1865.] Mining, Mineralogy, and Metallurgy. 315 



of which coppery lead can be rendered equal in quality, for white lead 

 manufacture, to W. B. lead. 



The French Government has published some very complete re- 

 turns of the manufacture of iron in that country. These show a rapid 

 improvement in, and a great extension of, the manufacture of iron in 

 France. 



A large volume has been published at Turin, by the Italian Govern- 

 ment, ' On the Manufacture of Iron in Italy.' Nothing can show 

 more strikingly than this work does, the advantages which must arise 

 from the liberal government under which that country is now placed. 

 The amount of information given in this book, which has been com- 

 piled and printed regardless of cost, is very great ; and we particularly 

 recommend it to the attention of all who are interested in this special 

 industry. 



The Queen of Spain is said to have determined on having a 

 Mineralogical and Geological Survey made of that country, with an 

 especial view to the extension of its mines and metallurgical works. 



It is pleasant to hear that a similar survey is to be carried forward 

 with all dispatch in Portugal. 



Dr. Lermer, in a paper entitled " On the Chemical Kesistance of 

 Lead and its Alloys with Tin to the Vapour of Water," desires to 

 show, that whereas pure lead is actively attacked by water vapour, the 

 addition of tin prevents this action. With equal parts of lead and 

 tin, the action is only l-10th of that which takes place with pure lead, 

 and an alloy containing 37 per cent, of lead is scarcely attacked 

 at all.* 



The effects of Wolfram upon Ordnance Castings, form the sub- 

 ject of an important paper, by M. Le Quen. From this it would 

 appear that great additional toughness is communicated to iron by an 

 admixture of wolfram. f 



The cementation of iron is still a subject of eager discussion be- 

 tween the French manufacturers of steel and the chemists. M. Julian 

 has lately communicated a note on this subject to the Academy. The 

 results of experiments with graphite are said to be in complete oppo- 

 sition to the assertions of M. Caron, on the one side, and those of M. 

 Fremy, on the other. We are content for the present to leave this 

 subject without further notice, as, without doubt, the whole question 

 will be carefully examined by other chemists. 



A paper of considerable interest, on " Les Grandes Usines de 

 France," appears in ' Les Mondes.' It notices especially the Blast 

 furnaces, Forges and Steel works of Petin, Gaudet and Company, at 

 Vierzon, Givors, Toga, Eive-de-Gier, St. Chamond, and Assailly; 

 another section describes the Mines and Smelting-works of the Veille 

 Montagne Company, Moresnet, Angleur, Bray, Tilff, Valentin-Coq, 

 and other places. The Warm Baths of Vichy have also some 

 notice. J 



* ' Chemisches Central-blatt,' No. 4, 1865. 



t ' Annales de Chimie et de Physique,' January, 1865. 



% 'Les Mondes,' tome vi. p. 713. 



VOL. II. Z 



