The daily Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1878-1???, 1884-04-02
THE COMING METAL.
Discovery of a Cheap Process for
Making Aluminium.

Aluminium, with one exception, is the
most abundant metal known. The ma
terial, alumina or clay, from which it
is produced is not confined to any To-
cality or country. 1t is found every
where. 1t is more than half century
since the eminent German chemist, the
late FREDERICK Wohler who for fifty
years was Professor of Medicine and
Director of the Chemical Institute at
Gottingen, discovered aluminium and
that it could be produced from common
clay and from alum, and still it is
among the least familiar of metals. Its
usual price is $50 per pound and until
the past year it has only been known
as aluminium gold. After many ex-
periments extending over series Of
years, its manufacture was abandoned
except in one instance, to the French,
who only produced it in inconsidera-
bic quantities. After more than thirty
years labor and at a cost of more than
$3.50, 600, the eminent English chemist
and metallurgist, James Webster, has
discovered method of making alumni
mum by burning or roasting alum, in
stead of making it in the old and te-
dious way by precipitation, By the
new process it takes only one-twenty-
fourth of the time required by the old
method and costs less than one tenth
as much. Instead of producing the al
umina powder by the old and slow
method of precipitation, Mr.. Webster
burns the alum with pitch in a calcin-
ing or roasting furnace, prepared ex-
pressly for this purpose, the product
being gray ash or powder, in appear
ance much like the ashes Of CinderS
from an engine furnace. The gray
powder, according 10 all scientific au-
thorities. is no more or less than burnt
alum. By another process this ash is
converted into another product. which
contains from eizhtv-four 70 uiue,y-Gya
per cent Of the alumiua, having letC be-
hind it several b;-proiuctS. which near.
" pay the cost Of worSinc. The alum
ina thus produced i better t6Sn tha:
bv the Old method Il precipitation. n
that it i much finer in texture and g.
most entirely free from silica. The
discoverer has been producing 200
pounds oi slunica per week for more
than 4 year, -he value Ci which i 81
600 or 81 ), 900 per an1l-l. the result
u which mas Cee1 that az -le present
time 4 mandatory which covers more
than 0ne-LaI Al acre i kept busy 1Lrl5
and day, with orders ready for more
than fifteen months work. The 1res-
elt output Is twenty tons Il aluminium
metal per week From the results A.
ready lQra ned by the aluminium bronze
factory NEAR Birmingham. England
il i plainly evident that n 4 7arv sLCr-
time this almost new aut peculiar met
a., which never 0Zid les or corr0Gas.
and which never furnishes under al7
circumstances. % which can be yi7eu
the color Of gold, silver, bronze or DUr-
pie, and which differs from al. other
metals in that il is never produced d.
rect from ore, but only by long and
elaborate process, must become an i'm
portant factor in the manufacture Of
jewelrY; and not only 50, but that al
most every article made from metal,
from the sCrew-prOpeller or anchor Of
the largest steamship down TO the IT,
NEST teaspoon, must be manufactured
from it, or It's alloy or bronze.
The chief value Of Aluminium, at
present, is in tempering or giving
strength and a surface or body to al
Toys, brOnzes or metals, so that they
will not corrode. To copper, tin or
zinc it gives such properties as can be
obtained by no other means, softening
their nature while increasing their
hardness and strength, and enabling
them to resist all the tests applied to
gold or silver, preserving them from
coIrosion and rendering them more
ductile and refined, and giving them a
surface and body that withstands the
chemical action Of the elements. As a
result of this new process Of making
all plated goods, nickel or
silver, watch cases, cups, saucers,
spoons, knives, forks, gun and pistol
barrels, pistol handles, gun, harness,
carriage and saddle ornaments made OF
brass, nickel, German silver, or bronze
silver, must give way to those made OF
aluminium OF DISnlUtn bronze. IlanO-
forte wires made from it will vibrate
ten seconds longer than the best now
in use. The tensile strength of alumni
nun or bismuth bronze being the same,
only in the latter 1-1S00th part of bis
muth is added, had been proved, by
repeated tests, to bear strain of for
ty-two tons to the square inch, or four
teen tons more than gun metal, and
twelve tons more than the best bessem-
or steel. Whenever and wherever
there is need of metal, and one is de-
manded that cannot crystalline or cor
rode under any circumstances, metal
that combines great strength and ilexi-
bility, it is plain that aluminium must
be used. In the tests already made
with propeller screws, blade, journal
bearings, and heavy artillery made
from aluminium or bismuth bronze as
against those made from the best gun
metal, the ship builders decided in fa-
vor OF the former as the strength was
80 much greater and the weight so
much less, being only one-fourth as
great. Springfield Republican,
- -
The urchins of Brazos County, Texas,
know how to make life interesting for
| the school ,,os,nr Tho DJ,y ~. "a