530 
Iron  and  its  Constituents. 
j  Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
(      Nov.,  1877 
Carbon, 
Silicon, 
Phosphorus, 
Sulphur, 
Manganese, 
Copper,  trace. 
Iron  (Fe), 
Iron  wire. 
Musical  (steel)  wire- 
0-2730  per  cent. 
0*5320  per  cent. 
0*141 8 
0*0700 
0*0809 
0  0427 
0*0610  • 
o"oi  82 
0*7027 
0  0600 
98*7406 
99-2771 
IOO'OOOO 
IOO'OOO 
(Quantity  taken  for  analysis,  20  grams.) 
The  material  I  would  recommend  is  soft  steel  drillings,  they  being 
cheaper,  purer  and  not  so  difficult  to  dissolve  as  wire,  which  by  the  dif- 
ferent mechanical  processes  of  forging,  hammering,  rolling  and  final  draw- 
ing has  become  denser  and  harder.  The  more  impure  an  iron  the  quicker 
it  will  dissolve,  but  the  same  piece  of  iron  or  steel  will  more  rapidly 
dissolve  the  less  it  has  undergone  the  above-mentioned  mechanical 
treatments.  If  we  consider  the  immense  amount  of  mechanical  labor  to 
which  an  iron  or  steel  bar  is  subjected  until  its  diameter  is  reduced  to  that 
of  wire,  it  is  evident  that  soft  steel  drillings,  shavings  or  turnings  deserve 
preference.  Axles  and  steel  boiler  plate,  of  which  turnings  and  drill- 
ing can  easily  be  obtained  at  any  steel  work  or  machine  shop,  rank 
among  the  purest  brands  of  iron,  in  the  chemical  sense  of  the  word. 
Their  composition  is  shown  by  the  following  analysis  : 
Axle. 
Carbon,  combined,  ....      0*2700  per  cent. 
Silicon,    .....  0*0800 
Phosphoius,  ....  0*0382 
Sulphur,  ....  0*0157 
Manganese,  ....  0*0747 
Iron  (Fe),         ....  99*5214 
Boiler  plate. 
0*3010  per  cent. 
0*0492 
0-0298 
0*0163 
0*0643 
99*5394 
00*0000 
ioo-oooo 
(Quantity  taken  for  analysis,  20  grams.) 
It  may  be  considered  a  practical  rule  that  any  brand  of  steel  that  will 
make  good  axle  or  boiler  plate  will  also  yield  pure  preparations  on 
dissolving. 
Let  us  examine,  now,  what  becomes  of  the  different  constituents  of 
iron  on  dissolving  it  in  different  acids. 
If  iron  is  acted  on  by  hydrochloric  acid  the  following  reaction  will 
take  place:  Fe-f-2HCl=FeCl2-f H2.  Combined  carbon  is  chiefly 
carried  off  in  the  form  of  a  hydrocarbon,  while  the  entire  graphitic 
