412 Chronicles of Science. [July, 
Director of the Meteorological Department of the Board of Trade, 
Mr. A. W. Franks, Keeper of the Antiquities in the British 
Museum, and Mr. W. Carruthers. 
Mr. Warington Smyth has been succeeded as President by 
Professor Huxley. 
9. METALLURGY AND MINING. 
METALLURGY. 
Mr. C. W. Sremens has recently communicated to the Chemical. 
Society a paper “On the regenerative Gas-furnace as applied to 
the production of Steel.” Although the question relates more 
strictly to chemistry, we refer to it in this place for the purpose of 
directing the attention of those who are at all interested in Metallurgy 
to the curious facts stated as to the power of tungsten in giving 
hardness to steel, and in enabling it to receive and retain the mag- 
netic force. The regenerative gas-furnace was of course fully 
described, and its advantages in many processes especially pointed 
out. 
Ever and anon the combination of wolfram with iron, or more 
correctly speaking of tungsten and iron, claims our attention. The 
following extracts from a report on its use in Germany, which has 
been published by A. Keiffenheim and Co., may be worthy of atten- 
tion :— 
The pulverized wolfram ore is weighed off for each raw iron 
charge in a quantity corresponding with the intrinsic percentage 
which it is thought desirable to allow. This quantity is mixed 
with one pound of powdered manganese, and half-a-pound of salt, 
and the mixture is put into bags. 
The raw iron charge is smelted in the puddling-furnace, and 
after a strong heat begins to develop and ascend; the bags con- 
taining the alloy are to be pressed one after the other, and, at 
short intervals, into the liquid mass, and at the same time the 
puddler must quickly stir up the whole mass with the raker, in 
order that the alloy may be equally distributed throughout. 
Such is the general description of the process. This wolfram 
iron is said to be remarkable for toughness and strength. If it be 
so, we shall soon hear more of it. 
Large quantities of wolfram have been obtained from the Kit 
Hill and Drake Walls mines in the neighbourhood of Callington. 
At one time the combination of tin ore and wolfram was treated by 
a process patented by Mr. Oxland, but worked by M. Jacob at Drake 
Walls, and the tungsten, as tungstate of soda, preserved. The 
