54 Canadian Record of Science. 



fused into a clear glass, and a part reduced, with the pro- 

 duction of considerable masses of crystallized silicon, a por- 

 tion of this being volatilized and reconverted into silica. 

 By the addition of granulated copper, there is readily formed 

 a hard, brittle alloy, holding six or eight per cent, of silicon, 

 from which silicon bronzes can be cheaply made. The 

 direct reduction of clay gives an alloy of silicon and alu- 

 minium, and with copper, a silico-aluminium bronze that 

 appears to possess properties not less valuable than those of 

 the compound already mentioned. Even boric oxide is 

 rapidly reduced, with evolution of copious brown fumes, 

 and the formation in presence of copper of a boron bronze, 

 that promises to be of value ; while, under certain condi- 

 tions, crystals of what appears to be the so-called adaman- 

 toid boron are formed. In some cases, also, crystalline 

 graphite has been produced, apparently through the solvent 

 action of aluminium upon carbon. 



Eemarkable results are got by alloying small quantities 

 of aluminium with an admixture of copper and nickel. One 

 of these compounds, designated as Hercules metal, broke 

 with a strain of 111,000 pounds to the square inch, with an 

 elongation of 35 hundredths, while a ten per cent, alumi- 

 nium bronze broke with 109,000 pounds. An addition of 

 from two to three per cent, of aluminium to brass greatly 

 increases its tensile strength, and renders it less susceptible 

 to oxidation. While fifteen or twenty per cent, of alumi- 

 nium with copper yields a brittle compound, an addition of 

 ten per cent, of copper gives to pure aluminium a great 

 increase of hardness and tenacity, forming an alloy that may 

 have a wide application. It may be added that the difficul- 

 ties in the way of getting together the reduced aluminium 

 without the aid of the copper promise to be overcome at an 

 early day, so that we may expect the cheap production of 

 such alloys, and of pure aluminium. 



The Messrs. Cowles, in their later work, have been aided 

 by the chemical skill of Prof. C. F. Mabery, now of Cleve- 

 land, who is associated with them in one of their patents. 

 These now cover not only the reduction of aluminium, 

 silicon, and boron, as described, but the extraction of man- 



