DICTIONARY OF COMMERCE AND COMMERCIAL NAVIGATION. AAM, AUM, or AHM, a measure for liquids, used at Amsterdam, Antwerp, Hamburgh, Frankfort, &c. At Amsterdam it is nearly equal to 41 English wine gallons, at Antwerp ABANDONMENT, in commerce and navigation, is used to express the abandoning It is held, by the law of England, that the insured has the right to abandon, and to Abandonment very frequently takes place in cases of capture: the loss is then total, It has been decided, that damage sustained in a voyage to the extent of forty-eight When by the occurrence of any of the perils insured against the insured has acquired - No particular form or solemnity is required in giving notice of an abandonment. It In case of a shipwreck or other misfortune, the captain and crew are bound to exert themselves to the utmost to save as much property as possible; and to enable them to do this without prejudice to the right of abandonment, our policies provide that, “in case of any loss or misfortune, the insured, their factors, servants, and assigns, shall be at liberty to sue and labour about the defence, safeguard, and recovery of the goods, and merchandises, and ship, &c., without prejudice to the insurance, to the charges whereof the insurers agree to contribute, each according to the rate and quantity of his subscription." "From the nature of his situation," says Mr. Serjeant Marshall, “the captain has an implied authority, not only from the insured, but also from the insurers and all others interested in the ship or cargo, in case of misfortune, to do whatever he thinks most conducive to the general interest of all concerned, and they are all bound by his acts. Therefore, if the ship be disabled by stress of weather, or any other peril of the sea, the captain may hire another vessel for the transport of the goods to their port of destination, if he think it for the interest of all concerned that he should do so; or he may, upon a capture, appeal against a sentence of condemnation, or carry on any other proceedings for the recovery of the ship and cargo, provided he has a probable ground for doing so; or he may, upon the loss of the ship, invest the produce of the goods saved in other goods, which he may ship for his original port of destination; for whatever is recovered of the effects insured, the captain is accountable to the insurers. If the insured neglect to abandon when he has it in his power to do so, he adopts the acts of the captain, and he is bound by them. If, on the other hand, the insurers, after notice of abandonment, suffer the captain to continue in the management, he becomes their agent, and they are bound by his acts." As to the sailors, when a misfortune happens, they are bound to save and preserve the merchandise to the best of their power, and while they are so employed they are entitled to wages, so far, at least, as what is saved will allow; but if they refuse to assist in this, they shall have neither wages nor reward. In this the Rhodian law, and the laws of Oleron, Wisby, and the Hanse Towns, agree. But The policy of the practice of abandonment seems very questionable. The object of an insurance is to render the insurer liable for whatever loss or damage may be incurred. But this object does not seem to be promoted by compelling him to pay as for a total loss, when, in fact, the loss is only partial. The captain and crew of the ship are selected by the owners, are their servants, and are responsible to them for their proceedings. in the event of a ship being stranded, and so damaged that the owners are entitled to abandon, the captain and crew become the servants of the underwriters, who had nothing to do with their appointment, and to whom they are most probably altogether unknown. It is admitted that a regulation of this sort can hardly fail of leading, and has indeed frequently led, to very great abuses. We, therefore, are inclined to think that abandonment ought not to be allowed where any property is known to exist; but that such property should continue at the disposal of the owners and their agents, and that the underwriters should be liable only for the damage really incurred. The first case that came before the British courts with respect to abandonment was decided by Lord Hardwicke, in 1744. Mr. Justice Buller appears to have concurred in the opinion now stated, that abandonment should not have been allowed in cases where the loss is not total. For further information as to this subject, see the excellent works of Mr. Serjeant Marshall (book i. cap. 13.), and of Mr. Justice Park (cap. 9.) on the Law of Insurance. ABATEMENT, or