76 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 



RUSSIA SHEET-IRON. 



It is a popular notion that the process of manufacturing the tenacious and 

 glossy "Russia sheet-iron " is a profound secret, and that the vigilance exer- 

 cised by the Eussian Government, and the Russian manufacturers, have 

 hitherto successfully prevented all foreigners from obtaining the slightest in- 

 formation on the subject. The present Commissioner of Patents, in his last 

 report, also alludes to the manufacture of this article, as one of the great, 

 unsolved problems in science, which the industrial interests of the country 

 require should be explained. 



Mr. Wells, in his recent work, " Principles and Applications of Chemistry," 

 states that this current belief has no foundation in fact, and that the method 

 of preparing the iron in question is perfectly well known. According to the 

 authority quoted, " Russia sheet-iron is, in the first instance, a very pure arti- 

 cle, rendered exceedingly tough and flexible by refining and annealing. Its 

 bright, glossy surface is partially a silicate, and partially an oxyde of iron, 

 and is produced by passing the hot sheet, moistened with a solution of wood- 

 ashes, through polished steel rollers." 



Another mythical bubble is thus punctured, and the wonderful story of 

 guarded founderies and ever-watchful officials, as connected with Russia 

 sheet-iron, will take rank with the account of " Symmes's Hole," and the 

 barnacles which turn to Solan geese. Scientific American. 



COMPOSITE IRON RAILING. 



The process by which this light, elegant, and cheap fabric is manufactured 

 is as follows : Rods and bars of wrought-iron are cut to the lengths required 

 for the pattern, and subjected to a process called crimping, by which they 

 are bent to the desired shape. These rods are then laid in the form of the 

 design, and cast-iron moulds are affixed at those points where a connection 

 is desired ; the moulds are then filled with melted metal and immediately you 

 have a complete railing of beautiful design. The entire process is so system- 

 atized, that what was once the work of days is effected in an hour. Casting 

 in iron moulds has this great advantage over the old sand moulding, it does 

 not require any time for cooling, as the metal is no sooner run than the moulds 

 may be removed, and used again immediately upon another section of the 

 work; and besides, it is so much more readily effected. By the combination 

 of wrought and cast-iron in this process, the most curious and complex 

 designs may be produced almost at will. This simplicity of production is 

 attended with a corresponding diminution of cost. 



METALLIC ALLOY FOR THE FORMATION OF MEDALS, SMALL FIG- 

 URES, ETC. BY M. YON BIBRA. 



Six parts of bismuth, three parts of tin, and thirteen parts of lead, are fused 

 together first of all, in a crucible or iron ladle : the mixture is poured out and 

 fused again, if it is to be employed in casting. It is almost as readily fusible 

 as the well-known Rose's metal; but, besides possessing considerable hardness, 

 it has the particular advantage of not being brittle, because it possesses no crys- 

 talline structure upon the fracture. If the cast objects bo bitten with dilute 

 nitric acid, washed with water, and rubbed with a woollen rag, the elevated 



