- Of these, the most important early expositions of the art were: an Appendix by Gustav von Engeström to his English translation of Cronstedt's Försök till Mineralogie (see note 30 below) Bergman T.O. Commentatio de Tubo Ferruminatorio, eiusdemque usu, in explorandis corporibus praesertim mineralibus Vienna 1779 and J. J. Berzelius, Afhandling om Blasrörets användande i kemien och mineralogien, Stockholm, 1820. I have used the English translation of this work: J. J. Berzelius, The Use of the Blowpipe in Chemical Analysis, and in the Examination of Minerals, translated from the French of M. Fresnel by J. G. Children … with a sketch of Berzelius' system of mineralogy …, London, 1822. Another useful early work in English, with a brief historical account of the development of the blow-pipe is: J. Griffin, A Practical Treatise on the Use of the Blowpipe, Glasgow, 1827.
- Otter , W. 1825 . The Life and Remains of Edward Daniel Clarke Professor of Mineralogy in, the University of Cambridge , 2nd edition London 2 vols. For a summary account of Clarke's life and work see: Annual Register, London, 1822, pp. 322–324.
- Otter , W. 1825 . The Life and Remains of Edward Daniel Clarke Professor of Mineralogy in, the University of Cambridge , 2nd edition London 2 vols.
- Wotton , William . 1666–1727 . celebrated scholar and divine, a remarkable child prodigy and noted for his prowess of memory
- Clarke , E. 1767 . Defence of the Conduct of the Lieutenant-Governor of the Island of Minorca, … London E. Clarke, Letters, concerning the Spanish Nation; written at Madrid, during the years 1760 and 1761, London, 1763.
- Clarke , E.D. 1810–1823 . Travels in Various Countries of Europe, Asia and Africa. (Part the First, Russia, Tartary and Turkey; Part the Second, Greece, Egypt and the Holy Land; Part the Third, Scandinavia) London 6 volumes Several subsequent editions were published, the last appearing in 1848.
- Hamilton , William . 1774 . Observations on Mount Vesuvius, Mount Etna, and Other Volcanos: in A Series of Letters, Addressed to the Royal Society, … , London : New Edition . Hamilton wrote (p. 92): ‘Nature, though varied, is certainly uniform in her operations, and I cannot conceive that two such considerable Volcanos as Etna and Vesuvius should have been formed otherwise than every considerable Volcano of the known world.’ It is interesting to note that he envisaged volcanic activity as a means of maintaining the fertility of the globe by a constant, slow, ‘ploughing’ of the earth. The treatment adopted (p. 160, ‘Such wonderful operations of Nature are certainly intended by all-wise Providence for some great purpose.’) is reminiscent of Hutton's similar use of the ‘argument from design’.
- Clarke , E.D. 1767 . Defence of the Conduct of the Lieutenant-Governor of the Island of Minorca, … Vol. i , 667 – 667 . London
- Otter , W. 1825 . The Life and Remains of Edward Daniel Clarke Professor of Mineralogy in, the University of Cambridge , 2nd edition Vol. i , 279 – 279 . London 2 vols.
- Macculloch , J. 1819 . A Description of the Western Islands of Scotland, including the Isle of Man London 2 volumes
- I have illustrated this point by means of a simple example in a recent paper: The Vulcanist Neptunist Dispute Reconsidered J. Geol. Educ. 1971 19 124 129
- See, for example: Rudwick M.J.S. Hutton and Werner Compared: George Greenhough's Geological Tour of Scotland in 1805 Brit. J. Hist. Sci. 1962 1 117 135
- Otter , W. 1825 . The Life and Remains of Edward Daniel Clarke Professor of Mineralogy in, the University of Cambridge , 2nd edition Vol. i , 436 – 436 . London 2 vols.
- Clarke , E.D. 1807 . Syllabus of Lectures in Mineralogy Cambridge
- It is not possible to enter here into a detailed discussion of Clarke's lectures, though they are of considerable interest, and offer a valuable insight into the Professor's scientific views. Clarke did not lay much emphasis on theory, and many of the items in the printed Syllabus which promise some theoretical discussion are not represented in Macleay's notes. Why such theoretical aspects were omitted we cannot now determine, but it seems not unreasonable to suggest that the omission reflects Clarke's interest in the collection and classification of minerals rather than a theoretical treatment of their properties, and this seems to be in keeping with his somewhat ‘Baconian’ approach to science—a point which will be touched on again below. This is not to say, however, that he ignored the chemical basis of minerology. His chemical system of classification may be gauged from his Methodical Distribution of the Mineral Kingdom into Classes, Orders, Genera, Species, and Varieties Lewes 1806 a pamphlet of six pages, dedicated to the ‘Students of the University of Cambridge’.
