nitric-solution, the vessel contain- 
ing it, must be frequently shaken, to keep it 
suspended. 

"The quantity of ink, mentioned in this 
receipt, will fill forty bottles, of the size imported 
into this country. 

"The pot-ash contained in the vials brought 
from London is coloured with cochineal or red 
saunders/' 



258 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

The various chemical reactions outlined in 
this receipt could sustain a revision without loss. 
Present day explanation would differ con- 
siderably. 



Before the active period of Wohler and 
Liebig there were chemists who were unable to 
resist the fascinating power of the destructive 
fulminates. The work of Howard and Brug- 
natelli in this field is so well known that a 
review of the same in this place would be 
superfluous, and nothing would be said of them 
were it not that in a letter to his friend Mitchill, 
Woodhouse recited his personal experiences in 
this direction. After alluding to the short- 
comings of the existing methods and his failure 
to realize any success with them, he says: 

"My mode is as follows: 

"Take two ounce measures of a saturated 
solution of the nitrate of mecury in water, and 
pour it into a quart tumbler. Add to it four 
ounce measures of alkohol, and then two ounce 
measures of the best and strongest nitric acid. 

"Immediately an effervescence will take place, 
and an immense quantity of nitrous etherized 
gas, and nitrous air, will be discharged in thick 
clouds, and in about fifteen minutes the ful- 
minating mercury will be deposited at the 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 259 

bottom of the vessel, in beautiful slender 
crystals of a white and brilliant colour. They 
must be washed by filling the tumbler twice 
with pure water, and then dried by a gentle heat, 
or by exposing them two days to the air. The 
proportion of ingredients here mentioned will 
yield two hundred and twenty-seven grains of 
this exploding preparation. The process never 
fails, is cheaper, more easily and speedily per- 
formed, and yields a larger product than any 
other yet known." 

Some years later he was moved to write at 
some length on this subject, as he believed the 
salt might be applied to purposes of war, par- 
ticularly in perforating the timbers of vessels. 
Among other observations he said: 

"A brick-bat, weighing five pounds, was 
placed upon fifteen grains of this fulminating 
mercury, lying upon an inch plank. A train of 
gun-powder was made to communicate with the 
fulminating compound. Upon firing it, a piece of 
the plank, several inches in length, was torn off. 

"Thirty grains fired in the same manner, 
split the brick in two, perforated the plank, 
and tore away a piece of it, five inches in length, 
and two in breadth. 

"Sixty grains, placed on a three inch plank, 
with two brick-bats over them, broke the bricks 
into a variety of pieces, scattered them in every 



260 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

direction, and made an excavation in the plank, 
half an inch deep, and five in circumference. 

"Ninety grains, under five bricks, broke the 
whole into an immense number of pieces, per- 
forated the three inch plank one inch deep, and 
nine in circumference. 

"Two hundred grains were laid upon an oak 
plank five feet in length, and one foot in 
breadth. Another plank of the same size was 
laid over the fulminating mercury, and confined 
by thirty pounds weight of bricks. Upon 
firing the compound, all the bricks were broken 
into pieces; a foot in length and breadth of the 
table on which the planks rested was carried 
away; the upper plank was thrown into the 
air; both were split and small excavations made 
in them. 

"An idea of the immense force of this sub- 
stance may be conceived, when it is related, that 
ten grains of it will burst the strongest pistol- 
barrel that can be made. 

"As it possesses a thousand times the power 
of gun-powder, is no ways dangerous, and can 
be fired by the flint and steel, it would appear 
to be preferable to this article to charge the 
torpedoes of Mr. Fulton.' ' 



Carbon monoxide, carbonic oxide gas in the 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 261 

oldest literature, was in Woodhouse's day con- 
founded with carburetted hydrogen. Priestley 
had called attention of chemists to it when 
writing on phlogiston. He comprehended its 
constitution quite correctly, as did also Wood- 
house. Berthollet was of those who entertained 
an opinion different from that held by Priestley. 
Woodhouse's experiment on the oxide had been 
transmitted to France, and had engaged the 
attention of the National Institute. Cruick- 
shanks of Woolwich in the meantime rede- 
termined its composition, and thus con- 
firmed the views of Woodhouse and Priestley. 
It is interesting in this connection to hear 
T. E. Thorpe: 

"If, too, as you draw up to the fire 'betwixt 
the gloaming and the mirk' of these dull, cold, 
November days, and note the little blue flame 
playing around the red hot coals, think kindly 
of Priestley, for he first told us of the nature of 
that flame when in the exile to which our fore- 
fathers drove him." 



Devoted to botanical studies, plant chemistry 
was a delight to Woodhouse. Witness his 
thesis (p. 18) and the role played by plants in 
atmospheric purification (p. 185). Consequently 
the subjoined observations were in the line of 



262 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

his activities. His friend Mitchill designated 
them "an important article of intelligence. 5 9 
They had reference to the caoutchouc found in 
certain milky plants, near Philadelphia. Wood- 
house observed: 

"During the summer season I made a variety 
of experiments upon the milky plants of this 
country, and find that many of them, as 
Apocynum Cannabinum or Indian Hemp, Son- 
chus Floridanus or Sowthistle, Asclepias Suriaca 
or Syrian Swallow-wort, Euphorbia Picta or 
Painted Spurge, and a few others yield a pro- 
duct which possesses nearly the same properties 
as the Caoutchouc of South America. 

"The milk in these vegetables answers the 
same purpose as the blood in animals, and may 
very properly be called the white blood of plants. 
When this kind of milk is received in a vessel 
exposed to the air, it separates, like the blood 
of animals, into two parts, serum and crassa- 
mentum. If it is exposed in contact with the 
air of the atmosphere, confined by water, the 
oxygenous portion of this air unites with the 
coal of the crassamentum and forms carbonic 
acid gas, by which means the purity of this air 
is greatly diminished. 

"When a wound, ever so minute, is made in 
one of these milky vegetables, it immediately 
begins to bleed, and death would ensue, did not 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 263 

a coagulum quickly form round the abraded 
part. We find the same circumstances take 
place in animals which have been wounded. 

"The natives of South America make torches 
of the Caoutchouc; and the coagulum of our 
native milky plants is equally as inflammable 
as the gum-elastic, and burns exactly in the 
same manner, giving a vivid light, and throw- 
ing off a considerable quantity of lamp-black, 
or the charcoal of oils. 

