i88a.] 
Analyses 0/ Books . 
739 
that hitherto little or no saving was effe&ed by the preservation 
of these produdls. Should the value of the tar, &c., rise, 
whether from an increased demand or from a falling off in the 
activity of gas-works, the case may become different. 
As regards another desideratum, the removal of sulphur from 
coke, the author considers that no satisfactory process has as yet 
been devised. He calls attentron to the not unfrequent presence 
of phosphorus in the ash of coal as a source from which this un- 
welcome impurity may be introduced into iron. 
Under the title “ Refractory Materials ” a short but useful sec- 
tion is given, including an account of the now celebrated ** busic 
lining of Messrs. Gilchrist and Thomas. 
The author then proceeds to a consideration of the metals, 
their purification and their uses, as such , it being understood that 
their applications as oxides, chlorides, salts, &c., are not included 
in the plan of the work. 
In the secftion on iron we find a notice of the most recent im- 
provements, such as the Siemens-Martin process, that of Pernot, 
and the “ basic process ” of Thomas and Gilchrist. The author 
considers that steel will ultimately be manufactured as cheaply a s 
iron, and that wrought iron will consequently, among civilised 
nations, become a thing of the past. 
Under “ Copper ” we find the note that “ Our market is now 
ruled by the price of Chili and Australian copper, and not by the 
standard fixed by the Swansea smelters, as formerly.” If this 
means that the great copper “ ring ” — perhaps at one time the 
most powerful of similar combinations — has come to an end, all 
consumers of copper may be devoutly thankful. 
We do not find any reference to the Hollway process for the 
treatment of sulphides. Phosphor-bronze is briefly referred to, 
but not under its usual commercial name. 
The author has included even some of the less common metals 
in his survey, such as palladium, cadmium, magnesium, and 
sodium. The process for the metallurgical treatment of iridium, 
said to have been recently invented in America, has escaped his 
attention. 
The work appears, as a whole, to be an excellent summary of 
our present knowledge in metallurgy, and as such will be duly 
appreciated by the numerous classes of persons concerned. 
