206 TlMEHRI. 
the specimens of corrosion before them were sufficient to 
satisfy anyone's mind on that point. Fortunately during 
the greater part of the year here, the water is excellent for 
boiler- feeding purposes ; but it is during the dry months, 
and especially a dry season such as we have just passed, 
that corrosion takes place to such an alarming extent; 
and if an antidote, or preventive could be found, then 
planters would not object to pay a high price for it. 
The President asked if he knew the kind of acid in 
the water ; to which Mr. Abell replied he did not. Mr. 
Bellairs thought it was sulphuric acid. 
Mr. Abell said whatever the acid, it produced a galvanic 
action on the metal ; of this he had ample proof, one 
interesting example he came across a few weeks back 
when examining some boilers, and found the cast iron 
bottom low water float, hanging about three inches above 
the wrought iron stays, these latter were corroded away 
to half their original thickness, whilst the cast iron was 
unaffected, clearly showing that the cast iron was the 
electro-negative, whilst the wrought iron was the electro- 
positive element ; this was corroborated when he saw 
that the float in the sister boiler was in electric contact 
with the stays neither of which was corroded. 
In speaking of the bulged and cracked plates resulting 
from the use of muddy feed water, he pointed out the 
effectiveness of tapping the mill dock trench some four 
hundred yards from the buildings, and thus allowing the 
water to subside on its way to the well, instead of feeding 
the boilers with water constantly being stirred up by 
moving punts. The great difficulty of dealing with mud 
in our boilers here, was the fact of their being so seldom 
still, from the continued firing, and no mid-day, or night 