- Otter , W. 1825 . The Life and Remains of Edward Daniel Clarke Professor of Mineralogy in, the University of Cambridge , 2nd edition Vol. ii , 344 – 344 . London 2 vols. The work by Ehrmann referred to is: Essai d'un Art de Fusion a l'aide de l'air du feu, ou air vital par Mr. Ehrmann …. Traduit de l'Allemand par M. de Fontallard & revu par l'auteur. Suivi des mémoires de Mr. Lavoisier … sur le même Sujet, Strasbourg, 1787.
- Some account of the history of the blow-pipe is given in: Szabadváry F. History of Analytical Chemistry Oxford 1966 50 55 A very detailed history, indicative of the importance which was attached to the blow-pipe by the chemists and mineralogists of the period, was written at the end of the eighteenth century: Weigel, C. E., ‘Versuch einer Geschichte des Blaserohrs und seine Andwendungen; vom Hrn Profeß. Weigel in Greisswalde’, Beyträge zu den chemischen Annalen (Crell's Beyträge), 1790, 4, 262–283, 393–419; 1794, 6, 6–24, 198–216.
- Newberry , P.E. 1893 . Beni Hasan London (Published under the auspices of the Egypt Exploration Fund), Part I Plate XI; and Part II, London, 1894, Plates IV and VII.
- Weigel . 1790 . “ Versuch einer Geschichte des Blaserohrs und seine Andwendungen; vom Hrn Profeß. Weigel in Greisswalde ” . In Beyträge zu den chemischen Annalen (Crell's Beyträge) Vol. 4 , 264 – 281 . gave a very detailed account of the early application of the blow-pipe in the glass industry, particularly with reference to the construction of thermometers, but was unable to determine the origin of the application with complete precision. As he pointed out, when an instrument of this kind is developed by artisans, it may be in use for a number of years before this fact becomes recorded in the literature.
- 1691 . Saggi di Naturali Esperienze Fatte nell Accademia del Cimento sotto la Protezione del Serenissimo Principe Leopoldo di Toscana e Descritte dal Segretario di essa Accademia , 2nd edition II – IV . Florence (The first edition, which I have not seen, was published in 1660.) The Italians termed the blow-pipe a gonfia.
- Kunckel , J. 1679 . Ars Vitraria Experimentalis oder, vollkommene Glasmacher Kunst… 399 – 400 . Frankfurt and Leipzig (Cited in: F. Szabadváry, op. cit., p. 81).
- Boyle , R. 1725 . The Philosophical Works of the Honourable Robert Boyle Esq; Abridged, methodised, and disposed …. By Peter Swan , Vol. i , 477 – 477 . London : M.D. .
- Stahl , G.E. 1730 . Philosophical Principles of Universal Chemistry: … Drawn from the Collegium Jenense of Dr. George Ernest Stahl. By Peter Shaw , 32 – 32 . London : M.D. .
- Cramer , J.A. 1741 . Elements of the Art of Assaying Metals …, Translated from the Latin… 99 – 99 . London The Latin edition (which I have not seen) was published in 1739. Cramer's illustration of the blow-pipe is of particular interest since it shows a small bulb in the tube, to collect moisture. This refinement probably indicates that the instrument had been in use for some time, although having received little attention in the literature.
- For a discussion of early assay methods see: Greenaway F. The early development of analytical chemistry Endeavour 1962 21 91 97
- Here, I am relying on Partington's authority History of Chemistry London 1962 iii 174 174 The issue was confused by Bergman (op. cit., p. 3), who stated that Andreas Swab was the first to adopt the blow-pipe in Sweden for mineralogical analyses. Weigel (loc. cit., p. 283) maintained, on the authority of Von Engeström, that Cronstedt should have priority.
- For a discussion of the contributions of Cronstedt, see Bartow V. Axel Fredrik Cronstedt Jour. Chem. Educ. 1953 30 247 252 A most attractive portrayal of Cronstedt at work with his blow-pipe is to be found in: F. Greenaway, Chemical Laboratories and Apparatus to 1850, Science Museum, London, 1966, item 8.
- See Weeks M.E. Discovery of the Elements , 5th edition Easton, Pa. 1945 70 73
- Cronstedt , A.F. 1772 . An Essay Towards a System of Mineralogy, translated from the original Swedish with notes, by Gustav von Engeström. To which is added, a treatise on the Pocket-Laboratory, containing an easy method, used by the author, for trying mineral bodies, written by the translator. The whole revised and corrected, with some additional notes, by Emanuel Mendes da Costa. 2nd. edition; with an appendix, containing additions and notes by Professor M. T. Brunnick London
- For a description of these early portable mineralogical ‘laboratories’, see Smeaton W.A. The portable chemical laboratories of Guyton de Morveau, Cronstedt and Gottling Ambix 1966 13 84 91
- Bergman , T.O. 1779 . Commentatio de Tubo Ferruminatorio, eiusdemque usu, in explorandis corporibus praesertim mineralibus Vienna
- Berzelius , J.J. 1820 . Afhandling om Blasrörets användande i kemien och mineralogien Stockholm wrote: ‘It is a difficulty like that which a man experiences when he endeavours at the same time to turn his right arm and his right leg in opposite directions’. The trick required was to expel air from the mouth by means of the cheeks, while, at the same time, breathing into the lungs through the nose.
