WOLFRAM

is the native tungstate of iron and manganese, a mineral which occurs in primitive formations, along with the ores of tin, antimony, and lead, in the Bohemian Erzgebirge, in Cornwall, Switzerland, North America, . It is used by chemists for obtaining tungstic acid and tungsten. WOOD ( Bois , Fr.; Holz , Germ.); is the hard but porous ti ue between the pith and the bark of trees and shrubs, through which the chief part of the juices are conducted from the root towards the branches and leaves, during the life of the vegetable. The ligneous fibre is the substance which remains, after the plant has been subjected to the solvent action of ether, alcohol, water, dilute acids, and caustic alkaline lyes. It is considered by chemists that dry timber consists, on an average, of 96 parts of fibrous, and 4 of soluble matter, in 100; but that these proportions vary somewhat with the seasons, the soil, and the plant. All kinds of wood sink in water, when placed in a basin of it under the exhausted receiver of an air-pump; showing their specific gravity to be greater than 1·000. That of fir and maple is stated, by chemical authors, to be 1·46; and that of oak and beech, at 1·53; but I believe them to have all the same spec. grav. as the fibre of flax; namely, 1·50, as determined by me some years ago. [71] [71] “From the small difference found by experiment between the specific gravity of flax (1·50), and of cotton (1·47), I am inclined to think that the density of both may be considered to be equal.” or 1·50.— Philosophy of Manufactures , 2d edition, pp. 97, 98, 99. Wood becomes snow-white, when exposed to the action of chlorine; digested with sulphuric acid, it is transformed first into gum, and, by ebullition with water, afterwards into grape-sugar; with concentrated nitric acid, it grows yellow, loses its coherence, falls into a pulverulent ma , but eventually di olves, and is converted into oxalic acid; with strong caustic alkaline lyes, in a hot state, it swells up exce ively, di olves into a homogeneous liquid, and changes into a blackish-brown ma , containing oxalic and acetic acids. The composition of wood has been examined by Gay Lu ac and The nard, and Dr. Prout. The first two chemists found it to consist, in 100 parts, of — | Oak. | Beech. | | Carbon | 52 | ·53 | 51 | ·45 | | Hydrogen | 5 | ·69 | 5 | ·82 | | Oxygen | 41 | ·78 | 42 | ·73 | According to Dr. Prout, the oxygen and hydrogen are in the exact proportions to form water. Willow contains 50, and box 49·8 per cent. of carbon; each containing, therefore, very nearly 44·444 of oxygen, and 5·555 of hydrogen. In the analyses of Gay Lu ac and The nard, there is a great exce of hydrogen above what the oxygen requires to form water. Authenrieth stated, some years ago, that he found that fine sawdust, mixed with a sufficient quantity of wheat flour, made a coherent dough with water, which formed an excellent food for pigs; apparently showing that the digestive organs of this animal could operate the same sort of change upon wood as sulphuric acid does. Table of the Distillation of One Pound of Wood , dried, at 86° Fahr. | Name of the wood. | Weight of wood acid. | One ounce of the acid saturates of carbonate of potash. | Weight of the combustible oil. | Weight of the charcoal. | | Ounces. | Grains. | Ounces. | Ounces. | | White birch | 7 | | 44 | | 1 | 1⁄4 | 3 | 3⁄4 | | Red beech | 7 | | 44 | | 1 | 1⁄2 | 3 | 3⁄4 | | Prick wood (spindle tree) | 7 | 1⁄2 | 40 | | 1 | 3⁄4 | 3 | 1⁄2 | | Large leaved linden | 6 | 3⁄4 | 41 | | 2 | | 3 | 3⁄4 | | Red or scarlet oak | 7 | | 40 | | 1 | 1⁄2 | 4 | 1⁄4 | | White beech | 6 | 1⁄2 | 40 | | 1 | 3⁄4 | 3 | 3⁄4 | | Common ash | 7 | 1⁄2 | 34 | | 1 | 1⁄2 | 3 | 1⁄2 | | Horse chestnut | 7 | 1⁄2 | 31 | | 1 | 1⁄2 | 3 | 1⁄2 | | Italian poplar | 7 | 1⁄4 | 30 | | 1 | 1⁄2 | 3 | 3⁄4 | | Silver poplar | 7 | 1⁄4 | 30 | | 1 | 1⁄4 | 3 | 3⁄4 | | White willow | 7 | 1⁄4 | 28 | | 1 | 1⁄2 | 3 | 1⁄2 | | Root of the sa afras laurel | 6 | 3⁄4 | 29 | | 1 | 3⁄4 | 4 | 1⁄4 | | Wild service tree | 7 | | 28 | | 1 | 3⁄4 | 3 | 1⁄2 | | Basket willow | 8 | | 27 | | 1 | 1⁄2 | 3 | 1⁄2 | | Dogberry tree | 7 | | 27 | | 2 | | 3 | 1⁄2 | | Buckthorn | 7 | 1⁄2 | 26 | | 1 | 1⁄2 | 3 | 1⁄2 | | Logwood | 7 | 3⁄4 | 26 | | 1 | 1⁄2 | 4 | | | Alder | 7 | 1⁄4 | 22 | | 1 | 1⁄2 | 3 | 1⁄2 | | Juniper | 7 | 1⁄4 | 23 | | 1 | 3⁄4 | 3 | 1⁄2 | | White fir (deal) | 6 | 1⁄2 | 23 | | 2 | 1⁄4 | 3 | 1⁄2 | | Common pine wood | 6 | 3⁄4 | 22 | | 1 | 3⁄4 | 3 | 1⁄2 | | Savine tree | 7 | | 20 | | 1 | 3⁄4 | 3 | 3⁄4 | | Red deal (pine) | 6 | 1⁄2 | 18 | | 2 | 1⁄4 | 3 | 3⁄4 | | Guiac wood | 6 | | 16 | | 2 | 1⁄2 | 4 | 1⁄4 |