The natural and agricultural history of peat-moss or turf-bog. To which are annexed corroborative writings, correspondence and observations... / by Andrew Steele.

  • Steele, Andrew.
Date:
1826
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The natural and agricultural history of peat-moss or turf-bog. To which are annexed corroborative writings, correspondence and observations... / by Andrew Steele. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    Moss-water is antiseptic or preservative. Cap¬ tain Cook took some of it on board his ship at Ter¬ ra del Fuego from necessity, and it turned out, he says, the wholesomest water he ever had, and never became corrupted, though he crossed the Line with it. This fact has suggested the making of artifi¬ cial moss-water in long sea voyages, from infusions of antiseptic vegetables, viz. those containing as- tringency, or the tanning principle. To try this quality of moss-water, I filled a bottle with it, which I kept in my room uncorked, for seventeen months, without its acquiring any fetid smell or taste. The bottle was filled on the 23d of April 1801, and the water in it was then black and opaque, and its taste insipid. On the 17th of May 1801, this water was quite free from any bad taste or smell. It had de¬ posited first a black, and then a brownish mud, and was much clearer than when first put aside. This water was occasionally examined, and found fresh till 28th February 1802, when it had acquired with transparency, and a bright yellow colour, somewhat of the smell of rotten wood, together with a small degree of a corresponding taste. Quicklime clari¬ fies moss water almost instantly. This effect may also be produced by other chemical means. But it