IRQ 



[ 238 J 



IRQ 



the Dactyli, according to Hesiod, 

 as quoted by Pliny, who settled in 

 Crete during the reign of Minos I. 

 about 1431 years before Christ. 

 It would appear that a knowledge 

 of iron obtained even before the 

 deluge, for in Genesis we read 

 " And Zillah, she also bare Tubal- 

 Cain, an instructer of every artificer 

 in brass and iron." 



Iron forms a constituent part of 

 many animal and vegetable sub- 

 stances ; it enters into the compo- 

 sition of the blood ; and the various 

 shades of hue of some of the most 

 delicate flowers are more or less 

 owing to its presence. 



Iron is of a bluish-white colour, 

 and, when polished, has a consider- 

 able degree of brilliancy. It has 

 a styptic taste, and emits a smell 

 when rubbed. Its specific gravity 

 is 7-77. 



Iron is placed the eighth in order, 

 as regards its malleability, possess- 

 ing this quality in a less degree 

 than gold, silver, copper, tin, 

 platinum, lead, and zinc. In duc- 

 tility it ranks fourth, being inferior 

 only to gold, silver, and platinum, 

 and it may be drawn out into wire 

 as fine as a human hair. In 

 tenacity it ranks first, iron one- 

 twelfth of an inch in diameter 

 being capable of supporting 995 

 pounds without breaking. Iron is 

 fusible at a temperature of 1797 

 Fahr. . 



Iron is found native, and is then 

 generally considered to be of 

 meteoric origin, being alloyed with 

 nickel and other metals ; these 

 masses are called meteoric iron, 

 and it certainly appears that they 

 have fallen from the atmosphere. 

 A mass was discovered in Siberia 

 by Prof. Pallas, weighing 1680 Ibs. 

 A mass discovered in Bahia, in 

 Brazil, is estimated to weigh 

 14,000 Ibs. 



A singular structure is frequently 

 observed in the argillaceous iron 



ores of coal districts. The sub- 

 stance of the iron ore is formed 

 into conical sheaths, involving one 

 another, and marked by concentric 

 undulations aud radiating striae. 

 Large spheroidal masses of iron 

 ore, weighing at least a ton, are 

 thus found, in connexion with the 

 coal, at Ingleton, in Yorkshire; 

 and in the coal fields of Stafford- 

 shire and South "Wales, it is a well 

 known form of aggregation. 



The quantity of iron manufac- 

 tured in Great Britain is enormous ; 

 in the year 1827 it was calculated 

 at 690,000 tons; nearly one-half 

 of which, or 296,000 tons, was 

 manufactured in Wales, and up- 

 wards of 200,000 in Staffordshire. 

 For the manufacturing of this 

 immense quantity, three millions 

 seven hundred and ninety-five thou- 

 sand tons of coals would be required. 



In a supplementary note to 

 Professor Buckland's Bridge water 

 Treatise, it is stated, "Ehrenberg 

 has ascertained that a soft yellow 

 ochreous substance, Raseneisen, 

 which is found in large quantities 

 every spring in marshes about 

 Berlin, covering the bottom of 

 ditches, and in the footsteps of 

 animals, is composed of iron secre- 

 ted by infusorial animalcules of the 

 genus Gaillonella. This iron may 

 be separated from the siliceous 

 shields of these animals, which 

 retain their form after the ex- 

 traction of the iron. 

 I'BONSTONE. A heavy mineral, pos- 

 sessing sometimes a specific gravity 

 of 3*6, and composed chiefly of iron 

 combined with oxygen, carbonic 

 acid, silex, and water, with, in 

 some instances, calcareous earth. 

 When of a superior quality, it will 

 yield upwards of 36 per cent, of 

 iron. Mr. Bake well observes " We 

 know nothing certain, respecting 

 the formation of ironstone ; but it 

 appears to have been deposited in 

 fresh water, as it occurs in freeh- 



