protect it from displacement in this process the coke is partly covered by strips of wood placed about an inch apart. Messrs. James Kenyon and Sons, of Bury, woollen scourers, have constructed three settling tanks, whose total length is something like 100 feet. After leaving the last tank the clarified liquid is passed into a wooden shoot, and escapes through small perforations over the surface of a fiker bed composed of fine cinders. On leaving this the effluent has the clearness of drinking water, although turbid and creamy with fuller's earth on first entering the tanks. Messrs. Olive Brothers, of the Woolfold Paper Mills, Bury, have three large settling tanks, arranged side by side, covering a space of about 87 by 80 feet, in addition to a natural channel over 600 feet long, which has been utilised to precipitate the bulk of the impurities from the liquid on its way from the works to the tanks. Another firm of paper manufacturers in Bury, Messrs. J. R. Crompton and Brothers, although restricted in accommodation through being bounded on one side by the Irwell and on the other by the Manchester, Bolton, and Bury Canal, have formed two large tanks of a taper form, one being 109 feet in length, and the other 73 feet. In Radcliffe, Messrs. John Wild and Son, paper manufacturers, pass the waste water from their works through a series of five tanks, the total length being 125 feet, and the width 12 feet. The bottom of these tanks consists of a layer of cinders three feet in thickness, on a natural bed of gravel, through which much of the liquid percolates. The East Lancashire Paper Works Company, of Radcliffe, have constructed two settling tanks, the length of each being 80 feet, and the width 40 feet, as well as four smaller tanks specially designed for dealing with the lime dregs. This firm is fortunate in having found a profitable use for the sludge deposited in the tanks. Instead of being carted away as a useless encumbrance, it is pressed into brick form, dried in the sun, and then burned in a closed kiln. Under this treatment it crumbles into a powder, which forms an excellent lime for mortar, setting rapidly and with the hardness of cement. The best results, as it is natural to expect, are obtained in those cases where filters are employed, after the bulk of the impurities have been removed from the waste water by settling or other means. It is not, however, always possible to secure space for filter beds such as those described above, and various forms of mechanical filter have been introduced with the object of treating a large quantity of liquid in a limited space. A recent invention of this class was lately exhibited before the Borough Engineer of Salford and the managers of the companies who are now conducting experiments in the treatment of sewage at the Salford sewage works. The construction of the machine was explained by the inventor, Mr. William Birch, proprietor of the Milton-street Ironworks, Lower Broughton. It consists essentially of an endless band of woollen felt revolving at a slow speed over guide rollers. A part of the felt passes horizontally over a shallow tank, and the liquid to be filtered, being discharged on the upper surface of the felt, percolates rapidly through into the tank below, whence it is carried off by a discharge pipe. A valuable feature in the machine consists in its being self-cleansing by a continuous automatic action. The portion of the felt which has become coated with the residue or slime from the liquid is carried upwards by the guide rollers, when a radial arm with a rapid downward motion presses a steel roller along the slimy surface, and the residue is thrown off and falls into a special receiver. This cleansing action is repeated at short intervals, so that the surface of the felt is prepared for the reception of a fresh supply of liquid. Coalpit water, tinged with iron ores and ochres and liquids of every description, where the impurities were simply in suspension, were rapidly clarified. The total length of the felt band was 22 feet, the width being 30 inches, and the thickness 11⁄2 inch. Mr. Birch claims that he can filter with this machine, which stands on a space six feet square, at the rate of 2,000 gallons per hour. THE SAN SEBASTIAN NITRATE COMPANY, LIMITED.-The first annual general meeting of the San Sebastian Nitrate Company, Limited, was held last week at Winchester House, Old Broad-street, Mr. A. R. Robertson presiding. The chairman, in moving the adoption of the report, stated that the two principal requirements of their industry were a good market and a good, or even a fair price. The demand for nitrate had annually increased, and for the first five months of the current year the demand had beaten the record, the sales amounting to 545,000 tons, against 400,000 tons in the corresponding period of the previous year. The price obtained for the nitrate, however, could only be described as wretched. The visible supplies at the present time amounted to 250,000 tons, against 280,000 tons at the same date last year. The latest accounts from their two nitrate establishments were satisfactory, and it was hoped that the cost of production would be less in the future. With their large output, a difference in the price of £1. or I. 10s. a ton would materially affect them, and if they could obtain £9. or £9. 10s. a ton they would do extremely well. Mr. G. Bush seconded the motion, which was ! adopted. permanent CHEMICAL EXHIBITION. HE proprietors wish to remind subscribers and their friends THE generally that there is no charge for admission to the Exhibition. Visitors are requested to leave their cards, and will confer a favour by making any suggestions that may occur to them in the direction of promoting the usefulness of the Institution. JOSEPH AIRD, GREATBRIDGE.-Iron tubes and coils of all kinds. ASHMORE, BENSON, PEASE AND CO., STOCKTON-ON-TEES.