Chap II. ZINC. .

519
incliiilnn' to hliie. The ore, af;or bcinj^ Iiand-drcssed to free it from foreign matter, is
first Ciirciiutl, by wliicli the sul|)luir of the calamine a:,d the acid of the blende are expelled
J'lu' product is then washed to w'parate tlie lightjr matter, and the heavy ])art which re-
ni.iins, beinfi
ground in a mill, is mixed with one e'ghth of its weight of charcral, or with
one tiiird of its bidk of powdered coal. This mixture is placed in pots, resembling oil jars,
to be smelted. A tube passes tiiroiigh the bottom of each, the upper end i>eing terminated
by an open mouth near the top of the pot, and the lower end going through the floor of
t^e furnace into water. By the intense heat of a furnace the ore is reduced, the zinc is
volatilized, escaping through the tube into tlie water, wherein it falls in globules, which
are afterwards melted and cist into moulds. Thus procured, liowever, it is not pure, as it
almost invariably contains iron, manganese, arsenic, and copper. In order to free it from
these, it is again mtdted and stirred up with sulphur and fat, the former hereof combines
with the heterogeneous metals, leaving the zinc nearly pure, and the latter preventing the
metal from being oxidated. At the Vieille Montagne Zinc Company's Works, the pots
are placed in the furnaces at six o'clock every morning
;
at six o'clock in the evening ihe
smeltinn- is complete ; the metal is then drawn out and run into metal moulds, after which
it passes into the rolling house, and is again melted and recast in a metal mould to produce
ingots of the proper size and weiglit for the required gauge of the sheets to be rolled
;
this
second melting is also desirable to obtain proper purity.
179;i. Under rollers at a high temperature, zinc may be extended into plates of great
tenuity and elasticity, or drawn into wire. These rollers are from 2 feet 8 inches to 6 feet
in lenn-th, and the original thickness of the plate subjected to them is about 1 inch. A wire,
one tenth of an inch diameter, will support 'J6 pounds. If zinc be hammered at a temper-
ature of 300, its malleability is much inci eased, and it becomes capable of much bending.
Its fracture is thin, fibrous, and of a grain similar to steel. It can be drawn into wire ^i^th
of an inch in diameter, which is nearly as tenacious as that of silver. The specific gravity
is somewhat below 7-0, but hammering increases it to V'i. When heated, it enters into
fusion at a heat of about fi80 or 700 : at a higher temperature it evaporates
; and if
access of air be not permitted, it maybe distilled over, by which process it is rendered
purer than before, although then not perfectly pure. When heated red hot, with access of
air it takes fire, burns with an exceedingly beautiful greenish or bluish flame, and is at
the same tune converted i.ito the only oxide of zinc with which we are acquainted, con-
sisting of y.S'53 parts of oxygen combined with 100 of metal.
1791. Zinc, though sul)ject to oxidize, has this peculiarity, that the oxide does not scale
off as that of iron, but forms a permanent coating on the metal, impervious to the action
of the atmosphere, and rendering the use of paint wholly unnecessary. Dr. von Peten-
koffer, however, has stated that zinc is oxidized to the extent of 130 grains per square foot
in twentv-seven years, about two-fifths of tiie oxide being removed by the moisture of the
atmosphere. Its expansion and contraction are greater than those of any other metal : thus,
supposing 1-0030 to represent the expansion, 1 0019 is that of copper, and r0028
that of lead ; but the thicker the zinc, the less its contraction and expansion. The tenacity
of zinc is from 7.000 to 8,000. The weight of a cubic foot varies from 4-24 lbs. to 4(9 lbs.
The tenacityof zinc to lead is as 16-616 to 3-328, and to copper as 16-616 to22-.570; hence
a given substance of zinc is equal to five times the same substance in lead, and about three-
fourths of cop ;)tr.
1795. On the first introduction of zinc into this country as a material, the trades with
which it was likely to interfere used every exertion to prevent its employment
;
and, indeed,
the workmen who were engaged in laying it, being chiefly tinmen, were incompetent to
the task of so covering roofs as to secure them from the effects of the weather. Hence, for
a cons'derable period after its first employiuent, great reluctance was manifested by archi-
tects in its introduction. A demand for it has, however, gradually increased of late, and
the comparatively high prices of lead and copper will not entirely account for the disparity
of consumption. The Vieille Montagne Zinc Mining Company, about the year 1861,
took steps to improve the quality of the zinc for use in this country, the mode of laying
zinc roofs, and for the prevention of the us- of thin gauges of sheets which are unfit for
tlie purpose. Their zinc possesses a reputation for its purity and excellence. The result
of this care, and the better understanding of the merits of the material, has caused it to be
now extensively used for purposes which are noticed in the following chapter.
1795a. A sheet of pure zinc, as stated by J. Edmeston in his Report on Zinc, will be of
an even colour, without black spots or blotches ;
it will be very ductile, bending readily
backwards and forwards in the hand : and it will not easily break. If impure, it will be the
opposite of all this. If there be any iron in it, it will iie worthless
;
if it contain any lead,
it will still, thougli tea less extent, contain the germs of destruction within itself.
Il95l>. Common zinc is destroyed by the sulphuric acid in the atmosphere where much
coal is burned ; and by muriatic acid in the neighbourhood of the sea. Cement does not
iniurc zinc ;
but lime, and calcareous waters destroy it ; and zinc pipes to flues over wood
tires are destroyed
by them.