Or Swedish Green Resembles The Preceding Variety In Being A Compound
:
ON THE SECONDARY, GREEN.
of copper and arsenic, and therefore rankly poisonous; but differs from
it in containing no acetic acid, in possessing less opacity, and in
having a darker shade. It is a cupric arsenite, with the common
attributes of emerald green, under which name it is sometimes sold. Of
similar stability, it must not be employed with the true Naples yellow
or antimoniate of lead, by which it is soon destroyed.
Upon th
lavish use of this dangerous pigment in colouring toys,
dresses, paper-hangings, artificial leaves, and even cheap
confectionery, it is not our province to enlarge: the constant-recurring
diseases and deaths, which, directly or indirectly, result from the
employment of arsenical pigments, are such every-day facts that they are
merely deplored and forgotten. With arsenic on our heads, our clothes,
our papers, our sweets, our children's playthings, we are so accustomed
to live--and die--in a world of poison, that familiarity with it has
bred contempt. Into the fatal popularity, therefore, of arsenical
colours for decorative purposes, we shall not further enter; but it
behoves us to deprecate their presence, and the presence of all
poisonous pigments, in colour-boxes for the young. It is one of the
pleasures of childhood to suck anything attractive that comes in its
way, openly if allowed, furtively otherwise: and as in early life we
have a preference for brilliancy, so vivid a pigment as Scheele's green
is an object of special attention. Artistically, it matters little
whether a pigment is noxious or not, but we hold that poison should not
be put into the hands of the young; and indeed are of opinion that a box
of colours is about the worst present a child can receive.
TTITLE MALACHITE GREEN,