"When the white juice of the Apocynum 
Cannabinum is received in a cup, it immediately 
coagulates; the coagulum may be drawn thirty 
times its length, and it will instantly contract 
again to its original size. 

"The caoutchouc, and the coagulum of our 
lactiferous vegetables, exposed in a glass tube 
to a red heat, yield a portion of the oil of tur- 
pentine, and large quantities of carbonated 
hydrogenous gas, which has a very disagreeable 
smell." 

There is apparent also in this communication, 
reference to public welfare and service. It is 
seen constantly in his writings. It comes 
strongly to the front in his observations on the 
stem and root of the Xanthorhiza tinctoria, or 
shrub yellow root, in which he seeks to apply its 
tinctorial power as well as its medicinal prop- 
erties. His description of the plant is so de- 



264 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

lightful that every one will enjoy reading 
that: 

"The Xanthorhiza tinctoria is a native of 
North Carolina, and was first brought from 
that State into Pennsylvania, about forty years 
since, by Mr. John Bartram, then Botanist to the 
King of Great Britain, and planted in his garden 
at Kingsess, in the county of Philadelphia, 
where it has continued to flourish in a most 
luxuriant manner. The stems reach the height 
of three feet, and are generally somewhat 
thicker than the barrel of a goose-quill. The 
root is from three to twelve inches long, about 
the diameter of a man's little finger, sending off 
numerous scions, sometimes two feet in length, 
by which means it spreads considerably." 

He next refers to its CHARACTERS OF 
FRUCTIFICATION, and after emphasizing 
that the stem and root of the xanthorhiza are 
of a bright yellow colour, and possess a strong 
bitter taste, he outlines experiments made with 
different parts of the plant, "to ascertain its 
virtues." 

"1. Pump-water, digested on the stems and 
roots in coarse powder, received a yellow colour 
and tasted bitter. 

"2. Water, repeatedly boiled on the stems 
and roots, extracted the greatest part of the 
colouring matter. 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 265 

"3. The stems and roots, distilled with a 
gentle heat, produced some water, which con- 
tained none of the qualities of the plant. 

"4. One pint of alkohol, digested in half an 
ounce of the bruised roots, contracted a deep 
yellow colour, and possessed an intensely bitter 
taste. 

"5. This alkohol, being filtered, gave, by 
spontaneous evaporation in the open air, two 
scruples of a yellow resinous extract. 

"6. One pint of alkohol and water, digested 
on half an ounce of the bruised roots receives a 
pale yellow colour. 

"7. This diluted alkohol, evaporated to dry- 
ness, left thirty grains of extracted matter. 

"8. Water, added to the tincture of the 
stems and roots in alkohol, rendered it muddy. 

"9. Pieces of silk, cloth, flannel, cotton and 
linen, were boiled in a decoction of the powdered 
stems and roots. The silk received a bright 
yellow colour, the cloth a drab, the flannel a 
pale yellow, and the cotton and linen would 
not take the colouring particles. 

" 10. This silk, cloth and flannel, were exposed, 
twenty days, to the action of the solar light, in 
a temperature varying from 105 to 115 deg. 
of Fahrenheit's thermometer, along side of 
other pieces of the same kind of stuffs, dyed with 
fustic, saffron, and turmeric. 



266 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

"In a few hours the light and oxygen of the 
atmospheric air altered all these colours a little, 
except that of the cloth. The colouring matter 
of the tumeric first disappeared, then of the 
saffron — that of the Xanthorhiza stood nearly 
as well as the fustic. 

"11. Pieces of silk were boiled in the follow- 
ing mordants : Solution of alum, alum and pot- 
ash, or sulphate of pot-ash and alumine; cream 
of tartar and alum, or tartrite of alumine and 
sulphate of pot-ash; saccharum and alum, or 
sulphate of lead and acetate of alumine; and 
the murio-sulphate of tin. They were then 
dyed with the Xanthorhiza, and received dif- 
ferent shades of yellow. Other pieces of silk 
were also boiled in the same kind of mordants, 
and dyed with quer-citron bark, weld, fustic, 
turmeric, saffron, and the roots of hydrastis 
canadensis, the simple tincture of which imparts 
to silk a rich and superb yellow colour. The 
whole were exposed to the light of the sun, in 
atmospheric air, twenty-seven days, in a tem- 
perature varying from 110 to 115 deg. of 
Fahrenheit. The colouring matter of the tum- 
eric and saffron was the most fugitive. The silk 
dyed with the quer-citron bark, with saccharum 
saturni and alum, for a mordant, stood best. 
The others contracted a brown cast, except the 
weld, which had faded. 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 267 

"12. A portion of the roots grated, mixed 
with a small quantity of water, strained through 
a rag, and evaporated to dryness in the shade, 
produced a yellow extract, which was mixed 
with a portion of alum. 

"13. Paper was coloured yellow with this 
preparation, and green by mixing it with 
Prussian blue. This paper was exposed to the 
light of the sun in a temperature of 105 deg. of 
Fahrenheit along side of other paper, stained in 
a similar manner with gamboge. In a few hours 
the yellow and green of the Xanthorhiza were 
considerably altered for the worse, while those 
of the gamboge were not affected. 

"14. The leaves, stems and roots separately 
burnt in the open air, yielded ashes, to which 
warm water was added. The water being 
filtered and evaporated to dryness, produced a 
small quantity of pot-ash. Some siliceous and 
aluminous earth remained on the filter. 

"15. A handful of the leaves, exposed three 
hours to the influence of the solar light, in 
forty ounce measures of pumpwater, gave 
twelve drachm measures of oxygen gas, which 
devoured nearly three equal measures of nitrous 
air. 

"16. A green tincture of the leaves in alkohol 
was exposed in a dark place to the light of the 
sun, in atmosphere of oxygenous, azotic, and 



268 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

hydrogen gases. That which was placed in the 
oxygen gas, in the light, in a few days con- 
tracted a yellow and afterwards a red colour. 
No alteration was produced in the rest. 

"17. A stem, two feet long, was placed in a 
solution of nitre, and of the sulphates of iron 
and copper. All these agents were taken up by 
the absorbents of the plant, and deposited in the 
leaves. The iron was detected by placing the 
stem in the distilled acid of the unripe fruit of 
the Diospyros Virginiana, or persimmon tree; 
the copper, by putting it in ammoniac, when 
the leaves were turned of various shades of 
brown. The presence of the nitre was shown by 
setting fire to the leaves, when they burnt like 
paper soaked in a solution of this salt. 

