Page:Willich, A. F. M. - The Domestic Encyclopædia (Vol. 4, 1802).djvu/289

balsam : they are used chiefly for imparting an agreeable flavour to chocolate, in the proportion of one grain to an ounce : the drug itself is said to be resolvent and corrobo- rant ; to afford relief in flatulency; and to promote the digestion of the oily matter contained in the cacao. On the other hand, if it be too freely used, its narcotic effefts, though exhilarating at first, like opium, are succeeded by uncom- mon debility, and relaxation of the nerves. — When the fresh pods are opened, they exhale such power- ful fragrance, as to intoxicate the person thus employed, VAPOUR, a term denoting those particles of bodies, that are rarefied by heat : being thus ren- dered specifically lighter than the atmosphere, they ascend to a con- siderable height, and are at length totally dissipated. The aqiieous vapours, exhaled from the earth by the solar rays,' compose the clouds ; from which those humidities are precipitated, in the form of Rain. But, there are others arising from metals, ex- tremely pernicious to animal life : such, for instance, arc those disen- gaged by the smelting or refining of lead, which communicate a dele- terious property to the grass in their vicinity ; so that the cattle feeding on it frequently perish; and, if any stagnant water be impregnated with these fames, it proves etjually fatal to fjsh. There are likewise mephitic va- pours, discharged from the bowels of the earth ; and which are pecu- liarly injurious both to man and cattle: of this nature, are the fumes exhaled from the Grotto del Cani, in Italy; and those generated in some wells, and subterraneous place8> in Britain. As there are V AP 1^59' ipstances in which these were at- tended with melancholy effects, va- rious expedients have been devised, with a view to render them inno- cuous ; but the cheapest and most simple, is that proposed by Mr. Ebenezer Robinson, in the TraJisaciions of the American Phi" losophical Society. He dire6ts a pair of smith's bellows to be fixed in a wooden frame, so as to work in the same manner as at the forge : this apparatus being placed at the edge of the well, one end of a lea- ther tube must be fastened to the nozzle of the bellows ; while the opposite extremity is thrown into the well ; and, on blowing them for about half an hour, all perni- cious vapours will be etJettually expelled. — If, however, any person should unfortunately have been suf- focated by these exhalations. Dr. Van IMarum, as well as M. Vak Tkoostwyk, in such cases, advise the lungs to be inflated with de- phlogisticated or vital air, through a bladder and tube contrived for this purpose. The treatment point- ed out under the article Suffoca- tion, may also be usefully em- ployed on such melancholy occa- sions. In March, 1/92, a patent was obtained by Mr. Charles Wil- liam Wakd, for a method of converting the vapour or smoke arising from the combustion of different substances, into various materials (which are not stated) : our limits not permitting us to describe the machines by which such object is eft'eded, the curious reader will consult the specification inserted in the 1st vol. of the Re- pertory of Arts, &c. A patent was also granted, in May,l7y4,toMr.RoBERTSTREET, for an invention designed to pro- S 2 dbcc