- Priestley , J. 1790 . Experiments and Observations on Different Kinds of Air, and other branches of Natural Philosophy, connected with the subject Vol. ii , 168 – 168 . London 3 vols.
- Achard , F.C. 1782 . Sur un nouveau moyen de produire, avec une très-petite quantité de charbons ou d'autres substances inflammables, une chaleur égale à celle qu'on peut produire par des verres & des miroirs ardens d'une grandeur considerable; avec la description d'un fourneau, qui, en servant a chausser un appartement, purifie l'air qu'il renferme, en le privant de son phlogistique . Observations sur la Physique, sur l'Histoire Naturelle et les Arts , 20 : 371 – 376 .
- Lavoisier , A.L. 1782 . Mémoire sur un moyen d'augmenter considérablement l'action de feu et de la chaleur dans les opérations chimiques . Mem. Acad. Roy. des. Sci. , : 457 – 465 . (1785) reprinted in Oeuvres de Lavoisier, Paris, 1862, vol. ii, pp. 423–431.
- Lavoisier , A.L. 1782 . Mémoire sur un moyen d'augmenter considérablement l'action de feu et de la chaleur dans les opérations chimiques . Mem. Acad. Roy. des Sci. , : 457 – 465 . (1785) (‘Oeuvres’), plates IV and V, accompanying the text.
- Pott , J.H. 1746 . Chemische Untersuchungen welche fürnehmlich von der Lithogeognosie oder Erkennung und Bearbeitung der gemeinen einfacheren Steine und Erden, ingleichen von Feuer und Luft handeln Potsdam I have used the French edition: J. H. Pott, Lithogéognosie, ou Examen Chymique des Pierres et des Terres en Général, et du Talc, de la Topaze, & la Stéatite en particular, avec une Dissertation sur le Feu & sur la Lumiere, Paris, 1753.
- This work is cited by Ehrmann Essai d'un Art de Fusion a l'aide de l'air du feu, ou air vital par Mr. Ehrmann …. Traduit de l'Allemand par M. de Fontallard & revu par l'auteur. Suivi des mémoires de Mr. Lavoisier … sur le même Sujet Strasbourg 1787 as: Description de quelques machines établies pour l'usage de l'air déphlogistiqué avec le chalumeau & le feu de fonte, & d'une méthode de se procurer beaucoup de cet air, Tubingen, 1785. I have not seen it.
- Hare , R. 1802 . Memoir on the Supply and Application of the Blow-pipe . Philosophical Magazine , 14 : 238 – 245 . and 298–306. This was also published in France under the title ‘Memoire sur l'usage du chalumeau’ (Annales de Chimie, an XI, 45, 113–138).
- Numerous forms of his instrument are described by Hare in his: A Compendium of the Course of Chemical Instruction in the Medical Department of the University of Pennsylvania …. For the Use of His Pupils Philadelphia 1827
- Silliman , Benjamin . 1817 . Experiments on the Fusion of Various Refractory Bodies by the Compound Blow-Pipe of Mr. Hare . Phil. Mag. , 50 : 106 – 114 .
- This is according to the statement of Clarke in his principal exposition of the blow-pipe techniques: Clarke E.D. The Gas Blow-Pipe, or Art of Fusion by Burning the Gaseous Constituents of Water: Giving the History of the Philosophical Apparatus so denominated; the Proofs of Analogy in its Operations to the Nature of Volcanoes; Together with an Appendix containing an account of Experiments with this Blow-Pipe London 1819 6 6
- This is according to the statement of Clarke in his principal exposition of the blow-pipe techniques: Clarke E.D. iThe Gas Blow-Pipe, or Art of Fusion by Burning the Gaseous Constituents of Water: Giving the History of the Philosophical Apparatus so denominated; the Proofs of Analogy in its Operations to the Nature of Volcanoes; Together with an Appendix containing an account of Experiments with this Blow-Pipe London 1819 3 3
- Brooke , H.I. 1816 . Description of a new Blow-Pipe . Annals of Philosophy , 7 : 367 – 367 . See also, Ibid., 1817, 9, 7–8.
- Newman , J. 1817 . Account of a new Blow-pipe in a letter from Mr. John Newman to the Editor . Quarterly Journal of Literature, Science and the Arts. Edited at the Royal Institution of Great Britain , 1 : 65 – 66 .