-Sulphate of Ammonia Stills, Green's Patent Scrubber, Gasometers, and Gas Plant generally. BLACKMAN VENTILATING CO., LONDON.-Fans, Air Propellers, Ventilating Machinery. GEO. G. BLACKWELL, LIVERPOOL.-Manganese Ores, Bauxite, French Chalk. Importers of minerals of every description. BRACHER AND Co., WINCANTON. -Automatic Stills, and Patent Mixing Machinery for Dry Paints, Powders, &c. BRUNNER, MOND AND CO., NORTHWICH.-Bicarbonate of Soda, Soda Ash, Soda Crystals, Muriate of Ammonia, Sulphate of Ammonia, Sesqui-Carbonate of Ammonia. BUCKLEY BRICK AND TILE Co., BUCKLEY.-Fireclay ware of all W. F. CLAY, EDINBURGH.-Scientific Literature-English, French, J. CORTON, NEWCASTLE-ON-TYNE.-Regulus and Brass Taps and R. & J. DEMPSTER, MANCHESTER.-Photographs of Gas Plants, DOULTON AND CO., LAMBETH.-Specimens of Chemical Stoneware, Stills, Condensers, Receivers, Boiling-pots, Store jars, &c. E. FAHRIG, PLAISTOW, ESSEX.-Ozonised products. OzoneBleached Esparto-pulp, Ozonised Oil, Ozone-Ammoniated Lime, &c. GALLOWAYS, LIMITED, MANCHESTER.-Photographs illustrating Boiler factory, and an installation of 1,500-h. p. GRIMSHAW BROS.,.LIMITED, CLAYTON.-Zinc Compounds. Sizing Materials, India-rubber Chemicals. JEWSBURY AND BROWN, MANCHESTER -Samples of Aerated Waters. JOSEPH KERSHAW AND CO, HOLLINWOOD.-Soaps, Greases, and Varnishes of various kinds to suit all requirements. C. R. LINDSAY AND CO., CLAYTON. -I ead Salts, (Acetate, Nitrate, etc.) Sulphate of Copper, etc. CHAS. LOWE AND CO., REDDISH. -Mural Tablet-makers of Carbolic Crystals, Cresylic and Picric Acids, Sheep Dip, Disinfectants, &c. MANCHESTER ANILINE Co., MANCHESTER. -Aniline Colours. Samples of Dyed Goods and Miscellaneous Chemicals, both organic and inorganic. MELDRUM BROS., MANCHESTER. — - Steam Ejectors, Exhausters, Silent Boiling Jets, Air Compressors, and Acid Lifters. E. D. MILNES AND BROTHER, BURY.-Dyewoods and Dyewood Extracts. Also samples of dyed fabrics. MUSGRAVE AND Co., BELFAST.-Slow Combustion Stoves. Makers of all kinds of heating appliances. NEWCASTLE CHEMICAL WORKS COMPANY, LIMITED, NEWCASTLEON-TYNE.-Caustic Soda (ground and solid), Soda Ash, Recovered Sulphur, etc. ROBINSON, COOKS, AND COMPANY, ST. HELENS.-Drawings, illustrating their Gas Compressors and Vacuum Pumps, fitted with Pilkington and Forrest's patent Valves. J. ROYLE, MANCHESTER.-Steam Reducing Valves. A. SMITH, CLAYTON.-India-rubber Chemicals, Rubber Substitute, Bisulphide of Carbon, Solvent Naphtha, Liquid Ammonia, and Disinfecting Fluids. WORTHINGTON PUMPING ENGINE COMPANY, LONDON.-Pumping Machinery. Speciality, their "Duplex" Pump. JOSEPH WRIGHT AND COMPANY, TIPTON.-Berryman Feed-water Heater. Makers also of Multiple Effect Stills and WaterSoftening Apparatus. Our Book Shelf. BENCH BOOK FOR TEST TUBE WORK IN CHEMISTRY by H. T. Lilley, M.A., Assistant Master, Portsmouth Grammar School, London, Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent, and Co. Second Edition. This little pamphlet is intended as "a handy guide to practical work without diverting the attention by undue reference to details of manipulation," and so far as this, it will, no doubt, prove useful to elementary students. We notice that in the table of solubility, the author gives calcium sulphate as soluble in water, instead of slightly soluble in water. We also notice that "all salts of potassium so lium and ammonium are soluble in water." Surely this requires some qualification by naming the platino chlorides of potassium and ammonium, the hydric potassium tartrate (cream of tartar), and sodium antimoniate. The diligent student would, no doubt, discover this as he proceeds to the tests for potassium, ammonium and sodium, but it would be just as well to point it out to him beforehand. The book is printed clearly, on thick paper suitable for the bench, and forms a handy laboratory companion. FIRE-PROOFING. HE "Gastechniker" refers to and summarizes articles by M. in Monde de la science er busies on the above important subject. The main methods of making structures fire-proof are two: (1) the use of incombustible material; (2) rendering material incombustible by means of a preservative coating. Asbestos (meaning "incombustible") has been used from antiquity, it being on record that in classical times table-cloths were made of asbestos and cleaned in the fire, that lamp wicks were made of asbestos, and that asbestos cloth was used to wrap the bodies of the dead during cremation, so as to keep their ashes separate. Asbestos or amianth is a hydrated silicate of magnesia, white, green, or grey, fibrous silky, very near hornblende and augite; it can be spun and woven, though the fibres are rather too brittle to enable asbestos-cloth to be made cheaply. In France, the fireman's overclothes are here and there made of asbestos-cloth. In London, painting with asbestos has been introduced; the fire insurance offices regard it with favour. Experiments in the Champ de Mars, Paris, with inflammable buildings so painted, give useful results. Nagel has made incombustible paste of oxide of zinc and asbestos-powder rolled out on wire gauze and steeped, after drying, in a strong solution of chloride of zinc, and again rolled. This operation is repeated, and then the whole is well washed, so as to remove any acids and leave the resultant paste of asbestos and oxychloride of zinc firmly adherent to the wire gauze. These plates are flexible when wet, and may be rendered impervious by water-glass and casein, and may then be polished. Instead of chloride of zinc other metallic chlorides or sulphate of alumina may be used; instead of oxide of zinc may be used lime, magnesia, or gypsum. With these the plates may, for roofing, be rendered impervious by means of scap, which forms lime-soap or magnesia-soap. Nagel's plates, secured on wood, render it fire-proof. Wendt Hérad uses a coloured surface-covering, consisting of colouring matter (oxide of lead, copper, or manganese) 15, linseed oil 12, silicate soda 