Show y ti from min house Houie household hold bold words important rubbish another american discovery we have llave in one of our former numbers liow shown flow how art and science awve been brought to bear upon things lhing before thought worthless woith lebs less how hov the tereso of the smithy liy the gasworks gus gas works and aud tile the slaughterhouse daughter slaughter honse house hivo hive h lye ive been made to yield products the li most valuable results the tile most beautiful we ard are now about to relate how another useful tep hab hag been made in lit our penny wisdom the iron wealth of england is 3 a proverb in lit the most remote corners corner of the world it produces the ilia enormous amount of three millions of tolls tons annually we export to iiii all parts of the world mon pon fron abid and steel to the yearly value of ten millions merling and machinery and tools lo 10 the extent of f two millions sums that equal the tile revenue of autore nor mor than alun one kingdom iti In traveling through the iron districts of ala aia aj it t la Is impossible to 0 o avoid being struck with alio tilo vastness of the works carried on oil in fit tarse places A journey through our mining districts und undying ing flames leap ipas leas forth from froin hundreds eds of and aroun around I 1 which nothing not liing is dis eov cov rable but blackened piles of cinders and uni ulli nightly shig is ihnot riot easily forgotten for scores and scores of miles mies the traveler behold these f ar pa interminable heaps of refuse ore darts aarts carts wadous aud trucks may be seen on all ldes ides sides occupy occupied d in tile fhe endless task lask of removing f ibis metal c of tile the smelting smelling works hundreds of or laborers are engaged in lit conveying ito to remote and undisturbed spots the enormous ales i of black friable looking stuff 4 the lag slag that gidy tidy by day and hour by hour is pro docen ly fly the ilia smelters shelters sm elters ellefs ef of iron ore some is filing flung down deep gullies and hidden in the dark yawn jilg crip recesses of ravines when haply any such are to tob iob bo found sowe some so me bi n employed in I 1 lie the hardening of rotten roadway roadways al where it is made maae to perform a very sort of duty for stone oc casl casi it is 13 shot into the sed sea when whan near for that purpose which however is not iofan the case I 1 i f of the tile actual extent of this rubbish prodoc v r tion some somo idea may be tie formed when it is stated i m as i lihas athas beenau been on very good authority that in the removal of all this waste slag ilag froni frow the tile furnace of me tile united i livla 1 not much less than lanira half a malliou milli oli oil sterling i is 9 an neaily neally expended ox iLl ilk Lk deed it has been calculated that liu lit round num are at tiie the present time fully six millions of tons of this hefti reine e material produced in one bone ear at this adte it would be easy to irna lina I 1 i gann telfia the gallios gull gul ies irs pits and ravines of the iron d districts Is becoming filled up at no very remote period iron nia nid masters would have to go further in it iio fareh sareh jko ja arch reh of secluded f r pots spots whereon rubbish might lo be 10 siu six eli ell t 1 si ai tie philosopher who by the attl aid of i observation and arid research can point out to u us how to turn all this perplexing mass of unproductive active refuse to good aid ald mid nid account how by a tenpie e method n we no o may convert this csele useless rr into a beautiful means of or ornamentation tit til and d in make ke it an air and economical limont in lit the construe construction tion ilon of public works and I 1 dwelling ruroy rurey aurey aurby the man who can ac oom this deserves some thanks at our aan ris fis d I 1 all tills this has hag haafeen been accomplished bv by the patient ars at of dr NV VH V H smith of philadelphia i united states simat ee who recently delivered a lecture lowthe ou tha the subject to the members op of our society ol 01 arts at is in lit this tilli int resting discourse disco the lecturer pointed 0 ted led out ut tho th brittle and useless character ol 01 tie 1 e refuse of sine ling fu frnaces ut present ah lown iown under unde r the thu name of slag alag le ac analysis or this it it herlo rejected product of mir our iron works shows that it ia is composed jatho detho in tilo main of linies ilici gitlia ii occa w admixture of tn agnet i und end sulphur sulp hor hun III in all parts of the worta world same results aro are arri ved the sha big of I 1 or sweden dafter dlf dif Ter ir i r in lit no pig eig elks pta intiA butla s from that of britain or tile the united otles it ilis ills Is scarcely necessary esstry to remind tire reader of tit fit alia el bi ii oid dic pross osin biting ores orea and tue the tio va vast s t oln oin rations of ot beneat beneath li th crust crast of I 1 hie tha earth where by a like agency of beahl beati mountainous deposits deposit cf igneous rocks rucks are con eon stanlly thrown ot oft the of ti N or g gp ia arat ara met with hi fit itta itilia It iloa t maes ii 1 T list I 1 pta Ws 0 of f the world tie tle p hile hll nature on iio tile one ono hand liand e her igne 1 ous oua ii p 0 liu itu acts tn the thi construction of 09 man