THE LOADSTONE

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXIX, 28 January 1936, Page 2

THE LOADSTONE

The power of tlie loadstone to attract iron w T as known to the ancient Egyptians, but was not by _tlieni applied to any practical purpose. It is a dark iron-grey mineral, approaching to black, found in great abundance in the iron mines of Sweden, in some parts of the Easff in Africa, and sometimes though rarely, among the ironores of England. It possesses the remarkable property of attracting iron, which it draw’s into contact with a given mass, and holds firmly attached by its own power of attraction. According to Pliiiv, it is named Magnet from its being abundantly found near Magnesia, a city of Lydia, in Asia Minor; and the'ancient poet Hesiod also makes use of the term “Maget Stone.” The name loadstone is stated to be derived from an Icelandic term, signifying “leading-stone,” so designated" from the stony particles found connected with it. We find the xvord in Sir John Davys’s “Dedication to Queen Elizabeth”: — “To that clear majesty which in the north Doth, like another sun in Glory rise, Which standeth fix’d, yet spreads’ her heavenly worth; Loadstone to hearts, and loadstar to all eves.”