50, asbestos tale and kaolin 15, water 8. They also use the following mixtures, which contain no asbestos:-(1) water 754, chloride ammonium 8, hyposulphite soda 214, sulphate ammonia 10, borax, 41⁄2; (2) water 70, hyposulphite soda 212, sulphate potash 10, borax, 5, alum 12; the latter of these two being specially suitable for wood. Rabitz uses, for making fire-proof walls and roofs, plates of wire gauze covered on one side with a mixture of lime, gypsum, and rough sand with cow-hair, in layers of from 1 to 3 inches thick, according to the purpose. These dry in a few days, and can be painted, &c. Tepper, Berlin, uses, for theatre scenes, a wire gauze with meshes of inch, covered with a hard-drying material on which the scene is painted. Such a curtain can be rolled up on a roller of 2 inches diameter, and weighs 134 lb. per square yard; its price is just a little above that of canvas rendered incombustible. Water glass solution; a casein-solution obtained by rubbing together three parts of quicklime and two parts of curds, and coloured with mineral colours not affectable by sulphur; a mixture, much used in America, called "Asbestin," and consisting of asbestos, powdered silica, caustic potash, and silicate of soda, mixed for use with sand; a solution of common salt and alum; a solution of water-glass and tungstate of soda: such are the principal protective coverings. Gasworks ammonia liquor, diluted with water, has high fireextinguishing powers, but unfortunately, when so used, it evolves stifling vapours.-Gas World. AN APPLIANCE FOR PIPE-LAYING IN SOFT GROUND. HERR JOHANN FRIEDRICH FISCHER, of Worms, has patented a method of, and apparatus for, pipe-laying in marshy or swampy ground, during inundations or in other similar circumstances, and for forming foundations in wet ground. In laying a line of pipes in accordance with this system, a trench is excavated to the water level with a wide bearing on each side for laying the sleepers and rails, on which the machines have to travel. As soon as the trench is ready, a line of pipes is put together and made tight. The next stage is to erect a sinking-frame or caisson, constructed of sheet iron with angle-iron frame and stays, open at top and bottom, and placed above the connected line of pipes, which are suspended in slings. The line of pipe is covered at each end with porous caps, which permit the water to enter, but not the dirt and soil. The pipe and the sinking-frame are then lowered by digging away the ground from under them, and when the proper depth has been reached and the end of the pipe joined on to the portion previously laid, the sinking frame is withdrawn by hydraulic power. The caisson is made in sections; so that, while the rest is taken up, the portion covering the pipe ends may be left, if so desired, until the joint is made. Herr Fischer prefers to make the joints with india-rubber rings on a spigot, which would allow for any slight irregularity of the ground. The invention has nothing to do with the freeing of the trenches from water, but merely suggests a way for substituting iron framing to keep a trench open, instead of the timbering usually employed for this purpose. GLUE AND GELATINE. COMMON glue is prepared from the trimmings of hides and the refuse of slaughter-houses and tanneries. The skins are cleaned and steeped in lime water, and afterwards exposed to the air for some days. They are then boiled in water, and the resulting liquid run off and allowed to settle, after which it is left to cool and gelatinize in shallow boxes. The resulting cakes of soft glue are then dried on nets in large buildings, provided with movable blinds, so that the air can freely circulate through them in pleasant weather, while during storms the glue can be protected from the weather. This process of drying requires great care, as a rise in the temperature may cause the partially dried glue to liquefy, making a mess which requires much labour to clear up, to say nothing of the loss or damage to the stock. It was formerly supposed that glue could only be dried at temperatures above the freezing point, but it was accidentally discovered that frozen glue was of equally good quality, and the manufacture is now carried on all the year round. 66 Cooking gelatine is practically made by the same process, but much greater care is taken in selecting the stock, and the utmost cleanliness is necessary in all the processes. It forms a healthful and attractive article of diet, but its nutritive value is not very great. HOW TO USE GLUE. All the glue as received from the factory requires the addition of water before it will melt properly, and every addition of water (while the glue is fresh made) will, up to a certain point, increase the adhesiveness and elasticity; and it is the duty of every man who uses glue to find out just where the point lies, as it is possible to melt glue and have it so thick that after it is dry or set, it will be so brittle as not to adhere to the wood. Some glues will bear more water than others, but all will bear more than usually falls to their share, and that, too, with a greater increase in the quality of the work. For gluc to be properly effective it requires to penetrate the pores of the wood, and the more a body of glue penetrates the wood the more substantial a joint will remain. Glue that takes the longest to dry is to be preferred to glues that dry quickly, the slo w-drying glues being always the strongest, other things being equal. For general use, no method gives such good results as the following: Break the glue up small, put into an iron kettle, cover the glue with water, and allow it to soak twelve hours; after soaking boil until done. Then pour it into an airtight box; leave the cover off until cold; then cover up tight. As glue is required, cut a portion and melt it in the usual way. Expose no more of the made glue to the atmosphere for any length of time than is necessary, as the atmosphere is very destructive to made glue. Never heat made glue in a pot that is subjected to the direct heat of the lamp. All such methods of heating glue cannot be condemned in terms too severe. Do not use thick glue for joints or veneering. In all cases work it well into the wood in a simi' hr manner to what painters do with paint. Glue both surfaces of work, excepting in the case of veneering. Never glue upon hot a spwood, or use hot coals to veneer with, as the hot wood will absor1 y. all the water in the glue too suddenly, and leave only a very sma'.ng, an andue, with no adhesive power in it.