The Placer herald., 1872-02-17
Written for the HERALD.
METALS-TMEIR ANTIQUITY AND USES
70 5-Tpoy (COnc'udci \

forms salts The one principally used i'll tho arts
is the sulphate Of iron, called green vtriol, which
is employed in black dyes, in the manufacture OF
writing ink, and for many other purposes. The
sulphate of iron used in medicine is manufac-
tured by dissolving iron in diluted sulphuric
acid Oxide of iron, dissolved in acetic acid, or
the acetate Of iron, is used in caico-printing.
Common writing ink is made by adding solu-
ton OF gall nuts TO one of sulphate OF iron,
which forms an oxide of iron and gallic acid
The valuablePrussian blue is obtained from sui
phate of iron and the solution of oxide of iron
in hytlrocyanc acid, formerly called prussic acid.
The ore called magnetic iron stone contains from
go to 70 per cent of metal. 1t is found abun-
dainty in Sweden, and yields the fine bar iron SO
much employed for making STEEL 1t is also
found in the island of Elba, in Russia in South
America, and in India. Red ochre is a species
red iron-stone. 1t Is worked in Bohemia, and
yields very good malleabe iron. Another spe
cies OF the same ore is worked for better SOFT
of metal, from which plate iron and iron wire
are made. Reddle or red chalk is species OF
argllaceous iron-stone This is never smelted
for making iron but is used for drawing pencils
The best comes from Hesse, in Germany. The
rust Of iron is an oxide and is familiar to every
one. 1t unites with oxygen in two proportions
forming the black and red oxides. The last is
the most common, and is called crocus martic.
1t is used incidentally. 1t is also known by the
name OF colcothar. and is employed POLISH
ing powder to give the last polish to plateglass,
and for many other purposes. The uses and
purposes Of iron are innumerable; We may keep
multiplying them for almost indefinite space
of time without even giving very perfect re-
suit. Could it be possible to survey the bottom
OF the great deep we should there find it connect
ing shore to shore and island to island. 1t has
brought the east and west to kiss each other, and
the north and south to shake hands together.
Throughout the world, there is no doubt but
what we can count the miles Of railroad by the
million, and locomotives by the thousand The
mammoth iron ships that sail on the bosom of
the waters are numerous, besides the ponderous
machinery erected almost all over the world for
factory and and mining purposes. SO far back
1857 the little island Of Great Britain exported
in that year, iron to the declared value Of c22,-
94,G7l. This, of course includes machinery
and manufactured articles M well as pisiron,
castings, rails. bars, plates, etc. Reduced to
an equivalent in pg-iron, the exports are
equal in quantity to 2,26l 900 tons There is q
curious fact connected with the iron-works OF
Britain worth mentioning. The reduction of
the ores was formerly effected by means of wood,
and the consumption was great that an Act Of
Parliament was passed in 1851 restraining its
use Soon afterwards Lord Dudley discovered
that coal was equally efficient, and obtained o
monopoly of its employment for the purpose
aud so highly was this discovery appreciated
that this nobleman's patent was expressly ex-
cluded from the Act OF Parliament passed in
1923, which abolished most of those Justly odi-
GUS privilegs, But though this invention has
proved invaluable TO this country Lord Dudley
derived but little advantage from it, for his iron
works werezdestroyed by a deluded mob, and it
was not till n century afterwards that his plan
was generally adopted in consequence OF the in
creasing alarm at the enormous consumption of
wood at the iron furnaces,
Appears to have been one Of he earliest discov- |
cred metals, and is mentioned repeatedly in the
Mosaic writings. That the Phunicians came to
Britain for tn is generally believed, and it is |
certain that the metal was obtained from Corn |
wall before the time of Herodotus All tin is
stamped, and pays duty to the Prince of Wales,
as Duke OF Cornwall, custom which has existed |
since the time of the Normans In speaking of
Cornwall, this country is richer in the ore than |
any known part of the world, though the metal
obtained from Malacca especially from the small
island OF Banca, is superior in purity to English |
tln Tin Is also found at other places in the
East as well as in America Spain, France, Sax
ony, Bohemia and Germany. Tin is of n bril-. |
liant white color, with specific gravity of 7.3. |
IL pelng rather more than seven times heavier |
than water, In hardness it surpasses lead, but
is inferior to gold 1t is very malleable. and
may be beaten out into leaves only 1-lOOO of an
inch thick, termed tin-foil, but it might be re. |
duced to half that thickness if required. In
duetility it is only superior to lead, wire one
tenth OF nm inch in diameter will support
weight of AZ pounds Tin unites with manv
metals and forms valuable alloys. Ten or twelve
parts OF TIN with SS or 80 parts of copper, forms
the bronze OF the ancients used for weapons.
knives, etc., and in modern time, for cannon
Inc same metals combined in the proportions
OF one-hfth OF tin to four-ftths, by weight, of
copper, or OF one-third of the former 10 t,vo-
thirds OF the LATTER form one species of bell. |
metal. BRASS, spelter, and even lead, or silver
are sometimes added in various proportions, ac
cordns to the fancy Of the founder The ALLOW
OF which the Chinese make their gongs is com. |
posed OF oo parts of copper to 20 of tin. One
part OF tin with two of copper. or, according to
some other authorities, 80 of copper, Is to l6 of
tin' with l part of brass, OF arsenic and l of
silver form the best speculum metal for reflect