334 Janoyer on the Influence of Sulphur on Iron. 



ducing pliospliorus into tlie cast iron. I took for this purpose 

 tlie ore of Villebois (Ain), an oolitic mineral very phosphatic, 

 which, according to the analyses of M. Berthier (Essai par la voie 

 s^che, t. II, p. 231), contains, Sesquioxyd of iron 34-8, water 12-6j 

 phosphoric acid 0-2, clay 3-1:4, carbonate of lime 18'0. Owing to 

 the large proportion of phosphorus, I added this ore in very small 

 quantities so as not to obtain an iron "cold-short." Experiment 

 determined that the proportion should be } of the charge of ore. 



I had then a bed of fusion equal to 240 kilogrammes (624 fts.) 

 of cast metal containing 0^-106 (y\ of a ft.) of phosphorus, which 

 gives an iron containing 0'00045 per cent of this element. I 

 obtained by this means irons far superior to those previously ob- 

 tained, and without any loss of its tenacity in the cold ; thej^ did 

 not contain the least trace of the "hot-snort" qualities. I will 

 cite an example: A piece of iron 0"^'055 b^' 0"^-015 (2xi in.), 

 manufactured without admixture of phosphatic ore, when heated, 

 broke at every bend ; and a piece of the same size manufactured 

 from the cast metal, containing 0*00045 per cent of phosphoruSj 

 resisted fracture perfectly. 



The explanation of this remarkable fact already recognized in 

 practical metallurgy is thence apparent ; the iron and the cast- 

 ings are much better as the qualities and varieties of ores mixed 

 in the bed of fusion are more numerous, and the amelioration of 

 quality is owing to the influence of foreign bodies, such as man- 

 ganese and phosphorus, from the different ores.*^ 



We cannot disregard, in this case, the influence of phosphorus, 

 which was the only agent introduced into the new portion. The 

 constitution of the slag was the same, and the cast metal had 

 been produced under the same circumstances; the puddling and 

 the reheating were made in the same manner and with the same 

 fuel. 



But how is it that the phosphorus can counteract the influence 

 of the sulphur? This question I shall endeavor to answer by 

 deduction from the facts and experiments made by me dunng 

 the last two years, persuaded that it is of interest for science 

 since it throws light on the triple combinations of carbon, iron 

 and phosphorus, besides being of great use in practice. 



To arrive at a knowledge of this action of phosphorus upon 

 sulphur in the cast metal, I made two experiments as follows, 

 I remelted in a naked crucible in a forge: 1st, 3^ gram, of an 

 excellent gray white iron, containing much graphite with 014 

 pyrites (bisulphuret of iron). 2d, 8^ gram, of the same iron 



^ * Note hy W. J. 71— According to Schafhiiutl (J. fur Chem. xl, 304,) cast iron tar 

 iron aud steel, almost always contain more or less arsenic and pLosphorus.^ J""^ 

 the celebrated Dannemora iron and the English Low-Moor iron owe their gooa 

 qualities to the presence of arsenic: and a particular kind of Russian iron (marKea 

 CC ND) from Demidoff^s works at Nischnitagilsk is indebted for its peculiar prop- 

 erties to the phosphorus which it contains. (Gmelin, (Cavendish edit.), vol. v, p. ^i*-^ 



) 