—Oil and Colourman's Journ e, hour A GERMAN SUBSTITUTE FOR SCOTCH PIG. MR. Jungst has conducted a series of experiments in the Gleiwitzer foundry in Upper Silesia, mainly with a view to produce a cheap material and thus emancipate the Continental foundries from their present dependence on English and Scotch iron. The Scotch pig owes, according to Gautier, its prominent qualities exclusively to its richness in silicon. He further maintains that the superfluous graphite in grey pig, produced at a high temperature, is eliminated by adding ferro-silicon to the latter, and that grey pig obtained by adding silicon to white pig, becomes denser and more homogeneous than natural grey iron in consequence of the elimination of graphite. Silicon decarbonises irou that contains manganese with greater difficulty than iron free from manganese; sulphur influences but little the formation of graphite, but opposes somewhat the decarburising property of silicon. Mr. Jungst found the statements of Turner, Lebedur, Wood, and Gautier relating to the effect of silicon on cast iron to be generally correct. His experiments show that silicon adds to the density and strength of cast iron, and that ferro-silicon can be applied with advantage and without difficulty whenever the chemical composition of the material is approximately known. The suitable texture of the material can be obtained by remelting grey pig or by adding ferro-silicon. The German process of fusing together grey irons in order to produce castings of great strength is thus proved to be incorrect, although at the present high price of ferro-silicon it is still advantageous to employ grey pig iron for casting of only ordinary quality. As to the most economical quantity of silicon in the ferro-manganese, 10:38 per cent. proved to be the best; at 5.32 per cent. the strength was great, but the product in other respects rather poor, probably because the necessary quantity of free silicon necessitated the presence of a great deal of manganese in the ferro-silicon. Manganese and phosphorus up to 1 per cent., and sulphur up to 0 16 per cent., had no injurious effect.--Berg and Huttenweisen Zeitung. THE MANUFACTURE OF GLUCOSE. THE process of making glucose will be best understood by following the corn from which it is made from the time it enters the factory until it runs out of the spigot, a clear, odourless liquid. The shell-corn is first soaked for several days in water to soften the hull and prepare it for the cracking process. The softened corn is conveyed by elevators to one of the highest storeys of the factory, and shovelled into large hoppers, from which it passes into mills that merely crack the grains without reducing them at once to a fine meal. The cracked grain is then conducted to a large tank filled with rinsing water. The hulls of the corn float at the top of the water, the germs sink to the bottom, and the portions of the grain, becoming gradually reduced to flour by friction, are held in solution in the water. By an ingenious process both the hulls and the germs are removed, and the flour part now held in solution contains nothing but starch and gluten. This liquid is then made to flow over a series of tables, representing several acres in area, and the difference in the specific gravity of the two substances causes the gluten and the starch to separate without the use of chemicals. The gluten is of a golden yellow colour, and the starch snow white. By the time the gluten has been completely eliminated the starch assumes a plastic form, and is collected from the separating tables by wheel-barrowfuls and taken to a drying room, where it is prepared as the starch of commerce, or is placed in a chemical apparatus to be converted into glucose. The conversion is effected by submitting the starch to the action of a minute percentage of dilute sulphuric acid, which, without becoming a constituent part of the compound, produces by its presence merely a miraculous change. This change from starch to glucose is a gradual process, and has four or five well defined stages. On the addition of the acid the first change results in the production of what is known to chemists as dextrine. If at this stage the acid is neutralized by the addition of lime water the process is checked, and dextrine is the permanent product. If the process is allowed to go on, the acid, however, works a second change, and maltose is the result. Here, also, the process can, if necessary, be interrupted by neutralizing the acid by means of lime water, and for some processes in the art of brewing this is sometimes done. The third and important stage in the chemical change wrought by the action results in the production of glucose, and just here is where the greatest skill of the chemist is required. The product must show by tests that it responds to the chemical formula, C¿H120 ̧. By comparing the formula with that of starch, which is CH10O5-that is, 6 parts of carbon to 10 of hydrogen and 5 of oxygen-it will be seen that the sulphuric acid has not added to the starch, but has taken up two parts of hydrogen, and the only gain in the starch is one part of oxygen. 