"It appears, from these experiments, that the 
Xanthorhiza tinctoria contains a gum and resin, 
both of which are intensely bitter; the resin 
being more abundant than the gum. From the 
small quantity which is obtained from half an 
ounce of the stem and root, by one pint of 
alkohol, it is probable that part of it is carried 
off in the vapour of this volatile fluid. 

"It imparts a drab colour to cloth, and a 
handsome yellow to silk, but the dye will not 
take on cotton or linen, as the colouring par- 
ticles have no elective attraction for these 
stuffs. The different mordants which were 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 269 

used altered the shade of the yellow colour 
considerably, but did not appear to render it 
more permanent. While every shade of this 
elegant colour can be obtained from that truly 
valuable drug, the quer-citron bark, I think it 
will always supercede the Xanthorhiza, and 
every other native yellow dye, among which 
that of the hydrastis canadensis may justly be 
reckoned the most superb. 

"The watery extract of the grated roots, 
mixed with alum, and added to Prussian blue, 
was first used by Mr. James Bartram, for 
colouring plants, and the plumage of birds, of a 
green colour. The green is far more lively and 
elegant than that made with gamboge and 
Prussian blue, which is generally used for 
painting in water colours, and stands well in 
the shade, but soon contracts a dull colour when 
exposed to a bright light, and to a high tem- 
perature. Various subjects, coloured by this 
green, one year since, and inclosed in a book, 
are as lively at this time as when first painted. 

"The leaves, exposed in pump-water to the 
light of the sun, afforded air of a high degree of 
purity. This air arises from the decomposition 
of the carbonic acid which is contained in most 
water. The carbon of this acid unites to the 
leaves, while its oxygen is set at liberty. As 
no pure air can be obtained from these, or any 



270 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

other leaves, in distilled river, rain or lime water, 
and as, from numerous experiments, I never 
could find that they purified common atmos- 
pheric air, when inclosed in it, and exposed to 
the light of the sun, unless it contained fixed 
air, I believe the opinion which is almost uni- 
versally adopted, that they give to man oxygen 
gas in any considerable quantity, and that he 
yields them azotic air in return, to be totally 
false. 

"The colour of the leaves appears to reside in 
a resin, which is altered by the combined action 
of light and oxygen, by either of which, sepa- 
rately, it cannot be affected. Vide experiment 
16. 

"Nitre, the sulphates of iron and copper, 
ammoniac, and the gallic acid, were taken up by 
the absorbents of the stem, and carried to the 
leaves. The hyperoxygenated muriate of pot- 
ash is an excellent agent to demonstrate these 
vessels in the leaves of some trees, as those of 
the Franklinia alatemaha, Corylus avellana, 
etc., when they become of a deep brown colour. 
When a leaf of Liriodendron tulipifera was 
impregnated with nitre, and set on fire, it 
burned principally along what have improperly 
been called the nerves of the leaf, but which 
are now known to contain absorbent vessels. 

"As the Xanthorhiza tinctoria is a strong and 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 271 

pleasant bitter, and very nearly allied to the 
celebrated columbo root, it promises to become 
a valuable addition to the American Medica. 
It is preferable to all out native bitters. The 
bark of the root of the Aristolochia sipho, or 
Dutchman's pipe, which is often made use of 
by the inhabitants near Pittsburgh is a weak 
aromatic bitter. The root of the Actea race- 
mosa, black snake-root or rich weed, is a 
nauseous bitter. The bark of the root of the 
Liriodendron tulipifera, tulip or poplar tree, 
is more pungent and aromatic than bitter. 
Chironia angularis, or centaury, Gentiana sapon- 
aris, or blue gentian, Veratrum luteum, or 
devil's bit; the red berries of cornus florida, or 
dog wood; and the bark of several species of 
Salix, or willow, are weaker bitters than the 
yellow root. 

"I have often used the powdered stem and 
root of the Xanthorhiza with success, in the 
dose of two scruples to an adult, in many of 
those diseases in which bitters are recom- 
mended, but generally combined with other 
remedies. It is a medicine which sits easy 
upon the stomach, and produces no disagree- 
able effects." 

Reading a communication showing such excel- 
lent results, one cannot help but admire the 
breadth of Woodhouse's scientific purposes. 



272 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

The people of this new country were to profit 
as far as possible from their natural resources, 
aided by chemistry. 



In 1807, on Monday, the 14th of December, a 
meteor fell at Weston, Connecticut. Portions 
of this meteor were also found six and ten 
miles distant from each other. The fall 
attracted a large group of interested scientists, 
among whom was Woodhouse. What he had 
to say and the analysis he made have been 
preserved. They are reproduced because of 
the value they possess, even at this distant 
date. 

"The specific gravity of a specimen of one of 
these stones was 3.696, at the temperature of 
62° of Fahrenheit's thermometer. 

"Like the meteoric stones of other countries, 
when viewed through a microscope, they are 
found to consist, 

" 1st. Of pyrites of a silvery colour, 

"2dly. Of a substance of an orange or yellow 
colour, which is owing to the oxidation of the 
iron they contain, by means of water; for these 
colours did not appear previous to putting the 
stone in water, in order to ascertain its specific 
gravity. 

"3dly. Of an ash coloured substance, and, 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 27S 

"4thly. Of small bodies of a round, irregular, 
elongated or elliptical figure, and black colour, 
containing metallic iron. 

"One of these stones, weighing a hundred 
grains, moved the south pole of a magnet seven- 
teen degrees, and kept it stationary. 

" One hundred grains of the stone were reduced 
to a fine powder. Upon passing a magnet 
through this powder, twenty-two grains of it 
were separated. 

"According to an analysis of one hundred 
grains of one of these stones, they were found 
to consist of 

Silex 50 

Iron 27 

Sulphur 7 

Magnesia 10 

Nickel 1 



Loss 5 

100 

"The sulphur was seen distributed through 
the silex, by the naked eye, in round globules, 
the size of a pin's head, after dissolving the 
powdered stone in diluted nitric acid. 

"The quantity of nickel is guessed at; but 
the presence of this metal is evident, from the 



274 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

green colour of the muriatic solution of the 
stone, and from the purple precipitate which 
takes place, upon adding the prussiate of 
ammoniac to a filtered solution of the stone in 
marine acid, after it is saturated with alkaline 
gas, and the iron separated. 

