1871.] Metallurgy. 289 



the rail rests becomes rigidly frozen, so that the permanent way loses its 

 elasticity, and becomes subject to a series of sharp concussions every time the 

 rolling load passes over it. This subject is one not only of paramount interest 

 to the metallurgist and engineer, but also deeply concerns the public at large. 

 It is not, therefore, surprising that the severity of the past winter, and the con- 

 sequent accidents, should have led to the discussion of the question anew. A 

 batch of papers has indeed been presented to the Manchester Literary and 

 Scientific Society, an abstract of which it is our duty to lay before our readers. 



Mr. W. Brockbank contributed some " Notes on the Effedl of Cold upon the 

 Strength of Iron." Some of these experiments relating to the resistance of 

 cast-iron to a transverse strain were performed at the beginning of the year at 

 the works of Messrs. Jackson and Co., of Salford. Good castings were obtained 

 by the judicious admixture of several suitable forms of pig-iron, and the experi- 

 ments were thrice repeated in order to obtain fair results. These results show 

 that bars of cast-iron suffered a considerable diminution of strength and 

 elasticity when the temperature was reduced below the freezing point. 



A paper " On the Properties of Iron and Steel as Applied to the Rolling 

 Stock of Railways," by Sir W. Fairbairn, was read at the same meeting, and 

 took an opposite view of the subject. The author believes that temperature 

 has little or nothing to do with the strength of the metal. He finds, for 

 instance, that the tensile strength of wrought-iron plates is as great at zero as 

 at a low red heat ; indeed, the breaking-weight was slightly greater at the 

 lower temperature. At a red heat, however, one-half of the strength was lost. 



Some notes " On the Alleged Action of Cold in Rendering Iron and Steel 

 Brittle," were communicated by Dr. Joule. His experiments were made upon 

 a dozen darning needles, one-half of this number being tested in a freezing 

 mixture, and the other half at the ordinary temperature. The test was applied 

 by attaching a wire to the middle of the needle and pulling it by a spring 

 weighing machine. The breaking-strain was found to be rather greater in the 

 cold than in the warm needles, and Dr. Joule believes that accidents arise 

 mainly from badly-selected metal, and not from the reduction of temperature. 

 Some experiments were also performed on cast-iron garden-nails cooled in a 

 refrigerating mixture. 



Another paper on the same subject, by Mr. Peter Spence, details some 

 experiments on certain cast-iron bars which were subjected to transverse 

 strain when cooled artificially. These experiments tend to show that reduction 

 of temperature actually increases, cceteris paribus, the strength of cast-iron. 



Reviewing all these experiments from a metallurgical stand-point, it is to be 

 regretted that no chemical examination of the metal accompanied the 

 mechanical tests. Everyone who knows the effect exerted on the physical 

 properties of iron and steel by the presence of certain elements, such as phos- 

 phorus and sulphur, will feel that no general conclusion should be deduced 

 from such experiments unless the chemical composition of the metal under 

 trial has been determined. 



We cordially welcome the appearance of a new technological periodical in 

 the shape of "The Journal of the Iron and Steel Institute." The first number 

 contains the proceedings of the Merthyr Tydvil meeting, held last September, 

 under the presidency of the Duke of Devonshire.* His Grace opens the 

 " Journal" by an introduction, in which he explains the object and scope of the 

 periodical. It will, in short, contain a complete record of the progress made 

 from time to time in the manufacture of iron and steel. In addition to the 

 " Proceedings of the Institute," the number before us contains, among other 

 original papers, the first part of an elaborate essay on the " Chemical Phe- 

 nomena of Iron Smelting," by Mr. I. Lowthian Bell — an .essay which gives the 

 results of an experimental and practical examination of the circumstances 

 which determine the capacity of the blast furnace, the temperature of the 

 air, and the proper condition of the materials to be operated upon. A fore- 

 runner of this paper appeared in the shape of a lecture delivered before the 

 Chemical Society some two years ago. One of the most valuable features of 



* See Quart. Journ. Science, Oct., 1870, p. 561, 

 VOL. VIII. (O.S.) — VOL. I. (N.S.) 2 P 



