It is impossible to trace, within the compass of a letter, all the ramifications of this tissue of changes and improvements resulting from one chemical manufacture; but I must still claim your attention to a few more of its most important and immediate results.  I have already told you, that in the manufacture of soda from culinary salt, it is first converted into sulphate of soda.  In this first part of the process, the action of sulphuric acid produces muriatic acid to the extent of one-and-a-half the amount of the sulphuric acid employed.  At first, the profit upon the soda was so great, that no one took the trouble to collect the muriatic acid:  indeed it had no commercial value.  A profitable application of it was, however, soon discovered:  it is a compound of chlorine, and this substance may be obtained from it purer than from any other source.  The bleaching power of chlorine has long been known; but it was only employed upon a large scale after it was obtained from this residuary muriatic acid, and it was found that in combination with lime it could be transported to distances without inconvenience.  Thenceforth it was used for bleaching cotton; and, but for this new bleaching process, it would scarcely have been possible for the cotton manufacture of Great Britain to have attained its present enormous extent,—­it could not have competed in price with France and Germany.  In the old process of bleaching, every piece must be exposed to the air and light during several weeks in the summer, and kept continually moist by manual labour.  For this purpose, meadow land, eligibly situated, was essential.  Now a single establishment near Glasgow bleaches 1400 pieces of cotton daily, throughout the year.  What an enormous capital would be required to purchase land for this purpose!  How greatly would it increase the cost of bleaching to pay interest upon this capital, or to hire so much land in England!  This expense would scarcely have been felt in Germany.  Besides the diminished expense, the cotton stuffs bleached with chlorine suffer less in the hands of skilful workmen than those bleached in the sun; and already the peasantry in some parts of Germany have adopted it, and find it advantageous.

Another use to which cheap muriatic acid is applied, is the manufacture of glue from bones.  Bone contains from 30 to 36 per cent. of earthy matter—­chiefly phosphate of lime, and the remainder is gelatine.  When bones are digested in muriatic acid they become transparent and flexible like leather, the earthy matter is dissolved, and after the acid is all carefully washed away, pieces of glue of the same shape as the bones remain, which are soluble in hot water and adapted to all the purposes of ordinary glue, without further preparation.