saltpetre, also spelled Saltpeter, also called Nitre, or Niter, any of three naturally occurring nitrates, distinguished as (1) ordinary saltpetre, or potassium nitrate, KNO3; (2) Chile saltpetre, cubic nitre, or sodium nitrate, NaNO3; and (3) lime saltpetre, wall saltpetre, or calcium nitrate, Ca(NO3)2. These three nitrates generally occur as efflorescences caused by the oxidation of nitrogenous matter in the presence of the alkalis and alkaline earths.
Potassium nitrate occurs as crusts on the surface of the Earth, on walls and rocks, and in caves; and it forms in certain soils in Spain, Italy, Egypt, Iran, and India. The deposits in the great limestone caves of Kentucky, Virginia, and Indiana have probably been derived from the overlying soil and accumulated by percolating water. In former times, the demand for saltpetre as an ingredient of gunpowder led to the formation of saltpetre plantations, or nitriaries, which were common in France, Germany, and other countries; the natural conditions were simulated by exposing heaps of decaying organic matter mixed with alkalis (lime, etc.) to atmospheric action. Potassium nitrate was used at one time in many different diseased conditions, especially asthma; but now it is rarely used medicinally, except as a diuretic. Its alleged value as a drug for suppressing sexual desire is purely imaginary.
Potassium nitrate is white in colour and soluble in water; it has a vitreous lustre and a cool and salty taste.
Sodium nitrate occurs, under the same conditions as ordinary saltpetre, in deposits covering immense areas in South America, abounding especially in the regions of Tarapacá and Antofagasta in Chile. The chief applications of Chile saltpetre are in the nitric acid industry and particularly as a fertilizer.
Calcium nitrate was once common as an efflorescence on the walls of stables; it is now manufactured from atmospheric nitrogen. Its chief applications are as a manure and in the nitric acid industry.
Calcium nitrate was once common as an efflorescence on the walls of stables; it is now manufactured from atmospheric nitrogen. Its chief applications are as a manure and in the nitric acid industry.
Potassium nitrate is white in colour and soluble in water; it has a vitreous lustre and a cool and salty taste.
Potassium nitrate occurs as crusts on the surface of the Earth, on walls and rocks, and in caves; and it forms in certain soils in Spain, Italy, Egypt, Iran, and India. The deposits in the great limestone caves of Kentucky, Virginia, and Indiana have probably been derived from the overlying soil and accumulated by percolating water. In former times, the demand for saltpetre as an ingredient of gunpowder led to the formation of saltpetre plantations, or nitriaries, which were common in France, Germany, and other countries; the natural conditions were simulated by exposing heaps of decaying organic matter mixed with alkalis (lime, etc.) to atmospheric action. Potassium nitrate was used at one time in many different diseased conditions, especially asthma; but now it is rarely used medicinally, except as a diuretic. Its alleged value as a drug for suppressing sexual desire is purely imaginary.
Sodium nitrate occurs, under the same conditions as ordinary saltpetre, in deposits covering immense areas in South America, abounding especially in the regions of Tarapacá and Antofagasta in Chile. The chief applications of Chile saltpetre are in the nitric acid industry and particularly as a fertilizer.
saltpetre, also spelled Saltpeter, also called Nitre, or Niter, any of three naturally occurring nitrates, distinguished as (1) ordinary saltpetre, or potassium nitrate, KNO3; (2) Chile saltpetre, cubic nitre, or sodium nitrate, NaNO3; and (3) lime saltpetre, wall saltpetre, or calcium nitrate, Ca(NO3)2. These three nitrates generally occur as efflorescences caused by the oxidation of nitrogenous matter in the presence of the alkalis and alkaline earths.
In One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Randall is asked by the nurses to take his medications, but not knowing what they are, he mentions he does not want anyone to ‘slip me saltpeter’. He then proceeds to imitate the motions of masturbation in reference to its supposed effects as an anaphrodisiac.
Perhaps the most exhaustive discussion of the production of this material is the 1862 LeConte text.[23] He was writing with the express purpose of increasing production in the Confederate States to support their needs during the American Civil War. Since he was calling for the assistance of rural farming communities, the descriptions and instructions are both simple and explicit. He details the “French Method”, along with several variations, as well as a “Swiss method”. N.B. Many references have been made to a method using only straw and urine, but there is no such method in this work.
A white powder, also translucent, which is sometimes found in a powdery crust form on cave walls, it is soluble in water but can also burn underwater. This is due to its properties as an oxidizer. These properties also allow it to readily combine and react with reducing agents such as sugar (used in model rocket fuel). It can be mixed with other substances by melting the substances at low temperature and, as would be expected, pure potassium nitrate will explode if left to prolonged flame. Dangerous levels of nitrogen can be produced when burned without proper ventilation. [1]
In 1561, Elizabeth I of England at war with Philip II of Spain, became unable to import the saltpeter (of which the Kingdom of England had no home production), and had to pay “300 pounds gold” to the German captain Gerrard Honrik for the manual “Instructions for making salpeter to growe” (the secret of the “Feuerwerkbuch” -the nitraries-).[21]
On November 13 1862, the Confederate government advertised in the Charleston Daily Courier for 20 or 30 “able bodied Negro men” to work in the new nitre beds at Ashley Ferry, S.C. The nitre beds were large rectangles of rotted manure and straw, moistened weekly with urine, “dung water,” and liquid from privies, cesspools and drains, and turned over regularly. The process was designed to yield saltpeter, an ingredient of gunpowder, which the Confederate army needed during the Civil War. The National Archives published payroll records that account for more than 29,000 people compelled to such labor in the state of Virginia. The South was so desperate for saltpeter for gunpowder that one Alabama official reportedly placed a newspaper ad asking that the contents of chamber pots be saved for collection. In South Carolina, in April 1864, the Confederate government forced 31 enslaved people to work at the Ashley Ferry Nitre Works, outside Charleston.[22]
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