520 THEORY OF ARCHITECTURE.

Book
II.
1796. Gai.van'ized Iron is a dosigna'ion misapplied to that iron which may have re-
ceived a coating of zinc
;
it siioiild l.e called zinked iron. The metal is first cleaned per-
fectly by the joint actio.i of dilute acid aid friction, and tlien plunged inti) a hath
of melted zinc, covered with sal ammoniac, and stirred until the iron is sufficienllv coated
ivith zinc. No galvanic action whatever occurs between the metids
;
it is simply a coating,
'i'his process, it is stated, was invented in France by JVIaloin, in 1742, but not patented
jutil 18;56 by Sorel. The efficacy of the process depends upon the skill employed in
removing every trace of the scales of the hydrous oxide of iron, and in its further tieat-
ment. The coating must not become loosened, or any hole he made through it, as mois-
ture obtaining access to the iron will rapidly extend, and the scales of the oxide of iron
will force up tlie slight zinc covering, when the iron will be gradually destroyed, unless it
be at once jjainted. When well executed it may
]
erhaps be durable for a lenuthencd
perijd, but when badly prepared it is not so valuable as iron well painted {par. 1 7796.). At
the Houses of Parliament, where the iron roofing plates were galvanized, it was found
i.ccessary from 1860 to commence coating them with paint or some other material.
1796a The other process, which might be properly called zin/tid tinned iron, is thus per-
formed
:
Tlie sheets of irim are pickled, scoured, and cleaned, as for ordinary tinning. A
wooden bath is half filled with a solutionthe proportion ef 2 quarts of muriate of tin
with 100 quarts of water. Over the bottom of tlie bath is spread a thin layer of finely
granulated zinc, then a cleaned plate, a:. d so on alternately; the zinc and iron and the
fluid constitute a weak galvanic battery, a .d the tin is deposited from the solution so as to
coat the iron, in about two hours, with a dull uniform layer of metal. The iron in this
state is tiien passed through a bath containing fluid zinc covered with sal ammoniac mixed
with an earthy matter, to lessen the volatilization of the sal ammoniac, which becomes as
fluid as treacle. Two iron rollers are driven by machinery to carry the ])lates through
the fluid at any velocity previously determined; the plates thus take uj) a very regular and
smooth layer of zinc, which owing to the jiresence of the tin beneath, assumes its natural
crystalline character. This is said to be the process adopted by Messrs. Morewood ar.d
Rogers, whose jjatents date in 1846 and 1850. It is asserted that iron thus prepared
does not warp or buckle
;
that the plate is not affected by the heat of the zinc, whereas
thm sheet iron, kept in molten zinc for a few minutes, becomes so brittle that it wdl not
bear folding or grooving ; that the plate is equally covered with zinc, whereas by the
dipiMiig jirocess the lower half receives more than the upper : and that zinc is not con-
taminated by iron as when dipped, the contamination increasing with each dipjiing until
the zinc in the bath becomes so injured as to be worthless, it being well known that the
alloy of zinc and iron is more oxidizable than zinc alone, or than zinc and tin. Professor
lirande has stated that in common tinned plate, the combination is such that the oxidiza-
tion of the iron is accelerated by the tin, so that the iron is the protecting, and the tin the
protected, metal, but in this case the reverse effect ensues, the iron is the protected metal,
and the zinc the protector.
17966. Time has proved that galvanized iron has corroded after reren pears in a roof-
gutter
;
and the state of most of the roofs to railway sheds and stations and such like
jjlaces, proves that at least some sorts of galvanized iron will decay
;
the difficulty always
is to ascertain what description of coating the iron has imdergone. Galvanized iron bolts
do not act upon oak either in sea or in fresh water, when care has been taken not to remove
the zinc in driving them.
1796c. Galvanized iron is said to be nearly the same cost as zinc, and to be less than
one quarter as liable to expansion or contraction : to be equally as durable as lead ; less
in first cost, and not to require boarding
;
to be not quite one-third the price of copper,
and to be equally as durable; and as compared with plain iron, the cost is increased about
two-thirds, but that it increases the strengtii and durability of the iron.
1797. The soldering used is composed of spirits of salts killed by putting about three
ounces of zinc to a jiint of spirit ; care must be taken that this solder soaks well betwoeu
the laps.
Sect. IX.
SLATE.
1798. Slate is a species of argillaceous stone, and is an abunaantand most useful mineral.
This material is so soft, that the human nail will slightly .scratch it, and is of a bright
lainellated texture. Its constituent parts are argill, earth, silex, nia;jncsia, lime, and iron
;
of the two <irbt and the last in considerable proportion. The building slate is the sc/iiatua
tegularis