530 TRANSACTIONS OF THE 



"Then work up all the pieces into bars, add a little fresh matter 

 and give it the blast, and which will refresh and strengthen the 

 remainder and make yet purer the pieces of iron again put into 

 the dish; and as soon as each piece is red hot, beat it into a bar 

 and while hot plunge it into cold water; and thus iron is made 

 into steel which is much harder and whiter than iron." 



Pliny, about 1800 years ago, says that there were two ways to 

 manage iron for cutting purpose. One was to make steel of it 

 and the other to harden or temper thin tools, such as their pick 

 axes and anvils. 



MAGNETISM— 1731. 



[Transactions Royal Society, London.] 



The whole globe of the earth is one great magnet, having four 

 magnetic poles or points of attraction near each pole of the equa- 

 tor, and that in those parts of the world which lie near adjacent 

 to any of these magnetic poles the needle is governed thereby; the 

 nearest pole being always predominant over the more remote. 



The pole at present nearest to us is near the meridian of the 

 Land's end, and not above seven degrees from the pole arctic. By 

 this pole the variations are discovered. 



Mr. Stetson remarked in reference to La Mothe's iron car. The 

 peculiar advantages of it — in the event of collision no splinters, 

 so destructive in the crushing of cars of wood ; the general soft- 

 ness because of the elasticity of all its parts, being of thin wrought 

 iron strips rivetted together for suflS.cient stability, and superiority 

 in lightness — being nearly fifty per cent lighter than our wooden 

 cars, which weigh about six thousand pounds each. 



Mr. Creamer — They are much lighter, but objection is made 

 that they are hotter in summer and colder in winter than the 

 wooden cars. 



Railroad companies you all know are averse to any important 

 changes in their system ; and for very strong reasons — that of the 

 heavy loss they would sustain by a change. It is therefore very 

 natural that such companies should be what is called difficult. 



Mr. Fisher gave his reasons for approving Dr. La Mothe's plan, 

 and the very great saving of cost on United States railroads in 

 freight, amounting to many millions of dollars. 



