﻿Peculiar Behavioitr of Charcoal in Blast Furnace. o3 



having examined the specimens, reported that " it seems 

 difficult to think that these rods are the result of natural 

 processes of growth." Mr. Terrier said he thought the 

 siliceous matter had not been present in the original 

 charcoal, but that it was slag that the coal had absorbed 

 in the furnace. Then, next, word came from the furnace 

 at Eadnor that similar fibrous charcoal had as^ain been 

 expelled from the slag notch, and this whilst charcoal 

 from a totally difierent locality was being used in the 

 furnace. The evidence was thus strongly against the 

 view that the siliceous matter was part of the original 

 coal, and in favour of Mr. Eerrier's suggestion. The 

 question was thus again, as it were, thrown back into the 

 sphere of chemistry, and it appeared probable that an 

 analysis of the fibrous matter would settle it. After 

 much care and labour, a quantity of fibre sufficient for 

 analysis — and free from the ash naturally present in the 

 charcoal — was obtained. The difficulty of securing a 

 satisfactory sample lay in the fact that the alkali of the 

 true ash caused the fibres to fuse, forming little glassy 

 globules. It was desirable to avoid these, in order that 

 the analysis might show the composition of the fibre 

 itself. The analysis of the fibre is stated in column 2 ;. 

 column 1 is the partial analysis of a sample of Radnor 

 slag made by myself in January, 1891 : — 



(1) (2) 



p.c. p.c. 



Alumina 13.52 18.15 



Ferrous oxide 1.44 .51 



Manganous oxide 3.48 Traces 



Lime 23.89 25.44 



Magnesia 74 1.47 



Sulphuric anhydride 1.52 Traces 



Silica 54.00 42.18 



Alkalies — Phosphoric anhydride, 



etc., bydiff 2.41 2.25 



3 



