1840.] 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



317 



hours ; yet, in spite of these precautions, wliich generally were successful, he 

 had seen twelve of these tubes break in one day, while an apparently ill-made 

 tube had lasted six weeks. lie found thin tubes last longer than thick ones. 

 He was in the habit of removing the stains of bog water from his boiler gauges 

 by scouring them with emery ; when reheated, they invariably broke ; after 

 many experiments, he tried the use of acid, which answered iierfectly, and no 

 tubes were subsequently broken. 



Mr. PeUatt recommended boiling as a safe and good mode of annealing all 

 kinds of glass ; in the ordinary method of annealing, thick and thin ware is 

 often subjected to the same process, and remains in the leet for the same 

 jieriod : this would account for the superior duration of the thin tubes. He 

 attributed the fracture of the tubes to the tension of the exterior coating and 

 tlie vibration caused by the process of cleaning : this effect was so well known 

 that old tube could scarcely be sold, as it generally broke in cleaning. 



Mr. Hawkins observed, that tubes almost Invariably broke in merely re- 

 mo\ing dust from the inside, whether it was done by rubbing with a tight 

 packing or by slightly wiping it out. In some experiments on the production 

 of carbonic acid gas, he used glass tubes of -J of an inch internal diameter and 

 I of an inch thick : they bore a pressure of 100 atmospheres. Some wrought- 

 iron tubes into which holes of J of an inch diameter were drilled and pieces 

 of glass inserted, bore a pressure of 600 atmospheres. 



REVIEVT'S. 



Papers on Iron and Sleel, Practical and Experimental. By David 

 MusHET. London: Jolin Weale, 1840. 



In the volume before us we have the result of Mr. Mushet's labours 

 for the last 40 years and upwards, on the investigation of the proper- 

 ties of iron. Most of the papers have appeared in the Philosophical 

 Magazine, the first as long ago as 1798, they are now collected together 

 in one volume with additional notes and remarks, occasioned by the 

 new discoveries since the period of their first publication. 



It must be most gratifying to Mr. Mushet to reprint the precept at 

 the commencement of the present volume, which was also the prelude 

 of the first paper which appeared in public, and one which we are 

 sure every scientific man will read with pleasure. 



It is much to be wished, that men practically versed in the various manu- 

 factures of Britain would turn their attention to the best means of dissemi- 

 nating a knowledge of the principles and operations which have been deter- 

 mined by experience as the best to be followed in the large way, according 

 to local and other circumstances. A candid and liberal communication of 

 individual observation, by promoting the common interest, would tend ulti- 

 mately to the benetit of each manufacturer, by the increased improvement 

 and perfection of their various articles ; for the real welfare of any particular 

 branch depends less upon the superiority of one man's article over that of 

 another, in the same line, than upon the general superiority of a national 

 product over that of any other country — a pre-eminence that depends entirely 

 on the aggregate mass of industry, ingenuity and intellect exerted in the one 

 or the other. 



What I recommend is the more necessary, as inaccurate and fallacious 

 principles are often brought forward by men of science, even the best inten- 

 tioned, from a want of that practical knowledge, which can only be acquired 

 by a long and personal acquaintance with the processes carried on in the 

 large way of manufacture. The mischiefs hence occasioned are incredible : 

 it tends to separate the man of science and the manufacturer ; it shackles the 

 latter with increasing prejudice ; makes him view the former with a suspi- 

 cions eye ; is the principal reason why science has been so long excluded 

 from our manufactories ; and why the accurate results of the laboratory have 

 so long been despised by the practical artist, and been deemed undeserving 

 of experiment on an extended scale. The artist and the man of science 

 should mutually inform each other : principles will then, and not till then, 

 acquire consistence and correctness, and their value w ill be established on the 

 surest foundation. 



The volume before us as we have stated is not a mere reprint or 

 collection of the original papers, but contains in addition the results of 

 Mr. Mushet's subsequent experience, thus forming a complete and 

 uniform work. Although confined only to one branch, that of the 

 manufacture of pig iron, and the description of the ores and fuel ne- 

 cessary for producing it, it gives in a volume of 952 pages a mass of 

 information, which is invaluable to the manufacturer ana the student. 

 It is fo be hoped, however, that should this volume meet with the 

 success, which it cannot fail to attain, if it be rewarded according to 

 its merits, that Mr. Mushet may be induced to give a second volume, 

 as he intimates, on malleable iron and steel, and possibly a third volume 

 on the subject of some of the other metals. We feel certain that Mr 

 Mushet need not delay on this account, but that in full anticipation of 

 a successful reception, he may go on confidently to render fresh services 

 to the public, and add new honours to those he has already received. 