"An elaborate account of this meteor has 
been published by Messrs. Silliman and Kings- 
ley, of Yale College, Connecticut." 

Silliman, writing his friend, Kingsley, on 
January 23d, 1808, evidently had the preceding 
report in mind. 
"Dear Kingsley, 

"I am by no means ripe for an ultimate 
account of everything, yet, knowing your keen- 
ness for letters, I now begin a few memoranda. 
We arrived on Wednesday morning, after riding 
all night through New Jersey. The night was 
very cold, and we suffered much, but as Miss 

W was very solicitous to get forward, I 

would not hang back. Anecdotes of the journey 
will come better orally, — there were, however, 
none of any moment, — but I hasten to Philadel- 
phia. I attended Woodhouse's lecture the day 
after I arrived. He received me politely, but 
made no allusion to the offensive part of his 
letter. He showed me his laboratory, which is a 
very fine one indeed. I dined with him yester- 
day and met a large party of savans. I cannot 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 275 

stay to relate many particulars. (Monday 25.) 
The meteor is immediately brought forward in 
every circle where I go. It was so at Wood- 
house's. He was very modest and even ridi- 
culed the lunar theory which he advocated in 
his letter." 



There has not been discovered a letter from 
Woodhouse containing "the offensive part." 
Perhaps he had anticipated Silliman and Kings- 
ley in the announcement of his results. He 
was ostensibly glad to renew acquaintance with 
his old pupil. It is worth noting that he 
brought him in contact "with a large party of 



savans." 



Early in 1808 Woodhouse was engaged on the 
question of the cooling of water by evaporation, 
when he wrote: 

"It is a fact well known to philosophers, that 
evaporation always generates cold, and that the 
temperature of bodies is reduced according 
to the volatility of the fluids applied to them, 
and to the warmth and dryness of the atmos- 
phere. . . . 

"In India, Persia, and Egypt, they make their 
drinking cups of a soft porous clay, which, by 



276 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

suffering some of the water to transude and 
evaporate, cools the rest. 

"Russel, in his History of Aleppo, informs us, 
that the Turks cool their wine, in the summer 
season, by wrapping a wet cloth round the bottle 
which contains it, and exposing it to the rays 
of the sun. 

"Dr. Pinkard tells us, that at Barbadoes they 
make the wine and porter very pleasantly cool, 
by putting the bottles in wet cloth bags, and 
placing them in the open windows for some 
time before dinner, taking care to sprinkle 
them occasionally with water as they stand 
exposed io the breeze. 

"Although the thermometer never descends 
to the freezing point, and ice is never discovered, 
at Calcutta, in the East Indies, in the pools or 
cisterns, or in any of the waters collected in the 
roads, yet, by evaporation, the inhabitants 
make a sufficient quantity of it in the winter for 
the supply of the table during the summer 
season. 

"Travellers all agree, that water may be 
rendered cool by evaporation; but none of them 
have informed us of the exact degree of tem- 
perature to which it may be reduced, by means 
of a thermometer, the only accurate mode of 
ascertaining the fact. 

"Witman, in his Travels in Turkey, Asia 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 277 

Minor, and Syria, speaks of its being rendered 
extremely cool. 

"In order to find how low water could be 
cooled in Philadelphia, one of the vessels which 
the natives of India use, was procured, and 
two others were made exactly like it, one of our 
common clay, and the other of clay and char- 
coal, both burnt and unglazed. These vessels 
were filled with water of the temperature of 
52°, and were kept swinging in the sun and 
shade, for several hours at a time, when the 
temperature of the atmosphere varied from 
86° to 110°. The temperature of the water in all 
the vessels was raised from 52° to 80° and 100°, 
and they appeared to have no other effect than in 
preventing it from becoming disagreeably warm. 

"As evaporation is always in proportion to 
the warmth and dryness of the air, it can easily 
be conceived, that water may be cooled in 
Egypt by these vessels, and particularly when 
the kampsin or sirocco wind blows; for this air 
is so very warm, that it appears as if issuing 
from the mouth of an oven." 



Seriously and sympathetically concerned in 
the development of chemical industries in his 
native land, Woodhouse, as early as 1804, wrote 
John Redman Coxe: 



278 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

"Too long have our citizens been dependent 
upon other nations, for many articles, to purify 
or fabricate which, requires but a small capital, 
and a very slight degree of chemical knowledge. 

"Among the subjects which we may consider 
as coming under this head, is the obtaining of 
refined camphor, from the raw material. 

"Crude camphor is imported by our mer- 
chants from Canton and Batavia, where it .is 
bought for fifty and seventy-five cents, and sells 
in this country, from a dollar, to a dollar and 
eleven cents a pound. 

"Eight years since, the refining of this article, 
was confined to two druggists in the United 
States, and at this time there are not more than 
eight persons, who accurately understand the 
process, all of whom keep it a profound secret." 

And then he proceeded to describe the 
apparatus necessary for a refinery. He claimed 
it was simple, inexpensive and occupied little 
room. His description reads: 

"It consists of a furnace, supporting a sand- 
bath, glass vessels, and iron, copper or earthen 
pans. 

"A furnace sufficiently large for one active 
and industrious man to attend, will occupy the 
space of eight feet nine inches in length and two 
feet six inches in breadth. It must be made of 
seven cast-iron plates, half an inch thick, thirty 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 279 

inches long and fifteen broad. These plates 
are to be placed upon eight piles of bricks, 
parallel to each other, and nine inches apart. 
The bricks are to be ten inches high, thirty long, 
and six broad. 

"Great care must be taken, that the lower 
sides of the plates meet each other exactly mid- 
way on the upper side of the bricks, which should 
be well covered, with a thick bed of mortar. 
Bricks serve to confine the sand. When the 
furnace is connected with a wall, there is no 
occasion for more than a single row of them: 
and to obtain a considerable draught of air a 
chimney should be carried from the fourth 
plate, with an aperture four inches in diameter, 
and the flues of the third and fifth plate, may be 
carried from the second and sixth plates, and 
the first and seventh should enter the second 
and sixth. 

"The chimney, if convenient, may be made to 
enter into that of the house, but if not, it should 
be about fifteen feet high. 

