CAROLINE.
To-day, Mrs. B., I believe we are to learn the nature and properties of CARBON. This substance is quite new to me; I never heard it mentioned before.
MRS. B.
Not so new as you imagine; for carbon is nothing more than charcoal in a state of purity, that is to say, unmixed with any foreign ingredients.
CAROLINE.
But charcoal is made by art, Mrs. B., and a body consisting of one simple substance cannot be fabricated?
MRS. B.
You again confound the idea, of making a simple body, with that of separating it from a compound. The chemical processes by which a simple body is obtained in a state of purity, consist in unmaking the compound in which it is contained, in order to separate from it the simple substance in question. The method by which charcoal is usually obtained, is, indeed, commonly called making it; but, upon examination, you will find this process to consist simply in separating it from other substances with which it is found combined in nature.
Carbon forms a considerable part of the solid matter of all organised bodies; but it is most abundant in the vegetable creation, and it is chiefly obtained from wood. When the oil and water (which are other constituents of vegetable matter) are evaporated, the black, porous, brittle substance that remains, is charcoal.