well aware of their choir great alue ePe ehe raily yally aepli under the names of gan granite ite feld feldspar sparl basalt greenstone syenite porphyry serpentine ac ill lit the tho con ai ruction of his most elaborated architectural edifices high geological authorities tell teil us that if we examine tile the composition of the must oust of the globe we shall find that of all the tiie earths and earthly substances therein the three only will be ascertained ceria certa ined ned to constitute its great bulk namely silica allica alu blu alutina ina iua and lime precisely those which mainly compose the s iaz slag of vile the smelting smelling sm elting hauae the worker in ores when lie he is occupied with his 1114 blast is in lit fact but repeating oil on a small scale the tiie grandest operations of nature deep in fit the bowels of the tle earth heat is tile tiie great first agency employed by nature and anif by the tile philosopher in lit the decomposition and recombination which produce some of the tiie most beautiful and useful products with which we ule uie bre are acquainted dr smith lias has shown that the rubbish of the smelling house is identical in lit character ami awl equally valuable with most of 1 hi the igneous 1 rocky substances like many other oilier valuable discoveries this result was arrived at while searching for something else it is well to relate how this truth so interesting in lit itself apart from commercial results was seized upon by the american philosopher since it may tend to encourage such as may be toiling lolling in lit other fields of research impressed with a conviction of the influence of electricity upon life hie health and disease dr smith at that time lime a practitioner in lit philadelphia commenced a series of experiments in lit elect electro ro agen agencies cies cims oil on the human frame success in fit that question induced him to carry his hia researches to vegetable life and from animate lie he was led to direct ills his observations to inanimate objects mineral matter received attention from him and weighing well the geological fads alluded to above dr smith bent tile tiie eller etier energies kies kles of liis ilia mind nind to trace the effects of electricity in lit all ell I 1 liese these combinations and reproductions comparing the tile condition and character diameter of slag with hat that of lle ile lie ilia igneous rocks of Natu rehe fell that to electric agency must be attributed lle ile the lie cause of the great difference existing between them in lit order to test this he took a piece of the vitrified fied mass macs of slag hot from the furnace mouth month and applied to it a metallic rod at the point where this electric conductor came in lit contact with the substance the vitrified fied mass assumed a character several rods were emp employed loved and at tit each point of contact similar chai chat changes challies lies ijes in fit the tile condition of the slag were observable the electricity rapidly engendered during dading the smelting smelling sm elting process was parted patted with as quickly on an tile the application 0 of f tit the tho 0 metal conductors and hence the sudden and marked change 11 in the condition of the mineral in order more fully lo 10 test this theory the experimenter peri menter manter threw a quantity of tile the molten slag fresh from the furnace mouth into water every atom atoni of or the liquid being a good conductor of electricity rapidly absorbed it as im it lowered the temperature of or the tiie mass and the immediate consequence was hat that the lle ile lie mineral matter mailer fell into a coarse powder en entirely deprived of its former cohesion or solidity from these trials dr smith felt convinced that his electrical theory was COITe colte correct Ct and that it was to the rapid giving forth of or its electricity by sudden cooling ia in contact with conducting media that slag owed its brittle character in oth othi r words its want of cohesion and its terl teri tendency dency to pulverize pulverise pul verise he lie reflected that he ilia great rna mass s of leneous rocks up heaved from the center of heat were in a petition position for gradually cooling cool ipg ing their gigantic extent would ensure that result hence their extreme hardness and durability with the view of completely testing the accuracy of his electrical theory dr smith sinith caused a quantity of slag fresh from ohp smelting smelling furn burn ce I 1 to flow upon a conducting non cond uc ting ling substance where it was allow to cool much more gradually than was usually the case to his great delight he found he a had obtained a most complete verification of or his opinion the product thus obtained had entirely lost its semi vitreous and friable character acter T and a assumed a dense solid and rocky nature capable of resisting the heaviest blows and aito alto altogether oether assuming tile the peculiarities of the igneous rock having raving obtained this result the experimenter proceeded to other trials by continuing the molten slag when removed from front tila the furnace at a hul hyi temperature in an all oven where eliere it was after want allowed to coo cool very gradually and ran into moulds of a conducting non substance the material was found to have become altogether