A filtering material which has all the properties of animal charcoal, and is said to give higher results, is magnetic carbide, discovered by Spencer, many years ago, and consists of iron protoxide in chemical combination with carbon. It is considered that the purifying effect is produced by its power of attracting oxygen to its surface without the latter being acted on, the oxygen thus attracted being changed to ozone, by which the organic matter in the water is consumed. There can be no doubt of the value of this filtering material. Its manufacture is very simple, as it is obtained by roasting hematite iron ore with granulated charcoal for 12 to 16 hours at a dull red heat, and used in a granular form. Another form for making this material is to heat the hematite (iron red oxide) with sawdust in a close vessel. The product is magnetic, and never loses its activity until the pores are choked up. The Southport Water Company formed their filtering beds of this material, and after years of use it is still giving satisfaction. Iron.--From experiments made by allowing water to filter through spongy iron on to meat, it has been found that after 6 weeks the meat remained fresh. Another test was made by preparing a hay infusion, which was kept till it showed abundance of organic life. The infusion was filtered through spongy iron with layers of pyrolusite, sand, and gravel, and then was kept in contact with meat for many weeks. The meat showed no signs of putrescence. In some of the experiments filtered air was supplied, which proves conclusively that bacteria or their germs are not revived when supplied with oxygen after the filtration; this is a result of importance, as it demonstrates that by filtration through spongy iron, putrefaction of organic matter is not only suspended for a time, but that it ceases entirely until reinstated by some putrefactive agent foreign to the water. The peculiar action of spongy iron is believed to be thus explained. If a rod be inserted into a body of spongy iron which has been in contact with water for some time, gas bubbles are seen to escape. These are found to contain carbon and hydrogen, and experiments lead to the conclusion that the carbon is due to the decomposition of organic matter. The material was introduced for filtration purposes some years ago by Prof. Bischof. His ordinary portable domestic filter consists of an inner, or spongy iron, vessel, resting in an outer case. The latter holds the “prepared sand,” the regulator arrangement, and the receptacle for filtered water. The unfiltered water is, in this form of filter, mostly supplied from a bottle, which is inverted into the upper part of the inner vessel. After passing through the body of spongy iron, the water ascends through an overflow pipe. The object of this is to keep the spongy iron, when once wet, constantly under water, as otherwise, if alternately exposed to air and water, it is too rapidly oxidised.