Synopses & Reviews
METALLURGY; THE ART OF EXTRACTING METALS FROM THEIR ORES AND ADAPTING THEM TO VARIOUS PURPOSES OF MANUFACTURE - IN no country are the operations. of Metallurgy conducted on so vast a scale as in Greut Britain and yet the contributions which have been made to tlie literature of the subject by British metallurgists are few aiid scanty in the extreme. But this should not lend to the erroneous conclusion which some persons are inclined to draw, that onr smelters are too ignorant of chemistry to understand the theory of the processes linder their direction, or too illiterate to be able to record the results of their experience. I have the pleasure of linowing many of these men intimately, and I will venture to affirm thatwvith respect to knowledge, both of the theory and practice of the special departments of the Art in which they are engaged, they are not excelled by any metallurgists in Europe. The chief writers on Metallurgy are the Germans, to whom we owc two of the most remarkable wvorlrs on the subject, namely, tlie treatise of Agricola, in Latin, which appeared in 1555 and the System of P1Ietdlurgy of Iiarsten, in Gerinan, published in 1831. The rnonogrz plls, contributions to periodicals, and compendious treatises relating to the science and practice of PIIetallurgy which have been published in the German language, are very numerous. We are, probably, indebted to the Germans, to a greater extent tlmn is commonly s lpposed, for the development of our mineral resources, since the introduction of German miners and metnilurgists into England, about three centuries ago, tlirough tlie wisdom of Elizabeth. The Swedes, who, in the persons of Sclleele and Eerzelius, have played sodistinguished a part in raising chemistry to the dignity of a science, have not been behind with respect to AIetallurgy. Many valuable monopal hs and original papers 011 rnetnllurgical s13bjects exist iu the Swedish language, wlGcl3 ullfortunately is but littlc own to Englisllmen. The c Jernlioiltorets Annaler, or Annals of the Board of Iron-Jlasters, now consist of about forty volumes, whicb contain theoretic91 and Sn-actical papers of the liigliest interest to Miners and JIe, -A urgis s. lllle French have published exteilsively on metallurgical sub-a jacts and the Annales des Mines form a repertory of met, allurgical knowledge of great value. The chief conti ibutors to this vork have been the graduaies ahd tud ts of the c o l ede s Mines and tlieir contributions, to a large extent, consist of the desc. riptions of processes which they have witnessed out of France. It is. pot, a little surprising, that, considering the skill in arrangement and the of - language wliich usually, distinguish French . scientific writers, no complete treatise of Netallurgy should yet haire . appeared in France. In the exercise of my duties as Lecturer on Bletallurgy. at the Government School of Nines, during the last ten years, I have constantly felt the ant of a comprehensive treatise on subject in the English language, to mllich I might refer the students aiid I have heard repeated expressions of regret from many of our practical Metlallurgists that no . such treatise existed. I now attempt to supply this deficiency ahd it is only after some years of deliberation. that I debided. to take this. step.. It is obvious that .. a work of this kind must be in great measure a compilation ...