12 The lime water introduced to neutralize the acid forms with it a product called gypsum-sulphate of lime-which can be removed from the glucose without leaving any appreciable trace. The fourth stage in the chemical process results in crystallizing the liquid, and then the product is called grape sugar. There is a fifth stage, in which caramel, or burnt sugar, could be produced were it of any commercial value. The gypsum, or sulphate of lime, formed by the neutralizing lime water and sulphuric acid, sinks by gravitation to the bottom of the vessel, and the supernatant saccharine liquid is drawn off from the top. This is almost pure chemical glucose, but it is still subjected to a filtering process through bone-black, and refined in the same way as cane sugar is refined. The bone-black has anything but the appearance of a purifying agent, but possesses the peculiar property of attracting to itself all colouring matter. The glucose, passing through a labyrinthine system of filtering, is drawn off through spigots in the lower part of the building, and is ready to be shipped away in barrels. To give the glucose the appearance of cane syrup, as well as to impart some of the characteristic taste, a small amount of that syrup is added to suit the fancy of buyers. To make grape sugar, the glucose is dried in rapidly revolving vessels, from which much of the moisture escapes by virtue of the centrifugal force. Neither the glucose nor the grape sugar is used for domestic purposes, although either one is about twothirds as sweet as the sweetest cane sugar. Glucose is largely used by makers of cheap candies, but chiefly for fermenting purposes, and of late years has become valuable to the brewer in making beer and pale ales. It is also largely used in mixtures with cane syrups and molasses, and is esteemed by those who are best capable of forming an opinion on the subject as being more wholesome than the cane product, which is, at least, only a side product or residue in the manufacture of sugar.--Kuhlow. THE PLATE GLASS INDUSTRY IN THE UNITED STATES. THE HE growth of the plate glass industry in this country has been such that one is forced to regard its manufacture as one of the nost prosperous industries in the United States. It is a question, however, one which time alone can answer, whether it will continue to be such a prosperous industry, rise being given to the question by reason of the large increase of capacity projected. There are already eight great works in operation, viz.: Crystal City, Duquesne, Creighton, Tarentum, Ford City, New Albany, Kokomo and Butler, capable of making from 9,000,000 to 10,000,000 square feet of glass per annum, according to recent estimates, or almost as much as the present requirements of the country call for. What, then, is to become of the heavy additional production promised is not known, without lower prices for the article can greatly augment consumption. But work on new plants and additions to old ones is going on just the same, nevertheless. At Charleroi, the newest industrial city of Pennsylvania, a huge plate glass establishment is being erected, and will be equipped with glass machinery, at a contract cost of $308,000. The Diamond Plate Glass Company, of Kokomo, Ind., through a branch $2,000,000 incorporation, is putting up a works at Elwood, Ind., to make 20,000 feet of finished glass a day, and to give employment to about 2,500 men. The Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company propose doubling their present plant at Ford City, at an outlay of $1,750,000, so as to surpass all competitors in the matter of output, at home or abroad. Other companies still are enlarging, and entirely new enterprises of the kind are being either actually organized or talked of in various parts of the country.— Wheeling Manufacturer. A MANGANESE. NEW mode of preparing manganese, by which the metal can be obtained in a few minutes in tolerably large quantities, and almost perfectly pure, is described by Dr. Glatzel, of Breslau, in the current number of the Berichte. A quantity of manganous chloride is dehydrated by ignition in a porcelain dish, and the pulverized anhydrous salt afterwards intimately mixed with twice its weight of well-dried potassium chloride. The mixture is then closely packed into a hessian crucible, and fused in a furnace at the lowest possible temperature, not sufficient to volatilize either of the chlorides. A quantity of metallic magnesium is then introduced in small portions at a time, the total quantity necessary being about a sixth of the weight of the manganous chloride employed. Provided that the crucible has not been heated too much above the melting point of the mixture of chlorides, the action is regular, the magnesium dissolving with merely a slight hissing. If, however, the mixture has been heated till vapors have begun to make their appearance, the reaction is extremely violent. It is, therefore, best to allow the contents of the crucible after fusion, to cool down to a low, red heat, when the introduction of the mag. nesium is perfectly safe. When all the action has ceased, the contents of the crucible are again heated strongly, and afterwards allowed to cool until the furnace has become quite cold. On breaking the cru cible, all the potassium chloride is found to have been volatilized, leaving a regulus of metallic manganese, fused together in a solid block, about three parts by weight being obtained for every two parts of magnesium added. The metal, as thus obtained, is readily broken up, by hammering into fragments of a whitish-gray colour, possessing a bright metallic lustre. The lustre may be preserved for months in stoppered glass vessels; but when exposed to air, the fresh surface becomes rapidly brown. The metal is so hard, that the best files are incapable of making any impression upon it. It is so feebly magnetic, that a powerful horse-shoe magnet capable of readily lifting a kilogramme of iron, has no appreciable effect upon the smallest fragment. It was noticed that the introduction of a small quantity of silica rendered the manganese still more brittle, and caused it to present a conchoidal fracture, that of pure manganese being uneven. The specific gravity of the metal, former determinations of which have been very varied, was found to be 7.3921 at 22° C. This number, which was obtained with a very pure preparation, is about the mean of the previous determinations. Dilute mineral acids readily dissolve the pulverised metal leaving a mere trace of insoluble impurity. It is also satisfactory that practically, no magnesium is retained alloyed with the manganese and the introduction of carbon is altogether avoided by the use of this convenient method.