Januabt 1, 1909] 



SCIENCE 



39 



foot plates and pier. The investigations with the 

 interferometer are still in progress, but it was 

 the speaker's belief that the results so far at- 

 tained should show that a distinct advance will 

 be made in gravity observations when the flexure 

 is determined by means of the interferometer. 

 Construction of Scientific Instruments and Their 



Adjustment: F. E. Weight. 



The paper dealt with the importance to science 

 of knowing the degree of accuracy of scientific 

 results, and the influence which the construction 

 of the instrument may exercise in scientific in- 

 vestigation. 



Under the head of informal communications, 

 W. J. Humphreys spoke of the possible magnetic 

 efi'ect on the earth of wind storms, and of the 

 recent discoveries made at Mt. Wilson regarding 

 sun-spots. 



E. L. Faeis, 

 Secretary 



THE NEW TOKK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. SECTION 

 OF ASTEONOMY, PHYSICS AND CHEMISTBY 



At a meeting held on November 16 at the 

 American Museum of Natural History Professor 

 D. W. Hering was nominated for chairman of the 

 section and a vice-president of the society for the 

 ensuing year. Professor Wm. Campbell was re- 

 elected secretary. The following papers were then 

 presented: 

 On the Electrolytic Refining of Iron: E. F. Keen. 



The previous work on this subject was reviewed; 

 first, electroplating iron upon the surface of en- 

 graved copper plates to obtain a hard facing; 

 then the work of Burgess and Hambueschen, of 

 Gee, of Neuburger and von Klobukow, of Skrabel, 

 of Maximowitsch and of Cowper-Coles. The elec- 

 trolytes which have been most generally used are 

 neutral solutions of ferrous sulphate or ferrous 

 chloride containing respectively the sulphates or 

 chlorides of ammonium. Smoother deposits were 

 obtained by the presence of magnesium sulphate 

 in an electrolyte of ferrous ammonium sulphate; 

 by stirring the electrolyte; at a temperature of 

 60-70° C. Oxidation retarded by addition of gly- 

 cerine. Precipitation of basic salts prevented by 

 adding just suificient acid to clear the solution. 

 The iron deposited was a hard, brittle, crystalline 

 mass, over 99.9 per cent. pure. 



From experiments carried on in the department 

 of metallurgy, Columbia University, it was found 

 that neutral ferrous fluosilicate electrolytes are 

 not suitable, as they are slowly decomposed with 

 the separation out of silica. 



Good deposits were obtained from neutral elec- 

 trolytes containing either 8 per cent, iron, as 

 FeSOi, or 6 per cent, iron and 3 per cent, sodium, 

 as sulphates, or 8 per cent, iron and 4 per cent, 

 sodium, as chlorides. With a current density of 

 10 to 20 amperes per square foot and a tempera- 

 ture of 50° C, the electromotive force for the first 

 solution was 0.8 to 0.95 volt, for the second 0.5 

 to 0.85 volt, for the third 0.4 to 0.5 volt. The 

 paper concluded with a discussion of the costs of 

 electrolytic refining of iron. 



W. Campbell read a paper on the " Use of 

 Metallography in Certain Problems in Concentra- 

 tion." The unsuccessful attempts to concentrate 

 the nickel in nickeliferous pyrrhotites were prob- 

 ably due to the fine condition of the pentlandite. 

 Slides illustrating the structure of ores from dif- 

 ferent localities were shown. The structure of 

 certain magnetic lead ores from Idaho was seen 

 to be a fine-grained complex containing magnetite, 

 quartz, calcite and other gangue, blende and 

 galena, which were deposited in about that order. 

 Magnetic separators applied to the zinc-lead mid- 

 dlings from the jigs yielded a lead-rich concen- 

 trate which was taken out by the magnets. The 

 structure of a zinc ore at ground-water level, 

 from New Mexico, was shown to be mainly 

 rosettes and compact masses of specular hematite 

 with zinc blende in the interstitial spaces. The 

 following order was indicated: pyrite, hematite, 

 chalcopyrite, blende and a little gangue. The 

 difiiculty in concentrating the zinc was due in 

 part to .structure. 



W. Campbell read some notes on a " Visit to 

 the Collieries and Iron and Steel Plants of Nova 

 Scotia," illustrated by numerous lantern slides. 

 The visit was made with the Canadian Mining 

 Institute during the summer. The collieries of 

 the Dominion Coal Company at Glace Bay were 

 first seen, then the plant of the Dominion Iron and 

 Steel Company. Piers with mechanical unloaders 

 for ore from Newfoundland; four blast furnaces; 

 ore beds for winter stock, blowing engines, etc.; 

 two Bessemer converters, ten open-hearth fur- 

 naces; rail mill, rod mill; coke ovens and coal- 

 washing plant. At North Sydney the Nova Scotia 

 Steel and Coal Company has coal and ore piers, 

 with two steam Wellman Seaver Morgan ore un- 

 loading cranes. Wabana ore from Bell Island, 

 Newfoundland, averages 55 per cent. Fe. At 

 Sydney mines the various collieries were visited. 

 Here are coke ovens and coal washer, one blast 

 furnace ( 200 tons a day ) , three forty-ton basic 

 open-hearth furnaces and one rolling furnace of 



