TRANSACTIONS OF SECTION B. 497 



White iron, fused in a clay crucible for thirty minutes, when fractured did not 

 appear to have undergone any change. White iron and coke were introduced into 

 the furnace ; the resultant metal was slightly greyer than the original. When, 

 however, retort-carbon was substituted for the coke a good grey iron, soft and 

 easily workable, was readily obtained in fifteen minutes, starting with' the crucible 

 hot. On another occasion, starting all cold, at the end of thirty minutes the 

 metal, although it had been well fused, had not been rendered greyer. The differ- 

 ence between these two results was possibly due to the temperature being some- 

 what higher in the one case than in the other. This is a point of considerable 

 practical interest. Four pounds of white iron, fused with carbon-dust for three- 

 quarters of an hour, yielded a very grey crystalline iron. In another experiment, 

 in which 8 ounces of grey iron, produced in the electric furnace from white iron, 

 were re-melted in carbon-dust for ten minutes, a very grey metal was obtained, 

 from which on slow cooling a large quantity of graphite separated. 



Cast iron, fused and kept under the action of the arc for forty-five minutes in 

 carbon-dust, was not materially changed as to greyness, and the general character 

 of the metal^as to, the way in which it worked under the tool was not materially 

 altered. The object of the experiment was to ascertain the maximum amount of 

 carbon iron is capable of taking up under circumstances presumably the most 

 favourable. The result is hardly that which would have been anticipated. Some 

 of the same cast iron was fused for fifteen minutes under lime, which nearly 

 covered it. The character of the fracture of the metal was but little altered by 

 this treatment, when slight differences, due to the rate of cooling, are taken into 

 account. A strong smell of phosphoretted hydrogen or of a phosphide was per- 

 ceived — probably the latter. This was only observed in the experiment in which 

 lime was used. The lime employed still retains a very offensive odour. 



When spiegeleisen was fused in a plumbago or a clay crucible graphite separated 

 as the metal cooled. 



Siliceous piff iron containing about 10 per cent, silicon was fused by itself; it 

 showed but little change, except that some graphite separated. A similar result 

 was obtained when 5 lbs. of the siliceous pig were fused for one hour in carbon- 

 dust. On fracturing the ingot obtained, a large quantity of scales of graphite 

 was found in a hollow which traversed nearly the whole length of the ingot at 

 its centre. The fracture of the metal was still that so characteristic of highly 

 siliceous iron, and was practically the same as that of the original pig iron. 



A series of experiments was made to determine the maximum amount of car- 

 bon pig iron is capable of taking up in the presence of a given quantity of sUicon. 

 Grey cast iron and pig iron containing 10 per cent, of silicon were fused together 

 in carbon-dust, the ratio between them being varied so as to yield metal with from 

 \ per cent, to 9 per cent, of silicon. 



A similar series was made, only substituting sulphur for silicon. No odour of 

 sulphurous acid was perceived ; therefore, presumably, no sidphur was volatUised. 

 This is somewhat remarkable, considering the nature of the experiment. It was 

 thought that investigations of this kind might have an important practical, as well 

 as more purely scientific, interest— admitting, for the sake of argument, that any 

 such distinction really exists — in assisting to determine the conditions in the blast 

 furnace, &c. 



Nickel.— A positive pole of this metal— cast malleable by Wiggin & Co.'s pro- 

 cess' — |-in. in diameter, was passed through a hole in the bottom of a clay crucible. 

 A carbon negative pole was used, but soon after the commencement of the ex- 

 periment a deposit of nickel formed on the end of it, so that practically it was a 

 nickel pole. This deposition of metal on the negative pole was also observed 

 with some other metals — notably with tungsten. Whilst disclaiming any special 

 knowledge on the point. Professor Huntington suggested whether this pheno- 

 menon — which is the reverse of that generally recognised as taking place might 



not depend on the relative volatility of the matter composing the poles. In the 

 furnace arranged as just described, 1 lb. of grain nickel was fused and pom-ed in 



' See paper on 'Nickel and Cobalt,' by Professor A. K. Huntington, in July 

 number of the Journal of tlie Society of Chemical Industry. 

 1882. h- K 