-Kuhlow. TIN PRODUCING IN MALACCA. IN It did not take long to witness the extremely simple process by which the ore is extracted. After clearing off the ground, the surface and subsoil are removed for one, two, or three metres, till the mineral, tinbearing bed, is exposed; this is sometimes several metres thick. The mineral is carried in baskets up the cocoa-trunk ladders, to a wooden flume which is washed by a current of water. As the mine grows deeper this labour, with the rudimentary means at the disposition of the Chinese, is made extremely difficult by the inflow of water. The washing of the tin-bearing earth is done by coolies, who with a rake remove the stones and work up the material in such a way as to eliminate the light sands that are mixed with oxide of tin, till only 25 or 35 per cent. of foreign matter is left. The mineral thus enriched is melted in little brick furnaces, with the aid of a bellows of bamboo, which is worked by a coolie as if it were a syringe. The white metal as it runs out, is cast into the well-known cubic ingots with one side flaring over the edges, so as to give them a pair of ears by which they can be more easily handled. A great deal of metal is certainly wasted in this process; and a second washing of the refuse would probably be very remunerative. The Chinese and Malays call this lost metal young tin, which is returned to the earth to ripen, because it is not yet old enough to stay in their primitive machines. It is only now, after no one can tell how many centuries since tin has been known and worked in the peninsula, that a rational system of operating the mines is about to be adopted.— American Manufacturer. Trade Notes. A THE BIRMINGHAM OXYGEN COMPANY, LIMITED.-The Birmingham Oxygen Company, Limited, is announced, with a capital of £50,000. in 5. shares, of which 9,000 are A and 1,000 B shares, the latter not being entitled to rank for dividend until the A shares have out of the profit of each year received a dividend of 5 per cent. first issue is now announced of 4,000 A shares. The company has been formed to acquire the exclusive right to manufacture and sell oxygen and other gases in portable vessels, according to a patented process, within a radius of from 40 to 45 miles of the Town Hall of Birmingham. ALIZARINE BLUE.-When alizarine blue enters into the dye mixture, in order to obtain even shades, it is important to heat with great care when the temperature gets to 140° F. and from that to 180°, for it is principally between these temperatures that the blue is fixed. It is also recommended that about one-thousandth part of ordinary acetic acid should be added to the water, for in the case of calcareous waters there is a tendency to form a lime lake with the blue, which deposits somewhat superficially and causes a loss of brightness and the cloth to rub off blue when dry. In waters which contain much carbonate of lime (and the same may be said of carbonate of magnesia), it may be necessary to use a larger amount of acetic acid, and it is desirable that the proper quantity to be used should be determined by careful experiments or by chemical analysis. This applies to mordanting operations as well as to dyeing. PHOSPHATES IN ALGERIA.-Deposits of phosphate of lime have been discovered in the West of Oran, but the distance from the sea is great, and there are no good roads. It is therefore unlikely that they will be turned to good account for a good many years yet. There are other deposits near Souk Ahras, in the department of Constantine, but these have not been much utilised hitherto, as the colonists have not yet learnt the value of chemical manures. CONTEMPLATED STOPPAGE OF IRON WORKS IN SOUTH WALES. -The furnaces of the Forest Iron and Steel Works, Pontypridd, will in all probability be blown out at the end of this week. From 250 to 300 men are employed there. The step now taken by the directorate of the steel works is attributed mainly to the fact that the price of the manufactured article has reached an unremunerative point. It is satisfactory to learn, however, that in all probability the stoppage will be but a temporary one. The market is already assuming a steadier tone, and strong hopes are entertained that the works will be reopened in a few months. Meanwhile the furnaces will be relined. THE CLERKENWELL ANALYST'S SALARY.-The vestry of Clerkenwell, with all their faults, cannot be accused of extravagance in the matter of salaries to their officials. They are now engaged in a heated warfare over what some consider the just earnings of their clerks in the recent quinquennial re-valuations; and at their meeting a few nights since they discussed the salary of their newly-appointed public analyst (Mr. J. K. Colwell). This gentleman was appointed by the vestry in the early part of May, but because the official ratification of the appointment did not come from the Local Government Board until June 14, the vestry have declared that they will only pay since the latter date. On this basis of argument had the official note been three months in coming (which is not unusual with the Local Government Board), the analyst would have lost a quarter's salary. The vestry took advantage of the fact that no samples had been submitted for analysis between May 10 and June 14. NOVELTIES IN ADVERTISING.