28 Experirhenls on the Alloys of Steel, 



(thougli not destroyed,) does actually occasion the damask. It 

 is highly probable, that the wootz is steel accidentally comUined 

 with the metal ot the earths; and the irregularity observed in dif- 

 ferent cakes, and even in the same cake, is in accordance with 

 this opinion. The earths may be in the ore, or they may be 

 derived from the crucible in which the fusion is made. 



Ill making the alumine alloy for the imitation of wootz, we 

 had occasion to observe the artificial formation of plumbago. 

 Some of the carburet of iron before mentioned having been 

 jjounded and mixed with fresh charcoal, and then fi;?ed, was found 

 to have been converted into perfect plumbago. This had not 

 taken place throughout the whole mass; the metal had soon 

 melted, and run to the bottom ; but having been continued in 

 the furnace for a considerable time, the surface of the button 

 had received an additional portion of charcoal, and had become 

 plumbago. It was soft, sectile, bright, stained paper, and had 

 every other character of that body: it was indeed in no way di- 

 stinguishable from it. The internal part of these plumbago 

 buttons was a crystalline carburet : a portion of it having been 

 powdered, and fused several times with charcoal, at last refused 

 to melt, and on the uncombined charcoal being burnt away by 

 a low heat, it was found that the whole of the steel had been 

 converted into plumbago: this powder we attempted to fuse, but 

 were not successful. 



It will appear by the following experiment, that we had formed 

 -artificial wootz, at a time when this certainly was not the object 

 of research. In an attempt to reduce titanium, and combine it 

 with steel, a portion of menachanite was heated with charcoal, 

 and a fused button obtained. A part of this button was next 

 fused with some good steel; the proportions were 96 steel, four 

 menachanite button. An alloy was formed, which worked well 

 under the hammer; and the little bar obtained was evidently 

 different from, and certainly superior to, steel. This was attri- 

 buted to the presence of titanium, but none could be found in 

 it ; nor indeed was any found even in the menachanite button 

 itself. The product was iron and carbon, combined with the 

 earths or their bases, and was in fact excellent wootz. A beautiful 

 damask was produced on this specimen by the action of dilute 

 acid. Since this, many attempts have been made to reduce the 

 oxide of titanium ; it has been heated intensely with charcoal, 

 oil, &c., but hitherto all have failed, the oxide has been changed 

 into a black powder, but not fused. When some of the oxide 

 was mixed with steel filings, and a little charcoal added, on 

 being intensely heated the steel fused, and ran into a fine globule 

 which was covered by a dark-coloured transparent glass, adhering 

 to the sides of the crucible. The steel contained no titanium, 



the 



