210 nature's 



It was my pleasure and privilege to visit 

 the factory at Niagara Falls, and through 

 the courtesy of Mr. Fitzgerald, the chemist in 

 charge of the works, I learned much of the 

 manufacture and use of carborundum. The 

 crude materials used in the manufacture of 

 carborundum are, sand, coke, sawdust and 

 salt; the compound is a combination of coke 

 and sand. It combines at a very high heat, 

 such as can be had only from electricity. 

 When cooled down the product forms into 

 beautiful crystals with iridescent colors. The 

 predominating colors are blue and green, and 

 yet when subjected to sunlight it shows all 

 the colors of the solar spectrum to a greater or 

 less degree. The crystals form into hexagonal 

 shapes, and sometimes they are quite large, 

 from a quarter to a half inch on a side. The 

 salt does not enter into the product as a part 

 of the compound, neither does the sawdust. 

 The salt acts as r flux to facilitate the union 

 of the silica and carbon. The sawdust is put 

 into the mixture to render it porous so that 

 the gases that are formed by the enormous 

 heat can readily pass off, thus preventing a 

 dangerous explosion that might otherwise 

 occur. In fact, these explosions have occurred, 

 which led to the necessity of devising some 

 means for the ready escape of the gases. 



The process of manufacture as it is carried 

 on at Niagara is interesting. The visitor is 