"The glass vessels may be procured at a 
glass-house and are made of green glass. They 
should be blown as thin as an oil flask. They 
should be circular in form, shaped flat like a 
turnip, and have a neck from one to three inches 
high, with an aperture, from half an inch to 
one inch in diameter. Their bottoms should 



280 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

be eleven inches broad, and the top ought to be 
four inches from the bottom. 

"They would cost twenty-five dollars a hun- 
dred in Philadelphia. 

"Fourteen pans may be made of iron, copper 
or earth. Sheet iron is the best material. They 
should be round, one foot in diameter, with a 
rim pecked on four inches and a half high, and 
ought to have two small handles. They would 
cost one dollar a piece in this city. 

"Having prepared for this necessary appara- 
tus, the next thing is to make use of it, in such 
a manner, as to refine the camphor. 

"Having taken the article out of the tubs, the 
glass vessels should be filled two-thirds full of 
it, and the apertures in the necks, slightly 
stopped, with paper or cotton plugs. They 
should then be placed on the bottom of the 
pans, and covered near to the base of their 
necks with sand. 

"The pans, holding the vessels containing the 
camphor, should be carried to the sand-bath, 
and surrounded near to the top of the rim 
with sand. 

"Kindle a gentle fire in the furnace, at four 
o'clock in the morning, and gradually increase 
it until the camphor melts, which it does when 
it arrives at 304° of Fahrenheit's thermometer. 
It will first rise in flowers, which will dissolve, 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 281 

and run down the sides of the vessel. When it 
has melted, or is boiling, the glass should be 
elevated in such a manner that the hot sand, may- 
reach only to the middle of its belly, in order 
that the cool air may be admitted to the upper 
surface of the glass, to congeal the camphor as 
it sublimes. 

"Having kept it in a liquid or boiling state, 
from eight to ten hours, the refined camphor 
will be found, adhering to the upper side of the 
vessel, and should be taken from it by breaking 
the glass while hot, or it may be easily separated 
from it, by means of a knife. 

"Break into pieces the foul parts which adhere 
to the bottom of the glass, and which cannot be 
easily parted from it, and sublime a second time, 
with an additional supply of camphor. 

"When the crude camphor is of a white colour, 
or contains little foreign matter, no addition is 
to be made to it; but when it is brown or black, 
one ounce of slacked or quick lime, should be 
mixed with every three or four pounds of it. 
The utility of lime in this operation, was 
noticed by Margraff. 

"One man can refine and pack up, from 
eighteen to twenty-five pounds every day. 

"If any of the glass vessels holding the melted 
copper should crack, which sometimes happens, 
and which is discovered, by the flowers rising 



282 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

into the air from their sides and tops, the pans 
containing it are to be immediately removed to 
a cool place; and if the camphor is found mixed 
with the sand, the whole should be put into 
other vessels, and the operation conducted as 
before. 

"The loss in refining one hundred weight of 
this article cannot be accurately ascertained, as 
it depends upon the purity of the crude material, 
and the care in conducting the process. It can- 
not be very great. 

"Professor Robertson, in a note to Dr. Black's 
Chemistry, informs us, that in a manufactory 
in Holland, he saw more than one hundred ves- 
sels in a furnace at one time, and that there was 
but a moderate smell of camphor in the room. 

"I hope that this very useful process may 
become generally known in the United States." 

To his friend Coxe he also submitted, in 1805, 
some experiments made with the Lehigh coal, 
saying: 

"Other inflammable substances, will, no 
doubt, be discovered in the United States, and 
should they be submitted to a proper course of 
experiments, bodies, apparently of the same 
nature, may be distinguished from one another, 
important services may be rendered to our 
citizens, the arts benefited, and a foundation 
laid for a system of American mineralogy." 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 283 

Turning to the main purpose of his com- 
munication, he added: 

"This coal is found in immense quantities, 
in Pennsylvania, in the county of Northampton, 
near the river Lehigh. It is of a shining black 
colour, and stains the hands very little. Its 
fragments are tabular, as may be seen, par- 
ticularly after it has been submitted to heat. 
Its specific gravity is 1.6181. It burns 
with very little flame, and no smoke; is 
with some difficulty kindled, and requires a 
considerable draught of air, to keep up its 
combustion. 

" When perfectly consumed, it leaves behind, a 
small portion of white siliceous earth, containing 
no pot-ash, and sometimes coloured brown by 
means of iron. It does not contain any sulphur. 

"Neither the sulphuric, nitric, nor muriatic 
acids act upon it. 

"It does not take fire, when reduced to an 
impalpable powder, and passed through the 
flame of a candle. 

"A piece of it, red hot, containing about 
eight cubic inches, was placed in forty-eight 
ounce measures of atmospheric air over water, 
and suffered to cool. Upon passing one meas- 
ure of this air over lime water, in the Eudiometer 
of Fontana, it gave one per cent of carbonic 
acid gas. The remainder of the air, after 



284 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

being freed from the fixed air, was reduced in 
purity from 100 to 85. 

"One cubic inch of it, red hot, suspended in 
ten ounce measures of oxygen gas, brightened 
very little. 

"The focus of an eleven-and-a-half inch lens, 
was directed upon a lump of it, confined in a 
bell-glass, in twelve ounce measures of oxygen 
gas, over water, when it burnt with a consider- 
able flame, and nearly in the same manner as 
the James river coal, when a blast of atmospheric 
air is thrown upon it. The gas was afterwards 
reduced in purity, and contained fifty per cent 
of carbonic acid gas. 

"A quantity of the coal red hot, being extin- 
guished under water, produced an inflammable 
air, without any mixture of fixed air. 

"Two measures of this gas, and one of oxygen 
air, exploded by the electric spark, in the Eudi- 
ometer of Volta, left behind one measure of 
hydrogen gas, containing ten per cent of car- 
bonic acid gas. Two measures of each of the 
gases, by the same means, were reduced to 
something more than a measure of oxygen air, 
which was mixed with fifteen per cent of fixed 
air. 

"Four ounces of it, reduced to a coarse 
powder, were exposed in an earthen retort, to a 
red heat in one of Lewis's black lead furnaces, 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 285 

when it yielded three hundred and sixty ounce 
measures of hydrogen gas, of the same kind as 
that produced by extinguishing it, when red 
hot, under water. 

"The same coal taken from the retort, and 
sprinkled with water, and exposed a second 
time to heat, afforded thirty ounce measures of 
inflammable air, in the first portions of which, 
the carbonic acid was barely perceptible. 