-In newly-opened showrooms at 52, Queen Victoria-street, E.C., a number of novel and interesting advertising mediums are being exhibited by Messrs. F. W. Oliver and Co., Limited. The design is first of all printed by an ingenious process on an iron sheet or tablet, which is then embossed and enamelled with an elastic unbreakable enamel. The advantages claimed are that any design, however elaborate, can be faithfully reproduced, that the embossing emboldens the printing, and that the enamel, which neither chips nor cracks, but yields with the iron, renders the tablet more durable and permanent. The system of printing is applied also to other mediums, to specially prepared canvas, and to glass. The fact that tablets printed in this way, though exposed to the severest weather and subjected to the roughest usage, are practically indestructible, is one which should engage the attention of all extensive advertisers, and ensure for the invention a successful future. OIL OF SASSAFRAS IN AMERICA.-The manufacture of the oil of sassafras has become an important industry in some parts of America, especially in the Southern States, where this tree is common. Only the roots are used; they are chopped up into small pieces by a machine constructed for the purpose, the oil being then distilled from the chips by the aid of steam. About one gallon of the oil, weighing nine pounds, is obtained from 1,000 pounds of the chips. The uses for which the oil of sassafras can be employed are numerous and varied. It is a much used perfume for soaps and candles; it is used as a solvent for different gums, and as a liniment. It is also very largely employed in the manufacture of several popular proprietary medicines. The importance of this industry may be expected to increase rather than diminish, as the sassafras and the persimmon are the two trees which are spreading most rapidly over the old and abandoned fields throughout the Southern States outside of the pine belt proper; and at present prices good wages car be made digging out the roots. EFFECTS OF THE COMPETITION OF RUSSIA ON THE PETROLEUM TRADE.-The keen competition of Russian oil with the American oil in foreign markets is seen by the returns of the export trade of the United States. During the ten months ended April 30, the exports of petroleum from the United States amounted to 542,277,621 gallons, of the value of £8,409,461. In the same months of the previous year the exports of petroleum amounted to 504,353,090 gallons, valued at £8,234,086. In order to increase the exportation in competition with Russian oil, it was necessary to reduce the price. The exports of illuminating oil from the United States during the last ten months amounted to 426,616,813 gallons, valued at £6,265,789. But in the same ten months of the previous year the exports of illuminating oil, amounting to 407,878,689 gallons, had a value of £6,451,922. It is said the owners of the Russian oil wells will in a short time award to an American firm the contract for the building of a pipe line 497 miles long, to run from the oil wells at Baku, on the Caspian, to Batoum, on the Black Sea, the loading port. The pipes will be of cast iron, 8 in. in diameter, and there will be sixty-four intermediate stations. It is surmised that the success of the proposed line will prove prejudicial to the exporting interests of American producers. We BASIC IRON.-The South Tredegar Iron Company, of Chattanooga, Tenn., made some basic iron during 1889, and have furnished the Bulletin with the following information as to how it was made :"Basic Iron is iron which has been desiliconised in a Bessemer converter, and dephosphorised on a second lining in a Danks or other form of furnace, on the lines of the inventions and discoveries of Dr. L. D. Chapin, of Chicago, Ill. We take the high phosphoric pig iron of the South, high also in silicon, melt it in a cupola, thence pass it through the converter, with a shorter blow than for Bessemer steel, and thence run it into gas-heated puddling furnaces, where it is "balled," and is then ready to be squeezed or hammered. We prefer the hammer. are able without difficulty to handle charges inside of an hour from cupola to muck bar, removing as much of the silicon and carbon as we care to, and also removing over 97 per cent. of the phosphorus, and at a most reasonable cost. You will at once see that this settles the steel business from Southern pig iron, as we can readily and cheaply deliver strictly neutral blooms or muck bar to the steel makers in any desired quantities. We are the only parties having any sub-license so far, but we understand that the holder of the license for some twentyfive States, John F. Haskins, M. E, now of Chattanooga, Tenn., is negotiating with others for its adoption. We are only fairly started with the process, but see no reason to regret having taken it up." THE INTERNATIONAL OKONITE COMPANY.-The International Okonite Company announce the issue of 17,000 preference shares, a similar number of ordinary shares, and 1,000 debentures, which will be issued simultaneously in London and New York. The company has been formed to acquire the business of the Okonite Company of New York, and to extend the same to the United Kingdom and all parts of the world. The remarkable and rapid progress of that company has placed it among the most solid industrial undertakings of America. For the purpose of extending the manufacture of okonite wires in this country the well-known wire and cable works of Messrs. Shaw and Connolly, of Newton Heath, Manchester, have been also acquired. The two businesses will be taken over as going concerns from Ist January, 1890, from which date the profits made will be for the benefit of this company. The business now carried on by the Okonite Company of New York consists in the manufacture of okonite-covered wires and cables, which are applicable for