REBATE, is the name sometimes given to a discount allowed for prompt payment; it is also sometimes used to express the deduction that is occasionally made at the custom-house from the duties chargeable upon such goods as are damaged, and for loss in warehouses. This allowance is regulated by the act 3 & 4 Will. 4. c. 52. $32. No abatement is made from the duties charged on coffee, currants, figs, guineagrains, lemons, opium, oranges, raisins, pepper, tobacco, and wine. ACACIA. See GUM ARABIC. ACAPULCO, a celebrated sea-port on the western coast of Mexico, in lat. 16° 50' 29" N., long. 99° 46′ W. Pop. 4,000 (?). "It is," says Captain Hall, "the very beau ideal of a harbour. It is easy of access; very capacious; the water not too deep; the holding ground good; quite free from hidden dangers *; and as secure as the basin in the centre of Portsmouth dockyard." — (South America, ii. 172.) Previously to the emancipation of Spanish America, a galleon or large ship, richly laden, was annually sent from Acapulco to Manilla, in the Philippine Islands, and at her return a fair was held, which was much resorted to by strangers. But this sort of intercourse is no longer carried on, the trade to Manilla and all other places being now conducted by private individuals The exports consist of bullion, cochineal, cocoa, wool, indigo, &c. The This is not quite accurate. There is one shoal on which a vessel was lost in 1781; but being laid down in the charts it is easily avoided. (Humboldt, Nouvelle Espagne, iv. 90.) imports principally consist of cotton goods, hardware, articles of jewellery, raw and wrought silks, spices, and aromatics. Acapulco is extremely unhealthy; and though it be the principal port on the west coast of Mexico, its commerce is but inconsiderable. The navigation from Acapulco to Guayaquil and Callao is exceedingly tedious and difficult, so that there is but little intercourse between Mexico and Peru. The monies, weights, and measures are the same as those of Spain; for which see CADIZ. ACIDS, are a class of compounds which are distinguished from all others by the following properties. They are generally possessed of a very sharp and sour taste; redden the infusions of blue vegetable colours; are often highly corrosive, and enter into combination with the alkalies, earths, and metallic oxides; forming compounds in which the characters of the constituents are entirely destroyed, and new ones produced differing in every respect from those previously existing. The quality or strength of an acid is generally ascertained either by its specific gravity, which is found by means of the hydrometer, if the acid be liquid, or by the quantity of pure and dry subcarbonate of potass or soda, or of carbonate of lime (marble), which a given weight of the acid requires for its exact neutralisation. This latter process is termed Acidimetry, or the ascertaining the quantity of real acid existing in any of the liquid or crystallised acids. The principal acids at present known are, the Acetic, Benzoic, Boracic, Bromic, Carbonic, Citric, Chloric, Cyanic, Fluoric, Ferroprussic, Gallic, Hydrobromic, Hydriodic, Iodic, Lactic, Malic, Margaric, Meconic, Muriatic or Hydrochloric, Nitrous, Nitric, Oleic, Oxalic, Phosphoric, Prussic or Hydrocyanic, Purpuric, Saccholactic, Suberic, Sulphurous, Sulphuric, Tartaric, Uric, and many others which it would be superfluous to detail. It is the most important only of these, however, that will be here treated of, and more particularly those employed in the arts and manufactures. Acetic or pyroligneous acid. — This acid, in its pure and concentrated form, is obtained from the fluid matter which passes over in distillation, when wood is exposed to heat in close iron cylinders. This fluid is a mixture of acetic acid, tar, and a very volatile ether; from these the acid may be separated, after a second distillation, by saturating with chalk, and evaporating to dryness; an acetate of lime is thus procured, which, by mixture with sulphate of soda (Glauber's salt), is decomposed, the resulting compounds being an insoluble sulphate of lime, and a very soluble acetate of soda; these are easily separated from each other by solution in water and filtration; the acetate of soda being obtained in the crystalline form by evaporation. From this, or the acetate of lime, some manufacturers employing the former, others the latter, the acetic acid is obtained by distillation with sulphuric acid (oil of vitriol); as thus procured, it is a colourless, volatile fluid, having a very pungent and refreshing odour, and a strong acid taste. Its strength should be ascertained