I50 



NATURE 



\_Dec. ]9, 1889 



There is also a detailed tabular comparison of the plants 

 of Suffolk with those of Norfolk, Cambridgeshire, and 

 Essex, and a short chapter on the characteristic plants of 

 the different soils of the county, which will be found very 

 interesting to students of plant-dispersion. The chapters 

 contributed by Dr. Wheeler Hind, the son of the editor, 

 on the geology, physical geography, and meteorology of 

 the county are very full, clear, and add greatly to the 

 interest of the book. 



One of the most interesting circumstances in the county 

 flora is the occurrence of several maritime plants far 

 inland. In the Breck country, between Thetford and 

 Mildenhall, grow Vicia lutea, Erythro'a littoralis, Rumex 

 maritimus, Carex arenaria, Phleum arenarium, and 

 Corynephorus canescens. These are all seaside plants, 

 and their occurrence fifty miles inland is accounted for 

 by Prof. Newton and the editor by supposing that an arm 

 of the sea has penetrated here southward from the Wash 

 at a comparatively recent period. 



It is in Norfolk and Suffolk that the most valuable 

 observations have been made, by Mr. Clement Reid and 

 his fellow-workers, in illustration of the time of origin 

 of our present British flora. The Cromer plant-bed ex- 

 tends into Suffolk, past Pakefield, to Southwoldand Dun- 

 wich. This is pre-glacial, and yet, out of upwards of forty 

 plants found in it that have been clearly identified, there 

 are only two that are not British now — the spruce fir and 

 Trapa natatts. At Hoxne, near Diss, lacustrine deposits 

 have been found resting on a bed of boulder clay, but 

 beneath beds which contain bones of the elephant. In 

 these are contained Salix polaris, S. Myrsinites, Betula 

 nana, Hypnum sarmentosum, and a Pinus which is 

 probably sylvestris — ail characteristic Arctic-Alpine types, 

 associated with many lowland plants which grow un- 

 changed in Suffolk at the present time. A chapter in the 

 book contains a list of all these plants, but their geological 

 position is not clearly explained. 



It will be seen that this is a very interesting and com- 

 plete county flora, and that it is worthy of being studied 

 carefully by all who are interested in the distribution of 

 our indigenous plants. J. G. B. 



THE MANUFACTURE OF IRON AND STEEL. 

 Iron ajid Steel Manufacture. By Arthur H. Hiorns. 

 (London : Macmillan and Co., 1889.) 



THIS volume is meant as a text-book for beginners, 

 and will very worthily occupy that position. It is 

 full of information, and information of the very kind 

 which the student should possess before entering upon 

 the study of the greater works of Percy or Phillips. On 

 the other hand, those already engaged in the metallurgy 

 of iron and steel will find in these pages much that may 

 be referred to. 



The book begins with a brief history of the processes 

 that have been employed down to our own time, the land- 

 marks in which are Dud Dudley's successful attempts to 

 smelt with coal at the beginning of the seventeenth cen- 

 tury ; Cort's introduction of the puddling process in 1784 ; 

 Neilson's recommendation to use hot blast in 1828 ; the 

 revolution produced in the iron trade by the invention 

 of the Bessemer steel process in 1855, as supplemented 

 by R. F, Mushet, of the Siemens furnace and steel 



process, and finally of Thomas and Gilchrist's basic 

 process. 



The chapter which deals with chemical principles and 

 changes, inserted for the benefit of those having a limited 

 knowledge of chemistry, is valuable on account of the 

 simple manner in which it is written ; this is particularly 

 the case as regards oxidizing and reducing agents, the 

 examples given of oxidation and reduction showing the 

 reactions very clearly. A chapter is devoted to the 

 definition of metallurgical terms, refractory materials and 

 fuel, another to the ores and alloys of iron, and then a 

 description of the various processes employed in the metal- 

 lurgy of iron and steel is given, attention being pretty 

 equally divided between the two metals. 



The most ancient and most difficult method of ex- 

 tracting iron from the ere is what is known as the direct 

 method, and the author explains clearly the two causes of 

 its failure, whether in the case of the old Catalan or any 

 of the modern processes, and the reason why the blast 

 furnace, although an indirect, has proved so successful a 

 method. These two causes are "the easy oxidation of 

 iron by carbonic acid and water, at the temperature at 

 which ferrous oxide is reduced to the metallic state by 

 carbon, carbonic oxide, or hydrogen, and the facility with 

 which iron at a red heat combines with carbon." 



The preparation of the ores for reduction in the blast 

 furnace and their treatment therein are next brought 

 forward, the advantages and disadvantages of the hot 

 blast, the utilization of waste gases, the dimensions and 

 form of blast furnace and subsidiary subjects being 

 treated of. 



The metal being now in the state of pig-iron, the means 

 of refining and puddling are described ; the various ar- 

 rangements are set forth by which attempts have been 

 made to effect the work of the puddler by mechanical 

 means, whether by automatic rabbles or rotatory furnaces, 

 and their relative advantages and disadvantages. A chap- 

 ter is devoted to the treatment of puddled iron under 

 the hammer and in the rolling mill, and to the tinning 

 and galvanizing of iron. 



Leaving the subject of malleable iron, the author next 

 considers the question of iron-founding. He describes 

 the cupola furnace in which the pig metal is fused ; and the 

 various methods of moulding and casting, and the brands 

 of pig-iron used for different purposes, are treated of. 



About a third of the book is devoted to the considera- 

 tion of steel ; it is in this branch of the treatment of iron 

 that the greatest development has occurred of late years, 

 and the book under review treats of all the modern 

 practice. It is pleasant to find, too, in the preparation of 

 an elementary work, that constructive perspective has 

 been employed. Modern processes are not brought into 

 prominence simply because they are modern, and ancient 

 methods are not thrown into the shade if still employed. 

 Amongst the latter we find full attention given to the 

 cementation process, and crucible steel ; whilst a chapter 

 is devoted to each of the processes of Bessemer and 

 Siemens. The book finishes with a chapter on steel- 

 casting and on testing. 



The volume before us is intended to assist pupils 

 preparing for the ordinary grade examinations of the City 

 and Guilds of London Institute, and its author— the 

 principal of the School of Metallurgy in connection with 