de vitrified fied and to have taken a beautifully veined and granulated character of extreme hardness approaching to the solidity and strength of the ginest marble by varying the heat applied by the admixture rid iid mixture of colari coloring tig matters and by a subsequent polish applied to the surface the tho experimenter has succeeded in producing a perfect imi of corneliu boniel nail nall agate malachite or ally any other of or nie vie more valuable m mineral 1 inerio products here liere then we see how an sin inquiry having for its object tiie tile elucidation of a purely scientific fi c theory has led the inquirer by imperceptible steps to a most valuable discovery by means meang of which many million of tons of hitherto refuse matter may be converted into really useful and valuable met eriAs for the builder the tile architect and decorator already iu america the slag of or iron in its new character is employed for paving pu purposes with the most complete success whole thoroughfares havig been for several years laid down with this material without any a ny perceptible wear of llie ilia surface in lit the form of building pricks wricks it is likewise in considerable use and builders in nome souie of or the principal cities of the united states testify to the tiie perfect adaptation of such bricks and to their great superiority and economy over the common clay brick it is not easy to limit tho application of this valuable rubbish sl wherever durability ls required united with peculiarity of form there the prepared slag will be found perfectly adapted for inasmuch ns as it can be cast into moulds of tiny any shape all labor spent in lit hewing and cutting marble or stone stona is avoided it is perfectly compact and lind impervious and therefore admirably suited for or the construction of aqueduct a of any size it remain remains on by chemicals of the tile grea greatest test j strength consequently may be emp employed loved for making gi gis a piping as it will last out mai maj many Y of the ordinary iron pipes when wrought in its higher character run into suitable moulds and polished mole snoie brilliantly than ihan i marble or porphyry it will furnish cumish pillars t fa cades cadell a clubs dbr ae for tile tiie ornamentation of in man ali all j hallop halls hails suil suit bril public buildings at a price and in lit n style not hitherto attained j we have specimens of this beautifully polished material before no u and certainly we can call see in lit j it that which is likely to brilts brills about a complete revolution revo lulion in lit house houe architecture who lil lii will ill be content with porous bricks perishable stucco work or soft crumbling stone when such adamantine cornelian like material is to be had that I 1 shall defy the action of london smoke and fac 1 korv vapors I 1 we can call picture in lit our minds eye a new bel j aravia a second tabu tyjunia Ty bunla bunia nia rising up at the bid bill j ding of some adventurous cubitt or peto built with slag bricks and faced fact d with a polished front i of surpassing brilliancy in fit the most exquisite fronti forms hild mild nd apparently comp composed ased of marble agate corne cornelian liati porphyry and malachite if a shade of dust or smoke settle on it the first shower of rain restores it to its original brilliancy time will have little if any effect oil on it and arid as for repairs or beautifying every third or fourth year such care would woul never be needed all this tills we expect to see before many seasons shmil shall have passed over us it is impossible to over estimate the advantages likely to arle arie from this new branch of industry so simple in lit its application yet so fo widely available in lit most european countries not only mith the refu refuse e products of iron works bilt but with those resulting from the tiie smelting smelling sm elting of copper lead and andt zinc ores the tile rough tough slabs stabs or orlias alves for pavements or roof ing can call be sold with a laige profit at 1 halfpenny the foot when highly polished at in its ils more finished and ornamental borins for architectural purposes pui poses this material possesses of course a much greater value depend depender de pendell ei t on its ils durability arid and beauty regarding this important discovery from whatsoever point of lew view whether in lit reference to the vast quantity of now useless refuse that may be mude valuable valuably e to the many interests that will be benefited by it iron masters copper smelt ers builders architects architect house decorator decorators and water companies we cannot but look upon it ili ill as olie one ot of the most promising results of modern science in all an age peculiarly fruitful in lit marvelous inventions and rich in its daily penny wisdom we have in lit a previous ious ions paper shown the marvelous powers of electricity iu in tiie ilia production of or light lit here we e find the same subtle element busily employed in making mere rubbish sli a beautiful and useful adjunct to the arts how far the same ogency may be made subservient to the tiie improving of our smelled metals and other products product s of the furnace we wo dare not venture to predict we will content ourselves with wilh directing the attention of fou founders |