SCIENTIFIC SUMMARY. 
547 
that the action of wolfram subsists even when the fusion is effected 
directly in a furnace, and remains after several successive fusions. The 
wolframed cast-iron mentioned above, containing fragments of old 
ordnance, seemed to become stronger at every successive fusion. Another 
proof of the superiority of wolframed cast-iron over the common sort, is 
that bars made out of the former do not bend so much as the others, 
under the action of equal weights, whence it may be inferred that the 
wolframed sort is more elastic and more capable of resistance. In all 
cases, therefore, in which it is required to have cast-iron offering great 
resistance to fracture, the addition of a small quantity of wolfram offers 
an easy means of obtaining it. — Vide The Artizan , June, 1864. 
Crystallized Iron. — This peculiar form of the metal is the production of a 
mine belonging to the New Jersey Zinc Company. There is but one mine 
of this ore in the world. The zinc having been just extracted from the 
ore, the residue is the brilliant and singular metal termed crystallized iron • 
For many years no use was made of this mineral, and it was simply 
exhibited in cabinets as a curiosity. However, a use has at last been 
found for it, and since it has proved so superior in this instance, many 
other avenues for its introduction are now opening ; and it bids fair to 
prove not only one of the most remarkable but one of the most useful and 
valuable metals the world has ever known. As a preventative against 
drilling, when combined with wrought iron and steel, it is the only real 
protection against the burglar. Owing to the late improvements in hard- 
ening drills, chilled iron can be easily bored. Hardened steel is not only 
so brittle as to be almost useless, but its temper can be drawn by a blow-pipe, 
and then it is at the mercy of the burglar’s tools. With the crystallized 
iron the case is different ; it can be furnished of any thickness, is not so 
brittle as any other hard metal, cannot be affected by a blow-pipe, and is 
the hardest material to bore through ever yet produced. 
Faulkner's Electric Pit Signals are so contrived as to render them in- 
valuable as a means of safety to miners. For example, if a ventilating 
door, which ought to be shut, is by neglect left open, the signal is so 
constructed, that it will ring with a tremendous noise till the door is closed. 
On the other hand, if a door is closed which ought to be open, the bell will 
ring also. If the door be open only the sixteenth of an inch, it will set 
the bell ringing as loudly as if it were wide open. In order to show from 
what part of the mine a signal proceeds, a box or partition may be fixed 
in some conspicuous place, with a number-plate and number for each part 
of the pit which it may be thought desirable to indicate. These number- 
plates are fixed by hinges, so as to move in or out, and the electric wire is 
fixed to each number-plate corresponding with that part of the mine which 
it represents. Thus, when a signal is rung, the number of the part from 
which it comes is projected outwards. This invention, in fact, may be 
used for any purpose of warning, calling, or signalling in the pit, and it is 
to be observed that when any signal is touched, it can be distinctly heard 
all over the mine. — Vide The Artizan, May, 1864. 
METEOROLOGY. 
Rotation of the Upper Currents of the Atmosphere . — M. Elie de Beau- 
mont has published a letter on the above subject. The communication 
