EXHIBITION, BRITISH INDUSTRIAL. 



439 



sheets, clearly revealing the color of the sub- 

 jacent iron. Russia still continues without a 

 competitor in the production of a peculiar de- 

 scription of sheet iron, which has long been 

 highly esteemed in commerce. The quality of 

 the iron, which is both smelted and worked 

 with charcoal throughout, is excellent, and the 

 dark polish on the surface is remarkable. 

 Austria exhibited excellent sheet iron, and so 

 did the Zollverein. except the specimens of the 

 so-called transparent iron, which are a sham. 

 This iron is not transparent at all, but is per- 

 forated with innumerable small holes through 

 which light passes, thus showing how inferior 

 In malleability iron is to gold. 



Bars, Rail*. and Girders. This display was 

 magnificent ; and in no branch of the metallurgy 

 of iron has greater progress been made since 

 the first Exhibition of 1851. The mill power 

 required to produce some of these articles is 

 enormous, but we are probably far from hav- 

 ing reached the maximum limit. There \vere 

 gigantic rails exceeding 100 ft. in length, but 

 these were to be regarded as curiosities, in- 

 teresting as exhibitions of power and effective 

 mechanical appliances, showing what might be 

 done if required. In general they were admir- 

 able specimens of rolling. The Butterley Com- 

 pany sent a Rail 117 ft. long, and 5Jin. deep, 

 and a Tension Bar for Girders, 83 ft. long, 1 ft. 

 wide, and 1 in. thick. The Dowlais Company 

 exhibited two rails of the following dimensions : 

 one 53 ft. 6 in. long, 4| in. across the head, and 

 10 in. deep, the other 31 ft. 6 in. long, 

 51 in. across the head, and 15 in. deep. 

 In the Zollverein was a section of rolled 

 rail 5| in. across the head, and 18| in. 

 deep. Belgium made a very creditable show 

 of rails and rail sections ; and it is declared that 

 in certain foreign markets she has beaten the 

 English producer of rails, both with respect to 

 quality and price. The Austrian Society of 

 State Railways exhibited specimens of rails 

 some with the head of granular and the foot of 

 fibrous iron, and others of puddled steel. 



Dupont and Dreyfus (France) exhibited a fine 

 and extensive collection of objects of interest, 

 especially with reference to building construc- 

 tions. There were flat bars and girders in great 

 variety and profusion, indicating excellent 

 workmanship. In France iron is extensively 

 used for building purposes, and is applied with 

 much science. 



The Bridge-links for Suspension Bridges 

 manufactured by Howard, Ravenhill and Co., 

 Rotherhithe, were interesting as having been 

 made by rolling. One of the links exhibited 

 weighed 63 cwt. From the time the slab left 

 the furnace to the complete formation of a large 

 link about four minutes elapsed. 



Armor Plates. There were no metallurgical 

 illustrations in the Exhibition of more interest 

 than the rolled Armor Plates for ships. Of 

 these two were sent by John Brown and Co., 

 Atlas Works, Sheffield. The immediate di- 

 mensions are as follows : (No. 1) length 21 ft. 



8 in., width 4 ft. 2 in., thickness 6J in., weight 

 10 tons 12 c\vt. ; (No. 2) length 24 ft., width 3 

 ft. 8 in., thickness 5 in., weight 7 tons 17 cwt. 

 A few years ago the rolling of such enormous 

 masses of iron would have seemed incredible. 

 Brown and Co. also exhibited large, but much 

 thinner plates outside the building in Exhibi- 

 tion-road ; one was intended for gunboats, and 

 is 22 ft. long, 7 ft. 2 in. wide, and 2 in. thick ; 

 and the other for engine beams. These two 

 plates were thus manufactured. The metal 

 consisted of ''best new scrap," obtained from a 

 mixture of Swedish, Shropshire, and Derby- 

 shire refined iron. It was balled under a 4-ton 

 steam hammer, piled under a 6-ton helve, and 

 rolled into bar, re-rolled into slabs, all crossed, 

 then rolled into u moulds," and lastly, rolled 

 into the finished plates. There are 360 layers 

 in the 6^-inch plate. 



The JButterley Company sent two Armor 

 Plates, each 14 ft. long, 5 ft. wide, and 4~ in. 

 thick, and weighing when finished six tons. 

 The expense of manipulating such enormous 

 masses of iron as these armor plates is ne- 

 cessarily very great ; and the present cost of 

 them to the nation ranges between 35 and 45 

 per ton! 



Canadian Iran. Enormous deposits of mag- 

 netic iron ore which, when pure, is the rich- 

 est of all the ores of iron have been discovered 

 by Sir William Logan in the Laurentian rocks, 

 which present no traces of organic remains, and 

 are the oldest sedimentary series in the world. 

 The ore occurs interstratified with the rocks 

 containing it. The accumulation of this ore in 

 some localities is so great as to appear incredible. 

 Thus, one bed is not less than 500 feet thick ! 

 On the Rideau Canal there is another bed 200 

 feet thick, which is now worked at Xew- 

 borough, and from which the ore is conveyed 

 to Kingston on Lake Ontario. . Canada also 

 possesses extensive tracts of bog-iron ore on 

 the north side of the St. Lawrence. Cast iron 

 from ordinary bog-iron ore is about the last 

 kind of metal many founders would dream of 

 employing for such a purpose ; yet in the Cana- 

 dian Department was exhibited a pair of Rail- 

 way Wheels which have travelled, without 

 showing much evidence of wear, not less than 

 150,000 miles, or about six times round the 

 earth. And it should be remembered that in 

 Canada there are great alternations of temper- 

 ature, the heat of summer being intense, and 

 the cold of winter extremely bitter. 



Iron in India. There was an interesting 

 series of specimens shown in the Indian de- 

 partment. Iron ores, chiefly earthy-brown 

 hematite and magnetic ironsand, occur abun- 

 dantly in several parts of India, and have been 

 smelted, from time immemorial, by the natives 

 in small furnaces. The East Indian Iron Com- 

 pany sent an instructive collection of Iron Ores 

 and the various products which they yield. 

 There are several blast furnaces in India on the 

 European model, using charcoal as fuel. It is 

 a remarkable fact, that in one locality in the 



