Civilization can be measured by the amount of iron rusted
per capita, or better, by the amount rescued from rust.
But we are devoting so much space to the consideration of the material
aspects of iron that we are like to neglect its esthetic and ethical
uses. The beauty of nature is very largely dependent upon the fact that
iron rust and, in fact, all the common compounds of iron are colored.
Few elements can assume so many tints. Look at the paint pot canons of
the Yellowstone. Cheap glass bottles turn out brown, green, blue, yellow
or black, according to the amount and kind of iron they contain. We
build a house of cream-colored brick, varied with speckled brick and
adorned with terra cotta ornaments of red, yellow and green, all due to
iron. Iron rusts, therefore it must be painted; but what is there better
to paint it with than iron rust itself? It is cheap and durable, for it
cannot rust any more than a dead man can die. And what is also of
importance, it is a good, strong, clean looking, endurable color.
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