 Mr. Mushet has done much himself, but he has done more in showing 



how much it is in the power of an individual, by his own exertions, to 

 benefit his fellowmen, and increase the resources of his native land. 

 To those who know Mr. Mushet no enumeration of his labours is ne- 

 cessary, but those who do not cannot do better than peruse the narra- 

 tive given in the preface to the present work, from which we extract 

 that portion relating to the grand discovery, by which he conferred 

 such a boon on Scotland and the iron trade in general. 



Notwithstanding these early reproaches, I have lived to see the nomencla- 

 ture of my youth furnish a vocabulary of terms in the art of iron making 

 which is used by many of the iron masters of the present dav, with freedom 

 and etfect, in communicating with each other on the subject of their respec- 

 tive manufactures. 



Prejudices seldom outlive the generation to which they belong, when op- 

 posed by a more rational system of explanation. In this respect, indeed, 

 " Time," as my Lord Bacon says, " is the greatest of all innovators." 



In a similar manner has Time operated in my favour, in respect to the 

 Black-band iron-stone. The discovery of this was made in 1801, when I 

 was engaged in erecting for myself and partners the Calder Iron Works. 

 Great prejudice was excited against me by the iron masters and others of 

 that day in presuming to class the wild coals of the country with iron-stones 

 fit and proper for the blast-furnace. Yet that discovery has elevated Scot- 

 land to a considerable rank amongst the iron making nations of Europe — 

 with resources still in store that may be considered inexhaustible. 



But such are the consolatory effects of time, that the discoverer of 1801 is 

 no longer considered the intrusive visionary of the laboratory, but the ac- 

 knowledged benefactor of his country at large, and particularly of an exten- 

 sive class of coal and mine proprietors and iron masters, who have derived, 

 and are still deriving, great wealth from this important discovery ; and who, 

 in the spirit of grateful acknowledgment, have pronounced it worthy of a 

 crown of gold, or a monumental record upon the spot where the discovery 

 was first made.* 



At an advanced period of life, such considerations are soothing and satisfac- 

 tory. Many under similar circumstances have not, in their own Ufe-time, 

 had that measure of justice awarded to them by their country, to wliich they 

 were equally entitled. I accept it, however, as a boon justly due to me, and 

 as an equivalent in some degree for that laborious course of investigation 

 which I had prescribed for myself, and which, in early life, was carried on 

 under circumstances of personal exposure and inconvenience, which nothing 

 but a frame of iron could have supported. They atone also, in part for that 

 disappointment sustained in early life by the speculative habits of one partner, 

 and the constitutional nervousness of another, which eventually occasioned 

 my separation from the Calder Iron Works, and lost me the possession of 

 extensive tracts of the Black-band iron-stone, which I had secured while the 

 value of the discovery was appreciated only by myself. 



How gratifying must it be to Mr. Mushet to look back and contem- 

 plate these labours of his pen, which have been received by the public 

 with so much interest. We are unable now to enter into an examina- 

 tion of the very many papers which the work contains, but we can 

 assure those of our readers who desire information on this important 

 department of our national wealth and strength, that they will find it 

 the most valuable work on that subject yet published, one which we 

 are sure must find its way into every scientific library throughout the 

 world. We shall not suffer Mr. Mushet's work to escape us without 

 another notice. 



* From the Airdrie estate last year, from Black-band iron-stone alone, Sir 

 W. Alexander derived a clear income of i£16,.500. 



A Treatise on Engineering Field Work. By Peter Bruff, C. E. 

 London : Simpkin, Marshall, & Co. 1840. 



We noticed at some length, in the first volume of the Journal, the 

 first edition of this work, which, we are happy to find, has arrived at 

 a second edition with considerable additions. It contains a great deal 

 of real practical information for the student, and even to the old prac- 

 titioner it will be valuable, who will find many hints dispersed 

 throughout the work well worth knowing. We perceive that the 

 present volume is entirely confined to land surveying, and that the 

 division on levelling will appear hereafter in a distinct volume. It is 

 our intention to turn to this volume next month, when we shall give 

 a few extracts ; in the mean time, we have much pleasure in recom- 

 mending the work to all those who wish to become acquainted with 

 land surveying. 



./i Brie/ Surrey of Physical and Fossil Geology. By Frederick 

 John Francis. London: Hatchard, 1S39. 



This small work is a republication of two lectures delivered at 

 Literary Institutions, and therefore well adapted for popular circula- 

 tion. The object of such a performance almost places it out of the 

 range of criticism, particularly, whereas in this instance, the work 

 seems carefully compiled. 



2 U 



