METALLURGY. 



445 



nese, which has been put upon the markets as a 



in. '(1111111 of iTi-eat resisting jrower, itsspeciti'' n- 

 ;e hi-intr higher l ' ia " thut "f nickeline, 

 which has hitherto passed as the best iv-istin^ 

 ll has iinot her advantage in its behavior 

 under variations of temperature, its resistance, it 

 i- claimed, tiring affected only in a minute degree 

 _.h tempi Tatures. It is therefore adapted 

 fur tin' manufacture of measuring instruments 

 ami electrical apparatus in general, which an- iv- 

 c|iiin'd to vary their resistance as little as possi- 

 ble imcliT different degrees of heat. 



Specimens of brass made by Prof. W. Spring 

 by compression of the constituents at ordinary 

 temperature, were recently exhibited by Herr 

 lichrens at the Amsterdam Royal Academy of 

 Science. A reddish specimen had been produced 

 by compressing nine parts of copper and one of 

 zinc : a pale-yellow one by compressing a mix- 

 ture of seven parts copper and three parts zinc. 

 Both had been filed up twice, and again consoli- 

 dated by pressure. The reddish metal was a 

 little .softer than common cast brass: it could be 

 somewhat flattened under the hammer. The yel- 

 low metal was harder than common brass, and 

 brittle. Both varieties contained much of a yel- 

 low alloy, amorphous, finely granular, and with- 

 out I he crystallites characteristic of copper alloys 

 obtained by fusion; angular fragments of red 

 copper, with yellow threads between the red 

 lumps and strands; and some zinc, angular frag- 

 ments, and threads, trending outward and unit- 

 ing near the curved surface of the cylindrical 

 specimens. The metal is nearly, but not wholly, 

 compact. Much evidence exists of a flow in the 

 yellow alloy in the zinc, but nothing points to a 

 truly liquid state in the alloy or one of its com- 

 ponents. 



The Societe de Ferro-Nickel, of France, has 

 succeeded in obtaining a nickel iron and steel 

 containing a large percentage of nickel, and hav- 

 ing the remarkable properties in nonoxidizabili- 

 ty, brightness, etc., of that metal, and susceptible 

 of being substituted for it in a large number of 

 ores. A category of metals is formed below 25 

 per cent of nickel which possess new properties, 

 (instituting them a special class of peculiar in- 

 terest. We have no longer alloys of a somewhat 

 high price, capable, on account of their richness 

 in nickel, of replacing the pure metal, but metals 

 comparable to iron and steel, in which the inter- 

 vention of even a small proportion of nickel 

 modifies the constitution without materially in- 

 creasing the cost, and gives the iron and steel 

 remarkable improvement of quality. In the 

 process, manganese and aluminum are simul- 

 taneously employed with or without the addi- 

 tion of carbon, and the nickel is introduced 

 either pure or as malleableized metal, or as crude 

 metal more or less rich in nickel. The resultant 

 alloys possess a more perfect homogeneity than 

 iron or steel, and consequently have the quali- 

 ties of malleability, ductility, tenacity, and elas- 

 ticity to a superior degree. The tempering 

 qualities improve as the nickel diminishes, till at 

 7'5 and 3 per cent., and below, alloys are ob- 

 tained capaole of being tempered according to 

 laws analogous to those that govern the temper- 

 ing of ordinary kinds of steel. 



In the method described by M. Mouchd for 

 alloying pure copper with magnesium, the copper 



is melted with magnesium or with material-, 

 capable of producing it by chemical reaction 

 the main point being that at the end tin copper 

 shall contain magnesium and the resultant 

 metal is treated by the usual methods according 

 to the application propped. The addition of 

 magnesium to copier imparts to it considerable 

 tenacity and a certain hardness without altering 

 its other properties, and makes it especially suita- 

 ble for telegraph or telephone wires. 



Magnesium has been found to have great 

 value for blending with other metals, when it 

 cleanses the metal with which it is blended 

 from impurities. It has been added to copper 

 for this purpose with very satisfactory results. 

 and is now used by a German establishment for 

 addition to German silver, brass, and nickel. 



Processes. The discovery is reported from 

 Westphalia, Germany, of a process of manu- 

 facturing pig iron by the simultaneous applica- 

 tion of the electric current and the use of an 

 easily made acid for the extraction of the iron 

 from the ore. The process is said to be 80 per 

 cent, cheaper than the present blast-furnace 

 method. 



A process is described by E. Saniter for re- 

 moving sulphur from iron by means of cal- 

 cium chloride and lime. The experiments went 

 to prove that lime alone removes a consider- 

 able quantity of sulphur from iron if the con- 

 tact is sufficiently prolonged ; and, further, that 

 a mixture of calcium chloride and lime elimi- 

 nates the sulphur in half an hour. 



In M. Faure's new method of decorating cast 

 iron the entire surface of the piece is enameled 

 with any required shade; the casting is then 

 passed to the file wheel, which removes the 

 enamel from the relief portions, and afterward 

 to the burnisher, which polishes the reliefs. The 

 article is then taken to the nickel, copper, or 

 other metallic bath, from which the metallic de- 

 posit adheres only to the burnished surfaces. A 

 casting is thus obtained with the indentations 

 enameled and the reliefs metal plated, or simply 

 polished. Other decorative effects may be ob- 

 tained by bronzing the article after enameling, 

 or by enameling and glazing the object, repass- 

 ing it through the furnace, and then applying a 

 second coating of transparent enamel of differ- 

 ent shade from that of the primary layer. 



The process of manufacture of seamless tubes 

 at Taylor & Wiggins's works, Birmingham, Eng- 

 land, consists in progressively drawing the tubes 

 down cold, in successive stages, from a disk of 

 steel of varying thickness and diameter into 

 the completed tube. The steel used is of differ- 

 ent qualities, according to the purpose for which 

 the tubes are intended, and is supplied to the 

 works in strips of various length and width. The 

 circular blank's are first punched from the strips, 

 and are then passed through the first of a series 

 of vertical presses, in which they are slightly 

 dished. They are then passed successively through 

 dies of gradually increasing depth and decreas- 

 ing diameter, until the flat disk has assumed the 

 form of a tube ten or twelve inches long and two 

 or three inches in diameter, and closed at one 

 end. Between every pass the embryo tube is 

 subjected to a slight annealing. Having reached 

 a given length in the vertical pn-ses. the work 

 of further elongation and development is carried 



