Manganese

an important metal, but one not popularly known. It looks like cast iron, and is likewise brittle and hard. The weight is a little greater than that of iron, being eight times that of water. It is distributed widely, and is associated with clays, iron, silver, and zinc ores. Generally speaking, manganese may be obtained in any metal-producing region, though Russia produces about half of the world's supply. It is an important element in the formation of steel. Many iron ores depend for their excellency on the presence of manganese, which is retained carefully. Manganese steel has ten times the strength of cast iron. In fact, nine-tenths of the product of the manganese mines is used in forming iron and steel alloys. All commercial iron contains manganese. It is a famous metallic dye. It is used to give clay door knobs a true jet, and also to give glass and pottery shades of violet, purple, green, brown, and black, varying according to quantity and degree of heat. It is also used to correct the green color noted in cheap glass. Considerable quantities are used in bleaching, in the making of disinfectants, as a drier of varnishes, and in printing calico. Manganese is also found as a constituent of plant and animal cells. See Iron