Birmingham.

Progress, Volume II, Issue 9, 1 July 1907, Page 338

Birmingham.

Before the Norman Conquest Birmingham was already a market town; indeed, some affirm, a centre for hardware. This early date for the origin of the towns' great manufacture is, however, not authentic. The first reliable reference seems to be in Leland's " Itinerary." published m the reign of Henry VIII This writer observes " The beauty of Birmingham, a good market towne in the extreame parts of Warwickshire, is one street going up alonge almost from the left ripe of the brooke, up a meane hill by the length of a quarter of a mile. I saw but one Paroch Church m the towne. There be many smiths in the towne, that use to make knives, and all manner of cutting tooles, and many lonmers that make bittes, and a great part of the t owne is maintained by — smithes, whoe have their iron and sea -cole out of Straff ordshire "

reefs average {20 Is. 9d. per ton " This refers to three new reefs discovered just prior to the date Mr. Firth left Auckland. Owing to the successful treatment of refractory ores by the above piocess, Mr Firth states that over 100 square miles, containing millions of tons of refractory ore in the Waiomo district, to the noith of the Thames goldlie'ds can now be successfully tieated — (N Z Times )

Late files of Canadian papers give details of a remarkable " ash-burning secret," discovered by an Altoona cobler. This is how heat is said to be obtained from ashes • — Moisten with either salt water or salt water in which oxalic acid has been dissolved a mixture containing one part coal and three parts ashes, and a better fuel than pure coal is obtained. The ashes of anthracite coal burn as readily as those of bituminous coal. This mixture will, upon being placed upon a

burning fire fuse into a coke like mass and deposit but little residue. The salt water may be obtained by the dissolution of common salt in water. The chemical action of this compound is thus explained : — When an aqueous solution of an alkaline salt, such as common salt is mixed with coal ash the result is that a mild lye is formed, which, when mixed with any combustable material such as coal, and upon the application of heat, gives off oxygen gas, thus promoting rapid combustion . The addition of oxalic acid causes a chemical change of greater value than the first, for the reason that second chemical breakdown results in the formation of a carbide, which in turn gives off acetylene gas, thus adding to the intensity of the heat and facilitating complete combustion. Many large industrial places in Altoona are said to be proAting by this invention.