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M. St. Claire Deville lately delivered a lecture before the Society for the Encouragement of National Industry at Paris, on aluminium, in which he gave some interesting facts in relation to its properties, and the progress made toward its general introduction. Under the skillful hand of this celebrated manipulator, it has been reduced to a beautiful white metal, with a slight bluish tinge, easily worked, more easily melted than silver, 'remarkably well adapted for gilding, and, in short, capable of being applied to many manufacturing honsehold purposes. It has taken its place, in fact, among metallic substances as much as iron, brass or any other metal. The extraction of this new element of beauty and utility from the commment clfty a only another evidence of the scientific knowledge derived by the world from the noiseless operations in the chemical laboratory. The processes by which the object is attained are complicated as yet, it is true, but they are becoming less so in the same manner that all the now well established manufactures have., Three foundries have commenced the fabrication of this metal in Frane, and M. Deville now disposes of many hundred weight per annum. The price at present is 300 francs per kilogramme, or about $27 per pound ; but even under the present system of production, it might easily be reduced to 200 francs, were it manufactured on a large scale. The distinguished discoverer of this metal looks forward to the period when it will supersede the more precious metal in the fabrication of numberless article of adornment and use.