telegraph, telephone, electric light, and other purposes, whether for aerial, submarine, or underground uses. This wire is covered with a valuable compound known as okonite, prepared and applied by special processes. The Okonite Company claim that their products have been found by ever-increasing use to possess many advantages over wire covered in the ordinary manner, including that of being produced at less cost than the best qualities made by other processes. It is further claimed by the Okonite Company that the wires and cables manufactured by them possess superiority of insulation, durability, toughness, and resistance to the decomposing influence of the elements, which have so destructive an effect upon most insulated wires after exposure and use; that they stand a higher test for insulation than any other practical medium used for this purpose; and that they are not susceptible to deterioration from extreme heat or cold. Market Reports. MISCELLANEOUS CHEMICAL MARKET. There has been a strong demand for caustic soda, and prices during the week have hardened all round. Makers are now very well filled with orders, and prices on the spot are for 74%, £9. 10s.; 70%, £8. 15s. to £8. 17s 6d. ; 60%, £7. 17s. 6d. per ton, all f.o.b. Liverpool. There is also considerable enquiry for deliveries forward over 1891, and the same enquiry is extending to the other products of the alkali trade, in consequence of the favourable progress of negotiations for the formation of the syndicate. The general belief now exists in the trade that the proposed union of the works will be accomplished, and in view of this probability, makers are declining to undertake engagements for supply of goods beyond September 30. Bleaching powder on the spot is dull, and business done at £4. 12s. 6d. per ton on rails; £5. to £5. 2s. 6d. per ton (hardwood), f.o.b. Liverpool. Soda ash is somewhat irregular in price, according to brand, but the market on the whole is easier, and current value may be taken as 14 d. to 19 d. per degree for good ordinary. Carb ash, 48% to 58%. Soda crystals are very quiet, and price drooping, 2. 155. on rails being Jominal quotations. Chlorate of potash flat, and remains at 41⁄2d. per lb. for early delivery. Muriatic acid, 7d. to 8d. per carboy at works. Sulphur in all grades is well sold, and price for best recovered lump is 44. 2s. 6d. to £4. 5s., in bulk. Saltcake, 27s per ton. Vitriol, steady at 24s. 6d. to 26s. 6d. per ton for brown 145°. The demand for sulphate of copper has fallen off considerably, and ruling quotations are 22. per ton at usual points. The market for the metal is firm, and the make of sulphate is likely to be reduced for a time. Lead salts continue quiet, but prices are firm. Tin crystals are selling at 63⁄44 d. per lb. Acetates of lime are neglected, and prices have a downward tendency, brown at £7. 75. 6d. ; grey, £12. 15s. per ton. Acetate of soda remains steady at £15. 15s. to £16. c.i.f. Sugar of lead, £24. c.i.f. Potash caustic and carbonate are in good demand, and stocks are light. Carbolic acid, crude, and crystal are without material change in position and transactions are unimportant. TIN.-Monthly figures show an increase of 1,200 tons in London stock, and price of foreign relapsed to £93., cash, £93. 5s., 14 days, and £93. 15s., three months, closing rather quiet thereat. English ingots, £97. to £97. 10s. TIN-PLATES.-Firmer, but with little doing, the production continues large, but the stocks at outputs show a decrease. LEAD.-English, 13 55., Spanish, £13. 75. 6d. to £13. 10s. COPPER shares were dull, Rio Tinto falling 4 to 23, and Mason and Barry % to 8. GLASGOW. WEDNESDAY.-Market steady, with a fair business. Scotch done at 45s. 111⁄2d., 45s. 10d., and 45s. 101⁄2d. cash, also at 46s. Id., 45s. 111⁄2d, and 46s. 0%1⁄2d. one month, closing buyers at 45s. 101⁄2d., cash, sellers ask 1⁄2d. more. Middlesbrough done at 43s. 3d. cash; closing buyers at 43s. 3d. cash, sellers ask 43s. 4d. Hematite closes with buyers at 51s. 101⁄2d. cash, sellers ask 52s. WOLVERHAMPTON. WEDNESDAY.-The Staffordshire iron trade is improving. Inquiries on 'Change to-day were more numerous both for manufactured and crude iron. Marked bar makers who have lately quoted £9. 10s. will accept lower rates, and an official reduction of £1. is expected in this description next week to bring them nearer to unmarked iron. Common bars are quoted firm at £7.; sheets are less weak; slit rods are quoted £7. for short weight, and 10s. more for long weight. Pigs firmer, common sorts 37s. 6d. to 40s. TAR AND AMMONIA PRODUCTS. The Tar Products market remains without variation, though there seems a tendency to increasing firmness in most products, and prices quoted for last week hold good for to-day. The Sulphate of Ammonia market has a very steady tone, and there is a very good enquiry for America; the general demand being better, and the market has been fairly well cleared of spot parcels. Buyers are now willing to pay £11. 6s. 3d. at any of the ports, and if makers remain firm better prices will be obtained presently. The advance in Beckton prices will, if maintained, add to the firmness of the position. To-day's quotations may be stated as £11. 10s. Beckton, £11. 5s. outside London makes, £11. 6s. 3d. at Leith, and £11. 7s. 6d. Hull. THE TYNE CHEMICAL REPORT. TUESDAY. There is very little change to report in the chemical market this week, with the exception of caustic soda, which has again been advanced ten shillings per ton. Other articles are practically the same as last reported. There is a good deal of inquiry for forward business, but makers will not sell ahead in the present state of affairs. Current quotations are as follows:-Bleaching powder, in softwood casks, £4. 15s. per ton; caustic soda, 77%, 10. per ton; ground and packed in 3-4 cwt. barrels, 13. per ton; soda ash, 48/52%, 14d. per degree, less 5%; soda crystals, £2. 10s. 6d. per ton, in casks, |