THE ROMANCE OF ALUMINIUM

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVIII, Issue 14868, 20 December 1911, Page 11

THE ROMANCE OF ALUMINIUM

A FASCINATING METAL. The story of aluminium •is one of the romances of industry. - Since tho days of Pliny it has been known to exist as a part of the earth's crust—the basic metal of all ; clays. Iron is probably the most common, bub aluminium tho most abundant metal the earth at present yields us. It enters ■ into the composition of rocks, and the i ruby, the sapphire, tho topaz, and the ! emerald all disclose aluminium to tho analyst. To obtain it,in a sufficiently pure form for commercial use was tho problem from the time of Paracelsus until the day when a student of science discovered an electrical process for reducing aluminium from the ores of which it formed a part. When the first aluminium article was manufactured — a rattle made for tho Prince Imperial, son j of Napoleon lll.—the cost of tho metal j was great, but the discovery before alluded i to revolutionised the industry and brought down the price. For Cooking Utensils. Cooking utensils are but one of the products of aluminium, and there has been a comparatively small output of these as compared with its many other forms. It is a fascinating metal, its physical properties being so marked, and in lightness it is in a class by itself. Its heat conductivity is the peculiar property—coupled with its lightness has so adapted it to the manufacture of cooking utensils.\ .' '> , Easily Cleaned. Aluminium cannot be kept looking like silver or nickel, but it can be easily kept clean and properly bright for use. Aluminium utensils generally discolour when alkaline substances" are cooked in them, and, as , the water in various places differs in-degrees of hardness, the action varies. The very fact that alkalinity has causend the discolouration makes the use of soda for cleansing worso than, useless. The inside stains may be easily removed by sand soap or pore silver sand., and the .polished, outside can bo kept bright with any good smooth metal polish. . With ordinary care these cooking utensils may be handed down to coming generations as the careful 7 German • hausfrau hands down the .burnished. copper pans, which adorn her ' kitchen. Who ever heard i, of .< a y German , .housekeeper complaining that her utensils we're difficult -to clean! And think of the polishing required for copper! ,