"The steam of water was transmitted over 
the coal red hot, confined in a porcelain tube, 
and it gave hydrogen gas in torrents, mixed 
with ten per cent of fixed air. Two measures 
of this hydrogen gas, after the carbonic acid 
had been separated from it, and one of oxygen 
gas, left near a measure of inflammable air, 
mixed with fifty per cent of fixed air. 

"A fire was kindled at half past eleven o'clock, 
by placing a quantity of the Lehigh coal, upon 
a stratum of common charcoal in a powerful air 
furnace, which was then filled with equal por- 
tions of the two substances. 

"As fast as the charcoal consumed, the 
Northampton coal w r as added, and at half past 
one, the furnace was completely filled with it, 
and two-thirds of it red hot. At four the coal 
was half consumed, and it continued burning 
until eleven o'clock at night. 

"Five of Wedgwood's thermometer pieces, 



286 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

put in crucibles made of porcelain, were de- 
posited in different places among the coal, that 
they might descend in different directions, and 
some of them be exposed to the greatest degree 
of heat. 

"When they were cool, being measured by 
the guage, they gave 70, 77, 150, 156, and 159 
degrees. 

"125 is the highest heat Mr. Wedgwood 
could ever produce, in a common smith's forge, 
and 160 in an air furnace, eight inches square. 
Brass melts at twenty-one, copper at twenty- 
seven, silver at twenty-eight, gold at thirty-two, 
and cast-iron at one hundred and thirty of this 
thermometer. The welding heat of iron is one 
hundred and twenty-five. 

"James river coal, submitted to an experiment 
of the same kind, burned out in four hours. 

"A fire was made with the Lehigh coal in a 
smith's forge, and two thick bars of iron were 
placed in it, and welded with great ease, by the 
proprietor of the furnace. 

"The smith, his journeymen, and bystanders 
were convinced, that the heat was much cleaner 
and greater, than that of the James river coal. 

"As the Virginia coal burns with flame and 
much smoke, a vast portion of this combustible 
substance, and the heat generated by it, are lost 
by passing up the chimney. 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 287 

"It appears from some of these experiments, 
that this coal does not unite to the base of 
oxygen gas, with as much rapidity as common 
charcoal, and that it decomposes water. Its 
flame consisting of oxyde of carbon, or car- 
bonated hydrogen gas, arises from this decom- 
position. 

"When it is exposed to a red heat, and con- 
tains little w r ater, it gives rise to a peculiar 
species of inflammable air without any fixed 
air; but when the steam of water is transmitted 
over it, in a red heat, the production of carbonic 
acid gas is very considerable, and when the 
hydrogen gas, thus obtained, is fired with oxygen 
gas, the fixed air generated amounts to thirty- 
five per cent more than when it is procured 
from coal united to a small quantity of water. 

"According to the opinions, now generally 
adopted by the Philosophers of Europe, the 
gases, when little wrater is mixed w T ith the coal, 
must consist of oxyde of carbon and car- 
bonated hydrogen gas. It will be said, the 
oxygen of the water, unites to part of the coal, 
and forms oxyde of carbon, while its hydrogen 
escapes, dissolves a portion of the coal, and 
makes carbonated hydrogen gas. 

"This explanation is far from being satisfac- 
tory, for no oxyde of carbon can be detected in 
the gases, produced by extinguishing this coal 



288 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

when red hot under water, or by submitting it 
to heat in an earthen retort. 

"The Lehigh coal promises to be particularly 
useful, where a long continued heat is necessary, 
as in distilling, or in evaporating large quantities 
of water from various substances; in the melt- 
ing of metals, or in subliming of salts: in 
generating steam to work steam engines, and in 
common life, for washing, cooking, &c., pro- 
vided the fireplaces are constructed in such a 
manner as to keep up a strong draught 
of air/' 

This superiority of the anthracite coal from 
the Lehigh district over the bituminous coal of 
the Southern regions was met with generous 
acclaim. Journals, periodicals, and scientific 
publications commented most favorably upon 
the experiments. 

One of the very last series of experiments 
instituted by Woodhouse related to the "raising 
of wheat flour and buck-wheat meal." One can- 
not but admire his zeal for the applied phases 
of chemistry. To him they represented com- 
fort, welfare, progress and wealth, not for him- 
self, but for the country at large. On this new 
subject he declared it is believed and taught 
"that the raising of bread is merely owing to a 
discharge of carbonic acid gas or fixed air; 
and it has been asserted, that there is no dif- 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 289 

ference between the properties of flour, and 
bread when it has been baked." 

"The principal argument in support of this 
opinion is, that all waters which contain car- 
bonic acid, such as those of the Saratoga and 
Ballstown springs, in the state of New York, 
easily raise bread. 

"It is not my intention to prove that the 
raising of dough is not owing to an escape of 
fixed air, but to show, 

"First, that flour mixed with water, however 
strongly impregnated with carbonic acid, will 
not make light bread. 

"Secondly, that the best bread can be made 
without any fixed air; and 

" Thirdly, that a chemical change takes place 
in the component parts of flour when it is made 
into bread, and which arises from the decom- 
position of water. 

"A quantity of water, impregnated with car- 
bonic acid, by strong compression, was accu- 
rately mixed with buckwheat meal, and exposed 
to a proper temperature. It exhibited no signs 
of rising; the meal subsided into a heavy mass, 
and the water floated over its surface. 

"A quantity of yeast was filtered. A viscid 
residuum remained on the filter, which con- 
tained no carbonic acid. Half a teaspoonful of 
this substance, triturated with warm water, and 



290 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

well mixed with buckwheat meal, raised it 
completely in four hours. 

"Dough was made from wheat flour, by well 
mixing it with water containing carbonic acid. 

"It was also made with the viscid residuum 
and water. 

"The masses were placed alongside of each 
other by the fire, and, in the space of a few 
hours, that made with the residuum was well 
raised, but the mass from the carbonic acid 
exhibited no change; and when the two were 
baked, the loaf made without the fixed air was 
extremely light and spongy, whereas the other 
was tough and heavy. 

"These experiments clearly prove, that buck- 
wheat meal may be raised, and excellent wheat 
bread made, without any fixed air; and that 
water, however strongly impregnated with car- 
bonic acid, and mixed with flour, will not afford 
good bread. 

"The bakers of Paris make this article of an 
excellent quality, yet all their yeast is brought in 
bags, in a dry state, from Flanders and Picardy. 