by the quantity of marble required for its neutralisation, as its specific gravity does not give a correct indication. It is employed in the preparation of the acetate of lead (sugar of lead), in many of the pharmaceutical compounds, and also as an antiseptic. Vinegar is an impure and very dilute acetic acid, obtained by exposing either weak wines or infusions of malt to the air and a slow fermentation; it contains, besides the pure acid, a large quantity of colouring matter, some mucilage, and a little spirit; from these it is readily separated by distillation. The impurities with which this distilled vinegar is sometimes adulterated, or with which it is accidentally contaminated, are oil of vitriol, added to increase the acidity, and oxides of tin or copper, arising from the vinegar having been distilled through tin or copper worms. These may be easily detected; the oil of vitriol by the addition of a little solution of muriate of barytes to the distilled vinegar, which, should the acid be present, will cause a dense white precipitate; and the oxides of tin or copper by the addition of water impregnated with sulphureted hydrogen. Vinegar is employed in many culinary and domestic operations, and also very largely in the manufacture of the carbonate of lead (white lead). Benzoic acid-exists naturally, formed in the gum benzoin, and may be procured either by submitting the benzoin in fine powder to repeated sublimations, or by digesting it with lime and water, straining off the clear solution, and adding muriatic acid, which enters into combination with the lime, and the benzoic acid, being nearly insoluble in water, falls as a white powder; this may be further purified by a sublimation. Benzoic acid is of a beautiful pearly white colour when pure, has a very peculiar aromatic odour, and an acrid, acid, and bitter taste; it is used in making pastilles and perfumed incense. This acid also occurs in the balsams of Tolu and Peru, and in the urine of the horse and cow. Boracic acid-is found in an uncombined state in many of the hot springs of Tuscany, as also at Sesso in the Florentine territory, from whence it has received the name of Sessolin. In Thibet, Persia, and South America, it occurs in combination with soda, and is imported from the former place into this country in a crystalline form, under the name of Tincal. These crystals are coated with a rancid, fatty substance, and require to be purified by repeated solutions and crystallisations; after which it is sold under the appellation of borax (bi-borate of soda); from a hot solution of this salt the boracic acid is readily obtained, by the addition of sulphuric acid in slight excess; sulphate of soda is formed, and the boracic acid crystallises as the solution cools. When pure, these crystals are white, and have an unctuous greasy feel; they are soluble in alcohol, communicating a green tinge to its flame; when fused it forms a transparent glass, and has been found by Mr. Faraday to unite with the oxide of lead, producing a very uniform glass, free from all defects, and well adapted for the purpose of telescopes and other astronomical instruments. Borax is much employed in the arts, particularly in metallurgic operations as a flux; also in enamelling, and in pharmacy. (See BORAX.) Carbonic acid. This acid occurs very abundantly in nature, combined with lime, magnesia, barytes, aerial acid, fixed air, mephitic acid; from any of these it is easily separated by the addition of nearly any of the other acids. In its uncombined form it is a transparent, gaseous fluid, having a density of 1:53, atmospheric air being unity; it is absorbed to a considerable extent by water, and when the water is rendered slightly alkaline by the addition of carbonate of soda, and a large quantity of gas forced into it by pressure, it forms the well-known refreshing beverage soda water. This gas is also formed in very large quantities during combustion, respiration, and fermentation. Carbonic acid gas is destructive of animal life and combustion, and from its great weight accumulates in the bottoms of deep wells, cellars, caves, &c., which have been closed for a long period, and numerous fatal accidents arise frequently to persons entering such places incautiously; the precaution should always be taken of introducing a lighted candle prior to the descent or entrance of any one; for should the candle be extinguished, it would be dangerous to enter until properly ventilated. The combinations of carbonic acid with the alkalies, earths, and metallic oxides are termed carbonates. Citric acid-exists in a free state in the juice of