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The Wiconsin Lianberman.
other conditions do not come in to oppose
the manifestation of this property. Plat.
intum welds easily at a white heat, because
its non-oxidizable surface, like that of ies,
takes on a superficial fusion. To weld
iron successfully it is necessary that its
furface should be clean, that is free from
oxide. Iron containing phosphorus welds
more easily than pure iron, because its
point of fusion is lower. Steel which is
more fusible still, welds at a lower tem-
perature than iron, but the process is a
more delicate one. Silver too, like iron
and platinum, has the property of expand-
ing when it solidifies; but as it melts at a
cherry-red heat, it is easier to form it by
casting than by welding. Bismuth and
zinc are also included it the same class,
but they are so very brittle near their fu-
sion points that no one would think of at-
tempting  to   weld them    either  by
hammering or presure.
Iron in welding therefore, only follows
the example of water. The careful .3om-
parative study of these two bodies, even
though at first sight so comparatively dis-
similar, connot fail to furnish results of
great interest to the metallurgist. The
work of the puddler is also based upon the
same phenomena as that of welding.
When the puddler forms his ball in the
furnace, it is done by rolling together or
aggregating the crystals of iron as they
form in the mass of melted iron and slag.
In other words, the semi-fused crystals are
welded or regelated together by the me-
chanical action of the puddler.-[M. Jor-
day in Iron.
Fritz Renter.
Publication of the posthumous works of
Fritz Reuter have been begun in Germany,
and the first volume is accompanied by a
very sympathetic biography of him by the
editor, Adolph Wilbrandt. With the full
consent of the poet's widow, a frank account
is gven of his  ssion for drink, which is
rightly regarLeias a disease, for which there
was (after it had once been contracted) no
moral responsibility whatever. In the be-
gaining Renter drank hard in order tq forget
his misery as a political prisoner in Prussia's
sketches, and when, after seven years (he
had been condemned for thirty), his deliver-
ance came, he carried into private life this
periodical craving which must be satisfied,
which ran its coarse like a fever, and from
which his wonderful constitution rallied inva-
riably with renewed vigor. But the habit
nearly made a wreck of him. He wanted to
become a painter in opposition to his father's
wishes, who sent him oackto the university to
study law. Here the temptation to spree wan
too much for him, and he next devoted him-
self to farming, with indifferent success,
ekingout his anpport by teaching.  In this
career he Raind the friendship of a Pome-
raman landowner, to whose confidenc in him
and knowlede of human nature Renter owed
the fortunate marriage which rescued him
from an obscure and perhaps melancholy
fate. This friend, knowing Renter's be-
trothed  to be troubled   with  scruples
about the match, dared to lead her to where
he lay under the influence of one of his at-
tacks.  The result justified his calculations.
She resolved to undertake the saving of a
life; and though she tailed, as other trusting
wives had done before her, to destroy her
husband's appetite for drink, she had the
rare consolation of seeing neither his consti-
tution nor his morals undermined by it The
wedding took place in 1851, and Reuter died
only last July. of heart disease.  As least as
early as 1866, however, his powers as a writer
had reached their climax.  The drollery
which characterizes Reuter's works found
ready acceptance with the Mechlenburgers,
rho are never weary of hearing and telling
humorous stories; and Reuter not only had a
great store of these but told them exceeding-
ly well before he ever put pen to paper.-
Nation.
A Great Swimmer.
Captain Boynton, the American who
jumped from an ocean steamship off the
coast of Ireland, and swam thirty miles
during 3nc of the most terrific gales of the
season, has been giving some very sucsess-
ful exhibitions of his swimming dress upon
the Thames. Vast crowds of people line
the banks of the river every time that he
appears, and watch with the greatest in-
terest his movements in the water. The
other day he went down to Wapping Old
Stairs and put on his swimming clothes,
consisting of an india-rubber suit itk two
parts-one covering the chest, arms, and
back of the head; the other the legs and
feet. Thrs is put on over an ordinary
suit. After being adjusted the parts are
inflated by four tubes, and when full of
air the wearer steps into the water with-
out the slightest fear. Captain Boynton
raised his flag, ate his lunch, read a book,
blew a horn, and went through a variety
of performances, to the great delight of
the crowds assembled upon London Bridge
and along the banks of the river. He was
loudly cheered. At Temple Stairs he
came out for a moment's rest, without
showing any symptoms of fatigue, and
soon after plunged in again and started
for Putney. The success of this swimming-
dress has   been   clearly  established.
-Anerican Begister.
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