"Good yeast contains a large quantity of 
fixed air; but so little of it is used in raising 
buckwheat meal and wheat dough, that it can- 
not have much effect in raising these substances. 

"By boiling forty cubic inches of yeast in a 
glass retort, the mouth of which communicated 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 291 

with a receiver filled with mercury, fifty-two 
cubic inches of fixed air were obtained. 

"A small loaf of bread was raised with the 
viscid residuum in one hundred and four cubic 
inches of atmospheric air, confined by water. 
In the space of sixteen hours, the air was found 
to contain forty cubic inches of carbonic acid 
gas. Upon washing away the fixed air, and 
testing the atmospheric air by phosphorus, it 
was found to have undergone no alteration, 

"Buckwheat meal was raised in the same 
manner, and with the like effect. 

"These experiments prove, that a chemical 
change takes place in the component parts of 
flour, when it is made into bread. No carbonic 
acid was contained in the dough when it was 
first made, and yet, in a short time, forty cubic 
inches of this gas were formed. 

"Fixed air is composed of carbon and oxygen. 

"As no oxygen is contained in the flour, and 
no carbon in the water, the oxygen of the water 
must combine with the carbon of the flour, and 
generate the air which raises the bread. 

"It is difficult to say what becomes of the 
hydrogen of the decomposed water. It does not 
unite with another portion of oxygen and car- 
bon to form alkohol for none of this fluid can be 
procured by distilling dough or buckwheat meal, 
after they have been raised/ ' 



292 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

This brief paper is a forerunner of the won- 
derfully fruitful studies which have since been 
made on the same subject, and which at present 
are being augmented and improved so abun- 
dantly at many centers of research. It is a fas- 
cinating problem — the chemistry of the bakery! 

Could Woodhouse have lived to witness the 
advances in this particular field, he would 
doubtless have rejoiced that his simple, early 
efforts had borne such fruit. Indeed, there is 
not a single subject to which he gave attention, 
that did not later become an object of intense 
investigation. He blazed the way in so many 
fields that it is a pity he could not have lived to 
behold and comprehend the splendid results 
which flowed from them. This, however, was 
denied him. In the prime of life — not yet thirty- 
nine years old — and after a too brief career, which 
extended from 1795 to 1809 — just fourteen 
years — death came most unexpectedly, on Sun- 
day afternoon, June 4, 1809. This was the 
brief announcement in the daily papers. Apo- 
plexy was the cause. He was found dead in his 
bed. He was unmarried. His collection of 
medical books went to the Pennsylvania Hos- 
pital; his minerals to the American Philosophical 
Society. Search among his books disclosed 
nothing that would have aided in the recital 
of his life story. This is to be regretted. 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 293 

His untimely death brought sorrow to his 
friends and colleagues. The students in medi- 
cine adopted unanimously this minute: 

"Resolved, That in testimony of the high 
respect and affectionate attachment which we 
entertain for the late Professor Woodhouse, 
that each of us will wear crape on the arm for 
the space of one month/' 

The interment took place on June 7th from 
his dwelling in Sansom Street, and was attended 
by Trustees, Provost, and professors of the 
University, physicians of the city and members 
of the American Philosophical Society. 

The preceding pages give a very true picture 
of chemical science in America during the 
years of Woodhouse's activity. From the 
moment he assumed his professorship (1795) 
until death laid him low (1809) he was unceas- 
ing in his endeavors. He entered upon this 
career with meagre preparation and equipment, 
judged by present-day standards, but by stead- 
fast application he gradually grew in power, 
until his keenest critics were quite ready to 
acknowledge him as leader and defer to him all 
questions pertaining to chemistry. Let the 
American field be viewed from any standpoint, 
and there appears as the outstanding chemical 
figure for a decade more or less in that now 



294 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

far-away period, but one person — James Wood- 
house, a genuine pioneer in establishing correct 
ideas on combustion, respiration, and also the 
composition and decomposition of water. In 
short, Woodhouse placed this country in sym- 
pathy with those European lands which, but a 
little earlier, had attached themselves to the 
French standard, and should he not, therefore, 
be remembered and adequately honored for his 
achievements? There were others just as deeply 
interested in these problems but they have 
left no mark of their presence; they did not 
participate by actual personal labours in their 
laboratories in the final overthrow of the old 
doctrine and the firm introduction of the newer, 
better views. 

Woodhouse was further, a pioneer — 
In plant chemistry. 

In the isolation of at least one metal from its 
hydroxide by an ingenious, original 
method (p. 189). 
In laboratory experimentation, convinced 
that the student could only understand 
the chemical changes about him if he 
himself performed experiments, hence 
his laboratory guide (p. 77) prepared for 
this purpose. 
In chemical analysis, no matter how crude 
and imperfect his methods look in these 



JAMES WOODHOUSE 295 

days. A just idea of their worth may be 
best procured by comparing them with 
the methods in vogue among other chem- 
ists of that time, at home and abroad. 
In the elaboration of industrial chemical 
processes, for he was a thorough convert 
to the thought that his science should 
contribute to the upbuilding of his 
country among the nations of the world, 
render itself of use in making happy and 
comfortable and prosperous the inhabi- 
tants of our newly born Republic. 
In chemical research which became with him 
an all-absorbing idea, transmitted to 
everybody about him. Recall its effect 
upon Robert Hare, who actually sur- 
passed and towered above his master, 
in his very first independent research. 
Woodhouse's example won for him the esteem, 
not only of his immediate colleagues in the 
University, but also drew to him such important 
individuals in the scientific world as Samuel L. 
Mitchill, John Redman Coxe and many others 
from various sections of the Union. His pupils 
loved and honored him. He lived and wrought 
for them. His was not a selfish life; on the con- 
trary, it abounded in deeds for others, silently, 
unostentatiously, performed. He went about 
doing good. 



296 JAMES WOODHOUSE 

His administrative ability was attested by 
service as dean of the Medical School. This 
demanded patience, energy and diplomacy. 
Woodhouse succeeded to the satisfaction of 
everybody concerned. 

For these numerous reasons and others which 
will occur to the reader of the preceding pages, 
there is every reason to be glad and rejoice that 
the good man, who wrought so well in laying the 
foundations of chemistry in this broad land, was, 
beyond dispute, a worthy member of the noble 
guild of American chemists. 