the lemon, lime, and other fruits, combined, however, with mucilage, and sometimes a little sugar, which renders it, if required to be preserved for a long period, very liable to ferment; on this account the crystallised citric acid is to be preferred. It is pre pared by saturating the lemon juice with chalk: the citric acid combines with the lime, forming an insoluble compound, while the carbonic acid is liberated; the insoluble citrate, after being well washed, is to be acted upon by dilute sulphuric acid, which forms sulphate of lime, and the citric acid enters into solution in the water by filtration and evaporation the citric acid is obtained in colourless transparent crystals. The chief uses to which it is applied are as a preventive of sea scurvy, and in making refreshing acidulous or effervescing drinks; for which latter purposes it is peculiarly fitted from its very pleasant flavour. Fluoric acid-is found in the well-known mineral fluor spar in combination with lime; from which it is procured in the liquid form by distillation with dilute sulphuric acid in a leaden or silver retort; the receiver should be of the same material as the retort, and kept cool by ice or snow. This acid is gaseous in its pure form, highly corrosive, and intensely acid; it is rapidly absorbed by water, communicating its properties to that fluid. Its chief use is for etching on glass, which it corrodes with great rapidity. For this purpose a thin coating of wax is to be melted on the surface of the glass, and the sketch drawn by a fine hard-pointed instrument through the wax; the liquid acid is then poured on it, and after a short time, on the removal of the acid and coating, an etching will be found in the substance of the glass. A very excellent application of this property, possessed by fluoric acid, is in the roughing the shades for table lamps. All the metals, except silver, lead, and platina, are acted upon by this acid. Gallic acid.-The source from which this acid is generally obtained is the nut gall, a hard protuberance produced on the oak by the puncture of insects. The most simple method of procuring the acid in its pure form is to submit the galls in fine powder to sublimation in a retort, taking care that the heat be applied slowly and with caution; the other processes require a very long period for their completion. When pure, gallic acid has a white and silky appearance, and a highly astringent and slightly acid taste. The nut galls, which owe their properties to the gallic acid they contain, are employed very extensively in the arts, for dyeing and staining silks, cloths, and woods of a black colour; this is owing to its forming with the oxide of iron an intense black precipitate. Writing ink is made on the same principle: a very excellent receipt of the late Dr. Black's is, to take 3 oz. of the best Aleppo galls in fine powder, 1 oz. sul phate of iron (green vitriol), 1 oz. logwood finely rasped, 1 oz. gum arabic, one pint of the best vinegar, one pint of soft water, and 8 or 10 cloves; in this case the black precipitate is kept suspended by the gum. Hydriodic acid, a compound of iodine and hydrogen,-in its separate form is of very little importance in the arts; its combinations with potass, soda, and other of the metallic oxides, will be treated of hereafter. Malic acid-exists in the juices of many fruits, particularly the apple, as also in the berries of the service and mountain ash. Meconic acid-is found in opium, in combination with morphia, forming the meconate of morpnia, on which the action of opium principally depends. Muriatic acid, or spirits of salts. This acid (the hydrochloric of the French chemists) is manufactured from the chloride of sodium (dry sea salt), by the action of sulphuric acid (oil of vitriol). The most economical proportions are 20 pounds of fused salt, and 20 pounds of oil of vitriol previously mixed with an equal weight of water; these are placed in an iron or earthen pot, to which an earthen head and receiver are adapted, and submitted to distillation; the muriatic acid passes over in the vaporous form, and may be easily condensed. The liquid acid thus obtained should have a specific gravity of 1-17, water being equal to 100; it has a strong acid taste, and a slight yellow colour; this is owing to a small quantity of oxide of iron. By redistillation in a glass retort at a low temperature, it may be obtained perfectly pure and colourless. It sometimes contains a little sulphuric acid; this is detected by a solution of muriate of barytes. Muriatic acid, in its uncombined state, is an invisible elastic gas, having a very strong