MECHANICAL AND USEFUL AETS. 65 



upon it, and taken up again, the instrument will be found thickly 

 , coated with the iron granules. The place where the sand abounds is 

 along the base of Mount Egraont, an extinct volcano ; and the de- 

 posit extends several miles along the coast, to the depth of many- 

 feet, and having a corresponding breadth. The geological suppo- 

 sition is that this granulated metal has been thrown out of the volcano 

 along the base of which it rests into the sea, and there pulverized. 

 It has been looked upon for a long time as a geological curiosity, 

 even to the extent of trying to smelt some of it ; but, although so 

 many years have passed since its discover} 7 , it is only recently that 

 any attempt has been made to turn it to a practical account ; in fact, 

 the quantity is so large that people out there looked upon it as utterly 

 valueless. It formed a standing complaint in the letters of all emi- 

 grants that when the sea breeze was a little up they were obliged to 

 wear veils to prevent being blinded by the fine sand which stretched 

 for miles along the shore. Captain Morshead, resident in the 

 West of England, was so much impressed with its value that he went 

 to New Zealand to verify the reports made to him in this country, 

 and was fortunate enough to find them all correct. He smelted the 

 ore first in a crucible, and subsequently in a furnace ; the results 

 were so satisfactory that he immediately obtained the necessary 

 graut of the sand from the Government, and returned to England 

 with several tons for more conclusive experiments. 



It has been carefully analysed in this country by several well- 

 known metallurgists, and has been pronounced to be the purest ore 

 at present known : it contains 88'45 of peroxide of iron, 11"43 of 

 oxide of titanium, with silica, and only 12 of waste in 100 parts. 

 Taking the sand as it lies on the beach and smelting it, the produce 

 is 61 per cent, of iron of the very finest quality; and, again, if this 

 sand be subjected to what is called the cementation process, the 

 result is a tough, first-class steel, which, in its properties, seems to 

 surpass anj' other description of that metal at present known. The in- 

 vestigations of metallurgical science have found that if titanium is 

 mixed with iron the character of the steel is materially improved ; 

 but, titanium being a scarce ore, such a mixture is too expensive for 

 ordinary purposes. Here, however, nature has stepped in, and made 

 free gift of both metals on the largest scale. To give some idea of 

 the fineness of this beautiful sand, it will be enough to say that it 

 passes readily through a gauze sieve of 4900 holes or interstices to 

 the square inch. As soon as it was turned into steel by Mr. Musket, 

 of Coleford, Messrs. Moseley, the eminent cutlers and toolmakers, of 

 New-street, Covent-garden, were requested to see what could be 

 done with the Taranaki steel. They have tested it in every possible 

 way, and have tried its temper to the utmost ; and they say the 

 manner in which the metal has passed through their trials goes far 

 beyond anything that they ever worked in steel before. It has been 

 formed into razors, scissors, saws, penknives, table cutlery, surgical 

 instruments, &c. ; and the closeness of the grain, the fineness of 

 polish, and keenness of edge, place it in the very foremost rank — 

 almost in the position of a new metal. 



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