- Clarke , E.D. , ed. 1817 . “ Account of some Experiments made with Newman's Blow-pipe, by inflaming a highly condensed Mixture of the Gaseous Constituents of Water; in a Letter to the Editor, from Edward Daniel Clarke, LL.D. Professor of Mineralogy in the University of Cambridge ” . In Quarterly Journal of Literature, Science and the Arts Vol. 2 , 104 – 123 .
- Davy was allowing Clarke very little safety margin, for, subsequently, he wrote: ‘The circumstance [of the combustion of gaseous mixtures at elevated temperatures] is shown in a very elegant manner, in burning concentrated mixtures of oxygen and hydrogen at the end of a long-tube of one-sixtieth or one-seventieth of an inch in diameter, when the experiment begins (the tube being cool) there is no danger; gradually, however, as it become heated, the combustion steals as it were down the tube, and at last reaches the reservoir of the gases.’ Davy H. The Collected Works of Sir Humphrey Davy, Bart. LL.D., F.R.S... London 1840 vi 17 17
- Otter , W. 1825 . The Life and Remains of Edward Daniel Clarke Professor of Mineralogy in, the University of Cambridge , 2nd edition Vol. ii , 346 – 347 . London 2 vols.
- Barchard , R.W. 1817 . Ann. Phil. , 10 : 66 – 67 .
- Clarke , E.D. 1817 . Ann. Phil. , 9 : 326 – 327 .
- Beale , J.T. 1817 . Ann. Phil. , 9 : 481 – 482 .
- Booth , T.S. 1817 . Ann. Phil. , 10 : 67 – 68 .
- Gurney's apparatus is illustrated in the frontispiece of Griffin's Practical Treatise on the Use of the Blowpipe. Griffin J. A Practical Treatise on the Use of the Blowpipe Glasgow 1827 It is also depicted in F. Greenaway, op. cit., (note 28), item 12.
- Daniell , J.F. 1833 . On a New Oxy-Hydrogen Jet . Phil. Mag. , 2 : 57 – 60 .
- Clarke , E.D. 1817 . Account of some Experiments made with Newman's Blow-pipe, by inflaming a highly condensed Mixture of the Gaseous Constituents of Water; in a Letter to the Editor, from Edward Daniel Clarke, LL.D. Professor of Mineralogy in the University of Cambridge . Quarterly Journal of Literature, Science and the Arts , 2 : 119 – 119 .
- Here I have reported Clarke's version of the affair, from: Account of some Experiments made with the Gas Blow-pipe; being a Continuation of former Observations upon the same Subject Ann. Phil. 1817 10 133 138
- Mantell , J. 1818 . Ann. Phil. , 11 : 310 – 311 .
- Thomson was one of the founder members of Jameson's Wernerian Club in Edinburgh. See the list of members given in: Sweet J.M. The Wernerian Natural History Society in Edinburgh Abraham Gottlob Werner, Gedenkschrift aus Anlaß der Wiederkehr seines Todestages nach 150 Jahren am 30. Juni 1967 Leipzig 1967 205 218 in Freiberger Forschungshefte C223 Mineralogie—Lagerstättenlehre
- Clarke , E.D. 1819 . Ann. Phil. , 14 : 142 – 143 .
- Clarke , E.D. 1818 . Ann. Phil. , 11 : 194 – 198 . and Ibid., pp. 365–368.
- Hare , R. 1802 . Memoir on the Supply and Application of the Blow-pipe . Philosophical Magazine , 14 : 238 – 245 .
- 1797 . Encyclopaedia Britannica , 3rd edition Vol. xiv , 582 – 582 .
- The exact status of Baconianism in the early nineteenth century certainly warrants further research. While it is generally held that Bacon's maxims were widely accepted at that time—which is the viewpoint which I have myself adopted above—it is possible to find contrary opinions strongly expressed. Brewster, for example, wrote in 1824: ‘The opinion so prevalent during the last thirty years, that Lord Bacon introduced the art of experimental enquiry on physical subjects, …, appears to me to be without foundation, and perfectly inconsistent with the history of science …. The method given by Bacon is, … quite useless, and in point of fact has never been used in any successful inquiry. A collection of facts, however, skilfully they may be conjured with, can never yield general laws ….’ Gordon M.M. The Home Life of Sir David Brewster , 2nd edition Edinburgh 1870 128 128 and 130). I am grateful to my colleague, Mr. J. R. Panter, for drawing my attention to this passage.
- Clarke , E.D. 1816 . Ann. Phil. , 8 : 357 – 364 . letter to Thomson, dated October 5, 1816, published in Clarke was citing Bishop Watson in the quotations within this passage.
Annals of Science
Volume 29, 1972 - Issue 3