Hey, I remember similar things...
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Subject: RE: BS: First winter fire-what do you do
From: Metchosin - PM
Date: 24 Nov 06 - 06:12 PM

Wow! I found it! Its called a Salt Flower. Sorry for the thread drift, but thinking about coal in a fireplace took me back to a time when I was 10 years old.

Think I'll try growing them again. I didn't realize you could use a brick.

http://www.utahrockhounds.com/tooelegem/kids_corner/saltflower.html
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Subject: RE: BS: First winter fire-what do you do
From: Foolestroupe - PM
Date: 24 Nov 06 - 05:51 AM

Metchosin

As a kid, we used to be able to grow the 'coral' from kits of 'rocks'. I also remember having a very special 'chemistry for kids' book, one item in which was how to do that from scratch, including crystals such as copper sulphate.

Don't remember the ammonia, but I do remember sodium silicate - water glass.

Most of the chemicals were readily available from a hardware store, or occasionally a chemist, but these days you'd probably find yourself in Gitmo if you even asked for them...
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So anybody else - and are there any expert geologists/chemists out there?

Robin