Page:Willich, A. F. M. - The Domestic Encyclopædia (Vol. 1, 1802).djvu/148

I2 4 ] ASH the tea-tre/ 5 : (he latter, like most ether evergreens, is of a doubtful, if not pernicious, quality, indepen- dently of the circumstance, that our teas may also partake of the fraudulent practices of the Chinese, to which most of their goods arc liable. In rural economy, it has been as- serted, that the. leaves of the ash impart a bad taste to milk; and it is therefore seldom suffered to grow in dairy ferms, Tho ie leaves, however, are eaten with avidity bv horses, sheep, and goats, for which animals they are considered as good foci t-.T. The hark of the common ash is used in dyeing- It is placed for some time in water, with a solu- tion of vitriol, by which the water acquires a black colour. The Mor- lachians boil the bark for the space of eight days, with the dross of iron, and, when the solution has grown cold, they use it for dyeing- black. With cold water, the bark makes a lixivium of a variegated colour, which displays azure and greenish shades ; but loUed water is not proper, as it renders the dye thick and brown. Warm water is preferable, as this produces a bloeish lixivium, which imparts a fine blue, colour to yarn, particu- larly if it has been previously dyed yellow. According to Dambour- n> i, the fresh shavings of ash, j:ive to wool, prepared with bis- muth, the true and permanent i igogne colour. ASHES, generally speaking, are the remains of bodies reduced by fire. There are vegetable, animal, and mineral ashes ; but the first only are .strieb'y entitled to that appellation. We understand, that the French have recently contrived a process of converting the adits, ASH or residuum of animal substances, decomposed by burning them, into glass, similar to that which is pro- duced in the manufacture of this article, when siliceous earth and wood-ashes are the principal ingre- dients. This curious conversion of human bodies into a transparent and most beautiful metal, is an in- genious imitation of the practice frequently adopted among the an- cients, with a view to preserve the sacred remains of their revered an- cestors, or of persons of great worth and merit. But, whether such expedients, if they ever should be- come general, be compatible with the refined feelings of relations and friends in other countries, we sub- mit to the determination of our sentimental readers. If we may be allowed to express our opinion on so delicate a subject, the scheme now followed, in this respect, by the ambitious conquerors of, and in France, may be a very economi- cal one, for saving the expences of an ostentatious funeral; and, as such, we have mentioned it in this work : but we doubt, whether there may be found many indivi- duals in mis country, except those few among the emigrees, who io- dine, or deserve, to receive the honours of combustion, Mineral bodies, when reduced by fire, are properly called Calxes, of which we shall treat under that distinct head. There is a great variety of wood- ashes prepared from different vege- tal) es. We have already described the properties of Alkalies (p. 29), and shall at present observe, that vegetable asfees contain a great qi amity of Jj.rcd salt, blended with earthy particles; and that from these ashes are extracted the fixed alkaline gaits, called Pot- ash,