VOL. LXXXV.] PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. 5gl 



about as heavy as an equal bulk of iron or steel. It was tasteless and inodorous. 

 No indentation could be made by blows with a heavy hammer; nor was it broken 

 by blows which I think would have broken a like piece of our steel. Fire was 

 elicited on collision with flint. Under the file I found wootz much harder than 

 common bar steel not yet hardened, and than Huntsman's cast steel not yet 

 hardened. It seemed to possess the hardness of some kinds of crude iron, but 

 did not effectually resist the file like highly tempered steel, and many sorts of 

 crude iron : for though the teeth of the file were rapidly worn down and broken, 

 the wootz was also reduced to the state of filings. The filed surface was of a 

 bright bluish colour, shining like hardened steel; but some parts were brighter 

 than others; and the most shining places seemed to be the hardest parts: hence 

 perhaps the reason of the surface being uneven, and a little pinny. Notwith- 

 standing this uneven and pinny appearance of the surface, a polish was produced, 

 which was I think at least equal, if not superior, in brilliancy and smoothness 

 to that of any steel I ever saw. The wootz filings were attracted by the magnet 

 like common iron filings. 



A cake of this substance being broken in the part nearly cut through, the 

 fracture exhibited the grain and colour of rather open grained steel, but it was 

 not nearly so open as I have constantly seen the grain of a bar of cement, or 

 blister steel. The grain of wootz was most like that of blister steel which has 

 been heated and hammered a little, and also like some kinds of refined crude 

 iron. 



The specific gravity of wootz, and several specimens of steel and iron, was 

 found, by Mr. Moore and myself, to be as follows. 



No. 1. Wootz 7. 181 No. 17. Huntsman's steel hammered .... 7.916 



No. 2. Another specimen of wootz .... 7.403 No. 18. Ditto, another specimen 7.826" 



No. 3. Ditto forged 7.647 No. 19. Ditto, another specimen 7 .830 



No. 4. Another specimen, forged 7.503 No. 20. Ditto quenched when white hot . . 7.771 



No. 5. Wootz which had been melted . . 7.200 No. 2 1 . Ditto, another specimen so quen- 



No. 6. Wootz which had been quenched ched 7.765 



while white hot 7.166 No. 22. Piece of a file quenched while 



No. 7. Bar steel from Oeregrund iron .... 7.313 white hot to produce the appearance 



No. 8. Ditto hammered 7.735 called, open grain 7.352 



No. 9. German steel bar, said to be di- No. 23. Another specimen of ditto 7.405 



rectly from the ore 7.500 No. 24. Piece of same file, but not so 



No. 10. Ditto quenched when white hot . . 7.370 quenched 7.460 



No. 11. Melted steel wire 7.500 No 25. Another specimen of ditto 7.585 



No. 12. Ditto, another parcel 7.460 No. 26. Piece of very hard steel 7.260 



No. 13. Piece of hammered Oeregrund steel No. 27 Hammered common steel 7.794 



bar after quenching when white hot .... 7.555 No. 28. Another specimen of ditto, and 



No. 14. Another parcel of ditto 7.570 hardened by quenchinp; 7.676 



No. 15. Piece of same bar hammered, but No. 29. Softest and toughest hammered 



not hardened by quenching 7.693 iron; from Parkes, an iron merchant . . 7.7l6 



No. 16. Piece of steel which had been No. 30. Another specimen of ditto 7 700 



often heated and cooled gradually 7.308 No. 31 . Another parcel of ditto 7.750 



