Page:Experimental researches in chemistry and.djvu/75

60 in a more marked manner, and in more decided forms than the common steel. This can only be accounted for by some difference in the composition of the two bodies, and as it has been stated that only the earths in small quantities can be detected, it is reasonable to infer that the bases of these earths being combined with the iron and carbon render the mass more crystallizable, and that the structure drawn out by the hammer, and confused (though not destroyed), does actually occasion the damask. It is highly probable that the wootz is steel accidentally combined with the metal of the earths, and the irregularity observed in different cakes, and even in the same cake, is in accordance with this opinion. The earths may be in the ore, or they may be derived from the crucible in which the fission is made.

In making the alumine alloy for the imitation of wootz, we had occasion to observe the artificial formation of plumbago. Some of the carburet of iron before mentioned having been pounded and mixed with fresh charcoal, and then fused, was found to have been converted into perfect plumbago. This had not taken place throughout the whole mass; the metal had soon melted and run to the bottom; but having been continued in the furnace for a considerable time, the surface of the button had received an additional portion of charcoal, and had become plumbago. It was soft, sectile, bright, stained paper, and had every other character of that body; it was indeed in no way distinguishable from it. The internal part of these plumbago buttons was a crystalline carburet: a portion of it having been powdered and fused several times with charcoal, at last refused to melt, and on the uncombined charcoal being burnt away by a low heat, it was found that the whole of the steel had been converted into plumbago: this powder we attempted to fuse, but were not successful.

It will appear by the following experiment, that we had formed artificial wootz, at a time when this certainly was not the object of research. In an attempt to reduce titanium and combine it with steel, a portion of menachanite was heated with charcoal, and a fused button obtained. A part of this button was next fused with some good steel; the proportions were 96 steel, 4 menachanite button. An alloy was formed, which worked well under the hammer; and the little bar obtained