412 



however, adds that \n this process a white layer of tin-oxide is 

 formed.') W. A. Ross, on tlie contrary, maintains tiiat the ore does 

 not melt "aber eine weisse AusblUkung kommt hervor" ^). Giorgio 

 Spezia again believes that the ore changes, bnt "non par fusione 

 ma par consiimo" and he tries to account for the behaviour of the 

 tin-ore by stating that in consequence of the intense lieat a reduction 

 takes place indeed, but that it is incontinently followed by an 

 oxidation evolving the white layer. ^) Should this interpretation be 

 correct, there cannot possibly be any question about reducing tin- 

 oxide by heat alone. Now which of us is, to quote from Prof. 

 Vermaks, the "metallurgist of Flores" who has indulged in fancies *)? 

 And when the same writer continues: "Wichmann ought to have 

 considered that siicl) utterances cannot but be fatal to the upgrowth 

 of a mining concern, of which many experts anticipate great success", 

 I feel urged to say that it is lather disappointing to find that still 

 in the year 1918 one is obliged to appeal to the timeworn maxim 

 that the man of science does not ask whether or no anything is 

 fatal in its effect on a mining concern but that he considers his 

 sole task to be to find the Truth. Apart from this, the effect of science 

 can never be fatal, at all events not for those who know how to 

 study it; on the other hand it is always inspiriting, even when an 

 inquiry yields a negative result. If the mining industry had paid 

 more regard to science, they would have been spared many dis- 

 appointments in the island of Celebes and they could have saved 

 many people's capital. Presumably they will not have become wiser 

 by this time, in spite of all this. 



Furthermore, if we reflect that tin foundries in Flores cannot be 

 imagined without charcoal furnaces and agglomerations of tin-slags 

 of which no trace was ever found, we are safe to say that Prof. 

 Vermaes's endeavours to prove the occurrence of tin-ore on metal- 

 lurgical grounds have utterly failed. 



We shall have to dwell more at large on his arguments derived 

 from ethnography. In estimating his material Prof. Vermaes has 

 entirely neglected to ascertain whether the premiss from which he 

 started was correct, which is a common mistake among ethnologists. 



^) Probirkunst vor dem Lölhrohre. 5. Aufl. bearbeitet von Th. Richter. Leipzig 

 1878, p. 136. 



2) Das Löthrohr in der Chemie und Mineralogie, übertragen von B. Gosmann. 

 Leipzig 1889, p. 161. 



*) Sulla fusibiita dei minerali. Atti R. Accad. delie sc. 22. Torino 1886—87, 

 p. 422. 



*) I.e. p. 588. 



