Faraday report¹   17 April 1837

I have received various articles from the ship “Samuel Enderby,” with the object of examining their present state and condition, and of ascertaining, as well as may be, how far that state has been affected by the circumstance of the timber of the ship, &c., having been prepared according to Kyan’s² Process for the prevention of Dry-Rot.

One of these articles was a bottle of bilge-water, sealed up and labelled, “No. 1, Bilge Water from the Samuel Enderby, 13 March, 1837, S.E.” This water was turbid, yellowish, and saline: it was quite sweet in smell, having no degree of putrescent or offensive odour about it. The turbidness was due to rust of iron, the water having evidently been in contact with iron bolts or some other iron article. I examined it carefully for Mercury, but did not find any there.

Another article was part of a sail, considered, I believe, to have been prepared with Kyan’s solution. This sail-cloth was weak and rotten, the fibres in one direction were much weaker than those in the cross direction; the two sets having, no doubt, been originally different in strength and quality. As to the cause of the diminution of strength in this case, I cannot speak to it; nor do I know whether the canvass has or has not suffered more than might be expected from the wear and tear it has undergone. I examined it very closely by a voltaic process for Corrosive Sublimate, or Mercury, but could not find any in it.

Certain bolts of copper and iron were also brought to me; those of copper had, as far as I could judge, worn well; they did not appear to be in any way injured; and, upon examining those parts which had been in contact with the prepared wood, I could find no indication of any particular action of the wood on them, nor any appearance of the precipitation of mercury there, or action of a mercurial preparation.

The iron-bolts were considerably corroded, and more in some parts than in others. The degree of corrosion is not more than would easily be produced by the action of salt water; but I do not know from what part of the vessel they came, or to what degree they have been exposed to the action of the sea or salt water; and those who from experience know the average condition of iron bolts in other ships, which have been exposed for the same time in the same way to salt water, can best judge as to the degree of corrosion. I sought very carefully, both by voltaic action and in other ways, for the presence of mercury in one form or another about the corroded parts, but I was unable to detect that metal in any proportion. Hence a strong presumptive proof that the solution of Corrosive Sublimate has not caused the rusting and oxidation of the iron at those places.

M. Faraday.

Royal Institution; l7th April, 1837.