"Who kindly shows a wanderer his way, 
Lights, as it were, his torch from his own torch — 
In kindling other's light, no less he shines." 



INDEX 



Accum, 184 

Acids, bitters and astringents, 47 

Adet, 125, 126, 127 

Agustina, 230 

American, Basaltes, 87 

American Mineralogical Society, 
40 

American Philosophical Society, 
58,140 

Aromatic Oils, 112 

Antiphlogistic System of Chemis- 
try, 143 

Barton, 71 

Base of Muriatic Acid, 114 

Becher's Theory, 127 

Benjamin Tree, 112 

Berzelius, 190 

Black, Joseph, 10 

Blistering Meloes, 116 

Caldwell, 18, 66, 76, 123, 188 

Camphor refinery, 278 

Caoutchouc, 263 

Carson, John, 58 

Chapman, 116 

Chaptal, Elements of Chemistry, 
229 

Chemical Society of Philadelphia," 
38, 84, 118, 154 

Chemistry of Plants, 112 

Chymical Catechism, 213 

Chymistry, Advantages of, 216 

Citizen Genet, 56 

Considerations on the Doctrine of 
Phlogiston and the Decomposi- 
tion of Water, 125 



Cooling water by evaporation, 275 
Cooper, Thomas, 190 
Coxe, John Redman, 60, 295 
Cruikshank's battery, 185, 195 
Calamine, 251 
Curaudau, 189 

Dalton, 147 

Davy, 184, 188, 191, 192, 195, 202 

Deed, 35, 36 

Dippel, Oil of, 108 

Dissertation of Woodhouse, 18, 20 

Distillation of bones, 108 

Economical Apparatus, 208, 210 
Economical Laboratory, 208, 213 
Eudiometer, Woodhouse's views 
of, 113 

Faraday, Michael, 139, 195 
Fever, Yellow, 57 
Fixed air, 173 
Fulminating mercury, 258 

Gay-Lussac, 189, 192 
General St. Clair, 11 
Genet, 56 

Hall, Frederick, 191 

Hall, Rev. James, 84 

Hare, Robert, 6, 72, 147, 190, 195 

Horse chestnut, 110 

Hutchinson, 58 

Inaugural Theses dedicated to 

Woodhouse, 63 
Indelible ink, 256 



298 



INDEX 



Jefferson, 121 

Klaproth, 90, 119 

Last Dissertation, 182 

Laurus benzoin, 112 

Lehigh Coal, 282 

Letter to Nicholson's Journal, 185 

Letters to Rush, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 

17 
Lewis's furnace, 137, 167 
Lewis, Zachariah, 91 
Liberation of Potassium, 185 

Maclean, John, 127, 129, 130 
Maclean to Woodhouse, 138 
Manganese, 235 
Manufacture of Nitre, 41 
McNevin, 122 
Mease, James, 11 
Medical Museum, 234, 237, 238 
Medical Repository, 77, 84, 91, 97, 

116, 143, 202 
Meloe Clematidis, 116 
Meloe Nigra, 116 
Menachanite, 231 
Meteor, 274 
Meteoric stones, 272 
Milky plants, 262 
Mitchill, 125, 128, 129, 202, 231, 

262,295 
Morley, E. W., 124 

Nitric acid, 178, 180 

Nitrous oxide, 200 

Non-action of nitric acid on metals, 

101 
Northumberland, 5 
Northumberland County, 34, 37 



Ore of titanium, 231 

Oxygen, Preparation of, 193, 194 

Oxy-muriate of potash, 194 

Parkinson's Chemical Pocket 

Book, 207 
Patterson, Robert M., 63 
Percival, 47 
Perkiomen blende, 248 
Persimmon bread, 33 
Persimmon, ingredient in black 

dye, 29 
Persimmon, in making ink, 30 
Persimmon, in medicine, 27 
Persimmon, in tanning leather, 27 
Persimmon tree, 18, 20, 26 
Persimmon, spirit of, 32 
Peter Porcupine, 120 
Phlogiston, 117, 121, 124 
Phlogiston established, 148 
Poison vine, 12, 14 
Political tracts, 120 
Potassium, Liberation of, 189 
Priestley, 5, 6, 58, 59, 118, 130, 

140, 150, 153, 157, 158, 166, 

176, 180, 181, 182, 261 
Priestley, Joseph, Jr., 36, 37 
Pyrolusite, 234 

Rhus Radicans, 12 

Richards, T. W., 124 

Ridgway Library, 11 

Rochefoucault, 58 

Rush, Benjamin, 9, 10 

Rush, collections, 11 

Rush, Deed to Jos. Priestley, Jr., 

36 
Rush, Letters to, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 
Rush, Letter to Coxe, 61 
Rush, Letter to Trustees, 60 
Rush, Letter to Woodhouse, 19 



INDEX 



299 



Saline gums, 54 

Seybert, Adam, 65, 243, 247, 248, 

253 
Silliman, 6, 56, 66, 73, 75, 76, 108, 

184 
Silliman, Elements of Chemistry, 

108 
StahTs Theory of Combustion, 

118, 127 
Starch, 110 

Thenakd, 118, 189, 192 

The Young Chemist's Pocket 

Companion, 77 
Twining, Thomas, 6, 7 

Univebsity op Pennsylvania, 9 

Volta, 147 
Volta cell, 195 
Voltaic current, 188 

Wedgwood, 223 

Wheat flour. Raising of, 288 

Wistar, Dr., 6 

Wohler. 190 

Woodhouse, James, 8, 9, 10, 11, 39, 

55, 66, 69, 72, 73, 76, 90, 97, 108, 

130, 182, 187, 231 



Woodhouse, Death of, 292 

Woodhouse, Deed to Rush, 34 

Woodhouse, denial that vegetables 
decompose water, etc., 186 

Woodhouse, Election to American 
Philosophical Society, 64 

Woodhouse, Election to professor- 
ship, 61 

Woodhouse, Inaugural disserta- 
tion, 18 

Woodhouse, Letter from Rush, 19 

Woodhouse, Letter to Maclean, 
131 

Woodhouse, Letter to Nicholson's 
Journal, 185 

Woodhouse, Nitric acid and 
metals, 101 

Woodhouse, Reply to Priestley, 
140, 148 

Woodhouse, the Pioneer, 294 

Woodhouse, Voyage to London, 
184 

Xanthobhiza tinctobia, 263 

Yellow feveb, 57 

Zinc mine, 237, 238 



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