affinity for water; that fluid absorbing, at a temperature of 400 Fahrenheit, 480 times its volume, and the resulting liquid acid has a density of 121. So great is this attraction for water, that when the gas is liberated into the air, it combines with the moisture always present in that medium, forming dense white vapours. Its combinations with the alkalies, &c., are termed muriates; those of the greatest importance are the muriates of tin, ammonia, barytes, and sea salt. The test for the presence of muriatic acid in any liquid is the nitrate of silver (lunar caustic), which causes a curdy white precipitate. Nitric acid, or aquafortis. — This, which is one of the most useful acids with which the chemist is acquainted, is prepared by acting upon saltpetre (nitric or nitrate of potass) with oil of vitriol: the proportions best suited for this purpose are three parts by weight of nitre and two of oil of vitriol; or 100 nitre, and 60 oil of vitriol previously diluted with 20 of water; either of these proportions will produce a very excellent acid. When submitted to distillation, which should be conducted in earthen or glass vessels, the nitric acid passes over in the form of vapour, and a bisulphate of potass (sal mixum) remains in the retort. Nitric acid of commerce has usually a dark orange-red colour, giving off copious fumes, and having a specific gravity of 150, water being 100. It is strongly acid and highly corrosive. It may be obtained perfectly colourless by a second distillation, rejecting the first portion that passes over. It is much employed in the arts, for etching on copper-plates for engraving; also, for the separation of silver from gold, in the process of quartation. In pharmacy and surgery it is extensively used, and is employed for destroying contagious effluvia. Combined with muriatic acid, it forms aqua regia (nitro-muriatic acid), used as a solvent for gold, platina, &c. This acid is frequently contaminated with the muriatic and sulphuric acids; these may be detected by the following methods. A portion of the suspected acid should be diluted with three or four times its volume of distilled water, and divided into two glasses; to one of which nitrate of silver (lunar caustic in solution) is to be added, and to the other nitrate of barytes: if muriatic acid be present, a white curdy precipitate will be thrown down by the former; and if sulphuric, a white granular precipitate by the latter. Oralic acid-occurs in combination with potass as binoxalate of potass in the different varieties of sorrel, from whence the binoxalate of potass has been termed salt of sorrel. This acid is usually prepared by the action of nitric acid upon sugar, evaporating the solution, after the action has ceased, to the consistence of a syrup, and redissolving and recrystallising the crystals which are thus procured. It is sold in small white acicular crystals, of a strongly acid taste and highly poisonous, and sometimes in its external appearance bears a strong similarity to Epsom salts (sulphate of magnesia), which it has been unfortunately frequently mistaken for. It is instantly distinguished from Epsom salts by placing a small crystal upon the tongue; when its strong acid taste, compared with the nauseous bitter of the sulphate of magnesia, will be quite a sufficient criterion. In cases of poisoning, however, by this acid, lime or chalk, mixed with water to form a cream, should be immediately administered, the combinations of oxalic acid with these substances being perfectly inert. It is employed in removing ink-stains, iron moulds, &c. from linen and leather; the best proportions for these purposes are 1 oz. of the acid to a pint of water. The most delicate test of the presence of oxalic acid is a salt of lime or lime-water, with either of which it forms a white precipitate, insoluble in water, but soluble in acids. Its combinations are termed oxalates. Phosphoric acid-is of very little importance in a commercial point of view, except as forming with lime the earth of bones (phosphate of lime). It is prepared by heating bones to whiteness in a furnace; from this phosphoric acid is obtained by the action of sulphuric acid, still combined, however, with a small quantity of lime. The action of nitric acid upon phosphorus, the latter being added gradually and in small pieces, yields this acid in a state of purity; its combinations are termed phosphates. Prussic acid, or hydrocyanic acid. - This acid, which is the most virulent and poisonous acid known, is contained in peach blossoms, bay leaves, and many other vegetable productions, which owe their peculiar |
