Graphite

graf'it, or plumbago, a form of pure carbon. Impure graphite contains from 1 per cent to 47 per cent of alumina. Graphite occurs in shiny, iron-gray scales or flakes, having an unctuous or greasy feel. Graphite is put to many uses in the arts. Being a good conductor of electricity, it is used for coating the surfaces of molds in making electrotypes. As it cannot be melted it is mixed with clay for use in making crucibles and portable furnaces. As it does not rust, it is used for burnishing iron. It is the foundation of metallic stove polish. Being entirely free from grit, graphite is used in place of oil to lubricate the bearings of machinery. The finest quality of graphite, chiefly from a mine in Siberia, is ground into a paste and molded into needle-shaped pieces for lead-pencils. It makes a black mark when rubbed on paper, resembling lead in this respect. For this reason, no doubt, it is called black-lead, but it is well to remember that black-lead is carbon, not lead at all. A coarse graphite is obtained from Ceylon. Other European sources of supply are mines in Japan, Russia, Germany, and Austria. Canada produces graphite. The United States produces about $2,000,000 worth a year for the coarser purposes from mines in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Michigan, and Wyoming. American pencil graphite is obtained chiefly from Ticonderoga, New York. We import over half a million dollars' worth each year, chiefly for the manufacture of fine lead-pencils. Of late graphite has been obtained by artificial means. Anthracite coal is converted into graphite in an electric furnace. It is said that 3,000,000 pounds of graphite a year are made in the United States by this process. See Fire Clay; Lead-Pencil