Mar., 1 9 1 2
T H E J O C R N A L OF I N D U S T R I A L A N D ENGINEERI-YG C H E - W I S T R Y .
sity of Tokyo in 1905, but resigned after a short period and resumed his former duties. His Imperial Majesty, the Emperor of Japan, conferred upon him the order of the Sacred Treasure in 1908, for his innumerable services, and when he heard of the declining health of Dr. Matsui in the early part of 1911, the Emperor conferred upon him the order of the Rising Sun. After his appointment as Dean of the Agricultural College of the Imperial University, Dr. Matsui employed his spare moments toward the development of the University, as councilor of the University, committee on hygiene and councilor and chairman of the committee of the University library. He also did much toward developing the educational system of Japan, as a member of the committee on compilation of English readers, the special committee on investigating the subsidy for industrial education, and the committee on selecting teachers for Normal Schools, Middle Schools and Higher Girls’ Schools, etc. His valuable services toward the development of Fine Arts and the improvement of industry in Japan cannot be exaggerated, a s he was a t one time or another councilor of the Administrative Bureau of the Special Exposition, juror for the Second Exposition of Marine Products, and juror for the Anglo-Japanese Exposition, etc. Dr. Matsui joined our Tokyo Chemical Society when he returned t o Japan in 1880, and was elected President of the Society in the same year. For nine years he served the Society
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either as Secretary, permanent member, or President. He had very little time for research, as he was busily engaged in the discharge of the duties above mentioned. But he made a report of the notes of his experiments on Kaolin of Arita in 1880, and the result of the experiments regarding the liquid extinguisher in 188j a t the Tokyo Chemical Society. He also lectured on the following subjects: History of the Atomic Theory (1882). The Relation between Chemical Construction and Magnetic Polarization (1884). Traube’s Experiment Relative to the Function of Water on Oxidation ( I 884). Crookes’s Theory of the Atom (1887). Regarding Nitrification (1892). Theory of Electrolytic Dissociation ( I 8 9 2 ) . Chemistry of the Digestion of the Stomach (1894). Chemistry of the Digestion of the Intestines (1895). Chemistry of Respiration (1897). Regarding Fischer’s Research on Uric Acid (1900). Regarding the Composition of Camphor (1906). Dr. Matsui contributed not a little service toward the development and diffusion of chemistry in our country. We can readily attribute the present prosperity of the Agricultural College t o the untiring efforts of Dr. Xatsui. His fame in the educational circles of science in our country will never be forgotten.
CONSULAR AN’D TRADE NOTES
GERM AN BRON ZE-POWDER INDUSTRY. Nuremberg is the center of the bronze-powder industry in Germany. With the exception of one factory a t Munich and one at Frankfort-on-the-Main, all bronze-powder factories of any magnitude are located in Nuremberg and Fuerth and the smaller towns in this vicinity. There are here 15-18 concerns of considerable extent and about 2 5 smaller factories, which employ an aggregate of 1,200 workmen and turn out a n annual product of the value of about $3,000,000. Experienced workmen are paid 9-10 cents per hour and work I O hours a day, except on Saturdays, when 8 hours is the rule. The few men employed in the foundry departments are slightly better paid-about 12 cents per hour. Juvenile employees average about 7 cents per hour. Practically no female workers are employed. Almost without exception factories are located where cheap water power may be had. The raw materials used in the manufacture of the better grade of bronze powder are copper and zinc. For cheaper grades various kinds of metal scraps from the toy and other factories are mixed with these two basic metals. The metals, mixed in graphite crucibles, are reduced t o a molten mass and cast into half-round ingots about 1 2 inches in length and about five-eighths of a n inch in thickness. The ingots are flattened under water-power hammers and passed through rollers until they are extended into metal ribbons many yards in length. They are then cut into strips about 2 yards long, tied into bundles of approximately IOO each, and hammered out still thinner. After being subjected to another annealing process two or three of such bundles are tied together and again hammered. At this stage the thin metal sheets are put through a cleaning process, tied into still larger bundles, and again beaten out under hammer. When the required thinness is secured the sheets are cut and torn into shreds and placed in hermetically closed iron boxes, in which they are pounded into a powder under vertical iron stamps. They are passed from onc stamp mill to another
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until reduced to the fine metallic flour known as bronze powder. Bronze powder is to-day invoiced for export a t 20-38 cents per pound, according to quality, the price for a fair-grade product being about 27 cents per pound. Extra fine grades sell as high as $ I , and even more, per pound. These figures include packing charges, insurance, and freight t o Bremen, which amount to about 60 cents per 100 pounds. Exports of bronze powder and metal clippings (the raw materials for bronze powder) from Nuremberg t o the United States for the last four years were as follows: Bronze powder1907, 934,732; 1908, $408,140; 1909, $558,336; 1910, $525,168. Metal clippings-1907, $80,585; 1908, $167,401; 1909, $217,781; 1910, $236,799. These figures would indicate a considerable increase in the manufacture of bronze powder in the United States.
ELECTROLYTIC RECOVERY OF ZINC. Consul-General Thomas Sammons, Yokohama, Japan, reports t h a t a new process for the electrolytic recovery of zinc has been successfully worked out by Mr. Chitaro Yoshida, the proprietor of a copper mine in Iwashiro Province, Japan. The zinc ore is dissolved in the electrolyte, and from this liquid the zinc is precipitated by electrolysis. The process is simple, but several obstacles have been found. For instance, the presence of a small particle of copper, antimony, or arsenic is enough to render the process futile. One of the defects of the process heretofore has been the spongy form of the zinc which adhered t o the cathode. To prevent this, carbon was tried instead of lead in the anode. The carbon was coarse and dissolved in the sulphate of zinc, and the zinc which gathered on the cathode was then found to be refined to a degree rarely surpassed by the imported metal. During 1910 Japan exported 24,747 tons of zinc, valued a t $383,485, and imported 11,581 tons. It is believed t h a t a new industry will be built up in Japan as a result of this new process.
