Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1897-09-16
pared with ordinary tin or brass

The nse OF pumlce stone as an
abrasive or polishing material has in
creased very rapidly in this country
with the development of our mani
featuring interests. The supply has
been obtained almost exclusively from
Italian sources until quite recently,
Int now an American product is not
only becoming known. but bids far to
command the trade. An excellent
quality has been found in pulverized
fern IN western Nebraska directly on
the line of the Chicago, Burlington
4 Quincy railway company. Here
some seven different deposits have
been found, comprising in all about
400 acres, with approximately 500, 000
tons in sight, according to a report
made by Prof. Il. u. Salisbury Of the
University CT Chicago. rhe pumice
stone in these deposits is pronounced
practically absolutely pure, but Of
several degrees of tineness, ranging
from an impalpable powder to a grade
that would make a medium coarse
glass paper. These deposits We're ac-
CURED by the Chicago Pumlce Com
pany. who also purchased considerable
tracts OF land surrounding them, 20 as
to control any new finds. They also
desired lump pumice stone, and after
much search found a deposit in Utah,
245 miles south OF Salt Lake City, near
a branch OF the Utah Central Railway
company. This property comprises 10
acres. The company claim that t4ley
now have the only pumioe stone de-
posits known in the country
Preparations are being made by the
Otis steel company to cast a heavy
steel gun. DIR. Calling, The nyentor
of the eating gun, has long been OF
the opinion that it is possible to build
heavy modern ordnance OF cast st.el.
and last year he succeeded in ootaln-
ing an appropriation of $4,000 from
congress with which to make the test.
The gun will be eight inches in the bore
and 20 feet long, and will weigh about
q tons, The casting Will be done by
the Otis steel company, and the boring
ty the Cleveland City Forge company,
Cleveland ONO.
a mining and motallurgical section
has recently been organized in the
Franklin institute of Philadelphia,
with a membership Of 81 persons, The
object OF the society is to promote all
branches of the mineral industry by
meetings for the reading of papers
discussion and social intercourse, by
the publication OF valuable results,
ard by forming an important museum
Of economic minerals, mineral products
and objects illustrating methods of eX-
ploring OF working mines or utilizing
minerals.
The results Of some recent researches
on the direct union Of carbon and iron
at a high temperature have been COM
municated by the author, NJ. Moissan,
to the French Academyeof Sciences.
He states that when pure iron aud car
bon are melted together in an electric
furnace, and allowed 10 cool slowly, the
metal is found to contain only 4 very
small quantity of combined carbon, a
gray pig-irpn being obtained that
sOlidifies at 1850 deg. c~entlgrade. BY
Suddenly cooling in water iron satu-
rated with carbon at 5000 degrees, the
metal became very crystalline in
structure, and from it were separated
brilliant crystals of the carbide Of iron.
identical with that occurring in steel.
Though this was one of the first metal
lie carbides known, it has proved
strange to Soy, the last to be prepared
il quantity by direct synthesis.
In announcing that 81 new cotton
mills were founded in the first half Of
this year, the An erican Wool ard Cot
ton Reporter says: '1he southern
states may lay claim to ever 50 per
cent, as 81 will be operated south OF
the Mason and Dixon line. While It
is probable that in the manufacture
Of fine goods, the north has as yet ex-
perienced but little competition, still,
in the production of the coarser era les
a large share OF patronage a be3n
transferred from the north to the south.
Consul Monaghan writes that there
Is being introduced in Berlin and Lelp-
sic a new invention, known as iron
felt. II is made Of the very best wool
en- materials, -impregnated with the in
ventor's patented preparation. when
gives it 1920 pounds power of resist
ance to every square centimeter
(0.3937 inch). The article Is most use
iul for RAILROADS Of all kinds. Placed
bctweeT rails and sleepers. ii deadeas
sound and prevents shocks. The first
experiments with the new material
were made by the Berlin city street
railway, over which three hundred and
sixty rains pass daily. The results
surpassed the company's most sanguine
expectation. Not only was the noise
brought down to a minimum, bit the
wear and tear was materially dinin-
ished II ifs to he tried on the new
reads in Leipslc. The consul suggests
that It could be used advantageously
by elevated roads.
The officials IN he internal revenue
office at New Haven are said to have