New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1855-10-31
NATIVE IRON IN LIBERIA.

Investigations have been in progress for some tfae
past relative TO uhsi are supposed 10 b. the puresi
and moot va liable iron beds IN the world, found Ia
Liberia Ffom a communication from the pen II the
Rev J. Tracy who sccaracy in al Investigations 70
proverbis &C gather some facts which will be rezd
with interest. l. is unoerstood tha' orders have gone
cut 20 L.teria for considerable quantities OF iron-
Mr. Tracy, by way of reconciiing the cooaietas
testimony copceiniDg the process Of aiming the ore
states that after repe ,ted and careful qussoangs OF
The pa;ives on the subject il has been sscertaued tna
it Is obtained by placing "s;ons" on big pie Of
wood and burning il. The Rev. John Seys hoSever
ssys that they find " iron ore 80 pure, that ~bea
heated is becomes malleabte without smelling"
The Rev. c. DAVIS SAYS it is obtainei so Ie;ine'
By digging and sometimes BIZ breaking the rock which
contains it.
Strictly speaking Mr.. Tracy remarks an ore is a
rock composed OF or containing metal in chemical
combination with some oIhe. substance. Smelling
IL the reduction &, the al IL ere the apphca-
ton Of heat 10 IFS metallic form. fire like that Do
scribed above could pever produce heat intense
enough TO "selt" any ore Of iron; and besides the
result suetpg ron ore is always e1st iron and not
male ,ble But il in breaking the rocks the rocks
should no. readily yield blows, it would very nat
urs device to place it on very hot fire. The result
wouo Be that the rock would crack into pieces and
tse iron would be rleasei; azd being heavier than
the decrep ated stoLe it might especial if stirred
Ii tie, f. oseher ana become welded into ooe as.
This beyond al question is the usual process IN the
mountains us regi ms south Of s. Johns river.
DIR. Hayes, asssyer to the State Ct Massachusetts,
who has examined specimen Of the ore, says: t
1.-The native iron presen's only inmate crystalins
grains, which have rot been broken or blended Their
color IS Ii. bier gray than that of Any han nerd IRON.
they are without much luster resembling iron which
hos been aggregated by electrical depo-i 100. The
mas il tough, and wheo fragment is broken re-
peaed bending and doub ing is required and the rac-
ture ia hackly. The texture is not uniform. Sme
lsrts are less compact than other portions rendering
lie specific gravity OF The less thsn that OF oner
iron This is QUE in part, 10 the presence III The mass
Of CRY stane qlsTtz, magnetic oXdeof IRON and z@O-
lite mineral having SOFA basis IN part, conclusiyc.y
proving that the non has never been melted arti-
kcially.
Qual, ain. snee osyd iron crystals and zsoite. so
90 90
an ere are no other metals PRESENT. fact which
prevents us from placing this iron in the class of ne
teoroites And tire absence of carbon IN cay form
conpl. telv removes all doubt in regard TO is being
DC ssibly of artificial formation.
Every form of iron which has been the subject Of
manufar ture contains carbon; and it is an interesting
observson in this connection that 10 the large nun
btrs of samples OF ancient irons ard hose produced by
semi civilized people which have analysed, not only
has carbon been prescott, but the proyorOn has al
WAYS been lsrger than Exists IN the iron of commercial
p4ople II pears that the rude work men, in producing
Ills usefnl tal stop at that point where the hat re-
fir ed iron s sufficiently duce TO take, under the nam
mer the required form; while the purer irons are pro-
duced later in history when the more highly priced
qualities became known.