JOURNAL oa C m m m EDUCATION
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NOVEMBER, 1926
ELEMENTARY CHEMISTRY OF THE LONG AGO V. SESSIONS, PRINCETON UNIVERSITY, PRINCETON, N.J.
WILLIAM
The Young Ladies' and Gentlemen's Seminary, King St., New York
MESSRS.DAYTON AND NEWMAN: After a careful examination of your "Metrical Stories in Chimistry and Natural Philosophy," I do not hesitate t o give i t my unqualified approbation. It is a fact which all must acknowledge, that our youth are lamentably deficient in chimical knowledge. Frequently we see boys and even girls studying Botany and Astronomy, t o the entire neglect of Chimistry. Now this should not be. A knowledge of Chimistry is far more important for children that expect to have any concern with domestic affairs, than Botany, Astronomy or Mineralogy. The pleasing style, the simplicity of the language, the important truths contained in your Book, and its cheapness, are recommendations sufficient t o place it in the hands of every youth.. . . .
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New York. May 25.1842.
P. B. HEROY
Such was a recommendation of the little volume of "Metrical Stories in Chimistry and Natural Philosophy," designed for youth by a teacher and printed eighty-four years ago. I t contains 144 pages of doggerel of various grades of quality, and it is thought that some specimens might be of interest to the readers of the JOURXAG showing how chemistry was once taught in secondary schools. It is obviously impossible to give the titles of all the verses, bnt a few examples will give an idea of the general scheme of instruction. First we have a rhyme about "Chimistry ;" then "Matter;" "Attraction;" "Affinity;" several verses about "Light;" a number about "Caloric," including the stories of "Jonny Scott and His Eggs;" "Sarah and Her Gloves;" and "Goodness of God Manifested in Covering the Earth with Snow;" "Water;" "Evaporation;" "Story of Little Marion Culling Flowers;" "Master Warren Sprinkling the School-Room;" "Little Mary Who Was Sick of a Fever;" the sad "Story of Peter and His Powder;" then a number of verses about electricity, gases, and various simple inorganic substances. Many of the tales contain the inevitable moral which used to be considered necessary in any story for youth. Questions are also asked at the end of each poem dealing with the subject-matter. In this respect the book resembles modem texts. Underneath a wood-cut representing "Henry's Teacher Telling Him about Chimistry" is the following rhyme:
The glorious truths of Chimistry, If they are read aright, Will ever wake in you and me Sweet sources of delight. It tells of what the rocks are made, The earth, the sea, the air;
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ELEMENTARY CHEMISTRY OP THE LONG AGO
The jewels in earth's surface laid, And all the treasures there;HowPoods are form'd, and clouds collect. And minds and tempests blow, And how the tints are form'd that deck The earth's gay surface so;How in the air the meteors start, And muttering thunders roll, And how the forked lightnings dart, And flash from pole to pole. And O! how many a lovely sight The eye i s made to see, That reads the merry tales aright, Of charming Chimistry. Imagine giving the following t o a freshman:
The followkg i s the history Of Chimical Afinity, Of what he loves and where he lurks, And all the rules by which he works. The first i s this-he always binds Together things of different kinds. The next-he always firmly pulls A body's smallest 9articles. The third i s - w h e n he's tied a lot, N o human strength can break the knot. The fourth i s w h e n he can not bind Together things of different kind, He takes a third who straightway goes, And makes them then unite and close. The fifth i s this-with dij'erent might He makes the things he joins unite. The last i s t h i s w h e n bodies run B y his command and make but one, The temperature will alter so, 'Twill heat like fire or freeze like snow. How simple was the old theory of indicators.
Within a glass of water put A fair blue violet, Blue cabbage leaves, or radish root, A clear, bright blue you get.
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Then pour Sdphuric Acid in, And all the blue i s fled, You'll see the change will quick begin, Till all i s t u r d to red. The acid i s like water-whiteW h y did i t change the hue, And make the red appear so bright, Which was so fair a blue? Became they m i x another way, When we the acid pour, And they refEect a di'erent ray From what they did before. Thermochemistry likewise presented few difficulties: Caloric Caloric is subtil fluid which exists in every thing. I t causes the sensation of heat, just as sugar causes a peculiar sensation, called sweetness. I t cannot be seen, and is known to exist only from its effects. Caloric-The Cause of Heat and Cold Caloric is the element of heat. I t gws from a hot body to a colder, till they are both of the same temperature. Its natural tendency is to make all things equally hot or wld. Included in the verses on the expansive power of caloric are these
Glass stoppers oft sojirmly stick I n the decanter's stem, Y o u scarce can get them from the neck, Except by breaking them. But plunge them in w a r n water well, Or wet the glass about The griping mouth expands pell-mell And lets the stoppers out. And what some students never seem to learn is:
The thinest thing w'U soonest bear T'expand or to contract, The thickest glas$and earthenware I s always soonest crack'd. Domestic economy was also taught:
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Molasses and m k Expand much the more When Summer suns shine, Than when Winter m'nds roar. When Summer time passes, And Winter cnnes round, B u y oil and mohsesThey'll cheuper be fuund.
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It is necessary to skip a number of amusing rhymes and learn about nitric acid : Nitric Acid The Nitric Acid You'd think was placid, W i t h neither color nor smell; But put in a rose, Or whatever grows, 'Twill burn u p and wither i t well.
A drop on the skin Will prick like a p'n, Or burn like a coal from the fire, For the Oxygen pops Frmn the acid in drops, Consuming the skin in its ire.
The reason we learn, Of the sting and the burn,The Oxygen leaves i t so free, That i t flies mt its wing, And alights on a thing, And burns and corrodes it, you see. Beneath a wood-cut showing "Helen's mother telling her of what water is composed, and how the little fishes live in it," is the following:
Said Oxygen to Hydrogen, "Let's meet-I think we ought to,"They scarcely had united, when They strangely turned to water. Though Hydrogen i s twice as big, Whenjoining with the other, Yet Oxygen don't care a figOutweighing eight times mer.
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JOURNAL OF
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NOVEMBER. 1926
The little fishes in the flood, That sport around so gayly, Suck Oxygen to make their bloodAnd they must have i t daily. When i r a gets wet, as oft it must, The Oxygen will meet i t , And cover i t with a coat of rust, Because i t likes to eat it. And since the two have joined their hands, Their choicest gifts to scatter, The earth m'th all her seas and lands Has been s u p w with water. At the risk of making this "book review" too long, the properties of suliuric acid may be included: When Su@hur takes its greatest share Of Oxygen within it, Sulphuric acid starts u p there, Perfected in a minute.
on the globe Of all the man& This i s the greatest glutton, The slightest drop will eat a robe, And gnaw a metal button. 'Tm'll bite a n i r a bar in two, A s people do a radish, And one small drop on me and yon, Would make u s rather sadish. If on your skin you get a drop, You should not pour on water, I t urill not make the burning stop, But make i t rage the hotter. But put some potash on the spot, Or chalk or even ashes, 'Twill gradual die till not a j o t I s left to send its flashes. If I should ever swallow it, (I'd not for mines or specie), The safest remedy I'd get, I s chalk or else magnesia.
