TRANSACTIONS OF THE SECTIONS. 61 



On the Titaniferous Iron of the Mersey Shore. By J. B. Edwards, Ph.D., 

 F.C.S., Lecturer on Chemistry at the Royal Infirmary School of Medicine, 

 and Royal Institution, Liverpool, 



The sand along the western shore of the Mersey, especially between Seacombe and 

 New Brighton, has long been observed to contain a considerable quantity of titani- 

 ferous iron, which is strongly attracted by the magnet, and thus readily separated 

 from the shore sand. It occurs from the disintegration of boulders of granitic rock, 

 which are found in a clay bed which rises abruptly from the shore to the height of 

 about 30 or 40 feet, and is of limited extent. The formation of the district is new 

 red sandstone, and this drift must have come from a considerable distance, and is 

 generally ascribed to the hills of the Solway. Some of the masses of rock are very 

 large, but the majority are of a few pounds' weight, or less. They are found in va- 

 rious stages of decomposition ; some appearing quite hard, and speckled black, others 

 green and crumbling, others in complete disintegration within the clay, and in this 

 state the green colour is generally very marked. This is probably due to adhering oxide 

 of iron undergoing change by the action of the atmosphere. When collected from 

 among the sand of the shore, the crystals of the mineral appear of a uniform black 

 colour. 



The specimens examined were carefully separated from the shore sand by a mag- 

 net. Prof. Thomson's formula for iserine is FeO, TiOg, and the analysis he gives is 



TiOs 50-12 



FeO 49-88 



100-00 



The spec. grav. he gives as 4-5, and states that it is strongly attracted by the magnet, 

 Gmelin gives the formula of 2FeO+Ti02 = 



TiOa 36-36 



FeO 63-63 



99-9.9 



These compounds may also be represented as oxides in which both metals are basic. 

 Titanium being isomorphous with iron, the first compound therefore represents sesqui- 

 oxide of iron, in which iron is partly replaced by titanium, and the latter magnetic 

 oxide, with a similar substitution ; thus 





No. 1. 



No. 2. 



Many compounds of titaniferous iron have been examined, and the composition 

 appears to vary very considerably. That which I now describe has a specific gravity 

 of 4'82, and is powerfully attracted by the magnet; some of the particles also them- 

 selves attract iron. The results of three experiments gave as its composition the 

 following : — 



Experiment. Theory of formula. 



TiOj 13-20 13-74 



FeO 31-10 3092 



FegOg 42-08 4089 



AI2O3 8-62 8-91 



SiOg 4-02 5-01 



99-02 99-47 



This nearly agrees with the following formula : 



2 (FeO, TiOs) 3(Fe3 O4) + AI2O3 + SiOg. 

 If the iron exists, as here represented, in the state of magnetic oxide, the magnetic 

 properties of the crystals would be thus explained. 



