178 Conversion of Cannon Balls into Plumbage. 
Arr. XXII.—Apparent Conversion of a part of two cannon 
ballsinto Plumbago.— Editor. 
In July, 1779, a British squadron and army, from New- 
York, invaded the coast of Connecticut, and during this in- 
vasion, visited New-Haven. The shallowness of the water 
in the harbour did not permit their large ships of war to get 
up to the town, but some of the lighter vessels, to favour the 
movements of the army, which had landed, entered the 
harbour, and kept up a cannonade, both upon the town 
and the redoubts, on and near the shores of the harbour. 
During the late tempest, (Sept. 3d,) a part of a low bank. 
on the eastern side of the harbour, a little north of the 
fort, was undermined, and discovered a cannon ball, which, 
there can be no doubt, was fired into this bank on the occa- 
sion mentioned above, and had therefore, in all probability, 
lain, undisturbed, more than forty-two years. The ground 
in question, is, in fact, only a part of the natural embank- 
ment of a very small creek, dividing a salt marsh, which lies 
so low that the tide very often overflows it, and the place 
where the ball Jay is little else than a salt morass. 
The ball, when first found, was thickly incrusted with a 
shapeless, rusty, brownish substance, which, when removed, 
brought into view the proper shape of the ball, which is a 
six pound shot. 
All these circumstances are only introductory to the main 
fact. The outside of the ball is changed into a substance, 
so resembling plumnbago, or what is commonly called black 
lead, that it cannot be readily distinguished from that sub- 
stance. The diameter of the ball is 3.87 in. By means of 
a common saw, a section was easily made through the plum- 
baginous coat, which at the place of the incision, was half 
an inch deep, and supposing the coating to be equally thick, 
one inch of the whole diameter would be occupied by it. 
This is however not exactly the fact. The change is less 
complete in some parts than on others. In one place the 
surface differs little from the common condition of cast iron, 
but is sensibly softer, being easily cut by a file ; and it is 
impressible, even by a knife, and there is gradation in the 
softness, till it becomes so soft, that it is cut with the same 
7 ease as common black lead crayons. It has then the same 
