694 Transactions. — Chemistry. 



after they reach the melting-point. Ran out castings of tools and ingots, 

 but the rapidity (which is peculiar to steel) with which it cooled on the 

 hearth of the furnace prevented utilising the whole of the product for 

 casting purposes on that day. The metal is remarkably tough and very 

 fine in tlie grain, and in my opinion it is a high-class steel. 



J. Neal, 



Smelter, Antimony Department of Mr. E. Seager, 



Wellington. 



In addition to these certificates Mr. Purser has made 

 several other experiments, all of which confirm what can be 

 successfully accomplished even under the disadvantage of 

 having only a small cupola furnace and crucibles to work 

 with ; and it must be remembered that a cupola is not con- 

 structed on lines suitable (nor was it ever iiitended) to smelt 

 ore, but manufactured iron, such, for instance, as scrap, cast, 

 or pig, for making castings. 



It will be seen that in these cases the briquettes flow from 

 the tap-hole at from twenty to thirty minutes, according to 

 the pressure of the blast ; but in order to absorb sufficient 

 carbonic oxide to come to complete conversion the liquefied 

 mass must remain on the hearth of such a furnace for a 

 further time before conversion takes place. Now, when it is 

 remembered that the height of the cupola-furnaces used was 

 only 10ft. from the twyers, and that an ordinary blast-furnace 

 would be quite 40ft. high, it is absolutely clear that conver- 

 sion would take place before the molten briquettes reached 

 the hearth of this kind of furnace, practically from the 

 greater length of time the charge would take in coming down 

 a distance of 40ft. in a blast-furnace of that height, as against 

 only 10ft. in a cupola. 



In conclusion, if New Zealand is to become the great 

 nation which nature intended her to be, by the rich endow- 

 ments of mineral wealth, the time is none too soon when we 

 should make a great effort to develope them ; and, above all, 

 her iron deposits are the most valuable, for not only could we 

 keep £500,000 a year in the colony which is now being sent 

 out of it, but, owing to the vastly superior article got from the 

 titaniferous sand, it is not hoping for too much that at an 

 early date New Zealand will become a powerful competitor 

 with the world in the production of both iron and steel. 

 While giving employment to a large portioii of the popula- 

 tion, the spending-power of the people would be such as to 

 justify the manufacture locally of many classes of goods that 

 are now imported. 



